Bus air conditioning unit

In a bus having a front, a rear having a back plane, a longitudinal axis which extends between said front and rear, a roof, and a passenger compartment having a ceiling, a method of directing air from the passenger compartment through a roof mounted evaporator of an air conditioning unit, and returning conditioned air to the passenger compartment via first and second air delivery ducts, comprising the steps of:

• dividing the evaporator into first and second transversely spaced evaporator sections, relative to the longitudinal axis of the bus,
• providing an air inlet grille below and between said first and second spaced evaporator sections, substantially in the plane of the ceiling of the passenger compartment,
• providing first and second blowers between said first and second evaporator sections, respectively, and the rear of the bus,
• drawing air from the bus:
• (1) vertically upward through said air inlet grille,
• (2) transversely, relative to the longitudinal axis of the bus, through said first and second evaporator sections, and
• (3) parallel with the longitudinal axis of the bus into said first and second blowers,
• discharging air from said first and second blowers transversely, relative to the longitudinal axis of the bus, into the first and second air delivery ducts,
• disposing a refrigerant condenser between the evaporator and the rear of the bus, and between the first and second blowers, with said condenser having a horizontally oriented air inlet plane adjacent to the plane of the bus roof,
• disposing first and second condenser fans substantially in the back plane of the bus,
• driving the first blower and first fan via a first common power source,
• driving the second blower and second fan via a second common power source,
• drawing air through said refrigerant condenser,
• and discharging the air drawn through the refrigerant condenser from the back plane of the bus via said first and second fans.