JP2000158937A - Cooler unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily fix a drain hose at a low cost in a cooler unit constituted to drain drain water using a drain hose. SOLUTION: In a cooler unit laid on the ceiling of a cabin, a drain hose 6 for draining drain water generated in an evaporator is formed by connecting first hoses 61-63 connected to drain ports, to a second hose 64 on the drain side through a joint 65, and a fixing part 8 for fittingly fixing the drain hose 6 to a bracket 9 provided at the cabin ceiling is integrally formed at the joint 65. The joint 65 is formed by blow molding, and the fixing part 8 is formed as a bulge part intentionally formed by mold shape when the joint 65 is blow- molded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooler unit, and more particularly, to a drain hose used for the cooler unit, and is suitably used for a ceiling-mounted cooler unit for a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional ceiling cooler unit for a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a cooler unit) is shown in FIG. In addition,
FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of FIG. The cooler unit J1 includes a unit case J3 disposed near the ceiling J2 of the passenger compartment, a suction port J4 provided in the unit case J3 for sucking air in the passenger compartment, and an air blower disposed in the unit case J3. Blower J5, a cooler J6 disposed in the unit case J3 to cool the blown air of the blower J5, and an outlet J provided in the unit case J3 and blowing cool air cooled by the cooler J6 into the vehicle interior.
7, a drain port (drain port) J8 provided in the unit case J3 for discharging drain water generated in the cooler J6 to the outside of the unit case J3, and connected to the drain port J8 to guide the drain water downward of the vehicle. Drain hose J
9 is provided.

[0003] The drain hose J9 has a first hose J90 having one end connected to the drain port J8, and a second hose J91 disposed below the first hose J90 in the vehicle. A drain joint (connecting portion) J92 for connecting and communicating the other end of the first hose J90 and one end of the second hose J91;
Drain water (condensed water) generated in the first hose J
From 90, it passes through a drain joint J92, and is discharged from the second hose J91 to the outside of the vehicle.

Here, the second in the drain hose J9
The hose J91 is stored in a storage part J10 provided on a side wall (for example, a pillar) of a vehicle compartment.

[0005]

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional cooler unit J1, the route (drain route) of the drain hose is secured at the expense of the ceiling space of the vehicle compartment. For example, the drain hose J9 hangs sufficiently from the position of the cooler unit J1 as shown by a dashed line H1 in FIG. 5A. In particular, the drain hose J9 is fixed to regulate the position of the drain route. Even without doing so, sufficient drainage was ensured.

However, in recent years, due to a demand for securing a ceiling space, a space for a drain route has been increased.
As shown by a dashed line H2 in FIG. 5A, it is getting closer and narrower to the ceiling side. As a result, the drain route becomes nearly horizontal, which causes a problem that drainage performance deteriorates. In addition, if the hoses J90 and J91 and the drain joint J92 are not fixed, the positions of the hoses J90 and J91 and the drain joint J92 are shifted due to variations in assembly (during deployment), and the drain hose J9
As shown by the broken line in FIG. 5B, the drain passage of the drain joint J92 is higher than the position of the drain port (drain port) J8 (line L in FIG. 5B), and drainage is improved. Getting worse.

[0007] Therefore, in order to ensure good drainage with a nearly horizontal drain route, it is necessary to eliminate variations when arranging drain hoses.
Although a countermeasure such as fixing the drain hose with a clamp is conceivable, the addition of a clamp or a fastening part for fixing the clamp causes problems such as an increase in cost and a decrease in workability. Further, it is conceivable to use all the drain hoses as molded hoses. However, it is necessary to prepare a mold for this purpose, which causes a problem that the cost is significantly increased.

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive and easy fixing of a drain hose in a cooler unit in which drain water is drained by using a drain hose.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the first hose (61-63) and the second hose (64) of the drain hose (6) are connected to each other. A fixing portion (8) for attaching and fixing the drain hose (6) to the attachment portion (9) is integrally formed with the connecting portion (65) to be connected.

