Air vent apparatus for vehicle

An air vent apparatus for a vehicle includes a wing cover mounted at an outlet of an air duct to be movable in a front-rear direction by using a pop-up driving device and angularly adjustable by using a ball joint. The apparatus is configured to simultaneously perform a wind direction adjustment and a damper door function, and can pop-up and then angularly rotate the wing cover around the ball joint in a desired direction, thereby adjusting a wind direction of the air discharged to an interior of the vehicle in the desired direction.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0047878 filed on Apr. 24, 2019, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

(a) Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an air vent apparatus for a vehicle, more particularly, to a pop-up type air vent apparatus in which a wing cover is mounted at an outlet of an air duct to be movable in a front-rear direction and angularly adjustable so that the wing cover can simultaneously perform wind direction adjustment and a damper door function.

(b) Description of the Related Art

In general, an air vent for a vehicle is a device for discharging air for cooling and heating according to driving of an air conditioner, and includes a center air vent mounted at a center fascia panel between a driver seat and a front passenger seat, a side air vent mounted at a crash pad at front surface sides of the driver seat and the front passenger seat, etc.

A conventional air vent can be a wing type air vent in which a plurality of horizontal wings and vertical wings are combined, a nozzle type air vent having a wing integral nozzle, etc.

The wing type air vent has a disadvantage in that the number of parts is large and the assembly structure is complicated because the plurality of horizontal wings for adjusting a horizontal wind direction and the plurality of vertical wings for adjusting a vertical wind direction are mounted at an outlet of an air duct, a separate damper door for blocking air discharge is mounted to be openable and closable at a predetermined position of a rear side of the air duct, and in addition, a knob for adjusting a wind direction of each wing and opening/closing of the damper door is mounted at one of the horizontal wings.

Particularly, since the wing type air vent requires a large number of wings to be mounted at the outlet of the air duct, it causes a packaging problem with peripheral parts (e.g., a cluster, an Audio, Video, Navigation (AVN), etc.) and a reduction in the degree of design freedom of the peripheral parts as well as largely occupying the installation areas of the center fascia panel and the crash pad.

As the nozzle type air vent adopts a nozzle having an integral structure of the wings for adjusting the wind direction, the number of parts is reduced as compared to the wing type air vent, but likewise, the nozzle type air vent has a disadvantage of a complicated structure because it requires a separate damper door for blocking air discharge to be mounted to be openable and closable at a predetermined position of the rear side of the air duct, and a knob for adjusting the opening and closing of the damper door to be mounted at the nozzle.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a pop-up type air vent apparatus for a vehicle, in which a wing cover is mounted at an outlet of an air duct to be movable in a front-rear direction by using a pop-up driving device, and angularly adjustable by using a ball joint so that the wing cover can simultaneously perform wind direction adjustment and a damper door function.

In addition, another object of the present disclosure is to provide an air vent apparatus for a vehicle, which can pop-up and then angularly rotates a wing cover around a ball joint in a desired direction, thereby adjusting a wind direction of the air discharged to an interior in the desired direction.

For achieving the objects, the present disclosure provides an air vent apparatus for a vehicle configured to include an air duct having a ball joint housing formed therein; a ball housing rotatably fastened within the ball joint housing; an air guide mounted between an outer diameter portion of the ball joint housing and an inner diameter portion of the air duct to straightly guide the air discharged to an interior of the vehicle; a wing cover connected with the ball housing and disposed at an outlet of the air duct to be pop-up and angularly adjustable; and a pop-up driving device connected between the ball housing and the wing cover to pop-up and drive the wing cover.

Preferably, a connecting plate is integrally connected between the outer diameter of the ball joint housing and the inner wall of the air duct so that the ball joint housing is disposed at the inner central portion of the air duct.

In addition, a plurality of rotational angle limiting grooves are formed in the ball joint housing, a ball cap is mounted at arear portion of the ball housing, and an angle limiting pin selectively inserted into one of the rotational angle limiting grooves is formed to be protruded from arear surface of the ball cap.

Preferably, the angle limiting pin is inserted into and mounted at the rear surface of the ball cap together with a supporting spring so that the angle limiting pin is selectively inserted into one of the plurality of rotational angle limiting grooves by an elastic restoring force of the supporting spring.

