AIR CONDITIONER OUTDOOR UNIT AND AIR CONDITIONER

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001]This application claims priority to Chinese Application No. 202420034706.9, filed on Jan. 5, 2024, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002]This application relates to the technical field of air conditioning, and specifically relates to an air conditioner outdoor unit and an air conditioner.

BACKGROUND

[0003]This section only provides background information related to the present disclosure, which is not necessarily the prior art.

[0004]At present, in an air conditioner outdoor unit, in order to improve a circulation capacity of airflow, it is usually necessary to provide a flow guide member. The position and structure of the flow guide member sometimes affect the arrangement of an air inlet of the air conditioner outdoor unit, resulting in a decrease in the air intake volume of the air conditioner outdoor unit, which will affect the heat exchange capacity of the air conditioner outdoor unit.

SUMMARY

[0005]An object of this application is to at least solve the technical problem of how to determine the size and arrangement position of the flow guide member in an air conditioning system, and this object is achieved through the following technical solutions.

[0010]The air conditioner outdoor unit in this application adopts a structural form of side air inflow and top air outflow, in which the flow guide member is arranged inside the shell, and the air outflow side of the flow guide member is arranged opposite to the air outlet; part of the rotor is arranged inside the flow guide member, so that the airflow becomes more stable when it circulates to the air outlet position of the shell, thus increasing the air intake volume while reducing airflow fluctuation; at the same time, regarding the size limitation of the flow guide member, the extension distance of the flow guide member from the air outlet to the shell is L, and the distance between the top wall and the bottom wall of the shell is H, where 0.025<L/H<0.4, which can reduce the influence of the flow guide member on the air inlet on the shell, so that more air inlets can be arranged on the shell to increase the air intake volume.

[0011]In addition, the air conditioner outdoor unit according to this application may also have the following additional technical features.

[0012]In some embodiments of this application, the fan includes a rotor, which is arranged inside the shell and at least partially arranged inside the flow guide member.

[0017]In some embodiments of this application, the flow guide channel extends in a direction from the top wall to the bottom wall, and a value range of the L/H is larger than or equal to 0.05 and smaller than or equal to 0.25.

[0018]In some embodiments of this application, the air inlet is arranged at the side portion of the shell and located below the flow guide member.

[0019]In some embodiments of this application, the outlet section is provided with a first noise reduction structure, which includes a cut-out part formed on an inner wall of the outlet section.

[0020]In some embodiments of this application, the inlet section is provided with a second noise reduction structure, which includes a protruding part formed on an inner wall of the inlet section.

[0023]A second aspect of this application provides an air conditioner, which includes the air conditioner outdoor unit as described in any one of the above items.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024]Upon reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiments below, various other advantages and benefits will become clear to those skilled in the art. The accompanying drawings are only used for the purpose of illustrating preferred embodiments, and should not be considered as a limitation to this application. Moreover, throughout the drawings, the same reference signs are used to denote the same components. In the drawings:

[0025]FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of the air conditioner outdoor unit according to an embodiment of this application;

[0026]FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an internal structure of the air conditioner outdoor unit according to the embodiment of this application;

[0027]FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the positional relationship between a flow guide member and a rotor of the air conditioner outdoor unit according to the embodiment of this application;

[0028]FIG. 4 is a schematic structural view of the rotor of the air conditioner outdoor unit according to the embodiment of this application;

[0029]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the rotor of the air conditioner outdoor unit according to the embodiment of this application;

[0030]FIG. 6 is a schematic structural view of the flow guide member of the air conditioner outdoor unit according to the embodiment of this application; and

[0031]FIG. 7 shows a noise curve of the air conditioner outdoor unit according to the embodiment of this application under different air intake volume conditions.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040]Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure may be implemented in various forms and should not be limited by the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided to enable a more thorough understanding of the present disclosure and to fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0041]It should be understood that the terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing specific exemplary embodiments, and are not intended to be limitative. Unless clearly indicated otherwise in the context, singular forms “a”, “an”, and “said” as used herein may also mean that plural forms are included. Terms “include”, “comprise”, “contain” and “have” are inclusive, and therefore indicate the existence of the stated features, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do not exclude the existence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or combinations thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein should not be interpreted as requiring them to be executed in the specific order described or illustrated, unless the order of execution is clearly indicated. It should also be understood that additional or alternative steps may be used.

