JP2003285620A - Inside/outside air switching device of air conditioner for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve an inside/outside air switching device of an air conditioner for vehicle capable of coping with a low heat source vehicle, by arranging an outside air introducing duct for introducing air in the engine room. <P>SOLUTION: An outside air introducing duct 30 has a first air suction port 31 that communicates with an engine room 4 and a second air suction port 32 for sucking outside air from an automobile cowl top 3. This is an air duct capable of selectively switching the first air suction port 31 and the second air suction port 32. An outside air suction port 15 sucks the air in the engine room when the outside air introducing duct 30 is switched to the first air suction port 31 side. Thus, when heating, lowering of heating capacity is prevented even in a low heat source vehicle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inside / outside air switching device for an air conditioner for a vehicle, and more particularly to an air duct for introducing heated outside air into a vehicle compartment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an inside / outside air switching device for a vehicle air conditioner of this type, a device shown in FIG. 4 has been generally used. That is, the ventilation system of the vehicle air conditioner is roughly divided into two parts, the blower unit 100 and the air conditioning unit 200.

The blower unit 100 is arranged offset from the center to the passenger seat side in the lower part of the instrument panel in the vehicle compartment, while the air conditioning unit 200 is arranged in the lower part of the instrument panel in the vehicle compartment. It is arranged at a substantially central portion in the vehicle left-right direction.

As is well known, the blower unit 100 has an inside / outside air switching box 110 for switching and introducing inside air (air inside the vehicle) and outside air (air outside the vehicle), and a blowing means for sucking and blowing air through the inside / outside air switching box 110. And 120.

The inside / outside air switching box 110 has an inside air suction port 13
0 and an outside air inlet 140 are formed, and an inside / outside air switching door 150 that selectively opens and closes each of the inlets 130 and 140 is provided in a portion where the inside air inlet 130 and the outside air inlet 140 are separated. Has been.

The blowing means 120 is composed of a blower 160, a blower motor 170 for driving the blower 160, and a scroll casing 180 housing the blower 160. The air conditioning unit 200 is of a type in which an evaporator 220 that serves as an air cooling means and a heater core 230 that serves as a heating means are both integrally built in one common air conditioning case 210 on the downstream side of the air. It is connected to the air outlet side portion of the scroll casing 180. The heater core 230 uses the cooling water of the automobile engine as a heat source.

Further, the outside air intake port 140 is provided with an outside air (outside vehicle compartment air) through an air duct 270 so as to suck outside air from an opening provided in a cowl top 260 located below a front window glass 250 of the vehicle. It is connected. Therefore, the outside air is configured to be sucked from the cowl top 260 by operating the (air outside the vehicle) blowing means 120.

[0008]

By the way, in recent automobile engines, the number of low heat source vehicles has increased along with the improvement of engine efficiency. According to the air conditioner using the cooling water of the automobile engine having the above structure, When outdoor air is directly taken in from the cowl top 260, it is a problem to secure a heat source corresponding to a low heat source vehicle especially in heating in the winter when the heat load is large.

In addition, the cowl top 260 has a problem that it is impossible to take in outside air because the opening is blocked by snow or the like.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and by providing an outside air introduction duct for guiding the air in the engine room, the inside and outside of the vehicle air conditioner capable of dealing with a low heat source vehicle. An object is to provide an air switching device.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, the technical means described in claims 1 to 4 is adopted. That is, according to the first aspect of the invention, the inside / outside air switching box (1) having the inside air inlet (14) for sucking the air in the vehicle compartment and the outside air inlet (15) for sucking the air outside the vehicle compartment (1)
1), an inside / outside air switching door (16) arranged in the inside / outside air switching box (11) for selectively switching between the inside air inlet (14) and the outside air inlet (15), and the inside / outside air switching door. Each suction port (14, 15) is provided on the downstream side of (16).
Blower means (1 for sucking the air outside the vehicle compartment and the air inside the vehicle compartment from the
In an inside / outside air switching device for a vehicle air conditioner, the outside air introducing duct (3) for guiding air in the engine room is provided.
0) is provided, and the outside air suction port (15) is configured to suck in air outside the vehicle compartment from the outside air introduction duct (30).

