JP5321958B2 - Air conditioner for vehicles - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner for a vehicle that improves temperature control and air distribution control and is versatile.

  The temperature adjustment in the vehicle air conditioner is performed by mixing the cold air cooled by the evaporator and the warm air heated by the heater core in the air mix chamber, but the hot air and cold air are not sufficiently mixed and the outlet When the air is blown to the vehicle, a temperature difference occurs between the winds blown out from the upper and lower ducts of the apparatus, and passenger comfort is impaired. For this reason, conventionally, in order to improve air mixability, a partition wall extending vertically is provided in the mix zone to form a passage toward the upper air outlet and the lower air outlet, and a passage toward the lower air outlet A vehicle air conditioner that reduces the temperature difference between the upper and lower blowing air by passing cold air through the air passage and passing hot air through the passage toward the upper air outlet has been considered (see Patent Document 1).

  In this air conditioner, a mode door (a diff door, a vent door, a foot door) that opens and closes the outlets of the diff and vent at the upper end of the case located on the most downstream side in the case and opens and closes the foot outlet at the lower end of the case. ) Is provided, and air is blown out from a desired air outlet by controlling the opening and closing operation of the mode door. More specifically, the mode door is not only simply opened and closed, but also by adjusting the degree of door opening (door opening), the amount of blowout can be adjusted so that it can be blown out from a plurality of outlets with the desired air balance. I have control.

  Such control doors provided at each outlet are driven by an actuator provided in each door or in conjunction with the movement of a link mechanism including a main link, a shaft, a sub lever, and the like. Yes. Since the configuration in which each door is driven by an actuator increases in cost, a link mechanism in which the main link is the driving side and each door is the driven side is often employed.

When the link mechanism is employed in the automobile air conditioner described in Patent Document 1, since the control doors are provided at the outlets as described above, the rods according to the distance between the doors from the main link are provided. Therefore, the size of the entire link mechanism is increased.
In an automotive air conditioner, when the overall size of the link mechanism is increased, the control door operation error occurs due to dimensional errors (manufacturing errors) of parts such as rods. There is a problem that it is difficult to obtain a balance.

Further, both the differential and vent outlets are provided on the upper side of the automobile air conditioner, and the differential door and the vent door are also located at the upper part of the case. In order not to deteriorate the control accuracy of the door opening, the rod is shortened or the rod is abolished and the main link and the differential door and the vent door are directly connected with the cam groove and pin etc. The main link will be installed at the top.
By the way, the automotive air conditioner is required to have high versatility so that units of the same specification can be mounted on a plurality of vehicle types. For the basic skeleton (platform) of an automobile body, a number of vehicle designs are prepared, and vehicles are being developed to meet a wide range of user needs. At this time, the air conditioner has the same basic performance such as air blowing capacity and blowing temperature because the platform is the same, but it can be adapted to the shape of the differential and vent blowing ducts that differ depending on the vehicle design. Power is required. For this reason, it is desirable that the unit can appropriately change the layout of the upper part of the unit for each vehicle.
However, as described above, if the main link or link mechanism occupies the space above the unit, the upper part of the unit cannot be replaced, and there is a problem that the versatility of the air conditioner is lost and costs increase.

  Therefore, it is desirable that the size of the link mechanism including the rod is reduced in size to affect the operation accuracy of each control door, or is engaged with the main link without using the rod. Further, since the position of the main link affects the versatility of the apparatus, it is desirable that the main link is not installed at the upper part of the unit.

  To deal with the problems of versatility and operation accuracy due to the size of the link mechanism and the installation position of the main link, a single control door that distributes air to the defroster port and vent port is used to reduce the size of the link mechanism. In addition, an air conditioner for a vehicle in which the installation position is installed at a lower position than the conventional one is known (see Patent Document 2).

