Air flap apparatus having a shifting drum having control grooves on the enveloping surface

Abstract

An air flap apparatus for a motor vehicle having a driving force source to drive a plurality of air flaps between their operating positions; the apparatus having at least two sub-groups of air flap(s) which are displaceable separately from one another between their operating positions but are drivable by the shared driving force source; there being arranged between the driving force source and the at least two sub-groups a gated control configuration which in order to transfer driving force to different sub-groups has, on a groove carrier rotatable around a rotation axis, at least two control grooves embodied separately and arranged at a distance from one another, into each of which a control pin penetrates, each combination of control pin and control groove being motion-transferringly coupled to a different sub-group, the at least two control grooves are embodied on an enveloping surface of the groove carrier at an axial distance from one another and are coded such that for two sub-groups, they permit at least four different combinations of operating positions.

Claims

1. An air flap apparatus for a motor vehicle, the air flap apparatus comprising at least one frame having an air passthrough opening embodied therein and a plurality of air flaps that are mounted movably on the at least one frame and at least project into the air passthrough opening or span it; the plurality of air flaps being movable between two operating positions, an open position and a closed position; the plurality of air flaps covering a smaller proportion of the air passthrough opening in the open position than in the closed position, when the air passthrough opening is viewed in a direction orthogonal to it; the air flap apparatus comprising a driving force source by way of whose driving force the plurality of air flaps are drivable to move between their operating positions; the air flap apparatus further comprising at least two sub-groups of at least one air flap each, which are displaceable separately from one another between their operating positions but are drivable by the shared driving force source; there being arranged between the driving force source and the at least two sub-groups a gated control configuration which in order to transfer driving force to different sub-groups comprises, on a groove carrier drum rotatable around a rotation axis, at least two control grooves, embodied separately and arranged at a distance from one another, into each of which a control pin penetrates, each combination of control pin and control groove being motion-transferringly coupled to a different one of the at least two sub-groups, wherein the at least two control grooves are embodied on a circumferential enveloping surface of the groove carrier drum at an axial distance from one another with reference to the rotation axis, and are coded in such a way that for two sub-groups, they permit at least four different combinations of operating positions.

2. The air flap apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the at least two control grooves comprises at least one state configuration associated with one operating position and at least one transition configuration embodied divergently from the state configuration.

3. The air flap apparatus according to claim 2, wherein in a circumferential portion in which one of the at least two control grooves comprises one of the at least one state configuration, another of the at least two control grooves comprises one of the at least one transition configuration.

4. The air flap apparatus according to claim 3, wherein in each circumferential portion in which the one of the at least two control grooves comprises one of the at least one state configuration, another control groove comprises one of the at least one transition configuration.

5. The air flap apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ends of transition configurations of two different control grooves are located at the same circumferential position.

6. The air flap apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the at least two control grooves is exactly two control grooves, one of the two control grooves comprising two transition configurations, arranged at a distance in a circumferential direction and having a state configuration embodied between them; and the other of the two control grooves comprising two state configurations, arranged at a distance in a circumferential direction and having a transition configuration embodied between them.

7. The air flap apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least two sub-groups is more than two sub-groups each having at least one air flap, which are displaceable separately from one another, the groove carrier comprising more than two control grooves arranged at an axial distance from one another.

8. The air flap apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least two sub-groups each comprise a plurality of air flaps that are connected by a coupling bar for a collective displacement motion between their operating positions, motion trajectories of the coupling bars of the at least two sub-groups being neither parallel nor collinear.

9. A motor vehicle having an air flap apparatus according to claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

(1) The invention may take physical form in certain parts and arrangement of parts, a preferred embodiment of which will be described in detail and illustrated in the accompanying drawing which form a part hereof and wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective rear view of an embodiment of an air flap apparatus of the present invention having two sub-groups of air flaps each collectively movable within the sub-group;

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of an exemplifying embodiment of a groove carrier of the gated control configuration of the air flap apparatus of FIG. 1; and

(4) FIG. 3 is a developed view of the cylindrical groove carrier of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(5) Referring now to the drawing wherein the showings are for the purpose of illustrating preferred and alternative embodiments of the invention only and not for the purpose of limiting the same, FIG. 1 shows an embodiment according to the present invention of an air flap apparatus of the present Application that is designated in general as 10. Air flap apparatus 10 encompasses, in a manner known per se, a (for example, injection-molded) air flap frame 12 in which an (in the example depicted) two-part air passthrough opening 14, having an upper partial opening 14a and a lower partial opening 14b, is embodied.

