Patent Description:
A vehicle such as a passenger vehicle mounts therein a vehicle air conditioner that regulates (conditions) a temperature of inside and/or outside air of a cabin. An air conditioner main body section of a commonly used vehicle air conditioner is mounted in a front portion of the vehicle. The air temperature-regulated (temperature-conditioned) by this air conditioner main body section can be blown by ducts into a plurality of regions of the cabin including a region for front seats and a region for rear seats. However, a duct for rear seats is longer than a duct for front seats and, therefore, higher in passage resistance. This causes a difference between an amount of air blown from the duct for front seats and an amount of air blown from the duct for rear seats.

To address this problem, a technique for making equal the amount of air blown from the duct for front seats and the amount of air blown from the duct for rear seats is known in, for example, Patent Literature <NUM>. A vehicle air conditioner known in Patent Literature <NUM> includes not only a main fan (first fan) but also an auxiliary fan (second fan) that lies between an air conditioner main body section and a duct for rear seats. Increasing the amount of air blown to the duct for rear seats by the auxiliary fan makes it possible to solve insufficient air conditioning for the region for rear seats.

The air temperature-regulated by the air conditioner main body section is guided into the auxiliary fan. Owing to this, a motor that drives the auxiliary fan is affected by the temperature of warm air flowing from the air conditioner main body section. In winter months, in particular, the vehicle air conditioner is used as a cabin heater. The warm air heated by a heater core in the air conditioner main body section is guided into the auxiliary fan. A motor is prone to be affected by heat since the warm air flows near the motor. There is room for improvement in a durability of the motor.

A technique for air-cooling a fan driving motor in a vehicle air conditioner is known in, for example, Patent Literature <NUM>. The vehicle air conditioner known in Patent Literature <NUM> has a fan that guides outside air into an air conditioner main body section and air-cools the motor for driving this fan. The outside air is guided into a fan case by a suction force of the fan. Part of the guided outside air is guided to an outer peripheral surface of a motor case, thereby air-cooling the motor. The outside air after air-cooling the motor as well as a rest of the guided outside air is suctioned by the fan and delivered to a heater core and an evaporator in the air conditioner main body section. The conditioned air temperature-regulated by the heater core and the evaporator is blown to a plurality of regions of a cabin.

The fan of Patent Literature <NUM> corresponds to the main fan of Patent Literature <NUM>. That is, the vehicle air conditioner known in Patent Literature <NUM> does not include the auxiliary fan of the vehicle air conditioner known in Patent Literature <NUM>.

It may be considered to adopt the technique of Patent Literature <NUM> so that the motor that drives the auxiliary fan of Patent Literature <NUM> is not affected by the heat of the warm air heated by the heater core in the air conditioner main body section. In that case, the auxiliary fan suctions both the warm air from the air conditioner main body section and the outside air for air-cooling, and the outside air for air-cooling air-cools the motor for driving the auxiliary fan. Here, the air guided to cool the motor flows out to an air outlet passage for the auxiliary fan via the motor. That is, the air guided to cool the motor is mixed with the air temperature-regulated by the air conditioner main body section, resulting in concern of a fluctuation in the temperature of the temperature-regulated air. The techniques are incapable of appropriately controlling the temperature of the conditioned air blown by the auxiliary fan and not feasible.

Further examples are disclosed by <CIT>.

An object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of cooling a motor that drives a second fan in a vehicle air conditioner including: an air conditioner main body section including a first fan (main fan); a duct for rear seats; and the second fan (auxiliary fan) that is coupled to the duct for rear seats for securing an air volume of conditioned air circulating in this duct for rear seats. Means for Solving the Problems.

While reference signs in the accompanying drawings are added in parentheses for helping understand the present invention, the reference signs are not intended to limit the present invention to the forms in the drawings.

The present invention provides a vehicle air conditioner (<NUM>) including:.

Preferably, the air guide port (<NUM>) is located downstream of the evaporator (<NUM>).

Preferably, the air guide port (<NUM>) is provided in a bottom plate (<NUM>) in the housing (<NUM>).

