JP6504860B2 - Vehicle air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner that is mounted on a vehicle and blows air whose temperature has been adjusted by a heat exchanger into a vehicle compartment to adjust the temperature of the vehicle compartment.

  The applicant takes inside and outside air into a casing having an air passage formed therein by means of a blower, and cools the air cooled by the evaporator as the cooling means and the air heated by the heater core as the heating means in the casing. We have proposed a vehicle air conditioner that mixes air to a desired mixing ratio with an air mix damper and then blows air from a plurality of openings provided in the casing through an air outlet through an air outlet provided in the vehicle compartment (Patented Reference 1).

  In this air conditioning system for vehicles, a slide type damper which slides along the inner wall surface of the casing is adopted as an air mix damper, and the slide type damper is formed with a rack gear inside and is rotatably supported by the casing. It is engaged with the pinion gear of the shaft. The pinion gear is disposed between the slide damper and the evaporator so as to be separated from each other by a predetermined distance.

  Then, by rotating the shaft, the sliding damper slides in the casing under the meshing action of the pinion gear and the rack gear, and the cold air passing through the evaporator and the warm air passing through the heater core are mixed at a predetermined ratio.

JP, 2013-199209, A

  In recent years, the further space expansion in a vehicle interior is required, and the further miniaturization of the vehicle air conditioner accompanying with it is desired. However, in order to avoid contact between the pinion gear for driving the sliding damper and the evaporator, it is necessary to set a predetermined distance apart, and it is difficult to further miniaturize the casing.

  The present invention is made in connection with the above-mentioned proposal, and it aims at providing an air-conditioner for vehicles which can attain size reduction of an air-conditioning case further.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there are provided an air conditioning case having a passage through which air flows, a heat exchanger provided inside the air conditioning case for performing heat exchange of air, and an inside of the air conditioning case. In a vehicle air conditioner having a slide damper mechanism movably provided to switch communication of a passage,
The slide damper mechanism includes a pinion gear rotatably provided to the air conditioning case;
And a slide damper engaged with the pinion gear for slide displacement;
The pinion gear is disposed so as to overlap with the heat exchanger as viewed in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the pinion gear and the axial direction of the pinion gear, and the pinion gear is disposed at the overlapping position of the heat exchanger and the pinion gear. Providing a relief for avoiding contact of the

  According to the present invention, in the vehicle air conditioner having the heat exchanger and the slide damper mechanism for switching the communication state of the passage inside the air conditioning case, the slide damper mechanism is provided rotatably with respect to the air conditioning case. A pinion gear and a slide damper engaged in sliding displacement with the pinion gear, the pinion gear being provided at a position overlapping the heat exchanger when viewed from an orthogonal direction orthogonal to the axial direction, in the overlapping position A relief is provided to avoid contact with the pinion gear.

  Therefore, by providing the heat exchanger with the relief portion, the distance between the slide damper and the heat exchanger can be significantly reduced compared to the conventional vehicle air conditioner, and the air conditioning case can be miniaturized. At the same time, since the pinion gear and the heat exchanger may overlap as viewed in the direction orthogonal to the axis, there is no restriction on the position of the engagement portion of the slide damper with the pinion gear, and design freedom is improved. It can be done.

Furthermore, the heat exchanger comprises a plurality of tubes arranged in parallel for circulating the medium inside, and fins arranged between the tubes, at least at the overlapping position of the pinion gear and the heat exchanger. The spacing between the tubes may be greater than the tooth thickness of the pinion gear, and the relief may be formed only on the overlapping fins.

  Thus, the concave relief portion can be provided by changing the shape of only the fins, and it is not necessary to change the tube whose flow rate of the refrigerant changes due to the shape change. Therefore, it is possible to easily and efficiently configure the relief portion for the heat exchanger.

