CN111452584A

CN111452584A - Vehicle air conditioner controller

Info

Publication number: CN111452584A
Application number: CN201910053240.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 不公告发明人
Original assignee: Hangzhou Sanhua Research Institute Co Ltd
Current assignee: Ningbo Fuerda Smartech Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-01-21
Filing date: 2019-01-21
Publication date: 2020-07-28

Abstract

A vehicle air conditioner controller comprises a base and a knob assembly rotatably arranged in the base, wherein the base is provided with an installation cavity, at least part of the knob assembly is arranged in the installation cavity, and the vehicle air conditioner controller also comprises an elastic element and a bearing element which are arranged between the base and the knob assembly; the knob subassembly includes gear portion, and gear portion includes the gear ring, and the gear ring is formed with a plurality of convex parts and a plurality of concave part, and elastic element is connected with the base and stretches into to gear ring's concave part department. This technical scheme not only can reduce frictional force, noise reduction, can also arouse the rotatory required gear of knob subassembly to feel immediately, and the reinforcing is operated and is felt.

Description

Vehicle air conditioner controller

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of vehicles, in particular to an air conditioner controller for a vehicle.

Background

The pursuit of consumer comfort in the driving and riding environment of a vehicle has become an increasingly important issue, and the main operating components of a typical air conditioner controller include buttons and knobs. The knob is mainly used for adjusting temperature and air volume, the knob is used more in the driving process, and the design of the knob needs to meet the requirement of torque of a customer and simultaneously needs to consider the noise problem generated in the rotating process.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, it is desirable to provide an air conditioner controller for a vehicle that can solve or at least reduce the above problems.

The invention provides a vehicle air conditioner controller, which comprises a base and a knob assembly, wherein the knob assembly is rotatably arranged in the base; the knob assembly comprises a gear portion, the gear portion comprises a gear ring, the gear ring is provided with a plurality of convex portions and a plurality of concave portions, and the elastic element is connected with the base and extends into the concave portions of the gear ring.

In the vehicle air conditioner controller, the elastic element and the bearing element are arranged between the knob assembly and the base, so that the friction force can be reduced, the noise can be reduced, the elastic element is connected with the base and extends into the concave part of the gear ring, the gear pause feeling required by the rotation of the knob assembly can be caused, and the operation hand feeling can be enhanced.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a vehicle air conditioner controller according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an angular exploded perspective view of the vehicle air conditioner controller shown in fig. 1, in which a circuit board and electronic components thereon are omitted.

Fig. 3 is a schematic perspective exploded view of the vehicle air conditioner controller shown in fig. 2 at another angle.

Fig. 4 is a schematic perspective exploded view of a first bearing element of the vehicle air conditioner controller shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a schematic perspective exploded view of a second bearing element of the vehicle air conditioner controller shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a second embodiment of an air conditioner controller for a vehicle according to the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view illustrating an elastic member and a shift position of the vehicle air conditioner controller shown in fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view illustrating an elastic member and a base of the controller for an air conditioner of a vehicle shown in fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a third embodiment of an air conditioner controller for a vehicle according to the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the elastic member and the shift position of the vehicle air conditioner controller shown in fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view illustrating an elastic member and a base of the controller for an air conditioner for a vehicle shown in fig. 9.

Fig. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a fourth embodiment of an air conditioner controller for a vehicle according to the present invention.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of the elastic member and the shift position of the vehicle air conditioner controller shown in fig. 12.

Fig. 14 is a perspective view illustrating an elastic member and a base of the controller for an air conditioner for a vehicle shown in fig. 12.

Detailed Description

The invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, so that the technical scheme and the beneficial effects of the invention are more clear. It is to be understood that the drawings are provided solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, and that the dimensions shown in the drawings are for convenience of description and are not to be taken as limiting the scale. In the present application, terms such as "upper, lower, left, and right" are defined based on the positional relationship shown in the drawings to which the terms refer, and the positional relationship may vary depending on the drawings, and therefore, the scope of protection is not to be construed as being limited. In addition, relational terms such as "first," "second," and the like may be used solely to distinguish one element or component from another element or component having the same name, and do not imply or imply any actual relationship or order between the elements or components.

