Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60H—ARRANGEMENTS OF HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATING OR OTHER AIR-TREATING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PASSENGER OR GOODS SPACES OF VEHICLES
  • B60H3/00—Other air-treating devices
  • B60H3/0007—Adding substances other than water to the air, e.g. perfume, oxygen
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60H—ARRANGEMENTS OF HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATING OR OTHER AIR-TREATING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PASSENGER OR GOODS SPACES OF VEHICLES
  • B60H1/00—Heating, cooling or ventilating [HVAC] devices
  • B60H1/34—Nozzles; Air-diffusers
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60H—ARRANGEMENTS OF HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATING OR OTHER AIR-TREATING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PASSENGER OR GOODS SPACES OF VEHICLES
  • B60H3/00—Other air-treating devices
  • B60H3/0007—Adding substances other than water to the air, e.g. perfume, oxygen
  • B60H3/0014—Adding substances other than water to the air, e.g. perfume, oxygen characterised by the location of the substance adding device
  • B60H3/0028—Adding substances other than water to the air, e.g. perfume, oxygen characterised by the location of the substance adding device on or near an air outlet
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60H—ARRANGEMENTS OF HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATING OR OTHER AIR-TREATING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PASSENGER OR GOODS SPACES OF VEHICLES
  • B60H3/00—Other air-treating devices
  • B60H3/06—Filtering
  • B60H3/0608—Filter arrangements in the air stream
  • B60H3/0616—Filter arrangements in the air stream with provisions for replacing the filter element
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60H—ARRANGEMENTS OF HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATING OR OTHER AIR-TREATING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PASSENGER OR GOODS SPACES OF VEHICLES
  • B60H1/00—Heating, cooling or ventilating [HVAC] devices
  • B60H1/34—Nozzles; Air-diffusers
  • B60H2001/3492—Manufacturing; Assembling
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
  • F24F—AIR-CONDITIONING; AIR-HUMIDIFICATION; VENTILATION; USE OF AIR CURRENTS FOR SCREENING
  • F24F13/00—Details common to, or for air-conditioning, air-humidification, ventilation or use of air currents for screening
  • F24F13/08—Air-flow control members, e.g. louvres, grilles, flaps or guide plates
  • F24F13/10—Air-flow control members, e.g. louvres, grilles, flaps or guide plates movable, e.g. dampers
  • F24F13/14—Air-flow control members, e.g. louvres, grilles, flaps or guide plates movable, e.g. dampers built up of tilting members, e.g. louvre
  • F24F13/1426—Air-flow control members, e.g. louvres, grilles, flaps or guide plates movable, e.g. dampers built up of tilting members, e.g. louvre characterised by actuating means
  • F24F2013/1446—Air-flow control members, e.g. louvres, grilles, flaps or guide plates movable, e.g. dampers built up of tilting members, e.g. louvre characterised by actuating means with gearings

