FR2817327A1 - Control for ventilation flap comprises parallel braids whose length varies according to moisture content of air, slide attached to one end of braids, second slide which moves at right angles to axis of flap and lever connecting slides - Google Patents

Abstract

The control for the degree of opening of a ventilation flap (50) comprises a row (8) of parallel braids whose length varies according to the moisture content of the air. A slide (25) attached to one end of the braids moves as they change in length. A second slide (48) moves at right angles to the axis (53) around which the flap swivels and is positioned between the ends of the braids. The slides are connected by a lever (38). An Independent claim is included for a ventilation flap fitted with the control

Description

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 The invention relates to a device for controlling the degree of opening of an air inlet as a function of a physical parameter, such as the humidity or the CO2 level, of the air contained in a room equipped with this air inlet, this control device being of the type comprising: - at least one longitudinal element, having a variable length as a function of said physical parameter; and a flap mounted to tilt about an axis substantially parallel to the general direction of the longitudinal element, the angular orientation of this flap determining the degree of opening of the air inlet.

 The invention also relates to an air inlet provided with such a control device.

 Several air inlets comprising a control device of the aforementioned type are known from document FR-A-2 589 996. In one of them, the buckling of an elastically flexible rod, one end of which is driven by one end sliding of the longitudinal element, transforms the variations in length of this longitudinal element into variations in the degree of opening of the flap. With this device, it is not possible to establish precisely the desired relationship between the humidity and the angular orientation of the flap.

 In another air inlet disclosed by this document FRA-2,589, 996, the flap is actuated by one of its ends, and moreover by means of an eccentric, which, from a point of mechanical view, is disadvantageous.

 In addition, both of these air inlets are bulky due to the control devices they comprise.

 The invention, which aims to remedy the drawbacks of the aforementioned devices, therefore aims to allow the place of connection of the shutter to the member which actuates it between the two ends of this shutter, and to obtain the relationship between hygrometry and the angular orientation of the shutter, while offering a compact solution.

 To this end, the invention relates to a device for controlling the degree of opening of an air inlet in operation

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 of a physical parameter of the air contained in a room equipped with this air inlet, this control device being of the aforementioned type, characterized in that it comprises: - a first sliding drawer in a direction substantially parallel to the 'longitudinal element, this first drawer being directly driven by a first end of the longitudinal element; - A second sliding drawer in a direction substantially orthogonal to the tilting axis of the flap, and acting directly on this flap to determine its angular orientation, this second drawer being disposed between the first and the second ends of said longitudinal element; and - a pivotally mounted lever connecting the first and second drawers to one another.

 According to other characteristics of this control device: - the first and second drawers slide in the same plane; - The longitudinal element comprises at least one braid whose length varies with the humidity, the device comprising an elastic member for returning the first drawer to a position of tension of this braid; - The device comprises a mounting support comprising first and second longitudinal walls which jointly delimit a dihedral extending along the length of these two walls, the longitudinal element being placed in the dihedral, along its length, the first drawer sliding on the internal face of the first wall, the flap being mounted on the external face of the second wall; - The lever is mounted on the internal face of the first wall, the second slide drawer on this internal face of the first wall; the support comprises a third wall which defines with the first and second walls a groove forming a slide and guiding the first drawer;

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 the device comprises an elastic compensation member and a compensation drawer on which the second end of the longitudinal element is mounted, and which slides, guided by the groove forming a slide, in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal element, l elastic compensation member having a stiffness greater than that of the elastic return member and being arranged so as to bring the compensation drawer towards a stop of movement of the latter in the direction opposite to the first end of the longitudinal element.

 The invention also relates to an air inlet characterized in that it comprises a control device as defined above.

 According to other characteristics of this air inlet: - the control device is attached to the body of the air inlet; - on its front face, the body of the air intake delimits a hollow housing for receiving the mounting support, a slot being provided in a wall of this housing for the passage of the flap evolving in the ventilation channel delimited by the body of the air inlet, a protective element of the control device being intended to close this housing.

 The invention will be better understood on reading the description which follows, given solely by way of example and made with reference to the drawings in which: FIG. 1 is an exploded view, in perspective, of a device, in accordance with the invention, for controlling the degree of opening of an air inlet; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the control device of Figure 1 after assembly of its component parts, with the exception of a bundle of parallel braids and sensitive to humidity; - Figure 3 is an exploded view, partially broken away, in perspective, of an air inlet comprising the control device illustrated in Figures 1 and 2; - Figure 4 is a sectional view along the plane IV

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 of Figure 3, the air inlet and the control device being assembled.

