JPH07137528A - Air-conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To let cool air be produced without delay in time when cool air is required instantly. CONSTITUTION:A blow-off bypass pipe P4 equipped with an outward path and a home-ward path is provided, cool air is normally circulated with a blower 1 interposed or no blower interposed between the outward path and the home- ward path, only when cool air is instantly required, a damper provided for the blow-off port is rotated, so that cool air is blown off against the neighbor- hood of the face and neck of a driver. Or the blower 1 is divided into two, that is, one for the bypass pipe P4 and one for a normal duct 2, and each of them is set in each separate space, so that they are thereby coaxially rotated with each blower motor placed at the side opposite to each blower.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly to an air conditioner mounted on a vehicle or the like and used to prevent a drowsy driving.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 shows a conventionally known air conditioner, in which 1 is a blower provided in a duct 2 of the air conditioner for sending out internal air or external air, and 3 is a compressor (not shown). When the compressor is turned on by connecting with (No.), the evaporator for exchanging the output air from the blower 1 with the cold air, and 4 are stoppers.

Further, is a damper provided at the inlet of the blowing pipe P1 for blowing cold air or warm air to the driver's neck, that is, at the connecting portion of the blowing pipe P1 and the duct 2. In addition, is a blow-out pipe P2 for blowing cold air or warm air toward a defroster that is usually provided at the boundary between the windshield of the vehicle and the dashboard.
Is a damper provided at the inlet, that is, at the connecting portion between the blowing pipe P2 and the duct 2. Further, is a damper provided at the inlet of the blowing pipe P3 for blowing cold air or warm air to the feet of the driver, that is, at the connecting portion between the blowing pipe P3 and the duct 2. Is a temperature control door (air mix damper) for activating or deactivating the heater H.

A procedure for operating such an air conditioner is shown in FIG. 7, and when the air conditioner is used as a cooler, the damper is opened and the damper is closed (step S11).

Then, the temperature control door is turned to the side of the heater H to close the heater H and put it in a non-operating state, and a compressor (not shown) is turned on to operate the evaporator 3 electrically connected to the compressor. The state is set (step S12).

By controlling in this manner, the inside air or the outside air sucked by the blower 1 is heat-exchanged by the evaporator 3 to become cold air, and the partition P provided on the heater H is used.
It reaches the damper through the upper side of L, and blows cold air from this damper to the vicinity of the driver's face neck through the blowing pipe P1.

[0007] Such a conventional air conditioner has no particular problem when a normal cold air is blown out (at the time of a cooler), but, for example, such an air conditioner is used to prevent a driver from taking a drowsiness. Case (Japanese Patent Application No. 4-138)
No. 921, No. 4-156761, etc.), immediately after the compressor is turned on to start the cooling operation of the evaporator 3, the cold air does not blow out from the blowing pipe P1.
For a while, a warm warm wind emerges and then gradually changes to cool wind (see Fig. 10 (1)).

Therefore, when it is necessary to instantly generate cold air to stimulate the driver, as in the case of a drowsy driving prevention device (see (2) in the same figure), the above-mentioned gradual temperature change is performed. In this case, the stimulating effect is low, and the temperature variation in the entire passenger compartment is severe, which causes discomfort such as cold air.

Further, if the inside of the vehicle is being heated, generating cold air is not uncomfortable, and such an uncomfortable state must be completed in as short a time as possible and in order to prevent drowsiness, this is possible. You have to keep the driver cool.

Therefore, an air conditioner has been proposed in which cold air is blown out suddenly when it is necessary (Japanese Patent Application No. 4-320742).

Such a conventional example is shown in FIG. 8, in which a bypass pipe BP is provided between the upstream duct portion of the blower 1 and the downstream duct portion of the heater H, which is the duct portion between the blower pipe P3. A separate damper is provided on the blower 1 side of the bypass pipe BP, and a damper is also provided on the heater H side.

The operation of FIG. 8 is shown in the flow chart of FIG. 9. First, when this air conditioner is used as a cooler, the dampers are closed (step S2).
1), the damper is opened (step S22), the temperature control door is turned to the heater H side, and the compressor is turned on to put the evaporator 3 into an operating state (step S2).
3).

