JP7625631B2 - Air intake grille and air intake duct - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an intake grill that draws in air from within a vehicle cabin, and an intake duct in which the intake grill is provided.

In recent years, research and development has been conducted into secondary cells (also called batteries) that contribute to energy efficiency, so that more people can have access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and advanced energy.

As vehicle drive sources become more electric, vehicles are equipped with battery packs that house batteries that supply power to motors and other devices. Battery packs are equipped with a cooling structure to cool the battery, and an air-cooled cooling structure is widely used, for example, in which cooling air is drawn in from the vehicle cabin by a fan and then blown to the battery to cool it.

In an air-cooled cooling structure, a structure is provided to prevent foreign objects from entering the intake duct when air is drawn into the vehicle cabin. For example, in Patent Document 1, an intake grille having a plurality of first grill forming portions and second grill forming portions arranged in a lattice pattern is attached to the intake duct to prevent the intrusion of foreign objects.

International Publication No. 2019/008871

However, in the air intake grille of Patent Document 1, the air intake inlet is narrowed by the multiple first and second grille forming sections arranged in a lattice pattern. This configuration increases pressure loss and wind noise in the air intake grille, which may reduce the cooling efficiency of the battery and cause discomfort to passengers. On the other hand, if no air intake grille is provided, foreign objects can easily enter the air intake duct.

The present invention provides an intake grille and intake duct that can reduce pressure loss and wind noise while preventing the intrusion of foreign objects.

The present invention relates to
An intake grille that draws in air into a vehicle cabin,
A frame body connected to an intake port of the intake duct;
A plurality of horizontal louvers disposed inside the frame and extending in a horizontal direction;
A plurality of vertical louvers are disposed inside the frame and extend in a vertical direction,
The spacing between adjacent horizontal louvers is narrower than the spacing between adjacent vertical louvers.
The vertical louver is disposed downstream of the horizontal louver in the intake direction ,
In the intake direction, the horizontal louvers and the vertical louvers do not overlap each other, and the upstream end of each vertical louver is positioned at the same position as the downstream end of each horizontal louver or downstream of the downstream end of each horizontal louver .

The present invention also provides a method for producing a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising the steps of:
An intake duct provided with the intake grill,
A fixing portion for attachment to the vehicle body is provided near the intake grill.

The present invention makes it possible to reduce pressure loss and wind noise while preventing the intrusion of foreign objects.

2 is a perspective view showing a battery pack 10 provided below a rear seat 2 and an intake duct 20 connected to the battery pack 10. FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view of the intake duct 20 provided with an intake grill 30. FIG. 2 is a front view of the air intake grill 30. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3, seen from the left front.

Below, an embodiment of the air intake grille and air intake duct of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. The drawings should be viewed in the direction of the reference symbols. In order to simplify and clarify the description in this specification, the front/rear, left/right, and up/down directions are described according to the direction as seen by the driver of the vehicle, and in the drawings, the front of the vehicle is indicated as Fr, the rear as Rr, the left as L, the right as R, the top as U, and the bottom as D.

As shown in FIG. 1, an air intake duct 20 according to one embodiment of the present invention is connected to a battery pack 10 disposed, for example, below the rear seat 2 and luggage compartment 4 of a vehicle 1. An air intake grill 30 according to one embodiment of the present invention is connected to an air intake port of the air intake duct 20.

The intake duct 20 has a generally L-shape when viewed from above, and includes a downstream duct section 20A that is connected to the battery pack 10 and extends in the front-to-rear direction, and an upstream duct section 20B that is connected to the downstream duct section 20A and extends in the left-to-right direction. The upstream duct section 20B of the intake duct 20 is provided with an intake port that opens to the right. Note that the intake duct 20 does not have to have a generally L-shape when viewed from above, and may have a shape that extends linearly in the front-to-rear direction, for example.

