CONTROL BOX OF OUTDOOR UNIT

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a control box of an outdoor unit.

BACKGROUND ART

There are refrigeration cycle apparatuses such as an air-conditioning apparatus, a chiller, and a water heater, in which a control box having a control substrate accommodated therein is provided inside an outdoor unit. The control substrate is configured to control a compressor, a motor, and other devices of the refrigeration cycle apparatus. In an air-conditioning apparatus described in, for example, Patent Literature 1, an electrical component box including a control substrate is provided in an outdoor unit.

CITATION LIST

Patent Literature

• • Patent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-121857

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Technical Problem

Patent Literature 1 discloses an insect-proof structure to prevent small animals such as insects and geckos from entering the interior of the electrical component box. Patent Literature 1 proposes a technique to prevent the small animals from entering the interior of the electrical component box from an air inlet and an air outlet. In this technique, elliptical air inlets are arranged in alignment with each other with a predetermined spacing between them, and a gap between a box body and a lid body of the electrical component box serves as an air outlet.

The air inlets and air outlet of the electrical component box in Patent Literature 1 are equivalent to a ventilating opening designed to maintain the temperature inside the control box within a predetermined range. Depending on the configuration of a control box, the control box may need to increase the opening area of the ventilating opening to maintain the temperature of electrical components accommodated therein within a range of operation guaranteed temperature. However, there is a problem in that as the opening area of the ventilating opening increases, the small animals are more likely to enter the interior of the control box through the ventilating opening.

The present disclosure has been made to solve the above problems, and it is an object of the present disclosure to provide a control box of an outdoor unit, in which it is possible to reduce entry of small animals such as insects and geckos into the control box through its ventilating opening.

Solution to Problem

A control box of an outdoor unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a housing having a side wall portion; electrical components provided in an interior of the housing; a ventilating opening provided on the side wall portion and communicating with an exterior of the housing; and a lid body provided covering the ventilating opening and having a plurality of first through holes.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

In the control box of an outdoor unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the ventilating opening provided in communication with the exterior of the housing is closed by the lid body having the plurality of first through holes. The lid body prevents small animals from easily entering the interior of the control box, and can consequently reduce the entry of the small animals into the control box through its ventilating opening. This can reduce the occurrence of an earth fault due to the small animals coming into contact with the electrical components provided in the control box.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the interior of an outdoor unit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a control box of the outdoor unit according to the embodiment when a ventilating opening is seen from the outside of the control box.

FIG. 3 illustrates the control box of the outdoor unit according to the embodiment when the ventilating opening is seen from the inside of the control box.

FIG. 4 illustrates the control box of the outdoor unit according to the embodiment with a lid body attached to the ventilating opening.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the ventilating opening in the control box of the outdoor unit according to the embodiment when the ventilating opening is seen from the outside of the control box.

FIG. 6 illustrates the control box of the outdoor unit according to the embodiment with the lid body detached from the ventilating opening.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating the lid body according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a side view illustrating the lid body according to the embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a control box of an outdoor unit according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment described below, and can be variously modified without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, the present disclosure includes all combinations of configurations that can be combined among the configurations shown in the embodiment described below. In the drawings below, the same reference signs denote the same or equivalent components, which are common throughout the entire specification. Note that the relative relationship of sizes of the constituent components, the shapes of the constituent components, and the like in the drawings may differ from those of actual ones.

EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the interior of an outdoor unit 100 according to an embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the outdoor unit 100 includes a control box 1, a compressor 102, and a transformer 103 inside a cuboid outdoor-unit housing 101 forming the outer shell. One of the plates that are the sides of the outdoor-unit housing 101 is formed removable. FIG. 1 illustrates the internal configuration of the outdoor unit 100 with this plate removed from the outdoor-unit housing 101.

The control box 1 accommodates electrical components 12 therein. The electrical components 12 include electronic components located on a control substrate. Examples of the electrical components 12 include a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and an I/O port and configured to control the compressor 102. The transformer 103 converts the voltage. A current whose voltage has been converted in the transformer 103 is used in, for example, the electrical components 12 to drive the compressor 102.

