US20020019212A1 - Air conditioner unit - Google Patents
Air conditioner unit Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20020019212A1 US20020019212A1 US09/912,430 US91243001A US2002019212A1 US 20020019212 A1 US20020019212 A1 US 20020019212A1 US 91243001 A US91243001 A US 91243001A US 2002019212 A1 US2002019212 A1 US 2002019212A1
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- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- case
- air conditioner
- mode
- conditioner unit
- pivot shaft
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
- 230000007246 mechanism Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 42
- 238000009423 ventilation Methods 0.000 description 27
- 230000001143 conditioned effect Effects 0.000 description 8
- 238000007664 blowing Methods 0.000 description 7
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 5
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 5
- 239000004519 grease Substances 0.000 description 4
- 238000004378 air conditioning Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000008901 benefit Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000000994 depressogenic effect Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000009471 action Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000001816 cooling Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000008878 coupling Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010168 coupling process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005859 coupling reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000009499 grossing Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000010438 heat treatment Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000009467 reduction Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000011144 upstream manufacturing Methods 0.000 description 1
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60H—ARRANGEMENTS OF HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATING OR OTHER AIR-TREATING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PASSENGER OR GOODS SPACES OF VEHICLES
- B60H1/00—Heating, cooling or ventilating [HVAC] devices
- B60H1/00642—Control systems or circuits; Control members or indication devices for heating, cooling or ventilating devices
- B60H1/00664—Construction or arrangement of damper doors
- B60H1/00671—Damper doors moved by rotation; Grilles
- B60H1/00678—Damper doors moved by rotation; Grilles the axis of rotation being in the door plane, e.g. butterfly doors
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
- Y10T137/00—Fluid handling
- Y10T137/8593—Systems
- Y10T137/87265—Dividing into parallel flow paths with recombining
- Y10T137/8741—With common operator
Definitions
- the present invention relates in general to air conditioner units, and more particularly to the air conditioner units for a motor vehicle.
- FIG. 12 of the accompanying drawings which is shown in Japanese Patent First Provisional Publication 9-20128.
- the known air conditioner unit “a” comprises a case “b” in which many air passages are defined.
- the case “b” has a ventilation air blow opening “c”, a defroster air blow opening “d” and a foot air blow opening “e” from which conditioned air is discharged to the outside of the case “b”.
- a first mode door “f” is arranged at the ventilation air blow opening “c” for adjusting the rate of air blown outward from the opening “c”. That is, the first mode door “f” is pivoted between a close position to close the ventilation air blow opening “c” while opening the air passage directed to the defroster air blow opening “d” and the foot air blow opening “e”, and an open position to open the ventilation air blow opening “c” while closing the air passage directed to the defroster air blow opening “d” and the foot air blow opening “e”.
- a second mode door “g” which can adjust both the rate of air blown outward from the defroster air blow opening “d” and the rate of air blown outward from the foot air blow opening “e”. That is, this second mode door “g” is pivoted between a foot position to open the foot air blow opening “e” while closing the defroster air blow opening “d” and a defroster position to open the defroster air blow opening “d” while closing the foot air blow opening “e”.
- the mode door actuating mechanism “h” which actuates the first and second mode doors “f” and “g” to their desired positions under a given mode. That is, the mode door actuating mechanism “h” comprises a first actuating lever “h 1 ” fixed to a pivot shaft of the first mode door “f”, and a second actuating lever “h 2 ” fixed to a pivot shaft of the second mode door “g”.
- the mechanism “h” further comprises a rotatable main link “h 4 ” which is engageable with the first actuating lever “h 1 ” and engageable with the second actuating lever “h 2 ” through an intermediate link “h 3 ”.
- the mechanism “h” further comprises a drive cable which pulls the main link “h 4 ” to a desired position under a given mode.
- the intermediate link “h 3 ” is pivotally connected to the unit case “b” and comprises two arm portions which extend radially outward from its pivoted center portion. One of the arm portions has at its leading end a pin “j” slidably engaged with a cam slot “i” formed in the second actuating lever “h 2 ”, and the other arm portion is formed with a cam slot “k”.
- the intermediate link “h 3 ” functions to turn the second mode door “g” in a direction opposite to the direction of the first mode door “f”.
- the main link “h 4 ” comprises three, viz., first, second and third arm portions which extend radially outward from its pivoted center portion.
- the first arm portion has at its leading end a pin “n” slidably engaged with a cam slot “m” formed in the first actuating lever “h 1 ”, the second arm portion has at its leading end a pin “p” slidably engaged with a cam slot “k” formed in the intermediate link “h 3 ”, and the third arm portion has at its leading end a connecting opening “q” to which the drive cable (not shown) is connected.
- the main link “h 4 ” is pivoted to a given position by the drive cable, so that the first mode door “f” opens the ventilation air blow opening “c” while closing the air passage directed to the defroster air blow opening “d” and foot air blow opening “e”.
- the first mode door “f” is pivoted to open the air passage directed to the defroster air blow opening “d” and foot air blow opening “e” while closing the ventilation air blow opening “c” and the second mode door “g” is pivoted to open the defroster air blow opening “d” while closing the foot air blow opening “e”.
- the first mode door “f” opens the air passage directed to the defroster air blow opening “d” and foot air blow opening “e” while closing the ventilation air blow opening “c”
- the second mode door “g” opens the foot air blow opening “e” while closing the defroster air blow opening
- the mode door actuating mechanism “h” includes the rotatable main link “h 4 ” and the intermediate link “h 3 ” which are relatively large in size. Due to usage of such larger parts, the layout of the three openings “c”, “d” and “e” and the two mode doors “f” and “g” is highly limited, which causes a difficulty with which the air conditioner unit “a” is made compact in size.
- an air conditioner unit which comprises a casing having a plurality of air passages defined therein; pivotal mode doors pivotally arranged in the case to provide given operation modes of the air conditioner unit when assuming given angular positions, each mode door having a pivot shaft of which leading end is exposed to the outside of a wall of the case; and a mode door actuating mechanism arranged on the wall of the case to actuate the pivotal mode doors, the mode door actuating mechanism comprising operation levers which are pivotal relative to the wall of the case, each operation lever having a cam opening and being connected to the exposed leading end of the pivot shaft of the corresponding mode door to pivot therewith; a slider member which is slidable relative to the wall of the case; engaging pins provided on the slider member and slidably engaged with the cam openings of the operation levers respectively; and an actuator member for sliding the slider member relative to the wall of the case.
- an air conditioner unit which comprises a case having a plurality of air passages defined therein; at least two pivotal mode doors pivotally arranged in the case to provide various operation modes of the air conditioner unit when assuming given angular positions, each of the mode doors having a pivot shaft of which leading end is exposed to the outside from a wall of the case; and a mode door actuating mechanism attached to an outer surface of the wall of the case to actuate the two pivotal mode doors, the mode door actuating mechanism comprising a base structure adapted to be mounted to the outer surface of the wall; two operation levers pivotally held at respective hub portions thereof by the base structure, each operation lever having a cam opening and being coaxially connected to the leading end of the pivot shaft of corresponding one of the two mode doors; a slider member slidably held on the base structure; two engaging pins provided on the slider member and slidably engaged with the cam openings of the two operation levers respectively; and an actuator member for sliding the
- an air conditioner unit which comprises a case having a plurality of air passages defined therein; two pivotal mode doors pivotally arranged in the case to provide various operation modes of the air conditioner unit when assuming given angular positions, each of the mode doors having a pivot shaft of which leading end is exposed to the outside from a wall of the case; and a mode door actuating mechanism detachably attached to an outer surface of the wall of the case to actuate the two pivotal mode doors, the mode door actuating mechanism comprising an elongate housing detachably mounted to the outer surface of the wall, the housing having first and second holding portions at upper and lower walls thereof; first and second operation levers pivotally held at respective hub portions thereby by the first and second holding portions respectively, each operation lever having a generally L-shaped cam opening and being coaxially connected to the leading end of the pivot shaft of corresponding one of the two mode doors; a slider member slidably held in the housing; two engaging pins provided by
- FIG. 1 is a side view of an air conditioner unit according to the present invention
- FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the air conditioner unit of the invention
- FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a mode door actuating mechanism which constitutes an essential portion of the air conditioner unit of the invention
- FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view showing a rotation shaft of a mode door
- FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing but partially an operation lever that is about to be engaged with the rotation shaft;
- FIGS. 6A and 6B are views showing the operation condition of two operation levers and two mode doors under ventilation mode of the air conditioner unit of the invention.
- FIGS. 7A and 7B are views similar to FIGS. 6A and 6B, but showing the operation condition of the operation levers and mode doors under bi-level mode of the air conditioner unit;
- FIGS. 8A and 8B are views similar to FIGS. 6A and 6B, but showing the operation condition of the operation levers and mode doors under heat mode of the air conditioner unit;
- FIGS. 9A and 9B are views similar to FIGS. 6A and 6B, but showing the operation conditions of the operation levers and mode doors under defroster-foot mode of the air conditioner unit;
- FIGS. 10A and 10B are views similar to FIGS. 6A and 6B, but showing the operation condition of the operation levers and mode doors under defroster mode of the air conditioner unit;
- FIG. 11 is a perspective of a modification of the mode door actuating mechanism, which can be employed in the air conditioner unit of the present invention.
