Ventilation – Vehicle – Condensation preventer
Patent
1993-09-07
1994-08-16
Joyce, Harold
Ventilation
Vehicle
Condensation preventer
454121, 454160, B60H 112
Patent
active
053382498
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates generally to a method and system for controlling fresh-air and more particularly to a method and system for controlling fresh-air in the mid-level area of a motor vehicle.
In such a method known through prior public use, a control knob on the central control unit is turned to a MID-LEVEL setting to route the unheated fresh air moved by a fan through a fresh-air duct to one or more nozzles disposed in the mid-level area. Alternatively, the control knob is turned to a DEFROSTER setting to route the air through a defroster air duct to the windshield after it is heated in a heater core to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the setting of the temperature selector on the control unit. The control knob may also be turned to a FLOOR LEVEL setting to route the air to the floor area of the motor vehicle, again after the air is heated in the heater core to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the setting of the temperature selector. To establish the various air flows, flaps in the individual air ducts identified above are moved between a fully-open position and a fully-closed position as a function of the control knob. In addition, the volume of air flowing in the suction duct on the intake side can be adjusted, generally by means of an air-volume regulator on the control unit.
So that an undesirable fresh-air flow from the mid-level nozzles does not occur, especially when the outside temperatures are cold, the known systems discussed above include a special control means for closing the fresh-air nozzle opening to a greater or lesser extent.
Moreover, German patent 33 38 768 discloses a means for obtaining a comfortable headroom temperature when there are very cold outside temperatures by automatically mixing warm air with the cold outside air entering through the discharge nozzle. The headroom temperature is cooler than that of the air which, under otherwise equal conditions, is routed to the defroster or floor-level nozzles. In this known approach the temperature is controlled with air flaps located downstream of the heater core, a warm-air bypass duct extending parallel to the fresh-air duct and a shut-off flap, actuated by a separate control means which simultaneously opens or closes both the fresh-air duct and the bypass duct with the warm air. Independent of this, an air-distribution control is provided that is similar to the above-mentioned known fresh-air control.
The problem in the prior art is that there is no fresh-air control system in a motor vehicle which provides greater ventilation comfort, particularly with very low outside-air temperatures, by mechanically simple means that permit compact installation and ease of operation.
The present invention provides a method for controlling fresh-air in a mid-level area of an instrument panel of a motor vehicle. The method utilizes a heating and air-conditioning system that is controlled by a thermostat on a water side and a central control unit having an air-distribution control formed as a control knob that has a FLOOR LEVEL setting, a DEFROSTER setting, and a MID-LEVEL setting therebetween. The method includes the steps of: actuating with the control knob a first air flap disposed in a fresh-air duct; supplying air to at least one fresh-air nozzle in the mid-level area; controlling with the control knob a supplementary air flap disposed in a warm-air supplementary duct via the first air flap that is directly coupled to the supplementary air flap; supplying the fresh-air nozzle with air by the supplementary air flap; positioning the control knob such that in the MID-LEVEL setting the first air flap is in an open position for fresh-air admission and the supplementary air flap is in a closed position relative to a heater core; positioning the control knob such that in a setting between the MID-LEVEL and DEFROSTER or FLOOR LEVEL settings the first air flap is in the open position for fresh-air admission and the supplementary air flap is in the open position relative to the heater core; and positioning the control knob such that i
REFERENCES:
patent: 4515208 (1985-05-01), Sakurai et al.
patent: 4549692 (1985-10-01), Busch et al.
patent: 4681153 (1987-07-01), Uchida
Hildebrand Reinhard
Schramm Michael
Joyce Harold
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
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