JPH11123931A - Air conditioner for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide cooling effect for a seat even when an air volume by a blower fan inside an air conditioning duct is small. SOLUTION: An evaporator 3 and a blower fan 2 is provided inside an air conditioning duct 10 provided with air diffusing parts 11, 12, 13 for diffusing air toward an occupant's head part or the like in a cabin, a seat cooling duct 8 guiding cool air cooled and dehumidified by the evaporator 3 to a seat 6 is provided in the duct 10, an inside air introducing duct 9 for introducing inside air into the duct 8 is provided, the cool air is introduced into the duct 8 with a large air volume by the fan 2 at the time of starting, and a blowing fan 90 is operated with a reduced air volume by the fan 2 at the time of steady cooling to introduce inside air of a low temperature and low humidity into the seat cooling duct 8.

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 for cooling a vehicle interior, and more particularly, to a vehicle air conditioner capable of cooling a seat by blowing cold air directly from a seat in the vehicle interior.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an air conditioner for a vehicle has been provided with an air conditioner duct for accommodating a cooling heat exchanger (evaporator) and a blower fan, and cool air formed in the air conditioner duct is supplied to an occupant's head. And the like (to a predetermined portion other than the seat) to cool the entire cabin, guide the cold air to the seat, and blow it out directly from the seat to cool the seat.

[0003]

By the way, in an ordinary vehicle air conditioner, the amount of air blown by the blower fan is maximized at the time of cooling start, and the amount of air blown is reduced at the time of steady cooling.
Such control is performed. However, since the duct for guiding the cool air in the air-conditioning duct to the seat is relatively long and has a large ventilation resistance, when cooling is steady, that is, when the amount of air blown by the blower fan is small, the cool air is hardly blown to the seat, The cooling effect of the seat is almost gone,
There was such a problem.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to obtain a seat cooling effect even when the amount of air blown by a blower fan in an air conditioning duct is small.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, an air blowing section (11) for blowing air toward a predetermined portion other than a seat (6) in a vehicle compartment. Air-conditioning duct (10) comprising:
, A cooling heat exchanger (3) and a first air blowing means (2) are provided, and the air conditioned by the cooling heat exchanger (3) is cooled and dehumidified in the air conditioning duct (10) by a seat (6). A cooling air duct (8) is provided to lead to the inside of the seat, and inside air introducing portions (9, 8a) for introducing inside air are provided in the cooling duct (8), and when the cooling is started, the first air blowing means (2) is used. A large amount of air is set, and cool air is introduced into the seat cooling duct (8).
And the second air blowing means (90) is operated to reduce the inside air to the seat cooling duct (8).
It is characterized by being introduced inside.

Since the inside air is at a low temperature and low humidity during the normal cooling operation, the second blowing means (90) is operated to remove the low-temperature and low-humidity inside air from the seat cooling duct (8).
The seat (6) can be cooled by being guided to the seat (6) through the air outlet and directly blown out from the seat (6). Thus, even when the amount of air blown by the first air blower (2) is reduced, the cooling effect of the seat (6) can be obtained.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, at the time of cooling start, cool air is introduced into the seat cooling duct (8),
Since the control means (100) for introducing the inside air into the seat cooling duct (8) at the time of the cooling steady state is provided, the seat (6) is automatically set according to each of the cooling start and the cooling steady state. A cooling effect can be provided. Further, in the invention described in claim 4, it is possible to switch by a manual operation of the occupant so that the cool air and the inside air are introduced into the seat cooling duct (8) at a predetermined air volume ratio during the cooling steady state.
As described above, in addition to the inside air, cold air having a lower temperature and a lower humidity than the inside air is also introduced into the seat cooling duct (8), so that only the inside air is introduced into the seat cooling duct (8). As compared with the case, the cooling effect of the seat (6) can be more effectively obtained.

