MOTOR VEHICLE INTERIOR INCLUDING AN AIR DUCT FIXING SYSTEM IN A VENTILATION SYSTEM

Description

[0001] The invention relates, in general, to the field of air duct fixing systems in motor vehicle ventilation systems.

[0002] The invention relates more particularly to a mounting plate incorporating the interfaces necessary for securing the air ducts of a ventilation system, specifically the air ducts running within the center console of a motor vehicle. Such console air ducts do not directly project air to the second row of the vehicle, i.e., to the passengers seated in the rear of the passenger compartment. These air ducts are intentionally shortened because they cannot extend the full length of the console due to the presence of storage compartments at the rear of the console. However, the air ducts still provide air conditioning and ventilation for the second-row passengers.

[0003] It is understood that the term "console," as is commonly used, refers to the central compartment between the two front seats in the vehicle's passenger compartment, extending from the dashboard. The console houses some or all of the following equipment: the gearshift lever, cup holders, power window controls, door lock actuators, driver and front passenger armrests, USB ports, etc.

[0004] Thus, as is well known, a motor vehicle has a floor made of sheet metal with a longitudinal bulge between the two front seats, forming a tunnel underneath that allows passage, among other things, of a pipe from the exhaust system. The tunnel is covered by a center console fitted between the two front seats, which performs various functions. The space under the center console is generally used to route wiring harnesses connecting the front and rear of the vehicle. These wiring harnesses are attached to the body by clips to ensure sufficiently precise positioning, preventing contact with other components that could cause wear and failure, and avoiding vibrations and noise.The center console is mounted on the passenger compartment floor and includes a plate with a main face fixed to the floor that supports wiring harnesses. This plate has attachment points for the wiring harnesses on its upper surface and an extension on one side that forms a cover over the electronic control units. Adding this plate to the interfaces of the vehicle's manual transmission allows the transmission itself to be replaced, serving the same purpose by securing the wiring harnesses and protecting the electronic control unit for the airbags.

[0005] Today, to improve passenger comfort in the rear of a vehicle, footwell ventilation is installed in some automobiles. Installing this footwell ventilation requires the use of long air ducts along the vehicle floor, originating from the ventilation system. However, the integration of batteries under the front seats raises the vehicle floor, limiting floor space and preventing the long air ducts from running along the floor. To maintain footwell ventilation for rear passengers and preserve user comfort, the long air ducts are replaced with shorter ones that offer similar performance and differ from the long ducts only in that they run inside the center console rather than along the floor.

[0006] Document DE102016101603 describes a duct attachment element for a motor vehicle air conditioning system which includes at least one U-shaped attachment zone placed between two opposite regions connected to each other by the U-shaped curve of the base attachment zone.

[0007] However, such a solution has disadvantages because the U-shaped fixing area requires a sufficiently large space on the floor.

[0008] Furthermore, document JP 2002 144845 A also discloses an air duct fixing system for a vehicle ventilation system, in which a fixing piece formed integrally with the duct allows the air duct to be fixed inside the console.

[0009] The invention therefore aims to resolve these drawbacks by proposing a plate serving as a support and fixing receptacle for air ducts intended for passengers at the rear of a vehicle.

[0010] To achieve this result, the present invention proposes a motor vehicle passenger compartment comprising a ventilation system, according to the characteristics of claim 1.

[0011] Advantageously, the said plate is a single, rigid, and molded piece.

[0012] Advantageously, the conduit fixing interfaces are made from the same material as the said plate.

[0013] According to one embodiment, the shape of the air duct fixing interface is oblong.

[0014] According to one embodiment, the shape of the air duct fixing interface is round.

[0015] Advantageously, the short air duct is secured to said plate by means of fastening, said fastening means being made up of at least one of the following fastening means: screw, nut, dowel, fasteners, plasti-rivet.

[0016] According to one embodiment, the air duct fixing interfaces are integrated into the console.

[0017] The invention also relates to a motor vehicle comprising a passenger compartment as described above.

[0018] Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the detailed description of embodiments of the invention, given by way of example only, and with reference to the drawings which show: THE figures 1 et 2 , respectively a perspective view of the top and bottom of the plate according to the invention mounted in a motor vehicle, the figures 3 et 4 , a view of the interior of a center console mounted on a vehicle tunnel comprising this plate with the air duct mounting system according to the invention, and the figure 5 , a view of the ventilation grille inside the vehicle's passenger compartment.

[0019] THE figures 1 et 2 These figures represent a perspective view of the top and bottom of a plate 100, respectively. The plate 100 is fixed in place of the mechanical gearbox interfaces on the tunnel. The plate 100 shown has a hollow cylindrical boss 20 extending above the surface at the front and has a central hole 3. The plate 100 has two spaced attachment devices 40 on its top.