According to the present invention, in a cooler unit for draining drain water using a drain hose,
Since the fixing portion (8) is formed integrally with the connection portion (65) of the drain hose (6), a separate fixing member such as a clamp can be unnecessary, and the drain hose (6) can be manufactured cheaply and easily. Can be fixed. According to the second aspect of the present invention, in a vehicle ceiling-mounted cooler unit in which drain water is drained using a drain hose, the connection part (6) in the drain hose (6) is provided.
Since the fixing portion (8) is formed integrally with the structure (5), the drain hose (6) can be fixed inexpensively and easily similarly to the first aspect of the present invention.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the drain hose (6) is mounted and fixed to the mounting portion (9), the fixing portion (8) is connected to the connecting portion (65). Positioning unit (82) for positioning with (9)
The drain hose can be fixed with higher workability. Further, when the connecting portion (65) according to claim 1 is blow-molded, the connecting portion (65) is formed.
Protruding portions (so-called burrs) that protrude from the molding die that defines the shape of the substrate. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the burr portion is formed as a fixing portion (8) by intentionally forming the burr. Specifically, the fixing part can be formed at low cost by making a slight improvement in the existing molding die for the connection part by adding a shape defining the shape of the fixing part to the part where burrs are likely to occur.

Note that the reference numerals in parentheses above are examples showing the correspondence with specific means described in the embodiment described later.

[0013]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, a vehicular ceiling-mounted cooler unit (hereinafter, referred to as a ceiling-mounted cooler unit) attached to a vehicle cabin ceiling.
(Referred to as a cooler unit). FIG. 1 is a view showing a state in which a cooler unit 1 according to the present embodiment is mounted on a ceiling A of the vehicle compartment, as viewed from the rear of the vehicle. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view as viewed in the direction of the arrow X in FIG. 1 (a cross-sectional view as viewed from the vehicle left to the vehicle right). The cooler unit 1
Is installed on the ceiling of the vehicle interior and cools the rear seat side of the vehicle interior, and is therefore generally called a rear cooler.

The cooler unit 1 is disposed near the ceiling of the passenger compartment and is a unit case 2 for partitioning the main body of the cooler unit 1.
The unit case 2 is arranged as shown in FIG. Unit case 1
Is, for example, a case in which upper and lower divided cases are integrally joined. The side of the unit case 2 on the front side of the vehicle opens into the vehicle interior, and is provided with a suction port (suction grill) 21 for sucking air in the vehicle interior. The intake port 21 is provided with a louver 22 for adjusting the amount and direction of the intake air.

An evaporator (cooler) 3 is provided inside the unit case 2 on the front side of the vehicle.
It is fixed to the upper and lower inner surfaces. As shown in FIG. 1, the evaporator 3 has a plurality of refrigerant channels (not shown), and the refrigerant channels are connected to a refrigeration cycle (not shown). The refrigerant circuit is provided with, for example, a temperature-operated expansion valve (not shown). With this expansion valve, the high-pressure liquid refrigerant from the refrigerant pipe of the refrigeration cycle is decompressed and sent to the evaporator 3, and the evaporator 3 absorbs the latent heat of evaporation of the decompressed refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant flow path from the air to remove air. Is cooled and dehumidified.

An electric blower (fan) 4 for blowing air is provided at a downstream portion of the evaporator 3 inside the unit case 2, and its operation is controlled by a control device including an electric circuit (not shown). The blower 4 is, for example, a cylindrical airfoil extending in the left-right direction of the vehicle (perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 2), and is fixed to a fixed portion (not shown) of the unit case 2.

The side of the unit case 2 on the rear side of the vehicle is open to the vehicle interior, and is provided with an outlet (blow-out grill) 23 for blowing the cool air cooled by the evaporator 4 into the vehicle interior. In the vicinity of the air outlet 23 in the unit case 2, an air outlet adjusting unit 24 for adjusting the air volume and the air direction is installed. Three drain ports (drain ports) 51, 52, and 53 for discharging drain water (condensed water) generated in the evaporator 3 to the outside of the unit case 2 are provided at the left end of the vehicle on the bottom surface of the unit case 2. Have been.

Although not shown in FIG. 2, a drain port (indicated by reference numeral 53a in FIG. 1) is also provided at the right end of the vehicle on the bottom surface of the unit case 2. This drain port is composed of three drain ports formed substantially symmetrically with the drain ports 51 to 53 on the left side of the vehicle. Similar to the drain ports 51 to 53 on the left side of the vehicle, a drain hose similar to a drain hose 6 described later is used. Is connected.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the drain port on the right side of the vehicle and the drain hose are also connected to the drain port 51 on the left side of the vehicle.
2 to 53 and the drain hose 6 described above, and therefore, the left side of the vehicle shown in FIG. 2 will be described below. The number of drain ports is not limited to three on each side of the vehicle as described above, but may be any number. A drain hose 6 that guides drain water downward the vehicle is connected to these drain ports 51 to 53. Here, FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a routing state of the drain hose 6.

