JP7172117B2 - Air guide structure - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle air guide structure.

Conventionally, a vehicle is provided with a radiator that cools a heat transfer medium that cools an engine of the vehicle. Patent Document 1 discloses a structure in which a radiator is provided behind a front underrun protector.

JP 2010-149611 A

A vehicle has a structure in which a front underrun protector, a radiator, a fan, and an engine are provided from the front to the rear in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. In a vehicle with this structure, the air that is heated by passing through the radiator from the front to the rear and exchanging heat with the engine cooling water collides with the engine provided behind the radiator and moves forward. It may flow towards In this case, the heated air flowing forward flows from between the radiator and the front underrun protector provided in front of the radiator to near the front of the radiator, and then flows into the radiator. Cooling performance may deteriorate.

Therefore, the present disclosure has been made in view of these points, and an object thereof is to provide an air guide structure that improves the cooling performance of a radiator.

In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a heat transfer medium provided behind a front underrun protector provided in front of a vehicle in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and cooling an engine of the vehicle is cooled. Provided is an air guide structure comprising: a radiator; and a suppressing member provided at or below the lower end of the radiator in the height direction of the vehicle and in contact with the front underrun protector. .

Further, the suppressing member may have a front end in contact with a rear end of the front underrun protector. Further, the suppressing member is provided on a mounting member that extends downward from the lower end of the radiator in the height direction of the vehicle, and on the mounting member, and the front end thereof is in contact with the rear end of the front underrun protector. and a sealing member.

Further, the length of the mounting member in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle is equal to or greater than the length of the radiator in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle, and the length of the seal member in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle is the length of the radiator. may be equal to or greater than the length in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle.

Moreover, the mounting member and the sealing member may be integrally formed. Further, the sealing member has elasticity, and in a state where the front end of the sealing member is in contact with the rear end of the front underrun protector, a gap between the front surface of the radiator and the rear surface of the front underrun protector. It may be compressed so as to generate a force in the direction of widening the distance.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the cooling performance of the radiator.

4 shows a state in which the air guide structure according to the present embodiment is provided in a vehicle; 1 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which an air guide structure according to this embodiment is provided in a vehicle; FIG. It is an enlarged view of suppressing member vicinity.

<This embodiment>
[Peripheral Configuration of Air Guide Structure 5]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state in which an air guide structure 5 according to this embodiment is provided in a vehicle. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the air guide structure 5 according to this embodiment is provided in a vehicle. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the suppressing member 52 and its vicinity.
The vehicle has a front underrun protector 1 , an engine 2 , a fan 3 , an intercooler 4 and an air guide structure 5 .

The front underrun protector 1 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is a member that absorbs impact in the event of a frontal collision with the vehicle and prevents other vehicles from crawling under the own vehicle. The front underrun protector 1 is made of metal, has a substantially rectangular cross section, and has a cavity inside. The front underrun protector 1 is provided in front of the vehicle.

Specifically, the front underrun protector 1 extends in the width direction of the vehicle and is provided near the front of the vehicle in the longitudinal direction of the side member. A side member is a member that extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. A vehicle has, for example, two side members extending in parallel in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The front underrun protector 1 is fixed to the side member, for example, via a mounting member (not shown).

The front and rear surfaces of the front underrun protector 1 extend, for example, in the height direction of the vehicle. The upper and lower surfaces of the front underrun protector 1 extend, for example, in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

The position of the front underrun protector 1 in the height direction of the vehicle may vary depending on the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 3, the front underrun protector 1 is, for example, a front underrun protector provided at the lowest position in the height direction of the vehicle. The front underrun protector 1a indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 3 is, for example, the front underrun protector provided at the highest position in the height direction of the vehicle.

The engine 2 generates power for driving the vehicle. The engine 2 is, for example, a gasoline engine or a diesel engine. The engine 2 supplies and burns fuel (for example, gasoline or light oil) and air to generate power and exhaust gas. The engine 2 is provided behind the fan 3 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

The fan 3 is a blower for blowing air. The fan 3 is, for example, an electric fan and a mixed flow fan. The fan 3 has a fan body and a fan cover. The fan main body has, for example, a rotating shaft and a plurality of blades provided on the outer surface of the rotating shaft, and the rotating shaft rotates to move the plurality of blades to flow air. The fan cover is provided outside the fan body and accommodates the fan body inside. The fan body is housed inside the fan cover.

