WO1996016300A1

WO1996016300A1 - An air flow deflecting fin assembly for air circulating devices

Info

Publication number: WO1996016300A1
Application number: PCT/BR1995/000057
Authority: WO
Inventors: Cristiane Furiatti Costa; Jorge Cunha; Gerson Hélio Fernando FISCHER
Original assignee: Multibrás S/A. Eletrodomésticos
Priority date: 1994-11-24
Filing date: 1995-11-22
Publication date: 1996-05-30
Also published as: BR9404619A; AR000176A1

Abstract

An air flow deflecting fin assembly for air circulating devices, including a front panel (P) and comprising at least two supporting bars (10, 20, 60) which are parallel and spaced from each other, one of said supporting bars (20, 60) being axially and transversely movable in relation to any other of said bars affixed parallely to the front panel (P); a plurality of deflecting fins (30), each being formed as a single piece with the supporting bars (10, 20, 60) through respective articulating portions (14, 24), so that the movement of at least one movable supporting bar causes the rotation of the deflecting fins (30), between a closing condition and a maximum opening condition of the front panel air outlet, around an axis parallel to the panel plane, transversal to the supporting bars and coinciding with the articulating portions (14, 24) that connect the deflecting fins (30) to the supporting bars (10) affixed to the front panel (P).

Description

AN AIR FLOW DEFLECTING FIN ASSEMBLY FOR AIR CIRCULATING

DEVICES

Field of the Invention The present invention refers to the construction of an air^v' flow deflecting fin assembly for air circulating devices, particularly to be installed in the front panels of air conditioners. Background of the Invention Air conditioners are provided, at their front panel, with an air outlet opening, where there is mounted a plurality of fins, which, when movable, allow the direction of the air flow to be controlled according to predetermined directions. In a prior art construction, the air flow deflecting fin assembly to be provided at the front panel air outlet comprises a plurality of deflecting fins, each fin being provided with a pair of pivot pins, which are disposed opposite to each other and aligned so as to coincide with the rotational axis of the fin, said pins individually engaging each deflecting fin to the front panel. In order that the fins can move simultaneously, each fin is fitted by a respective engaging pin into a corresponding bore defined in a common driving bar. In order to allow the rotation of each deflecting fin, the pivot pins are provided adjacently to a same edge, preferably the rear edge of said fins, whereas the engaging pin is provided adjacently to the front edge of each said deflecting fin. In this construction, the bores, which are defined at the front panel air outlet and which receive the pivot pins, are in the form of cuts produced in a wall portion defining the contour of the opening of the front panel air outlet during the manufacturing process of said panel usually obtained by injection.

One of the disadvantages of this construction refers to the production of the pieces of the fin assembly in which two distinct moulds are required: one mould for the driving bar and one mould for the deflecting fins. Another disadvantage is related to the large amount of cuts required in this construction, since the cuts obtained during the injection of the front panel, by removing material during moulding or by using a drawer in the mould, must present high precision, in order to avoid latches and consequent vibration. Besides the inconvenience related to moulding, this prior art construction has operational disadvantages, such as the individual manual mounting of each fin to the front panel and the wear of the bores due to usage, said wear causing the diametrical variation of the bores with the enlargement of the diameters thereof, giving rise to latches. These latches, which may pre¬ exist since the moulding operation, allow the fins to vibrate, causing noise. This problem of vibration is particularly intense in this construction due to the fin-front panel assembly, obtained by fitting the pins into the respective bores.

In another known construction, the fins are incorporated as a single piece in a pair of parallel supporting bars, which are spaced from each other and affixed to the front panel by a respective pair of weakened articulating portions, connecting each fin to a respective supporting bar by the same peripheral edge, usually the rear edge, in order to define a rotational axis for a corresponding deflecting fin. The movement of the fin assembly results from the motion of a driving bar interconnecting the deflecting fins at their front side. The connection is achieved by fitting a pin projecting from a lateral edge of each deflecting fin adjacently to the front edge of the latter, into a respective bore provided in the driving bar. The movement of the driving bar is achieved by the user through a driving lever rigidly connecting one of the supporting bars to the driving bar.

The mounting of the fin assembly of this construction to the front panel air outlet is achieved by fitting the engaging projections, provided at the external lateral portions of each supporting bar, into the corresponding engaging bores provided at an adjacent lateral wall portion of the opening of the front panel air outlet. Though this solution has some constructive advantages, such as less vibration, in relation to the construction described above, it requires a larger number of moulds (three) to be manufactured: one mould to produce the supporting bars and the deflecting fin assembly; one mould for the driving bar; and one mould for the driving lever.

