JP3571848B2 - Automotive air conditioners - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner having an air conditioner unit in which a horizontally disposed evaporator and a heater core are arranged in a vertically overlapping relationship, and an air conditioner unit in which cool air is blown out to a vent outlet through a side of a warm air passage at full cool. Belongs to the technical field.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As shown in Fig. 5, in order to make the air-conditioning unit with a small mounting space in the vehicle, the evaporator and heater core placed sideways in the unit case are arranged in a positional relationship where the evaporator is below and the heater core is above and below. An air inlet is arranged on the upper surface side of the evaporator, a cool air passage is arranged from the lower surface side to the side surface of the evaporator, and a core inlet passage communicating with the cool air passage through an air mixing door is arranged on the lower surface side of the heater core. The applicant has previously proposed a configuration in which the air-conditioning unit is arranged in a tandem arrangement in which a hot air passage is arranged on the upper surface side of the heater core, and a vent door is arranged above the outlet of the warm air passage (Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 7-254905).
[0003]
In the automotive air conditioner equipped with this air conditioner unit, the air mix door passes through the evaporator and the cool air passage from the air inlet during full cooling with the air mixing door at the door position closing the core entrance passage and the vent door at the door position opening the vent exit passage. The cooled air is blown into the vehicle interior through a vent exit passage from a passage surrounded by the unit case inner wall, the air mix door, and the vent door.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above conventional air conditioner for automobiles, the air mix door and the vent door are set such that the vent door at the fully open position is disposed on the side of the cool air passage with respect to the extension line of the air mix door at the full cool position. Therefore, when cold air is blown to the vent outlet through the side of the hot air passage, if hot water is passed through the heater core, the hot air at the top of the heater core will be cooled by the fast flowing cold air even in the full cool state. There is a problem that the temperature of the vent is increased by about 2 ° C. to 3 ° C. from the temperature immediately after the suction and the evaporator, and the cooling performance is deteriorated.
[0005]
That is, at the time of full cooling, a part of the cool air flowing through the cool air passage enters the warm air passage at the outlet of the warm air passage due to the offset step of the two doors, and becomes hot due to mixing with the hot air in the warm air passage, The fast flowing cold wind sucks this hot air.
[0006]
Therefore, in order to avoid deterioration of the cooling performance at the time of full cooling, as a countermeasure usually taken, a method of setting a water valve on the heater core and not passing hot water through the heater core at the time of full cooling is adopted. However, in this case, there is a problem that the system cost increases due to the setting of the water valve to be controlled to open and close.
[0007]
The reason why the vent door at the fully open position is located closer to the cold air passage than the extended line of the air mix door at the full cool position is that when the temperature is set to the desired temperature, the blow air blows out to maintain the set temperature When the air mix door is controlled to the target air mix door opening (intermediate opening), for example, when performing wind temperature control, this is for mixing the cool air passed through the evaporator and the warm air passed through the heater core well. Due to the offset arrangement of the air mix door and the vent door, a part of the cool air can be routed to the hot air passage.
[0008]
The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an air conditioner unit in which a horizontally placed evaporator and a heater core are arranged in a vertically overlapping positional relationship, and in a full cool state, cool air is blown out to a vent outlet through a side of a warm air passage. Another object of the present invention is to ensure high cooling performance in a full-cooled vehicle air conditioner while eliminating the setting of a water valve and providing a cost-effective device.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
(Solution 1)
Means for Solving the Problems 1 (Claim 1) is to dispose an evaporator and a heater core horizontally placed in a unit case in a positional relationship in which the evaporator is below and the heater core is above and below, and air is introduced into the upper surface of the evaporator. A mouth is arranged, a cool air passage is arranged from the lower surface side to the side surface of the evaporator, a core inlet passage communicating with the cool air passage through an air mixing door is arranged on a lower surface side of the heater core, and a warm air passage is arranged on an upper surface side of the heater core. Arrange a wind passage, place a vent door at the upper position of the exit of the warm air passage,
When the air mixing door is in the door position to close the core entrance passage and the vent door is in the door position to open the vent exit passage, the cool air that has passed through the evaporator and the cool air passage from the air inlet is cooled by the air mixing door and the air mixing door. An air conditioner for an automobile having an air conditioner unit that blows into a vehicle interior through a vent exit passage from a passage surrounded by a vent door,
The air mix door and the vent door are set such that the vent door at the fully open position is disposed on an extension of the center line of the door at the full cool position of the air mix door or on the side of the warm air passage beyond the extension. .
