Vehicle heater

Abstract

Vehicle heater (10), comprising a heater housing (12) and, in the heater housing (12), a burner region (18) to be supplied with combustion air and fuel and a control unit (42), wherein a control unit receptacle (70) is formed on a housing part (16) of the heater housing (12), wherein the control unit receptacle (70) comprises a peripheral wall (74) surrounding the control unit (42), characterized in that the control unit receptacle (70) can be closed by a closure cover (84), and in that at least one first connection contact penetration region (86) is provided in the closure cover (84).

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle heater comprising a heater housing and in the heater housing a burner region to be supplied with combustion air and fuel and a drive unit according to the preamble of claim 1.FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of a vehicle heater with its essential components, which heater is sold by the applicant under the trade name "AIRTRONIC". This vehicle heater 10 comprises a heater housing 12 with a first housing part 14 and a second housing part 16 acting essentially as a housing cover. For example, a burner region 18 with a combustion chamber housing 20 and a combustion chamber provided therein is arranged in the first housing part 14, wherein a fuel feed line 22 leads through an opening of the first housing part 14 to a fuel delivery arrangement, for example a metering pump, which is not shown.The hot combustion exhaust gases exiting the burner section 18 flow toward a heat exchanger assembly 24 which receives a portion of the combustion heat and dissipates the heat to the air passing through the heater housing 12 via a plurality of heat transfer fins 26 provided on the outer periphery thereof.A blower assembly generally designated 28 comprises an electric drive motor 30, the drive shaft of which carries a heating air delivery wheel 32 on the side of the electric drive motor 30 shown on the left in FIG. 1. On the side of the electric drive motor 30 on the right in FIG. 1, a combustion air feed wheel of a combustion air feed arrangement 34, for example a side duct blower, is supported on the drive shaft. The two feed wheels are driven for rotation together by the electric drive motor 30. The combustion air conveyed by the combustion air conveying arrangement 34 reaches the combustion chamber housing 20 and can be burned there with the injected fuel.In order to be able to start the combustion, an ignition element 36 is provided, which can be positioned in an ignition element receiving shoulder 38 of the combustion chamber housing 20. Furthermore, for example, the temperature of the heating air and / or of the combustion exhaust gases can be detected via a temperature sensor arrangement 40.In order to control / regulate the operation of the vehicle heater 10 or of the various system areas thereof to be controlled, a control unit 42 is provided. This comprises a drive unit housing 44 and the electronics accommodated therein. In order to establish a connection connection to the on-board voltage system of a vehicle or also to the data transmission system of a vehicle, a connecting cable 46 with a connector plug 48 is provided. Depending on the installation position of the vehicle heater 10, this connecting cable 46 can be passed through one of two passage openings 50, 52 provided on the first housing part 14, wherein respective elastic closure elements 54, 56 that can be inserted into the passage openings 50, 52 are used to achieve a tight closure. The drive unit 42 or the drive unit housing 44 is fixedly connected to the blower arrangement 28 by means of a screw connection.In the assembled state of the vehicle heater 10, substantially all components or system regions are accommodated in the first housing part 14, and by removing the second housing part 16 from the first housing part 14, these components are substantially accessed. The second housing part 16 can be connected to the first housing part 14, for example, by means of latching connection elements 58, 60. In the assembled state, the two housing parts 14, 16 provide a heating air inlet opening 62 and at the opposite end a heating air outlet 64 for the heating air heated in the region of the heat exchanger arrangement 24.DE 102 41 588 A1 discloses a vehicle heater according to the preamble of claim 1. a housing of this heater is closed by a plate-like cover which carries a control device on its inner side facing the housing interior. From a base region of this plate-like cover, a circumferential wall surrounding at least a part of the control device extends. On the side facing away from the housing interior, plug collars are provided on the cover, which are provided for receiving plugs to be connected to the vehicle heater and in which contact pins of the control unit passing through the cover are positioned for producing a plug connection.It is the object of the present invention to configure a vehicle heater in such a way that increased functionality can be achieved with a simplified design.According to the invention, this object is achieved by a vehicle heater comprising a heater housing and a burner region to be supplied with combustion air and fuel in the heater housing and a drive unit, wherein a drive unit receptacle is formed on a housing part of the heater housing. In order to be able to provide an encapsulation of the drive unit, the drive unit receptacle comprises a circumferential wall surrounding the drive unit.The risk of the drive unit coming into contact with media hazardous to its operability, such as moisture or liquid, is avoided in that the drive unit receptacle can be closed off by a closure cover.In order to be able to nevertheless obtain a drive connection to different system areas to be driven by the drive unit or to system areas providing information to the drive unit, at least one first terminal contact feedthrough area is provided in the closure cover.Since the control unit is directly accommodated on the heater housing in the inventive structure of a vehicle heater, there is no need to configure these or other system areas, in particular the blower arrangement mentioned above, for the interconnection. Furthermore, the provision of the control unit on a housing part of the heater housing substantially facilitates the possibility of establishing electrical contact with corresponding supply lines of a vehicle.In a variant which can be implemented particularly simply and cost-effectively in terms of construction, it is proposed that at least a part of the drive unit receptacle is formed integrally with the housing part.For the stable mounting of the drive unit on the housing part, it is proposed that the drive unit receptacle comprises a support region carrying the drive unit.The production of an electrical connection to a vehicle can be realized in a particularly simple manner by providing at least one second connection contact passage region in the housing part. For this purpose, it can be provided, for example, that at least one second terminal contact feedthrough region is provided in the region of the circumferential wall.In order to be able to provide increased variability when installing the heating device in a vehicle, it is further proposed that two second terminal contact feedthrough regions are provided in the housing part, wherein the drive unit can be positioned in the drive unit receptacle in two different positions and in each of the positions a terminal region provided on the drive unit interacts with another of the second terminal contact feedthrough regions.A compact construction can be supported in the vehicle heater according to the invention in that a combustion air conveying arrangement for conveying combustion air to a combustion chamber of the burner region and / or a heating air conveying arrangement for conveying air to be heated is arranged in the heater housing.If the heater housing according to a further