Cooling duct

Abstract

To provide a cooling duct which can achieve both of cooling performance and pedestrian protection performance.SOLUTION: A cooling duct 10 comprises a front upper duct 20, a front lower duct 30, and a rear duct 40. An absorbers (11, 12), which absorb collision energy inputted from a front of a vehicle, are provided on a front lower side of a radiator support 1. The front upper duct 20 and the front lower duct 30 are formed into a square cylindrical shape, and on at least a side face thereof, a collapse original point parts 23, 36, which become an original point of collapse at collision energy input time, are provided.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooling duct for guiding airflow to a heat exchanger disposed at the front of a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a lower absorber with an integrated air guide plate, which includes a lower absorber body installed in a lower portion of the front part of the vehicle, and a flat air guide plate member that guides the wind generated while the vehicle is running toward the rear of the vehicle.

[0003] The lower absorber body is arranged to extend in both the longitudinal and transverse directions of the vehicle, and has a base plate which is fixed to the vehicle at its rear portion in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and a reinforcing portion consisting of a rib or bead is integrally molded at the front portion of the base plate in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

[0004] The air guide plate member is disposed so as to cover a predetermined area of ​​the reinforcing portion of the lower absorber body. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-174591 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, since the strength of the periphery of the air guide plate member is high, there is a concern that the pedestrian may not be sufficiently protected when the vehicle collides with the pedestrian.

[0007] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a cooling duct that can achieve both cooling performance and pedestrian protection performance. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention provides a cooling duct that guides traveling air to a heat exchanger attached to a radiator support at the front of a vehicle via a left side bracket and a right side bracket, the cooling duct comprising: a front upper duct that is disposed in an upper region in front of the radiator support and receives the traveling air from the front and passes it rearward; a front lower duct that is disposed in a lower region in front of the radiator support and receives the traveling air from the front and passes it rearward; and a rear duct whose front portion is connected to the front upper duct and the front lower duct and guides the traveling air that has passed through the front upper duct and the front lower duct to the heat exchanger, an absorber that absorbs collision energy input from the front of the vehicle is provided on the front lower side of the radiator support, the front upper duct and the front lower duct are formed in a rectangular cylindrical shape, Circumferentially adjacent surfaces of the front upper duct and the front lower duct The crushing point is provided on the A notch is provided at an intersection of each of the crushing start points, and a weak portion is provided at a left end and a right end of at least one of the upper surface and the lower surface of the front upper duct and the front lower duct. It is characterized by the presence of

[0009] With this configuration, not only can cooling performance be improved by actively directing the airflow toward the heat exchanger through the front upper duct, the front lower duct, and the rear duct, but when a pedestrian collides with the front of the vehicle, the absorber can reduce the impact on the pedestrian and lift up the pedestrian's legs to prevent them from being caught under the vehicle, and further, the front upper duct and the front lower duct can be preferentially crushed locally (buckled, bellows-like deformation) to absorb the collision energy, thereby reducing injury to the human body. Furthermore, in the configuration of the present invention, in addition to the crushing starting point portion, the notch and the weak portion are provided, making the front upper duct and the front lower duct more likely to crush in the event of a pedestrian collision, thereby increasing the effect of absorbing collision energy.

[0010] Incidentally, in the above cooling duct, the absorber can be configured to include an upper absorber installed between the front upper duct and the front lower duct, and a lower absorber installed below the front lower duct.

[0011] According to this configuration, the degree of freedom in adjusting the relative rigidity with respect to the portion other than the absorber is increased, compared to the case where only one absorber is used. Effect of the Invention

[0016] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a cooling duct that can achieve both cooling performance and pedestrian protection performance. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic view of a front part of a vehicle equipped with an embodiment of a cooling duct according to the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic view of the cooling duct of FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a main part of a front upper duct. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a main portion of a front lower duct. [Diagram 5] FIG. [Figure 6] 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line (6)-(6) in FIG. 2, seen from the direction of the arrow. [Figure 7] FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state after a collision in FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a front lower duct in another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a state after a collision in FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing another example of an application of the cooling duct according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0019] An embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figures 1 to 8. In this embodiment, an example is given in which a cooling duct according to the present invention is installed in a vehicle that uses a ladder frame.