  Furthermore, the air conditioning case has an opening that allows the heat exchanger to be attached and detached in the direction orthogonal to the axis of the pinion gear, so that the heat exchanger can be mounted from the direction orthogonal to the axis of the pinion gear using the opening. Since removal is possible, for example, when manufacturing or checking a vehicle air conditioner, the pinion gear overlapping with the heat exchanger when viewed from the axial direction of the pinion gear does not interfere with the attachment / detachment work, and the attachment / detachment work smoothly It is possible to do

  Also, the heat exchanger may be a cooler for cooling the air or a heater for heating the air.

  According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

  That is, in the air conditioning system for vehicles, a slide damper mechanism and a heat exchanger for switching the communication state of the passage are provided inside the air conditioning case, and the slide damper mechanism is provided rotatably with respect to the air conditioning case. By providing a gear and a slide damper engaged with and slidingly engaged with the pinion gear, the pinion gear is disposed so as to be axially offset so as not to overlap with the heat exchanger when viewed from an axial orthogonal direction orthogonal to the axial direction. For example, even when the pinion gear is overlapped with the heat exchanger in the axial direction, the gap between the slide damper and the heat exchanger without providing a relief portion for avoiding the pinion gear with respect to the heat exchanger. Can be made smaller. As a result, it is possible to significantly reduce the distance between the slide damper and the heat exchanger as compared with a vehicle air conditioner having a conventional slide damper mechanism, and accordingly, the air conditioning case can be miniaturized, and further, It is possible to miniaturize the vehicle air conditioner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is whole sectional drawing of the vehicle air conditioner which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 2A is a partial cross-sectional front view of the evaporator and the pinion gear as viewed in a direction orthogonal to the shaft in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along line IIB-IIB of FIG. 2A. FIG. 3A is an exploded perspective view of an air conditioning case and an evaporator constituting the vehicle air conditioner, and FIG. 3B is an external perspective view showing a state in which the air conditioning case and the evaporator of FIG. 3A are assembled. 4A is a partial cross-sectional front view showing the evaporator and the pinion gear of a vehicle air conditioner according to a modification, FIG. 4B is an enlarged front view showing the vicinity of the relief portion of the evaporator in FIG. 4A, and FIG. 4B is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of the relief portion in FIG. 4B.

  The preferred embodiments of the air conditioning system for a vehicle according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a vehicle air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle air conditioner 10 includes an air conditioning case 14 forming air passages 12 and an evaporator (cooler) 16 provided inside the air conditioning case 14 for cooling the air. A heater core (heater) 18 for heating the air, and a damper mechanism (slide damper mechanism) 20 for switching the flow of the air flowing in the respective passages 12 are included. The evaporator 16 and the heater core 18 are heat exchangers for performing heat exchange between air and a medium.

  The air conditioning case 14 is composed of, for example, an upper case 26 having substantially symmetrical first and second divided cases 22 and 24 and a lower case 28 attached to the lower part of the upper case 26. The two split cases 22 and 24 are provided so as to be split in the width direction of the vehicle (in the direction of arrow A in FIGS. 3A and 3B), and the first and second split cases 22 and 24 are below (in the direction of arrow B1). The lower case 28 is closed by opening the lower case 28. In addition, the inlet 32 which the air from the air blower which is not shown in figure is introduce | transduced opens in the side part of lower case 28. As shown in FIG.

  Above the upper case 26 (in the direction of the arrow B2), a vent air outlet 34 for blowing air near the occupant's face and a defroster air outlet 36 for blowing air near the front window of the vehicle adjacent to the vent air outlet 34 Is open.

  Further, the evaporator 16 is provided in the upper case 26 at a position on the upstream side (the direction of the arrow C1) in the flow direction of air, and the heater core is at a position on the downstream side (the direction of the arrow C2) with respect to the evaporator 16 18 are provided.

  On the other hand, in the lower case 28, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the side surface of the evaporator 16 is formed on the inner wall surface along the width direction (direction of arrow A) of the first and second divided cases 22 and 24 in the upper case 26. And a gear cover portion 40 in which pinion gears 66a and 66b described later are accommodated.

  The gear cover portion 40 is formed adjacent to the seal portion 38 on the opening 42 side (arrow B2 direction) of the lower case 28 and wider in the width direction outside (in the arrow A1 direction in FIG. 2A) with respect to the seal portion 38 It is formed to The seal portion 38 and the gear cover portion 40 are respectively formed on both side walls 28 a along the width direction (arrow A direction) of the lower case 28.

