JP2005145139A - Air-conditioning structure for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air-conditioning structure for a vehicle capable of blowing air-conditioning air blown to a driver from the front of a driver's seat, to the driver's seat, without being hindered by steering. <P>SOLUTION: This air-conditioning structure blows the air-conditioning air to the driver's seat 1 side via ventilator duct 3 from the front of the driver's seat 1 of the vehicle. A vent 15 of the ventilator duct 3 is arranged inside the rim 10 of a steering wheel 12. Thus, the air-conditioning air blown off from the vent 15, can be wholly blown to the driver's seat side without being hindered by the steering wheel 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle air-conditioning structure in which air-conditioned air can be favorably blown to the driver's seat side of the vehicle.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, ventilator duct vents are arranged in the center part and right and left side parts of an instrument panel in front of a driver's seat, and air conditioned air is blown to the front seat side of the vehicle (for example, see Patent Document 1) ).
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-112631

  However, in the conventional structure in which the conditioned air is blown from the vent in the center of the instrument panel to the driver's seat side, the conditioned air blown out from the vent of the ventilator duct is bounced back to the rim and spoke of the steering wheel of the driver's seat. Thus, there is a problem that sufficient air-conditioned air is not blown to the driver.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioning structure for a vehicle in which conditioned air blown to the driver from the front of the driver's seat can be blown to the driver's seat without being obstructed by the steering.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the invention according to claim 1 is an air conditioning structure that blows conditioned air to the driver's seat side from the front of the driver's seat through a ventilator duct. The vent of the ventilator duct is arranged inside the rim of the steering wheel.

  According to the invention of claim 1 configured as described above, since the vent of the ventilator duct for blowing out the conditioned air is arranged inside the rim of the steering wheel, the conditioned air blown from the vent is obstructed by the steering wheel. All can be sent to the driver's seat side.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the ventilator duct vent that blows out the conditioned air is arranged inside the rim of the steering wheel, so that all the conditioned air blown out from the vent is not obstructed by the steering wheel. Can be blown into.

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

  FIG. 1 shows a steering unit of a vehicle. In FIG. 1, a steering member 2 is disposed in front of the driver's seat 1 along the vehicle width direction in an instrument panel (not shown).

  A main duct 4 constituting a ventilator duct 3 is attached to the steering member 2 by an attachment member 5.

  The ventilator duct 3 is for sending conditioned air from an air conditioner (not shown), and has the main duct 4 and a branch duct 6 connected to the main duct 4 as described later. Yes.

  A flange 7 a of the support member 7 is fixed to the steering member 2 at the position of the attachment portion 8. A base portion 9a of a steering column 9 is mounted on the support member 7, and the base portion 9a is connected to a vehicle steering mechanism via a gear box (not shown).

  The steering column 9 can be contracted along the axial direction when an impact force is input from the outside. A steering wheel 12 having a rim 10 and spokes 11 is mounted on the front end side of the steering column 9.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the branch duct 6 includes a pipe portion 13 that communicates with the main duct 4 at a base portion, a column vent portion 14 that communicates with the pipe portion 13, and the column vent portion 14 to And a vent 15 extending toward the spoke 11 of the steering wheel 12.

  The tube portion 13 is fixed to the non-rotating portion of the steering column 9 as will be described later. The opening of the vent 15 is located in the vicinity of the steering wheel 12 and is disposed inside the rim 10.

  Thus, by arranging the vent 15, the conditioned air blown out from the vent 15 can be entirely blown to the driver's seat 1 side, that is, to the driver without being obstructed by the rim 10 of the steering wheel 12. .

  In addition, although the said pipe part 13 is provided with two or more (2 in a present Example), the number of the pipe parts 13 can be selected arbitrarily.

