OUTDOOR UNIT FOR AIR CONDITIONER, AND AIR CONDITIONER
An outdoor unit includes a heat exchanger, a blower fan, an electronic board on which a heat-generating element is mounted, a housing, and a heatsink. The housing includes a partition plate partitioning the inside of the housing into a heat exchanger chamber in which the heat exchanger and the blower fan are placed and a machine chamber in which the electronic board and a compressor are placed, and a portion of the partition plate has an opening. The heatsink includes a main plate placed to cover the opening from the heat-exchanger-room-side of the partition plate and heat-releasing fins projecting from the main plate to the blower fan side, and a portion of the main plate comes into contact with the heat-generating element via the opening. The greater the amounts of heat transferred from the heat-generating element the heat-releasing fins, the larger the heat-releasing fins.
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The present disclosure relates to an outdoor unit for an air conditioner and the air conditioner.
BACKGROUND ARTHeretofore-proposed outdoor units for air conditioner include an outdoor unit including a housing, a propeller fan, a partition plate partitioning the inside of the housing into a machine chamber and a heat-exchanger chamber, an electronic board placed on the machine-room side of the partition plate, and a heatsink placed such that the heatsink projects to the heat-exchanger chamber of the partition plate, where the heatsink cools the electronic board (for example, refer to Patent Literature 1). In this outdoor unit, the heatsink includes heat-releasing fins projecting into the heat-exchanger chamber, and the partition plate inclines relative to a rotary shaft for the propeller fan.
CITATION LIST Patent LiteraturePatent Literature 1: Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai Publication No. 2010-236781
SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical ProblemReducing the size of and the weight of this type of outdoor unit is required. One of the ways of reducing the size of and the weight of the outdoor unit is to downsize the heatsink. However, downsizing the heatsink results in reduction in the cooling capacity of the heatsink.
In consideration of the aforementioned circumstances, an objective of the present disclosure is to provide a downsized and lightweight outdoor unit for air conditioner having a high cooling capacity and an air conditioner.
Solution to ProblemIn order to achieve the above objective, an outdoor unit for an air conditioner of the present disclosure includes a heat exchanger to exchange heat between outdoor air and refrigerant, a blower fan disposed facing the heat exchanger, an electronic board on which a heat-generating element is mounted, a housing including a partition plate, where the partition plate partitions the inside of the housing into a heat-exchanger chamber in which the heat exchanger and the blower fan are placed and a machine chamber in which the electronic board is placed and a portion of the partition plate has an opening, and a heatsink including (i) a main plate disposed covering the opening from the heat-exchanger chamber side of the partition plate and (ii) heat-releasing fins projecting from the main plate to the blower fan side, where the main plate thermally connects to the heat-generating element via the opening, wherein, the greater the amount of heat transferred from the heat-generating element to each of the heat-releasing fins is, the greater the size of each of the heat-releasing fins is.
Advantageous Effects of InventionIn the present disclosure, the heat-releasing fins are configured such that, the greater the amount of heat transferred from the heat-generating element to each of the heat-releasing fins is, the greater the size of each of the heat-releasing fins is. As a result, the greater the amounts of heat transferred from the heat-generating element to the heat-releasing fins are, the greater the heat radiating surface areas of the heat-releasing fins are, thereby improving cooling capacity of the electronic board. Additionally, the less the amount of heat radiation transferred from the heat-generating element to each of the heat-releasing fins is, the less the size of each of the heat-releasing fins is. Therefore upon comparison between heatsinks having the same total radiation capacity, the heatsink of the present disclosure is smaller and lighter than the heatsink that includes heat-releasing fins that are all the same size.
An outdoor unit for an air conditioner according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is described hereinafter with reference to drawings. The outdoor unit according to the present embodiment is connected to an indoor unit via refrigerant pipe, where the indoor unit is placed in a building, for example. The air conditioner includes the outdoor unit and the indoor unit. As illustrated in
The housing 2 includes a rectangular-shaped bottom plate 21, side walls 22a, 22b, 22c and 22d that are erectly disposed on the periphery of the bottom plate 21, a ceiling plate fixed to edges of the side walls 22a, 22b, 22c and 22d (and not illustrated in the drawings), and a front plate 103. The housing 2 as a whole is contoured so as to have a rectangular box-like shape. Part of the front-side portion of and part of the rear-side portion of the housing 2 are not covered with the side walls 22b and 22d and thus are opened. The front plate 103 is arranged to cover the opened area that is not covered with the side wall 22b on the front side of the housing 2.
