WO2024101297A1

WO2024101297A1 - Register

Info

Publication number: WO2024101297A1
Application number: PCT/JP2023/039843
Authority: WO
Inventors: 義光日比野; 達哉吉田
Original assignee: 豊和化成株式会社
Priority date: 2022-11-09
Filing date: 2023-11-06
Publication date: 2024-05-16

Abstract

A back-movable louver (1) comprises a first back-fin group (10) and a second back-fin group (20) on either side of a central portion provided inside a retainer (8). The first back-fin group (10) includes one or a plurality of central back-fins (11) that are pivotally journaled, and one or a plurality of terminal back-fins (12) that are pivotally journaled outside the central back-fins (11). The second back-fin group (20) includes one or a plurality of central back-fins (21) that are pivotally journaled, and one or a plurality of terminal back-fins (22) that are pivotally journaled outside the central back-fins (21). When the orientation of the back-movable louver 1 is adjusted to a neutral direction, the central back-fins (11), (21) face the neutral direction, and the terminal back-fins (12), (22) on the outside each face the center diagonally.

Description

register

The present invention relates to a register used in the air outlet of an air conditioner for an automobile, etc., and in particular to a register for adjusting the air outlet in which a front movable louver and a rear movable louver are arranged in front of and behind each other and perpendicular to each other within the air outlet.

Conventionally, a cross-fin type register has been widely used as an air-blowing adjustment register inside a vehicle cabin. In this register, front and rear movable louvers are arranged in a front-to-back, perpendicular direction to each other inside a retainer that forms an air passage, and when air is blown out from an air outlet provided in a bezel, the angle of each fin of the front and rear movable louvers is changed to adjust the air blowing direction up, down, left, and right.

Also, as such a register, a register having a long and narrow rectangular air outlet with a small number of movable fins provided inside the air outlet is known, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 below.

JP 2017-206068 A International Publication No. WO2018050034

　This type of register is mainly designed to provide a stylish look, with one to three long front fins supported on the inside of a long, narrow air outlet so that they can rotate in the short direction, and numerous rear fins supported at intervals so that they can rotate in the long direction. In particular, the air outlet of the register may be configured as a thin register that is longer in the long direction and shorter in the short direction.

However, this type of thin register is installed, for example, in front of the instrument panel inside the vehicle cabin, and is required to effectively blow air all the way to the rear seats by adjusting the air direction. However, because the air outlet is long and narrow, the air is easily disturbed and attenuated along the way, making it difficult to blow air at a sufficient speed and volume all the way to the rear seats.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above points, and aims to provide a register that can blow air over a longer distance without attenuating it, even if the register has a long and narrow air outlet.

In order to achieve the above object, the register of the present invention comprises:
A retainer having an internal ventilation passage, and a bezel fitted to a front portion of the retainer and having an air outlet;
a front movable louver having one or more front fins rotatably disposed on an inner side of the air outlet via a support shaft;
a rear movable louver having a plurality of rear fins disposed on an upstream side of the front movable louver and rotatable in a direction perpendicular to the front movable louver via a support shaft;
In a register comprising:
the rear movable louvers are comprised of a first rear fin group and a second rear fin group located on either side of a central portion within the retainer, the first rear fin group and the second rear fin group each having one or more central rear fins pivotally supported and one or more end side rear fins pivotally supported outside the central rear fins;
In order to change the direction of the rear movable louver, an operation knob for adjusting the airflow direction is provided on the front fin of the front movable louver;
When the operating knob is operated to adjust the orientation of the rear movable louver to the neutral direction, the central rear fin faces the neutral direction, and the outer end side rear fins each face diagonally toward the center.

The neutral direction mentioned above refers to the direction when the movable louvers are in a neutral position, without swinging left and right or up and down, and blow air in the forward direction. Additionally, as used in this specification, front and rear refer to the upstream side when blowing air from the register as rear and the downstream side as front, and the forward direction is in front of the air outlet of the register.

