Refrigeration – With vehicle feature – Occupant-type vehicle
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-27
2001-11-20
Bennett, Henry (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
With vehicle feature
Occupant-type vehicle
C454S137000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06318102
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioning apparatus for, e.g., efficiently cooling the rear portion of a vehicle interior.
Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open No. 63-26420 discloses two rows of rear seats being arrayed in a front-to-rear direction of the vehicle behind the driver's seat, an air conditioning unit having an evaporator located in a rear portion of a vehicle interior, cool air ejected from the air conditioning unit being guided to an upper portion of the vehicle interior by a conditioned air duct located inside a pillar of the most rear portion the vehicle body, further guided to an front portion of the vehicle interior along a roof side portion located on a side wall of an upper portion of the vehicle interior, and cooling the rear portion of the vehicle interior by ejecting the conditioned air from an air duct provided in front of the roof side portion.
However, with the construction where the air conditioning unit is located on a side wall of a lower portion of the vehicle interior and the air duct is located on an upper portion of the air conditioning unit, it is difficult to cool the rear portion of the vehicle interior widely and evenly by causing the phenomenon that a cooling air flows into only a part of the rear portion of the vehicle interior through a portion proximate to the air conditioning unit. The air conditioning unit located on the rear portion of the vehicle interior is fundamentally used as inside air circulation type, this type of air conditioning unit more easily circulating a heating air ejected from the air duct in a part of the vehicle interior than an outside air circulation type. Thus, it is difficult to make the temperature of the rear portion of the vehicle interior even.
Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 2-126916 also discloses cool air ejected from a rear cooler located on the rear portion of the vehicle interior of a Sports Utility Vehicle type vehicle being guided to an upper portion of the vehicle interior by a cooling air duct provided inside a pillar located in a central portion of a side wall in a front-to-rear direction of the vehicle and cooling the rear portion of the vehicle interior by ejecting the conditioned air from an air duct provided on a roof portion of the vehicle interior.
However, with the construction where the cooling air duct is provided inside a pillar located in a central portion of a side wall in a front-to-rear direction of the vehicle, and when an opening area of the air duct is larger so as to reduce flow resistance of the cooling air flowing into the air duct, the width size of the pillar is larger in accordance with the opening area of the air duct, the larger size of the pillar deteriorates visibility of a passenger sitting on the passenger's seat and the air conditioning unit can not be located in the rear portion of the vehicle interior so that the rear seats can be stored into the rear space by sliding the rear seats without any obstruction in the operation for storing the rear seats.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is made in consideration of the above situation, and has as its object to provide a vehicle air conditioning apparatus capable of locating an air conditioning unit in the rear portion of a vehicle interior so that a rear seat can be housed in a hollow without any obstruction when the seat back of the rear seat is folded down on a seat bottom of the rear seat and the entire seat is pushed back to the rear direction.
In order to solve the foregoing problems, according to a first aspect of a vehicle air conditioning apparatus of the present invention, the vehicle air conditioning apparatus provided in a vehicle where plural rows of seats are arrayed in a front-to-rear direction of the vehicle and an air conditioning unit is provided for air-condition of a rear portion of the vehicle inside area, comprises the air conditioning unit being arranged in a hollow of the rear portion of the vehicle inside area, and the hollow being provided in a floor panel of the rear portion of the vehicle inside area and for housing a rear seat when a seat back of said rear seat is folded down on a seat bottom of the rear seat and the entire seat is pushed back to the rear direction.
According to the aforementioned first aspect of the present invention, the air conditioning unit is arranged in a hollow of the rear portion of the vehicle inside area, and the hollow is provided in a floor panel of the rear portion of the vehicle inside area and for housing a rear seat when a seat back of said rear seat is folded down on a seat bottom of the rear seat and the entire seat is pushed back to the rear direction. By virtue of this construction, the air conditioning unit can be located in the rear portion of a vehicle interior so that the rear seat can be housed in a hollow without any obstruction when the seat back of the rear seat is folded down on a seat bottom of the rear seat and the entire seat is pushed back to the rear direction.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the vehicle air conditioning apparatus according to the aforementioned first aspect is characterized in that the air conditioning unit is arranged in a space formed between a lower end of a pillar located in the rear most part of a vehicle body and a wheel housing of the rear wheel. By virtue of this construction, a space for storing seat back can be secured inside the air conditioning unit and a space for positioning a rear door in front of the air conditioning unit.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the vehicle air conditioning apparatus provided in a vehicle where plural rows of seats are arrayed in a front-to-rear direction of the vehicle, is characterized by comprising a cooler duct to guide cool air from a cooler unit of an air conditioning unit to a portion above and between a first rear seat positioned on a second row of seats from a vehicle front and a second rear seat positioned behind the first rear seat, wherein a first outlet to eject cool air to the first rear seat side and a second outlet to eject cool air to the second rear seat side are formed on the cooler duct, and the first outlet is arranged in a position away from a seated portion of the first rear seat.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, cool air from the cooler unit is guided to a portion above and between the first rear seat and the second rear seat through the cooler duct, and ejected from the first and second outlets. By virtue of this construction, the rear portion of the vehicle interior can be efficiently cooled while avoiding direct ejection of cool air to the back of the head of a passenger who is seated on the first rear seat.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the vehicle air conditioning apparatus according to the aforementioned first aspect is characterized in that the first rear seat is a separate type seat in which left and right seats are independent, and the first outlet is arranged in a central portion of the cooler duct in a vehicle width direction.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, cool air is ejected from the first outlet, formed on the cooler duct, to the middle of the first rear seat in its rear surface side, wherein the first rear seat is provided on the left and right separately. Therefore, the rear portion of the vehicle interior can be efficiently cooled while avoiding direct ejection of cool air to the back of the head of the passenger seated on the first rear seat provided on the left and right separately.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the vehicle air conditioning apparatus according to the first or the second aspects is characterized in that the second outlet to eject cool air to a front surface side of the second rear seat situated in a last row of seats in the vehicle is arranged in the central portion of the cooler duct in the vehicle width direction.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, cool air is ejected
Asou Hiroshi
Hosoda Shintaro
Sakane Katsumi
Bennett Henry
Jiang Chen-Wen
Mazda Motor Corporation
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