In addition, a resistance providing rubber that is in close contact with the rear surface of the ball cap in order to provide the resistance upon rotation of the ball housing is attached to the inner surface of the ball joint housing.

In addition, the air guide is provided as a structure in which a plurality of streamlined vanes forming a whirlwind for straight wind are connected between an inside ring and an outside ring.

Preferably, the wing cover is composed of a wing body having an air guide surface of the diameter that is gradually narrowed toward the inside of the air duct, and an operating plate fastened to the front surface portion of the wing body and exposed toward the vehicle interior.

In addition, a sealing rubber for blocking air leakage upon closing the wing cover is attached to a portion contacting the outlet of the air duct at the rear surface portion of the wing body of the wing cover.

The pop-up driving device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is composed of a knob mounted at the front surface of the wing cover; a cam housing fastened to the inside of the ball housing; a fixed cam having a plurality of cam slide grooves formed along the circumferential direction thereof, and provided as a hollow structure in which a latching projection is formed at the rear surface portion thereof to be fastened to the inside of the cam housing; a cam cap formed at a front surface portion of the ball cap mounted at the rear portion of the ball housing, as a plate structure in which a plurality of rotational guide saw teeth are formed at regular intervals along the circumferential direction thereof at the front surface portion thereof; a pop-up rod having the front end portion connected to the rear surface of the knob, and having the rear end portion extended to the inside of the fixed cam through the central portion of the wing cover; a rotary cam provided as a structure in which a plurality of slide cams moving along the cam slide groove are formed along the circumferential direction thereof to be rotatably connected to the rear end portion of the pop-up rod; and a main spring compressibly connected between the rotary cam and the cam cap.

In addition, a concave portion is formed at the inner diameter portion of the ball housing, and a convex portion press-fitted into and fastened to the concave portion is formed at the outer diameter portion of the cam housing.

In addition, a knob seating groove having the knob inserted therein is formed at the front surface of the wing cover.

In addition, an auxiliary spring for providing an elastic restoring force after the knob is pressed is connected between the back surface of the knob and the bottom surface of the knob seating groove.

The pop-up driving device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is composed of a movable cylinder provided as a structure in which a female screw is formed therein to be integrally formed at the rear end portion of the wing cover; and a fixed cylinder integrally formed at the front end portion of the ball housing as a structure in which a male screw screw-fastened to the female screw is formed.

The pop-up driving device according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure is composed of a movable cylinder provided as a structure in which a multi-stage locking groove is formed therein to be integrally formed at the rear end portion of the wing cover; and a fixed cylinder integrally formed at the front end portion of the ball housing as a structure having a locking protrusion fastened to the multi-stage locking groove.

In addition, a ball is formed at the front end portion of the movable cylinder, and a ball joint groove is formed at the rear surface portion of the wing cover.

The present disclosure provides the following effects through the above configuration.

Firstly, it is possible to mount the wing cover at the outlet of the air duct to be movable in the front-rear direction by using the pop-up driving device and mount the wing cover to be angularly adjustable by using the ball joint so that the wing cover can simultaneously perform the wind direction adjustment and the damper door function.

Secondly, unlike the conventional arrangement in which the damper door is separately mounted inside the air duct, it is possible to perform the damper door function for blocking the air discharge when the wing cover is in the closed position, thereby reducing the number of parts and reducing the number of assembling steps.

Thirdly, it is possible to pop-up and then angularly rotate the wing cover around the ball joint in the desired direction, thereby freely adjusting the wind direction of the air discharged to the interior in the desired direction.

The above and other features of the disclosure are discussed infra.

In the drawings, reference numbers refer to the same or equivalent sections of the present disclosure throughout the several figures of the drawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 to 4are diagrams illustrating an air vent apparatus for a vehicle according to the present disclosure, and in each drawing, reference numeral10denotes an air duct.

The air duct10is an air flow tube for allowing air (e.g., cooled or heated air) from an air conditioner (not illustrated) to flow into an interior of the vehicle, and connected with an air discharge side of the air conditioner.

