Fixing arrangement for a movable air flap in an air-conducting housing and assembly method therefor

Abstract

An air-guiding housing (2), in particular for a motor vehicle air conditioning system, comprising a movable air flap (7) with an air flap extension (9), a drive unit (10) connectable to a drive motor, which has a drive extension (11), and a coupling element (12) for connecting the air flap (7) to the drive unit (10), wherein the coupling element (12) has a first and a second connection area (13, 14) which can each be connected to the air flap extension (9) and the drive extension (11) such that the air flap (7) is adjustable by the drive of the drive unit (10), characterized in that a fixing extension (15) is provided on the air-guiding housing (2), which is adapted to receive a fixing area (16) of the coupling element (12), wherein the fixing area (16) is spaced apart from the first connection area provided for the air flap extension (9). (13)so that the air damper (7) can be fixed in a defined spatial position relative to the air-conducting housing (2), and the first connection area (13) of the coupling element (12) is movably mounted in the air damper attachment (9) such that the fixing area (16) can be detached from the fixing attachment (15) and the second connection area (14) of the coupling element (12), provided for the drive attachment (11), can be transferred into the drive attachment (11), the air damper attachment (9) being spaced apart on the outside of the air damper (7) from the pivot axis (8) about which the air damper (7) is rotatable, and the fixing attachment (15) being arranged on the outside of the air-conducting housing (2), in particular in the periphery of a wall opening (6) of the air-conducting housing (2) in which the air damper (7) is arranged.