Also, the housing 2 includes a partition plate 23. The partition plate 23 partitions the inside of the housing 2 into a heat-exchanger chamber H and a machine chamber M, where the heat exchanger 5 and the blower fan 6 are placed in the heat-exchanger chamber H, and the compressor 7 and the electronic board 9 are placed in the machine chamber M. The partition plate 23 includes a lower-side partition plate 231 and an upper-side partition plate 232. The lower-side partition plate 231 extends from the bottom plate 21 of the housing 2 toward the ceiling plate. The upper-side partition plate 232 is arranged on the upper side of the lower-side partition plate 231 and extends from the upper edge of the lower-side partition plate 231 to the ceiling plate. As illustrated in
Additionally, as illustrated in
The heat exchanger 5 is arranged to cover the opened area that is located on the rear side of the heat-exchanger chamber H of the housing 2 and that is not covered with the side wall 22d. The heat exchanger 5 exchanges heat between outdoor air and refrigerant.
The compressor 7 is arranged on the lower side of the machine chamber M of the housing 2 and is connected to the heat exchanger 5 via a refrigerant pipe (not illustrated in the drawings). The compressor 7 compresses the refrigerant that is supplied from the heat exchanger 5 through the refrigerant pipe.
The blower fan 6 includes blades 62 (three blades in the example illustrated in
The electronic board 9 is used for controlling the compressor 7, the motor 102 and the like. The electronic board 9 includes a circuit board having a conductive pattern and circuit elements mounted on the circuit board. Heat-generating elements such as a switching element, a rectifier element and the like are mounted on the electronic board 9.
As illustrated in
Each of the heat-releasing fins 82 is shaped like a rectangular plate. The heat-releasing fins 82 are arranged at fixed intervals in the vertical direction and have the same length in the Z direction. Also, the top edges of the heat-releasing fins 82 are parallel to one another. As illustrated in
Also, heat-releasing fins 82, the bases of which are connected to contact portions P11 and P12 of the main plate 81 coming into contact with the heat-generating elements 10A and 10B, are larger than heat-releasing fins 82, the bases of which are connected to portions of the main plate 81 other than the contact portions P11 and P12 and are adjacent to the heat-releasing fins 82, the bases of which are connected to the contact portions P11 and P12. For example, heat-releasing fins 82D, the bases of which are connected to the contact portion P12, are larger than a heat-releasing fin 82A that is adjacent to the heat-releasing fins 82D in the positive Y direction and have bases that are connected to a portion of the main plate 81 other than the contact portions P11 and P12. Heights of the heat-releasing fins 82 from the main plate 21 increase with increasing degree of inclusion of the heat-releasing fins in the projected area AA or AB of the heat radiating element 10A or the heat radiating element 10B in the thickness direction of the main plate 81(the X direction).
Also, as illustrated in
Also, in the case where heat-generating elements 10 are mounted on the electronic board 9, the greater the amount of heat radiated by the heat-generating element 10 is, the nearer the heat-generating element 10 is mounted on the electronic board 9 to the trajectory of the leading edges of the blades 62 of the blower fan 6. For example, an amount of heat radiated by a heat-generating element 10A is assumed to be greater than an amount of heat radiated by a heat-generating element 10B in
Additionally, the shortest distance W1 between the leading edge of each of the heat heat-releasing fins 82 and the trajectory C1 of the leading edges of the blades 62 of the blower fan 6 is set to a distance that are 0.08 times or more as large as the diameter of the blower fan 6, that is, the diameter 2R1 of the trajectory C1. In
As described above, the outdoor unit 1 according to the present embodiment is configured such that, the greater the amounts of heat transferred from the heat-generating elements 10 to the heat-releasing fins 82 are, the greater the heights of the heat-releasing fins 82 from the main plates 81 are. As a result, a heat-releasing fin of the heat-releasing fins 82 that receives a great amount of heat transferred from a heat-generating element 10 to heat up has a large heat-releasing area, and thus cooling capacity of the electronic board 9 is improved. Also, the outdoor unit 1 is configured such that, the less the amounts of heat transferred from the heat-generating elements 10 to the heat-releasing fins 82 are, the lower the heat-releasing fins 82 are, and thus the heatsink 8 of the present embodiment can be configured to be smaller and lighter than, for example, a heatsink including fins the number of which is equal to the number of the heat-releasing fins 82 of the heat sink 8, where the fins have a rectangular shape and the same dimensions in the X and Z directions and are arranged at regular intervals in the vertical direction.
