JP2001097023A - Air conditioner for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner for vehicle which can improve the assembling workability and the sealability in fitting pipes. SOLUTION: In the air conditioner for vehicle in which a pipe 15 drawn from a temperature adjusting unit 2 to cool and/or heat the air and extended through a through hole O1 opened in a bulkhead DP of a vehicle is provided, and a space between a through hole 34 for piping opened in a case C of the temperature adjusting unit 2 and the pipe 15 is sealed by a sealant S1, a connection adapter 33 having the pipe 15 passed inside thereof is provided in the case C of the temperature adjusting unit 2 in a retractable manner, and an end part of the connection adapter 33 when drawn out of the case C is abutted on a mouth edge part of the through hole O1 via the sealant S2.

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 has improved workability when an air conditioning unit is mounted on a partition separating an engine room and a vehicle interior, and sealability of an inlet for introducing air outside the vehicle interior. Related to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an air conditioner for a vehicle includes an intake unit for introducing air in the vehicle interior or air outside the vehicle interior,
It has an air conditioning unit consisting of a cooler unit for cooling the introduced air and a heater unit for heating the cooling air, and these are separately formed and connected to each other and attached to the dash panel.

However, recent air conditioners for vehicles include:
Due to the demand for compactness, an air conditioning unit in which the cooler unit and the heater unit are integrated (hereinafter referred to as a temperature control unit) and an evaporator and a heater core are arranged in close proximity may be used.

[0004] Here, as is well known, a low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant decompressed by an expansion valve or the like during a cooling cycle flows through the inside thereof, and the air introduced therein is cooled by heat exchange with the refrigerant. Is what you do. Further, the "heater core" is one in which high-temperature engine cooling water flows inside, and heats the air introduced therein by heat exchange with the high-temperature engine cooling water.

[0005] As shown in Figs.
After cooling by the evaporator 3 in the inside, the cold air is divided into two parts by the mix door 5 provided between the evaporator 3 and the heater core 4 and flows vertically. The lower air flow in the divided air flow is The air is heated by the heater core 4 and flows into the hot air passage, and the upper air flow (cold air) flows into the bypass passage 6 that bypasses the heater core 4.

[0006] The cold air and the hot air are mixed in the mixing zone 7 to a predetermined temperature, or are opened in the case C according to various air distribution modes while being kept at a predetermined temperature without being mixed. Various outlets 8, 9, 10
Air is distributed to the passenger compartment.

The mixing door 5 provided between the evaporator 3 and the heater core 4 requires a space for door operation in the case of a rotating door supported by one fulcrum. A door, which is a gear mechanism 11
The temperature control is performed by sliding up and down substantially to reduce the size of the temperature control unit. 7 and 8, reference numeral "12" is a differential door, "13" is a guide door,
"14" is a foot-vent door.

[0008]

However, when the vehicle air conditioner is mounted on a dash panel (hereinafter referred to as a partition wall DP) that separates the engine room ER from the interior of the cabin R below the instrument panel IP. , Intake unit 1
There is a problem with the sealability between the air conditioner and the outside air introduction hole formed in the partition wall DP, the workability of attaching the refrigerant pipe, and the sealability between the refrigerant pipe and the case C or the partition wall DP.

For example, in assembling the air conditioner for a vehicle shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, after the intake unit 1 and the temperature control unit 2 are pushed forward from the rear of the vehicle, the refrigerant on the temperature control unit 2 side The pipe 15 is inserted into a through hole O1 opened in the partition wall DP.
5 is connected to an integral expansion valve 17 provided at an end of a refrigerant pipe 18 on the engine room ER side.
9 is connected by fixing it with a screw 20.

In this case, since a large number of parts are packed in the engine room ER, it is difficult to tighten the screws 20 and the sealing performance at the connecting portion between the integral expansion valve 17 and the flange 19 may be reduced. In addition to the above, in some cases, there is a problem that the refrigerant pipe 15 itself is displaced, and the sealing property of the sealing material provided between the refrigerant pipe 15 and the case C or the partition wall DP is deteriorated. If the through hole O1 opened in the partition wall DP is below the partition wall DP, the workability is further reduced.

In particular, in the case where the cockpit is modularized like a recent vehicle, the sealing property with the partition wall becomes a problem. In recent vehicles, there is a vehicle in which all parts around the driver's seat are unitized as a single assembly. To mount this assembly, the robot is loaded into the vehicle body by a robot because the assembly is large and quite heavy. After loading, the entire assembly is horizontally moved until it comes into contact with the partition wall DP.