A recess is provided below the rear seat 2 and the luggage compartment 4, and the battery pack 10 is placed in the recess with vehicle body fixing parts (not shown) provided at both left and right ends fixed to the side frames 5 of the vehicle 1. Inside the battery pack 10, various parts are provided, such as a battery that stores electricity to be supplied to a motor or the like that serves as the driving source of the vehicle 1, and an intake fan that draws cooling air from the passenger compartment to cool the battery. The vehicle 1 is, for example, an electric vehicle such as a hybrid car, a battery-powered electric vehicle, or a fuel cell car.

As shown in FIG. 2, the intake duct 20 has a duct body 21, a fixing part 23, and an intake grill 30.

The duct body 21 forms an internal flow path through which the cooling air drawn from the vehicle interior flows. The cooling air introduced into the duct body 21 passes from the upstream duct section 20B through the downstream duct section 20A and is introduced into the battery pack 10.

The fixing parts 23 are provided on the duct body 21 and fix the intake duct 20 to the floor panel 7 of the vehicle 1. The fixing parts 23 are provided on the left and right sides of the duct body 21 and have bolt holes through which fastening members such as bolts can be inserted. The fixing parts 23 are provided adjacent to the intake grille 30 and improve the rigidity of the intake grille 30.

As shown in FIG. 3, the air intake grille 30 comprises a frame 31, a number of horizontal louvers 33, and a number of vertical louvers 35.

The frame 31 is connected to the intake port of the intake duct 20. The frame 31 has a rectangular cylindrical shape, and its left-right length is longer than its vertical length when viewed from the front. In this embodiment, the frame 31 is integral with the duct body 21, but it may be provided separately from the duct body 21.

The horizontal louvers 33 are arranged inside the frame body 31 and extend in the horizontal direction. In this embodiment, as an example, three horizontal louvers 33 are arranged inside the frame body 31. Each horizontal louver 33 has a plate shape and is arranged at equal intervals (distance D1) inside the frame body 31.

The multiple vertical louvers 35 are arranged inside the frame body 31 and extend in the vertical direction. In this embodiment, as an example, eight vertical louvers are arranged inside the frame body 31. Each vertical louver 35 has a plate shape and is arranged at equal intervals (distance D2) inside the frame body 31.

As shown in FIG. 4, the vertical louvers 35 are positioned downstream of the horizontal louvers 33 in the intake direction (the direction from the front to the rear in FIG. 4). The upstream end 33a of the horizontal louvers 33 is located at the intake inlet 30a of the intake grille 30, and the horizontal louvers 33 extend from the intake inlet 30a along the intake direction. The vertical louvers 35 are positioned at the same position as the downstream end 33b of the horizontal louvers 33 or downstream of the downstream end 33b. In this embodiment, each vertical louver 35 is positioned such that the upstream end 35a is at the same position as the downstream end 33b of each horizontal louver 33 in the intake direction.

In this way, since the vertical louvers 35 are arranged downstream of the horizontal louvers 33, the flow path cross-sectional area of the intake inlet 30a of the intake grille 30 is larger than when the vertical louvers 35 and the horizontal louvers 33 are arranged in a position where they overlap in the intake direction (i.e., when the vertical louvers 35 and the horizontal louvers 33 are arranged perpendicular to each other at the intake inlet 30a). This reduces the pressure loss when the cooling air in the vehicle cabin flows from the intake inlet 30a to the intake grille 30, improving the cooling efficiency of the battery installed in the battery pack 10. In addition, the wind noise generated when the cooling air flows from the intake inlet 30a to the intake grille 30 can also be reduced.

On the other hand, if the cross-sectional area of the air intake inlet 30a is increased, foreign matter can easily enter through the air intake inlet 30a. In this embodiment, however, the spacing D1 between adjacent horizontal louvers 33 is narrower than the spacing D2 between adjacent vertical louvers 35. The narrower horizontal louvers 33 are positioned upstream, which can prevent foreign matter from entering the air intake grille 30. Therefore, with the air intake grille 30 of this embodiment, the cross-sectional area of the air intake inlet 30a can be increased and the intrusion of foreign matter can be suppressed.

