KR20080008960A - Air conditioner for vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

An air conditioner for vehicles is provided to form a seat vent at an air conditioning case for securing an installation space for convenience devices in seats and utilize the air conditioner for cooling and heating seats to reduce energy consumption and improve performance of cooling and heating seats. An air conditioning case(110) has an air inflow port(111) at an inlet, and a defrost vent(113), a face vent(114), and a floor vent(115) at an outlet. An evaporator(101) and a heater core(102) are installed in the air conditioning case. A seat vent(150) is formed at the outlet of the air conditioning case to extract a part of air of a mixing area where air passing through the evaporator is mixed with air passing through the heater core, and to supply the extracted air to a seat(10) of a vehicle.

Description

Air conditioner for vehicles

1 is a view showing a conventional vehicle seat air conditioner,

2 is a block diagram showing an air conditioner for a vehicle according to the present invention;

3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention is connected to the vehicle seat through the seat duct,

4 is a cross-sectional view showing a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention;

5 is a perspective view showing a case in which the seat side blower is installed in the seat duct in the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: air conditioner 101: evaporator

102: heater core 103: blower

105: seat duct 110: air conditioning case

111: air inlet 112: air outlet

113: defrost vent 113a, 114a, 115a: mode door

114: face vent 115: floor vent

120: temperature control door 150: seat vent

151: door 152,152a: seat side blower

153: seat side heat exchanger

MC: mixing area

The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner, and more particularly, by forming a seat vent in the air conditioning case, supplying some air in the mixing area in the air conditioning case to the seat side, and installing all of the seat side heat exchanger in the air conditioning case. It is possible to secure the space for installation of convenience devices inside and use the air conditioner for the seat side for heating and cooling. Therefore, the efficiency is increased, which reduces the energy consumption and reduces the number of parts without the need for a separate temperature control door. It relates to a vehicle air conditioner capable of supplying a certain amount of air conditioning regardless of the seat side.

In general, the vehicle air conditioner is a vehicle interior that is installed for the purpose of securing the driver's front and rear view by removing the frost that is caught in the windshield during the rainy season or the winter, or by cooling or heating the interior of the car during the summer or winter season. These air conditioners are usually equipped with a heating device and a cooling device at the same time, and by selectively introducing the inside or outside air through a blower unit, the air is heated or cooled and blown into the interior of the vehicle to cool, heat or ventilate the interior of the car. Done.

According to the independent structure of the blower unit, the evaporator unit and the heater core unit, the air conditioner has a three-piece type in which the three units are independently provided, the evaporator unit and the heater core unit are built in the air conditioning case, and the blower unit is Semi-center type is provided as a separate unit, and all three units can be divided into a center mounting type that is built in the air conditioning case.

The air conditioners are usually a front air conditioner for air conditioning of the front seat, and there is a rear air conditioner for air conditioning of the rear seat.

In addition, among the air conditioning apparatus, a vehicle seat for cooling the passenger's back and hips by bypassing the air heat exchanged from the front air conditioning apparatus to the front seat side of the vehicle in conjunction with the front air conditioning apparatus, thereby comforting the occupant's back and hips. Various air conditioners have also been proposed, and FIG. 1 shows an example of such a vehicle seat air conditioner (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1999-263116 (1999.09.28)).

The vehicle seat air conditioner as shown in FIG. 1 includes a connection duct 30 connected to the vehicle seat 10 from the air conditioning case 21 constituting the front air conditioner 20, and the connection duct 30 of the vehicle air conditioner. And a blower 40 and an auxiliary heat exchanger 50 installed in a space in which the seat 10 on the downstream side is installed.

In addition, a ventilation path 12 is formed in the vehicle seat 10 so as to discharge air toward the passengers, and the connection duct 30 is connected to the ventilation path 12, whereby the air conditioner is driven by driving the blower 40. Air can be efficiently blown from the discharge port of the case 21 toward the ventilation path 12 through the connection duct 30.

However, the conventional vehicle air conditioner for a vehicle should use a small device due to lack of space in the seat 10. Accordingly, the air conditioner for heating and cooling the seat 10 is insufficient. Since there is a need for a number of seat air conditioner in one vehicle there is a problem that the cost increases.

In addition, a large portion of the space inside the seat 10 is devoted to the seat air conditioner, so that space limitations occur when installing other devices, and the same parts are installed in each seat 10, thereby increasing the number of parts. There was a lot of space occupied by the parts, there was a problem inconvenient assembly.

