Air conditioner outdoor unit

Abstract

This air conditioner outdoor unit comprises a compressor (6), a housing (10) that accommodates the compressor, leg fixing portions (20a) to (20c) that are provided on leg portions (20) fixed to a lower portion of the compressor, compressor fixing portions (23a) to (20c) that are provided on a bottom plate (11) of the housing and to which the leg fixing portions are fixed, and connecting bolts (26) that connect the leg fixing portions and the compressor fixing portions, wherein each connecting bolt has a shaft portion (28) and a receiving portion (30) that is formed integrally with the shaft portion and is in contact with the corresponding compressor fixing portion, and has, between the shaft portion and the receiving portion, a reinforcing portion (30) that suppresses deformation of the shaft portion and the receiving portion.

Description

Outdoor unit of an air conditioner

[0001] The present invention relates to an outdoor unit of an air conditioner.

[0002] In the outdoor unit of an air conditioner, a compressor is housed inside the casing. Legs are fixed to the lower part of the compressor, and leg fixing parts are provided on these legs. A compressor fixing part is provided on the bottom plate of the casing, and a vibration-proof member is arranged between the leg fixing part and the compressor fixing part. By fixing the connecting bolts inserted through the bolt insertion holes of the vibration-proof member to the leg fixing part and the compressor fixing part, the legs of the compressor are supported by the casing via the vibration-proof member.

[0003] As the above-described support structure of the compressor, for example, the technique described in Patent Document 1 is known. The connecting bolt (bolt member in Patent Document 1) of Patent Document 1 includes a shaft portion (shaft portion in Patent Document 1) formed with a screw portion at one end and a receiving portion (flange portion in Patent Document 1) formed integrally with the shaft portion at the other end of the shaft portion. Further, the compressor fixing part of Patent Document 1 is formed as a bolt mounting part in which a part of the bottom plate of the casing is raised upward. When the dimension of the outer edge portion of the receiving portion is smaller than the outer edge portion of the bolt mounting part, when an external force acts in the direction in which the shaft portion of the connecting bolt tilts, the bolt mounting part is deformed due to the tilting of the shaft portion. Therefore, the receiving portion is formed such that the dimension of the outer edge portion of the receiving portion is the same as the dimension of the outer edge portion of the bolt mounting part, or the dimension of the outer edge portion of the receiving portion is larger than the dimension of the outer edge portion of the bolt mounting part.

[0004] Thereby, when an external force acts in the direction in which the shaft portion of the connecting bolt tilts, if the dimension of the outer edge portion of the receiving portion is the same as the dimension of the outer edge portion of the bolt mounting part, the force exerted on the bolt mounting part by the outer edge portion of the receiving portion is applied to the outer edge portion of the bolt mounting part, and deformation of the bolt mounting part can be suppressed. Also, when the dimension of the outer edge portion of the receiving portion is larger than the dimension of the outer edge portion of the bolt mounting part, since the outer edge portion of the receiving portion is located outside the outer edge portion of the bolt mounting part, no force acts on the bolt mounting part from the outer edge portion of the receiving portion, and deformation of the bolt mounting part can be suppressed.

[0005] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005 - 55129

[0006] However, in the conventional structure of Patent Document 1, if an external force acts in a direction along the shaft or in a direction that causes the shaft to tilt, there is a point in the support part where the external force applied from the shaft is concentrated, and that point may deform. If the support part deforms, the shaft may tilt, and if the shaft tilts, the compressor cannot be stably supported.

[0007] Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve these problems, and aims to provide an outdoor unit for an air conditioner that can stably support the compressor by suppressing deformation of the receiving part and tilting of the shaft part even when an external force is applied in a direction along the shaft part of the connecting bolt or in a direction that causes the shaft part to tilt.

[0008] An outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a compressor, a housing for housing the compressor, a leg fixing portion provided on a leg fixed to the lower part of the compressor, a compressor fixing portion provided on the bottom plate of the housing to which the leg fixing portion is fixed, and a connecting bolt for fixing the leg fixing portion and the compressor fixing portion, wherein the connecting bolt has a shaft portion and a receiving portion integrally formed with the shaft portion and in contact with the compressor fixing portion, and has a reinforcing portion between the shaft portion and the receiving portion.

