Housing for a ventilation, heating, and/or air conditioning system

Abstract

A housing for a ventilation, heating, and/or air conditioning system of a motor vehicle, wherein the housing is made of multiple parts and forms at least one air flow path in the interior and optionally has at least one heat exchanger, whereby the housing has first regions and has second regions, whereby the first regions have a greater strength than the second regions.

Claims

1. A housing for a ventilation, heating, and/or air conditioning system of a motor vehicle, the housing comprising: multiple parts that form at least one air flow path in an interior; at least one heat exchanger; first wall regions; second wall regions, the first wall regions having a greater strength and being subjected to greater mechanical stresses than the second wall regions; and reinforcing components, wherein the reinforcing components are directly fixedly attached only to the first wall regions, wherein the reinforcing components are each formed by metal piece along with a film and/or a fabric piece, and wherein along an exterior wall of the housing in an air flow direction, one of the second wall regions is positioned between two of the first wall regions, such that air flows past a first one of the two of the first wall regions, then past the one of the second wall regions and then past a second one of the two of the first wall regions.

2. The housing according to claim 1, wherein the first wall regions have greater wall thicknesses than the second wall regions.

3. The housing according to claim 1, wherein wall thicknesses of the second wall regions are more than 20% smaller than in the first wall regions.

4. The housing according to claim 1, wherein the housing has a substantially uniform wall thickness.

5. The housing according to claim 1, wherein the fabric piece is formed of carbon fibers and/or glass fibers and/or plastic fibers.

6. The housing according to claim 1, wherein the housing is produced at least partially in an injection molding process.

7. The housing according to claim 1, wherein the first wall regions and/or the second wall regions have concave and/or convex wall geometries.

8. The housing according to claim 1, wherein the first and/or second wall regions have a substantially uniform wall thickness, which is reducible, and wherein the first and/or second wall regions are stiffened due to shaping, beading, pockets and/or complementary beading and/or pockets.

9. The housing according to claim 1, wherein the housing, in a region of a neutral fiber, has a wall thickness smaller than a wall thickness in a region adjacent to the neutral fiber.

10. The housing according to claim 1, wherein the first wall regions form bearing structures of the housing, and wherein the second wall regions form air-guiding structures of the housing.

11. The housing according to claim 10, wherein the bearing structures are formed by aluminum die casting and/or magnesium die casting, and wherein the bearing structures are covered at least partially by the fabric piece and/or are overmolded with a thermoplastic and/or surrounded by the film.

12. The housing according to claim 1, further comprising a supporting framework, the supporting framework being formed at least partially of profile elements.

13. The housing according to claim 1, wherein wall thicknesses of the second wall regions are more than 60% smaller than in the first wall regions.

14. A housing for a ventilation, heating, and/or air conditioning system of a motor vehicle, the housing comprising: at least one heat exchanger; first housing regions, wherein the first housing regions comprising a metal portion for reinforcement; and second housing regions, the first regions having a greater strength and being subjected to greater mechanical stresses than the second housing regions, wherein the second housing regions include walls of an air channel and a partition wall provided inside the air channel, the walls of the air channel and the partition wall each being formed of a film or a fabric piece that is impermeable to air, such that an entirety of the partition wall is impermeable to air, and wherein outer edges of the film or the fabric piece of each of the walls of the air channel being attached to profile elements that form an outer frame of the walls and outer edges of the film or the fabric piece of the partition wall being attached to profile elements that form an outer frame of the partition wall.

15. The housing according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing components are attached to an exterior surface of the first wall regions.

16. The housing according to claim 15, wherein the reinforcing components are attached to the exterior surface of the first wall regions and to an interior surface of the first wall regions.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are not limitive of the present invention, and wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of the housing of a climate control system with an evaporator, heater, air outlet openings, an air inlet opening, and a valve;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a supporting framework made of profile elements, whereby a surface of the supporting framework is covered or surrounded by a material;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a partial view of a housing segment, whereby the housing has first regions and second regions, whereby the first regions have a greater wall thickness than the second regions; and

(5) FIG. 4 shows a further partial view of a housing segment, whereby the housing is formed with a sandwich-like construction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a climate control system 1. Climate control system 1 has in its interior, by way of example, an evaporator 2 and a heater 3, which are disposed in an air flow section 8. Furthermore, a valve 4, which can close an air outlet opening 5, is disposed in the interior of climate control system 1. To this end, valve 4 is mounted rotatable at housing 9 of the climate control system.

(7) Housing 9 furthermore has an air inlet opening 10 and two air outlet openings 6, 7. A partition wall 11, which guides the air flow in the top part of housing 9, is disposed in the air flow direction downstream of heater 3.

(8) The illustrated components in climate control system 1 are only exemplary. More or fewer heat exchangers, valves, air inlet openings, or air outlet openings can also be provided in alternative embodiments. Likewise, the number and arrangement of the partition walls in the interior of climate control system 1 can vary. As a result, further air flow sections and flow paths can be formed in the interior of the housing.

(9) Housing 9 has first regions 12, 13, 14, and 15, which have a much greater wall thickness than the other regions 16 to 20. Evaporator 2 is accommodated between first regions 12 and 13. Furthermore, first region 12 has a mounting point 21, which is used for connecting housing 9 to structures (not shown here) in the vehicle.