A hemispherical ball joint housing20opened toward the vehicle interior is mounted inside the air duct10.

Preferably, a plurality of connecting plates11are integrally connected between an outer diameter of the ball joint housing20and an inner wall of the air duct10so that the ball joint housing20is disposed at an inner central portion of the air duct10.

A spherical ball housing30having a hole penetrated in a front-rear direction is inserted into and fastened to the ball joint housing20.

A plurality of rotational angle limiting grooves21are formed at arear portion of the ball joint housing20, a separate ball cap32is disposed at arear portion of the ball housing30, and an angle limiting pin31selectively inserted into the plurality of rotational angle limiting grooves21is formed to be protruded at arear surface of the ball cap32.

Therefore, the angle limiting pin31is inserted into and mounted at the rear surface of the ball cap32together with a supporting spring31-1so that the angle limiting pin31is selectively inserted into the plurality of rotational angle limiting grooves21by an elastic restoring force of the supporting spring31-1.

Preferably, as illustrated inFIGS. 8A and 8B, a resistance providing rubber22that is in close contact with the rear surface of the ball cap32in order to provide the resistance upon rotation of the ball housing30can be attached to an inner surface of the ball joint housing20.

Therefore, as described later, when a wing cover50is angularly adjusted in a desired direction, the ball housing30connected with the wing cover50through a pop-up driving device100, etc. rotates at the same angle, and the maximum rotational angle of the wing cover50is limited until the angle limiting pin31of the ball cap32mounted in the ball housing30is selectively inserted into the rotational angle limiting groove21of the ball joint housing20.

A frictional resistance force is provided from the resistance providing rubber22contacting the rear surface of the ball cap32upon rotation of the ball housing30so that the ball housing30and the wing cover50can be stopped at a desired rotational angle.

In addition, as described later, a cam cap140, in which a plurality of rotational guide saw teeth141are formed at regular intervals along a circumferential direction thereof as a configuration of the pop-up driving device, is formed at a front surface portion of the ball cap32mounted at the rear portion of the ball housing30.

Meanwhile, an air guide40for straightly guiding the air flowing from the air conditioner toward the interior is mounted between the outer diameter portion of the ball joint housing20and an inner diameter portion (i.e., inner wall) of the air duct10.

In particular, the air guide40is composed of an inside ring41that is in close contact with the outer diameter portion of the ball joint housing20, an outside ring42that is in close contact with the inner diameter portion of the air duct10, and a plurality of streamlined vanes43connected between the inside ring41and the outside ring42, and each streamlined vane43forms the air flowing from the air conditioner toward the interior in the form of a whirlwind (vortex) to straightly guide it toward the interior.

Particularly, the wing cover50connected with the ball housing30through the pop-up driving device100is disposed at an outlet side of the air duct10.

The wing cover50is composed of a wing body52having an air guide surface51having a diameter that is gradually narrowed toward the inside (the opposite side of the vehicle interior direction) of the air duct10, and an operating plate53fastened to the front surface portion of the wing body52and exposed to the vehicle interior direction.

The wing cover50can be manufactured as a part in which the wing body52and the operating plate53are integrally molded.

Preferably, considering that the wing cover50serves as a damper door for blocking the flow of air discharged to the interior of the vehicle when being disposed at a position of closing the outlet of the air duct10, a sealing rubber54for blocking air leakage upon closing the wing cover50is attached to a portion that contacts the outlet of the air duct10at the rear surface portion of the wing body52.

The wing cover50can be angularly adjusted while rotating around the ball housing30, and performs a pop-up operation that is protruded and moved forwards by the pop-up driving device100.

The pop-up driving device100is connected between the ball housing30and the wing cover50to provide a pop-up driving force for protruding and moving the wing cover50in a forward direction.

Meanwhile, a bezel60, which performs a kind of decorative function when viewed from the interior, is mounted at the front surface portion of the air duct10and disposed at the front edge position of the wing cover50.

Herein, the pop-up driving device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described as follows.

