JP2000071753A - Air cooling apparatus for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent intake of hot air heated by the heat core when the evaporator is not installed. SOLUTION: When an evaporator 6 is not installed, an air flow regulation vane 24 disposed in the air passageway of an air conditioner casing 5 is installed in a position where a downstream side ventilation surface 6a of the evaporator 6 is located when the evaporator 6 is installed. As a result, at the maximum air conditioning mode, the air sent from a ventilator unit 1 is sent further to the cool air bypass passage without taking in hot air heated by the surface of a heater core 7.

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 including a blower, a heater core, and an evaporator mounted as required.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, as an air conditioner for a vehicle, an air conditioner having an air conditioner case in which an evaporator and a heater core are housed and a blower for blowing air to the air conditioner case are known. In such an air conditioner, the evaporator may not be mounted on the air conditioning case at the request of the user. When the evaporator is not mounted as described above, the portion where the evaporator is arranged is used as a simple duct. Conventionally, when used as a simple duct like this,
Since the amount of air blown out of the air outlet is larger than when the evaporator is installed, more air conditioning than necessary is blown into the vehicle interior, so a large number of ventilation holes are formed in the air conditioning case over the entire surface. A plate was arranged so that substantially the same ventilation resistance as when the evaporator was attached was generated.

[0003]

However, it has been found that the following problems occur depending on the mounting position of the current plate. For example, if the rectifying plate is mounted at a position where the upstream ventilation surface of the evaporator is located when the evaporator is mounted, the space between the heater core and the rectifying plate is larger than when the evaporator is mounted. For this reason, when the evaporator is not mounted, the air heated by the surface of the heater core is likely to be entrained in the air sent to the cool air bypass passage during the maximum cooling. As a result, at the time of maximum cooling, there is a problem that the temperature of the air blown into the vehicle interior rises as compared with the case where the evaporator is mounted.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to prevent the heat of the heater core from being entrained during maximum cooling when an evaporator is not mounted.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a space between the rectifier plate and the heater core when the evaporator is not mounted, and a space between the evaporator and the heater core when the evaporator is mounted. Since the size of the space between the heater cores can be made almost the same, even when the evaporator is not installed, the air that has passed through the straightening plate is cooled by the cool air during the maximum cooling without entraining the air heated by the surface of the heater core. Can be sent to the bypass passage. As a result, even when the evaporator is not mounted, it is possible to prevent the temperature of the air blown into the vehicle compartment from rising.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the air that has passed through the current plate can be sent to the cool air bypass passage without directly hitting the heater core, and the air heated by the heater core can be more reliably entrained. Can be prevented. Furthermore, according to the third aspect of the present invention, since the ventilation resistance of the opening formed in the current plate when passing through the current plate increases with distance from the blower, the amount of air blown from the blower to the current plate. Can be eliminated, and the amount of air blown into the vehicle compartment can be made uniform.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, an air conditioner applied to a left-hand drive vehicle will be described. However, it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to a right-hand drive vehicle if the arrangement of each device is reversed. .

[0008] The ventilation system of the vehicle air conditioner according to the present embodiment is roughly divided into two parts, a blower unit 1 and an air conditioning unit 2. The blower unit 1 is arranged to be offset from the center to the passenger seat side in the lower part of the instrument panel in the vehicle compartment. On the other hand, the air-conditioning unit 2 is arranged at a substantially central portion in the vehicle left-right direction in a lower portion of the instrument panel in the vehicle interior.

The blower unit 1 has a blower fan 3 (a blower in the claims) composed of a well-known centrifugal multi-blade fan (sirocco fan). The blower fan 3 is disposed in a spiral scroll casing 4 and is not shown. It is rotationally driven by an electric motor. The air blown by the blower fan 3 is blown along the spiral shape of the scroll casing 4 as shown by the arrow A.

A suction port (not shown) of the blower fan 3 is
Air is sucked in through an inside / outside air switching box (not shown) which is provided on the upper side of the vehicle (on the front side in FIG. 1). As is well known, the inside / outside air switching box has an inside air (vehicle interior air) intake port, an outside air (outside vehicle interior air) intake port, and a switching door for switching these intake ports to open and close. The air-conditioning unit 2 is a type in which both the evaporator 6 and the heater core 7 are integrally incorporated in one air-conditioning case 5, and has a plurality of split cases having split surfaces in a vertical direction (vehicle vertical direction) in FIG. Consists of The plurality of divided cases accommodate devices such as the heater core 7, the evaporator 6, or a rectifying plate and a door, which will be described later, and then are integrally connected to each other by fastening means such as metal spring clips and screws to form the air conditioning case 5. In addition,
The evaporator 6 is not mounted according to the user's request,
A part of the air conditioning case 5 may be used as a simple duct.

