JPH0948229A - Air conditioning unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a protective function of the pipes of a heater core to a blowout duct, curtail the number of parts, shorten the working time, and subsidiarily utilize heat released from the pipes for heating of air blown out from one's feet, in an air conditioning unit arranging the pipes of the heater core along the outer surface of a unit case. SOLUTION: A cover part 31 covering the pipes 14, 15 of a heater core 5 is integratedly provided on a foot duct 23 to be fitted to a foot opening part 9. When the foot duct 23 is fitted to the foot opening part 9, the cover part 31 is simultaneously fitted to the outer surface of a unit case 2. The duct main body part 24 of a blowout duct and the cover part 31 are communicated to each other in the inner spaces in the condition of being mounted on the unit case 2, and heat released from the pipes is subsidiarily utilized for additional heating of air blown out from the foot opening part 9.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioning unit used in an air conditioner for a vehicle, and more particularly to a unit case in which a heater core is arranged and an opening for blowing air is formed, and a pipe of the heater core is formed in the unit case. The present invention relates to an air conditioning unit of the type that is piped along an outer surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an air conditioning unit mounted on a recent vehicle, one having a heater core and an evaporator arranged in the traveling direction of the vehicle to reduce the width direction (hereinafter referred to as a vertical air conditioning unit) is being used. is there. With such an air conditioning unit, there is an advantage of being able to secure a sufficient space for arranging other equipment in the width direction of the vehicle, but the pipe for circulating the engine cooling water in the heater core is extended to the engine room side for a long time. There must be. If the pipe is short, synthetic resin may be used, but in the case of such a long pipe, it is more advantageous to use metal for processing the pipe, and if the pipe is metal, for parts near the pipe There is a risk of burns if the occupant touches them because of the adverse thermal effects,
It is also extremely dangerous that hot water may leak due to corrosion of the pipe.

Further, as an air conditioning unit, a heater core is erected approximately in the center of an air passage in parallel with the ventilation direction, and dampers are provided on both sides of the heater core, and the air paths are made into three modes by operating the dampers. A switchable type (hereinafter referred to as a three-layer flow type air conditioning unit) is known. In this type of air conditioning unit, the pipe of the heater core must be drawn out from below or above the unit case into the engine room, and particularly when drawn out from below, it is easy to contact the occupant.

Therefore, in order to cope with such contact with the pipe, a separate cover for covering the pipe of the heater core may be attached to the unit case as shown in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 165545/1993. desirable.

[0005]

In addition to the request of the air conditioning unit, in addition to the request of setting the blowing direction finely, the air conditioning unit has a blowing duct (particularly a foot duct) formed by another piece for blowing the unit case. It is designed to be attached to the opening. As described above, in the conventional case, the above-mentioned cover for pipe protection and the blowing duct are composed of separate members, and since they are separately attached to the air conditioning case, the number of parts increases,
There was a problem that it was difficult to improve the efficiency of the assembly work.

In view of this, it is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioning unit in which the blowing duct has a function of protecting the pipe of the heater core to reduce the number of parts and the working time. Further, as another problem, since the portion where the heater core is arranged is close to the foot outlet, this positional relationship is emphasized and the heat radiated from the pipe is used for auxiliary heating of the air blown from the foot outlet. It is to provide an air conditioning unit that can.

[0007]

In the air conditioning unit according to the present invention, the heater core is housed in the unit case, the opening for blowing air is formed in the unit case, and the heat exchange medium is circulated through the heater core. A pipe is laid along the outer surface of the unit case, and a cover portion for covering the pipe laid along the outer surface is integrally provided in the blowout duct attached to the opening, and the blowout duct is provided in the unit case. It is characterized in that the step of attaching to the opening of the unit and the step of attaching the cover to the outer surface of the unit case can be performed at the same time (claim 1).

Therefore, since the blowout duct also serves as the cover portion for covering the pipe of the heater core, it is not necessary to separately form a protective cover for the pipe, and it is possible to complete the attachment of the cover portion at the same time as the attachment of the duct. it can.

In the above-mentioned structure, the blow-out duct integrally formed with the cover portion may be a foot duct that blows air to the feet (claim 2), but the heater core pipe is of the unit case. When it is pulled out to the side and piped along the outer surface, the cover is erected from one end of the duct body of the foot duct along the outer surface of the unit case, and the pipe is installed from below the unit case. In the case where the duct main body portion and the cover portion are drawn out and piped along the lower surface, it is conceivable that the duct main body portion and the cover portion are integrally formed on the same plane without a boundary.

