MOTOR VEHICLE AIR CONDITIONING UNIT

Abstract

A motor vehicle air conditioning unit having a housing, a heat exchanger, at least two manifolds and cooling tubes arranged therebetween forming a tube block, the heat exchanger is sealed with respect to bypass air inexpensively and with little technical effort. The housing has at least one V-shaped sealing rib oriented substantially parallel to an imaginary plane spanned by the tube block and/or one H-shaped sealing rib oriented substantially parallel to an imaginary plane spanned by the tube block for sealing a front and/or rear side of the tube block, and the at least one H-shaped sealing rib is oriented substantially perpendicular to the at least one V-shaped sealing rib.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a motor vehicle air conditioning unit and a method for manufacturing a motor vehicle air conditioning unit.

2. Description of the Background Art

Motor vehicle air conditioning units are used to supply cooled and/or heated air to the interior of a motor vehicle. For this purpose, the motor vehicle air conditioning unit includes a refrigerant evaporator for cooling the air and a heater for heating the air. Both the refrigerant evaporator and the heater are disposed and fastened within a housing of the motor vehicle air conditioning unit, which is made of plastic, and the air to be cooled and/or the air to be heated flows therein.

The refrigerant evaporator typically includes at least two manifolds, between which flat tubes are disposed as cooling tubes. The ends of the cooling tubes end in the manifolds, allowing refrigerant to flow through them. Cooling ribs are disposed between the cooling tubes. The extension of the manifolds is greater than the extension of a tube block formed by the cooling tubes and the corrugated ribs. When introducing the refrigerant evaporator into a holding slot in the housing, the extension of the holding slot must therefore at least match the extension of the two manifolds so that the refrigerant evaporator may be inserted into the holding slot. To prevent bypass air from flowing around the refrigerant evaporator outside the two manifolds after the refrigerant evaporator has been introduced into the housing, a side piece made of plastic for additional sealing must therefore be disposed in each of the side areas of the refrigerant evaporator outside the two manifolds on the cooling tubes. These side parts made of plastic for sealing purposes must therefore be produced in a complex manner from thermoplastic plastic by means of injection molding and then fastened to the refrigerant evaporator before being introduced into the housing. As a result, high costs disadvantageously arise during the manufacture of the motor vehicle air conditioning unit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a motor vehicle air conditioning unit and a method for manufacturing a motor vehicle air conditioning unit, in which the refrigerant evaporator is sealed with respect to bypass air inexpensively and with little technical effort.

This object is achieved in an embodiment by a motor vehicle air conditioning unit comprising a housing, a heat exchanger, in particular a refrigerant evaporator, which has at least two manifolds and cooling tubes disposed side by side between the at least two manifolds, the cooling tubes disposed side by side forming a tube block, the extension of the at least two manifolds perpendicular and/or parallel to an imaginary plane spanned by the tube block being greater on the outside than the extension of the tube block, the housing having at least one H-shaped sealing rib oriented essentially parallel to an imaginary plane spanned by the tube block for sealing a front side and/or a rear side of the tube block, and/or the housing having at least one V-shaped sealing rib oriented essentially parallel to an imaginary plane spanned by the cooling tube block for sealing a front side and/or a rear side of the tube block, and the at least one H-shaped sealing rib being preferably oriented essentially perpendicular to the at least one V-shaped sealing rib. With the aid of the at least one H-shaped sealing rib, which is preferably oriented horizontally, and the at least one V-shaped sealing rib, which is preferably oriented vertically, the tube block may essentially be sealed with respect to bypass air on a front side, in particular an inflow side, for conducting the air into the refrigerant evaporator. Essentially means, in particular, having a deviation of less than 30°, 20°, 10° or 5°.

The heat exchanger can be, for example, a heater, e.g., a heater having an electrical resistance heater, or a heat exchanger through which cooling fluid for an internal combustion engine flows.

In an embodiment, the at least one H-shaped sealing rib rests on the tube block, in particular on the front side of the tube block, and/or the at least one V-shaped sealing rib rests on the tube block, in particular on the front side of the tube block.

In an embodiment, the at least one H-shaped sealing rib is oriented in a preferably vertical section essentially perpendicular to an axis of the at least two manifolds and perpendicular to an imaginary plane spanned by the tube block at an acute angle to the imaginary plane. The acute angle is in the range of, for example, 10° to 50°, in particular 10° to 30°. The section is thus oriented essentially perpendicular to an axis of the at least two manifolds and perpendicular to an imaginary plane spanned by the tube block.

