JPS5932325B2 - Automotive air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an air mix type automotive air conditioner I that mixes hot and cold air and controls the blowout temperature, and particularly relates to improving the mixing properties of hot and cold air.

A conventionally known air conditioner of this kind is constructed as shown in FIG. 1, and includes a heater core 6 and a damper 8 for controlling the blowing temperature by changing the mixing ratio of hot and cold air. When the damper 8 is at the dashed line position, all of the inflowing cold air passes through the heater core 6 whose heat source is the car's engine cooling water and is heated to become high-temperature warm air; Since the cold air passes through the bypass path 7 and does not pass through the heater core 6, the cold air is discharged into the vehicle interior as it is.

In addition, by setting the damper 8 at an appropriate intermediate position, such as the position shown by the dashed-dotted line, hot and cold air is mixed in the downstream mixing chamber 9 to reach a desired temperature.

A ventilation passage 12 and an upper air outlet 13 are provided downstream of the mixing chamber 9 to a defroster air outlet 10 and a lower air outlet 11, and an air outlet mode switching lever (not shown) on the air conditioning control panel of the instrument panel inside the vehicle is provided. damper 14 by operating
The ventilation passage 12 and the upper air outlet 13 are selectively opened and closed,
Hot and cold air adjusted to the desired temperature is blown into the passenger compartment.

Here, in order to provide comfort for the occupants, if there is only one outlet, it is necessary to mix hot air and cold air sufficiently, but in pie level mode, which blows from both the upper and lower outlets. Alternatively, in a differential heating mode in which air is discharged from both the defroster outlet and the lower outlet, the temperature of the upper outlet or the defroster outlet needs to be moderately lower than the temperature of the lower outlet.

However, in the conventional configuration, the size of the mixing chamber 9 is often not large enough due to the space constraints of the automobile, and in such cases (here, the damper 14 is moved from an intermediate position, that is, from both the top and bottom). When used in the blowout spy level mode or the differential heating mode, the cold air from the bypass passage 7 is scooped up by the damper 14t as shown by the arrow in the figure, and flows only toward the upper outlet 13, so that the hot and cold air is mixed properly. Since the air is blown into the vehicle interior in two layers without being heated, there is a disadvantage that a significant difference in temperature occurs, causing discomfort to the occupants.

Further, when the damper 14 is switched and operated, this damper is subjected to wind pressure, so there is a problem that the operating force of the blowout mode switching lever becomes extremely heavy.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and the damper for switching the air outlet is changed from the conventional flat plate shape to a special shape having an arcuate outer peripheral surface, and the air outlet is placed on the side of the cold air bypass path. By arranging the upper air outlet, the defroster air outlet, and the lower air outlet in this order, the interior of the damper becomes a mixing chamber to ensure sufficient mixing of hot and cold air, and when the air is at pie level or when the defroster is - It is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner for an automobile that can provide an appropriate difference in upper and lower temperatures when used in combination with footwell heating, and can significantly reduce damper operating force.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows the first embodiment, in which reference numeral 1 denotes an electric blower which sends air sucked in from an outside air suction port 3a or an inside air suction port 3b to the outlet side by opening and closing an inside/outside air switching damper 2.

4 is a cooler core consisting of a refrigerant evaporator of the refrigeration cycle, which dehumidifies and cools the intake air.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a casing that forms a ventilation passage, and is made of resin or the like, and a heater core 6 is disposed in the center of the ventilation passage, and the casing 5 is arranged so as to face the air population surface 6a of the heater core 6 at a predetermined distance. A bypass passage 7 is formed between the casing surface 5a and the casing surface 5a.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a temperature control damper installed on the air inlet surface 6a side of the heater core 6, which opens and closes the air intake surface 6a and the bypass path T.

This temperature control damper 8 adjusts the air volume ratio of the cold air that passes through the bypass passage 7 at the upper part of the damper and the warm air that passes through the lower part of the damper and is heated by the heater core 6 out of the air that has been dehumidified and cooled by the cooler core 4. This is to adjust the temperature of the blown air.

The temperature control damper 8 is operated by a temperature control lever 18 of an air conditioning control panel P in an instrument panel section in the vehicle interior via a link mechanism 17 or the like.

The heater core 6 is for heating air using the cooling water of the automobile engine as a heat source.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a mixing chamber formed in the casing 5 on the downstream side of the heater core 6, where the cold air passing through the bypass passage 7 and the warm air heated by the heater core 6f join and are mixed.

A ventilation passage 12 having a defroster outlet 10 and a lower outlet 11 is provided downstream of the mixing chamber 9;
An upper air outlet 13 is provided at a position closer to the bypass passage γ, that is, on the cold air side.

The defroster outlet 10 is located between the lower outlet 11 and the upper outlet 13, and is located on the cooler side of the lower outlet 11.

