JPH11208237A - Vehicle air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve setting of all modes without making the total length of the mode selector damper extremely long and to reduce the disagreeableness in switching the modes. SOLUTION: A mode selector damper made of flexible film member is supported by two winding shafts and one intermediate shaft and is disposed along the opening faces of outlets 7 through 9. On the mode selector damper are formed a first opening portion 6a for opening a defroster outlet 7 and a second opening portion 6b for opening a face outlet 8 and a foot outlet 9. The predetermined modes can be switched from the face mode to bi-level mode, full mode, foot mode; foot defroster mode, and defroster mode in that order or in the opposite order, by sliding of the mode selector damper which changes the positions of the first opening portion 6a and the second opening portion 6b.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air outlet switching mechanism for a vehicle air conditioner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a vehicular air conditioner using a film damper as an air outlet mode switching means is known. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a film damper (air outlet switching damper) can be reciprocated along each opening surface of a differential air outlet 7, a face air outlet 8, and a foot air outlet 9 formed in a case. And openings 6a and 6b (shown by two-dot chain lines) opened in the film damper.
Can be changed by moving the film damper to selectively open the outlets 7 to 9 to switch the outlet mode. The outlet mode is, for example, a face mode, a bi-level mode, a foot mode,
A foot differential mode and a differential mode are set, and the mode can be sequentially switched in the moving direction of the film damper.

[0003]

In recent years, there has been a demand for warming not only the feet of the occupant but also the hands during warm-up (i.e., also want warm air from the face outlet 8). On the other hand, the following problem occurs in the outlet mode switching mechanism using the conventional film damper. In order to meet the above-mentioned demand in the bi-level mode, wind comes out from the face outlet 8, but no wind comes out from the differential outlet 7, so that the antifogging property of the window glass cannot be secured. Therefore, it is conceivable to set all modes in which all the air outlets (the differential air outlet 7, the face air outlet 8, and the foot air outlet 9) are opened in order to secure the anti-fog property. If all modes are set in an area other than the mode to the differential mode, the sliding distance of the film damper increases, and the total length of the film damper becomes extremely long. As a result, not only the cost is increased, but also when the mode is switched from the full mode to the foot mode, the vehicle once passes through the face mode or the differential mode, so that the occupant becomes more uncomfortable. The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and has as its object to set all modes without extremely increasing the total length of the film damper, and to switch modes (from all modes to other outlet modes). It is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner for a vehicle that can reduce a sense of discomfort when switching.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air outlet mode switching means for moving at least a bi-level mode, an all mode, and a foot mode by moving a film member from one side to the other. By switching the film-like member from one side to the other, the outlet mode can be switched at least in the order of the foot mode, the full mode, and the bi-level mode. Thereby, when switching from the full mode to the foot mode, it is possible to directly switch from the full mode to the foot mode without passing through another outlet mode, so that a sense of discomfort at the time of mode switching can be reduced.
Further, since all modes are set between the bi-level mode and the foot mode, it is not necessary to extremely increase the total length of the film-shaped member.

(Means of Claim 2) The film-like member is provided so as to be able to reciprocate between a face mode and a differential mode. That is, the face mode, the bi-level mode, the full mode, the foot mode, and the differential mode can be switched in the order of the outlet mode by moving the film member from one side to the other, and moving the film member from the other side to one side. The air outlet mode can be switched in the order of differential mode, foot mode, all mode, bi-level mode, and face mode.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the opening of the outlet switching damper and each outlet. The vehicle air conditioner of the present invention includes an air conditioning unit 1 connected downstream of a blower (not shown). As shown in FIG. 2, the air conditioning unit 1 includes a unit case 2, an evaporator 3 and a heater core 4 housed in the unit case 2, and an air mix damper 5 for temperature adjustment (hereinafter, referred to as an A / M damper 5). ), And an outlet switching damper 6 for switching the outlet mode.

