HVAC HOUSING TO REDUCE NOISE AND VIBRATIONS

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application relates to heat and air conditioning systems that are provided in vehicles, which are provided to cause air flow within certain passenger compartments and between certain passenger compartments, and to selectively allow the user to control (or the vehicle to automatically control based upon user-programmed preferences) the air flow and selective air heating and cooling of various compartments within the vehicle. Vehicles may have one or more HVAC assemblies that are operated that include a fan for forced air movement, air cooling capabilities and/or air heating capabilities and often various valves that are movable to modify the air flow within the housing. When operating the HVAC assemblies may produce noise and vibrations a portion thereof flow to or are transferred to the passenger compartment and at some levels can be heard/felt by users within the passenger space. This disclosure is related to structures to reduce the noise and vibrations that are produced by the HVAC assemblies during operation and specifically to reduce the produced noise and vibrations that are perceptible to a user within a passenger compartment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A first representative embodiment of the disclosure is provided.

The embodiment includes a housing for an HVAC system. The housing includes:

- a wall that supports and encloses a fan within an internal volume therein, the wall defines an inlet aperture that directs air into a suction inlet of the fan such that rotation of the fan urges air into the internal volume through the inlet aperture;
- the inlet aperture is defined by an outer boundary, the outer boundary formed within the wall and includes an outer extension;
- the outer extension upwardly from the wall around the entire circumference of the wall that forms the inlet aperture;
- further comprising a grill that extends across the inlet aperture, the grill comprises a plurality of legs that are arranged thereon to establish a plurality of openings therein to allow air flow therethrough, wherein a shape of the grill is established by a collective shape of the plurality of legs and the openings established by the plurality of legs.

Oher representative embodiments of the disclosure include the modifications of the above embodiments in view of the structure identified in the Numbered Paragraphs provided at the end of this specification.

Advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of the preferred embodiments of the disclosure that have been shown and described by way of illustration. As will be realized, the disclosed subject matter is capable of other and different embodiments, and its details are capable of modification in various respects. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an HVAC housing with an upward extension that reduces the noise and vibrations that are perceptible to a user in a passenger compartment of a vehicle proximate to the HVAC housing during operation of the HVAC housing.

FIG. 1a is a top view of the air inlet and the upward extension of the housing of FIG. 1, with the proportion of the circumference of the first portion (41a), the second portion (41b), and the two transitions (45) being depicted to scale for the housing 20 disclosed herein and tested with the results descried in FIGS. 10 and 11.

FIG. 2a is a first perspective view of a prior art HVAC housing.

FIG. 2b is another perspective view of the prior art HVAC housing of FIG. 2a.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of section W-W of FIG. 1 of the housing of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3a is detail view of detail A of FIG. 3.

FIG. 3b is a perspective cross-sectional view of the cross-section W-W of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of section X-X of FIG. 1 of the housing of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4a is a detail view of detail B of FIG. 4.

FIG. 4b is a perspective cross-sectional view of the cross-section X-X of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an inner view of the housing of FIG. 1, schematically depicting a fan within the housing.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the housing of FIG. 1 schematically depicting a structural component 800 of a vehicle proximate to the air inlet and the upward extension and schematically depicting air entering into the air inlet and traveling over the upward extension.

FIG. 6a is another side view of the housing of FIG. 1 schematically depicting a structural component 801 with a portion 802 that necessitates the upward extension to have a lower first portion (41a) to allow a suitable space (RR) for air flow over the entire circumference of the upward extension.

FIG. 7 is an alternate embodiment of the housing where the upward extension has a uniform cross-section around the entire circumference thereof.

FIG. 8 is a table with experimentally measured data from a simulated vehicle that measures sound pressure (dBA) during operation of a baseline housing (like the housing of FIGS. 2a and 2b) and housings like FIG. 7 various housings with different dimensioned upward extensions.

FIG. 9 is a table that depicts the difference in the measured sound pressure (dBA) between the baseline prior art housing and the measured housings like FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is a table with experimentally measured data from a simulated vehicle that measures sound pressure (dBA) during operation of a baseline housing (like the housing of FIGS. 2a and 2b) and a housing like FIG. 1 with the dimensions described in the table.

FIG. 11 is a table that depicts the difference in the measured sound pressure (dBA) between the baseline prior art housing and the housing of FIG. 1.

FIG. 12 is a chart that depicts the measured sound pressure over a frequency range of 1 Hz to 20,000 Hz in an ⅓ octave plot, depicting the measured sound pressure for the baseline housing (4000) and the 10×20 housing (4001), in accordance with the data provided in FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Turning now to FIG. 1 and FIGS. 3-7 a housing 20 for an HVAC system 10 is provided. The HVAC system 10 may be an assembly that supports a number of components that are used to cause air movement between different portions of a vehicle and to also adjust the temperature and/or humidity of air that flows through the housing. The housing 20 may include one or two or more air inlets 30 that cause air to flow into the housing 20 and may include one or more outputs 31 that direct air to leave the housing 20. The outputs 31 may direct air directly into a compartment of the vehicle, such as passenger compartment, or into the engine compartment, or the outputs 31 may direct air to another housing in a different position within the vehicle that performs a different function upon the air, or direct the air into a still different position within the vehicle. In some embodiments, the housing 20 may be configured to take suction from a specific position within the vehicle, either directly from a specific location within the vehicle (such as a rear right portion of the passenger compartment, the front driver's side of the vehicle, or the like), or to draw suction ultimately from a positon within the vehicle but via a flow path between the position within the vehicle and the air inlet 30 within the housing 20. The air that is enters into the housing 20 via the air inlet 30 may arrive after flowing through a louver or register within the passenger compartment, or via a space created within the passenger compartment for air to flow therethrough.

