Refrigerant distribution unit for air conditioner
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing refrigerant distribution units face difficulties in installation, particularly in limited spaces, due to the equal lengths of adjacent gas and liquid pipes which create obstacles and restrict tool access.
Innovation Solution
The refrigerant distribution unit design features branch gas and liquid pipes with increasing lengths, spaced apart and parallel to each other, allowing for non-overlapping joints and improved accessibility during installation, with the option to hang the unit from the ceiling for easier maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the gas pipe and liquid pipe of adjacent branch refrigerant pipes are made equal in length, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the pipes create obstacles during installation in limited spaces and restrict tool access
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by making the gas pipes and liquid pipes have different lengths instead of equal lengths. Specifically, the gas pipe is made longer than the liquid pipe, creating an asymmetric configuration that allows installers to access and work on the pipes more easily in confined spaces without the pipes interfering with each other or blocking tool access
2Ease of operation
If the branch refrigerant pipes are arranged horizontally to facilitate maintenance access, then maintenance becomes easier, but the pipes occupy more horizontal space which may not be available in limited installation sites
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes vertical arrangement of the branch refrigerant pipes instead of horizontal arrangement. By extending the pipes vertically from the distribution portion, the design reduces horizontal space occupation while still allowing maintenance access from above or below, effectively transitioning the problem from a two-dimensional horizontal plane to a three-dimensional vertical configuration
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigerant distribution unit for an air conditioner, includes: a refrigerant pipe provided on an outdoor unit side; branch refrigerant pipes provided on an indoor unit side; a distribution portion which distributes a refrigerant from the refrigerant pipe to the branch refrigerant pipes; a main unit which stores the distribution portion and includes a first side face from which the refrigerant pipe is drawn out and a second side face from which the branch refrigerant pipes are drawn out; and an electric component box. Each of the branch refrigerant pipes includes a branch gas pipe and a branch liquid pipe which are drawn out from the second side face. The adjacent branch gas pipes are disposed parallel such that lengths of the branch gas pipes increase sequentially from one toward the other, and the adjacent branch liquid pipes are disposed parallel such that lengths of the branch liquid pipes similarly increase sequentially.