WO2019138529A1 - Air conditioning machine - Google Patents

Abstract

This air conditioning machine has a configuration wherein a connection pipe connected to an indoor machine, and an extension pipe connected to an outdoor machine are connected via a joint member. The air conditioning machine is provided with: a heat insulating material that performs heat insulation by covering the connection pipe, said heat insulating material having one end positioned in a room, and the other end extending to a position at which the other end covers the joint member; a refrigerant detection sensor that detects a refrigerant; and a control device that detects, on the basis of a detection result obtained from the refrigerant detection sensor, whether the refrigerant is leaking. The connection pipe is connected to a heat transfer pipe of an indoor heat exchanger disposed in the indoor machine, and the refrigerant detection sensor is attached to a pipe portion protruding, on the indoor heat exchanger side, to the outside from the heat insulating material, or to a structure around the pipe portion.

Description

Air conditioner

The present invention relates to an air conditioner provided with a refrigerant detection sensor.

In the wall-mounted air conditioner, a plug-in pipe integrated with the indoor unit is installed through the wall, and the connecting pipe connected to the indoor unit is passed through the plug-in pipe and extends outside the room . Then, the flared joint is fastened to the outdoor end of the connection pipe drawn to the outside and the extension pipe connected to the outdoor unit. Since the attachment of the flared joint is performed manually, the refrigerant leaks from the flared joint when the fastening is weak.

Therefore, conventionally, there is an air conditioner in which a refrigerant detection sensor is installed inside an insertion pipe (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In patent document 1, when a refrigerant | coolant detection sensor detects a refrigerant | coolant, the ventilation fan which ventilates to the heat exchanger mounted in the indoor unit is operated, room air is stirred, and refrigerant | coolant density | concentration is reduced.

JP, 2015-42930, A

In patent document 1, although a refrigerant | coolant detection sensor is provided in the insertion pipe, the insertion pipe is provided through the wall, and is installed in the part which connects an indoor and outdoor. For this reason, it can not be said that the refrigerant | coolant detection sensor installed in the insertion pipe can detect a refrigerant | coolant leak indoors rapidly.

Moreover, the refrigerant | coolant leak in an air conditioner also arises from the brazed location of the heat exchanger tube and connection piping of an indoor heat exchanger. However, since the brazed part is located indoors, there is a problem that the refrigerant detection sensor of Patent Document 1 can not detect the refrigerant leak from the brazed part.

The present invention has been made to solve the problems as described above, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner capable of quickly detecting a refrigerant leak into a room.

An air conditioner according to the present invention is an air conditioner in which a connection pipe connected to an indoor unit and an extension pipe connected to an outdoor unit are connected via a joint member, and covers and thermally isolates the connection pipe. A heat insulating material having one end located indoors and the other end extending to a position covering the joint member, a refrigerant detection sensor for detecting the refrigerant, and presence or absence of refrigerant leakage based on the detection result of the refrigerant detection sensor The connection piping is connected to the heat transfer pipe of the indoor heat exchanger disposed in the indoor unit, and the piping portion or the periphery of the piping portion which is out of the heat insulating material on the indoor heat exchanger side The refrigerant detection sensor is attached to the structure.

According to the present invention, since the refrigerant detection sensor is attached to the piping part out of the indoor end of the heat insulating material or the structure around the piping part of the connection piping, refrigerant leakage into the room can be detected promptly. It is possible.

It is explanatory drawing of the attachment position of the refrigerant | coolant detection sensor of the air conditioner concerning Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the principal part of the air conditioner concerning Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the air conditioner concerning Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a perspective view of the indoor unit of the air conditioner concerning Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of operation | movement of the air conditioner concerning Embodiment 1 of this invention.