The housing 20 that is specifically depicted and explained herein is one that is configured to draw a suction of air from a rear portion of a vehicle, such as a wall, or ceiling of a vehicle, with the air traveling through a louver or register within a ceiling or wall within the vehicle, and then traveling across an inner surface of the vehicle 800/801 (FIGS. 6a, 6b, schematic) and then into the air inlet 30. In some embodiments, the air may travel through a trunk or duct within the vehicle before it reaches the air inlet 30. One of ordinary skill in the art with a thorough review and understanding of this disclosure will readily understand how housings 20 that are configured for placement within different portions of a vehicle may be implemented, and the modification of the specific embodiments disclosed herein in order to result in housings in other parts of a vehicle that achieve similar surprising improvements to those achieved with the housings 20 disclosed herein would result only from routing optimization of the embodiments specifically disclosed herein.

The housing 20 may include one or more fans 500 or impellers or other structures to pull air into the housing 20 through the air inlet 30 and to raise the pressure of the air within the housing, to cause the air within the housing 20 to flow as directed through the housing and out of the housing via one or more outlets 31 to other locations within the vehicle, as discussed herein. The housing 20 may include one or more heating elements or heat exchangers (not shown) or one or more components that can remove heat from the air that flows through the housing 20 (not shown). The housing 10 may include one or more valves (not shown) that can be moved to adjust the air flow path(s) within and out of the housing 20 as desired for the desired mode of operation.

The housing 20 and specifically the structure of the housing 20 the surrounds the air inlet 30 as discussed below and depicted in FIG. 1 and FIGS. 3-6a is modified from prior art housings 1 (depicted in FIGS. 2a and 2b) with the inventive structure that surrounds the air inlet 30 having been experimentally determined to have surprising and unexpectedly positive results (the reduction of noise and vibration within the passenger compartment of the vehicle as discussed herein) when comparing the noise and vibration that is present within the passenger compartment during operation of the HVAC system that is enclosed within the inventive housing 20 in comparison with the operation of an HVAC system with the prior art housing 1—when both were tested during operation in the same manner and with the same structure other than the inventive structure that surrounds the air inlet 30 disclosed herein. These unexpected results are believed and understood to be resulting from the structure that surrounds the air inlet 30 discussed herein, and it is believed that adapting the specific structure surrounding the air inlet 30 disclosed herein for different housings (i.e. housings with different sized air inlets 30, the air inlet 30 positioned at a different location within the housing 20, and the housing 20 positioned within a different position within the vehicle than tested with respect to the housing as disclosed herein) are believed to also exhibit similar beneficial characteristics regarding the noise and vibration present within the passenger compartment during operation of those alternative HVAC housings that include the inventive structure disclosed herein. The reduction of noise and vibration present within the passenger compartment due to the housing 20 may be perceptible to a passenger that is seated within various positions within the vehicle, as discussed below.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 5, the housing 20 is provided. The housing 20 includes a plurality of walls 22 that are formed to support and enclose various flow paths therein that direct air flow within the housing 20 and ultimately out of the housing 20 in various directions as desired based upon the mode of operation of the HVAC system 10. The housing 20 supports a fan 500 (FIG. 5, schematic) that is aligned with an inlet aperture 30 that when operating the fan 500 causes air to flow from outside of the housing 20 and into the internal volume 20a at least partially based upon the operation (D) of the fan 500 as shown schematically in FIG. 5. The fan 500 when operating causes a suction force that is felt proximate to and through the air inlet 30 which causes air from outside of the housing 20 to flow through the air inlet 30 and into the internal volume 20a as schematically depicted with arrow Z. The walls of the housing 20 are constructed to direct air that discharges from the fan 500 to flow to other portions of the housing 20 as depicted schematically with arrow E. Air flows through the housing 20 and may be heated or cooled therein and ultimately leaves the housing 20 through a directed outlet—such as outlets 31 depicted in FIG. 5.

As is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, the operation of the fan 500 causes noise and vibration to be emitted by the housing 20 and the noise and vibration can travel ultimately into the passenger compartment of the vehicle that includes the housing 20 (not shown). Similarly, the operational position of various dampers (not shown) within the housing 20 for desired operation of the HVAC system can cause the air that flows through the housing 20 to generate noise or vibrations due to the air flowing across certain portions of the housing, and such as due to the creation of turbulent air flow within the housing, the amount of which may vary with the mode of operation of the HVAC. The noise and vibration generated within the housing 20 can travel through the air flow path within the vehicle that leads from the port or louver within the passenger compartment to the air inlet 30 of the housing 20, and/or the noise and vibrations may transfer through the walls or ceiling or other structure of the vehicle (e.g. structure 800/801, FIGS. 6, 6a, schematic) that is disposed between the air inlet 30 and the housing 20 and the passenger compartment of the vehicle. In some circumstances the structure 800/801 of the vehicle may attenuate the noise and vibrations, while in other situations the structure may amplify the noise or vibrations that are received. This noise and vibration may be heard of felt by a passenger that within the vehicle and proximate to these locations. In many situations it is generally desired to reduce and preferably to elimination of noises and vibrations that are perceptible to a passenger within a vehicle due to HVAC system operation.

