US 6,138,749 AGranted

Automotive air-conditioner with vent and air-mixing door interlocking mechanism

AssigneeDenso Corporation

InventorsTakayoshi Kawai, Hiroshi Nonoyama

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A motor vehicle air-conditioner having a structure that reduces production costs. Main and sub air-mixing doors and an inner-air FOOT door are mechanically interlocked with a single air-mixing door actuator. The shape of an engagement hole of a main link plate of a door-interlock device is formed to correspond to an operation pattern to rotate the main and sub air-mixing doors from MAX COOL to MAX HOT in an interval where a servomotor opening degree is from 0% to 80%. The shape of an engagement hole of a main link plate is such that the plate functions as a lost motion link plate that corresponds to an operation pattern to rotate the inner-air FOOT door from a fully closed state to a fully open state in an interval where the servomotor opening degree is from 80% to 100%. As a result, opening of the inner-air FOOT door becomes difficult even when the main and sub air-mixing doors are opened, and so leakage of conditioned air from a foot vent can be prevented.

Claims10

Dependent claims

An automobile air conditioner for conditioning air to be blown into an automobile passenger compartment, comprising:

a housing defining first and second intake ports for receiving air supplied from within, and outside of, the passenger compartment respectively, and a plurality of vents for outputting conditioned air into the passenger compartment;
a heat exchanger for heating the supplied air;
an air bypass device that is operative to cause a predetermined quantity of the supplied air to bypass the heat exchanger;
a vent-switching device that is operative to selectively open or close one or more of the plurality of vents;
a linkage mechanism that interconnects the vent-switching device and the air bypass device;
and
an actuator in communication with the linkage mechanism that selectively actuates the air bypass device, the vent-switching device, or both the air bypass device and the vent-switching device, via the linkage mechanism;
the vent-switching device being connected to the linkage mechanism via a lost motion linkage plate so that the vent-switching device is maintained in place during actuation of the air bypass device in response to a predetermined operating mode;
wherein the housing further defines a warm air passage for causing air to pass through and to be heated by the heat exchanger, a cold air bypass passage for causing air to bypass the heat exchanger device, a mixing chamber in which both the air from the warm air passage and the air from the cold air bypass passage are mixed before being output into the passenger compartment, and a warm air bypass passage for causing the air heated by the heat exchanger to bypass the mixing chamber and to be output directly to the passenger compartment.

6 more elements

An automotive air conditioner, comprising:

an air-conditioner case having a face vent for blowing conditioned air toward the head and chest area of a rider, a foot vent for blowing conditioned air toward the feet of a rider, and a defroster vent for blowing conditioned air toward an inner surface of a vehicle window glass;
inlet port switching means having an inside air inlet port and an outside air inlet port for opening and closing said inside an air inlet port and said outside air inlet port, said inside air inlet port for introducing an inside air to said air conditioner-case, said outside air inlet port for introducing an outside air to said air-conditioner case;
a heat exchanger to heat air flowing within said air-conditioner case;
a communicating passage communicating an air downstream side of said heat exchanger and said foot vent;
an air mixing door to regulate an air quantity passing through said heat exchanger and an air quantity bypassing said heat exchanger;
a vent switching door to selectively open or close said communicating passage and at least one of said face vent, said foot vent and said defroster vent;
a single actuator to drive at least said air mixing door and said vent switching door;
interconnecting means to cause said air-mixing door and said vent switching door to be mechanically interlocked with said actuator;
an air passage within said air conditioner case is partitioned to form a first air passage to induct inside air introduced by operating said inlet port switching means to said foot vent, and a second air passage to induct outside air introduced by operating said inlet port switching means to said defroster vent when said foot vent and said defroster vent are both simultaneously opened, when said air mixing door is operated at a location where said air quantity passing through said heat exchanger is maximized and a maximum heating state is established.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/169,899Filed 12 Oct 1998
Priority: JP 9-27846413 Oct 1997
Granted: 31 Oct 2000
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification5 codes

B60H 1/00064
Air flow details of HVAC devices: for sending air streams of different temperatures into the passenger compartment
B60H 1/00842
Damper doors, e.g. position control: the system comprising a plurality of damper doors; Air distribution between several outlets
B60H 2001/00085
Assembling, manufacturing or layout details: of air intake
B60H 2001/00107
Assembling, manufacturing or layout details: characterised by the relative position of the heat exchangers, e.g. arrangements leading to a curved…