JP7845892B2 - air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to an air conditioning system.

Conventionally, air conditioning systems are known that house all the necessary equipment for air conditioning, such as refrigerant circuit components (compressor, condenser, evaporator, expansion valve, etc.) and blowers, within a single enclosure. In such air conditioning systems, some are configured with the evaporator and condenser arranged vertically from the top, allowing the condensate water generated in the evaporator to fall into the condenser and evaporate.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an air conditioning system in which a heat sink (condenser) has a heat dissipation member with a planar area for heat dissipation facing upwards. The system is configured to increase the evaporation rate of condensate by allowing condensate water (drain water) generated in the evaporator to fall onto the planar area of the heat sink, thus retaining the condensate water on the heat dissipation member for a longer period.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-1798

Furthermore, if the aforementioned air conditioning system is installed on an uneven surface, or due to the precision of the components or assembly of the system, the drain water may not be properly guided to the condenser, potentially preventing sufficient evaporation of the drain water in the condenser. In such cases, problems such as an increase in the amount of drain water to be treated or a decrease in the operating efficiency of the air conditioning system may occur.

This invention has been made in view of these circumstances, and aims to provide an air conditioning system that reliably guides the condensate water generated in the evaporator to the condenser, extends the adhesion time of the condensate water in the condenser to allow for sufficient evaporation of the condensate water, and improves the system efficiency of the refrigerant circuit by effectively utilizing the cold energy of the condensate water.

One aspect of the present invention provides an air conditioning system in which a cooler and a heater constituting a part of a refrigerant circuit are arranged in order from the vertically upper side and housed in a housing, comprising: a drain water receiving section provided between the cooler and the heater for receiving drain water dripping from the cooler; and a guide section for guiding the drain water dripping from the drain water receiving section to the heater, wherein the heater has a plurality of heat exchange tubes extending in the vertical direction and header sections provided at both vertical ends of the plurality of heat exchange tubes, and the guide section is provided such that drain water flows from one end on the drain water receiving section side to the other end, with the other end in contact with the vertically upper header section of the heater or in the vicinity of the header section.

According to this invention, the condensate water generated in the evaporator is reliably guided to the condenser, and the adhesion time of the condensate water in the condenser is extended, allowing for sufficient evaporation of the condensate water. Furthermore, by effectively utilizing the cold energy of the condensate water, the system efficiency of the refrigerant circuit can be improved.

This is a perspective view showing the external appearance of an air conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention. This is a perspective view showing a schematic internal configuration of an air conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention. This is a side view showing the schematic internal configuration of an air conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and in particular illustrating the drainage mechanism. A perspective view showing an example of a condenser applied to an air conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention. This is a perspective view showing an example in which a guide member is provided in a condenser applied to an air conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention. This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a guide member applied to an air conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention. This is a side view illustrating the drainage mechanism of an air conditioning system related to a comparative example. This is a side view illustrating the drainage mechanism of an air conditioning system related to a comparative example. This is a side view illustrating the drainage mechanism of an air conditioning system related to a comparative example.

The embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals indicate parts with the same function, and redundant explanations in each figure will be omitted as appropriate.

Figures 1 and 2 show a schematic configuration of the air conditioning system 1 according to this embodiment. The air conditioning system 1 comprises a housing 10, a compressor 20 housed within the housing 10, an evaporator (cooler) 30, a condenser (heater) 40, a first blower 50, a second blower 60, an expansion mechanism 70, and a control device 80.

In this embodiment, the air conditioning unit 1 houses the evaporator 30 and condenser 40 in a vertically oriented arrangement, starting from the upper side. In the air conditioning unit 1, air flows through the evaporator 30 and condenser 40 in the front-to-back direction. Specifically, in the air conditioning unit 1, air flows from the back to the front through the evaporator 30, and from the front to the back through the condenser 40, thereby facilitating heat exchange between the air passing through the evaporator 30 and condenser 40 and the refrigerant. The direction of air flow to the evaporator 30 and condenser 40 is perpendicular to the vertical direction, which is the direction in which the evaporator 30 and condenser 40 extend.

On the front of the housing 10, a control panel 11 is provided at a position corresponding to the housing location of the control device 80, an air outlet 12 is provided at a position corresponding to the housing location of the evaporator 30, and an air intake 13 is provided at a position corresponding to the housing location of the second blower 60.
On the rear of the housing 10, an air intake port (not shown) is provided at a position corresponding to the housing location of the first blower 50, and an exhaust port (not shown) is provided at a position corresponding to the housing location of the condenser 40.