 In FIGS. 1 and 2, a device for controlling the degree of opening of an air inlet comprises a mounting support 1, which is a single piece, obtained by molding a synthetic material. This mounting support 1 has five walls, referenced 3,4, 5,6 and 7 respectively, which jointly delimit a hollow housing 2 having the shape of a rectilinear groove. The wall 3 forms the bottom of the housing 2. The walls 4 and 5 are longitudinal and parallel to each other. The two walls 6 and 7 each extend at one end of the housing 2.

 The control device also comprises a bundle of braids 8 which are parallel to each other, the length of which depends on the humidity of the air. The braids 8 are fixed together to two parallelepipedic elements 9 and 10, each disposed at one of the two ends of the bundle of braids 8.

For this purpose, each parallelepipedic element 9 or 10 is provided with a ring 11 tightening the braids 8 on it.

 The element 9 is mounted on a compensation drawer 12, and it is provided for this purpose with an adjustment screw 13 the head of which is retained by a lateral lug 14 of this drawer 12.

To prevent the element 9 from pivoting on itself, the latter is provided with a rib 16 which is housed in a groove 17 of complementary shape, delimited by the drawer 12. The body of this drawer 12 generally has the shape a rectangular plate, which slides on the internal face of the bottom wall 3 while being guided by the longitudinal walls 4 and 5 and retained by four projecting blocks 18 regularly distributed on these, near the bottom wall 3.

Four notches 19 are formed in the rectangular edge of the body of the drawer 12 to allow the passage of these projecting blocks 18 when the drawer 12 is mounted on the support 1.

 The slide 12 is pushed back towards the end wall 6, forming a stop, by a compensating spring 20 biased in compression between a fixed stop 21, which extends from the bottom wall 3, and a lateral lug 22 whose is provided

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 this drawer 12. From this lateral lug 22 extends a rod 23 which receives and maintains the compensation spring 20, a slot being provided on the fixed stop 21 for the passage of this rod 23. A slot 24 is provided in the body of the drawer 12 to receive the fixed stop 21.

 The element 10 is mounted on a drawer 25, and it is provided for this purpose with a hole 26 receiving a rod 27 extending from the drawer 25, in the direction of the end wall 7.

In addition, a rib 28 provided on this element 10 is housed in a groove 29 of complementary shape, delimited by the slide 25, which prevents rotation of the element 10 around the rod 27.

 Like the drawer 12, the drawer 25 slides in the housing 2, on the bottom wall 3, guided by the longitudinal walls 4 and 5. The body of the drawer 25 has the general shape of a longitudinal plate, the two longitudinal edges of which , intended to slide on the longitudinal walls 4 and 5 respectively, are parallel to each other. The body of the drawer 25 slides between the bottom wall 3 and a set of four projecting blocks 30 which hold it. These four projecting blocks 30, only two of which are visible in FIGS. 1 and 2, are distributed, near the bottom wall 3, on the longitudinal walls 4 and 5. The two longitudinal edges of the drawers 25 each have two notches 31 intended for the passage of the projecting blocks 30 during the installation of the drawer 25 against the bottom wall 3.

 A return spring 32, biased in compression between a fixed stop 33 extending from the bottom wall 3 and a stop surface 34 provided on the drawer 25, pushes this drawer 25 towards the end wall 7 The action of the return spring 32 causes the braids 8 to be tensioned, which, in reaction, retain the element 10 plugged onto the rod 27. The return spring 32 is received on a rod 35 which holds it in place and s extends in the direction opposite to the end wall 7. A slot is made in the fixed stop 33 to allow this rod 35 to pass. A slot 36 is provided in the drawer 25 to receive the fixed stop 33.

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 The end of the drawer 25 directed opposite the end wall 7 comprises a cylindrical pin 37 intended to communicate the movement of the drawer 25 to a lever 38 provided for this purpose with an oblong lumen 39 receiving this pin 37.

 The lever 38 is pierced with a circular hole 40 which allows it to be pivotally mounted on an axis 41, visible only in FIG. 2, which axis 41 extends from the bottom wall 3, perpendicular to it. The pivoting lever 38 cannot be extracted from the axis 41 due to a fixing element 42 placed in front of it and fixed on the edge of the longitudinal wall 5.