In another solution, which eliminates . the problem of multiple manufacturing moulds, the fin assembly is produced incorporated in a single driving bar, each deflecting fin being incorporated in this bar by a corresponding weakened articulating portion. The mounting of the fins/driving bar assembly to the front panel is made by fitting a pivot pin, provided at the corresponding deflecting fin lateral edge, opposite to the other lateral edge of said fin connected by the articulating portion to the driving bar, each said pin being fitted into a corresponding bore produced in the front panel and coinciding with a rotational axis of the respective deflecting fin. Although this construction is advantageous in relation to the prior art, regarding the production of said fin assembly in which only a single mould is used or which requires the provision of a reduced number of bores in the front panel, it has the disadvantage of presenting, during operation and with usage, noises caused by the vibrations resulting from the latches formed in the pin-bore fitting resulting from the fins being directly mounted to the front panel, by fitting the pins into the bores.

Disclosure of the Invention Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide an air flow deflecting fin assembly for air circulating devices of a simple, easy and fast construction, using a single mould and which, during operation, does not present vibration and noises. Another object of the present invention is to provide an assembly such as that cited above, which is simpler to be mounted to the front panel of the air circulating device and which allows the front panel to be easily produced, reducing the manufacturing costs of said air circulating device.

These and other objectives are attained through an air flow deflecting fin assembly for air circulating devices, including a front panel which directs the air flow and which defines an air outlet to an environment, said assembly comprising at least two supporting bars which are parallel and spaced from each other, one of said supporting bars being axially and transversely movable in relation to any other of said bars affixed parallely to the front panel; a plurality of deflecting fins, each being formed as a single piece with the supporting bars through respective articulating portions, so that the movement of at least one movable supporting bar causes the rotation of the deflecting fins, between a closing condition and a maximum opening condition of the front panel air outlet, around an axis parallel to the panel plane, transversal to the supporting bars and coinciding with the articulating portions that connect the deflecting fins to the supporting bars affixed to the front panel. Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will be described below, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of part of the fin assembly of the present invention, when mounted to a front panel in an operational condition intermediate to the closing and opening conditions of the deflecting fin assembly,- Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the fins of the fin assembly of fig. 1, when in a maximum opening operational condition;

Figures 3 and 4 are cross sectional views of the fin assembly of fig. 1 mounted to a front panel, said views being respectively obtained according to lines III and IV of said fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of part of the fin assembly mounted to a front panel in an operational condition intermediate to the closing and maximum opening conditions of the deflecting fin assembly, according to another constructive form of the present invention; and

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view of part of the fin assembly illustrated in fig. 5, taken according to line VI-VI of said fig. 5. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention According to the illustrated figures, the fin assembly of the present invention comprises, in a single piece, at least one pair of supporting bars 10, 20, which are parallel to each other and interconnected with a plurality of deflecting fins 30, through articulating portions (14, 24) as described ahead. This fin assembly is produced to be mounted to an air outlet defined in a front panel P of an air circulating device, such as an air conditioner. In the construction illustrated in figures 1-4, a supporting bar 10 is fixedly attached to the front panel P, while the other supporting bar 20 is mounted to the front panel P so as to be axially and transversely moved in relation to the fixed supporting bar 10.

In order that, in an air outlet closing condition of the front panel P, the deflecting fins 30 may block completely the air flow to a certain environment, said deflecting fins 30 should present a contour complementar to the contour of the adjacent peripheral edge portion of each supporting bar 10, 20. According to a preferred illustrated form, the deflecting fins 30 have a substantially rectangular shape defined by a pair of first edges 31, which are parallel to each other and always orthogonal to the supporting bars 10, 20 and to a pair of second opposite edges 32. In the construction illustrated in figures 1-4, the deflecting fins 30 may be moved by the supporting bar 20 moving between a closing condition and a maximum air outlet opening condition of the front panel P, said conditions being respectively defined by a substantially coplanar position of the deflecting fins

30 relative to the supporting barε :: 20 and a position substantially perpendicular t: c ;j supporting bars 10, 20. In the closing condition, tr.e second edges 32 of each deflecting fin 30 are substantially parallel to the supporting bars 10, 20.

