JP7600974B2 - Vehicle air conditioning system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an air conditioning device installed in a vehicle.

The following Patent Document 1 discloses a heater duct structure for a vehicle that constitutes this type of air conditioning system. This heater duct structure is designed to warm the feet of rear seat passengers with hot air, and is configured to blow out hot air from an outlet formed at the lower end of the quarter trim on the side of the rear of the passenger compartment.

JP 2006-264440 A

It is preferable that the design of an air conditioning system such as the heater duct structure described above is carried out while taking into consideration the vehicle structure and the relative positioning of other parts. In this case, if there are restrictions on the location of the duct, it is expected that it will be difficult to supply a sufficient amount of conditioned air to the necessary areas in the vehicle cabin, even if the location and area of the air outlet that blows air into the vehicle cabin are carefully designed.

For example, while the conditioned air blowing out from the outlet of a duct located on the right side of the rear seat can be supplied with a sufficient volume of air to the occupant in the vehicle seat on the right side, which is closer to the duct, it cannot be supplied to the occupant in the vehicle seat on the left side, which is farther from the duct. When the positions and number of the outlets from which the conditioned air blows out are limited, a problem can arise in which temperature differences occur at the feet of the occupants depending on their riding position.

The present invention was made in consideration of these problems, and aims to provide a vehicle air conditioner that can efficiently supply conditioned air to the vehicle interior.

One aspect of the present invention is
An air conditioning air supply device mounted on a vehicle,
a trim portion having two air outlets provided adjacent to each other at positions facing a vehicle interior ;
an air conditioning air guide portion provided on a seat cushion portion of a vehicle seat that is disposed forward of the trim portion and slidable in a front-rear direction so as to face a vehicle body floor portion;
Equipped with
The trim section is configured to draw in, by the Coanda effect, the conditioned air blown into the vehicle compartment from a first air outlet having a faster blowing speed of the two air outlets and the conditioned air blown into the vehicle compartment from a second air outlet having a slower blowing speed, thereby increasing an air volume,
the first air outlet is open so that the conditioned air blown into the vehicle compartment is supplied to a first supply area adjacent to a target obstacle, and the second air outlet is open so that the conditioned air blown into the vehicle compartment is supplied to a second supply area located on a boundary between the obstacle and the first supply area,
the conditioned air flow guide portion is configured to introduce a portion of the conditioned air flow blown out from each of the first air outlet and the second air outlet into the vehicle compartment from a region rearward of the vehicle seat and guide it to a region forward of the vehicle seat ;
is located.

In the air conditioning air supply device of the above-mentioned aspect, the trim section is provided with two adjacent air outlets in a position facing the vehicle interior. In this case, by arranging the first air outlet with a faster air outlet speed and the second air outlet with a slower air outlet speed adjacent to each other, it is possible to increase the air volume by drawing in the air conditioning air blown out from the second air outlet into the vehicle interior by the Coanda effect.

As a result, even when the conditioned air cannot be delivered to the desired area in the vehicle cabin due to a lack of airflow, the volume of the conditioned air with a slower blowing speed is increased by the Coanda effect, making it possible to deliver the conditioned air to this area efficiently. As a result, even when the position and number of air outlets are limited, it is possible to prevent temperature differences at the feet of occupants depending on their riding position.

As described above, the above-mentioned aspect makes it possible to provide a vehicle air conditioner that can efficiently supply conditioned air into the vehicle cabin.

1 is a side view of a vehicle interior of a vehicle according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a front view of a seat cushion portion of a second-row vehicle seat in FIG. 1 . FIG. 4 is a rear view of the air conditioning air guide portion in FIG. 3 . FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V-V in FIG. 4 . 11 is a plan view showing a state in which conditioned air is supplied to the vehicle interior from the air outlet of the trim portion when the second row vehicle seat is in the front position; FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a state in which conditioned air is supplied to the vehicle interior from the air outlet of the trim portion when the second row vehicle seat is in the rear position. FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view for explaining the Coanda effect of the conditioned air blown out from the air outlet of the trim portion.

