Air outlet device for vehicle cabin ventilation system

Abstract

An air outlet device (12, figure 2) delivers airflow to a vehicle cabin. The device comprises: a first airflow director 26, ideally vertical vanes (25, figure 4), to control airflow direction exiting in a first plane; a second airflow director, ideally a horizontal flap 28, to control airflow direction in a second plane that is perpendicular to the first. A cursor 20 is manually actuated by a user to adjust the first and second airflow directors. A first linkage (ideally a hub having protrusions that interact with a control bar of a driving vane of the vertical vanes) couples the cursor to the first airflow director such that movement of the cursor along a control axis (48, figure 5) adjusts the first airflow director. A second linkage couples the cursor to the second airflow director such that movement of the cursor about the control axis actuates the second airflow director. The second linkage is ideally a gear set 82 having a gear ratio of 2:1 so that rotation of the cursor about the control axis causes a greater degree of rotation of the horizontal flap 28.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to an air outlet device for delivering airflow to a vehicle cabin and a vehicle comprising the air outlet device. BACKGROUND Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are used to control the cabin environment of modern vehicles. Traditional HVAC systems rely on a number of vents arranged throughout the cabin for delivering airflow to seated occupants and these vents typically comprise a combination of horizontal and vertical vanes which can be articulated to control direction of airflow delivery. Usually, manual user controls are provided to allow a user to adjust the vane positions one at a time. For example, it is known for the vent to be provided with a toggle for moving either the vertical or horizontal vanes and a separate thumbwheel for moving the other of the vertical or horizontal vanes. These known arrangements are difficult to use and require the unsightly inclusion of multiple manual controls on or near to each vent. It is against this background that the invention has been devised. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to an aspect of the invention, an air outlet device for delivering airflow to a vehicle cabin is provided. The air outlet device comprises first and second airflow directors and a control assembly for manually articulating both the first and second airflow directors. The first airflow director is actuable to control a direction of an airflow exiting an outlet of the air outlet device in a first plane, while the second airflow director is actuable to control a direction of an airflow exiting the air outlet device in a second plane. For example, the first airflow director may be a vertically arranged vane actuable to control the horizontal direction of airflow (that is, the angle of airflow on a horizontal plane), while the second airflow director may be a horizontally arranged vane actuable to control the vertical direction of airflow (that is, the angle of airflow on a vertical plane). The control assembly comprises a cursor, a first linkage and a second linkage. The cursor is arranged for manual actuation by a user. The first linkage is arranged to couple the cursor to the first airflow director so that movement of the cursor in a first direction, e.g. along a control axis, actuates the first airflow director. The second linkage is arranged to couple the cursor to the second airflow directorso that movement of the cursor in a second direction, e.g. about the control axis, actuates the second airflow director. The control assembly may further comprise an elongate rod which extends along the control axis and is rotatable about the control axis; and a hub mounted on the rod to be movable with the cursor. In such embodiments, the hub is configured to slide along the rod along the control axis to actuate the first airflow director and rotate together with the rod about the control axis to actuate the second airflow director. Accordingly, rod forms part of the second linkage and the hub forms part of both the first and second linkages. In embodiments, the first airflow director may be actuable about a first pivot axis, which is transverse to the control axis, to control the direction of airflow exiting the outlet in the first plane. 1 Additionally or alternatively, the rod and the hub may comprise complementary interfacing formations which engage upon rotation of the hub about the control axis so that the rod and the hub rotate together. In other words, the complementary interfacing formations are such that rotation of the hub causes a corresponding rotation of the rod. In such embodiments, the rod may have a cross-section which defines a first flattened formation, and the hub may have a cross-section which defines a second flattened formation which is complementary and interfacing to the first flattened formation. In other words, the rod may have at least one flat surface which is cooperable with a corresponding flat surface on the hub so that the rod rotates together with the hub as the hub is actuated by the cursor. In some embodiments, the hub may take the form of a tubular sleeve mounted around the rod. In embodiments, the first linkage may comprise a bar and a slot arranged to receive the bar. The slot may have a longitudinal axis arranged