Air conditioner system for automotive vehicle

A method of assembling an air conditioner for automotive vehicles comprising:

• providing duct means having at least one air inlet for introducing air therein to, said duct means having a first discharge outlet directed to a front portion of the vehicle compartment for discharging conditioned air of a first temperature therethrough, said first discharge outlet including a front vent opening, a defroster opening, and a front foot vent opening, said duct means also including a second discharge outlet directed to a rear portion of a vehicle compartment for discharging conditioned air of a second temperature therethrough;
• further providing air cooling source means disposed within said duct means for cooling air introduced through said at least one air inlet;
• further providing air heating source means disposed within said duct means and downstream of said air cooling source means, said air heating source including a first temperature adjusting means for controlling a first temperature and a second temperature adjusting means for controlling a second temperature, said first and second temperature adjusting means having a heat exchanger for heating air passing therethrough;
• further providing first and second cooled air passage means, associated with said duct means and said air heating source means for respectively defining first and second bypasses, for passing cooled air which is generated by said air cooling source means and which bypasses said air heating source means;
• further providing partition means for dividing an internal space defined in said duct means into a first air mix chamber, communicated with said first temperature adjusting means and said first cooled air passage means, for generating said conditioned air of said first temperature, and a second air mix chamber, which is communicated with said second temperature adjusting means and said second cooled air passage means for generating said conditioned air of said second temperature, said first and second air mix chambers respectively communicating with said first and second discharge outlets in said front and rear portions of said vehicle compartment;
• further providing first means for communicating between said first and second air mix chambers, said first means being formed in said partition means downstream of said air heating source means;
• and
• further providing either one of two exchangeable parts (A) or (B), wherein
• (A) is a first exchangeable part comprising a portion of said partition means which includes second means associated with said first means, said second means being operable in a first mode wherein said first and second temperatures are controlled independently of each other and in a second mode wherein said first and second temperatures are commonly controlled, a communication duct disposed within said first air mix chamber and having an aperture, a first passage through which conditioned air is directly introduced from said second air mix chamber to said second discharge outlet, and a second passage connecting said front foot vent opening to said first air mix chamber and
• (B) is a second exchangeable part comprising a portion of said partition means which includes a small partition wall section inserted so as to prevent direct introduction of conditioned air from second air mix chamber to said second discharge outlet.