CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present disclosure claims the benefit of priority of co-pending European Patent Application No. 18182175.2, filed on Jul. 6, 2018, and entitled “ADJUSTABLE AIR VENT,” the contents of which are incorporated in full by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an adjustable air vent for a vehicle. The air vent may be included in a dashboard of the vehicle, e.g. forming an integral part thereof.

BACKGROUND

Air vents are utilized in a vehicle in order to provide a passenger compartment and/or a storage compartment with air from outside the vehicle and/or from an HVAC system. Thereby an air stream flows through the air vent and enters the passenger compartment and/or storage compartment. Sometimes it is desirable to be able to adjust the direction of the air stream. This is typically obtained by adjusting the position and/or degree of tilting for one or more vertical vanes and/or horizontal vanes. The vanes are typically adjusted by means of an air adjustment actuator operationally directly or indirectly connected to the vertical vanes and/or horizontal vanes.

The air adjustment actuator may be located at or in the air vent itself, as e.g. is known from patent document US 2013/0165034 A1. However, in the embodiments disclosed therein, the air adjustment actuator partly blocks the air flow from the discharge opening of the air vent. Further, the adjustment of the vanes is restricted to vertical adjustment and/or horizontal adjustment and no direction therebetween.

As an alternative location, the air adjustment actuator may be located in the dashboard beside the discharge opening of the air vent, e.g. as disclosed in patent document US 2006/0172680 A1. However, in such solutions, the air adjustment actuator is connected to the vanes via a rather complicated mechanical linkage system. Further, extra space is needed on the dashboard for the air adjustment actuator.

Document DE 10 2016 116 356 A1 discloses an air vent for ventilating a passenger compartment of a motor vehicle. The air vent has a housing in which a fixed air divider is arranged dividing the housing into two air ducts leading to an air outlet opening of the air vent. For directing an air flow, pivotable lamellae are arranged in the two air ducts and a louver is arranged in front of the air divider, whereby an air flow from the air outlet opening can be directed in all directions. However, there are no details given in the document about how the adjustment of the pivotable lamellae and the louver is controlled.

Even though many variants of adjustable air vents are known from prior art, it is nevertheless desirable to provide an improved adjustable air vent, which allows the exiting air stream to be directed in all directions, which avoids complicated linkage systems between the air adjustment actuator and the vanes and which only minimally blocks the air flow from the air discharge opening of the air vent.

SUMMARY

The object of the present disclosure is to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide a useful alternative.

The present disclosure relates to an adjustable air vent which is adapted to guide an air stream flowing through the air vent. The air vent includes an elongate housing extending in a length direction, one or more vertical vanes at least partly located in the housing, one or more horizontal vanes at least partly located in the housing, an air guide at least partly located within the housing fixedly positioned in relation to the housing and extending in the length direction, and an air adjustment actuator being displaceable in relation to the housing to adjust a direction of the air stream. The air vent further includes a first connection directly or indirectly connecting the air adjustment actuator to the one or more horizontal vanes for vertical direction of the air stream. The air vent further includes a second connection directly or indirectly connecting the air adjustment actuator to the one or more vertical vanes for horizontal direction of the air stream. The air adjustment actuator surrounds the air guide and is displaceable relative thereto, preferably rotationally displaceable.

The air vent may be mounted in a vehicle, such as a car. The air vent may e.g. be located in the dashboard of the vehicle or in a side wall of a vehicle compartment. The housing, or one or more portions thereof, may form an integral part of the dashboard/side wall, e.g. being moulded at the same time. As an alternative, the housing may be integrated with the dashboard/side wall, e.g. being mounted in an opening or a recess of the dashboard/side wall. Thereby, an air discharge opening of the air vent may be flush with a surface of the dashboard/side wall. It would also be possible to utilize the air vent according to the disclosure in other vehicles than a car, e.g. a bus, a truck, a lorry, a working machine, an aircraft or a vessel.

The air guide is fixedly positioned in relation to the housing and is at least partly located inside the housing, optionally completely inside the housing, and extends in the length direction of the housing. The air guide is utilized to divide the air stream into an upper air channel above the air guide and a lower air channel below the air guide. The air guide is preferably located at or adjacent to a longitudinal centre line of the housing. This location of the air guide is suitable for air vents in which it is desirable to be able to guide an equal amount of air above and below the air guide.

