JP2003285622A - Duct connecting structure of vehicular air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the mounting workability of pillar ducts portion by simplifying the assembling workability thereof, and surely connect the pillar duct and a floor duct. <P>SOLUTION: A lower end part of a pillar duct 31 is connected to an opening part 23 of a floor duct 21 arranged as directing upward at lower end position of a center pillar 1. In a pillar duct 31, the center pillar 1 and a pillar garnish lower 41 covering up the pillar duct 31 are integrally formed. When the lower end part 41a of the pillar garnish lower 41 is arranged near the opening part 23 of the floor duct 21, a guide face 25 for guiding the pillar duct 31 to the opening part 23 in contact with a car-outside end section 23a of the pillar duct 31, is formed in the opening part 23 of the floor duct 21. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a duct connection structure for an air conditioner for a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an air conditioner mounted on a vehicle is known in which air blown from an air conditioning unit provided in an instrument panel at the front of the vehicle is guided to a rear seat through a duct. . As such an air conditioner, a duct extends rearward from the air conditioning unit along the vehicle floor and is started up along a center pillar that is erected in the middle of the vehicle. It is known that the air is blown toward the. Further, in such a conventional technique, the duct is divided into a floor duct extending along the vehicle floor and a pillar duct raised along the center pillar, and the pillar duct is floored at the lower end of the center pillar. I am trying to connect it to the duct. Further, in such a conventional technique, it is general that the floor duct is covered with a carpet or the like, and the pillar duct is covered with a pillar garnish formed of resin or the like.

[0003]

However, in the prior art as described above, the work of assembling the pillar duct portion requires two operations, namely, a work for assembling the pillar duct, a work for assembling the pillar garnish, and a work for assembling. Takes.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and improves the workability by simplifying the work of assembling the pillar duct portion, and the connection between the pillar duct and the floor duct. The purpose is to ensure that.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 1 is such that a floor duct (21) for guiding air flow is arranged on a floor panel (3), An opening (2 provided at the tip of (21)
3) is disposed upward at a lower end position of a pillar (1) erected on the vehicle body, and the lower end of the pillar duct (31) is connected to the opening of the floor duct (21). 31) is integrally provided with a pillar garnish (41) that covers the pillar (1) and the pillar duct (31), and the pillar garnish (41) is
When the pillar duct (31) is connected to the floor duct (21), a lower end portion (41a) of the pillar duct (31) is an inside end portion (23a) of the opening portion (23) of the floor duct (21).
And the lower end portion (41a) of the pillar garnish (41) is formed in the opening portion (23) of the floor duct (21) at the opening portion (23) of the floor duct (21).
A guide surface (25) for guiding the pillar duct (31) to the inside of the opening (23) by coming into contact with the vehicle outer side end (31a) of the pillar duct (31) when the guide surface (25) is arranged near the vehicle. Was adopted.

The invention described in claim 2 is the same as claim 1
In the duct connection structure for an air conditioner according to Item 5, the guide surface (25) has an opening (2) of a floor duct (21).
3) Extending in a mortar shape so as to spread upward and outward from at least the vehicle width direction vehicle outer side edge, and the guide surface (2
5) is the lower end (4) of the pillar garnish (41).
1a) to the inside end (23) of the opening (23)
It is characterized in that when it is arranged on the vehicle inner side than a), it extends to a position on the vehicle outer side than a position where the vehicle outer side end portion (31a) of the pillar duct (31) is arranged.

The invention described in claim 3 is the same as claim 1
Or in the duct connection structure of the air conditioner according to 2,
The guide surface (25) has a pillar garnish (41).
When the lower end portion (41a) of the above is horizontally overlapped with the vehicle-inside end portion (23a) of the opening (23),
The pillar duct (31) is characterized by being extended to a position above the position where the vehicle outer side end (31a) is arranged.