According to the invention described in claim 1, in the recent automobile engine, the number of low heat source vehicles is increasing along with the improvement of the engine efficiency. Especially, in the air conditioner using the cooling water of the low heat source vehicles, In heating operation in the heavy winter season,
If external air is taken in from the cowl top (3) of the vehicle as in the conventional case, securing a heat source becomes a problem.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the outside air introducing duct (30) for guiding the air in the engine room is provided to suck the outside air warmed in the engine room. The air temperature is
In winter, it can be raised by about 10 degrees higher than the outside air taken in from the cowl top (3). This allows
Even with a low heat source vehicle, it is possible to prevent a decrease in heating capacity. Therefore, it is possible to provide an inside / outside air switching device for a vehicle air conditioner that can be applied to a low heat source vehicle.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the outside air introducing duct (30) is provided with the first intake port (31) communicating with the inside of the engine room and the second intake port outside air from the cowl top (3) of the vehicle. A suction port (32), and a first suction port (3
The air duct is capable of selectively switching between 1) and the second intake port (32), and the outside air intake port (15) is such that the outside air introduction duct (30) is switched to the first intake port (31) side. The feature is that the air in the engine room is sucked in when

According to the second aspect of the invention, the outside air introducing duct (30) is connected to the first suction port (31) and the second suction port (3).
By selectively switching between 2) and 1), depending on the application of the operation of the air conditioning unit (20), for example, during cooling, the first
To cope with the heat load, the outside air is taken in through the second intake port (32) lower than the intake port (31) and the outside air is taken in through the first intake port (31) higher than the second intake port (32) during heating. Can be switched.

Even when the opening of the cowl top (3) is blocked by, for example, snow, another first
Since outside air can be taken in through the suction port (31), the front window glass can be prevented from being fogged and freezing even during snowfall.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the outside air introducing duct (30) is the cowl top (3) in the engine room.
It is characterized in that the first intake port (31) is arranged near the lower part of the vehicle and is arranged on the side facing the outside air intake port (15) in the width direction of the vehicle.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the first intake port (31) has the outside air intake port (15) in the width direction of the vehicle.
Since it is formed so as to be disposed on the side opposite to the outside air introduction duct (30), the length of the ventilation path of the outside air introduction duct (30) is increased so that the outside air introduction duct (3
The ventilation passage of (0) can be warmed to further warm the air taken in through the first suction port (31).

In the invention described in claim 4, the outside air introducing duct (30) includes the first suction port (31) and the second suction port (3).
Outside air selection switching door (34,
35).

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, by having the outside air selection switching doors (34, 35) for selectively switching the first suction port (31) and the second suction port (32), for example, On the contrary, when it is desired to lower the outside air temperature, such as during cooling, the outside air that is lower than the inside of the engine room can be taken in through the second intake port (32). Thereby, it becomes possible to select the outside air according to the application of the air conditioner.

The reference numerals in parentheses of the above-mentioned means indicate the correspondence with the concrete means of the embodiments described later.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A vehicle air conditioner to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to FIG.
The ventilation system of the vehicle air conditioner of the present embodiment is roughly classified into a blower unit 10 that sucks and blows air, an air conditioning unit 20 provided on the downstream side of the blower unit 1, and an outside air intake port of the blower unit 10. It is divided into three parts, namely, an outside air introduction duct 30 provided on the upstream side of 15.

First, the blower unit 10 is arranged offset from the central part to the passenger seat side in the lower part of the instrument panel in the front part of the passenger compartment, whereas the air conditioning unit 20 is arranged in the front part of the passenger compartment. Of the lower part of the panel, it is arranged at a substantially central part in the vehicle left-right direction.

As is well known, the blower unit 10 has an inside / outside air switching box 11 for selectively introducing inside air (air inside the vehicle) and outside air (air outside the vehicle), and a blowing means for sucking and blowing air through the inside / outside air switching box 11. It is composed of 12 and.

The inside / outside air switching box 11 is made of synthetic resin, and communicates with a bell mouth-shaped suction port 13 of a blower 12 below the inside thereof. Further, the inside / outside air switching box 11 has an inside air inlet 14 for sucking air inside the vehicle compartment and an outside air inlet 15 for sucking air outside the vehicle compartment, and the outside air inlet 15 is arranged on the front side of the vehicle. The inside air intake port 14 is arranged on the rear side.

