JP2007210360A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve drainability of condensed water in an air conditioner wherein air flows in a heat exchanger for cooling which is obliquely disposed at a fine angle from a horizontal plane from downward to upward. <P>SOLUTION: A drain guide plate 17 contacting to the lower end surface of a heat exchanger 13 for cooling is disposed between the bottom surface part of an air conditioner case 11 and the portion of an inclined lower end side of the heat exchanger 13 for cooling incliningly disposed. A drain space 18 partitioned from the lower side space 14 of the heat exchanger for cooling by the drain guide plate 17 is formed below the inclined lower end part of the heat exchanger 13 for cooling. The drain guide rib 19 which extends to the vertical direction and contacts with the lower end surface of the heat exchanger 13 for cooling is disposed on a portion of the inclined upper side of the hear exchanger 13 for cooling than the drain guide plate 17. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a condensate drainage structure in an air conditioner in which air flows from below to above through a cooling heat exchanger that is inclined at a minute angle from a horizontal plane.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a vehicle air conditioner, in order to reduce the vehicle mounting space, a cooling heat exchanger is inclined at a minute angle from a horizontal plane, and blown air is directed downward from above to the cooling heat exchanger. The thing of the substantially horizontal arrangement | positioning made to flow is known (for example, refer patent document 1).

  And in patent document 2, in this kind of substantially horizontal installation type vehicle air conditioner, the drainage structure for improving drainage of condensed water is proposed. Specifically, a drainage guide plate is disposed in the vicinity of the boundary between the heat exchange core part of the cooling heat exchanger and the tank part located on the inclined lower end side.

  This drainage guide plate has a plate shape extending in a direction orthogonal to the inclination direction of the heat exchanger for cooling, and its upper end portion is near the boundary between the heat exchange core portion and the tank portion on the lower end side of the inclination via an elastic member. Is in contact with

  As a result, a drainage space partitioned from the lower space (blower space) of the heat exchanger for cooling is formed below the tank portion on the inclined lower end side. Since this drainage space is cut off from the blown air flow in the lower space of the cooling heat exchanger, the wind pressure of the blown air flow directed upward does not act on the drainage space.

As a result, the condensate collected in the tank located at the lower end of the cooling heat exchanger is smoothly blown down through the surface of the drainage guide plate on the drainage space side without blowing up with the wind pressure of the blown air. Can be dropped.
JP-A-8-104129 JP 11-115471 A

  By the way, in the prior art of patent document 2, since the lower end surface of the heat exchange core part of the heat exchanger for cooling serves as an air inlet part, air before dehumidification passes in this air inlet part compared with the air outlet part. The humidity of the passing air is high and the amount of condensed water generated is large. When the air volume of the blown air is large and the wind pressure of the blown air is large, the condensed water generated at the air inlet is blown up by the wind pressure and formed at an intermediate position in the thickness direction (vertical direction) of the heat exchange core. Condensed water can be guided to the inclined lower end side of the cooling heat exchanger through the drainage passage (see drainage passage 13f of FIG. 4 described later), and drained relatively smoothly from the drainage space.

  However, when the air volume of the blown air decreases and the wind pressure of the blown air decreases, the force that the condensed water moves downward due to its own weight balances the force that blows the condensed water upward due to the wind pressure of the blown air. As a result, the condensed water stagnates near the lower side (air inlet portion) of the heat exchange core of the cooling heat exchanger.

  As a result, the gap part by the tube and fin of a heat exchange core part obstruct | occludes with condensed water, or the obstruction | occlusion by freezing of condensed water arises, and the malfunction that ventilation resistance increases and an air volume reduces will generate | occur | produce. In addition, the heat resistance of the air-side heat transfer surface is increased due to the adhesion of condensed water, and the heat transfer performance is deteriorated.

  In view of the above points, an object of the present invention is to improve the drainage of condensed water in an air conditioner in which air flows from a lower side to an upper side in a cooling heat exchanger inclined at a minute angle from a horizontal plane. .

The present invention has been devised to achieve the above object, and an air conditioning case (11) forming an air passage;
A cooling heat exchanger (13) disposed in the air conditioning case (11) for cooling the air blown in the air conditioning case (11),
The cooling heat exchanger (13) is arranged so as to be inclined by a minute angle (θ) from a horizontal plane so that air passes from below to above,
A drainage guide plate (17) in contact with the lower end surface of the cooling heat exchanger (13) between the bottom surface of the air conditioning case (11) and the inclined lower end portion of the cooling heat exchanger (13). Is placed,
The drainage space (18) partitioned from the lower space (14) of the cooling heat exchanger (13) by the drainage guide plate (17) is below the inclined lower end of the cooling heat exchanger (13). Has come to form,
Further, the heat exchanger core (13a) of the cooling heat exchanger (13) extends in the vertical direction to a portion on the inclined upper side of the cooling heat exchanger (13) with respect to the drainage guide plate (17). A drainage guide rib (19) that is in contact with the lower end surface is arranged.

