Ventilation – Vehicle – Having inlet airway
Reexamination Certificate
2002-09-09
2003-11-25
Boles, Derek (Department: 3749)
Ventilation
Vehicle
Having inlet airway
Reexamination Certificate
active
06652371
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ventilator for adjusting the direction of wind blown out from an air outlet.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a conventional technology of this kind of a ventilator described in Japanese Patent No. 2840382. The ventilator in the publication includes an air outlet, a support member and a link. The air outlet is provided with a plurality of turnable louvers which are parallel to each other. The support member is movable in a cross direction. The link is supported by the support member, and is movable in a direction perpendicular to the support member. An interlock shaft projected from the louver is engaged with a guide groove provided in the link. If a knob provided on a central louver is operated in a lateral direction, the direction of a parallel wind blown out from the air outlet can be adjusted in the lateral direction. If a selector is operated vertically, the support member is moved in a back-and-forth direction, and a position of the interlock shaft is adjusted by the guide groove formed in the link. With this operation, a spot air flow mode, a diffusing air flow mode and an ordinal parallel air flow mode can be selected.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the ventilator of the above publication, however, it is necessary to adjust the wind direction using separate operating apparatuses in a normal mode in which the parallel wind blown out from the air outlet is adjusted in a lateral direction, and in a specific mode in which the wind is collected or diffused. Therefore, there are problems in that the operation is troublesome, a structure of the operating apparatus is complicated, and the ventilator becomes expensive.
Further, because the air outlet cannot be fully closed due to the louvers, the wind blown out cannot be cut off completely. There is also a problem that since the air outlet is exposed outside even when the ventilator is not being used, it's appearance is not attractive.
The present invention has been accomplished to resolve the conventional problems. It is an object of the present invention to continuously select the normal mode which adjusts wind direction of the parallel wind and the specific mode which collects or diffuse the wind using a single operating apparatus. It is another object of the invention to provide a ventilator capable of closing the air outlet by means of fins, and to enhance the operatability and the appearance.
The first aspect of the present invention provides a ventilator for adjusting a wind direction having a case, a plurality of fins being operated in a normal mode in which the wind direction is adjusted by turning the fins in parallel to each other, and in a specific mode in which the wind direction is collected or diffused, and a mode selector for continuously selecting the normal mode and the specific mode, wherein the mode selector has a normal operating region and a specific operating region, and the normal mode is performed in the normal operating region and the specific mode is performed in the specific operating region.
According to the first aspect, by operating a region from the normal operating region to the specific operating region by a mode selector, selection of the normal mode and the specific mode is easily and continuously performed. The normal mode can adjust the wind direction of the parallel wind blown out from the air outlet. The specific mode can diffuse the wind blown out from the air outlet and blow the wind toward the passenger, or can collect and blow the wind. Operatability is remarkably enhanced as compared with other conventional operating apparatus in which the normal mode and the specific mode are selected separately.
The second aspect of the present invention provides a ventilator according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the specific operating region is provided next to the normal operating region.
According to the second aspect, since it is possible to adjust the wind direction continuously to the specific operating region next to the normal operating region, thus operatability is further enhanced.
The third aspect of the present invention provides a ventilator according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the mode selector comprises an operation dial, an intermediate gear which is rotated by the operation of operation dial, and a slide link which is engaged with a cam groove formed on the intermediate gear and is moved in a cross direction, and the slide link is moved from the normal operating region to the specific operating region via the intermediate gear such that the normal mode and the specific mode are continuously selected.
According to the third aspect, it is possible to continuously select the normal mode and the specific mode with a single operation dial. Therefore, as compared with other conventional operating apparatus, operatability is remarkably enhanced. Since the rotation of the operation dial is transmitted to a slide link by a gear, the action of the mode selector becomes smooth, and it is possible to easily select the normal mode and the specific mode by a smaller operation force. Since the mode selector can be constituted by a small number of parts, the apparatus can be formed compactly, thus the size of the ventilator can be reduced. And workability of assembling can be improved.
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Boles Derek
Kilpatrick & Stockton LLP
Nihon Plast Co. Ltd.
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