As a result, the inside air or the outside air drawn in by the blower 1 is cooled by the evaporator 3, and then passes through the partition PL, the damper, and the bypass pipe BP.
By the circulation path that returns to the blower 1 through the damper, the cooling is gradually performed in the duct 2 and the bypass pipe BP of the air conditioner.

Therefore, when such a cooling operation has passed for a certain time (step S24), the damper is closed (step S25) and the damper is opened (step S2).
6).

As a result, the cold air from the evaporator 3 passes through the damper and the blowing pipe P1 and is applied to the driver's face neck, so that the cold air will blow out immediately after the damper is opened.

[0016]

However, in the conventional example as shown in FIG. 8, the duct 2 and the bypass pipe B are provided.
There is a problem that a certain amount of time is required for the air to circulate through P and become cool air, which delays the blowing of cold air.

There is also a problem that the warm warm air accumulated in the blowing pipe P1 is blown toward the driver's face neck for a moment.

Therefore, according to the present invention, in an air conditioner having an ordinary blow-out pipe for guiding the cool air to the vicinity of the face neck, it is possible to generate the cool air without any time delay even when the cool air is required immediately. To aim.

[0019]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an air conditioner according to the present invention is provided with a blower arranged upstream of the evaporator and a forward passage for always taking out the output cold air of a part of the evaporator. And a return path for returning the output cool air and having a blow-out bypass pipe having a double duct structure in which a blowout port is provided at a connection portion from the forward path to the return path, and a damper provided at the blowout port is provided to immediately cool the cool air. When necessary, the damper is rotated to open the air outlet of the outward path to bypass the normal blowing tube to blow out cool air near the face neck or close the air outlet of the outward path to return from the outward path. It is characterized in that a part of the output cold air is circulated.

In the above air conditioner, when only the outward path of the blowing bypass pipe is selected, the damper provided in the normal blowing pipe may be closed.

In the above air conditioner, the return path is connected to the outward path so as to return the part of the output cold air to the evaporator instead of the blower, and a fan is provided in the middle of the return path. The damper may have a two-damper structure for separating cold air blown out from the air outlet and air sucked in.

Further, in the above-mentioned air conditioner, the return path is connected to the forward path so as to return the part of the output cool air to the evaporator instead of the blower, and at the connection part from the return path to the forward path. Another blower, which is on the opposite side of the blower motor and coaxial with the blower motor, is provided in a space different from the blower, and the damper has a two-sheet damper structure for separating the cool air blown out from the blowout port and the sucked air. Is also possible.

The evaporator may be provided independently for the blow-out bypass pipe and for the normal blow-out pipe.

[0024]

In the present invention, while the air conditioner is operating, the output cool air of a part of the evaporator (or the evaporator independent of the blow-bypass pipe) is constantly blown out by the position of the damper provided at the blow-out bypass pipe outlet. A circulation operation is conducted in which the output cold air is guided to the outward path of the bypass pipe and is returned to the return path of the blowing bypass pipe to return to the evaporator via the blower.

Therefore, while this air conditioner is operating as a cooler, cold air is always circulated in the blowout bypass pipe.

In such a state, for example, when a momentary cool air is required to prevent a drowsiness driving, the blower bypass pipe is rotated by rotating a damper provided at the blower outlet of the blowout bypass pipe. Only the outward route is selectively opened, and the cool air from the evaporator can be immediately applied to the driver's neck.

In this case, if the damper provided in the normal blow-out pipe is closed, the normal blow-out pipe is completely bypassed by the blow-out bypass pipe, and the warm warm air blown out from the normal blow-out pipe is completely removed. Can be shut off.

Furthermore, in the above case, in order to prevent the cold air returning from the return path of the blow-out bypass pipe from being mixed with other warm air before the blower, the return path of the blow-out bypass pipe is replaced with the blower. A fan is provided in the middle of the return path and connected to the outward path so as to return to the evaporator.

Thus, the output cold air of a part of the evaporator can be always circulated and prepared by this fan, and in this case, if the damper provided at the outlet of the blow-by bypass pipe is rotated, the blow-out port can be rotated. Therefore, the cold air can be immediately blown out. In this case, since the damper has a two-sheet structure, it is possible to separately perform the cold air that is blown out and the air that is sucked in.

Further, as described above, even when the return path of the blowing bypass pipe is connected to the outward path so as to return to the evaporator instead of the blower and a fan is provided in the middle part of the return path, there is a problem in the capability of the fan. is there.

