GB1598029A

GB1598029A - Vehicle air heating and/or ventilating installations

Info

Publication number: GB1598029A
Application number: GB20167/78A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Daimler Benz AG
Current assignee: Daimler Benz AG
Priority date: 1977-05-27
Filing date: 1978-05-17
Publication date: 1981-09-16
Also published as: SE7806084L; IT7849572A0; FR2391865A1; DE2724019A1

Description

(54) VEHICLE AIR HEATING AND/OR VENTILATING INSTALLATION (71) We, DAIMLER-BENZ AKTIENGESELL SHAFT, of Stuttgart-Unterturkheim, Germany, a Company organised under the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The invention relates to a motor vehicle, the driver's compartment of which is provided with a heating and/or ventilation installation for example a tractor and/or a utility vehicle, in which the driver's compartment is provided with windscreens on the front and rear sides, in which the separate units for treating the air are disposed in the region of the driver's compartment and hollow sections or air ducts are used for conducting air.

In commercial vehicles it is desirable to supply the driver's cab with an adequate amount of dust-free fresh air, which may be heated or cooled as required, without causing a draught.

Particularly in damp and cold weather the problem then arises of preventing the mistingup of the windscreen or windows, with a consequent impairment of visibility, through adequate ventilation.

Thus, for example, a driver's cab is known in which the hollow frame portions of the cab forming a roll-over protection device serve as ducts and distributors for heating and/or cooling air delivered directly or indirectly by the propulsion engine for the ventilation of the driver's cab, while additional hollow frame parts of the roll-over protection device, extending parallel to the first-mentioned frame parts, are provided with a duct or ducts through which the working medium of the hydraulic installation circulates in order to form a heat exchange device. This solution however entails the disadvantage that in addition to differences in temperature in the driver's cab which are disagreeable to the driver, the windscreens and windows are not uniformly or adequately ventilated over their surface.

The invention seeks to provide a heating and/or ventilation system of the kind described above in such a manner that, while using known components, simple and particularly effective windscreen ventilation is achieved at least for the front and rear windscreens.

According to the invention there is provided a vehicle air heating and/or ventilation installation for the driver's compartment of a motor vehicle, in which the driver's compartment is provided with a front windscreen and a rear windscreen or window, wherein the plant for treating the air is disposed in the roof of the driver's compartment and hollow sections or air ducts in the roof of the compartment are used to conduct the air, such that the air treatment plant supplies at least the front windscreen directly with climatically treated air, the ducts for external air and for treated air being disposed in pairs, transversely to the direction of travel, at the same height and side by side above the respective windscreen or window.

By bringing climatically treated air to the immediate proximity of the front and/or rear windscreens or windows, the ventilation can be regulated individually and in accordance with requirements and utilised in the best possible manner.

For optimum distribution of incoming air without draughts and for intensive ventilation of the windscreens or windows provision is made for the air treatment device to be disposed in the roof in such a manner that air passes into the air treatment device by way of ducts above the windscreens and passes out by way of air distribution nozzles which are distributed regularly over the width of the windscreens and which likewise lie above the latter.

Provision can also be made for external air intake ducts to be disposed above the front windscreen and above the rear windscreen or window and for the air treatment plant to be disposed at one side of the driver's compartment.

In addition, the air intake for the admission of air may lie above one of the two windscreens or windows, the air treatment plant may be disposed parallel to this air inlet duct, and the treated air can be passed to the upper side of the two windscreens or windows through ducts extending in the edge region of the roof.

It is thereby ensured that the treated air will ventilate the windscreens directly, and without draughts, from top to bottom. Treated air may also be supplied to the side windows through suitably placed nozzles.

In addition, for the selective or simultaneous ventilation of the front and/or rear windscreens or windows a change-over flap adjoining the air treatment plant may in each case be provided in the treated air duct. The air supplied to the front and rear can thus be better adapted to requirements.

The air inlet or inlets to the air treatment plant may be preceded by a filter or filters in the air intake.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described in greater detail by way of an example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a driver's compartment of a commercial vehicle, Figure 2 is a section along the line II-II in Figure 1, with the air treatment plant disposed at one side of the compartment, Figure 3 is a section along the line III-III in Figure 2, Figure 4 is a section along the line IV-IV in Figure 2, Figure 5 shows an air treatment plant disposed above the windscreen, and Figure 6 is a section along the line V-V in Figure 5.

The driver's compartment or cab 1 shown in Figure 1 is of symmetrical construction. The front and rear sides 2 and 3 and also the two side surfaces 4 respectively consist of identical components. A roof flap 6 is provided in the roof 5. At the front and rear sides 2, 3 of the roof 5 there are disposed searchlights 7 and also intake filters 8 for the incoming air (Figures 2 to 4). The incoming air passes through ducts 9 to the air treatment plant 10, which may for example be composed of a heat exchanger 11, an evaporator 12, and an additional ventilation means 13. The components 11 to 13 may each be provided with a blower 14.After passing through the air treatment devices 11 to 13, the suitably treated air passes through a substantially U-shaped air duct 15 above the front and rear windscreens 16 to the front and rear sides 2 and 3 and through air distribution nozzles 17 distributed regularly over the width of the windscreens 18 into the interior of the driver's cab. The finely divided conditioned air thus flows uniformly over the surface of the windscreens 16. In addition, change-over flaps 18 which permit individual adjustment of the incoming air are disposed in the air ducts 15.