An object of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is to form a seat vent in the air conditioning case, supply some air in the mixing area in the air conditioning case to the seat side, and install all in the air conditioning case up to the seat side heat exchanger, thereby Convenience device installation space can be secured, and the air conditioner for the vehicle is used for heating and cooling the seat, resulting in higher efficiency, reducing energy consumption, eliminating the need for a separate temperature control door, and reducing the number of parts. The present invention provides a vehicle air conditioner that can cope with a plurality of sheet air-conditioning units by a side heat exchanger and a blower and can supply a predetermined amount of air conditioners to the seat side regardless of the air conditioning mode.

The present invention for achieving the above object is an air inlet is formed on the inlet side and the outlet side is formed with a defrost vent, face vent, floor vent, including an evaporator and a heater core installed inside the air conditioning case In the vehicle air conditioner comprising a seat vent is formed at the outlet side of the air conditioning case to draw a part of the air in the mixing area where the air passing through the evaporator and the air passing through the heater core are mixed and supplied to the seat side of the vehicle It is characterized by.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Repeated description of the same construction and operation as in the prior art will be omitted.

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention, Figure 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention is connected to the vehicle seat through the seat duct, Figure 4 is a vehicle according to the present invention Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing an air conditioner, and Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a case where a seat side blower is installed in a seat duct in a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention.

As shown, the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention, the air conditioner 100 for the front seat air conditioning of the vehicle and the seat side heat exchanger 153 and the seat side blower 152 for heating and cooling the seat 10 It is composed in one piece.

The air conditioning apparatus 100, the air inlet 111 is formed on the inlet side and the air outlet case 110 is provided with a plurality of air outlet 112 is formed on the outlet side.

Here, the air discharge port 112 is a defrost vent 113 for discharging the air toward the windshield of the vehicle, a face vent 114 for discharging the air toward the face of the occupant, and for discharging the air toward the foot of the occupant It consists of a floor vent 115. Accordingly, the vents 113, 114, and 115 are opened and closed by the mode doors 113a, 114a, and 115a, and the opening degree thereof is adjusted to control various air conditioning modes (vent mode, floor mode, defrost mode, bi Level mode, mix mode).

The evaporator 101 and the heater core 102 are sequentially installed at predetermined intervals in the air conditioning case 110, and the evaporator 101 passes through the evaporator 101 between the evaporator 101 and the heater core 102. A temperature control door 120 is installed to adjust the amount of cold and the warmth passed through the heater core 102.

On the other hand, a blower 103 is installed on the air inlet 111 side of the air conditioning case 110 to blow the inside or outside air into the air conditioning case 110.

At the outlet side of the air conditioning case 110, a portion of the air of the mixing area MC, in which the air passing through the evaporator 101 and the air passing through the heater core 102 is mixed, is drawn out. The seat vent 150 is formed to be supplied to the side.

The seat vent 150 is formed at the side of the floor vent 115, that is, the seat vent 150 is divided into left and right partitions of the floor vent 115.

Here, the inlet of the seat vent 150 is adjacent to the mixing region MC where the cold through the evaporator 101 and the warmth through the heater core 102 are mixed and are formed downstream of the mixing region MC.

As such, the air is drawn out from the mixing area MC in which the air passing through the evaporator 101 and the air passing through the heater core 102 are mixed through the seat vent 150 and supplied to the sheet 10 side. No need of a separate temperature control door for adjusting the temperature of the air supplied to the seat 10 side, and also to be able to supply a certain amount of air conditioning air to the seat 10 side regardless of the air conditioning mode.

In addition, a seat side heat exchanger 153 is installed in the seat vent 150 to heat and heat the air passing through the seat vent 150 to cool and heat the vehicle seat 10.

The seat-side heat exchanger 153 may install a heat exchanger having at least one function of cooling or heating. That is, the seat-side heat exchanger 153 may be a PTC heater (not shown) or a thermoelectric module (not shown). Preference is given to using.

Therefore, the temperature control of the supply air on the seat 10 side is primarily performed only by the temperature control door 120 installed in the air conditioning case 110, and the insufficient heating and cooling load is further performed by using the seat side heat exchanger 153. It will be supplemented.

In addition, by installing both the evaporator 101 and the heater core 102 as well as the seat-side heat exchanger 153 inside the air conditioning case 110, it is possible to modularize and improve productivity.

On the other hand, when the PTC heater is installed as the seat-side heat exchanger 153, for example, when rapid heating is difficult at low temperatures, such as winter, the PTC heater is supplied with power to quickly warm air sheet 10 Will be supplied to

In addition, when cooling is required in summer, the sheet 10 may be cooled by using cold air that has passed through the evaporator 101 of the air conditioning apparatus 100.

