FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT 1970
[39 OF 1970]
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
[See section 10; rule 13] TITLE: “AIR SUPPLY TO VEHICLE PASSENGER CABINS”
Name and Address of the Applicant:
TATA MOTORS LIMITED, an Indian company having its registered office at Bombay house, 24 Homi Mody Street, Hutatma Chowk, Mumbai 400 001, Maharashtra, INDIA.
Nationality: IN
The following specification particularly describes the nature of the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

AIR SUPPLY TO VEHICLE PASSENGER CABINS FIELD OF INVENTION
[001] The present invention relates to a vehicle, and more specifically related to supply of air to a passenger cabin of a vehicle.
BACKGROUND
[002] A vehicle, such as a car, may include air vents for supplying air within a passenger cabin of the vehicle. The air vents may be provided on a dashboard of the vehicle. For example, four air vents may be provided in cavities distributed across the width of the dashboard. Conventionally, the air vents provide a focused jet of air to a small area. Accordingly, the small area, in the path of the jet of air, receives the air. For example, a hand of a driver or a co-driver in the path of the air receives the jet of air. The supply of jets of air causes localized cooling/heating. Such a supply of air may also prevent a uniform cooling/heating of the passenger cabin. Further, the jets of air may cause a localized cooling/heating of body parts of the driver/co-driver, such as hand or face, which may be undesirable. For example, knuckle-freezing may be experienced by the driver or the co-driver.
SUMMARY
[003] A temperature control system for a vehicle includes a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) unit. The HVAC unit is to condition air to be supplied to a passenger cabin of the vehicle. A vent of the temperature control system is to be disposed on a dashboard of the vehicle. The vent is to receive air from the HVAC unit, and to supply the air to the passenger cabin. A duct connects the HVAC unit and the vent to convey air from the HVAC unit to the vent. The vent and the duct are shaped such that speed of the air supplied by the vent to the passenger cabin is less than that of the air supplied by the HVAC unit to the vent.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

[004] The features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter will be better
understood with regard to the following description, and accompanying figures.
The use of the same reference number in different figures indicates similar or
identical features and components.
[005] Fig. 1 illustrates a dashboard of the vehicle, according to an implementation
of the present subject matter.
[006] Fig. 2 illustrates a rear-side view of a dashboard, according to an
implementation of the present subject matter.
[007] Fig. 3 illustrates a sectional view of a dashboard, according to an
implementation of the present subject matter.
[008] Fig. 4 illustrates a perspective view of an air vent and an air duct, according
to an implementation of the present subject matter.
[009] Fig. 5 illustrates a vehicle, according to an implementation of the present
subject matter.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
[0010] The present subject matter relates to supply of air in a passenger cabin of a vehicle. Using techniques of the present subject matter, localized supply of air in the passenger cabin can be prevented, and a substantially uniform cooling or heating of the passenger cabin can be achieved.
[0011] In accordance with an implementation of the present subject matter, an air vent supplies air conditioned by a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) unit to a passenger cabin of a vehicle. The air vent may be disposed on a dashboard of the vehicle. An air duct connects the HVAC unit and the air vent to convey air from the HVAC unit to the air vent. The air vent and the air duct are shaped such that speed of the air supplied by the air vent to the passenger cabin is less than that of the air supplied by the HVAC unit to the air vent. The reduced speed of the air supplied ensures that an occupant in the passenger cabin, such as a driver or a co-driver, does not feel a jet of air on his body. Therefore, comfort of the occupant is improved.