The air vent includes a plurality of adjustable vanes, i.e. at least one vertical vane and at least one horizontal vane. If a plurality of vertical vanes, e.g. a number in the range of from 2 to 20, or from 4 to 10, are provided, they may extend parallel to each other, preferably equidistantly spaced apart. It would also be possible to utilize a plurality of horizontal vanes, e.g. 2, 3, 4 or 5. The horizontal vanes may in that case be located side by side and/or above/below each other. The number of vertical vanes and/or the number of horizontal vanes may be adapted to the shape of the housing. In a housing having a larger width than height, the number of vertical vanes is normally greater than the number of horizontal vanes. In an embodiment, the housing is elongate as seen in its length direction and a plurality of vertical vanes and a single horizontal vane are provided.

The air adjustment actuator may be located at the centre of the air discharge opening, as seen in the length direction of the housing. However, it would also be feasible to position the air adjustment actuator in any arbitrary position along the air guide as seen in the length direction of the housing. More than one air adjustment actuator may be arranged in the air vent, each of them controlling a subgroup of the adjustable vanes.

Air typically enters the air vent from an HVAC system of the vehicle and/or from ambient air. The air typically exits into a passenger compartment of the vehicle through the air discharge opening. The air adjustment actuator is utilized to adjust the direction of the air stream exiting the air vent. The adjustment of the direction is obtained by displacing the air adjustment actuator relative to the air guide and thus also relative to the housing. Preferably, this displacement includes a rotational displacement. By utilizing an air vent according to the disclosure, it is possible to make a stepless adjustment in any direction, i.e. not only vertically and/or horizontally as known from some prior art solutions.

Further, the air vent according to the disclosure makes it possible to use a continuous air guide and, yet, avoid complicated linkage systems between the air adjustment actuator and the vanes. In addition, the air adjustment actuator of the air vent according to the disclosure only minimally blocks the air flow from the air discharge opening of the air vent.

Typically the air vent is mounted in the vehicle in such a way that the directions of the air vent herein denoted “vertical” and “horizontal” coincide with the vertical and horizontal directions of the vehicle when standing on flat ground, however, the air vent may be mounted in any direction in the vehicle. Further, even if it is preferred that the vane/s denoted “vertical” are perpendicular to the vane/s denoted “horizontal”, the vanes may instead differ by another angle than 90°, e.g. in the range of from 30° to 90°.

The air guide may extend continuously in the length direction within the housing. Preferably, the air guide may extend along the whole length or substantially the whole length of the housing. By utilizing the air vent according to the disclosure, it is possible to use a continuous air guide even if it extends along a full length of the housing. In that case, the air guide forms an unbroken line, which may be visible through the air discharge opening.

The air guide may be located downstream of the adjustable vanes, as seen in a flow direction through the air vent. Preferably, the air guide is located downstream of the one or more vertical vanes, which in turn are located downstream of the one or more horizontal vanes. The vertical vane/s may include an upper portion and a lower portion, which protrude above and below the air guide and/or the horizontal vane, respectively. In this case, the order of the vanes as seen in the flow direction is given by the centres of their pivotal adjustment displacement, i.e. the rotation axes. Such configurations make it possible to have a rather compact air vent.

The first connection may include a spindle forming a first rotation axis of the air adjustment actuator. The spindle extends in the length direction of the housing and has a fixed position relative to the air guide. The spindle is rotatable around its length axis. The spindle may be located within the air guide. Thereby it is possible to have a rather compact air vent. Further, the air guide helps to protect the spindle.

The spindle is directly or indirectly connected to the horizontal vane/s. A direct connection may be via a first connection portion attached to the spindle and a second connection portion attached to the horizontal vane, e.g. by cogs engaging with corresponding cogs of the horizontal vane. A pivotal up/down-displacement of the air adjustment actuator via rotation around the first rotation axis is transferred to an up/down tilting of the horizontal vane/s, which influences how much air flows above and below the air guide, respectively. Thereby, the vertical direction of the air stream, i.e. if the air stream exits the air vent upwards or downwards, is adjusted. The vertical adjustment may be made steplessly.

The air adjustment actuator may include one or more portions forming a second rotation axis of the air adjustment actuator, the second rotation axis extending in a direction perpendicular to the length direction of the housing, when the air vent is in a neutral position. The neutral position is the position in which the air stream is directed straight outwards from the air vent. The second rotation axis is rotatable around its length axis. A pivotal displacement of the air adjustment actuator to the left or right via rotation around the second rotation axis is transferred to a left/right tilting of the vertical vane/s, which influences the horizontal direction of the air stream, i.e. if the air stream exits the air vent to the right or to the left. The horizontal adjustment may be made steplessly.

By simultaneously displacing the air adjustment actuator up/down and left/right and thus combining the vertical and horizontal adjustments, any direction of the exiting air stream may be obtained. The combined displacement may be performed steplessly.

