Ventilation, heating and / or air-conditioning device, in particular for a motor vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a ventilation, heating and / or air-conditioning device, in particular for a motor vehicle, the device comprising a housing (2) having at least a first (4) and a second (6) outlet for an air flow, the device comprising a frame (60) for reinforcing the housing (2), the frame (60) comprising a so-called transverse bar (62), connected to the housing (2), and a leg (64) for taking up forces, the leg (64) bearing on a structural part of the device, located at a distance from the first and second outlets (4, 6), and the transverse bar (62) being located between the first and second outlets (4, 6) and bearing on the leg (64).

Description

[0001] DESCRIPTION

[0002] TITLE: ventilation, heating and / or air conditioning device, in particular for motor vehicles

[0003] The invention relates to a ventilation, heating and / or air conditioning device, in particular for a motor vehicle.

[0004] In this field, devices are known comprising a housing having at least a first outlet for an air flow towards a windshield and a second outlet for the air flow towards a passenger compartment of the vehicle. The air flow directed towards the windshield is used to defrost and / or demist it. The air flow directed towards the passenger compartment is used alternately to cool or heat it, in particular at an upper part. These two outlets are relatively close to each other and separated by a part of the housing subjected to different mechanical constraints.

[0005] To reinforce it, crossbars are currently used, extending between opposite sides of each of the outlets. They thus disrupt the flow of air and create significant pressure losses and / or turbulence.

[0006] The invention aims to at least partially overcome the above drawbacks and to this end proposes a ventilation, heating and / or air conditioning device, in particular for a motor vehicle, said device comprising a housing having at least a first and a second outlet for an air flow, said device comprising a reinforcement frame for the housing, said frame comprising a bar, called a transverse bar, connected to the housing, and a force-recovery leg, said leg bearing on a structural part of said device, located at a distance from said first and second outlets, and said transverse bar being located between said first and second outlets and bearing on said leg.

[0007] In this way, the crossbar reinforcing the housing between the first and second outlets is stiffened by the force-recovery strut and contributes all the more to reinforcing the housing. Furthermore, by using a force-recovery strut, i.e. a part of small section, resting on a structural part of said device, located at a distance from said first and second outlets, pressure losses on the air flow are avoided, in particular at said first and second outlets.

[0008] According to various additional characteristics of the invention, which may be taken together or separately and which form as many embodiments of the invention:

[0009] - said reinforcing frame, in particular said crossbar, is configured to form a support zone for a dashboard,

[0010] - said dashboard is intended to conceal said box,

[0011] - said dashboard is intended to distribute said air flow to vents connected to said housing,

[0012] - said crossbar extends between two opposite side walls of said housing,

[0013] - said crossbar comprises partitions forming cells,

[0014] - said partitions are oriented substantially orthogonally to a longitudinal extension axis of said bar,

[0015] - said leg comprises a partition,

[0016] - said housing has a first zone, called left, configured to guide a first part of the air flow towards a first part, called left, of at least one of said first and second outlets and a second zone, called right, configured to guide a second part of the air flow towards a second part, called right, of at least one of said first and second outlets,

[0017] - said partition separates said first and second zones,

[0018] - said partition is intended to be oriented substantially parallel to the first part of the air flow and / or to the second part of the air flow,

[0019] - said partition is substantially parallel to said side walls of the housing,

[0020] - said partition is transverse, for example substantially perpendicular, to said transverse bar,

[0021] - said partition is of a substantially flat shape,

[0022] - said partition is substantially smooth,

[0023] - said transverse bar rests on said partition at a part, called distal, of said partition, - said reinforcing frame comprises one or more support pins cooperating with said transverse bar,

[0024] - said support pin(s) are located at said distal part of the partition,

[0025] - said crossbar is formed of a first and a second half-bar, respectively associated with the left zone and the right zone of the housing,

[0026] - the first of said half-bars rests on a first of said pins and the second of said half-bars rests on a second of said pins,

[0027] - said partition rests on said structural part at a part, called proximal, of a contour of said partition,

[0028] - said partition has a support foot on said structural part,

[0029] - the outline of said partition has a first lateral part intended to follow a trajectory of an edge of an opening / closing flap of said first exit,

[0030] - the outline of said partition has a second lateral part intended to follow a trajectory of an edge of an opening / closing flap of said second exit,

[0031] - said structural part is internal to said housing,

[0032] - said structural part comprises a volute of a blower of said device,

[0033] - said structural part comprises a heat exchanger,

[0034] - said first outlet is intended to direct the air flow towards one or more passengers of the vehicle.

