Tilted movable air flap assembly

Abstract

The present application relates to a tilting movable air flap assembly. The tilting movable air flap assembly may include an air flap unit having a plurality of air flaps, the plurality of air flaps being rotatably mounted in a manner of being arranged in parallel with each other and rotating simultaneously so that the running wind flows into the engine room through the radiator grille of the vehicle or blocks the running wind; a driving motor; a power transmission device for transmitting the rotational force of the driving motor to any one of the plurality of air flaps; and a tilting device for moving any one of the upper end and the lower end of the air flap unit along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle when each of the air flaps rotates to close the radiator grille.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to controlling air flow into an engine compartment through a radiator grille of a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

[0003] In a vehicle equipped with the engine, the engine can be maintained at a proper temperature by cooling coolant exhausted from a heated engine in a radiator grill disposed at the front of the vehicle and then forcing the coolant to flow back to the engine to cool the engine.

[0004] The radiator grille is usually always open, and the air which flows through the radiator grille into the engine compartment therefore acts as a driving resistance for the vehicle.

[0005] Furthermore, although there is no need to cool the engine when the engine is cold or the electric motor of the hybrid vehicle is operating, air flows into the engine room through the opened radiator grill, and thus running resistance increases.

[0006] In some cases, such as Figure 1 As shown, a movable air flap assembly is installed so that air is selectively introduced into the engine room 11 .

[0007] In the active air flap assembly, a plurality of air flaps 121 are rotatably mounted at the rear of the radiator grille 12 in the engine room 11 in such a manner that the plurality of air flaps are opened when it is required that traveling air flow into the engine room 11, and when it is not required that traveling air flow into the engine room 11, each of the air flaps 121 is turned to contact with other adjacent air flaps, thereby preventing or inhibiting the traveling air from flowing into the engine room 11.

[0008] However, in some cases, the related art air flap assembly cannot sufficiently prevent the traveling wind introduced into the radiator grill 12 from flowing into the engine room 11 , and thus air flows into the engine room 11 .

[0009] like Figure 1 As shown by the line AA in FIG. 1 , the radiator grill 12 is formed into a curved shape when viewed in a cross section. Therefore, the air flap 121 located at the lower portion is disposed to be further away from the radiator grill 12 than the air flap 121 located at the upper portion. Furthermore, in recent years, a start-stop and coasting (SSC) module 31, a front camera, and the like are mounted on the radiator grill 12 to ensure functions related to autonomous driving or driving comfort. As a result, it is difficult to dispose the air flap 121 in a more forward position at the lower portion to avoid interference.

[0010] Therefore, even when the air flap 121 is closed, the traveling wind flows into the engine room through the space between the lower end of the air flap assembly and the radiator grille 12 or between the lower end of the air flap assembly and the rear beam 14 supporting the bumper 15 .

[0011] Thus, although the flap assembly is operated (in other words, the flap closes the radiator grille), the traveling wind flows into the engine room 11, so that the aerodynamic performance of the vehicle is deteriorated due to the inflowing traveling wind and this will lead to a decrease in fuel efficiency.

[0012] The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the present disclosure and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. Summary of the invention

[0013] The present disclosure provides a tilting type movable air flap assembly which is configured such that when the air flap is operated, the air flap is tilted so that no gap is formed between the air flap and a component inside an engine room.

[0014] The present disclosure can be understood through the following description, and will become apparent with reference to its various forms.

[0015] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a tilting movable air flap assembly, comprising: an air flap unit having a plurality of air flaps, the plurality of air flaps being rotatably mounted in a manner of being arranged in parallel with each other and rotating simultaneously so that traveling wind flows into an engine room through a radiator grille of a vehicle or blocks the traveling wind; a drive motor; a power transmission device for transmitting the rotational force of the drive motor to any one of the plurality of air flaps; and a tilting device for moving any one of an upper end and a lower end of the air flap unit in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle when each of the air flaps rotates to close the radiator grille.

[0016] The tilting movable air flap assembly is characterized in that the tilting device includes: an output gear connected to the rotation shaft of any one of the air flaps; and a curved rack meshed with one side of the output gear and fixedly installed in the housing.

[0017] The tilting movable air flap assembly is characterized in that the output gear includes a pinion portion to which the rotational force of the driving motor is input and a sector gear portion formed integrally with the pinion portion and meshing with the curved rack.

[0018] The inclined movable air flap assembly is characterized in that the radius of the curved rack is greater than the radius of the sector gear portion.

