Vent duct for vehicle

Abstract

To obtain a vent duct for a vehicle capable of suppressing fluttering of an opening / closing valve and suppressing intrusion of noise from a lower side of the vehicle when the opening / closing valve is opened.SOLUTION: An opening 22A of a vent duct main body 22 allows an interior and exterior of a vehicle to communicate with each other. The opening 22A can be opened and closed by a plurality of on-off valves 24, 26, 28 provided along the vehicle vertical direction, and each of the on-off valves 24, 26, 28 can rotate about an axis along a width direction of the opening 22A. An actuator 30 includes a gear train 40 including output gears 42, 44, 46 connected to respective rotation shafts 24B, 26B, 28B of the on-off valves 24, 26, 28, and opens and closes the on-off valves 24, 26, 28 by rotating the output gears 42, 44, 46. Gear diameters of the output gears 42, 44, 46 are set to be larger as a position of the output gears 42, 44, 46 in the vehicle vertical direction becomes lower.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vent duct for a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] The following Patent Document 1 discloses a technology related to a vehicle ventilation device that ventilates the interior of a vehicle cabin using a vent duct. Simply put, in this prior art, the vent duct is provided with multiple thin-walled blade-shaped butterflies (on-off valves) inside a frame body, and the multiple butterflies are rolled up by the air passing through the vent duct from inside the vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-1120 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the above-mentioned prior art has room for improvement in terms of suppressing flapping of the butterfly and suppressing noise from entering from below the vehicle when the butterfly is opened.

[0005] In consideration of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a vent duct for a vehicle that can suppress fluttering of an opening / closing valve and can suppress the intrusion of noise from the underside of the vehicle when the opening / closing valve is opened. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The vehicle vent duct of the present invention described in claim 1 comprises a vent duct main body having an opening communicating between the inside and outside of the vehicle compartment, a plurality of on-off valves arranged along the vertical direction of the vehicle and capable of opening and closing the opening, each of which is rotatable about an axis along the width direction of the opening, and a drive mechanism comprising a gear train including an output gear connected to each of the rotary shafts of the plurality of on-off valves, and configured to open and close the on-off valves by rotating the output gear, wherein the gear diameters of the plurality of output gears are set to be larger the lower the position in the vertical direction of the vehicle.

[0007] According to the above configuration, the inside and outside of the vehicle are communicated with each other through the opening of the vent duct main body. The opening can be opened and closed by a plurality of on-off valves provided along the vertical direction of the vehicle, and each of the on-off valves can rotate around an axis along the width direction of the opening. The drive mechanism includes a gear train including an output gear connected to each rotation shaft of the plurality of on-off valves, and opens and closes the on-off valves by rotating the output gear. This makes it possible to suppress fluttering of the on-off valves. Furthermore, the gear diameter of the plurality of output gears is set to be larger as the position in the vertical direction of the vehicle becomes lower, so that when the plurality of on-off valves are opened, the opening angle of the on-off valves that are lower in the vertical direction of the vehicle becomes smaller. This makes it possible to suppress the intrusion of noise from the lower side of the vehicle when the on-off valves are opened. Effect of the Invention

[0008] As described above, the vehicle vent duct of the present invention has the excellent effect of suppressing fluttering of the opening and closing valve and suppressing the intrusion of noise from below the vehicle when the opening and closing valve is opened. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a vehicle vent duct according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a state in which the vent duct main body side and the actuator side are separated from each other. [Diagram 3]FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a vehicle vent duct for explaining the opening angles of three on-off valves, in which the illustration of the rotation shaft and the actuator is omitted. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, a vehicle vent duct 20 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3. Note that an arrow FR shown as appropriate in these figures indicates the vehicle front side of a vehicle 10 on which the vehicle vent duct 20 is mounted, an arrow UP indicates the vehicle upper side of the vehicle 10, and an arrow OUT indicates the outer side of the vehicle 10 in the vehicle width direction.

[0011] 1 is attached to a quarter panel 12 that constitutes a part of the rear and side of a vehicle 10. The vehicle vent duct 20 is covered from the outside of the vehicle by a rear bumper cover (not shown).

