Vehicle air conditioning system

Abstract

The present invention provides a vehicle air-conditioning device comprising a casing with a dual-layer flow structure, in which a desired air mixing state can be obtained by providing a securing part near the center of the casing or near a blend door actuator, thereby making it possible to alleviate problems such as lowered heating capacity, lowered defogging capacity, or noise due to air passing through gaps, and firmly secure the casing.　The vehicle air-conditioning device comprises a casing in which multiple split casings are joined together to internally accommodate multiple heat exchangers, wherein the casing is provided with a partition that divides the interior into a first airflow space and a second airflow space, the partition has an enclosed wall part between a first heat exchanger on the upwind side and a second heat exchanger on the downwind side among the heat exchangers, the enclosed wall part being enclosed by a partition wall on the first airflow space side and a partition wall on the second airflow space side, and a securing part that secures the multiple split casings is provided on the inner side of the enclosed wall part.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an air conditioning system for a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there has been known a vehicle air conditioner having a two-layer flow structure that can simultaneously introduce air from inside the vehicle cabin (inside air) and air from outside the vehicle cabin (outside air), and that allows the inside air and the outside air to flow separately. This vehicle air conditioner has a casing that houses a blower and a heat exchanger, and in an inside / outside air two-layer flow mode, inside air is introduced into the lower layer of the casing and outside air is introduced into the upper layer of the casing, and after passing through the heat exchanger, the air introduced into the lower layer of the casing is supplied to the foot area (foot outlet), while the air introduced into the upper layer of the casing is supplied to the defroster outlet, thereby suppressing fogging of the windshield and improving heating efficiency (see Patent Document 1 below). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-144532 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the vehicle air conditioning system described above, components such as a heat exchanger and an air mix door are placed inside the casing, so the casing is formed from multiple divided bodies, and various components are stored inside the divided bodies.The divided bodies are then joined and fixed with fasteners (screws, etc.) to complete the casing that stores the heat exchanger and other components inside.

[0005] In such a vehicle air conditioning system, in order to achieve the two-layer flow structure described above, it is necessary to install a partition wall inside the casing to separate the upper and lower layers.However, near the center of the casing, especially near the operating part of the air mix door, the partition walls that protrude like ribs on the inside of the divided body are butted together, so it is not possible to install a fixed part there.

[0006] Therefore, when the pressure inside the casing increases due to the introduction of air into the casing, the butt joints of the partition walls separate, making it more likely for air leakage to occur, resulting in problems such as an inability to achieve the desired air mix and a whistling noise caused by the wind passing through the gap. Furthermore, when air leakage occurs, the two separate layers of inside and outside air mix inside the casing, causing problems such as a decrease in defogging ability (window clearing performance) and a decrease in heating performance. Furthermore, because the segments are not fixed near the center of the casing, the casing made up of the segments cannot be firmly fixed, which creates the problem of not being able to increase the strength of the casing itself.

