JPH08142643A - Air conditioner for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a compact air conditioner for automobile where the water content condensed in an evaporator is not scattered in a cabin or leaked out of the equipment. CONSTITUTION: A cooling unit is integrated with a heater unit, a stepped part which is formed by bending the casing face and located at the boundary part between the cooling unit and the heater unit is made a seal face 4 of an air mix door 31, an upper inclined surface 32 which is inclined toward a drain part is provided on the heater unit adjacent to the seal face 4, and a lower inclined surface 23 which is inclined toward the drain hole is provided on the drain part adjacent to the seal face 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner for a vehicle, and more particularly to an air conditioner for a vehicle in which condensed water of an evaporator is prevented from splashing into the passenger compartment and leaking to the outside of the apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a conventional automobile air conditioner uses an evaporator of a cooling unit 2 to remove air blown by a blower fan 10 from an intake unit 1 for selectively taking in the inside and outside air. 20
After cooling with, the temperature of the air blown into the passenger compartment is adjusted by adjusting the ratio of the cool air passing through the heater core 30 by the air mix door 31 in the heater unit 3. Further, each of the units 1, 2 and 3 is provided independently and therefore has a connecting portion.

On the other hand, the water condensed by the evaporator 20 becomes condensed water W, a part of which drops downward and a part of which jumps.

The condensed water W dropped downward is discharged from the drain hole 22 of the drain portion 21 at the bottom of the evaporator 20.

After the condensed water W that has flown is dropped into the casing portion of the cooling unit 2 located between the evaporator 20 and the heater unit 3, or after colliding with the air mix door 31 provided in the heater unit 3. It drips along the surface of the air mix door 31 and is finally discharged from the drain hole 22 in the lower part of the evaporator 20 like the condensed water W that has dripped downward.

[0006]

However, a cooling unit 2 having a sealing surface 5 is provided at the boundary between the cooling unit 2 and the heater unit 3 in which water splashes of water condensed by the evaporator 20 are generated. There is a connecting portion of the heater unit 3, and condensed water that has flown in the vicinity may leak through the sealing surface 5.

Further, the sealing surface 6 of the air mix door 31 is provided on the side wall of the projection 7 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the condensed water W adhering to the surface of the air mix door 31 facing the casing portion where the protruding portion 7 is provided, or the condensed water W scattered to the vicinity of the protruding portion 7 and adhering to the casing portion, In some cases, the air supplied to the vehicle interior may cause the air to enter the heater unit 3 beyond the protrusion 7.

The condensed water W once entering the heater unit does not naturally return to the cooling unit because the projection 7 interferes with the condensed water W, and is eventually fueled by the flow of air supplied into the vehicle interior. It will be discharged into the passenger compartment from various outlets provided in the heater unit.

On the other hand, if the distance between the evaporator and the heater unit is increased, it is possible to reduce the amount of condensed water that enters the heater unit beyond the protrusion, but there is a problem in terms of space factor.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 58-104,715 discloses that
Disclosed is a water leakage prevention device in an air conditioner for a vehicle, which has a water passage formed between a heater core and a casing installed on the downstream side of an evaporator.

In this way, since the condensed water that has entered the heater unit can be discharged, it is possible to prevent the condensed water from splashing into the passenger compartment, but it is necessary to newly provide dedicated pipes. However, there are problems such as an increase in the installation area of the device.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such a conventional problem, and provides a compact air conditioner for a vehicle in which moisture condensed by an evaporator does not scatter into a vehicle compartment or leak outside the apparatus. The purpose is to do.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To achieve the above object, the present invention is directed to an intake unit for selectively taking in the inside and outside air, an evaporator for cooling the air blown from the intake unit, and a condensation condensed by the evaporator. A cooling unit having a drain portion having a drain hole for discharging water; a heater core for raising the temperature of the air passing through the evaporator; and an air mix door for adjusting the ratio of the air passing through the heater core. In an automobile air conditioner including a heater unit, the cooling unit and the heater unit are integrally formed, and the cooling unit and the heater unit, which are formed by bending a casing surface, are located at a boundary portion between the cooling unit and the heater unit. The stepped portion A sealing surface of the heater unit, an upper sloping surface sloping toward the drain portion is provided adjacent to the sealing surface, and a lower sloping surface sloping toward the drain hole is provided in the drain portion on the sealing surface. It is characterized in that they are provided adjacent to each other.

[0014]

In the present invention thus constructed, even if the water condensed in the evaporator enters the heater unit, the condensed water is returned to the cooling unit side and passed through the drain section at the bottom of the evaporator. Since it can be discharged, the water condensed by the evaporator does not scatter into the vehicle interior. Further, since the cooling unit and the heater unit are integrally formed, condensed water does not leak to the outside of the device from the boundary portion between the cooling unit and the heater unit. On the other hand, since no dedicated pipes are required, the air conditioner for an automobile can be formed compactly.

[0015]

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

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a seal structure of a mix door of an automobile air conditioner according to the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the automobile air conditioner of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic horizontal sectional view of the vehicle air conditioner of FIG. 1.

The same members as those shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 are designated by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention includes an intake unit 1 for selectively taking in the inside and outside air, a cooling unit 2 for cooling the air blown from the intake unit 1, and The heater unit 3 is configured to raise the temperature of the air that has passed through the evaporator 20.

The intake unit 1 has an inside / outside air intake 1
1, 12, an intake door 13, a blower fan 10 and a blower fan motor 14, and the intake door 1
The inside / outside air is selectively taken in by switching of No. 3.

