# US 12,179,549 B2 · Air conditioning unit for vehicle > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,179,549 B2 - Document ID: US12179549B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/872,742 - Filed: 2022-07-25 - Published: 2022-11-10 - Granted: 2024-12-31 - Earliest claimed: 2020-02-28 - Assignees: Denso Corporation - Applicants: Denso Corporation - Inventors: Kenichirou Maeda - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12179549B2 ## CPC - B60H 1/00028: {Constructional lay-out of the devices in the vehicle} - B60H 1/00535: {Mounting or fastening of the housing to the vehicle} - B60H 1/00564: {of air ducts} - B60H 2001/00107: {characterised by the relative position of the heat exchangers, e.g. arrangements leading to a curved airflow} - B60H 2001/00185: {Distribution of conditionned air} - B60H 2001/00214: {Devices in front of the passenger compartment} - B60H: ARRANGEMENTS OF HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATING OR OTHER AIR-TREATING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PASSENGER OR GOODS SPACES OF VEHICLES ## Abstract An air conditioning unit for a vehicle includes: a heat exchanger arranged in an engine compartment partitioned by a fire wall from a cabin; a first case arranged in the engine compartment to house the heat exchanger; and a second case arranged in the cabin to send air from the heat exchanger into the cabin. The fire wall has: a through hole passing through the fire wall so as to connect the first case and the second; and an air passage hole that defines an air passage to send air from the cabin into the engine compartment. The heat exchanger is arranged so that an entire area of the air passage hole is located inside a projection area defined by projecting the heat exchanger from a front to a rear of the vehicle. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An air conditioning unit for a vehicle comprising: a heat exchanger arranged in an engine compartment partitioned by a fire wall from a cabin of the vehicle so as to exchange heat between air and refrigerant; a first case arranged in the engine compartment to house the heat exchanger; and a second case arranged in the cabin to send air from the heat exchanger into the cabin, wherein the fire wall has a through hole passing through the fire wall, the first case and the second case being connected to each other inside the through hole, and an air passage hole that defines an air passage to send air from the cabin into the engine compartment, the heat exchanger includes a core portion through which a refrigerant passes and header tanks arranged at respective ends of the core portion to communicate with the core portion, the heat exchanger is arranged so that a projection area covers an entire outside of the through hole of the fire wall, the projection area being defined by projecting the core portion from a front to a rear of the vehicle, and the heat exchanger is arranged so that an entire area of the air passage hole is located inside the projection area. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The air conditioning unit according to claim 1, wherein the through hole and the air passage hole are formed in the fire wall as a single hole portion, and the heat exchanger is arranged so that the projection area covers an entire outside of the single hole portion of the fire wall. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The air conditioning unit according to claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger is arranged so as to be inclined so that an upper end of the heat exchanger is closer to the fire wall than a lower end of the heat exchanger is, and an overlapping area between the projection area and the fire wall is larger on an upper side of the through hole than on a lower side of the through hole. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The air conditioning unit according to claim 1, wherein the air passage hole and the through hole are separated from each other by a remaining part of the fire wall. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The air conditioning unit according to claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger is arranged so that a part of the projection area is located inside of the air passage hole. ### Claim 6 An air conditioning unit for a vehicle comprising: a heat exchanger arranged in an engine compartment partitioned by a fire wall from a cabin of the vehicle so as to exchange heat between air and refrigerant; a first case arranged in the engine compartment to house the heat exchanger; and a second case arranged in the cabin to send air from the heat exchanger into the cabin, wherein the heat exchanger includes a core portion through which a refrigerant passes and header tanks arranged at respective ends of the core portion to communicate with the core portion, the fire wall has a through hole passing through the fire wall, the first case and the second case being connected to each other inside the through hole, a projection area defined by projecting the core portion from a front to a rear of the vehicle has a rectangular shape, the heat exchanger is arranged so that a part of the projection area is located inside of the through hole of the fire wall, and the heat exchanger is arranged so that all corners of the projection area are outside the through hole of the fire wall. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The air conditioning unit according to claim 6, wherein the fire wall has an air passage hole that forms an air passage through which air flows between the cabin and the engine compartment, and the heat exchanger is arranged so that an entire area of the air passage hole is outside the projection area. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The air conditioning unit according to claim 6, wherein the fire wall has an air passage hole that forms an air passage through which air flows between the cabin and the engine compartment, and the heat exchanger is arranged so that all corners of the projection area are outside the through hole and the air passage hole of the fire wall. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The air conditioning unit according to claim 7, wherein the through hole and the air passage hole are formed in the fire wall as a single hole portion, and the heat exchanger is arranged so that all corners of the projection area are outside the single hole portion of the fire wall. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The air conditioning unit according to claim 7, wherein the air passage hole and the through hole are separated from each other by a remaining part of the fire wall. ### Claim 11 (depends on 7) The air conditioning unit according to claim 7, wherein the heat exchanger is arranged so that a part of the projection area is located inside of the air passage hole.