The unit case 2 has a differential outlet 7 for blowing air toward the window glass of the vehicle, a face outlet 8 for blowing air toward the upper body of the occupant, and air toward the foot of the occupant. A foot outlet 9 for blowing air is formed. In addition, each outlet 7-9
As shown in FIG. 2, the differential outlet 7 and the foot outlet 9
And a face outlet 8 is provided. The evaporator 3 is a cooling heat exchanger that cools the air supplied from the blower, and is disposed upstream of the air in the unit case 2. The heater core 4 is a heating heat exchanger that heats air using, for example, engine cooling water as a heat source, and is disposed downstream of the evaporator 3 in the air. In addition,
In the unit case 2, a bypass passage 10 that bypasses the heater core 4 is provided on a side of the heater core 4.

The A / M damper 5 adjusts the ratio between the amount of air passing through the heater core 4 and the amount of air bypassing the heater core 4 (the amount of air passing through the bypass passage 10).
It is formed of a flexible film-like member. The film-shaped A / M damper 5 has both ends connected to two winding shafts 11 and 12 disposed in the unit case 2, and holds the two winding shafts 11 and 12 and the heater core 4. The heater core 4 supported by the guide plate 13
Is arranged across the upstream side of the air and the bypass passage 10.

The two winding shafts 11 and 12 are connected by a wire or the like (not shown). When one of the winding shafts 11 is rotated by an actuator (not shown), the other winding shaft 12 is synchronized through the wire. Can be rotated. Accordingly, the A / M damper 5 can slide a predetermined distance in the rotation direction by rotating the two winding shafts 11 and 12 in the same direction. A /
An opening (not shown) is formed in the M damper 5, and the amount of air passing through the heater core 4 and the amount of air bypassing the heater core 4 are changed by changing the position of the opening by sliding the A / M damper 5. And the ratio can be adjusted.

The air outlet switching damper 6 is formed of a flexible film-like member like the A / M damper 5. The film-shaped outlet switching damper 6 has two ends connected to two winding shafts 14 and 15 disposed in the unit case 2, and the two winding shafts 14, 15 and 1 are connected to each other.
It is supported along the intermediate shaft 16 of the book and is disposed along the opening surfaces of the outlets 7 to 9. Two winding shafts 14, 1
5 is connected by a wire or the like (not shown), and when one of the winding shafts 14 is rotated by an actuator (not shown), the other winding shaft 15 can be synchronously rotated through the wire. Therefore, the outlet switching damper 6
By rotating the two winding shafts 14 and 15 in the same direction, it is possible to slide a predetermined distance in the rotating direction.

The outlet mode switching means of the present invention comprises an actuator for rotating one of the winding shafts 14 and a control device (not shown) for controlling the operation of this actuator.
Etc. The control device outputs a control signal to the actuator in accordance with the selected outlet mode (described later) to give a predetermined rotation operation to the actuator, and can control the operation of the entire air conditioner.
Note that a method of driving the actuator to move the outlet switching damper 6 to a predetermined position so as to obtain the selected outlet mode is very well known, and a description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, the air outlet switching damper 6 has openings for opening the air outlets 7 to 9 according to the air outlet mode. The opening includes a first opening 6 a for opening the differential outlet 7, and a second opening 6 b for opening the face outlet 8 and the foot outlet 9.
And formed at a predetermined distance A in the longitudinal direction (sliding direction) of the outlet switching damper 6. The air outlet mode includes a face mode in which the face air outlet 8 is opened, a bilevel mode in which the face air outlet 8 and the foot air outlet 9 are opened, and a differential air outlet 7, the face air outlet 8, and the foot air outlet 9 which are all opened. All modes, differential outlet 7
And a differential mode in which the differential air outlet 7 is opened. In the foot mode and the foot differential mode, the opening ratio of the foot outlet 9 and the differential outlet 7 is different. In the foot mode, the opening ratio of the foot outlet 9 is larger than that in the foot differential mode. 7 has a small opening ratio.