The drain hoses 6 include three first hoses 6 each having one end connected to each of the drain ports 51 to 53.
1 to 63; one second hose 64 disposed below the first hoses 61 to 63 in the vehicle; each other end of the first hoses 61 to 63; (Joining portion) 65 as a connecting portion for connecting and communicating with one end of the first hose 61. The first hoses 61 to 63 join at the joint 65.

The second hose 64 of the drain hose 6 is housed in a housing 7 provided on a side wall (for example, a pillar) of a vehicle compartment. Specifically, the second hose 6
Reference numeral 4 denotes a storage portion 7 formed through a storage hole 71 formed in the storage portion 7.
And the inside of the storage unit 7 is arranged below the vehicle. The drain water (condensed water) generated in the evaporator 3 is
The first hoses 61 to 63 flow from the drain ports 51 to 53, join at the joint 65, and are drained to the outside of the vehicle from the other end of the second hose 64.

Next, the details of the drain hose 6 will be described.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating details of a joint 65 portion in the drain hose 6. As shown in FIG. 4, the joint 65 is provided in a direction opposite to the direction in which the forked portion is connected to the other end of each of the first hoses 61 to 63 and the direction in which the forked portion extends from the base of the forked portion. It has a hollow shape having a portion connected to one end of the second hose 64.

The joint 6 having such a hollow shape
5. Inject PP (polypropylene) material into the mold,
A method of applying pressure with air or the like and molding the air as a core, that is, molding by blow molding. The joint 65 is integrally formed with a fixing portion 8 for attaching and fixing the drain hose 6 to the attached portion. As shown in FIG. 4, the fixing portion 8 is a film-like mounting portion 81 which is integrally fixed to the base portion of the forked portion and is mounted on the mounting portion.
Between the crotch of the three-leg portion (in the illustrated example, the first hose 61,
(Between each crotch connected to the crotch 62) and a film-shaped positioning portion 82 formed integrally with each crotch.

Here, the mounting portion 81 of the fixing portion 8 is mounted on a bracket (mounting portion) 9 fixed to the ceiling A of the vehicle compartment. In the present embodiment, the clip 10 is used for fixing. The mounting portion 81 and the bracket 9 are formed with holes 83 and 91 into which the clip 10 is inserted.
The positioning portion 82 of the fixing portion 8 is used for positioning the joint 65 and the bracket 9 when the drain hose 6 is attached and fixed to the bracket 9, and the positioning protrusion 92 extending from the bracket 9. A hole 84 into which the hole is inserted is formed.

Here, in the blow molding, burrs (protruding portions) protruding more easily than the shape defined by the molding die (that is, the shape of the joint 65) are more likely to occur. In the present embodiment, the burrs are intentionally formed to form the burrs as the fixing portions 8. Specifically, in the molding die of the joint 65, the fixing portion 8 can be formed by a slight improvement in that a shape that defines the shape of the fixing portion 8 is added to a portion where burrs are likely to occur.

Next, an example of a method of fixing the drain hose 6 to the bracket 9 will be described. After connecting the first hoses 61 to 63 and the second hose 64 to the joint 65,
The projection 92 of the bracket 9 fixed to the ceiling A is inserted into the hole 84 of the positioning part 82 of the fixing part 8, and the hole 83 of the mounting part 81 of the fixing part 8 is aligned with the hole 91 of the bracket 9.
Then, the clip 1 is inserted into these two holes 83 and 91 which are combined.
0 is inserted and the clip 10 is deformed to fix the mounting portion 81 of the fixing portion 8 and the bracket 9.

Next, the cooler unit 1 having the above configuration
00 operation will be described. When an operation switch (not shown) of the cooler unit 1 is turned on, the operation of a refrigeration cycle (not shown) starts, and the evaporator 3 and the blower 4 in the unit case 2 operate. Then, as shown by a white arrow in FIG.
The cold air sucked into the inside and cooled and dehumidified by the evaporator 3 is sent from the outlet 23 to the rear seat side of the vehicle interior.

