JP7218488B2 - Air conditioner unit cover mounting structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cover mounting structure for an air conditioner unit mounted on a vehicle.

In the passenger compartment, a console is arranged between the driver's seat side on one side in the vehicle width direction and the passenger's seat side on the other side in the vehicle width direction. An air-conditioning unit is arranged in front of the vehicle from the console, and a cover for the air-conditioning unit is arranged. The air-conditioning unit cover covers a part of the air-conditioning unit on the rear side of the vehicle, and has a foot duct or the like that guides air blown from the air-conditioning unit into the vehicle interior to the feet of the driver's seat and the passenger's seat. An electric power steering system (EPS) is located on the driver's side of the air conditioning unit.

On the other hand, in an electric power steering system, when automatic driving technology is introduced, the size of the electric motor for EPS tends to increase. As the size of the EPS electric motor increases, the air conditioner unit adjacent thereto may protrude from the console toward the passenger seat in the vicinity of the passenger seat foot duct. In this case, the appearance from the front passenger's seat becomes unattractive, and the leg or knee of the occupant in the front passenger's seat may come into contact with the portion of the air conditioning unit that protrudes from the console toward the front passenger's seat.

Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-26530

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been devised under the circumstances described above, and provides an air conditioner unit cover mounting structure suitable for improving the inconvenience caused when an air conditioner unit mounted on a vehicle protrudes toward the front passenger seat. The main task is to provide

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following technical means.

The air conditioner unit cover mounting structure provided by the present invention is arranged between a console in a vehicle interior and an air conditioner unit arranged in front of the vehicle relative to the console, and is opposite to the driver's seat side on one side in the vehicle width direction. A mounting structure for an air conditioner unit cover having a passenger foot duct for blowing air to the foot of the passenger seat on the other side in the vehicle width direction, wherein the air conditioner unit is positioned higher than the console when viewed from the rear of the vehicle. The air conditioner unit cover has a protruding portion protruding to the other side in the vehicle width direction, the base end portion of the cover for the air conditioner unit being positioned on the front side of the vehicle with respect to the passenger seat foot duct and extending to the other side in the vehicle width direction, and A first extending portion located on the vehicle rear side of the protruding portion and having a first surface facing the vehicle rearward, and an end portion of the first extending portion on the other side in the vehicle width direction. a second extending portion having a second surface that extends toward the front side of the vehicle by bending with respect to the first surface, and the first extending portion, or the first extending portion and the The second extending portion is characterized in that it overlaps with the protruding portion.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description given below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic view showing an example of an air conditioner unit cover mounting structure according to the present invention, showing a part of a front passenger seat side of a vehicle interior as viewed from the back of the vehicle; FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view along line II-II of FIG. 1; It is the figure which showed an example of a part of cover for air-conditioning units, and was seen from the diagonally back of the passenger seat side.

1 and 2 show an example of a passenger seat side portion of a passenger compartment provided with an air conditioner unit cover mounting structure according to the present invention.

1 and 2, the vehicle width direction W is the horizontal direction in the drawings. A driver's seat is arranged on the right side in the figure, which is one W1 side in the vehicle width direction (the driver's seat side is not shown), and on the left side in the figure, which is the other W2 side in the vehicle width direction opposite to the one W1 side in the vehicle width direction. has a passenger seat. The instrument panel 4 shown in FIG. 1 is arranged to extend in the vehicle width direction W when viewed from the rear of the vehicle. The console 3 is arranged between the driver's seat side and the passenger's seat side in the vehicle width direction W, and protrudes from the instrument panel 4 toward the vehicle rear RR.

As shown in FIG. 2, the air conditioner unit 1 is arranged on the vehicle front FR side of the console 3 . The air conditioner unit 1 constitutes an air conditioner. Hot air and cold air whose temperature is adjusted by a heater core and an evaporator (both not shown) in the air conditioner unit 1 are sent out from the air conditioner unit 1 .

The air conditioner unit 1 has a protruding portion 11 positioned at the end on the other W2 side in the vehicle width direction. The protruding portion 11 is a portion that protrudes from the console 3 toward the other W2 side in the vehicle width direction when viewed from the rear of the vehicle. Such a protruding portion 11 is, for example, due to an increase in the size of the motor of an electric power steering system (EPS) arranged on the driver's seat side (one W1 side in the vehicle width direction) with respect to the air conditioner unit 1. This is caused by shifting to the seat side (the other W2 side in the vehicle width direction).

An air conditioner unit cover 2 (hereinafter referred to as “cover 2” for short) is arranged on the vehicle rear RR side of the air conditioner unit 1 . The cover 2 is arranged between the console 3 and the air conditioner unit 1 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

The cover 2 covers at least a part of the air conditioner unit 1 on the rear RR side of the vehicle, and plays a role of guiding hot air and cold air sent out from the air conditioner unit 1 to the driver's seat, the front passenger's seat and the rear seats. As shown in FIG. 3 , in this embodiment, the cover 2 has a driver's seat foot duct 21 , a passenger's seat foot duct 22 and a rear foot duct 23 . The driver's seat foot duct 21 is a passage for blowing air from the air conditioner unit 1 to the foot of the driver's seat. The passenger's seat foot duct 22 is a passage for sending the air from the air conditioner unit 1 to the foot on the passenger's seat side. The rear foot duct 23 is a passage for sending air from the air conditioner unit 1 to the rear seat side, and a pipe (not shown) extending toward the vehicle rear RR side is connected to the lower end of the rear foot duct 23. . The driver's seat foot duct 21, the front passenger's seat foot duct 22, and the rear foot duct 23 extend downward and are open at their lower ends.

