GB2070763A

GB2070763A - Demisting vehicle door windows

Info

Publication number: GB2070763A
Application number: GB8039982A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Nissan Motor Co Ltd
Current assignee: Nissan Motor Co Ltd
Priority date: 1979-12-21
Filing date: 1980-12-12
Publication date: 1981-09-09
Also published as: JPS5695959U; DE3046970A1; FR2472991A1

Abstract

An airflow duct construction includes an elongate duct 16 formed along the upper edge of a vehicle door adjacent to a window 26. The duct 16 includes exhaust ports 38 for directing an airflow towards the window. The duct 16 is formed with an opening that sealingly engages an opening of a transition duct 24 when the door is closed The transition duct 24 is connected to a supply duct 20 to supply warm air from an air supply device 22, 23. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Airflow duct construction The present invention relates to an airflow duct construction in an automobile vehicle door arranged in use to direct a flow of air onto an adjacent window to prevent the window from misting up, and to an improvement in such a construction wherein the duct extends along a major portion of the length of the door for preventing misting of the entire window.

Conventional side window demisting devices are either formed as a part of the vehicle dash panel adjacent to a side window or formed with an interior panel of a door at a front portion of the door adjacent to the dash panel. Because the door window raising or window regulator mechanism occupies a substantial portion of the space between the outer and inner panels of the door, conventional side window demisting devices of this type necessarily form a bulge "added onto" the interior panel of the vehicle door. In an attempt to supply a sufficient flow of air to demist a major portion of the side window, this bulge has in more recent proposals increased in size considerably, thus reducing the vehicle interior space and detracting from the overall aesthetic quality of the vehicle interior.Owing to its size, this bulging demisting device is necessarily limited to the upper, front portion of the vehicle door, and as such, is ineffective in demisting a major portion of the window.

The airflow duct construction of the present invention includes a streamlined elongate duct formed with a vehicle door adjacent to a window.

The streamlined duct extends almost the entire length of the adjacent window and includes one or more shaped exhaust ports for directing an airflow from an air supply device onto the window in such a manner as to tend to remove and/or prevent the accumulation of mist on a major portion of the area of the window. The shaped exhaust ports are positioned adjacent to the window and oriented to direct the airflow in a direction closely parallel to the plane of the window to distribute the airflow efficiently over a major portion of the window.

One form of airflow duct construction according to the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the airflow duct construction; Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 2-2 in Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, and especially to Figure 1, an airflow duct construction indicated generaily by the reference numeral 10 is positioned within a vehicle side door 12 and a vehicle dash panel 14. As is best shown in Figure 1, the airflow duct construction 10 comprises an elongate duct 16 positioned adjacent to the upper edge of an interior panel of the vehicle door 12 our a door inner decorative panel 18, a supply duct 20 communicating with a vehicle air supply device 22, a transition duct 24 for providing communication between the air supply duct and the elongate duct, and an air supply source 23 for supplying heated air to the air supply device 22.

As is best shown in Figure 2, the elongate duct 16 has a thin cross-sectional shape, and is oriented essentially parallel to the plane of the vehicle side door 12 and a glass window 26. The elongate duct 16 comprises an elongate inner section 28 fixed to an inner panel 30 of the door 12 and an elongate outer section 32 bonded to or otherwise formed as part of the decorative panel 18. The decorative panel 18 is bonded to a reinforcement panel 34, and the two as a unit are fixed to the inner panel 30 in a suitable manner. A lower resilient sealing member 36 is positioned along the lower edge portions of the elongate inner and outer sections 28 and 32 to effect a seal between those sections to prevent the air from leaking into the space between the inner panel 30 and the decorative panel 18.Likewise, an upper resilient sealing member 37 is positioned between the upper edge of the elongate inntersection 28 and a reinforcement panel 31 to effect a similar seal between them.

