CN115107448A

CN115107448A - Air conditioner for vehicle

Info

Publication number: CN115107448A
Application number: CN202110295662.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 今泉雄一郎; 佐野浩司; 北畑裕贵
Original assignee: Honda Motor Co Ltd
Current assignee: Honda Motor Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-03-19
Filing date: 2021-03-19
Publication date: 2022-09-27
Also published as: JP2022145530A

Abstract

The present invention has been made to solve the problem of providing a vehicle air conditioner that can improve the blowing efficiency without degrading the performance of the air conditioning unit. In order to solve the above problem, the vehicle air conditioner 1 includes: a first main duct 31 configured to blow air from the front of the vehicle 100 in the front-rear direction toward the passenger compartment space 120 located behind the pair of seats 111,112, and having a main duct opening 310, through between the pair of left and right seats 111,112 of the vehicle 100; a first sub duct 32 branched from the first main duct 31, blowing air to a lower portion of at least one of the pair of seats 111 and 112, and having a sub duct opening 320; and an air inlet 5 provided at a lower portion of the seat portion 110a of at least one of the pair of seats, for introducing air supplied from the first sub-duct 32 into the interior of the one seat; the main duct opening 310 is configured to be openable and closable.

Description

Air conditioner for vehicle

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner.

Background

There is known an air conditioning device for a vehicle, which supplies air, the temperature of which is adjusted by an air conditioning unit in the vehicle, to the interior of a seat. For example, a technique of guiding air blowing toward a seat to a leg portion of a rear seat is proposed (for example, refer to patent document 1).

[ Prior Art document ]

(patent literature)

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2015-89682

Disclosure of Invention

[ problems to be solved by the invention ]

If air is blown toward the feet of the rear seat when air is blown toward the seat, the amount of air blown toward the face of the passenger may be reduced. In addition, when no passenger is present in the rear seat, air blowing loss may occur. Therefore, there is a need to improve the air blowing efficiency when no one is sitting in the rear seat, without reducing the performance of the air conditioning unit.

[ means for solving problems ]

(1) And a vehicular air conditioning device (for example, vehicular air conditioning device 1) provided with: a first main duct (e.g., a first main duct 31) configured to blow air from the front in the front-rear direction of a vehicle (e.g., the vehicle 100) toward a passenger compartment space (e.g., the passenger compartment space 120) located more rearward than a pair of seats, through between a pair of left and right seats (e.g., the front seats 111,112), and having a main duct opening (e.g., a main duct opening 310); a first sub duct (for example, a first sub duct 32) branched from the first main duct, blowing air toward a lower portion of at least one of the pair of seats, and having a sub duct opening (for example, a sub duct opening 320); and an air inlet (for example, an air inlet 5) which is provided at a lower portion of a seat portion of at least one of the pair of seats and introduces air supplied from the first sub-duct into the inside of the one seat; the main duct opening is configured to be openable and closable.

(2) In the vehicle air-conditioning apparatus according to item (1), it is preferable that the main duct opening is disposed so as to face upward of the passenger compartment space and is disposed so as to be located above the sub duct opening.

(3) In the vehicle air-conditioning apparatus according to (1) or (2), it is preferable that a second duct (for example, a second duct 4) that blows air from a front side of the vehicle toward a substantially central portion of the vehicle is further provided, the second duct has a second duct opening (for example, a second duct opening 40) provided at a lower portion of at least one of the pair of seats, and the sub-duct opening is disposed above the second duct opening.

(4) In the vehicle air-conditioning apparatus recited in the above (3), it is preferable that the second duct opening is disposed on a rear side of the vehicle with respect to the sub-duct opening.

(5) The vehicle air-conditioning apparatus according to any one of (1) to (4) above, preferably comprising: an opening/closing actuator (for example, an opening/closing actuator 61) that opens and closes the main duct opening; an actuator control unit (for example, an actuator control unit 62) that controls the opening/closing actuator; a temperature detection unit (for example, a temperature detection unit 63) that detects an in-vehicle temperature when an air conditioner of the vehicle is started; and a calculation unit (for example, a calculation unit 64) that calculates a time for waiting for driving the opening/closing actuator based on the temperature detected by the temperature detection unit; the actuator control unit drives the opening/closing actuator to close the main pipe opening after the time calculated by the calculation unit has elapsed.

