Vehicle air conditioning system

Abstract

[Problem] To simultaneously fulfill, in the case where an air mix door is located near a full-hot position, a function of suppressing the inflow amount of cold air from a cold-air main flow channel into an air mix chamber and a function of actively guiding cold air from the cold-air main flow channel to a rear blow-off port via the air mix chamber. [Solution] In the case of comprising a cold air volume adjustment guide 20 that is formed so as to extend from an air conditioner case 2 to a cold air main flow channel 9 and that limits the inflow amount of cold air into an air mix chamber 11 when an air mix door 10 is located near a full-hot position, and a cold air bypass guide 30 that guides the cold air having passed through the cold air main flow channel 9 towards a rear blow-off port 16 while reducing mixing of the cold air with hot air having passed through a hot air main flow channel 8, a portion of the cold air volume adjustment guide 20 is cut out so as to allow a cold air inlet port 31 of the cold air bypass guide 30 to face a cut portion 21 thus obtained.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner capable of ensuring the linearity of the conditioned air temperature during the displacement of an air mix door from its full hot position and preventing the cool def phenomenon.

Background Art

[0002] A vehicle air conditioner includes an air conditioning case in which an air flow path is formed, a cooling heat exchanger disposed inside the air conditioning case for cooling the air for air conditioning introduced into the air flow path, a heating heat exchanger for heating the air for air conditioning, a warm air main flow path for guiding the air for air conditioning through the heating heat exchanger as warm air to the downstream side, a cold air main flow path for bypassing the heating heat exchanger and guiding the air for air conditioning as cold air to the downstream side, an air mix door for adjusting the ratio of the warm air flowing through the warm air main flow path and the cold air flowing through the cold air main flow path, and an air mix chamber for mixing the cold air passing through the cold air main flow path and the warm air passing through the warm air main flow path to form conditioned air. And, connected to the air mix chamber are a defrost outlet for blowing out the air for air conditioning toward a windshield (not shown), a vent outlet for blowing out toward the chest of the occupant, and a foot outlet for blowing out toward the feet of the occupant. Further, the air conditioning case is provided with a mode door for adjusting the blowing mode by adjusting the supply amount of the conditioned air to the defrost outlet, the vent outlet, and the foot outlet.

[0003] The air mix door is movable between a full-hot position, which eliminates the cold air flowing through the main cold air passage and allows all the conditioned air to pass through the main warm air passage, and a full-cool position, which eliminates the warm air flowing through the main warm air passage and allows all the conditioned air to pass through the main cold air passage. In particular, when the door is slightly opened from the full-hot position to the full-cool position, the conditioned air that has passed through the cooling heat exchanger flows rapidly into the low-pressure gap (the gap between the air mix door and the seat portion that the air mix door seals when it is in the full-hot position), causing a phenomenon in which an amount of air exceeding the airflow rate expected for the small opening of the air mix door flows out from the main cold air passage into the air mix chamber.

[0004] Therefore, the linearity of the conditioned air temperature in the air mix chamber (the proportional relationship between the amount of movement of the air mix door from the full-hot position and the rate of decrease in the conditioned air temperature in the air mix chamber) is impaired. In particular, at the defrost outlet connected to the main cold air passage in the air mix chamber, the cold air from the main cold air passage reaches the defrost outlet without being sufficiently mixed with the warm air in the air mix chamber. This can cause a "cool deflation" phenomenon where a large amount of cold air is discharged from the defrost outlet, potentially leading to problems such as fogging of the windshield. Therefore, in order to adjust the linearity of the conditioned air temperature by reducing the amount of cold air supplied from the main cold air passage to the air mix chamber when the door is at a small opening, it is desirable to provide a cold air flow rate adjustment guide that limits the amount of cold air flowing into the air mix chamber when the air mix door is near the full hot position.

[0005] For example, in Patent Document 1 described below, an air mix door is provided as a cantilever door with a rotating shaft integrally provided at the end of a flat door body, and an arc-shaped guide plate is disclosed which is positioned at a predetermined distance from the tip of the air mix door along the rotational trajectory of the tip of the air mix door from the full hot position to a predetermined rotational angle range, and it is thought that this guide plate functions as a cold air flow rate adjustment guide that limits the amount of cold air flowing into the air mix chamber when the air mix door is near the full hot position.

[0006] Therefore, by providing such a cold air volume adjustment guide, the amount of cold air flowing into the air mix chamber when the air mix door is near the full hot position can be suppressed, making it possible to adjust the linearity of the conditioned air temperature and avoid the cool deflation phenomenon.