[0008]

According to the present invention, since the pillar duct and the pillar garnish are integrated, when the pillar duct is arranged at a regular position and connected to the floor duct to be assembled to the vehicle body, at the same time, the pillar garnish becomes regular. Will be installed in the position. In this case, either one of the pillar duct and the pillar garnish may be fixed to the vehicle body, or both of them may be fixed to the vehicle body. In this way, the assembling work is halved compared to the conventional one, and the assembling workability can be improved.
Also, when connecting the pillar duct to the floor duct,
When the lower end of the pillar garnish is arranged in the vicinity of the opening of the floor duct, the vehicle outer end of the pillar duct comes into contact with the guide surface provided in the opening of the floor duct and is guided and connected into the opening. Therefore, in this connection work, the connection between the lower end of the pillar duct and the opening of the floor duct is blocked by the pillar garnish, which makes it difficult for the operator to see it. Since the connection is performed while being guided by the surface, this connection work can be easily performed even if the user cannot visually check. As described above, in the present invention, by integrating the pillar duct and the pillar garnish in order to improve the workability in assembling, the connection portion between the pillar duct and the floor duct becomes difficult to see, but a guide surface is provided. As a result, the connection workability can be ensured, and the assembly workability can be improved without deteriorating the connection workability.

According to the second aspect of the invention,
When the lower end of the pillar garnish is located on the inner side of the inner side of the floor duct opening, the guide surface is located on the outer side of the vehicle than the outer side of the pillar duct. Because the configuration is extended to
If the positions of the pillar garnish and the pillar duct during assembly are displaced from the regular position in the vehicle width direction toward the exterior of the vehicle, within the range where the lower end of the pillar garnish is located inside the floor duct rather than the floor duct, The outer end of the vehicle contacts the guide surface and is guided to the opening of the floor duct. Further, the position where this guidance is not possible is the position where the lower end of the pillar garnish is arranged on the vehicle outer side than the vehicle inner side end of the opening of the floor duct, so in such a relative positional relationship, The worker can visually recognize that the floor duct is visible in front of the pillar garnish and that the above-described guidance is impossible. Therefore, it is possible to visually recognize the positional deviation of the floor duct that cannot be guided by the guide surface, and it is possible to reliably prevent the positional deviation from causing the connection failure because the guide surface cannot guide the floor duct. be able to.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the lower end of the pillar garnish is horizontally overlapped with the vehicle inner side end of the opening of the floor duct, the vehicle outer side end of the pillar duct is positioned more than the position where the vehicle outer side end is arranged. Also, since the guide surface is extended to the upper position, the lower end of the pillar garnish is placed at a height that overlaps the inner side end of the floor duct opening in the vehicle width direction during the connection work, and the pillar garnish and pillar duct are placed outside the vehicle. When it is moved to, the outer side end of the pillar duct comes into contact with the guide surface. On the contrary, if the lower end of the pillar garnish is placed higher than the height where it overlaps with the vehicle inner side end of the floor duct opening in the vehicle width direction, the vehicle outer side end of the pillar duct does not overlap with the guide surface in the horizontal direction. However, in this case, when the pillar garnish and the pillar duct are moved in the vehicle exterior direction, the lower end of the pillar garnish does not contact the floor duct,
The floor duct moves to the outside of the vehicle rather than the inside end of the opening of the floor duct so that the operator can see the floor duct. Therefore, it is possible to visually recognize such a shift in position. As described above, also in the invention according to claim 3, even if the lower end of the pillar duct is blocked by the pillar garnish, the position where the pillar duct is guided by the guide surface is grasped and connected based on the position of the pillar garnish. Work can be performed and workability can be improved.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a duct connection structure of an air conditioner of the present embodiment, and this figure shows a cross section at a position of a center pillar 1 provided in an intermediate portion of a vehicle. First, the vehicle body structure at the position of the center pillar 1 will be described. The center pillar 1 is
The pillar inner 1b and the pillar outer 1c are joined by welding to form a box cross-sectional shape. The lower end of the center pillar 1 has a sill inner 2b and a sill outer 2c.
And are joined by welding, and are joined by welding to the side sill 2 formed in the box cross-sectional shape. Furthermore, the edge portion of the floor panel 3 is joined to the sill inner 2b by welding. Further, a retractor 5 that winds up a webbing (belt) 4 of a seat belt device is attached inside the center pillar 1. The webbing 4 pulled out from the retractor 5 is folded back at the upper part of the center pillar 1 through a through ring (not shown), and its tip is attached to a seat frame (not shown).

