Abstract:
A method includes molding a set of deflector plates in a first mold with a first material, removing the deflector plates from the mold, and placing the deflector plates in a second mold, molding a duct to the deflector plates in the second mold using a second material. The molding includes forming an engaging rim in the duct for connecting the duct to another duct, and removing the deflector plates and the duct from the second mold. The deflector plates pivot with respect to the duct when the molding of the duct is finished.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a transfer register that is located in an instrument panel of a vehicle such as an automobile, a vessel or an airplane and is connected to an air conditioner the vehicle. 
     Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 3-87155 discloses a transfer register  100 , which is illustrated in FIG.  10 . The transfer register  100  includes a duct  101 . Horizontal front deflector plates  102  are pivotally supported in the duct  101 . The front deflector plates  102  are connected by a front connector rod  103 , which is located at a side of the front deflector plates  102 . The front connector rod  103  permits the front deflector plates  102  to pivot vertically in a synchronized manner. 
     Vertical rear deflector plates  104  are pivotally supported in the duct  101 . The rear deflector plates  104  are connected by a rear connector rod  105 . The rear connector rod  105  permits the rear deflector plates  104  to pivot horizontally in a synchronized manner. 
     A knob  106  is located on the center one of the front deflector plates  102 . The knob  106  slides horizontally on the associated front deflector plate  102 . One end of the knob  106  is coupled to the center one of the rear deflector plates  104 . The one end moves along the associated plate  104 . When the knob  106  is pivoted vertically, the front deflector plates  102  are synchronously pivoted by the front connector rod  103 , which vertically changes the direction of air exiting the opening  101   a  of the duct. When the knob  106  is slid horizontally, the rear deflector plates  104  are synchronously pivoted by the rear connector rod  105 , which horizontally changes the direction of the air exiting the opening  101   a.    
     The duct  101 , the front and rear deflector plates  102 ,  104 , the front and rear connector rods  103 ,  105  and the knob  106  are separately formed with resin. When assembling the transfer register  100 , the front deflector plates  102  are pivotally installed in the duct  101 . Then, the front connector rod  103  is attached to the front deflector plates  102 . Thereafter, the rear deflector plates  104  are installed in the duct  101 , and the rear connector rod  105  is attached to the rear deflector plates  104 . Subsequently, the knob  106  is attached to the center one of the front deflector plates  103 . One end of the knob  106  is engaged with the center one of the rear deflector plates  104 . The transfer register  100  has a relatively large number of parts and the assembly is complicated. Accordingly, the cost is relatively high and the manufacture is troublesome. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a transfer register that reduces the number of parts and is easy to assemble. 
     To attain the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a method including molding a set of deflector plates in a first mold with a first material, removing the deflector plates from the mold, placing the deflector plates in a second mold, molding a duct to the deflector plates in the second mold using a second material. The first material does not adhere to the second material. The molding includes forming an engaging rim in the duct for connecting the duct to another duct, and removing the deflector plates and the duct from the second mold. The deflector plates pivot with respect to the duct when the molding of the duct is finished. 
     The present invention also provides a register. The register has a first deflector plate and a second deflector plate. A first duct supports the first deflector plate such that the first deflector plate pivots with respect to the first duct about an axis. A second duct, which is separate from the first duct, supports the second deflector plate such that the second deflector plate pivots with respect to the second duct about an axis. The axis about which the first deflector plate pivots is perpendicular to the axis about which the second deflector plate pivots. The first duct is connected to the second duct such that the register is unitary. 
     Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention, together with objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description of the presently preferred embodiments together with the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a transfer register according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  2 — 2  of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded cross-sectional view of the transfer register shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view illustrating a first step for double molding a front duct member and front deflector plates of the transfer register shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view illustrating a second step, which is performed subsequent to the first step of FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a transfer register according to a second embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  7 — 7  of FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 8 is a rear view illustrating a transfer register according to a third embodiment; 
     FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  8 — 8  of FIG. 9; and 
     FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating a prior art transfer register. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A first embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to  5 . 