Referring to fig. 1 to 3, an air conditioner controller 100 for a vehicle according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes a base 10, a knob assembly 20 rotatably installed in the base 10, and a first bearing member 30, a second bearing member 40 and an elastic member 50 disposed between the base 10 and the knob assembly 20.

The base 10 has a mounting cavity 12 formed therein, and at least a portion of the knob assembly 20 is disposed in the mounting cavity 12. in this embodiment, the upper surface of the knob assembly 20 is flush with the base 10. A support portion 14 extends radially inwardly from the inner wall of the mounting cavity 12. The support portion 14 is substantially annular, and the base 10 has a through hole 15 formed in the mounting cavity 12, and the support portion 14 surrounds the through hole 15. The support portion 14 includes two end surfaces located at both ends in the axial direction and an inner surface located radially inward.

The knob assembly 20 includes a knob cap 21 and a shift 24, and the knob cap 21 includes a flat body 22 and a coupling post 23 perpendicularly extending from an end surface of the body 22. In this embodiment, the main body 22 is disk-shaped, and the connecting column 23 is hollow tube-shaped. The shift portion 24 includes a first section 25 and a second section 26 in the axial direction, and the diameter of the first section 25 is smaller than that of the second section 26. The shift position portion 24 further includes a shoulder 27, the shoulder 27 extending in a radial direction of the shift position portion 24, the shoulder 27 being located between the first section 25 and the second section 26 and connecting the first section 25 and the second section 26. In the present embodiment, the shoulder 27 has a circular plate shape. The radially outer periphery of the shoulder 27 is a stop ring 28. The shift ring 28 includes protrusions 281 and recesses 282 alternately arranged in the circumferential direction. The protrusions 281 protrude radially outward along the shift position portion 24, and the recesses 282 are formed between two adjacent protrusions 281.

In this embodiment, the number of the elastic members 50 is two. Each elastic element 50 includes two fixed end portions 52 and a snap portion 54 connected between the two fixed end portions 52. The resilient element 50 may be formed by bending a metal sheet. In this embodiment, the two fixing end portions 52 of the elastic element 50 are straight, the two fixing end portions 52 are coplanar and spaced apart from each other, two ends of the engaging portion 54 are respectively connected to the two fixing end portions 52, and a middle portion of the engaging portion 54 protrudes from one side of the two fixing end portions 52. In this embodiment, the engaging portion 54 has a V-shape. It will be appreciated that in other embodiments, the fixed end portion 52 is not limited to being straight, but may be bent, looped or any other shape that can achieve a fixed connection with the base 10. The engaging portion is not limited to a V-shape, but may be U-shaped or other protruding structure from the fixing end portion 52.

Referring also to fig. 4, the first bearing element 30 is a transverse rolling bearing element, the first bearing element 30 includes a retaining ring 32 and a plurality of first rolling elements 35 disposed within the retaining ring 32, the retaining ring 32 may be made of plastic, and the first rolling elements 35 may be made of stainless steel. In this embodiment, the first rolling elements 35 may be balls. The retainer ring 32 has a ring shape, and a plurality of receiving holes 33 for receiving the first rolling elements 35 are formed in the ring shape, and the plurality of receiving holes 33 are uniformly arranged in the circumferential direction of the retainer ring 32. Each receiving hole 33 penetrates the retaining ring 32 in the axial direction of the retaining ring 32, and the receiving holes 33 form first openings 36 (only one of the first openings is shown) on both end surfaces of the retaining ring 32. The hole wall 38 of the receiving hole 33 is spherical, the receiving hole 33 has a maximum hole diameter at the axial middle portion of the retainer ring 32, and the hole diameter of the receiving hole 33 gradually decreases from the middle portion toward the first openings 36 at both ends. The diameter of the first rolling elements 35 is slightly smaller than the maximum diameter of the receiving hole 33 but larger than the diameter of the first opening 36 of the receiving hole 33, and therefore, a part of the first rolling elements 35 can be received in the receiving hole 33 and freely roll in the receiving hole 33 without falling off the retaining ring 32. Both axial ends of the first rolling elements 35 accommodated in the retainer ring 32 protrude from the first openings 36 respectively and beyond both axial end surfaces of the retainer ring 32, that is, the diameter of the first rolling elements 35 is larger than the thickness of the retainer ring 32. The first rolling elements 35 are engaged into the receiving holes 33 from the first openings 36 by elastic deformation of the retaining ring 32, and in order to facilitate deformation of the retaining ring 32, the retaining ring 32 is further provided with a plurality of slots 34, each slot 34 penetrates through a radially outer peripheral edge of the retaining ring 32 and communicates with a corresponding receiving hole 33, and a circumferential width of the slot 34 is smaller than a diameter of the first rolling element 35 to prevent the first rolling element 35 from being disengaged from the retaining ring 32 from the slot 34.