 The lever 38 comprises a finger 43 offset by an angle 0 of the oblong lumen 39. The end of this finger 43 comprises a cylindrical pin 44 directed towards the bottom wall 3. This cylindrical pin 44 is received in a slot 45 for transmitting the movement of the pivoting lever 38 to a drawer 46 in which this slot 45 is provided.

 The drawer 46 slides on the bottom wall 3, perpendicular to the axis of translation of the drawer 25. The longitudinal walls 4 and 5 are respectively pierced with a slot 47 and a slot 48, which receive and guide the drawer 46 The end of the drawer 46 close to the longitudinal wall 4 is provided with a fork 49 intended to act on a flap 50. Also, the flap 50 has an opening 51 for the passage of the head of the fork 49, an edge of this opening 51 having the shape of a cylinder trunk 52 received in the interval delimited by the fork 49.

 The flap 50 has the shape of a flat and rectangular plate. Over most of its length, one of the two longitudinal edges of this flap 50 has the shape of a cylinder of circular section forming a pivot axis 53. This axis 53 is engaged in four pairs of legs 54, regularly distributed along the length of the external face of the longitudinal wall 4. Four openings 55 are formed in the flap 50, each for the passage of one of the two legs of a pair 54.

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 In Figures 1 and 2, we see that the drawer 46 acts directly on the flap, at the middle part thereof, which, from a mechanical point of view, is advantageous compared to the case where the flap is actuated by one of its ends, for example by means of an eccentric.

 In addition, the control device, the structure and components of which have just been described, is particularly compact. Indeed, the main part of the mechanism which it comprises, namely the drawers 12 and 25, the lever 38, the drawer 46 and the braids 8, is received in the hollow housing 2. In addition, the flap 50, when it is folded over the longitudinal wall 4, does not protrude therefrom.

 The stiffness of the compensation spring 20 is greater than that of the return spring 32. Also, as long as the flap 50 has not reached its position of maximum angular spacing from the longitudinal wall 4, the compensation slide 12 comes into abutment , immobilized, against the end wall 6.

son écartement angulaire de la paroi longitudinale 4 (flèche F4). We will now endeavor to describe the effect of a reduction in humidity by relying more particularly on FIG. 2. Such a reduction in humidity will cause the braids 8 to shrink, which, held fixedly in the side of the drawer 12, will drive the drawer 25 (arrow Fj. The lever 38, driven by the drawer 25, will be pivoted, which results in a displacement of its finger 43 in the direction of the flap 50 (arrow F2). drawer 46 (arrow F3) accompanying the finger 43 in its movement, the flap 50 is tilted around its axis 53, in the direction of

its angular spacing from the longitudinal wall 4 (arrow F4).

An increase in the humidity of the air will lead to an increase in the length of the braids 8, causing, under the action of the return spring 32, the reverse movement to that which has just been described.

 If, the flap 50 having already reached its position of maximum angular spacing from the longitudinal wall 4, the shrinking of the braids 8 continues, the compensation slide 12 is driven away from the end wall

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 6 forming a stop, which makes it possible to avoid stresses of too high intensity which, otherwise, could appear in the component parts of the control device and damage them. The compensation spring 20 therefore makes it possible to compensate for the variations in length of the braids 8 which occur beyond the normal stroke of the flap 50. The screw 13 can be screwed or unscrewed in order to modify the adjustment of the control device.

 In FIG. 3, an air inlet comprises a body 56, the front face 57 of which delimits a housing 58 receiving the control device of FIGS. 1 and 2. The air inlet 56 delimits an internal ventilation channel 59, intended to be connected to an air supply channel, formed for example in a frame or a wall. The ventilation channel 59 opens at the level of openings 60 pierced in a wall of the body 56, which is the upper wall of the latter in the example shown and which is adjacent to the front face 57. An opening 61 for the passage flap 50 is provided in the upper wall of the housing 58 and connects this housing 58 and the ventilation channel 59. The support 1 is fixed in the housing 58 by means of three screws, not shown, each screwed into a hole 62 in the body 56.