Embodiment 1
FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a mounting position of a refrigerant detection sensor of an air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the main parts of the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
The air conditioner has an indoor heat exchanger 1a in the indoor unit 1, and a connection pipe 2 whose one end is connected to the indoor heat exchanger 1a penetrates the wall W and is drawn to the outside. The other end of the connection pipe 2 is connected to the extension pipe 3 connected to the outdoor heat exchanger (not shown) in the outdoor unit 10 via the joint member 4. The joint member 4 is configured by, for example, a flare joint or the like. One end of the connection pipe 2 is connected by brazing to the end of the heat transfer pipe 1aa of the indoor heat exchanger 1a.

The insertion pipe 11 is provided to penetrate the wall W, and the connection pipe 2 is passed through the insertion pipe 11 in a state of being surrounded by the cylindrical heat insulating material 5 together with the drain hose (not shown). It is pulled out outdoors. A storage case 13 for storing the exhaust device 12 is attached to the outdoor outlet 11 a of the insertion pipe 11 from the outdoor side. The exhaust device 12 is a fan that sucks in air from the indoor side and blows the air to the outdoor side, and includes a motor 12 a and a blade 12 b driven by the motor 12 a and setting the wind direction from indoor to outdoor. In the insertion pipe 11, the heat insulating material 5 is disposed in a dense state, and a gap communicating the inside and the outside of the room is small. Therefore, the pressure loss of the air flow passing through the insertion pipe 11 is large. Therefore, as the motor 12a, one is selected which can overcome the pressure loss and obtain an output capable of sufficiently generating an air flow in the insertion pipe 11.

The length of the insertion pipe 11 corresponds to the depth of the wall W. Further, the diameter of the insertion pipe 11 is such that the heat insulating material 5 for wrapping the connection pipe 2 and the drain hose (not shown) pass smoothly. The insertion pipe 11 is not special and is used when installing an air conditioner in a general household.

One end of the heat insulating material 5 covering the connection pipe 2 is located in the room, and the other end extends to the installation location of the joint member 4 so as to surround the joint member 4 and a part of the extension pipe 3. Therefore, when the refrigerant leaks from the joint member 4, the leaked refrigerant passes through the inside of the heat insulating material 5 and moves to the indoor unit 1 side and the outdoor unit 10 side. The refrigerant moved to the indoor unit 1 side leaks into the room from the indoor side end 5 a of the heat insulating material 5. In addition, in FIG. 1, the state which cut | disconnected the heat insulating material 5 on the way of the coupling member 4 and the extension piping 3 is shown on the facilities of illustration. Further, FIG. 1 shows a configuration in which the connection pipe 2 extends from the room to the outside and the joint member 4 is located outside, but the extension pipe 3 extends into the room and the connection pipe 2 and the extension pipe 3 are It may be configured to be connected.

Then, as a characteristic feature of the first embodiment, the refrigerant detection sensor 14 for detecting the refrigerant is out of the range near the indoor side end 5a, specifically from the indoor side end 5a of the heat insulating material 5 It is attached to the connecting piping 2 part. The attachment of the refrigerant detection sensor 14 is performed by, for example, a clip. The refrigerant detection sensor 14 may be disposed in the range near the indoor side end 5 a, and the object to which the refrigerant detection sensor 14 is attached is not necessarily limited to the connection pipe 2. For example, in the housing of the indoor unit 1, a range around the indoor side end 5a in a structure around the connection piping 2 part coming out from the indoor side end 5a of the heat insulating material 5, for example, a mounting panel for arranging a control board. If there is a place for attaching the refrigerant detection sensor 14 inside, it may be attached to the structure.

The above mounting position of the refrigerant detection sensor 14 is, as it were, a point where the leakage refrigerant leaks into the room through the inside of the heat insulating material 5. For this reason, refrigerant leakage can be detected quickly by attaching the refrigerant detection sensor 14 to the above position. Moreover, as a location which a refrigerant | coolant leak produces in an air conditioner, the brazing location of heat-exchanger-tube 1aa of the indoor heat exchanger 1a and the connection piping 2 corresponds, too. The refrigerant detection sensor 14 mounted at the above position can also detect refrigerant leakage from the brazing point at an early stage.

