JP6825307B2 - Vehicle spats - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to leggings for vehicles.

Conventionally, as the leggings for vehicles, those described in Patent Document 1, for example, are known. These vehicle spats are provided with flat plate-shaped or wedge-shaped spats arranged in front of the front wheels, and the pressure increase in front of the front wheels is suppressed by eliminating the airflow that hits the front wheels when the vehicle is running. However, it reduces the air resistance and lift to the vehicle.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-105124

By the way, in Patent Document 1, when the spats have a flat plate shape, if the dimension in the height direction is increased in order to enhance the aerodynamic performance, elastic deformation due to wind pressure becomes significant and it may be difficult to secure sufficient aerodynamic performance. There is sex. On the other hand, when the spats have a wedge-shaped cross section, elastic deformation due to wind pressure can be suppressed by the rigidity of the three-dimensional structure. However, when an impact is applied due to contact with an obstacle in front, for example, deformation (plastic deformation) there's a possibility that.

An object of the present invention is to provide leggings for a vehicle that can suitably secure aerodynamic performance while suppressing the influence of obstacles in front of the vehicle.

The vehicle spats that solve the above problems are arranged in front of the front wheels of the vehicle, have a bottom wall and a pair of side walls extending from adjacent side edges of the bottom wall, and on at least one of the bottom wall and both side walls. Upper spats with a guide surface that guides the airflow toward the front wheels so as to deviate from the front wheels, flat lower spats that are arranged in front of the front wheels and are provided so as to hang down from the upper spats. The upper spats are provided with an elevating mechanism for raising and lowering the upper spats between a deployment position located in front of the front wheels and a storage position that deviates upward from the front of the front wheels. Is rotatably connected around an axis extending in the width direction of the vehicle at the front end, and is configured to move up and down between the deployed position and the stored position by rotation around the axis. The lower spats are provided with a moving mechanism for advancing and retreating between the protruding position protruding from the upper spats in the deployed position and the retracting position retracting into the upper spats.

According to this configuration, the lower spats hang down from the upper spats, and the dimension in the height direction is reduced by that amount. Therefore, elastic deformation of the lower spats due to wind pressure can be suppressed. On the other hand, the upper spats that guide the airflow toward the front wheels on the guide surface so as to deviate from the front wheels can suppress elastic deformation due to wind pressure due to the rigidity of the three-dimensional structure having the bottom wall and the both side walls. As described above, the aerodynamic performance of the entire device can be suitably secured. Further, since the lower spats have a flat plate shape, when they come into contact with an obstacle in front (for example, a bollard, etc.), they can elastically deform and deal with the impact. On the other hand, since the upper spats are located above the lower spats, the possibility of contacting an obstacle in front can be reduced. As a result, the influence of obstacles in front of the device as a whole can be suppressed.

According to this configuration, the deployed position of the upper spats can be easily changed by changing the operating amount of the elevating mechanism or itself. Therefore, the deployment position can be easily adjusted so that the optimum aerodynamic performance can be obtained for each vehicle type, and the versatility can be improved.

According to this configuration, when the upper spats are lowered to the deployed position by rotation around the axis, if the lower spats are retracted from the protruding position by the moving mechanism, the lower spats Is less likely to interfere with peripheral members. As described above, the possibility of interference with the peripheral members is reduced, so that the lower spats can be projected from the upper spats to the protruding position at a position closer to the front wheels, and the aerodynamic performance can be further improved.

With respect to the vehicle spats, the guide surface is preferably a flat inclined surface that inclines so as to deviate from the front wheels toward the rear of the vehicle.
According to this configuration, since the guide surface is the flat inclined surface, it can be easily molded by using, for example, a plate-shaped material, and the workability can be further improved.

With respect to the vehicle spats, it is preferable that the elevating mechanism and the moving mechanism are interlocked and driven by a single drive source.
According to this configuration, the number of parts can be reduced by interlocking and driving the elevating mechanism and the moving mechanism with the single drive source.