The air treatment plant 10 may however also be disposed parallel to the front 2 or rear 3 (Figures 5 and 6), particularly when in smaller cabs the two longer sides 4 of the driver's cab are used to accommodate other equipment, for example a radio transmitter 19 and a radio receiver 20.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A vehicle air heating and/or ventilation installation for the driver's compartment of a motor vehicle, in which the driver's compartment is provided with a front windscreen and a rear windscreen or window, wherein the plant for treating the air is disposed in the roof of the driver's compartment and hollow sections or air ducts in the roof of the compartment are used to conduct the air, such that the air treatment plant supplies at least the front windscreen directly with climatically treated air, the ducts for external air and for treated air being disposed in pairs, transversely to the direction of travel, at the same height and side by side above the respective windscreen or window.

2. An installation according to claim 1, wherein the air treatment plant includes at leasl one device for treating the air disposed in the roof of the compartment in such a manner that the air enters the or each air treatment device through ducts above the front windscreen and passes out by way of air distribution nozzles which are equally spaced above and across the width of the windscreen.

3. An installation according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein treated air is supplied directly to the rear windscreen or window.

4. An installation according to claim 3 wherein the treated air is supplied to the rear windscreen or window through air distribution nozzles which are equally spaced above and across the width of said rear windscreen or window.

5. An installation according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein air intake ducts are located above the front windscreen and above the rear windscreen or window, and the plant for treating the air is disposed at one side of the roof region of the driver's compartment.

6. An installation according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the air intake duct is situated above one of the two windscreens or windows and the air treatment plant is disposed parallel to this air intake duct, the treated air being supplied to the upper side of the front and/or rear windscreen or window through ducts extending in the edge region of the roof.

7. An installation according to any one of the preceding claims wherein each duct for treated air is provided with a selectively operab change-over flap adjoining the air treatment plant.

8. An installation according to any one of the preceding claims wherein each air intake duct to the air treatment plant is provided with at least one filter.

9. A vehicle air heating and/or ventilation installation substantially as herein before described and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. ventilation of the front and/or rear windscreens or windows a change-over flap adjoining the air treatment plant may in each case be provided in the treated air duct. The air supplied to the front and rear can thus be better adapted to requirements. The air inlet or inlets to the air treatment plant may be preceded by a filter or filters in the air intake. Embodiments of the invention will now be described in greater detail by way of an example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a driver's compartment of a commercial vehicle, Figure 2 is a section along the line II-II in Figure 1, with the air treatment plant disposed at one side of the compartment, Figure 3 is a section along the line III-III in Figure 2, Figure 4 is a section along the line IV-IV in Figure 2, Figure 5 shows an air treatment plant disposed above the windscreen, and Figure 6 is a section along the line V-V in Figure 5. The driver's compartment or cab 1 shown in Figure 1 is of symmetrical construction. The front and rear sides 2 and 3 and also the two side surfaces 4 respectively consist of identical components. A roof flap 6 is provided in the roof 5. At the front and rear sides 2, 3 of the roof 5 there are disposed searchlights 7 and also intake filters 8 for the incoming air (Figures 2 to 4). The incoming air passes through ducts 9 to the air treatment plant 10, which may for example be composed of a heat exchanger 11, an evaporator 12, and an additional ventilation means 13. The components 11 to 13 may each be provided with a blower 14.After passing through the air treatment devices 11 to 13, the suitably treated air passes through a substantially U-shaped air duct 15 above the front and rear windscreens 16 to the front and rear sides 2 and 3 and through air distribution nozzles 17 distributed regularly over the width of the windscreens 18 into the interior of the driver's cab. The finely divided conditioned air thus flows uniformly over the surface of the windscreens 16. In addition, change-over flaps 18 which permit individual adjustment of the incoming air are disposed in the air ducts 15. The air treatment plant 10 may however also be disposed parallel to the front 2 or rear 3 (Figures 5 and 6), particularly when in smaller cabs the two longer sides 4 of the driver's cab are used to accommodate other equipment, for example a radio transmitter 19 and a radio receiver 20. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A vehicle air heating and/or ventilation installation for the driver's compartment of a motor vehicle, in which the driver's compartment is provided with a front windscreen and a rear windscreen or window, wherein the plant for treating the air is disposed in the roof of the driver's compartment and hollow sections or air ducts in the roof of the compartment are used to conduct the air, such that the air treatment plant supplies at least the front windscreen directly with climatically treated air, the ducts for external air and for treated air being disposed in pairs, transversely to the direction of travel, at the same height and side by side above the respective windscreen or window.