An inside / outside air switching door 16 for selectively switching between the inside air inlet 14 and the outside air inlet 15 is rotatably housed in the inside / outside air switching box 11. The inside / outside air switching door 16 is connected to an actuator such as a servo motor (not shown), and is controlled by a controller that controls the air conditioning unit 20 (not shown).

The blower means 12 comprises a centrifugal fan 17, a blower motor 18 for driving the centrifugal fan 17, and a scroll casing 19 accommodating the centrifugal fan 17. The blower voltage applied to the blower motor 18 is the blower motor controller and air conditioning unit 2 not shown.
It is controlled by a controller that controls 0.

The air conditioning unit 20 integrally includes an evaporator 22 as an air cooling means in a common air conditioning case 21 and a heater core 23 as a heating means as an air heating means on the air downstream side thereof. It is a built-in type.

The air conditioning case 21 is formed of a resin such as polypropylene having a certain degree of elasticity and being excellent in strength. Specifically, the air-conditioning case 21 is composed of a plurality of divided cases. The plurality of divided cases accommodates the heat exchangers 22 and 23 and devices such as a control door (not shown), and then fastens metal spring clips, screws and the like. The air-conditioning unit 20 is configured by being integrally connected by means. In addition,
The air conditioning case 21 is connected to the air outlet side portion of the scroll casing 19.

Further, 24 is an air mix door,
It is a temperature adjusting means for adjusting the air flow rate ratio between the hot air passing through the heater core 23 and the cold air bypassing the heater core 23.
The evaporator 22 is a heat exchanger forming a well-known refrigeration cycle, which is connected to a compressor, a condenser, a liquid receiver, and a decompressor (not shown) by piping, and dehumidifies and cools the air in the air conditioning case 21. In addition, the heater core 23 is the air conditioning case 21.
On the lower side of the inside, the vehicle is inclined toward the rear side of the vehicle. The heater core 23 reheats the cold air that has passed through the evaporator 22, hot hot water (engine cooling water) flows inside the heater core 23, and heats air by using the hot water as a heat source.

Next, the outside air introducing duct 30, which is a main part of the present invention, will be described. Outside air introduction duct 3 of this embodiment
Reference numeral 0 denotes an air conditioning duct provided below the cowl top 3 provided between the front window glass 1 of the vehicle and the hood 4, and the outside air intake port 15 of the inside / outside air switching box 11 has an engine room 4 therein. It is configured to select whether to inhale outside air warmed by the heat of the internal engine or to inhale outside air directly from the cowl top 3.

Specifically, the above-mentioned outside air introducing duct 30 is provided in the space between the outside air intake port 15 of the inside / outside air switching box 11 and the cowl top 3, and one end of the engine room 4 is provided.
A connection port that has a first suction port 31 that opens inside and a second suction port 32 that communicates with the opening 3a of the cowl top 3, and has the other end connected to the outside air suction port 15 of the inside / outside air switching box 11. Three
Have three. An outside air selection switching door 34 that selectively switches between the first suction port 31 and the second suction port 32 is rotatably accommodated in the outside air introduction duct 30. The first intake port 31 of the present embodiment is located on the vehicle front side with respect to the outside air intake port 15.

Thus, when it is desired to suck in a higher outside air in the vehicle, such as during heating, the outside air selection switching door 34 is switched to the first intake port 31 side, and the outside air heated by the engine from the first intake port 31 is switched. By introducing the air into the outside air intake port 15 of the inside / outside air switching box 11, the vehicle outside air higher than the second intake port 32 is sucked.

On the other hand, when it is desired to suck a lower outside air in the vehicle, such as during cooling, the outside air selection switching door 34 is switched to the second intake port 32 side so that the outside air lower than the first intake port 31 is sucked. I am trying. The outside air selection switching door 34 is connected to an actuator such as a servo motor (not shown) and is controlled by a controller that controls the air conditioning unit 20 (not shown).

Reference numeral 5 denotes a partition plate provided on the vehicle body side, which divides the engine moom 4 from the passenger compartment.
The connection port 33 side of the outside air introduction duct 30 is formed so as to penetrate the partition plate 5. In addition, the air conditioning unit 2
Although not shown in the drawing, the opening 0 is provided on the downstream side of the heater core 23 with each opening communicating with a plurality of air outlets in the vehicle compartment and various control door members for controlling the opening and closing of each opening.

