GB2474496A

GB2474496A - Ventilation module for motor vehicle

Info

Publication number: GB2474496A
Application number: GB0918205A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Sandra Valentina Trujillo Linke
Original assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
Current assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
Priority date: 2009-10-16
Filing date: 2009-10-16
Publication date: 2011-04-20
Also published as: GB0918205D0

Abstract

The present invention relates to a ventilation system for the interior (5, Figure 1, 6, Figure 2) of a motor vehicle comprising at least one ventilation unit 10 (20, Figure 1) having a suction side (30, Figure 5) and a pressure side (32, Figure 5) for in-taking and distributing of ambient air, respectively. The ventilation system being characterized by the at least one ventilation unit 10, (20) being decoupled from a vehicle's heating and/or air-conditioning system. Optionally the ventilation system is movably / removably disposed in the vehicle interior (5, 6) and may comprise a rotatable fan 12 coupled to a drive unit 14. The ventilation unit may have a housing (25, Figure 5) and a ball joint (34, Figure 5) matching a corresponding socket joint (36, Figure 5) present in the interior of the vehicle ( 5, 6).

Description

Ventilation System for Motor Vehicle

Description

The present invention relates to a ventilation system and to a ventilation unit for the interior of a motor vehicle having, wherein the ventilation system comprises a suction side and a pressure side for intaking and distributing of ambient air, respectively

Background and Prior Art

Ventilation and air-conditioning systems for

motor vehicles are well known in the prior art.

Typically, air-conditioning and spatial distribution of well-tempered air is controlled and provided by a HVAC, a so-called Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning unit.

Typically, such HVAC-systems comprise at least one heat exchanging unit for heating and/or cooling of air, which is then guided through respective air guiding channels that serve to distribute the provided air to a variety of air outlet nozzles distributed across the vehicle's interior.

The spatial distribution of tempered air is controlled by a multiplicity of adjustable air flaps or valves, which, depending on their configuration serve to enforce a directed and purposeful guiding of air through respective branches of the system of air guiding channels.

Spatial distribution of tempered air is therefore centrally controlled and requires a rather complex arrangement of air guiding channels together with a respective arrangement of adjustable air flaps and valves. Additionally, distribution of tempered air to a rear portion of a motor vehicle is generally quite elaborate and requires installation of rather spacious air guiding channels that extend through the vehicle roof or vehicle floor structure.

For instance, DE 10 2004 005 481 Al discloses an air guiding channel, which at least partially extends along a top side and/or along an A-pillar of the vehicle.

Apart from this rather complex assembly, implementation of conventional air guiding systems is quite costly and furthermore limits the design of the vehicle structure.

It is therefore an object of the invention present invention to provide a ventilation system for the interior of a motor vehicle, which is less-elaborate with respect to assembly and manufacture. It is a another object of the invention to provide a ventilation system being less spacious and which alows for an increasing diversity regarding the interior design of the vehicle.

It is therefore another object of the invention to provide a ventilation system that does not intervene with the body and/or with the supporting structure of the vehicle.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention relates to a ventilation system for the interior of a motor vehicle. It comprises at least one ventilation unit, wehrein said ventilation unit has at least a suction side and a pressure side for intaking and distributing of ambient air, respectively.

The invention is characterized in that the at least one ventilation unit is decoupled from a vehicle's heating and/or air-conditioning system.

The at least one ventilation unit is adapted and designed for providing a circulation of ambient air being already present in the vehicle's interior. Hence, by decoupling the ventilation unit from an air-conditioning system, the invention provides a new approach in separately tempering and distributing of air in the interior of a vehicle. The invention therefore provides a ventilation unit, that exclusively serves to circulate and to distribute ambient air within the vehicle's interior.

Preferably, the suction side of the ventilation unit as well as the pressure side of the ventilation unit are both in fluid communication with the vehicle interior.

