Passive tire air deflector and vehicle

By using passive tire deflectors to control the opening and closing of the deflectors through inertial force, the contradiction between wind resistance and brake disc cooling performance in existing technologies is resolved. This enables automatic adjustment under different driving conditions, reducing wind resistance and ensuring brake disc cooling.

CN119262102AActive Publication Date: 2025-01-07CHERY AUTOMOBILE CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202411618717.2
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2024-11-13
Publication Date
2025-01-07
Estimated Expiration
2044-11-13

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

While existing tire deflectors reduce wind resistance, they can easily worsen brake disc cooling performance, and active deflectors have complex structures and high costs.

Method used

A passive tire deflector was designed, which uses inertial force to control the opening and closing of the deflector. Through the self-locking structure of the swing arm, connecting rod and deflector, it remains open during normal driving and automatically closes during emergency braking to ensure the brake disc is cooled.

Benefits of technology

It achieves automatic adjustment of the opening and closing of the air deflector under different driving conditions, taking into account both wind resistance and brake disc cooling performance. It has a simple structure, low cost, and requires no additional energy consumption.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

The invention discloses a passive tire air deflector and a vehicle, and relates to the field of automobile exterior trimming parts, the passive tire air deflector comprises a swing arm, a connecting rod and an air deflector, the swing arm is connected with a first swing arm rotating shaft, and the first swing arm rotating shaft is used for being rotationally connected with the vehicle exterior trimming parts; one end of the connecting rod is rotationally connected with the swing arm through a second swing arm rotating shaft, and the other end is rotationally connected with the air deflector through a connecting rod rotating shaft; when the air deflector is in a vertical state, the connecting rod rotating shaft, the first swing arm rotating shaft and the second swing arm rotating shaft are not located on the same straight line, and a set angle is formed between the center line of the connecting rod and the connecting line of the second swing arm rotating shaft and the first swing arm rotating shaft, so that the self-locking condition of the connecting rod is met. Complex control and execution mechanisms are not needed, and closing of the tire air deflector is controlled only through inertia force generated during braking; and the structure is simple, the cost is low, and the two performances of wind resistance and brake disc cooling are both considered.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of automobile exterior parts, and in particular to a passive tire air deflector and a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, new energy vehicles have flourished, and the cruising range has become the most critical performance indicator of vehicles. With the slowdown in the development of existing battery technology, reducing the vehicle's driving resistance has become an extremely important means to increase the cruising range. Among them, wind resistance is an important component of vehicle driving resistance, and its size is proportional to the square of the speed; under high-speed conditions, wind resistance will play a decisive role in the cruising range. Among the many solutions for the pursuit of extremely low wind resistance, the tire air deflector is an important device, whose function is to disperse the airflow and prevent the airflow from directly impacting the tire to reduce tire resistance. However, the air deflector also has other side effects. For example, it will prevent the airflow from entering the inside of the tire, reducing the airflow from crossing the rim horizontally, thereby sacrificing the cooling performance of the brake disc, and in severe cases, the brake function may even fail.

[0003] At present, most of the tire air deflectors of automobiles are fixed, usually fixed on the wheel cover guard plate. For example: Chinese invention patent CN118107666A discloses a front wheel assembly of an automobile, which includes a front wheel air deflector, a front wheel cover and a front wheel of the automobile, the front wheel air deflector includes an air deflector body and a guide plate, the air deflector body includes a connected connecting plate and a flow stabilizer, the connecting plate is connected to the front wheel cover, and the guide plate is used to guide the airflow to the first side and the second side of the first accommodation space in the vehicle width direction; Chinese invention patent CN117885823A discloses a 3D air deflector, including a rear end plate and a guide plate arranged on the front plate surface of the rear end plate; Chinese invention patent CN107776688A discloses a front spoiler, the front spoiler includes a first plate body and a second plate body, and the first plate body and the second plate body are connected to form a V-shaped structure. The above-mentioned fixed tire air deflectors all have the problem of easily deteriorating the cooling performance of the brake disc.

[0004] The prior art also has active retractable wind deflectors, for example, Chinese invention patent CN116395046A discloses a pneumatic automobile tire wind deflector, which includes a wind deflector rotatably mounted in front of and / or behind the tire, and a pneumatic component that drives the wind deflector to rotate and extend is connected between the wind deflector and the vehicle body, and can be expanded and retracted under the control of the vehicle electronic signal. However, its structure is complex, with many control and actuator mechanisms, and the cost is relatively high. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a passive tire air deflector and a vehicle, which do not require the aid of complex control and actuators, and only control the closing of the tire air deflector through the inertial force generated during braking; it has a simple structure and low cost, while taking into account both wind resistance and brake disc cooling.

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is implemented through the following technical solutions:

[0007] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a passive tire air deflector, comprising a swing arm, a connecting rod and an air deflector, wherein the swing arm is connected to a first swing arm rotating shaft, and the first swing arm rotating shaft is used to be rotatably connected to a vehicle exterior component; one end of the connecting rod is rotatably connected to the swing arm through a second swing arm rotating shaft, and the other end of the connecting rod is rotatably connected to the air deflector through a connecting rod rotating shaft;

[0008] When the wind guide plate is in a vertical state, the connecting rod shaft, the first swing arm shaft and the second swing arm shaft are not in a straight line, and a set angle is formed between the center line of the connecting rod and the line connecting the second swing arm shaft and the first swing arm shaft to meet the connecting rod self-locking condition.

[0009] As a further implementation, when the air guide plate is in a vertical state, the second swing arm rotation axis deviates from a line connecting the connecting rod rotation axis and the first swing arm rotation axis and is located below the line.

[0010] As a further implementation, the set angle is 170°±10°.

[0011] As a further implementation, the swing arm is installed with a counterweight.

[0012] As a further implementation method, the swing arm is a hollow fan-shaped structure, the first swing arm rotation axis is arranged at the top of the swing arm, and the second swing arm rotation axis is arranged on one side of the arc portion of the swing arm.

[0013] As a further implementation, the air guide plate is installed with a mounting seat, and the mounting seat is provided with a mounting seat for installing a connecting rod rotating shaft.

[0014] As a further implementation, the guide plate is rotatably mounted with a plurality of air deflector brackets, and the air deflector brackets are used to be fixed to the vehicle exterior components.

[0015] As a further implementation, the swing range of the swing arm is limited by a limit block, and the limit block is fixed to the vehicle exterior component.

[0016] As a further implementation, the swing arm has a rotation range of 35° to 45°.

[0017] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a vehicle equipped with the passive tire air deflector.

[0018] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0019] (1) The present invention includes a swing arm, a connecting rod and an air deflector. The connecting rod meets the self-locking condition and is of passive design as a whole. There is no actively controlled power supply and actuator, etc., and the device can be moved without additional energy consumption. There are only three moving parts, and the connection between the parts is simple and reliable, not easy to damage, and convenient for disassembly and maintenance. Due to the clever use of the connecting rod self-locking function, the air deflector cannot be moved when the vehicle is not in emergency braking. Only when the emergency braking state is in place, the swing arm movement can drive the air deflector to move, so the closing of the tire air deflector is controlled only by the inertia force generated during braking.

[0020] (2) During normal driving of the present invention, the vehicle is in a combination of acceleration, constant speed, or slight deceleration. At this time, the heat generated by the brake disc is very low and does not require airflow cooling. The wind deflector is in an open state to ensure that the wind resistance is minimized. When the vehicle is in emergency braking, the heat generated by the brake disc is very high and requires airflow cooling. The wind deflector is in a closed state, and sufficient cooler airflow flows through the brake disc, ensuring the cooling performance of the brake disc, thereby taking into account both wind resistance and brake disc cooling performance.

[0021] (3) The connecting rod of the present invention presents an angle of 170°±10° and has a self-locking function under the action of the limit block, so that the airflow will not be forced to move when it hits the air guide plate; when the vehicle encounters an emergency braking situation, the inertia force causes the swing arm to rotate 35°~45°, driving the air guide plate to rotate 70°~80° clockwise, so that the air guide plate is in a closed state. The bottom airflow is no longer blocked by the air guide plate, and a large amount of heat generated on the surface of the brake disc is taken away by convection heat exchange, thereby ensuring the cooling performance of the brake disc in this state. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The accompanying drawings in the specification, which constitute a part of the present invention, are used to provide a further understanding of the present invention. The exemplary embodiments of the present invention and their descriptions are used to explain the present invention and do not constitute improper limitations on the present invention.

[0023] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of installing a passive tire air deflector on a vehicle according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a passive tire air deflector according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an open state of an air deflector according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 4is a schematic diagram of a closed state of an air deflector according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the self-locking state of the connecting rod according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

[0028] Among them, 1. passive tire air deflector, 2. vehicle, 3. tire;

[0029] 11. air deflector bracket, 12. air deflector, 13. mounting seat, 14. connecting rod, 15. swing arm, 16. counterweight, 21. first swing arm rotating shaft, 22. limit block, 31. brake disc;

[0030] 131, first connecting hole, 141, connecting rod rotating shaft, 142, second connecting hole; 151, second swing arm rotating shaft. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] It should be noted that the following detailed descriptions are illustrative and intended to provide further explanation of the present invention. Unless otherwise specified, all technical and scientific terms used in the present invention have the same meanings as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs.

