JP2010247554A - Air intake duct structure of air conditioner for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten the longitudinal dimension of an air intake duct for introducing air into an air conditioner for a vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: The linear air intake duct 17 for introducing air into an air conditioner is affixed to the front surface of a panel member 13 which partitions the front end of a cabin to extend in the lateral direction of the vehicle along the lower edge of a front windshield. The air intake duct 17 includes air inlets 17a, 17b for introducing air, an air outlet 17d communicating with the opening 13a of the panel member 13, and a drain hole 17k formed at the bottom of a bottom wall 17j. Therefore, the longitudinal dimension of the air intake duct 17 is reduced, and the aesthetic appearance thereof is improved by eliminating the need of forming a suction port such as a louver in a cowl top and the skin of a vehicle body which covers the cowl top. Also, even if water intrudes into the air intake duct 17, the water is prevented from flowing into the air conditioner by surely discharging the water through a drain hole 17k formed at the bottom of the air intake duct 17. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an air intake duct structure for a vehicle air conditioner that introduces air taken from an air intake duct disposed in front of a panel member that defines a front end of a passenger compartment into an air conditioner through an opening formed in the panel member.

  In the following Patent Document 1, as a second embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, an air intake duct 50 is arranged in the vehicle width direction in the engine room 10 in front of the dash panel 4 of the automobile. An apparatus is disclosed in which the upstream end passes through the wheel apron 56 and is opened in the wheel house, and the downstream end is bent rearward of the vehicle body via the inside / outside air switching unit 38 and connected to the opening of the dash panel 4. .

JP-A-6-328931

  However, what is described in Patent Document 1 is that the downstream end of the intake duct 50 extending in the vehicle width direction is bent in the rear direction of the vehicle body and connected to the opening of the dash panel 4. When the dimensions of the engine room 10 in front of the dash panel 4 are narrow, it is difficult to secure the installation space for the intake duct 50.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to shorten the longitudinal dimension of an intake duct for introducing air into a vehicle air conditioner.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, air taken in from an intake duct disposed in front of a panel member that defines a front end of a passenger compartment is passed through an opening formed in the panel member. In the intake duct structure of a vehicle air conditioner to be introduced into an air conditioner, the linearly formed intake duct includes an air introduction port for introducing air, an air discharge port communicating with the opening of the panel member, and a bottom wall And a drain hole formed at the bottom of the front windshield, and is fixed to the front surface of the panel member so as to extend in the vehicle width direction along the lower edge of the front windshield. A structure is proposed.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the intake duct includes the air inlets at both ends in the vehicle width direction, and the air exhaust at the middle portion in the vehicle width direction. An air intake duct structure for a vehicle air conditioner, characterized by comprising an outlet, is proposed.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, in addition to the configuration of claim 2, at least one of the air inlets at both ends of the intake duct opens downward, and the intake air of the vehicle air conditioner is characterized in that A duct structure is proposed.

  In addition, the 1st air inlet 17a and the 2nd air inlet 17b of embodiment correspond to the air inlet of this invention.

  According to the configuration of the first aspect of the present invention, the linear intake duct for introducing air into the air conditioner extends in the vehicle width direction along the lower edge of the front windshield. The air intake duct is fixed to the front surface, and the air intake duct is provided with an air introduction opening for introducing air, an air discharge opening communicating with the opening of the panel member, and a drain hole formed at the bottom of the bottom wall. In addition to reducing the size of the front / rear direction, the appearance of the cowl top and the vehicle body outer plate covering the cowl top need not be provided with an inlet such as a louver, and the appearance can be improved. Even when water intrudes into the air intake, the water can be reliably discharged from the drain hole formed in the lowermost part of the intake duct, and can be prevented from flowing into the air conditioner.

  According to the configuration of claim 2, since the intake duct is provided with air inlets at both ends in the vehicle width direction and air discharge ports at the middle part in the vehicle width direction, a sufficient amount of air can be supplied from the two air inlets. Air can be introduced and supplied to the air outlet.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, at least one of the air inlets at both ends of the intake duct is opened downward. It is possible to effectively prevent foreign matter and water from being sucked into the intake duct from the air inlet.

The perspective view of the vehicle body front part of a small truck. FIG. 3 is a two-way exploded perspective view of FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The small truck has a vehicle body front space 11 for housing a radiator, a negative pressure booster, and a battery, and a vehicle compartment 12 formed at the rear thereof by a panel member 13, and the panel member 13 extends in the vertical direction. A lower dash panel 14 and a cowl top panel 15 coupled to the upper edge of the dash panel 14 are configured. The cowl top panel 15 includes a vertical wall portion 15a extending in substantially the same direction (vertical direction) as the dash panel 14, and a cowl top portion 15b bent from the upper end of the vertical wall portion 15a toward the front of the vehicle body. The upper surface of the cowl top portion 15b is covered with a vehicle body outer plate 16 (see FIG. 3).

  The air intake duct 17 that supplies air to the air conditioner disposed behind the panel member 13 is a substantially rectangular tube-shaped member that is blow-molded with synthetic resin, and has a first air introduction port 17a that opens rightward at the right end. A second air introduction port 17b that is formed and opens downward at the left end is formed, and a horizontally-long rectangular air discharge hole 17d is formed in the rear wall 17c near the left end. On the rear wall 17c of the intake duct 17, three mounting brackets 17e to 17g positioned so as to surround the air discharge port, one mounting bracket 17h positioned on the lower surface in the center in the vehicle width direction, and the first air introduction One mounting bracket 17i located in the vicinity of the opening 17a is provided.