That is, a fan that can be installed in a blow-by bypass pipe that is not large is inevitably small, and is inferior in capacity to a blower. Therefore, it is necessary to blow cold air toward the driver's neck. Cannot be satisfied.

Therefore, in the present invention, instead of not providing the above-mentioned fan, this time, another blower, which is on the opposite side of the blower motor and is coaxial, is provided in the space different from the blower at the connecting portion from the return path to the outward path.

As a result, it becomes possible to circulate the cold air in the blow-out bypass pipe with a stronger blower. In this case as well, the damper has a two-sheet damper structure in order to distinguish between cold air blown out from the air outlet and sucked air.

[0034]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention. In this embodiment, in order to eliminate the delay of the cooling operation by the bypass pipe BP in the conventional example shown in FIG. A blow-out bypass pipe P4 having a return path P42 is provided, and the inlet of the forward path P41 is attached to a position where the output cool air of a part of the evaporator 3 is always taken out.
The outlet of the duct 2 is attached to the upstream side of the blower 1.

Further, in order to switch between the forward path P41 and the return path P42 as described above, a damper is provided at the outlet of the blowing bypass pipe P4 so as to rotate between the solid line position and the dotted line position. .

The temperature control door in this embodiment is designed to rotate between a position where it closes the heater H and a position where the stopper 4 is provided on the outward path P41 of the blowing bypass pipe, as shown in the figure.

FIG. 2 shows a double duct structure of the blow-by bypass pipe shown in FIG. 1. When the damper is in the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 1, the cool air from the forward path P41 returns to the return path P42 as shown by the arrow. It circulates.

FIG. 3 shows the control procedure of the air conditioner shown in FIG. 1, and its operation will be described below with reference to this flow chart. In addition, such a control procedure is performed by a controller (CPU) via a drive device that drives each damper.
Although it is desirable to perform it automatically by, for example, it is also possible to perform it manually, so that the following description can be applied to both of them.

First, when this air conditioner is used as a normal cooler, the damper is opened and the damper and are closed (step S1), the temperature control door is set to the heater H side, the compressor is turned on, and the evaporator 3 is turned on. It is operated (step S2).

As a result, the cold air output from the evaporator 3 passes through the partition PL provided on the heater H, passes through the blowing pipe P1 from the damper, and gives the cool air to the driver's neck.

During this time, the damper is set at the position indicated by the solid line, that is, the position on the circulation side.

As a result, a part of the cool air output from the evaporator 3 passes through the outward path P41 of the blow-out bypass pipe P4 along the arrow indicated by the solid line, bounces off by the damper and passes through the return path P42 as indicated by the solid line. Since it is returned to the upstream side of the blower 1, a part of the cold air output from the evaporator 3 is constantly circulated to be cold air.

In such a state, when a momentary cold wind is needed to prevent the driver from falling asleep,
After step S4, the damper is closed and the damper is switched to the balloon side position shown by the dotted line (step S4).
5).

As a result, the cool air from the evaporator 3 passes through the outward path P41 and is blown out to the driver's neck without being obstructed by the damper, and it is possible to provide the cool air with no cooling delay.

In this case, the damper is preferably closed, but even if it is opened, a certain instantaneous cooling effect can be obtained.

FIG. 4 shows a modified example of the air conditioner shown in FIG. 1. Here, the return path P42 and the forward path P41 are arranged so that the return path P42 of the blowing bypass pipe P4 is returned to the evaporator 3 instead of the blower 1. The cold air returning from the return path P42 is prevented from being mixed with other warm air by the blower 1 by connecting with. However, since this alone cannot generate the force to circulate the cold air, the blowing bypass pipe P4
In particular, the fan 5 is provided in the return path P42.

Further, in order for the fan 5 to perform the blowing operation or the circulating operation, the damper having the one-piece structure as shown in FIG. 1 cannot suck the air in the return path P42. The structure of the damper 'is used to separate the cold air blown out at the air outlet from the air sucked in.

The control operation in this case is similar to the procedure shown in FIG.

In the embodiment of the air conditioner according to the present invention shown in FIG. 4 described above, there is a problem in the capacity of the fan 5, and the fan 5 is inevitably small when the size of the blow-by bypass pipe P4 is adjusted. It does not get, and it is inferior to Blower 1 in terms of ability.

