Air guide for ventilation nozzle

Abstract

In an air guide element (1) for a ventilation nozzle (14) of an automobile, the air guide element (1) has a body (2) on which air guide ribs (3) are arranged, at least partially surrounding the cross section of the ventilation nozzle (14), and a lighting device (4), the body (2) and the air guide ribs (3) are integrally manufactured by multi-component 3D printing, the body (2) has a transparent core (5), and each part of the surface of the body (2) and the air guide ribs (3) is printed on the core (5) at least partially with a translucent material and at least partially with an opaque material (13).

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an air guide element, for example an air guide ring, for a ventilation nozzle of a motor vehicle of the kind defined in detail in the preamble of claim 1. Furthermore, the invention relates to a ventilation nozzle having such an air guide element. [Background technology]

[0002] From EP 0 699 043 A1 a ventilation device is known, which is provided with an air guide element for directing an air flow at a specific angle relative to the housing of the ventilation nozzle, whereby part of the guide element can be illuminated via a light guide. The structure is manufactured in such a way that mobility between the two light guide elements is intended, which makes the structure relatively expensive in terms of its manufacture and, in particular, relatively prone to malfunctions.

[0003] DE 10 2004 013 143 A1 describes another ventilation device in which in particular the adjustment members for the light guide members are made so that they can be illuminated. As yet another prior art, reference can be made to Patent Document 3, which describes the structure of a plastic molding that is made up of partly electroplated plastic and partly non-electroplated plastic, thus allowing surface coating by electroplating in specific areas to be performed precisely. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] DE102014018302A1 [Patent Document 2] DE102014015252A1 [Patent Document 3] DE102008047833A1 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide an air guide element for a vehicle ventilation nozzle that is made to be illuminated, the structure of which is simplified in design compared to the prior art and has expanded configurability. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to the invention, this problem is solved by an air guide element with the features of claim 1, here in particular with the features set out in the characterizing part of claim 1. Advantageous configurations and developments emerge from the claims dependent on claim 1. Furthermore, a ventilation nozzle for a motor vehicle having an air guide element of this kind is described.

[0007] In the air guide according to the invention, the air guide has a body which, in cross section, surrounds the ventilation nozzle, i.e., completely or largely surrounds or encloses the ventilation nozzle around its circumference. In the case of ventilation nozzles which are circular in cross section, as is often the case in practice, a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention is that the air guide is embodied as an air guide ring. Air guide ribs are arranged on the body, and the air guide is equipped with a lighting device.

[0008] According to the present invention, the body and the air guide ribs, and thus the entire air guide element, with the exception of the lighting device, are manufactured as a single unit by multi-component 3D printing. This is extremely simple and efficient in terms of production. In this case, various types of components can be combined into a single, integrated component, so that the body of the air guide element according to the present invention has a transparent core, and parts of the surface of the body and the air guide ribs are printed on the transparent core partly with translucent and partly with opaque material. In this way, this integrated structure obtained by multi-component 3D printing can be realized with a transparent core as a light guide. Printing the surface and / or the air guide ribs or their surfaces with partly transparent and partly opaque material allows for the implementation of desired designs in an extremely simple and efficient manner. For example, it is possible to attach luminous air guide ribs to the non-luminous surface of the body, and vice versa.

[0009] Other portions of the body can be printed with translucent or opaque material so that these portions either illuminate or do not illuminate when the lighting device is activated, depending on the design desires.

[0010] A particularly advantageous development of the air guide element according to the invention provides that the opaque and / or translucent material applied to the transparent core is colored. In this way, the design can be further optimized by the color configuration, for example, by embodiing individual surfaces in a color that is transparently light-transmitting when illuminated, while other surfaces are embodied opaquely by direct coloring and thus do not transmit light when illuminated.

