JP2000313221A - Fan unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress water drops intruding through an outside air introducing port of a fan unit, from reaching a fan and a motor. SOLUTION: This fun unit is provided with casings 11 and 12 having an suction portion 18 communicatable with an outside air introducing port 12, an air fan 19 disposed below the outside air introducing port 12 inside the casing 11, 12 for suctioning the air from the suction portion 18 and blowing, and a motor disposed on an inner circumference of the air fan for driving the air fan. An outside air introducing duct 14 extended from the outside air introducing portion 12. The outside air introducing duct 14 has a bottom surface portion 16 inclined in such a direction as to descend from an opening 15 of the outside air introducing port 12 toward the outside air introducing port 12. A rib 17 is disposed on the bottom surface portion 16 for introducing water drops flowing on the bottom surface portion 16, to outward of the suction port 18.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a structure for preventing water from entering a blower fan drive motor in a blower unit of a vehicle air conditioner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a side view shown in FIG.
2. Description of the Related Art A blower unit of a vehicle air conditioner as shown in a plan view shown in FIG. The blower unit 10 includes an inside / outside air switching box 11 arranged at an upper part and a blower 12 arranged at a lower part of the inside / outside air switching box 11. Inside / outside air switching box 1
In FIG. 1, an outside air inlet 12 is open at the top.

The blower 12 includes a blower fan 19, a motor 20 for rotating the fan 19, and a scroll casing 21 made of resin for housing the fan 19. The scroll casing 21 is formed with a bell mouth-shaped suction port 18 for guiding the air sucked from the outside into the inside / outside air switching box 11 to the fan 19 so as to open upward.

[0004]

In the blower unit 10 of the prior art, an outside air introduction duct 14 extends from the outside air introduction port 12 of the inside / outside air switching box 11.
Then, the outside air is introduced into the inside / outside air switching box 11 from the opening 15 of the outside air introduction duct 14. At this time, when water such as rain or snow is mixed in the outside air, the water adheres to the inner wall surface of the outside air introduction duct 14 as water droplets. The water droplets travel along the bottom surface portion 16 where the inner wall surface of the outside air introduction duct 14 faces the upper surface as shown by the arrow B, and fall into the suction port 18 located below the outside air introduction port 12. The water drops that have fallen into the suction port 18 flow further to the fan 19 and the motor 20, but in cold regions, the water drops may freeze and lock the motor.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to reduce the inflow of water droplets that have entered from an outside air inlet of a blower unit into a fan and a motor.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a casing provided with a bell mouth-shaped suction port (18) which can communicate with an outside air inlet (12). 11, 21) and a casing (11,
21) a blower fan (19) arranged below the outside air inlet (12), sucking air from the suction port (18) and blowing air, and a blower fan (19) arranged inside the blower fan (19). Motor (20) for driving fan (19)
The outside air introduction duct (14) extends from the outside air introduction port (12), and the outside air introduction duct (14)
It has a bottom part (16) inclined in a direction descending from the opening (15) of the outside air introduction duct (14) to the outside air introduction port (12), and has a bottom part (16) on the bottom part (16). The rib (17) is provided at a predetermined angle with respect to the inclination direction of the rib (17), and the lower ends (17a, 17a) of the rib (17) are provided.
b) is characterized by being located outside the inlet (18).

According to this, the outside air is supplied to the outside air introduction duct (1).
From the opening (15) of (4), the air passes through the outside air introduction duct (14) and is sucked into the outside air introduction port (12). Then, the air is sucked from the suction port (18) by the operation of the blower fan (19). When water such as rain or snow is contained together with the outside air, the water adheres as water droplets to the inner wall surface of the outside air duct, and the outside air introduction port (15) is opened from the opening (15) of the outside air introduction duct (14). It moves downward along the bottom surface (16) inclined in the direction of descending to 12). During this movement, water droplets are provided on the bottom surface (16) and move on the bottom surface (16) along the ribs (17).

Here, the lower end (17) of the rib (17)
a, 17b) are located outside the opening (15) of the suction port (18), so that the ribs (1
The water droplet moving along 7) is suppressed from entering the inside of the intake port (18), and falls to the outside of the intake port (18).
Therefore, it is suppressed that the dropped water drops enter the intake port (18) and further flow to the fan (19) and the motor (20). Then, it is reduced that the water drops freeze and lock the motor (20).

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the rib (17)
Are provided on the bottom portion (16), and the width of the two ribs (17) increases from the upper side to the lower side of the bottom portion (16). Lower end (17
a, 17b) are located outside the suction port (18). According to the third aspect of the present invention, the rib (17) has a V-shape that extends downward from above the bottom portion (16).

