Air conditioner and method of installing the air conditioner

Abstract

An apparatus achieving an efficient air-conditioning without disturbing convection in a room having a heating device inside. The apparatus includes a housing 21 having a room side ventilation flue 23 which is formed long stretching from one end side toward the other end side, a first vent hole 24 and a second vent hole 25 which are provided in the one end side and the other end side, respectively, of the housing 21 in such a manner as to have an opening facing the room when used and to be connected to the room side ventilation flue 23, the indoor heat exchanger 26 and the room side air blower 27 which are provided in the room side ventilation flue 23, the outdoor heat exchanger 28 which is provided on the outside of the room side ventilation flue 23 in the housing 21 in such a manner as to let outdoor air ventilate and arranged in a different position from the indoor heat exchanger 26 in a direction connecting the first vent hole 24 and the second vent hole 25, and the outdoor side air blower 29 for letting the outdoor air ventilate for this outdoor heat exchanger.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to an air-conditioning apparatus, and more particularly, to an air-conditioning apparatus desirable for air-conditioning an unmanned room which has a heating device or the like inside, and a method for installing the air-conditioning apparatus.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] As a conventional art, an air-conditioning apparatus disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Gazette No. SHO 62-14227, for example, is shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10. Specifically, FIG. 9 is a sectional view illustrating the air-conditioning apparatus when installed for cooling. FIG. 10 is a sectional view illustrating the air-conditioning apparatus when installed for heating.

[0003] With referring to the figures, a reference numeral 1 denotes a housing. A reference numeral 2 denotes a first chamber, which is sectioned in the upper part of the housing 1, and provided with an opening facing a room A in the position illustrated in FIG. 9. A reference numeral 3 denotes a second chamber, which is sectioned in the center part of the housing 1, and provided with an opening facing an outside B in the opposite manner to that of the first chamber 2. A reference numeral 4 denotes a third chamber, which is sectioned in the lower part of the housing 1. A reference numeral 5 denotes a compressor, which is placed in the third chamber 4. A reference numeral 6 denotes a condenser, which is placed in the second chamber 3. A reference numeral 7 denotes an evaporator, which is placed in the first chamber 2. A reference numeral 8 denotes an air blower for the condenser. A reference numeral 9 denotes an air blower for the evaporator. A reference numeral 10 denotes a room-side louver. A reference numeral 11 denotes an outdoor-side louver. Both of the louvers 10 and 11 are attachable and removable, and turn-able vertically the other way. In addition to that, the blowing angle is adjustable. Although a flow regulating device, a refrigerant pipeline, and so forth are not shown, as generally known, a refrigerating cycle is formed by connecting the compressor 5, the condenser 6, the flow regulating device not shown, the evaporator 7 and then the compressor 5 in that order through the refrigerant pipeline.

[0004] Reference numerals 12 and 13 denote shafts on the same axle which are provided on the top end surface and the bottom end surface, respectively, of the housing 1 on the vertical line of axis. Then, the housing 1 is allowed to rotate around these shafts 12 and 13. A reference numeral 14 denotes a side wall facing the outside B. A reference numeral 15 denotes an opening of the side wall 14. Thus, the housing 1 is fixed into the opening 15 of the side wall 14 in such a manner as to rotate around the shafts 12 and 13 so that the position of FIG. 9 or the position of FIG. 10 may be selected desirably.

[0005] It is to be noted that, through the accompanying drawings, the same or equivalent portions are marked by using the same signs or numerals, so that the repetitions of the same explanation are avoided.

[0006] First of all, in the case of cooling the room A, the air-conditioning apparatus is set with the position illustrated in FIG. 9. Specifically, the opening of the first chamber 2 having the evaporator 7 inside faces the room, and the opening of the second chamber 3 having the condenser 6 inside faces the outside. At the condenser 6, a refrigerant at a high temperature and with a high pressure after compressed by the compressor 5 is heat-exchanged with the outdoor air taken in by the air blower 8 to be refrigerated, and the resultant heat is released to the outside B to be condensed. Then, the condensed refrigerant enters the evaporator 7 through an expansion valve (not shown), thereby taking heat away from air in the room A. As a result, the room A is refrigerated.

[0007] In this case, the room air is sucked in by the air blower 9 for the evaporator 7 in the first chamber 2 placed in the upper part of the housing 1, as indicated by arrows a in FIG. 9. Then, refrigerated air is blown off diagonally downwards to the room A from the first chamber 2 in the lower part, as indicated by arrows b.

[0008] In the case of heating the room A, on the other hand, the housing 1 is turned the other way around the axis of the shafts 12 and 13 to have the position illustrated in FIG. 10. It is to be noted that, according to this example, both of the room-side louver 10 and the outdoor-side louver 11 are removed for a moment before the housing 1 is rotated. Then, after turning the housing 1 the other way, the room-side louver 10 is re-installed upside down to face the room this time. Then, the angle of the room-side louver 10 is changed so that the room air is sucked in for the condenser 6, as indicated by arrows c of FIG. 10, and that air heated by the condenser 6 is then blown off downwards from the lower part of the second chamber 3, as indicated by arrows d. The outdoor-side louver 11 is re-installed to face the outside. The angle of a part of the louver opposing to the first chamber 2 is changed so that the air of the outside B flows through the evaporator 7.

[0009] FIG. 11 are block diagrams illustrating the flow of air in a room having a device with high heating density such as a communication device inside, in the case that the thus configured conventional air-conditioning apparatus is used for air-conditioning the room. Specifically, FIG. 11(a) shows the case that the air-conditioning apparatus is installed in an upper part of the side-wall. FIG. 11(b) shows the case that the air-conditioning apparatus is installed in a lower part of the side-wall.

[0010] With referring to the figures, a reference numeral 16 denotes the conventional air-conditioning apparatus having the configuration illustrated in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10. A reference numeral 17 denotes a suction opening for sucking room air on the air-conditioning apparatus 16. A reference numeral 18 denotes a blow-off opening on the air-conditioning apparatus 16. A reference numeral 19 denotes a room to be air-conditioned having a device to be refrigerated 20 inside. A reference numeral 20a denotes an air blower provided at the top of the device to be refrigerated 20 for forcedly discharging heat generated within the device to be refrigerated 20 outside.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 11(a), in the case that the air-conditioning apparatus 16 is installed in the upper part of the side wall 14 of the room to be air-conditioned for refrigerating the device to be refrigerated 20 placed in the room 19, part of refrigerated air blown off from the blow-off opening 18 is blown upwards, as indicated by an arrow e, when affected by upward current caused by heat generated by the device to be refrigerated 20 and otherwise convection created by the cooling fan 20a. For that reason, part of air at a high temperature discharged from the device to be refrigerated 20 is flown directly downwards in the room 19 as indicated by an arrow f. As a result, the temperature of sucking air through the bottom of the device 20 gradually rises, which may lead to a failure of the device and so on. This poses a problem of lowering reliability on the device.

