JP2003200726A - Air conditioning device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve reliability of a blower fan drive motor 24 when the fan drive motor 24 is cooled by air outside a vehicle in the device where the air outside the vehicle is introduced into a blower unit 3 and sent to an air conditioning unit 4. <P>SOLUTION: An outside air introducing port 10 is formed at the top of the blower unit 3 and the blower fan 23 and the fan drive motor 24 are arranged at the lower part. A spiral air outflow path 28 is formed at the housing 22 of the blower fan 23 and an expanding part 80 is formed expanding into the air outflow path 28 from the side wall overlooking the air outflow path 28 to the bottom face. A cooling air passage 81 which extends downward from an air inlet hole 82 opening at the top to the lower part and introduces the air inside the air outflow path 28 to the inside of the motor 24 is provided at the expanding part 80. A vertical wall part 84 extending to the inside of the air outflow path 28 is provided so as to cover the upstream side of the air flow of the air inlet hole 82 from the side wall of the air outflow path 28. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner including a blower unit and an air conditioning unit, and more particularly to the technical field of a cooling structure for a fan drive motor arranged in the blower unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-12374.
As disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8 (1994), when an air conditioner of this type is installed in a passenger compartment of an automobile, an air conditioning unit containing a heat exchanger for cooling and heating and an air conditioning air blown to the air conditioning unit. It is known that the air blower unit is divided into two parts, that is, a blower unit and an air blower unit, which are respectively arranged in a substantially central portion in the vehicle width direction and a passenger seat side in the instrument panel.

The blower unit is provided with an air introduction portion at its upper portion, and the air conditioning air introduced from here is blown to the air conditioning unit by a blower fan at the lower portion. The air introduction portion is formed with an inside air intake for taking in the air inside the vehicle compartment and an outside air intake for taking in the air outside the vehicle interior, and the outside air intake is a cowl panel of the vehicle body through a duct. Is connected to the opening formed in.

[0004]

By the way, in order to prevent overheating of the blower fan drive motor, the blower unit has a cooling for taking in the air introduced into the blower unit from the blow passage and supplying it to the inside of the motor. A wind passage may be provided.

However, when the outside air is introduced, rainwater is also introduced into the blower unit together with the outside air from the opening of the cowl panel, and this rainwater flows along the side wall surface and the ceiling surface of the fan housing that accommodates the blower fan. There is a problem that the cooling air passage may enter the cooling air passage, which reduces the reliability of the motor.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to devise a structure for taking in cooling air when the fan drive motor is cooled by the air introduced into the air blowing unit. To improve the reliability of the motor.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, in the solution means of the present invention, a bulge portion is provided so as to bulge into an air outflow passage of a fan housing, and an upper surface of the bulge portion is provided. The air inlet to the fan drive motor was opened, and a vertical wall portion was provided on the upstream side of the air flow of this opening to prevent water from entering.

Specifically, the invention of claim 1 presupposes a vehicle air conditioner in which air introduced from the upper part of the blower unit is blown to the air conditioner unit by a centrifugal fan housed in a fan housing therebelow. And The centrifugal fan is arranged such that the rotation shaft thereof is oriented vertically, and a fan drive motor is connected to a lower end portion of the rotation shaft, and the fan housing is provided with an air blower so as to surround the outer circumference of the centrifugal fan. A bulging portion that forms an outflow passage and bulges into the air outflow passage from the side wall surface that faces the air outflow passage to the bottom surface, and downward from an air intake hole that opens on the upper surface of the bulging portion. A cooling air passage that extends to guide the air in the air outflow passage to the fan drive motor, and extends from the side wall surface of the air outflow passage into the air outflow passage so as to cover the air flow upstream side of the air intake hole. Further, a vertical wall portion extending from the upper surface of the bulging portion to the ceiling surface of the air outflow passage is provided.

According to the above construction, when the centrifugal fan is driven, air for air conditioning is introduced from the upper part of the blower unit and is blown to the air conditioner unit through the air outflow passage of the fan housing. Further, the air in the air outflow passage at this time is supplied to the fan drive motor from the cooling air passage provided in the bulging portion that bulges into the air outflow passage from the side wall surface facing the air outflow passage to the bottom surface. To be done.

Here, when the outside air is introduced, rainwater is introduced into the blower unit together with the air outside the passenger compartment, and this rainwater flows along the airflow to the downstream side in the air outflow passage. In the above, since the air intake hole to the cooling air passage is opened on the upper surface of the bulging portion, it is difficult for rainwater and the like to enter, and moreover, the vertical wall portion covers the air intake upstream side of the air intake hole. As a result, the infiltration of rainwater into the cooling air passage is sufficiently suppressed, and the reliability of the motor is improved.

Further, if the bulging portion is integrally formed with the side wall surface and the bottom surface of the air outflow passage, an increase in manufacturing cost due to the provision of the cooling air passage can be suppressed and the air flow in the air outflow passage can be suppressed. It does not significantly hinder it.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the air conditioning unit and the blower unit are arranged side by side in the vehicle width direction, and the fan housing of the blower unit has a front and rear vehicle body on a wall portion on the air conditioning unit side. An extension portion extending from the portion closer to the one side in the direction to the air conditioning unit side is provided, a downstream end of the air outflow passage of the fan housing is opened to an end surface of the extension portion, and the bulge portion is provided in the extension portion. It shall be provided so as to bulge from the side wall surface on the other side in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body in the air outflow passage.