According to this invention, when the rear movable louvers are adjusted to the neutral direction, the airflow that passes through the center rear fins advances in the forward direction, and the airflow that passes through the outer end rear fins wraps around the center airflow moving forward from both sides, contracting it and blowing it out. This suppresses turbulence that tends to spread to both sides of the airflow moving forward in the forward direction, lowers the attenuation rate of the airflow speed and volume, and allows it to reach farther. This allows air to be blown effectively from the front of the vehicle interior to the rear seats, for example, and air with sufficient speed and volume can be blown to passengers in the rear seats, allowing cool air during air conditioning to be efficiently blown to the rear seats.

In addition, the register of this invention can be realized simply by changing the shape of the rear fins on the ends of the rear movable louvers, so a register with excellent performance can be manufactured easily and at low cost using the same number of parts as conventional registers.

Here, the end side rear fin is connected to the central side rear fin via a single link bar and a connecting shaft so that they can rotate synchronously, and the end side rear fin is provided with a fin main body portion and a straight portion extending from the upstream end portion of the fin main body portion, and when adjusted to the neutral direction, the fin main body portion is inclined toward the central side rear fin and the straight portion is configured to be parallel to the central side rear fin.

As a result, the straight section is inclined relative to the fin body, and when adjusted to the neutral direction, the straight section is parallel to the central rear fin and the fin body faces the center, so separation of the airflow flowing over the surface of the rear fin is suppressed in the straight section where the airflow first comes into contact with the rear movable louver, reducing air resistance and increasing the wind speed when blowing air.

Furthermore, a partition plate is provided in the center of the retainer to divide the inside of the ventilation passage into two sides, and the first and second rear fin groups of the rear movable louvers are arranged on both sides separated by the partition plate, and the central and end side rear fins of the first and second rear fin groups on both sides are each connected to a link bar, and each is provided with an operating knob.

In addition, in the register, the height of the air outlet provided in the bezel in the short direction can be made shorter and slimmer than the height inside the ventilation passage. This allows the air flowing through the ventilation passage to be contracted on both the top and bottom and the left and right sides before being blown out of the air outlet, allowing the air to be blown at a sufficient speed without disturbing the air flow over a greater distance.

The register of this invention allows air to be blown farther without attenuation when blowing in the neutral direction, even if the register has a long and narrow air outlet.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a register showing one embodiment of the present invention. This is a cross-sectional view of II-II in Figure 1. Cross-sectional view III-III of Figure 1. FIG. FIG. 4A is a front view of the left end rear fin, B is a right side view of the same, and C is a plan view of the same. 13 is a front view showing the arrangement of the first rear fin group and the central rear fins and end side rear fins of the second rear fin group of the rear movable louver. FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the arrangement of center-side rear fins and end-side rear fins. 4A is a cross-sectional view of the first and second rear fin groups of the rear movable louvers when each is turned inward, and B is a cross-sectional view of the first and second rear fin groups of the rear movable louvers when each is turned outward. A cross-sectional view when the front movable louver is swung upward. 1 is a graph showing air velocity distribution and temperature distribution during air blowing in a conventional register and a register of the present invention. FIG.

Below, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in Figs. 1 to 5, the register has a retainer 8 formed in the shape of an elongated rectangular frame, and a bezel 9 fitted to the front of the retainer 8, and a rectangular air outlet 5 elongated in the horizontal direction is formed on the front surface of the bezel 9, and a front movable louver 30 is disposed on the front downstream side within the ventilation passage 6 of the retainer 8, and a rear movable louver 1 is disposed on the upstream side thereof. Here, the upstream side and downstream side refer to the upstream and downstream sides of the air flow when air is blown from the register, and the front of the register is the downstream side and the rear is the upstream side.

A partition plate 15 is provided in the center of the retainer 8 to divide the internal ventilation passage 6 into two sides, and the first rear fin group 10 and the second rear fin group 20 of the rear movable louvers 1 and the front movable louvers 30 are arranged on both sides separated by the partition plate 15.

