Outdoor unit of conditioning apparatus

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to an outdoor unit of an air conditioning apparatus and, more particularly, to improvement of a drain water discharge structure.

2. Description of the Related Art

[0002] When a heating mode of operation is performed in an outdoor unit of a separate type air conditioning apparatus, a heat exchanger is deprived of heat by a turning fan. At this time, the heat exchanger condenses the water vapor in the air, causing its surface to be frosted. As time progresses, such frost develops and finally impedes air flow through the heat exchanger and prevents heat from moving. This inhibits heat exchange and heating in a room. To avoid this, the outdoor unit generally performs defrosting operation for a predetermined period of time, thereby melting the frost for resumption of heat exchange. After that, heating and defrosting modes of operation are repeated.

[0003]  During the defrosting mode of operation, the frost on the external surface of the heat exchanger melts and drops down as drain water droplets. Conventional outdoor units have a drain water discharge conduit provided on its bottom plate beneath the heat exchanger for discharging the drain water. Such a drain water discharge conduit has a horizontal section formed at a lowest portion thereof, the horizontal section having a drain hole through which the drain water is discharged (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-188837 (Fig. 1) and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-213779 (Figs. 6 and 8)).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] Drain water droplets from such an outdoor unit drop onto the discharge conduit into the drain hole through which the drain water is discharged to the outside. However, in a cold area the drain water may freeze before reaching the drain hole at low ambient temperatures. In particular, the drain water may freeze in the horizontal section around the drain hole, blocking the drain hole or the drain water discharge conduit. If this happens, not only does the frozen drain water inhibit the discharge of the drain water to the outside, but also may cause the horizontal section to further expand to such a degree that the flow of the drain water is degraded, which causes a great amount of water remaining inside the unit to more and more tend to freeze. In addition, each time heating and defrosting modes of operation are repeated, the frozen drain water further develops, causing the heat exchanger to malfunction and damaging the outdoor unit.
WO 01/65184 A2 discloses an outdoor unit for an air conditioner. It comprises a unit main body which is a housing having a base plate, a compressor, a heat exchanger and a blower which are mounted and fixed on the base plate of the unit main body, and fixing legs which are provided on the unit main body and to be fixed on a mount part by means of fixing elements, wherein the fixing legs are formed as one body with the base plate of the unit main body.

[0005] The present invention has been achieved to solve the above-described problems. A first object of the present invention is to provide an outdoor unit which ensures that drain water is discharged on a rapid manner, and a drain hole is prevented from freezing so that the drain water can be discharged even in a cold area.

[0006] A second object of the present invention is to provide an outdoor unit which has a bottom plate having a shallow depth, thereby improving the workability as well as strength.

[0007] An outdoor unit of the present invention is described in the independent claim 1. Therein, aspects of the present invention are as follows:

An outdoor unit of an air conditioning apparatus according to the present invention includes a bottom plate on which at least a heat exchanger is placed, a conduit forming wall formed upright on the bottom plate along the heat exchanger, and a water conduit formed by the conduit forming wall which has a drain hole and a downwardly tilted surface continuous with the drain hole.

[0008] According to an outdoor unit of an air conditioning apparatus of the present invention, a bottom plate has a conduit forming wall formed upright thereon along the heat exchanger, and a water conduit formed by the conduit forming wall has a drain hole and a downwardly tilted surface continuous with the drain hole, which allows drain water droplets to flow to the drain hole without reducing its flow rate. This ensures that drain water passages concentrate and that drain water reaches the drain hole without freezing, thereby preventing the blockage of the drain hole or the water conduit. Also, the conduit forming wall formed upright on the bottom plate along the heat exchanger serves as a reinforcement rib of the bottom plate. Accordingly, workability as well as strength can be improved without deepening the bottom plate in the direction of the depth.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] 

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a bottom plate of an outdoor unit of an air conditioning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the bottom plate of an outdoor unit of an air conditioning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, on which a heat exchanger and a compressor are mounted;

Fig. 3 is a top view showing the bottom plate on which a blower and a partition in addition to those as shown in Fig. 2 are mounted; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the entire outdoor unit of an air conditioning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] The present invention is described based on an embodiment as shown in the figures.

[0011] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a bottom plate of an outdoor unit of an air conditioning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the bottom plate on which a heat exchanger and a compressor are mounted. Fig. 3 is a top view showing the bottom plate on which a blower and a partition in addition to those as shown in Fig. 2 are mounted. Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the entire outdoor unit.

[0012] An outdoor unit 100 of an air conditioning apparatus according to this embodiment includes a heat exchanger 2, a compressor 3, a blower 4, and a partition 5 mounted on a steel bottom plate 1 in the form of a rectangular solid, as shown in Figs. 1 to 4. These components are enclosed by an enclosure constructed of a peripheral wall 6 and a top plate 7.

[0013] The bottom plate 1 includes a frame la (hereinafter referred to as "peripheral frame") surrounding the bottom plate 1 and a conduit forming wall 1c formed upright along the heat exchanger 2. A water conduit 1d is formed by partitioning with the conduit forming wall 1c and the peripheral frame 1a. The conduit forming wall 1c prevents drain water from flowing into below the heat exchanger 2 or out of the water conduit.1d. The water conduit 1d has a normally open drain hole 1b for discharging drain water to the outside and a downwardly tilted surface 1e (equal to the bottom face of the water conduit) continuous with the drain hole lb. The bottom plate 1 is also formed as a whole to be downwardly tilted toward the drain hole 1b.