In addition to the control box 1, the compressor 102, and the transformer 103, the outdoor-unit housing 101 further has a heat exchanger, a flow switching device, a flow rate control device, and an outdoor fan accommodated therein, although these devices are not illustrated in the drawings. The heat exchanger is configured to allow refrigerant to exchange heat with outside air external to the outdoor-unit housing 101. The flow switching device is configured to switch between refrigerant flow directions. The flow rate control device is configured to reduce the refrigerant pressure. The outdoor fan is configured to deliver air to the heat exchanger. The compressor 102, the flow switching device, the flow rate control device, and the heat exchanger are connected by a refrigerant pipe. Illustrations of the refrigerant pipe are also omitted.

The outdoor unit 100 is used as a part of the refrigeration cycle apparatus. For example, the outdoor unit 100 can be used as a heat pump heat source unit of a heat pump water heater. In a case where the outdoor unit 100 is used as the heat pump heat source unit, the outdoor unit 100 is connected to a hot-water reserve tank through a heat medium pipe. The outdoor unit 100 can also be used as an outdoor unit of a direct-expansion air-conditioning apparatus. In a case where the outdoor unit 100 is used as the outdoor unit of the direct-expansion air-conditioning apparatus, the outdoor unit 100 is connected to an indoor unit having a load side heat exchanger through the refrigerant pipe. The outdoor unit 100 may also be used as a part of other refrigeration cycle apparatus such as a chiller, an indirect-expansion air-conditioning apparatus, or a thermal storage device.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4, the control box 1 of the outdoor unit 100 is explained. FIG. 2 illustrates the control box 1 of the outdoor unit 100 according to the embodiment when a ventilating opening 13 is seen from the outside of the control box 1. FIG. 3 illustrates the control box 1 of the outdoor unit 100 according to the embodiment when the ventilating opening 13 is seen from the inside of the control box 1. FIG. 4 illustrates the control box 1 of the outdoor unit 100 according to the embodiment with a lid body 20 attached to the ventilating opening 13.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the control box 1 includes a housing 10 and the ventilating opening 13. The housing 10 has a side wall portion 11. The electrical components 12 are provided inside the housing 10. The ventilating opening 13 is provided on the side wall portion 11. Since the ventilating opening 13 penetrates the side wall portion 11, the exterior of the housing 10 communicates with the interior of the housing 10 through the ventilating opening 13.

A part of the side wall portion 11, where the ventilating opening 13 is provided, has a double structure made up of an outer side-wall portion 11a illustrated in FIG. 2 and an inner side-wall portion 11b illustrated in FIG. 3. The outer side-wall portion 11a has a shape protruding toward the outside of the housing 10. A space is provided between the outer side-wall portion 11a and the inner side-wall portion 11b.

The ventilating opening 13 includes outer ventilating openings 13a illustrated in FIG. 2 and an inner ventilating opening 13b illustrated in FIG. 3. The outer ventilating openings 13a penetrate the outer side-wall portion 11a. The inner ventilating opening 13b penetrates the inner side-wall portion 11b. The outer ventilating openings 13a communicate with the inner ventilating opening 13b through a space provided between the outer side-wall portion 11a and the inner side-wall portion 11b. The exterior of the housing 10 communicates with the interior of the housing 10 through the outer ventilating openings 13a and the inner ventilating opening 13b of the ventilating opening 13. The space provided between the outer side-wall portion 11a and the inner side-wall portion 11b serves as an air passage 13c (see FIG. 3) of the ventilating opening 13. The outer side-wall portion 11a and the outer ventilating openings 13a will be described later in detail with reference to FIG. 5. The inner side-wall portion 11b and the inner ventilating opening 13b will be described later in detail with reference to FIG. 6.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the control box 1 further includes the lid body 20 provided covering the ventilating opening 13, and a sealing material 15 provided between the side wall portion 11 and the lid body 20. The lid body 20 is provided to close the inner ventilating opening 13b of the ventilating opening 13 from the inside of the housing 10. The lid body 20 is screwed to the inner side-wall portion 11b with a screw 18. For example, the screw 18 is an upset head bolt having a hexagonal head portion. The screw 18 is tightened by using a tool such as a spanner or a ratchet wrench. The lid body 20 has a plurality of first through holes 21 and a handle 23. The lid body 20 will be described later in detail with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

