JPH09267626A - Air conditioner for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve seal of a casing and durability of an expansion valve, by mounting a joint block made of rigid material to the casing, and connecting an evaporator and the expansion valve through the joint block. SOLUTION: A case 11 is provided inside a car room, in a hole 13 provided in a wall 12 of the case 11, a joint block 16 having a refrigerant inflow/outflow hole 14, 15 fitting a refrigerant inlet/outlet pipe 6, 7 of an evaporator 1 is mounted. The joint block 16 consists of rigid material, an expansion valve 17 is connected thereto. That is, the evaporator 1 and the expansion valve 17 are connected through the joint block 16. Further, between a refrigerant inflow block 8 and the joint block 16, a seal material is interposed. In this way, sealability of the case 11 and durability of the expansion valve 17 are improved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner used for vehicles such as automobiles.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a vehicle air conditioner having a structure as shown in FIG. 4 has been known. In the figure, 30 indicates an evaporator. An expansion valve 31 for expanding the refrigerant is connected to the evaporator 30 via a refrigerant inlet pipe 37 for introducing the refrigerant into the evaporator 30 and a refrigerant outlet pipe 38 for allowing the refrigerant to flow out of the evaporator 30. . A pipe joint block 32 is connected to the expansion valve 31. The piping joint block 32 is connected to a refrigerant supply pipe (not shown) for supplying the refrigerant into the evaporator 30 and a refrigerant outflow pipe (not shown) for allowing the refrigerant to flow out of the evaporator 30. Has been done.

The evaporator 30 and the expansion valve 31 are provided in the case 4
0. A hole 34 is formed in the wall of the case 40, and a grommet 35 is provided in the hole 34. The grommet 35 is formed of an elastic body (for example, rubber), and functions as a sealing material that prevents water or the like from entering the case 40 from the outside. More specifically, the expansion valve 31 is inserted into the hole 36 at the substantially center of the grommet 35, and the edge portion 36a extending to the inner circumference of the hole 36 is elastically deformed to be brought into close contact with the expansion valve 31 and the sealing property of the portion is improved. The (sealability) is maintained (Fig. 5). The pipe joint block 32 connected to the expansion valve 31 extends outside the vehicle compartment (for example, the engine room).

By the way, the above-mentioned vehicle air conditioner vibrates more or less, for example, by a running vehicle or a driven engine.

However, since the grommet 35 is made of an elastic material, the expansion valve 31, which comes into contact with the grommet 35,
When the case 40 vibrates, the grommet 35 is likely to be displaced, and the sealing property of the portion may be deteriorated. Further, since the grommet 35 is an elastic body, the holding strength of the expansion valve 31 against vibration cannot be said to be sufficient. For this reason, the refrigerant may leak from the joint portion of the pipe joint block 32 connected to the expansion valve 31 and the pipes 37, 38.

Further, the case 40 has two members 43 and 44 as shown in FIG. 6, and one case 40 is formed by joining the members 43 and 44 (for example, via a clamp). It has become so. Therefore, at the time of maintenance and the like, it is necessary to disassemble the case 40 after removing the case 40, which makes it difficult to improve workability at the time of maintenance and inspection.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the applicant of the present invention has already proposed that the case 40 be provided with an opening / closing mechanism for attaching and detaching the evaporator 30.

However, in the above proposal, the case 40
When detaching the evaporator 30 from the inside, since it is necessary to pull out or insert the expansion valve 31 from the hole 36 of the grommet 35, when the evaporator 30 is detached, the positioning accuracy of the block 32 with respect to the hole 36 is improved. If it is insufficient, the grommet 35 may be unduly stressed.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to improve the sealability of a case and the durability of an expansion valve, and further improve workability when attaching and detaching an evaporator to and from a case having an opening / closing mechanism. It is to provide a vehicle air conditioner capable of performing the above.

[0010]

In order to solve the above problems, a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention is a vehicle air conditioner in which an evaporator is housed in a case and an expansion valve is connected to the evaporator. A rigid joint block is attached to the case, and the evaporator and the expansion valve are connected via the joint block.

The material of the rigid joint block is not particularly limited, but may be metal, for example.
It can be formed from a rigid body such as resin.