The present invention has an effect of suitably ensuring aerodynamic performance while suppressing the influence of obstacles in front.

The side view which shows the structure about one Embodiment of the vehicle spats. The perspective view which shows the structure of the vehicle spats of the same embodiment. The perspective view which shows the structure of the vehicle spats of the same embodiment. The plan view which shows the structure of the vehicle spats of the same embodiment. (A) to (c) are side views showing the operation of the vehicle spats of the same embodiment. The plan view which shows the structure about the deformed form of spats for a vehicle.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the vehicle spats will be described. In the following, the front-rear direction of the vehicle is referred to as "front-rear direction", and the upper and lower parts in the height direction of the vehicle are referred to as "upper" and "lower", respectively. Further, the inside of the vehicle toward the inside of the vehicle in the width direction is referred to as "inside the vehicle", and the outside of the vehicle toward the outside of the vehicle interior in the width direction is referred to as "outside of the vehicle".

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vehicle spats 10 are installed in front of the front wheels 1 of the vehicle and below the body 2. That is, the vehicle spats 10 include, for example, a mounting member 11 made of a metal plate, and the mounting member 11 is attached to the body 2. The mounting member 11 includes a substantially long rear wall portion 12 extending in the width direction of the vehicle, a support wall portion 13 connected to the vehicle inner end of the rear wall portion 12 and extending forward, and a rear wall portion 12. It integrally has a substantially long support wall portion 14 connected to the outer end of the vehicle and extending forward. The support wall portion 13 has a substantially right-angled trapezoidal first support portion 13a having a longer extension length forward than the support wall portion 14 and a front end side widened downward, and the first support portion 13a. 1 It has a substantially arm-shaped extending portion 13b connected to the lower end of the front end of the supporting portion 13a and further extending forward, and further has a second supporting portion 13c connected to the front end of the extending portion 13b. The second support portion 13c has a substantially U-shape that opens downward and communicates in the front-rear direction.

A drive device 15 as a drive source mainly composed of an electric motor is attached to the inside of the vehicle above the front end portion of the first support portion 13a. The rotating shaft of the electric motor is connected to the connecting shaft 16 extending in the width direction of the vehicle so as to straddle the support wall portion 14 so as to rotate integrally around the axis extending in the direction. The connecting shaft 16 has a substantially quadrangular prism shape in which the center line extends in the width direction of the vehicle, and the tip portion on the support wall portion 14 side is rotatably fitted therein. The connecting shaft 16 is fitted and inserted into the pulley 17 made of a plate material so as to rotate integrally at the central portion in the longitudinal direction thereof. The pulley 17 has a tip surface separated from the connecting shaft 16 formed by an arc and two tangents connected to both ends of the arc to form a substantially tongue piece shape, and the tip surface has a substantially tongue piece shape over the entire length. A guide groove 17a recessed on the connecting shaft 16 side is formed.

Both ends of the connecting shaft 16 inside and outside the vehicle are adjacent to each other on opposite sides of the support wall portions 13 and 14 in the width direction of the vehicle, and one end of a substantially arm-shaped first link 21. It is inserted so that it rotates integrally with. Therefore, both first links 21 are integrally rotated together with the connecting shaft 16 by rotationally driving the rotating shaft of the electric motor.

As shown in FIG. 3, at the tip of both first links 21 on the side separated from the connecting shaft 16, the second link 22 having a substantially arm shape is adjacent to the side facing each other in the width direction of the vehicle. One end is rotatably connected around an axis extending in the width direction of the vehicle. Then, at the tip of both second links 22 on the side separated from the first link 21, the upper spats 30 are adjacent to the opposite sides in the width direction of the vehicle and around the axis extending in the width direction of the vehicle. It is rotatably connected to.

