Patent Application
20080256966
This application is based on Japanese Patent Applications No. 2006-339222 filed on Dec. 15, 2006, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to an air conditioner for a vehicle.
For example, when the temperature of air outside of a passenger compartment of a vehicle is extremely low, such as in winter, window glasses of the vehicles are chilled due to the cool outside air. Thus, even during a heating operation of an air conditioner, air inside of the passenger compartment, such as air adjacent to the cold window glasses will be cooled by the chilled window glasses and flows downwardly. The flow of the cooled air is, for example, referred to as cold draft. A passenger will have a chill, for example, in his shoulders, back, knees, and the like due to the cold draft.
To solve the cold draft, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-105542 describes to mount an actuator such as a motor in a side face air-blowing outlet for aligning a flow direction of air passing through the side face air-blowing outlet toward a side window glass. However, mounting the actuator increases costs. Also, the side face air-blowing outlet is provided with a member such as louvers so that the side face air-blowing outlet can be opened and closed. Therefore, when the side face air-blowing outlet is closed, it is difficult to provide the effect of reducing the cold draft.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-208242 describes a structure that blows heated air from a floor toward a ceiling for reducing the cold draft. The disclosed structure may be effective to a passenger's lower body such as his back and knees, but may be in sufficient to introduce the heated air to a passenger's upper body. If the volume of the heated air is increased, dusts will be flung up.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. 2002-67662, No. 2006-69269 and No. 2006-290221 propose to mount a rear air conditioning unit for solving the cold draft around a rear seat area. Also, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-338512 proposes an air conditioning unit for performing a heating operation for a large vehicle such as a bus or a train for solving the cold draft.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner for a vehicle capable of reducing or dissolving the cold draft.
According to an aspect of the present invention, an air conditioner for a vehicle includes a blower for generating a flow of air, a center defroster air-blowing outlet for blowing the air toward the windshield, a side defroster air-blowing outlet for blowing the air toward the side window glass of the vehicle, and a defroster air volume adjusting unit disposed to adjust the volume of air blown from the center defroster air-blowing outlet and the side defroster air-blowing outlet.
Accordingly, since the volume of air blown from the side defroster air-blowing outlet is adjusted, cold draft due to a chilled window glass such as the windshield and/or the side window glass is effectively swept or reduced.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an air conditioner for a vehicle includes a blower for generating a flow of air, an air conditioning case defining an air passage through which the air generated by the blower flows and including a defroster opening portion that allows the air to pass through, a defroster duct coupled to the defroster opening portion, and a defroster air volume adjusting unit. A center defroster air-blowing outlet is disposed adjacent to a windshield of the vehicle for blowing the air passing through the defroster opening portion toward the windshield. A side defroster air-blowing outlet is disposed adjacent to a side window glass of the vehicle for blowing the air passing through the defroster opening portion toward the side window glass. The defroster duct includes a center defroster passage portion that allows communication between the defroster opening portion and the center defroster air-blowing outlet and a side defroster passage portion that allows communication between the defroster opening portion and the side defroster air-bowing outlet. The defroster air volume adjusting unit is configured to adjust a volume of air passing through the center defroster passage portion separately from a volume of air passing through the side defroster passage portion.
Accordingly, the volume of air blown from the center defroster air-blowing outlet and the volume of air blown from the side defroster air-blowing outlet are separately adjustable. As such, cold draft due to a chilled window glass such as the windshield and/or the side window glass is effectively swept or reduced.
For example, the defroster air volume adjusting unit includes a center defroster door device that is capable of adjusting the volume of air passing through the center defroster duct portion and a side defroster door device that is capable of adjusting the volume of air passing through the side defroster duct portion. The center defroster door device and the side defroster door device are, for example, separately operated according to a temperature of at least one of the windshield and the side window glass, which may be detected by a temperature detecting unit.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like parts are designated by like reference numbers and in which:
Hereafter, first to seventh embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the second to seventh embodiments, components similar to those of the first embodiment will be indicated by the same numerals and will not be described further.
Referring to
A blower 15 is provided downstream of the inside/outside air switching device 11 for drawing the inside air and the outside air from the inside/outside air switching device 11 and blowing the air into the air conditioning case 10. The blower 15 includes a centrifugal multi-blade fan 16 and a motor 17 for driving the fan 16. A voltage applied to the motor 17, that is, a blower voltage, is controlled by a motor driving circuit 17a so that a rotation speed of the blower 15, that is, an air volume blown by the blower 15 is controlled.