  According to this, since the drainage space (18) is partitioned from the lower space (14) of the cooling heat exchanger (13), it is cut off from the wind pressure blowing upward. Therefore, the condensed water which has moved to the inclined lower end side of the cooling heat exchanger (13) can be drained smoothly through the drainage space (18).

  On the other hand, the wind pressure of the blown air decreases and the force that the condensed water moves downward due to its own weight balances the force that blows the condensed water upward due to the wind pressure of the blown air, so that the condensed water exchanges heat. Even in a blowing condition that tends to stagnate near the lower side of the core portion (13a), the drainage guide rib (19) extends in the vertical direction and contacts the lower end surface of the heat exchange core portion (13a). Condensed water near the lower side of the core part (13a) is transmitted to the upper end part of the drainage guide rib (19) and falls down on the surface of the drainage guide rib (19) by its own weight.

  Thereby, it can suppress that condensed water stagnates near heat exchange core part (13a) lower part vicinity, and the cavity of a heat exchange core part (13a) is obstruct | occluded. Therefore, it is possible to suppress problems such as an increase in ventilation resistance due to this gap blockage and an increase in thermal resistance of the air-side heat transfer surface.

In the present invention, specifically, the drainage guide rib (19) is constituted by a large number of comb portions (19a) extending in the vertical direction and a pedestal portion (19b) supporting the large number of comb portions (19a),
The pedestal portion (19b) is fixed to the bottom surface portion of the air conditioning case (11), and the upper end portions of a large number of comb portions (19a) are formed in a curved shape, and the curved shape portion of the heat exchange core portion (13a) is formed. It comes in contact with the lower end surface.

  According to this, since the increase in ventilation resistance can be suppressed by using a large number of thin comb portions (19a), and the upper ends of the large number of comb portions (19a) are curved, The problem that the upper end portion of the comb portion (19a) enters the gap of the heat exchange core portion (13a) does not occur, and the heat exchange core portion (13a) is formed at the curved shape portion at the upper end of the multiple comb portions (19a). ) Can be reliably brought into contact with the lower end surface.

Further, in the present invention, specifically, the drainage guide rib (19) is a lattice in which a large number of vertically long opening windows (19c) and thin crosspieces (19d) extending in the vertical direction are alternately formed. Configured in the shape of
The upper and lower ends of the large number of crosspieces (19d) are integrally connected, and a mounting base (19b) is formed by the lower connecting portions of the large number of crosspieces (19d). The pedestal (19b) is air-conditioned. Fixed to the bottom of the case (11),
An elastic member (19f) is provided on the upper connecting portion (19e) of the many crosspieces (19d), and this elastic member (19f) comes into contact with the lower end surface of the heat exchange core portion (13a). .

  Thus, even if the drainage guide rib (19) is configured in a lattice shape, the drainage function of the condensed water can be satisfactorily exhibited while suppressing an increase in ventilation resistance.

  When the drainage guide rib (19) is configured in a lattice shape, a brush portion is provided instead of the elastic member (19f) on the upper connecting portion (19e) of the many crosspieces (19d). You may make it a brush part contact the lower end surface of a heat exchange core part (13a).

In the present invention, specifically, the blown air flows from the upper side of the cooling heat exchanger (13) to the lower side of the cooling heat exchanger (13) in the lower space (14) of the cooling heat exchanger (13). Inflow,
The pedestal portion (19b) of the drainage guide rib (19) has a plate shape extending in a direction orthogonal to the inflow direction (a) of the blown air, and the heat exchange core portion (13a) is formed by the plate shape of the pedestal portion (19b). The wind speed distribution of the passing air is adjusted.

  According to this, the pedestal part (19b) of the drainage guide rib (19) itself can also function as a wind speed distribution adjusting function, and the wind speed distribution of the cooling heat exchanger (13) can be made uniform with a simple configuration. Can do.

In the present invention, more specifically, the heat exchange core portion (13a) includes a plurality of tubes (13d) through which a refrigerant flows and fins (13e) that are joined to the tubes (13d) and expand the air-side heat transfer area. And
You may make it the upper end part of the drainage guide rib (19) contact the lower end surface of a fin (13e).

  According to this, the condensed water generated on the surface of the fin (13e) and stagnating on the surface of the fin (13e) can be smoothly drained by the drainage guide rib (19).

  In addition, the code | symbol in the bracket | parenthesis of each said means and each means of a claim shows the correspondence with the specific means as described in embodiment mentioned later.

(First embodiment)
1 to 5 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an indoor air conditioning unit 10 of a vehicle air conditioner, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory view of assembly of the evaporator and the drainage guide rib. In addition, the up and down arrows in FIGS. 1 and 2 indicate directions in the vehicle mounted state.

  The indoor air conditioning unit 10 is for air conditioning the rear seat side of the vehicle interior. The indoor air conditioning unit 10 on the rear seat side is mounted, for example, on the vehicle body side wall on the left side or the right side of the rear seat side region of the vehicle interior in a wagon type vehicle.