That is, the upper spats 30 are a substantially square plate-shaped rear wall 31 sandwiched between the two second links 22 and extending in the width direction of the vehicle, and a substantially triangular plate connected to the inner end of the rear wall 31 and extending forward. The side wall 32 has a shape, and a side wall 33 having a substantially triangular plate shape, which is connected to the outer end of the rear wall 31 and extends toward the front end of the side wall 32, is provided inside the front diagonal car. The dimension of the rear wall 31 in the width direction of the vehicle is set according to the dimension of the front wheel 1 in the direction (that is, the width of the tire). Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper spats 30 have a bottom wall 34 that closes below the substantially triangular cylinder formed by the rear wall 31 and the side walls 32 and 33. That is, the side walls 32 and 33 extend from the adjacent side edges 34a and 34b of the bottom wall 34. The upper spats 30 are rotatably connected around the axis extending in the width direction of the vehicle to the tip of each of the second links 22 on the side separated from the first link 21 at each of the upper rear ends of the side walls 32 and 33. Has been done.

The sharp front end portion 30a formed by the side walls 32 and 33 is inserted into the second support portion 13c. The upper spats 30 are rotatably connected to the second support portion 13c around the axis O extending in the width direction of the vehicle at the front end portion 30a. Therefore, the upper spats 30 together with the first link 21 and the second link 22 form a four-node rotary chain having the connecting shaft 16 and the axis O as fixed ends. The rear wall 31 is formed in an arc wall shape centered on the axis O.

Here, as shown in FIG. 5A, it is assumed that the upper spats 30 are in a storage position in which the bottom wall 34 extends substantially horizontally rearward so as to fit in the body 2 and be located above the lower surface thereof. To do.

In this state, when the connecting shaft 16 rotates in one direction (clockwise in FIG. 5) together with both first links 21, the upper spats 30 have the upper spats 30 as shown by the changes in FIGS. 5 (b) to 5 (c). The bottom wall 34 is displaced (descended) to a deployment position in which it is inclined downward as it goes backward. At this time, the lower surface of the bottom wall 34 forms a guide surface 34c that guides the airflow toward the front wheel 1 downward so as to deviate from the front wheel 1. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle outer surface of the side wall 33 forms a guide surface 33a that guides the airflow toward the front wheel 1 to the vehicle outside so as to deviate from the front wheel 1.

On the contrary, the upper spats 30 in the unfolded position can be moved to FIGS. 5 (b) to 5 (a) by rotating the connecting shaft 16 in the opposite direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 5) together with the first links 21. As shown by the change, it is displaced (ascended) to the retracted position. The connecting shaft 16, both first links 21, and both second links 22 constitute an elevating mechanism M1.

As shown in FIG. 3, the side walls 32 and 33 are provided with a pair of guide rails 35 facing each other in the width direction of the vehicle. Each guide rail 35 extends substantially along the height direction of the vehicle, and is formed in a substantially U-shaped groove shape communicating with the extending direction. A slider 36 is mounted on each guide rail 35 so as to be slidable along the extending direction thereof.

The lower ends of both sliders 36 are attached to the lower spats 40. The lower spats 40 are formed in a substantially square plate shape that straddles between the sliders 36 in the width direction of the vehicle and extends below them, and are attached to the lower ends of the sliders 36 at both ends in the width direction. Has been done. Therefore, the lower spats 40 project downward from both sliders 36. The bottom wall 34 is formed with a through hole that allows the lower spats 40 to move forward and backward in the height direction of the vehicle.

On the lower spats 40, a substantially triangular mounting piece 41 is projected upward from the central portion in the width direction of the vehicle. One end of the wire 42 fixed to the pulley 17 and hooked on the guide groove 17a is hooked on the mounting piece 41.

Here, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the upper spats 30 are in the retracted position, the pulley 17 directs the tip surface away from the connecting shaft 16 diagonally upward rearward. At this time, the wire 42 is wound more around the guide groove 17a, so that the lower spats 40 are in a retracted position where they are retracted upward from the rear end portion 30b of the upper spats 30 (bottom wall 34).

