JP2010137816A - Ventilation grille for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ventilation grille for a vehicle in which the position of a knob can easily be checked even at night when it is dark in a cabin. <P>SOLUTION: A light source 62 is provided at the sidewall outer surface of a grille body 2. In a knob installation louver 3A equipped with a knob 5, a light transmission member 63 where the light of the light source 62 enters is provided on its right end surface. At the left end of the light transmission member 63, reflection parts 63a, 63b are provided forwardly reflecting light transmitted from the right end surface to the left end through the inside of the light transmission member. A light emitting member 64 is provided in the knob 5. The light reflected by the reflection parts 63a, 63b and passing through a window hole 3b enters the light emitting member 64 and is emitted from the front surface of the light emitting member 64. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle ventilation grill provided at an air outlet of a vehicle.

  Generally, a vehicle ventilation grill includes a box-shaped grill body having an open front surface, and a plurality of horizontal louvers and vertical louvers provided inside the grill body, as described in Patent Document 1 below. I have. Each horizontal louver is provided so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction around a rotation axis extending in the horizontal direction. On the other hand, the vertical louvers are provided so as to be rotatable in the left-right direction around a rotation axis extending in the up-down direction.

  One of the plurality of horizontal louvers is provided with a knob. When this knob is moved in the vertical direction, each lateral louver rotates in the vertical direction. Further, the knob is provided on the horizontal louver so as to be movable in the left-right direction. When the knob is moved in the left-right direction, each vertical louver rotates in the left-right direction. Then, by operating the knob to rotate the horizontal louver and the vertical louver to appropriate positions, the air blowing direction can be directed to a desired direction.

JP 60-104409 A

  The conventional vehicle ventilation grill is not provided with any means for notifying the occupant of the position of the knob. For this reason, there is a problem that it is difficult to confirm the position of the knob when the interior of the vehicle is dark, such as during night driving.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a grill main body having an open front surface, and a plurality of louvers rotatably provided in the grill main body so as to rotate synchronously around mutually parallel rotation axes. And a knob provided at the front end of one of the louvers, and in a vehicle ventilation grill in which the louver is rotated by operation of the knob, a light emitting mechanism for emitting light from the front surface of the knob is provided. It is characterized by being.
In this case, the louvers are arranged in parallel to each other, arranged in parallel to each other so as to be orthogonal to the first louvers, and a plurality of first louvers that are rotatable around a rotation axis. A plurality of second louvers that are rotatable about a rotation axis that is perpendicular to the rotation axis of the louver, and the knob is a first of the plurality of first louvers. 1 louvers (hereinafter referred to as knob installation louvers) are provided so as to be movable in the direction of the rotation axis thereof, the first louver is rotated by the knob, and the knob is moved in the direction of the rotation axis of the knob installation louver. By moving the second louver, the second louver is rotated, and the light emitting mechanism is provided inside a light source, knob installation louver provided outside the grill body. A light transmission member that receives light emitted from the light source at one end and the knob, and light emitted forward from the other end of the light transmission member is incident on the back surface. It is desirable to have a light emitting member, and the light incident on the light emitting member is emitted forward from the front surface of the knob.
The light transmission member is provided on the rotation axis of the knob installation louver, and the other end of the light transmission member is disposed to face the back surface of the light emitting member in the front-rear direction. The end portion is provided with a reflection portion that reflects the light of the light source that travels from one end portion to the other end portion of the light transmission member in the forward direction and is incident on the back surface of the light emitting member. desirable.
In the central portion of the back surface of the light transmission member facing the other end of the light transmission member, a lighting plane that is substantially orthogonal to the front-rear direction is formed, and inclined surfaces are formed on both sides of the lighting plane. It is desirable that

  According to the present invention having the above-described characteristic configuration, since light is emitted from the front surface of the knob, the position of the knob can be easily visually recognized even at night.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention. A vehicle ventilation grill 1 according to this embodiment includes a grill body 2, a plurality of horizontal louvers (first louvers) 3, and a plurality of vertical louvers (second louvers) 4.