The drain water generated by the cooling and dehumidifying actions of the evaporator 3 falls on the bottom of the unit case 2 and flows on the bottom, and from each of the drain holes 51 to 53 to each of the first hoses 6.
1 to 63, merge at a joint 65, are guided downward by the second hose 64, and are drained from the other end to the outside of the vehicle. By the way, according to the present embodiment, the joint 65 of the drain hose 6
Since the fixing portion 8 is integrally formed, a separate fixing member such as a clamp can be unnecessary, and the drain hose 6 can be fixed at low cost and easily.

Further, according to the present embodiment, in the existing joint forming die, the shape that defines the shape of the fixing portion 8 is added to the part where the burr is likely to be generated, so that the fixing can be performed at low cost. The part 8 can be formed. Further, according to the present embodiment, the drain hose can be easily fixed with good workability only by adding the clip 10, the displacement of the drain route can be reliably prevented, and the deterioration of drainage can be prevented.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the fixing portion 8
Since the positioning portion 82 is provided, the drain hose 6 can be fixed to the bracket 9 with good workability. As described above, the present embodiment has been described. However, since the main part of the present invention is in the drain hose 6, it is needless to say that other parts may be appropriately designed and changed. In addition, the present invention is not limited to a ceiling-mounted cooler unit for a vehicle, but has an evaporator in a unit case, and drain water generated in the evaporator is provided in a unit case and a drain port provided in the unit case. The present invention is applicable to any cooler unit that drains water from a drain hose connected to a drain port.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a cooler unit according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a ceiling of a passenger compartment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a cross section taken along the arrow X in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a routing state of a drain hose in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing details of a joint portion in a drain hose.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a conventional ceiling-mounted cooler unit for a vehicle.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 unit case, 3 evaporator, 4 blower, 6 drain hose, 8 fixing part, 9 bracket, 21 inlet, 23 outlet, 51-53 outlet, 61-63
... a first hose of a drain hose, 64 ... a second hose of a drain hose, 65 ... a joint, 82 ... a positioning part.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A unit case (2), a cooler (3) provided in the unit case (2), and a heat generated in the cooler (3) provided in the unit case (2). A drain port (51-53) for discharging drain water out of the unit case (2);
A drain hose (6) connected to the unit case (2), wherein the air sucked into the unit case (2) is cooled by the cooler (3) and then blown out of the unit case (2). In the cooler unit described above, the drain hose (6) is provided with first hoses (61 to 6).
3) and a second hose (64) connected via a connecting portion (65), wherein the drainage ports (51-53)
Drain water from the first hose (61-63);
The connection part (65) and the second hose (64) flow sequentially. The drain hose (6) is attached to the attachment part (9) at the connection part (65). A cooler unit, wherein a fixing portion (8) for fixing is integrally formed. 2. A unit case (2) disposed near a ceiling of a vehicle compartment, an intake port (21) provided in the unit case (2) for sucking air in the vehicle compartment, and the unit case (2). Blower (4) that is located inside and blows air
A cooler (3) disposed in the unit case (2) for cooling the air blown by the blower (4); and a cool air provided in the unit case (2) and cooled by the cooler (3). Outlet (23) that blows out water into the vehicle interior, and drains (51-53) that are provided in the unit case (2) and discharge drain water generated in the cooler (3) to the outside of the unit case (2). ) And this drain (51-5
3) a drain hose (6) connected to the drain hose (6) for guiding drain water downward of the vehicle, wherein one end of the drain hose (6) has the drain port (5).
1st hose (61-63) connected to 1-53)
A second hose (64) disposed below the first hoses (61-63) in the vehicle, the other end of the first hoses (61-63) and the second hose (64). Hose (64)
A connecting portion (65) for connecting and communicating with one end of the drain hose (6). A cooler unit characterized in that the part (8) is integrally formed. 3. The fixing portion (8) is configured to fix the drain hose (6) to the mounting portion (9) when the connection portion (65) and the mounting portion (9). The cooler unit according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a positioning portion (82) for positioning with the cooler. 4. The connection part (65) is formed by blow molding, and the fixing part (8) is configured to blow the connection part (65) when the connection part (65) is blow molded.
The cooler unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cooler unit is configured as a protruding portion by a mold that defines the shape of the cooler.