JP2006082780A - Air-conditioning unit and vehicular air-conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air-conditioning unit capable of reducing pressure loss in the air-conditioning unit, and making flow velocity distribution of air flowing in the air-conditioning unit uniform. <P>SOLUTION: In a duct 11, a main flow passage 11a communicating an air inlet 14, a defrost blow-off port 1, a face blow-off port 16, and a foot blow-off port 17; and a bypass flow passage 11b detouring a generally center portion of the main flow passage 11a are provided. An evaporator 12 is disposed at the most upstream of the main flow passage 11a, and a heater core 13 is disposed at the most downstream of the bypass flow passage 11b. The bypass flow passage 11b is provided under a heater core 13, and bending of the bypass flow passage 11b is made to be gentle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioning unit and a vehicle air conditioning apparatus.

As a conventional air conditioning unit, a so-called HVAC (heating ventilation air-conditioning) module is known in which an evaporator is disposed on the front side of the vehicle and a heater core is disposed on the lower rear side of the vehicle (for example, , See Patent Document 1).
JP 2001-63346 A

  However, in the air conditioning unit described in Patent Document 1, warm air heated by the heat exchange core portion through the air passage of the heater core (reference numeral B in FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1) is used as the first air mix. The air passage leading to the door is bent sharply upward. That is, immediately after leaving the heater core, the wall surface extending in the vertical direction is provided, so that the pressure loss of the hot air led from the heater core to the first air mix door increases and the flow velocity distribution becomes non-uniform. There was a problem such as.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is capable of reducing pressure loss in the air conditioning unit and making air flow distribution in the air conditioning unit uniform. An object is to provide a unit and a vehicle air conditioner.

The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above problems.
The air conditioning unit according to claim 1 is arranged on the upstream side of the air inlet with a duct formed with an air inlet, a defrost outlet, a face outlet, and a foot outlet, and air is supplied to the air inlet. A blower that causes the air to flow in and blows out the air from at least one of the defrost outlet, the face outlet, and the foot outlet; an evaporator that cools the air that is moved in the duct by the fan; and An air conditioning unit including a heater core that heats air that is moved in the duct by a blower, and the air inlet, the defrost outlet, the face outlet, and the foot outlet are communicated with the duct. A main flow path and a bypass flow path that bypasses a substantially central portion of the main flow path; And the heater core is disposed on the most downstream side of the bypass channel, the bypass channel is provided below the heater core, and the heater core is disposed on the most downstream side of the main channel. The bypass channel is bent gently.
According to such an air conditioning unit, the bypass flow path is configured so that, for example, the air that has passed through the evaporator is once guided downward, guided backward, then further upward, and then guided to the heater core. The bent portion of the bypass channel is formed so as not to change the traveling direction of the air passing through the bypass channel abruptly, that is, to reduce the channel resistance as much as possible. Thereby, noise can be reduced by reducing the pressure loss on the upstream side of the heater core, and the flow velocity distribution of the air flowing into the heater core can be made uniform.
In addition, the structure is such that the air flow after passing through the heater core flows without being bent greatly by the wall, so that rapid bending downstream of the heater core and reduction of the flow path are eliminated, thereby reducing low pressure loss (noise reduction). Can do.

The air conditioning unit according to claim 2, wherein the air passing through the bypass channel flows into the heater core in a direction opposite to the air flowing into the evaporator, and is opposed to the air that has flowed out of the evaporator. It flows out from the said heater core, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.
According to such an air conditioning unit, the air flowing through the bypass flow path can be caused to flow into the heater core without abrupt bending, so that pressure loss can be reduced.
Further, since the direction of the air flowing out from the bypass passage is substantially opposite to the direction of the air passing through only the main passage, the air passing through the main passage and the air flowing out from the bypass passage are made uniform. Can be mixed (air mixed).

