The present invention relates to an air vent device for a vehicle, comprising an air duct extending along a main axis and an air outlet device, in fluidic communication with the air duct, the air outlet device comprising:

- a housing extending along the main axis and defining an outlet through which air circulating in the air duct exits the air vent device,

- at least one deflector element, extending in the housing and movable relative to said housing, arranged to control the direction of the air flow passing through the outlet depending on the position of the deflector element in the housing,

- an actuator fixedly attached to the deflector element and arranged to move the deflector element relative to the outlet.

The invention also relates to an interior trim part comprising such an air vent device.

The ventilation system for the compartment of a motor vehicle generally emerges in at least one opening provided in the dashboard of the vehicle. An air outlet device closes this opening and makes it possible to control the direction of the flow of air leaving the ventilation system via an air duct placing the air outlet device in fluidic communication with the ventilation system.

One efficient way to accurately control the air flow is to use a deflector grill having a ball-joint connection with the housing forming the outlet. Such a connection makes it possible to orient a deflector grill in any desired direction by rotating the deflector grill in the housing.

However, the ball-joint connection is generally of complicate structure involving an important number of parts and/or can be subjected to malfunctioning. For example, the ball joint connection is formed by a rounded outer surface of the deflector grill in frictional ■ sliding connection with a rounded inner surface of the housing allowing the deflector grill to slide against the housing. Such a ball-joint connection can be subjected to malfunctioning for example if an object or dust gets trapped between the outer surface of the deflector grill and the inner surface of the housing. Furthermore, the frictional connection between the deflector grill and the housing is subjected to an important wear and gets less efficient over time, which can lead to a deflector grill which is not properly maintained in the desired orientation.

Moreover, such an air vent device is difficult to implement with a device for closing the fluidic communication between the outlet and the air duct in order to prevent air from being ventilated in the compartment of the vehicle. Consequently, for preventing air from flowing out of the air vent device, the ventilation system has to be completely stopped, which is not satisfactory when several air vent devices are provided and when one wants to shut down only one of these air vent devices.

One of the aims of the invention is to provide a robust air vent device providing an efficient way to control the direction of the air flow exiting the air vent device in a simple manner and easy to implement with means for closing the fluidic communication between the air duct and the air outlet device.

To this end, the invention relates to an air vent device of the afore-mentioned type, wherein said actuator is mounted on a guiding rail in a slidable manner, said guiding rail extending in the housing according to a first direction and being attached to the housing so as to be movable in rotation around a rotation axis extending in the first direction relative to the housing, such that when the actuator is moved along the guiding rail, the actuator moves the deflector element according to the first direction and when the actuator is moved in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the actuator moves the deflector element according to the second direction by rotating the guiding rail around the rotation axis, the housing being movable in rotation relative to the air duct around the main axis, a rotation of the actuator around the main axis causing the rotation of the housing around said main axis.

The mounting of the actuator on the guiding rail and the mounting of the guiding rail on the housing allows directing the air flow exiting the air vent device in the same manner as with a ball-joint connection as described previously. However, the air vent device is less susceptible of malfunctioning and less subjected to wear, which improves the lifetime of the air-vent device. Furthermore, by making the housing movable in rotation around the main axis relative to the air duct, it is possible to use the actuator in conjunction with the housing to perform another function in addition to the function of controlling the orientation of the deflector element. The other function is for example the control of the amount of air exiting the air vent device and the closing of the fluidic communication between the outlet and the air duct.

According to another feature of the air vent device according to the invention, the housing is connected to the air duct by a flexible duct, such that a rotation of the housing around the main axis causes the flexible duct to be twisted in a plane perpendicular to the main axis, said flexible duct being movable between an opened position, wherein the air duct is in fluidic communication with the housing, and a closed position, wherein the flexible duct is twisted so as to prevent the fluidic communication between the housing and the air duct.