[0042]Although terms “first”, “second”, “third” and the like may be used herein to describe multiple elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may only be used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Unless clearly indicated in the context, terms such as “first”, “second” and other numerical terms do not imply an order or sequence when they are used herein. Therefore, the first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below may be referred to as a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the exemplary embodiments.

[0043]For ease of description, spatial relative terms may be used herein to describe the relationship of one element or feature relative to another element or feature as shown in the drawings. These relative terms are, for example, “inner”, “outer”, “inside”, “outside”, “below”, “under”, “above”, “over”, etc. These spatial relative terms are intended to include different orientations of the device in use or in operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the drawings. For example, if the device in the figure is turned over, then elements described as “below other elements or features” or “under other elements or features” will be oriented “above the other elements or features” or “over the other elements or features”. Thus, the exemplary term “below” may include orientations of both above and below. The device can be otherwise oriented (rotated by 90 degrees or in other directions), and the spatial relationship descriptors used herein will be explained accordingly.

[0044]In the air conditioner outdoor unit of this application, in view of the problems of air intake volume inside the shell, stability of airflow, and noise generated by airflow, an internal structure of the air conditioner outdoor unit is adjusted. By adjusting the position of the flow guide member inside the shell, the relative position between the flow guide member and the rotor, and the relative size between the flow guide member and the shell, the air conditioner outdoor unit can have higher efficiency and stability during operation, while also generating less noise.

[0045]In view of the problem of air intake volume, the air conditioner outdoor unit in this application takes into account the guiding effect of the flow guide member on the airflow inside the shell. By limiting the size of the flow guide member inside the shell, the influence of the flow guide member on the air inlets on the side walls of the shell is reduced, allowing more air inlets to be arranged on the shell of the air conditioner outdoor unit, increasing the air intake volume. In addition, the air conditioner outdoor unit in this application adopts a structural form of side air inflow, and the air inlets can be arranged on each of the side walls in different directions of the shell, further increasing the number of air inlets and playing an important role in forming a stable airflow and sufficient air volume inside the shell.

[0046]In view of the problem of stability of airflow, in the shell of the air conditioner outdoor unit in this application, all or part of the area of the rotor is placed inside the flow guide member, so that the possibility of airflow pulsation can be reduced under the guidance of the flow guide member when the rotor drives the air to flow from the air inlet to the air outlet, which plays an important role in improving the stability of the airflow and enabling the air conditioner outdoor unit to output the airflow stably. Moreover, the flow guide member is arranged at the position of the air outlet of the shell, so that even if the airflow interferes with different components inside the shell and is disturbed by some parts and components, the airflow finally tends to stabilize under the guidance of the flow guide member located at the position of the air outlet.

[0047]In view of the problem of noise generated by airflow, the air conditioner outdoor unit in this application limits the relative size between the flow guide member and the shell in the height direction, so that the rotor can operate for a long time with low noise during rotation, regardless of the output air volume. Moreover, the technical solution defined by this application is verified through experimental data.

[0048]Below, the air conditioner outdoor unit in this application will be explained in connection with the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the accompanying drawings are only used to explain different embodiments of this application, and should not be understood as limiting this application.

[0049]FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of the air conditioner outdoor unit according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner outdoor unit 100 of this application has an air inlet 111 and an air outlet 112. The air outlet 112 is arranged at a top portion of the shell 110, and the air inlet 111 is arranged at a side portion of the shell 110. The air conditioner outdoor unit 100 of the present embodiment is suitable for the structural form of side air inflow and top air outflow. The air inlet 111 is arranged on the side wall of the shell 110, which is advantageous for increasing the number and size of the air inlet 111. For example, the air inlet 111 can be arranged on each of the side walls in multiple directions, which can increase the air inflow area on the shell 110.

