JP2002144856A - Vehicular air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a seal structure of a refrigerant piping penetrating part allowing attaching and detaching of an evaporator 3 in a state of mounting an air conditioning case 2 on a vehicle. SOLUTION: A connecting block 3a arranged one end of the evaporator 3 is projected in a through-hole 10a arranged in a partition wall 10 separating an engine room and a cabin and an opening hole 2a of the air conditioning case 2 in an insertable/extractable state. While packing 4b is sandwiched by the air conditioning case 2 and an expansion valve 5 from the engine room side of the partition wall 10, the expansion valve 5 is joined to the connecting block 3a. Thus, a part between the air conditioning case 2 and the connecting block 3a is sealed by the packing 4b, and a seal of the connecting block 3a being the refrigerant piping penetrating part is formed, and when removing the expansion valve 5 for pressing down the packing 4b, the evaporator 3 can be easily extracted from the air conditioning case.

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 having a structure in which an evaporator provided in a vehicle compartment can be easily attached and detached.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 is a sectional structural view showing a seal structure of a refrigerant pipe penetration portion of a conventional vehicle air conditioner. The connection block 3a is provided at one end of an evaporator (not shown), and the refrigerant pipe 3b of the evaporator is centrally arranged.

In fixing the expansion valve 5 to the connection block 3a, a seal packing 4b is wound around the outer periphery of the connection block 3a and sandwiched between the upper air-conditioning case 2b and the lower air-conditioning case 2c for sealing. This prevents air flowing in the device from leaking to the outside, and prevents water, air, and the like from entering the air conditioner from the outside such as an engine room.

[0004] Incidentally, reference numerals including other parts correspond to reference numerals in embodiments of the present invention to be described later, and description thereof will be omitted. Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-215
In the structure described in Japanese Patent No. 047, the gap between the refrigerant pipe penetrating portion, the air conditioning case, and the partition is filled with a rubber grommet for sealing.

[0005]

Depending on the specification of the vehicle, a refrigeration cycle device may be attached to the vehicle afterwards as a retrofit of a cooler. In this case, an evaporator serving as a heat exchanger for cooling is attached to the air conditioner disposed in the vehicle interior. Further, as a request from a vehicle manufacturer, a structure that can replace only the evaporator for maintenance may be required.

For this purpose, the air-conditioning case of the air conditioner is provided with an opening for removing the evaporator and a cover for covering the opening, so that the air conditioner can be mounted on the vehicle.
The cover can be opened, and only the evaporator can be attached or replaced or replaced.

[0007] However, the conventional seal structure of the refrigerant pipe penetration portion of the air conditioner case has a problem that the seal cannot be maintained unless the air conditioner is removed from the vehicle and the air conditioner case is opened and reassembled.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has a vehicle having a sealing structure of a refrigerant pipe penetration portion in which an evaporator can be attached and detached while an air conditioning case for housing the evaporator is mounted on the vehicle. The purpose is to provide an air conditioner for home use.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a part of the connection block (3a) is protruded from the opening (2a) to the engine room side. The sealing member (4b) is sandwiched between the air conditioning case (2) and the expansion valve (5) by connecting the expansion valve (5) from the engine room side.

[0010] Thus, the space between the opening hole and the connection block is sealed by the seal member to seal the connection block which is the refrigerant pipe penetration portion, and the evaporator is removed by removing the expansion valve holding the seal member. Can be easily extracted from the air-conditioning case, and the evaporator can be attached and detached while the air-conditioning case remains mounted on the vehicle.

In the invention according to claim 2, the seal member (4)
b), a connection block insertion hole (4c) through which the connection block (3a) is penetrated is formed. The connection block insertion hole (4c) is substantially similar to the outer shape of the connection block (3a). It is characterized by being smaller than the outer shape.
Thereby, the packing at the outer periphery of the connection block can be more reliably performed by lightly press-fitting the packing, which is a seal member, into the connection block.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the end of the connection block insertion hole (4c) on the connection block insertion side is chamfered (4).
d) is provided. Thereby, workability at the time of inserting the packing into the connection block is improved.