The air vent device according to the invention therefore comprises an individual closing system allowing controlling the amount of air leaving the air vent device, without having to act on the whole ventilation system of the vehicle. Furthermore, this closing system is controlled with the same actuator that controls the orientation of the air flow, which makes the air vent device simpler and less space consuming.

According to other features of the air vent device according to the invention:

- the actuator is movable in rotation around the main axis, the rotation of the actuator causing a rotation of the guiding rail around the main axis, which causes the rotation of the housing around the main axis ;

- the flexible duct is a tubular member having an area of reduced cross-section, wherein the diameter of the flexible duct is inferior to the diameter of the flexible duct outside said area of reduced cross-section, the flexible duct being arranged to be twisted in said area of reduced cross-section between the opened position and the closed position;

- the first direction and the second direction are substantially perpendicular to the main direction ;

- the actuator extends downstream of the deflector element relative to the air flow direction and the guiding rail extends upstream of the deflector element ;

- the guiding rail has a curved shape between its ends attached to the housing such that the part of the guiding rail extending between the ends extends upstream of said ends relative to the air flow direction so that moving the actuator in the first direction causes a rotation of the deflector element around an axis extending in the second direction ;

- the ends of the guiding rail are provided with resilient elements, said resilient elements being attached to the housing and forming the connection between the guiding rail and the housing ;

- at least one abutment element is provided on the guiding rail, said abutment element being arranged to limit the movement of the actuator on the guiding rail ;

- the deflector element and the actuator are made of a single part connected to the guiding rail by at least a sliding element mounted on said guiding rail in a slidable manner.

The invention also relates to an interior trim part comprising at least one air vent device as described above.

Other aspects and advantages of the invention will appear upon reading the following description, given by way of example and made in reference to the appended drawings, wherein:

- Fig. 1 is a view in axial cross-section of the air-vent device according to the invention in the opened position, - Fig. 2 is a view in axial cross-section of the air-vent device of Fig. 1 in the closed position,

- Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of part of the air outlet device of the air vent device according to the invention, and

- Fig. 4 is a view in perspective of part of the air outlet device of Fig. 3.

In the following description, the terms "upstream" and "downstream" are defined relative to the direction of the flow of air circulating in the air vent device. The term "longitudinal" is defined along a plane in which the upstream-downstream direction extends. The term "transverse" is defined along a plane substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal plane.

In reference to Fig. 1 , an air vent device 1 is described for traditionally extending and opening in the dashboard (not shown) of a vehicle and connected to a ventilation system (not shown) of the vehicle. The air vent device 1 is further adapted to be assembled to any interior trim part of a vehicle, such as a console, pillars, or other trim parts.

The air vent device 1 comprises, in the upstream-downstream direction, an air duct 2, a flexible duct 4 and an air outlet device 6.

The air duct 2 is a rigid tubular member extending along a main axis A extending substantially longitudinally. By rigid, it is meant that the cross section of the air duct 2 is substantially constant along the main axis A. The cross section of the duct is defined as the section of the duct in a transversal plane, i.e. in a plane substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal main axis A. It is understood that the air duct can be flexible to have a shape adapted to the path the air duct 2 has to follow. The air duct 2 can have any appropriate shape to follow the path between the ventilation system and the place from which the air is intended to be ventilated in the compartment of the vehicle, for example in the dashboard of the vehicle. The air duct 2 comprises an upstream end (not shown), connected to an outlet of the ventilation system, and a downstream end 8, connected to the flexible duct 4. The air duct 2 is fixed, i.e. immovable relative to the vehicle, when the air vent device is installed in the vehicle.

The flexible duct 4 is a flexible tubular member extending along the main axis A.

By flexible, it is meant that the flexible duct 4 can be twisted or folded on itself around the main axis A such that the cross section of the flexible duct 4 can be reduced by twisting said duct around the main axis A. Such a twisting is performed by rotating one end of the flexible duct relative to the other end of the flexible duct around the main axis A, which causes a deformation of the flexible duct 4 in a plane perpendicular to the main axis A. To be able to be deformed, the flexible duct 4 is made of a stretchable resilient material, such as latex, rubber, thermoplastic, elastomer (TPE), silicone, polyisoprene, or another stretchable material.

