JPH0124532Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a deformed tube evaporator used in an automotive air conditioner, and more particularly to a condensed water scattering prevention structure that prevents condensed water from scattering.

Generally, an air conditioner for an automobile 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, which controls switching between air flowing into the intake unit 1 through the inside air inlet 6 and air flowing through the outside air intake 7. Therefore, an intake door 9 is installed inside the intake unit 1. The intake door 9 moves to a position A where the inside air inlet 6 is closed, a position C where the outside air intake 7 is closed, and a position B between these positions.

The cooler unit 2 has a built-in evaporator 11 through which refrigerant from the refrigerant conduit 10 circulates, and within the cooler unit 2, the air from the intake unit 1 exchanges heat with the refrigerant and becomes cold air. Become. In order to discharge the water droplets 12 condensed in the evaporator 11 to the outside of the vehicle, the cooler unit 2 is provided with a drain port 13, and the water droplets 12 are guided to the outside of the vehicle by a hose 14 connected to the drain port 13.

A heater core 16 through which engine cooling water is circulated through a conduit 15 is incorporated in the heater unit 3 in order to heat the air that has passed through the cooler unit 2, and a mix door 17 is attached to the front surface of the heater core 16. By opening and closing the mixer door 17 to any position between the D position and the F position, for example, the E position, all the air that has passed through the cooler unit 2 can be sent into the passenger compartment via the heater core 16, or can be sent through the heater core 16. It can be sent directly into the passenger compartment without any air leakage, or it can be sent directly to the passenger compartment.
By passing part of the air from the heater core 16 through the heater core 16 and mixing the other air without passing through the heater core 16, or by sending it into the vehicle interior without mixing, air at an appropriate temperature is sent into the vehicle interior.

Furthermore, the heater unit 3 includes a vent duct 1 for sending air to a center ventilator (not shown) assembled in the instrument panel.
8 and a room duct 1 that blows air to the feet of passengers.
9 and a defrost duct 20 that blows air out onto the inner surface of a windshield (not shown) to remove fog or frost from the windshield. 21 is a vent door for opening and closing the vent duct 18, and 22 is a room door for opening and closing the room duct 19, each of which is attached to the heater unit 3.

A typical irregular tube evaporator incorporated into the cooler unit 2 is constructed as shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the irregularly shaped tube 30 is a flat tube integrally formed by extrusion processing, and a plurality of refrigerant passages 31 are simultaneously formed in an aligned manner. This evaporator has an irregularly shaped tube 30 formed into a meandering shape.
A pair of mutually opposing outer surfaces 32, 32 at 0
A fin 33 is attached between each.
In addition, inlet side conduits 3 are provided at both ends of this tube 30.
4 and an outlet-side conduit 35 are installed so as to communicate with each group of refrigerant passages 31.

The irregular tube evaporator configured in this way is
The refrigerant flows from the inlet conduit 34 into the group of refrigerant passages 31 of the irregularly shaped tube 30, and while the refrigerant flows through the group of refrigerant passages 31 formed in a meandering shape, heat is taken away from the air flowing between the fins 33. The refrigerant is evaporated, the air is cooled by the heat of evaporation, and the evaporated refrigerant is sent to a compressor (not shown) through an outlet conduit 35.

By the way, condensed water adheres to the fins of such an irregularly shaped tube evaporator, and when this condensed water is scattered by the air flow passing through the fins, the condensed water flows into the passenger compartment from the case joint of the heater unit. Water droplets may flow into the room to be cooled from the air outlet and the air outlet.

Therefore, in the case of the conventional irregular-shaped tube evaporator, a wire mesh is installed at the outermost leeward side of the irregular-shaped tube evaporator to catch the flying condensed water and prevent it from scattering.

However, in the case of the condensed water scattering prevention structure of such a conventional irregular-shaped tube evaporator, a wire mesh is installed on the leeward side, which increases the number of parts and assembly man-hours, resulting in an increase in manufacturing costs. There are disadvantages such as increased resistance and total weight.

