JP7427403B2 - Defroster duct structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a defroster duct structure.

In order to clear fog from the windshield, a defroster duct is provided in the instrument panel to send air output from an HVAC (heating, ventilating and air-conditioning unit) to a targeted location. The defroster duct is designed to be wide in order to send air to the windshield, which is wide across the width of the vehicle. Incidentally, in recent years, the number of automobiles equipped with a head-up display (HUD) has been increasing. If you try to install a HUD, it will interfere with the defroster duct in the width direction of the vehicle due to optical reasons. Therefore, there is a need to downsize the defroster duct in the width direction, but if the downsizing creates a portion where no air outlet can be set, the window clearing performance will locally decrease. Therefore, in a vehicle air conditioner, an attempt has been made to make the left and right ducts of the defroster duct intersect to uniformly blow hot air onto the windshield surface (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-49794

When forming a defroster duct to avoid structures within the instrument panel, it is not symmetrical, making it difficult to blow hot air uniformly onto the windshield. For this reason, attempts have been made to make the air blow out evenly onto the windshield by curving the duct in an irregular manner or adjusting the area of the air blow opening on the HVAC main body side, but these efforts have been ineffective despite the complexity of the structure. The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problem, and it can be used in cases where a structure that would interfere with the duct in a normal configuration is installed in the instrument panel despite the simple duct structure. To provide a defroster duct structure capable of satisfactorily eliminating dew condensation over the entire windshield.

In order to achieve the above object, the defroster duct structure of the present invention has the following features:
A defroster duct structure that is connected to an air conditioning unit opening through a connection port and blows out conditioned air from the air conditioning unit toward a windshield,
The defroster duct has a plurality of air outlets in the instrument panel,
The defroster duct has a partition wall for distributing air so that the air conditioned air is blown out to the windshield in three directions, approximately in the center direction, left direction, and right direction;
The partition wall includes at least a first partition wall for dividing the connection port into a connection port on one side in the vehicle width direction and a connection port on the other side in the vehicle width direction,
The direction in which the air-conditioned air is blown from one side of the connection port in the vehicle width direction is set toward the other side of the defroster duct in the vehicle width direction,
The direction in which the air conditioned air is blown from the other side of the connection port in the vehicle width direction is set toward one side of the defroster duct in the vehicle width direction and the center side of the windshield,
The area of the connection port on the other side in the vehicle width direction divided by the first partition is larger than the area of the connection port on the one side in the vehicle width direction separated by the first partition ,
A large curved portion is formed in the middle of the air-conditioned air flow path divided by the first partition,
The air outlet at one end of the defroster duct is narrowed to approximately the front of the one end of the opening of the air conditioning unit,
The other side end of the outlet from which the conditioned air is blown out from the connection port on the one side is located outside the other side end of the opening of the air conditioning unit. .

According to the present invention, even though the duct structure is simple, even if a structure that would interfere with the duct in a normal configuration is installed in the instrument panel, the entire windshield can be It is possible to provide a defroster duct structure that can satisfactorily eliminate condensation over a period of time.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a defroster duct that is an example of an embodiment including a defroster duct structure of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the defroster duct shown in FIG. 1 viewed from the passenger side when installed in a vehicle. Figure 2 (a) is an overall view including the air conditioning unit and side defroster duct, Figure 2 (b) is the opening A that distributes air from one side of the connection port to the other side, and Figure 2 (c) is the connection This is an opening B that distributes air from the other side of the mouth toward one side. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the position of the defroster duct in FIG. 1 on the instrument panel. FIG. 3(a) is an enlarged perspective view illustrating the positional relationship between the defroster duct and the conventional defroster opening, and FIG. 3(b) is a perspective view of the instrument panel. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the shape and positional relationship of the opening A and the opening B. 4(a) is a perspective view, FIG. 4(b) is a top view, FIG. 4(c) is a left side view, and FIG. 4(d) is a front view.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to or limited to the following examples. Note that the drawings referred to below are schematically illustrated, and the ratio of dimensions of objects drawn in the drawings may differ from the ratio of dimensions of actual objects. Even between drawings, the dimensional ratios of objects may differ.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a defroster duct 10 equipped with the defroster duct structure of the present invention. Further, FIG. 2 shows a front view of the defroster duct 10 of FIG. 1 when viewed from the passenger side when mounted on a vehicle. FIG. 2A is an overall view of a defroster structure including an air conditioning unit 11 and a side defroster duct 12 in addition to the defroster duct 10. Although the figure shows an embodiment including the side defroster duct 12, the side defroster duct 12 may not be provided. FIG. 2(b) is a front view of the opening A that distributes air from one side of the connection port 13 to the other side of the connection port 13 connected to the opening of the air conditioning unit 11, and FIG. 2(c) is a front view of the connection port 13 is a front view of an opening B that distributes air from the other side to the one side. FIG. In FIGS. 2(b) and 2(c), arrows indicating the direction in which the conditioned air is blown from the air conditioning unit 11 are added. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the position of the defroster duct 10 in FIG. 1 in the instrument panel 20, and FIG. 3(a) is an enlarged perspective view illustrating the positional relationship between the defroster duct 10 and the defroster opening 21 in the conventional position. , FIG. 3(b) is a perspective view of the instrument panel 20.

The defroster duct structure of the present invention defines the structure of the defroster duct 10 that is connected to the opening of the air conditioning unit 11 through the connection port 13 and blows out conditioned air from the air conditioning unit 11 toward the windshield 30. The defroster duct 10 has a plurality of air outlets 16 within the instrument panel 20. The opening A and the opening B are formed as a flow path for conditioned air by providing a first partition wall 14 and a second partition wall 15 in a single defroster duct, and are formed as flow paths for conditioned air to the windshield 30. Air is distributed so that the blowing directions are generally in three directions: toward the center, toward the left, and toward the right. The first partition wall 14 is a partition wall for separating the opening A and the opening B.

The second partition wall 15 is a wind direction regulating rib, and although it is not an essential structure, by providing it in the opening B as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2(c), the directivity of the air conditioned air can be further improved. can. The second partition wall 15 provided in the opening B allows the conditioned air sent from the air conditioning unit 11 to be divided into two flow paths. One of the two channels runs along the right side of the opening B, and the other runs along the left side of the opening B (see the arrow in FIG. 2(c)).

The opening A shown in FIG. 2(b) allows the air-conditioned air to be blown out from one side of the connection port 13 in the vehicle width direction (the right side in the figure) to the other side of the defroster duct 10 in the vehicle width direction (the right side in the figure). (center left side). The opening B shown in FIG. 2(c) directs the air conditioned air from the other side of the connection port 13 in the vehicle width direction to one side of the defroster duct 10 in the vehicle width direction and to the center of the windshield 30. It is set towards the side.

As shown in FIG. 2(a), the air outlet 16 at one end of the defroster duct 10 is narrowed to approximately the front of one end of the opening of the air conditioning unit 11. It is more compact in the vehicle width direction than the side air outlet. The substantially front part of one side end of the opening of the air conditioning unit 11 does not necessarily mean that the air outlet 16 and the one side end are exactly in line with each other. It may be within a range that can avoid interference with the built-in components of the instrument panel. As shown in FIG. 3(b), the instrument panel 20 is provided with a defroster opening 21 and a side defroster opening 22. FIG. 3(b) shows the defroster opening 21 in a conventional position. Conditioned air from the defroster duct 10 is blown out from the defroster opening 21. Further, the conditioned air from the side defroster duct 12 is blown out from the side defroster opening 22. In FIG. 3(b), the right side is the driver's seat side, and the windshield 30 is arranged on the upper side in the figure. As shown in the figure, when a head-up display (HUD) 23 is mounted, it significantly interferes with the defroster opening 21 on the driver's seat side. Therefore, it is necessary to make the defroster duct 10 compact in the vehicle width direction, but even in such a case, it is required to satisfactorily eliminate condensation, especially on the driver's seat side. As shown in FIG. 3(a), the defroster duct 10 extends to the same extent on the left side (other side) than the defroster opening 21 in the conventional position, but is significantly shorter on the right side (one side). It has become.