In the above-mentioned air conditioning air supply device, it is preferable that the first air outlet is open so that the air conditioning air blown into the vehicle cabin is supplied to a first supply area adjacent to the target obstacle, and the second air outlet is open so that the air conditioning air blown into the vehicle cabin is supplied to a second supply area located at the boundary between the obstacle and the first supply area.

According to this air conditioning air supply device, the air conditioning air blown out from the first air outlet has a high blowing speed and a sufficient air volume, so it can directly target the air conditioning target in the first supply area. Therefore, the air conditioning air blown out from the first air outlet can be delivered to the air conditioning target in the first supply area without being blocked by obstacles. On the other hand, the air conditioning air blown out from the second air outlet has a low blowing speed and the air volume is insufficient to reach the desired air conditioning target, but by using the Coanda effect to increase the air volume, it can be delivered from the second supply area to the desired air conditioning target located beyond the obstacle. As a result, even if the positions and number of the air outlets are limited, the air conditioning air blown out from the first air outlet and the second air outlet work together to deliver the air conditioning air in a balanced manner over a wide area of the vehicle cabin.

In the above-mentioned air conditioning air supply device, the trim portion has an air conditioning airflow path communicating with the two air outlets, and a flow regulating portion provided in the air conditioning airflow path between the first air outlet and the second air outlet,
The second air outlet is disposed upstream of the first air outlet in a direction in which the air conditioning air flows through the air conditioning airflow path,
It is preferable that the flow regulating section is configured to increase the diversion ratio of the air conditioning air flowing toward the first air outlet compared to the second air outlet by regulating the flow of the air conditioning air toward the second air outlet.

With this air conditioning air supply device, by utilizing the flow regulation section, it is possible to control the speed of the air conditioning air blown out of the first air outlet to be faster, and the speed of the air conditioning air blown out of the second air outlet to be slower than the first air outlet.

Below, specific examples of embodiments of an air conditioning air supply device mounted on a vehicle will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the drawings referred to in the following description, the front of the vehicle is indicated by the arrow FR, the top of the vehicle is indicated by the arrow UP, and the inside of the vehicle is indicated by the arrow IN. Furthermore, unless otherwise stated, the fore-and-aft direction (vehicle length direction) of the air conditioning air supply device when mounted on the vehicle is indicated by the arrow X, the left-right direction (vehicle width direction) by the arrow Y, and the up-and-down direction (vehicle height direction) by the arrow Z.

(Embodiment 1)
As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 according to the first embodiment is a minivan equipped with a front vehicle seat 10A and two rows of rear vehicle seats 10B and 10C. The vehicle seat 10A is disposed in a first area 2 of the vehicle interior 1a. The vehicle seat 10B is a second-row vehicle seat disposed in a second area 3 of the vehicle interior 1a rearward of the first area 2. The vehicle seat 10B is a so-called "captain seat", and the two vehicle seats 10B are disposed adjacent to each other in the left-right direction Y. The vehicle seat 10C is a third-row vehicle seat disposed in a third area 4 of the vehicle interior 1a rearward of the second area 3. The vehicle seat 10C is a three-seater seat, and is a so-called "bench seat".

The arrangement of the vehicle seats in this vehicle 1 is merely illustrative and is not limited to that shown in FIG. 1. For example, the rear seats may be arranged in other than two rows. Also, the structure and shape of each vehicle seat may be modified as appropriate from that shown in FIG. 1.

The vehicle seat 10B has seat leg portions 13 (see FIG. 3) on both sides in the left-right direction Y, and the seat leg portions 13 are supported so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction X via slide rails 14 provided on the vehicle body floor portion 1b so as to extend in the front-rear direction X. In other words, the vehicle seat 10B is configured as a slide seat that is slidable in the front-rear direction X between a front position P1 and a rear position P2. Therefore, the position of the legs L of the occupant C changes forward and backward as the vehicle seat 10B slides in the front-rear direction X.

