JPH10297255A - Air conditioner for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner for automobile which is compact, reduces ventilation resistance to supply sufficient quantity of air, and adjusts temperature and quantity of the air supplied to each blow-out port minutely. SOLUTION: Air flows upward by detouring a heater core 3 due to the change-over of a mix door 4, a degree of opening of the mix door 4 is adjusted to adjust a ratio of cold air and hot air, and a submix door 23 which divides the air which flows upward from the heater core 3 into the air introduced into a vent blow-out port 6 and the air introduced into a defrost blow-out port 7 or a foot blow-out port 9 is provided so as to turn it freely.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner for an automobile, and more particularly to an air conditioner for an automobile having an evaporator and a heater core in one unit case.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, various types of so-called integrated air conditioners for automobiles have been proposed, which are compact in overall shape in order to secure a space in a vehicle compartment. As shown in FIGS. Here, FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view, and FIG.
It is a schematic sectional drawing which follows the 7 line.

This air conditioner for automobiles is of a type in which an evaporator 2 and a heater core 3 are vertically arranged in one unit case 1. Specifically, the evaporator 2 is arranged below the unit case 1 so that the air passage surface is substantially horizontal, and the heater core 3 is provided above the evaporator 2, that is, the air passing through the evaporator 2, Cold air is supplied to the heater core 3 by the mixing door 4 and a bypass passage 5 that bypasses the heater core 3.
It is configured to be diverted at a predetermined ratio to the side.

Above the unit case 1, a vent outlet 6 for blowing cold air to the upper body of the occupant and a defrost outlet 7 for blowing air toward the windshield to remove fogging are opened. 6 is opened and closed by a vent door 6d, and the defrost outlet 7 is opened and closed by a differential door 7d. A partition 8a having an opening 8 is provided between the vent outlet 6 and the defrost outlet 7. ing.

At the side of the unit case 1, a foot outlet 9 which is opened and closed by a foot door 9d is provided at the rear lower side of the defrost outlet 7, and the foot outlet 9 is provided with a unit as shown in FIG. A foot duct 10 is connected along the side of the case 1.

The cool air that has passed through the evaporator 2 is guided by the lower partition wall 11 to the side where the mix door 4 is provided, and is divided into the heater core 3 side and the bypass passage 5 side. The air
The air is guided along the upper partition wall 12 to the side where the vent door 6 d is provided, mixed with the cool air that has flowed slightly downward and passed through the bypass passage 5, and passed through the vent outlet 6 and the opening 8 to provide a defrost outlet. 7 or the foot outlet 9.

In the integrated air conditioner for a vehicle constructed as described above, the evaporator 2 and the heater core 3 are arranged vertically and the dimension of the unit case 1 in the height direction is kept within a predetermined range. The size of the vehicle in the lateral direction or in the longitudinal direction is also reduced, so that the unit case 1 can be made extremely compact, the installation space in the vehicle interior can be reduced, and a desired space can be secured even in a small vehicle interior. There is an advantage that you can.

[0008]

However, in this air conditioner, the space resistance is emphasized, so that the air flow resistance increases as is apparent from the drawing. In particular, there is a possibility that it is difficult to secure the air volume to the foot outlet 9 from which the hot air is blown out.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and it is possible to secure a sufficient air volume by reducing airflow resistance while maintaining a compact unit case. Another object of the present invention is to provide an excellent air conditioner for a vehicle.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner, wherein cool air cooled by an evaporator disposed below a unit case is caused to flow upward, and a mixing door is provided on a heater core side. And a partition wall for diverting air at a predetermined ratio to a bypass passage bypassing the heater core, and a partition wall for guiding air flowing upward from the heater core in the direction of the bypass passage above the heater core, and providing warm air heated by the heater core. Is mixed with cold air that has passed through the bypass passage along the upper partition wall to form an airflow at a predetermined temperature, or a vent outlet, a defrost outlet or a foot provided at the upper portion of the partition wall without mixing. In an air conditioner for an automobile, which is blown into a vehicle compartment through an air outlet, An opening is formed directly above the heater core, and a submix door is provided at the opening so as to be openable and closable. When the submix door is closed, warm air from the heater core flows into the bypass passage, and the submix door is opened. In some cases, it is guided to the defrost outlet or the foot outlet.