- FIG. 12 is a side view of a known air conditioner unit.
- FIGS. 1 to 10 B there is shown an air conditioner unit according to the present invention.
- the air conditioner unit 100 A of the invention comprises a case 2 which is to be mounted below an instrument panel of an associated motor vehicle.
- the case 2 comprises a front wall 2 a facing toward an engine room of the vehicle and a rear wall 2 b facing toward a passenger room.
- a scroll chamber 11 just behind an upper part of the front wall 2 a . That is, in the scroll chamber 11 , there is installed a scirocco fan 3 a . From the scroll chamber 11 , there extends an air passage 4 through which air flow produced by the scirocco fan 3 a runs downstream.
- the air passage 4 comprises a down-passage 12 through which the air flow from the fan 3 a goes down along the front wall 2 a , an up-passage 13 through which the air flow from the down-passage 12 goes up along the rear wall 2 b and a lower-passage 14 by which the down-passage 12 and the up-passage 13 are connected.
- the lower passage 14 extends along a bottom wall 2 c of the case 2 , as shown.
- the up-passage 13 comprises a warm air passage 16 in which the heater unit 6 is actually installed, a bypass passage 15 which bypasses the warm air passage 16 and an air mix chamber 18 to which respective downstream ends of the warm air passage 16 and the bypass passage 15 are connected.
- the down-passage 12 there is disposed an evaporator 5 for cooling air flowing therethrough. While, in the up-passage 13 , there is disposed heater unit 6 for heating air that has passed through the evaporator 5 . As shown, upon assembly, the evaporator 5 is inclined by about 10 to 30 degrees relative to a horizontal line having its front (or left) end positioned lower than its rear (or right) end. The air passing through the evaporator 5 runs through the lower-passage 14 along the bottom wall 2 c of the case 2 .
- the bottom wall 2 c of the case 2 comprises inclined parts which constitute a lowermost portion with a drain opening 2 c ′. That is, any water condensed on the outer surface of the evaporator 5 flows down along the inclined parts of the bottom wall toward the lowermost portion and discharges into the outside through the drain opening 2 c′.
- the heater unit 6 has a left end neatly received in the depressed part 2 e and is arranged generally in parallel with the evaporator 5 in the down-passage 12 .
- the up-passage 13 comprises the bypass passage 15 which extends along the rear wall 2 b of the case 2 bypassing the heater unit 6 .
- the up-passage further comprises the warm air passage 16 in which the heater unit 6 is actually installed.
- an air mix door 21 which adjusts an air flow rate between the bypass passage 15 and the warm air passage 16 . That is, the air mix door 21 pivots between a terminal position to close the bypass passage 15 , an intermediate position to partially open both the bypass passage 15 and the warm air passage 16 and another terminal position to close the warm air passage 16 .
- a top wall 2 g of the case 2 is formed with a ventilation air blow opening 31 and a defroster air blow opening 32 from which conditioned air in the air mix chamber 18 is blown outward to respective given outside portions.
- the ventilation air blow opening 31 is positioned near an upper portion of the rear wall 2 b of the case 2
- the defroster air blow opening 32 is positioned near an upper portion of the front wall 2 a of the case 2 .
- An upper part of the inner wall 2 f which faces the defroster air blow opening 32 is formed with a foot air connecting opening 33 through which the up-passage 13 and the foot air passage 17 are connected.
- each side wall 2 h of the case 2 is formed with a foot air blowing opening 34 which forms an end of the foot air passage 17 .
- air flowing in the foot air passage 17 is blown into a lower portion of the vehicle cabin from the foot air blowing opening 34 .
- a first mode door 22 which adjusts air flow toward the ventilation air blow opening 31 .
- the first mode door 22 pivots together with a pivot shaft 22 a pivotally connected to the case 2 between an open position to close the up-passage 13 directed to the defroster air blow opening 32 and the foot air blowing opening 33 and open the ventilation air blow opening 31 and a close position to open the up-passage 13 and close the ventilation air blow opening 31 .
- a second mode door 23 which adjusts both air flow toward the defroster air blowing opening 32 and air flow toward the foot air blowing opening 33 .
- the second mode door 23 pivots together with a pivot shaft 23 a pivotally connected to the case 2 between a defroster air position to open the defroster air blow opening 32 and close the foot air blow opening 33 and a foot air position to close the defroster air blow opening 32 and open the foot air blow opening 33 .
- a mode door actuating mechanism 8 which actuates the first and second mode doors 22 and 23 in given manners. That is, as will become apparent as the description proceeds, upon need of a certain operation mode of the air conditioner unit 100 A, the first and second mode doors 22 and 23 are pivoted to desired positions by the mode door actuating mechanism 8 .
- FIGS. 1 and 3 there is shown the detail of the mode door actuating mechanism 8 in an exploded manner.
- the mode door actuating mechanism 8 comprises a housing 70 which is mounted to the side wall 2 h of the case 2 and a slider member 80 which is slidably received in the housing 70 .
- the mode door actuating mechanism 8 further comprises a first operation lever 50 which is fixed to the pivot shaft 22 a of the first mode door 22 and formed with a L-shaped cam opening 51 and a second operation lever 60 which is fixed to the pivot shaft 23 a of the second mode door 23 and formed with a L-shaped cam opening 61 .
- These L-shaped cam openings 51 and 61 are applied with a suitable amount of grease.
- the slider member 80 has at its right end a first engaging pin 81 slidably engaged with the L-shaped cam opening 51 of the first operation lever 50 and at its left end a second engaging pin 82 slidably engaged with the L-shaped cam opening 61 of the second operation lever 60 . Due to presence of grease, the sliding movement of the pin 81 or 82 along the corresponding opening 51 or 61 is smoothly made.
- the mode door actuating mechanism 8 further comprises an actuating means 90 which can slide the slider member 80 to a desired position shifting the first and second engaging pins 81 and 82 to their desired positions.
- the actuating means 90 comprises a flexible wire 91 and a flexible guide tube 92 through which the flexible wire 91 slidably moves.
- One end of the flexible wire 91 is connected to a control knob of a controller (not shown).
- the other end of the flexible wire 91 is connected to a stud member 85 formed on the slider member 80 .
- the flexible wire is slid in the guide tube 92 thereby to slide the slider member 80 to a desired position.
- the engagement between the L-shaped cam opening 51 of the first operation lever 50 and the first engaging pin 81 is so made that, under a certain mode of the air conditioning unit 100 , the first operation lever 50 is turned to a position to cause the first mode door 22 to take a certain angular position.
- the engagement between the L-shaped cam opening 61 and the second engaging pin 82 is so made that, under a certain mode of the air conditioning unit 100 , the second operation lever 60 is turned to a position to cause the second mode door 23 to take a certain angular position.
- the first operation lever 50 comprises a lever portion 52 with the cam opening 51 and a cylindrical hub portion 53 coaxially fixed to the pivot shaft 22 a of the first mode door 22 . That is, the cylindrical hub portion 53 is formed with a noncircular bore 54 into which a non-circular terminal end of the pivot shaft 22 a is inserted to achieve a united rotation therebetween.
- the second operation lever 60 comprises a lever portion 62 with the cam opening 61 and a cylindrical hub portion 63 coaxially fixed to the pivot shaft 23 a of the second mode door 23 . That is, the cylindrical hub portion 63 is formed with a noncircular bore 64 into which a non-circular terminal end of the pivot shaft 23 a is inserted to achieve a united rotation therebetween.
- the housing 70 comprises an elongate housing proper 71 which is shaped to receive therein the slider member 80 , and an elongate lid member 72 which is attached to the housing proper 71 .
- the housing proper 71 comprises an elongate bottom wall 71 a having a longitudinally extending slot 73 , two elongate side walls raised from side ends of the bottom wall 71 a and two end walls 71 b raised from longitudinal ends of the bottom wall 71 a .
- the slider member 80 has projections 83 slidably engaged with the elongate slot 73 of the bottom wall 71 a of the housing proper 71 , so that the movement of the slider member 80 in the housing proper 71 is guided by the projections 83 and the slot 73 .
- the lid member 72 of the housing 70 has a rear surface to which tops of the first and second engaging pins 81 and 82 slidably contact. Due to provision of the lid member 72 attached to the housing proper 71 , the first and second operation levers 50 and 60 are suppressed from dismantling from the respective engaging pins 81 and 82 .
- the two elongate side walls of the housing proper 71 are formed with two cuts 74 respectively from which the first and second operation levers 50 and 60 are freely projected outward.
- the upper side wall of the housing proper 71 has at its right part a first holding portion 75 which is formed with a circular opening 75 a to rotatably support an annular portion 55 of the first operation lever 50 .
- the lower side wall of the housing proper 71 has at its left part a second holding portion 76 which is formed with a circular opening 76 a to rotatably support an annular portion 65 of the second operation lever 60 .
