Ventilation – Vehicle
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-26
2002-10-29
Joyce, Harold (Department: 3749)
Ventilation
Vehicle
C251S129110, C454S156000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06471580
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an actuator for air duct damper in a car, and more particular to an actuator for air duct damper in a car with a new structure which allows a precise control on the flow of the air supplied in the indoor space of a car and which is improved in durability.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Generally in a car, air ducts
52
connected to a number of ejecting openings
51
in communication with the interior of a car are provided to supply into the indoor space of a car either the air heated or cooled by a heater
57
or an air conditioner evaporator
55
or the fresh outside air, as shown in FIG.
1
. Further, the air ducts
52
are provided with a number of dampers
53
to control the flow of the air supplied to the respective ejecting openings
51
, wherein the dampers
53
are adjusted in their degree of opening by respective actuators feed-back controlled.
A conventional actuator for adjusting the opening of an air duct damper comprises, as shown in
FIG. 2
, a driving motor
10
brought into rotation by a control section, a power transmitting mechanism
20
provided in a case
65
and connected to the driving motor
10
for transmitting a torque of the motor
10
to a damper
53
, a connection terminal
61
provided at the power transmitting mechanism
20
and brought into rotation together with the power transmitting mechanism
20
, a printed circuit board
60
attached on the case
65
and on which the connection terminal
61
is rotatable contacted. Further, as shown in Figure
3
, a printed variable resistance band
63
is provided at the bottom of the printed circuit board
60
and connected to different circuit pattern in accordance with the change of the contact position of the connection terminal
61
.
Therefore, when a passenger causes the transmission of a signal to the control section by operating an inputting section
63
installed on an instrument panel, the above-described driving motor
10
is brought into rotation in accordance with the signal of the control section, opening the damper
53
connected to the driving motor
10
through the power transmitting mechanism at a predetermined rotation angle. And, the connection terminal
61
is disposed on one side of the power transmitting mechanism
20
so as to be rotated together with the power transmitting mechanism
20
, and the connection terminal
61
is rotated in contact with the variable resistance band
63
, so that the feed back signal about the rotation angle of the damper
53
can be transmitted to the control section.
However, there is a problem with such an actuator in that the opening of a damper
53
is difficult to exactly control, when the resistance value becomes erroneous due to the deposition of a foreign material on the variable resistance band
63
or the connection terminal
61
, the change in the temperature or the like, because the rotation angle indicating the duct opening is sensed as the variation in the resistance depending on the contacting location between the connection terminal
61
and the variable resistance band
63
. There is another problem of the decreased durability of the commodities, because easy wear takes place with the repeated operation as the result of the tight contact operation between the connection terminal
61
and the variable resistance band
63
.
Moreover, there is still other disadvantage of the need for a separate interface circuitry, because the analog resistance signal representing the opening of a damper, as sensed, needs to be converted to a corresponding digital signal in order to be used for the feed back control of the driving motor.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is intended to resolve the problem as described above and so the object of the invention is to provide an actuator for air duct damper in a car with a new structure, which allows a precise control on the flow of the air supplied in the indoor space of a car and which is improved in durability.
The above object is achieved according to the first feature of the invention by an actuator for car air duct damper including a driving motor
10
and a power transmitting mechanism
20
for transmitting the torque of the driving motor
10
, said power transmitting mechanism
20
being provided at its final stage with a damper
53
for opening and closing air duct
52
, wherein said actuator further comprises a rotary wheel
30
provided on and coaxial to the rotation shaft
54
of the damper
53
, said rotary wheel being formed with a plurality of holes
33
along its circumference at a predetermined interval, optical sensors
40
disposed at the both side of the rotary wheel
30
closely so as to correspond to the holes
33
, said optical sensors detecting the passage of the light through the holes
23
, and a control section connected respectively to the optical sensors
40
and input button
63
in the indoor space of a car for controlling the driving motor
10
in accordance with respective input signals.
The above object is also achieved according to the second feature of the invention by an actuator for car air duct damper, wherein said power transmitting wheel
30
comprises either the final gear
25
of the power transmitting mechanism
20
directly formed with a plurality of holes
33
or a wheel formed with a plurality of holes
33
, said wheel being provided separately from the final gear
25
.
The above object is also achieved according to the third feature of the invention by an actuator for car air duct damper, wherein two or more concentric rows of holes
33
a,
33
b
are formed in the circumferential area of said rotary wheel
30
in such a manner that the holes in an row are offset with regard to those in the neighboring row by a predetermined circumferential angle, and separate optical sensors
40
a,
40
b
are disposed in locations corresponding to respective rows of holes
3
a
,
33
b,
so that the detection of rotating angle of the rotary wheel
30
can be made the more precisely with the increase in the rows of holes
33
a
,
33
b.
The above object is also achieved according to the forth feature of the invention by an actuator for car air duct damper, wherein a plurality of holes
33
are disposed on the whole 360° periphery of the rotary wheel
30
by the predetermined interval, therefore the rotation angle can be sensed by said rotary wheel
30
and optical sensor
40
although said damper
53
is rotated as much as 360° or more.
REFERENCES:
patent: RE29495 (1977-12-01), Georgi
patent: 4406396 (1983-09-01), Habegger
patent: 5351405 (1994-10-01), Beebe
patent: 5623715 (1997-04-01), Clark
Bacon & Thomas PLLC
Joyce Harold
Pro Quip International Korea Co., Ltd.
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