JP2002225537A - Air-conditioning unit for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air-conditioning unit for a vehicle realizing the reduction of the assembling man-day and cost. SOLUTION: A plurality of partition plates 60, 61 at the upstream side partitioning a passage in a width direction is provided between an evaporator 30 and a heater core (heater) 40. A downstream partition plate 65, whose height is placed on the downstream elongation of the upstream petition plate 60, is installed in the downstream side of the heater core 40 in response to the upstream partition plate 60, and a foot damper 63 rotates to connect an upstream end part with a downstream end part of the downstream partition plate 65 so that the air flown from one side putting the upstream partition plate 60 in between is distributed in a foot air plenum 46 and the air flown from the other side is distributed into the defrost air plenum 44 and a face air plenum 45.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner unit used for a vehicle air conditioner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A vehicle air conditioner capable of providing a comfortable cabin environment for an occupant by air-conditioning the interior of a vehicle such as an automobile is an air conditioner including a blower fan, an evaporator, a heater core, and various dampers. A conditioning system, a refrigerant system for supplying low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant to an evaporator in the air-conditioning unit, a heating source system for introducing high-temperature engine cooling water to a heater core in the air-conditioning unit, and a temperature, humidity, solar radiation and The control unit controls the operation of the air conditioner for a vehicle in accordance with various conditions such as occupant preferences.

[0003] Among them, an air conditioning unit 100 shown in Fig. 11 has an inner and outer air box 10, a blower section 20, an evaporator 30, and a heater core 40 integrated. In the case of a general sedan type passenger car, the air conditioning unit 100 is arranged below the dashboard on the passenger seat side. Hereinafter, the configuration of the air conditioning unit 100 will be briefly described in the order of air flow.

[0004] The first inside / outside air box 10 is a part having a function of selecting either the outside air a (air outside the vehicle compartment) or the inside air b (air inside the vehicle interior). By operating a damper (not shown), air to be introduced (hereinafter, referred to as introduced air) is selected as either one. A blower unit 20 is provided downstream of the inside / outside air box 10.
Are connected to each other, and the outside air a or the inside air b is sucked by the operation of the blower fan 21 to be described later.
It has a function to blow air to

[0005] Evaporator 30 and heater core 40
Are both arranged in the casing 41. The evaporator 30 has a function of cooling and dehumidifying the introduced air blown from the blower unit 20. The evaporator 30 receives a supply of a low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant from a refrigerant system during a cooling operation and exchanges heat with the passing introduced air to cool and dehumidify the air. The heater core 40 includes the evaporator 30
It has a function of heating the introduced air sent from the company. The heater core 40 can control the flow rate of hot water supplied from an engine as a heating source by a hot water valve (not shown), and thereby controls the temperature of the conditioned air. The casing 41 is provided with a defrost air outlet 44, a face air outlet 45, and a foot air outlet 46. Each of the air outlets has a defrost damper 44a, a face damper 45a, and a foot damper 4a.
6a is attached.

[0006]

The above-described vehicle air conditioning unit includes the casing 4 of the air conditioning unit 100.
By opening and closing the various dampers 44a, 45a, 46a installed in the unit 1, the air distribution amount of the conditioned air discharged from each of the outlets 44, 45, 46 can be adjusted. However, it is necessary to provide three dampers corresponding to each outlet, so that there is a problem that the number of assembling steps and costs are increased.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioning unit for a vehicle which can reduce the number of assembling steps and cost.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an air flow path is formed in a casing having a foot outlet, a face outlet, and a defrost outlet as air outlets. A vehicle in which an evaporator and a heater that cover the entire cross-section of the flow path are provided on the upstream side of each of the outlets and are spaced apart in the longitudinal direction, and the temperature of the air is adjusted by passing the air through the evaporator and the heater. In the air conditioning unit for use, a foot damper for opening and closing the foot outlet is provided, and a defroster for controlling a distribution ratio of air discharged from the defrost outlet and the face outlet.
A face distribution damper, a plurality of upstream partition plates for partitioning the flow path in the width direction are provided between the evaporator and the heater, and the foot damper has a downstream end rotatably attached to the casing. The foot outlet is opened and closed by rotating the upstream end about the downstream end, and at least one of the upstream partition plates is provided downstream of the heater. In correspondence with the two upstream partition plates, there is provided a downstream partition plate in which the height of the upstream end is located on the downstream extension of the upstream partition plate, and the foot damper is rotated to be upstream of the foot damper. Since the side end is continuous with the downstream end of the downstream partition plate, the air flowing through one of the upstream partition plates is distributed to the foot outlet while the air flowing through the other is distributed to the foot outlet. The defrost blowing And vehicle air conditioning unit, characterized in that it is distributed to the face air outlet.

