Vehicle HVAC Face Door Gap Layout for Defroster Airflow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle air-conditioning devices experience excessive flow of high-temperature air through gaps when the side-face opening is closed, leading to discomfort for occupants as heated air is blown towards their faces.
Innovation Solution
The air conditioning case is designed with a gap opening that aligns with the moving direction of the face door, guiding warm air along the inner door surface to the defroster opening, and allowing cold air to flow through the gap, preventing excessive high-temperature air from entering the gap.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the side-face opening is closed by the face door to improve airflow control, then air conditioning efficiency is improved, but excessive high-temperature air flows through the gap causing occupant discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The gap opening's orientation is specifically designed to align with the face door's moving direction, creating a localized quality difference. This directional alignment allows the gap to selectively permit cold air flow while blocking hot air, resolving the contradiction between maintaining airflow efficiency and preventing harmful high-temperature air from reaching occupants.
Solution Approach 2:
The gap between the face door and air conditioning case, which initially causes harmful hot air leakage, is transformed into a beneficial feature. By orienting the gap opening along the door's moving direction, the design converts this potential harm into a useful cold air intake pathway, while the door's movement pattern prevents hot air from entering through the gap.
2Productivity
If the gap opening is formed to allow cold air flow, then ventilation efficiency is improved, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The gap opening serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as a cold air intake pathway, a thermal barrier against hot air leakage, and an integrated part of the face door mechanism. This multi-functionality achieves improved ventilation efficiency without adding separate components, thereby avoiding increased structural complexity.
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
This configuration reduces excessive high-temperature air flow into the gap, enhancing occupant comfort by directing warm air towards the defroster opening and preventing windshield fogging, while maintaining efficient airflow and reducing ventilation resistance.
Implementation Method 1
a heating device for heating air flowing through the air passage
Implementation Method 2
air that has passed through the heating device is guided along an inner door surface of the face door to the defroster opening
Implementation Method 3
A gap opening for communication between upstream and downstream of the face door in an air flow direction is formed adjacent to the side-face opening
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle air-conditioning device include an air conditioning case and a heating device. The air conditioning case is formed with a defroster opening and a side-face opening. A defroster door for opening and closing the defroster opening and a face door for opening and closing the side-face opening are provided inside the air conditioning case. The face door is a slide door that opens and closes the side-face opening by moving along an opening plane of the side-face opening. The air conditioning case has a structure in which air that has passed through the heating device is guided along an inner door surface of the face door to the defroster opening. A gap opening for communication between upstream and downstream of the face door in an air flow direction is formed. The gap opening has an opening plane along a moving direction of the face door.