  The evaporator 16 is provided between the first divided case 22 and the second divided case 24 and between the upper case 26 and the lower case 28 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A. Provided between a pair of first and second tanks 44, 46 provided substantially in parallel, a plurality of tubes 48 connecting between the first tank 44 and the second tank 46, and the tubes 48 And a plurality of fins 50 bent in an undulating manner. The fins 50 are formed, for example, by bending a thin plate such as aluminum in a wave shape, and are provided between two adjacent tubes 48.

  The first and second tanks 44 and 46 are formed, for example, in the shape of a hollow box and elongated along the width direction (direction of the arrow A) of the evaporator 16, and one end of the first tank 44 is shown in FIG. As shown, an introduction pipe 52 through which the refrigerant is introduced from the outside and a lead-out pipe 54 through which the refrigerant is drawn are connected.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the tube 48 is formed in a hollow shape and in a straight line, for example, of a thin plate made of a metal material, and extends in a direction substantially orthogonal to the first and second tanks 44 and 46, One end thereof is connected to the first tank 44, and the other end is connected to the second tank 46 so as to communicate with each other. Further, the plurality of tubes 48 are disposed substantially in parallel at regular intervals. Then, after the refrigerant supplied from the introduction pipe 52 to the first tank 44 circulates to the second tank 46 through the plurality of tubes 48, it returns to the first tank 44 again and is discharged from the outlet pipe 54. .

  When the evaporator 16 is provided between the upper case 26 and the lower case 28, the side surface of the evaporator 16 abuts on the seal portion 38 of the lower case 28 and the side wall 26 a of the upper case 26. Leakage of air between the upper case 26 and the lower case 28 is prevented.

  In the heater core 18, as shown in FIG. 1, warm water which is a medium is circulated through a plurality of tubes (not shown), and air from the passage 12 passes through fins provided between the tubes. Heat exchange between the air and the hot water is performed, and the heated air is supplied to the downstream side of the heater core 18 (in the direction of the arrow C2).

  In addition, what is used as a heater which heats air is not limited to the above-mentioned heater core 18, For example, the heat exchanger for heating which circulated the heat exchange medium inside may be sufficient, It may be an electric heater that generates heat downward.

  The damper mechanism 20 is provided between the evaporator 16 and the heater core 18 and is an air mix that adjusts the flow amount and the flow state when flowing the air cooled by the evaporator 16 downstream in the air conditioning case 14 A damper (slide damper) 56 and a switching damper 58 for switching the air blowing state of the vent air outlet 34 and the defroster air outlet 36 are provided.

  The air mix damper 56 is formed, for example, in a cross-sectional arc shape with a large radius that is convex toward the heater core 18 side, and is provided along the width direction (arrow A direction) of the air conditioning case 14. The guide rails 60 are provided along the inner wall surfaces of the first and second divided cases 22 and 24, respectively.

  Further, on the inner wall surface of the air mix damper 56 facing the evaporator 16, a pair of rack gears 62 are provided at both end portions along the width direction (arrow A direction). The rack gear 62 is provided along the sliding direction of the air mix damper 56. The pinion gears 66a and 66b of the shaft 64 axially supported by the side wall 26a of the upper case 26 are engaged with the rack gear 62, respectively.

  As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the shaft 64 has one end rotatably supported by the wall of the first split case 22 and the other end rotatably supported by the wall of the second split case 24. It is provided approximately horizontally by being supported by. Further, a pair of pinion gears 66a and 66b are provided in the vicinity of both end portions of the shaft 64, and the pinion gears 66a and 66b are coaxial with the shaft 64 and formed in a disk shape larger in diameter than the shaft 64. Are formed with a plurality of gear teeth 68. That is, the axis D of the shaft 64 and the axis D of the pinion gears 66a and 66b are in the same straight line.

