WO2016030204A1

WO2016030204A1 - Air-conditioning system

Info

Publication number: WO2016030204A1
Application number: PCT/EP2015/068689
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hipp-Kalthoff; Peter KÄLBER; Hans-Henning Knorr; Stefan MUCKLE; Markus SCHAUER; Klaus Voigt
Original assignee: Mahle International Gmbh
Priority date: 2014-08-28
Filing date: 2015-08-13
Publication date: 2016-03-03
Also published as: EP3186099A1; DE102014217174A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a roof-mounted air-conditioning system for a vehicle, comprising at least two heat exchangers. According to the invention, said air-conditioning system comprises heat exchangers, each heat exchanger having a condensate collecting device (46), also comprising at least one condensate line (50) which joins together the condensate collecting devices (46). The invention also relates to a vehicle comprising said type of air-conditioning system which is arranged on the roof of the vehicle.

Description

air conditioning

The invention relates to an air conditioning system for a vehicle, in particular an on-roof air conditioning system, with at least two heat exchangers. Furthermore, the invention relates to a vehicle with such an air conditioner.

Such air conditioners have the disadvantage that they have condensate drain lines, which run parallel to a roof of the vehicle and thus have no or only a slight slope. Since each Kondensatsammeieinrichtung only condensate drain lines are provided, which lead to the nearest side of the vehicle, condensate can not run in unfavorable constellations from one of the Kondensatsammeieinrichtungen, e.g. if the vehicle is at an angle and / or with a slight roof slope.

The present invention has for its object to provide an air conditioner, in particular a rooftop air conditioning system with improved condensate drain.

This object is achieved by the subjects of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments are the subject of the dependent claims.

The invention is based on the general idea to ensure that condensate can drain from a Kondensatsammeieinrichtung both through its own condensate drain line and through the Kondensatablaufleitung the other Kondensatsammeieinrichtung. It is expedient that the air conditioning unit has a Kondensatsammeieinrichtung each heat exchanger and the air conditioning system has at least one condensate line which connects the at least two condensate collection devices to one another. Thus, when the vehicle is inclined, condensate from the Kondensatsammeieinrichtung whose Kondensatablaufleitung leads upwards, flow through the condensate line into the other Kondensatsammeieinrichtung and run from there via the condensate drain line of Kondensatsammeieinrichtung. This can prevent stagnation and standing of condensate within the air conditioner and the associated odor.

An advantageous embodiment provides that the air conditioning system is designed to be arranged on a roof of the vehicle. If the air conditioning is placed on the roof of the vehicle, the conditioned air can be routed directly to the passengers of the vehicle, so that the air conditioning can work very efficiently.

A further advantageous embodiment provides that the air conditioning system for each Kondensatsammeieinrichtung has at least one separate condensate drain line through which condensate, which has formed in the respective heat exchanger and collected in the Kondensatsammeieinrichtung, can flow. In this way, the drainage of the condensate from the air conditioning can be achieved particularly secure.

A particularly advantageous embodiment provides that the condensate drain lines of the condensate collecting device, starting from the respective condensate collecting device, in particular adjacent to the respective Kondensatsammeieinrichtung, at least partially extend substantially horizontally. In this way, the Kondensatablaufleitungen along the vehicle roof to one side of the Be guided vehicle so that the condensate drain lines do not need to be performed by the interior of the vehicle.

A further particularly advantageous embodiment provides that the at least two heat exchangers transfer heat from a gas or gas mixture flowing through the heat exchangers, in particular air, to a refrigerant flowing through the heat exchangers in order to cool the gas or gas mixture. In this way, with the cooled air, an interior of the vehicle can be conditioned.

Another favorable embodiment provides that an evaporator for refrigerant of the air conditioner is integrated in the heat exchanger. In this way, the cooling capacity of the heat exchanger can be optimized, so that the air in the heat exchanger can be cooled particularly effectively.

Another favorable embodiment provides that the heat exchangers are arranged obliquely to a horizontal plane and / or obliquely to a roof of the vehicle. Due to the oblique arrangement of the heat exchanger, the scarce space available for the air conditioning system can be optimally utilized.