The air conditioning units 2 are arranged in the form shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in the front-rear, left-right and up-down directions of the vehicle. An air inlet 8 is provided at a portion of the two air-conditioning units closest to the front side of the vehicle and on the side of the passenger seat, and the air inlet 8 is provided at the scroll casing of the blower unit 1 disposed at the front of the passenger seat. 4 is connected to the air outlet.

When the evaporator 6 is mounted, FIG.
As shown by a dotted line in FIG. 2, the evaporator 6 is disposed at a position immediately after the air inlet 8 in the air conditioning case 5. The evaporator 6 is arranged so as to cross the passage in the air conditioning case 5, and the air blown from the blower unit 1 flows in through the air inlet 8. As is well known, the evaporator 6 absorbs the latent heat of evaporation of the refrigerant in the refrigeration cycle from the blown air and cools it.

A heater core 7 is arranged on the downstream side of the air flow of the evaporator 6 (on the rear side of the vehicle). Heater core 7
As is well known, the heater always heats air passing therethrough using high-temperature hot water (engine cooling water) flowing therein as a heat source, and is arranged so as to cross the passage in the air conditioning case 5 in the left-right direction of the vehicle. A PTC heater 9 serving as an auxiliary heat source is disposed downstream of the air flow of the heater core 7.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, a guide portion 10 is formed at a portion of the air-conditioning case 5 which is located on the vehicle front side of the evaporator 6 and is inclined toward the rear of the vehicle as the distance from the air inlet 8 increases. ing. That is, in the present embodiment, since the air inlet 8 is located on the right side (passenger seat side) of the air-conditioning unit 2, the vehicle rearward from the right side (passenger seat side) to the left side (driver seat side) of the vehicle. It is inclined to the side. Due to the inclination toward the rear side of the vehicle, the space in front of the evaporator 6 is gradually reduced from the right side to the left side of the vehicle.

In the air passage formed in the air conditioning case 5, a cool air bypass passage 11 through which air bypasses the heater core 7 and is formed above the heater core 7 is formed. On the other hand, on the downstream side of the air flow of the PTC heater 9 (rear side of the vehicle), a wall surface 12 extending vertically with a predetermined interval from the PTC heater 9 is formed integrally with the air-conditioning case 5. A warm air passage 13 that extends upward immediately after is formed.

The downstream side (upper side) of the flow of air in the hot air passage 13 joins the cool air bypass passage 11 above the heater core 7 and the PTC heater 9 to form an air mixing section 14 for mixing cold air and hot air. ing. A flat door 15 is provided at a portion of the cool air bypass passage 11 on the downstream side of the air flow, and the amount of cool air passing through the cool air bypass passage 11 and bypassing the heater core 7 flows into the air mixing section 14. I am adjusting. On the other hand, hot air passage 1
A flat door 16 is located at a position downstream of the air flow 3.
Is provided, and the amount of warm air heated by the heater core 7 flowing into the air mixing unit 14 is adjusted. By adjusting the opening degrees of these doors 15 and 16, respectively, the ratio of the cool air and the hot air flowing into the air mixing section 14 is adjusted, and the temperature of the conditioned air blown into the vehicle interior is adjusted. The rotation shafts of the doors 15 and 16 project outside the air conditioning case 5 and are connected to an actuator mechanism such as a servomotor via a link mechanism (not shown). With this actuator mechanism, these doors 15,
The turning position of 16 is adjusted.

A defroster opening 17 is formed in the upper surface of the air-conditioning case 5 and on the rear side of the vehicle, and the air conditioned by the air mixing unit 14 flows into the defroster opening 17. The defroster opening 17 is connected to a defroster outlet through a defroster duct (not shown), and conditioned air is blown from the outlet toward the inner surface of the vehicle front window glass. A door 18 is provided in the defroster opening 17, and its opening and closing can be switched in accordance with the blowing mode.

A face opening 19 is formed in the front part of the air-conditioning case 5 at the center of the upper part of the vehicle, and left and right side face openings 19 are formed on the left and right sides of the face outlet in the vehicle direction. The air conditioned at the section 14 flows into each section. The face opening 19 is connected to a center face outlet through a face duct (not shown), and conditioned air is blown from the outlet toward the head of the occupant. A door 21 is provided in the face opening 19, and its opening and closing can be switched according to the blowing mode. On the other hand, the left and right side face openings 20 are
These are connected to left and right side face outlets through side face ducts (not shown), respectively, and conditioned air is blown out from the outlets toward the occupant's head side or the side window glass on the left and right sides of the vehicle interior.

A foot opening 22 is formed at a front portion and a lower portion of the air conditioning case 5 so that air conditioned by the air mixing portion 14 flows into the foot opening portion 22. The foot opening 22 is connected to a foot outlet (not shown) via a foot duct, and conditioned air is blown from the outlet toward the feet of the occupant. A door 23 is provided in the foot opening 22, and its opening and closing can be switched according to the blowing mode.