The air conditioning unit according to claim 3 is characterized in that a side surface of the bypass passage is formed so as to be gradually tapered or tapered from the upstream side to the downstream side.
According to such an air conditioning unit, a sudden change in the cross-sectional area of the bypass flow path is prevented, and the flow path resistance is reduced, thereby reducing the pressure loss upstream of the heater core. The noise can be reduced and the flow velocity distribution of the air flowing into the heater core can be made uniform.

The air conditioning unit according to claim 4 is characterized in that the heater core is disposed such that an upstream surface of the heater core and a wall surface of the duct facing the upstream surface form a predetermined angle.
According to such an air conditioning unit, the air that has passed through the bypass flow channel flows smoothly (smoothly) into the heater core, and pressure loss in the vicinity of the upstream surface of the heater core can be reduced (noise reduction). At the same time, the flow velocity distribution of the air flowing into the heater core can be made uniform. In addition, since the air that has passed through the bypass channel reaches substantially uniformly over the entire upstream surface of the heater core, heat exchange is performed using the entire heat transfer surface of the heater core, thereby improving the heat exchange efficiency. Can do.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air conditioning apparatus for a vehicle, wherein the air conditioning unit according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, a compressor that compresses a gaseous refrigerant, and high-pressure gas refrigerant are exchanged with outside air. A condenser for condensing and an expansion valve for converting the high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant into a low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant, introducing a refrigerant system for supplying low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant to the evaporator, and introducing engine cooling water into the heater core And a control unit that controls the operation of the air conditioning unit, the refrigerant system, and the heating source system.
According to such an air conditioning apparatus for a vehicle, since the internal pressure loss can be reduced and the air conditioning unit capable of equalizing the flow velocity distribution of the internal air is provided, the capability of the heater core is provided. It is possible to improve the heating performance and defrost performance in winter. In addition, the low pressure loss of the HVAC can reduce the input of the blower motor and save energy.

A vehicle according to a sixth aspect comprises the vehicle air conditioner according to the fifth aspect.
According to such a vehicle, the energy loss of the entire apparatus can be reduced, and the vehicle air conditioner that can improve the efficiency of the entire apparatus is provided. Can do. Furthermore, energy saving of the vehicle can be achieved by reducing the input of the blower.

  According to the air conditioning unit of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the pressure loss in the air conditioning unit, and to achieve an effect that the flow velocity distribution of the air flowing in the air conditioning unit can be made uniform.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the vehicle air conditioner 1. The vehicular air conditioner 1 is largely composed of an air conditioner unit 2 that performs air conditioning such as cooling and heating, and an air conditioner during cooling operation. A refrigerant system 3 for supplying refrigerant to the unit 2, a heating source system 4 for supplying engine cooling water as a heat source to the air conditioning unit 2 during heating operation, and a controller 5 for controlling the operation of the entire apparatus. It is.
FIG. 1 is a left sectional view of the air conditioning unit 2, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the air conditioning unit 2 as viewed from the upper right rear.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the air conditioning unit 2 includes a so-called HVAC (heating ventilation air) mainly composed of a duct 11, an evaporator 12, a heater core 13, and a blower (not shown). -conditioning) module.

The duct 11 includes an air inlet 14 provided on a side wall of a portion of the duct 11 closest to the front of the vehicle, and a defroster outlet (air blown out from the air inlet 14 toward a windshield of the vehicle). (Hereinafter referred to as “DEF air outlet”) 15, a face air outlet (hereinafter referred to as “FACE air outlet”) 16 that blows out toward the occupant's face, hand, and chest, and a foot that blows out toward the passenger's feet. It has an air outlet (hereinafter referred to as “FOOT air outlet”) 17.
In the duct 11, a main passage 11a and a bypass passage 11b are provided. The main passage 11a is a flow path that directly communicates the air inlet 14, the DEF blowout port 15, the FACE blowout port 16, and the FOOT blowout port 17 (with the shortest distance). It is formed over the top. Therefore, the main flow of air passing through the main passage 11a proceeds from the lower left side to the upper right side in FIG.