[0012] The vehicle vent duct 20 has a vent duct main body 22 with an opening 22A that communicates between the inside and outside of the vehicle compartment, and a plurality of on-off valves 24, 26, 28 (three, for example) that are provided along the vertical direction of the vehicle and are capable of opening and closing the opening 22A of the vent duct main body 22. The on-off valves 24, 26, 28 may also be referred to as flaps.

[0013] The vent duct main body 22 is, for example, made of resin, formed into a substantially rectangular frame shape, and includes an upper wall portion 22B, left and right side wall portions 22C and 22D, and a lower wall portion 22E. The vent duct main body 22 may have a known configuration.

[0014] The on-off valves 24, 26, 28 are made of a material that does not elastically deform during use. The on-off valves 24, 26, 28 include substantially rectangular valve bodies 24A, 26A, 28A whose longitudinal direction is the width direction, and rotary shafts 24B, 26B, 28B that are integrated with the base sides of the valve bodies 24A, 26A, 28A and extend along the longitudinal direction of the valve bodies 24A, 26A, 28A.

[0015] The rotating shafts 24B, 26B, 28B are arranged vertically in a line extending along the opening width direction of the opening 22A of the vent duct main body 22, and are rotatably supported by the side wall portions 22C, 22D of the vent duct main body 22. That is, the rotating shafts 24B, 26B, 28B are elements that can be understood as rotating shafts, and the opening / closing valves 24, 26, 28 are each rotatable around an axis along the width direction of the opening 22A (around the axis of the rotating shafts 24B, 26B, 28B). Although not shown, when the three valve bodies 24A, 26A, 28A are in a position that is suspended downward from the vehicle, the opening 22A is closed by the three valve bodies 24A, 26A, 28A.

[0016] A case 32 of an actuator 30 serving as a drive mechanism is attached from one side of one side wall portion 22C of the vent duct main body 22. In Fig. 1, in order to make it easier to understand the gear train 40 provided inside the actuator 30, the gear train 40 inside the case 32 is shown in a simplified manner with the case 32 seen through (the same applies to Fig. 2 described later).

[0017] FIG. 2 shows an exploded perspective view in a state where the vent duct main body 22 side and the actuator 30 side are separated. As shown in FIG. 2, the rotary shafts 24B, 26B, 28B of the opening and closing valves 24, 26, 28 penetrate one side wall 22C of the vent duct main body 22. On the other hand, the actuator 30 includes a motor (not shown) provided in a case 32, a gear train 40 provided in the case 32 for transmitting the driving force of the motor, and a connector 34 (simply shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) provided on the upper end side of the case 32. Note that in FIGS. 1 and 2, the motor is omitted in order to easily show the gear train 40, but a known motor capable of forward and reverse rotation can be applied to the motor. A connector 52 of a harness 50 shown in FIG. 1 is connected to the connector 34, and the motor (not shown) of the actuator 30 can receive power via the harness 50.

[0018] 1 and 2, the gear train 40 includes a first output gear 42 connected to the rotating shaft 24B of the upper stage on-off valve 24, a second output gear 44 connected to the rotating shaft 26B of the middle stage on-off valve 26, and a third output gear 46 connected to the rotating shaft 28B of the lower stage on-off valve 28. That is, when the first output gear 42 rotates a predetermined angle, the upper stage on-off valve 24 rotates a predetermined angle in the rotation direction of the output gear 42, when the second output gear 44 rotates a predetermined angle, the middle stage on-off valve 26 rotates a predetermined angle in the rotation direction of the output gear 44, and when the third output gear 46 rotates a predetermined angle, the middle stage on-off valve 28 rotates a predetermined angle in the rotation direction of the output gear 46.

[0019] In the gear train 40, a first connecting gear 43 is interposed between the first output gear 42 and the second output gear 44, and a second connecting gear 45 is interposed between the second output gear 44 and the third output gear 46. This allows the first output gear 42, the second output gear 44, and the third output gear 46 to rotate in the same direction.

[0020] The actuator 30 including the gear train 40 is configured to open and close the on-off valves 24, 26, 28 by rotating output gears 42, 44, 46. Moreover, the multiple output gears 42, 44, 46 are set to have larger gear diameters as the position of the output gears 42, 44, 46 is lower in the vertical direction of the vehicle.