[0050]The advantage of this arrangement is that it can also increase the heat exchange efficiency of the airflow inside the shell 110 of the air conditioner outdoor unit; especially when the heat exchanger is arranged opposite to the air inlet 111, the heat exchanger can exchange heat with the airflow over a relatively large area.

[0051]It is also possible to arrange the heat exchanger inside the shell 110 in such a way that it extends around multiple side walls of the shell 110, so that it can exchange heat with the airflow at the air inlets 111 of the shell 110 on multiple side walls. The air inlets 111 are provided on the shell 110 and the heat exchanger according to the power and heat exchange efficiency of the air conditioner outdoor unit 100, thus improving the applicability of the air conditioner outdoor unit 100.

[0052]The air outlet 112 is arranged at the top portion of the shell of the air conditioner outdoor unit in this embodiment, so that the air outlet 112 can be limited to one of the areas of the shell 110, which is advantageous for guiding the airflow in a specific area inside the shell 110 and forming a stable airflow. For example, in the air conditioner outdoor unit 100 of this embodiment, a flow guide member 120 can be arranged at the air outlet 112 of the shell 110 to concentrate and regulate the airflow from different side walls of the shell 110, preventing airflow disorder and thus avoiding unstable airflow and large noise caused by the airflow disorder.

[0053]FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an internal structure of the air conditioner outdoor unit according to the embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 2, the air conditioner outdoor unit 100 of this embodiment also limits the relative size between the shell 110 and the flow guide member 120. A distance between the top wall and the bottom wall of the shell 110 is H, and an extension distance of the flow guide member 120 from the air outlet 112 of the shell 110 into the shell 110 is L, where 0.025<L/H<0.4. At the same time of concentrating and regulating the airflow at the air outlet 112 of the shell 110, the flow guide member 120 also reduces the influence on the air inflow area on the side walls of the shell 110.

[0054]It should be noted that in order to improve the guiding effect of the flow guide member 120 on the airflow inside the shell 110, the extension length of the flow guide member 120 inside the shell 110 is usually increased. Unlimited extension of the size of the flow guide member 120 will affect the air inflow area on the side walls of the shell 110, that is, the number and size of the air inlet 111 on the shell 110 will be limited. In this way, the reduction of air inlet volume will affect the heat exchange efficiency of the air conditioner outdoor unit 100. Unreasonable extension of the length of the flow guide member 120 inside the shell 110 is not advantageous for improving the operating efficiency of the entire air conditioner outdoor unit 100. Therefore, in the air conditioner outdoor unit 100 of this embodiment, for solving the above problems, the relative size between the flow guide member 120 and the shell 110 is limited.

[0055]In one embodiment, the relative size between the flow guide member 120 and the shell 110 of the air conditioner outdoor unit 100 is as follows: the ratio of L/H is 0.05<L/H≤0.1, and 0.1≤L/H<0.25. By testing the air conditioner outdoor unit 100 at different air intake volumes, experimental data as shown in FIG. 7 was obtained. The L/H values of 0.1, 0.025, and 0.4 were compared respectively, and corresponding curves of air intake volume and noise were drawn. From FIG. 7, it can be seen that when L/H is 0.1, the noise generated by setting different air intake volumes for the air conditioner outdoor unit 100 is relatively small; under the same air intake volume condition, when L/H is 0.025, the noise generated by the air conditioner outdoor unit 100 is relatively large, followed by the operating condition of L/H of 0.4, where H is the distance between the top wall and the bottom wall of the shell, and L is the extension distance of the flow guide member from the air outlet into the shell.