Preferably, at least a portion (107a) of the guide passage (<NUM>) is formed integrally with the housing (<NUM>).

According to the present invention, it is possible to cool a motor that drives a second fan in a vehicle air conditioner that includes: an air conditioner main body section including a first fan; a duct for rear seats; and the second fan (auxiliary fan) that is coupled to the duct for rear seats for securing an air volume of conditioned air circulating in this duct for rear seats.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is noted that forms illustrated in the accompanying drawings are given by way of example and that the present invention is not limited to the forms. In the description, left and right refer to left and right with reference to a passenger getting aboard a vehicle and front and rear refer to front and rear with reference to a vehicle travelling direction. In addition, in the drawings, Fr denotes front, Rr denotes rear, Le denotes left as viewed by the passenger, Ri denotes right as viewed by the passenger, Up denotes up, and Dn denotes down.

A vehicle air conditioner <NUM> according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to <FIG>. As illustrated in <FIG>, a vehicle <NUM> such as a passenger vehicle mounts therein the vehicle air conditioner <NUM> that regulates (conditions) a temperature of air in a cabin <NUM>. This vehicle air conditioner <NUM> includes an air conditioner main body section <NUM> and a duct unit for rear seats <NUM>. The air conditioner main body section <NUM> can regulate (condition) a temperature of air fed from a first fan <NUM> and supply the air to the cabin <NUM> from a plurality of air outlets (delivery sections). The duct unit for rear seats <NUM> can feed part of the air temperature-regulated by the air conditioner main body section <NUM> toward rear seats <NUM>. The vehicle air conditioner <NUM> will be described hereinafter in detail.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the air conditioner main body section <NUM> is disposed in a front portion of the vehicle <NUM> and includes a housing <NUM>, the first fan <NUM>, an evaporator <NUM>, a heater core <NUM>, and a temperature regulation door <NUM>. An air flow passage <NUM> is provided in the housing <NUM>.

The first fan <NUM> is a main fan (upstream blower) located upstream of the housing <NUM> and feeds air guided from inside and/or outside of the cabin <NUM> to the air flow passage <NUM> in the housing <NUM>.

An intake section <NUM> is provided on a suction side of the first fan <NUM>. This intake section <NUM> includes an inside air inlet <NUM>, an outside air inlet <NUM>, an inside/outside switching door <NUM>, and a filter <NUM>. The inside air inlet <NUM> can guide the air from inside of the cabin <NUM>. The outside air inlet <NUM> can guide the air from outside of the cabin <NUM>. The inside/outside switching door <NUM> switches over opening/closing of the inside air inlet <NUM> and the outside air inlet <NUM>. The filter <NUM> purifies the air guided from the inside air inlet <NUM> and the outside air inlet <NUM>.

A delivery side of the first fan <NUM> is connected by a duct <NUM> to an upstream portion of the air flow passage <NUM> in the housing <NUM>. It is noted that <FIG> illustrates a state in which the first fan <NUM> is disposed in the front portion of the vehicle with respect to the housing <NUM> for helping understand the description. In actuality, the first fan <NUM> is disposed in a vehicle width direction with respect to the housing <NUM>.

The evaporator <NUM> (cooling heat exchanger <NUM>), the heater core <NUM> (heating heat exchanger <NUM>), and the temperature regulation door <NUM> are incorporated in the housing <NUM>, i.e., provided in the air flow passage <NUM>. The evaporator <NUM> and the heater core <NUM> are disposed in this order in series from an upstream side to a downstream side of the air flow passage <NUM>. That is, the heater core <NUM> is provided downstream of the evaporator <NUM>.

The temperature regulation door <NUM> is provided between the evaporator <NUM> and the heater core <NUM> in the air flow passage <NUM>, and regulates a ratio of the air heading for the heater core <NUM> to the air bypassing this heater core <NUM>. The air flow passage <NUM> in the housing <NUM> is divided into three passages <NUM> to <NUM>. The temperature regulation door <NUM> can switch the three passages <NUM> to <NUM> and is formed by, for example, a first door 43a and a second door 43b.