[0012] Furthermore, part of refrigerated air blown off from the blow-off opening 18 is sucked in directly through the suction opening 17 on the air-conditioning apparatus 16, as indicated by an arrow g. For that reason, the sucking air is a mixture of air at a high temperature discharged from the device 20 and refrigerated air blown off by the air-conditioning apparatus, and therefore the temperature of the mixed air becomes relatively low. As a result, the efficiency of the refrigerating cycle is lowered. This poses a problem of increasing the consumption of electric power. In addition to that, part of refrigerated air may stagnate around a bottom portion C of the room 19 on the side having the air-conditioning apparatus 16 installed. This also poses a problem of causing a stagnation of air at a low temperature.

[0013] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11(b), in the case of installing the air-conditioning apparatus 16 in the lower portion of the side wall 14 of the room to be air-conditioned, because the blow-off opening 18 and the suction opening 17 are close to each other, part of refrigerated air blown off from the blow-off opening 18 is sucked in directly through the suction opening 17, as indicated by an arrow h. For that reason, the performance of the air-conditioning apparatus 16 falls off to cause the room temperature to rise. This also poses the problem of lowering reliability on the device 20.

[0014] Still further, air at a high temperature resulted from waste heat discharged by the device 20 stagnates around an upper portion D in the room. For that reason, a temperature sensor, if provided, on the ceiling of the room for detecting an abnormal state in temperature would detect the abnormally high temperature. As a result, a ventilation fan not shown is operated to take in the outdoor air unnecessarily to the room 19. This also poses the problem of lowering reliability on the device 20 caused by dirt, dust, and the like in the atmosphere.

[0015] Still Further, the conventional air conditioner is intended to provide air-conditioning for people. For that reason, room air is dehumidified to some extent to be blown off, so that the temperature of air to be blown off is low. Therefore, if the air-conditioning apparatus 16 is installed in such a manner as to blow off refrigerated air directly against the device for the purpose of refrigerating the device 20 efficiently, then dew is formed on a portion on the device receiving the refrigerated air directly. This poses a problem of causing a failure in operation of the device 20.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

[0016] The present invention is directed to solving those problems posed by the conventional art. It is an object of the present invention to provide an air-conditioning apparatus which is designed for refrigerating a heating device placed in a room to be refrigerated in an efficient manner by preventing refrigerated air blown off from a blow-off opening from being sucked in directly through a suction opening, and preventing air at a low temperature or at a high temperature from stagnating in a room to be refrigerated. It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for installing the air-conditioning apparatus.

[0017] According to an air-conditioning apparatus of the present invention, an air-conditioning apparatus using a refrigerating cycle may include a housing having a room side ventilation flue which is formed long stretching from one end side toward another end side, a first vent hole which is provided in the one end side of the housing in such a manner as to have an opening facing to a room when the air-conditioning apparatus is operated and to be connected to the room side ventilation flue, a second vent hole which is provided in the another end side of the housing in such a manner as to have an opening facing to the room when the air-conditioning apparatus is operated and to be connected to the room side ventilation flue, an indoor heat exchanger which is provided in the room side ventilation flue, a room side air blower which is provided in the room side ventilation flue for letting in air through either one of the first and second vent holes, and for sending out the air from the other one of the first and second vent holes, an outdoor heat exchanger which is provided on an outside of the room side ventilation flue in the housing in such a manner as to let outdoor air ventilate and arranged in a different position from the indoor heat exchanger in a direction connecting the first vent hole and the second vent hole, and an outdoor side air blower for letting the outdoor air ventilate for the outdoor heat exchanger.

[0018] Furthermore, the housing and the room side ventilation flue may be formed vertically long so as to suck air through an upper vent hole and send out refrigerated air through a lower vent hole when cooling.

[0019] Still further, the air-conditioning apparatus may include a separation part for separating an inside of the one end side of the housing into a room side and an outdoor side, wherein the room side ventilation flue and one of the vent holes connected to the room side ventilation flue may be arranged on the room side beyond the separation part, and the outdoor heat exchanger is arranged on the outdoor side beyond the separation part.

[0020] Still further, the air-conditioning apparatus may include a first communicating section, which may be provided on the separation part, for allowing air to flow through the room side ventilation flue to outside a first damper, which may be provided in the first communicating section, for blocking the first communicating section and unblocking the room side ventilation flue in a first condition, and for blocking the room side ventilation flue and unblocking the first communicating section in a second condition so that room air sucked in through one of the vent holes may be discharged outside through the first communicating section by the outdoor side air blower, a second communicating section, which may be provided in the room side ventilation flue between the first communicating section and the room side air blower, for allowing air to flow through the room side ventilation flue to outside, and a second damper, which may be provided in such a manner as to allow the second communicating section to be blocked and unblocked, for blocking the second communicating section in the first condition, and unblocking the second communicating section in the second condition so that outdoor air sucked in through the second communicating section by the room side air blower are to be blown off into the room through the other one of the vent holes.

[0021] Still further, the air-conditioning apparatus may include a temperature sensor for outputting a signal depending upon a room temperature, a temperature setting means for setting a first temperature level and a second temperature level which is lower than the first temperature level, and a control circuit for controlling in such a manner as to open the first damper temperature sensor indicates that the room temperature is higher than the first temperature level set by the temperature setting means, and close the first damper and the second damper when the signal indicates that the room temperature is lower than the second temperature level.

[0022] Still further, the housing may be placed on the outdoor side of a room surface when installed.

[0023] Still further, the indoor heat exchanger may be arranged in an upper part and the outdoor heat exchanger is arranged in a lower part in such a manner as to let drain water from the indoor heat exchanger being used as an evaporator drop over the outdoor heat exchanger.

[0024] Still further, the air-conditioning apparatus may include a bypass pipeline for connecting a refrigerant pipeline on a discharge side of a compressor and a refrigerant pipeline on an intake side of the compressor, and a non-return valve, which may be provided in the bypass pipeline, for blocking the flow of a refrigerant from the discharge side of the compressor into the intake side of the compressor.

[0025] Furthermore, a method for installing an air-conditioning apparatus according to the present invention may include having an air-conditioning apparatus using a refrigerating cycle including a housing having a room side ventilation flue which is formed long stretching from one end side toward another end side, a first vent hole which is provided in the one end side of the housing in such a manner as to have an opening facing to a room when the air-conditioning apparatus is operated and to be connected to the room side ventilation flue, a second vent hole which is provided in the another end side of the housing in such a manner as to have an opening facing to the room when the air-conditioning apparatus is operated and to be connected to the room side ventilation flue, an indoor heat exchanger which is provided in the room side ventilation flue, a room side air blower which is provided in the room side ventilation flue for letting in air through either one of the first and second vent holes, and for sending out the air from the other one of the first and second vent holes, an outdoor heat exchanger which is provided on an outside of the room side ventilation flue in the housing in such a manner as to let outdoor air ventilate and arranged in a different position from the indoor heat exchanger in a direction connecting the first vent hole and the second vent hole, and an outdoor side air blower for letting the outdoor air ventilate for the outdoor heat exchanger, and installing the air-conditioning apparatus in such a manner as to have a suction opening for room air and a blow-off opening for refrigerated air facing a room toward a direction that boosts convection which is created by a heating device placed in the room.

