JPH0728010Y2 - Automotive air conditioner casing structure - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial field of application) The present invention relates to an improvement of a casing structure of an air conditioner for an automobile, which forms casings of various units by abutting two casing structures.

(Prior Art) As is well known, an automobile air conditioner is configured by combining an intake unit, a cooler unit, and a heater unit. Each of these units has a cup-shaped or U-shaped cross section. Is formed by abutting the casing structures of the above.

For example, a cooler unit 1 constituting an air conditioner for an automobile has a structure as shown in FIG. 3, and an evaporator 2 for cooling air is built in, and a pair of casing structure bodies 3, 4 made of resin is installed from the outside. And the joint portions 5 and 6 of the two casing structures 3 and 4 are fastened by fastening means such as a leaf spring 7.

The two joints 5, 6 are connected to both casing structures 3, 4
Are positioned when they are butted with each other, and are fitted in a concavo-convex shape in order to prevent leakage of inside air.

At present, casing components 3, 4 of an air conditioner for automobiles
Is molded by an injection molding method. To briefly explain this injection molding method, first, both upper and lower molds for forming a cavity corresponding to the outer shape of each casing structure 3, 4 are made. Next, the upper and lower molds are clamped to each other, the material components of the casing are mixed by a mixing device, and then the molten material is injected from the mixing head into the cavity through the injection port. Then, after cooling the material for a predetermined time in this state, the upper and lower molds are opened to complete the molding of the casing structures 3 and 4.

In such an injection molding method, when the molten material is cooled, distortion occurs due to the contraction of the material. Therefore, in order to absorb this distortion, there is a slight gap between the concave and convex portions of the concave-convex fitting portion. Is making a gap. However, since this gap causes air leakage, a casing structure is proposed in which the sealing performance is improved even if there is some gap (see, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 60-136,215). .

The casing structure disclosed in this publication is as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and the joint portion 6 of the lower casing structure 4 has a recess 9 having inner and outer side surfaces 9a, 9b and a bottom surface 9c. Has been formed. On the other hand, the joint portion 5 of the casing structure 3 on the upper side is provided with a protrusion 8 that fits into the recess 9. The outer surface 8a of the projection 8 has an outer surface 9a of the recess 9.
The pressing piece 10 is provided so as to abut on the inner surface 8b and press the protruding portion 8 toward the inner surface 8b. The protrusion 8 and the recess 9 serve to position the casing components 3 and 4 when they are fitted together, and by this fitting, the inner surface of the protrusion 8 is pressed by the pressing force of the pressing piece 10. 8b and the inner surface 9b of the recess 9 are brought into surface contact with each other to improve the sealing property.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) In order to improve the sealing performance with the conventional joint portions 5 and 6,
It is necessary to finish the inner side surface 8b of the protrusion 8 and the inner side surface 9b of the recess 9 to have flatness with high dimensional accuracy.

However, the injection molding method causes distortion as described above, and since the casing itself has rigidity, it cannot be said that the inner side surfaces 8b and 9b are always sealed. , B may be used for sealing. In such a case, there is a problem in that even if the pressing force of the pressing piece 10 acts on the protrusion 8, the sealing performance is not improved.

Therefore, in order to make both the inner side surfaces 8b, 9b a sealing surface,
It is conceivable to design the upper and lower molds in consideration of the amount of change in the strain, but it is practically impossible to calculate the amount of deformation, and therefore it is difficult to design the mold in consideration of the amount of deformation.

Therefore, at present, the molds for the casing structures 3 and 4 obtain the final mold by performing mold corrections several times, and the mold correction is also performed by sanding the mold wall surface with sandpaper. A certain degree of precision is required. Therefore, in order to accurately obtain flatness, it takes a long time in the mold correction process, so that not only is work efficiency poor,
It was one of the factors that increased the mold cost. In addition, molds that have been over-cut when repaired must be discarded because they no longer function as molds, which also requires strictness in mold repairs. It also caused an increase in mold costs.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and ensures the sealing at a predetermined sealing portion to improve the sealing property, and at the same time, the design and modification of the mold. It is an object of the present invention to provide a casing structure for an air conditioner for a vehicle, which can be easily manufactured.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention for achieving the above object is provided with a U-shaped cross section.
In a casing structure of an air conditioner for a vehicle, which forms a unit such as a cooler unit in an air conditioner for a vehicle by abutting two casing structures with each other, a casing end surface of one of the two casing structures is abutted to each other. A protrusion having a tapered cross-section, a recess that engages with the protrusion is formed in the other casing structure, and the protrusion is formed in a state where these two casing structures are abutted against each other. A casing structure for an air conditioner for an automobile, wherein bending points are formed on both inner and outer side surfaces of the recess so as to make contact with both inner and outer side surfaces of the section to form a seal portion together with the both side surfaces.

(Operation) In the casing structure configured as described above, when the two casing components are abutted against each other, the bending points formed on the inner and outer side surfaces of the recess and the inner and outer side surfaces of the protrusion are in line contact with each other. As a result, a seal portion is formed, and a situation such as air leakage is prevented at this predetermined seal portion.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part showing a state in which two casing structures according to an embodiment of the present invention are butted against each other.
The figure is a perspective view showing a main part of one of the two casing structures of the embodiment, and the same members as the members shown in Figs. Omit it.

