Abstract:
An air-vent of a vehicle includes a front duct configured to change a discharging direction of an air stream horizontally and vertically, a rear duct connected to a rear side of the front duct and a damper hinged to an inside of the rear duct and selectively blocking the air stream, a rotatable knob coupled to a side of the front duct, formed with a hole at a side thereof, and driving the damper, and an angle-restricting device installed at a portion of the front duct, corresponding to the hole of the knob, the angle-restricting device elastically movable, and restricting a rotation angle of the knob.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   The present disclosure relate to subject meter container in Korean Application NO. 10-2004-0073951, filed on Sep. 15, 2004, which is herein expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a vehicle air-vent, and more particularly to a vehicle air-vent for uniformly transmitting operation force, exhibiting superior performance by easily detecting the rotation range of a knob in order to open and close a damper by detecting the rotation range of the knob using a stopper and by elastically moving the stopper. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Generally, an air-vent of a vehicle is an air discharging device of an air conditioning system for maintaining the indoor air at a predetermined temperature, and includes a wing installed at the front side thereof and adjusting the discharge direction of the air, and a damper installed on the inside thereof, being opened and closed to control the air discharge. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the conventional air-vent  10  includes a front duct  23  having a wing  25  rotated horizontally and vertically, a rear duct  24  having a damper  12  installed on the inside of the rear duct  24 , and devices, installed at the lower side of the front duct  23 , for opening and closing the damper  12 . 
   A rotatable knob  11  as a manipulation device is installed at the lower front side of the front duct  23  by screws and washers  22 , and the damper  12 , as a device for blocking and allowing the air stream, is installed on the inside of the rear duct  24  and is rotated about the side shafts of the damper  12 . 
   Moreover, a first link  16  is integrally coupled with a shaft  26  of the damper  12  and is operated together with the shaft  26 . The knob  11  is formed with a hole  27  at the rear side thereof. A second link  18  has one side connected to the hole  27  by a pin  17   a  and the other side connected to the first link  16  by a pin  17   b.    
   The second link  18  is bent at ane intermediate portion thereof, so as to compensate for the height difference between the knob  11  and the damper  12  when assembling the air-vent. 
   As such, the rotation of the knob  11  is transmitted to the damper  12  by motion of the first and second links  17  and  18  so as to open and close the damper  12 . 
   Meanwhile, the knob  11  has a recess  19  formed at the rear side of the knob  11  by cutting off circumference of the knob  11 . In the track of the recess  19 , a stopper  20  formed at the wall of the front duct  23  is placed to limit the rotation angle of the knob  11  to 70 degrees. 
   In particular, the sides of the recess  19  and the stopper  20  are respectively formed with locking blocks  21   a  and  21   b , so that, if the knob  11  is rotated to any limit in the rotation angle, the locking blocks  21   a  and  12   b  are interlocked with each other so as to maintain the position of the knob  11 . Thus, the opened- or closed-state of the damper  12  can be maintained. 
   However, though the conventional air-vent is installed such that the stopper installed at the sidewall of the front duct moves in the arch-shaped recess of the knob, the rotation angle of the knob cannot be easily adjusted or detected when the stopper is worn down. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above and/or other problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an air-vent including a stopper elastically moved by a spring, so that a user feels the rotation of a knob rotated horizontally and vertically in order to open a damper, capable of adjusting the rotational force of the knob by adjusting the elasticity of a spring so as to reduce maintenance costs, and transmitting operation force uniformly so as to exhibit superior performance. 
   In accordance with the present invention, the above and other aspects can be accomplished by the provision of an air-vent of a vehicle including a front duct configured to change a discharging direction of an air stream horizontally and vertically, a rear duct connected to a rear side of the front duct and a damper hinged to an inside of the rear duct and selectively blocking the air stream, a rotatable knob coupled to a side of the front duct, formed with a hole at a side thereof, and driving the damper, and an angle-restricting device installed at a portion of the front duct, corresponding to the hole of the knob, the angle-restricting device elastically moved, and restricting a rotation angle of the knob. 
