Abstract:
The present invention relates to an accessory structure for vehicle air-conditioner for improving the compartment atmosphere by cleaning the evaporator as heat exchanger and others or feeding aromatic or other functional solvent in a vehicle air-conditioner for taking in external air or internal air from an air-conditioning air intake route, and more particularly to an accessory structure for vehicle air-conditioner capable of improving the compartment atmosphere, by connecting a solvent feed route to solvent flow injection means provided at the upstream side of the heat exchanger in the air-conditioning air intake route, providing the base end of the solvent feed route with receiving means separated from the solvent source, fixing the receiving means in a specific place in the compartment, and putting in an accommodating space such as glove box, while separating the solvent source such as filled container from the receiving means, thereby preventing the solvent source from being ruptured or damaged, and moreover by receiving the solvent from the solvent source when necessary by the receiving means corresponding to the type of solvent, thereby cleaning the heat exchanger or feeding aromatic or other functional solvent.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an accessory structure for vehicle air-conditioner for improving the compartment atmosphere by cleaning the evaporator as heat exchanger and others or feeding aromatic or other functional solvent in a vehicle air-conditioner for taking in external air or internal air from an air-conditioning air intake route. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     To improve the compartment atmosphere by cleaning the evaporator or feeding aromatic or other functional solvent as described above, a solvent spray nozzle is provided at the upstream side of the heat exchanger in the air-conditioning air intake route, a hose communicating with this nozzle is led out into the compartment, and a container filled with solvent put in a case is installed near the driver&#39;s seat or front seat, and a base end of the hose is fitted to the solvent discharge port of the filled container. However, if the filled container is placed near the driver&#39;s seat or front seat, since the filled container is intended to obtain a discharge force of the solvent by sealing with packed gas, the filled container may be ruptured in case the packed gas is overheated by exposure to direct sunlight or elevation of compartment temperature. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is hence a primary object of the invention to present an accessory structure for vehicle air-conditioner capable of improving the compartment atmosphere by cleaning the heat exchanger or feeding aromatic or other functional solvent, by connecting a solvent feed route to solvent flow injection means provided at the upstream side of the heat exchanger in the air-conditioning air intake route, providing the base end of the solvent feed route with receiving means separated from the solvent source, fixing the receiving means in a specific place in the compartment, and putting in an accommodating space such as glove box and console box not heated to high temperature, while separating the solvent source such as filled container from the receiving means, thereby preventing the solvent source from being ruptured or damaged, and moreover by taking out the solvent source from the accommodating space, when using, and inserting the nozzle into the nozzle guide. 
     It is other object of the invention to present an accessory structure for vehicle air-conditioner capable of feeding the solvent adequately, by providing the receiving means with a guide for positioning the nozzle of the solvent source when feeding the solvent, so that the nozzle of the solvent source may be positioned at the guide of the receiving means. 
     It is a different object of the invention to present an accessory structure for vehicle air-conditioner capable of improving the controllability, by forming a taper in the guide, so that the nozzle may be guided into the optimum position for feeding solvent by the taper if the nozzle of the solvent source is brought close to the guide from an oblique direction. 
     It is a further object of the invention to present an accessory structure for vehicle air-conditioner capable of preventing counterflow of solvent securely, by disposing counterflow preventive means between the guide and the base end portion of the solvent feed route. 
     It is a further different object of the invention to present an accessory structure for vehicle air-conditioner capable of preventing dust and foreign mater from sticking and invading into the solvent passage of the guide, by disposing closing means for closing the solvent passage of the guide in the inner side of a lid member for covering the guide. 
     Other objects of the invention will be easily clarified from the description of the embodiments described below. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side view showing an accessory structure for vehicle air-conditioner of the invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a nozzle. 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a receiving member. 
     FIG. 4 is a plan view of a receiving member in a lid member removed state. 
     FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the lid member. 
     FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of solvent feeding. 
     FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of use of foamy cleaning fluid. 
     FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing other embodiment of the receiving member. 
     FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a different embodiment of the receiving member. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     [Embodiments] 
     An embodiment of the invention is described in detail below while referring to drawings. 
     The drawings show an accessory structure for vehicle air-conditioner, and first describing the constitution of the vehicle air-conditioner, in FIG. 1, an internal/external air changeover box  3  having an external air intake port  1  and an internal air intake port  2  is provided, and a fan  5  driven by a blower motor  4  is disposed in the box  3 , together with an internal/external air changeover door  6  for selecting intake of air-conditioning air. 