The three passages <NUM> to <NUM> will be described hereinafter while being distinctively denoted by "first passage <NUM>," "second passage <NUM>," and "third passage <NUM>," respectively. The first passage <NUM> is a passage (passage toward the heater core <NUM>) for the heater core <NUM> to heat the air passed through and cooled by the evaporator <NUM>. The second passage <NUM> is a passage bypassing the first passage <NUM> and heading for a upper side of the housing <NUM>. The third passage <NUM> is a passage bypassing the first passage <NUM> and heading for a lower side of the housing <NUM>. A defroster delivery section <NUM> can feed the air from the first passage <NUM> and/or the second passage <NUM> toward a windshield. A side vent delivery section <NUM> and a center vent delivery section <NUM> can feed the air from the first passage <NUM> and/or the second passage <NUM> toward an upper half of a body of each of passengers seated in front seats <NUM>.

Furthermore, the housing <NUM> includes a front foot delivery port (not illustrated) that can feed the air toward legs of the passengers seated in the front seats <NUM> (refer to <FIG>).

The duct unit for rear seats <NUM> is connected to a downstream side of the heater core <NUM> in the housing <NUM> (out of the housing <NUM>), and guides the conditioned air temperature-regulated by the air conditioner main body section <NUM> to the rear seats <NUM> in the cabin <NUM>. This duct unit for rear seats <NUM> includes two ducts for rear seats <NUM> (only one of which is illustrated), a second fan <NUM> that suctions and delivers the conditioned air from the housing <NUM>, and a second fan driving motor <NUM> that directly drives a centrifugal fan <NUM> accommodated in each fan case <NUM> of this second fan <NUM> by a rotary shaft <NUM> (motor shaft <NUM>). The second fan <NUM> suctions, for example, the conditioned air from the housing <NUM> and delivers the conditioned air to the ducts for rear seats <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, the two ducts for rear seats <NUM> are located at a vehicle widthwise center of the vehicle <NUM> and extend from a delivery port 52a of the second fan <NUM> to the rear seats <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, the second fan <NUM> is an auxiliary fan (downstream blower) located downstream of the housing <NUM>. This second fan <NUM> is formed from a suction case <NUM> (central case <NUM>) located at a vehicle widthwise center of the second fan <NUM> and two fan sections 70A and 70B provided on two ends of this suction case <NUM> in the vehicle widthwise direction.

The suction case <NUM> is a generally cylindrical member that extends in the vehicle width direction and has a suction port <NUM> at a center of the suction case <NUM> and partition walls 62A and 62B on the two ends of the suction case <NUM>. The suction port <NUM> is connected to a rear seat delivery port <NUM> of the housing <NUM> by flanges <NUM> and <NUM>. The partition walls 62A and 62B each have a fan inlet port <NUM> generally at a center. One of the two partition walls 62A and 62B will be referred to as "first partition wall 62A" and the other will be referred to as "second partition wall 62B," hereinafter.

The two fan sections 70A and 70B have so-called bilaterally symmetric configurations such that the fan sections 70A and 70B face each other across the suction case <NUM>. One of the two fan sections 70A and 70B will be referred to as "first fan section 70A" and the other will be referred to as "second fan section 70B," hereinafter.

The first fan section 70A has the fan case <NUM> (scroll case <NUM>) having one closed end and the centrifugal fan <NUM> rotatably accommodated in this fan case <NUM>. The fan case <NUM> is attached to the suction case <NUM> in a state of covering an open end on the first partition wall 62A. As obvious from the description above, the centrifugal fan (<NUM>) is accommodated in the fan case (<NUM>) of the second fan (<NUM>). The second fan section 70B is similar in configurations to the first fan section 70A and will not be described with same reference signs adding to the same elements. The fan case <NUM> of the second fan section 70B is attached to the suction case <NUM> in a state of covering an open end on the second partition wall 62B.

