Indoor unit of air conditioning device

Abstract

An indoor unit of an air conditioning device according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises an indoor heat exchanger, a blower, a housing, and a refrigerant sensor. The blower forms a flow of air that passes through the indoor heat exchanger. The housing includes: a partition plate that partitions a heat exchange chamber in which the indoor heat exchanger and the blower are disposed and a machine chamber in which refrigerant piping connected to the indoor heat exchanger is disposed; and an opening formed in a side wall section of the machine chamber. The refrigerant sensor is disposed outside of the opening and detects refrigerant that has leaked into the machine chamber.

Description

Indoor unit of an air conditioner

[0001] The present invention relates to an indoor unit of an air conditioner including a refrigerant sensor that detects refrigerant leakage.

[0002] An air conditioner that uses slightly flammable or flammable refrigerant determines whether there is refrigerant leakage based on an output signal of a refrigerant sensor that detects refrigerant concentration. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a ceiling cassette type indoor unit of an air conditioner incorporating a refrigerant sensor for detecting refrigerant leakage.

[0003] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2016-84946

[0004] The indoor unit described in Patent Document 1 includes a sealed space (machine room) that accommodates the connection portion between the heat exchanger and a refrigerant pipe, an expansion valve, a refrigerant sensor and the like, so as to block air from entering from an air passage including a suction inlet, the heat exchanger and a blow-out outlet. The machine room is sealed by a partition plate, a main body heat insulator and a drain pan.

[0005] However, since the refrigerant sensor is disposed near the drain pan located below the sealed space, there is a risk that adhesion of condensed water dripping from a refrigerant pipe or the like in the sealed space may cause failure of the refrigerant sensor or deterioration of refrigerant detection performance.

[0006] In view of the foregoing circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an indoor unit of an air conditioner that can suppress failure of the refrigerant sensor or deterioration of refrigerant detection performance caused by adhesion of condensed water while ensuring the airtightness of a sealed machine room in which refrigerant pipes are accommodated.

[0007] An indoor unit of an air conditioner according to one embodiment of the present invention includes an indoor heat exchanger, a blower, a casing, and a refrigerant sensor. The blower forms an air flow passing through the indoor heat exchanger. The casing has a partition plate that partitions a heat exchange chamber where the indoor heat exchanger and the blower are disposed, and a machine room where a refrigerant pipe connected to the indoor heat exchanger is disposed; and an opening formed in a side wall of the machine room. The refrigerant sensor is disposed outside the opening and detects refrigerant leaked into the machine room.

[0008] In the above-mentioned indoor unit, the refrigerant sensor that detects refrigerant leaking into the machine room is positioned outside the opening formed in the side wall of the machine room. This prevents malfunction of the refrigerant sensor or a decrease in its refrigerant detection performance due to condensation dripping from refrigerant piping and other components inside the machine room.

[0009] The housing may further have a bottom portion having an intake port that communicates with the heat exchange chamber and an outlet port provided around the intake port that communicates with the heat exchange chamber. The indoor heat exchanger may be formed in an annular shape so as to surround the blower, and refrigerant piping connected to one side end and the other side end of the indoor heat exchanger may be arranged in the machine room.

[0010] The housing may further include a cover portion that covers the opening. The cover portion may include a case portion that forms a space communicating with the machine room through the opening, and a flange portion that is provided around the case portion and joined to the peripheral edge of the opening, and the refrigerant sensor may be housed in the space portion.

[0011] The indoor unit may further include a drain pan located inside the housing that receives condensation dripping from the indoor heat exchanger and the refrigerant piping. The refrigerant sensor may be located above the upper end of the drain pan.

[0012] The housing may further have a recess including a first surface provided on a part of the side surface that partitions the machine room and forms the side wall, and a second surface that intersects with the first surface. The refrigerant piping may include two connecting pipe sections, each having a pipe connection section that penetrates the first surface and connects to refrigerant piping connected to an outdoor unit. The two connecting pipe sections may include a first connecting pipe section and a second connecting pipe section that is positioned closer to the second surface than the first connecting pipe section and above the first connecting pipe section. The cover may be positioned in the region between the second surface and the two connecting pipe sections.

