JPH1178505A - Evaporator installation structure of air-conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the attaching/detaching work of an evaporator and improve its maintenance property. SOLUTION: When a lower case 2B is slided to the rear side, an evaporator is held by being guided between the upper/lower guide rails 18, 19 of an upper case 2A. Thereby, the lower case 2B can be removed to the rear side of a cabin easily and also a work space is produced on the lower side of the upper case 2A and the evaporator is removed easily. When the lower case 2B is fitted on the lower side of the evaporator 3 and slided to the front side at the re-assembly time, the evaporator can be moved slidingly upto the fixed position of the front side integrally, as the vertical ribs 20 on the inner surface of the side wall of the lower case 2B bites into an elastic material 21 and the re-assembly can be carried out easily, too.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an evaporator mounting structure for an air conditioner mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Among air conditioners for automobiles, there is known an air conditioner in which an evaporator is horizontally arranged in a lower portion of a unit case in view of a layout in a vehicle interior.

[0003]

When the evaporator is maintained, the entire unit is removed from the vehicle interior, or a work hole closed by a lid is previously provided in the bottom wall of the unit case, and the unit is placed in the vehicle interior. A method is considered in which the lid is detached while being mounted, and the evaporator is detached from the work hole.

[0004] However, in the former case, the maintenance work becomes large-scale, which goes against the demand for reducing the number of man-hours and labor. In the latter case, the space between the bottom of the unit case and the vehicle body floor is narrow. Therefore, also in this case, the attachment / detachment of the evaporator is not easy, so that much labor and an unreasonable posture are imposed on the operator, so that improvement in workability cannot be expected.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an evaporator mounting structure for an air conditioner which can easily attach and detach the evaporator even when the unit is mounted in the vehicle interior, and can improve the maintainability.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a unit evaporator is divided into an upper case and a lower case, and a rectangular evaporator having an elastic material adhered to a peripheral surface thereof is provided. A structure in which the elastic material is compressed and deformed between the left and right side walls of the two cases across the parting line with the lower case and elastically held horizontally, and on the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the upper case and the lower case, A step is formed to be engaged with the upper and lower edges of the left and right side surfaces of the evaporator, and the rear inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the upper case are provided with rear upper and lower edges of the left and right side surfaces of the evaporator when the evaporator is slid backward. While providing upper and lower guide rails that hold the evaporator by engaging with
On the inner surface of the left and right side walls of the lower case, a plurality of longitudinal ribs are provided in the front and rear direction to bite into the elastic material on the left and right side surfaces of the evaporator.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the upper and lower guide rails according to the first aspect are formed one step lower than the step portions of the upper case and the lower case, and the front end of the lower guide rail is located behind the evaporator. It is characterized by being extended below the side part.

According to a third aspect, the parting line between the upper case and the lower case according to the first and second aspects is formed substantially horizontally, and the upper case, the step of the lower case, and the upper and lower guide rails of the upper case. Is characterized in that the evaporator is formed to be inclined forward and obliquely downward so as to hold the evaporator in a forwardly inclined state across the parting line.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, on the left and right side surfaces of the evaporator according to the first to third aspects, vertical ribs are provided which are engaged with the vertical ribs of the lower case in the front-rear direction via elastic materials. I have.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a step is formed on the front side of the lower case according to the first to fourth aspects so as to engage with a lower edge of a front side surface of the evaporator.

[0011]

According to the first aspect, when the evaporator is removed from the unit case, the evaporator straddles the parting line between the upper case and the lower case and compresses and deforms the elastic material between the left and right side walls of the two cases. Since the elastic case is held in this state, even if the fastening of the lower case to the upper case is released, the state in which the evaporator and the lower case are held by the upper case is maintained by the frictional force of the elastic material contact portion. When the evaporator is slid backward, the rear side of the evaporator is elastically held between the upper and lower guide rails on the rear side of the upper case via an elastic material.

Therefore, if the lower case is removed from the evaporator, the evaporator remains held between the upper and lower guide rails of the upper case, so that the lower case can be easily removed to the rear of the vehicle compartment, and after the lower case is removed. A work space is secured under the upper case, and the evaporator can be easily pulled out from the upper and lower guide rails by sliding the evaporator slightly forward and backward from the lower side of the upper case.

When reassembling the evaporator, the above operation is reversed, and the lower case is slid forward with respect to the upper case, so that the vertical ribs on the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the lower case bite into the elastic material on the side surfaces of the evaporator. As a result, the evaporator can be reliably caught and slid forward with the evaporator to a fixed position, so that the evaporator can be easily reassembled.