[0026] Still further, the method may include providing the suction opening for the room air in an upper part of the room, and providing the blow-off opening for the refrigerated air in the lower part of the room.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0027] FIG. 1 is a side view block diagram of an air-conditioning apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention illustrating the key parts thereof.

[0028] FIG. 2 is a side view block diagram illustrating an installation type of the air-conditioning apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] FIG. 3 is a side view block diagram of an air-conditioning apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention illustrating the key parts thereof.

[0030] FIG. 4 is a side view block diagram illustrating a method for installing an air-conditioning apparatus according to a third embodiment.

[0031] FIG. 5 is a side view block diagram illustrating a method for installing an air-conditioning apparatus according to a third embodiment.

[0032] FIG. 6 is a side view block diagram of an air-conditioning apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention illustrating the key parts thereof.

[0033] FIG. 7 is a side view block diagram of an air-conditioning apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention illustrating the key parts thereof.

[0034] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a control means of a damper to be used for the air-conditioning apparatus according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] FIG. 9 is a sectional view illustrating an example of a conventional air-conditioning apparatus when installed for cooling.

[0036] FIG. 10 is a sectional view illustrating an example of the conventional air-conditioning apparatus when installed for heating.

[0037] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the flow of air in a room having a heating device inside when air-conditioned by the use of the conventional air-conditioning apparatus.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0038] Now, the embodiments of the present invention will be discussed below with reference to the drawings.

[0039] Embodiment 1.

[0040] FIG. 1 is a sectional view block diagram of an air-conditioning apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention illustrating the key parts thereof. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of installing the air-conditioning apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

[0041] With referring to the figures, a reference numeral 21 denotes a housing, which is formed into a vertically long shape and configured in such a manner as mounted on the side wall of a room to be air-conditioned by attaching the surface at the right hand side of FIG. 1 closely to the side wall. A reference numeral 22 denotes a separation part, which is provided in such a manner as to separate a space in one end side of the housing 21 into a room side and an outdoor side. A reference numeral 23 denotes a room side ventilation flue, which is formed into a long stretching shape from the one end side towards the other end side of the housing 21. The one end side of the room side ventilation flue 23 is formed by the room side space of the housing 21 separated by the separation part 22. A reference numeral 24 denotes a first vent hole, which is provided at the one end of the housing 21 in such a manner as to have an opening facing to the room side and connected to the room side ventilation flue 23. A reference numeral 25 denotes a second vent hole, which is provided at the other end of the housing 21 in such a manner as to have an opening facing to the room side and connected to the room side ventilation flue 23. A reference numeral 26 denotes an indoor heat exchanger, which is provided within the room side ventilation flue 23 on the other end side of the housing 21. A reference numeral 27 denotes a room side air blower, which is provided within the room side ventilation flue 23. The room side air blower 27 lets in air flow through either one of the first vent hole 24 and the second vent hole 25, and sends out the air through the indoor heat exchanger 26 from the other vent hole. A reference numeral 28 denotes an outdoor heat exchanger, which is provided in an outdoor side space beyond the separation part 21 in the housing 21 in such a manner as to ventilate the outdoor air. The outdoor heat exchanger 28 is arranged in such a manner as shifted to a different position from the indoor heat exchanger 26 in a direction of connecting the first vent hole 24 and the second vent hole 25. A reference numeral 29 denotes an outdoor side air blower, which lets the outdoor air ventilate for the outdoor heat exchanger 28. A reference numeral 30 denotes a compressor, which is provided on the other end side of the housing 1. A reference numeral 31 denotes a decompression device, which is provided within a pipeline for connecting the outdoor heat exchanger 28 and the indoor heat exchanger 26. A reference numeral 32 denotes a drain pan and an exhaust port of drain, which collects the drops of water of dew formed on the surfaces of the indoor heat exchanger 26 and drains the drops of water out of the housing 21.

[0042] The compressor 30, the outdoor heat exchanger 28, the decompression device 31, the indoor heat exchanger 26 and the compressor 30 are connected one after another in that order, as shown in FIG. 1, through a refrigerant pipeline. In the refrigerant pipeline, a thermo-compression refrigerating cycle is formed by enclosing working fluid. According to the example of FIG. 1, the outdoor heat exchanger 28 functions as a condenser and the indoor heat exchanger 26 functions as an evaporator. The first vent hole 24 operates as a suction opening for sucking room air and the second vent hole 25 as a blow-off opening for blowing off refrigerated air. With the thermo-compression refrigerating cycle, a hydrogen fluoride carbon (HFC) refrigeration medium including no chlorine, such as R407C, R410A and R32, or a substance of which the modulus of ozone rupture is 0, such as CO2 and hydrogen carbon (HC) is used as the working fluid. In addition to that, an oil compatible with the HFC refrigerant such as polyolester oil and polyvinyl ether oil, or an oil non-compatible with the HFC refrigerant, such as hard alkyl-benzene oil, is used as a refrigeration oil not shown.

[0043] The thus configured air-conditioning apparatus 33 of the first embodiment of the present invention has all the component in the housing 21 as one body. Specifically, the separation part 22 separates the space of the one end in the housing 21 into one portion in which the outdoor heat exchanger 23 and the outdoor side air blower 29 are accommodated and the other portion in which the indoor heat exchanger 26 and the room side air blower 27 are accommodated so as to prevent the room air and the outdoor air from being mixed. With referring to FIG. 1, when viewed from the left hand side of the figure, there is a third vent hole as the blow-off opening of the outdoor side air blower 29 provided on an upper front surface of the housing 21. Similarly, there is a fourth vent hole as the suction opening of the outdoor heat exchanger 23 provided at the top of and/or on an upper side of the housing 21. However, those vent holes are not shown. When operating the outdoor side air blower 29, the outdoor air taken in through the fourth vent hole provided on the top of and/or on the side of the housing is heat-exchanged with the refrigerant to become hot around the outdoor heat exchanger 28 provided on the outdoor side beyond the separation part 22 in the housing 21. Then, the hot air is blown off through the third vent hole provided on the upper front surface of the housing 21 by way of the outdoor side air blower 29.

[0044] Alternatively, the compressor 30 and the decompression device 31 may be provided on the other end side of the housing 21 in which the indoor heat exchanger 26 is accommodated, as shown in FIG. 1. Still alternatively, the compressor 30 and the decompression device 31 may be provided on the room side of the one end side of the housing 21 in which the outdoor heat exchanger 28 is accommodated.