Further, it is desirable that the joint block has a refrigerant flow hole into which a refrigerant inlet pipe for introducing the refrigerant into the evaporator and a refrigerant outlet pipe for allowing the refrigerant to flow out of the evaporator are fitted.

It is desirable that the refrigerant inlet pipe and the refrigerant outlet pipe are provided so as to project from the refrigerant inflow / outflow block, and that a seal material is interposed between the joint block and the refrigerant inflow / outflow block.

It is desirable that the case is arranged in a vehicle compartment, and the case is provided with an opening through which the evaporator can be attached / detached from the vehicle interior side and a lid body capable of opening / closing the opening.

In the above vehicle air conditioner, the case is provided with a rigid joint block, and the evaporator and the expansion valve are connected via the joint block. Therefore, since the expansion valve is firmly held by the case via the joint block, sufficient holding strength against vibration is imparted, and the influence of vibration on the expansion valve is significantly reduced.

The joint block is provided with a refrigerant flow hole into which the refrigerant inlet pipe and the refrigerant outlet pipe of the evaporator are fitted, so that the smooth flow of the refrigerant between the evaporator and the expansion valve can be ensured. it can.

If the refrigerant inlet pipe and the refrigerant outlet pipe are provided so as to project from the refrigerant inflow / outflow block of the evaporator and a sealing material is interposed between the refrigerant inflow / outflow block and the joint block, the grommet is not used. It is possible to secure a good sealing property of the part.

Further, according to the present invention, the case is arranged in the vehicle compartment, and the case is provided with an opening through which the evaporator can be attached and detached and a lid body which can open and close the opening. It is effective when applied to an air conditioner for automobiles. That is, in the present invention, since a rigid joint block is attached instead of the elastic grommet,
When the evaporator is attached to or detached from the case, there is no risk of problems such as the joint block falling off or displacement.
If a sealing material is provided between the joint block and the refrigerant inflow / outflow block, the sealing property of the portion can be easily secured even if the grommet is removed. Therefore, workability at the time of attaching / detaching the evaporator to / from the case having the opening / closing mechanism in the case can be further improved.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of a vehicle air conditioner of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 show a vehicle air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 indicates an evaporator. The evaporator 1 includes a plurality of tube units 2 and corrugated fins 3 provided between the tube units 2.
And Further, the tanks 4 and 5 are communicated with each other via the tube unit 2. The evaporator 1 is provided with a refrigerant inflow / outflow block 8 having a refrigerant inlet pipe 6 for introducing the refrigerant into the evaporator 1 and a refrigerant outlet pipe 7 for sending the refrigerant to the outside of the evaporator 1. There is. The pipes 6 and 7 are provided with O-rings 22.

The evaporator 1 is housed in the case 11. The case 11 is composed of members 11a and 11b, and one case 11 is formed by joining the members 11a and 11b (for example, via a clamp). The case 11 is provided with openings 9 and 10 for circulating heat exchange air. In addition, in this embodiment, the case 11 is provided inside the vehicle interior of the vehicle.

A hole 13 is provided in the wall 12 of the case 11. Into the hole 13, the refrigerant inlet pipe 6 and the refrigerant outlet pipe 7 of the evaporator 1 are fitted, the refrigerant inflow hole 14 and the refrigerant outflow hole 15 respectively.
A joint block 16 having is attached. The joint block 16 is made of a rigid body. An expansion valve 17 is connected to the joint block 16. That is, the evaporator 1 and the expansion valve 17 are provided in the case 11
Are connected via a joint block 16 attached to the.

A seal member 23 is interposed between the refrigerant inflow / outflow block 8 and the joint block 16.

The wall 18 of the case 11 facing the wall 12 is provided with an opening 19 in the case 11 through which the evaporator 1 can be attached to and detached from the vehicle interior side, and a lid 20 that can open and close the opening 19. Is provided. The lid 20 is a bolt 21
The opening 19 can be closed by being fixed to the case 11 via.