According to the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the upper and lower guide rails are formed one step lower than the steps of the upper case and the lower case, and the front end of the lower guide rail is provided with the evaporator. Since the evaporator is slightly extended due to its own weight when the lower case is disengaged, since the evaporator is supported by being restricted by the lower guide rail, the lowering of the lower case is restricted because the lower case is released. The evaporator can be easily moved and held between the upper and lower guide rails by sliding the lower case backward.

The upper and lower guide rails are connected to an upper case,
Because the lower case is formed one step lower than the left and right side wall steps, the evaporator is shifted in the front-rear direction with respect to the lower case when the lower case and the evaporator slide forward when the evaporator is reassembled. If the evaporator has not reached the position, the lower case is not aligned with the upper case while the rear upper surface of the evaporator remains engaged with the upper guide rail, so it is easy to determine that the evaporator has not been moved to the home position. Can be
Incomplete assembly of the evaporator can be prevented.

According to the third aspect, in addition to the effects of the first and second aspects, when the evaporator is removed and re-assembled, the lower case is slid substantially horizontally with respect to the upper case in the front-rear direction to perform the attaching / detaching operation. The work of attaching and detaching the lower case and the evaporator in a narrow place can be performed more easily.

Further, since the step of the lower case is inclined forward, the length of the vertical rib can be made sufficiently long at the front portions of the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the lower case. The operation can be reliably performed.

According to the fourth aspect, in addition to the effects of the first to third aspects, the vertical ribs on the left and right side surfaces of the evaporator are engaged with the vertical ribs on the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the lower case via the elastic material in the front-rear direction. At the time of reassembly, the evaporator can be more reliably captured by the vertical ribs on the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the lower case.

According to the fifth aspect, in addition to the effects of the first to fourth aspects, when the lower case is slid rearward in the vehicle compartment, the step on the front side of the lower case engages with the lower edge of the front side surface of the evaporator. The evaporator can be reliably slid backward with the lower case.

[0020]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 5 shows a heat exchanger unit. The heat exchanger unit 1 includes an evaporator 3 in a unit case 2,
On the upper side, the heater cores 4 are arranged horizontally, and are arranged in multiple stages in the vertical direction.

The portion where the evaporator 3 and the heater core 4 are disposed is vertically separated from each other, so that air blown from a blower unit (not shown) to a blower connection port 6 provided on one side wall of the unit case 2 can be blown. As shown by the arrow in FIG. 1, the evaporator 3 is cooled by flowing from the upper side to the lower side of the evaporator 3, and the cooled air is flown upward through the air passage 5 formed along the rear side wall of the unit case 2. It is.

The air flowing upward through the air passage 5 can be bypassed to the lower side of the heater core 4 and can flow upward from the lower side of the heater core 4, and can be flown by the evaporator 3 and / or the heater core 4. The temperature-controlled air is supplied from a vent outlet 7 or a defroster outlet 8 provided on the upper wall of the unit case 2 or a foot outlet 9 provided on both side walls of the unit case 2 to various ducts (not shown). It is supposed to be.

The bypass circulation of the air to the heater core 4 and the blowing of the air from the various outlets 7, 8, and 9 are performed by controlling the air distribution of various doors (not shown).

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the evaporator 3 is of a known laminated single tank type having a rectangular shape and a refrigerant tank 11 attached to one side thereof. An expansion valve 12 is attached to 11a.

The unit case 2 is divided into an upper case 2A and a lower case 2B at a substantially horizontal parting line, and the evaporator 3 straddles the parting line between the upper case 2A and the lower case 2B. As described above, the unit case 2 is disposed horizontally in the unit case 2 in a slightly inclined state.

In order to fix the evaporator 3 in the unit case 2 in the forwardly inclined state, the upper case 2A
In addition, stepped portions 13 and 14 are formed on the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the lower case 2B so as to be engaged with upper and lower edges of the left and right side surfaces of the evaporator 3 and are inclined obliquely downward and forward, and the upper case 2A has stepped portions. Steps 15 and 16 connected to the front and rear end portions of the evaporator 3 to engage with the upper edges of the front and rear side surfaces of the evaporator 3
And the lower case 2B has a step 17 connected to the front end of the step 14 and engaged with the lower edge of the front side surface of the evaporator 3.
Is formed.

Further, upper and lower guide rails 18 and 19 for holding the evaporator 3 when the evaporator 3 is slid rearward as described later are provided on the rear inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the upper case 2A.

The upper and lower guide rails 18 and 19 are formed by step portions 13 on the side walls of the upper case 2A and the lower case 2B.
14 is formed one step lower than that of the stepped portions 13 and 14, and is inclined at the same inclination angle as those of the stepped portions 13 and 14, and the front end of the lower guide rail 19 is arranged to extend below the rear side of the evaporator 3. It is.