[0045] With referring now to FIG. 2, a reference numeral 19 denotes a room to be air-conditioned, which has a heating device 20 inside. A reference numeral 19a is a ventilation fan for letting in the outdoor air to the room 19 in an emergency. A reference numeral 19b is a ventilation fan for sending out room air from the room 19 in an emergency. A reference numeral 20a denotes a device air blower attached to the device 20 for discharging air forcedly. The air-conditioning apparatus 33 configured as shown in FIG. 1 is formed into a vertically long shape. The air-conditioning apparatus 33 is mounted on the outside surface of the side wall of the room 19 in such a manner as to have the suction opening 24 facing an upper part of the room 19 and the blow-off opening 25 facing a lower part of the room 19. Now, the heating device 20 to be refrigerated may be a device having high calorific value, such as a communication device, a wireless device, or a computer. However, the heating device 20 is not limited to those specific devices. In any event, the heating device 20 may be any device which needs air-conditioning, such as cooling or heating. The heating device 20 such as those, in general, has extremely high heating density. As a result, the temperature in the device gets easily high locally. For that reason, the device air blower 20a sucks in air of a relatively low temperature which can easily stagnate at the lower part of the room 19 into the heating device 20, and blows off the air upwards through the heating device 20. In this manner, the device air blower 20a supplies air within the room 19 to the heating device 20 and discharges air from the heating device 20, so that the device is forced to be refrigerated. In addition to that, those devices are easily affected by dirt and dust in the atmosphere. For that reason, the room 19 is in many cases designed to be airtight in general.

[0046] An operation of the thus configured air-conditioning apparatus of the first embodiment is now discussed.

[0047] According to the present invention, it is to be noted that the heating device 20 placed in the room 19 is assumed to be a device the calorific value of which is high, such as a communication device, a wireless device and a computer machine. For that reason, a discussion will be made with reference to an operation for refrigerating air in the room 19 as an example.

[0048] The refrigerant compressed in the compressor 30 at a high temperature and with a high pressure flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 28. Then, in the outdoor heat exchanger 28, the compressed refrigerant releases heat into the outdoor air, which is taken in by the outdoor side air blower 29, to be condensed and liquefied. This liquefied refrigerant becomes a gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant of a low temperature and a low pressure in the decompression device 31 and flows into the indoor heat exchanger 26. Then, 27 in the indoor heat exchanger 26, the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant absorbs heat from the room air of the room 19 taken in by the room side air blower 27 to be evaporated and gasified. Then, the evaporated and gasified refrigerant returns to the compressor 30.

[0049] Upper air inside the room 19 which is send to the indoor heat exchanger 26 through the suction opening 24 by the room side air blower 27 flows along an arrow with a broken line in FIG. 2. Then, the room air is refrigerated by the latent heat of vaporization of the refrigerant inside the indoor heat exchanger 26, and then blown off to the lower part of the room 19 through the blow-off opening 25. This refrigerated air is then blown off upwards from the bottom of the heating device 20 by the device air blower 20a attached to the heating device 20 installed in the room 19, and at the same time, refrigerates the heating device 20. Then, the refrigerated air is heated by heat generated by the heating device 20. The heated air is then blown off upward in the room 19 by the device air blower 20a as indicated by an arrow having a solid line in FIG. 2.

[0050] Such electronic devices as communication devices, wireless devices and computer machines, which are the main target to be refrigerated by the present invention, are easily affected by dirt and dust in the atmosphere. For that reason, the room 19 having such a device inside in FIG. 2 is normally designed to be airtight. The room 19 is controlled not to allow the outdoor air to get mixed with the room air. Furthermore, the entrance of people into the room is restricted and so forth to keep the room airtight. However, for fear of an abnormal elevation of the room temperature of the room 19 caused by a malfunction or failure of the air-conditioning apparatus 33, the room 19 is provided with the ventilation fan 19a for sending out room air and the ventilation fan 19b for letting in the outdoor air. In the case of the room temperature of the room 19 rising above a preset value, then those ventilation fans operate in a synchronized manner so as to let in outdoor air to the room 19 so as to lower the room temperature. This may serve for preventing the heating device 20 from a failure caused by such an abnormally high temperature.

[0051] As aforementioned, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the suction opening 24 and the blow-off opening 25 are provided in the distance from each other on the one end side and on the other end side, respectively, of the housing 21 which is formed into a vertically long shape. Besides, the suction opening 24 is provided in the upper part so as to suck in upper air in the room to be refrigerated and the blow-off opening 25 is provided in the lower part so as to blow off refrigerated air to lower part of the room to be refrigerated. In addition to that, the suction opening 24 and the blow-off opening 25 are provided on the side wall of the room to be refrigerated 19 in such a manner as to boost convection in the room to be refrigerated 19 in consideration of the direction of the convention. For that reason, waste heat discharged upwards from the device air blower 20a is sucked in through the suction opening 24 having the opening in the upper part of the side wall of the room 19. Refrigerated air is blown off through the blow-off opening 25 having the opening in the lower part of the side wall of the room 19. As a result, the flow of air created by the device air blower 20a inside the room 19 is not disturbed. Thus, it is a positive effect of the present invention that the device 20 with high heating density such as a communication device may be refrigerated effectively.

[0052] In addition to that, the room air is allowed to hardly stagnate in the room 19, so that the device may be prevented from a failure caused by a local elevation of room air temperature in the room 19.

[0053] Furthermore, even when a temperature sensor may be provided around the ceiling of the room for detecting an abnormal room temperature, as air at a high temperature hardly stagnates near the ceiling, there is no fear of detecting an abnormally high temperature and consequently taking in the outdoor air unnecessarily to the room. For that reason, the reliability on the device may also be prevented from being lowered by dust and dirt in the atmosphere.

[0054] Still further, the sucking air into the air-conditioning apparatus may be held at a high temperature. For that reason, the air-conditioning apparatus may be operated efficiently, and therefore, the power consumption of the air-conditioning apparatus may be reduced.

[0055] Still further, the one end side of the housing 21 is separated into the room side and the outdoor side by the use of the separation part 22 so that the outdoor air and the room air are not allowed to be mixed inside the housing 21. On that room side, the room side ventilation flue 23 is formed, and the first vent hole 24 is provided at the one end of the room side ventilation flue 23. Then, on the outdoor side beyond the separation part 22, the outdoor heat exchanger 28 is provided. As a result, the thus configured air-conditioning apparatus is allowed to be formed thinner and provided at a low cost.

[0056] Still further, the air-conditioning apparatus of the embodiment discussed above is installed, as one complete unit, on the outdoor side of the side wall of the room 19 having the device to be refrigerated inside, as shown in FIG. 2. For that reason, in comparison with a separate type air conditioner, which is a main stream type among existing air conditioners, there is no need of acquiring a space for installing any indoor equipment inside the room 19, and therefore, a space efficiency may be improved, and the room 19 may be allowed to be smaller. In addition to that, time and labor as well as expenses required for laying a refrigerant pipeline for connecting an outdoor equipment and an indoor equipment may be allowed to be saved. Accordingly, possible causes of a failure in air-conditioning relating to poor pipeline laying work may be eliminated in advance, such as insufficient vacuumizing in a refrigerating cycle, the inclusion of foreign matters in the cycle, a shortage or excess in a filling amount of refrigerant, a refrigerant leak and connection bulb being left unopened by failure. As a result, the reliability of operation on the device to be refrigerated my be improved.

[0057] Still further, the air-conditioning apparatus of the first embodiment may be installed in such a manner as to attach the surface on the room side of the housing 21 closely to the surface of the side wall of the room 19 having the device inside, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. For that reason, the housing 21 and the inner parts thereof are allowed to be looked after for maintenance from the outdoor side of the side wall. Therefore, there is no need of a man entering the room 19 at the time for doing maintenance work for the air-conditioning apparatus. Consequently, dust and dirt may be prevented from entering the room 19 with a man. As a result, the reliability on the device 20 may be improved.