An evaporator (refrigerant evaporator) 18 as a cooling heat exchanger is provided downstream of the blower 15 within the air conditioning case 10. The evaporator 18 performs heat exchange between a low pressure refrigerant, which has been decompressed by a decompressing device of a refrigerating cycle (not shown), and the air blown by the blower 15. Thus, the low pressure refrigerant evaporates by heat of the air, and hence the air is cooled.
An air mix door 19 is provided downstream of the evaporator 18 within the air conditioning case 10. Also, a heater core 20 as a heating heat exchanger is provided downstream of the air mix door 19 within the air conditioning case 10. The heater core 20 heat the air that has passed through the evaporator 18 using heat of a heated fluid such as an engine coolant flowing therein. In the air conditioning case 10, a bypass passage 21 is formed beside the heater core 20, such as on an upper side of the heater core 20, for allowing the air to bypass the heater core 20.
For example, the air mix door 19 is a plate door, and is rotated by an electric driving device 19a such as a servomotor. A position of the air mix door 19, that is, an opening degree of the air mix door 19 is controlled so that a ratio of the volume of the air flowing toward the heater core 20 to be heated to the volume of the cooled air flowing toward the bypass passage 21 is adjusted. Thus, the temperature of air to be introduced into the passenger compartment is controlled by the adjustment of the ratio of heated air to the cooled air.
Namely, in a space defined downstream of the heater core 20, the heated air heated by the heater core 20 and the cooled air passing through the bypass passage 21 are mixed so as to generate the air with a desired temperature. In the present embodiment, the air mix door 19 serves as a device for adjusting the temperature of air to be introduced into the passenger compartment.
The air conditioning case 10 includes an air-blowing mode switching section downstream of the air mixing space in which the heated air and the cooled air are mixed. For example, the air conditioning case 10 has a face opening 26 on its rear upper portion. The face opening 26 is in communication with center face air-blowing outlets 48 and side face air-blowing outlets 49 through face ducts (not shown) for blowing the air toward a passenger's upper body area, such as, an upper area of the passenger compartment.
The face air-blowing outlets 48 and the side face air-blowing outlets 49 are, for example, formed on an instrument panel of the vehicle, as shown in
Further, the air conditioning case 10 has a foot opening 28 under the face opening 26. The foot opening 28 is in communication with foot air-blowing outlets (not shown) through foot ducts (not shown) for blowing the air toward a passenger's foot area, such as a lower area of the passenger compartment. The foot opening 28 is opened and closed by a foot door 29 as an air-blowing mode door. The foot door 29 is, for example, a rotatable plate door.
The air conditioning case 10 further includes a defroster opening portion on a top wall thereof. A defroster duct 43 is coupled to the defroster opening portion. The defroster opening portion includes a center defroster opening 24 and side defroster openings 22 such as a right defroster opening 22R and a left defroster opening 22L. As shown in
The defroster duct 43 includes a center defroster duct portion 43C, a right defroster duct portion 43R and a left defroster duct portion 43L. The center defroster opening 24 is in communication with a center defroster air-blowing outlet 44 through the center defroster duct portion 43C for blowing the air toward an inner surface of a front windshield 45 of the vehicle from the center defroster air-blowing outlet 44. The right defroster opening 22R is in communication with a side defroster air-blowing opening 46 through the right defroster duct portion 43R for blowing the air toward an inner surface of a right side window glass of the vehicle from the side defroster air-blowing opening 46.
Likewise, the left defroster opening 22L is in communication with an opposite side defroster air-blowing opening 46 through the left defroster duct portion 43L for blowing the air toward an inner surface of a left side window glass from the opposite side defroster air-blowing opening 46. The side defroster air-blowing outlets 46 are, for example, disposed at inner upper portions of side doors of the vehicle. The center defroster air-blowing outlet 44 is, for example, disposed adjacent to a lower potion of the windshield 45.