According to this structure, a submix door for branching the air flowing upward from the heater core into the air leading to the vent outlet and the air leading to the defrost outlet or the foot outlet is provided rotatably above the heater core. Therefore, it is not necessary to largely detour the air flowing to the defrost air outlet or the foot air outlet through the partition wall as in the related art, and it is possible to reduce the airflow resistance and supply a sufficient amount of air to these air outlets.

[0012] In the invention described in claim 2, the submix door is characterized in that the opening of the partition wall can be gradually opened and closed.

In this way, when the angle of the submix door is adjusted while adjusting the ratio of the cool air to the warm air by adjusting the opening of the mix door, the temperature of the air supplied to each outlet can be adjusted. And the air volume can be finely adjusted, and the temperature control characteristics can be easily adjusted.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an air conditioner for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Members common to those shown in FIGS.

In FIG. 1, an evaporator 2 is disposed substantially horizontally below a unit case 1 so that outside air or inside air taken in from an intake unit (not shown) flows upward from below the evaporator 2. . Refrigerant from a cooling cycle (not shown) circulates through the evaporator 2 and exchanges heat with the intake air to make the intake air cool. Note that reference numeral “2”
"0" is a drain pipe for discharging the condensed water of the evaporator 2.

Above the evaporator 2, a heater core 3 is arranged at an angle.
The air flowing upward from the evaporator 2 is bypassed and flows to the heater core 3. The cooling water of the engine circulates through the heater core 3, heats the air by exchanging heat with the air passing through the heater core 3, and turns the air into warm air.

As described above, by arranging the evaporator 2 and the heater core 3 up and down while keeping the dimension of the unit case 1 in the height direction within a predetermined range, the size of the unit case 1 in the vehicle left-right direction and the front-back direction is obtained. Is smaller.

Since the lower partition wall 11 is formed between the evaporator 2 and the heater core 3, the cool air is guided to the mix door 4 side along the lower partition wall 11.

The degree of opening of the mix door 4 is adjusted by a motor actuator or the like in accordance with the temperature set by the occupant, and a full cool position FC (position indicated by a virtual line in FIG. 1) in which the heater core 3 side is fully closed. And the bypass passage 5
It is set at a predetermined position between a full hot position FH where the side is fully closed (a position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1). As a result, the cool air from the evaporator 2 is branched at a predetermined ratio to the heater core 3 side and the bypass passage 5 bypassing the heater core 3, and the warm air heated by the heater core 3 and the cool air flowing down the bypass passage 5 as they are. Is mixed in the mixing area 21 above the mixing door 4 and becomes air adjusted to a predetermined temperature.

In general, in an air conditioner for an automobile, there is an air distribution characteristic in which cool air is guided to a vent outlet 6 and warm air is guided to a defrost outlet 7 and a foot outlet 9. The wind is the upper partition 1
It is preferable that the cool air flow through a portion that is not easily affected by the heat from the heater core 3 so as to be guided to the defrost blowout port 7 and the foot blowout port 9 from the opening 22 formed in the second heat sink 2.

For this reason, in the present embodiment, an opening 22 is provided in the upper partition wall 12 immediately above the heater core 3, and a submix door 23 is provided in the opening 22 so as to be rotatable. The configuration does not hinder the compactness of the unit case 1 while taking advantage of the air distribution characteristics.