[0035] - said second outlet is intended to direct the air flow towards a windshield of the vehicle.

[0036] The invention will be better understood, and other aims, details, characteristics and advantages thereof will appear more clearly during the detailed explanatory description which follows, of at least one embodiment of the invention given by way of purely illustrative and non-limiting example, with reference to the appended schematic drawings among which: [Fig 1] illustrates schematically in perspective an exemplary embodiment of the device according to the invention;

[0037] [Fig 2] schematically illustrates, along a cross-sectional plane, part of the device of Figure 2;

[0038] [Fig 3] takes the section from figure 2 to illustrate it in perspective;

[0039] [Fig 4] schematically illustrates in perspective a strut of the device of figure 1.

[0040] As illustrated in Figure 1, the invention relates to a ventilation, heating and / or air conditioning device, in particular for a motor vehicle.

[0041] Said device comprises a housing 2 defining an air flow. Said housing 2 has at least a first outlet 4 and a second outlet 6 of the air flow. Said first and second outlets 4, 6 are intended to be located in the upper part of said housing 2, in use. Said first outlet 4 is intended to direct a first portion of the air flow towards passengers of the vehicle, in particular towards an upper part of their body. Said second outlet 6 is intended to direct a second portion of the air flow towards a windshield of the vehicle. Said housing 2 also has here a third outlet 10, intended to direct a third portion of the air flow towards the feet of the passengers of the vehicle. Said housing 2 has, for example, one or more air inlets 12.

[0042] Said device preferably comprises one or more heat exchangers (not visible), intended to cool and / or heat all or part of said air flow, and / or a mixing flap (not visible), intended to mix a hot portion and a cold portion of said air flow to control a temperature of said air flow at the outlet of the device. Said exchanger(s) and / or said mixing flap are housed in said housing 2.

[0043] Said housing 2 is configured to guide the air flow towards said outlets. More specifically, according to a preferred embodiment, said housing 2 is configured so that an entire air flow first passes through a first of the heat exchangers, intended to operate as an evaporator to cool and / or dry said air flow. It is further configured so that a first part of said air flow, forming said hot portion, passes through a second of said heat exchangers, operating as a heating radiator. The cold portion of the air flow is then defined by a part of the air flow bypassing said second exchanger.

[0044] Advantageously, said housing 2 has a first zone 80, called left, configured to guide a first part of the air flow towards a first part 82, called left, of said first and second outlets 4, 6 and a second zone 84, called right, configured to guide a second part of the air flow towards a second part 86, called right, of said first and second outlets 4, 6.

[0045] Said housing 2 is intended to be positioned, in the central part, under a dashboard (not shown) of the vehicle. Said dashboard is intended to conceal said housing 2.

[0046] As illustrated in Figure 2, said device further advantageously comprises a blower 14, intended to generate a circulation of said air flow through said housing 2, from the air inlet(s). The air inlet 12 is not visible in Figure 2 and the part of the air flow 4, illustrated by an arrow marked 16, is located downstream of said blower 14.

[0047] Said blower 14 further comprises, for example, a volute 18, defining a cavity 19 and guiding the air flow generated by the blower 14 towards an outlet (not visible) of said blower 14 from which said air flow continues its circulation in said housing 2. Said blower 14 comprises, for example, a fan (not visible) and a motor 20 for driving said fan. Said fan rotates on itself around an axis of rotation 22, perpendicular to the figure, in said cavity 19.

[0048] Said housing 2 further defines here a main duct 24 for circulating the air flow downstream of the blower 14. Said main duct 24 is intended to supply said first, second and / or third outlets 4, 6, 10. It is separated from said cavity 19 by said volute 18. It advantageously defines a mixing chamber, intended for mixing said hot portion and said cold portion of said air flow. Said mixing chamber is located for this purpose, for example, downstream of the mixing flap.