The center defroster opening 24 and the side defroster openings 22 are opened and closed by a center defroster door device 25 and a side defroster door device 23 as air-blowing mode doors, respectively. Specifically, as shown in
The center defroster door 25A has a rotation shaft 251 and a plate-shaped door body 252 for opening and closing the center defroster opening 24. The door body 252 extends from a substantially middle position of the rotation shaft 251. The side defroster door 23A includes a rotation shaft 231, a plate-shaped right door body 232R and a plate-shaped left door body 232L for opening and closing the side defroster openings 22R, 22L. The right and left door bodies 232R, 232L extend from the rotation shaft 231 and are spaced from each other by a predetermined distance in a longitudinal direction of the rotation shaft 231. The right and left door bodies 232R, 232L are integrated through the rotation shaft 231. Thus, the right and left door bodies 232R, 232L are integrally rotatable.
Alternatively, the side defroster door 23 may be separated into a right defroster door including the right door body 232R and a left defroster door including the left door body 232L so that the right and left door bodies 232R, 232L can be operated separately. In the example shown in
Namely, the side defroster openings 22L, 22R and the center defroster opening 24 can be disposed either inside of the air conditioning case 10 to be capable of contacting inner surfaces of a case wall that defines the side defroster openings 22L, 22R and the center defroster opening 24 or outside of the air conditioning case 10 to be capable of contacting outer surfaces of the case wall. That is, arrangements of the center defroster door 25A and the side defroster door 23A are not limited to the illustrated example. Also, arrangements of the rotation shafts 231, 251 are not limited to the illustrated example, but may be modified in various ways.
As shown in
Next, an electric control system of the air conditioner will be described with reference to
The inside air temperature sensor 32 detects an inside air temperature Tr. The outside air temperature sensor 33 detects an outside air temperature Tam. The solar radiation sensor 34 detects the amount of solar radiation Ts. The heated fluid temperature sensor 35 detects the temperature Tw of the heated fluid. The evaporator air temperature sensor 36 detects the temperature of the air downstream of the evaporator 18 with respect to the flow of the air. Further, the glass temperature sensor 50 detects the temperature TG of the widow glass such as the windshield 45 and/or the side window glass 47.
Here, the glass temperature sensor 50 may be any type of sensor. For example, the temperature of the window glass may be directly or indirectly detected. As examples of the direct detection, the glass temperature may be detected in a contact manner or in a non-contact manner. As an example of the indirect detection, the glass temperature may be estimated based on based on factors such as the outside air temperature and a vehicle speed.
The air conditioner control panel 37 is, for example, mounted adjacent to the instrument panel of the vehicle. The air conditioner operation panel 37 has various switches such as a temperature setting switch 38, an air volume switch 39, an air-blowing mode switch 40, an inside/outside air switch 41, an air conditioner switch 42, and the like. The switches 38 to 42 are operable by a user.
The temperature setting switch 38 is configured to generate a signal Tse indicative of a temperature set by a user. The air volume switch 39 is configured to generate a signal indicative of switching of the volume of air such as a blower level. The air-blowing mode switch 40 is configured to generate a signal indicative of an air blowing mode. The inside/outside air switch 41 is configured to generate a signal indicative of switching of an inside air mode and an outside air mode. The air conditioner switch 42 is configured to generate an on/off signal of a compressor (not shown), that is, a refrigerant compressor for the air conditioner.
Next, operation characteristics of air-blowing mode doors such as the center defroster door 25A, the side defroster door 23A, the foot door 29 and the face door 27 relative to air-blowing modes will be described with reference to
Regarding the air-blowing modes, a face mode, a bi-level mode (B/L), a foot mode and a side defroster air volume independent control range (mode) are included in an automatic air conditioning control region. A foot and defroster mode (F/D) and a defroster mode (DEF) are included in a manual operation region.
In the face mode, the face door 27 is fully opened, and the center defroster door 25A, the side defroster door 23A and the foot door 29 are fully closed. Thus, the air blown by the blower 15 passes through the face opening 26 and is blown toward the passenger's upper body area from the center face air-blowing outlets 48 and the side face air-blowing outlets 49. In this case, a cooling operation is typically performed.
In the bi-level mode, the face door 27 and the foot door 29 are substantially half-opened (i.e., the opening degrees thereof are about 50%). The center defroster door 25A and the side defroster door 23A are closed. In this condition, the air mix door 19 is operated to a middle position between a maximum cooling position where the passage to the heater core 20 is fully closed and a maximum heating position where the bypass passage 21 is fully closed. Thus, the cooled air passing through the bypass passage 21 mainly flows toward the face opening 26, and the heated air heated by the heater core 20 mainly flows toward the foot opening 28.