FIGS. 5A to 5Care enlarged diagrams illustrating major parts of an embodiment of the pop-up driving device of the wing cover of the air vent apparatus for the vehicle according to the present disclosure, andFIGS. 13A and 13Bare diagrams illustrating that a cam housing and a fixed cam therein are integrally formed in a configuration of the pop-up driving device of the wing cover according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The pop-up driving device100according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is configured to include a push-lock mechanism applied to a ball pen, etc.

For this purpose, a knob110is mounted (e.g., in a pressing manner) at the front surface of the wing cover50.

A knob seating groove55in which the knob110is inserted is formed in the front surface of the wing cover50, and as illustrated inFIG. 4, an auxiliary spring112for providing an elastic restoring force after the knob110is pressed is connected between the back surface of the knob110and the bottom surface of the knob seating groove55.

In addition, a cam housing120is fastened to the inside of the ball housing30.

In particular, a concave portion33is formed at the inner diameter portion of the ball housing30, and a convex portion121press-fitted into and fastened to the concave portion33is formed at the outer diameter portion of the cam housing120.

Therefore, the convex portion121of the cam housing120is press-fitted into and fastened to the concave portion33of the ball joint housing20so that the cam housing120is fixed in the ball housing30.

In addition, as illustrated inFIGS. 13A and 13B, a fixed cam130is formed inside the cam housing120, and the fixed cam130is formed with a plurality of cam slide grooves131arranged at regular intervals along a circumferential direction thereof, and is provided as a hollow structure in which a latching projection132is formed at the rear surface portion thereof.

As described above, the ball cap32is disposed at the rear portion of the ball housing30, and the ball cap32is fastened to the rear surface of the cam housing120fastened to the inside of the ball housing30, and particularly, the cam cap140of a plate structure in which the plurality of rotational guide saw teeth141are formed at regular intervals along a circumferential direction thereof is formed at the front surface portion of the ball cap32.

In addition, the front end portion of a pop-up rod150is connected to the rear surface of the knob110, and the rear end portion of the pop-up rod150is extended to the inside of the fixed cam130through the central portion of the wing cover50.

In addition, a rotary cam160is rotatably connected to the end of the rear end of the pop-up rod150, and the rotary cam160is provided as a structure in which a plurality of slide cams161moving along the plurality of cam slide grooves131of the fixed cam130are formed at regular intervals along the circumferential direction thereof.

In addition, a main spring170for providing an elastic restoring force upon pop-up of the wing cover50is compressibly connected between the rotary cam160and the cam cap140.

Herein, an operating flow of the air vent apparatus of the present disclosure having the above configuration will be described as follows.

Closed Mode

FIGS. 10A and 10Bare diagrams illustrating a closed mode of the air vent apparatus for the vehicle according to the present disclosure.

The closed mode refers to a mode in which the wing cover50closes the air duct10and functions as a conventional damper door.

Firstly, the pop-up rod150of the pop-up driving device100is advanced in the vehicle interior direction, as illustrated inFIG. 5A, in a state where the wing cover50has been opened, that is, popped-up, and the rotary cam160connected to the end of the rear end of the pop-up rod150is disposed inside the fixed cam130.

In addition, the slide cam161of the rotary cam160is inserted into the cam slide groove131of the fixed cam130.

When the user presses the knob110mounted at the front surface of the wing cover50in the opened state of the wing cover50, as illustrated inFIG. 5B, the pop-up rod150is moved rearwards, and simultaneously the rotary cam160connected to the end of the rear end of the pop-up rod150is moved rearwards to the outside the fixed cam130.

In addition, the slide cam161of the rotary cam160is also moved rearwards to be detached from the cam slide groove131of the fixed cam130, and the rear surface of the slide cam161is in close contact with the rotational guide saw teeth141of the cam cap140.

Then, when the user releases the knob110mounted at the front surface of the wing cover50, the rotary cam160is rotated by an operation in which the rear surface of the slide cam161moves along the inclined surface of the rotational guide saw teeth141, and as illustrated inFIG. 5C, the front end portion of the slide cam161is latched by the latching projection132of the fixed cam130so that the rotary cam160is locked and fixed.

As described above, as the rotary cam160is locked and fixed, the pop-up rod150is also fixed without the movement after being moved rearwards, and as illustrated inFIGS. 10A and 10B, the wing cover50is disposed at the closed position while closing the outlet of the air duct10.

