JP6205396B2 - Vehicle air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner for a vehicle such as an automobile.

In vehicles such as current automobiles, air conditioners that adjust the temperature in the passenger compartment are used. In such an air conditioner for a vehicle, the entire temperature of the passenger compartment is air-conditioned by blowing a strong air flow from a vent arranged in front of the passenger compartment.
Moreover, in patent document 1, such an air vent is provided toward the lower body from the thigh of the occupant to the waist, and hot air is blown out from the air vent. Thus, a passenger | crew can be warmed directly by hitting a passenger | crew so that strong warm air may be blown directly.

JP 2011-105120 A

  However, in Patent Document 1, the vent is disposed rearward on the front side of the occupant seated on the seat. In this way, when warm air is blown against the occupant from the front side of the occupant, the warm air passes through the lower body from the occupant's thigh to the waist, then rises along the upper body, the occupant's face, etc. It will also be sprayed on the head. As a result, the passenger may be uncomfortable.

  As described above, in an air conditioner for a vehicle, it is desired to adjust the sensible temperature of the upper limb of the occupant while suppressing discomfort to the occupant.

An air conditioner for a vehicle according to the present invention is an air conditioner for a vehicle having a seat on which an occupant riding in the vehicle sits, and has a one-side outlet provided on one side or one side in the width direction of the seat. Front blowout having a side blowout duct, the other blowout duct having the other blowout opening provided on the other side or the other side in the width direction of the seat, and the front blowout opening provided toward the seat in front of the seat A duct, and a first air flow blown out from the one-side blowout duct and a second air flow blown out from the other-side blowout duct are joined in front of an upper body part of an occupant seated on the seat, Air is retained in front of an occupant's upper body, and the front blowing duct has a third air flow blown out of the front blowing duct at a speed faster than the first air flow and the second air flow. By switching between the serial first air flow and slower speed than the second air stream, intermittently and said second air stream and said first air stream before the upper body of an occupant sitting on the seat The air flow that continues to join and stays supplied to the occupant and continues to generate a staying airflow that clings to the upper body of the occupant.

Preferably, the one side outlet and the other side outlet, the seat back both widthwise side portions provided et al is in the of the front air outlet provided towards the seat in front of the said seat, the It is good to form in the width | variety corresponding to the width | variety of a sheet | seat .

Preferably, the one side blowing duct and the other side blowing duct blow out an air flow at a low speed at which a combined air flow can fall on the seat, and the front blowing duct includes the first air flow and the second air flow. A third air flow that is faster than the air flow should be blown out .

  Preferably, it has a temperature control unit that is provided in a console box provided on one side in the width direction of the seating surface of the seat, and cools the air flow, and the one side blowing duct and the other side blowing duct are It is good to blow out the cool air which was connected to the temperature control unit and was generated by the temperature control unit.

  Preferably, the airflow blown out from the one side blowing duct and the other side blowing duct is preferably 0.01 m / second or more and 6 m / second or less.

In the present invention, both the one-side outlet duct and the other-side outlet duct blow out the first air stream and the second air stream, so that these air streams are combined and retained in front of the upper body part of the passenger seated on the seat. be able to.
And the air staying in front of the occupant's upper part is moved toward the occupant's upper part by blowing out the third air flow from the front outlet duct provided toward the seat in front of the seat. Can do.
As a result, the staying airflow generated by the combination of the first airflow and the second airflow can be clung to the occupant's upper body. The staying airflow can be effectively supplied to the upper body part of the occupant, for example, to the armpit or the neck.
In addition, the first air flow and the second air flow are basically airflows directed from the seat to the front, and the third air flow is airflow directed from the front of the seat to the seat. Therefore, the third air flow can be weakened by the first air flow and the second air flow. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the passenger from feeling uncomfortable as compared with the case where the third air flow is directly blown to the head such as the face of the passenger without being weakened.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view schematically showing the structure of an automobile to which an air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the air flow around the passenger by the air conditioner of FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of an air conditioner according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

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

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory view schematically showing the structure of an automobile 1 to which an air conditioner 2 according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied.