The housing 20 includes an outer wall 22 that establishes the outer bounds of the housing 20 and supports and aligns the various components therewith. The outer wall 22 establishes the air inlet 30, and in some embodiments may support more than one air inlet. The housing 20 may be formed with various ridges 24 on an outer surface thereof that provide additional strength to the wall 22, or are provided for other purposes. Other than the ridges 24, the wall 22 of the housing may be smooth. The wall 22 of the housing may be formed from plastic, or alternatively the housing may be formed other materials.

As best shown in FIG. 1, the air inlet 30 is formed from an outer boundary 34 that establishes the shape of the air inlet 30 and the location of the air inlet 30 upon the wall 22 of the housing 20, as well as the relative depth or height of the aperture that forms the air inlet 30 with respect to the surface of the wall 22. An outward extension 40 surrounds the outer boundary 34 and in some embodiments extends around the entire circumference of the outer boundary 34. The outward extension 40 extends vertically above both the surface of the wall 22 that transitions to the outward extension 40 and above the surface of the outer boundary 34.

In this specification, the outer boundary 34 is described and depicted with respect to an air inlet 30 of the housing 20. In other embodiments, an outer boundary similar to the outer boundary 34 discussed herein could be provided around air outlets 31 in the housing 20 and if provided may achieve the surprising results that have been observed with respect to the investigation and testing related to the outer boundary provided with an air inlet 30. Accordingly, for the sake of brevity, the application refers herein to the aperture that is surrounded by the outer boundary 34 as an air inlet (i.e. an aperture through which air flows into the housing) and the description herein with reference to an air inlet is equally applicable to an aperture that allows air to flow out of the housing 20 therethrough unless described herein as specifically for an embodiment for flow into the housing or flow out of the housing.

The outward extension 40 includes a height (S, T, FIGS. 3a, 4a) and a width W (FIGS. 3a, 4a). The height (S, T) is measured to be the distance that the outward extension 40 rises above the wall 22. With respect to the discussion of the outward extension 40 with respect to the wall 22, height is considered to extend vertically (or at an angle that is close to vertical in some embodiments, as discussed herein) and the wall 22 that transitions to the outward extension 40 is considered to extend horizontally (or at an angle that is close to the horizontal in some embodiments, as discussed herein). This orientation is with respect to the housing 20, and is without regard to the actual orientation of the housing 20 when it is installed within the vehicle. For example, the housing 20 may be installed within the vehicle such that the air inlet faces horizontally (either exactly horizontally or substantially horizontally (i.e. within 15 degrees of horizontal either above or below horizontal) which would result in the outward extension actually extending horizontally (or substantially horizontally) with respect to the earth, but for the purposes of this specification the height is considered to be vertical as discussed herein. The width (W) is measured to be the “horizontal” distance (irrespective of the actual orientation of the housing 20—as discussed above with respect to the height—S, T) between inner wall 52 and the outer wall 42/43 each as discussed herein. The width W is measured from the outer surface of the inner wall 52 to the outer surface of the outer wall 42/43.

The outward extension 40 extends around the entire circumference of the air inlet 30. In some embodiments as depicted in FIG. 7, the outward extension has a uniform cross-section around the entirety of the air inlet 30 such as the cross-section depicted in FIGS. 4, 4a, and 4b.

In other embodiments, the outward extension 40 extends around the entire circumference of the air inlet, but the cross-section of the outward extension 40 varies in different portions of the circumference. This embodiment may be necessitated, for example, when the size of the outward extension 40 must be altered due to the geometry and presence of walls or items within the vehicle that would block or interfere with air flow over the outward extension 40 (Z, ZZ—FIGS. 3a, 4a, schematic) if the outward extension 40 was uniform in cross-section around the entire air inlet 30. As depicted schematically in FIG. 6a, a rigid structure 801 may be disposed with respect to the air inlet 30 such that a space RR between the rigid structure 801 and the outward extension 40 to allow for air flow Z, ZZ into the air inlet 30. In some embodiments, the rigid structure 801 may have a section 802 (schematic) that extends closer to the air inlet proximate to only some portions of the circumference of the air inlet, and in those locations, the outward extension 40 may have a different (typically smaller in at least one aspect, height or width—smaller height in this embodiment) cross-section than a remainder of the outward extension 40. As discussed below, generally, a uniform cross-section with an optimized height, or a height above a minimum beneficial height, has been determined to be most beneficial to reducing the noise and vibrations that are present within the passenger compartment, but the presence of interfering structures (e.g. 802 of structure 801) may necessitate the modification of the cross-section away from an optimal cross-section (from the perspective of reducing noise and vibrations that are transferred to the passenger compartment).

The outward extension 40 is best shown in FIGS. 3-4b. The outward extension 40 includes an outer wall 42/43, a top wall 45/48, and an inner wall 52. The outer wall 42/43 is the wall that transitions to the wall 22 that defines the housing 20 that approaches the air inlet 30 and faces “outward” with respect to the air inlet 30 around the entire circumference of the air inlet 30. The outer wall 42/43 extends with a vertical component above the wall 22 (i.e. a vector component that is vertical direction (y-direction—FIGS. 3, 4) with respect to the wall 22 (assuming that the wall 22 is horizontal (x-direction)).

