HVAC unit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12485722-B2
Application number	US-202217669336-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 10, 2022
Priority date	Feb 11, 2021
Publication date	Dec 2, 2025
Grant date	Dec 2, 2025

Abstract

An HVAC unit for a motor vehicle is disclosed. The HVAC unit includes a housing, a sensor device through which air is flowable and an air duct arrangement through which air is flowable. The sensor device is attached to the housing and airflow-connected to the air duct arrangement at an interface. The interface is provided by two connecting pieces of the sensor device aligned in a Z-direction and two receptacles of the air duct arrangement corresponding with the two connecting pieces. The two connecting pieces are disposed on the sensor device and the two receptacles of the air duct arrangement are disposed in the housing. The respective connecting piece engages in the respective receptacle at the interface and is airtight-connected to the respective receptacle.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . An HVAC unit for a motor vehicle, comprising:
a housing, a sensor device through which air is flowable and an air duct arrangement through which air is flowable, the sensor device attached to the housing and airflow-connected to the air duct arrangement at an interface, the interface provided by two connecting pieces of the sensor device aligned in a Z-direction and two receptacles of the air duct arrangement corresponding with the two connecting pieces, wherein the two connecting pieces are disposed on the sensor device and the two receptacles of the air duct arrangement are disposed in the housing, and wherein a respective connecting piece of the two connecting pieces engages in a respective receptacle of the two receptacles at the interface and is airtight-connected to the respective receptacle, and wherein the respective connection piece together with the respective receptacle defines part of an airflow path of the air duct arrangement.

2 . The HVAC unit of claim 1 , wherein the sensor device is clamped between a mounting bracket disposed on the housing and the interface in the Z-direction, such that the two connecting pieces of the sensor device engage with a certain force in the two receptacles of the air duct arrangement.

3 . The HVAC unit of claim 1 , wherein the sensor device is attached to the housing via a screw aligned in the Z-direction and is drawn towards the housing, such that the two connecting pieces of the sensor device engage with a certain force in the two receptacles of the air duct arrangement.

4 . The HVAC unit of claim 2 , wherein:
a U-shaped air duct is formed in the sensor device and airflow-connects the two connecting pieces of the sensor device to one another, a longitudinal center line of the U-shaped air duct and longitudinal center axes of the two connecting pieces merge into one another and lie in a duct plane parallel to the Z direction, and an effective direction of the force generated between the two connecting pieces and the two receptacles lies in the duct plane.

5 . The HVAC unit of claim 1 , wherein the respective connecting piece extends outwardly from the sensor device and is conical on the outside and the respective receptacle of the air duct arrangement is conical on the inside.

6 . The HVAC unit of claim 1 , further comprising a separate guide element or an integral guide element disposed within the respective receptacle, which guides air from the air duct arrangement into the sensor device or from the sensor device into the air duct arrangement.

7 . The HVAC unit of claim 1 , wherein the sensor device is guided on the housing via a guide unit at least one of transversely to the Z-direction and in the Z-direction.

8 . The HVAC unit of claim 1 , wherein the two connecting pieces and the two receptacles are each formed identically to one another, such that the sensor device can be mounted on the housing of the HVAC unit in two positions, each rotated by 180° about the Z-direction.

9 . The HVAC unit of claim 2 , wherein:
the sensor device is attached to the housing via a poka-yoke unit that precludes incorrect mounting of the sensor device on the housing, the poka-yoke unit is formed by at least one pin and at least one rib on the sensor device and at least one aperture for the at least one pin on the mounting bracket, and in the case of correct mounting, the at least one pin engages unhindered in the at least one aperture and, in the case of incorrect mounting, the at least one rib prevents engagement between the at least one pin and the at least one aperture.

10 . The HVAC unit of claim 1 , wherein:
the sensor device is attached to the housing via a poka-yoke unit that precludes incorrect mounting of the sensor device to the housing, and the poka-yoke unit is formed by one of the two connecting pieces with an associated one of the two receptacles is different from the other of the two connecting pieces with the other associated one of the two receptacles.

11 . The HVAC unit of claim 1 , wherein:
the housing includes at least two housing parts, each with a connecting surface, the one housing part and the other housing part abut one another and are fixedly connected to one another by the respective connecting surfaces, the air duct arrangement is formed at least in regions between the two mutually abutting connecting surfaces, and the receptacles of the air duct arrangement are formed in the one housing part and the sensor device is attached to the one housing part.

12 . The HVAC unit of claim 7 , wherein the guide unit includes a rib cross.

13 . The HVAC unit of claim 7 , wherein the guide unit includes at least one guide rib.

14 . The HVAC unit of claim 1 , wherein the air duct arrangement further includes two air ducts coupled to the two receptacles for guiding air flow into and out of the sensor device via the interface provided by the two connecting pieces and the two receptacles.

15 . A motor vehicle, comprising: an HVAC unit, the HVAC unit including:
a housing, a sensor device through which air is flowable and an air duct arrangement through which air is flowable, the sensor device attached to the housing and airflow-connected to the air duct arrangement at an interface, the interface provided by two connecting pieces of the sensor device aligned in a Z-direction and two receptacles of the air duct arrangement corresponding with the two connecting pieces, wherein the two connecting pieces are disposed on the sensor device and the two receptacles of the air duct arrangement are disposed in the housing, wherein a first connecting piece of the two connecting pieces engages in a first receptacle of the two receptacles at the interface to define a first airtight-connection, and a second connecting piece of the two connecting pieces engages in a second receptacle of the two receptacles to define a second airtight-connection, and wherein the first connecting piece together with the first receptacle at the first airtight-connection directs the air from the air duct arrangement into the sensor device, and the second connecting piece together with the second receptacle at the second airtight-connection directs the air from the sensor device into the air duct arrangement.

16 . The motor vehicle of claim 15 , wherein the sensor device is clamped between a mounting bracket disposed on the housing and the interface in the Z-direction.

17 . The motor vehicle of claim 15 , wherein the sensor device is attached to the housing via a screw aligned in the Z-direction and is drawn towards the housing.

18 . The motor vehicle of claim 15 , wherein the respective connecting piece extends outwardly from the sensor device and tapers towards the respective receptacle of the air duct arrangement.

19 . The motor vehicle of claim 15 , wherein at least one of:
the HVAC unit further includes a guide element disposed within the respective receptacle that guides air from the air duct arrangement into the sensor device or from the sensor device into the air duct arrangement; and the sensor device is guided on the housing via a guide unit at least one of transversely to the Z-direction and in the Z-direction.

20 . The motor vehicle of claim 15 , wherein the sensor device is attached to the housing via a poka-yoke unit that precludes incorrect mounting of the sensor device on the housing.

Assignees

• Mahle Int Gmbh

Inventors

• Klein Florian
• Michael Markus
• Reiter Anja
• Schaudt Jochen
• Bhoi Sushant

Classifications

• B60H1/00792 Primary

  Arrangement of detectors (B60H1/00742, B60H1/0075, B60H1/00785 take precedence) · CPC title

• B60H1/00735

  Control systems or circuits characterised by their input, i.e. by the detection, measurement or calculation of particular conditions, e.g. signal treatment, dynamic models · CPC title

• G01D11/30

  Supports specially adapted for an instrument; Supports specially adapted for a set of instruments · CPC title

• B60H2003/0683

  the quality of the filter or the air being checked · CPC title

• B60H3/06

  Filtering · CPC title