JP7561368B2 - Automotive Air Conditioning Systems - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an automobile air conditioning system that is retrofitted to an automobile and is suitable for use in automobiles such as campers.

In general, when spending time inside a car in the summer, measures are required to keep warm. That is, when a car is moving or the engine is running, the standard air conditioner (on-board air conditioner) can be used, so there are no particular problems with air conditioning. However, when the engine is stopped, it is usually difficult to use the on-board air conditioner for long periods of time, so measures are required for spending long periods of time inside the car.

Conventionally, the simplest means for solving such problems is a vehicle screen door disclosed in Patent Document 1. This vehicle screen door has a flexible and magnetic frame member for insertion and retention into a groove in a window frame that guides the up and down movement of the glass window of a vehicle door, and a similarly flexible net is fixed to the frame member, and can be folded due to the flexibility (and magnetism) of both. The nets are joined together at the intersections beforehand, and the intersections do not shift. Furthermore, at least some of the frame member and net are made of resin, and the overall structure is magnetically configured to maintain the folded state. However, this type of vehicle screen door can ensure a minimum ventilation function but cannot actively perform air conditioning, making it difficult to ensure a substantial air conditioning function on tropical nights on extremely hot days.

Meanwhile, a vehicle air conditioning system that is retrofitted with a second vehicle air conditioner is also known from Patent Document 2. This vehicle air conditioning system includes an indoor unit that is installed inside the cab and cools the air in the vehicle cabin by heat exchange with a refrigerant, and an outdoor unit that is installed outside the vehicle cabin and releases heat from the refrigerant that has absorbed heat in the indoor unit by heat exchange with the outside air. The indoor unit has an evaporator that exchanges heat between the refrigerant whose temperature has been reduced by evaporation and the air in the vehicle cabin, a drain pipe that is installed below the evaporator and discharges water from the evaporator to the outside of the vehicle cabin, a drain container that has a bottom to which one end of the drain pipe is connected, and sides that are erected from the side edge of the bottom to surround the bottom, and a slope is provided at the bottom of the drain container that slopes downward toward the connection with the drain pipe, with the slope angle set to be larger than the reference slope angle assumed when the vehicle is parked.

JP 2008-137560 A JP 2011-148428 A

However, conventional vehicle air conditioning systems equipped with the above-mentioned second on-board air conditioner had the following problems:

In other words, it is necessary to secure the installation space for a standard air conditioning system that combines an indoor unit and an outdoor unit. Therefore, even if it can be installed in a large truck for long-distance transportation, which has the installation space, it is not easy to secure the installation space when installing it in a camper van, which requires this type of air conditioner, and as a result, the number of vehicle models that can be installed is limited, making it difficult to be versatile and expandable.

On the other hand, even if the vehicle model has enough space to install this type of air conditioner, it is necessary to install two large devices, an indoor unit and an outdoor unit. This means that, for example, in the case of a camper van, the original necessary functions such as the living space inside the vehicle are significantly reduced, and even if the roof or other exterior surface of the vehicle is used, considerable modifications are required, resulting in increased costs, an increase in the size of the entire vehicle, and a decrease in design.

The present invention aims to provide an automotive air conditioning system that solves the problems that exist in the background art.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an automobile air conditioning system 1 that is retrofitted to an automobile C, comprising an attachment frame 3 that is attached to an opening 2 formed by removing the glass window (Cw) of the automobile body Cb, an air conditioner section 4 that is supported by the attachment frame 3 and has an exhaust port 4e of the heat/cold dissipation system facing the outside and an air conditioning air port 4i of the cooling/heating system facing the inside, a power supply section 5 that includes a battery 5b that is charged by the power generation section of the automobile C and can supply power to at least the air conditioner section 4, and an external cover 17 that is displaceably attached to the outer surface Cbo of the automobile body Cb to form part of the outer surface Cbo and that can be selectively fixed to a closed position Xc that blocks the exhaust port 4e or an open position Xo that opens the exhaust port 4e.

