Ventilation – Vehicle – Having inlet airway
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-22
2001-01-30
Joyce, Harold (Department: 3744)
Ventilation
Vehicle
Having inlet airway
C454S136000, C454S285000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06179708
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to air-conditioning equipment for vehicles, and in particular, to air-conditioning equipment for vehicles, which is applied to cooling, heating, air cleaning and the like for the rear seat, provided on the ceiling surface of a vehicle.
Conventionally, for example, as air-conditioning equipment for the rear seat of a vehicle such as a one-box car or the like, there has been, for example, one which is provided on the ceiling surface and has the following construction (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 1-317819, for example).
According to this air-conditioning equipment for vehicles, as shown in
FIG. 12
, an inlet port
2
and an outlet port
3
are formed in positions approximately opposite from each other in a casing
1
, and a cylindrical impeller
4
is provided inside. On an inner surface of a lower portion of the casing
1
is provided a stabilizer
5
for forming a specified gap between the surface and the cylindrical impeller
4
. The shape of the stabilizer
5
is very important in terms of air blowing efficiency and so forth when generating an air flow in an approximately linear direction by the cylindrical impeller
4
. For the above reasons, the stabilizer
5
has a construction in which it protrudes in a manner that it comes close to the cylindrical impeller
4
on the inlet port
2
side and the outlet port
3
side and has a recess portion
6
between them, so that angles “a” and “b” between straight lines which connect the center of rotation of the cylindrical impeller
4
and the end portions of the stabilizer
5
and the horizontal plane and the vertical plane fall within respective specified ranges.
Furthermore, in the aforementioned air-conditioning equipment for vehicles, the inlet port and the outlet port are formed in positions approximately opposite from each other in the casing. Inside the casing is provided the cylindrical impeller, and a rear guide and the stabilizer for forming specified spaces between them and the cylindrical impeller are formed on the upper and lower inner surfaces, respectively. On the outlet port side is formed an outlet passage by the casing, the rear guide and the stabilizer. In this outlet passage is pivotally provided a deflecting vane around a pivot axis arranged in a widthwise direction, allowing the direction of air blow to be changed.
However, the aforementioned air-conditioning equipment for vehicles has not sufficiently taken into consideration a surging noise and a whistle noise generated as a consequence of an increase of a ventilation resistance occurring when a cooling performance is improved by reducing a fin pitch (a sectional area in which air can flow) of an evaporator
7
, increasing a core thickness (the thickness of a portion through which air passes) or taking a similar measure. That is, the aforementioned air-conditioning equipment for vehicles has merely attempted to increase the fan efficiency by confining the aforementioned angles “a” and “b” in the specified ranges, and the attempt is insufficient in preventing the occurrence of the whistle noise and the surging noise.
Furthermore, in the aforementioned air-conditioning equipment for vehicles, the deflecting vane is provided in the air flow. Therefore, the ventilation resistance increases accordingly as the inclination of the vane relative to the direction of air flow increases, and this becomes a cause for generating a ventilation noise.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide air-conditioning equipment for vehicles capable of improving the air blowing performance in the case where the ventilation resistance is increased while maintaining a favorable air blowing state, reducing the occurrence of noises in the air blowing stage and smoothly changing the direction of air blow.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to achieve the aforementioned object, the present invention provides air-conditioning equipment for vehicles, of which casing having an inlet port and an outlet port that are arranged in positions approximately opposite from each other is internally provided with a cylindrical impeller arranged horizontally perpendicularly to a direction in which the inlet port and the outlet port are connected, a rear guide formed above the cylindrical impeller and a stabilizer formed below the cylindrical impeller, wherein a minimum gap dimension t
1
between the cylindrical impeller and the stabilizer on the outlet port side, an angle “a” between a straight line connecting a center of rotation of the cylindrical impeller and a minimum gap position on the outlet port side of the stabilizer and a horizontal plane, a minimum gap dimension t
2
between the cylindrical impeller and the stabilizer on the inlet port side, and an angle “b” between a straight line connecting the center of rotation of the cylindrical impeller and a minimum gap position on the inlet port side of the stabilizer and a vertical plane have values capable of preventing occurrence of a whistle noise and a surging noise. In this case, the whistle noise and the surging noise each mean a noise in the audible range (about 16 to 20 Hz through 16 to 20 kHz).
Thus, according to the air-conditioning equipment for vehicles of the present invention, not only the positional relation between the center of rotation of the cylindrical impeller and the specified positions of the stabilizer but also the gap dimensions are taken into consideration. Therefore, it is allowed to apply a ventilation resistance greater than that of the prior art while maintaining an appropriate air flow rate and surely prevent the whistle noise and the surging noise generated in company with the rotation of the cylindrical impeller, so that a favorable air-conditioning environment can be achieved.
A range in which an appropriate air flow rate can be maintained with the occurrence of the whistle noise and the surging noise prevented, it is preferred that the dimension t
1
is not smaller than 14% and not greater than 24% of the outer diameter of the cylindrical impeller, the angle “a” is not smaller than 38° and not greater than 43°, the dimension t
2
is not smaller than 7% and not greater than 13% of the outer diameter of the cylindrical impeller, and the angle “b” is not smaller than 11° and not greater than 15°. In this case, the optimum value is the middle value in each range.
Furthermore, it is preferred that the stabilizer is provided with a concave surface which is centered about a position below the center of rotation of the cylindrical impeller in a middle portion except for the outlet port side and the inlet port side and has an arc-like section shape having a radius of curvature smaller than the radius of the cylindrical impeller and a gap of 15% to 25% of the outer diameter of the cylindrical impeller.
Furthermore, it is preferred that the stabilizer has a sectionally arc-shaped top portion having a radius of curvature of 5 to 23% of the outer diameter of the cylindrical impeller on the outlet port side.
Furthermore, the stabilizer has the concave surface which is centered about the position below the center of rotation of the cylindrical impeller in the middle portion except for the outlet port side and the inlet port side and has the arc-like section shape having a radius of curvature smaller than the radius of the cylindrical impeller and the gap of 15% to 25% of the outer diameter of the cylindrical impeller, and therefore, an efficient appropriate air flow rate can be obtained.
Furthermore, the sectionally arc-shaped top portion having a radius of curvature of 8 to 18% of the outer diameter of the cylindrical impeller is formed on the outlet port side of the stabilizer, and therefore, it is allowed to prevent the possible occurrence of a whistle noise and a surging noise while maintaining a more appropriate air flow rate.
Furthermore, in order to achieve the aforementioned object, the present invention provides air-conditioning equipment for vehicles, of which casing having an inlet port and an outlet port that are arra
Hakata Toshiki
Otani Satoshi
Yamamoto Kazuhiro
Japan Climate Systems Corporation
Joyce Harold
Morrison & Foerster / LLP
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