In the present invention, one of the two air distributed by the foot damper is discharged from the foot air outlet, and the other is further distributed to the defrost air outlet and the face air outlet by the defrost / face distribution damper. That is, air distribution is possible with two dampers. The amount of air distributed to the foot outlet and each outlet of the defrost face can be changed by variously changing the opening degree of the foot damper corresponding to the plurality of upstream partition plates. And a flow path can be formed by connecting the heater and the foot damper by the downstream partition plate.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle air conditioning unit according to the first aspect, the upstream partition plate and the downstream partition plate are formed integrally with the casing. .

In the present invention, since each partition plate is formed integrally with the casing, the number of assembly steps is not increased.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle air conditioning unit according to the first or second aspect, the flow path formed by the casing is substantially horizontal, and the evaporator and the heater are substantially horizontal. And the upstream partition plate is inclined so as to descend toward the evaporator.

In the present invention, the water condensed in the evaporator cannot cross the inclination of the upstream partition plate, and is prevented from flowing out to the heater side.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle air conditioner according to the third aspect, the evaporator is formed by stacking a plurality of fins in a vertical direction, and the evaporator side of the upstream-side partition plate. The end portion is characterized in that a vertical position is coincident with one of the plurality of fins.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the upstream partition plate from applying pressure loss to the air blown out from the heater core.

[0016] The invention according to claim 5 provides the invention according to claims 1 to 4.
The air conditioning unit for a vehicle according to any one of the above,
A heating means for heating the passing conditioned air is provided between the defrost outlet and the defrost face distribution damper.

In the present invention, the temperature of the air blown out from the defrost outlet can be raised by the heating means. Further, since the heating means has an air resistance, the flow velocity of the air blown out from the defrost blowout port becomes slow, and the air can be further heated.

[0018]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, an embodiment of a vehicle air conditioning unit according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 are diagrams showing a configuration of a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention.
Broadly, an air conditioning unit for a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as an air conditioning unit) 1A that performs air conditioning such as cooling and heating, a refrigerant system 2 that supplies a refrigerant to the air conditioning unit 1A during a cooling operation, and a heat source to the air conditioning unit 1A during a heating operation A heating source system 3 for supplying engine cooling water and a control unit 4 for controlling the operation of the entire apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioning unit 1A includes an inside / outside air box 10, a blower section 20, an evaporator 30,
The heater core 40 is integrated. Hereinafter, the air conditioning unit 1A will be described in the order of air flow.

In FIG. 1, the first inside / outside air box 10 selectively switches the air introduced into the air conditioning unit 1A to either the outside air a or the inside air b by an inside / outside air switching damper (not shown). I have.

The blower section 20 is provided downstream of the inside / outside air box 10 and is provided with the outside air a by the operation of the blower fan 21.
Alternatively, it has a function of selectively sucking the inside air b and blowing it to an evaporator 30 described later. When the outside air a is introduced while the vehicle is traveling, the outside air a, which is the traveling wind, can flow to the evaporator 30 even when the blower fan 21 is stopped.

The evaporator 30 and the heater core 40 are horizontally arranged in a casing 41 forming a horizontal air flow path. The evaporator 30 has a function of cooling and dehumidifying the introduced air sent from the blower unit 20. The evaporator 30 receives a supply of a low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant from a refrigerant system 2 to be described later during a cooling operation, exchanges heat between the introduced air that is blown from the blower unit 20 and passes through the evaporator 30, and the liquid refrigerant. . As a result, the introduced air is deprived of heat by the refrigerant and becomes cooled and dehumidified cold air, which is guided to the heater core 40 described later.

The heater core 40 is a heat exchanger that receives a supply of high-temperature engine cooling water from a heating source system 3 described later during heating operation and heats the introduced air blown from the cooler unit 30. The heater core 40 has a lower hot water supply port 4.
Hot water is supplied from 0a, and water whose temperature has been reduced due to heat exchange from the upper hot water discharge port 40b is discharged. Further, the amount of the hot water supplied to the heater core 40 can be controlled by a hot water valve (not shown), whereby the temperature of the conditioned air is controlled.