As illustrated inFIGS. 10A and 10B, when the wing cover50is disposed at the closed position while closing the outlet of the air duct10, the air flowing from the air conditioner toward the vehicle interior along the inside of the air duct10is blocked by the wing cover50.

As described above, since the wing cover50serves as the conventional damper door for blocking the air discharge, a part such as the conventional damper door can be unnecessary, thereby reducing the number of parts and reducing the number of assembling steps.

Straight Wind Mode

FIGS. 11A and 11Bare diagrams illustrating a state where the wind direction of the air has been adjusted in a straight direction by the pop-up of the wing cover of the air vent apparatus for the vehicle according to the present disclosure.

The straight wind mode is a mode for guiding the air discharged from the air duct10to the interior in a straight direction.

Firstly, when the knob110is pressed in a state where the wing cover50has been closed, a pressing force is transferred to the pop-up rod150and the rotary cam160.

Then, the slide cam161of the rotary cam160is slightly moved rearwards and the front end portion of the slide cam161is detached from the latching projection132, and simultaneously the rotary cam160is rotated by an operation in which the rear surface of the slide cam161moves along the inclined surface of the rotational guide saw teeth141.

Then, when the user releases the knob110mounted at the front surface of the wing cover50, as illustrated inFIG. 5A, the slide cam161is advanced into and again inserted into the cam slide groove131of the fixed cam130so that the rotary cam160and the pop-up rod150are advanced.

Therefore, as the pop-up rod150is advanced, the wing cover50also performs a pop-up operation that is protruded forwards and opened, such that as illustrated inFIG. 11B, the wing cover50is opened so that an air discharge passage is formed between the wing cover50and the air duct10.

Therefore, the air from the air conditioner is formed in the form of a whirlwind (vortex) by the streamlined vane43of the air guide40to be straightly guided toward the interior, then diffused along the air guide surface51of the wing cover50, and then goes straight and discharged to the vehicle interior through the air discharge passage formed between the wing cover50and the air duct10.

Wind Direction Adjustment Mode

FIGS. 12A and 12Bare diagrams illustrating a state of adjusting the wind direction of the air of the air vent apparatus for the vehicle according to the present disclosure in a desired direction.

As described above, the wind direction adjustment mode refers to a mode that can rotate the angle of the wing cover50in a desired direction in a state where the wing cover50has been popped-up to adjust the wind direction of the air discharged from the air duct10to the vehicle interior in a desired direction.

Therefore, when the user holds and angularly adjusts the wing cover50in a desired direction, the ball housing30connected with the wing cover50through the pop-up driving device100, etc. rotates at the same angle so that the air discharge passage of the opposite side of the direction that has angularly adjusted the wing cover50can be increased to determine the wind direction of the air.

At this time, the maximum rotational angle of the wing cover50is limited until the angle limiting pin31of the ball cap32mounted in the ball housing30is selectively inserted into the rotational angle limiting groove21of the ball joint housing20.

For example, as illustrated inFIGS. 12A and 12B, when the wing cover50is angularly rotated downwards, the lower end portion of the wing cover50contacts the outlet of the air duct10, thereby blocking the air discharge downwards and simultaneously increasing the air discharge passage formed between the upper end portion of the wing cover50and the outlet of the air duct10.

Therefore, the air from the air conditioner is formed in the form of a whirlwind (vortex) by the streamlined vane43of the air guide40to be straightly guided toward the interior, then guided upwards along the air guide surface51of the wing cover50, and then discharged upwards from the vehicle interior through the increased air discharge passage between the upper end portion of the wing cover50and the outlet of the air duct10.

When the wing cover50is angularly adjusted in a desired direction, the discharge direction of the air can be freely adjusted not only upwards but also downwards, and leftwards and rightwards, etc.

For example, when the wing cover50is angularly rotated upwards, the upper end portion of the wing cover50contacts the outlet of the air duct10, thereby blocking the air discharge upwards, and simultaneously performing the air discharge downwards through the air discharge passage formed between the lower end portion of the wing cover50and the outlet of the air duct10.

