JP2003104036A - Air conditioner for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To rapidly expand the capacity of a glove box by extending the depth of the glove box disposed on a front passenger's seat of an instrument panel. SOLUTION: An instrument panel 34 is disposed at the substantial center of a vehicle width direction of the instrument panel 25. An air conditioning unit 2 constituted of a temperature adjusting unit part 11 and a blower unit part 17 is mounted at the inside of the instrument panel 25. The temperature adjusting unit part 11 is arranged at the substantial center of the vehicle width direction, the blower unit part 17 is arranged on a driver's seat side, and the depth width of the glove box 32 is extended up to a space where the blower unit part. 17 conventionally has occupied except the blower unit part 17 from a rear back of the glove box 32.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the structure of a vehicle air conditioner in which a temperature control unit portion constituting an air conditioning unit mounted on a vehicle is arranged inside the instrument panel in the center in the vehicle width direction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an air conditioning unit mounted on a vehicle, in order to reduce the mounting space, it is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 100642, a temperature control unit section in which a cooling heat exchanger and a heating heat exchanger are arranged substantially in the front-rear direction, and a blower unit arranged in the vehicle width direction with respect to the temperature control unit section. An integrated air-conditioning unit consisting of the parts and the parts has already been developed.

A vehicle air conditioner using this integrated air conditioning unit, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-171332, is installed at the inner side of an instrument panel and is heated approximately at the center in the vehicle width direction. A layout has been adopted in which the adjustment unit section is arranged and the blower unit section is arranged on the passenger side.

This kind of layout is adopted because the instrument panel has an opening on the passenger side as shown in JP-A-11-240357, and a glove box is attached to this opening. Due to the structure, the blower unit can be confirmed from the opening when the glove box is removed, so it is possible to easily perform parts replacement and maintenance work of the blower unit from the opening on the passenger side. by.

[0005]

However, in recent years, the demand for increasing the capacity of the glove box has been made by users and the like, whereas in the layout of the vehicle air conditioner described above, , JP 2
As in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 000-255244, it is unavoidable to arrange the blower unit on the back side of the glove box.

In this case, the capacity of the glove box may be expanded by improving the structure of the blower unit as shown in the above publication, but in view of the required space occupied by the blower unit, the limit is limited. There is.

On the other hand, the above-mentioned JP-A-11-240357.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication, a layout configuration called a center meter, in which a meter window portion (instrument panel) such as a speedometer or a tachometer is arranged substantially at the center of the instrument panel in the vehicle width direction, is becoming common. is there.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle air conditioner capable of expanding the depth of the glove box and dramatically expanding its capacity.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention, however, the instrument panel is arranged substantially at the center of the instrument panel in the vehicle width direction, and the temperature control unit and the blower unit are arranged. And an air conditioning unit composed of an air conditioner unit inside the instrument panel, of which the temperature control unit unit is arranged substantially at the center in the vehicle width direction, and the blower unit unit is arranged on the driver side. It is characterized by being arranged in (1). According to such a configuration, the blower unit is removed from the back side of the glove box on the passenger seat side, so that it is possible to increase the storage capacity of the glove box by utilizing this empty space. In addition, by arranging the blower unit on the driver's seat side, the wind flow passes through the driver's seat side in the internal air circulation mode (especially during cool-down in summer or warm-up in winter). The comfort on the side is improved. still,
The instrument panel is a collection of various instruments such as speedometers and tachometers and display / operation panels.

An opening is formed on the driver's seat side of the instrument panel, and the blower motor constituting the blower unit is arranged so as to face the opening of the instrument panel. Good (Claim 2). This opening is formed, for example, by providing a removable storage section on the driver's seat side of the instrument panel and removing the storage section. According to such a configuration, even if the blower unit is arranged on the driver's seat side in the vehicle compartment, it is possible to easily perform parts replacement and maintenance for the blower unit by using the opening. . In addition, by arranging the blower unit on the driver's seat side, the wind flow passes through the driver's seat side in the internal air circulation mode (especially during cool-down in summer or warm-up in winter). The comfort on the side is improved.