Further, when a foot duct is assumed as the blowing duct, it is preferable that the duct main body portion and the cover portion of the blowing duct have internal spaces communicating with each other in a state where they are attached to the unit case. 3). In such a configuration, the heat radiated from the pipe of the heater core can be supplementarily used for further heating of the air blown from the foot opening.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2, a vertical air conditioning unit is shown. A partition plate for partitioning the engine room and the vehicle compartment is provided on the left side of the air conditioning unit 1 in the figure,
This air conditioning unit 1 is arranged closer to the passenger compartment than the partition plate,
The blower unit (not shown) is installed in the opening 3 of the unit case 2.
Is used by connecting in the vehicle width direction, and the inside air or the outside air selectively introduced by the blower unit is pressure-fed into the unit case through the opening 3.

In the unit case 2, as shown in FIG. 4, an evaporator 4 and a heater core 5 are arranged downstream of the opening 3 in this order in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the evaporator 4 and the heater core 5 are connected to each other. An air mix door 6 for adjusting the ratio of the air passing through the heater core 5 and the air bypassing the heater core 5 is arranged between them. Furthermore, the heater core 5
A vent opening 7, a defrost opening 8, and a foot opening 9 that blow out temperature-controlled air are provided on the further downstream side, and the vent opening 7 and the defrost opening 8 are located above the heater core 5. 2, and the foot opening 9 opens on the lower surface of the unit case 2. A blowout damper (a vent damper 10 for opening / closing the vent opening 7, a defrost damper 11 for opening / closing the defrost opening 8 and a foot damper 12 for opening / closing the foot opening 9) is rotatably arranged in front of each opening. Has been done.

Therefore, the air sent from the blower is cooled by the evaporator 4 while the cooling cycle is operating, heated by the heater core 5 according to the opening degree of the air mix door 6, and opened by the blowout dampers 10, 11, 12. Is delivered from the opening.

The above-mentioned heater core 5 is inserted in the width direction of the air passage through the insertion portion 13 opened on the side surface of the unit case 2, and pipes 14 and 15 for circulating hot water (engine cooling water) through the heater core 5. Is drawn out from the insertion portion 13, and immediately after being drawn out, it is piped to the engine room side along the outer surface of the unit case 2.

On the outer surface of the unit case 2, two ridges 16 and 17 are provided, one end of which extends to a ridge line intersecting with the end face on the engine room side and the other end of which extends to a ridge line intersecting with a lower surface having the foot opening 9. And these ridges 16,
Pipe 1 drawn out from the heater core 5 between 17
4 and 15 have been crawled. Further, in the vicinity of the outer sides of the ridges 16 and 17 of the unit case 2, a plurality of convex portions 18 having screw holes are formed at appropriate places.

The foot opening 9 is formed, for example, in a rectangular shape, and the opening 9 has first and second guide pieces 19 and 20 extending downward from two sides perpendicular to the side surface of the unit case 2. Is provided, and a third guide piece 21 forming a stopper is provided on the side of the pipes 14 and 15 that is located on the side opposite to the pull-out side while suppressing the amount of projection below the first and second guide pieces. The third guide piece 21 is formed with an engagement protrusion 22 that protrudes inside the foot opening.

The foot duct 23 has a duct main body 24 formed in a box shape with an open upper surface. The duct main body 24 has first and second guide pieces 19 having a width in the vehicle traveling direction. The width is substantially equal to the width between 20 and the width orthogonal to that is formed such that one end is in contact with the third guide piece 21 and the other end projects laterally from the side surface of the unit case 2. Has been done. If the surfaces facing each other in the vehicle traveling direction are first and second surfaces 25 and 26, and the facing surfaces orthogonal to this are the third and fourth surfaces 27 and 28,
The fourth surface 27, 28 is formed with an outlet 29 for blowing out the warm air whose temperature is adjusted in the unit case to the feet. Particularly, the outlet 29 of the third surface 27 serves as the third guide piece 21. It is formed so as not to interfere. Further, an engaging hole 30 into which the engaging protrusion 22 formed on the third guide piece 21 is inserted is formed above the outlet of the third surface 27.

The unit case 2 of the duct body 24
A fourth surface 28 and a part of the first and second surfaces 25, 26 are integrally formed with the cover portion 31 at the end portion protruding laterally. As shown in FIG. 3A, the cover portion 31 is attached to the ridges 16 and 17 and is formed in a shape to cover the ridges. A fitting groove 33 for fitting with the protrusions 16 and 17 is formed, and the convex portion 18 is formed on the side surface of the cover.
A screw stop portion 34 having a through hole is formed to project at a position aligned with. In addition, from the cover portion 31 to the pipes 14, 1
As shown in FIG. 3 (b), a U-shaped groove 35 that penetrates the pipes 14 and 15 is formed in the portion where 5 is pulled out, and a sealing member 36 that suppresses air leakage is lined in the groove 35. ing.