In this context, a transverse rolling bearing element is defined as a rolling bearing element which comprises a retaining ring and rolling bodies, the axial ends of which protrude beyond the axial ends of the retaining ring as frictional contact points.

Referring also to fig. 5, the second bearing element 40 is a vertical rolling bearing element. The second bearing element 40 includes a retaining sleeve 42 and a plurality of second rolling elements 45 disposed within the retaining sleeve 42. The retaining sleeve 42 may be made of plastic and the second rolling bodies 45 may be made of stainless steel. In this embodiment, the second rolling elements 45 may be balls. The retainer 42 includes a cylindrical portion, one axial end of which is provided with a plurality of housing holes 43 for housing the second rolling elements 45, and the plurality of housing holes 43 are arranged uniformly in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical portion. Each receiving hole 43 is formed with two second openings 46 radially penetrating the radially inner and outer surfaces of the retaining sleeve 43, respectively. The receiving hole 43 has a semicircular shape, and the inner wall 48 thereof has a spherical shape. The receiving hole 43 has the largest diameter at the radially intermediate portion of the retaining sleeve 42, and the diameter of the receiving hole 43 gradually decreases from the radially intermediate portion of the retaining sleeve 42 toward the second openings 46 on both radial sides. The diameter of the second rolling element 45 is slightly smaller than the maximum diameter of the accommodating hole 43 but larger than the diameters of the two second openings 46 of the accommodating hole, so that a part of the second rolling element 45 is accommodated in the accommodating hole 43 and can freely roll in the accommodating hole 43 without falling off from the retaining sleeve 42. The radial both sides of the second rolling elements 45 disposed inside the retaining sleeve 42 project beyond the radial outer surface and the radial inner surface of the retaining sleeve 42, respectively, via the second openings 46. In order to facilitate the elastic deformation of the retaining sleeve 42, the assembly of the second rolling elements 45 is facilitated. The retaining sleeve 42 is further provided with a plurality of notches 44, each notch 44 penetrating through the bottom end face of the retaining sleeve 42 and communicating with a corresponding receiving hole 43, the size of the notch 44 being smaller than the diameter of the second rolling element 45, thereby preventing the second rolling element 45 from coming off the retaining sleeve 42 from the notch 44.

In this context, a vertical rolling bearing element is defined as a rolling bearing element which comprises a cage sleeve and rolling bodies, the radial sides of which protrude from the radial inner and outer surfaces of the cage sleeve as frictional contact points.

Referring to fig. 1 to 3, in the present embodiment, a knob cap 21 is disposed in the mounting cavity 12 of the base 10, a body 22 of the knob cap 21 is located on an upper side of the support portion 14, and a connection post 23 passes through the through hole 15. It is defined that the installation direction of the knob cap 21 is from the top of the base 10 to the base 10, and then the installation direction of the gear portion 24 is from the bottom of the base 10 to the base 10, and the first section 25 of the gear portion 24 is sleeved on the periphery of the connection post 23, so that the knob cap 21 and the gear portion 24 form a fixed connection. In this embodiment, the first section 25 of the gear portion 24 and the connecting column 23 of the knob cap 21 are connected by the matching of the snap protrusions and the snap holes, specifically, as shown in fig. 2 and 3, the snap protrusions 252 are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the first section 25, the number of the snap protrusions 252 is greater than two, the snap holes 232 are formed on the side wall of the connecting column 23, after the knob cap 21 and the gear portion 24 are assembled, the snap protrusions 252 are snapped into the snap holes 232, and further the rotation of the knob cap 21 relative to the gear portion 24 is limited, so that the knob cap 21 can drive the gear portion 24 to rotate together.