As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioning air supply device 101 of the first embodiment is mounted on a vehicle 1 and includes a trim section 5 and an air conditioning air guide section 20.

(Trim structure)
The trim part 5 is formed by a right interior part provided in a protruding manner in the third region 4 of the vehicle interior 1a. The trim part 5 is disposed rearward of the vehicle seat 10B and has two air outlets 8, 9. Both of these two air outlets 8, 9 are provided adjacent to each other at a position lower than the seat cushion part 11 of the vehicle seat 10B and facing the third region 4 of the vehicle interior 1a. In addition, these two air outlets 8, 9 are provided so as to communicate with the air conditioning air flow path 7 formed inside the duct 6. Therefore, the air conditioning air generated by the heater unit (not shown) can be supplied to the vehicle interior 1a from the two air outlets 8, 9 through the air conditioning air flow path 7 of the duct 6. At this time, the air conditioning air blown out from the two air outlets 8, 9 is made into hot air for warming the feet of the occupants.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first air outlet 8, which is located at the front of the two air outlets 8, 9, opens diagonally forward toward the vehicle interior 1a. In contrast, the second air outlet 9, which is located at the rear of the two air outlets 8, 9, opens diagonally forward toward the vehicle interior 1a, but opens at a slight angle toward the front than the first air outlet 8. That is, when the trim section 5 is viewed from above the vehicle interior 1a, the angle θ1 between an imaginary line K extending in the fore-and-aft direction X and the opening direction of the first air outlet 8 is slightly greater than the angle θ2 between the imaginary line K and the opening direction of the second air outlet 9. With this configuration, the conditioned air blown out from each of the two air outlets 8, 9 can interfere with each other at the boundary between them.

The trim section 5 has a flow restricting section 6a provided in a convex shape on the upstream side of the second air outlet 9 in the air conditioning air flow path 7. In this case, the second air outlet 9 is disposed on the upstream side of the first air outlet 8 in the direction in which the air conditioning air flows through the air conditioning air flow path 7. The flow restricting section 6a is configured to increase the diversion ratio of the air conditioning air flowing toward the first air outlet 8 compared to the second air outlet 9 by blocking and restricting a part of the flow of the air conditioning air toward the second air outlet 9.

According to this configuration, the conditioned air blown out from the first air outlet 8 becomes a mainstream air flow with a larger air volume and a faster blowing speed than the conditioned air blown out from the second air outlet 9. Therefore, the first air outlet 8 can also be called a "main air outlet" or a "main air opening." In contrast, the conditioned air blown out from the second air outlet 9 becomes a side flow air flow with a smaller air volume and a slower blowing speed than the conditioned air blown out from the first air outlet 8. Therefore, the second air outlet 9 can also be called a "side flow outlet" or a "side flow opening."

(Structure of air conditioning air guide section)
The conditioned air flow guide portion 20 is provided in an opposing space 12 between the seat cushion portion 11 of each of the left and right vehicle seats 10B and the vehicle body floor portion 1b. The upper surface of the seat cushion portion 11 serves as a seating surface for the occupant C. The conditioned air flow guide portion 20 is fixed integrally to the lower surface of the seat cushion portion 11 of the vehicle seat 10B. Therefore, the conditioned air flow guide portion 20 moves forward and backward in response to the vehicle seat 10B sliding in the fore-and-aft direction X.

The air-conditioning air guide section 20 has a guide path 21, an inlet opening 24, and an outlet opening 27. The guide path 21 is a guide space for guiding the air-conditioning air in the longitudinal direction X of the vehicle 1. The inlet opening 24 is an opening for introducing a portion of the air-conditioning air blown out from the air outlets 8, 9 of the trim section 5 into the passenger compartment 1a into the guide path 21. The outlet opening 27 is an opening for guiding the air-conditioning air from the guide path 21 into the passenger compartment 1a.

As shown in FIG. 3, the air conditioning air guide section 20 has a front wall 25 that defines the front side of the taxiway 21, a right wall 28 that defines the right side of the taxiway 21, and a left wall 29 that defines the left side of the taxiway 21. The front wall 25 is provided with a slit section 26 having a lattice-shaped slit opening that constitutes the outlet opening 27.