The sealing material 15 is provided to seal a gap between the side wall portion 11 and the lid body 20. The sealing material 15 is made of material with elastic and sealing properties. For example, the sealing material 15 is a foamed sealing material made of ethylene-propylene rubber.

Next, the outer side-wall portion 11a and the outer ventilating openings 13a are described with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the ventilating opening 13 in the control box 1 of the outdoor unit 100 according to the embodiment when the ventilating opening 13 is seen from the outside of the control box 1. In FIG. 5, four outer ventilating openings 13a are provided on the outer side-wall portion 11a. However, it suffices as long as the number of the outer ventilating opening 13a is one or more. Hereinafter, when these outer ventilating openings 13a are collectively referred to as “outer ventilating opening 13a,” this will refer to both a single outer ventilating opening 13a and multiple outer ventilating openings 13a.

The outer side-wall portion 11a is a part of the side wall portion 11 that is formed to protrude toward the outside of the housing 10. For example, the outer side-wall portion 11a is formed by partially pressing the side wall portion 11 of metal plate into a protruding shape. It is also allowable that an opening is provided on the side wall portion 11, and a component with a protruding shape is attached to the side wall portion 11 as the outer side-wall portion 11a in such a manner as to close the opening.

The outer side-wall portion 11a includes a flat part in its outermost protruding portion. The outer ventilating opening 13a is provided on the flat part in the outermost protruding portion of the outer side-wall portion 11a. The outer side-wall portion 11a has protruding portions 14 and slits 16 on the flat part in the outermost protruding portion of the outer side-wall portion 11a. The protruding portion 14 and the slit 16 are adjacent to each other. When the outer side-wall portion 11a is viewed from the front, a lower end 14a of the protruding portion 14 overlaps the slit 16. For example, the protruding portion 14 is a part of the outer side-wall portion 11a that is formed by being pressed to protrude toward the outside of the housing 10. The lower end 14a of the protruding portion 14 protrudes from the slit 16 toward the outside of the housing 10. This results in a gap formed between the protruding portion 14 and the slit 16. This gap formed between the protruding portion 14 and the slit 16 serves as the outer ventilating opening 13a.

Next, the inner side-wall portion 11b and the inner ventilating opening 13b are described with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 illustrates the control box 1 of the outdoor unit 100 according to the embodiment with the lid body 20 detached from the ventilating opening 13. Similarly to FIG. 2, FIG. 6 illustrates the ventilating opening 13 seen from the inside of the control box 1. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the inner ventilating opening 13b is provided on an upper portion of the inner side-wall portion 11b. In a view, from the inside of the control box 1, of the ventilating opening 13, the outer ventilating opening 13a provided on the outer side-wall portion 11a is invisible due to the inner side-wall portion 11b. The inner ventilating opening 13b and the outer ventilating opening 13a do not overlap each other in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction.

On the side wall portion 11, the outer side-wall portion 11a is provided protruding toward the outside of the housing 10. This results in a space formed on the inner side of the outer side-wall portion 11a. The inner side-wall portion 11b is provided to partition off the space formed on the inner side of the outer side-wall portion 11 from the internal space of the housing 10. The space between the outer side-wall portion 11a and the inner side-wall portion 11b serves as the air passage 13c between the outer ventilating opening 13a (see FIG. 5) and the inner ventilating opening 13b.