[0058] Still further, with the thermo-compression refrigerating cycle configuring the air-conditioning apparatus of this embodiment, either the hydrogen fluoride carbon HFC refrigerant including no chlorine such as R407C, R410A and R32, or a substance of which the modulus of ozone rupture is 0 such as CO2 and HC may be used as the working fluid. As the refrigeration oil, an oil compatible with the HFC refrigerant such as polyolester oil and polyvinyl ether oil, or an oil non-compatible with the HFC refrigerant such as hard alkyl-benzene oil is used. For that reason, the air-conditioning apparatus does not destroy the ozone layer, thereby achieving a global environment friendly air-conditioning apparatus.

[0059] In addition to that, the air-conditioning apparatus of this embodiment has the object of refrigerating a device placed in the room 19 with the airtightness relatively high. For that reason, the latent heat load (dehumidification load) when refrigerating the room is smaller than that when refrigerating the room for people in the normal case. As a result, the sensible heat ratio (the ratio of sensible heat load in all the load for air-conditioning) becomes more than 0.9, for example, for a highly sensible heat operation. Therefore, in order to handle the load efficiently, the capacity of the indoor heat exchanger 26 and/or the capacity of the room side air blower 27 have to be larger than those for a conventional air conditioner of same size. With the air-conditioning apparatus being configured in that manner, the heating load of the device may be handled efficiently. In addition to that, the temperature of refrigerated air when blown off becomes higher than that with a conventional air conditioner. As a result, there is no fear of a failure of the device caused by dew formed on the device even when receiving refrigerated air directly.

[0060] Embodiment 2.

[0061] In the first embodiment discussed above, the outdoor heat exchanger 28 is provided in the upper part of the housing 21 and the indoor heat exchanger 26 is provided the lower part of the housing 21. Alternatively, the same thin and compact air-conditioning apparatus as that discussed in the first embodiment may be achieved if the position of the outdoor heat exchanger 28 and the indoor heat exchanger 26 are reversed. This will be discussed below in the concrete.

[0062] FIG. 3 is a sectional block diagram of an air-conditioning apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. With referring to the figure, the outdoor heat exchanger 28 and the outdoor side air blower 29 are placed in a lower part on the other end side of the housing 21, and the indoor heat exchanger 26 and the room side air blower 27 are placed in an upper part on the one end side of the housing 21, which differs greatly from the air-conditioning apparatus discussed above in the first embodiment. Specifically, the suction opening 24 is provided in an upper part of the air-conditioning apparatus 33 so as to suck in upper hot air in the room in the same manner as that discussed in the first embodiment. Similarly, as discussed in the first embodiment, the blow-off opening 25 is provided in a lower part of the air-conditioning apparatus 33 so as to blow off refrigerated air toward a sucking side of the air blower of the device to be refrigerated in the room. Furthermore, the suction opening 24 is placed on the room side of the indoor heat exchanger 26 (at the side of the room 19) and the blow-off opening 25 is placed on the room side of the outdoor heat exchanger 28 (at the side of the room 19).

[0063] The separation part 22 for separating the inside of the housing 21, for preventing the outdoor air and the room air from being mixed inside the air-conditioning apparatus, is provided on the other end side (at the bottom of the figure) of the housing 21. On the room side beyond the separation part 22, the other end side of the room side ventilation flue 23 is formed, and also, the blow-off opening 25 is connected to the room side ventilation flue 23. Then, on the outdoor side beyond the separation part 22, the outdoor heat exchanger 28, the outdoor side air blower 29, the compressor 30 and the decompression device 31 are provided.

[0064] Now, the exhaust port of drain 32 is placed above the outdoor heat exchanger 28, so that dew water (drain) as a result of refrigerating the room air at the indoor heat exchanger 26 placed in the upper part is sprinkled over the outdoor heat exchanger 28 by way of the drain pan and the exhaust port of drain 32.

[0065] According to the air-conditioning apparatus being configured as discussed above, when the air-conditioning apparatus is installed in a room to be refrigerated not shown in the same manner as that discussed in the first embodiment, air at a high temperature of the refrigerating room sucked in by the room side air blower 27 through the suction opening 24 provided in the upper part of the housing 21 flows through the room side ventilation flue 23 as indicated by an arrow with a broken line. Then, the hot air is refrigerated at the indoor heat exchanger 26 and blown off through the blow-off opening 25 provided in the lower part of the housing 21 into the room to be refrigerated. As a result, the device in the room to be refrigerated may be effectively refrigerated. In addition to that, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, drain water condensed of the room air is dropped on and sprinkled over the outdoor heat exchanger 28 by way of the exhaust port of drain 32. For that reason, especially in the summer time when the temperature of the outdoor air is high, the latent heat of vaporization of the drain water is allowed to be used. This may prevent a condensed temperature from rising. As a result, there is also a positive effect that the operating efficiency of the refrigerating cycle may be improved.

[0066] Embodiment 3.

[0067] In the first embodiment, the air-conditioning apparatus has been discussed with reference to the example in which the device to be refrigerated is equipped with an air blower which discharges refrigerated air upward, and the air-conditioning apparatus 33 is mounted on the side wall of the room 19. As a result, the device with high density of heating may be refrigerated effectively without disturbing the flow of room air created by the device air blower inside the room 19. In a third embodiment, it is discussed that a method for installing an air-conditioning apparatus in the case that the device to be refrigerated is equipped with an air blower on its side.

[0068] FIG. 4 is a side view block diagram of an air-conditioning apparatus when installed illustrating a method for installing the air-conditioning apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

[0069] As illustrated in the figure, the device to be refrigerated 20, such as a communication device, a wireless device, and a computer machine, is equipped with the air blower 20a for refrigerating, which sucks in air at the front thereof (at the left hand side of FIG. 4) as indicated by an arrow with a solid line, and blows off the air at the back (at the right hand side of FIG. 4). The air-conditioning apparatus 33 is installed on the ceiling of the room 19 in such a manner as to have the suction opening 24 and the blow-off opening 25 both facing downwards. In this case, the suction opening 24 is placed on the right hand side of the ceiling of the room 19 (on the back side of the device) in accordance with the flow of air identified by the arrow with a solid line created by the device air blower 20a. On the other hand, the blow-off opening 25 is placed on the left hand side of the ceiling of the room 19 (on the front side of the device).

[0070] As discussed above, the suction opening 24 and the blow-off opening 25 on the air-conditioning apparatus 33 are arranged so as to be in accordance with the direction of the convection created by the device 20 in the room 19. By this method for installing the air-conditioning apparatus, room air at a high temperature as a result of processing heat generated in the device 20 flows upward on the right in the figure by the device air blower 20a. Then, the hot room air is sucked in through the suction opening 24 provided at a right end of the air-conditioning apparatus 33, as indicated by the arrow with a broken line, by the room side air blower 27 in the air-conditioning apparatus 33, after refrigerated by the indoor heat exchanger 26, is blown off downwards on the left hand side of the room through the blow-off opening 25. This refrigerated air is sucked in by the device air blower 20a at the front of the device (left hand side in FIG. 4) to be used for refrigerating the device 20.