According to this structure, the flow of air blown to the outer periphery of the centrifugal fan once gathers in the air outflow passage, and after flowing along the air outflow passage as a whole around the blower fan, The air flows smoothly in the vehicle width direction along the passage in the extension part that extends to the air conditioning unit side. At this time, in the air outflow passage, since the air flow rate relatively increases toward the outer peripheral side, the air flow rate in the passage in the extension portion becomes relatively large on one side in the vehicle longitudinal direction, while on the other side, the air flow rate becomes relatively large. Less. Since the bulging portion is provided on the side where the air volume is small, the bulging portion hardly obstructs the air flow.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the vertical wall portion is opened from the side wall surface on the other side in the vehicle front-rear direction in the air outflow passage in the extension portion of the fan housing. Is formed so as to extend to the inside of the air outflow passage from the portion, and extends toward the downstream side of the air flow from the vertical wall portion at one side in the vehicle front-rear direction with respect to the opening of the air intake hole,
In addition, a first rib that is connected to the ceiling surface of the air outflow passage is provided.

That is, when the outside air is introduced, the rainwater enters from the upper portion, and therefore a large amount flows along the ceiling surface of the air outflow passage, but is connected to the ceiling surface at one side in the vehicle front-rear direction with respect to the air intake hole. Since the first rib is provided, it is possible to prevent such rainwater from flowing to the vicinity of the ceiling surface corresponding to the air intake hole, and guide the rainwater to the downstream side of the air flow with respect to the air intake hole.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the invention, the air intake port is located at one side in the vehicle front-rear direction with respect to the opening of the air intake hole, and is downstream of the air flow from the vertical wall portion with respect to the air intake hole. A second rib extending up to the upper surface of the bulging portion and extending to the ceiling surface of the air outflow passage is provided.

That is, a part of the rainwater flowing in the air outflow passage comes around from the edge of the vertical wall on the one side in the vehicle front-rear direction, but on the one side in the vehicle front-rear direction from the air intake hole. The second extending from the upper surface of the bulging portion to the ceiling surface of the air outflow passage
Since the ribs are provided, rainwater that goes around the vertical wall portion can be reliably guided to the downstream side of the air intake hole.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the invention, the second rib extends from the vertical wall portion toward the downstream side of the air flow on the other side in the vehicle front-rear direction, and the bulging portion is formed. A third rib extending from the upper surface to the ceiling surface of the air outflow passage is provided, and an end portion of the third rib on the air flow downstream side is provided with the second rib.
The rib is located downstream of the downstream end of the rib.

According to this structure, as described above, in the air outflow passage, the air flow rate is relatively smaller toward the other side in the vehicle front-rear direction, but the air flow downstream of the third rib arranged on the side with the smaller air flow rate. Since the end on the side is positioned on the downstream side of the end on the downstream side of the second rib, the rainwater can be reliably guided to the downstream side of the air intake hole by the third rib.
On the other hand, since the downstream end of the second rib arranged on the side where the air flow is large is positioned relatively upstream, the passage cross-sectional area can be relatively increased on the side where the air flow is large, You can blow air smoothly.

According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the fifth aspect of the invention, the side surface of the bulging portion is inclined so that the downstream side of the air flow is closer to the side wall surface on the other side in the vehicle longitudinal direction of the air outflow passage. Provide a blower guide part to
The upper surface of the bulging portion should be open upstream of the air flow.

In this structure, the blower guide portion is provided on the side surface of the bulging portion so as to approach the side wall surface on the other side of the air outflow passage in the vehicle front-rear direction on the downstream side of the air flow. The cross-sectional area of can be gradually increased toward the downstream side, which makes the air flow smooth. Moreover, since the air intake hole is formed in the upstream portion of the upper surface of the bulging portion where the dimension in the vehicle front-rear direction is relatively long, the opening area of the air intake hole can be sufficiently secured.

[0022]

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

1 to 3 show the appearance of an air conditioner 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 4, it is housed inside the instrument panel 2 arranged in the vehicle compartment of the automobile. This vehicle is a so-called right-hand drive vehicle in which the driver's seat and the passenger's seat are provided on the right side and the left side of the vehicle body, respectively, and the engine room in the front part and the front side of the vehicle room are the dash panel P (only in FIG. 11). (Shown).
In this specification, the vehicle body front side and the vehicle body rear side of the air conditioner 1 are also simply referred to as the front side and the rear side, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 3, the air conditioner 1 includes a blower unit 3, an air conditioner unit 4 that cools the air conditioning air from the blower unit 3 and then adjusts the temperature of the air to supply it to the passenger compartment. The intermediate duct 5 sends air from the unit 3 to the air conditioning unit 4. Air conditioning unit 4
Is arranged substantially in the center in the vehicle width direction, while the blower unit 3 is arranged in front of the passenger seat at a predetermined distance from the air conditioning unit 4 to the left side of the vehicle body. Further, the lower end of the blower unit 3 is positioned above the lower end of the air conditioning unit 4 to secure a wide foot space for passengers in the passenger seat.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the blower unit 3 is provided with a casing 6 which is divided into two parts on the left and right sides at a substantially central portion in the vehicle width direction. It is integrated. An air introduction section 7 for introducing air into the air conditioner 1 is provided on the upper side of the casing 6, while a blower section 8 for blowing the taken air to the air conditioning unit 4 is provided on the lower side. . An outside air intake 10 for taking in air outside the vehicle compartment and an inside air intake 11 for taking in air in the vehicle interior are formed in the upper part of the air introducing portion 7, and further,
While closing one of these,
Inside / outside air switching damper 1 that operates to open the other
2 (shown only in FIG. 2) is provided inside the air introducing portion 7.

