Motor vehicle rear spoiler arrangement

Abstract

Motor vehicle rear spoiler arrangement (10) with a spoiler wing (30) movable between a retracted rest position and an extended working position, a supporting body structure (20) defining a body recess (22), a recess panel (70) at least partially closing the body recess (22), and a support arrangement (40) by which the spoiler wing (30) is supported in its rest position on the trough panel (70), wherein the support arrangement (40) comprises: an elastic buffer element (42) on the underside of the spoiler wing (30), a support surface (46) on the upper side of the trough panel (70), wherein the buffer element (42) rests on the support surface (46) in the rest position, and a separate support body (60) arranged in the body recess (22), which supports the underside of the recess panel (70) in the region of the support surface (46) on the body structure (20).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a motor vehicle rear spoiler arrangement with a movable spoiler wing which is adjustable between a retracted rest position, in which the spoiler wing is largely sunk into the body, and an extended working position in which it generates downforce.

[0002] A variety of non-movable rigid spoiler wings are known from the prior art, for example from FR 2 707 584 A, US 5 106 147 A and EP 2 990 173 A1.

[0003] DE 10 2004 004 360 B4 discloses a movable spoiler wing that, in its rest position, sits in a body recess, the recess space of which is at least partially concealed by a recess cover. The recess cover serves to aesthetically conceal the recess space visible when the spoiler wing is extended.

[0004] Depending on the design and mechanical stability of the spoiler wing adjustment mechanism, it may be necessary to additionally support the spoiler wing in its retracted rest position to ensure vibration-free mounting of the spoiler wing on the supporting body structure, as is known from EP 0 892 140 B1 for a tailgate. This is complicated by the fact that the recess panel does not provide sufficient stability to support the spoiler wing in its rest position.

[0005] Against this background, the object of the invention is to create a motor vehicle rear spoiler arrangement which ensures vibration-free mounting of the movable spoiler wing in its retracted rest position.

[0006] This object is achieved according to the invention by a motor vehicle rear spoiler arrangement having the features of claim 1.

[0007] The motor vehicle rear spoiler assembly according to the invention has a spoiler wing movable between a retracted rest position and an extended working position. The rear spoiler assembly further has a body recess formed and defined by a supporting body structure. The body recess at least partially accommodates the movable spoiler wing in its retracted rest position, resulting in a largely flat body appearance in this area. Further components can be provided in the body recess, in particular an adjustment mechanism, by which the spoiler wing is moved between the rest position and the working position.

[0008] The rear spoiler arrangement has a recess panel through which part of the body recess is visually concealed in order to conceal the components, screws, etc. located under the recess panel in the body recess, so that an elegant appearance is also achieved in the area of ​​the body recess.

[0009] A support arrangement is provided by which the spoiler wing rests and is supported on the recess cover in its resting position. In any case, the recess cover does not rest directly on the body structure in some cases. The recess cover alone may therefore not be stable enough to support the spoiler wing in its resting position at several points in such a way that the spoiler wing does not vibrate. In addition, the spoiler wing may be mechanically prestressed by the adjustment mechanism in its retracted resting position. The recess cover must therefore absorb considerable dynamic as well as static forces in order to be able to support the spoiler wing accordingly. The recess cover is, however, partially provided at a distance from the body structure.

[0010] A support arrangement is therefore provided to stably support the spoiler wing in its retracted rest position. The support arrangement has an elastic buffer element on the underside of the spoiler wing. The elastic buffer element can, for example, consist of a rubber-elastic buffer body that protrudes slightly from the underside contour of the spoiler wing. On the upper side of the trough cover, a support surface corresponding to the buffer element is provided, on which the buffer element rests when the spoiler wing is in the rest position. The buffer body dampens the impact of the spoiler wing on the trough cover and prevents scratching of the support surface.

[0011] Finally, a separate support body is provided in the body recess, which supports the underside of the recess panel in the area of ​​the support surface on the body structure. The panel body of the recess panel is thus supported selectively and indirectly on the body structure in the area of ​​the support surface. This ensures that the recess panel support surface has high mechanical stability, particularly in the direction of its surface normal. This ensures that the spoiler wing supported on the support surface is stably supported and does not vibrate, and the recess panel cannot be deformed by the preload of the spoiler wing into the rest position.