In the embodiment, the elastic element 50 is fixedly disposed with the support portion 14, specifically, two sets of locking protrusions 16 are formed at the lower end of the support portion 14, the elastic element 50 is clamped between the two sets of locking protrusions 16, and the elastic element 50 is fixedly connected with respect to the support portion 14. The two elastic elements 50 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the shift position portion 24, and the engaging portion 54 of the elastic element 50 extends radially inward to the shift position ring 28 of the shift position portion 24, i.e. the engaging portion 54 extends into the recess. When the knob assembly 20 is rotated, the convex portions 281 of the shift position ring 28 press and deform the engaging portions 54 of the elastic members 50, and therefore, when the engaging portions 54 slide over the convex portions 281 and the concave portions 282 of the shift position ring 28, a shift position click feeling required when the knob assembly 20 is rotated is formed. In order to prevent or reduce the displacement deviation in the axial direction caused by the pressing deformation of the engaging portion 54 of the elastic element 50 by the convex portion 281 of the gear ring 28, the gear position portion 24 further includes a stop edge 29, the outer diameter of the stop edge 29 is larger than that of the gear ring 28, the stop edge 29 is located between the gear ring 28 and the second section 26, and after assembly, the stop edge 29 of the gear position portion 24 is located at the lower side of the engaging portion 54 of the elastic element 50, and plays a supporting role for the elastic element 50, and prevents or reduces the displacement deviation in the axial direction caused by the pressing deformation of the engaging portion 54 of the elastic element 50 by the convex portion 281 of the gear ring 28.

An upper end surface of the support portion 14 of at least a part of the base 10 is opposed to a lower end surface of the body 22 of at least a part of the knob cap 21. The first bearing member 30 is located between an upper end surface of the bearing portion 14 and a lower end surface of the body 22 of the knob cap 21, and the lower end surface and the upper end surface are in contact with upper and lower ends of the first rolling body 35, respectively. In this embodiment, the lower end surface of the body 22 of the knob cap 21 and the upper end surface of the support portion 14 are respectively provided with an

annular groove

62, 64, and the two

annular grooves

62, 64 are disposed opposite to each other and used for commonly accommodating a part of the first rolling elements 35. The two

annular grooves

62, 64 define a rolling track for the first rolling elements 35 of the first bearing member 30, and act as a limit for the first bearing member 30, thereby facilitating the stability of the movement of the first rolling elements 35 of the first bearing member 30 when the knob assembly 20 rotates. It will be appreciated that in other embodiments, only one annular groove may be provided, i.e. only one annular groove may be provided on the upper end face of the bearing portion 14 or only one annular groove may be provided on the lower end face of the body 22 of the knob cap 21, and the rolling limit of the first rolling elements 35 may also be achieved.

Further, the radially inner surface of the support portion 14 of the base 10 is opposed to the radially outer surface of the first section 25 of the stopper portion 24. In the present embodiment, both the radially inner surface of the support portion 14 and the radially outer surface of the first section 25 of the stopper portion 24 are vertical surfaces. The second bearing element 40 is disposed between the vertical radially inner surface and the radially outer surface, and the radially outer side and the radially inner side of the second rolling body 45 of the second bearing element 40 are in contact with the vertical radially inner surface and the radially outer surface, respectively. In the present embodiment, the bottom end of the second rolling element 45 of the second bearing element 40 abuts against the shoulder 27 of the stopper portion 24.

Due to the arrangement of the first bearing member 30 and/or the second bearing member 40, the direct friction of the opposite friction surfaces between the base 10 and the knob assembly 20 is converted into the rolling friction between the two opposite surfaces and the first bearing member 30 (or the second bearing member 40), respectively, thereby reducing the noise. In addition, due to the arrangement of the first and

second bearing members

30 and 40, a clearance between the base 10 and the knob assembly 20 in a circumferential direction and/or an axial direction may be eliminated, thereby reducing a shaking amount when the knob assembly 20 is rotated and improving coaxiality of the mounting cavity 12 of the base 10 and the knob assembly 20.

In order to further reduce friction, lubricating oil can be coated on the friction surfaces of the base and the knob assembly, and the lubricating oil can reduce the abrasion of the friction surfaces and prolong the service life of the vehicle air conditioner controller.