[0007] The present invention addresses these problems by providing a vehicle air conditioner with a casing having a two-layer flow structure, in which a fixed portion is provided near the center of the casing or near the operating portion of the air mix door, thereby achieving a desired air mix state, suppressing problems such as a decrease in heating capacity or defogging capacity due to air passing through gaps, or noise, and also providing an air conditioner with increased casing strength. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve such problems, the present invention has the following configuration. A vehicle air conditioning system includes a casing that houses a plurality of heat exchangers by connecting a plurality of divided casings, and a partition section that separates a first air blowing space from a second air blowing space inside the casing, wherein the partition section has an enclosing wall section that is surrounded by a partition wall on the first air blowing space side and a partition wall on the second air blowing space side, between a first heat exchanger on the windward side and a second heat exchanger on the leeward side of the plurality of heat exchangers, and a fixing section that fixes the plurality of divided casings is provided inside the enclosing wall section. a flow rate adjusting section for adjusting the flow rate of air flowing through the first air blowing space and the second air blowing space is provided between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger, and a sealing section for the flow rate adjusting section is provided around the surrounding wall section, the surrounding wall section has a polygonal cross section along the joining surface of the split casing, the polygonal shape of the surrounding wall section is a vertically elongated shape facing the first air blowing space and the second air blowing space, the sealing section is provided near an apex of the polygonal shape, and an interior angle of the apex of the polygonal shape near which the sealing section is provided is smaller than an interior angle of the apex between the partition wall on the first air blowing space side and the partition wall on the second air blowing space side; A vehicle air conditioning system characterized by: [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] The present invention, which has these features, enables a vehicle air conditioner equipped with a casing with a two-layer flow structure to have a fixing portion provided near the center of the casing or near the operating portion of the air mix door, thereby preventing air leakage, achieving a desired air mix state, and suppressing problems such as a decrease in heating capacity or defogging capacity due to air passing through gaps, or noise. In addition, by firmly fixing the casing, the strength of the casing itself can be increased. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an internal structure of a vehicle air conditioning device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] Cross-sectional view of the fixed part of the casing (cross-section AA in Figure 1). [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of the present invention surrounded by a dashed line in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals in different drawings denote parts with the same functions, and duplicated descriptions in each drawing will be omitted as appropriate.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle air conditioner 1 has an air intake section 1A and a blower temperature adjustment section 1B. The air intake section 1A takes in air outside the vehicle cabin (outside air) and air inside the vehicle cabin (inside air) using a blower (not shown) and sends it to the blower temperature adjustment section 1B. The blower temperature adjustment section 1B has a casing 10, and the air intake section 1A introduces the outside air or the inside air into the casing 10. The air intake section 1A may be provided integrally with the casing 10 or may be a separate section.

[0013] The casing 10 of the vehicle air conditioner 1 is provided with a partition 100 that divides the air flow path within the casing 10 into a first air blowing space 10A and a second air blowing space 10B. The first air blowing space 10A and the second air blowing space 10B can be, for example, an upper layer and a lower layer when the vehicle air conditioner 1 is mounted on a vehicle.

[0014] The air introduced into the casing 10 by the air intake section 1A is sent to each of the first air blowing space 10A and the second air blowing space 10B. As an example, outside air can be introduced into the first air blowing space 10A and inside air can be introduced into the second air blowing space 10B, but a switching mechanism provided in the air intake section 1A may be used to introduce either outside air or inside air into both the first air blowing space 10A and the second air blowing space 10B, or inside air may be introduced into the first air blowing space 10A and outside air into the second air blowing space 10B.

[0015] The casing 10 accommodates multiple heat exchangers for cooling or heating the introduced air. In the illustrated example, a first heat exchanger 17 is accommodated on the windward side of the casing 10, and a second heat exchanger 18 is accommodated on the downwind side. The first heat exchanger 17 is disposed so that its core section 17A opens to both the first air blowing space 10A and the second air blowing space 10B. One of a pair of header sections 17B for circulating a heat medium in the core section 17A is disposed in the first air blowing space 10A, and the other is disposed in the second air blowing space 10B. For example, the first heat exchanger 17 functions as a cooler that cools the air introduced into the casing 10 in both the first air blowing space 10A and the second air blowing space 10B.

[0016] In the illustrated example, the second heat exchanger 18 is arranged such that its core section 18A is open to both the first air blowing space 10A and the second air blowing space 10B, similar to the first heat exchanger 17, and a pair of header sections 18B for circulating the heat medium in the core section 18A are arranged, one in the first air blowing space 10A and the other in the second air blowing space 10B. As an example, the second heat exchanger 18 functions as a heater (heater core) that heats the air introduced into the casing 10 in both the first air blowing space 10A and the second air blowing space 10B.

[0017] A heater 19 can be provided on the downwind side of the second heat exchanger 18 as shown in the figure, if necessary. The heater 19 is, for example, a radiator that dissipates heat from the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit or an electric heater, and by assisting the air heating by the second heat exchanger 18, the air that has passed through the second heat exchanger 18 is further heated to a desired temperature and sent to the downwind side. In this example, the heater 19 is disposed so as to straddle both the first air blowing space 10A and the second air blowing space 10B, but the heater 19 may be provided only on the second air blowing space 10B side.