  The pinion gears 66a and 66b are provided offset to a position outside the side surface along the width direction (direction of arrow A) of the evaporator 16, and the axial direction of the shaft 64 (in FIG. In FIG. 2A, a part thereof is provided so as to overlap the evaporator 16 as viewed in the direction of arrow A) (see FIG. 1).

  That is, the shaft 64 is disposed so as to be close to the downstream surface 16a which is the downstream side (the direction of the arrow C2) of the evaporator 16 (see FIGS. 1 and 2B).

  Then, for example, an actuator (not shown) is connected to one end portion of the shaft 64 protruding to the outside of the first divided case 22, and the pinion 64 rotates the shaft 64 under the driving action of the actuator. The air mix damper 56 is slidingly displaced along the guide rail 60 under the meshing action with the guide rail 60, and is movably provided from a position facing the heater core 18 to a position opening the heater core 18 side.

  By moving the air mix damper 56 in this manner, the mixing ratio between the air (cold air) cooled by the evaporator 16 and the air (warm air) heated by the heater core 18 is adjusted to blow the air downstream. .

  The pinion gears 66 a and 66 b are housed inside the gear cover 40 in the lower case 28 and also housed in the side wall 26 a of the upper case 26.

  The switching damper 58 is pivotally supported between the vent air outlet 34 and the defroster air outlet 36, and is rotated about a shaft by a predetermined angle under the driving action of an actuator (not shown). The communication state between the air outlet 36 and the passage 12 is switched.

  The vehicle air conditioner 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention is basically configured as described above, and next, its operation and effects will be described. Here, the case of performing the cooling operation to reduce the room temperature in the vehicle compartment will be described.

  First, when an occupant (not shown) operates the operation lever in the vehicle compartment to select the cooling operation, an actuator (not shown) is driven according to the operation of the operation lever and slides to a position where the air mix damper 56 faces the heater core 18 Do. At the same time, by driving an air blower (not shown), the air sucked into the air conditioning case 14 passes through the evaporator 16 to perform heat exchange and to be cooled to a predetermined temperature.

  Then, the cooled air flows upward in the air conditioning case 14 through the passage 12 and then is supplied into the vehicle compartment through the vent air vent 34 opened under the switching action of the switching damper 58.

  Next, the case where the air conditioning case 14 and the evaporator 16 are assembled in the vehicle air conditioner 10 described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B.

  First, the evaporator 16 is inserted from above into the opening 42 of the lower case 28 shown in FIG. 3A, and the side surface of the evaporator 16 is in contact with the seal 38. In this state, a part of the evaporator 16 is housed inside the lower case 28.

  Further, the side surface of the evaporator 16 abuts on the seal portion 38, so that the leakage of air between the evaporator 16 and the lower case 28 is prevented.

  Next, both end portions of the shaft 64 are respectively inserted into the wall portions of the first and second divided cases 22 and 24 divided, and then the first divided case 22 and the second divided case 24 are formed. And the upper case 26 is formed. At this time, a portion of the pinion gears 66a, 66b is stored so as not to be in contact with the side wall 26a.

  When the opening 30 of the upper case 26 and the opening 42 of the lower case 28 face each other, the evaporator 16 is partially accommodated and assembled in the opening 30. At this time, the evaporator 16 is assembled and stored from the side of the opening 30 (direction of arrow B1) with respect to the upper case 26 with respect to the pinion gears 66a and 66b and the shaft 64, so that the pinion gears 66a and 66b are the evaporator 16 There is no hindrance when assembling the

  Further, since the pinion gears 66 a and 66 b are disposed further outside in the width direction (direction of arrow A 1) than the side surfaces in the width direction of the evaporator 16, the pinion gears 66 a and 66 b do not contact the evaporator 16.

  Furthermore, the side surface of the evaporator 16 abuts on the side wall 26 a of the upper case 26, thereby preventing the air from leaking between the evaporator 16 and the upper case 26.

  Finally, by fastening the upper case 26 and the lower case 28 with a fastening screw (not shown), the assembly of the air conditioning case 14 in which the evaporator 16 is housed is completed as shown in FIG. 3B.