Specifically, the refrigerant detection sensor 14 is configured of a contact combustion sensor, a semiconductor sensor, or the like. Since the refrigerant detection sensor 14 constantly monitors the leakage of the refrigerant, even if the air conditioner is stopped, wiring connection is performed so as to drive if the breaker is on.

During the cooling operation, the connection pipe 2 has a temperature equal to or lower than the dew point temperature, and condensed water is generated on the pipe surface. For this reason, it is desirable to make the refrigerant detection sensor 14 waterproof. However, if the refrigerant detection sensor 14 does not contact the condensed water on the surface of the pipe, the refrigerant detection sensor 14 does not need a waterproof specification.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the indoor unit of the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
The air conditioner includes a control device 20 that controls the entire air conditioner, and the control device 20 is connected to a refrigerant detection sensor 14, an exhaust device 12, and a notification device 15. FIG. 4 shows a specific arrangement of the control device 20, the refrigerant detection sensor 14 and the notification device 15 in the indoor unit 1. The notification device 15 is a device for notifying the user of the refrigerant leakage. For example, the operation display lamp of the indoor unit 1 can be used as the notification device 15, and the refrigerant display may be notified by flashing the operation display lamp a plurality of times or the like. In the case of using the operation display lamp as the notification device 15, the existing configuration can be substituted for the notification device 15, so there is no need to newly install it. Alternatively, a buzzer or the like may be used as the notification device 15, for example.

The control device 20 determines the presence or absence of a refrigerant leak based on the detection result of the refrigerant detection sensor 14. Specifically, the control device 20 compares the detection voltage from the refrigerant detection sensor 14 with a preset threshold voltage, and when the detection voltage exceeds the threshold voltage, determines that there is a refrigerant leak, and the detection voltage is a threshold. If the voltage is lower than the voltage, it is determined that the refrigerant does not leak. Then, the control device 20 controls the exhaust device 12 and the notification device 15 based on the presence or absence of the refrigerant leak. The control device 20 can be configured by hardware such as a circuit device that realizes the function, or can be configured by an arithmetic device such as a microcomputer or a CPU and software executed thereon. Although FIG. 4 shows a configuration in which the control device 20 is disposed inside the indoor unit 1, the control device 20 may be disposed outside the indoor unit 1.

In order to interlock the refrigerant detection sensor 14 with the operation of the air conditioner, the signal processing circuit from the refrigerant detection sensor 14 may be disposed on a control board (not shown) mounted on the indoor unit 1. Further, the control device 20 transmits a drive signal to the motor 12 a of the exhaust device 12. Therefore, it is desirable that the drive circuit of the motor 12a be disposed on a control board (not shown) mounted on the indoor unit 1 in the same manner as the signal processing circuit of the refrigerant detection sensor 14. The drive circuit of the motor 12a may be installed on the control board in the outdoor unit 10 according to the space, or may be built in the motor 12a.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of the operation of the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
The refrigerant detection sensor 14 and the control device 20 are supplied with power and driven regardless of whether the power of the air conditioner is ON or OFF (step S1), and the detection voltage of the refrigerant detection sensor 14 is input to the control device 20 There is. The control device 20 determines whether the detected voltage from the refrigerant detection sensor 14 exceeds a preset threshold voltage (step S2), and when the detected voltage exceeds the threshold voltage, determines that there is a refrigerant leak, and the following steps Control of S3 to step S5 is performed.

(Step S3) The control device 20 stops the operation of the air conditioner. That is, when the compressor (not shown) of the air conditioner and the motor 12a are in operation, the control device 20 transmits a stop signal to them.
(Step S4) The control device 20 drives the exhaust device 12.
(Step S5) The control device 20 causes the notification device 15 to notify the outside that the refrigerant is leaking.