Description

The present invention relates to a fixing arrangement for a movable air flap in an air-conducting housing, in particular for a motor vehicle air conditioning system. The present invention further relates to a mounting method for a motor vehicle air conditioning module with such a fixing arrangement. Air-conducting housings, especially those for automotive air conditioning systems, are becoming increasingly complex in design. Due to numerous components such as air flaps, stepper motors and their kinematic coupling elements, as well as other modules like heating or cooling elements and air filters, assembly must be carried out in a sequence of numerous steps. This is not only time-consuming but also carries the risk of assembly errors, leading to costly rework and even the production of scrap. To avoid assembly errors with air flaps, it is sometimes known to use appropriate tools to hold moving parts such as air flaps in a defined position when partially assembled and then to connect them to other parts of the air-conducting housing or the vehicle air conditioning system. A disadvantage of this method is that special tools must be manufactured. Furthermore, the step in the process where the tool engages with the air-conducting housing is usually very tightly timed, because inserting a tool may become difficult or even impossible after a certain stage of assembly. WO 2017 016 956 A1 discloses a ventilation device in which the coupling between the drive motor and air flaps is described in general terms, without addressing the assembly problems described above. Furthermore, EP 1 216 862 B1 discloses the mounting of geared motors on a motor vehicle air conditioning system, describing a space-saving locking mechanism for the geared motor on the housing of the air conditioning unit. Further prior art can be found in US 5 701 949 A, DE 11 2014 000 236 T5, US 6 491 578 B2, JP H09-76 728 A and JP 2008-37 378 A. The object of the present invention is to improve an air-guiding housing in such a way that greater flexibility is enabled in the sequence of individual assembly steps, and in particular to make assembly steps relating to the connection of air flaps with kinematic coupling elements less prone to errors. This problem is solved by an air-conducting housing with the features of claim 1, by a motor vehicle climate control module with the features of claim 5, and by a method for assembling a motor vehicle climate control module with the features of claim 8. Advantageous embodiments and further developments are described in the dependent claims. The air-guiding housing according to the invention comprises a movable air flap with an air flap extension and a drive unit connectable to a drive motor, which has a drive extension. The air-guiding housing according to the invention further comprises a coupling element for connecting the air flap to the drive unit, wherein the coupling element has a first and a second connection area, which can each be connected to the air flap extension and the drive extension such that the air flap can be adjusted by the drive of the drive unit.The air-conducting housing according to the invention is characterized in that a fixing lug is provided on the air-conducting housing, which is adapted to receive a fixing area of ​​the coupling element, wherein the fixing area is spaced apart from the first connection area provided for the air damper attachment, so that the air damper can be fixed in a defined spatial position relative to the air-conducting housing. Furthermore, the first connection area of ​​the coupling element is movably mounted in the air damper attachment such that the fixing area can be detached from the fixing lug and the second connection area of ​​the coupling element, provided for the drive attachment, can be transferred into the drive attachment. This type of pre-fixation of the air damper has the advantage that no additional tool is required for its verifiable positioning.Such pre-fixing is less constrained in the assembly sequence than inserting a tool to fix the air damper. By using the coupling element, which will be needed later anyway, for pre-fixing, its position is thus defined. Furthermore, fixing the coupling element prevents it from being mispositioned or jammed against other parts during other assembly steps. The air flap attachment, the drive attachment, and the connecting areas of the coupling element are typically connected by clicking or snapping them together. Alternatively, other connection methods are also possible, e.g., screwing. The drive mechanism of the drive unit can be designed in any way. The coupling element can, for example, be directly connected to the drive motor. However, the coupling element does not have to be in direct contact with the drive motor. It can, for example, be connected to a drive motor via a so-called kinematic mechanism, i.e., a gear arrangement and / or a lever arrangement. The drive itself can, in turn, be designed not only for positioning this air damper, but also for positioning other elements or air dampers, as is well known to those skilled in the art. "Transferable" within the meaning of the invention encompasses all movements familiar to those skilled in the art in connection with the assembly of coupling elements in air conditioning units. The coupling element is, for example, slidably mounted in the fixing attachment. In a particularly simple embodiment, the coupling element is pivotably mounted with its first connection area in the air damper attachment. For this purpose, the first connection area, together with the air damper attachment, forms a ball joint. However, other arrangements and transfer movements are generally conceivable, for example, two-stage movements with a sliding component followed by a tilting or pivoting component. Depending on the design of the transfer concept, the spatial position of the second connection area of ​​the coupling element, intended for the drive attachment, can be spatially separated from, overlapping with, or coinciding with the fixing area of ​​the coupling element. According to one embodiment of the invention, the air damper is arranged in a wall opening of the air-conducting housing. In a first position, the air damper closes the wall opening, and in at least a second position, it opens the wall opening at least partially. The invention provides that the air damper attachment is located on the outside of the air damper and the fixing attachment is located on the outside of the air-conducting housing, particularly at the periphery of the wall opening. In this case, the advantage of later connecting the coupling element to the drive can be easily realized. To ensure a more stable parking position of the coupling element before connection to the drive side, it is advantageously provided that the fixing area of ​​the coupling element is adapted to the fixing lug on the air-conducting housing in such a way that, in the locked state, movement of the coupling element perpendicular to its axis is impossible. A slight movement along the longitudinal direction of the coupling element may still be permissible. Releasing the connection then requires the application of a defined release force. According to the invention, a motor vehicle climate control module is equipped with the aforementioned air-guiding housing according to the invention. A motor vehicle climate control module is a sub-unit of a complete motor vehicle climate control system or a complete motor vehicle climate control system itself. Depending on the embodiment, it can be an auxiliary climate control system, in particular a rear climate control module for targeted climate control of the rear passenger area of ​​passenger cars. The air flap can be any type of air flap, in particular a recirculation flap. According to one embodiment of the invention, it is further provided that a component unit is arranged between two air-guiding housings according to the invention, which are essentially mirror-symmetrical and have air flaps facing each other, on which the drive motor with the drive attachment is provided. The inventive method for assembling a motor vehicle climate control module comprises the following steps: Movably mounting a first connection area of ​​a coupling element on an air flap attachment on an air flap, which is movably mounted on an air-conducting housing of the motor vehicle climate control module. Connecting a fixing area of ​​the coupling element, spaced apart from the first connection area, to a fixing attachment on the air-conducting housing, so that the air flap is fixed in a defined position relative to the air-conducting housing. Releasing the fixing area from the fixing attachment, and transferring a second connection area of ​​the coupling element into the drive attachment by pivoting it, so that the air flap can be adjusted by the drive unit.This method takes advantage of the aforementioned benefits of the fixing approach to move