Vehicle air conditioning system

Abstract

The present invention addresses the problem of minimizing the impact on air blowing performance when endeavoring to reduce both vertical-direction and vehicle width-direction size and conserve space used when installed in a vehicle.　A vehicle air-conditioning device according to the present invention is provided with an air intake part provided internally with a centrifugal blower and having an inside-air intake port and an outside-air intake port through which outside air or inside air is introduced into a inlet port of the centrifugal blower. The outside-air intake port is provided on the vehicle front side intersecting a drive shaft of the centrifugal blower, and the inside-air intake port is provided in a direction along the drive shaft. An inside / outside air switching damper that opens and closes the outside-air intake port and the inside-air intake port is a rotary-type damper that closes the outside-air intake port and opens the inside-air intake port by rotation in one direction centered on a rotation axis, and opens the outside-air intake port and closes the inside-air intake port by rotation in the other direction centered on the rotation axis. The rotation axis is disposed above and below a drive unit of the centrifugal blower and such that a straight line passing through the rotation axis overlaps the driving unit.

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] A conventional two-layer vehicle air conditioner is known in which the blower housed in an inside / outside air case is a centrifugal blower having a first fan and a second fan driven on the same shaft and each having an intake port on either side of the drive shaft, the inside / outside air case is provided with first and second inside air intakes on either side of the drive shaft that communicate with the respective intake ports, and further with one outside air intake that communicates with each of the intake ports, and by appropriately switching the air flow paths that communicate from the first and second inside air intakes and the one outside air intake to the respective intake ports, switching between an all inside air mode, an all outside air mode, and a two-layer flow mode is possible (see Patent Document 1 below). Note that inside air here refers to the air inside the vehicle cabin, and outside air refers to the air outside the vehicle cabin. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-296712 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the above-mentioned conventional technology, first and second inside air intakes are arranged opposite each other along the drive shaft of the fan, one outside air intake is arranged opening upward perpendicular to the drive shaft, and the switching door for switching the air flow path is a plate-shaped door that opens and closes in the space above the fan. As a result, the above-mentioned conventional technology has the problem of requiring a large vertical installation space when installed in a vehicle.

[0005] Furthermore, when considering reducing the vertical dimensions of a vehicle air conditioning unit, it is possible to consider locating the first and second interior air intakes coaxially with the fan intake. However, this would mean that the space inside the case required for opening and closing the switching door would expand in the vehicle width direction, which would require installation space in the vehicle width direction when mounted on the vehicle, making it impossible to achieve overall space savings.

[0006] The present invention addresses these issues by reducing the size of the fan in both the vertical and transverse directions and by saving space when mounted on the vehicle, while minimizing the impact on air blowing performance. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve such problems, the present invention has the following configuration. 1. A vehicle air conditioning system comprising an air intake section having an inside air intake and an outside air intake for taking in outside air or inside air into an intake port of the centrifugal blower, wherein the outside air intake is provided on the front side of the vehicle intersecting a drive shaft of the centrifugal blower, and the inside air intake is provided in a direction along the drive shaft, and an inside / outside air switching damper that opens and closes the outside air intake and the inside air intake is a rotary damper that rotates in one direction about a rotation axis to close the outside air intake and open the inside air intake, and rotates in the other direction about the rotation axis to open the outside air intake and close the inside air intake, and the rotation axis is disposed above and below a drive part of the centrifugal blower, and is disposed so that a straight line passing through the rotation axis overlaps with the drive part. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention having such characteristics, it is possible to provide a vehicle air conditioner that can be made smaller in size in the vertical direction and the width direction of the vehicle while minimizing the impact on air blowing performance. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1]1 is a side view showing the overall configuration of a vehicle air conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, showing the outside air mode. [Figure 3] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, showing the inside air mode. [Figure 4] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1, showing a two-layer mode. [Figure 5] FIG. 4 is a side view showing the inside air intake with the intake case removed. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the case shape of the intake case and the inside / outside air switching damper. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the internal structure (air flow path) of one side of the main body case. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the internal structure (air flow path) of the other main body case. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] 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.

[0011] 1 to 4, vehicle air conditioner 1 includes an air intake section 1A and a temperature control blower section 1B in a main body case 100. Air intake section 1A is provided with an outside air intake 2 and an inside air intake 3 (3A, 3B), and temperature control blower section 1B is provided with a first blower section 4, a second blower section 5, and a third blower section 6. Here, first blower section 4 is, for example, a defroster outlet, second blower section 5 is, for example, a face outlet, and third blower section 6 includes, for example, a foot outlet 6A, a rear seat foot outlet 6B, and a rear seat face outlet 6C.