  The bottom wall 17j of the intake duct 17 bulges downward at a position on the right side in the vehicle width direction, and a drain hole 17k is opened at the lowermost portion thereof. A cap 18 having a mesh 18a is attached to the first air introduction port 17a, and a cap 19 having a mesh 19a is attached to the second air introduction port 17b.

  Two stud bolts 20 and 21 are fixed to the front surface of the dash panel 14, and mounting brackets 17g and 17h of the intake duct 17 pass through these stud bolts 20 and 21 and are fastened by nuts 22 and 23, respectively. The Further, three stud bolts 24, 25, 26 are fixed to the vertical wall portion 15a of the cowl top panel 15, and mounting brackets 17e, 17f, 17i of the intake duct 17 are attached to these stud bolts 24, 25, 26. Penetrates and is fastened by nuts 27, 28, and 29.

  As a result, the intake duct 17 is fixed to the front surface of the panel member 13 in the vehicle width direction so as to follow the lower surface of the cowl top portion 15b of the cowl top panel 15 connected to the lower edge of the front windshield 30.

  A rectangular opening 13 a is formed in the cowl top portion 15 b of the cowl top panel 15 of the panel member 13, and an air discharge port 17 d of the intake duct 17 is connected to the opening 13 a through an ept seal 31. At this time, the protrusion 17m is formed so as to surround the air discharge port 17d of the intake duct 17, so that the collapse margin of the ept seal 31 is maintained constant. An intake passage 32 connected to the air conditioner is connected to the rear surface of the panel member 13 via an ept seal 33.

  Thus, the air that has passed through the mesh 18a of the cap 18 provided at the first air introduction port 17a at the right end of the intake duct 17 and the mesh 19a of the cap 19 provided at the second air introduction port 17b at the left end passes through the mesh 18a, It flows through the inside of the intake duct 17 with the foreign matter removed by 19a, passes through the opening 13a of the panel member 13 from the air discharge port 17d, flows into the intake passage 21, and is supplied from there to the air conditioner. Thus, since air is simultaneously supplied from the first and second air introduction ports 17a and 17b at both the left and right ends of the intake duct 17. Even if the passage cross-sectional area of the intake duct 17 is reduced and the longitudinal dimension is reduced, a sufficient amount of air can be supplied to the air conditioner.

  Further, since the second air introduction port 17b is opened downward, it is possible to effectively prevent fine dust and water from entering the inside of the intake duct 17 through the second air introduction port 17b. Even if water enters the inside of the air intake duct 17, the drain hole 17k is formed in the lowest part of the bottom wall 17j of the air intake duct 17. Therefore, the air is discharged from the drain hole 17k and air-conditioned. Inflow to the apparatus can be reliably prevented.

  The air intake duct 17 is formed in a substantially straight shape, and the air discharge port 17d opened directly on the wall 17c is connected to the opening 13a of the panel member 13 via the ept seal 31, so that the air intake duct 17 is connected to the panel member 13. It is fixed with almost no gap between the front surface. Therefore, even if the vehicle body front space 11 in front of the panel member 13 is an automobile such as a small truck, the intake duct 17 can be compactly arranged in the vehicle body front space 11 and Interference can be avoided and effective use of the vehicle body front space 11 can be achieved.

  Since the intake duct 17 is independent of the cowl top portion 15b of the cowl top panel 15, in order to introduce air into the intake duct 17, the vehicle body outer plate 16 (see FIG. 3) and the cowl top portion 15b are louvered. It is not necessary to form the opening, which can contribute to the improvement of the appearance.

  The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but various design changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  For example, although the opening 13a of the panel member 13 is provided in the cowl top panel 15 in the embodiment, it may be provided in the dash panel 14 or straddles both the cowl top panel 15 and the dash panel 14. May be provided.

  In the embodiment, only the second air introduction port 17b of the intake duct 17 is formed downward. However, even if only the first air introduction port 17a is formed downward, the first and second air introduction ports 17a, Both 17b may be formed downward.

  In the embodiment, the intake duct 17 is blow-molded, but the manufacturing method is arbitrary.

  Moreover, although the small truck was illustrated as an automobile in the embodiment, the present invention can be applied to any type of automobile other than the small truck.

12 compartment 13 panel member 13a opening 17 intake duct 17a first air inlet (air inlet)
17b Second air inlet (air inlet)
17d Air outlet 17j Bottom wall 17k Drain hole 30 Front windshield

Claims (3)

Air taken in from an intake duct (17) arranged in front of a panel member (13) that defines the front end of the passenger compartment (12) is introduced into the air conditioner through an opening (13a) formed in the panel member (13). In the intake duct structure of a vehicle air conditioner,
The intake duct (17) formed in a linear shape includes air inlets (17a, 17b) for introducing air, an air outlet (17d) communicating with the opening (13a) of the panel member (13), A drain hole (17k) formed at the bottom of the bottom wall (j), and fixed to the front surface of the panel member (13) so as to extend in the vehicle width direction along the lower edge of the front windshield (30). An air intake duct structure for a vehicle air conditioner.   The air intake duct (17) includes the air inlets (17a, 17b) at both ends in the vehicle width direction, and the air discharge port (17d) at an intermediate portion in the vehicle width direction. 2. An air intake duct structure for a vehicle air conditioner according to 1.   The air intake duct structure for a vehicle air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the air introduction ports (17a, 17b) at both ends of the air intake duct (17) opens downward.

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