The inner wall 52 is the wall that establishes the boundary of the air inlet 30 and extends with a vertical component with respect to the wall 22 (and a horizontal plane through the inlet aperture 30). The inner wall may be vertical or substantially vertical (i.e. extend exactly or substantially in the y direction) while in other embodiments, and the embodiments depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4, the inner wall 52 extends at an acute angle β with respect to the vertical (y axis). In some embodiments where the inner wall 52 extends at an acute angle β with respect to the vertical axis, the wall extends at this angle for the entire height of the inner wall 52, while in other embodiments, the inner wall 52 includes portions that extend at different acute angles, β and Δ (FIG. 4, 4a). In some embodiments, the inner wall may have a first section (that extends from the narrowest point of the inlet aperture) at an acute angle β within a range of from about 30 degrees to about 60 degrees including all angles within this range, and in preferred embodiments, may be within a range of about 35 to 45 degrees, including about 40 degrees and in the embodiment that is tested and resulted in the data provided herein is 40 degrees.

In embodiments wherein the outward extension 40 has different cross-sections (41a, 41b), the first portion with the cross-section 41a with the lower height, the entire length of the inner wall 52 may extend at angle β and transition from the top of the inner wall 52 to the top surface 44. In this embodiment, the second portion with the cross-section 41b, the inner wall includes the first portion 52 that extends at angle β and a second portion 53 above the first portion 52 that extends at angle Δ. The top of the second portion 53 transitions to the top surface 48.

In some embodiments the top portion 53 is at a much smaller angle with respect to the vertical (y axis), which may be within a range of 0 degrees to 15 degrees including all angles within this range. In the embodiment that is tested and resulted in the data provided herein the second portion is about 10 degrees, and specifically 10.5 degrees in the embodiment that resulted in the data provided herein. In some embodiments, the second portion 53 may be exactly vertical. In this embodiment, and specifically in this embodiment if when the outer wall is exactly vertical, the width of the top surface 45, 48 is substantially the same in both the first and second cross-sections 41a, 41b, with the second top surface 48 being only slightly narrower due to the relatively small angle of the outer surface as discussed herein.

The outer wall 42, 43 extends vertically (or with a vertical vector component) from the wall 22 of the housing 20 that transitions to the outward extension 40. In some embodiments, the outer wall 42, 43 extends from the housing wall 22 at an angle α that is close to perpendicular or exactly perpendicular, and in some embodiments, the angle is desired to be as close to perpendicular as possible. In the embodiment of the housing 20 that was tested as described below, the angle α is 92 degrees. The wall 22 extends away from the outer wall 42, 43 with a small draft angle that is provided for manufacturing purposes during molding of the plastic housing 20 to allow for the molded housing 20 to be removed from the tooling as it cools. In situations where the housing 20 is made from a metal or by a method other than molding (where a draft angle is not needed for manufacturing purposes) the outer wall 42, 43 may be exactly perpendicular to the wall 22 as the wall leaves the outward extension (and before the wall 22 forms any curvature that is desired to fully enclose the components but minimize the overall volume of the housing 20 and optimize the amount material used to form the housing for cost and weight reduction reasons.

As can be easily understood specific reference to FIGS. 3a and 4a the outer wall 42, 43 may have a linear cross-section throughout out the entire circumference of the outward extension 40, with the wall extending at a constant angle α through the entire cross-section. The outer wall 42 is shorter than the outer wall 43. The vertical height of the outer wall 42 may be the same as the inner wall portion 52 extends above a plane that extends through the wall 22 as it meets the outward extension. In this embodiment, the top surface 44 may be entirely curved and transition from the direction that the outer wall 42 extends to the direction that the inner wall portion 52 extends. In some embodiments, the top surface 44 may have a central portion that is planar with curved portions on both ends that transition to the respective inner wall portion 52 and the outer wall 42.

The second portion 41b of the outward extension 40 may have an outer wall 43 that extends above the outer wall 42 of the first portion 41a. In some embodiments, the vertical height of the outer wall 43 may be the same as the top of the second portion 53 of the inner wall (above the plane that extends through the wall 22 as it meets the outward extension 40). In the embodiment, the top surface 48 may be similar to the top surface 45, but slightly narrower due to the angles of one or both of the second portion 53 of the inner wall and the upper portion of the outer wall 53 extending to minimize the overall width of the outward extension above the height where the first portion 52 of the inner wall ends and transitions to the second portion 53. The top wall 48 may be entirely curved and transition from the direction that the outer wall 43 extends to the direction that the inner wall portion 53 extends. In some embodiments, the top surface 48 may have a central portion that is planar with curved portions on both ends that transition to the respective inner wall portion 53 and the outer wall 43.

In the representative embodiment depicted in the figures, the first portion 41a extends for greater than half of the circumference of the entire upward extension 40 as it surrounds the air inlet 30. In other embodiments, the first and second portions 41a, 41b each extend for about half of the circumference (less the circumferential length of the transition portions 45 discussed below). As discussed herein, the overall length and placement of the first portion 41a and the second portion 41b are directed by the presence of walls or other structures 800, 801 from the vehicle that require that the cross-section of the upward extension 40 be modified for clearance reasons and to provide for sufficient space RR for air flow Z, ZZ over the upward extension 40 and into the air inlet 30. In a preferred embodiment, the entire upward extension 40 is of constant geometry—like the geometry of the second portion 41b, and as depicted in FIG. 7.