That is, if the submix door 23 is opened by rotating clockwise as shown in FIG.
The hot air heated in step (1) is guided from the opening 22 to the defrost outlet 7 and the foot outlet 9 without having to make a large detour as shown in FIG. The airflow resistance can be greatly reduced, and a sufficient amount of air can be supplied to these outlets 7 and 9.

When the submix door 23 is rotated counterclockwise and closed, the warm air heated by the heater core 3 is guided to the mixing area 21 and mixed with the cool air guided to the bypass passage 5. Is adjusted to the desired temperature.

Further, in the present embodiment, fine control is performed corresponding to various air conditioning modes, and the temperature control characteristics are further improved.

That is, a partition wall 8a having an opening 8 is provided above the unit case 1 for adjusting the ratio of the cool air and the warm air by adjusting the opening of the mix door 4, and a vent door is provided above the partition wall 8a. Vent outlet 6 opened and closed by 6d
However, on the upper rear side from the vent outlet 6, a differential door 7
d, a defrost outlet 7 is opened and closed, and a foot outlet 9 which is opened and closed by a foot door 9d is provided at the lower rear side of the defrost outlet 7, and each of these outlets is set according to the air conditioning mode. Each door is opened and closed.

When controlling each door in accordance with the various air conditioning modes, the opening degree of the mix door 4 is also adjusted to adjust the ratio between the cool air and the warm air. By adjusting the opening degree of the mix door 23, the temperature and air volume of the air (particularly, hot air) supplied to the outlets 7 and 9 can be finely adjusted, and the temperature control characteristics can be easily adjusted.

Next, the operation of each air conditioning mode will be described. << Bi-level mode >> FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the flow of air in the bi-level mode. In the bi-level mode, the vent door 6d and the foot door 9d are opened, and the cool air from the vent outlet 6 is blown toward the upper body of the occupant.
In this mode, warm air is blown out toward the feet of the occupant and the head gets cold.

In this mode, the mix door 4
Is used mainly in a half-open state, and allows a cool air from the evaporator 2 to flow at a predetermined ratio between the heater core 3 and the bypass passage 5 that bypasses the heater core 3.

On the other hand, when the submix door 23 is fully opened as shown in FIG. 2, the cool air from the evaporator 2
A part rises straight and is blown out from the vent outlet 6,
Other parts are heated by the heater core 3 to become hot air,
It is guided to the foot outlet 9 by the submix door 23. Therefore, it is possible to create a bi-level mode in which the temperature difference between the upper and lower parts of the head cold foot is large.

In this case, by adjusting the opening / closing angle of the submix door 23, not only can the upper and lower temperature difference be finely controlled, but also the air volume can be finely adjusted. For example, when the submix door 23 is closed to almost the fully closed state, the vertical temperature difference becomes minimum, and the vertical temperature difference increases as the opening degree of the submix door 23 is increased, such as small opening, middle opening, and the like.
It is said that the temperature difference between the upper and lower sides in the bi-level mode is normally preferably set to 10 to 20 ° C. However, since the occupant's sense of temperature and the use environment of the vehicle are individually different,
The unit according to the present embodiment, in which the upper and lower temperature difference can be set as desired from a wide range, can widely accept user requests.

<< Vent Mode >> FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the flow of air in the vent mode. The vent mode is a cooling mode in which the cool air from the vent outlet 6 is blown toward the upper body of the occupant. Therefore, by closing the opening 8 by the vent door 6d, the vent outlet 6 is opened, the submix door 23 is also fully closed, and the mix door 4 is
A position rotated by a predetermined angle from the full cool FC position (the bypass passage 5 is fully opened) is selected.

As a result, in the mixing area 21, the cool air and the warm air heated by the heater core 3 are mixed, adjusted to a desired temperature, and blown out of the vent outlet 6 into the vehicle compartment to perform cooling.

