KR102527166B1 - Air conditioning device of headrest for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a headrest air conditioner for a vehicle, wherein a heater is inserted and installed in a through-hole formed in a partition wall inside a case, so that one side of the heater body is positioned in an inflow passage and the other side is positioned in an outlet passage.
Therefore, air can be heated more effectively with low power.

Description

Headrest air conditioner of automobile {AIR CONDITIONING DEVICE OF HEADREST FOR VEHICLE}

The present invention relates to a headrest air conditioner for a vehicle, and more particularly, to a headrest air conditioner for a vehicle in which the air conditioner is provided inside the headrest to supply air conditioning air to the neck and shoulders of an occupant.

An air conditioner (hereinafter, referred to as an air conditioner) is provided in a vehicle to supply cold air and warm air to an indoor space.

The air conditioning air as described above is mainly discharged into the room through a vent grill provided on an instrument panel, a center console, a pillar, etc. in front of the room. The plurality of vent grills are connected to an air conditioner installed inside the instrument panel through respective ducts, and a cooling device and a heater are provided inside the air conditioner to generate cool air and warm air.

On the other hand, the conventional air conditioner as described above is operated for the entire interior space of the vehicle and is designed to discharge air conditioning air mainly to the front of the body including the face of the occupant, which may cause discomfort to passengers who do not want the air conditioning air.

Therefore, air volume and wind direction adjusting means are provided in the vent grill to change or block the direction of the air conditioning wind for each occupant, but it is difficult to completely block the influence of the air conditioning wind from all the vent grills.

Therefore, an air conditioning device capable of separately blowing air to the neck and shoulders of passengers sensitive to the effects of cold air and warm air to obtain a cooling effect and additionally supplying warm air has been developed. These individual air conditioners have an electric heating device and a fan provided inside the headrest or upper part of the seatback to discharge room temperature air and warm air (heating air) to the neck and shoulders of the occupant.

However, since the individual air conditioners as described above generate warm air by passing air through the electric resistance heating wire, the heat exchange area is small and the heat exchange efficiency is not good, so there is a problem in that the amount of power consumed to form the warm air is large. This has emerged as a bigger problem in electric vehicles, in which battery power consumption is directly related to the driving distance of the vehicle.

In addition, since the air-conditioning wind is discharged in a horizontal direction from the rear toward the front toward the back of the occupant's neck (close to the ear), the fan operation noise and the air-conditioning wind discharge noise when the air conditioner is operated cause discomfort to the occupant. There was a problem.

The prior art is technical information that the inventor possessed for derivation of the present invention or acquired during the derivation process of the present invention, and may not necessarily be known art disclosed to the general public prior to filing the present invention.

Japanese Published Patent Publication No. 2007-519563 (published on July 19, 2007)

In solving the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a headrest air conditioner for a vehicle, which is advantageous in extending the mileage of an electric vehicle due to reduced power consumption and operating noise, and provides a quieter feeling of use to the occupant. there is.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is not limited to those mentioned above, and other problems to be solved that are not mentioned can be clearly understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs from the following description. There will be.

A headrest air conditioner for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a case installed inside a headrest; a partition wall installed inside the case to form an air inflow passage and an air outlet passage; a heater inserted into the through hole formed in the partition wall, one side of the body being positioned in the inflow passage, and the other side of the body being positioned in the outlet passage; and a fan installed in a connection space between the inflow passage and the discharge passage.

The inflow passage is formed in a vertical direction at the rear of the case, the discharge passage is formed in a vertical direction at the front of the case, a connection space between the inflow passage and the discharge passage is formed in an upper portion of the case, and an inlet of the inflow passage is formed. And the outlet of the discharge passage is formed on the lower surface of the headrest.

A plurality of heat dissipation fins are formed in the heater, and the heat dissipation fins are formed parallel to a moving direction of air.

An inner surface in front of the outlet of the exhaust passage is formed of a Coanda curved surface that guides exhaust air to the neck and shoulders of the occupant.

Half of the entire heat radiation fins of the heater are located in the inflow passage, and the other half are located in the discharge passage, so that the heat radiation fins of the heater are distributed in front and rear of the fan in the entire passage.

An outer case surrounding the case is further provided, a Helmholtz chamber is formed between the case and the outer case, and a plurality of Helmholtz holes are formed on the front side of the case so that the Helmholtz chamber communicates with the discharge passage.

The Helmholtz chamber is formed as one closed space connecting the inner front part and both sides of the outer case.