In the embodiments depicted in the figures, the first and second portions 41a, 41b may include transition portions 45 to allow for a gradual and sloping transition of the top wall 44 of the first portion 41a to the top wall 48 of the second portion 41b. These transition portions may be at a constant angle (slope) between the two portions, or may be curved for a portion or the entirety of their lengths.

The housing 20 may support a grill 32 that covers the air inlet 30 to prevent foreign items, such as fingers, from extending through the air inlet 30 which could contact the fan 500. The grill 32 includes a plurality of legs 33 that extend across the entire or portions of the air inlet 30 to establish small holes therethrough but prevent larger items from extending therethrough. The grill 32 may be planar, or in other embodiments the grill 32 may be curved as depicted in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4. In some embodiments, the highest portion of the grill 32, which may be at the geometric center of the grill within the air inlet 30, but could be at other locations, such as for example, to prevent interference with walls or other portions of the vehicle (e.g. 800, 801, FIGS. 6, 6a, that require the grill 32 to be shaped differently to avoid interaction. In the embodiments, the highest portion of the grill 32 may extend vertically (i.e. in the direction y) above the top wall 48 of the second portion 41b (and therefore also above the top wall 44 of the first portion 41a). In other embodiments, the grill 32 not extend vertically as high as the top wall 48 of the second portion 41b, but may extend as high as or vertically above the top wall 44 of the first portion 41a.

In one embodiment, the grill 32 may be shaped as a portion of an outer surface of a sphere (either exactly like a sphere, or substantially like sphere) that extends from a plane (of the size of the air inlet 30) that extends through the sphere parallel to and spaced from a line that extends through the center of the sphere. In this embodiment, the center of the grill is above a center of the air inlet, and the center of the grill extends the highest vertical distance above the air inlet 30. In other embodiments where the air inlet 30 is not circular, the grill 32 may be have a size and shape that is appropriate for the air flow that is desired and the placement with respect to the walls and other features of the vehicle to allow for space RR for air flow over the outward extension 40 and into the air inlet 30. One of ordinary skill in the art with a thorough review of this specification will be able to design a grill 32 that is appropriate for the air inlet 30 and with an desired shape with respect to the outward extension 40 and the walls and other components of the vehicle (800, 801) with merely routine optimization.

A plurality of legs 33 that establish the grill 32 may extend from the inner wall 52 of the outward extension 40. The grill 32 may be formed monolithically with the upward extension 40 and in some embodiments also monolithically with the wall 22 of the housing 20. In other embodiments, the grill 32 may be a separate piece from the upward extension 40 and may be fixed thereto, such as to an inner surface of the outward extension—i.e. the surface depicted in FIG. 5.

An exemplary housing 20 is described herein, and is the basis for the experimental noise and vibration testing results that achieved the unexpectedly positive results that are presented herein. The inclusion of a physical structure of the upward extension 40 that surrounds an air inlet 30 as described and depicted herein when tested in comparison to an exact same housing 1 that does not include the upper extension 40 that is discussed herein (which is depicted in FIGS. 2a and 2b) resulted in the unexpectedly positive results. The testing of both housing 20 and the housing 1 was conducted with the exact same testing procedure and with both the housing 20 and housing 1 tested with the exact same simulated vehicle structure, such that the results of the noise and vibration present within a space that simulates a space where a vehicle passenger would occupy.

The air inlet 30 for the housing 20 that was tested as discussed below was circular and was 107 mm in diameter, which is a diameter for an air inlet for an HVAC housing 1 that has been implemented in lower side wall panels outboard of third row seating of mid-sized and full sized SUVs are known in the art. It is believed that air inlets of different diameters with corresponding upward extension 40 (either those with the exact same cross-sections, and with cross-sections that are modified proportionally to the proportional difference between the tested air inlet 30 at 107 mm and the specific sized air inlet being used) will perform with consistent data to the data provided herein. FIG. 8 includes a table that compares noise and vibration testing for the “baseline” housing 1 as well as housings 20 with the same size, structure, and shape as the baseline housing 1 but that are formed an upward extension 40 of various different dimensions as listed in the different rows of the table. FIG. 8 includes test results for embodiments where the upward extension has a constant cross-section along its entire circumferential length—i.e. as depicted in FIG. 7. The data provided in FIG. 8 is in measured decibels (dBA) of sound (specifically sound pressure level—SPL) that is received at a position that was simulated to be a position of a passenger within the vehicle most proximate to the position that the housing 1/20 would be within the vehicle. The testing of SPL is a logarithmic measure of the effective pressure of the sound relative to a reference value. The testing for and calculation of sound pressure level (SPL) is well known within the art. FIG. 12 is a chart in which the SPLs are converted from the time domain into the frequency domain through a fast Fourier transform (FFT) and then filtered into ⅓ octave frequency bands across a frequency range of 1 Hz to 20,000 Hz (an octave is defined as a range of frequencies where the upper limit is double the value of the lower limit). It depicts the measured sound pressure levels at defined frequency bands and is known as ⅓ octave analysis within the art. The baseline test (no upward extension—like prior art FIG. 2) is labeled as “4000” and the tested version of 10×20 is labeled as “4001”. As can be seen in FIG. 12, the 10×20 version has significant noise reduction between 50 and 200 Hz, which is believed to be attributed to the presence of the upward extension 40. Other sizes of upward extensions also upon testing had significantly lower SPLs than the baseline (no upward extension) and showed similar improvement in the lower frequency (e.g. 50 to 200 Hz ranges).