parallel to and offset from the first pivot axis. The slot may be arranged to receive the bar so that translation of one of the slot and the bar along the control axis causes the other one of the slot and the bar to rotate about the first pivot axis. The bar may be attached to the first airflow director and the slot formed in the hub. In such embodiments, the hub may comprise a pair of protrusions which define the slot therebetween. Alternatively, the bar may be attached to the hub and the slot formed in or with the first airflow director. The second airflow director may be a flap which is actuable about a second pivot axis which is parallel to the control axis. In such examples, the second linkage may comprise a gear set arranged so that rotation of the cursor about the control axis in a first direction causes rotation of the flap about the second pivot axis in a second direction which is opposite to the first direction. The gear set may comprise a pair of gears having a gear ratio such that a degree of rotation of the cursor about the control axis causes a greater degree of rotation of the flap about the second pivot axis. For example, the gear ratio may be equal to or greater than 1.5:1 or 2:1. The air outlet device may comprise a plurality of first airflow directors arranged in parallel and coupled together so that movement of one of the first airflow directors causes an equal movement of the other first airflow directors. According to another aspect of the invention, a vehicle comprising the air outlet device is provided. The vehicle may comprise a vehicle cabin ventilation system comprising one or more of the air outlet devices. It will be appreciated that preferred and / or optional features of one aspect of the invention may be incorporated alone or in appropriate combination in other aspects of the invention also. Within the scope of this application it is expressly intended that the various aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives set out in the preceding paragraphs, in the claims and / or in the following description and drawings, and in particular the individual features thereof, may be taken independently or in any combination. That is, all embodiments and / or features of any embodiment can be combined in any way and / or combination, unless such features are incompatible. The applicant reserves the right to change any originally filed claim or file any new claim accordingly, including the right to amend any originally filed claim to depend from and / or incorporate any feature of any other claim although not originally claimed in that manner. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS One or more embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a side view of a vehicle comprising an air outlet device according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 shows a perspective view of an air outlet device according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the air outlet device shown in Figure 2; Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the air outlet device shown in Figure 2, with the housing not shown so that the components therein can be seen; Figure 5 shows a perspective view of a set of vertical vanes, a horizontal flap, and an associated control assembly comprised in the air outlet device shown in Figure 2; Figure 6 shows a perspective view of the set of vertical vanes shown in Figure 5. Figure 7 shows a plan view of a cursor and an attached hub comprised in the air outlet device shown in Figure 2; Figure 8 shows a perspective view the set of vertical vanes shown in Figure 5 and the associated control features; Figure 9 shows a perspective view of the horizontal flap shown in Figure 5 and the associated control features; Figure 10 shows a side view of the set of vertical vanes, the horizontal flap, and the associated control assembly shown in Figure 5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION In general terms, embodiments of the invention provide an air outlet device which has an arrangement of internal vanes which are movable to control the direction of airflow exiting the device. The arrangement of vanes is manually controllable via a single cursor to direct air into a vehicle cabin. In embodiments to be described, the air outlet device generally comprises an airflow duct having an arrangement of airflow directors, or vanes, therewithin which are actuable to control the direction of airflow exiting the device. The airflow directors are arranged to guide the airflow through the device and a first airflow director is movable to adjust the lateral direction of the airflow while a second airflow director is movable to adjust the vertical direction of the airflow. By controlling the positions of the airflow directors, the user can dictate the overall direction of airflow from the device into the cabin. Accordingly, the air outlet device further comprises a control assembly for manually actuating each of the airflow directors. Generally, the control assembly comprises a directional input device, or cursor, which is accessible to be manually adjusted by a user. The cursor is coupled to the airflow directors by respective mechanical linkages so that moving the cursor in one way causes the first airflow director to articulate, while moving the cursor in another way causes the second airflow director to articulate. In other words, the cursor is operable in two degrees of freedom to