At this time, when the occupant wants only the air blown by the air conditioning apparatus 100, the air is supplied to the seat 10 with some air from the cold and warm mixing zone MC of the air conditioning case 110, and the mixing zone MC When the air is too cold and heating is required, the PTC heater is activated to control the temperature.

In addition, a thermoelectric module capable of performing both cooling and heating functions may be used as the sheet-side heat exchanger 153. The thermoelectric module has one endothermic effect and the other side generates heat depending on a current flow direction. It consists of a thermoelectric element (not shown) that acts, and a heat exchange fin (not shown) installed on both sides of the thermoelectric element.

Since the thermoelectric module is capable of both endotherm and heat generation at the same time through the pole (+,-) switching of the current, the thermoelectric element module heats or cools the air passing through the seat vent 150 to be supplied to the sheet 10 side, and thus the sheet. (10) can be heated and heated. That is, by changing the polarity of the current applied to the thermoelectric element it is possible to cool or heat the heat exchange fin located on the side of the seat vent 150, it is possible to switch the heating and cooling. Therefore, the occupant can select the heating and cooling by the air conditioning control switch (not shown).

On the other hand, since the cooling and heating performance of the air conditioning apparatus 100 is insufficient at the initial start of the vehicle, when air is extracted from the mixing area MC of the air conditioning apparatus 100 and supplied to the seat 10 side, the seat 10 Heating and cooling performance is also lacking. As described above, when the air conditioning apparatus 100 lacks the cooling and heating performance at the initial start of the vehicle, as described above, by operating the thermoelectric module or the PTC heater to quickly cool or warm the air and supply it to the seat 10 side, the seat cooling and heating performance. Can improve.

In addition, after sufficient cooling and heating performance of the air conditioning apparatus 100 may be stopped, the operation of the seat-side heat exchanger 153 may be stopped.

In addition, the seat duct 105 is installed at the outlet of the seat vent 150 to supply air passing through the seat vent 150 to the seat 10 side of the vehicle.

The seat duct 105 is connected to the outlet of the seat vent 150 and the seat 10 of the vehicle, wherein the inlet of the seat duct 105 is connected to the outlet of the seat vent 150. However, the exit of the seat duct 105 may be divided into a plurality of outlets connected to the front left and right seats 10 of the vehicle, or may be connected to all the front and rear seats of the vehicle.

On the other hand, the seat duct 105 is composed of a flexible variable duct is preferable to enable a smooth air supply even when the vehicle seat 10 is moving.

In addition, a seat side blower 152 is installed inside the seat vent 150. The seat side blower 152 is installed at the inlet side of the seat vent 150 to forcibly suck air from the mixing area MC of the air conditioning case 110 and blow air to the seat 10 side.

In addition, the door 151 is installed at the inlet side of the seat vent 150 to open and close the inlet of the seat vent 150. The door 151 is preferably installed upstream of the seat side blower 152.

In addition, the door 151 is opened only when the seat 10 is cooled and heated, thereby minimizing air volume loss during air conditioning of the front seat of the vehicle.

On the other hand, when there are a plurality of seats 10 to be cooled and heated in a vehicle, as described above, the sheet duct 105 may be divided into a plurality of sheets to cool and heat the plurality of sheets 10 simultaneously or the seat vents. A plurality of seat side heat exchangers 153 and a blower 152 may be installed in the interior of 150, and a plurality of seat ducts 105 may also be installed to correspond to the plurality of seats 10.

In addition, the present invention, in addition to using the seat vent 150 for heating and cooling the seat 10, the outlet of the seat vent 150 may be connected to a clothes duct (not shown) for heating and cooling clothes, or A variable duct (not shown) may be installed at the outlet of the seat vent 150 to be connected to various places in the vehicle and used for various purposes.

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a case in which the seat side blower is installed in the seat duct in the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention. As shown in the drawing, the seat side blower 152 is disposed inside the seat vent 150. Although installed, as shown in FIG. 5, the sheet side blower 152a may be provided upstream of the said sheet duct 105 provided in the exterior of the air conditioning apparatus 100. As shown in FIG.

That is, only the seat side heat exchanger 153 is installed in the seat vent 150 of the air conditioning case 110, and the seat side blower 152a is installed in the seat duct 105.

In this case, when the outlet of the sheet duct 105 is branched into a plurality of sheets and connected to the plurality of sheets 10, in order to supply air to the plurality of sheets 10 using the one sheet side blower 152a, It is preferable to provide the sheet side blower 152a upstream of the branch part of the said sheet duct 105.