     As shown in FIG. 1, the front end of a transfer register  11  is secured to an instrument panel  12  of an automobile. The rear end of the register  11  is coupled to an air pipe  13 . The air pipe  13  is connected to an air conditioner. In FIG. 1, the right end of the register  11  is defined as the front end, and the left end of the register  11  is defined as the rear end. The register  11  includes an air duct  14  having a rectangular cross section. Air flows from the left to the right of the duct  14  as viewed in FIG.  1 . An opening  14   a  of the duct  14  faces the interior of the passenger compartment of the automobile. The opening  14   a  is inclined relative to the upper and lower surfaces of the duct  14 . A bezel  15  is attached to the opening  14   a.    
     As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the duct  14  includes a front duct member  14 A and a rear duct member  14 B. The front duct member  14 A and the rear duct member  14 B have engaging rims  16 ,  17 , respectively. The duct members  14 A and  14 B are coupled to each other by engaging the rims  16  and  17 . A pair of hooks  18  are formed in the top and bottom sides of the rear end of the front duct member  14 A. A pair of notches  19  are formed in the top and bottom sides of the front end of the rear duct member  14 B. The front duct member  14 A and the rear duct member  14 B are secured to each other by engaging the hooks  18  with the notches  19 . 
     Horizontal front deflector plates  20 , the number of which is three in this embodiment, are located in the front duct member  14 A at predetermined intervals along the opening  14   a . Each front deflector plate  20  has a pair of front support shafts  21  each extending from one of the ends. Each front deflector plate  20  is pivotally supported by the front duct member  14 A through the front support shafts  21 . Front coupler levers  22 , the number of which is three in this embodiment, are located outside of the front duct member  14 A. Each front coupler lever  22  is connected to one of the front support shafts  21  of the corresponding front deflector plate  20 . The distal ends of the front coupler levers  22  are connected by a connector, which is a front connector rod  23  in this embodiment. The front deflector plates  20  are pivoted synchronously by the front connector rod  23 . 
     As shown in FIG. 2, rear deflector plates  24 , the number of which is five in this embodiment, are arranged at equal intervals in the rear duct member  14 B. The rear deflector plates  24  extend vertically and are located in the vicinity of the front deflector plates  20 . The front edges of the rear deflector plates  20  are parallel to the opening  14   a . As shown in FIG. 1, each rear deflector plate  24  has a pair of rear support shafts  25  each extending from one of the ends. Each rear deflector plate  24  is pivotally supported by the rear duct member  14 B through the rear support shafts  25 . Rear coupler levers  26 , the number of which is five, are located outside the rear duct member  14 B. Each rear coupler lever  26  extends from the upper rear support shaft  25  of one of the rear deflector plates  24 . The distal ends of the rear coupler levers  26  are coupled to one another by a connector, which is a rear connector rod  27 . The rear connector rod  27  permits the rear deflector plates  24  to pivot synchronously. 
     As described above, the plane of the opening  14   a  of the duct  14  is inclined relative to the upper and lower surfaces of the duct  14 . Also, the axes of the rear deflector plates  24  are inclined and parallel to the plane of the opening  14   a  such that the rear deflector plates  24  are located close to the front deflector plates  20 . Chamfers  24   a  are formed in the upper rear portion and the lower front portion of each rear deflector plate  24 . The chamfers  24   a  prevent the upper and lower surfaces of the duct  14  from interfering with the rear deflector plates  24 . 
     A knob  28  is coupled to the center one of the front deflector plates  20 . The knob  28  is slid in the lateral direction along the associated front deflector plate  20 . A pair of engaging projections  29  extends rearward from the knob  28 . The center one of the rear deflector plates  24  has an engaging pin  30 . The projections  29  engage the pin  30  and move along the associated rear deflector plate  24 . 