As shown in FIG. 4, the air conditioning air guide section 20 further has a rear wall 22 that defines the rear side of the guideway 21. The rear wall 22 is provided with a slit section 23 having a lattice-shaped slit opening that constitutes the introduction opening 24. The slit section 23 is positioned to face the air outlets 8 and 9 of the trim section 5 across a space.

The upper side of the induction path 21 is defined by the underside of the seat cushion portion 11 of the vehicle seat 10B, and the lower side of the induction path 21 is defined by the surface of the vehicle body floor portion 1b. As a result, the induction path 21 is an enclosed space that is enclosed in three directions, the front-rear direction X, the left-right direction Y, and the up-down direction Z, except for the small gaps formed between the openings of the inlet opening 24 and the outlet opening 27 and the surface of the vehicle body floor portion 1b. At this time, the induction path 21 is formed to have a roughly rectangular prism shape.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the air conditioning air guide section 20 has a standing wall 22a that is erected around the inlet opening 24. The space 22b surrounded by this standing wall 22a is an opening space that is effective in inducing the air conditioning air into the inlet opening 24. For this reason, as shown in Figure 5, an air conditioning air flow (see the arrow in Figure 5) is formed in which the air conditioning air blown out from the first air outlet 8 is drawn into the inlet opening 24 along the surface of the standing wall 22a.

Next, with reference to Figures 6 and 7, we will explain how conditioned air is blown out from the two air outlets 8, 9 of the trim section 5 into the vehicle interior 1a.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the second-row vehicle seat 10B is in the front position P1, the distance in the fore-and-aft direction X of the third area 4 of the vehicle interior 1a is maximum. At this time, the vehicle seat 10B is positioned at the farthest position from the two air outlets 8, 9 of the trim section 5 among all the sliding positions in the fore-and-aft direction X. At this time, the conditioned air blown out from the two air outlets 8, 9 is mainly supplied to the third area 4 of the vehicle interior 1a.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the second-row vehicle seat 10B is in the rear position P2, the distance in the fore-and-aft direction X of the third area 4 of the vehicle interior 1a is at its smallest. At this time, the vehicle seat 10B is positioned in the position closest to the two air outlets 8, 9 of the trim section 5 among the various sliding positions in the fore-and-aft direction X. Therefore, the conditioned air blown out from the two air outlets 8, 9 is guided by the conditioned air guide section 20 provided below the seat cushion section 11 of the right-side vehicle seat 10B.

The conditioned air flows forward from the third area 4 of the vehicle interior 1a to the second area 3 through the induction path 21 of the conditioned air induction section 20. As described above, the induction path 21 is partitioned both vertically and horizontally, and allows the conditioned air to flow only in the forward and backward direction X. Therefore, unlike a simple open space where the conditioned air flows, this induction path 21 is effective in guiding the conditioned air with directionality from the third area 4 to the second area 3. At this time, the conditioned air blown out from the two air outlets 8, 9 is supplied to both the second area 3 and the third area 4 of the vehicle interior 1a.

Referring to Figures 6 and 7, by integrating the air conditioning air guide section 20 with the vehicle seat 10B, which is a sliding seat, the destination of the air conditioning air blown out from the air outlets 8, 9 of the trim section 5 can be switched depending on the sliding position of the vehicle seat 10B.

By using the air conditioning air guide section 20, even if the position of the trim section 5 is restricted, the air conditioning air blown out from the air outlets 8, 9 provided in the trim section 5 can be reliably guided to the second area 3 away from the air outlets 8, 9.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the trim section 5 is disposed, for example, directly to the side of the vehicle seat 10C, the first air outlet 8 opens so that the conditioned air blown into the vehicle interior 1a is supplied to a first supply area A1 adjacent to a target obstacle W. Here, the right seat leg section 13 of the vehicle seat 10C is the obstacle W. In contrast, the second air outlet 9 opens so that the conditioned air blown into the vehicle interior 1a is supplied to a second supply area A2 located at the boundary between the obstacle W and the first supply area A1.

