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EP-4735281-A1 - AIR STEERING ASSEMBLY COMPRISING ELASTOMERIC STEERING VANES

EP4735281A1EP 4735281 A1EP4735281 A1EP 4735281A1EP-4735281-A1

Abstract

Air steering assembly (100) for steering air into a space, including a housing (104), a first linkage component (106, 108) and a plurality of deformable steering vanes (110), wherein the housing (104) is configured to house the plurality of deformable steering vanes (110), the first linkage component (106, 108) is in contact with at least a first subset of the plurality of deformable steering vanes (110), the plurality of deformable steering vanes (110) is made of elastomeric material so that responsive to a movement of the first linkage component (106, 108), the first subset of the plurality of deformable steering vanes (110) deform toward a first direction to steer air into the space.

Inventors

  • BERGIN, Connor
  • RATHOD, Dharmik
  • KAWAR, Brendan
  • MODI, Harsh
  • THEODORE, Shakeel

Assignees

  • Tesla, Inc.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240626

Claims (20)

  1. 1. An air steering assembly for steering air into a space, the air steering assembly comprising: a plurality of steering vanes formed of an elastomeric material; a housing configured to house the plurality of steering vanes; and a first linkage component in contact with at least a first subset of the plurality of steering vanes, wherein, responsive to a movement of the first linkage component, the first subset of the plurality of steering vanes deform toward a first direction.
  2. 2. The air steering assembly of claim 1, wherein air is steered toward the first direction into the space.
  3. 3. The air steering assembly of claim 1, further comprising a first motor to drive the first linkage component in contact with the first subset of the plurality of steering vanes.
  4. 4. The air steering assembly of claim 1, further comprising a second motor and a second linkage component that is in contact with at least a second subset of the plurality of steering vanes.
  5. 5. The air steering assembly of claim 4, wherein the second motor drives the second linkage component in contact with the second subset of the plurality of steering vanes toward a second direction.
  6. 6. The air steering assembly of claim 1, wherein the first direction is one of a left direction, a right direction, a top direction, and a bottom direction in relation to the housing.
  7. 7. The air steering assembly of claim 1, wherein the elastomeric material includes one of Thermoplastic Vulcanizates (TPV), Thermoplastic Elastomers (TPE), ThermoPlastic Copolyester (TPC), Liquid Silicone Rubber (LSR), Thermoplastic Silicone Vulcanizates (TPSiV) and Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM).
  8. 8. An air steering assembly comprising: a plurality of deformable vanes made of an elastomeric material; a housing supporting the plurality of deformable vanes; and a motor to induce a deformation of the plurality of deformable vanes.
  9. 9. The air steering assembly of claim 8, wherein the housing is a more rigid housing relative to the plurality of deformable vanes.
  10. 10. The air steering assembly of claim 8, wherein the motor is operatively connected to at least one linkage component that contacts the plurality of deformable vanes to induce the deformation.
  11. 11. The air steering assembly of claim 8, wherein the deformation is along a horizontal axis relative to the housing.
  12. 12. The air steering assembly of claim 8, wherein the elastomeric material includes one of Thermoplastic Vulcanizates (TPV), Thermoplastic Elastomers (TPE), ThermoPlastic Copolyester (TPC), Liquid Silicone Rubber (LSR), Thermoplastic Silicone Vulcanizates (TPSiV) and Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM).
  13. 13. The air steering assembly of claim 8, wherein the motor is a first motor, and the air steering assembly further comprises a second motor.
  14. 14. The air steering assembly of claim 13, wherein the first motor induces a first deformation of the plurality of deformable vanes along a first axis, and wherein the second motor induces a second deformation of the plurality of deformable vanes along a second axis.
  15. 15. The air steering assembly of claim 13, wherein the plurality of deformable vanes comprises a first subset of deformable vanes and a second subset of deformable vanes, and wherein the first motor induces the deformation of the first subset of deformable vanes and the second motor induces the deformation of the second subset of deformable vanes.
  16. 16. The air steering assembly of claim 8, wherein the plurality of deformable vanes of the elastomeric material are molded into the housing to form a single integral unit.
  17. 17. The air steering assembly of claim 8, wherein each deformable vane among the plurality of deformable vanes comprises a uniform thickness between 1.0 and 10.0 millimeters.
  18. 18. The air steering assembly of claim 8, wherein the housing comprises a first partial housing and a second partial housing, and wherein the plurality of deformable vanes are secured between the first partial housing and the second partial housing.
  19. 19. The air steering assembly of claim 18, wherein the plurality of deformable vanes are molded on the second partial housing.
  20. 20. The air steering assembly of claim 8, further comprising a motion control microcontroller (MCU) to control the motor.