The flexible duct 4 comprises an upstream end 10, connected to the downstream end 8 of the air duct 2 and a downstream end 12, connected to the air outlet device 6. The flexible duct 4 further comprises a central area 14 of reduced cross section, wherein the diameter of the flexible duct 4 is inferior to the diameter of the flexible duct 4 outside the central area 14. More particularly, the diameter of the flexible duct 4 is arranged to progressively decrease from the upstream end 10 to the central area 14 and to progressively increase from the central area 14 to the downstream end 12, the diameter of the flexible duct 4 at the .downstream end 12 being for example substantially equal to the diameter of the flexible duct 4 at the upstream end 10. This particular shape is arranged such that, when the flexible duct 4 is twisted as will be described later, the central area 10 is folded on itself and can prevent air from flowing from the upstream end 10 to the downstream end 12 of the flexible duct 4 as shown in Fig. 2. In other words, the flexible duct 4 is arranged such that is can be deformed between an opened position when the flexible duct 4 is at rest and is not solicited, as shown in Fig. 1 , and a closed position when the flexible duct 4 is twisted, as shown in Fig. 2. In the opened position, the amount of air flowing in the flexible duct 4 is maximal and in the closed position, the air is stopped ^* at the central area 14 and is prevented to reach the downstream end 12 of the flexible duct 4. Between the opened position and the closed position, the amount of air circulating in the flexible duct 4 is reduced such that the amount of air can be controlled by controlling the degree of twisting of the flexible duct 4, i.e. by controlling the angle of rotation around the main axis A of the downstream end 12 relative to the upstream end 10, as will be described subsequently.

According to an embodiment, the area of reduced cross-section is obtained by attaching the downstream end 12 of the flexible duct 4 a connection ring (not shown) attached to the air outlet device 6. The connection ring for example comprises an annular groove receiving the downstream end 12 of the flexible duct 4 in a fluid tight manner. The connection ring is angularly offset relative to the air duct 2, meaning the connection ring has been subjected to a rotation around the main axis relative to the air duct 2, after having received the downstream end 12 of the flexible duct and before being attached to the air outlet device 6. This means that when the connection ring 14 is attached to the air outlet device 6, the downstream end 12 of the flexible duct 4 is angularly offset relative to the upstream end 10 of the flexible duct 4. According to an embodiment, the offset angle between the downstream end 12 and the upstream end 10 is superior or equal to 90°, meaning that the downstream end has been rotated by an angle superior or equal to 90° relative to the upstream end 12 before the connection ring is attached to the air outlet device 6.

Consequently, the flexible duct 4 is in a twisted state and comprises the central area 14 of reduced cross section, wherein the diameter of the flexible duct 4 is inferior to the diameter of the flexible duct 4 outside the central area 14.

According to an embodiment, the rotation angle needed to move from the opened position to the closed position is inferior or equal to 90° thanks to the twisted state of the flexible duct 4 in the opened position.

The outlet device 6 comprises a housing 16, a support 18 and a deflector element

20.

The housing 16 is a rigid tubular member extending along main axis A and comprising an upstream end 22, connected to the downstream end 12 of the flexible duct 4, and a downstream end 24, forming the outlet of the air vent device through which air exits the air vent device and is ventilated in the compartment. According to the embodiment described above, the downstream end 12 of the flexible duct is connected to the upstream end 22 of the housing by rigidly mounting the connection ring on the upstream end of the housing. By rigidly mounted, it is meant that the connection ring is not displaceable relative to the housing 16 once the connection ring has been mounted on the upstream end 22 of the housing 16.