[0018] The casing 10 of the vehicle air conditioner 1 has a plurality of air outlets for blowing cooled or heated air introduced into the casing 10 into the vehicle compartment. In the illustrated example, the casing 10 has a defroster outlet 11 and a vent outlet 12 as first air outlet sections provided on the first air blowing space 10A side, and front and rear foot outlets 13 and a rear seat vent outlet (not shown) as second air outlet sections provided on the second air blowing space 10B side.

[0019] Inside the casing 10 of the vehicle air conditioner 1, a flow rate adjusting section 20 is provided that adjusts the flow rate of air introduced into the first air blowing space 10A and the second air blowing space 10B.

[0020] One of the flow rate adjustment units 20 is a first air mix door 21 provided on the first air blowing space 10A side, which switches between directing the air that has passed through the first heat exchanger 17 through the first air blowing space 10A toward the second heat exchanger 18 or bypassing the second heat exchanger 18, and adjusts the flow rate of the air flowing through the first air blowing space 10A by adjusting the opening degree of the door.

[0021] The other flow rate adjusting section 20 is a second air mix door 22 provided on the second air blowing space 10B side, which switches between directing the air that has passed through the first heat exchanger 17 through the second air blowing space 10B toward the second heat exchanger 18 or bypassing the second heat exchanger 18, and adjusts the flow rate of the air flowing through the second air blowing space 10B by adjusting the opening degree of the door.

[0022] A foot door 23 that opens and closes the foot outlet 13, which serves as the second outlet portion, is provided in the casing 10 of the vehicle air conditioner 1. The foot door 23 not only opens and closes the foot outlet 13, but also has the function of switching whether the air flowing through the second air blowing space 10B merges with the air flowing through the first air blowing space 10A or flows into the foot outlet 13, which serves as the second outlet portion.

[0023] The foot door 23 is provided near the airflow direction changing section 14 provided at the downwind end of the partition section 100. The airflow direction changing section 14 is a bent or curved partition wall for changing the direction of air flowing through the first air blowing space 10A toward the first blowing section (for example, the defroster outlet 11).

[0024] The casing 10 of the vehicle air conditioner 1 is formed by joining a plurality of split casings 10X, 10Y, and 10Z together, as shown in Fig. 2. Here, an example is shown in which the left and right split casings 10Y and 10Z are joined to the central split casing 10X, but this is not limiting, and the casing 10 may also be formed by joining, for example, two split casings, one on the left and one on the right.

[0025] The divided casings 10X, 10Y, 10Z that make up the casing 10 each have the partition portions 100 described above, and by joining the partition portions 100 together, a first air blowing space 10A and a second air blowing space 10B are formed inside.

[0026] As shown in Figures 1 and 3, this partition section 100 has an enclosing wall section 110 between the first heat exchanger 17 on the windward side and the second heat exchanger 18 on the leeward side, and inside this is provided a fixing section 200 for fixing multiple split casings 10X, 10Y, 10Z.

[0027] 3, the surrounding wall 110 is surrounded by a partition wall 110A on the first air blowing space 10A side and a partition wall 110B on the second air blowing space 10B side, and a space for forming the fixing part 200 is formed inside the surrounding wall 110. In the illustrated example, the surrounding wall 110 has a polygonal cross section along the joining surfaces of the divided casings 10X, 10Y, 10Z, but is not limited to this and may have any shape as long as a space for forming the fixing part 200 is formed inside the surrounding wall 110.

[0028] 2, on the inside of the split casings 10Y, 10Z, the surrounding wall 110 is a rib-like wall that protrudes toward the inside of the casing 10, but on the outside of the split casings 10Y, 10Z, a recess 110T is formed along the surrounding wall 110, and a fixing portion 200 that is further recessed is formed at the bottom of the recess 110T. An insertion hole for a screw N is formed in the fixing portion 200, and the left and right split casings 10Y, 10Z are fixed to the central split casing 10X by inserting the screw N into the insertion hole and screwing it into a fixed portion 201 in the split casing 10X. When joining and fixing the split casings 10X, 10Y, 10Z, the screw N is inserted into the recess 110T from the outside of the split casings 10Y, 10Z, and then the screw N is inserted into the fixing portion 200 and screwed in, thereby forming a joined casing 10.