[0011] Another particularly advantageous embodiment of the air guide element according to the present invention is one in which the core is made up of two legs that meet at an acute angle, forming a hollow space or cavity between them, and the lighting device is intended to input light into the legs and / or the hollow space from the side facing away from the tip. That is, the structure can be configured, for example, like an inverted V. The central axis of this V can be straight, oblique, or curved. In this case, a hollow space is created between the two legs of the core made of transparent material that are joined at one end. This hollow space ensures that when light is input from the side facing away from the joined part of the legs, also known as the tip, the input light reaches a wide area in the region of the legs and is efficiently emitted from these legs into the area where the core is printed with translucent material.

[0012] A particularly advantageous embodiment of the air guide element according to the invention provides for the air guide ribs to be printed with an opaque material, i.e., this material is not transparent to light and can be embodied, for example, in a black-colored material. A further, highly preferred concept, which can be particularly combined with this embodiment, provides for the surfaces of the body located between the respective light guide ribs to be printed with a transparent material. These surfaces can be printed with a contrasting, white, transparent material, for example. When the lighting device is switched on and light is introduced into the transparent core, light can be emitted in the areas of these surfaces located between the air guide ribs, thereby illuminating these surfaces. In contrast, in the preferred embodiment described above, the air guide ribs themselves remain particularly unilluminated and are therefore only indirectly illuminated via the surfaces located between them.

[0013] Another highly preferred embodiment, which can also be combined with both of the most recently described embodiments, but does not have to be, provides for all surfaces of the body that are not located between the air guiding ribs to be printed with an opaque material, i.e. therewith, particularly in combination with the above-described embodiment, it is achieved that illumination is only provided in the areas between the individual air guiding ribs and not in the areas surrounding them, such as for example in the outer and / or inner annular areas that join them.

[0014] Furthermore, in another highly advantageous embodiment of the light guide element according to the present invention, it is possible for the main body with the air guide ribs on its surface, in particular the surface facing the interior of the vehicle, to be vapor-deposited with a light-transmitting metal layer. Such a metal layer can be, for example, a thin aluminum layer vapor-deposited on the main body and the air guide ribs. This creates the visual impression of a chrome-plated component, resembling a chrome-plated air guide element or air guide ring, when the lighting device is not switched on. When the lighting device is activated, the light is visible through the areas of the main body and / or the air guide ribs printed with a translucent material. This allows for the creation of not only very attractive daytime designs when the lighting device is not activated, but also very attractive nighttime designs when the lighting device is activated.

[0015] A further highly preferred development of the air guide element according to the invention can provide, as already mentioned above, that it is configured as an air guide ring.

[0016] In this case, a preferred development of the air guide element or air guide ring provides for the lighting device to be configured as an LED ring. Such an embodiment, preferably an annular embodiment of the air guide element as an air guide ring, particularly via LEDs in the form of an LED ring, allows for very simple and efficient lighting. The lighting device itself is then part of the air guide element and moves accordingly with it, so that no movable transmission of light from one light guide to another is necessary, and the lighting device can be fixedly connected to the body for inputting light in the manner already described above. Since the lighting device moves with the air guide element, only a flexible power supply to the lighting device is required.

[0017] Lighting via light-emitting diodes is very energy-efficient, can be implemented very compactly in terms of design space, and has the additional advantage that various light colors can be implemented relatively easily. For example, it is possible to implement various light colors via the lighting device. This allows the design of the air guide element, and in particular the color of its illumination, to be integrated into the color concept of the interior lighting atmosphere of the vehicle. Additionally or alternatively, functional indications are possible, such as a red hue when hot air flows out of the ventilation nozzle and a blue hue when cold air flows out of the ventilation nozzle.

[0018] Alternatively, a single luminous color may be embodied, supplemented by, for example, coloring of the translucent material, to emit the desired luminous color as a static lighting color into the interior space.

[0019] An illumination nozzle for a motor vehicle having such a light guide element can be designed as a light guide ring and can shield the ventilation nozzle in the direction of the vehicle interior, i.e. the air guide element or the air guide ring forms the shield for the ventilation nozzle on the side facing the vehicle interior, so that the inventive structure of the air guide element can make full use of a design that can be adapted very flexibly over a wide range.