     When the knob  28  is moved vertically, the front deflector plates  20  are synchronously pivoted through the front connector rod  23 . Accordingly, the direction of air blown out of the opening  14   a  is vertically changed. When the knob  28  is moved horizontally, the rear deflector plates  24  are synchronously moved through the rear connector rod  27 . Accordingly, the direction of air blown out of the opening  14   a  is changed horizontally. 
     The front deflector plates  20 , the front support shafts  21 , the front coupler levers  22 , the front connector rod  23  and the front duct member  14 A are formed in a single double molding process. The front deflector plates  20 , the front support shafts  21 , and the front coupler levers  22  are made of a thermoplastic resin having a relatively high melting point such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene resin (ABS). The front duct member  14 A and the front connector rod  23  are made of resin such as polypropylene (PP), the melting point of which is lower than that of the resin of the front deflector plates  20 , the front support shafts  21  and the front coupler lever  22 . The resin of the front duct member  14 A and the front connector rod  23  does not adhere to the resin of the front deflector plates  20 , the front support shafts  21  and the front coupler levers  22 . As described above, double molding refers to a method for molding an article using two resins that have different melting points. 
     The rear deflector plates  24 , the shafts  25 , the rear coupler levers  26  and the rear connector rod  27 , and the rear duct member  14 B are formed in a single double molding process. The rear deflector plates  24 , the rear support shafts  25 , the rear coupler levers  26  are made of a thermoplastic resin having a relatively high melting point such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene resin (ABS). The rear duct member  14 B and the rear connector rod  27  are made of a resin such as polypropylene (PP), the melting point of which is lower than that of the resin of the rear deflector plates  24 , the shafts  25  and the rear coupler levers  26 . The resin of the rear duct member  14 B and the rear connector rod  27  does not adhere to the resin of the rear deflector plates  24 , the rear support shafts  25  and the rear coupler levers  26 . 
     As shown in FIG. 3, the front duct member  14 A, in which the front deflector plates  20  are formed, and the rear duct member  14 B, in which the rear deflector plates  24  are formed, are engaged with each other through the engaging rims  16 ,  17 . Thereafter, the knob  28 , which is separately molded, is attached to the corresponding one of the front deflector plates  20 . 
     A procedure for double molding the front duct member  14 A will now be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. 
     In a first step shown in FIG. 4, a first stationary die  41 A, a first movable die  42 A, a first left slide core  43 A and a first right slide core  44 A define front deflector plate cavities  45 , front support shaft cavities  46  and front coupler lever cavities  47 . 
     ABS, the melting point of which is two hundred and ten degrees centigrade, is injected into the cavities  45 ,  46 ,  47  from a gate (not shown). As a result, the front deflector plates  20 , the front support shafts  21 , the front coupler levers  22  are simultaneously formed. After the front deflector plates  20 , front support shafts  21  and the front coupler levers  22  are cooled, the first movable die  42 A and the slide cores  43 A,  44 A are moved outward. Then, the front deflector plates  20 , front support shafts  21  and the front coupler levers  22  are removed from the dies  41 A,  42 A. 
     In a second step, which is shown in FIG. 5, the front deflector plates  20 , front support shafts  21  and the front coupler levers  22 , which were molded in the first step, are inserted between a second stationary die  41 B and a second movable die  42 B. The front deflector plates  20 , the second stationary die  41 B, the second movable die  42 B, a second left slide core  43 B, a second right slide core  44 B and an upper slide core  48  define a duct cavity  49  and a rod cavity  50 . PP, the melting point of which is one hundred and seventy degrees centigrade, is injected into the cavities  49 ,  50  from a gate (not shown). The front duct member  14 A and the front connector rod  23  are formed simultaneously. After the front duct member  14 A and the front connector rod  23  are cooled, the second movable die  42 B and the slide cores  43 B,  44 B  48  are moved outward. Then, the front duct member  14 A and the front connector rod  23  are removed from the dies  41 B,  42 B. 
     In this manner, the front deflector plates  20 , the front support shafts  21  and the front coupler levers  22  are molded with ABS, which has a relatively high melting point, in the first step. Thereafter, the front duct member  14 A and the front connector rod  23  are molded with PP, which has a relatively low melting point, in the second step. 
     ABS and PP do not adhere to each other. Thus, in the second step, the parts formed in the first step do not stick to the parts formed in the second step. After the molding, the front deflector plates  20  are pivotal with respect to the front duct member  14 A. 
     The front duct member  14 A, which includes the front deflector plates  20 , is easily formed by double molding. Also, the rear duct member  14 B, which includes the rear deflector plates  24 , is easily formed by double molding. The knob  28  is molded by another set of dies. The transfer register  11  is easily formed by assembling the front duct member  14 A, the rear duct member  14 B and the knob  28  as shown in FIG.  3 . 
     The embodiment of FIGS. 1 to  5  has the following advantages. 
     a) The duct  14  is formed by assembling the front duct member  14 A and the rear duct member  14 B, which are separately formed. The front deflector plates  20 , which are pivotable, are formed in the front duct member  14 A through double molding. The rear deflector plates  24  are also formed in the rear duct member  14 B through double molding. Then, the front duct member  14 A and the rear duct member  14 B are coupled to each other. 
     The front duct member  14 A, which has the front deflector plates  20 , is formed as a unit. The rear duct member  14 B, which has the rear deflector plates  24 , is formed as a unit. Compared to a case where the deflector plates  20 ,  24  are formed separately from the duct members  14 A,  14 B, the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to  5  has fewer units, which simplifies the assembly. As a result, the cost of the transfer register  11  is reduced. 
     b) The front and rear connector rods  23 ,  27 , which are located outside the corresponding duct members  14 A,  14 B, are formed simultaneously with the duct members  14 A,  14 B with the same material as the duct members  14 A,  14 B. 
     Therefore, the front connector rod  23 , the front duct member  14 A and the front deflector plates  20  are formed as a unit. Also, the rear connector rod  27 , the rear duct member  14 B and the rear deflector plates  24  are formed as a unit. The number of parts that are separately formed is reduced, which simplifies molding and assembly of the transfer register  11 . 
     The front and rear connector rods  23 ,  27  are located outside of the duct members  14 A,  14 B. That is, except for the knob  28 , no parts that disturb the flow of air defined by the deflector plates  20 ,  24  exist in the duct members  14 A,  14 B. In other words, the direction of the air exiting the opening  14   a  is accurately adjusted by changing the angle of the deflector plates  20 ,  24 . 
     A second embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. The differences from the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to  5  will mainly be discussed below. 
     A transfer register  61  of FIGS. 7 and 8 is different from the transfer register  11  of FIGS. 1 to  5  in the structure for engaging a front duct member  62 A with a rear duct member  62 B. Also, the location of connector rods  65 ,  66 , which connect front deflector plates  63  and rear deflector plates  64 , are different from the locations of the connector rods  23 ,  27  of the register  11  shown in FIGS. 1 to  5 . 
     The front duct member  62 A of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is shorter than that of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to  5 . The rear duct member  62 B has a front portion  62   b , the cross-sectional area of which is larger than that of the remainder of the rear duct member  62 B. A step  67  is defined between the front portion  62   b  and the remainder. A rear portion of the front duct member  62 A is fitted in the front portion  62   b  of the rear duct member  62 B, which secures the front duct member  62 A to the rear duct member  62 B. 
     As shown in FIG. 7, each front deflector plate  63  has a front notch  68  at its rear left corner. A front connector pin  69  extends laterally from each front deflector plate  63  in the front notch  68 . The front connector pin  69  is parallel to the front support shafts  21  and the distal end of the front connector pin  69  does not extend further outward than the edge of the front deflector plate  63 . A connector, which is a front connector rod  65 , is coupled to the front connector pins  69 . The connector rod  65  is made of the same resin as the front duct member  62 A. The connector rod  65  permits the front deflector plates  63  to synchronously pivot. The connector rod  65  is located behind the rear edge of the front duct member  62 A and laterally inside the sidewalls of the front duct member  62 A. In other words, the connector rod  65  is located inside the duct  14 , which is formed by assembling the front duct member  62 A and the rear duct member  62 B. 