  On the other hand, even when the evaporator 16 is removed from the air conditioning case 14 described above, it can be taken out to the opening 30 side (direction of arrow B1) with respect to the upper case 26. Therefore, it is provided above the evaporator 16 (direction of arrow B2) The pinion gears 66a and 66b do not interfere with the operation.

  In the vehicle air conditioner 10 described above, the pinion gears 66a and 66b are disposed so as to overlap the evaporator 16 as viewed from the axial direction (the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2A). For example, the pinion gears 66a and 66b may be disposed so as to overlap the heater core 18 as viewed in the axial direction.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the pinion gears 66 a and 66 b and the evaporator 16 are viewed from the axial direction of the shaft 64 (in the direction of arrow A in FIG. The space L (see FIG. 1) between the air mix damper 56 and the evaporator 16 can be made much smaller (shortened) than in the prior art. Therefore, the space in the air conditioning case 14 can be efficiently used, and the air conditioning case 14 can be miniaturized, and accordingly, the vehicle air conditioner 10 can be miniaturized.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2A, the positions of the pinion gears 66a and 66b are offset to the outside in the width direction of the evaporator 16 in the width direction of the evaporator 16 (the direction of the arrow A). Even when the pinion gears 66a and 66b overlap each other as viewed in the axial direction, the distance L between the air mix damper 56 and the evaporator 16 is provided without providing a relief portion for the pinion gears 66a and 66b in the evaporator 16. Can be made smaller (shortened). Therefore, it is possible to realize the downsizing of the vehicle air conditioner 10 with a simple configuration.

  As in the configuration described above, not only when the pinion gears 66a and 66b overlap in the axial direction with respect to the evaporator 16 but also when, for example, the pinion gears 66a and 66b and the evaporator 16 are simply brought close to each other Even in this case, the same effect can be obtained because the contact between the two can be reliably avoided.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2A, the pinion gears 66a and 66b do not overlap the evaporator 16 when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the axis D of the shaft 64 (in the direction of arrow E in FIG. 1). On the downstream side of the evaporator 16, 66a and 66b are outside the air flow path, and the pinion gears 66a and 66b are prevented from blocking the flow of air. As a result, the air flow resistance can be reduced as compared with the conventional vehicle air conditioner in which the pinion gear is disposed on the air flow path. Furthermore, since the vehicle air conditioner 10 can be miniaturized without changing the evaporator 16 at all, the conventional evaporator can be used as it is, thereby preventing an increase in manufacturing cost. it can.

  Furthermore, in the air conditioning case 14, an opening 30 is provided at the end of the upper case 26 facing the lower case 28, and the evaporator 16 is used with the axis D (axial direction, arrow A direction) of the shaft 64 using the opening 30. By mounting or dismounting from the orthogonal direction (arrow E direction), for example, a pinion overlapping the evaporator 16 when viewed from the axial direction (arrow A direction) of the shaft 64 at the time of manufacturing or inspection of the vehicle air conditioner 10 The gear teeth 68 of the gears 66a and 66b do not interfere with the attaching and detaching operation of the evaporator 16, and the operation can be smoothly performed.

  In other words, it is not necessary to take out the evaporator 16 in the axial direction of the shaft 64. As a method of forming the opening 30, as described above, the division position of the upper case 26 and the lower case 28 may be appropriately set, and the structure may be removable through the opening when one case is removed, Another opening may be provided only for attaching and detaching the evaporator 16 regardless of the division position of the case.

  Further, in the configuration in which the evaporator 16 and the pinion gears 66a and 66b overlap when viewed from the axial direction of the shaft 64 (direction of arrow A), the pinion gears 66a and 66b are offset in the width direction outside of the evaporator 16 as described above. It is not limited to the case.

  For example, the pinion gears 66a and 66b are disposed so as to overlap the evaporator 100 in FIG. 4A viewed from the direction orthogonal to the axis D (axial direction, arrow A direction) of the shaft 64, and the pinion gears 66a and 66b are disposed. The relief portion 104 may be formed by cutting out the fins 102 of the evaporator 100 to be faced.

