JPH01269607A - Air conditioner for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obviate the need of a connecting duct for the heat transmission between each blow-out duct by installing each heat transmission body in a plurality of blow-out ducts and connecting the heat transmission bodies by a heat pipe and allowing at least one blow-out duct to communicate to a heating or cooling means. CONSTITUTION:The air sucked into a blower unit 3 by the operation of a blower 6 is cooled by an evaporator 12, and then heated by a heater core 15, and blown into a car compartment through the first blow-out duct 19. Interlocked with the operation, each fan 33 of a plurality of second blow-out ducts 28a and 28b operates, and air is blown into the car component. In this case, the air which flows in the first blow-out duct 19 is heat-exchanged by the first heat transmission bodies 34a and 34b. The heat energy which is heat-exchanged is transmitted to the second heat transmission bodies 35a and 35b through a plurality of heat pipes 37a and 37b connected with a plurality of fins 36 and heats or cools the air which flows in the second blow-out ducts 28a and 28b.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an air conditioner installed in a vehicle, and particularly to a measure for reducing the space occupied by a blow-off duct.

(Prior art) Conventionally, this type of vehicle air conditioner has been developed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 6
As disclosed in Publication No. 1-67617, etc., a blower unit having an air blower, a cooler unit having an evaporator, and a heater unit having a heater core are connected in series, and The blown air is cooled by a cooler unit and heated by a heater unit to adjust it to a target temperature, and the air at the target temperature is blown into the vehicle interior from each outlet of the heater, vent, and differential in a predetermined blowout mode. Accordingly, the room temperature is adjusted to a comfortable temperature, ventilation is maintained, and windshields are prevented from fogging.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) By the way, the above-mentioned vent outlets are generally opened in a total of three at both left and right ends and in the center of the instrument panel at the front end of the vehicle compartment, and each outlet and the left and right sides of the vehicle body are approximately connected to each other. Each of the above-mentioned heater units disposed in the middle man is communicated with through a connecting duct.

However, the diameter of the connecting duct that extends from left to right inside the instrument panel is relatively large in order to flow a high flow rate of air conditioned air, and the space occupied by this large diameter connecting duct makes it difficult to mount, for example, the meters and steering wheel. ,
There has been a problem in that the installation and layout of various other parts installed in the instrument panel, such as the glove box, as well as the shape and design of the instrument panel itself, are subject to restrictions.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its purpose is to improve the air outlet structure of the above-mentioned vehicle air conditioner, eliminate the need for a connecting duct that takes up a large space, and eliminate the need for a connecting duct within the instrument panel. The objective is to expand the space for other components and improve the degree of freedom in their layout.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the solution means of the present invention is to provide at least two systems of blow-off ducts whose downstream ends communicate with the blow-off ports, and to use heating means or cooling means for one of them as usual. One side is connected to the blowing means via a heat pipe, while the other side is connected only to the blowing means, and the heat of the air flowing through the blowing duct on the side communicating with the heating means or cooling means is transferred by a heat pipe to the other side without the heating means or cooling means. so that it is transmitted into the air duct.

That is, the vehicle air conditioner of the present invention includes at least two blow-off ducts, and each of the blow-off ducts is configured to blow conditioned air through separate air blowing paths that are independent of each other. At least one of the blowout ducts communicates with a heating means or a cooling means, and a heat transfer body is provided in each of the ducts, and heat can be transferred between the heat transfer bodies by a heat pipe. It is characterized by being connected.

(Function) With the above configuration, in the present invention, conditioned air is blown to each blow-off duct through the blowing path of the duct itself, and the conditioned air is blown out from the blow-off port at the downstream end of the duct. At this time, conditioned air heated by the heating means or cooled by the cooling means flows through the blow-off duct communicating with the heating means or the cooling means. Then, the thermal energy of this air-conditioned air is transmitted to the heat transfer body in the outlet duct without heating means or cooling means via the heat transfer body in the duct and the heat pipe connected to the heat transfer body, This heats or cools the conditioned air in the duct containing the heat transfer body.

In this way, heat is transferred through the heat pipe between the air-conditioned air and the earthen floor in the outlet duct, so even if the outlet ducts are far apart, there is no need to connect them with a connecting duct, and instead of the connecting duct, a small diameter Only the heat pipes need to be installed, and the duct space within the instrument panel can be reduced accordingly, allowing more space for other components.

