Vehicle Air Conditioning Register Asymmetric Fin Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional air conditioning registers in vehicles face issues with noise generation and pressure loss due to their design, which leads to a confined feeling in the passenger compartment and discomfort for the driver, especially when arranged in a thin structure to avoid obstructing the display screen.
Innovation Solution
The air conditioning register features a tubular retainer with a ventilation passage and rectangular opening, including plate-like fins that are tiltable and supported by shafts, with extension portions that close spaces at maximum inclination to prevent air from entering and reduce noise, and a damper for airflow control, allowing for efficient airflow direction adjustment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the air conditioning register is arranged immediately above the display portion, then the air does not directly contact the driver's arm and air circulation is improved, but the instrument panel height increases causing a confined feeling
Solution Approach 1:
The air conditioning register is positioned in the width direction (left-right) rather than extending in the height direction, changing the dimensional orientation of the airflow outlet. This allows the register to be placed above the display portion without increasing the vertical height of the instrument panel, thus avoiding the confined feeling while preventing air from directly contacting the driver's arm.
Solution Approach 2:
The register body is designed with a wide rectangular shape in the width direction and a small dimension in the height direction, creating local quality differences. The wide shape allows sufficient airflow distribution across the width, while the small height dimension ensures the instrument panel does not appear tall, resolving the contradiction between effective air distribution and visual spaciousness.
2Length of stationary object
If the register is designed with a thin structure to suppress height, then the confined feeling is reduced, but the airflow passage becomes narrow causing noise and pressure loss
Solution Approach 1:
The register employs an asymmetric rectangular shape where the width is significantly larger than the height. This asymmetric design allows the height to be kept small (thin structure) to avoid the confined feeling, while the width is enlarged to provide sufficient cross-sectional area for airflow passage, thereby preventing noise and pressure loss that would occur in a narrow passage.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of increasing the height dimension to widen the airflow passage, the design compensates by enlarging the width dimension. This dimensional substitution allows the register to maintain a thin profile in the vertical direction while providing adequate airflow capacity through the horizontal dimension, thus resolving the contradiction between thin structure and sufficient airflow passage.
3Illumination intensity
If the display portion is enlarged and arranged in the upper portion, then visibility is improved, but the space for arranging the air conditioning register is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The air conditioning register is oriented horizontally in the width direction rather than vertically in the height direction. This dimensional reorientation allows the register to be positioned above the enlarged display portion without requiring additional vertical space, thus accommodating both the large display for improved visibility and the air conditioning register within the available area.
Solution Approach 2:
The register is designed with a wide rectangular shape that utilizes the horizontal space above the display portion. By concentrating the register's dimensions in the width direction (where space is available) rather than the height direction (where space is constrained), the design accommodates both the enlarged display and the functional register within the limited area.
Data Source
AI summary
A downstream side fin group is formed by a plurality of fins. Among these fins, end fins positioned at both ends in an arranging direction are arranged near second wall portions. Each end fin has an extension portion which is bent at upstream end thereof and extends toward the corresponding second wall portion. A space is provided near each second wall portion in the ventilation passage. Each space is closed by the corresponding extension portion at a time when the corresponding end fin is arranged at a maximum inclined position at which the end fin is most away from the second wall portion, and the extension portion enters the space at a time when the end fin is arranged at a different position from the maximum inclined position.