Patent Application
20070017655
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-211175, filed on Jul. 21, 2005, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a structure that may be adopted in an automotive air-conditioning system at which baffle plates with various functions can be interchangeably mounted at a position where two air flow paths join each other and more specifically, it relates to a structure that may be adopted in the temperature control unit in such an air-conditioning system.
A semi-integrated automotive air-conditioning system comprising a blower unit and a temperature control unit may adopt a structure that includes a temperature control guide means constituted with a baffle plate or the like disposed at a position where a cool air flow path through which cool air having passed through a cooling heat exchanger and having bypassed a heating heat exchanger flows and a warm air passage through which warm air having passed through the heating heat exchanger flows, join each other as has been disclosed by the applicant of the present invention (see, for instance, patent reference literature 1 and patent reference literature 2).
When a temperature control unit adopting a specific basic structure is used as a universal component in different types of vehicles assuming slightly different installation layouts of the air-conditioning ducts to be connected to the output openings of the temperature control unit 1 or slightly different positions at which the output port at the front end of each air-conditioning duct opens into the cabin, the slight differences in the installation layout or the opening position may affect the temperature of the air being output. In addition, air-conditioning systems installed in vehicles for overseas markets will be used in operating environments completely different from that in Japan.
In other words, air-conditioning systems need to be versatile enough to meet varying requirements, e.g., a relatively low defrost (DEF) output air temperature to be achieved in a DEF/HEAT (D/H) mode and a significant temperature difference to be achieved between the vent (VENT) output air temperature and the foot (FOOT) output air temperature in a bi-level (B/L) mode.
While such versatility may be assured by mounting interchangeable baffle plates with varying functions, different baffle plates may need to be fastened at the air-conditioning unit through different structures and, in such a case, only one type of baffle plates may be compatible with a specific type of air-conditioning system. This leads to a concern that the structure assumed in the air-conditioning system case may need to be altered in correspondence to the baffle plate to be used or that the temperature control performance initially achieved in the air-conditioning system may be compromised.
Furthermore, if baffle plates with different functions can be mounted at the air-conditioning system through identical fastening structures, a baffle plate erroneously selected may be mounted without being detected and the erroneous assembly of the air-conditioning system may thus remain uncorrected.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a temperature control unit in an air-conditioning system, which allows baffle plates with different functions to be interchangeably mounted at the same air-conditioning system and prevents the wrong baffle plate from being mounted.
The temperature control unit in an air-conditioning system according to the present invention comprises a cooling heat exchanger and a heating heat exchanger housed within an air flow path defined inside a unit case with the cooling heat exchanger disposed on the upstream side. The air flow path is constituted with a cool air flow path through which air having bypassed the heating heat exchanger flows and a warm air passage through which air having passed through the heating heat exchanger flows, with the cool air flow path and the warm air passage made to join each other at a specific area. Over an area of the unit case further toward the downstream side relative to the joining area, a VENT output opening, a DEF output opening and a FOOT output opening are formed, and a baffle plate that guides the warm air having traveled through the warm air passage toward the VENT output opening and guides the cool air having traveled through the cool air flow path along a direction intersecting the flow of the warm air is disposed over the joining area. The baffle plate is one of interchangeable baffle plates with different functions that are members independent of the unit case and can be interchangeably mounted at the unit case. The individual baffle plates assume fastening structures different from one another, and the unit case includes a plurality of fastening structures each corresponding to a fastening structure of one of the baffle plates and each assuming a specific position or mode so as to ensure that when the baffle plate is mounted, the fastening structures for the other baffle plates in an idle state do not impinge on its operation.
More specifically, a first fastening structure among the plurality of fastening structures adopted at the unit case is achieved by forming a plurality of recessed portions at the inner side surface of the unit case and a fastening structure adopted at a first baffle plate among the baffle plates having the various functions is achieved by forming projections on its side extending along the flow of warm air, which can be fitted at the recessed portions. In addition, a second fastening structure among the plurality of fastening structures adopted at the unit case is achieved by forming a projected portion projecting into the air flow path from the inner side surface of the unit case and a fastening structure adopted at a second baffle plate among the baffle plates having the various functions is achieved by forming on the side thereof extending along the flow of the warm air a hole to fit around the outside of the projected portion at the unit case with the projected portion at the unit case disposed so as to be set further outward relative to the outer edge of the side of the baffle plate when the second baffle plate is mounted. A fastening structure adopted at a third baffle plate among the baffle plates having the various functions includes a holding portion with which an end of one of internal walls defining the air flow paths can be held. It is to be noted that the fastening structure adopted at the third baffle plate among the baffle plates having the various functions may include a flange portion located on the side opposite from the side where the holding portion is present, which can be set at the upper surface of another internal wall. Although not shown, a fastening structure that includes a groove extending at the inner surface of the unit case along the direction in which the baffle plate is inserted may be adopted at the unit case and a fastening structure that includes a rib to be inserted at the groove may be adopted at the baffle plate instead.