More specifically, the upper portion of the air introducing portion 7 has a roof-like shape in which two rectangular inclined surfaces adjacent to each other in the front and rear are interlocked with each other, and the front portion thereof is located higher toward the rear side. In addition, the rear surface portion is located higher toward the front side, the upper edges thereof are connected to each other, and is formed so as to have a substantially triangular cross section when viewed in the vehicle width direction. The outside air intake 10 and the inside air intake 11 are respectively opened in a rectangular shape on the front surface portion and the rear surface portion, and the outside air intake hole 10 is provided at the upper end portion of the dash panel P via a duct (not shown). Is connected to an opening formed in a cowl panel (not shown). On the other hand, the side surface portion of the air introduction portion 7 is provided so as to connect the corresponding side edges of the front surface portion and the rear surface portion. The inside / outside air switching damper 12 is
It has a rectangular shape that is larger than each intake 10, 11.
It has an axis extending in the vehicle width direction at its upper edge, and both ends thereof are supported by the upper ends of the pair of side surface portions of the air introducing portion 7, respectively.

One side of the shaft of the inside / outside air switching damper 12 is connected to an output shaft of an actuator 15 attached to a side surface of the air introducing portion 7 so that the output shaft of the actuator 15 is connected to the shaft (FIG. (Not shown). Further, a boss portion for fastening the actuator 15 with a screw or the like is integrally formed on the side surface portion. The actuator 15 is an air conditioning control unit (not shown) provided on the vehicle body.
The signal line from the air-conditioning control unit is connected to the coupler 17 of the actuator 15.

When the inside / outside air switching damper 12 is rotated around its axis by the actuator 15 to bring the outside air inlet 10 to the fully open position, the inside air inlet 11 is opened.
Is fully closed to enter the outside air introduction mode for taking in only the outside air, while the inside / outside air switching damper 12 is rotated in the opposite direction from that state to the position where the outside air intake port 10 is fully closed. The inside air intake 11 is fully opened to enter the inside air circulation mode.

On the other hand, in the lower part of the air introduction part 7, the
As shown in FIG. 3, a filter arrangement portion 21 in which the filter 20 for filtering the taken-in air is arranged is provided, and although not shown, an opening is formed at the rear side of the filter arrangement portion 21. The filter 20 can be replaced through this opening. Then, as shown by the arrow in this figure, air is taken in from the upper part of the air introduction part 7, passes through the filter 20, and is introduced into the blower part 8.

In the blower section 8, a centrifugal multi-blade fan, which is a blower fan 23, is arranged with its rotation axis oriented in the vertical direction, and below the blower fan 23, a fan connected to the rotation axis is provided. A drive motor 24 is provided. The blower fan 23 is housed in a fan housing 22 that forms the outer shape of the blower unit 8. The fan housing 22 encloses the outer periphery of the blower fan 23 so that the air from the blower fan 23 is blown into the intermediate duct 5. An air outflow passage 28 is formed to let the air out. The upstream side of the air outflow passage 28 is located at a portion corresponding to the substantially central portion in the front-rear direction on the right side of the blower fan 23 in the vehicle body. It is a spiral passage that extends in the vehicle width direction on the rear side of the fan 23 and has a cross-sectional area that gradually increases from the upstream side to the downstream side.

That is, in the fan housing 22, an extension portion 2 linearly extending from the portion of the side wall portion on the air conditioning unit 4 side near the rear side of the vehicle body to the air conditioning unit 4 side.
9 is provided. The downstream end of the air outflow passage 28 opens at the end surface of the extension 29 on the air conditioning unit 4 side, and this opening is connected to the air conditioning unit 4 via the intermediate duct 5. Therefore, when the blower fan 23 is driven, air is sent out from the blower fan 23 toward the outer periphery thereof, and the flow thereof is first of all the air outflow passage 28.
Of these, after gathering in the spirally formed portion, the portion corresponding to the extending portion 29 can smoothly flow from the left side to the right side of the vehicle body.

As shown in FIG. 8, the extending portion 29 has a substantially rectangular cross section, and the extending portion 29 has a side wall surface located on the front side of the vehicle body and facing the air outflow passage 28. A bulging portion 80 that bulges into the inside of the air outflow passage 28 from the bottom to the bottom is provided, and the air in the air outflow passage 28 is used as cooling air inside the bulging portion 80 to the fan drive motor 24. A cooling air passage 81 for supplying the air is formed. The bulging portion 80 is integrally formed with the side wall surface and the bottom surface of the air outflow passage 28, whereby the bulging portion 80 is formed.
The degree of obstruction of the air flow in the air outflow passage 28 is extremely small.

The upper end of the bulging portion 80 is located at a substantially central portion in the vertical direction of the extending portion 29, and is a substantially horizontal flat surface. Further, the bulging portion 80 has substantially the same cross-sectional shape from the upper end to the lower end, and the side surface of the bulging portion 80 on the rear side of the vehicle body extends toward the downstream side of the air flow. An inclined surface 80 a (blower guide portion) that is inclined so as to approach the front side wall surface of the air outflow passage 28 in 29 is provided. In other words, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, since the bulging portion 80 bulges relatively largely on the upstream side of the air flow, the dimension of the upper surface of the bulging portion 80 in the vehicle longitudinal direction is relatively large on the upstream side. Become longer. Further, since the blower guide portion 80a is provided on the side surface of the bulging portion 80, the cross-sectional shape of the air outflow passage 28 corresponding to the bulging portion 80 is gradually changed to the downstream end of the air outflow passage 28. The cross-sectional shape can be approximated, so that the air can be blown smoothly.