The conditioned air temperature-regulated by the air conditioner main body section <NUM> (refer to <FIG>) enters the suction case <NUM> via the suction port <NUM> from the rear seat delivery port <NUM> and is suctioned to the first fan section 70A and the second fan section 70B from this suction case <NUM>.

The two fan sections 70A and 70B are directly driven by one second fan driving motor <NUM>. This second fan driving motor <NUM> is configured as a so-called double-shaft motor that has one rotary shaft <NUM> (motor shaft <NUM>) protruding from two ends of the motor case <NUM> in the vehicle width direction, and accommodated in and supported by the suction case <NUM>. The centrifugal fans <NUM> of the two fan sections 70A and 70B are directly attached to two end portions of this rotary shaft <NUM>.

More specifically, as illustrated in <FIG>, the second fan driving motor <NUM> is configured as a so-called inner rotor type brush motor that includes, as principal elements, the rotary shaft <NUM>, a rotor <NUM> provided on this rotary shaft <NUM>, a stator <NUM> located to surround an outer periphery of this rotor <NUM>, and the motor case <NUM> that accommodates the rotor <NUM> and the stator <NUM>.

The rotary shaft <NUM> is rotatably supported by the motor case <NUM> via bearings <NUM>. The motor case <NUM> is a cylindrical member that extends along the rotary shaft <NUM>. Specifically, this motor case <NUM> is formed by a cylindrical (cup-shaped) case main body <NUM> that has a bottom plate 86a on one end and a cap <NUM> that blocks an open end of this case main body <NUM>. A base <NUM> including a circuit that controls rotation of the second fan driving motor <NUM> and a brush <NUM> is accommodated in this motor case <NUM>. This base <NUM> is located on one side of the rotary shaft <NUM> in the axial direction, e.g., closer to the cap <NUM> in the motor case <NUM>.

At least an outer peripheral surface of the motor case <NUM> is entirely covered with a cover <NUM>. This cover <NUM> is a cup-shaped member that includes a cylindrical cover main body <NUM> and a bottom plate <NUM> provided on one end of this cover main body <NUM>. It is preferable that no gap is present between the cylindrical outer peripheral surface of the motor case <NUM> and a cylindrical inner peripheral surface of the cover main body <NUM>. This is because it is possible to reduce the air released from the gap as much as possible.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the vehicle air conditioner <NUM> includes an air-cooling device <NUM> that air-cools the second fan driving motor <NUM>. This air-cooling device <NUM> cools the second fan driving motor <NUM> using part of the air flowing in the air flow passage <NUM> in the housing <NUM> and that is not temperature-regulated yet. The air-cooling device <NUM> will be described in detail hereinafter.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the motor case <NUM> has at least one air inlet hole <NUM> and at least one air outlet hole <NUM> penetrating through inside and outside of the motor case <NUM>. The air inlet hole <NUM> is provided on one side of the rotary shaft <NUM> in the axial direction, e.g., closer to the cap <NUM> in a cylindrical portion of the motor case <NUM> (cylindrical portion of the case main body <NUM>). The air outlet hole <NUM> is provided on the other side of the rotary shaft <NUM> in the axial direction, e.g., in the bottom plate 86a in the motor case <NUM>. Preferably, as illustrated in <FIG>, a plurality of air inlet holes <NUM> and a plurality of air outlet holes <NUM> are arranged at equal pitches radially about the rotary shaft <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, a bulge section <NUM> that bulges radially outward from the cover main body <NUM> of the cover <NUM> in such a manner as to surround the plurality of air inlet holes <NUM> of the motor case <NUM> is provided on the cover main body <NUM>. A first space section <NUM> is formed in this bulge section <NUM>. This first space section <NUM> communicates with an interior of the motor case <NUM> via the plurality of air inlet holes <NUM> and can function as a distribution header for distributing the air to the plurality of air inlet holes <NUM>. This first space section <NUM> will be paraphrased as "first opening <NUM>," hereinafter as appropriate.

