JP6532729B2 - Vehicle air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner, and more particularly to a rear seat air conditioner provided in a center console of a passenger compartment.

  Conventionally, in a vehicle such as a car, an air conditioning unit is mounted in an instrument panel in front of the vehicle in order to adjust the temperature in the vehicle compartment. This air conditioning unit generally cools or heats air taken in by a blower driven by a motor by a heat exchanger such as an evaporator or heater core, and is provided in an instrument panel as cold air, warm air or a mixed air of these. The air is blown into the vehicle compartment from the air outlet.

  On the other hand, in recent years, vehicles having a large vehicle body such as SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle), for example, are widely used. Such a vehicle has a large indoor space, so it is difficult for air conditioning to reach the rear seat.

  In connection with this, for example, in Patent Document 1, the end of the rear seat air conditioning duct is connected between the evaporator and the heater core of the air conditioning unit in the instrument panel, and the cold air before passing through the heater core is for rear air conditioning An air conditioner is disclosed that can efficiently cool the rear seat by guiding it to the rear seat via a fan. Further, for example, in Patent Document 2, in the air conditioning unit in which the evaporators are disposed substantially vertically, the air conditioning unit in the instrument panel is miniaturized by devising the position where the passage to the vehicle cold storage is opened. Technology is disclosed.

JP 2008-081024 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-088842

  However, in the air conditioner disclosed in Patent Document 1, the heat exchangers of the air conditioning unit in the instrument panel are shared by the front seat and the rear seat, and in general, the larger the size of the heat exchanger, the smaller the cooling or heating capacity. Because the air conditioning unit has a heat exchanger of a size that can be placed in a limited space in the instrument panel because it is high, in the case of a large vehicle such as an SUV, the temperature of the conditioned air to the rear seat is sufficient. It is difficult to adjust.

  Even in such a case, in order to be able to adjust the temperature of the conditioned air to the rear seat sufficiently, it is possible to use a heat exchanger for the rear seat separately from the air conditioning unit disposed in the instrument panel. It is conceivable to provide the air conditioning unit in a center console extending from the instrument panel to the rear of the vehicle.

  However, in general, the center console is sandwiched between the left and right seats, and the center tunnel rises upward on the lower vehicle floor surface, and various items such as shift levers, switches, storage boxes, and arm rests are provided on the upper surface. There is. Therefore, simply disposing the air conditioning unit in the center console may increase the size of the center console that accommodates the air conditioning unit and reduce the roomability of the passenger compartment.

  Therefore, although it is necessary to accommodate the air conditioning unit compactly in the center console, in the air conditioning unit disclosed in Patent Document 2, since the evaporator is disposed substantially vertically, the size of the evaporator is the space in the center console The cooling performance may be reduced.

  In order to solve this, it is conceivable to arrange the evaporator at an incline and reduce the size in the height direction, but in this case, since the size of the evaporator in the vehicle longitudinal direction becomes large, the evaporator is simply arranged at an incline There is a risk that the air conditioning unit can not be accommodated in the center console only by doing this.

  Then, this invention makes it a subject to provide the vehicle air conditioner provided with the air conditioning unit which can be accommodated compactly in a center console.

  In order to solve the problems, the present invention is characterized as follows.

First, the invention according to claim 1 of the present application is
A vehicle air conditioner in which an air conditioning unit extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is disposed in a center console,
The air conditioning unit has a blower, a heat exchanger provided at the rear of the blower with its upper end inclined to the upper front, and a flat mix door provided at the rear of the heat exchanger. And
The mix door is configured to be pivotable about an axis in the vehicle width direction, and a front end of the pivot path is positioned forward of a rear end of the heat exchanger ,
The blower has a blowout portion for blowing air toward the rear upper side,
The air conditioning unit has, at the rear of the heat exchanger, a rear air passage for guiding air rearward and upward;
The rear air passage has an inclined upper surface which is inclined rearward and downward from the upper end of the heat exchanger to the mix door,
The inclined upper surface portion is disposed below a cup holder provided on the center console .

