Claims:We Claim:

1. An air vent assembly (1000) for a vehicle interior, the air vent assembly (1000) comprising:
an air duct (100), the air duct (100) having an air inlet (101) to receive an airflow and an air outlet (102) through which the airflow flows into a passenger compartment of the vehicle interior;
a flap (200) movably configured at the air inlet (101) side of the air duct (100);
a rotatable member (300) is arranged within the air duct (100), such that the rotation direction and / or rotation speed of the rotatable member (300) is controlled upon the actuation of the flap (200).

2. The air vent assembly (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rotatable member (300) is rotatably connected to the air duct (100).

3. The air vent assembly (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein an air directing vane (400) is arranged within the air duct (100), wherein the rotatable member (300) is rotatably connected to the air directing vane (400).

4. The air vent assembly (1000) as claimed in claim 1 and 3, wherein the air directing vane (400) includes a first air directing member (400-1) and a second air directing member (400-2) pivotably connected to each other, wherein the rotatable member (300) is rotatably connected to the first air directing member (400-1).

5. The air vent assembly (1000) as claimed in claims 1 and 3, wherein a knob (110) is operably connected to the air directing vane (400), wherein upon operation of the knob in a first direction, the air directing vane (400) pivots for changing the directivity airflow into the passenger compartment of the vehicle interior.

6. The air vent assembly (1000) as claimed in claims 1 and 3, wherein a knob (110) is operably connected to the flap (200), wherein upon operation of the knob (110) in a second direction, the flap (200) moves to control the rotational direction and/or rotation speed of the rotatable member (300).

7. The air vent assembly (1000) as claimed in claims 1, 5 and 6, wherein a knob (110) is operably connected to the vane (400) and the flap (200).

8. The air vent assembly (1000) as claimed in claims 3, 5 and 6, wherein the first direction is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the air directing vane (400) and the second direction is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the air directing vane (400).

9. The air vent assembly (1000) as claimed in claims 1, 5 and 6, wherein when the knob (110) is operated in the second direction, the flap (200) moves in a direction opposite to the second direction, the rotatable member (300) rotates in clockwise or counterclockwise direction to control the airflow directivity into the passenger compartment of the vehicle interior.

10. The air vent assembly (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rotatable member (300) is a roller-like structure such as a cylinder-shaped structure or a spherically- shaped structure.

11. The air vent assembly (1000) as claimed in claims 1 and 6, wherein the flap (200) and the knob (110) are connected by a gear drive (600) such that upon operation of the knob (110) in the second direction, the flap (200) moves in a direction opposite to the second direction.

12. The air vent assembly (1000) as claimed in claim 11, wherein the gear drive (600) is a rack-pinion mechanism.

13. The air vent assembly (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flap (200) includes a covering member (200-1) configured to cover a gap in between the flap (200) and the rotating member (300).
, Description:Field of the Invention

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of an air vent assembly for vehicles. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an air vent assembly which can be miniaturized without impairing the function of changing an airflow directivity in a passenger compartment of a vehicle interior and can be used in any other land, air or water vehicles as well.

Background of the Invention

[0002] In conventional vehicles air vent assembly comprises movable horizontal air vanes and movable vertical air vanes arranged on a trim panel of a vehicle interior like dashboard, central console etc for controlling the airflow directivity in a passenger compartment of the vehicle interior. However, such a design may require largest space to accommodate such vanes, also reduced the overall airflow volume and may result into strong flow resistance at air outlet and thus may create high airflow flow noise specially when the airflow is deflected. Therefore, when the conventional air vent assembly is miniaturized, the vanes are also reduced, and there are cases where the flow direction of the airflow cannot be sufficiently adjusted even if the vanes are turned.

[0003] Therefore, there is a need to overcome the above drawback(s) and provide an arrangement which uses an arrangement which avoid at least one of the above explained issues without reducing the effectiveness of the air vent assembly.

Objects of the Invention

[0004] Some of the objectives of the present invention, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies are as listed herein below.

[0005] It is an object of the present invention to create an air vent assembly for a vehicle air conditioning system in which the airflow directivity is not based on conventional air vanes.

[0006] It is an object of the present invention to an air vent assembly which can be miniaturized without impairing the function of changing an airflow directivity in a passenger compartment of a vehicle interior.

[0007] It is an object of the present disclosure to provide the arrangement which is easy to operate the air vent assembly.