In the present embodiment, the amount of rotation of the knob assembly 20 with respect to the base 10 is measured by the detection magnet 60 and the hall element 70. Specifically, the detection magnet 60 is disposed on the inner wall of the second section 26 of the shift portion 24. The hall element 70 is disposed on a circuit board 72. The circuit board 72 is located below the shift portion 24. The sensing magnet 60 has alternating N-poles and S-poles in the circumferential direction, and thus, the hall element 70 senses a change in the magnetic poles of the magnet 60 when the sensing magnet 60 rotates, thereby enabling measurement of the amount of rotation of the knob assembly 20.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing an air conditioner controller 700 for a vehicle according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The same parts in this embodiment as in the first embodiment will not be described herein again. The main difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment is the elastic element.

Referring to fig. 7 and 8, in particular, the elastic element 650 of the vehicle air conditioner controller 700 of the present embodiment includes a spring 652 and a shift position pin 654, the shift position pin 654 is located at one end of the spring 652, and the spring 652 is a cylindrical compression spring. Specifically, a fixing post 616 is disposed on a lower end surface of the supporting portion 14 of the base 10, a spring 652 is sleeved on the fixing post 616, and a shift position pin 654 is connected to a lower end of the spring 652. Correspondingly, the shift ring 28 of the shift position portion 24 is formed on the upper surface of the shoulder 27, and the protrusions 281 of the shift ring 28 protrude upward in the axial direction. When assembled, the shift position pin 654 is pressed to the recess 282 of the shift position ring 28 by the spring 652 and the spring 652 engages with the shift position ring 28, the spring 652 having a certain amount of compression, and when the shift position portion 28 is rotated, the shift position pin 654 can pass from one recess 282 through the protrusion 281 into the other recess 282 to engage with the shift position ring 28 when the knob assembly 20 is rotated, causing a shift position pause feeling required for the rotation of the knob assembly 20.

Further, the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that: in the first embodiment, the junction of the radially outer surface of the first section 25 of the shift position portion 24 and the shoulder portion 27 is a right angle, that is, the radially outer surface of the first section 25 of the shift position portion 24 is a vertical surface with which the radially inner side of the second rolling elements 45 of the second bearing element 40 is in contact. While the radially outer surface of the first section 25 of the shift position portion 24 in this embodiment has a bevel 82 at the junction with the shoulder 27. The second bearing element 40 is placed around the inclined surface 82, and the radially inner side of the second rolling element 45 is in contact with the inclined surface 82. The provision of the inclined surface 82 advantageously eliminates a lateral clearance caused by manufacturing tolerances, improves the stability of the engagement of the shift position portion 24, the support portion 14 and the second bearing member 40, avoids rattling of the second rolling elements 45 of the second bearing member 40 caused by manufacturing tolerances, and further reduces the amount of rattling. Further, the radial inner surface of the support portion 14 is also formed with a slope 84, and the radial outer side of the second rolling element 45 is in contact with the slope 84.

In the present embodiment, the friction surfaces of the bearing portion 14 and the shift portion 24 for contacting the second rolling elements 45 of the second bearing element 40 are inclined surfaces, and it is understood that the friction surfaces may also be arc surfaces, and the arc surfaces may also be concave arc surfaces or convex arc surfaces.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view showing an air conditioner controller 800 for a vehicle according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The same parts in this embodiment as in the second embodiment will not be described again. The main difference between this embodiment and the second embodiment is the elastic element.

Referring to fig. 10 and 11, in the vehicle air conditioner controller 800 of the present embodiment, specifically, the shift ring 28 of the shift position portion 24 is also disposed on the upper surface of the shoulder portion 27, and the protrusion 281 of the shift ring 28 protrudes in the axial direction. The resilient member 750 includes a spring 752 and a ball 754, the ball 754 being located at one end of the spring 752. Specifically, a fixing post 716 is disposed on a lower end surface of the supporting portion 14 of the base 10, a spring 752 is sleeved on the fixing post 716, and a ball 754 is disposed at a lower end of the spring 752. When assembled, the ball 754 is biased into the recess 282 of the shift ring 28 by the spring 752 and the spring engages the shift ring, the spring having a compression, and as the shift portion is rotated, the ball 754 rolls from one recess, over the protrusion, and into the other recess, thereby engaging the shift ring 28 as the knob assembly 20 is rotated, causing a shift cogging desired in the rotation of the knob assembly 20.