  The indoor air-conditioning unit 10 includes a resin air-conditioning case 11 that forms a passage for air flowing toward the passenger compartment. The air-conditioning case 11 is actually formed as a plurality of divided case bodies for convenience in resin molding, assembly of built-in parts, and the like, and the plurality of divided case bodies are integrated by fastening means such as screws and clips. The air-conditioning case 11 is configured by fastening to. In this example, the air-conditioning case 11 includes a left-side divided case body and a right-side divided case body that are divided in the vehicle left-right direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 1).

  And the air blower part 12 is integrally arrange | positioned in the vehicle front side site | part among the air-conditioning cases 11. FIG. The blower unit 12 has a centrifugal blower fan 12a that is rotationally driven by an electric motor (not shown). The blower unit 12 sucks vehicle interior air (inside air) and blows it toward the evaporator 13 as indicated by an arrow a.

  The evaporator 13 is a cooling heat exchanger that cools the blown air, and the evaporator 13 is inclined substantially by a minute angle θ (for example, about 30 °) from the horizontal plane and is disposed substantially horizontally.

  In the present embodiment, the evaporator 13 is inclined and arranged so that the front side of the vehicle, specifically, the front side of the vehicle is high and the rear side is low. On the other hand, the air blown from the blower unit 12 flows toward the lower space 14 of the evaporator 13 from the front side of the vehicle (upper side of the evaporator slope) to the rear side of the vehicle (lower side of the evaporator slope) as indicated by an arrow a. To do. Therefore, the inclination direction of the evaporator 13 is the same direction as the air inflow direction a, and the air inflow direction a is set so as to go from the evaporator inclination upper side to the evaporator inclination lower side.

  The evaporator 13 includes a heat exchange core portion 13a that exchanges heat between air and a refrigerant, and two tank portions 13b and 13c disposed at both ends of the heat exchange core portion 13a. As is well known, the heat exchange core portion 13a includes a large number of flat tubes 13d (FIG. 3) constituting a refrigerant passage, and corrugated fins 13e that are disposed between the flat tubes 13d and expand the air-side heat transfer area. (FIG. 3) is integrally joined.

  The blown air that has flowed into the lower space 14 of the evaporator 13 flows upward from below through the gap between the tube 13d of the heat exchange core 13a of the evaporator 13 and the corrugated fin 13e, as indicated by an arrow b.

  Specifically, the two tank parts 13b and 13c are constituted by an upwind tank part 13b-1 and 13c-1 and a leeward tank part 13b-2 and 13c-2 which are divided in the front and rear in the air flow direction b. ing. For this reason, the tube 13d is also specifically composed of an upwind tube and a leeward tube that are divided before and after the air flow direction b.

  And the both ends of the longitudinal direction of this each tube 13d are joined to each tank part in the state connected to each tank part 13b-1, 13c-1, 13b-2, 13c-2 inside corresponding, respectively.

  Each tank part 13b-1, 13c-1, 13b-2, 13c-2 performs the refrigerant | coolant distribution to each tube 13d, or the refrigerant | coolant aggregation from each tube 13d. One tank portion 13 b is located at the inclined upper end portion of the evaporator 13, and the other tank portion 13 c is located at the inclined lower end portion of the evaporator 13. Therefore, the longitudinal direction of the tube 13d is a direction along the air inflow direction a (vehicle longitudinal direction).

  FIG. 4 shows a specific example of the corrugated fin 13e in the first embodiment. The corrugated fin 13e is disposed on the windward side (lower side) of the gap between the flat tubes 13d. 1 and a leeward fin member 13e-2 disposed on the leeward side (upper side) of the gap.

  A gap is provided between the fin members 13e-1 and 13e-2, that is, an intermediate portion in the evaporator thickness direction, and a drainage passage portion 13f is formed by the gap. Accordingly, the drainage passage portion 13f is formed in the entire longitudinal direction of the tube 13d. A well-known louver 13e-3 is obliquely cut and raised on both fin members 13e-1 and 13e-2. And in the other tank part 13c located in the inclination lower end part of the evaporator 13, the drainage channel | path 13c- between the leeward side (lower side) tank part 13c-1 and the leeward side (upper side) tank part 13c-2. 3 is formed. This drainage passage 13c-3 drains the condensed water from the drainage passage portion 13f between the upper and lower tank portions 13c-1 and 13c-2 to the outside of the tank portion as shown by the arrow c in FIG. To do. The drain passage 13c-3 is formed as a hole shape at a plurality of locations in the width direction of the evaporator 13.

  The width direction of the evaporator 13 is the tube / fin lamination direction of the heat exchange core portion 13a (the left-right direction in FIG. 3 and the vertical direction in FIG. 4). Therefore, in the present embodiment, the width direction of the evaporator 13 is directed to the left-right direction of the vehicle.

