IMPROVEMENT OF THE AIR INTAKE MANIFOLD FOR AUTOMOTIVE AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS

Abstract

The invention relates to an air inlet neck (1) for a motor vehicle air conditioning system, said neck being intended to be mounted on the front wall of a bulkhead (T) which delimits, towards the front, the passenger compartment of the vehicle and which is provided with a through opening (B) into which a sleeve (11) carried by said neck is inserted and in which an interface (2) grouping fluid lines (3) is housed, characterized in that the sleeve (11) of said neck is extended downwards as a single piece by a plate (12) for closing the portion of the opening (B) surrounding the interface (2) of the fluid lines (3). (Fig. 2)

Description

Title of the invention: IMPROVEMENT TO THE AIR INTAKE MANIFOLD OF THE AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM OF MOTOR VEHICLES

[0001] The invention relates, in general, to the field of air conditioning of the passenger compartment of motor vehicles and is more particularly concerned with an improvement to the air inlet neck of this air conditioning system.

[0002] Today, most air conditioning systems for motor vehicles incorporate a sleeve or neck ensuring the entry of air into the system as well as communication between, on the one hand, the awning located in front of the lower part of the windshield and, on the other hand, the refrigeration module or block which is mounted on the side of the driving position. More precisely, this refrigeration module is fixed on the inner wall of the apron delimiting, towards the front, the passenger compartment and separating it from the engine compartment.

[0003] The air inlet neck is generally fixed to the front wall of the apron by three fixing points and is fitted, via an elbow, to a sheet metal chute partially forming the awning and which extends in a substantially horizontal plane.

[0004] In such a configuration, a passage orifice is provided through the apron in order to ensure the connection between the air inlet neck, the interface of the fluid lines and the refrigerant module. For this purpose, the neck comprises a sleeve which is introduced into the orifice above the interface of the fluid lines. Furthermore, this orifice is provided with a peripheral seal which makes it possible to partially prevent noise rising into the driving position.

[0005] However, this seal does not completely cover the interface of the fluid pipes because the latter is separate from the neck sleeve, which therefore does not allow the transmission of parasitic noise to be optimally avoided.

[0006] However, given the compact and very tight stacking of all the components within the air conditioning system, it is not possible to house this interface inside the passenger compartment, close to the refrigerant module and the driver's compartment.

[0007] For the same reasons of space requirement, it is also not possible to provide additional means of acoustic insulation outside the passenger compartment between the fluid pipes and the rear part of the motor unit because the free space at this location is not sufficient for the mounting of such insulation means.

[0008] Consequently, despite the current use of seals, the necessary presence of a large orifice passing through the bulkhead for the installation of the air conditioning system remains the cause of penetration and rise of parasitic noises into the passenger compartment, in particular, via the interface of the fluid pipes, which is obviously detrimental to passenger comfort.

[0009] Patent application FR3069808 describes a set of conduits connected to an air conditioning module mounted in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle. This set is associated with an assembly flange provided with a seal in the form of a flexible peripheral skirt. However, this flange is neither suitable nor intended to provide acoustic insulation and is not, moreover, associated with an air inlet neck.

[0010] In this context, the invention aims to propose a simple and reliable technical solution making it possible to overcome the technical problems and to compensate for the inadequacies of the current connecting means located, respectively, between the air inlet neck of the air conditioning system which is located under the awning, the interface of the fluid pipes and the refrigeration module by reinforcing the acoustic insulation of these connecting means in the environment of the orifice of the apron.

[0011] This object is achieved, according to the invention, by means of an air inlet neck for a motor vehicle air conditioning system, said neck being intended to be mounted on the front wall of an apron which delimits, towards the front, the passenger compartment of the vehicle and which is provided with a through orifice into which is introduced a sleeve carried by said neck and is housed an interface grouping together fluid pipes, characterized in that the sleeve of said neck is extended downwards in the form of a single piece by a plate for closing the portion of the orifice surrounding the interface of the fluid pipes.

[0012] According to an advantageous characteristic of the neck of the invention, the plate extends in a plane substantially perpendicular to the sleeve.

[0013] According to another characteristic of the invention, the neck is provided with a first seal extending around the outer periphery of the sleeve and the plate and a second seal surrounding the interface of the fluid pipes.

[0014] According to yet another characteristic of the neck of the invention, the sleeve and the plate cover the entire section of the orifice in a hermetic manner.

[0015] Preferably, the outer edge of the sleeve projects beyond the plane of the plate.

