JP2005335628A - Air-conditioning duct for vehicle, and its mounting method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air-conditioning duct for a vehicle easily mounted without increasing ventilation resistance, and its mounting method. <P>SOLUTION: The air-conditioning duct 11 for the vehicle comprises a side vent duct 12, a side differential duct 13, and a flexibility joint 14 for connecting between the outer surface of the side vent duct 12 and the outer surface of the side differential duct 13. The side vent duct 12, the side differential duct 13, and the flexibility joint 14 are integrally formed with synthetic resin. The flexibility joint 14 is constituted foldably, the side vent duct 12 and the side differential duct 13 can relatively displace about the flexibility joint 14. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle air-conditioning duct disposed inside an instrument panel of a vehicle and a method for attaching the same.

Conventionally, the side vent duct and the side differential duct are integrally blow-molded so as to extend laterally from the center vent duct, and the end portions of the side vent duct and the side differential duct are formed separately from each other. An air conditioning duct for a vehicle having a configuration in which a bellows part that allows position adjustment of the air outlet is formed at an end is known (see Patent Document 1). And this vehicle air-conditioning duct makes the mounting work easy by bending the bellows part and fixing the end part of the side differential duct and the end part of the side vent duct with bolts.
JP 2000-108637 A

  However, in the vehicle air-conditioning duct described in Patent Document 1, the side differential duct and the side vent duct are fixed using the bending of the bellows part. For this reason, ventilation resistance is increased by the bellows part, and not only sufficient air-conditioning performance cannot be exhibited, but also abnormal noise may occur during ventilation.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle air-conditioning duct that can be easily mounted without increasing ventilation resistance, and a method for mounting the same.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 includes a side vent duct, a side differential duct, and a flexible connecting portion that connects between an outer surface of the side vent duct and an outer surface of the side differential duct. The side vent duct, the side differential duct, and the flexible connecting portion are integrally formed of a synthetic resin, the flexible connecting portion is configured to be bendable, and the side vent duct and the side differential duct are The gist is that it is configured to be relatively displaceable around the flexible connecting portion.

  According to the above configuration, since the side vent duct and the side differential duct are integrally formed, these two members are attached to the vehicle at the same time. Further, since the side vent duct and the side differential duct are configured so as to be relatively displaceable around the flexible connecting portion, the position adjustment of the side differential duct and the side vent duct can be performed without providing the bellows portion. Therefore, the installation work is facilitated without increasing the ventilation resistance.

The gist of the invention according to claim 2 is that, in the invention according to claim 1, the flexible connecting portion is provided at a base end portion of the side differential duct.
According to the above configuration, the free range of the tip portion of the side differential duct is widened, and the degree of freedom in adjusting the positions of the side differential duct and the side vent duct is increased.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the two ducts are locked to each other in an intersecting state between the outer surface of the side vent duct and the outer surface of the side differential duct. A locking means is provided, and the locking means is located at the tip of the side differential duct.

  According to the above configuration, the side differential duct and the side vent duct can be locked to each other without using a locking member such as a bolt separately by the locking means, thereby reducing the number of parts and the number of mounting steps. . Further, since the locking means is located at the tip of the side differential duct, the positioning of the outlet of the side differential duct is facilitated.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a side vent duct, a side differential duct, and a bendable flexible connecting portion that connects the outer surface of the side vent duct and the outer surface of the side differential duct are integrally formed. The vehicle air conditioning duct is attached to the vehicle by attaching the vehicle air conditioning duct to the vehicle after bending the flexible connecting portion to relatively displace the side vent duct and the side differential duct. Is the gist.

  According to the above configuration, after the side vent duct and the side differential duct are relatively displaced, they are attached to the vehicle, thereby facilitating the installation work of the vehicle air conditioning duct.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle air-conditioning duct that can be easily attached without increasing ventilation resistance and a method for attaching the same.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a vehicle air conditioning duct according to the present invention is embodied will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the vehicle air conditioning duct 11 of the present embodiment includes a side vent duct 12, a side differential duct 13, and an outer surface of the side vent duct 12 and an outer surface of the side differential duct 13. And a flexible connecting portion 14 to be connected. As shown in FIG. 4, this vehicle air conditioning duct 11 constitutes a vehicle air conditioning unit 17 together with a center vent duct 15 and a center differential duct 16.

