Modular housing for a roof air conditioner of a passenger car

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a modular housing of a top air conditioner of a passenger vehicle, that is, an air conditioner housing for an air conditioner installed on a roof of a passenger vehicle. The air conditioner housing includes a pair of bases including a first base and a second base, and the first base and the second base are installed to be spaced apart from each other and opposite to each other, and one or more shrouds coupled into a space between the first base and the second base spaced apart from each other, wherein the number of shrouds to be connected and installed in the housing can be determined according to the capacity of the air conditioner.

Description

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority and benefit to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0074223, filed on June 18, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This disclosure relates to the housing of an air conditioner installed on the roof of a bus. Background Technology

[0004] The statements in this section are provided only as background information in relation to this disclosure and do not constitute prior art.

[0005] Air conditioners are typically installed on the roof of a bus.

[0006] An air conditioner is a device that condenses high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant gas from a compressor into a liquid by exchanging heat with the outside air, and the outside of the air conditioner is covered by a casing.

[0007] Figure 1 This illustrates an air conditioning housing for a passenger car in the prior art.

[0008] In the prior art, the air conditioner housing is formed as a single piece. A shroud 2, which is embedded in the exhaust port of the air conditioner, is attached to the central part of the housing. A pair of covers 3 and 4 are attached to the housing 1 and are provided on the left and right sides of the upper side of the housing 1, and a shroud cover 5 is attached to the upper part of the shroud 2.

[0009] As mentioned above, in the prior art, the housing 1 and the cover 2 of the air conditioner casing are manufactured as a single piece. We have found that this integral manufacturing leads to an increase in product weight and manufacturing costs.

[0010] Furthermore, since the housing 1 or the shield 2 is manufactured as a single piece, even if only part of the housing 1 or the shield 2 is damaged, the entire housing 1 and shield 2 need to be replaced, thus reducing maintainability. Summary of the Invention

[0011] This disclosure provides an air conditioning housing for a bus, wherein the housing for an air conditioner installed on the bus is modularized into individual components, thereby reducing the weight of the vehicle and lowering manufacturing costs, and the modular components can be shared, thereby improving maintainability.

[0012] One form of the present disclosure provides a modular housing of a bus rooftop air conditioner, the housing including: a pair of first and second bases installed to be spaced apart from each other and opposite to each other; and one or more shrouds coupled into a space between the first and second bases spaced apart from each other, wherein the number of shrouds to be connected and installed in the housing can vary according to a capacity of the air conditioner.

[0013] The modular housing of a bus rooftop air conditioner according to the present disclosure as described above has an advantage in that the housing for the air conditioner installed on a bus can be modularized into separate components, thereby reducing the weight of the vehicle.

[0014] An obtained advantageous effect is that manufacturing costs can be reduced by using the modular components, and commonality of the respective modular components can improve maintainability.

[0015] Other areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0016] In order to facilitate an understanding of this disclosure, various forms thereof will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0017] Figure 1 is a view showing components of an air conditioner housing of the related art;

[0018] Figure 2 is a perspective view of an air conditioner housing according to one form of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of a housing according to one form of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 4A and Figure 4B is a perspective view of a shroud according to one form of the present disclosure and a view showing a connection state of the shroud;

[0021] Figure 5A and Figure 5B is a front partial perspective view and a rear partial perspective view of a shroud according to one form of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along line A-A' in Figure 2 ;

[0023] Figure 7 is a plan view showing a state in which a cover is removed from a housing according to one form of the present disclosure;

[0024] Figure 8A is Figure 7A detailed 3D view of part B in the image. Figure 8B yes Figure 7 A partial sectional view of part B shown; and

[0025] Figure 9 This is a perspective view of an air conditioner housing according to another form of this disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0026] The following description is exemplary in nature only and is not intended to limit this disclosure, its application, or its uses. It should be understood that in all the drawings, corresponding reference numerals denote the same or corresponding parts and features.

[0027] In the following description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, a modular housing of a roof-mounted air conditioner for a passenger vehicle according to this disclosure will be described in detail.

[0028] However, the accompanying drawings of this disclosure provide examples for conveying the ideas of this disclosure to those skilled in the art. Therefore, this disclosure is not limited to the drawings disclosed below and may include other aspects.

[0029] Unless otherwise defined, the terms used in this disclosure have the meanings commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains, and detailed descriptions of well-known functions and constructions will be omitted in the following description and drawings to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the subject matter of this disclosure.

[0030] Figure 2 This is a perspective view of an air conditioner housing according to one form of the present disclosure. Figure 3 This is an exploded perspective view of a casing according to one form of the present disclosure.

[0031] An air conditioning housing 10 according to this disclosure includes: a base fixed to the roof of a vehicle; and a cover 80 installed inside the base, wherein the number of covers 80 installed can be varied according to the capacity of the air conditioning unit.