allow the user to set the resultant airflow direction via a single manual input device. To provide context for the invention, Figure 1 shows a vehicle 10 in the form of a car which includes an HVAC system 16 for controlling the environment within a cabin of the vehicle. Generally, the HVAC 16 system is configured to circulate air around the cabin and to deliver air flow directly to the front and rear seat occupants. Accordingly the system comprises one or more ‘forward’ air outlet devices 12a arranged in a dashboard in front of and facing the driver and front passenger seats, and one or more ‘rear’ air outlet devices 12b arranged in a rear centre console in front of and facing the rear passenger seats. Typically, the airflow direction from ‘forward’ air outlet devices 12a is controlled electronically whereas ‘rear’ air outlet devices 12b are adjusted using more simple manual controls which are more easily accessible to rear seat passengers. However, manual controls may be implemented in any suitable air outlet device. Figure 2 shows an air outlet device 12 which comprises the single cursor vane arrangement described generally above. The air outlet device 12 shown is sized and arranged for installation within an opening in a rear centre console of a vehicle 10 as part of the vehicle HVAC system 16. Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the same air outlet device 12. For the purposes of the following description, the vertical direction refers to the up-and-down direction and the horizontal direction refers to the side-to-side direction relative to the device when it is installed for use within a vehicle 10. In the figures, the vertical direction is depicted by arrow Y and the horizontal direction is depicted by arrow X. The front of the device 12 is the side which is exposed to the user when the device 12 is installed. In general terms, and to provide further context for the invention, the air outlet device 12 comprises a housing 18 which has various mounting points for affixing the air outlet device 12 in place. The housing 18 defines an internal volume between an air inlet 30 for receiving airflow from the HVAC system 16 and an air outlet 32 for delivering airflow to the vehicle cabin. The air outlet device 12 generally comprises two airflow ducts 22, 24, an upper 22 and a lower 24 duct, configured and arranged with their respective outlets 32 relative to each other so that, when in use, respective exiting airflows intersect and converge to form a resultant exiting airflow to be delivered to the vehicle cabin through the main outlet aperture 32 of the device 12. To control the direction of the resultant exiting airflow, the air outlet device 12 comprises an arrangement of actuable airflow directors 26, 28. More specifically, first 26 and second 28 airflow directors are provided to control the lateral and vertical angles of the resultant airflow respectively. With reference to Figure 3, the first airflow director 26 takes the form of a vertically arranged vane which is pivotable about a vertical axis to direct the resultant airflow to the left or right when the device is mounted. That is to say, the first airflow director 26 is actuable to control a direction, or angle, of an airflow exiting the device outlet 32 in a first plane, that first plane being a horizontal plane. Meanwhile, the second airflow director 28 takes the form of a horizontal flap which is pivotable about a horizontal axis to selectively block (partially or wholly) one or other of the airflow ducts 22, 24. In this way, the horizontal flap 28 is movable to adjust the proportion of airflow that flows through each of the ducts 22, 24. By adjusting the airflow rate through each of the ducts 22, 24, the ratio of upper exiting airflow to lower exiting airflow that contributes to the resultant exiting airflow can be adjusted correspondingly. In this way, the overall vertical direction in which the resultant exiting airflow enters the cabin can be controlled, since a higher proportion of airflow flowing in one direction will urge the resultant flow to tend towards that same direction. For example, pivoting the horizontal flap 28 to block (or partially block) the lower duct 24 will cause the resultant airflow to angle downwards, while pivoting the horizontal flap 28 to block (or partially block) the upper duct 22 will cause the resultant airflow to angle upwards. Thus, the horizontal flap 28 is pivotable to direct the resultant airflow up or down when the device is mounted. In other words, the second airflow director 28 is actuable to control a direction, or angle, of an airflow exiting the device outlet 32 in a second plane, that second plane being a vertical plane (i.e. one which is perpendicular to the horizontal plane). Together, the vertical vane 26 and the horizontal flap 28 are positionable to determine the overall direction of airflow exiting the device 12 into the cabin. With reference to Figures 4 to 10, the arrangement of airflow directors 26, 28 and the means for controlling their position will be described in more detail. Figure 4 shows the air outlet device 12 with the housing 18 not shown so that the components therein may be seen more clearly. As shown, the air outlet device 12 comprises two sets 25 of vertical vanes 26, two horizontal flaps 28, and two control assemblies 38. The left hand control assembly 38 is configured for actuating the left set of vertical vanes 26 and the left