[0021] In this embodiment, power is supplied to the motor of the actuator 30 via the harness 50 in response to a command from a control device (not shown) so that the on-off valves 24, 26, 28 open and close based on the state of the vehicle 10 shown in Fig. 1. More specifically, for example, when the vehicle air conditioner of the vehicle 10 is operated in an internal air circulation mode that introduces air from inside the vehicle cabin and a side door is closed, the on-off valves 24, 26, 28 are controlled to be in a closed state (closed mode), and when the vehicle air conditioner is operated in an outside air introduction mode that introduces air from outside the vehicle cabin or when a side door of the vehicle 10 is open, the on-off valves 24, 26, 28 are controlled to be in an open state (open mode).

[0022] Next, the operation and effects of this embodiment will be described.

[0023] In this embodiment, the inside and outside of the vehicle are communicated by the opening 22A of the vent duct main body 22 shown in Fig. 1. The opening 22A can be opened and closed by a plurality of on-off valves 24, 26, 28 provided along the vehicle vertical direction, and each of the on-off valves 24, 26, 28 can rotate around an axis along the width direction of the opening 22A. The actuator 30 includes a gear train 40 including output gears 42, 44, 46 connected to the respective rotation shafts 24B, 26B, 28B of the on-off valves 24, 26, 28, and opens and closes the on-off valves 24, 26, 28 by rotating the output gears 42, 44, 46. This makes it possible to suppress fluttering of the on-off valves 24, 26, 28, and eliminate the generation of slapping noise caused by the fluttering of the on-off valves 24, 26, 28.

[0024] To give a supplementary explanation, for example, when the vehicle air conditioner (not shown) mounted on the vehicle 10 is operated in an internal air circulation mode that introduces air from within the vehicle cabin and the side door of the vehicle 10 is closed, the on-off valves 24, 26, 28 are closed and do not flutter, and a sealed state is maintained, so that intrusion of noise (e.g., tire noise) can be suppressed. In addition, when the vehicle air conditioner is operated in an outside air introduction mode that introduces air from outside the vehicle cabin and / or when the side door is open, the on-off valves 24, 26, 28 are open and do not flutter, so that the generation of hitting sounds caused by the fluttering of the on-off valves 24, 26, 28 is eliminated. The opening and closing of the on-off valves 24, 26, 28 as described above can contribute to the comfort of the vehicle cabin, the air conditioning efficiency, and the closing ability of the side door. The closing ability of the side door is improved when the air in the vehicle cabin flows out of the vent duct main body 22 to the outside of the vehicle cabin when the side door is closed in an open state, and the airtightness is eliminated.

[0025] In this embodiment, the gear diameter of the multiple output gears 42, 44, 46 is set to be larger as the position in the vertical direction of the vehicle is lower. Therefore, as shown in the schematic side view of Fig. 3, when the multiple on-off valves 24, 26, 28 are opened from a closed position (see arrows 24D, 26D, 28D), the opening angle of the on-off valves 24, 26, 28 that are lower in the vertical direction of the vehicle is smaller. This makes it possible to suppress the intrusion of noise from below the vehicle when the on-off valves 24, 26, 28 are opened.

[0026] As described above, according to the vehicle vent duct 20 of this embodiment, it is possible to suppress fluttering of the on-off valves 24, 26, 28 and also to suppress the intrusion of noise from below the vehicle when the on-off valves 24, 26, 28 are opened.

[0027] In the above embodiment, the number of the on-off valves 24, 26, 28 is three, for example, but the number of the on-off valves may be two or four or more.

[0028] While one example of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented in various modified forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] 20 Vehicle vent duct 22 Vent duct body 22A opening 24 On-off valve 24B Rotating shaft 26 On-off valve 26B Rotating shaft 28 On-off valve 28B Rotating shaft 30 Actuator (driving mechanism) 40 Gear train 42 Output gear 44 Output gear 46 Output gear

Claims

[Claim 1] a vent duct body having an opening communicating between the inside and outside of the vehicle cabin; a plurality of on-off valves arranged along a vertical direction of the vehicle, the on-off valves being capable of opening and closing the opening, and each of the on-off valves being rotatable about an axis along a width direction of the opening; a drive mechanism including a gear train including an output gear connected to each rotary shaft of the plurality of on-off valves, the drive mechanism being configured to open and close the on-off valves by rotating the output gear; having The plurality of output gears are configured so that the gear diameters thereof become larger as the position of the output gears becomes lower in the vehicle vertical direction.

Images