Patent Publication Number: US-2002011325-A1

Title: Vehicle air conditioner

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001] This application is related to Japanese Patent Applications No. 2000-220917 filed on Jul. 21, 2000, and No. 2001-142209 filed on May 11, 2001, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002] 1. Field of the Invention  
       [0003] The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioner, which effectively improves draining performance of condensed water in a cooling heat exchanger while reducing a size of an interior unit disposed in a passenger compartment.  
       [0004] 2. Description of Related Art  
       [0005] In a conventional vehicle air conditioner described in JP-A-6-156049, a cooling heat exchanger and a heating heat exchanger are disposed at an upper side of a blower so that a dimension of an interior unit in a horizontal direction is reduced, and a mounting space in the vehicle is reduced. Further, in this air conditioner, a heat-exchanging surface of a cooling heat exchanger (e.g., evaporator) is tilted from a horizontal surface by a predetermined angle, and a drain pipe for draining condensed water is disposed at a tilted lower end side of the cooling heat exchanger. However, a main flow of air blown by a blower is toward the tilted lower end side of the cooling heat exchanger, and air passes through the cooling heat exchanger from below upwardly. Therefore, a flow of condensed water flowing toward the drain pipe along the inclination of the cooling heat exchanger is disturbed by the main flow of air blown by the blower. Accordingly, draining performance of the cooling heat exchanger is deteriorated, and water-staying amount in the cooling heat exchanger is increased. As a result, condensed water is splashed about a downstream air side of the cooling heat exchanger, and air-flowing resistance in the cooling heat exchanger is increased.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006] In view of the foregoing problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle air conditioner, in which draining performance of condensed water in a cooling heat exchanger can be improved while a mounting space of an interior unit disposed in a passenger compartment can be made smaller.  
       [0007] It is an another object of the present invention to provide a vehicle air conditioner which prevents a noise generated due to condensed water falling onto a centrifugal fan from a bottom surface of a cooling heat exchanger.  
       [0008] According to the present invention, in a vehicle air conditioner, a cooling heat exchanger for cooling air is disposed at an upper side of a blower approximately horizontally in such a manner than air blown from the blower passes through the cooling heat exchanger upwardly from below, the cooling heat exchanger has a bottom heat-exchanging surface tilted by a predetermined angle relative to a horizontal surface, and the blower is disposed so that a main flow of air blown from the blower is toward a tilted upper side on the heat-exchanging surface of the cooling heat exchanger, upper than a predetermined position. Because the cooling heat exchanger is arranged at the upper side of the blower, a mounting space of an interior unit including the blower and the cooling heat exchanger on a vehicle can be reduced. In addition, because the main flow of air blown by the blower is toward the tilted upper side of the cooling heat exchanger, condensed water collected on a tilted lower end side of the cooling heat exchanger can smoothly fall downwardly without being disturbed by a pressure of the main flow of air blown by the blower. Accordingly, even when the cooling heat exchanger is disposed approximately horizontally at the upper side of the blower, draining performance of condensed water in the cooling heat exchanger can be improved.  
       [0009] Preferably, the blower is disposed in such a manner that a direction of the main flow of air blown from the blower is inclined from a vertical direction toward a tilt lower end side of the cooling heat exchanger. Therefore, the flow direction of air blown by the blower is along a flow direction of condensed water on the bottom surface of the cooling heat exchanger, and the draining performance of the condensed water can be further improved.  
       [0010] The blower includes a centrifugal fan and a scroll casing which accommodates the centrifugal fan. In addition, the scroll casing has a scroll start portion positioned at a tilted lower side of the heat-exchanging surface of the cooling heat exchanger, and a scroll finish portion positioned at a tilted upper side of the heat-exchanging surface of the cooling heat exchanger. In the centrifugal blower, because main flow of air is at a side of the scroll finish portion in an air outlet port of the scroll casing, the main flow positioned at the side of the scroll finish portion can be directly toward the tilted upper side of the cooling heat exchanger.  
       [0011] Preferably, the scroll start portion is provided in the scroll casing to completely cover an upper side of the centrifugal fan when being viewed from an upper side of the centrifugal fan. Accordingly, even when condensed water falls from the bottom surface of the cooling heat exchanger, condensed water does not fall onto the rotating centrifugal fan by the scroll start portion, and noise, generated due to the condensed water falling onto the rotating centrifugal fan, can be prevented.  