As such, the temperature of air passing through the face opening 26 is lower than the temperature of air passing through the foot opening 28. As a result, the temperature of air blown toward the passenger's upper body area is lower than the temperature of air blown toward the passenger's foot area. Namely, a temperature distribution of a head cool and foot hot type, which is comfortable to passengers, is created in the bi-level mode.
In the foot mode, the foot door 29 is fully opened. The center defroster door 25A, the side defroster door 23A and the face door 27 are fully closed. Thus, the air blown by the blower 15 passes through the foot opening 28 and is blown toward the passenger's foot area from the foot air-blowing outlets (not shown). In this case, a heating operation is typically performed.
Regarding the side defroster air volume independent control range, a control operation in which the opening degrees of the side defroster door 23A and the center defroster door 25A are independently controlled is performed. Specifically, when the glass temperature TG detected by the glass temperature sensor 50 reduces lower than a predetermined temperature in the foot mode, the opening degree of the side defroster door 23A is increased while the center defroster door 25A is maintained in the closed position according to a cold degree of the glass temperature TG.
As such, the heated air flows into the side defroster duct portions 43R, 43L from the right and left defroster openings 22R, 22L and is blown toward the side window glasses 47 from the side defroster air-blowing outlets 46. Therefore, the cold draft due to the chilled side window glasses 47 is reduced or swept. It is less likely that passengers will feel cool such as in their shoulders, backs and knees. As such, a heating operation, which is comfortable to passengers, is performed.
In this case, the volume of air blown by the blower 15 is controlled such that the volume of air blown from the foot air-blowing outlets is not varied due to the change of the volume of air blown from the side defroster air-blowing outlets 46. That is, the volume of air blown by the blower 15 is controlled in accordance with the change of the volume of air blown from the side defroster air-blowing outlets 46 so that the volume of air blown from the foot air-blowing outlets is maintained. Therefore, it is less likely that passengers will feel cool or hot in their foot in the side defroster air volume independent control mode.
When the foot and defroster mode is manually selected, the center defroster door 25A and the side defroster door 23A are operated to substantially half-opened positions while maintaining the foot door 29 in the opened position. Thus, the air is blown toward the windshield 45, the side window glasses 47 and the passenger's foot area from the center defroster air-blowing outlet 44, the side defroster air-blowing outlets 46 and the foot air-blowing outlets, respectively. Namely, an anti-fog operation for restricting the window glasses 45, 47 from being fogged and the heating operation are simultaneously performed.
In general, when it is required to immediately remove or restrict the fog of the window glasses 45, 47, the defroster mode is manually selected. When the defroster mode is manually selected, the center defroster door 25A and the side defroster door 23A are fully opened. The foot door 29 and the face door 27 are closed. As such, the air is blown toward the windshield 45 and the side window glasses 47 from the center defroster air-blowing outlets 44 and the side defroster air-blowing outlets 46, respectively. Accordingly, the anti-fog operation of the window glasses 45, 47 is performed.
In the present embodiment, the volume of air blown from the side defroster air-blowing outlets 46 can be adjusted by a defroster air volume adjusting unit. Therefore, the cold draft due to the chilled side window glasses 47 is effectively reduced.
The defroster air volume adjusting unit is provided by the center defroster door 25A and the side defroster door 23A so that the volume of air blown from the side defroster air-blowing outlets 46 is controlled separately from the volume of air blown from the center defroster air-blowing outlet 44. Since the center defroster door 25A and the side defroster door 23A are provided separately and disposed to open and close the respective openings 24, 22R, 22L, the defroster air volume adjusting unit is easily and simply constructed.
The side defroster door device 23 is constructed of the plate door 23A rotatable about the rotation axis 231. That is, the side defroster door 23A is provided by a simple door mechanism. Further, the volume of air blown from the side defroster air-blowing outlets 46 is adjusted according to the glass temperature TG detected by the glass temperature sensor 50.
Namely, the decrease of the glass temperature, which causes the cold draft, can be detected, and the volume of air blown from the side defroster air-blowing outlets 46 can be adjusted according to the decrease of the glass temperature. Therefore, the cold draft from the side window glasses 47 is effectively reduced.