[0020] The air guiding element itself can then be printed very inexpensively as an integral component. Multi-component printing of various transparent, translucent, opaque, and / or colored materials allows for highly differentiated and flexible designs. In particular, the air guiding rib can then comprise colored, translucent, illuminated areas and colored, opaque areas, allowing for flexible adaptation of the design through the air guiding rib and / or through the surfaces located between them, both in the illuminated and non-illuminated state.

[0021] Further advantageous embodiments of the air guide element and the ventilation nozzle according to the invention are evident from the exemplary embodiments shown in detail below with the aid of the figures. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0022] [Figure 1] 1 shows a plan view of a possible embodiment of an air guiding member in the form of an air guiding ring; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. [Figure 3] 2 is an exemplary ventilation nozzle having the air guide member of FIG. 1; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] The drawing in Fig. 1 shows a plan view of an air guiding element 1 in the form of an air guiding ring 1. It essentially consists of a body, which can be seen in cross section in Fig. 2, with a number of air guiding ribs 3 distributed over the circumference and a lighting device 4, which is configured in particular as an LED ring. The body 2 together with the air guiding ribs 3 are produced as a one-piece component by multi-component 3D printing from different materials.

[0024] The body 2 itself comprises a core 5 made of a transparent material, which encloses a cavity 6 or hollow space 6 between two legs 7, 8. These legs 7, 8 are joined to one another in the region of a tip, designated 9. In the structure according to the invention, this tip is designed so that both legs 7, 8 meet integrally at the core 5. The tip does not necessarily have to be sharp, but can comprise an annular region 10, as can be seen in the cross-section of FIG. 2, in the plan view of FIG. 1, which can be called the outer ring segment of the air guide ring 1. Air guide ribs, designated 3 here, extend between this outer ring segment 10 and an inner ring segment 11, which, likewise in the plan view of FIG. 1, each have an intermediate space designated 12.

[0025] Only some of the air guide ribs 3 and the intermediate spaces 12 between them are numbered in the drawing in Fig. 1. However, the structure formed by alternating air guide ribs 3 and intermediate spaces 12 actually continues around the entire circumference of the air guide element 1, as shown in Fig. 1. The cavities 6 cooperate with the lighting devices 4 to ensure that light is input into both legs 7, 8 of the core 5 and / or into the cavities 6. This results in an ideal light distribution, since the arrangement of the cavities 6 within the core 5 significantly reduces light absorption within the core 5 and thus improves illumination.

[0026] The aforementioned multi-component 3D printing, applied for the integral production of the body 2 together with the air guide ribs 3, utilizes different materials or components. This material is transparent in the region of the core 5, which distributes the light of the lighting device 4 evenly over the entire circumference and over the entire surface of the body 2. Otherwise, the body would be completely illuminated, since the light would be emitted evenly over all surfaces. To prevent this, a layer of opaque material is partially printed on the core 5. In the drawing of FIG. 2, this opaque material is designated by the reference numeral 13. This material surrounds most of the core 5 and is illustrated in FIG. 2 by cross-hatching. This material may be, for example, a black-colored opaque plastic, which is printed on the transparent material of the core 5. The air guide ribs 3 can be entirely or at least partially embodied from this same opaque material. In the illustrated embodiment, the air guide ribs are entirely made of this opaque material.

[0027] A transparent or translucent material can be used in the area of the intermediate spaces 12 visible in FIG. 1 between the individual air guide ribs 3 and between both ring segments 10, 11, which are all printed with opaque material on the core 5. In particular, a white-colored translucent material can be printed on the core 5 in the area of the intermediate spaces 12. In this case, the design of the air guide element 1 consists of alternating black and white images in the area of the intermediate spaces 12 and the air guide ribs 3, surrounded by the two black ring segments 10, 11. When illuminated, these intermediate spaces 12 can be illuminated via the lighting device 4. Depending on the input light color of the lighting device 4, the desired design is achieved. In the daytime design, i.e. when the light is switched off, the colors of the opaque and transparent materials are active, in contrast to the nighttime design.

