Front section for a motor vehicle

Abstract

Front section (4) for a motor vehicle with laterally arranged radiators (7a, 7b), wherein the front section (4) has a central air inlet (1) and at least two lateral air inlets (2a, 2b), wherein the lateral air inlets (2a, 2b) are assigned to the laterally arranged radiators (7a, 7b), characterized in that the front section (4) has air ducts from the central air inlet (1) to the laterally arranged radiators (7a, 7b), which air ducts are limited by walls of the front section (4), movable locking devices (3) for closing the air ducts from the central air inlet (1) to the laterally arranged radiators (7a, 7b) are provided.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a front part for a motor vehicle with laterally arranged radiators, wherein the front part has a central air inlet and at least two lateral air inlets, wherein the lateral air inlets are assigned to the laterally arranged radiators.

[0002] DE 101 59 783 A1 discloses a motor vehicle in which a total of three radiators are arranged side by side in the front compartment, with a larger central radiator and two smaller radiators on the sides. According to DE 101 59 783 A1, a cooling air inlet opening is provided in front of each radiator in the front wall of the vehicle body. With this arrangement, the laterally arranged radiators can only provide insufficient cooling performance due to the relatively small lateral cooling air inlet openings. The lateral cooling air inlet openings are usually limited by installed components such as parking sensors or additional headlights and / or fog lights. Emergency headlights are often also arranged within the cross-section of the lateral cooling air inlet openings.

[0003] DE 84 27 839 U1 discloses a front part for a motor vehicle with laterally arranged radiators, wherein the front part has a central air inlet and at least two lateral air inlets, wherein the lateral air inlets are assigned to the laterally arranged radiators.

[0004] DE 35 30 494 U1 discloses a front end for a motor vehicle with laterally arranged radiators, wherein the front end has only a central air inlet. The front end has air ducts from the central air inlet to the laterally arranged radiators, which air ducts are delimited by walls of the front end.

[0005] DE 26 14 969 A1 discloses a front end for a motor vehicle with a radiator. The radiator has several radiator sections. Flaps of a double-flap arrangement are arranged downstream of one of the radiator sections.

[0006] The object of the invention is to provide a front part for a motor vehicle, wherein the disadvantages known from the prior art are avoided and an improved cooling air guidance is achieved with regard to the cooling performance to be achieved.

[0007] This object is achieved by a front section for a motor vehicle with laterally arranged radiators, wherein the front section has a central air inlet and at least two lateral air inlets, wherein the lateral air inlets are assigned to the laterally arranged radiators, and wherein the front section has air ducts from the central air inlet to the laterally arranged radiators, which air ducts are delimited by walls of the front section. The front section according to the invention makes it possible to supply more cooling air to the laterally arranged radiators, thereby improving cooling performance without requiring additional installation space, particularly in the visible area, in the lateral region of the front section.Furthermore, the cooling air supply from the center of the front section to the coolers arranged on the sides is aerodynamically particularly advantageous, as the particularly high dynamic pressure in the center of the front section can also be used for the air supply to the coolers arranged on the sides.

[0008] Movable locking devices are provided to close the air ducts from the central air intake to the side-mounted radiators. This makes it possible, in particular, to optimize the cooling air flow depending on the vehicle's driving speed.

[0009] Advantageously, the air ducts to the laterally arranged coolers can each have a bypass and a widened section, with the widened section widening toward the laterally arranged coolers. The widened section, which adjoins a narrow point in the air duct to the laterally arranged coolers in the bypass, ensures a particularly high cooling air flow through the air ducts to the laterally arranged coolers.

[0010] It may be expedient to provide a center cooler associated with the central air intake. This allows additional cooling capacity to be provided by the center cooler in addition to that of the side-mounted coolers.

[0011] Advantageously, the boundary wall of the front end opposite the central air intake can form a closed surface with a convex curve toward the central air intake. This further improves air flow to the side-mounted radiators, while eliminating a central radiator allows for weight savings and, in particular, better use of space in the engine compartment.

[0012] Further details and advantages of the invention are explained below by way of example with reference to the drawings. They show, schematically, Fig. 1 a front part for a motor vehicle and wheels of the motor vehicle, Fig. 2 a section of a front part for a motor vehicle, Fig. 3 a section of a front part for a motor vehicle with opened locking device and Fig. 4 a section of a front part for a motor vehicle with closed locking device.

[0013] Fig. 1 shows a schematic representation and example of a front section 4 for a motor vehicle and wheels 5a, 5b, i.e. front wheels, of the motor vehicle. The front section 4 shown has a central air inlet 1 and two side air inlets 2a, 2b. In the example shown, a center cooler 6 is assigned to the central air inlet 1. The side air inlets 2a, 2b are each assigned a laterally arranged cooler 7a or 7b. If the motor vehicle moves in the direction of travel F, air enters through the central air inlet 1 and the side air inlets 2a, 2b and flows to the center cooler 6 or to the laterally arranged coolers 7a, 7b.