[0020] In Fig. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a radiator support for a vehicle, 2 denotes a drive device such as an engine or an electric motor, 3A denotes a radiator (heat exchanger) for cooling the engine or the electric motor, 3B denotes a radiator (heat exchanger) for cooling a fuel cell, 4 denotes a condenser (heat exchanger) for cooling an air conditioner, 5 denotes a fan, and 6 denotes a fan shroud. Note that the configuration may be such that either one of the radiators 3A and 3B is omitted.

[0021] In the figure, Up indicates the upward direction of the vehicle, Fr indicates the forward direction of the vehicle, Lh indicates the leftward direction of the vehicle, and Rh indicates the rightward direction of the vehicle.

[0022] The radiator support 1 has a configuration in which an upper radiator support 1a and a lower radiator support 1b are arranged vertically in parallel and spaced apart from each other.

[0023] The radiators 3A, 3B and the condenser 4 are attached to the radiator support 1 via left and right side brackets 7, 8. In front of the radiator support 1, a cooling duct 10 is provided.

[0024] The cooling duct 10 improves the cooling performance by actively guiding the traveling wind to the radiators 3A, 3B and the condenser 4, and includes a front upper duct 20, a front lower duct 30, a rear duct 40, and the like.

[0025] The front upper duct 20 is set to have substantially the same dimension as the width of the rear duct 40, and is formed in a horizontally elongated rectangular cylindrical shape.

[0026] The opening of the front upper duct 20 in this embodiment has a shape in which a downward bulge is continuously provided at the lower part of a horizontally long rectangular part, as shown in Fig. 3. The front upper duct 20 has six surfaces in the circumferential direction, namely, an upper surface, a lower surface, an upper left side surface, a lower left side surface, an upper right side surface, and a lower right side surface.

[0027] The entire front portion of the front upper duct 20 is open, but the left and right half regions of the rear portion of the front upper duct 20 are each provided with independent rectangular cylindrical exhaust ports 21, 22 which protrude rearward.

[0028] The front lower duct 30 is set to have substantially the same dimension as the width of the rear duct 40, and is formed in a horizontally elongated rectangular cylindrical shape, for example, as shown in Figs.

[0029] In this embodiment, the opening of the front lower duct 30 is formed in a horizontally elongated rectangular shape. The front lower duct 30 has four surfaces in the circumferential direction, namely, an upper surface, a lower surface, a left side surface, and a right side surface.

[0030] The front lower duct 30 is divided into an upper half (referred to as an upper portion 31) and a lower half (referred to as a lower portion 32), which are separably joined together.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 6, the joint between the upper part 31 and the lower part 32 has a gap that forms a labyrinth seal 33, which prevents the wind introduced into the front lower duct 30 from leaking out from the divided part.

[0032] Specifically, a locking piece 34 that protrudes outward in the lateral direction (vehicle width direction) and then extends downward is provided at the lower end of the upper part 31. Also, a locking piece 35 that protrudes outward in the lateral direction (vehicle width direction) and then extends downward is provided at the upper end of the lower part 32.

[0033] The upper portion 31 and the lower portion 32 are joined together by inserting a locking piece 35 of the lower portion 32 into the opposing gap between the lower end of the upper portion 31 and the locking piece 34.

[0034] The outer surface of the lower end of the upper portion 31 faces the inner surface of the locking piece 35 of the lower portion 32 so as to be out of contact, the lower end surface of the upper portion 31 faces the upper end surface of the lower portion 32 so as to be out of contact, and the outer surface of the locking piece 35 of the lower portion 32 is superimposed so as to abut against the inner surface of the locking piece 34 of the upper portion 31. As a result, the non-contacting opposing portion (the maze-shaped gap) constitutes the labyrinth seal 33 described above.

[0035] The front upper duct 20 has a larger dimension in the up-down direction than the front lower duct 30 .