Also, as illustrated in
Additionally, in the present embodiment, as illustrated in
Also, in the present embodiment, the heat-generating elements 10 are mounted on the electronic board 9 such that, the greater amount of heat the heat-generating elements 10 radiate, the nearer the heat-generating elements 10 are to the trajectory C1 of the leading edges of the blades 62 of the blower fan 6. As a result, a heat-releasing fin 82 that is connected to a connection position of the main plate 81 that comes into contact with a heat-generating element radiating a large amount of heat, for example, the heat-generating element 10A in
Variation
An embodiment according to the present disclosure is described above, although the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment. For example, an orientation of the heatsink 8 is not limited to that of the heatsink 8 illustrated in
The above-described embodiment is an example in which, the greater the amount of heat transferred from the heat-generating elements 10 to each of the heat-releasing fins 82 is, the greater the height of each of the heat-releasing fins 82 from the main plate 81 is. However, the present disclosure is not limited to a structure in which the heat-releasing fins 82 are made to be different from one another in size by making the heights of the heat-releasing fins 82 different from one another. For example, in the present disclosure, the heat-releasing fins 82 may be configured such that, the greater the amount of heat transferred from the heat-generating elements 10 to each of the heat-releasing fins 82 is, the longer the length of each of the heat-releasing fins 82 in the Z direction is. Alternatively, the heat-releasing fins 82 may be configured such that, the greater the amount of heat transferred from the heat-generating elements 10 to each of the heat-releasing fins 82 is, the greater the thickness of each of the heat-releasing fins 82 is.
The above-described embodiment is an example in which, the main plate 81 of the heatsink 8 directly comes into contact with the heat-generating elements 10. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above structure of the present embodiment. In the present disclosure, the main plate 81 of the heatsink 8 may be thermally connected to the heat-generating elements 10 via another heat transfer member such as thermal grease.
The foregoing describes some example embodiments for explanatory purposes. Although the foregoing discussion has presented specific embodiments, persons skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. This detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the invention is defined only by the included claims, along with the full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
This application claims the benefit of Japanese patent Application No. 2016-187900, filed on Sep. 27, 2016, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITYThe present disclosure can be suitably applied to outdoor units for air conditioners.
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST
- 1 Outdoor unit
- 2 Housing
- 5 Heat exchanger
- 6 Blower fan
- 7 Compressor
- 8 Heatsink
- 9 Electronic board
- 10, 10A, 10B Heat-generating element
- 21 Bottom plate
- 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d Side wall
- 23 Partition plate
- 61 Hub
- 62 Blade
- 81 Main plate
- 82, 82A, 82B, 82C, 82D Heat-releasing fin
- 101 Support elements
- 101A Notch
- 101B Through hole
- 102 Motor
- 103 Front plate
- 104 Fixation element
- 105 Board holder
- 105a, 232a Opening
- 231 Lower-side partition plate
- 232 Upper-side partition plate
- 811 Flange
- 812, 813 Screw hole
- AA, AB Projected area
- C1 Trajectory
- CP21, CP22, CP23 Connection portions
- H Heat-exchanger chamber
- J1 Rotation axis
- L1, L2, L201, L202, W1 The shortest distance
- L21, L22, L23 Distance
- M Machine chamber
- P11, P12 Contact portions
Claims
1. An outdoor unit for an air conditioner, comprising:
- a heat exchanger to exchange heat between outdoor air and refrigerant;
- a blower fan disposed facing the heat exchanger;
- an electronic board on which at least one heat-generating element is mounted;
- a housing comprising a partition plate partitioning an inside of the housing into a heat-exchanger chamber in which the heat exchanger and the blower fan are placed and a machine chamber in which the electronic board is placed, a portion of the partition plate having an opening; and
- a heatsink comprising (i) a main plate disposed covering the opening from a heat-exchanger chamber side of the partition plate and (ii) a plurality of heat-releasing fins projecting from the main plate to a blower fan side, the main plate thermally coupled to the heat-generating element via the opening, wherein the greater an amount of heat transferred from the heat-generating element to each of the plurality of heat-releasing fins, the greater a size of each of the plurality of heat-releasing fins.
2. The outdoor unit for an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the greater the amount of heat transferred from the heat-generating element to each of the plurality of heat-releasing fins, the greater a height of each of the plurality of heat-releasing fins from the main plate.
3. The outdoor unit for an air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein, the longer a distance between a connection portion of the main plate connected to a base of each of the plurality of heat-releasing fins and a thermally coupled portion of the main plate thermally connected to the heat-generating element, the less the height of each of the plurality of the heat-releasing fins from the main plate.
4. The outdoor unit for an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein
- the blower fan comprises a hub and blades fixed to the hub, and
- a shortest distance between a leading edge of each of the plurality of heat-releasing fins and a trajectory of leading edges of the blades of the blower fan is larger than a distance that is 0.08 times as large as a diameter of the blower fan.
5. The outdoor unit for an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein
- the blower fan comprises a hub and blades fixed to the hub,
- the heat-generating element mounted on the electronic board is a plurality of heat-generating elements, and
- the greater an amount of heat generated by each of the plurality of heat-generating elements, the nearer each of the plurality of heat-generating elements is mounted to the trajectory of the leading edges of the blades of the blower fan on the electronic board.