Thus, in order to establish the positional relationship between the lower guide rail 19 and the rear side of the evaporator 3,
At the rear side of the left and right side walls of the upper case 2A, a protruding portion 2a which slides into the inside of the left and right side walls of the upper case 2B is extended, and a lower guide rail 19 is provided on the protruding portion 2a.

On the other hand, a plurality of longitudinal ribs 20 extending from the upper edge toward the step portion 14 are provided on the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the lower case 2B in the front-rear direction.

The evaporator 3 has a stepped portion 1 on the upper case 2A side with the side surface provided with the refrigerant tank 11 facing forward.
3, 15, 16 and steps 14, 17 on the lower case 2B side.
And position it in the up and down direction and the back and forth method,
The opening 1 provided in the front side wall of the unit case 2 by the expansion valve 12
It is arranged horizontally to face 0.

A sheet-like elastic material 21 is adhered to the peripheral side surfaces of the evaporator 3 extending to the left and right sides and the rear side except for the front side where the refrigerant tank 11 is attached, and this elastic material 21 is attached to the evaporator 3. Is compressed and deformed between the left and right side surfaces of the unit case 2 and the left and right side walls of the unit case 2 and between the steps 13, 16, and 14, respectively. It is supported by anti-vibration.

The elastic member 21 has an elastic coefficient and a thickness dimension such that the elastic member 21 is compressed and deformed as described above to obtain excellent vibration damping properties and an appropriate frictional force with the inner surface of the unit case 2. It is set arbitrarily.

A seal member 22 is attached to the upper edge of the front side of the evaporator 3 so as to be in close contact with the lower surface of the step 15 on the front side of the upper case 2A. So that it doesn't leak out.

The lower tank 11b of the refrigerant tank 11
The cushioning material 2 which elastically contacts the rising surface 17a of the step 17 on the front side of the lower case 2B is provided on both left and right sides of the front side of the lower case 2B.
3 is attached.

The bottom of the lower case 2B is provided with an evaporator 3
The condensed water generated and dropped on the surface of the case is collected and inclined so as to be easily drained out of the case.

FIG. 6 shows a procedure for attaching and detaching the evaporator 3 from the unit case 2 while the heat exchanger unit 1 having the above-described configuration is mounted in the vehicle interior.

When removing the evaporator 3 from the unit case 2, first, the upper case 2A and the lower case 2B
At this time, the evaporator 3 compresses the elastic material 21 between the left and right side walls of the upper case 2A and the lower case 2B across the parting line between the upper case 2A and the lower case 2B. Since it is deformed and elastically held, even if the screw 26 is removed, the state where the evaporator 3 and the lower case 2B are held by the upper case 2A is maintained by the frictional force of the contact portion of the elastic material 21.

The evaporator 3 and the lower case 2B are slightly displaced and lowered by the weight of the evaporator 3, but the front end of the lower guide rail 19 extends below the rear side of the evaporator 3, so that the guide rail 19 Is held at the front end of the head, and further decrement is suppressed.

Then, when the lower case 2B is slid horizontally toward the rear of the vehicle compartment as shown in FIG. 3A and pulled out, the vertical ribs 20 on the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the lower case 2B are cut into the elastic material 21. Since the rising surface 17a of the step 17 on the front side is engaged with the lower tank 11b of the refrigerant tank 11 of the evaporator 3 via the cushion material 23, the evaporator 3 also slides rearward together with the rear side. Part is guided between the upper and lower guide rails 18 and 19 of the upper case 2A, and these upper and lower guide rails 1
It is elastically held between the elastic members 8 and 19 via the elastic material 21.

Therefore, if the lower case 2B is pulled out rearward of the cabin with its rear end slightly lifted as shown in FIG. 3B, the lower case 2B can be easily removed even in a narrow space between the lower case 2 and the dash lower panel 24. it can.

When the lower case 2B is removed, the upper case 2A
Since a large working space is created below the evaporator 3, the evaporator 3 held between the upper and lower guide rails 18 and 19 is slightly slid forward and pulled out as shown in FIG. It can be easily taken out to the rear of the passenger compartment from the lower side of 2A.

Next, when reassembling the evaporator 3, the above-mentioned work procedure is reversed to (d) to (a), and the lower case 2B is slid forward. At this time, the left and right side walls of the lower case 2B are moved. The vertical rib 20 on the inner surface is the evaporator 3
The evaporator 3 can be reliably caught and slid forward with the evaporator 3 to a predetermined position, thereby facilitating the re-assembly of the evaporator 3. Can be done.