Further, the volume of air blown by the blower 15 is adjusted in accordance with the adjustment of the volume of air blown from the side defroster air-blowing outlets 46. Therefore, the volume of air blown from another air-blowing outlets such as the foot air-blowing outlets can be maintained, irrespective of the adjustment of the volume of air blown from the side defroster air-blowing outlets 46. Accordingly, it is less likely that passengers will feel cool or hot in their foot due to the change of the volume of air blown from the side defroster air-blowing outlets 46.
In the air conditioner of the second embodiment, as shown in
The center defroster door 25B has a slidable door body 252a and rotation shafts 251a, 251b. The rotation shafts 251a, 251b are disposed at opposite ends of the slidable door body 252a to wind the door body 252a. The door body 252a is, for example, made of a resinous film, and is formed with openings 252b at predetermined positions.
The side defroster door device 23 includes the right side defroster door 23R and the left side defroster door 23L. Each of the right and left side defroster doors 23R, 23L includes a slidable door body 232a and rotation shafts 231a, 231b. The rotation shafts 231a, 231b are disposed at opposite ends of the slidable door body 232a to wind the door body 232a. The door body 232a is, for example, made of a resin film, and is formed with openings 232b at predetermined positions.
Next, the air-blowing modes will be described with reference to
For example, the door bodies 232a of the side defroster doors 23R, 23L are slid so that the openings 232b are moved with respect to the side defroster openings 22R, 22L. As such, the opening degrees of the side defroster openings 22R, 22L by the openings 232b, that is, degrees of overlap of the openings 232b with the side defroster openings 22R, 22L are varied. Likewise, the door body 252a of the center defroster door 25B is slid so that the openings 252b are moved with respect to the center defroster opening 24. As such, the opening degree of the center defroster opening 24 by the openings 252b, that is, a degree of overlap of the openings 252b with the center defroster opening 24 is varied.
Next, operation characteristics of the center defroster door 25B, the side defroster doors 23R, 23L, the foot door 29 and the face door 27 relative to air-blowing modes will be described with reference to
In the first embodiment shown in
Accordingly, in addition to the heated air from the foot air-blowing outlets, the air is blown toward the side window glasses 47 and the front windshield 45 from the side defroster air-blowing outlets 46 and the center defroster air-blowing outlet 44, respectively, in the side defroster air volume independent control mode. Therefore, the cold draft due to the front windshield 45 is effectively reduced while reducing the cold draft due to the side window glasses 47. It is less likely that passengers will feel cool such as in their shoulders, backs and knees. Accordingly, the heating operation, which is comfortable for passengers, is performed.
When the foot and defroster mode is manually selected, the center defroster door 25B and the side defroster doors 23R, 23L are operated to the substantially half-opened positions while maintaining the foot door 29 in the fully opened position. When the fog of the window glasses 45, 47 needs to be immediately removed, the defroster mode will be manually selected. When the defroster mode is manually selected, the center defroster door 25B and the side defroster door 23R, 23L are operated to the fully opened positions, and the foot door 29 and the face door 27 are operated to the fully closed positions, similar to the first embodiment.
In the present embodiment, the defroster air volume adjusting unit is constructed of the center defroster door 25B and the right and left side defroster doors 23R, 23L. Therefore, the volumes of air blown from the side defroster air-blowing outlets 46 can be adjusted separately from the volume of air blown from the center defroster air-blowing outlet 44.
In addition, since the side defroster door device 23 is constructed of the right defroster door 23R and the left defroster door 23L, the volume of air blown from the right defroster air-blowing outlet and the volume of air blown from the left defroster air-blowing outlet can be separately adjusted. Namely, the side defroster air volume independent control operation is performed separately for a right seat and a left seat. Also, the right and left defroster doors 23R, 23L are composed of slide doors. Therefore, the spaces for the right and left defroster doors 23R, 23L are reduced.
In addition to the adjustment of the volume of air blown from the side defroster air-blowing outlets 46, the volume of air blown from the center defroster air-blowing outlet 44 is adjusted according to the glass temperature detected by the glass temperature sensor 50. Namely, the volume of air blown from the center defroster air-blowing outlet 44 is adjusted according to the degree of reduction of the glass temperature. Therefore, the cold draft due to the front windshield 45 is effectively reduced.
Further, the volume of air blown by the blower 15 is controlled according to the adjustment of the volume of air blown from the side defroster air-blowing outlets 46 and/or the center defroster air-blowing outlet 44 so that the volumes of air blown from the other air-blowing outlets such as the foot air-blowing outlets can be maintained. For example, the volume of air blown from the foot air-blowing outlets is not affected by the adjustment of the volume of air blown from the side defroster air-blowing outlets 46 and the center defroster air-blowing outlet 44. Therefore, it is less likely that passenger will feel uncomfortable such as cool or hot due to the defroster air volume independent control operation.
In the defroster air volume independent control operation of the present embodiment, since the air is blown from the center defroster air-blowing outlet 44 in addition to the side defroster air-blowing outlets 46, it is less likely that the windshield 45 will be fogged and passengers will feel uncomfortable in their face areas due to the change of the volume of air blown from the side defroster air-blowing outlets 46.
In the air conditioner of the third embodiment, the center defroster door device 25 and the side defroster door device 23 are constructed of the slide-type center defroster door 25B and the slide-type side defroster doors 23L, 23R, similar to the second embodiment. In addition, as shown in
For example, the right defroster door 23R and the left defroster door 23L share the rotation shafts 231a, 231b. Alternatively, the rotation shafts 231a, 23b of the right defroster door 23R can be connected to the rotation shafts 231a, 231b of the left defroster door 23L. The right defroster door 23R and the left defroster door 23L may be integrated by another way. The right and left defroster door 23R, 23L are operated in the similar manner as the second embodiment. The opening degree of the side defroster openings 22R, 22L are controlled by the right and left defroster door 23R, 23L in the similar manner as shown in
In the present embodiment, the structure and a driving mechanism of the side defroster door 23 is simplified, as compared with that of the second embodiment. Also, a control device of the side defroster door 23 is simplified.
The air conditioner of the fourth embodiment has a defroster slide door 240A instead of the center defroster door device 25 and the side defroster door device 23, as shown in
As shown in
In the present embodiment, the defroster slide door 240A have further simple driving structure and is compact.
The air conditioner of the fifth embodiment has a defroster section having a structure different from that of the first embodiment. As shown in
That is, it is not always necessary to arrange the side defroster door device 23 within the air conditioning case 10 as shown in the example of
In the example of
The air conditioner of the sixth embodiment has a defroster section having a structure different from that of the first embodiment, as shown in
In the example illustrated in
In the present embodiment, the side-center defroster door 240B and the center defroster door 25C can be operated such that the volumes of air blown from the center defroster air-blowing outlet 44 and the side defroster air-blowing outlets 46 are adjusted in the similar manner as in
In the air conditioner of the seventh embodiment, the side defroster duct portions 43R, 43L that respectively connect the side defroster openings 22R, 22L and the side defroster air-blowing outlets 46 are extended toward rear side doors, as shown in
For example, a front seat door duct 430 is disposed along an upper portion of a front door and a rear seat door duct 430R is disposed along an upper portion of a rear door. The rear seat door duct 430R is in communication with the front seat door duct 430. The front seat door duct 430 is in communication with the side defroster air-blowing outlet 46 for blowing the air toward the front side window 47. The rear door duct 430R is in communication with a rear seat side defroster air-blowing outlet 46R for blowing the air flowing from the front seat door duct 430 toward a rear side window 47R.
As such, in addition to the reduction of the cold draft duet to the windshield 45 and/or the front side window glasses 47, cold draft due to the rear side window 47R can be reduced.
In the above embodiments, the volume of air blown from the side defroster air-blowing outlets 46 is automatically controlled. Alternatively, it can be configured such that the volume of air blown from the side defroster air-blowing outlets 46 is manually controlled. In other words, the side defroster independent control mode may be manually selected.
In the second embodiment, the side defroster air volume independent control operation is performed by the slide doors 25B, 23L, 23R. However, the side defroster independent air volume control operation shown in
In the above embodiments, when the side defroster door device 23 is constructed of the right side defroster door and the left side defroster door, which are separately operable, the volume of air blown from the right side defroster air-blowing, outlet and the volume of air blown from the left side defroster air-blowing outlet may be controlled separately according to occupancy of a right seat and a left seat.
Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broader term is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus, and illustrative examples shown and described.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-339222 | Dec 2006 | JP | national |