[0036] As shown in Figure 2, the rear duct 40 is configured such that a horizontally elongated rectangular upper plate portion 42 is provided on the upper side of a vertically elongated rectangular front plate portion 41 so as to extend rearward, and a horizontally elongated rectangular lower plate portion 43 is provided on the lower side of the front plate portion 41 so as to extend rearward.

[0037] A bulging portion 44 that bulges forward is provided in the upper half region of the front plate portion 41. Openings 45, 46 (also referred to as upper openings) are provided in the left and right half regions of this bulging portion 44.

[0038] A horizontally long rectangular tube portion 47 (also referred to as a lower opening) that protrudes further forward than the upper bulge portion 44 is provided along the entire length of the lower half portion of the front plate portion 41 in the left-right direction.

[0039] The two upper rectangular tubular exhaust ports 21, 22 at the rear of the front upper duct 20 are fitted into two openings 45, 46 of the rear duct 40, thereby connecting the two ducts. Also, the rear of the front lower duct 30 is fitted into the front end opening of the rectangular tubular portion 47 of the rear duct 40, thereby connecting the two ducts.

[0040] The cooling duct 10 thus configured is attached to left and right side brackets 7, 8 which are attached to the radiators 3A, 3B.

[0041] A front upper duct 20 and a front lower duct 30 are provided in front of the radiator support 1 , and a rear duct 40 is provided in the rear of the radiator support 1 .

[0042] The front upper duct 20 is disposed between the radiator support upper 1a and the radiator support lower 1b of the radiator support 1. The front lower duct 30 is disposed below the radiator support lower 1b of the radiator support 1.

[0043] Although not shown in detail, the rear duct 40 of the cooling duct 10 is attached to the left and right side brackets 7, 8 using fastening members (for example, bolts or clips).

[0044] The front upper duct 20, the front lower duct 30 and the rear duct 40 are formed from an appropriate synthetic resin (for example, a mixture of polypropylene and polyethylene).

[0045] Incidentally, the cooling duct 10 is designed to enhance the pedestrian protection performance in the event of a collision between the pedestrian and the vehicle while enhancing the cooling performance as described above, and will be described in detail below.

[0046] First, in order to prevent the pedestrian's legs from being swept up and caught under the vehicle during a collision with the vehicle, while reducing the impact energy on the pedestrian's legs, an upper absorber 11 is installed between the front upper duct 20 and the front lower duct 30 in front of the radiator support lower 1b, and a lower absorber 12 is installed in front of the bumper reinforcement 13 installed under the radiator support lower 1b.

[0047] As a result, the front upper duct 20, the front lower duct 30, the upper absorber 11 and the lower absorber 12 are arranged apart from one another so as not to overlap in the vertical direction of the vehicle.

[0048] When the upper absorber 11 and the lower absorber 12 are installed in this manner at the lower front side of the radiator support 1, the relative rigidity between the upper absorber 11 and the lower absorber 12 and other parts (front upper duct 20 and front lower duct 30) can be increased.

[0049] As a result, in the event of a collision with a pedestrian, the upper absorber 11 and the lower absorber 12 lift up the legs of the pedestrian to prevent them from being caught under the vehicle, and it is possible to reduce the impact energy on the legs of the pedestrian.

[0050] In addition, the front upper duct 20 and the front lower duct 30 are provided with collapse starting points (also called crash beads) 23, 36 for the purpose of absorbing collision energy and reducing injury to the human body by preferentially causing localized collapse (buckling, bellows deformation) of the front upper duct 20 and the front lower duct 30.

[0051] 3, the front upper duct 20 has collapse origins 23 provided midway in the front-rear direction on six surfaces, namely the top surface, bottom surface, upper left side surface, lower left side surface, upper right side surface, and lower right side surface. Furthermore, the front upper duct 20 has weak parts 24 provided at the left and right ends of the bottom surface.

[0052] On the other hand, the front lower duct 30 has collapse origins 36 provided midway in the front-rear direction on four surfaces, namely the top, bottom, left side, and right side, as shown in Fig. 4. Furthermore, the front lower duct 30 has weak parts 37 provided at the left and right ends of the top surface and the left and right ends of the bottom surface.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 7, the collapse starting point 36 on the upper surface of the front lower duct 30 is disposed offset toward the front of the vehicle relative to the collapse starting point 36 on the lower surface.