According to the present invention, the end of the connection block insertion hole (4c) on the side opposite to the connection block insertion side is chamfered (4).
f) is provided. Thus, when the packing is inserted into the connection block, part of the packing on the side opposite to the insertion side covers the expansion valve coupling surface of the connection block, and when the expansion valve is coupled, the packing is sandwiched, resulting in poor sealing. Troubles can be prevented beforehand.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of a refrigerant pipe penetration portion of an air conditioner 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a sectional structural view showing a state where the configuration of FIG. 1 is assembled. FIG. 3 is a sectional structural view showing an installation state of the air conditioning case 2 in the air conditioner 1 and a detachable structure of the evaporator 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, in an air conditioner (car air conditioner) 1 for an automobile, an evaporator (evaporator) 3 of each part constituting a refrigeration cycle is disposed in a vehicle interior, and other compressors (not shown) are provided. Most are located in the engine room.

For this reason, a through hole 10a is formed in the partition wall 10 between the engine room and the vehicle room so that the refrigerant pipe for circulating the refrigerant passes through the evaporator 3 in the vehicle room. At one end of the evaporator 3, there is provided a connection block 3a for concentrating the refrigerant pipe 3b of the evaporator 3 and connecting the refrigerant pipe 3b to the outside.

The air-conditioning case 2 is installed on the vehicle room side of the partition 10 so as to face the through hole 10a provided in the partition 10 and to seal the engine room and the vehicle room with the packing 7 (seal member). ing.

At this time, the connection block 3a protrudes into the opening 2a of the air conditioning case 2 and the through hole 10a of the partition 10. On the other hand, the expansion valve 5 is connected to the connection block 3a from the engine room side of the partition 10 via a seal cover 4 (seal member).

The sealing gasket 7 provided between the partition 10 and the air-conditioning case 2 has a shape corresponding to the outer shape of the through hole 10a and surrounds the outer periphery of the through hole 10a. Seals are provided to prevent water and air from entering the vehicle interior from the engine room and prevent air from leaking into the engine room.

Next, an air conditioner 1 which is a characteristic part of the present invention.
The seal structure of the refrigerant pipe penetration portion will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, an opening 2a provided in the air conditioning case 2 and a through hole 10 provided in the partition 10 are provided.
From a, a connection block 3a fixed to one end of the evaporator 3 protrudes in a removable state. The seal cover 4 is inserted into the connection block 3a from the engine room side of the partition wall 10, the expansion valve 5 which is a component of the refrigeration cycle is pressed, and the expansion valve 5 is connected to the connection block 3a using a through bolt 6. It is structured to be fastened.

In practice, a refrigerant pipe (not shown) on the engine room side having a connection block similar to the connection block 3a is connected to the expansion valve 5.

The seal cover 4 is provided with a packing 4 for sealing.
b, and a cover plate 4a for holding it. The packing 4b is a slightly stiff foam such as urethane, and has an insertion hole 4c formed at the center thereof for insertion into the connection block 3a. Has a width. Incidentally, if the triangular rib 21 is formed to protrude annularly from the air conditioning case 2 side over the outer periphery of the connection block 3a, the sealing property is improved.

The shape of the insertion hole 4c formed in the packing 4b has the same shape as the outer shape of the connection block 3a, and is slightly smaller than the outer shape of the connection block 3a to be lightly press-fitted. I try to keep it.

Further, a chamfer 4d is provided on the end face of the insertion hole 4c on the connection block insertion side to improve the workability when the packing is inserted into the connection block. In addition, a chamfer 4f is provided on the end face of the insertion hole 4c on the side opposite to the connection block insertion side, and when the packing 4b is inserted into the connection block 3a, a part of the packing 4b on the side opposite to the insertion side becomes the expansion valve coupling surface of the connection block 3a. This prevents a problem that the packing 4b is pinched when the expansion valve 5 is connected, resulting in poor sealing.

