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EP-4507908-B1 - VEHICULAR AIR CONDITIONER

EP4507908B1EP 4507908 B1EP4507908 B1EP 4507908B1EP-4507908-B1

Inventors

  • UENO, Shota

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20230413

Claims (4)

  1. A vehicular air conditioner (10) comprising: a case (20) in which air flows; a cooling heat exchanger (13) capable of cooling the air flowing through the case (20); a first heater (31) capable of heating the air flowing out from the cooling heat exchanger (13); a second heater (36) capable of heating the air flowing out from the first heater (31); a warm air passage (50) through which the air flowing out from the first heater (31) or the second heater (36) flows; a cool air passage (40) through which the air flowing out from the cooling heat exchanger (13) flows without being heated by the first heater (31); a mix door (60) capable of adjusting a ratio of the air flowing through the warm air passage (50) to the air flowing through the cool air passage (40); and a mix space (27) in which the air flowing through the warm air passage (50) and the air flowing through the cool air passage (40) merge, wherein the mix door (60) includes a butterfly door portion (61) including a rotation shaft (62) substantially orthogonal to a flow direction of the air flowing through the cool air passage (40), an upstream extension door (71) extending from the rotation shaft (62) and being movable upstream of the rotation shaft (62), and a downstream extension door (81) extending from the rotation shaft (62) in a direction substantially opposite to a direction in which the upstream extension door (71) extends, in the mix door (60), the upstream extension door (71) and the downstream extension door (81) swing about the rotation shaft (62), and the mix door (60) is capable of being located at a full-cool position at which a ratio of the air flowing through the warm air passage (50) is minimized, a full-hot position at which the ratio of the air flowing through the warm air passage (50) is maximized, and a temperature conditioning position at which neither the ratio of the air flowing through the warm air passage (50) nor a ratio of the air flowing through the cool air passage (40) is maximized, characterized in that a downstream driven door (83) having a plate shape is connected to an extended tip end of the downstream extension door (81) via a downstream hinge (82), a downstream door diameter (R2) from the rotation shaft (62) to a tip end of the downstream driven door (83) is variable, the downstream door diameter (R2) is smaller when the mix door (60) is at the full-cool position than that when the mix door (60) is at the full-hot position, and the downstream driven door (83) is bent toward upstream of the downstream extension door (81) in the warm air passage (50) when the mix door (60) is at the full-cool position.
  2. The vehicular air conditioner (10) according to claim 1, wherein the warm air passage (50) includes a second heater bypass (52) through which the air flowing out from the first heater (31) is capable of bypassing the second heater (36) to flow, and when the mix door (60) is at the full-hot position, the downstream driven door (83) is opened with respect to the downstream extension door (81) such that the downstream door diameter (R2) increases, and a ratio of the air flowing through the second heater bypass (52) is minimized.
  3. The vehicular air conditioner (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein as the mix door (60) moves from the full-hot position to the full-cool position, the downstream driven door (83) swings toward upstream of the downstream extension door (81) in the warm air passage (50).
  4. The vehicular air conditioner (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an upstream driven door (73) having a plate shape is connected to an extended tip end of the upstream extension door (71) via an upstream hinge (72), an upstream door diameter (R1) from the rotation shaft (62) to a tip end of the upstream driven door (73) is variable, the upstream door diameter (R1) is smaller when the mix door (60) is at the full-hot position than that when the mix door (60) is at the full-cool position, and the upstream driven door (73) is bent toward downstream of the upstream extension door (71), in a direction close to the first heater (31), when the mix door (60) is at the full-hot position.

Description

Technical Field The present invention relates to a vehicular air conditioner including a "butterfly-type" mix door. Background Art Many vehicles such as passenger vehicles include a vehicular air conditioner for conditioning a temperature by taking in outside air or inside air into a vehicle interior. PTL 1 discloses a vehicular air conditioner in the related art. The vehicular air conditioner disclosed in PTL 1 includes a case in which air flows, a cooling heat exchanger capable of cooling the air flowing through the case, and a heater capable of heating the air flowing out from the cooling heat exchanger. Further, in the case, a warm air passage through which the air flowing out from a first heater or a second heater flows, a cool air passage through which the air flowing out from the cooling heat exchanger flows without being heated by the first heater, a mix door capable of adjusting a ratio of the air flowing through the warm air passage to the air flowing through the cool air passage, and a mix space in which the air flowing through the warm air passage and the air flowing through the cool air passage merge are formed. The mix door is a so-called butterfly-type mix door, and includes a rotation shaft, and an upstream extension door and a downstream extension door that extend from the rotation shaft in substantially opposite directions to each other. When the rotation shaft rotates, positions of the downstream extension door and the upstream extension door change, the ratio of the air in the warm air passage flowing into the mix space to the air in the cool air passage flowing into the mix space changes, and a temperature of conditioned air conditioned in the mix space can be changed. The conditioned air is discharged into the vehicle interior through a duct or the like. Citation List Patent Literature PTL 1: JP2017-132380AEP2149464 A1 relates to an air-conditioning assembly for vehicles including a casing (12), which in turn includes a cooling chamber (18), a heating chamber (20), and a mixing chamber (22). The assembly (10) includes a mixing device (48), which in turn includes a first mixing flap (50) articulated to the casing (12) and mobile between two end positions, and a second mixing flap (60), which in turn includes a first portion (62) articulated to the casing and a second portion (64) articulated to the first portion (62) with a free end that engages a stationary guide (70). The first and second mixing flaps (50, 60) are connected together by means of a transmission mechanism (76) that reverses the movements of rotation of the first and second mixing flaps (50, 60) about the respective axes of articulation (52, 66).EP3683075 A1 and EP3708393 A1 are also cited prior arts. Summary of Invention Technical Problem A heater of the vehicular air conditioner in the related art includes the first heater and the second heater that are disposed along a flow direction of the air. Warm air flowing out from the first heater can be further heated by passing through the second heater, and thus the vehicular air conditioner becomes a product suitable for use in a cold district. However, when compared with a vehicular air conditioner including a single heater, since two heaters are provided in the case, a size of the vehicular air conditioner is likely to increase due to dimensions in the vicinity of the first heater and the second heater in the flow direction of the air. An object of the invention is to provide a technique capable of preventing an increase in a size of a vehicular air conditioner including a plurality of heaters and a "butterfly-type" mix door. Solution to Problem In the following description, reference signs in the accompanying drawings are appended in parentheses to facilitate understanding of the invention, but the invention is defined by the appended claims and is not limited to the illustrated embodiment. The invention provides a vehicular air conditioner (10) including: a case (20) in which air flows; a cooling heat exchanger (13) capable of cooling the air flowing through the case (20); a first heater (31) capable of heating the air flowing out from the cooling heat exchanger (13); a second heater (36) capable of heating the air flowing out from the first heater (31); a warm air passage (50) through which the air flowing out from the first heater (31) or the second heater (36) flows; a cool air passage (40) through which the air flowing out from the cooling heat exchanger (13) flows without being heated by the first heater (31); a mix door (60) capable of adjusting a ratio of the air flowing through the warm air passage (50) to the air flowing through the cool air passage (40); and a mix space (27) in which the air flowing through the warm air passage (50) and the air flowing through the cool air passage (40) merge, in which the mix door (60) includes a butterfly door portion (61) including a rotation shaft (62) substantially orthogonal to a flow direction of the air flowing through t