No title available

• US 3,597,935 A
• Filed:
• Issued:
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: N/A
• Original Assignee: N/A
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 62/163
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00007 Combined heating, ventilating, or cooling devices control systems or mechanisms B60H1/00642

Abstract

A self-contained factory-assembled and sealed air-conditioning unit is arranged for inconspicuous floor-mounted installation at the rear of the passenger compartment of a compact car, forwardly of the firewall ahead of a rear engine. The usual separate conditioned-air circulation path is provided at the top of the relatively small unit, in sealed relation to lower coolant-air paths running between laterally spaced bottom openings which communicate with corresponding floorboard openings for intake and discharge of ambient coolant air. Major power requirements, for the compressor and for a fan associated with the coolant-air path, are efficiently satisfied by a single universal-jointed mechanical coupling with an auxiliary power shaft extending forwardly from a pulley-driven relationship with the rear engine. Auxiliary ducting, body openings, separate sources of power for the compressor and fan, separate installations of system components, and disturbance of sealed refrigerant lines, are all advantageously avoided.

Claims

1. Automotive air-conditioning apparatus comprising a housing having bottom surfaces disposed for mounting upon the floor of an automobile, said surfaces having a pair of spaced air-inlet and outlet openings disposed for registration with corresponding openings through the automobile floor, means partitioning the interior of said housing into three separate chambers one of which communicates directly with said inlet opening and another of which communicates directly with said outlet opening, a compressor and a fan mounted on the drive shaft for said compressor within one of said chambers, a condenser within the other of said chambers, means ducting air between said chambers in a flow stream between said inlet and outlet openings wherein air is forced across said condenser by said fan, said housing having top surfaces with spaced air-inlet and -outlet openings therethrough in direct communication with the third chamber in said housing, an evaporator and blower in said third chamber, said blower forcing air from the passenger compartment of the automobile in a flow stream across said evaporator between said inlet and outlet openings through said top surfaces, means connecting said compressor and condenser and evaporator in refrigeration-circuit relationship, an auxiliary power shaft external to said housing, means for supporting said shaft on the engine of the automobile in belt-driven relation with the engine shaft at one end of said power shaft, and means supporting the opposite end of said power shaft in relation to said compressor and connecting said opposite end in driving relation to said compressor drive shaft and the fan thereon.

2. Automobile air-conditioning apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said fan comprises a centrifugal fan, wherein said compressor drive shaft extends in substantially the same direction as said auxiliary power shaft, and wherein at least one of said supporting means including a bearing providing at least limited universal-jointed freedom for movements of said auxiliary power shaft.

3. Automobile air-conditioning apparatus as set forth in claim 11 wherein said housing is arranged for floor mounting near the rear of a rear-engine automobile ahead of the said engine with said air-inlet and -outlet openings associated with said bottom surfaces being spaced laterally in relation to fore-aft directions of the automobile, and wherein auxiliary power shaft and compressor shaft extend in said fore-aft directions.

4. Automobile air-conditioning apparatus as set forth in claim 3 wherein said inlet and outlet openings through said top surfaces are spaced from one another in said fore-aft directions, wherein said other of said chambers containing said condenser underlies said third chamber containing said evaporator, and wherein said other and third chambers both laterally adjoin said one of said chambers containing said compressor and said centrifugal fan.

5. Automobile air-condiTioning apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said housing has the general configuration of a rectangular parallelepiped and is arranged for floor mounting near the rear of a rear-engine automobile ahead of said engine with said air-inlet and -outlet openings associated with said bottom surfaces being spaced laterally in relation to fore-aft directions of the automobile, wherein said other of said chambers containing said condenser underlies said third chamber containing said evaporator and both laterally adjoin said one of said chambers containing said compressor and fan, means mounting said compressor within said housing with the drive shaft thereof parallel with said fore-aft directions and with the fan thereof disposed near one of the front and rear sides of the housing, a first ducting panel closing said one of said sides of said housing except for laterally spaced openings therethrough directly communicating respectively with said other of said chambers and with said third chamber, and a second ducting panel overlying and covering said first panel in a spaced relation thereto which provides an internal ducting space therebetween for coolant air from below the automobile to pass between said other and third chambers.

6. Automobile air-conditioning apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein said one of said sides comprise a rear side of the housing, relative to said fore-aft directions.

7. Automobile air-conditioning apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein said fan comprises a centrifugal fan, and wherein said opening through said first ducting panel communicating with said third chamber is disposed in substantially centered relation to said centrifugal fan to admit coolant air from the said ducting space into the fan for centrifugal pumping.

8. Automobile air-conditioning apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means supporting said opposite end of said power shaft in relation to said compressor and connecting said opposite end in driving relation to said compressor shaft and fan comprises bearing means for said auxiliary shaft, a bracket fixed in relation to said compressor and mounting said bearing means below the one of said bottom openings associated with said one of said chambers, a first pulley mounted on said auxiliary shaft below said one of said bottom openings, a second pulley mounted on the compressor drive shaft, and belt means connecting said first pulley in driving relation to said second pulley.

9. Automobile air-conditioning apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means supporting said opposite end of said power shaft in relation to said compressor and connecting said opposite end in driving relation to said compressor shaft comprises a universal-joint connector securing said auxiliary power shaft substantially in axial alignment with said compressor shaft, said housing having an opening through wall surfaces of said one of said chambers accommodating passage therethrough of a rotating portion of the interconnected power shaft and compressor shaft assembly.

10. Automobile air-conditioning apparatus comprising a housing having bottom surfaces disposed for mounting upon the floor of an automobile, said surfaces having a pair of spaced air-inlet and -outlet openings disposed for registration with corresponding openings through the automobile floor, means partitioning the interior of said housing into separate chambers one of which communicates with said inlet openings and another of which communicates with said outlet opening, a compressor and a fan mounted on the drive shaft for said compressor within one of said chambers, a condenser within the other of said chambers, means ducting air between said chambers in a flow stream between said inlet and outlet openings wherein air is forced across said condenser by said fan, an evaporator connected in refrigeration-circuit relationship with said compressor and condenser, blower means for forcing air from the passenger compartment of the automobile in a flow stream which traverses said Evaporator, an auxiliary power shaft, means for mounting said shaft in belt-driven relation with the engine shaft of said automobile at one end of said power shaft, and means supporting the opposite end of said power shaft in relation to said compressor and connecting said opposite end in driving relation to said compressor drive shaft and fan.

11. Automobile air-conditioning apparatus as set forth in claim 10 wherein said fan comprises a centrifugal fan, wherein said compressor drive shaft extends in substantially the same direction as said auxiliary power shaft, and wherein at least one of said supporting means includes a bearing provided at least limited universal-jointed freedom for movements of said auxiliary power shaft.

12. Automobile air-conditioning apparatus as set forth in claim 11 wherein said mounting is arranged for floor mounting near the rear of a rear-engine automobile ahead of said engine with said air-inlet and -outlet openings associated with said bottom surfaces being spaced laterally in relation to fore-aft directions of the automobile, wherein auxiliary power shaft and compressor shaft extend in said fore-aft directions, wherein said other of said chambers containing said condenser laterally adjoins said one of said chambers containing said compressor and fan, means mounting said compressor within said housing with the drive shaft thereof parallel with said fore-aft directions and with the fan thereof disposed near the rear of the housing, a first ducting member closing said rear of said housing except for laterally spaced openings therethrough directly communicating respectively with said other of said chambers and with said one of said chambers, and a second ducting member overlying and covering said first member in a spaced relation thereto which provides an internal ducting space therebetween for coolant air from below the automobile to pass between said other and third chambers.