In addition, each vertical louver 35 is positioned such that the upstream end 35a is in the same position as the downstream end 33b of each horizontal louver 33 in the intake direction, and the downstream end 33b of each horizontal louver 33 abuts the upstream end 35a of each vertical louver 35. With this configuration, the rigidity near the intake inlet 30a, particularly the rigidity against vertical loads, can be improved compared to when the downstream end 33b of each horizontal louver 33 and the upstream end 35a of each vertical louver 35 are positioned apart.

In addition, each horizontal louver 33 is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane. More specifically, each horizontal louver 33 is inclined so that the upstream end 33a is positioned lower than the downstream end 33b. With this configuration, even if liquid such as rainwater gets on the horizontal louver 33, the liquid is discharged from the top surface of the horizontal louver 33 to the outside of the intake inlet 30a, preventing the liquid from entering the intake duct 20.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the attached drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can come up with various modified or revised examples within the scope of the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally fall within the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the components in the above embodiment may be combined in any manner as long as it does not deviate from the spirit of the invention.

This specification describes at least the following items. In parentheses, examples of components corresponding to the above-mentioned embodiments are shown, but the present invention is not limited to these.

(1) An intake grille (intake grille 30) that draws in air into a vehicle cabin,
A frame (frame 31) connected to an intake port of an intake duct (intake duct 20);
A plurality of horizontal louvers (horizontal louvers 33) arranged inside the frame and extending in a horizontal direction;
A plurality of vertical louvers (vertical louvers 35) are disposed inside the frame and extend in the vertical direction,
The interval (distance D1) between adjacent horizontal louvers is narrower than the interval (distance D2) between adjacent vertical louvers,
The vertical louvers are disposed downstream of the horizontal louvers in the air intake direction.
Intake grill.

According to (1), the vertical louvers are positioned downstream of the horizontal louvers, so the cross-sectional area of the intake grille's intake inlet is increased. This reduces pressure loss and wind noise. Furthermore, the narrowly spaced horizontal louvers are positioned upstream, so foreign objects can be prevented from entering the intake duct.

(2) The air intake grill according to (1),
In the intake direction, the downstream end portion (downstream end portion 33b) of each horizontal louver abuts the upstream end portion (upstream end portion 35a) of each vertical louver.
Intake grill.

(2) The rigidity of the intake grill near the intake inlet can be improved.

(3) The air intake grill according to (1) or (2),
Each horizontal louver is inclined relative to the horizontal plane.
Intake grill.

(3) According to this, even if liquid gets on the horizontal louvers, it is possible to prevent the liquid from entering the intake duct.

(4) An intake duct provided with the intake grille according to any one of (1) to (3),
A fixing portion (fixing portion 23) is provided adjacent to the intake grille and is fixed to a vehicle body.
Intake duct.

According to (4), the rigidity of the intake grille can be improved by the fixing portion.

20 Intake duct 23 Fixing portion 30 Intake grill 31 Frame 33 Horizontal louver 33b Downstream end 35 Vertical louver 35a Upstream end

Claims (4)

An intake grille that draws in air into a vehicle cabin,
A frame body connected to an intake port of the intake duct;
A plurality of horizontal louvers disposed inside the frame and extending in a horizontal direction;
A plurality of vertical louvers are disposed inside the frame and extend in a vertical direction,
The spacing between adjacent horizontal louvers is narrower than the spacing between adjacent vertical louvers.
The vertical louver is disposed downstream of the horizontal louver in the intake direction ,
In the intake direction, the horizontal louvers and the vertical louvers do not overlap each other, and the upstream end of each vertical louver is disposed at the same position as the downstream end of each horizontal louver or downstream of the downstream end of each horizontal louver.
Intake grill. 2. The air intake grille of claim 1,
In the intake direction, the downstream end of each horizontal louver abuts the upstream end of each vertical louver.
Intake grill. 3. The air intake grille according to claim 1 or 2,
Each horizontal louver is inclined relative to the horizontal plane.
Intake grill. An intake duct provided with the intake grille according to claim 1 or 2,
A fixing portion is provided adjacent to the intake grille and is fixed to a vehicle body.
Intake duct.

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