JP2003226133A - Blowing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a blowing device having a high degree of freedom in selection of a material for forming a dial mounting wall and easy to assemble with the minimized total number of part items. <P>SOLUTION: This blowing device 1 comprises a cylindrical retainer 2, a resistor 3 housed in the retainer 2 to adjust the wind direction, a shut damper 4 rotatably arranged in the retainer 2 in series to the resistor 3 to adjust the wind quantity, the dial mounting wall 5 juxtaposed opposite to the side wall 22 of the retainer 2, and an operation dial 6 rotatably arranged between the side wall 2 and the dial mounting wall 5 to open and close the shut damper 4. The retainer 2 and the dial mounting wall 5 are integrated to an interior panel 9 and protruded from the rear surface of the interior panel 9 reversely to the wind direction. The operation dial 6 has a drive arm 62. The shut damper 4 has a driven arm 42. One of the drive arm 62 and the driven arm 42 has an engagement groove, and the other has an engaging projection slid within the engagement groove. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air blower, and more particularly, to an air blower which connects an air conditioning duct and a vehicle compartment to adjust the air flow direction, air flow rate, and the like of the air conditioning air.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An air blower is a device for supplying air for air conditioning whose temperature and humidity have been adjusted by an air conditioner. For example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 3-27545 discloses an air blower shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the blower device 100 includes a retainer 101 and a register 1
02, a shut damper 103, a dial mounting wall 104, and an operation dial 105. The retainer 101 has a rectangular tubular shape. Register 102 is retainer 101
It is located inside. A shut damper 103 is pivotally supported in the retainer 101 in a direction outside the passenger compartment of the register 102. A follower arm 107 extending in the vehicle interior direction is fixed to the pivot shaft of the shut damper 103. An engaging protrusion 108 is provided at the end of the driven arm 107 in the vehicle compartment direction.

The dial mounting wall 104 has a U-shaped cross section. The dial mounting wall 104 is formed integrally with the side wall 106 of the retainer 101. The dial mounting wall 104 is arranged in a bag shape on the side wall 106. A concave-convex portion 109 is provided on the outer edge of the dial mounting wall 104 toward the vehicle exterior.
Are formed. The operation dial 105 is a side wall 106.
It is rotatably interposed between the dial mounting wall 104 and the dial mounting wall 104. A click projection 110 is arranged in the middle of the side surface of the operation dial 105. Specifically, the click projection 110 is erected on a metal press plate that is elastically pushed and fitted and fixed to the side surface of the operation dial 105. The click projection 110 is in contact with the uneven portion 109. Further, a linear engagement groove 111 is formed on the outside of the passenger compartment of the click projection 110. The engagement protrusions 108 are in sliding contact with the inside of the engagement grooves 111.

When the operator turns the operation dial 105, the engagement groove 111 rotates. Therefore, the engagement protrusion 108 and the driven arm 107 also rotate. The rotation of the driven arm 107 opens and closes the shut damper 103. Further, when the operation dial 105 is turned, the click projection 110 also turns. When the click projection 110 gets over the uneven portion 109, the operator feels a sense of moderation, so that the operator can shut down the shut damper 10.
Recognize opening and closing of 3.

[0005]

However, according to the blower 100 described in the publication, the dial mounting wall 104 is
By the engagement of the uneven portion 109 and the click projection 110, the operator senses a sense of moderation. Specifically, since the turning resistance of the operation dial 105 increases when the click projection 110 gets over the uneven portion 109, the operator senses a sense of moderation. Therefore, the uneven portion 109
Needs to have moderate flexibility without plastic deformation. That is, the dial mounting wall 104 needs to have appropriate flexibility.

On the other hand, the dial mounting wall 104 is the side wall 10
6 and the operation dial 105 are supported. Therefore, it is necessary for the dial mounting wall 104 to hold the operation dial 105 so as not to remove the shaft. Therefore, the dial mounting wall 104 needs to have appropriate rigidity.

As described above, the air blower 100 described in the above publication.
According to the above, the dial mounting wall 104 is required to have so-called contradictory characteristics of flexibility and rigidity. Therefore, the degree of freedom in selecting the material forming the dial mounting wall 104 was low.

Further, the air blower 100 described in the above publication is mounted on an interior panel such as a meter panel.
However, the member forming the blower 100 and the interior panel are separate bodies. Therefore, the total number of parts of the blower 100 and the interior panel is large, and it is difficult to assemble them.

The air blower of the present invention has been completed in view of the above problems. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an air blower that has a high degree of freedom in selecting materials for forming a dial mounting wall, has a small number of total parts, and is easy to assemble.