[0014] The water conduit 1d has a plurality of heat exchanger mounting bases 1f formed at an edge and a corner thereof. The heat exchanger 2 is placed and secured on the mounting bases 1f. The mounting bases 1f are formed to have a height smaller than that of the adjacent conduit forming wall 1c or the peripheral frame 1a. The bottom plate 1 has the peripheral frame 1a, the conduit forming wall 1c, the tilted surface 1e, and the heat exchanger mounting bases 1f integrally formed thereon by press working.

[0015] When the air conditioning apparatus according to this embodiment performs heating operation, the surface of the heat exchanger 2 in the outdoor unit 100 becomes frosted. Defrosting mode of operation is performed for a certain period of time to melt the frost on the surface. Water generated by such defrosting mode of operation drops as drain water onto the downwardly tilted surface 1e continuous with the drain hole 1b in the water conduit 1d on the bottom plate 1 and is guided to the drain hole 1b. Accordingly, such drain water flows at a high rate only below the heat exchanger 2, while concentrating. This prevents the drain water from freezing in the water conduit 1d before it reaches the drain hole 1b even at low ambient temperatures in a cold area, thereby securely discharging the drain water.

[0016] The mounting bases 1f formed to have a height smaller than that of the adjacent conduit forming wall 1c or the peripheral frame 1a ensures that the drain water downwardly flowing on the external surface of the heat exchanger 2 drops onto the water conduit 1d through the lower end of the heat exchanger 2.

[0017] As described above, the outdoor unit of an air conditioning apparatus according to this embodiment includes the downwardly tilted surface 1e continuous with the drain hole 1b and the conduit forming wall 1c formed upright along the heat exchanger 2 so as to prevent the drain water from flowing other than below the heat exchanger 2, which allows drain water passages to concentrate, raises the drain water flow rate, and prevents the drain water from freezing before it reaches the drain hole 1b, thereby securing that the drain water is discharged to the outside. This prevents the drain hole 1b and the water conduit 1d from being blocked.

[0018] The conduit forming wall 1c formed to have an upright structure also serves as a reinforcement rib of the bottom plate 1. This improves workability of steel sheet working (sheet metal working) as well as the strength of the bottom plate 1 without deepening the bottom plate 1 in the direction of the depth.

Claims

1. An outdoor unit (100) of an air conditioning apparatus, comprising:

a bottom plate (1) on which at least a heat exchanger (2) is placed;

a conduit forming wall (1c) formed upright on the bottom plate (1) along the heat exchanger (2);

a water conduit (1d) formed between the conduit forming wall (1c) and a peripheral frame (1a) of the bottom plate (1), the water conduit (1d) having a drain hole (1b) and a bottom face (1e) continuous with the drain hole (1b) ;

characterized in that
the bottom face (1e) is downwardly tilted, and
water formed on the heat exchanger (2) drops on to the downwardly tilted bottom face (1e) and flows only below the heat exchanger (2) to the drain hole (1b), thereby allowing water to concentrate before reaching the drain hole (1b).

2. The outdoor unit of an air conditioner of claim 1,
wherein the conduit forming wall (1c) serves as a reinforcement rib of the bottom plate (1).

Ansprüche

1. Eine Außeneinheit (100) eines Klimagerätes, umfassend;

eine Bodenplatte (1), auf der zumindest ein Wärmetauscher (2) platziert ist;

eine leitungsformende Wand (1c), die aufrecht auf der Bodenplatte (1) längs des Wärmetauschers (2) ausgeformt ist;

eine Wasserleitung (1d) ausgeformt zwischen der leitungsformenden Wand (1c) und einem peripheren Rahmen (1a) der Bodenplatte (1), wobei die Wasserleitung (1d) ein Abflussloch (1b) und eine Bodenfront (1e) kontinuierlich mit dem Abflussloch (1b) aufweist;

dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass
die Bodenfront (1e) abwärts geneigt ist, und
dass Wasser, das sich auf dem Wärmetauscher (2) bildet, auf die abwärts geneigte Bodenfront (1e) fällt und lediglich unter dem Wärmetauscher (2) zu dem Abflussloch (1b) fließt, wodurch es Wasser erlaubt wird, sich zu konzentrieren, bevor es das Abflusslach (1b) erreicht.

2. Die Außeneinheit eines Klimagerätes gemäß Anspruch 1,
wobei die leitungsformende Wand (1c) als eine Verstärkungsrippe der Bodenplatte (1) dient.

Revendications

1. Unité externe (100) d'un appareil de climatisation comprenant :

une plaque inférieure (1) sur laquelle au moins un échangeur de chaleur (2) est placé ;

une paroi formant conduit (1c) formée droite sur la plaque inférieure (1) le long de échangeur de chaleur (2) ;

un conduit d'eau (1d) formé entre la paroi formant conduit (1c) et un bâti périphérique (1a) de la plaque inférieure (1), le conduit d'eau (1d) ayant un trou de drain (1b) et une face inférieure (1e) continue avec le trou de drain (1b) ;

caractérisée en ce que :

la face inférieure (1e) est inclinée vers le bas, et

l'eau formée sur l'échangeur de chaleur (2) tombe sur la face inférieure (1e) inclinée vers le bas et s'écoule uniquement au-deseous de l'échangeur de chaleur (2) vers le trou de drain (1b), permettant ainsi à l'eau de se concentrer avant d'atteindre le trou de drain (1b).

2. Unité externe d'un dispositif de climatisation selon la revendication 1, dans laquelle la paroi formant conduit (1c) sert de nervure de renforcement de la plaque inférieure (1).

Drawing