Further, the blower unit portion is arranged such that the inside / outside air switching device is located in front of the vehicle with respect to the blower, and an outside air introduction port is opened above the inside / outside air switching device to open the inside / outside air. The inside air inlet is opened on the lower side of the air switching device (claim 3). With such a configuration of the inside / outside air switching device, noise generated by sucking air into the inside air inlet can be kept away.

Furthermore, an opening for mounting an air bag accommodating portion provided on the passenger side of the instrument panel and an opening formed on the driver panel side of the instrument panel are the same. It is shaped and arranged at a position symmetrical with respect to the center in the vehicle width direction (claim 4). Accordingly, even when the opening is formed on the driver's seat side of the instrument panel for maintenance of the blower unit and the like, the instrument panel can be shared by the right-hand drive vehicle and the left-hand drive vehicle.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a vehicle air conditioner 1 of the present invention and a vertical semi-integrated air conditioner unit 2 used in the vehicle air conditioner 1. In this air conditioning unit 2, a temperature control means such as an evaporator 3, an air mix door 4, a heater core 5, etc., and a blowout mode switching means such as a mode switching door 6 are housed in a case 7, and a foot outlet 8, a vent outlet 9 and The temperature control unit 11 having the differential air outlet 10 opened, the blower 12, and the inside / outside air introduction ports 13, 1
4 and an inside / outside air switching device 15 including the inside / outside air switching door 15.
And a blower unit section 17 having The blower unit section 17 is attachable to and detachable from the temperature control unit section 11 on both sides of the surface along the vehicle traveling direction.

The blower 12 comprises a blower body 12A made of, for example, a sirocco fan, and a blower motor 12B for rotating the blower body 12A. The blower motor 12B and the blower body 12A are bolts or the like. It is fixed by the fixing means, and it is separable by releasing the fixing means.

The compartment 26 for accommodating the air conditioning unit 2 is a fire wall 23 for partitioning the engine room 21 and the passenger compartment 22, and this fire wall 23.
The floor panel 24 and the instrument panel 25 connected to each other are basically formed in the vehicle width direction, and have a structure extending in the vehicle width direction. Inside the compartment 26, there are arranged a vent duct 27 and a diff duct 28, one end of which is connected to the vent outlet 9 and the differential outlet 10, and inside the instrument panel 25, a heater control unit 30 and an audio control unit 30. The drive unit 31 and the like are mounted.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the instrument panel 25 has a glove box 3 for accommodating a driver's license, vehicle verification and various haberdashery items on the passenger side.
2 is formed, and a storage portion 33 that stores an airbag is formed above the glove box 32. Then, the instrument panel 25 displays the heater control 30 and the audio unit 31 at substantially the center.
While a window portion 34 for displaying an operation panel or the like is formed, the window portion 34 is formed on the center side in the vehicle width direction.
An instrument panel 35 having a speedometer, a tachometer, etc., is arranged in a portion above, and a storage portion 36 is provided in a portion above a steering column 40 on the driver's side.
Are formed.

The storage portion 33 and the storage portion 36 are formed at positions substantially symmetrical with respect to the center in the vehicle width direction so that the instrument panel 25 can be shared by the right-hand drive vehicle and the left-hand drive vehicle. It is attached to the opening 37 of the same shape. Also, the glove box 32 and the storage section 3
Opening / closing lids 32A and 36A are attached to 6, respectively.

In such a structure, the air conditioning unit 2
As shown in FIG. 3, inside the instrument panel 25, the temperature control unit 11 is arranged substantially in the center in the vehicle width direction, and the conventional instrument panel equipment in the compartment 26 on the driver's side is used. The blower unit 17 is arranged in the driver's seat using the space occupied by the wiring and the like.