[0056]By comparing the noise curves drawn under different operating conditions, the size between the flow guide member 120 and the shell 110 of the air conditioner outdoor unit 100 can be set to 0.05<L/H≤0.1, or 0.1≤L/H<0.25 as needed to output relatively small noise.

[0057]As shown in FIG. 2, in the air conditioner outdoor unit of this embodiment, the flow guide member 120 is arranged inside the shell 110, and the air outflow side of the flow guide member 120 is arranged opposite to the air outlet 112 of the shell 110. The airflow from different side walls of the shell 110 can flow toward the flow guide member 120 in a shorter path; under the guidance of the flow guide member 120, the airflow flows toward the air outlet 112 at a certain speed, and finally is discharged from the air conditioner outdoor unit 100.

[0058]From FIG. 2, it can also be seen that the air conditioner outdoor unit further includes a fan, which is used to drive the airflow to enter the shell via the air inlet and discharge through the air outlet. The fan includes a rotor 130. In the air conditioner outdoor unit 100, the rotor 130 is arranged inside the shell 110, and at least part of the area of the rotor 130 is located inside the flow guide member 120. In some embodiments, the flow guide member 120 has a flow guide channel 121, and all or part of the area of the rotor 130 is arranged inside the flow guide channel 121. Therefore, the airflow generated by the rotation of the rotor 130 can be constrained by the flow guide channel 121 and flow toward the air outlet 112 of the shell 110 with high efficiency.

[0059]FIG. 4 is a schematic structural view of the rotor of the air conditioner outdoor unit according to the embodiment of this application, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the rotor of the air conditioner outdoor unit according to the embodiment of this application. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the rotor 130 is provided with three fan blades 131, each of which has a rear edge 132 and an outer edge 133. The outer edge 133 of the fan blade is located on a side away from a rotational axis 134 of the rotor 130, and the orientation of the rear edge 132 of the fan blade is opposite to the rotational direction of the rotor 130.

[0060]In order to reduce the airflow pulsation during the rotation of the rotor 130, an intersection area 135 between the rear edge 132 of the fan blade and the outer edge 133 of the fan blade is set inside the flow guide member 120. The flow guide member 120 constrains the airflow generated by the rotation of the rotor 130, so that the noise generated by the airflow pulsation can be reduced, and the flow guide member 120 can regulate the airflow to the greatest extent possible.

[0061]It should be noted that during the rotation of the rotor 130, the airflow formed on the fan blade 131 will detach from the fan blade 131 at the rear edge 132 of the fan blade and the outer edge 133 of the fan blade. In the process of detaching from the fan blade 131, airflow pulsation is prone to occurrence; especially in the intersection area 135 between the rear edge 132 of the fan blade and the outer edge 133 of the fan blade, the flow speed and direction of the airflow are in an unstable state, and airflows having different directions and speeds are prone to interfering with each other in this intersection area 135, resulting in unstable airflow pulsation and noise generated by it. In the air conditioner outdoor unit 100 of this embodiment, the airflows at the intersection area 135 between the rear edge 132 of the fan blade and the outer edge 133 of the fan blade are constrained by the flow guide member 120, so that the unstable airflows tend to gradually stabilize under the action of the flow guide member 120 and flow toward the air outlet of the shell 110 in a stable state.

[0062]FIG. 6 is a schematic structural view of the flow guide member of the air conditioner outdoor unit according to the embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 6, the flow guide member 120 has a flow guide channel 121, which includes an inlet section 122 and an outlet section 123. In a direction from the inlet section 122 to the outlet section 123, an inner diameter of the inlet section 122 gradually decreases; the intersection area 135 between the rear edge 132 of the fan blade and the outer edge 133 of the fan blade is arranged in the inlet section 122.

[0063]The unstable airflows formed by each blade 131 of the rotor 130 at the intersection area 135 between the rear edge 132 of the fan blade and the outer edge 133 of the fan blade can enter the flow guide channel 121 of the flow guide member 120. Under the guidance of the flow guide channel 121, the airflows change from an unstable state to stable airflows with roughly the same speed and direction, which not only facilitates the flow of airflow, but also avoids the formation of relatively large noise.