The ventilation passage 12 and the upper air outlet 13 are selectively opened and closed by an arcuate outer peripheral surface 14b of a damper 14 that rotates around a rotation shaft 14a.

The rotating shaft 14a is arranged in the downstream air flow path of the heater core 6 as shown in FIG. 2, and the mixing chamber 9 has the structure shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4. It is clearly formed in the inner part of the damper 14.

Further, the defroster outlet 10 and the lower outlet 11 downstream of the ventilation passage 12 are configured to be selectively opened and closed by a damper 15, and the dampers 14 and 15 are frozen by a link mechanism 19 or the like, and the air conditioner control panel P is set to the outlet mode. It is designed to be operated in conjunction with a switching lever 20.

A defroster nozzle 16 is connected to the defroster outlet 10 for blowing warm air onto the window glass of an automobile to remove fog.

Further, the lower air outlet 11 is configured to blow out warm air toward the occupant's feet, and the upper air outlet 13 is configured to blow out cold air toward the upper body of the occupant.

Note that the inside/outside air switching damper 2 is also connected to the inside/outside air switching lever 22 of the air conditioning control panel P by a link mechanism 21 or the like.

The rotation shaft 14a of the damper 14 is rotatably supported by the casing 5t.

As shown in FIG. 3, this damper 14 has an arc-shaped outer circumferential surface 14b, and fan-shaped side plates 14c are formed at both ends of this outer circumferential surface 14b. Then, the rotation shaft 14a is arranged at the center position of the circular arc of the outer circumferential surface 14b, and the both side plates 14c are connected.

As shown in FIG. 4, this rotation shaft 14a is fitted into a bearing hole 5b of the casing 5 and is rotatably supported.

Here, the rotation shaft 14a is arranged so as to be perpendicular to the blown air flow inside the casing 5, as understood from the arrangement relationship in FIGS. 2 and 4, while the side plate 14c is placed parallel to.

In addition, the arcuate outer circumferential surface 14b slides closely against the inner surface of a packing 17 made of felt or resin foam fixed within the casing 5, as shown in FIG. The seal is maintained.

In this example, a circular arc surface 5c concentric with the circular arc outer peripheral surface 14b of the damper 14 is formed in a part of the casing 5.

Further, the rotation shaft 14a, the side plate 14c, and the arcuate outer circumferential surface 14b of the damper 14 are integrally molded, for example, from resin.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. Air sucked by the electric blower 11 from the outside air intake port 33 or the inside air intake port 3b is first sent to the cooler core 4, where it is dehumidified and cooled.

This dehumidified and cooled air is then passed through a temperature control damper 8.
For example, when the damper 8 is operated to the position shown in the dashed dotted line in FIG.
The wind is distributed between the wind on the side and the wind on the bypass road 7 side.

The air that has passed through the heater core 6 is heated to become warm air, which merges with the cold air on the bypass path 7 side in the mixing chamber 9 formed in the damper 14 downstream of the heater core 6, and is adjusted to a predetermined temperature.

Then, the temperature control lever 81 adjusts the opening degree of the temperature control damper 8.
By changing the iron, the mixing ratio of cold and hot air changes.
Air at any temperature can be obtained continuously from low to high temperatures.

When the temperature control damper 8 is operated to the dashed line position,
Since all the blown air passes through the heater core 6 and is heated, the maximum heating capacity is exhibited.

Furthermore, when the temperature side damper 8 is operated to the solid line position, the bypass passage 7 is fully opened and the air intake surface 6a of the heater core 6 is fully opened, so that all the blast air (cold air) passes through the bypass passage 7. , maximum cooling capacity is achieved.

By the way, when the occupant operates the blowout mode switching lever 20 of the air conditioning control panel P (not shown), the dampers 14 and 15 are operated in conjunction with each other via the link mechanism 19 to open and close each blowout outlet 10 and 1L13. , each of these air outlets 10
, 11. Selectively blow the above-mentioned air at the appropriate temperature to 13.

The relationship between the blowout mode and the opening/closing of each blowout port in the device of the present invention is as shown in the following table.

As can be understood from the above table, in the pie level (one foot outlet and one upper outlet) mode, the damper 14 is operated at the dashed-dotted line position (and the damper 15 is operated at the solid line position), and the lower outlet 11 and upper outlet are operated. Both outlets 13 are opened at the same time, while in the defroster foot outlet combination mode, the damper 14 is operated to the dashed line position and the damper 15 is operated to the dashed line position f, so that both the defroster outlet 10 and the lower outlet 11 are operated at the same time. However, in that case, in pie level (one foot outlet and one upper outlet) mode, the upper outlet 1
3, and in the combination defroster and footwell mode, the defroster outlet 10 is located and opened at the cold air side of the mixing chamber 9 and the ventilation passage 12 (where there is more cold air). Even if 14 is operated to the intermediate position, the airflow is divided into two layers of cold and hot air. Therefore, the temperature of the air blown from the upper outlet 13 or the defroster outlet 10 is the same as that of the other outlet in each mode. The temperature is moderately lower than the temperature of the air blown from the outlet, and both modes provide a comfortable temperature distribution that keeps your head cold and your feet warm.