Description

AIR STEERING ASSEMBLY COMPRISING ELASTOMERIC STEERING VANES CLAIM FOR PRIORITY [0001] This international application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/510,833, filed June 28, 2023, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for steering air into a space. More particularly, some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to assemblies and mechanisms that employ deformable materials to steer the air in a desired direction into the space. BACKGROUND [0003] An air vent is usually disposed downstream from an air circulation device in a vehicle. For example, many vehicles include a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system that allows a vehicle occupant to control the temperature or adjust other settings of a vehicle interior. The HVAC system can include a fan or blower to circulate conditioned air into the vehicle interior through one or more vents. To improve a user experience, it may be desirable to steer or direct the air flow as the air passes through the one or more vents. SUMMARY [0004] The systems, methods and devices of this disclosure each have several innovative embodiments, no single one of which is solely responsible for all of the desirable attributes disclosed herein. Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. [0005] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an air steering assembly for steering air into a space, the air steering assembly including: a plurality of steering vanes made of elastomeric material; a housing configured to house the plurality of steering vanes; and a first linkage component in contact with at least a first subset of the plurality of steering vanes, wherein, responsive to a movement of the first linkage component, the first subset of the plurality of steering vanes deform toward a first direction. [0006] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an air steering assembly, wherein air is steered toward the first direction into the space. [0007] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an air steering assembly, further including a first motor, wherein the first motor is configured to drive the first linkage component. [0008] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an air steering assembly, further including a second linkage component that is in contact with at least a second subset of the plurality of steering vanes, wherein the second subset of the plurality of steering vanes deform toward a second direction responsive to a movement of the second linkage component, and wherein the second direction is different from the first direction. [0009] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an air steering assembly, wherein the first motor is configured to drive the second linkage component. [0010] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an air steering assembly, wherein the first direction is one of a left direction, a right direction, a top direction, and a bottom direction in relation to the housing. [0011] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an air steering assembly, wherein the elastomeric material includes one or more of Thermoplastic Vulcanizates (TPV), Thermoplastic Elastomers (TPE), ThermoPlastic Copolyester (TPC), Liquid Silicone Rubber (LSR), Thermoplastic Silicone Vulcanizates (TPSiV) and Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM). [0012] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an air steering assembly including: a plurality of vanes made of an elastomeric material; and a housing supporting the plurality of vanes; wherein the plurality of vanes are configured to elastically deform relative to the housing. [0013] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an air steering assembly, wherein the housing is rigid. [0014] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an air steering assembly, further including a motor configured to elastically deform the plurality of vanes. [0015] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to all embodiments described and discussed above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0016] Throughout the drawings, reference numbers may be re-used to indicate correspondence between referenced elements. The drawings are provided to illustrate examples of the subject matter described herein and not to limit the scope thereof. : [0017] FIG. 1 illustrates an exploded view of an example air steering assembly having elastomeric vanes according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [0018] FIG. 2 depicts a perspective view of an example air steering assembly according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [0019] FIG. 3 illustrates contrasting movement of steering vanes 310A and deformation of ela