The automobile 1 is a kind of vehicle. An occupant room in which an occupant gets in is formed in the front-rear direction center of the vehicle body of the automobile 1. A front chamber for arranging a fuel engine or the like is formed in the front portion of the vehicle body. A rear chamber that can be used as a cargo compartment or the like is formed in the rear portion of the vehicle body.
The passenger compartment includes a substantially square floor panel 11, a pair of A pillars 12 erected at the front corner of the floor panel 11, a pair of B pillars 13 erected at the center in the front-rear direction of the floor panel 11, and the floor panel 11. It has a pair of C pillars 14 erected on the rear corner. The upper end of the A pillar 12 and the upper end of the C pillar 14 are connected by a roof rail 15. The upper end of the B pillar 13 is joined to the center of the roof rail 15 in the front-rear direction. A substantially rectangular roof panel 16 is joined between the pair of left and right roof rails 15.
A toe board 17 is disposed between the front edge of the floor panel 11 and the lower portions of the pair of A pillars 12, and a dashboard 18 is disposed above the toe board 17. A windshield 19 is fitted so as to be surrounded by the dashboard 18, the upper portions of the pair of A pillars 12, and the front edge of the roof panel 16. A rear glass 20 is fitted between the upper portions of the pair of C pillars 14.
Between the A pillar 12 and the B pillar 13 arranged in the front-rear direction, a front door (not shown) that is rotatably supported by the A pillar 12 is disposed. A rear door (not shown) that is rotatably supported by the B pillar 13 is disposed between the B pillar 13 and the C pillar 14. A pair of side sills 21 are joined to both edges in the left-right width direction of the floor panel 11.
Thus, the passenger compartment of the automobile 1 is a substantially cubic box-shaped space.
A center tunnel 22 extending in the front-rear direction so as to protrude into the passenger compartment is formed at the center in the left-right width direction of the floor panel 11. Below the center tunnel 22, for example, a drive shaft (not shown) for transmitting the driving force of the fuel engine to the rear wheels is arranged.
A driver seat 23 on which a driver sits and a navigation seat 24 on which a navigator sits are attached to the front portion of the floor panel 11 side by side in the left-right width direction as front seats. The driver seat 23 has a seat portion 41 and a back portion 42. The navigation sheet 24 includes a seat portion 41 and a back portion 42. The center tunnel 22 is located between the seat 41 of the driver seat 23 and the seat 41 of the navigation seat 24. On the center tunnel 22, a shift lever 25, a side brake lever (not shown), a console box 26 as an interior member, and the like are attached.
In front of the driver seat 23 and the navigation seat 24, the dashboard 18 extending in the left-right width direction is located. A steering wheel 27 is provided in front of the driver seat 23 so as to protrude rearward from the dashboard 18.
A bench seat 28 on which a plurality of passengers can sit is attached as a rear seat to the rear portion of the floor panel 11. The bench seat 28 has a seat portion 41 and a back portion 42. The bench seat 28 has a lateral width equivalent to that of the floor panel 11. Up to three passengers can normally sit on the bench seat 28.

By the way, in the conventional vehicle 1, it is common to use a fuel engine as a power source of the vehicle 1. However, due to restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions, the automobile 1 in recent years may adopt a hybrid drive system that uses both a fuel engine and an electric motor. Moreover, only an electric motor may be employed as a power source.
Since the automobile 1 using an electric motor does not have a fuel engine as a heat source and a power source or does not always operate, it is mounted on the automobile 1 to generate cool air or warm air used for air conditioning of the passenger compartment. The power of the battery that is being used will be used. In this case, since the electric power of the battery mounted on the automobile 1 is consumed for air conditioning, it is necessary to shorten the travelable distance or to suppress the travel performance such as the speed.
Thus, in the air conditioner 2 of the automobile 1, it is required in the future to improve energy consumption by the air conditioner 2. In particular, the occupant tends to feel the thickness of the upper body such as the neck and armpit in the summer.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, a personal air conditioner 2 that performs air conditioning for each passenger, for example, is proposed instead of air-conditioning the entire passenger compartment of the automobile 1. By using such an air conditioner 2, for example, it is possible to reduce the necessity of heating or cooling the entire passenger compartment of the automobile 1. Moreover, since the burden can be reduced even when it uses together with the air conditioner which air-conditions the whole passenger compartment, it can anticipate reducing the energy consumption of the air conditioner 2 in the motor vehicle 1 as a result.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the air conditioner 2 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The air conditioner 2 includes an inner blowing duct 51, an inner blowing fan 52, an outer blowing duct 54, an outer blowing fan 55, a front blowing duct 57, a front blowing fan 58, a temperature control unit 61, and a control unit 71.