  The grill body 2 is formed in a rectangular box shape or frame shape having an open front surface, and is provided inside the vehicle, for example, an instrument panel, with the front opening portion facing the vehicle interior. The grill body 2 may be formed in a shape other than a quadrangle. A downstream end of a duct for blowing (not shown) is connected to the back surface of the grill body. The conditioned air sent from the duct passes through the inside of the grill body 2 and blows out forward from the front opening.

  The horizontal louver 3 has a substantially flat plate shape or a wing shape, and is disposed inside the grill body 2 with its longitudinal direction facing the left-right direction and its width direction facing the front-rear direction. Shaft portions 3a having a circular cross section projecting in the left-right direction are provided at the front end portions of the left and right end portions of the horizontal louver 3, respectively. The left and right shaft portions 3a and 3a are rotatably inserted into through holes 2a and 2a formed in the left and right side walls of the grill main body 2, respectively. Thereby, the horizontal louver 3 is provided in the grill body 2 so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction around the rotation axis (= the axis of the shaft portion 3a and the through hole 2a) extending in the left-right direction.

  The plurality of lateral louvers 3 are arranged in parallel to each other. That is, they are arranged in the same posture. Moreover, the lateral louvers 3 are connected to each other via an interlocking mechanism (not shown) so as to rotate in synchronization. Various well-known interlocking mechanisms such as a link mechanism can be adopted as the interlocking mechanism. Since the structure of the interlocking mechanism itself has a low relevance to the present invention, its description is omitted.

  The vertical louver 4 has a substantially flat plate shape or a wing shape, and is disposed inside the grill body 2 with its longitudinal direction directed in the vertical direction and its width direction directed in the front-rear direction. At both ends of the vertical louver 4 in the vertical direction, shaft portions (not shown) having a circular cross section projecting in the vertical direction are provided. Each shaft portion is rotatably inserted into a through hole 2b formed in the upper and lower side walls of the grill body 2 (only the through hole 2b formed in the upper side wall portion is shown). Thereby, the vertical louver 4 is provided in the grill body 2 so as to be rotatable in the left-right direction around a rotation axis (= axis of the through hole 2b) extending upward.

  The plurality of vertical louvers 4 are arranged in parallel to each other. That is, they are arranged in the same posture. Moreover, the vertical louvers 4 are connected to each other through a well-known interlocking mechanism and rotate in synchronization with each other, similarly to the horizontal louvers 3. Of course, the horizontal louver 3 and the vertical louver 4 are configured so as not to inhibit the mutual rotation.

  A knob 5 is provided on a horizontal louver (hereinafter referred to as a knob installation louver 3 </ b> A) disposed at the center in the vertical direction among the plurality of horizontal louvers 3. The knob 5 is disposed at the center in the left-right direction of the knob installation louver 3A, and is provided in a state in which most of the front side protrudes forward from the front surface of the knob installation louver 3A. The knob 5 is provided on the knob installation louver 3A so as not to move in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction. Therefore, when the knob 5 is moved in the vertical direction, each lateral louver 3 rotates in the vertical direction around the respective rotation axis. The knob 5 is provided on the knob installation louver 3A so as to be movable within a predetermined range in the rotation axis direction (left-right direction). The knob 5 is coupled to any one of the plurality of vertical louvers 5 via a known coupling mechanism such as a link mechanism. Therefore, when the knob 5 is moved in the left-right direction, each vertical louver 4 rotates in the left-right direction around the respective rotation axis. The knob 5 may be provided in the horizontal louver 3 other than the central horizontal louver 3.

  The grill 1 is provided with a light emitting mechanism 6 that emits light forward from the front surface of the knob 5 so that the position of the knob 5 can be easily recognized. The light emitting mechanism 6 is configured as shown in FIG. That is, a casing 61 is provided on the right side wall portion of the grill body 2. The casing 61 has a rectangular shape with a square section or a circular shape with a front opening, and is arranged so that the opening surrounds the through hole 2a. The front surface of the casing 61 is fixed to the side wall portion of the grill body 2. A space between the front surface of the casing 61 and the side wall surface of the grill body 2 is sealed so that light does not leak.

  Inside the casing 61, a light source 62 composed of a light emitting diode (LED) or the like is provided. The light source 62 is connected to an in-vehicle battery (not shown) via a lead wire W. The light source 62 may be always lit, or may be switched between a lit state and an unlit state by a switch. The light source 62 is disposed so as to face the end surface of the shaft portion 3a of the knob installation louver 3A. Therefore, the light emitted from the light source 62 is applied to the tip surface of the shaft portion 3a.