- the side wall 2 h of the case 2 is formed with an oval rib 41 for positioning the housing proper 71 and six resilient holding pieces 42 for holding the housing proper 71 .
- Each holding piece 42 is formed with a catching hole 43 .
- the bottom wall 71 a of the housing proper 71 is formed at its rear surface with an oval projection which is snugly mated with the oval rib 41 of the side wall 2 h of the case 2 thereby to achieve the positioning of the housing proper 71 relative to the case 2 .
- the upper and lower side walls of the housing proper 71 are formed with projections 78 which are mated with the catching holes 43 of the above-mentioned holding pieces 42 in a snap action manner. As shown, each projection 78 is in the shape of wedge for assuring the snap action connection of the housing proper 71 relative to the case 2 .
- the slider member 80 is formed at its generally middle part with an oval projection 84 from which the stud member 85 projects.
- the elongate lid member 72 of the housing proper 71 is formed with an elongate slot 72 a with which the stud member 85 is slidably engaged.
- the flexible wire 91 is connected to the stud member 85 .
- the lid member 72 is formed with a clamp portion 72 b by which the guide tube 92 for the flexible wire 91 is clamped.
- the housing 70 , the slider member 80 , the first and second operation levers 50 and 60 are assembled in the abovementioned manner to constitute a unit.
- the unit is mounted to the side wall 2 h of the case 2 in the above-mentioned manner.
- the slider member 80 is slidably installed in the housing 70
- the first operation lever 50 is rotatably held by the first holding portion 75 having the first engaging pin 81 of the slider member 80 slidably engaged with the L-shaped cam opening 51 of the first operation lever 50 .
- the second operation lever 60 is rotatably held by the second holding portion 76 having the second engaging pin 82 of the slider member 80 slidably engaged with the L-shaped cam opening 61 of the second operation lever 60 .
- FIGS. 4 and 5 there is shown the detail of the connection between the first operation lever 50 (or second operation lever 60 ) and the pivot shaft 22 a of the first mode door 22 (or the pivot shaft 23 a of the second mode door 23 ). That is, FIG. 4 is an enlarged end view of the pivot shaft 22 a (or 23 a ), and FIG. 5 is an axially sectional view of the end of the pivot shaft 22 a (or 23 a ) mated with the operation lever 50 (or 60 ).
- the pivot shafts 22 a and 23 a of the first and second operation levers 50 and 60 have each an axially extending groove 22 b or 23 b .
- two resilient arms 44 and 45 are projected from the side wall 2 f of the case 2 , each having a latching pawl having a sloped lower surface 46 as is seen from FIG. 5.
- the latching pawls of the resilient arms 44 and 45 are kept engaged with the grooves 22 b and 23 b respectively for keeping the corresponding mode doors 22 and 23 at their given angular positions.
- the annular portion 55 or 65 of the first or second operation lever 50 or 60 is formed with a conical outer surface 56 or 66 .
- the conical outer surface 56 or 66 is constructed and shaped to incorporate with the sloped lower surface 46 of the latching pawl of the resilient arm 44 or 45 of the side wall 2 h of the case 2 .
- the conical outer surface 56 or 66 serves as a canceling means for canceling the latched engagement between the latching pawl of the resilient arm 44 or 45 and the groove 22 b or 23 b . That is, as is seen from FIG. 5, when the first or second operation lever 50 or 60 is thrust onto and about to be engaged the corresponding pivot shaft 22 a or 23 a of the first or second mode door 22 or 23 , the conical outer surface 56 or 66 gets under the latching pawl of the resilient arm 44 or 45 and thus raises the same thereby to cancel the latched engagement between the latching pawl of the resilient arm 44 or 45 and the groove 22 b or 23 b . With this, the first or second operation lever 50 or 60 becomes united with the pivot shaft 22 a or 23 a of the first or second mode door 22 or 23 to pivot together therewith.
- the end of the pivot shaft 22 a or 23 a of the first or second mode door 22 or 23 is formed with spaced cuts 22 c or 23 c between which the groove 22 b or 23 b is defined with interposition of walls (no numerals) therebetween. These cuts 22 c and 23 c serve as positioning means for positioning the first or second operation lever 50 or 60 relative to the first or second mode door 22 or 23 .
- FIGS. 6A and 6B there is shown an operation condition of the operation levers 50 and 60 and mode doors 22 and 23 under VENTILATION mode.
- the first engaging pin 81 of the slider member 80 is at the inflection part of the L-shaped cam opening 51 of the first operation lever 50
- the second engaging pin 82 is at a left end of the upper part of the L-shaped cam opening 61 of the second operation lever 60 .
- the upper part of the L-shaped cam opening 61 is arranged in parallel with the slider member 80 .
- the first mode door 22 takes an open position, that is a position to close the passage directed from the up-passage 13 toward both the defroster air blow opening 32 and the foot air blow opening 33 and open the ventilation air blow opening 31
- the second mode door 23 takes a foot air position closing the defroster air blow opening 32 while opening the foot air blow opening 33 .
- FIGS. 7A and 7B there is shown the operation condition under BI-LEVEL mode.
- the slider member 80 is somewhat shifted rightward in the drawing as compared with the case of the above-mentioned VENTILATION mode. Accordingly, the first operation lever 50 is pushed rightward by the first engaging pin 81 and thus pivoted slightly in a counterclockwise direction, while the second operation lever 60 is left unmoved because of inoperative movement of the second engaging pin 82 in the upper horizontal part of the L-shaped cam opening 61 of the second operation lever 60 . Accordingly, as is seen from FIG.
- the first mode door 22 takes a half-open position partially opening the passage directed toward the foot air blow opening 33 and the ventilation air blow opening 31 .
- the second mode door 23 is kept in the foot air position.
- FIGS. 8A and 8B there is shown the operation condition under HEAT mode.
- the slider member 80 is further shifted rightward in the drawing.
- the first operation lever 50 is further pushed rightward by the first engaging pin 81 and thus further pivoted counterclockwise.
- the lower part of the L-shaped cam opening 51 of the lever 50 becomes in parallel with the slider member 80 .
- the second operation lever 60 is pushed rightly by the second engaging pin 82 and thus pivoted slightly in a clockwise direction in the drawing.
- the second engaging pin 82 comes to the inflection part of the L-shaped cam opening 61 of the second operation lever 60 , as shown.
- the first mode door 22 takes a close position closing the ventilation air blow opening 31 while opening the passage directed toward both the defroster air blow opening 32 and foot air blow opening 33
- the second mode door 23 takes a first half-open position partially opening both the defroster air blow opening 32 and the foot air blow opening 33 .
- the open degree of the foot air blow opening 33 is larger than that of the defroster air blow opening 32 .
- conditioned air flowing in the up-passage 13 is blown into the is vehicle cabin from both the defroster air blow opening 32 and the foot air blow opening 33 , as is indicated by the arrows.
- the amount of air from the foot air blow opening 33 is larger than that from the defroster air blow opening 32 .
- FIGS. 9A and 9B there is shown the operation condition under DEFROSTER-FOOT mode.
- the slider member 80 is further shifted rightward in the drawing.
- the first engaging pin 81 slides without effect in the lower part of the L-shaped cam opening 51 of the first operation lever 50 , and thus the first operation lever 50 is kept unmoved.
- the second engaging pin 82 pushes the second operation lever 60 rightward and thus the second operation lever 60 is further pivoted clockwise. Accordingly, as is seen from FIG.
- the first mode door 22 keeps the close position closing the ventilation air blow opening 31 while opening the passage directed toward both the defroster air blow opening 32 and the foot air blow opening 33
- the second mode door 23 takes a second half-open position partially opening both the defroster air blow opening 32 and the foot air blow opening 33 .
- the open degree of the defroster air blow opening 32 is larger than that of the foot air blow opening 33 .
- FIGS. 10A and 10B there is shown the operation condition under DEFROSTER mode.
- the slider member 80 is further shifted rightward in the drawing.
- the first engaging pin 81 still slides without effect in the lower part of the of the L-shaped cam opening 51 of the first operation lever 50 , and thus the first operation lever 50 is kept unmoved.
- the second engaging pin 82 due to the further rightward movement of the slider member 80 , the second engaging pin 82 further pushes the second operation lever 60 rightward and thus the second operation lever 60 is pivoted further in a clockwise direction in the drawing. Accordingly, as is seen from FIG.
- the first mode door 22 keeps the close position closing the ventilation air blow opening 31 while opening the passage directed toward both the defroster air blow opening 32 and the foot air blow opening 33
- the second mode door 23 takes a defroster air position opening the defroster air blow opening 32 while closing the foot air blow opening 33 .
- conditioned air flowing in the up-passage 13 is blown into the vehicle cabin from only the defroster air blow opening 32 as is indicated by the arrow.