Fig. 12 is a sectional view showing an air conditioner controller 800 for a vehicle according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The same parts in this embodiment as in the second embodiment will not be described again. The main difference between this embodiment and the second embodiment is the elastic element.

Referring to fig. 13 and 14, in the vehicle air conditioner controller 900 of the present embodiment, specifically, the shift ring 28 of the shift portion 24 is also disposed on the upper surface of the shoulder portion 27, and the protrusion 281 of the shift ring 28 protrudes upward in the axial direction. The resilient element 850 is a wave spring. The wave spring 850 may have a ring shape provided with a fixing portion 852 and a catching portion 854. In this embodiment, the number of the fixing portions 852 is two, and the two fixing portions are symmetrically disposed. The number of the engaging portions 854 is two, and the engaging portions 854 are also symmetrically disposed. The fixing portions 852 and the engaging portions 854 are alternately arranged in the circumferential direction. The lower end of the supporting portion 14 of the base 10 is provided with two sets of locking protrusions 816 (only one set is shown in the figure) corresponding to the fixing portion 852, and in this embodiment, the locking protrusions 816 are arranged in an M shape. When assembled, the two fixing portions 852 of the wave spring 850 are snapped into the two sets of detent projections 816 and fixed to the support portion 14. The engaging portion 854 of the wave spring 850 extends into the recess 282 of the shift ring 28 of the shift portion 24 to engage the shift ring 28 as the knob assembly 20 is rotated, causing a shift cogging desired in the rotation of the knob assembly 20.

In the above illustrated embodiment, the first bearing elements 30 are transverse rolling bearing elements, which are not limited to transverse rolling bearing elements, but may also be vertical rolling bearing elements. When the knob cap is a vertical rolling bearing element, at least part of the radial outer surface of the connecting column of the knob cap is opposite to at least part of the inner surface of the supporting part, the vertical rolling bearing element is arranged between the vertical rolling bearing element and the connecting column, and the radial two sides of the rolling body of the vertical rolling bearing element are in friction contact with the radial outer surface of the connecting column and the radial inner surface of the supporting part respectively, so that direct friction between the knob assembly and the base is converted into rolling friction between the knob assembly and the base and the vertical rolling bearing element, and friction reduction and noise reduction can.

In the above embodiment, the second bearing element 40 is a vertical rolling bearing element, and it is understood that it is not limited to the vertical rolling bearing element, but may be a lateral rolling bearing element. When the knob assembly is a transverse rolling bearing element, at least part of the axial end face of the shoulder of the gear portion and at least part of the axial end face of the support portion are opposite to each other, and the transverse rolling bearing element is arranged between the transverse rolling bearing element and the transverse rolling bearing element, and the axial two ends of the rolling body of the transverse rolling bearing element are respectively in friction contact with the axial end face of the shoulder of the gear portion and the axial end face of the support portion, so that direct friction between the knob assembly and the base is converted into rolling friction between the knob assembly and the base and the transverse rolling bearing element, and therefore friction reduction.

Furthermore, the first bearing element 30 and the second bearing element 40 are also not limited to rolling bearing elements, but may also be sliding bearing elements. For example, the first bearing member may be a lateral sliding bearing member provided between an upper end surface of the support portion of the base and a lower end surface of the body of the knob cap, and both axial end surfaces of the first bearing member are in contact with the upper end surface of the support portion of the base and the lower end surface of the body of the knob cap, respectively, as friction surfaces. In this context, transverse plain bearing elements are defined as: the sliding bearing elements whose axial both end faces serve as frictional contact faces, i.e., the lateral sliding bearing elements, are in sliding contact with the upper end face of the bearing portion and the lower end face of the body of the knob cap. Further, the upper end surface of the support portion of the base and the lower end surface of the body of the knob cap may be respectively provided with an annular groove for receiving the first bearing element. It is understood that an annular groove may be formed only on the upper end surface of the support portion of the base or only on the lower end surface of the body of the knob cap. The second bearing element may be a vertical plain bearing element. It may be in the form of a ring plate disposed between the radially outer surface of the first section of the retainer portion and the radially inner surface of the support portion of the base. The radially inner surface and the radially outer surface of the second bearing member are in contact with the radially outer surface of the first segment and the radially inner surface of the support portion, respectively, as friction surfaces. In this context, a vertical plain bearing element is defined as: the sliding bearing elements, the radially outer and radially inner surfaces of which are the friction contact surfaces, i.e. the vertical sliding bearing elements are in sliding contact with the radially inner surface of the support and the radially outer surface of the first segment.