[0012] The air intake section 1A has a centrifugal blower 10 installed therein. The centrifugal blower 10 has a drive section (motor) 11 and two-layer centrifugal fans 12 and 13 that are coaxially rotated by the drive section 11. In the centrifugal blower 10, the suction port 12A of one centrifugal fan 12 and the suction port 13A of the other centrifugal fan 13 open in opposite directions along the drive shaft 11A.

[0013] Air intake section 1A also includes intake cases 20 and 21. These intake cases 20 and 21 are provided so as to cover a pair of suction ports 12A and 13A of centrifugal blower 10, respectively. One intake case 20 is provided with an inside air intake 3A, and the other intake case 21 is provided with an inside air intake 3B. An outside air intake 2 is provided so as to straddle the two intake cases 20 and 21. When mounted on a vehicle, outside air intake 2 is provided so as to open toward the front of the vehicle, and the two inside air intakes 3A and 3B are provided so as to open toward the left and right sides in the width direction of the vehicle, respectively.

[0014] Inside intake cases 20, 21 provided in air intake section 1A are provided inside inside / outside air switching dampers 22, 23, respectively. Inside / outside air switching dampers 22, 23 are rotary dampers equipped with rotary shafts 22A, 23A, respectively, which close outside air intake 2 and open inside air intakes 3A, 3B when rotated in one direction around rotary shafts 22A, 23A, and open outside air intake 2 and close inside air intakes 3A, 3B when rotated in the other direction around rotary shafts 22A, 23A.

[0015] In the state shown in Figure 2, the inside / outside air switching dampers 22, 23 have their shielding portions 22B, 23B blocking the inside air intakes 3A, 3B, so that the inside air intakes 3A, 3B are closed, and air taken in from the outside air intake 2 passes through the inside of the inside / outside air switching dampers 22, 23 and is drawn into the intake ports 12A, 13A, so that the outside air intake 2 is open, resulting in an outside air introduction state (outside air mode).

[0016] In addition, in the state shown in Figure 3, the inside / outside air switching dampers 22, 23 have their shielding portions 22B, 23B blocking the outside air intake 2, so that the outside air intake 2 is closed, and the shielding portions 22B, 23B of the inside / outside air switching dampers 22, 23 are retracted from the inside air intakes 3A, 3B, so that the inside air intakes 3A, 3B are opened, and the air taken in from the inside air intakes 3A, 3B is drawn into the intakes 12A, 13A, entering an inside air introduction state (inside air mode).

[0017] In the state shown in Figure 4, the inside / outside air switching dampers 22, 23 are in a two-layer flow state (two-layer mode) in which one inside / outside air switching damper 22 closes the outside air intake 2 and opens the inside air intake 3A, and the other inside / outside air switching damper 23 closes the inside air intake 3B and opens the outside air intake 2.

[0018] Here, the inside / outside air switching damper 22 is provided inside the intake case 20 on the side where the drive unit 11 of the centrifugal blower 10 is disposed. As shown in Fig. 5, the inside / outside air switching damper 22 is disposed such that its rotation shaft 22A is located above and below the drive unit 11 of the centrifugal blower 10, and such that a straight line L passing through the rotation shaft 22A overlaps with the drive unit 11. In other words, a part of the drive unit 11 of the centrifugal blower 10 is accommodated in the inner space of the inside / outside air switching damper 22, which is a rotary damper.

[0019] The intake case 20, in which the inside / outside air switching damper 22 is provided, is shaped to avoid a tongue portion 101A (see FIGS. 7 and 8) of a scroll housing 101, which will be described later. The rotation shaft 22A of the inside / outside air switching damper 22 is shifted toward the front of the vehicle to avoid the tongue portion 101A. This makes it easy to ensure space for an attachment structure to attach the intake case 20 and the inside / outside air switching damper 22 to the main body case 100, and also, if the main body case 100 is a separate case, the intake case 20 and the inside / outside air switching damper 22 can be attached while avoiding the joint portion of the separate case at the tongue portion 101A.