A headrest cushion in which a plurality of noise exhaust holes are formed on the rear surface of the case and a plurality of opening holes are formed on the rear surface of the outer case, so that the noise inside the case surrounds the outer case through the noise exhaust holes and the opening holes. absorbed into

The case is divided into a front case and a rear case.

An intermediate portion dividing an inlet of the inflow passage and an outlet of the discharge passage is formed inside the lower end of the rear case, and the lower end of the separation wall is supported in the intermediate portion.

A plurality of barrier ribs are formed in the middle portion in the width direction of the rear case, and an inlet of the inflow passage is divided into a plurality of parts by the barrier ribs.

As described above, in the headrest air conditioner for a vehicle according to the present invention, a plurality of heat radiating fins are formed in a heater to increase a heat exchange area, thereby improving heat exchange efficiency, thereby reducing power consumption for forming warm air.

In addition, the inside of the headrest is divided into an inflow passage and an outlet passage by a partition wall, and a heater is installed through the partition wall, so that air is heat-exchanged twice in the inflow passage and the discharge passage, once each, thereby increasing the amount of heat exchange. There is an effect of improving the heating performance.

In addition, since the outlet of the discharge passage is formed toward the lower side of the headrest, there is an effect of reducing the amount of noise transmitted to the occupant.

In addition, since the heat exchange fins of the heater are distributed in the inlet and outlet passages, air flow resistance is reduced and noise is reduced.

In addition, since the air flow resistance is reduced and the air volume loss is reduced, the fan rotation amount can be reduced, so that not only power consumption is reduced, but also fan operation noise is reduced.

In addition, since the nose face toward the neck and shoulders of the occupant is formed at the outlet of the discharge passage, the air-conditioning wind can be more accurately supplied to the occupant's neck and shoulders.

In addition, a Helmholtz chamber (Helmholtz resonator) is formed between the case and the outer case of the air conditioner to absorb and reduce noise generated during operation of the air conditioner.

In addition, noise emission holes and opening holes are formed in the case and the outer case to absorb noise into the headrest cushion, thereby reducing noise.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

1 is a schematic installation state diagram and a side cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of a headrest air conditioner according to the present invention.
2 is a side cross-sectional view of a headrest in which an air conditioner is installed as a second embodiment of a headrest air conditioner according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 2, and is a front cross-sectional view of the headrest air conditioner according to the second embodiment.
4 is an exploded perspective view of the headrest air conditioner according to the second embodiment.
5 is a rear view of the headrest air conditioner according to the second embodiment.

In the present invention, the accompanying drawings may be shown in an exaggerated expression for distinction and clarity from the prior art, and convenience of understanding the technology. In addition, the terms to be described later are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, and may vary according to the intention or custom of the user or operator, so the definitions of these terms should be made based on the technical content throughout this specification. will be. On the other hand, the embodiments are only exemplary of the components presented in the claims of the present invention, do not limit the scope of the present invention, and the scope of rights should be interpreted based on the technical spirit throughout the specification of the present invention. .

Throughout the specification, when a certain component is said to "include" a certain component, it means that other components may be further included without excluding other components unless otherwise specified.

In addition, when a component is said to be "connected", "connected" or "coupled" to another component, it is not only 'directly connected', 'directly connected' or 'directly coupled', but also 'the It means that there may be a case of 'connection through another structure in the middle', 'connection through another structure in the middle', or 'combined through another structure in the middle'. On the other hand, when a component is said to be “directly connected”, “directly connected”, or “directly coupled” to another component, it should be understood that no other component exists in the middle.

In addition, when directional terms such as "front", "back", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "one end", "the other end", "both ends", etc. are used, they refer to the disclosed drawings. Since it is used as an example in relation to the orientation of the elements, it should not be construed as being limited, and when terms such as "first" and "second" are used, they are terms for distinguishing each configuration and should not be construed as restrictive. .

In order to more clearly describe the characteristics of the embodiments of the present invention, detailed descriptions of matters widely known to those skilled in the art to which the following embodiments belong will be omitted. In addition, detailed descriptions of parts not related to the description of the embodiment in the drawings will be omitted.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic installation state diagram and side sectional view of a first embodiment of a headrest air conditioner according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a headrest with an air conditioner installed as a second embodiment of a headrest air conditioner according to the present invention. Figure 3 is a front cross-sectional view of the headrest air conditioner according to the second embodiment, taken along line III-III of FIG. 2, and Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the headrest air conditioner according to the second embodiment. 5 is a rear view of the headrest air conditioner according to the second embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the headrest air conditioner 100 for a vehicle according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a case 110, a partition wall 120, a fan 130, and a heater 140.

The case 110 has a substantially open bottom box shape and is installed inside the headrest cushion 200 and forms a passage forming space and a fan 130 installation space.

