Air Conditioner Outdoor Unit Cable Guide for Refrigerant Leakage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air conditioners using flammable refrigerants face challenges in stability, risk of explosion, discharge of leaked refrigerant, accessibility to components, and excessive disassembly points, particularly in outdoor units.
Innovation Solution
The outdoor unit of the air conditioner incorporates a cable guide that blocks leaked refrigerant from entering case holes, includes a cable fixer to secure the cable, and features a structured housing to improve accessibility and reduce disassembly points.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the outdoor unit uses a conventional structure without a cable guide, then the cable passage is open and allows easy cable installation, but leaked refrigerant can be introduced into the case holes along the cable passage
Solution Approach 1:
The cable guide acts as an intermediary component between the cable passage and the case hole. It blocks the direct path for refrigerant to reach the case hole while still allowing the cable to pass through. The guide opening in the cable guide is positioned to prevent refrigerant from being introduced into the case hole along the cable passage, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and structural complexity.
2Ease of operation
If the outdoor unit has multiple disassembly points for component access, then components can be accessed from multiple directions, but the number of disassembly points increases making maintenance more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is segmented into distinct sections: a first housing section containing the compressor and refrigerant pipe, and a second housing section containing the electrical equipment case. This segmentation allows the second housing section to be accessed independently for electrical component maintenance without disassembling the entire unit or the first housing section, thus improving ease of operation while minimizing the number of disassembly points required.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present disclosure relates to an air conditioner including an indoor unit and an outdoor unit connected to the outdoor unit. The outdoor unit includes: an outdoor unit housing and a refrigerant pipe disposed inside the outdoor unit housing; case holes configured to allow a cable to pass through and electrical equipment cases disposed inside the outdoor unit housing; a cable guide disposed on a cable passage through which the cable passes toward the case holes, wherein the cable guide includes a guide body configured of cover the cable passage to block a leaked refrigerant from being introduced into the case holes along the cable passage when a refrigerant leaks from the refrigerant pipe. In addition, the cable guide includes a guide opening formed in the guide body to allow the cable to pass through, and a cable fixer coupled with the cable and inserted into the guide opening to fix the cable to the guide body and cover the guide opening.