The vehicle air conditioner described in Patent Document 2 includes a rotary door (foot door) provided in the air mix space, and a first passage through which air is guided to the upper part of the casing and air that is guided to the lower part of the case. The amount of air distribution with the two passages is adjusted, and the differential vent switching door is linked with the rotary door via a link mechanism and is driven by a common actuator.
JP-A-10-329525 JP 2005-96555 A

However, in a vehicle air conditioner in which a rotary door as described in Patent Document 2 is provided in an air mix space, mixing of warm air and cold air is hindered, and the temperature cannot be harmonized accurately. There is. In Patent Document 2, this inconvenience is solved by adding a configuration in which a part of the hot air can be moved from the lower part of the case to the upper part.
In addition, the air distribution of the vehicle air conditioner of Patent Document 2 is, for example, when the air volume of the second passage is controlled, the air volume of the first passage is also uniquely determined. Is difficult.
Furthermore, since it is necessary to simultaneously establish temperature control and air distribution balance control to the first and second passages with a single rotary door, it is difficult to establish these two controls simultaneously with high accuracy. is there.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a vehicle air conditioner capable of detaching the upper part of the unit to achieve versatility of the apparatus and performing air distribution control without inhibiting temperature adjustment. The main purpose is to provide.

In order to achieve the above object, an air conditioner for a vehicle according to the present invention includes an evaporator that cools air introduced into an air conditioning case via a blower, a heater core that heats the air, and air that passes through the heater core. An air mix door that adjusts the ratio of the air that bypasses the heater core, an intermediate duct that guides the conditioned air mixed into the vehicle duct on the upper side of the air conditioner, and provided downstream of the air mix door A first passage extending upward and leading to an upper connection port connecting the intermediate duct and facing an air mix chamber that joins air passing through the heater core and air bypassing the heater core; and the air mix chamber And the second passage leading to the outlet below the upper connection port, unlike the upper connection port,
The intermediate duct is attachable to and detachable from the air conditioning case, the first passage is provided with a first door for adjusting the air flow rate of the first passage, and the second passage is provided with the second passage. The intermediate duct connected to the upper connection port is provided with a vent blowing duct portion that leads to the vent outlet and a defrost outlet duct portion that leads to the defrost outlet. It is characterized by being a vented differential blowing duct that accommodates a vented differential door that switches the ventilation to .

Thereby, since this vehicle air conditioner is not provided with the element which prevents mixing of air in an air mix chamber, it can perform wind distribution control, without inhibiting temperature regulation.
Since the air flow rate can be adjusted separately for the first door and the second door, the air distribution can be adjusted individually.
Since the first door and the second door are provided below the upper connection port, the main link can be lowered from the upper part of the unit, and the intermediate duct can be attached to and detached from the air conditioning case. This eliminates the need for unit setting and can reduce costs.

Further, the vent differential door only selects one of the vent blowing duct portion and the differential blowing duct portion, and high accuracy is not required for the position of the door opening. In other words, since the switching between the vent mode and the differential mode is controlled by a single door, the switching control between the vent mode and the differential mode only needs to open and close the passage, and there is no need to adjust the door opening, which is affected by manufacturing errors. It is difficult to stabilize the quality.

Moreover, according to the vehicle air conditioner, the switching between the vent mode and the differential mode can be controlled by one door, so that the link mechanism at the top of the unit is simplified and the space occupied by the door in the intermediate duct is saved. Can do.

Further, the first door is provided on the air mix chamber side of the first passage, and the second door is provided on the air mix chamber side of the second passage. Thereby, since the 1st door and the 2nd door are provided in the air mix room vicinity, a main link can be made small.

Further, the air outlet different from the upper connection port may be a foot air outlet.

  The first door and the second door are connected to a main link attached to the air conditioning case via a sub-lever that rotates integrally with each door, and the vent differential door is integrally formed therewith. It is connected to the main link via a rotating vent differential door lever, a connecting rod having one end connected to the vent differential door lever, and a vent differential sub lever connected to the other end of the connecting rod. It is a feature. Thereby, since this vehicle air conditioner can control a 1st door and a 2nd door by a main link without using a rod, it can perform door opening degree control accurately.

