JPH0120169Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Purpose of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an air conditioner for an automobile, and particularly to a structure for preventing the drain hose attached to a cooler unit from coming off.

(Prior Art) A typical automobile air conditioner includes an intake unit 1, a cooler unit 2, and a heater unit 3, as shown in FIG.

The intake unit 1 has a built-in fan 5 driven by a motor 4, and this fan 5 allows an inside air inlet 6 or an outside air intake 7 to be opened.
Air from inside and outside the vehicle is taken into the unit. Further, switching control of the air taken in from the inside air inlet 6 or the outside air intake 7 is performed by rotating the intake door 9.

The cooler unit 2 has a built-in evaporator 11 through which refrigerant is circulated through a refrigerant pipe 10, and the evaporator 11 cools the air inside and outside the vehicle interior, which is selectively taken in from the intake unit 1. .

Furthermore, the heater unit 3 is equipped with a heater core 15 that heats the air passing through it, a mix door 16 that controls the amount of air that passes through the heater core 15, and various ventilation doors 17, 18. Part or all of the air cooled by the cooler unit 2 is heated, or the temperature of the air is adjusted without heating at all, and the air is distributed into the vehicle interior.

In the cooler unit 2 of the above-mentioned automobile air conditioner, a cooling effect is performed by heat exchange between the relatively high temperature air introduced from the intake unit 1 and the refrigerant of the evaporator 11. The water condenses and adheres to the surface of the evaporator 11.

In order to discharge the condensed water 12 condensed in the evaporator 11 to the outside of the vehicle, the cooler unit 2 is equipped with the condensed water 12 dripping from the evaporator 11.
The condensed water 12 is discharged to the outside of the vehicle through a drain hose 14 connected to the drain port 13.

As shown in FIG.
0, passes through a hole 25 drilled in the dash panel 21, and is led out of the vehicle, so if your foot is placed on this hose 14, the weight from your foot will cause the water to drain. The drain hose 14 begins to come off from the port 13 and eventually comes off in the direction of the dash panel 21, which may cause the condensed water 12 to flow into the vehicle compartment 20.

Therefore, as solutions for solving these problems, for example, Utility Model Application No. 154551/1983 and Utility Model Application No. 154551/1983 are proposed.
There is a structure for preventing the drain hose from coming off as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 131213. All of these retaining structures have the same structure, and in particular, the one disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 54-154551 has a dash panel 21 in the middle of the drain hose 14, as shown in FIG. A concave fixing portion 26 that engages with the through hole 25 is formed.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, according to this retaining structure, it is true that the drain hose 14 due to contact with the passenger's foot.
However, in view of the workability when inserting and assembling the drain hose 14 into the through hole 25 of the dash panel 21, it is recommended that the drain hose 14 be made of an elastic rubber material or the like. Even so, it would have been impractical. That is, when assembling such a drain hose 14, one end of the drain hose 14 is inserted into the drain port 13 of the cooler unit 2 that has been assembled into the vehicle in advance, and then the other end of the hose 14 is bent and bent. The hose 14 must be inserted into the through hole 25 of the dash panel 21, and this work requires the operator to insert the hose 14 into the through hole 25 by groping while crawling under the instrument panel (not shown). It was extremely time consuming.

Furthermore, manufacturing the drain hose 14 having such a structure requires molding, and the more complicated the shape, the higher the cost of the mold, which is disadvantageous in terms of cost.

The present invention has been made in view of the drawbacks and problems associated with the prior art described above, and is a drain for automotive air conditioners that has excellent manufacturability and ease of assembly, and prevents the drain hose from coming off in the direction of the dash panel. The purpose is to provide a structure that prevents hoses from coming off.

[Structure of the invention] (Means for solving the problem) In order to achieve the above object, the drain hose retaining structure of the automotive air conditioner of the present invention prevents the condensed water dripping from the evaporator of the cooler unit from entering the vehicle compartment. In an automobile air conditioner that discharges water to the outside of the vehicle by a drain hose that passes through a hole drilled in a dash panel, the tip of the drain hose is bent into a crank shape and comes into contact with the periphery of the hole on the interior side of the vehicle interior. The drain hose is characterized by forming a section so that the drain hose cannot move in the direction of the dash panel.

(Function) In the present invention configured as described above, when assembling the drain hose, insert the tip of the drain hose from the inside of the vehicle into the through hole of the dash panel, and then insert it into the drain port of the cooler unit. After inserting the base, or inserting the base of the drain hose into the drain port of the cooler unit, insert the tip of the drain hose into the hole in the dash panel. The drain hose assembled in this way has a stepped portion on the interior side of the vehicle that comes into contact with the periphery of the through hole, so the stepped portion is caught in the through hole, and the end of the base portion is Since the drain hose is hooked to the drain port, the drain hose does not move toward the dash panel. Moreover, since the stepped portion is formed by bending the drain hose, the structure of the drain hose becomes simple.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a side view showing a drain hose retaining structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, and parts common to the conventional drain hose structure shown in Figs. 3 and 4 are given the same reference numerals. be. As shown in FIG. 1, the drain hose 14 of the present embodiment is made by bending a circular pipe member with approximately the same outer diameter into a crank shape at the portion that passes through the through hole 25 of the dash panel 21. This bent portion constitutes a stepped portion 23 that comes into contact with the hole periphery of the through hole 25 on the inside of the vehicle compartment 20 . Here, the tip 14a of the drain hose 14
has an external shape corresponding to the hole shape of the through hole 25 bored in the dash panel 21. For example, if the through hole 25 is circular, the drain hose 14
The outer shape of the tip part 14a is also circular, and the through hole 25
If the tip portion 14a has an elliptical shape, the outer shape of the tip portion 14a is also formed in an elliptical shape. In this embodiment, the drain hose 14 is made of an elastic synthetic resin, such as a rubber material, and the outer diameter of the tip 14a is slightly larger than the diameter of the through hole 25. The elastic force of the drain hose 14 ensures sealing performance. Moreover, the base 14b of the drain hose 14 is
The condensed water 12 that is inserted into the drain port 13 of the cooler unit 2 installed in the vehicle compartment 20 and drips from the evaporator 11 inside the cooler unit 2 is
The water is collected at the drain port 13 and drained outside the vehicle compartment 20 via the drain hose 14. Therefore,
In this embodiment, the bending direction of the drain hose 14 is such that the base portion 14b of the hose 14 is bent to the distal end portion 14a.
The condensed water 12 from the drain port 13 of the cooler unit 2 can be drained out of the vehicle interior 20 without remaining in the drain hose 14. Furthermore, when the base portion 14b of the drain hose 14 is bent higher than the tip portion 14a, that is, bent upward, there is also the effect that the occupant's feet are less likely to come into contact with the drain hose 14.