  The temperature control unit 61 may be, for example, a unit box 62 in which a heater 63, a Peltier element 64, and a temperature sensor 65 are arranged. The heater 63 heats the air in the unit box 62 using the power of the battery mounted on the automobile 1. The Peltier element 64 cools the air in the unit box 62 using the power of the battery mounted on the automobile 1. In addition to this, for example, the temperature control unit 61 may be connected to a duct of an air conditioner that air-conditions the entire passenger compartment, and may receive supply of heated or cooled air from the entire air conditioner. Further, a heating medium such as cooling water for the fuel engine or a refrigerant may be supplied. The temperature sensor 65 detects the temperature of air in the unit box 62.

  The inner outlet duct 51 has an inner outlet 53 at one end and is connected to the unit box 62 of the temperature control unit 61 at the other end. The inner outlet 53 may be provided with a wind direction adjusting mechanism such as a louver. An inner blowing fan 52 for sucking or blowing air at a low speed may be provided in a duct that is inside the inner blowing port 53.

  The outer outlet duct 54 has an outer outlet 56 at one end, and the other end is connected to the unit box 62 of the temperature control unit 61. The outer air outlet 56 may be provided with a wind direction adjusting mechanism such as a louver. An outside blowing fan 55 for blowing out or blowing out air at a low speed may be provided in a duct that is inside the outside blowing outlet 56.

  The front outlet duct 57 has a front outlet 59 at one end, and the other end is connected to the unit box 62 of the temperature control unit 61. The front outlet 59 may be provided with a wind direction adjusting mechanism such as a louver. A front blowing fan 58 for blowing air at a low speed may be provided in a duct that is inside the front blowing port 59.

  The control unit 71 controls the operation of the air conditioner 2. The control unit 71 may be a microcomputer, for example. The control unit 71 may be integrated with another control unit 71 provided in the automobile 1 and one microcomputer. An example of such a microcomputer is an ECU. For example, a heater 63, a Peltier element 64, a temperature sensor 65, an inner blowing fan 52, an outer blowing fan 55, and a front blowing fan 58 are connected to the control unit 71.

Such an air conditioner 2 is provided for each occupant seated on the seat, for example. Here, it is installed with respect to the navigation sheet 24.
Specifically, the inner outlet 53 is provided on a side surface of the navigation box 24 side of the console box 26 that is disposed inside the seat 41 of the navigation sheet 24. The inner air outlet 53 is provided at a height position spaced above the seat surface of the seat portion 41 of the navigation seat 24.
The outer air outlet 56 is provided at a height position spaced above the seating surface of the seat 41 on the outer side of the seat 41 of the navigation seat 24.
The front outlet 59 is provided on the dashboard 18 provided on the front side of the navigation sheet 24. The front outlet 59 is provided rearward at a position higher than the seating surface of the navigation seat 24. Further, the front outlet 59 is formed in a horizontally long slit shape that is long in the width direction, and has a width corresponding to the width of the navigation sheet 24.
The temperature adjustment unit 61 is provided in the console box 26. Therefore, the inner outlet duct 51 is also provided in the console box 26. Further, the outer blowing duct 54 protrudes from the console box 26 and extends to the outside of the seat portion 41 of the navigation sheet 24 through the lower side of the seat portion 41 of the navigation sheet 24. Further, the front outlet duct 57 protrudes from the console box 26 and extends forward along the center tunnel 22 until reaching the front side of the dashboard 18, for example.

Next, the operation of the air conditioner 2 will be described.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the air flow around the occupant by the air conditioner 2 of FIG.

The control unit 71 of the air conditioner 2 acquires, for example, the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 65, and controls the operation and stop of the heater 63 and the Peltier element 64 so as to obtain a desired temperature. The control target temperature may be any temperature that increases the sensible temperature of the occupant. When heating is required in winter, for example, the temperature may be about 20 degrees.
In addition, the control unit 71 starts the air conditioning control by operating the inner blowing fan 52, the outer blowing fan 55, and the front blowing fan 58 based on a user operation.
At this time, the control unit 71 rotates the inner blowing fan 52, the outer blowing fan 55, and the front blowing fan 58 at a low speed.

  For example, the inner blowing fan 52 and the outer blowing fan 55 are rotated at a low speed so that the respective airflows are 0.01 m / second or more and 6 m / second or less. Thus, by setting the flow velocity to 6 m / sec or less, the decrease in the temperature of the sensation due to the air flow can be reduced to about 1 degree or less. Further, the low-speed air flow of the inner blowing fan 52 and the low-speed air flow of the outer blowing fan 55 merge before the occupant seated on the seat and stay in front of the upper body part of the occupant.