The air outlet 5 on the front of the bezel 9 is formed as a horizontally long rectangle that is long in the longitudinal direction and short in the lateral direction as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, and just inside the air outlets 5 formed on both sides of the partition plate 15, front movable louvers 30 each having front fins 31 are arranged parallel to the longitudinal direction (left-right lateral direction). As shown in Fig. 2, the first rear fin group 10 and the second rear fin group 20 of the rear movable louvers 1 are arranged on the upstream side of each front movable louver 30 in a direction perpendicular to the front movable louvers 30.

As shown in Figures 2, 7, and 8, the rear movable louver 1 is composed of a first rear fin group 10 and a second rear fin group 20 located on either side of a central partition plate 15 provided within the retainer 8. The first rear fin group 10 and the second rear fin group 20 each have one or more central

rear fins

11, 21 and end

rear fins

12, 22 that are supported on a shaft so that they can rotate in conjunction with each other.

As shown in Figures 1 and 7, the first rear fin group 10 of the rear movable louver 1 has a central rear fin 11 and its outer end side rear fin 12 arranged parallel to the short side (vertical direction) of the air outlet 5, and arranged side by side at a specified interval in the longitudinal direction. Similarly, the second rear fin group 20 has a central rear fin 21 and its outer end side rear fin 22 arranged parallel to the short side (vertical direction) of the air outlet 5, and arranged side by side at a specified interval in the longitudinal direction.

The air outlet 5 of the register in Figures 1 to 10 is formed long in the left-right direction, and the register is thin in the top and bottom and configured as a horizontal register that is long from left to right. The long side of the air outlet 5 shown in Figure 1 etc. is the left-right horizontal direction, and the short side is the up-down vertical direction. A partition plate 15 is provided in the left-right center of the ventilation passage 6 of the retainer 8 of the register, and the partition plate 15 is arranged so as to divide the ventilation passage 6 into left and right sides, and a first rear fin group 10 is arranged in the ventilation passage 6 on the left side facing the partition plate 15, and a second rear fin group 20 is arranged in the ventilation passage 6 on the right side facing the partition plate 15.

In the illustrated example, the first rear fin group 10 and the second rear fin group 20 are provided with five central

rear fins

11, 21 and two end side rear fins that are pivotally supported on the outside of the central

rear fins

11, 21 in an interlocking manner. The first rear fin group 10 in this illustrated example has two end side rear fins 12, and the second rear fin group 20 is configured with five central rear fins 21 that are pivotally supported and two end side rear fins 22 that are pivotally supported on the outside of the central rear fins 21. The number of central

rear fins

11, 21 in the first rear fin group 10 and the second rear fin group 20 may be one, two, three, four, or six or more, and the number of end side

rear fins

12, 22 may be one, three, four, five, or six or more.

The first rear fin group 10 and the second rear fin group 20 of the rear movable louver 1 each have an operation knob 7 for adjusting the airflow direction provided on the front fin 31 of the front movable louver 30 to change the orientation of the center

rear fins

11, 21 and end

rear fins

12, 22 on both sides. When the operation knob 7 is operated to adjust the orientation of the rear movable louver 1 to the neutral direction, the center

rear fins

11, 21 on both sides face in the neutral direction, and the outer end

rear fins

12, 22 each face diagonally toward the center.

As shown in FIG. 6, the rear fin 12 on the left end side when facing the front of the register is extended so that the downstream fin body portion 221 faces diagonally toward the center (right side) relative to the upstream straight portion 222, and is bent at an angle α so that it faces diagonally toward the center (right side) when the straight portion 222 faces in the neutral direction (the same front-to-rear direction as the ventilation direction in the ventilation passage 6). The bending angle α of the fin body portion 221 relative to the straight portion 222 can be 15° to 25°, and is preferably 18° to 22°.

As a result, as shown in Figure 2, when the rear movable louver 1 is adjusted to the neutral direction, the air flow flowing through the center can be efficiently contracted. Furthermore, when the rear movable louver 1 is adjusted to the neutral direction, as shown in Figure 6, the air flow flowing around the end side rear fin 12 first flows from the straight portion 222 and then gradually bends while flowing along the fin main body portion 221, thereby suppressing the separation phenomenon that tends to occur in the air flow flowing over the surface of the rear fin, reducing air resistance and improving the wind speed when blowing air.

