Air passage switching device and vehicle air conditioner

An air conditioner for a vehicle, comprising:

• a case for defining an air passage through which air flows into a passenger compartment of the vehicle, the case having adjacent first and second opening portions partitioned from each other by a partition portion, for introducing air inside the passenger compartment and air outside the passenger compartment;
• a slide door slidable along the first and second opening portions in a sliding direction to open and close the first and second opening portions;
• a guide member, provided in the case, for guiding the slide door to be slidable;
• and
• a link mechanism for slidably moving the slide door along the guide member, wherein:
• the link mechanism includes a rotation shaft rotatably supported in the case, a link portion provided at one end portion of the slide door in the slide direction, and a link lever connected to the rotation shaft and the link portion;
• the link portion is positioned at a tip end portion of the link lever rotatable around the rotation shaft;
• and
• the link portion is rotatable around the rotation shaft only within a range of the second opening portion in the sliding direction, among the first and second opening portions.

An air conditioner for a vehicle, comprising:

• a case for defining an air passage through which air flows into a passenger compartment of the vehicle, the case having adjacent first and second opening portions partitioned from each other by a partition portion in the air passage;
• a cooling unit disposed in the case for cooling air;
• a heating unit disposed in the case downstream from the cooling unit to heat air, the heating unit being arranged to form a bypass passage through which air from the cooling unit bypasses the heating unit;
• a slide door slidable along the first and second opening portions in a sliding direction to open and close the first and second opening portions which communicate with a passage of the heating unit and the bypass passage, respectively, between the cooling unit and the heating unit in an air flowing direction;
• a guide member, provided in the case, for guiding the slide door to be slidable;
• and
• a link mechanism for slidably moving the slide door along the guide member, wherein:
• the link mechanism includes a rotation shaft rotatably supported in the case, a link portion provided at one end portion of the slide door in the slide direction, and a link lever connected to the rotation shaft and the link portion;
• the link portion is positioned at a tip end portion of the link lever rotatable around the rotation shaft;
• and
• the link portion is rotatable around the rotation shaft only within a range of the second opening portion in the sliding direction, among the first and second opening portions.