[0019] The tilt type active air flap assembly is characterized in that the curved rack is formed into a curved shape, the height of which increases along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

[0020] The tilting movable air flap assembly is characterized in that a plurality of power transmission devices for transmitting the rotational force of the driving motor to the output gear are provided between the driving motor and the pinion gear portion.

[0021] The tilting movable air flap assembly is characterized in that at least one gear member is provided between the driving motor and the pinion part.

[0022] The tilting movable air flap assembly is characterized in that a driving gear is mounted to a rotating shaft of a driving motor, and an intermediate gear for transmitting a rotating force of the driving gear to an output gear is provided between the driving gear and a pinion gear portion.

[0023] The tilting movable air flap assembly is characterized in that an intermediate gear guide groove and an output gear guide groove are formed in a housing to guide the rotation of the intermediate gear and the output gear around the driving gear when the intermediate gear and the output gear rotate about their respective axes.

[0024] The tilt-type movable air flap assembly is characterized in that an output gear is coupled to a rotation shaft of the air flap located at a lowest position among the air flaps.

[0025] The tilted movable air flap assembly is characterized in that one side of the air flap located at the highest position among the air flaps is rotatably mounted in the housing.

[0026] The tilting type active air flap assembly is characterized in that the curved rack is formed into a curved shape, the height of which increases toward the front of the vehicle.

[0027] The tilting movable air flap assembly is characterized in that one side of the air flaps are connected to each other through interlocking connecting rods, so that the air flaps are interlocked with each other.

[0028] The tilting movable air flap assembly is characterized in that upper adjacent air flaps are connected to each other by an interlocking link at one of the left and right end sides of the air flaps, and lower adjacent air flaps are connected to each other by an interlocking link at the other of the left and right ends of the air flaps.

[0029] The tiltable movable air flap assembly having the above-described features according to the present invention can tilt the air flap when the air flap is operated (in other words, when the air flap closes the radiator grille), so that the upper end or the lower end of the deployed air flap is in close contact with the components inside the engine room.

[0030] In this way, the upper end or the lower end of the air flap can be in close contact with the components inside the engine room, so that once the air flap is operated, the air can be prevented or suppressed from flowing into the engine room, thereby improving the aerodynamic performance of the vehicle.

[0031] As the aerodynamic performance of the vehicle is improved, the fuel efficiency of the vehicle is also improved.

[0032] Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein.It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] In order that the present disclosure may be better understood, various forms of the present disclosure given by way of example will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0034] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a damper according to the prior art is installed inside an engine room;

[0035] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a flap according to the prior art is deployed;

[0036] Figure 3 is a perspective view of a tiltable movable air flap assembly according to a form of the present disclosure;

[0037] Figure 4 is a side view showing the arrangement of an output gear and a curved rack in a tilting movable air flap assembly according to a form of the present disclosure;

[0038] Figure 5 is a perspective view showing a state of operating a tilting movable air flap assembly according to a form of the present disclosure;

[0039] Figure 6 is a side view showing the arrangement state of the output gear and the curved rack when the tilting movable air flap assembly according to the form of the present invention is operated; and

[0040] Figure 7 : is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the tilting active air flap assembly according to the form of the present disclosure is operated in an engine room.

[0041] The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts and features.

[0043] Hereinafter, a tilting type active air flap assembly according to a form of the present disclosure is described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0044] The tilting active air flap assembly 20 according to the form of the present disclosure includes: an air flap unit 21 having a plurality of air flaps 21a which are rotatably mounted in a manner of being arranged in parallel with each other and rotating simultaneously so that traveling wind flows into the engine room through the radiator grille 12 of the vehicle or blocks the traveling wind; a driving motor 24; a power transmission device for transmitting the rotational force of the driving motor 24 to any one of the plurality of air flaps 21a; and a tilting device for moving any one of the upper end and the lower end of the air flap unit 21 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle when each of the air flaps 21a rotates to close the radiator grille 12.

[0045] A plurality of air flaps 21a are provided inside the engine room 11. The plurality of air flaps 21a are arranged behind the radiator grill 12 in the engine room 11 along the vertical direction of the vehicle.

[0046] The air flap 21a is rotatably mounted in such a manner that when the air flap is parallel to the ground (i.e., open configuration), the traveling wind can flow into the engine room 11. On the other hand, when the air flap is substantially perpendicular to the ground and in contact with other adjacent air flaps 21a in the vertical direction (i.e., closed configuration), the air is blocked from flowing into the engine room 11 through the radiator grille 12.