[0029] Around the surrounding wall 110, seal portions 111, 112 between a first air mix door 21 and a second air mix door 22, which constitute the flow rate adjustment unit 20, are provided. One end of the first air mix door 21 is pivotally supported, and when it abuts against the seal portion 111 provided around the surrounding wall 110, it blocks the flow path of air that has passed through the first heat exchanger 17 and heads toward the second heat exchanger 18, and opens the flow path that passes through the first heat exchanger 17 and heads directly toward the first outlet portion (defroster outlet 11 and vent outlet 12). When the first air mix door 21 moves away from the seal portion 111, it adjusts the flow rate of air that passes through the first air blowing space 10A and heads toward the second heat exchanger 18 depending on its opening degree.

[0030] Like the first air mix door 21, the second air mix door 22 is pivotally supported at one end and comes into contact with a seal portion 112 provided around the surrounding wall portion 110, thereby blocking the flow path of air that has passed through the first heat exchanger 17 toward the second heat exchanger 18 and opening the flow path that passes through the first heat exchanger 17 and heads directly toward the second blowing portion (foot outlet 13, etc.). Furthermore, by moving away from the seal portion 112, the second air mix door 22 adjusts the flow rate of air that passes through the second air blowing space 10B toward the second heat exchanger 18 according to its opening degree.

[0031] The seal portions 111, 112 are provided near the apex of the polygonal surrounding wall portion 110. As a result, the positions of the seal portions 111, 112 can be changed by changing the polygonal shape of the surrounding wall portion 110. Therefore, the airflow volume or airflow ratio of the flow paths opened and closed by the first air mix door 21 and the second air mix door 22, which is determined by the positions of the seal portions 111, 112, can be appropriately changed by simply changing the shape of the surrounding wall portion 110 without changing other structures such as the support positions of the first air mix door 21 and the second air mix door 22.

[0032] 3, the interior angle θ1 of the apex of the polygonal shape of the surrounding wall 110, near which the sealing portion 111 is provided, is smaller than the interior angle θ2 of the apex between the partition wall 110A on the first air blowing space 10A side and the partition wall 110B on the second air blowing space 10B side. By making the polygonal shape of the surrounding wall 110 vertically elongated toward the first air blowing space 10A and the second air blowing space 10B, the interior space of the surrounding wall 110 is kept to the minimum space required for the fixing portion 200, and the positions of the sealing portions 111 and 112 can be set to appropriate positions by expanding and contracting the vertically elongated shape.

[0033] Furthermore, by making the surrounding wall portion 110 elongated, it is possible to increase the rigidity of the surrounding wall portion 110. This increases the rigidity of the fixing portion 200 formed inside the surrounding wall portion 110, and increases the bonding strength of the casing 10.

[0034] As mentioned above, the illustrated casing 10 has a defroster outlet 11 and a vent outlet 12 on the first air blowing space 10A side, and a foot outlet 13 on the second air blowing space 10B side, and by adjusting the position of the partition portion 100 on the downwind side of the surrounding wall portion 110, the opening ratio of the second heat exchanger 18 in the first air blowing space 10A is made smaller than the opening ratio of the second heat exchanger 18 in the second air blowing space 10B.

[0035] In addition, in the illustrated example, the position of the partition 100 on the windward side of the surrounding wall 110 is different from the position of the partition 100 on the leeward side of the surrounding wall 110, so that the opening ratio of the first air flow space 10A to the second air flow space 10B in the first heat exchanger 17 is different from the opening ratio of the first air flow space 10A to the second air flow space 10B in the second heat exchanger 18.

[0036] In this way, by adjusting the position of the partition section 100 relative to the surrounding wall section 110, it is possible to set the desired air volume ratio for the first air flow space 10A and the second air flow space 10B without changing the positions of the flow rate adjustment section 20 and the sealing sections 111, 112.

