JPH11240327A - Cooling unit for vehicle air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve a damming effect of condensed water in times of steep turning, quick acceleration, sudden stopping and the like, with a low rib. SOLUTION: Out of a case 12 housing a cooler 11, a main rib 16 damming up a flow of condensed water is set up in a bottom face part in the air downstream part of this cooler 11, and this main rib 16 is made up so as to extend in the direction orthogonal in the flow direction A of blast air, while an auxiliary rib 17 orthogonally extending toward the upstream of the blast air from the main rib 16 is installed therein, and an area of an air upstream part of the main rib 16 is plurally partitioned off by this auxiliary rib 17. With this constitution, such a possibility that the condensed water in a case bottom face part receives centrifugal force in time of a car's steep turn or the like, and thereby it tries to be concentrated in the operating direction of this centrifugal force is preventable by the auxiliary rib 17.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rib structure for preventing condensed water generated in a cooling unit of a vehicle air conditioner from scattering downstream.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various proposals have been made to prevent condensed water generated in a cooling unit of a vehicle air conditioner from entering a downstream heater unit. As a typical example, a rib (weir) extending in a direction perpendicular to the air flow direction is projected upward at a lower portion of the case at a portion downstream of the cooler (evaporator) in the cooling unit. The ribs prevent the condensed water from moving downstream with the air flow.

[0003] As another typical example, a downwardly concave portion having a sufficiently large volume is provided in a case portion on the downstream side of the cooler air to facilitate discharge of condensed water. .

[0004]

However, a large centrifugal force acts on the condensed water accumulated on the bottom of the case of the cooling unit when the vehicle makes a sharp turn, suddenly accelerates, or suddenly stops. The condensed water concentrates in the direction of the action, and the level of the condensed water rises temporarily temporarily. Therefore, if the former rib is designed so as to be able to cope with the level of the condensed water at the time of the sharp turn, the height of the rib is increased, which causes an increase in the blowing pressure loss of the cooling unit, and the air volume of the air conditioner. There is a problem that causes a decrease.

[0005] In the latter case, there is a disadvantage that the cooling unit becomes large due to the increase in the volume of the concave portion on the downstream side of the cooler air. In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to achieve the effect of blocking condensed water at the time of a sharp turn, a sudden acceleration, a sudden stop, and the like with a rib having a low height.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, in the case (12) accommodating the cooler (11), the air downstream of the cooler (11) is provided. A main rib (16) for blocking condensed water is disposed on a bottom surface of the portion, and the main rib (16) is formed so as to extend in a direction perpendicular to the flow direction (A) of the blown air.
Further, an auxiliary rib (17) extending orthogonally toward the upstream side of the blown air from the main rib (16) is provided.
6) The region of the air upstream side portion is divided into a plurality of parts by auxiliary ribs (17).

By the way, when the vehicle makes a sharp turn or the like, the condensed water on the bottom surface of the case receives centrifugal force and tends to concentrate in the direction of action of the centrifugal force. Because the air upstream area is divided into multiple
Only the condensed water moves between the auxiliary ribs (17),
The entire condensed water on the bottom of the case can be prevented from concentrating in the direction of action of the centrifugal force.

As a result, an increase in the level of condensed water at the time of a sharp turn of the vehicle or the like can be slightly suppressed.
It is not necessary to make the height of 6) specially high, and therefore, the rise in pressure loss due to the installation of the main rib (16) can be slightly suppressed. If the case (12) is made of resin and the main rib (16) and the auxiliary rib (17) are formed integrally with the case (12) as in the invention according to claim 2, both ribs (16, 17) are formed.
Can be easily formed.

Further, by arranging a plurality of auxiliary ribs (17) in parallel at a predetermined interval as described in claim 3, it is possible to further effectively suppress an increase in the level of condensed water during a sudden turn of the vehicle. Note that the reference numerals in parentheses attached to the respective means indicate the correspondence with specific means described in the embodiment described later.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show a cooling unit of a vehicle air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state where an upper case (not shown) of the cooling unit 10 is removed, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof.

The cooling unit 10 has a cooler 11 for cooling the blown air, and this cooler 11 is constituted by an evaporator of a refrigeration cycle. The case accommodating the cooler 11 is composed of an upper case and a lower case 12 which are vertically divided. The upper case and the lower case 12 are detachably connected together by using fastening means such as a metal spring clip (not shown).

The cooling unit 10 is mounted below the instrument panel in the vehicle cabin with the positional relationship shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 show an example in which the cooling unit 1 is mounted on a left-hand drive vehicle.
An air blowing unit (not shown) is arranged on the right side (passenger seat side) of the air conditioner 0, and a heater unit (not shown) is arranged on the left side (driver seat side) of the cooling unit 10.
Therefore, the blowing air from the blowing unit flows from the right to the left as shown by the arrow A in the cooling unit 10.