horizontal flap 28, while the right hand control assembly 38 is configured for actuating the right set of vertical vanes 26 and the right horizontal flap 28. As such, when the air outlet device 12 is installed, rear seat passengers can independently control the direction of airflow from the centre console to their side of the cabin using the control assembly 38 nearest to them. For brevity, the following description will focus on one control assembly 38 only and the airflow directors 26, 28 that cursors 20 controls. As shown best in Figure 5, which shows the right hand control assembly 38 and corresponding airflow directors 26,28 only, the control assembly 38 comprises a cursor 20 for manual actuation by a user and an arrangement of linkages for actuating the airflow directors 26, 28. The cursor 20 takes a wedge-shaped form having a thick proximal end 44 arranged within the internal volume of the housing 10, and a thin distal end 42 which protrudes slightly from the device outlet 32 so that it may be gripped between a user’s thumb and forefinger. The control assembly 38 further comprises an elongate rod 46 which extends between two ends and defines a control axis 48 therebetween. Each end of the rod 46 is rotatably mounted in the housing 10 (using bearings, for example) so that the rod 46 is rotatable about the control axis 48. The control assembly 38 also comprises a hub 40, in the form of a tubular sleeve, which is mounted around the rod 46 and fixedly connected to the proximal end 44 of the cursor 20. Accordingly, the cursor 20 is coupled to the elongate rod 46 by the hub 40. The control axis 48 is a horizontal axis with reference to the orientation of the device 12 when arranged for use. The hub 40 is slidably mounted on the rod 46, meaning it is configured to slide along the rod 46 along the control axis 48. As mentioned, in this example, the hub 40 is tubular in form meaning it comprises a bore through which the rod 46 is inserted. The cross-section of the bore in the hub 40 and the cross section of the rod 46 are complimentary to provide a clearance fit between the two, which thereby allows the hub 40 to slide along the rod 46 when a user slides the cursor 20 in the horizontal direction along the control axis 48. In other words, the hub 40 serves to slidably mount the cursor 20 to the rod 46. The hub 40 is also configured to rotate together with the rod 46 about the control axis 48. In more detail, the rod 46 and the hub 40 comprise complimentary interfacing formations which engage so that the rod 46 and the hub 40 rotate together. In this example, and as shown in the cross-section shown in Figure 3, the rod 46 has a generally circular cross-section which defines a pair of flattened formations 34, and the hub 40 has a generally annular cross section which defines a pair of corresponding flattened formations 34 in the bore. The flattened formations 34 of the rod 46 and the hub 40 are complementary and interfacing that they engage when the hub 40 is rotated about the control axis 48, thereby causing the rod 46 to also rotate. Therefore, as will be understood, moving the distal end 42 of the cursor 20 in the vertical direction Y will cause the hub 40, and by extension the rod 46, to rotate about the control axis 48. In other words, the hub 40 serves to rotationally fix the cursor 20 to the rod 46 so that the cursor 20 is pivotable about the control axis 48. As will now be understood, the cursor 20 being coupled to the rod 46 by the hub 40 results in it being movable in two degrees of freedom. The first degree of freedom is a translation degree of freedom along the control axis 48, while the second degree of freedom is a rotational degree of freedom about the control axis 48. Turning now to Figure 6, the right hand set 25 of vertical vanes 26 will now be described. In this example, the set of vertical vanes 26 comprises four vanes 26 but in other examples there may be more or as few as one. Each vane 26 comprises an upper vane portion 62 arranged to fit within the upper airflow duct 22, a lower vane portion 64 vertically spaced from the upper vane portion 62 and arranged to fit within the lower airflow duct 24, and a connecting rod 84 which fixedly connects the upper and lower vane portions 62, 64 together. The vane portions 62, 64 may alternatively be referred to as airflow director portions. As seen, each vane portion 62, 64 has a fin-like form with a symmetric, uncambered aerofoil cross section defining a leading edge 63 which faces towards the device inlet 30, a trailing edge 65 which faces towards the device outlet 32, and opposing surfaces which extend therebetween to define the aerofoil shape. Each vane portion 62, 64 is arranged so that air flowing through each duct 22, 24 flows over the respective vane portion 62, 64: the leading edge splits the airflow so that it flows over each the opposing aerofoil surfaces before rejoining at (or past) the trailing edge. The upper and lower vane portions 62, 64 are connected by the connecting rod 84 in vertical alignment, that is, so that the leading edge of the upper vane portion 62 is linearly aligned with the leading edge of the lower vane portion 64 and the trailing edge of the upper vane 62 portion is linearly aligned with the trailing edge of the lower vane portion 64. The upper vane portion 62 is pivotably mounted to an upper housing bracket 56 at an upper coupling 57 and the lower vane portion 64 is pivotably