  In the bottom surface of the air conditioning case 11, a water collecting portion 15 having the lowest height in the vertical direction is formed on the lower side of the tank portion 13 b that is the inclined lower end portion of the evaporator 13. The water collecting part 15 plays a role of collecting condensed water. A drainage port 16 is opened in the water collecting part 15, and the condensed water can be discharged out of the passenger compartment through the drainage port 16.

  A drainage guide plate 17 is disposed in the area of the water collecting portion 15 inside the bottom surface portion of the air conditioning case 11. The drainage guide plate 17 is a plate-like member that protrudes upward from the surface of the water collecting portion 15 (the inner wall surface of the case bottom portion) of the air conditioning case 11 and extends over the entire region in the width direction of the evaporator 13.

  The drainage guide plate 17 may be formed integrally with the bottom surface portion of the air conditioning case 11 or may be formed separately from the air conditioning case 11 and fitted into the bottom surface portion of the air conditioning case 11 and fixed by means such as screwing. Good. A seal member 17 a made of an elastic material (rubber material) such as a thermoplastic elastomer is mounted and fixed to the upper end portion of the drainage guide plate 17.

  The upper end of the seal member 17a is elastically curved and pressed in the vicinity of the boundary between the tank 13c-1 and the heat exchange core portion 13a. More specifically, in this example, the upper end of the seal member 17a is in pressure contact with the portion on the heat exchange core portion 13a side in the vicinity of the boundary. When the upper end of the seal member 17a is pressed against the lower surface of the tank 13c-1, the condensed water is prevented from flowing on the surface of the tank 13c-1 as shown by an arrow f in FIG. It is preferable that the upper end of the plate be in pressure contact with the portion on the heat exchange core 13a side.

  By disposing the drainage guide plate 17 as described above, it is possible to partition between the lower space 14 of the heat exchange core portion 13a of the evaporator 13 and the space 18 above the water collection portion 15, and thereby the water collection portion. A space above 15 is formed as a drainage space 18. A drainage passage (not shown) is formed between the lower end portion of the drainage guide plate 17 and the bottom surface portion of the air conditioning case 11 to collect the condensed water that has fallen into the lower space 14 of the evaporator 13. 15 (drainage space 18) side can be drained.

  On the other hand, the drainage guide ribs 19 are arranged in the upper part of the evaporator 13 than the drainage guide plate 17, that is, in the lower space 14 of the heat exchange core 13a. In this embodiment, the drainage guide ribs 19 are arranged at a plurality of locations (two locations in the illustrated example) at a predetermined interval with respect to the air flow direction a.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the drainage guide rib 19 is composed of a large number of comb portions 19a and a pedestal portion 19b that supports the lower ends of the large number of comb portions 19a. The drainage guide rib 19 is fixed to the bottom surface of the air conditioning case 11 with a configuration described later, and then the evaporator 13 is assembled inside the air conditioning case 11. At this time, the upper end portions of the multiple comb portions 19a are shown in FIG. 5A so that the upper end portions of the multiple comb portions 19a are not inserted into the gaps of the heat exchange core portion 13a of the evaporator 13. It is molded so as to be curved in an arc shape.

  As shown in FIGS. 3A and 5A, a large number of comb portions 19 a are arranged in parallel in the width direction of the evaporator 13. The cross-sectional shape of the comb portion 19a may be either a circular shape or a rectangular shape, and the width d of the comb portion 19a shown in FIG. 5B is set to a very small size so that the comb portion 19a does not hinder air flow into the evaporator 13. is doing. The width d of the comb portion 19a is a dimension in the width direction of the evaporator 13 and is a dimension in a direction orthogonal to the air flow a direction.

  The material of the comb portion 19a is a resin, and more specifically, a resin having both a flexibility that does not damage the corrugated fin 13e and a rigidity that does not separate the corrugated fin 13e from the corrugated fin 13e due to its own weight is preferable. .

  On the other hand, the pedestal portion 19b is a rectangular plate-like member extending in the width direction of the evaporator 13 as shown in FIGS. 3A and 5B, and the flexibility like the comb portion 19a is unnecessary. What is necessary is just to shape | mold with the resin material whose rigidity is higher than the comb part 19a. Various integrations of the comb portion 19a and the pedestal portion 19b are conceivable, but integration by insert molding with high productivity is preferable.

  Both ends of the pedestal portion 19b in the longitudinal direction (the width direction of the evaporator 13) are fitted and held (fixed) in fitting grooves of a holding rail portion 20 (see FIG. 3) provided on the bottom surface of the air conditioning case 11. It has come to be. As shown in FIG. 3A, the holding rail portion 20 has a shape protruding in an L shape from a boundary portion between the side surface portion and the bottom surface portion of the air conditioning case 11 and can be integrally formed with the air conditioning case 11.

  Further, a gap 21 shown in FIG. 3 (a) is formed between the lower end surface of the pedestal portion 19b and the inner side surface of the bottom surface portion of the air conditioning case 11, and the condensed water passes through the gap 21 to the drainage space 18 side. To flow.