[0013] The cover portion may be positioned on the first surface side of the two connecting pipe portions than the pipe connection portions.

[0014] The lowest surface inside the case may be inclined toward the opening.

[0015] The refrigerant sensor may include a sensor element and a support substrate that supports the sensor element. The sensor element may have a base end connected to the support substrate and a tip end having an air intake portion, and the air intake portion may be positioned so as not to face the opening when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the first surface.

[0016] An expansion valve connected to a portion of the refrigerant piping may be further located in the machine room.

[0017] According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress malfunctions of the refrigerant sensor or a decrease in the performance of detecting the refrigerant due to the adhesion of condensation water.

[0018] This is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of an indoor unit of an air conditioning system according to one embodiment of the present invention. This is a bottom view of the indoor unit with the intake grille removed. This is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 2. This is a cross-sectional perspective view taken along line B-B in Figure 3. This is a partial cross-sectional plan view of the inside of the housing showing the machine room in the indoor unit. This is a partial cross-sectional side view of the inside of the housing showing the machine room. This is an enlarged view of the main part of the indoor unit. This is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the refrigerant sensor in the indoor unit. This is a perspective view of the sensor support in the refrigerant sensor. This is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C in Figure 7.

[0019] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0020] [Overall Configuration of Indoor Unit] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the indoor unit 100 of an air conditioning system according to one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a bottom view of the indoor unit 100 with the intake grille 2a removed, Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 2, and Figure 4 is a cross-sectional perspective view taken along line B-B in Figure 3. In each figure, the front-to-back direction, left-to-right direction, and up-to-down direction are three mutually orthogonal axes and indicate the direction as seen from the indoor unit 100.

[0021] The indoor unit 100 in this embodiment is a ceiling cassette type indoor unit with four-way airflow. The indoor unit 100 comprises an indoor unit body 1 and a decorative panel 2.

[0022] (Housing) The indoor unit body 1 comprises a housing 10. The housing 10 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape that can be installed in the space above the ceiling. Suspension hooks 101 (see Figure 1) are attached to the four corners of the housing 10 by suspension bolts (not shown) for suspending the housing 10 from, for example, the structural slab in the space above the ceiling.

[0023] The enclosure 10 includes an insulating block 11, an exterior panel 12, a bell mouth 13, and a partition plate 14.

[0024] The insulation block 11 is a rectangular parallelepiped with an open bottom, and as shown in Figure 3, it has a top plate portion 11u and peripheral wall portions 11w that hang down from the periphery of the top plate portion 11u and form the four sides. The exterior panel 12 forms the front portion 10F, rear portion 10B, right side portion 10R, and left side portion 10L of the housing 10, as shown in Figure 4. The bell mouth 13 is a molded body made of metal or synthetic resin with an air intake port 13a (see Figure 3) in its center, and is placed between the insulation block 11 and the decorative panel 2.

[0025] The partition plate 14 divides the inside of the housing 10 into a heat exchange chamber 15 and a machine room 16. The heat exchange chamber 15 houses the indoor heat exchanger 20 and the blower 30. The machine room 16 houses the refrigerant pipes 21p and 22p (see Figure 5) connected to the indoor heat exchanger 20, as will be described later. The partition plate 14 is positioned between the first end 21 on one side and the second end 22 on the other side of the indoor heat exchanger 20. In this embodiment, the machine room 16 is formed in the corner between the front part 10F and the left side part 10L of the housing 10.

[0026] The indoor unit body 1 further comprises an indoor heat exchanger 20, a blower 30, and a drain pan 40. The indoor heat exchanger 20, blower 30, and drain pan 40 are each located inside the housing 10.

[0027] (Indoor Heat Exchanger) As shown in Figure 4, the indoor heat exchanger 20 is a rectangular, annular heat exchanger that surrounds the blower 30. The indoor heat exchanger 20 is placed in the heat exchange chamber 15. The heat exchange chamber 15 is formed between the top plate portion 11u and the peripheral wall portion 11w of the insulating block 11 and the drain pan 40. A ventilation passage P, which is part of the heat exchange chamber 15, is formed between the indoor heat exchanger 20 and the inner surface of the peripheral wall portion 11w of the insulating block 11.