On the other hand, the bypass passage 11b branches from the main passage 11a on the upstream side of the main passage 11a (downstream side of the evaporator 12) and then on the downstream side of the main passage 11a (DEF outlet 15, FACE outlet 16, and FOOT outlet). It is a flow path that merges with the main passage 11a again (upstream from the outlet 17), and is formed from the lower center of the air conditioning unit 2 to the rear.
As shown in FIG. 1, the bypass passage 11 b passes the evaporator 12, and the air traveling from the left side to the right side in the drawing (air toward the rear) is once guided downward and then further upward. Is led to the front and then joined to the main passage 11a. Since the direction of the air flowing out from the bypass passage 11b is substantially opposite to the direction of the air passing through the main passage 11a, the air passing through the main passage 11a and the air flowing out from the bypass passage 11b are It will mix evenly.
Further, the bent portion in the bypass channel 11b is smoothly (gradually) bent so as to have a large R (that is, formed so as not to have an angular corner), and is in the bypass channel 11b. The traveling direction of the air passing through the air cannot be changed abruptly. And the wall part 11c which forms the inner inner peripheral surface (radially inner surface) of the bypass channel 11b has a tear-like shape (with a large bent part below) as shown in FIG. It is formed to have a shape that tapers upward.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the side wall 11c of the duct 11 forming the side surface of the bypass passage 11b is gradually tapered from the upstream side to the downstream side (that is, from the inlet of the bypass passage 11b to the heater core 13). (That is, the interval between the side walls 11c is gradually reduced).

  In addition, on the upstream side of the air inlet 14 (the front side or the back side in FIG. 1), an outside air inlet (air intake) for taking in outside air (not shown) and an inside air inlet (air intake for taking in the inside air) are taken. Inlet) and a blower are provided. When the fan of the blower is rotated by the drive unit, the air taken in from the outside air intake port or the inside air intake port is supplied to the DEF air outlet 15, the FACE air outlet 16, and the FOOT air outlet. At least one of the outlets 17 is blown out.

The evaporator 12 is for cooling the air led into the duct 11 through the air inlet 14, and is upstream of the main passage 11a (vehicle front side), that is, downstream of the air inlet 14 and It is arrange | positioned upstream from the inlet_port | entrance of the bypass channel | path 11b, and it arrange | positions so that the up-down direction axis line and the up-down direction axis line of the air conditioning unit 2 may become substantially parallel. Further, the entire amount of the air introduced into the duct 11 through the air inlet 14 passes through the evaporator 12.
The heater core 13 is for heating the air led from the main passage 11a to the bypass passage 11b, and is disposed on the most downstream side (rear side of the vehicle) of the bypass passage 11b, and its vertical axis and air It arrange | positions so that the up-down direction axis line of the harmony unit 2 may make a predetermined angle (this embodiment about 20 degree | times).

An air mix damper 18 whose opening degree can be adjusted is provided in the duct 11 on the downstream side of the evaporator 12. The air mix damper 18 is a butterfly damper (butterfly damper), and is configured to appropriately rotate between the one-dot chain line and the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1 around the hinge shaft 18a. As an arrangement in the air conditioning unit 2, an air mix damper 18 is interposed between the evaporator 12 and the heater core 13.
In the heating mode, the air mix damper 18 has a damper portion on the downstream side of the main passage 11a from the center of rotation (DEF outlet 15, FACE outlet 16, FOOT outlet 17) on the evaporator 12 of the heater core 13. It functions as a member that forms a bypass passage 11b that introduces air from a surface opposite to the opposing surface.
In addition, in the heating mode, the side wall 11c of the bypass passage 11b is separated from the evaporator 12 side and the heater core 13 side, and the rotation center of the air mix damper 18 is provided at the end thereof. The side surface on the center side end heater core 13 side and the air mix damper 18 are close to or in contact with each other.
That is, when the air mix damper 18 is in the heating mode, the main passage 11a is fully closed and the bypass passage 11b is fully opened as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. All the air that has passed passes through the bypass passage 11b.
On the other hand, in the cooling mode, the main passage 11a is fully opened and the bypass passage 11b is fully closed as shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. 1, so that all the air that has passed through the evaporator 12 passes through the main passage 11a. It has come to pass.
The air mix damper 18 can also be used at an intermediate position between the fully open position and the fully closed position (for example, a position with an opening of 50% indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1). That is, by appropriately adjusting the opening degree of the air mix damper 18, various air temperatures can be obtained by changing the mixing ratio of the air that has passed through only the evaporator 12 and the air that has passed through both the evaporator 12 and the heater core 13. Trying to get.