As illustrated in <FIG>, a second space section <NUM> at a fixed distance is present between the bottom plate 86a of the motor case <NUM> and the bottom plate <NUM> of the cover <NUM>. This second space section <NUM> communicates with the interior of the motor case <NUM> via the plurality of air outlet holes <NUM> and can function as a gathering header for gathering the air flowing out from the plurality of air outlet holes <NUM>. This second space section <NUM> will be paraphrased as "second opening <NUM>, " hereinafter as appropriate.

In this way, the cover <NUM> has the first opening <NUM> and the second opening <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the air-cooling device <NUM> further includes an air guide port <NUM>, a guide passage <NUM>, and a discharge passage <NUM>.

The air guide port <NUM> is open to the housing <NUM> in such a manner as to guide the air for cooling the motor from downstream of the first fan <NUM> and upstream of the temperature regulation door <NUM> in the air flow passage <NUM>. Preferably, this air guide port <NUM> is located downstream of the evaporator <NUM>. More preferably, this air guide port <NUM> is provided in a bottom plate <NUM> of the housing <NUM>. By way of example, the air guide port <NUM> is formed by a recess portion formed in this bottom plate <NUM> by causing the bottom plate <NUM> to bulge downward.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the guide passage <NUM> guides the air for cooling the motor guided from the air guide port <NUM> to the second fan driving motor <NUM>. The first opening <NUM> provided in the cover <NUM> can communicate the guide passage <NUM> with the air inlet holes <NUM>. The second fan driving motor <NUM> is located in rear of the housing <NUM> and below the bottom plate <NUM> of this housing <NUM>. Owing to this, the guide passage <NUM> extends linearly while inclining rearward and downward from the air guide port <NUM> to the first opening <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, at least a portion 107a (first guide passage 107a) of this guide passage <NUM> is formed integrally with the housing <NUM>. This can make simpler configurations of the guide passage <NUM>. A rest 107b (second guide passage 107b) of the guide passage <NUM> is formed integrally with the cover <NUM>.

This guide passage <NUM> is an internal passage formed by a guide pipe <NUM>. The guide pipe <NUM> is formed from a first guide pipe 112a that forms the first guide passage 107a and a second guide pipe 112b that forms the second guide passage 107b.

More specifically, the first guide passage 107a and the first guide pipe 112a extend along the bottom plate <NUM> of the housing <NUM> to the flange <NUM> (first flange <NUM>) of the rear seat delivery port <NUM> of the housing <NUM>. In addition, a tip end portion of the first guide pipe 112a serves as a through-hole 64a of the first flange <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the housing <NUM> is formed from a structure of split parts obtained by splitting the housing <NUM> into two parts at least in the vehicle width direction. The first guide pipe 112a is located on split surfaces <NUM> and <NUM> of the housing <NUM> and thus split into two parts in the vehicle width direction. One split surface <NUM> has a protruding portion <NUM> protruding toward the other split surface <NUM>. The other split surface <NUM> has a recess groove <NUM> into which the protruding portion <NUM> can be fitted. The protruding portion <NUM> is fitted into the recess groove <NUM>. A seal member <NUM> is accommodated in a compressed state between a tip end of the protruding portion <NUM> and a bottom of the recess groove <NUM>. As a result, the split parts of the housing <NUM> and the first guide passage 107a are sealed.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the second guide passage 107b extends from the first opening <NUM> of the cover <NUM> to the flange <NUM> (second flange <NUM>) of the suction port <NUM> of the suction case <NUM>. That is, the second guide pipe 112b extends from the bulge section <NUM> of the cover <NUM> to the second flange <NUM>. A tip end portion of the second guide pipe 112b is inserted into a through-hole 65a of the second flange <NUM>.

With such configurations, simply surface joining the first flange <NUM> with the second flange <NUM> enables easy connection between the guide pipes 112a and 112b.