Thus, while the output port positions, the air-conditioning duct installation layout, the required air output quantities or the like may vary for different vehicle models or for the overseas specifications and the domestic market specifications of a given vehicle model, different baffle plates with various functions each corresponding to a specific requirement can be interchangeably mounted at the temperature control unit of an air-conditioning unit so as to allow the air-conditioning system to be used as a universal system according to the present invention. As a result, the temperatures and the air volumes of the VENT output air and the FOOT output air can be adjusted so as to meet the requirements of different users. This eliminates the need for altering the structure of the unit case of the air-conditioning system in correspondence to the type of baffle plate to be used and thus, ultimately eliminates the problem of loss of the temperature control performance initially achieved in the air-conditioning system. In addition, the temperature range, i.e., the difference between the highest temperature and the lowest temperature in an intermediate mode such as the B/L mode or the D/H mode can be adjusted by switching baffle plates.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, each fastening structure with specific features is disposed at a position at which it does not get in the way when another baffle plate is mounted. Since the various baffle plates need to be mounted differently from one another and thus an erroneous selection of baffle plate to be used can be detected with ease, the wrong baffle plate is never actually mounted.
The following is an explanation of an embodiment of the present invention, given in reference to the drawings.
In the temperature control unit 1, a cooling heat exchanger 4 such as an evaporator that cools air supplied from the air blower via an air intake port (not shown) opening on the upstream side of the temperature control unit 1, a heating heat exchanger 5 such as a heater core that reheats the air having been cooled at the cooling heat exchanger 4 and a mix door (MIXDOOR) 6 disposed between the cooling heat exchanger 4 and the heating heat exchanger 5 to adjust the ratio of air to be supplied to the heating heat exchanger 5 and air to bypass the heating heat exchanger 5 are all disposed along an air flow path 2 formed inside a unit case 3.
The cooling heat exchanger 4 installed upright so that all the air guided through the air flow path 2 passes through it may include, for instance, corrugated fins and tubes alternately layered over a plurality of stages with tanks installed at the ends of the longer side of the tubes. It is connected as necessary with other air-conditioning devices (not shown) via a piping or the like so as to constitute a refrigerating cycle.
The temperature control unit 1 includes a warm air passage 7 formed inside the unit case 3 further toward the downstream side relative to the heating heat exchanger 5 and constituting part of the air flow path 2, through which the air having been reheated at the heating heat exchanger 5 passes and a cool air flow path 8 disposed so as to range from the downstream side of the cooling heat exchanger 4 toward the upper area slightly diagonal relative to the rotating shaft of the mix door 6 and constituting part of the air flow path 2. In order to provide the temperature control unit 1 as a compact unit, the heating heat exchanger 5 in the embodiment is disposed by tilting its head forward along the vehicle advancing direction and assumes a structure that includes, for instance, corrugated fins and tubes alternately layered over a plurality of stages with tanks mounted at the ends of the longer side of the tubes. The mix door 6 in the embodiment adopts the so-called flag structure or cantilever structure. The mix door 6 comprises the rotating shaft disposed toward the top of the heating heat exchanger 5 and a door main body ranging from the rotating shaft toward one side along the radial direction.
The air flow path 2 includes an air mix chamber 9 where the warm air passage 7 and the cool air flow path 8 join each other and a DEF opening 11 and a VENT opening 12 are formed at the upper surface of the unit case 3 on the downstream side of the air mix chamber 9. At the VENT opening 12, an air guide internal wall 19 ranging from the vicinity of the air mix chamber 9 to the open end of the VENT opening 12 is formed. The DEF opening 11 and the VENT opening 12 each communicate with an output port opening into the cabin via ducts (not shown), with a mode switching doors 16 and 17 for adjusting the degrees of openness of the individual openings 11 and 12 from the fully open state to the fully closed state disposed respectively near the open ends of the DEF opening 11 and the VENT opening inside the air flow path 2. The output mode switching doors 16 and 17 in the embodiment are butterfly-type doors.
Another air guide internal wall 13 is formed on the downstream side of the heating heat exchanger 5. The air guide internal wall 13 functions as a partition that ranges in the front/rear direction along the vehicle body to partition the warm air passage 7 from a Foot passage 14 and also guides the temperature-controlled air to a FOOT opening 15 that opens as required at the bottom surface of the unit case 3. An output mode switching door 18 through which the volume of the temperature-controlled air to be guided to the FOOT opening 15 is adjusted between the 100% through 0% range is disposed inside the Foot passage 14. The output mode switching door 18 also adopts a butterfly structure in the embodiment.