This foot duct 23 is used as the unit case 2
To attach the first and second surfaces 25, 26 to the first
And the second guide piece 19 and 20, and slides along the guide piece, so that the engaging projection 22 is formed on the third surface 27.
It may be inserted into the engaging hole 30 and pushed in until the third surface 27 comes into contact with the third guide side 21. At the same time, the fitting groove 33 of the cover portion 31 and the ridge 1 of the unit case 2
By fitting 6 and 17 together and fixing the screw stop portion 34 to the convex portion 18 with a screw, the duct main body portion 24 and the cover portion 31 are simultaneously attached to the unit case 2 in a state where their inner spaces are in communication with each other.

Therefore, since the cover portion 31 for covering the pipes 14 and 15 can be attached at the same time for the work of attaching the duct main body portion 24, the assembling time can be shortened, and
Since it is not necessary to form the cover part 31 separately, the number of parts can be reduced. Moreover, since the duct body 24 and the cover 31 communicate with each other in their inner spaces, the warm air blown out from the foot duct 23 can be supplementarily heated by the heat radiation from the pipes 14 and 15, and the air conditioning unit The heating efficiency of itself can be improved. Also, the cover portion 3
The part where the pipes 14 and 15 are drawn out from the seal member 3 is
Since it is held by 6, the pipes 14 and 15 can be fixed at the same time.

5 to 7, a three-phase flow type air conditioning unit 1 is shown as another embodiment of the present invention. This air conditioning unit is used by connecting a blower unit and an evaporator unit (not shown),
In the air passage 40 facing the opening 3 in the unit case, a heater core 5 is erected at substantially the center thereof along the ventilation direction, and air sent from a blower can pass through both sides of the heater core 5. In one side passage (first passage 41) of the heater core 5, an air mix door 4 for adjusting a ratio of air passing through the heater core 5 and air not passing therethrough.
2 is arranged, and the other side passage (second passage 43) has a submix door 44 for adjusting the amount of air flowing through the side passage.
Is arranged.

The sub-mix door 44 is normally in a position to close the second passage 43. In this state, if the air-mix door 42 is in a position to close the end face of the heater core 5, the air sent from the upstream side will not flow. Only the first passage 41 is passed to the blow-out portion, and the air mix door 42 is
If it is in a position that closes the passage 41, the air sent from the upstream passes through the heater core 5 and is sent to the blowing portion, and if it is in the intermediate position, the air that passes only the first passage 41 and the heater core 5 are separated. The air that has passed through is mixed downstream and sent to the outlet. Further, when the submix door 44 rotates toward the heater core while the air is passing through the heater core 5, the air passing through the heater core 5 and the air passing through the second passage 43 are mixed and sent to the blowing portion. It is designed to be used.

On the downstream side of the heater core 5, a vent opening 7 and a defrost opening 8 for blowing out temperature-controlled air are opened in the upper part of the unit case 2, and a foot opening 9 is opened in the lower surface of the unit case 2. ing. A blowout damper (a vent damper 10 for opening / closing the vent opening 7, a defrost damper 11 for opening / closing the defrost opening 8 and a foot damper 12 for opening / closing the foot opening 9) is rotatably arranged in front of each opening. The blowout mode is switched by a command from a drive control circuit (not shown).

Therefore, the air sent from the blower passes through the evaporator 5, is then temperature-controlled according to the opening of the air mix door 42 and the submix door 44, and is opened by the blow-out dampers 10, 11, 12. It is delivered from the opening.

The above-mentioned heater core 5 is inserted in the vertical direction of the air passage through the insertion portion 13 opened on the lower surface of the unit case 2, and pipes 14 and 15 for circulating hot water (engine cooling water) through the heater core 5. Is drawn out from the insertion portion 13, bent immediately after being drawn out, and is piped to the engine room side along the lower surface of the unit case 2.

On the lower surface of the unit case 2, there is provided a ridge 45 having one end extending to a ridge line intersecting with the end surface on the engine room side and the other end surrounding the periphery of the foot opening. 14 and 15 are these protrusions 45
Crawled in the area surrounded by. In addition, the ridge 45
In the vicinity of the outer side of the, convex portions 18 having screw holes are formed at appropriate intervals.

The foot duct 23 is provided with a duct main body 24 having an open upper surface and facing each other so as to cover the foot opening 9, and a side surface having an air outlet 29.
The lower surface of the unit case 2 is continuously and seamlessly formed with a cover portion 31 provided so as to cover the pipes 14 and 15. The duct body 24 and the cover 31
Means that the protrusion 4 is provided on the joint side where the unit case 2 is joined.
5, a fitting groove 33 for fitting with 5 is formed in the same manner as in the above aspect,
On the side surface of the cover portion, a screw stop portion 34 having a through hole formed at a position aligned with the convex portion 18 is projected. Further, a U-shaped groove 35 for holding the pipes 14 and 15 is formed in a portion where the pipes 14 and 15 are pulled out from the cover portion 31, and a sealing member for suppressing air leakage is formed in the groove 35. 36 are lined.