[0008] In the invention according to claim 5, a cushioning member having a shape along the seat (6) is provided inside the freely deformable bag member (71) connected to the seat heating duct (8). An air blowing member (7) containing the member (72) is provided inside the seat (6), and the air outlet (71) of the bag member (71) is provided.
The hot air is blown directly from b) to the seat (6).

According to such a configuration, since the air blowing member (7) is provided inside the seat (6), the seat (6) is provided.
, The cold air and the inside air can always be reliably blown to the seat (6). In addition, the air blowing member (7)
Since the cushion member (72) shaped along the seat (6) is housed inside the freely deformable bag member (71), when the occupant sits on the seat (6), The configuration of the air blowing member (7) can be maintained while maintaining good sitting comfort of (6).

[0010] As described above, when cold air or inside air is blown from the inside to the outside of the seat (6), the seat (6) is blown.
Since the back and buttocks of the occupant pressed against the vehicle have large ventilation resistance, when the conventional technology is applied, when the amount of air blown by the first air blowing means (2) is small, it is more difficult for the cool air to be blown out to the seat (6). According to the present invention, since the inside air is positively blown by the second blowing means (90), the above problem can be effectively solved.

[0011]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention. (First Embodiment) In FIG. 1, an air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment includes an air conditioning duct 10 made of resin (for example, polypropylene) that forms a ventilation path, and the air conditioning duct 10 is disposed in front of a vehicle cabin. . At one end of the air conditioning duct 10, an inside air suction port 1a for sucking indoor air and an outside air suction port 1b for sucking outdoor air are formed, and a plate door for switching and introducing room air and outdoor air at a predetermined ratio. And an inside / outside air switching door 1c.
The door 1c is rotatable about a rotation axis 11c between a solid line position in FIG. 1 and a dashed line position in FIG.

At the other end of the air-conditioning duct 10, an air blowing portion 1 communicating with an air outlet (not shown) for blowing conditioned air (hot air, cold air) toward a predetermined portion other than the seat 6 in the vehicle compartment.
1, 12, and 13 are formed. Specifically, the air outlets 11, 12, and 13 are center face outlets (not shown) that blow conditioned air toward the upper body side of the occupant in the passenger compartment.
Through a duct (not shown), a center face blowout portion 11 communicating through a duct (not shown), and a side face outlet (not shown) for blowing conditioned air toward the side glass side in the vehicle cabin. A defroster outlet (not shown) that communicates through a duct (not shown) with a defroster outlet (not shown) that blows out conditioned air toward the inside of the windshield in the vehicle cabin. 1
2, and a foot outlet 13 (not shown) that blows out conditioned air toward the feet of the occupant of the passenger compartment has a foot outlet 13 that communicates via a duct (not shown).

Further, at the other end of the air conditioning duct 10, there are provided opening / closing doors 110, 120 and 130 formed of plate doors for opening and closing the blowout sections 11, 12 and 13, respectively. The doors 110, 120, and 130 have rotating shafts 110a, 1
The positions of the solid lines in FIG.
It is rotatable between the middle dashed line position. Then, a blower fan 2 for blowing air from the inside air suction port 1a and the outside air suction port 1b in the air conditioning duct 10 to the air blowing units 11, 12, 13 and an evaporator (cooling heat exchanger) for cooling the blown air 3) Heater cores (heating heat exchangers) 4 for heating the blown air are arranged in order from one end to the other end in the duct 1. The amount of air blown by the blower fan 2 can be varied linearly from a maximum (for example, 350 m ³ / h) to a minimum (for example, 100 m ³ / h).

An air mix door 5 composed of a plate door is arranged upstream of the heater core 4 to adjust the ratio of the amount of air passing through the heater core 4 to the amount of air to be bypassed. The door 5 is rotatable about a rotation axis 5a between a solid line position in FIG. 1 and a dashed line position in FIG. The evaporator 3 is a cooling heat exchanger that constitutes a well-known refrigeration cycle together with a compressor, a condenser, a liquid receiver, and a decompressor (not shown).
Cool and dehumidify the air inside. The compressor is driven by a vehicle water-cooled engine via an electromagnetic clutch (not shown). The heater core 4 is a heating heat exchanger that uses engine cooling water as a heat source, and reheats the cool air cooled by the evaporator 3.

