JP4135464B2 - Vehicle air conditioner with ion generator - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner with an ion generator that blows air containing ions into a passenger compartment.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, for example, an ion generator for a bathroom is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to this, a negative electrode is disposed in the air blowing passage, negative electrons are generated from the negative electrode, and air containing negative ions is blown into the bathroom. As a result, the effect of negative ions, such as relaxing the user of the bathroom or restoring health, is provided.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2000-48932 A [0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In this type of ion generator, if dust or dust adheres to the discharge surface that generates negative electrons, the amount of ions generated decreases. Therefore, it is necessary to periodically clean the discharge surface in order to suppress a decrease in the amount of ions generated. This also applies to the case where an ion generator is provided in the vehicle air conditioner, and the discharge surface needs to be cleaned in order to efficiently blow out ions into the vehicle interior.
[0005]
However, for example, when an ion generator is attached to an air conditioning duct, it is troublesome to remove the ion generator from the air conditioning duct and clean it. In particular, since the vehicle air conditioner is generally disposed in a narrow space in the instrument panel, it is not easy to remove the ion generator.
[0006]
An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle air conditioner with an ion generator that can easily clean the discharge surface of the ion generator.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The vehicle air conditioner with an ion generator according to the present invention includes an air conditioning unit that generates conditioned air, an air conditioning duct that guides the conditioned air generated by the air conditioning unit to a predetermined air outlet facing the vehicle interior, and an air conditioning duct. A shut valve that is rotatably provided to open and close the duct passage, a duct passage seal member that is mounted on the shut valve, and an ion generator that generates ions from an electrode that faces the duct passage. The above-mentioned object is achieved by arranging the electrode at a position where the seal member contacts when the shut valve rotates .
[0008]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the electrode is disposed in the vicinity of the shut valve so that the duct passage seal member attached to the end of the shut valve contacts the surface of the electrode of the ion generator when the shut valve rotates. Therefore, the discharge surface can be easily cleaned without removing the ion generator from the duct.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of an air conditioning unit 100 constituting the vehicle air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention. The air conditioning unit 100 is installed in a lower space in the instrument panel in front of the vehicle interior. When the blower fan 2 is rotated by driving the blower motor 1, the inside air or the outside air is sucked into the duct 4 through the inside / outside air switching door 3, and is cooled by passing through the evaporator 5. This cooling air passes through the heater core 7 at a rate corresponding to the opening of the air mix door 6 and is heated or bypasses the heater core 7 while being cooled and mixed downstream of the heater core 7 to generate conditioned air. . And it blows off from a vent blower outlet, a foot blower outlet, a defrost blower outlet, etc. according to an air-conditioning mode.
[0010]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the vent outlet 10. A vent grill 11 is attached to the vent outlet 10, and a dial 12 is attached to the side of the vent grill 11 so as to be rotatable. The vent grill 11 has a plurality of pivotable louvers, and the direction of blowing the conditioned air can be adjusted by the rotation of the louvers. In the duct 13 extending from the air conditioning unit 100 to the vent outlet 10, a shut valve 15 is provided so as to be rotatable about a rotating shaft 14. The rotating shaft 14 is connected to the dial 12 via a link 16 and a link 17. It is connected. The shut valve 15 is rotated by the operation of the dial 12 via the links 16 and 17, thereby opening and closing the duct passage.
[0011]
On the shut valve 15, seal lips 15 a made of a flexible material such as a rubber plate are attached to both ends of the rotating shaft 14 in the vertical direction. When the shut valve 15 is rotated, the tip of the seal lip 15 a is elastically deformed while being in contact with the inner wall of the duct 13. Thereby, a duct channel | path is sealed and ventilation from the vent blower outlet 10 is blocked | prevented. The seal lip 15a is preferably formed of a material that is as soft as possible, such as a thin rubber plate coated with flocking or a thin resin plate planted with nylon bristles.
[0012]
As shown in FIG. 2, which is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1, an ion generator 20 is attached to the outer peripheral side of the bent portion of the duct 13 in the vicinity of the vent outlet 10. The ion generator 20 includes an electrode 21 that passes through the duct 13 and faces the duct passage, and a power source that applies a voltage to the electrode 21. Then, a high voltage is applied from the power source to the electrode 21 to discharge negative electrons from the electrode 21 to generate negative ions in the air in the duct passage. The ion generator attachment portion of the duct 13 has a bent shape, and the electrode 21 is disposed on the bent portion so as to face the upstream side in the flow direction of the conditioned air, that is, the opposite side of the air outlet 10. The ion generator 20 is operated by turning on an automatic air conditioner switch, for example.
[0013]
The rotating shaft 14 of the shut valve 15 is located slightly upstream of the electrode 21 in the direction of the conditioned air flow. As a result, when the shut valve 15 is rotated from the dotted line position to the solid line position, that is, when the shut valve 15 is fully opened to fully closed, the seal lip 15a is bent and its tip moves while sliding on the discharge surface of the electrode 21, thereby Dust and dust attached to the surface are removed. As a result, the amount of ions generated from the discharge surface increases, and the conditioned air containing more ions can be blown from the vent outlet 10 toward the occupant. In this case, since the seal lip 15a uses a relatively soft material such as a rubber plate, the discharge surface is not damaged even if the seal lip 15a contacts the discharge surface. Moreover, according to this Embodiment, since the ion generator 20 is attached to the bending part outer periphery side of the duct 13 in which the flow velocity becomes higher than a straight part, it has the effect that it is hard to adhere dust and dust to a discharge surface. . The discharge surface may be cleaned by rotating the shut valve 15 by an occupant periodically operating the dial 12.