     In a next stage of thus composed blower unit  7 , a cooler unit  9  is disposed through a communication duct  8 . The cooler unit  9  incorporates an evaporator  11  as heat exchanger in a cooler housing  10 . A drain port  10 a is formed in the cooler housing  10  immediately beneath the evaporator  11 . 
     The evaporator  11  is an evaporating device connected in a refrigerating cycle, and acts to deprive the surrounding of heat. 
     In a next stage of the cooler unit  9 , a heater control unit  12  is connected to communicate. Inside this unit  12 , there are a heater core, an air mixing door, a vent door, a defroster door, a heat door, and a mixing chamber, and by changeover of these doors, air-conditioned air (cool air or warm air) is blown out into necessary positions in the compartment from the defroster outlet, vent outlet, and heat outlet. 
     In thus constituted vehicle air-conditioner, as an example of air-conditioned air intake route, the communication duct  8  positioned at the upstream side of the evaporator  11  is provided with a nozzle  13  for injecting a solvent fluid (a) toward the nearly entire region of the front side of the evaporator  11 . 
     The nozzle  13  is a relatively slender cylindrical form made of synthetic resin having a closed leading end  13 a as shown in FIG. 2, and injection ports  14 ,  14  in twin structure are pierced in the positions confronting the front surface of the evaporator  11  as indicated in the dotted line arrow direction in FIG.  1 . 
     A nozzle neck  13 c near the flange  13 b is formed in a taper tube smaller in diameter at the leading end  13 a side and larger in diameter at the flange  13 b side, and plural protrusions  13 d . . . of triangular cross section inserted and stopped in the rubber communication duct  8  are formed integrally on its outer circumference. Accordingly, only by piercing pores in the communication duct  8 , the nozzle  13  can be mounted instantly and securely. Of course, bonding means for bonding the flange  13 b to the communication duct  8  may be also employed. 
     Still more, in the flange  13 b, a protrusion for marking at the time of mounting nearly coinciding with the injection direction of the solvent fluid (a) is formed integrally, so that the nozzle  13  may be directed and mounted in correct direction by preventing mounting direction error of the nozzle  13  when mounting the nozzle  13 . The leading end of the rubber hose  15  (solvent feed route) is adhered and fixed to the joint  13 f in the nozzle  13  by making use of its elastic tightening force (elastic restoring force). 
     The base end side of the rubber hose  15  is led out into the compartment is coupled to communicate with a receiving member  17  made of synthetic resin as receiving means fixed at a specific place near the driver&#39;s seat or front seat as shown in FIG. 3, for example, in a specific place at the front, side or bottom of an instrument panel  16  by proper means (adhering, bolting, clipping, or taping with double-sided adhesive tape). 
     The receiving member  17  is completely separated and isolated from a filled container A of solvent as solvent source (see FIG.  6 ), and its specific constitution is as shown in FIG. 3 to FIG.  6 . 
     That is, a flange  20  is integrally formed in a main plate  18  through a ring-shaped spacer  19 , and a solvent passage  23  is formed between a guide  21  of a nearly cylindrical form provided in the middle of the main plate  18  and a joint  22  projecting outward from part of outer circumference of the spacer  19 , while a ring-shaped holder  25  for supporting a lid member  24  is integrally formed at the anti-spacer  19  side in the main plate  18 , thereby composing the main body side of the receiving member  17 . 
     The guide  21  is intended to position the nozzle N (see FIG. 6) of the filled container A (a handy type container packed with gas) to be inserted when feeding the solvent, and a taper  21 a larger in diameter at the outward side and smaller in diameter at the inward side is formed in the guide  21 , and an annular step  26  for preventing excessive insertion of the nozzle N is formed at the inner side of the taper  21 a. 
     The lid member  24  is detachably screwed into a holder  25 , and inside of the lid member  24 , a protrusion  24 a as closing means for closing the solvent passage  23  of the guide  21 , more specifically, the taper  21 a is formed integrally, and the outer circumference of the lid member  24  is roughly processed so as to facilitate detaching and attaching of the member  24 . In FIG. 5, as an example of rough processing, a knurled portion  24 b is shown, but other rough processing may be also done. 
     The outer shape of the joint  22  is formed in detent shape by taper cone multiple structure as shown in FIG. 4, and the base end of the rubber hose  14  is fitted and fixed to the joint  22  by effectively utilizing its elastic tightening force. 