In this case, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the automobile C is most suitable for use in a camper. On the other hand, when constructing the mounting frame section 3, a fixed frame unit 11 that is disposed in the opening 2 and fixed to the automobile body Cb, and a removable frame unit 13 that is detachably attached to the fixed frame unit 11 by fasteners 12..., supports the air conditioner section 4, and also serves as a drain tray that receives drain water generated from the air conditioner section 4 can be provided. In addition, the mounting frame section 3 can be provided with a drainage channel section 14 including a gutter unit 14g that discharges the drain water received by the removable frame unit 13 to the outside. On the other hand, when constructing the air conditioner section 4, a refrigerant compression pump 16p disposed in a fixed position, and an air conditioner main body 16m that has a heat release/cooling release system and a cooling/heating system integrated in the refrigeration cycle excluding the refrigerant compression pump 16p can be provided. Furthermore, this automobile body Cb can be provided with a removable internal cover 18 that is detachable from the wall Ciw inside the vehicle compartment Ci and that, when attached, blocks the air conditioning air vent 4i to form part of the wall Ciw.

The automotive air conditioning system 1 according to the present invention, which has such a configuration, provides the following significant effects:

(1) The mounting frame 3 is attached to the opening 2 of the vehicle body Cb where the glass window (Cw) has been removed, and this mounting frame 3 is configured to support the air conditioner section 4 with the heat/cold dissipation system exhaust port 4e facing the outside and the cooling/heating system air conditioning air port 4i facing the inside, so that the installation space for the air conditioning system 1 can be easily secured. This makes it possible to greatly expand the range of vehicle models that can be equipped with the retrofit air conditioning system 1, including minivans, thereby improving versatility and expandability. Moreover, essential functions such as living space are not significantly impaired, and problems that lead to increased costs, larger overall size of the vehicle, and poor design can be avoided.

(2) The external cover 17 is displaceably attached to the outer surface Cbo of the automobile body Cb to form part of the outer surface Cbo, and can be selectively fixed to the closed position Xc that blocks the exhaust port 4e or the open position Xo that opens the exhaust port 4e, so that the exhaust port 4e can be selectively opened and closed. As a result, when the air conditioning system 1 is in use, the exhaust port 4e can be opened and used, and when the air conditioning system 1 is not in use, the exhaust port 4e can be closed by the external cover 17, reliably protecting the air conditioner unit 4 and ensuring a sense of unity with the outer surface Cbo to enhance the design.

(3) In a preferred embodiment, if a camper van is used as the vehicle C, the air conditioning system 1 can be installed in a camper van, which is particularly often used as a minivan, so that essential functions such as living space are not compromised and the system can be implemented in an optimal form from the standpoint of avoiding increased costs, an increase in the size of the entire vehicle, and a decrease in design.

(4) In a preferred embodiment, when constructing the mounting frame section 3, a fixed frame unit 11 is disposed in the opening 2 and fixed to the automobile body Cb, and a detachable frame unit 13 is provided that is detachably attached to the fixed frame unit 11 by fasteners 12... and supports the air conditioner section 4 and also serves as a drain tray to receive drain water generated from the air conditioner section 4. This makes it easy to detach the air conditioner section 4 from the fixed frame unit 11, facilitating installation (assembly) work and allowing quick and easy maintenance.

(5) In a preferred embodiment, the mounting frame section 3 is provided with a drainage channel section 14 including a gutter unit 14g that discharges drain water received in the detachable frame unit 13 to the outside, so that the drain water generated by the air conditioner section 4 can be discharged to the outside smoothly and reliably.

(6) In a preferred embodiment, when the air conditioner section 4 is configured with a refrigerant compression pump 16p disposed in a fixed position, and an air conditioner main body 16m having an integrated heat release/cold release system and a cooling/heating system in the refrigeration cycle excluding the refrigerant compression pump 16p, an air conditioner with an integrated indoor unit and outdoor unit can be installed, so that not only specially designed air conditioners but also commercially available integrated air conditioners can be installed. In other words, it becomes possible to use an integrated air conditioner of a vertical type that is attached to a window frame of a house, etc., and it can be implemented at a lower cost.