The invention according to claim 2 is the vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 ,
The mix door is directed to the upper end of the lower tank portion of the heat exchanger when the mix door is pivoted to the lowermost position.

The invention according to claim 3 is the vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2 .
The air conditioning unit has a pipe for supplying and discharging a fluid to and from the air conditioning unit.
The pipe extends to the outside of the vehicle through an opening formed below the mix door on the vehicle floor surface.

  With the above configuration, according to the invention of claim 1 of the present application, the mix door can be provided in the dead space behind the inclined heat exchanger, so the air conditioning unit can be shortened in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. And can be compactly housed in the center console.

In addition , since the air is blown out rearward and upward at the blowout portion in front of the heat exchanger and the air is guided rearward and upward also in the rear air passage at the rear of the heat exchanger, ventilation of the air passing through the heat exchanger A flow path in which resistance is suppressed can be formed.
In addition, the rear air passage has an inclined upper surface which is inclined rearward and downward from the upper end of the heat exchanger toward the mix door, and the inclined upper surface is disposed below the cup holder provided on the center console. The air flow resistance from the heat exchanger to the mix door can be suppressed.

Also, according to the invention as set forth in claim 2 , the mix door pivoted downward is directed to the upper end of the lower tank portion of the heat exchanger, so that the angle range in which the mix door pivots is necessary minimum It is possible to suppress air flow resistance when flowing air downstream of the mix door.

Further, according to the invention of claim 3 , since the pipe is extended outside the vehicle through the opening formed below the mix door on the vehicle floor surface, the dead space below the mix door is used. Pipes can be arranged, and the air conditioning unit can be compactly arranged in the center console.

1 is a perspective view of a center console provided with a vehicle air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view in the vehicle front-back direction of a center console. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the vehicle front-back direction which shows the main structures of the air-conditioning unit. It is a right view of the air conditioning unit. It is a top view of the air-conditioning unit. It is a bottom view of the air-conditioning unit. It is a top view of the vehicle body floor surface below the same air conditioning unit.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a vehicle air conditioner to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the attached drawings. Arrows F and R appropriately described in the drawing indicate the front direction and the rear direction of the vehicle front and rear direction, respectively.

  The vehicle air conditioner according to the present embodiment is provided in a center console of a passenger compartment of a passenger car such as an FR (front engine-rear drive) vehicle or a four-wheel drive vehicle. Show.

  In the passenger compartment, a center console 1 extending from the bottom of the front dashboard (not shown) to the rear (arrow R in the figure) is provided to separate the driver's seat on the left and right front seats from the front passenger seat (not shown). It is done.

  In the case of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a center tunnel for accommodating a propeller shaft, an exhaust pipe, etc. (not shown) extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle inside at the center of the vehicle floor surface 2 in the vehicle width direction. 3 is provided in a convex shape on the upper side, and the center console 1 is provided along the center tunnel 3 at the upper part thereof.

  The center console 1 is a box-like storage portion which opens downward and has a space between the center console 1 and the top surface of the center tunnel 3.

  A shift lever portion 4a of a shift device 4 capable of performing a gear shift operation of a vehicle is provided to project forwardly (arrow F) on the upper surface of the center console 1, and behind the shift lever portion 4a, An operation switch 5 for operating a vehicle mounted device such as navigation is attached.

  Further, on the upper surface of the center console 1, two right and left cup holders 6 for storing a cup, a bottle, and the like are integrally formed behind the operation switch 5.

  Further, on the upper surface of the center console 1, behind the cup holder 6, there is provided a front seat accessory case 7 for storing accessories. The accessory case 7 is formed integrally with the upper surface of the center console 1 and is formed integrally with an upper opening portion 7a, and an open / close lid 7b hinged to the center console 1 for opening and closing the opening portion of the storage portion 7a. ,have. The open / close lid 7b is configured such that the upper surface portion thereof serves as an armrest of a front passenger seated in a driver's seat or a front passenger's seat in a closed state. 1 and 2 show the open / close lid 7b in a closed state.