In addition, since there is no scooping up of cold air by the damper 14, the temperature of the blown air can be controlled linearly and favorably from low to high temperatures, and the rotational operating force of the damper 14 can be significantly reduced by eliminating the influence of moment action due to wind pressure. .

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment, in which a heater core 6 is arranged in the center of the ventilation passage of the casing 5, and a bypass passage 7.7' is opened and closed by two temperature control dampers 8, 8' that are operated in conjunction with each other. It is of the three-layer flow (cold air-warm air-cold air) type, and is otherwise the same as the first embodiment, and has the same effects as the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows a third embodiment, in which the heater core 6 and the bypass passage 7 are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction inside the casing 5.

As described above, in the present invention, the arrangement of the heater core 6 and the bypass path 7 can be implemented in various ways.

It goes without saying that the present invention can be similarly implemented in an air conditioner that does not have the cooler core 4 (in other words, does not have a cooling function).

As described above, according to the present invention, when air is simultaneously blown into the vehicle interior from the upper and lower two types of air outlets, such as in the pie level mode or the defroster/footwell blowing combination mode, the temperature of the upper and lower blown air can be adjusted to an appropriate temperature. Dogs have the distinct advantage of providing a comfortable temperature distribution with cold heads and warm feet.

Further, when the damper 14 is operated to the intermediate position, the lower air outlet 11 is closed from the damper 15i, and a defroster/upward air outlet combination mode is adopted in which air is blown simultaneously from the upper air outlet 13 and the defroster air outlet 10. Also, a comfortable temperature distribution can be obtained by lowering the temperature of the upwardly blown air compared to the defroster blown air temperature.

Also, since there is no scooping up of cold air by the damper 14,
The temperature of the blown air can be well controlled linearly from low to high temperatures.

Furthermore, since the damper 14 has a structure in which the air flow path is switched at its arcuate outer circumferential surface 14b, the rotational operating force of the damper 14 can be significantly reduced by eliminating the influence of moment action caused by wind pressure t. There is an effect.

In addition, Japanese Patent Publication No. 51-40335 has proposed a device that uses a cylindrical damper to switch the air outlet, but this conventional device has the disadvantage that the weight of the damper itself is heavy. , since the frictional resistance with the casing side increases, there is a problem that the damper operating force increases.
In addition, since the direction of the blowing air is changed by 90 degrees inside the cylindrical damper, ventilation resistance increases, and the installation of the cylindrical damper inevitably increases the overall shape of the heater unit, making it difficult to install it inside the vehicle. However, according to the special damper structure of the present invention, since the sliding area with the casing side is small, the frictional resistance is small and the damper operating force can be reduced. Since the airflow can flow smoothly, the ventilation resistance is small, and furthermore, the shape of the damper is small, so the overall shape of the heater unit can be made compact.

Therefore, superior effects can be obtained from various viewpoints compared to the conventional apparatus described in the above-mentioned publication.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of the main part of the conventional device, and Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the main part of the conventional device.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the damper 14 shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the vicinity of the damper 14,
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a second embodiment of the present invention. 6th
The figure is a sectional view of a main part showing a third embodiment of the present invention. 5... Casing, 6... Heater core, 7... Bypass path, 9... Mixing chamber,
10... Defroster outlet, 11...
Lower air outlet, 12... Ventilation duct, 13...
・Upper outlet, 14, 15... Damper.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A casing forming a ventilation passage, a heater core disposed in the ventilation passage of the casing, a bypass passage provided in parallel with the air passage of the heater core, the air passage of the heater core, and the bypass passage. a temperature control damper provided to open and close; a mixing chamber formed downstream of the heater core to mix air from the bypass path and air from the heater core; and a mixing chamber provided downstream of the mixing chamber. , has a defroster outlet, a lower outlet, and an upper outlet for selectively blowing air into the vehicle interior, and the upper outlet is located on the cooler air side than the ventilation path to the defroster outlet and the lower outlet. The defroster outlet is located on the cold air side of the lower outlet, and further includes a damper for opening and closing the upper outlet and the ventilation passage, and the damper has an arcuate outer peripheral surface for opening and closing the air passage. ,
Both ends of this arc-shaped outer circumferential surface include side plates formed parallel to the blown air flow in the casing, and the center position of the circular arc of the outer circumferential surface of these both side plates (in a direction perpendicular to the blown air flow). (A rotary shaft provided in the damper, the rotary shaft being located in the air flow path downstream of the heater core, and an inner portion of the damper forming the mixing chamber. Device.