On the other hand, as shown in Figures 7 and 8, the right-side end rear fin 22 is formed symmetrically to the left-side end, with the downstream fin body 221 extending from the upstream straight section 222 so as to face diagonally towards the centre (left side), and when the straight section 222 faces in the neutral direction (the same front-to-rear direction as the ventilation direction in the ventilation passage 6), the fin body 221 is bent so as to face diagonally towards the centre (right side). The effect of the straight section 222 when the rear movable louver 1 is adjusted to the neutral direction is the same as that of the left-side end rear fin 12.

Axes 223 protrude from the top and bottom of the fin body portion 221 of the end-side

rear fins

12, 22, and a connecting shaft 224 protrudes from the top of the straight portion 222. As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the fin body 121 of the center-side

rear fins

11, 21 is formed in a normal flat plate shape, with support shafts 122 protruding from the top and bottom of the fin body 121, and a connecting shaft 123 is provided at a displaced position on the upstream end of the fin body 121.

As shown in FIG. 5, the central rear fin 11 and end rear fin 12 of the first rear fin group 10 and the central rear fin 21 and end rear fin 22 of the second rear fin group 20 are assembled by positioning the central

rear fins

11, 21 on the inside and the end

rear fins

12, 22 on the outside, fitting the

upper support shafts

122, 223 of each rear fin into the upper bearing portion 125 positioned above, and fitting the

lower support shafts

122, 223 of each rear fin into the lower bearing portion 126 positioned below, and supporting them between the upper and lower bearing portions so that they can rotate left and right.

A single link bar 124 is connected to each of the connecting

shafts

123, 224 of the central rear fin 11 and end side rear fin 12 of the first rear fin group 10, and the central rear fin 21 and end side rear fin 22 of the second rear fin group 20. This allows the central rear fin 11 and end side rear fin 12 of the first rear fin group 10 to rotate in a synchronous manner, and the central rear fin 21 and end side rear fin 22 of the second rear fin group 20 to also rotate in a synchronous manner.

The rear movable louver 1 including the upper bearing portion 125 and the lower bearing portion 126 in this state is assembled in the ventilation passage 6 on both sides of the partition plate 15 inside the retainer 8. Also, as shown in FIG. 3, the height in the short direction of the air outlet 5 provided in the bezel 9 is formed to be shorter than the height inside the ventilation passage 6. Furthermore, the inner wall portions of the upper bearing portion 125 and the lower bearing portion 126 are contracted vertically toward the air outlet 5, and the air outlet 5 is formed to be elongated with a short height width from top to bottom, so that the air flow flowing through the ventilation passage 6 is contracted vertically. This increases the wind speed when blowing air.

When the rear movable louver 1 configured in this manner is oriented in the neutral direction, as shown in Figures 2 and 8, the central rear fin 11 of the first rear fin group 10 and the central rear fin 21 of the second rear fin group 20 face the neutral direction (front), and the outer end side rear fin 12 and end side rear fin 22 each face diagonally toward the center.

Furthermore, front movable louvers 30 are disposed downstream of each of the first rear fin group 10 and the second rear fin group 20. As shown in Figures 2 and 5, the front movable louvers 30 are disposed within the ventilation passage 6 downstream of the first rear fin group 10 and the second rear fin group 20 of the rear movable louvers 1, with their front fins 31 disposed perpendicular to the rear fins of the rear movable louvers 1.

The support shafts 32 on both sides of each front fin 31 are rotatably fitted and supported by

bearings

33, 34 arranged on both sides, and can rotate up and down. An operating knob 7 is fitted on each of the front fins 31 on both sides so that it can be slid, and a rack portion provided on the upstream end of the operating knob 7 meshes with a sector gear 16 provided on one of the central

rear fins

11, 21. As a result, when the operating knob 7 is slid longitudinally on the front fin 31, the first rear fin group 10 and the second rear fin group 20 of the rear movable louver 1 tilt left and right as shown in Figure 2 or Figure 9. Also, when the operating knob 7 is operated up and down, the front fins 31 of the front movable louvers 30 tilt up or down as shown in Figure 10, changing the air blowing direction up and down.

