Air vent

Abstract

An air vent for a vehicle interior ventilation system including a diffuse air flow duct with a diffuse outlet opening for discharging the air as a diffuse or swirling jet, a movable connecting sleeve with an inflow opening and an outflow opening as a spot outlet opening, which forms a spot air flow duct at a spot outlet opening. Through movement of the connecting sleeve, different discharge directions of the spot jet from the spot outlet opening can be adjusted. The air discharged through the connecting sleeve is redirectable substantially completely in different discharge directions with pivoting of the connecting sleeve. The connecting sleeve has a greater cross-sectional area at the inflow opening than at the outflow opening and at least one air guiding wall is formed in the connecting sleeve.

Claims

1. An air vent for a vehicle interior ventilation system, the air vent comprising: at least one diffuse air flow duct with at least one diffuse outlet opening configured to discharge air as a diffuse or swirling jet; at least one spot air flow duct with at least one spot outlet opening configured to discharge the air as a spot jet; and at least one movable connecting sleeve with an inflow opening and an outflow opening configured as a spot outlet opening, the at least one connecting sleeve forming the at least one spot air flow duct at the at least one spot outlet opening, and via movement of the at least one connecting sleeve, different outflow directions of the spot jet from the at least one spot outlet opening is adjusted, wherein, the at least one connecting sleeve has a greater cross-sectional area at the inflow opening than the outflow opening and at least one air guiding wall is formed in the at least one connecting sleeve.

2. The air vent according to claim 1, wherein the at least one connecting sleeve has a conical shape with a cross-sectional area that becomes smaller in the air flow direction.

3. The air vent according to claim 1, wherein the at least one connecting sleeve has a greater width and a greater height at the inflow opening than at the outflow opening.

4. The air vent according to claim 1, wherein the at least one connecting sleeve is pivotable.

5. The air vent according to claim 1, wherein the at least one air guiding wall is directed substantially parallel to an axis of the at least one connecting sleeve or an air flow direction in the at least one connecting sleeve.

6. The air vent according to claim 1, wherein the at least one air guiding wall is formed completely continuous within the flow space of the at least one connecting sleeve, so that the at least one air guiding wall divides the flow space within the at least one connecting sleeve into at least two separate partial flow compartments.

7. The air vent according to claim 1, wherein the at least one air guiding wall is formed as a center wall in the at least one connecting sleeve so that the center wall divides the flow space within the at least one connecting sleeve into only two totally separate, substantially equally large partial flow compartments.

8. The air vent according to claim 1, wherein a swirl generator is arranged in the flow direction upstream of the at least one connecting sleeve.

9. The air vent according to claim 1, wherein the at least one connecting sleeve is arranged within the at least one diffuse air flow duct and the air vent comprises a housing and wherein the at least one connecting sleeve is arranged within the housing and the at least one diffuse air flow duct is bounded by the housing.

10. A motor vehicle HVAC system, wherein the motor vehicle HVAC system comprises at least one air vent according to claim 1.

11. The air vent according to claim 1, wherein the cross sectional area of the inflow opening is 5-30% greater than the cross sectional area of the outflow opening.

12. The air vent according to claim 1, wherein the at least one air guiding wall is formed as a completely flat, vertical surface.

13. The air vent according to claim 7, wherein the center wall divides the flow space such that air does not flow from one flow compartment to another flow compartment.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are not limitive of the present invention, and wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is a side view of an air vent without a housing;

(3) FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the air vent according to FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 is a front view of the air vent according to FIG. 1;

(5) FIG. 4 is a side view of a connecting sleeve of the air vent according to FIG. 1;

(6) FIG. 5 is a section A-A according to FIG. 4 of the connecting sleeve.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(7) Air vent 1 is used to supply air to a motor vehicle HVAC system (not shown) as a spot jet and/or as a diffuse or swirling jet into the interior of a motor vehicle.

