JPH1178506A - Evaporator installation structure of air-conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To absorb the size dispersion of an evaporator and hold and fix the evaporator between the right/left side walls of a unit case sideways and closely. SOLUTION: An evaporator 3 is arranged sideways while stepping over the parting line between the upper case 2A and lower case 2B of a unit case 2 and the elastic material 20 pasted on the periphery side of the evaporator 3 is compressed and deformed and held elastically between respective right/left side walls of the upper case 2A and lower case 2B and also by gnawing lateral ribs 19 projected to the inner surface of right/left side walls of the upper case 2A into the elastic material 20, the size dispersion of the evaporator 3 is absorbed and the evaporator 3 can be held and fixed closely between the right/ left side walls of the unit case 2.

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]

In the evaporator, a plurality of flat refrigerant tubes for circulating a refrigerant are arranged in one direction at an appropriate interval in a stacked state, and cooling fins are joined between the refrigerant tubes. Because of the arrangement and configuration,
There is a tendency for dimensional variations in the lamination direction of these refrigerant tubes to occur easily.

On the other hand, when such an evaporator is disposed horizontally in a unit case, the evaporator is mounted so as to be sandwiched between left and right side walls of the unit case. The evaporator is connected to a refrigerant pipe on the engine room side. Therefore, the refrigerant is arranged so as to flow in the front-rear direction, so that the laminating direction of the refrigerant tubes coincides with the clamping direction of the left and right side walls of the unit case.

[0005] For this reason, due to variations in the dimensions of the evaporator in the laminating direction of the refrigerant tubes, the portion between the evaporator and the left and right side walls of the unit case is loosened, thereby causing looseness of the evaporator and airtightness between the left and right side walls of the unit case. There is a risk of causing defects.

In view of the above, the present invention is intended to absorb and disperse the evaporator between the left and right side walls of the unit case and to fix the evaporator tightly even if the evaporator arranged horizontally in the unit case has a variation in dimensions. It is intended to provide an evaporator mounting structure for an air conditioner capable of performing the following.

[0007]

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 at least the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the upper case are provided with evaporators. Horizontal ribs are provided to project into the elastic material on the left and right side surfaces of the vehicle.

According to a second aspect, the parting line between the upper case and the lower case according to the first aspect is formed substantially horizontally, while the evaporator is held in a forwardly inclined state across the parting line, Further, the lateral ribs projecting from the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the upper case are formed so as to be inclined in accordance with the arrangement angle of the evaporator.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the front end of the lateral rib according to the second aspect is formed along the lower edges of the left and right side walls of the upper case.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of the horizontal ribs according to the first to third aspects are provided in a vertical direction.

[0011]

According to the first aspect, the evaporator is elastically held between the left and right side walls of the unit case by compressively deforming the elastic material on the peripheral side surface of the evaporator.
The horizontal ribs projecting from the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the upper case of the unit case bite into the elastic material, and the elastic material is pressed between the horizontal ribs and the evaporator side surface,
Variations in the size of the evaporator in the left-right direction can be absorbed, and the evaporator can be tightly held and fixed between the left and right side walls of the unit case.

Since the evaporator is elastically held horizontally across the parting line between the upper case and the lower case, when the evaporator is detached from the unit case during maintenance, the lower case is detached from the upper case to work below the upper case. Since the space is secured, the evaporator can be easily removed.

Further, when the lower case is detached, the lateral ribs on the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the upper case bite into the elastic members on the left and right side surfaces of the evaporator and are locked. Also, the work of removing the evaporator can be easily performed.

According to the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, since the parting line between the upper case and the lower case is formed substantially horizontally, the lower case is removed from the vehicle compartment when the lower case is removed. The lower case can be slid rearward substantially horizontally to be removed, and the lower case can be more easily removed in a narrow space.

Further, since the evaporator is elastically held in a forwardly inclined state across the parting line, when the lower case is removed, the front end of the evaporator projects and is exposed to the working space below the upper case. The evaporator can be more easily removed.

In addition, since the horizontal ribs on the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the upper case are also formed to be tilted forward in accordance with the forward tilt arrangement of the evaporator, the engagement length of the horizontal ribs with the elastic member is sufficiently long. , And it is possible to restrict the displacement of the evaporator due to its own weight.

According to the third aspect, in addition to the effect of the second aspect, the front ends of the lateral ribs are formed along the lower edges of the left and right side walls of the upper case. The rigidity of the edge can be increased, and when the lower case is removed, bending deformation to the outside of the lower edges of the left and right side walls of the upper case can be suppressed, and the displacement of the evaporator due to its own weight can be reliably suppressed.