- the pivot shafts 22 a and 23 a of the first and second mode doors 22 and 23 are arranged at opposite sides with respect to the slider member 80 . Due to this arrangement, the sliding movement of the slider member 80 induces pivoting of the first and second mode doors 22 and 23 in opposite directions about their pivot shafts 22 a and 23 a . That is, the abovementioned five air distribution modes, that is, VENTILATION, BI-LEVEL, HEAT, DEFROSTER-FOOT and DEFROSTER modes, can be readily provided by a compact construction which includes the first and second mode doors 22 and 23 . Furthermore, the mode door actuating mechanism 8 for actuating the two mode doors 22 and 23 is made compact in size.
- the air distribution unit including the two mode doors 22 and 23 and the mode door actuating mechanism 8 can be made compact, and thus, the entire construction of the air conditioner unit 100 can be made compact in size.
- the mode door actuating mechanism 8 can be assembled as a unit.
- mounting the mechanism 8 to the case 2 is easily and speedily carried out which brings about reduction in cost of the air conditioner unit 100 .
- the air conditioner unit 100 is arranged so that the rear wall 2 b (see FIG. 1) thereof is positioned near a front panel of an instrument panel on which the control knob of the controller is mounted.
- the clamp portion 72 b (see FIG. 1) is positioned on the side panel, which facilitates the arrangement of the flexible wire 91 extending between the control knob and the clamp portion 72 b . Furthermore, such positioning provides the flexible wire 91 with a suitable length smoothly transmitting the operation force of the control knob to the slider member 80 .
- This advantage will be clarified from the following supplementary explanation. That is, if the clamp portion 72 b (see FIG. 1)
- the distance between the clamp portion 72 b and the control knob becomes very short, which makes arrangement of the wiring ( 91 ) therebetween very difficult. Furthermore, in assembly, due to the short distance, the flexible wire 91 is curved with a small radius of curvature, which causes a larger operation force needed by the control knob for moving the wire 91 . While, if the clamp portion 72 b is provided on or near the front wall 2 a of the case 2 , the flexible wire 91 and the guide tube 92 need longer length which causes increase in cost of the air conditioner unit 100 .
- the first and second mode doors 22 and 23 can be fixed to the case 2 .
- mounting of the mode door actuating mechanism 8 to the side wall 2 h of the case 2 is readily achieved.
- mounting of the first and second operation lever 50 and 60 to the pivot shafts 22 a and 23 a of the doors 22 and 23 is readily carried out.
- FIG. 11 there is shown a modification 8 ′ of the above-mentioned mode door actuating mechanism 8 .
- both the first and second operation levers 50 and 60 are entirely concealed in the housing, as will become apparent from the following description.
- the modified mechanism 8 ′ comprises a housing 170 which is to be mounted to the side wall 2 h of the case 2 in the above-mentioned manner.
- the housing 170 is formed with both first and second expanded portions 171 and 172 for spacedly receiving therein the lever portions 52 and 62 of the first and second operation levers 50 and 60 respectively.
- a suitable amount of grease is applied to the L-shaped cam openings 51 and 61 for smoothing the movement of the first and second engaging pins 81 and 82 in and along the openings 51 and 61 .
- the mode door actuating mechanism 8 or 8 ′ is described to have the housing 70 or 170 .
- housing 70 or 170 may be integrally formed on the side wall 2 h of the case 2 .
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- Air-Conditioning For Vehicles (AREA)
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Abstract
An air conditioner unit comprises a case having a plurality of air passages defined therein; two pivotal mode doors pivotally arranged in the case to provide various operation modes of the air conditioner unit when assuming given angular positions, each of the mode doors having a pivot shaft of which leading end is exposed to the outside from a wall of the case; and a mode door actuating mechanism attached to an outer surface of the wall of the case to actuate the two pivotal mode doors. The mode door actuating mechanism comprises a base structure adapted to be mounted to the outer surface of the wall; two operation levers pivotally held at respective hub portions thereof by the base structure, each operation lever having a cam opening and being coaxially connected to the leading end of the pivot shaft of corresponding one of the two mode doors; a slider member slidably held on the base structure; two engaging pins provided on the slider member and slidably engaged with the cam openings of the two operation levers respectively; and an actuator member for sliding the slider member relative to the base structure.
Description
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The present invention relates in general to air conditioner units, and more particularly to the air conditioner units for a motor vehicle.
- 2. Description of Related Art
- In order to clarify the task of the present invention, one known air conditioner unit for a motor vehicle will be described with reference to FIG. 12 of the accompanying drawings, which is shown in Japanese Patent First Provisional Publication 9-20128.
- The known air conditioner unit “a” comprises a case “b” in which many air passages are defined. The case “b” has a ventilation air blow opening “c”, a defroster air blow opening “d” and a foot air blow opening “e” from which conditioned air is discharged to the outside of the case “b”.
- A first mode door “f” is arranged at the ventilation air blow opening “c” for adjusting the rate of air blown outward from the opening “c”. That is, the first mode door “f” is pivoted between a close position to close the ventilation air blow opening “c” while opening the air passage directed to the defroster air blow opening “d” and the foot air blow opening “e”, and an open position to open the ventilation air blow opening “c” while closing the air passage directed to the defroster air blow opening “d” and the foot air blow opening “e”.
- In the air passage directed to the defroster air blow opening “d” and the foot air blow opening “e”, there is arranged a second mode door “g” which can adjust both the rate of air blown outward from the defroster air blow opening “d” and the rate of air blown outward from the foot air blow opening “e”. That is, this second mode door “g” is pivoted between a foot position to open the foot air blow opening “e” while closing the defroster air blow opening “d” and a defroster position to open the defroster air blow opening “d” while closing the foot air blow opening “e”.
- In the unit case “b”, there is arranged a mode door actuating mechanism “h” which actuates the first and second mode doors “f” and “g” to their desired positions under a given mode. That is, the mode door actuating mechanism “h” comprises a first actuating lever “h1” fixed to a pivot shaft of the first mode door “f”, and a second actuating lever “h2” fixed to a pivot shaft of the second mode door “g”. The mechanism “h” further comprises a rotatable main link “h4” which is engageable with the first actuating lever “h1” and engageable with the second actuating lever “h2” through an intermediate link “h3”. Although not shown in the drawing, the mechanism “h” further comprises a drive cable which pulls the main link “h4” to a desired position under a given mode.
- The intermediate link “h3” is pivotally connected to the unit case “b” and comprises two arm portions which extend radially outward from its pivoted center portion. One of the arm portions has at its leading end a pin “j” slidably engaged with a cam slot “i” formed in the second actuating lever “h2”, and the other arm portion is formed with a cam slot “k”. The intermediate link “h3” functions to turn the second mode door “g” in a direction opposite to the direction of the first mode door “f”.
- The main link “h4” comprises three, viz., first, second and third arm portions which extend radially outward from its pivoted center portion. The first arm portion has at its leading end a pin “n” slidably engaged with a cam slot “m” formed in the first actuating lever “h1”, the second arm portion has at its leading end a pin “p” slidably engaged with a cam slot “k” formed in the intermediate link “h3”, and the third arm portion has at its leading end a connecting opening “q” to which the drive cable (not shown) is connected.
- In the air conditioner unit “a” having the above-mentioned construction, for achieving a ventilation mode of the unit “a”, the main link “h4” is pivoted to a given position by the drive cable, so that the first mode door “f” opens the ventilation air blow opening “c” while closing the air passage directed to the defroster air blow opening “d” and foot air blow opening “e”. While, for achieving a defroster mode of the unit “a”, the first mode door “f” is pivoted to open the air passage directed to the defroster air blow opening “d” and foot air blow opening “e” while closing the ventilation air blow opening “c” and the second mode door “g” is pivoted to open the defroster air blow opening “d” while closing the foot air blow opening “e”. While, for achieving a foot mode of the unit “a”, the first mode door “f” opens the air passage directed to the defroster air blow opening “d” and foot air blow opening “e” while closing the ventilation air blow opening “c”, and the second mode door “g” opens the foot air blow opening “e” while closing the defroster air blow opening
- In the above-mentioned known air conditioner unit “a”, the mode door actuating mechanism “h” includes the rotatable main link “h4” and the intermediate link “h3” which are relatively large in size. Due to usage of such larger parts, the layout of the three openings “c”, “d” and “e” and the two mode doors “f” and “g” is highly limited, which causes a difficulty with which the air conditioner unit “a” is made compact in size.
- It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner unit which can be compact in size due to usage of a compact mode door actuating mechanism.
- According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner unit which comprises a casing having a plurality of air passages defined therein; pivotal mode doors pivotally arranged in the case to provide given operation modes of the air conditioner unit when assuming given angular positions, each mode door having a pivot shaft of which leading end is exposed to the outside of a wall of the case; and a mode door actuating mechanism arranged on the wall of the case to actuate the pivotal mode doors, the mode door actuating mechanism comprising operation levers which are pivotal relative to the wall of the case, each operation lever having a cam opening and being connected to the exposed leading end of the pivot shaft of the corresponding mode door to pivot therewith; a slider member which is slidable relative to the wall of the case; engaging pins provided on the slider member and slidably engaged with the cam openings of the operation levers respectively; and an actuator member for sliding the slider member relative to the wall of the case.