[0020] Still referring to the method of implementation of the figures 1 et 2 The plate 100 is symmetrical about a longitudinal axis, having towards the front a flat main face 5 comprising at the rear a long side oriented in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and at the front a short rectangular side also oriented in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. Two vertical bosses 21 with a central bore 3 extend above the plane on the edges of the long side of the plate 100. A short vertical rim 6 delimits the short side from the long side of the main face 5 by slightly raising the rear of the main face 5 relative to the front of the main face 5 by a height equal to the height of this rim.Each corner of the main face 5 has, below it, a vertical cylindrical boss 7 terminating in a transverse support face with a central hole 3, designed to bear against the top of the vehicle tunnel, slightly raising the main face 5. The main face 5 has two oblong attachment devices 41 aligned transversely on one edge, and two round attachment devices 42 aligned transversely in the middle, designed to secure bundles of electrical wires. In particular, the four attachment devices 41 and 42 allow for the modular reception of different types of bundles, corresponding to vehicle variants built on the same platform.The rear side of the main face 5 has a vertical rim 8, the top of which extends rearward into a platform forming a hood 9 with a length substantially equal to that of the main face 5. The hood 9 has a narrower front portion corresponding to the width of the vertical rim 8, forming a notch on each side. Five lower reinforcing brackets 10 connect the underside of the hood 9 with the rear face of the vertical rim 8. Four upper reinforcing brackets 11 connect the top of the main face 5 with the front face of the vertical rim 8. The hood 9 has longitudinal grooves 12 on its top surface, which are closed at the ends. The hood 9 has a rear portion comprising an oblong-type attachment device 43 located on the edge of the hood 9 opposite the edge of the main face 5 where the two attachment devices 41 are located.The rear part of the hood 9 has at its end a nearly vertical side terminating at the bottom in a flat horizontal lip forming an oblong-type attachment device 44. The plate 100 is economically formed by molding a plastic material, allowing all the shapes to be molded in a single operation.

[0021] In the following figures, only one air duct 13 and one grille 15 are shown to avoid cluttering the drawings and to facilitate understanding of the figures. However, the ventilation system actually comprises two air ducts 13 connected to two grilles 15 located on either side of the central console covering the tunnel, positioned between the two front seats of the vehicle.

[0022] There figure 3 represents the air duct fixing system according to the invention. The plate 100 is positioned in place of the mechanical speed controls on the interfaces located on the tunnel by means of the vertical cylindrical bosses 7 which bear against the top of the vehicle tunnel by slightly raising the main face 5.

[0023] The plate 100 also incorporates the necessary mounting interfaces for holding the short air ducts 13 as close as possible to the blowing zone of the vehicle's ventilation system. The air duct 13 is attached to the mounting interface of the plate 100 according to the invention and rests against the grille 15 in a Y-shape. The air duct 13 is fixed to one of the vertical bosses 21 located on the main face 5 of the plate 100, by means of a plasti-rivet 14, and rests in a Y-shape on the grille 15. The air duct 13 thus ensures the blowing of air into the vehicle's passenger compartment. The grille 15 is clipped onto the side flanges of the console.

[0024] There figure 4 This represents the main face 5 of the plate 100, which incorporates a mounting interface necessary for securing an air duct 13 as close as possible to the air supply area on the grille 15, which is clipped onto the side flanges of the console inside the vehicle's passenger compartment. The mounting interface of the plate 100 allows the air duct 13 to adhere to the grille 15, ensuring excellent airflow performance by preventing any air loss. In particular, air loss generates whistling noises that can be heard by passengers inside the vehicle. Such a situation detracts from passenger comfort. The air ducts 13 are Y-shaped and connected to the grilles 15, thus preventing any whistling and air loss in the ventilation system caused by improper connection of the short air ducts 13 to the grilles 15.

[0025] There figure 5represents the grille 15 of the ventilation system clipped onto the side flanges of the console and allowing the short air duct 13 to send air into the passenger compartment of the vehicle.

[0026] Thanks to the mounting interfaces on the plate according to the invention, the short air ducts adhere very closely to the ventilation system grille, thus managing any dispersion related to the attachment of air ducts to an air grille integrated into the console flanges. The invention therefore avoids problems related to assembly and vibration, and ensures efficient ventilation by preventing whistling or negative pressure.

[0027] The fixing system according to the invention also allows acoustic protection against noise from a fan, on the one hand by preventing the direct diffusion of noise, and on the other hand by allowing the air to flow smoothly.

Claims

1. A passenger compartment for a motor vehicle, said compartment comprising: - a ventilation system comprising, - an air duct (13) leading into the interior of the vehicle at the feet of the passengers in the second row, - a grid (15), - said passenger compartment comprising a bracket, inside the vehicle, comprising lateral flanges, - the grate (15) being integrated into the side flanges of the console and located at the feet of the second row passengers inside the passenger compartment of the vehicle, - the air duct (13) being connected to the grate (15) and sending the air flow into the space inside the vehicle, characterized in that the vehicle passenger compartment comprises a plate (100) which incorporates interfaces for fixing said air duct, said interfaces for fixing said air duct being capable of making said air duct (13) sealingly connected to said grate (15) inside the bracket; the air duct (13) being fitted on the grate (15).

2. Vehicle passenger compartment according to claim 1, characterized in that said plate (100) is a single, rigid and molded part.

3. A vehicle passenger compartment according to claim 2, characterized in that the air duct attachment interfaces are made of material of said plate (100).

4. Vehicle compartment according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the shape of the air duct attachment interface is of the elongate type.

5. Vehicle compartment according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the shape of the air duct attachment interface is round.

6. Vehicle passenger compartment according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the short air duct (13) is secured to said plate (100) by means of securing means, said securing means being constituted by any one of at least the following securing means: screw, nut, pin, fasteners, rivet plate (14).

7. Vehicle compartment according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the air duct fixing interfaces are integrated into the bracket.

8. Motor vehicle comprising a vehicle compartment according to one of the preceding claims.