[0007] On the other hand, in order to obtain the desired temperature performance, there is a need to create a temperature difference in the conditioned air blown out from each outlet. This requires a configuration that guides the cold air flowing through the main cold air passage to the vent outlet, etc., without mixing it with the warm air as much as possible in the air mix chamber. Therefore, Patent Document 2 below proposes a configuration in which a cold air bypass guide (a fixed guide equipped with a guide plate) is installed in the air mix chamber to guide the cold air flowing through the main cold air passage to the vent outlet (cold air outlet) while preventing mixing with warm air. With this configuration, the required amount of cold air can be actively supplied to the vent outlet without mixing it with hot air, making it possible to achieve high temperature control performance. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-114209 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2009-143330 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0009] However, when the air mix door is slightly open near the full-hot position, a configuration that suppresses the amount of cold air flowing from the main cold air passage into the air mix chamber, and a configuration that actively guides cold air from the main cold air passage to the vent outlet, require two opposing flows of cold air. Therefore, the problem is how to reconcile these two opposing flows of cold air. Such problems can occur not only when the air mix door is made up of a solid panel, but also when it is made up of a sliding door, rotary door, or the like.

[0010] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its main objective is to provide a vehicle air conditioning system that can simultaneously achieve two functions: one that suppresses the amount of cold air flowing from the cold air main passage into the air mix chamber when the air mix door is near the full hot position, and another that actively guides the cold air from the cold air main passage to the rear outlet without mixing it with warm air as much as possible. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In order to achieve the above objectives, the vehicle air conditioning system according to the present invention is: An air conditioning case with an air passage formed inside, A heating heat exchanger is disposed within the air conditioning case and heats the conditioned air introduced into the air passage, A hot air main passage that guides the conditioned air through the heating heat exchanger and downstream as hot air, A main cold air passage that guides the conditioned air downstream as cold air, bypassing the heating heat exchanger, An air mix door that adjusts the ratio of warm air flowing through the main warm air passage to cold air flowing through the main cold air passage, An air mix chamber is provided, which mixes the cold air that has passed through the cold air main passage with the warm air that has passed through the warm air main passage to create conditioned air. A front air outlet connected to the main cold air passage of the front air mix chamber, A rear air outlet connected to the opposite side of the main cold air passage of the aforementioned air mix chamber, A vehicle air conditioning system comprising: an air conditioning case extending from the main cold air passage and formed therein, which limits the amount of cold air flowing into the air mix chamber when the air mix door is near the full hot position, The system includes a cold air bypass guide that takes in the cold air that has passed through the main cold air passage from the cold air inlet and guides it to the rear outlet while reducing mixing with the warm air from the main warm air passage, The aforementioned cold air volume adjustment guide has a notch formed by cutting out a part of the guide, The aforementioned cold air inlet is characterized by facing the aforementioned notch.

[0012] When a cold air volume adjustment guide and a cold air bypass guide are provided, the cold air inlet of the cold air bypass guide is positioned (opened) in the notch of the cold air volume adjustment guide. This makes it possible to achieve a configuration that balances the conflicting actions of the cold air volume adjustment guide, which restricts the inflow of cold air into the air mix chamber, and the cold air bypass guide, which actively directs cold air to the rear outlet. This ensures linearity of the conditioned air temperature during small displacements (small openings) of the air mix door from the full hot position, reliably prevents the cool deflation phenomenon, and achieves high temperature control performance.

[0013] In this case, the guide for the cold air bypass may be provided on a baffle plate located in the air mix chamber. In other words, if a baffle plate is installed in the air mix chamber that guides warm air from the main warm air passage to the front outlet while blocking mixing with cold air, and guides cold air from the main cold air passage to the rear outlet while blocking mixing with warm air, then the cold air bypass guide may be substituted with this baffle plate.

[0014] In contrast, in a vehicle air conditioning system in which the air passage is divided into left and right sections by a partition wall, guides for cold air bypass may be provided on both sides of the partition wall. Furthermore, if the guide for the cold air bypass is to be installed along the side wall of the air conditioning case, the guide for the cold air bypass may be installed on the side wall of the air conditioning case.

[0015] Here, the guide for the cold air bypass may be designed to direct cold air to multiple rear outlets. Further, the cold air bypass guide may be formed in a cylindrical shape or may be constituted by guide plates arranged substantially parallel to each other vertically.

[0016] The above-described configuration is applicable to various air conditioners. The front air outlet connected near the cold air main flow path in the air mix chamber is at least one of the defrost air outlet and the side vent air outlet, and the rear air outlet connected to the side opposite to the cold air main flow path in the air mix chamber is at least one of the center vent air outlet and the foot air outlet. It may be adopted in a vehicle air conditioner, or the front air outlet may be a defrost air outlet, and the rear air outlet may be at least one of the vent air outlet and the foot air outlet.