A cooler unit 1 of an air conditioner for a vehicle, which is composed of two casing structures 3 and 4, is configured by tightening a joint portion 5 and 6 of both structures 3 and 4 with a leaf spring 7 as a fastening means. And the two joints 5 and 6
Is for positioning when both casing structures 3 and 4 are butted against each other, and for preventing leakage of inside air,
It is fitted in an uneven shape.

These casing structures 3 and 4 are molded by the above-mentioned injection molding method, and the joint portion 5 of one casing structure 3 has a butt end surface as shown in FIG.
A protrusion 8 is formed at a substantially central position of 3a. This protrusion 8
Has a tapered shape and has a predetermined taper angle α.

In addition, the joint portion 6 of the other casing structure 4 includes the first,
As shown in FIG. 2, a recess 9 is formed on the abutting end face 4a so as to be fitted with the protrusion 8. The recess 9 has a shape capable of making linear contact with the inner and outer both side surfaces 8a and 8b of the projection 8, and each of the inner and outer both side surfaces 11 and 12 of the recess 9 has an inclination angle larger than the taper angle α. First side surface part 13
And both inner and outer side surfaces 8a, 8b of the protrusion 8 which are continuous with the first side surface portion 13
And a second side surface portion 14 that does not contact with. The continuous points of the first and second side surface portions 13 and 14 are bending points 16 having different inclination angles. Further, the bottom surface 15 of the recess 9 is formed such that the depth from the abutting end surface 4a to the bottom surface 15 is larger than the axial length of the projection 8.

When the two structures 3 and 4 are butted against each other, there is a gap between the tip of the protrusion 8 and the bottom surface 15, and the bending points 16 on the inner and outer both side surfaces 11 and 12 of the recess 9 are the protrusions 8. It comes into contact with both inner and outer side surfaces 8a and 8b, and forms a seal portion 17 together with the side surfaces 8a and 8b.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the two casing components 3 and 4 are butted, the tapered protrusion 8 is recessed with both inner and outer side surfaces 8a and 8b abutting the bending point 16 of the recess 9. It fits in 9. When the protrusion 8 is fitted in the recess 9 in this way, the entire recess 9 is slightly expanded, and the elastic force of the resin material caused by this deformation is applied to both side surfaces of the protrusion 8. The 8a, 8b and the bending point 16 are in line contact with each other, and the seal portion 17 is formed at this portion. With this seal portion 17, the abutting end faces 3a of both casing components 3 and 4,
Even if there is a slight gap between 4a, no air leak will occur.

As described above, the present embodiment is premised on that the distortion occurs during the injection molding of both the structural bodies 3 and 4, and the inner and outer both side surfaces 8a and 8b of the protrusion 8 and the bending point 16 of the concave portion 9 are reliably made. The protrusion 8 and the recess 9 are configured as described above so that the seal portion 17 is formed in line contact. Therefore, not only it is possible to reliably perform the sealing in the predetermined sealing portion 17, but also it is not necessary to provide the sealing portion 17 with flatness with high dimensional accuracy, so that the design and modification of the mold are easy. As a result, the efficiency of the mold correction process can be improved, and the cost for manufacturing the mold can be reduced.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the recess 9 is formed in the joint portion 5 of the casing structure 3 on the upper side.
It is needless to say that the same effect can be obtained even if the projection 8 is formed on the joint 6 of the casing structure 4 on the lower side.

[Effects of the Invention] As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a protrusion having a tapered cross-section is formed on the abutting end surface of one of the two casing structures, and the other. Of the casing structure is formed with a recess for fitting with the projection, and under the condition that these two casing structures are abutted against each other, the projection and the projection are abutted on both inner and outer side surfaces, respectively, and together with the both side surfaces. Since the bending points that form the seal portion are formed on both the inner and outer side surfaces of the recess, both the inner and outer side surfaces of the protrusion and the bending point of the recess line-contact with each other while receiving the elastic force due to the deformation of the recess. By forming the portion, it is possible to significantly improve the sealing performance of the casing at the predetermined sealing portion.

Further, since it is not necessary to provide the seal portion with flatness with high dimensional accuracy, it is possible to improve the efficiency of the mold correction process and reduce the mold cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part showing a state in which two casing structures according to an embodiment of the present invention are butted against each other.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a main part of one of the two casing components of the embodiment, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cooler unit of an air conditioner for an automobile, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are conventional casings. It is a perspective view which shows the principal part of a structure, and sectional drawing which shows the principal part in the state which two casing structural bodies were abutted. 3, 4 ... Casing structure, 3a, 4a ... Butt end surfaces, 5, 6 ... Joining portion, 8 ... Projection portion, 8a ... Outer surface, 8b
…… Inside surface, 9 …… Recessed area, 11 …… Outside surface, 12 …… Inside surface, 16 …… Bending point, 17 …… Seal part.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A casing of an air conditioner for a vehicle, which is a unit such as a cooler unit (1) in an air conditioner for a vehicle by abutting two casing structures (3, 4) having a U-shaped cross section with each other. In the structure, a protrusion (8) having a tapered cross section is formed on the abutting end surface (3a) of one of the two casing components (3, 4), and the other casing component A recess (9) is formed in the body (4) so as to be fitted with the protrusion (8), and the protrusion (8) is provided under the state where these two casing components (3, 4) are butted against each other. The inner and outer side surfaces (12) of the recess (9) are connected to the inner and outer both side surfaces (8b, 8a) of the concave portion (9) by contacting the inner and outer both side surfaces (8b, 8a) to form a seal portion (17) together with the both side surfaces (8b, 8a). , 11) A casing structure for an automobile air conditioner.