[0013] This outlet mode is an outlet switching damper 6.
Slides to change the positions of the first opening 6a and the second opening 6b, so that the face mode → bi-level mode → all mode → foot mode → foot differential mode →
The switching can be performed in the order of the differential mode or in the reverse order. The outlet switching damper 6 is slidably provided between a position for selecting a face mode and a position for selecting a differential mode. In this embodiment, since all modes are set between the bi-level mode and the foot mode, it is designed so that all the modes can be realized. Here, a conventional case in which all modes are not set and a case of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In the conventional case, the minimum seal width a is set so that the opening area of the face outlet 8 can be as large as possible in the face mode. Also, the maximum distance B1 between the differential air outlet 7 and the foot air outlet 9 so that the moving distance of the air outlet switching damper from the face mode to the differential mode can be minimized.
Is set. If all modes are set between the bi-level mode and the foot mode under these conditions, the differential air outlet 7
In addition, the opening area of the face outlet 8 cannot be sufficiently secured.
In other words, if the distance A1 from the first opening 6a to the second opening 6b is kept, the area where the second opening 6b opens the face outlet 8 is reduced as shown in all modes in FIG. On the other hand, if the maximum distance B1 from the foot outlet 9 to the differential outlet 7 is kept, the area where the first opening 6a opens the differential outlet 7 becomes extremely small. Therefore, it is difficult to set all modes between the bi-level mode and the foot mode under the conventional design conditions (A1, B1).

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the following design changes are made. The opening area of the second opening 6b is enlarged toward the first opening 6a (from the two-dot chain line to the solid line in FIG. 1), and the distance from the first opening 6a to the second opening 6b is made smaller than before ( A1
→ A). If the opening area of the second opening 6b is enlarged toward the first opening 6a, the seal width between the second opening 6b and the differential outlet 7 cannot be secured in the face mode. The differential outlet 7 is moved (from the two-dot chain line to the solid line in FIG. 1). As a result, the maximum distance between the differential outlet 7 and the foot outlet 9 changes from B1 to B. When the differential outlet 7 is moved, the area where the first opening 6a opens the differential outlet 7 in the differential mode is reduced.
The opening area of the first opening 6a is enlarged toward the side opposite to the second opening (from the two-dot chain line to the solid line in FIG. 1). By making the above design changes, it is possible to secure a sufficient opening area of the face outlet 8 and the differential outlet 7 in all modes.

Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment will be described. For example, when all modes are selected at the time of warming-up of the heating operation, the first opening 6a of the outlet switching damper 6 partially opens the differential outlet 7, and the second opening 6b entirely covers the foot outlet 9. It is opened and the face outlet 8 is partially opened. As a result, warm air is blown out of the differential outlet 7 and the face outlet 8 in addition to the foot outlet 9.
While heating your feet, you can ensure the anti-fog properties of the windowpane and also warm your occupants' hands.

Further, in this embodiment, since all modes are set between the bi-level mode and the foot mode,
When switching from all modes to foot mode, it is possible to directly switch from all modes to foot mode without passing through another outlet mode. Thus, when the mode is switched from the full mode to the foot mode, the wind does not blow out from the face outlet 8 or the differential outlet 7 alone, so that the mode can be switched without causing the occupant to feel strange. it can. Furthermore, by setting all modes between the bi-level mode and the foot mode, the face mode ~
The moving distance of the outlet switching damper 6 can be made shorter than when all modes are set in an area other than the differential mode, and the overall length of the outlet switching damper 6 can be made shorter.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between an opening of an outlet switching damper and each outlet.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an air conditioning unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Unit case 6 Outlet switching damper (membrane member) 6a First opening (opening) 6b Second opening (opening) 7 Differential outlet 8 Face outlet 9 Foot outlet

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A differential air outlet for blowing air toward a window glass of a vehicle, a face air outlet for blowing air toward an upper body of an occupant, and a foot air blower for blowing air toward a foot of the occupant. A case having an outlet; a membrane member provided so as to be able to reciprocate along the opening surface of each of the outlets, and having an opening capable of opening each of the outlets; and the opening opening the face outlet. A face mode, a bi-level mode in which the opening opens the face outlet and the foot outlet, an all mode in which the opening opens all of the differential outlet, the face outlet, and the foot outlet, A foot mode in which an opening opens the foot outlet and a differential mode in which the opening opens the differential outlet are set, and the film-like member is moved from one side to the other. At least the bi-level mode, the full mode, and the foot mode are switched in the order of the outlet mode, and the film-shaped member is moved from the other to one to at least the foot mode, the all mode, and the bi-level. An air conditioner for a vehicle, comprising: an outlet mode switching unit that switches an outlet mode in the order of the modes. 2. The air conditioner for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said film-like member is provided so as to be able to reciprocate between said face mode and said differential mode.