advantageous aspect delimits a flow space for medium to be heated, preferably air, a further function fusion in the heater housing can be achieved beyond the encapsulation of the essential system regions of the vehicle heater and the support functionality for the drive unit.For example, the structure can be such that the heater housing comprises a first housing part carrying the burner region and a second housing part connectable to the first housing part, wherein the activation unit receptacle is provided on the second housing part.The present invention will be described in detail below. It shows: FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the essential components of a known vehicle heater; FIG. 2 is an inner view of a housing part of a heater housing providing a drive unit; FIG. 3 is a side view of the housing part of FIG. 2 ; FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of the housing part of FIG. 2, viewed in the viewing direction IV-IV in FIG. 2 ; FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the housing part of FIG. 3, viewed in the direction of view V-V in FIG. 2.Before the design according to the invention of a vehicle heater or a heater housing therefor is described below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5, it should be pointed out that the basic structure of a vehicle heater according to the invention can correspond to that as explained above with reference to FIG. 1. In this regard, reference is therefore made to the preceding explanations with respect to FIG. 1. In the following description of the embodiment of the heater housing according to the invention, the same reference numerals are used for components which fulfil the same or similar functions with respect to components described above with reference to FIG. 1.FIGS. 2 and 3 show, in a view from the inside and in a side view, respectively, the second housing part 16 of the heater housing 12, which reveals the edge region 64 that can be brought into contact with the first housing part 14 and a semi-cylindrical shoulder 66, which, in conjunction with a corresponding shoulder of the first housing part 14, not shown here, delimits the heating air inlet opening 62. On the inner side 68 of the second housing part 16 facing the first housing part 14, a drive unit receptacle, generally designated 70, is provided. This drive unit receptacle 70 is essentially provided by a circumferential wall 74 which is integrally formed with a bottom wall 72 of the second housing part 16 which can also be seen in FIG. 4 and therefore extends from the latter towards the inner side 68. the circumferential wall 74 is essentially rectangular in the plan view which can be seen in FIG. 2 in adaptation to the corresponding configuration of the drive electronics 76 of the drive unit 42.For example, a bottom region 78, which is also surrounded by the circumferential wall 74, is likewise formed integrally with the housing part 16, and can be fixed to the bottom region by the control unit 42 or the control electronics 76 thereof, for example, by screwing, clamping, latching or the like. The bottom region 78 can be supported with respect to the bottom wall 72 of the second housing part 16 by a plurality of ribs 80 to increase stability.A closure cover 84 can be attached to the free end region 82 of the circumferential wall 74 remote from the base region 78, for example by clamping or latching action. This closure cover 84 closes off the interior of the drive unit receptacle 70 in a substantially liquid-tight manner and thus prevents the drive electronics 76 from coming into contact with moisture contained in the heating air to be heated. The circumferential wall 74 thus substantially completely encloses the drive unit 42 in conjunction with the base region 78 and the closure cover 84, that is to say it provides a receiving volume which is closed off for the drive unit 42.By providing the ribs 80 and the spacing of the base region 78 from the base wall 72 which is also introduced therewith, a flow around the drive unit receptacle 70 is ensured which ensures, on the one hand, a lowest possible air flow resistance for the heating air flowing in the heater housing 12 and, on the other hand, a cooling effect for the drive unit 42. For this purpose, the circumferential wall 74 is brought up to the bottom wall 72 only where it extends parallel to the direction of air flow, but only up to the bottom region 78 in its end regions which are axial in the direction of flow.In order to be able to connect the various system areas of the vehicle heater to be controlled, such as e.g. the electric drive motor 30, the ignition element 36, and system areas, such as e.g. the temperature sensor arrangement 40, which input information from the area of the vehicle heater 10 into the control unit 42, to the control electronics 76, a first connection contact reach-through area 86 is provided in the closure cover 84. This includes a plurality of through-openings 88, closed off, for example, by elastic sealing elements, for connection contacts 90, which extend from the control electronics 76 in the direction of the closure cover 84 and thus also through the latter. Various lines leading to the system regions mentioned above can then be plugged onto these connection contacts 90 with respective connection plugs.In order to be able to establish an electrical connection of the control electronics 76 to the vehicle, for example the on-board voltage system or the data transmission system thereof, indentations 100, 102 are provided in the second housing part 16 or the control unit receptacle 70 on two mutually opposite side walls 92, 94 of the first housing part 16 in order to provide respective second terminal contact feedthrough regions 96, 98, which indentations provide access to the circumferential wall 74. In the circumferential wall 74, openings 106 are provided in association with connection contacts 104, which extend at an angle and thus to the side away from the control electronics 76, which openings receive the connection contacts 104 with a tight and thus also liquid-tight fit or are essentially liquid-tight closed by additionally inserted sealing elements. A respective connector plug on a vehicle-mounted connecting line can be inserted into the indentation 100 or 102 through which the connecting contacts 104 pass in each case and can thus be brought into connection with the control electronics 76. Also or exclusively by means of such a connector plug to be inserted into a respective indentation 100 or 102, there is also the possibility of obtaining a liquid-tight termination of a respective indentation towards the outside. That indentation or that second terminal contact reach-through region in which no terminal contacts 104 are provided can then be terminated by a plug or a cover or the like.Due to the substantially rectangular configuration of the drive unit receptacle 70 or also of the drive unit 42 itself, it becomes possible to attach these in two positions rotated by 180° with respect to one another, so that the connection contacts 104 are exposed for contacting either in the second connection contact feedthrough region 96 or in the second connection contact feedthrough region 98. It is thus possible, depending on the installation position of the heating device 10, to choose the suitable positioning for the drive unit 42 in order to also be able to easily produce the plug connection.It should be noted here that, as an alternative to the connection contacts 104 passing through the circumferential wall 74, passage openings could be formed in the circumferential wall 74, which openings are passed through by respective contacts in a plug, so that the electrical contact is then produced completely within the drive unit receptacle 70. In particular in this case, it is advantageous if a respective connector plug can produce the substantially liquid-tight termination in conjunction with an indentation 100 or 102 receiving the latter.