In this way, air guiding channels interconnecting outlet nozzles with heating and/or air-conditioning systems become superfluous, which also generally applies to the central control system with its respective air flaps and valves. Hence, the invention provides a decentralization of a ventilation system, wherein each ventilation unit can be separately and independently controlled.

Since the ventilation system according to the present invention allows to eliminate or at least allows to reduce number and dimensions of air guiding channels, it provides a less spacious ventilation system and therefore provides free installation space, which can be used otherwise. Furthermore, by reducing or eliminating commonly used air guide channels, the impact of the ventilation system on the overall design of the vehicle's body or its supporting structure can be advantageously reduced.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the at least one ventilation unit is moveably and/or removably disposed in the vehicle's interior.

For instance, the ventilation unit can be arranged and installed at a variety of positions inside the vehicle. In this way, the invention provides completely new ways on how to generate laminar or directed air streams inside a vehicle. By having the at least one ventilation unit removably disposed in the vehicle interior, it is even conceivable, to arrange said ventilation unit in the vehicle's front and/or rear section. In this way each passenger of the vehicle may individually and independently control magnitude, direction and focus of an air stream in his immediate vicinity.

In another aspect of the invention, the at least one ventilation unit is pivot and/or rotatably mounted in or at a receiving portion of the vehicle interior. For instance, the at least one ventilation unit can be arranged at an instrument panel, a door panel, a center console, a roof covering and/or at a seat structure of the vehicle and the like. Positioning of said ventilation unit is only restricted in that the ventilation unit and its control means must be accessible to the respective passenger.

By having a plurality of possible positions for said ventilation unit, it is even conceivable, to equip the ventilation system with a number of ventilation units, even with a larger number of possible receiving portions for said ventilation unit. In this way, a passenger may re-configure or re-arrange position and direction of a ventilation unit on demand.

In another embodiment, the receiving portion, for instance located in or at the instrument panel of the vehicle's interior comprises a channel-like through opening, which is open to the vehicle's interior at the suction side of the ventilation unit. In this way, only ambient air being already present in the vehicle's interior can be drawn into and expelled from the through opening at the ventilation unit's pressure side.

Preferably, said receiving portion or suction side of the ventilation unit is directed towards an air outlet or to various air outlet nozzles being coupled with the vehicle's heating and/or air-conditioning system, which preferably provides a laminar flow of well-tempered air providing the vehicle's interior with fresh and/or temperered air. Arranging the ventilation unit's suction side downstream to an ambient-air outlet nozzle of a heating and/or air-conditioning system of the vehicle is beneficial for providing an efficient circulation of tempered air inside the interior.

It is of further advantage, when the at least one ventilation unit comprises a fan assembly having a rotatable fan and a drive unit being operably coupled with the fan. In this way, a stream of air can be generated locally and rather close to an air outlet nozzle of the ventilation unit. Furthermore, by having a fan assembly directly mounted inside the ventilation unit, an asymmetric and heterogeneous air circulation can be realized inside the vehicle. Having for instance a ventilation unit arranged at the driver's side and at the passenger's side, the driver and the passenger may individually generate and control a stream of ambient air at their discretion.

In a further preferred embodiment, the entire fan assembly is removably disposed in the ventilation unit.

In this way, the fan assembly can be manually gripped by a passenger and can be used as a hand fan. By way of a removable hand fan, the respective passenger may individually direct and control a flow of ambient air on demand, e.g. to his face or chest part.

In another preferred embodiment, said fan assembly is battery driven. Preferably, it is powered by a rechargeable battery. Said rechargeable battery is preferably charged by means of a respective electrical coupling of fan assembly and ventilation unit, such that the battery of the fan assembly is electrically charged when the fan assembly is arranged inside or coupled with the ventilation unit. Therefore, it is beneficial, when the fan assembly and the ventilation unit comprise mutually corresponding mechanical and/or electrical docking means.

By way of such combined mechanical and/or electrical docking means, the fan assembly can be securely kept in position in the ventilation unit. At the same time its battery can be subject to a re-charging process. The fan assembly can generally be removed from the ventilation unit and can be used as a hand fan even outside the vehicle.