connected to a lower housing bracket 58 at a lower coupling 55. The upper and lower couplings 57, 55 may be pivot joints or bearings, for example. The connecting rod 84 defines a pivot axis 50 (or vane axis) which extends between the upper and lower couplings and about which the vane 26 is configured rotate. Thus, as will be understood, rotating the connecting rod 84 about the vane axis 50 simultaneously adjusts the horizontal angle of each of the vane portions 62, 64 relative to the airflowthrough the respective duct 22, 24. So, for example, rotating the vane 26 about the vane axis 50 in the clockwise 6 direction (when viewed from above) turns the left aerofoil surface of each vane portion 62, 64 towards the device inlet 30 and the opposing right aerofoil surface away from the device inlet 30 so that a high pressure zone is generated on the ‘exposed’ left aerofoil surface and a low pressure zone is generated on the ‘shadowed’ right pressure surface. As a result, the airflow is deflected to the left as it flows through the duct, therefore resulting in the overall airflow exiting the device 12 also being angled to the left. The set 25 of vanes 26 shown in Figure 6 includes one primary ‘driving’ vane 26a, and three secondary ‘following’ vanes 26b. The four vanes 26 are coupled by a linkage 53 so that rotation of one vane 26 about its vane axis 50 causes equal rotation of the other vanes 26 about their respective vane axes 50. The driving vane 26a comprises a control bar 60 which defines a longitudinal axis 61 and is arranged so that the longitudinal axis 61 is parallel to and offset from the driving vane axis 50. The control bar 60 is offset from the vane axis 50 towards the device outlet 32 and is arranged between the driving vane 26a and the rod 46 of the control assembly 38. Figure 7 shows a plan view of the cursor 20 and the attached hub 40. As seen, the hub 40 comprises a pair of protrusions 68 which define a slot 66 therebetween. The slot 66 is arranged to receive the control bar 60 of the driving vane 52 when the device 12 is assembled. In more detail, the protrusions 68 are formed like fork tines extending perpendicularly from a surface of the hub 40 away from the cursor 20 on a common plane. As such, each protrusion 68 defines a proximal end 44 at the hub 40 and a distal free end 42 away from the hub 40, and the slot 66 extends from a closed end at the hub 40 to an open end away from the hub 40. Figure 8 shows the set 25 of vertical vanes 26 and the associated control assembly 38. As shown, the control bar 60 of the driving vane 52 and the pair of protrusions 68 in the hub 40 are correspondingly sized and shaped so that the control bar 60 fits against the proximal end of the slot 66. The fit between the slot 66 and the control bar 60 is a clearance type fit to allow the control bar 60 to rotate within and to move along the slot 66 (towards the distal end) when arranged within the slot 66. Thus, as will be appreciated from Figure 8, translating the hub 40 along the control axis 48 (as indicated by arrow T) will cause the protrusions 68 to push against, and subsequently move the control bar 60. Since the control bar 60 is fixedly coupled to the vane 26, it cannot translate with the hub 40, and instead it rotates about the vane axis 50. The slot 66 is sufficiently long to allow the control bar 60 to slide towards the open end without disengaging from the protrusions 68 as it rotates about the vane axis 50. In turn, this movement of the control bar 60 rotates the attached vane 52 about its vane axis 50. Thus, the arrangement of the slot 66 and the control bar 60 serve to convert a translation of the hub 40 (and also the cursor 20) along the control axis 48 into a rotation of the vane 52 about the vane axis 50. Together, these features may be generally referred to as a linkage which couples the cursor 20 to the vertical vanes 26 such that movement of the cursor 20 along the control axis 48 actuates the vertical vanes 26. Although this example shows the slot 66 to be defined in the hub 40, and the control bar 60 to be formed on the vane 52, it will be appreciated that the opposite may be true for other examples. Furthermore, the protrusions 68 may be joined at their distal ends so that the slot 66 is closed at both ends. However, the slot 66 having an open end better facilitates assembly of the vane 52 and control components. In another example, the slot 66 may be replaced with a track and the vertically arranged control bar 60 may be replaced with a linkage fixed at the vane 52 at one end, and pivotably and slidably mounted in or on the track at the other. The horizontal flap 28 and the means for controlling its position will now be described with reference to Figures 9 and 10. As shown, the horizontal flap 28 has a generally planar form extending between a proximal forward end 74 and a distal rear end 72 (relative to the front of the device) to define generally rectangular upper and lower surfaces. The horizontal flap 28 is pivotably mounted about a pivot axis 80 (or flap axis) at its forward end 74 and is free at its distal end 72 so that it may be rotated about the flap axis 80 to selectively block the upper and lower airflow ducts 22, 24. In this example, the forward end 74 of the flap 28 takes the form of an axle rod 76 which may be rotatably mounted to the housing 18 by bearings, for example. The flap axis 80 is arranged parallel to the control axis 48 and