The cooling air passage 81 is connected at its upstream end to an air intake hole 82 that opens to the upper surface of the bulging portion 80, and extends substantially from here to penetrate the bottom wall portion of the extending portion 29. It extends vertically. The air intake hole 82 has a substantially rectangular shape that extends in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body as a whole, and the edge portion on the front side of the vehicle body extends along the front side wall surface of the air outflow passage 28 in the extending portion 29. Further, the left side of the vehicle body, that is, the edge on the upstream side of the air flow corresponds to the upstream edge on the upper surface of the bulging portion 80. Further, the edge portion of the air intake hole 82 on the rear side of the vehicle body is located in front of the rear edge portion of the vehicle body on the upper surface of the bulging portion 80, and the edge portion on the downstream side of the air flow is on the upper surface of the bulging portion 80. It is located approximately in the center. That is, the air intake hole 82
Is positioned upstream of the air flow on the upper surface of the bulging portion 80, so that the opening area thereof can be made sufficiently large.

The downstream end of the cooling air passage 81 is connected to the upstream end of an outer passage 83 (only shown in FIG. 3) formed integrally with the bottom wall of the fan housing 22.
The outer passage 83 communicates with the inside of the fan drive motor 24. Then, the air in the air outflow passage 28 is taken in from the air intake hole 82, flows through the cooling air passage 81 in the bulging portion 80 to the outer passage 83, and is supplied to the inside of the fan drive motor 24. Then, the motor 24 is cooled.

At this time, when the outside air introduction mode is set,
Rainwater may flow into the blower unit 3 from the opening of the cowl panel together with the air outside the vehicle compartment. When this rainwater enters the cooling air passage 81 from the air intake hole 82,
The reliability of the fan drive motor 24 may be reduced. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, by separating the air intake hole 82 upward from the bottom surface of the air outflow passage 28 as described above, the rainwater flowing through the bottom surface is prevented from entering the cooling wind passage 81, while The air intake hole 82 is provided in order to suppress intrusion of rainwater flowing along the side wall surface and the ceiling surface of the air outflow passage 28.
The wall portion 84 is provided so as to cover the upstream side of the air flow.

That is, this wall portion 84 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG.
8 extending inward, and extending from the peripheral portion of the upper surface of the bulging portion 80 on the upstream side of the air flow to the ceiling surface of the air outflow passage 28,
The vertical wall portion 84 extends so as to be substantially orthogonal to the air flow. The vertical wall portion 84 has a substantially rectangular shape, and a rear portion of the vehicle body is curved so that the rear end portion thereof is located downstream of the air flow.

The rainwater that has entered the air introduction portion 7 in the outside air introduction mode flows down along the inner surface of the wall portion of the blower unit casing 6 and is transmitted to the ceiling surface and side wall surface of the air outflow passage 28 of the fan housing 22. Become. Then, although it is made to flow to the downstream side by the air flow, since the vertical wall portion 84 is connected to the ceiling surface and the side wall surface of the air outflow passage 28,
Almost no rainwater flows above the air intake hole 82, and the invasion into the cooling air passage 81 is reliably suppressed.

Inside the air outflow passage 28, a rectangular first rib 85 is formed so as to extend from the vehicle body rear edge of the curved portion of the vertical wall portion 84 toward the downstream side of the air flow. Has been. The upper end of the first rib 85 is connected to the ceiling surface of the air outflow passage 28, and the dimension from the lower end to the lower end is approximately 14 millimeters. Further, as shown in FIG. The end portion on the side extends downstream from the bulging portion 80. The rainwater flowing along the ceiling surface of the air outflow passage 28 does not flow to the ceiling surface above the bulging portion 80 by the first rib 85, but is guided to the downstream side of the bulging portion 80. Therefore, invasion into the cooling air passage 81 can be sufficiently suppressed. Further, if the vertical dimension of the first rib 85 is long, the cross-sectional area of the air outflow passage 29 in the extending portion 29 becomes narrower by that amount, and it becomes difficult for air to flow smoothly. If the length is between about 20 mm and about 20 mm, it is possible to achieve both suppression of infiltration of rainwater that has passed through the ceiling surface into the cooling air passage 81 and smooth flow of air.

Inside the air outflow passage 28, a vertical wall portion 84 extends from the vehicle rear side peripheral edge portion of the air intake hole 82 on the upper surface of the bulging portion 80 to the ceiling surface of the air outflow passage 28. The rectangular second rib 86 extending from the bulging portion 80 to the downstream side of the air flow is provided. Further, between the second rib 86 and the vehicle body front side wall surface of the air outflow passage 28,
A rectangular third rib 87 extending from the vertical wall portion 84 to the downstream side of the downstream end of the second rib 86 is provided.
The third rib 87 extends substantially parallel to the second rib 86 from the substantially central portion of the air intake hole 82 on the upper surface of the bulging portion 80 in the vehicle front-rear direction to the ceiling surface of the air outflow passage 28. .

A part of the rainwater that has entered the blower unit 3 comes around from the edge of the vertical wall portion 84 on the rear side of the vehicle body and flows to the downstream side. Since the ribs 86 and the third ribs 87 are guided to the downstream side of the bulging portion 80, infiltration into the cooling air passage 81 is sufficiently suppressed.

Further, when the flow of air blown out from the blower fan 23 gathers in the air outflow passage 28, it becomes a flow having a relatively large amount of air on the outer peripheral side of the air outflow passage 28, so that the air outflow occurs. The portion of the road 28 corresponding to the extending portion 29 has a relatively large air flow on the rear side of the vehicle body.
Corresponding to this, in the present embodiment, the end portion of the second rib 86 located on the side where the air flow is larger than the third rib 87 on the downstream side of the air flow is located closer to the downstream end portion of the third rib 87. It is located upstream. That is, when the downstream end of the second rib 87 is positioned relatively upstream, the cooling air passage 8 is slightly moved.
Although the effect of suppressing the infiltration of rainwater into No. 1 is reduced, the cross-sectional area of the air passage can be relatively increased on the side with a large air volume,
You will be able to blow air smoothly. Then, the action of suppressing the intrusion of rainwater by the second rib, which has decreased at this time, can be compensated by the third rib 87 extending downstream from the second rib 86. That is, since the respective shapes of the second rib 86 and the third rib 87 are set as described above, it is possible to achieve both smooth ventilation and suppression of rainwater intrusion.