(Effect of the invention)

According to the above (1), if the main duct opening 310 is closed, the conditioned air (air-conditioned air) is not sent out from the first main duct 31, but is intensively sent from the first sub-duct 32 to the lower portion of the front seats 111,112 where seat conditioning is possible. Therefore, the conditioned air can be blown collectively to the pair of front seats 111,112 side as necessary, and the air conditioning performance is improved. Further, when the rear seat 113 has no passenger, since unnecessary air blowing can be suppressed, air blowing efficiency can be improved.

According to the above (2), the main duct opening is arranged to face upward, and thus the air of the air conditioner can be more easily directed to the vicinity of the face of the passenger in the passenger compartment space. The upwardly directed first main duct is adapted for cold air operation. Since the first sub-duct branches from the first main duct, when air is sent from the air conditioning unit to the inside of the front seat, for example, in a hot sun with a high outside temperature, cold air can be sent directly from the air conditioning unit to the inside of the front seat, which is to be air conditioned, using only the air supplied to the first main duct suitable for cold air operation. Thus, the blowing loss can be reduced without blowing cold air to a non-target duct or supplying cold air to a different direction.

According to the above (3), since the sub duct opening is disposed above the second duct opening of the second duct, the sub duct opening is closer to the air introduction port located at the lower portion of the front seat. Thereby, the air supplied from the first sub-duct is efficiently supplied to the inside of the front seat. In addition, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of adverse effects due to interference between the air conditioner that blows air to the front seat side and the air conditioner that blows air to the rear seat side.

According to the above (4), the air conditioner for blowing air to the

front seats

111 and 112 and the air conditioner for blowing air to the rear seat 113 are less likely to interfere with each other and cause adverse effects.

According to the above (5), the temperature in the vehicle is detected when the air conditioning unit is started, and the control of closing the main duct opening is performed by waiting without driving the opening/closing actuator that opens and closes the main duct opening based on the detected temperature, and then driving the actuator after a predetermined time has elapsed. When the outside air temperature is too high (hot summer) or too low (cold winter), hot air or cold air flows into the vehicle immediately after the air conditioning unit is started. After a period of time, the appropriate air is supplied from the air conditioning unit. Therefore, when the temperature of the vehicle interior is not within the comfortable predetermined temperature range, the opening/closing actuator is driven to close the main duct opening after the time calculated by the calculation unit has elapsed. If the main duct opening 310 is closed, the air supplied from the air conditioning unit does not flow to the rear seat side but flows into the interior of the front seat via the air introduction port. The air flowing into the interior of the front seat is sufficiently cooled and warmed by the passage of a predetermined time, and therefore, the temperature of the seat surface of the front seat can be rapidly lowered or raised. Thus, the passenger can quickly feel the effect of the air conditioner.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic view showing a vehicular air conditioning device of the present embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the first duct and the second duct of the present embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view showing the vehicular air conditioning device of the present embodiment as seen from the bottom surface side.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of the opening/closing control of the main duct opening according to the present embodiment.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The vehicular air conditioning device 1 of the present embodiment is a device that delivers air conditioned by the air conditioning unit 2 to the seat 110 and ventilates from the seat surface 110d of the seat 110 and the like.

The vehicle 100 has a seat 110 and a passenger compartment space 120. The seat 110 has front seats 111,112 and a rear seat 113. The

front seats

111 and 112 are arranged in a pair of left and right on the front side in the traveling direction of the vehicle 100. The front seats 111,112 are, for example, one driver seat and the other one passenger seat. The rear seat 113 is disposed behind the

front seats

111 and 112, and is formed continuously in the left-right direction and in a horizontally elongated shape. The passenger compartment space 120 is a space inside the vehicle 100 behind the front seats 111,112 and between the rear seats 113. In the present specification, front means the front in the traveling direction of the vehicle, rear means the rear side in the traveling direction, and front-rear direction FR means the direction connecting front F and rear R. The up-down direction UD means a vertical direction.