(7) In a preferred embodiment, a removable internal cover 18 is provided on the automobile body Cb so as to be detachable from the wall Ciw inside the passenger compartment Ci, and when attached, the removable internal cover 18 closes the air conditioning air vent 4i, thereby forming part of the wall Ciw. This allows the air conditioning air vent 4i to be selectively opened and closed, so that when the air conditioning system 1 is in use, the air conditioning air vent 4i can be opened and used, and when the air conditioning system 1 is not in use, the air conditioning air vent 4i can be used as part of the wall Ciw. Therefore, by adding a pocket or the like, convenience and multi-functionality can be improved.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a camper van including an enlarged structural view of an air conditioner unit of an air conditioning system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the overall appearance of a camper equipped with the air conditioning system; FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the rear of a camper equipped with the air conditioning system; FIG. 2 is a sectional front view showing a relationship between a fixed frame unit and a detachable frame unit of a mounting frame portion provided in the air conditioning system in a detached state; FIG. 2 is a sectional front view showing the mounting state relationship (positional relationship) between a fixed frame unit and a detachable frame unit of a mounting frame part provided in the air conditioning system; FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing components of a mounting frame portion provided in the air conditioning system; FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the exterior of the vehicle interior of the air conditioning system; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the interior of a vehicle with an internal cover attached to the air conditioning system;

Next, we will present a preferred embodiment of the present invention and explain it in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, the configuration of the automotive air conditioning system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 8.

The illustrated automobile C is a camper van that uses a minivan, and the air conditioning system 1 according to this embodiment is retrofitted to this camper van. In this way, by using a camper van as the automobile C, the air conditioning system 1 can be installed in a camper van, which is particularly often used as a minivan, so that essential functions such as living space are not compromised, and the system can be implemented in an optimal form from the standpoint of avoiding increased costs, an increase in the size of the entire vehicle, and a decrease in design.

The air conditioning system 1 is broadly composed of a mounting frame section 3, an air conditioner section (hereafter abbreviated as the air conditioner section) 4, and a power supply section 5.

As shown in FIG. 1, the mounting frame section 3 is attached to an opening 2 in an automobile body Cb where a glass window (Cw) has been removed. The components of the mounting frame section 3 are shown in FIG. 6. The basic components of the mounting frame section 3 include a fixed frame unit 11 shown in FIG. 6(a), a detachable frame unit 13 shown in FIG. 6(b), and a gutter unit 14g that forms a drainage channel section 14 shown in FIG. 6(c).

The fixed frame unit 11 is a rectangular frame that is roughly aligned with the inner edge of the opening 2 from which the glass window (Cw) has been removed, that is, as shown in FIG. 6(a), is configured as a rectangular frame by the front frame plate 11f, the rear frame plate 11r, and the upper and lower frame members 11u and 11d that respectively connect the upper and lower ends of the front frame plate 11f and the rear frame plate 11r. In addition, support plates 22f and 22r having horizontal support surfaces with two insertion holes through which the bolts 12b (see FIG. 5) of the fixing device 12 are inserted are fixed by welding or the like to the middle positions of the opposing inner surfaces 11fs and 11rs of the front frame plate 11f and the rear frame plate 11r in the vertical direction Fv. The removable frame unit 13 can be supported by these support plates 22f and 22r.

The fixed frame unit 11 can be attached to the automobile body Cb by at least a part or the whole of the front frame plate 11f, the rear frame plate 11r, the upper frame member 11u, and the lower frame member 11d using one or more fasteners such as bolts and nuts. As a result, at least the support plates 22f and 22r of the front frame plate 11f and the rear frame plate 11r can be positioned in the space within the opening 2 as shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 6(b), the detachable frame unit 13 is formed in the shape of a long tray in the front-rear direction Ff. This detachable frame unit 13 supports the air conditioner unit 4 and also serves as a drain tray that receives drain water generated from the air conditioner unit 4. For this reason, a plurality of drain slits 13s are formed along the long side near the outer side of the detachable frame unit 13, which allow the drain water on the detachable frame unit 13 to fall downward. In addition, the front and rear ends of the detachable frame unit 13 are integrally formed with supported plate portions 23f and 23r that stand upright and have horizontal supported surfaces with two insertion holes through which the bolts 12b of the fixing device 12 are inserted, with their upper ends bent at right angles to the opposite side (outside) of the detachable frame unit 13.

As a result, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, the lower surfaces of the supported plate portions 23f and 23r of the detachable frame unit 13 are placed on the upper surfaces (horizontal surfaces) of the support plates 22f and 22r of the fixed frame unit 11, and the bolts 12b are inserted from above into the respective insertion holes formed in both plates, and then the nuts 12n are screwed and tightened from below, so that the detachable frame unit 13 can be attached (fixed) to the fixed frame unit 11. In the illustrated example, fasteners 12 consisting of four bolts 12b and nuts 12n are used. Therefore, by removing the fasteners 12, the detachable frame unit 13 can be easily detached from the fixed frame unit 11.

