JP7086292B2 - Manufacturing method of air conditioner and air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an air conditioner for preventing water leakage from a drain pan and a method for manufacturing the air conditioner.

Patent Document 1 discloses an air conditioner having a drain pan that receives drain water generated from a heat exchanger. In the air conditioner of Patent Document 1, the refrigerant pipe connected to the heat exchanger penetrates the drain pan in order to facilitate the routing of the refrigerant pipe. Further, in the air conditioner of Patent Document 1, an inundation prevention weir surrounding the penetration portion of the refrigerant pipe is provided in the drain pan, and the outer periphery of the inundation prevention weir is covered with a flange connecting the refrigerant pipes to cover the outer periphery of the inundation prevention weir. Prevents water leakage from the penetration point.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-202893

The air conditioner may be required to clean the heat exchanger in order to maintain the performance of the heat exchanger. However, in a situation where a large amount of drainage flows into the drain pan, such as when cleaning a heat exchanger, in the air conditioner of Patent Document 1, the drainage can enter the flange and the inundation prevention dam and leak from the drain pan. There is sex.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner and a method for manufacturing an air conditioner capable of preventing drainage from infiltrating into an inundation prevention weir or the like of a drain pan. do.

The air conditioner of the present invention includes a heat exchanger, a drain pan provided below the heat exchanger, and a relay member arranged on the upper surface of the drain pan and relaying a refrigerant pipe connected to the heat exchanger. The drain pan is provided with a surrounding wall that surrounds a part of the peripheral area of the upper surface of the drain pan, and a first flange that is outside the surrounding wall and is provided at a position separated from the lower end of the surrounding wall. The relay member is connected to the refrigerant pipe and penetrates the drain pan from the inside of the surrounding wall, and a box body through which the relay pipe penetrates and is welded and fixed and has an open lower surface. It has a second flange provided at the open end of the box body, which is outside the box body, and the second flange is fixed to the first flange.

The method for manufacturing an air conditioner of the present invention relays a heat exchanger, a drain pan provided below the heat exchanger, and a refrigerant pipe fixed to the upper surface of the drain pan and connected to the heat exchanger. A method for manufacturing an air exchanger provided with a relay member, wherein a through hole provided in the relay member and penetrating the relay pipe connected to the refrigerant pipe is provided in a part of a region on the peripheral edge side of the upper surface of the drain pan. The step of forming, the step of forming the surrounding wall surrounding the through hole in a part of the peripheral area on the upper surface of the drain pan, and the first step on the outside of the surrounding wall from a position separated from the lower end of the surrounding wall. A step of forming a flange, a step of forming a box body having an open lower surface, a step of forming a second flange on the outside of the box body from the open end of the box body, and a step of forming a burring hole in the box body. , The step of penetrating the relay pipe and welding, the step of passing the relay pipe through the through hole, and the step of fixing the second flange to the first flange.

In the air conditioner and the method for manufacturing an air conditioner of the present invention, the fixing position of the first flange and the second flange is at a position separated from the lower end of the surrounding wall. Therefore, since the water can be drained from the drain pan before the drainage reaches the fixed position between the first flange and the second flange, it is possible to prevent the water from leaking from the drain pan.

It is a perspective view which showed an example of the internal structure of the air conditioner which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is an enlarged view of the area A of FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the internal structure of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment as viewed from above the drain pan. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the drain pan which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the relay member which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. It is a perspective view which showed an example of the internal structure of the air conditioner which concerns on Embodiment 2. FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view of a part of the internal structure of the air conditioner according to the second embodiment as viewed from above the bottom panel. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

Embodiment 1.
The air conditioner 100 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the internal structure of the air conditioner 100 according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 1, the air blowing direction of the air conditioner 100 is indicated by a white block arrow. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the region A of FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the internal structure of the air conditioner 100 according to the first embodiment as viewed from above the drain pan 3. In the drawings below, the dimensional relationships and shapes of each component may differ from the actual ones. Further, in the following drawings, the same members or parts or members or parts having the same functions are designated by the same reference numerals or omitted. Further, the positional relationship between the constituent members of the air conditioner 100, for example, the positional relationship such as up / down, left / right, front / back, etc., is, in principle, the positional relationship when the air conditioner 100 is installed in a working state.