[0012] To achieve a reduced speed of the air supplied to the passenger cabin, in an implementation, a cross-sectional area of the air vent is made greater than that of an outlet of the HVAC unit. Further, a cross-sectional area of the air duct increases from the outlet to the air vent. The increasing cross-sectional area of the air duct means that air emerging from the outlet of the HVAC unit flows through an increasing cross-sectional area, causing a progressive reduction in the speed of the air. Accordingly, the speed of the air exiting the air vent and entering the passenger cabin may be significantly lower than that of the air exiting the HVAC unit. [0013] In an implementation, a large cross-sectional area of the air vent may be achieved by providing a vent of a large width. For example, the air vent may span across an entire width of the passenger cabin. The wide vent also ensures that the air emerging from the air vent covers a large area of the passenger cabin. Accordingly, a uniform heating/cooling of a large area of the passenger cabin is achieved, and a localized heating/cooling of a small area is prevented. [0014] In an implementation, the air vent may be disposed atop the dashboard. In an example, the vent may extend across the entire width of the dashboard. The disposition of the air vent atop the dashboard, instead of in a cavity provided in the dashboard, ensures that a greater area is available in the dashboard. The additional area available in the dashboard may be used for mounting additional components. Alternatively, components of larger area, such as a larger display, may be provided in the dashboard.
[0015] The implementations herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting implementations that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. It should be understood, however, that the following descriptions, while indicating preferred implementations and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the implementations herein without departing from the spirit thereof, and the implementations herein include all such modifications. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the implementations herein can be practiced and

to further enable those skilled in the art to practice the implementations herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the implementations herein.
[0016] Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the implementations herein. Also, the various implementations described herein are not necessarily mutually exclusive, as some implementations can be combined with one or more other implementations to form new implementations.
[0017] Referring now to the drawings, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown preferred implementations. Further, for the sake of simplicity, and without limitation, the same numbers are used throughout the drawings to reference like features and components. The implementations herein will be better understood from the following description with reference to the drawings.
[0018] Fig. 1 illustrates a dashboard 100 of a vehicle, according to an implementation of the present subject matter. The vehicle is not shown in the Figure and may be, for example, a passenger vehicle, such as a car, a commercial vehicle, such as a truck, or the like. On the dashboard 100, an air vent 102 is mounted. The air vent 102 may supply air from a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) unit (not shown in Fig. 1) of the vehicle to a passenger cabin (not shown in Fig. 1) of the vehicle.
[0019] The air vent 102 may have a width that is at least twice the height of the air vent 102. For instance, as illustrated, the air vent 102 may span across substantially the entire width of the dashboard 100, and may have a reduced height. That is, the air vent 102 has a high aspect ratio (i.e., high width to height ratio). In an example, the aspect ratio may be 20:1. Accordingly, the air vent 102 can supply uniformly across the width of the passenger cabin. Therefore, localized heating/cooling may be prevented. Further, an auditorium air-conditioning (AC) effect (i.e., the AC effect provided by an HVAC unit of an auditorium) can be provided within the passenger cabin.

[0020] As illustrated, the air vent 102 may be disposed atop the dashboard 100, and not in a cavity, such as a cavity 104, provided in the dashboard 100. Therefore, the area available in the dashboard 100 to provide other components increases. For example, the cavity 104 may be used for providing a bigger-sized infotainment unit or a new component. Further, the air vent 102 may be provided close to the edge of the dashboard 100. Therefore, the air supplied by the air vent 102 may not stick to the dashboard 100, even when air flowing from the air vent 102 has a low speed. [0021] Fig. 2 illustrates a rear-side view of the dashboard 100, according to an implementation of the present subject matter. Near an edge of the dashboard 100 that faces the passenger cabin (not shown in Fig. 2), the air vent 102 may be disposed. An air duct 202 may connect the HVAC unit and the air vent 102 and may convey air from the HVAC unit to the air vent 102. The air duct 202 may be inclined upwardly. For instance, an inlet 204 of the air duct 202, through which the air duct 202 receives air from the HVAC unit, is at a lower height as compared to an outlet 206, through which air is supplied to the air vent 102 for being supplied to the passenger cabin. Further, the air duct 202 may be inclined in an upward direction from the inlet 204 (i.e., from the outlet of the HVAC unit) towards the outlet 206. Therefore, air moves in an upward-inclined direction from the HVAC unit. Hence, the air can be easily supplied to the upper portions of the passenger cabin.
[0022] The air vent 102 and the air duct 202 may be shaped such that speed of the air supplied by the air vent 102 to the passenger cabin is less than that of the air supplied by the HVAC unit to the air vent 102. To achieve the reduced speed of the air supplied to the passenger cabin, in an implementation, a cross-sectional area of the air vent 102 is greater than that of an outlet of the HVAC unit. For example, a width of the air vent 102 may be greater than that of the outlet of the HVAC unit. Further, a cross-sectional area of the air duct 202 increases from an outlet of the HVAC unit to the air vent 102. For instance, a cross-sectional area of the air duct 202 at the inlet 204 is less than that at the outlet 206. Further, the cross-sectional area of the air duct 202 increases from the inlet 204 towards the outlet 206. The increasing cross-sectional area causes diffusion of air being supplied by the HVAC

