WO2019189283A1

WO2019189283A1 - Vehicular air conditioning device

Info

Publication number: WO2019189283A1
Application number: PCT/JP2019/013051
Authority: WO
Inventors: 長野　秀樹; 荒木　大助
Original assignee: 株式会社ヴァレオジャパン
Priority date: 2018-03-29
Filing date: 2019-03-27
Publication date: 2019-10-03
Also published as: CN111918783A

Abstract

[Problem] To provide an air conditioning device capable of changing the size relationship between opening areas in an upper-side detour path and a lower-side detour path. [Solution] According to the present invention, a drive mechanism (10) has a driving pinion (20), an upper-side driven pinion (30) and a rack (40) that engage with the driving pinion (20), and a lower-side driven pinion (50) that engages with the rack (40), wherein the driving pinion (20) has a plurality of driving pinion parts (21, 22) having mutually different reference circle diameters, the upper-side driven pinion (30) has a plurality of upper-side driven pinion parts (31, 32) having mutually different reference circle diameters, and the plurality of driving pinion parts (21, 22) engage with the respective upper-side driven pinion parts (31, 32) in mutually different phase ranges among the total range of rotational phase of the drive pinion (20).

Description

Air conditioner for vehicles

The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a vehicle air conditioner having a heating heat exchanger inside an air conditioning case, wherein the air passing through the heating heat exchanger and the heating heat exchanger are bypassed inside the air conditioning case. 2. Description of the Related Art An air conditioner including an air mix door that adjusts a ratio with air to be performed is known. For example, when the heat exchanger for heating is arranged at the center in the vertical direction of the air conditioning case, detours are formed above and below the heat exchanger for heating, and the air flowing in the air conditioning case passes through these detours. The heat exchanger for heating can be bypassed. Then, an air mix door that adjusts the opening area of each detour is provided for each of the upper and lower detours, and the heat exchange for heating is performed by adjusting the opening area of the detour by moving the air mix door The ratio of the air passing through the oven and the air bypassing the heating heat exchanger. In Patent Document 1, such an upper and lower air mix door is a single drive mechanism that uses upper and lower pinions connected to the support shafts of the upper and lower air mix doors and a rack that meshes with the upper and lower pinions. It is driven integrally with.

Note that relatively low-temperature air that has bypassed the heat exchanger for heating through the upper bypass route tends to flow into a defrost outlet or a vent outlet provided in the upper portion of the air conditioner. Further, the air that has bypassed the heat exchanger for heating through the lower bypass route tends to flow into the foot outlet provided in the lower portion of the air conditioner.

By the way, in the operation mode of the vehicle air conditioner, in the bi-level mode, the temperature of the conditioned air blown from the vent outlet is set lower than the temperature of the conditioned air blown from the foot outlet, It is required to realize warm and cold. This means that the opening area of the upper detour needs to be larger than the opening area of the lower detour. On the other hand, in the differential foot mode, it is desirable to reduce the opening area of the upper bypass. This is because if the opening area of the upper bypass route is increased and a certain amount or more of low-temperature air is guided to the defrost outlet, the time required to eliminate the fogging of the windshield may increase. As a result, in the differential foot mode, the opening area of the upper detour needs to be smaller than the opening area of the lower detour.

Thus, it is desired to realize an air conditioner that can change the size relationship between the opening areas of the upper detour and the lower detour.

JP2015-110404A

An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner that can change the size relationship between the opening areas of the upper detour and the lower detour.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is an air conditioner for a vehicle, an air conditioning case that forms an air passage through which air flows, and a heat exchanger for heating disposed in the air passage, Heating arranged to form an upper detour above the upper edge of the heating heat exchanger and to form a lower detour below the lower edge of the heating heat exchanger A heat exchanger for sliding, a slide-type upper air mix door that is disposed in the air passage and adjusts a ratio of air toward the heat exchanger for heating and air toward the upper detour, and the upper air mix The upper air mix door is connected to a door, and the upper air mix door is rotated in the circumferential direction. Slide between the upper second position An upper shaft that is disposed in the air passage, and a sliding lower air mix door that adjusts a ratio of air toward the heat exchanger for heating and air toward the lower detour, and the upper shaft The lower shaft is arranged in parallel with the lower air mix door, and is connected to the lower air mix door to change the ratio of the air toward the lower detour as the lower air mix door is rotated in the circumferential direction. A lower shaft that is slid between a lower first position that is minimized and a lower second position that maximizes the ratio of air toward the lower detour, and the upper shaft and the lower shaft are rotated. A drive mechanism for driving, wherein the drive mechanism is coupled to an actuator that generates a rotational driving force, a drive pinion that is rotationally driven by the actuator, and the upper shaft. An upper driven pinion that meshes with the drive pinion and transmits the rotational driving force of the actuator to the upper shaft; a rack that meshes with the drive pinion and that receives the rotational driving force of the actuator and moves linearly; and A lower driven pinion coupled to the lower shaft and meshing with the rack to transmit the rotational driving force of the actuator to the lower shaft, and the driving pinion has a plurality of reference circular diameters different from each other. The upper driven pinion has a plurality of upper driven pinion portions having different reference circular diameters provided corresponding to the plurality of driving pinion portions, and the plurality of driving pinion portions are: Engage with the corresponding upper driven pinion part in different phase ranges of the entire rotational phase range of the drive pinion. Air conditioning apparatus is provided.

Alternatively, according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, an air conditioner for a vehicle,

An air conditioning case forming an air passage through which air flows;

A heating heat exchanger disposed in the air passage, wherein an upper detour is formed above an upper edge of the heating heat exchanger, and a lower edge of the heating heat exchanger A heat exchanger for heating arranged to form a lower bypass on the lower side,

A sliding upper air mix door disposed in the air passage for adjusting a ratio of air toward the heat exchanger for heating and air toward the upper detour;

The upper air mix door is connected to the upper air mix door, and the upper air mix door is rotated in the circumferential direction. An upper shaft that slides between the upper second position that maximizes the ratio of

A sliding lower air mix door disposed in the air passage for adjusting a ratio of air toward the heating heat exchanger and air toward the lower detour;

A lower shaft disposed in parallel with the upper shaft, the air being connected to the lower air mix door, and the air flowing toward the lower detour along the circumferential direction with the rotation of the lower air mix door A lower shaft that slides between a lower first position that minimizes the ratio of the second lower position that maximizes a ratio of air toward the lower detour, and

A drive mechanism for rotationally driving the upper shaft and the lower shaft,

The drive mechanism is

An actuator that generates rotational driving force;

A drive pinion that is rotationally driven by the actuator;

A lower driven pinion coupled to the lower shaft and meshing with the drive pinion to transmit the rotational driving force of the actuator to the lower shaft;

A rack that meshes with the drive pinion and receives a rotational driving force of the actuator to perform a linear motion;

An upper driven pinion coupled to the upper shaft and meshing with the rack to transmit the rotational driving force of the actuator to the upper shaft;

The drive pinion has a plurality of drive pinion portions having different reference circle diameters,

The lower driven pinion has a plurality of lower driven pinion portions having different reference circle diameters provided corresponding to the plurality of driving pinion portions,

The plurality of drive pinion portions mesh with corresponding lower driven pinion portions in different phase ranges of the entire rotation phase range of the drive pinion.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide an air conditioner that can change the size relationship between the opening areas of the upper detour and the lower detour.

It is a side view which shows typically the structure of the air conditioning part of the air conditioner by one embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II of the air conditioning unit shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the air conditioning unit shown in FIG. 1 taken along the line II-II. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the air mix door of the air conditioning part shown in FIG. 1, a shaft, and a drive mechanism. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a drive pinion, an upper driven pinion, a rack, and a lower driven pinion of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a side view showing a first drive pinion part of the drive pinion shown in FIG. 5 and a first upper driven pinion part of the upper driven pinion. FIG. 6 is a side view showing a second drive pinion portion of the drive pinion shown in FIG. 5 and a second upper driven pinion portion of the upper driven pinion. It is a side view which shows the rack shown in FIG. 5, the rack pinion part, and a lower side driven pinion. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the rotation phase of the drive pinion shown in FIG. 5, and the position of each air mix door. It is a figure corresponding to FIG. 1, Comprising: It is a figure for demonstrating the relationship between each operation mode of an air conditioner, and the position of an air mix door. It is a figure corresponding to FIG. 1, Comprising: It is a figure for demonstrating the relationship between each operation mode of an air conditioner, and the position of an air mix door. It is a figure corresponding to FIG. 1, Comprising: It is a figure for demonstrating the relationship between each operation mode of an air conditioner, and the position of an air mix door. It is a figure corresponding to FIG. 1, Comprising: It is a figure for demonstrating the relationship between each operation mode of an air conditioner, and the position of an air mix door. It is a figure corresponding to FIG. 1, Comprising: It is a figure for demonstrating the relationship between each operation mode of an air conditioner, and the position of an air mix door. It is a side view which shows typically the modification of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. It is a side view which shows the drive pinion of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. 11, and the upper part part of a rack. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. 11 taken along the line IIIa-IIIb-IIIc. It is sectional drawing along the IV-IV line of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the change of the rotational speed of the lower driven pinion in the drive mechanism shown in FIG. It is a side view which shows typically the other modification of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. FIG. 17 is a side view showing the lower driven pinion and the lower part of the rack shown in FIG. 16. FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line Va-Vb-Vc of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. 16 taken along line VI-VI. It is a figure for demonstrating the change of the rotational speed of the lower driven pinion in the drive mechanism shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a side view schematically showing still another modification of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. 21 taken along line VII-VII. FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. 21 taken along line VIIIa-VIIIb-VIIIc. FIG. 10 is a side view schematically showing still another modification of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. 24 taken along line IX-IX. FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. 24 taken along line Xa-Xb-Xc.

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

FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing the structure of an air conditioning unit of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. For clarity of illustration, illustration of an urging rib and the like which will be described later is omitted in FIG. 2 and 3 are cross-sectional views taken along lines II-II and III-III, respectively, of the air conditioning unit shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing an air mix door, a shaft, and a drive mechanism of the air conditioner shown in FIG.

In the present specification, for convenience of explanation, the side shown in FIG. 1 is called the left side of the air conditioning unit, and the side (see FIGS. 2 and 3) facing the side shown in FIG. 1 is called the right side of the air conditioning unit. . In addition, in this specification, the terms “clockwise” and “counterclockwise” with respect to the rotation direction of the pinion and the shaft described later, the pinion and the shaft are moved from the left side to the right side of the air conditioning unit unless otherwise specified. It means “clockwise” and “counterclockwise” which are judged in the situation seen in the direction of heading.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle air conditioner 1 has an air conditioning case 2, and an air flow formed by a blower (not shown) flows through the air conditioning case 2. That is, the air conditioning case 2 forms an air passage 3 through which air flows.

A cooling heat exchanger (evaporator) 4 is provided in the air conditioning case 2. The upper portion 4 a of the cooling heat exchanger 4 is located in the upper portion of the air passage 3 formed by the air conditioning case 2. Further, the lower part 4 b of the cooling heat exchanger 4 is located in the lower part of the air passage 3. The cooling heat exchanger 4 removes heat from the air passing therethrough, and lowers the humidity of the air by condensing moisture in the air when the humidity of the air is high.

On the downstream side of the cooling heat exchanger 4, a heating heat exchanger (heater core) 5 is provided in the air conditioning case 2. The upper portion 5 a of the heating heat exchanger 5 is located in the upper portion of the air passage 3 formed by the air conditioning case 2, and the lower portion 5 b of the heating heat exchanger 5 is in the lower portion of the air passage 3. Is located. The heating heat exchanger 5 heats the air passing therethrough.

The upper part 5 a of the heating heat exchanger 5 does not occupy the entire cross section of the upper part of the air passage 3. A region where the heat exchanger 5 for heating in the upper part of the air passage 3 does not exist (that is, a region above the upper edge 5 ae of the heating heat exchanger 5 in the air passage 3) serves as an upper part of the air passage 3. The bypass air 3a allows the flowing air to flow downstream of the heating heat exchanger 5 without passing through the heating heat exchanger 5 (bypassing the heating heat exchanger 5). This detour is called an “upper detour 3a” in the sense of a detour provided “upper” of the air passage 3.