Advantages of the Invention

[0017] As described above, according to the present invention, in a vehicle air conditioner including a cold air volume adjustment guide that extends from an air conditioning case to a cold air main flow path and restricts the inflow amount of cold air into the air mix chamber when the air mix door is near the full hot position, and a cold air bypass guide that guides the cold air passing through the cold air main flow path to the rear air outlet while reducing the mixing with the warm air from the warm air main flow path, a part of the cold air volume adjustment guide is cut out, and the cold air inlet of the cold air bypass guide is opened in this cutout. Therefore, when the air mix door is near the full hot position, it is possible to achieve both the function of suppressing the inflow amount of cold air from the cold air main flow path into the air mix chamber and the function of actively guiding the cold air from the cold air main flow path to the rear air outlet through the air mix chamber. It is possible to ensure the linearity of the conditioned air temperature at the time of minute displacement (minute opening degree) from the full hot position of the air mix door, reliably prevent the cool def phenomenon, and achieve high temperature control performance.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an air conditioner for a vehicle according to the present invention, (a) is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the overall configuration, and (b) is a perspective view of an air mix door, a cold air volume adjustment guide, and a cold air bypass guide viewed obliquely from the rear. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 shows an example in which the cold air bypass guide is provided substantially at the center of the air flow path, and is a view of the inside of the vehicle air conditioner of FIG. 1 viewed from the side of the air mix door between the cooling heat exchanger and the air mix door, showing a state in which the air mix door has moved downward from the cold air volume adjustment guide. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining another example of opening the notch of the cold air volume adjustment guide and the cold air inlet of the cold air bypass guide. (a) is a diagram showing an example in which the end portion provided with the cold air inlet of the cold air bypass guide from the notch of the cold air volume adjustment guide is small, and (b) is a diagram showing an example in which the end portion provided with the cold air inlet of the cold air bypass guide from the notch of the cold air volume adjustment guide is large. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 shows an example in which the cold air bypass guide is provided on both the left and right sides of the air flow path. (a) is a view of the inside of the vehicle air conditioner viewed from the side of the air mix door between the cooling heat exchanger and the air mix door, showing a state in which the air mix door has moved downward from the cold air volume adjustment guide, and (b) is a perspective view of the air mix door, the cold air volume adjustment guide, and the cold air bypass guide of (a) viewed obliquely from the rear. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 shows another example in which the cold air bypass guide is provided on both the left and right sides of the air flow path. (a) is a view of the inside of the vehicle air conditioner viewed from the side of the air mix door between the cooling heat exchanger and the air mix door, showing a state in which the air mix door has moved downward from the cold air volume adjustment guide, and (b) is a perspective view of the air mix door, the cold air volume adjustment guide, and the cold air bypass guide of (a) viewed obliquely from the rear. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an example in which slide doors are arranged side by side on the left and right of the air flow path, and cold air volume adjustment guides and cold air bypass guides are provided corresponding to the respective slide doors, showing an example in which the cold air volume adjustment guides and the cold air bypass guides are provided asymmetrically on the left and right. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the vehicle air conditioning system according to the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view showing an example in which the area downstream of the evaporator is divided into left and right sections by a partition wall. [Figure 8] Figure 8 shows an example in which guides for cold air bypass are provided on both the left and right sides of the partition wall. It is a view of the inside of the vehicle air conditioning system shown in Figure 7, looking from between the cooling heat exchanger and the air mix door towards the air mix door, and shows the state in which the air mix door has moved below the cold air volume adjustment guide. [Figure 9] Figure 9 is a perspective view showing an example configuration in which a cold air bypass guide is provided using a partition wall in the configuration of Figure 8. (a) shows an example in which the cold air bypass guide is formed in a cylindrical shape on both sides of the partition wall, and (b) shows an example in which the cold air bypass guide is formed by guide plates arranged vertically and approximately parallel to each other on both sides of the partition wall. [Figure 10] Figure 10 shows an example in which a guide for the cold air bypass is provided along the left and right side walls of the air conditioning case. It is a view of the inside of the vehicle air conditioning unit from between the cooling heat exchanger and the air mix door, looking towards the air mix door side, and shows the state in which the air mix door has moved below the cold air volume adjustment guide. [Figure 11] Figure 11 is a perspective view showing an example configuration in which a cold air bypass guide is provided using the side wall of the air conditioning case, in the configuration of Figure 10. (a) shows an example in which the cold air bypass guide is formed in a cylindrical shape on the inside of the side wall, and (b) shows an example in which the cold air bypass guide is formed by guide plates arranged vertically and approximately parallel to each other on the inside of the side wall. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0019] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 shows a vehicle air conditioning unit 1 mounted near the center console of the vehicle. This vehicle air conditioning unit 1 is positioned on the passenger compartment side of the partition plate separating the engine compartment and the passenger compartment, and outside air (air from outside the passenger compartment) and / or inside air (air from inside the passenger compartment) are introduced into the air conditioning case 2 via a blower unit (not shown).