Next, the operation of one embodiment of the above configuration will be described. This type of vehicle air conditioner is, as is well known, an electronic control device to which operation signals from various operation members provided on an air conditioning operation panel (not shown) and sensor signals from various sensors for air conditioning control are input (see FIG. (Not shown), the output signals of this control device are used to change the rotational positions of the inside / outside air switching door 16, the outside air selection switching door 34, the air mix door 24, and other control door members according to various blowing modes. Controlled.

Further, the temperature of the conditioned air blown to the air outlet in the passenger compartment is adjusted by adjusting the air flow rate ratio between the cool air cooled by the evaporator 22 and the hot air heated by the heater core 23. It is supposed to be adjusted in.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the inside / outside air switching box 1
In the outside air mode in which the inside / outside air switching door 16 of FIG. 1 opens the outside air intake port 15, when the defroster mode or the foot mode of the heating operation in which warm air is blown to the occupant's feet and the front window glass among the blowing modes, the outside air is selected. Switching door 34
Is switched to the first intake port 31 side, and the air warmed by the engine from the first intake port 31 is taken into the outside air intake port 15 of the inside / outside air switching box 11, so that the vehicle outside air higher than the second intake port 32 is discharged. I am trying to inhale.

On the contrary, in the blowing mode, in the face mode of the cooling operation in which the cool air is blown to the upper half of the occupant, the outside air selection switching door 34 is switched to the second suction port 32 side so that the first suction port 31 is operated. It is designed to inhale low outside air.

In the blowing mode, in the bi-level mode in which the cool air is blown to the upper body of the occupant and the warm air is blown to the feet of the occupant, the air volume ratio on the heating side, for example, is changed according to the opening degree of the air mix door 24. When the ratio is large, the vehicle outside air may be taken in from the first intake port 31 side, and when the air volume ratio on the cooling side is large, the vehicle outside air may be taken in from the second intake port 32 side.

Further, in the inside air mode in which the inside / outside air switching door 16 of the inside / outside air switching box 11 opens the inside air inlet 14, the inside / outside air switching door 16 closes the outside air inlet 15, so that the air outside the vehicle compartment is sucked. Not done

According to the inside / outside air switching device of the vehicle air conditioner of the above embodiment, the outside air introduction duct 30 is selectively switched between the first intake port 31 and the second intake port 32 by the outside air selection switching door 34. Therefore, depending on the use of the air conditioning unit 20, for example, during cooling, the first suction port 31
Taking in outside air from the second intake port 32 lower than
At the time of heating, by taking in the vehicle outside air from the first intake port 31 which is higher than the second intake port 32, the switching corresponding to the heat load can be performed.

Further, even when the opening 3a of the cowl top 3 is blocked by, for example, snow, it is possible to take in the air outside the vehicle compartment from the other first intake port 31, so that it is possible even during snowfall. It can prevent the front window glass from fogging and prevent it from freezing.

Further, in recent years, the number of low heat source vehicles has increased along with the improvement of engine efficiency in the recent automobile engines. In the heater core 23 using the cooling water of the low heat source vehicles, particularly in the heating operation in the winter when the heat load is large, If air outside the vehicle compartment is taken in from the cowl top 3 of the vehicle as in the conventional case, securing a heat source becomes a problem.

Therefore, in the present invention, the outside air introducing duct 30 for guiding the air in the engine room 4 is provided, and the outside air warmed in the engine room 4 is sucked in, so that, for example, in the engine room 4 In winter, the air temperature can be higher than the outside air taken in from the cowl top 3 by about 10 degrees, so that the heating capacity can be prevented from lowering even in a low heat source vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to provide an inside / outside air switching device for a vehicle air conditioner that can be applied to a low heat source vehicle.

Further, by providing the outside air selection switching door 34, when the outside air temperature is desired to be lowered, for example, in the case of cooling, it is possible to suck the outside air lower than the inside of the engine room from the second intake port 32. As a result, it becomes possible to select the intake of the air outside the vehicle compartment depending on the application of the air conditioner.

(Other Embodiments) In the above embodiment,
An outside air introduction duct 30 is provided between the outside air intake port 15 of the blower unit 10 arranged on the passenger seat side of the vehicle and the cowl top 3, and the first intake port 31 opening in the engine room 4 is the outside air intake port 15 of the outside air intake port 15. Although it is located in the front direction of the vehicle with respect to the position, the opening position of the first intake port 31 is formed on the side facing the outside air intake port 15 in the width direction of the vehicle, and It is also possible to use the outside air introduction duct 30 in which the ventilation path leading to the outside air intake port 15 is extended.