The drain hose 14 having such a structure is made by, for example, wrapping unvulcanized rubber around a core metal having an external shape corresponding to the internal shape of the drain hose 14.
It can be manufactured by vulcanizing the rubber by heating and then pulling out the core metal. Here, the removal of the core metal after rubber vulcanization is
This can be easily done due to the elasticity of rubber.

In addition, without being limited to such methods,
For example, straight tube rubber extruded into a semi-vulcanized state may be inserted into the crank-shaped core metal, then heated to vulcanize it, and then the core metal may be pulled out. Furthermore, a semi-vulcanized straight tube-shaped rubber is installed along the crank-shaped cavities in one of the blow molding molds each having semicircular tube-shaped cavities formed in advance in the shape of a crank; Blow molding and vulcanization can also be performed simultaneously by blowing hot air into a straight rubber tube after both molds are clamped. Furthermore, it is also possible to perform molding by pouring unvulcanized rubber into an injection mold having a crank-shaped cavity.

As described above, the drain hose of this embodiment has a structure that allows molding to be performed in a small number of steps, and the structure of the hose is also simplified.
The mold cost is also low.

According to the structure for preventing the drain hose from coming off in this embodiment, the drain hose 14 is connected to the drain port 1 of the drain panel 21 and the cooler unit 2.
3, insert the tip 14a of the drain hose 14 into the dash panel 21 from inside the vehicle compartment 20.
After inserting it into the through hole 25 of the cooler unit 2, the base portion 14b may be inserted into the drain port 13 of the cooler unit 2. Alternatively, on the contrary, after inserting the base 14b of the drain hose 14 into the drain port 13 of the cooler unit 2, the tip 14a of the drain hose 14 is inserted into the through hole 25 of the dash panel 21 from inside the vehicle compartment 20. Just do it.

Drain hose 14 assembled in this way
Since a stepped portion 23 is formed on the inside of the vehicle compartment 20 and contacts the periphery of the through hole 25, the stepped portion 23 is caught in the through hole 25, and the base portion 14b
Since the end of the drain hose 14 is inserted into the drain port 13, the drain hose 14 does not move toward the dash panel 21.

Therefore, the drain hose 14 is connected to the dash panel 2.
It is securely prevented from coming off in either direction or inward of the vehicle interior 20, and does not escape from the drain port 13 and the through hole 25, thereby preventing condensed water from flowing into the vehicle interior 20 from the drain port 13. can.

Further, the drain hose of this embodiment can be manufactured extremely easily and at low cost due to its structure.

Note that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made. For example, the thickness of the drain hose 14 of the above embodiment may be changed, or the tip portion 14a and the base portion 14b may be modified. It is also within the scope of the present invention that the outer diameter of the tube is changed.

[Effects of the invention] As explained above, the drain hose retaining structure of the automotive air conditioner according to the invention is such that the tip of the drain hose is bent into a crank shape and touches the periphery of the through hole on the inside of the vehicle. Since the stepped portion is formed in contact with the drain hose, it is possible to prevent the drain hose from coming off, and even if a foot gets on the drain hose, it is possible to prevent condensed water from leaking into the vehicle interior. Moreover, since the structure is extremely simple, it has practical effects such as easy assembly and low manufacturing cost.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a side view showing a drain hose retaining structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing a general automobile air conditioner, and Fig. 3 -
FIG. 4 is a side view and a vertical sectional view showing a conventional drain hose structure. 1... Intake unit, 2... Cooler unit, 3... Heater unit, 11... Evaporator, 12... Condensed water, 13... Drain port, 14...
...Drain hose, 14a...Tip, 14b...
Base, 20... Vehicle interior, 21... Dash panel,
23...Stepped portion, 25...Through hole.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] The condensed water 12 dripping from the evaporator 11 of the cooler unit 2 is transferred to the dash panel 21 of the vehicle compartment 20.
The drain hose 14 passes through a through hole 25 bored in the
In an automobile air conditioner that discharges the air to the outside of the vehicle, the distal end 14a of the drain hose 14 is bent into a crank shape to form a stepped portion 23 that comes into contact with the hole periphery inside the vehicle compartment 20 of the through hole 25. A drain hose retaining structure for an automobile air conditioner, characterized in that a drain hose 14 cannot move in the direction of a dash panel 21.