(Example) Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes an instrument panel disposed at the front end of the vehicle interior, and an air conditioner 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention is disposed at the bottom (inside) of this instrument panel 1. There is.

As shown in FIG. 1, this air conditioner 2 is comprised of blower, cooler, and heater units 3, 10.13. The blower unit 3 is attached to the lower left end of the instrument panel 1, and has a blower 6 as an air blower driven by a blower motor 5 in its case 4. Further, the cooler unit 10 is arranged on the right side of the blower unit 3, and the cooler unit 10 is arranged on the right side of the blower unit 3.
It has a case 11 connected to a case 4, and an evaporator 12 (evaporator) as a cooling means is installed inside the case 11. Although not shown, an expansion valve, a compressor driven by an on-vehicle engine, a receiver tank, and a condenser (condenser) are connected in series to the evaporator 12 via refrigerant piping, and the compressor is compressed by the compressor. After the refrigerant is condensed and liquefied in the condenser and this liquid refrigerant is expanded in the expansion valve, the evaporator 1
By vaporizing in step 2, the air is cooled by the heat of vaporization.

Furthermore, the heater unit 13 is arranged at the lower left and right center of the instrument panel 1.

This heater unit 13 has a case 14 connected to the case 11 of the cooler unit 10.
A heater core 15 as a heating means is installed inside the heater core 4 . The heater core 15 is connected to the water jacket of the vehicle engine via a cooling water pipe (not shown), and heats the intake air by supplying coolant whose temperature has increased from the engine to the heater core 15 and dissipating the heat there. It is made to be.

The case 4 of the blower unit 3 is formed with an outside air introduction lower that communicates with the outside of the vehicle, and an inside air introduction port 8 that communicates with the interior of the vehicle. An inside/outside air switching door 9 that selectively switches and introduces outside air or inside air is rotatably supported.

Further, the case 14 of the heater unit 13 has vent and differential communication ports 16, 17 and heat outlet 18.
18 are opened, and each heat outlet 18 is opened toward the feet of the passenger.

On the other hand, the upstream end of a first vent duct 19 constituting a blow-off duct is connected to the vent communication port 16, and the downstream portion of the duct 19 is branched into left and right branch ducts 19a and 19b, each of which has its downstream end. The portions communicate with center louver air outlets 20a and 20b that open toward the chest of the occupant. And these two center louver air outlets 20a, 2
0b are arranged side by side in the left-right center of the instrument panel 1, as shown in FIG.

Moreover, the upstream end of a differential duct 21 as shown in FIG. It communicates with the air outlet 22°22.

Furthermore, the case 14 of the heater unit 13 is provided with an air mix door 2 that adjusts the temperature of the air blown into the vehicle interior.
3 and an auxiliary door 24 are rotatably supported, and by opening and closing both doors 23 and 24 in conjunction with each other, the opening degree of the air mix door 23, that is, the flow path area with respect to the heater core 15 is controlled. It is designed to adjust the temperature of the blown air.

Further, a vent door 25 for opening and closing the vent communication port 16 and a differential door 26 for opening and closing the differential communication port 17 are rotatably supported on the case 14 of the heater unit 13, and these two doors By opening and closing the doors 25 and 26 in conjunction with each other, the opening and closing of each door 25 and 26 is controlled in a predetermined pattern to switch the blowout mode.

By switching and controlling the opening and closing of the doors 9, 23 to 26, the inside air or outside air sucked into the blower unit 3 is cooled and heated by the cooler unit 10 and the heater unit 13, respectively, and then the air outlets 17.20a, 20b are opened. 2
The system is configured to blow air into the vehicle interior from 2 to harmonize the air in the vehicle interior to a comfortable state.

Furthermore, second vent ducts 28a and 28b, which are another blow-off duct and have a substantially rectangular cross-section and extend in the front-rear direction, are provided at both left and right ends of the instrument panel 1. The front end of each duct 28a, 28b has an outside air inlet 29 communicating with the outside of the vehicle, and the front side (the left side of the left duct 28a, the right side of the right duct 28b) has an inside air inlet 30 communicating with the interior of the vehicle. are opened, respectively, and an inside/outside air switching door 31 that selectively introduces outside air or inside air into the ducts 28a, 28b is rotatably supported between the two inlets 29, 30.

Furthermore, side louver air outlets 32g and 32b are formed at the rear ends of each of the vent ducts 28a and 28b, and these air outlets 32a and 32b open toward the chest of the occupant inside the vehicle.
, 32b is the instrument panel 1 as shown in FIG.
are placed at both the left and right ends of the

Furthermore, as illustrated in an enlarged view of the case of the right side duct 28b in FIG. 3, each of the vent ducts 28a, 28b has a side louver outlet 32a.

A brushless fan 33 as a ventilation means is installed behind the fan 32b, and when the fan 33 operates, the outside air sucked in from the outside air inlet 29 or the inside air sucked in from the inside air inlet 30 is transferred to the side louver outlet 32a.
, 32b into the vehicle interior. As described above, the first and second vent ducts 19, 28a
, 28b are configured to blow conditioned air through separate air passages independent of each other, and only the first vent duct 19 communicates with the heater core 15 (heating means) or the evaporator 12 (cooling means). There is.

Each branch duct 1 in the first vent duct 1
9a, 19b have center louver outlets 20a, 20b.
First heat transfer bodies 34a, 34b are disposed immediately upstream of. In addition, the vent ducts 28a and 2 of each node 2 are
Second heat transfer bodies 35a and 35b are disposed immediately upstream of the brushless fan 33 in the fan 8b. These heat transfer bodies 34a to 35b all have the same configuration, and are made of aluminum plates or the like arranged at regular intervals in the left-right direction (direction perpendicular to the air blowing direction) of the ducts 19, 28a, and 28b. A large number of rectangular plate-shaped heat transfer fins 36
, 36. ..., and these heat transfer fins 36, 36 .・
... is duct 19.28a.

28b through the side wall of the first and second predecessor heating elements 34;
The heat pipes 35 a and 35 b are fixedly supported by being attached to each end of two left and right heat pipes 37 a and 37 b that connect the heat pipes 35 a and 35 b to each other so as to allow heat transfer. That is, the inner end of the left heat pipe 37a passes through the left side wall of the left branch duct 19a and extends into the duct 19a, and the outer end thereof passes through the right wall of the second vent duct 28a on the left. It is located immediately upstream of the brushless fan 33 inside. On the other hand, the inner end of the right heat pipe 37b passes through the right side wall of the right branch duct 19b and extends into the duct 19b, and the outer end of the heat pipe 37b passes through the right side branch duct 19b.
It penetrates the left side wall of the fan 33 and is located immediately upstream of the brushless fan 33 therein.

Here, to explain the structure and operating principle of each heat pipe 37a, 37b, each heat pipe 37a,
37b is a sealed vibrator 37C (as shown in FIG. 4).
and a mesh wick 37d that is provided on the inner wall of the vibrator 37c and allows the working fluid (for example, water) to flow back through capillary action. The vibrator 37c is sealed to remove non-condensable gas such as air, and has an appropriate amount of working fluid sealed therein, and the inner space of the vibe is filled with the working fluid and its saturated vapor. And heating section 37e
When heat is applied to the (heat-in), the working fluid there evaporates, and the pressure difference between it and the cooling section 37f (heat-out) causes the steam to move at high speed to the cooling section 37f. This moved vapor condenses on the inner wall of the cooling section 37f, where it releases latent heat of vaporization. In this way, heat is transferred from the heating section 37e to the cooling section 37f as latent heat due to evaporation, movement, and condensation of the working fluid.
Unlike ordinary solid heat conduction, a large heat flux can be obtained. Further, the working fluid condensed in the cooling part 37f is returned to the heating part 37e by the capillary action of the wick 37d, and evaporation and condensation are repeated to form a closed circulation circuit.

In addition, in FIG. 3, 38 indicates the side louver outlet 32a, 3.
A side vent grill arranged at 2b is used to manually change the blowing direction in the vertical direction.