On the upper surface of the floor panel 3, a cushion material 6 made of expanded polypropylene or the like is spread. A floor duct 21 made of resin or the like that guides air from an air conditioning unit (not shown) is arranged on the upper surface of the cushion member 6. Note that FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6A, the floor duct 21 is formed in a tubular shape having a substantially rectangular cross section. In addition, the cushion material 6 is laid up to a height corresponding to the upper surface of the floor duct 21 in a portion where the floor duct 21 is not routed. Also, this floor duct 2
A heat insulating material 8 is interposed between 1 and the cushion material 6. A carpet 10 is laid above the floor duct 21 and the cushion material 6 with a felt material 9 interposed.

At the tip of the floor duct 21, there is provided an upright portion 22 which is raised at the lower end of the center pillar 1, and an opening 23 provided at the tip of the upright portion 22 is directed upward. is set up. Further, as shown in the drawing, rising portions 10b that are raised to a height near the rising portion 22 of the floor duct 21 are formed at the left and right ends of the carpet 10. A reinforcing plate 11 for preventing sagging is provided on the back side of the rising portion 10b of the carpet 10.

In the opening 23 of the floor duct 21,
A lower end portion of a pillar duct 31 extending vertically along the center pillar 1 is inserted. The pillar duct 31 is formed of a resin or the like into a tubular shape having a substantially rectangular cross section having a cross sectional area substantially the same as that of the floor duct 21,
As shown, an air outlet 32 is provided at the upper end, and the air outlet 32 is arranged rearward of the vehicle.

The vehicle interior side of the pillar duct 31 and the center pillar 1 in the vehicle width direction is covered with a pillar garnish lower 41 and a pillar garnish upper 42 which are made of resin or the like in a plate shape. The pillar garnish lower 41 corresponds to the pillar garnish in the claims, extends to a position higher than the pillar duct 31, and has the webbing 4 between the upper end and the lower end of the pillar garnish upper 42. An insertion opening 43 is formed to pass through.

Next, the connecting structure between the floor duct 21 and the pillar duct 31 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in the perspective view of FIG. 2 and the cross-sectional views of FIGS. 3 and 4, the floor duct 21 has a cross-sectional area at the upper end of the standing portion 22 in the front-rear and left-right directions (the arrow FR indicates the front-rear direction, the arrow LR indicates the vehicle width). (Showing the direction) is provided with a widening portion 24, and the opening portion 23 is formed at the upper end portion of the widening portion 24. Further, by forming the expanding portion 24, the step portion 28 is formed at the lower end portion of the expanding portion 24. Further, the pillar duct 31 is provided at the opening 2 at the outer edge and the front-rear edge of the expanded portion 24.
The guide surface 25 for guiding to 3 is formed in a mortar shape. At the tip of the guide surface 25, a bent portion 26 is formed which is bent in a direction substantially orthogonal to the cut surface (upper end surface) 23c in order to prevent burrs from being generated during cutting. .

On the other hand, the lower end of the pillar duct 31 is
A sealing material 33 made of urethane or the like is adhered to the outer circumference of the entire circumference. The pillar garnish lower 41 is formed in a substantially U-shaped cross section so as to cover the front and rear of the pillar duct 31 and the inside of the vehicle. The pillar garnish lower 41 is provided integrally with the pillar duct 31. This may be formed integrally with the pillar duct 31 by bonding after the pillar garnish lower 41 is molded, or depending on the shape, the pillar garnish lower 41 and the pillar duct 3 may be formed at the time of molding.
It is also possible to mold 1 and 1 integrally.

When the pillar duct 31 is connected to the floor duct 21 as shown in FIG. 4, the lower end portion 41a of the pillar garnish lower 41 overlaps the upper end portion of the rising portion 10b of the carpet 10 in the left-right direction, Moreover, the stepped portion 10c formed on the carpet 10 is formed so as to have a positional relationship such that it overlaps in the vertical direction.

Further, with respect to the pillar garnish lower 41, the pillar duct 31, and the floor duct 21, the pillar garnish lower 41 and the pillar duct 31 are arranged in the vehicle exterior direction (leftward in FIGS. 3 and 4) with respect to the connection state of FIG. The outer side end 31 of the pillar duct 31 when
In the range in which a is vertically overlapped with the guide surface 25, the lower end portion 41a of the pillar garnish lower 41 has the floor duct 2
It is arranged so as to be arranged on the vehicle inner side than the vehicle inner side end portion 23a of the first widening portion 24. That is, when the position of the pillar garnish lower 41 deviates in the vehicle exterior direction until the floor duct 21 can be seen, the vehicle exterior side end 31a of the pillar duct 31 is arranged on the vehicle exterior side of the guide surface 25, and conversely. End 23a on the inside of the vehicle of the expanded portion 24 of
When the lower end portion 41a of the pillar garnish lower 41 is located inside the vehicle, the vehicle exterior end portion 31a of the pillar duct 31 is located inside the guide surface 25.