[0010]
Therefore, at the time of full cooling, the flow of the cold air flowing through the cold air passage into the hot air passage is extremely small, and the boundary layer along the two doors is formed at the outlet of the hot air passage by the fast flow of the cold air. An orderly flow of cold air is realized.
[0011]
As a result, the high-temperature air staying in the hot-air passage remains almost trapped by the pushing action of the cool air, and the amount of high-temperature air sucked into the cold-air passage is drastically increased even when hot water is supplied to the heater core during full cooling. In addition, the airflow resistance of the cold air is reduced, which is advantageous in terms of noise.
[0012]
(Solution 2)
Means for solving the above-mentioned problem 2 (claim 2) is the vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1,
A differential temperature rib is formed on the inner wall of the unit case at a position facing the door support shaft of the air mix door, for guiding the direction of the cool air passing through the cool air passage toward the warm air passage.
[0013]
Therefore, when the air mix door is controlled to the target air mix door opening (intermediate opening), for example, when performing blown air temperature control, part of the cool air that has passed through the evaporator is directed to the hot air passage side by the differential temperature rib. It is guided and mixed well with the warm air that has passed through the heater core.
[0014]
(Solution 3)
Solution 3 to Claim 3 (Claim 3) is a vehicle air conditioner according to Claim 1 or Claim 2,
The air mix door and the vent door are characterized in that the lower end of the door is slightly inclined toward the passenger compartment from the upper end of the door with respect to the vertical line in a full cool state.
[0015]
Therefore, as compared with an air conditioner unit in which an air mix door and a vent door are vertically arranged, the amount of protrusion toward the engine room is smaller, and a larger room volume of the engine room can be secured. In addition, it projects a little toward the passenger compartment side, but the amount of this projection can be absorbed by the dead space of the front instrument.
[0016]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
(Embodiment 1)
Embodiment 1 is an automotive air conditioner corresponding to Solution 1 to Solution 3.
[0017]
First, the configuration will be described.
[0018]
FIG. 1 is an overall sectional view showing an automotive air conditioner according to the first embodiment.
[0019]
In FIG. 1, 1 is a unit case, 2 is an evaporator, 3 is a heater core, 4 is an air inlet, 5 is a cool air passage, 6 is an air mix door, 7 is a core inlet passage, 8 is a warm air passage, 9 is a vent door, Reference numeral 10 denotes a vent outlet passage, 11 denotes a differential temperature rib, 12 denotes a differential door, and 13 denotes a foot blowing air passage.
[0020]
The unit case 1 is a case in which an evaporator 2, a heater core 3 and various doors constituting an air conditioner unit are provided and various passages and outlets are integrally formed. The unit case 1 has a horizontally disposed evaporator 2 and a heater core. The evaporator 2 and the heater core 3 are arranged in a vertically overlapping relationship with each other.
[0021]
The evaporator 2 receives a low-pressure / low-temperature mist liquid refrigerant that has passed through a compressor (not shown) → condenser → liquid tank → expansion valve, removes heat from the outside, evaporates, and sends the refrigerant that has become vapor to the compressor again. In the evaporator, an air inlet 4 for introducing air from a blower unit (not shown) is arranged on the upper surface side of the evaporator 2, and the air from the blower unit flows from the lower surface side to the side surface of the evaporator 2. 2, a cool air passage 5 through which the cooled wind passes is provided.
[0022]
The heater core 3 is a heat exchanger through which engine cooling water is constantly passed through a circulation pump. A core inlet communicating with the cool air passage 5 through an air mix door 6 is provided on a lower surface side of the heater core 3. The passage 7 is arranged, and the warm air passage 7 is arranged on the upper surface side of the heater core 3. Note that an oblique partition wall 14 is disposed between the evaporator 2 and the heater core 3, and the partition wall 14 separates the air inlet 4 from the core inlet passage 7.