[0028] Figure 5 is a partial cross-sectional plan view of the interior of the housing 10 showing the machine room 16, and Figure 6 is a partial cross-sectional side view of the same.

[0029] The machine room 16 is formed between the peripheral wall portion 11w of the insulating block 11 that forms the corner between the front portion 10F and the left side portion 10L of the housing 10 (hereinafter also referred to as the peripheral wall corner portion 11wc), the first side end portion 21 and the second side end portion 22 of the indoor heat exchanger 21, and the partition plate 14.

[0030] As shown in Figure 5, the partition plate 14 is made of a metal plate that is bent in multiple stages so as to protrude toward the heat exchange chamber 15. One end 141 of the partition plate 14 is connected to the first end 21 of the indoor heat exchanger 20 via a support bracket 21s1, and the other end 142 of the partition plate 14 is connected to the second end 22 of the indoor heat exchanger 20 via a support bracket 22s1. Also, as shown in Figure 6, the upper end 143 of the partition plate 14 is in close contact with the top plate portion 11u of the heat insulating block 11, and the lower end 144 of the partition plate 14 is in close contact with the upper surface of the annular region 42 of the drain pan 40, which will be described later.

[0031] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 5, the peripheral wall corner 11wc has a first intermediate wall portion 11v1 connected to the first side end 21 of the indoor heat exchanger 20 via a sealing member 21s2, and a second intermediate wall portion 11v2 connected to the second side end 22 of the indoor heat exchanger 20 via a sealing member 22s2. The bottoms of the first intermediate wall portion 11v1 and the second intermediate wall portion 11v2 are positioned opposite the upper surface of the drain pan 40.

[0032] The first end 21 and the second end 22 of the indoor heat exchanger 20 are positioned to face the machine room 16. The machine room 16 houses refrigerant piping 21p connected to the first end 21 and refrigerant piping 22p connected to the second end 22. In addition to the expansion valve 24, the machine room 16 also houses gas pipe distributors, liquid pipe distributors, and refrigerant piping that connects these to the indoor heat exchanger 20 or the expansion valve 24. The gas pipe distributors, liquid pipe distributors, and expansion valve are connected to the refrigerant piping, and each is connected by welding.

[0033] The refrigerant pipes 21p and 22p connected to the first end 21 and second end 22 of the indoor heat exchanger 20, respectively, include folded pipe sections (such as U-shaped pipes and hairpins) and refrigerant pipes connected to an outdoor unit (not shown), and are connected to the first end 21 and second end 22, respectively, by welding or the like. In this embodiment, as will be described later, the refrigerant pipe 21p includes a gas pipe 26G and a liquid pipe 26L that penetrate the side wall 16S forming the machine room 16, respectively (see Figures 3 to 5).

[0034] (Blower) The blower 30 has a fan 31 and a motor 32 that rotates the fan 31. The fan 31 is a cylindrical centrifugal fan, and the indoor air drawn in from the intake port 13a of the bell mouth 13 forms an airflow that passes through the indoor heat exchanger 20 arranged around the fan 31. The indoor air that has passed through the indoor heat exchanger 20 is blown into the room through the ventilation passage P from the outlets 2F, 2B, 2R, and 2L of the decorative panel 2.

[0035] The motor 31 is fixed to the top plate portion 11u of the heat insulating block 11 and rotates the fan 31 around its central axis. Between the bell mouth 13 and the decorative panel 2, outside the intake port 13a, is an electrical component box 33 containing a control circuit for driving the motor 31.

[0036] (Drain Pan) The drain pan 40 is positioned between the indoor heat exchanger 20 and the area around the suction port 13a of the bell mouth 13, and has an annular dew receiving surface 41 that receives condensation water dripping from the indoor heat exchanger 20 and the refrigerant pipes 21p and 22p connected to its first and second ends 21 and 22.