  As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the relief portion 104 faces the pinion gears 66a and 66b so that the gear teeth 68 of the pinion gears 66a and 66b do not come in contact with each other. (FIG. 4B, F1 <F2 in FIG. 4B).

  With such a configuration, the distance L between the air mix damper 56 and the evaporator 100 can be made much smaller than that of the conventional vehicle air conditioner, and the pinion gears 66a, 66b and the evaporator 100 can be made smaller. May overlap with each other when viewed from the direction orthogonal to the axis D (axial direction, arrow A direction) of the shaft 64 (arrow E direction), the axial direction of the rack gear 62 in the air mix damper 56 (arrow A direction There is no restriction on the position along the), and the degree of freedom in design can be improved. That is, since the pinion gears 66a and 66b can be disposed in accordance with the position of the rack gear 62, for example, the air mix damper of the air conditioner for a vehicle according to the prior art can be diverted.

  The shape of the relief portion 104 is not particularly limited as long as a recess capable of avoiding contact with the pinion gears 66a and 66b in the evaporator 100 is provided.

  Further, in the evaporator 100, the concave relief portion 104 can be provided by changing the shape of only the thin plate-like fins 102, and there is no need to change the shape of the tube 48 whose refrigerant flow rate changes due to the shape change. The relief portion 104 can be configured easily and efficiently.

  In addition, as a method of providing the relief portion 104 in the fin 102, fins having different shapes corresponding to the relief portion 104 may be prepared in advance and assembled between the tubes 48. After assembling between 48, the relief portion 104 may be cut out and formed by processing.

  Furthermore, in the air conditioning case 14, an opening 30 is provided at the end of the upper case 26 on the lower case 28 side, and the evaporator 100 is used from the direction orthogonal to the axis D of the shaft 64 (arrow E direction) Since it can be attached or removed, for example, when manufacturing or checking the vehicle air conditioner 10, the pinion gears 66a, 66b overlapping the evaporator 100 when viewed from the direction (direction of arrow E) orthogonal to the axial direction of the shaft 64 It is possible to work smoothly by attaching and detaching from the direction of the opening 30, without interfering with attaching and detaching of the evaporator 100.

  The vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention is, of course, not limited to the above embodiment, and various configurations can be adopted without departing from the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Air-conditioner for vehicles 14 Air-conditioning case 16, 100 Evaporator 18 Heater core 20 Damper mechanism 26 Upper case 28 Lower case 30, 42 Opening 38 Sealing part 40 Gear cover part 48 Tube 50, 102 ... Fins 56 ... Air mix damper 62 ... Rack gear 64 ... Shaft 66a, 66b ... Pinion gear 104 ... Relief part

Claims (4)

An air conditioning case having a passage through which air flows, a heat exchanger provided inside the air conditioning case for performing heat exchange of the air, and a communication state of the passage provided movably inside the air conditioning case A vehicle air conditioner having a slide damper mechanism for switching between
The slide damper mechanism includes a pinion gear rotatably provided to the air conditioning case.
And a slide damper which is engaged with the pinion gear and slides.
The pinion gear has a shaft direction of the pinion gear is disposed so as to overlap with the heat exchanger as viewed in the axial direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the pinion gear, and the pinion gear and the heat exchanger An air conditioner for a vehicle, comprising a relief portion at an overlapping position for avoiding contact with the pinion gear. In the vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 ,
The heat exchanger comprises a plurality of tubes arranged in parallel for circulating a medium therein;
Fins disposed between the tubes;
Equipped with
A vehicle characterized in that an interval between tubes at least at an overlapping position between the pinion gear and the heat exchanger is made larger than a tooth thickness of the pinion gear, and the relief portion is formed only in the fin at the overlapping position. Air conditioner. The air-conditioning apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 Symbol placement,
The air conditioning system for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the air conditioning case has an opening portion to which the heat exchanger can be attached and detached in the direction orthogonal to the axis of the pinion gear. The air conditioner for vehicles according to any one of claims 1 to 3 .
The air conditioner for a vehicle, wherein the heat exchanger is a cooler for cooling the air or a heater for heating the air.

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