[0020] The air conditioning case 2 forms an air passage (airflow channel 3) for air to flow towards the passenger compartment. It is molded from a synthetic resin material and has an air intake space 5 at the upstream end (partition plate side) through an air inlet 4 to introduce air.

[0021] Downstream of the air intake space 5 inside the air conditioning case 2, an evaporator 6, which serves as a cooling heat exchanger, is positioned, and downstream of this evaporator 6, a heater core 7, which serves as a heating heat exchanger, is positioned.

[0022] The evaporator 6 is part of the refrigeration cycle and is erected in the air passage so that all the conditioned air introduced from the air inlet 4 can pass through it, and it cools the passing air as needed. The heater core 7 is erected in the lower part of the air conditioning case 2, which is located downstream of the evaporator 6.

[0023] Downstream from the evaporator 6, there is a hot air main passage 8 that guides the conditioned air downstream as hot air by passing it through the heating heat exchanger 7, and a cold air main passage 9 that guides the conditioned air downstream as cold air by bypassing the heating heat exchanger 7.

[0024] Downstream of the evaporator 6, an air mix door 10 is positioned to adjust the ratio of warm air flowing through the warm air main passage 8 to cold air flowing through the cold air main passage 9. Furthermore, above the heater core 7, which is downstream of the air mix door 10, an air mix chamber 11 is provided to mix the cold air that has passed through the cold air main passage 9 with the warm air that has passed through the warm air main passage 8 to create conditioned air.

[0025] In this example, the air mix door 10 is a sliding door, and door guides 12 extending vertically are provided on the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the air conditioning case 2 so that it can move up and down along the end face on the ventilation outlet side of the evaporator 6, allowing it to slide along these door guides 12. Specifically, a rack 13 is formed vertically on the upstream surface of the air mix door 10, and a pinion 14 that meshes with the rack 13 is provided on the upstream side of the air mix door 10. By rotating this pinion 14 with an actuator (not shown), the air mix door 10 can move up and down between a full-hot position (a position where the warm air main passage 8 is fully open) that closes the cold air main passage 9 and a full-cool position (a position where the cold air main passage 9 is fully open) that closes the warm air main passage 8.

[0026] A front outlet 15 is provided above the air mix chamber 11 of the air conditioning case 2, near the main cold air passage 9, allowing conditioned air to be supplied towards the window glass or its vicinity. A rear outlet 16 is connected to the air mix chamber 11 of the air conditioning case 2 on the side opposite the main cold air passage 9. Here, the front air outlet 15 includes a defrost air outlet 151 that blows conditioned air toward the windshield (not shown) and a side vent air outlet 152 that blows conditioned air toward the vicinity of the side windows, and the rear air outlet 16 includes a center vent air outlet 161 that blows conditioned air toward the occupant's chest and a foot air outlet 162 that blows conditioned air toward the occupant's feet.

[0027] The opening of the defrost outlet 151 is adjusted by the defrost door 151a, the opening of the side vent outlet 152 is adjusted by the side vent door 152a, the opening of the center vent outlet 161 is adjusted by the center vent door 161a, and the opening of the foot outlet 162 is adjusted by the foot door 162a.

[0028] In such a vehicle air conditioning system 1, a cold air volume adjustment guide 20 extending from the air conditioning case 2 is positioned in the main cold air passage 9. In this example, the cold air volume adjustment guide 20 is formed in a plate shape and extends from the upper wall of the air conditioning case 2 to the main cold air passage 9 approximately parallel to the movement trajectory of the air mix door 10. The cold air volume adjustment guide 20 is positioned at a predetermined distance from the movement trajectory of the air mix door 10 so as not to interfere with the vertical movement of the air mix door 10.

[0029] Such a cooling air volume adjustment guide 20 may be installed on the upstream or downstream side of the air mix door 10, and in this example, it is installed on the downstream side of the air mix door 10. In this example, the cooling air volume adjustment guide 20 is provided over almost the entire width of the air passage 3, and the lower edge of the cooling air volume adjustment guide is approximately parallel to the upper edge of the air mix door 10.