unit before it is supplied to the passenger cabin. Therefore, air enters the passenger cabin at a slow speed, and the flow of a jet of air into the passenger cabin is prevented. In an example, the air vent 102 and the air duct 202 are shaped such that a ratio of speed of the air supplied by the air vent 102 to the passenger cabin to speed of the air supplied by the HVAC unit to the air duct 202 is in a range of 1/20 to 1/2. In other words, the speed of air supplied by the air vent 102 to the passenger cabin may be in a range of 1/20th to ½ of speed of air supplied by the HVAC unit. For example, if the speed of air supplied by the HVAC unit is 1 m/s, the speed of air supplied by the air vent 102 may be in a range of 0.05 m/s to 0.5 m/s. The overall air velocity requirement inside the passenger cabin may be served by varying speed of blower of the HVAC unit.
[0023] Fig. 3 illustrates a sectional view of the dashboard 100, according to an implementation of the present subject matter. As illustrated, the air duct 202 is inclined in an upward direction towards the air vent 102.
[0024] Fig. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the air vent 102 and the air duct 202, according to an implementation of the present subject matter. As illustrated, the air duct 202 has a progressively increasing cross-sectional area as it approaches the air vent 102. The air vent 102 has a width extending in a width direction of the vehicle in which it is disposed. In the air vent 102, a directivity vane 402 may be pivotally disposed. The directivity vane 402 extends in the width direction of the vehicle, and extends throughout the width of the air vent 102. The directivity vane 402 can pivotally move upwards and downwards within the air vent 102. The movement of the directivity vane 402 enables directing the air to a particular region in a height direction of the vehicle. The movement of the directivity vane 402 may be controlled by an occupant of the vehicle depending on a region that he prefers to be cooled/heated.
[0025] By virtue of the directivity vane 402, air discharge in the form of two air lamellae aligned parallelly one below another may be achieved, which enables directing streamlined air inside the passenger cabin without any turbulence. In an implementation, another directivity vane (not shown in Fig. 4) may also be pivotally disposed in the air vent. In such a case, the directivity vane 402 may be referred to