[0012] The trough cover is preferably formed from a plastic cover body and has a support body receptacle on its underside into which a support body head is inserted. In principle, the plastic trough cover and the support body could be formed as a single piece, for example from a single-piece plastic body. However, since the support body has a certain size and solidity, deformation of the distal trough cover surface in the region of the support surface would be unavoidable due to the shrinkage of the plastic during cooling. This would result in an aesthetically unsightly appearance on the visible distal surface of the trough cover. By only injecting a relatively thin-walled support body receptacle onto the proximal underside of the trough cover, the shrinkage-related deformations and markings in this area and on the side of the support surface are reduced to an insignificant minimum.Nevertheless, in this way, a large-area support can be ensured in this area by the separate support body.

[0013] According to a preferred embodiment, the support body receptacle is formed by a thin-walled cage whose wall thickness is at most 0.8 times the wall thickness of the aperture body of the recessed aperture. The cage-like support body receptacle is thus so thin-walled that virtually no manufacturing-related or shrinkage-related deformations occur on the distal side of the plastic recessed aperture.

[0014] Preferably, the support body receptacle is designed with an undercut such that the support body head is positively secured by the support body receptacle both proximal and distal. For assembly, the support body head can, for example, be inserted laterally into the support body receptacle or cage and locked there if necessary.

[0015] According to a preferred embodiment, the buffer element is formed by a separate buffer body that is inserted into a plug-in opening of the spoiler wing. The buffer body can, for example, be a rubber-elastic body that is elastically deformable within certain limits.

[0016] Preferably, the support surface of the support body head, which proximally supports the trough cover in the area of ​​the support surface, is larger than the impact surface of the buffer element, with which the buffer element rests on the support surface on the distal upper side of the trough cover in the retracted rest position. This ensures that the area of ​​the support surface is not deformed by the impacting and resting buffer element.

[0017] According to a preferred embodiment, the support surface is formed by the smooth and stepless distal surface of the trough cover. The trough cover is smooth on its distal side in the area of ​​the support surface and is not particularly prominent. This results in a smooth visual appearance of the trough cover, which is visible from the outside when the spoiler wing is in the extended working position.

[0018] The support body is preferably made of a fiber-reinforced plastic. Particularly in rear-engine vehicles, temperatures of around 100°C can occur in the area of ​​the rear spoiler wing, which can cause plastics, in particular, to become so soft that plastic components could be plastically deformed by the forces exerted. To prevent this, the support body is fiber-reinforced so that it retains its shape over the long term even at high ambient temperatures and is not plastically deformed.

[0019] An embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the figures. They show: Fig. 1 a longitudinal section of a motor vehicle rear spoiler arrangement, and Fig. 2 an enlarged view of the support arrangement of the rear spoiler arrangement of the Fig. 1.

[0020] In the Fig. 1 shows a longitudinal section of a rear spoiler assembly 10 of a rear-engined motor vehicle. The rear spoiler assembly 10 has a spoiler wing 30 that can be moved between a retracted rest position and an extended working position, which Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 in the retracted rest position. The rear area of ​​the motor vehicle has a supporting metal body structure 20, which forms a body recess 22 into which the spoiler wing 30 is partially recessed in its retracted rest position. For structural reasons, the body recess 22 is designed deeper than would be necessary to accommodate the spoiler wing 30 in its retracted rest position.

[0021] The spoiler wing 30 is adjustable between the resting position and the working position via an electrically driven adjustment mechanism (not shown) that is supported on the body structure 20. The spoiler wing 30 has a rigid and load-bearing metal spoiler blade 32, which essentially forms the proximal underside of the spoiler wing 30, and a spoiler cover 34, which closes the spoiler blade 32 on the distal upper side. A buffer element 42, each formed by a rubber-elastic buffer body 42', is inserted into two plug-in openings 44 of the spoiler blade 32 of the spoiler wing 30. The two buffer elements 42 each protrude slightly downward from the contour of the spoiler wing 30.

[0022] The spoiler wing 30 has two buffer elements 42 at each of its lateral transverse ends, whereas the adjustment mechanism is provided in the central region of the spoiler wing 30. In principle, the adjustment mechanism on the one hand and the buffer elements on the other hand can also be arranged and distributed in reverse, i.e., the two times two buffer elements in the center and one half of the adjustment mechanism on each side.