Also in this embodiment, the cover 2 has a first extension 24 and a second extension 25 . A base end portion of the first extending portion 24 is connected to a lower portion of the passenger seat foot duct 22 and is positioned on the vehicle front FR side with respect to the passenger seat foot duct 22 . The first extending portion 24 extends to the other W2 side in the vehicle width direction, and has a first surface 241 facing the vehicle rear RR. The second extending portion 25 is connected to the tip of the first extending portion 24 in a bent shape. The second extension 25 has a second surface 251 . The second surface 251 is connected to the first surface 241 via a bent portion with the first extending portion 24 . The second surface 251 bends and extends toward the vehicle front FR side with respect to the first surface 241 .

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the bent portion where the first extending portion 24 and the second extending portion 25 are connected is gently curved in an arc shape. The radius of curvature of the cross section of the bent portion shown in FIG. 2 is, for example, 10 mm or more.

The angle α between the first surface 241 and the second surface 251 shown in FIG. 2 is, for example, 20° or more, preferably 30° or more, and more preferably 45° or more. FIG. 2 shows the case where the angle α formed by the first surface 241 and the second surface 251 is 45°.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the first extending portion 24 and the second extending portion 25 overlap the protruding portion 11 of the air conditioner unit 1 when viewed from the rear of the vehicle. Note that the first extending portion 24 may be longer on the other W2 side in the vehicle width direction than in the aspect shown in FIG. overlaps with

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 , the cover 2 has a third extension 26 connected to the tip of the second extension 25 . The third extension portion 26 extends while bending toward the vehicle front FR side with respect to the second extension portion 25 . As viewed in the vehicle width direction W, the third extending portion 26 overlaps the protruding portion 11 . Note that, unlike the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the second extending portion 25 may be longer along the cross-sectional direction. In this case, the second extending portion 25 overlaps the protruding portion 11 when viewed in the vehicle width direction W, and the third extending portion 26 may not be provided.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

In this embodiment, the air conditioner unit 1 has a protruding portion 11 that protrudes from the console 3 toward the other W2 side in the vehicle width direction. The air conditioner unit cover 2 arranged on the vehicle rear RR side of the air conditioner unit 1 has a first extending portion 24 and a second extending portion 25 . The first extending portion 24 and the second extending portion 25 overlap the protruding portion 11 when viewed from the rear of the vehicle.

According to such a configuration, the protruding portion 11 is covered with the first extending portion 24 and the second extending portion 25 when viewed from the front passenger seat, and the appearance from the front passenger seat is improved. Also, the legs or knees of the occupant on the front passenger seat are prevented from coming into contact with the protruding portion 11 .

In the present embodiment, the first extending portion 24 is positioned on the vehicle front FR side with respect to the passenger seat foot duct 22 and extends on the vehicle width direction other W2 side. As a result, the air (temperature-controlled warm air or cold air) sent from the air conditioner unit 1 and blown out from the opening 221 at the tip of the front passenger foot duct 22 is cooled to the first surface 241 of the first extending portion 24 by the so-called Coanda effect. (see arrows in FIGS. 2 and 3). Further, the second extension portion 25 connected to the tip of the first extension portion 24 is bent toward the vehicle front FR side at a predetermined angle α. As a result, the wind blown out from the opening 221 of the passenger seat foot duct 22 reaches the vicinity of the tip of the first extending portion 24 (the end portion on the other W2 side in the vehicle width direction), and then reaches the second extending portion due to the Coanda effect. It does not get pulled toward the part 25 and goes straight ahead. Therefore, according to the configuration including the first extending portion 24 and the second extending portion 25, the wind sent from the air conditioner unit 1 can easily reach the feet of the passenger in the front passenger seat, thereby improving the effectiveness of the air conditioner. .

As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the first extending portion 24 extends along the other W2 side in the vehicle width direction, but the first extending portion 24 is located on the vehicle front FR side or the vehicle front FR side. It may extend with a slight inclination to the side.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. The specific configuration of each part of the present invention can be changed in various ways.

FR Vehicle front RR Vehicle rear W Vehicle width direction W1 Vehicle width direction one W2 Vehicle width direction other α Angle 1 Air conditioner unit 11 Protruding portion 2 Cover (cover for air conditioner unit)
21 Driver's seat foot duct 22 Passenger seat foot duct 221 Opening 23 Rear foot duct 24 First extension 241 First surface 25 Second extension 251 Second surface 26 Third extension 3 Console 4 Instrument panel

Claims (1)

It is placed between the console in the passenger compartment and the air conditioning unit located on the front side of the vehicle from the console, and is located on the passenger seat side on the other side in the vehicle width direction opposite to the driver seat side on the one side in the vehicle width direction. A mounting structure for an air conditioner unit cover having a passenger seat foot duct for blowing air to the feet,
The air conditioner unit has a protruding portion that protrudes from the console to the other side in the vehicle width direction when viewed from the rear of the vehicle,
The base end of the air conditioner unit cover is positioned on the front side of the vehicle with respect to the passenger seat foot duct, extends to the other side in the vehicle width direction, and is positioned on the rear side of the vehicle relative to the protrusion, A first extending portion having a first surface facing the rear of the vehicle, connected to an end portion of the first extending portion on the other side in the vehicle width direction, and extending while being bent toward the front side of the vehicle with respect to the first surface. a second extension having a second surface;
An air conditioner unit cover mounting structure, wherein the first extension portion, or the first extension portion and the second extension portion overlap with the protrusion portion when viewed from the rear of the vehicle.

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