[0030] Therefore, the cold air volume adjustment guide 20 has the function of limiting the amount of cold air flowing into the air mix chamber 11 when the air mix door 10 is near the full hot position. That is, as the air mix door 10 moves downward from the full hot position, which is its highest position, the amount of cold air flowing into the air mix chamber 11 is limited until the upper edge of the air mix door 10 moves away from the lower edge of the cold air volume adjustment guide 20 (the upper edge of the air mix door 10 is positioned below the lower edge of the cold air volume adjustment guide 20). After that, when the upper edge of the air mix door 10 moves away from the lower edge of the cold air volume adjustment guide 20, the gap between the air mix door 10 and the cold air volume adjustment guide 20 increases, and more cold air begins to flow into the air mix chamber 11.

[0031] Downstream of the cold air volume adjustment guide 20, i.e., in the air mix chamber 11, a cold air bypass guide 30 is provided to guide the cold air flowing through the main cold air passage 9 to the rear outlets (center vent outlet 161, foot outlet 162) while reducing mixing with the warm air flowing through the main warm air passage 8.

[0032] This cold air bypass guide 30 is fixed to the air conditioning case 2 by a support (not shown), or is mounted inside the air conditioning case 2 using a fixing part (not shown) integrally formed with the cold air bypass guide 30, and as shown in Figure 1(b), it is formed as a baffle plate 33 that prevents mixing with warm air in order to guide cold air to the rear outlet. This cold air bypass guide 30 is formed in a cylindrical shape that extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the cold air volume adjustment guide 20, with a cold air inlet 31 that opens towards the cold air volume adjustment guide 20 on one end and a cold air outlet 32 ​​that opens towards the rear outlet 16 (center vent outlet 161, foot outlet 162) on the other end. In this example, the front upper surface of the cold air bypass guide is not opened and faces the front outlet 15 (defrost outlet 151, side vent outlet 152), while the rear upper surface and the other end are opened and face the rear outlet (center vent outlet 161 and foot outlet 162).

[0033] In this example, as shown in Figure 2, a rectangular notch 21 is provided in the approximate center of the cold air volume adjustment guide 20, and the cold air inlet 31 of the cold air bypass guide 30 is positioned to face this notch 21. Here, the notch 21 of the airflow adjustment guide 20 is provided to divide the airflow adjustment guide 20 into left and right sections. Furthermore, the end of the cold air inlet 31 of the cold air bypass guide 30 may be fitted into the notch 21 of the cold air volume adjustment guide 20, or it may be placed in close contact with the downstream side of the notch 21, or it may be placed opposite to it with a predetermined distance between them.

[0034] In the embodiments shown in Figures 1 and 2, the width of the notch 21 of the cold air volume adjustment guide 20 is matched with the width of the end of the cold air bypass guide 30 where the cold air inlet 31 is formed. Furthermore, even if the vertical width of the end of the cold air bypass guide 30 where the cold air inlet 31 is formed is matched with the extension amount of the cold air volume adjustment guide 20 (the dimension extending downward from the top surface of the air conditioning case 2), the end on the cold air inlet 31 side may be extended below the lower edge of the cold air volume adjustment guide 20 in order to obtain the required amount of cold air to the rear outlet (the amount of air that provides the desired temperature control characteristics).

[0035] Therefore, with the above configuration, when the air mix door 10 is near the full-hot position (when the upper edge of the air mix door 10 is at the same position as the lower edge of the air mix door 20, or above the lower edge), the amount of cold air flowing into the air mix chamber 11 is restricted by the cold air volume adjustment guide 20. Cold air flows into the air mix chamber 11 only through the narrow gap (a predetermined gap) between the air mix door 10 and the cold air volume adjustment guide 20. As a result, cold air does not flow into the air mix chamber 11 all at once, and it becomes possible to adjust the amount of temperature change of the conditioned air in relation to the amount the air mix door moves from the full-hot position (ensuring the linearity of the temperature change of the conditioned air). Furthermore, since the amount of cold air flowing into the air mix chamber is restricted until the upper edge of the air mix door 10 is separated from the lower edge of the cold air volume adjustment guide 20, opening the cold air bypass guide 30 into the notch 21 of the cold air volume adjustment guide 20 increases the inflow pressure of cold air upstream of the air mix door 10 into the cold air bypass guide 30. As a result, the cold air flows concentratedly into this cold air bypass guide 30 and is guided to the rear outlet 16.

[0036] Subsequently, when the upper edge of the air mix door 10 moves away from the lower edge of the cold air volume adjustment guide 20, a large amount of cold air from the upstream side of the air mix door 10 begins to flow into the air mix chamber 11 through the gap between the air mix door 10 and the cold air volume adjustment guide 20. However, since the opening of the air mix door 10 is somewhat larger than the full hot position, even if a large amount of cold air flows into the air mix chamber 11, it is possible to maintain a cold air volume commensurate with the opening of the air mix door 10, and the linearity of the conditioned air temperature is not compromised. Furthermore, even in this state, cold air continues to be supplied to the rear outlet via the cold air bypass guide 30, so as a result, an excessive amount of cold air is not directed to the air mix chamber 11, and the cool deflation phenomenon can be avoided.