In the register of the above embodiment, the first rear fin group 10 and the second rear fin group 20 of the rear movable louver 1 are arranged on either side of the central partition plate 15, but it is also possible to have only one rear fin group without providing the partition plate 15. In this case, a central rear fin is arranged in the center of the rear fin group, and end side rear fins are arranged on either side of the central rear fin, so that when adjusted to the neutral direction, the end side rear fins on both sides face the center.

In addition, the first rear fin group 10 and the second rear fin group 20 of the register have five central

rear fins

11, 21 each and two end side

rear fins

12, 22 each, but it is also possible to have two central

rear fins

11, 21 each and five end side

rear fins

12, 22 each. Also, the number of central rear fins and the number of end side rear fins can be set to any number independently of each other.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the air outlet 5 of the register is elongated in the horizontal direction with the long side as the horizontal direction, the front movable louvers 30 are arranged parallel to the long side, and the rear movable louvers 1 have their rear fins arranged parallel to the short side of the air outlet 5, but the register may be configured so that the front shape of the register is rotated 90 degrees, the air outlet is elongated in the vertical direction, the front movable louvers are arranged parallel to the long side (vertical direction) of the air outlet, and the rear movable louvers are arranged parallel to the short side (horizontal direction) of the air outlet.

The register with the above configuration is mounted inside the vehicle cabin, for example, on or near the instrument panel, and a ventilation duct (not shown) is connected to the rear of the retainer 8. Air sent from the ventilation duct is blown out through the ventilation passage 6 in the retainer 8 and the air outlet 5.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the operating knob 7 is operated to set the airflow direction to the neutral direction, the air flows straight between the rear movable louvers 1 and the front movable louvers 30 in the ventilation passage 6 and is blown out forward from the air outlet 5. At this time, in the first rear fin group 10 and the second rear fin group 20 of the rear movable louvers 1, the airflow flowing around the central

rear fins

11, 21 flows straight toward the front as shown in FIG. 2, and the airflow flowing between the two outer end

rear fins

12, 22 contracts and envelops the airflow moving forward through the center from both sides, and is blown out. This suppresses turbulence on both sides of the airflow moving forward, and the airflow contracted from above, below, left, and right reaches a greater distance with a low attenuation rate.

Therefore, for example, if you want to efficiently blow air from the instrument panel to the relatively far rear seats to send cool air to the rear seats, you can simply operate the register operation knob 7 to set the direction of the rear movable louvers 1 to the neutral direction, and sufficient air speed and volume can be blown to the passengers in the rear seats, allowing the cool air to be efficiently sent to the rear seats.

To direct the air diagonally upward, as shown in FIG. 10, the control knob 7 is operated upward and the front fins 31 are tilted upward. This changes the air direction to the upward direction. To direct the air diagonally downward, the control knob 7 is operated downward and the front fins 31 are tilted downward. This changes the air direction to the downward direction.

The rear movable louvers 1 are made up of a first rear fin group 10 and a second rear fin group 20, each of which is provided with an operating knob 7 for adjusting the airflow direction. By sliding each operating knob 7 left and right on the front fins 30, the first rear fin group 10 and the second rear fin group 20 can be tilted left and right, respectively, as shown in Figures 9A and B. This means that, for example, passengers in the front seats can swing the operating knobs 7 on both sides to receive airflow in any left or right direction.

Also, as shown in FIG. 9A, when the left and right operating knobs 7 are each moved toward the central partition plate, and the central rear fins 11 and end rear fins 12 of the first rear fin group 10 and the central rear fins 21 and end rear fins 22 of the second rear fin group 20 are all directed diagonally toward the center, air can be concentrated near the center of the air outlet 5.

Figure 11 shows a graph of the wind speed distribution and temperature distribution when blowing air into a conventional register and the register of the present invention. A prototype of the register of the present invention was produced according to the embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 10 above, and the rear movable louvers of the prototype register were set in the neutral direction, and the wind speed distribution and temperature distribution were measured when cool air was blown into the register. The wind speed distribution and temperature distribution of the conventional register were measured in the same way, with the end side rear fins of the register of the present invention changed to normal flat rear fins.

