JP2005247024A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner capable of preventing increase of electric power consumption of an air blower, lowering of lifetime due to abrasion increase of a motor brush and operational failure of other electric parts even in a state where an air filter of the air conditioner for a vehicle is removed. <P>SOLUTION: This air conditioner is furnished with the air blower, and the air blower is furnished with a fan to suck and discharge air, an air blower main body surrounding the fan to enclose it and to form an air passage and the air filter set in the air passage and to filter dirt, dust, etc. from the air. The air blower is also furnished with a resistance plate in the air passage. The resistance plate can move between a first position not to be ventilation resistance against flow of the air in the air passage and a second position to be the ventilation resistance against the flow of the air in the air passage, and the resistance plate stays at the first position when the air filter is set in the air passage and stays at the second position when the air filter is not set in the air passage. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly to an air filter for a vehicle air conditioner.

  The configuration of a general vehicle air conditioner is roughly divided into a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator, and an air conditioner main body for air conditioning the vehicle interior, a blower, and a blowout duct. The air conditioner main body is laid out with a heat exchanger for air conditioning and heating, an air mix door for adjusting the amount of warm air and cold air to make it an arbitrary temperature air, and a blowing mode door for distributing air to a predetermined outlet Yes. Furthermore, in recent years, air filters that filter dust, dust, unpleasant odors, and the like mixed in the intake air inside and outside the vehicle interior are set before and after the air inlet of the blower to enhance the function as an air conditioner.

  This air filter needs to be replaced periodically in order to maintain its performance. However, depending on the user, it is costly, so the possibility of using the air filter without removing it cannot be denied. If the air filter is removed, the ventilation resistance in the air conditioner will decrease, the motor power consumption of the blower will increase, the service life will decrease due to increased motor brush wear, and the malfunction of other electrical components will also exceed the power generation capacity of the vehicle ( There is a problem that causes flickering of the headlight.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and even if it is used in a state where the air filter is inadvertently removed, it does not decrease the ventilation resistance in the air conditioner. It is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner capable of preventing a decrease in life due to an increase in wear and a malfunction of other electric components (such as flickering of a headlight) caused by exceeding the power generation capacity of a vehicle.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above-described object, the air conditioner includes a blower for supplying air to the air conditioner, and the blower sucks and discharges air. And an air blower body that surrounds the fan so as to form an air passage, and an air filter that is installed in the air passage and filters dust, dust, and the like from the air. Furthermore, in the air conditioner, the blower further includes a resistance plate in the air passage. The resistance plate has a first position that does not provide ventilation resistance to the air flow in the air passage and a ventilation resistance substantially equivalent to that of the air filter with respect to the air flow in the air passage. The resistor plate is movable between a second position and the resistance plate is in the first position when the air filter is installed in the air passage, and the air filter is installed in the air passage. If not, it is configured to be in the second position.

  With this configuration, in the air conditioner of the present invention, even if the air filter is removed, the ventilation resistance in the air conditioner does not decrease, and thus the motor power consumption of the blower does not increase. Further, it is possible to prevent the life reduction due to the increase in motor brush wear and the malfunction of other electrical components (such as flickering of the headlight) caused by exceeding the power generation capacity of the vehicle.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the resistance plate has a shaft and is substantially flat. The flat resistor plate is in a state substantially parallel to the air flow in the air passage at the first position, and a flat plate surface is formed on the air flow in the air passage at the second position. The resistance plate is substantially perpendicular to face, and the resistance plate rotates around an axis of the shaft and moves between the first position and the second position. .

  By comprising in this way, the more concrete form of the resistance board of this invention is disclosed.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first and second aspects, the resistance plate includes an arm, and the air filter is installed in the air passage. The resistance plate is moved between the second position and the first position by hitting and pushing the arm.

  According to this form, the form which can move between a 1st position and a 2nd position with the resistance plate attaching or detaching an air filter is actualized more.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the resistance plate includes a spring, and the spring always places the resistance plate in the second position. When the air filter is installed in the air passage, the resistance plate is moved from the second position to the first position against the force of the spring. It is characterized by making it.

