Outdoor Unit Control Board Layout for Easier Harness Connection
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Solution Overview
Problem
In outdoor air conditioner units, the reduced space for the control board due to increased heat exchanger size makes it difficult to connect a harness from the front face side, as the distance between the control board and the terminal block attaching plate is short, leading to operational challenges during assembly.
Innovation Solution
The control board is slanted to oppose the terminal block attaching plate, which is rotatable away from the control board, increasing the distance and allowing easier connection of a harness during assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the heat exchanger is increased in size to improve heat exchange efficiency, then the heat exchange efficiency is improved, but the space for the control board is reduced, making it difficult to connect a harness from the front face side
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal block attaching plate is designed to be rotatable relative to the control board, allowing dynamic adjustment of the distance between them. During normal operation, the plate maintains a compact position, but during assembly, it can be rotated to increase the distance, enabling easy harness connection from the front face side without compromising the compact design achieved by the increased heat exchanger size
Solution Approach 2:
The solution moves the adjustment mechanism from the horizontal plane to the rotational dimension. By making the terminal block attaching plate rotatable, the design adds a rotational degree of freedom that allows the distance between the control board and terminal block to be adjusted without changing the overall footprint or compromising the compact layout resulting from the larger heat exchanger
2Area of stationary object
If the control board is provided to be slanted to the terminal block attaching plate to fit reduced space, then the space utilization is improved, but the distance between the control board and terminal block attaching plate becomes short, making harness connection difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The rotatable terminal block attaching plate provides a dynamic adjustment mechanism that allows the distance between the control board and terminal block to be increased temporarily during assembly operations, while maintaining the compact slanted configuration during normal operation, thus resolving the contradiction between space utilization and ease of harness connection
Solution Approach 2:
The design allows the terminal block attaching plate to be positioned in a preliminary configuration during assembly where the distance is increased for easy harness connection, before being finalized in the compact slanted position for normal operation, thus accommodating both requirements at different stages
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2(a)~2(b)
Figure 3
AI summary
It is difficult to connect a harness with a control board from the front face side of an outdoor unit. An outdoor unit of the present invention includes: a casing which houses a compressor and a heat exchanger; a terminal block attaching plate 19 which is provided in the vicinity of a side face of the casing and includes a terminal block 19a to which a power source line from an indoor unit is connected; and a control board 17 which is provided in the casing, opposes the terminal block attaching plate 19, and is slanted so that the distance between the control board 17 and the terminal block attaching plate 19 decreases toward a back face side. The terminal block attaching plate 19 is capable of rotating away from the control board 17.