Wind direction adjustment device

Abstract

To provide a wind direction adjustment device that can readily adjust an operation load even after being assembled.SOLUTION: A wind direction adjustment device includes: a turning member disposed so as to be capable of turning; and an operation parts (20, 20a). The operation parts (20, 20a) each include: an operation body part (21); a torque generating part (50) disposed so as to be rotatable relative to the operation body part (21); and a holding part (43) for holding the torque generating part (50) in a position where the torque generating part is stopped. The torque generating part (50) includes a torque adjustment part having a shape that can adjust a level of operation load along a rotation direction of the torque generating part (50).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a wind direction adjustment device. [Background technology]

[0002] Vehicles such as automobiles are equipped with airflow control devices that change the direction of air blown into the vehicle interior. Airflow control devices are sometimes called ventilators, registers, or air outlets (or simply outlets), and contribute to improving the comfort of the vehicle interior through heating and cooling.

[0003] For example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 57-8442 (Patent Document 1) discloses a wind direction control device that can swing the wind direction of blown air left and right. The wind direction control device in Patent Document 1 is configured so that the wind direction can be swung left and right by driving a small motor to rotate an inclined disk, and also so that the wind direction can be adjusted left and right by manually rotating a manual adjustment plate while the small motor is stopped, thereby rotating the inclined disk.

[0004] Furthermore, in the wind direction control device of Patent Document 1, the output shaft of the small motor is clamped by a U-shaped spring, which generates an operating torque (operating load) when the manual adjustment plate is rotated manually. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 57-8442 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] When using the elastic force of a U-shaped spring to generate an operating load when adjusting the wind direction, as in the wind direction control device of Patent Document 1, to obtain the desired operating load, it is necessary to adjust the strength with which the U-shaped spring pinches the output shaft of the small motor by increasing or decreasing the strength. However, adjusting the strength of the spring to adjust the operating load is not easy, and the magnitude of the operating load tends to vary from wind direction control device to wind direction control device. Furthermore, once the wind direction control device is assembled, it is difficult to change the magnitude of the operating load by adjusting the strength of the spring.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and its purpose is to provide a wind direction adjustment device that allows the magnitude of the operating load to be easily adjusted and that allows the operating load to be easily adjusted even after assembly. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the wind direction adjustment device provided by the present invention is a wind direction adjustment device having a rotatable rotating member and an operating unit that is operated when rotating the rotating member, wherein the operating unit has an operating main body, a torque generating unit that is rotatably arranged relative to the operating main body and generates an operating load when the operating unit is operated, and a holding unit that holds the torque generating unit in a position where the rotation of the torque generating unit has stopped, and the torque generating unit is a wind direction adjustment device having a torque adjustment unit that has a shape that allows the magnitude of the operating load to be adjusted along the rotation direction of the torque generating unit.

[0009] In the air direction adjustment device of the present invention, it is preferable that the torque generating unit has a disk-shaped base portion, the torque adjustment unit has at least one convex rib portion protruding from the base portion, the convex rib portion is arranged in an arc-like or circumferential shape along the rotation direction of the torque generating unit, and the amount of protrusion of the convex rib portion from the base portion changes in the rotation direction.

[0010] Furthermore, it is preferable that a support fin is provided to support the operating unit, the operating unit being an operating knob arranged to be slidable along the length of the support fin, the torque generating unit is arranged within the operating knob, the support fin has a plate-shaped fin main body and a contact rib that protrudes from the fin main body and contacts the torque generating unit, the contact rib is arranged linearly along the sliding direction of the operating knob, and the amount of protrusion of the contact rib from the fin main body is constant in the sliding direction.