[0020] The inside / outside air switching dampers 22, 23 are designed to be different in size. That is, the damper internal volume of the inside / outside air switching damper 22 on the side of the pair of inside air intakes 3A, 3B where the drive unit 11 of the centrifugal blower 10 is provided is designed to be larger than the damper internal volume of the inside / outside air switching damper 23 on the side where the drive unit 11 is not provided. This prevents a large difference in the flow rate of air that passes through the inside of the inside / outside air switching dampers 22, 23 and enters the intake ports 12A, 13A, even when the drive unit 11 is housed in part of the internal space of the inside / outside air switching damper 22.

[0021] 6, the space inside each intake case 20, 21 within the sliding range of the inside / outside air switching damper 22, 23 provided inside is larger than the space inside the case outside the sliding range of the inside / outside air switching damper 22, 23. In this way, by making the case shape of the intake cases 20, 21 outside the sliding range of the inside / outside air switching damper 22, 23 provided inside smaller than the case shape within the sliding range and making the case shape closer to the centrifugal blower 10, it is possible to miniaturize the intake cases 20, 21 to the minimum necessary size, reduce the dimension of the vehicle air conditioner 1 in the vehicle width direction, and save space required when mounted on the vehicle.

[0022] 7 and 8 show the internal configuration of a main body case 100 that constitutes the air intake section 1A and the temperature control blower section 1B of the vehicle air conditioner 1. The main body case 100 is provided with a scroll housing 101 of the centrifugal blower 10 in the air intake section 1A. The scroll housing 101 forms an air flow path for air drawn in from the suction ports 12A and 13A, and has a tongue portion 101A formed closest to the outer periphery of the centrifugal fan (not shown).

[0023] 7, the straight line L passing through the rotation shaft 22A of the inside / outside air switching damper 22 on the drive unit 11 side is positioned further forward of the vehicle than the tongue portion 101A of the scroll housing 101 of the centrifugal blower 10. As a result, even if the height dimension of the inside / outside air switching damper 22 is set to the minimum necessary, the rotation shaft 22A does not interfere with the tongue portion 101A. This makes it possible to set the height dimension of the inside / outside air switching damper 22 to the minimum necessary while ensuring air blowing performance by installing the tongue portion 101A in an appropriate position.

[0024] 7 and 8, the air flow inside the main body case 100 will be described. Inside the main body case 100, there are provided a first opening / closing door 4A that opens and closes the first blowing section 4, a second opening / closing door 5A that opens and closes the second blowing section 5, and an air direction switching door 60 that switches the air direction of the foot outlet 6A in the third blowing section 6. The inside of the main body case 100 is divided into an upper section 111 and a lower section 112 by a two-layer partition wall 110, with an upper air mix door 111A provided in the upper section 111 and a lower air mix door 112A provided in the lower section 112.

[0025] The scroll housing 101 on the suction port 12A side shown in Figure 7 is configured so that the downstream side of the tongue portion 101A is connected to the upper layer portion 111, and the scroll housing 101 on the suction port 13A side shown in Figure 8 is configured so that the downstream side of the tongue portion 101A is connected to the lower layer portion 112.

[0026] As mentioned above, the air sucked in from the intake port 12A passes through the tongue portion 101A of the scroll housing 101, enters the upper layer 111, passes through the filter 120 and cooler (cooler core) 121 installed in the main body case 100, and then the air flow path is switched by the upper layer air mix door 111A.

[0027] In this case, when the upper air mix door 111A is in the state shown by the solid line in the figure, the air is blown directly (without passing through the heater (heater core) 122) to the first blowing section 4, the second blowing section 5, or the third blowing section 6, and when the upper air mix door 111A is in the state shown by the dotted line in the figure, the air is blown via the heater 122 to the first blowing section 4, the second blowing section 5, or the third blowing section 6.

[0028] In contrast, the air sucked in from the intake port 13A passes through the tongue portion 101A of the scroll housing 101 as described above, enters the lower layer 112, passes through the filter 120 and cooler 121 installed inside the main body case 100, and then the air flow path is switched by the lower layer air mix door 112A.

[0029] In this case, when the lower air mix door 112A is in the state shown by the solid line in the figure, the air is sent directly (without passing through the heater 122) to the first blowing section 4, the second blowing section 5, or the third blowing section 6, and when the lower air mix door 112A is in the state shown by the dotted line in the figure, the air is sent via the heater 122 to the first blowing section 4, the second blowing section 5, or the third blowing section 6.