The air mix damper 18 integrally includes a first door 18b provided on one side (the vehicle front side) of the hinge shaft 18a and a second door 18c provided on the other side (the vehicle rear side) of the hinge shaft 18a. The first door 18a opens and closes the inlet side of the bypass passage 11b, and the second door 18c opens and closes the outlet side of the bypass passage 11b.
Each of the first door 18b and the second door 18c is a plate-like member having a smoothly curved surface (concave surface) and a back surface (convex surface), whereby the air mix damper 18 as a whole is curved smoothly. It has a (concave surface) and a back surface (convex surface).
That is, in the cooling mode (when the air mix damper 18 is at the position of the one-dot chain line in FIG. 1), the air that has passed through the evaporator 12 smoothly (smoothly) along the back surface (convex surface) of the air mix damper 18. ) It is led toward the DEF air outlet 15, the FACE air outlet 16, and the FOOT air outlet 17.
In the heating mode (when the air mix damper 18 is at the position of the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1), the air that has passed through the evaporator 12 smoothly (smoothly) along the surface (concave surface) of the air mix damper 18. B) It is led toward the bypass passage 11b.

A damper 19 is provided on the upstream side of the DEF outlet 15, the FACE outlet 16, and the FOOT outlet 17, and on the downstream side of the outlet of the bypass passage 11b. Flows into an inlet 20 located upstream of the DEF outlet 15 and the FACE outlet 16 and / or an inlet 21 located upstream of the FOOT outlet 17.
That is, in FIG. 1, when the damper 19 is at the solid line position, the flow path to the inlet 20 is opened and the flow path to the inlet 21 is closed, and when the damper 19 is at the two-dot chain line position, the flow to the inlet 20 is closed. When the path is closed, the flow path to the inlet 21 is opened, and when it is in an intermediate position (a position between the solid line position and the two-dot chain line position), the flow paths to the inlet 20 and the inlet 21 are both open. Is done.
On the other hand, a damper 22 is provided on the upstream side of the DEF air outlet 15 and the FACE air outlet 16 and on the downstream side of the damper 19, and the movement of the damper 22 causes the air to flow into the DEF air outlet 15 or the FACE air outlet. It blows out from the blower outlet 16.
That is, when the damper 22 is in the solid line position in FIG. 1, the flow path to the DEF air outlet 15 is closed and the flow path to the FACE air outlet 16 is opened, and when the damper 22 is in the position of the two-dot chain line, The flow path to the air outlet 15 is opened and the flow path to the FACE air outlet 16 is closed.

Next, the configuration of the refrigerant system 3 will be briefly described with reference to FIG. The refrigerant system 3 supplies a low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant to the evaporator 13 and includes a compressor 31, a condenser 32, and an expansion valve 33.
The compressor 31 compresses the low-temperature and low-pressure gas refrigerant vaporized by taking the heat inside the vehicle compartment by the evaporator 12 and sends it to the condenser 32 as a high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant. In the case of an automotive air conditioner, the compressor 31 receives a driving force from the engine 41 via a belt and a clutch.
The condenser 32 is disposed in the front part of the engine room, and cools the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant supplied from the compressor 31 with the outside air to condense and liquefy the gaseous refrigerant. The refrigerant thus liquefied is sent to a receiver (not shown) for gas-liquid separation, and then sent to the expansion valve 33 as a high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant. The expansion valve 33 decompresses and expands the high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant to produce a low-temperature and low-pressure liquid (mist-like) refrigerant and supplies the refrigerant to the evaporator 12.