[0037] The drain pan 40 is a rectangular plate member, and its peripheral edge is provided with a peripheral wall portion 40w that faces the peripheral wall portion 11w of the heat insulating block 11. In addition, an opening 40a is provided in the center of the drain pan 40 through which the bell mouth 13 passes, and a raised portion 40v is provided on the peripheral edge of the opening 40a (see Figure 6).

[0038] The dew-receiving surface 41 is a groove formed at the bottom of the rectangular annular region 42 (see Figure 5) between the peripheral wall portion 40w and the raised portion 40v of the drain pan 40. The lower end portion 144 of the partition plate 14 is in close contact with the upper surface of the raised portion 40v on the inner circumference side of the dew-receiving surface 41 (see Figure 6).

[0039] (Decorative Panel) The decorative panel 2 is attached to the bottom of the housing 10, thereby forming the bottom surface of the housing 10. The decorative panel 2 has a rectangular intake grille 2a for supplying indoor air to the indoor unit body 1, and outlets 2F, 2B, 2R, and 2L for blowing out the conditioned air that has undergone heat exchange with the indoor heat exchanger 20 inside the indoor unit body 1 to the indoor side.

[0040] The intake grille 2a is positioned on the underside of the indoor unit body 1 so as to cover the intake port 13a of the bell mouth 13. The air outlets 2F, 2B, 2R, and 2L are provided at multiple locations around the intake grille 2a, and in this embodiment, they are positioned directly below the front portion 10a, rear portion 10B, right side portion 10R, and left side portion 10L of the housing 10, respectively. Each air outlet 2F, 2B, 2R, and 2L communicates with the ventilation passage P formed between the indoor heat exchanger 20 and the peripheral wall portion 11w of the insulated block 11, and the blower 30 drives the conditioned air that has been heat-exchanged with the refrigerant flowing through the indoor heat exchanger 20 into the room.

[0041] [Refrigerant Sensor] The indoor unit 100 of this embodiment further includes a refrigerant sensor 50 equipped with a sensor element 55 for detecting refrigerant leaked into the machine room 16. The refrigerant sensor 50 is attached to a part of the side surface (front surface 10F) of the housing 10 that partitions the machine room 16 (see Figures 1, 3 to 6). In this embodiment, the refrigerant sensor 50 is attached to a recess 10Fv provided at the end of the left side surface 10L of the front surface 10F.

[0042] As shown in Fig. 5, the recess 10Fv of the front portion 10F includes a first front portion 10F1 (first surface) and a second front portion 12F2 (second surface) intersecting the first front portion 10F1. The first front portion 12F1 corresponds to a side wall 16S of a machine room 16, and the side wall 16S includes a peripheral wall corner 11wc of a heat insulator block 11 and an exterior panel 12 that covers the outer surface thereof and forms the front portion 10F. The second front portion 10F2 is provided on the right side surface 10R side of the first front portion 10F1.

[0043] The side wall portion 16S forming the first front portion 10F1 is provided with an opening 16Sh communicating with the machine room 16, and the refrigerant sensor 50 is disposed outside the opening 16Sh (on the recess 10Fv side). The opening 16Sh is formed at a position above the upper end of the peripheral wall 40w of the drain pan 40.

[0044] In the present embodiment, the opening 16Sh is formed by an opening 11wh provided in the peripheral wall corner 11wc of the heat insulator block 11, and an opening 10Fh provided in the exterior panel 12 (front portion 10F) covering the peripheral wall corner 11wc (see Fig. 5). The size and shape of the opening 16Sh are not particularly limited, and in the present embodiment, the opening 16Sh is formed, for example, in a rectangular shape (see Fig. 6).

[0045] Next, details of the refrigerant sensor 50 will be described. Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of a main portion of the indoor unit 100 when the recess 10Fv is viewed from a direction orthogonal to the first front portion 10F1, Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the refrigerant sensor 50, Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the sensor support 52, and Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C in Fig. 7.

[0046] The refrigerant sensor 50 includes a lid portion 51 and a sensor support 52.

[0047] The lid portion 51 is attached to the first front portion 10F1 to form a part of the housing 10 (first front portion 10F1). The lid portion 51 includes a case portion 511 that forms a space 51s communicating with the machine room 16 via the opening 16Sh, and a flange portion 512 provided around the case portion 511.

