Automotive air conditioner
First Claim
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1. An automotive air conditioner comprising:
- a casing;
an evaporator disposed in said casing;
an upstream air passage in said casing through which intake air is introduced into said evaporator;
a heater core disposed in said casing, said heater core positioned downstream from said evaporator;
a downstream air passage formed between said evaporator and said heater core, through which cooled air output from said evaporator flows;
at least one partition plate disposed in said downstream air passage, said partition plate forming independent sub-air passages in said downstream air passage;
a plurality of doors disposed in said downstream air passage, at least one of said plurality of doors being disposed in each of said independent sub air-passages, each door of said plurality of doors extending substantially parallel to one another and in the same plane, each of said plurality of doors including a toothed section;
a gear for causing sliding movement of said at least one of said plurality of doors by engagement with the toothed section of said at least one of said plurality of doors when said gear rotates; and
a driving mechanism coupled to said gear and configured to drive said at least one of said plurality of doors in a slidable fashion, wherein each of said plurality of doors selectively controls the amount of said cooled air output from said evaporator flowing to said heater core, wherein each of said plurality of doors is capable of sliding independently of one another.
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Abstract
A downstream side air passage of a an automotive air conditioner unit is partitioned into at least two or more independent small air passages with a plurality of partition plates extending along an air flow direction. Doors are provided for the respective small air passages and the small air passages each can distribute air that is independently conditioned to desired temperatures within themselves. A driving mechanism drives the doors in a slidable fashion.
51 Citations
28 Claims
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1. An automotive air conditioner comprising:
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a casing;
an evaporator disposed in said casing;
an upstream air passage in said casing through which intake air is introduced into said evaporator;
a heater core disposed in said casing, said heater core positioned downstream from said evaporator;
a downstream air passage formed between said evaporator and said heater core, through which cooled air output from said evaporator flows;
at least one partition plate disposed in said downstream air passage, said partition plate forming independent sub-air passages in said downstream air passage;
a plurality of doors disposed in said downstream air passage, at least one of said plurality of doors being disposed in each of said independent sub air-passages, each door of said plurality of doors extending substantially parallel to one another and in the same plane, each of said plurality of doors including a toothed section;
a gear for causing sliding movement of said at least one of said plurality of doors by engagement with the toothed section of said at least one of said plurality of doors when said gear rotates; and
a driving mechanism coupled to said gear and configured to drive said at least one of said plurality of doors in a slidable fashion, wherein each of said plurality of doors selectively controls the amount of said cooled air output from said evaporator flowing to said heater core, wherein each of said plurality of doors is capable of sliding independently of one another. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
a downstream plate provided in the air passage downstream of said heater core, wherein said downstream plate diverts air passing through said heater core, to achieve mixing with air that bypasses said heater core.
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17. The automotive air conditioner of claim 1, wherein said gear causes sliding movement of said at least one of said plurality of doors along a longitudinal axis of said at least one of said plurality of doors.
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18. The automotive air conditioner of claim 1, wherein said gear for causing sliding movement of said at least one of said plurality of doors is spaced apart from other doors of said plurality of doors.
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19. The automotive air conditioner of claim 1, wherein air-facing surfaces of each of said plurality of doors are positioned substantially parallel to one another in a same plane.
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20. An automotive air conditioner comprising:
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a casing;
an evaporator disposed in said casing;
an upstream air passage in said casing through which intake air is introduced into said evaporator;
a heater core disposed in said casing, said heater core positioned downstream from said evaporator;
a downstream air passage formed between said evaporator and said heater core, through which cooled air output from said evaporator flows;
a plurality of air mix doors positioned in said downstream air passage and substantially parallel to one another in a plane extending perpendicular to the direction of air flow;
a gear for causing sliding movement of at least one of said plurality of air mix doors by engagement with said at least one of said plurality of air mix doors when said gear rotates; and
a driving mechanism coupled to said gear and configured to drive said at least one of said plurality of air mix doors in a slidable fashion;
wherein a first one of said plurality of air mix doors controls an amount of said cooled air flowing to said heater core and directed to a rear seat vent, and wherein a second one of said plurality of air mix doors controls an amount of said cooled air flowing to said heater core and directed to a front seat vent, wherein each of said plurality of air mix doors is capable of sliding independently of one another. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. The An automotive air comprising:
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a casing;
an evaporator disposed in said casing;
an upstream air passage in said casing through which intake air is introduced into said evaporator;
a heater core disposed in said casing, said heater core positioned downstream from said evaporator;
a downstream air passage formed between said evaporator and said heater core, through which cooled air output from said evaporator flows;
at least one partition plate disposed in said downstream air passage, said partition plate forming independent sub-air passages in said downstream air passage;
a plurality of doors disposed in said downstream air passage, at least one of said plurality of doors being disposed in each of said independent sub air-passages, each door of said plurality of doors extending substantially parallel to one another and in the same plane, each of said plurality of doors including a toothed section;
a gear for causing sliding movement of said at least one of said plurality of doors by engagement with the toothed section of said at least one of said plurality of doors when said gear rotates; and
a driving mechanism coupled to said gear and configured to drive said at least one of said plurality of doors in a slidable fashion, wherein each of said plurality of doors selectively controls the amount of said cooled air output from said evaporator flowing to said heater core, wherein said at least one of said plurality of doors has a concave expanding portion at an interior section thereof, to facilitate air flow in a corresponding one of the sub-air passages. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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Specification