1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an air conditioner condenser and more particularly to an air conditioner condenser that is improved in an environmentally friendly manner. The present invention also relates to an air conditioner using such a condenser.
2. Description of the Background Art
A pipe for carrying out heat exchange in an air conditioner condenser has had a circular or oval sectional shape, with the sectional shape being the same at all portions of the pipe. In order to improve the efficiency of heat exchange, the heat radiation area has been increased by fitting or brazing a fin to the outside of a pipe. Further, improvement in the heat transfer efficiency has been sought by forming various continuous grooves on the inner surface of a pipe to form an uneven portion or a wick on the inner surface. However, the performance improvement has reached a limit in either case.
Recently, refrigerants hazardous to ozone layers such as R12 and 502 have totally been abolished and refrigerants such as R22, CFC and HCFC have been under control. It is requested as environmental measures to replace them with refrigerants having low ozone destruction coefficients such as HFC-134a and 410A and further with refrigerants having low green house effect (warming effect), that is, a refrigerant made of naturally existing substances such as ammonia. For this purpose, various measures have been examined by taking the compatibility between a refrigerant and a compressor lubricant into account, above all, for the enclosed type air conditioner However, when the refrigerants as described above are used without modifying a conventional compressor and the like, their performance can not sufficiently be utilized and the compressor is also applied with an overload and forced to stop.
When an air conditioner condenser is placed between buildings and the condition worsens, that is, the temperature around the condenser extraordinarily rises in summer or the condenser is frosted in winter, a conventional condenser has been unable to operate because of its insufficient ability. Even if a similar condenser is additionally provided, the problems with the insufficient ability, the structure of an outdoor unit used for the condenser housing, and the dimension have been caused.