[0037] According to the vehicle air conditioning device 1 of the embodiment of the present invention described above, in the partition portion 100 that separates the inside of the casing 10 into the first air blowing space 10A and the second air blowing space 10B, an enclosing wall portion 110 is provided between the first heat exchanger 17 and the second heat exchanger 18, and a fixing portion 200 is provided inside this enclosing wall portion 110, so that the fixing portion 200 can be provided near the center of the casing 10 or near the operating portion of the flow rate adjustment portion 20 (first air mix door 21 and second air mix door 22).

[0038] This prevents gaps from being formed at the joining points of the partitions 100 of the split casings 10X, 10Y, 10Z, suppresses air leakage through the partitions 100, and enables a desired air mix state to be obtained in the first air blowing space 10A and the second air blowing space 10B separated by the partitions 100. This prevents problems such as a decrease in heating capacity or defogging capacity or noise caused by air passing through the gaps.

[0039] Furthermore, by providing the fixed portion 200 near the operating portion of the flow rate adjustment portion 20, the operation of the flow rate adjustment portion 20 can be stabilized, which also makes it possible to obtain a desired air mix state (air volume ratio, etc.). Furthermore, by changing the shape of the surrounding wall portion 110 on which the seal portions 111, 112 are provided, the positions of the seal portions 111, 112 with the flow rate adjustment portion 20 can be easily changed, which makes it possible to easily change the flow rate adjustment setting.

[0040] Furthermore, by providing the surrounding wall portion 110 with high rigidity near the center of the casing 10, the strength of the fixing portion 200 can be increased, and at the same time, the strength of the casing 10 itself can be increased.

[0041] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configurations are not limited to these embodiments, and the present invention also includes design changes within the scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments can be combined by utilizing each other's technologies as long as there are no particular contradictions or problems in their purposes, configurations, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 1: Vehicle air conditioning device, 1A: Air intake section, 1B: Air temperature control section, 10: Casing, 10X, 10Y, 10Z: Split casing, 10A: 1st ventilation space, 10B: 2nd ventilation space, 11: Defroster outlet, 12: Vent outlet, 13: Foot outlet, 14: Wind direction change unit, 17: First heat exchanger, 17A: Core section, 17B: Header section, 18: second heat exchanger, 18A: core section, 18B: header section, 19: heater, 20: flow rate adjustment section, 21: First air mix door, 22: Second air mix door, 23: Foot door, 100: Partition section, 110: Enclosing wall section, 110A, 110B: Partition wall, 110T: recess, 111, 112: sealing portion, 200: fixing portion, N: Screw

Claims

1. An air conditioner for a vehicle, comprising a casing that houses a plurality of heat exchangers by connecting a plurality of divided casings, and a partition portion that separates a first air blowing space and a second air blowing space from each other is provided inside the casing, the partition portion has an enclosing wall portion surrounded by a partition wall on the first air blowing space side and a partition wall on the second air blowing space side, between a first heat exchanger on the windward side and a second heat exchanger on the leeward side of the plurality of heat exchangers, a fixing portion for fixing the plurality of split casings to an inside of the surrounding wall portion; A flow rate adjusting unit is provided between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger to adjust the flow rate of air flowing through each of the first air blowing space and the second air blowing space, A seal portion for the flow rate adjusting portion is provided around the surrounding wall portion, The surrounding wall portion has a polygonal cross section along a joining surface of the split casing, The polygonal shape of the surrounding wall portion is a vertically elongated shape directed toward the first air blowing space and the second air blowing space, The seal portion is provided near an apex of the polygonal shape, an interior angle at an apex of the polygonal shape near which the sealing portion is provided is smaller than an interior angle at an apex between the partition wall on the first air blowing space side and the partition wall on the second air blowing space side.

2. The casing is provided with a defroster outlet and a vent outlet on the first air blowing space side, and a foot outlet on the second air blowing space side, 2. The air conditioning system for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein an opening ratio of the second heat exchanger in the first air blowing space is smaller than an opening ratio of the second heat exchanger in the second air blowing space.

3. 3. The vehicle air conditioning system according to claim 1, wherein an opening ratio between the first air supply space and the second air supply space in the first heat exchanger is set to a different ratio from an opening ratio between the first air supply space and the second air supply space in the second heat exchanger.

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