Alternatively, when the wing cover50is angularly rotated leftwards, the left end portion of the wing cover50contacts the outlet of the air duct10, thereby blocking the air discharge leftwards, and simultaneously performing the air discharge rightwards through the air discharge passage formed between the right end portion of the wing cover50and the outlet of the air duct10.

Alternatively, when the wing cover50is angularly rotated rightwards, the right end portion of the wing cover50contacts the outlet of the air duct10, thereby blocking the air discharge rightwards, and simultaneously performing the air discharge leftwards through the air discharge passage formed between the left end portion of the wing cover50and the outlet of the air duct10.

As described above, it is possible to pop-up and then angularly rotate the wing cover50around the ball joint between the ball joint housing20and the ball housing30in a desired direction, thereby freely adjusting the wind direction of the air discharged to the interior in a desired direction.

Herein, another embodiment of the pop-up driving device for popping up the wing cover in a configuration of the air vent apparatus according to the present disclosure will be described as follows.

FIGS. 6A and 6Bare cross-sectional diagrams illustrating another embodiment of the pop-up driving device of the wing cover of the air vent apparatus for the vehicle according to the present disclosure.

A pop-up driving device200according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is composed of a movable cylinder210provided as a structure in which a female screw212is formed therein to be integrally formed at the rear end portion of the wing cover50, and a fixed cylinder220integrally formed at the front end portion of the ball housing30as a structure in which a male screw222is screw-fastened to the female screw212.

Therefore, when the user holds and rotates the wing cover50in one direction, as illustrated inFIG. 6B, a pop-up operation, in which the movable cylinder210and the wing cover50are advanced by a screw rotation from which the male screw222is released from the female screw212, can be performed.

Preferably, the engagement section between the female screw212and the male screw222can be set to the section in which the wing cover50can be rotated in the range of 900 to 180°.

Herein, still another embodiment of the pop-up driving device for popping up the wing cover in a configuration of the air vent apparatus according to the present disclosure will be described as follows.

FIGS. 7A and 7Bare cross-sectional diagrams illustrating still another embodiment of the pop-up driving device of the wing cover of the air vent apparatus for the vehicle according to the present disclosure.

A pop-up driving device300according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure is composed of a movable cylinder310provided as a structure in which a multi-stage locking groove312is formed therein to be integrally formed at the rear end portion of the wing cover50, and a fixed cylinder320provided as a structure in which a locking protrusion322fastened to the multi-stage locking groove312is formed at the outer diameter portion thereof to be integrally formed at the front end portion of the ball housing30.

Therefore, when the user holds and pulls the wing cover50in the vehicle interior direction, the locking protrusion322is detached from the multi-stage locking groove312, such that as illustrated inFIG. 7B, a pop-up operation, in which the movable cylinder310and the wing cover50are advanced, can be performed.

Meanwhile, as illustrated inFIGS. 8A and 8B, when the wing cover50is popped up and then angularly rotated around the ball joint between the ball joint housing20and the ball housing30in a desired direction, the wing cover50is viewed as a figure tilted to one side when viewed from the vehicle interior as illustrated inFIG. 8B, thereby reducing appearance.

Therefore, a ball joint portion can be further formed at the rear end portion of the wing cover50in addition to the ball joint between the ball joint housing20and the ball housing30so that the front surface portion of the wing cover50can be kept in an upright vertical plane even if the wing cover50is popped-up and then angularly rotated.

For this purpose, as illustrated inFIGS. 9A and 9B, a ball314is further formed at the front end portion of the movable cylinder310, and a ball joint groove56having the ball314inserted therein is further formed at the rear surface portion of the wing cover50.

Therefore, it is possible to adjust the wing cover50in the upright vertical plane around the ball joint portion between the ball314and the ball joint groove56in a state where the wing cover50has been popped-up and then angularly rotated, such that the wing cover50is not tilted to one side and stands upright when viewed from the vehicle interior, thereby improving appearance.

As described above, although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail, the claims of the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and improvements by those skilled in the art using the basic concept of the present disclosure defined in the appended claims can also be included the claims of the present disclosure.