  Further, a rear air conditioning switch 8 is mounted on the rear of the center console 1 behind the accessory case 7 for the rear seat occupant to operate a rear air conditioning unit 10 for the rear seat described later. Below the switch 8 is provided a discharge port 9 through which the conditioned air from the rear air conditioning unit 10 is discharged to the passenger compartment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a rear air conditioning unit 10 is provided inside the above-mentioned center console 1 so as to extend in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle on the upper surface of the center tunnel 3 provided on the vehicle floor surface 2; Air conditioning ducts 11 and 12 for guiding the air conditioning air of the unit 10 backward are provided.

  The rear air conditioning unit 10 includes a unit body 20 that constitutes the main part thereof. The unit body 20 is configured as a cold air, a warm air, or an air-conditioning air that is a mixed air thereof by cooling or heating the air blowing portion 20a for blowing the air taken in from the vehicle compartment downstream and the blown air. The air conditioning unit 20b and a discharge unit 20c for discharging the conditioned air to the rear seat are integrally configured.

  The shift device 4 is supported by a pedestal 13 provided on the center tunnel 3 below the shift device 4 and is fixed to the vehicle body floor surface 2 via the pedestal 13. The pedestal portion 13 is configured such that the air blowing portion 20 a of the rear air conditioning unit 10 is accommodated in the space below the pedestal portion 13.

  Next, the internal structure of the rear air conditioning unit 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In addition, FIG. 3 shows the sectional view in the BB cross section of the rear air conditioning unit 10 of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the rear air conditioning unit 10 is provided with a blower 21 and a blower motor 22 for rotationally driving the blower 21 in a blower unit 20 a located in front of the vehicle (arrow F). The blower 21 and the blower motor 22 are provided to face each other in the vehicle width direction. In the following description, in the vehicle width direction, the side on which the blower 21 is provided is referred to as "blower side", and the side on which the blower motor 22 is provided is referred to as "motor side".

  The blower 21 rotates around an axis in the vehicle width direction, is provided with a large number of fins in the circumferential direction, and rotates the fins to push out the air in the radial direction, a centrifugal fan 21a, an outer periphery and one side of the fan 21a. And a spiral scroll case 21b covering the

  The scroll case 21b has a suction port 21c for suctioning air from the vehicle compartment into the rear air conditioning unit 10 at the center of the side surface on the blower side, and a blowout port 21d for blowing air rearward and downward from the rotation shaft. , Is formed. The scroll case 21b is formed such that the cross-sectional area of the flow passage between the inner periphery thereof and the outer periphery of the fan 21a is gradually enlarged from the winding start portion p to the winding end portion q of the scroll case 21b.

  The blower motor 22 is attached to the back surface of the scroll case 21b of the blower 21 and has an output shaft (not shown) coaxially arranged with the rotation shaft of the fan 21a. The rear case of the scroll case 21b is inserted into the interior of the scroll case 21b and connected to the rotation shaft of the fan 21a. The blower motor 22 has a substantially cylindrical outer shape, and has an outer diameter smaller than that of the scroll case 21 b of the blower 21. Furthermore, the blower motor 22 is configured to be able to control its rotational speed in accordance with the air volume operation of the air conditioning switch 8.

  The rear air conditioning unit 10 vaporizes the refrigerant injected in the form of mist by the expansion valve 23 as an expansion valve 23 for injecting liquid refrigerant in the form of mist to the air conditioning unit 20b at the rear of the blower 20a and as a heat exchanger for cooling. And an evaporator 24 for cooling the air by heat.

  The evaporator 24 is inclined in the vehicle longitudinal direction such that the upper end 24a is inclined forward and upward, that is, the upper end 24a is upstream (forward F) and the lower end 24b is downstream (back R). It is arranged in the same posture.