[0047] The air flaps 21a are installed to be interlocked with each other respectively by interlocking links 22. The air flaps 21a are interlocked with each other in such a manner that they are kept at the same rotation angle. The interlocking link 22 for interlocking the air flaps 21a is coupled to one side of the air flaps 21a so that the air flaps 21a rotate at the same angle at the same time.

[0048] Thus, one unit of the flaps 21a interlocked with each other constitutes the flap unit 21 so that they rotate simultaneously to open or close the radiator grill 12. The flap unit 21 can be tilted in such a manner that the lower end of the flap unit moves relative to the upper end thereof in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. If necessary, the flap unit can be tilted in such a manner that the upper end of the flap unit 21 moves relative to the lower end thereof in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

[0049] The rotation axis of one of the air flaps 21a, to which the tilt of the air flap unit 21 is not transmitted, for example, the uppermost air flap 21a, is rotatably mounted in the housing 29 (in which the air flap unit 21 is mounted) through the ball bearing 23. In this case, the uppermost air flap 21a can be coupled to the housing 29 through the ball bearing 23.

[0050] When the air flap 21a of the air flap unit 21 rotates to close the radiator grill 12, the tilting device forces one of the upper end and the lower end of the air flap unit 21 to move in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. This aspect shows an example in which the tilting device forces the lower end of the air flap unit 21 to move toward the front of the vehicle. When the tilting device forces the lower end of the air flap unit 21 to move toward the front of the vehicle, whereby the end of the air flap 21a located at the lowest position among the air flaps 21a contacts the radiator grill 12 or the rear beam 14 supporting the bumper 15, once the air flap is operated (in other words, the air flap closes the radiator grill), the air flap 21a suppresses or prevents air from flowing through the space between the structures inside the engine room 11.

[0051] A specific example of the tilting device may be an output gear 27 for rotating the air flap 21 a and a curved rack 28 provided in the engine room 11 to mesh with the output gear 27 .

[0052] The output gear 27 is coupled to the drive motor 24 for rotating the air flap 21a via a power transmission device such as a drive gear 25 mounted to the rotation shaft of the drive motor 24 and an intermediate gear 26 meshed with the drive gear 25, so that the output gear 27 is rotated by the drive motor 24. The output gear 27 is formed with a pinion portion 27a to be meshed with the intermediate gear 26 so that the output gear 27 can rotate when the drive motor 24 rotates. The rotation shaft of the output gear 27 is coupled to any one of the air flaps 21a to rotate the air flap 21a. Since the air flaps 21a are configured to be interlocked with each other, even if only one of the air flaps 21a rotates, the remaining air flaps 21a rotate simultaneously therewith.

[0053] The output gear 27 is formed with a sector gear portion 27b. The sector gear portion 27b is formed integrally with the pinion gear portion 27a and has the same rotation center as the pinion gear portion 27a. The sector gear portion 27b is configured so that the output gear 27 meshes with the curved rack 28 between an angle at which the air flap plate unit 21 fully opens the radiator grill 12 and an angle at which the air flap plate unit closes the radiator grill 12.

[0054] The intermediate gear 26 and the output gear 27 rotate around the drive gear 25 through guide grooves 29a and 29b formed in the housing 29, respectively. The guide grooves formed in the housing 29 are the intermediate gear guide groove 29a, which takes the rotation axis of the drive gear 25 as the center of mass and receives the rotation axis of the intermediate gear 26, and the output gear guide groove 29b, which takes the rotation axis of the drive gear 25 as the center of mass and receives the rotation axis of the output gear 27. When the drive gear 25 rotates, the intermediate gear 26 and the output gear 27 rotate about their respective axes and simultaneously rotate at the same angular speed through the intermediate gear guide groove 29a and the output gear guide groove 29b to open or close the air flap 21a.

[0055] The curved rack 28 is fixedly mounted inside the engine room 11 (e.g., the housing 29 to which the air flap unit 21 is mounted). The curved rack 28 is formed into a curved shape, and its height increases toward the tilting direction of the air flap unit 21. For example, if it is assumed that the lower end of the air flap unit 21 rises and the lower end of the air flap unit 21 moves toward the front of the vehicle, the curved rack 28 is configured to become higher toward the front of the vehicle.

[0056] The inner diameter of the curved rack gear 28 is formed larger than the radius of the sector gear portion 27b.

[0057] Further, the curved rack 28 is configured to have an arc that is a portion of an arc having the rotation center of the driving motor 24 as a center of mass.

[0058] When the curved rack 28 meshes with the sector gear portion 27 b of the output gear 27 and thus the output gear 27 rotates, the output gear 27 moves along the curved rack 28 while rotating about the center of the output gear 27 , thereby tilting the flap unit 21 .

