JP7659082B2 - Vehicle air conditioning system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an air conditioning system for a vehicle.

Conventionally, there is known a vehicle air conditioner having a two-layer flow structure that can simultaneously introduce air inside the vehicle cabin (inside air) and air outside the vehicle cabin (outside air), and allows the inside air and the outside air to flow separately. This vehicle air conditioner has a casing that houses a blower and a heat exchanger, and in the inside/outside air two-layer flow mode, inside air is introduced into the lower layer of the casing and outside air is introduced into the upper layer of the casing, and after passing through the heat exchanger, the air introduced into the lower layer of the casing is supplied to the foot area (foot outlet), while the air introduced into the upper layer of the casing is supplied to the defroster outlet, thereby improving heating efficiency while suppressing fogging of the windshield (see Patent Document 1 below).

JP 2018-144532 A

In the vehicle air conditioning system described above, in order to accommodate components such as the heat exchanger and air mix door inside the casing, the casing is formed from multiple divided bodies, and various components are stored inside in a divided state. The divided bodies are then joined and secured with fasteners (screws, etc.) to complete the casing housing the heat exchanger, etc. inside.

In such vehicle air conditioning systems, to achieve the two-layer structure described above, it is necessary to provide a partition wall inside the casing to separate the upper and lower layers. However, near the centre of the casing, particularly near the operating part of the air mix door, the partition walls that protrude like ribs on the inside of the divided bodies are butted together, so it is not possible to provide a fixed part there.

For this reason, when the pressure inside the casing increases due to the introduction of air into the casing, the butt points of the partition walls separate, making it easier for air leakage to occur, making it impossible to obtain the desired air mix state, and causing problems such as whistling noises due to wind passing through the gaps. In addition, when air leakage occurs as described above, the two layers of inside and outside air mix inside the casing, causing problems such as a decrease in defogging ability (window clearing performance) and a decrease in heating performance. Furthermore, because the segments are not fixed near the center of the casing, the casing made up of the segments cannot be fixed firmly, which is a problem in that the strength of the casing itself cannot be increased.

The present invention aims to address these problems. That is, the objective of the present invention is to provide a vehicle air conditioner that has a casing with a two-layer flow structure, and that can obtain a desired air mix state by providing a fixed portion near the center of the casing or near the operating portion of the air mix door, thereby suppressing problems such as a decrease in heating capacity due to wind passing through gaps, a decrease in defogging capacity, and noise, and that can also increase the strength of the casing.

In order to solve such problems, the present invention has the following configuration.
A vehicle air conditioner includes a casing that houses a plurality of heat exchangers by joining a plurality of divided casings, and a partition section that separates a first air blowing space and a second air blowing space is provided inside the casing, the partition section having an enclosing wall section surrounded by a partition wall on the first air blowing space side and a partition wall on the second air blowing space side between a first heat exchanger on the windward side and a second heat exchanger on the leeward side of the plurality of heat exchangers, a fixing section that fixes the plurality of divided casings is provided inside the enclosing wall section, and a fixing section that fixes the plurality of divided casings is provided between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger, the fixing section separating the first air blowing space and the second air blowing space from each other. a flow rate adjustment section that adjusts the flow rate of air flowing through each of the divided casings, a sealing section with the flow rate adjustment section is provided around the surrounding wall section, the surrounding wall section has a polygonal cross section along the joining surface of the divided casings, the polygonal shape of the surrounding wall section is a vertically elongated shape facing the first air blowing space and the second air blowing space, the sealing section is provided near an apex of the polygonal shape, and an interior angle of the apex of the polygonal shape near which the sealing section is provided is smaller than the interior angle at the apex between the partition wall on the first air blowing space side and the partition wall on the second air blowing space side .

