JP2010125997A - Vehicular air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular air conditioner allowing a reduction in air volume loss of a cold wind (air) from a cold storage heat exchanger by passing air through the cold storage heat exchanger without generating air flow turbulence, even when the cold storage heat exchanger is placed on the downstream side of an air flow direction of an evaporator. <P>SOLUTION: In the vehicular air conditioner, the evaporator 4 and the cold storage heat exchanger 5 arranged on the downstream side of an air flow direction of the evaporator 4 have an air passing surface perpendicular to an air flow direction A formed in substantially the same size. The arrangement intervals of parallel refrigerant tubes 20 of the evaporator 4 and parallel cold storage heat exchanger tubes 24 of the cold storage heat exchanger 5 are identical, respectively. The width dimensions in the direction perpendicular to the air flow direction A of the refrigerant tube 20 and the cold storage heat exchanger tube 24 are also identical, respectively. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner, and more particularly to a vehicle air conditioner that can blow cool air into a vehicle interior even when a vehicle engine is temporarily stopped to stop driving a compressor.

In recent years, in order to reduce the amount of CO ₂ (carbon dioxide) emitted from the vehicle from the viewpoint of preventing global warming, etc., the vehicle is idling when the vehicle is stopped for a relatively short time, such as waiting for a signal. Vehicles (automobiles) that automatically stop the engine (hereinafter referred to as “idling stop”) have been put into practical use.

  By the way, a vehicle air conditioner mounted on a vehicle is generated by driving a compressor (compressor) of a refrigeration cycle by a vehicle engine and cooling air flowing through a passage provided with an evaporator (cooling heat exchanger). Since the cool air is blown into the vehicle interior from a predetermined outlet, as described above, when idling is stopped when the vehicle is stopped, such as when waiting for a signal, the compressor stops driving, and accordingly, the blowing of cold air into the vehicle interior is also stopped. To do. In this way, when the vehicle engine is idling stopped when the vehicle is stopped, such as when waiting for a signal, the compressor driven by the vehicle engine also stops at the same time, so the temperature of the air blown into the vehicle compartment suddenly rises and the passenger in the vehicle compartment A problem that makes the user feel uncomfortable.

  Therefore, as a countermeasure for air conditioning when the vehicle engine is idling stopped when the vehicle is stopped, such as when waiting for a signal, cold storage that is conventionally stored by cold air obtained by an evaporator (cooling heat exchanger) during rotation of the vehicle engine There is proposed a vehicle air conditioner that includes a means for allowing cool air to be blown into the vehicle interior by using the amount of heat stored by the cold storage means when the vehicle engine is idling stopped due to a signal waiting or the like. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

The vehicle air conditioner described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a lattice-shaped cage (cold storage heat exchanger) that holds a cold storage material inside so as to be close to the downstream side in the air flow direction of the evaporator (evaporator). When the vehicle engine is idling stopped when the vehicle is stopped, such as waiting for a signal, the air flowing through the openings (air passages) of the lattice-like cage (cold storage heat exchanger) through the evaporator (evaporator) Is cooled by the cold energy stored in the cold storage material, and cool air is blown into the vehicle interior through the outlet.
JP 2000-318431 A

  By the way, in the vehicle air conditioner described in Patent Document 1, the configuration of the cage (cold storage heat exchanger) and the configuration of the evaporator (evaporator) are different from each other. The shape and position of the passage) and the shape and position of each air passage of the evaporator (evaporator) are different. For this reason, after the air blown by the blower passes through the evaporator, a part of the air hits the side surface on the evaporator side around each opening of the cage, thereby disturbing the air flow and enters each opening of the cage. Air volume decreases. Thereby, the air volume of the cold wind which blows off from a blower outlet falls.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a regenerator heat exchanger that allows air to pass through the regenerator heat exchanger without causing turbulence in the air flow even when the regenerator heat exchanger is installed downstream of the evaporator in the airflow direction. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle air conditioner that can suppress a decrease in the amount of cold air (air) coming from the vehicle.

