FR3088107A1 - THIN AIR VENT WITH COANDA EFFECT FOR MOTOR VEHICLE - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an aerator comprising a hollow body (2), a first fin (9) pivotally mounted in said hollow body (2) around a transverse axis (A) and defining two air guide surfaces delimiting with said hollow body (2) two flow channels, and a second fin (12) pivotally mounted in said hollow body (2) around said transverse axis (A) upstream of said first fin (9), said first and second fins ( 9, 12) being articulated to each other by an articulation mechanism (20) comprising two transverse rods integral by a first of their ends respectively with the first and the second fins (9, 12) and whose second ends (21B, 23B) are mounted for free rotation and for longitudinal sliding in a slide (25) itself mounted for vertical sliding in a guide box integral with said hollow body (2).

Description

DESCRIPTION

Title of the invention: Thin aerator with Coanda effect for a motor vehicle

Technical area

The present invention relates generally to aerators intended to diffuse in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle air coming from the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system of said vehicle.

Prior art

Such an aerator, known for example from French patent application FR 2 956 065, conventionally comprises at least one aerator comprising a channel delimited by a hollow body and capable of channeling a flow of air up to an outlet opening opening into the passenger compartment of the vehicle, as well as a series of parallel deflection fins rotatably mounted in this channel near the outlet opening. The aerator also includes an actuator mechanically connected to these fins and allowing the user to control its rotation in order to orient the air flow leaving the body.

A concealment flap controllable by a dedicated control mechanism is also generally pivotally mounted in the duct upstream of these fins between a maximum open position and a closed position preventing the flow of ducted air from escaping to the through the outlet opening.

These aerators which generally lead to the dashboard of the vehicle are unsightly and negatively impact the level of quality perceived by users.

In order to overcome these drawbacks, American patent application 2014/0357179 proposes an aerator comprising:

- A hollow body capable of channeling an air flow from an inlet opening to an outlet opening opening onto an enclosure;

- a hollow oval section air guide core rigidly housed in the hollow body and defining two air guide surfaces opposite each other, the two guide surfaces and the hollow body thus delimiting two flow channels able to transport respectively to the outlet opening a first and a second quantity of air coming from the inlet opening; and

- a fin extending in said hollow body upstream of the guide core and pivotally mounted by its downstream end about a transverse axis so as to allow to adjust according to its position the ratio between the first and second quantities d 'air.

Thus, depending on the value of this ratio, the direction of the air flow leaving the aerator and perceived by the users will be modified. When the two quantities of air are identical, the outgoing air flow extends in a direction parallel to the axis of the duct.

Such an aerator implements the physical phenomenon known as the "Coanda effect" according to which a guided flow by attaching to curved surfaces has a low pressure drop and thus generates little noise.

It has the advantage of being particularly aesthetic (only the end of the core remains visible to users while the other mechanical elements are concealed) which allows to significantly improve the level of perceived quality of all the vehicle dashboard.

However, with this type of aerator, the outlet air section varies considerably depending on the position of the fin located upstream of the guide core.

This section is thus twice smaller when this fin occupies its extreme low or high position than when it occupies its intermediate position, which results in a significantly higher air speed leaving the aerator generating turbulence, pressure drops and much higher operating noise (gain of around 7 to 8 dB).

In order to limit the amplitude of variation of the aeraulic section at the outlet of the aerator, the French patent application not yet published and filed by the applicant under the number FR 1855935 discloses an aerator comprising a hollow body capable of channeling a flow of air from an inlet opening to an outlet opening leading to an enclosure, a first fin extending in said hollow body by being pivotally mounted by its upstream end around a transverse axis and defining two guide surfaces air opposite each other defining with said hollow body two upper and lower flow channels capable of transporting respectively to said outlet opening a first and a second quantity of air from said opening inlet, and a second fin extending in said hollow body upstream of said first fin and pivotally mounted by its downstream end around said transverse axis so as to allow adjustment er depending on its position the ratio between the first and second quantities of air, said first and second fins are hinged to each other by a link hinge mechanism located outside the hollow body and arranged so that the pivoting drive in one direction of said second fin also causes synchronized pivoting in the same direction of said first fin.