[0028] In addition to the above-mentioned coloring, it is also possible to provide the entire surface of the body 2 together with the air guide ribs 3 with a light-transmitting metal layer. Such a metal layer can be, for example, a vapor-deposited aluminum layer. The metal layer then serves to create a chrome-plated appearance for the air guide ring 1 when the lighting is switched off, i.e., in the daytime design. By contrast, when the lighting is switched on, the intermediate space 12 shines brightly through the metal coating, and in the area of the air guide ribs 3 and ring segments 10, 11, the black material located behind the metal layer is essentially active. In this way, a chrome-plated daytime design can be easily combined with an illuminated nighttime design.

[0029] The overall structure, whose shape is only indicated here in a schematic manner, can be embodied in various ways: for example, the central axis of the cavity 6, which runs from bottom to top, can be inclined at a larger angle to the horizontal of the drawing in Figure 2 than is shown here; any curved line can also be used instead of a straight line, i.e., the core 5 can be embodied as a curved line, for example.

[0030] In the drawing of FIG. 3, the air guide ring 1 is again shown in a schematic cross-section similar to FIG. 2, but across its entire diameter. Not all of the individual air guide ribs 3 are explicitly shown here; only the air guide ribs 3 and the intermediate spaces 12 arranged between them are indicated. The air guide ring 1 is mounted on a ventilation nozzle 14, which, in a manner known per se, consists of a housing or pipe 15 in which a movably arranged spherical element 16 is arranged, the position of which can be adjusted to direct the air flow emitted through the ventilation nozzle 14 in the desired direction. Furthermore, a device for controlling the throughflow, indicated here diagrammatically in the form of a throttle flap 17, may be provided. The air guide ring 1 together with its lighting device 4 is mounted on this movable element 16. Thus, by adjusting the movable element 16, the air guide ring 1 and its air guide ribs 3 can generate the desired air flow direction and guide it well through the air guide ribs 3, so that the air flows through the vehicle interior in the desired way, for example, to heat or cool people as desired. The air guide ring 1 then forms a preferably annular shield of the ventilation nozzle 14 for the interior space of the vehicle, which is accordingly located towards the top of the drawing in Figure 3. Naturally, other shapes are also conceivable instead of the ring, such as oval, rectangular, square, octagonal, hexagonal or even irregular shapes which, for example, can only enclose part of the circumference of the pipe 15 or element 16.

Claims

1. An air guide element (1) for a ventilation nozzle (14) of a motor vehicle, said air guide element (1) having a body (2) at least partially surrounding the cross section of said ventilation nozzle (14), on which air guide ribs (3) are arranged, and which has a lighting device (4), The air guide member (1), characterized in that the main body (2) and the air guide ribs (3) are integrally produced by multi-component 3D printing, wherein the main body (2) has a transparent core (5), and each part of the surface of the main body (2) and the air guide ribs (3) are printed on the core (5) at least partly with a translucent material and at least partly with an opaque material (13).

2. 2. Air guide element (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the opaque material (13) and / or the translucent material printed on the transparent core (5) is colored.

3. 3. The air guide element (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the core (5) is composed of two legs (7, 8) which meet at an acute angle in cross section, a cavity (6) being formed between these legs, and the lighting device (4) inputs light into the legs (7, 8) and / or the cavity (6) from the side facing away from the acute angle.

4. 3. Air guide element (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the air guide ribs (3) are printed with the opaque material (13).

5. 3. An air guide element (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the surfaces (12) of the body (2) located between the air guide ribs (3) are printed with the translucent material.

6. 3. An air guide element (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that all surfaces of the body (2) that are not located between the air guide ribs (3) are printed with the opaque material (13).

7. 3. An air guide element (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the body (2) together with the air guide ribs (3) has a semi-transparent metal layer vapor-deposited on at least a part of its surface.

8. 3. Air guide element (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the body (2) is configured annularly.

9. 3. The air guide element (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the lighting device (4) is configured as an LED arrangement having a shape corresponding to the body (2).

10. 3. A ventilation nozzle (14) for a motor vehicle, comprising an air guide element (1) according to claim 1 or 2, formed as an air guide ring (1), the ventilation nozzle (14) being arranged to shield the ventilation nozzle (14) in the direction of the vehicle interior space.

Images