The testing that occurred for the housing 1 and the housing 20 was designed to eliminate, as much as possible, the addition of noise and vibration from any source other than the housing 1, 20. The testing simulated the structural portions of a vehicle between the housing 1, 20 and the most proximate passenger to the housing (i.e. the location where the data was measured), including providing simulated vehicle walls that exist between the housing 1, 20 and simulation of the air conduits between the air intake within the vehicle that lead from the passenger compartment and to the housing 1, 20, as well as the air outlet paths from the housing to return the air to the passenger compartment. The “Panel Mode, Full Cold” was measured with housing 1, 20 operating to provide cold air to the panel outlets (with a consistent air temperature and speed setting for all tests), the “Floor Mode, Full Hot” was measured with the housing 1, 20 operating to provide warm air to the floor outlets (with a consistent air temperature and speed setting for all tests) and the “Bi-Level, Full Cold” was measured to provide some air to the panel vehicle outlets and some air to floor air outlets (with the same air temperature and speed setting for all tests.

FIG. 9 is a table that lists the difference in measured sound between the baseline test (housing 1) and the measured sound in the housing 20 with different sized upward extensions. As will be understood with reference to FIG. 9, the upward extensions with a height (S) that is above 10 mm (above the wall 22 as the wall moves away from the inlet aperture 30) provides a substantial improvement, of a reduction of at a minimum of 0.9 dBA in some circumstances (panel mode operation) and in different operative modes of the HVAC system with housing 20 (floor and bi-level modes) the noise reduction improves significantly from the full cold operation (e.g. a minimum of 0.2 dBA decrease for full hot and Bi-Level). Higher upward extensions tested (20 mm) evidenced a reduction of 1.6 dBA from the baseline. The width (W) of the upward extension 40 likely has some importance to the overall measured noise reduction, but all tested housings with a height at 10 mm or higher provided a significant reduction in measured noise when compared to the baseline housing 1. This noise reduction is believed by the inventors to be a surprising and unexpectedly positive result in the minimization of noise that is produced by the housing 20 and is transferred to a position of a user within the vehicle to encounter the noise during operation of the HVAC system via the housing. The inventors note, based upon the data it is expected that air inlets 30 with a size that is different than the tested 107 mm would achieve similar results if the size of the upward extension 40 were scaled in proportion to the 107 mm air inlet as tested.

FIG. 10 is a table that lists the difference in sound between a baseline test (housing 1) and the measured sound in the housing 20 that includes an upward extension 40 that is formed with first and second portions 41a, 41b with a transition 45 therebetween as depicted in FIGS. 1, and 3-4. FIG. 11 is the difference between the baseline (housing 1) and the tested housing, like the housing depicted in FIG. 1. The inventors note that the “baseline” data for the conventional housings in the two different tests are due to a change in the environment that was created for the data run to obtain the housing 20 data, due to the necessitating some changes in the simulated walls between the baseline test runs described in FIG. 8 and the runs described in FIG. 10. The tested embodiment for the housing described in FIG. 10 included a housing with an upward extension with the proportions of first portion 41a to the second portion 41b and the transitions with the relative portion of each as depicted in FIGS. 1 and 1a which is annotated to show the existence of each portion and the relative dimensions of each, which is drawn to scale with respect to the circumferential proportion of each 41a, 41b, and 45 (2 places) in FIG. 1a. It is believed that the dominant feature for the improvement over the baseline as discussed herein is the existence of the second portion 41b, which is provided for less than 50% of the circumference, about 43% of the total circumference, with the first portion 41b about 52% of the total circumference and the transition portions cumulatively about 5% of the total circumference. It is believed that the if the second portion 41b would extend for more than 50% of the total circumference and toward 100% (i.e. toward the embodiment of FIG. 7) the total noise reduction would increase due to the observed dominance of increasing the height S of the upward extension 40 in the observed noise data provided herein.

The term “about” is specifically defined herein to include a range that includes the reference value and plus or minus 5% of the reference value. The term “substantially” here includes the reference value plus or minus 5% of the reference value.

While the preferred embodiments of the disclosed have been described, it should be understood that the invention is not so limited and modifications may be made without departing from the disclosure. The scope of the disclosure is defined by the appended claims, and all devices that come within the meaning of the claims, either literally or by equivalence, are intended to be embraced therein.

The subject specification can be readily comprehended with reference to the following Numbered Paragraphs:

Numbered Paragraph 1. A housing for an HVAC system, comprising:

- a wall that supports and encloses a fan within an internal volume therein, the wall defines an inlet aperture that directs air into a suction inlet of the fan such that rotation of the fan urges air into the internal volume through the inlet aperture;
- the inlet aperture is defined by an outer boundary, the outer boundary formed within the wall and includes an outer extension;
- the outer extension upwardly from the wall around the entire circumference of the wall that forms the inlet aperture;
- further comprising a grill that extends across the inlet aperture, the grill comprises a plurality of legs that are arranged thereon to establish a plurality of openings therein to allow air flow therethrough, wherein a shape of the grill is established by a collective shape of the plurality of legs and the openings established by the plurality of legs.