Therefore, in the above embodiment, when the air conditioner is operated and the blowout mode is set to vent mode or pie level mode, the air (inside air or outside air) sucked into the blower unit 3 by the operation of the blower 6 is After being sent out from the blower unit 3, it is cooled by the evaporator 12 of the cooler unit 10, then heated by the heater core 15 of the heater unit 13, and then passed through the first vent duct 19 to the center louver at its downstream end. Air is blown out from the air outlets 20a and 20b toward the occupants inside the vehicle. Also, in conjunction with this operation, the second vent duct 2
Brushless fans 33.33 in 8a, 28b are turned on, and the operation of these fans 33.33 causes inside or outside air to flow through the second vent ducts 28a, 28b and from the side louver outlets 32a, 32b at the downstream ends of the vehicle. It is blown out into the room.

In that case, the conditioned air flowing inside the first vent duct 19 exchanges heat with the first heat transfer body 34, 34 on the way to heat or cool the heat transfer body 34. The thermal energy of the conditioned air transferred to the heat transfer body 34.34 is transferred to the fins 36. of the heat transfer body 34.34. 36. ... through the heat pipes 37a and 37b that connect and support the
The air conditioned air in the ducts 28a, 28b having the heat transfer bodies 35a, 35b is heated or cooled. be done.

That is, in this way, the first and second vent ducts 1
9. Heat pipe 37 between air conditioned air in 28a and 28b
37b, the left and right second vent ducts 28a and 28b located away from the heater unit 13 are connected to the first vent duct 19 in the left and right center of the instrument panel 1. On the other hand, there is no need to connect with a connecting duct, and only small diameter heat pipes 37a, 37b can be provided in place of the connecting duct, and the duct space within the instrument panel 1 can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to increase the space for other parts installed in the instrument panel 1, such as meters, steering mounting mechanism, glove box, etc. The degree of freedom in body shape, design, etc. can be improved.

In addition, since the outside air inlet 29 of the second vent ducts 28a and 28b is opened at the front end of the duct, when the inside/outside air switching door 31 is switched to the outside air introduction state while the car is running, the brushless fan 33 is turned off. It is advantageous that outside air can be naturally introduced into the vehicle interior as a running wind even without the ON operation.

In addition, in the above embodiment, in addition to the first vent duct 19 that communicates with the cooler unit 10 and heater unit 13, second vent ducts 28a and 28b that do not communicate with the cooler unit 10 and heater unit 13 are provided. Although the case in which two ducts are provided has been described, the number of ducts may be increased or decreased by one or three or more, and the same effects as in the above embodiment can be obtained.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the conditioned air blown to the chest of the passenger during the vent mode or pie level mode was targeted.
The present invention can also be applied to heating air during heating mode and the like.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the vehicle air conditioner of the present invention, at least two systems of blow-off ducts are provided, one of which is communicated with the blowing means via the heating means or the cooling means, while
The other side is connected only to the blowing means, and the heat of the air flowing through the blowing duct on the side communicating with the heating means or the cooling means is transmitted via the heat pipe into the other blowing duct which does not have the heating means or the cooling means. 4, it is possible to eliminate the need for a connecting duct to connect the blow-off ducts, reduce the duct space within the instrument panel, and expand the installation space for other parts, their layout, and the instrument panel. It is possible to improve the degree of freedom in the shape and design of the device itself.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing the overall configuration of the air conditioner, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the arrangement structure of the air conditioner in the instrument panel. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing the internal structure of the right side vent duct, and FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing the structure of the heat pipe. 1... Instrument panel, 2... Air conditioner,
3... blower unit, 6... blower, 7... cooler unit, 12... evaporator (cooling means),
13... Heater unit, 15... Heater core (heating means), 19... First vent duct (blowout duct), 20a, 20b... Center louver outlet, 28
a. 28b...Second vent duct (blowout duct), 3
2a, 32b... Center louver outlet, 33... Brushless fan, 34.35 a, 35 b...
Heat transfer body, 37a, 37b...heat pipe.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A vehicle air conditioner having at least two blow-off ducts, each of the blow-off ducts being configured to blow conditioned air through separate and independent blowing paths, and at least one of the blow-off ducts being heated. A vehicle characterized in that each of the blow-off ducts is connected to a means or a cooling means, a heat transfer body is provided in each of the blow-off ducts, and the heat transfer bodies are connected to each other by a heat pipe so that heat can be transferred thereto. air conditioning equipment.