       [0012] More preferably, the cooling heat exchanger is tilted in such a manner that a vehicle front side end of the cooling heat exchanger becomes higher than a vehicle rear side end of the cooling heat exchanger. In this case, because air from the cooling heat exchanger can be relatively linearly introduced into a face opening through which air flows toward an upper side of the passenger compartment, air flow resistance in a face mode can be reduced. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0013] Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments when taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
     [0014]FIG. 1 is a side view of an interior unit of a vehicle air conditioner, provided in a passenger compartment, according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
     [0015]FIG. 2 is a front view of the interior unit in FIG. 1, when being viewed from an inner side of the passenger compartment;  
     [0016]FIG. 3 is a front view showing an evaporator according to the first embodiment;  
     [0017]FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a main part of the interior unit according to the first embodiment;  
     [0018]FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing the main part of FIG. 4;  
     [0019]FIG. 6 is a front view of an interior unit disposed in a passenger compartment when being viewed from an inner side of the passenger compartment, according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
     [0020]FIG. 7 is a side view showing an interior unit disposed in a passenger compartment, according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
     [0021]FIG. 8 is a front view of the interior unit when being viewed from an inner side of the passenger compartment, according to the third embodiment;  
     [0022]FIG. 9 is a side view showing an interior unit disposed in a passenger compartment, according to a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
     [0023]FIG. 10 is a side sectional view showing an interior unit disposed in a passenger compartment, according to a fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
     [0024]FIG. 11 is a partial-sectional front view showing the interior unit according to the fifth embodiment; and  
     [0025]FIG. 12 is a side sectional view showing a main part of an interior unit disposed in a passenger compartment according to a sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
     [0026] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
     [0027] A first preferred embodiment of the present invention will be now described with reference to FIGS.  1 - 5 . FIGS. 1 and 2 show a mounting state of an interior unit  10  of a vehicle air conditioner, on a vehicle. The arrangement of the interior unit  10  on the vehicle corresponds to the arrangement in FIGS. 1 and 2, in a vehicle front-rear direction, a vehicle up-down direction and a vehicle right-left direction. The interior unit  10  is disposed in an instrument panel within a passenger compartment, at an approximate center in the vehicle right-left direction.  
     [0028] As shown in FIG. 1, the interior unit  10  includes a blower  11  disposed at a lower side portion in the vehicle up-down direction, a heat-exchanging portion  12  disposed at a middle portion in the vehicle up-down direction, and a mode switching portion  13  disposed at an upper side portion in the vehicle up-down direction. That is, the blower unit  11 , the heat-exchanging portion  12  and the mode switching portion  13  of the interior unit  10  are arranged in the vehicle up-down direction to construct a vertical layout. Inside/outside air introduction ducts  14 ,  15  are disposed at both right and left sides of the elements  11 - 13  of the interior unit  10 .  
     [0029] The blower  11  includes a blower fan  16 , a motor  17  for driving the blower fan  16  and a resinous scroll casing  18  for receiving the blower fan  16 . The blower fan  16  is constructed by a centrifugal multiblade fan (sirocco fan) having plural blades each of which is bent in a circular arc shape. Further, the blower fan  16  and the motor  17  are disposed so that a rotation axis  19  of the blower fan  16  and the motor  17  is arranged in a horizontal direction (e.g., the vehicle right-left direction).  
     [0030] The scroll casing  18  is disposed so that a scroll start portion (nozzle portion)  18   a  of the scroll casing  18  is positioned at a vehicle rear side and a scroll finish portion  18   b  is positioned at a vehicle front side, as shown in FIG. 1. Here, a scrolling direction of the scroll casing  18  is in a direction where the radius of the scroll shape is gradually enlarged from the scroll start portion (nozzle portion)  18   a  to the scroll finish portion  18   b.    
     [0031] The blower fan  16  rotates in the scrolling direction of the scroll casing  18  so that air discharged from the blower fan  16  flows along the scrolling direction within the scroll casing  18 . Further, both air suction ports (not shown) are provided in both side surface portions of the scroll casing  18 , respectively, in the right-left direction, so that air is sucked from both the air suction ports at both sides in the vehicle right-left direction, for the single blower fan  16 . Downstream end portions of the inside/outside air introduction ducts  14 ,  15  are connected to both the right and left air suction ports of the scroll casing  18 . As shown in FIG. 2, the inside/outside air introduction ducts  14 ,  15  extend from both the air suction ports upwardly along right and left sides of the heat-exchanging portion  12 , and upper end portions (upstream end portions) of the inside/outside air introduction ducts  14 ,  15  are positioned at a vehicle front side of the mode switching portion  13 .  