The compressor 20, evaporator 30, condenser 40, and expansion mechanism 70 housed in the casing 10 are connected by refrigerant piping, forming a refrigerant circuit through which the refrigerant circulates. In the refrigerant circuit, the refrigerant is compressed by the compressor 20 and discharged as high-pressure gaseous refrigerant. This high-pressure gaseous refrigerant flows into the condenser 40 and dissipates heat through heat exchange with the air blown through the condenser 40 by the second blower 60.

The high-pressure refrigerant flowing out of the condenser 40 is depressurized and expanded by the expansion mechanism 70, becoming low-pressure refrigerant, and flows into the evaporator 30. The low-pressure refrigerant flowing into the evaporator 30 absorbs heat by exchanging heat with the air blown through the evaporator 30 by the first blower 50, and after flowing out of the evaporator 30, returns to the compressor 20. The refrigerant flowing into the compressor 20 is compressed again, and the above circulation is repeated.

The first blower 50 is positioned upstream of the evaporator 30 in the airflow direction and blows air drawn in from an intake port on the rear of the housing 10 to the evaporator 30. The air blown from the first blower 50 to the evaporator 30 is cooled as it passes through the evaporator 30 by heat absorption by the refrigerant. The cooled air is then blown out as cold air from the outlet 12 of the housing 10.

The second blower is positioned upstream of the condenser 40 in the airflow direction and blows air taken in from the intake port 13 located on the front of the housing 10 to the condenser 40. The air blown from the second blower 60 to the condenser 40 exchanges heat with the refrigerant as it passes through the condenser 40 and flows out from an exhaust port (not shown) located on the rear of the housing 10.

The control device 80 has a circuit board (not shown) on which various electronic components, including an inverter (not shown), are mounted. For example, it controls the rotational speed of the motor that operates the compressor 20 by converting and outputting the voltage and frequency of the power supplied from the power source. The control device 80 also receives signals input to the control panel 11 and performs control of the air conditioning system 1 according to the received signals.

The air conditioning unit 1 shown in Figures 1 and 2 includes, in addition to the above-described components, a drainage mechanism 100 for draining condensate water, as shown in Figure 3. Figure 3 is a simplified side view of the interior of the air conditioning unit 1, showing air flow along the direction of the white arrows. The drainage mechanism 100 is positioned vertically below the evaporator 30 and includes a first condensate receiving section 101 and a second condensate receiving section 102 for receiving condensate water dripping from the evaporator 30, and a guide member 103 for guiding the condensate water received by the first and second condensate receiving sections 101 and 102 to the condenser 40.

The first drain water receiving section 101 is located vertically below the evaporator 30 and downstream of the evaporator 30 in the air flow direction (vertically above the condenser 40 and upstream of the condenser 40 in the air flow direction). The first drain water receiving section 101 is inclined toward the condenser 40 (down and to the right in Figure 3) so that the drain water W (shown in gray in Figure 3) dripping from the evaporator 30 flows toward the condenser 40.

The second drain water receiving section 102 is located vertically below the evaporator 30 and upstream of the evaporator 30 in the air flow direction (vertically above the condenser 40 and downstream of the condenser 40 in the air flow direction). The second drain water receiving section 102 is inclined toward the first drain water receiving section 101 (down and to the left in Figure 3) so that the drain water W dripping from the evaporator 30 flows into the first drain water receiving section 101.

The guide member 103 is configured such that one end is connected to the condenser 40 side end of the first drain water receiving section 101, and the other end is in contact with the vertically upper side of the condenser 40. Because the guide member 103 is in contact with the vertically upper side of the condenser 40, the drain water W flowing from the first drain water receiving section 101 and the second drain water receiving section 102 to the guide member 103 is guided to the vertically upper side of the condenser 40 and drips vertically downward along the condenser 40. Therefore, the drain water W adheres to the heat exchange tube only for the time it flows along the height of the condenser 40, and evaporates during its flow through the condenser 40.

Furthermore, it is more preferable to position the guide member 103 so as to be in contact with the vertically upper side of the condenser 40 and the upstream side in the airflow direction. Since air is pumped into the condenser 40 by the second blower 60, the drain water W guided by the guide member 103 to the upstream side in the airflow direction and vertically upper side of the condenser 40 flows vertically downward from the condenser 40 while simultaneously flowing along the airflow direction. Therefore, the drain water W guided into the condenser 40 adheres to a wide area of the condenser 40, both vertically and in the airflow direction, for an extended period, allowing the condenser 40 to efficiently evaporate the drain water.

