JPH04118317A - Air conditioner unit arrangement structure for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the comfortable car room temperature environment by improving the air agitation action in a heater unit for controlling the warm/cold air flow direction by connecting a cooler unit, blower unit, and the heater unit in this order, in order to introduce air. CONSTITUTION:As for an automobile, the front part of a car room 11 is arranged in extreme proximity from the upper side for an engine room 10 in the front part of a car body. Accordingly, a dash lower panel 3 which partitions the engine room 10 and the car room 11 is projected largely to the car room 11 side at the center part in the car width direction in order to accommodate a transmission, etc. In this case, an air conditioner unit connects fundamentally an inside/outside air selecting box 21, cooler unit 22, blower unit 23, and a heater unit 24 in this order from the upstream side in the air flow direction. Accordingly, the air whose flow direction is controlled in the heater unit 24 is sufficiently agitated by the blower unit 23 which is set immediately before the heater unit. Accordingly, the comfortable heating effect and cooling effect can be obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an air conditioning unit arrangement structure for an automobile.

(Prior Art) Generally, an air conditioning unit for an automobile basically consists of a blower unit, a cooler unit, and a heater unit. Conventionally, these three units are connected so as to introduce air in this order: a blower unit, a cooler unit, and a heater unit, and they are connected to each other in a substantially horizontal direction, as shown in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 2-11710. were placed side by side.

Furthermore, in so-called FF cars and FR cars, the passenger compartment and the engine compartment in front of the vehicle are separated by a dash panel, but in the past, all three of the above units were often placed in the passenger compartment.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, when the blower unit, cooler unit, and heater unit are connected in the above order, temperature distribution occurs in the air warmed by the heater unit and the air cooled by the cooler unit. It has been recognized that the problem is that it is easy to use.

On the other hand, when the above three units are arranged in a substantially horizontal direction, there is a problem that when water such as rainwater enters from the upstream side of the air conditioning unit, the water may enter all three units. or is recognized.

Furthermore, if all three of the above units are placed inside the vehicle interior, there is a problem in that the sound emitted by the blower unit is directly transmitted into the vehicle interior, increasing the noise inside the vehicle interior. Also, in this case, it becomes necessary to provide a through hole in the dash panel for passing the refrigerant pipe of the cooler unit, and for that through hole,
Another problem is that noise in the engine compartment is easily transmitted to the passenger compartment. Furthermore, in this case, when replacing a blower motor or the like, which has a relatively high failure rate, it is necessary to remove and install interior equipment such as an instrument panel, which makes repair work difficult.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioning unit arrangement structure for an automobile that can send air at a uniform temperature from a heater unit.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioning unit arrangement structure for an automobile that can prevent rainwater etc. from entering all of the above three units.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioning unit arrangement structure for an automobile that reduces interior noise and has excellent serviceability.

(Means and Effects for Solving the Problems) In the first automotive air conditioning unit arrangement structure according to the present invention, in the air conditioning unit consisting of a blower unit, a cooler unit, and a heater unit, as described above, the three units are connected to the cooler unit. The device is characterized in that the unit, blower unit, and heater unit are connected to introduce air in this order.

When the blower unit is placed just before the heater unit, the air is strongly agitated within the heater unit that controls the direction of air flow, so that uniformly heated air or uniformly cooled air is It will now be sent out from the heater unit.

Further, in a second vehicle air conditioning unit arrangement structure according to the present invention, in a vehicle air conditioning unit comprising a cooler unit, a blower unit, and a heater unit in the same manner as described above, at least two of the three units are vertically stacked. It is characterized in that it is connected to

In the above structure, even if water such as rainwater enters the lower unit of the two units stacked one above the other, this water will not flow to the upper unit, so the upper unit will be protected from water. It can be protected.

Further, the third vehicle air conditioning unit arrangement structure according to the present invention is such that, as described above, in a vehicle in which the vehicle compartment and the engine compartment in front of the vehicle compartment are separated by a dash panel, the cooler unit and the blower unit are located in the engine compartment. The heater unit is located inside the vehicle.

In the above structure, since the blower unit is located in the engine room, the noise generated by the blower unit is difficult to be transmitted into the passenger compartment. In addition, with this structure, since the cooler unit is located inside the engine room, there is no need to provide a through hole in the dash panel for the refrigerant pipe to pass through. There is no way to convey it to anyone.

In addition, when replacing the blower unit, there is no need to remove or install interior equipment such as the instrument panel, and all work is done inside the engine compartment.
Serviceability will improve.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on an example shown in the drawings.