  In order to achieve the object, the present invention according to claim 1 has a refrigerant tube arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval through which the refrigerant circulates, and cools the air blown from the blower blower by heat exchange with the refrigerant. An evaporator and a regenerator heat exchanger tube filled with a regenerator material arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval, the regenerator heat exchanger disposed on the downstream side in the air flow direction of the evaporator is provided in the air conditioning case, and the regenerator heat The regenerator material filled in the exchanger tube is solidified and stored in the form of latent heat when the air blown from the evaporator is cold by the cooling by the evaporator, and is melted when the cooling by the evaporator is stopped. In the vehicle air conditioner that cools the air blown through the evaporator using latent heat, the evaporator and the cold storage heat exchanger have an air flow The air passage surfaces orthogonal to the direction are formed to have substantially the same size, and the arrangement intervals of the refrigerant tubes arranged in parallel with the evaporator and the cold storage heat exchanger tubes arranged in parallel with the cold storage heat exchanger are as follows: The width dimensions of the refrigerant tubes and the cold storage heat exchanger tubes in the direction perpendicular to the air flow direction are also the same.

  In the vehicle air conditioner according to a second aspect of the present invention, the cold storage heat exchanger tube is formed in a flat hollow shape along the air flow direction, and the cold storage heat exchanger tube is partitioned by a plurality of columns. It is characterized by being divided into a plurality of sections.

  According to the vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention, the evaporator and the regenerator heat exchanger are formed so that the air passage surfaces in the direction orthogonal to the air flow direction have substantially the same size, and the refrigerant tubes arranged in parallel in the evaporator and By making the arrangement intervals of the cold storage heat exchanger tubes arranged in parallel in the cold storage heat exchanger the same, and also making the width dimensions of the refrigerant tubes and the cold storage heat exchanger tubes in the direction perpendicular to the air flow direction, respectively. The air flow after passing through the evaporator smoothly passes through the regenerative heat exchanger, so that it is possible to suppress a decrease in the air volume of the cold air due to the passage loss in the regenerative heat exchanger. The passing air can be effectively cooled by the latent heat of fusion of the regenerator material.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on the illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a vehicle air conditioner (hereinafter referred to as “air conditioner”) according to this embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an air conditioner 1 according to the present embodiment has an air conditioning case 2 provided in an instrument panel (not shown) in the front part of the passenger compartment, and an air blow formed in the air conditioning case 2. In the passage, a blower fan (blower) 3, a heat-release cooling exchanger (hereinafter referred to as “evaporator”) 4 installed downstream of the blower fan 3 in the air flow direction, and a downstream of the evaporator 4 in the air flow direction A regenerator heat exchanger 5 installed on the side, a heater core 6 installed downstream of the regenerator heat exchanger 5 in the air flow direction, and an air mix door 7 installed between the regenerator heat exchanger 5 and the heater core 6. is doing. The heater core 6 heats the air passing through the heater core 6 using hot water (cooling water) circulated to drive the engine as a heat source.

  An inside / outside air switching door 8 is installed on the downstream side in the air flow direction of the air conditioning case 2 (left side in FIG. 1), and either the inside air introduction port 9a or the outside air introduction port 9b is turned by the rotation of the inside / outside air switching door 8. By selectively switching between, the inside air or the outside air is introduced. In addition, on the downstream side in the air flow direction of the air conditioning case 2 (the right side in FIG. 1), a def door 12 that distributes the temperature-controlled air (air conditioned air) in the air mix chamber 10 to the defroster outlet 11, and a vent blower A vent door 14 that distributes to the outlet 13 and a foot door 16 that distributes to the foot outlet 15 are provided.

  The evaporator 4 constitutes a refrigeration cycle together with a compressor, a condenser, a liquid tank, a circulation pipe, and the like driven by an engine (not shown), and air (inside air or outside air) blown to the evaporator 4 side by rotation of the blower fan 3. Heat exchange is performed with the refrigerant circulating in the refrigerant tube 20 (see FIG. 2) of the evaporator 4 to cool the air passing through the evaporator 4.