The cover plate 4a is made of the same resin as polypropylene as the air-conditioning case 2 and serves as a holding plate for uniformly compressing the packing 4b to maintain the sealing property. Reference numeral 4e denotes a groove for allowing the diaphragm portion 5a of the expansion valve 5 to escape, and is cut vertically to eliminate the vertical direction of the seal cover 4.

With such a structure, the space between the air-conditioning case 2 and the connection block 3a is sealed by the packing 4b to form a seal with the connection block 3a, which is a refrigerant pipe penetrating portion penetrating the partition 10. If the expansion valve 5 holding the packing 4b is removed, the evaporator 3 can be easily pulled out of the air-conditioning case 2, and as shown in FIG.
In addition, by providing the evaporator detachable cover 2e that covers the evaporator 3, the evaporator 3 can be detached while the air conditioning case 2 is mounted on the vehicle. Reference numeral 8 denotes a screw for fastening the cover 2e.

(Other Embodiments) The evaporator 3 of the above embodiment is shown as a side piping type in which the refrigerant piping 3b is routed in the air conditioning case 2, but the connection block 3a is directly attached to the side surface of the evaporator core. Even if it is a direct attachment type, the same structure can be used as long as the connection block 3a protrudes from the opening hole 2a of the air conditioning case 2 in a detachable state, so that the type of the evaporator core is not limited.

Although the expansion valve 5 is also shown as a BOX type exhaust pan, it is not limited as long as it can be attached and detached from the engine room side. Further, the chamfers 4d and 4f provided on the packing 4b are not limited to the C shape, but may be an R shape or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a configuration of a refrigerant pipe penetration portion of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional structural view showing a state where the configuration of FIG. 1 is assembled.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional structural view showing an installation state of an air conditioning case in an air conditioner and a detachable structure of an evaporator.

FIG. 4 is a sectional structural view showing a conventional sealing structure of a refrigerant pipe penetration portion of an air conditioner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Air Conditioning Case 2a Opening Hole 3 Evaporator 3a Connection Block 4b Packing (Seal Member) 4c Connection Block Insertion Hole 4d Chamfer 4f Chamfer 5 Expansion Valve 10 Partition 10a Through Hole

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An evaporator (3) installed on the compartment side of a partition (10) separating an engine compartment and a compartment.
An air-conditioning case (2) for accommodating the air-conditioner, an opening (2a) provided at one end of the evaporator (3) and provided in the air-conditioning case (2), and the partition (1).
0), a connection block (3a) for pipe-connecting the air conditioner in the engine room and the evaporator (3) through a through hole (10a) provided in the engine room, and the opening hole (2a) and the connection block ( 3a), and a seal member (4b) for preventing communication between the inside of the engine room and the inside of the air-conditioning case (2), on the engine room side of the connection block (3a). In the air conditioner for a vehicle to which an expansion valve (5) is connected, a part of the connection block (3a) is partially connected to the opening (2a).
From the engine room side, and the expansion valve (5) is connected thereto from the engine room side, so that the sealing member (4b) is connected to the air conditioning case (2) and the expansion valve (5). An air conditioner for a vehicle, characterized in that the air conditioner is sandwiched between the air conditioner. 2. A connection block insertion hole (4) through which the connection block (3a) passes is formed in the seal member (4b).
c) is formed, and the connection block insertion hole (4) is formed.
The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein c) is substantially similar to the outer shape of the connection block (3a), and is smaller than the outer shape. 3. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein a chamfer (4d) is provided on an end face of the connection block insertion hole (4c) on the connection block insertion side. 4. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein a chamfer (4f) is provided on an end surface of the connection block insertion hole (4c) opposite to the connection block insertion side.