The cooling unit 2 includes an evaporator 2
0 and a drain portion 21 for discharging the condensed water W condensed by the evaporator 20, the air from the intake unit is cooled by passing through the evaporator 20, and the condensed water W condensed by the evaporator is drained. It is designed to be discharged from the portion 21.

The drain portion 21 has a drain hole 22 and a lower inclined surface 23 that is inclined toward the drain hole 22 provided adjacent to the heater unit 3.
Condensed water W condensed by the evaporator is discharged through a discharge pipe connected to No. 2.

The heater unit 3 is an air mix door 3
1, heater core 30, various outlets not shown in the figure (vent outlet for blowing air toward the upper body of the occupant, differential outlet for blowing air along the inner surface of the windshield, toward the passenger's feet) And a variety of doors (vent doors, differential doors, foot doors, etc.) corresponding thereto, for adjusting the ratio of the cool air passing through the heater core 30 by the air mix door 31. The cold air that does not pass through the heater core 30 and the cold air that has passed through the heater core 30 are mixed to adjust the temperature. Further, the heater unit 3 has an upper inclined surface 32 which is provided adjacent to the drain portion 21 and is inclined toward the drain portion 21.

The lower parts of the cooling unit 2 and the heater unit 3 are integrally formed. for that reason,
It is not necessary to provide a connecting portion having a sealing surface at the boundary between the cooling unit 2 and the heater unit 3, so that condensed water scattered near the boundary does not leak to the outside of the device.

Next, the seal structure of the air mix door according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

Sealing surface 4 under the air mix door 31
Is provided in a stepped portion formed by bending the boundary portion between the cooling unit 2 and the heater unit 3, and the other sealing surface is formed by the side wall of the protrusion as in the conventional case.

Therefore, on the sealing surface 4, the condensed water W adhering to the surface of the air mix door 31 facing the casing portion or the condensed water W scattered to the vicinity of the air mix door 31 and adhering to the casing portion. , Heater unit 3
With respect to the point of preventing the entry into the space, the same effect as that of the seal surface 6 provided on the side wall of the projection 7 according to the conventional device shown in FIG. 6 is exhibited.

On the other hand, the seal structure according to the conventional apparatus and the seal structure according to the present invention have different effects on the condensed water once entering the heater unit. That is,
The protrusion 7 that constitutes the sealing surface 6 of the conventional device prevents the condensed water W that has entered the heater unit 3 from returning to the cooling unit 2, but the stepped portion that constitutes the sealing surface 7 according to the present invention is Does not interfere with the movement of the condensed water W.

The surface extending from the upper end of the sealing surface 4 located below the air mix door 31 is the casing portion of the heater unit 3 inclined toward the drain portion 21, that is, the upper inclined surface. 32, the surface extending from the lower end is a lower inclined surface 23 that is inclined toward the drain hole 22 provided adjacent to the heater unit 3.

Therefore, the condensed water W that has entered the heater unit 3 moves along the upper inclined surface 32 due to gravity and is discharged from the drain hole 22 via the sealing surface 7 and the lower inclined surface 23.

Therefore, the condensed water condensed by the evaporator is agitated by the air supplied into the passenger compartment and is discharged into the passenger compartment from the various outlets provided in the heater unit via the heater unit. Absent.

What has been described above is an embodiment of the present invention, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the claims, for example, the sealing surface of the air mix door is entirely formed by step portions. Alternatively, the cooling unit and the heater unit may be integrated over the entire surface.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, even if the water condensed in the evaporator enters the heater unit, the condensed water is returned to the cooling unit side and passed through the drain part at the bottom of the evaporator. Therefore, the water condensed by the evaporator does not scatter into the vehicle interior. Further, since the cooling unit and the heater unit are integrally formed, condensed water does not leak to the outside of the device from the boundary portion between the cooling unit and the heater unit. On the other hand, since no dedicated pipes are required, the air conditioner for an automobile can be formed compactly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a seal structure for a mix door of an automobile air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical sectional view of the automobile air conditioner of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic horizontal sectional view of the automobile air conditioner of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of a conventional automobile air conditioner.

5 is a schematic horizontal sectional view of the vehicle air conditioner of FIG.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing a seal structure of the mix door of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Intake unit, 2 ... Heater unit, 3 ... Cooling unit, 4 ... Sealing surface, 2
0 ... Evaporator, 21 ... Drain part, 22 ...
Drain hole, 23 ... Lower inclined surface, 30 ... Heater core, 31 ... Air mix door, 33
… Top slope.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An intake unit (1) for selectively taking in the inside and outside air, an evaporator (20) for cooling air blown from the intake unit (1), and an evaporator (2).
Drain hole (2) for discharging the condensed water condensed in (0)
A cooling unit (2) having a drain part (21) provided with 2), a heater core (30) for raising the temperature of the air passing through the evaporator (20), and a ratio of air passing through the heater core (30). An air conditioner for a vehicle, comprising a heater unit (3) having an air mix door (31) for adjusting the air conditioner, the cooling unit (2) and the heater unit (3) are integrally formed, and The stepped portion located at the boundary between the cooling unit (2) and the heater unit (3) formed by bending the casing surface is the sealing surface (4) of the air mix door (31), and the heater unit In (3), the drain part (21)
An upper sloping surface (32) sloping toward the sealing surface (4) is provided adjacent to the sealing surface (4), and a lower sloping surface (23) sloping toward the drain hole (22) is provided in the drain portion (21). An air conditioner for an automobile, which is provided adjacent to the surface (4).