Vehicle Air Conditioner Blower Segmentation for Zone Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle air conditioners face challenges in efficiently controlling air distribution to multiple seating areas and rapidly removing unpleasant smells, especially in autonomous vehicles where passenger seating arrangements can vary, leading to energy inefficiency and inadequate ventilation.
Innovation Solution
The design includes separate blower units for the front and rear seats, with a blower arranged between the evaporator and heater core to control air distribution independently to each area, and a second blower for ventilating the interior by discharging air from the vehicle, utilizing distinct discharge units and a communication vent for efficient air conditioning and smell removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single blower unit is used for both front and rear seats, then device complexity is reduced, but air distribution control precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single blower unit into two separate blower units: a first blower unit for the front seat and a second blower unit for the rear seat. This segmentation allows independent control of air distribution to each seating area, resolving the contradiction by reducing device complexity while maintaining or improving air distribution control precision through dedicated control mechanisms for each blower.
2Reliability
If air is circulated throughout the entire vehicle interior, then ventilation effectiveness is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local air circulation by creating separate air circulation paths for the front seat and rear seat areas. The first blower unit circulates air locally around the front seat, while the second blower unit circulates air locally around the rear seat. This local quality approach maintains effective ventilation in each zone while reducing overall energy consumption by avoiding the need to circulate air throughout the entire vehicle interior.
3Device complexity
If the evaporator and heater core are positioned close together, then device complexity is reduced, but air flow control precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the heater core from its traditional position near the evaporator and relocates it to the rear seat area. This separation allows the evaporator to serve the front seat area while the heater core serves the rear seat area, maintaining simple device architecture while improving air flow control precision by positioning heat exchangers closer to their respective target zones and reducing thermal interference between the two components.
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 solution allows for direct control of air passing through the evaporator and heater core, reduces energy consumption, and enables independent air conditioning of multiple areas while effectively ventilating the vehicle, improving energy efficiency and passenger comfort in autonomous vehicles.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling heat exchanger (230) disposed in the first unit (200)
Implementation Method 2
front seat and rear seat heating heat exchangers (410, 510) disposed in the front seat discharge unit (400) and the rear seat discharge unit (500), respectively
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle air conditioner is disclosed. The present invention provides the vehicle air conditioner, which: can directly control the amount of air passing through an evaporator and a heater core since a blower is disposed between the evaporator and the heater core; has front and rear seat discharge units respectively having heater cores, thereby having a simple form, minimizing energy consumption, and independently enabling four or more zones, including front and rear seats, the left and right of the front seats, and the left and right of the rear seats, to be air-conditioned; and can discharge an offensive smell to the outside during initial driving of a vehicle since the air outside a vehicle, flowing in from an air inlet, and indoor air flowing in from an inside air suction port, disposed at the center of the vehicle, are discharged to the outside of the vehicle by means of a second blower, and not by a front seat blower, for discharging the air to the rear seats.