  In the above-described configuration, the heater core is located downstream along the flow of the evaporator, and the heater core and the evaporator are arranged at substantially the same position in the vehicle width direction. This is particularly effective when used in In the vertical type air conditioning, the flow of the conditioned air after the air mixing is in the vertical direction, and it is easy to secure the dimensions of the first passage and the intermediate duct, and the degree of design freedom is increased.

As described above, according to the present invention, the first door is provided in the first passage facing the air mix chamber, and the second door is provided in the second passage facing the air mix chamber. Since the arrangement is avoided, it becomes possible to individually adjust the air distribution by improving the accuracy of temperature adjustment without inhibiting the mixing of the cold air and the hot air. For this reason, a passenger | crew's desired temperature and ventilation volume can be provided, and comfort can be improved.
In addition, the main link can be lowered from the top of the unit without the first and second doors controlling the air flow at the top of the unit, and the intermediate duct can be attached to and detached from the air conditioning case. Setting of a suitable unit becomes easy, the versatility of the apparatus can be improved, and the manufacturing cost of the vehicle can be reduced.

In addition, because the vent differential door provided in the vent differential outlet duct controls the switching between the vent mode and the differential mode, there is no need for separate doors for switching the vent side and differential side air distribution at the top of the unit, which can save space. it can.

Further, since the first door and the second door are provided close to each other and can be connected to the main link via the respective sub levers, the main link can be reduced in size and the connecting rod is interposed. Therefore, the accuracy of the air distribution control can be improved.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, as an example of a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention, a vertical center-mounted type mounted on a center console portion of a vehicle will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention.
An automotive air conditioner according to the present invention includes a blower 2 for sending air from an intake section (not shown) in an air conditioning case 1, an evaporator 4 for cooling the air sent by the blower 2, An air filter 3 provided in front of the evaporator 4 on the upstream side, a heater core 5 disposed on the downstream side of the evaporator 4 and reheated by the evaporator 4, and an upper portion of the heater core 5 And a cantilevered air mix door 14 that adjusts the ratio of the air passing through the heater core 5 and the bypassing air, and a vent diff outlet duct 8 is connected to the upper portion of the air conditioning case 1 as an intermediate duct. Yes. In addition, the unit 51 is formed by combining the air-conditioning case 1 and the vent differential blowing duct 8.
The arrangement relationship between the downstream heater core 5 and the upstream evaporator 4 is substantially the same in the vehicle width direction. That is, when the vehicle longitudinal direction is the X axis, the vehicle width direction is the Y axis, and the vehicle vertical direction is the Z axis, the coordinate values of the Y axis of the heater core 5 and the evaporator 4 are substantially the same. And the coordinate values of the Z axis may be different. Therefore, both the heater core 5 and the evaporator 4 may be arranged in the vertical direction of the vehicle, or may be arranged in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. Here, in the attached drawings, the left side is the front side of the vehicle, the upper side is the upper side of the vehicle, and the vehicle width direction is a direction perpendicular to the paper surface.

  An air mix chamber 6 is formed above the heater core on the downstream side of the heater core 5 to mix hot air that has passed through the heater core 5 and cold air that has been bypassed, and the air mix chamber 6 is connected to the vent differential blowing duct 8. A first passage 31 extending to the foot and a second passage 32 extending downward to communicate with the foot outlet 7 for blowing warm air to the feet are connected.

In the first passage 31, a butterfly-type air flow adjustment door 9 (first door) that adjusts the air flow of the first passage 31 is provided so as to face the air mix chamber 6.
The second passage 32 is provided with a butterfly foot door 10 (second door) for adjusting the air flow rate of the second passage 32 so as to face the air mix chamber 6.

