Air conditioning system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9669683-B2
Application number	US-201314400832-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 15, 2013
Priority date	May 15, 2012
Publication date	Jun 6, 2017
Grant date	Jun 6, 2017

Abstract

The invention is about a vehicle air conditioning system wherein an air stream can flow axially along a stream direction. The system has a filter held in a compartment in a substantially transversal plane. The filter compartment has an inlet opening and an outlet opening and is delimited by peripheral walls comprising a back wall, two lateral walls and a front wall. The filter compartment is provided with a removable service drawer comprising a front panel, and an adjacent floor portion extending backwards from the front panel. When the service drawer is closed the front panel is adjacent the front wall and, when opening the service drawer, a service opening opens in place of the front panel and in place of the floor portion leaving for the filter a passage allowing removal of the filter along a removal direction inclined relative to the transversal plane.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle air conditioning system, wherein an air stream is able to flow axially along a stream direction, the system having a filter held in a filter compartment in a transversal plane, that is transverse to the stream direction and defined by an opening axis and a transverse axis, to remove foreign matters from the air stream, the filter compartment having an inlet opening and an outlet opening and being delimited by peripheral walls comprising a back wall, two lateral walls and a front wall, wherein the filter compartment is provided with a removable service drawer comprising a front panel, and an adjacent floor portion extending backwards from the front panel such that, when the service drawer is closed the front panel is adjacent the front wall, wherein, when the service drawer opens by translating along the opening axis, a service opening opens in place of the front panel and in place of the floor portion, leaving for the filter a passage allowing removal of the filter along a removal direction inclined relative to the transversal plane, wherein the service drawer is further provided with lateral arms protruding from the front panel toward an arm extremity so that when the service drawer is closed, each of the lateral arms provides axial support to the filter in the stream direction, wherein each of the lateral arms is provided beyond the arm extremity with an arm ramp so that when closing the service drawer and installing the filter, the arm ramps push the filter inside the compartment easing the installation of the filter.

2. The vehicle air conditioning system as set in claim 1 , wherein each of the lateral arms has a supporting flange extending from the front panel to the arm extremity providing axial support to the filter in the stream direction and a stiffening flange providing rigidity to the lateral arm.

3. The vehicle air conditioning system as set in claim 2 , wherein the stiffening flange is perpendicular to the supporting flange and extends beyond the arm extremity forming the arm ramps.

4. The vehicle air conditioning system as set in claim 2 , wherein the service drawer being closed, each of the supporting flanges aligns with a lateral rib constituting straight and continuous lateral surfaces perpendicular to each of the two lateral walls and supports the filter all along each of the two lateral walls.

5. The vehicle air conditioning system as set in claim 1 , wherein the service drawer being closed, each of the arm extremities is close to a front extremity of a lateral rib and each of the arm ramps engages under one of the lateral ribs while a fixed ramp engages under one of the lateral arms.

6. The vehicle air conditioning system as set in claim 1 , wherein the filter is provided with at least one transverse slit, the slit being shallower than the thickness of the filter to maintain integrity of the filter, the slit opens in a V shape when bending the filter passing through the service opening, in order to make bending of the filter easier when inserting or removing the filter into or from the filter compartment.

7. The vehicle air conditioning system as set in claim 1 , wherein the filter compartment is further provided with lateral ribs providing axial support to the filter in the stream direction.

8. The vehicle air conditioning system as set in claim 7 , wherein each of the lateral ribs is provided beyond its front extremity with a fixed ramp oriented toward the service opening so that when the service drawer is open, the filter can be guided through the service opening in following the fixed ramps.

Assignees

• Mahle Int Gmbh

Inventors

• Kemmerling Juergen
• Auert Anthony

Classifications

• B60H3/0616 Primary

  with provisions for replacing the filter element · CPC title

• B60H2001/00085

  of air intake · CPC title

• B60H1/24 Primary

  Ventilating devices where the heating or cooling is irrelevant (nozzles or air-diffusers B60H1/34) · CPC title