  Moreover, the control part 71 rotates the front blowing fan 58 at low speed. For example, the front blowing fan 58 blows out an air flow that is faster than the low-speed air flow of the inner blowing fan 52 and the low-speed air flow of the outer blowing fan 55. This airflow flows from the front to the rear as an airflow having the width of the seat according to the wide shape of the wide front outlet 59. Thereby, the air staying in front of the occupant seated on the seat moves toward the occupant's upper body by the air flow generated by the front blowing fan 58. The air staying in front of the occupant seated on the seat flows from front to back along the surface of the upper body so as to cling to the upper body.

  Moreover, the control part 71 fluctuates the rotational speed of the front blowing fan 58 within a low speed range. Thereby, the air flow of the front blowing fan 58 is faster than the low-speed air flow of the inner blowing fan 52 and the low-speed air flow of the outer blowing fan 55, and the low-speed air flow and the outer blowing fan 55 of the inner blowing fan 55. Switch between slower airflows and slower speeds. When the air flow is slow, the air flow can be retained in front of the occupant seated on the seat, and when the air flow is fast, the retained air can be moved toward the upper body of the occupant.

As described above, in the present embodiment, both the inner blowing duct 51 and the outer blowing duct 54 blow the air flow weakly. Therefore, these air flows are merged and retained in front of the upper body part of the occupant seated on the seat. be able to.
In particular, the inner blowing duct 51 and the outer blowing duct 54 blow out the air flow at such a low speed that they can fall to the seat after the air flows merge. Therefore, the airflow after joining tends to stay in front of the occupant.
Then, by blowing out a backward wide air flow from the front blowing duct 57 provided toward the seat in front of the seat, the air staying in front of the passenger's upper body is directed toward the passenger's upper body. Can be moved.
As a result, the air staying in front of the occupant's upper body can be clung to the occupant's upper body. The staying airflow can be effectively supplied to the upper body part of the occupant, for example, to the armpit or the neck.

In addition, the weak air flow in the inner blowing duct 51 and the weak air flow in the outer blowing duct 54 are basically air flows from the back to the front, and the weak air flow in the front blowing duct 57 is the air from the front to the back. Current. Therefore, when these airflows merge, the speed at which the airflow flows in the front-rear direction becomes slow.
As a result, the velocity of the air flow clinging to the upper body of the occupant can be effectively suppressed to a low level, and can be effectively supplied to the occupant's armpit, neck, and the like.
Moreover, since the flow is very weak, even if the air flow is blown directly on the head, such as the occupant's face, it is difficult to give discomfort to the occupant.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, the front blower outlet 59 is formed in the width | variety corresponding to the width | variety of a sheet | seat. Therefore, the staying airflow can be supplied to the entire width of the upper body of the occupant seated on the seat by the wide airflow corresponding to the width of the seat. This makes it easier for the staying airflow to cling to the upper body as a whole.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the air flow in the front blowing duct 57 is switched between a speed higher than the air flow in the inner blowing duct 51 and the air flow in the outer blowing duct 54 and a speed slower than these air flows. Therefore, the air conditioner 2 can continue to intermittently merge the airflow of the inner blowing duct 51 and the airflow of the outer blowing duct 54 in front of the upper body part of the occupant seated on the seat. In addition, it is possible to continue to supply the occupant with the airflow that is accumulated and retained. It is possible to continue to generate a staying airflow that clings to the upper body of the passenger. For example, the inside blowing duct 51 and the outside can blow out cold air from the side blowing duct 51, and the cold staying airflow can be clung to the occupant's upper body.

In the present embodiment, a temperature control unit 61 that warms the air is provided in the console box 26. Therefore, the inner outlet duct 51 from the temperature control unit 61 to the inner outlet 53 and the outer outlet duct 54 from the temperature control unit 61 to the outer outlet 56 are minimized, and heat loss in these ducts is minimized. Can do. Further, it is not necessary to provide the temperature adjustment unit 61 exposed around the sheet.
Thereby, the energy used for air conditioning can be reduced without impairing comfort such as a passenger's sensible temperature.

[Second Embodiment]
The air conditioner 2 according to the second embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment in that the inner air outlet 53 and the outer air outlet 56 are arranged on the seat. In the following description, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described. Moreover, the same code | symbol as 1st Embodiment is used for convenience of explanation.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the air conditioner 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The air flow around the passenger is substantially the same as in FIG.

