AIR-CONDITIONING DEVICE FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE

Abstract

The invention relates to an air-conditioning device (1) for a motor vehicle, comprising an element for circulating air towards an evaporator (4), characterised in that the device (1) also comprises a bypass circuit (9) allowing air circulation between a zone located upstream of the evaporator (4) and a zone located downstream of the evaporator (4), the air bypass circuit (9) being arranged above the evaporator (4).

Claims

1. An air-conditioning device for a motor vehicle, comprising: an element for circulating air towards an evaporator; and a bypass circuit allowing air to circulate between a zone located upstream of the evaporator and a zone located downstream of the evaporator, wherein the air bypass circuit is arranged above the evaporator.

2. The air-conditioning device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air circulation element comprises a centrifugal air duct envelope, called a shell.

3. The air-conditioning device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the centrifugal envelope is arranged above the evaporator.

4. The air-conditioning device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the air bypass circuit is arranged next to the shell.

5. The air-conditioning device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the air circulation element comprises a motor actuating a wheel situated inside the shell.

6. The air-conditioning device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the air bypass circuit comprises two conduits situated on either side of the shell.

7. The air-conditioning device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the air bypass circuit comprises a conduit situated below the motor of the air circulation element, and a conduit situated below an air inlet zone of the device.

8. The device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the conduit situated below the motor of the air circulation element is equipped with a removable zone.

9. The device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the degree of opening of the bypass conduits is controlled by a flap comprising two parts, each intended to cover a bypass conduit.

10. The device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the two parts of the flap are joined together by a shaft situated at an intermediate height between the lower end and the upper end of the flap.

11. The device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the two parts of the flap are joined together by a shaft at the level of the upper or lower end.

12. The device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the two parts of the flap each have a section of arcuate form.

13. The device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the evaporator is wider than the shell.

Description

[0023] Further advantages and characteristics of the invention will appear from reading the description below which is given purely as a non-limitative example, with reference to the attached drawings on which:

[0024] FIG. 1 is a side view of an air-conditioning device according to the invention,

[0025] FIG. 2 is a view of a detail of FIG. 1,

[0026] FIG. 3 is a view along section A-A of the device in FIG. 1,

[0027] FIGS. 4 and 5 are partial views of the device.

[0028] As shown on FIGS. 1 to 3, an air-conditioning device 1 according to the invention comprises an air circuit, starting from at least one intake orifice 2 through which the air is drawn in. The intake orifice 2 is the external air inlet or the recycled air inlet. The air circuit comprises in particular an air circulation element such as an air pulser 3, able to set the air emerging from the intake orifice 2 in circulation towards a thermal processing zone which comprises an evaporator 4 and a radiator 5. The pulser 3 is equipped with a motor 3b which drives a wheel 3c situated inside an envelope 3a. The envelope 3a is a centrifugal air duct envelope, called a shell. The shell 3a is arranged above the evaporator 4; it is for example placed on the evaporator 4 or arranged near the evaporator 4. The shell 3a is preferably narrower than the evaporator 4.

[0029] The evaporator 4 is a heat exchanger. Its role is to absorb the flow of heat from the air to be cooled. The evaporation 4 thus comprises a liquid refrigerant fluid which is vaporized by the heat extracted from the air to be cooled. The radiator 5 is itself an exchanger in which the refrigerant passes from the gaseous state to the liquid state, transferring its heat to the external air.

[0030] Various flaps 6, 7, 8 allow the air to be oriented in several directions. A first mixing flap 6 allows the air flow which has passed through the evaporator 4 to be distributed towards the radiator 5 (pathway illustrated on FIG. 2 by arrow a), and/or towards a pathway bypassing the radiator 5 (pathway illustrated on FIG. 2 by arrow b). A second flap 7, for example a drum flap, distributes the air between a central air outlet towards the vents of the central console, and a lower air outlet in the direction of the driver's feet. A third flap 8 allows the air to be distributed between the central air outlet and an upper air outlet in the direction of the vehicle windscreen.

[0031] In addition, according to the invention, the air-conditioning device comprises a bypass circuit 9 which allows part of the air not to pass through the evaporator 4. The passage of the air using this bypass circuit is depicted on FIG. 2 by arrow c.

[0032] The bypass circuit 9 may comprise two bypass conduits 9a and 9b, both of which are arranged above the evaporator 4 and may be in contact therewith on either side of the shell 3a, i.e. the conduits 9a, 9b are aligned horizontally above the evaporator 4. The shell 3a is in contact with or immediately adjacent to the evaporator 4. Thus a bypass circuit 9a, 9b may be integrated in the air-conditioning device 1 without reducing the volume of the shell 3a, which allows good aerodynamic and acoustic performance to be retained. Also, it is not necessary to move the shell 3a upward to integrate the bypass circuit 9a, 9b.

[0033] The degree of opening of the bypass conduits 9a, 9b is controlled by a diversion flap 10, which is for example a butterfly flap (FIG. 2). The flap 10 may also be a curtain-type flap in which the shaft of the flat is situated at the lower or upper end of the flap 10. A curtain flap allows a gain in cross-section in the bypass conduits 9a, 9b. The flap 10 may also be a drum-type flap, like the second flap 7.

[0034] FIG. 4 illustrates the bypass conduit 9b which is situated close to the wheel 3c and below an air inlet zone of the air-conditioning device 1. The other bypass conduit 9a, which is situated below the motor 3b of the air pulser 3, is advantageously equipped with a removable portion 3d so as to allow dismantling of the motorized fan assembly composed of the motor support, the motor 3b and the wheel 3c, in the event of failure of the motorized fan assembly (FIG. 5).