JPH08258555A - Cooling unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent the splash of dew water generated from a cooling unit and discharge the dew water smoothly. CONSTITUTION: A partition wall part 6 is provided between the lower part of an evaporator 4 and the bottom part of a case 2. The partition wall part 6 partitions the inside of the case 2 vertically into a cooling chamber A and a resistance chamber B, and a dew water drain hole 6a is formed at the bottom part. The position of the drain hole 6a is arranged to be away from a drain hole 2c so as to have a certain degree of resistance when the air flows from the drain hole 2c to the drain hole 6a.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooling unit which is a main part of a vehicle air conditioner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 4 and 5 show a cooling unit 12 of a cooling device 11 for cooling a passenger compartment of an automobile and a fan unit 13 for sucking cool air generated in the cooling unit 12 and blowing the cool air into the passenger compartment. . When this cooling device 11 operates, the case 1 of the cooling unit 12
When the refrigerant circulates in the evaporator 15 provided inside the evaporator 4, the entire evaporator 15 is cooled.

On the other hand, the fan unit 13 is the motor 1
When the blower fan 17 rotates in response to the rotation of 6, the air in the vehicle compartment is sucked into the cooling unit 12. At this time, the air is cooled by passing through the gaps between the fins formed on the evaporator 15. Then, the blower fan 17 sends air into the duct 18, and blows cool air into the passenger compartment from the air outlet connected to the duct 18.

However, since the evaporator 15 is cooled, condensed water is generated on the fins and the like, and the condensed water drips on the bottom of the case 14. The condensed water flows into the drain hole 14a formed in the case 14, and then passes through a drain hose (not shown) to be discharged outside the vehicle.

However, if the position of the drain hole 14a is bad due to layout restrictions, etc., the suction force of the blower fan 17 causes the outside air b to flow from the drain hole 14a as shown in FIG.
May be inhaled and drainage may not be possible, and condensed water may be collected or water splash c may occur. This may get into the fan unit 13 and damage the motor 16 and the like.

In order to solve this, a cooling unit equipped with a water splash prevention plate is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 55-171613. The idea is shown in FIG.

As shown in the figure, the present invention has a case 22 of a cooling unit 21 in which a water splash prevention plate 24 penetrating a shaft member 23 and floating in water is arranged.
With this structure, even if water splashes due to the dew condensation water from the evaporator 25 occur, the splash of water is blocked by the water splash prevention plate 24 as shown in FIG. There is.

[0008]

This water splash prevention plate is provided with a member originally unrelated to the cooling device in the case of the cooling unit, so that the cooling unit becomes large, the number of parts increases, and vibrations are increased. Etc. must also be considered. Therefore, a water splash prevention device that has a simpler structure and does not take up a large space, and other smooth drainage methods have been desired.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cooling unit which does not become large in size, can be easily mounted, and can be easily assembled without increasing the number of parts.

[0010]

The above object is to provide a partition member for partitioning the evaporator of an automobile air conditioner and the bottom of the case forming the drain hole.
This is achieved by a cooling unit including a drain port formed in the partition member, and condensed water generated by cooling the evaporator is discharged from the drain hole via the drain port.

[0011]

Since the partition wall member is provided between the evaporator and the bottom of the case and the drain port is formed in the partition wall member, when the air is sucked from the drain hole, the drain port becomes a resistance against the flow of the air. This resistance weakens the intake of air from the drain hole, drains smoothly, and reduces the accumulation of water.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A cooling unit, which is a main component of a vehicle air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention, will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the cooling unit 1 shown in FIG. 1, an opening 2a at one end of a resin case 2 is arranged to face the inside of the room,
The discharge port 2b at the other end is arranged toward the suction port 3a of the fan unit 3. The outlet 2b and the inlet 3a are airtightly connected by a connection band (not shown). Further, the cooling unit 1 houses the evaporator 4 in the case 2.

FIG. 2 shows a cross section taken along line XX in FIG. As shown in the figure, the case 2 is formed substantially along the side wall of the evaporator 4. A drain hole 2c is formed on the bottom of the case 2 so as to project downward. The drain hole 2c is circular and has an inner diameter of about 1 cm in this embodiment.
A rubber drain hose (not shown) is connected to the protruding portion of the drain hole 2c and protrudes from the body of the vehicle to drain the condensed water in the case 2 to the outside of the vehicle.