The seat 110 has a seat portion 110a, a seatback portion 110b, a headrest 110c, and a seating surface 110 d. The seat 110a is a portion on which the passenger sits. The seatback portion 110b is a portion that supports the upper body of the passenger. The headrest 110c is a portion that supports the head of the passenger. The seat surface 110d is a thin air-permeable material disposed on the outermost surface side of each portion of the seat 110. A ventilation mechanism, not shown, is disposed inside the seat 110. The ventilation mechanism is constituted by an Air-Ventilated Seat (AVS) structure that sucks in cool Air or warm Air supplied from an Air conditioning unit 2 described later and ventilates the outside from the Seat surface 110d of the Seat portion 110a or the seatback portion 110 b. In this specification, the air-conditioning by the seat surface 110d equipped with the AVS structure is referred to as a seat air-conditioning.

The vehicle air conditioner 1 includes an air conditioning unit 2, a first duct 3, a second duct 4, an air inlet 5, and a main duct opening/closing unit 6.

The air conditioning unit 2 is disposed in an instrument panel 130 in front of the vehicle 100. The Air Conditioning Unit 2 is a so-called Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning Unit (HVAC Unit), has an Air intake section 21 and a heat exchanger 22, and is a device that takes in Air from the outside of the vehicle, heats or cools the Air taken in, and blows the Air into the vehicle.

The air inlet 5 is provided below the seat portion 110a of at least one of the pair of front seats 111,112 of the vehicle 100. The air inlet 5 is an opening for introducing air supplied from the air conditioning unit 2 into the interior of the seat 110 (front seats 111, 112). The air inlet 5 is an air inlet of the seat air conditioner.

The first duct 3 is an air guide duct that conveys air blown from the air conditioning unit 2 toward the seat 110. The first duct 3 is disposed to pass between the pair of front seats 111,112 and extend to the inside of the console 140 at a substantially central portion of the vehicle. The first duct 3 blows air from the front in the front-rear direction FR of the vehicle 100 to a substantially central portion. The first duct 3 has a first main duct 31 and a first sub-duct 32.

The first trunk duct 31 is disposed to pass between the pair of front seats 111,112 and blow air from the front in the front-rear direction FR of the vehicle 100 toward the passenger compartment space 120. As shown in fig. 2, the first main duct 31 has a long substantially rectangular tubular shape extending in the front-rear direction FR, and has a front end connected to the air conditioning unit 2 and the other end disposed on the rear end side of the console 140. The first main pipe 31 has a main pipe opening 310, an opening and closing valve 311, and a grating portion 312.

The main pipe opening 310 is disposed at the rear end in the longitudinal direction of the first main pipe 31 so as to face upward in the vertical direction UD of the passenger compartment space 120. The upward direction means not only a vertically upward direction but also an upward direction, and includes an obliquely upward direction. As shown in fig. 2, the trunk pipe opening 310 may be directed upward from the virtual line IL extending in the extending direction of the first trunk pipe 31. The main duct opening 310 faces, for example, the vicinity of the face of a passenger seated in the rear seat 113. The main duct opening 310 is configured to be openable and closable by a main duct opening/closing unit 6 described later. The opening and closing control of the main duct opening 310 will be described later.

The on-off valve 311 is a valve disposed in the vicinity of the main pipe opening 310. The opening/closing valve 311 is connected to an opening/closing actuator 61, which will be described later, and is driven to close or open the main pipe opening 310.

The grill portion 312 has louver openings 312a arranged on the end surface of the main duct opening 310. The louver opening 312a has a plurality of strip-shaped plates, and the louver opening 312a is configured to be manually changed in direction. The surfaces of the louver opening 312a are configured as follows: the wind direction can be changed by closing the air flow paths so as to be continuous with each other, or by inclining the surface direction upward or downward.