In order to attach the foot duct 23 to the foot opening 9, the pipes 14 and 15 are fitted in the groove 35, the fitting groove 33 is fitted in the ridge 45 of the unit case 2, and screwed in that state. The convex portion 1 is formed by screwing the portion 34.
If it is fixed to 8, the duct main body 24 and the cover 31 are simultaneously attached to the unit case 2 in a state where the inner spaces of the duct main body 24 and the cover 31 are in communication with each other.

Even in such a configuration, the cover portion 31 for covering the pipes 14 and 15 can be attached at the same time for the work of attaching the duct body portion 24, so that the assembling time can be shortened and the cover portion 31 can be attached. Since it is not necessary to form a separate body, the number of parts can be reduced. Moreover, also in this case, since the duct main body portion 24 and the cover portion 31 communicate with each other in their inner spaces, the warm air blown out from the foot opening portion 9 is supplementarily heated by the heat radiated from the pipes 14 and 15. It is also possible to improve the heating efficiency of the air conditioning unit itself. In addition, the pipes 14 and 15 of the cover portion 31
Since the drawn-out portion is held by the seal member 36 as in the above-described embodiment, the pipes 14 and 15 can be fixed at the same time.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the blow duct attached to the opening of the unit case is integrally provided with the cover portion that covers the heater core pipe arranged along the outer surface of the unit case, the step of attaching the blow duct to the opening of the unit case and the cover portion The step of attaching the to the outer surface of the unit case can be performed at the same time, and the working time can be shortened. Moreover, since it is not necessary to form a protective cover for protecting the pipe as a separate member, the number of parts can be reduced.

In particular, if the outlet duct integrally provided with the cover portion is used as the foot duct, it becomes easy to cope with the case where the pipe is pulled out from the side of the unit case or the case where the pipe is pulled out from the bottom, and the foot duct is attached to the unit case. When the inner space of the cover is in communication with the opening for blowing air in the mounted state, the heat radiated from the pipe of the heater core can be supplementarily used for heating the air blown from the blowing duct. . For this reason, it is possible to effectively use the heat radiation of the pipes, and it is particularly advantageous in temperature control such that there is a temperature difference above and below the air-conditioned space as in the bilevel mode.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a first form of an air conditioning unit according to the present invention, and is an exploded perspective view showing a state in which a foot duct is removed from a unit case.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the air conditioning unit of FIG. 1 with a foot duct attached to a unit case.

FIG. 3 (a) is a cross-sectional view showing a pipe arranged along a unit case and a cover portion covering the pipe, and FIG. 3 (b) shows a portion where the pipe is pulled out from the cover portion. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an internal structure of the air conditioning unit according to FIG.

FIG. 5 shows a second form of the air conditioning unit according to the present invention, and is an exploded perspective view showing a state in which the foot duct is removed from the unit case.

FIG. 6 is a view of the air conditioning unit and the foot duct of FIG. 5 viewed from below.

7 (a) is a cross-sectional view of the air conditioning unit of FIG. 5 cut in the horizontal direction and seen from above, and FIG. 7 (b) is
It is sectional drawing cut | disconnected by the 7B-7B line of FIG. 7 (a).

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Air Conditioning Unit 2 Unit Case 5 Heater Core 7, 8, 9 Opening 14, 15 Pipe 23 Foot Duct 24 Duct Body 31 Cover

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hiroki Ozaki 39 Tochiji, Toyo, Konan-cho, Oza-gun, Saitama Prefecture Inside the XXEL Gangnam Plant (72) Inventor Tatsuya Kitajima 39 Toyohara, Toyo-ji, Konan-cho, Oza-gun, Saitama Prefecture Address XXcel Co., Ltd. in Gangnam Plant (72) Inventor Keiichi Kita 39 Toyo, Oji-gun, Konan-machi, Saitama Prefecture, Chiba, Japan Address: XXcel Co., Ltd. in Konan Plant (72) Hirofumi Tamura, Saitama-ken, Chiyo-ji, Konan-cho, Oita-gun Address 39 XXCEL Gangnam Factory

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A heater core is housed in a unit case, an opening for blowing air is formed in the unit case, and a pipe for circulating a heat exchange medium through the heater core is provided along an outer surface of the unit case. In the air conditioning unit, a step of integrally providing a cover part covering the pipe to a blowout duct attached to the opening, attaching the blowout duct to the opening of the unit case, and attaching the cover to the outer surface of the unit case The air conditioning unit is characterized in that it can be operated at the same time. 2. The air conditioning unit according to claim 1, wherein the blowout duct integrally provided with the cover is a foot duct that blows air to the feet. 3. The air conditioning unit according to claim 2, wherein the inside of the cover communicates with the opening of the unit case when the blowout duct is attached to the unit case.