Urethane packings 5 are attached to the side and upper portions of the evaporator 4 by an adhesive. The packing 5 closes the gap between the evaporator 4 and the case 2, and prevents a portion of the case 2 in contact with the evaporator 4 from being cooled to prevent dew condensation on the outer surface of the case 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, a partition wall portion 6 formed integrally with the packing 5 is provided between the lower portion of the evaporator 4 and the bottom portion of the case 2. This partition 6
Divides the inside of the case 2 into a cooling chamber A and a resistance chamber B vertically. Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the partition wall portion 6 has a drainage water outlet 6a at the bottom thereof. The position of the drainage port 6a is arranged apart from the drain hole 2c so as to have some resistance when the air flows from the drain hole 2c to the drainage port 6a. Directly below the drain port 6a is provided on the inclined surface of the case 2 so that the condensed water can be easily drained.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the partition wall portion 6 is formed into a shape that fits into the bottom portion of the case 2. That is, the surface of the edge portion 6b of the partition wall portion 6 is brought into contact with the side wall portion of the case 2, and the receiving portion 6c can be placed on the stepped portion of the case 2 so that it can be easily assembled into the case 2. it can. Further, even when the evaporator 4 is attached to the partition wall portion, the flange portion 6c of the partition wall portion 6 is aligned with the mounting position of the corner portion of the evaporator 4 to facilitate the attachment.

The fan unit 3 shown in FIG. 1 contains a motor 7 and a blower fan 8 attached thereto.

The structure of the cooling unit 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described above. Next, its operation will be described.

By turning on the air conditioner switch,
The air conditioner operates. A coil tube is wound inside the evaporator 4, and the refrigerant passing through this is vaporized and the heat of vaporization is removed, whereby the evaporator 4 is cooled. Fins are provided in the evaporator 4 in contact with the coil tube at intervals of about 1 mm, and dew condensation occurs between these fins to grow into dew condensation water. When the condensed water drops from the evaporator 4, it once falls on the bottom of the partition wall 6 and flows toward the drain port 6a, drops from the drain port 6a to the bottom of the case 2, and is drained from the drain hole 2c.

As described above, at this time, the suction force of the blower fan 8 may act to suck the outside air from the drain port 6a. However, as shown in FIG. 3, even when trying to suck in the air a from the drain port 6a, the presence of the resistance chamber B makes it difficult for the air a to enter from the drain hole 2c. Further, even if the air a that has entered from the drain hole 2c is trying to escape to the drain port 6a, this passage has a labyrinth-like shape, so the air a that has entered the resistance chamber B
Cannot be passed through, and once it has accumulated in the resistance chamber B, it exits to the drain port 6a. That is, since the air a is present in the resistance chamber B, it is hard to enter the drain hole 2c, and the suction of the air a in the drain port 6a is reduced.

As a result, splashing of water can be prevented in the cooling chamber A and the resistance chamber B without being affected by the air a. Further, even if water splashes in the resistance chamber B, since the partition wall portion 6 is provided between the fan unit 3 and the resistance chamber B, water is not splashed on the motor or the like.

As described above, according to the cooling unit of this embodiment, it is easy to assemble the partition wall and the evaporator into the case, and the cooling unit itself does not become large.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiments, the number of drainage ports 6a of the partition wall portion 6 is one, but the number of drainage ports may be two or more. However, the air has a flow resistance between the cooling chamber A and the resistance chamber B.

Further, in the above embodiment, the partition wall portion 6 is formed integrally with the packing 5, but the partition wall portion 6 may be formed separately from the packing 5. In this case, the material of the partition wall portion 6 may be different from that of the packing 5.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the partition wall portion 6 is formed integrally with the packing 5, but it may be formed integrally with the case side of the cooling unit.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, the dew condensation water smoothly flows from the drain hole, and the drainage property is improved.
As a result, it is possible to prevent water noise caused by the accumulation of condensed water in the case of the evaporator. Even if water splashes occur, the partition member shuts off, so that peripheral devices are not damaged. Further, since the partition wall member is formed, it is easy to assemble the evaporator into the case.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a cooling unit and a fan unit connected thereto according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line XX in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a drainage unit of a cooling unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a cooling unit and a fan unit connected thereto in a conventional example.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line YY in FIG.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a drainage section of a conventional cooling unit.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a cooling unit and a fan unit connected thereto in another conventional example.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a drainage section of the cooling unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Cooling Unit 2 Case 2c Drain Hole 4 Evaporator 6 Partition 6a Drainage Port

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A partition member for partitioning the evaporator of an automobile air conditioner and a bottom of a case having a drain hole is provided, and a drain port is formed in the partition member to cool the evaporator. The cooling unit is configured so that the generated condensed water is drained from the drain hole via the drain port.