AIR CONDITIONER FOR VEHICLE

Abstract

The present invention relates to an air conditioner for a vehicle and, more particularly, to an air conditioner for a vehicle which is capable of miniaturization by integrally forming an air conditioning module and a cooling module so as to increase space utilization in an engine room and further enhance manufacturability.

Claims

1. An air conditioner for a vehicle, comprising: an air conditioning module M1 for cooling and heating a vehicle interior; and a cooling module M2 including a radiator 720 and a fan shroud 710 that forms a flow of air passing through the radiator 720, wherein the air conditioning module M1 and the cooling module M2 are integrally formed with each other and positioned in a vehicle engine room.

2. The air conditioner for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the air conditioner 1000 for a vehicle is configured of: an outer case 110 including a through exterior air inlet 210 for introducing exterior air into the air conditioning module M1 and the cooling module M2, a through interior air inlet 220 for introducing interior air into the air conditioning module M1, and an air delivery part 240 for delivering air for cooling and heating the vehicle interior; and an inner case 120 partitioned from the outer case 110 to position the air conditioning module M1 therein, and allows exterior air introduced through the exterior air inlet 210 to be divided into an air flow passing through the cooling module M2 and an air flow passing through the air conditioning module M1.

3. The air conditioner for a vehicle of claim 2, wherein in the air conditioner 1000 for a vehicle, the exterior air inlet 210 is positioned in a lower side of the air conditioner in the height direction and simultaneously in one side of the air conditioner in the length direction, and exterior air introduced through the exterior air inlet 210 passes through the cooling module M2 to be discharged to the other side of the air conditioner in the length direction.

4. The air conditioner for a vehicle of claim 2, wherein the air conditioning module M1 has a first region 101 and a second region 102 positioned parallel to each other in the width direction, the first region 101 being provided with an interior/exterior air controller 230 for selectively supplying exterior air introduced through the exterior air inlet 210 and interior air introduced through the interior air inlet 220, and a blower 400 for blowing air to the air conditioning module M1; and the second region 102 being provided with an evaporator 510 for air cooling and a heat exchanger 520 for air heating to exchange heat with air supplied from the first region 101 and then supply heat-exchanged air through the air delivery part 24.

5. The air conditioner for a vehicle of claim 4, wherein in the air conditioner 1000 for a vehicle, the interior air inlet 220 and the air delivery part 240 are positioned on anupper side of the outer case 110 while being parallel to each other in the width direction.

6. The air conditioner for a vehicle of claim 4, wherein the cooling module M2 is positioned in an entire region of the outer case 110 in the width direction.

7. The air conditioner for a vehicle of claim 4, wherein the interior/exterior air controller 230 includes a through portion 210a which is a certain through region of the inner case 120 for introducing some of exterior air introduced through the exterior air inlet 210 into the first region 101, the interior air inlet 220, and a first control door 231 for controlling flows of exterior air and interior air respectively introduced through the through portion 210a and the interior air inlet 220.

8. The air conditioner for a vehicle of claim 7, wherein the air conditioning module M1 includes a filter 300 positioned between the interior/exterior air controller 230 and the blower 400 in the first region 101.

9. The air conditioner for a vehicle of claim 4, wherein the cooling module M2 includes an exterior heat exchanger 730.

10. The air conditioner for a vehicle of claim 9, wherein in the air conditioner 1000 for a vehicle, the exterior heat exchanger 730 is positioned to correspond to the second region 102 in the width direction while being adjacent and parallel to the radiator 720.

11. The air conditioner for a vehicle of claim 10, wherein the exterior heat exchanger 730 is mounted in the inner case 120 or the outer case 110.

12. The air conditioner 1000 for a vehicle of claim 10, comprising an engine-room air inlet 250 and a second control door 251 to control air supplied to the exterior heat exchanger 730, the engine-room air inlet 250 introducing air inside the engine room; and the second control door 251 controlling flows of exterior air and engine-room air which are respectively introduced through the exterior air inlet 210 and the engine room air inlet 250.

13. The air conditioner 1000 for a vehicle of claim 4, further comprising an auxiliary heating heat exchanger 530 positioned at the rear of the heat exchanger 520 in an air flow direction.