  A light transmission member 63 is provided inside the knob installation louver 3A. The light transmission member 63 is made of a transparent material so that light can be transmitted. In particular, in this embodiment, the light transmission member 63 is made of a transparent resin such as an acrylic resin so that it can be molded simultaneously with the knob installation louver 3A by a two-color molding method. On the other hand, the knob installation louver 3A is made of an opaque resin, for example, a black ABS resin or the like so as to prevent light transmission. In this embodiment, all the horizontal louvers 3 and vertical louvers 4 are made of black ABS resin. However, the horizontal louvers 3 and vertical louvers 4 other than the knob installation louver 3A are other than black ABS resin. You may comprise by this resin.

  The light transmission member 63 has a bar shape with a square cross section or a circle, and its outer diameter is set smaller than the outer diameter of the shaft portion 3a. The light transmission member 63 is disposed on the rotation axis of the knob installation louver 3A (the axis of the shaft portion 3a). In particular, in this embodiment, the light transmission member 63 is arranged in a state where the axis thereof coincides with the rotation axis. One end surface (right end surface in FIG. 2) of the light transmission member 63 is exposed to the outside from the distal end surface of the shaft portion 3a. Therefore, the light emitted from the light source 62 is incident on one end surface of the light transmission member 63. The light incident on one end surface of the light transmission member 63 propagates through the light transmission member 63 and reaches the other end portion.

  The other end edge of the light transmission member 63 extends to a position slightly beyond the center in the left-right direction of the knob installation louver 3A. As a result, the other end portion of the light transmission member 63 is located at substantially the same position as the knob 5 in the left-right direction, and the side portion facing the front side of the outer peripheral surface of the other end portion of the light transmission portion seat 63 (see FIG. 2 is opposite to the rear surface of the knob 5 in the front-rear direction.

  A window hole 3b is formed in the knob installation louver 3A. The window hole 3b is disposed in a portion of the knob installation louver 3A located between the knob 5 and the other end of the light transmission member 63. As a result, the side portion facing the front side of the other end portion of the light transmission member 63 is exposed forward through the window hole 3b.

  Reflecting portions 63 a and 63 b are formed at the other end of the light transmission member 63. One reflecting portion 63 a is disposed on the other end surface of the light transmission member 63. The other reflecting portion 63 b is disposed on the side portion located on the opposite side to the window hole 3 b in the outer peripheral surface of the other end portion of the light transmission member 63. The reflecting portions 63a and 63b are configured by forming a large number of minute irregularities on the other end surface and the outer peripheral surface of the light transmission member 63, respectively, and making those surfaces have a matte shape. Therefore, the light incident on the reflecting portions 63a and 63b is irregularly reflected by the reflecting portions 63a and 63b. That is, part of the light that has entered the one end surface of the light transmission member 63 from the light source 62 and has traveled to the other end is incident on the reflecting portion 63a and is irregularly reflected. Part of the irregularly reflected light travels toward the reflecting portion 63b. Further, a part of the light traveling from one end to the other end while reflecting the outer peripheral surface of the light transmission member 63 is incident on the reflecting portion 63b and is irregularly reflected. A part of the light irregularly reflected by the reflecting portion 63 b is emitted forward through the window hole 3 b and enters the inside of the knob 5. In addition, since the knob installation louver 3A is made of an opaque material such as black ABS resin, the light other than the light that has been diffusely reflected by the reflecting portions 63a and 63b and that travels forward through the window hole 3b, It is not emitted to the outside.

  As apparent from FIGS. 1 and 2, the knob 5 has a flat cylindrical shape, and is arranged with its axial direction directed in the front-rear direction and its longitudinal direction directed in the left-right direction. Of course, the knob 5 may be formed in other shapes, for example, a circular cross section, a rectangular shape, or the like. A guide groove 5 a is formed on the rear surface of the knob 5. A front end portion of the knob installation louver 3A is inserted into the guide groove 5a so as to be slidable in the left-right direction. Thereby, the knob 5 is provided on the knob installation louver 3A so as to be movable in the left-right direction and not to be movable in the vertical direction. Moreover, the knob 5 is provided in the knob installation louver 3A so as not to move in the front-rear direction. A portion of the knob 5 located on the front side of the guide groove 5a is projected forward from the knob installation louver 3A. The inner surface that partitions the guide groove 5a and the outer surface of the knob installation louver 3A that is in contact with the guide groove 5a are sealed so as to prevent light leakage.