  The upper end 24a and the lower end 24b of the evaporator 24 are provided with upper and lower tanks for diverting the injected refrigerant into the respective tubes, and the refrigerant flows through the inside between the tanks, A plurality of tubes (not shown) having a large number of fins (not shown) joined to the surface are provided, and the evaporator 24 is arranged such that the air flowing between the fins is cooled by the refrigerant evaporating in the tubes. Is configured.

  The expansion valve 23 is connected to a refrigerant supply pipe 25 for supplying a liquid refrigerant compressed to a high temperature and a high pressure from a compressor (not shown), and a refrigerant discharge pipe 26 for discharging the refrigerant. In the evaporator 24, the inlet and the outlet of the refrigerant flow path are connected to each other via the expansion valve 23 and the connecting pipes 23a and 23b.

  According to the above-described configuration, the liquid refrigerant supplied from the compressor to the expansion valve 23 via the refrigerant supply pipe 25 is sprayed in a mist form by the expansion valve 23 and supplied to the evaporator 24 via the connection pipe 23a. The atomized refrigerant supplied to the evaporator 24 is vaporized by heat exchange with air in the tube. The gas refrigerant vaporized in the tube of the evaporator 24 is returned to the compressor via the connection pipe 23b and the refrigerant discharge pipe 26, compressed to a high temperature and high pressure by the compressor, cooled and liquefied by a condenser (not shown), and (Not shown). The stored liquid refrigerant is again supplied from the receiver to the expansion valve 23 and the evaporator 24.

  In the rear air conditioning unit 10, a front air passage 27 for guiding the air blown out from the air outlet 21d of the scroll case 21b to the evaporator 24 is provided forward of the evaporator 24. The front air passage 27 has a lower surface portion 27 a that is inclined rearward and downward toward the drain 28 provided below the rear end portion of the evaporator 24. The lower surface portion 27a adheres to the fins of the evaporator 24, and the front end of the lower surface portion 27a is further forward of the vehicle 24 than the evaporator 24 so that water droplets dropped therefrom are reliably discharged from the drain 28 through the lower surface portion 27a. It is configured to be located. Further, the lower surface portion 27a is configured to be continuous with the lower surface portion of the air outlet 21d provided to be inclined rearward and upward via a ridge line.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the front air passage 27 is provided such that the side surface 27 b on the motor side extends from the blower 21 toward the evaporator 24 to the motor side. Furthermore, the front air passage 27 has an upper surface portion 27c that inclines rearward and upward. The upper surface portion 27 c is directed to the lower end of a tank provided at the upper end 24 a of the evaporator 24.

  In the rear air conditioning unit 10, a rear air passage 29 for guiding the air cooled by the evaporator 24 to an air mix door 34 described later is provided at the rear of the evaporator 24. As shown in FIG. 5, the side surface 29 a on the blower side of the rear air passage 29 is offset to the motor side more than the side surface 27 b on the blower side of the front air passage 27.

  The rear air passage 29 has a lower surface portion 29b which inclines rearward and upward, and the upper end of the lower surface portion 29b is positioned lower than the extension surface L of the lower surface portion of the outlet 21d. In addition, the rear air passage 29 has an upper surface portion 29 c that inclines rearward and downward from the upper end portion 24 a of the evaporator 24 toward the air mix door 34.

  The rear air conditioning unit 10 is provided on the downstream side of the evaporator 24 with a heater core 30 for reheating air passing through the evaporator 24 by heat exchange with engine cooling water flowing inside as a heat exchanger for heating. ing.

  The heater core 30 is supplied with a water supply pipe 31 for supplying the heater core 30 with cooling water that has been warmed by an engine (not shown) to the heater core 30, and discharges cooling water used for heating air from the heater core 30 to the radiator side. And a drain pipe 32 for connection are connected.

  In the rear air conditioning unit 10, a bypass passage 33 for bypassing the heater core 30 and guiding air to the downstream side is formed above the heater core 30.