14. The air conditioner for a vehicle of claim 4, wherein in the air conditioner 1000 for a vehicle, the heat exchanger 520 is positioned in a horizontal direction.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0039] FIG. 1 is a view showing a prior vehicle heat pump system.

[0040] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an air conditioner for a vehicle according to the present invention.

[0041] FIG. 3 is a transmission perspective view of the air conditioner for a vehicle according to the present invention.

[0042] FIGS. 4 and 5 are views respectively taken along direction AA′ and direction BB′ of the air conditioner for a vehicle according to the present invention.

[0043] FIG. 6 is a view showing flows of interior air and exterior air of the air conditioner for a vehicle according to the present invention.

BEST MODE

[0044] Hereinafter, an air conditioner 1000 for a vehicle, having the configuration as described above will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0045] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the air conditioner 1000 for a vehicle according to the present invention; FIG. 3 is a transmission perspective view of the air conditioner 1000 for a vehicle according to the present invention; FIGS. 4 and 5 are views respectively taken along direction AA′ and direction BB′ of the air conditioner 1000 for a vehicle according to the present invention; and FIG. 6 is a view showing flows of interior air and exterior air of the air conditioner for a vehicle according to the present invention.

[0046] In the air conditioner 1000 for a vehicle of the present invention, an air conditioning module M1 and a cooling module M2 may be integrally formed with each other and positioned in a vehicle engine room.

[0047] First, the air conditioning module M1 may be a component for cooling and heating a vehicle interior, and the cooling module M2 may be a component including a radiator 720 and a fan shroud 710 that forms a flow of air passing through the radiator 720. Accordingly, the air conditioner 1000 for a vehicle of the present invention may not require a process or space for separately mounting the cooling module M2 because the cooling module M2, which is supposed to be conventionally positioned at a front portion of the vehicle, may be mounted on the air conditioner together with the air conditioning module M1 integrally formed therewith.

[0048] In the radiator 720, a coolant for cooling an engine may flow, and a coolant for cooling various electronic components positioned in the engine room may flow.

[0049] In more detail, the air conditioner 1000 for a vehicle of the present invention may be configured of an outer case 110 and an inner case 120.

[0050] The outer case 110 may be an external basic body of the air conditioner 1000 for a vehicle, and include an exterior air inlet 210, an interior air inlet 220 and an air delivery part 240.

[0051] The exterior air inlet 210 may be a space which is a certain through region of the outer case 110 for introducing exterior air, and air introduced through the exterior air inlet 210 may be supplied to the air conditioning module M1 and the cooling module M2.

[0052] The interior air inlet 220 may be a space in which a certain through region of the outer case 110 for introducing interior air, and the interior air may be introduced into the air conditioning module M1.

[0053] Here, the exterior air inlet 210 may be positioned on a lower side of the air conditioner in the height direction. Exterior air may thus be introduced into the outer case 110 while being delivered in the length direction, some of exterior air may pass through the cooling module M2, and the rest may be selectively supplied to the air conditioning module M1. That is, in the cooling module M2, exterior air may be introduced into a region between the outer case 110 and the inner case 120 by the exterior air inlet 210 positioned in the lower side of the air conditioner in the height direction and simultaneously in one side thereof in the length direction, and pass through the cooling module M2 to be discharged to the other side of the air conditioner in the length direction. In other words, exterior air introduced through the exterior air inlet 210 may pass by an operation of the fan shroud 710 to exchange heat with the coolant in the radiator 720.

[0054] (In FIG. 6, a flow of the exterior air is indicated by a solid arrow, and a flow of the interior air is indicated by a dotted arrow).

[0055] The cooling module M2 may be positioned in an entire region of the outer case 110 in the width direction to sufficiently secure heat exchange performance of the radiator 720. To this end, the exterior air inlet 210 may also be positioned long in the width direction.

[0056] Here, the air conditioning module M1 may be used by introducing exterior air introduced through the exterior air inlet 210 thereinto. That is, the air conditioning module M1 may cool or heat the interior by exchanging heat with exterior air or interior air each introduced through the exterior air inlet 210 or the interior air inlet 220. The flows of exterior air and interior air which are introduced into the air conditioning module M1 may be controlled by an interior/exterior air controller 230, and a specific configuration thereof is described again below.

