Patent ID: 7478666
Filing Date: 2009-01-20
Classification: B60H

Abstract:
1. An air conditioner for a vehicle comprising: an air conditioning case for defining an air passage through which air flows into a passenger compartment of the vehicle, wherein the air conditioning case has first, second and third opening portions from which air is blown toward first, second and third portions in the passenger compartment, and an air mixing portion in which air is mixed at an upstream side of the first, second and third opening portions; a heat exchanger disposed at an upstream air side of the air mixing portion, in the air conditioning case for cooling or heating air to be blown into the first, second and third opening portions; a first rotary door disposed in the air mixing portion; and a single door member different from the first rotary door for opening and closing the defroster opening portion and for opening and closing the face opening portion; wherein the first rotary door includes a curvature outer peripheral portion for opening and closing an inlet passage of the second opening portion and the third opening portion, an end plate portion located at two ends of the outer peripheral portion in an axial direction to open and close the first opening portion, a shaft portion located at the end plate portion to be rotatably supported in the air conditioning case; the air conditioning case and the first rotary door are constructed such that a clearance between an inner wall of the air conditioning case and the outer peripheral portion of the first rotary door is changed to be different between a first air outlet mode where both the first opening portion and the second opening portion are opened, and a second air outlet mode where both the first opening portion and the third opening portion are opened; the outer peripheral portion has an uneven surface which is uneven in a circumferential direction of the first rotary door; the inner wall of the air conditioning case, opposite to the outer peripheral portion of the first rotary door, is made uneven in a rotation direction of the first rotary door; the first opening portion is a foot opening portion communicating with a foot air outlet from which air is blown toward a lower side in the passenger compartment; the second opening portion is a face opening portion communicating with a face air outlet from which air is blown toward an upper side in the passenger compartment; the third opening portion is a defroster opening portion communicating with a defroster air outlet from which air is blown toward an inner surface of a windshield of the vehicle; the first air outlet mode is a bi-level air outlet mode where both the foot opening portion and the face opening portion are opened; the second air outlet mode is a foot/defroster air outlet mode where both the foot opening portion and the defroster opening portion are opened; the uneven surface of the outer peripheral portion of the rotary door faces the uneven portion of the inner wall of the air conditioning case in both the bi-level air outlet mode and in the foot/defroster air outlet mode; and a clearance between the uneven surface of the rotary door and the uneven portion of the inner wall of the air conditioning case is smaller in the bi-level air outlet mode than the clearance between the uneven surface of the rotary door and the uneven portion of the inner wall of the air conditioning case in the foot/defroster mode.