The conditioned air blown out from the first air outlet 8 has a high blowing speed and a sufficient air volume can be secured, so it can be aimed directly at the feet of the occupant on the right and center of the vehicle seat 10C, which is the target of air conditioning and located away from the first air outlet 8 in the first supply area A1. Therefore, the conditioned air blown out from the first air outlet 8 can be delivered to the feet of the occupant in the first supply area A1 without being obstructed by obstacles W.

In contrast, if the airflow speed of the conditioned air blown out from the second air outlet 9 is slow and the volume of the air is insufficient, it is difficult to directly target the feet of the occupant on the left side of the vehicle seat 10C, which is the air-conditioned target located away from the second air outlet 9. For this reason, it is difficult to adequately deliver the conditioned air blown out from the second air outlet 9 to the feet of the occupant on the left side of the vehicle seat 10C.

The trim section 5 of this embodiment is configured so that the conditioned air blown into the vehicle compartment 1a from the first air outlet 8 of the two air outlets 8, 9 draws in the conditioned air blown into the vehicle compartment 1a from the second air outlet 9 by the Coanda effect, thereby increasing the air volume. In order to obtain this Coanda effect, it is preferable to appropriately set the arrangement and orientation of the two air outlets 8, 9 and the relationship between the relative blowing air speeds of the two air outlets 8, 9.

The "Coanda effect" referred to here makes use of a known phenomenon related to fluids, and a detailed explanation will be omitted, but generally speaking, it refers to the phenomenon in which a fluid draws in or pulls in surrounding fluids as it flows due to the effect of its viscosity.

In this embodiment, the Coanda effect is a phenomenon in which the conditioned air, which is the main flow with a high flow rate (the conditioned air blown out from the first outlet 8), draws in the surrounding secondary flow (the conditioned air blown out from the second outlet 9) with a low flow rate due to the effect of viscosity. In order to obtain this Coanda effect, it is preferable to use the flow regulation portion 6a (see FIG. 2) to control the speed of the conditioned air blown out from the first outlet 8 to be high and the speed of the conditioned air blown out from the second outlet 9 to be slower than the first outlet 8.

According to the structure for achieving this Coanda effect (hereinafter referred to as the "Coanda structure"), even if the blowing speed of the conditioned air blown out from the second air outlet 9 is slow, the volume of the conditioned air increases as the conditioned air is drawn in by the conditioned air blown out from the first air outlet 8 as it flows through the vehicle interior 1a. At this time, a Coanda flow F is formed at the boundary between the first supply area A1 and the second supply area A2, in which the conditioned air blown out from the first air outlet 8 draws in the conditioned air blown out from the second air outlet 9 (see FIG. 8).

This allows the conditioned air blown out from the second air outlet 9 to be pulled to the third supply area A3 diagonally forward to the left beyond the obstacle W, making it possible to deliver a sufficient amount of air to the feet of the occupant on the left side of the vehicle seat 10C. In other words, the second supply area A2 by the second air outlet 9 can be extended to the third supply area A3 compared to a case where the Coanda effect cannot be obtained. As a result, even if the positions and number of the air outlets 8, 9 are limited, the cooperation of the conditioned air blown out from each of the first air outlet 8 and the second air outlet 9 makes it possible to deliver the conditioned air to a wide area in the vehicle compartment 1a in a balanced manner.

The inventors have confirmed this effect in a fluid analysis (CFD analysis) that was actually carried out using a computer system.

Next, the effects of the above-mentioned embodiment 1 will be explained.

In the air conditioning air supply device 101 of the first embodiment, the trim section 5 is provided with two adjacent air outlets 8, 9 at a position facing the vehicle interior 1a. By arranging the first air outlet 8, which has a faster air outlet speed, and the second air outlet 9, which has a slower air outlet speed, adjacent to each other, it is possible to increase the air volume by drawing in the air conditioning air blown out from the second air outlet 9 into the vehicle interior 1a by the Coanda effect.