 The flap 50 moving inside the ventilation channel 59, as can be seen in FIG. 4, its angular orientation makes it possible to determine the degree of opening of the air inlet. When the flap 50 is completely folded down on the longitudinal wall 4, the air inlet opening is maximum (flap 50 in phantom). On the other hand, the passage section of the ventilation channel 59 is reduced as the flap 50 deviates angularly from the longitudinal wall 4. When the angular spacing between the flap 50 and the longitudinal wall 4 is maximum, the flap 50 substantially closes the ventilation channel 59 by masking the openings 60 (flap 50 and mechanism in solid lines).

 A protective element 63, which contributes to the aesthetics of the air intake, is fixed on the body 56, in front of the control device, so as to hide the latter in

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 closing the housing 58. This protective element 63 is provided with lights 64, 3 in number in the example illustrated, which let the air contained in the room equipped with the air inlet come into contact with the braids 8.

 As is apparent from the above, the control device is attached to the body 56 of the air inlet, which has several advantages. Firstly, this gives the air inlet a modular character, since it may or may not be provided with this control device. Second, it makes it easier to repair or replace the latter. Third, this control device can be assembled separately to be mounted on the body 56 only in a second step. Finally, it can equip different kinds of air inlets.

 Among the advantages of the invention, it will be noted that during a shrinking of the braids 8, the flap 50 is pushed back by the drawer 46. In cases where such a shrinking of the braids must result in a closing movement of the air inlet, this makes it possible to have the same side, relative to the air ventilation channel 59, and the tilting axis of the flap 50, and the braids 8. It can then be imagined to mount these braids 8 and this flap 50 on the same mounting support 1 to achieve a compact assembly, as is the case in the example described above.

Claims (10)

 CLAIMS 1. Device for controlling the degree of opening of an air inlet as a function of a physical parameter of the air contained in a room equipped with this air inlet, this control device comprising: - at least a longitudinal element (8), having a variable length as a function of said physical parameter; and - a flap (50) pivotally mounted around an axis (53) substantially parallel to the general direction of the longitudinal element (8), the angular orientation of this flap (50) determining the degree of opening of air intake; characterized in that it comprises: a first drawer (25) sliding in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal element (8), this first drawer (25) being directly driven by a first end of the longitudinal element (8) ; - A second drawer (46) sliding in a direction substantially orthogonal to the axis (53) of tilting of the flap (50), and acting directly on this flap (50) to determine its angular orientation, this second drawer (48) being disposed between the first and second ends of said longitudinal member (8); and - a lever (38) pivotally mounted and connecting the first (25) and second (46) drawers to one another.  2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the first (25) and second (46) drawers slide in the same plane.  3. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the longitudinal element comprises at least one braid (8) whose length varies with the humidity, the device comprising an elastic member (32) for recalling the first drawer (25) to a tension position of this braid (8).  4. Device according to any one of the claims <Desc / Clms Page number 11>  above, characterized in that it comprises a mounting support (1) comprising first (3) and second (4) longitudinal walls which jointly delimit a dihedral extending along the length of these two walls (3,4), the longitudinal element (8) being placed in the dihedral, along its length, the first drawer (25) sliding on the internal face of the first wall (3), the flap being mounted on the external face of the second wall (4 ).  5. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the lever (38) is mounted on the internal face of the first wall (3), the second drawer (46) sliding on this internal face of the first wall (3).  6. Device according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the support (1) comprises a third wall (5) which defines with the first (3) and second (4) walls a groove (2) forming a slide and guiding the first drawer (25).  7. Device according to claims 3 and 6, characterized in that it comprises an elastic compensation member (20) and a compensation drawer (12) on which the second end of the longitudinal element (8) is mounted, and which slides, guided by the groove (2) forming a slide, in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal element (8), the elastic compensation member (20) having a stiffness greater than that of the elastic return member ( 32) and being arranged so as to bring the compensation slide (12) towards a stop (6) for stopping the movement of the latter in the direction opposite to the first end of the longitudinal element (8).  8. Air inlet, characterized in that it comprises a control device according to any one of the preceding claims.  9. Air inlet according to claim 8, characterized in that the control device is attached to the body (56) of the air inlet.  10. Air inlet according to claim 9, characterized in that on its front face (57), the body (56) of the inlet <Desc / Clms Page number 12>  of air delimits a hollow housing (58) for receiving the mounting support (1), an opening (61) being provided in a wall of this housing (58) for the passage of the flap (50) evolving in the ventilation channel (59) delimited by the body (56) of the air inlet, a protective element (63) of the control device being intended to close this housing (58).