  Note that a vehicle (not shown) equipped with the air conditioner 1 according to the present embodiment has an idling stop function, and when a compressor (not shown) is driven to blow cool air into the vehicle interior, Even when the vehicle engine (not shown) is automatically stopped and the compressor (not shown) is stopped when the vehicle is stopped for a relatively short time such as waiting, the cold storage material enclosed in the cold storage heat exchanger 5 described later The cool air blowout can be maintained by the cold storage. Release of the idling stop is automatically performed by releasing the brake operation state at the time of idling stop, and the engine is started immediately.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the evaporator 4 has a flat hollow refrigerant tube 20 through which the refrigerant 21 circulates, and corrugated fins 22 bent into a wave shape are formed between both sides of the refrigerant tube 20. It is joined. Adjacent tubes of the refrigerant tube 20 are arranged in parallel at regular intervals so that both ends are bent. The refrigerant tube 20 and the corrugated fins 22 are preferably formed from a thin aluminum material in consideration of heat transfer and weight reduction. 2, the left side of the figure is the upstream side in the air flow direction (the blower fan 3 side), and the right side of the figure is the downstream side in the air flow direction. In FIGS. 1 and 2, an arrow A indicates the air flow direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the regenerator heat exchanger 5 includes a plurality of flat hollow regenerator heat exchanger tubes 24 enclosing a regenerator material 23 arranged in parallel with each other at regular intervals. To the upper and lower surfaces of the exchanger tube 24, hollow pipe-shaped fixing members 25a and 25b that respectively fix and hold both end portions of each cold storage heat exchanger tube 24 are joined. The insides of both ends of each cold storage heat exchanger tube 24 and the inside of the fixing members 25a and 25b communicate with each other. In addition, the fixing members 25a and 25b are provided with openings (not shown) used when the regenerator material 23 is filled in the regenerator heat exchanger tubes 24, and the openings are formed after the regenerator material is filled. Sealed. The evaporator 4 and the cold storage heat exchanger 5 are formed so that the air passage surfaces in the direction orthogonal to the air flow direction A have substantially the same size.

  Corrugated fins 26 that are bent into a wave shape are joined between both sides of each cold storage heat exchanger tube 24. The cold storage heat exchanger tube 24, the fixing members 25a and 25b, and the corrugated fins 26 are preferably formed of a thin aluminum material in consideration of heat transfer, weight reduction, and the like. As shown in FIG. 2, the regenerator heat exchanger tube 24 is integrally formed with a plurality of support columns 27 so as to partition the interior thereof into a plurality of partitions at regular intervals, and in each partition partitioned by the support columns 27. The cold storage material 23 is filled.

  2, only two sets of the refrigerant tube 20, the corrugated fins 22 and the cold storage heat exchanger tubes 24 and the corrugated fins 26 of the cold storage heat exchanger 5 are shown in FIG. A plurality of sets are installed along the direction perpendicular to the air flow direction A (vertical direction in FIG. 2) in accordance with the width of the cold storage heat exchanger 3 (horizontal direction in FIG. 3). Further, in FIG. 3, only a part of the corrugated fins 26 is illustrated, but actually, the corrugated fins 26 are installed in the entire area between both sides of each cold storage heat exchanger tube 24.

  The cool storage material 23 changes from a liquid phase state to a solid phase state by cooling with cold air (air) of about 3 to 5 ° C. that has passed through the evaporator 4 during normal air conditioning control in which a compressor (not shown) is driven. It can solidify and cool in the form of latent heat of melting. When idling is stopped (when driving of the compressor (not shown) is stopped), the air passing through the cold storage heat exchanger 5 is utilized using the latent heat associated with melting. Cooling. As the regenerator material 23, a regenerator material that causes a phase change at about 10 ° C. and has a latent heat of fusion of about 100 kJ / kg (120 J / cc) or more, for example, a polyalkylene glycol as a main component can be suitably used. .

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the arrangement intervals (tube pitches) L1 of the refrigerant tubes 20 arranged in parallel in the evaporator 4 and the cold storage heat exchanger tubes 24 arranged in parallel in the cold storage heat exchanger 5 are the same. The dimensions L2 of the refrigerant tube 20 and the cold storage heat exchanger tube 24 in the horizontal width direction (the direction perpendicular to the air flow direction A) are also set to be the same. Further, the corrugated fins 22 and 26 of the evaporator 4 and the regenerator heat exchanger 5 are also installed so that the dimensions L3 in the horizontal width direction (perpendicular to the air flow direction A) are the same. The corrugated fins 22 and 26 of the evaporator 4 and the regenerator heat exchanger 5 have minute protrusions 22a and 26a for enhancing the cooling effect of the air passing therethrough in a direction orthogonal to the air flow direction (arrow A). A plurality are formed.

  In the vicinity of the air outlet at the downstream side of the evaporator 4 in the air flow direction (the narrow space between the evaporator 4 and the regenerator heat exchanger 5), the temperature of the air immediately after passing through the evaporator 4 (hereinafter referred to as the evaporator outlet temperature) is A first temperature sensor 28 to be detected is arranged, and in the vicinity of the air outlet on the downstream side in the air flow direction of the regenerator heat exchanger 5, the temperature of the air immediately after passing through the regenerator heat exchanger 5 (hereinafter referred to as regenerator heat exchanger). A second temperature sensor 29 for detecting the “unit discharge temperature” is disposed. The temperature information detected by the first and second temperature sensors 28 and 29 is input to an air conditioning control unit (air conditioner ECU) 30. The air conditioning control unit 30 includes temperature information input from the first and second temperature sensors 28 and 29, temperature information input from a well-known temperature sensor group (not shown) that detects vehicle interior temperature, outside air temperature, and the like, Based on air-conditioning setting information (air volume, set temperature, etc.) input by the switch operation of an air-conditioning panel (not shown) by the passenger, normal vehicle interior air-conditioning control when the engine is driven and vehicle interior air-conditioning control when idling is stopped (Details will be described later).