Therefore, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 5, instead of providing the fan 5 described above, another blower 6 is provided at the connecting portion from the return path P42 to the outward path P41.

The blower 6 is installed in a space different from that of the blower 1 used in the conventional example and each of the above-described embodiments of the present invention, and is rotated on the opposite side of the blower motor 7 and coaxially. There is.

That is, as shown in the figure, the blower 1, the blower motor 7, and the blower 6 are constructed so as to be housed in independent spaces, and the blower 1 sends air to the duct 2 so that the blower 6 blows out. A blower motor 7 is housed in the space between the blowers 1 and 6 in order to send air to the pipe P4 and to prevent the air from the blowers 1 and 6 from mixing.

As a result, the blower 6 can perform a stronger circulation operation of the cool air in the blow-out bypass pipe P4. In this case as well, the damper has a two-sheet damper structure in order to distinguish between cold air blown out from the air outlet and sucked air.

It is possible to provide the blower motor 7 on the lower side of the blower 1, for example, so as to be coaxial with the blowers 1 and 6 and on the same side.
When 6 is overlapped, there are disadvantages that the addition of an air shielding wall due to these and the duplication of the duct shape complicate, and the motor shaft also becomes long, the moment of inertia around the bearing is large, and the durability deteriorates.

Further, in each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the evaporator 3 is shown as an integral structure in terms of economy, but the invention is not limited to this, and the blow-by bypass pipe P4 and the duct 2 are made to have independent structures. Good.

[0056]

As described above, according to the air conditioner of the present invention, the blow-out bypass pipe having the return path and the outward path is provided, and the cool air is circulated at all times with or without the blower between the return path and the outward path. In addition, the damper provided at the air outlet is rotated only when the cold air is needed immediately so that the cold air is blown out near the driver's face neck. Can be generated and the effect can be further enhanced.

Further, in the above case, if the blower is installed in the separate space for the blow-out bypass pipe and the one for the normal duct, and they are rotated on the opposite sides of the blower motor and coaxially with each other, more efficient circulation of cold air can be achieved. It can be sent out.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view schematically showing an embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a double duct structure of the blowing bypass pipe shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the air conditioner shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a modified example of the air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing still another modified example of the air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view schematically showing a conventional example (No. 1).

7 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the conventional example shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view schematically showing a conventional example (No. 2).

9 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the conventional example shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a graph showing the relationship between temperature and time controlled by the air conditioner.

[Explanation of symbols] ~ ,, 'Damper Temperature control door (air mix damper) 1,6 Blower 2 Duct 3 Evaporator 5 Fan 7 Blower motor P1 to P3 Normal blowing pipe P4 Blowing bypass pipe P41 Outgoing route P42 Returning route Same symbol in the figure Indicates the same or a corresponding portion.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An air conditioner having an ordinary blow-out pipe for guiding cool air near the face neck, wherein a part of the output cool air is always taken out from a part of the evaporator and a blower arranged upstream of the evaporator. And a return duct that has a double duct structure having a blowout port at the connecting portion from the forward route to the return route, and a damper provided at the blowout port, and immediately requires cold air. When the damper rotates, the air outlet of the outward path is opened to bypass the normal blow-out pipe to blow cold air near the face neck, or the air outlet of the outward path is closed and the part is moved from the outward path to the return path. An air conditioner that circulates the output cold air of. 2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein a damper provided in the normal blowing pipe is closed when only the outward path of the blowing bypass pipe is selected. 3. The return path is connected to the forward path so as to return the part of the output cold air to the evaporator instead of the blower, and a fan is provided in the middle, and the damper is the outlet. The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the air conditioner has a two-piece damper structure for separating the cold air blown out by the air and the air sucked in. 4. The return path is connected to the forward path so as to return the part of the output cold air to the evaporator instead of the blower, and a space separate from the blower at a connection portion from the return path to the forward path. Is provided with another coaxial blower on the opposite side of the blower motor, and the damper has a two-sheet damper structure for separating cold air blown out from the air outlet and sucked air. The air conditioner according to claim 1. 5. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the evaporator is provided independently for the blow-out bypass pipe and for the normal blow-out pipe.