Accordingly, not only the fan assembly but also the entire ventilation unit may be mechanically and/or electrically connected and coupled with respective receiving portions of the vehicle's interior. By removably and reconfigurably arranging the ventilation unit and/or its fan assembly in the vehicle's interior, the passengers sitting in front and in the rear of the vehicle may share the ventilation units and/or fan assemblies at their discretion.

In a further preferred embodiment, the ventilation unit comprises a housing having a ball joint matching with a corresponding socket joint arranged in the vehicle interior. In particular, the receiving portion for pivot and/or rotatably mounting the ventilation unit at an instrument panel, a door panel, a center console, a roof covering and/or at a seat structure may comprise a socket joint adapted to receive the ventilation unit's ball joint. Additionally, said reconfigurable ball-socket-joint coupling may further be equipped with electrical docking means that allow to provide the ventilation unit with required electricity.

According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, each ventilation unit and/or each fan assembly comprises at least one on-site control means. Said control means can be realized as a switch, e.g. in form of a slide-type or rotary-type switch. In this way, power and intensity of the fan can be precisely and directly controlled by the user.

By arranging the control means e.g. on or in a housing of the ventilation unit or its fan assembly, a rather intuitive and simple manipulation of respective ventilation units and fan assemblies can be provided.

Moreover, when the fan assembly is removably disposed in the ventilation unit, it is beneficial, when the control means of ventilation unit and fan assembly are electrically and/or mechanically coupled. In such a configuration, the control means of the ventilation unit may exclusively serve to transmit a control signal to the respective control means of the fan assembly, which, depending on the respective control signal, generates a directed stream of ambient air of required intensity.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the suction side and the pressure side of the ventilation unit are connected by means of at least one air guiding channel. Here, the suction side of said air guiding channel is located in, merges with or is directly coupled to the vehicle's interior, in fact, the air guiding channel preferably serves to house the ventilation unit, which at its suction side requires access to the vehicle's interior for generating a directed stream of air.

Since the ventilation unit is decoupled from the vehicle's heating and/or air-conditioning system, the invention serves to exclusively generate directed streams of ambient air. In this way, the invention circumvents the disadvantages of directing streams of rather cold air towards the passengers. Since the ventilation units according to the present invention are coupled to the vehicle's heating and/or air-conditioning system via the vehicle's interior, the temperature of air streams to be generated by the ventilation units may adapt to the temperature of the respective tempered air on a longer time scale.

In another independent aspect, the invention also provides a ventilation unit to be coupled to the above-described ventilation system, wherein the ventilation unit comprises at least one mechanical docking means for removably disposing the ventilation unit to the vehicle interior or to components thereof.

Finally, the invention also relates to a motor vehicle equipped with a ventilation system and/or with ventilation units according to the present invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In the following, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail by making reference to the drawings in which: Figure 1 exemplary illustrates a vehicle interior equipped with a variety of ventilation units, -10 -Figure 2 schematically shows a perspective view of another vehicle interior according to the present invention, Figure 3 schematically shows a ventilation unit pivot-mounted at a vehicle instrument panel in an exploded view, Figure 4 shows a perspective illustration of a pivot-mounted ventilation unit arranged at an instrument panel, Figure 5 illustrates the ventilation according to Fig. 4 mounted at a roof covering and Figure 6 perspectively illustrates the ventilation unit according to Figs. 4 and 5 as seen from its suction side.

In Figures 1 and 2 a ventilation system according to the present invention is illustrated. Here, a multiplicity of ventilation units 10 is distributed across the interior 5 of a vehicle. As can be seen in Figure 1, a ventilation unit 10 is located at the left hand side as well as at the right hand side of an instrument panel 18. Furthermore, two additional ventilation units 20 of smaller size are located in the center console 19. The ventilation units 10 as illustrated in Figure 1 are embedded in the instrument panel 18 while the ventilation units 20 protrude from the center console's surface.