The second rotation axis may be rotatable around the first rotation axis. Accordingly, during the above-described up/down-displacement of the air adjustment actuator via rotation around the first rotation axis leading to an up/down tilting of the horizontal vane/s, the second rotation axis follows the displacement of the air adjustment actuator and thus rotates around the first rotation axis.

The second rotation axis may be located upstream of the first rotation axis as seen in the flow direction through the air vent, preferably adjacent to the first rotation axis. Thereby, the centres of their respective rotational displacements are close to each other.

The air adjustment actuator may have a closed circumference surrounding the air guide, e.g. being circular. In principle, the air adjustment actuator may have any shape as long as it is possible to reach by a user to be adjusted, surrounds the air guide and can be displaced within a predefinable adjustment range without interfering with the housing.

The second connection may include, or be constituted by, a bar extending in the length direction of the housing and connecting the air adjustment actuator to the one or more vertical vanes. If having more than one vertical vane, the bar is preferably connected to each vertical vane to be adjusted, such that they can be displaced in synchrony.

When moving the air adjustment actuator to the right or to the left, the air adjustment actuator rotates around the second rotation axis. Thereby, the bar is linearly displaced in the length direction of the housing and the vertical vanes are tilted correspondingly by means of the bar. Accordingly, the air stream is directed obliquely to the right or to the left when exiting the air vent through the air discharge opening. The horizontal displacement may be made steplessly.

The bar may include a recess adapted to receive a portion of the air adjustment actuator, the recess preferably being U-shaped. The size and shape of the recess is adapted to allow free movement, e.g. rotation and/or tilting, of the air adjustment actuator within the recess.

The air adjustment actuator may include a tubular structure forming part of its outer circumference, the surface of which has a first curvature, e.g. a circular curvature with a first radius. A second curvature of the surface of a wall of the recess may form a bottom of the recess, which may be U-shaped, e.g. a circular curvature with a second radius. The second curvature extends in a plane coinciding with the length direction of the housing.

The recess may also have a third curvature being perpendicular to the length direction of the housing, e.g. a circular curvature with a third radius. This helps to facilitate the free movement, e.g. rotation and/or tilting, of the air adjustment actuator within the recess. Preferably, the third curvature is adapted to the first curvature of the tubular structure of the air adjustment actuator, even if the third curvature also may be provided independently of the first and/or second curvatures.

Accordingly, the recess may have a double curvature, the curvatures preferably being perpendicular relative to each other, e.g. with one curvature forming the bottom of the U-shape of the recess and the other curvature extending perpendicularly to the length direction of the housing.

The air adjustment actuator may include, or be constituted by, an outer portion and an inner portion, the outer portion being located downstream of the inner portion as seen in the flow direction through the air vent. The outer portion may include an upper shank and a lower shank, an operative smallest distance between the upper shank and the lower shank being larger than a maximum extension of the air guide in a direction perpendicular to the length direction of the housing. The outer portion may extend above and below the air guide and in front of it, while the inner portion may be situated behind the air guide.

By utilizing the inner portion and the outer portion, the air adjustment actuator may easily be mounted to an air vent already having the fixed air guide in place, since the outer portion may be moved into the housing with the upper shank above the air guide and the lower shank below the air guide. Hence, the air adjustment actuator may be assembled after the air guide is put in place. This is especially useful for a continuous air guide.

The outer portion may be resilient. Hence, when assembling the air adjustment actuator, the distance between the shanks may be increased, e.g. in order to pass around the air guide. In such a case, the operative smallest distance between the shanks, i.e. during mounting, is larger than the smallest distance at rest.

The upper shank and the lower shank may be attachable to the inner portion, e.g. by snap-fitting or an adhesive. This facilitates easy and quick assembly of the air adjustment actuator.

The first connection and/or the second connection may be attached to, located in, operated on or constituted by the inner portion of the air adjustment actuator. As mentioned above, the first connection directly or indirectly connects the air adjustment actuator to the one or more horizontal vanes for vertical direction of the air stream and the second connection directly or indirectly connects the air adjustment actuator to the one or more vertical vanes for horizontal direction of the air stream.

The air adjustment actuator may include an indicator indicating a direction of the air stream exiting the air vent, e.g. a knob protruding in the direction away from the housing. The indicator may also include or be constituted by a marking or an indent. Since the indicator is included in the air adjustment actuator, it follows the displacement of the air adjustment actuator when adjusting the vanes. Further, the indicator may be utilized to make it easy for a user to manipulate the air adjustment actuator, e.g. by a single finger. The user may then grab or push the knob or place a finger in the indent to displace the air adjustment actuator in a desired way to adjust the direction of the air stream.

