Air Treatment System for Conditioning and Purifying the Air of a Vehicle Cabin

Abstract

The disclosure relates, in particular to an evaporating air conditioner for cabins of vehicles or the similar comprising an evaporation chamber provided with a water mister arranged therein and an injector for injecting air into said evaporation chamber in such a way that it is directed towards the cabin by an air output and passes through at least one humid filter. The inventive air conditioner includes deflectors converging said injected air and said water mist towards a runoff mounted near said humid filter in such a way that water droplets produced from said water mist are directed towards the filter surface which is oriented inside of the evaporation chamber and flow thereon.

1 . A water evaporative air conditioner for vehicle cabins and the like, the air conditioner comprising: 
 an evaporation chamber, air being delivered into said evaporation chamber with a view to being directed towards said cabin via an air outlet, while passing through at least one wet filter    a mister, which delivers mist into the evaporation chamber;    a run-off provided in the vicinity of said wet filter; and    a deflector positioned to cause said delivery air and said mist to converge towards the run-off, with the result being that droplets of water formed by the mist are directed towards a surface of said wet filter facing an inside of said evaporation chamber, and run off over this surface.    
   
   
       2 . Air conditioner of  claim 1 , wherein said wet filter comprises a hydrophilic material.  
   
   
       3 . Air conditioner of  claim 1 , wherein said run-off includes at least one impact lip for said droplets, extending into an upper portion of said wet filter in a plane substantially coincident with the plane of said surface of said filter turned towards the inside of said chamber.  
   
   
       4 . Air conditioner of  claim 3 , wherein said lip is formed by a fold made in a plate, referred to as a drop-out plate, fastened beneath a closing cover for said evaporation chamber.  
   
   
       5 . Air conditioner of  claim 4 , wherein said drop-out plate has a raised portion or profile designed to evenly distribute the water over said lip.  
   
   
       6 . Air conditioner of  claim 1 , and further comprising a delivery air distribution box, which delivers the air into the evaporation chamber, and wherein the deflector comprises a deflector plate running in line with the delivery air distribution box.  
   
   
       7 . Air conditioner of  claim 6 , wherein said deflector plate contains perforations and/or a cut-out section in an upper edge thereof.  
   
   
       8 . Air conditioner of  claim 6 , wherein said mister includes at least one injector positioned in relation to said deflector such that said at least one injector expels the water in a direction that, in the area of said run-off, converges with the airflow at an outlet of said deflector.  
   
   
       9 . Air conditioner of  claim 1 , wherein said chamber includes at least two drain-off points for condensed water, which are paired with an extractor.  
   
   
       10 . Air conditioner of  claim 1 , wherein said chamber has a bottom provided with a liner including at least one of the elements belonging to the following group: 
 a covering with a material including a plurality of tubes joined to one another or intercommunicating cells; and    a profiling having at least one water pass-through.    
   
   
       11 . Air conditioner of  claim 10 , and further comprising a pad made of a soft foam material is interposed between said covering and a bottom of said chamber.  
   
   
       12 . Air conditioner of  claim 10 , wherein the profiling has at least one of the elements belonging to the following group: 
 a water pass-through opening;    a space formed in relation to a bottom and/or walls of said chamber; and    an upper lip extending said profiling.    
   
   
       13 . Air conditioner of  claim 9 , wherein said extractor is connected to a water reservoir a valve makes it possible to shift between two configurations: 
 a recycling configuration in which the water recovered by said extractor is redirected towards said reservoir; and    a discharge configuration in which the water recovered by said extractor is discharged as waste water.    
   
   
       14 . Air conditioner of  claim 1 , and further comprising wetting means built into said wet filter.  
   
   
       15 . Air conditioner of  claim 14 , wherein said wetting means include a circulating system made of a porous material.  
   
   
       16 . A vehicle whose cabin is equipped with a water evaporative air conditioner, which comprises: 
 an evaporation chamber, air being delivered into said evaporation chamber with a view to being directed towards said cabin via an air outlet, while passing through at least one wet filter    a mister, which delivers mist into the evaporation chamber;    a run-off provided in the vicinity of said wet filter; and    a deflector positioned to cause said delivery air and said mist to converge towards the run-off, with the result being that droplets of water formed by the mist are directed towards a surface of said wet filter facing an inside of said evaporation chamber, and run off over this surface.    
   
   
       17 . Vehicle of  claim 16 , wherein said cabin and/or said air conditioner include a diffuser, which diffuses the air coming from said air conditioner, making it possible to point at least one airflow into said cabin directly towards at least one operator position.  
   
   
       18 . Vehicle of  claim 16 , wherein said cabin and/or said air conditioner include means of slaving the flow rate of the air coming from said air conditioner to a pressurization of said cabin, provided in such a way that the air flow rate varies inversely in relation to variations in said pressurization.  
   
   
       19 . Vehicle of  claim 18 , wherein said cabin and/or said air conditioner include a diffuser, which diffuses the air coming from said air conditioner, making it possible to point at least one airflow into said cabin directly towards at least one operator position, and, wherein said slaving means also act on said diffuser so that the air is pointed towards the operator position when the pressurization of said cabin decreases, and is pointed in another direction when said pressurization increases.  
   
   
       20 . A cabin designed to be mounted on a vehicle equipped with a water evaporative air conditioner, the cabin comprising: 
 an evaporation chamber ( 1 ) in which mist-forming means ( 4 ) are provided, air being delivered into said evaporation chamber with a view to being directed towards said cabin via an air outlet, while passing through at least one wet filter    a mister, which delivers mist into the evaporation chamber;    a run-off provided in the vicinity of said wet filter; and    a deflector positioned to cause said delivery air and said mist to converge towards the run-off, with the result being that droplets of water formed by the mist are directed towards a surface of said wet filter facing an inside of said evaporation chamber, and run off over this surface.