6. An outdoor unit for an air conditioner, comprising:
- a heat exchanger to exchange heat between outdoor air and refrigerant;
- a blower fan disposed facing the heat exchanger;
- an electronic board on which at least one heat-generating element is mounted;
- a housing comprising a partition plate partitioning an inside of the housing into a heat-exchanger chamber in which the heat exchanger and the blower fan are placed and a machine chamber in which the electronic board is placed, a portion of the partition plate having an opening; and
- a heatsink comprising (i) a main plate disposed covering the opening from a heat-exchanger chamber side of the partition plate and (ii) a plurality of heat-releasing fins projecting from the main plate to the blower fan side, the main plate thermally coupled to the heat-generating element via the opening,
- wherein from among the plurality of heat-releasing fins, a first heat-releasing fin including a base that is connected to a contact portion of the main plate, the contact portion coming into contact with the heat-generating element is larger than a second heat-releasing fin including a base that is connected to a portion of the main plate other than the contact portion and is adjacent to the first heat-releasing fin including the base that is connected to the contact portion.
7. The outdoor unit for an air conditioner according to claim 6, wherein the height of each of the plurality of heat-releasing fins from the main plate increases with increasing degree of inclusion of each of the plurality of the heat-releasing fins in a projected area of the contact portion in a thickness direction of the main plate.
8. The outdoor unit for an air conditioner according to claim 7, wherein the longer a distance from each of the plurality of heat-releasing fins to the contact portion, the less the height of each of the plurality of heat-releasing fins from the main plate.
9. The outdoor unit for an air conditioner according to claim 6, wherein
- the blower fan comprises a hub and blades fixed to the hub, and
- a shortest distance between a leading edge of each of the plurality of heat-releasing fins and a trajectory of leading edges of the blades of the blower fan is larger than a distance that is 0.08 times as large as a diameter of the blower fan.
10. The outdoor unit for an air conditioner according to claim 6, wherein
- the blower fan comprises a hub and blades fixed to the hub,
- the heat-generating element mounted on the electronic board is a plurality of heat-generating elements, and
- the greater an amount of heat generated by each of the plurality of heat-generating elements, the nearer each of the plurality of heat-generating elements is mounted to the trajectory of the leading edges of the blades of the blower fan on the electronic board.
11. An air conditioner comprising an outdoor unit and an indoor unit connected to the outdoor unit via a refrigerant pipe, wherein
- the outdoor unit for the air conditioner comprises a heat exchanger to exchange heat between outdoor air and refrigerant, a blower fan disposed facing the heat exchanger, an electronic board on which at least one heat-generating element is mounted, a housing comprising a partition plate partitioning an inside of the housing into a heat-exchanger chamber in which the heat exchanger and the blower fan are placed and a machine chamber in which the electronic board is placed, a portion of the partition plate having an opening, and a heatsink comprising (i) a main plate disposed covering the opening from a heat-exchanger chamber side of the partition plate and (ii) a plurality of heat-releasing fins projecting from the main plate to the blower fan side, the main plate thermally coupled to the heat-generating element via the opening, and
- the greater an amount of heat transferred from the heat-generating element to each of the plurality of heat-releasing fins, the greater a size of each of the plurality of heat-releasing fins.
12. An air conditioner comprising an outdoor unit and an indoor unit connected to the outdoor unit via a refrigerant pipe, wherein
- the outdoor unit for the air conditioner comprises a heat exchanger to exchange heat between outdoor air and refrigerant, a blower fan disposed facing the heat exchanger, an electronic board on which at least one heat-generating element is mounted, a housing comprising a partition plate partitioning an inside of the housing into a heat-exchanger chamber in which the heat exchanger and the blower fan are placed and a machine chamber in which the electronic board is placed, a portion of the partition plate having an opening, and a heatsink comprising (i) a main plate disposed covering the opening from a heat-exchanger chamber side of the partition plate and (ii) a plurality of heat-releasing fins projecting from the main plate to the blower fan side, the main plate thermally coupled to the heat-generating element via the opening, and
- from among the plurality of heat-releasing fins, a first heat-releasing fin including a base that is connected to a contact portion of the main plate, the contact portion coming into contact with the heat-generating element is larger than a second heat-releasing fin including a base that is connected to a portion of the main plate other than the contact portion and is adjacent to the first heat-releasing fin including the base that is connected to the contact portion.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 26, 2017
Publication Date: Jul 25, 2019
Applicant: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)
Inventors: Naoki TORII (Tokyo), Yohei Kato (Tokyo), Yoshiyuki SAKAI (Tokyo), Katsuyuki YAMAMOTO (Tokyo)
Application Number: 16/325,491