Air conditioner for vehicle

Abstract

An air conditioner for a vehicle includes a blower motor and a blower control unit integrated so that terminals therebetween can be easily connected and a PCB is closely fixed to a flange with stronger power. The air conditioner includes: a blower unit having a blower motor driving a blower wheel to blow wind to the inside of an air-conditioning case; a blower control unit controlling the blower motor to control rotation of the blower wheel; a flange on which the blower motor is fixed and to which a PCB of the blower control unit is joined to one side of the blower motor; a first terminal associated with the blower motor; and a second terminal associated with the PCB and which is combined with the first terminal, wherein the blower control unit and the blower motor are formed integrally to the blower unit.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An air conditioner for a vehicle comprising:
 a blower unit having a blower motor and a blower wheel;   a flange combined with a blower case by fixing the blower motor; and   a blower control unit arranged on a first plane of the flange which is an opposite side of the blower wheel in a longitudinal direction of a rotary shaft of the blower motor,   wherein the blower control unit is arranged at an area near to the outer face of the vehicle in a horizontal direction of the vehicle and is arranged near to a passenger in a back-and-forth direction of the vehicle.   
     
     
         2 . The air conditioner according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a blower cover which covers not only a first end portion of the blower motor located on the first plane of the flange but also the blower control unit so that the blower motor and the blower control unit are formed integrally with the blower unit.   
     
     
         3 . The air conditioner according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a control unit cover for covering the blower control unit.   
     
     
         4 . The air conditioner according to  claim 1 , wherein a first terminal is mounted on the blower motor and a second terminal is mounted on the flange, and the first terminal and the second terminal are directly connected with each other. 
     
     
         5 . The air conditioner according to  claim 1 , wherein the flange includes a motor insertion hole for inserting the blower motor therein and a coupling hole formed to be combined with the blower case. 
     
     
         6 . The air conditioner according to  claim 1 , wherein the flange protrudes and extends in a direction of the rotary shaft to surround a portion of the outer circumferential surface of the blower motor, and includes a seating wall for supporting and restraining the blower motor in a radial direction. 
     
     
         7 . The air conditioner according to  claim 4 , wherein the second terminal extends from a first plane of the flange toward the first terminal in order to insert the first terminal into the second terminal. 
     
     
         8 . The air conditioner according to  claim 1 , wherein the blower control unit includes a PCB combined with one side of the first plane of the flange on which the blower motor is seated and fixed. 
     
     
         9 . The air conditioner according to  claim 8 , wherein the PCB is formed in a rectangular plate shape and includes a plurality of elements disposed on one side and a connector disposed at one side to be connected with an external wiring. 
     
     
         10 . The air conditioner according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a heat sink fixed on a second plane of the flange being opposite to the first plane of the flange on which the blower control unit is formed, arranged in the same direction as the blower wheel in the longitudinal direction of the rotary shaft of the blower motor, and exposed to the inside of the blower case.   
     
     
         11 . The air conditioner according to  claim 10 , wherein the heat sink is located within a rotation radius range of the blower wheel. 
     
     
         12 . The air conditioner according to  claim 8 , wherein the PCB includes an FET element, a MICOM element, a SHUNT element, a capacitor for an EMC, and a coil, and has a connector disposed at one side to be connected with the external wiring. 
     
     
         13 . The air conditioner according to  claim 12 , wherein the capacitor and the coil which are relatively larger components of the PCB are arranged as close as possible to each other. 
     
     
         14 . The air conditioner according to  claim 12 , wherein the MICOM element which is sensitive to heat is arranged at the outer edge of the PCB. 
     
     
         15 . The air conditioner according to  claim 12 , wherein the connector is arranged adjacent to the component which is relatively larger than the connector. 
     
     
         16 . The air conditioner according to  claim 3 , wherein the control unit cover includes a flat portion and a protrusion protruding downwardly from the first end portion of the blower motor. 
     
     
         17 . The air conditioner according to  claim 16 , wherein the protrusion is arranged at an edge, which is the farthest from an air-conditioning case, in a width direction of the blower control unit and is located diagonally with respect to the blower motor. 
     
     
         18 . The air conditioner according to  claim 16 , wherein the protrusion is arranged at the rear of the blower motor in the back-and-forth direction of the vehicle, namely, at the opposite side of the air-conditioning case based on the blower motor in the horizontal direction of the vehicle. 
     
     
         19 . The air conditioner according to  claim 8 , wherein the PCB includes a concave part formed at the edge of the middle part in the width direction, and formed in an annular shape corresponding to the shape of the blower motor. 
     
     
         20 . A method for manufacturing a blower unit comprising the steps of:
 forming a flange combined with a blower case by fixing a blower motor;   fixing a heat sink on a second plane of the flange being opposite to a first plane of the flange on which a blower control unit is formed;   mounting the blower motor on the flange so that a first terminal formed on the blower motor and a second terminal mounted on the flange are combined with each other automatically;   mounting a blower cover which covers not only a first end portion of the blower motor located on the first plane of the flange but also the blower control unit so that the blower motor and the blower control unit are formed integrally with the blower unit; and   combining a blower wheel with a rotary shaft of the blower motor.