[0009] According to the outdoor unit of the air conditioner of the present invention, even if an external force is applied in a direction along the shaft portion of the connecting bolt or in a direction that causes the shaft portion to tilt, deformation of the support portion and tilting of the shaft portion can be suppressed, and the compressor can be stably supported.

[0010] This is a circuit diagram showing an air conditioner according to the present invention. This is a perspective view showing the outdoor unit of the air conditioner. This is a diagram showing the legs fixed to the bottom of the compressor to the bottom plate inside the housing via fastening members. This is a diagram showing the shape of the connecting bolts of the first embodiment that constitute the fastening members. This is a perspective view showing the shape of the connecting bolts of the first embodiment. This is a diagram showing the connecting bolts of the first embodiment fixed to the bottom plate. This is a diagram showing the connecting bolts of the second embodiment that constitute the fastening members fixed to the bottom plate.

[0011] (Example 1) Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments shown below illustrate devices and methods for realizing the technical idea of ​​the present invention, and the technical idea of ​​the present invention is not limited to the materials, shapes, structures, arrangements, etc. of the components described below. Various modifications can be made to the technical idea of ​​the present invention within the technical scope defined by the claims described in the patent claims.

[0012] Figure 1 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of an air conditioner 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The air conditioner 1 of this embodiment consists of an indoor unit 2 and an outdoor unit 3. The indoor unit 2 is equipped with an indoor heat exchanger 4 that performs heat exchange between the refrigerant and the indoor air. Although only the indoor heat exchanger 4 is shown for the indoor unit 2, it is usually equipped with other components such as an indoor fan that blows the heat-exchanged air into the room and a control device that controls the indoor unit 2. The outdoor unit 3 is equipped with a compressor 6, a heat exchanger unit 7, and an expansion valve 8, which are sequentially connected by refrigerant piping. In addition to the above-mentioned components, the outdoor unit 3 is also connected to various valve mechanisms such as four-way valves and accumulators, but these are omitted in Figure 1. The outdoor unit 3 and the indoor unit 2 are connected by refrigerant piping, and a refrigerant circuit 9 is formed in which the refrigerant circulates between the outdoor unit 3 and the indoor unit 2 by the drive of the compressor 6.

[0013] Figure 2 shows the outdoor unit 3 of the air conditioner 1. In the drawings from Figure 2 onward, the configuration of each component will be explained by specifying the directions of up, down, front, back, left, and right indicated by arrows in Figure 2. The outdoor unit 3 has a box-shaped housing 10. The housing 10 includes a bottom plate 11 that forms the bottom surface, a fan guard 12 that covers the air outlet provided on the front, a top plate 13 that forms the top surface, and a right side panel 14 that forms the right side. Although not shown, the housing 10 also includes a front panel that covers the front surface other than the fan guard 12, a left side panel that forms the left side, and a rear panel that forms the back. Between the bottom surface of the bottom plate 11 of the outdoor unit 3 and the installation surface, a pair of long base members 15 extend in the front-to-back direction at positions separated from each other in the left-to-right direction.

[0014] Figure 3 shows the state in which the compressor 6 housed inside the casing 10 is supported by the bottom plate 11. Leg portions 20 are integrally joined to the lower part of the cylindrical compressor 6. The leg portions 20 are made of a plate material in the shape of a roughly equilateral triangle, and first leg fixing portions 20a to third leg fixing portions 20c are provided at three corners. Bolt insertion holes (not shown) are formed in these first leg fixing portions 20a to third leg fixing portions 20c. Here, the first leg fixing portions 20a to third leg fixing portions 20c correspond to the leg fixing portions of the present invention. The first leg fixing portions 20a to third leg fixing portions 20c of the leg portions 20 are supported by first compressor fixing portions 23a to third compressor fixing portions 23c provided on the bottom plate 11 via first fastening members 22a to third fastening members 22c. Here, the first compressor fixing portions 23a to third compressor fixing portions 23c correspond to the compressor fixing portions of the present invention.