[0032] More specifically, refer to Figure 2 3D diagram and Figure 3 An exploded perspective view shows that the housing 10 includes: a pair of bases, including a first base 20 and a second base 30, the first base 20 and the second base 30 being attached to the roof of the bus such that the first base 20 and the second base 30 are spaced apart from each other and opposite to each other, and are configured to accommodate a condenser 90 mounted on the roof of the bus (see...). Figure 6) a first cover 40 coupled to an upper portion of the first base 20 to shield the first base 20, a second cover 50 coupled to an upper portion of the second base 30 to shield the second base 30, a front cover 60 and a rear cover 70 configured to shield front and rear surfaces of the first base 20 and the second base 30 installed opposite to each other, and one or more shrouds 80 coupled to spaces of the first base 20 and the second base 30 spaced apart from each other.

[0033] In one form, the first base 20 and the second base 30 are disposed to be symmetrical to each other, the first cover 40 and the second cover 50 are disposed to be symmetrical to each other, and the front cover 60 and the rear cover 70 are disposed to be symmetrical to each other, so that the first base 20 and the second base 30 can be shared, the first cover 40 and the second cover 50 can be shared, and the front cover 60 and the rear cover 70 can be shared, thereby reducing or minimizing the number of mold sets for manufacturing the first base 20, the second base 30, the first cover 40, the second cover 50, the front cover 60, and the rear cover 70.

[0034] The first base 20, the second base 30, the first cover 40, and the second cover 50 can preferably be made of a Sheet Molding Compound (SMC) material, but can be made of other well-known materials that can be used for an air conditioning housing of a passenger car.

[0035] The manner of coupling the first base 20 and the first cover 40, the manner of coupling the second base 30 and the second cover 50, and the manner of coupling the bases 20 and 30 and the front and rear covers 60 and 70 can all use a bolt coupling manner using a bolt and a nut. However, a manner of coupling one member and another member by forming a rib or a protrusion in one member, a channel or a through-hole into which the rib or the protrusion is inserted in the other member, and then coupling the rib or the protrusion with the channel or the through-hole can be conceivable. Alternatively, other well-known coupling methods can be employed.

[0036] Figures 4A-4B and Figures 5A-5B is a view showing a shroud of a housing according to the present disclosure, wherein Figure 4A is a perspective view, Figure 4B is a view showing a connection state of the shroud, Figure 5A and Figure 5B are a front partial perspective view and a rear partial perspective view.

[0037] According to one form of the present disclosure, the shroud 80 installed inside the housing 10 is modularized.

[0038] As Figure 4AAs shown, the shroud 80 according to one form of the present disclosure includes a bracket 81 formed with an opening at the center and to which a fan 84 is attached, a plurality of legs 82 extending downward from left and right surfaces of the bracket 81, and a fixing member 83 bent outward from an end of each leg 82.

[0039] As shown, when two or more shrouds 80 according to one form of the present disclosure are coupled to the casing 10, a surface (a) of one shroud 80 and a surface (b) of another shroud 80' can be coupled to each other. Figure 4B

[0040] To this end, as shown in Figure 5A and Figure 5B a protrusion 85 is formed on a front surface of the bracket 81 of the shroud 80, and a recess 86 into which the protrusion 85 is inserted is formed on a rear surface of the bracket 81 of the shroud 80.

[0041] Accordingly, the protrusion 85 formed on the front surface of one shroud 80 is inserted into the recess 86 formed on the rear surface of another shroud 80' adjacent to the one shroud 80, so that the two shrouds 80 and 80' can be firmly coupled.

[0042] According to one form of the present disclosure, a single fan 84 is attached to the shroud 80. Two or more shrouds 80 are installed in a space between the first and second bases 20 and 30 spaced apart from each other according to the climate of the operation area of the passenger car.

[0043] Accordingly, the casing 10 having the above-described shroud 80 configuration according to the present disclosure adopts a block-type shroud in which a fan assembly including a single fan and a single fan driving motor is installed on a single shroud 80, instead of an integrated shroud 80 in the related art. The casing 10 has a so-called "lego" type configuration in which the number of block-type shrouds 80 can be adjusted according to small, medium, and large capacities of air conditioners installed on a passenger car and the volumes of evaporators, condensers, and blowers installed inside the casing, so that the casing 10 can be shared.

[0044] Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along line A-A' in Figure 2 and illustrates the inside of the casing 10 according to the present disclosure.

[0045] Referring to the drawings, according to one form of the present disclosure, an evaporator 100 and a blower 110 are installed between the first base 20 and the first cover 40 of the casing 10, and the evaporator 100 and the blower 110 are also installed between the second base 30 and the second cover 50.

[0046] ​One or more shrouds 80 are coupled in the space between the first base 20 and the second base 30 spaced apart and installed opposite each other, and the condenser 90 is installed below the shroud 80.

[0047] Figure 7 is a plan view showing a state in which the first cover 40 and the second cover 50 are removed from the housing according to one form of the disclosure, and shows a connecting bar 120 fastening the first base 20 and the second base 30 to each other.