In this way, when constructing the mounting frame section 3, a fixed frame unit 11 is placed in the opening 2 and fixed to the automobile body Cb, and a detachable frame unit 13 is provided that is detachably attached to the fixed frame unit 11 with fasteners 12... and supports the air conditioner unit 4 and also serves as a drain tray to receive drain water generated by the air conditioner unit 4. This makes it easy to detach the air conditioner unit 4 from the fixed frame unit 11, making installation (assembly) easy and maintenance quick and easy.

As shown in FIG. 6(c), the gutter unit 14g is formed in a long, narrow gutter shape, and a drain outlet 14ge is provided near the front end to discharge the drain water inside downward. In addition, mounting parts 14gf, 14gr that stand upward are integrally formed at the front and rear ends of the gutter unit 14g. As shown in FIG. 5, these mounting parts 14gf, 14gr are attached by bolts and nuts to the intermediate portion between the front frame plate 11f and the rear frame plate 11r of the fixed frame unit 11. In this case, the gutter unit 14g is located directly below the drain slits 13s of the detachable frame unit 13, so it can receive the drain water discharged from the drain slits 13s.

As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner section 4 is configured with the heat release/cooling system exhaust port 4e facing the outside and the cooling/heating system air conditioning air port 4i facing the inside, and is configured with a refrigerant compression pump 16p arranged in a fixed position, and an air conditioner main body 16m that has the heat release/cooling system and the cooling/heating system in the refrigeration cycle integrated together except for the refrigerant compression pump 16p, and is installed by attaching it to the top surface of the detachable frame unit 13 described above with a plurality of bolts and nuts. In the example shown, a commercially available integrated air conditioner was used for the air conditioner section 4. This type of integrated air conditioner is a vertical type that is attached to a window frame of a house, etc., so the refrigerant compression pump 16p was removed from the air conditioner main body 16m and this refrigerant compression pump 16p was attached to a fixed position on the top surface of the detachable frame unit 13, and the air conditioner main body 16m except for the refrigerant compression pump 16p was changed to a horizontal position and attached to the top surface of the detachable frame unit 13.

In this way, when constructing the air conditioner section 4, if it is constructed with the refrigerant compression pump 16p arranged in a fixed position, and the air conditioner main body 16m which has the heat release/cold release system and the cooling/heating system integrated in the refrigeration cycle excluding this refrigerant compression pump 16p, an air conditioner with an integrated indoor unit and outdoor unit can be installed, so not only specially designed air conditioners but also commercially available integrated air conditioners can be installed. In other words, it becomes possible to use an integrated air conditioner of the vertical type that is attached to the window frame of a house, etc., and it can be implemented at a lower cost.

The power supply unit 5 is configured with a battery 5b that is charged from the power generation unit of the automobile C and can supply power to at least the air conditioner unit 4. As shown in FIG. 1, this battery 5b is stored in a storage space provided near the rear end of the minivan. Two 125 Ah lithium-ion batteries are used as the battery 5b in the example. The power supply unit 5 also includes a DC/AC inverter 5i that can convert the output of the battery 5b and supply power to the air conditioner unit 4. In this embodiment, two 100 W solar panels 26 are installed on the roof top of the automobile body Cb. Therefore, the power generation unit of the automobile C includes not only the energy generated by the engine or when driving downhill, but also the energy generated from the solar panels 26.

Next, the method of installing and using the air conditioning system 1 in the automobile C (camper) will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 8.

When installing the air conditioning system 1 in a camper, first remove the glass window (Cw) at the rear of the vehicle body Cb shown in FIG. 1. This leaves an opening 2 at the rear of the vehicle body Cb, and the fixed frame unit 11 of the mounting frame portion 3 is attached to this opening 2 as shown in FIG. 4. The fixed frame unit 11 is preassembled as the assembly shown in FIG. 6(a), and as shown in FIG. 5, the gutter unit 14g is attached between the front frame plate 11f and the rear frame plate 11r of the fixed frame unit 11 with bolts, nuts, etc.