  Next, the configuration of the heating source system 4 will be briefly described with reference to FIG. The heating source system 4 supplies high-temperature engine cooling water serving as a heat source to the heater core 13. A part of the heating source system 4 from the engine cooling water system circulating between the engine 41 and the radiator 42 is a water valve (not shown). ) Is introduced into the heater core 13 by controlling the flow rate.

  Finally, the structure of the control part 5 is demonstrated easily based on FIG. The control unit 5 controls the operation of the air conditioning unit 2, the refrigerant system 3, and the heating source system 4 constituting the air conditioning apparatus 1, and is normally controlled by an operation panel on which an occupant performs various settings. A circuit is built in and arranged in the center of the instrument panel. In this control unit 5, various operation modes (cooling, heating, defrost, vent, DEF / FOOT, bi-level (FACE / FOOT, by the opening / closing operation of the above-described dampers 18, 19, 22 are referred to as “B”). / L ")), etc.), switching operation of the inside / outside air switching damper, air volume switching operation of the blower, desired temperature setting operation, and the like.

As described above, according to the air conditioning unit 2 of the present invention, there is no wall surface on the downstream side of the heater core 13 that suddenly changes the flow direction of the entire air that has passed through the heater core 13, so that the heater core 13 has passed. Air can flow out smoothly (smoothly) from the heater core 13, pressure loss on the downstream side of the heater core 13 can be reduced, and the flow velocity distribution of air flowing out from the heater core 13 can be made uniform. it can.
In addition, the bypass passage 11b is gently bent (changed) so that the flow passage resistance of the bypass passage 11b that guides the air that has passed through the evaporator 12 to the heater core 13 is reduced, and the bend immediately after the heater core is sharp. Therefore, the pressure loss on the upstream side of the heater core 13 can be reduced (noise reduction) and the flow velocity distribution of the air flowing into the heater core 13 can be made uniform.
Furthermore, since the heater core 13 is disposed so that the upstream surface of the heater core 13 is at a predetermined angle (for example, 20 degrees) with respect to the wall surface of the duct 11 facing the upstream surface, the heater core 13 passes through the bypass flow path 11b. The air can smoothly flow into the heater core 13 (smoothly), pressure loss in the vicinity of the upstream surface of the heater core 13 can be reduced (noise reduction), and the flow velocity of the air flowing into the heater core 13 can be reduced. The distribution can be made uniform. In addition, since the air that has passed through the bypass channel 11b reaches the entire upstream surface of the heater core 13 substantially uniformly, heat exchange can be performed using the entire heat transfer surface of the heater core 13. The heat exchange efficiency can be improved.
Furthermore, the side wall 11c of the duct 11 forming the side surface of the bypass passage 11b is gradually tapered or tapered from the upstream side to the downstream side (that is, from the inlet of the bypass passage 11b to the heater core 13) (that is, the side wall 11c). Since the interval between them is gradually narrowed (or widened), for example, so that the cross section has a teardrop shape, pressure loss on the upstream side of the heater core 13 can be further reduced (noise reduction), and the heater core The flow velocity distribution of the air flowing into 13 can be made more uniform.

  FIG. 4 compares the pressure loss (pressure loss) between the air conditioning unit 2 according to the embodiment described above and a conventional air conditioning unit (for example, the air conditioning unit shown in FIG. 7 of JP-A-2001-63346). It is a graph. From this figure, it can be seen that in the air conditioning unit 2 according to the embodiment, the pressure loss is about half that of the conventional one.

