# US 8,540,014 B2 · Vehicle air conditioner

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- Number: US 8,540,014 B2
- Document ID: US8540014B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 12/527,106
- Filed: 2008-01-30
- Published: 2010-02-04
- Granted: 2013-09-24
- Earliest claimed: 2007-03-08
- Assignees: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
- Applicants: Noriyuki Chikagawa; Shiro Matsubara; Yasunari Tanaka
- Inventors: Noriyuki Chikagawa; Shiro Matsubara; Yasunari Tanaka
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8540014B2

## CPC

- B60H 1/00028: {Constructional lay-out of the devices in the vehicle}
- B60H 2001/00092: {of air deflecting or air directing means inside the device}
- B60H 2001/006: {Noise reduction}
- B60H: ARRANGEMENTS OF HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATING OR OTHER AIR-TREATING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PASSENGER OR GOODS SPACES OF VEHICLES

## Abstract

In a vehicle air conditioner (1) employing an air-mix method, airflow which passed through a bypass channel (14) and airflow which passed through a heated air channel (13) are mixed in an air-mix area (15) located downstream of an air-mix damper (6) and the airflow is guided to a foot outlet (19) through a foot channel (18) provided on the back side of a partition wall (2A) constituting the heated air channel (13). The vehicle air conditioner includes a mixing enhancement portion (50) that makes airflow flowing along the partition wall (2A) flow toward the air-mix area (15) and an introduction portion (60) that is continuous with the mixing enhancement portion (50) and smoothly guides the airflow after air mixing to the foot channel (18) are provided at an end (30) of the partition wall (2A) constituting an outlet of the heated air channel (13).

## Claims

### Claim 1

A vehicle air conditioner in which a bypass channel and a heated air channel that has a heater core disposed therein, through which channels an airflow having a flow rate ratio adjusted by an air-mix damper flows, are formed in an air channel on the downstream side of an evaporator,
a cooled airflow which passed through the bypass channel and a heated airflow which passed through the heated air channel being mixed in an air-mix area located downstream of the air-mix damper to be a mixed airflow, the mixed airflow being guided to a foot outlet through a foot channel provided on the back side of a partition wall constituting the heated air channel
wherein a mixing enhancement portion that makes the heated airflow flowing along the partition wall flow toward the air-mix area and an introduction portion that is continuous with the mixing enhancement portion and smoothly guides the mixed airflow after air mixing to the foot channel are provided at an end of the partition wall constituting an outlet of the heated air channel,
the mixing enhancement portion is formed of a first convex curved surface having a curvature allowing the heated airflow to be easily separated,
the introduction portion is formed of a second convex curved surface having a smaller curvature than the first convex curved surface,
the first convex curved surface and the second convex curved surface are connected by a first linear plane in a flow direction, and
a direction changing portion that is formed of a smooth concave curved surface and directs an outflow direction of the heated airflow flowing from the heated air channel to the air-mix area toward a direction in which it collides with the cooled airflow flowing from the bypass channel to the air-mix area is provided in an upstream area of the mixing enhancement portion and on a wall surface on the heated air channel,
wherein the partition wall has a wall surface, on the foot channel side, that is continuous with the first convex curved surface and that is formed of the first linear plane, the second convex surface, a second linear plane, a third convex curved surface, and a third linear plane, and
wherein the first convex curved surface has a radius of several millimeters, and the second convex curved surface has a radius from about ten millimeters to several tens of millimeters.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the concave curved surface serves as a damper abutting surface to which an end of the air-mix damper is abutted when the outlet of the heated air channel is closed during maximum cooling.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the end of the partition wall is structured such that a part or the entirety thereof is formed to be segmented from other portions of the partition wall and the segment is assembled therewith.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 3, wherein the segment of the end of the partition wall is segmented into a plurality of segments in the width direction of the air channel and the segments are assembled.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 4, wherein the partition wall having a partition plate for dividing the air channel into left and right, and some of the segments are provided integrally with the partition plate.