The intermediate duct 5 is formed so as to extend obliquely downward from the end portion on the left side of the vehicle body toward the lower end side of the air conditioning unit 4, and the details will be described later. It communicates with the internal space of the air conditioning unit 4 via an air inlet 25 formed on the lower side of the left side wall of the unit 4. That is, the blower unit 3 and the air conditioning unit 4 are separated by the amount of the intermediate duct 5, and the air from the blower unit 3 is, as shown by the arrow in FIG.
It passes through the intermediate duct 5 and is smoothly sent to the air conditioning unit 4.

The air conditioning unit 4 is provided with a casing 30 which is long in the vertical direction as a whole and is formed in a rectangular box shape which is larger than the casing 6 of the blower unit 3, and the casing 30 has a bottom wall portion 31. And this bottom wall 3
It is divided into a main body 32 above 1 and, like the blower unit 3, the main body 32 is further divided into two at a substantially central portion in the vehicle width direction. Inside the casing 30, as shown in FIG. 11, an evaporator 33, which is an element of the refrigeration cycle, is arranged above the air inlet 25 to which the intermediate duct 5 is connected, and above the air inlet 25. A heater core 34 is arranged. In addition, a plurality of conditioned air outlets are formed in the upper portion of the casing 30 of the air conditioning unit 4, and the air flow from the blower unit 3 is made by the air conditioning unit 4 as shown by the arrows in FIG. 7. The flow will be upwards inside.

The air inlet 25 of the air conditioning unit 4 has
The shape is generally trapezoidal as a whole, and the lower edge extends substantially horizontally, while the upper edge extends linearly while being inclined so as to be positioned higher toward the rear side. That is, the air introduction port 25 is shaped so as to secure an opening area as large as possible corresponding to the inclined arrangement of the evaporator 33 described later.
Further, a duct connecting portion 59 extending substantially horizontally from the entire circumference to the left side of the vehicle body is integrally provided on the peripheral edge of the air introducing port 25, and the duct connecting portion 59 has a right end portion of the intermediate duct 5. Are fitted. Therefore, the upper edge of the right end portion of the intermediate duct 5 extends so as to be inclined toward the rear side, while the upper edge of the left end portion extends substantially horizontally as described above. An upper wall 66 is provided so as to connect the upper edges of the right end portion and the left end portion of the intermediate duct 5, and a power transistor or the like for controlling the rotation speed of the fan drive motor 24 is provided on the upper wall 66. The arranged control circuit 26 is attached.

The upper wall 66 of the intermediate duct 5 is composed of three flat surface portions, has a generally rectangular shape as a whole, and gradually extends downward from the blower unit 3 toward the air conditioning unit 4. Is so inclined. The upper wall 6
First, 6 is divided into two along a diagonal line extending from the left front corner to the right rear corner, and the inclined surface portion on the rear side of the diagonal line is the upper edge of the air outlet 29 of the blower unit 3. To the upper edge of the air introduction port 25 of the air conditioning unit 4, and serves as an arrangement portion of the control circuit 26. Further, the portion on the front side of the diagonal line is further divided into two along a straight line extending from substantially the center of the diagonal line to the right front corner of the upper wall 66.

The control circuit 26 attached to the intermediate duct 5 has a substantially rectangular box shape and is slightly elongated in the extending direction of the intermediate duct 5. This control circuit 2
6 is such that most of it faces the inside of the intermediate duct 5,
Only the remaining upper end side is attached so as to project from the upper wall 66 of the intermediate duct 5, and the upper end thereof is provided with a coupler 27 for connecting a connector from the air conditioning controller. Since the arrangement portion of the control circuit 26 is formed so as to extend from the upper edge of the air outlet 29 to the upper edge of the air inlet 25 as described above, it does not hinder the flow of air in the intermediate duct 5. It is easy to secure the cooling air to the control circuit 26.

The air introduced into the air conditioning unit 4 from the intermediate duct 5 configured as described above first passes through the evaporator 33. The evaporator 33 is a heat exchanger for cooling that cools the air from the blower unit 3. For example, a plurality of tubes made of thin metal plates such as aluminum are stacked so as to extend in the same direction, and adjacent tubes are arranged. A corrugated fin made of a thin metal plate is interposed between the two. A low-temperature refrigerant generated by the refrigeration cycle circulates in the tube of the evaporator 33 to cool the air passing through the evaporator 33. That is, although not shown, the evaporator 33 is provided with tanks communicating with the tubes on both ends of the tube, and one of the tanks flows in by a partition plate arranged in the central portion in the stacking direction of the tubes. It is divided into a tank section and an outflow tank section. Then, the refrigerant flowing into the inflow tank section flows to the other tank via the upstream tube connected to the inflow tank section, and then flows out of the one tank via the downstream tube from the other tank. To the tank section.

The evaporator 33 is inclined so that the lower end of the evaporator 33 and the upper edge of the air introduction port 25 are substantially aligned with each other when the tube extending direction is oriented in the vehicle front-rear direction and in the vehicle width direction. It is arranged in a closed state.
In other words, the front end side of the evaporator 33 is located near the lower end of the air conditioning unit 4, and the rear side of the evaporator is located above the front side. Then, all the air from the blower unit 3 introduced into the inner space below the air conditioning unit 4 passes through the evaporator 33. Cooler pipes (not shown) are connected to the inflow tank portion and the outflow tank portion of the evaporator 33, and each cooler pipe extends from the left side wall portion 30a of the casing 30 of the air conditioning unit 4 to the outside of the casing 30. It is formed so as to extend to the front of the vehicle body after being extended to.