As a result, even when the conditioned air cannot be delivered to the third supply area A3 (see FIG. 8) in the passenger compartment 1a due to a lack of airflow, the volume of the conditioned air with a slower blowing speed (the conditioned air blown out from the second air outlet 9) is increased by the Coanda effect, making it possible to efficiently deliver the conditioned air to the third supply area A3. As a result, even when the positions and number of the air outlets 8, 9 are limited, it is possible to prevent temperature differences at the feet of occupants depending on their riding position.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to provide an air conditioning air supply device 101 that can efficiently supply air conditioning air into the vehicle interior 1a.

In addition, by combining a Coanda structure with the air conditioning air guide section 20, the air conditioning air supply device 101 is effective in achieving both the function of delivering the air conditioning air to distant areas within the vehicle interior 1a and the function of guiding the air conditioning air with directionality to the desired area.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various applications and modifications are possible without departing from the purpose of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, a flow restriction portion 6a is provided in the air conditioning air flow path 7 of the trim portion 5, but the flow restriction portion 6a can be omitted if a separate structure is provided that can slow the air blown out of the second air outlet 9 more than the first air outlet 8.

In the above embodiment, the Coanda effect occurring between the conditioned air blown out from each of the two air outlets 8, 9 of the trim section 5 is used as an example, but the number of air outlets is not limited as long as the Coanda effect can be used. For example, three or more air outlets may be provided adjacent to each other in the trim section 5, and the Coanda effect occurring between the conditioned air blown out from at least two adjacent air outlets among the multiple air outlets may be used.

In the above-described embodiment, an air-conditioning air supply device 101 that combines both the air-conditioning air guide section 20 and the Coanda structure has been exemplified, but as a reference example, it is also possible to omit only the air-conditioning air guide section 20 in this air-conditioning air supply device 101.

In the above embodiment, a structure in which hot air generated by the heater unit is supplied to the vehicle interior 1a as conditioned air is illustrated, but this structure can of course also be applied to a structure in which cold air is supplied to the vehicle interior 1a as conditioned air.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 vehicle 1a vehicle compartment 5 trim portion 6a flow restriction portion 7 air conditioning air flow path 8 first air outlet (air outlet)
9 Second air outlet (air outlet)
13 Seat leg (obstacle)
101 Air-conditioned air supply device A1 First supply area A2 Second supply area W Obstacle

Claims (2)

An air conditioning air supply device mounted on a vehicle,
a trim portion having two air outlets provided adjacent to each other at positions facing a vehicle interior ;
an air conditioning air guide portion provided on a seat cushion portion of a vehicle seat that is disposed forward of the trim portion and slidable in a front-rear direction so as to face a vehicle body floor portion;
Equipped with
The trim section is configured to draw in, by the Coanda effect, the conditioned air blown into the vehicle compartment from a first air outlet having a faster blowing speed of the two air outlets and the conditioned air blown into the vehicle compartment from a second air outlet having a slower blowing speed, thereby increasing an air volume,
the first air outlet is open so that the conditioned air blown into the vehicle compartment is supplied to a first supply area adjacent to a target obstacle, and the second air outlet is open so that the conditioned air blown into the vehicle compartment is supplied to a second supply area located on a boundary between the obstacle and the first supply area,
The air-conditioning air guide section is configured to introduce a portion of the air-conditioning air blown out from each of the first air outlet and the second air outlet into the vehicle compartment from an area rearward of the vehicle seat and guide it to an area forward of the vehicle seat . The trim portion has an air conditioning airflow path communicating with the two air outlets, and a flow regulating portion provided in a convex shape on the upstream side of the second air outlet in the air conditioning airflow path,
The second air outlet is disposed upstream of the first air outlet in a direction in which the air conditioning air flows through the air conditioning airflow path,
The air conditioning air supply device according to claim 1, wherein the flow regulating section is configured to increase the volume of the air conditioning air blown out from the first air outlet compared to the second air outlet by regulating the flow of the air conditioning air toward the second air outlet.

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