Surface joint surfaces of the first flange <NUM> and the second flange <NUM> are sealed by a sheet packing <NUM>. Owing to this, mating surfaces of the first guide passage 107a and the second guide passage 107b are also sealed by the packing <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the discharge passage <NUM> discharges the air for cooling the motor after passing through the second fan driving motor <NUM> to the cabin <NUM>. This discharge passage <NUM> is an internal passage formed by a discharge pipe <NUM> and is provided, for example, integrally with the cover <NUM>. The second opening <NUM> provided in the cover <NUM> can communicate the air outlet holes <NUM> with the discharge passage <NUM>.

Operations of the air-cooling device <NUM> will next be described with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>. Part of the air flowing downstream of the first fan <NUM> and upstream of the temperature regulation door <NUM> in the air flow passage <NUM> enters the first opening <NUM> from the air guide port <NUM> via the guide passage <NUM>. The air entering the first opening <NUM> enters the air inlet holes <NUM> of the motor case <NUM>, initially cools surroundings of the base <NUM> and then cools the rotor <NUM>, the stator <NUM>, and the brush <NUM>. After cooling, the air exits from the air outlet holes <NUM> of the motor case <NUM> and enters the second opening <NUM>. The air entering the second opening <NUM> is discharged from the discharge passage <NUM> to the cabin <NUM>.

The description of the vehicle air conditioner <NUM> according to the first embodiment is summarized as follows.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the air for cooling the motor (motor cooling air) guided from downstream of the first fan <NUM> and upstream of the temperature regulation door <NUM> cools the second fan driving motor <NUM>, and the air after cooling this second fan driving motor <NUM> is discharged to atmospheric air. Owing to this, the second fan driving motor <NUM> is not affected by heat of the warm air heated by the heater core <NUM>. In the vehicle air conditioner <NUM> that includes: the air conditioner main body section <NUM> including the first fan <NUM>; the duct for rear seats <NUM>; and the second fan <NUM> that is coupled to the duct for rear seats <NUM> for securing an air volume of the conditioned air circulating in this duct for rear seats <NUM>, the second fan driving motor <NUM> can be efficiently cooled by the motor cooling air. Furthermore, the motor cooling air is directly discharged to the cabin <NUM> and is not mixed with the conditioned air circulating in the duct for rear seats <NUM>; thus, an entire system of the vehicle air conditioner <NUM> is not affected. Moreover, as can be understood from <FIG> and <FIG>, the discharge passage <NUM> discharges the motor cooling air to the cabin <NUM> in a space near the front seats; thus, a temperature of the space near the rear seats is not, in particular, affected.

Furthermore, the air guide port <NUM> is located downstream of the evaporator <NUM>. Owing to this, the inside air cooled by the evaporator <NUM> and the outside air (motor cooling air) can efficiently cool the second fan driving motor <NUM>.

Moreover, the second fan driving motor <NUM> is covered with the cover <NUM>. Owing to this, the second fan driving motor <NUM> is not directly exposed to the warm air heated by the heater core <NUM>. It is possible to further prevent the second fan driving motor <NUM> from being affected by the heat of the warm air heated by the heater core <NUM>.

Additionally, as illustrated in <FIG>, the motor cooling air passes through the guide passage <NUM> and the first opening <NUM> of the cover <NUM>, flows into the motor case <NUM> from the air inlet holes <NUM>, and cools an interior of the second fan driving motor <NUM>. The motor cooling air after cooling the interior of the second fan driving motor <NUM> passes through the second opening <NUM> of the cover <NUM> and the discharge passage from the air outlet holes <NUM> of the motor case <NUM>, and is discharged to the atmospheric air. Owing to this, the interior of the second fan driving motor <NUM> can be entirely, finely, efficiently cooled by the motor cooling air. It is thereby possible to sufficiently improve a durability of the second fan driving motor <NUM>.

