Air Outlet Flap Coupling for Flush Opening and Closing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air outlets for recreational vehicles face challenges in providing easy and reliable operation while protecting the flap and coupling mechanism from external impacts, and ensuring a flat and even surface in both closed and open states.
Innovation Solution
The air outlet incorporates a coupling mechanism that allows the flap to perform a combined rotating and sliding movement, ensuring the flap does not protrude from the main housing in the open state and forms a flat surface in the closed state, using sliding pins and grooves with rotation restriction arrangements to stabilize the movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the flap is rotated between two orientations to seal or unseal the air flow channel, then the operation is simple, but the flap protrudes from the main housing in the opened state and the front side does not form a flat surface in the closed state
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from a simple rotational movement (one degree of freedom) to a combined rotational and sliding movement (two degrees of freedom). The flap is coupled to the housing via a coupling mechanism comprising a sliding pin and sliding groove, allowing the flap to both rotate about its hinge axis and slide along the longitudinal axis of the housing. This dimensional change in movement capability enables the flap to maintain a flush front surface while still achieving complete opening and closing functionality.
2Reliability
If the flap and coupling mechanism are protected against external impact, then the structure becomes robust, but the operation may become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling mechanism incorporates dynamic elements including a sliding pin that moves within a sliding groove, and a rotation restriction arrangement that allows the flap to rotate only within a defined angular range. The sliding groove is configured to guide the pin during both rotational and sliding movements, creating a controlled dynamic system that protects against over-rotation and external impacts while maintaining operational simplicity.
3Shape
If the flap slides into the inside of the main housing when opening, then the flap does not protrude in the opened state, but the coupling mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges two distinct movements (rotation and sliding) into a single integrated coupling mechanism. The sliding pin and sliding groove are designed to work together such that the sliding motion automatically accompanies the rotational motion of the flap. This combination of movements is achieved through the geometric configuration of the sliding groove, which is shaped to guide the pin along a path that produces both rotational and sliding components simultaneously, rather than requiring separate mechanisms for each movement.
Data Source
AI summary
An air outlet, in particular for heaters or air conditioning units for recreational vehicles like campers or caravans, having a main housing, a flap suitable to seal the air flow channel in the main housing and a coupling mechanism. The main housing forms an air flow channel and the coupling mechanism couples the flap to the main housing in a movable manner such that the flap can be moved with respect to the main housing between a closed state, in which the flap seals the air flow channel, and an opened state, in which the flap does not seal the air flow channel. The coupling mechanism is configured such that the flap conducts a rotating and sliding movement with respect to the main housing when being moved between the closed state and the opened state.