  The inner outlet 53 is provided on the inner side in the width direction of the back portion 42 of the seat. The outer air outlet 56 is provided on the outer side in the width direction of the back portion 42 of the seat. Preferably, the back portion 42 of the seat has a portion protruding so as to support the left and right sides of the waist, and the inner air outlet 53 and the outer air outlet 56 may be provided in these protruding portions. The inner outlet duct 51 and the outer outlet duct 54 protrude outward from the console box 26 and extend to the back portion 42 of the navigation seat 24.

  And in this embodiment, the inner blower outlet 53 and the outer blower outlet 56 are provided in the width direction inner side part of the back part 42 of a sheet | seat. In addition, these air flows are easy to merge in front of the upper body of the occupant seated on the seat. Even in this case, a weak air flow is ejected from both of these vents and a weak air flow is blown from the front air outlet 59 so that the air can be attached to the upper body of the occupant seated on the seat. Can flow. The entire upper body of the occupant can be wrapped with a temperature-controlled air flow so that the temperature of the entire upper body can be adjusted equally in the left and right directions. A cool feeling can also be given to the passenger's neck and armpits.

  In the present embodiment, the inner air outlet 53 and the outer air outlet 56 are arranged on the seat. In addition to this, for example, one of the inner air outlet 53 and the outer air outlet 56 may be provided beside the seat. For example, you may provide the inner blower outlet 53 in the console box 26 etc. like 1st Embodiment.

  The above embodiment is an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications or changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Automobile (vehicle), 2 ... Air conditioner, 11 ... Floor panel, 12 ... A pillar, 13 ... B pillar, 14 ... C pillar, 15 ... Roof rail, 16 ... Roof panel, 17 ... Toe board, 18 ... Dashboard, 19 ... windshield, 20 ... rear glass, 21 ... side sill, 22 ... center tunnel, 23 ... driver seat, 24 ... navigation seat, 25 ... shift lever, 26 ... console box, 27 ... steering wheel, 28 ... bench seat, 41 ... Seat part 42 ... Back part 51 ... Inner outlet duct 52 ... Inner outlet fan 53 ... Inner outlet outlet 54 ... Outer outlet duct 55 ... Outer outlet fan 56 ... Outer outlet outlet 57 ... Front outlet duct 58 ... front blowing fan, 59 ... front blowing outlet, 61 ... temperature control unit, 62 ... unit box, 63 ... Over data, 64 ... Peltier elements, 65 ... temperature sensor, 71 ... control unit

Claims (5)

An air conditioner for a vehicle having a seat on which an occupant riding the vehicle sits,
One side outlet duct having one side outlet provided on one side or one side in the width direction of the sheet;
The other side outlet duct having the other side outlet provided in the other side or the other side in the width direction of the sheet;
A front outlet duct having a front outlet provided toward the seat in front of the seat;
Have
The first air flow blown out from the one side blowing duct and the second air flow blown out from the other side blowing duct are joined in front of the upper body part of the occupant seated on the seat, and In the air,
The front blowing duct has a third air flow blown from the front blowing duct at a speed faster than the first air flow and the second air flow, and a speed slower than the first air flow and the second air flow. The first air flow and the second air flow continue to merge intermittently in front of the upper body part of the occupant seated on the seat, and the combined and retained air flow is retained by the occupant. To continue to produce a stagnant airflow that clings to the upper body of the occupant,
Vehicle air conditioner. The one side outlet and the other side outlet are provided on both sides in the width direction of the back portion of the seat,
The front outlet provided toward the sheet on the front side of the sheet is formed to have a width corresponding to the width of the sheet.
The air conditioner for a vehicle according to claim 1. The one side blowing duct and the other side blowing duct blow out an air flow at a low speed at which the combined air flow can fall on the seat,
The front blowing duct blows out a third air flow that is faster than the first air flow and the second air flow.
The air conditioner for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2. Provided in a console box provided on one side in the width direction of the seating surface of the seat, and has a temperature control unit for cooling the air flow,
The one side blowing duct and the other side blowing duct are connected to the temperature control unit, and blow out cold air generated by the temperature control unit.
The vehicle air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The air flow blown out from the one side blowing duct and the other side blowing duct is 0.01 m / second or more and 6 m / second or less,
The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 3.

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