A plurality of seats 6 are provided in the passenger compartment, and the seats 6 have a back portion 61 and a seat portion 62. The back part 61 and the seat part 62 have a cushioning material arranged along a framework made of wire, and the outer periphery of the cushioning material and the framework are covered with a covering member (for example, leather). And
An air blowing member 7 as shown in FIG. 2 is accommodated in the framework of the back 61 of the driver's seat (front seat) 6. The air blowing member 7 is provided inside a bag member 71 made of a freely deformable material (for example, a cured vinyl resin or the like) and a cushioning member 72 made of a cushioning material (for example, foamed urethane or the like) and having a shape along the back 61. Will be accommodated. The bag member 71 is bonded to the buffer member 72.

Below the bag member 71, the bag member 71 is provided.
Connecting portion 71 with seat cooling duct 8 made of the same material as
a is provided integrally, and is taken out from the lower end of the side surface of the back portion 61 to the outside. The connecting portion 71 a is formed to have a length that can be expanded and contracted with the movement of the seat 6. The connecting portion 71a is provided with a check valve 73. Specifically, it is adhesively fixed. The check valve 73 can prevent air from flowing back from the inside of the bag member 71 to the outside. The cushioning member 72 includes
An air passage 72a is formed to communicate with the connecting portion 71a and to allow air to flow through the entire back 61.

In the bag member 71, a portion of the bag member 71 to which the back of the occupant touches corresponds to the air passage 72a.
Are formed with a large number of air blowing holes 71b communicating the inside and the outside of the inside. The air outlet 71b has a diameter of, for example, 10 mm to
It is about 15 mm. Also, for the covering member of the back part 61,
Similarly, a large number of air blowing holes (not shown) are formed.

Here, since the air blowing member 7 is provided inside the seat 6, even if the position of the seat 6 is changed, the cool air and the inside air can always be reliably blown to the seat 6. In addition, since the air blowing member 7 accommodates the cushioning member 72 shaped along the seat 6 inside the freely deformable bag member 71, when the occupant sits on the seat 6, The form of the air blowing member 7 can be maintained while maintaining good sitting comfort.

Further, since the layout location, shape, size and the like of the air blowing holes 71b of the bag member 71 can be freely laid out, it is possible to easily blow cold air to a predetermined portion of the seat 6. In order to guide the conditioned air of the air conditioner 1 to the air blowing member 7, the air conditioning duct 1 of the air conditioner 1
0 is formed at the other end with a conditioned air blown out from the seat blowout portion 14 through the bag member 71.
The seat cooling duct 8 made of resin for guiding to the connecting portion 71a of the seat 7 is connected to the connecting portion 7 of the seat blowing portion 14 and the bag member 71.
1a. The seat cooling duct 8 is arranged below the seat 6. Note that one end of the seat cooling duct 8 and the seat blowout portion 14 are fastened and fixed by fastening means (for example, screws) not shown,
Connecting portion 71a between the other end of seat cooling duct 8 and bag member 71
Are fixed by bonding.

The seat cooling duct 8 has an inside air inlet 8 for introducing inside air into the seat cooling duct 8.
An opening a is formed, and an inside air introduction duct 9 made of resin is connected to the inside air introduction port 8a. This inside air introduction duct 9 is also arranged below the seat 6. One end of the inside air introduction duct 9 is arranged below the front seat 6 in the vehicle compartment so that its opening does not face the floor surface (in other words, so as to face upward or in a substantially horizontal direction). Have been. In this way, the inside air can be sucked in without obstructing the use space of the occupant and while suppressing the suction of dust and the like in the vehicle interior.

