Patent ID: 6814137
Filing Date: 2004-11-09
Classification: B60H

Abstract:
An automotive air conditioner comprising:a casing; an evaporator disposed in said casing; an upstream air passage in said casing through which intake air is introduced into said evaporator; a heater core disposed in said casing, said heater core positioned downstream from said evaporator; a downstream air passage formed between said evaporator and said heater core, through which cooled air output from said evaporator flows; at least one partition plate disposed in said downstream air passage, said partition plate forming independent sub-air passages in said downstream air passage; a plurality of doors disposed in said downstream air passage, at least one of said plurality of doors being disposed in each of said independent sub air-passages, each door of said plurality of doors extending substantially parallel to one another and in the same plane, each of said plurality of doors including a toothed section; a gear for causing sliding movement of said at least one of said plurality of doors by engagement with the toothed section of said at least one of said plurality of doors when said gear rotates; and a driving mechanism coupled to said gear and configured to drive said at least one of said plurality of doors in a slidable fashion, wherein each of said plurality of doors selectively controls the amount of said cooled air output from said evaporator flowing to said heater core, wherein each of said plurality of doors is capable of sliding independently of one another.