  The vent differential blowout duct 8 is connected to the upper connection port 23 opened at the upper end of the first passage 31 and is connected to the vent blowout port 12 that blows out in the upper body direction and the defrost blowout blowout to the inner surface of the windshield. And a cantilevered def vent door 11 for selectively switching between the vent blast duct portion 12 and the defrost blast duct portion 13.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the configuration of the link mechanism 15. Each of the air flow adjusting door 9, the foot door 10, and the differential vent door 11 is configured to be interlocked with the operation of the link mechanism 15.
The link mechanism 15 is provided on the outside of the air-conditioning case 1 and the vent differential blowing duct 8 in the vehicle width direction, and is a portion indicated by a solid line, and is connected to a driving source (not shown) and a transmission means such as a wire or a rod. 20, an air distribution adjustment sub-lever 18 fixed to the rotation axis of the air flow adjustment door 9, a foot sub-lever 22 fixed to the rotation axis of the foot door 10, and a vent differential sub-lever fixed to the rotation axis of the vent differential door 11. 16 and a connecting rod 17 that connects the bent differential sub-lever 16 and the sub-lever 21 to each other.

  Here, the main link 20 is attached to the air conditioning case 1, the air flow adjustment door 9 is connected via the air distribution adjustment sublever 18, and the foot door 10 is connected via the foot sublever 22. The vent differential door 11 is connected via a sub lever 21, a vent sub lever 16, and a connecting rod 17 that connects the sub lever 21 and the vent sub lever 16.

Further, the air distribution adjusting sub-lever 18 is provided with an engaging pin 18 (a) slidably locked in the guide groove hole of the main link 20, and similarly, the sub-lever 21 and the foot sub-lever 22 are Engagement pins 21 (a) and 22 (a) are slidably engaged with the guide groove holes of the main link 20.
The guide groove hole of the main link 20 extends in the same direction while changing the distance from the rotation center, and is formed so that each door performs a desired operation. Thereby, the opening degree of each door is adjusted simultaneously with the rotation of the main link 20.

In the vehicle air conditioner configured as described above, in the vent mode, as shown in FIG. 3A, the air flow adjustment door 9 is opened, the foot door 10 is set to the fully closed position, and the mix door 14 is connected to the heater core 5. The passage is set to a full cool position where the fully closed position is set, and the differential vent door 11 is set to a position where the vent outlet duct portion 12 is opened.
Then, the air that has passed through the filter 3 and the evaporator 4 passes through the ventilation amount adjusting door 9 and flows into the first passage 31, and is guided to the vent outlet duct portion 12 by the vent differential door 11.

Further, in the bi-level mode, as shown in FIG. 3B, the air flow adjustment door 9 and the foot door 10 are set to the intermediate position, and the mix door 14 is set to the intermediate position.
Then, the cool air that has passed through the filter 3 and the evaporator 4 and the warm air warmed by the heater core 5 are mixed in the air mix chamber 6 and adjusted to a desired temperature. As described above, since the air mix chamber 6 has no obstacles that inhibit the temperature control, the cold air bypassing the heater core 5 and the warm air heated by the heater core 5 are sufficiently mixed, and the first passage The properly mixed conditioned air is guided to 31 and the second passage 32. The air whose temperature has been adjusted is adjusted in the first passage 31 by the ventilation amount adjustment door 9, and the ventilation amount in the second passage 32 is adjusted by the foot door 10. Subsequently, the air that has flowed into the first passage 31 is guided to the vent outlet duct portion 12, and the air that has flowed into the second passage 32 is guided to the foot outlet 7.
The air mix chamber 6 may be further provided with a baffle plate (not shown) for promoting the mixing of the cold air and the hot air to further promote the mixing.

In the foot mode, as shown in FIG. 3C, the ventilation rate adjusting door 9 is set to the fully closed position, the foot door 10 is set to the fully open position, and the passage to the heater door 5 is set to the fully open position.
Then, all warm air heated by the heater core 5 is guided to the foot outlet 7.