Further, since the evaporator 33 is inclinedly arranged as described above, the condensed water generated in the tubes and fins of the evaporator 33 during the cooling of the air flows through the tube to the front end side portion, where To fall on the bottom wall portion 31 of the casing 30, the condensed water can be smoothly drained. Then, the condensed water that has dropped to the bottom wall portion 31 is discharged to the outside of the vehicle through the drain portion 35 of the bottom wall portion 31. Specifically, the drain portion 35 is provided on the left side of the vehicle body on the front end side of the bottom wall portion 31.
1 has a drain passage (not shown) formed integrally therewith, and an upstream end of the drain passage faces the inside of the casing 30 and opens, from which the left side wall portion 30a of the casing 30 is provided.
Further, it extends so as to project to the left side of the vehicle body, and the portion on the further downstream side extends to the vehicle body front side like the cooler pipe, and its downstream end is open. In this way, the bottom wall 31
Since the drain portion 35 is provided on the front end side of the, the condensed water dropped from the front end side of the evaporator 33 is
The water is quickly discharged, and the amount of water retained in the bottom wall portion 31 can be reduced.

The heater core 34 above the evaporator 33 is a heat exchanger for heating the air that has passed through the evaporator 33, and is composed of tubes and fins laminated in the same manner as the evaporator 33. The high-temperature cooling water from the engine circulates in the tube to heat the air passing through the heater core 34. Similarly to the cooler pipes of the evaporator 33, the heater core 34 is also provided with heater pipes (not shown) for inflowing and outflowing the engine cooling water, and each heater pipe is provided from the left side wall portion 30a of the casing 30. It is formed so as to extend outward and then extend forward of the vehicle body. Therefore, since each heater pipe is located above the intermediate duct 5, there is no contact with the passenger in the passenger seat, and the attachment of the heat insulating member to the heater pipe can be omitted.

Two air mix dampers 36 and 37 for adjusting the temperature of the conditioned air are provided between the evaporator 33 and the heater core 34. The temperature adjustment by the air mix dampers 36 and 37 is performed by changing the ratio of the amount of air passing through the heater core 34 to the amount of air passing through the bypass passage 38 that bypasses the heater core 34, of the air passing through the evaporator 33. Done by

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 11, the interior of the air conditioning unit 4 is provided with the partition space 40 integrally formed inside the casing 30 by the partition space 41 for the evaporator 33.
And a space 42 for disposing the heater core 34. When viewed from the vehicle width direction, the partition wall portion 40 includes a front partition wall 40a extending substantially horizontally on the front side of the vehicle body and a rear partition wall 40b having an inverted V shape on the rear side of the vehicle body.
a and the rear partition wall 40b communicate the evaporator installation space 41 and the heater core installation space 42, respectively.
Two openings 43 and 44 are formed and can be opened and closed by the air mix dampers 36 and 37. Further, in the rear partition wall 40b of the partition wall 40,
The bypass passage 38 is provided behind the heater core installation space 42.
An opening 48 for communicating the evaporator installation space 41 with the evaporator installation space 41.
Are formed.

The two air mix dampers 36, 37
Similar to the inside / outside air switching damper 12, each has an axis extending in the vehicle width direction, both ends of which are supported by the casing 30, and the casing 30 is provided with respect to the respective axial ends on the left side of the vehicle body. An output shaft of an actuator 45 arranged on the left side wall portion 30a of the above is connected via a link mechanism 46. Like the actuator 15 of the inside / outside air switching damper 12, the actuator 45 is fixed to a boss portion projecting from the casing left side wall portion 30a.

The two air mix dampers 36, 37
Is linked by the link mechanism 46 described above, and is rotated by the actuator 45 from a position where each of the front and rear openings 43 and 44 is fully opened to a position where they are fully closed. At this time, when the rear air mix damper 37 is rotated to the position where the rear opening 44 is fully opened, the upstream end opening 4 of the bypass passage 38 is opened.
8 is fully closed so that almost all the air passes through the heater core 34. Like the actuator 15 of the inside / outside air switching damper 12, the actuator 45 of the air mix dampers 36, 37 also has a coupler 49 (shown only in FIGS. 3 and 7) to which the signal line of the air conditioning controller is connected. is doing.

Although not shown, the evaporator 33
Is provided with a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of its surface, while the heater core 34 is provided with a water temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the engine cooling water therein. The signal line of each of these sensors is provided on the left side wall portion 30a of the air conditioning unit 4.
And is connected to the air conditioning controller.

Further, in the upper part of the casing 30 of the air conditioning unit 4, vent outlets 50, 50, ... Are formed in an inclined portion on the rear side of the vehicle body, and a defrost outlet 51, is formed in a substantially horizontal portion on the front side thereof. 51 is formed. Further, a foot outlet 52 (only the right one is shown in FIG. 11) is formed in each of the left side wall portion 30a and the right side wall portion 30b in the upper portion of the casing 30. The vent outlets 50, 50, ... Are connected to the vent grilles 53, 53 provided in the instrument panel 2 shown in FIG. 4 via vent ducts (not shown). The conditioned air from 50 is mainly blown to the upper body of the occupant. On the other hand, the defrost outlets 51, 51 are defrost ducts (not shown).
Is connected to the defrost grills 54, 54 provided on the front end side of the instrument panel 2 via the, and the conditioned air from each defrost outlet 51 is blown toward the inner surface of the front window. Ducts 56 and 57 extending downward are connected to the left and right foot outlets 52 and 52, respectively.
6, 57 are open near the feet of the driver's seat passenger and passenger's seat passenger on the lower side of the instrument panel 2,
The conditioned air from the foot outlets 52, 52 is blown toward the feet of the occupant.

