Vehicle air-conditioning unit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9931907-B2
Application number	US-201314418522-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 24, 2013
Priority date	Aug 2, 2012
Publication date	Apr 3, 2018
Grant date	Apr 3, 2018

Abstract

To provide a vehicle air-conditioning unit that increases a volume of airflow delivered from a side vent opening in a foot mode, to effectively prevent fogging of windowpanes on right and left end sides. An air passage has: a first passage that guides hot air to a center vent opening, a side vent opening, and a defrost opening; and a second passage that is branched from the first passage and guides the hot air to a foot opening. A first door is arranged at a branched position of the air passage to the second passage, and a second door is arranged between the center vent opening and the defrost opening. In a foot mode, the first door closes the first passage and opens a first supply passage, the first supply passage communicates between the first and second passages, the second door closes the center vent opening and forms a second supply passage on an upstream side of the side vent opening, and the second supply passage communicates between an extending direction of the first supply passage and the side vent opening.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle conditioning unit including:
an air-conditioning case that has an air passage;
a heat exchanger that is arranged in the air passage and exchanges heat with air flowing through the air passage;
a center vent opening that is provided on a downstream side of the heat exchanger arranged in the air-conditioning case;
a side vent opening that is provided on a right side and/or a left side in a vehicle right and left direction of the center vent opening;
a defrost opening that is provided in a front side in a vehicle longitudinal direction of the center vent opening; and
a foot opening that is provided on a lower side in a vehicle vertical direction of the center vent opening,
wherein the air passage has:
a first passage that guides air that has passed through the heat exchanger to the center vent opening, the side vent opening, and the defrost opening; and
a second passage that is branched from the first passage and guides the air that has passed through the heat exchanger to the foot opening,
wherein a first door for distributing the air that has passed through the heat exchanger to the first passage and the second passage is arranged at a branched position to the second passage,
wherein a first supply passage that communicates between the first passage and the second passage is provided on a downstream side of the first door, and this first supply passage is opened and closed by the first door, and
wherein a second door for distributing the air that has passed through the heat exchanger to the center vent opening and the defrost opening is arranged in the first passage at a position on a downstream side of the first supply passage,
wherein in the vehicle air-conditioning unit in a foot mode, the first door closes the first passage and opens the first supply passage, and the second door closes the center vent opening, and forms a second supply passage, an entry of which is positioned in an extending direction of the first supply passage and an exit of which communicates with the side vent openings,
wherein the first door is a butterfly-type door that has:
a rotational shaft that is rotatably supported by the air-conditioning case;
a first closing section that extends from the rotational shaft;
a second closing section that extends from the rotational shaft in a different direction from the first closing section and greater than 90 degrees from the direction of the first closing section, in the foot mode, the first closing section closes the first passage, and the second closing section opens the first supply passage, and
a third closing section that extends from the rotational shaft in a different direction from both of the first closing section and the second closing section, a length of the third closing section in a direction along a shaft direction of the rotational shaft is shorter than a length of the first supply passage in the direction along the shaft direction of the rotational shaft, and in the foot mode, the third closing section partially closes the first supply passage.

2. The vehicle air-conditioning unit according to claim 1 wherein the heat exchanger heats the air in the air passage.

3. The vehicle air-conditioning unit according to claim 1 wherein the first supply passage is in a tunnel shape.

4. The vehicle air-conditioning unit according to claim 1 wherein the second door has:
a rotational shaft that is rotatably supported by the air-conditioning case; and
a fourth closing section that extends from the rotational shaft,
the fourth closing section includes:
a center vent closing portion that can close the center vent opening; and
a step portion that has a step displaced in a peripheral direction of the rotational shaft with respect to the center vent closing portion, in the foot mode, the center vent closing portion closes the center vent opening, and the step portion is positioned on an upstream side of the side vent opening and forms the second supply passage.

5. The vehicle air-conditioning unit according to claim 1 wherein in a defrost mode or a vent mode, the first door closes the second passage and also closes the first supply passage.

6. The vehicle air-conditioning unit according to claim 1 wherein the first door is the butterfly-type door, in a defrost mode or a vent mode, the first closing section closes the second passage, and the second closing section closes the first supply passage.

7. The vehicle air-conditioning unit according to claim 1 wherein the second door has:
a rotational shaft that is rotatably supported by the air-conditioning case; and
a fourth closing section that extends from the rotational shaft, the side vent opening is arranged further on a downstream side of the center vent opening arranged on the downstream side of the heat exchanger, and in the foot mode, the fourth closing section closes the center vent opening, is arranged on the upstream side of the side vent opening, and forms the second supply passage.

8. A vehicle conditioning unit including:
an air-conditioning case that has an air passage;
a heat exchanger that is arranged in the air passage and exchanges heat with air flowing through the air passage;
a center vent opening that is provided on a downstream side of the heat exchanger arranged in the air-conditioning case;
a side vent opening that is provided on a right side and/or a left side in a vehicle right and left direction of the center vent opening;
a defrost opening that is provided in a front side in a vehicle longitudinal direction of the center vent opening; and
a foot opening that is provided on a lower side in a vehicle vertical direction of the center vent opening,
wherein the air passage has:
a first passage that guides air that has passed through the heat exchanger to the center vent opening, the side vent opening, and the defrost opening; and
a second passage that is branched from the first passage and guides the air that has passed through the heat exchanger to the foot opening,
wherein a first door for distributing the air that has passed through the heat exchanger to the first passage and the second passage is arranged at a branched position to the second passage,
wherein a first supply passage that communicates between the first passage and the second passage is provided on a downstream side of the first door, and this first supply passage is opened and closed by the first door, and
wherein a second door for distributing the air that has passed through the heat exchanger to the center vent opening and the defrost opening is arranged in the first passage at a position on a downstream side of the first supply passage,
wherein in the vehicle air-conditioning unit in a foot mode, the first door closes the first passage and opens the first supply passage, and the second door closes the center vent opening, and forms a second supply passage, an entry of which is positioned in an extending direction of the first supply passage and an exit of which communicates with the side vent opening,
The vehicle air conditioning unit according to claim 1 wherein the first door is a butterfly-type door that has:
a rotational shaft that is rotatably supported by the air-conditioning case; a first closing section that extends from the rotational shaft; and
a second closing section that extends from the rotational shaft in a different direction from the first closing section and greater than 90 degrees from the direction of the first closing section, in the foot mode, the first closing section closes the first passage, and the second closing section opens the first supply passage.

9. The vehicle air-conditioning unit according to claim 8 wherein the second door has:
a rotational shaf

Assignees

• Valeo Japan Co Ltd
• Valeo Japan Co Ltd

Inventors

• Shichiken Yutaka
• Araki Daisuke
• Koike Takao

Classifications

• B60H1/00564 Primary

  of air ducts · CPC title

• B60H1/00685

  the door being a rotating disc or cylinder or part thereof (B60H1/00678 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F25D21/002

  Defroster control · CPC title

• B60H1/0005 Primary

  the air being firstly cooled and subsequently heated or vice versa · CPC title

• B60H1/00678

  the axis of rotation being in the door plane, e.g. butterfly doors · CPC title