In this case, the condensate water W generated in the evaporator 30 is at a lower temperature than the air supplied to the condenser 40. Therefore, by extending the time the condensate water W adheres to the condenser 40 and allowing it to evaporate, the refrigerant flowing through the condenser 40 can be cooled more effectively compared to the case where heat exchange occurs between the refrigerant flowing through the condenser 40 and the air supplied to the condenser 40. Thus, the amount of heat dissipated by the refrigerant flowing through the condenser 40 can be increased compared to the case where condensate water W is not used, and consequently, the amount of heat absorbed by the refrigerant flowing through the evaporator 30 can also be increased, thereby improving the system efficiency of the refrigerant circuit. Furthermore, since the air blown out from the evaporator 30 can be cooled more effectively, the cooling capacity can be improved.

Furthermore, by applying an elastic material such as rubber to the guide member 103, the ability of the guide member 103 to follow the condenser 40 is improved, allowing for more reliable guidance of the drain water W to the condenser 40.

Furthermore, although this embodiment describes the case where the first drain water receiving portion 101 and the guide member 103 are independent components, the first drain water receiving portion and the guide member may be integrally molded so that the first drain water receiving portion has a guide portion. In either case, one end of the guide member or guide portion is continuous with the condenser 40 side end of the first drain water receiving portion, and the other end of the guide member or guide portion is in contact with the vertically upper side of the condenser 40. By doing so, the drain water W is guided to the vertically upper side of the condenser 40 and dripped vertically downward along the condenser 40, allowing the drain water W to evaporate efficiently.

(Regarding the example of condenser 40)
Here, an example of the condenser 40 in the air conditioning system 1 according to this embodiment will be described. As shown in Figure 4, the condenser 40 is equipped with a plurality of heat exchange tubes 42 arranged at predetermined intervals in a direction perpendicular to the direction of air flow (white arrow in Figure 4). Heat exchange occurs between the refrigerant flowing through the heat exchange tubes 42 and the air as air flows between the plurality of heat exchange tubes 42.

Furthermore, the condenser 40 includes a plurality of heat transfer fins 43 provided between each heat exchange tube 42 and on both outer sides in the direction of arrangement of the heat exchange tubes 42 (left-right direction in Figure 4), and a pair of covers 44 that cover the heat transfer fins 43 from the outside in the direction of arrangement of the heat exchange tubes 42. Header sections 41 through which the refrigerant flows are provided at both vertical ends of the plurality of heat exchange tubes 42.

The header section 41 has multiple refrigerant flow sections 41a through which the refrigerant flows. The header section 41 is configured by arranging multiple rows of refrigerant flow sections 41a in the direction of air flow, along the direction of arrangement of the heat exchange tubes 42. In other words, the multiple refrigerant flow sections 41a are arranged in a matrix in the direction of air flow and in directions perpendicular to the air flow direction. In the example shown in Figure 4, the header section 41 has six rows of four refrigerant flow sections 41a arranged in the direction of air flow, along the direction of arrangement of the heat exchange tubes 42, forming a total of 24 refrigerant flow sections 41a.

With respect to such a condenser 40, the other end of the guide member 103 is provided so as to be in contact with the vertically upward side, and more preferably so as to be in contact with the header portion 41 or its vicinity on the upstream side in the air flow direction and the vertically upward side.

Figure 5 shows an example where the other end of the guide member 103 is in contact with the header portion 41 of the condenser 40 shown in Figure 4. Note that the first drain water receiving portion 101 and the second drain water receiving portion 102 are omitted from the illustration in Figure 5. In Figure 5, the guide member 103 is in contact with the upstream side of the header portion 41 in the air flow direction. The contact point of the guide member 103 with the condenser 40 is not limited to the example shown in Figure 5; it can also be the end of the heat exchange tube 42 on the vertically upper side of the condenser 40 and on the upstream side in the air flow direction, as shown in the example in Figure 3.

The guide member 103 is configured such that one end is connected to the condenser 40 side end of the first drain water receiving section 101, and the other end is in contact with the vertically upper side of the condenser 40. By the guide member 103 contacting the header section 41, the drain water W flowing from the first drain water receiving section 101 and the second drain water receiving section 102 to the guide member 103 is guided to the header section 41, particularly between the refrigerant flow section 41a.

The drain water W introduced between the refrigerant flow sections 41a flows from the header section 41 to the heat exchange tube 42, and then flows vertically downward along the heat exchange tube 42. Therefore, the drain water W adheres to the heat exchange tube 42 for a time corresponding to its length in the extending direction, and evaporates as it flows along the surface of the heat exchange tube 42.

Furthermore, it is more preferable to provide the guide member 103 so as to be in contact with the upstream side in the airflow direction of the header section 41. Since air is pressurized and supplied to the condenser 40 by the second blower 60, the drain water W guided by the guide member 103 to the upstream side in the airflow direction of the header section 41 flows vertically downward along the extending direction of the heat exchange tubes 42, while simultaneously flowing along the airflow direction. Therefore, the drain water W guided to the condenser 40 adheres to a wide area of the surface of each heat exchange tube 42 for a long time, allowing the condenser 40 to efficiently evaporate the drain water.