Similarly, the lower part 5 b of the heating heat exchanger 5 does not occupy the entire cross section of the lower part of the air passage 3. A region where the heat exchanger 5 for heating in the lower part of the air passage 3 does not exist (that is, a region below the lower edge 5be of the heating heat exchanger 5 in the air passage 3) is the region of the air passage 3. The bypass circuit 3b enables the air flowing through the lower portion to flow downstream of the heating heat exchanger 5 without passing through the heating heat exchanger 5 (bypassing the heating heat exchanger 5). ing. This detour is referred to as a “lower detour 3b” in the sense of a detour provided on the “lower side” of the air passage 3.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, between the cooling heat exchanger 4 and the heating heat exchanger 5, an upper air mix door 6 and a lower air are provided in the upper and lower portions of the air passage 3. Mix doors 8 are respectively provided. The upper air mix door 6 and the lower air mix door 8 are plate-like members, and are disposed substantially parallel to the upstream surface of the heating heat exchanger 5.

The upper air mix door 6 can slide in the upper portion of the air passage 3 along the vertical direction. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, a rack 6r is provided on one surface (upstream surface in the illustrated example) of the upper air mix door 6 from the upper edge 6a to the lower edge 6b. It has been. An upper shaft 7 that extends in the left-right direction in the air passage 3 is connected to the upper air mix door 6. The upper shaft 7 is disposed to face the surface of the upper air mix door 6 on the rack 6r side. As shown in FIG. 2, the upper shaft 7 is rotatably supported by the left and right side surfaces 2c and 2d of the air conditioning case 2 at both ends thereof. In the illustrated example, the left end portion of the upper shaft 7 extends to the outside of the air conditioning case 2, and a drive mechanism 10 that rotationally drives the upper shaft 7 is connected to this end portion. As shown in FIG. 4, an upper internal pinion 7 p that meshes with the rack 6 r of the upper air mix door 6 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the upper shaft 7. The upper shaft 7 is connected to the upper air mix door 6 by the upper inner pinion 7p meshing with the rack 6r of the upper air mix door 6. When the upper shaft 7 rotates in the circumferential direction, the rotational motion of the upper shaft 7 is converted into a vertical motion by the upper internal pinion 7p and the upper internal rack 6r, and the upper air mix door 6 slides up and down. It has become. The moving speed of the upper air mix door 6 corresponds to the rotational speed of the upper shaft 7.

The upper air mix door 6 slides along the vertical direction in the upper portion of the air passage 3 to thereby change the ratio of the air toward the upper portion 5a of the heating heat exchanger 5 and the air toward the upper detour 3a. adjust. More specifically, the upper air mix door 6 maximizes the ratio of the upper first position (see FIG. 1) that minimizes the ratio of air toward the upper detour 3a and the ratio of air toward the upper detour 3a. Slide between the upper second position (see FIG. 10E). In the illustrated example, when the upper air mix door 6 is in the upper first position, the upper edge 6a abuts on the top surface 2a of the air conditioning case 2 to minimize the opening area of the upper bypass 3a. At this time, the area of the portion of the upper air mix door 6 that overlaps the upper portion 5a of the heating heat exchanger 5 in the air flow direction is minimized, and the air flowing toward the heating heat exchanger 5 in the upper portion of the air passage 3 is reduced. The ratio is maximized. When the upper air mix door 6 is in the second upper position, the upper edge 6a is farthest from the top surface 2a of the air conditioning case 2 within the movable range of the upper air mix door 6, and the upper detour 3a Maximize the opening area. At this time, the area of the portion of the upper air mix door 6 that overlaps the upper portion 5a of the heating heat exchanger 5 in the air flow direction is maximized, and the air flowing toward the heating heat exchanger 5 in the upper portion of the air passage 3 becomes larger. The ratio is minimized.

Similarly, the lower air mix door 8 can slide along the vertical direction. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, on one surface of the lower air mix door 8 (upstream surface in the illustrated example), a rack 8r extends from the upper edge 8a to the lower edge 8b. Is provided. The lower air mix door 8 is connected to a lower shaft 9 arranged in parallel with the upper shaft 7 (extending along the left-right direction). The lower shaft 9 is arranged to face the surface of the lower air mix door 8 on the rack 8r side. As shown in FIG. 3, the lower shaft 9 is rotatably supported by the left and right side surfaces 2 c and 2 d of the air conditioning case 2 at both ends thereof. In the illustrated example, the left end portion of the lower shaft 9 extends to the outside of the air conditioning case 2, and a drive mechanism 10 that rotationally drives the lower shaft 9 is connected to this end portion. As shown in FIG. 4, a lower internal pinion 9 p that meshes with the rack 8 r of the lower air mix door 8 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lower shaft 9. The lower shaft 9 is connected to the lower air mix door 8 by the lower internal pinion 9p meshing with the rack 8r of the lower air mix door 8. When the lower shaft 9 rotates in the circumferential direction, the rotational motion of the lower shaft 9 is converted into a vertical motion by the lower internal pinion 9p and the lower internal rack 8r, and the lower air mix door 8 moves up and down. To slide. The moving speed of the lower air mix door 8 corresponds to the rotational speed of the lower shaft 9.

Lower air mix door 8 adjusts the ratio of the air which goes to lower part 5b of heat exchanger 5 for heating, and the air which goes to lower detour 3b by sliding along the up-and-down direction. More specifically, the lower air mix door 8 has a lower first position (see FIG. 1) that minimizes the ratio of air toward the lower detour 3b, and the ratio of air toward the lower detour 3b. And slide between the upper second position (see FIG. 10E) that maximizes. In the illustrated example, when the lower air mix door 8 is in the lower first position, the lower edge 8b abuts against the bottom surface 2b of the air conditioning case 2 to minimize the opening area of the lower bypass 3b. . At this time, the area of the portion of the lower air mix door 8 that overlaps the lower portion 5b of the heating heat exchanger 5 in the air flow direction is minimized, and the lower portion of the air passage 3 becomes the heating heat exchanger 5 in the lower portion. The ratio of air to head is maximized. Further, when the lower air mix door 8 is in the lower second position, the lower end edge 8b of the lower air mix door 8 is farthest from the bottom surface 2b of the air conditioning case 2 in the movable range of the lower air mix door 8. Maximize the opening area of the path 3b. At this time, the area of the portion of the lower air mix door 8 that overlaps the lower portion 5b of the heating heat exchanger 5 in the air flow direction is maximized, and the lower portion of the air passage 3 becomes the heating heat exchanger 5 in the lower portion. The ratio of air going to is minimized.

As shown in FIG. 1, a defrost outlet passage 301 is formed on the top surface 2 a of the air conditioning case 2 on the downstream side of the heat exchanger 5 for heating. The downstream end of the defrost outlet passage 301 is connected to a defrost outlet (not shown) that blows air toward the inner surface of the windshield inside the vehicle interior. Since the defrost blowing passage 301 is opened to the top surface 2a of the air conditioning case 2, the air that has passed through the upper portion 5a and / or the upper detour 3a of the heating heat exchanger 5 enters the defrost blowing passage 301. It tends to be easy.

In addition, a vent outlet passage 302 is formed in the upper portion of the downstream side surface 3 f of the air conditioning case 2 on the downstream side of the heat exchanger 5 for heating. The downstream end of the vent outlet passage 302 is connected to a vent outlet (not shown) that blows out air toward the upper body of an occupant sitting in the driver's seat and passenger seat (possibly the rear seat). Since the vent blowing passage 302 is open to the upper portion of the air conditioning case 2, the air that has passed through the upper portion 5a and / or the upper detour 3a of the heating heat exchanger 5 can easily enter the vent blowing passage 302. There is a tendency.

Further, on the downstream side of the heating heat exchanger 5, a foot outlet passage 303 is formed in the lower portion of the downstream side surface 3 f of the air conditioning case 2. The downstream end of the foot outlet passage 303 is connected to a foot outlet (not shown) that blows out air toward the feet of passengers sitting in the driver's seat and the passenger seat (possibly the rear seat). Since the foot blowing passage 303 is open to the lower portion of the air conditioning case 2, the foot blowing passage 303 has air that has passed through the lower portion 5b and / or the lower detour 3b of the heat exchanger 5 for heating. Tend to enter.

The defrost blow passage 301, the vent blow passage 302, and the foot blow passage 303 are provided with a defrost door 301D, a vent door 302D, and a foot door 303D for adjusting the opening areas of the

blow passages

301, 302, and 303, respectively. Openings of these

doors

301D, 302D, and 303D are respectively controlled by a control unit that includes an in-vehicle microcomputer or the like, and the opening areas of the

outlet passages

301, 302, and 303 can be set to arbitrary opening areas.

The operation mode of the air conditioner 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a differential foot mode (D / F) (see FIGS. 10A and 10B), a vent mode (VENT) (see FIG. 10E), and a bi-level mode (B / L). (See FIGS. 10C and 10D). Although not shown, a defrost mode (DEF) in which the defrost blowing passage 301 is opened and the vent blowing passage 302 and the foot blowing passage 303 are closed, and a foot mode in which the defrost blowing passage 301 and the vent blowing passage 302 are closed and the foot blowing passage 303 is opened. There is also (FOOT).

In the differential foot mode (see FIGS. 10A and 10B), the defrost door 301D and the foot door 303D are opened, the vent door 302D is closed, and conditioned air is blown out from the defrost outlet and the foot outlet.

In the vent mode (see FIG. 10E), the vent door 302D is opened, the defrost door 301D and the foot door 303D are closed, and conditioned air is blown out from the vent outlet.

In the bi-level mode (see FIGS. 10C and 10D), the vent door 302D and the foot door 303D are opened, the defrost door 301D is closed, and conditioned air is blown out from the vent outlet and the foot outlet.

Next, the drive mechanism 10 that rotationally drives the upper shaft 7 and the lower shaft 9 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10E.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a drive pinion, an upper driven pinion, a rack, and a lower driven pinion of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. 6 is a side view showing the first drive pinion part of the drive pinion and the first upper driven pinion part of the upper driven pinion shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is the second drive pinion part and the upper driven pinion. It is a side view which shows the 2nd upper side follower pinion part. FIG. 8 is a side view showing the rack, the rack pinion section, and the lower driven pinion shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a graph showing the relationship between the rotational phase of the drive pinion shown in FIG. 5 and the position of each air mix door. In FIG. 9, the horizontal axis indicates the rotational phase of the drive pinion, and the vertical axis indicates the amount of movement of the air mix door from the upper first position or lower first position to the upper second position or lower second position. Shows the percentage. The ratio of the moving amount from the upper first position to the upper second position of the upper air mix door is indicated by a solid line, and the moving amount from the lower first position to the lower second position of the lower air mix door The percentage is indicated by a broken line. 10A to 10E are diagrams for explaining the relationship between each operation mode of the air conditioner and the position of the air mix door. More specifically, FIG. 10A shows the position of the air mix door when the air conditioner is operated in the differential foot mode and the rotational phase of the drive pinion is 0 °. FIG. 10B shows the position of the air mix door when the air conditioner is operated in the differential foot mode and the rotational phase of the drive pinion is 30 °. FIG. 10C shows the position of the air mix door when the air conditioner is operated in the bi-level mode and the rotational phase of the drive pinion is 120 °. FIG. 10D shows the position of the air mix door when the air conditioner is operated in the bi-level mode and the rotational phase of the drive pinion is 170 °. FIG. 10E shows the position of the air mix door when the air conditioner is operated in the vent mode and the rotational phase of the drive pinion is 200 °.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the drive mechanism 10 is disposed outside the air conditioning case 2 so as to face the left side surface 2 c of the air conditioning case 2. The drive mechanism 10 includes an actuator 11 that generates a rotational drive force, a drive pinion 20 that is rotationally driven by the actuator 11, and an upper driven pinion 30 that meshes with the drive pinion 20. The rotational drive force of the actuator 11 is transmitted to the upper driven pinion 30 via the drive pinion 20. The upper driven pinion 30 is connected to the left end portion of the upper shaft 7 protruding outside the air conditioning case 2 and transmits the rotational driving force of the actuator 11 to the upper shaft 7. The actuator 11 is controlled by a control unit including an in-vehicle microcomputer.