the coupling element into a park position and thus fix the air flap in a defined position. In one embodiment, an intermediate step may be provided whereby, after connecting the fixing area to the fixing attachment, the housing is connected to a component on which a drive unit with a drive attachment is provided. This step can also be carried out for several air-conducting housings, for example, two mutually facing air-conducting housings that are to be driven by a common drive. Other assembly steps can be carried out between the aforementioned steps. For example, additional housing parts can be attached or functional components such as heating elements, filters, or fans can be inserted into the housing. The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to exemplary embodiments and the figures. Fig. 1 shows a motor vehicle climate control module with two air-conducting housings according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, and Figs. 2A-2C schematically show the essential process steps for assembling a motor vehicle climate control module according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. The exemplary embodiment illustrates the invention using a rear climate control module for a passenger car with two rows of seats. The invention as such is generally applicable to air-conducting housings, particularly for automotive air conditioning systems. In addition to the illustrated embodiment, this also applies in particular to front air conditioning units or distributed air conditioning systems, for example, for vehicles with more than two rows of seats. Figure 1 shows a rear air conditioning unit 1 of a motor vehicle air conditioning system. The rear air conditioning unit 1 is designed to be installed approximately midway between the front seats above the transmission tunnel of a passenger car. Fresh air / recirculated air from a front air conditioning unit can be supplied and / or recirculated air can be mixed in via an additional recirculation flap. In this way, the rear passenger area of ​​the car is air-conditioned (not shown). The rear air conditioning unit 1 has two air-conducting housings 2, which are connected to each other via a connecting plate 3. They can, for example, be arranged essentially as mirror images of each other. The air-conducting housings 2 each comprise a housing section 4 open on one side for accommodating a fan wheel, which, in the case shown, are driven by a common shaft (not shown). At the bottom, the air-conducting housings 2 each have an inlet opening 5 through which pre-conditioned fresh air or recirculated air from the front air conditioning unit can be supplied or drawn in. The two air-conducting housings 2 are oriented with their open sides facing each other. On these facing sides, each air-conducting housing 2 has a wall opening 6, which is designed for drawing in recirculated air and can be closed by means of a movable recirculation flap 7. Details of the recirculation flap 7 will be discussed in more detail with reference to Figures 2A to 2C and the description of the assembly method. A drive assembly 10 is provided on the connecting plate 3. This assembly comprises a drive unit with a drive motor (not shown) and other kinematic components, e.g., gears and kinematic levers, as well as a drive detent 11, which is obscured in Fig. 1 and best seen schematically in Fig. 2C. During use, the connecting plate 3 with the drive assembly 10 is covered from above with a rigid casing (not shown) to protect the drive assembly 10 from external mechanical influences. To control the recirculation flap 7, i.e., to open and close it stepwise, it is connected to the drive locking lug 11 via a recirculation flap detent 9 (also hidden in Fig. 1, see Fig. 2A) and a coupling element 12. For this purpose, the coupling element 12 has a first coupling element locking area 13 for connection with the recirculation flap detent 9 and a second coupling element locking area 14 for connection with the drive locking lug 11. The pairs of recirculation flap detent 9 and first coupling element locking area 13 on the one hand, and drive locking lug 11 and second coupling element locking area 14 on the other, are preferably designed as ball joints or cylindrical joints and lock together. Alternatively, they can also be connected to each other in another way. According to the invention, both air-conducting housings 2 have a fixing projection 15 slightly above and centrally above the respective wall opening 6. In the illustrated embodiment, this projection is designed as a clamp or clip. The coupling element 12 has a fixing area 16 facing away from the first locking area 13 and slightly offset from the second locking area 14. The fixing projection 15 on the air-conducting housing 2 and the fixing area 16 of the coupling element 12 are aligned with each other so that the fixing area 16 can be firmly engaged in the fixing projection 15. Unintentional automatic release perpendicular to the main orientation of the coupling element 12 is impossible. The coupling element 12 is movably mounted in the joint formed by the first coupling element locking area 13 and the recirculation flap locking projection 9 such that the fixing area 16 can be released from the fixing projection 15 by applying a releasing force.The second coupling element locking area 14 can then be pivoted into the drive locking attachment 11. According to one embodiment, the joint is designed such that a so-called poka-yoke characteristic is provided for targeted positioning of the coupling element 12. The advantages of the fixing concept will now be explained in more detail with reference to the associated assembly method and Figures 2A to 2C. For the sake of clarity, the reference numerals introduced with reference to Figure 2A have been largely omitted in Figures 2B and 2C, and those introduced with reference to Figure 2B have been largely omitted in Figure 2C. Automotive air conditioning systems are typically pre-assembled at the supplier's facility and delivered to the automaker's plant as subsystems for final assembly. It is also possible that systems are initially only partially assembled, delivered to another production line, further processed there, and / or completed at a later date. For example, the installation of stepper motors or the fitting of auxiliary heating elements may only take place during final assembly, depending on customer requirements. As schematically illustrated in Fig. 2A, particularly in the case of a partially assembled air-conducting housing 2, the recirculation flap 7 can be in an undefined position relative to the wall opening 6, since it can rotate freely about its pivot axis 8. Locating the recirculation flap locking lug 9 on the recirculation flap 7 for connection with the coupling element 12 is then either time-consuming or would require the use of tools that, for example, engage the air-conducting housing 2 through the fresh air opening 5 and move the recirculation flap 7 into a defined position (tool not shown). To prevent the recirculation flap 7 from being in an undefined position during assembly of the rear air conditioning unit 1, the fixing lug 15 provided at the upper edge above the wall opening 6 is used according to the invention. The coupling element 12 now has the temporary additional function of acting as a retaining element for the recirculation flap 7. For this purpose, the first locking section 13 of the coupling element 12 is movably mounted on the air flap locking lug 9, and then its fixing section 16 is connected to the fixing lug 15, as shown in Fig. 2B. It is advantageous if the second coupling element locking section 14, which is later intended for connection to the drive locking lug 11, projects slightly beyond the fixing lug 15. The second coupling element locking section 14 can thus be used as a gripping element. This facilitates attaching and detaching the connection in the fixing lug 15. If the fixing area 16 is released from the fixing projection 15 with a release force F, the second coupling element locking area 14 can be transferred into the drive locking projection 11 by means of a pivoting movement S, so that the recirculation flap 7 can then be adjusted by the drive of the drive assembly 10. In the illustrated embodiment, the two air-conducting housings 2 are first connected to each other in an approximately mirror-symmetrical manner via a connecting plate 3, which is positioned between them and comprises the drive assembly 10. This is indicated schematically with reference to Fig. 2C. REFERENCE MARK LIST 1 Rear air conditioning unit 2 Air guide housing 3 Connecting plate 4 Housing section 5 Inlet opening 6 Wall opening 7 Recirculation flap 8 Recirculation flap pivot axis 9 Recirculation flap locking lug 10 Drive assembly 11 Drive locking lug 12 Coupling element 13 First coupling element locking area 14 Second coupling element locking area 15 Fixing lug 16 Fixing area F Release force S Pivoting movement