In this state, when the connecting shaft 16 rotates together with the pulley 17 in one direction (clockwise in FIG. 5), the lower spats 40 have the pulley 17 as shown by the changes in FIGS. 5 (b) to 5 (c). Due to the action of its own weight according to the unwinding of the wire 42 from the above, the slider 36 is slid on both guide rails 35 and displaced to a protruding position protruding downward from the rear end portion 30b of the upper spats 30 (bottom wall 34). .. That is, the lower spats 40 are provided in a cantilevered state so as to hang down from the upper spats 30 in the deployed position by descending along the guide rail 35 together with both sliders 36. The protruding direction of the lower spats 40 at this time coincides with the height direction of the vehicle. In other words, the extending direction of the guide rail 35 is set in consideration of the rotation amount of the upper spats 30 that are displaced to the deployed position.

On the contrary, the lower spats 40 in the protruding position are changed from FIGS. 5 (b) to 5 (a) by rotating the connecting shaft 16 together with the pulley 17 in the opposite direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 5). As shown, the slider 36 is displaced to the retracted position while being slid on both guide rails 35 by the pulling action of the pulley 17 in accordance with the winding of the wire 42. That is, the lower spats 40 are provided so as to be accommodated in the upper spats 30 at the retracted position by ascending along the guide rail 35 together with both sliders 36. The connecting shaft 16, the pulley 17, and the wire 42 together with the guide rails 35 and the sliders 36 form a moving mechanism M2.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment and its effect will be described.
(1) In the present embodiment, the lower spats 40 hang down from the upper spats 30, and the dimensions in the height direction are reduced by that amount. Therefore, elastic deformation of the lower spats 40 due to wind pressure can be suppressed. On the other hand, the upper spats 30 that guide the airflow toward the front wheels 1 on the guide surfaces 33a and 34c so as to deviate from the front wheels 1 are elastically deformed by wind pressure due to the rigidity of the three-dimensional structure having the bottom wall 34 and both side walls 32 and 33. Can be suppressed. In particular, in the upper spats 30, since the side walls 32 and 33 are connected to each other via the rear wall 31, elastic deformation due to wind pressure can be further suppressed by the amount of increased rigidity. That is, the upper spats 30 maintain the aerodynamic characteristics as designed by maintaining the shape against the wind pressure. As described above, the aerodynamic performance of the entire device can be suitably secured. Further, since the lower spats 40 have a flat plate shape, when they come into contact with an obstacle in front of them, they can elastically deform and deal with the impact. On the other hand, since the upper spats 30 are located above the lower spats 40, the possibility of contacting an obstacle in front can be reduced. As a result, the influence of obstacles in front of the device as a whole can be suppressed.

(2) In the present embodiment, the upper spats 30 are provided with an elevating mechanism M1 that raises and lowers the upper spats 30 between a deployment position located in front of the front wheels 1 and a storage position that deviates upward from the front of the front wheels 1. Therefore, the deployment position of the upper spats 30 can be easily changed by changing the operating amount of the elevating mechanism M1 or itself. Therefore, the deployment position can be easily adjusted so that the optimum aerodynamic performance can be obtained for each vehicle type, and the versatility can be improved.

(3) In the present embodiment, the lower spats 40 are provided with a moving mechanism M2 that advances and retreats between the protruding position protruding from the upper spats 30 and the retracting position retracting into the upper spats 30. Therefore, when the upper spats 30 are lowered to the deployed position by rotating around the axis O, if the lower spats 40 are retracted from the protruding position by the moving mechanism M2, the lower spats 40 interfere with the peripheral members. Possibility is reduced. As described above, since the possibility of interference with the peripheral members is reduced, the lower spats 40 can be projected from the upper spats 30 to the protruding position at a position closer to the front wheel 1, and the aerodynamic performance can be further improved.

(4) In the present embodiment, the guide surfaces 33a and 34c are flat inclined surfaces that incline so as to deviate from the front wheels 1 toward the rear of the vehicle, so that, for example, a plate-shaped material can be easily used. It can be molded and workability can be further improved.