[0037] In the embodiments shown in Figures 1 and 2, the width of the notch 21 of the cold air volume adjustment guide 20 is matched with the width of the end of the cold air bypass guide 30 where the cold air inlet 31 is formed. However, as shown in Figure 3(a), the width of the end on the cold air inlet 31 side may be made smaller than the width of the notch 21 of the cold air volume adjustment guide 20, or as shown in Figure 3(b), it may be made larger than the width of the notch 21 of the cold air volume adjustment guide 20. From the viewpoint of adjusting the amount of temperature change of the conditioned air in response to the amount of movement of the air mix door 10 from the full hot position, it is preferable to make the width of the end where the cold air inlet 31 is provided smaller than the width of the notch 21 of the cold air volume adjustment guide 20.

[0038] The above configuration describes an example in which a notch 21 of the cold air volume adjustment guide 20 is provided approximately in the center of the air passage 3 in the left-right direction, and the cold air inlet 31 of the cold air bypass guide 30 is opened in this notch 21. However, as shown in Figure 4(a), notches 22 and 23 may be provided at both the left and right ends of the cold air volume adjustment guide 20, and the cold air inlets 311 and 312 of the cold air bypass guides 301 and 302 may be opened in these notches 22 and 23, respectively.

[0039] In this case, the cold air bypass guides 301 and 302 may be provided as baffle plates on both the left and right sides of the air mix chamber 11, as shown in Figure 1(b), or as shown in Figure 4(b), the cold air bypass guides 301 and 302, which have one side of the baffle plate shown in Figure 1(b) removed, may be fixed to the side walls 2a and 2b of the air conditioning case 2 to form a cold air bypass passage. Note that the respective cold air outlets 321 and 322 are open to face the rear outlet 16, as in Figure 1.

[0040] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 5, guide plates 341, 342, 351, and 352 arranged vertically may be provided on the side walls 2a and 2b of the air conditioning case 2 so as to extend from the side walls, forming cold air bypass guides 301 and 302 that are open toward the center in the left-right direction of the air passage 3. Here, the guide plates 341, 351, 342, and 352 may be separate members fixed to the side walls 2a and 2b, or they may be composed of ribs integrally formed on the side walls 2a and 2b.

[0041] In the above configuration, an example is shown in which one air mix door is provided in the air passage 3. However, a similar configuration is possible even when, for example, air mix doors 101 and 102 are provided side by side on the left and right sides of the air passage 3. As shown in Figure 6, when air mix doors 101 and 102 are provided side by side, cold air volume adjustment guides 201 and 202 and cold air bypass guides 301 and 302 may be provided for each air mix door 101 and 102. In such a configuration, if there is an imbalance in the airflow between the right and left sides of the air passage 3, the cold air volume adjustment guides 201 and 202 and the cold air bypass guides 301 and 302 may be provided asymmetrically to match the airflow imbalance. Furthermore, as is also the case in the embodiments described above, the amount of extension of each cold air volume adjustment guide 20, 201, and 202 into the main cold air passage 9 may be varied in the left-right direction, rather than being kept constant.

[0042] Figures 7 and 8 show other configuration examples of the vehicle air conditioning system 1. In this example, the portion of the air conditioning case 2 downstream of the evaporator 6 is divided into left and right air passages 3a and 3b by a partition wall 40, and independent temperature control of the left and right sides is possible by air mix doors 101 and 102 provided on the left and right sides. In this example, a front outlet 15 is provided above the main cold air passage 9 in the air mix chambers 11a and 11b of each air passage 3a and 3b, and consists of a defrost outlet 153 that communicates with the right air passage 3b and blows conditioned air toward a windshield (not shown). In addition, a rear outlet 16 is provided on the opposite side of the main cold air passages 9a and 9b of the air mix chambers 11a and 11b of the air conditioning case 2, consisting of left and right vent outlets 164 and 165 that blow conditioned air toward the occupant's chest, and left and right foot outlets 166 and 167 that blow conditioned air toward the occupant's feet. The opening of the defrost outlet 153 is adjusted by the defrost door 153a, the opening of the vent outlets 164 and 165 is adjusted by the vent doors 164a and 165a, and the opening of the foot outlets 166 and 167 is adjusted by the foot doors 166a and 167a.