<< Foot Mode >> FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the flow of air in the foot mode. In the foot mode, the vent door 6d is closed and only the foot door 9d is opened, or the defrost door 7d is also slightly opened, and the warm air is blown from the foot outlet 9 toward the feet of the occupant or the warm air is blown from the feet to blow defrost. In this mode, warm air is blown out from the exit 7 and the interior of the vehicle is heated while clearing the fogging of the window.

In this mode, as shown in FIG. 4, the mix door 4 is appropriately selected from a full hot FH (a full opening of the bypass passage 5) position to a position rotated by a predetermined angle. In a half-open state.

Thus, the warm air from the heater core 3 and the cool air from the bypass passage 5 are mixed near the submix door 23, reach a predetermined temperature, pass through the opening 8, and are mostly distributed from the foot outlet 9 into the vehicle interior. It is blown and a part is blown out from the defrost outlet 7 toward the window.

<< Defrost Mode >> In the defrost mode, only the differential door 7d is opened and hot air is blown mainly toward the inner surface of the windshield or side glass to remove the fogging of the glass. As shown in FIG. Both the door 4 and the submix door 23 are in a half-open state, and mainly the warm air from the heater core 3 is sent to the defrost outlet 7.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the air flowing upward from the heater core 3 can be immediately flown to the defrost air outlet 7 or the foot air outlet 9 by switching the submix door 23, and the airflow resistance is reduced. It is possible to reduce the amount of air flow and to prevent a decrease in air volume, to improve the heating performance and window clearing performance. Further, since the submix door 23 also functions as an air distribution guide when fully closed, the conventional unit has a compact structure. Also do not change.

If the opening / closing angle of the submix door 23 together with the mix door 4 is adjusted, the supply air (particularly,
(Warm air) temperature and air volume can be finely adjusted.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified without departing from the scope of the present invention. In the above-described embodiment, the butterfly valve type submix door is used. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this, and may be an ordinary cantilever type door.

[0040]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the submix door is rotatably provided above the heater core, the ventilation resistance is reduced while maintaining the compact structure of the unit. Thus, a sufficient amount of air can be supplied to these outlets.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, when the ratio of the cool air to the warm air is adjusted by adjusting the opening of the mix door,
By adjusting the angle of the submix door, the temperature and air volume of the air supplied to each outlet can be finely adjusted, and the temperature control characteristics can be easily adjusted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an air flow in a bilevel mode.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flow of air in a vent mode.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flow of air in a foot mode.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the flow of air in a defrost mode.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a unit of a conventional automotive air conditioner.

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view taken along line 7-7 in FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Unit case, 2 ... Evaporator, 3 ... Heater core, 4 ... Mix door, 6 ... Vent outlet, 7 ... Defrost outlet, 9 ... Foot outlet, 12 ... Upper partition wall, 22 ... Opening, 23 ... Sub Mixed door.

Claims (2)

[Claims] A cool air cooled by an evaporator (2) disposed below a unit case (1) is caused to flow upward, and a mix door (4) bypasses the heater core (3) side and the heater core (3). And a partition wall (12) for guiding air flowing upward from the heater core (3) in the direction of the bypass passage (5) above the heater core (3). The hot air heated by the heater core (3) flows along the upper partition wall (12) and mixes with the cool air passing through the bypass passage (5) to form an airflow at a predetermined temperature or mix. The defrost air outlet (7) or the foot air blow from the vent air outlet (6) provided above the partition wall (12) or from the opening (8) opened at the tip of the upper partition wall (12). Through the exit (9) into the passenger compartment The air-conditioning apparatus, said heater core (3) of the immediately above the opening of the partition wall (12)
(22), a submix door (23) is provided at the opening (22) so as to be openable and closable, and when the submix door (23) is closed, warm air from the heater core (3) is supplied to the bypass passage.
(5) An air conditioner for an automobile, wherein the submix door (23) is guided to the defrost outlet (7) or the foot outlet (9) when the submix door (23) is opened. 2. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the submix door (23) can gradually open and close an opening (22) of the partition wall (12). apparatus.