In order to form the defroster duct 10 of the present embodiment compactly in the vehicle width direction, the air outlet ports 16 (16A, 16B) are laid out so that the opening A and the opening B overlap in the vehicle longitudinal direction. Since the air-conditioned air will not change direction unless there is a run-up section, a straight section of at least a certain length is required that faces the desired location. However, it is difficult to move the air conditioning unit 11 from near the center of the vehicle, and if the air outlet 16 is narrowed in the vehicle width direction, it is not possible to secure a "run-up section" with the conventional structure. Therefore, in each opening, the conditioned air that entered from the left side is directed to the right side, and the air conditioned air that entered from the right side is directed to the left side, thereby twisting the path of the air conditioned air and stacking the openings in the front and back direction. The present invention is based on the discovery that even if the air outlet 16 is narrowed in the vehicle width direction, a run-up section for air conditioning air can be secured. With this structure, even if the defroster duct 10 is placed closer to one side of the vehicle (passenger seat side), the windshield 30 in front of the driver's seat can be cleared of fog, and the built-in instrument panel 20 can be mounted on the driver's seat side. It becomes possible. The built-in items of the instrument panel include a meter and the like in addition to a projector for a head-up display.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the shape and positional relationship of the opening A and the opening B. 4(a) is a perspective view, FIG. 4(b) is a top view, FIG. 4(c) is a left side view, and FIG. 4(d) is a front view. It is preferable that the openings A and B have narrower widths in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and have two stages in the front and rear to improve directivity. In FIG. 4, opening A is on the front side of the instrument panel 20 and opening B is on the windshield 30 side. It's okay. However, from the viewpoint of satisfactorily eliminating dew condensation on the driver's seat side, it is preferable that the opening A be on the front side of the instrument panel 20 and the opening B be on the windshield 30 side.

It is preferable that the opening A has a narrow area for the connection port 13A and a large area for the air outlet 16A. The conditioned air blown out from the opening A may flow mainly to the other side, and some of the conditioned air may leak to the center or one side of the windshield 30.

It is preferable that the opening B is directed toward one side while being once offset to the other side. It is preferable that the opening B has a large area for the connection port 13B and a narrow area for the air outlet 16B. On the opening A side (passenger seat side), a long run-up section can be secured as before, so controlling the wind direction is relatively easy. Therefore, it is preferable that the area of the connection port 13B of the opening B with a short run-up section is made larger than the area of the connection part 13A of the opening A. This makes it possible to ensure the amount of air on the opening B side and further facilitate control of the air direction.

It is preferable to form a large curved part in the middle of each opening so that the conditioned air can effectively flow in opposite directions. By forming the large curved portion, pressure loss caused by the conditioned air hitting the opening wall surface can be reduced. Moreover, it is also preferable to provide a wind direction regulating rib in each opening. By providing a wind direction regulating rib, it becomes possible to control the wind direction even more. As described above, it is particularly preferable that the wind direction regulating rib is provided as the second partition wall.

With the defroster duct structure of the present invention, it is only necessary to ensure the amount of air blown out to the other side, so the capacity (passage area) and external shape of the defroster duct can be reduced, and the defroster duct can be installed to avoid components in the instrument panel. Easy to layout. Further, since the defroster duct is extended and guided from one side to the other side, the flow path length (guide length) is increased, and there is also the advantage that it is easy to change the wind direction effectively.

10... Defroster duct 11... Air conditioning unit 12... Side defroster duct 13, 13A, 13B... Connection port A... Opening A
B...Opening B
14...First partition wall 15...Second partition wall (wind direction regulating rib)
16, 16A, 16B...Air outlet 20...Instrument panel 21...Defroster opening 22...Side defroster opening 23...HUD
30...windshield

Claims (1)

A defroster duct structure that is connected to an air conditioning unit opening through a connection port and blows out conditioned air from the air conditioning unit toward a windshield,
The defroster duct has a plurality of air outlets in the instrument panel,
The defroster duct has a partition wall for distributing air so that the air conditioned air is blown out to the windshield in three directions, approximately in the center direction, left direction, and right direction;
The partition wall has at least a first partition wall for dividing the connection port into a connection port on one side in the vehicle width direction and a connection port on the other side in the vehicle width direction,
The direction in which the air-conditioned air is blown from one side of the connection port in the vehicle width direction is set toward the other side of the defroster duct in the vehicle width direction,
The direction in which the air-conditioned air is blown from the other side of the connection port in the vehicle width direction is set toward one side of the defroster duct in the vehicle width direction and toward the center of the windshield,
The area of the connection port on the other side in the vehicle width direction divided by the first partition is larger than the area of the connection port on the one side in the vehicle width direction separated by the first partition ,
A large curved portion is formed in the middle of the conditioned air flow path divided by the first partition,
The air outlet at one end of the defroster duct is narrowed to approximately the front of the one end of the opening of the air conditioning unit,
In the defroster duct structure, the other end of the outlet from which the conditioned air is blown out from the connection port on the one side is located outside the other end of the opening of the air conditioning unit.

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