Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60H—ARRANGEMENTS OF HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATING OR OTHER AIR-TREATING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PASSENGER OR GOODS SPACES OF VEHICLES
  • B60H3/00—Other air-treating devices
  • B60H3/06—Filtering
  • B60H3/0608—Filter arrangements in the air stream
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16H—GEARING
  • F16H55/00—Elements with teeth or friction surfaces for conveying motion; Worms, pulleys or sheaves for gearing mechanisms
  • F16H55/32—Friction members
  • F16H55/36—Pulleys
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60H—ARRANGEMENTS OF HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATING OR OTHER AIR-TREATING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PASSENGER OR GOODS SPACES OF VEHICLES
  • B60H3/00—Other air-treating devices
  • B60H3/06—Filtering
  • B60H3/0608—Filter arrangements in the air stream
  • B60H3/0625—Filter arrangements in the air stream with provisions for by-passing the filter element
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16H—GEARING
  • F16H7/00—Gearings for conveying rotary motion by endless flexible members
  • F16H7/18—Means for guiding or supporting belts, ropes, or chains
  • F16H7/20—Mountings for rollers or pulleys
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60H—ARRANGEMENTS OF HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATING OR OTHER AIR-TREATING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PASSENGER OR GOODS SPACES OF VEHICLES
  • B60H3/00—Other air-treating devices
  • B60H3/06—Filtering
  • B60H3/0608—Filter arrangements in the air stream
  • B60H2003/065—Details for holding filter elements in position
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60H—ARRANGEMENTS OF HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATING OR OTHER AIR-TREATING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PASSENGER OR GOODS SPACES OF VEHICLES
  • B60H3/00—Other air-treating devices
  • B60H3/06—Filtering
  • B60H2003/0683—Filtering the quality of the filter or the air being checked
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60H—ARRANGEMENTS OF HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATING OR OTHER AIR-TREATING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PASSENGER OR GOODS SPACES OF VEHICLES
  • B60H3/00—Other air-treating devices
  • B60H3/06—Filtering
  • B60H2003/0691—Adsorption filters, e.g. activated carbon