Definitions

• the present invention relates, in general, to vent assemblies used for discharging hot and cold air into the passenger compartment of an automobile for accomplishing an air conditioning effect for the passenger compartment and, more particularly, to a vent assembly for automobiles, which has a movable grill unit d esigned to b e a ppropriately e j ected from o r r etracted i nto a h ousing b y a motor operation within a predetermined range capable of preventing an undesired complete removal of the grill unit from the housing, thus allowing a user to selectively eject or retract the grill unit from or into the housing, and which thus allows the user to open the housing when it is desired to clean the grill unit and the interior of the housing, and so the vent assembly blows fresh and clean air into the passenger compartment.
• air conditioning apparatuses such as heaters or air conditioners, for discharging impure air from the p assenger c ompartment to the atmosphere and feeding fresh hot or cool air into the compartment.
• air conditioning apparatuses such as heaters or air conditioners
• Such fresh air fed from such an air conditioning apparatus is blown into the passenger compartment through the grillwork of a vent assembly installed at a dashboard.
• the grillwork of a conventional vent assembly acting as the final path guiding the fresh hot or cool air into the passenger compartment, comprises a plurality of grating bars which have a blade shape and are movably set in a grill frame fixedly installed in the venting channel of a dashboard. Therefore, when it is desired to change the air blowing direction of the grillwork, the grating bars are manually tilted upward, downward, leftward or rightward at a limited angle within the fixed grill frame.
• Such deposited dust is blown into the passenger compartment along with fresh hot or cool air during an operation of an air conditioning apparatus, such as a heater or an air conditioner, thus being bad for passengers' health, particularly, for passengers' respiratory organs, and causing several diseases in said organs.
• an air conditioning apparatus such as a heater or an air conditioner
• the conventional vent assembly does not allow an installation of an air filter at a position around it, and so most passengers, including a driver while driving an automobile, inevitably breathe dust-laden air blown from the grillwork.
• This vent nozzle which corresponds to a grill frame with a grillwork and is referred to as "grill frame" herein below, is removably installed in a housing fixedly set in the dashboard of an automobile such that the grill frame with the grillwork is completely removed from the housing by pulling the grill frame from the housing when desired. That is, this grill frame has a detachable structure, which allows a user to install or remove the grill frame with the grillwork in or from the housing provided in the dashboard.
• this grill frame is not stably installed in the housing, and so it is undesirably moved in the housing to generate noises upsetting passengers around the grill frame when the automobile runs at speed with substantial vibrations.
• the assembling parts of both the grill frame and the housing may be damaged or broken, thus sometimes forcing the user to change the damaged or broken grill frame and/or housing with new ones.
• This grill frame is thus inconvenient to the user, and forces the user to pay excessive money for purchasing the new grill frame and/or housing.
• Another problem of the above grill frame resides in that it may be damaged or lost when it is completely removed from the housing and kept in the removed state for a period of time.
• an object of the present invention is to provide a vent assembly for automobiles, which has a drawer-type movable grill unit designed to be appropriately ejected from or retracted into a housing in a horizontal direction by a reversible motor operation within a predetermined range defined to prevent an undesired complete removal of the grill unit from the housing, thus allowing a user to selectively eject or retract the grill unit from or into the housing, and which thus allows the user to open the housing when it is desired to clean the grill unit and the interior of the housing, and which thus blows fresh, clean and scented air into the passenger compartment.
• the present invention provides a vent assembly for automobiles, being installed at a vent channel of a dashboard, and comprising a grill unit and a housing, wherein the grill unit includes a grillwork, and a grillwork holder holding the grillwork therein and integrated with a drawer part, the grill unit being movably set in the housing such that the grill unit is ejected from or retracted into the housing within a predetermined range by a reversible drive means.
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vent assembly for automobiles according to the primary embodiment of this invention
• FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the vent assembly for automobiles of FIG. 1 ;
• FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the vent assembly for automobiles of FIG. i;
• FIGS. 4a and 4b are partially broken side views, showing the operation of the vent assembly of FIG. 1;
• FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a vent assembly for automobiles according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
• FIGS. 6a and 6b are partially broken side views, showing the operation of the vent assembly of FIG. 5;
• FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a vent assembly for automobiles according to the third embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the vent assembly for automobiles of FIG.
• FIGS. 9a and 9b are partially broken side views, showing the operation of the vent assembly of FIG. 7;
• FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a vent assembly for automobiles according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
• FIGS. 11a and l ib are partially broken side views, showing the operation of the vent assembly for automobiles of FIG. 10;