     [0032] At the upper end portions of the inside/outside air introduction ducts  14 ,  15 , an outside air introduction port  20  and an inside air introduction port  21  are provided, respectively. In addition, an inside/outside air switching door  22  is rotatably disposed at an inner side of the air introduction ducts  14 ,  15  to open and close the outside air introduction port  20  and the inside air introduction port  21 . Accordingly, by selectively opening and closing the outside air introduction port  20  and the inside air introduction port  21  due to the rotation operation of the inside/outside air switching door  22 , inside air inside the passenger compartment or outside air outside the passenger compartment can be selectively introduced into the blower  11 .  
     [0033] On the other hand, the evaporator  23  (cooling heat exchanger) of the heat-exchanging portion  12  is disposed substantially horizontally in the vehicle right-left direction and in the vehicle front-rear direction, at a direct upper side of the blower fan  16 . Here, the structure and the arrangement layout of the evaporator  23  will be now described in detail. As shown in FIG. 3, the evaporator  23  includes plural flat tubes  24  defining plural refrigerant passages, plural corrugated fins  25  each of which is disposed between adjacent tubes  24 , both tank portions  26 ,  27  connected to both longitudinal ends of each tube  24 , and a refrigerant joint  28 . Through the tank portions  26 ,  27 , the plural refrigerant passages of the plural tubes  24  communicate with each other. In addition, side plates  29 ,  30  are disposed at both sides of the evaporator  23  in a stacking direction (right-left direction in FIG. 3) of the tubes  24 . Members for forming the evaporator  23  are made of a metal having a sufficient heat conductivity such as an aluminum, and are assembled integrally by brazing.  
     [0034] The evaporator  23  is tilted from a horizontal surface by a slight tilt angle θ (e.g., 20°) downwardly toward a vehicle rear side so that a rear side end of the evaporator  23  becomes lower than a front side end of the evaporator  23 , as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. That is, the evaporator  23  is disposed so that the tank portion  26  having the refrigerant joint  28  is positioned at the vehicle front side and the tank portion  27  is positioned at the vehicle rear side. The refrigerant joint  28  is provided in the evaporator  23  so that refrigerant is introduced into or discharged from the evaporator  23  through the joint  28 .  
     [0035] In the first embodiment, the tilt direction of the evaporator  23  can be set to correspond to the longitudinal direction C (refrigerant flow direction) of the tubes  24 . Further, because the joint  28  can be disposed at the vehicle front side in the evaporator  23 , a connection between the refrigerant joint  28  and a refrigerant pipe (not shown) on a side of an engine compartment can be made easy.  
     [0036] Because the evaporator  23  is disposed to be tilted from the horizontal surface by the slight tilt angle θ so that the vehicle rear portion of the evaporator  23  becomes lower than the vehicle front portion of the evaporator  23 , air blown by the blower fan  16  is introduced into a bottom heat exchanging surface of the evaporator  23  from below and flows through the evaporator  23  upwardly. In the first embodiment, the scroll start portion (nozzle portion)  18   a  of the scroll casing  18  is disposed at the vehicle rear side of the evaporator  23 , and the scroll finish portion  18   b  is disposed at the vehicle front side of the evaporator  23 . Accordingly, a main flow of air blown by the blower fan  16  is toward the tilted upper portion on the vehicle front side among the evaporator  23 , as shown by arrows B in FIG. 5. That is, the main flow of air blown by the blower fan  17  is toward the vehicle front side position higher than a center portion of the evaporator  23 , in the tilt direction (tube longitudinal direction C) of the evaporator  23 . In addition, as shown by the arrows B in FIG. 5, a direction of the main flow is tilted toward the tilt lower end side (right side in FIG. 5) of the evaporator  23  relative to an upper vertical direction. Here, the main flow means an air flow having a high flow rate in an air flow distribution.  
     [0037] In FIG. 5, the arrows B indicates an air flow distribution in an air passage section surface of the scroll casing  18 , connecting the scroll start portion (nozzle portion)  18   a  and the scroll finish portion  18   b . The air flow at a side of the scroll finish portion  18   b  becomes higher than that at a side of the scroll start portion  18   a , by the centrifugal force applied to the air flow. Accordingly, the main flow portion of air blown by the blower fan  16  is biased to the scroll finish portion  18   b  of the scroll casing  18 , and the main flow of air is toward the tilted upper position on the vehicle front side of the evaporator  23 .  