as a first directivity vane 402 to differentiate from the additional directivity vane, and the additional directivity vane may be referred to as a second directivity vane. The second directivity vane may be disposed below the first directivity vane 402 and may extend along the entire width of the air vent 102. By using two horizontal vanes, air discharge in the form of three air lamellae aligned parallelly one below another may be achieved. In further implementations, more than two horizontal vanes may be provided in the air vent 102.
[0026] The air vent 102 may also include a plurality of vertical vanes, such as the vanes 404-1, 404-2, 404-3, and 404-4. The vertical vanes move sideways within the vent, and enables providing directivity of the air in a horizontal direction in the passenger compartment.
[0027] Fig. 5 illustrates a vehicle 500, according to an implementation of the present subject matter. The vehicle 500 includes a passenger cabin 502 in which the occupants of the vehicle 500 may be seated and a temperature control system 503 to regulate the temperature of the passenger cabin 502. The temperature control system 503 includes a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) unit 504 to condition air to be supplied to the passenger cabin 502. The vehicle 500 further includes a dashboard 506, such as the dashboard 100, and an air vent 508 disposed on the dashboard 506, to receive air from the HVAC unit 504 and to supply the air to the passenger cabin 502. An air duct 510 connects the HVAC unit 504 and the air vent 508. The air vent 508 may correspond to the air vent 102 and the air duct 510 may correspond to the air duct 202. The air vent 508 and the air duct 510 are shaped such that speed of the air supplied by the vent to the passenger cabin is less than that of the air supplied by the HVAC unit to the vent, as explained above. [0028] The present subject matter provides an auditorium-type cooling effect within the passenger cabin. For example, a uniform cooling of the passenger cabin can be achieved. Therefore, the thermal comfort within the passenger compartment is improved, and localized cooling effects, such as knuckle freezing, can be prevented. The supply of jet of air in the passenger compartment is also prevented. Also, an overall noise level within the passenger compartment because of the air supply is reduced, as the velocity of air supplied is reduced.

[0029] The present subject matter also prevents the need to provide a plurality of air vents, such as four air vents, in the dashboard. Therefore, space savings can be achieved in the dashboard. Using the additional space, a bigger infotainment screen can be provided on the dashboard. Also, aesthetics of the passenger cabin is improved. Further, power consumption of a blower motor can be reduced, and fuel economy of the vehicle can be improved.
[0030] The foregoing description of the specific implementations will so fully reveal the general nature of the implementations herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such modifications and adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed implementations. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the implementations herein have been described in terms of preferred implementations, those skilled in the art will recognize that the implementations herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the implementations as described herein.

We Claim:
1. A temperature control system for a vehicle, the temperature control system
comprising:
a heating, air ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) unit to condition air to be supplied to a passenger cabin of the vehicle;
an air vent to be disposed on a dashboard of the vehicle, to receive air from the HVAC unit, and to supply the air to the passenger cabin; and
an air duct connecting the HVAC unit and the air vent to convey air from the HVAC unit to the air vent, wherein the air vent and the air duct are shaped such that speed of the air supplied by the air vent to the passenger cabin is less than that of the air supplied by the HVAC unit to the air vent.
2. The temperature control system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air vent and the air duct are shaped such that a ratio of speed of the air supplied by the air vent to the passenger cabin to speed of the air supplied by the HVAC unit to the air duct is in a range of 1/20 to 1/2.
3. The temperature control system as claimed in claim 1, wherein cross-sectional area of the air vent is greater than that of an outlet of the HVAC unit and wherein cross-sectional area of the air duct increases from the outlet to the air vent.
4. The temperature control system as claimed in claim 1, wherein a width of the air vent is at least twice a height of the air vent.
5. The temperature control system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air duct inclines upwards from the outlet of the HVAC unit to the air vent.
6. The temperature control system as claimed in claim 1, comprising a first directivity vane pivotally disposed in the air vent and extending in width direction of the air vent, wherein the directivity air vent is pivotally movable within the air vent, and wherein the movement causes change in direction of the air being supplied by the air vent to the passenger cabin.

7. The temperature control system as claimed in claim 6, comprising a second directivity vane pivotally movably disposed in the air vent and below the first directivity air vent.
8. A vehicle comprising:
a passenger cabin;
a heating, air ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) unit to condition air to be supplied to the passenger cabin;
a dashboard;
an air vent disposed on the dashboard, to receive air from the HVAC unit and to supply the air to the passenger cabin; and
an air duct connecting the HVAC unit and the air vent, wherein the air vent and the air duct are shaped such that speed of the air supplied by the air vent to the passenger cabin is less than that of the air supplied by the HVAC unit to the air vent.
9. The vehicle as claimed in claim 8, wherein the air vent spans substantially an entire width of the dashboard.
10. The vehicle as claimed in claim 8, wherein the air duct increases in cross-sectional area from an outlet of the HVAC unit to the air vent.