   Preferably, according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the angle-restricting device includes a cylindrical housing integrally fixed to the front duct and having an open end, a coil spring vertically inserted into the housing, a stopper installed in the open end of the housing, elastically movable, and contacting an inner circumference of the hole, and a pair of stopper recesses formed at the inner circumference of the hole, rotating the knob, and receiving the stopper to detect whether the damper is opened or closed. 
   Moreover, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the angle-restricting device includes a torsion spring having a central portion and an end fixed to a side of the front duct and receiving torque in a rotation direction with respect to a shaft axis thereof, a stopper installed to the other end of the torsion spring, elastically movable by the torsion spring, and contacting an inner circumference of the hole, and a pair of stopper recesses formed at the inner circumference of the hole, rotating the knob, and receiving the stopper to detect whether the damper is opened or closed. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     These and/or other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view illustrating a conventional air-vent of a vehicle; 
       FIG. 2  is a view illustrating the conventional air-vent installed in a vehicle; 
       FIGS. 3 and 4  are views illustrating operation of an air-vent of a vehicle according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and 
       FIGS. 5 and 6  are views illustrating operation of an air-vent of a vehicle according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Hereinafter, the preferred embodiment of the air-vent of a vehicle according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     FIGS. 3 and 4  are views illustrating operation of an air-vent of a vehicle according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and  FIGS. 5 and 6  are views illustrating operation of an air-vent of a vehicle according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the air-vent  110  of a vehicle according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a front duct  123  having a wing installed at the front side of the front duct  123 , a rear duct  124  installed to the rear side of the front duct  123  and having a damper  112  installed at the inside of the rear duct  124 , and a knob  111  for rotating the damper  112  and for opening and closing the rear duct  124 . 
   The wing is not depicted in the drawings, but is well known. 
   The rotatable knob  111  is disposed at the front side of the front duct  123  by screws and washers (not shown), and the damper  112  for blocking and allowing the air stream, is disposed on the inside of the rear duct  14  and rotated about side shafts of the damper  112 . 
   A first link  116  is integrally coupled with one of the side shafts of the damper  112  and operated together with the shaft. The rear side of the knob  111  is connected to one end of a second link  118  by a pin  117   a , and the other end of the second link  118  is connected to the first link  116  by a pin  117   b.    
   Meanwhile, the knob  111  is a circular plate and is formed with a hole  150  at the central portion thereof. 
   An angle-restricting device  200  for detecting the rotation of the knob  111  is installed at the side of the front duct  123  corresponding to the hole  150 . The angle-restricting device  200  can be replaced with a new one with lower costs when the angle-restricting device  200  is worn down. 
   The angle-restricting device  200  is a cylindrical housing  210  integrally fixed to the front duct  123  and having an open end, a coil spring  220  inserted into the housing  210  in the shaft-direction, a stopper  230  inserted into the open end of the housing  210 , elastically moved by the coil spring  220 , and contacting the inner circumference of the hole  150 , and a pair of stopper recesses  240  formed at the inner circumference of the hole  150 , receiving the stopper  230 , and rotating the knob  111  so that whether the damper  112  is opened or closed is detected. 
   The housing  210  is installed at the side of the front duct  123  corresponding to the hole  150  of the knob  111 . 
   The housing  210  may be integrally formed with the front duct  123  by molding, or may be formed individually and installed to the front duct  123 . 
   Moreover, the housing  210  is cylindrical and has an open end directed to the rear duct  124 . 
   The housing  210  is gradually and upwardly slanted from the front side to the rear side of the front duct  123 . 
   The coil spring  220  is vertically inserted into the inside of housing  210 . 
   The stopper  230  is inserted into the open end of the housing  210  and is elastically moved by the coil spring  220 . 
   The end of the stopper  230  contacts the inner circumference of the hole  150  and moves along an arch-shaped track formed by the inner circumference of the hole when the knob  111  rotates to a predetermined angle. 