[0014] The front section 4 shown has air ducts from the central air inlet 1 to the laterally arranged coolers 7a, 7b. These air ducts are delimited both on the front side and on the body side by walls of the front section 4. In the example shown, the air ducts from the central air inlet 1 to the laterally arranged coolers 7a, 7b are designed as bypasses 8a, 8b. With the help of these air ducts, cooling air is supplied to the laterally arranged coolers 7a, 7b from the centrally arranged inlet opening, i.e. from the central air inlet 1. The bypasses 8a, 8b are designed such that the air ducts to the laterally arranged coolers 7a, 7b each have a constriction between a bow-side and a body-side boundary wall. In the area of ​​these bottlenecks, a demand-dependent throttling of the bypass air flows can be achieved with the help of movable blocking devices 3 (see Fig. 3 and Fig. 4). In the Fig. In the examples shown in Figures 1 to 4, the bypasses 8a, 8b widen toward the laterally arranged coolers 7a, 7b. These widenings are designed like a diffuser to achieve the highest possible pressure increase and thus a greater cooling air throughput.

[0015] In Fig. 1, the front part 4 is designed symmetrically to a central longitudinal plane A of the motor vehicle, at least with regard to the air ducts.

[0016] The Fig. 2 to 4 show sections of a front part 4, wherein for the sake of simplicity only one half of the front part 4 and a wheel 5b, ie a front wheel, of the motor vehicle are shown. Fig. 2 to 4 show a central air inlet 1 of the front part 4 and a lateral air inlet 2b, behind which, i.e. on the side facing away from the front of the motor vehicle, a laterally arranged cooler 7b is arranged. The opposite half of the front part 4 with respect to the central longitudinal plane A is preferably a mirror image of the Fig. 2 to 4 shown halves.

[0017] Fig. 2 shows a section of a front part 4, wherein the front part 4 shown has a two-cooler arrangement without a central cooler 6 (see Fig. 1, Fig. 3 and Fig. 4). The laterally arranged coolers 7a (see Fig. 1) and 7b are preferably arranged under the fenders. Fig. The front section shown in Figure 2 has a boundary wall 9 opposite the central air inlet 1, which boundary wall 9 forms a closed surface that is convexly curved toward the central air inlet 1. This body-side boundary wall 9 ensures a particularly efficient supply of cooling air to the laterally arranged radiators 7a, 7b due to its convexly curved surface in the direction of travel. In this way, the particularly high dynamic pressure in the area of ​​the vehicle center can be efficiently utilized for cooling with the help of the laterally arranged radiators 7a, 7b.

[0018] The Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 show sections of a front section 4 with a central cooler 6, wherein the central cooler 6 preferably operates without fan support. A blocking device 3 is provided on the bypasses 8a, 8b (for the sake of simplicity, only the bypass 8b is shown in the drawing), preferably at the narrow point of the air duct between the front-side and body-side boundary walls of the front section 4.

[0019] With the help of these locking devices 3, the air ducts from the central air inlet 1 to the laterally arranged coolers 7a, 7b can be closed. Preferably, the bypass flow to the laterally arranged coolers 7a, 7b is throttled with increasing driving speed. It may also be expedient to completely prevent the bypass flow from a certain driving speed by completely closing the locking devices 3, as shown in Fig. 4. In this way, the aerodynamic properties, such as drag and / or front axle lift, can be improved at higher driving speeds. At lower driving speeds and with the locking devices 3 open, the laterally arranged coolers 7a, 7b can provide a particularly high proportion of the cooling capacity. Fig. 3 shows the front part 4 with the locking device 3 open. The laterally arranged coolers 7a, 7b preferably have fan devices which improve the intake.

[0020] The movable locking devices 3 for closing the air ducts from the central air inlet 1 to the laterally arranged coolers 7a, 7b can be designed, for example, as pressurized locking flaps with a return spring. The spring rate of the return springs is preferably selected such that the closing of the bypass cross-section begins at a certain driving speed and is completed at a further, higher driving speed. The movable locking devices 3 can alternatively or additionally be equipped with a motorized adjustment mechanism.

Claims

[1] Front part (4) for a motor vehicle with laterally arranged radiators (7a, 7b), wherein the front part (4) has a central air inlet (1) and at least two lateral air inlets (2a, 2b), wherein the lateral air inlets (2a, 2b) are assigned to the laterally arranged radiators (7a, 7b), characterized by that the front part (4) has air ducts from the central air inlet (1) to the laterally arranged coolers (7a, 7b), which air ducts are delimited by walls of the front part (4), movable locking devices (3) are provided for closing the air ducts from the central air inlet (1) to the laterally arranged coolers (7a, 7b). [2] Front part (4) according to claim 1, wherein the air ducts to the laterally arranged coolers (7a, 7b) each have a bypass (8a, 8b) and a widening, wherein the widening widens towards the laterally arranged coolers (7a, 7b). [3] Front part (4) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a central cooler (6) is assigned to the central air inlet (1). [4] Front part (4) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the boundary wall (9) of the front part (4) opposite the central air inlet (1) forms a closed surface which is convexly curved towards the central air inlet (1).

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