(6) Upper partial opening 14a is divided at its transverse center by a vertical frame strip (not visible in FIG. 1). The left part of upper partial opening 14a is spanned by five mutually parallel air flaps 16 that are in their closed position in FIG. 1. The right part of upper partial opening 14a is likewise spanned by five air flaps 16 that are in their closed position.

(7) Lower partial opening 14b is also divided at its transverse center by a vertical frame strip (not visible in FIG. 1), the right and left parts of lower partial opening 14b being respectively spanned by four mutually parallel air flaps 18 that are likewise in their closed position as depicted in FIG. 1.

(8) Air flaps 16 are collectively pivotable, around mutually parallel pivot axes S.sub.16, between the closed position shown in FIG. 1 and an open position that opens up upper partial opening 14a for air to flow through. In the example depicted, all pivot axes S.sub.16 are located in one common plane.

(9) Air flaps 18 are also collectively pivotable, around mutually parallel pivot axes S.sub.18, between the closed position shown in FIG. 1 and an open position that opens up lower partial opening 14b for air to flow through. In the example depicted, pivot axes S.sub.18 are also located in one common plane. In the example depicted, the respective planes of pivot axes S.sub.16 and S.sub.18 are not coplanar but instead enclose an angle around an inclination axis parallel to pivot axes S.sub.16 and S.sub.18. This is defined by the conformation of the motor vehicle at whose front end air flap apparatus 10 is to be arranged.

(10) In the closed position shown in FIG. 1, the associated partial opening of air passthrough opening 14 is substantially closed, so that air flowing from outside, for example due to wind blast upon forward travel, onto the respective air flaps 16 and 18 is prevented from flowing through air passthrough opening 14. In the open position, conversely, a flow through the respective partial opening is possible.

(11) Air flaps 16 of upper partial opening 14a are coupled by way of a coupling bar 20 for collective displacement between their operating positions (open position and closed position). Air flaps 18 of lower partial opening 14b are also coupled by a coupling bar 22 for collective displacement between their operating positions. Air flaps 16 therefore constitute a collectively movable upper air flap sub-group 24. Air flaps 18 constitute a collectively movable lower air flap sub-group 26.

(12) Coupling bars 20 and 22 are displaceable along respective translational trajectories B.sub.20 and B.sub.22; in the example depicted, trajectory B.sub.20 of upper coupling bar 20 and trajectory B.sub.22 of lower coupling bar 22 enclose between them the same angle as the common planes of pivot axes S.sub.16 and S.sub.18.

(13) Air flap apparatuses are, to this extent, known.

(14) The air flap apparatus furthermore comprises a driving force source 28 in the preferred form of a DC electric motor, by which the two sub-groups 24 and 26 can be driven to perform a displacement motion between their operating states associated with the individual operating positions of the respective air flaps 16 and 18.

(15) In order to allow sub-groups 24 and 26 to be driven separately from one another using a single driving force source 28 for displacement motion, driving force source 28 is coupled to a coupling control configuration 30. This comprises a cylindrical shifting drum 32. The cylindrical shifting drum 32 is connected, coaxially with output shaft 33 of driving force source 28, to the latter. It can therefore be rotated around rotation axis R by driving force source 28.

(16) Coupling control configuration 30 encompasses, in addition to shifting drum 32, an arrangement 34 of control pins 34a and 34b.

(17) FIG. 2 shows coupling control configuration 30 in isolation. Shifting drum 32 comprises two control grooves 36 and 38, embodied at an axial distance from one another along rotation axis R, that pass radially (in a thickness direction) completely through hollow-cylindrically embodied shifting drum 32. Control grooves 36 and 38 are therefore not completely circumferentially continuous.

(18) Upper control pin 34a, which is motion-transferringly coupled to upper sub-group 24 via upper coupling bar 20, engages into upper control groove 36.

(19) Lower control pin 34b, which is motion-transferringly coupled to lower sub-group 26 via lower coupling bar 22, correspondingly engages into lower control groove 38.

(20) Control pins 34a and 34b, which are immovable radially and in a circumferential direction and are arranged at an axial distance from one another along a common enveloping line parallel to the rotation axis, can be axially displaced mutually independently by a rotation of shifting drum 32 around its rotation axis R. The shapes of control grooves 36 and 38 are most apparent from developed view 32 of shifting drum 32 in FIG. 3. Components and component portions identical to those in FIG. 2 are labeled in FIG. 3 with the same reference characters but with an apostrophe. Developed view 32 is a view of shifting drum 32 radially outward from rotation axis R.