The inner ventilating opening 13b is provided penetrating the inner side-wall portion 11b. With this structure, as illustrated in FIG. 6, a part of the space formed on the inner side of the outer side-wall portion 11a is visible from the inside of the housing 10. It suffices that the inner side-wall portion 11b is provided in such a manner as to partition off a part of the space on the inner side of the outer side-wall portion 11a from the internal space of the housing 10. In view of that, the inner ventilating opening 13b does not need to penetrate the inner side-wall portion 11b. For example, the inner side-wall portion 11b having such a size that a part of the space on the inner side of the outer side-wall portion 11a is exposed may partition off the space on the inner side of the outer side-wall portion 11a from the internal space of the housing 10. In this case, an area where the outer side-wall portion 11a is exposed to the inside of the housing 10 serves as the inner ventilating opening 13b.

The inner side-wall portion 11b is provided with a screw hole 17. The screw 18 (see FIG. 4) designed to screw the lid body 20 is tightened into the screw hole 17. It is allowable that the screw hole 17 has a barring shape with a flange formed around the hole. The method for tightening the screw 18 into the screw hole 17 will be described later with reference to the lid body 20 in FIG. 7.

Fitting holes 19 are provided on the inner side-wall portion 11b. In FIG. 6, two fitting holes 19 are provided between which the screw hole 17 is interposed. It suffices that the number of the fitting hole 19 is one or more. The number of fitting holes 19 is not particularly limited. Protrusions 24 provided on the lid body 20 are fitted into the fitting holes 19. The protrusions 24 on the lid body 20, and the relationship between the fitting holes 19 and the protrusions 24 on the lid body 20 are described below with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating the lid body 20 according to the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a side view illustrating the lid body 20 according to the embodiment. The lid body 20 has a second through hole 22. The screw 18 is inserted into the second through hole 22 and tightened into the screw hole 17. This allows the lid body 20 to be screwed to the inner side-wall portion 11b.

The lid body 20 is a metal plate and has a plurality of first through holes 21. The first through holes 21 are, for example, punch holes formed by drilling holes in the lid body 20 of metal plate. The plurality of first through holes 21 are provided to prevent the temperature inside the housing 10 from increasing, while ensuring air permeability. However, the number of first through holes 21 is not particularly limited. Each of the plurality of first through holes 21 has a circular shape. The diameter of the circular shape is equal to or smaller than 3 mm. In FIG. 7, the diameter of the first through holes 21 is smaller than the diameter of the second through hole 22 into which the screw 18 is inserted. However, it is allowable that the diameter of the second through hole 22 is smaller than the diameter of the first through holes 21.

The lid body 20 has the handle 23. The handle 23 is formed by bending a part of the lid body 20 of metal plate. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the handle 23 protrudes from an end portion of the lid body 20 perpendicularly to the lid body 20. The lid body 20 is screwed to the inner side-wall portion 11b such that the handle 23 protrudes toward the inside of the housing 10 (see FIG. 4).

The lid body 20 has the protrusions 24. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the protrusions 24 protrude from the flat part of the lid body 20 toward a direction opposite to the protruding direction of the handle 23. For example, the protrusions 24 are formed by pressing parts of the lid body 20 into a protruding shape. The lid body 20 is screwed to the inner side-wall portion 11b with the protrusions 24 fitted into the fitting holes 19 on the inner side-wall portion 11b. The protrusions 24 on the lid body 20 and the fitting holes 19 on the inner side-wall portion 11b are provided such that the protrusions 24 are paired with the fitting holes 19. Since one protrusion 24 on the lid body 20 and two fitting holes 19 on the inner side-wall portion 11b are paired, the number of the protrusions 24 is equal to the number of the fitting holes 19. The lid body 20 is screwed to the inner side-wall portion 11b in a firmly fixed state through pairs of the protrusions 24 and the fitting holes 19. With this configuration, the lid body 20 is less likely to be displaced from the installation position.