  Further, the interval p (see FIG. 5 (b)) between the multiple comb portions 19a is such that each comb portion 19a is at the central portion between the tubes 13d of the evaporator 13 (the central portion of the folding height of the corrugated fin 13e). It is set to be located.

  As a result, each comb portion 19a comes into pressure contact with the windward end surface (lower end surface) of the corrugated fin 13e at the center of the folding height of the corrugated fin 13e as shown in FIG. 3 (a). In addition, as shown to Fig.3 (a), the side plate 13g which reinforces the core part 13a is provided in the both ends of the width direction of the heat exchange core part 13a of the evaporator 13. As shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the air conditioning case 11, a heater core 22 is disposed on the downstream side (upper side) of the air flow of the evaporator 13 and on the front side of the vehicle. The heater core 22 is also arranged at a predetermined minute angle with respect to the horizontal plane. The heater core 22 is disposed so as to be inclined in the opposite direction to the evaporator 13.

  The heater core 22 is a heat exchanger for heating that heats the air (cold air) that has passed through the evaporator 13 with hot water (engine cooling water). An arrow d is a flow of warm air heated by the heater core 22.

  In the air conditioning case 11, a cold air passage 23 is formed at a portion on one end side (vehicle rear side) of the heater core 22. The cold air passage 23 is a passage through which the air (cold air) after passing through the evaporator 13 flows by bypassing the heater core 22 as indicated by an arrow e.

  The air mix door 24 adjusts the ratio of the air volume of the hot air flow (arrow d) heated by the heater core 22 and the air volume of the cold air flow (arrow e) flowing through the cold air passage 23 to adjust the temperature of the air blown into the vehicle interior. To be adjusted. The air mix door 24 shown in FIG. 1 is configured by a plate door that is rotated around a rotation shaft 24a.

  A rear-seat-side face outlet passage 25 is disposed on the upper surface of the air conditioning case 11. A rear seat side face duct (not shown) is connected to the rear seat side face outlet passage 25, and conditioned air is blown from the rear seat side fae outlet provided at the front end of the rear seat side face duct. To blow out.

  In addition, a rear seat foot outlet passage 26 is disposed adjacent to the rear seat side face outlet passage 25 on the vehicle front side. The rear-seat-side foot outlet passage 26 is open to the side surface instead of the upper surface of the air conditioning case 11. A rear seat foot duct (not shown) is connected to the opening of the rear seat side foot outlet passage 26, and the rear seat occupant is supplied with conditioned air from the rear seat foot outlet provided at the front end of the rear seat foot duct. It is designed to blow out to the feet.

  The rear seat side blowing mode switching door 27 switches the rear seat side blowing mode by switching between the rear seat side face blowing passage 25 and the rear seat side foot blowing passage 26. The door 27 is configured by a plate door that can rotate around a rotation shaft 27a.

  The solid line position of the rear seat side blowing mode switching door 27 shown in FIG. 1 indicates the face mode state in which only the rear seat side face blowing passage 25 is opened, and the one-dot chain line position opens only the rear seat side foot blowing passage 26. Indicates the foot mode state. If the door 27 is operated at an intermediate position between the solid line position and the one-dot chain line position, a bi-level mode that opens both the rear seat side face outlet passage 25 and the rear seat side foot outlet passage 26 can be set.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment in the above configuration will be described. When the fan drive motor (not shown) of the blower unit 12 is energized and the blower fan 12a is rotationally driven, the blown air (inside air) of the blower fan 12a is below the evaporator 13 in the air conditioning case 11 as indicated by an arrow a. The air is blown toward the side space 14.

  The air flowing into the evaporator lower space 14 changes its direction in the lower space 14 and passes through the heat exchange core 13a of the evaporator 13 from the lower side to the upper side as shown by the arrow b. Thus, the air is cooled by heat exchange with the low-pressure refrigerant passing through the tube 13d of the heat exchange core portion 13a, and becomes cold air.

  During the cooling in summer, the face mode is set by the rear seat side blowing mode switching door 27, so that the cool air passes through the rear seat side face blowing passage 25 and a rear seat side face duct (not shown), and then the rear seat side fay outlet. To the upper body side of the rear seat occupant to cool the rear seat area in the passenger compartment.

  By the way, since the moisture in the air is condensed by the cooling action in the heat exchange core portion 13a of the evaporator 13, condensed water is generated on the surfaces of the tubes 13d and the corrugated fins 13e of the heat exchange core portion 13a.

  Here, in the windward region of the heat exchange core part 13a, air with high humidity before dehumidification flows, whereas in the leeward region of the heat exchange core part 13a, the low humidity dehumidified in the windward region. Air passes through. For this reason, the amount of condensed water generated is much greater in the leeward region than in the leeward region.

  On the other hand, the air flow passing through the heat exchange core portion 13a passes through the gap between the tubes 13d and the fins 13e of the heat exchange core portion 13a from below to above as indicated by an arrow b. For this reason, the wind pressure which blows up acts on the condensed water on the surface of the heat exchange core part 13a.

