Outdoor unit and air conditioner having the same

Abstract

An outdoor unit allows the position of the service valve to be changed in order to adapt the outdoor unit to various environments in which the outdoor unit is installed. The outdoor unit of an air conditioner includes a body, a compressor disposed inside the body to compress a refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger to cause heat exchange between the refrigerant compressed by the compressor and outdoor air, at least one service valve to regulate the refrigerant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger, and a guide portion provided at the body to guide a positional shift of the service valve.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An outdoor unit of an air conditioner comprising:
 a body;   a compressor disposed inside the body to compress a refrigerant;   an outdoor heat exchanger to cause heat exchange between the refrigerant compressed by the compressor and outdoor air;   at least one service valve to regulate the refrigerant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger; and   a guide portion provided at the body to guide a positional shift of the at least one service valve.   
     
     
         2 . The outdoor unit according to  claim 1 , further comprising a capillary tube to lower pressure of the refrigerant which has undergone heat exchange in the heat exchanger,
 wherein the at least one service valve includes at least one first service valve to regulate the refrigerant flowing into the compressor, and at least one second service valve to regulate the refrigerant flowing out of the capillary tube.   
     
     
         3 . The outdoor unit according to  claim 1 , wherein a pipe connects an inlet of the compressor and the one of the at least one service valves, and wherein the pipe is a flexible pipe of a soft material to allow a positional shift of the one of the at least one service valves along the guide portion. 
     
     
         4 . The outdoor unit according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the body comprises frames and the at least one service valve is provided at at least one of the frames, and   at least one position fixing portion to fix a position of the at least one service valve that has shifted along the guide portion is provided at the at least one frame at which the at least one service valve is positioned.   
     
     
         5 . The outdoor unit according to  claim 4 , wherein the guide portion comprises:
 at least one first guide slot to penetrate at least one of the frames and guide shift of the at least one service valve; and   at least one second guide slot to penetrate the at least one of the frames and guide, to the position fixing portion, the at least one service valve which has been shifted along the first guide slot.   
     
     
         6 . The outdoor unit according to  claim 5 , wherein the at least one service valve comprises a flange configured to be coupled with the position fixing portion. 
     
     
         7 . The outdoor unit according to  claim 6 , wherein the flange has a larger width than the first guide slot and the second guide slot. 
     
     
         8 . An air conditioner including an indoor unit and an outdoor unit, wherein the outdoor unit comprises:
 a body;   a compressor disposed inside the body to compress a refrigerant;   at least one service valve positioned at an outer surface of the body to regulate the refrigerant flowing into the compressor;   a guide portion provided at the body to guide a positional shift of the service valve; and   a flexible pipe of a soft material to connect the compressor and the at least one service valve to allow the positional shift of the at least one service valve along the guide portion.   
     
     
         9 . The air conditioner according to  claim 8 , wherein:
 the body comprises frames, and the at least one service valve is provided at at least one of the frames; and   the guide portion comprises at least one guide slot to penetrate the at least one of the frames to allow the flexible pipe connecting the compressor disposed inside the body and the at least one service valve positioned at the outer surface of the body to be moved.   
     
     
         10 . The air conditioner according to  claim 9 , wherein the guide slot has a larger width than a diameter of the flexible pipe. 
     
     
         11 . The air conditioner according to  claim 9 , wherein at least one position fixing portion to fix a position of the at least one service valve that has shifted along the guide portion is provided at the at least one of the frames. 
     
     
         12 . The air conditioner according to  claim 11 , wherein the position fixing portion comprises a plurality of fixing holes disposed on opposite sides of the guide slot to place the guide slot between the fixing holes. 
     
     
         13 . The air conditioner according to  claim 12 , wherein the at least one service valve comprises a flange to be coupled with the position fixing portion,
 wherein the flange comprises a plurality of fastening holes corresponding to the fixing holes.   
     
     
         14 . An outdoor unit of an air conditioner comprising:
 a body;   a compressor disposed inside the body to compress a refrigerant;   an outdoor heat exchanger to cause heat exchange between the compressed refrigerant and outdoor air;   a plurality of service valves to regulate the refrigerant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger;   a guide portion provided at the body to guide a positional shift of the service valves; and   a plurality of flexible pipes of a soft material to connect the compressor and the service valves to allow the positional shift of the service valves along the guide portion.   
     
     
         15 . The outdoor unit according to  claim 14 , further comprising a capillary tube to lower pressure of the refrigerant which has undergone heat exchange in the heat exchanger,
 wherein the plurality of service valves include a first service valve to regulate the refrigerant flowing into the compressor, and a second service valve to regulate the refrigerant flowing out of the capillary tube.