Summary of the invention

[0008] The present invention relates to the field of an air vent assembly for vehicles. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an air vent assembly which can be miniaturized without impairing the function of changing an airflow directivity in a passenger compartment of a vehicle interior.

[0009] The present invention discloses an air vent assembly for a vehicle interior. The air vent assembly may comprise an air duct, a flap and a rotatable member. The air duct has an air inlet to receive an airflow and an air outlet through which the airflow may flow into a passenger compartment of the vehicle interior. The flap can be movably configured at the air inlet side of the air duct and the rotatable member can be arranged within the air duct such that the rotation direction and / or rotation speed of the rotatable member can be controlled upon the actuation of the flap (200). The rotatable member can be a roller-like structure such as a cylinder-spaced structure or a spherically-space structure.

[0010] Further, an air directing vane can be arranged within the air duct and wherein the rotatable member can be rotatably connected to the air directing vane. Particularly, the air directing vane may comprises a first air directing member and a second air directing member pivotably connected to each other, wherein the rotatable member can be rotatably connected to the first air directing member. In an alternative embodiment the rotatable member can be rotatably connected to the air duct. More particularly the rotating member is configured centrally in the airduct.

[0011] In an aspect, a knob can be operably connected to the air directing vane and the flap, more specifically the knob can be connected to the second air directing member such that a passenger of the vehicle can operate the knob. Wherein, upon operation of the knob in a first direction, the air directing vane may pivots for changing the airflow directivity into the passenger compartment of the vehicle interior and upon operation of the knob in a second direction, the flap may move to control the rotation direction and/or rotation speed of the rotatable member. More particularly, when the knob is operated in second direction, the flap may move in a direction opposite to the second direction which may reduce a cross sectional area at one side of the air inlet and thus due to Bernoulli’s principle resulting the rotatable member to rotates in clockwise or counterclockwise direction. Thus, as the rotatable member rotates in clockwise or counterclockwise direction, the airflow directivity into the passenger compartment also changes to the direction of the rotation of the rotatable member. Particularly, the flap and the knob are connected by a gear drive such that upon operation of the knob in second direction the flap moves in a direction opposite to the second direction. In the present embodiment, the gear drive is a rack-pinion mechanism.

[0012] In an aspect, the first direction is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the air directing vane and the second direction is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the air directing vane. The flap may comprise a covering member configured in the air duct to cover a gap in between the flap and the rotating member for avoiding any air leakage from the gap in between the flap and the rotatable member. The air vent assembly may receive the airflow from an air conditioning system such as a HVAC system of the vehicle interior.
Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013] Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent when reading the detailed description given below, purely by way of example and in a non-limitative manner, referring to the following figures:

[0014] Figure 1a illustrates a cross-sectional side view of a proposed air vent assembly of a vehicle interior, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0015] Figure 1b illustrates a cross-sectional side view of a proposed air vent assembly of a vehicle interior where a knob is operated to a second direction, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 2 illustrates an exemplary view of the proposed air vent assembly by hiding an air duct, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 3a illustrates a top view of the proposed air vent assembly by hiding the air duct and air directing member, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 3b illustrates a top view of the proposed air vent assembly by hiding the air duct and air directing member where a knob is operated to a first direction, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 4 illustrates a top view of a second embodiment of the proposed air vent assembly by hiding the air duct and air directing member where a knob is operated to a first direction, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0020] Figure 5 illustrates an exemplary view of a covering member of the flap of the proposed air vent assembly of the vehicle interior, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0021] An embodiment of this invention, illustrating its features, will now be described in detail. The words "comprising, "having, "containing," and "including," and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items.

[0022] The terms “first,” “second,” and the like, herein do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to distinguish one element from another, and the terms “an” and “a” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced items.

[0023] The disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms.

[0024] Numerous examples of air vents are known in the art. In many cases, spatial constraints need to be taken into account when considering the placement of air vents. In particular, the available space for air vents in dashboards, center consoles, ceilings, pillars, door modules, or similar interior elements of a motor vehicle may be highly limited. Accommodating the various components of the air vent for guiding, shutting and regulating the air flow may make the air vent too large to easily fit into the available space.

[0025] The present disclosure relates to an air vent assembly for a vehicle interior which can be miniaturized without impairing the function of changing an airflow directivity in a passenger compartment of a vehicle interior.

