Automotive Air Mixing Door Layout for Uniform Outlet Temperature
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional automobile air conditioners fail to adequately mix cold and hot air streams, resulting in temperature differences between outlets, making it impossible to control air conditions as desired.
Innovation Solution
An air conditioner with a movable door featuring a partition wall that blocks air flow from a merging area to a downstream side, creating a mixing area where cold and hot air streams can effectively mix, reducing temperature differences among outlets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the foot door is opened by half to distribute air between multiple discharge passages, then air distribution is achieved, but the air from cold and hot passages does not mix sufficiently, resulting in temperature differences between outlets
Solution Approach 1:
The air passage is divided into distinct cold air passage and hot air passage that merge into a common merging area. The foot door with partition wall is segmented to control airflow separately, allowing cold and hot air to mix in the merging area before being distributed to different discharge passages, thus achieving both distribution and temperature uniformity
Solution Approach 2:
The merging area acts as an intermediary zone where cold air from the cold air passage and hot air from the hot air passage mix before entering the discharge passages. The partition wall of the foot door temporarily blocks direct flow, forcing air through this intermediary mixing zone, which eliminates temperature differences between outlets
2Temperature
If a partition wall blocks airflow from the merging area to the downstream side, then mixing area is formed for better air mixing, but airflow to discharge passages is blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The foot door with partition wall is designed to be movable between advanced and retreated positions. When advanced, the partition wall blocks downstream flow to create mixing area for temperature uniformity. When retreated, the blockage is removed to restore normal airflow to discharge passages, thus dynamically resolving the contradiction between mixing efficiency and airflow productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The partition wall performs preliminary action by blocking airflow before it reaches the discharge passages, forcing the air to mix completely in the merging area first. This preliminary blocking ensures that when the door retreats and airflow is restored, the air is already well-mixed and ready for distribution, achieving both mixing and productivity
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution facilitates the mixing of cold and hot air streams, reducing temperature differences among outlets, allowing for more uniform air distribution and improved control over air conditions.
Implementation Method 1
the air flows into the discharge passage systems via a merging area into which the cold air passage and the hot air passage merge
Data Source
AI summary
An air conditioner for an automobile includes a foot door (11) and a mixing area (20). The foot door (11) has a partition wall (11b), and is movable at least between an advanced position (11A) where the partition wall (11b) reaches a state of blocking an air flow from a merging area J to the downstream side in an air passage, and a retreated position (11B) where the partition wall (11b) retreats from the advanced position (11A) in the air passage. The foot door (11) has a partition wall (11b), and is movable at least between an advanced position (11A) where the partition wall (11b) reaches a state of blocking the air flowing from the merging area J to the downstream side in the air passage; and a retreated position (11B) where the partition wall (11b) retreats from the advanced position (11A). The mixing area (20) is provided in the air passage while the partition wall (11b) is located in the advanced position (11A), and is designed to cause the air flowing from a cold air passage 8 and the air flowing from a hot air passage 9 into the merging area J to mix up more by using the partition wall (11b) to block the air flowing from the merging area J to the downstream side. Thus, the air conditioner for an automobile for the present invention is designed to cause the air to flow into the discharge passage systems via the mixing area (20).