- According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner unit which comprises a case having a plurality of air passages defined therein; at least two pivotal mode doors pivotally arranged in the case to provide various operation modes of the air conditioner unit when assuming given angular positions, each of the mode doors having a pivot shaft of which leading end is exposed to the outside from a wall of the case; and a mode door actuating mechanism attached to an outer surface of the wall of the case to actuate the two pivotal mode doors, the mode door actuating mechanism comprising a base structure adapted to be mounted to the outer surface of the wall; two operation levers pivotally held at respective hub portions thereof by the base structure, each operation lever having a cam opening and being coaxially connected to the leading end of the pivot shaft of corresponding one of the two mode doors; a slider member slidably held on the base structure; two engaging pins provided on the slider member and slidably engaged with the cam openings of the two operation levers respectively; and an actuator member for sliding the slider member relative to the base structure.
- According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner unit which comprises a case having a plurality of air passages defined therein; two pivotal mode doors pivotally arranged in the case to provide various operation modes of the air conditioner unit when assuming given angular positions, each of the mode doors having a pivot shaft of which leading end is exposed to the outside from a wall of the case; and a mode door actuating mechanism detachably attached to an outer surface of the wall of the case to actuate the two pivotal mode doors, the mode door actuating mechanism comprising an elongate housing detachably mounted to the outer surface of the wall, the housing having first and second holding portions at upper and lower walls thereof; first and second operation levers pivotally held at respective hub portions thereby by the first and second holding portions respectively, each operation lever having a generally L-shaped cam opening and being coaxially connected to the leading end of the pivot shaft of corresponding one of the two mode doors; a slider member slidably held in the housing; two engaging pins provided by the slider member and slidably engaged with the L-shaped cam openings of the first and second operation levers respectively; an elongate lid member attached to the housing; and an actuator member for sliding the slider member in the housing.
- Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
- FIG. 1 is a side view of an air conditioner unit according to the present invention;
- FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the air conditioner unit of the invention;
- FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a mode door actuating mechanism which constitutes an essential portion of the air conditioner unit of the invention;
- FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view showing a rotation shaft of a mode door;
- FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing but partially an operation lever that is about to be engaged with the rotation shaft;
- FIGS. 6A and 6B are views showing the operation condition of two operation levers and two mode doors under ventilation mode of the air conditioner unit of the invention;
- FIGS. 7A and 7B are views similar to FIGS. 6A and 6B, but showing the operation condition of the operation levers and mode doors under bi-level mode of the air conditioner unit;
- FIGS. 8A and 8B are views similar to FIGS. 6A and 6B, but showing the operation condition of the operation levers and mode doors under heat mode of the air conditioner unit;
- FIGS. 9A and 9B are views similar to FIGS. 6A and 6B, but showing the operation conditions of the operation levers and mode doors under defroster-foot mode of the air conditioner unit;
- FIGS. 10A and 10B are views similar to FIGS. 6A and 6B, but showing the operation condition of the operation levers and mode doors under defroster mode of the air conditioner unit;
- FIG. 11 is a perspective of a modification of the mode door actuating mechanism, which can be employed in the air conditioner unit of the present invention; and
- FIG. 12 is a side view of a known air conditioner unit.
- In the following, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
- For ease of understanding, various directional terms such as right, left, upper, lower, rightward, etc., are used in the description. However, such terms are to be understood with respect to only a drawing or drawings on which the corresponding part or parts are illustrated.
- Referring to FIGS.1 to 10B, particularly FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown an air conditioner unit according to the present invention.
- As is seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, the air conditioner unit100A of the invention comprises a
case 2 which is to be mounted below an instrument panel of an associated motor vehicle. Thecase 2 comprises afront wall 2 a facing toward an engine room of the vehicle and arear wall 2 b facing toward a passenger room. - As is seen from FIG. 2, within the
case 2, there is defined ascroll chamber 11 just behind an upper part of thefront wall 2 a. That is, in thescroll chamber 11, there is installed a sciroccofan 3 a. From thescroll chamber 11, there extends anair passage 4 through which air flow produced by thescirocco fan 3 a runs downstream. Theair passage 4 comprises a down-passage 12 through which the air flow from thefan 3 a goes down along thefront wall 2 a, an up-passage 13 through which the air flow from the down-passage 12 goes up along therear wall 2 b and a lower-passage 14 by which the down-passage 12 and the up-passage 13 are connected. Thelower passage 14 extends along abottom wall 2 c of thecase 2, as shown. - As will be described hereinlater, the up-
passage 13 comprises awarm air passage 16 in which theheater unit 6 is actually installed, abypass passage 15 which bypasses thewarm air passage 16 and anair mix chamber 18 to which respective downstream ends of thewarm air passage 16 and thebypass passage 15 are connected. - In the down-
passage 12, there is disposed anevaporator 5 for cooling air flowing therethrough. While, in the up-passage 13, there isdisposed heater unit 6 for heating air that has passed through theevaporator 5. As shown, upon assembly, theevaporator 5 is inclined by about 10 to 30 degrees relative to a horizontal line having its front (or left) end positioned lower than its rear (or right) end. The air passing through theevaporator 5 runs through the lower-passage 14 along thebottom wall 2 c of thecase 2. - As shown in FIG. 2, in the lower-
passage 14, there are arrangedair guide plates 7 for smoothly guiding the air flow toward the up-passage 13. As shown, thebottom wall 2 c of thecase 2 comprises inclined parts which constitute a lowermost portion with adrain opening 2 c′. That is, any water condensed on the outer surface of theevaporator 5 flows down along the inclined parts of the bottom wall toward the lowermost portion and discharges into the outside through thedrain opening 2 c′. - In the
case 2, there is formed aninternal wall 2 d by which thescroll chamber 11 and the up-passage 12 are separated from each other. Theinner wall 2 d has, at a position between thescroll chamber 11 and the down-passage 12, adepressed part 2 e that is depressed toward the down-passage 12. As shown, theheater unit 6 has a left end neatly received in thedepressed part 2 e and is arranged generally in parallel with theevaporator 5 in the down-passage 12. - The up-
passage 13 comprises thebypass passage 15 which extends along therear wall 2 b of thecase 2 bypassing theheater unit 6. The up-passage further comprises thewarm air passage 16 in which theheater unit 6 is actually installed. At an upstream section of the up-passage 13, there is pivotally installed anair mix door 21 which adjusts an air flow rate between thebypass passage 15 and thewarm air passage 16. That is, theair mix door 21 pivots between a terminal position to close thebypass passage 15, an intermediate position to partially open both thebypass passage 15 and thewarm air passage 16 and another terminal position to close thewarm air passage 16. - In the
case 2, there is further formed anotherinternal wall 2 f which extends around the zone of thescroll chamber 11 to define therebetween afoot air passage 17. That is, thefoot air passage 17 and the up-passage 13 are separated from each other by theinternal wall 2 f. A downstream end of thebypass passage 15 and that of thewarm air passage 16 are mated to constitute theair mix chamber 18. - A
top wall 2 g of thecase 2 is formed with a ventilationair blow opening 31 and a defroster air blow opening 32 from which conditioned air in theair mix chamber 18 is blown outward to respective given outside portions. As shown, the ventilationair blow opening 31 is positioned near an upper portion of therear wall 2 b of thecase 2, and the defrosterair blow opening 32 is positioned near an upper portion of thefront wall 2 a of thecase 2. An upper part of theinner wall 2 f which faces the defrosterair blow opening 32 is formed with a footair connecting opening 33 through which the up-passage 13 and thefoot air passage 17 are connected. - As is understood from FIG. 1, each
side wall 2 h of thecase 2 is formed with a footair blowing opening 34 which forms an end of thefoot air passage 17. In operation, air flowing in thefoot air passage 17 is blown into a lower portion of the vehicle cabin from the footair blowing opening 34. - Referring back to FIG. 2, at the ventilation
air blow opening 31, there is arranged afirst mode door 22 which adjusts air flow toward the ventilationair blow opening 31. Thefirst mode door 22 pivots together with apivot shaft 22 a pivotally connected to thecase 2 between an open position to close the up-passage 13 directed to the defrosterair blow opening 32 and the footair blowing opening 33 and open the ventilationair blow opening 31 and a close position to open the up-passage 13 and close the ventilationair blow opening 31. - At a branched portion between the defroster
