Single piece vane knob

Inactive Publication Date: 2006-01-19
PROGRESSIVE MOLDED PROD
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011] The present invention provides a control knob for a vent having vanes and louvers includes a resilient member integrally molded within the control knob. The resilient member acts between the control knob and the louver on which it is mounted to provid

Problems solved by technology

While this design is widely employed in the automotive industry, it suffers from disadvantages.
However, when such a spring or resilient member is employed with the knob, the spring and/or resilient member must be assembled into the knob, which increases the cost of the vent.
Further, such knobs must be assembled from two or more components to permit installation of the spring or resilient member into the knob and this can lead to failure of the knob assembly at one or more of the assembly joints if a glued, snapped or welded joint fails.
Further, i

Method used

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  • Single piece vane knob
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Examples

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Embodiment Construction

[0020] A vent control knob with an integral resilient member in accordance with the present invention is indicated generally at 20 in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. As illustrated, control knob 20 has an enclosed passage 22 through which louver 24 passes and is thus a closed control knob. A vane 28 is connected to control knob 20 via a pair of fingers 32 extending rearwardly from knob 20 and engaging a rod 36 connected to vane 28. Control knob 20 includes an aperture 38 extending therethrough and the front of which can be closed with a trim or accent piece, such as chromed insert 40, for aesthetic reasons. Aperture 38 permits a resilient member, discussed below, to be integrally molded within knob 20. Control knob 20 can be slid along louver 24 to move rod 36, and thus turn vane 28, and the other vanes (not shown), as desired.

[0021] As best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, passage 22, through control knob 20, includes an integrally formed resilient member, in this embodiment spring 48, which acts between...

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PUM

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Abstract

A closed control knob for a vent having vanes and louvers includes a resilient member integrally molded within the control knob. The resilient member acts between the control knob and the louver on which it is mounted to provide a frictional force to retain the knob in the position it is placed by a passenger in a vehicle of other user. By integrally forming the resilient member with the control knob, assembly is simplified and failure of glued, snapped or welded joints is avoided.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is related to the applicants' Canadian application 2,474,315 filed Jul. 15, 2004 and claims priority therefrom. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to a control knob for vents in automotive ventilation systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to a closed control knob for vents, which closed control knob can be constructed as a single, molded piece with an integral resilient member. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Automotive ventilation systems typically include one or more vents with vertical vanes and horizontal louvers which can be adjusted by a passenger to direct the airflow from the vent in a desired direction and / or which can, in some cases, be closed to block the airflow from the vent. The designers and stylists of automotive interiors have several concerns when designing a vent, namely: ease of operation; appearance; reliability; and the cost of assembly and manufacture...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): F24F13/06
CPCB60H1/3421F24F13/075B60H2001/3492B60H2001/3471
Inventor SOUSA, HELDER T.BOWLER, GEOFFREY H.CASLAVSKY, KARELDINESCU, IULIU V.WOEGERER, THOMAS
Owner PROGRESSIVE MOLDED PROD
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