On the other hand, as shown in Figures 1 and 4, the air conditioner main body 16m and refrigerant compression pump 16p that constitute the air conditioner section 4 are attached to the upper surface of the detachable frame unit 13 of the mounting frame section 3. Then, the detachable frame unit 13 with the air conditioner section 4 attached is housed inside the fixed frame unit 11, and the supported plate sections 23f and 23r of the detachable frame unit 13 are placed on the support plates 22f and 22r of the fixed frame unit 11. This state is shown in Figure 5. After this, the supported plate sections 23f and 23r are fixed to the support plates 22f and 22r with four fasteners 12... consisting of bolts 12b... and nuts 12n....

On the other hand, an external panel 27 is prepared and attached to the outer surface Cbo of the automobile body Cb to cover the opening 2. That is, when the air conditioner unit 4 is attached to the mounting frame 3, as shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner unit 4 protrudes about half toward the outside of the automobile body Cb and half toward the inside of the passenger compartment Ci, and the external panel 27 covers the air conditioner unit 4 protruding toward the outside and the opening 2. For this reason, the overall shape of the external panel 27 is formed so that the middle part bulges outward and the protruding part of the air conditioner unit 4 is stored in the inner space. Therefore, it is desirable to paint the outer surface of the external panel 27 in the same color as the body color of the outer surface Cbo of the automobile body Cb. As a result, the external panel 27 becomes part of the automobile body Cb.

In addition, a drain outlet 27dh is provided on the lower end surface 27d of the external panel 27, as shown in FIG. 4. As a result, when the fixed frame unit 11 is attached to the automobile body Cb, the drain outlet 27dh is connected to the drain outlet portion 14ge of the gutter unit 14g described above using a drain pipe 28, as shown in FIG. 5. The drain outlet 27dh, the drain pipe 28, the gutter unit 14g, and the drain slits 13s... constitute the drain channel portion 14 that discharges drain water generated by the air conditioner unit 4 to the outside. In this way, by providing the mounting frame portion 3 with the drain channel portion 14 including the gutter unit 14g that discharges drain water received by the detachable frame unit 13 to the outside, the drain water generated by the air conditioner unit 4 can be discharged to the outside smoothly and reliably.

Then, a rectangular exhaust window 27s is formed in the middle of the external panel 27, as shown in FIG. 3, and a rectangular external cover 17 is attached to this exhaust window 27s. When attaching the external cover 17, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper side 17u of the external cover 17 is attached to the automobile body Cb, i.e., in the illustrated case, the outer surface of the external panel 27, via a pair of front and rear hinge parts 29, 29, and the lower side 17d side of the external cover 17 is configured to be able to pivot up and down, and a pair of front and rear locking mechanism parts 30, 30 are disposed between the lower side 17d of the external cover 17 and the outer surface of the external panel 27. Note that 31 indicates a support stay provided between the back surface of the external cover 17 and the automobile body Cb.

As a result, when the air conditioning system 1 is used, as shown in FIG. 3, the external cover 17 is opened, the support stay 31 stored on the back surface of the external cover 17 is removed, and the tip (lower end) is engaged with the stay stopper 31s provided on the automobile body Cb, so that the external cover 17 can be fixed in the open position Xo where the exhaust port 4e is open. On the other hand, if the support stay 31 is removed from the stay stopper 31s and stored on the back surface of the external cover 17, it can be displaced to the closed position Xc where the exhaust port 4e is blocked by the external cover 17. As a result, the external cover 17 can be overlapped on the outer surface of the external panel 27 as shown in FIG. 2, so that the external cover 17 can be fixed in the closed position Xc by locking the position with the pair of locking mechanisms 30, 30.

In this way, by providing an external cover 17 that is displaceably attached to the automobile body Cb relative to the outer surface Cbo of the automobile body Cb and that constitutes part of the outer surface Cbo, and that can be selectively fixed to a closed position Xc that blocks the exhaust port 4e or an open position Xo that opens the exhaust port 4e, the exhaust port 4e can be selectively opened and closed. Therefore, when the air conditioning system 1 is in use, the exhaust port 4e can be opened and used, and when the air conditioning system 1 is not in use, the exhaust port 4e can be blocked by the external cover 17, thereby reliably protecting the air conditioner unit 4 and ensuring a sense of unity with the outer surface Cbo, thereby enhancing the design.