[0023] The body recess 22 is partially closed by a recess cover 70, which is formed by a fiber-reinforced plastic cover body 71 having a distal upper side 73 facing the spoiler wing 30. The spoiler recess, which thus remains within the body contour, is almost completely filled by the spoiler wing 30 in its retracted rest position. The inclination of the recess cover 70 approximately corresponds to the inclination of the spoiler wing 30 in its retracted rest position.

[0024] In the Fig. 1 and Fig. In the retracted rest position of the spoiler wing 30 shown in Figure 2, the spoiler wing 30 is mechanically supported indirectly on the body structure 20 by a support arrangement 40.

[0025] In the retracted rest position of the spoiler wing 30, the two buffer elements 42 rest on the distal upper side 73 of the recess panel 70, and in this way each define a support surface 46 on the upper side 73 of the recess panel 70 in this area. The front support surface 46, as seen in the direction of travel, is supported by a separate support body 60 arranged in the body recess 22.

[0026] The support body 60 essentially consists of a fiber-reinforced plastic body 62, which is oriented approximately at right angles to the base of the recessed panel 70 and protrudes proximally downward from the recessed panel 70. The support body 60 has a support body head 52, which is inserted into a support body receptacle 47 on the underside of the recessed panel 70. The support body receptacle 47 is formed by a thin-walled cage 48, the wall thickness of which is approximately 0.6 times the wall thickness of the recessed panel 70. The support body receptacle 47 is undercut in such a way that the support body head 52 can only be pushed laterally into the receptacle 47, but is positively fixed in the proximal and distal directions by the receptacle 47.

[0027] The support body head 52 has a distal support surface 50, which lies fully against the proximal side of the recessed panel 70 in the region of the support surface 46 on which the buffer element 42 rests. The support surface 50 of the support body head 52 is approximately twice as large as the impact surface 43 of the buffer element 42 resting on the support surface 46. The support body 60 rests with its proximal end on a body panel 24 of the body structure 20 and is laterally fixed there, for example by adhesive bonding, but is not screwed to the body structure.

[0028] As can be seen from the two figures, the bearing surface 46 is formed by the smooth distal surface 73 of the trough aperture 70 and is not particularly machined or reinforced.

Claims

[1] Motor vehicle rear spoiler arrangement (10) with a spoiler wing (30) movable between a retracted rest position and an extended working position, a supporting body structure (20) defining a body recess (22), a recess panel (70) at least partially closing the body recess (22), and a support arrangement (40) by which the spoiler wing (30) is supported in its rest position on the trough panel (70), wherein the support arrangement (40) comprises: an elastic buffer element (42) on the underside of the spoiler wing (30), a support surface (46) on the upper side of the trough panel (70), wherein the buffer element (42) rests on the support surface (46) in the rest position, and a separate support body (60) arranged in the body recess (22), which supports the underside of the recess panel (70) in the region of the support surface (46) on the body structure (20). [2] Motor vehicle rear spoiler arrangement (10) according to claim 1, wherein the recessed panel (70) is formed from a plastic panel body (71) and has on its underside a support body receptacle (47) into which a support body head (52) is inserted. [3] Motor vehicle rear spoiler arrangement (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the support body receptacle (47) is formed by a thin-walled cage (48) whose wall thickness is at most 0.8 times the wall thickness of the recess panel (70). [4] Motor vehicle rear spoiler arrangement (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the support body receptacle (47) is undercut such that the support body head (42) is fixed in the proximal and distal directions by the support body receptacle (47). [5] Motor vehicle rear spoiler arrangement (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the buffer element (42) is formed by a separate buffer body (42') which is inserted into a plug-in opening (44) of the spoiler wing (30). [6] Motor vehicle rear spoiler arrangement (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the support surface (50) of the support body head (52) is larger than the impact surface (43) of the buffer element (42). [7] Motor vehicle rear spoiler arrangement (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the bearing surface (46) is formed by the smooth distal surface (73) of the recess panel (70). [8] Motor vehicle rear spoiler arrangement (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the support body (60) consists of a fiber-reinforced plastic body (62).

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