perpendicular to the vane axis 50. The axle rod 76 is substantially the same length as the control rod 46. The axle rod 76 of the horizontal flap 28 and the control rod 46 of the control assembly 38 are each fixedly coupled to a respective gear segment 78. The gear segments 78 are arranged to engage to thereby define a gear set 82 in which the gear segment 78 coupled to the control rod 46 is a driving gear and the gear segment 78 coupled to the horizontal flap 28 is a driven gear. The gear set 82 is arranged such that rotation of the cursor 20 (and thus also the control rod 46) about the control axis 48 in one direction causes the flap 28 to rotate about the flap axis 80 in the opposite direction. For example, rotating the cursor 20 upwardly about the control axis 48 will cause the horizontal flap 28 to also rotate upwardly about the flap axis 80 to thereby block or partially block the upper duct 22. Thus, as will be understood from the above description, the air flow through the lower duct 24 will be greater than the airflow through the upper duct 22 such that the resultant airflow exiting the air outlet device 12 is angled upwards away from the horizontal plane. Accordingly, the gear set 82 provides a linkage between the cursor 20 and the horizontal flap 28 such that rotational movement of the cursor 20 about the control axis 48 actuates the horizontal flap 28 in a way which is intuitive to the user; upward movement of the cursor 20 provides upwardly angled airflow, and vice versa. The gear set 82 is configured with a gear ratio such that a degree of rotation of the cursor 20 about the control axis 48 causes a greater degree of rotation of the flap 28 about the flap axis 80. In other words, the radius of the gear segment 78 coupled to the horizontal flap 28 is smaller than that of the gear segment 78 coupled to the control rod 48. Accordingly, the user can adjust the vertical airflow direction with small movements of the cursor 20. This is particularly advantageous in arrangements such as this one where the air outlet 32 provides limited vertical space for fingers to grip and manipulate the cursor 20 (see Figure 2). For the avoidance of doubt, the control bar 46 and the slot 66 of the linkage between the cursor 20 and the vertical vane 26 are arranged so that the control bar 46 remains within the slot 66 when the cursor 20 is rotated, regardless of the angle of the protrusions 68 relative to the control bar 46. This allows for the position of the horizontal flap 28 to be controlled without affecting the position of the vertical vanes 26. Similarly, the slidable mounting of the hub 40 on the control rod 46 allows for the position of the vertical vanes 26 to be controlled without affecting the position of the horizontal flap 28. Thus, the arrangement provides a means for controlling airflow directors 26, 28 which are arranged perpendicular to each other with a single cursor 20. The control assembly 38 may further comprise various friction members which are arranged to hold the cursor 20 in the position into which it is placed by the user and to prevent unintentional movement due to normal vehicle vibrations. For example, the control assembly 38 may comprise a friction member which is configured to provide a 5 coefficient of friction between the control rod 46 and the housing 18 which is sufficiently high that unintentional rotation of the control rod 46 is prevented, yet sufficiently low that the user can easily rotate the control rod 46 via the cursor 20 to adjust the vertical air direction. Figures 5 and 8 show such a friction member in the form of a rubber cap, or grommet, arranged over one end of the control rod between the control rod 46 and the housing 18. 10 Similarly, the control assembly 38 may comprise a friction member which is configured to provide a coefficient of friction between the hub 40 and the control rod 46 which is sufficiently high that unintentional translation of the hub 40 along the control rod 46 is prevented, yet sufficiently low that the user can easily slide the cursor 20 to adjust the horizontal air direction. In the example shown in the figures, such a friction member is comprised in the form of a rubber strip or block arranged on the inside of the bore in the hub 40, between the 15 hub 40 and the control rod 46. It will be appreciated that various modifications may be made to the aforementioned embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as set out in the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. An air outlet device for delivering airflow to a vehicle cabin, the air outlet device comprising:a first airflow director actuable to control a direction of an airflow exiting an outlet of the air outlet device in a first plane;a second airflow director actuable to control a second direction of the airflow exiting the outlet of the air outlet device in a second plane, wherein the second plane is perpendicular to the first plane; anda control assembly for manually actuating the first and second airflow directors, the control assembly comprising:a cursor arranged for manual actuation by a user.a first linkage arranged to couple the cursor to the first airflow director such that movement of the cursor along a control axis actuates the first airflow director;a second linkage arranged to couple the cursor to the second airflow director such that movement of the cursor about the control axis actuates the second airflow director.