FIG. 1 shows a floor-standing indoor unit as an example of the air conditioner 100, and shows the internal structure of the indoor unit with the front panel removed. The front panel is not shown. The air conditioner 100 includes a heat exchanger 1 and a drain pan 3 provided below the heat exchanger 1. Further, the air conditioner 100 includes a housing 5 that houses the heat exchanger 1 and the drain pan 3.

The heat exchanger 1 is a heat transfer device that transfers and exchanges heat energy between two fluids having different heat energies. As the heat exchanger 1, for example, an air-cooled heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the air passing through the heat exchanger 1 and the refrigerant flowing inside the heat exchanger 1 is used. As an example of an air-cooled heat exchanger, for example, a plurality of plate-shaped fins arranged in parallel and a heat transfer tube penetrating the plurality of plate-shaped fins are provided, and air passing between the plate-shaped fins and heat transfer. Examples thereof include fin-and-tube heat exchangers that exchange heat with a refrigerant flowing through a heat tube. When the heat exchanger 1 is a fin-and-tube type heat exchanger, the heat exchanger 1 is arranged so that the surface of the plate-shaped fins faces in the vertical direction and the central axis of the heat transfer tube faces in the horizontal direction. The heat exchanger 1 is formed as, for example, a flat plate heat exchanger 1 and is screwed to the frame 5a of the housing 5 so as to incline downward from the front to the rear of the air conditioner 100. It is fixed. The shape of the heat exchanger 1 is not limited to the above. For example, in the heat exchanger 1, a plurality of flat plate heat exchangers 1 are arranged so that the fin surface has a V shape or a W shape. It may be a heat exchange unit.

The drain pan 3 is provided below the heat exchanger 1 to discharge the drain water generated by dew condensation or the like of the refrigerant pipe 7a connected to the heat exchanger 1 or the heat exchanger 1 to the outside of the air conditioner 100. It is a water receiving container. The drain pan 3 is fixed to the frame 5a inside the housing 5 by screwing or the like, and vertically partitions the internal space of the housing 5. In the space below the drain pan 3, a drain pipe 3a connected to the drain pan 3 and draining the drain water received by the drain pan 3 to the outside is drawn into the space. Further, a refrigerant pipe 7b from the outside of the housing 5, for example, a refrigerant pipe 7b from the outdoor unit is drawn into the space below the drain pan 3. That is, the space below the drain pan 3 is used as a piping space for accommodating the drainage pipe 3a and the refrigerant pipe 7b drawn from the outside of the housing 5.

Further, a relay member 10 is provided on the peripheral edge side of the upper portion of the drain pan 3. The relay member 10 has a relay pipe 11 that penetrates the drain pan 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the relay pipe 11 is connected to the refrigerant pipe 7a connected to the heat exchanger 1 and the refrigerant pipe 7b drawn from the outside of the housing 5. The refrigerant pipes 7a and 7b are connected to the relay pipe 11 by welding, for example, by brazing. Other detailed structures of the relay member 10 will be described later.

By providing the relay member 10 in the drain pan 3, the refrigerant pipe 7b drawn from the outside of the housing 5 can be accommodated in the space below the drain pan 3, so that the space where the heat exchanger 1 is installed is outside the housing 5. It is not necessary to arrange the refrigerant pipe 7b drawn from the above. Further, since the refrigerant pipe 7a connected to the heat exchanger 1 is relayed by the relay member 10, a component connecting the refrigerant pipe 7b and the refrigerant pipe 7a should be installed in the space where the heat exchanger 1 is installed. Is no longer necessary. Therefore, by providing the relay member 10 on the drain pan 3, workability during maintenance and inspection and cleaning can be improved. In particular, since the refrigerant pipe 7b is housed in the space below the drain pan 3, it is possible to avoid that the cleaning of the heat exchanger 1 and the drain pan 3 becomes complicated due to the arrangement of the refrigerant pipe 7b and the dirt of the refrigerant pipe 7b. can. Therefore, by providing the relay member 10 in the drain pan 3, it is possible to provide an air conditioner 100 that can easily clean the inside.

In addition to the frame 5a described above, the housing 5 forms an outer shell of the housing 5 together with a front panel (not shown for the sake of explanation). And has a bottom panel 5f. The right side panel 5b, the left side panel 5c, the back panel 5d, the top panel 5e, and the bottom panel 5f are made of sheet metal and are fixed to the frame 5a by screwing. The top panel 5e is provided with an outlet 5e1. Further, although not shown, the front panel is provided with a suction port. In the air conditioner 100, the air flowing into the inside of the air conditioner 100 from the suction port of the front panel is heat exchanged by the heat exchanger 1 and blown out from the outlet 5e1 of the top panel 5e.

Further, the air conditioner 100 includes a blower 9 attached to the outlet 5e1 of the top panel 5e. The blower 9 is a rotation that attracts air from the suction port of the front panel and sends air to the air outlet 5e1 of the top panel 5e to send air from the suction port of the front panel to the air outlet 5e1 of the top panel 5e. It is a machine. As the blower 9, for example, a centrifugal fan such as a sirocco fan is used. In FIG. 1, two blowers 9 are provided in the air conditioner 100, but the present invention is not limited to this, and only one blower 9 may be provided, or three or more blowers 9 may be provided. ..

In the above description, the air conditioner 100 has been described as an indoor unit having an air-cooled heat exchanger, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the air conditioner 100 may be an outdoor unit, a repeater, or an integrated air conditioner. Further, for example, when the air conditioner 100 is used as a repeater, the heat exchanger 1 may be a water-cooled heat exchanger and the blower 9 may be omitted. Further, the air conditioner 100 may have other configurations such as a decompression device.

Next, the detailed structure of the relay member 10 will be described. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the drain pan 3 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the relay member 10 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

The drain pan 3 is provided on the upper surface of the drain pan 3 and has a surrounding wall 31 that surrounds a part of the peripheral side of the upper surface of the drain pan 3. A through hole 3b through which the relay pipe 11 of the relay member 10 penetrates is formed in a part of the peripheral area of the upper surface of the drain pan 3 surrounded by the surrounding wall 31. Further, the drain pan 3 has a first flange 35 which is outside the surrounding wall 31 and is provided at a position separated from the lower end 31a of the surrounding wall 31. The first flange 35 is a mounting member for fixing the relay member 10 to the drain pan 3.

As shown in FIG. 4, for example, the surrounding wall 31 is formed so as to have a rectangular shape in a top view, and is fixed to the drain pan 3 by watertight welding. By fixing the surrounding wall 31 to the drain pan 3 by watertight welding, it is possible to prevent drain water from entering from between the surrounding wall 31 and the drain pan 3 and leaking through the through hole 3b.

The surrounding wall 31 may have another rectangular shape as long as it surrounds a part of the peripheral area of the upper surface of the drain pan 3. Further, the through hole 3b may be a square hole having the same shape as the surrounding wall 31 or a round hole having the same shape as the relay pipe 11 as long as it can penetrate the relay pipe 11. Further, the surrounding wall 31 may be integrally formed by plastically processing the drain pan 3, and the through hole 3b may be formed as the surrounding wall 31 is processed from the drain pan 3.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first flange 35 is formed so as to surround the outer periphery of the surrounding wall 31 in a top view. In FIG. 4, the shape of the first flange 35 in the top view is a hollow rectangular shape, but if it is formed so as to surround the outer periphery of the surrounding wall 31, it can be a shape other than the hollow rectangular shape. The first flange 35 may be connected to the surrounding wall 31 by welding, or may be integrally formed with the surrounding wall 31. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the first flange 35 is formed so as to have an L-shaped cross section, and the cross section facing the surrounding wall 31 can be fixed by welding.