  Therefore, most of the condensed water generated in the windward region of the heat exchange core part 13a is blown upward, and the drainage passage part 13f formed in the intermediate part between the windward region and the leeward region of the heat exchange core part 13a. Move to the position shown in FIG. In addition, W of FIG. 4 shows substantially the condensed water of each part.

  Then, the condensed water moves obliquely downward in the drainage passage portion 13f by gravity and reaches the tank portion 13c on the inclined lower end side, and passes through the surface of the tank portion 13c and the drainage passage 13c-3 (FIG. 4). Then, the condensed water moves to the lower side and the outer side of the tank portion 13c as indicated by arrows f and c in FIG.

  Here, since the wind pressure of the blown air is not applied to the drainage space 18 due to the partitioning action of the drainage guide plate 17, the condensed water can be easily dropped from the tank portion 13 c to the drainage space 18.

  Further, a part of the condensed water moves to the inclined lower end side of the tube 13d along the longitudinal surface of the tube 13d of the heat exchange core portion 13a, and passes through the surface of the tank portion 13c and the drainage passage 13c-3. Falls into the drainage space 18. Further, a part of the condensed water that has moved to the inclined lower end side of the tube 13 d falls along the surface of the drainage guide plate 17 into the drainage space 18. In this manner, the condensed water that has fallen into the drainage space 18 is drained from the drainage port 16 of the water collecting unit 15 to the outside of the vehicle.

  Moreover, a part of the condensed water generated in the windward region of the heat exchange core portion 13a grows into a large granular shape, thereby increasing the weight. The condensed water grown in such a large granular shape overcomes the wind pressure of the blown air by its own weight, moves downward, and reaches the lower end surface of the heat exchange core portion 13a.

  Since the upper curved portion of the comb portion 19a of the drainage guide rib 19 is in pressure contact with the lower end surface of the corrugated fin 13e among the lower end surfaces of the heat exchange core portion 13a, the condensed water on the lower end surface of the heat exchange core portion 13a is A bridge is formed between the upper curved portion of the comb portion 19 a of the drainage guide rib 19.

  Thereby, the condensed water can be smoothly transferred from the lower end surface of the corrugated fin 13e to the upper curved portion of the comb portion 19a, and the condensed water moves downward on the surface of the drainage guide rib 19 by its own weight. Falls on the bottom of the.

  The condensed water on the bottom surface of the case passes through a gap 21 (FIG. 3A) below the pedestal 19 b of the drainage guide rib 19 and a drainage passage (not shown) at the lower end of the drainage guide plate 17. It flows to the water collecting part 15 side, and is further drained from the drain port 16 to the outside of the vehicle.

  By the way, when the air volume of the blower fan 12a is adjusted to a small air volume for air conditioning capability control, the wind pressure of the blown air decreases, so that the condensed water in the windward region of the heat exchange core portion 13a moves downward due to its own weight. The force to move and the force to blow up the condensed water by the wind pressure of the blown air balance, and the condensed water tends to stagnate in the vicinity of the windward area (lower part) of the heat exchange core part 13a. .

  However, according to the present embodiment, as described above, the condensed water at the lower end surface of the heat exchange core portion 13a forms a bridge with the upper curved portion of the comb portion 19a of the drainage guide rib 19, so that the heat exchange core portion 13a Condensed water that is about to stay in the vicinity of the windward area (lower part) travels along the surface of the comb part 19a and falls smoothly.

  Therefore, the drainage of the condensed water can be improved even when the amount of air that is likely to cause condensate stagnation near the windward region of the heat exchange core 13a.

  As a result, the air gap between the tubes 13d and the fins 13e of the heat exchange core 13a is blocked by condensed water, or is blocked by freezing of condensed water, and the ventilation resistance is increased. It is possible to avoid such a problem that the heat resistance of the hot surface is increased and the heat transfer performance is lowered.

  The upper curved portion of the comb portion 19a of the drainage guide rib 19 is brought into contact with the surface of the corrugated fin 13e, not the surface of the tube 13d, for the following reason. That is, since the air side heat transfer area of the corrugated fin 13e is much larger than the air side heat transfer area of the tube 13d, more condensed water is generated on the surface of the corrugated fin 13e than on the surface of the tube 13d. Therefore, by bringing the upper curved portion of the comb portion 19a of the drainage guide rib 19 into contact with the surface of the corrugated fin 13e, the condensed water adhering to the surface of the fin 13e can be directly and smoothly guided to the comb portion 19a of the drainage guide rib 19. is there.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment, in which drainage guide ribs 19 are formed in a lattice shape. That is, a large number of vertically elongated opening windows 19c and thin crosspieces 19d extending in the vertical direction are alternately formed, and the top and bottom ends of the many crosspieces 19d are integrally connected, and the lower connection portion A mounting base 19b is formed. Thereby, the lattice-shaped drainage guide ribs 19 are formed. What is necessary is just to shape | mold this lattice-shaped part with resin.