Figures 1, 2 and 3 respectively show the plan, elevation and side shapes of an air conditioning unit arrangement structure for an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention. In addition, Figure 2 shows ■-■ of Figure 1.
Figure 3 shows the cross-sectional shape of the part along the line.
The cross-sectional shape of the portion along the line -■ is shown.

As shown in the figure, in this automobile, the front portion of a vehicle compartment 11 is disposed extremely close to an engine room 10 at the front portion of the vehicle body from above. Therefore, the darts lower panel 13 that partitions the engine room IO and the vehicle compartment 11 is
In order to accommodate a transmission and the like, the central portion in the vehicle width direction is shaped to protrude greatly toward the passenger compartment 11 side.

In the figure, 14 is the outer panel, 15 is the cowl side panel, 16 is the front seat door, 17 is the cowl upper panel, 1
8 is an instrument panel, 19 is a front window, and 20 is a shift lever.

The air conditioning unit basically includes an inside/outside air switching box 21, a cooler unit 22, a blower unit 23, and a heater unit 24 connected in this order from the upstream side in the air flow direction. Note that FIG. 6 shows the perspective shape of the inside/outside air switching box 21 and each unit 22, 23, 24, and FIG. 7 shows the shape of the blower unit 23 and heater unit 24 as viewed from arrow A.

The inside/outside air switching box 21 and each unit 22, 23, 24 are arranged closer to the passenger's seat than the central portion of the darts lower panel 13 extending toward the vehicle interior 11, as described above.

And the heater unit 24 is connected to the darts lower panel 13.
, that is, in front of the passenger seat in the passenger compartment 11, and is located in front of the passenger seat in the passenger compartment 11, and is connected to the other internal/external air switching box 21 and the cooler unit 2.
2 and the blower unit 23 are connected to the darts lower panel 1.
3, that is, in the engine room IO.

The inside/outside air switching box 21 has an outside air inlet 25 at the top and an inside air inlet 26 at the rear of the vehicle body. This inside/outside air switching box 21 is joined to the lower surface of the cowl upper panel 17 so that the outside air inlet 25 is aligned with an opening (not shown) in the cowl upper panel 17, and the inside air inlet 26 is connected to the duct 45. Opening 13a of needlework lower panel 13 through
It is arranged so that it communicates with the.

The cooler unit 22 has an evaporator 28, a refrigerant pipe 29, and the like, and is connected to an air outlet 27 of the inside/outside air switching box 21 facing toward the center of the vehicle body. Further, the blower unit 23 is connected to the cooler unit 22 almost right sideways through a short duct 30. The heater unit 24 is arranged to overlap the blower unit 23. Further, in this embodiment, since the inside/outside air switching box 21 is disposed above the side of the cooler unit 22, the inside/outside air switching box 21 and 3
The two units 22, 23 and 24 are arranged in a substantially U-shape as a whole when viewed from the front.

Inside the heater unit 24, as shown in FIG.
is included. When operating the cooler unit 22 to cool the inside of the vehicle interior 11, each door 32 to 36 is
The state is set as shown in the figure. Thereby, the cold air sent from the blower unit 23 is sent out from the air outlet 37 into the cooling duct 40. This duct 40, together with a heating duct 41 and a defroster duct 42,
The ducts 40, 41, and 42 extend in the vehicle width direction inside the instrument panel 18, and each duct 40, 41, 42 is connected to a predetermined air outlet.

On the other hand, when operating the heater core 31 of the heater unit 24 to perform heating, each door 32 to 36 of the heater unit 24 is set to the state shown in FIG. 4.

Thereby, the air sent from the blower unit 23 passes through the heater core 31 and is heated, and this warm air is sent out from the air outlet 38 into the heating duct 41.

Further, when defogging the window, the heater core 31 is activated and the doors 32 to 36 are set to the state shown in FIG. 5. As a result, heater core 3
The air that has passed through the defroster duct 1 and is heated is sent out from the air outlet 39 into the defroster duct 42.

In addition to the three basic conditions explained above, the operating conditions of each unit 22, 23, 24 and the positions of the doors 82 to 3B may be adjusted in other appropriate combinations in order to obtain, for example, simple ventilation or an environment with "cold head and warm feet." Of course, it can be set as follows.

In the air conditioning unit arrangement structure with the above configuration, air is sent to the cooler unit 22, the blower unit 23, and the heater unit 24 in this order, so that the air whose flow direction is controlled within the heater unit 24 is The blower unit 23 immediately before this ensures sufficient agitation. Therefore, temperature distribution is less likely to occur in the warm air heated within the heater unit 24 and the cold air cooled by the cooler unit 22, and comfortable heating and cooling effects can be obtained.