The first flange 35 is provided at a position separated from the lower end 31a of the surrounding wall 31. Even if the amount of water in the drain pan 3 increases due to washing or the like, water does not leak from the drain pan 3 unless the water reaches the position of the first flange 35. Therefore, by providing the first flange 35 at a position away from the lower end 31a of the surrounding wall 31, it is possible to improve the reliability of water leakage from the drain pan 3.

Further, the first flange 35 can be provided at a position separated from the upper end 31b of the surrounding wall 31. When the first flange 35 is provided on the upper end 31b of the surrounding wall 31, the position of the first flange 35 and the position of the upper end 31b of the surrounding wall 31 are the same. Therefore, when the cleaning water for cleaning the air conditioner 100 directly invades from the first flange 35, the invading cleaning water flows from the upper end 31b to the lower end 31a of the surrounding wall 31 without being blocked, and flows through the through hole. Water may leak from 3b. On the other hand, when the first flange 35 is provided at a position separated from the upper end 31b of the surrounding wall 31, there is a distance from the intersection of the first flange 35 with the surrounding wall 31 to the upper end 31b of the surrounding wall 31. Therefore, even when the washing water directly invades from the first flange 35, the invading washing water is blocked by the surrounding wall 31, so that water leakage from the drain pan 3 can be prevented.

The relay member 10 has, in addition to the relay pipe 11 penetrating the drain pan 3 described above, a box body 15 having an open lower surface and a second flange 19 provided at the open end 15a of the box body 15.

A relay pipe 11 penetrates the box body 15 and is welded and fixed. A burring hole 15b1 is formed in the box body 15, and the relay pipe 11 is arranged so as to penetrate the burring hole 15b1. The relay pipe 11 is fixed to the burring hole 15b1 by welding by brazing or the like. The box body 15 has a lid surface 15b and an outer peripheral surface 15c that intersects the lid surface 15b. For example, the burring hole 15b1 is formed on the lid surface 15b by drilling.

Since the relay pipe 11 is welded and fixed to the box body 15, even if the drain water generated in the heat exchanger 1 flows to the relay pipe 11 via the refrigerant pipe 7a, the relay pipe 11 No water leaks to the lower part of the drain pan 3 along the line. Further, when cleaning the inside of the air conditioner 100, even if the cleaning water reaches the burring hole 15b1, it does not leak through the relay pipe 11. Therefore, by welding and fixing the relay pipe 11 to the box body 15, it is possible to prevent the drain water or the washing water from leaking through the relay pipe 11.

As shown in FIG. 6, the relay member 10 can be arranged and fixed on the upper surface of the drain pan 3 inclined in the horizontal direction. By arranging the relay member 10 on the inclined surface of the drain pan 3, the inclined direction of the lid surface 15b can be made the same as the inclined direction of the drain pan 3. Therefore, if the relay member 10 is arranged on the inclined surface of the drain pan 3, the drain water or the washing water can be collected in the drain pan 3 without staying on the upper part of the lid surface 15b. If the inclination direction of the lid surface 15b is the same as the inclination direction of the drain pan 3, the inclination angle of the lid surface 15b with respect to the horizontal direction may be different from the inclination angle of the inclined surface of the drain pan 3.

The second flange 19 is formed on the outside of the box body 15 from the open end 15a of the box body 15. As shown in FIG. 5, the second flange 19 is formed so as to surround the outside of the outer peripheral surface 15c in a top view. In FIG. 5, the shape of the second flange 19 in the top view is a hollow rectangular shape, but if it is formed so as to surround the outside of the outer peripheral surface 15c, it can be a shape other than the hollow circular shape. The second flange 19 may be connected to the open end 15a of the box body 15 by welding, or may be integrally formed with the box body 15 by plastic working.