According to the fourth aspect, in addition to the effects of the first to third aspects, since a plurality of horizontal ribs are provided on the inner surface of the left and right side walls of the upper case in the vertical direction, the rigidity of these left and right side walls can be increased. As a result, the lateral rib and the elastic member can be securely engaged with each other, and the evaporator can be more securely clamped and fixed.

[0019]

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, 9 are performed by controlling the air distribution of various doors (not shown).

The evaporator 3 is formed in a rectangular shape as shown in FIG. 4, and a plurality of flat refrigerant tubes 11 for circulating a refrigerant are arranged in one direction at an appropriate interval in a laminated manner. A known cooling fin, not shown, is joined between the refrigerant tubes 11, and a refrigerant tank 12 for supplying and discharging the refrigerant and an expansion valve 13 are attached to one side of the refrigerant tubes 11 in a direction orthogonal to the respective tubes. A laminated single tank type is used.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the unit case 2 is divided into an upper case 2A and a lower case 2B with a substantially horizontal parting line as a boundary, and the evaporator 3 is composed of the upper case 2A. And lower case 2
B is arranged horizontally in the unit case 2 in a state of being slightly inclined forward so as to straddle the parting line with B.

In order to fix the evaporator 3 in the unit case 2 in the forwardly inclined state, the upper case 2A
In addition, steps 14 and 15 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 sides of the evaporator 3 and are inclined forward and obliquely downward. Steps 16 and 17 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 a step 18 connected to the front end of the step 15 and engaged with the lower edge of the front side surface of the evaporator 3 on the lower case 2B.
Is formed.

The evaporator 3 has a stepped portion 1 on the upper case 2A side with the side surface provided with the refrigerant tank 12 facing forward.
4, 16, 17 and steps 15, 18 on the lower case 2B side.
And positioned in the up and down direction and the front and back direction,
The opening 1 provided in the front side wall of the unit case 2 by the expansion valve 13
It is arranged horizontally to face 0.

A sheet-like elastic member 20 is attached to the left and right side surfaces and the rear side surface of the evaporator 3 excluding the front surface to which the refrigerant tank 12 is attached, and the elastic member 21 is attached to the evaporator 3. Are compressed and deformed between the left and right side surfaces of the upper case 2A and the left and right side walls of the lower case 2B so as to be elastically clamped and fixed, and the edges of the elastic member 20 projecting from the upper and lower peripheral edges of the evaporator 3 are fixed to the upper case 2A. , The lower case 2B, the respective steps 14, 15, 1
7 and the evaporator 3 through the elastic member 20.
Are supported on the peripheral side wall of the unit case 2.

Here, the elastic members 2 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 the upper case 2A.
For example, a horizontal rib 19 having a triangular cross section is formed to protrude.

The horizontal ribs 19 are provided, for example, with two protrusions at appropriate intervals in the vertical direction. Each of the horizontal ribs 19 is inclined forward and inclined in accordance with the forward inclination angle of the evaporator 3. The front end of the lower lateral rib 19 is formed along the lower edge of the left and right side walls of the upper case 2A.

In this embodiment, upper and lower guide rails 21 and 22 that are inclined forward and hold the rear side of the evaporator 3 when the evaporator 3 is slid rearward are provided on the inner surfaces of the rear sides of the left and right side walls of the upper case 2A. On the other hand, a plurality of longitudinal ribs 23 extending from the upper edge toward the step portion 15 are provided in the front inner surface of the left and right side walls of the lower case 2B in the front-rear direction, and the upper and lower guide rails are previously set when the evaporator 3 and the lower case 2B are reassembled. By fitting the lower case 2B to the evaporator 3 held by the evaporator 3 and sliding the lower case 2B forward substantially horizontally forward, the vertical ribs 23 bite the elastic members 20 on the left and right side surfaces of the evaporator 3. The evaporator 3 is also slid forward with it, so that re-assembly can be easily performed.

At the upper edge of the front side of the evaporator 3, a sealing member 24 is adhered in close contact with the lower surface of the step 16 on the front side of the upper case 2A so that air coming from the upper side of the evaporator 3 can be reliably exchanged for heat. Sealed to send to fins.

On both sides of the lower portion of the refrigerant tank 11, a cushion material 25 is attached so as to elastically contact the rising surface 18a of the step portion 18 on the front side of the lower case 2B.

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.