[0015] Next, the structure and operation of the first leg fixing portion 20a of the leg portion 20, which is located on the right rear side of Figure 3, being supported by the first compressor fixing portion 23a via the first fastening member 22a will be explained with reference to Figures 3 to 6. As shown in Figure 3, the first fastening member 22a consists of a hollow cylindrical elastic member 25, a connecting bolt 26, and a nut 27 that engages with the connecting bolt 26. The connecting bolt 26 is fixed to the first compressor fixing portion 23a provided on the bottom plate 11. The shaft portion 28 of the connecting bolt 26 is inserted through the axial hole of the elastic member 25 and the bolt insertion hole of the first leg fixing portion 20a to position the elastic member 25 and the first leg fixing portion 20a on the upper part of the first compressor fixing portion 23a, and the nut 27 is tightened on the threaded portion 32 of the connecting bolt 26, thereby supporting the first leg fixing portion 20a on the bottom plate 11 via the first fastening member 22a.

[0016] As shown in Figure 4, the connecting bolt 26 is a member in which a cylindrical shaft portion 28, a crimping portion 29, a reinforcing portion 30, and a receiving portion 31 are formed coaxially. A threaded portion 32 for fastening to a nut 27 is formed at the tip of the shaft portion 28. If the diameter of the shaft portion 28 is D1, the diameter of the crimping portion 29 is D2, the diameter of the reinforcing portion 30 is D3, and the diameter of the receiving portion 31 is D4, then the relationship D1 < D2 < D3 < D4 holds. Here, the diameter D2 of the crimping portion 29 is set to be smaller than the diameter of the through hole 24a formed in the positioning portion 24 of the bottom plate 11. As shown in Figure 5, an uneven surface 33 is formed on the annular end face of the reinforcing portion 30 facing the crimping portion 29, where the unevenness is continuously repeated in the circumferential direction. Here, the uneven surface 33 corresponds to the anti-rotation means of the present invention.

[0017] As shown in Figure 6, the first compressor fixing portion 23a of the base plate 11 has a positioning portion 24 that protrudes upward in a frustoconical shape by drawing a part of the base plate 11, and a circular through hole 24a is formed in the center of the positioning portion 24. As shown in Figure 6, the connecting bolt 26 has a shaft portion 28 and a crimping portion 29 that are inserted through the through hole 24a from below the positioning portion 24 of the base plate 11. The crimping portion 29 that is in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the through hole 24a is plastically deformed using a crimping jig, and the positioning portion 24 is sandwiched between the plastically deformed crimping portion 29a and the upper surface (uneven surface 33) of the reinforcing portion 30, thereby fixing the connecting bolt 26 to the first compressor fixing portion 23a.

[0018] Friction is generated when the uneven surface 33 of the reinforcing portion 30 and the lower surface of the positioning portion 24 of the base plate 11 come into surface contact. This friction is the force that prevents the connecting bolt 26 from spinning freely when the nut 27 of the first fastening member 22a is tightened onto the threaded portion 32 of the connecting bolt 26. A base member 15 is positioned below the receiving portion 31 of the connecting bolt 26, and the flat upper surface of the base member 15 comes into surface contact with the lower surface of the receiving portion 31. Also, as shown in Figure 4, if the outer diameter dimension of the positioning portion 24 is D5, then the outer diameter dimension D5 of the positioning portion 24 is set to be greater than or equal to the diameter D3 of the reinforcing portion 30 (D3 ≤ D5). Also, if the width dimension in the left-right direction of the upper surface of the base member 15 is H1, then the diameter D4 of the receiving portion 31 is set to be greater than or equal to the width dimension H1 of the base member 15 (H1 ≤ D4).

[0019] Here, as shown in Figure 6, the axial direction of the connecting bolt 26 is vertical, and a vertical external force F1 may act on the shaft portion 28 of the connecting bolt 26, which is fixed to the first compressor fixing portion 23a of the bottom plate 11, from above in the axial direction. This vertical external force F1 may act when the housing 10 of the outdoor unit 3 is dropped. The connecting bolt 26 has the following characteristics: shaft portion 28 diameter D1 < crimped portion 29a diameter D2a < reinforcing portion 30 diameter D3 < receiving portion 31 diameter D4. Therefore, the bonding area between the shaft portion 28 and the crimped portion 29a after plastic deformation, the bonding area between the crimped portion 29a after plastic deformation and the reinforcing portion 30, and the bonding area between the reinforcing portion 30 and the receiving portion 31 increase in that order. Therefore, when a vertical external force F1 acts on the crimping portion 29a, the reinforcing portion 30, and the receiving portion 31, the force can be distributed and received by the crimping portion 29a and the reinforcing portion 30, thereby preventing deformation of the receiving portion 31. The force applied to the crimping portion 29a, the reinforcing portion 30, and the receiving portion 31 after plastic deformation decreases as the bonding area increases, so the force applied to the crimping portion 29a, the reinforcing portion 30, and the receiving portion 31 after plastic deformation is distributed.

[0020] Furthermore, if the width dimension H1 of the base member 15 is larger than the diameter D4 of the receiving portion 31, force may concentrate on the outer circumference of the receiving portion 31, potentially causing the base member 15 to deform. However, since the lower surface of the receiving portion 31 is in surface contact with the upper surface of the base member 15, and the diameter D4 of the receiving portion 31 is set to be greater than or equal to the width dimension H1 of the base member 15 (H1 ≤ D4), deformation of the base member 15 can be prevented.

[0021] On the other hand, as shown in Figure 6, the horizontal direction is perpendicular to the axial direction, and a horizontal external force F2 may act on the shaft portion 28 of the connecting bolt 26 from the left-right direction (horizontal direction). In this case, the horizontal external force F2 can be received at two connection points: the connection point between the shaft portion 28 and the reinforcing portion 30 via the crimped portion 29a after plastic deformation (the position indicated by the reference numeral R1 in Figure 6), and the connection point between the reinforcing portion 30 and the receiving portion 31 (the position indicated by the reference numeral R2 in Figure 6), thereby preventing the shaft portion 28 from tilting.

[0022] In this embodiment, the connecting bolt 26 has cylindrical shapes for the shaft portion 28, crimping portion 29, reinforcing portion 30, and receiving portion 31. However, at least the crimping portion 29 may have a polygonal cross-section such as a triangle or quadrilateral, or an ellipse. By making the cross-sectional shape such as this and creating a through hole 24a corresponding to the shape of the crimping portion 29, the crimping portion 29 does not rotate due to the through hole 24a when the nut 27 is engaged with the threaded portion 32 of the connecting bolt 26, thus more reliably preventing the connecting bolt 26 from spinning freely.

[0023] Furthermore, the structure in Figure 3 in which the second leg fixing part 20b located on the left rear is supported by the second compressor fixing part 23b via the second fastening member 22b, and the structure in which the third leg fixing part 20c located on the left front is supported by the third compressor fixing part 23c via the third fastening member 22c, are identical in structure to the structure in Figure 6 in which the first leg fixing part 20a is supported by the first compressor fixing part 23a via the first fastening member 22a, except that the base member 15 is not located below the connecting bolt 26.

[0024] As explained above, even if a vertical external force F1 or a horizontal external force F2 acts on the connecting bolts 35 of the first fastening members 22a to the third fastening members 22c that support the first leg fixing parts 20a to the third leg fixing parts 20c of the leg part 20 to the first compressor fixing parts 23a to the third compressor fixing parts 23c, the receiving part 31 can be prevented from deforming. Therefore, the tilting of the shaft part 28 is suppressed, and the compressor 6, to which the leg parts 20 are integrally joined, can be stably supported.

[0025] (Example 2) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figure 7. Figure 7 shows the state in which the connecting bolt 35 constituting the first fastening member 22a of the second embodiment is fixed to the bottom plate 11, and the elastic member 25 and nut 27 are the same members as in the first embodiment. Furthermore, the connecting bolt 35 is the same member as the connecting bolt 26 in the first embodiment, except that it does not have a crimping portion 29. The first compressor fixing portion 23a of the bottom plate 11 has a mounting portion 37 that protrudes upward in a frustoconical shape by drawing a part of the bottom plate 11. The mounting portion 37 corresponds to the compressor fixing portion of the present invention.

[0026] The connecting bolt 35 is a member in which a cylindrical shaft portion 38, a reinforcing portion 39, and a receiving portion 40 are formed coaxially. A threaded portion 41 is formed at the tip of the shaft portion 38, which is tightened to a nut 36. If the diameter of the shaft portion 38 is D6, the diameter of the reinforcing portion 39 is D7, and the diameter of the receiving portion 40 is D8, then the relationship D6 < D7 < D8 holds. The connecting bolt 35 is fixed to the first compressor fixing portion 23a by welding the lower surface 40b of the receiving portion 40 to the upper surface 37a of the mounting portion 37. Note that the method of fixing the receiving portion 40 and the mounting portion 37 is not limited to welding. For example, fixing using adhesive or providing a crimping portion in the center of the lower surface of the receiving portion 40 and providing a hole in the mounting portion 37 corresponding to the crimping portion, and fixing the receiving portion 40 and the mounting portion 37 by plastically deforming the crimping portion using a jig may also be used.

[0027] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 7, the diameter D8 of the receiving portion 40 is set to be greater than or equal to the outer dimensions D9 of the mounting portion 37 (H9 ≤ D8). As shown in Figure 7, the axial direction of the connecting bolt 35 is vertical, and a vertical external force F1 may act on the shaft portion 38 of the connecting bolt 35 fixed to the first compressor fixing portion 23a of the bottom plate 11 due to impacts such as the outdoor unit 3 falling. Since the diameter D6 of the shaft portion 38 of the connecting bolt 35 < the diameter D7 of the reinforcing portion 39 < the diameter D9 of the receiving portion 40, the bonding area of ​​the shaft portion 38 and the reinforcing portion 39 increases in that order, followed by the bonding area of ​​the reinforcing portion 39 and the receiving portion 40. For this reason, the vertical external force F1 is distributed and received by the reinforcing portion 39 and the receiving portion 40.

[0028] On the other hand, the horizontal direction is perpendicular to the axial direction, and a horizontal external force F2 may act on the shaft portion 38 of the connecting bolt 35 from the left-right direction (horizontal direction) due to impacts such as the outdoor unit 3 tipping over. In this case, the horizontal external force F2 can be distributed and received at two connection points: the connection point between the shaft portion 38 and the reinforcing portion 39 (position indicated by the symbol R3) and the connection point between the reinforcing portion 39 and the receiving portion 40 (position indicated by the symbol R4). This prevents deformation of the receiving portion 40 and suppresses tilting of the shaft portion 38.

[0029] The second fastening member 22b and the third fastening member 22c in the second embodiment also have the same structure as the structure in which the connecting bolt 35 shown in Figure 7 is fixed to the bottom plate 11. Therefore, the connecting bolt 35 of the first fastening member 22a to the third fastening member 22c in the second embodiment can prevent the receiving portion 40 from deforming even when a vertical external force F1 or a horizontal external force F2 is applied, thereby suppressing the tilting of the shaft portion 38, and thus stably supporting the compressor 6 to which the leg portion 20 is integrally joined. In this embodiment, the connecting bolt 35 has a cylindrical shape for the shaft portion 38, reinforcing portion 39 and receiving portion 40, but the reinforcing portion 39 and receiving portion 40 other than the shaft portion 38 may have a triangular or quadrilateral cross-section.

[0030] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but rather represents an example of the present invention. In the implementation stage, the components can be modified and materialized without departing from the spirit of the invention, and various changes or improvements can be made to the above embodiments. Furthermore, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining the multiple components disclosed in the above embodiments.