The present invention, which has these characteristics, allows a fixing portion to be provided near the center of the casing or near the operating portion of the air mix door in a vehicle air conditioner equipped with a casing with a two-layer flow structure, preventing wind leakage and achieving the desired air mix state, and suppressing problems such as a decrease in heating capacity due to wind passing through gaps, a decrease in defogging capacity, and noise. In addition, by firmly fixing the casing, the strength of the casing itself can be increased.

1 is an explanatory diagram showing an internal structure of a vehicle air conditioning device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 2 is a cross-sectional view of the fixing portion of the casing (cross-section AA in FIG. 1). FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main portion of the present invention surrounded by a dashed line in FIG. 1 .

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals in different drawings indicate parts with the same function, and duplicate descriptions in each drawing will be omitted as appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle air conditioning system 1 has an air intake section 1A and a blower temperature adjustment section 1B. The air intake section 1A takes in air outside the vehicle cabin (external air) and air inside the vehicle cabin (internal air) using a blower (not shown), and sends it to the blower temperature adjustment section 1B. The blower temperature adjustment section 1B has a casing 10, and the air intake section 1A introduces the external air or internal air into the casing 10. The air intake section 1A may be provided integrally with the casing 10 or may be a separate unit.

The casing 10 in the vehicle air conditioner 1 is provided with a partition 100 that divides the air flow path in the casing 10 into a first air flow space 10A and a second air flow space 10B. The first air flow space 10A and the second air flow space 10B can be, for example, an upper layer and a lower layer when the vehicle air conditioner 1 is mounted on a vehicle.

The air introduced into the casing 10 by the air intake section 1A described above is sent to each of the first airflow space 10A and the second airflow space 10B. As an example, outside air can be introduced into the first airflow space 10A and inside air can be introduced into the second airflow space 10B, but a switching mechanism provided in the air intake section 1A may be used to introduce outside air or inside air into both the first airflow space 10A and the second airflow space 10B, or inside air may be introduced into the first airflow space 10A and outside air into the second airflow space.

The casing 10 houses a plurality of heat exchangers for cooling or heating the introduced air. In the illustrated example, the first heat exchanger 17 is housed on the windward side of the casing 10, and the second heat exchanger 18 is housed on the leeward side. The first heat exchanger 17 is arranged so that its core portion 17A opens to both the first air blowing space 10A and the second air blowing space 10B, and one of a pair of header portions 17B for circulating the heat medium in the core portion 17A is arranged in the first air blowing space 10A and the other in the second air blowing space 10B. As an example, the first heat exchanger 17 functions as a cooler that cools the air introduced into the casing 10 in both the first air blowing space 10A and the second air blowing space 10B.

In the illustrated example, the second heat exchanger 18 is arranged with a core portion 18A opening into both the first air blowing space 10A and the second air blowing space 10B, similar to the first heat exchanger 17, and a pair of header portions 18B for circulating the heat medium in the core portion 18A are arranged, one in the first air blowing space 10A and the other in the second air blowing space 10B. As an example, the second heat exchanger 18 functions as a heater (heater core) that heats the air introduced into the casing 10 in both the first air blowing space 10A and the second air blowing space 10B.

A heater 19 can be provided on the downwind side of the second heat exchanger 18 as shown in the figure, if necessary. The heater 19 is, for example, a radiator that radiates heat from the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit or an electric heater, and by assisting the heating of the air by the second heat exchanger 18, the air that has passed through the second heat exchanger 18 is further heated to the desired temperature and sent to the downwind side. In this example, the heater 19 is arranged to straddle both the first air blowing space 10A and the second air blowing space 10B, but the heater 19 may be provided only on the second air blowing space 10B side.

The casing 10 of the vehicle air conditioner 1 has a plurality of air outlets for blowing the cooled or heated air introduced into the casing 10 into the vehicle cabin. In the illustrated example, the casing 10 has a defroster outlet 11 and a vent outlet 12 as first outlet sections provided on the first air blowing space 10A side, and the casing 10 has front and rear foot outlets 13 and a rear seat vent outlet (not shown) as second outlet sections on the second air blowing space 10B side.

