Device for flowing air onto the inside of a side window of a motor vehicle door and motor vehicle therewith

Abstract

Device for supplying air to an inner side (21) of at least one side window (20) of a motor vehicle door (5), comprising at least one air inlet opening (3) formed on the motor vehicle door (5) and at least one air outlet opening (8), and comprising at least one air flow generating means (7) for generating an air flow (22) directed from the at least one air outlet opening (8) onto the inner side (21) of the at least one side window (20), wherein at least one door drainage hole forms the at least one air inlet opening (3) for the air, characterized in that the at least one air flow generating means (7) is a diaphragm pump provided with a first Tesla valve (11) and a second Tesla valve (12), wherein the first Tesla valve (11) draws in the air, and the air flow (22) can be directed onto the inner side (21) of the at least one side window (20) via the second Tesla valve (12).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a device for air flow to the inside of motor vehicle side windows with at least one air inlet and one air outlet opening, as well as a fan through which the air is sucked in and heated by a heating element contained in the fan.

[0002] German patent DE 37 35 131 A1 discloses an actuator device that uses an existing electric motor for opening or closing the window to drive a fan that directs air onto the window. The air inlet is located in a side area of ​​the vehicle door. The air can be drawn in from the environment or from the interior of the vehicle. However, this actuator device requires the installation of an air duct in the vehicle door between the inlet and the outlet nozzles.

[0003] German patent DE 10 2004 062 494 A1 discloses a device for ventilating the side windows of motor vehicles, with air outlet openings and means for air conditioning and conveying located on the side door. A fan draws air directly from the vehicle's interior through the air inlet openings and heats it with a PTC heating element.

[0004] US Patent No. 6,135,874 A discloses a device for ventilating a side window of a motor vehicle. An air duct is arranged in a vehicle door containing the side window, near a lower region of the side window. The air duct is formed in a separate duct component attached to the vehicle side component. The air outlets open in the region of a gap formed between the vehicle side component and the side window.

[0005] German patent application DE 23 18 097 A discloses an air outlet arrangement for demisting a side window of a vehicle. For this purpose, a cavity in the pillar arrangement is provided with at least one outlet opening directed toward the side window and an air inlet, and is sealed from the outside. Hot air or fresh air is directed toward the side window of the vehicle.

[0006] US patent application US 2006 / 0 079 167 A1 discloses a ventilation module for window panes of a motor vehicle. A tubular flow channel is provided that extends along the window pane, with at least one outlet opening associated with the window pane. The flow channel is arranged in a shaft accommodating the window pane and is provided with a lower sealing lip.

[0007] The Japanese patent application JP H03- 224 818 A describes an air conditioning system for a motor vehicle in which air is sucked in from the environment through air inlet openings on the underside of a motor vehicle door and blown into the vehicle interior.

[0008] US Patent No. 5,462,482 A describes a motor vehicle door with drainage openings on the underside of the door. Air entering through the drainage openings is directed to the floor of the vehicle cabin to prevent uncontrolled air ingress through inadequately sealed openings in the door.

[0009] European patent EP 0 287 587 B1 relates to a device for preventing fogging and ice formation on a vehicle side window in a motor vehicle door. Air is drawn from the vehicle interior and blown against the vehicle side window. A configuration similar in principle can be found in JP S47-13 848 U.

[0010] The object of the invention is to provide a device with which the side windows of a motor vehicle are supplied with air with as little energy consumption as possible and at low cost, so that fogging of the side windows is efficiently eliminated or avoided.

[0011] This object is achieved by means of the device comprising the features of patent claim 1.

[0012] At least one air inlet and at least one air outlet are formed on a motor vehicle door, with the air inlet openings corresponding to the door drainage holes already present on the underside of the motor vehicle door. The door drainage holes are provided to drain water that enters the door interior when the side windows are lowered. An air flow generating means generates an air flow by drawing air from the door interior and directing the air flow onto at least one inner side of a side window of the motor vehicle door, so that the air previously drawn in through the air inlet holes flows onto the side windows. When the air flow generating means is switched on, the air enters the door interior through the door drainage holes and is then directed into the vehicle interior and onto the side windows via air outlet openings in an interior door panel.