In the vehicle air conditioner according to the present embodiment, for example, the refrigerant from the compressor (not shown) through the condenser (not shown) is connected to the expansion valve 17 via the refrigerant supply pipe (not shown). It is sent to the expansion valve 17. Expansion valve 1
The refrigerant expanded by 7 flows into the evaporator 1 through the refrigerant inflow hole 14 of the joint block 16 and the refrigerant inlet pipe 6 of the refrigerant outflow / outflow block 8. Then, heat exchange is performed with the air flowing through the tube unit 2, flowing in from the opening 9 of the case 11, and passing through the tube unit 2 and the corrugated fin 3 portion. Evaporator 1
The refrigerant that circulates in the inside flows through the refrigerant outlet pipe 7 of the refrigerant inflow / outflow block 8 and the refrigerant outflow hole 15 of the joint block 16 and the expansion valve 17 and the refrigerant outflow pipe (not shown) connected to the valve 17. And then returned to the compressor again.

Further, in the vehicle air conditioner according to the present embodiment, the joint block 16 made of a rigid body is attached to the case 11, and the evaporator 1 and the expansion valve 17 are connected via the joint block 16. . That is,
Since the expansion valve 17 is firmly held by the case 11 via the joint block 16 made of a rigid body, a sufficient holding strength against vibration is imparted. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the durability of the expansion valve 17 from being lowered due to the vibration.

Since the sealing material 23 is interposed between the refrigerant inflow / outflow block 8 and the joint block 16, it is possible to secure a good sealing property of the portion without using a grommet.

Further, in the vehicle air conditioner according to the present embodiment, the evaporator 1 can be attached to and detached from the inside of the vehicle compartment to the inside of the case 11. Therefore, the evaporator 1 can be installed in the vehicle interior during maintenance and inspection. The evaporator 1 can be easily attached and detached without removing the case 11 formed. That is, the evaporator 1 can be attached to and detached from the case 11 through the opening 19 only by removing the lid 20. More specifically, case 11
The holes 14, 1 of the joint block 16 attached to the
The pipes 6 and 7 of the refrigerant inflow / outflow block 8 are attached and detached.

By the way, since the joint block 16 is made of a rigid body and is firmly fixed to the case 11, it is possible to reliably prevent displacement of the joint block 16 when the evaporator 1 is attached and detached. Further, the pipe 6 is inserted into the holes 14 and 15,
By adopting the method of inserting 7, the evaporator 1 can be easily mounted in the case 11 with good positioning accuracy. Further, since the sealing material 23 is interposed between the joint block 16 and the refrigerant inflow / outflow block, good sealing property of the portion can be secured without using a grommet.

[0029]

As described above, according to the vehicle air conditioner of the present invention, the case sealability and the expansion valve durability can be improved.

If it is applied to a case having an opening / closing mechanism, workability when attaching / detaching the evaporator can be further improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a vehicle air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged exploded view of the vicinity of a joint block of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged sectional view of the vicinity of an expansion valve of a conventional vehicle air conditioner.

5 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the device of FIG. 4 in the vicinity of a grommet.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the case of the device of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Evaporator 2 Tube unit 3 Corrugated fin 4, 5 Tank 6 Refrigerant inlet pipe 7 Refrigerant outlet pipe 8 Refrigerant inflow / outflow block 9, 10 Opening 11 Case 11a, 11b Member 12 Wall 13 Hole 14 Refrigerant inflow hole 15 Refrigerant outflow hole 16 Joint Block 17 Expansion Valve 18 Wall 19 Opening 20 Lid 21 Bolt 22 O-ring 23 Sealing Material

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle air conditioner in which an evaporator is housed in a case and an expansion valve is connected to the evaporator, a joint block made of a rigid body is attached to the case, and the evaporator is connected via the joint block. A vehicle air conditioner characterized by being connected to an expansion valve. 2. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the joint block has a refrigerant flow hole into which a refrigerant inlet pipe and a refrigerant outlet pipe of the evaporator are fitted. 3. The refrigerant inlet pipe and the refrigerant outlet pipe are projected from the refrigerant inflow / outflow block, and a sealing material is interposed between the joint block and the refrigerant inflow / outflow block. 2 vehicle air conditioner. 4. The case is arranged in a vehicle compartment, and the case is provided with an opening through which the evaporator can be attached / detached from the vehicle interior side and a lid capable of opening / closing the opening.
The vehicle air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3.