In the embodiment as illustrated in Figure 2, there also exist two different types of ventilation units -11 - 10, 20. Here, two ventilation units 10 are disposed at the passenger side and two ventilation units 20 are disposed at a drivers side. Ventilation units 10 are integrated and embedded in the instrument panel 18, whereas ventilation units 20 at least partially protrude from the instrument panel 18.

While ventilation units 10 are disposed in a receptacle of the instrument panel 18, the ventilation units 20 comprise a separate housing and are mechanically coupled to the instrument panel 18 by way of a socket-ball-joint connection, which is for instance illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 in an enlarged view.

At a first glance, configuration and arrangement of the various ventilation units 10 resembles that of conventional air out nozzles being in fluid communication with air guiding channels. Even though not explicitly illustrated, the ventilation units 10 and 20 as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 are decoupled from the vehicle's heating and/or air-conditioning system, which is not particularly illustrate here. Both ventilation units 10, 20 are exclusively adapted for drawing in of ambient air being already present in the interior 5, 6 of the vehicle.

As further illustrated in Figure 3, the ventilation unit 10 can be arranged in a receiving portion 16 of the instrument panel 18. For this purpose, the receiving portion 16 may serve as a kind of air guiding channel 38 being open towards the suction side of the ventilation unit 10. The ventilation unit 10 further comprises a sphere-like mount 40 having centrally located docking means 24 that are adapted to serve as mechanical -12 -and/or electrical docking means for the removable fan assembly 11.

The fan assembly 11 comprises a drive unit 14 as well as a rotatable fan 12. The drive unit 14 may be gripped by a user's hand and comprises a housing adapted to house a rechargeable battery. Furthermore, also the drive unit 14 comprises mechanical and/or electrical docking means 22 that match with the docking means 14 of the pivot-mounted sphere-like base 40. As further indicated in Figure 3, the sphere-like base 40 is rotatably and/or pivot mounted in the receptacle 16 in either direction. It is fixed in position In this way, a focused stream of air generated by the fan 12 can be directed at the user's discretion.

As further illustrated in Figure 3, the housing of the drive unit 14 comprises electrical control means 28, in form of a slide-switch allowing for individual and direct control of the fan assembly 11 when removed from the base 40.

In Figure 4, another embodiment of a ventilation unit 20 is shown. Here, the ventilation unit is equipped with a separate housing 25, which at its bottom portion comprises an elongated ball joint 34 received in a socket joint 36 of the instrument panel 18. On the one hand, such a ventilation unit 20 can be pivoted and rotated in a way as indicated by the arrows given in Figure 4.

Additionally, the ventilation unit 20 can be removed in its entirety from the illustrated socket joint and might be coupled with a respective socket joint 36 located elsewhere in the interior 5, 6.

-13 -For instance, the ventilation unit 20 may be coupled with a respective socket joint 36 located in a roof covering 21 of the vehicle's interior 5, 6 as illustrated in Figure 5. Also here, the ventilation unit 20 can be pivoted and rotated in a way as indicated in Figure 4.

As additionally illustrated in Figure 5, the housing 25 of the ventilation unit 20 comprises a slide switch 26 allowing to individually and to locally control the driving mode of respective ventilation unit 20. As further illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, the ventilation unit 20 comprises a pressure side 32 as well as a suction side 30. In use, ambient air which is already present in the vehicle's interior 5, 6 is drawn into the suction side 30 and is ejected to the pressure side 32 as soon as the fan 12 rotates.

Even though not particularly illustrated, the fan 12 may be covered with a protection, e.g. in form of a meshed-structure or a grid, which may additionally be adapted to influence the direction of a generated air stream.

-14 -List of reference numerals vehicle interior 6 vehicle interior ventilation unit 11 fan assembly 12 fan 14 drive 16 receptacle 18 instrument panel 19 center console ventilation unit 21 roof covering 22 docking means 24 docking means housing 26 control means 28 control means 30 suction side 32 suction side 34 ball joint 36 socket joint 38 channel 40 base