[0026] Referring now to figures 1a and 1b, according to the present embodiment, an air vent assembly (1000) for a vehicle interior is illustrated. The air vent assembly (1000) comprises an air duct (100), a flap (200) and a rotatable member (300). The air duct (100) includes an air inlet (101) to receive the airflow and an air outlet (102) through which the airflow may flow into a passenger compartment of the vehicle interior. The flap (200) is movably configured at the air inlet (101) side of the air duct (100) and the rotatable member (300) is arranged within the air duct (100) such that upon actuation of the flap (200) the rotation direction and/or rotation speed of the rotatable member (300) is controlled. Particularly, the rotatable member (300) is placed behind the flap (200) when viewed from the air flowing direction.

[0027] Further, an air directing vane (400) is arranged within the air duct (100), wherein the rotatable member (300) is rotatably connected to the air directing vane (400). More particularly, the air directing vane (400) includes a first air directing member (400-1) and a second air directing member (400-2) pivotably connected to each other, wherein the rotatable member (300) is rotatably connected to the first air directing member (400-1). In an exemplary embodiment, the rotatable member (300) is rotatably connected directly to the air duct (100).

[0028] In the present embodiment, the air vent device (1000) has a knob (110) operably connected to the second air directing member (400-2) of the air directing vane (400). Wherein upon operation of the knob in a first direction, the first air directing member (400-1) and the second air directing member (400-2) pivots for changing the airflow directivity into the passenger compartment of the vehicle interior. Further, the knob (110) is also operably connected to the flap (200), wherein upon operation of the knob (110) in second direction, the flap (200) moves to control the rotation direction and/or rotation speed of the rotatable member (300).

[0029] Further, a slot (10) is arranged on the air duct (100) where the first air directing member (400-1) is movably connected. In execution, when the knob (110) is operated in the first direction, the first air directing member (400-1) moves in the slot (10) and thus the first air direction member (400-1) and the second air directing member (400-2) pivots to change the airflow directivity into the passenger compartment of the vehicle interior. When the knob (110) is operated in the second direction, the flap (200) moves in a direction opposite to the second direction, thus due the Bernoulli’s theorem the rotatable member (300) rotates in clockwise or counterclockwise direction and thus controls the airflow directivity into the passenger compartment of the vehicle interior. In the present embodiment, the first direction is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the air directing vane (400) and the second direction is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the air directing vane (400). The rotatable member (300) is a cylinder-spaced structure as shown in figure 2. In an exemplary embodiment, the rotatable member (300) is a spherically shaped structure (not shown).

[0030] Further in detail, referring the figures 3a, 3b and 4, the flap (200) and the knob (110) are connected by a gear drive (600) such that upon operation of the knob (110) in the second direction, the flap (200) moves in a direction opposite to the second direction. In the present embodiment as shown in figure 2, the gear drive (600) is a rack-pinion mechanism. More particularly, the gear drive (600) has a first rack (50-1) connected to the knob (110), a second rack (50-2) connected to the flap (200). A pinion (50) is arranged in between the first rack (50-1) and the second rack (50-2) such that in execution, upon operation of the knob (110) in the second direction, the first rack (50-1) moves in the second direction, the pinion (50) rotates and thus the second rack (50-1) along with the flap (200) moves in a direction opposite to the second direction to control the rotation direction and/or rotation speed of the rotatable member (300).

[0031] In a second embodiment as shown in figure 4, the gear drive (601) has a rack (52) connected to the knob (110), and a pinion (51) connected to the flap (200). In execution of the second embodiment, upon operation of the knob (110) in the second direction, the rack (52) moves in the second direction, the pinion (50) rotates and thus the flap (200) pivots to control the rotation direction and/or rotation speed of the rotatable member (300) accordingly.

[0032] In the present embodiment as shown in figure 5, the flap (200) comprises a covering member (200-1) configured to cover a gap in between the flap (200) and the rotating member (300). The covering member (200-1) can be a made of a flexible or a stretchable material or it can be a movable member arranged at least partially inside the flap.

[0033] Therefore, the present invention has an advantage of providing an air vent assembly (1000) for a vehicle interior. The proposed air vent assembly (1000) is simple in construction, compact and is easy to operate. The proposed air vent assembly (1000) has a very less components therefore not complexity in design and construction.

[0034] The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the present invention and its practical application, and to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the present invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is understood that various omissions and substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstances may suggest or render expedient, but such omissions and substitutions are intended to cover the application or implementation without departing from the scope of the claims of the present invention.