2. The air outlet device of claim 1, whereinthe control assembly further comprises an elongate rod extending along the control axis and rotatable about the control axis;a hub mounted on the rod and movable with the cursor, wherein the hub is configured to slide along the rod along the control axis and rotate together with the rod about the control axis.

3. The air outlet device of claim 2, wherein the first airflow director is actuable about a first pivot axis to control the direction of airflow exiting the outlet in the first plane, wherein the control axis is transverse to the pivot axis.

4. The air outlet device of claims 2 or 3, wherein the rod and the hub comprise complementary interfacing formations which engage such that the rod and the hub rotate together.

5. The air outlet device of claim 4, wherein the rod has a cross-section defining a first flattened formation, and the hub has a cross-section defining a second flattened formation, wherein the first and second flattened formations are complementary and interfacing.

6. The air outlet device of any of claims 2 to 5, wherein the hub takes the form of a tubular sleeve mounted around the rod.

7. The air outlet device of any of claims 3 to 6, wherein the first linkage comprises:a bar having a longitudinal axis arranged parallel to and offset from the first pivot axis, anda slot arranged to receive the bar therein such thattranslation of one of the slot and the bar along the control axis causes the other one of the slot and the bar to rotate about the first pivot axis.

8. The air outlet device of claim 7, wherein the bar is attached to the first airflow director; and the slot is formed in the hub.

9. The air outlet device of claim 8, wherein the hub comprises a pair of protrusions which define the slot therebetween.

10. The air outlet device of any preceding claim, wherein the second airflow director is a flap actuable about a second pivot axis, wherein the second pivot axis is parallel to the control axis.

11. The air outlet device of claim 10, wherein the second linkage comprises a gear set arranged such that rotation of the cursor about the control axis in a first direction causes rotation of the flap about the second pivot axis in a second direction which is opposite to the first direction.

12. The air outlet device of claim 11, wherein the gear set comprises a pair of gears having a gear ratio such that a degree of rotation of the cursor about the control axis causes a greater degree of rotation of the flap about the second pivot axis.

13. The air outlet device of claim 11, wherein the gear ratio is greater than 1.5:1, preferably 2:1.

14. An air outlet device of any proceeding claim, comprising a plurality of first airflow directors arranged in parallel and coupled together such that movement of one of the first airflow directors causes an equal movement of the other first airflow directors.

15. A vehicle comprising an air outlet device according to any preceding claim.12

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