The other end of the inside air introduction duct 9 is fastened and fixed to the inside air introduction port 8a by the above-mentioned fastening means. In the seat cooling duct 8, the opening and closing of the inside of the seat cooling duct 8 and the opening and closing of the inside air inlet 8a are simultaneously performed (in other words, the amount of cold air and inside air introduced into the seat cooling duct 8 is switched). An opening / closing door (switching door) 8b composed of a plate door is provided. This door 8
b is rotatable about the rotation axis 81b between the position of the solid line in FIG. 1 and the position of the dashed line in FIG. Further, the inside air introduction duct 9 is provided with the inside air duct 8 for seat cooling.
A blower fan 90 that blows air to the side (that is, the seat 6 side) is provided. The blower fans 2 and 90 are both centrifugal multi-blade fans (sirocco fans).

Here, a temperature setting device 101 (see FIG. 3) for manually setting the desired temperature in the vehicle compartment is provided on an instrument panel (not shown) provided in the front of the vehicle compartment. Then, the vehicle passes through the inside air temperature sensor 102 for detecting the temperature of the vehicle interior air, the outside air temperature sensor 103 for detecting the temperature of the outside air of the vehicle interior, the solar radiation sensor 104 for detecting the amount of solar radiation applied to the vehicle interior, and the evaporator 3. A post-evaporation sensor 105 for detecting the air temperature immediately after is provided, for example.

The temperature setting device 101 and the sensor 1
Signals from 02 to 105 are input to the electric control device 100. The electric control device 100 controls each of the doors 1c, 5, 110, 120,
130 (rotary shafts 11c, 5a, 110a, 120a, 1
30a), the operation of the blower fan 2, the operation of the compressor, the opening and closing of a water valve for interrupting the engine cooling water, and the opening and closing of the opening / closing door 8b (the rotating shaft 8).
1b), and stops the operation of the blower fan 90.

Specifically, based on the deviation between the signal from the temperature setting device 101 and the signal from the inside air temperature sensor 102, a temperature having a calorific value necessary for matching the vehicle interior temperature with the desired temperature. (TAO) conditioned air is sent into the passenger compartment. Next, the operation of the present embodiment in the above configuration will be described. In summer, the temperature setting device 1
The case where the desired temperature in the vehicle compartment is set to, for example, 25 ° C. by 01 will be described. At this time, the control device 100
As a result, the rotation position of each of the doors 1c, 5, 110, 120, and 130 (rotating shafts 11c, 5a, 110a, 120a, and 130a) is set to a predetermined position (for example, a position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1). Activate to activate the compressor and close the water valve.

Immediately after the start of the operation of the air conditioner 1 (at the time of cooling start), the TAO is set to be much lower than the target temperature, so that the blowing amount of the blowing fan 2 becomes maximum (for example, 350 m ³ / h). Is controlled so that At this time, the control device 100 sets the door 8b to the position indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 1, and stops the blower fan 90.

As a result, the air sucked from the inside air suction port 1a and the outside air suction port 1b is cooled and dehumidified in the evaporator 3, and this cold air bypasses the heater core 4 and is discharged from each of the blowout sections 11, 12, 13, Then, the air is blown out from the seat blowing section 14. Further, the cool air introduced into the seat cooling duct 8 from the seat blowout portion 14 is blown directly from the communication hole 71b to the back portion 61 of the seat 6 through the connecting portion 71a of the air blowing member 7 and the air passage 72a. As described above, by blowing the cool air cooled by the evaporator 3 in the air conditioning duct 10 from the inside of the back part 61 to the outside, the cooling of the back part 61 can be performed well.

Since the room temperature gradually decreases as the time elapses immediately after the operation of the air conditioner 1 starts, T
The control device 1 controls the AO so that the AO gradually approaches the target temperature, and accordingly, the blowing amount of the blowing fan 2 gradually decreases.
00 is controlled. When the amount of air blown by the blower fan 2 reaches a predetermined value near the minimum (for example, 100 m ³ / h), the control device 100 determines that the air conditioner has been switched from the above-described cooling start to the cooling steady state, and the door 8b is moved to FIG. With the position shown by the solid line, the blower fan 90 is operated.

As a result, the cool air cooled by the evaporator 3 is blown out from each of the air outlets 11, 12, and 13, and the inside air introduced from the inside air introduction duct 9 is removed from the seat cooling duct 8 and the connecting portion 71a. And air passage 7
Through 2a, the air is directly blown out from the communication hole 71b to the back 61 of the seat 6. Since the inside air has a low temperature and low humidity during the cooling steady state, the back air can be satisfactorily cooled by blowing the inside air from the inside of the back 61 to the outside.

When the room temperature is near the desired temperature, the TAO is also set near the target temperature.
The amount of air blown by the blower fan 2 is set to a constant amount near the minimum. The constant air volume may be made to match the predetermined value near the minimum. (Second Embodiment) In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the opening / closing door 8b is positioned at a position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 4, a position indicated by a dashed line in FIG. It can be switched to the position shown. In the instrument panel, when cooling is steady (that is, after the amount of air blown by the blower fan 2 becomes a predetermined value near the minimum),
In order to improve the cooling capacity of the seat 6, a seat cooling strength switch 107 (see FIG. 3) for the occupant to manually switch is provided.

The blower fan 90 is arranged in the seat cooling duct 8, in other words, on the downstream side of the opening / closing door 8b. The blower fan 90 blows air from the upstream side (left side in FIG. 4) to the downstream side (right side in FIG. 4) of the fan 90, and is composed of an axial fan. And
By turning on the seat cooling switch 107, the opening / closing door 8b is set to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 4 and the blower fan 90 is operated (third operation). At this time, the ratio of the blown air between the cold air and the inside air is as follows: cold air: inside air = 2:
The turning position of the opening / closing door 8b is set to be 1. Thereby, the cool air cooled by the evaporator 3 is blown out from each of the blowout portions 11, 12, and 13, and by the operation of the blower fan 90, the cool air is sucked into the seat cooling duct from the seat blowout portion 14, and Inside air from the inside air introduction duct 9 is sucked into the seat cooling duct. Therefore, the cool air and the inside air are blown out from the communication hole 71b to the back portion 61 of the seat 6 through the seat cooling duct 8, the connecting portion 71a, and the air passage 72a.

As described above, in addition to the inside air, the cold air having a lower temperature and a lower humidity than the inside air is also supplied to the seat cooling duct 8.
The cooling effect of the seat 6 during the steady cooling operation can be obtained more effectively than in the first embodiment. Further, by disposing the blower fan 90 on the downstream side of the opening / closing door 8b, even if the amount of air blown from the blower fan 2 in the air-conditioning duct 10 increases or decreases, the blower fan 90 causes
A predetermined amount of cold air and inside air can be blown to the air blowing member 7.

(Other Embodiments) In the first embodiment, the start of cooling and the steady state of cooling are determined according to the amount of air blown by the blower fan 102. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, the above control may be performed when it is determined that a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the cooling operation and that the cooling operation is switched from the cooling start to the cooling steady state. At this time, the control device 100 is provided with a timer.

When the amount of air blown by the blower fan 102 reaches the predetermined value near the minimum value, it is determined that the air conditioner is to be switched at the time of the cooling steady state. When the amount of air blown by the fan 102 does not reach the predetermined value near the minimum, the time when the predetermined time has elapsed may be determined to be a time when switching from cooling start to cooling steady state.

Although the air conditioner 1 is controlled automatically by the control device 100, it may be controlled manually by an occupant. In this case, the amount of air blown by the blower fan 2 ranges from a minimum to a maximum, for example, in four stages (Lo,
M1, M2, Hi). At this time, immediately after the start of the cooling operation, the air volume of the air blowing fan 2 is set to the maximum (Hi) by the manual operation of the occupant. Fan 90
Is stopped. Further, when the room has been cooled to some extent, the air volume of the blower fan 2 is reduced by the manual operation of the occupant.
1, the opening / closing door 8b is moved in conjunction with this in FIG.
With the position shown by the solid line, the blower fan 90 is operated.