However, this articulation mechanism proves to be quite complex to implement and also presents significant risks of blocking by bracing.

Statement of the invention

The present invention therefore aims to improve the situation.

To this end, it provides an aerator for a motor vehicle comprising a hollow body capable of channeling a flow of air from an inlet opening to an outlet opening opening onto an enclosure, a first fin extending in said hollow body. by being pivotally mounted by its upstream end around a transverse axis and defining two air guide surfaces opposite one another delimiting with said hollow body two upper and lower flow channels suitable for transporting respectively towards said outlet opening a first and a second quantity of air coming from said inlet opening, and a second fin extending in said hollow body upstream from said first fin and pivotally mounted by its downstream end around said transverse axis so as to allow the ratio between the first and second quantities of air to be adjusted as a function of its position, said first and second fins being articulated one at a utre by an articulation mechanism so that the pivoting drive in one direction of said second fin also causes the synchronized pivoting in the same direction of said first fin; characterized in that said articulation mechanism comprises a first and a second transverse rods integral by a first of their ends respectively of the first and of the second fins and the second ends of which are mounted for free rotation and for longitudinal sliding in a slide itself mounted vertically in a guide housing integral with said hollow body.

This articulation mechanism synchronized with pivoting of the two fins has the advantage of being of particularly simple design and therefore economical to manufacture while considerably limiting the risks of jamming by bracing.

According to preferred characteristics of the aerator according to the invention, taken alone or in combination:

the spacing between said first rod and said pivot axis of said fins is greater than that between said second rod and this same pivot axis, so that said first fin has a lower rotational speed than that of said second fin during vertical sliding of the slide;

- Said second fin is able to be moved between an extreme low position in which said lower flow channel is closed so that all of said air flow circulates in said upper flow channel, and a second extreme high position wherein said upper flow channel is closed so that all of said air flow flows through said lower flow channel;

- The ratio between said spacings is determined so that the upper guide surface of the first fin is substantially parallel to the wall of the hollow body located opposite the latter when said second fin occupies its extreme low position, and so that the lower guide surface of this first fin is substantially parallel to the wall of the hollow body located opposite the latter when said second fin occupies its extreme upper position;

- Each of said rods passes through a respective oblong lumen in an arc formed in a side wall of said hollow body and being centered on said transverse axis;

- The second end of each rod is housed in a respective recess of said slide having a rectangular section whose height corresponds to the diameter of this second end so as to prevent any relative vertical movement between these two elements, and whose length is greater than the diameter of this second end so as to allow the longitudinal displacement of the latter along this obviously;

- Said control mechanism comprises an actuator accessible from outside said housing and making it possible to vertically slide said slide;

- Said control mechanism comprises an electric motor capable of causing the vertical movement of said slide; and or

- Said aerator comprises a row of parallel vertical deflection fins pivotally mounted around vertical axes in said hollow body upstream of said first and second fins, and being rotationally integral by means of a connecting member connecting them between they.

The invention also relates, in a second aspect, to a motor vehicle comprising at least one such aerator.

Brief description of the drawings

The description of the invention will now be continued with the detailed description of an exemplary embodiment, given below by way of illustration but not limitation, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

[Fig 1] is a simplified view in vertical longitudinal section of the aerator according to the invention in which the first and second fins occupy their intermediate position;

[Fig 2] shows an enlarged perspective view taken from three quarters back of a side part of the aerator of figure 1 [Fig 3] a side view in elevation of the aerator of figure 1 in which the first and the second fins visible by transparency through the hollow body occupy their extreme low position; and [Fig 4] is a view similar to Figure 3 but in which the first and the second fins occupy their extreme high position.

detailed description

An XYZ orthogonal coordinate system is defined in the figures, comprising three perpendicular axes two by two, namely:

- an X axis, defining a longitudinal direction, parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle,

- a Y axis, defining a transverse, horizontal direction, which with the X axis defines a horizontal XY plane, and

- a Z axis, defining a vertical direction, perpendicular to the horizontal XY plane.