     The rear-front dimension of each rear deflector plate  64  is greater than that of the rear deflector plates  24  in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to  5 . As shown in FIG. 6, each rear deflector plate  64  has a rear notch  70  at its rear bottom corner. A rear connector pin  71  extends in the rear notch  70  parallel to the rear support shafts  25 . The rear connector pins  71  do not extend further downward than the lower edge of the rear deflector plates  64 . A connector, which is a rear connector rod  66 , is coupled to the rear connector pins  71 . The rear connector pins  71  are made of the same resin as the rear duct member  62 B. The rear connector rod  66  permits the rear deflector plates  64 , the number of which is five in this embodiment, to synchronously pivot. The rear connector rod  66  is located behind the rear edge of the front duct member  62 A and inside a plane that extends from the lower wall of the front duct member  62 A. 
     In addition to the advantage a) of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to  5 , the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7 has the following advantages. 
     c) The connector rods  65 ,  66 , which couple the front deflector plates  63  and the rear deflector plates  64 , respectively, are located behind the duct members  62 A,  62 B, respectively. The ends of the rods  65 ,  66  do not protrude from the duct  14 . 
     Therefore, the sizes of the duct members  62 A,  62 B can be reduced. Also, since the connector pins  69 ,  71  and the ends of the connector rods  65 ,  66  do not protrude from the duct members  62 A,  62 B, the connector pins  69 ,  71  and the rods  65 ,  66  are less likely to be damaged when the transfer register  61  is being carried or assembled. 
     A third embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. The differences from the embodiments of FIGS. 1 to  7  will mainly be discussed below. 
     As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the location of a rear connector rod  83  for connecting rear deflector plate  82 , the number of which is five in this embodiment, is different from that in the embodiments of FIGS. 1 to  7 . That is, a rear coupler lever  84  protrudes rearward from each rear deflector plate  82 . 
     As shown in FIG. 9, a connector pin  85  extends from each rear coupler lever  84 . The connector pins  85  are parallel to the rear support shafts  25 . The rear connector rod  83 , which is made of the same resin as the rear duct member  14 B, connects the connector pins  85 . The rear connector rod  83  permits the rear deflector plates  82  to synchronously pivot. The rod  83  is located in the vicinity of the rear lower corner of the rear duct member  14 B. 
     In addition to the advantage a) of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to  5 , the embodiment of FIGS. 8 and 9 has the following advantages. 
     d) The connector rod  83  is located behind the rear duct member  14 B and extends in the vicinity of the lowest portion of the rear duct member  14 B. 
     The connector rod  83  is not located in the path of air in the duct  14 . Also, the rod  83  is not located outside a plane extending from the bottom surface of the rear duct member  14 B. Therefore, the rod  83  does not disturb the flow of air in the duct  14  and is not damaged by contact with other things. 
     It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Particularly, it should be understood that the invention may be embodied in the following forms. 
     The front deflector plates  20 ,  63  and the rear deflector plates  24 ,  64  may be arranged in the orientations perpendicular to those of the illustrated embodiment, respectively. 
     The duct  14  may be formed cylindrically and the opening  14   a  may be formed circularly. 
     The opening  14   a  may be perpendicular to the upper and lower surfaces of the duct  14 , and the rear deflector plates  24 ,  64 ,  82  may pivot along axes that are parallel to the opening  14   a.    
     In the illustrated embodiment, ABS and PP are used in the first and second steps, respectively. However, other resins may be used as long as a resin used in the first step has a higher melting point than a resin used in the second step and the resins do not adhere to each other. 
     The present invention may be embodied in a transfer register used in a body panel of vehicles such as vessels and airplanes. 
     The present examples and embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive and the invention is not to be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalence of the appended claims.