(5) In the present embodiment, the elevating mechanism M1 and the moving mechanism M2 are interlocked and driven by a single drive device 15, so that the number of parts, mass, and cost are as compared with the case where the two drive devices are individually driven, for example. Can be reduced.

(6) In the present embodiment, the upper spats 30 and the lower spats 40 cooperate to secure the dimensions in the height direction of the vehicle while suppressing elastic deformation due to wind pressure and the influence of obstacles. Therefore, the airflow that hits the front wheels 1 when the vehicle is running can be efficiently eliminated, that is, the air resistance of the front wheels 1 when the vehicle is running can be reduced, and fuel efficiency can be further improved.

(7) In the present embodiment, the maintainability can be further improved by a simple mechanism obtained by combining the elevating mechanism M1 for rotating motion and the moving mechanism M2 for linear motion.
(8) As shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 5 (c), the support position P (lower end of the guide rail 35) of the lower spats 40 by the upper spats 30 is equivalent to the lower spats 40 in the protruding position. When lowered to the position, the support position P is displaced forward by the distance ΔL by the increase in the amount of rotation of the upper spats 30. As described above, the upper spats 30 alone are forced to reduce the aerodynamic performance by being separated from the front wheel 1 by the distance ΔL. From this, it is effective to vertically install the lower spats 40 on the upper spats 30 to improve the aerodynamic performance.

On the other hand, in the case of the upper spats 30 which can be lowered to the same position as the lower spats 40 in this way, the dimension in the height direction of the vehicle may be enlarged and the vehicle mountability at the time of storage may be deteriorated. Therefore, it is effective to vertically install the lower spats 40 on the upper spats 30 to secure the dimensions in the height direction of the vehicle in order to improve the vehicle mountability.

(9) In the present embodiment, for example, by arranging the upper spats 30 and the lower spats 40 at the retracted position and the retracted position, respectively, when the vehicle is traveling at a low speed, the possibility of contact with an obstacle can be minimized.

The above embodiment may be changed as follows.
As shown in FIG. 6, the upper spats 130 are connected to a substantially square plate-shaped rear wall 131 extending in the width direction of the vehicle according to the rear wall 31 and both ends of the rear wall 131 in the width direction to the front. It may have a pair of side walls 132, 133 that incline toward the width direction of the vehicle approaching each other toward. Each side wall 132, 133 is formed into a substantially triangular plate shape according to the side walls 32, 33. Even in this case, the upper spats 130 have a bottom wall 134 that closes the lower part of the substantially triangular cylinder formed by the rear wall 131 and the side walls 132 and 133. That is, the side walls 132 and 133 extend from the adjacent side edges 134a and 134b of the bottom wall 134. Even if the change is made in this way, the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

In particular, when the upper spats 130 are in the deployed position, the vehicle inner side surface of the side wall 132 forms a guide surface that guides the airflow toward the front wheel 1 to the inside of the vehicle so as to deviate from the front wheel 1, and the vehicle outer surface of the side wall 133 is formed. A guide surface is formed to guide the airflow toward the front wheel 1 to the outside of the vehicle so as to deviate from the front wheel 1. The guide surface may be formed on at least one of the side walls 132 and 133 and the bottom wall 134. Further, the shaft support around the axis O at the sharp front end 130a formed by the side walls 132 and 133 may be provided by an appropriate mounting member (not shown) according to the mounting member 11, or may be attached to the body 2. It may be carried out with an independent bracket (not shown). Further, the front ends of the side walls 132 and 133 may be connected to each other.

-In the above embodiment, the shaft support around the axis O at the sharp front end portion 30a formed by the side walls 32 and 33 may be provided by an independent bracket (not shown) attached to the body 2.
-In the above embodiment, the front ends of the side walls 32 and 33 may be connected to each other.

-In the above embodiment, an appropriate urging member (spring or the like) may be provided to assist the lower spats 40 to be lowered as the wire 42 is unwound from the pulley 17.
-In the above embodiment, the elevating mechanism M1 and the moving mechanism M2 may be individually provided with drive sources (drive devices) to drive them independently.