FIGS. 1 to 4 represent an aerator 1 intended to be installed on the dashboard (not shown) of a vehicle in order to diffuse in the passenger compartment of this vehicle the forced air coming from a ventilation system and / or air conditioning.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, this aerator 1 comprises a hollow body 2 able to channel an air flow F from an inlet opening 3 to an outlet opening 4 opening into the passenger compartment of the vehicle.

In the rest of this description, the terms “upstream” and “downstream” used to characterize the position of certain elements of the aerator 1 are to be considered with respect to the direction of circulation of the air flow F in the hollow body 2.

The hollow body 2 is successively formed, from the inlet opening 3 towards the outlet opening 4, by a first section 5 having a constant rectangular section, a second section 6 also having a constant rectangular section of dimension slightly smaller than that of the first section 5 and connected to the latter by a rectangular annular recess 7, as well as a third section 8 having a symmetrical biconvex longitudinal profile.

This third section 8 consists of an upstream portion 8A having a vertical longitudinal section flaring in the direction of circulation of the air flow F, and a downstream portion 8B having a vertical longitudinal section narrowing in this same direction air flow circulation F.

The aerator 1 also includes a first air guide fin 9 extending in the downstream portion 8B of the third section 8 of the hollow body 2 and being pivotally mounted by its upstream end around a transverse horizontal axis A, s' extending in the median horizontal plane of the body 2 (that is to say equidistant from the upper and lower walls of the third section 8) and being arranged longitudinally at the vertical plane of separation S between the upstream 8A and downstream 8B portions of this third section 8.

With a downstream tip end, the guide fin 9 has a symmetrical biconvex longitudinal profile defining two upper air guide surfaces 9A and lower 9B opposite each other.

The upper and lower walls of the downstream portions 8B of the third section 8, located respectively opposite the upper 9A and lower 9B guide surfaces of the fin 9, thus define with the latter two upper 10 and lower 11 flow channels.

These channels 10 and 11 are capable of transporting, respectively to the outlet opening 4, a first and a second quantity of air coming from the inlet opening 3.

The aerator 1 also includes a second air guide fin 12 extending in the upstream portion 8A of the third section 8 of the hollow body 2.

This second fin 12 being pivotally mounted by its downstream end around the same transverse horizontal axis A between an extreme low position in which the lower flow channel 11 is closed (configuration of FIG. 3) so that all of said flow of air F circulates in said upper flow channel 10, and an extreme high position in which the upper flow channel 10 is closed (configuration of FIG. 4) so that all of said air flow F circulates in said channel lower flow 11.

Thus, by varying its inclination, it is possible to adjust the ratio between the first and second quantities of air and therefore the direction of exit of the air flow F relative to the horizontal.

The two fins 9 and 12 are also articulated to each other by means of an articulation mechanism 20 which will now be described in support of FIGS. 2 to 4.

This articulation mechanism 20 comprises a first transverse cylindrical rod 21 fixed by one of its ends to the lateral edge 9C of the first fin 9, this rod 21 passing through a first oblong lumen in an arc of a circle 22 formed in the side wall 2A of the hollow body 2 (the one located opposite this lateral edge 9C of the fin 9) and being centered on the pivot axis A of the two fins 9 and 12.

The mechanism 20 also includes a second transverse cylindrical rod 23 fixed by one of its ends to the lateral edge 12A of the second fin 12, this rod 23 passing through a second oblong lumen in an arc 24 formed in the lateral wall 2A of the hollow body 2 and being centered on the pivot axis A of the two fins 9 and 12.

The other two ends 21B, 23B of the rods 21 and 23 are moreover mounted to rotate freely and to slide longitudinally in a parallelepipedal slide 25 which itself is mounted to slide vertically in a guide box 28 secured to the hollow body 2.