Although the distance of this horizontal movement is short, the seal members of the pipe penetration part, the hot water pipe part, and the outside air introduction hole of the air conditioning unit, which are components of the assembly, must be simultaneously brought into contact with the partition wall DP. Therefore, it takes a lot of power, the work is not easy, and the air conditioning unit and partition wall DP
If the dimensional variation is large, the through hole O1 of the partition wall DP
Alternatively, a gap is easily formed between the cases C, and the sealing property between them becomes a problem.

During the horizontal movement, the upper end of the case C may hit a part of the insulator IN affixed to the interior of the partition wall DP inside the vehicle compartment, and may be damaged. is there.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and provides an air conditioner for a vehicle capable of improving the assembling workability and sealability at the time of pipe installation work. It is in.

[0015]

The object of the present invention is achieved by the following means.

(1) An air conditioning unit provided in the vehicle compartment is attached to a partition partitioning the interior of the vehicle from the engine compartment, and an adapter for connecting a through hole formed in the partition with the air conditioning unit is provided. In the air conditioner for a vehicle, the connection adapter is provided in a case of the air conditioning unit so as to be able to protrude and retract, and an end of the connection adapter when the connection adapter is pulled out from the case is a rim of the through hole. An air conditioner for a vehicle, characterized in that the air conditioner is configured to abut on a portion via a sealing material.

(2) The connection adapter is configured such that a pipe drawn from a case of a temperature control unit for cooling and / or heating air is inserted therein, and is opened in the case of the temperature control unit. An air conditioner for a vehicle, wherein a space between a pipe hole and the pipe is sealed with a sealing material.

(3) The air conditioner for a vehicle according to the present invention, wherein the connection adapter has a handle for pulling out from the case of the temperature control unit.

(4) The partition is a partition having a double structure that separates an engine room and a vehicle interior, and a top plate portion inclined downward from the rear of the vehicle toward the front at the top of the partition on the vehicle interior side of the partition. Wherein the through-hole is opened in the top plate portion.

(5) The temperature control unit includes an intake unit which is mounted near the partition wall and selectively takes in outside air introduced from outside the vehicle compartment and inside air in the vehicle compartment.
The connection adapter is provided adjacently,
A vehicle air, wherein a piping connection adapter configured to allow the piping to pass therethrough and an intake connection adapter attached to the outside air intake of the intake unit so as to be retractable are integrally formed. Harmony equipment.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an air conditioner for a vehicle according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a main part of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a cowl part. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the vehicle air conditioner, FIG. 5A is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of the connection adapter, FIG. 5B is a schematic perspective view showing another embodiment of the connection adapter, and FIGS. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing an assembled state of the air conditioner for a vehicle, wherein members common to the members shown in FIGS.

The vehicle air conditioner shown in FIG. 1 has a compact temperature control unit 2 in which a cooler unit and a heater unit are integrated, and a case C of the temperature control unit 2.
Is provided below the instrument panel IP and is attached to the partition wall DP.

In the present embodiment, the partition wall DP has a double structure, and a small gap is formed between the partition wall DP1 on the vehicle rear side, which is the passenger compartment side, and the partition wall DP2 on the vehicle front side, which is the engine room side. The partition wall DP1 has a top plate portion 30 which is opposed to each other at a distance, and which is inclined downward from the rear to the front of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 2, the partition walls DP1 and DP2 have pipe through holes O1 and O2, respectively, and the refrigerant pipe 15 drawn out of the temperature control unit 2 is provided with the through holes O1 and O2.
1. Between the partition walls DP1 and DP2, it extends to the engine room ER through the through hole O2. In this case, since the refrigerant pipe 15 is located at a position where it can be easily touched by a hand from above the engine room ER, workability is improved. In addition, "E" in FIG.
Is the engine.

This will be described in more detail. The top plate portion 30 is shown in FIG.
As is clear, the cowl section 3 for taking in the air outside the vehicle compartment
7 is the bottom plate. The cowl portion 37 is a portion that removes rainwater and the like from the air outside the vehicle compartment and introduces the rainwater into the vehicle compartment.
This is indicated by a dashed line in FIGS.

The top plate 30 has a pipe through hole O1 through which the refrigerant pipe 15 is inserted, and an open air inlet 1a (FIG. 7) of the intake unit 1, which is opened near the pipe through hole O1.
2) is provided, and an insulator IN is attached to the lower surface of the top plate 30 as shown in FIG.