Air taken into the blower unit via the air blower in the air-conditioning system adopting the structure described above is guided to the temperature control unit 1 via an air intake port, travels to the upstream side of the cooling heat exchanger 4 and becomes cooled as it passes through the cooling heat exchanger 4. The ratio of air to pass through the heating heat exchanger 5 and the air to bypass the heating heat exchanger 5 is adjusted in correspondence to the degree of openness of the mix door 6, and after the air having passed through the heating heat exchanger and the air having bypassed the heating heat exchanger are mixed at the air mix chamber 9 located on the downwind side of the mix door 6, the mixed air is output through a specific output port via the DEF opening 11, the VENT opening 12 or the FOOT opening 15 opened as per the selected output mode.
As shown in
As shown in
The temperature control unit mounted with the baffle plate 20A demonstrates characteristics such as those shown in
In the D/H mode, a relatively large difference manifests between the temperature increase rate of the foot (FOOT) output air average temperature and the temperature increase rate of the vent (VENT) output air average temperature over the range of the degree of openness of the mix door from 0% up to approximately 70%, with a maximum temperature difference (2) of approximately 25° C. manifesting when the degree of openness of the mix door is approximately 50°, as shown in
Thus, by mounting the baffle plate 20A, the need to achieve a relatively large temperature difference between the vent (VENT) output air temperature and the foot (FOOT) output air temperature in the bi-level (B/L) mode is satisfied, as shown in
As shown in
The temperature control unit mounted with the baffle plate 20B demonstrates characteristics such as those shown in
The foot (FOOT) output air average temperature and the vent (VENT) output air average temperature are controlled in the D/H mode so as to maintain a relatively small difference between the foot temperature increase rate and the vent temperature increase rate over the entire range of the degree of openness of the mix door, as shown in
The need for keeping the DEF output air temperature at a relatively low level in the DEF/HEAT (D/H) mode compared to the level of the DEF output air temperature achieved by mounting, for instance, the baffle plate 20A is thus satisfied by installing the baffle plate 20B, as the DEF output air average temperature in
As shown in
The unit case 3 in the embodiment includes two fastening structures 24 and 25 to allow any of the baffle plates 20 (20A, 20B, 20C) structured as described above to be mounted at the unit case 3. The baffle plate 20A includes a fastening structure 26 to be used in conjunction with the fastening structure 24, the baffle plate 20B includes a fastening structure 27 to be used in conjunction with the fastening structure 25 and the baffle plate 20C includes a fastening structure 28 that allows the baffle plate 20C to be mounted at the unit case 3 without requiring any corresponding fastening structure at the unit case 3.
Namely, as shown in
In addition, the fastening structure 25 at the unit case 3 includes two projected portions 36 and 37 formed at the inner side surface defining the air mix chamber 9, as shown in
The fastening structure 28 at the baffle plate 20C includes a holding portion 40 with a two-pronged end so as to hold the downstream-side end of the air guide internal wall 13 and a flange portion 41 that can be set at the upper surface of the air guide internal wall 19.
The projected portions 36 and 37 constituting the fastening structure 25 at the unit case 3 are disposed further toward the bottom of the vehicle relative to the outer edge of the side of the baffle plate 20A and the outer edge of the side of the baffle plate 20C and thus, the projected portions 36 and 37 in an idle state do not get in the way when the baffle plate 20A or the baffle plate 20C is mounted. It is to be noted that since the fastening structure 24 at the unit case 3 constituted with the recessed portions 30, 31 and 32 does not include any portion projecting out from the wall surface, the fastening structure 24 does not become an obstruction when the baffle plate 20B or the baffle plate 20C is mounted.
As described above, the baffle plates 20A, 20B and 20C with different structures and functions can be interchangeably mounted at a single temperature control unit 1. Thus, the baffle plate 20A, 20B or 20C can be selectively mounted to achieve specific air-conditioning performance characteristics to assure a high level of versatility in the performance of the temperature control unit 1. In other words, by selecting one of the baffle plates 20A, 20B and 20C, the temperature range, i.e., the difference between the highest temperature and the lowest temperature achieved in an intermediate mode such as the B/L mode or the D/H mode can be adjusted to satisfy specific performance requirements.
In addition, even if the baffle plate 20A is the correct baffle plate for the particular requirements to be satisfied and the wrong baffle plate 20B is erroneously selected, the assembly worker is bound to notice the mistake since the baffle plate 20B must be mounted via fastening structures different from those for the baffle plate 20A. Thus, erroneous baffle plate assembly can be avoided.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP2005-211175 | Jul 2005 | JP | national |