[0032] Embodiment 1:

[0033] This embodiment provides a passive tire air deflector, such as Figure 2 As shown, the passive tire air deflector 1 includes an air deflector 12, a connecting rod 14, a swing arm 15, etc. The air deflector 12 is connected to one end of the connecting rod 14 through an air deflector bracket 11, and the other end of the connecting rod 14 is connected to the swing arm 15, and the swing arm 15 is used to connect the vehicle 2. At the same time, the exterior parts of the vehicle 2 are equipped with a limit block 22 for limiting the position of the passive tire air deflector 1 to limit the movement range of the swing arm 15.

[0034] The wind deflector bracket 11 is used to install the wind deflector 12. The wind deflector bracket 11 and the exterior parts of the vehicle 2 are bonded or integrally molded. The wind deflector 12 and the wind deflector bracket 11 are hinged to enable the wind deflector 12 to rotate. In this embodiment, a wind deflector bracket 11 is installed near each end of the wind deflector 12, and each wind deflector bracket 11 is connected to a connecting rod 14 to correspond to the tires 3 on both sides of the vehicle 2.

[0035] The side of the air guide plate 12 facing the vehicle body is the inner side. Figure 2 As shown, a mounting seat 13 is installed on the inner side of the air guide plate 12, and the mounting seat 13 is provided with a first connecting hole 131, which forms a rotational connection with a connecting rod shaft 141 at one end of the connecting rod 14 through the first connecting hole 131; a second connecting hole 142 is provided at the other end of the connecting rod 14, and the second connecting hole 142 forms a rotational connection with the second swing arm shaft 151 on the swing arm 15.

[0036] In this embodiment, the swing arm 15 is configured as a fan-shaped structure. In order to reduce its own weight, the main body of the swing arm 15 is a hollow structure. The vertex position of the fan-shaped swing arm 15 is connected to the first swing arm shaft 21 through a low rolling resistance bearing. The first swing arm shaft 21 is fixed to the exterior component of the vehicle 2, so that the swing arm 15 can rotate relative to the first swing arm shaft 21. One side of the arc portion of the swing arm 15 is connected to the second swing arm shaft 151, and is connected to the connecting rod 14 through the second swing arm shaft 151.

[0037] The arc-shaped portion of the swing arm 15 is fixed with a counterweight 16 adapted to its shape. The counterweight 16 can keep the swing arm 15 vertical when the air guide plate 12 is opened. In addition, since the counterweight 16 is heavy, it drives the swing arm 15 to swing forward under the driving force of inertia, and then pulls the air guide plate 12 to swing and retract through the connecting rod 14. The counterweight 16 is made of a material with a high density such as an iron block or a concrete block, and weighs about 200 grams.

[0038] like Figure 5 As shown, when the air guide plate 12 is in a vertical state, the connecting rod shaft 141, the second swing arm shaft 151, and the first swing arm shaft 21 are not in a straight line, and the second swing arm shaft 151 is lower than the line between the connecting rod shaft 141 and the first swing arm shaft 21 in the vertical direction, that is, the second swing arm shaft 151 deviates from the line between the connecting rod shaft 141 and the first swing arm shaft 21 and is located below the line. The center line of the connecting rod 14 and the line between the second swing arm shaft 151 and the first swing arm shaft 21 form an angle of about 170°±10°, which meets the self-locking condition of the connecting rod 14.

[0039] The working principle of this embodiment is:

[0040] When the vehicle 2 is stationary, Figure 3 As shown, the swing arm 15 and the counterweight 16 naturally droop under the action of gravity, and at this time, the air guide plate 12 is acted upon by the connecting rod 14 and is in an open state (vertical state).

[0041] When the vehicle 2 is running normally and there is no emergency braking, the airflow impacts the air deflector 12, which will cause the air deflector 12 to be subjected to a clockwise turning torque. At this time, the turning torque is transmitted to the swing arm 15 through the connecting rod 14, which will cause the swing arm 15 to tend to rotate clockwise. However, due to the presence of the limit block 22, the swing arm 15 is restricted from rotating clockwise, so the air deflector 12 cannot move either; at this time, the air deflector 12 is in an open state, ensuring that the airflow cannot impact the tire 3, reducing wind resistance, and also guiding the airflow to an area away from the brake disc 31, and at this time, the brake disc 31 is basically not impacted by the airflow.

[0042] When the vehicle 2 encounters a general braking situation during driving, the horizontal inertia force is not very large, and the swing arm 15 caused by inertia rotates at a small angle, which may drive the wind deflector 12 to be in a state of slight movement, but the overall impact is not significant. The heat generated by the brake disc 31 is very low and can be diffused into the environment by thermal radiation, which has no effect on the performance of the vehicle 2.