[0071] As aforementioned, according to the third embodiment of the present invention, the suction opening 24 of the air-conditioning apparatus 33 is provided on the side of the ceiling where the device air blower 20a blows off waste heat, and the blow-off opening 25 of the air-conditioning apparatus 33 is provided on the ceiling on the left side in the figure where the device air blower 20a sucks in refrigerated air. For that reason, the device with high heating density may be refrigerated efficiently without disturbing the flow of air in the room 19 created by the device air blower 20a. Besides, the reliability on the device may be improved. In addition to that, the temperature of sucking air into the air-conditioning apparatus 33 may be held high, and therefore, the air-conditioning apparatus maybe operated efficiently. It is a positive effect that the power consumption of the air-conditioning apparatus may be reduced.

[0072] Embodiment 4.

[0073] In the third embodiment, the air-conditioning apparatus has been discussed with reference to the example in which the air-conditioning apparatus is installed horizontally in the roof of the room 19 in order to refrigerate the device 20 equipped with the air blower 20a which blows off to the side of the device. However, the installing position of the air-conditioning apparatus is not limited to the roof or the ceiling.

[0074] FIG. 5 is a side view block diagram of an air-conditioning apparatus when installed illustrating a method for installing the air-conditioning apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention

[0075] The air-conditioning apparatus shown in the figure has the same configuration as that of the air-conditioning apparatus shown in FIG. 1 of the first embodiment. The air-conditioning apparatus is installed in such a manner as to have the blow-off opening 25 of the air-conditioning apparatus 33 on the side wall of the room 19 facing a lower part of the room 19 on the sucking side of the device air blower 20, and the suction opening 24 of the air-conditioning apparatus 33 facing an upper part of the same side of the room 19.

[0076] According to the fourth embodiment, the blow-off opening 25 of the air-conditioning apparatus 33 is arranged so as to face the sucking side of the device air blower 20a. The suction opening 24 is arranged in the position where to suck in upper room air at a high temperature which is discharged at the back of the device 20 (at the right hand side in the figure) and blown off upward in the room 19 by the device air blower 20a. As a result, in the air-conditioning apparatus 33 air flows as indicated by an arrow with a broken line. Then, refrigerated air being blown off from the air-conditioning apparatus 33 is sucked in by the device air blower 20a, and flows in the direction indicated by an arrow with the solid line. Consequently, as a whole, air flows in the direction that boosts convection created by the device 20 in a similar manner to that discussed in the third embodiment with reference to FIG. 4. This may prevent room air from being stagnating in the room 19. For that reason, the air-conditioning apparatus may refrigerate the device 20 so efficiently that the reliability on the device may be improved. Besides, the power consumption of the air-conditioning apparatus may also be reduced.

[0077] Embodiment 5.

[0078] FIG. 6 is a side view block diagram of an air-conditioning apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention illustrating the key parts thereof.

[0079] With referring to the figure, a reference numeral 34 denotes a pipeline for connecting the compressor 30 on the discharge side and the condenser 28. A reference numeral 35 denotes a pipeline for connecting the compressor 30 on the intake side and the evaporator 26. A reference numeral 36 denotes a bypass pipeline provided for bypassing the two pipelines 34 and 35. A reference numeral 37 denotes a non-return valve provided in the bypass pipeline 36 for blocking the flow of the refrigerant from the discharge side 34 to the intake side 35 of the compressor 30.

[0080] An operation of the air-conditioning apparatus of this embodiment is now discussed. In a normal cooling operation in which the compressor 30 is operated, the bypass pipeline 36 which connects the pipeline 34 on the discharge side of the compressor and the pipeline 35 on the intake side of the compressor is closed by means of the non-return valve 37. In this condition, the operation is the same as that discussed in the first embodiment. Therefore, this particular operation will not be reiterated here.

[0081] When the temperature of the outdoor air is lower than the temperature of sucking room air by approximately more than five degrees centigrade, and when the compressor 33 is stopped, the refrigerant condensed by the outdoor air at a lower temperature in the condenser 28 flows with the effect of gravity into the evaporator 26 which is placed in a lower part through the decompression device 31 which is mostly fully open. Then, the refrigerant is heat-exchanged with the room air to be evaporation-gasified. Specifically, the pressure of the evaporator 26 becomes higher than that of the condenser 28 by a pressure difference based on an elevation difference between evaporator 26 and the condenser 28. For that reason, the refrigerant flows into the condenser 28 passing through the bypass pipeline 36 and the non-return valve 37. Here, the refrigerant releases heat again into the outdoor air at the low temperature to become condensed liquid, which activates a natural circulation refrigerating cycle.

[0082] In an operation of the natural circulation, the refrigerant can circulate by the pressure difference based on the elevation difference between the condenser 28 and the evaporator 26 and the density difference between the liquid and gas of the refrigerant itself. For that reason, if only the room side air blower 27 and the outdoor side air blower 29 are operating, there is no need of supplying power to the compressor 30. Therefore, the room 19 may be refrigerated highly efficiently with a least amount of power to be consumed. As a result, the power consumption of the air-conditioning apparatus 33 may be reduced greatly. In this case, it is possible to add a known control technique, needless to say, such as a room air temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of sucking air from the room 19 to be refrigerated and an outdoor air temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the outdoor air, such as a controller for controlling the operation of the compressor based on information obtained by these two sensors not shown.

[0083] In addition to that, if the number of revolutions of the compressor 30 is variable and the compressor 30 is of a capacity control type by a high/low pressure bypass or the like, under the condition that the load is small but the temperature of the outdoor air is higher than the temperature of the room air, which does not meet the requirement for the natural circulation operation, the power consumption may further be reduced with the compressor of smaller capacity.

[0084] Embodiment 6.

[0085] FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 each show the key parts of an air-conditioning apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a side view block diagram of the air-conditioning apparatus. FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a damper control means. With referring to the figures, a reference numeral 38 denotes a first communicating section, which is provided on the separation part 22 at the lower part below the bottom end of the first vent hole 24. The first communicating section 38 may allow air in the room side ventilation flue 23 to communicate with the outdoor air. A reference numeral 39 denotes a first damper, which is provided in the first communication section 39. The first damper 39, in a first condition as a normal state, blocks the first communication section 38 and unblocks the room side ventilation flue 23. The first damper 39, in a second condition as an emergency state or the like, blocks the room side ventilation flue 23 and unblocks the first communication section 38, so that the room air sucked through the one vent hole 24 is to be discharged outside through the first commendation section 38 by the outdoor side air blower 29. A reference numeral 40 denotes a second communication section, which is provided in such a manner as to open the outside surface of the housing 21 between the first communicating section 38 in the room side ventilation flue 23 and the room side air blower 27. The second communication section 40 may allow the room side ventilation flue 23 to communicate with the outdoor air. A reference numeral 41 denotes a second damper, which is provided in such a manner as to block or unblock the second communication section 40. In the first condition, the second damper 41 blocks the second communicating section 40. In the second condition, the second damper 41 unblocks the second communicating section 40, so that the outdoor air sucked through the second communication section 40 by the room side air blower 27 is to be blown off through the other vent hole 25 into the room.