[0057] The air delivery part 240 may be a certain through region of the outer case 110 for delivering air heat-exchanged in the air conditioning module M1 (or air for cooling the vehicle interior).

[0058] Here, the interior air inlet 220 and the air delivery part 240 may be positioned in an upper side of the outer case 110 while being parallel to each other in the width direction.

[0059] The inner case 120 may be a space partitioned from the outer case 110 to position the air conditioning module M1 therein, and in which components for allowing air to be introduced into the air conditioning module M1, an evaporator 510 for air cooling, a heat exchanger 520 for air heating, and the like may be built.

[0060] That is, the air conditioning module M1 positioned in the inner case 120 may have a first region 101 and a second region 102 positioned parallel to each other in the width direction.

[0061] The first region 101 may be provided with an interior/exterior air controller 230 and a blower 400 to introduce exterior air or interior air into the air conditioning module M1.

[0062] The interior/exterior air controller 230 may include a through portion 210a which is a certain through region of the inner case 120 for introducing some of exterior air introduced through the exterior air inlet 210 into the first region 101, the interior air inlet 220, and a first control door 231 for controlling the flows of exterior air and interior air respectively introduced through the through portion 210a and the interior air inlet 220.

[0063] In the air conditioner 1000 for a vehicle, exterior air may pass through the cooling module M2 by being delivered from one side to the other side of a portion where the first region 101 is positioned in the length direction through the exterior air inlet 210 which is positioned below the inner case 120, i.e. in a region between the inner case 120 and the outer case 110. Some of exterior air may then be supplied into the first region 101 of the air conditioning module M1 through the through portion 210a by an operation of the first control door 231 of the interior/exterior air controller 230.

[0064] The blower 400 may introduce exterior air or interior air into the air conditioning module M1.

[0065] In addition, the air conditioning module M1 may include a filter 300 positioned between the interior/exterior air controller 230 and the blower 400 of the first region 101, and the filter 300 may have a form enabling the filter to be replaced, a form enabling the filter to electrically collect dust or the like, and is not limited to any particular form.

[0066] The second region 102 may be provided with an evaporator 510 for air cooling and a heat exchanger 520 for air heating to exchange heat with air supplied from the first region 101 and then supply heat-exchanged air through the air delivery part 240.

[0067] The evaporator 510 may cool air discharged to the vehicle interior through the air delivery part 240. Here, when the air cooling is performed, a refrigerant in a wet state of low temperature and low pressure may be supplied to the evaporator 510, and air may be cooled while passing through the evaporator 510 to be discharged to the vehicle interior. On the other hand, when the air heating is performed, the refrigerant may not be supplied to the evaporator 510, such that even though air passes through the evaporator 510, a temperature may not be changed.

[0068] The heat exchanger 520 may heat air discharged to the vehicle interior through the air delivery part 240. Here, the heat exchanger 520 may be a heater core to which a heated coolant is supplied, or may be the interior heat exchanger 520 of a heat pump system.

[0069] Here, the second region 102 may further be provided with a temp door 540 that determines whether air-conditioning air passing through the evaporator 510 passes through the heat exchanger 520.

[0070] The heat exchanger 520 may be positioned in a horizontal direction. The horizontal direction may refer to a direction perpendicular to the height direction, and the above-described space into which exterior air is introduced may be positioned outside and below the inner case 120, and the cooling module M2 may be positioned below the space to reduce an overall size of the air conditioner. Here, in the cooling module M2, the radiator 720 and the fan shroud 710 may be positioned below the heat exchanger 520 in consideration of a size of the radiator 720 or the like, and may each be positioned to have one side inclined downward in the horizontal direction.

[0071] The air conditioner 1000 for a vehicle of the present invention may further include an auxiliary heating heat exchanger 530 positioned at the rear of the heat exchanger 520 in the air flow direction. The auxiliary heating heat exchanger 530 may be a component performing the air heating together with the heat exchanger 520, and use various types including a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) heating means. The auxiliary heating heat exchanger 530 may also be positioned in the horizontal direction like the heat exchanger 520, and may be positioned above and parallel to the heat exchanger 520 positioned at a rear portion of the air conditioner in the air flow direction.