Claims

Vehicle heater (10), comprising a heater housing (12) and, in the heater housing (12), a burner region (18) to be supplied with combustion air and fuel and a drive unit (42), wherein a drive unit receptacle (70) is formed on a housing part (16) of the heater housing (12), wherein the drive unit receptacle (70) comprises a circumferential wall (74) surrounding the drive unit (42), characterized in that the drive unit receptacle (70) can be closed off by a closure cover (84), and in that at least one first connection contact engagement region (86) is provided in the closure cover (84).Vehicle heater (10) according to Claim 1, characterized in that at least some of the drive unit receptacle (70) is formed integrally with the housing part (16).Vehicle heater (10) according to either of Claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the drive unit receptacle (70) comprises a carrying region (78) which carries the drive unit (42).Vehicle heater (10) according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that at least one second connection contact passage region (96, 98) is provided in the housing part (16).Vehicle heater (10) according to Claim 4, characterized in that at least one second connection contact passage region (96, 98) is provided in the region of the circumferential wall (74).Vehicle heater (10) according to Claim 4 or 5, characterized in that two second terminal contact feedthrough regions (96, 98) are provided in the housing part (16), wherein the drive unit (42) can be positioned in the drive unit receptacle (70) in two different positions and in each of the positions a terminal region (104) provided on the drive unit (42) interacts with another of the second terminal contact feedthrough regions (96, 98).Vehicle heater (10) according to one of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that a combustion air conveying arrangement (34, 30) for conveying combustion air to a combustion chamber of the burner region (18) and / or a heating air conveying arrangement (32, 30) for conveying air to be heated is arranged in the heater housing (12).Vehicle heater (10) according to one of Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the heater housing (12) delimits a flow space for medium to be heated, preferably air.Vehicle heater (10) according to one of Claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the heater housing (12) comprises a first housing part (14) which carries the burner region (18) and a second housing part (16) which can be connected to the first housing part (14), the drive unit receptacle (70) being provided on the second housing part (16).

Images