     [0038] The scroll casing  18  and a resinous case  31  connected to an upper side of the scroll casing  18  are formed to be divided into both parts in the vehicle right-left direction at a division line  32 , and both the divided cases are integrally fastened using a fastening member such as a metal screw, a clip and a screw. A receiving portion is provided in the resinous case  31  at a direct lower side under the tilt lower end of the evaporator  23 , and an upper end of a drain pipe  33  is connected to a drain port of the receiving portion. Accordingly, condensed water falling onto the receiver portion of the case  31  can be discharged to an outside of the vehicle through the drain pipe  33 .  
     [0039] On the other hand, a heater core  34  (heating heat exchanger) is disposed approximately horizontally in the case  31  at a vehicle upper side of the evaporator  23  on a vehicle front side position so that air after passing through the evaporator  23  flows into the heater core  34 . The heater core  34  is disposed for heating air passing therethrough using engine-cooling water (hot water) as a heating source. The heater core  34  is disposed at the vehicle front side position within the case  31  so that a hot-water pipe  34   a  for introducing and discharging hot water in the heater core  34  can protrude toward a vehicle front side from the case  31 . Therefore, a connection between the hot-water pipe  34   a  of the heater core  34  and a hot-water pipe from the engine compartment can be made simple.  
     [0040] The heater core  34  is disposed at the vehicle front side within the case  31  so that a bypass passage  35  is formed at a vehicle rear side from the heater core  34  within the case  31 . A plate-like slide air-mixing door  36  is disposed at a lower side of the heater core  34  and at an upper side of the evaporator  23  to be slidable in the vehicle front-rear direction. In the first embodiment, the slide air-mixing door  36  is used as a temperature adjusting member for adjusting temperature of air blown into the passenger compartment. That is, by a slid operation of the air mixing door  36  in the vehicle front-rear direction, a ratio between an air amount passing through the heater core  34  and an air amount passing through the bypass passage  35  is adjusted, so that the temperature of air blown into the passenger compartment can be adjusted. Because the air mixing door  36  is disposed to be slidable in the vehicle front-rear direction, an arrangement space of the air mixing door  36  in the vehicle up-down direction can be reduced.  
     [0041] A warm air passage  37 , through which warm air after passing through the heater core  34  flows as shown by arrow D in FIG. 1 from the vehicle front side toward the vehicle rear side, is formed at an upper side of the heater core  34 . This warm air D from the warm air passage  37  and cool air E from the bypass passage  35  are mixed in an operation space of a rotary door  38  used for switching an air outlet mode, and mixed air having a predetermined temperature is blown into the passenger compartment. That is, in the first embodiment, the operation space of the rotary door  38  for switching the air outlet mode is also used as an air mixing chamber.  
     [0042] The rotary door  38  is formed into a semi-cylindrical shape or a cylindrical shape extending in the vehicle right-left direction, and both end portions of the rotary door  38  in an axial direction (vehicle right-left direction) are integrated with a rotation shaft  39  by using a resin. The rotary door  38  has a semi-cylindrical or a cylindrical circumference surface separated from the rotation shaft  39  of the rotary door  38  in a radius direction, and the circumference surface of the rotary door  38  is used as a door surface for opening and closing plural openings  40 - 42 . That is, by the rotation of the rotary door  38 , a face opening  40 , a foot opening  41  and a defroster opening  42  can be selectively opened and closed using the door surface. The openings  40 ,  41 ,  42  are provided at predetermined intervals in a circumferential direction of the door surface of the rotary door  38 .  
     [0043] The face opening  40  is provided at an upper side of the operation space of the rotary door  38  to be opened toward the vehicle rear side. The face opening  40  communicates with a face air outlet from which air is blown toward the upper side (the head side of a passenger) within the passenger compartment. Further, the face opening  40  is placed approximately on an extending line of the main flow B of air blown from the outlet of the scroll casing  18 , as shown in FIG. 1. Therefore, in a maximum cooling mode where the bypass passage  35  is fully opened, cool air after passing through the evaporator  23  can be introduced into the face opening  40  with a small air flow resistance.  