[0011] Furthermore, it is preferable that the torque generating portion has a plurality of recesses provided on the outer peripheral edge of the base portion, and the holding portion has a convex shape that engages with one of the plurality of recesses. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the airflow direction adjusting device of the present invention, the magnitude of the operating load can be easily adjusted, and the operating load can be easily adjusted even after assembly. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a main part of an airflow direction adjusting device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a cross section of the airflow direction adjustment device taken along line II-II of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] 4 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between a knob body, a torque generating portion, a holding portion, and a contact rib in an operation knob of an airflow direction adjusting device. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing a torque generating section. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a state in which a holding portion is removed from the operation knob. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a main part of an airflow direction adjusting device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Example]

[0015] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic view of the main part of the airflow direction control device according to this embodiment. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic view of the section of the airflow direction control device taken along line II-II in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a schematic view showing the relationship between the knob body, torque generating part, holding part, and contact rib in the operation knob of the airflow direction control device, showing a cross section of a part of the operation knob. Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a schematic view of the torque generating part.

[0016] The airflow direction adjustment device of this embodiment is attached to an interior member (not shown) such as an instrument panel or a center console in the passenger compartment of an automobile. By connecting this airflow direction adjustment device to an air conditioning unit (not shown) installed in the vehicle, it is possible to blow air that has been temperature-adjusted by the air conditioning unit into the passenger compartment.

[0017] Here, with respect to the airflow direction control device, the front-to-rear direction is the direction along the flow direction of air flowing through the case of the airflow direction control device when the horizontal fins 10 and vertical fins (described later) are held in neutral positions. In this case, the downstream side of the air flow is the front, and the upstream side is the rear. The up-down direction and the left-to-right direction are the vertical direction (height direction) and horizontal direction (width direction) when the airflow direction control device is viewed from the air outlet side. The neutral positions of the horizontal fins 10 and the vertical fins refer to positions where the horizontal fins 10 and the vertical fins are held so that the first and second main surfaces of the horizontal fins 10 and the vertical fins, respectively, are aligned with the flow (front-to-rear direction) of air supplied to the airflow direction control device.

[0018] The airflow direction adjustment device of this embodiment has a case body (not shown) with a flow path therein for circulating air, a plurality of horizontal fins 10 arranged at the outlet side end of the case body, a first link member (not shown) that connects the plurality of horizontal fins 10 and links the rotation of each horizontal fin 10 to one another, and an operation knob 20 attached to the horizontal fins 10. The airflow direction adjustment device also has a plurality of vertical fins (not shown) arranged upstream of the horizontal fins 10, and a second link member (not shown) that connects the plurality of vertical fins and links the rotation of each vertical fin to one another.

[0019] In this embodiment, at least the vertical fins are provided in the airflow direction adjustment device as rotating members that are rotatably arranged to change the direction of the airflow blowing out from the airflow direction adjustment device. The operation knob 20 is attached to the horizontal fins 10 as an operation unit that is operated to rotate the vertical fins, and is provided so as to be slidable in the left-right direction along the horizontal fins 10.

[0020] One of the horizontal fins 10 is provided as a support fin that supports the operation knob 20. Fig. 1 shows one horizontal fin 10 that serves as a support fin, and horizontal fins 10 other than the support fin are not shown. Note that in this embodiment, the shape, structure, size, number of installed vertical fins, etc. are not limited, and the shape, structure, installation position, etc. of the first link member and the second link member are also not limited.

[0021] The case body (not shown) of the airflow direction control device is installed on the rear side of an interior member of the automobile. The case body has a roughly rectangular cylindrical shape, and the rear end of the case body is connected to a duct (not shown) that transports air temperature-adjusted by the air conditioning device. An air flow path is formed inside the case body along the front-to-rear direction. An air outlet is provided at the front end (downstream edge) of the case body for blowing air into the vehicle cabin. Note that the shape and size of the case body are not particularly limited in the present invention.

[0022] The multiple horizontal fins 10 are arranged in the left-right direction and are held so as to be rotatable up and down relative to the case body. In this embodiment, the horizontal fins 10 may be fixed to the case body so as not to be rotatable up and down. Furthermore, although the airflow direction adjustment device of this embodiment is provided with multiple horizontal fins 10, the number of horizontal fins 10 to be installed is not limited in the present invention, and it is sufficient that at least one horizontal fin 10 is installed in the airflow direction adjustment device.