FIG. 7 illustrates the two protrusions 24 that are provided with the second through hole 22 interposed between them. Each of the two protrusions 24 illustrated in FIG. 7 is fitted into each of the two fitting holes 19 that are provided with the screw hole 17 interposed between them as illustrated in FIG. 6. With this configuration, these two protrusions 24 and two fitting holes 19 make two pairs. The lid body 20 is fixed to the inner side-wall portion 11b through the two pairs of protrusions 24 and fitting holes 19, and is thus blocked from rotating when the lid body 20 is in a screwed state.

The housing 10 has been described above as having a double structure in which the side wall portion 11 includes the outer side-wall portion 11a and the inner side-wall portion 11b. The housing 10 has the double structure, so that it is possible to provide the outer ventilating opening 13a and the inner ventilating opening 13b at positions where they do not overlap each other in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction. That is, it is possible to provide the outer ventilating opening 13a and the inner ventilating opening 13b at such positions that they are not linearly opposite to each other, so that the interior of the control box 1 cannot be easily reached from the outer ventilating opening 13a through the inner ventilating opening 13b. Even if small animals, rainwater, snow, and the like enter the interior of the outdoor-unit housing 101, it is still possible to reduce further entry of the small animals, rainwater, snow, and the like into the control box 1.

As described above, a control box 1 of an outdoor unit 100 according to the present embodiment includes: a housing 10 having a side wall portion 11; electrical components 12 provided in an interior of the housing 10; a ventilating opening 13 provided on the side wall portion 11 and communicating with an exterior of the housing 10; and a lid body 20 provided covering the ventilating opening 13 and having a plurality of first through holes 21.

In this configuration, the lid body 20 is provided covering the ventilating opening 13. The lid body 20 has the plurality of first through holes 21, which ensures air permeability of the housing 10 of the control box 1. This can prevent the temperature inside the housing 10 from increasing to such a degree as to affect operation of the electrical components 12. In addition, the lid body 20 is provided covering the ventilating opening 13, so that small animals such as insects and geckos are less likely to enter the interior of the housing 10 through the ventilating opening 13. That is, the lid body 20 can reduce the entry of small animals into the control box 1, while ensuring air permeability of the control box 1. When entering the control box 1, the small animals may come into contact with the electrical components 12, which may cause an earth fault. However, in the present embodiment, the lid body 20 can reduce the entry of the small animals into the control box 1, and can consequently reduce the occurrence of an earth fault inside the control box 1.

In the present embodiment, a part of the side wall portion 11 where the ventilating opening 13 is provided has a double-wall structure made up of an outer side-wall portion 11a and an inner side-wall portion 11b, a space is provided between the outer side-wall portion 11a and the inner side-wall portion 11b, the ventilating opening 13 includes an outer ventilating opening 13a penetrating the outer side-wall portion 11a, and an inner ventilating opening 13b penetrating the inner side-wall portion 11b, the space between the outer ventilating opening 13a and the inner ventilating opening 13b serves as an air passage 13c connecting the exterior of the housing 10 and the interior of the housing 10, and the lid body 20 is provided covering the inner ventilating opening 13b.

In this configuration, small animals having entered through the outer ventilating opening 13a cannot enter the interior of the housing 10 unless the small animals pass through the air passage 13c and the inner ventilating opening 13b. In order that the small animals enter the interior of the housing 10, these small animals need to pass through the first through holes 21 on the lid body 20 provided covering the inner ventilating opening 13b. A complicated path leading to the interior of the housing 10 from the outer ventilating opening 13a can further reduce the entry of small animals into the housing 10.

In the present embodiment, the side wall portion 11 of the housing 10 is a metal plate, the outer side-wall portion 11a has a slit 16, and a protruding portion 14 formed by bending a part of the metal plate adjacent to the slit 16 to protrude toward an outside of the housing 10, and the outer ventilating opening 13a is a gap formed between the slit 16 and a lower end 14a of the protruding portion 14.