Further, the air blowing member 7 in the first embodiment may be omitted, and an L-shaped cold air introducing pipe may be provided along both sides of the seat 6. Then, a large number of air outlets are formed in the cool air inlet pipe, and the cool air formed in the air conditioning duct 10 or the cooled inside air (cool air) is passed through the cool air inlet pipe and the air outlet to the central portion of the seat 6. You may make it blow out directly to.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the air blowing member 7 or the above-described cold air introducing pipe, and the cold air may be blown to the seat 6 by other various means. Also, the back 6
The air blowing member 7 may be provided on the seat 62 in addition to the air outlet 1. Further, in the first and second embodiments, the case of cooling the passenger compartment has been described. However, the warm air formed in the air conditioning duct 10 and the heated inside air are also supplied to the seat 6 during the heating. Thus, the seat 6 may be heated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic overall configuration diagram of a vehicle air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of an air blowing member according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an electric control block diagram according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic partial configuration diagram of a vehicle air conditioner according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... air-conditioning duct, 1a ... inside air suction port (air suction part),
1b ... outside air suction port (air suction section), 11, 12, 13 ...
Blower (air blower), 2 ... blower fan (first blower), 3 ... evaporator (cooling heat exchanger), 6 ... seat, 8 ... seat cooling duct, 9 ... inside air introduction duct (inside air introduction section) ), 90: blower fan (second blower).

Claims (5)

[Claims] An air blower (11, 12, 13) having an air suction portion (1a, 1b) at one end and blowing air toward a predetermined portion other than a seat (6) in a vehicle compartment at the other end. ), And the air suction portions (1a, 1) of the air conditioning duct (10).
b) a first air blowing means (2) for sending air from the air blowing section (11, 12, 13) to a cooling heat exchanger (3) for cooling air in the air conditioning duct (10); A seat cooling duct (8) that is provided in the air conditioning duct (10) and guides the cool air dehumidified and cooled by the cooling heat exchanger (3) to the seat (6); ), And inside air introduction portions (9, 8) for introducing inside air into the seat cooling duct (8).
a); and the inside air introduction section (9, 9) in the seat cooling duct (8).
A second air blowing means (90) for sending inside air from the 8a) side to the seat (6) side. At the time of cooling start, the air blowing amount by the first air blowing means (2) is set to be large and the cold air is blown. The air is introduced into the seat cooling duct (8), and during a normal cooling operation, the amount of air blown by the first air blowing means (2) is set to be small, and the second air blowing means (90) is operated to allow the inside air to flow. Is introduced into the seat cooling duct (8). 2. The seat cooling duct (8),
2. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, further comprising: a switching unit configured to switch an amount of the cool air and the inside air introduced. 3. A control means (100) for causing the cool air to be introduced into the seat cooling duct (8) when cooling is started, and for introducing the inside air into the seat cooling duct (8) when cooling is steady. 3. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 2, further comprising: 4. A seat cooling duct (8) that cools the cool air and the inside air at a predetermined air flow rate during a normal cooling operation.
The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 3, wherein the air conditioner can be switched by manual operation of an occupant so as to be introduced into the vehicle. 5. A freely deformable bag member (71) connected to the seat heating duct (8), and the seat (6) housed inside the bag member (71).
An air blowing member (7) is constituted by a cushioning member (72) having a shape along the shape and an air outlet (71b) provided in the bag member (71), and the air blowing member (7) is connected to the seat ( 6) The hot air is directly blown out to the seat (6) from the blowing hole (71b) of the bag member (71) and provided inside the bag member (71). The air conditioner for a vehicle according to any one of the above.