Of the ducts 56, 57 connected to the foot outlets 52, 52, the duct 56 on the driver's seat side extends from the right side wall portion 30b of the casing 30 to the rear side wall portion of the casing 30. It has a relatively large cross-sectional area, and is used as a rear-seat duct that also passes conditioned air to the rear-seat occupants. The right side wall portion 3 of the casing of the dual-purpose duct 56
On the front side of the portion corresponding to 0b, as described above, the openings 55, 55 for blowing out conditioned air to the driver's seat occupant are formed, while on the lower end side of the portion corresponding to the rear wall portion of the casing 30, there is a rear side. Connection parts 58, 58 to which upper ends of floor ducts (not shown) for guiding conditioned air to seat occupants are connected are formed.

Further, the casing 3 of the air conditioning unit 4
In the interior of 0, two blowing direction switching dampers 60, 61 for opening and closing the outlets 50, 51, 52 to change the blowing direction of the conditioned air are provided in the same manner as the air mix dampers 36, 37. These are operated by a link mechanism 62 arranged on the left side wall 30a of the casing 30 of the air conditioning unit 4 and an actuator 63 fixed to the boss of the left side wall 30a.

Of the blowing direction switching dampers 60 and 61, the front one is the defrost damper 60 which opens and closes the defrost outlets 51 and 51, and the rear one is the vent outlets 50 and 50. It is a vent damper 61. The dampers 60 and 61 are linked by the link mechanism 62, and when they are driven by the actuator 63, the dampers 60 and 61 each have an opening degree corresponding to each blowing mode. That is, the air-conditioning unit 4 has a vent mode, a defrost mode, a foot mode, depending on the open / close state of the two dampers 60, 61.
It is possible to switch to each blowout mode such as a bi-level mode that blows out from the vents 50 and 52 of the vent and the foot. The actuator 63 of the blowing direction switching dampers 60 and 61 also has a coupler 65 (shown only in FIGS. 3 and 7) to which the signal line of the air conditioning control unit is connected, like the actuator 15 of the inside / outside air switching damper 12. Have

Next, regarding the mounting of the air conditioner 1 on the vehicle body, first, the respective mounting portions of the blower unit 3 and the air conditioning unit 4 will be described. On the left and right sides of the blower unit 8 of the blower unit 3, a pair of mounting legs 68,
68, and a mounting leg 69 that obliquely projects from the air conditioning unit 4 side of the filter mounting portion 21 toward the right side of the vehicle body. On the other hand, the mounting portion of the air conditioning unit 4 has a mounting leg 70 integrally formed with the drain portion 35.
And a pair of mounting legs 71, 71 respectively provided on the left and right sides of the upper portion of the casing 30.

Further, while through holes are formed in the mounting portions 68 to 71 of the blower unit 3 and the air conditioning unit 4,
Although not shown, stud bolts are attached to the dash panel P so as to correspond to the positions of the through holes. Further, through holes are formed in the dash panel P at positions corresponding to the positions of the cooler pipe, the heater pipe, and the drain passage. When the air conditioner 1 is positioned on the vehicle body so that the stud bolts are inserted into the through holes in the mounting portions 68 to 71 of the units 3 and 4, the cooler pipe and the heater pipe are moved from the through holes of the dash panel P to the engine room. Come to visit.
In this state, the air conditioner 1 can be firmly fixed to the vehicle body by screwing the nuts onto the stud bolts. Further, the pipes in the engine room are connected to the pipes, and the drain passages are connected to the pipes. Connect the drain pipe.

Therefore, according to the air conditioner 1 of this embodiment, the inside of the air outflow passage 28 is extended from the wall surface on the front side of the vehicle body to the bottom surface of the air outflow passage 28 in the extending portion 29 formed in the blower unit housing 6. Since the bulging portion 80 that bulges into is provided and the cooling air passage 81 that guides the cooling air to the fan drive motor 24 is formed inside thereof, the air flow is obstructed by providing the cooling air passage 81. There is almost no, and it can blow air smoothly. Further, since the bulging portion 80 is integrally formed with the side wall and the bottom wall of the extending portion 29, it is possible to suppress an increase in manufacturing cost due to the provision of the cooling air passage 81.

Further, the upstream end of the cooling air passage 81 is connected to the air intake hole 82 opening on the upper surface of the bulging portion 80, and the vertical wall portion 84 is provided on the air flow upstream side of the air intake hole 82. Since the first to third ribs 85 to 87 extending from the vertical wall portion 84 toward the downstream side of the air flow are provided, it is sufficient that rainwater that has entered the blower unit 3 flows into the cooling wind passage 81. Therefore, the reliability of the fan drive motor 24 can be improved.

(Other Embodiments) The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but includes various other embodiments. That is, although the above embodiment describes the case of the right-hand drive vehicle, the present invention is also applicable to a left-hand drive vehicle in which the blower unit 3 is arranged on the right side of the vehicle body.