(21) Looking from left to right, upper control groove 36 begins in a low position from which a transition configuration 36u1 conveys control groove 36 into a high position. At the left end (in a circumferential direction) of transition configuration 36u1, air flaps 16 of upper sub-group 24 which are coupled to control pin 34a are in the closed position. At the right end (in a circumferential direction) of transition configuration 36u1, air flaps are displaced by gated control configuration 30 into the open position.

(22) Transition configuration 36u1 is adjoined in a circumferential direction by a state configuration 36z that proceeds orthogonally to rotation axis R. As long as control pin 34a is in engagement with state configuration 36z, the operating position of air flaps 16 of sub-group 24 does not change during a rotation of shifting drum 32.

(23) State configuration 36z is adjoined in a circumferential direction by a further transition configuration 36u2 that conveys control groove 36 from the high position into the low position. As a result of the engagement of control pin 34a with transition configuration 36u2 (see also FIG. 2), air flaps 16 of upper sub-group 24 are displaced from the open position back into the closed position as the rotation of shifting drum 32 proceeds in the same direction.

(24) Upper control groove 36 can therefore, in a circumferential direction, displace air flaps 16 from the closed position into the open position and back again into the closed position, and the open position can be maintained as the only operating position over a rotation of shifting drum 32. All the configuration portions 36u1, 36z, and 36u2 preferably extend over circumferential portions of equal size.

(25) Lower control groove 38 comprises at its outermost left end in FIG. 3 a state configuration 38z1 that holds control pin 34b, engaging into it, in a low position that is associated with the closed position, shown in FIG. 1, of air flaps 18 of lower sub-group 26.

(26) Following state configuration 38z1 in a circumferential direction is a transition configuration 38u that displaces control pin 34b from a low position into a high position and thus displaces air flaps 18 into the open position. Transition configuration 38u is adjoined in a circumferential direction by a second state configuration 38z2 that holds control pin 34b, engaging into it, in a high position and thus holds the associated air flaps 38 in the open position.

(27) Configuration segments 38z1, 38u, and 38z2 of lower control groove 38 extend over circumferential portions of equal size which correspond in terms of size and location to the circumferential portions of configuration portions 36u1, 36z, and 36u2 of upper control groove 36. The longitudinal ends of each configuration segment of upper control groove 36 and of lower control groove 38 are thus located at the same circumferential coordinate around rotation axis R. Because control pins 34a and 34b are also located at the same circumferential coordinate it is thus possible, using the two control grooves 36 and 38 each having three configuration portions, to implement a total of four combinations of operating positions of upper sub-group 24 and lower sub-group 26.

(28) When control pins 34a and 34b are located at the far left end (in FIG. 3) of control grooves 36 and 38, both sub-groups are in the closed position. When shifting drum 32 is rotated one configuration portion onward from there, so that upper control pin 34a is located at the transition between transition configuration 36u1 and state configuration 36z and lower control pin 34b is simultaneously located at the transition between state configuration 38z1 and transition configuration 38, upper sub-group 24 is in the open position while lower sub-group 26 is still in the closed position.

(29) When control drum 32 is rotated from there one further configuration portion onward, i.e. respectively to the transition from state configuration 36z into transition configuration 36u2 and to the transition from transition configuration 38u into state configuration 38z2, upper sub-group 24 remains in the open position while lower sub-group 26 is also displaced into the open position.

(30) When control drum 32 is then rotated through the last configuration portion to the outermost right end (in FIG. 3) of control grooves 36 and 38, lower sub-group 26 remains in the open position while upper sub-group 24 becomes displaced into the closed position. The following operating position combinations thus exist, from right to left and from top to bottom: closed/closed, open/closed, open/open, and closed/open.

(31) By way of an axially longer embodiment of control drum 32, further control grooves beyond the two control grooves 36 and 38 that are depicted can be embodied on enveloping surface 32a of control drum 32, and further sub-groups of collectively movable air flaps can be displaced between the open position and the closed position.

(32) While considerable emphasis has been placed on the preferred embodiments of the invention illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated that other embodiments, and equivalences thereof, can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the invention. Furthermore, the embodiments described above can be combined to form yet other embodiments of the invention of this application. Accordingly, it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention and not as a limitation.