JP2000038026A - Air conditioning device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance condensation efficiency of a refrigerant by effectively utilizing ram air, so that stable conditioned air can be supplied in a car. SOLUTION: This air conditioning device for a vehicle has its condenser unit 32 installed on the roof of a car body to make a heat exchange between a refrigerant supplied from a compressor 31 and the outside air. In that air conditioning device, a pair of condensers 41 are arranged so as to gradually spread a mutual space in accordance with going from the forward toward the rearward in a vehicle advancing direction. Each condenser 41 is arranged so as to be symmetrical relating to an axial line along the vehicle advancing direction. In this way, ram air can be effectively utilized for a heat exchange with the refrigerant, in addition, the refrigerant can be uniformly condensed by both the condensers 41.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner for a vehicle which is installed in a vehicle such as a bus and cools a passenger compartment, and more particularly to an air conditioner for a vehicle having a condenser unit on a roof. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As air conditioners for vehicles mounted on buses and the like, there are known a sub-engine system mainly used for large sightseeing buses and a direct connection system mainly used for route buses and small buses. ing.

[0003] The sub-engine system is provided with an engine (sub-engine) dedicated to an air conditioner separately from a vehicle driving engine (main engine). It is configured to operate a compressor and the like. In the case of the sub-engine system, main devices such as a sub-engine and a compressor are unitized, and are usually installed in a space below the passenger compartment in the center of the vehicle body.

On the other hand, a vehicle air conditioner of a direct connection type obtains a driving force from a traveling engine of a vehicle to a refrigerant compressor or the like, similarly to a passenger car or the like. In the case of a small bus, the compressor is installed near the engine at the front of the body,
In many cases, the condenser unit is installed below the vehicle cabin in the center of the vehicle body, and the evaporator is installed above the vehicle room (ceiling) at the rear of the vehicle body.

[0005] In the case of a route bus, the compressor is installed near the engine at the rear of the vehicle body, and the evaporator and the condenser unit are often installed on the roof of the vehicle body. In particular, recently, since the floor of the vehicle tends to be lowered in order to facilitate getting on and off of the elderly and the handicapped, there is an increasing need to install an evaporator and a condenser unit on the roof.

A direct connection type vehicle air conditioner installed on the route bus will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. In these figures, reference numeral 1 denotes a refrigerant system, 2 denotes a compressor,
Reference numeral 3 denotes a condenser unit, 4 denotes an expansion valve, 5 denotes an evaporator unit, and E denotes a running engine.

[0007] The refrigerant system 1 has two systems, left and right. Two compressors 2 are installed at the rear of the vehicle body adjacent to the engine E for traveling and driven by a belt 11. The condenser unit 3 and the evaporator unit 5 are both installed on the roof of the vehicle body.

[0008] The compressor 2 at the rear of the vehicle body, the condenser unit 3 and the evaporator unit 5 installed on the roof are connected by refrigerant piping, and the cooling operation is performed as follows. That is, the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant discharged from the compressor 2 is sent to the condenser unit 3,
Cooled by outside air.

The liquid refrigerant condensed in the condenser unit 3 passes through the receiver 12 and the dryer 13, is decompressed and expanded by the expansion valve 4, and is sent to the evaporator unit 5 in a low-temperature and low-pressure state. Then, the evaporator unit 5 inhales the air in the vehicle compartment, cools or dehumidifies the air with a liquid refrigerant, and then blows out the air into the vehicle compartment.

[0010]

As shown in FIG. 4, the conventional condenser unit 3 is provided with three condenser fans 14 arranged in the traveling direction of the vehicle (open arrows) and sandwiching the condenser fans 14 therebetween. The two condensers 15 provided on the left and right are provided in two lines, and the refrigerant is condensed by sucking air from the side and the center of the upper surface of the condenser unit 3 by rotation of the condenser fan 14 and passing through the condenser 15. I was

As described above, in the configuration in which the condenser 15 is arranged along the traveling direction, the traveling wind received during traveling cannot be positively used, and the refrigerant must be condensed by the outside air sucked by the condenser fan 14. The condenser fan 14 and the condenser 15
However, there is a disadvantage that the size of the devices becomes large and the number of those devices increases.

Here, as shown in FIG.
It is also conceivable to adopt a configuration in which traveling wind can be used by making one of the 1a, 21b, 21c (condenser 21a) orthogonal to the vehicle traveling direction (open arrow). Capacitors 21a, 21b, 21
c may not be provided with a uniform air volume, and may not be able to supply stable conditioned air into the vehicle.

That is, in the configuration shown in FIG. 5, only the intake air from the condenser fan 22 is supplied to the condensers 21b and 21c, but the traveling wind is also supplied to the condenser 21a in addition to the intake air from the condenser fan 22. The balance of the applied air volume is disrupted, and the refrigerant condensation in each of the condensers 21a, 21b, 21c is not performed uniformly.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to improve the refrigerant condensation efficiency by effectively utilizing the traveling wind and to provide stable conditioned air in the vehicle. To be able to supply.