More specifically, the end 21B of the first rod 21 is housed in a first recess 26 of the slide 25 having a rectangular section whose height corresponds to the diameter of this end 21B so as to prevent any relative vertical movement between these two elements, and whose length is greater than the diameter of this end 21B so as to allow the longitudinal displacement of the latter along this first obviously 26.

The end 23B of the second rod 23 is itself housed in a second recess 27 of the slide 25 having a rectangular section whose height corresponds to the diameter of this end 23B so as to prevent any relative vertical movement between these two elements, and whose length is greater than the diameter of this end 23B so as to allow the longitudinal displacement of the latter along this second obviously 27.

The mechanism 20 finally comprises an actuator 29 accessible from outside the housing 28 and allowing the user to cause this slide 25 to slide vertically.

This actuator is here constituted by a slider 29 integral with the slide 25 and projecting from the open front face of the housing 28.

Thus, the vertical sliding of the slider 29 (and therefore of the slider 25) in one direction causes the synchronized pivoting in the same direction of the two fins 9 and 12, which makes it possible to adjust the dimensions of the two upper flow channels 10 and lower 11 as a function of the angular position of the fin 12 so as to limit the amplitude of variation of the aeraulic section at the outlet of the aerator 1 induced by this pivoting of the fin 12.

The speed of the air leaving the aerator 1 therefore varies little whatever the vertical orientation of the air flow dictated by the position of this fin 12, which ensures a substantially homogeneous and discreet operating noise.

As illustrated in Figure 1, the two rods 21, 23 are arranged so that the latter and the two fins 9, 12 are aligned in the median horizontal plane of the body 2 when the cursor 29 (and therefore the slide 25) comes to occupy its intermediate position at the level of this horizontal median plane.

Furthermore, the spacing between the first rod 21 and the pivot axis A of the fins 9, 12 is greater than that between the second rod 23 and this same pivot axis A, so that the first fin 9 has a speed of rotation less than that of the fin 12 (that is to say a lower angular movement) during the vertical sliding of the slide 25.

Advantageously, the ratio between these two spacings is determined so that the upper guide surface 9A of the fin 9 is substantially parallel to the wall of the hollow body 2 located opposite the latter (ie: the upper wall of the downstream portion 8B of the third section 8) when the fin 12 occupies its extreme low position (FIG. 3), and so that the lower guide surface 9B of this fin 9 is substantially parallel to the wall of the hollow body 2 located opposite of the latter (ie: the bottom wall of the downstream portion 8B of the third section 8) when the fin 12 occupies its extreme high position (Figure 4).

By “appreciably”, it is meant that a slight deviation of the order of 10 ° will be allowed with respect to a strictly parallel orientation while remaining included in the context of the invention.

In the embodiment shown in the figures, the reduction ratio corresponding to the ratio between the speed of rotation of the first fin 9 and that of the second fin 12 is equal to ^1/2 (the angular movement of the first fin 9 thus being half that of the second fin 12).

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the aerator 1 further comprises a row of parallel vertical deflection fins 18 pivotally mounted in the first and second sections 5, 6 of the body 2 along vertical axes E, and being integral in rotation by means of a connecting rod (not visible in the figures) connecting them together.

The variation in the inclination of these fins 18 thus makes it possible to adjust the direction of exit of the air flow F relative to the median vertical plane of the hollow body 2.

The pivoting movement of the fins 18 is ensured in a conventional manner by means of a dedicated control mechanism not shown and controlled by an actuator which can be translated horizontally along a horizontal transverse axis.

According to alternative embodiments not shown, the reduction ratio between the rotational speeds of the first and second fins is different, the latter being for example between 1/1 and 1/3.

According to other variant embodiments not shown, the actuator making it possible to cause said slide to slide vertically is otherwise shaped. This actuator can for example be constituted by a thumb wheel hinged to the slide by a link of the rack and pinion type.