     [0044] The foot opening  41  is provided at a lower side of the operation space of the rotary door  38  to be opened downwardly, and left and right foot ducts  43 ,  44  extending downwardly are connected to the foot opening  41 . Both foot air outlets  45 ,  46  are connected to lower ends of the left and right foot ducts  43 ,  44 , respectively, so that air is blown toward the foot area in the passenger compartment from the foot air outlets  45 ,  46 .  
     [0045] The defroster opening  42  is provided at an upper side of the operation space of the rotary door  38  to be opened toward the vehicle front side, and communicates with a defroster outlet (not shown) from which air can be blown toward an inner surface of a windshield. Because the plural openings  40 - 42  arranged in the circumferential direction can be selectively opened and closed by the rotation of the rotary door  38 , the size of the mode switching portion  13  can be reduced in vertical the up-down direction.  
     [0046] Next, the operation of the vehicle air conditioner according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be now described. Air flowing from the inside/outside air introduction ducts  14 ,  15  is blown in the scroll casing  18  along the scroll shape by the blower fan  16  having both the air suction ports, is blown toward a rear upper side as shown by the arrow B from the scroll finish portion  18   b  positioned at the vehicle front side in the scroll casing  18 , and passes through the evaporator  23  from below upwardly. Thereafter, while air passes through the evaporator  23 , air is cooled and dehumidified.  
     [0047] Cool air from the evaporator  23  is introduced into the heater core  34  and the bypass passage  35  in accordance with the slide position of the air mixing door  36 , and warm air from the heater core  37  and cool air from the bypass passage  35  are mixed in the operation space of the rotary door  38  so that conditioned air having a predetermined temperature can be obtained. Thereafter, conditioned air having the predetermined temperature is blown into the passenger compartment through at least one of the face opening  40 , the foot opening  41  and the defroster opening  42 .  
     [0048] According to the arrangement layout of the interior unit  10 , the evaporator  23  is disposed substantially horizontally so that air passes through the evaporator  23  from below upwardly. Therefore, the fall direction of condensed water is basically opposite to the air blowing direction. However, in the first embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the evaporator  23  is disposed to be tilted by the predetermined angle θ relative to the horizontal surface, and the tilt direction of the evaporator  24  is the same as the tube longitudinal direction C of the tubes  24 . Therefore, condensed water W (see FIG. 5) generated on the evaporator  23  collects in the heat-exchanging portion  12  by the weight, and moves toward the tilt lower end of the evaporator  23  on the bottom surface of each tube  24  along the tube longitudinal direction C as shown by the arrow W 1  to be collected at the tilt lower end.  
     [0049] Here, because the main flow B of air blown by the blower fan  16  is toward the tilted upper position on the vehicle front side of the evaporator  23 , condensed water can readily fall from the tilt lower end of the evaporator  23 . If the main flow B of blown air is toward the tilt lower end side on the heat exchanging surface of the evaporator  23 , condensed water staying at the tilt lower end side of the evaporator  23  is pressed by the air pressure of the main flow, and condensed water cannot be fall smoothly. In this case, the draining performance of condensed water is deteriorated.  
     [0050] However, in the first embodiment of the present invention, by using the characteristics that the air flow distribution in the scroll finish portion  18   b  is larger than that of the scroll start portion  18   a  in the air outlet of the scroll casing  18  of the blower  11 , the evaporator  23  is disposed to be slightly tilted relative to the horizontal direction, so that the scroll start portion (nozzle portion)  18   a  of the scroll casing  18  is disposed at the tilt lower side (vehicle rear side) of the evaporator  23 , and scroll finish portion  18   b  is disposed at the tilt upper side (vehicle front side) of the evaporator  23 . Accordingly, the main flow B of blown air under the evaporator  23  is toward the tilt upper side among the evaporator  23  on the vehicle front side, and condensed water staying at the tilt lower end side of the evaporator  23  is not disturbed by the air pressure of the main flow B to be smoothly moved downwardly. Further, because the direction of the main flow B of air blown upwardly is tilted toward the tilt lower end side of the evaporator  23  from the vertical direction, the tilt flow direction of air corresponds to a direction along the flow direction W 1  of condensed water on the lower surface of the evaporator  23 , and therefore, the draining performance of condensed water can be further improved. As a result, even when the evaporator  23  is arranged approximately horizontally so that air passes through the evaporator  23  upwardly from below, condensed water can be smoothly discharged from the evaporator  23  to an outside of the vehicle.  
     [0051] Further, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the axial direction of the blower  11  is positioned in the vehicle right-left direction, and the blower  11  is the both-side suction type. Therefore, the interior unit  10  can be used for a vehicle having a right steering wheel or a vehicle having a left steering wheel.  
