Slide door unit for use in automotive air conditioner

Abstract

A slide door unit for an automotive air conditioner, has a door housing which has a concave inner surface and laterally opposed side walls. The side walls have arcuate guide grooves respectively. A slide door member has a convex outer surface slidable on and along the concave inner surface of the door housing. The slide door member has a concave inner surface. Racks are provided on laterally opposed sides of the concave inner surface of the slide door member. Guide pins are secured to laterally opposed ends of the slide door member. The guide pins are slidably engaged with the arcuate guide grooves of the door housing. A pinion gear unit includes two pinion gears and a shaft by which the pinion gears are connected. The pinion gear unit is rotatably held by the laterally opposed side walls of the door housing having the two pinion gears meshed with the racks respectively. A resilient structure is further provided, which is defined by each of the pinion gears of the pinion gear unit. The resilient structure biases the pinion gears against the racks thereby pressing the guide pins against bottom walls of the corresponding arcuate guide grooves when the pinion gear unit is properly held by the door housing.