     In this way, by completely separating and isolating the receiving member  17  from the handy type filled container A, the filled container A can be put in the glove box or console box of the vehicle. 
     Herein, usable examples of the solvent fluid (a) include, among others, liquid detergent, foamy cleaning solution (water, phosphoric acid, Softanol  70 , propylene glycol monomethyl ether MGF, and others properly blended), cleaning water, aromatics, chemicals, deodorant, deodorizer, disinfectant, antibacterial, bactericide, and fungicide, which may be used either alone or in mixture (compound). For aromatic effect in the compartment alone, only a filled container packed with aromatic solvent may be used. 
     Elements  13 ,  14 ,  15 ,  17  shown in FIG. 2 are handled as a kit, and the elements  13  to  15 ,  17  may be additionally attached to the vehicle, or may be formed integrally when manufacturing the vehicle. 
     The action of the accessory structure for vehicle air-conditioner thus constituted is described below. 
     When cleaning the evaporator  11 , after detaching the lid member  24  from the receiving member  17  shown in FIG. 3, the nozzle N of the filled container A is inserted into the solvent passage  23  while being guided by the taper  21 a of the guide  21  as shown in FIG. 6, and the cleaning fluid is pressed out from the nozzle N, and then the cleaning fluid is supplied into the rubber hose  15  through the solvent passage  23  and flows into the nozzle  13  from the leading end, and is injected from multiple injection ports  14  . . . toward the nearly entire area of the front surface of the evaporator  11 , so that the fins in complicated shape (not shown) of the evaporator can be cleaned sufficiently almost entirely, and the fluid after cleaning process is discharged from the drain port  10 a immediately beneath the evaporator  11 . If necessary, a drain hose may be connected to the drain port  10 a, and the fluid after cleaning process may be discharged out of the vehicle. 
     Herein, by driving the fan  5  while injecting the cleaning fluid from the injection ports  14 , the cleaning fluid reaches further to the inner parts of the fins in complicated shape, so that the cleaning effect may be further enhanced. 
     The sequence of use of solvent fluids (a) may be foamy detergent and chemical such as disinfectant or antibacterial in this sequence, or foamy detergent, cleaning water, and chemical in this sequence, or liquid detergent and antibacterial in this sequence, and moreover after cleaning process, the evaporator  11  may be dried by feeding air, warm air, hot air or cold air from the base end opening side of the rubber hose  15 . 
     In particular, when the solvent fluid (a) injected from the nozzle  13  is a foamy cleaning fluid (a), if the dimension of the nozzle  13  is relatively short as compared with the internal overall height of the communication duct  8  as shown in FIG. 7, the foamy cleaning fluid injected from the nozzle  13  is spread over the entire front region (that is, full surface) of the upstream side of the evaporator  11  as shown in FIG. 7 owing to the characteristic of the foamy fluid, and the entire evaporator  11  can be clean efficiently, to the inner parts, by the foamy cleaning fluid by circulation of air-conditioning air, and therefore the nozzle  13  is compact in size, and mounting of the nozzle  13  on the vehicle air-conditioner may be further easier. 
     In short, the rubber hose  15  is connected to the nozzle  13  provided at the upstream side of the evaporator  11  in the air-conditioning air intake route (the route from air intake ports  1 ,  2  to the evaporator  11 ), the receiving member  17  separated from the packed solvent A is provided at the base end of the rubber hose  15 , and the receiving member  17  is fixed in a specific place in the compartment, and therefore the solvent source such as filled container A is separated from the receiving member  17  and can be put in an accommodating space, for example, glove box or console box, not heated to high temperature, so that rupture or damage of the solvent source may be prevented. At the time of use, the solvent container A is taken out from the accommodating space, and is inserted into the nozzle guide, and the evaporator  11  is cleaned, or aromatic or other functional solvent is supplied, so that the compartment atmosphere may be improved. 
     As the solvent fluid (a), since liquid detergent, foamy detergent, mixed compound detergent of aromatic and deodorant, aromatics, deodorant, deodorizer, disinfectant, antibacterial, bactericide, fungicide, and other solvents may be used either alone or in mixture, by selection of solvent fluids (a) injected from the nozzle  13 , the cleaning function, or aromatic, deodorizing, disinfecting, or fungicidal function may be obtained, thereby cleaning the inside of the air-conditioner, preventing offensive smell, or obtaining bactericidal or fungicidal effect. 