Then, when the detected voltage becomes equal to or lower than the threshold voltage by driving the exhaust device 12, the control device 20 stops the operation of the exhaust device 12 (step S6). In addition, it is desirable that the operation stop of the exhaust system 12 be performed after the exhaustion of the leaked refrigerant from the room to the outside is completed and the refrigerant concentration near the refrigerant detection sensor 14 decreases to a concentration sufficiently lower than the ignition concentration. . Therefore, the operation stop of the exhaust system 12 may be performed after the detection voltage of the refrigerant detection sensor 14 falls below a preset threshold voltage for exhaust completion determination. In addition, the operation of the exhaust device 12 may be stopped after a preset time elapses from the start of driving of the exhaust device 12.

The control device 20 continues to notify that the refrigerant leak has occurred from the notification device 15 even during the operation of the exhaust device 12 and after the operation stop. Then, when the notification stop operation is performed by the user, the notification is stopped.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the refrigerant detection sensor 14 is attached to the pipe portion out of the indoor end 5 a of the heat insulating material 5 in the connection pipe 2 or the structure around the pipe portion The following effects can be obtained. That is, both of the refrigerant leakage from the joint portion between the connection pipe 2 and the extension pipe 3 and the refrigerant leakage from the brazed portion between the heat transfer pipe 1 aa and the connection pipe 2 can be detected promptly.

And if control device 20 detects a refrigerant leak, in order to stop operation of an air conditioner, it can prevent that a refrigerant leak advances.

Further, when the control device 20 detects a refrigerant leak, the control device 20 drives the exhaust device 12 to discharge the refrigerant from the room to the outside, so the leaked refrigerant does not stay in the room. Therefore, the possibility that the refrigerant concentration in the room reaches the ignition concentration can be eliminated.

In addition, the exhaust device 12 is a fan attached to the outdoor outlet 11a of the insertion pipe 11 provided penetrating the wall W, and there is no need to secure an installation space in the room when installing the exhaust device 12 , It is easy to attach to existing air conditioners.

In addition, by attaching the refrigerant detection sensor 14, the signal processing circuit, the exhaust device 12, and the notification device 15 to the air conditioner as a kit, the cost of the air conditioner can be relatively small without largely changing the specifications of the air conditioner. The refrigerant leak detection function can be added to the air conditioner.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 indoor unit, 1a indoor heat exchanger, 1 aa heat transfer pipe, 2 connection piping, 3 extension piping, 4 joint members, 5 heat insulating material, 5a indoor side end, 10 outdoor unit, 11 insertion pipe, 11a outdoor outlet, 12 Exhaust device, 12a motor, 12b blade, 13 storage case, 14 refrigerant detection sensor, 15 notification device, 20 control device, W wall.

Claims (4)

An air conditioner in which a connection pipe connected to an indoor unit and an extension pipe connected to an outdoor unit are connected via a joint member,
A heat insulating material covering and thermally insulating the connection pipe, the heat insulating material having one end located in a room and the other end extending to a position covering the joint member;
A refrigerant detection sensor that detects a refrigerant;
A control device for detecting the presence or absence of a refrigerant leak based on the detection result of the refrigerant detection sensor;
The connection pipe is connected to a heat transfer pipe of an indoor heat exchanger disposed in the indoor unit, and a pipe portion coming out of the heat insulating material on the indoor heat exchanger side or a structure around the pipe portion An air conditioner to which the refrigerant detection sensor is attached. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the control device stops operation of the air conditioner when detecting a refrigerant leak. An exhaust system for exhausting indoor air to the outside of the room,
The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the control device drives the exhaust device when it detects a refrigerant leak. A plug-in pipe through which the connection pipe or the extension pipe passes is provided through the wall;
The air conditioner according to claim 3, wherein the exhaust device is a fan and is attached to the outlet outside of the insertion pipe.

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