The first sub pipe 32 branches downward from the front end side of the first main pipe 31. The first sub-duct 32 has a front end branched from the first main duct 31 and a rear end disposed below the

front seats

111 and 112. The first secondary duct 32 has a secondary duct opening 320 formed at the rear end. The first sub duct 32 blows air sent from the air conditioning unit 2 through the sub duct opening 320 to the lower portions of the

front seats

111 and 112. Since the air introduction port 5 is formed in the lower portion of the

front seats

111 and 112, the air supplied from the first sub duct 32 is used for seat air conditioning through the air introduction port 5. The first sub duct 32 is located on the lower side of the first main duct 31, and the main duct opening 310 is arranged above the sub duct opening 320.

The second duct 4 is an air guide duct that conveys air blown from the air conditioning unit 2 to the seat 110 side, unlike the first duct 3. The second duct 4 is configured to convey air to the foot of the rear seat 113. The second duct 4 blows air from the front of the vehicle 100 toward the substantially central portion of the vehicle 100. The second duct 4 has a front end connected to the air conditioning unit 2 and branches into two directions toward the rear. The rear ends of the branched tubes of the second duct 4 are disposed below the two

front seats

111 and 112, and the second duct openings 40 are provided at the rear ends of the respective tubes.

As shown in fig. 3, the first duct 3 is disposed on the second duct 4. In more detail, the second duct 4 and the first sub-duct 32 are integrally formed, and the first main duct 31 is disposed thereon, and the first main duct 31 is connected to the first sub-duct 32. The secondary duct opening 320 of the first duct 3 is arranged closer to the upper side than the second duct opening 40. In addition, the second duct opening 40 is disposed closer to the rear of the vehicle 100 than the sub-duct opening 320.

Next, with reference to fig. 3, the opening and closing control of the main duct opening 310 will be described.

The main conduit opening/closing unit 6 includes an opening/closing actuator 61, an actuator control unit 62, a temperature detection unit 63, and a calculation unit 64. The main duct opening/closing unit 6 is an opening/closing device that opens/closes the main duct opening 310 in accordance with the temperature in the vehicle or the like.

The opening/closing actuator 61 is a motor disposed in the vicinity of the main duct opening 310. The opening/closing actuator 61 is driven to open and close the opening/closing valve 311 of the main pipe opening 310.

The temperature detector 63 is a thermometer that is disposed in the vehicle 100 and detects the temperature in the vehicle. When the engine is started in vehicle 100, temperature detecting unit 63 detects the temperature in the vehicle (S2) when air conditioner unit 2 is started (S1).

The calculation unit 64 is electrically connected to the temperature detection unit 63, and calculates a time period for waiting for driving the opening/closing actuator 61 based on the temperature detected by the temperature detection unit 63. Specifically, when the temperature detected by the temperature detector 63 is out of the predetermined range in which the passenger feels comfortable (S3), the time for waiting for driving the opening/closing actuator 61 is calculated (S4). The in-vehicle temperature exceeding the predetermined range means, for example, that the detected temperature is less than 10 degrees, more than 25 degrees, or the like. The predetermined range is set in advance. In addition, when the temperature is a certain temperature outside the predetermined range, a time for waiting for driving the opening/closing actuator 61 is set in advance. The calculation unit 64 is disposed in the actuator control unit 62 described later.

The actuator control unit 62 is electrically connected to the opening/closing actuator 61, the temperature detection unit 63, and the calculation unit 64. The actuator control unit 62 detects whether or not the time calculated by the calculation unit 64 has elapsed by using a timer or the like, and drives the opening/closing actuator 61(S6) after the elapse of the calculated time (S5), and controls to close the main duct opening 310 (S7). Further, after closing the main duct opening 310, the open-close control may return to the detection of the in-vehicle temperature (S2). When the temperature detected by the temperature detecting portion 63 is within the predetermined range, the actuator control portion 62 maintains the state of opening the main duct opening 310 (S8).

When the outside air temperature is extremely high or low, hot air or cold air that has not been air-conditioned immediately flows into the vehicle after the air-conditioning unit 2 is started. Therefore, by waiting for a prescribed time to elapse, the main duct opening 310 is closed after the temperature of the desired blast air is approached. If the main duct opening 310 that opens toward the rear seat 113 is closed, the air that has been conditioned flows toward the front seats 111,112 side via the air introduction port 5 on the lower side of the seat portion 110a, and is blown toward the passenger via the seat air conditioner.