     [0052] In addition, in the maximum cooling where the bypass passage  35  is fully opened, the main flow B of air blown by the blower  11  can be introduced into the face opening  40  approximately linearly through the evaporator  23 , the bypass passage  35  and the operation space of the rotary door  38 . Therefore, in the maximum cooling, air flow resistance can be reduced, the air amount blown into the passenger compartment can be increased, and maximum cooling capacity can be improved.  
     [0053] By the combination of the blower fan  16  of the both-sides suction type, the slide air mixing door  36  and the rotary door  38 , an entire height dimension of the interior unit  10  can be effectively reduced.  
     [0054] A second preferred embodiment of the present invention will be now described with reference to FIG. 6. In the above-described first embodiment of the present invention, the centrifugal blower  11  is the both-sides suction type in which air can be sucked into the centrifugal fan  16  from right and left both sides. However, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the centrifugal blower  11  is a one-side suction type. That is, in the second embodiment, in a vehicle having a right steering wheel, the inside/outside air introduction duct  15  provided at the right side is omitted, so that air is sucked into the centrifugal fan  16  only from the inside/outside air introduction duct  14  provided at the left side (front passenger&#39;s side). In the second embodiment, the other parts are similar to those of the above-described first embodiment.  
     [0055] On the other hand, in a vehicle having a left steering wheel, conversely to that of FIG. 6, the blower fan  16  is disposed so that air is sucked only from the inside/outside air introduction duct  15  provided at the vehicle right side (front passenger&#39;s side). Thus, similarly to the above-described first embodiment, the mounting space of the interior unit  10  on the vehicle can be reduced, and draining performance of condensed water can be improved.  
     [0056] A third preferred embodiment of the present invention will be now described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. In the third embodiment, the arrangements of the centrifugal blower  11 , the evaporator  23  and the inside/outside air introduction ducts  14 ,  15 , described in the first embodiment, are changed. That is, in the third embodiment, the rotation axis  19  of the blower fan  16  is positioned in the vehicle front-rear direction so that air is sucked into the blower fan  16  from both vehicle front and rear sides. Therefore, in the third embodiment, the lower end sides of the inside/outside air introduction ducts  14 ,  15  are branched, respectively, to be connected to front and rear suction ports of the blower fan  16 . On the other hand, the evaporator  23  is tilted in the vehicle right-left direction as shown in FIG. 8. For example, in FIG. 8, the evaporator  23  is tilted relative to the horizontal surface, so that the tank portion  26  provided at the left side of the evaporator  23  becomes higher, and the tank portion  27  provided at the right side of the evaporator  23  becomes lower.  
     [0057] Even in this arrangement layout of the interior unit  10  according to the third embodiment, because the main flow B of air blown by the blower fan  16  is toward the tilted upper position on the vehicle left side in the evaporator  23 , the draining performance of condensed water can be improved similarly to the above-described first embodiment.  
     [0058] In addition, in the third embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 7, the refrigerant joint  28  of the evaporator  23  can be positioned to be toward the vehicle front side (engine compartment side). Therefore, the connection between the refrigerant joint  28  and a refrigerant pipe (not shown) from the side of the engine compartment can be made further simple.  
     [0059] A fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention will be now described with reference to FIGS. 9. In the above-described first through third embodiments, for linearly moving the slide air mixing door  36 , the rotary door  38  is disposed upper from a horizontal moving route of the air mixing door  36 . However, in the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the moving route of the slide air mixing door  36  is bent as shown by arrow F in FIG. 9 at a lower side of the rotary door  38 . In the fourth embodiment, the air mixing door  36  is constructed by a flexible member elastically deformable, such as a resinous film material, and both sides of the air mixing door  36  in the width direction are guided by a guide member, so that the air mixing door  36  moves in the bent route. In the fourth embodiment, the height position of the rotary door  38  can be lowered, and the entire height dimension of the interior unit  10  can be further reduced.  
     [0060] A fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention will be now described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. In the above-described third embodiment, the inside/outside air introduction ducts  14 ,  15  are disposed at both the left and right sides of the interior unit  10 . However, in the fifth embodiment, the inside/outside air introduction duct  14  is only disposed at the front-passenger&#39;s side (left or right side) of the interior unit  10  so that air can be sucked into both the front and rear side suction ports of the blower fan  16  from the inside/outside air introduction duct  14 .  