[0048] The first base 20 and the second base 30 according to one form of the disclosure are firmly coupled and installed by the connecting bar 120, so that the first base 20 and the second base 30 more stably support the condenser 90, the evaporator 100, and the blower 110 accommodated inside the housing 10.

[0049] The structure for coupling the first base 20 and the second base 30 will be described in more detail below.

[0050] Figures 8A-8B is a view showing Figure 7 a detail of part B in Figure 8A is a detailed perspective view of part B, Figure 8B is a partial sectional view of part B.

[0051] According to one form of the disclosure, as Figure 8A shown, a box-shaped boss 23 is installed to protrude inward from an inner wall 21 forming an inner surface of the first base 20 (i.e., a surface opposite the second base 30), a box-shaped mount 24 is attached to a bottom surface 22 of the first base 20, a box-shaped boss 33 is installed to protrude inward from an inner wall 31 forming an inner surface of the second base 30 (i.e., a surface opposite the first base 20), and a box-shaped mount 34 is attached to a bottom surface 32 of the second base 30.

[0052] The connecting bar 120 is fastened to the bosses 23 and 33 of the first base 20 and the second base 30 from above by bolts (not shown), thereby firmly coupling the first base 20 and the second base 30. As Figure 7 shown, a plurality of connecting bars 120 can be installed. To this end, a plurality of bosses 23, 33 are installed on the bases 20 and 30, respectively.

[0053] As Figure 8B shown, in order to provide a structure for more firmly coupling the first base 20 and the second base 30, the housing 10 according to the disclosure is configured such that a fixing member 83 formed at an end of a leg 82 of the shroud 80 installed between the inner walls 21, 31 of the first base 20 and the second base 30 is fastened to a mount 24, 34 attached to a bottom surface 22, 32 of the first base 20 and the second base 30 by a bolt 130.

[0054] Meanwhile, Figure 9 is a perspective view of an air conditioner housing 10' according to another form of the present disclosure, and illustrates an exemplary form different from the above-described exemplary form in the number of shrouds 80.

[0055] According to another form of the present disclosure, a single fan 84 is attached to the shroud 80. Two or more shrouds 80 are installed in a space between the first base 20 and the second base 30 spaced apart from each other according to the climate of the operation area of the passenger car.

[0056] According to one form of the present disclosure, four shrouds 80 can be installed on the condenser of the passenger car for a low-temperature climate zone and a temperate climate zone, whereas six shrouds 80 can be installed on the condenser of the passenger car for a high-temperature climate zone, in Figure 9 such another form of the housing 10' is illustrated in

[0057] Accordingly, the assembly of the housing for the air conditioner installed on the passenger car according to the various forms of the housing 10 of the present disclosure configured as described above can be modularized into separate assemblies, and thus, has the beneficial effect that the weight of the vehicle can be reduced and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[0058] The beneficial effect is that the common use of the respective modularized assemblies can improve the maintainability of the vehicle.

Claims

1. An air conditioner housing installed on the roof of a bus, comprising: At least one base is fixed to the roof of the vehicle; as well as At least one protective cover is installed inside the at least one base. The at least one base comprises a pair of bases, the pair of bases including a first base and a second base, the first base and the second base being mounted spaced apart from each other and facing each other, and the at least one cover being mounted in the space between the spaced-apart first base and the second base. The at least one protective shield includes: The fan is attached to the bracket; A fastener is formed in the bracket. The first mounting bracket is attached to the bottom surface of the first base, and the second mounting bracket is attached to the bottom surface of the second base. The fastener is secured to the first mounting bracket and the second mounting bracket of the first base and the second base by bolts. The air conditioner housing further includes a connecting rod, a first side of which is connected to a first boss mounted on the inner wall of the first base, and a second side of which is connected to a second boss mounted on the inner wall of the second base, to securely connect the first base and the second base. Multiple connecting rods are installed, and multiple bosses are respectively installed on the first base and the second base.

2. The air conditioner housing according to claim 1, wherein, The at least one protective shield further includes: Multiple legs extend downward from the left and right surfaces of the bracket; and Each of the fixing members bends outward from the end of each of the plurality of legs.

3. The air conditioner housing according to claim 2, wherein, The at least one protective shield includes a first protective shield and a second protective shield. A protrusion is formed on the front surface of the bracket of the first protective cover. A recess is formed on the rear surface of the bracket of the second shield, and The protrusion formed on the front surface of the first shield is inserted into the recess formed on the rear surface of the second shield adjacent to the first shield.

4. The air conditioner housing according to claim 1, further comprising: The front cover and the rear cover cover the front and rear surfaces of a pair of first bases and second bases.

5. The air conditioner housing according to claim 1, further comprising: The first cover is attached to the upper part of the first base to shield the first base; as well as The second cover is attached to the upper part of the second base to cover the second base.

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