[0066]

As described above, according to the vehicle air conditioner of the first aspect of the present invention, the bulge that bulges into the air outflow passage from the side wall surface to the bottom surface of the air outflow passage of the fan housing. Is provided, and an air intake hole of the cooling air passage to the fan drive motor is opened on the upper surface thereof, and a vertical wall portion extending from the side wall surface of the air outflow passage to cover the air flow upstream side of the air intake hole is provided. Therefore, infiltration of rainwater flowing through the air outflow passage into the cooling air passage can be suppressed, and the reliability of the motor can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the downstream end of the air outflow passage is opened at the end face of the extending portion formed at a portion of the wall portion of the air-conditioning unit side of the fan housing, which is closer to one side in the vehicle front-rear direction. Since the projecting portion is provided on the other side in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body within the extending portion, the bulging portion hardly obstructs the air flow.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the first rib extending from the vertical wall portion toward the air flow downstream side on one side of the air intake hole in the vehicle longitudinal direction is connected to the ceiling surface of the air outflow passage. Therefore, the rainwater transmitted to the ceiling surface can be guided to the downstream side of the air flow with respect to the air intake hole, and the infiltration into the cooling air passage can be further suppressed.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it extends from the vertical wall portion to the downstream side of the air flow on the one side in the vehicle front-rear direction with respect to the air intake hole, and extends from the upper surface of the bulging portion to the ceiling surface of the air outflow passage. Since the second rib extending over the entire length is provided, even if rainwater enters from one side of the vertical wall portion in the vehicle front-rear direction, the rainwater can be prevented from entering the cooling air passage.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the third rib extending from the vertical wall portion toward the downstream side of the air flow is provided on the other side of the second rib in the vehicle front-rear direction, and the air of the third rib is provided. Since the end on the downstream side is located on the downstream side of the second rib, the rainwater in the air outflow passage is reliably guided to the downstream side of the air intake hole, and the infiltration into the cooling air passage is sufficiently suppressed. However, it can blow air smoothly.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, since the air blow guide portion on the side surface of the bulging portion can smoothly blow the air, and the air intake hole is opened on the upstream side of the air flow on the upper surface of the bulging portion. A relatively large opening area of the entry hole can be secured.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a left-side rear perspective view showing the appearance of a vehicle air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view from the right rear side showing the appearance of the air conditioner.

FIG. 3 is a rear view showing the appearance of the air conditioner.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an arrangement state of an air conditioner.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the blower unit from below.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view from the right side of the blower unit.

FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 showing the structure of the air conditioner.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the vicinity of the connection duct portion of the blower unit.

9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG.

10 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the air conditioning unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Air conditioner 3 Blower unit 4 air conditioning unit 8 air blower 22 fan housing 23 Blower fan (centrifugal fan) 24 fan drive motor 28 Air outflow passage 29 Extension 80 bulge 80a Blower guide section 81 Cooling air passage 82 Air intake hole 84 Vertical wall 85 First rib 86 Second rib 87 Third Rib

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Takashi Hashimoto             3-11 Yoshikawa Industrial Park, Higashihiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture             In ceremony company Japan Climate Systems (72) Inventor, Taisuke Takenoshita             3-11 Yoshikawa Industrial Park, Higashihiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture             In ceremony company Japan Climate Systems F term (reference) 3L011 BF01

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle air conditioner in which air introduced from an upper part of a blower unit is blown to an air conditioning unit by a centrifugal fan housed in a fan housing below the air blower unit. The fan drive motor is connected to the lower end of the rotation shaft of the centrifugal fan, and an air outflow passage is formed in the fan housing so as to surround the outer periphery of the centrifugal fan. A bulging portion that bulges into the air outflow passage from the side wall surface that faces the passage to the bottom surface, and an air outflow passage that extends downward from an air intake hole that opens in the upper surface of the bulging portion and to the fan drive motor. A cooling air passage for guiding the air inside, and extending from the side wall surface of the air outflow passage into the air outflow passage so as to cover the air flow upstream side of the air intake hole, and from the upper surface of the bulging portion. Sky An air conditioner for a vehicle, comprising a vertical wall portion extending over a ceiling surface of an air outflow passage. 2. The air conditioning unit and the blower unit are arranged side by side in a vehicle width direction, and the fan housing of the blower unit is located at a portion of a wall portion on the air conditioning unit side that is closer to one side in the vehicle longitudinal direction. An extension portion is provided that extends toward the air conditioning unit side, a downstream end of the air outflow passage of the fan housing opens to an end surface of the extension portion, and the bulge portion is a vehicle body in the air outflow passage in the extension portion. A vehicle air conditioner provided so as to bulge from a side wall surface on the other side in the front-rear direction. 3. The vertical wall portion according to claim 2, wherein the vertical wall portion is closer to the air outflow passage than the opening portion of the air intake hole from a side wall surface on the other side in the vehicle longitudinal direction in the air outflow passage in the extension portion of the fan housing. It is formed so as to extend inward, extends toward the downstream side of the air flow from the vertical wall portion on one side in the vehicle longitudinal direction with respect to the opening of the air intake hole, and is connected to the ceiling surface of the air outflow passage. A vehicle air conditioner having a first rib. 4. The air-conditioning device according to claim 3, wherein the vertical wall portion extends to a downstream side of the air flow from the vertical wall portion at one side in the vehicle front-rear direction with respect to the opening of the air intake hole,
Further, the vehicle air conditioner is provided with a second rib extending from the upper surface of the bulging portion to the ceiling surface of the air outflow passage. 5. The ceiling of the air outflow passage according to claim 4, extending from the vertical wall portion toward the downstream side of the air flow on the other side in the vehicle front-rear direction with respect to the second rib, and from the upper surface of the bulging portion. A third rib extending across the surface is provided, and an end of the third rib on the downstream side of the air flow is located on the downstream side of an end of the second rib on the downstream side. Air conditioner. 6. The blower guide portion according to claim 5, wherein a side surface of the bulging portion is provided with a sloping air guide portion that is inclined toward a downstream side of the air flow so as to approach a side wall surface on the other side in the vehicle longitudinal direction of the air outflow passage. The air conditioner for a vehicle, wherein the air intake hole is opened on the upper surface of the bulging portion on the upstream side of the air flow.