(Normal cabin air conditioning control when the engine is driven)
When an occupant operates a switch on an air conditioning panel (not shown) and operates in, for example, the “cooling mode”, the fan motor M is rotationally driven based on a signal output from the air conditioning control unit 30 to blow fans. 3 is rotated, for example, air (inside air) is introduced into the evaporator 4 from the inside air introduction port 9a. Furthermore, by operating the refrigeration cycle by rotating the compressor (not shown) by driving the engine, the air passing around each corrugated fin 22 of the evaporator 4 is exchanged with the refrigerant 21 circulating in the refrigerant tube 20. Heat is exchanged between them and cooled to a predetermined temperature.

  At this time, when the cooled air passes through the regenerator heat exchanger 5, the regenerator material 23 cools the regenerator material 23 in the regenerator heat exchanger tube 24, so that the regenerator material 23 is in the liquid phase in about 1 minute 30 seconds, for example. It changes from a solid state to a solid phase and solidifies, and cold storage is performed in the form of latent heat of fusion.

  Then, the air conditioning control unit 30 is based on the evaporator blowout temperature information input from the first temperature sensor 28, the air conditioning setting information (air volume, set temperature, etc.) input by the occupant's switch operation, and the like. (Not shown) is controlled to adjust the opening of the air mix door 7. Thereby, a part of the cold air (air) that has passed through the evaporator 4 and the regenerator heat exchanger 5 is introduced to the heater core 6 side, and the cold air and the hot air obtained by the heater core 6 are mixed in the air mix chamber 10. Thus, the air (cold air) whose temperature is adjusted to a desired temperature is blown out from the vent outlet 13 by, for example, turning the vent door 14 to the open position.

(Vehicle interior air conditioning control when idling stops)
When cold air is blown into the vehicle compartment by the refrigeration cycle by the above-described normal vehicle interior air conditioning control, if idling is stopped when the vehicle is stopped, such as waiting for a signal, cold air is generated by the evaporator 4 when the compressor (not shown) is stopped. The air that is no longer generated and whose temperature has risen is introduced into the cold storage heat exchanger 5 by the rotation of the blower fan 3.

  At this time, the cold storage material 23 in the cold storage heat exchanger tube 24 is phase-changed from the liquid phase state to the solid phase state and stored in the form of latent heat of fusion as described above. Therefore, when the air whose temperature has increased passes through the vicinity of the corrugated fins 26 on both sides of each regenerator heat exchanger tube 24, the air whose temperature has increased is cooled using the latent heat associated with melting of the regenerator material 23, and Is generated. And like usual time, a part of cold air produced | generated by the cool storage heat exchanger 5 is introduce | transduced to the heater core 6 side, and the said cold air and the warm air obtained by the heater core 6 are mixed in the air mix chamber 10. FIG. Thus, the air (cold air) whose temperature is adjusted to a desired temperature is blown out from the vent outlet 13 by, for example, turning the vent door 14 to the open position.

  Based on the cold storage heat exchanger blowing temperature information input from the second temperature sensor 29, the air conditioning control unit 30 blows out the cold air having the same temperature as the cold air blowing before idling stop. A drive part (not shown) is controlled and the opening degree of the air mix door 7 is adjusted. In the present embodiment, the cold storage material 27 melts in about 1 minute and 30 seconds, so that at the time of idling stop such as waiting for a signal of about 30 seconds to 1 minute, the desired temperature can be maintained as before the idling stop. Cold air can be blown out into the passenger compartment, and passengers will not be uncomfortable.

  Further, when the idling stop time reaches, for example, about 1 minute 30 seconds or more and the melting of the regenerator material 23 is completed, since the latent heat cannot be used, the temperature of the blown air rises rapidly. In this case, when the present embodiment determines that the temperature of the air passing through the air conditioning control unit 30 has increased based on the cold storage heat exchanger outlet temperature information input from the second temperature sensor 29, the engine ECU ( A signal is output to a not-shown engine to start an engine (not-shown), and cold air is blown into the vehicle compartment by the refrigeration cycle by the rotation of a compressor (not shown).