[0015]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following constitution. That is,
A compressor for compressing a gaseous refrigerant, a condenser unit for performing heat exchange between the refrigerant supplied from the compressor and the outside air, and a refrigerant unit supplied from the condenser unit and air in the passenger compartment. And an evaporator for performing heat exchange in the vehicle, wherein the condenser unit is installed on a roof of a vehicle body, wherein the condenser unit moves from one end side to the other end side in the vehicle traveling direction. And a pair of capacitors arranged so that the interval between them gradually increases in accordance with the following.

In this air conditioner for a vehicle, the wind receiving surface of each condenser is arranged so as to intersect the traveling direction, so that the traveling wind can be effectively used for heat exchange with the refrigerant, and The efficiency is improved. Further, at one end side in the vehicle traveling direction, the condensers are arranged close to each other, so that the piping length of the refrigerant pipe connecting these to each other is reduced.

Here, if the paired condensers are arranged symmetrically with respect to the axis along the traveling direction of the vehicle, both condensers can receive the traveling wind uniformly, so that the refrigerant condensation amount Does not become unbalanced between capacitors.

[0018]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a route bus provided with a direct connection type vehicle air conditioner, and FIG. 2 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of the vehicle air conditioner shown in FIG. Is a driving engine, 31
Is a compressor, 32 is a condenser unit, 33 is a cooling / cooling switching solenoid valve, 34 is an expansion valve, 35 is an evaporator unit, and 36 is a backflow prevention solenoid valve.

The two compressors 31 include a traveling engine E
Is installed at the rear of the vehicle body adjacent to the vehicle and driven by a belt 31a. The condenser unit 32 and the evaporator unit 35 are both installed on the roof of the vehicle body.

The capacitor unit 32 includes two capacitors 41 arranged in a “C” shape so that the interval between them gradually increases from the front to the rear in the vehicle traveling direction (open arrow). The three condenser fans 42 provided therebetween are housed in a casing 43. The condensers 41 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the axis L along the vehicle traveling direction, and the condenser fans 42 are arranged along the respective condensers 41.

Among the condenser fans 42, the condenser fan 42 a in the front row is disposed on the axis L of the casing 43. In this arrangement, one capacitor 42
Is controlled by the condenser fans 42a and 42b.
Further, a predetermined air volume is given to the other condenser 42 by the condenser fans 42a and 42c, and two condenser fans 42 are required for each condenser 42. Can be done.

The front surface 43A and the side surface 43B of the casing 43
An opening for passing air is formed in the upper surface 43C. Of these openings, the front surface 43A of the casing
The opening formed in the side surface 43B functions as a suction port for sucking outside air into the casing when the condenser fan rotates.

In particular, the opening on the front surface 43A of the casing also has a function of taking in the traveling wind received during traveling. On the other hand, an opening formed in the upper surface 43C of the casing 43 is formed corresponding to a position above the condenser fan 42, and functions as an exhaust port for discharging air taken in from the intake port to the outside when the condenser fan rotates. Play.

The vehicle air conditioner of this embodiment is provided with a cool storage unit 50. Recently, from the viewpoints of environmental protection and fuel cost reduction, not only sightseeing buses but also route buses have a tendency to stop engines when waiting for traffic lights or getting on and off passengers.

However, in the case of the direct connection type air conditioner, the air conditioning capacity is stopped when the engine is stopped. Therefore, it is preferable to equip the route bus with the cold storage unit 50. As described above, the cold storage unit 50 is installed on the roof of the vehicle body because the route bus tends to have a low floor as described above.

The compressor 31 at the rear of the vehicle body is connected to the condenser unit 32, the evaporator unit 35, and the regenerator unit 50 installed on the roof by refrigerant piping. When the cool storage switching electromagnetic valve 33 is fully opened and the cool storage electromagnetic valve 22 and the backflow prevention electromagnetic valve 36 are fully closed, the refrigerant exchanges heat with the air in the vehicle compartment through the expansion valve 34 and the evaporator unit 35. Do.

The operation of the refrigerant system 30 will be described below with reference to FIG. During a normal cooling operation, the compressor 31 is driven via the belt 31a with the engine E as a drive source, and compresses a low-temperature and low-pressure gas refrigerant. The gas refrigerant which has become high temperature and high pressure in this way is sent to the condenser unit 32 and exchanges heat with the outside air.

The condenser unit 32 is rotated by a condenser fan 42 so that the front surface 43
A and outside air are drawn in from the side A and the side surface 43B, and the traveling wind is also taken in from the front surface 43A during traveling.
The outside air thus taken in is discharged to the outside from the upper surface 43C of the casing 43 after passing through the condenser 41, but cools the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant when passing through the condenser 41. Let it condense.

The condensed liquid refrigerant is further sent to a receiver (not shown) to separate gas and liquid, and further guided to an expansion valve 51 via a dryer (not shown). Expansion valve 51
The high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant decompressed and expanded in the above step is sent to the evaporator unit 35 as a low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant, and is cooled by the blower 52 and exchanges heat with the air passing through the evaporator 53 to cool and dehumidify the air. .