  The knob 5 has an accommodation hole 5b. The accommodation hole 5b penetrates the knob 5 in the front-rear direction. A light emitting member 64 is provided inside the accommodation hole 5b. The light emitting member 64 includes a first member 65 disposed on the rear side and a second member 66 disposed on the front side.

  The first member 65 is made of a transparent material such as transparent silicon rubber, and is arranged so that the back surface thereof faces the window hole 3b. Therefore, the light that has been emitted forward from the other end of the light transmission member 63 and passed through the window hole 3 b is incident on the back surface of the first member 65. In this case, in order to make the amount of light incident on the first member 65 as constant as possible regardless of the position of the knob 5 in the left-right direction, a lighting plane 65a and an inclined surface 65b are provided on the back surface of the first member 65. Is formed.

  The daylighting plane 65a is formed as a plane that faces in the front-rear direction (a plane orthogonal to the front-rear direction), and is arranged at the center of the portion of the back surface of the first member 65 that faces the window hole 3b. . As a result, when the knob 5 is located at the center of the moving range (in this case, the width direction of the vertical louver 4 coincides with the front-rear direction), the daylighting plane 65a is the reflection portion 63b. It faces the central part of the left and right direction. As indicated by an imaginary line in FIG. 2, when the knob 5 is located at one end of the movement range (the right end in FIG. 2), the lighting plane 65a faces one end of the reflecting portion 63b, and the knob 5 When located at the end, the daylighting plane 65a faces the other end of the reflecting portion 63b. In addition, the daylighting plane 65 a faces the other end of the light transmission member 63 with the same area regardless of the position of the knob 5. Therefore, a substantially constant amount of light is always incident on the lighting plane 65a.

  The inclined surface 65b is formed as a surface inclined with respect to the front-rear direction. In particular, in this embodiment, when light straightly traveling forward through the window hole 3b is incident on the inclined surface 65b, the incident light is not totally reflected by the inclined surface 65b and enters the first member 65. As described above, the inclination angle of the inclined surface 65b is determined. Therefore, most of the light that enters the first member 65 from the back surface thereof from the transmission member 63 is light that enters from the daylighting plane 65a, and hardly enters from other portions of the back surface. As a result, the amount of light incident on the first member 65 is substantially constant regardless of the position of the knob 5.

  The second member 66 is disposed such that the back surface thereof is in contact with the front surface of the first member 65, and light that has passed through the first member 65 enters the second member 66. The light that has entered the second member 66 is emitted forward from the front surface of the second member 66, that is, the front surface of the knob 5. The light emitted forward from the second member 66 is weakly stimulated, and the light emitted from the front surface of the second member 66 is allowed to travel not only straight forward but also obliquely forward, whereby the second member In order to make 66 visible from a wide range in front of the second member 66, the second member 66 is made of a material having a property of irregularly reflecting light, for example, milky white acrylic resin. The second member 66 is not necessarily made of such a material, and may be made of a transparent material. However, in such a case, the light emitted forward from the second member 66 is weakly stimulated, and the light emitted from the front surface of the second member 66 can be visually observed from an oblique front. In order to do so, it is desirable to make the front surface of the second member 66 a satin finish. When the second member 66 is made of a transparent material, the first member 65 and the second member 66 may be integrally formed. That is, the entire light emitting member 64 may be integrally formed. In addition, as long as the condition that the amount of light emitted from the front surface of the second member 66 is not excessively reduced is satisfied, the first and second members 65 and 66 (light emitting members) are integrated with milky white acrylic resin. You may form in.

  According to the vehicle vent grill 1 configured as described above, the light of the light source 62 is emitted forward from the second member 66, so that the position of the knob 5 can be confirmed by viewing the light. Therefore, even at night, the knob 5 can be immediately operated by hand, and the blowing direction of the air blown out from the vent grill 1 can be easily adjusted to a desired direction.