[0049] Said housing 2 is further configured here to define a first outlet channel 34, intended to guide the first portion of the air flow, a second outlet channel 36, intended to guide the second portion of the air flow, and / or a third outlet channel 40, intended to guide the third portion of the air flow. They communicate with a downstream side of the main duct 24. The first outlet channel 34 comprises a first distribution flap (not shown), capable of adjusting a flow rate of the first portion of the air flow intended for the first outlet 4. The second outlet channel 36 comprises a second distribution flap 46, capable of adjusting a flow rate of the second portion of the air flow intended for the second outlet 6. The third outlet channel 40 comprises a third distribution flap 50, capable of adjusting a flow rate of the third portion of the air flow intended for the third outlet 10.

[0050] By appropriately adjusting the positions of the first, second and third distribution flaps, different operating modes can be obtained. Said flaps are here of the butterfly type.

[0051] According to the invention, said device comprises a reinforcement frame 60 for the housing 2. Said frame 60 comprises a bar 62, called transverse, linked to the housing 2. Said transverse bar 62 is located between said first and second outlets 4, 6.

[0052] Said reinforcing frame 60 further comprises a force-recovery leg 64. Said leg 60 bears on a structural part of said device, here said volute 18, located at a distance from said first and second outlets 4, 6 and said transverse bar 62 bears on said leg 64. In this way, the mechanical strength of said housing 2 is reinforced, in particular at the level of said first and second outlets 4, 6, with limited effects on the circulation 16 of the air flow.

[0053] Preferably, said reinforcing frame 60, in particular said transverse bar 62, is configured to form a support zone for the dashboard. Indeed, the presence of the first and second outlets 4, 6 constitutes a potential zone of weakness and the reinforcing frame 60 according to the invention makes it possible to limit this risk, in particular thanks to said reinforcing leg 64.

[0054] To leave the widest possible passage section for said first and / or second outlets 4, 6, said crossbar has a limited width, in particular between 20 and 40 mm, more particularly between 25 and 30 mm, for example approximately 27 mm.

[0055] As can be better seen by referring again to Figure 1, said transverse bar 62 extends between two opposite side walls 2a, 2b of said housing 2. Said transverse bar 62 has, for example, longitudinal ends by which it is connected to the housing 2, in particular to said side faces 2a, 2b. Said transverse bar 62 is, for example, substantially perpendicular to said side faces 2a, 2b. Said transverse bar 62 is formed, for example, of a first and a second half-bar, respectively associated with the left zone 80 and the right zone 84 of the housing 2.

[0056] As illustrated in Figure 3, said transverse bar 62 optionally comprises stiffening partitions 70 forming cells 72. Said stiffening partitions 70 are oriented substantially orthogonally to a longitudinal extension axis of said transverse bar 62.

[0057] Said leg 64 comprises a partition 74 separating said left and right zones 80, 84 of the housing 2. In such a particularly advantageous configuration, it is understood that said leg 60 generates practically no pressure loss since each part of the air flow circulates on either side of said partition 74 which therefore does not constitute an obstacle to their respective flow.

[0058] Preferably, said partition 74 of the leg 64 is intended to be oriented, for example, substantially parallel to the first part of the air flow and / or to the second part of the air flow circulating towards the left and right parts of said first and second outlets 4, 6. Said partition 74 of the leg 64 is, for example, substantially parallel to said side walls 2a, 2b of the housing 2. Said partition 74 of the leg 64 is transverse, here substantially perpendicular, to said transverse bar 62.

[0059] Said partition 74 of the leg 64 is advantageously of substantially flat shape. This means that it has two large opposite faces connected by an edge and has a thickness much smaller than the dimensions of said large faces. Said partition 74 of the leg 64, in particular its large faces, is, for example, substantially smooth.

[0060] Said transverse bar 62 bears on said partition 74 of the leg 64 at a portion 76, called distal, of said partition. Said partition 74 of the leg 64 bears, in particular by its edge, on said structural part at a portion 78, called proximal, of a contour of said partition 74 of the leg 64.

[0061] Said structural part is internal to said housing. As mentioned above, in the illustrated embodiment, said structural part comprises the volute 18 of the blower. As is clear from the above, said partition 74 of the leg 64 therefore rests by its edge on said volute 18. In this embodiment, said blower is, for example, centered on said housing 2.

[0062] In a variant not illustrated, said structural part comprises a heat exchanger. Said partition then rests, in particular by its edge, on a collector box and / or a lateral cheek of said exchanger. In this variant, said blower is, for example, offset to the left or right of the housing 2 along the axis of rotation of the fan.

[0063] Said partition 74 of the leg 64 advantageously extends into the main duct 24, in particular at the level of said mixing chamber, and / or upstream to separate the cold portion and the hot portion of the flow into a right part and a left part. Said partition 74 of the leg 64 here has a support foot 80 of said leg 64 on said structural part. More precisely, said support foot 80 matches a part of a face of said volute 18 opening onto the main duct 24.

[0064] As illustrated in Figure 4, the outline of said partition 74 of the leg 64 has a first lateral part 90, intended to follow a trajectory of an edge of an opening / closing flap of said first outlet 4, corresponding here to the first distribution flap. Said first lateral part 90 has, for example, a curved shape for this purpose.

[0065] The outline of said partition 74 of the leg 64 has a second lateral part 92, intended to follow a trajectory of an edge of an opening / closing flap of said second outlet 6, corresponding here to the second distribution flap 46. Said second lateral part 92 has, for example, a curved shape for this.

[0066] Said reinforcing frame 60 preferably comprises one or more support pins 88, cooperating with said transverse bar 62. Said support pin(s) 88 are located, for example, at the level of said distal part 76 of the partition 74 of the leg 64. Said pin(s) 88 are here made of the same material as the partition 74 of the leg 64.

[0067] In the illustrated embodiment, said pins 88 are two in number and are located on either side of the partition 74 of the leg 64, in the extension of one another. They are oriented, for example, perpendicular to said partition 74 of the leg 64. The first of said half-bars forming said bar 62 bears on a first of said pins 88 and the second of said half-bars bears on the other of said pins 88. To cooperate with the partition 74 of the leg 64, said transverse bar 62 has a passage slot for the distal part 76 of said partition 74 which opens into the interior of said bar. Said pins 88 pass through orifices provided in the partitions 70 separating the cells of said transverse bar 62.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. Ventilation, heating and / or air conditioning device, in particular for a motor vehicle, said device comprising a housing (2) having at least a first (4) and a second (6) outlet for an air flow, said device comprising a reinforcement frame (60) for the housing (2), said frame (60) comprising a bar (62), called transverse, connected to the housing (2), and a force-recovery leg (64), said leg (64) bearing on a structural part of said device, located at a distance from said first and second outlets (4, 6), and said transverse bar (62) being located between said first and second outlets (4, 6) and bearing on said leg (64).

2. Device according to claim 1 wherein said reinforcing frame (60) is configured to form a support zone for a dashboard intended to conceal said housing (2).

3. Device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said housing (2) has a first zone (80), called left, configured to guide a first part of the air flow towards a first part (82), called left, of at least one of said first and second outlets (4, 6) and a second zone (84), called right, configured to guide a second part of the air flow towards a second part (86), called right, of at least one of said first and second outlets (4, 6), said leg (62) comprising a partition (74) separating said first and second zones (80, 84).

4. Device according to the preceding claim in which said partition (74) is transverse to said transverse bar (62).

5. Device according to any one of claims 3 or 4 wherein said transverse bar (62) is formed of a first and a second half-bar, respectively associated with the left zone (80) and the right zone (84) of the housing (2).

6. Device according to any one of claims 3 to 5 in which said partition (74) rests on said structural part at a part (78), called proximal, of a contour of said partition (74).

7. Device according to any one of claims 3 to 6 in which said partition has a support foot (80) on said structural part.

8. Device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said structural part is internal to said housing (2).

9. Device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said structural part comprises a volute (18) of a blower of said device.

10. Device according to any one of the preceding claims in which said reinforcing frame (60) comprises one or more support pins (88) cooperating with said transverse bar (62).

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