[0031] 1 Air conditioner 2 Indoor unit 3 Outdoor unit 4 Indoor heat exchanger 6 Compressor 7 Heat exchanger unit 8 Expansion valve 9 Refrigerant circuit 10 Housing 11 Bottom plate 12 Fan guard 13 Top plate 14 Right side panel 15 Base member 20 Legs 20a First leg fixing part 20b Second leg fixing part 20c Third leg fixing part 22a First fastening member 22b Second fastening member 22c Third fastening member 23a First compressor fixing part 23b Second compressor fixing part 23c Third compressor fixing part 24 Positioning part 24a Through hole 25 Elastic member 26, 35 Connecting bolt 27, 36 Nut 28, 38 Shaft part 29 Crimping part 29a Crimping part after plastic deformation 30, 39 Reinforcement part 31, 40 Receiving part 32, 41 Screw part 33 Uneven surface 40b Lower surface of the receiving part 37 Mounting part 37a Upper surface of the mounting part D1, D6 Diameter of the shaft part D2 Diameter of the crimping part D3, D7 Diameter of the reinforcing part D4, D8 Diameter of the receiving part D5 Outer dimensions of the positioning part D9 Outer dimensions of the positioning part H1 Width dimension of the base member

Claims

1. An outdoor unit for an air conditioner, comprising a compressor, a housing for the compressor, a leg fixing portion provided on a leg fixed to the lower part of the compressor, a compressor fixing portion provided on the bottom plate of the housing to which the leg fixing portion is fixed, and a connecting bolt for fixing the leg fixing portion and the compressor fixing portion, wherein the connecting bolt has a shaft portion and a receiving portion integrally formed with the shaft portion and in contact with the compressor fixing portion, and has a reinforcing portion between the shaft portion and the receiving portion.

2. The outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 1, characterized in that the connecting bolt has the relationship A1 < A2 < A3, where A1 is the cross-sectional area of ​​the shaft portion perpendicular to the axial direction, A2 is the cross-sectional area of ​​the reinforcing portion perpendicular to the axial direction, and A3 is the cross-sectional area of ​​the receiving portion perpendicular to the axial direction.

3. The outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 2, characterized in that the shaft portion, the reinforcing portion, and the receiving portion are formed in a cylindrical shape.

4. The outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the connecting bolt has a crimping portion between the shaft portion and the reinforcing portion having a cross-sectional area larger than that of the shaft portion and smaller than that of the reinforcing portion, the bottom plate of the housing has a through hole through which the crimping portion can pass, and the connecting bolt is fixed to the housing by inserting the crimping portion through the through hole and plastically deforming the crimping portion.

5. The outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 4, wherein the compressor fixing portion has a positioning portion, the positioning portion is formed such that a part of the bottom plate of the housing protrudes upward in a frustoconical shape and corresponds to the shape of the reinforcing portion, the positioning portion has a through hole, and when fixing the connecting bolt to the compressor fixing portion, the shaft portion and the crimping portion are passed through the through hole from below the positioning portion, and the connecting bolt is fixed to the compressor fixing portion with the upper surface of the reinforcing portion in surface contact with the lower surface of the positioning portion.

6. The outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 5, characterized in that the connecting bolt has a threaded portion formed at the tip of the shaft portion, the leg fixing portion is attached by inserting the leg fixing portion into the threaded portion and then tightening a nut member onto the threaded portion, and at least one of the upper surface of the reinforcing portion and the lower surface of the positioning portion is provided with a rotation-preventing means to restrict the rotation of the connecting bolt when the nut member is tightened onto the threaded portion.

7. The outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to claim 5, wherein the compressor fixing portion has a base member, the upper surface of the base member is flat, and is provided below the bottom plate of the housing and positioned between the bottom plate of the housing and the installation surface when the outdoor unit is installed, and when the connecting bolt is fixed to the compressor fixing portion, the lower surface of the receiving portion contacts the upper surface of the base member, and the shape of the upper surface of the base member corresponds to the shape of the receiving portion.

8. The outdoor unit of an air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the compressor fixing portion is formed by a part of the bottom plate of the housing protruding upward, the lower surface of the receiving portion contacts the upper surface of the compressor fixing portion when the connecting bolt is fixed to the compressor fixing portion, and the shape of the upper surface of the compressor fixing portion corresponds to the shape of the receiving portion.

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