In this configuration, the outer ventilating opening 13a is a gap formed between the slit 16 and the lower end 14a of the protruding portion 14. With this configuration, when the outer side-wall portion 11a is viewed from the front, an opening part of the outer ventilating opening 13a is covered by the protruding portion 14. The small animals can enter the outer ventilating opening 13a only from the lower end 14a of the protruding portion 14, so that this configuration can further reduce the entry of small animals into the housing 10.

In the present embodiment, the lid body 20 is a metal plate, and each of the plurality of first through holes 21 has a circular shape with its diameter equal to or smaller than 3 mm. This can block small animals whose length exceeds 3 mm from entering the interior of the housing 10. This can further reduce the entry of small animals into the housing 10.

In the present embodiment, the lid body 20 has a handle 23, and the lid body 20 is provided such that the handle 23 protrudes toward the interior of the housing 10. That is, with the help of handle 23, it can be determined which surface of the lid body 20 is to cover the ventilating opening 13. This can prevent the lid body 20 from covering the ventilating opening 13 in an incorrect orientation. It is possible to easily determine the orientation of the lid body 20 that covers the ventilating opening 13. Consequently, when the lid body 20 needs to be replaced with another, the replacement work can be done quickly.

In the present embodiment, the side wall portion 11 has a screw hole 17, the lid body 20 has a second through hole 22, and the lid body 20 is screwed to the side wall portion 11 at the screw hole 17 with a screw 18 inserted into the second through hole 22 on the lid body 20. With this configuration, it is possible to manufacture the control box 1 in a state in which the lid body 20 has not yet been attached to the side wall portion 11, and then attach the lid body 20 to the side wall portion 11 after the control box 1 is installed in the outdoor unit 100. Therefore, this gives the control box 1 and the outdoor unit 100 flexibility in their manufacturing processes and product configurations. The lid body 20 is fixed by using the screw 18, so that the lid body 20 can be easily replaced with another by removing the screw 18 using a tool such as a spanner or a ratchet wrench.

In the present embodiment, the side wall portion 11 has a fitting hole 19, and the lid body 20 has a protrusion 24 to be fitted into the fitting hole 19. With this configuration, the lid body 20 is screwed to the side wall portion 11 with the protrusion 24 fitted into the fitting hole 19. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the lid body 20 from being displaced from the installation position. At the time of screwing the lid body 20 to the side wall portion 11, the protrusion 24 is fitted into the fitting hole 19 on the side wall portion 11, so that the lid body 20 is brought into a temporarily fixed state. This facilitates the screwing work. With the help of the protrusion 24, it can be determined which surface of the lid body 20 to cover the side wall portion 11, and also the vertical orientation of the lid body 20 can be determined. This can prevent the lid body 20 from covering the ventilating opening 13 in an incorrect orientation. It is possible to easily determine the orientation of the lid body 20 that covers the ventilating opening 13. Consequently, when the lid body 20 needs to be replaced with another, the replacement work can be quickly performed.

The control box 1 of the outdoor unit 100 according to the present embodiment includes a sealing material 15 provided between the side wall portion 11 and the lid body 20. In this configuration, the sealing material 15 seals a gap between the side wall portion 11 and the lid body 20. This eliminates the possibility of entry of small animals through the gap between the side wall portion 11 and the lid body 20. There is no gap between the side wall portion 11 and the lid body 20. This prevents the side wall portion 11 and the lid body 20 from rubbing against each other despite possible vibrations. This can prevent noise from being generated due to the side wall portion 11 and the lid body 20 rubbing against each other.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

• • 1: control box, 10: housing, 11: side wall portion, 11a: outer side-wall portion, 11b: inner side-wall portion, 12: electrical component, 13: ventilating opening, 13a: outer ventilating opening, 13b: inner ventilating opening, 13c: air passage, 14: protruding portion, 14a: lower end, 15: sealing material, 16: slit, 17: screw hole, 18: screw, 19: fitting hole, 20: lid body, 21: first through hole, 22: second through hole, 23: handle, 24: protrusion, 100: outdoor unit, 101: outdoor-unit housing, 102: compressor, 103: transformer