Air distributing mechanism for an automotive air conditioning system

• US 4,844,150 A
• Filed: 01/27/1988
• Issued: 07/04/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/1985
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sanden Corporation (Hisense Home Appliances Group Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sanden Corporation (Hisense Home Appliances Group Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Nakazawa, Takeharu
• Primary Examiner(s): Davis, Jr., Albert W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ford, John K.
• Application Number:
  US07/148,150
• Time in Patent Office: 524 Days
• Field of Search: 165/22, 165/41, 165/42, 165/43, 165/17, 98/2.01, 98/2.08, 98/2.09, 98/2.11, 98/2.05, 62/239, 62/243, 62/244, 237/12.3 A, 237/12.3 B
• US Class Current: 165/42
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00064 for sending air streams of different temperatures into the passenger compartment
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/30 for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/38 Failure diagnosis

Abstract

An air distributing mechanism for an automotive air conditioning system comprises an air duct which includes inlet openings and a plurality of outlets, such as an upper outlet, a defroster outlet and lower outlet. An evaporator and heater core are disposed within the air duct for cooling and heating the air, respectively. The heater core is disposed within the duct to partly cover the duct passageway and form a by-pass way. A first damper, a second damper and damper means are disposed at predetermined positions so as to control the direction of air flow in the air flow duct. A bi-level damper is also disposed at a position to face toward the second damper so as to define a cooled air passageway to communicate between the by-pass way and upper outlet. Also, the cooled air and warm air are mixed with one another by change of the angle of the bi-level damper. According to the above-mentioned construction, cooling air and warm air are not only definitely separated during the bi-level mode, but also can be mixed at some constant volume, respectively. Thus the temperature of air flowing into each of the outlets is controlled as desired without using any other temperature controlling devices.

Claims

1. An air distributing mechanism for an automotive air conditioning system comprising:

an air duct including at least one air inlet opening and a plurality of outlets comprising an upper outlet, a defroster outlet, and a lower outlet;

blower means for forcing air circulation toward said outlets;

an evaporator forming a part of an air conditioner circuit disposed in said air duct;

a heater core disposed in said air duct rearwardly of said evaporator partially across said air duct;

a bypass way formed in said duct located above and bypassing said heater core;

a first damper disposed rearwardly of said evaporator and forwardly of said heater core positioned to control the amount of air flowing into said heater core and said bypass way;

a second damper disposed forward of said upper outlet to control the opening and closing of said upper outlet;

damper means for controlling the opening and closing of said defroster outlet and said lower outlet;

a mixing chamber including a lower passage rearward of said heater core and an upper passage rearward of said bypass way, said lower passage adjacent said defroster outlet and said lower outlet, and said upper passage adjacent said upper outlet; and

a bi-level damper pivotably disposed between said upper and lower passages;

said first damper, said second damper, said damper means, and said bi-level damper positionable in at least a vent mode in which said second damper is positioned to open said upper outlet and said damper means is positioned to close said defroster outlet and said lower outlet, a foot mode in which said second damper is positioned to close said upper outlet and said damper means is positioned to close said defroster outlet and open said lower outlet, a defrost mode in which said second damper is positioned to close said upper outlet and said damper means is positioned to close said lower outlet and open said defroster outlet, and a bi-level mode in which said second damper is positioned to open said upper outlet and said damper means is positioned to open said lower outlet, and in said bi-level mode said bi-level damper is movable between at least two mixing positions and an isolating position, in one of said mixing positions said bi-level damper positioned in said lower passage of said mixing chamber to allow air flow into said lower passage from said bypass way and in the other of said mixing positions said bi-level damper positioned in said upper passage of said mixing chamber to allow air flow from said lower passage into said upper passage to mix the air flowing through said heater core and the air flowing through said bypass way to thereby control the temperature of the air flowing through said upper outlet and said lower outlet, and in said isolating position said bi-level damper and said second damper are adjacent to one another and cooperate to isolate air flowing through said upper outlet via said bypass way from air flowing through said lower outlet via said heater core.