Further, in the horizontal direction, if the lower end portion 41a of the pillar garnish lower 41 is disposed at a position overlapping the vehicle inner side end portion 23a of the expansion portion 24 of the floor duct 21, the vehicle duct outer side end portion of the pillar duct 31 will be described. The reference numeral 31a is formed in a positional relationship where it overlaps with the guide surface 25 in the horizontal direction. Conversely, the lower end portion 41a of the pillar garnish lower 41
Is the end 23a on the vehicle interior side of the expanded portion 24 of the floor duct 21.
The vehicle outer end 31a of the pillar duct 31 is formed so as not to overlap the guide surface 25 in the horizontal direction as long as it is arranged above so as not to overlap.

Next, a process of assembling the pillar duct 31 and the pillar garnish lower 41 will be described. First, the pillar duct 31 and the pillar garnish lower 41 that are integrated are arranged at a height where the lower end portion 41a of the pillar garnish lower 41 overlaps the expanded portion 24 of the floor duct 21 in the horizontal direction, and the step portion of the carpet 10 is arranged. It is arranged at a position overlapping with 10c in the vertical direction. From this state, when the pillar duct 31 and the pillar garnish lower 41 are moved in the vehicle exterior direction, as shown in FIG.
Hit 5

Next, the operator lowers the pillar garnish lower 41 downward. As a result, the vehicle outer end 31a of the pillar duct 31 is guided by the inclination of the guide surface 25 and inserted into the opening 23, and the sealing material 33 is inserted into the lower end of the expanding portion 24 as shown in FIG. This movement is restricted by hitting the stepped portion 28, and the normal connection state shown in the figure is obtained. In this case, the sealing material 33 is interposed between the outer circumference of the pillar duct 31 and the inner circumference of the floor duct 21 in a compressed state to prevent leakage of air flow.

In the above-mentioned work, the positions of the pillar duct 31 and the pillar garnish lower 41 are too high, and the vehicle exterior end 31a of the pillar duct 31 is guided by the guide surface 2.
If the vehicle moves too far in the vehicle exterior direction without colliding with the vehicle 5, the pillar garnish lower 41 moves further in the vehicle exterior direction than the floor duct 21, and the operator sees the floor duct 21. Therefore, since the operator can visually recognize this positional deviation, the operator lowers the position to an appropriate position, performs the above-described work again, and applies the vehicle outer end 31a of the pillar duct 31 to the guide surface 25. rear,
Can be connected accurately.

On the contrary, when the pillar duct 31 and the pillar garnish lower 41 are displaced inward and downward from their proper positions in the vehicle outward direction as described above, the pillar duct The outer side end portion 31a of 31 is the inner side end portion 23a of the floor duct 21.
Since the pillar garnish lower 41 cannot be disposed above the stepped portion 10c due to the collision with the above, the operator can visually recognize such a positional shift. Therefore, also in this case, the worker can move the worker to an appropriate position. Alternatively, when the pillar duct 31 and the pillar garnish lower 41 are lowered, the pillar duct 31 causes the expanded portion 24 of the floor duct 21 to expand.
The lower end portion 41a of the pillar garnish lower 41 is collided with the floor duct 2 by colliding with the inner portion of the vehicle.
Since it cannot be lowered to a position where it horizontally overlaps with the vehicle-inside end portion 23a of the expanding portion 24 of No. 1, the positional deviation is known, and the positional deviation is corrected as described above to establish a normal connection state. can do.