[0023] The horizontal fin (support fin) 10 of this embodiment has a horizontal fin main body 11 formed in the shape of a plate that is long in the left-right direction, left and right pivot shafts 12 that protrude in the left-right direction from the left and right side edges of the horizontal fin main body 11, a link connecting portion 13 that is provided on the rear side of the pivot shafts 12 and is connected to a first link member (not shown), and a contact rib 14 that protrudes downward from the underside of the horizontal fin main body 11. In this embodiment, the horizontal fins other than the support fins shown in Figures 1 and 2 are formed substantially in the same way as the horizontal fins 10 that serve as support fins, except that the contact rib 14 is not provided.

[0024] The horizontal fin main body 11 has flat upper and lower surfaces that are perpendicular to the up-down direction, a curved front end surface that curves forward in a convex shape from the upper surface to the lower surface, and a rear end surface that is perpendicular to the upper and lower surfaces. The horizontal fin main body 11 is formed so that the cross section perpendicular to the left-right direction has a constant shape, except for the left and right side edges of the horizontal fin main body 11. The size of the horizontal fin main body 11 is not particularly limited.

[0025] The contact rib 14 of the horizontal fin 10 is formed integrally with the horizontal fin main body 11 and is provided linearly along the left-right direction (the sliding direction of the operation knob 20). When viewed in a cross section perpendicular to the left-right direction (see FIG. 2), the contact rib 14 has a semicircular or nearly semicircular shape. The cross section of the contact rib 14 perpendicular to the left-right direction is constant over the entire left-right direction of the contact rib 14 (excluding the left and right side ends).

[0026] In this embodiment, the thickness of the contact rib 14 in the vertical direction is set to be larger than the thickness between the upper and lower surfaces of the base portion 51 of the torque generating member 50 (described later) and smaller than the thickness between the upper and lower surfaces of the horizontal fin main body 11. Here, the thickness of the contact rib 14 is the vertical dimension from the position of the lower surface of the horizontal fin main body 11 to the lower end of the contact rib 14. Note that the cross-sectional shape and thickness of the contact rib 14 perpendicular to the left-right direction are not particularly specified, as long as the contact rib 14 is formed so as to be able to come into contact with the torque generating portion held within the operation knob 20.

[0027] The contact rib 14 is arranged to be longer in the left-right direction than the range from the position where a torque adjustment portion of the torque generation portion, which will be described later, contacts the contact rib 14 when the operation knob 20 is moved to the leftmost position to the position where the torque adjustment portion contacts the contact rib 14 when the operation knob 20 is moved to the rightmost position. The contact rib 14 is also arranged to be shorter than the dimension in the left-right direction of the horizontal fin main body 11 (particularly the dimension in the left-right direction of a portion of the horizontal fin main body 11 in the front-rear direction where the contact rib 14 is provided).

[0028] The operation knob 20 has a knob main body (operation main body) 21 formed to surround a portion of the horizontal fin main body 11, a rear member 30 removably attached to the rear end of the knob main body 21, a cover member 40 removably attached to the front end of the knob main body 21, and a torque generating member (torque generating unit) 50 rotatably installed within the operation knob 20. In this embodiment, the knob main body 21, rear member 30, and torque generating member 50 are made of synthetic resin. The cover member 40 is made of elastic synthetic resin.

[0029] The knob main body 21 has an outer shape similar to a rectangular parallelepiped that continuously covers the upper surface, front end surface, and lower surface of the horizontal fin main body 11. The knob main body 21 also has an upper plate 22, a lower plate 23 that is disposed below and spaced apart from the upper plate 22, a front surface 24 that connects the front ends of the upper plate 22 and the lower plate 23, and left and right side wall portions 25 that face in the left-right direction.