[0023]
The air mix door 6 is a door that guides a part of the cool air that has passed through the evaporator 2 at the intermediate opening degree to the heater core 3 to mix the cool air and the warm air, and the upper end is supported on the side of the heater core 3. The door opening is controlled by an outside door actuator in an angle range from a full cold position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1 to a full hot position indicated by a dotted line in FIG.
[0024]
The vent door 9 is a door that adjusts the amount of air blown when the temperature-adjusted air is sent into the vehicle interior from the center or the side via a vent outlet passage. The door opening is controlled by a door actuator (not shown) in the vent mode to the fully open position of the solid line in FIG. 1, in the foot or differential mode to the fully closed position in the dotted line in FIG. 1, and in the bilevel mode to the intermediate opening position.
[0025]
The air mix door 6 and the vent door 9 are formed by extending a line extending from the center line A of the air mix door 6 at the full cool position (solid line in FIG. 1) to the door of the vent door 9 (solid line in FIG. 1) at a substantially full open position. It is set by the arrangement as the center line.
[0026]
In addition, the air mix door 6 and the vent door 9 are arranged so that the lower end of the door slightly projects toward the passenger compartment than the upper end of the door with respect to the vertical line during the full cool.
[0027]
The differential temperature rib 11 is formed on the inner wall 1 a of the unit case at a position facing the door support shaft of the air mix door 6 so as to protrude to guide the direction of the cool air passing through the cool air passage 5 toward the warm air passage 8. ing.
[0028]
Next, the operation will be described.
[0029]
[Effect of blowing cold air during full cooling]
When the air mix door 6 is in the door position to close the core entrance passage 7 and the vent door 9 is in the door position to open the vent exit passage 10, the evaporator 2 and the cool air passage 5 pass from the air inlet 4 during full cooling in the vent mode. The generated cool air is blown into the vehicle cabin through a vent outlet passage 10 from a passage surrounded by the unit case inner wall 1a, the air mix door 6, and the vent door 9.
[0030]
At the time of this full cool, the air mix door 6 and the vent door 9 are arranged such that a line extending from the door center line A at the full cool position of the air mix door 6 is set as the door center line of the vent door 9 at the almost fully open position. As shown in FIG. 2, the flow of the cool air flowing through the cool air passage 5 into the warm air passage 8 is extremely small, and the two doors 6, 9 are provided at the outlet of the warm air passage 8 by the fast flowing cool air. Is formed, and the flow of the cool air flowing in the cool air passage 5 in an orderly manner is realized.
[0031]
As a result, the high-temperature air staying in the hot-air passage 8 remains almost trapped by the pushing action of the cool air, and the amount of the high-temperature air sucked into the cool-air passage 5 even when the hot water flows through the heater core 3 at the time of full cooling. Is greatly reduced.
[0032]
When the doors 6 and 9 are offset, the vent door 9 protrudes due to the door offset, which causes the ventilation resistance of the cool air passage. However, the door surfaces of the doors 6 and 9 are arranged on substantially the same plane. As a result, the ventilation resistance of the cool air is reduced, and the noise generated by the pressure fluctuation due to the turbulent flow is also reduced.
[0033]
[Outlet air temperature control action]
When the air conditioner switch and the auto switch are turned on and the target temperature is set by the temperature control dial, the blowout air temperature is controlled.
[0034]
In this blowout air temperature control, a target air mix door opening is determined based on sensor signals from an inside air sensor, an outside air sensor, a solar radiation sensor, and the like, and the target air mix door opening and the actual air mix door read from the air mix PBR are determined. By comparing the opening with the opening, the air mixing door actuator is driven to the hot side or the cold side, and the door opening is controlled so as to always obtain the optimum air mixing door opening.
[0035]
At the time of the blow-out air temperature control, when the air mix door 6 has the intermediate opening degree, the air whose temperature has been adjusted by the mixture of the cool air and the hot air passes through the vent outlet passage 10 and is blown into the vehicle interior. .
[0036]
When mixing the cool air and the warm air, the differential temperature rib 11 for guiding the direction of the cool air passing through the cool air passage 5 toward the warm air passage side is provided on the unit case inner wall 1a at a position facing the door support shaft of the air mixing door 6. As shown in FIG. 3, a part of the cold air that has passed through the evaporator 2 is guided by the differential temperature rib 11 to the hot air passage 8 side, and collides with the warm air that has passed through the heater core 3, and as shown in FIG. And the hot air are mixed well, and the wind at the position of the vent outlet passage 10 has no variation in temperature distribution.