Definitions

• the present invention relates to an air conditioner for a vehicle. More specifically, the invention relates to an air conditioner for a vehicle, in which the filter can be moved to a location where it is not exposed to air when offensive odor is not generated, thereby extending the service life of the filter.
• An air conditioner for a vehicle is an apparatus for heating/cooling the interior of a vehicle in such a manner that air is blown into an air conditioner case by a blower, and heat is exchanged between the blown air and heat exchange media which pass through an evaporator and/or a heat core, thereby controlling the temperature of the air.
• a filter is installed at the blower or the air conditioner case in order to remove dust, harmful materials, and offensive odor which are included in the air flown into the inside of the air conditioner case by the blower.
• the filter is generally installed at the upstream side of the evaporator.
• the filter is usually fixed at the place where it is installed without any displacement, and thus continuously exposed to the air blown by the blower. Accordingly, as the use time period of the filter is lengthened, adsorption capability of the filter gradually decreases, and an air passageway is blocked by the filter, thereby increasing loss of air volume.
• the adsorbed offensive odor is emitted to the inside of a vehicle, and thus gives uncomfortable feelings to a driver.
• the filter is installed at the upstream side of the evaporator, the offensive odor generated by the evaporator, which is the origin of the offensive odor, is not filtered.
• Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-46462 proposed by the present applicant, an elastic type filter technique, which expands and contracts a filtering member of a filter installed at an evaporator, is proposed. In this case, even though the filtering member is contracted, portions of the filtering member are still exposed to air, so that the service life of the filter is shortened.
• such kind of a technique is also disclosed in Korean Utility Model No. 1999-25260, but the same problem as the one described above remains.
• the present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the invention to provide an air conditioner for a vehicle, in which a filter can be moved to a location where the filter is not exposed to air when offensive odor is not emitted, thereby extending the service life of the filter.
• an air conditioner for a vehicle.
• the air conditioner includes: an air conditioner case having an evaporator and a heat core installed therein and having a blower installed at an inlet thereof; a movable filter for moving between an air-filtering location and an air-non-filtering location of the air conditioner case; a judging means for judging whether air blown by the blower inside the air conditioner case is contaminated; and a driving means for moving the movable filter to the air-filtering location when the judging means determines that the air is contaminated and to the air- non-filtering location when the judging means determines that the air is not con- taminated.
• a guide rail for guiding the movement of the movable filter at the air conditioner case it is preferable to install a guide rail for guiding the movement of the movable filter at the air conditioner case, to form a slot corresponding to the guide rail at both side walls of the air conditioner case, and to connect a sliding arm to both ends of the movable filter in such a way as to be protruded outside the air conditioner case through the slot so as to move along the slot.
• a housing part may be installed at the air-non-filtering location of the air conditioner case for receiving the movable filter.
• the judging means may be configured so as to include a mode detecting means for detecting the air intake mode and an air contamination detection means for detecting whether contaminated air flows in, in which it is determined that the air is contaminated when the mode detecting means detects an outside air mode and the air contamination detection means detects inflow of contaminated air.
• the air intake mode of the blower is changed to an inside air mode.
• the judging means may be configured so as to determine that the air is contaminated.
• the judging means may be configured so as to determine that the air is contaminated when the cooling cycle starts operation through the evaporator and its operation lasts for a certain period time.
• the judging means may be configured so as to determine whether the air is contaminated according to the operation of an air conditioner switch or a compressor.
• the judging means may be configured so as to determine that the air is contaminated when the air conditioner switch is turned off and the blower starts to operate in a dehumidifying mode for removing frost, and determine that the contamination of the air is released when a predetermined time period has passed in the dehumidifying mode.
• the judging means may be configured so as to determine that the air is not contaminated.
• the judging means is further provided with a wind pressure or a wind volume detecting means, and, when it is determined that the wind pressure or the wind volume inside the air conditioner case is below a predetermined value by the wind pressure or the wind volume detecting means, the judging means controls the driving means so as to move the movable filter to the air-non-filtering location, and notifies a user of the time for replacing the movable filter.
• the judging means further comprises a manipulation switch, which can move the movable filter to the air-filtering location or the air-non-filtering location by a user's manipulation.
• FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional air conditioner for a vehicle
• FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing another conventional air conditioner for a vehicle
• FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration view showing an air conditioner for a vehicle according to one embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view showing a major portion of the air conditioner for a vehicle according to the invention.
• FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 4;
• FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional side view showing a major portion of an air conditioner for a vehicle according to another embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B in FIG. 6.
• an air conditioner for a vehicle comprises an air conditioner case 10 having an evaporator 30 and a heat core 32 contained therein and having a blower 34 installed at an inlet thereof; and a movable filter 40 moving from an air-filtering location (i.e., the fluid passageway where air flows) of the air conditioner case 10 to an air-non-filtering location (i.e., the location where air does not flow) of the air conditioner case 10.
• a temperature control door lOd controlling the extent of opening of a cold air passageway PI and a warm air passageway P2 is installed in the air conditioner case 10.
• the heat core 32 is installed at the warm air passageway P2, and the evaporator 30 is installed at the upstream side of the heat core 32.
• a guide rail 20 guiding the movement of the movable filter 40 can be formed respectively.
• a housing part 18 for receiving the movable filter 40 is preferably installed at the bottom 14 of the air conditioner case 10, i.e. the air-non-filtering location. Accordingly, the movable filter 40 is received by the housing part 18 along the guide rail 20, or withdrawn from the housing part 18 to be moved to the downstream side of the evaporator 30, i.e. air-filtering location, and can perform filtering function against the air blown by the blower 34.
• a slot 22 corresponding to the guide rail 20 is formed at both side walls 12, 12 of the air conditioner case 10 respectively.
• a sliding arm 42 which is protruded outside the air conditioner case 10 through the slots 22 so as to be moved along the slot 22, is connected to both sides of the movable filter 40.
• the sliding arm 42 can be moved, for example, by a driving means 50 including a cam device, a lever device, or the like, which are not shown in the drawings, and the movable filter 40 can be moved along the guide rail 20 according to the movement of the sliding arm 42.
• the guide rail 20 is preferably formed on both side walls 12, 12 of the air conditioner case 10, extending from the downstream side 30 of the evaporator 30 to the portion under the evaporator 30. That is, the movable filter 40 is moved from the downstream side of the evaporator 30, i.e. air-filtering location, to the housing part 18, i.e. air-non-filtering location, along the guide rail 20, or is withdrawn from the housing part 18 and blocks the downstream side of the evaporator 30, i.e. air-filtering location, thereby performing selectively the filtering function against the air which has passed the evaporator 30.
• the portion of the both guide rails 20 under the evaporator 30, which is the air-non-filtering location is preferably connected to a blocking plate 24.
• the condensed water can be discharged toward the side walls 12 of the air conditioner case 10 along the top surface of the blocking plate 24.
• the guide rail guiding the movement of the movable filter 40 is installed extending from the both wall sides 12, 12 of the air conditioner case 10, for example, to the ceiling 16 of the air conditioner case 10, i.e. air-non-filtering location, respectively, and a housing part 18 receiving the movable filter 40 is installed on the ceiling.
• the movable filter 40 is moved, as needed, from the downstream side of the evaporator 30, i.e. air-filtering location, along the guide rail 20 and is received by the housing part 18 on the ceiling 16, i.e. air-non-filtering location, or is withdrawn from the housing part 18 and placed so as to filter air by blocking the downstream side of the evaporator 30, i.e. air-filtering location, thereby selectively filtering the air which has passed the evaporator 30.
• the judging means 60 determines whether the air flowing into the air conditioner case 10 is contaminated. According to the judgment of the judging means 60, the judging means 60 controls the driving means 50 so that the movable filter 40 may be moved to the air-filtering location when the air is contaminated, and the judging means 60 controls the driving means 50 so that the movable filter 40 may be moved to the air-non-filtering location when the air is not contaminated.
• the judging means 60 includes a mode detecting means 62 for detecting the air intake mode and an air contamination detection means 64 for detecting inflow of the contaminated air.
• the judging means 60 is configured so as to determine that the air is contaminated. If it is determined by the judging means 60 that the air is contaminated, the driving means 50 is controlled so as to move the movable filter 40 to the air-filtering location.
• the air intake mode of the blower 34 can be changed to an inside air mode. On the contrary, when the air intake mode is in the inside air mode, and the contamination level is below the predetermined value, the movable filter 40 is moved to the air-non-filtering location.
• the judging means 60 can be configured so as to determine that the air is contaminated while the blower 34 is being operated, and when the judging means 60 determines that the air is contaminated, the driving means 50 is controlled so as to move the movable filter 40 from the air-non-filtering location to the air-filtering location. On the contrary, when the operation of the blower 34 is stopped, the movable filter 40 is moved to the air-non-filtering location.
• the judging means 60 may be configured so as to determine whether the air is contaminated according to the operation of an air conditioner switch 70 or a compressor 80.
• the judging means can be configured so as to determine that the air is contaminated when the cooling cycle starts operation through the evaporator 30 by turning on the operation of the air conditioner switch 70 and the compressor 80 which configures the cooling cycle, and its operation lasts for a certain period of time (for example, 5 minutes). If it the judging means 60 determines that the air is contaminated, the driving means 50 is controlled so as to move the movable filter 40 from the air- non-filtering location to the air-filtering location.
• the driving means 50 is controlled so as to move the movable filter 40 from the air-filtering location to the air- non-filtering location.
• the judging means 60 determines whether the air is contaminated, and then, according to the conditions such as whether the cycling of the air conditioner switch 70 and the compressor 80 is off, the operating time period of the cooling cycle, and the temperature of the evaporator, the judging means 60 determines whether the contamination of the air is released. According to such judgments, the movable filter 40 is moved to the air-filtering location or air-non-filtering location by the driving means 50, thereby performing the filtering function against the air selectively.
• the compressor 80 is cycling, if the compressor 80 operates continuously during the operation of the cooling cycle, the temperature of the evaporator goes down more than needed, and the surface of the evaporator is frosted, so that the heat exchange decreases. Therefore, by detecting the temperature of the evaporator, the on-off of the compressor 80 is controlled so as to maintain the temperature properly, e.g. about 4?, and, generally, the judgment criteria described above has been applied considering the offensive odor emitted severely at the first cycling of the compressor 80.
• the judging means determines that the air is contaminated, and if it is determined that the air is contaminated by the judging means 60, the movable filter 40 can be moved to the air- filtering location by the driving means 50.
• a predetermined time period for example, 5 10 minutes
• the judging means 60 determines that the contamination of the air is released, and if it is determined that the air is released from the contamination by the judging means 60, the movable filter 40 can be moved to the air-non-filtering location by the driving means 50.
• the judging means 60 can be configured so as to determine that the air is not contaminated.
• the judging means 60 is further provided with a wind pressure or a wind volume detecting means 66, and move the movable filter 40 to the air-non-filtering location when the inside wind pressure or wind volume is less than a predetermined value, and, in this case, the time to replace the movable filter 40 is preferably notified to a user using a warning means.
• the judging means 60 further includes a manipulation switch 68, which can move the movable filter 40 to the air-filtering location or the air-non-filtering location.
• a user recognizes the contamination of the air inside a vehicle by the sense of odor and controls the movement of the movable filter 40 arbitrarily. For example, if the manipulation switch 68 is turned on, the movable filter 40 is moved to the air-filtering location by the driving means 50, and, if the manipulation switch 68 is turned off, the movable filter 40 is moved to the air-non-filtering location by the driving means 50.
• the judging means 60 controls the driving means 50 so as to move the movable filter 40 placed at the air-non-filtering location of the air conditioner case 10 to the air-filtering location of the air conditioner case 10 (i.e., the location blocking the downstream side fluid passageway of the evaporator 30).
• the air blown by the blower 34 installed at the inlet of the air conditioner case 10, passes through the evaporator 30 and then passes through the movable filter 40, and thus the dust and harmful constituents included in the air are filtered, and the odor emitted by the evaporator 30, which is the origin of the offensive odor, can be removed.
• the movable filter 40 at the air- filtering location of the air conditioner case 10 is moved to the air-non-filtering location of the air conditioner case 10 and is received by the housing part. Accordingly, the movable filter 40 is not exposed to the air and maintains adsorption capability, thereby extending the service life of the movable filter 40. Furthermore, the flow resistance inside the air conditioner case 10 can be decreased.
• the manipulation switch 68 is controlled on and off, and the movable filter 40 is moved to the air-filtering location or air-non-filtering location, so that the filtering function against the air can be performed selectively.
• the movable filter 40 at the air-filtering location in the air conditioner case 10 is moved to the air- non-filtering location in the air conditioner case 10, and thus the movable filter 40 is not exposed to air, so that the service life of the movable filter 40 is extended maintaining the adsorption capability, thereby extending the replacing period of the movable filter 40. Also, when the movable filter 40 is moved to the air-non-filtering location, the flow resistance inside the air conditioner case 10 can be decreased.
• the movable filter 40 is placed at the downstream side of the evaporator 30 so as to filter dust and harmful constituents included in air and remove the offensive odor generated by the evaporator 30, so that the effect of removing the offensive odor can be enhanced.
• the movable filter 40 placed at the downstream side of the evaporator 30 is explained as an example in order to enhance the effect of removing offensive odor.
• the movable filter 40 can be installed anywhere from the air inlet of the blower 34 to the outlet of the air conditioner case 10, and, in this case, whatever configuration, in which the movable filter 40 can be moved from the air- filtering location to the air-non-filtering location when the it is determined that air is not contaminated, is included in the scope of the present invention.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Air-Conditioning For Vehicles (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

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ID=35450745

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Cited By (2)

Families Citing this family (11)

Citations (4)

Family Cites Families (7)

• 2004
  • 2004-05-25 KR KR1020040037214A patent/KR101117855B1/ko active IP Right Grant
• 2005
  • 2005-05-23 US US11/569,424 patent/US7900694B2/en active Active
  • 2005-05-23 WO PCT/KR2005/001505 patent/WO2005115780A1/en active Application Filing

Patent Citations (4)

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