[0010] Even with these shapes, it is possible to prevent the water droplets attached to the bottom portion (16) of the outside air introduction duct (14) from falling into the intake port. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the ribs (1) on the bottom surface (16) guide water droplets flowing on the bottom surface (16) to the outside of the suction port (18).
7) is provided.

The ribs (17) make it possible to prevent water drops flowing on the bottom portion (16) of the outside air introduction duct (14) from falling to the intake port (18). In addition, the code | symbol in the parenthesis of each said means shows the correspondence with the concrete means described in embodiment mentioned later.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a side view of a blower unit in a state where the air conditioner according to the present embodiment is mounted on a vehicle, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the blower unit, and FIG. 3 is a simplified perspective view of the vicinity of an outside air inlet of the blower unit.

The vehicle air conditioner includes a blower unit 10.
And an air conditioning unit (not shown) for adjusting the temperature of the air blown by the blower unit 10. The blower unit 10 is normally disposed below the instrument panel in the passenger compartment, in front of the passenger seat side (in the present embodiment, an air conditioning unit applied to a left-hand drive vehicle, so the right side in the vehicle width direction). The unit is disposed substantially below the vehicle interior instrument panel and substantially at the center in the vehicle width direction.

The blower unit 10 comprises an inside / outside air switching box 11 arranged at an upper part and a blower 12 arranged at a lower part of the inside / outside air switching box 11. The inside / outside air switching box 11 is formed of resin (for example, polypropylene), and is used for switching and introducing inside air (vehicle interior air) or outside air (vehicle exterior air). For this reason, the inside / outside air switching box 11 is provided with an outside air introduction port 12 on the upper surface. The inside air suction port 13 is formed on a side surface of the inside / outside air switching box 11.
Switching between opening and closing of the outside air inlet 12 and the inside air inlet 13 is performed by an inside / outside air switching door 21.

An outside air introduction duct 14 extends from the outside air introduction port 12 of the inside / outside air switching box 11. And the outside air
From the opening 15 of the outside air introduction duct 14 to the outside air introduction duct 14
The air is introduced into the inside / outside air switching box 11 through the inside / outside air introduction port 12. The outside air introduction duct 14 has a bottom surface portion 16 whose inner wall surface faces the upper surface, and a rib 17 is provided on the bottom surface portion 16. This rib 17
Has a V-shape that extends from the opening 15 toward the outside air inlet 12, that is, from above the bottom portion 16 to below. The width W of the V-shaped lower ends 17a, 17b is larger than the inner diameter D of a bell mouth-shaped suction port 18 provided below the inside / outside air switching box 11, which will be described later, and both ends 17a, 17b. It is located outside and above the intake port 18.

The blower 12 includes a centrifugal multi-blade fan (blowing fan) 19, an electric motor 20 for rotating the fan 19 via a rotating shaft, and a scroll casing 21 made of resin for accommodating the fan 19. ing. The scroll casing 21 is formed with a bell mouth-shaped suction port 18 for guiding the air sucked from the outlet of the inside / outside air switching box 11 to the fan 19. The blower fan 19 has a substantially circular shape when viewed from above (upper side in FIG. 1), and air is sucked from above in FIG. 1 and discharged to the side. The opening of the suction port 18 is substantially circular, and the diameter is D.

An outlet 22 of the scroll casing 21 is connected to an inlet of an air-conditioning case of the air-conditioning unit. As is well known, a refrigerant evaporator for cooling air is provided at the most upstream side of the air. (Cooling heat exchanger) is provided, and a hot water heater core (heating heat exchanger) for heating air is provided downstream of the refrigerant evaporator.

In the air-conditioning case, a bypass passage is formed adjacent to the heater core, and the amount of cool air passing through the bypass passage and the amount of warm air passing through the heater core are adjusted by a plate-shaped air mix door. Thus, the temperature of the air blown into the vehicle compartment is adjusted. The temperature-adjusted air is blown into the vehicle interior via a blow mode switching unit (not shown).

Next, the operation of the blower unit 10 will be described.
FIG. 1 shows an outside air mode in which outside air is introduced. The inside / outside air switching door 21 closes the inside air introduction port 13 and opens the outside air introduction port 12. When the blower fan 20 is operated, the air introduced into the inside / outside air switching box 11 from the opening 15 of the outside air introduction duct 14 is supplied to the bell mouth-shaped suction port 1.
8, enters the scroll casing 21, is taken into the blower fan 20 from above, is led out to the side, and is sent from the outlet 22 of the scroll casing 21 to the air conditioning unit. Then, the air blown from the blower unit 10 is cooled by a refrigerant evaporator or heated by a heater core. Blow air toward the site.