[0064]It should be noted that as to the sources of noise in the air conditioner outdoor unit of this application, one is the pressure pulsation generated at the wake of the airflow after the vortex detaches from the fan blade 131, which produces noise when acting on the air supply assembly; the other is the fluctuation of the airflow in the radial direction of the flow guide member 120 after the airflow detaches from the rear edge 132 of the fan blade.

[0065]As shown in FIG. 6, the flow guide member 120 also includes a middle section 124, which is in the shape of a straight cylinder and located between the inlet section 122 and the outlet section 123; the intersection area 135 between the rear edge 132 of the fan blade and the outer edge 133 of the fan blade is arranged in the middle section 124.

[0066]When the flow guide channel 121 includes the inlet section 122, the outlet section 123 and the middle section 124, the middle section 124 is a straight cylinder-shaped flow guide channel 121, and the middle section 124 is connected to the inlet section 122 and the outlet section 123.

[0067]In the air conditioner outdoor unit of this embodiment, the flow guide channel 121 includes the inlet section 122, the outlet section 123, and the middle section 124. The middle section 124 is located between the inlet section 122 and the outlet section 123, and the straight cylinder-shaped flow guide channel 121 is located in the middle section 124. Both the outlet section 123 and the inlet section 122 have a trumpet shape, with the trumpet shape of the outlet section 123 expanding outward and the trumpet shape of the inlet section 122 expanding outward. In this embodiment, both the outlet section 123 and the inlet section are configured into a trumpet shape, which can diffuse the airflow and increase the flow area of the airflow, thereby improving the guiding ability of the flow guide member for the airflow.

[0068]Setting the intersection area 135 between the rear edge 132 of the fan blade and the outer edge 133 of the fan blade where unstable airflow is prone to occurrence in the middle section 124 of the flow guide channel 121 can prevent unstable airflow from diffusing to the outside of the flow guide channel 121. All unstable airflows are constrained within the flow guide channel 121, which can minimize the possibility of relatively large noise formation inside the shell 110.

[0069]FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the positional relationship between the flow guide member and the rotor of the air conditioner outdoor unit according to the embodiment of this application. Referring to FIG. 3, it can be more clearly seen that the relative positional relationship between the flow guide member 120 and the rotor 130 can be specifically set according to the geometric sizes and power parameters of the air conditioner outdoor unit 100.

[0070]The rotor 130 can be fully arranged inside the flow guide channel 121 of the flow guide member 120, or part of the area of the rotor 130 can be arranged inside the flow guide channel 121 of the flow guide member 120.

[0071]At least the intersection area 135 between the outer edge 133 and the rear edge 132 of each blade 131 of the rotor 130 should be arranged inside the flow guide channel 121 of the flow guide member 120.

[0072]With continued reference to FIG. 6, in an embodiment of this application, in the flow guide channel 121 of the flow guide member 120 of the air conditioner outdoor unit 100, a first noise reduction structure 140 is provided at the outlet section 123. The first noise reduction structure 140 includes a cut-out part 141 formed on the inner wall of the outlet section 123.

[0073]The first noise reduction structure 140 can also be set to have multiple cut-out parts 141, which are arranged at intervals on the inner wall of the outlet section 123 in the rotational direction of the rotor 130.

[0074]In another embodiment of this application, in the flow guide channel 121 of the flow guide member 120 of the air conditioner outdoor unit 100, a second noise reduction structure 150 is provided at the inlet section 122. The second noise reduction structure 150 includes a protruding part 151 formed on the inner wall of the inlet section 122.

[0075]The second noise reduction structure 150 can be set to have multiple protruding parts 151, which are arranged at intervals on the inner wall of the inlet section 122 in the rotational direction of the rotor 130.