[0030] The rear end of the knob main body 21 is provided with an opening through which the torque generating member 50 can be inserted into the knob main body 21, and a main body-side engaging portion (not shown) that engages with and holds the rear member 30. The left and right side walls 25 of the knob main body 21 are provided with insertion slits into which the horizontal fins 10 are inserted.

[0031] 3 and 5, the front surface 24 of the knob body 21 is provided with an operation window 26 that opens to allow the torque generating member 50 to be seen from the front side of the operation knob 20, and left and right cover attachment portions 27 that engage and hold the cover member 40. The operation window 26 is formed to be sized so that, for example, part of a person's finger can be inserted therein to rotate the torque generating member 50 with that finger. The left and right cover attachment portions 27 are located behind the operation window 26.

[0032] Between the front end face of the knob main body 21 and the cover attachment portion 27, a step portion is provided to accommodate the thickness of a cover main body 41 (described later) of the cover member 40. 2, a mounting protrusion 28 that protrudes in the shape of a thin disk from the lower plate 23 is provided inside the knob body 21. A torque generating member 50 is rotatably attached to the mounting protrusion 28.

[0033] The rear member 30 of the operating knob 20 has a lid portion 31 attached to the rear end of the knob main body 21, a rear-side engagement portion (not shown) provided on the lid portion 31 and engaging with a main body-side engagement portion (not shown) of the knob main body 21, a pair of left and right engagement arms 32 extending rearward from the lid portion 31, and a reinforcing portion 33 that reinforces the engagement arms 32. The lid portion 31 covers the opening on the rear side of the knob main body 21 and has a shape corresponding to the rear end of the knob main body 21.

[0034] The left and right engaging arms 32 are spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction, and a space is provided between the left and right engaging arms 32. A portion of a vertical fin (not shown) is inserted between the left and right engaging arms 32. As a result, by sliding the operation knob 20 left and right along the horizontal fins 10, the vertical louvers can be rotated left and right to change the orientation of the vertical louvers.

[0035] The cover member 40 of this embodiment covers the operation window 26 of the knob main body 21 and is arranged as a decorative body (escutcheon) of the operation knob 20. The cover member 40 has a thin, plate-shaped cover main body 41, a pair of left and right hook portions 42 protruding rearward from the rear end surface of the cover main body 41, and a holding portion 43 protruding rearward from the cover main body 41. The cover body 41 has a shape corresponding to the opening shape of the operation window 26 of the knob body 21. When the cover member 40 is attached to the knob body 21, the cover body 41 of the cover member 40 can cover and close the operation window 26 of the knob body 21.

[0036] The left and right hook portions 42 of the cover member 40 are formed integrally with the cover main body 41, and are also formed so as to be able to engage with the cover attachment portions 27 of the knob main body 21. When attaching the cover member 40 to the knob main body 21, the left and right hook portions 42 of the cover member 40 are hooked onto the left and right cover attachment portions 27 of the knob main body 21, respectively, thereby attaching the cover member 40 to the knob main body 21 and maintaining the attached state of the cover member 40.

[0037] The holding portion 43 of the cover member 40 is formed integrally with the cover main body 41 and protrudes rearward from the center in the left-right direction of the cover main body 41. This holding portion 43 has a height dimension (vertical dimension) that allows it to be inserted into the cover main body 41 through the operation window 26 provided in the cover main body 41. For example, in the case of this embodiment, the holding portion 43 is provided in the vertical direction from a position close to the lower surface (inner wall surface) of the upper plate 22 of the knob main body 21 to a position close to the upper surface (inner wall surface) of the lower plate 23.

[0038] The retaining portion 43 extends from the cover main body 41 to a position where it can come into contact with the torque generating member 50 attached inside the knob main body 21. The rear end surface of the retaining portion 43 is curved to form a convex shape facing rearward, and is formed into a curved surface that is inserted into and engages with one of a plurality of engaging recesses 54 (described later) of the torque generating member 50.