The graph created from these measurement data shows that with the register of the present invention, the maximum wind speed is 3.1 m/s 1.5 m downstream (1.5 m forward from the air outlet of the register), which is much faster than the 2.5 m/s with the conventional register.

Also, according to the graph of the temperature distribution measured at points 1.0 m and 1.5 m forward from the air outlet, it can be seen that the lower temperature parts of the register of the present invention are concentrated near the center and the range is increased compared to the conventional register. Furthermore, the minimum temperature during cooling at a point 1.0 m was 27.1°C for the conventional register, while it was reduced to 24.8°C for the register of the present invention, and the minimum temperature during cooling at a point 1.5 m was 28.2°C for the conventional register, while it was reduced to 26.4°C for the register of the present invention. From this graph, it can be seen that with the register of the present invention, by simply operating the control knob and adjusting the direction of the rear movable louver to neutral, it is possible to send air with sufficient speed and volume to passengers in the rear seats, and to efficiently send cool air during cooling to the rear seats.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 rear movable louver 5 air outlet 6 ventilation passage 7 operation knob 8 retainer 9 bezel 10 first rear fin group 11 center rear fin 12 end rear fin 15 partition plate 16 sector gear 20 second rear fin group 21 center rear fin 22 end rear fin 30 front movable louver 31 front fin 32 support shaft 33 bearing portion 121 fin main body 122 support shaft 123 connecting shaft 124 link bar 125 upper bearing portion 126 lower bearing portion 221 fin main body portion 222 straight portion 223 support shaft 224 connecting shaft

Claims

A retainer having an internal ventilation passage, and a bezel fitted to a front portion of the retainer and having an air outlet;
a front movable louver having one or more front fins rotatably disposed on a support shaft inside the air outlet;
a rear movable louver having a plurality of rear fins disposed on an upstream side of the front movable louver and rotatable in a direction perpendicular to the front movable louver via a support shaft;
In a register comprising:
the rear movable louvers are comprised of a first rear fin group and a second rear fin group located on either side of a central portion within the retainer, the first rear fin group and the second rear fin group each having one or more central rear fins pivotally supported and one or more end side rear fins pivotally supported outside the central rear fins,
In order to change the direction of the rear movable louver, an operation knob for adjusting the airflow direction is provided on the front fin of the front movable louver;
When the operating knob is operated to adjust the orientation of the rear movable louver to the neutral direction, the central rear fins on both sides face the neutral direction, and the end side rear fins on both sides each face diagonally toward the center.
The register according to claim 1, characterized in that a partition plate is provided in the center of the retainer to divide the inside of the ventilation passage into two sides, the first rear fin group and the second rear fin group of the rear movable louver are arranged on both sides separated by the partition plate, the center side rear fin and the end side rear fin of the first rear fin group, and the center side rear fin and the end side rear fin of the second rear fin group are each connected to a single link bar, and the operation knob is provided on the front fins on both sides of the partition plate.
The register according to claim 2, characterized in that the end side rear fin is connected to the central side rear fin via a single link bar and a connecting shaft so as to be synchronously rotatable, the end side rear fin is provided with a fin main body portion and a straight portion extending from the upstream end portion of the fin main body portion, and when adjusted to the neutral direction, the fin main body portion is inclined toward the partition plate, and the straight portion is parallel to the central side rear fin.
The register according to claim 2, characterized in that the front fins of the front movable louvers are provided on both sides of the partition plate so as to be tiltable separately, and the operating knob is slidably mounted on each of the front fins.
The register according to claim 1, characterized in that the height of the air outlet in the short direction provided in the bezel is shorter than the height of the inside of the ventilation passage.
The register according to claim 5, characterized in that the longitudinal direction of the air outlet is set in the horizontal direction, the short side direction of the air outlet is set in the vertical direction, and the front shape of the air outlet is formed into a thin shape that is elongated in the horizontal direction and short in the vertical direction.