When water such as rain or snow is mixed in the air introduced from the outside air inlet 12, the water adheres to the inner wall surface of the outside air introduction duct 14 as water droplets. Then, the water drops fall on the inner surface of the bottom portion 16 of the outside air introduction duct 14 downward (toward the outside air introduction port 12) by gravity. In the present embodiment, a V-shaped rib 17 extending downward from above is provided on the inner surface of the bottom portion 16 of the outside air introduction duct 14.
Is provided. Therefore, the water droplets travel on the inner surface of the outside air introduction duct 14 along the ribs 17. The width W of the lower end of the rib 17 on the V-shape is equal to the outside air inlet 12.
Is larger than the inner diameter D of the bell mouth-shaped suction port 18 provided below the lower end of the bell mouth.
Both a and 17b are located outside and above the opening of the suction port 18 with the suction port 18 interposed therebetween.

For this reason, the bottom 1 of the outside air introduction duct 14
When a water drop falls on the inner surface of 6, as shown by arrow A,
It falls to the outer peripheral side of the suction port 18. The suction port 18 has a bell mouth shape as described above. That is, the outer periphery of the suction port 18 has a convex shape, and once a water drop falls outside the suction port 18, the water drop does not cross the protrusion again and enter the suction port 18. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility of entering the inside of the suction port 18 when it is transmitted down the rib 17 and falls down from the outside air introduction port 12.

In this embodiment, the ribs 17 are V-shaped, but may be inverted U-shaped. The same effect can be obtained even if two ribs are provided in a C shape. Alternatively, one rib 17 may be provided diagonally on the bottom surface portion 16, and the lower end thereof may be located outside the opening of the bell mouth-shaped suction port 18. In this case as well, the water drop is rib 1
Since the water drops can flow down along 7 and drop the water drops out of the suction port 18, the same operation and effect as in the present embodiment can be obtained.

It is needless to say that the outside air introduction duct 14 may have a cylindrical shape. In such an outside air introduction duct 14, the bottom portion 16 refers to a surface through which water droplets can flow on the upper side surface of the inner wall surface of the outside air introduction duct 14.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a blower unit of an air conditioner according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a blower unit of the air conditioner according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the vicinity of an outside air inlet 12 of the blower unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a blower unit of a conventional air conditioner.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... blower unit, 11 ... inside and outside air switching box, 12 ... outside air introduction port, 14 ... outside air introduction duct, 16 ... bottom part, 17
... Rib, 18 ... Suction port, 19 ... Fan, 20 ... Motor.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A casing (11, 21) provided with a bell mouth-shaped suction port (18) that can communicate with an outside air inlet (12), and the outside air inlet inside the casing (11, 21). (12) disposed below the suction port (18).
A blower fan (19) that draws in air from the air blower and blows the air; and a motor (20) that is arranged on the inner peripheral side of the blower fan (19) and drives the blower fan (19). 12) From outside air introduction duct (14)
The outside air introduction duct (14) has a bottom surface inclined in a direction descending from the opening (15) of the outside air introduction duct (14) to the outside air introduction port (12), A rib (17) is provided on the bottom surface (16) at a predetermined angle with respect to the inclination direction of the bottom surface (16), and a lower end (17a, 17b) of the rib (17) is provided. Is
The blower unit is located outside the suction port (18). 2. The rib (17) is connected to the bottom portion (1).
6) The two ribs (17) are provided on the upper side.
Has a width extending from the upper side to the lower side of the bottom surface portion (16), and the lower end portions (17) of the ribs (17).
The blower unit according to claim 1, wherein a, 17b) is located outside the suction port (18). 3. The rib (17) is provided on the bottom portion (1).
6. The blower unit according to claim 1, wherein the blower unit has a V-shape extending downward from above. 4. A casing (11, 21) provided with a suction port (18) that can communicate with an outside air inlet (12), and inside the casing (11, 21) below the outside air inlet (12). And the suction port (18)
A blower fan (19) that draws in air from the air blower and blows the air; and a motor (20) that is arranged on the inner peripheral side of the blower fan (19) and drives the blower fan (19). 12) From outside air introduction duct (14)
The outside air introduction duct (14) has a bottom part (16) inclined in a direction descending from the opening (15) of the outside air introduction duct (14) to the outside air introduction port (12). A rib (1) is provided on the bottom portion (16) for guiding water droplets flowing on the bottom portion (16) to the outside of the suction port (18).
7) A blower unit provided with: