KR20040067228A - Air conditioner for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An air conditioner for a vehicle is provided to increase cooling efficiency by cooling air twice through an auxiliary cooling unit and a main cooling unit, and to improve freedom of design by making the best use of internal space of the air conditioner in semi-center mounting type. CONSTITUTION: An air conditioner comprises an air conditioner case(10) in which an air passage(30) is divided into a first passage(31) passing air from the upper part of an evaporator(40) through an auxiliary cooling unit(41) and a second passage(32) communicated with the first passage to pass air from the auxiliary cooling unit through a main cooling unit(42); a blower unit installed in the air conditioner case to blow air; an inlet formed in the upper part of the evaporator to blow air from the blower unit to the air conditioner case; and a sliding door(50) installed in the connection passage of the second passage and a heater core(60) to open and close the connection passage.

Description

Air conditioner for vehicle

The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner, and more particularly to a vehicle air conditioner to improve the cooling performance by improving the flow line of the introduced air, and excellent space utilization inside the air conditioner.

In general, the vehicle air conditioner is to create a comfortable environment by adjusting the temperature and humidity in the vehicle interior, and includes a cooling device for cooling the interior of the vehicle according to the purpose, and a heating device for heating the interior of the vehicle interior.

The cooling device is a device for producing cold air by absorbing the latent heat of vaporization necessary for the evaporation of the refrigerant from the air flowing around the evaporator while the refrigerant flows into the evaporator, and supplies the produced cold air into the cabin.

The heating apparatus generally induces high temperature coolant that has cooled the engine to the heater core, and generates warmth by heating air flowing around the heater core by the coolant induced in the heater core. It is a device that supplies the vehicle interior.

To this end, generally, an air conditioner for a vehicle includes an air conditioning case formed inside an air passage through which air flows, a blower unit for blowing air into the air passage of the air conditioning case, and Thereafter, the heat exchanger for cooling and heating is sequentially arranged to produce cold or warm air.

Such a vehicle air conditioner has a vertical arrangement type substantially perpendicular to the bottom wall of the air conditioning case and a substantially horizontal line with respect to the bottom wall of the air conditioning case according to the arrangement relationship between the evaporator and the heater core installed in the air passage of the air conditioning case. It is divided into the type of horizontal arrangement being placed. However, in the vertical arrangement type air conditioner, since one side of the evaporator is far from the inner wall of the air conditioning case, the length of the connection pipe connected to the evaporator for the inflow and outflow of the refrigerant becomes long. In addition, since the condensed water condensed in the evaporator disposed substantially vertically is easily dropped and scattered by the flow air, the drainage of the condensed water is poor, and in particular, the condensed water that is scattered is vaporized in the heater core, thereby degrading the performance of the heater core. Furthermore, since the evaporator is disposed substantially perpendicular to the bottom wall of the air conditioning case, it takes up a lot of space for the installation of the evaporator inside the air conditioning case, which makes it difficult to thin the air conditioner. Therefore, in recent years, there is an increasing demand for a horizontal arrangement type air conditioner having an evaporator arranged horizontally.

1A is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a conventional vehicle air conditioner of this horizontal arrangement type, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-244820.

Referring to the drawings, a conventional vehicle air conditioner of the horizontal arrangement type, disposed in the air conditioning case (1) formed inside the air flow path (3) through which the air flows, and the internal flow path (3) of the air conditioning case (1) And an evaporator 4 and a heater core 6 which are heat exchangers for cooling and heating. Here, the temp door 5 controls the opening and closing of the connecting passage formed so that the air passing through the evaporator 4 can flow toward the heater core 6. In such a vehicle air conditioner, when the occupant selects a desired mode, the opening and closing of the switching doors 9 are adjusted according to the selected mode, and each outlet 7, according to the opening and closing adjustment of the switching doors 9, is controlled. The air-conditioning air taken out in 8) is discharged into the cabin. On the other hand, the evaporator 4 is disposed substantially horizontally with respect to the bottom wall 1a of the air conditioning case. By arranging the evaporator 4 horizontally in this manner, the air conditioner can be thinned.

However, in order to achieve the cooling performance required by the conventional vehicle air conditioner configured as described above, there is a certain limit to thinning the evaporator 4. In addition, since it is difficult to supply sufficiently cooled air into the cabin shortly after the start of the vehicle or when the incoming air is hot, such as in summer, the quality of the air conditioner is recently evaluated by the initial performance of the air conditioner. In light of the tendency to do so, there is a problem that the initial cooling performance can not be achieved to meet the needs of customers. Furthermore, since the inlet port 1a of the air is formed in the lower portion of the evaporator 4, there is a problem in that drainage is poor, and a sufficient air volume cannot be secured because the area of the inlet port 1a is limited.

In order to solve the above problems, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-158216 discloses a double cooling air flow path system in which the introduced air is configured to pass through the evaporator twice as shown in FIG. 2B. Here, the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. 1A denote the same members having the same function, and thus, repetitive description thereof will be omitted.

Referring to the drawings, when the air blown from the blower unit 2 installed in the air conditioning case 1 flows into the air flow path 3, the introduced air passes through the auxiliary cooling unit 4a of the evaporator 4. After passing, the main cooling portion 4b passes again. That is, since the air introduced is cooled twice, the cooling performance of the evaporator 4 is improved. As such, since the cooling performance of the evaporator 4 is improved, sufficient cooling performance can be exhibited while the evaporator 4 is thinned, and in particular, the initial cooling performance can be improved.

Meanwhile, a vehicle air conditioner is a semi-center mounting type in which a blower unit is disposed at one side of an air conditioning case and air is supplied to the air path of the air conditioning case through an induction pipe connected to the blower unit according to the arrangement of the blower units. (semi-center mounting type) and center mounting type where the blower unit is placed approximately in the center of the air conditioning case and supplies air directly from the blower unit to the air passage of the air conditioning case.

However, as shown in FIG. 2B, the air conditioning apparatus of the conventional vehicle of the center mounting type has excellent space utilization in the vehicle, while the space utilization inside the air conditioning apparatus is relatively inferior. There is a problem in that the degree of freedom in design is poor in designing a flow path.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner for a vehicle which improves the flow line of the introduced air to improve cooling performance, in particular, initial cooling performance.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle air conditioner that can be thinned to meet the demand of a vehicle manufacturer.

Further, another object is to provide a vehicle air conditioner having excellent space utilization inside the air conditioner.

Figure 1a is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a conventional vehicle air conditioner of the horizontal arrangement type,

Figure 1b is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a conventional vehicle air conditioner employing a center mounting type,

2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a vehicle air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a perspective view illustrating a flow line of air introduced into an air passage from an inlet shown in FIG. 2;

4 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing another embodiment of the inlet shown in FIG.

<Brief description of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10 ... HVAC case 10a ... inner wall of HVAC case

10b ... bottom wall of air conditioning case 11 ... compartment wall

13 ... Drainage hole 21,22 ... Inlet

30..Air flow path 31 ... 1st passage

32 ... Second passage 33 ... Connection passage

40. Evaporator 41. Secondary cooling unit

42 Main cooling part 44

45 ... rear 50 ... sliding door

60 ... Heat Core

In order to achieve the above object, the vehicle air conditioner of the present invention, the air flow path is formed therein, and the evaporator and the heater core are sequentially installed in the air flow path, the air flow path is the air introduced into the upper portion of the one side of the evaporator A first passage formed to pass through the sub-cooling unit forming a part of the evaporator, and the air passing through the sub-cooling unit through the first passage passes again through the main cooling unit forming the other part of the evaporator. An air conditioning case partitioned by a second passage formed in communication with the passage; A blower unit installed at one side of the air conditioning case to blow air; An inlet formed at an upper portion of the evaporator to introduce air blown from the blower unit into the air conditioning case; And a sliding door installed in a connection passage connecting the second passage and the heater core to control the opening and closing of the connection passage.

Here, the inlet is preferably extended to the upper surface of the secondary cooling unit of the evaporator.

In addition, a partition wall partitioning the first passage and the second passage may be further provided on an inner wall of the air conditioning case.

In addition, the evaporator may be disposed such that the front end and the rear end contact the inner wall of the air conditioning case.

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

2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a vehicle air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 is a perspective view for explaining a flow line of air introduced into the air flow path from the inlet shown in Figure 2, The same reference numerals as the reference numerals shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B denote the same members having the same configuration and operation.

Referring to the drawings, the air conditioner for a vehicle according to the first embodiment of the present invention is a semi-center mounting type having excellent space utilization therein, and an air flow path 30 through which the introduced air can flow is provided therein. A formed air conditioning case 10, a blower unit (not shown) disposed at one side of the air conditioning case 10, an inlet 20 through which air is blown from the blower unit to the air passage 30, and The evaporator 40 and the heater core 60 which are arrange | positioned sequentially in the air flow path 30 are provided. Here, the inlet 20 is formed on the top of the evaporator 40.

The evaporator 40 may be disposed substantially horizontally with respect to the bottom wall 10b of the air conditioning case 10. In addition, the heater core 60 may be disposed substantially parallel to the evaporator 40. Here, the evaporator 40 is arranged to have a downward slope toward the rear end portion 45 located downstream of the flow air from the front end portion 44 located upstream of the flow air flowing through the air flow path 30. Can be. In the evaporator 40, the front end portion 44 and the rear end portion 45 are in contact with the inner wall 10a of the air conditioning case 10, respectively. On the other hand, the drain hole 13 for draining the condensed water condensed in the evaporator 40 to the outside of the air conditioning case 10 of the air conditioning case 10 corresponding to directly below the rear end 45 of the evaporator 40. It is formed in the bottom wall 10b. The evaporator 40 disposed as described above is divided into a subcooling part 41 forming a part thereof and a main cooling part 42 forming another part of the evaporator 40 except for the subcooling part 41. do.

The air passage 30 formed in the air conditioning case 10 may include a first passage 31 formed to allow the air guided to the inlet 20 to pass through the auxiliary cooling unit 41 of the evaporator 40. The second passage 32 is formed in communication with the first passage 31 so that the flow air passing through the sub-cooling portion 41 through the first passage 31 passes again through the main cooling portion 42. do. Then, the inlet 20 and the first passage 31 communicate with each other at the upper portion of the evaporator 40, and the first passage 31 and the second passage 32 communicate with each other under the evaporator 40. Here, the first passage 31 and the second passage 32 may be partitioned by partition walls 11 extending from the inner wall 10a of the air conditioning case 10 and facing one end of the partition 43. . Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 4, the inlet 20 may extend to the upper surface of the auxiliary cooling unit 41 of the evaporator 40 to increase the amount of air introduced therein.

A connecting door 33 formed between the second passage 32 and the heater core 60 is provided with a sliding door 50 for controlling the opening and closing of the connecting passage 33.

According to the first embodiment of the present invention configured as described above, the air introduced into the air flow path 30 of the air conditioning case 10 is the auxiliary cooling unit 41 of the evaporator 40 through the first passage 31. After being cooled once while passing, it is cooled twice while passing through the main cooling unit 42 of the evaporator 40 through the second passage 32 again. That is, since the air introduced is cooled twice, the cooling performance of the evaporator 40 is improved. Since the cooling performance of the evaporator 40 is improved in this way, the size of the evaporator 40 can be reduced while satisfying the required cooling performance. In particular, the initial cooling performance is improved because the sufficiently cooled air can be supplied into the vehicle interior within a short time even when the air introduced immediately after starting the vehicle or during the summer is hot.

In addition, the evaporator 40 is disposed to have a downward slope in accordance with the flow direction of air, and the drainage hole is formed in the bottom wall 10b of the air conditioning case 10 corresponding to directly below the rear end 45 of the evaporator 40. By forming 13, since the condensed water condensed in the evaporator 40 is easily discharged through the drainage hole 13, its drainage is improved.

Furthermore, by arranging the evaporator 40 in parallel with the bottom wall 10b of the air conditioning case 10, the air conditioner can be made thin, and in particular, the second passage 32 and the heater core 60 By using the sliding door 50 to control the opening and closing of the connecting passage 33 formed therebetween, the air conditioner can be further thinned.

As described above, according to the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

First, since the air introduced into the air passage of the air conditioning case is cooled twice through the auxiliary cooling unit and the main cooling unit of the evaporator, the cooling performance is improved. Therefore, the evaporator can be thinned while satisfying the required cooling performance. In particular, by improving the initial cooling performance, it is possible to obtain a cooling effect that meets the recent needs of customers.

Second, drainage is improved because air is introduced from the upper part of the evaporator, and the evaporator is disposed inclined downward along the flow direction of the air, and the drainage hole is formed on the bottom wall of the air conditioning case corresponding to the rear end of the evaporator. The drainage of condensed water condensed is improved.

Third, the air conditioner can be thinned by placing the evaporator horizontally in parallel with the bottom wall of the air conditioning case. Moreover, by using the temp door as a sliding door, the air conditioner can be further thinned.

Fourth, since the space utilization inside the air conditioner is excellent by employing the semi-center mounting type, the design freedom in designing the air flow path of the air conditioning case is improved.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it is merely an example, and those skilled in the art may realize various modifications and equivalent other embodiments therefrom. Will understand. Therefore, the true scope of protection of the present invention should be defined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

Claims (4)

An air passage is formed therein, and an evaporator and a heater core are sequentially installed in the air passage, and the air passage has a first passage formed so that the introduced air passes through an auxiliary cooling unit forming a part of the evaporator from an upper portion of the evaporator. And an air conditioning case partitioned into a second passage formed in communication with the first passage such that the air passing through the sub-cooling portion through the first passage passes through the main cooling portion again forming another portion of the evaporator. A blower unit installed at one side of the air conditioning case to blow air; An inlet formed at an upper portion of the evaporator to introduce air blown from the blower unit into the air conditioning case; And a sliding door installed at a connection passage connecting the second passage and the heater core to control the opening and closing of the connection passage. The method of claim 1, The inlet is a vehicle air conditioner, characterized in that extended to the upper surface of the auxiliary cooling unit of the evaporator. The method of claim 1, A partition wall for partitioning the first passage and the second passage is further provided on the inner wall of the air conditioning case. The method of claim 1, And the evaporator is disposed such that the front end and the rear end contact the inner wall of the air conditioning case, respectively.