According to still other alternative embodiments not shown:

- The control mechanism includes an electric motor capable of causing the vertical movement of the slide;

- the vertical fins can pivot over an angular range of approximately 180 ° so that they also constitute concealment means capable of completely closing off the hollow body so as to prevent the flow of air from escaping through the outlet opening; and or

- The aerator includes a specific blackout flap made upstream of the vertical fins to close off the hollow body.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described and shown, but also encompasses all the variant embodiments within the reach of the skilled person.

Claims (10)

1. Aerator for a motor vehicle comprising a hollow body (2) capable of channeling an air flow (F) from an inlet opening (3) to an outlet opening (4) leading to an enclosure, a first fin (9) extending in said hollow body (2) while being pivotally mounted by its upstream end around a transverse axis (A) and defining two air guiding surfaces (9A, 9B) opposite l 'one of the other delimiting with said hollow body (2) two upper (10) and lower (11) flow channels able to transport respectively to said outlet opening (4) a first and a second quantity of air in coming from said inlet opening (3), and a second fin (12) extending in said hollow body (2) upstream of said first fin (9) and pivotally mounted by its downstream end around said transverse axis (A ) so as to allow the ratio between the first and second quantities of air to be adjusted as a function of its position, said first e and second fins (9, 12) being articulated to each other by an articulation mechanism (20) so that the drive pivoting in one direction of said second fin (12) also causes synchronized pivoting in the same direction of said first fin (9); characterized in that said articulation mechanism (20) comprises first and second transverse rods (21, 23) integral with a first of their ends respectively of the first and of the second fins (9, 12) and the second of which ends (21B, 23B) are mounted for free rotation and for longitudinal sliding in a slide (25) itself mounted for vertical sliding in a guide box (28) integral with said hollow body (2). 2. Aerator according to claim 1, characterized in that the spacing between said first rod (21) and said pivot axis (A) of said fins (9, 12) is greater than that between said second rod (23) and this same pivot axis (A), so that said first fin (9) has a lower speed of rotation than that of said second fin (12) during the vertical sliding of the slide (25). 3. Aerator according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that said second fin (12) is capable of being moved between an extreme low position in which said lower flow channel (11) is closed so that the all of said air flow (F) flows through said upper flow channel (10), and a second extreme high position where said upper flow channel (10) is closed so that all of said air flow (F) flows through said lower flow channel (11). 4. Aerator according to claims 2 and 3, characterized in that the ratio between said spacings is determined so that the upper guide surface (9A) of the first fin (9) is substantially parallel to the wall of the hollow body (2 ) located opposite the latter when said second fin (12) occupies its extreme low position, and so that the lower guide surface (9B) of this first fin (9) is substantially parallel to the wall of the hollow body (2 ) located opposite the latter when said second fin (12) occupies its extreme high position. 5. Aerator according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that each of said rods (21, 23) passes through a respective oblong lumen in an arc (22, 24) formed in a side wall (2A) of said hollow body (2) and being centered on said transverse axis (A). 6. Aerator according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the second end (21B, 23B) of each rod (21, 23) is housed in a respective recess (26, 27) of said slide (25) having a rectangular section whose height corresponds to the diameter of this second end so as to prevent any relative vertical displacement between these two elements, and whose length is greater than the diameter of this second end so as to allow the longitudinal displacement of the latter along of this obviously. 7. Aerator according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said control mechanism (20) comprises an actuator (29) accessible from outside of said housing (28) and making it possible to drive said slide vertically. (25). 8. Aerator according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said control mechanism (20) comprises an electric motor capable of causing the vertical displacement of said slide (25). 9. Aerator according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in 5 which it comprises a row of parallel vertical deflection fins (18) pivotally mounted about vertical axes (E) in said hollow body (2) upstream of said first and second fins (9, 12), and being integral in rotation by means of a connecting member connecting them together. 10. Motor vehicle comprising at least one aerator according to one of claims 1 to 9.