In this embodiment, the blower unit section 17
As shown in FIG. 1, the inside / outside air switching device 16 is located in front of the blower 12 in the vehicle, and the outside air introduction port 13 is
Is attached to the temperature control unit 11 so that the inside of the vehicle is directed upward and the inside air introduction port 14 is directed toward the bottom of the vehicle. The tilt angle of the blower motor 12B in the axial direction is also substantially the same as the tilt angle of the steering column 40, and the bottom surface of the blower motor 12B is arranged obliquely upward.

As a result, the blower motor 12B can be smoothly attached and detached above the steering column 40 through the opening 37 formed by removing the storage portion 36 without being obstructed by the steering column 40.
However, it is not essential that the blower unit portion 17 has the above-described arrangement and structure, and although not shown, an opening portion is provided at the driver's seat side foot portion of the instrument panel 25, and the blower motor 12B is opened from this opening portion. When it is possible to attach / detach, the blower motor 12B may be arranged so that the bottom portion thereof faces downward of the vehicle.

According to the above, the blower unit 17 does not exist in the back of the groove box 32 arranged on the passenger side, so that the depth of the glove box 32 should be expanded to increase the capacity of the glove box 32. Is possible.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to extend the depth of the glove box by utilizing the space on the passenger side of the instrument panel, which has been occupied by the blower unit. Therefore, the capacity of the glove box can be expanded.

Further, according to the present invention, since the blower unit is arranged on the driver's seat side, in the inside air circulation mode (particularly during cool-down in the summer or warm-up in the winter), the flow of the wind is reduced. Since it passes through the driver's seat side, the comfort of air conditioning on the driver's seat side can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the blower unit can be confirmed from the opening even if the blower unit is arranged inside the driver's seat of the instrument panel. , Parts of the blower unit can be easily replaced and maintained.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, in the blower unit, the inside / outside air switching device is located in front of the vehicle with respect to the blower, and the inside air introducing port is formed below the inside air introducing device. It is possible to keep away noise generated by sucking air into the inside air introduction port.

Further, according to the invention as set forth in claim 4, even if the opening is formed on the driver's seat side of the instrument panel for maintenance of the blower unit, etc., the corresponding position of the passenger seat Since an opening for mounting the airbag storage part having the same shape as this opening is formed in
The instrument panel can be shared between the right-hand drive vehicle and the left-hand drive vehicle. As a result, the number of parts can be reduced and the manufacturing cost of the entire vehicle air conditioner can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention as viewed from a driver's seat side.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an arrangement layout of a glove box of an instrument panel, an instrument panel, and the like.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing an arrangement of a temperature control unit section and a blower unit section in the air conditioning unit of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Vehicle air conditioner 2 air conditioning unit 11 Temperature control unit 12 Blower 12B blower motor 13 Outside air inlet 14 Inside air inlet 16 Inside / outside air switching device 17 Blower unit 25 Instrument panel 32 glove box 33 Storage (airbag storage) 36 Storage 37 opening

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An instrument panel is arranged substantially at the center of the instrument panel in the vehicle width direction, and an air conditioning unit including a temperature control unit and a blower unit is mounted inside the instrument panel. An air conditioner for a vehicle, wherein the temperature control unit section is arranged substantially in the center in the vehicle width direction and the blower unit section is arranged on the driver's seat side. 2. An opening is formed on the driver panel side of the instrument panel, and a blower motor that constitutes the blower unit is arranged so as to face the opening of the instrument panel. Claim 1
The vehicle air conditioner described in. 3. The blower unit portion is arranged such that the inside / outside air switching device is located in front of the vehicle with respect to the blower, and an outside air introduction port is opened above the inside / outside air switching device to open the inside / outside air. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an inside air introduction port is opened below the air switching device. 4. An opening for mounting an airbag storage portion provided on the passenger side of the instrument panel and an opening formed on the driver side of the instrument panel have the same shape. The air conditioner for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the air conditioner is arranged at a position symmetrical with respect to the center in the vehicle width direction.