Particularly, in the present embodiment, as described above, the upper case 2A and the lower case 2B are vertically divided by a substantially horizontal parting line, so that when the evaporator 3 is taken out and re-assembled, the lower case 2B Can be slid substantially horizontally with respect to the upper case 2A in the front-rear direction to perform the attaching / detaching operation.
The lower case 2B and the evaporator 3 can be easily attached and detached in a narrow place where the bottom of the lower case 2 approaches the dash lower panel 24.

The step 1 on the left and right side walls of the lower case 2B
4 is inclined forward like the step 13 on the upper case 2A side, so that the longitudinal ribs 20 can be formed sufficiently long in the front portions of the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the lower case 2B. The trapping action of the evaporator 3 by the evaporator 3 can be reliably performed.

Further, since the upper and lower guide rails 18 and 19 are formed one step lower than the steps 13 and 14 of the left and right side walls of the upper case 2A and the lower case 2B, the lower case 2B and the evaporator 3 are reassembled. If the evaporator 3 does not reach the home position by shifting the evaporator 3 in the front-rear direction with respect to the lower case 2B during the forward sliding operation with the evaporator 3, the rear upper surface of the evaporator 3 remains engaged with the upper guide rail 18. Since the lower case 2B is not aligned with the upper case 2A, it can be easily determined that the movement of the evaporator 3 to the home position has not been completed, and the incomplete assembly of the evaporator 3 can be prevented. Can be.

Here, as shown in FIG.
If one or more longitudinal ribs 25 are provided on the left and right side surfaces of the lower case 2B so as to be engaged with the longitudinal ribs 20 on the lower case 2B side through the elastic member 21 in the front-rear direction, the reassembly can be performed. In this case, the evaporator 3 can be more reliably captured by the vertical ribs 20 on the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the lower case 2B.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from a side.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the same embodiment as viewed from the front.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary exploded perspective view of an upper case and a lower case according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary sectional view showing a state in which the vertical ribs of the lower case and the elastic members on the side surfaces of the evaporator according to the embodiment are engaged with each other;

FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing a procedure for attaching and detaching the lower case and the evaporator according to the embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 4, showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Unit Case 2A Upper Case 2B Lower Case 3 Evaporator 13 Step on Inner Surface of Left and Right Side Walls of Upper Case 14 Step on Inner Surface of Left and Right Side Walls 17 Front Step of Lower Case 18 Upper Guide Rail 19 Lower Guide Rail 20 Left and Right of Lower Case Vertical ribs on inner surface of side wall 25 Vertical ribs on inner surface of left and right side walls of evaporator

Claims (5)

[Claims] A unit evaporator (3) having a unit case (2) divided into an upper case (2A) and a lower case (2B) and having an elastic material (21) adhered to a peripheral side surface. The upper case (2A) and the lower case (2B) straddle the parting line of both cases (2
A structure for compressively deforming the elastic material (21) between the left and right side walls of the upper case (2A) and the lower case (2B). Steps (13), (14) engaging with the upper and lower edges of the left and right side surfaces of the evaporator (3) are formed on the inner surface of the evaporator (3), and the evaporator (3A) is provided on the rear inner surface of the left and right side walls of the upper case (2A). The upper and lower guide rails (18) and (19) for engaging the rear upper and lower edges of the left and right side surfaces of the evaporator (3) when the (3) is slid rearward and holding the evaporator (3) are provided. , Lower case (2
An evaporator mounting for an air conditioner, wherein a plurality of longitudinal ribs (20) that bite into the elastic members (21) on the left and right side surfaces of the evaporator (3) are provided on the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of (B) in the front-rear direction. Construction. 2. Upper and lower guide rails (18) and (19).
Are formed one step lower than the steps (13) and (14) of the upper case (2A) and the lower case (2B), and the front end of the lower guide rail (19) is connected to the rear side of the evaporator (3). The evaporator mounting structure for an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the evaporator mounting structure is arranged to extend below the bottom of the evaporator. 3. An upper case (2A) and a lower case (2).
B) and the upper and lower guide rails (18), (14) of the steps (13), (14) of the upper case (2A) and the lower case (2B) and the upper case (2A). The evaporator of an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the evaporator (19) is formed so as to be inclined obliquely downward and forward so as to hold the evaporator (3) in a forwardly inclined state across the parting line. Mounting structure. 4. A vertical rib (25) is provided on the left and right side surfaces of the evaporator (3) to engage with the vertical rib (20) of the lower case (2B) in the front-rear direction via an elastic material (21). The evaporator mounting structure for an air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. A step (17) which engages with a lower edge of a front side surface of the evaporator (3) on a front side of the lower case (2B).
The evaporator mounting structure for an air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: