CN-121989618-A - Front structure of vehicle

Abstract

The invention provides a vehicle front structure. The vehicle front structure includes a tower that connects left and right suspension towers at a vehicle front portion, and a water-cooled gas cooler that exchanges heat between an air-conditioning refrigerant used in an air-conditioning device and a water refrigerant. The tower is a hollow member having a closed cross section, and the water-cooled gas cooler is disposed inside the tower.

Inventors

• SHOJI OGIMURA

Assignees

• 丰田自动车株式会社

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20251030

Priority Date

20241107

Claims (4)

1. 1. A vehicle front structure is provided with: a tower pole that connects the left and right suspension towers at the front of the vehicle; a heat exchanger for exchanging heat between an air-conditioning refrigerant used in an air-conditioning apparatus and a water refrigerant, The tower is a hollow member having a closed-shaped cross section, The heat exchanger is disposed inside the tower.
2. 2. The vehicle front structure according to claim 1, wherein, The heat exchanger is a gas cooler formed by alternately layering layers of a refrigerant flow passage for flowing the air-conditioning refrigerant and layers of a water flow passage for flowing the water refrigerant, The heat exchanger is disposed inside the tower in a posture in which a traveling direction of the flow path of the air-conditioning refrigerant is substantially parallel to a longitudinal direction of the tower.
3. 3. The vehicle front structure according to claim 2, wherein, The gas cooler is disposed at a substantially center in a vehicle width direction of the tower, The air-conditioning refrigerant and the water refrigerant are provided at both ends in the vehicle width direction of the gas cooler, with respective inlets and outlets.
4. 4. The vehicle front structure according to claim 1, wherein, The air conditioning apparatus heats the heat exchanger by using heat transferred from the air conditioning refrigerant to the water refrigerant, The space between the heat exchanger and the inner surface of the tower is filled with a heat insulating material.

Description

Front structure of vehicle Technical Field Disclosed is a vehicle front structure provided with a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between an air-conditioning refrigerant and water. Background In general, in-vehicle air conditioning apparatuses, in the process of circulating an air conditioning refrigerant, the air conditioning refrigerant is compressed, expanded, evaporated, and condensed to move heat, thereby generating temperature-regulated air conditioning air. In many cases, an air-cooled heat exchanger (for example, an air-cooled condenser or an air-cooled gas cooler) that exchanges heat between the air-conditioning refrigerant and the traveling wind is provided in the course of the flow path of the air-conditioning refrigerant. In recent years, a heat exchanger that replaces the air-cooled type or a heat exchanger that is provided with a water-cooled type has also been proposed. For example, japanese patent laying-open No. 2017-072309 discloses an air conditioning system for a vehicle provided with a water cooled condenser. In japanese patent application laid-open No. 2017-072309, a water-cooled condenser functions as a condenser that cools an air-conditioning refrigerant by cooling water from a sub radiator to condense the air-conditioning refrigerant. Such a water-cooled condenser can be provided at a place where the traveling wind does not blow, as compared with an air-cooled condenser, and thus has a high degree of freedom in arrangement. Disclosure of Invention Here, most of the air conditioning apparatus including the heat exchanger is disposed in the power unit room at the front of the vehicle. The power unit chamber is provided with a power source and a radiator in addition to the air conditioner. Therefore, when the air-cooled heat exchanger is to be disposed in the power unit chamber, there are many restrictions in terms of space, and it is difficult to sufficiently secure the volume of the air-cooled heat exchanger. In addition, japanese patent application laid-open No. 2017-072309 has not been studied about the arrangement position of an air-cooled condenser. Accordingly, in the present specification, a vehicle front portion structure capable of further improving the space efficiency of the vehicle front portion is disclosed. The vehicle front structure disclosed in the present specification is provided with a tower that connects right and left suspension towers at the front of a vehicle, and a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between an air-conditioning refrigerant used in an air-conditioning device and a water refrigerant, wherein the tower is a hollow member having a closed cross section, and the heat exchanger is disposed inside the tower. By adopting such a structure, the space efficiency of the front portion of the vehicle can be further improved. In this case, the heat exchanger may be a gas cooler in which layers of a refrigerant flow path through which the air-conditioning refrigerant flows and layers of a water flow path through which the water refrigerant flows are alternately stacked, and the heat exchanger may be disposed inside the column in a state in which a traveling direction of the air-conditioning refrigerant flow path and a longitudinal direction of the column are substantially parallel to each other. By adopting such a configuration, the distance between the refrigerant flow passages can be ensured, and the heat exchange efficiency can be improved. Further, the gas cooler may be disposed at a substantially center in the vehicle width direction of the tower, and the air-conditioning refrigerant and the water refrigerant may be provided at respective inlets and outlets at both ends in the vehicle width direction of the gas cooler. Many other elements of the air conditioner are disposed near the vehicle width direction center of the vehicle. Therefore, by disposing the gas cooler at the center in the vehicle width direction and providing the inlet and the outlet on both sides thereof, connection of the gas cooler to the piping of other elements can be simplified. In addition, the air conditioner may be configured such that the heat exchanger heats the water refrigerant by heat transferred from the air conditioner refrigerant, and a space between the heat exchanger and the inner surface of the tower may be filled with a heat insulating material. With such a configuration, heat for heating is less likely to leak to the outside, and therefore the efficiency of the air conditioner is improved. Further, by providing the heat insulating material, vibration of the gas cooler can be suppressed. According to the technology disclosed in the present specification, the space efficiency of the front portion of the vehicle is further improved. Drawings Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals denote like elements, and