[0086] A reference numeral 42 denotes a temperature sensor for outputting a signal depending on the room temperature. A thermal resistor, for example, is used as the temperature sensor 42. The temperature sensor is placed in the neighborhood of the suction opening 24 in the room side ventilation flue 23 or in a remote controller (not shown) attached to the air-conditioning apparatus 33. A reference numeral 43 denotes an opening and closing means for the first damper 39. A reference numeral 44 denotes an opening and closing means for the second damper 41. Those opening and closing means 43 and 44 each are provided with an electromagnetic actuator, for example, and therefore, which allows the damper 39, 41 to be held open or closed based on an electric signal from a control circuit 45. A reference numeral 46 denotes a temperature setting means for pre-setting a first temperature and a second temperature for the control circuit 45. For example, the first temperature may be set to a maximum value in a tolerable ambient temperature range of the device to be air-conditioned and the second temperature may be set to a certain temperature lower than the maximum value. The control circuit 45 controls in such a manner as to open the damper 39, 41, by sending a signal to the damper opening and closing means 43, 44, respectively, when the room temperature detected by the temperature sensor 42 goes beyond the first temperature set by the temperature setting means 46. When the room temperature goes below the second temperature being set, then the control circuit 45 controls the damper 39, 41 to be closed by sending a signal to the damper opening and closing means 43, 44, respectively.

[0087] An operation of the air-conditioning apparatus is now discussed. First of all, the temperature of the room air in the room 19 is detected by the temperature sensor 42 equipped in the air-conditioning apparatus 33. In the case that this detected value is not beyond the previously set first temperature as an abnormal set value, the first damper 39 and the second damper 41 are closed. In this situation, the operation of the air-conditioning apparatus of this embodiment is the same as that discussed in the first embodiment.

[0088] Then, in the case that the detected value of the temperature of the air in the room 19 is beyond the previously set abnormal set value, then the first damper 39 and the second damper 41 are opened, so that the room air at an abnormally high temperature is discharged outside by the room side air blower 29 through the first damper 39, as indicated by an arrow i. Then, the outdoor air is taken into the room through the second damper 41 by the room side air blower 27 so as to lower the temperature in the room. After that, when the temperature of the room air gets below the second set value (first set value>second set value) as a previously set normal set value, then the first damper 39 and the second damper 41 are closed, and the air-conditioning apparatus returns to a normal cooling operation. In case that the air-conditioning apparatus 33 has a breakdown, an alarm signal may be issued to a given managing site not shown and kept on while the damper 39, 41 is open.

[0089] As aforementioned, according to the sixth embodiment, when the temperature of the air in the room 19 to be refrigerated becomes abnormal, by opening the first damper 39 and the second damper 41, the room air may be discharged outside and the outdoor air be sent to the room. For that reason, in case that the air-conditioning apparatus has a failure, the device to be refrigerated is not exposed to air at an abnormally high temperature, thereby allowing the reliability of operation to be secured. In addition to that, there is no need of installing special ventilation fans 19a and 19b provided separately from the air-conditioning apparatus 33, as shown in FIG. 2, for discharging the room air and sucking in the outdoor air, respectively. As a result, the architecture of the room 19 may be allowed to become simple and no fans are needed. For that reason, the room may be provided at a low cost.

[0090] Alternatively, the communicating section 38, 40 and the damper opening and closing means 39, 41 may be provided on either the discharging side or the sucking side of room air. However, in the case of the air-conditioning apparatus being installed in an airtight room, it is desirable that the communicating section 38, 40 and the damper opening and closing means 39, 41 are provided both on the discharging side and the sucking side, as discussed in this embodiment.

[0091] Furthermore, in the above discussion, the opening and closing dampers are provided in the case that the outdoor heat exchanger 28 is placed in the upper part of the housing 21 and the indoor heat exchanger 26 is placed in the lower part of the housing 21. However, contrary to this configuration, the opening and closing damper may be provided in such a case as the outdoor heat exchanger 28 is placed in the lower part of the housing 21 and the outdoor heat exchanger 26 is placed in the upper part of the housing 21 like the example shown in FIG. 3.

[0092] With referring to the embodiments discussed above, the separation part 22 provided on the one end side of the housing 21 is formed vertically in the one end of the housing 21 along the inside surface of the one end of the housing 21 in parallel to the surface of the outside wall on which the housing is mounted. However, the separation part 22 is not necessarily limited to this configuration. The same effect may be achieved when the separation part is formed in a direction of an orthogonal surface to the surface of the outside wall and vertically in the one end of the housing, in such a manner as to have the outdoor side heat exchanger 28 on one hand and the room side ventilation flue 23 on the other in a horizontal direction in a view, for example, from the side of the room in which the air-conditioning apparatus is installed. In addition to that, the location relation between the room side heat exchanger 26 and the air blower 27 is not limited to that discussed in the embodiments above, either.

[0093] Furthermore, with reference to the respective first through sixth embodiments of the present invention, the discussions are made with the example that the device to be refrigerated 20 is equipped with the air blower 20a for refrigerating the device itself. However, a similar performance to those discussed in the embodiments may be achieved with a device equipped with no such air blower necessarily. In particular, with the first, second, fifth and sixth embodiments, even if the device to be refrigerated is not equipped with the air blower, natural upward convection occurs depending on the height of heating density, and as a result, the same room air current is formed as that created by the air blower 20a blowing off upwards as shown in FIG. 2. For that reason, the suction opening 24 of the air-conditioning apparatus 33 may be placed on an upper surface of the side wall of the room 19 so as to suck in air at a high temperature on the downstream side (at the blow-off side) of the natural upward convection inside the device. Then, the blow-off opening 25 may be placed on a lower surface of the side wall of the room 19 so as to blow off refrigerated air on the upstream side (at the sucking side) of the natural upward convection inside the device. Thus, the suction opening and the blow-off opening may be provided to face to the direction that boosts the natural convection.

[0094] With further reference to the respective embodiments of the present invention discussed above, the references are made with the refrigerating cycle which is used only for cooling on condition that the heating device is to be refrigerated. However, needless to say, the air-conditioning apparatus may be a heat pump, which is configured so as to allow a change-over between cooling and heating as desired by switching over the connection between the outdoor heat exchanger and the indoor heat exchanger by the use of a four-way valve. In this case, when the temperature of the outdoor air is low in a severe winter, the room 19 may be heated for maintenance workers who enter the room 19 to perform a maintenance operation for the device and so forth. This may effect an improvement in the working efficiency for the workers. In addition to that, in consideration of a work environment in which maintenance workers enter the room 19 to perform a maintenance operation for the device and so on in the summer season, an additional function may also be provided. Specifically, the ventilating direction of the room side air blower 27 may be reversed so as to suck the room air through the second vent hole 25 placed at the lower part and blow off refrigerated air into the room 19 through the first vent hole 24 placed at the upper part. This would be more desirable in terms of the improvement in work efficiency.