[0043] In such a vehicle air conditioning system, in order to provide the same functionality as in Figure 1, a partition wall 40 separates the main hot air passages 8a and 8b, the main cold air passages 9a and 9b, and the air mix chambers 11a and 11b, which mix the hot air that has passed through the main hot air passages 8a and 8b with the cold air that has passed through the main cold air passages 9a and 9b to create conditioned air. Additionally, on each side, there are cold air volume adjustment guides 201 and 202 and cold air bypass guides 301 and 302.

[0044] The cold air volume adjustment guides 201 and 202 are installed extending from the air conditioning case 2 into the cold air main passages 9a and 9b of the left and right air passages 3a and 3b separated by the partition wall 40, and have the function of limiting the amount of cold air flowing into the air mix chambers 11a and 11b when the air mix doors 101 and 102 are near the full hot position.

[0045] These cooling air volume adjustment guides 201 and 202 are formed, for example, in a plate shape and may be installed on the upstream or downstream side of the air mix door 10, but in this example they are installed on the downstream side of the air mix door 10. In this example, each cooling air volume adjustment guide 201 and 202 is provided over almost the entire width of the air passages 3a and 3b between the partition wall 40 and the side walls 2a and 2b of the air conditioning case 2, and extends approximately uniformly from the air conditioning case 2 (the lower edges of the cooling air volume adjustment guides 201 and 202 are approximately parallel to the upper edges of the air mix doors 101 and 102).

[0046] Furthermore, the cold air bypass guides 301 and 302 may be provided using a baffle plate as shown in Figure 1(b), but as also shown in Figure 8(a), notches 211 and 212 may be provided between each cold air volume adjustment guide 201 and 202 and the partition wall 40, and the cold air inlets 311 and 312 may be provided using the partition wall 40 so that they face these notches 211 and 212.

[0047] In other words, as shown in Figure 9(a), duct-forming members 331 and 332 with a U-shaped cross-section may be fixed to the partition wall 40 on both sides of the partition wall 40, with the open end fixed to the partition wall 40, thereby forming cylindrical guides 301 and 302 for cold air bypass on both sides of the partition wall 40.

[0048] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 9(b), guide plates 341, 351, 342, and 352, arranged substantially parallel to each other vertically, may be provided on both sides of the partition wall 40 so as to extend from the partition wall 40, thereby forming cold air bypass guides 301 and 302 that are open toward the airflow passages 3a and 3b on the air mix chamber side. These guide plates 341, 351, 342, and 352 may be separate components fixed to the partition wall 40, or they may be ribs integrally formed with the partition wall 40.

[0049] Both of the cold air bypass guides 301 and 302 have their cold air outlets 321 and 322 facing the foot outlets 166 and 167, and openings 331a and 332a, or notches 341a and 342a, are provided on the upper side so as to face the vent outlets 164 and 165, making it easier to guide cold air to the rear outlet 16 (vent outlets 164 and 165, foot outlets 166 and 167).

[0050] Furthermore, as an embodiment in which the cold air volume adjustment guides 201, 202 and the cold air bypass guides 301, 302 are provided in the respective air passages 3a, 3b separated by the partition wall 40, as shown in Figure 10, notches 22, 23 may be provided at the ends of the cold air volume adjustment guides 201, 202 on the side walls 2a, 2b of the air conditioning case, and the cold air bypass guides 301, 302 may be provided using the side walls 2a, 2b of the air conditioning case 2 so that the cold air inlets 311, 312 face these notches 22, 23.

[0051] In other words, as shown in Figure 11(a), duct-forming members 331 and 332 with a U-shaped cross-section are fixed to the left and right side walls 2a and 2b of the air conditioning case 2, with the open end fixed to the side walls 2a and 2b of the air conditioning case 2, thereby forming the cold air bypass guides 301 and 302 in a cylindrical shape. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 11(b), guide plates 341, 351, 342 and 352 are arranged substantially parallel to each other vertically and provided perpendicular to the side walls 2a and 2b of the air conditioning case 2, thereby forming the cold air bypass guides 301 and 302 with the air mix chamber side open. These guide plates 341, 351, 342 and 352 may be separate members fixed to the side walls 2a and 2b, or they may be ribs integrally formed on the side walls 2a and 2b.

[0052] Even with this configuration, it is possible to actively supply cool air to the rear outlet via cool air bypass guides 301 and 302, while limiting the amount of cool air supplied to the air mix chamber when the air mix doors 101 and 102 are slightly displaced from their full-hot position in the left and right air passages 3a and 3b (while adjusting the amount of temperature change of the conditioned air in relation to the amount of movement of the air mix doors from their full-hot position). This ensures linearity of the temperature change of the conditioned air, avoids excessive supply of cool air to the front outlet, and achieves high temperature control performance.