  An elastic member 19 f made of an elastic material (rubber material) such as a thermoplastic elastomer is fixed to the upper connecting portion 19 e of the drainage guide rib 19. In the second embodiment, the elastic member 19f is elastically deformed and pressed against the lower end surface of the corrugated fin 13e.

  Since the elastic member 19f has a shape that continuously extends in the evaporator width direction, there is no possibility of being inserted into the internal space of the core portion 13a. Therefore, it is necessary to form the curved shape like the comb portion 19a of the first embodiment. Therefore, the elastic member 19f may be a horizontally long simple plate shape.

  Even if the drainage guide rib 19 of 2nd Embodiment is used, about the drainage property of condensed water, the effect similar to 1st Embodiment can be exhibited.

  In the second embodiment, a brush portion may be provided instead of the elastic portion 19f. Since the brush portion is formed by closely arranging a large number of flexible capillary members, the brush portion can be brought into contact with the lower end surface of the corrugated fin 13e even if it is linearly formed. The brush part may also be molded from resin.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment, in which the structure for fixing the drainage guide rib 19 in the first embodiment is changed to a screwing structure.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a holding base 30 is provided inside the bottom surface of the air conditioning case 11 instead of the holding rail 20 of FIG. 3. The holding pedestal 30 has a cylindrical boss shape and can be integrally formed on the bottom surface of the air conditioning case 11.

  On the other hand, the base 19b of the drainage guide rib 19 is integrally formed with a mounting piece 19g that protrudes vertically from the surface of the base 19b. The mounting piece 19g has a plate shape and is placed on the upper end surface of the holding pedestal 30. A circular attachment hole that overlaps with the central hole of the holding pedestal 30 is formed in the central portion of the attachment piece 19g.

  Accordingly, by screwing the tapping screw 31 into the wall surface of the central hole of the holding base 30 through the mounting hole of the mounting piece 19g, the base 19b of the drainage guide rib 19 can be fixed to the bottom surface of the air conditioning case 11 with a screw structure.

(Fourth embodiment)
8 and 9 show the fourth embodiment, in which the pedestal portion 19b of the drainage guide rib 19 in the first embodiment also serves as a uniform wind speed distribution.

  Due to the shape of the air passage inside the air conditioning case 11 or the shape of the air passages 25 and 26, the air velocity distribution of the evaporator 13 becomes non-uniform.

  FIG. 8A shows a case where the low wind speed region VL is generated on the upper side of the inclined evaporator 13 and the higher wind speed region VH is generated on the lower side of the evaporator 13. In this case, the height h1 of the pedestal portion 19b of the drainage guide rib 19 disposed on the inclined upper side of the evaporator 13 and the drainage guide rib disposed on the inclined lower side of the evaporator 13 shown in FIG. By adjusting the height h2 of the 19 pedestals 19b, the wind speed distribution between the upper and lower sides of the evaporator 13 can be made uniform.

  Specifically, the interval L1 between the pedestal 19b on the upper side of the evaporator tilt and the lower end surface of the evaporator is larger than the interval L2 between the pedestal 19b on the lower side of the evaporator tilt and the lower end surface of the evaporator 2. By setting the heights h1 and h2 of the two pedestals 19b, the nonuniformity of the wind speed distribution in FIG. 8A can be eliminated.

  Next, FIG. 9A shows an example in which the wind speed distribution is nonuniform in the width direction of the evaporator 13 (that is, the direction orthogonal to the air inflow direction a to the evaporator 13). Specifically, a case is shown where a low wind speed region VL is generated on the left side in the width direction of the evaporator 13 and a high wind speed region VH is generated on the right side in the width direction.

  In this case, as shown in FIG. 9B, the height h3 of the left part in the width direction of the pedestal part 19b of the drainage guide rib 19 is reduced, and conversely, the height h4 of the right part in the width direction is increased. Thus, the nonuniformity of the wind speed distribution shown in FIG.

  As described above, the pedestal portion 19b itself of the drainage guide rib 19 can be effectively used, and the wind speed distribution of the evaporator 13 can be made uniform with a simple configuration, whereby the blowout temperature distribution of the evaporator 13 can be made uniform.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and can be variously modified as follows.
(1) In the above-described embodiment, the rear-seat-side indoor air-conditioning unit 10 that performs air-conditioning on the rear-seat-side region of the vehicle interior has been described. You may apply this invention with respect to the indoor air conditioning unit by the side of the front seat which has a defroster blowing path other than a blowing path and a foot blowing path.
(2) In the above-described embodiment, the blown air from the blower unit 12 flows from the inclined upper end side of the evaporator 13 toward the inclined lower end side as indicated by the arrow a and flows into the evaporator lower space 14. However, the present invention can also be applied to the indoor air conditioning unit 10 in which the blown air from the blower unit 12 flows into the evaporator lower space 14 from the evaporator width direction (perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1).
(3) In the above-described embodiment, the upper portion of the drainage guide rib 19 is brought into contact with the fin 14e portion on the lower end surface of the evaporator 13, but the upper portion of the drainage guide rib 19 is connected to the tube 13d on the lower end surface of the evaporator 13. You may make it contact.
(4) The present invention can also be applied to air conditioners other than those for vehicles.