(10) First region 14 is arranged adjacent to air outlet opening 5 and in the interior has connecting point 22 for valve 4. Valve 4 is mounted rotatable around said connecting point 22. A further first region 15 is used for accommodating heater 3.

(11) First regions 12 to 15 are included in the bearing structures of housing 9, forming connecting points for components 2, 3, 4, disposed in housing 9, and/or functioning as outer connecting points 21 for structures surrounding housing 9. During operation, the mechanical stresses at these regions are greater than, for example, in second regions 16 to 20, which further form housing 9.

(12) First regions 12 to 15 in FIG. 1 have a convex curvature outward. This design is exemplary. In alternative embodiments, concave courses can also be provided or wall regions running parallel to one another.

(13) The second regions 16 to 20 are primarily formed with thin walls and take over mainly the air-guiding tasks in climate control system 1 shown in FIG. 1. In other words, they form air flow section 8 primarily in the interior of housing 9. The second regions 16 to 20 therefore advantageously have an especially thin-walled design in order to keep the weight of housing 9 as minimal as possible. Housing 9 is preferably made of multiple parts so that easy assembly is possible.

(14) Housing 9 is advantageously made of plastic, fabric, a film, or metal. Coated walls can be used which, for example, provide fabric-surrounded honeycomb structures. Alternatively, foams can also be used to produce a stable and the lightest housing 9 possible.

(15) The elements forming housing 9 can be formed similar to the tailored blanks method, already known from metalworking. This means that the wall thickness of housing 9 at each location is tailored to the mechanical stresses actually arising during later operation. This allows for a smooth transition between first regions 12 to 15 with a thicker wall thickness and second regions 16 to 20 with a smaller wall thickness.

(16) Partition wall 11 that has only an air-guiding function, can be formed from a supporting framework, for example, which is surrounded by a fabric and/or film. An especially light yet stable partition wall 11 can be produced in this way. The supporting framework can include advantageously one or more profile elements are joined together to form a frame or another supporting structure.

(17) In an alternative embodiment, the first regions can also be produced with an increased material thickness in which a suitable reinforcing component is applied to a thin-walled housing. To this end, for example, fabric structures or films can be glued onto the housing. Alternatively, the housing can be surrounded by a fabric and/or film at appropriate locations. The description for FIG. 3 contains further embodiments in this regard.

(18) FIG. 2 shows by way of example a rectangular supporting framework 30, made of a plurality of profile elements 31. In this case, profile elements 31 are advantageously glued, screwed, or soldered together or, for example, connected to one another by plug connections.

(19) Any supporting framework geometries can be produced by suitable dimensioning of profile elements 31 and a suitable positioning to one another.

(20) Supporting framework 30 in FIG. 2 is covered, at least on the surface facing the viewer, with a material 32. Material 32 here can be, for example, a film and/or fabric, as has already been described further above. An at least partially or completely closed supporting framework 30 can be produced in this way, which forms, for example, an air flow section in the interior. In an alternative embodiment, the supporting framework can also be covered or surrounded partially as in FIG. 2 and covered partially with a wall made of a plastic or a metallic material.

(21) The structure closing the housing outwardly, as well as sections of the housing, disposed in the interior of the housing, such as, for example, air channels, can be formed over a supporting framework 30.

(22) FIG. 3 shows a partial view of a housing 40, whereby two second regions 45, 46 and two first regions 41, 43 are shown. The left first region 41 is formed by a reinforcing component 42, which was applied to thin-walled housing 40. Reinforcing component 42 is preferably glued to housing 40 or housing 40 is back-injected with reinforcing component 42. Alternatively, such a first region with a greater wall thickness can also be achieved by the selective influencing of an injection molding tool.

(23) The right first region 43 is formed by reinforcing component 44, which is disposed on both sides of housing 40. Housing 40 is thus surrounded both on the upward facing surface and on the downward facing surface by reinforcing component 44.

(24) Reinforcing component 42 and 44, as already described, could be formed by films, fabric structures, or also by a thermoplastic.

(25) Housing 40 can be made of a plastic or, for example, be a part produced in aluminum die casting or magnesium die casting.

(26) FIG. 4 shows a partial view of a housing 50, which is produced in a sandwich-like construction. In this case, both outer layers 51, 52 are each formed by a fabric layer. Middle layer 53 in FIG. 4 is either formed by a honeycomb structure 54, as shown on the right, or by a foam layer 55, as shown on the left.

(27) FIG. 4 is an exemplary illustration. Advantageously, either a honeycomb-like structure 54 or a foam layer 55 is provided. In an alternative embodiment, however, a mixed structure of honeycomb 54 and foam 55 can also be provided. In further alternative embodiments, a layer 51 or 52 can also be applied only on one side to honeycomb-like structure 54, foam layer 55, or the mixed structure. Layer 51, 52 can be disposed both on the outwardly facing surface of the housing and on the inwardly facing surface of the housing.

(28) The features of the exemplary embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 4 can be combined with one another. The shown FIGS. 1 to 4 do not suggest any limiting effect. The figures are used to clarify the inventive concept and are not limiting particularly with respect to their geometry, material selection, and dimensioning.

(29) The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are to be included within the scope of the following claims.