Numbered Paragraph 2. The housing for the HVAC system of Numbered Paragraph 1, wherein the outer extension comprises a inner side wall, a top portion, and an outer side wall, wherein the inner side wall is proximate to the inlet aperture and the outer side wall is away from the inlet aperture and transitions to the wall.

Numbered Paragraph 3. The housing for the HVAC system of Numbered Paragraph 2, wherein the outer extension has a consistent cross-section as the outer extension extends along an entire circumference of the inlet aperture.

Numbered Paragraph 4. The housing for the HVAC system of any one of Numbered Paragraphs 2 or 3, wherein a width of the cross-section of the outer extension is at least 10 mm between the inner side wall and the outer side wall at a largest distance therebetween.

Numbered Paragraph 5. The housing for the HVAC system of any of Numbered Paragraphs 2-3, wherein a height of the cross-section of the outer boundary is at least 10 mm vertically above a position where the wall transitions into the outer side wall.

Numbered Paragraph 6. The housing for the HVAC system of any of Numbered Paragraphs 2, 4, or 5, wherein a first continuous portion of the outer boundary extends to a height that is at least 5 mm above a position where the wall transitions into the outer side wall and a second continuous portion of the outer boundary extends to a height that is at least 10 mm above the position where the wall transitions into the outer side wall.

Numbered Paragraph 7. The housing for the HVAC system of Numbered Paragraph 6, further comprising first and second transition portions between the first and second continuous portions disposed at respective ends of the first and second continuous portions, wherein the height of the outer boundary along the first and second transition portions includes a slope between the respective heights of the first and second continuous portions.

Numbered Paragraph 8. The housing for the HVAC system of any of Numbered Paragraphs 6 or 7, wherein the first continuous portion extends for greater than half of the circumference of the inlet aperture and the second continuous portion extends for a remaining portion of the circumference of the inlet aperture.

Numbered Paragraph 9. The housing for the HVAC system of any one of Numbered Paragraphs 1-8, wherein the inlet aperture is round and has a diameter of at least about 107 mm.

Numbered Paragraph 10. The housing of any one of Numbered Paragraphs 1-9, wherein the shape of the grill is curved across the inlet aperture, wherein the grill is in substantially the shape of a portion of an outer surface of a sphere that extends from a plane that extends through the sphere parallel to and spaced from a line that extends through a center of the sphere, wherein a center portion of the grill is at a height vertically above the outer circumference of the inlet aperture, wherein the height of the grill is greater than a height of the top portion above the outer circumference of the inlet aperture.

Numbered Paragraph 11. The housing of any one of Numbered Paragraphs 2-10, wherein the top wall transitions from the inner side wall and the outer side wall, wherein the top wall includes a curved portion.

Numbered Paragraph 12. The housing of Numbered Paragraph 11, wherein a center of the top wall is planar, wherein the top wall further comprises curved portions that connect the top wall to the inner side wall and the top wall to the outer side wall.

Numbered Paragraph 13. The housing for an HVAC system of any one of Numbered Paragraphs 2-12, wherein a first portion of the inner side wall that borders the inlet aperture is straight, wherein the first portion transitions to a second portion with a different profile, wherein the second portion transitions to the top portion.

Numbered Paragraph 14. The housing for an HVAC system of Numbered Paragraph 13, wherein the first portion is at an angle of about 40 degrees from a vertical axis.

Numbered Paragraph 15. The housing for an HVAC system of any one of Numbered Paragraphs 13 or 14, wherein the second portion is straight and is at an angle of about 10 degrees from a vertical axis.

Numbered Paragraph 16. The housing for an HVAC system of Numbered Paragraph 15, wherein the first portion extends around an entire circumference of the inlet aperture.

Numbered Paragraph 17. The housing of an HVAC system of Numbered Paragraph 13, wherein the outer side wall includes a first portion that transitions from the wall, wherein the first portion is straight for at least a majority of its length.

Numbered Paragraph 18. The housing for an HVAC system of Numbered Paragraph 14, wherein the first portion of the outer side wall extends from the wall at an angle that is within a range of about 90 degrees to about 92 degrees with respect to a portion of the wall that extends toward the outer side wall.

Numbered Paragraph 19. The HVAC system of Numbered Paragraph 2, wherein a width of the cross-section of the outer extension is at least 10 mm between the inner side wall and the outer side wall at a largest distance therebetween,

- wherein a first continuous portion of the outer boundary extends to a height that is at least 5 mm above a position where the wall transitions into the outer side wall and a second continuous portion of the outer boundary extends to a height that is at least 10 mm above the position where the wall transitions into the outer side wall,
- wherein the inlet aperture is round and has a diameter of at least about 107 mm.

Numbered Paragraph 20. The HVAC system of Numbered Paragraph 2, wherein a width of the cross-section of the outer extension is at least 10 mm between the inner side wall and the outer side wall at a largest distance therebetween; wherein a height of the cross-section of the outer boundary is at least 10 mm vertically above a position where the wall transitions into the outer side wall, and

- wherein the inlet aperture is round and has a diameter of at least about 107 mm.

Numbered Paragraph 21. A housing for an HVAC system, comprising:

- a wall that supports and encloses a fan within an internal volume therein, the wall defines an aperture that allows air flow through the wall in response to the rotation of the fan;
- the air aperture is defined by an outer boundary, the outer boundary formed within the wall and includes an outer extension;
- the outer extension upwardly from the wall around the entire circumference of the wall that forms the air aperture;
- further comprising a grill that extends across the air aperture, the grill comprises a plurality of legs that are arranged thereon to establish a plurality of openings therein to allow air flow therethrough, wherein a shape of the grill is established by a collective shape of the plurality of legs and the openings established by the plurality of legs.