   The end of the stopper  230  is rounded so as to reduce the area contacting the inner circumference of the hole and decrease friction there between. 
   The hole  150  is formed with a pair of stopper recesses  240  at the inner circumference thereof so as to restrict the travel distance of the stopper  230 . 
   The stopper recesses  240  are formed at positions on the inner circumference of the hole  150  when the damper  112  in the rear duct  124  is opened or closed by the rotation of the knob  111 . 
   The stopper recesses  240  have a predetermined depth sufficient to allow the stopper  230  to be separated by external force. 
   The operation of the air-vent constructed as described above, according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, will be described in detail. 
   A user rotates the knob  111  to any limit, the stopper  230  of the angle-restricting device  200  moves along the inner circumference of the hole  150  of the knob  111  and is placed in one of the stopper recesses  240  so as to open or close the damper  112 . 
   The stopper recesses  240  are formed at the positions on the inner circumference of the hole  150  to limit the rotation angle of the knob  111  to  70  degrees. 
   If the user rotates the knob  111  to one side end, the stopper  230  is placed in one of the stopper recesses  240  and restricts the knob  111 , so that the damper  112  can be maintained in an open or closed position. 
   The stopper  230  is elastically moved by the coil spring  220  and is withdrawn from the stopper recess  240  when the knob  111  is rotated by external force. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , since an air-vent of a vehicle according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a front duct  123  having a wing installed at the front side of the front duct  123 , a rear duct  124  installed to the rear side of the front duct  123  and having a damper  112  installed at the inside of the rear duct  124 , and a knob  111  for rotating the damper  112  and for opening and closing the rear duct  124 , and the components are identical to the components of the preferred embodiment in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , identical components are indicated by identical reference numerals. 
   The rotation angle of the knob  111  is restricted by the angle-restricting device  200 . 
   The angle-restricting device  200  includes a torsion spring  250  having a central portion and an end fixed to the side of the front duct  123  and receiving torque in the rotation direction with respect to the axis thereof, a stopper  260  provided to be elastically moved at the other end of the torsion spring  250  and contacting the inner circumference of the hole  150 , and a pair of stopper recesses  270  formed at the inner circumference of the hole  150 , rotating the knob  111 , and receiving the stopper  260  so that whether the damper  112  is opened or closed is detected. 
   The torsion spring  250  receives torque by a force applied to the sides of the torsion spring  250 . 
   The torsion spring  250  is fixed to the side of the front duct  123  corresponding to the hole  150  of the knob  111  by a pin  251 . 
   A fixed protrusion  252  provided at the side of the front duct  123  is inserted into the end of the torsion spring  250  so as to fix the end of the torsion spring  250  thereto. 
   The other end of the torsion spring  250  is spaced apart from the end of the torsion spring  250  by a predetermined angle. 
   The stopper  260  is inserted into the other end of the torsion spring  250 , and the end of the stopper  260  rotates while contacting the inner circumference of the hole  150 , thus, the arch-shaped track formed when the end of the stopper  260  has rotated. 
   The inner circumference of the hole  150  is formed with a pair of stopper recesses  270  for restricting the traveling range of the stopper  260  and the rotation angle of the knob  111 . 
   The stopper recesses  270  are formed at positions on the inner circumference of the hole  150  which the damper  112  in the rear duct  124  is fully opened or completely closed by the rotation of the knob  111  in the inner circumference of the hole  150 . 
   The stopper  260  is placed in or separated from the stopper recesses  270  by the elasticity of the torsion spring  250 . 
   As described above, the air-vent according to the present invention is constructed such that the stopper elastically which is moved by the spring moves along the inner circumference of the hole of the knob and is restricted to be placed in the stopper recesses on the inner circumference of the hole. The precision of the opening and closing operation of the damper due to the rotation of the knob is achieved, and the operative force is uniformly transmitted by adjusting the elasticity of the spring, so that the air-vent of the present invention exhibits superior performance. 
   Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.