[0037]
Next, effects will be described.
[0038]
(1) At the time of full cool, the air mix door 6 and the vent door 9 are arranged such that a line obtained by extending the door center line A at the full cool position of the air mix door 6 is set as the door center line of the vent door 9 at the almost fully open position. Therefore, the rise of the vent air temperature (relative to the temperature immediately after the evaporator 2) is suppressed to a small value at the time of full cooling, and the high cooling performance is ensured, while the water valve setting is abolished and the apparatus is economically advantageous. be able to.
[0039]
As an incidental effect, since the door surfaces of both doors 6 and 9 are arranged on substantially the same plane, the airflow resistance of the cool air is reduced (in the test result, the airflow resistance is reduced by about 10%), and the cold air is blown out. Noise is also reduced, and quiet cold air blowing can be achieved.
[0040]
(2) Since the temperature difference rib 11 for guiding the direction of the cool air passing through the cool air passage 5 to the hot air passage 8 is formed on the unit case inner wall 1a at a position facing the door support shaft of the air mix door 6, the air mix When the door 6 has an intermediate opening, it is possible to create a vented air having a uniform temperature distribution in which cold air and hot air are mixed well.
[0041]
(3) The air mix door 6 and the vent door 9 are inclined so that the lower end of the door is slightly closer to the passenger compartment than the upper end of the door with respect to the vertical line during full cooling. In this case, the amount of protrusion toward the engine room becomes small, and a large room volume of the engine room can be secured.
[0042]
In addition, it projects a little toward the passenger compartment side, but this amount of projection can be sufficiently absorbed by the dead space of the front instrument.
[0043]
Next, a test for confirming the effect will be described.
[0044]
The inventor conducted a test in order to confirm the effect of the layout change of the air mix door 6 and the vent door 9 at the time of full cooling. The result is shown in FIG.
[0045]
First, the air conditioner used in the test was equipped with an air conditioner unit in which the vent door was offset to the cold air passage side from the line that extended the door center line of the air mix door during full cooling (Fig. 5). The layout of the vent door is as shown in FIG. 1, but there are three types, one with the air conditioner unit without the temperature difference rib 11 and the other with the air conditioner unit of the first embodiment.
[0046]
In the test method, the number of rises in the vent outlet temperature when the blower intake air temperature was 0 ° C., that is, when the temperature immediately after the evaporator 2 was 0 ° C., was measured by changing the blower voltage to 5 V, 8 V, and 12 V. Note that hot water of the same temperature is kept flowing through the heater core.
[0047]
As a result of this test, a temperature rise of + 2.2 ° C. to + 2.6 ° C. was observed in the door offset type shown in FIG.
[0048]
On the other hand, in the two types with no door offset, the temperature rise was suppressed to 1 ° C. or less from + 0.6 ° C. to + 0.8 ° C.
[0049]
From this test result, it was found that by eliminating the door offset, the rise in the vent outlet temperature could be reduced to 1/3 or less, and the cooling performance could be sufficiently improved even though the door layout was changed. .
[0050]
Further, regardless of the presence or absence of the differential temperature rib 11, the rise in the vent outlet temperature is suppressed to substantially the same level. Therefore, when the air conditioner unit of the first embodiment is employed, the cooling performance is improved and the air mix performance is improved. It has been found that compatibility with improvement can be achieved.
[0051]
(Other embodiments)
In the first embodiment, when the air mix door 6 is in the full cool position, a line obtained by extending the door center line A at the full cool position of the air mix door 6 is set as the door center line of the vent door 9 at the almost fully open position. In the case of full cooling, the center line of the vent door 9 at the fully opened position is a hot air passage than the line extending the center line A of the air mixing door 6 at the full cooling position. The air mix door 6 and the vent door 9 may be set according to the arrangement on the side 8.
[0052]
In the first embodiment, the air mix door 6 and the vent door 9 have an example in which the lower end of the door is slightly inclined toward the passenger compartment side from the upper end of the door with respect to the vertical line in a full cool state. In addition, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to an air conditioner unit in which both doors are arranged substantially vertically.