According to the present embodiment, the following effects are obtained.

(1) The vehicular air conditioning apparatus 1 includes a first main duct 31, the first main duct 31 being disposed to pass between a pair of left and right

front seats

111 and 112 of the vehicle 100, to blow air from the front in the front-rear direction FR of the vehicle 100 to a passenger compartment space 120 located rearward of the pair of

front seats

111 and 112, and having a main duct opening 310. The vehicle seat further includes a first sub duct 32, the first sub duct 32 branching from the first main duct 31, blowing air to a lower portion of at least one of the pair of

front seats

111 and 112, and having a sub duct opening 320. The air intake port 5 is provided at a lower portion of a seat portion of at least one of the pair of

front seats

111 and 112, and introduces air supplied from the first sub-duct 32 into the inside of the one seat. The main duct opening 310 is configured to be openable and closable.

According to this configuration, if the main duct opening 310 is closed, the conditioned air is not blown from the first main duct 31, but is delivered concentratedly from the first sub-duct 32 toward the lower portion of the front seats 111,112 that can be seat-conditioned. Therefore, the conditioned air can be collectively blown to the pair of front seats 111,112 side as needed, and the air conditioning performance is improved. Further, when no passenger is present in the rear seat 113, unnecessary air blowing can be suppressed, and therefore, air blowing efficiency can be improved.

(2) In the present embodiment, the main duct opening 310 is disposed so as to face upward of the passenger compartment space 120 and is disposed so as to be located above the sub duct opening 320.

By configuring the main duct opening 310 to face upward, the conditioned air is easily aimed near the face of the passenger in the passenger compartment space 120. The first main duct 31, which is directed upwards, is suitable for cold air operation. Since the first sub-duct 32 branches from the first main duct 31, when air is sent from the air conditioning unit 2 to the interiors of the front seats 111,112, for example, in a sunny day where the outside air temperature is high, cold air can be sent directly from the air conditioning unit 2 to the interiors of the front seats 111,112 that are to be seat-conditioned, using only the air supplied to the first main duct 31 that is suitable for cold air operation. When there is no passenger in the rear seat, the air blowing loss can be reduced without blowing cool air to a non-target duct or supplying cool air in a different direction.

(3) According to the present embodiment, the air conditioner further includes the second duct 4 for blowing air from the front of the vehicle 100 to a substantially central portion.

The second duct 4 is configured to include a second duct opening 40, the second duct opening 40 being provided at a lower portion of at least one of the pair of front seats 111,112, and the sub-duct opening 320 being disposed above the second duct opening 40. Since the sub duct opening 320 is disposed above the second duct opening 40 of the second duct 4, the sub duct opening 320 is closer to the air introduction port 5 located at the lower portion of the

front seats

111, 112. Thus, the air supplied from the first sub-duct 32 is efficiently supplied to the inside of the

front seats

111, 112. In addition, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of adverse effects due to interference between the air conditioner that blows air to the front seats 111,112 and the air conditioner that blows air to the rear seat 113.

(4) In the present embodiment, the second duct opening 40 is disposed on the rear side of the vehicle 100 with respect to the sub-duct opening 320.

Thus, the air conditioner blowing air toward the

front seats

111 and 112 and the air conditioner blowing air toward the rear seat 113 are less likely to interfere with each other and cause adverse effects.

(5) According to the present embodiment, the present invention includes: an opening/closing actuator 61 that automatically opens and closes the main duct opening 310; an actuator control unit 62 that controls the opening/closing actuator 61; a temperature detection unit 63 that detects an in-vehicle temperature at the time of starting an air conditioner of the vehicle 100; and a calculation unit 64 that calculates a time for waiting for driving the opening/closing actuator 61 based on the temperature detected by the temperature detection unit 63; after the time calculated by the calculation unit 64 has elapsed, the opening/closing actuator 61 is driven to close the main duct opening 310.