The at least one V-shaped sealing rib can be oriented in a horizontal section essentially parallel to an axis of the at least two manifolds and perpendicular to an imaginary plane spanned by the tube block, essentially perpendicular to the imaginary plane. Oriented essentially perpendicular to the imaginary plane means that the at least one V-shaped sealing rib is oriented, for example, in a horizontal section perpendicular to an imaginary plane spanned by the tube block, with a deviation of less than 30°, 20°, 10° or 5° perpendicular to the imaginary plane. The section is thus oriented essentially parallel to an axis of the at least two manifolds and perpendicular to an imaginary plane spanned by the tube block.

In an embodiment, the at least one H-shaped sealing rib and/or the at least one V-shaped sealing rib and/or at least one housing manifold section, in particular a ramp or wedge geometry, can form a single piece with the housing or a housing part, and/or the housing manifold section, in particular the ramp or wedge geometry, has at least one predetermined breaking point, and/or the at least one H-shaped sealing rib is oriented essentially parallel to an axis of the at least two manifolds and/or essentially horizontally, and/or the at least one V-shaped sealing rib is oriented essentially perpendicular to an axis of the at least two manifolds and/or is oriented essentially vertically, and/or the housing has a two-part design, in particular a housing upper part and a housing lower part, and/or the housing has a geometry on at last one housing manifold section which essentially matches the outer geometry of the at least two manifolds, and the at least one housing manifold section rests on the at least two manifolds and, in particular, the at least one housing manifold section is partially designed as a ramp or wedge geometry for moving the heat exchanger, in particular the refrigerant evaporator, in the direction of the at least one H-shaped sealing rib and/or in the direction of the at least one V-shaped sealing rib when the heat exchanger, in particular the refrigerant evaporator, is inserted into the housing, in particular into a housing part. In a one-part design of the at least one H-shaped sealing rib and/or the at least one V-shaped sealing rib, forming a single piece with the housing or a housing part, the costs during manufacturing may be substantially reduced because the at least one H-shaped or V-shaped rib may be also produced during manufacturing of the housing by means of injection molding from a thermoplastic plastic, so that essentially no costs are incurred thereby and, in addition, no separate parts, e.g., side parts, need to be fastened to the heat exchanger, in particular the refrigerant evaporator, during manufacturing.

In an embodiment, the motor vehicle air conditioning unit includes a heater for heating the air conducted through the motor vehicle air conditioning unit, and/or the motor vehicle air conditioning unit includes a blower and/or an air filter, and/or the motor vehicle air conditioning unit includes an air duct which is preferably delimited by the housing, and/or the motor vehicle air conditioning unit includes at least one air conducting device, in particular a damper, and/or corrugated ribs are disposed between the cooling tubes.

A method according to the present invention for manufacturing a motor vehicle air conditioning unit, in particular a motor vehicle air conditioning unit described in this patent application, comprises the following steps: Providing a first housing part and a second housing part; providing a heat exchanger, in particular a refrigerant evaporator, which includes at least two manifolds and cooling tubes disposed side by side between the at least two manifolds, the cooling tubes disposed side by side forming a tube block, the extension of the at least two manifolds perpendicular and/or parallel to an imaginary plane spanned by the tube block being greater on the outside than the extension of the tube block; inserting the heat exchanger, in particular the refrigerant evaporator, into the first housing part; inserting the refrigerant evaporator into the second housing part, at least one manifold being pushed past at least one H-shaped rib into the first housing part and/or the second housing part when the heat exchanger, in particular the refrigerant evaporator, is inserted, and the heat exchanger, in particular the refrigerant evaporator, subsequently being moved in the direction of the at least one H-shaped sealing rib, preferably until the at least one H-shaped sealing rib rests on the tube block, and/or at least one manifold being pushed past at least one H-shaped rib and/or at least one V-shaped rib into the first housing part and/or the second housing part when the heat exchanger, in particular the refrigerant evaporator, is inserted, and the heat exchanger, in particular the refrigerant evaporator, being subsequently moved in the direction of the at least one V-shaped sealing rib, preferably until the at least one sealing rib rests on the tube block.

The first housing part is preferably a housing lower part, and the heat exchanger, in particular the refrigerant evaporator, is inserted downward into the housing lower part, and/or the second housing part is a housing upper part, and the heat exchanger, in particular the refrigerant evaporator, is inserted into the housing upper part by moving the housing upper part to the housing lower part.