[0016] Another object of the invention is an air conditioning system for a vehicle automobile comprising an air intake neck as defined above.

[0017] Yet another object of the invention is a motor vehicle equipped with an air conditioning system as defined above.

[0018] The invention thus makes it possible to optimize the layout of the front part of vehicles because the closure plate is integrated directly into the existing neck, thus avoiding a complete rethinking of the composition of the air conditioning system and the structure of the vehicle.

[0019] This optimization is all the more interesting in the current context where the envi The dimensions of the air intakes are increasingly reduced and it also allows this environment to be improved thanks to the integration in the air inlet neck of an additional noise protection function which is provided by a single, very compact part, integrating a set of hermetic seals around the critical zone of the fluid pipe interfaces.

[0020] Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge on reading the description which follows, with reference to the appended figures, for which:

[0021] [Fig-1] is a partial front view of a vehicle air conditioning system in car including a traditional air intake neck.

[0022] [Fig.2] is a partial front view of a vehicle air conditioning system in automobile comprising a preferred embodiment of an air intake neck according to the invention.

[0023] [Fig.3] is an isolated perspective view of the air inlet neck of [Fig.2].

[0024] For clarity, identical or similar elements are identified by signs identical references in the description and in the figures.

[0025] Naturally, the embodiment of the invention illustrated schematically by the figures presented above and described below is given only as a non-limiting example. It is explicitly provided within the scope of the invention that different embodiments can be proposed and combined together to propose others.

[0026] In general, the invention relates to the air conditioning system of motor vehicles and aims, more particularly, to improve the acoustic insulation at the connection between the air inlet neck of such a system and the interface of the fluid pipes connected to the refrigeration module (not visible in the figures).

[0027] As shown in [Fig. 1], the neck 1 is intended to be mounted on the front wall of an apron T which delimits, towards the front, the passenger compartment of the vehicle and which is provided with a through orifice B. In this orifice, a sleeve 11 carried by the neck 1 is introduced. The orifice B also receives an interface 2 grouping the fluid pipes 3.

[0028] The invention consists in modifying and improving the current means of connection between the air inlet neck 1 mounted under the awning A, the interface 2 of the fluid pipes 3 and the refrigeration module. In particular, the invention aims to reinforce the insulation of these connection means in the environment of the orifice B of the apron T.

[0029] This object is achieved, according to the invention, by producing, on the neck 1, an extension of the sleeve 11 downwards in the form of a plate 12 for closing the portion of the orifice B surrounding the interface 2 of the fluid conduits 3, as illustrated by figures 2 and 3.

[0030] This plate 12 extends in a plane substantially perpendicular to the sleeve 11 which is, for its part, substantially horizontal and is intended to be introduced into the orifice B. Preferably, the outer edge 11a of the sleeve 11 which penetrates into the orifice B makes projection beyond the plane of plate 12.

[0031] The neck 1 is provided with a first seal 4a extending around the outer periphery of the sleeve 11 and the plate 12 and a second seal 4b surrounding the interface 2 of the fluid conduits 3, as illustrated in [Fig.3].

[0032] The invention provides that the sleeve 11 and the plate 12 cover the entire section of the orifice B in a hermetic manner in order to optimize the level of acoustic insulation and to prevent the potential rise of parasitic noise in the driving position.

Claims

Claims

1. Air inlet neck (1) for a motor vehicle air conditioning system, said neck being intended to be mounted on the front wall of an apron (T) which delimits, towards the front, the passenger compartment of the vehicle and which is provided with a through orifice (B) into which is introduced a sleeve (11) carried by said neck and is housed an interface (2) grouping together fluid pipes (3), characterized in that the sleeve (11) of said neck is extended downwards in the form of a single piece by a plate (12) for closing the portion of the orifice (B) surrounding the interface (2) of the fluid pipes (3).

2. Neck according to claim 1, characterized in that said plate (12) extends in a plane substantially perpendicular to the sleeve (11).

3. Neck according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is provided with a first seal (4a) extending around the outer periphery of the sleeve (11) and the plate (12) and a second seal (4b) surrounding the interface (2) of the fluid pipes (3).

4. Neck according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sleeve (11) and the plate (12) cover the entire section of the orifice (B) in a hermetic manner.

5. Neck according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the outer edge (11a) of the sleeve (11) projects beyond the plane of the plate (12).

6. Air conditioning system for a motor vehicle comprising an air inlet neck (1) according to one of the preceding claims.

7. Motor vehicle equipped with an air conditioning system according to the preceding claim.

Images