     Further, since the receiving member  17  is provided with the guide  21  for positioning the nozzle N of the filled container A when feeding the solvent, the solvent an be supplied appropriately by positioning the nozzle N of the filled container a at the guide  212  of the receiving member  17 . 
     Moreover, since the taper  21 a is formed in the guide  21 , if the nozzle N of the filled container A is brought closer to the guide, this nozzle is guided into the solvent feed optimum position by the taper  21 a, so that the controllability may be enhanced. 
     In addition, the protrusion  24 a for closing the solvent passage  23  of the guide  21  is provided inside the lid member  24  for covering at least the guide  21 , and it is effective to prevent securely the dust and other foreign matter from sticking or invading to the solvent passage  23  of the guide  21 . 
     FIG. 8 shows other embodiment of the receiving member  17 , in which the lid member  24  is integrally connected to the ring-shaped holder  25  through an elastic piece  27  in a lateral U form, and these members  24 ,  25  are detached or attached instantly by the convex and concave fixing means  28  of convex portion formed in the lid member  24  and concave portion formed in the holder  25 , thereby enhancing the controllability when closing the lid member  24  and preventing loss of the member  24  when opening the lid member  24 . 
     Still more, in an intermediate portion of the solvent passage  23 , a check valve  32  comprising a valve seat  29 , a ball valve  30 , and a spring  31  having the same function as the annular step  26  is disposed so as to prevent counterflow of the solvent fluid (a). 
     Thus, since the check valve  32  is provided in the solvent passage  23  between the guide  21  and base end portion of the rubber hose  15 , counterflow of the solvent can be securely blocked. 
     In the embodiment in FIG. 8, too, the other members have nearly same action and effect as in the foregoing embodiment, and same parts as in the preceding drawings are identified with same reference numerals in FIG.  8  and detailed description is omitted. 
     FIG. 9 shows a further different embodiment of the receiving member  17 , in which the joint  22  is larger in diameter than the one shown in the foregoing embodiments, and is detachable from the spacer  17  by threading, and a counterflow preventive member  33  for preventing counterflow of solvent is detachably disposed in the joint  22 . 
     The counterflow preventive member  33  comprises a pipe member  34  screwed into the joint  22  and closed at the leading end, plural openings  35  pierced in the pipe member  34  for circulating the solvent, and a tube member  36  fitted to the outer circumference of the pipe member  35  and bulging and deforming by the solvent pressure to allow circulation of solvent, in which, when the solvent pressure is released, the openings  35  are closed by contracting by the restoring force of the material of the tube member  36 , thereby preventing counterflow. 
     In this embodiment, the base end portion of the rubber hose  15  is connected to communicate inside the joint  22 . 
     In this way, since the counterflow preventive member  33  is disposed in the solvent passage between the guide  21  and base end portion of the rubber hose  15 , counterflow of the solvent can be blocked securely. 
     In the embodiment in FIG. 9, too, the other members have nearly same action and effect as in the foregoing embodiments, and same parts as in the preceding drawings are identified with same reference numerals in FIG.  9  and detailed description is omitted. 
     In correspondence between the constitution of the invention and the foregoing embodiments, the air-conditioning air intake route of the invention corresponds to the route from the air intake ports  1 ,  2  to the evaporator  11  in the embodiments, and similarly thereafter, the heat exchanger, to the evaporator  11 , the solvent injection means, to the nozzle  13 , the solvent feed route, to the rubber hose  15 , the solvent source, to the filled container A, the receiving means, to the receiving member  17 , the counterflow preventive means, to the check valve  32 ,or the counterflow preventive member  33 , and the closing means, to the protrusion  24 , but it must be noted, however, the invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments alone. 
     For example, in FIG.  1  and FIG. 7, the evaporator  11  is disposed in the next stage of the fan  5  in the vehicle air-conditioner, but in the vehicle air-conditioner of the type in which the fan is disposed in the next stage of the evaporator, the nozzle  13  may be provided at the upstream side of the evaporator, so as not to interfere with the rotary locus of the internal/external air changeover door. 
     In the embodiments, only a set of constituent elements composed of elements  13  to  15  and  17  was used, but using plural sets of constituent elements, the nozzles  13  may be disposed at different positions at the upstream side of the evaporator  11  and upstream side of the fan  5 , and the elements  15  and  17  may be used independently for each solvent. 
     Moreover, the solvent feed route may be, instead of rubber hose  15 , resin tube or metal piping, and the structure of the nozzle  13  is not limited to the illustrated embodiments alone. (f) claims