In an embodiment, the heat exchanger, in particular the refrigerant evaporator, can be moved in the direction of the at least one H-shaped sealing rib and/or in the direction of the at least one V-shaped sealing rib, in that a movement of the heat exchanger, in particular the refrigerant evaporator, is essentially deflected in the direction of an imaginary plane spanned by the tube block on the basis of a ramp geometry on the housing upper part and/or on the housing lower part.

In an embodiment, the heat exchanger, in particular the refrigerant evaporator, is placed in a housing manifold section and held in a form-locked manner by the housing manifold section after being inserted into the first housing part, and/or the heat exchanger, in particular the refrigerant evaporator, is placed on a housing manifold section and held in a form-locked manner by the housing manifold section after being inserted into the second housing part.

Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are not limitive of the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a vertical section of a housing, including a refrigerant evaporator;

FIG. 2 shows a vertical section of a housing lower part, including the refrigerant evaporator, as two manifolds are being pushed past an H-shaped sealing rib;

FIG. 3 shows a vertical section of the housing lower part, including the refrigerant evaporator according to FIG. 2, as two manifolds are pushed past an H-shaped sealing rib and one manifold is placed on a ramp geometry;

FIG. 4 shows a vertical section of the housing lower part, including the refrigerant evaporator according to FIG. 2, after two manifolds have been placed on housing manifold section having a ramp geometry;

FIG. 5 shows a vertical section of a housing lower part, including the refrigerant evaporator, after two manifolds have been pushed past the H-shaped sealing rib;

FIG. 6 shows a partial view of the housing upper part in the upside-down position, including the H-shaped sealing rib and a V-shaped sealing rib; and

FIG. 7 shows a partial view of the housing upper part, including the H-shaped sealing rib and a V-shaped sealing rib.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A motor vehicle air conditioning unit 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 is used to supply cooled and/or heated air to the interior of a motor vehicle. For this purpose, motor vehicle air conditioning unit 1 has a housing 2 which, among other things, delimits air ducts. Air is sucked in from the surroundings or from the interior of the motor vehicle by a blower, which is not illustrated, and subsequently cooled on a refrigerant evaporator 5 in the form of heat exchanger 20 as well as heated on a heater (not illustrated).

Housing 2 comprises a housing lower part 3 and a housing upper part 4 made of thermoplastic plastic. Refrigerant evaporator 5 is made at least partially, in particular completely, of metal, in particular aluminum, and it is manufactured by brazing in a brazing furnace. Two horizontally oriented manifolds 6 are provided on the upper side of refrigerant evaporator 5, and two horizontally oriented manifolds 6 are also provided on a lower side of refrigerant evaporator 5. Cooling tubes 7 designed as flat tubes 8, which are sealed fluid-tight in openings in manifolds 6, are present between the two manifolds 6 so that refrigerant from manifolds 6 may flow in and out of cooling tubes 7. Cooling tubes 7 are oriented vertically, and corrugated ribs 19 are disposed between cooling tubes 7. The air to be cooled by refrigerant evaporator 5 flows into refrigerant evaporator 5 on a front side 10 as the inflow side and flows out of refrigerant evaporator 5 on a rear side 11 as the outflow side. Cooling tubes 7 as well as corrugated ribs 19 form a tube block 9 which spans an imaginary plane 14. Perpendicular and parallel to imaginary plane 14, manifolds 6 have a greater extension on the outside than does tube block 9. For example, the extension is in the range of 1 mm to 2 mm greater on each side so that manifolds 6 form a projection with respect to tube block 9.

A horizontally oriented H-shaped sealing rib 12 is provided on housing lower part 3 as well as on housing upper part 4. In the section according to the illustrations in FIGS. 2 through 5, H-shaped sealing rib 12 is oriented at an acute angle to imaginary plane 14. Furthermore, two V-shaped sealing ribs 13 are present on housing lower part 3 and on housing upper part 4 (FIGS. 6 and 7). V-shaped sealing ribs 13 are disposed in the lateral end area of tube block 9 so that H-shaped sealing ribs 12 and V-shaped sealing ribs 13 form an essentially rectangular, completely circumferential sealing frame which rests on front side 10 of tube block 9.