When the knob assembly is rotated, direct friction between the body of the knob cap and the support portion of the base is converted into sliding friction between the body and the first bearing member, so that friction can be reduced and noise can be reduced. Similarly, the direct friction between the gear part and the supporting part is converted into the sliding friction between the gear part and the second bearing element, so that the friction can be further reduced, and the noise is reduced.

It will be appreciated that the first bearing element may also be a vertical plain bearing element; the second bearing element may also be a transverse plain bearing element.

It should be noted that while the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative and not restrictive, that is, the embodiments shown and described are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in any way. It is to be understood that any feature described in any embodiment may be used in combination with any other embodiment. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and equivalent arrangements may be made in the above-described embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications and improvements are intended to be included within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. An air conditioner controller for a vehicle comprises a base and a knob assembly rotatably arranged in the base, wherein the base is provided with an installation cavity, and at least part of the knob assembly is arranged in the installation cavity; the knob assembly comprises a gear portion, the gear portion comprises a gear ring, the gear ring is provided with a plurality of convex portions and a plurality of concave portions, and the elastic element is connected with the base and extends into the concave portions of the gear ring.

2. The vehicle air conditioner controller of claim 1, wherein the knob assembly further includes a knob cap, the knob cap and the shift portion being interconnected, the bearing element including a first bearing element and a second bearing element, the first bearing element being located between the knob cap and the base, the second bearing element being located between the shift portion and the base.

3. The vehicle air conditioner controller according to claim 2, wherein the first bearing element and/or the second bearing element is one selected from the group consisting of:

(1) a transverse rolling bearing element including a retainer ring and a plurality of rolling bodies disposed in the retainer ring, the rolling bodies axially protruding from both ends of the retainer ring to serve as friction portions;

(2) the vertical rolling bearing element comprises a retaining sleeve and a plurality of rolling bodies arranged on the retaining sleeve, wherein the rolling bodies radially protrude out of two sides of the retaining sleeve to serve as friction parts;

(3) a transverse sliding bearing element, the axial end face of which serves as a frictional contact face;

(4) vertical plain bearing elements, the radial surfaces of which serve as frictional contact surfaces.

4. The air conditioner controller for vehicles as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plurality of protrusions and the plurality of recesses are formed at a radial periphery of the shift ring, the elastic member includes a fixing portion connected to the base and a catching portion connected to the fixing portion, the base is provided with a catching protrusion corresponding to the fixing portion of the elastic member, and the fixing portion is caught to the base by the catching protrusion.

5. The vehicle air conditioner controller according to claim 4, wherein the fixing portion includes two fixing end portions, and the engaging portion is connected between the two fixing end portions and protrudes from one end of the two fixing end portions; the clamping part is U-shaped or V-shaped.

6. The vehicular air-conditioning controller according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the plurality of protrusions and the plurality of recesses are formed on an axial end face of the shift ring facing the base, and the elastic member is connected to the base and axially protrudes into the recess of the shift ring.

7. The vehicle air conditioner controller of claim 6, wherein the elastic member comprises a spring and a shift position pin, the spring is connected with the base, the shift position pin is located at one end of the spring, and the shift position pin is pressed to the concave portion of the shift position ring through the spring.

8. The vehicle air conditioner controller of claim 6, wherein the elastic element comprises a spring connected to the base and a ball disposed at a distal end of the spring, the ball being pressed to the recess of the shift ring by the spring.

9. The vehicle air conditioner controller according to claim 7 or 8, wherein a fixing post is provided on an axial end surface of the base facing the shift ring, and the spring is sleeved on the fixing post.

10. The vehicle air conditioner controller according to claim 6, wherein the elastic element is a wave spring, the wave spring includes a fixing portion and a clamping portion, the fixing portion is connected with the base, and the clamping portion axially extends into the recess of the shift ring; the axial end face of the base facing the gear ring is provided with a clamping protrusion corresponding to the fixing part, and the fixing part is buckled in the clamping protrusion.