[0048] When the refrigerant sensor 50 is attached, the case portion 511 is a rectangular parallelepiped box body having an open surface facing the first front surface portion 10F1. The flange portion 512 is provided along the opening surface of the case portion 511 in parallel to the vertical direction and the horizontal direction of the casing 10, and a screw insertion hole 51a through which a screw for joining the lid portion 51 to the first front surface portion 10F1 at the peripheral edge portion of the opening 16Sh is inserted is provided at an arbitrary position of the flange portion 512.

[0049] The sensor support 52 is accommodated in the space 51s of the case portion 511, and supports a sensor substrate 56 (support substrate) on which the sensor element 55 and its peripheral components (electronic components) 57 are mounted. As shown in FIG. 9, the sensor support 52 includes an accommodation portion 521 that accommodates the sensor substrate 56, and a pair of holding claw portions 522, 523, 525 that hold the sensor substrate 56 accommodated in the accommodation portion 521. The sensor support 52 includes a pair of engaging claws 524 that engage with engaging holes 514 (only one side is shown in FIG. 8) provided on both sides of the case portion 511. The sensor support 52 is fixed to the lid portion 51 by the engaging action between these engaging claws 524 and the engaging holes 514.

[0050] The sensor substrate 56 is connected to an electrical component box 33 (see FIG. 2) installed inside the casing 10 via unillustrated wiring. The electrical component box 33 stores a control device that controls the operation of each part of the indoor unit 100 such as the motor 32 of the blower 30, and determines whether there is refrigerant leakage based on the detection signal from the sensor element 55.

[0051] The sensor element 55 is accommodated in the space 51s of the lid portion 51 via the sensor substrate 56 and the sensor support 52. The sensor element 55 has a cylindrical shape including a base end portion 55b connected to the sensor substrate 56 and a distal end portion having an air intake portion 55a. The sensor element 55 is disposed in the case portion 511 with the air intake portion 55a facing the machine room 16 side.

[0052] [Operation of the Indoor Unit] In this embodiment, the indoor unit 100 is configured as described above, and since the machine room 16 is sealed between the peripheral wall corner 11Wc, the drain pan 40 and the partition plate 14, and the airflow between it and the heat exchange chamber 15 is blocked, even if refrigerant leaks from the joints between the side ends 21 and 22 of the indoor heat exchanger 20 and the refrigerant pipes 21p and 22p connected thereto, it is possible to suppress the leaked refrigerant from leaking into the heat exchange chamber 16.

[0053] In this embodiment, the refrigerant sensor 50 is mounted on the first front portion 10F1 so as to be located on the outside of the machine room 16, with the opening 16Sh in between. Since the space 51s of the cover portion 51 is in communication with the machine room 16 through the opening 16Sh, refrigerant leaking into the machine room 16 from the joints between the ends 21, 22 of the indoor heat exchanger 20 and the refrigerant pipes 21p, 22p is detected by the refrigerant sensor 50 (sensor element 55) through this opening 16Sh. Furthermore, since the sensor element 55 can be replaced by attaching or detaching the cover portion 51, the maintainability of the refrigerant sensor 50 is improved.

[0054] According to this embodiment, since the sensor element 55 is positioned outside the opening 16Sh, condensation water dripping from refrigerant piping and the like inside the machine room 16 is less likely to adhere to the air intake port 55a of the sensor element 55. This suppresses malfunction of the sensor element 55 or a decrease in the performance of detecting refrigerant due to condensation water adhering to the air intake port 55.

[0055] Furthermore, since the sensor element 55 is positioned in the space 51s of the case portion 511 that communicates with the machine room 16 through the opening 16Sh, and is configured to detect the refrigerant guided into the space 51s through the opening 16Sh, even if the sensor element 55 is positioned outside the machine room 16, the refrigerant leaking into the machine room 16 can be reliably detected by the sensor element 55.