In addition, a flow rate adjustment section 20 is provided inside the casing 10 of the vehicle air conditioning system 1 to adjust the flow rate of the air introduced into the first air blowing space 10A and the second air blowing space 10B.

One of the flow rate adjustment units 20 is a first air mix door 21 provided on the first air blowing space 10A side, which switches between directing the air that has passed through the first heat exchanger 17 through the first air blowing space 10A toward the second heat exchanger 18 or bypassing the second heat exchanger 18, and adjusts the flow rate of the air flowing through the first air blowing space 10A by changing the opening degree of the door.

The other flow rate adjustment section 20 is a second air mix door 22 provided on the second air blowing space 10B side, which switches between directing the air that has passed through the first heat exchanger 17 through the second air blowing space 10B toward the second heat exchanger 18 or bypassing the second heat exchanger 18, and adjusts the flow rate of the air flowing through the second air blowing space 10B by changing the opening degree of the door.

The casing 10 of the vehicle air conditioner 1 is provided with a foot door 23 that opens and closes the foot outlet 13, which is the second outlet portion described above. This foot door 23 not only opens and closes the foot outlet 13, but also has the function of switching whether the air flowing through the second air blowing space 10B merges with the air flowing through the first air blowing space 10A or flows into the foot outlet 13, which is the second outlet portion.

The foot door 23 is provided near the airflow direction changing section 14 provided at the downwind end of the partition section 100 described above. The airflow direction changing section 14 is a bent or curved partition wall for changing the direction of the air flowing through the first air blowing space 10A toward the first blowing section (e.g., the defroster air outlet 11).

The casing 10 of the vehicle air conditioner 1 is formed by joining multiple split casings 10X, 10Y, and 10Z as shown in Fig. 2. Here, an example is shown in which the left and right split casings 10Y and 10Z are joined to the central split casing 10X, but this is not limiting, and the casing 10 may be formed by joining, for example, two split casings, one on the left and one on the right.

The divided casings 10X, 10Y, and 10Z that make up the casing 10 each have the partition section 100 described above, and by joining the partition sections 100 together, a first air blowing space 10A and a second air blowing space 10B are formed inside.

As shown in Figures 1 and 3, this partition section 100 has an enclosing wall section 110 between the first heat exchanger 17 on the windward side and the second heat exchanger 18 on the leeward side, and a fixing section 200 is provided on the inside thereof for fixing multiple split casings 10X, 10Y, and 10Z.

3, the surrounding wall 110 is surrounded by a partition wall 110A on the first air blowing space 10A side and a partition wall 110B on the second air blowing space 10B side, and a space for forming the fixing part 200 is formed inside the surrounding wall 110. In the illustrated example, the surrounding wall 110 has a polygonal cross section along the joining surface of the split casings 10X, 10Y, and 10Z, but is not limited to this and may have a space for forming the fixing part 200 inside.

As shown in FIG. 2, the surrounding wall 110 is a rib-shaped wall that protrudes toward the inside of the casing 10 on the inside of the split casings 10Y and 10Z, but on the outside of the split casings 10Y and 10Z, a recess 110T is formed along the surrounding wall 110, and a fixing portion 200 that is further recessed is formed at the bottom of the recess 110T. The fixing portion 200 has an insertion hole for a screw N, and the left and right split casings 10Y and 10Z are fixed to the central split casing 10X by inserting the screw N into the insertion hole and screwing it into the fixed portion 201 in the split casing 10X. When joining and fixing the split casings 10X, 10Y, and 10Z, the screw N is inserted into the recess 110T from the outside of the split casings 10Y and 10Z, and the screw N is further inserted and screwed into the fixing portion 200 to form the joined casing 10.