  In this way, even when the idling stop time is longer than usual (for example, about one and a half minutes or more) and all the cold storage material 23 is melted during that time, the temperature of the cold air is prevented from rising suddenly. It can prevent the passengers in the room from feeling uncomfortable.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the evaporator 4 and the regenerator heat exchanger 5 are formed so that the air passage surfaces in the direction orthogonal to the air flow direction have substantially the same size, and each refrigerant tube 20 of the evaporator 4. And the arrangement | positioning space | interval (tube pitch) L1 of each cool storage heat exchanger tube 24 of the cool storage heat exchanger 5 is made the same, and each horizontal width direction (perpendicular to the air flow direction A) of the refrigerant | coolant tube 20 and the cool storage heat exchanger tube 24 The direction L) is the same, and the dimension L3 in the horizontal width direction (perpendicular to the air flow direction A) of the corrugated fins 22 and 26 of the evaporator 4 and the cold storage heat exchanger 5 is also the same. It is installed.

  As a result, substantially the entire amount of air (cold air) after passing through the vicinity of the corrugated fins 22 of the evaporator 4 smoothly passes through the vicinity of the corrugated fins 26 of the cold storage heat exchanger 5, thereby causing a passage loss in the cold storage heat exchanger 5. A decrease in the amount of cold air can be suppressed, and the passing air can be effectively cooled by the latent heat of fusion of the cold storage material in the cold storage heat exchanger 5.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, since the inside of the cool storage heat exchanger tube 24 is partitioned so as to be partitioned by a plurality of support columns 27, the strength of the cool storage heat exchanger tube 24 can be increased. Therefore, even if a volume change occurs when the cold storage material 23 filled in the cold storage heat exchanger tube 24 undergoes a phase change from the liquid phase state to the solid phase state (or from the solid phase state to the liquid phase state), The reinforcement by the support column 27 can prevent the cold storage heat exchanger tube 24 from being deformed or damaged.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, although it was the example which integrally shape | molded the several support | pillar 27 so that the inside of the cool storage heat exchanger tube 24 may be divided into several divisions by a fixed space | interval, it is not limited to this, and it is a plurality by a fixed space | interval. The support column 27 may be integrally formed.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, an example in which the support column 27 is integrally formed inside the cold storage heat exchanger tube 24 is shown. However, a separate inner fin is disposed in the cold storage heat exchanger tube 24 and brazed integrally. After joining, the cold storage material 23 may be filled.

1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a vehicle air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. The schematic cross-sectional view which shows a part of an evaporator and a cool storage heat exchanger. The front view which shows a cool storage heat exchanger.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air conditioner 2 Air conditioning case 3 Blower fan 4 Evaporator 5 Cold storage heat exchanger 6 Heater core 6 Cold air passage 7 Air mix door 20 Refrigerant tube 21 Refrigerant 22, 26 Corrugated fin 23 Cold storage material 24 Cold storage heat exchanger tube 27 Strut 28 First temperature Sensor 29 Second temperature sensor 30 Air conditioning control unit

Claims (2)

Regenerative heat having refrigerant tubes arranged in parallel at predetermined intervals through which the refrigerant circulates, and an evaporator for cooling air blown from the blower blower by heat exchange with the refrigerant, and a regenerator material arranged in parallel at predetermined intervals A regenerator heat exchanger having an exchanger tube and disposed in a downstream side of the evaporator in the air flow direction is provided in an air conditioning case, and the regenerator material filled in the regenerator heat exchanger tube is cooled by the evaporator. Thus, when the air blown from the evaporator is cold air, it is solidified and stored in the form of latent heat, and when cooling by the evaporator is stopped, it melts and cools the air blown through the evaporator using the latent heat. In vehicle air conditioners,
The evaporator and the regenerator heat exchanger are formed with substantially the same size of air passing surfaces in a direction orthogonal to the air flow direction,
The arrangement intervals of the refrigerant tubes arranged in parallel to the evaporator and the cold storage heat exchanger tubes arranged in parallel to the cold storage heat exchanger are the same, and are arranged in the air flow direction of the refrigerant tubes and the cold storage heat exchanger tubes. On the other hand, the vehicle air conditioner has the same width dimension in the orthogonal direction.   The cold storage heat exchanger tube is formed in a flat hollow shape along the air flow direction, and the cold storage heat exchanger tube is divided into a plurality of partitions by a plurality of columns. The vehicle air conditioner according to 1.

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