[0039] As shown in Figures 2 to 4, the torque generating member 50 has a base portion 51 having a thin, disk-like shape, a pair of ridge portions 52 protruding upward from the upper surface of the base portion 51, an attachment recess 53 provided on the lower surface of the base portion 51, and a plurality of engagement recesses 54 provided on the outer peripheral edge portion of the base portion 51. The base portion 51 is formed to have a constant thickness and has a flat upper surface and a flat lower surface.

[0040] The two ridges 52 provided on the torque generating member 50 are formed to slide against the contact ribs 14 of the horizontal fins 10 when the operation knob 20 is slid along the horizontal fins 10, generating frictional resistance, thereby generating an operating load when the operation knob 20 is operated. In this embodiment, the two ridges 52 are each formed to protrude from the upper surface of the base portion 51. The two ridges 52 have the same shape and are arranged symmetrically. Therefore, the following description will focus on one of the two ridges 52.

[0041] In this embodiment, the ridge portions 52 are formed in an arch-like or arch-like shape with an outer surface that is curved upwardly and convexly when viewed in a cross section perpendicular to the rotation direction of the torque generating member 50 (see, for example, FIG. 2). When the torque generating member 50 is viewed from above (see, for example, FIG. 3), the ridge portions 52 are arranged in an arc-like shape that follows the circumferential direction of the base portion 51 (in other words, the rotation direction of the torque generating member 50). In this case, the arc-shaped ridge portions 52 are preferably provided within a range in which the central angle is equal to or greater than 90° and less than 180°.

[0042] The ridge portion 52 is formed such that the amount of protrusion of the ridge portion 52 from the upper surface of the base portion 51 is changed from one circumferential end of the ridge portion 52 to the other circumferential end thereof so that the magnitude of the operating load can be adjusted. Specifically, the ridge portion 52 of this embodiment is formed such that, in a plan view of the torque generating member 50, a first end of the ridge portion 52 on the counterclockwise side is the highest and a second end of the ridge portion 52 on the clockwise side is the lowest.

[0043] The protruding amount of the ridge portion 52 gradually decreases from the first end to the second end. The protruding amount of the ridge portion 52 refers to the vertical dimension from the position of the upper surface of the base portion 51 to the position of the apex end of the ridge portion 52 that is farthest from the base portion 51, for example, in a cross section perpendicular to the rotation direction of the torque generating member 50.

[0044] The mounting recess 53 of the torque generating member 50 is provided in the center of the disk-shaped base 51, recessed in a circular shape from the underside of the base 51 upward. The mounting recess 53 is formed in a size corresponding to the mounting protrusion 28 provided on the lower plate 23 of the knob body 21. The torque generating member 50 is mounted to the lower plate 23 of the knob body 21 such that the mounting protrusion 28 of the knob body 21 fits into the mounting recess 53, thereby rotatably holding the torque generating member 50 to the knob body 21.

[0045] A plurality of engagement recesses 54 of a uniform size and spaced at a uniform pitch are provided on the outer peripheral edge of the base portion 51. Each engagement recess 54 is sized to allow the rear end of the holding portion 43 of the cover member 40 to be inserted therein. By providing such a plurality of engagement recesses 54 on the torque generating member 50, for example, when the holding portion 43 of the cover member 40 is inserted into and engaged with the engagement recesses 54 of the torque generating member 50 after the torque generating member 50 has been rotated, the holding portion 43 of the cover member 40 can hold the torque generating member 50 in a position where the torque generating member 50 has stopped rotating. Furthermore, the torque generating member 50 can be maintained in a stopped state so that it does not rotate from that stopped position.

[0046] The operation knob 20 of this embodiment is attached to the horizontal fins 10 so that the position of the contact rib 14 provided on the horizontal fins 10 overlaps in the vertical direction with the position of the center of the base portion 51 of the torque generating member 50. In other words, when the horizontal fins 10 and the operation knob 20 are seen through from above, the center of the base portion 51 is disposed in the same position as the contact rib 14 of the horizontal fins 10 so as to overlap. This allows the contact rib 14 to come into contact with the two protruding portions 52 provided on the torque generating member 50 at portions where the protruding amounts of the two protruding portions 52 are the same.