The evaporator 30 and the heater core 40 cover the entire cross-section of the flow passage in the casing 41 and are spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the flow passage. There are provided two upstream partitioning plates 60 and 61 for partitioning into two. The upstream partition plate 60 includes the evaporator 30 and the heater core 40.
Is provided at a height of about 80% from the bottom in the height direction, and the upstream-side partition plate 61 is provided at a height of about 50%.

The casing 41 is provided with a defrost outlet 44, a face outlet 45, and a foot outlet 46. In the figure, reference numeral 63 denotes a foot damper for opening and closing the foot outlet 46, and reference numeral 64 denotes a defrost / face distribution damper for controlling a distribution ratio of air discharged to the defrost outlet 44 and the face outlet 45. The foot damper 63 has a downstream end 63a.
Is rotatably fixed to the casing 41 on a downstream extension of one upstream partition plate 61, and the upstream end portion 63 b is rotated around the downstream end portion 63 a so as to rotate the foot outlet. 46 is opened and closed. When the foot outlet 46 is in the open state, the upstream end 63 b of the foot damper 63 is connected to the upstream partition plate 6.
1, the air flowing on one side across the upstream partition plate 61 is distributed to the foot outlet 46 and the air flowing on the other side is distributed to the defrost outlet 44. And to the face outlet 45. Here, when the foot damper 63 is located on the downstream extension line of the one upstream partition plate 61, the distance between the upstream end 63b and the heater core 40 is closest, but the other is the other. When it is located on the downstream extension line of the upstream partition plate 60, the distance between the upstream end 63b and the heater core 40 is greatly increased. For this reason, on the downstream side of the heater core 40, there is provided a downstream partition plate 65 in which the height of the upstream end is located on the downstream extension of the upstream partition plate 60. The downstream end of the downstream partition plate 65 is bent obliquely downward, and the foot damper 63 is rotated so that the upstream end 63 b of the foot damper 63 is continuous with the downstream end of the downstream partition plate 65. By doing so, the heater core 40 and the foot damper 6
3 are connected to each other to form a flow path. As a result, the air flowing on one side across the upstream partition plate 60 is distributed to the foot outlet 46, and the air flowing on the other side is distributed to the defrost outlet 44 and the face outlet 45. The above-mentioned upstream partition plates 60 and 61 and the downstream partition plate 65 are formed integrally with the casing 41.

Next, the configuration of the refrigerant system 2 will be described with reference to FIG. The refrigerant system 2 supplies a low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant to the evaporator 30, and includes a compressor 51, a condenser 52, and an expansion valve (not shown). The compressor 51 compresses the vaporized low-temperature and low-pressure gas refrigerant by removing heat in the vehicle interior by the evaporator 30 and sends it to the condenser 52 as a high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant. In the case of an air conditioner for a vehicle, the compressor 51 receives driving force from the normal engine 54 via a belt and a clutch. The condenser 52 is disposed in front of the engine room 6 and cools a high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant supplied from the compressor 51 with outside air to condense and liquefy the gaseous refrigerant. The liquefied refrigerant is sent to a receiver (not shown) to separate gas and liquid, and then sent to the expansion valve 53 as a high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant. The expansion valve 53 decompresses and expands the high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant to produce a low-temperature and low-pressure liquid (mist-like) refrigerant.
0. The expansion valve 53 is generally installed together with the evaporator 30.

Next, the configuration of the heating source system 3 will be briefly described with reference to FIG. The heating source system 3 includes a heater core 40
To supply high-temperature engine cooling water as a heat source to
A part of the engine cooling water system circulating between the engine 54 and the radiator 55 is introduced into the air conditioner.

Finally, the configuration of the control unit 4 will be briefly described with reference to FIG. The control unit 4 controls the operation of the air conditioning unit 1A, the refrigerant system 2, and the heating source system 3 which constitute the air conditioning apparatus. It is installed and installed in the center of the instrument panel. The control unit 4 can perform switching operation of the inside / outside air switching damper, selection switching of various operation modes by opening / closing operation of dampers, switching of the air volume of the blower fan 21, and desired temperature setting operation.

In the vehicle air conditioner thus configured, by driving the blower fan 21, the outside air a
Alternatively, the inside air b is introduced into the casing 41 from the inside / outside air box 10 and sent to the evaporator 30. Evaporator 3
The introduced air flowing through the inside of the heat exchanger 0 exchanges heat with the low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant system 2 to be cooled and dehumidified, and further flows to the heater core 40 on the downstream side.