According to the structure of the above embodiment, since the evaporator 3 has the laminating direction of the refrigerant tubes 11 in the left-right direction, there is a tendency that the dimensions particularly in the left-right direction tend to vary. Reference numeral 3 denotes an evaporator 3 between the left and right side walls of the unit case 2, that is, the left and right side walls of the upper case 2A and the lower case 2B.
The elastic members 20 on the left and right side surfaces of the upper case 2A are compressed and deformed to be elastically held, and the horizontal ribs 19 projecting from the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the upper case 2A bite into the elastic members 20 so that the elastic members 20 By being pressure-bonded between the rib 19 and the side surface of the evaporator 3, the variation in the dimension of the evaporator 3 in the left-right direction can be absorbed and the evaporator 3 can be tightly held and fixed between the left and right side walls of the unit case 2. .

Therefore, the evaporator 3 may rattle in the left and right directions in the unit case 2 or the evaporator 3
Without the occurrence of poor airtightness between the unit case 2 and the left and right side walls, the sense of quality and reliability can be further enhanced.

In particular, in this embodiment, the vertical ribs 23 projecting from the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the lower case 2B also bite into the elastic members 20 on the left and right side surfaces of the evaporator 3.
Tight clamping and fixing of the evaporator 3 can be advantageously performed.

The evaporator 3 has an upper case 2A.
When the evaporator 3 is detached from the unit case 2 during maintenance, the lower case 2B is detached from the upper case 2A when the evaporator 3 is detached from the unit case 2 during maintenance. Therefore, the evaporator 3 can be easily removed.

When the lower case 2B is detached, the lateral ribs 19 on the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the upper case 2A are attached to the evaporator 3
Since the evaporator 3 is engaged with the elastic members 20 on the left and right side surfaces thereof, the evaporator 3 does not shift down due to its own weight, and therefore, the lower case 2B and the evaporator 3 can be easily removed.

In particular, since the parting line between the upper case 2A and the lower case 2B is formed substantially horizontally, and the evaporator 3 is disposed laterally in a forwardly inclined state across the parting line, Lower case 2
B can be removed by sliding it substantially horizontally to the rear of the passenger compartment, so that the lower case 2B can be more easily removed in a narrow space, and when the lower case 2B is removed, the front end of the evaporator 3 becomes the upper case 2A The evaporator 3 can be easily removed since it projects and is exposed to the work space below, so that the maintainability can be further improved.

Further, a plurality of horizontal ribs 19 on the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the upper case 2A are provided in the vertical direction so as to be inclined forward in accordance with the forward inclination arrangement of the evaporator 3.
Of the evaporator 3 due to its own weight when the lower case 2B is removed can be restricted.

Further, since a plurality of the lateral ribs 19 are provided in the vertical direction as described above, the rigidity of the left and right side walls of the upper case 2A can be increased, and the front ends of the lateral ribs 19 contact the lower edges of the left and right side walls of the upper case 2A. Since the front end portions are formed along the lower edges of the left and right side walls, the rigidity of the lower edges of the left and right side walls can be increased and the outward bending deformation can be suppressed. It is possible to securely hold the evaporator 3 by biting the elastic member 20 firmly, and also to reliably restrict the weight of the evaporator 3 from dropping when the lower case 2B is removed.

[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 sectional view of one embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the front.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a unit case according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an evaporator according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Unit case 2A Upper case 2B Lower case 3 Evaporator 19 Lateral rib 20 Elastic material

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A unit evaporator (3) having a unit case (2) divided into an upper case (2A) and a lower case (2B), and an elastic material (20) attached to a peripheral side surface. The upper case (2A) and the lower case (2B) straddle the parting line of both cases (2
A) A structure for compressively deforming the elastic member (20) between each of the left and right side walls of (A) and (2B) to elastically hold the elastic member horizontally, and at least the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the upper case (2A) include: An evaporator mounting structure for an air conditioner, characterized in that lateral ribs (19) are provided to project into elastic members (20) on the left and right side surfaces of the evaporator (3). 2. An upper case (2A) and a lower case (2).
While the parting line with B) is formed substantially horizontally,
The evaporator (3) is held in a forwardly inclined state across the parting line, and the lateral ribs (19) projecting from the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the upper case (2A) are arranged at an angle at which the evaporator (3) is disposed. The evaporator mounting structure for an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the evaporator mounting structure is formed so as to be inclined according to. 3. The evaporator mounting structure for an air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the front end of the lateral rib (19) is formed along the lower edges of the left and right side walls of the upper case (2A). 4. The evaporator mounting structure for an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of horizontal ribs (19) are provided in a vertical direction.