In the defrost mode, as shown in FIG. 3 (d), the air flow adjustment door 9 is opened, the foot door 10 is in the fully closed position, and the mix door 14 is in the full hot position with the passage to the heater core 5 is in the fully open position. The differential vent door 11 is set at a position where the defrost blowout duct portion 13 is opened.
Then, all the warm air that has passed through the filter 3, the evaporator 4, and the heater core 5 is guided to the defrost blowing duct portion 13. By operating the refrigeration cycle, the evaporator 4 uses the moisture in the blown air as condensed water, heats the heater core 5 to produce dry hot air, and blows it from the defrost blowing duct to ensure the window clearness of the vehicle. I can do it.

  It should be noted that the opening degree of the ventilation amount adjusting door 9 in the vent mode and the opening amount of the ventilation amount adjusting door 9 in the defrost mode are set to appropriate opening positions in accordance with the shape of the vent differential blowing duct. You may make it make it differ slightly like (a) and FIG.3 (d).

Next, an example in which versatility is exhibited by replacing the vent differential blowing duct 8 when mounted on a vehicle having a different vehicle design will be described.
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the unit 51 when a new bent differential blowing duct 8 ′ is mounted on the air conditioning case 1.
After the connecting rod 17 is removed from the vent differential door lever 16 and the sub lever 17, the vent differential blowing duct 8 including the vent differential door lever 16 and the vent differential door 11 is removed from the air conditioning case 1.
Next, a vent-def blowout duct 8 ′ having a new shape suitable for vehicle design is mounted on the air conditioning case 1. At this time, the vent differential outlet duct 8 'includes a vent differential door lever 16' and a vent differential door 11 '.
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the structure of the link mechanism when a new vent differential blowing duct 8 ′ is attached to the air conditioning case 1.
After the mounting to the air conditioning case, the connecting rod 17 ′ is mounted to the sub lever 21 and the vent deflavor 16 ′.

  By the way, since the vent differential door 11 is located away from the main link 20 via the connecting rod 17, the control accuracy of the door opening degree is deteriorated due to a dimensional error or deflection of the connecting rod 17. However, the vent differential door 11 only selects one of the passages of the vent outlet duct portion 12 and the differential outlet duct portion 13, and high accuracy is not required for the position of the door opening. The amount by which the control accuracy deteriorates due to the dimensional error or deflection of the connecting rod 17 can be absorbed by ensuring sufficient door compression when the vent outlet duct portion 12 or the differential outlet duct portion 13 is closed.

(Second embodiment)
Since the upper part of the unit 51 is affected by various vehicle designs, the connecting rod 17 may not be provided outside the air-conditioning case 1 and the vent differential blowing duct 8 in the vehicle width direction.
At this time, in order to transmit the driving force of the main link 20 to the differential vent door 11, the vent deflever 16, the connecting rod 17 and the sub lever 21 are provided inside the unit, and one of the connecting rods 17 is connected to the vent deflever 16. The other end of the connecting rod 17 may be connected to the sub lever 21.
6A is a side view showing a side surface of the upper portion of the unit 51, and FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view when the unit 51 is cut between AA shown in FIG. 6A. It is. As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the inside of the air conditioning case 1 and the intermediate duct 8 is divided in the vertical direction, and divided into a center vent passage 40 and a side vent passage 41. 16, the connecting rod 17, and the sub lever 21 may be provided in the side vent passage.

Therefore, according to the above configuration, the vehicle air conditioner is provided with the ventilation amount adjusting door 9 in the first passage 31 and the foot door 10 in the second passage 32 to arrange the doors in the air mix chamber 6. Since this is avoided, it is possible to increase the accuracy of temperature adjustment without inhibiting the mixing of cold air and hot air.
There is no ventilation volume adjusting door 9 and foot door 10 for controlling the ventilation volume at the upper part of the unit 51, the main link 20 can be lowered from the upper part of the unit 51, and the vent differential duct 8 can be attached to and detached from the air conditioning case 1. Therefore, versatility can be improved.
Since the opening degree of the air flow adjustment door 9 and the foot door 10 can be controlled without using the connecting rod 17, the accuracy of the air distribution control can be improved.
Since the air flow adjusting door 9 and the foot door 10 are provided close to each other and can be connected to the main link 20 via the air distribution adjusting sub lever 18 and the foot sub lever 22, the main link 20 can be downsized. it can.

It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view which showed the structure of the vehicle air conditioner of this invention. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view which showed the structure of the link mechanism. (A) is the longitudinal cross-sectional view which showed the opening degree of each door in vent mode of this vehicle air conditioner. (B) is the longitudinal cross-sectional view which showed the opening degree of each door in bilevel mode. (C) is the longitudinal cross-sectional view which showed the opening degree of each door in foot mode. (D) is the longitudinal cross-sectional view which showed the opening degree of each door in a defrost mode. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a unit when a new bent differential blowing duct is attached to an air conditioning case. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view which showed the structure of the link mechanism when attaching a new vent differential blowing duct to an air-conditioning case. FIG. 6A is a side view showing a side surface of the upper part of the unit, and FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view when the unit is cut between AA shown in FIG. 6A. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Air conditioning case, 1 (a) ... Partition plate of air conditioning case, 2 ... Blower, 3 ... Air filter, 4 ... Evaporator, 5 ... Heater core, 6 ... Air Mix chamber, 7 ... foot outlet, 8 ... intermediate duct (bent differential outlet duct), 8 '... new vent differential outlet duct, 8 (a) ... partition plate of vent differential duct, ... ventilation amount adjustment door, 10 ... foot doors, 11 ... Bentodefudoa, 12 ... vent duct portion, 13 ... defrost duct portion, 14 ... air mixing door, 15 ... link Mechanism: 16 ... Vent differential door lever, 17 ... Connecting rod, 18 ... Air distribution adjustment sub-lever, 19 ... Washer screw, 20 ... Main link, 21 ... Sub-lever, 22 ...・ Foot Sub-lever, 23 ... upper connection port, 24 ... side vent door, 25 ... side vent sub-lever, 31 ... first passage, 32 ... second passage, 40 ... center Vent passage, 41 ... side vent passage, 51 ... unit

Claims (5)

An evaporator that cools air introduced into the air conditioning case through a blower, a heater core that heats the air, and an air mix door that adjusts the ratio of air passing through the heater core and air bypassing the heater core Have
An intermediate duct that guides conditioned air that has been air-mixed to a vehicle duct on the upper side of the air conditioner, and an air mix chamber that is provided downstream of the air mix door and that passes through the heater core and air that bypasses the heater core. A first passage extending upward and leading to an upper connection port connecting the intermediate duct, and facing the air mix chamber and different from the upper connection port and leading to a blower outlet below the upper connection port A second passage,
The intermediate duct is detachable from the air conditioning case,
A first door for adjusting the air flow rate of the first passage is provided in the first passage, and a second door for adjusting the air flow rate of the second passage is provided in the second passage,
The intermediate duct connected to the upper connection port includes a vent blowout duct portion that leads to a vent blowout port and a defrost blowout duct portion that leads to a defrost blowout port, and a vent differential blowout that accommodates a vent differential door that switches ventilation to these duct portions. A vehicle air conditioner characterized by being a duct . The first door is provided on an air mix chamber side of the first passage, and the second door is provided on an air mix chamber side of the second passage. The vehicle air conditioner described. The air conditioner for vehicles according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the air outlet different from the upper connection port is a foot air outlet . The first door and the second door are connected to a main link attached to the air conditioning case via a sub-lever that rotates integrally with each door, and the vent differential door rotates integrally therewith. claim that a vent differential door lever, a connecting rod having one end connected to the vent differential door lever, characterized in that it is connected to the main link via the sub-lever which is connected to the other end of the connecting rod The vehicle air conditioner according to any one of 1 to 3. The said heater core is located downstream along the flow of the said evaporator, The said heater core and the said evaporator are arrange | positioned in the substantially the same position of the vehicle width direction, The one in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 4 characterized by the above-mentioned. Air conditioner for vehicles.

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