Numbered Paragraph 22. The housing for the HVAC system of Numbered Paragraph 21, wherein the outer extension comprises a inner side wall, a top portion, and an outer side wall, wherein the inner side wall is proximate to the air aperture and the outer side wall is away from the air aperture and transitions to the wall.

Numbered Paragraph 23. The housing for the HVAC system of Numbered Paragraph 22, wherein the outer extension has a consistent cross-section as the outer extension extends along an entire circumference of the air aperture.

Numbered Paragraph 24. The housing for the HVAC system of any one of Numbered Paragraphs 22 or 23, wherein a width of the cross-section of the outer extension is at least 10 mm between the inner side wall and the outer side wall at a largest distance therebetween.

Numbered Paragraph 25. The housing for the HVAC system of any of Numbered Paragraphs 22-23, wherein a height of the cross-section of the outer boundary is at least 10 mm vertically above a position where the wall transitions into the outer side wall.

Numbered Paragraph 26. The housing for the HVAC system of any of Numbered Paragraphs 22, 24, or 25, wherein a first continuous portion of the outer boundary extends to a height that is at least 5 mm above a position where the wall transitions into the outer side wall and a second continuous portion of the outer boundary extends to a height that is at least 10 mm above the position where the wall transitions into the outer side wall.

Numbered Paragraph 27. The housing for the HVAC system of Numbered Paragraph 26, further comprising first and second transition portions between the first and second continuous portions disposed at respective ends of the first and second continuous portions, wherein the height of the outer boundary along the first and second transition portions includes a slope between the respective heights of the first and second continuous portions.

Numbered Paragraph 28. The housing for the HVAC system of any of Numbered Paragraphs 26 or 27, wherein the first continuous portion extends for greater than half of the circumference of the air aperture and the second continuous portion extends for a remaining portion of the circumference of the air aperture.

Numbered Paragraph 29. The housing for the HVAC system of any one of Numbered Paragraphs 21-28, wherein the air aperture is round and has a diameter of at least about 107 mm.

Numbered Paragraph 30. The housing of any one of Numbered Paragraphs 21-29, wherein the shape of the grill is curved across the air aperture, wherein the grill is in substantially the shape of a portion of an outer surface of a sphere that extends from a plane that extends through the sphere parallel to and spaced from a line that extends through a center of the sphere, wherein a center portion of the grill is at a height vertically above the outer circumference of the air aperture, wherein the height of the grill is greater than a height of the top portion above the outer circumference of the air aperture.

Numbered Paragraph 31. The housing of any one of Numbered Paragraphs 22-30, wherein the top wall transitions from the inner side wall and the outer side wall, wherein the top wall includes a curved portion.

Numbered Paragraph 32. The housing of Numbered Paragraph 31, wherein a center of the top wall is planar, wherein the top wall further comprises curved portions that connect the top wall to the inner side wall and the top wall to the outer side wall.

Numbered Paragraph 33. The housing for an HVAC system of any one of Numbered Paragraphs 22-32, wherein a first portion of the inner side wall that borders the air aperture is straight, wherein the first portion transitions to a second portion with a different profile, wherein the second portion transitions to the top portion.

Numbered Paragraph 34. The housing for an HVAC system of Numbered Paragraph 33, wherein the first portion is at an angle of about 40 degrees from a vertical axis.

Numbered Paragraph 35. The housing for an HVAC system of any one of Numbered Paragraphs 33 or 34, wherein the second portion is straight and is at an angle of about 10 degrees from a vertical axis.

Numbered Paragraph 36. The housing for an HVAC system of Numbered Paragraph 35, wherein the first portion extends around an entire circumference of the air aperture.

Numbered Paragraph 37. The housing of an HVAC system of Numbered Paragraph 33, wherein the outer side wall includes a first portion that transitions from the wall, wherein the first portion is straight for at least a majority of its length.

Numbered Paragraph 38. The housing for an HVAC system of Numbered Paragraph 34, wherein the first portion of the outer side wall extends from the wall at an angle that is within a range of about 90 degrees to about 92 degrees with respect to a portion of the wall that extends toward the outer side wall.

Numbered Paragraph 39. The HVAC system of Numbered Paragraph 22, wherein a width of the cross-section of the outer extension is at least 10 mm between the inner side wall and the outer side wall at a largest distance therebetween, wherein a first continuous portion of the outer boundary extends to a height that is at least 5 mm above a position where the wall transitions into the outer side wall and a second continuous portion of the outer boundary extends to a height that is at least 10 mm above the position where the wall transitions into the outer side wall, wherein the air aperture is round and has a diameter of at least about 107 mm.

Numbered Paragraph 40. The HVAC system of Numbered Paragraph 22, wherein a width of the cross-section of the outer extension is at least 10 mm between the inner side wall and the outer side wall at a largest distance therebetween; wherein a height of the cross-section of the outer boundary is at least 10 mm vertically above a position where the wall transitions into the outer side wall, and wherein the air aperture is round and has a diameter of at least about 107 mm.

HVAC HOUSING TO REDUCE NOISE AND VIBRATIONS

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