Air conditioning condensate drain line assembly

Abstract

An air conditioning condensate drain line assembly. The assembly may include a paddle wheel that is rotatably disposed in a drain hole of a drain housing. The paddle wheel may inhibit contaminants from entering the drain tube.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An air conditioning condensate drain line assembly comprising:
 a drain housing having a drain hole that has an inlet adapted to receive a condensate; and   a paddle wheel that is rotatably disposed in the drain hole, wherein the paddle wheel is configured to inhibit contaminants from passing through the drain hole.   
     
     
         2 . The assembly of  claim 1  wherein the paddle wheel rotates about an axis of rotation in response to force exerted by condensate that flows through the drain hole. 
     
     
         3 . The assembly of  claim 1  wherein the paddle wheel includes a shaft that engages the drain housing and a set of paddles that extend from the shaft. 
     
     
         4 . The assembly of  claim 3  wherein members of the set of paddles are uniformly spaced apart from each other. 
     
     
         5 . The assembly of  claim 3  wherein the shaft rotates about an axis of rotation and wherein each member of the set of paddles extends radially with respect to the axis of rotation. 
     
     
         6 . The assembly of  claim 3  wherein each member of the set of paddles is disposed directly opposite another member of the set of paddles. 
     
     
         7 . The assembly of  claim 3  wherein each member of the set of paddles is spaced apart from the drain housing. 
     
     
         8 . The assembly of  claim 1  wherein the drain housing includes a flange. 
     
     
         9 . An air conditioning condensate drain line assembly comprising:
 an HVAC housing;   a drain housing that is fluidly connected to the HVAC housing, the drain housing having an inlet that receives condensate from the HVAC housing and an outlet; and   a paddle wheel that is rotatably disposed in the drain housing, wherein the paddle wheel permits condensate to flow through the outlet and inhibits contaminants from passing through the drain housing and entering the HVAC housing.   
     
     
         10 . The assembly of  claim 9  wherein the drain housing is spaced apart from the HVAC housing. 
     
     
         11 . The assembly of  claim 9  further comprising a drain tube that fluidly connects the HVAC housing to the drain housing. 
     
     
         12 . The assembly of  claim 9  further comprising an evaporator core disposed in the HVAC housing that generates the condensate. 
     
     
         13 . The assembly of  claim 9  wherein the HVAC housing is disposed in a passenger compartment of a vehicle. 
     
     
         14 . The assembly of  claim 9  wherein the drain housing is configured to be fixedly disposed on a vehicle body panel. 
     
     
         15 . An air conditioning condensate drain line assembly comprising:
 an HVAC housing having an outlet;   a drain housing having an inlet and a drain hole;   a drain tube that extends from the outlet of the HVAC housing to the inlet of the drain housing wherein the drain tube transports condensate from the HVAC housing to the drain housing; and   a paddle wheel that is rotatably disposed in the drain hole of the drain housing;   wherein the paddle wheel has a set of paddles that at least partially block the drain hole to inhibit contaminants from entering the drain tube and wherein the paddle wheel rotates about an axis of rotation in response to force exerted by condensate that flows through the drain hole.   
     
     
         16 . The assembly of  claim 15  wherein the drain tube includes a flange that engages the drain housing and that is configured to engage a vehicle body panel. 
     
     
         17 . The assembly of  claim 16  wherein the flange is disposed in a passenger compartment of the vehicle and wherein the drain housing extends through a hole in the vehicle body panel. 
     
     
         18 . The assembly of  claim 16  wherein the HVAC housing includes a retention feature that engages the vehicle body panel to secure the drain housing to the vehicle body panel. 
     
     
         19 . The assembly of  claim 18  wherein the vehicle body panel is disposed between the flange and the retention feature. 
     
     
         20 . The assembly of  claim 15  wherein contaminants includes arachnids.