Furthermore, an internal panel 32 is prepared, and this internal panel 32 covers the air conditioner unit 4 and the opening 2 exposed in the vehicle compartment Ci. As shown in FIG. 7, the internal panel 32 is formed in a shape that covers the air conditioner unit 4 protruding into the vehicle compartment Ci, and is configured to be detachable from the wall surface Ciw in the vehicle compartment Ci. In the illustrated example, a storage unit having a stand Cs on the upper surface is provided below the air conditioner unit 4, so the internal panel 32 is formed in a shape that covers the space between the stand Cs and the ceiling Ciu in the vehicle compartment Ci. The illustrated internal panel 32 has a flat front panel portion 32f formed with a rectangular opening window 32s through which almost the entire air conditioning air vent 4i of the air conditioner unit 4 is exposed, so this internal panel 32 is attached after the air conditioner unit 4 is attached inside. It is desirable to consider the design of the wall surface Ciw in the vehicle compartment Ci for the surface of the internal panel 32. As a result, when the internal panel 32 is attached to the wall surface Ciw, it forms a part of the wall surface Ciw. Additionally, the reference numeral 33 denotes an operation remote control provided on the surface of the front panel portion 32f other than the opening window 32s.

On the other hand, an internal cover 18 is prepared for use when the air conditioner unit 4 is not in use. An example of the internal cover 18 is shown in Figure 8. The internal cover 18 shown is formed from a single flat panel member formed in a rectangular shape that closes the above-mentioned opening window 32s, and is configured to be detachable from the front panel unit 32f via a detachable mounting fixture. Design is taken into consideration when designing the surface of the internal cover 18, such that it matches the surface design of the internal panel 32. Also, the internal cover 18 in Figure 8 shows an example of a form in which three storage pockets 18p... are arranged on the surface.

In this way, by providing a removable internal cover 18 that is detachable from the wall Ciw inside the vehicle compartment Ci and that, when attached, blocks the air conditioning air vent 4i, thereby forming part of the wall Ciw, the air conditioning air vent 4i can be selectively opened and closed, so that when the air conditioning system 1 is in use, the air conditioning air vent 4i can be opened and used, and when the air conditioning system 1 is not in use, the air conditioning air vent 4i can be used as part of the wall Ciw, so that convenience and multifunctionality can be increased by adding pockets, etc.

As a result, when the air conditioning system 1 is not in use, as shown in FIG. 8, the opening window 32s of the internal panel 32 in the vehicle compartment Ci is closed by the internal cover 18, and as shown in FIG. 2, by placing the external cover 17 on the outer surface Cbo of the automobile body Cb in the closed position Xc, unnecessary exposure of the air conditioner unit 4 can be avoided, protecting the air conditioning system 1, and ensuring a seamless integration of the inside and outside of the automobile body Cb.

On the other hand, when the air conditioning system 1 is in use, as shown in FIG. 7, the internal cover 18 is removed from the internal panel 32 in the vehicle compartment Ci, the opening window 32s is opened, and as shown in FIG. 3, the external cover 17 on the outer surface Cbo of the vehicle body Cb is set to the open position Xo, thereby setting the air conditioning unit 4 to an open mode in which the exhaust window portion 27s is opened. As a result, when the air conditioning system 1 is in operation, power is supplied from the battery 5b via the DC/AC inverter 5i to the air conditioner unit 4. In the cooling mode, the vehicle compartment Ci is cooled by the cold air discharged from the air conditioning air vent 4i, and heat is released to the outside from the exhaust air vent 4e, and in the heating mode, the vehicle compartment Ci is heated by the warm air discharged from the air conditioning air vent 4i, and cool air is released to the outside from the exhaust air vent 4e.

Therefore, according to the air conditioning system 1 of the automobile according to this embodiment, the basic configuration includes a mounting frame part 3 that is attached to the opening 2 of the automobile body Cb where the glass window (Cw) has been removed, an air conditioner part 4 that is supported by the mounting frame part 3 and has an exhaust port 4e of the heat dissipation/cooling dissipation system facing the outside and an air conditioning air port 4i of the cooling/heating system facing the inside, and a power supply part 5 that includes a battery 5b that is charged from the power generation part of the automobile C and can supply power to at least the air conditioner part 4, so that the installation space for the air conditioning system 1 can be easily secured. Therefore, it is possible to greatly expand the range of models that can be equipped with the retrofit air conditioning system 1, including minivans, and it is possible to increase versatility and expandability. Moreover, it is possible to avoid major losses in originally necessary functions such as living space, and to avoid problems that lead to increased costs, larger overall size of the vehicle, and poor design, making it especially suitable for use in camper vans.