[0047] According to the airflow direction adjustment device of this embodiment in which the operating knob 20 as described above is attached to the horizontal fin 10, when the torque generating member 50 is held by the holding portion 43 of the cover member 40 in a position (rotation position) in which the convex rib portion 52 is in contact with the contact rib 14 of the horizontal fin 10, when the operating knob 20 is operated and slides along the horizontal fin 10, the frictional resistance (frictional force) between the two convex rib portions 52 of the torque generating member 50 and the contact rib 14 of the horizontal fin 10 can stably generate an operating load on the operating knob 20.

[0048] Furthermore, in the airflow direction adjusting device of this embodiment, by rotating the torque generating member 50 of the operation knob 20 within the knob body 21, the ridge portion 52 can be brought into contact with the contact rib 14 at portions where the amount of protrusion of the ridge portion 52 from the base portion 51 varies. This makes it possible to change the magnitude of the operating load generated when the operation knob 20 is operated.

[0049] For example, the operating load generated when operating the operation knob 20 can be increased by bringing the large protruding portion of the ridge portion 52 into contact with the contact rib 14 of the horizontal fin 10, while the operating load can be reduced by bringing the small protruding portion of the ridge portion 52 into contact with the contact rib 14 of the horizontal fin 10. Therefore, in the airflow direction adjustment device, by rotating the torque generating member 50 of the operation knob 20 within the knob body 21, the operating load generated when operating the operation knob 20 can be increased or decreased, and the magnitude of the operating load can be easily adjusted.

[0050] Furthermore, with the airflow direction adjustment device of this embodiment, even after the device has been assembled, by removing the cover member 40 of the operation knob 20 from the knob main body 21 (see FIG. 5), the torque generating member 50 installed inside the knob main body 21 can be rotated using a finger or a rod-shaped member (for example, an operation pin 60, which will be described later) through the operation window 26 of the knob main body 21. This makes it possible to easily adjust the operating load when operating the operation knob 20, without having to disassemble the device, even after the device has been assembled.

[0051] In the air direction adjustment device of this embodiment, when adjusting the operating load of the operation knob 20, as described above, the torque generating member 50 of the operation knob 20 can be rotated within the knob body 21 by removing the cover member 40 from the knob body 21. However, in the present invention, as shown in a modified example in Figure 6, for example, in order to rotate the torque generating member 50, two insertion holes 35 of a size that allows insertion of rod-shaped operation pins 60 used to rotate the torque generating member 50 may be provided in the rear member 30a of the operation knob 20a.

[0052] The operation knob 20a according to this modification is provided in substantially the same manner as the operation knob 20 of the above-described embodiment, except that it is provided with two insertion holes 35. For this reason, in this modification, members or parts that are substantially the same as those in the above-described embodiment are indicated by the same reference numerals as in the embodiment, and descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0053] 6, the rear member 30a is provided with two insertion holes 35, and the operation pin 60 is inserted into one of the insertion holes 35, and a portion of the operation pin 60 is then engaged with at least one of the engagement recesses 54 of the torque generating member 50, thereby allowing the torque generating member 50 to rotate within the knob body 21. In this case, at least the tip of the operation pin 60 is provided with a plurality of protrusions or thread grooves that can engage with the engagement recesses 54 of the torque generating member 50.

[0054] In an airflow direction adjustment device having the operation knob 20a of this modified example, the torque generating member 50 can be rotated by removing the cover member 40 from the knob main body 21 or by inserting the operation pin 60 through the insertion hole 35 of the rear member 30a, and the operation load when operating the operation knob 20a can be easily adjusted, just like in the airflow direction adjustment device of the above-described embodiment. Note that the operation knob 20a of the modified example shown in Fig. 6 may be formed, for example, without providing the operation window 26 on the knob main body 21 and without using the cover member 40.