• Figs. 12a and 12b are partially broken perspective views of a vent assembly having a seating slot for automobiles according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.
• Fig. 13 is a perspective view, showing a vent assembly of the present invention, which is installed at the dashboard of an automobile at a desired position.
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vent assembly for automobiles according to the primary embodiment of this invention.
• FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the vent assembly for automobiles of FIG. 1.
• FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the vent assembly for automobiles of FIG. 1.
• FIGS. 4a and 4b are p artially b roken s ide v iews, sh owing the o peration o f t he v ent a ssembly o f
• the vent assembly for automobiles according to the primary embodiment of this invention comprises a grill unit 1, a housing 2, and a drive means 3.
• the grill unit 1 of the vent assembly includes a grillwork 11 to control the direction of air brown into the passenger compartment of an automobile through the vent assembly, a grillwork holder 10 which has at a front thereof the grillwork 11 so as to control the direction of the air brown into the passenger compartment through the vent assembly, and a drawer part 12 which is integrated with the grillwork holder 10 at the back of the grillwork holder 10.
• a rack 14 is arranged along the lower end of each sidewall of the drawer part 12, and a movable rail 15 is arranged along an outer surface of each sidewall of the drawer part 12 to linearly slide along a fixed rail 20 which is provided along an inner surface of each sidewall of the housing 2, so that the grill unit 1 is ejected from or retracted into the housing 2 within a predetermined range by the drive means 3.
• the drawer part 12 has a box-shape which is opened at its top, and is provided with an air inlet opening 18 at its rear wall 17 for blowing the air generated from an air conditioning apparatus (not shown) toward the grillwork 11.
• the housing 2 is installed at a front of a vent channel of a dashboard B so that the grill unit 1 is ejected from or retracted into the housing 2.
• the two fixed rails 20 which are arranged along the inner surfaces of the two sidewalls of the housing 2 to be parallel with each other, respectively seat the two movable rails 15 of the grill unit 1 thereon so as to guide the ejecting or retracting movement of the grill unit 1.
• a through hole 21 is formed on one sidewall of the housing 2 so as to allow a drive shaft 3 1 o f the drive means 3 to pass the sidewall of the housing 2.
• the drive means 3 comprises the drive shaft 31 which passes the through hole 21 formed on the sidewall of the housing 2, and the racks 14 arranged along the lower ends of the both sidewalls of the drawer part 12.
• the racks 14 engages with pinion gears 31a and 31a' provided at both ends of the drive shaft 31.
• An intermediate gear assembly 32 is provided between a drive gear 33a connected to a reversible motor 33 and a driven gear 31b mounted to an end of the drive shaft 31, so as to transmit the rotating power transmitted from the reversible motor 33 to the drive shaft 31.
• the i ntermediate gear assembly 32 has first and second transmission gears 32a and 32b which are mounted on both side surfaces of the intermediate gear assembly 32 so that the rotating power of the motor 33 is transmitted to the drive shaft 31 while being reduced in the rotation speed at a predetermined ratio.
• the intermediate gear assembly 32 also absorbs an impact when the impact is applied to the grill unit 1, thus preventing the impact from being directly transmitted to the gears of the drive means 3.
• the rotating power of the motor 33 which is transmitted to the driven gear 31b is reduced in the rotation speed at a predetermined ratio while the rotating power is transmitted to the driven gear 31b through the drive gear 33a, and the first and second transmission gears 32a and 32b of the intermediate gear assembly
• the rotating power is transmitted to the drive shaft 31 through the driven gear 31b engaging with the second transmission gear 32b, and rotates the two pinion gears 31a and 31a' provided at the both ends of the drive shaft 31.
• the grill unit 1 is ejected from or retracted into the housing 2 by a linear movement of the racks 14 which are arranged along the lower ends of both sidewalls of the drawer part 12 of the grill unit 1 and engage with the two pinion gears 31a and 31a' according to a forward or reverse rotation of the motor 33.
• vent assembly A for automobiles according to the primary embodiment of the present invention.
• the housing 2 is primarily installed in the front of the vent channel formed in the dashboard B.
• the grill unit 1 is set in the housing 2 such that the two movable rails 15 which are arranged along the outer surfaces of the two sidewalls of the drawer part 12 of the grill unit 1 are movably seated on the two fixed r ails 20, r espectively, so a s t o linearly si ide a long the fixed r ails 20.
• the air conditioning apparatus (not shown) is operated, hot or cold air is blown into the passenger compartment through the grill unit 1, thus maintaining a fresh and pleasant interior atmosphere of the passenger compartment.
• the user controls a control switch (not shown) connected to the motor
• the motor 33 is thus driven.
• the rotating power of the motor 33 is transmitted from the drive gear 33a, which is connected to an end of the motor shaft, to the driven gear 3 lb which is mounted to one end of the drive shaft 31 through the first and second transmission gears 32a and 32b of the intermediate gear assembly 32 interposed between the drive gear 33a and the driven gear 31b.
• the rotating power transmitted to the driven gear 31b thus rotates the drive shaft 31. Accordingly, the two racks 14 of grill unit 1 which engage with the two pinion gears 31a and 31a' provided at both ends of the drive shaft 31, are moved forward.
• the front of the housing 2 is opened, thus allowing the vent channel inside the housing 2 to be easily cleaned.
• the user controls the control switch to rotate the motor 33 in the reverse direction.