  According to this form, the form which a resistance board can move automatically between a 1st position and a 2nd position with attachment or detachment of an air filter is actualized more.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the air filter and the resistance plate are arranged on a suction side of the fan.

  According to this form, the form which actualizes the position of a resistance board and an air filter more is disclosed.

  Hereinafter, an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic three-dimensional view of a blower portion of an embodiment of a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. This embodiment of the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention shows a layout example in which an air filter is arranged upstream of the fan (on the suction port side) of the blower. In FIG. 1, the air filter has been removed. The configuration and operation of this embodiment will be described below.

  The air conditioner of the present invention includes a blower 20, which is a fan 9 for blowing air, a blower body 5 that surrounds the fan 9 and forms a blower structure, and an upstream side of the fan 9 ( And an air filter 11 that is installed on the suction side and filters dust, dust, odor, and the like mixed in the suction air inside and outside the vehicle interior. The blower 20 according to the present embodiment further includes a resistance plate 1 installed in the ventilation path of the blower body 5. The resistance plate 1 includes a shaft 2 serving as a rotation shaft, an arm 3 serving as a rotation fulcrum, and a coil spring 4 for automatically returning when the air filter 11 is removed. The blower 20 sucks the wind 17 from the opening (suction port) 6 by the fan 9 that is rotationally driven by the motor 10, and blows air 18 from the blower discharge port 8 to the air conditioner. As shown in FIG. 2, the resistance plate 1 is supported at both ends of the shaft 2 by the wall surface of the blower body 5.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the coil spring 4 is attached to one end of the shaft 2, and both ends 15, 16 of the coil spring 4 are provided by stoppers 12, 13 provided on the shaft 2 and the wall surface of the blower body 5. Fixed. At this time, the surfaces of the stoppers 12 and 13 are formed such that the resistance plate 1 is set at a second position where the wind flow is inhibited while the coil spring 4 is not twisted.

  4A to 4C show the operation of the resistance plate 1 when the air filter 11 is attached and detached. When the air filter 11 is removed, the resistance plate 1 is in the second position in the collapsed state (FIG. 4A), and the resistance of the ventilation path is reduced by reducing the ventilation area. The time is adjusted substantially the same. When the air filter 11 is mounted in the blower from the filter removal port 7, the arm 3 is pushed up by the air filter 11 and at the same time the shaft 2 is rotated by overcoming the reaction force of the coil spring 4 attached to the end of the shaft 2. (FIG. 4B), and the resistance plate 1 is in the first position in the state (FIG. 4C) where the resistance to ventilation is not parallel to the wind flow 14. On the contrary, when the air filter 11 is removed, the arm 3 pressed by the air filter 11 is released, and the force of the coil spring 4 of the shaft 2 automatically releases the resistance plate 1 to the second position (FIG. 4A). Return. FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the blower when the air filter 11 is mounted. In FIG. 5, the resistance plate 1 is upright and parallel to the air flow 17.

As described above, by operating the resistance plate 1 having the ventilation resistance corresponding to the air filter 11 in conjunction with the attachment / detachment of the air filter 11 set in the ventilation path, the ventilation path before and after the attachment / detachment of the air filter 11 is performed. Make the resistance substantially constant.
The present invention pays attention to the fact that the resistance of the air passage is reduced when the air filter is removed, and when the filter is removed in conjunction with the attachment / detachment of the air filter, a simple structure is provided to provide a resistance plate corresponding to the filter to the air passage. The above problem is solved by making the ventilation resistance in the air-conditioning apparatus constant before and after removal of the filter.