Although the preferred embodiment has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and the detailed configuration, shape, material, quantity, numerical values, etc. can be changed, added, or deleted as desired without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, the vehicle C is most suitable for use in a camper, but can also be used in various types of vehicles, such as general minivans, trucks, buses, wagons, and sedans. The mounting frame 3 includes a fixed frame unit 11 that is disposed in the opening 2 and fixed to the vehicle body Cb, and a removable frame unit 13 that is detachably attached to the fixed frame unit 11 by fasteners 12..., supports the air conditioner 4, and also serves as a drain tray to receive drain water generated from the air conditioner 4. However, this can be replaced with various configurations having similar functions. Furthermore, the drainage channel 14 includes a gutter unit 14g that discharges the drain water received by the removable frame unit 13 to the outside, but this can be replaced with other configurations having similar functions, such as directly discharging the drain water received by the removable frame unit 13 to the outside. On the other hand, when configuring the air conditioner unit 4, in the case of an air conditioner unit 4 equipped with a refrigerant compression pump 16p that does not require a fixed position, the refrigerant compression pump 16p may be incorporated into the air conditioner main body 16m. In addition, although the air conditioner unit 4 using a refrigeration cycle is exemplified, the air conditioner unit 4 may use other principles, such as a thermo module using a Peltier element. Furthermore, the external cover 17 may be configured to be displaced in a sliding manner, for example, and the external cover 17 and the external panel 27 may be integrated, and can be implemented in various forms having the same function, and similarly, the internal cover 18 and the internal panel 32 may be integrated, and can be implemented in various forms having the same function.

The air conditioning system of the present invention can be used as a retrofit for various automobiles, such as campers.

1: Air conditioning system, 2: Opening, 3: Mounting frame, 4: Air conditioner, 4e: Exhaust port, 4i: Air conditioning air port, 5: Power supply, 5b: Battery, 11: Fixed frame unit, 12...: Fixture, 13: Detachable frame unit, 14: Drainage channel, 14g: Gutter unit, 16p: Refrigerant compression pump, 16m: Air conditioner body, 17: External cover, 18: Internal cover, C: Car, Cb: Car body, (Cw) Glass window, Cbo: Outer surface of car body, Ci: Car interior, Ciw: Wall, Xc: Closed position, Xo: Open position

Claims (6)

An air conditioning system for an automobile that is retrofitted to an automobile, comprising: a mounting frame that is attached to an opening in the automobile body where the glass window has been removed; an air conditioner unit that is supported by the mounting frame and has an exhaust port of the heat/cold dissipation system facing the outside and an air conditioning air port of the cooling/heating system facing the inside; a power supply unit that is charged by the automobile's power generation unit and includes a battery that can supply power to at least the air conditioner unit; and an external cover that is displaceably attached to the outer surface of the automobile body to form part of the outer surface and that can be selectively fixed to a closed position that blocks the exhaust port or an open position that opens the exhaust port. The air conditioning system for an automobile according to claim 1, characterized in that the automobile is a camper. The automotive air conditioning system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the mounting frame portion comprises a fixed frame unit disposed in the opening and fixed to the vehicle body, and a detachable frame unit detachably attached to the fixed frame unit by a fastener, supporting the air conditioner portion and also serving as a drain tray for receiving drain water generated from the air conditioner portion. The automotive air conditioning system according to claim 3, characterized in that the mounting frame portion is provided with a drainage channel portion including a gutter unit that discharges drain water received by the detachable frame unit to the outside. The air conditioning system for an automobile according to claim 1, characterized in that the air conditioner section comprises a refrigerant compression pump arranged at a fixed position, and an air conditioner main body having the heat release/cooling release system and the cooling/heating system integrated in the refrigeration cycle excluding the refrigerant compression pump. The automobile air conditioning system according to claim 1, characterized in that the automobile body is configured to be detachable from the interior wall of the vehicle and is provided with a removable internal cover that, when attached, closes the air conditioning air vent to form part of the wall.

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