• the rotating power of the motor 33 is transmitted to the racks 14 of the grill unit 1 through the drive gear 33 a, the intermediate gear assembly 32, the driven gear 31b, and the pinion gears 31a and 31a'.
• the ejected grill unit 1 linearly moves into the housing 2 to be retracted into the housing 2.
• FIG. 5. is an exploded perspective view of a vent assembly for automobiles according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
• FIGS. 6a and 6b are partially broken side views, showing the operation of the vent assembly of FIG. 5.
• the two racks 14 which engage with the two pinion gears 31a and 31a' provided at both ends of the drive shaft 31 of the drive means 3, are arranged along the upper ends of both sidewalls of the drawer part 12, respectively, in place of the lower ends of the both sidewalls of the drawer part 12.
• FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a vent assembly for automobiles according to the third embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the vent assembly for automobiles of FIG. 7.
• FIGS. 9a and 9b are partially broken side views, showing the operation of the vent assembly of FIG. 7. As shown in FIGS.
• a drive roller 34 being made of rubber having a high friction force is installed in the housing 2 through the through hole 21 of the housing 2.
• the drive roller 34 is in surface-contact with two drive surfaces 16 formed along the upper ends of both sidewalls of the drawer part 12 of the grill unit 1, so that the rotating power of the motor 33 is transmitted to the drive roller 34 through a driven gear 31b mounted to an end of the drive roller 34.
• the grill unit 1 in which the two drive surfaces 16 formed along the upper ends of the both sidewalls of the drawer part 12 are in surface-contact with an o uter su rface o f t he d rive r oiler 3 4 m ade o f r ubber h aving t he h igh friction force, is ejected from or retracted into the housing 2 by a forward or reverse rotation of the motor 33.
• FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a vent assembly for automobiles according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
• FIGS. 11a and l ib are partially broken side views, showing the operation of the vent assembly for automobiles of FIG. 10.
• the drive roller 34 being made of rubber having a high friction force is in surface-contact with two drive surfaces 16 formed along the lower ends of both sidewalls of the drawer part 12 of the grill unit 1, instead of the upper ends of the both sidewalls of the drawer part 12, so as to transmit the rotating power of the motor 33 to the grillwork holder 10. Accordingly, the grill unit 1 is ejected from or retracted into the housing 2, by the rotating power of the motor 33 transmitted to the grill unit 1 through the drive roller 34. Figs.
• FIGS. 12a, and 12b are partially broken perspective views of a vent assembly having a seating slot for automobiles according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.
• a container 19 may be installed in a rear section of the drawer part 12 which is provided at the rear part of the grillwork holder 10 constituting the grill unit 1, so as to contain an aromatic or a deodorizer therein.
• the aromatic or deodorizer may be directly and removably put in the drawer part 12, without installing the container 19 in the drawer part 12. In such a case, fresh and scented air is discharged into the passenger compartment through the grill unit 1 after flowing through the vent channel.
• a seating slot 13 may be formed on an upper surface of the front of the grillwork holder 10 so as to removably seat an air filter 5 in the front of the grillwork holder 10.
• the air filter 5 removes dust from air passing through the grill unit 1, thereby cleaning the air before the air is discharged into the interior of the passenger compartment.
• the vent assembly thus maintains a fresh, clean and pleasant interior atmosphere of the passenger compartment.
• two or more grill units 1 may be installed in the housing 2 such that the grill units 1 are independently ejected from or retracted into the housing 2, as shown in FIG. 13.
• the present invention provides a vent assembly with a drawer-type grill unit for automobiles.
• the drawer-type grill unit is designed such that it is appropriately ejected from or retracted into a housing which is installed in the front of a vent channel of a dashboard.
• the grill unit slides relative to the housing by an operation of a drive means connected to upper or lower ends of both sidewalls of a drawer part of the grill unit to transmit the rotating power of a motor to the grill unit, within a predetermined range capable of preventing an undesired complete removal of the grill unit from the housing.
• a user is thus allowed to selectively eject or retract the grill unit from or into the housing, and to open the housing when it is desired to clean the grill unit and the interior of the housing.
• the vent assembly has the drawer part at the rear section of the grill unit, it is possible to contain a desired material, such as an aromatic or a deodorizer, in the drawer part, with an air filter removably seated in a seating slot which is formed at the upper wall of the grillwork holder of the grill unit.
• the vent assembly thus blows fresh, clean and scented air into the passenger compartment, and maintains a fresh and pleasant interior atmosphere of the passenger compartment of an automobile.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Thermal Sciences (AREA)
• Air-Conditioning For Vehicles (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=31987359

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Cited By (1)

Families Citing this family (1)

Citations (4)

• 2002
  • 2002-09-10 KR KR10-2002-0054643A patent/KR100445694B1/ko not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2003
  • 2003-09-05 WO PCT/KR2003/001825 patent/WO2004024482A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2003-09-05 AU AU2003258880A patent/AU2003258880A1/en not_active Abandoned

Patent Citations (4)

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