Hereinafter, the operation of the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention will be described. In addition, only the case where the sheet-side heat exchanger 153 is composed of a PTC heater will be described for convenience.

First, internal and external air selectively introduced by the blower 103 installed at the inlet side of the air conditioning case 110 are cooled while passing through the evaporator 101, and the cooled air is controlled by the temperature control door 120. To selectively pass through the heater core 102,

At this time, the air (warm) passing through the heater core 102 or the air (cold air) bypassing the heater core 102 is mixed in the mixing area MC, the air is in each mode door 113a according to various air conditioning modes Induced by (114a) (115a) flows to the side of the vent 113, 114, 115, and discharged into the interior of the vehicle to heat and cool the interior.

On the other hand, when the occupant operates the seat cooling and heating mode to cool the seat 10, the door 151 installed at the inlet of the seat vent 150 is opened and the seat side blowers 152 and 152a are also operated. As a part of air in the mixing area MC in the air conditioning case 110 is supplied to the seat 10 through the seat vent 150 and the seat duct 105 to cool and heat the seat 10.

That is, as described above, when rapid heating of the sheet 10 is difficult at a low temperature as in winter, power is supplied to the PTC heater, which is the sheet-side heat exchanger 153, to quickly supply warm air to the sheet 10. . In addition, when cooling is required in summer, the sheet 10 may be cooled using cold air that has passed through the evaporator 101 of the air conditioning apparatus 100.

In addition, when the occupant wants only the air blown by the air conditioning apparatus 100, the air of the cold / warm mixing area MC of the air conditioning case 110 is taken out and supplied to the seat 10, and the mixing area MC is provided. When the air is too cold and heating is required, PTC heater is activated to control the temperature.

Thus, by integrating the seat side heat exchanger 153 and the seat side blower 152 with the vehicle air conditioner 100, the space on the seat 10 side can be secured, and the occupant is heat-exchanged with air at a desired temperature. Since the air in the air conditioning case 110 of the cold and warm mixing zone (MC) can be utilized, the efficiency is increased, thereby reducing energy consumption, improving the cooling and heating performance of the seat 10, and reducing the number of parts. The assemblability can also be improved.

According to the present invention described above, by forming a seat vent in the air conditioning case and by integrally configuring a seat side heat exchanger and a seat side blower, it is possible to secure a space for installation of a convenient device inside the seat, In addition to utilizing air in the warming mixing zone, insufficient heating and cooling loads are additionally supplemented by using a seat side heat exchanger, thereby increasing efficiency, thereby reducing energy consumption and improving sheet cooling and heating performance.

In addition, a single seat-side heat exchanger and a blower can cope with a plurality of seat air-conditioning, and by using an existing vehicle air conditioner, the number of parts is reduced and assemblability is improved.

In addition, since a part of air in the mixing area of the air conditioning case is supplied to the seat side, a separate temperature control door for controlling the temperature of the air supplied to the seat side is not required.

In addition, since the evaporator and the heater core as well as the seat side heat exchanger are all installed inside the air conditioner, modularization is possible, thereby improving productivity.

Then, by taking air out of the mixing region in the air conditioning case and supplying it to the seat side, a constant amount of air conditioning air can be supplied to the seat side regardless of the air conditioning mode.

Claims (6)

An air inlet 111 is formed at the inlet side, and the air vent case 110 having the defrost vent 113, the face vent 114, and the floor vent 115 is formed at the outlet side, and installed inside the air conditioning case 110. In the vehicle air conditioner comprising an evaporator 101 and a heater core 102, At the outlet side of the air conditioning case 110, a part of the air of the mixing area MC, in which air passing through the evaporator 101 and air passing through the heater core 102 is mixed, may be extracted and supplied to the seat 10 of the vehicle. Vehicle ventilator, characterized in that the seat vent 150 is formed to be. The method of claim 1, Vehicle seat air conditioning apparatus, characterized in that the seat side heat exchanger 153 is installed inside the seat vent 150 to heat exchange the air passing through the seat vent 150. The method of claim 2, Vehicle seat air conditioning apparatus, characterized in that the seat side blower (152) is installed inside the seat vent (150). The method of claim 2, The seat duct 105 is installed at the outlet of the seat vent 150 to supply air to the seat 10 side of the vehicle, and the seat side blower 152a is installed upstream of the seat duct 105. Vehicle air conditioner characterized in that. The method of claim 1, The seat vent 150 is divided into the floor vent 115 to the left and right, characterized in that the vehicle is formed partitioned therebetween. The method of claim 1, Vehicle air conditioner, characterized in that the door 151 is installed at the inlet side of the seat vent 150.

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