The invention relates to a heating and/or air conditioning system for a motor vehicle, according to the precharacterizing clause of claim 1.
EP 0 799 734 A2 discloses a heating and/or air conditioning system having a housing for a motor vehicle, it being possible for the housing to be assembled in a modular construction from a plurality of housing segments, and the housing being assembled before being installed in the motor vehicle. The installation in the motor vehicle proves problematic if there are crossmembers or other subassemblies restricting the installation space.
It is the object of the invention to develop a housing for a heating and/or air conditioning system for a motor vehicle in such a manner that the housing can be fitted into the motor vehicle in a simple manner and the functionality of the heating and/or air conditioning system can be expanded in a simple manner.
This object is achieved by a heating and/or air conditioning system having the features of claim 1. The subclaims relate to advantageous embodiments and developments of the invention.
The main concept of the invention resides in designing at least one housing segment of the housing for a heating and/or air conditioning system as an insert part, the insert part being inserted into the remaining housing only after the remaining housing is installed in the motor vehicle, the insert part comprising at least one additional functional subassembly. The design of at least one housing segment as an insert part makes it possible to fit the housing of the heating and/or air conditioning system in the motor vehicle in a simple manner despite there being obstacles in the fitting space. This is undertaken by the other housing segments which are not designed as an insert part firstly being put together to form a remaining housing, and the remaining housing then being positioned around an obstacle in the fitting space and being fitted in the motor vehicle. The obstacle may be, for example, a crossmember running through the fitting space. After the remaining housing is installed in the motor vehicle, the insert part is inserted into the remaining housing and fastened, thus completing the fitting-together of the housing of the heating and/or air conditioning system in the motor vehicle. In addition, further functional subassemblies are integrated in the insert part, so that the functionality of the air conditioning system can be expanded in a simple manner. In the simplest case, the insert part comprises at least one air-guiding means, for example an air-guiding element or an air inlet or an air outlet.
In another embodiment, the functional subassembly comprises at least one mixing flap, it also being possible for the drive for the at least one mixing flap to be designed as part of the functional subassembly.
In a particularly advantageous development of the invention, the functional subassembly is designed as a mixing module, the air which is thermally controlled by the mixing module being mixed, for example, for a rear region in the motor vehicle.
The abovementioned measures make it possible for the insert part, in addition to facilitating the installation of the heating and/or air conditioning system in the motor vehicle, to expand the functionality of the heating and/or air conditioning system in a simple manner by interchanging the insert part. The remaining housing is thus composed in an essentially identical manner for the different functionalities, for example for the embodiment as a single-zone air conditioning system or multi-zone air conditioning system (two-zone or three-zone or four-zone air conditioning system); the corresponding insert part is merely to be inserted into the remaining housing in order to realize the desired functionality. It is also conceivable, for easier installation of the housing of the heating and/or air conditioning system in the motor vehicle, for a plurality of housing segments to be designed as insert parts.
The invention is explained in detail below using an exemplary embodiment and with reference to the drawing, in which:
a shows a front view of the insert part;
b shows a sectional illustration of the insert part along the section line A-A.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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102 27 926.8 | Jun 2002 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/EP03/06575 | 6/23/2003 | WO | 12/20/2004 |