Patent ID: 7470178

Claim:
An air-conditioner for a vehicle, comprising: an air-conditioning unit for controlling the temperature of air at a desired value; a duct for guiding the temperature-controlled air toward a passenger compartment of the vehicle; and an airflow regulator disposed in the duct for regulating a rate of flow of the temperature-controlled air to be discharged from the duct, the airflow regulator comprising a plurality of hollow frustoconical members placed one over another in a nested condition, each of the frustoconical members being open at and through a small end and a large end thereof, the small end being disposed near an air outlet of the duct and the large end being disposed relatively remote from the duct air outlet, such that the small end is downstream of the large end in a direction of air flow, each of said frustoconical members having at least one opening formed in a sidewall thereof, the frustoconical members being rotatable relative to one another about a common central axis thereof, wherein the small end is defined by a small end surface perpendicular to the common central axis of the frustoconical members, and the large end is defined by a large end surface parallel to the small end surface, said small end surface and said large end surface being open to allow air to flow therethrough.