The movement of the deflecting fins 30 between the conditions cited above occurs by each fin rotating around a rotational axis parallel to the front panel P and transversal to the supporting bars 10, 20, said rotational axis coinciding with one of the first edges

31 of the respective deflecting fin 30, said first edge 31 being preferably a rear edge of the deflecting fin 30 adjacent to the fixed supporting bar 10. In other possible construction, the rotational axis may be defined parallel to, but not coinciding with the first edge 31. In the constructions presented, the rotational axis coincides with the articulating portion 14 connecting said first edge 31 of each deflecting fin 30 with the supporting bar 10 affixed to the front panel P. In the construction illustrated in figures 1-4, the rotational axis also coincides with a bearing element 33 incorporated in each deflecting fin 30 at an edge of the first rear edge 31 thereof opposite to that edge where the articulating portion 14 is mounted to the fixed bar 10. The bearing element 33 is in the form of a bore provided at a region where the material of the deflecting fin 30 is thickened and which receives a respective pivot pin 50 provided at front panel P. Each bearing element 33 has a slot produced at a lower portion of its axial extension, so as to permit an easy introduction of the corresponding pivot pin 50 during the mounting of the present assembly to. the front panel air outlet, as well as the rotation of the deflecting fins between their closing and maximum air outlet opening positions of front panel P.

In the preferred illustrated construction, the articulating portions 14, 24 are defined by weakened regions provided in the single piece and obtained by a localized reduction in the thickness of said single piece near the regions where each articulating portion is united to the deflecting fin 30 and to the adjacent supporting bar 10, 20.

In the construction illustrated in figures 1-4, each deflecting fin 30 is connected with a respective supporting bar of the pair of bars 10, 20 by a respective articulating portion 14,24. Said articulating portions, in this construction, are opposite and spaced from each other in the longitudinal direction of the bars, being each provided at a vertex portion of a corresponding first edge 31 of each corresponding deflecting fin 30 adjacent to a respective supporting bar 10, 20.

Though not illustrated, said articulating portions 14 may be defined as arms disposed at other regions of the first or second edges 31, 32 of each deflecting fin 30, provided that they permit each fin to rotate around the rotational axis or also around another rotational axis, as described below.

In order to permit the movement cited above, there is provided a lower edge of a lateral ear, projecting from an internal face of the movable supporting bar 20 and defining the articulating portion 24, said lower edge connecting a first front edge 31 of each deflecting fin 30 to the movable supporting bar 20, whereas the articulating portion 14 provided at the other first edge 31 communicates each respective deflecting fin 30 with an upper edge of the lateral ear projecting from the corresponding internal face of the supporting bar 10, which is attached to the front panel P and which defines the respective articulating portion 14. In another constructive form of the present invention, the fin assembly comprises three supporting bars 10, 20, 60, two of which being coplanar to each other and affixed to the front panel P and the third bar 60 being mounted to said panel P in a movable manner in both axial and transversal directions relative to the fixed bars 10 and 20.

In a non-illustrated constructive form, only one of said supporting bars is affixed to the front panel, the other two moving axially and transversely relative to each other or moving together in relation to the fixed bar 10. In any of these constructions, the motion of said fins will be around rotational axes coinciding with the articulating portion that connects each fin with the fixed supporting bar. In the condition of two fixed supporting bars, said rotational axis coincides with each articulating portion connecting the deflecting fin 30 with the supporting bars attached to the front panel P. In the solution with only one fixed bar, the present fin assembly may have rotational movements for opening and closing the front panel air outlet, as well as rotational movements for laterally directing the air flow. In this construction, the rotational axes intercept at the portion where the respective deflecting fin 30 is articulated to the unique fixed bar 10, said axes being orthogonal to each other, one of them being parallel to the front panel P, as described above, whereas the other one is orthogonal to said parallel axis and transversal to the direction of said movable bars. In the solution illustrated in figures 5 and 6, when the present fin assembly has two fixed supporting bars, the third bar 60 is preferably formed by bar portions connected to the first front edge 31 of each two adjacent deflecting fins 30. Each bar portion includes connecting ends having a region of weakened material, each end being connected with a region with weakened thickness of the first front edge 31 of the adjacent deflecting fin 30. The weakening of the material is obtained by reducing the thickness of each bar portion. The connection of each bar portion end with the first front edge 31 of the respective deflecting fin 30 is achieved so as not to permit the interference between the opposite ends of its adjacent bar portions, when the deflecting fins 30 are in the air outlet closing condition of the front panel P. Thus, the upper end of each bar portion is connected adjacently to the lower edge of the first front edge 31 of a deflecting fin 30 upperly positioned in relation to said bar portions, whereas the lower end of each bar portion is connected to the adjacent upper edge of said first front edge 31. In a solution with a third single-piece movable bar, each articulating portion is projected from a median 10

region of the respective deflecting fin 30. In any of the solutions presented for the single-piece fin assembly of the present invention, the movement of the fins is manually carried out through a grasping element 70 defined at the movable supporting bar.