  In FIG. 2, the column vent portion 14 includes a first annular member 17 that is connected and fixed to the distal end portion of the tube portion 13, a rotating portion 18 as a second annular member, and this rotating portion. The part 18 is divided into three parts, that is, an engaging part 19 as a second annular member that rotatably engages the first annular member 17.

  An annular space 14a is formed by the first annular member 17 and the second annular member (rotating portion 18, engaging portion 19). Reference numeral 20 denotes a horn pad.

  The engagement portion 19 is fitted to the first annular member 17 from the right side in FIG. 2, and the locking portion 19 a of the engagement portion 19 is inserted into the L-shaped hole 18 a formed in the rotation portion 18. By rotating, the rotating portion 18 and the engaging portion 19 can be engaged with each other to be integrated.

  Then, the rotation portion 18 and the vent 15 integrated with the rotation portion 18 are secured to the flange 17a of the first annular member 17 by retaining the flange 19b of the engagement portion 19 with the flange 19b of the first annular member 17 by a retaining member (not shown). One annular member 17 is rotatable.

  The rotating portion 18 of the second annular member is attached to the rotating portion of the steering column 9.

  That is, since the first annular member 17 is connected to the pipe portion 13, it does not rotate even when the steering wheel 12 is rotated. On the other hand, since the vent 15 is fixed to the rotating portion of the steering column 9, the vent 15 rotates integrally with the steering wheel 12 when the steering wheel 12 is rotated.

  Thus, by making the vent 15 integrally rotatable with the steering wheel 12, the conditioned air blown from the vent 15 is disturbed not only by the rim 10 of the steering wheel 12, but also by the spoke 11 (see FIG. 1). All can be sent to the driver without any trouble.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the pipe portion 13 of the branch duct 6 has a first pipe portion 21 and a second pipe portion 22 that is externally fitted to the first pipe portion 21 so as to be extendable and contractible. doing. And the base part of the 1st pipe part 21 is connected with the main duct 4 of the ventilator duct 3 so that rotation is possible by the cylindrical connection member 23 so that it may mention later.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the pipe portion 13 is attached to the non-rotating portion of the steering column 9 with a bolt 24 and a nut 25 via a bracket 16. When an external impact force acts on the tube portion 13, the first tube portion 21 enters the second tube portion 22 and the tube portion 13 contracts as shown by a broken line in FIG. 4.

  Thus, when the impact force from the outside acts on the vehicle and the steering column 9 contracts, the pipe portion 13 of the branch duct 6 also contracts together with the steering column 9 to absorb the impact energy. This ensures the safety of the driver.

  In FIG. 5, the main duct 4 is provided adjacent to the proximal end portion of the steering column 9 and is disposed on the axis of the steering column. Reference numeral 27 denotes a frame in the vehicle compartment.

  By disposing the main duct 4 as described above, when an impact force acts on the vehicle and the steering column 9 contracts, the steering column 9 compresses and plastically deforms the main duct 4 as shown in FIG. .

  That is, the impact force acting on the driver from the steering column 9 can be absorbed by the plastic column deformation of the main duct 4 along with the contraction of the steering column 9, and the impact force acting on the chest of the driver can be reduced.

  Next, based on FIGS. 7-10, the attachment structure of the pipe part 13 of the branch duct 6 with respect to the main duct 4 is demonstrated.

  7 and 8, a connecting member 23 is fixed to the base portion of the pipe portion 13 of the branch duct 6, and this connecting member 23 is attached to the main duct 4 so as to be rotatable within a predetermined angle range. ing.

  In the main duct 4, a communication hole 28 is formed along the circumferential direction, which is a long hole corresponding to the rotation range of the vent hole 13 a of the pipe portion 13. That is, even if the branch duct 6 that rotates integrally with the steering column 9 rotates to the position of the broken line 6A, for example, the branch duct 6 and the main duct 4 are in communication.

  In this way, by setting the main duct 4 as the center of rotation of the steering column 9, the steering column 9 can be tilted without setting any bellows or other additional parts at the connecting portion between the main duct 4 and the branch duct 6. Corresponding to the operation, the communication action between the main duct 4 and the branch duct 6 can be ensured.