The introduced air sent to the heater core 40 is heated when passing through the heater core 40. Further, downstream of the heater core 40, air is distributed according to the following operation modes and blown into the vehicle interior.

The "face blowing mode" is an operating mode for blowing cold air toward the upper body of the occupant mainly during a cooling operation in summer. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, the foot damper 63 is closed, and the defrost / face distribution damper 64 is opened so that the face outlet 45 is opened. As a result, the entire amount of the cooled and dehumidified wind is blown out from the face outlet 45.

The "defrost blowing mode" is an operation mode for removing defrost on the windshield before traveling in winter and removing fogging on the windshield during traveling in rainy weather. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, the foot damper 63 is closed, and the defrost / face distribution damper 64 is connected to the defrost blowout port 4.
Make sure that the four sides are open. As a result, the entire amount of the warm air and the dehumidified air is blown out from the defrost outlet 44 so as to directly hit the inner surface of the windshield or the like.

The "foot blowing mode" is an operating mode in which warm air is blown to the feet of the occupant mainly during a heating operation in winter. In this case, as shown in FIG.
3 is connected to the downstream-side partition plate 65. Thereby, the conditioned air (warm air) is mainly blown out to the foot outlet 46. Also, at this time, a part (20%) of the conditioned air is blown out from the defrost blowout port 44 to remove the fogging of the windshield and the like. The “bi-level blowing mode” is an operation mode that is mainly used in the middle period of spring or autumn and blows conditioned air from both the face outlet 45 and the foot outlet 46. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the foot damper 63 is positioned on an extension of the upstream partition plate 61. Further, the defrost / face distribution damper 64 is set so that the face outlet 45 is opened. Since warm water is introduced into the heater core 40 from below and discharged from above (face outlet side), the temperature of the upper portion of the heater core 40 is lower than that of the lower portion. In other words, the conditioned air that is distributed to the face outlet 45 is lower in temperature than the conditioned air that is distributed to the foot outlet 46, and can blow out the conditioned air with the head cold foot heat to the occupant. The “defrost / foot blowing mode” is an operation mode used in winter. As shown in FIG. 7, the foot damper 63 is located on the extension of the upstream partition plate 61 and the defrost / face distribution damper 64 is moved to the defrost outlet 44. Open. As a result, the defroster outlet 44 and the foot outlet 46 are connected to the outlet 50 by 50.
It is distributed by%.

As described above, in the vehicle air conditioner of this embodiment, the operation mode is switched by the two dampers 63,
Since it can be realized by the operations of 64, the number of assembly steps and cost can be reduced.

As a modification of the present invention, a configuration shown in FIG. 8 may be used. As shown in the figure, the upstream partition plates 60, 6
1 is provided to be inclined to the evaporator 30 side. In addition, a portion 41 a of the casing 41 between the evaporator 30 and the heater core 40 is also inclined in accordance with the upstream partition plates 60 and 61. Evaporator 30 of each upstream partition plate 60, 61
As shown in FIG. 9, the side end portions 60a and 61a are provided on one of the fins 30a constituting the evaporator 30 so that their vertical positions are aligned. The vehicle air conditioner thus configured has the following effects. That is, when the water condensed in the evaporator 30 reaches the heater core 40, there is a possibility that the heating capability of the heater core 40 is reduced or a pressure loss is increased. However, by being configured as in this example, the water condensed by the evaporator 30 is not removed from the upstream partition plate 6.
Since it is blocked by 0 and 61 and is prevented from flowing out to the heater side, it is possible to prevent a decrease in heating capacity and an increase in pressure loss.

Further, the following modifications may be made. Figure 1
At 0, reference numeral 67 denotes a heating means as an auxiliary heater provided between the defrost outlet 44 and the defrost face distribution damper 64. Heating means 6
7 is a PTC (Posi
tive Temperature Coeffient) heater can be employed. In this vehicle air conditioner, in the defrost blowing mode and the defrost foot blowing mode,
The following effects can be obtained. That is, the heating means 6
7, the temperature of the air discharged to the defrost outlet 44 can be increased. Further, since the heating means 67 has an air resistance, the flow velocity of the air passing through the heating means 67 decreases, and the air can be heated for a longer time.
Thereby, the defrost performance can be improved.