The connections between the downstream end 8 of the air duct 2 and the upstream end 10 of the flexible duct 4 and between the downstream end 12 of the flexible duct 4 and the upstream end of the housing 16 are fluid tight connections ensured by any suitable way. A fluid tight connection is arranged to prevent air circulating in the air vent device 1 to leak out from the air vent device at said connections. For example, seal rings (not shown) can be used to attach one end of the flexible duct the corresponding end of the air duct 2 or of the housing 16. Such a seal ring is placed around the end of the flexible duct 4 and is arranged to press said end against the end of the air duct 2 or of the housing 16, the pressing force ensuring the fluid tightness of the connection.

The support 18 is the part attaching the air vent device 1 to the part of the vehicle comprising an opening through which air is to be ventilated in the compartment of the vehicle, for example the dashboard of the vehicle. In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the support 18 also forms a decorative part surrounding the downstream end 24 of the housing 6 and ensuring a nice appearance to the visible part of the air vent device 1. More particularly, the support 18 can comprise a radial crown 26 ensuring the transition between the outlet of the air vent device 1 and the skin of the dashboard, such that the air vent is well integrated in its environment.

The housing 16 is movable in rotation around the main axis A inside the support 18 which is fixed to the part receiving the outlet of the air vent device 1. Consequently, the ^' housing 16 is able to move in rotation around the main axis A relative to the air duct 2, which is immovable relative to the vehicle as mentioned previously. Hence, by rotating the housing 16 around the main axis A, the flexible duct 4 is deformed between its opened position (Fig. 1) and its closed position (Fig. 2), since the upstream end 10 of the flexible duct 4 is rigidly attached to the downstream end 8 of the air duct 2, which is immovable, and the downstream end 12 of the flexible duct 4 is rigidly attached to the upstream end 22 of the housing 6, which is movable in rotation around the main axis A.

The deflector element 20 extends in the housing 16 in the vicinity of the downstream end 24 of the housing 16. The deflector element 20 is arranged to control the direction of the air flow exiting the air vent device 1 , said direction depending on the position of the deflector element 20 in the housing 16, as will be described subsequently. Consequently, the deflector element 20 comprises at least one air guiding surface 28 extending across the housing 16 in a transversal direction and arranged to guide the air coming from the air duct 2 according to the plane in which the air guiding surface 28 extends. By modifying this plane, it is possible to modify the direction of the air flow. In the embodiment shown in Figs 3 and 4, the deflector element 20 comprises two branches 30 extending in substantially perpendicular directions in an annular part 32 so as to form an deflector grill extending in the housing 16, as shown in Fig. 3. It is understood that other shapes of deflector element 20 can be provided, from a simple vane to a grill comprising more branches.

On the downstream side of the deflector element 20, an actuator is provided for moving the deflector element 20 in the housing 16 and therefore for modifying the orientation of the air guiding surface(s) of the deflector element 20. In the embodiment shown in the figures, the actuator is formed by the deflector grill itself, for example by manipulating the central portion 34 of the deflector grill, where the branches 30 are interconnected. Consequently, according to this embodiment, the deflector element 20 and the actuator are made of a single part. A knob (not shown) extending axially from the deflector element 20 towards the exterior of the air vent device 1 could also be provided for facilitating the grip on the actuator.

The actuator and the deflector element 20 are mounted on a guiding rail 36, more visible in Fig. 4. The guiding rail 36 is formed by a curved band extending along a first transversal direction F (Fig. 2) across the housing 16. Both ends 38 of the guiding rail 36 are attached to the housing 16, at diametrally opposed points of said housing and are movable in rotation relative to said housing around a rotation axis extending along the first transversal direction F. The ends 38 of the guiding rail 36 are for example provided with resilient elements 40, such as rubber pads, attached to the housing and in which the ends 38 of the guiding rail 36 are able to rotate, ensuring a smooth operation of the air vent device as will be described subsequently. The guiding rail 36 extends upstream of the deflector element 20, such that it is not visible from outside the air vent device 1 since it is hidden by the deflector element 20. The guiding rail is curved such that its ends 38 extend more downstream than the part of the guiding rail 36 extending between the ends 38, as shown in Fig. 2 and 4.