The second flange 19 is fixed to the first flange 35. As shown in FIG. 6, the second flange 19 can be fixed to the first flange 35 via the sealing material 21. The sealing material 21 is formed of, for example, ethylene propylene diene rubber, and is pressure-welded between the first flange 35 and the second flange 19.

By fixing the second flange 19 to the first flange 35 via the sealing material 21, the drain water or the washing water that has reached the position of the sealing material 21 passes through the gap between the first flange 35 and the second flange 19. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the enclosure wall 31 from being reached. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the drain water or the washing water from flowing from the upper end 31b of the surrounding wall 31 to the lower end 31a and leaking from the through hole 3b.

Further, by fixing the second flange 19 to the first flange 35 via the sealing material 21, it is possible to prevent air from flowing from below the drain pan 3 to above the drain pan 3, so that the air conditioner 100 can be prevented from flowing. Airtightness can be improved. Further, by improving the airtightness of the air conditioner 100, it is possible to suppress the adhesion of dirt, dust and the like to the heat exchanger 1 and the blower 9.

Further, the second flange 19 can be fixed to the first flange 35 by a fastening member 23 such as a screw. By fixing the second flange 19 to the first flange 35 by the fastening member 23, for example, even if an abnormality such as breakage of the relay pipe 11 occurs, the relay member 10 can be removed by removing the fastening member 23. Can be easily replaced. Therefore, by fixing the second flange 19 to the first flange 35 by the fastening member 23, maintenance work such as maintenance becomes easy. The relay pipe 11 can be easily detached from the refrigerant pipes 7a and 7b by melting the brazing.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the box body 15 can be arranged at a distance from the surrounding wall 31. For example, a gap 27 can be provided between the outer peripheral surface 15c of the box body 15 and the surrounding wall 31. By arranging the box body 15 at a distance from the surrounding wall 31, it is possible to prevent the drain water or the washing water that has reached the surrounding wall 31 from reaching the upper end 31b of the surrounding wall 31 due to the capillary phenomenon. Therefore, by arranging the box body 15 at a distance from the surrounding wall 31, it is possible to prevent drain water or washing water from flowing from the upper end 31b to the lower end 31a of the surrounding wall 31 and leaking from the through hole 3b. ..

Further, by arranging the box body 15 at a distance from the surrounding wall 31, it is easy to prevent the connection between the refrigerant pipe 7a and the relay pipe 11 due to an assembly error of the heat exchanger 1 or the like due to the gap 27. Can be corrected. Therefore, by arranging the box body 15 at a distance from the surrounding wall 31, it is possible to stabilize the connection and fixing of the refrigerant pipe 7a and the relay pipe 11.

Further, according to the configuration of the first embodiment described above, the drain water or the washing water from the drain pan 3 is not used at the connection portion between the relay member 10 and the drain pan 3 without using a rubber bush or a heat insulating material which is a material that deteriorates over time. Can prevent water leakage. Therefore, according to the configuration of the first embodiment described above, the possibility of water leakage due to aged deterioration or the like can be reduced.

Embodiment 2.
The second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an example of the internal structure of the air conditioner 100 according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 7, the air blowing direction of the air conditioner 100 is indicated by a white block arrow. FIG. 8 is a plan view of a part of the internal structure of the air conditioner according to the second embodiment as viewed from above the bottom panel. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. In the following description, only the configuration different from the above-described first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 7 shows a floor-standing indoor unit used in a computer room or the like as an example of the air conditioner 100, and shows the internal structure of the indoor unit in a state where the back panel is removed. The back panel is not shown. In the second embodiment, the relay member 10 is arranged in the bottom panel 5f having a hole 5f1 that functions as a drainage port. That is, in the second embodiment, the bottom panel 5f is formed as an emergency seed lens pan. Further, the blower 9 is arranged on the bottom panel 5f, and the air flowing into the inside of the air conditioner 100 from the suction port of the front panel is heat exchanged by the heat exchanger 1 and blown out from the outlet of the bottom panel 5f. Will be done.

