Heating systems – Heat and power plants – Vehicle
Reexamination Certificate
2001-11-05
2003-04-15
Boles, Derek (Department: 3743)
Heating systems
Heat and power plants
Vehicle
C454S156000, C454S160000, C165S041000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06547152
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The above-referenced invention relates to vehicle heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, and more specifically to an air distribution module for directing air-flow to different portions of the vehicle interior.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Vehicle ventilation systems have long been utilized in vehicles to provide comfort to the vehicle occupants. Initial ventilation systems comprised a simple duct that was opened or closed by a manually operated valve directing outside ambient air to the vehicle interior. Through the years, consumers have desired increased interior comfort and manufacturers have delivered systems to satisfy consumer demand for improved interior temperature control. Advances made over the years include directing air through a heated core for delivering hot air to the vehicle interior and also for delivering hot air to the windshield to keep the windshield clear of frost and moisture. Subsequently, air conditioners have also become commonplace accessories in vehicles to provide cool air for the comfort of passengers in summer's heat.
Heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems in today's vehicles now provide total interior climate control. These new systems automatically maintain a desired temperature by delivering an appropriate mix of ambient, cooled, and heated air to the vehicle interior. More advanced systems also permit occupants to select a desired temperature for their individual zones and automatically maintain these zones at the pre-selected temperature. Such operation necessarily requires the automatic operation of the vehicle HVAC system wherein the ambient, cooled, and heated air are directed into an air distribution module to be ducted to the desired areas of the vehicle.
A prior art HVAC system is shown generally at
10
in FIG.
1
. The vehicle HVAC system
10
is comprised of core module
12
and air distribution module
30
. Ambient outside air or recirculated interior air is directed to air inlet
14
and is subsequently directed through air-conditioning evaporator
16
by the HVAC blower (not shown). After the air exits from evaporator
16
to pass between point
19
and wall
20
, part of the air is directed through cool inlet area
22
and part of the air is directed to warm air passage
24
. Inlet
22
and passage
24
are variable in area depending upon the position of air mix door
18
. Air mix door
18
is hinged at
17
to pivot therearound and the position of air mix door
18
is directly related to the desired air temperature of air to be output to the interior of the vehicle. Thus, to obtain the maximum amount of cool air, air mix door
18
is rotated counterclockwise to maximize the area of cool air inlet
22
. If heated air is desired, air mix door
18
is rotated clockwise to create a warm air passage
24
thereby diverting a portion of the air-flow exiting from evaporator
16
to flow through heater core
26
and duct the heated air through heated air inlet
28
. An intermediate position of air mix door
18
facilitates a mixture of cool and hot air simultaneously entering air chamber
32
of air distribution module
30
to provide air at a desired temperature.
Air distribution module
30
typically has three designated outlets for delivering the conditioned air to different portions of the vehicle. These outlets are generally referred to as a defrost outlet
36
for delivering air to the interior surface of the windshield, vent outlet
40
for delivering air to the upper portion of the vehicle interior, and a heater outlet
44
for delivering air to the foot wells of the vehicle interior. Valves
34
,
38
, and
42
are selectively positionable in closed, opened, or intermediate positions to place the desired HVAC in the desired function. The HVAC system
10
is typically located in the center of the vehicle as are outlets
36
,
40
, and
44
. Although there may be some mixing of the air upon entry to air distribution module
30
, it is readily apparent that the cool or ambient air is directed to the upper portion of module
30
and the heated air is directed to the lower part of module
30
thereby creating a layered air-flow wherein the upper air layer is typically cooler than the bottom air layer.
Thus, the top-centered defrost outlet
36
is prone to discharging air that is substantially cooler than the air discharged through heater outlet
44
when air mix door
18
is in an intermediate position. Another disadvantage of the above-described HVAC system is that the bottom-center heater air outlet
44
is too low and rearward on the vehicle, and often requires complicated ducts to deliver the heated air to a desired location in the vehicle foot well. The top-center defrost air outlet
36
concentrates defroster air-flow at the center of the windshield which will in turn clear the center of the windshield before clearing the windshield area in the driver's and the passenger's line of sight. This undesirable situation is typically resolved by the incorporation of complex and relatively expensive ducting to provide a balanced defrost air-flow to the left and right windshield areas. Additionally, the top-center defrost air outlet
36
when opened tends to transmit undesirable HVAC blower noise directly to the occupants.
Thus, there is a need for an air distribution module for use in vehicle heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems that provides a more efficient air distribution within the vehicle without requiring additional complex ducting, and further delivers the correct air layer to the desired outlet.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect, the present invention includes an air distribution module for a vehicle heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system wherein the module receives a layered air-flow of an upper and a lower layer. The air distribution module includes a housing defining a central plenum and an air inlet at an upstream side thereof for receiving the layered air-flow of first and second layers. At least a first arcuate duct is coupled to the housing and defines an inner passage wherein the arcuate duct further includes an inlet coupled to a downstream side of the housing and in fluidic communication with the plenum. The duct further includes an inversion loop for inverting the air-flow layers and an outlet for discharging the air into the vehicle interior.
In another aspect of the present invention, an arcuate air duct for use in a vehicle heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system of the type that delivers layered air-flow to a distribution housing includes an inlet for coupling to a downstream side of the distribution housing and in fluidic communication with the housing for receiving a layered air-flow. The arcuate air duct further includes an inversion loop for inverting the air-flow layers and an outlet for delivering the air to the vehicle interior.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method of inverting and delivering a temperature layered air-flow from a vehicle heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system to the vehicle interior to selectively direct a desired temperature layer to a selected system outlet. The method includes the steps of providing a housing defining a plenum for receiving the layered air-flow at an upstream side; directing a first layer of cooler air to an upper portion of the housing plenum; and directing a second layer of warmer air to a lower portion of the housing plenum. Additional steps include affixing at least one arcuate duct in fluidic communication to a downstream side of the housing; providing an arcuate segment in the arcuate duct wherein the shape of the arcuate segment is such to invert the layers of the layered airflow; and finally directing the layered air-flow through the arcuate segment.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art by reference to the following specification, claims and appended drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3603380 (1971-09-01), Corhanidis
patent: 4702307 (1987-10
Boles Derek
Delphi Technologies Inc.
Griffin Patrick M.
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