[0056] In this embodiment, the first end 21 and the second end 22 of the indoor heat exchanger 20 are positioned to face the machine room 16, and the refrigerant piping 21p connected to the first end 21 and the refrigerant piping 22p connected to the second end 22 are both located in the machine room 16. In this way, all locations where refrigerant may leak, such as the connection point between the first end 21 and the refrigerant piping 21p, and the connection point between the second end 22 and the refrigerant piping 22p, are located inside the machine room 16, making it easier for the refrigerant sensor 50 to detect refrigerant leaking from these locations.

[0057] Furthermore, the gas pipe distributor, liquid pipe distributor, and expansion valve 24, which are connected to the refrigerant pipes 21p and 22p by welding or the like, are also located in the machine room 16, making it easier for the refrigerant sensor 50 to detect refrigerant leaks from these connection points. In addition, the expansion valve 24 can also be located outside the machine room 16, but by locating the expansion valve 24 in the machine room 16 as in this embodiment, it becomes easier for the refrigerant sensor 50 to detect refrigerant leaks from the expansion valve 24.

[0058] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, since the opening 16Sh is formed above the upper end of the drain pan 40, the sensor element 55 of the refrigerant sensor 50, which is installed to cover the opening 16Sh, is also located above the upper end of the drain pan 40. This prevents condensation water accumulated on the dew receiving surface 41 of the drain pan 40 from entering the space 51s of the refrigerant sensor 50, thereby further suppressing malfunction of the sensor element 55 or a decrease in the performance of detecting refrigerant.

[0059] In this embodiment, as shown in Figures 5 and 7, the tip of the sensor element 55 (air intake portion 55a) is positioned so as not to face the opening 16Sh when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the first front portion 10F1. That is, the sensor element 55 is positioned in the space 51s of the lid portion 51 such that the air intake portion 55a faces the machine room 16 across the first front portion 10F1 in the above direction. This prevents condensation from leaking out of the machine room 16 through the opening 16Sh to the outside of the housing 10, from directly adhering to the air intake portion 55a of the sensor element 55.

[0060] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 10, the lowest surface inside the case portion 511 is formed by a slope 511T that inclines toward the opening 16Sh. As a result, even if the leaked water enters the case portion 511, the condensation water on this slope 511T can be quickly discharged into the machine room 16 through the opening 16Sh, thereby preventing the accumulation of condensation water inside the case portion 511. The inclination angle θ of the slope 511T from the horizontal plane is not particularly limited and can be, for example, about 2 to 5 degrees.

[0061] On the other hand, as shown in Figure 7, liquid refrigerant piping 26L and gas refrigerant piping 26G, which are part of the refrigerant piping 21p connected to the first end 21 of the indoor heat exchanger 20, protrude from the machine room 16 toward the outside of the housing 10 on the first front section 10F1. These liquid refrigerant piping 26L and gas refrigerant piping 26G are connecting piping sections that connect to refrigerant piping connected to an outdoor unit (not shown). As shown in the figure, the gas refrigerant piping 26G (second connecting piping section) is positioned closer to the second front section 10F2 than the liquid refrigerant piping 26L (first connecting piping section), and is located above the liquid refrigerant piping 26L.

[0062] In this embodiment, the cover portion 51 of the refrigerant sensor 50 is positioned in the area between the second front portion 10F2 and the liquid refrigerant piping 26L and the gaseous refrigerant piping 26G. This allows the refrigerant sensor 50 to be positioned by effectively utilizing the limited space between these connecting pipes and the second front portion 10F2, even when the two connecting pipes (liquid refrigerant piping 26L and gaseous refrigerant piping 26G) pass through the first front portion 10F1.

[0063] Furthermore, pipe connection parts VL and VG are attached to the ends of the liquid refrigerant pipe 26L and the gas refrigerant pipe 26G, respectively, to be fastened to pipes that connect to the outdoor unit. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 3, the cover portion 51 of the refrigerant sensor 50 is positioned on the first front portion 10F1 side of these pipe connection parts VL and VG. This prevents interference between the cover portion 51 and tools such as wrenches used when connecting the refrigerant pipes at the pipe connection parts VG and VL, thereby ensuring ease of installation of the indoor unit.

[0064] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and can be modified in various ways.