Claims

An air-guiding housing (2), in particular for a motor vehicle air conditioning system, comprising a movable air flap (7) with an air flap extension (9), a drive unit (10) connectable to a drive motor, which has a drive extension (11), and a coupling element (12) for connecting the air flap (7) to the drive unit (10), wherein the coupling element (12) has a first and a second connection area (13, 14) which can each be connected to the air flap extension (9) and the drive extension (11) such that the air flap (7) is adjustable by the drive of the drive unit (10), characterized in that a fixing extension (15) is provided on the air-guiding housing (2), which is adapted to receive a fixing area (16) of the coupling element (12), wherein the fixing area (16) is spaced apart from the first connection area provided for the air flap extension (9). (13)so that the air damper (7) can be fixed in a defined spatial position relative to the air-conducting housing (2), and the first connection area (13) of the coupling element (12) is movably mounted in the air damper attachment (9) such that the fixing area (16) can be detached from the fixing attachment (15) and the second connection area (14) of the coupling element (12), provided for the drive attachment (11), can be transferred into the drive attachment (11), the air damper attachment (9) being spaced apart on the outside of the air damper (7) from the pivot axis (8) about which the air damper (7) is rotatable, and the fixing attachment (15) being arranged on the outside of the air-conducting housing (2), in particular in the periphery of a wall opening (6) of the air-conducting housing (2) in which the air damper (7) is arranged. Air-guiding housing (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that the coupling element (12) with the first connection area (13) is pivotably mounted in the air flap attachment (9). Air-conducting housing (2) according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the air flap (7) closes the wall opening (6) in a first position and at least partially opens the wall opening (6) in at least a second position. Air-guiding housing (2) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fixing area (16) is adapted to the fixing projection (15) in such a way that in the locked state a movement of the coupling element (12) perpendicular to the axis direction of the coupling element (12) is impossible. Motor vehicle climate control module with an air-guiding housing (2) according to one of the preceding claims. Motor vehicle climate control module according to claim 5, wherein the motor vehicle climate control module is an auxiliary air conditioning system, in particular a rear climate control module (1), and the air flap is a recirculation flap (7). Motor vehicle climate control module according to claim 5 or 6, wherein a component unit (3) is arranged between two essentially mirror-symmetrical, air-guiding housings (2) with mutually facing air flaps (7), on which the drive motor with the drive attachment (11) is provided. A method for assembling a motor vehicle climate control module comprising the following steps: - Movably mounting a first connection area (13) of a coupling element (12) on an air flap attachment (9) on an air flap (7), which is movably mounted on an air-conducting housing (2) of the motor vehicle climate control module, - Connecting a fixing area (16) of the coupling element (12), spaced apart from the first connection area (13), to a fixing attachment (15) attached to the air-conducting housing (2), so that the air flap (7) is fixed in a position defined relative to the air-conducting housing (2), - Releasing the fixing area (16) from the fixing attachment (15), and - Transferring a second connection area (14) of the coupling element (12) by pivoting it into a drive attachment (11), so that the air flap (7) can be adjusted by the drive of the drive unit (10). Method for assembling a motor vehicle climate control module according to claim 8, wherein, after connecting the fixing area (16) with the fixing attachment (15) in the case of one or more air-conducting housings (2), this or these housings (2) are connected to a component (3) on which the drive unit (10) with the drive attachment (11) is provided.

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