Granted Patent B2

US 12,263,717 · App. 17/369,378 · Granted Apr 1, 2025

Inventor: Herr Dirk Hornung (Münster, DE)

Assignee: Dometic Sweden AB

B60H1/00678B60H1/00857B60H1/00871B60H1/00364

Abstract

Claims (42)

1. An air outlet, in particular for heaters or air conditioning units for recreational vehicles, comprising:

a main housing, wherein the main housing forms an air flow channel, said main housing defining an opening;

a flap suitable to seal the air flow channel in the main housing, wherein said flap is seated within the opening defined by said main housing in a closed state; and

a coupling mechanism coupling the flap to the main housing in a movable manner such that the flap can be moved with respect to the main housing between said closed state, in which the flap seals the air flow channel, and an opened state, in which the flap does not seal the air flow channel and said flap is substantially within said air flow channel, said coupling mechanism being located within said air flow channel;

wherein the coupling mechanism is configured such that the flap conducts a rotating and sliding movement within the main housing when being moved between the closed state and the opened state.

2. The air outlet of claim 1 , wherein the coupling mechanism comprises at least one sliding pin and at least one corresponding sliding groove, and

wherein the at least one sliding pin is provided to the flap and the at least one corresponding sliding groove is provided on an inner surface of the main housing in such a manner that the at least one sliding pin and the at least one corresponding sliding groove are in engagement with each other and that the at least one sliding pin slides along the at least one corresponding sliding groove during the movement of the flap between the closed state and the opened state within the main housing.

3. The air outlet of claim 2 , wherein the at least one corresponding sliding groove extends in parallel with a longitudinal axis (LA) of the air flow channel within the main housing, and

wherein the at least one sliding pin extends radially with respect to the longitudinal axis (LA) of the air flow channel within the main housing.

4. The air outlet of claim 2 , wherein the at least one sliding pin is provided with a rotation restriction arrangement, in the form of a protrusion and/or one or more flattened surfaces, and

wherein the rotation restriction arrangement is configured to restrict a rotation of the at least one sliding pin within the at least one corresponding sliding groove.

5. The air outlet of claim 2 , wherein the coupling mechanism comprises at least one rotation lever,

wherein the at least one rotation lever has two lateral end sections, and

wherein a first one of the end sections is coupled rotatably to the flap and a second one of the end sections is coupled rotatably to the main housing, such that the flap is rotated during the sliding movement along a longitudinal axis (LA) of the air flow channel with respect to the main housing.

6. The air outlet of claim 5 , wherein a first rotation axis of the at least one rotation lever at the first end section thereof is in parallel with a second rotation axis of the at least one rotation lever at the second end section thereof, and

wherein the at least one sliding pin extends in parallel with the first and second rotation axes.

7. The air outlet of claim 5 , wherein the coupling mechanism comprises at least one hinge, in the form of pin hinges, coupling the at least one rotation lever to the main housing and/or to the flap.

8. The air outlet of claim 5 , wherein the main housing and/or the flap is/are provided with an integrally formed, bearing arrangement,

wherein the at least one rotation lever is coupled to the bearing arrangement,

wherein the bearing arrangement comprises two coupling arms, and

wherein the respective end section of the at least one rotation lever is coupled rotatably to the two coupling arms.

9. The air outlet of claim 1 , wherein the air outlet further comprises a locking arrangement configured to lock the flap in said closed state and/or in said opened state, and

wherein the locking arrangement comprises at least one biasing configuration acting on the flap in such a manner that a distinct non-negligible force has to be applied onto the flap to move the flap from said closed state and/or said opened state to the other state thereof and/or in such a manner that, when the flap is close to any one of said closed state and said opened state, the flap is biased into this closest state.

10. The air outlet of claim 9 , wherein the locking arrangement comprises at least one biasing bar made of elastic material and coupled to the main housing as well as at least one corresponding locking protrusion provided on the flap, and

wherein the at least one corresponding locking protrusion is configured to interact with the corresponding at least one biasing bar to realize the functionality of the locking arrangement.

11. The air outlet of claim 10 , wherein the at least one corresponding locking protrusion is provided with a first engaging surface and a second engaging surface, and

wherein in the closed state of the flap, the at least one biasing bar rests at least partly on the first engaging surface of the at least one corresponding locking protrusion, and in the opened state of the flap, the at least one biasing bar rests at least partly, and preferably flat, on the second engaging surface of the at least one corresponding locking protrusion,

such that in each of said two states of the flap, the biasing force generated by the at least one biasing bar onto the at least one corresponding locking protrusion is minimal, but in particular never zero.

12. The air outlet of claim 11 , wherein the at least one corresponding locking protrusion is provided with a third engaging surface,

wherein the third engaging surface is provided between the two other engaging surfaces, continuously formed to them and having a curved shape, such for the movement of the at least one corresponding locking protrusion with respect to the at least one biasing bar between the opened and closed states of the flap, the at least one biasing bar is in contact with the third engaging surface, and

wherein the third engaging surface is formed such that the biasing force generated by the respective biasing bar onto the at least one corresponding locking protrusion is greater when the biasing bar contacts the third engaging surface, than for the two end states of the flap, in which the biasing bar rests on one of the first engaging surface and the second engaging surface.

13. The air outlet of claim 1 , wherein the air outlet further comprises an attachment housing,

wherein the attachment housing is configured to be attached to a respective attachment surface or section of a heater and/or of an air conditioning unit, in particular of a heater or air conditioning unit of a recreational vehicle, and

wherein the attachment housing and the main housing are coupled releasably to each other via an engagement arrangement.

14. The air outlet of claim 13 , wherein the engagement arrangement comprises threaded elements on the attachment housing and on the main housing,

wherein the combination of the threaded elements is configured such that the main housing is coupled to the attachment housing or uncoupled from the attachment housing.

15. A method for attaching an air outlet to a desired attachment surface or section, comprising the steps of:

attaching an attachment housing of the air outlet to a respective attachment surface with a corresponding attachment structure, and

coupling a main housing of the air outlet to the attachment housing of the air outlet with threads corresponding to each of the main housing and the attachment housing,

wherein said main housing comprises a flap that is substantially within an air flow channel when in an open position, and a coupling mechanism that is located within said air flow channel of said main housing, and wherein said flap is flush with an opening in a closed position; and

wherein the coupling mechanism is configured such that the flap conducts a rotating and sliding movement within the main housing when being moved between the closed position and the open position.

16. The method according to claim 15 , wherein an applied pushing force must exceed a predetermined non-negligible threshold value to initiate a relative movement of the flap with respect to the main housing from said closed position and/or from said opened position.

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (305)