[0010]

(1) In order to solve the above problems, a blower according to the present invention is provided with a tubular retainer for supplying air conditioning air into a vehicle compartment and an air conditioning air conditioner housed in the retainer. A register that adjusts the wind direction, a shut damper that is rotatably arranged in series in the retainer in the retainer to adjust the air volume of the air-conditioning air, a dial mounting wall that is arranged in parallel to the side wall of the retainer, and a side wall. And a dial mounting wall, wherein the retainer and the dial mounting wall are integrated with the interior panel and the operation panel is rotatably disposed between the dial and the dial mounting wall to open and close the shut damper. The operation dial has a drive arm that extends in the opposite direction to the wind direction, and the shut damper has a driven arm that extends in the vehicle compartment direction. It has one engagement groove of the over arm and the driven arm, the other is characterized as having an engagement projection for sliding engagement groove.

That is, in the blower of the present invention, the retainer and the dial mounting wall are formed integrally with the interior panel. According to the air blower of the present invention, it is not necessary to separately arrange the retainer and the dial mounting wall. Therefore, the total number of parts including the air blower and the interior panel is reduced. Moreover, the assembly of the blower becomes simple.

Further, in the air blower of the present invention, the operator recognizes the moderation of the shut damper by the engagement between the engagement groove and the engagement projection. That is, the dial mounting wall does not recognize the feeling of opening and closing. Therefore, the dial mounting wall is not required to have appropriate flexibility. Therefore, according to the air blower of the present invention, the degree of freedom in selecting the material forming the dial mounting wall is increased.

(2) Preferably, the side wall and the dial mounting wall are connected to each other only through the back surface of the interior panel. An operation dial is provided between the side wall and the dial mounting wall. According to this configuration, the side wall and the dial mounting wall are connected to each other only via the back surface of the interior panel. Therefore, it is easy to widen the frontage between the side wall and the dial mounting wall. Therefore, according to this configuration, it becomes easy to interpose the operation dial between the side wall and the dial mounting wall. That is, the assembly of the blower becomes easier.

(3) It is preferable that the engaging groove has a sliding resistance adjusting portion for changing the sliding resistance of the engaging projection with respect to the engaging groove. When the engaging projection passes through the sliding resistance adjusting portion during sliding, the sliding resistance changes. For this reason, according to this configuration, the operator can more easily sense the feeling of moderation from the operation dial.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of a blower according to the present invention will be described below. First, the configuration of the blower of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 shows an external view of the blower of this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the blower device 1 is incorporated in a resin-made meter panel 9 arranged in front of the driver's seat. The meter panel 9 is included in the interior panel of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a sectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG. As shown in the drawing, the blower device 1 includes a retainer 2, a register 3, a shut damper 4, a dial mounting wall 5, and an operation dial 6.

The retainer 2 has a rectangular tubular shape. The retainer 2 is provided so as to project from the rear surface of the meter panel 9 in the direction opposite to the wind direction, that is, in the vehicle exterior direction. The retainer 2 is integral with the meter panel 9. The exterior end of the retainer 2 is connected to an air conditioning duct (not shown). A pair of register projections 20 are arranged to face each other on the inner surfaces of both side walls of the retainer 2 at the end in the vehicle interior direction. Further, a pair of damper holes 21 are formed in the register projection 20 in the vehicle exterior direction.
A retainer-side protrusion 23 is arranged on the outer surface of the side wall 22 at the end of the retainer 2 in the vehicle compartment direction.

The register 3 is a so-called barrel type register. The register 3 includes the case 30 and the horizontal fins 3.
1, a vertical fin 32, and a knob 33. Case 30
Is made of resin and has a rectangular tubular shape. A pair of retainer holes 300 are formed on the outer surfaces of both side walls of the case 30. The retainer hole 300 is inserted into the retainer hole 300.
Are engaged, and the register 3 is rotatably held by the retainer 2. The horizontal fin 31 is made of resin and has a strip shape. A total of four horizontal fins 31 are arranged at the interior end of the register 3 in the vehicle interior direction. The vertical fins 32 are made of resin and have a strip shape. A total of five vertical fins 32 are arranged in the vehicle outside direction of the horizontal fins 31. The vertical fins 32 are orthogonal to the horizontal fins 31. Knob 33
Is made of resin and has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. Knob 33
The end of the vehicle in the passenger compartment is exposed in the passenger compartment. A groove is formed at the end of the knob 33 toward the outside of the vehicle compartment. The knob 33 is engaged with the central vertical fin 32 of the five vertical fins 32 via this groove.