[0072] In the air conditioner 1000 for a vehicle of the present invention, the cooling module M2 may further include an exterior heat exchanger 730.

[0073] In the present invention, the exterior heat exchanger 730 may refer to another heat exchanger 520 positioned outside the inner case 120, and may be a condenser for the air cooling performed by the evaporator 510 while the refrigerant sequentially passes through the compressor, the condenser, the expansion means, and then the evaporator 510.

[0074] Alternatively, the exterior heat exchanger 730 may be a variable heat exchanger 520 whose role in the heat pump system is variable. The variable exterior heat exchanger 730 may not be a component for cooling or heating air for the actual cooling and heating, and may condense the refrigerant supplied to the evaporator 510 based on an air cooling setting, or evaporate the refrigerant supplied to the heat exchanger 520 based on an air heating setting.

[0075] The exterior heat exchanger 730 may be positioned in a lower region of the air conditioner while being adjacent and parallel to the radiator 720, and positioned to correspond to the second region 102, where the blower 400 having a relatively large size is not positioned. That is, the exterior heat exchanger 730 may be positioned below the inner case 120, and may also be mounted in the header tank of the radiator 720 or the fan shroud 710 of the cooling module M2, as in the prior art, or may be mounted in the inner case 120 or the outer case 110. In FIG. 5, the exterior heat exchanger 730 may have an upper side supported by the inner case 120 and a lower side mounted in and supported by the outer case 110, and may be positioned in more various other ways.

[0076] When including the exterior heat exchanger 730 positioned therein, the air conditioner may include an engine-room air inlet 250, and a second control door 251 for controlling flows of exterior air and engine-room air which are respectively introduced through the exterior air inlet 210 and the engine room air inlet 250 so that air inside the engine room selectively passes through the exterior heat exchanger 730 and the radiator 720 sequentially.

[0077] The engine-room air inlet 250 may be adjacent to the exterior air inlet 210 of the second region 102 and a through portion for introducing engine-room air thereinto, and the second control door 251 may selectively control an opening degree of the engine room air inlet 250 and the exterior air inlet 210.

[0078] That is, the exterior air inlet 210 may be positioned over the first region 101 and the second region 102 to be long in the width direction. When supplied, exterior air introduced through the exterior air inlet 210 positioned to correspond to the first region 101 may be supplied to the cooling module M2 or the air conditioning module M1, and exterior air selectively introduced through the exterior air inlet 210 positioned to correspond to the second region 102 may pass through the exterior heat exchanger 730 and the radiator 720 sequentially.

[0079] In particular, in the winter when the exterior temperature is low, air inside the engine room may be heated by operations of various electronic components and maintain a temperature higher than the exterior temperature. As such, the engine-room air inlet 250 and the second control door 251 may be positioned in the air conditioner 1000 for a vehicle of the present invention and supply air inside the engine room into the outer case 110 to increase evaporation performance (or heat absorption amount) of the exterior heat exchanger 730, thus further increasing the air heating performance of the heat exchanger 520.

[0080] As described above, the air conditioner 1000 for a vehicle of the present invention may have a smaller size by including the air conditioning module M1 and the cooling module M2 integrally formed with each other, have further enhanced manufacturability, smoothly air-condition the vehicle interior, and easily cool the electronic components and the like.

[0081] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and may be variously applied. In addition, the present invention may be variously modified by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from the gist of the present invention claimed in the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0082] 1000: air conditioner for vehicle, 101: first region, 102: second region, [0083] 110: outer case, 120: inner case, M1: air conditioning module, [0084] 210: exterior air inlet, 210a: through portion,220: interior air inlet, [0085] 230: interior/exterior air controller, 231: first control door, 240: air delivery part, [0086] 250: engine-room air inlet, 251: second control door, 300: filter, [0087] 400: blower, 510: evaporator, 520: heat exchanger, [0088] 530: auxiliary heating heat exchanger, 540: temp door, M2: cooling module, [0089] 710: fan shroud, 720: radiator, 730: exterior heat exchanger