  The vehicle air conditioning unit 17 includes an air conditioner (not shown) that sends out conditioned air. The vehicle air conditioning unit 17 is disposed inside an instrument panel (not shown) of the vehicle, and blows conditioned air sent from the air conditioner from the side register and the side defroster into the vehicle interior. The air conditioner is disposed on the back surface of the center cluster of the instrument panel. A center vent duct 15 and a center differential duct 16 are connected to the upper portion of the air conditioner. The front end portions 15a and 16a of the center vent duct 15 and the center differential duct 16 are connected to the base end portions 12a and 13a of the side vent duct 12 and the side differential duct 13, respectively. Each of the side vent duct 12 and the side differential duct 13 extends substantially in the vehicle width direction between the upper portion of the air conditioner and the side register and the side defroster disposed on the side of the vehicle. .

Next, the vehicle air conditioning duct 11 will be described.
The side vent duct 12 is made of a synthetic resin and has a substantially square cylindrical shape. The side vent duct 12 extends from the center of the vehicle toward the side, and the tip 12b is bent toward the rear of the vehicle. An air outlet 12 d for air-conditioned air is provided at the tip of the side vent duct 12. The central portion 12c of the side vent duct 12 is bent so as to incline downward from the proximal end side toward the distal end side. A locking recess 12e that constitutes locking means is formed in the distal end portion 12b of the side vent duct 12. The locking recess 12e is provided by forming the central portion of the upper end wall of the side vent duct 12 into an uneven shape that protrudes downward.

  The side differential duct 13 is made of a synthetic resin and has a substantially cylindrical shape. The side differential duct 13 extends from the center of the vehicle toward the side, and the tip 13b is bent toward the rear of the vehicle. An air outlet 13 d for air-conditioned air is provided at the tip of the side differential duct 13. The central portion 13c of the side differential duct 13 is bent so as to rise and incline from the base end side toward the distal end side, and is curved so as to bulge toward the vehicle front side. A locking projection 13e that constitutes locking means protrudes from the tip 13b of the side differential duct 13. The locking protrusion 13e is provided by forming the central portion of the lower end wall of the side differential duct 13 into an uneven shape that protrudes downward.

  As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the flexible connecting portion 14 is made of a synthetic resin and has a long square plate shape. Further, the front cross section of the flexible connecting portion 14 is U-shaped. The flexible connecting portion 14 is flexible because it has a narrow width in the short direction, and can be bent. Here, “bendable” includes being foldable at an acute angle or an obtuse angle and being bendable. “Curvable” means capable of bending at an obtuse angle or becoming arcuate.

  The flexible connecting portion 14 is connected so that the longitudinal direction connects the side vent duct 12 and the side differential duct 13 in the front-rear direction. That is, the side vent duct 12 and the side differential duct 13 are connected to each other by the flexible connecting portion 14 at their base end portions 12a and 13a. The side vent duct 12, the side differential duct 13, and the flexible connecting portion 14 are integrally formed by blow molding. The side vent duct 12 and the side differential duct 13 are configured to be relatively displaceable around the flexible connecting portion 14. “Relatively displaceable” means that the positional relationship between the side vent duct 12 and the side differential duct 13 can be changed. Specifically, the side vent duct 12 and the side differential duct 13 are connected to the flexible connecting portion 14. It is meant that it can be rotated three-dimensionally around the center, and that it can be translated slightly.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the base end portion 13a of the side differential duct 13 is disposed in the vicinity of the lower end of the side portion of the base end portion 12a of the side vent duct 12, and the front end portion 13b of the side differential duct 13 is The side vent duct 12 is disposed in the vicinity of the upper end of the side portion of the front end portion 12b. The locking recess 12e and the locking protrusion 13e are configured to be fitted to each other. By fitting these, the side vent duct 12 and the side differential duct 13 are fitted as shown in FIGS. Are locked to each other in an intersecting state.