air blowing opening 32 and the footair blowing opening 33, there is arranged asecond mode door 23 which adjusts both air flow toward the defrosterair blowing opening 32 and air flow toward the footair blowing opening 33. Thesecond mode door 23 pivots together with apivot shaft 23 a pivotally connected to thecase 2 between a defroster air position to open the defrosterair blow opening 32 and close the footair blow opening 33 and a foot air position to close the defrosterair blow opening 32 and open the footair blow opening 33. - Referring back to FIG. 1, on one of the
side walls 2 h of thecase 2, there is arranged a modedoor actuating mechanism 8 which actuates the first andsecond mode doors second mode doors door actuating mechanism 8. - Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, there is shown the detail of the mode
door actuating mechanism 8 in an exploded manner. - The mode
door actuating mechanism 8 comprises ahousing 70 which is mounted to theside wall 2 h of thecase 2 and aslider member 80 which is slidably received in thehousing 70. The modedoor actuating mechanism 8 further comprises afirst operation lever 50 which is fixed to thepivot shaft 22 a of thefirst mode door 22 and formed with a L-shapedcam opening 51 and asecond operation lever 60 which is fixed to thepivot shaft 23 a of thesecond mode door 23 and formed with a L-shapedcam opening 61. These L-shapedcam openings - As is seen from FIG. 3, the
slider member 80 has at its right end a firstengaging pin 81 slidably engaged with the L-shaped cam opening 51 of thefirst operation lever 50 and at its left end a secondengaging pin 82 slidably engaged with the L-shaped cam opening 61 of thesecond operation lever 60. Due to presence of grease, the sliding movement of thepin corresponding opening - The mode
door actuating mechanism 8 further comprises an actuating means 90 which can slide theslider member 80 to a desired position shifting the first and second engagingpins flexible wire 91 and aflexible guide tube 92 through which theflexible wire 91 slidably moves. One end of theflexible wire 91 is connected to a control knob of a controller (not shown). The other end of theflexible wire 91 is connected to astud member 85 formed on theslider member 80. Thus, upon manipulation of the control knob of the controller, the flexible wire is slid in theguide tube 92 thereby to slide theslider member 80 to a desired position. - The engagement between the L-shaped cam opening51 of the
first operation lever 50 and the firstengaging pin 81 is so made that, under a certain mode of theair conditioning unit 100, thefirst operation lever 50 is turned to a position to cause thefirst mode door 22 to take a certain angular position. The engagement between the L-shapedcam opening 61 and the secondengaging pin 82 is so made that, under a certain mode of theair conditioning unit 100, thesecond operation lever 60 is turned to a position to cause thesecond mode door 23 to take a certain angular position. - As shown, the
first operation lever 50 comprises alever portion 52 with thecam opening 51 and acylindrical hub portion 53 coaxially fixed to thepivot shaft 22 a of thefirst mode door 22. That is, thecylindrical hub portion 53 is formed with anoncircular bore 54 into which a non-circular terminal end of thepivot shaft 22 a is inserted to achieve a united rotation therebetween. - The
second operation lever 60 comprises alever portion 62 with thecam opening 61 and acylindrical hub portion 63 coaxially fixed to thepivot shaft 23 a of thesecond mode door 23. That is, thecylindrical hub portion 63 is formed with anoncircular bore 64 into which a non-circular terminal end of thepivot shaft 23 a is inserted to achieve a united rotation therebetween. - The
housing 70 comprises an elongate housing proper 71 which is shaped to receive therein theslider member 80, and anelongate lid member 72 which is attached to the housing proper 71. The housing proper 71 comprises anelongate bottom wall 71 a having a longitudinally extendingslot 73, two elongate side walls raised from side ends of thebottom wall 71 a and twoend walls 71 b raised from longitudinal ends of thebottom wall 71 a. Theslider member 80 hasprojections 83 slidably engaged with theelongate slot 73 of thebottom wall 71 a of the housing proper 71, so that the movement of theslider member 80 in the housing proper 71 is guided by theprojections 83 and theslot 73. - The
lid member 72 of thehousing 70 has a rear surface to which tops of the first and second engagingpins lid member 72 attached to the housing proper 71, the first and second operation levers 50 and 60 are suppressed from dismantling from the respective engagingpins - The two elongate side walls of the housing proper71 are formed with two
cuts 74 respectively from which the first and second operation levers 50 and 60 are freely projected outward. The upper side wall of the housing proper 71 has at its right part a first holdingportion 75 which is formed with acircular opening 75 a to rotatably support anannular portion 55 of thefirst operation lever 50. While, the lower side wall of the housing proper 71 has at its left part asecond holding portion 76 which is formed with acircular opening 76 a to rotatably support anannular portion 65 of thesecond operation lever 60. - As is seen from FIG. 3, the
side wall 2 h of thecase 2 is formed with anoval rib 41 for positioning the housing proper 71 and six resilient holdingpieces 42 for holding the housing proper 71. Each holdingpiece 42 is formed with a catchinghole 43. - Although not shown in FIG. 3, the
bottom wall 71 a of the housing proper 71 is formed at its rear surface with an oval projection which is snugly mated with theoval rib 41 of theside wall 2 h of thecase 2 thereby to achieve the positioning of the housing proper 71 relative to thecase 2. Furthermore, the upper and lower side walls of the housing proper 71 are formed withprojections 78 which are mated with the catchingholes 43 of the above-mentionedholding pieces 42 in a snap action manner. As shown, eachprojection 78 is in the shape of wedge for assuring the snap action connection of the housing proper 71 relative to thecase 2. - As shown, the
slider member 80 is formed at its generally middle part with anoval projection 84 from which thestud member 85 projects. Theelongate lid member 72 of the housing proper 71 is formed with anelongate slot 72 a with which thestud member 85 is slidably engaged. As has been described hereinabove, theflexible wire 91 is connected to thestud member 85. Thelid member 72 is formed with aclamp portion 72 b by which theguide tube 92 for theflexible wire 91 is clamped. - The
housing 70, theslider member 80, the first and second operation levers 50 and 60 are assembled in the abovementioned manner to constitute a unit. The unit is mounted to theside wall 2 h of thecase 2 in the above-mentioned manner. In the unit, theslider member 80 is slidably installed in thehousing 70, and thefirst operation lever 50 is rotatably held by the first holdingportion 75 having the firstengaging pin 81 of theslider member 80 slidably engaged with the L-shaped cam opening 51 of thefirst operation lever 50. Furthermore, in the unit, thesecond operation lever 60 is rotatably held by the second holdingportion 76 having the secondengaging pin 82 of theslider member 80 slidably engaged with the L-shaped cam opening 61 of thesecond operation lever 60. - Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, there is shown the detail of the connection between the first operation lever50 (or second operation lever 60) and the
pivot shaft 22 a of the first mode door 22 (or thepivot shaft 23 a of the second mode door 23). That is, FIG. 4 is an enlarged end view of thepivot shaft 22 a (or 23 a), and FIG. 5 is an axially sectional view of the end of thepivot shaft 22 a (or 23 a) mated with the operation lever 50 (or 60). - As is seen from FIGS. 3, 4 and5, the
pivot shafts axially extending groove resilient arms side wall 2 f of thecase 2, each having a latching pawl having a slopedlower surface 46 as is seen from FIG. 5. As is seen from FIG. 3, before complete assembly of the modedoor actuating mechanism 8, the latching pawls of theresilient arms grooves mode doors - As is seen from FIG. 5, the
annular portion second operation lever outer surface outer surface lower surface 46 of the latching pawl of theresilient arm side wall 2 h of thecase 2. - It is to be noted that the conical
outer surface resilient arm groove second operation lever corresponding pivot shaft second mode door outer surface resilient arm resilient arm groove second operation lever pivot shaft second mode door - As is seen from FIG. 4, the end of the
pivot shaft second mode door cuts groove cuts second operation lever second mode door - In FIGS. 6A and 6B, there is shown an operation condition of the operation levers50 and 60 and
mode doors engaging pin 81 of theslider member 80 is at the inflection part of the L-shaped cam opening 51 of thefirst operation lever 50, and the secondengaging pin 82 is at a left end of the upper part of the L-shaped cam opening 61 of thesecond operation lever 60. As shown, in this mode, the upper part of the L-shapedcam opening 61 is arranged in parallel with theslider member 80. As is seen from FIG. 6B, under the VENTILATION mode, thefirst mode door 22 takes an open position, that is a position to close the passage directed from the up-passage 13 toward both the defrosterair blow opening 32 and the footair blow opening 33 and open the ventilationair blow opening 31, and thesecond mode door 23 takes a foot air position closing the defroster air blow opening 32 while opening the footair blow opening 33. Thus, under this VENTILATION mode, conditioned air flowing in the up-passage 13 is blown into the vehicle cabin through only the ventilation air blow opening 31 as is indicated by the arrow. - In FIGS. 7A and 7B, there is shown the operation condition under BI-LEVEL mode. As is seen from FIG. 7A, for achieving this mode, the
slider member 80 is somewhat shifted rightward in the drawing as compared with the case of the above-mentioned VENTILATION mode. Accordingly, thefirst operation lever 50 is pushed rightward by the firstengaging pin 81 and thus pivoted slightly in a counterclockwise direction, while thesecond operation lever 60 is left unmoved because of inoperative movement of the secondengaging pin 82 in the upper horizontal part of the L-shaped cam opening 61 of thesecond operation lever 60. Accordingly, as is seen from FIG. 7B, under the BILEVEL mode, thefirst mode door 22 takes a half-open position partially opening the passage directed toward the footair blow opening 33 and the ventilationair blow opening 31. Of course, thesecond mode door 23 is kept in the foot air position. Thus, under this BI-LEVEL mode, conditioned air flowing in the up-passage 13 is blown into the vehicle cabin from both the ventilationair blow opening 31 and the foot air blow opening 33 as is indicated by the arrows. - In FIGS. 8A and 8B, there is shown the operation condition under HEAT mode. As is seen from FIG. 8A, for achieving this mode, the