As described above, in the present embodiment,
Since the pillar duct 31 and the pillar garnish lower 41 are integrated and both are simultaneously assembled to the vehicle body, the assembling work can be halved and the assembling workability can be improved as compared with the conventional case. The effect is obtained. Further, when the pillar duct 31 and the pillar garnish lower 41 are integrated, the pillar duct 3 is blocked by the pillar garnish lower 41.
Although it is not possible to visually check the connection state between the floor duct 21 and the floor duct 21, the guide surface 25 is attached to the floor duct 21 as described above.
Is provided and the pillar duct 31 is guided to the position where it is normally connected to the floor duct 21, so that the connection work can be smoothly performed.
Moreover, when the position of the pillar duct 31 deviates so much that it cannot be guided by the guide surface 25 when the pillar duct 31 is assembled, the positional deviation due to the relative positions of the pillar garnish lower 41, the floor duct 21 and the carpet 10 may occur. Since it is possible to visually confirm it, it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of a connection failure, and it is possible to prevent such a large positional deviation in advance, and it is possible to improve workability. can get.

Further, in the present embodiment, the bent portion 26 is formed at the tip of the guide surface 25 of the floor duct 21,
Since burr is less likely to occur on the cut surface 23c,
When the pillar duct 31 is connected, when the seal material 33 is displaced from the regular position and comes into contact with the cut surface 23c of the floor duct 21, the seal material 33 is less likely to be damaged, and a defective seal can be prevented.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and the invention according to each claim of the claims is not limited to this embodiment. Design changes and additions are allowed without departing from the gist. For example, the guide surface 25 only needs to be able to guide the pillar duct 31 to the inside of the opening 23, and thus the shape thereof is not limited to that shown in the embodiment. Further, although the center pillar 1 is shown as a pillar in the embodiment, the pillar can be applied to other pillars as long as the pillar is erected on the vehicle. Also,
In the embodiment, as a work procedure, the pillar duct 31 is moved toward the outside of the vehicle so as to be in contact with the guide surface 25, but of course, the pillar duct 31 may be moved from above.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a duct connection structure of an air conditioner according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part of the duct connection structure of the air conditioner according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of the duct connection structure of the air conditioner according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of the duct connection structure of the air conditioner according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 center pillar 1b Pillar Inner 1c Pillar outer 2 side sills 2b Silina 2c sill outer 3 floor panels 4 webbing 5 retractors 6 cushion material 8 insulation 9 felt material 10 carpet 10b Standing part 10c step 11 Reinforcement plate 21 floor duct 22 Standing part 23 opening 23c cut surface 24 Expansion section 25 Guide surface 26 Bent 28 steps 31 pillar duct 32 outlet 33 Seal material 41 Pillar garnish lower 42 Pillar garnish upper 43 insertion port

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A floor duct (21) for guiding air flow is arranged on a floor panel (3), and an opening (23) provided at a tip portion of the floor duct (21) is erected on a vehicle body. The pillar duct (3) is arranged at the lower end of the pillar (1) so as to face upward, and the pillar duct (3) is provided at the opening of the floor duct (21).
The lower end of 1) is connected, and the pillar garnish (4) that covers the pillar (1) and the pillar duct (31) is connected to the pillar duct (31).
1) is integrally provided, and this pillar garnish (41) has a lower end portion (41a) at the opening of the floor duct (21) when the pillar duct (31) is connected to the floor duct (21). The floor duct (21) has a lower end portion (41a) of the pillar garnish (41) in the opening (23) of the floor duct (21). Guide surface (25) for guiding the pillar duct (31) to the inside of the opening (23) by coming into contact with the vehicle outer side end (31a) of the pillar duct (31) when the pillar duct (31) is arranged in the vicinity of the opening (23). A duct connection structure for an air conditioner, wherein the duct connection structure is provided. 2. The duct connection structure for an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the guide surface (25) is located above an edge of the opening (23) of the floor duct (21) at least on the vehicle width direction outer side of the vehicle. The guide surface (25) extends in a mortar shape so as to expand outward, and the guide surface (25) has the pillar garnish (4).
When the lower end portion (41a) of 1) is placed inside the vehicle inner side end portion (23a) of the opening (23), the vehicle outer side end portion (31a) of the pillar duct (31).
A duct connection structure for an air conditioner, characterized in that the duct connection structure is extended to a position outside the vehicle from a position where is disposed. 3. The duct connection structure for an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the guide surface (25) is a pillar garnish (41).
When the lower end portion (41a) of the above is horizontally overlapped with the vehicle-inside end portion (23a) of the opening (23),
A duct connection structure for an air conditioner, wherein the pillar duct (31) extends to a position above the position where the vehicle outer end (31a) is arranged.