When the evaporator 6 is not mounted, the portion of the air-conditioning case 5 to which the evaporator 6 is mounted is used as a simple air-conditioning duct. Therefore, a rectifying plate 24 having substantially the same ventilation resistance as the evaporator 6 is disposed in the air-conditioning case 5 of the air-conditioning unit 2 in order to prevent the amount of air blown from each outlet from becoming more than necessary. The current plate 24 is attached to the position of the air-conditioning case 5 where the downstream ventilation surface 6a is located when the evaporator 6 is mounted. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, one ventilation hole is formed in an upper portion of the rectifying plate 24, and the opening 25 faces the bypass passage 11 when installed in the air conditioning case 5, A portion that is not opened (a portion below the current plate 24) faces the heater core 7. Note that the left side (driver's seat side) of the opening 25 has a shape such that the opening area decreases as it goes downward, and the opening 25 has a left-right asymmetric shape.

The operation of the embodiment will be described below. The blown air from the blower unit 1 passes through the evaporator 6 when the evaporator 6 is mounted, passes through the rectifying plate 24 when the evaporator 6 is not mounted, and then flows into the cool air bypass passage 11 or the hot air passage 13. The air that has flowed into the cool air bypass passage 11 or the warm air passage 13 joins in the air mixing unit 14 and after the temperature thereof is adjusted,
The air is blown out from each of the air outlets through 7, 7, 20, and 21 into the vehicle interior. The temperature of the conditioned air blown out from each outlet is adjusted by adjusting the opening of the doors 15 and 16 and adjusting the ratio of the cool air and the hot air flowing into the air mixing unit 14.

During the maximum cooling, the door 15 is open and the door 16 is closed, and all the cool air passing through the evaporator 6 or the rectifying plate 24 is supplied to the cool air bypass passage 11 as shown by a white arrow in FIG. Through each opening 17,
19, 20, and 21. In the air conditioner shown in the present embodiment, the rectifying plate 24 mounted in the air conditioning case 5 when the evaporator 6 is not mounted is mounted at a position where the downstream ventilation surface 6a is located when the evaporator 6 is mounted. Therefore, the space D between the rectifying plate 24 and the heater core 7 when the evaporator 6 is not mounted is substantially the same size as the space between the evaporator 6 and the heater core 7 when the evaporator 6 is mounted.
Further, since the opening 25 of the current plate 24 is formed in the upper portion of the current plate 24, that is, in a portion facing the cool air bypass passage 11, the air passing through the current plate 24 does not directly hit the heater core 7. , Cold air bypass passage 11
Can be sent to Therefore, at the time of maximum cooling, the air that has passed through the rectifying plate 24 is sent to the cool air bypass passage 11 without the air heated on the surface of the heater core 7 being drawn in as indicated by the dotted outline arrow in FIG. As a result, even when the evaporator 6 is not mounted, it is possible to prevent an increase in the blowout temperature of the conditioned air during the maximum cooling.

In the case of an air conditioner in which the blower unit 1 is offset to the right of the air conditioner unit 2 as in the present embodiment, the air blown from the blower unit 1 flows from the right side in the vehicle direction to the rear of the vehicle. The light is refracted substantially orthogonally to the side and flows into the air inlet 8 of the air conditioning unit 2. Therefore, the amount of air flowing to the right side (passenger seat side) is smaller than the amount of air flowing to the left side (driver seat side) of the air conditioning case 5, and the amount of air blown through the air conditioning unit 2 is uneven in the left-right direction of the vehicle. It becomes something. However, in the present embodiment, the opening 25 of the rectifying plate 24 has a shape such that the opening area becomes smaller toward the left side of the vehicle. It is getting bigger. Therefore, the wind speed distribution in the vehicle left-right direction after passing through the current plate 24 can be made uniform.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan layout view of a blower unit and an air conditioning unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the air conditioning unit of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the current plate in the embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from a direction C. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 blower fan (blower), 6 evaporator, 7 heater core, 11 cold air bypass passage, 23 rectifier plate, 2
4 ... Opening

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An air blower, an evaporator mounted as necessary downstream of the air flow from the air blower, a heater core disposed downstream of the air flow from the evaporator, and a cool air bypassing the heater core. In an air conditioner equipped with a bypass passage and a rectifying plate mounted when the evaporator is not mounted and having substantially the same ventilation resistance as the evaporator, a position where a downstream ventilation surface of the evaporator is positioned when the evaporator is mounted. An air conditioner, wherein the rectifying plate is attached to the air conditioner. 2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein an opening is formed in a portion of the rectifying plate on the side of the cool air bypass passage. 3. The blower is arranged offset to the side of the evaporator or the rectifying plate, and the opening has a shape such that an opening area becomes smaller as the blower is away from a side on which the blower is arranged. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the air conditioner is provided.