[0043] When the vehicle 2 encounters an emergency braking situation, the deceleration is generally 0.7g-1.1g, and the horizontal inertia force is relatively large. The inertia force causes the swing arm 15 to rotate about 35° to 45°, driving the wind deflector 12 to rotate about 70° to 80° clockwise. At this time, the wind deflector 12 is basically closed and the whole body is retracted to a state flush with the bottom of the vehicle body. Figure 4 As shown, at this time, the bottom airflow is no longer blocked by the air guide plate 12, and directly impacts the tire 3 and the brake disc 31, taking away a large amount of heat generated on the surface of the brake disc 31 by convection heat transfer, thereby ensuring the cooling performance of the brake disc 31 in this state.

[0044] When the vehicle 2 ends emergency braking and enters parking or starts normal driving, the swing arm 15 and the counterweight 16 naturally sag under the action of gravity, and the wind deflector 12 returns to the open state.

[0045] In summary, this embodiment ensures that the air deflector 12 is opened during emergency braking, and is closed under other working conditions, thereby taking into account both wind resistance performance and brake disc cooling performance.

[0046] Although when the vehicle 2 is not in emergency braking, the airflow impacts the tire 3 and the wind deflector 12 tends to flip over, the self-locking function of the connecting rod 14 is cleverly used to prevent it from moving; only when the emergency braking state is in place, the movement of the swing arm 15 can drive the wind deflector 12 to move.

[0047] The passive tire air deflector 1 of this embodiment is of passive design as a whole, without actively controlled power supply and actuator, etc., and the device can be moved without additional energy consumption; there are only three movable parts, and the connection between the parts is simple and reliable, not easy to damage, and easy to disassemble and repair; the material of each component is general plastic, which is low in cost and has low requirements for processing accuracy; except for the air deflector 12, the remaining components are only 20mm wide, and the layout space is compact.

[0048] Embodiment 2:

[0049] This embodiment provides a vehicle, such as Figure 1 As shown, the passive tire air deflector 1 described in Example 1 is installed on the front side of the tire 3 of the vehicle 2.

[0050] The above description is only the preferred embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application. For those skilled in the art, the present application may have various modifications and variations. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A passive tire air deflector, characterized in that: It includes a swing arm, a connecting rod and an air deflector, wherein the swing arm is connected to a first swing arm rotating shaft, and the first swing arm rotating shaft is used to be rotatably connected to the vehicle exterior component; one end of the connecting rod is rotatably connected to the swing arm through a second swing arm rotating shaft, and the other end is rotatably connected to the air deflector through a connecting rod rotating shaft; When the wind guide plate is in a vertical state, the connecting rod shaft, the first swing arm shaft and the second swing arm shaft are not in a straight line, and a set angle is formed between the center line of the connecting rod and the line connecting the second swing arm shaft and the first swing arm shaft to meet the connecting rod self-locking condition.

2. A passive tire air deflector according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the air guide plate is in a vertical state, the second swing arm rotation axis deviates from the connection line between the connecting rod rotation axis and the first swing arm rotation axis and is located below the connection line.

3. A passive tire air deflector according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The set angle is 170°±10°.

4. The passive tire air deflector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The swing arm is equipped with a counterweight.

5. A passive tire air deflector according to claim 1 or 4, characterized in that: The swing arm is a hollow fan-shaped structure, the first swing arm rotation axis is arranged at the top of the swing arm, and the second swing arm rotation axis is arranged on one side of the arc-shaped part of the swing arm.

6. The passive tire air deflector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air guide plate is provided with a mounting seat, and the mounting seat is provided with a mounting seat for installing a connecting rod rotating shaft.

7. A passive tire air deflector according to claim 1 or 6, characterized in that: The guide plate is rotatably mounted with a plurality of air deflector brackets, and the air deflector brackets are used to be fixed to the vehicle exterior components.

8. The passive tire air deflector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The swing range of the swing arm is limited by a limit block, and the limit block is fixed to the vehicle exterior component.

9. A passive tire air deflector according to claim 8, characterized in that: The swing arm has a rotation range of 35° to 45°.

10. A vehicle, characterized in that: A passive tire air deflector as described in any one of claims 1-9 is installed.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

  • Front spoilers and front diversion system of automobile

    CN107776688A

  • 3D choke plate and automobile

    CN117885823A

  • Automobile front wheel assembly and automobile

    CN118107666A

  • Connecting rod structure, a wind guide assembly and an air-conditioner

    CN111043740A

  • Pneumatic automobile tire air guide device and control method thereof

    CN116395046A