  FIG. 9 shows the operation of attaching the branch duct 6 to the main duct 4. In FIG. 9, the branch duct 6 is fixed in advance to a non-fixed portion of the steering column 9. The connecting member 23 on the base side of the branch duct 6 is inserted from one end side (right end side in FIG. 9) of the main duct 4.

  The steering column 9 is mounted on the steering member 2 as shown in FIG. 1 with the connecting member 23 moved in the direction of the arrow and positioned at a predetermined position.

  FIG. 10A shows a state where the connecting member 23 is positioned and set in the main duct 4.

  In the vicinity of both end portions of the inner peripheral surface of the connecting member 23, positioning convex portions 29 are formed as shown in FIG. In addition, on the outer peripheral surface of the main duct 4, positioning concave portions 30 with which the convex portions 29 can be engaged are formed at a plurality of locations (four locations in the embodiment).

  The convex portion 29 and the concave portion 30 constitute a positioning mechanism 31 for positioning the branch duct 6 of the ventilator duct 3 at a predetermined position of the main duct 4.

  As described above, by providing the positioning mechanism 31 between the main duct 4 and the branch duct 6, the positioning of the branch duct 6 to be connected to the main duct 4 and the positioning of the steering column 9 with respect to the steering member 2 are facilitated. This can be done and work efficiency can be improved.

  The vehicle air-conditioning structure of the invention described above is an air-conditioning structure that blows conditioned air from the front of the driver's seat (1) to the driver's seat (1) via the ventilator duct (3). The vent (15) of 3) is arranged inside the rim (10) of the steering wheel (12).

  According to this configuration, since the vent (15) of the ventilator duct (3) for blowing out the conditioned air is arranged inside the rim of the steering wheel (12), the conditioned air blown out from the vent (15) is supplied to the steering wheel (12 All the air can be blown to the driver's seat without being disturbed.

  In the vehicle air conditioning structure according to the present invention, the ventilator duct (3) includes a main duct (4) disposed in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle and the steering wheel (12) side from the main duct (4). The main duct (4) is provided adjacent to the base end of the steering column (9) and is disposed on the axis of the steering column (9). Yes.

  According to this configuration, when the main duct (4) is arranged as described above, when the impact force acts on the vehicle and the steering column (9) contracts, the steering column (9) is moved to the main duct (4). Is compressed and plastically deformed. For this reason, the impact force acting on the driver from the steering column (9) is absorbed by the plastic deformation of the main duct (4) together with the shrinkage of the steering column (9), thereby reducing the pressure acting on the chest of the driver. be able to.

  In the vehicle air conditioning structure of the present invention, the branch duct (6) is attached to the steering column (9) and is pivotally attached to the axis of the main duct (4).

  According to this configuration, by setting the main duct (4) as the center of rotation of the steering column (9), bellows and other additional parts can be added to the connecting portion between the main duct (4) and the branch duct (6). It is possible to ensure the communication action between the main duct (4) and the branch duct (6) corresponding to the tilting operation of the steering column (9) without any particular setting.

  In the vehicle air conditioning structure of the present invention, the branch duct (6) is divided so as to be extendable and contractable along the axial direction of the steering column (9).

  According to this configuration, when the steering column (9) contracts due to an external impact force acting on the vehicle, the pipe portion (13) of the branch duct (6) is also brought together with the steering column (9). It is possible to secure the safety of the driver by contracting.

  In the vehicle air-conditioning structure according to the present invention, the branch duct (6) includes a pipe portion (13) connected to the main duct (4), a vent (15) fixed to the steering, and the pipe. An annular column vent portion (14) provided with an annular space (14a) disposed between the portion (13) and the vent (15) and extending along the periphery of the steering column (9). The column vent portion (14) includes a first divided annular member (17) coupled to the pipe portion (13), and a first divided annular member (17) coupled to the vent (15). And a second divided annular member (18, 19) rotatably coupled thereto.

  According to this configuration, by making the vent (15) integrally rotatable with the steering wheel (12), the conditioned air blown from the vent (15) is not limited to the rim (10) of the steering wheel (12). All the air can be sent to the driver without being disturbed by the spoke (11).

  In the vehicle air-conditioning structure according to the present invention, the main duct (4) has a communication hole (28) communicating with the branch duct (6) on the peripheral surface, and the branch duct (6) is connected to the main duct (6). 4) has a cylindrical connecting member (23) that can be fitted from one end side of the main duct (4) so as to cover the communication hole (28), and the branch duct (6) is connected to the communication hole ( 28) and a positioning mechanism (31) for positioning the connecting member (23) at a position communicating with the main duct (4).

  According to this configuration, the positioning mechanism (31) is provided between the main duct (4) and the branch duct (6), whereby the steering column (9) is fastened to the steering member (2) and the main duct (4). A practically beneficial effect is achieved in that positioning at the time of connecting the branch duct (6) can be performed easily.

It is a perspective view of the ventilator duct and steering wheel part concerning the air-conditioning structure of the vehicle of this invention. It is a vertical side view which shows the column vent part of a branch duct. It is the top view which fractured | ruptured the ventilator duct partially. It is a vertical side view which shows the pipe part of a branch duct. FIG. 3 is a partially broken side view showing a positional relationship between a steering column and a main duct. It is an effect | action figure of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the connection part of a main duct and a branch duct. It is a vertical side view of the connection part of a main duct and a branch duct. It is a perspective view which shows the mounting effect | action of the branch duct with respect to a main duct. FIG. 4A is a longitudinal side view of a main duct and a connecting member positioned and mounted on the main duct, and FIG. 4B is an enlarged side view of the positioning mechanism.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Driver's seat 3 Ventilator duct 4 Main duct 6 Branch duct 9 Steering column 10 Rim 12 Steering wheel 13 Pipe part 14 Column vent part 14a Annular space 15 Vent 17 1st annular member 18 Rotating part (2nd annular member)
19 Engagement part (second annular member)
23 Connecting member 28 Communication hole 29 of main duct Positioning convex portion 30 Positioning concave portion 31 Positioning mechanism

Claims (6)

  An air-conditioning structure for blowing conditioned air from the front of a driver's seat to the driver's seat via a ventilator duct, wherein the vent of the ventilator duct is arranged inside a rim of a steering wheel. .   The ventilator duct has a main duct disposed in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle and a branch duct extending from the main duct toward the steering wheel, and the main duct is disposed at a base end portion of the steering column. The vehicle air conditioning structure according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle air conditioning structure is provided adjacent to and disposed on an axis of the steering column.   The vehicle air-conditioning structure according to claim 2, wherein the branch duct is attached to the steering column and is pivotally attached to an axial center of the main duct.   4. The vehicle air conditioning structure according to claim 2, wherein the branch duct is divided to extend and contract along the axial direction of the steering column. 5. The branch duct includes a pipe portion connected to the main duct, a vent fixed to the steering, an annular space disposed between the pipe portion and the vent and extending along the periphery of the steering column. And an annular column vent part provided with
The column vent portion includes a first divided annular member coupled to the tube portion, and a second divided annular member coupled to the vent and rotatably coupled to the first divided annular member. The vehicle air-conditioning structure according to any one of claims 2 to 4.   The main duct has a communication hole communicating with the branch duct on a peripheral surface, and the branch duct includes a cylindrical connecting member that can be fitted from one end side of the main duct so as to cover the communication hole of the main duct. And a positioning mechanism that positions the connecting member at a position where the branch duct is opposed to the communication hole and communicates with the main duct. Vehicle air-conditioning structure.

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