[0054] The above-mentioned collapse starting points 23, 36 are, for example, V-shaped folds, and serve as the starting points for the collapse of the front upper duct 20 and the front lower duct 30 when collision energy is input from the front of the vehicle.

[0055] In addition, the weak portions 24, 37 are cut-outs, such as slits extending toward the rear of the vehicle, and are intended to make it easier to crush the left and right ends of the upper surface and the lower surface when collision energy is input from the front of the vehicle.

[0056] As shown in FIG. 3, a notch 25 (eg, a recess) is provided in the front upper duct 20 at a portion where the collapse starting point 23 on the top surface and the collapse starting point 23 on the upper left side surface intersect.

[0057] Although not shown, notches (e.g., recesses) are also provided in the front upper duct 20 at portions where the collapse origin portion 23 on the upper surface intersects with the collapse origin portion 23 on the upper right side surface, and at portions where the collapse origin portion 23 on the lower surface intersects with the collapse origin portion 23 on the lower left side surface and the lower right side surface.

[0058] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, a notch 38 (eg, a recess) is provided in the front lower duct 30 at a portion where the collapse starting point 36 on the top surface and the collapse starting point 36 on the left side surface intersect.

[0059] Although not shown, notches (e.g., recesses) are also provided at the portion where the collapse starting point 36 on the upper surface intersects with the collapse starting point 36 on the right side surface, and at the portion where the collapse starting point 36 on the lower surface intersects with the collapse starting point 36 on the left side surface and the right side surface.

[0060] In the front upper duct 20 and the front lower duct 30 configured as above, when a pedestrian collides with the front part of the vehicle, the collapse starting points 23, 36 and the weak parts 24, 37 are crushed (buckled, bellows-shaped deformation) preferentially, absorbing the collision energy, thereby reducing injury to the human body.

[0061] Although FIG. 8 illustrates this crushed state only for the front lower duct 30, the front upper duct 20 is also crushed in the same manner, and therefore is not shown.

[0062] In addition, the front upper duct 20, the front lower duct 30, the upper absorber 11 and the lower absorber 12 are arranged apart so as not to overlap in the vertical direction of the vehicle, so that when the front upper duct 20 and the front lower duct 30 are crushed due to a collision with a pedestrian, they will not enter the deformation range.

[0063] As described above, in the cooling duct 10 of the embodiment to which the present invention is applied, not only can the cooling performance be improved by actively directing the traveling wind to the radiators 3A, 3B and the condenser 4 by the front upper duct 20, the front lower duct 30 and the rear duct 40, but also, when a pedestrian collides with the front of the vehicle, the upper absorber 11 and the lower absorber 12 can reduce the impact on the pedestrian and lift up the pedestrian's legs to prevent them from being caught under the vehicle, and further, the front upper duct 20 and the front lower duct 30 can be preferentially crushed (buckled, bellows deformation) locally to absorb the collision energy, thereby reducing injury to the human body.

[0064] Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a cooling duct 10 that is capable of achieving both cooling performance and pedestrian protection performance.

[0065] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the claims and a range equivalent to the claims.

[0066] (1) In the above embodiment, the collapse initiation points 23, 36 are provided at one location in the vehicle front-rear direction of the front upper duct 20 and the front lower duct 30, respectively. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0067] For example, the collapse origins 23, 36 may be provided at separate locations on the front upper duct 20 and the front lower duct 30 in the vehicle longitudinal direction.

[0068] For example, in the embodiment shown in Fig. 9, a collapse origin portion 36 is provided at three locations in the vehicle front-rear direction of the front lower duct 30. In this embodiment, when a pedestrian collides with the front of the vehicle, the three collapse origin portions 36 collapse (buckle, bellows deformation) preferentially, as shown in Fig. 10, and the collision energy can be absorbed efficiently, thereby increasing the effect of reducing injury to the human body. In this way, the same actions and effects as those of the above embodiment can be obtained in this embodiment as well.