[0014]
By the way, when attaching the ion generator 20 to the duct 13, the path | route from the ion generator 20 to the vent blower outlet 10 becomes long, so that the ion generator 20 is arrange | positioned in the upstream of an air conditioning wind. As the route becomes longer, the frequency of the generated ions colliding with the wall surface of the duct 13 and disappearing increases, and the amount of ions blown into the passenger compartment decreases. Accordingly, the efficiency of blowing ions into the passenger compartment increases when the ion generator 20 is disposed in the vicinity of the vent outlet 10.
[0015]
However, if the ion generator 20 is disposed in the vicinity of the vent outlet 10, the operating sound generated from the discharge surface of the ion generator 20 is likely to leak into the vehicle interior. The operating sound of the ion generator 20 is uncomfortable for the passenger, and it is desirable to reduce the leakage of the operating sound from the vent outlet 10 as much as possible. This embodiment can also reduce the leakage of operating noise as follows.
[0016]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a cross section of the duct passage when the shut valve 15 is fully opened. The electrode 21 is directed obliquely with respect to the surface of the shut valve 15 when the shut valve 15 is fully opened. The operating sound has directivity, and the operating sound generated on the discharge surface is reflected by the shut valve 15 as shown by the arrow in the figure and propagates upstream of the conditioned air, that is, on the opposite side of the vent outlet 10. Thereby, the leakage of the operation sound from the vent blower outlet 10 can be reduced, and a passenger | crew's comfort improves.
[0017]
According to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The electrode 21 of the ion generator 20 is provided in the vicinity of the shut valve 15 so that the seal lip 15a contacts the discharge surface of the ion generator 20 when the shut valve 15 is rotated. The discharge surface can be easily cleaned without having to be removed from the duct 13.
(2) Since the seal lip 15a, which is a duct passage seal member, also serves as a discharge surface cleaning member, there is no need to provide a separate discharge surface cleaning member, and the number of parts and cost can be reduced.
(3) Since the discharge surface of the ion generator 20 is directed obliquely with respect to the surface of the shut valve 15 when the shut valve 15 is fully opened, the operation sound of the ion generator 20 is reflected by the shut valve 15 and is blown out. It is possible to reduce the leakage of the operating sound from the outlet 10. As a result, the ion generator 20 can be disposed in the vicinity of the vent outlet 10 and the ion blowing efficiency can be increased.
(4) Since the duct 13 is bent and the ion generator 20 is attached to the bent portion, the electrode 21 can be easily directed obliquely with respect to the surface of the shut valve 15.
[0018]
In the above embodiment, the ion generator 20 is provided on the upper surface of the duct 13, but it may be provided on the lower surface or the side surface. When the ion generator 20 is provided on the side surface of the duct, the discharge surface may be cleaned by providing a seal lip 15a at the side end of the shut valve 15.
[0019]
Although the rotation is performed by operating the shut valve 15 dial, it may be rotated by an actuator. In this case, the actuator may be driven and controlled to rotate the shut valve 15 at the same time as the air conditioning switch is turned on. Thereby, the ion generator 20 can be used in a state where dust and dust are always removed from the discharge surface.
[0020]
Although the shut valve 15 is used for cleaning the discharge surface of the electrode 21, for example, a rotating member having only an outer frame is provided separately from the shut valve 15, and a flexible member (brush for cleaning) is provided at the end of the rotating member. Etc.) may be attached. Thereby, the mounting position of the ion generator 20 is not restricted by the position of the shut valve 15, and the degree of freedom of arrangement of the ion generator 20 is increased. In this case, instead of attaching the flexible member to the rotating member, the entire rotating member may be formed of the flexible member. You may provide the ion generator 20 in other blower outlets other than the vent blower outlet 10. FIG.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a vehicle air conditioner with an ion generator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the operation when the shut valve is fully opened.
FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of an air conditioning unit constituting the vehicle air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Vent outlet 13 Duct 15 Shut valve 15a Seal lip 20 Ion generator 21 Electrode 100 Air conditioning unit

Claims (2)

An air conditioning unit that generates conditioned air; and
An air conditioning duct for guiding the conditioned air generated by the air conditioning unit to a predetermined air outlet facing the vehicle interior;
A shut valve that is rotatably provided in the air conditioning duct and opens and closes the duct passage;
A duct passage seal member attached to the shut valve;
An ion generator for generating ions from an electrode arranged facing the duct passage,
A vehicle air conditioner with an ion generator, wherein the electrode is disposed at a position where the seal member contacts when the shut valve rotates. In the vehicle air conditioner with an ion generator according to claim 1,
When the shut valve is in an open position that opens the duct passage, the electrode is arranged so that at least a part of the operating sound of the ion generator is reflected by the shut valve and propagates in the direction opposite to the outlet. An air conditioner for a vehicle, which is disposed obliquely with respect to the surface of the shut valve in the open position .

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