[0053]
In the first embodiment, the example of the ridge-type differential temperature rib 11 which is integrally inclined and protruded from the unit case inner wall 1a as the differential temperature rib has been described. May be provided by bonding or the like.
[0054]
【The invention's effect】
According to the invention described in claim 1, the air conditioner unit is arranged such that the horizontally disposed evaporator and the heater core are vertically overlapped with each other, and the cool air is blown to the vent outlet through the side of the hot air passage at the time of full cooling. In an air conditioner for vehicles equipped with an air-mix door, the air-mix door and the vent door are arranged such that the vent door at the fully open position is located on the extension line of the door center line at the full cool position of the air mix door or on the side of the hot air passage closer than the extension line. With this setting, it is possible to secure high cooling performance at full cooling while making the device cost-effective by eliminating the setting of the water valve.At the same time, the ventilation resistance of the cold air is reduced, and the cold air is blown out. The effect that the noise accompanying with can be reduced is acquired.
[0055]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle air conditioner according to the first aspect, the direction of the cool air passing through the cool air passage is set to the warm air on the inner wall of the unit case at a position facing the door support shaft of the air mix door. In addition to the above-mentioned effects, when the air mix door is at an intermediate opening, the vented air with a uniform temperature distribution that mixes cool air and hot air well can be created because the differential temperature rib that guides to the passage side is formed. it can.
[0056]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle air conditioner according to the first or second aspect, the air mix door and the vent door are arranged such that the lower end of the door is closer to the passenger compartment than the upper end of the door with respect to a vertical line in a full cool state. With the inclined arrangement that slightly projects out, in addition to the above-described effects, the room volume of the engine room can be secured by the compactness on the vehicle.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall sectional view showing an automotive air conditioner according to a first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a cool air blowing operation at the time of full cooling in the automotive air conditioner of the first embodiment.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a blowing air temperature control operation in the automotive air conditioner of the first embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a table of test results for confirming effects.
FIG. 5 is an overall cross-sectional view showing a preceding automotive air conditioner.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Unit case 2 Evaporator 3 Heater core 4 Air inlet 5 Cold air passage 6 Air mix door 7 Core inlet passage 8 Hot air passage 9 Vent door 10 Vent outlet passage 11 Differential temperature rib

Claims (3)

The evaporator (2) and the heater core (3) placed horizontally are arranged in the unit case (1) in a positional relationship such that the evaporator (2) is below and the heater core (3) is above and below, and the upper surface of the evaporator (2). An air inlet (4) is arranged on the side, a cool air passage (5) is arranged from the lower side to the side of the evaporator (2), and an air mixing door (6) is arranged on the lower side of the heater core (3). A core inlet passage (7) communicating with the cool air passage (5) is arranged, a warm air passage (8) is arranged on the upper surface side of the heater core (3), and an outlet upper portion of the warm air passage (8) is provided. Arrange the vent door (9),
When the air mix door (6) is in the door position for closing the core entrance passage (7) and the vent door (9) is in the door position for opening the vent exit passage (10), the evaporator ( 2) and the cool air that has passed through the cool air passage (5) passes through the vent exit passage (10) from the passage surrounded by the unit case inner wall (1a), the air mixing door (6), and the vent door (9) into the vehicle interior. In an automotive air conditioner equipped with an air conditioning unit that blows out,
The air is provided such that the vent door (9) at the fully open position is arranged on the extension of the door center line (A) at the full cool position of the air mix door (6) or on the side of the warm air passage (8) beyond the extension. An air conditioner for an automobile, wherein a mixed door (6) and a vent door (9) are set. The automotive air conditioner according to claim 1,
On the inner wall (1a) of the unit case facing the door support shaft of the air mix door (6), a differential temperature rib (5) for guiding the direction of the cold air passing through the cool air passage (5) toward the warm air passage (8). An air conditioner for a vehicle, wherein 11) is formed. The automobile air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2,
An air conditioner for an automobile, wherein the air mix door (6) and the vent door (9) are arranged so that the lower end of the door slightly projects toward the passenger compartment from the upper end of the door with respect to a vertical line at the time of full cooling.

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