The present invention was developed by focusing on these conventional drawbacks, and in addition to integrally molding a plurality of condensed water scattering prevention pillars in the cooler unit, these pillars are attached to each of the leeward end faces of the irregularly shaped tubes. The purpose is to solve the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks by arranging them in parallel.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

3 to 7 are diagrams showing an embodiment of the present invention. First, to explain the configuration, the cooler unit 2 that incorporates the irregularly shaped tube evaporator 11 is integrally molded with synthetic resin or the like in two halves in the vertical direction, and after the divided surfaces are joined, they are fastened together with clamp fittings 37 and integrated. be converted into On the upper and lower surfaces of the cooler unit 2, approximately semicircular column-shaped condensed water scattering prevention columns 36 are formed integrally with the cooler unit 2 and bridged in the vertical direction, the number of which corresponds to the meandering number of the irregularly shaped tubes 30 of the irregularly shaped tube evaporator 11. It is formed to do so. This integral molding of each column 36 with the cooler unit 2 can be easily carried out because the cooler unit 2 is molded into two parts in the vertical direction. Each pillar is formed so as to be joined to each other to form one pillar 36. When the irregularly shaped tube evaporator 11 is installed in the cooler unit 2, each pillar 36 abuts along each of the leeward end faces of each meandering line of the irregularly shaped tube 30, and forms an extension thereof. . In this state, each pillar 36 has its arc-shaped surface facing downwind, and its flat surface abuts each end surface of the irregularly shaped tube 30. The pillars 36 are arranged parallel to each other in the vertical direction, and their upper and lower ends are connected to the upper and lower surfaces of the cooler unit 2 at approximately right angles, and their wall thickness is made equal to the wall thickness of the irregularly shaped tube 30. .

Next, the action will be explained.

The condensed water adhering to the fins of the irregularly shaped tube evaporator is swept away by the air flow passing through the fins and reaches the leeward end of the evaporator, and this condensed water flows from this leeward end substantially to the extension of the irregularly shaped tube 30. The condensed water adheres to the surface of each of the condensed water scattering prevention pillars 36 forming the structure, and is captured by these pillars 36 in a state as shown in FIG. The condensed water captured in this way becomes its own weight, and the condensed water scattering prevention column 36
It flows downward while adhering to the surface of the cooler unit 2, flows down along the lower surface of the cooler unit 2, and is discharged from the drain port 13. Therefore, the condensed water is prevented from scattering away from the irregular tube evaporator, and water droplets are prevented from flowing out from the joint air outlet of the heater unit into the room to be cooled.

Note that the cross-sectional shape of the condensed water scattering prevention column is not limited to the semicircular shape of the above embodiment, but is as shown in FIGS. 8A, B, C, and D.
It is possible to set it in various shapes as exemplified in , and it is preferable to set a shape with good drainage as appropriate.

As explained above, according to the present invention, the condensed water scattering prevention column is integrally molded into the cooler unit, which reduces the number of parts, assembly man-hours, weight, etc., and the column is an extension of the irregularly shaped tube. Therefore, an increase in air resistance loss can be suppressed, and the effect of helping to fix the evaporator to the cooler unit can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a system diagram showing a general automotive air conditioner, Figure 2 is a perspective view of a modified tube evaporator,
3 to 7 show one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a side sectional view, and FIG. 4 is a -
5 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view, FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view, and FIG. 8 A, B, C, and D are deformations of the condensed water scattering prevention column. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an example. 2... Cooler unit, 11... Irregular tube evaporator, 30... Irregular tube, 31... Refrigerant passage, 33... Fin, 36... Condensed water scattering prevention column.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In the cooler unit, an irregularly shaped tube evaporator is formed in which an irregularly shaped tube having a plurality of refrigerant passages is formed in a meandering shape, and fins are interposed between a pair of outer surfaces of the irregularly shaped tube formed in the meandering shape. In a condensed water scattering prevention structure for an irregularly shaped tube evaporator, which is provided with a condensed water scattering prevention means that is provided on the lee side of the irregularly shaped tube evaporator to catch the condensed water scattered from the irregularly shaped tube evaporator and prevent the scattering. , the condensed water scattering prevention means is constituted by a plurality of condensed water scattering prevention columns formed integrally with the cooler unit case and arranged in parallel with each other along each of the leeward end surfaces of the irregularly shaped tubes; Condensed water scattering prevention structure of the irregularly shaped tube evaporator.