Vehicle Air Vent with Integrated Multi-Surface Flow Regulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air vents for vehicles face challenges in fitting within limited spatial constraints due to the accommodation of various components needed for guiding, shutting, and regulating air flow, making them too large for dashboard, center console, or ceiling installations.
Innovation Solution
An air vent design featuring a housing with pivotable air guiding surfaces and a manipulator that allows independent regulation of air flow, enabling compact placement by using the air guiding element's surfaces as regulating components and reducing the number of required parts, while maintaining efficient air guiding properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate components are used for guiding, shutting, and regulating air flow, then the air vent achieves reliable air flow control, but the air vent becomes too large to fit into limited spatial constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple air flow control functions (guiding, shutting, and regulating) into a single integrated air guiding element. This element includes a first air guiding surface for guiding partial air flow and a second air guiding surface for shutting off air flow, both integrated into one component rather than using separate components for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The air guiding element serves multiple functions simultaneously: it guides air flow through the first air guiding surface, shuts off air flow through the second air guiding surface, and regulates air flow distribution. This multi-functional design reduces the number of components needed while maintaining reliable air flow control.
2Ease of operation
If multiple separate components are used for air flow regulation, then precise air flow regulation is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple air flow regulation functions into a single air guiding element that can be operated by a single manipulator. The element integrates the first air guiding surface for flow regulation and the second air guiding surface for flow shut-off, reducing component count while maintaining operational precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The manipulator operates the air guiding element to achieve multiple air flow control functions (regulation and shut-off) through a single control mechanism, simplifying the user interface and reducing the complexity of the control system while maintaining precise air flow regulation capability.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure concerns an air vent for a vehicle, comprising a housing, configured to guide an air flow from an air inlet opening to an air outlet opening substantially along an axial direction, an air guiding element arranged at least partly within the housing such that a first air guiding surface of the air guiding element and the housing define a first air channel for guiding a first partial air flow, a second air guiding surface of the air guiding element and the housing define a second air channel for guiding a second partial air flow. The air guiding element also comprises a manipulator which is configured to pivot the first air guiding surface and the second air guiding surface independently of each other for regulating a ratio between the first partial air flow and the second partial airflow.