The outside air introducing duct 30 of this embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 3, it is provided below the cowl top 3 provided between the front window glass 1 of the vehicle and the hood 4, and the outside air introduction duct 30 is provided with the first intake port 31 in the width of the vehicle. It is formed on the side of the inside / outside air switching box 11 facing the outside air intake port 15 with respect to the direction. However, the second intake port 32 and the outside air selection switching door 34 are
It has the same as the above-mentioned one embodiment.

Therefore, the second outside air selection switching door 35 for opening and closing the circulation of the air outside the vehicle compartment in the engine room 4 sucked from the first intake port 31 is provided on the upstream side of the connection port 33. As a result, when the vehicle exterior air warmed by the engine is sucked from the first suction port 31, the outside air selection switching door 34 closes the second suction port 32, and the second outside air selection switching door 35 closes the first suction port. 31 is opened.

On the contrary, from the second suction port 32 to the first suction port 31
When inhaling a lower vehicle exterior air, the first intake port 31 is closed by the second outside air selection switching door 35, and the second intake port 32 is opened by the outside air selection switching door 34.

According to the inside / outside air switching device of the vehicle air conditioner of the above-described embodiment, the outside air introduction duct 30 is connected to the first suction port 3.
By extending the ventilation passage from 1 to the outside air intake port 15, the ventilation passage of the outside air introduction duct 30 is warmed by the heat of the engine, and the vehicle exterior air taken in from the first intake port 31 can be further warmed. Thus, it is possible to provide an inside / outside air switching device for a vehicle air conditioner that is compatible with low heat source vehicles.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an entire configuration of an inside / outside air switching device of a vehicle air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing how the outside air introducing duct 30 according to another embodiment is mounted on a vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing an overall configuration of an inside / outside air switching device of a vehicle air conditioner in another embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing an overall configuration of an inside / outside air switching device of a vehicle air conditioner in a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 ... cowl top 4 ... engine room 11 ... Inside / outside air switching box 12 ... Blower means 14 ... Inside air inlet 15 ... Outside air intake 16 ... Inside / outside air switching door 30 ... Outside air introduction duct 31 ... First suction port 32 ... Second suction port 34 ... Outside air selection switching door 35 ... 2nd outside air selection switching door (outside air selection switching door)

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Satoru Nagasawa, Inventor             1-1, Showa-cho, Kariya city, Aichi stock market             Inside the company DENSO F-term (reference) 3L011 BE00 BR00 CH03

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An inside air suction port (1) for sucking air in a vehicle compartment.
4) and an inside / outside air switching box (11) having an outside air suction port (15) for sucking air outside the vehicle compartment, the inside air / outside air switching box (11), and the inside air suction port (14) and the outside air. An inside / outside air switching door (16) for selectively switching between the intake port (15) and a downstream side of the inside / outside air switching door (16). An outside air introduction duct (30) for guiding air in an engine room in an inside / outside air switching device of a vehicle air conditioner including a blower (12) for sucking air in a vehicle interior.
The outside air intake port (15) is configured to suck in air outside the vehicle compartment from the outside air introduction duct (30). 2. The outside air introducing duct (30) includes a first inlet port (31) communicating with the inside of the engine room and a second inlet port (32) for sucking outside air from the vehicle cowl top (3). The first suction port (31) and the second
An air duct capable of selectively switching between the intake port (32) and the outside air intake port (15) when the outside air introduction duct (30) is switched to the first intake port (31) side. The inside / outside air switching device of the vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the air in the engine room is sucked into the air conditioner. 3. The outside air introducing duct (30) is arranged in the engine room near a lower portion of the cowl top (3), and the first intake port (31) is arranged in the width direction of the vehicle. The inside / outside air switching device of the vehicle air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the inside / outside air switching device is formed so as to be arranged on a side facing the suction port (15). 4. The outside air introduction duct (30) has an outside air selection switching door (34, 35) for selectively switching between the first suction port (31) and the second suction port (32). The inside / outside air switching device of the vehicle air conditioner according to claim 2 or claim 3, characterized in.