-In the above embodiment, the guide surfaces 33a and 34c do not have to be flat inclined surfaces. For example, the guide surfaces 33a and 34c may have appropriate waveforms that can improve aerodynamic performance.
-In the above embodiment, the rotational movement of the upper spats 30 around the axis O may be realized by a gear mechanism or the like.

-In the above embodiment, the raising and lowering between the storage position and the deployment position of the upper spats 30 may be realized by, for example, a linear motion or a combination of a linear motion and a rotary motion.
-In the above embodiment, the upper spats 30 may be non-rotatably fixed to the mounting member 11 or the body 2 at the unfolded position. That is, the elevating mechanism M1 may be omitted.

-In the above embodiment, the linear motion of the lower spats 40 may be realized by a rack gear mechanism, a screw mechanism, or the like. Alternatively, it may be moved and driven by, for example, a linear solenoid.
-In the above embodiment, the displacement between the protruding position and the retracting position of the lower spats 40 may be realized, for example, by a combination of rotational motion or rotational motion and linear motion.

-In the above embodiment, the lower end portion of the lower spats 40 may protrude downward from the upper spats 30 in the storage position. In this case, the aerodynamic performance can be improved at the lower end of the lower spats 40.

-In the above embodiment, the lower spats 40 may be immovably fixed to the upper spats 30 at the protruding position. That is, the moving mechanism M2 may be omitted. In this case, even if the upper spats 30 are in the retracted position, the aerodynamic performance can be further improved by the lower spats 40 alone.

-In the above embodiment, the guide surfaces 33a and 34c of either the side wall 33 or the bottom wall 34 may be omitted.
-In the above embodiment, the rear wall 31 of the upper spats 30 may be omitted.

-In the above embodiment, if the upper spats have a bottom wall and a pair of side walls extending from adjacent side edges of the bottom wall, and a guide surface is formed on at least one of the bottom wall and both side walls. It may be formed into a polygonal cylinder other than the bottomed substantially triangular cylinder.

Next, the technical idea that can be grasped from the above embodiment and another example will be added below.
(B) In the above vehicle spats
The both side walls are leggings for vehicles that are connected to each other.

According to this configuration, since the both side walls of the upper spats are connected to each other, elastic deformation due to wind pressure can be further suppressed by the amount of increased rigidity.

O ... Axis, M1 ... Elevating mechanism, M2 ... Moving mechanism, 1 ... Front wheels, 10 ... Vehicle spats, 15 ... Drive device (drive source), 30, 130 ... Upper spats, 30a, 130a ... Front end, 32, 33 , 132, 133 ... Side wall, 33a, 34c ... Guide surface, 34, 134 ... Bottom wall, 34a, 34b, 134a, 134b ... Side edge, 40 ... Lower spats.

Claims (3)

It is located in front of the front wheels of the vehicle and has a bottom wall and a pair of side walls extending from adjacent side edges of the bottom wall, and at least one of the bottom wall and both side walls allows airflow toward the front wheels to escape from the front wheels. The upper spats with a guide surface that guides them
A vehicle spats provided with flat plate-shaped lower spats arranged in front of the front wheels and provided so as to hang down from the upper spats.
The upper spats are provided with an elevating mechanism for raising and lowering the upper spats between a deployment position located in front of the front wheels and a storage position that deviates upward from the front of the front wheels.
The upper spats are rotatably connected around an axis extending in the width direction of the vehicle at the front end, and are configured to move up and down between the deployed position and the retracted position by rotation around the axis. And
A vehicle spats provided with a moving mechanism for moving the lower spats back and forth between a protruding position protruding from the upper spats in the deployed position and a retracting position retracting into the upper spats. In the vehicle spats according to claim 1 .
The guide surface is a flat inclined surface that inclines so as to deviate from the front wheel toward the rear of the vehicle, and is a vehicle spats. In the vehicle spats according to claim 1 or 2 .
Vehicle spats in which the elevating mechanism and the moving mechanism are interlocked and driven by a single drive source.