The fan 3 is provided behind the radiator 51 and in front of the engine 2 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The fan 3 causes air to flow from the front to the rear in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. For example, when the vehicle is running at low speed with a high load, or when the outside temperature is very high while the vehicle is stopped, the running wind may not have sufficient cooling capacity to cool the engine 2 . The running wind is, for example, a flow of air from the front to the rear in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle that is generated when the vehicle is running forward.

The fan 3 can improve the cooling capacity of the radiator 51 by forcing air to flow. The fan 3 can also cool the engine 2 by causing air to flow to the engine 2 provided behind the fan 3 . The fan 3 may be connected to the engine 2 via a shaft, for example, and may have a structure that receives power from the engine 2 and is rotationally driven.

The intercooler 4 is a device for cooling the air whose temperature has been increased by compressing it with a supercharger (for example, a turbocharger). A turbocharger is a device that uses the exhaust gas of the engine 2 to increase the pressure, that is, the density, of the air supplied to the engine 2 . The intercooler 4 is provided in front of the radiator 51 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

The intercooler 4 has an air inlet for inflowing cooling air (for example, running wind or air blown by the fan 3) on the front surface in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and the cooling air is supplied to the rear surface of the intercooler 4. It has an outlet for the air to flow out. The intercooler 4 exchanges heat between air flowing in from the front in the front-rear direction of the vehicle (for example, running wind or air flowing by the fan 3) and heated air flowing from the supercharger, thereby reducing super-supercharge. It cools the air that has risen in temperature from the feeder. The temperature of the air flowing out of the intercooler 4 is higher than that of the air flowing into the intercooler 4 by taking heat from the air flowing from the supercharger in the intercooler 4 .

The air guide structure 5 improves cooling performance of the radiator 51 . The air guide structure 5 has a radiator 51 and a suppression member 52 . The radiator 51 cools the heat transfer medium that cools the engine 2 . The heat transfer medium is cooling water that cools the engine 2 . A heat transfer medium circulates between the radiator 51 and the engine 2 . The radiator 51 cools the heat transfer medium heated by flowing through the engine 2 .

The radiator 51 has an air inlet for inflowing cooling air (for example, running wind or air flowing by the fan 3) to the front surface in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and causes the cooling air to flow out to the rear surface of the radiator 51. It has an air outlet. The radiator 51 is heated by exchanging heat between air flowing in from the front in the front-rear direction of the vehicle (for example, running wind or air flowing by the fan 3) and the heated heat transfer medium flowing out from the engine 2. cooling the heat-carrying medium; The heat transfer medium cooled by the radiator 51 flows into the engine 2 . Also, the air flowing out of the radiator 51 absorbs heat from the heat transfer medium flowing out of the engine 2 in the radiator 51 , so that the temperature of the air flowing out of the radiator 51 is higher than that of the air flowing into the radiator 51 .

The radiator 51 is provided behind the front underrun protector 1 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. Further, the radiator 51 is provided in front of the fan 3 and behind the intercooler 4 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

Air flowing from the front to the rear in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle (for example, running wind or air flowing by the fan 3 ) flows through the intercooler 4 , the radiator 51 and the fan 3 and collides with the engine 2 . The air is heated by exchanging heat with the intercooler 4 and the radiator 51 as described above. That is, the temperature of the air flowing through the intercooler 4 , the radiator 51 , and the fan 3 is higher behind the fan 3 than in front of the intercooler 4 .

The air heated by the intercooler 4 and the radiator 51 flowing backward from the fan 3 collides with the front of the engine 2, and part of the heated air flows below the fan 3 and the radiator 51. , flows forward in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle (the air heated by the intercooler 4 and the radiator 51 is hereinafter referred to as "heated air flowing forward").

The suppression member 52 is a member that suppresses heated air flowing forward from flowing from between the front underrun protector 1 and the radiator 51 toward the vicinity of the front surface of the radiator 51 . Specifically, the suppressing member 52 is a member that suppresses the heated air flowing forward from flowing upward between the front underrun protector 1 and the radiator 51, for example.

The suppressing member 52 is provided at or below the lower end of the radiator 51 in the height direction of the vehicle, and is in contact with the front underrun protector 1 . Specifically, the suppressing member 52 has its front end in contact with the rear end of the front underrun protector 1 . The air guide structure 5 is provided at the lower end or below the lower end of the radiator 51 in the height direction of the vehicle, and has a suppressing member 52 in contact with the front underrun protector 1, so that the heated air flowing forward is provided. The heated air can be suppressed from flowing upward between the front underrun protector 1 and the radiator 51 , and the heated air can be suppressed from flowing toward the vicinity of the front surface of the radiator 51 .

As a result, since the air guide structure 5 has the suppressing member 52, it is possible to suppress the heated air from flowing into the radiator 51, so the air guide structure 5 improves the cooling performance of the radiator 51. be able to. That is, the air guide structure 5 can cool the heat transfer medium flowing through the radiator 51 more than when the suppressing member 52 is not provided.

[Detailed configuration of suppression member 52]
The suppressing member 52 has a mounting member 521 , a resin clip 522 and a sealing member 523 . The mounting member 521 extends below the lower end of the radiator 51 in the height direction of the vehicle. The mounting member 521 has elasticity and is made of, for example, LLDPE (Linear Low Density Polyethylene). The mounting member 521 is, for example, a rectangular plate. A region above the mounting member 521 is in contact with, for example, the vicinity of the lower end of the front surface of the radiator 51 . A lower region of the mounting member 521 is located below the lower end of the radiator 51 .

The resin clip 522 is a fixing member for fixing the mounting member 521 to the radiator 51 . The mounting member 521 is fixed to the radiator 51 by press-fitting a resin clip 522 into a hole formed in the mounting member 521 and a hole formed in the radiator 51 . A plurality of resin clips 522 are provided adjacent to each other in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle.

The air guide structure 5 can adjust the position of the sealing member 523 in the height direction of the vehicle because the suppressing member 52 has the mounting member 521 . As described above, the front underrun protector 1 may be provided at different positions in the height direction of the vehicle depending on the vehicle. The position of the seal member 523 in the height direction of the vehicle can be adjusted to bring the seal member 523 into contact with the front underrun protector 1 .

The sealing member 523 is provided on the mounting member 521 and has a front end in contact with the rear end of the front underrun protector 1 . The sealing member 523 is provided, for example, near the lower end on the front surface of the mounting member 521 . Since a part of the seal member 523 is in contact with a part of the front underrun protector 1, a gap between the radiator 51 and the front underrun protector 1 is less likely to occur. The sealing member 523 has elasticity and is made of foamed EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene terpolymer), for example. The sealing member 523 is adhered to the front surface of the mounting member 521 with double-sided tape, for example.

The seal member 523 has, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped shape extending in the vehicle width direction. Although the shape of the sealing member 523 is arbitrary, the sealing member 523 does not move due to vibration caused by running of the vehicle, for example, or pressed by heated air flowing forward. It is desirable to have a certain thickness.

The sealing member 523 applies force in a direction to increase the distance between the front surface of the radiator 51 and the rear surface of the front underrun protector 1 in a state where the front end of the sealing member 523 is in contact with the rear end of the front underrun protector 1 . compressed to produce The natural length of the sealing member 523 (for example, the length of the sealing member 523 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle when the sealing member 523 is not provided between the radiator 51 and the front underrun protector 1) is the front surface of the radiator 51. and the rear surface of the front underrun protector 1. However, when the sealing member 523 is provided between the radiator 51 and the front underrun protector 1, it is provided in such a compressed state.

As a result, the air guide structure 5 is heated so that the seal member 523 moves or flows forward, for example, due to vibration caused by running of the vehicle, compared to when the seal member 523 is not compressed. It is possible to suppress the formation of a gap between the radiator 51 and the front underrun protector 1 by moving by being pressed by the air.

The length of the mounting member 521 in the vehicle width direction may be equal to or greater than the length of the radiator 51 in the vehicle width direction. Further, the length of the seal member 523 in the vehicle width direction may be equal to or greater than the length of the radiator 51 in the vehicle width direction. The air guide structure 5 has the mounting member 521 and the sealing member 523 having such lengths. The heated air flowing forward flows upward from between the front underrun protector 1 and the radiator 51 compared to the case where the length of the radiator 51 is shorter than the length of the radiator 51 in the vehicle width direction. can be suppressed more.

Further, the length of the mounting member 521 in the vehicle width direction may be the same as the length of the radiator 51 in the vehicle width direction. Further, the length of the seal member 523 in the vehicle width direction may be the same as the length of the radiator 51 in the vehicle width direction.

In the above embodiment, the mounting member 521 and the sealing member 523 are separate members, but the present invention is not limited to this. The mounting member 521 and the sealing member 523 may be integrally formed.

Further, in the above embodiment, the air guide structure 5 has the mounting member 521 and the sealing member 523 is provided on the mounting member 521, but the present invention is not limited to this. The air guide structure 5 may not have the mounting member 521 and the sealing member 523 may be provided on the radiator 51 .

Moreover, although the front end of the seal member 523 is in contact with the rear end of the front underrun protector 1 in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. A structure in which a part of the sealing member 523 is in contact with a part of the front underrun protector 1 may be used. Alternatively, the upper end of the seal member 523 may be in contact with the lower end of the front underrun protector 1 .

[Effects of the air guide structure 5 according to the present embodiment]
The air guide structure 5 according to the present embodiment is provided behind the front underrun protector 1 provided in front of the vehicle in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and cools a heat transfer medium that cools the engine 2 of the vehicle. and a suppressing member 52 provided at or below the lower end of the radiator 51 in the height direction of the vehicle and in contact with the front underrun protector 1 .

The air guide structure 5 according to the present embodiment is provided at or below the lower end of the radiator 51 in the height direction of the vehicle, and has a restraining member 52 in contact with the front underrun protector 1 . Therefore, since the air guide structure 5 has the suppressing member 52 provided in this way, the heated air flowing forward is prevented from passing between the rear surface of the front underrun protector 1 and the front surface of the radiator 51 . It is possible to prevent the water from entering and flowing near the front surface of the radiator 51 . As a result, the air guide structure 5 can improve the cooling performance of the radiator 51 .

Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist thereof. be. For example, specific embodiments of device distribution/integration are not limited to the above-described embodiments. can be done. In addition, new embodiments resulting from arbitrary combinations of multiple embodiments are also included in the embodiments of the present invention. The effect of the new embodiment caused by the combination has the effect of the original embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1a... Front underrun protector 2... Engine 3... Fan 4... Intercooler 5... Air guide structure 51... Radiator 52... Control member 521... Mounting member 522... resin clip 523... sealing member

Claims (5)

a radiator that is provided behind a front underrun protector provided in front of the vehicle in the front-rear direction of the vehicle and that cools a heat transfer medium that cools an engine of the vehicle;
a suppressing member provided at or below the lower end of the radiator in the height direction of the vehicle and in contact with the front underrun protector;
with
The suppressing member is
a mounting member provided at the lower end of the radiator and extending downward from the radiator;
an elastic sealing member provided on the mounting member, the sealing member being disposed between the mounting member and the front underrun protector;
wherein the mounting member is in contact with the front underrun protector via the sealing member,
Air guide structure. The suppressing member is characterized in that the front surface of the sealing member is in contact with the rear surface of the front underrun protector,
The air guide structure according to claim 1. The length of the mounting member in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle is equal to or greater than the length of the radiator in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle,
The length of the sealing member in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle is equal to or greater than the length of the radiator in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle,
The air guide structure according to claim 1 or 2 . The mounting member and the sealing member are integrally formed,
The air guide structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . When the front surface of the seal member is in contact with the rear surface of the front underrun protector, it is compressed so as to generate a force in the direction of increasing the distance between the front surface of the radiator and the rear surface of the front underrun protector. characterized by
The air guide structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4 .

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