slider member 80 is further shifted rightward in the drawing. Accordingly, thefirst operation lever 50 is further pushed rightward by the firstengaging pin 81 and thus further pivoted counterclockwise. As shown, upon achieving this mode, the lower part of the L-shaped cam opening 51 of thelever 50 becomes in parallel with theslider member 80. For achieving this HEAT mode, thesecond operation lever 60 is pushed rightly by the secondengaging pin 82 and thus pivoted slightly in a clockwise direction in the drawing. Upon achieving this mode, the secondengaging pin 82 comes to the inflection part of the L-shaped cam opening 61 of thesecond operation lever 60, as shown. Accordingly, as is seen from FIG. 8B, under the HEAT mode, thefirst mode door 22 takes a close position closing the ventilation air blow opening 31 while opening the passage directed toward both the defrosterair blow opening 32 and footair blow opening 33, and thesecond mode door 23 takes a first half-open position partially opening both the defrosterair blow opening 32 and the footair blow opening 33. As shown, in the first half-open position of thesecond mode door 23, the open degree of the footair blow opening 33 is larger than that of the defrosterair blow opening 32. Under this HEAT mode, conditioned air flowing in the up-passage 13 is blown into the is vehicle cabin from both the defrosterair blow opening 32 and the footair blow opening 33, as is indicated by the arrows. Of course, the amount of air from the footair blow opening 33 is larger than that from the defrosterair blow opening 32. - In FIGS. 9A and 9B, there is shown the operation condition under DEFROSTER-FOOT mode. As is seen from FIG. 9A, for achieving this mode, the
slider member 80 is further shifted rightward in the drawing. During this shifting, the firstengaging pin 81 slides without effect in the lower part of the L-shaped cam opening 51 of thefirst operation lever 50, and thus thefirst operation lever 50 is kept unmoved. However, due to the further rightward shifting of theslider member 80, the secondengaging pin 82 pushes thesecond operation lever 60 rightward and thus thesecond operation lever 60 is further pivoted clockwise. Accordingly, as is seen from FIG. 9B, under the DEFROSTER-FOOT mode, thefirst mode door 22 keeps the close position closing the ventilation air blow opening 31 while opening the passage directed toward both the defrosterair blow opening 32 and the footair blow opening 33, and thesecond mode door 23 takes a second half-open position partially opening both the defrosterair blow opening 32 and the footair blow opening 33. As shown, in the second half-open position of thesecond mode door 23, the open degree of the defrosterair blow opening 32 is larger than that of the footair blow opening 33. Thus, under this DEFROSTER-FOOT mode, a larger amount of conditioned air is blown into the vehicle cabin from the defrosterair blow opening 32, and a smaller amount of conditioned air is blown into the vehicle cabin from the footair blow opening 33. - In FIGS. 10A and 10B, there is shown the operation condition under DEFROSTER mode. As is seen from FIG. 10A, for achieving this mode, the
slider member 80 is further shifted rightward in the drawing. During this shifting, the firstengaging pin 81 still slides without effect in the lower part of the of the L-shaped cam opening 51 of thefirst operation lever 50, and thus thefirst operation lever 50 is kept unmoved. However, due to the further rightward movement of theslider member 80, the secondengaging pin 82 further pushes thesecond operation lever 60 rightward and thus thesecond operation lever 60 is pivoted further in a clockwise direction in the drawing. Accordingly, as is seen from FIG. 10B, under the DEFROSTER mode, thefirst mode door 22 keeps the close position closing the ventilation air blow opening 31 while opening the passage directed toward both the defrosterair blow opening 32 and the footair blow opening 33, and thesecond mode door 23 takes a defroster air position opening the defroster air blow opening 32 while closing the footair blow opening 33. Thus, under this DEFROSTER mode, conditioned air flowing in the up-passage 13 is blown into the vehicle cabin from only the defroster air blow opening 32 as is indicated by the arrow. - As is understood from the above description, when the slider member80 (see FIG. 3) is pulled or pushed by the
flexible wire 91 upon manipulation of the control knob of the controller (not shown) by a driver or passenger, the first andsecond mode doors air conditioning unit 100. - In following, various advantages of the present invention will be described with the aid of the drawings.
- First, the
pivot shafts second mode doors slider member 80. Due to this arrangement, the sliding movement of theslider member 80 induces pivoting of the first andsecond mode doors pivot shafts second mode doors door actuating mechanism 8 for actuating the twomode doors mode doors door actuating mechanism 8 can be made compact, and thus, the entire construction of theair conditioner unit 100 can be made compact in size. - Second, as is described hereinabove, the mode
door actuating mechanism 8 can be assembled as a unit. Thus, mounting themechanism 8 to thecase 2 is easily and speedily carried out which brings about reduction in cost of theair conditioner unit 100. - Third, due to provision of the
positioning rib 41 and holdingpieces 42 by thecase 2, the mounting of the modedoor actuating mechanism 8 to thecase 2 is further facilitated. - Fourth, the
air conditioner unit 100 is arranged so that therear wall 2 b (see FIG. 1) thereof is positioned near a front panel of an instrument panel on which the control knob of the controller is mounted. In the invention, theclamp portion 72 b (see FIG. 1) is positioned on the side panel, which facilitates the arrangement of theflexible wire 91 extending between the control knob and theclamp portion 72 b. Furthermore, such positioning provides theflexible wire 91 with a suitable length smoothly transmitting the operation force of the control knob to theslider member 80. This advantage will be clarified from the following supplementary explanation. That is, if theclamp portion 72 b (see FIG. 3) is provided on therear wall 2 b, the distance between theclamp portion 72 b and the control knob becomes very short, which makes arrangement of the wiring (91) therebetween very difficult. Furthermore, in assembly, due to the short distance, theflexible wire 91 is curved with a small radius of curvature, which causes a larger operation force needed by the control knob for moving thewire 91. While, if theclamp portion 72 b is provided on or near thefront wall 2 a of thecase 2, theflexible wire 91 and theguide tube 92 need longer length which causes increase in cost of theair conditioner unit 100. - Fifth, due to provision of the
resilient arms case 2 which are engageable with thegrooves pivot shafts second mode doors case 2. Thus, mounting of the modedoor actuating mechanism 8 to theside wall 2 h of thecase 2 is readily achieved. More specifically, mounting of the first andsecond operation lever pivot shafts doors - Sixth, due to provision of the conical
annular portions hub portions levers pivot shafts resilient arms grooves levers pivot shafts - Seventh, due to provision of the spaced
cuts pivot shafts second mode doors hub portions pivot shafts - Referring to FIG. 11, there is shown a
modification 8′ of the above-mentioned modedoor actuating mechanism 8. - In this modification, both the first and second operation levers50 and 60 are entirely concealed in the housing, as will become apparent from the following description.
- As is seen from FIG. 11, the modified
mechanism 8′ comprises ahousing 170 which is to be mounted to theside wall 2 h of thecase 2 in the above-mentioned manner. As shown, thehousing 170 is formed with both first and second expandedportions lever portions cam openings pins openings - In this modification, the work for mounting the
mechanism 8′ to theside wall 2 h of thecase 2 is readily and much safely achieved because thelever portions housing 170. - In the foregoing description, the mode
door actuating mechanism housing - However, if desired,
such housing side wall 2 h of thecase 2. - The entire contents of Japanese Patent Application 2000-225887 (filed Jul. 26, 2000) are incorporated herein by reference.
- Although the invention has been described above with reference to the embodiment of the invention, the invention is not limited to such embodiment as described above. Various modifications and variations of such embodiment may be carried out by those skilled in the art, in light of the above description.
Claims (15)
1. An air conditioner unit comprising:
a casing having a plurality of air passages defined therein;
pivotal mode doors pivotally arranged in said case to provide given operation modes of the air conditioner unit when assuming given angular positions, each mode door having a pivot shaft of which leading end is exposed to the outside of a wall of said case; and
a mode door actuating mechanism arranged on the wall of said case to actuate said pivotal mode doors, said mode door actuating mechanism comprising:
operation levers which are pivotal relative to the wall of said case, each operation lever having a cam opening and being connected to the exposed leading end of the pivot shaft of the corresponding mode door to pivot therewith;
a slider member which is slidable relative to the wall of said case;
engaging pins provided on said slider member and slidably engaged with the cam openings of said operation levers respectively; and
an actuator member for sliding said slider member relative to the wall of said case.
2. An air conditioner unit as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a base structure adapted to be mounted to the wall of said case, said base structure having said operation levers pivotally connected thereto and said slider member slidably held thereby.
3. An air conditioner unit as claimed in claim 2 , in which each of said operation levers has a hub portion coaxially connected to the leading end of the pivot shaft of the corresponding mode door.