Around the surrounding wall 110, there are provided seal parts 111, 112 between the first air mix door 21 and the second air mix door 22, which are the flow rate adjustment part 20. The first air mix door 21 is pivotally supported at one end, and when it abuts against the seal part 111 provided around the surrounding wall 110, it blocks the flow path of the air that has passed through the first heat exchanger 17 toward the second heat exchanger 18, and opens the flow path that passes through the first heat exchanger 17 and goes directly to the first blowing part (the defroster blowing outlet 11 and the vent blowing outlet 12). In addition, when the first air mix door 21 leaves the seal part 111, it adjusts the flow rate of air that passes through the first air blowing space 10A and goes toward the second heat exchanger 18 according to its opening degree.

Like the first air mix door 21, the second air mix door 22 is pivotally supported at one end and abuts against a seal portion 112 provided around the surrounding wall portion 110, blocking the flow path of air that has passed through the first heat exchanger 17 toward the second heat exchanger 18 and opening the flow path that passes through the first heat exchanger 17 and goes directly to the second blowing portion (such as the foot blowing port 13). In addition, the second air mix door 22 adjusts the flow rate of air passing through the second air blowing space 10B toward the second heat exchanger 18 according to its opening degree by leaving the seal portion 112.

The seal parts 111 and 112 are provided near the apex of the polygonal surrounding wall part 110. As a result, by changing the polygonal shape of the surrounding wall part 110, the positions of the seal parts 111 and 112 can be changed, and the airflow volume or airflow ratio of the flow path opened and closed by the first air mix door 21 and the second air mix door 22, which is determined by the positions of the seal parts 111 and 112, can be appropriately set and changed simply by changing the shape of the surrounding wall part 110 without changing other structures such as the support positions of the first air mix door 21 and the second air mix door 22.

3, the enclosing wall 110 has an inner angle θ1 of the apex of the polygon near which the seal portion 111 is provided, which is smaller than the inner angle θ2 of the apex between the partition wall 110A on the first air blowing space 10A side and the partition wall 110B on the second air blowing space 10B side. By making the polygonal shape of the enclosing wall 110 vertically elongated toward the first air blowing space 10A and the second air blowing space 10B, the inner space of the enclosing wall 110 is set to the minimum space required for the fixing portion 200, while the elongated shape allows the positions of the seal portions 111 and 112 to be set to appropriate positions.

In addition, by making the surrounding wall portion 110 elongated, the rigidity of the surrounding wall portion 110 can be increased. This increases the rigidity of the fixing portion 200 formed on the inside of the surrounding wall portion 110, and increases the connection strength of the casing 10.

As described above, the illustrated casing 10 has a defroster outlet 11 and a vent outlet 12 on the first air blowing space 10A side, and a foot outlet 13 on the second air blowing space 10B side, and by adjusting the position of the partition portion 100 on the leeward side of the surrounding wall portion 110, the opening ratio of the second heat exchanger 18 in the first air blowing space 10A is made smaller than the opening ratio of the second heat exchanger 18 in the second air blowing space 10B.

In addition, in the illustrated example, the position of the partition 100 on the windward side of the surrounding wall portion 110 is different from the position of the partition 100 on the leeward side of the surrounding wall portion 110, so that the opening ratio of the first air blowing space 10A to the second air blowing space 10B in the first heat exchanger 17 is made to be a different ratio from the opening ratio of the first air blowing space 10A to the second air blowing space 10B in the second heat exchanger 18.

In this way, by adjusting the position of the partition section 100 relative to the surrounding wall section 110, it is possible to set the desired air volume ratio for the first air flow space 10A and the second air flow space 10B without changing the positions of the flow rate adjustment section 20 and the sealing sections 111, 112.

According to the vehicle air conditioning device 1 of the embodiment of the present invention described above, in the partition portion 100 that separates the inside of the casing 10 into the first air blowing space 10A and the second air blowing space 10B, an enclosing wall portion 110 is provided between the first heat exchanger 17 and the second heat exchanger 18, and a fixing portion 200 is provided inside this enclosing wall portion 110, so that the fixing portion 200 can be provided near the center of the casing 10 or near the operating portion of the flow rate adjustment portion 20 (first air mix door 21 and second air mix door 22).

