Air-conditioning system for a vehicle

Abstract

An air conditioning system mountable in the rear of a vehicle having a vent mode and a foot mode is disclosed. The air conditioning system comprises a casing, an evaporator mounted at an upper front portion within the casing, a heater core mounted below the evaporator such that the evaporator and the heater core are not superposed when seen in a vehicle front-to-rear direction. A temperature controlling damper is provided for controlling rate of air which is directed toward the heater core so as to attain a selected final temperature of the air which is discharged into a passenger compartment of the vehicle. Vent and foot outlets are also provided.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . An air conditioning system mountable in the rear of a vehicle having a vent mode and a foot mode, the air conditioning system comprising: 
 a casing;    an evaporator mounted at an upper front portion within the casing;    a heater core mounted below the evaporator such that the evaporator and the heater core are not superposed when seen in a vehicle front-to-back direction;    a vent outlet provided at an upper rear portion of the casing for allowing the air having a first selected final temperature to be discharged into the passenger compartment in the vent mode;    a foot outlet provided at the front portion of the casing for allowing the air having a second selected final temperature to be discharged into the passenger compartment in the foot mode;    a first passage extending between the downstream side of the evaporator and the vent outlet;    a first heater core passage providing a fluid communication between the rear side of the heater core and the first passage;    a second heater core passage providing a fluid communication between the front side of the heater core and the upstream side of the evaporator; and    a temperature controlling damper for controlling rate of air which is directed toward the heater core so as to attain the first or second selected temperature of the air which is discharged into a passenger compartment of the vehicle;    
     
     
         2 . An air conditioning system according to  claim 1 , wherein said temperature controlling damper controls the rate of a portion of the air to flow through the evaporator and the rate of the remaining air to bypass the evaporator and flow through heater core in a controlled proportion.  
     
     
         3 . An air conditioning system according to  claim 1 , wherein said air conditioning system further comprises a drain passage disposed below the evaporator for draining a condensate from the evaporator, said drain passage having a generally funnel-like configuration.  
     
     
         4 . An air conditioning system according to  claim 1 , wherein the temperature controlling damper has a projecting member integrally formed with the face of the damper facing the second heater core passage.