4. An air conditioner unit comprising:
a case having a plurality of air passages defined therein;
at least two pivotal mode doors pivotally arranged in said case to provide various operation modes of the air conditioner unit when assuming given angular positions, each of the mode doors having a pivot shaft of which leading end is exposed to the outside from a wall of said case; and
a mode door actuating mechanism attached to an outer surface of said wall of said case to actuate said two pivotal mode doors, said mode door actuating mechanism comprising:
a base structure adapted to be mounted to the outer surface of said wall;
two operation levers pivotally held at respective hub portions thereof by said base structure, each operation lever having a cam opening and being coaxially connected to the leading end of the pivot shaft of corresponding one of said two mode doors;
a slider member slidably held on said base structure;
two engaging pins provided on said slider member and slidably engaged with the cam openings of said two operation levers respectively; and
an actuator member for sliding said slider member relative to said base structure.
5. An air conditioner unit as claimed in claim 4 , further comprising a latching structure which latches the pivot shaft of at least one of said mode doors relative to said case when the corresponding operation lever is disconnected from said pivot shaft, said latching structure comprising:
a resilient arm provided by said case, said resilient arm having a catching pawl; and
a groove formed in the leading end of the pivot shaft and engageable with said catching pawl to establish a latched condition of said pivot shaft relative to the case.
6. An air conditioner unit as claimed in claim 5 , further comprising a latch canceling structure which cancels the latched condition of said latching structure when the corresponding operation lever is about to engage with the leading end of said pivot shaft, said latch canceling structure comprising:
an annular portion concentrically connected to the hub portion of the corresponding operation lever, said annular portion having a conical outer surface; and
a sloped lower surface possessed by the latching pawl of said resilient arm, so that when the said portion is thrust onto the leading end of said pivot shaft for the engagement of the corresponding operation lever with the pivot shaft, the conical annular portion pushes up said latching pawl from said groove thereby to cancel the latched condition of said shaft relative to the case while establishing a united connection between the corresponding operation lever and the pivot shaft.
7. An air conditioner unit as claimed in claim 6 , further comprising a positioning structure which establishes positioning of the operation lever relative to the corresponding pivot shaft when the operation lever is engaged with the corresponding shaft, said positioning structure comprising:
a non-circular opening possessed by the hub portion of the operation lever; and
a non-circular leading end provided by said pivot shaft, said non-circular leading end being inserted into said non-circular opening in such a manner as to suppress a relative rotation therebetween.
8. An air conditioner unit as claimed in claim 4 , further comprising a mounting structure which detachably mounts said mode door actuating mechanism to the outer surface of said wall of said case, said mounting structure comprising:
a rib provided by said outer surface of said wall;
a projection provided by said base structure, said projection being sized to snugly mate with said rib;
a plurality of holding pieces provided by said outer surface of said wall, each piece having a catching hole; and
a plurality of projections provided by said base structure, said projections being engaged with the catching holes of said holding pieces.
9. An air conditioner unit as claimed in claim 4 , in which said two operation levers are arranged at opposite positions with respect to said slider member, so that the sliding movement of said slider member induces rotations of said two operation levers in mutually opposite directions.
10. An air conditioner unit as claimed in claim 4 , in which said base structure is an elongate housing in which said slider member is slidably held, said housing having an elongate lid member attached thereto.
11. An air conditioner unit as claimed in claim 10 , in which said elongate housing is so sized as to entirely install said operation levers therein.
12. An air conditioner unit as claimed in claim 4 , in which said actuator member comprises:
a stud member provided on said slider member; and
a flexible wire having one end fixed to said stud member and the other end connected to an external controller.
13. An air conditioner unit as claimed in claim 4 , in which each of the operation levers of said mode door actuating mechanism comprises:
a hub portion; and
a lever portion extending outward from said hub portion and having therein said cam opening, said cam opening being generally L-shaped.
14. An air conditioner unit as claimed in claim 4 , in which said mode door actuating mechanism further a slider member guiding structure which comprises:
at least two projections provided by said slider member; and
a longitudinally extending slot formed in said base structure, said slot slidably receiving therein said two projections.
15. An air conditioner unit comprising:
a case having a plurality of air passages defined therein;
two pivotal mode doors pivotally arranged in said case to provide various operation modes of the air conditioner unit when assuming given angular positions, each of the mode doors having a pivot shaft of which leading end is exposed to the outside from a wall of said case; and
a mode door actuating mechanism detachably attached to an outer surface of said wall of said case to actuate said two pivotal mode doors, said mode door actuating mechanism comprising:
an elongate housing detachably mounted to the outer surface of said wall, said housing having first and second holding portions at upper and lower walls thereof;
first and second operation levers pivotally held at respective hub portions thereby by said first and second holding portions respectively, each operation lever having a generally L-shaped cam opening and being coaxially connected to the leading end of the pivot shaft of corresponding one of said two mode doors;
a slider member slidably held in said housing;
two engaging pins provided by said slider member and slidably engaged with the L-shaped cam openings of the first and second operation levers respectively;
an elongate lid member attached to said housing; and
an actuator member for sliding said slider member in said housing.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP2000225887A JP4180226B2 (en) | 2000-07-26 | 2000-07-26 | Air conditioning unit for vehicles |
JP2000-225887 | 2000-07-26 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20020019212A1 true US20020019212A1 (en) | 2002-02-14 |
US6416404B2 US6416404B2 (en) | 2002-07-09 |
Family
ID=18719599
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US09/912,430 Expired - Fee Related US6416404B2 (en) | 2000-07-26 | 2001-07-26 | Air conditioner unit |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US6416404B2 (en) |
EP (1) | EP1176039B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP4180226B2 (en) |
DE (1) | DE60138340D1 (en) |
Cited By (2)
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US20100126072A1 (en) * | 2008-11-24 | 2010-05-27 | Hyundai Motor Company | Door Operating Device of Air Conditioner for Automobile |
US20100327636A1 (en) * | 2008-12-21 | 2010-12-30 | W.E.T. Automotive Systems Ag | Ventilation system |
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US7431639B2 (en) * | 2003-09-17 | 2008-10-07 | Calsonic Kansei Corporation | Vehicle air-conditioning unit, assembly structure of vehicle air-conditioning unit and link module for use therein |
US7819334B2 (en) * | 2004-03-25 | 2010-10-26 | Honeywell International Inc. | Multi-stage boiler staging and modulation control methods and controllers |
US7510165B2 (en) * | 2005-01-05 | 2009-03-31 | Valeo Climate Control Corp. | HVAC door decelerator system with reduced noise |
DE502005002658D1 (en) * | 2005-05-03 | 2008-03-13 | Behr France Rouffach Sas | Actuating device for at least three flaps of a ventilation, heating or air conditioning system of a motor vehicle |
JP4561693B2 (en) * | 2006-06-05 | 2010-10-13 | 株式会社デンソー | Air passage opening and closing device for vehicle air conditioner |
JP4779873B2 (en) * | 2006-08-21 | 2011-09-28 | 株式会社デンソー | Door opening fixed structure |
US8029344B2 (en) * | 2006-11-29 | 2011-10-04 | Ford Motor Company | Door assembly for climate control system |
US20090093207A1 (en) * | 2007-10-09 | 2009-04-09 | Seongseok Han | Door for air conditioner in vehicle |
KR101430012B1 (en) * | 2008-03-17 | 2014-08-13 | 한라비스테온공조 주식회사 | Cable connecting apparatus of controller for air conditioner in vehicles |
KR100935074B1 (en) * | 2008-04-17 | 2009-12-31 | 모딘코리아 유한회사 | Car air conditioner |
IT201700103579A1 (en) * | 2017-09-15 | 2019-03-15 | Denso Thermal Systems Spa | Rack and pinion gear with release. |
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- 2000-07-26 JP JP2000225887A patent/JP4180226B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
2001
- 2001-07-25 DE DE60138340T patent/DE60138340D1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 2001-07-25 EP EP20010118045 patent/EP1176039B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 2001-07-26 US US09/912,430 patent/US6416404B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Cited By (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20100126072A1 (en) * | 2008-11-24 | 2010-05-27 | Hyundai Motor Company | Door Operating Device of Air Conditioner for Automobile |
US20100327636A1 (en) * | 2008-12-21 | 2010-12-30 | W.E.T. Automotive Systems Ag | Ventilation system |
US8777320B2 (en) * | 2008-12-21 | 2014-07-15 | W.E.T. Automotive Systems Ag | Ventilation system |
US9415712B2 (en) | 2008-12-21 | 2016-08-16 | Gentherm Gmbh | Ventilation system |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP1176039B1 (en) | 2009-04-15 |
DE60138340D1 (en) | 2009-05-28 |
JP2002036856A (en) | 2002-02-06 |
JP4180226B2 (en) | 2008-11-12 |
EP1176039A2 (en) | 2002-01-30 |
EP1176039A3 (en) | 2003-06-04 |
US6416404B2 (en) | 2002-07-09 |
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Owner name: CALSONIC KANSEI CORPORATION, JAPAN Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:OZEKI, YUKIO;REEL/FRAME:012245/0055 Effective date: 20010907 |
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