A reason for providing the air guide port <NUM> in the bottom plate <NUM> in the housing <NUM> will now be described.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the air conditioner main body section <NUM> is disposed in the front portion of the vehicle <NUM>, e.g., in an instrument panel <NUM>. It is preferable to secure a foot space for passenger to be seated in the front seats <NUM> in the cabin <NUM> below this instrument panel <NUM>. Owing to this, a bottom surface of the air conditioner main body section <NUM>, particularly the bottom plate <NUM> of the housing <NUM> is set higher than a floor surface <NUM> of the cabin <NUM>. On the other hand, the duct for rear seats <NUM> extends in a vehicle longitudinal direction between a driver's seat and a front passenger seat. To secure the foot space of each passenger, a lower surface 51a of the duct for rear seats <NUM> is set at a height at which the lower surface 51a generally comes in contact with the floor surface <NUM> of the cabin <NUM>. Owing to this, the second fan <NUM> is located rearward and downward of the housing <NUM>. The second fan driving motor <NUM> is located below the bottom plate <NUM> of the housing <NUM>.

While the air conditioner main body section <NUM> and the duct unit for rear seats <NUM> are disposed in this way, the air guide port <NUM>, which guides the air cooling the motor, illustrated in <FIG> can be provided in a part other than the bottom plate <NUM> of the housing <NUM>.

However, as illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, the air conditioner main body section <NUM> including the housing <NUM> is required to be disposed in a limited space in the front portion of the vehicle <NUM>. In addition, this air conditioner main body section <NUM> needs to have sufficient functions to regulate (condition) the air fed from the first fan <NUM> and to supply the air from the plurality of air outlets (delivery sections) into the cabin <NUM>. There is no avoiding, therefore, limiting a degree of freedom of designing the air conditioner main body section <NUM>. Under such severe conditions, it is inadequate, from the viewpoint of space saving and cost effectiveness, to provide the air guide port <NUM> on a side or upper surface of the housing <NUM> and to pass the guide passage <NUM> from the air guide port <NUM> to the second fan driving motor <NUM> in a narrow space even in a current situation. This is because this guide passage <NUM> is forced to have complicated configurations to pass through the guide passage <NUM> without interference with other members.

To solve the problems, the inventor of the present invention has discovered that the only ample space below the bottom plate <NUM> of the housing <NUM> may be made effective use of, as illustrated in <FIG>. To this end, the inventor of the present invention has decided to provide the air guide port <NUM> in the bottom plate <NUM> of the housing <NUM>. It is, therefore, possible to pass through the short guide passage <NUM> below the bottom plate <NUM>, and providing the guide passage <NUM> in this way is, thus, quite useful from the viewpoint of space saving and cost effectiveness. This is why the air guide port <NUM> is provided in the bottom plate <NUM> of the housing <NUM>.

A vehicle air conditioner <NUM> according to a second embodiment will next be described with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> illustrates cross-sectional configurations of a duct unit for rear seats <NUM> in the vehicle air conditioner <NUM> according to the second embodiment, and corresponds to cross-sectional positions in <FIG>.

The vehicle air conditioner <NUM> according to the second embodiment is characterized in that the duct unit for rear seats <NUM> according to the first embodiment illustrated in <FIG> is changed to the duct unit for rear seats <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>. The other basic configurations of the vehicle air conditioner <NUM> are the same as those of the vehicle air conditioner <NUM> according to the first embodiment. The same elements as those of the vehicle air conditioner <NUM> according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference signs and not described in detail.

A second fan <NUM> in the duct unit for rear seats <NUM> according to the second embodiment includes only one of the first fan section 70A and the second fan section 70B illustrated in <FIG>, e.g., only the second fan section 70B. That is, this second fan <NUM> is formed from a suction case <NUM> and the one fan section 70B provided on one end in the vehicle width direction with respect to this suction case <NUM>. For this reason, only one duct for rear seats <NUM> is provided.

The suction case <NUM> is a member used as an alternative to the suction case <NUM> according to the first embodiment (refer to <FIG>), and includes the suction port <NUM> and the partition wall 62B (second partition wall 62B) only on one end of the suction case <NUM> in the vehicle width direction.

The second fan driving motor <NUM> drives only one fan section 70B. According to the second embodiment, the second fan driving motor <NUM> is unnecessary to accommodate in the suction case <NUM>. That is, the second fan driving motor <NUM> is disposed outside of the suction case <NUM> and supported by, for example, the fan case <NUM>. Owing to this, the second fan driving motor <NUM> is not exposed to the warm air heated by the heater core <NUM> (refer to <FIG>) and, therefore, is not directly affected by the heat of this warm air. This is useful for improving the durability of the second fan driving motor <NUM>.