[0055] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, but various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention as long as they have substantially the same configuration as that described in the claims of the present invention and produce similar effects.

[0056] For example, in the above-described embodiment and modified example, the rotating member operated by the operation knob 20, 20a (operation unit) to rotate is a vertical fin that adjusts the airflow direction in the left-right direction. However, in the present invention, the rotating member operated by the operation unit is not limited to a vertical fin, and may be a horizontal fin that adjusts the airflow direction in the up-down direction or a fin that can rotate in another direction.

[0057] Furthermore, the rotating member in the airflow direction adjustment device of the present invention also includes, for example, a valve such as a shutoff valve that opens and closes the ventilation passage of the airflow direction adjustment device (for example, an air flow path inside the case body).Even in the case of an airflow direction adjustment device in which the rotation of such a valve such as a shutoff valve is operated by an operating unit (for example, an operating knob or operating dial), by applying the present invention to the airflow direction adjustment device, the operating load when operating the operating unit to rotate the valve can be easily adjusted.

[0058] Furthermore, in the air direction adjustment device of the above-described embodiment, two ridges 52 are provided on the torque generating member 50 as shown in Fig. 4. However, in the present invention, the torque generating member may have one ridge, or three or more ridges. For example, the torque generating member may be provided with a circumferential ridge that connects the two ridges 52 shown in Fig. 4 together.

[0059] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the torque generating member 50 is held in a stopped state so as not to rotate by the holding portion 43 of the cover member 40. However, in the present invention, the structure and means for holding the torque generating member in a stopped state are not particularly limited, and the torque generating member may be held in a stopped state so as not to rotate by providing a structure or means different from the holding portion 43 of the embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 10 Horizontal fin (support fin) 11 Horizontal fin body 12 Rotating shaft 13 Link connection part 14 Contact Rib 20,20a Operation knob 21 Knob body 22 Upper plate 23 Lower plate part 24 Front part 25 Side wall 26 Operation window 27 Cover attachment part 28 Mounting protrusion 30, 30a Rear member 31 Lid 32 Engagement arm portion 33 Reinforcement 35 Insertion hole 40 Cover member 41 Cover body 42 Hook part 43 Holding part 50 Torque generating member (torque generating portion) 51 Base 52 Convex portion 53 Mounting recess 54 Engagement recess 60 Operation pin

Claims

1. A wind direction adjustment device having a rotatable rotating member and an operating unit that is operated when rotating the rotating member, the operation unit includes an operation main body, a torque generating unit that is rotatably disposed relative to the operation main body and generates an operation load when the operation unit is operated, and a holding unit that holds the torque generating unit at a position where rotation of the torque generating unit has stopped; The torque generating unit has a torque adjusting unit having a shape that can adjust the magnitude of the operating load along the rotation direction of the torque generating unit. A wind direction adjustment device characterized by:

2. the torque generating portion has a disk-shaped base portion, the torque adjusting portion has at least one ridge portion protruding from the base portion, the protruding ridges are arranged in an arcuate or circumferential shape along the rotation direction of the torque generating portion, The amount of protrusion of the ridge portion from the base portion varies in the rotation direction. The wind direction adjusting device according to claim 1.

3. a support fin is provided to support the operation unit; the operation unit is an operation knob slidably disposed along the length direction of the support fin, the torque generating unit is disposed within the operation knob, The support fin has a plate-shaped fin main body and a contact rib that protrudes from the fin main body and contacts the torque generation portion, The contact rib is linearly arranged along the sliding direction of the operation knob, The amount of protrusion of the contact rib from the fin body is constant in the sliding direction. The wind direction adjusting device according to claim 1.

4. the torque generating portion has a plurality of recesses provided on an outer peripheral edge of the base portion, The holding portion has a convex shape that engages with one of the recesses. The wind direction adjusting device according to claim 2.

Images