The upper case and the lower case 1 of the cooling unit 10
2 is formed of a resin material having high mechanical strength such as polypropylene and having a certain degree of elasticity. Here, the lower case 12 is provided with a support base 13 for supporting the peripheral portion of the bottom portion of the cooler 11 on the lower case 12, and the funnel-like downward portion is formed at a lower portion of the lower case 12 on the bottom portion of the cooler 11. An inclined condensed water receiving surface 14 is formed.
A drain port 15 for condensed water is formed at the bottom of the condensed water receiving surface 14.

Further, in the lower case 12, the cooler 11
A main rib 16 for blocking condensed water is arranged on the bottom surface of the downstream side of the air. The main rib 16 is provided at the upper end portion of the condensed water receiving surface 14 in the flow direction A of the blown air.
It is formed so as to extend in a direction orthogonal to (i.e., the front-rear direction of the vehicle). An auxiliary rib 17 extending orthogonally from the main rib 16 toward the upstream side of the blown air is disposed on the bottom surface of the lower case 12 (near the upper end of the condensed water receiving surface 14). The auxiliary rib 17 is for partitioning a region of the main rib 16 on the air upstream side into a plurality of regions. In this example, as shown in FIG. 1, a large number (9 in FIG. 1) of auxiliary ribs 17 are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval L.

Here, a specific design example of the main rib 16 and the auxiliary rib 17 will be described.
10 to 20 mm, and the top of the auxiliary rib 17 is the main rib 1
6 is lower than the top by a predetermined amount h (= 5 mm). Further, a predetermined distance L between the auxiliary ribs 17 is 30 to 40 mm.
And the amount of protrusion D of the auxiliary rib 17 from the main rib 16 =
It is about 20 mm. Further, the distance M between the cooler 11 and the main rib 16 is about 40 mm.

The main rib 16 and the auxiliary rib 17 are
It can be made integrally with the lower case 12 made of resin.
Reference numeral 18 denotes a refrigerant inlet / outlet joint to the cooler 11. Next, the operation of the present embodiment in the above configuration will be described. When the air conditioner operates, blast air (inside air or outside air) from the blast unit is blown in the direction of arrow A, and the refrigerant in the refrigeration cycle in the cooler 11 absorbs latent heat of evaporation from the blast air to evaporate. Thereby, the blown air is cooled and dehumidified, and condensed water is generated in the cooler 11. This condensed water falls to the lower side of the cooler 11 due to gravity, but a part of the condensed water is pushed by the flow of the blown air, and the air downstream of the cooler 11 (the left side in FIGS. 1 and 2). Try to move to

However, in the lower case 12, the cooler 11
The main rib 16 extends over the entire length of the bottom surface of the downstream portion of the air.
Are provided in a direction orthogonal to the flow direction A of the blown air, so that the blocking action of the main rib 16 can prevent the condensed water from further moving to the downstream side of the air. Then, the condensed water blocked by the main ribs 16 and the condensed water directly dropped from the cooler 11 to the lower side gather at the portion of the drain port 15 along the slope of the condensed water receiving surface 14, and are discharged from the drain port 15 to the drain pipe. (Not shown) and drained to the outside of the cabin.

When the vehicle makes a sharp turn or the like, the condensed water on the condensed water receiving surface 14 tends to concentrate in the direction in which the centrifugal force acts (forward or rearward in FIG. 1). Since the upstream region of the main rib 16 is divided into a plurality of regions by the auxiliary ribs 17 provided on the air upstream side of the condensate water 16, only the condensed water moves between the auxiliary ribs 17. It is possible to prevent the entire condensed water from being concentrated in the direction of action of the centrifugal force.

As a result, an increase in the level of condensed water at the time of a sharp turn of the vehicle or the like can be slightly suppressed.
It is not necessary to make the height H particularly high.
= 10 to 20 mm. Therefore, it is possible to slightly suppress an increase in the blowing pressure loss due to the installation of the main rib 16. In order to more effectively exert the above-described effects, the distance L between the auxiliary ribs 17 is important. According to the study of the present inventors, the distance L is preferably 100 mm or less, more preferably Is preferably within 30 to 40 mm.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a cooling unit of a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention, in which an upper case is removed.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... cooler, 12 ... lower case, 15 ... drain port, 16 ...
Main rib, 17 ... auxiliary rib.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A cooler (11) for cooling blast air,
A case (12) for accommodating the cooler (11), and a case (12) provided on the bottom of the case (12);
A drain port (15) for discharging condensed water generated in 1), and a main part for damping the condensed water on a bottom portion of the case (12) at a downstream side of the cooler (11) in the air. A rib (16) is arranged, and the main rib (16) is formed so as to extend in a flow direction of the blown air (a direction orthogonal to A). Further, the main rib (16) is orthogonal to the main rib (16). An air conditioner for a vehicle, comprising an auxiliary rib (17) extending toward the upstream side of the blown air, wherein a region of the main rib (16) on the air upstream side is divided into a plurality by the auxiliary rib (17). Cooling unit. 2. The case (12) according to claim 1, wherein the case (12) is made of resin, and the main rib (16) and the auxiliary rib (17) are formed integrally with the case (12). A cooling unit for a vehicle air conditioner according to the above. 3. The cooling unit of a vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the auxiliary ribs (17) are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval.