Roof vent device

Abstract

A roof vent apparatus includes: a roof provided to cover an upper portion of a vehicle; a duct housing provided in the roof and extending in a length direction or a width direction of the vehicle to suck air into the duct housing; a guide member provided inside the duct case in an extension direction of the duct case to disperse air sucked into the duct case; and a rotating nozzle including a discharge unit configured to discharge the air sucked into the duct housing into the vehicle cabin and change a direction of air discharge by rotation of the discharge unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a roof air vent device arranged in a roof of a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] As vehicle autonomous driving technology progresses, the function of vehicles as communication sites as well as transportation functions has been enhanced. The traditional design of vehicles as transportation tools has a standardized structure, such as the engine compartment being located at the front. As electric vehicles, in which internal combustion engines are replaced by electric motors and batteries, are gaining attention, various designs that deviate from the standardized structure of internal combustion engine vehicles are being tried.

[0003] As autonomous driving technology and electric vehicles become more common, attempts are being made to revolutionize vehicle interior design. Vehicle manufacturers are conducting studies of future vehicles, showcasing different interior designs and concepts.

[0004] On the other hand, changes in vehicle design have necessitated changes in the structure of the air conditioning system, especially the ducts or vents, for heating and cooling the cabin space. It is desirable to develop a roof vent structure that allows air to be discharged through the vents toward the passengers or toward the roof in a direction away from the passengers, like a fan, regardless of the size of the cabin space. It is also desirable to develop a roof vent structure that allows air to be evenly distributed throughout the cabin.

[0005] The above contents are intended to provide a better understanding of the background of the present invention as the subject matter described as background technology. The above contents should not be regarded as admitting that the disclosed contents belong to the prior art known to ordinary technicians in the field. Summary of the invention

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a roof vent device that allows air to be uniformly discharged from a roof toward a vehicle compartment, adjusts the direction of air discharge, and gently discharges air into the vehicle compartment according to the preference or condition of a passenger.

[0007] According to the present invention, a roof vent device includes: a roof, which is configured to cover the upper part of a vehicle; a duct housing, which is arranged in the roof and extends in the length direction or width direction of the vehicle to draw air into the duct housing; a guide member, which is arranged inside the duct housing in the extension direction of the duct housing to disperse the air sucked into the duct housing; and a rotating nozzle including a discharge unit, which is configured to discharge the air sucked into the duct housing into a vehicle compartment and change the direction of air discharge by rotating the discharge unit.

[0008] A plurality of discharge units may be provided, and a rotation dial for rotating the plurality of discharge units may be provided between the plurality of discharge units.

[0009] A first outlet for discharging air sucked into the duct housing may be formed, ie, arranged, located or provided in the discharge unit.

[0010] The rotating nozzle may be disposed on the outside of the duct housing. The outer panel may cover the rotating nozzle, may be coupled to the duct housing, and may be located on the outside of the duct housing.

[0011] A second outlet for discharging air sucked into the duct housing may be formed in the outer panel.

[0012] The discharge unit may discharge air through the second outlet by rotation of the rotary nozzle.

[0013] The air may first be discharged through the first outlet and then through the second outlet.

[0014] An inlet for sucking air may be formed at one side of the duct housing.

[0015] A plurality of guide flow paths may extend in a length direction of the vehicle, may separate air sucked into the duct housing, and may be formed in the guide member.

[0016] An inlet for sucking air may be formed on one side of the duct housing. A plurality of first outlets for discharging the air sucked into the duct housing may be provided in the discharge unit. The cross-sectional area of ​​the inlet may be smaller than the cross-sectional area of ​​the plurality of first outlets formed in the discharge unit.

[0017] The air discharge area can be more than twice the air inlet area.

[0018] According to the present invention, the roof vent device enables uniform discharge of air from the roof to the vehicle compartment, enables adjustment of the direction of air discharge, and enables gentle discharge of air. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 is an exploded view of a roof vent apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 2 It is shown Figure 1 A view of a guide member of a roof vent arrangement.

[0021] Figure 3 is a perspective view of a roof vent apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 4 is shown according to the rotation of the discharge unit, along Figure 3 A view of a section taken along line AA' in FIG. 1 and an air discharge direction.

[0023] Figure 5 It is shown Figure 3 and Figure 4 View of the exhaust unit of a roof vent arrangement.

[0024] Figure 6 is a perspective view of a roof vent apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 7 is a view showing experimental results regarding airflow through the roof vent apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Reference numerals

[0027] 100: Pipe shell

[0028] 101: Down the Pipeline

[0029] 102: Upper pipeline

[0030] 103: Discharge unit connector

[0031] 104: Rotary dial coupling

[0032] 200: Guide component

[0033] 210: Guide flow channel

[0034] 300: Rotating nozzle

[0035] 310: Emission unit

[0036] 311: First Exit

[0037] 313: Connecting port

[0038] 330: Rotating dial

[0039] 400: Spherical spring

[0040] 500: Outer panel

[0041] 511: Second exit DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] The embodiments disclosed herein are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, in the drawings, the same or similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated descriptions of these components are omitted.

[0043] In the case where it is determined that the detailed description of the related and known technologies may obscure the essence of the embodiments disclosed herein, the detailed description thereof is omitted. In addition, it should be understood that the drawings are only intended to facilitate the understanding of the embodiments disclosed herein, and are not intended to limit the technical ideas disclosed herein. Therefore, the technical ideas are not limited to the attached drawings, and include all modifications, equivalents or alternatives within the spirit and technical scope of the present invention.

[0044] Terms including ordinal numbers such as first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but these components are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another.

[0045] Singular forms include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. When a component, device, element, etc. of the present invention is described as having a purpose or performing an operation, function, etc., the component, device or element should be considered herein as "configured to" meet the purpose or perform the operation or function.

[0046] In this specification, terms such as "comprise", "include" or "have" and their variations are intended to indicate the existence of the implementation features, quantities, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof described in the specification. Such terms should not be understood to exclude the existence or additional possibility of one or more of other features, quantities, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof.

[0047] It should be understood that when a component is referred to as being "connected" or "coupled" to another component, the component may be directly connected or coupled to the other component, but other components may be interposed therebetween. Conversely, it should be understood that when a component is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly coupled" to another component, no other components are interposed therebetween.

[0048] Figure 1 is an exploded view of a roof vent apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a view showing a guide member for a roof vent apparatus. Figure 3 is a perspective view of a roof vent apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 is shown according to the rotation of the discharge unit, along Figure 3 A view of a section taken along line AA' in FIG. 1 and an air discharge direction. Figure 5 is a view showing a discharge unit. Figure 6 is a perspective view of a roof vent apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 is a view showing experimental results regarding airflow through the roof vent apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0049] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the roof vent device is included in the roof, or the roof vent device includes a roof arranged to cover the upper part of the vehicle. This device also includes a duct housing 100 arranged in the roof in the length direction or width direction of the vehicle to suck air into it. This device also includes a guide member 200 arranged inside the duct housing 100 in the extension direction of the duct housing 100 to disperse the air sucked into the duct housing 100. This device also includes a rotating nozzle 300 with a discharge unit 310 arranged on the duct housing 100 to discharge the air sucked into the duct housing 100 into the compartment, and the rotating nozzle 300 is configured to change the direction of air discharge by the rotation of the discharge unit 310.

[0050] According to the present invention, the roof vent device receives conditioned air from a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system disposed inside the vehicle and discharges the conditioned air into the vehicle compartment. The HVAC conditions the air according to the needs of the passengers or according to set options. For example, the air can be cooled for cooling, the air can be heated for heating, and when dehumidification is required, the air can be cooled and heated to produce dry air.

[0051] The HVAC system can cool, heat, and dehumidify the air using a refrigerant, etc. The conditioned air is delivered to the roof vent device of the present invention using a blower inside the vehicle, a roof duct, a rear duct, etc. The delivered air is discharged into the vehicle cabin through the roof vent device.

[0052] The air delivered to the roof vent device flows into the duct housing 100. The duct housing 100 is provided in the roof covering the upper part of the vehicle to ensure that the air is discharged from the roof toward the vehicle compartment. The duct housing 100 may be provided at one end of the roof, may be provided in the width direction of the vehicle, may be provided in the length direction of the vehicle, or may be provided in both the width direction and the length direction of the vehicle.

[0053] The duct housing 100 may be formed by coupling an upper duct 102 and a lower duct 101. Air may be sucked through one end of the duct housing 100, and the air sucked into the duct housing 100 flows in a length direction of the duct housing 100.

[0054] The guide member 200 is configured to uniformly disperse air sucked into the duct housing 100 and may be disposed inside the duct housing 100. The guide member 200 extends in the length direction of the duct housing 100 and serves to uniformly disperse air flowing from one end of the duct housing 100 in the length direction.

[0055] The guide member 200 may have a streamlined or spiral smooth curve to generate a smooth airflow, and may include a flow passage through which air flows.

[0056] The rotating nozzle 300 may include a discharge unit 310, and is provided on the duct housing 100. A discharge unit coupler 103 coupled to the discharge unit 310 is formed on the outside of the duct housing 100, and the discharge unit 310 is arranged to be coupled to the discharge unit coupler 103. A hole for communication between the upper duct 102 and the discharge unit 310 may be formed, i.e., provided in the upper duct 102 (on which the discharge unit coupler 103 is formed) to deliver air to the discharge unit 310.

[0057] As described in detail below, the discharge unit 310 may change the direction of air discharge in various ways according to its rotation (ie, its rotational position). The discharge unit 310 may be manually rotated by a passenger, or may be controlled by the passenger using a controller.

[0058] With this roof vent device, air can be uniformly discharged from the roof toward the vehicle compartment, and the direction of air discharge can be adjusted.

[0059] On the other hand, a plurality of discharge units 310 may be provided. The rotary dial 330 may be coupled to the discharge unit 310 and configured to rotate the discharge unit 310, and may be provided between the plurality of discharge units 310. The rotary dial coupler 104 coupled to the rotary dial 330 is formed on the outside of the duct housing 100, and the rotary dial 330 is arranged to be coupled to the rotary dial coupler 104. The spherical spring 400 may be provided between the rotary dial 330 and the rotary dial coupler 104. The spherical spring 400 ensures that the rotary dial rotates only when a certain external force is applied. In other words, while pressing the rotary dial 330 to rotate the rotary dial 330, when the spherical spring 400 is in a compressed state, the passenger may rotate the rotary dial 330. Once the rotation of the rotary dial 330 is completed, the spherical spring 400 may rebound and support the rotary dial 330 so that the rotary dial 330 cannot rotate. Thus, the position of the rotary dial 330 can be fixed so that air is discharged only in the direction set by the passenger.

[0060] In one embodiment of the present invention, a pair of discharge units 310 may be provided. The rotation dial 330 may be provided between the pair of discharge units 310.

[0061] When the passenger rotates the rotary dial 330, the discharge unit 310 is also rotated to change the direction of air discharge.

[0062] Specifically, changing the direction of air discharge by rotating the discharge unit 310 is described below.

[0063] A first outlet 311 for discharging the air sucked into the duct housing 100 may be formed, i.e., provided on the discharge unit 310. A plurality of first outlets 311 may be formed, i.e., provided at a plurality of points of the discharge unit 310. The first outlets 311 are arranged in an extending direction of the discharge unit 310. The first outlets 311 may have a uniform cross-sectional area in the extending direction of the discharge unit 310, and the direction in which the air is guided may also be changed by the rotation of the discharge unit 310, so that the air may be discharged in a specific direction.

[0064] Figure 5 It is shown that the first outlets 311 may be arranged facing each other at a plurality of points in the discharge unit 310. In addition, communication ports 313 for communicating with the first outlets 311 may be formed at a plurality of points of the discharge unit 310.

[0065] from Figure 4 It can be confirmed that the direction of air discharge is changed by the rotation of the discharge unit 310. By rotating the discharge unit 310, the air can be discharged to the lower side of the roof (downward), directly to the passenger (normal), or toward the roof (upward). These three modes are just examples, and the direction of air discharge can be finely adjusted by fine-tuning the rotation of the discharge unit 310, for example, finely adjusted to a direction between the above three directions.

[0066] On the other hand, according to the present invention, the roof vent device can also realize a diffusion mode, which allows air to be discharged gently. In other words, the cabin air conditioning can be performed by discharging air through quite a number of small outlets, and in such cabin air conditioning, the passengers can hardly feel the air discharge.

[0067] The diffusion mode may be realized by further providing an outer panel 500 coupled to the outside of the duct housing 100. Specifically, the outer panel 500 covers the rotating nozzle 300 outside the duct housing 100 and is coupled to the duct housing.

[0068] A plurality of finely divided second outlets 511 are formed in the outer panel 500. When the diffusion mode is implemented, conditioned air is discharged into the vehicle compartment through the second outlets 511.

[0069] In other words, if Figure 4 As shown, when the diffusion mode is implemented, the air sucked into the duct housing 100 is delivered to the first outlet 311 through the communication port 313, and then discharged into the passenger compartment through the second outlet 511. The second outlet 511 has a very small area, and the amount of air discharged therethrough is correspondingly small, so that the passenger hardly notices the air discharged into the passenger compartment.

[0070] As described above, the roof vent device enables air to be uniformly discharged from the roof toward the cabin. This device also enables the direction of air discharge to be adjusted. This device also enables air to be discharged gently, making this device suitable for the advanced strategy of luxury vehicles.

[0071] On the other hand, an inlet 110 for sucking air may be formed at one side of the duct housing 100. The inlet 110 is connected to the HVAC system and supplies conditioned air from the HVAC system into the duct housing 100. The inlet 110 is formed open at one side of the duct housing 100, while the other end is closed. Therefore, all the air sucked into the duct housing 100 is discharged into the vehicle compartment through the duct housing 100.

[0072] Specifically, the air sucked into the duct housing 100 through the inlet 110 is separated and guided by the guide member 200 disposed inside the duct housing 100 and extending in the vehicle length direction. Figure 2 , Figure 6 and Figure 7 A plurality of guide flow passages 210 are shown to separate the air sucked into the duct housing 100, and are formed or provided in the guide member 200. Thus, the air can be uniformly dispersed in the length direction of the duct housing 100.

[0073] Using the guide member 200 , the conditioned air may be uniformly dispersed in all directions of the vehicle.

[0074] In addition, it is advantageous that the cross-sectional area of ​​a single inlet 110 is smaller than the cross-sectional area of ​​the plurality of first outlets 311. It is also advantageous that the combined cross-sectional area of ​​the plurality of first outlets 311 is at least twice the cross-sectional area of ​​the inlet 110. If the cross-sectional area of ​​the inlet 110 is close to the cross-sectional area of ​​the outlet, the pressure of the incoming air will decrease, resulting in more air being discharged unbalancedly through the discharge unit located near the inlet 110. Therefore, in one example, the cross-sectional areas of the inlet 110 and the outlet may differ by more than twice.

[0075] Specific embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, but it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention, and that these modifications and changes belong to the appended claims.

Claims

1. A roof vent device, comprising: a roof configured to cover an upper portion of the vehicle; a duct housing disposed in the roof and extending in the length direction or the width direction of the vehicle to draw air into the duct housing; a guide member disposed inside the duct housing in an extending direction of the duct housing to disperse air sucked into the duct housing; and A rotating nozzle including a discharge unit is configured to discharge the air sucked into the duct housing into the vehicle compartment and to change a direction of air discharge by rotation of the discharge unit.

2. The roof vent arrangement according to claim 1, wherein: The discharge units are provided in plurality, and wherein a rotation dial for rotating the plurality of discharge units is provided between the plurality of discharge units.

3. The roof vent arrangement according to claim 1, wherein: A first outlet for discharging air sucked into the duct housing is provided in the discharge unit.

4. The roof vent arrangement according to claim 3, wherein: The rotating nozzle is disposed at an outer side of the duct housing, and wherein an outer panel covering the rotating nozzle is coupled to the duct housing and disposed at the outer side of the duct housing.

5. The roof vent arrangement according to claim 4, wherein: A second outlet for discharging air drawn into the duct housing is provided in the outer panel.

6. The roof vent arrangement according to claim 5, wherein: The discharge unit discharges air through the second outlet by rotation of the rotating nozzle.

7. The roof vent arrangement according to claim 6, wherein: Air is first discharged through the first outlet and then discharged through the second outlet.

8. The roof vent arrangement of claim 1, wherein: An inlet for drawing air into the duct housing is provided at one side of the duct housing.

9. The roof vent arrangement of claim 1, wherein: A plurality of guide flow passages extend in a length direction of the vehicle, separate air sucked into the duct housing, and are provided in the guide member.

10. The roof vent arrangement of claim 1, wherein: An inlet for sucking air into the duct housing is provided at one side of the duct housing, wherein a plurality of first outlets for discharging the air sucked into the duct housing are provided in the discharge unit, and wherein a cross-sectional area of ​​the inlet is smaller than a cross-sectional area of ​​the plurality of first outlets formed in the discharge unit.

11. The roof vent arrangement of claim 10, wherein: The air discharge area is more than twice the air inlet area.

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