[0059] Hereinafter, the operation of the tilting active air flap assembly having the above-mentioned features according to the form of the present disclosure is described.

[0060] Figure 3 and Figure 4 Shows the state before the air flap is operated.

[0061] Before the air flaps are operated, that is, when the radiator grill 12 is opened, the air flaps 21 a are substantially parallel to the ground, so that the traveling wind flows into the engine room 11 through the spaces between the air flaps 21 a .

[0062] On the other hand, the intermediate gear 26 and the output gear 27 are kept substantially perpendicular to the ground. In particular, the output gear 27 is meshed with the lowest surface of the curved rack 28.

[0063] On the other hand, if the engine is cold or the hybrid vehicle is running in the electric vehicle mode, it may be undesirable for the running wind to flow into the engine room 11. In this case, the air flap is operated to prevent the running wind from flowing in through the radiator grille 12.

[0064] To this end, power is applied to the drive motor 24 to rotate the drive motor 24, and the rotational force of the drive motor 24 is transmitted to the flap unit 21 through the drive gear 25, the intermediate gear 26, and the output gear 27. In the flap unit 21, the flaps 21a are arranged to be interlocked with each other respectively by the interlocking links 22. Therefore, when the rotational force is input from the output gear 27 to any one of the flaps 21a, the flaps 21a start to rotate at the same time.

[0065] Thereafter, when the air flap is rotated to a large or maximum extent, the air flap 21 a contacts another air flap 21 a adjacent to each other in the vertical direction, thereby preventing the traveling wind from flowing through the radiator grill 12 .

[0066] At this time, the upper end or the lower end of the air flap unit 21 moves in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and therefore, the end of the air flap 21 a contacts the surrounding structure or other components, thereby suppressing air leakage from the periphery of the air flap unit 21, thereby suppressing the running wind from flowing into the engine room 11.

[0067] The air flap unit 21 can be configured so that any one of the upper end and the lower end of the air flap unit 21 (in some cases, the lower end of the air flap unit 21) is moved (or tilted) toward the front of the vehicle by a tilting device, so that the lower end of the air flap unit 21 is in close contact with the radiator grille 12.

[0068] Now, the process of tilting the lower end of the flap unit 21 will be described in detail below.

[0069] When the drive motor 24 is driven to rotate the air flap 21a, the air flap 21a is rotated by the rotational force transmitted from the drive gear 25 via the output gear 27. At this time, the intermediate gear 26 and the output gear 27 rotate about their respective axes while being guided by the guide grooves 29a and 29b and simultaneously rotate around the drive gear 25. When the output gear 27 rotates while rotating, because the sector gear portion 27b of the output gear 27 is in a state of meshing with the curved rack 28, the rotation axis of the output gear 27 moves along the curved rack 28.

[0070] The curved rack 28 is formed to have a curved surface whose height increases toward the front of the vehicle. Therefore, when the output gear 27 rotates, the rotation axis of the output gear 27 moves along the curve of the curved rack 28, while the sector gear portion 27b moves on the curved rack 28.

[0071] At this time, the lowermost flap 21a coupled to the output gear 27 also moves along the curve of the curved rack 28. Since the curved rack 28 is shaped so that the curve of the curved rack 28 rises toward the front of the vehicle, the flap 21a located at the lowermost position rotates along the curve of the curved rack 28 in the direction of closing the radiator grill 12 and simultaneously moves further forward than the initial position (i.e., the position of opening the radiator grill).

[0072] When the air flap 21a at the lowest position moves toward the front of the vehicle and at the same time the air flap 21a closes the radiator grille 12, the air flap 21a at the lowest position contacts the radiator grille 12 or the rear beam 14 supporting the bumper 15. Since no gap is formed between any of the air flaps 21a and the structure inside the engine room 11 (such as the radiator grille 12 or the rear beam 14) when the air flap assembly 20 is operated (i.e., when the air flap is closed), the running wind is suppressed from flowing into the engine room 11, thereby improving the aerodynamic performance of the vehicle.

[0073] On the other hand, since the driving gear 25, the intermediate gear 26 and the output gear 27 are configured so that their rotation axes are fixed relative to each other when the output gear 27 rotates, when the output gear 27 moves along the curved rack 28 while the rotation axis of the output gear 27 rotates around the driving gear 25, the rotation axis of the intermediate gear 26 rotates around the rotation axis of the driving gear 25 by the angle at which the rotation axis of the output gear 27 rotates.