     [0061] Inside the instrument panel at the front side within the passenger compartment, the mounting space is relatively readily obtained at the front-passenger&#39;s side. Therefore, in the fifth embodiment, the size of the inside/outside air introduction duct  14  can be readily increased at the front-passenger&#39;s side next to the driver&#39;s side. In the fifth embodiment, the inside/outside air introduction duct  14  is enlarged at the front-passenger&#39;s side, so that an arrangement space of a filter for cleaning air can be increased in the inside/outside air introduction duct  14 . Accordingly, a filter  50  having a large air passing area can be used, and a pressure loss in the filter  50  can be reduced.  
     [0062]FIG. 10 shows a state, where a communication path  38   b  is opened in a semi-circular cylindrical door surface  38   a  of the rotary door  38 , and the face opening  40  is opened by the communication port  38   b  provided in the door surface  38   a  of the rotary door  38 .  
     [0063] A sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention will be now described with reference to FIG. 12. In the above-described embodiments of the present invention, because the scroll start portion (nozzle portion)  18   a  of the scroll casing  18  is positioned around a center portion on the upper side of the blower fan  16  in a fan radial direction, a part of the blower fan  16  is exposed when being viewed from an upper side of the blower fan  16 . Therefore, at a moment immediately after the blower  11  is stopped, condensed water falls from a bottom surface of the evaporator  23 , and may fall onto the blower fan  16  rotated by the inertia. Further, even in the operation of the blower  11 , condensed water may fall from the bottom surface of the evaporator  23  by a vertical vibration of the vehicle, and may fall onto the blower fan  16 . When the condensed water falls onto the rotating blower fan  16 , a noise is generated.  
     [0064] In the sixth embodiment, it is an object for preventing the noise. As shown in FIG. 12, the upper side of the blower fan  16  is covered by the scroll start portion  18   a  of the scroll casing  18  so that the blower fan  16  is not exposed when being viewed from the upper side of the blower fan  16 .  
     [0065] Specifically, a connection line L 1  connecting the scroll start portion  18   a  of the scroll casing  18  and an outer peripheral portion  16   a  of the blower fan  16 , positioned at a lower side of the scroll start portion  18   a , is set to be positioned at a left side relative to a vertical line L 2  passing through the outer peripheral portion  16   a . That is, the scroll start portion  18   a  is set so that the connection L 1  is tilted relative to the vertical line L 2  by a predetermined angle θ1 to be away from the blower fan  16 . In this sixth embodiment, for example, the predetermined angle θ1 is equal to or more than 15°. Accordingly, the upper side of the blower fan  16  is completely covered by the scroll start portion  18   a  of the scroll casing  18 , and the blower fan  16  is not exposed when being viewed from the upper side of the blower fan  16 .  
     [0066] Thus, even when the condensed water W falls from the bottom surface of the evaporator  23  at the moment immediately after the stop of the blower  11  or by the vertical vibration of the vehicle, condensed water W does not fall onto the blower fan  16 . Accordingly, it can prevent a noise generated when the condensed water W falls onto the rotating blower fan  16 .  
     [0067] According to experiments by the inventors of the present invention, when the predetermined angle θ1 is set at 15° or more, it can accurately prevent the condensed water W from falling onto the blower fan  16 , and the noise can be effectively prevented. In the sixth embodiment, the other parts are similar to those of the above-described first embodiment.  
     [0068] Although the present invention has been fully described in connection with the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art.  
     [0069] In the above-described embodiment, as the temperature adjustment member, the air mixing door  36 , for adjusting the ratio between the air amount passing through the heater core  34  and the air amount passing through the bypass passage  35  of the heater core  34 , is used. However, as the temperature adjustment member, a hot water control valve (not shown) for controlling a flow amount or a temperature of hot water flowing into the heater core  34  can be used. In this case, the flow amount or the temperature of hot water flowing into the heater core  34  can be controlled by the hot water control valve, and the temperature of air blown into the passenger compartment can be adjusted by an air-heating amount due to the heater core  34 .  
     [0070] In the above-described embodiments, the present invention is applied to the interior unit  10  disposed under the instrument panel at the front side within the passenger compartment. However, the present invention may be applied to a rear interior unit disposed at a vehicle rear side in the passenger compartment for air-conditioning a vehicle rear side in the passenger compartment.  
     [0071] Such changes and modifications are to be understood as being within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.