[0095] Still further, if the room 19 is poorly insulated, it is possible in the winter season or the like when the temperature of the outdoor air becomes low that the temperature in the room becomes too low for the device during the operation. In such a case, the room may be heated to keep the room air at an acceptable range of temperature. As a result, the reliability of operation on the device may be improved.

[0096] As aforementioned, according to the present invention, the air-conditioning apparatus is provided with the housing having the room side ventilation flue which is formed long stretching from the one end side toward the other end side, the first vent hole which is provided in the one end side of the housing in such a manner as to have the opening facing to a room when the air-conditioning apparatus is operated and to be connected to the room side ventilation flue, the second vent hole which is provided in the other end side of the housing in such a manner as to have the opening facing to the room when the air-conditioning apparatus is operated and to be connected to the room side ventilation flue, the indoor heat exchanger which is provided in the room side ventilation flue, the room side air blower which is provided in the room side ventilation flue for letting in air through either one of the first and second vent holes, and for sending out the air from the other one of the first and second vent holes, the outdoor heat exchanger which is provided on the outside of the room side ventilation flue in the housing in such a manner as to let outdoor air ventilate and arranged in a different position from the indoor heat exchanger in a direction connecting the first vent hole and the second vent hole, and the outdoor side air blower for letting the outdoor air ventilate for the outdoor heat exchanger. For that reason, refrigerated air being blown off from the blow-off opening is prevented from being sucked in directly through the suction opening, and also air at a low or high temperature is prevented from stagnating in the room to be refrigerated. As a result, it is a positive effect of the present invention that the air-conditioning apparatus may refrigerate efficiently a heating device placed in a room to be refrigerated.

[0097] In addition to that, the thus configured air-conditioning apparatus may be installed in such a manner as to have the suction opening and the blow-off opening facing to the direction that boosts the flow of air by the convection in a room having the heating device inside. As a result, it is a positive effect of the present invention that air-conditioning may be achieved efficiently without disturbing the convection.

[0098] Industrial Applicability

[0099] As aforementioned, the air-conditioning apparatus and the method for installing the air-conditioning apparatus according to the present invention is desirable in particular for air-conditioning a room having a heating device inside which is designed for an unmanned operation.

Claims

1. An air-conditioning apparatus using a refrigerating cycle comprising:

a housing having a room side ventilation flue which is formed long stretching from one end side toward another end side;

a first vent hole which is provided in the one end side of the housing in such a manner as to have an opening facing to a room when the air-conditioning apparatus is operated and to be connected to the room side ventilation flue;

a second vent hole which is provided in the another end side of the housing in such a manner as to have an opening facing to the room when the air-conditioning apparatus is operated and to be connected to the room side ventilation flue;

an indoor heat exchanger which is provided in the room side ventilation flue;

a room side air blower, which is provided in the room side ventilation flue, for letting in air through either one of the first and second vent holes, and for sending out the air from the other one of the first and second vent holes;

an outdoor heat exchanger which is provided on an outside of the room side ventilation flue in the housing in such a manner as to let outdoor air ventilate and arranged in a different position from the indoor heat exchanger in a direction connecting the first vent hole and the second vent hole; and

an outdoor side air blower for letting the outdoor air ventilate for the outdoor heat exchanger.

2. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, wherein the housing and the room side ventilation flue are formed vertically long so as to suck air through an upper vent hole and send out refrigerated air through a lower vent hole when cooling.

3. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a separation part for separating an inside of the one end side of the housing into a room side and an outdoor side;

wherein the room side ventilation flue and one of the vent holes connected to the room side ventilation flue are arranged on the room side beyond the separation part, and the outdoor heat exchanger is arranged on the outdoor side beyond the separation part.

4. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 3, comprising:

a first communicating section, which is provided on the separation part, for allowing air to flow through the room side ventilation flue to outside;

a first damper, which is provided in the first communicating section, for blocking the first communicating section and unblocking the room side ventilation flue in a first condition, and for blocking the room side ventilation flue and unblocking the first communicating section in a second condition so that room air sucked in through one of the vent holes is discharged outside through the first communicating section by the outdoor side air blower;

a second communicating section, which is provided in the room side ventilation flue between the first communicating section and the room side air blower, for allowing air to flow through the room side ventilation flue to outside; and

a second damper, which is provided in such a manner as to allow the second communicating section to be blocked and unblocked, for blocking the second communicating section in the first condition, and unblocking the second communicating section in the second condition so that outdoor air sucked in through the second communicating section by the room side air blower is to be blown off into the room through the other one of the vent holes.

5. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 4, comprising:

a temperature sensor for outputting a signal depending upon a room temperature;

a temperature setting means for setting a first temperature level and a second temperature level which is lower than the first temperature level; and

a control circuit for controlling in such a manner as to open the first damper and the second damper when the signal outputted by the temperature sensor indicates that the room temperature is higher than the first temperature level set by the temperature setting means, and close the first damper and the second damper when the signal indicates that the room temperature is lower than the second temperature level.

6. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, wherein the housing is placed on the outdoor side of a room surface when installed.

7. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indoor heat exchanger is arranged in an upper part and the outdoor heat exchanger is arranged in a lower part in such a manner as to let drain water from the indoor heat exchanger being used as an evaporator drop over the outdoor heat exchanger.

8. The air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, comprising:

a bypass pipeline for connecting a refrigerant pipeline on a discharge side of a compressor and a refrigerant pipeline on an intake side of the compressor; and

a non-return valve, which is provided in the bypass pipeline, for blocking the flow of a refrigerant from the discharge side of the compressor into the intake side of the compressor.

9. A method for installing an air-conditioning apparatus comprising:

having an air-conditioning apparatus using a refrigerating cycle including a housing having a room side ventilation flue which is formed long stretching from one end side toward another end side, a first vent hole which is provided in the one end side of the housing in such a manner as to have an opening facing to a room when the air-conditioning apparatus is operated and to be connected to the room side ventilation flue, a second vent hole which is provided in the another end side of the housing in such a manner as to have an opening facing to the room when the air-conditioning apparatus is operated and to be connected to the room side ventilation flue, an indoor heat exchanger which is provided in the room side ventilation flue, a room side air blower which is provided in the room side ventilation flue for letting in air through either one of the first and second vent holes, and for sending out the air from the other one of the first and second vent holes, an outdoor heat exchanger which is provided on an outside of the room side ventilation flue in the housing in such a manner as to let outdoor air ventilate and arranged in a different position from the indoor heat exchanger in a direction connecting the first vent hole and the second vent hole, and an outdoor side air blower for letting the outdoor air ventilate for the outdoor heat exchanger; and

installing the air-conditioning apparatus in such a manner as to have a suction opening for room air and a blow-off opening for refrigerated air facing a room toward a direction that boosts convection which is created by a heating device placed in the room.

10. The method of claim 9, comprising:

providing the suction opening for the room air in an upper part of the room: and

providing the blow-off opening for the refrigerated air in the lower part of the room.