Next, the attachment method of the said vehicle air conditioning unit 17 is demonstrated based on FIGS.
First, the side vent duct 12 and the side differential duct 13 are relatively displaced around the flexible connecting portion 14 so that the front end portion 13b of the side differential duct 13 is positioned above the front end portion 12b of the side vent duct 12. Subsequently, the side vent duct 12 and the side differential duct 13 are locked to each other in an intersecting state by fitting the locking recess 12e and the locking protrusion 13e while bending the flexible connecting portion 14. Adjust the position. Next, the side vent duct 12 and the side differential duct 13 are fixed to an instrument panel or a bracket attached to the vehicle. At this time, the flexible connecting portion 14 may be cut.

  Thereafter, the base end part 12a of the side vent duct 12 and the base end part 13a of the side differential duct 13 are connected to the front end part 15a of the center vent duct 15 and the front end part 16a of the center differential duct 16, respectively. At the same time, the front end portion 12b of the side vent duct 12 and the front end portion 13b of the side differential duct 13 are fixed to the side register and the side defroster of the instrument panel, respectively. At this time, after the side vent duct 12 and the side differential duct 13 are mutually locked in a crossing state and adjusted in position, the side vent duct 12 and the side differential duct 13 are respectively connected to the center vent duct 15 and the center differential duct. Therefore, the mounting operation of the vehicle air conditioning unit 17 is facilitated.

According to the embodiment detailed above, the following effects are exhibited.
Since the side vent duct 12 and the side differential duct 13 are integrally formed, these two members can be attached to the vehicle at the same time.

  Since the side vent duct 12 and the side differential duct 13 are configured to be relatively displaceable around the flexible connecting portion 14, the side differential duct 13 is not provided with a bellows portion. And the side vent duct 12 can be adjusted, and the pressure loss and passing sound of the conditioned air can be reduced as compared with the one having the bellows portion. Further, since it is not necessary to provide the side differential duct 13 with a complicated bellows portion, the side differential duct 13 can be easily molded without increasing the ventilation resistance.

  Since the flexible connecting portion 14 is provided at the base end portion 13 a of the side differential duct 13, the free range of the tip end portion 13 b of the side differential duct 13 can be widened, and the side differential duct 13 and the side vent duct 12 can be The degree of freedom during position adjustment can be increased.

  The side differential duct 13 and the side vent duct 12 can be temporarily fixed and locked to each other only by fitting the locking recess 12e and the locking protrusion 13e without using a separate locking member such as a bolt. Therefore, the number of parts and the installation man-hour of the vehicle air conditioning duct 11 can be reduced.

  Since the position of the side vent duct 12 and the side differential duct 13 can be adjusted simply by fitting the locking recess 12e and the locking projection 13e, the vehicle air conditioning duct 11 can be easily connected to the vehicle instrument panel. Can be attached inside.

(Example of change)
In addition, the said embodiment can also be changed and actualized as follows.
The side vent duct 12, the side differential duct 13, and the flexible connecting portion 14 may be integrally formed by injection molding. That is, the vehicle air-conditioning duct 11 may be formed by integrally forming two divided bodies that constitute the vehicle air-conditioning duct 11 by injection molding and welding the two divided bodies together. . In this case, each of the two divided bodies is provided with portions constituting the side vent duct 12, the side differential duct 13, and the flexible connecting portion 14. In the present invention, “integrally formed” means that the vehicle air conditioning duct 11 is integrally formed by blow molding, and the two divided bodies that constitute the vehicle air conditioning duct 11 as described above. Are integrally formed by injection molding, and the vehicle air conditioning duct 11 is formed by welding these two divided bodies to each other.

The flexible connecting portion 14 may be provided not at the base end portion 13a of the side differential duct 13 but at the central portion 13c.
The locking means may be located not in the front end portions 12b and 13b of the side vent duct 12 and the side differential duct 13 but in the central portions 12c and 13c.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the vehicle air conditioning duct 21 is connected to the central portion 22c of the side vent duct 22 having a planar L shape and the base end portion 23a of the side differential duct 23 having a planar L shape. Thus, a pair of flexible connecting portions 24 having a rod shape may be provided, and the pair of flexible connecting portions 24 may be arranged substantially parallel to each other at a predetermined interval. In this vehicle air conditioning duct 21, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the side vent duct 22 and the side differential duct 23 are displaced relative to each other around the pair of flexible connecting portions 24 to engage with the locking recess 22e. By fitting the stop protrusion 23e, the side vent duct 22 and the side differential duct 23 are locked to each other in an intersecting state, and the position is adjusted. At this time, both ends of the pair of flexible connecting portions 24 are bent. Further, at this time, the base end portion 23 a of the side differential duct 23 and the end portion of the center differential duct 25 are fitted.

-One or three or more flexible connecting portions 24 may be provided.
The flexible connecting portion 24 may be bent not at both ends but at an intermediate portion thereof. For example, the intermediate part of the flexible connecting part 24 may be formed narrower than both end parts.

Further, the technical idea that can be grasped from the embodiment will be described below.
(1) A side vent duct, a side differential duct, and a vehicular air conditioning duct integrally formed with a bendable flexible connecting portion that connects the outer surface of the side vent duct and the outer surface of the side differential duct. A method for mounting an air conditioning duct for a vehicle to be mounted on a vehicle, wherein the side vent duct and the side differential duct are crossed by bending the flexible connecting portion to relatively displace the side vent duct and the side differential duct. A mounting method for an air conditioning duct for a vehicle, wherein the position adjustment is performed by locking each other in the vehicle, and then the vehicle is attached to the vehicle. At this time, it is possible to provide a method for mounting a vehicle air conditioning duct that can be easily mounted.
(2) A side vent duct, a side differential duct, and a vehicle air conditioning duct integrally formed with a bendable flexible connecting portion that connects between an outer surface of the side vent duct and an outer surface of the side differential duct. A method for mounting an air conditioning duct for a vehicle to be mounted on a vehicle, wherein the side vent duct and the side differential duct are crossed by bending the flexible connecting portion to relatively displace the side vent duct and the side differential duct. And attaching the side vent duct and the side differential duct to the center vent duct and the center differential duct, respectively. At this time, it is possible to provide a method for mounting a vehicle air conditioning duct that can be easily mounted. Further, positioning by the center vent duct and the center differential duct becomes easy.
(3) A vehicle air-conditioning duct mounting method for mounting the vehicle air-conditioning duct according to any one of claims 1 to 3 to the vehicle, wherein the side connection is bent by bending the flexible connecting portion. A mounting method for an air conditioning duct for a vehicle, wherein the duct and the side differential duct are relatively displaced and then mounted on the vehicle. At this time, it is possible to provide a method for mounting a vehicle air conditioning duct that can be easily mounted.

The top view showing the air-conditioning duct for vehicles of an embodiment. The front view of FIG. (A) is the side surface simplification figure of FIG. 2, (b) is the 3b-3b end view of (a). The top view which shows the latching state of the side vent duct and side differential duct of embodiment. The principal part end view of FIG. The top view which shows the vehicle air conditioning duct of the example of a change. The top view which shows the latching state of the side vent duct and side differential duct of the example of a change. The principal part end view of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11,21 ... Vehicle air-conditioning duct, 12,22 ... Side vent duct, 12e, 22e ... Locking recessed part which comprises locking means, 13,23 ... Side differential duct, 13a, 23a ... Base end part of side differential duct , 13b... Tip portion of the side differential duct, 13e and 23e... Locking protrusions constituting locking means, and 14 and 24.

Claims (4)

A side vent duct, a side differential duct, and a flexible connecting portion that connects between an outer surface of the side vent duct and an outer surface of the side differential duct,
The side vent duct, the side differential duct and the flexible connecting portion are integrally formed of synthetic resin,
The vehicle air conditioning duct is characterized in that the flexible connecting portion is configured to be bendable, and the side vent duct and the side differential duct are configured to be relatively displaceable around the flexible connecting portion. . The vehicle air conditioning duct according to claim 1, wherein the flexible connecting portion is provided at a base end portion of a side differential duct. Between the outer surface of the side vent duct and the outer surface of the side differential duct, there is provided locking means for locking the two ducts in an intersecting state, and the locking means is located at the tip of the side differential duct. The vehicle air conditioning duct according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the vehicle air conditioning duct is provided. A vehicle is equipped with a side vent duct, a side differential duct, and a vehicle air conditioning duct integrally formed with a bendable flexible connecting portion that connects the outer surface of the side vent duct and the outer surface of the side differential duct. A method for mounting an air conditioning duct for a vehicle,
A method of attaching an air conditioning duct for a vehicle, wherein the flexible connecting portion is bent and the side vent duct and the side differential duct are relatively displaced, and then attached to the vehicle.

Images