The temperature in the vehicle is detected when the air conditioning unit 2 is started, and based on the detected temperature, the opening/closing actuator 61 that opens and closes the main duct opening 310 is not driven but waits, and after a predetermined time has elapsed, is driven to control the closing of the main duct opening 310. When the outside air temperature is too high (summer heat) or too low (winter cold), hot air or cold air is blown into the vehicle immediately after the air conditioning unit 2 is started. After a period of time, appropriate air is supplied from the air conditioning unit 2. Therefore, when the temperature in the vehicle is not within the comfortable predetermined temperature range, the opening/closing actuator 61 is driven to close the main duct opening 310 after the lapse of the time calculated by the calculation unit. If the main duct opening 310 is closed, the air supplied from the air conditioning unit 2 does not flow toward the rear seat 113 side, but flows into the interior of the front seats 111,112 via the air introduction port 5. The air flowing into the

front seats

111 and 112 becomes sufficient cool air or warm air after a predetermined time, and therefore, the temperature of the seat surface 110d of the

front seats

111 and 112 can be rapidly lowered or raised. Thus, the passenger can quickly feel the effect of the air conditioner.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and variations, improvements, and the like within a range in which the object of the present invention can be achieved are included in the present invention.

For example, the first sub-duct 32 and the second duct 4 may not extend to the lower portions of both the

front seats

111, 112. As long as the sub duct opening 320 and the second duct opening 40 are provided at the lower portion of either of the

front seats

111, 112.

In the above-described embodiment, after the air conditioning unit 2 is started, the opening and closing control of the main duct opening 310 is started. However, the step of determining the presence or absence of a passenger in the rear seat 113 may be included after the air conditioning unit 2 is activated. That is, after the air conditioning unit 2 is activated, the presence or absence of a passenger in the rear seat 113 is detected by, for example, a motion sensor or the like or a rear seat belt and a rear door opening/closing signal (S9). The main duct opening 310 may remain open when a seated passenger is present in the rear seat 113. When no passenger is seated, the opening and closing of the main duct opening 310 can be controlled. The reason for this is that if there is no passenger on the rear seats 113, the air-conditioning effect can be quickly felt by the passengers of the front seats 111,112 by ventilating from the insides of the front seats 111,112 without delivering the air-conditioning air from the main duct opening 310.

Reference numerals

1: air conditioner for vehicle

4: second pipeline

5: air inlet

31: first main pipeline

32: first secondary pipeline

40: second pipe opening

61: opening and closing actuator

62: actuator control unit

63: temperature detection unit

64: calculating part

110: chair (Ref. now to FIGS)

120: passenger room space

310: opening of main pipeline

320: opening of secondary pipeline

Claims

1. A vehicle air conditioner is provided with:

a first main duct configured to blow air from a front side in a front-rear direction of a vehicle toward a passenger compartment space behind a pair of seats through between a pair of left and right seats of the vehicle, and having a main duct opening;

a first sub duct branched from the first main duct, blowing air toward a lower portion of at least one of the pair of seats, and having a sub duct opening; and a process for the preparation of a coating,

an air inlet port provided at a lower portion of a seat portion of at least one of the pair of seats, and configured to introduce air supplied from the first sub-duct into the one seat;

the main duct opening is configured to be openable and closable.

2. The vehicular air-conditioning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the main duct opening is disposed so as to face upward of the passenger compartment space and is disposed so as to be closer to the upper side than the sub-duct opening.

3. The vehicular air-conditioning apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a second duct that blows air from a front side of the vehicle toward a substantially central portion of the vehicle,

the second duct has a second duct opening provided in a lower portion of at least one of the pair of seats,

the secondary duct opening is disposed above the second duct opening.

4. The vehicular air-conditioning apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second duct opening is disposed on a rear side of the vehicle with respect to the sub-duct opening.

5. The vehicular air-conditioning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vehicular air-conditioning apparatus has:

an opening/closing actuator for opening/closing the main pipe opening;

an actuator control unit for controlling the opening/closing actuator;

a temperature detection unit that detects an in-vehicle temperature at a time of starting an air conditioner of the vehicle; and a process for the preparation of a coating,

a calculation unit that calculates a time for waiting for driving the opening/closing actuator based on the temperature detected by the temperature detection unit;

the actuator control unit drives the opening/closing actuator to close the main pipe opening after the time calculated by the calculation unit has elapsed.