Patent ID: 6607029
Filing Date: 2003-08-19
Classification: B60H

Abstract:
An air conditioning unit for a motor vehicle having a passenger compartment with four micro-climate zones, the micro-climate zones comprising a front driver micro-climate zone, a front passenger micro-climate zone, a rear right micro-climate zone, and a rear left micro-climate zone, the unit comprising:an air processing unit comprising, for each one of the micro-climate zones, (1) an air mixer chamber adapted to supply conditioned air to the one of the micro-climate zones from a cold air supply and from a warm air supply, (2) a warm air register to control the flow of war, air into the air mixer chamber, and (3) a cold air register to control the flow of cold air into the air mixer chamber; a plurality of air distribution ducts comprising (1) for each one of the micro-climate zones, a heating and ventilating duct to deliver air to at least two points within the micro-climate zones, (2) and in each of the front driver and front passenger micro-climate zones, a deicing duct adapted to deliver air to a windshield a rear valve, for each the rear right and rear left micro-climate zones, that is downstream of the air processing unit, disposed to control the passage of air into the heating and ventilating ducts for the rear right and rear left micro-climate zones; and front valve, for each the front right and front left micro-climate zones, that is downstream of the air processing unit and is disposed to control the passage of air into the heating and ventilating ducts for the front right and front left micro-climate zones; a deicing valve, for each the front right and front left micro-climate zones, that is separate from the front valve and is downstream of the air processing unit disposed to control the passage of air into the deicing duct for the front right and front left micro-climate zones; and a plurality of controllers, each of the controllers being adapted to independently adjust the temperature of the air admited into a one of the micro-climate zones; wherein, in a rapid deicing mode, the controllers are adapted to close the cold air registers, the front valves and the rear valves and to simultaneously open the warm air registers and the deicing valves so that a maximum flow of hot air is forced toward the windshield.