The refrigerant that has become a low-temperature and low-pressure gas refrigerant by this heat exchange returns to the compressor 31 and is compressed again. Thereafter, such a clockwise circulation (solid arrow) is repeated to form a refrigeration cycle.

On the other hand, in this refrigeration cycle, the expansion valve 5
1, a high-temperature high-pressure liquid refrigerant is stored in the cold storage unit 50.
A cooling / cold storage switching solenoid valve for switching the refrigerant flow path between a normal cooling operation and a cold storage operation described below is provided on the expansion valve 51 side of the branch portion. 33 are provided. When the operation is switched from the cold storage operation to the cooling operation, the refrigerant that has passed through the evaporator unit 35 is supplied from the upstream side of the compressor 31 to the cold storage unit 50.
A backflow prevention solenoid valve 36 is provided for the purpose of preventing the backflow from flowing to the outside.

The cooling unit 50 is provided with a cooling / cooling switching solenoid valve 33 and a cooling storage solenoid valve when a normal cooling operation becomes excessive, that is, when the vehicle interior is sufficiently cooled to a predetermined air-conditioning temperature. By operating the check valve 62 and the backflow prevention solenoid valve 36 to receive a high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant from the condenser unit 32 (arrows indicated by broken lines), the refrigerant is decompressed and expanded by the expansion valve 63, and then passed through the cold storage panel 64. The cold storage material accumulates cold heat, and is connected to a cooling duct that is disposed above the vehicle body and that opens into the vehicle interior.

The cold heat stored in the cold storage unit 50 is used when the engine E is temporarily stopped at a traffic light or when a passenger goes up or down in summer or when the temperature is high. That is, the cool air generated by the cold heat accumulated in the cold storage material is allowed to naturally fall into the vehicle interior, or the cool air is blown into the vehicle interior by the blower fan 65, thereby preventing the temperature increase in the vehicle interior or minimizing the temperature increase. Limit.

As described above, according to the vehicle air conditioner of the present embodiment, the mutual intervals of the pair of capacitors 41 are arranged so that the mutual intervals gradually increase from the front to the rear in the vehicle traveling direction. Thus, the wind receiving surface of the condenser 41 is inclined with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle so that the traveling wind can be used effectively for heat exchange with the refrigerant, so that the condensation efficiency of the refrigerant is increased and the cooling capacity is improved.

Thus, the number of condensers 41 and condenser fans 42 to be installed can be reduced, and the weight and cost can be reduced. In particular, the reduction in the weight of the capacitor unit 32 can simplify the mounting structure of the capacitor unit 32 in a situation where the capacitor unit 32 tends to be relocated to a roof with a lower vehicle floor. This is extremely advantageous in that the need to increase the roof strength of the vehicle body can be eliminated.

In addition to the reduced number of condensers 41 installed, the condensers 41 are arranged close to each other on the front side in the traveling direction. Thus, the cost can be further reduced.

Further, since the condensers 41 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the axis L along the traveling direction of the vehicle, both the condensers 41 can receive the traveling wind and the fan suction flow evenly. A stable conditioned air can be supplied into the vehicle without the amount of condensation becoming unbalanced between the condensers.

In this embodiment, the condenser 41 is arranged in a "C" shape so that the distance between the condensers 41 gradually increases from the front to the rear in the vehicle traveling direction. The arrangement may be such that the mutual interval gradually increases from the rear to the front. In this case, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

[0039]

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. (A) According to the vehicle air conditioner of the first aspect, since the traveling wind can be effectively used for heat exchange with the refrigerant and the condensation efficiency of the refrigerant can be improved, the installation of the condenser and the condenser fan is provided. By reducing the number, the weight and cost of the capacitor unit can be reduced.

(B) Further, since the condensers are close to each other at one end in the vehicle traveling direction, the piping length of the refrigerant pipe connecting these condensers to each other can be shortened, and further cost reduction can be realized. .

(C) According to the vehicle air conditioner of the second aspect, since the traveling wind and the fan suction flow can be equally received by both condensers, the refrigerant condensed amount becomes unbalanced between the condensers. And stable conditioned air can be supplied into the vehicle.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention, showing a case of a direct connection type.

FIG. 2 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of the vehicle air conditioner shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an arrangement of a conventional vehicle air conditioner having a condenser on a roof.

4 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of the vehicle air conditioner shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is another conventional example of a roof-mounted condenser unit, and is a layout view of a condenser and a condenser fan as viewed from above.

[Explanation of symbols]

 31 compressor 32 condenser unit 35 evaporator unit 41 condenser L axis

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A compressor for compressing a gaseous refrigerant, a condenser unit for exchanging heat between the refrigerant supplied from the compressor and outside air, a refrigerant unit supplied from the condenser unit and a vehicle interior And an evaporator for performing heat exchange between the air and the air, the condenser unit is installed on the roof of the vehicle body is a vehicle air conditioner, wherein the condenser unit from one end side in the vehicle traveling direction An air conditioner for a vehicle, comprising: a pair of capacitors arranged so that an interval therebetween gradually increases toward the other end. 2. The air conditioner for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the pair of capacitors are symmetrically arranged with respect to an axis along the traveling direction of the vehicle.