The shut damper 4 is made of resin and has a rectangular plate shape. A pair of retainer projections 40 are provided on both ends of the shut damper 4 in the vehicle width direction. The retainer protrusion 40 engages with the damper hole 21,
The shut damper 4 is rotatably held by the retainer 2. In the state shown in FIG. 2, the shut damper 4 is open. The air conditioning duct communicates with the vehicle interior. The shut damper position at this time is the damper open position. Of the pair of retainer protrusions 40, a driven arm 42 made of resin and extending in the vehicle interior direction is fixed to the retainer protrusion 40 on the center side in the vehicle width direction. The driven arm 42 has an engagement groove (not shown) extending in the arm longitudinal direction.
Are formed. A curved portion (not shown) is arranged in the middle of the engagement groove. This curved portion is included in the sliding resistance adjusting portion of the present invention.

The dial mounting wall 5 is made of resin and has a rectangular plate shape. The dial mounting wall 5 is provided so as to project from the rear surface of the meter panel 9 toward the outside of the vehicle compartment. The dial mounting wall 5 is provided in parallel with the side wall 22. Dial mounting wall 5
A mounting-side protrusion 50 is disposed on the opposite side of the retainer-side protrusion 23.

The operation dial 6 is made of resin and has a semicircular disk shape. A pair of recesses 60 and 61 are formed at the center of the arc of the operation dial 6. The mounting side projection 50 is engaged with the recess 60. The retainer side projection 23 is engaged with the recess 61. By these engagements, the operation dial 6 is rotatably arranged between the side wall 22 and the dial mounting wall 5. A drive arm 62 made of resin and extending in the vehicle exterior direction is arranged from the end of the operation dial 6 in the vehicle exterior direction. An engagement protrusion (not shown) is formed at the end of the drive arm 62 in the vehicle exterior direction. Then, the engagement protrusion engages with the engagement groove, and the drive arm 62
Are connected to the driven arm 42.

Next, a method of manufacturing the blower according to this embodiment will be described. In manufacturing the blower device 1, first, the meter panel 9 shown in FIG. 1 is molded. At this time, the retainer 2 and the dial mounting wall 5 shown in FIG. 2 are simultaneously molded. Next, the preformed operation dial 6 is interposed between the side wall 22 and the dial mounting wall 5. Further, the preassembled register 3 is arranged in the retainer 2. Then, the preformed damper 4 is placed in the retainer 2. And
The follower arm 42 is fixedly attached to the retainer projection 40 of the damper 4. Then, the engaging protrusion is engaged in the engaging groove.

Next, the operation of the blower of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 shows a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. In the damper open position, the damper 4 is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the register 2. The air-conditioning duct and the passenger compartment are in communication with each other. The engagement protrusion 620 is arranged at the end of the engagement groove 420 in the vehicle interior direction. In this state, the operator operates the operation dial 6
When is rotated downward, the drive arm 62 is rotated upward around the attachment-side protrusion 50. Therefore, the engaging protrusion 62
0 also rotates upward. When the engagement protrusion 620 rotates upward, the engagement groove 420 with which the engagement protrusion 620 is in sliding contact also rotates upward. Therefore, the driven arm 42 also rotates upward around the retainer protrusion 40. Here, the total length of the drive arm 62 and the driven arm 42 aligned in a line is longer than the distance between the attachment-side projection 50 and the retainer projection 40. Therefore, as the drive arm 62 and the driven arm 42 rotate and are aligned, the engagement protrusion 620 gradually moves in the engagement groove 420 in the vehicle exterior direction. Then, the engagement protrusion 620 rides over the curved portion 421 of the engagement groove 420 in the vehicle exterior direction. Here, a certain amount of stress is required for the engagement protrusion 620 to get over the curved portion 421. Therefore, the sliding resistance of the engagement protrusion 620 increases for a moment. That is, when the engagement protrusion 620 gets over the curved portion 421, the turning resistance of the operation dial 6 increases for a moment. The operator senses a feeling of moderation due to the change in the rotation resistance. At this time, the damper 4 is at an intermediate position between the damper open position and the damper closed position.

When the operator further turns the operation dial 6 downward, the drive arm 62 and the driven arm 42 are aligned, and then further turned upward. Here, the drive arm 62 rotates around the attachment-side protrusion 50. Further, the driven arm 42 rotates around the retainer projection 40. Therefore, the drive arm 62 and the driven arm 42 rotate in the directions in which they are separated from each other. Therefore, the engagement protrusion 620 slides in the engagement groove 420 toward the vehicle interior. Then, the engagement protrusion 620 gradually approaches the curved portion 421 again. FIG. 4 shows a state immediately before the shut damper is closed. As shown in the figure, in this state, the engaging projection 62
0 crosses over the curved portion 421 in the vehicle interior direction again. When the engagement projection 620 gets over the curved portion 421, the turning resistance of the operation dial 6 increases for a moment again. The operator feels a sense of moderation due to the change in the rotation resistance. After that, the damper 4
The communication between the air conditioning duct and the passenger compartment is cut off. That is, the damper is in the closed position.