(8) A connecting sleeve 6 and a swirl generator 15 are arranged within a housing (not shown) of air vent 1. The air in this regard flows through air vent 1 within the housing (not shown), first through swirl generator 15 and then connecting sleeve 6. Swirl generator 15 has spiral air guiding devices 16 (FIGS. 1 and 2) by means of which the air is diverted into a diffuse or swirling jet. A spot air flow duct 4 is formed within the spiral air guiding devices 16 (FIGS. 1 and 2). After the air directed by the spiral air guiding devices 16 emerges at swirl generator 15, the air is discharged at air vent 1 at a diffuse outlet opening 3 (FIG. 3). The flow space, which is arranged or formed between the housing (not shown) and connecting sleeve 6, therefore represents a diffuse air flow duct 2 as well as the flow space at swirl generator 15 outside of spot air flow duct 4 and within the housing (not shown), i.e., in the area of spiral air guiding devices 16. In FIGS. 1 and 2, in this regard, air flow 14 flowing into air vent 1 is shown with an arrow. Air can therefore be discharged as a diffuse or spot jet out of air vent 1 through diffuse outlet opening 3.

(9) The air, which is discharged through spot air flow duct 4 within the spiral air guiding devices 16, flows into connecting sleeve 6 after being discharged. Connecting sleeve 6 in this case has an inflow opening 7 and an outflow opening 8. Outflow opening 8 of connecting sleeve 6 thereby represents a spot outlet opening 5 of air vent 1.

(10) The cross-sectional area of connecting sleeve 6 at inflow opening 7 is thereby greater than the cross-sectional area at outflow opening 8. In this regard, connecting sleeve 6 has a conical shape with a decreasing diameter from inflow opening 7 to outflow opening 8. Because of the increased inflow opening 7 relative to outflow opening 8 of connecting sleeve 6, the air emerging from spot air flow duct 4 within the spiral air guiding devices 16 can be introduced essentially completely into connecting sleeve 6, so that in an advantageous manner essentially no leakage air occurs during the introduction of air into connecting sleeve 6. Connecting sleeve 6 further is pivotable around a vertical swivel axis 11. For this purpose, the ends of a corresponding axis pin for vertical swivel axis 11 are positioned at the housing (not shown) of air vent 1. Air vent 1 further has articulation points 13 as coupling elements at connecting sleeve 6. Arms of a kinematic system (not shown) or a mechanism can be hinged at articulation points 13, so that connecting sleeve 6 can be pivoted thereby about vertical swivel axis 11 (not shown) by the user of a motor vehicle, for example, by means of an adjustment wheel outside at air vent 1.

(11) Connecting sleeve 6 further has a completely continuous center wall 10 as an air guiding wall 9 (FIGS. 3 and 5). Center wall 10 divides the flow space within connecting sleeve 6 into two, substantially equally sized partial flow compartments 12. Because center wall 10 is completely continuous within connecting sleeve 6, two partial flow compartments 12 form as a result, whereby no air within connecting sleeve 6 can flow from one partial flow compartment 12 to the other partial flow compartment 12. With a pivoting of connecting sleeve 6 about vertical swivel axis 11 (not shown), the air introduced at inflow opening 7 into connecting sleeve 6 is diverted. To avoid swirl formation within connecting sleeve 6, the flow space is divided advantageously into two smaller partial flow compartments 12 by center wall 10, so that the air within connecting sleeve 6 is canalized thereby and guided essentially parallel, so that thereby swirl formation within connecting sleeve 6 during deflection can be substantially ruled out, and thereby flowing of the air out of connecting sleeve 6 at outflow opening 8 as a spot jet is definitely assured, even with considerable pivoting of connecting sleeve 6.

(12) Connecting sleeve 6 is formed within the diffuse air flow duct 2 (FIG. 3). In another exemplary embodiment that is not shown, air vent 1 in this case has two connecting sleeves 6, which are formed and arranged next to one another (which is not shown) within a larger diffuse air flow duct 2. In this case, with an air vent 1 of this type (not shown), the diffuse air flow duct 2 and the two connecting sleeves 6 are arranged within the housing (not shown).

(13) Viewed overall, major advantages are associated with air vent 1 of the invention and the motor vehicle HVAC system of the invention. Outflow opening 8, which is enlarged relative to inflow opening 7, of connecting sleeve 6 makes it possible that leakage air for air as a spot jet, which is to be passed through connecting sleeve 6, is substantially reduced. Further, because of the division of the flow space within connecting sleeve 6 into partial flow compartments 12 also during considerable pivoting of connecting sleeve 6 a discharging of the air out of connecting sleeve 6 at outflow opening 8 as a spot jet is assured, because due to center wall 10 the air is guided parallel within connecting sleeve 6 also during considerable pivoting of connecting sleeve 6.

(14) The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are to be included within the scope of the following claims.