[0074] In addition, the intermediate gear 26 is configured so that when the rotation axis of the intermediate gear 26 rotates together with the output gear 27 around the rotation axis of the drive gear 25 and the output gear 27 moves on the curved rack 28, the intermediate gear 26 also moves to transmit the rotational force of the drive motor 24 to the output gear 27.

[0075] This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0129253, filed on October 26, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0076] While the present disclosure has been described in connection with what are presently considered to be practical exemplary forms, it should be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the forms disclosed, but on the contrary is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A tilted movable air flap assembly for controlling air flow through a radiator grille to an engine compartment of a vehicle, the tilted movable air flap assembly comprising: a flap unit having a plurality of flaps arranged in parallel with each other and configured to rotate simultaneously so that when the plurality of flaps are in an open configuration, traveling wind flows into the engine compartment through the radiator grille of the vehicle, and when the plurality of flaps are in a closed configuration, traveling wind is blocked from entering the engine compartment; Drive motor; a power transmission device, used for transmitting the rotational force of the drive motor to any one of the plurality of air flaps; as well as a tilting device operably connected to the driving gear and coupled to at least one of the plurality of air flaps, wherein the tilting device is configured to move any one of an upper end and a lower end of the air flap unit along a longitudinal direction of the vehicle when each of the air flaps rotates to close the radiator grille.

2. The tilting movable air flap assembly according to claim 1, wherein the tilting device comprises an output gear coupled to a rotation shaft of any one of the air flaps; and a curved rack configured to mesh with one side of the output gear and fixedly mounted in a housing.

3. The tilting movable air flap assembly according to claim 2, wherein the output gear includes a pinion portion to which the rotational force of the driving motor is input and a sector gear portion formed integrally with the pinion portion and meshing with the curved rack. 4 . The tiltable movable air flap assembly according to claim 3 , wherein a radius of the curved rack is greater than a radius of the sector gear portion. 5 . The tiltable active air flap assembly according to claim 2 , wherein the curved rack is formed into a curved shape, a height of which increases along a longitudinal direction of the vehicle. 6 . The tilting movable air flap assembly according to claim 3 , wherein a plurality of power transmission devices for transmitting the rotational force of the driving motor to the output gear are provided between the driving motor and the pinion gear portion. 7 . The tilting movable air flap assembly according to claim 6 , wherein at least one gear member is provided between the driving motor and the pinion gear portion.

8. The tilting movable air flap assembly according to claim 7, wherein the driving gear is mounted to a rotating shaft of the driving motor, and an intermediate gear for transmitting a rotating force of the driving gear to the output gear is provided between the driving gear and the pinion gear portion.

9. The tiltable movable air flap assembly according to claim 8, wherein an intermediate gear guide groove and an output gear guide groove are formed in the housing to guide the rotation of the intermediate gear and the output gear around the driving gear when the intermediate gear and the output gear rotate about their respective axes. 10 . The tilt-type movable air flap assembly according to claim 2 , wherein the output gear is coupled to a rotation shaft of an air flap located at a lowest position among the air flaps. 11 . The tiltable movable air flap assembly according to claim 10 , wherein one side of the air flap located at the highest position among the air flaps is rotatably mounted in the housing. 12 . The tiltable active air flap assembly according to claim 10 , wherein the curved rack is formed in a curved shape, a height of which increases toward the front of the vehicle. 13 . The tilt-type movable air flap assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of air flaps are configured to be interlocked with each other by an interlocking link at one of a left end and a right end of at least one of the air flaps.

14. The tiltable movable air flap assembly according to claim 12, wherein in an upper portion of the plurality of air flaps, adjacent air flaps are coupled to each other by an interlocking link at one of left and right end sides of the air flaps, and in a lower portion of the plurality of air flaps, adjacent air flaps are coupled to each other by an interlocking link at the other of the left and right end sides of the air flaps.

15. A tilted movable air flap assembly for controlling air flow through a radiator grille to an engine compartment of a vehicle, the tilted movable air flap assembly comprising: a flap unit having a plurality of flaps arranged in parallel with one another and configured to rotate simultaneously so that when the plurality of flaps are in an open configuration, traveling wind flows into the engine compartment through the radiator grille of the vehicle, and when the plurality of flaps are in a closed configuration, traveling wind is blocked from entering the engine compartment; Drive motor; a driving gear connected to the driving motor, and used for transmitting the rotational force of the driving motor to any one of the plurality of air flaps; as well as an output gear operably connected to the driving gear and coupled to a rotation shaft of any one of the plurality of air flaps, the output gear being configured to move any one of an upper end and a lower end of the air flap unit in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle when each of the air flaps rotates to close the radiator grille.

Images