As shown in FIG. 8, the relay member 10 of the second embodiment is provided, for example, on the surface of the bottom panel 5f near the center of the side extending in the front-rear direction. Further, the lid surface 15b of the box body 15 is inclined with respect to the surface of the bottom panel 5f in the direction in which the holes 5f1 are provided. By providing the lid surface 15b of the box body 15 with an inclination, it is possible to prevent the drain water or the washing water from staying on the lid surface 15b of the box body 15.

1 heat exchanger, 3 drain pan, 3a drain pipe, 3b through hole, 5 housing, 5a frame, 5b right side panel, 5c left side panel, 5d back panel, 5e top panel, 5e1 outlet, 5f bottom panel, 5f1 hole, 7a refrigerant pipe, 7b refrigerant pipe, 9 blower, 10 relay member, 11 relay pipe, 15 box body, 15a open end, 15b lid surface, 15b1 burring hole, 15c outer peripheral surface, 19 second flange, 21 sealant , 23 Fastening member, 27 gap, 31 surrounding wall, 31a lower end, 31b upper end, 35 first flange, 100 air conditioner.

Claims (11)

With a heat exchanger,
The drain pan provided below the heat exchanger and
A relay member arranged on the upper surface of the drain pan and relaying a refrigerant pipe connected to the heat exchanger is provided.
The drain pan
A surrounding wall surrounding a part of the peripheral area of the upper surface of the drain pan, and
It has a first flange that is outside the surrounding wall and is provided at a position away from the lower end of the surrounding wall.
The relay member is
A relay pipe connected to the refrigerant pipe and penetrating the drain pan from the inside of the surrounding wall,
A box body in which the relay pipe penetrates and is welded and fixed and the lower surface is open.
It has a second flange that is outside the box and is provided at the open end of the box.
The second flange is an air conditioner fixed to the first flange. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the box body is arranged at a distance from the surrounding wall. The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second flange is fixed to the first flange via a sealing material. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second flange is fixed to the first flange by a fastening member. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first flange is provided at a position separated from the upper end of the surrounding wall. The box body has a lid surface and an outer peripheral surface that intersects the lid surface.
The relay pipe is welded and fixed through the lid surface.
The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the lid surface is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction. The upper surface of the drain pan to which the relay member is fixed is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction.
The air conditioner according to claim 6, wherein the tilting direction of the lid surface is the same as the tilting direction of the drain pan. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a housing for accommodating the heat exchanger and the drain pan. Further provided with a housing for accommodating the heat exchanger
The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the drain pan is formed as a bottom panel of the housing. A method for manufacturing an air conditioner including a heat exchanger, a drain pan provided below the heat exchanger, and a relay member fixed to the upper surface of the drain pan and relaying a refrigerant pipe connected to the heat exchanger. And,
A step of forming a through hole provided in the relay member and passing through the relay pipe connected to the refrigerant pipe in a part of the peripheral area on the upper surface of the drain pan.
A step of forming a surrounding wall surrounding the through hole in a part of the peripheral area of the upper surface of the drain pan, and
A step of forming a first flange on the outside of the surrounding wall from a position separated from the lower end of the surrounding wall.
The process of forming a box with an open bottom surface and
A step of forming a second flange from the open end of the box body to the outside of the box body,
A process of forming a burring hole in the box body, penetrating the relay pipe, and welding.
The process of passing the relay pipe through the through hole and
A method for manufacturing an air conditioner, which comprises a step of fixing the second flange to the first flange. The method for manufacturing an air conditioner according to claim 10, wherein the surrounding wall is formed on the drain pan by watertight welding.

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