Road vehicle with front down pressure wing

Abstract

The invention relates to a road vehicle having a front lower pressure wing, comprising: a support frame (2) delimited on the underside by an aerodynamic underbody (11); a passenger compartment (4); an outer vehicle body (5); a front cabin (6) delimited by the front bumper (8) and the front cover (9); a first duct (17) having a first inlet (18) formed through the aerodynamic underbody (11) and a first outlet (19) formed through the front cover (9); and a second duct (20) having a second inlet (21) formed through the front bumper (8), flowing into the first duct (17) so as to form a second outlet (22) within the first duct (17), and delimited on the underside by a front wing (23) configured to generate a down force on the aerodynamic underbody (11) itself.

Description

Cross-referencing of related patent applications

[0001] This application claims priority to Italian Patent Application No. 102024000022818, filed on October 14, 2024, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This invention relates to a road vehicle. Background Technology

[0003] In particular, the present invention relates to a road vehicle comprising: a support frame defining a portion of a lower floor of the road vehicle; a passenger compartment mounted on the support frame and projecting upward from the lower floor; an aerodynamic body bottom fixed to the support frame and defining a portion of the lower floor; and a propulsion engine for moving the road vehicle.

[0004] The road vehicle also includes a rear wing mounted behind the passenger compartment, extending above the rear cover, and having an airfoil profile configured to generate a downward vertical load on the road vehicle and increase the road vehicle's grip on the ground.

[0005] The aforementioned types of known road vehicles have some drawbacks, primarily caused by the fact that the vertical load generated by the rear wing is insufficient to ensure the correct behavior of the road vehicle under braking or cornering conditions. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide a road vehicle that does not have the aforementioned disadvantages and is simple and economical to manufacture.

[0007] According to the present invention, a road vehicle as claimed in the appended claims is provided. Attached Figure Description

[0008] The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate non-limiting embodiments of the invention, in which:

[0009] Figure 1 and Figure 2 These are two schematic perspective views of a preferred embodiment of the road vehicle of the present invention, wherein some parts have been removed for clarity;

[0010] Figure 3 and Figure 4 yes Figure 1 and Figure 2 Two schematic perspective views of the details of the road vehicle, in which parts have been removed for clarity; and

[0011] Figure 5 yes Figure 3 and Figure 4A schematic longitudinal section showing details, with parts removed for clarity. Detailed Implementation

[0012] refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 Reference numeral 1 indicates the entire road vehicle, which includes a support frame 2 defining at least a portion of the lower floor 3 of the road vehicle 1, a passenger compartment 4 mounted on the frame 2 and projecting upward from the floor 3, and an outer body 5.

[0013] The road vehicle 1 also includes a front compartment 6 and a rear compartment 7 located within the body 5.

[0014] The front compartment 6 is defined by the front bumper 8 and the front cover 9, and houses a known but not shown propulsion engine and a front radiator 10 for cooling the propulsion engine (not shown).

[0015] The road vehicle 1 also includes an aerodynamic body bottom 11, which is fixed to the frame 2, defines a portion of the floor 3, and further includes a front bottom 12 mounted at the front compartment 6, a rear bottom 13 mounted at the rear compartment 7, and a center bottom 14 mounted at the passenger compartment 4.

[0016] The bumper 8 includes an upper housing 15 connected to the cover 9 and a lower housing 16 fixed to the front bottom 12.

[0017] according to Figures 1 to 5 The road vehicle 1 also includes a first conduit 17, which is substantially S-shaped and extends between an inlet 18 and an outlet 19, the inlet 18 being formed between a front bottom 12 and a central bottom 14, and the outlet 19 being formed through a cover 9.

[0018] The pipe 17 mates with the second pipe 20, which has an inlet 21 formed between the housing 15 and the housing 16 through the bumper 8, protrudes into the pipe 17, and flows into the first pipe 17 so that an outlet 22 is formed within the pipe 17 itself.

[0019] The duct 20 is defined on the lower side by the front wing 23, which is configured to generate downforce on the aerodynamic body bottom 11.

[0020] The wing 23 includes an inlet element 24 defined by the assembly of the front bottom 12 and the lower housing 16, and is arranged to define the inlet 21 of the pipe 20 together with the upper housing 15, and to define the inlet 18 of the pipe 17 together with the central bottom 14.

[0021] In this particular case, the wing 23 also includes an intermediate element 25 and an outlet element 26, which are installed sequentially and continuously downstream of the element 24 along the flow direction 27 of the airflow along the duct 20.

[0022] The wing 23 finally includes a first slit 28 defined between element 24 and element 25 and a second slit 29 defined between element 25 and element 26.

[0023] Regarding the above content, it should be noted that:

[0024] The slit 28 has a reduced cross-section in the direction of airflow through it;

[0025] The slit 29 has a reduced cross-section in the direction of airflow through it; and

[0026] Pipe 20 has a decreasing cross-section from inlet 21 to outlet 22.

[0027] During the travel of the road vehicle 1, the airflow encountered by the road vehicle 1 is transported along the upper and lower surfaces of the airfoil 23, the airfoil profile of which allows the airflow to deflect and advance within the duct 17.

[0028] The interaction between the airfoil profile of wing 23 and the airflow delivered along wing 23 generates relatively high pressure on the upper surface of wing 23 and the upper surface of aerodynamic vehicle bottom 11, and relatively low pressure on the lower surface of wing 23 and the lower surface of aerodynamic vehicle bottom 11, thus generating downforce on road vehicle 1, i.e., relatively high aerodynamic load.

[0029] The road vehicle 1 also includes a third conduit 30 that extends between an inlet 21 and an outlet 31 formed between a bumper 8 and a cover 9, and houses a radiator 10 therein.

[0030] The wing 23 is provided with a deflector 32, which can be in a stationary position relative to the wing 23. Figure 2 ) and operating position ( Figure 4 The deflector 32 moves between the airfoil 23 and the ground surface. In the stationary position, the deflector 32 is substantially contained within the airfoil profile of the airfoil 23. In the operating position, the deflector 32 protrudes from the airfoil 23 toward the ground surface.

[0031] The downforce generated by the wing 23 when the deflector 32 is in its stationary position is greater than the downforce generated by the wing 23 when the deflector 32 is in its operating position.

[0032] The road vehicle 1 has some advantages, mainly due to the relatively high downforce generated by the wings 23 on the aerodynamic body bottom 11.

Claims

1. A road vehicle comprising: Support frame (2), which is defined on the lower side by the aerodynamic body bottom (11); Passenger compartment (4); exterior body (5); and front compartment (6), the front compartment being disposed in the exterior body (5) and defined by a front bumper (8) and a front hood (9); and characterized in that the road vehicle further includes a first duct (17) and a second duct (20), the first duct (17) having a first inlet (18) formed through the aerodynamic body bottom (11) and a first outlet (19) formed through the front hood (9), the second duct (20) having a second inlet (21) formed through the front bumper (8), the second duct (20) flowing into the first duct (17) to form a second outlet (22) within the first duct (17), and the second duct (20) being defined on its underside by a front wing (23) configured to generate downforce on the aerodynamic body bottom (11) itself.

2. The road vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that, The aerodynamic body bottom (11) includes a front bottom (12), a rear bottom (13), and a central bottom (14) disposed between the front bottom (12) and the rear bottom (13); the first inlet (18) of the first duct (17) is formed between the front bottom (12) and the central bottom (14).

3. The road vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The front wing (23) includes an inlet section (24) configured to define the first inlet (18) of the first conduit (17) and the second inlet (21) of the second conduit (20).

4. The road vehicle according to claim 3, characterized in that, The front bumper (8) includes a lower housing (16) that, together with the front bottom (12), defines the inlet section (24) of the front wing (23).

5. The road vehicle according to claim 4, characterized in that, The front bumper (8) also includes an upper housing (15), which together with the lower housing (16) defines the second inlet (21) of the second conduit (20).

6. The road vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, It also includes a third conduit (30) that extends between the second inlet (21) and a third outlet (31) formed between the front bumper (8) and the front hood (9), and accommodates the front radiator (10) therein.

7. The road vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The second pipe (20) has a decreasing cross-section from the second inlet (21) to the second outlet (22).

8. The road vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The front wing (23) includes a first element (24) and a second element (25) mounted sequentially to each other, and a first slit (28) defined between the first element (24) and the second element (25).

9. The road vehicle according to claim 8, characterized in that, The first slit (28) has a reduced cross-section in the flow direction of the airflow through the first slit (28).

10. The road vehicle according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that, The front wing (23) includes a third element (26) mounted downstream of the second element (25) and a second slit (29) defined between the second element (25) and the third element (26).

11. The road vehicle according to claim 10, characterized in that, The second slit (29) has a reduced cross-section in the direction of airflow through the second slit (29).

12. The road vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The first pipe (17) is basically S-shaped.

13. The road vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The forewing (23) is provided with a deflector (32) which is movable relative to the forewing (23) between a stationary position and an operating position. In the stationary position, the deflector (32) is substantially contained within the airfoil profile of the forewing (23), and in the operating position, the deflector (32) protrudes from the forewing (23).

14. The road vehicle according to claim 13, characterized in that, The downward pressure generated by the front wing (23) when the deflector (32) is in its stationary position is greater than the downward pressure generated by the front wing (23) when the deflector (32) is in its operating position.

15. The road vehicle according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, When in its operating position, the deflector (32) protrudes from the front wing (23) toward the road surface.

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