  The rear air conditioning unit 10 includes an air mix door 34 for adjusting a flow ratio of warm air passing through the heater core 30 to be heated and cold air bypassing the heater core 30 and passing the bypass passage 33.

  The air mix door 34 is a flat-plate-type pivoting door that can pivot around a shaft 34 a in the vehicle width direction within a predetermined angle range, and the flow rate ratio can be changed according to the angle. As shown in FIG. 3, when the air mix door 34 faces the angle a, the flow ratio of the warm air passing through the heater core 30 becomes maximum, and when the air mix door 34 faces the angle b, the cold air passing through the bypass passage 33 The flow rate ratio is maximized. Further, when the air mix door 34 faces the substantially horizontal angle c, the front end of the turning locus (broken line) is located forward of the lower end 24 b of the evaporator 24. Furthermore, when the air mix door 34 turns to the angle b, that is, when it is turned to the lowermost position, the air mix door 34 points to the upper end of the tank on the lower side of the evaporator 24.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the air mix door 34 is pivoted to a desired angle by a drive mechanism 35 disposed on the side of the rear air conditioning unit 10 behind the evaporator 24 on the blower side. The drive mechanism 35 is configured to be able to control the angle of its rotation in accordance with the temperature operation at the air conditioning switch 8.

  The rear air conditioning unit 10 has an upper discharge port 36 for discharging the conditioned air to the upper side of the rear seat, and a lower side for discharging the conditioned air to the lower side of the rear seat to the outlet 20c downstream of the air conditioning unit 20b. A discharge port 37 and a mode door 38 for changing the flow ratio of the conditioned air discharged from the upper discharge port 36 and the lower discharge port 37 are provided.

  The mode door 38 is a flat plate-like pivoting door which can pivot about an axis 38a in the vehicle width direction, and the flow rate ratio can be changed according to the angle. As shown in FIG. 3, when the mode door 38 faces the angle d, the flow ratio of the conditioned air discharged from the upper discharge port 36 is maximum, and when the angle e faces, the conditioned air discharged from the lower discharge port 37. Flow rate ratio is maximum.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the mode door 38 is pivoted to a desired angle by a drive mechanism 39 disposed on the side of the rear air conditioning unit 10 on the blower side rearward of the evaporator 24. The drive mechanism 39 is configured to be able to control the rotation angle according to the switching operation of the discharge port mode such as the face mode blowing out from the upper discharge port 36 in the air conditioning switch 8 and the foot mode blowing out from the lower discharge port 37 ing.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the unit main body 20 of the rear air conditioning unit 10 is provided at its bottom surface 20e with a sheet-like seal member 45 made of an elastic member such as urethane. The sealing member 45 is formed with a plurality of through holes 45 a to 45 d for passing various pipes 25, 26, 28, 31, 32.

  Here, the upper surface of the center tunnel 3 on the vehicle body floor surface 2 will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 7, on the upper surface of the center tunnel 3, a plurality of openings 3 b to 3 e opened to the outside of the vehicle are provided on the seal surface 3 a facing the seal member 45 of the rear air conditioning unit 10. The various pipes 25, 26, 28, 31, 32 extend to the outside of the vehicle through the openings 3b to 3e.

  Further, since the evaporator 24 is disposed in an inclined manner, an increase in the height of the rear air conditioning unit 10 can be suppressed even if the evaporator 24 is enlarged to enhance the cooling capacity.

  Next, the air flow path in the rear air conditioning unit 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the blower 21 is driven by the rotation of the blower motor 22, air in the vehicle compartment is sucked from the suction port 21c of the blower 21 and is pressure-fed from the inside of the scroll case 21b to the front air passage 27 via the blowout port 21d. The air pressure-fed to the front air passage 27 is cooled by heat exchange with the refrigerant when passing through the evaporator 24.

  At this time, when the warm air sucked into the rear air conditioning unit 10 hits the fins of the evaporator 24 and is cooled to the dew point temperature or lower, the moisture in the air condenses and water droplets adhere to the fins of the evaporator 24. The water droplets adhering to the fins eventually drop or flow down below the fins and are discharged from the drain 28 to the outside of the vehicle through the lower surface portion 27 a of the front air passage 27.

