Air-conditioning register

Abstract

An air-conditioning register includes a retainer, fins, a coupling plate, and a drive mechanism. The fins are tiltably supported by the retainer with fin pivots. Each fin has a coupling pin at a position displaced from the fin pivot. The coupling plate couples the fins together at the coupling pins. The drive mechanism changes the position of the coupling plate in the flowing direction. The coupling pins are engaged with cam grooves provided in the coupling plate. Each cam groove includes a parallel blow zone and at least one non-parallel blow zone. The drive mechanism includes an allowing portion. When operation is executed to tilt the fins about the fin pivots, the allowing portion allows the coupling plate to move in an arrangement direction of the fins, while maintaining the coupling pins in the current zones in the cam grooves.

1 . An air-conditioning register comprising:
 a retainer in which an airflow passage is provided, wherein the airflow passage has an outlet at a downstream end in a flowing direction of air-conditioning air;   a plurality of fins that is arranged in the airflow passage and tiltably supported by the retainer with fin pivots, wherein each fin has a coupling pin at a position displaced from the fin pivot;   a coupling plate, which couples the fins together at the coupling pins; and   a drive mechanism, which changes a position of the coupling plate in the flowing direction, wherein   the coupling pins, which are respectively associated with the fins, are engaged with cam grooves provided in the coupling plate, so that all the fins are coupled to the coupling plate,   each cam groove includes
 a parallel blow zone, in which adjacent fins are arranged to be parallel with each other, and 
 at least one non-parallel blow zone, in which adjacent fins are in at least one of a state in which a space in between is narrower at an upstream end than at a downstream end and a state in which the space is wider at the upstream end than at the downstream end, and 
   the drive mechanism includes an allowing portion, wherein, when operation is executed to tilt the fins about the fin pivots, the allowing portion allows the coupling plate to move in an arrangement direction of the fins, while maintaining the coupling pins in the current zones in the cam grooves.   
     
     
         2 . The air-conditioning register according to  claim 1 , wherein
 an odd number of the cam grooves are arranged,   a center cam groove in the arrangement direction extends linearly in the flowing direction, and   two cam grooves that are adjacent to and on opposite sides of the center cam groove in the arrangement direction are symmetrical with respect to the center cam groove.   
     
     
         3 . The air-conditioning register according to  claim 2 , wherein
 the non-parallel blow zone of each cam groove is one of two non-parallel blow zones, which are
 a diffusion blow zone, in which adjacent fins are arranged such that the space in between is narrower at the upstream end than at the downstream end, and 
 a concentration blow zone, in which adjacent fins are arranged such that the space in between is wider at the upstream end than at the downstream end, 
   the center cam groove in the arrangement direction and the cam grooves adjacent to and on the opposite sides of the center groove have
 the parallel blow zone at a middle section in the flowing direction, 
 the diffusion blow zone on an upstream side of the parallel blow zone, and 
 the concentration blow zone on a downstream side of the parallel blow zone. 
   
     
     
         4 . The air-conditioning register according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the drive mechanism includes a guide plate, which is laid on the coupling plate and is moved in the flowing direction in response to operation of an operating member, and   the allowing portion includes
 a guide hole, which is provided in one of the coupling plate and the guide plate and extends in the arrangement direction of the fins, and 
 a guide projection, which is provided in the other one of the coupling plate and the guide plate and is engaged with the guide hole. 
   
     
     
         5 . The air-conditioning register according to  claim 4 , wherein
 the operating member is rotationally supported by the retainer,   the guide plate includes a rack gear, which has teeth arranged in the flowing direction, and   a pinion gear is provided between the operating member and the guide plate, wherein the pinion gear is meshed with the rack gear and rotated by rotation of the operating member.   
     
     
         6 . The air-conditioning register according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the retainer includes two opposed walls, which sandwich all the fins from opposite sides in the arrangement direction,   each opposed wall has a projection that projects toward the other opposed wall, and   each projection has an upstream inclined portion and a downstream inclined portion, which is located on a downstream side of the upstream inclined portion, wherein the upstream inclined portions are configured such that a space between the projections decreases toward a downstream end, and the downstream inclined portions are configured such that the space between the projections increases toward the downstream end.