[0037]

As described above, the following effects can be obtained in the vehicle air conditioning unit of the present invention. According to the first aspect of the present invention, one of the air divided into two by the foot damper is discharged from the foot outlet, and the other is further distributed to the defrost outlet and the face outlet by the defrost / face distribution damper. You. Therefore, the number of dampers may be two, which can reduce the number of assembly steps and cost.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the upstream partition plate and the downstream partition plate are formed integrally with the casing, the number of assembly steps for adding a partition plate is increased. Do not invite.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the upstream partition plate is inclined toward the evaporator, water condensed in the evaporator is prevented from flowing out to the heater through the partition plate. You. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a decrease in heating capacity and an increase in pressure loss.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the evaporator-side end of the upstream partition plate coincides with the vertical position of one of the plurality of fins, the upstream partition plate has an evaporator. Pressure loss is prevented from being exerted on the air blown out from the air. Therefore, efficiency can be improved.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the heating means for heating the passing conditioned air is provided between the defrost outlet and the defrost face distribution damper. The temperature of the air blown out from can be raised. Further, since the heating means has an air resistance, the flow velocity of the air blown out from the defrost outlet is reduced, and the air can be further heated. Therefore, the defrost performance can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an air conditioning unit for a vehicle shown as one embodiment of the present invention, showing a face blowing mode.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an engine room of an automobile showing an outline of a configuration and an arrangement of an air conditioner for a vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an installation example of the vehicle air conditioner as viewed from the passenger compartment side.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a state of a foot damper and a defrost / face distribution damper in a defrost blowing mode.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing a state of a foot damper and a defrost / face distribution damper in a foot blowing mode.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing a state of a foot damper and a defrost / face distribution damper in a bi-level blowing mode.

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view showing a state of a foot damper and a defrost face distribution damper in a defrost / foot blowing mode.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view showing a vehicle air conditioning unit shown as a modification.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view showing an evaporator of the vehicle air conditioning unit.

FIG. 10 is a side sectional view showing a vehicle air conditioning unit shown as a modification.

FIG. 11 is a side sectional view showing a conventional vehicle air conditioning unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 30 Evaporator 30a Fin 40 Heater core (heater) 41 Casing 44 Defrost outlet 45 Face outlet 46 Foot outlet 60 Upstream partition plate 61 Upstream partition plate 63 Foot damper 64 Defrost / face distribution damper 65 Downstream partition plate 67 Heating means

Claims (5)

[Claims] An air flow path is formed in a casing provided with a foot air outlet, a face air outlet, and a defrost air outlet as an air outlet, and the air flow path is provided upstream of each of the air outlets. An evaporator and a heater that cover the entire cross section are provided apart from each other in the longitudinal direction, and the foot air outlet is opened and closed in a vehicle air conditioning unit that adjusts the temperature of air by passing air through the evaporator and the heater. A foot damper; and a defrost / face distribution damper for controlling a distribution ratio of air discharged from the defrost air outlet and the face air outlet. The flow path is partitioned in a width direction between the evaporator and the heater. A plurality of upstream partition plates are provided, and the foot damper has a downstream end portion rotatably fixed to the casing and the downstream end portion as an axis. By rotating the upstream end, the foot outlet is opened and closed. Further, on the downstream side of the heater, an upstream portion is provided corresponding to at least one of the upstream partition plates. A downstream partition is provided in which a height of a side end is located on a downstream extension of the upstream partition, and the foot damper is rotated so that the upstream end of the foot damper is located downstream of the downstream partition. By being continuous with the side end, air flowing on one side across the upstream partition plate is distributed to the foot outlet and air flowing on the other side is distributed to the defrost outlet and the face outlet. An air conditioning unit for a vehicle, comprising: 2. The air conditioning unit for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the upstream partition plate and the downstream partition plate are formed integrally with the casing. 3. The air conditioning unit for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a flow path formed by the casing is substantially horizontal, and the evaporator and the heater are provided in a substantially horizontal direction. The air conditioning unit for a vehicle, wherein the upstream partition plate is lowered toward the evaporator. 4. The vehicle air conditioning unit according to claim 3, wherein the evaporator is formed by stacking a plurality of fins in a vertical direction, and the evaporator-side end of the upstream partition plate is provided with the plurality of fins. An air conditioning unit for a vehicle, wherein a vertical position of one of the fins coincides with that of the fin. 5. The air conditioning unit for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein heating means for heating the passing conditioned air is provided between the defrost air outlet and the defrost face distribution damper. An air conditioning unit for a vehicle, wherein the air conditioning unit is provided.