  The cooled air is distributed by the air mix door 34 to the bypass passage 33 side or the heater core 30 side or both sides. The air distributed to the heater core 30 is reheated by the heater core 30. The cold air passing through the bypass passage 33, the warm air passing through the heater core 30, or the mixed air obtained by mixing them is directed from the at least one outlet 36, 37 selected by the mode door 38 to the rear seat of the vehicle interior. Is discharged.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the mix door 34 can be provided in the dead space behind the inclined evaporator 24, the rear air conditioning unit 10 can be shortened in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. It can be compactly housed in one.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the air is blown out toward the rear upper side at the outlet 21 d in the front of the evaporator 24 and the air is also guided to the rear upper side in the rear ventilation path 29 at the rear of the evaporator 24. It is possible to form a flow path in which the ventilation resistance of the air passing through is suppressed.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the air mix door 34 pivoted to the lowermost point is directed to the upper end of the lower side tank portion of the evaporator 24, so the angle range in which the air mix door 34 pivots is minimized. While being able to suppress, the ventilation resistance at the time of making air flow downstream of the air mix door 34 can be suppressed.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, since the rear air passage 29 has the inclined upper surface portion 29c which inclines rearward and downward from the upper end portion 24a of the evaporator 24 to the air mixing door 34, the air flows from the evaporator 24 to the air mixing door 34. The ventilation resistance of air can be suppressed.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the pipes 31, 32 are extended to the outside of the vehicle through the openings 3b to 3e formed below the air mix door 34 on the vehicle floor surface 2, so that the air mix door 34 is The pipes 31, 32 can be disposed using the lower dead space, and the rear air conditioning unit 10 can be disposed compactly in the center console 1.

  The present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and various improvements and design changes are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the present embodiment, the vehicle air conditioner is mounted on a passenger car, but is not limited thereto. For example, the vehicle air conditioner may be mounted on a construction machine vehicle, an agricultural machine vehicle, or the like.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the rear air conditioning unit 10 performs air conditioning by taking in air in the vehicle compartment, but the present invention is not limited to this, and at least one of air in the vehicle compartment or outside the vehicle is taken in Air conditioning may be performed.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle air conditioner provided with an air conditioning unit that can be accommodated compactly in a center console. Therefore, in the manufacturing technology field of a vehicle air conditioner or a vehicle equipped with the same. It may be suitably used.

1 center console 2 vehicle floor surface 3b to 3e opening 10 rear air conditioning unit (air conditioning unit)
21 blower 24 evaporator (heat exchanger for cooling)
24b rear end 29 rear air passage 29c upper surface (inclined upper surface)
31, 32 pipes 34 mixed doors

Claims (3)

A vehicle air conditioner in which an air conditioning unit extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is disposed in a center console,
The air conditioning unit has a blower, a heat exchanger provided at the rear of the blower with its upper end inclined to the upper front, and a flat mix door provided at the rear of the heat exchanger. And
The mix door is configured to be pivotable about an axis in the vehicle width direction, and a front end of the pivot path is positioned forward of a rear end of the heat exchanger ,
The blower has a blowout portion for blowing air toward the rear upper side,
The air conditioning unit has, at the rear of the heat exchanger, a rear air passage for guiding air rearward and upward;
The rear air passage has an inclined upper surface which is inclined rearward and downward from the upper end of the heat exchanger to the mix door,
The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the inclined upper surface portion is disposed below a cup holder provided on the center console . The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein the mix door is directed to the upper end of the lower side tank portion of the heat exchanger when the mix door is pivoted to the lowermost position. The air conditioning unit has a pipe for supplying and discharging a fluid to and from the air conditioning unit.
The air conditioning system for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the pipe extends to the outside of the vehicle through an opening formed below the mix door on the floor surface of the vehicle body.

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