The vehicle air conditioner <NUM> according to the second embodiment can exhibit similar effects to those of the vehicle air conditioner <NUM> according to the first embodiment.

It is noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments as long as the operations and effects of the present invention can be exhibited.

The first fan <NUM>, for example, is not limited to the configurations to be located upstream of the evaporator <NUM> and may be configured to be located downstream of the evaporator <NUM>.

Furthermore, the second fan <NUM>, <NUM> may be configured to suction and deliver the conditioned air from the housing <NUM>. That is, the second fan <NUM>, <NUM> is not limited to the configurations to suction the conditioned air from the housing <NUM> and to deliver the conditioned air to the duct for rear seats <NUM>, and includes, for example, configurations to be connected to a downstream side of the duct for rear seats <NUM>.

Moreover, the second fan driving motor <NUM> is not limited to the configurations of the inner rotor type brush motor and may be configured as, for example, an outer rotor type motor or a brushless motor.

Furthermore, the air inlet holes <NUM> and the air outlet holes <NUM> may be provided in the motor case <NUM> and are not limited to specific positions in the motor case <NUM>.

Moreover, the first opening <NUM> may be able to communicate the guide passage <NUM> with the air inlet holes <NUM>. The second opening <NUM> may be able communicate the air outlet holes <NUM> with the discharge passage <NUM>.

Furthermore, the vehicle in which this vehicle air conditioner <NUM>, <NUM> is mounted is not limited to a vehicle of so-called two seat rows including the front seats and the rear seats as illustrated in <FIG>, and this vehicle air conditioner <NUM>, <NUM> may be mounted in a vehicle of so-called three seat rows including front seats, second-row seats, and third-row seats. In this case, the duct unit for rear seats <NUM> is provided to supply the conditioned air to a space of the second-row seats.

Claim 1:
A vehicle air conditioner (<NUM>) comprising:
an air conditioner main body section (<NUM>) including a housing (<NUM>) that has an air flow passage (<NUM>) provided inside; a first fan (<NUM>) that feeds air guided from inside of a cabin (<NUM>) and/or outside of the cabin (<NUM>) to the air flow passage (<NUM>); an evaporator (<NUM>) that is provided in the air flow passage (<NUM>); a heater core (<NUM>) that is provided downstream of the evaporator (<NUM>); and a temperature regulation door (<NUM>) that is provided between the evaporator (<NUM>) and the heater core (<NUM>) and that regulates a ratio of air heading for the heater core (<NUM>) to air bypassing the heater core (<NUM>); and
a duct unit for rear seats (<NUM>) that is connected to a downstream side of the heater core (<NUM>) in the housing (<NUM>) and that guides conditioned air temperature-regulated by the air conditioner main body section (<NUM>) to rear seats of the cabin (<NUM>), the duct unit for rear seats (<NUM>) including a second fan (<NUM>) that suctions and delivers the conditioned air and a duct for rear seats (<NUM>),
the duct unit for rear seats (<NUM>) having a second fan driving motor (<NUM>) that directly drives a centrifugal fan (<NUM>) accommodated in a fan case (<NUM>) of the second fan (<NUM>) by a rotary shaft (<NUM>), wherein the vehicle air conditioner (<NUM>) comprises:
an air guide port (<NUM>) that opens to the housing (<NUM>) to guide air for cooling a motor from downstream of the first fan (<NUM>) and upstream of the temperature regulation door (<NUM>) in the air flow passage (<NUM>);
a guide passage (<NUM>) that guides the air for cooling the motor guided from the air guide port (<NUM>) to the second fan driving motor (<NUM>); and characterised by,
a discharge passage (<NUM>) that discharges the air for cooling the motor after passing through the second fan driving motor (<NUM>) to the cabin (<NUM>).