The process of inserting refrigerant evaporator 5 into housing lower part 3 is illustrated in FIGS. 2 through 4. In FIG. 2, the two lower manifolds 6 are pushed past H-shaped sealing rib 12. The extension of housing lower part 3 between H-shaped sealing rib 12 and right end of right manifold 6 is just sufficient to push manifold 6 through here. When refrigerant evaporator 5 continues to be pushed downward, right manifold 6 (FIG. 3) comes to rest on a ramp geometry 17 or wedge geometry 18 of a housing manifold section 16. Ramp and wedge geometries 17, 18 are formed by housing lower part 3, in particular a housing manifold section 16. Due to the geometry of ramp and wedge geometries 17, 18, refrigerant evaporator 5 is moved to the left in the direction of H-shaped ribs 12 when refrigerant evaporator 5 continues to move downward. A movement of this type is possible because, according to the illustration in FIG. 4, larger manifolds 6 have already moved past H-shaped sealing rib 12, so that H-shaped sealing rib 12 comes to rest on front side 10 of tube block 9 in the lower position when refrigerant evaporator 5 moves. During this movement of refrigerant evaporator 5 in the direction of horizontally oriented H-shaped sealing rib 12, vertically oriented V-shaped ribs 13 also come to rest laterally on front side 10. Housing manifold section 16 has a geometry which essentially matches the geometry of the outside of the two manifolds 6, so that refrigerant evaporator 5 may be fastened in a form-locked manner to the two lower manifolds 6 with the aid of housing manifold section 16.

Housing upper part 4 is illustrated in FIG. 5. When refrigerant evaporator 5 is inserted into housing upper part 4, which is carried out so that housing upper part 4 is pushed onto refrigerant evaporator 5, a process takes place which is similar to inserting refrigerant evaporator 5 into housing lower part 3. Refrigerant evaporator 5 must first be inserted into housing upper part 4 at a slight angle so that the two slightly larger upper manifolds 6 may be pushed past H-shaped sealing rib 12. Refrigerant evaporator 5 is then moved in the direction of H-shaped sealing rib 12 and the two V-shaped sealing ribs 13 so that H-shaped sealing ribs 12 and the two lateral V-shaped sealing ribs 13 come to rest on the top or on the side of front side 10 of cooling tube block 9. Refrigerant evaporator 5 is also held in a form-locked manner on the two manifolds 6 with the aid of housing manifold section 16 as part of housing 2.

Housing lower part 3 has a condensate drain 15, at which the lower half of the sealing frame, formed by H-shaped sealing rip 12 and the two halves of V-shaped sealing ribs 13, is slightly interrupted. Condensate forming on refrigerant evaporator 5 may be discharged with the aid of condensate drain 15. The opening in condensate drain 15 is very small so that only a very small, negligible amount of bypass air is produced thereby, due to condensate drain 15.

In another exemplary embodiment, which is not illustrated, housing manifold section 16, in particular ramp or wedge geometry 17, 18, has predetermined breaking points. In motor vehicle air conditioning units 1, it may be necessary for different refrigerant evaporators 5 having different cooling tube blocks 9 having different extensions perpendicular to imaginary plane 14 to be fastened in motor vehicle air condition unit 1. When fastening a tube block 9 having a greater extension perpendicular to imaginary plane 14, only the predetermined breaking points need to be separated, and refrigerant evaporator 5 may be fastened to housing 2 with tube block 9 having a greater depth, e.g., using a provided offset ramp or wedge geometry 17, 18.

On the whole, substantial advantages are associated with motor vehicle air conditioning unit 1 according to the invention. The two H-shaped sealing ribs 12 and the two V-shaped sealing ribs 13 form a sealing ring which essentially completely surrounds front side 10 of tube block 9 so that bypass air flowing around refrigerant evaporator 5 essentially does not occur on refrigerant evaporator 5. H-shaped and V-shaped sealing ribs 12, 13 may be easily manufactured during injection molding of housing lower part 3 and housing upper part 4, so that no complex side parts need to be fastened in the side area of tube block 9, as is the case according to the prior art.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are to be included within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A motor vehicle air conditioning unit comprising: a housing;a heat exchanger that has at least two manifolds and tubes arranged side by side between the at least two manifolds, the tubes arranged side by side form a tube block, an extension of the at least two manifolds substantially perpendicular and/or parallel to an imaginary plane spanned by the tube block is greater on an outside than the extension of the tube block;wherein the housing has at least one H-shaped sealing rib oriented essentially parallel to an imaginary plane spanned by the tube block for sealing a front side and/or a rear side of the tube block, and/or the housing has at least one V-shaped sealing rib oriented essentially parallel to an imaginary plane spanned by the tube block for sealing a front side and/or a rear side of the tube block, and the at least one H-shaped sealing rib is oriented essentially perpendicular to the at least one V-shaped sealing rib.