Claims

11CLAIMS

1. An air flow deflecting fin assembly for air circulating devices, including a front panel (P) which directs the air flow and which defines an air outlet to an environment, characterized in that it comprises at least two supporting bars (10,20,60) which are parallel and spaced from each other, one of said supporting bars (20,60) being axially and transversely movable in relation to any other of said bars (10) affixed parallely to the front panel (P) ; a plurality of deflecting fins (30) , each being formed as a single piece with the supporting bars (10,20,60) through respective articulating portions (14, 24) , so that the movement of at least one movable supporting bar (20,60) causes the rotation of the deflecting fins (30) , between a closing condition and a maximum opening condition of the front panel air outlet, around an axis parallel to the panel plane, transversal to the supporting bars (10,20,60) and coinciding with the articulating portions (14,24) that connect the deflecting fins (30) to the supporting bars (10) affixed to the front panel (P) .

2. Assembly, as in claim 1, characterized in that the articulating portions (14,24) are defined by weakened regions provided in said single piece.

3. Assembly, as in claim 2, characterized in that the weakened regions are obtained by a localized reduction in the thickness of said single piece.

4. Assembly, as in claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a pair of supporting bars (10,20), one bar (10) being affixed to the front panel (P) , whereas the other bar (20) is manually moved in the axial and transversal directions relative to the fixed bar (10) , the articulating portions (14,24) of each corresponding deflecting fin (30) being spaced from each other in the longitudinal direction of the bars.

5. Assembly, as in claim 4, characterized in that the deflecting fins (30) have a substantially rectangular contour, incorporating the articulating portions (14,24) at two diagonally opposite vertices.

6. Assembly, as in claim 5, characterized in that each deflecting fin (30) has its edge, opposite to that articulated to the fixed bar (10) , pivoted in the front panel (P) around the articulating axis thereof.

7. Assembly, as in claim 6, characterized in that each deflecting fin (30) incorporates, at the edge opposite to that articulated to the fixed bar (10) , a bearing element (33) for a respective pivot pin (50) incorporated in the front panel (P) .

8. Assembly, as in claim 1, characterized in that it comprises three supporting bars (10,20,60), two bars

(10,20) being coplanar to each other and affixed to the front panel (P) , whereas the third bar (60) is manually moved in the axial and transversal directions relative to the fixed bars (10,20), the articulating portions (14,24) of each corresponding deflecting fin (30) being mounted to the fixed bars (10,20) and coinciding with the articulating axis of the deflecting fin (30) .

9. Assembly, as in claim 8, characterized in that each deflecting fin (30) has a substantially rectangular contour, with its rotational axis substantially coinciding with one of the edges (31) of the fin (30) .

10. Assembly, as in claim 9, characterized in that the movable supporting bar (20) incorporates the respective articulating portion (14,24) mounted to the deflecting fin (30) at a median region of the deflecting fin edge (30) opposite to that coinciding with the articulating axis of the fin (30) .

11. Assembly, as in claim 1, characterized in that it comprises three supporting bars (10,20,60), one bar

(10) being affixed to the front panel, whereas the other two (20,60) are manually axially movable relative to each other, but move axially transversely together in relation to the fixed bar (10) , the articulating portion (14,24) of each deflecting fin (30) mounted to the first supporting bar (10) defining the intersection of two articulating axes of the fin (30) which are orthogonal to each other, one of said axes being parallel to the plane of the front panel (P) and transversal to the direction of the movable bars (20,60) .

12. Assembly, as in claims 8 or 11, characterized in that the movable supporting bar (20, 60) is formed by bar portions having opposite ends, each end being connected with the edge (31) of an adjacent fin (30) through the respective articulating portion (14,24), said edge being opposite to that one coinciding with the articulating axis.

13. Assembly, as in claim 12, characterized in that each deflecting fin (30) has a thickness reduction, at the region of the articulating portion (14,24) mounted to the movable suppoting bar (20,60) .

14. Assembly, as in claim 1, characterized in that the deflecting fins (30) occupy, in the closing condition, a position substantially coplanar with the supporting bars (10,20,60) and, in the maximum opening condition, a position substantially perpendicular to the supporting bars (10, 20, 60) .