The actuator and the deflector element 20 are mounted on the guiding rail 36 is a sliding manner, for example via two sliding elements 42 integral with the deflector element 20 and arranged to slide on the guiding rail 36. According to the embodiment shown in the figures, and more particularly as shown in Fig. 4, each sliding element 42 for example comprises two jaws extending around the guiding rail 36 and allowing a displacement of the sliding element 42 on the guiding rail 36. According to the embodiment shown in the figures, the guiding rail 36 comprises an abutment element 44 extending at the center of the guiding rail 36 and arranged to limit the displacement of the sliding elements 42 on the guiding rail 36 to define the displacement range in the first direction of the deflector element 20.

Consequently, thanks to the sliding connection between the actuator and the guiding rail 36 and to the shape of the guiding rail 36, the deflector element 20 can be moved in rotation around an axis extending along a second transversal direction substantially perpendicular to the first transversal direction by sliding the sliding elements in the first direction on the guiding rail 36. When the guiding rail 36 extends horizontally, the deflector element can therefore move towards the left or towards the right by moving the actuator and the deflector element 20 on the guiding rail. The air flow exiting the air vent device 1 can therefore be oriented towards the left or towards the right, when the guiding rail 36 is in a horizontal direction.

Furthermore, moving the actuator and deflector element 20 in the second direction, substantially perpendicular to the first direction F, causes the guiding rail 36 to move in rotation around the rotation axis extending in the first direction F, relative to the housing 16, which makes the deflector element 20 move in rotation around the axis extending in the first direction. When the guiding rail 36 extends horizontally, the deflector element can therefore move up or down by moving the actuator and the deflector element 20 in the second direction, which makes the guiding rail move in rotation. The air flow exiting the air vent device 1 can therefore be oriented up or down, when the guiding rail 36 is in a horizontal direction.

It should be noted that the deflector element 20 and the actuator remain in the position in which they have been moved thanks to the connection between the sliding elements 42 and the guiding rail 36 and to the resilient elements 40 connecting the ends 38 of the guiding rail 36 to the housing 16.

Consequently, the deflector element 20 described above is able to be oriented in the same manner as with a ball joint connection, with less frictional connections between the various parts of the air vent device 1 , which makes the air vent device 1 more robust.

Furthermore, by moving the actuator and the deflector element 20 in rotation around the main axis A, the connections between the deflector element 20 and the guiding rail 36 and between the guiding rail 36 and the housing 16 makes the housing 16 also rotate around the main axis A, which causes the flexible duct 4 to be twisted around the main axis A as described previously. Consequently, the actuator can also be used to control the amount of air circulating in the air vent device, simply by making it turn around the main axis A. A rotation of 90° or less of the a ctuator and deflector element 20 around the main axis A makes the flexible duct 4 move from its opened position to its closed position, wherein air no longer exits the air vent device 1 , for example thanks to the twisted state of the flexible duct 4 in the opened position. Such a rotation angle inferior or equal to 90° is more comfortable for the user, who only has to perform a small rotation to shut down the air-vent device.

A frictional connection between the housing 16 and the support 18 can be provided so that the housing remains in the position in which it has been turned. Alternatively, a locking device (not shown) can be used to lock the housing 6 in various positions relative to the support 18 corresponding to various amounts of air circulating in the air vent device 1. In this case, when the user wants to modify the amount of air exiting the air vent device 1 , said user unlocks the locking device thereby making it possible to rotate the housing 6 around the main axis A and locks the locking device when the desired position of the housing 16 has been reached.

The air vent device described above is therefore very simple to manipulate both for orienting the flow of air and for controlling the amount of air. Furthermore, the air vent device 1 is less susceptible of malfunctioning since an object or dust are not very likely to be trapped between the guiding rail 36 and the housing 16, or between the deflector element 20 and the guiding rail 36.