[0065] For example, in the above embodiment, a ceiling cassette type four-way airflow indoor unit was used as an example, but the invention is not limited to this and can be applied to other indoor units such as ceiling-mounted indoor units and duct-type indoor units that are exposed in the indoor space.

[0066] In the above embodiment, an opening 16Sh for detecting refrigerant leaked into the machine room 16 is provided on the front part 10F (first front part 10F1) of the housing 10. However, the position of the opening 16Sh is not particularly limited as long as it is in communication with the machine room 16, and may be provided on the second front part 10F, the left side part 10L, or the top plate part 11u, etc.

[0067] 1...Indoor unit body 2...Decorative panel (bottom) 2F, 2B, 2R, 2L...Air outlet 10...Housing 10F...Front section 10F1...First front section (first side) 10F2...Second front section (second side) 10Fv...Recess 13a...Intake port 14...Partition plate 15...Heat exchange chamber 16...Machine room 16S...Side wall section 16Sh...Opening 20...Indoor heat exchanger 21...First side end 22...Second side end 21p, 22p...Refrigerant piping 24...Expansion valve 26L...Liquid refrigerant piping (connecting piping section) 26G...Gas refrigerant piping (connecting piping section) 30...Blower 40...Drain pan 50...Refrigerant sensor 51...Lid section 51s...Space section 52...Sensor support 55...Sensor element 55a...Air intake section 56...Sensor board (support board) 100...Indoor unit 511...Case section 512...Flange section VG, VL...Pipe connection section

Claims

1. An indoor unit of an air conditioning system comprising: an indoor heat exchanger; a blower that forms an airflow through the indoor heat exchanger; a partition plate that separates a heat exchange chamber in which the indoor heat exchanger and the blower are located from a machine room in which refrigerant piping connected to the indoor heat exchanger is located; an opening formed in the side wall of the machine room; and a refrigerant sensor located outside the opening that detects refrigerant leaking into the machine room.

2. An indoor unit of an air conditioning system according to claim 1, wherein the housing further has a bottom portion having an intake port communicating with the heat exchange chamber and an outlet provided around the intake port and communicating with the heat exchange chamber, the indoor heat exchanger is formed in an annular shape so as to surround the blower, and refrigerant piping connected to one side end and the other side end of the indoor heat exchanger is arranged in the machine room.

3. An indoor unit of an air conditioning system according to claim 2, wherein the housing further comprises a lid portion that covers the opening, the lid portion comprising a case portion that forms a space communicating with the machine room through the opening, and a flange portion provided around the case portion and joined to the peripheral edge of the opening, and the refrigerant sensor is housed in the space portion of the indoor unit of the air conditioning system.

4. An indoor unit of an air conditioning system according to claim 3, further comprising a drain pan disposed inside the housing for receiving condensation water dripping from the indoor heat exchanger and the refrigerant piping, wherein the refrigerant sensor is located above the upper end of the drain pan.

5. An indoor unit of an air conditioning system according to claim 3, wherein the housing further has a recess including a first surface provided on a part of the side surface that partitions the machine room and forming the side wall, and a second surface intersecting the first surface, and the refrigerant piping includes two connecting piping sections, each having a piping connection section that penetrates the first surface and connects to refrigerant piping connected to an outdoor unit, the two connecting piping sections having a first connecting piping section and a second connecting piping section that is positioned on the second surface side of the first connecting piping section and above the first connecting piping section, and the lid is an indoor unit of an air conditioning system positioned in the region between the second surface and the two connecting piping sections.

6. An indoor unit of an air conditioning system according to claim 5, wherein the lid portion is positioned on the first surface side of the pipe connection portion of the two connecting pipes.

7. An indoor unit of an air conditioning system according to claim 3, wherein the lowest surface inside the case portion is inclined toward the opening.

8. An indoor unit of an air conditioning system according to claim 5, wherein the refrigerant sensor comprises a sensor element and a support substrate for supporting the sensor element, the sensor element comprises a base portion connected to the support substrate and a tip portion having an air intake portion, and the air intake portion is positioned so as not to face the opening when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the first surface.

9. An indoor unit of an air conditioning system according to claim 2, wherein an expansion valve connected to a portion of the refrigerant piping is further disposed in the machine room.

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