Further, the above object is achieved by a vehicle having an air conditioner as described above, which is disposed on a roof of the vehicle. The advantages of the air conditioning system are thus transferred to the vehicle, to the above description of which reference is made.

A particularly favorable embodiment provides that the heat exchangers of the air conditioning system are arranged obliquely to the roof of the vehicle, in particular tilted about a vehicle longitudinal axis relative to the roof of the vehicle are arranged. Thus, in both the height direction and in the direction transverse to the direction of travel of the vehicle available space for the air conditioning to be optimally utilized. By this arrangement, the heat exchanger can be dimensioned larger than in a pure vertical or horizontal arrangement of the heat exchanger.

Another particularly advantageous embodiment provides that the vehicle is a bus, especially a minibus. The use of air conditioning on a bus or minibus, with which passengers are transported, increases the ride comfort of the passengers.

An advantageous embodiment provides that condensate drain lines of the condensate collecting devices extend from the respective condensate collecting device, in particular adjacent to the respective condensate collecting devices, at least partially substantially horizontally up to a vehicle side. As a result, the condensate drain line can be guided along the outside of the vehicle and need not be guided through the interior of the vehicle, so that the passengers are not disturbed by the condensate drain lines.

Other important features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims, from the drawings and from the associated figure description with reference to the drawings.

It is understood that the features mentioned above and those yet to be explained below can be used not only in the particular combination given, but also in other combinations or in isolation, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawings and are explained in more detail in the following description, wherein the same reference numerals refer to the same or similar or functionally identical components.

Show, in each case schematically,

1 is a vehicle with a rooftop air conditioning system according to the invention,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the rooftop air conditioner, wherein an upper part of

Housing of the rooftop air conditioning system is hidden,

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the on-roof air conditioning and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the section line A-A through the

On-roof air conditioning system from FIG. 3.

According to FIG. 1, a vehicle 10 has an air conditioning system 12, in particular an on-roof air conditioning system. The air conditioner 12 is arranged on a roof 14 of the vehicle 10. The vehicle 10 may in particular be a bus, minibus or a train, with which passengers are transported, for which an interior of the vehicle 10 is to be conditioned.

The air conditioner 12 has a housing 16 in which components of the air conditioner 12 are received. In particular, in the housing 16, a heat exchanger 18 and a fan 20 are arranged. Furthermore, flow channels 22 are formed in the housing 16, through which fresh air and / or circulating air can be conducted past the heat exchanger 18 in order to be able to blow them through a fan 20 into the interior of the vehicle 10. The housing 16 has a shaping structure 24 which is designed to accommodate the components of the air conditioning system 12, in particular the heat exchanger 18 and the blower 20. Furthermore, the shaping structure forms the Flow channels 22 which, for example, air from a fresh air opening 26 or a Umluftoffnung 28 to the heat exchanger 18, and from the heat exchanger 18 via a blower 20 to a blowout 30 conduct. To minimize the weight of the forming structure 24, the forming structure comprises foamed plastic, such as expanded polypropylene (EPP). Such foamed plastics have a low weight and are therefore particularly suitable as a filler. Due to the thus formed air conditioning 12, the weight arranged on the roof 14 of the vehicle 10 can be reduced, whereby the center of gravity of the vehicle 10 can be lowered. The shaping structure 24 is formed in particular exclusively from foamed plastic. Thus, the weight of the air conditioner 12 can be further reduced.

Furthermore, the shaping structure 24 has an upper part 32 and a lower part 34 into which the components of the air conditioning system 12 are inserted. For example, two heat exchangers 18 and four blowers 20 are first inserted into the lower part 34 and provided with corresponding connections. Thereafter, the top 32 can be placed on the base 34 to hold the components of the air conditioner 12 in place. It is also possible to first use the components of the air conditioning system 12 in the upper part 32 and then to place the lower part 34 on the upper part 32, so that the air conditioner 12 is mounted on the head.

By dividing the shaping structure 24 into an upper part 32 and a lower part 34, the assembly is accordingly simplified. The upper part can be fastened to the lower part 34, for example, by means of screws, clamps or straps. In this way, the connection between upper part 32 and lower part 34 is detachable, so that, for example, for maintenance purposes, the housing 16 of the air conditioner 12 can be opened to expose the components of the air conditioner 12. Alternatively or additionally, a hood 36 may be provided, with which the upper part 32 can be held on the lower part 34. The hood 36 in this case has a shape adapted to the shape of the upper part 32, so that the hood 36 rests against the upper part 32 over a large area. In this way, the holding forces needed to hold the top 32 on the base 34 and which are needed to hold the housing 16 together with the components received therein can be distributed over a larger area, so that the relatively low strength of the foamed plastic of the shaping structure 24 is sufficient to avoid damage.

The hood 36 is made of a material which has a higher strength than foamed plastic, in particular a higher tensile strength. For example, the hood 36 is made of solid plastic.

Furthermore, the housing 16 of the air conditioning system 12 has a support structure 38 with which the housing 16 is held on the vehicle 10, in particular on the roof 14 of the vehicle 10. For this purpose, the support structure 38, for example, directly the shaping structure 24 or indirectly, for example via screws, clamps, straps with which the upper part 32 and the lower part 34 are held together, or over the hood 36, hold.

Preferably, the shaping structure 24 is held directly or indirectly by positive locking on the support structure 38. The support structure 38 may be formed, for example, frame-shaped, wherein the frame 40 is formed of a plurality of carriers. For example, the frame 40 has four beams that form a rectangle and surround the shaping structure 24.

The carriers may advantageously be designed as C-carriers, so that they have a C-shaped cross-section. Alternatively, for example, L-carrier conceivable, which have an L-shaped cross section. The carriers can be configured, for example, as shaped sheet metal parts, which are made inexpensively from flat sheet metal blanks by forming. Alternatively, the carriers may also be formed by profiles, which may be configured depending on the cross-sectional geometry, for example as an L-profile or as a C-profile. Furthermore, the profiles are bolted to the corners, riveted or welded.

The fans 20 draw in air or circulating air through the fresh air opening 26 or the recirculation opening 28 and blow the sucked air through the exhaust openings 30 in an interior of the vehicle 10. Fluidically between the fresh air opening 26 or the recirculation opening 28 and the exhaust opening 30 is one of the heat exchanger 18th arranged. The air conditioner 12 has two heat exchangers 18, that is to say a heat exchanger 12 for two fans 20.

The heat exchangers 18 absorb heat from the air flowing through the heat exchanger 18 and release the heat to a refrigerant 42. In this way the air is cooled. For a particularly efficient cooling of the air in the heat exchanger 18, an evaporator 44 of the heat cycle of the air conditioner 12 is integrated. Thus, the refrigerant 42, which flows through the heat exchanger 18, particularly cold and therefore the air, which flows through the heat exchanger 18, cool particularly well.

The two heat exchangers 18 are arranged obliquely to the roof 14 of the vehicle 10. In this way, the limited space transverse to the direction of travel and in the height direction of the vehicle 10 can be optimally utilized. The heat exchangers 18 are inclined relative to the roof 14 of the vehicle 10 about an axis parallel to the direction of travel of the vehicle 10. This has over a vertical installation of the heat exchanger the advantage that less height is claimed and compared to a horizontal installation has the advantage that less width is claimed. Thus, this solution provides one advantageous compromise, which makes the best use of the available space.

When cooling the air flowing through the heat exchanger 18, condensate, which is reflected in the heat exchanger 18 is formed. For this reason, the air conditioner 12 is equipped with Kondensatsammeieinrichtungen 46, which collects the condensate, so that the condensate can be selectively discharged. It is provided per heat exchanger 18 at least one Kondensatsammeieinrichtung 46. Each Kondensatsammeieinrichtung 46 derives the collected condensate via at least one, for example two, condensate drain line 48. Preferably, the respective condensate drain line 48 between a headliner and the roof 14, ie installed in the interior of the roof structure.

Since the Kondensatsammeieinrichtungen 46 must be arranged below the heat exchanger 18 seen in gravity, the Kondensatsammeieinrichtungen 46 are preferably close to the roof 14 of the vehicle 10. As mentioned, run the Kondensatablaufleitungen 48 between the roof 14 and the associated headliner in the interior of the vehicle 10th For this reason, the condensate drain line 48 can not run directly downwards from the condensate collecting device 46, but initially runs essentially parallel to the roof 14 of the vehicle 10 as far as one side of the vehicle 10. From there, the condensate drain lines 48 run downwards.

The two heat exchangers 18 and the associated Kondensatsammeieinrichtung 46 are each arranged off-center of the vehicle, so that of each Kondensatsammeieinrichtung 46, the condensate drain lines 48 each extend to the same side of the vehicle. Consequently, when the vehicle 10 is at a vehicle longitudinal axis tilted obliquely, the condensate from one of the Kondensatsammeieinrichtung 46 does not expire.

In order to avoid congestion of condensate in the Kondensatsammeieinrichtungen 46, the air conditioner 12 has a condensate line 50, which connects the Kondensatsammeieinrichtungen 46 of the two heat exchangers 18 together, so that when the vehicle 10 inclined to the longitudinal axis obliquely, the condensate from both Kondensatsammeieinrichtung 46th can run in the same direction. Without such a cross connection each Kondensatsammeieinrichtung 46 must be designed so that when inclined vehicle 10, the condensate does not, for example, in a circulating air opening and then in the interior runs. Before the associated evaporator you need to relatively high baffles. The baffles must be higher than the highest point of the condensate drain of the condensate collecting device 46 in maximum banking angle of the vehicle. They partially obstruct the airway to the evaporator and thus impede the flow of air. These disadvantages can be avoided by using the created by the condensate line 50 cross connection.

Claims

claims

1 . Air conditioning system for a vehicle (10), in particular an on-roof air conditioning system, with at least two heat exchangers (18),

characterized,

- That the air conditioning (12) per heat exchanger (18) a

Condensate collecting means (46), and

- That the air conditioner (12) at least one condensate line (50) which connects the at least two Kondensatsammeieinrichtungen (46) with each other.

2. Air conditioning system according to claim 1,

characterized,

the air conditioning system (12) is designed on a roof (14) of the

Vehicle (10) to be arranged.

3. The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2,

characterized,

the air conditioning system (12) has for each condensate collecting device (46) its own condensate discharge line (48), through which condensate which has formed in the respective heat exchanger (18) and collected in the condensate collecting device (46) can flow away.

4. The air conditioner according to claim 3,

characterized,

in that the condensate drain lines (48) of the condensate collection devices (46) originate from the respective condensate collection devices (46), in particular adjacent to the respective condensate collecting means (46) extend at least partially substantially horizontally.

5. Air conditioning system according to one of claims 1 to 4,

characterized,

an evaporator (44) for refrigerant (42) is integrated in the heat exchanger (18).

6. Air conditioning system according to one of claims 1 to 5,

characterized,

in that the heat exchangers (18) are arranged obliquely to a horizontal plane and / or obliquely to a roof (14) of the vehicle (10).

7. A vehicle with an air conditioner (12) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, which is arranged on a roof (14) of the vehicle (10).

8. Vehicle according to claim 7,

characterized,

in that the heat exchangers (18) of the air conditioning system (12) are arranged obliquely to the roof (14) of the vehicle (10), in particular tilted about a vehicle longitudinal axis relative to the roof (14) of the vehicle (10).

9. Vehicle according to claim 8,

characterized,

the vehicle (10) is a bus, in particular a minibus.

10. Vehicle according to one of claims 7 to 9,

characterized,

in that condensate drain lines (48) of the condensate collection devices (46) originate from the respective condensate collection devices (46), in particular adjacent to the respective Kondensatsannnneleinrichtungen (46), at least partially substantially horizontally up to a

Extend vehicle outside.