[0030] According to the vehicle air conditioning device 1 having such characteristics, in the air intake section 1A, the outside air intake 2 is arranged on the front side of the vehicle, and the inside air intake 3 (3A, 3B) is arranged in the vehicle width direction, and the inside / outside air switching dampers 22, 23 are rotary dampers with rotating shafts 22A, 23A facing in the vertical direction, thereby making it possible to keep the vertical dimensions of the vehicle air conditioning device 1 low.

[0031] Furthermore, by arranging the drive unit 11 of the centrifugal blower 10 in the air intake section 1A so that it overlaps with the straight line L passing through the rotation shaft 22A of the inside / outside air switching damper 22 and storing a part of the drive unit 11 inside the inside / outside air switching damper 22, the air intake section 1A can be made smaller in size in the vehicle width direction. In this case, because the rotation shaft 22A of the inside / outside air switching damper 22 is arranged above and below the drive unit 11 of the centrifugal blower 10, the height of the inside / outside air switching damper 22 can be made sufficiently large relative to the suction port 12A of the centrifugal blower 10, and good suction performance of the centrifugal blower 10 can be ensured.

[0032] Furthermore, since the rotating shafts 22A, 23A of the inside / outside air switching dampers 22, 23 are located further forward of the vehicle than the tongue portion 101A of the scroll housing 101 of the centrifugal blower 10, it is easier to ensure clearance between the inside / outside air switching dampers 22, 23 and the mounting flange of the drive unit 11 of the centrifugal blower 10, and it is easier to install and remove the drive unit 11 while avoiding interference with the inside / outside air switching dampers 22, 23.

[0033] In addition, in the arrangement examples shown in Figures 7 and 8, the filter 120 is not placed over the intake cases 20, 21 or the lower parts of the inside / outside air switching dampers 22, 23, making it easier to remove the filter 120 and improving maintainability.

[0034] 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]

[0035] 1: Vehicle air conditioning device, 1A: Air intake section, 1B: Temperature control air blower section, 2: Outside air intake, 3(3A, 3B): Inside air intake, 4: First blowing section, 4A: First opening / closing door, 5: second blowing section, 5A: second opening / closing door, 6: Third air outlet, 6A: Foot air outlet, 6B: Rear seat face air outlet, 6C: Rear seat face air outlet, 60: Air direction change door, 10: centrifugal blower, 11: drive unit, 11A: drive shaft, 12,13 centrifugal fan, 12A,13A: Intake port, 20, 21: Intake case, 22, 23: Indoor / outdoor air switching damper, 22A, 23A: Rotating shaft, 22B, 23B: Shielding part, 100: Main body case, 101: Scroll housing, 101A: Tongue, 110: 2-layer partition, 111: Upper layer, 112: Lower layer, 111A: Upper air mix door, 112A: Lower air mix door, 120: filter, 121: cooler, 122: heater

Claims

1. An air conditioning system for a vehicle, comprising: a centrifugal blower therein; and an air intake section having an inside air intake and an outside air intake for taking in outside air or inside air into an intake port of the centrifugal blower, the outside air intake is provided on a vehicle front side intersecting a drive shaft of the centrifugal blower, and the inside air intake is provided in a direction along the drive shaft, an inside / outside air switching damper that opens and closes the outside air intake and the inside air intake is a rotary damper that closes the outside air intake and opens the inside air intake when rotated in one direction around a rotation axis, and opens the outside air intake and closes the inside air intake when rotated in the other direction around the rotation axis, the rotation shafts are disposed above and below the drive unit of the centrifugal blower, and a straight line passing through the rotation shafts is disposed so as to overlap with the drive unit; the air intake section includes a pair of internal air intakes arranged in opposite directions along the drive shaft, a damper internal volume of the inside / outside air switching damper on one side of the pair of inside air intakes where the drive unit is provided is larger than a damper internal volume of the inside / outside air switching damper on the other side of the pair of inside air intakes where the drive unit is not provided.

2. The centrifugal blower has a scroll housing that forms an air flow path for the air drawn in through the suction port, 2. The air conditioning system for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the rotation shaft is disposed on the vehicle front side relative to the tongue portion of the scroll housing.

3. the air intake section includes an intake case having the inside air intake and the outside air intake, 3. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the intake case has an internal space within a sliding range of the inside / outside air switching damper that is larger than an internal space outside the sliding range of the inside / outside air switching damper.

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