First, a piping connection adapter 33a is provided in the piping through hole O1 to prevent air leakage or intrusion from a gap generated between the refrigerant piping 15 and the piping through hole O1. . The connection adapter 33a is configured to be freely retractable or retractable (hereinafter, simply referred to as retractable) with respect to a piping through hole O1 opened in the case C of the temperature control unit 2, and is connected to the refrigerant pipe 15. The piping through hole O1, the piping through hole 31, and the auxiliary piping through hole 31
Air leakage and the like from the gap between the connector adapter 33a and the seal member S1 are sealed by the connection adapter 33a and the seal member S1.

At the lower end of the connection adapter 33, as shown in FIGS.
When pulled out from the piping through hole 31 formed in the pipe, a locking portion 35 is provided to be locked to an edge of the piping through hole 31, and a pipe of the top plate portion 30 pulled out from the case C is provided at an upper end portion. A contact portion 36 is provided, which comes into contact with the seal member S2 at the position corresponding to the edge of the through hole O1 to seal.

The outside air introduction through-hole 32 is also provided with a connection adapter 33b for intake.
Outside air is smoothly led to the outside air intake 1a of the intake unit 1. This connection adapter 33
b is the connecting adapter 33a as shown in FIGS.
And is formed integrally with the outside air introduction through hole 32 so as to be able to come and go.

These connection adapters 33 (connection adapter 3
3a, 33b) are integrally formed,
A seal member S2 provided between the ends of the connection adapters 33a and 33b and the rim of the piping through hole O1 and the outside air introduction through hole 32 formed in the top plate 30 is also integrally formed. The connection adapters 33 are sandwiched between half-box-shaped adapter support portions 38a and 38b provided on the case C and the intake unit 1, respectively.

The connecting adapter 33 is connected to the case C
Hole 40 for attaching to the intake unit 1
The screw is screwed into the screw hole 40, but since the whole is made of a synthetic resin having a certain degree of elasticity, a stopper for preventing falling is provided in the vicinity of the locking portion 35. The stopper may be provided so as to be engaged with the rim of the pipe through hole 31 when the connection adapter 33 is projected. Further, in order to make it easy to freely move in and out, the connecting adapter 33 may be a bellows type made of synthetic resin or the like.

Next, the assembling operation will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, after the evaporator 3 and the like are stored in the case C, the case C and the half box-shaped adapter supporting portions 38a and 38b provided on the intake unit 1 are respectively provided. The connection adapter 33 is clamped.

On the other hand, in the refrigerant pipe 15, as shown in FIG. 6A, the portion of the integral type expansion valve 17 is located at the position of the refrigerant pipe through hole 34, and is sealed with a seal member S1.

In this state, the integral expansion valve 17 of the refrigerant pipe 15 is located in the connection adapter 33 a, and the connection adapter 33 does not protrude from the case C, so that the upper end of the case C is attached to the lower surface of the top plate 30. Dressed insulator
Without hitting IN, the insulator IN can be moved to the vicinity of the partition wall DP1 as shown by a black arrow in FIG. 6A without damaging the insulator IN.

As shown in FIG. 6B, case C is a partition wall DP.
When the position corresponding to 1 is reached, the handle 39 of the connection adapter 33 is
Is pulled out of the case C until the locking portion 35 provided at one end of the connection adapter 33 is locked to the outside air inlet 1a of the intake unit 1 or the edge of the piping through hole 31. The abutting portion 36 abuts the hole O1 or the edge of the outside air introducing hole 32 and is sealed by the seal member S2 (the state shown in FIG. 6C). In this case, in the case of a modularized assembly, the piping penetration of the air conditioning unit, which is a component of the assembly,
The assembly will be moved against the elasticity of each seal member of the hot water piping section and the outside air introduction through-hole 32. However, since the assembly and the partition are connected via the connection adapter 33, the entire assembly is moved. It can be connected even if it does not fit exactly with the partition wall DP, and there is no problem in sealing performance.

In this state, a screw is screwed into the screw hole 40 and the connection adapter 33 is fixed to the case C. This screw is
Tightening workability is good because it is tightened upward.

When the connection adapter 33 is fixed, the other refrigerant pipe 18 is connected to the integral expansion valve 17 of the refrigerant pipe 15 (the state shown in FIG. 6D). Since this mounting is also an upper mounting, workability is good.

When the intake unit 1 is operated after the case C is mounted in this manner, in the case of the outside air introduction mode, the outside air inlet of the intake unit 1 passes through the through hole 32 and the connection adapter 33b from the cowl portion 37. 1
The outside air is introduced by a.