[0013] The air flow generation means is a diaphragm pump consisting of a diaphragm, a first Tesla valve, and a second Tesla valve. The air is sucked in via the first Tesla valve and the air flow is directed onto the inside of the side window via the second Tesla valve. The existing diaphragm undergoes a certain upward and downward deflection, thereby achieving the pumping effect. In general, within the meaning of the present invention, a Tesla valve is preferably understood to be a passive fluidic valve whose flow resistance is greater in one direction than in a correspondingly opposite direction. In particular, this is achieved by structures on flow components that promote laminar flow in one direction and make the flow more turbulent in the opposite direction.

[0014] An interior door panel contains at least one air outlet opening. The air flow generating means is aligned or mounted with respect to the at least one air outlet opening such that the air flow is directed directly onto the inside of the side window via the air outlet openings of the interior door panel.

[0015] A device for heating the air flow can be associated with the air flow generation means to heat the air flow before it hits the inside of the side window. Such a device for heating the air flow can be implemented by at least one Peltier element, at least one heating wire, or at least one PTC heating element. The outflow of warm air along the side windows achieved by the heating device can improve the thermal comfort of vehicle occupants, especially in winter, since cold side windows are a frequent point of complaint and quickly become fogged up, restricting the visibility of the vehicle occupants.

[0016] Several door drainage holes, which form the air intakes, are located on the underside of the vehicle door. A seal on the vehicle door seals off the air intakes from the vehicle interior, so that the air used to generate an airflow directed toward the inside of the side window of the vehicle door is drawn in only from the outside of the vehicle. The air flowing toward the side windows therefore does not originate from the vehicle interior. Due to the seal, the volume inside the door is largely enclosed, except for the door drainage holes on the underside of the vehicle door.

[0017] According to one possible embodiment, the plurality of door drainage holes are arranged in a row on the underside of the motor vehicle door. The arrangement of the door drainage holes shown here should not be construed as a limitation of the invention.

[0018] A motor vehicle contains at least one such device for flowing air onto at least one inner side of at least one side window of each motor vehicle door.

[0019] A motor vehicle can also be an electric vehicle. In electric vehicles, the aim is to utilize recirculation as much as possible, especially in winter, to keep the vehicle interior warm, since the waste heat from combustion engines is unavailable. In electric vehicles, the energy for heating comes from the battery, which can significantly reduce the range. The invention described can thus reduce the energy consumption, especially of electric vehicles.

[0020] A further advantage of the invention is that it can replace the heating wires on heated side windows, which are often perceived as annoying by vehicle occupants. The invention also represents a cost-effective alternative to the existing anti-fog coatings, which are expensive to produce and, in addition, often cause visibility problems and are easily scratched.

[0021] The claimed invention therefore not only eliminates and reduces the formation of fogging on the inside of the side windows of motor vehicle doors but also saves costs and energy.

[0022] In another embodiment, in addition to the existing door drainage holes, openings near the door handle or on the door trim are conceivable for specifically drawing in outside air. However, it must be ensured that no rainwater or washing water can enter the door interior.

[0023] The invention is described in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings. They show: Fig. 1 shows a partial section through a motor vehicle door to illustrate the principle of the invention; Fig. 2 is a view of a bottom side of a motor vehicle door, wherein a plurality of door drainage holes are formed on the bottom side of a motor vehicle door; and Fig. 3 an embodiment of an air flow generating means which is a diaphragm pump with two Tesla valves.

[0024] Identical reference numerals are used for identical or equivalently functioning elements of the invention. The illustrated embodiment represents merely one possible configuration of the device according to the invention for directing airflow onto the insides of motor vehicle side windows.

[0025] Fig. 1 shows a partial section through a motor vehicle door 5, on the underside 2 of which air inlet openings 3 are located, through which air 4 flows from an outer region A of the motor vehicle door 5 into a door interior 26. An inner door panel 10 is mounted on the motor vehicle door 5 toward the interior I of the motor vehicle. The inner door panel 10 adjoins a side window 20 of the motor vehicle door 5 and has at least one air outlet opening 8 formed in this area, so that the air 9 flowing out of the air outlet openings 8 reaches the side window 20. At least one air flow generating means 7 is assigned to the air outlet openings 8 in the inner door panel 10. In the illustrated embodiment, the air flow generating means 7 is mounted below the air outlet openings 8 such that the air 9 flowing out of the air outlet openings 8 flows directly onto the inner side 21 of the respective side window 20.The door interior 26 is formed between a body part 14 in the door interior panel 10. The airflow generating means 7 generates the airflow 22, which moves from the air inlet openings 3 on the underside 2 of the motor vehicle door 5 to the air outlet openings 8. The underside 2 of the motor vehicle door 5 is sealed off from the interior I by a seal 1, so that the air is only drawn from the outer area A into the door interior 26 of the motor vehicle door 5.