Next, effects and operations of the above embodiment will be described. The following effects can be expected from the air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention.
-In a vehicle air conditioner that is equipped with an air filter that filters dust, dirt, odors, etc. mixed in the intake air inside and outside the vehicle interior, when the air filter is removed, the resistance equivalent to the filter By adding a function of a simple structure that activates the plate and gives the same ventilation resistance as when the filter is installed, it suppresses the increase in the output of the blower motor for blowing caused by the reduction in ventilation resistance when the filter is inadvertently removed, Prevents life reduction due to increased motor brush wear and malfunctions of other electrical components of the vehicle (headlight flickering, etc.).

In the embodiment described above or shown in the accompanying drawings, the air filter 11 and the resistance plate 1 are arranged on the upstream side of the fan 9. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the air filter 11 and the resistance plate 1 are arranged on the downstream side of the fan 9. It may be arranged.
In the above embodiment, the resistance plate 1 has a flat plate shape. However, the resistance plate may have a shape other than this, for example, one having a streamlined cross section, one formed in a mesh shape, or, for example, expansion and contraction. It may be known to those skilled in the art such as a free bellows that expands and contracts by attaching and detaching the filter. .
Further, although the spring 4 is described as a coil spring, the present invention is not limited to this and may be other springs known to those skilled in the art.

  The above-described embodiment is an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited by the embodiment, and is defined only by matters described in the claims, and other embodiments are also possible. It can be implemented.

FIG. 1 is a schematic three-dimensional view of a blower portion of an embodiment of a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention, showing a state where an air filter is removed. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1 showing the resistance plate of the blower portion and the structure in the vicinity thereof in the embodiment of the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory three-dimensional view showing the coil spring at the shaft end of the resistance plate of the blower portion and the structure in the vicinity thereof in the embodiment of the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention. FIG. 4A is an explanatory view showing an operating state of the resistance plate of the air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention, and the resistance plate is in a second position in a collapsed state. FIG. 4B is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operating state of the resistance plate according to the embodiment of the air conditioner of the present invention, and illustrates a state in which the resistance plate is moving from the second position to the first position. FIG. 4C is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operating state of the resistance plate according to the embodiment of the air conditioner of the present invention, and the resistance plate is in a first position in a state where the resistance to ventilation is not achieved. FIG. 5 is a schematic three-dimensional view of a blower portion of an embodiment of a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention, showing a state where an air filter is mounted.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Resistance plate 2 ... Shaft 3 ... Arm 4 ... Coil spring 5 ... Blower main body 6 ... Blower suction port 7 ... Filter attachment / detachment port 8 ... Blower discharge port 9 ... Fan 10 ... Motor 11 ... Air filter 20 ... Blower

Claims (5)

In air conditioning for vehicles, this air conditioner
A blower for supplying air to the air conditioner;
The blower is
A fan that sucks and discharges air;
A blower body that surrounds the fan so as to hermetically and forms an air passage;
An air filter installed in the air passage to filter dust, dust, etc. from the air;
It has
The blower further includes a resistance plate in the air passage, and the resistance plate has a first position where the air flow in the air passage does not become a ventilation resistance, and the air in the air passage. When the air filter is installed in the air passage, the resistance plate is movable between a second position where the air filter has substantially the same ventilation resistance as the air filter. An air conditioner configured to be in the second position when the air filter is in the first position and the air filter is not installed in the air passage.   The resistance plate has a shaft, is substantially flat, is in a state substantially parallel to the air flow in the air passage at the first position, and is at the second position. The air flow in the air passage is substantially perpendicular to the flat surface so as to face the flat plate surface, and the resistance plate rotates about the axis of the shaft, and the first position and the second position The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the air conditioner moves between the positions.   The resistance plate includes an arm, and when the air filter is installed in the air passage, the resistance plate hits the arm and pushes the arm to cause the resistance plate to move between the second position and the first position. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the air conditioner is moved between the air conditioners.   The resistance plate includes a spring, and the spring acts to always set the resistance plate at the second position, and when the air filter is installed in the air passage, 4. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the resistance plate is moved from the second position to the first position against a force of a spring. 5.   The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the air filter and the resistance plate are arranged on a suction side of the fan.

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