In addition, in the above air conditioning unit arrangement structure, since the heater unit 24 is arranged in a stacked manner above the blower unit 23, in the event that rainwater etc. enters from the inside/outside air switching box 2I side, Even if water flows to the blower unit 23, it is impossible for the water to flow further to the heater unit 24. Therefore, the heater unit 24 is not damaged by such infiltrated water, and the air conditioning unit 1. This makes it possible to keep the degree of damage and contamination to a low level.

Furthermore, in the above air conditioning unit arrangement structure, since the blower unit 23 is arranged in the engine room 10, for example, when the blower motor 23a etc. breaks down, it is possible to easily repair or replace it. . Furthermore, since the cooler unit 22 is also disposed within the engine room 10, there is no need to provide a through hole in the darth lower panel 13 through which the coolant pipe 29 passes.

Therefore, the noise inside the engine compartment 10 does not enter the single compartment 11 through such a through hole, and the cleanliness of the compartment 11 is improved.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Note that in FIG. 8, elements equivalent to those in FIG.

In this embodiment, the inside air inlet 46 of the inside/outside air switching box 21 is provided facing outward in the vehicle width direction.

The duct 47 connected to this inside air inlet 46 is bent toward the rear of the vehicle body and is connected to the darts lower panel 1.
It is connected to the opening 13a of No.3.

When the cooler unit 22 is arranged in an upright manner as in this embodiment and the embodiments described above, the inside air inlet of the inside/outside air switching box 21 may be provided facing toward the side of the vehicle body. It is also easy to provide it toward the rear of the vehicle body.

However, if, for example, the cooler unit 22 is installed at an angle and it is difficult to secure a space for installing the duct 45 as shown in FIG. It is preferable to place it towards the lateral side.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, the inside air inlet (not shown) of the inside/outside air switching box 21 is arranged to face the rear side of the vehicle body,
A duct 45 is connected thereto. Further, each unit is arranged so that air is introduced in this order: blower unit 23, cooler unit 22, and heater unit 24.

Even in such a case, by arranging the cooler unit 22 and the blower unit 23 in the engine room 10, the same effects as described above can be obtained.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained in detail above, in the automotive air conditioning unit arrangement structure of the present invention as set forth in claim 1, the cooler unit, blower unit, and heater unit are connected to introduce air in this order. This increases the air agitation effect within the heater unit that controls the flow direction of warm or cold air, making it possible to send hot or cold air at -various temperatures into the vehicle interior to create a comfortable temperature environment inside the vehicle. .

Furthermore, in the air conditioning unit arrangement structure for a vehicle according to the present invention as set forth in claim 2, at least two of the cooler unit, blower unit, and heater unit are connected in a vertically overlapping positional relationship, so that intrusion of rainwater etc. This makes it possible to prevent all units from being damaged or soiled.

Furthermore, in the air conditioning unit arrangement structure for an automobile according to the present invention, serviceability is improved by arranging the blower unit, which has a relatively high failure rate, in the engine room.

Since the refrigerant piping unit was also placed inside the engine room, there was no need to provide a through hole in the dash panel for the refrigerant piping to pass through, and the blower unit, which tends to generate noise, was also placed inside the engine room. This greatly improves the cleanliness of the interior of the vehicle.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1, 2, and 3 are a partially cutaway top view, a partially cutaway elevation view, a partially cutaway side view, and a partially cutaway side view showing an air conditioning unit arrangement structure for an automobile according to a first embodiment of the present invention, respectively. FIGS. 4 and 5 are partially cutaway side views showing different states of the heater unit in the above embodiment, FIGS. 6 and 7 are perspective views showing essential parts of the above embodiment, respectively. The figure is a partially cutaway view showing another embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view showing still another embodiment of the invention. 10... Engine room 11... Vehicle compartment 13.
...Datsushi lower panel 21...Inside/outside air switching box 22...Cooler unit 24...Heater units 28, 46...Inside air inlet 13a...Opening 23...Blower unit 25...Outside air Inlet ports 45, 47...Duct Figure 7 not shown

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) An air conditioning unit arrangement structure for an automobile, characterized in that a cooler unit, a blower unit, and a heater unit are connected to introduce air in this order. (2) An air conditioning unit for an automobile comprising a cooler unit, a blower unit, and a heater unit, characterized in that at least two of the three units are vertically stacked and connected. . (3) In a vehicle in which the passenger compartment and the engine compartment in front of the vehicle compartment are separated by a dash panel, the cooler unit and the blower unit are located in the engine compartment, while the heater unit is located in the passenger compartment. Characteristic car air conditioning unit arrangement structure.