The partition wall 120 is vertically installed at the center of the inside of the case 110 in the vertical direction, that is, in an upright state, and divides the internal space of the case 110 into a front space and a rear space. At this time, the upper part of the front space and the rear space are connected to each other, and the lower part is opened to the lower part of the headrest cushion 200, respectively. The rear space becomes the inflow passage 111 through which air is introduced, and the front space becomes the discharge passage 112 through which air is discharged.

An inlet of the inflow passage 111 and an outlet of the discharge passage 112 are formed in the lower part of the case 110, and they communicate with the interior space through the lower surface of the headrest.

An intermediate portion 113 is formed between the inlet of the inflow passage 111 and the outlet of the discharge passage 112 to separate them. A lower end of the partition wall 120 may be supported by the middle part 113 . The rear part and the front part of the middle part 113 are formed in the same curved shape as the wall surface of the entrance part of the inlet passage 111 and the wall surface of the outlet part of the discharge passage 112 facing each other, so that air can be smoothly introduced and discharged.

In particular, the inner wall surface in front of the outlet of the discharge passage 112 is formed as a Coanda curved surface 114 that guides the direction of the discharge air toward the neck and shoulders of the occupant. The Coanda curved surface 114 refers to a surface that induces a flow direction of a fluid to a curvature direction of a corresponding curved surface by a Coanda Effect (a phenomenon in which a fluid flows along a curved surface due to viscosity).

A rectangular through hole 121 is formed in the partition wall 120, and a heater 140 is inserted and installed into the through hole 121.

The heater 140 may be, for example, a heater using a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) element. The PTC element has an automatic temperature control function because its resistance rapidly increases above a certain temperature and current supply is stopped. The heater 140 may be manufactured to have a heat sink shape by combining a planar heating element with a thinly coated PTC element or a plate-shaped or rod-shaped heating element with a built-in PTC element and a heat sink. An illustration of a wire connected to supply current to the heater 140 is omitted.

The heater 140 of the present invention has a rectangular parallelepiped shape with a long horizontal length as a whole, and a plurality of heat dissipation fins 141 are formed on the surface to increase the heat exchange area. The heat exchange area is increased by the plurality of heat dissipation fins 141, and the heat exchange efficiency is increased, so that air can be easily heated while consuming less power. Accordingly, power consumption by the heater 140 is reduced.

The heat dissipation fin 141 may be formed of a thin plate (for example, less than 1 mm thick) because fluid does not flow therein.

The heater 140 is inserted into the through hole 121 of the partition wall 120 in the longitudinal direction, and accordingly, one half of the body is located inside the inlet passage 111, and the other half is located inside the outlet passage 112. located inside Accordingly, half of the total radiation fins 141 of the heater 140 are located in the inlet passage 111 and the other half are located in the outlet passage 112 .

Therefore, the air introduced into the inside of the headrest is primarily heated by heat exchange with one side of the heater 140 while passing through the inflow passage 111, and then passes through the discharge passage 112 to the other side of the heater 140. Secondary heating occurs through heat exchange.

The heat dissipation fin 141 is formed parallel to the moving direction of the air so as not to resist the flow of air on the flow path. That is, the heat radiation fin 141 is formed long in the vertical direction of the inflow passage 111 and the discharge passage 112, and the side surface of the heat radiation fin 141, that is, the radiation surface faces a horizontal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction.

The fan 130 is installed on the inner upper side of the case 110 , that is, on one side of the connection space between the inflow passage 111 and the discharge passage 112 . The fan 130 is rotationally driven by a motor, and a motor and a power supply line connected to the motor are not shown.

The fan 130 is located between one part (upstream heat exchange part) and the other part (downstream heat exchange part) of the heater 140 in the entire flow path including the inflow passage 111 and the discharge passage 112. do. And, as described above, the heaters 140 according to the present invention are distributed in the inlet passage 111 and the outlet passage 112 by half of the total heat dissipation fins 141 .

Therefore, compared to the case where the entire number of radiating fins is concentrated only in the upstream or downstream flow path of the fan 130, the flow resistance of the air passing through the flow path is reduced, and thus the suction and discharge required for the fan 130 are reduced. Since performance may be reduced, a relatively small fan may be used or the same fan may be rotated at a low speed, thereby reducing power consumption by the fan 130 .

With the configuration as described above, the headrest air conditioner 100 for a vehicle according to the present invention drives the fan 130 to suck air inside the vehicle through the inflow passage 111 and then discharges it through the discharge passage 112. It is possible to blow air to the occupant's neck (more precisely, the lower part of the neck) and shoulder area. Therefore, when the room temperature is not too high, you can use it like a general fan and feel cool by the simple blowing function. In addition, when the interior of the vehicle is cooled, cool air is supplied to the neck and shoulders of the occupants by inhaling and discharging cold air, so that passengers can feel more refreshed.

On the other hand, when current is supplied to the heater 140 and the fan 130 rotates in a heating state, the surface of the radiating fin 141 of the heater 140 and the air exchange heat, and the heat of the heater 140 is transferred to the air, thereby transferring the air to the air. is heated and the temperature rises.

As described above, the air introduced through the inlet located at the lower rear of the headrest is primarily heated by one side of the heater 140 while passing through the inlet passage 111, passes through the fan 130, and then is discharged. Secondarily heated by the other side of the heater 140 while passing through the flow path 112 .

As described above, the air is heated twice while passing through the flow path and exchanges heat with the plurality of heat dissipation fins 141, thereby increasing the heat exchange area. Accordingly, the air can be heated more efficiently by increasing the number of times and area of heat exchange, thereby increasing the amount of heat exchange.

In addition, while the air passes through the inlet passage 111 and the outlet passage 112, convective heat transfer is performed by a temperature difference inside the flow, so that the overall temperature of the flow can be raised.

As described above, the air heated through the first and second heating processes is discharged through the outlet and supplied to the neck and shoulders of the occupant, so that the occupants can feel the warmth caused by the heating wind.

As described above, the headrest air conditioner for a vehicle according to the present invention uses the heater 140 having a plurality of heat radiation fins 141, so power consumption is reduced compared to the conventional electric resistance heating wire.

In addition, since the heat dissipation fin 141 is formed in the same direction as the air flow direction, the flow resistance of the air passing through the passage is very small, and thus the rotational speed of the fan 130 for sucking and discharging air can be reduced. so that power consumption is reduced.

As described above, when the headrest air conditioner according to the present invention is applied to an electric vehicle by reducing power consumption for air heating and movement, battery power consumption is reduced and the driving distance of the vehicle can be increased.

On the other hand, in the headrest air conditioner according to the present invention, the air inlet and outlet are located on the lower surface of the headrest, which is a part far from the occupant's ears, and the air discharge direction is also downward, so that the air is gradually discharged in a direction away from the ears. Therefore, the noise felt by the occupant when air is inhaled and discharged is reduced.

In addition, since the rotational speed of the fan 130 can be reduced as described above, operating noise of the fan 130 is reduced.

As described above, the headrest air conditioner according to the present invention has effects of reducing power consumption and reducing noise.

In addition, since the Coanda curved surface 114 is formed in front of the outlet of the discharge passage 112, the discharge direction of air is accurately guided toward the neck and shoulders of the occupant rather than the ears of the occupant.

Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the headrest air conditioner according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5 . The case 110 is installed inside the headrest cushion 200, and the partition wall 120, the fan 130, and the heater 140 are installed inside the case 110, the same as in the first embodiment. .

In the headrest air conditioner 100 according to the second embodiment, an outer case 150 surrounding the case 110 may be further installed. The outer case 150 forms a Helmholtz chamber 151 (Helmholtz resonator) between the case 110 and the outer case 150 . The Helmholtz chamber 151 is an empty space connecting the inner front part and both sides of the outer case 150, and is sealed to the outside through the Helmholtz hole 110ba formed on the front surface of the case 110. It communicates with the discharge passage 112.

The Helmholtz holes 110ba are small-sized (internal diameter of about 1.0 to 2.0 mm) formed on the front portion of the case 110 and are formed in plurality in a portion corresponding to the area of the Helmholtz chamber 151. Here, the diameter and number of the Helmholtz holes 110ba and the shape and volume of the Helmholtz chamber 151 may be designed to effectively reduce the noise of the discharge passage 112 through previous repeated experiments.

Therefore, air flow noise and fan operation noise of the exhaust passage 112 are absorbed into the Helmholtz chamber 151 through the Helmholtz hole 110ba, and the noise transmitted to the occupant is reduced by being discharged to the outside of the headrest.

In addition, a plurality of noise exhaust holes 110aa are formed on the rear surface of the case 110, and a plurality of substantially rectangular opening holes 152 are formed at regular intervals on the rear surface of the outer case 150, as shown in FIG. do. The noise exhaust hole 110aa is a through hole having a small diameter like the Helmholtz hole 110ba. Therefore, a plurality of noise exhaust holes 110aa exist within the area range of one opening hole 152 .