2. The motor vehicle air conditioning unit according to claim 1, wherein the at least one H-shaped sealing rib rests on the tube block on the front side of the tube block or wherein the at least one V-shaped sealing rib rests on the tube block on the front side of the tube block.

3. The motor vehicle air conditioning unit according to claim 1, wherein the at least one H-shaped sealing rib is oriented in a vertical section essentially perpendicular to an axis of the at least two manifolds and perpendicular to an imaginary plane spanned by the tube block at an acute angle to the imaginary plane.

4. The motor vehicle air conditioning unit according to claim 1, wherein the at least one V-shaped sealing rib is oriented in a horizontal section parallel to an axis of the at least two manifolds and perpendicular to an imaginary plane spanned by the tube block essentially perpendicular to the imaginary plane.

5. The motor vehicle air conditioning unit according to claim 1, wherein the at least one H-shaped sealing rib and/or the at least one V-shaped sealing rib and/or at least one housing manifold section forms a single piece with the housing or a housing part, and/orwherein the at least one housing manifold section has at least one predetermined breaking point, and/orwherein the at least one H-shaped sealing rib is oriented essentially parallel to an axis of the at least two manifolds and/or essentially horizontally, and/orwherein the at least one V-shaped sealing rib is oriented essentially perpendicular to an axis of the at least two manifolds and/or essentially vertically, and/orwherein the housing has a two-part design including a housing upper part and a housing lower part, and/orwherein the housing has a geometry on at least one housing manifold section that essentially matches an outer geometry of the at least two manifolds, and the at least one housing manifold section rests on the at least two manifolds, andwherein the at least one housing manifold section is adapted for moving the heat exchanger in a direction of the at least one H-shaped sealing rib or in the direction of the at least one V-shaped sealing rib when the heat exchanger is inserted into the housing or into a housing part.

6. The motor vehicle air conditioning unit according to claim 1, further comprising: a heater for heating the air conducted through the motor vehicle air conditioning unit;a blower;an air filter;an air duct which is delimited by the housing; orat least one air conducting device, a damper, or corrugated ribs arranged between the cooling tubes.

7. A method for manufacturing a motor vehicle air conditioning unit, the method comprising: providing a first housing part and a second housing part;providing a heat exchanger that has at least two manifolds and cooling tubes arranged side by side between the at least two manifolds, the cooling tubes being arranged side by side forming a tube block, an extension of the at least two manifolds perpendicular and/or parallel to an imaginary plane spanned by the tube block being greater on an outside than the extension of the tube block;inserting the heat exchanger into the first housing part;inserting the heat exchanger into the second housing part; andpushing at least one manifold past at least one H-shaped sealing rib when the heat exchanger is inserted into the first housing part and/or the second housing part and the heat exchanger is subsequently moved in a direction of the at least one H-shaped sealing rib until the at least one H-shaped sealing rib rests on the tube block or the at least one manifold is pushed past at least one H-shaped sealing rib and/or at least one V-shaped sealing rib when the heat exchanger is inserted into the first housing part and/or the second housing part and the heat exchanger is subsequently moved in the direction of the at least one V-shaped sealing rib until the at least one V-shaped sealing rib rests on the tube block (9).

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the first housing part is a housing lower part, the heat exchanger being inserted downward into the housing lower part, or wherein the second housing part is a housing upper part and the heat exchanger is inserted into the housing upper part by moving the housing upper part to the housing lower part.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the heat exchanger is moved in a direction of the at least one H-shaped sealing rib and/or in a direction of the at least one V-shaped sealing rib, and wherein a movement of the heat exchanger is essentially deflected in the direction of an imaginary plane spanned by the tube block based on a ramp geometry on the housing upper part and/or on the housing lower part.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein the heat exchanger is placed on a housing manifold section and held in a form-locked manner by the housing manifold section after being inserted into the first housing part, or wherein the heat exchanger is placed on a housing manifold section and held in a form-locked manner by the housing manifold section after being inserted into the second housing part.

11. The motor vehicle air conditioning unit according to claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger is a refrigerant evaporator.

12. The motor vehicle air conditioning unit according to claim 5, wherein at least one housing manifold section has a ramp or wedge geometry.