[0053] In the example above, a sliding door was used as the air mix door, but the same configuration can be adopted even if the air mix door is a cantilever door with a rotating shaft integrated into the end of a flat door body, a butterfly door with a rotating shaft integrated into the center of a flat door body, or a rotary door.

[0054] Furthermore, in the example described above, the cold air outlet 32 ​​of the cold air bypass guide 30 was shown to open toward both the center vent outlet 161 and the foot outlet 162, but it is not limited to this. For example, it may be configured to open toward the side vent outlet 152 and the center vent outlet 161, but not toward the foot outlet. In general, when the vehicle air conditioning system 1 is in bi-level mode (a mode in which conditioned air is blown out from the side vent outlet 152, the center vent outlet 161, and the foot outlet 162), it is required that the temperature of the conditioned air blown out from the foot outlet 162 be higher than the temperature of the conditioned air blown out from the other outlets 152 and 161. This requirement can be met by not supplying the cold air guided through the cold air bypass guide 30 to the foot outlet 162. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 1. Vehicle air conditioning system 2 Air-conditioned cases 2a,2b side wall 3,3a,3b Airflow channels 6. Cooling heat exchanger (evaporator) 7 Heating heat exchanger (heater core) 8. Mainstream hot air passage 9 Cold air main passage 10 Air Mix Door 11. Air Mix Room 15 Front air outlet 16 Rear air outlet 20,201,202 Cooling Air Volume Adjustment Guide 30, 301, 302 Guide for cold air bypass 31,311,312 Cold air inlet 33 Baffle Plate 40 Partition Walls 151,153 Defrost outlets 152 Side vent air outlet 161 Center vent outlet 162, 166, 167 Foot outlet 164,165 Vent outlet 331,332 Duct forming components 341, 342, 351, 352 Guide plates

Claims

1. An air conditioning case 2 in which an air passage 3 is formed inside, A heating heat exchanger 7 is disposed within the air conditioning case 2 and heats the conditioned air introduced into the air passage 3, A hot air main passage 8 guides the conditioned air through the heating heat exchanger 7 and downstream as hot air, A cold air main passage 9 guides the conditioned air downstream as cold air, bypassing the heating heat exchanger 7. An air mix door 10 adjusts the ratio of warm air flowing through the warm air main passage 8 to cold air flowing through the cold air main passage 9. An air mix chamber 11 mixes the cold air that has passed through the cold air main passage 9 with the warm air that has passed through the warm air main passage 8 to create harmonious air. A front air outlet 15 connected to the main cold air passage 9 of the front air mix chamber 11, The rear air outlet 16 is connected to the opposite side of the main cold air passage 9 of the air mix chamber 11, In a vehicle air conditioning system comprising: an air conditioning case 2 extending from the main cold air passage 9 and a cold air volume adjustment guide 20 that limits the amount of cold air flowing into the air mix chamber 11 when the air mix door 10 is near the full hot position, The system includes a cold air bypass guide 30 that takes in the cold air flowing through the main cold air passage 9 from the cold air inlet 31 and guides it to the rear outlet 16 while reducing mixing with the warm air flowing through the main warm air passage 8. The aforementioned cold air volume adjustment guide 20 has a notch 21 which is a part of the guide 20 that has been cut out. The vehicle air conditioning system is characterized in that the cold air inlet 31 faces the notch 21.

2. The vehicle air conditioning system according to claim 1, characterized in that the cold air bypass guide 30 is provided on a baffle plate 33 provided in the air mix chamber 11.

3. The vehicle air conditioning system according to claim 1, characterized in that the cold air bypass guide 30 is provided on both sides of the partition wall 40 that divides the air passage 3 into left and right sections.

4. The vehicle air conditioning system according to claim 1, characterized in that the cold air bypass guide 30 is provided on the side walls 2a and 2b of the air conditioning case 2.

5. The vehicle air conditioning system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cold air bypass guide 30 guides cold air to a plurality of rear air outlets 16.

6. The vehicle air conditioning system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the cold air bypass guide 30 is formed in a cylindrical shape.

7. The vehicle air conditioning system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the cold air bypass guide 30 is composed of guide plates 341, 342, 351, and 352 arranged substantially parallel to each other vertically.

8. The vehicle air conditioning system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the front air outlet 15 is at least one of a defrost air outlet 151 and a side vent air outlet 152, and the rear air outlet 16 is at least one of a center vent air outlet 161 and a foot air outlet 162.

9. The vehicle air conditioning system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the front air outlet 15 is a defrost air outlet 153, and the rear air outlet 16 is at least one of vent air outlets 164, 165 and foot air outlets 166, 167.

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