According to the blower device 1 of this embodiment, the retainer 2 and the dial mounting wall 5 are formed integrally with the meter panel 9. Therefore, the total number of parts of the air blower 1 and the meter panel 9 is reduced, and the assembling is easy.

Further, according to the air blower 1 of the present embodiment, the engagement protrusion 620 and the engagement groove 420 are engaged with each other, whereby the operator senses the opening / closing moderation of the shut damper 4. Therefore, the dial mounting wall 5 is required to have only rigidity for holding the operation dial 6. That is, the dial mounting wall 5 is not required to have flexibility. Therefore, the degree of freedom in selecting the material for forming the dial mounting wall 5 is increased.

Further, according to the blower device 1 of this embodiment, the dial mounting wall 5 and the side wall 22 are connected to each other only via the meter panel 9. Therefore, it is easy to widen the frontage between the dial mounting wall 5 and the side wall 22 when the operation dial 6 is inserted.

The embodiment of the blower of the present invention has been described above. However, the embodiment is not particularly limited to the above-mentioned form. It is also possible to carry out various modifications and improvements that can be made by those skilled in the art. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the engagement protrusion 620 is arranged on the drive arm 62, and the engagement groove 420 is arranged on the driven arm 42. However, the disposition of these engaging protrusions and engaging grooves may be reversed. Further, in the above embodiment, the bending portion 421 is arranged as the sliding resistance adjusting portion. However, for example, a narrowed portion for narrowing the groove width may be arranged as the sliding resistance adjusting portion. Further, it is not necessary to dispose the sliding resistance adjusting section. In this case, the engaging protrusion 620 is not engaged with the engaging groove 42.
The operator can sense a moderation feeling by abutting on the end of 0 in the vehicle interior direction. Further, in the above embodiment, the barrel type register 3 is used. However, a cross fin type register may be used. In this case, the driven arm may be fixed to the pivotal shaft of the horizontal fin or the vertical fin and operated by the operation dial. That is, the shut damper and the fin may be used together.

[0028]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a blower which has a high degree of freedom in selecting a material for forming the dial mounting wall, has a small number of total parts, and is easy to assemble.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a blower according to this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line I-I of FIG.

3 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state immediately before a damper closed position.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a conventional blower.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: blower, 2: retainer, 20: projection for register,
21: Damper hole, 22: Side wall, 23: Retainer side protrusion, 3: Register, 30: Case, 300: Retainer hole, 31: Horizontal fin, 32: Vertical fin, 33: Knob,
4: shut damper, 40: retainer protrusion, 42: driven arm, 420: engagement groove, 421: curved portion (sliding resistance adjustment portion), 5: dial mounting wall, 50: mounting side protrusion,
6: operation dial, 60: concave part, 61: concave part, 62: drive arm, 620: engaging projection, 9: meter panel (interior panel).

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI Theme Coat (reference) B60H 1/00 103 B60H 1/00 103D (72) Inventor Sakuma Junyuki Kasuga-cho, Nishikasugai-gun, Aichi Ochiai-ji Nagahata No. 1 in Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takayuki Oguri Ochiai, Kasuga-cho, Nishi Kasugai-gun, Aichi Nagahata No. 1 Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A tubular retainer for supplying air-conditioning air into a passenger compartment, a register housed in the retainer for adjusting the wind direction of the air-conditioning air, and rotatable in series in the retainer in the retainer. A shut damper that adjusts the amount of air for air conditioning, a dial mounting wall that is arranged in parallel to the side wall of the retainer, and is rotatably disposed between the side wall and the dial mounting wall. An air blower comprising an operation dial for opening and closing a shut damper, wherein the retainer and the dial mounting wall are integral with the interior panel and project from the back surface of the interior panel in a direction opposite to the wind direction. The operation dial has a drive arm extending in the direction opposite to the wind direction, the shut damper has a driven arm extending in the vehicle compartment direction, and one of the drive arm and the driven arm is engaged. It has a groove and the other blowing device characterized by having an engagement protrusion that slides engagement groove. 2. The side wall and the dial mounting wall are connected via only the back surface of the interior panel.
The air blower described in. 3. The blower device according to claim 1, wherein the engagement groove has a sliding resistance adjusting portion that changes a sliding resistance of the engagement protrusion with respect to the engagement groove.