Furthermore, as shown in Figures 6(A) and 6(B), a slit 103A or notch 103B may be provided at the contact position of the guide member 103 with respect to the condenser 40. It is preferable that the slit 103A or notch 103B be provided at the same spacing as the refrigerant flow section 41a. This allows the guide member 103 to more easily conform to the shape of the condenser 40, and more reliably guides the drain water W dripping from the guide member 103 into the condenser 40.

In this embodiment, the drainage mechanism 100 has been described in which drainage water from the evaporator 30 is received by the first drainage water receiving section 101 and the second drainage water receiving section 102. However, this does not limit the configuration of the drainage mechanism 100 in which drainage water is received or collected. For example, it can be designed as appropriate, such as by receiving drainage water only by the first drainage water receiving section.

Figures 7 to 9 show an air conditioning system according to a comparative example. The drainage mechanism 200 in the air conditioning system shown in Figures 7 to 9 is positioned vertically below the evaporator 230 and includes a first drain water receiving section 201 and a second drain water receiving section 202 for receiving drain water dripping from the evaporator 230.

In the drainage mechanism 200, drain water is directly dripped from the first drain water receiving section 201 to the condenser 240. In this case, if the component precision and assembly precision of the air conditioning system are high, and the air conditioning system is used in an environment where it is positioned on a horizontal plane and not tilted, the drain water is guided to the condenser 240 (see Figure 7). The drain water W then flows vertically through the condenser 240 and also flows along the airflow direction (white arrow in Figure 7) due to the air pumped by the second blower 260.

On the other hand, as shown in Figure 8, due to component precision or assembly precision, the gap between the first drain water receiving section 201 and the condenser 240 may become large, for example. In this case, the end of the first drain water receiving section 201 will not reach the condenser 240, and the drain water will not be guided to the condenser 240.
Furthermore, even if the component precision or assembly precision is high and the distance between the first drain water receiving section 201 and the condenser 240 is appropriate, if the air conditioning system is tilted, the drain water will not be guided to the condenser 240 (see Figure 9).

On the other hand, as described above, according to the air conditioning system of this embodiment, by connecting one end of the guide member 103 to the condenser 40 side end of the first drain water receiving section 101 and positioning the other end of the guide member 103 to contact the vertically upper side of the condenser 40, the guide member 103 reliably guides the drain water W generated in the evaporator 30 to the condenser 40, and extends the adhesion time of the drain water W in the condenser 40, allowing the drain water W to evaporate sufficiently. Furthermore, by effectively utilizing the cold energy of the drain water W, the system efficiency of the refrigerant circuit can be improved.

While embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configurations are not limited to these embodiments, and any design changes or other modifications that do not depart from the spirit of the invention are also included in the present invention.

1: Air conditioning unit, 10: Housing, 11: Control panel, 12: Air outlet, 13: Inlet, 20: Compressor, 30: Evaporator, 40: Condenser, 41: Header section, 41a: Refrigerant flow section, 42: Heat exchange tube, 43: Heat transfer fins, 44: Cover, 70: Expansion mechanism, 80: Control device, 100: Drainage mechanism, 101: First drain water receiving section, 102: Second drain water receiving section, 103: Guide member, 103A: Slit, 103B: Notch, W: Drain water

Claims (3)

An air conditioning system in which a cooler and a heater, which constitute a part of the refrigerant circuit, are arranged in order from the top vertically and housed within a casing,
A drain water receiving section is provided between the cooler and the heater, and receives the drain water dripping from the cooler,
The system includes a guide section that directs the drain water dripping into the drain water receiving section to the heater,
The heater has a plurality of heat exchange tubes extending in the vertical direction, and header portions provided at both vertical ends of the plurality of heat exchange tubes.
The guide portion is provided such that drain water flows from one end on the drain water receiving side to the other end, and the other end is in contact with the header portion on the vertically upper side of the heater or in the vicinity of the header portion .
The header section has a plurality of refrigerant flow sections arranged in a direction perpendicular to the air flow direction,
The air conditioning device wherein the guide portion is provided to guide drain water between a plurality of refrigerant flow sections and has a plurality of slits or notches formed to correspond to the spacing between the arrangement of the plurality of refrigerant flow sections . The other end of the guide portion is provided in the heater so as to be in contact with the header portion or the vicinity of the header portion on the upstream side in the air flow direction and on the vertically upper side of the heater, according to claim 1. The air conditioning device according to claim 1 , characterized in that the guide portion is a guide member with one end connected to the drain water receiving portion.