  In addition, when the knob 5 is moved, no force acts on each part of the light emitting mechanism 6, so that the life of the light emitting mechanism 6 can be extended. That is, as long as light is emitted from the front surface of the knob 5, the light source 62 may be provided inside the accommodation hole 5 b of the knob 5. However, in such a case, when the knob 5 is moved to the left and right, the portion near the light source 62 in the lead wire W connected to the light source 62 is repeatedly bent as the knob 5 moves. As a result, the lead wire W may be cut early. In that respect, in the light emitting mechanism 6 of this embodiment, there is no member that receives a force by the movement of the knob 5. Therefore, the lifetime of the light emitting mechanism 6 can be extended.

  FIG. 4 shows another example of the light transmission member used in the light transmission mechanism 6 of the vehicle ventilation grill 1 according to the present invention. In this light transmission member 63 ′, a reflection portion 63c is formed instead of the reflection portions 63a and 63b of the above embodiment. The reflection part 63c is inclined so as to go forward as it goes from one end side of the light transmission member 63 to the other end side.

In addition, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, In the range which does not deviate from the summary, it can change suitably.
For example, in the above embodiment, the horizontal louver 3 and the vertical louver 4 are provided, but only one of them may be provided. Of course, in that case, the knob 5 is provided on the one side.
Further, in the above embodiment, the knob 5 is provided in the horizontal louver 3, but it may be provided in the vertical louver 4 so as to be movable in the vertical direction and immovable in other directions. In that case, the horizontal louver 3 becomes the second louver, and the vertical louver 4 becomes the first louver.

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partially omitted enlarged sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 1. It is an enlarged view which shows the other end part of the light transmission member used in embodiment shown in FIG. It is a figure similar to FIG. 3 which shows the other example of a light transmission member.

Explanation of symbols

1 Vehicle ventilation grill 2 Grill body 3 Horizontal louver (first louver)
3A Knob installation louver 4 Vertical louver (second louver)
5 Knob 6 Light emitting mechanism 62 Light source 63 Light transmission member 63 ′ Light transmission member 63a Reflecting portion 63b Reflecting portion 63c Reflecting portion 64 Light emitting member

Claims (4)

Provided at the front end of one of the louvers, a grill main body with an open front surface, a plurality of louvers each rotatably provided so as to rotate synchronously about rotation axes parallel to each other inside the grill main body In a vehicle ventilation grill provided with a knob, wherein the louver is rotated by operation of the knob,
A ventilation grill for a vehicle, wherein a light emitting mechanism for emitting light from the front surface of the knob is provided. The louvers are arranged in parallel to each other and are arranged in parallel to each other so as to be orthogonal to the first louvers, the first louvers being rotatable around a rotation axis, A plurality of second louvers that are rotatable about a rotation axis that is perpendicular to the rotation axis;
The knob is provided on a first louver (hereinafter referred to as a knob installation louver) of any of the plurality of first louvers so as to be movable in the rotation axis direction thereof.
The first louver is rotated by the knob, and the second louver is rotated by moving the knob in the rotation axis direction of the knob installation louver,
The light emitting mechanism includes a light source provided outside the grill body, a light transmission member provided inside the knob installation louver, and light emitted from the light source is incident on one end, and the knob. A light emitting member that is provided and has light emitted from the other end of the light transmission member to be incident on the back surface, and light incident on the light emitting member is emitted from the front surface of the knob toward the front. The vehicle ventilation grill according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle ventilation grill is provided. The light transmission member is provided on the rotation axis of the knob installation louver, and the other end of the light transmission member is disposed to face the back surface of the light emitting member in the front-rear direction. The end portion is provided with a reflecting portion that reflects the light of the light source that has traveled from one end portion to the other end portion of the light transmission member in the forward direction and is incident on the back surface of the light emitting member. The vehicle ventilation grill according to claim 2, wherein the vehicle has a ventilation grill. In the central portion of the back surface of the light transmission member facing the other end of the light transmission member, a lighting plane that is substantially orthogonal to the front-rear direction is formed, and inclined surfaces are formed on both sides of the lighting plane. The ventilation grill for a vehicle according to claim 3, wherein:

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