It is sectional drawing of the indoor air-conditioning unit of the vehicle air conditioner which shows 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a principal part expanded sectional view of FIG. (A) is the principal part expanded sectional view of the evaporator width direction by 1st Embodiment, (b) is the principal part expanded sectional view which looked at the drainage guide rib part shown to (a) side. It is a principal part expanded sectional view which shows the cross-sectional structure of the evaporator corrugated fin by 1st Embodiment. (A) is a side view of the drainage guide rib by 1st Embodiment, (b) is a front view of the drainage guide rib. It is a front view of the drainage guide rib by a 2nd embodiment. (A) is the principal part expanded sectional view of the evaporator width direction by 3rd Embodiment, (b) is the principal part expanded sectional view which looked at the drainage guide rib part shown to (a) side. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the nonuniformity of evaporator wind speed distribution, (b) is a principal part expanded sectional view which shows the 1st example of the evaporator wind speed distribution uniformization by 4th Embodiment. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of nonuniformity of evaporator wind speed distribution, (b) is a principal part expanded sectional view which shows the 2nd example of the evaporator wind speed distribution uniformization by 4th Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Air-conditioning case, 13 ... Evaporator (cooling heat exchanger), 13a ... Heat exchange core part,
13b, 13c ... tank part, 14 ... evaporator lower space, 17 ... drainage guide plate,
18 ... drainage space, 19 ... drainage guide rib.

Claims (6)

An air conditioning case (11) forming an air passage;
A cooling heat exchanger (13) disposed in the air conditioning case (11) for cooling the air blown in the air conditioning case (11),
The cooling heat exchanger (13) is arranged so as to be inclined by a minute angle (θ) from a horizontal plane so that air passes from below to above,
A drainage guide plate (17) in contact with the lower end surface of the cooling heat exchanger (13) between the bottom surface of the air conditioning case (11) and the inclined lower end portion of the cooling heat exchanger (13). Is placed,
The drainage space (18) partitioned from the lower space (14) of the cooling heat exchanger (13) by the drainage guide plate (17) is provided below the inclined lower end of the cooling heat exchanger (13). To form,
Further, the heat exchanger core (13a) of the cooling heat exchanger (13) extends in the vertical direction to a portion on the inclined upper side of the cooling heat exchanger (13) with respect to the drainage guide plate (17). An air conditioner characterized in that a drainage guide rib (19) in contact with the lower end surface of the air conditioner is disposed. The drainage guide rib (19) has a plurality of comb portions (19a) extending in the vertical direction and a pedestal portion (19b) for supporting the plurality of comb portions (19a),
The pedestal (19b) is fixed to the bottom surface of the air conditioning case (11),
The upper end portion of the multiple comb portions (19a) is formed in a curved shape, and contacts the lower end surface of the heat exchange core portion (13a) at the curved shape portion. Air conditioner. The drainage guide rib (19) is configured in a lattice-like shape in which a plurality of vertically long opening windows (19c) extending in the vertical direction and thin crosspieces (19d) extending in the vertical direction are alternately formed,
The upper and lower ends of the plurality of crosspieces (19d) are integrally connected,
A mounting base part (19b) is formed by the lower connection part of the large number of crosspieces (19d), and the base part (19b) is fixed to the bottom surface part of the air conditioning case (11),
An elastic member (19f) is provided on the upper connecting portion (19e) of the large number of crosspieces (19d), and the elastic member (19f) contacts the lower end surface of the heat exchange core portion (13a). The air conditioner according to claim 1. The drainage guide rib (19) is configured in a lattice-like shape in which a plurality of vertically long opening windows (19c) extending in the vertical direction and thin crosspieces (19d) extending in the vertical direction are alternately formed,
The upper and lower ends of the plurality of crosspieces (19d) are integrally connected,
A mounting base part (19b) is formed by the lower connection part of the large number of crosspieces (19d), and the base part (19b) is fixed to the bottom surface part of the air conditioning case (11),
The upper connecting portion (19e) of the plurality of crosspieces (19d) is provided with a brush portion, and the brush portion contacts a lower end surface of the heat exchange core portion (13a). The air conditioner described. The blown air flows into the lower space (14) of the cooling heat exchanger (13) from the upper inclined side of the cooling heat exchanger (13) toward the lower inclined side,
The pedestal portion (19b) has a plate shape extending in a direction orthogonal to the air inflow direction (a) into the lower space (14), and the heat exchange core portion ( The air conditioner according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the air velocity distribution of the passing air of 13a) is adjusted. The heat exchange core (13a) includes a plurality of tubes (13d) through which a refrigerant flows and fins (13e) that are joined to the tubes (13d) and expand the air-side heat transfer area.
The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein an upper end portion of the drainage guide rib (19) is in contact with a lower end surface of the fin (13e).

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