[0076]In some embodiments of this application, the outlet section 123 is provided with the first noise reduction structure 140, which is connected to the middle section 124. By providing the first noise reduction structure 140 at the outlet section 123 of the flow guide member 120, when the rotor 130 rotates, the regular interference frequency of the driven airflow with surrounding objects is increased, and the frequency of the low-frequency noise accumulated by the rotation of the rotor 130 is increased. The spikes of the rotating noise in the same frequency band are reduced, thereby reducing the low-frequency noise during use and effectively improving the user experience.

[0077]In other embodiments of this application, the first noise reduction structure 140 can be the protruding part 151 provided on the inner wall surface of the outlet section 123, or the cut-out part 141, or a combination of the protruding part 151 and the cut-out part 141. The cut-out part 141 provided on the inner wall surface of the outlet section 123 has a flat surface smoothly connected to the inner wall surface. The connection between the flat surface and the inner wall surface can be linear, or arc shaped, or curve shaped. When the airflow flows from the inner wall surface of the outlet section 123 to the cut-out part 141, since the distance in the direction perpendicular to the rotational axis 134 of the rotor 130 changes, that is, the radial distance changes, the interference on the airflow is increased, and the spikes of the rotating noise in the same frequency band are reduced, thereby reducing the airflow noise. When multiple cut-out parts 141 are provided on the inner wall surface of the outlet section 123, or uniformly arranged in the axial direction of the flow guide member 120, the airflow can be subject to periodic interference on the inner wall surface of the outlet section 123, and the noise spikes in the airflow are reduced more significantly.

[0078]The protruding part 151 arranged on the inner wall surface of the outlet section 123 has an arc-shaped wall surface and is smoothly connected to the inner wall surface of the outlet section 123. Due to the protruding part 151 arranged on the inner wall of the outlet section 123, when the airflow flows from the inner wall surface of the outlet section 123 to the arc-shaped wall surface of the protruding part 151, the distance in the direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the flow guide member 120 changes, that is, the radial distance changes, causing interference on the circulation of airflow and reducing the spikes of the rotating noise in the same frequency band, thereby reducing the airflow noise.

[0079]The second noise reduction structure 150 can be provided in the inlet section 122 of the flow guide member 120, and the second noise reduction structure 150 is connected to the middle section 124 of the flow guide member 120. The second noise reduction structure 150 can be the cut-out part 141, or the protruding part 151, or a combination of the cut-out part 141 and the protruding part 151. Similar to the technical effect of the first noise reduction structure 140 in the outlet section, the airflow is subject to regular interference. When multiple cut-out parts 141 or protruding parts 151 are provided, the frequency of interference on the airflow is increased, the frequency of the low-frequency noise accumulated by the rotation of the rotor 130 is increased, and the spikes of the rotating noise in the same frequency band are reduced, thereby reducing the low-frequency noise during use.

[0080]The flow guide member 120 in the air conditioner outdoor unit of this application reduces the possibility of generating relatively large noise by airflow during the rotation of the rotor 130 by setting the first noise reduction structure 140 and the second noise reduction structure 150 on the inner wall of the flow guide channel 121. In combination with setting the part of the fan blade 131 of the rotor 130 where unstable airflow is prone to occurrence in the flow guide channel 121, the noise of the air conditioner outdoor unit 100 during operation can be reduced to the greatest extent possible.

[0081]This application also provides an air conditioner, which includes the air conditioner outdoor unit as described in any one of the above items. The air conditioner also includes a heat exchanger and a compressor assembly, and the heat exchanger can be a microchannel heat exchanger.

[0082]A refrigerant medium is provided inside the heat exchanger, and the heat exchanger is connected to the compressor assembly, which performs work on the refrigerant medium.

[0083]When the heat exchanger is arranged inside the shell of the air conditioner outdoor unit, the airflow formed inside the air conditioner indoor unit exchanges heat with the heat exchanger.

[0084]Described above are only preferred specific embodiments of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited to this. Any changes or replacements that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed by this application should be covered within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be accorded with the scope of protection of the claims.