The rear part of the case 110 and the rear part of the outer case 150 are in close contact with each other, and the outer case 150 is surrounded by the headrest cushion 200 .

Therefore, air flow noise in the inflow passage 111 is absorbed by the headrest cushion 200 through the noise exhaust hole 110aa and the opening hole 152, thereby reducing the noise. That is, the cushion material (polyurethane foam) of the headrest serves as a sound absorbing material to reduce noise.

Meanwhile, the case 110 may be divided into a rear case 110a forming a rear portion and a front case 110b forming a front portion. The intermediate portion 113 is formed at the lower inner portion of the rear case 110a. A plurality of partition walls 113a may be formed at regular intervals along the width direction of the rear case 110a in the middle portion 113 . Since the inlet of the inflow passage 111 is divided into multiple parts by the partition wall 113a, air flows smoothly through the inlet of the inflow passage 111, but small objects other than air (such as toilet paper) or children's hands are not on the headrest. can be prevented from entering the interior of the

As described above, since the case 110 is divided into the rear case 110a and the front case 110b, the partition wall 120, the heater 140, and the fan 130 can be easily installed inside the case 110. there is.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a headrest air conditioner for a vehicle that can more effectively reduce noise felt by occupants as well as reduce the amount of power consumed for air heating and fan driving.

As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, but this is only exemplary, and various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible based on common knowledge in the field to which the technology belongs. should understand Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention is based on the claims to be described below, and should be determined based on the specific contents of the above-described invention.

The present invention relates to a headrest air conditioner for a vehicle, and can be used in industries related to headrests for vehicle seats.

100: air conditioner 110: case
110a: rear case 110b: front case
110aa: Noise emission hall 110ba: Helmholtz hall
111: inflow passage 112: discharge passage
113: middle portion 113a: bulkhead
114: Coanda surface 120: dividing wall
130: fan 140: heater
141: radiation fin 150: outer case
151: Helmholtz chamber 152: opening hole

Claims (11)

A case installed inside the headrest;
a partition wall installed inside the case to form an air inflow passage and an air outlet passage;
a heater inserted into the through hole formed in the partition wall, one side of the body positioned in the inflow passage to primarily heat air, and the other side of the body positioned in the outlet passage to heat air secondarily;
a fan installed in the connection space between the inflow passage and the discharge passage;
A headrest air conditioner for a vehicle including a. The method of claim 1,
The inflow passage is formed in a vertical direction at the rear of the case, the discharge passage is formed in a vertical direction at the front of the case, a connection space between the inflow passage and the discharge passage is formed in an upper portion of the case, and an inlet of the inflow passage is formed. The headrest air conditioner for a vehicle, characterized in that the discharge port of the discharge passage is formed on the lower surface of the headrest. The method of claim 1,
A plurality of radiating fins are formed in the heater, and the radiating fins are formed parallel to the moving direction of air,
A headrest air conditioner for a vehicle, characterized in that half of the total radiating fins of the heater are located in the inflow passage, and the other half are located in the discharge passage, so that the radiating fins of the heater are distributed in front and rear of the fan in the entire passage. . The method of claim 1,
An automobile headrest air conditioner, characterized in that the inner surface of the outlet of the discharge passage is formed of a Coanda curved surface for guiding the exhaust air to the neck and shoulders of the occupant. delete The method of claim 1,
An outer case surrounding the case is further provided, a Helmholtz chamber is formed between the case and the outer case, and a plurality of Helmholtz holes are formed on the front side of the case so that the Helmholtz chamber and the discharge passage communicate. 's headrest air conditioner. The method of claim 6,
The Helmholtz chamber is a headrest air conditioning device for a vehicle, characterized in that one closed space connecting the inner front part and both sides of the outer case. The method of claim 6,
A headrest cushion in which a plurality of noise exhaust holes are formed on the rear surface of the case and a plurality of opening holes are formed on the rear surface of the outer case, so that the noise inside the case surrounds the outer case through the noise exhaust holes and the opening holes. A headrest air conditioner for a vehicle, characterized in that to be absorbed into. The method of claim 1,
Headrest air conditioner for a vehicle, characterized in that the case is divided into a front case and a rear case. The method of claim 9,
A headrest air conditioner for a vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein an intermediate portion dividing an inlet portion of an inflow passage and an outlet portion of an discharge passage is formed inside a lower end of the rear case, and a lower portion of the partition wall is supported by the intermediate portion. The method of claim 10,
A headrest air conditioner for a vehicle, characterized in that a plurality of partition walls are formed in the middle portion in the width direction of the rear case, and an inlet of the inflow passage is divided into a plurality of parts by the partition walls.

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