On the other hand, since the direction of the air flowing out from the bypass passage 11b is substantially opposite to the direction of the air passing through only the main passage 11a, the air passing through the main passage 11a and the air flowing out from the bypass passage 11b Can be mixed uniformly (air mixed).
FIG. 5 is a graph comparing the linearity characteristics of the air conditioning unit 2 according to the above-described embodiment and a conventional air conditioning unit (for example, the air conditioning unit shown in FIG. 7 of JP-A-2001-63346). From this figure, it can be seen that in the air conditioning unit 2 according to the embodiment, the linearity characteristic is greatly improved.
Note that “A / M opening” in FIG. 5 is the opening of the air mix damper 18, and “A / M opening 0%” means that the air mix damper 18 is a one-dot chain line in FIG. The state at the position “A / M opening degree 100%” refers to the state where the air mix damper 18 is at the position of the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the first door 18b and the second door 18c of the air mix damper 18 can be configured to be independently rotatable.
With this configuration, the amount of air that passes only through the main passage 11a and the amount of air that passes through the bypass passage 11b can be adjusted more finely. The linearity characteristic shown can be further improved (closer to the broken line).

It is a left view which shows one Embodiment of the air conditioning unit by this invention. It is the perspective view which looked at the air conditioning unit shown in FIG. 1 from the upper right back. It is a figure for demonstrating the change of the width direction of the bypass flow path of the air conditioning unit shown in FIG. It is the graph which compared the pressure loss of the air conditioning unit shown in FIG. 1, and the conventional air conditioning unit. It is the graph which compared the linearity characteristic of the air conditioning unit shown in FIG. 1, and the conventional air conditioning unit. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle air conditioner.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle air conditioner 2 Air conditioning unit 3 Refrigerant system 4 Heat source system 5 Control part 11 Duct 11a Main flow path 11b Bypass flow path 12 Evaporator 13 Heater core 14 Air inlet 15 DEF blower outlet 16 FACE blower outlet 17 FOOT blower outlet 31 Compressor 32 Condenser 33 Expansion valve

Claims (6)

A duct formed with an air inlet, a defrost outlet, a face outlet, and a foot outlet;
An air blower that is arranged upstream of the air inlet, allows air to flow into the air inlet, and blows out the air from at least one of the defrost outlet, the face outlet, and the foot outlet.
An evaporator that cools the air that is moved in the duct by the blower;
An air conditioning unit comprising a heater core that heats the air moved in the duct by the blower,
In the duct, a main channel that communicates the air inlet, the defrost outlet, the face outlet, and the foot outlet, and a bypass channel that bypasses a substantially central portion of the main channel are provided. And
The evaporator is disposed on the uppermost stream of the main flow path, the heater core is disposed on the most downstream side of the bypass flow path, and the bypass flow path is provided below the heater core; and An air conditioning unit characterized in that the bypass channel is gently bent.   The air passing through the bypass flow path flows into the heater core in a direction opposite to the air flowing into the evaporator, and flows out of the heater core so as to face the air that has flowed out of the evaporator. Item 2. The air conditioning unit according to Item 1.   The air conditioning unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a side surface of the bypass channel is formed so as to gradually taper or thicken from the upstream side to the downstream side.   4. The heater core according to claim 1, wherein the heater core is disposed such that an upstream surface of the heater core and a wall surface of the duct facing the upstream surface form a predetermined angle. 5. Air conditioning unit. The air conditioning unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A compressor that compresses gaseous refrigerant, a condenser that condenses high-pressure gas refrigerant by heat exchange with outside air, and an expansion valve that converts high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant into low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant. A refrigerant system for supplying low-pressure liquid refrigerant;
A heating source system for introducing engine cooling water into the heater core;
A vehicle air conditioner comprising: a control unit that performs operation control of the air conditioning unit, the refrigerant system, and the heat source system.   A vehicle comprising the vehicle air conditioner according to claim 5.

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