Vehicle Air Vent Slat Pack With Lateral Flow Blocking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air vents for vehicles face challenges in optimizing air deflection without causing undesirable expansion of the air stream at the outlet opening and incurring excessive flow resistance, particularly due to the design of housing walls that run parallel to the main flow direction and the inefficiency of pivotable air-guiding slats.
Innovation Solution
The air vent incorporates a pivotable or rotatable slat pack with a lateral blocking element that adjusts between straight-ahead and extreme positions, selectively blocking sub-ducts to optimize airflow and reduce flow resistance, ensuring maximum deflection with minimal expansion and turbulence.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If air-guiding slats are used to deflect air flow from the main flow direction, then air deflection is achieved, but flow resistance increases disproportionately and flow speed is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The air duct is divided into multiple sub-ducts by the air-guiding slats, allowing the air flow to be segmented into multiple streams. This segmentation enables more efficient flow distribution and reduces the overall flow resistance compared to deflecting a single large air stream
Solution Approach 2:
The air-guiding slats are arranged at specific angles and positions to deflect air flow in multiple dimensions rather than a single direction. This multi-dimensional approach optimizes the flow path and reduces turbulence, thereby minimizing energy loss while achieving effective air deflection
2Ease of operation
If air-guiding slats are positioned outside the straight-ahead position, then air deflection is achieved, but the orientation effect of the slats is lost and flow speed is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The air-guiding slats are designed to be dynamically adjustable, allowing them to change their position and angle based on the desired air flow direction. This dynamic adjustment capability enables the slats to maintain optimal orientation for different deflection angles while preserving flow speed and orientation effect
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameters of the air-guiding slats, including their angle of attack, position, and spacing, to optimize performance for different air deflection requirements. By adjusting these parameters, the system achieves effective air deflection while maintaining high flow speed and preserving the orientation effect
3Ease of manufacture
If housing walls are formed substantially parallel to the main flow direction, then manufacturing is simplified, but air deflection efficiency is reduced due to multiple reflections and increased flow resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The housing walls are designed with curved surfaces instead of straight parallel walls. These curved surfaces guide the air flow more efficiently by reducing reflections and turbulence, thereby decreasing flow resistance and energy loss while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through standard molding techniques
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design achieves optimized air deflection with minimal flow resistance and reduced turbulence, maintaining a bundled air stream while preventing undesirable expansion, even in long outlet vents.
Implementation Method 1
the air flow is deflected from the main flow direction by one or more air-guiding elements, for example pivotable air-guiding slats
Data Source
AI summary
An air vent (1) for a vehicle, including a housing (2) whose housing wall delimits an air duct (3), at least one air-guiding slat (5) in the air duct (3) which is pivotable or rotatable relative to the housing wall about an axis of rotation (6), or a slat pack (4) in the air duct (3) having a multiplicity of air-guiding slats (5), each of them being pivotable or rotatable relative to the housing wall about one axis of rotation (6), such that the air duct (3) is subdivided into a multiplicity of sub-ducts (7), and at least one lateral blocking element (8) which is displaceable, pivotable or rotatable relative to the at least one air-guiding slat (5) or the air-guiding slats (5) of the slat pack (4) and to the housing wall for the purpose of blocking a sub-duct (7) formed between the at least one air-guiding slat (5) or an outer air-guiding slat (5) of the slat pack (4) and the housing wall.