The drive mechanism 10 also includes a rack 40 that extends generally in the vertical direction and a lower driven pinion 50 that meshes with the rack 40. The lower driven pinion 50 is connected to the left end of the lower shaft 9 that protrudes outside the air conditioning case 2. The rack 40 includes a rack body 40m formed with teeth that mesh with the drive pinion 20 and the lower driven pinion 50, and an urging arm 40n connected to the rack body 40m. The rack 40 meshes with the drive pinion 20 at an upper portion thereof, and meshes with the lower driven pinion 50 at a lower portion thereof. By meshing with the drive pinion 20, the rotational driving force of the actuator 11 is transmitted to the rack 40 via the drive pinion 20. The rack 40 linearly moves in the vertical direction with the rotation of the drive pinion 20. Further, by engaging with the lower drive pinion 50, the rack 40 transmits the rotational driving force of the actuator 11 to the lower driven pinion 50. In this way, the rotational driving force of the actuator 11 is transmitted to the lower shaft 9 via the drive pinion 20, the rack 40 and the lower driven pinion 50.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rack 40 meshes with the drive pinion 20 and the lower driven pinion 50 from one side of the virtual plane S1 including the rotation axis Ax of the drive pinion 20 and the rotation axis Cx of the lower driven pinion 50. is doing. Accordingly, the lower driven pinion 50 rotates in the same direction as the rotation direction of the drive pinion 20. On the other hand, the upper driven pinion 30 meshes with the drive pinion 20 and rotates in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the drive pinion 20. As a result, the upper driven pinion 30 and the lower driven pinion 50 rotate in opposite directions. As a result, the upper shaft 7 and the lower shaft 9 rotate in the opposite directions, and the upper air mix door 6 and the lower air mix door 8 slide in the opposite directions in the vertical direction.

The following measures are taken so that the rack 40 is not too far from the drive pinion 20 and the lower driven pinion 50 in the radial direction and the rack 40 and the

pinions

20 and 50 are disengaged. ing. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the air conditioning case 2 is formed with two upper and lower regulating ribs 2m extending outward from the left side surface 2c toward the rack 40. The rack 40 is provided with a restriction hole 40mo penetrating in the left-right direction at a position corresponding to each restriction rib 2m. The restriction rib 2m is inserted through the restriction hole 40mo. Thereby, the movement amount of the rack 40 in the radial direction of the

pinions

20 and 50 is restricted by the width of the restriction hole 40mo. As a result, the rack 40 is prevented from being separated from the

pinions

20 and 50 too much. The restriction hole 40mo of the rack 40 has a sufficient size in the vertical direction so as not to hinder the vertical movement of the rack 40.

Further, the following measures are taken so that proper engagement between the rack 40 and the drive pinion 20 and the lower driven pinion 50 is maintained. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the left side surface 2c of the air conditioning case 2 is formed with a biasing rib 2n extending outward in the left-right direction. The urging rib 2n extends along the virtual plane S1 on the opposite side of the rack 40 from the

pinions

20 and 50. An urging arm 40n is provided on the side of the rack body 40m that faces the urging rib 2n. The urging arm 40n abuts against the urging rib 2n and urges the rack body 40m toward the

pinions

20 and 50. Thereby, the appropriate meshing between the rack 40 and the

pinions

20 and 50 is maintained. Note that the surfaces of the urging arm 40n and the urging rib 2n that are in contact with each other are sufficiently smooth so as not to hinder the vertical movement of the rack 40. Instead of the urging rib 2n, the left side surface 2c of the air conditioning case 2 may have a stepped shape in the left-right direction and may be a surface (not shown) that contacts the rack 40.

As described above, the rack 40 meshes with the drive pinion 20 and the lower driven pinion 50 from one side of the virtual plane S1 including the rotation axis Ax of the drive pinion 20 and the rotation axis Cx of the lower driven pinion 50. As a result, a proper engagement between the rack 40 and the drive pinion 20 and the lower driven pinion 50 is maintained only by applying a force in one direction to the rack 40 (ie, an urging force from the rack 40 toward the virtual surface S1). be able to. For this reason, for example, the proper engagement between the rack 40 and the

pinions

20 and 50 can be maintained by a simple configuration using the biasing rib 2n and the biasing arm 40n as described above.

In the air conditioner 1, the

air mix doors

6 and 8, the

shafts

7 and 9, and the drive mechanism 10 are such that when the upper air mix door 6 is in the upper first position, the lower air mix door 8 is in the lower first position. When the upper air mix door 6 is in the upper second position, the lower air mix door 8 is configured to be in the lower second position and is assembled to the air conditioning case 2. The positions of the upper air mix door 6 and the lower air mix door 8 are the operation mode and set temperature of the air conditioner 1 set by the occupant, the actual temperature in the passenger compartment, the amount of solar radiation received by the vehicle, the outside air temperature of the vehicle, etc. It is controlled based on the target blowout temperature calculated using. Thereby, the air of the temperature according to the operation mode, preset temperature, etc. of the air conditioner 1 set by the passenger is blown out into the vehicle interior.

By the way, as mentioned above, the temperature of the conditioned air blown out from the

blowout passages

301, 302, and 303 is changed according to the operation mode of the air conditioner 1. Such adjustment of the temperature of the conditioned air is performed by adjusting the positions of the

air mix doors

6 and 8 and adjusting the opening areas of the

detours

3a and 3b.

Specifically, the differential foot mode (see FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B) is used when heating such as winter season is required. In the differential foot mode, conditioned air having a relatively warm temperature corresponding to the set temperature of the occupant is blown out from the foot outlet toward the occupant's feet to warm the occupant's feet. Further, relatively warm air is blown out from the defrost outlet toward the inner surface of the windshield to prevent fogging of the windshield. Alternatively, freezing of the outer surface of the windshield is prevented. In the differential foot mode, the ratio of the air heated through the heat exchanger 5 for heating in each of the upper part and the lower part of the air passage 3 is relatively high or maximized (thus detouring). The position of the

air mix doors

6 and 8 is adjusted so that the ratio of air toward the

paths

3a and 3b is relatively low or minimized. Specifically, the upper air mix door 6 is disposed at a position relatively close to the upper first position or the upper first position, and the lower air mix door 8 is at the lower first position or the lower first position. It is arranged at a relatively close position.

The vent mode (see FIG. 10E) is used when rapid cooling is required. In the vent mode, relatively cool air is blown out from the vent outlet toward the occupant's upper body, giving the occupant a feeling of cold wind, and reducing the discomfort felt by the occupant when exposed to sunlight. In this vent mode, the ratio of air heated through the heating heat exchanger 5 is relatively low or minimized (thus the ratio of air toward the

detours

3a and 3b is relatively high or maximum). The position of the

air mix doors

6 and 8 is adjusted. Specifically, the upper air mix door 6 is disposed at a position relatively close to the upper second position or the upper second position, and the lower air mix door 8 is at the lower second position or the lower second position. It is arranged at a relatively close position.

Further, the bi-level mode (see FIGS. 10C and 10D) is mainly used in the intermediate period such as spring and autumn. In the bi-level mode, relatively cold air is blown out from the vent outlet toward the occupant's upper body, and relatively warm air is blown out from the foot outlet toward the occupant's feet, thereby realizing the occupant's foot warming. In this bi-level mode, the ratio of air passing through the heating heat exchanger 5 in the lower part of the air passage 3 is higher than the ratio of air passing through the heating heat exchanger 5 in the upper part of the air passage 3. Therefore, the ratio of air toward the lower bypass 3b at the lower part of the air passage 3 is lower than the ratio of air toward the upper bypass 3a at the upper part of the air passage 3). The Specifically, the

air mix doors

6 and 8 are located between the upper first position and the upper second position in the movable range from the lower first position to the lower second position. It arrange | positions so that it may become a position near a 1st position rather than the position of the upper side air mix door 6 in a movable range.

In the air conditioner 1 shown in FIG. 1, the positions of the upper air mix door 6 and the lower air mix door 8 change depending on the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20 of the drive mechanism 10. If the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20 is 0 ° when the upper air mix door 6 is in the upper first position and the lower air mix door 8 is in the lower first position, the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20 increases. The upper air mix door 6 approaches the upper second position, and the lower air mix door 8 approaches the lower second position. Therefore, in order to adjust the temperature of the conditioned air according to the operation mode as described above, the angular position of the drive pinion 20 is adjusted as follows according to the operation mode. That is, in the differential foot mode, the angular position of the drive pinion 20 is set to an angular position where the rotational phase is 0 ° or a relatively small value. In the vent mode, the angular position of the drive pinion 20 is set to an angular position where the rotational phase becomes a maximum or a relatively large value. In the bi-level mode, the angular position of the drive pinion 20 is set to an angular position larger than the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20 in the differential foot mode and smaller than the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20 in the vent mode. .

As described above, in the differential foot mode, relatively warm conditioned air is blown out from the defrost outlet toward the inner surface of the windshield in the vehicle compartment in order to prevent the windshield from fogging. At this time, if the opening area of the upper detour 3a is too large, there is a possibility that the time for eliminating the fogging of the windshield becomes longer. This is because the relatively low temperature air that has passed through the upper bypass 3a tends to enter the defrost outlet. For this reason, in the differential foot mode, it is necessary to keep the opening area of the upper bypass 3a small. As a result, in the differential foot mode, it is necessary to make the opening area of the upper detour 3a smaller than the opening area of the lower detour 3b. On the other hand, as described above, in the bi-level mode, it is necessary to make the opening area of the upper detour route 3a larger than the opening area of the lower detour route 3b in order to realize the occupant's warmth.

In order to realize the air conditioner 1 that satisfies such requirements, in the example shown in FIG. 1, as can be understood from FIG. 9, the drive mechanism 10 rotates the drive pinion 20 at a constant rotational speed by the actuator 11. In this case, the lower air mix door 8 moves at a constant moving speed, but the moving speed of the upper air mix door 6 is configured to change depending on the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20. Thereby, the opening area of the lower detour 3a can be made smaller or larger than the opening area of the lower detour 3b depending on the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20.

First, the drive mechanism 10 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS.

First, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 to 7, the drive pinion 20 includes a plurality of

drive pinion portions

21 and 22 having different reference circle diameters. Each of the

drive pinion parts

21 and 22 is a gear that rotates about the rotation axis Ax, and is arranged side by side along the direction in which the rotation axis Ax extends, as shown in FIG. The upper driven pinion 30 includes a plurality of upper driven

pinion portions

31 and 32 having different reference circle diameters. Each of the upper driven

pinion portions

31 and 32 is a gear that rotates about the rotation drive axis Bx, and is provided corresponding to the plurality of

drive pinion portions

21 and 22, as shown in FIG.

In the illustrated example, the drive pinion 20 includes a first drive pinion unit 21 and a second drive pinion unit 22. The reference circle diameters of the first drive pinion part 21 and the second drive pinion part 22 are R21 and R22, respectively. The upper driven pinion 30 includes a first upper driven pinion part 31 and a second upper driven pinion part 32. As shown in FIG. 2, the first upper driven pinion part 31 is arranged side by side on the same plane as the first drive pinion part 21, and as shown in FIG. 6, the reference circle of the first drive pinion part 21 is arranged. It has a reference circle diameter R31 corresponding to the diameter R21. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the second upper driven pinion part 32 is arranged side by side on the same plane as the second drive pinion part 22, and as shown in FIG. A reference circle diameter R32 corresponding to the reference circle diameter R22 is provided.

As can be understood from FIGS. 5 to 7, the teeth meshing with the first drive pinion part 21 of the first upper driven pinion part 31 and the teeth meshing with the second drive pinion part 22 of the second upper driven pinion part 32. Is the entire range of the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20 (the range of rotational phase in which the drive pinion 20 rotates when the

air mix doors

6 and 8 are moved from the upper or lower first position to the upper or lower second position). ) In the phase ranges different from each other so as to mesh with the corresponding upper driven

pinion portions

31 and 32. Thus, in a certain phase range of the entire rotational phase range of the drive pinion 20, the first drive pinion portion 21 having the reference circle diameter R21 and the first upper driven pinion portion 31 having the reference circle diameter R31 mesh with each other. To do. On the other hand, in the other phase range, the second drive pinion portion 22 having the reference circle diameter R22 and the second upper driven pinion portion 32 having the reference circle diameter R32 mesh with each other.

As a result, the upper driven pinion 30 rotates at different rotation speeds V31 and V32 according to the rotation phase of the drive pinion 20. Therefore, the upper driven pinion 30 rotates the upper shaft 7 at different rotation speeds V31 and V32 according to the rotation phase of the drive pinion 20, and as a result, the upper air mix door 6 corresponds to the rotation phase of the drive pinion 20. Slide at different speeds.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 5 and 8, the drive pinion 20 has a single rack pinion unit 23. The rack pinion portion 23 is configured as a single gear having a reference circle diameter R23, and rotates about the rotation axis Ax. As shown in FIG. 2, the rack pinion portion 23 is arranged side by side with the

drive pinion portions

21 and 22 along the direction in which the rotation axis Ax extends. The rack pinion unit 23 meshes with the rack 40 in the entire rotational phase range of the drive pinion 20. As a result, the rack 40 moves upward or downward at a constant speed in the entire range of the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and 8, the lower driven pinion 50 that meshes with the rack 40 is configured as a single gear having a reference circular diameter R50. The lower driven pinion 50 has a rotation range of the lower driven pinion 50 (the lower driven pinion 50 rotates when the lower air mix door 8 is moved from the lower first position to the lower second position). In the range of the rotational phase), it meshes with the rack 40 moving at the above-mentioned constant speed. For this reason, the lower driven pinion 50 rotates at a constant rotational speed V50 in the entire rotational phase range of the lower driven pinion 50. As a result, in the entire rotational phase range of the lower driven pinion 50 (and thus in the entire rotational phase range of the drive pinion 20), the lower shaft 9 rotates at a constant rotational speed. 8 slides up or down at a constant speed.

Since the drive mechanism 10 is configured as described above, the moving speed of the upper air mix door 6 can be changed with respect to the moving speed of the lower air mix door 8 according to the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20. . Thereby, the opening area of the lower detour 3a can be made smaller or larger than the opening area of the lower detour 3b depending on the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20.

Further, in the illustrated example, the reference circular diameter R21 of the plurality of

drive pinion portions

21 and 22 and the plurality of upper driven

pinion portions

31 and 32 is maintained so that the opening area of the upper bypass 3a can be kept small in the differential foot mode. , R22, R31, R32 are determined as follows. That is, these reference circle diameters R21, R22, R31, and R32 are higher than the maximum rotational speed of the upper shaft 7 while the upper air mix door 6 moves from the first upper position to the second upper position. The rotational speed of the upper shaft 7 when 6 starts to move from the upper first position to the upper second position is determined to be small. In this case, since the moving speed of the upper air mix door 6 is relatively slow in the vicinity of the upper first position, the opening area of the upper bypass 3a can be kept small.

In addition, the reference circle diameters R21 and R22 of the plurality of

drive pinion portions

21 and 22 and the reference circle diameter R31 of the plurality of upper driven

pinion portions

31 and 32 so that the occupant's foot warming can be realized in the bi-level mode. , R32, the reference circle diameter R23 of the drive pinion 20 (rack drive pinion portion 23) that meshes with the rack 40, and the reference circle diameter R50 of the lower driven pinion 50 that meshes with the rack 40 are determined as follows. ing. That is, these reference circle diameters R21, R22, R31, R32, R23, and R50 are based on the rotational speed of the upper shaft 7 when the upper air mix door 6 starts moving from the upper second position to the upper first position. Also, the rotational speed of the lower shaft 9 when the lower air mix door 8 starts to move from the lower second position to the lower first position is determined so as to increase. In this case, since the moving speed of the lower air mix door 8 near the lower second position is higher than the moving speed of the upper air mix door 6 near the upper second position, the opening area of the upper bypass 3a is reduced. It can be maintained larger than the opening area of the side bypass 3b.

In the illustrated example, when the drive pinion 20 is in the angular position of the rotational phase 0 °, the upper driven pinion 30 and the lower driven pinion 50 are also in the angular position of the rotational phase 0 °. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper air mix door 6 is in the upper first position, and the lower air mix door 8 is in the lower first position. When the drive pinion 20 is rotated counterclockwise from the angular position of the rotational phase 0 ° to the angular position of the rotational phase 200 °, the upper driven pinion 30 and the lower driven pinion 50 are rotated accordingly. The air mix door 6 slides to the upper second position, and the lower air mix door 8 slides to the lower second position.

More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, when the drive pinion 20 is in the angular positions of the rotational phases 0 ° to 60 ° and 80 ° to 200 °, the first drive pinion unit 21 and the first upper driven The pinion part 31 meshes. In addition, when the drive pinion 20 is at an angular position with a rotation phase of 60 ° to 80 °, the second drive pinion portion 22 and the second upper driven pinion portion 32 are engaged with each other. As can be understood from FIG. 5, the reference circle diameter R21 of the first drive pinion part 21 is smaller than the reference circle diameter R22 of the second drive pinion part 22, and correspondingly, the first upper driven pinion part 31 is. The reference circle diameter R31 of the second upper driven pinion portion 32 is larger than the reference circle diameter R32. For this reason, when the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20 is in the range of 0 ° to 60 ° and 80 ° to 200 °, the drive pinion 20 has a relatively large reference circle at the first drive pinion portion 21 having a relatively small reference circle diameter R21. The first upper driven pinion portion 31 having the diameter R31 is rotationally driven. When the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20 is in the range of 60 ° to 80 °, the drive pinion 20 is a second drive pinion 22 having a relatively large reference circle diameter R22 and a second upper driven pinion having a relatively small reference circle diameter R32. The part 32 is driven to rotate. As a result, when the drive pinion 20 is rotated at a constant rotation speed V20 in the entire rotation phase range, the upper driven pinion 30 has a rotation phase range of 0 ° to 60 ° and 80 ° to 200 °. Then, it rotates at a relatively low rotational speed V31, and rotates at a relatively large rotational speed V32 when the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20 is in the range of 60 ° to 80 °. The upper air mix door 6 moves at a relatively small speed when the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20 is in the range of 0 ° to 60 ° and 80 ° to 200 °, and the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20 is 60 ° to 80 °. The range moves at a relatively high speed.

In the illustrated example, the rotational speed V50 of the lower driven pinion 50 is higher than the rotational speed V31 of the upper driven pinion 30 and lower than the rotational speed V32. As a result, the moving speed of the upper air mix door 6 is smaller than that of the lower air mix door 8 when the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20 is in the range of 0 ° to 60 ° and 80 ° to 200 °, and the drive pinion 20 Is large in the range of 60 ° to 80 °. As a result, as understood from FIGS. 9 to 10E, when the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20 is in the range of 0 ° to 60 °, the opening area of the upper detour 3a is smaller than the opening area of the lower detour 3b. However, the magnitude relationship between the opening area of the upper detour 3a and the opening area of the lower detour 3b can be reversed when the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20 is in the range of 60 ° to 80 °. Yes (see FIG. 10C). Further, when the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20 is in the range of 80 ° to 200 °, the moving speed of the upper air mix door 6 becomes lower than the moving speed of the lower air mix door 8, so that the upper air mix door 6 moves upward. Simultaneously with reaching the second position, the lower air mix door 8 can reach the lower second position (see FIGS. 10D and 10E). Alternatively, when the upper air mix door 6 moves from the upper second position toward the upper first position and the lower air mix door 8 moves from the lower second position toward the lower first position, the drive pinion When the rotation phase of 20 is in the range of 80 ° to 200 °, the opening area of the upper detour 3a can be maintained larger than the opening area of the lower detour 3b.

In addition, from the 1st state (refer FIG. 6) with which the 1st drive pinion part 21 and the 1st upper driven pinion part 31 meshed with rotation of the drive pinion 20, the 2nd drive pinion part 22 and the 2nd upper side Switching to the second state (see FIG. 7) with which the driven pinion portion 32 is engaged, or from the second state to the first state, the first direction in the circumferential direction of the drive pinion 20 is performed smoothly. The distance between the teeth of the first drive pinion portion 21 and the teeth of the second drive pinion portion 22, and the teeth of the first upper driven pinion portion 31 and the teeth of the second upper driven pinion portion 32 in the circumferential direction of the upper driven pinion 30 The interval is set appropriately.

As described above, in the illustrated example, the rotational phase range in which the drive pinion 20 meshes with the upper driven pinion 30 and the rack 40 is only in the range of 0 ° to 200 ° in the illustrated example. For this reason, the tooth does not need to be provided over the entire circumference of each

pinion part

21, 22 of the drive pinion 20. However, the drive pinion 20, the upper driven pinion 30, and the rack 40 are easily assembled to the air conditioning case 2 (that is, when the drive pinion 20, the upper driven pinion 30 and the rack 40 are assembled to the air conditioning case 2, the pinion 20, The teeth are provided over the entire circumference of each of the

pinion portions

21, 22, and 23 of the drive pinion 20, so as to save the labor of assembling in consideration of the angle positions of the 30 and the rack 40. It is preferable.

Next, the operation of the air conditioner 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 10E. Here, first, the air conditioner 1 is operated in the differential foot mode, and then the operation mode of the air conditioner 1 is switched to the bi-level mode, then switched to the vent mode, and finally switched to the bi-level mode again. An example will be described. It is assumed that the drive pinion 20 is in an angular position with a rotation phase of 0 ° before the operation of the air conditioner 1 is started. Further, in the illustrated example, in the differential foot mode, the angular position of the drive pinion is adjusted in a rotational phase range of 0 ° to 40 ° so that the opening area of the upper bypass 3a is equal to or less than a predetermined opening area. . Further, in the bi-level mode, the angular position of the drive pinion is set to a rotational phase of 100 ° so that the temperature difference between the conditioned air blown from the vent outlet and the conditioned air blown from the foot outlet is within an appropriate range. It is adjusted in the range of ~ 180 °. Further, in the vent mode, the angular position of the drive pinion is adjusted in the range of the rotation phase of 180 ° to 200 ° so that the temperature of the conditioned air blown from the vent outlet is lowered to a desired level.

First, the case where the air conditioner 1 is operated in the differential foot mode will be described. When the operation mode of the air conditioner 1 is set to the differential foot mode, the defrost door 301D and the foot door 303D are opened and the bend door 302D is closed, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B. Further, the target blowout calculated using the operation mode (here, the differential foot mode) and the set temperature of the air conditioner 1 set by the occupant, the actual temperature in the passenger compartment, the amount of solar radiation received by the vehicle, and the outside air temperature of the vehicle Based on the temperature, the first new angular position of the drive pinion 20 is determined in the range of the rotational phase from 0 ° to 40 °. Specifically, the opening area of the lower bypass 3b is determined so that the temperature of the conditioned air blown out from the foot outlet toward the feet of the passenger becomes the target outlet temperature. Then, based on this opening area, the first new angular position of the drive pinion 20 is determined, for example, at a rotational phase of 30 °. Then, when the driving pinion 20 is rotated counterclockwise from the angular position of the rotational phase 0 ° to the angular position of the rotational phase 30 ° by the rotational driving force of the actuator 11, the rotation of the driving pinion 20 is accompanied accordingly. The rack 40 rises by the amount. Then, the lower driven pinion 50 that meshes with the rack 40 rotates counterclockwise by the amount raised by the rack 40, and the lower air mix door 8 moves upward from the lower first position toward the lower second position. Slide to. As a result, the opening area of the lower bypass 3b becomes the determined opening area. Further, as the drive pinion 20 rotates counterclockwise, the upper driven pinion 30 rotates clockwise. Thereby, the upper air mix door 6 slides downward from the upper first position toward the upper second position. However, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10B, the amount of movement of the upper air mix door 6 is smaller than the amount of movement of the lower air mix door 8. This is because the upper driven pinion 30 is rotated by meshing between the first drive pinion portion 21 having a relatively small reference circle diameter R21 and the first upper drive pinion portion 31 having a relatively large reference circle diameter R31. This is because the driven pinion 30 rotates at a rotational speed V31 that is lower than the rotational speed V50 of the lower driven pinion 50. As a result, the opening area of the upper detour 3a is sufficiently low, and the amount of air that bypasses the heating heat exchanger 5 included in the air blown from the defrost outlet is suppressed to a certain amount or less. Thereby, fogging of the windshield is prevented.

Next, when the operation mode of the air conditioner is switched to the bi-level mode, the vent door 302D and the foot door 303D are opened and the defrost door 301D is closed as shown in FIGS. 10C and 10D. Further, the target blowout calculated using the operation mode (here, the bi-level mode) and set temperature of the air conditioner 1 set by the occupant, the actual temperature in the passenger compartment, the amount of solar radiation received by the vehicle, the outside air temperature of the vehicle, etc. Based on the temperature, the second new angular position of the drive pinion 20 is determined in the range of the rotational phase of 100 ° to 180 °. Specifically, the opening area of the upper detour 3a is determined so that the temperature of the conditioned air blown from the vent outlet toward the upper body of the occupant becomes the target outlet temperature. Then, based on the opening area, the second new angular position of the drive pinion 20 is determined, for example, at a rotational phase of 120 °. Then, when the drive pinion 20 is further rotated counterclockwise from the angular position of the rotational phase 30 ° to the angular position of the rotational phase 120 ° by the rotational driving force of the actuator 11, the rotation of the drive pinion 20 is accompanied accordingly. The rack 40 further rises by this amount. Then, the lower driven pinion 50 that meshes with the rack 40 further rotates counterclockwise by the further rise of the rack 40, and the lower air mix door 8 further slides upward toward the lower second position. . In addition, as the drive pinion 20 rotates counterclockwise, the upper driven pinion 30 further rotates clockwise. Thereby, the upper air mix door 6 further slides downward toward the upper second position. Here, while the drive pinion 20 rotates to the angular position of the rotation phase of 40 °, the upper driven pinion 30 rotates due to the engagement of the first drive pinion part 21 and the first upper drive pinion part 31, so the upper driven pinion 30 rotates. The pinion 30 rotates at a rotation speed V31 that is lower than the rotation speed V50 of the lower driven pinion 50. However, while the drive pinion 20 rotates from the rotational phase 40 ° to the angular position of 80 °, the upper driven pinion 30 has the second drive pinion portion 22 having the relatively large reference circle diameter V22 and the relatively small reference circle diameter V32. The second upper drive pinion part 32 rotates by meshing with it. For this reason, the upper driven pinion 30 rotates at a rotational speed V32 that is greater than the rotational speed V50 of the lower driven pinion 50. For this reason, the opening area of the upper detour 3a is larger than the opening area of the lower detour 3b while the drive pinion 20 rotates from the rotational phase 40 ° to the angular position of 80 ° (see FIGS. 9 and 10C). ). Thereafter, while the drive pinion 20 is rotated from the rotational phase of 80 ° to an angular position of 120 °, the upper driven pinion 30 is rotated again by the engagement of the first drive pinion portion 21 and the first upper drive pinion portion 31. . For this reason, the upper driven pinion 30 rotates at a rotational speed V31 that is smaller than the rotational speed V50 of the lower driven pinion 50. Thereby, the difference between the opening area of the upper detour 3a and the opening area of the lower detour 3b is reduced. As a result, the difference between the temperature of the conditioned air blown from the vent outlet and the temperature of the conditioned air blown from the foot outlet is within an appropriate range.

Next, when the operation mode of the air conditioner is switched to the vent mode, the vent door 302D is opened and the defrost door 301D and the foot door 303D are closed as shown in FIG. 10E. Further, the target blowing temperature calculated using the operation mode (here, the vent mode) and the set temperature of the air conditioner 1 set by the passenger, the actual temperature in the passenger compartment, the amount of solar radiation received by the vehicle, the outside air temperature of the vehicle, and the like. Based on the above, the third new angular position of the drive pinion 20 is determined in the range of the rotation phase of 180 ° to 200 °. Specifically, the opening areas of the

detours

3a and 3b are determined so that the temperature of the conditioned air blown out from the vent outlet toward the upper body of the occupant becomes the target outlet temperature. Based on this opening area, the third new angular position of the drive pinion 20 is determined, for example, at a rotational phase of 200 °. Then, when the driving pinion 20 is further rotated counterclockwise from the angular position of the rotational phase 120 ° to the angular position of the rotational phase 200 ° by the rotational driving force of the actuator 11, the rotation of the driving pinion 20 is accompanied accordingly. The rack 40 further rises by this amount. Then, the lower driven pinion 50 that meshes with the rack 40 further rotates counterclockwise by the further rise of the rack 40, and the lower air mix door 8 further slides upward toward the lower second position. . Further, as the drive pinion 20 rotates, the upper driven pinion 20 further rotates clockwise. Thereby, the upper air mix door 6 further slides downward toward the upper second position. Here, since the upper driven pinion 30 is rotated by meshing between the first drive pinion part 21 and the first upper driven pinion part 31, the upper driven pinion 30 rotates at a rotational speed V31 that is smaller than the rotational speed V50 of the lower driven pinion 50. Thereby, the lower air mix door 8 reaches the lower second position simultaneously with the upper air mix door 6 reaching the upper second position (see FIG. 10E).

Finally, when the operation mode of the air conditioner 1 is switched from the vent mode to the bi-level mode, the vent door 302D and the foot door 303D are opened and the defrost door 301D is closed, as shown in FIGS. 10C and 10D. Also, based on the operation mode (bi-level mode here) set by the occupant and the set temperature, the actual temperature in the passenger compartment, the amount of solar radiation received by the vehicle, the outside air temperature of the vehicle, etc. The fourth new angular position of the drive pinion 20 is determined within the range of the rotational phase of 100 ° to 180 °, for example, at the rotational phase of 120 °. Then, when the drive pinion 20 is rotated clockwise from the angular position of the rotational phase 200 ° to the angular position of the rotational phase 120 ° by the rotational driving force of the actuator 11, the rotation of the drive pinion 20 is accordingly accompanied. Only the rack 40 is lowered. Then, the lower driven pinion 50 that meshes with the rack 40 rotates clockwise by the amount of lowering of the rack 40, and the lower air mix door 8 slides downward toward the lower first position. Further, as the drive pinion 20 rotates clockwise, the upper driven pinion 30 rotates counterclockwise. Thereby, the upper air mix door 6 slides upward toward the upper first position. Here, while the drive pinion 20 is rotated from the rotation phase 200 ° to the angular position of the rotation phase 120 °, the upper driven pinion 30 is rotated by meshing between the first drive pinion portion 21 and the first upper drive pinion portion 22. Therefore, the lower driven pinion 50 rotates at a rotational speed V31 smaller than the rotational speed V50. Thereby, the opening area of the upper detour 3a becomes larger than the opening area of the lower detour 3b (see FIG. 10C). As a result, the temperature of the conditioned air blown out from the vent outlet becomes lower than the temperature of the conditioned air blown out from the foot outlet, thereby realizing the occupant's foot warming.

As described above, the case where the rotational speed of the upper driven pinion 30 changes by 2 degrees while the drive pinion 20 rotates from the angular position of the rotational phase 0 ° to the angular position of the maximum rotational phase 200 ° has been described as an example. Not limited to this. For example, the air conditioner 1 is configured such that the rotational speed of the upper driven pinion 30 changes only by 1 degree while the drive pinion 20 rotates from the angular position of the rotational phase 0 ° to the angular position of the maximum rotational phase 200 °. It may be configured to change three times or more. In the example described above, each of the drive pinion 20 and the upper driven pinion 30 has two drive pinion parts and two upper driven pinion parts corresponding thereto, and the rotational speeds of the upper driven pinion part are two different. Although the case where it can rotate at a rotational speed has been described as an example, it is not limited thereto. For example, each of the drive pinion 20 and the upper driven pinion 30 may have three or more drive pinion parts and three or more upper driven pinion parts corresponding thereto. In this case, the rotational speed of the upper driven pinion 30 can be rotated at three or more different rotational speeds. As a result, the ratio of the opening area of the upper detour 3a and the opening area of the lower detour 3b can be adjusted more appropriately.

In the above-described embodiment described above, the vehicle air conditioner 1 includes an air conditioning case 2 that forms an air passage 3 through which air flows, and a heating heat exchanger 5 that is disposed in the air passage 3. The upper detour 3a is formed above the upper end edge 5ae of the heating heat exchanger 5, and the lower detour 3b is disposed under the lower end edge 5be of the heating heat exchanger 5. And a heat exchanger 5 for heating arranged so as to form Further, the air conditioner 1 is disposed in the air passage 3, and includes a slide type upper air mix door 6 that adjusts the ratio of the air toward the heat exchanger 5 for heating and the air toward the upper detour 3 a, and the upper air. The upper air mix door 6 connected to the mix door 6 in the circumferential direction, the upper first position that minimizes the ratio of air toward the upper detour 3a, and the ratio of air toward the upper detour 3a The ratio between the upper shaft 7 that is slid between the upper second position that maximizes the pressure and the air that is disposed in the air passage 3 and that is directed to the heat exchanger 5 for heating and the air that is directed to the lower bypass 3b is adjusted. A sliding lower air mix door 8 and a lower shaft 9 arranged in parallel with the upper shaft 7, which are connected to the lower air mix door 8 and are connected to the lower air mix door 8 in accordance with the rotation in the circumferential direction. Mix door 8 A lower shaft 9 that is slid between a lower first position that minimizes the ratio of air toward the lower bypass 3b and a lower second position that maximizes the ratio of air toward the lower bypass 3b. And a drive mechanism 10 that rotationally drives the upper shaft 7 and the lower shaft 9. The drive mechanism 10 is connected to an actuator 11 that generates a rotational drive force, a drive pinion 20 that is rotationally driven by the actuator 11, and the upper shaft 7, and meshes with the drive pinion 20 to transfer the rotational drive force of the actuator 11 to the upper shaft. 7 is engaged with the upper driven pinion 30 and the drive pinion 20 that are transmitted to the rack 7, and the rotational drive force of the actuator 11 is transmitted to move linearly, and the rack 40 is coupled to the lower shaft 9 and meshes with the rack 40 to be the actuator. 11 and a lower driven pinion 50 that transmits the rotational driving force of 11 to the lower shaft 9. The drive pinion 20 has a plurality of

drive pinion portions

21 and 22 having different reference circle diameters, and the upper driven pinion 30 is a reference circle diameter provided corresponding to the plurality of

drive pinion portions

21 and 22. Are provided with a plurality of upper driven

pinion portions

31 and 32. The plurality of

drive pinion units

21 and 22 mesh with the corresponding upper driven

pinion units

31 and 32 in different phase ranges of the entire rotation phase range of the drive pinion 20.

According to the air conditioner 1 of the embodiment described above, the upper detour route 3a and the lower detour route determined by the positions of the upper air mix door 6 and the lower air mix door 8 that are driven by one drive mechanism 10. The magnitude relationship of the opening area of 3b can be changed according to the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20. Thereby, for example, when the air conditioner 1 is operated in the differential foot mode, the amount of air that bypasses the heating heat exchanger 5 out of the air blown from the defrost blower outlet is blown from the foot blower outlet. When the air conditioner 1 is operated in the bi-level mode, the heat for heating out of the air blown out from the vent outlet is suppressed. It can be said that the amount of air bypassing the exchanger 5 is made larger than the amount of air bypassing the heating heat exchanger 5 among the air blown out from the foot outlet.

In the above-described embodiment, the reference air diameters R21, R22, R31, and R32 of the plurality of

drive pinion portions

21 and 22 and the plurality of upper driven

pinion portions

31 and 32 are the same as the upper air mix door 6. When the upper air mix door 6 starts moving from the first upper position to the second upper position than the maximum rotational speed V32 of the upper shaft 7 during the movement from the position to the second upper position, the upper shaft 7 The rotational speed V31 is determined to be small. According to such an air conditioner 1, the moving speed of the upper air mix door 6 when the upper air mix door 6 is at or near the upper first position can be made relatively small. In the differential foot mode, since the warm air is applied to the windshield through the defrost outlet, the upper air mix door 6 is required to be positioned in the vicinity of the upper first position. Here, if the moving speed of the upper air mix door 6 in the vicinity of the upper first position is low, the lower air mix door 8 is moved from the lower first position to the lower second position by the drive mechanism 10. Even if the opening area of the lower bypass 3b is increased to some extent, the opening area of the upper bypass 3a can be kept small. Thereby, at the time of driving | operation in differential foot mode, the quantity of the air which detoured the heat exchanger 5 for a heating which flows into a defrost blower outlet through the upper side detour 3a can be restrained low. As a result, fogging of the windshield is prevented.

In the first embodiment described above, the reference circle diameters R21 and R22 of the plurality of

drive pinion parts

21 and 22 are engaged with the reference circle diameters R31 and R32 of the plurality of upper driven

pinion parts

31 and 32 and the rack 40. The reference circle diameter R32 of the drive pinion 20 (rack drive pinion portion 23) and the reference circle diameter R50 of the lower driven pinion 50 meshing with the rack 40 are such that the upper air mix door 6 is the upper first from the upper second position. The lower air mix door 8 moves from the lower second position to the lower first position with respect to the rotational speed V31 of the upper shaft 7 when the movement to the position is started. The rotational speed V50 is determined so as to increase. According to such an air conditioner 1, the upper air mix door 6 moves from the upper second position or its vicinity to the upper first position, and the lower air mix door 8 moves to the lower second position or its position. The moving speed of the upper air mix door 6 relative to the moving speed of the lower air mix door 8 when moving from the vicinity toward the lower first position can be reduced. In bi-level mode, it is necessary to apply relatively cool air to the upper body of the occupant through the vent outlet and to apply relatively hot air to the occupant's feet through the foot outlet in order to realize the occupant's warmth. It is done. In order to make the temperature of the air from the vent outlet relatively low, the upper air mix door 6 needs to be positioned relatively near the upper second position. Here, if the moving speed of the upper air mix door 6 near the upper second position is lower than the moving speed of the lower air mix door 8 near the lower second position, the upper air mix is driven by the drive mechanism 10. Even if the movement of the door 6 from the second upper position to the first upper position is started and the opening area of the upper detour 3a is reduced to some extent, the opening area of the upper detour 3a is made larger than the opening area of the lower detour 3b. Can also be kept large. Thus, during operation in the bi-level mode, the amount of air that bypasses the heating heat exchanger 5 out of the air flowing into the vent outlet through the upper bypass 3a is transferred to the foot outlet through the lower bypass 3b. It can be made larger than the amount of air that bypasses the heat exchanger 5 for heating out of the inflowing air. As a result, occupant's foot warming can be realized.

<Modification 1>

Next, with reference to FIG. 11 thru | or FIG. 15, the modification 1 of the air conditioner 1 in one above-mentioned embodiment is demonstrated. FIG. 11 is a side view schematically showing a drive mechanism according to the first modification. FIG. 12 is an enlarged side view showing the drive pinion of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. 11 and the upper portion of the rack. 13 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section taken along line IIIa-IIIb-IIIc of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. 11, and FIG. 14 is taken along line IV-IV of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows a cross section typically. FIG. 15 is a side view for explaining the change in the rotational speed of the lower driven pinion due to the change in the rotational phase of the drive pinion in the drive mechanism shown in FIG. In FIG. 15, a portion indicated by a thick solid line and a thick broken line is a portion where rack or pinion teeth are provided.

In the first modification shown in FIGS. 11 to 15, the drive pinion has a plurality of rack drive pinion portions having different reference circular diameters compared to the drive mechanism shown in FIGS. 1 to 10E, and the upper portion of the rack. Is different in that it has a plurality of upper rack portions corresponding to a plurality of rack drive pinion portions. Other configurations are substantially the same as those of the air conditioner 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 10E. In the first modification shown in FIGS. 11 to 15, the same parts as those in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 10E are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

In the drive mechanism 10a shown in FIGS. 11 to 14, the drive pinion 20a includes a first rack drive pinion portion 21a and a second rack drive pinion portion 22a. The rack 40a has a first upper rack portion 41a and a second upper rack portion 42a provided corresponding to the first rack drive pinion portion 21a and the second rack drive pinion portion 22a in the upper portion thereof. is doing. The rack

drive pinion portions

21a and 22a mesh with the corresponding

upper rack portions

41a and 42a in different phase ranges of the entire rotational phase range of the drive pinion 20a. As can be understood from FIGS. 11 to 14, the first drive pinion portion 21a and the second drive pinion portion 22a meshing with the upper driven pinion 30a are respectively connected to the first rack drive pinion portion and the second rack drive pinion. It functions as a part.

In the example shown in FIGS. 11 to 14, the first drive pinion unit 21a and the second drive pinion unit 22a are configured in the same manner as the first drive pinion unit 21 and the second drive pinion unit 22, respectively. The upper driven pinion 30a is configured in the same manner as the upper driven pinion 30 and is configured in the same manner as the first upper driven pinion unit 30 and the second upper driven pinion unit 30, respectively. And a second upper driven pinion portion 30a.

In the illustrated example, as shown in FIG. 15, the first rack drive pinion unit 21a and the first rack drive pinion portion 21a are connected to the first rack drive pinion portion 21a and the first rack drive pinion portion 21a. The first upper rack portion 41a meshes, and in the range of 60 ° to 200 °, the second rack drive pinion portion 22a meshes with the second upper rack portion 42a. Accordingly, the movement speed V41a of the rack 40a while the drive pinion 20a rotates in the rotation phase range of 0 ° to 60 ° is the movement speed V41a of the rack 40a while the drive pinion 20a rotates in the rotation phase range of 60 ° to 200 °. It is smaller than the speed V42a. As a result, the rotational speed V51 of the lower driven pinion 50 when the drive pinion 20a rotates in the rotational phase range of 0 ° to 60 ° is the rotational speed V51 when the drive pinion 20a rotates in the rotational phase range of 60 ° to 200 °. The rotational speed V52 of the lower driven pinion 50 is smaller. Therefore, the moving speed of the lower air mix door 8 when the drive pinion 20a rotates in the rotation phase range of 0 ° to 60 ° is lower than that when the drive pinion 20a rotates in the rotation phase range of 60 ° to 200 °. It is smaller than the moving speed of the side air mix door 8.

In such an air conditioner 1, the moving speed of the lower air mix door 8 can be changed by the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20a. Therefore, the size relationship of the opening areas of the upper detour 3a and the lower detour 3b by the upper air mix door 6 and the lower air mix door 8 can be changed in various ways according to the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20a. it can. As a result, the opening areas of the upper detour 3a and the lower detour 3b can be adjusted more appropriately according to the operation mode of the air conditioner 1.

<Modification 2>

Next, with reference to FIG. 16 thru | or FIG. 20, the modification 2 of the air conditioner 1 in one above-mentioned embodiment is demonstrated. FIG. 16 is a side view schematically showing a drive mechanism according to the second modification. FIG. 17 is an enlarged side view of the lower driven pinion and the lower portion of the rack shown in FIG. 18 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section taken along line Va-Vb-Vc of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. 16, and FIG. 19 is a cross section taken along line VI-VI of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. It is a figure shown typically. FIG. 20 is a side view for explaining the change in the rotational speed of the lower driven pinion due to the rotational phase of the lower driven pinion in the drive mechanism shown in FIG. In FIG. 20, a portion indicated by a thick solid line or a thick broken line is a portion where rack or pinion teeth are provided.

In Modification 2 shown in FIGS. 16 to 20, the lower driven pinion has a plurality of lower driven pinion portions having different reference circular diameters compared to the drive mechanism shown in FIGS. The difference is that the lower portion has a plurality of lower rack portions corresponding to the plurality of lower driven pinion portions. Other configurations are substantially the same as those of the air conditioner 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 10E. In the second modification shown in FIG. 16 to FIG. 20, the same parts as those in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 to FIG.

In the drive mechanism 10b shown in FIGS. 16 to 20, the lower driven pinion 50b has a first lower driven pinion portion 51b and a second lower driven pinion portion 52b. The rack 40b has a first lower rack portion 41b and a second lower rack portion provided at the lower portion thereof corresponding to the first lower driven pinion portion 51b and the second lower driven pinion portion 52b. 42b. The lower driven

pinion portions

51b and 52b are arranged in the entire rotational phase range of the lower driven pinion 50b (when the lower air mix door 8 is slid from the lower first position to the lower second position, the lower driven pinion 50b Meshing with the corresponding

lower rack portions

41b and 42b in different phase ranges.

In the examples shown in FIGS. 16 to 20, the reference circle diameter R51b of the first lower driven pinion portion 51b is larger than the reference circle diameter R52b of the second lower driven pinion portion 52b. The drive pinion 20b is configured similarly to the drive pinion 20, and is configured in the same manner as the first drive pinion unit 21, the second drive pinion unit 22, and the rack drive pinion unit 23, respectively. Part 21b, second drive pinion part 22b and rack drive pinion part 23b. The upper driven pinion 30b is configured in the same manner as the upper driven pinion 30, and the first upper driven pinion 30b is configured in the same manner as the first upper driven pinion 30 and the second upper driven pinion 30, respectively. And a second upper driven pinion portion 30b.

In the illustrated example, it is assumed that the entire rotation phase range of the drive pinion 20b is 0 ° to 200 °, and the entire rotation phase range of the lower driven pinion 50b is 0 ° to 250 °. As shown in FIG. 20, the upper portion of the rack 40b meshes with the rack drive pinion portion 23b in the entire rotational phase range of the drive pinion 20b. For this reason, the rack 40b moves at a constant moving speed V40. On the other hand, when the rotational phase of the lower driven pinion 50b is in the range of 0 ° to 90 °, the lower driven pinion 50b has a first lower driven pinion portion 51b having a relatively large reference circle diameter R51b and the corresponding first lower driven pinion portion 51b. The side rack portion 41b meshes, and in the range of 90 ° to 250 °, the second lower driven pinion portion 52b having a relatively small reference circle diameter R52b and the corresponding second lower rack portion 42b mesh with each other. Accordingly, the rotational speed V51b of the lower driven pinion 50b when the rotational phase of the lower driven pinion 50b is in the range of 0 ° to 90 ° is lower than the rotational phase of the lower driven pinion 50b within the range of 90 ° to 250 °. The rotational speed V52b of the side driven pinion 50b is smaller.

In such an air conditioner 1, the moving speed of the lower air mix door 8 can be changed by the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20b. Therefore, the size relationship of the opening areas of the upper detour 3a and the lower detour 3b by the upper air mix door 6 and the lower air mix door 8 can be changed in various ways according to the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20b. it can. As a result, the opening areas of the upper detour 3a and the lower detour 3b can be adjusted more appropriately according to the operation mode of the air conditioner 1.

<Modification 3>

Next, with reference to FIG. 21 thru | or FIG. 23, the modification 3 of the air conditioner 1 in one above-mentioned embodiment is demonstrated. FIG. 21 is a side view schematically showing a drive mechanism according to the third modification. 22 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section taken along line VII-VII of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. 21, and FIG. 23 is taken along line VIIIa-VIIIb-VIIIc of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows a cross section typically.

21 to FIG. 23 differs from the drive mechanism shown in FIGS. 1 to 10E in that the drive pinion and the lower driven pinion mesh with each other and the upper driven pinion meshes with the rack. ing. More specifically, in Modification 3, the drive pinion has a plurality of drive pinion portions having different reference circle diameters, and the lower driven pinion is provided with a reference circle diameter provided corresponding to the plurality of drive pinion portions. The plurality of lower driven pinion parts are different from each other, and the plurality of driving pinion parts mesh with the corresponding lower driven pinion parts in different phase ranges of the entire rotational phase range of the driving pinion. Other configurations are substantially the same as those of the air conditioner 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 10E. In Modification 3 shown in FIGS. 21 to 23, the same parts as those in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 10E are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

In the third modification shown in FIGS. 21 to 23, the upper air mix door 6 is moved from the upper second position to the upper first position so that the occupant's foot warming can be realized in the bi-level mode. The rotational speed of the lower shaft 9 when the lower air mix door 8 starts moving from the lower second position to the lower first position is higher than the rotational speed of the upper shaft 7 when the movement starts. It is configured to be large. Further, in the differential foot mode, the rotational speed of the upper shaft 7 when the upper air mix door 8 starts to move from the upper first position to the upper second position so as to prevent the windshield from being fogged can be prevented. Also, the lower air mix door 8 is configured to increase the rotational speed of the lower shaft 9 when the lower air mix door 8 starts moving from the lower first position to the lower second position.

Specifically, the drive pinion 20c is provided in the vicinity of the lower driven pinion 50c. The lower driven pinion 50 c meshes with the drive pinion 20 c and transmits the rotational driving force of the actuator 11 to the lower shaft 9. Further, the rack 40c meshes with the drive pinion 20c at the lower portion thereof, and linearly moves by the rotational driving force of the actuator 11. The upper driven pinion 30 c meshes with the upper portion of the rack 40 c and transmits the rotational driving force of the actuator 11 to the upper shaft 7.

In the example shown in FIGS. 21 to 23, the drive pinion 20c is configured in the same manner as the drive pinion 20, and the first drive pinion unit 21, the second drive pinion unit 22, and the rack drive pinion unit 23, respectively. It has the 1st drive pinion part 21c, the 2nd drive pinion part 22c, and the drive pinion part 23c for racks comprised similarly. The rack 40 c is configured in the same manner as the rack 40.

As understood from FIG. 21, the rack 40c meshes with the drive pinion 20c and the upper driven pinion 30c from one side of the virtual plane S2 including the rotation axis Ax of the drive pinion 20c and the rotation axis Bx of the upper driven pinion 30c. is doing. Accordingly, the upper driven pinion 30c rotates in the same direction as the rotation direction of the drive pinion 20c. On the other hand, the lower driven pinion 50c meshes with the drive pinion 20c and rotates in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the drive pinion 20c. As a result, the upper driven pinion 30c and the lower driven pinion 50c rotate in opposite directions. As a result, the upper shaft 7 and the lower shaft 9 rotate in the opposite directions, and the upper air mix door 6 and the lower air mix door 8 slide in the opposite directions in the vertical direction. Further, the rack 40c is engaged with the drive pinion 20c and the upper driven pinion 30c from one side of the virtual plane S2 including the rotation axis Ax of the drive pinion 20c and the rotation axis Bx of the upper driven pinion 30c. The appropriate engagement between the rack 40c, the drive pinion 20c, and the upper driven pinion 30c can be maintained by simply applying a force in one direction (ie, an urging force from the rack 40c toward the virtual surface S2). For this reason, for example, an appropriate meshing between the rack 40c and the

pinions

20c and 30c can be maintained by a simple configuration using the biasing rib 2n and the biasing arm 40n as described above.

In the illustrated example, the drive pinion 20c includes a first drive pinion part 21c and a second drive pinion part 22c. The lower driven pinion 50c includes a first lower driven pinion portion 51c and a second lower driven pinion portion 52c provided corresponding to the first drive pinion portion 21c and the second drive pinion portion 22c. Yes. The reference circle diameter R21 of the first drive pinion portion 21c is smaller than the reference circle diameter R22 of the second drive pinion portion 22c. Correspondingly, the reference circle diameter of the first lower driven pinion portion 51c is larger than the reference circle diameter of the second lower driven pinion portion 52c. Of the entire range of rotational phases of the drive pinion 20c, for example, in the range of 0 ° to 60 °, the second drive pinion portion 22c having a relatively large reference circle diameter and the second lower side having a relatively small reference circle diameter. The driven pinion portion 52c meshes with the first drive pinion portion 21c having a relatively small reference circle diameter and the first lower driven pinion portion 51c with a relatively small reference circle diameter in the range of 60 ° to 80 °. In the range of 80 ° to 200 °, the second drive pinion portion 22c having a relatively large reference circle diameter meshes with the second lower driven pinion portion 52c having a relatively small reference circle diameter. For this reason, the rotational speed of the lower driven pinion 50c is relatively fast in the range of 0 ° to 60 ° and relatively slow in the range of 60 ° to 80 ° of the entire rotational phase range of the drive pinion 20c. In the range of 80 ° to 200 °, it becomes relatively fast.

On the other hand, the rack 40c meshes with the rack drive pinion portion 23c of the drive pinion 20c in the entire rotational phase range of the drive pinion 20c. For this reason, the rack 40c moves in the vertical direction at a constant speed in the entire rotational phase range of the drive pinion 20c. Further, the upper driven pinion 30c that meshes with the rack 40c is constituted by a single gear. The upper driven pinion 30c has the same rotational phase as that of the rack 40c in the entire rotational phase range (the rotational phase range in which the upper driven pinion 30c rotates when the upper air mix door 6 is slid from the upper first position to the upper second position). Mesh. Accordingly, the rotational speed of the upper driven pinion 30c is constant over the entire range of the rotational phase (and thus over the entire range of the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20c).

Reference circle diameters R21, R22 of the plurality of

drive pinion portions

21c, 22c, reference circle diameters of the plurality of lower driven

pinion portions

51c, 52c, reference circle diameter R23 of the rack drive pinion portion 23c meshing with the rack 40c, The reference circular diameter of the upper driven pinion 30c that meshes with the rack 40c is lower than the rotational speed of the upper shaft 7 when the upper air mix door 6 starts to move from the upper second position to the upper first position. The rotational speed of the lower shaft 9 when the side air mix door 8 starts moving from the lower second position to the lower first position is determined so as to increase. Specifically, the rotational speed of the lower driven pinion 50c in the range of 80 ° to 200 ° in the entire rotational phase range of the drive pinion 20c is determined to be higher than the rotational speed of the upper driven pinion 30c. Yes.

Further, reference circle diameters R21, R22 of the plurality of

drive pinion portions

21c, 22c, reference circle diameters of the plurality of lower driven

pinion portions

51c, 52c, reference circle diameter R23 of the rack drive pinion portion 23c meshing with the rack 40, The reference circular diameter of the upper driven pinion 30c that meshes with the rack 40c is lower than the rotational speed of the upper shaft 7 when the upper air mix door 8 starts moving from the upper first position to the upper second position. The rotational speed of the lower shaft 9 when the side air mix door 8 starts moving from the lower first position to the lower second position is determined so as to increase. Specifically, the rotational speed of the lower driven pinion 50c in the range of 0 ° to 60 ° of the entire rotational phase range of the drive pinion 20c is determined to be higher than the rotational speed of the upper driven pinion 30c. ing.

Also in such an air conditioner 1, the magnitude relationship of the opening area of the upper side detour route 3a and the lower side detour route 3b by the upper air mix door 6 and the lower air mix door 8 driven by one drive mechanism 10 is driven. It can be changed according to the rotational phase of the pinion 20c.

In addition, during operation in the bi-level mode, the amount of air that bypasses the heating heat exchanger 5 out of the air flowing into the vent outlet through the upper bypass 3a flows into the foot outlet through the lower bypass 3b. It can be made larger than the amount of air that bypasses the heat exchanger 5 for heating. As a result, occupant's foot warming can be realized.

Further, when operating in the differential foot mode, the opening area of the upper detour 3a can be made smaller than the opening area of the lower detour 3b, and a relatively warm temperature corresponding to the set temperature of the occupant from the foot outlet While blowing out the conditioned air toward the feet of the occupant, the amount of air that bypasses the heating heat exchanger 5 through the upper detour 3a among the air blown out from the defrost outlet can be kept small. As a result, fogging of the windshield can be prevented.

Similarly to the case shown in FIG. 11, the drive pinion 20c may have a plurality of rack drive pinion portions having different reference circle diameters. The rack 40c may have a plurality of lower rack portions provided corresponding to the plurality of rack drive pinion portions. The plurality of rack drive pinion portions may mesh with the corresponding lower rack portions in different phase ranges of the entire rotation phase range of the drive pinion 20c. In this case, similarly to the case shown in FIG. 11, the moving speed of the rack 40c and thus the rotating speed of the upper driven pinion 30c can be changed according to the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20c. Thereby, for example, the upper air mix door 6 is moved from the upper first position to the upper second position than the maximum rotational speed of the upper shaft 7 while the upper air mix door 6 is moved from the upper first position to the upper second position. The drive mechanism 10c can be configured so that the rotational speed of the upper shaft 7 when starting to move to becomes smaller. This can also prevent fogging of the windshield during driving in the differential foot mode.

<Modification 4>

Next, with reference to FIG. 24 thru | or FIG. 26, the modification 4 of the air conditioning apparatus 1 in one above-mentioned embodiment is demonstrated. FIG. 24 is a side view schematically showing a drive mechanism according to the fourth modification. FIG. 25 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section along the line IX-IX of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. 24, and FIG. 26 is along the line Xa-Xb-Xc of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows a cross section typically.

In Modification 4 shown in FIGS. 24 to 26, compared to the air conditioner shown in Modification 3 shown in FIGS. 21 to 23, the upper driven pinion has a plurality of drive pinion portions having different reference circular diameters, The rack has a plurality of upper rack portions provided corresponding to the plurality of upper driven pinion portions, and the plurality of upper driven pinion portions are in a different phase range from each other in the entire rotational phase range of the upper driven pinion. It differs in that it meshes with the corresponding upper rack part. Other configurations are substantially the same as those of the air conditioner 1 shown in FIGS. In the fourth modification shown in FIGS. 24 to 26, the same parts as those in the third modification shown in FIGS. 21 to 23 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

In the drive mechanism 10d shown in FIGS. 24 to 26, the upper air mix door 6 is moved from the upper first position to the upper first position so that the windshield can be prevented from being fogged during operation in the differential foot mode. The rotational speed of the upper shaft 7 when the upper air mix door 6 starts moving from the upper first position to the upper second position is smaller than the maximum rotational speed of the upper shaft 7 while moving to the second position. It is configured as follows.

Specifically, the upper driven pinion 30d has a first upper driven pinion portion 31d and a second upper driven pinion portion 32d. The reference circular diameter of the first upper driven pinion portion 31d is larger than that of the second upper driven pinion portion 32d. A first upper rack portion 41d and a second upper rack portion 42d are provided in the upper portion of the rack 40d corresponding to the first upper driven pinion portion 31d and the second upper driven pinion portion 32d. For example, out of 0 ° to 250 °, which is the entire range of the rotational phase of the upper driven pinion 30d, the first upper driven pinion portion 31d having a relatively large reference circle diameter and the first corresponding to the first upper driven pinion portion 31d have a relatively large reference circle diameter. The first upper rack portion 41d meshes, and at 160 ° to 250 °, the second upper driven pinion portion 32d having a relatively small reference circle diameter meshes with the corresponding second upper rack portion 42d. Accordingly, the rotational speed of the upper driven pinion 30d is relatively slow in the range of 0 ° to 160 ° and relatively fast in the range of 160 ° to 250 °, out of the entire range of the rotational phase.

In such an air conditioner 1, the moving speed of the upper air mix door 6 can be changed by the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20c. Therefore, the size relationship of the opening areas of the upper detour 3a and the lower detour 3b by the upper air mix door 6 and the lower air mix door 8 can be changed in various ways according to the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20c. it can. As a result, the opening areas of the upper detour 3a and the lower detour 3b can be adjusted more appropriately according to the operation mode of the air conditioner 1.

In particular, in the illustrated example, the reference circular diameters of the plurality of upper driven

pinion portions

31d and 32d that mesh with the rack 40d in accordance with the rotational phase of the drive pinion 20c are such that the upper air mix door 6 moves from the upper first position to the upper second position. Is determined so that the rotational speed of the upper shaft 7 when the upper air mix door 6 starts moving from the upper first position to the upper second position is smaller than the maximum rotational speed of the upper shaft 7 during the movement to Has been. Therefore, the moving speed of the upper air mix door 6 when the upper air mix door 6 is at or near the upper first position can be made relatively small. Thereby, the opening area of the upper detour 3a can be kept small during operation in the differential foot mode. As a result, fogging of the windshield can be prevented.

In addition, the upper air mix door 6 moves from the upper first position to the upper second position than the maximum rotational speed of the upper shaft 7 while the upper air mix door 6 moves from the upper first position to the upper second position. So that the rotational speed of the upper shaft 7 when starting is reduced, the reference circle diameters of the plurality of

drive pinion portions

21c, 22c, the reference circle diameter of the drive pinion 20c meshing with the rack 40d, and meshing with the rack 40d The reference circle diameter of the upper driven pinion 30d to be determined may be determined.

Since the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention can be manufactured industrially and can be used for commercial transactions, it can be used industrially with economic value.

1 Vehicle air conditioner

2 Air conditioning case

3 Air passage

3a Upper detour

3b Lower detour

5 Heat exchanger for heating

6 Upper air mix door

7 Upper shaft

8 Lower air mix door

9 Lower shaft

10, 10a, 10b, 10c Drive mechanism

11 Actuator

20, 20a, 20b, 20c Drive pinion

21, 21a, 21b, 21c First drive pinion section

22, 22a, 22b, 22c Second drive pinion section

30, 30a, 30b, 30c, 30d Upper driven pinion

31, 31a, 31b, 31d First upper driven pinion portion

32, 32a, 32b, 32d Second upper driven pinion part

40, 40a, 40b, 40d rack

41a, 41d First upper rack portion

42a, 42d 2nd upper side rack part

41b First lower rack portion

42b Second lower rack part

50, 50b, 50c Lower driven pinion

51, 51b, 51c 1st lower side driven pinion part

52, 52b, 52c Second lower driven pinion portion

Ax drive pinion axis of rotation

Bx Upper driven pinion axis of rotation

Cx Lower driven pinion axis of rotation

S1 Virtual plane

S2 Virtual plane

Claims

An air conditioner (1) for a vehicle,

An air conditioning case (2) forming an air passage (3) through which air flows;

A heating heat exchanger (5) disposed in the air passage (3), wherein an upper detour (3a) is formed above the upper edge of the heating heat exchanger (5); and A heating heat exchanger (5) arranged to form a lower detour (3b) below the lower end edge of the heating heat exchanger (5);

A slide type upper air mix door (6) which is arranged in the air passage (3) and adjusts the ratio of the air which goes to the heating heat exchanger (5) and the air which goes to the upper detour (3a). When,

An upper first position that is connected to the upper air mix door (6) and minimizes the ratio of the air toward the upper detour (3a) in the upper air mix door (6) as it rotates in the circumferential direction. And an upper shaft (7) that is slid between the upper second position that maximizes the ratio of air toward the upper detour (3a),

A sliding lower air mix door (adjusted in the air passage (3)) that adjusts the ratio of the air going to the heating heat exchanger (5) and the air going to the lower bypass (3b) 8) and

A lower shaft (9) arranged in parallel with the upper shaft (7), connected to the lower air mix door (8), and with the rotation in the circumferential direction, the lower air mix door ( 8) a lower first position that minimizes the ratio of air toward the lower detour (3b), and a lower second position that maximizes the ratio of air toward the lower detour (3b). A lower shaft (9) that slides between

Drive mechanisms (10a, 10b) for rotationally driving the upper shaft (7) and the lower shaft (9);

With

The drive mechanism (10a, 10b)

An actuator (11) for generating a rotational driving force;

A drive pinion (20, 20a, 20b) driven to rotate by the actuator (11);

The upper driven pinion (30, 30a) is connected to the upper shaft (7) and meshes with the drive pinion (20, 20a, 20b) to transmit the rotational driving force of the actuator (11) to the upper shaft (7). 30b)

Racks (40, 40a, 40b) that mesh with the drive pinions (20, 20a, 20b) and transmit a rotational driving force of the actuator (11) to move linearly;

A lower driven pinion (50) connected to the lower shaft (9) and meshing with the rack (40, 40a, 40b) to transmit the rotational driving force of the actuator (11) to the lower shaft (9). , 50b),

Have

The drive pinion (20, 20a, 20b) has a plurality of drive pinion portions (21, 22, 21a, 22a, 21b, 22b) having different reference circle diameters,

The upper driven pinions (30, 30a, 30b) are a plurality of upper driven pinions provided corresponding to the plurality of drive pinion portions (21, 22, 21a, 22a, 21b, 22b) and having different reference circular diameters. Part (31, 32, 31a, 32a, 31b, 32b),

The plurality of drive pinion parts (21, 22, 21a, 22a, 21b, 22b) have corresponding upper driven parts in the phase ranges different from each other in the entire rotational phase range of the drive pinion (20, 20a, 20b). The air conditioner (1) meshing with the pinion part (31, 32, 31a, 32a, 31b, 32b).
The reference circular diameters of the plurality of drive pinion parts (21, 22, 21a, 22a, 21b, 22b) and the plurality of upper driven pinion parts (31, 32, 31a, 32a, 31b, 32b) are determined by the upper air mix. The upper air mix door (6) is moved from the upper first position to the maximum rotational speed of the upper shaft (7) while the door (6) moves from the upper first position to the upper second position. The air conditioner (1) according to claim 1, wherein a rotation speed of the upper shaft (7) when starting to move to the upper second position is determined to be small.
The reference circle diameter of the plurality of drive pinion parts (21, 22, 21a, 22a, 21b, 22b) and the reference circle diameter of the plurality of upper driven pinion parts (31, 32, 31a, 32a, 31b, 32b) A reference circular diameter of the drive pinion (20, 20a, 20b) meshing with the rack (40, 40a, 40b), and the lower driven pinion (50, 40) meshing with the rack (40, 40a, 40b) The reference circle diameter of 50b) is lower than the rotational speed of the upper shaft (7) when the upper air mix door (6) starts moving from the second upper position to the first upper position. The rotational speed of the lower shaft (9) when the side air mix door (8) starts moving from the lower second position to the lower first position is determined so as to increase. Air conditioning apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 (1).
The drive pinion (20a) includes a plurality of rack drive pinion portions (21a, 22a) having different reference circular diameters, and the rack (40a) includes the plurality of rack drive pinion portions (21a, 22a). The plurality of upper rack portions (41a, 42a) provided corresponding to the plurality of rack drive pinion portions (21a, 22a) are included in the entire rotational phase range of the drive pinion (20a). The air conditioner (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the air conditioner (1) meshes with a corresponding upper rack portion (41a, 42a) in different phase ranges.
The lower driven pinion (50b) includes a plurality of lower driven pinion portions (51b, 52b) having different reference circular diameters, and the rack (40b) includes the plurality of lower driven pinion portions (51b, 52b), and a plurality of lower driven pinion portions (51b, 52b) are rotational phases of the lower driven pinion (50b). 5. The air conditioner (1) according to claim 1, wherein the air conditioner (1) meshes with a corresponding lower rack part (41 b, 42 b) in a phase range different from each other in the entire range.
The rack (40, 40a, 40b) is a virtual plane (Ax) including the rotation axis (Ax) of the drive pinion (20, 20a, 20b) and the rotation axis (Cx) of the lower driven pinion (50, 50b). The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the air conditioner meshes with the drive pinion (20, 20a, 20b) and the lower driven pinion (50, 50b) from one side of S1. 1).
An air conditioner (1) for a vehicle,

An air conditioning case (2) forming an air passage (3) through which air flows;

A heating heat exchanger (5) disposed in the air passage (3), wherein an upper detour (3a) is formed above the upper edge of the heating heat exchanger (5); and A heating heat exchanger (5) arranged to form a lower detour (3b) below the lower end edge of the heating heat exchanger (5);

A slide type upper air mix door (6) which is arranged in the air passage (3) and adjusts the ratio of the air which goes to the heating heat exchanger (5) and the air which goes to the upper detour (3a). When,

An upper first position that is connected to the upper air mix door (6) and minimizes the ratio of the air toward the upper detour (3a) in the upper air mix door (6) as it rotates in the circumferential direction. And an upper shaft (7) that is slid between the upper second position that maximizes the ratio of air toward the upper detour (3a),

A sliding lower air mix door (adjusted in the air passage (3)) that adjusts the ratio of the air going to the heating heat exchanger (5) and the air going to the lower bypass (3b) 8) and

A lower shaft (9) arranged in parallel with the upper shaft (7), connected to the lower air mix door (8), and with the rotation in the circumferential direction, the lower air mix door ( 8) a lower first position that minimizes the ratio of air toward the lower detour (3b), and a lower second position that maximizes the ratio of air toward the lower detour (3b). A lower shaft (9) that slides between

Drive mechanisms (10c, 10d) for rotationally driving the upper shaft (7) and the lower shaft (9);

With

The drive mechanism (10c, 10d)

An actuator (11) for generating a rotational driving force;

A drive pinion (20c) driven to rotate by the actuator (11);

A lower driven pinion (50c) connected to the lower shaft (9) and meshing with the drive pinion (20c) to transmit the rotational driving force of the actuator (11) to the lower shaft (9);

Racks (40c, 40d) meshing with the drive pinion (20c) and transmitting a rotational driving force of the actuator (11) to perform linear motion;

An upper driven pinion (30c, 30d) connected to the upper shaft (7) and meshing with the rack (40c, 40d) to transmit the rotational driving force of the actuator (11) to the upper shaft (7);

Have

The drive pinion (20c) has a plurality of drive pinion portions (21c, 22c) having different reference circular diameters,

The lower driven pinion (50c) has a plurality of lower driven pinion portions (51c, 52c) having different reference circle diameters provided corresponding to the plurality of drive pinion portions (21c, 22c),

The plurality of drive pinion portions (21c, 22c) mesh with corresponding lower driven pinion portions (51c, 52c) in different phase ranges of the entire rotation phase range of the drive pinion (20c). Air conditioner (1).
The reference circle diameter of the plurality of drive pinion portions (21c, 22c), the reference circle diameter of the drive pinion (20c) meshing with the rack (40d), and the upper driven pinion meshing with the rack (40d) The reference circle diameter of (30d) is higher than the maximum rotational speed of the upper shaft (7) while the upper air mix door (6) moves from the first upper position to the second upper position. The rotational speed of the upper shaft (7) when the mixing door (6) starts moving from the upper first position to the upper second position is determined to be small. Air conditioner (1).
The reference circle diameter of the plurality of drive pinion parts (21c, 22c), the reference circle diameter of the plurality of lower driven pinion parts (51c, 52c), and the drive pinion meshing with the rack (40c, 40d) 20c) and the reference circle diameter of the upper driven pinion (30c, 30d) meshing with the rack (40c, 40d), the upper air mix door (6) from the upper second position The lower air mix door (8) moves from the lower second position to the lower first position than the rotational speed of the upper shaft (7) when the movement to the upper first position is started. The air conditioner (1) according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the rotational speed of the lower shaft (9) when starting the operation is determined to be increased.
The racks (40c, 40d) are arranged from one side of a virtual plane (S2) including the rotation axis (Ax) of the drive pinion (20c) and the rotation axis (Bx) of the upper driven pinion (30c, 30d). The air conditioner (1) according to any one of claims 7 to 9, which meshes with the drive pinion (20c) and the upper driven pinion (30c, 30d).