[0026] Fig. Figure 2 shows the underside 2 of a motor vehicle door 5. The air inlet openings 3 on the underside 2 of the motor vehicle door 5 are formed by the structurally present door drainage holes. According to one embodiment of the invention, the door drainage holes are arranged in a row 25 on the underside 2 of the motor vehicle door 5.

[0027] Fig.Figure 3 shows a schematic representation of the air flow generating means 7 for generating an air flow 22. In the embodiment shown here, the air flow generating means 7 is designed as a diaphragm pump. The diaphragm pump shown consists of a diaphragm 13, as well as a first Tesla valve 11 and a second Tesla valve 12. The diaphragm pump generates the pumping effect to form the air flow 22 from the air inlet openings 3 on the underside 2 of the motor vehicle door 5 to the air outlet openings 8. The fresh air intake and the formation of the air flow 22 require very low power consumption. The first Tesla valve 11 is arranged upstream of the intake opening 15 of the diaphragm pump and serves to draw in air via the door drainage holes of the motor vehicle door 5. The second Tesla valve 12 is arranged downstream of an outlet opening 16.The air flow 22 reaches the inside 21 of the side windows 20 via the second Tesla valve 12, thus supplying them with air. The at least one second Tesla valve 12 communicates with at least one corresponding air outlet opening 8 in the interior door panel 10. The membrane 13 undergoes a specific upward and downward deflection K, thereby generating the pumping effect. The air flow generating means 7 can also contain a device for heating the air 6 in order to heat the previously drawn-in air before it hits the inside 21 of the side window 20. As can be seen from the figure, the Tesla valves 11, 12 are designed such that the flow resistance in the direction of the arrows shown (flow toward the side window 20) is lower than in the opposite direction.In the direction opposite to the arrows shown, air is also directed, at least to a certain extent, into the curved secondary channels in the Tesla valve 11, 12 and thus represents an increased flow resistance, in particular due to a reversal of the flow direction.

[0028] The invention is not limited to the described embodiments. Modifications to the embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the scope of the claims. List of reference symbols 1 seal 2 Bottom 3 air inlets 4 incoming air 5 vehicle door 6 Heating device 7 Air flow generating means 8 Air outlet opening 9 outflowing air 10 Interior door panel 11 first Tesla valve 12 second Tesla valve 13 Membran 14 body part 15 Intake opening 16 Outlet opening 20 side window 21 Inside 22 Air flow 25 row 26 Door interior A Outdoor area I Interior K Deflection

Claims

[1] Device for supplying air to an inner side (21) of at least one side window (20) of a motor vehicle door (5), comprising at least one air inlet opening (3) formed on the motor vehicle door (5) and at least one air outlet opening (8) and comprising at least one air flow generating means (7) in order to form an air flow (22) directed from the at least one air outlet opening (8) onto the inner side (21) of the at least one side window (20), wherein at least one door drainage hole forms the at least one air inlet opening (3) for the air, characterized by in that the at least one air flow generating means (7) is a diaphragm pump which is provided with a first Tesla valve (11) and a second Tesla valve (12), wherein the first Tesla valve (11) sucks in the air and the air flow (22) can be directed onto the inside (21) of the at least one side window (20) via the second Tesla valve (12). [2] Device according to claim 1, wherein an inner door panel (10) has formed the at least one air outlet opening (8). [3] Device according to one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the at least one air flow generating means (7) is associated with a device for heating (6) the air, which consists of at least one Peltier element, a heating wire or a PTC heating element. [4] Device according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a plurality of door drainage holes forming a plurality of air inlet openings (3) are formed on an underside (2) of the motor vehicle door (5) and the underside (2) of the motor vehicle door (5) is sealed off from the motor vehicle interior by means of a seal (1), so that the air for generating the air flow (22) directed onto the inside (21) of the at least one side window (20) can be sucked in from an outside area (A) of the motor vehicle. [5] Device according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of door drainage holes are arranged in a row (25) on the underside (2) of the motor vehicle door (5). [6] Motor vehicle with at least one device for flowing onto an inner side (21) of a side window (20) of each motor vehicle door (5) according to one of the preceding claims. [7] Motor vehicle according to claim 6, wherein the motor vehicle is an electric drive vehicle.

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