The elongate duct includes a shaped exhaust port 38 formed at the top of the duct adjacent to the glass window 26 through which in use the air flows from the duct towards the window in a direction almost parallel to the plane of the window. In this manner, the airflow is utilised most effectively to demist almost the entire window. The elongate duct 16 is formed with three exhaust ports 38 aligned end to end. Obviously, any suitable number of exhaust ports 38 may be incorporated in the elongate duct 16 in order to conform with the door interior panel 18.

As is best shown in Figure 3, the airflow duct construction 10 further includes the supply duct 20 fixed to the vehicle dash panel 14 and arranged to direct air from the air supply device 22 to the elongate duct 16. The supply duct 20 is connected to a transition duct 24 at a location adjacent to an end section 40 of the dash panel that faces the decortive panel 18. This transition duct 24 is formed of a resilient material in a bellows design in order to be slightly compressed when the vehicle door is shut in order to form an adequate air seal between an exposed sealing surface 42 of the transition duct and a mating sealing surface 44 of the decorative panel 18 covering the elongate duct 16.

The elongate duct 16 is streamlined to contour to the shape of the inner panel 30. It should also be noted that the upper section 46 of the inner panel 30 is slightly lower than it would otherwise be in order to accomodatethe upper section of the elongate duct 16 and allow for proper positioning the shaped exhaust port or ports 38. As shown, this reshaping of the side door inner panel 30 is only minimal and does not interfere with or restrict the raising mechanism of the glass window 26.

The operation of the airflow duct construction is similar to that of conventional side window demisting devices. When the vehicle side door 12 is closed, the mating surfaces 42 and 44 provide a seal in the airflow passage between the transition duct 24 and the elongate duct 16 so that air flows through the ducts from the air supply device 22 and is exhausted through the shaped exhaust ports 38 toward the glass window 26. The elongate duct 16, because of its streamlined shape, more effectively directs the airflow within the duct from the transition duct 24 to each of the shaped exhaust ports 38 to distribute the airflow more efficiently towards the window 26 to remove and/or prevent an accumulation of mist on a major area of the window.

The airflow duct construction has been illustrated and described as one for use with a side door of a vehicle. Obviously, it is not so limited, and may be used with a rear door of a vehicle with equal effect.

Claims

1. An airflow duct construction door directing a flow of air from an air supply device towards a window in or adjacent to a door of an automotive vehicle, the said construction comprising: an elongate duct positioned adjacent to an interior panel of the vehicle door and adjacent to the window and extending along a major portion of the length thereof. the duct including at least one shaped exhaust port for directing the airflow through the port or ports towards the window along a major portion of the window; a supply duct communicating with the vehicle air supply device for supplying air to the elongate duct; and a transition duct for connecting the supply duct to the elongate duct.

2. An airflow duct construction as claimed in claim 1, wherein there are a plurality of exhaust ports longitudinally aligned end to end.

3. An airflow duct construction as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the elongate duct is intergrallyformedwith an inner structural panel of the vehicle door.

4. An airflow duct construction as claimed in claim 3, wherein the elongate duct is further integralliy formed with a decorative interior panel of the vehicle door.

5. An airflow duct construction as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the transition duct is formed of a resilient material.

6. An airflow duct construction as claimed in claim 5, wherein the transition duct is of a resilient bellows design.

7. An airflow duct construction as claimed in claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.

8. A demisting device for an automotive vehicle in order to prevent a side door window from misting, comprising: a first duct extending along a horizontal edge of the side door adjacent to the upper edge thereof; a plurality of air nozzles communicating with said first duct and aligned along the said upper edge of the door; an air supply source; a second duct communicating with the air supply source; and a transition duct releasably connecting the first and second ducts, the transition duct establishing communicating between the said first and second ducts when the door is closed, the transition duct permitting the door to open.

9. A demisting device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the said first duct is formed between an inner panel of the door and an inner trim attached to the said inner panel.

10. A demisting device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the transition duct sealingly engages the said inner trim when the door is closed and is spaced apart from the said inner trim when the door is open.

11. Avehiclefittedwith an airflow duct construction as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 or a demisting device as claimed in any of claims 8 to 10.