[0069] (2) In the above embodiment, an example was given in which the collapse origin portions 23, 36 are provided on all of the circumferentially adjacent surfaces of the front upper duct 20 and the front lower duct 30, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0070] For example, although not shown, the present invention also includes a configuration in which the collapse origins 23, 36 are provided on at least the side surfaces of the front upper duct 20 and the front lower duct 30 that are adjacent in the circumferential direction.

[0071] (3) In the above embodiment, an example was given in which the weak portions 24, 37 were provided in the front upper duct 20 and the front lower duct 30, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0072] For example, although not shown, the present invention also includes a configuration in which the front upper duct 20 and the front lower duct 30 are not provided with the fragile portions 24, 37.

[0073] (4) In the above embodiment, an example was given in which the collapse starting point 36 on the upper surface of the front lower duct 30 is offset toward the front of the vehicle relative to the collapse starting point 36 on the lower surface. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0074] For example, although not shown, the present invention also includes a configuration in which the collapse starting point 36 on the upper surface of the front lower duct 30 is aligned with the collapse starting point 36 on the lower surface in the vehicle front-rear direction.

[0075] (5) In the above embodiment, an example was given in which the cooling duct 10 according to the present invention is installed on a vehicle using a ladder frame, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0076] For example, as shown in FIG. 11, a vehicle using a monocoque body can be equipped with a cooling duct 10 according to the present invention.

[0077] In a vehicle using a monocoque body, a radiator support 1A has a different shape from the radiator support 1 in the vehicle using a ladder frame shown in the above embodiment.

[0078] In the radiator support 1A, the separation distance between the radiator support upper 11A and the radiator support lower 12A is set larger than that of the radiator support 1 shown in the above embodiment, and a bumper reinforcement 13A is disposed between the radiator support upper 11A and the radiator support lower 12A. The front upper duct 20 of the cooling duct 10 is disposed between the radiator support upper 11A and the bumper reinforcement 13A of the radiator support 1A. The front lower duct 30 of the cooling duct 10 is disposed between the bumper reinforcement 13A and the radiator support lower 12A of the radiator support 1A.

[0079] In this case, the front lower duct 30 used is the same as the front lower duct 30 described in the above embodiment, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted here. [Industrial Applicability]

[0080] INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be suitably used in a cooling duct that guides airflow to a heat exchanger that is attached to a radiator support at the front of a vehicle. [Explanation of symbols]

[0081] 1 Radiator Support 1a Radiator support upper 1b Radiator support lower 2. Drive unit 3A Radiator (Heat Exchanger) 3B Radiator (heat exchanger) 4 Condenser (heat exchanger) 7 Left side bracket 8 Right Side Bracket 10 Cooling Duct 11 Upper absorber 12 Lower absorber 20 Front upper duct 23 Starting point of collapse 24 Weakened Part 25 notches 30 Front lower duct 36 Starting point of collapse 37 Weakened Part 38 Notch 40 Rear duct

Claims

1. A cooling duct that guides airflow to a heat exchanger that is attached to a radiator support at the front of a vehicle via a left side bracket and a right side bracket, a front upper duct that is disposed in an upper region in front of the radiator support and receives a running wind from the front and passes it to the rear; a front lower duct that is disposed in a lower region in front of the radiator support and receives running wind from the front and passes it to the rear; a rear duct whose front portion is connected to the front upper duct and the front lower duct and which guides a traveling wind that has passed through the front upper duct and the front lower duct to the heat exchanger, An absorber is provided on a front lower side of the radiator support to absorb collision energy input from the front of the vehicle, the front upper duct and the front lower duct are formed in a rectangular cylindrical shape, and a collapse origin portion is provided on each of adjacent surfaces of the front upper duct and the front lower duct in a circumferential direction, the collapse origin portion being a collapse origin when collision energy is input, A notch is provided at the intersection of each of the collapse starting points, A cooling duct, characterized in that a weak portion is provided at a left end and a right end of at least one of an upper surface and a lower surface of the front upper duct and the front lower duct.

2. 2. The cooling duct according to claim 1, The cooling duct characterized in that the absorber includes an upper absorber installed between the front upper duct and the front lower duct, and a lower absorber installed below the front lower duct.

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