This prevents gaps from forming at the joining points of the partitions 100 of the split casings 10X, 10Y, and 10Z, suppresses air leakage through the partitions 100, and allows a desired air mix state to be obtained in the first air blowing space 10A and the second air blowing space 10B separated by the partitions 100. This prevents problems such as a decrease in heating capacity due to air passing through the gaps, a decrease in defogging capacity, and noise.

And, by providing the fixed part 200 near the operating part of the flow rate adjustment part 20, the operation of the flow rate adjustment part 20 can be stabilized, so that the desired air mix state (air volume ratio, etc.) can also be obtained. Also, by changing the shape of the surrounding wall part 110 on which the seal parts 111, 112 are provided, the positions of the seal parts 111, 112 with the flow rate adjustment part 20 can be easily changed, so that the flow rate adjustment can be easily changed.

Furthermore, by providing a highly rigid surrounding wall portion 110 near the center of the casing 10, the strength of the fixing portion 200 can be increased while at the same time increasing the strength of the casing 10 itself.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and the present invention includes design changes and the like that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention. In addition, the above-mentioned embodiments can be combined by reusing each other's technologies, as long as there are no particular contradictions or problems in their purpose and configuration.

1: Vehicle air conditioning device, 1A: Air intake section, 1B: Air blowing temperature adjustment section,
10: Casing, 10X, 10Y, 10Z: Split casing,
10A: first ventilation space, 10B: second ventilation space,
11: defroster outlet, 12: vent outlet, 13: foot outlet,
14: Wind direction changing unit,
17: first heat exchanger, 17A: core portion, 17B: header portion,
18: second heat exchanger, 18A: core section, 18B: header section, 19: heater, 20: flow rate adjustment section,
21: first air mix door, 22: second air mix door,
23: Foot door,
100: partition portion, 110: surrounding wall portion, 110A, 110B: partition wall,
110T: recess, 111, 112: sealing portion, 200: fixing portion,
N: Screw

Claims (3)

An air conditioner for a vehicle, comprising a casing that houses a plurality of heat exchangers by connecting a plurality of divided casings, and a partition portion that separates a first air blowing space and a second air blowing space from each other is provided inside the casing,
the partition portion has an enclosing wall portion surrounded by a partition wall on the first air blowing space side and a partition wall on the second air blowing space side, between a first heat exchanger on the windward side and a second heat exchanger on the leeward side of the plurality of heat exchangers,
a fixing portion for fixing the plurality of split casings to an inside of the surrounding wall portion ;
A flow rate adjusting unit is provided between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger to adjust the flow rate of air flowing through each of the first air blowing space and the second air blowing space,
A seal portion for the flow rate adjusting portion is provided around the surrounding wall portion,
The surrounding wall portion has a polygonal cross section along a joining surface of the split casing,
The polygonal shape of the surrounding wall portion is a vertically elongated shape directed toward the first air blowing space and the second air blowing space,
The seal portion is provided near an apex of the polygonal shape,
an interior angle at an apex of the polygonal shape near which the sealing portion is provided is smaller than an interior angle at an apex between the partition wall on the first air blowing space side and the partition wall on the second air blowing space side . The casing is provided with a defroster outlet and a vent outlet on the first air blowing space side, and a foot outlet on the second air blowing space side,
2. The air conditioning system for a vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein an opening ratio of the second heat exchanger in the first air blowing space is smaller than an opening ratio of the second heat exchanger in the second air blowing space. 3. The vehicle air conditioning system according to claim 1, wherein an opening ratio between the first air supply space and the second air supply space in the first heat exchanger is set to a different ratio from an opening ratio between the first air supply space and the second air supply space in the second heat exchanger.