The air flow from the intake unit 1 is cooled down by the evaporator 3 and flows down, and the hot air passage side flowing through the heater core 4 by the mix door 5 provided between the evaporator 3 and the heater core 4, Various outlets opened in the case C according to various air distribution modes after branching and flowing at predetermined ratios into the bypass passages 6 that bypass the heater core 4 and mixed in the mix zone 7 to reach a predetermined temperature. From 8 to 10, air is distributed toward the vehicle interior.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, the above-described embodiment is a double partition, but can be applied to a single partition, and the connection adapter is provided with a piping through hole formed in the top plate and an outside air. Although the two introduction holes are integrally formed so as to be connected together, they may be formed separately. Further, in the above embodiment, the case of the refrigerant pipe has been described. However, it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to a hot water pipe in some cases.

[0044]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained for each claim.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the connection adapter is provided in the case of the air conditioning unit so as to be able to protrude and retract, and the end when the connection adapter is drawn out of the case is connected to the edge of the through hole. Since the contact is made via the seal material, the unit can be mounted with the connection adapter contracted, extended and attached to the rim of the through hole via the seal material, regardless of the structure on the vehicle side. In addition, the installation work of the air conditioning unit becomes extremely easy, the sealing performance is improved, and the production cost is advantageous.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the pipe drawn from the case of the temperature control unit is inserted into the connection adapter, the work of mounting the refrigerant pipe becomes extremely easy, and the sealing property is improved. This is also advantageous in terms of manufacturing cost.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the pull-out handle is provided on the connection adapter, the connection adapter can be easily attached, and workability is improved. Even in the case where the type of vehicle is different and the partition is double, the workability and the sealability can be similarly improved and the cost can be reduced.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the partition has a double structure, a top plate is formed at the top of the partition to be inclined downward from the rear to the front of the vehicle, and a through hole is formed in the top plate. And the connecting adapter is provided, so that the work is further facilitated and the cost is reduced.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the case of an air conditioner for a vehicle in which an intake unit is provided adjacent to a temperature control unit, a connection adapter for piping and a connection adapter for intake are integrally formed. As a result, the workability of attaching the connection adapter is further improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing a main part of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a cowl part.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the vehicle air conditioner.

FIG. 5A is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of the connection adapter, and FIG. 5B is a schematic perspective view showing another embodiment of the connection adapter.

FIGS. 6A to 6D are cross-sectional views illustrating an assembled state of the vehicle air conditioner.

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view showing a conventional vehicle air conditioner.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the vehicle air conditioner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Intake unit, 1a ... Outside air intake of an intake unit, 2 ... Temperature control unit, 15 ... Refrigerant piping, 30 ... Top plate part, O1, 32 ... Through hole, 33, 33a, 33b ... Connection adapter, 34 ... Refrigerant piping Through holes, 39: Handle, C: Case, DP, DP1, DP2: Partition wall, ER: Engine room, R: Car room, S, S1, S2: Seal material.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. The vehicle compartment (R) and the engine room (ER)
An air conditioning unit (1, 2) provided in the vehicle interior is attached to a partition (DP) that separates the air conditioner, a through hole (O1) opened in the partition (DP), and the air conditioning unit (1, 2). ) And the connection adapter (3
3) a vehicle air conditioner that communicates with the air conditioning unit via the connection adapter to the case (C) of the air conditioning unit (1, 2);
(33) is provided so as to be freely retractable, and the end when the connection adapter (33) is pulled out from the case (C) comes into contact with the edge of the through hole (O1) via the sealing material (S2). An air conditioner for a vehicle, characterized in that: 2. The case (C) of a temperature control unit (2) for cooling and / or heating air inside the connection adapter (33).
It is configured so that the pipe (15) drawn out is inserted,
The temperature control unit (2), wherein the space between the pipe through hole (34) opened in the case (C) of the temperature control unit (2) and the pipe (15) is sealed with a sealing material (S1). Item 2. The vehicle air conditioner according to Item 1. 3. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the connection adapter has a handle for pulling out from the case of the temperature control unit. Air conditioner. 4. The partition (DP) is a partition (DP) having a double structure that separates an engine room (ER) and an interior of a vehicle compartment (R). A top plate (30) that is inclined downward from the rear of the vehicle toward the front at the top of the (DP1), and the through hole (O1) is opened in the top plate (30). 4. The air conditioner for a vehicle according to any one of 3. 5. The temperature control unit (2) includes the partition wall (DP).
Intake unit that is installed near the vehicle and selectively takes in outside air introduced from outside the vehicle compartment and inside air in the vehicle compartment
(1) is provided adjacently, the connection adapter (33), the pipe connection adapter (33a) configured so that the pipe (15) is inserted therein, and the intake unit ( The air conditioner for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein an intake connection adapter (33b) attached to the outside air intake (1a) of (1) so as to be freely retractable is formed integrally therewith. .