Wheel arch for a motor vehicle, method for operating a motor vehicle and motor vehicle

Abstract

Wheel arch (1) for a motor vehicle (2), which serves to accommodate a vehicle tire (3), with a housing part (4) which is made of a dimensionally stable material and has an outer surface (6) oriented towards an environment (5) of the motor vehicle (2), on which a wheel arch cover (7) is arranged, which is at least partially formed by a receiving element (8) which is designed to bind fine dust particles which hit the receiving element (8), wherein the receiving element (8) has several layers (9), at least one of which is designed to bind the fine dust particles, wherein at least two layers (9) of the receiving element (8) have pores, the pores of one layer (9) being larger than the pores of the other layer (9).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a wheel arch for a motor vehicle, which is in particular designed as a passenger car, according to claim 1. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for operating a motor vehicle according to claim 7. Finally, the invention relates to a motor vehicle according to claim 8.

[0002] Fuel, tire abrasion, brake dust, and dust kicked up during the operation of a motor vehicle lead to particulate matter emissions. These emissions, or rather the particulate matter they contain, pollute the air in the vicinity of the vehicle and can pose a health risk.

[0003] DE 10 2019 101 057 B3 discloses a motor vehicle with an in-vehicle filter system. DE 10 2017 008 745 A1 discloses a fine dust separator for a vehicle. Furthermore, DE 20 2006 019 335 U1 discloses a fine dust extraction device. For example, brake discs coated with a hard material are also known for reducing fine dust emissions from brake discs.

[0004] DE 10 2019 123 589 A1 discloses a fairing module for a motor vehicle that includes a device for cleaning ambient air. US 2008 / 0029357 A1 discloses a device for removing dirt from road surfaces. WO 2015 / 199412 A1 relates to a dust collection device for vehicle tires. KR 10 2004 0 063 094 A relates to a fender air filter device in the tire of a vehicle.

[0005] A disadvantage of the current state of the art is, for example, that it requires a lot of installation space and / or the respective fine dust reduction device has a complex structure. For instance, an extraction device, a filter element, and a flow guide are used, which directs an air mass flow from the environment into the vehicle to the extraction device.

[0006] The object of the present invention is therefore to enable a particularly space-saving and energy-saving possibility of reducing fine dust through a wheel arch, a method and a motor vehicle.

[0007] This problem is solved according to the invention by the subject matter of the independent claims. Advantages and advantageous embodiments and further developments of the invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims, the description, and the drawings.

[0008] A first aspect of the invention relates to a wheel arch for a motor vehicle, which serves to accommodate a vehicle tire, with a housing part which is made of a dimensionally stable material and has an outer surface oriented towards the environment of the motor vehicle, on which a wheel arch cover is arranged, which is at least partially formed by a receiving element which is designed to bind or receive, in particular passively, fine dust particles which hit or are directed onto the receiving element, wherein the receiving element has several layers, at least one of which is designed to bind the fine dust particles, wherein at least two layers of the receiving element have pores, the pores of one layer being larger than the pores of the other layer.

[0009] The wheel arch, or wheel housing, essentially serves as a casing in which a wheel or tire is located on a motor vehicle. In its intended use, the wheel arch is essentially a recess in the vehicle body. The housing component is made of materials such as plastic and / or metal and can therefore be part of the vehicle body itself or a component attached to it. In this context, "dimensionally stable" means that the housing component is capable of defining the shape of the wheel arch.

[0010] To protect the housing component from impacts, for example, the wheel arch cover can be at least partially constructed of plastic, and in particular, it can be at least partially made of a textile or fabric. Similar to prior art wheel arches, this can compensate for insulation and / or damage to, for example, the paint or primer of the housing component caused by flying stones.

[0011] The receiving element can, in particular, comprise a layered element such that at least one layer is designed to bind fine dust particles. For this purpose, the material of the receiving element or the at least one layer can, for example, have pores in the interior of which fine dust particles adhere, for example, through electrostatic, physical, and / or chemical processes. These particles have penetrated the pores and are thus no longer released into the environment. Preferably, a material can be selected that can absorb a particularly high quantity of fine dust particles, so that the receiving element only needs to be replaced very rarely, for example, every few years, for efficient fine dust particle collection.

[0012] In other words, to reduce particulate matter emissions, especially during driving, a suitable wheel arch cover can be used as a particulate filter. The receiving element thus fulfills the function of a particulate filter, being located on an outer surface of the housing part forming the wheel arch. The receiving element is therefore arranged across a large area within the wheel arch where the tire is located, so that, due to the rotating vehicle tire and the centrifugal force or radial outward force acting on the wheel arch, a particularly large number of particulate matter particles strike the receiving element. Alternatively, the airflow during vehicle movement can also cause a particularly large number of particulate matter particles to strike the receiving element. In addition to or as an alternative to centrifugal forces, airflow can occur within the wheel arch while the vehicle is driving.The airflows can direct the fine dust particles onto the collection element. In particular, the collection element, in its function as a fine dust particle filter, is preferably designed as a dry filter.

[0013] Alternatively, the fine dust particles could be efficiently washed out, for example in a car wash, causing the fine dust to clump together with water and thus no longer be fine and environmentally harmful. The advantage of the invention, however, is a direct reduction of fine dust during the operation of the vehicle.

[0014] Advantageously, the fine dust particles could thus be propelled directly onto the receiving element, which acts as a fine dust filter, without having to go through a channel element or the like. This offers the advantage of a particularly effective reduction in fine dust emissions while the vehicle is in motion. The fine dust is thus bound or captured in a highly efficient manner, without requiring any additional energy input from the vehicle, as is the case, for example, with conventional devices that use a pump to extract air.

[0015] In the wheel housing according to the invention, existing physical forces present during the vehicle's movement are used in a purely passive manner to capture the fine dust through the receiving element. A key aspect of the invention is that the receiving element is used in the wheel housing, preferably lined over a large area, and preferably completely.

[0016] With regard to sustainability, the wheel housing according to the invention can be used particularly efficiently, since it can be designed with very few components and be durable, and no additional energy is required for operation.

[0017] The receiving element has several layers, at least one of which is designed to bind the fine dust particles. In other words, the receiving element is designed as a layered material. For example, an inner layer, when in use, can be designed to fix the element to the housing part or to form part of the remaining wheel arch cover. "Inner layer" means that the layer is positioned relative to another layer in the direction of the housing part. An outer layer can, for example, be particularly robust while simultaneously being permeable to fine dust, whereas an intermediate layer can be particularly effective at binding the fine dust particles. For example, a layer can be designed as a filter medium, comprising fibers and / or granules, to capture the fine dust. The filter can thus be designed, for example, as a fiber layer filter.The layered structure allows the absorption element to bind the fine dust particles, for example, in a sponge-like manner, thus achieving a particularly long service life for the absorption element. This enables resource-efficient operation of the vehicle or wheel arch in a particularly advantageous way.

[0018] In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the receiving element has at least one porous surface, which is oriented towards the surroundings, i.e., in the direction of the environment and thus, in particular, as an outer surface. The outer surface is directly adjacent to the air, which originates from the environment of the vehicle and is located in the wheel well between the receiving element and the vehicle tire. Additionally or alternatively, the receiving element has pores in which fine dust or the fine dust particles can be received. In other words, the material from which the receiving element is at least partially formed has small openings, cavities, and / or depressions, which may, for example, have different pore sizes.The use of pores or other cavities in the material results in a particularly advantageous surface-to-volume ratio, which allows a particularly advantageous amount of fine dust to be bound in the receiving element.

[0019] Furthermore, at least two of the layers of the receiving element, if it is a receiving element consisting of more than one layer, have pores, with the pores of one layer being larger than those of the other. In other words, two successive layers are equipped with pores of different sizes, such that, for example, the outer layer has smaller pores, which are nevertheless large enough to be penetrated by the fine dust particles. In contrast, the inner layer has larger pores and thus serves as a kind of receiving reservoir for the fine dust particles. This offers the advantage that the receiving element can be designed to be particularly durable and require little maintenance. Furthermore, the fine dust can be bound particularly effectively.

[0020] In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the wheel arch cover and / or the mounting element incorporates a noise-dampening element. In other words, the wheel arch cover and / or the mounting element is at least partially an element specifically designed to dampen sound waves, thereby reducing vehicle noise, particularly that caused by the vehicle tires, within a vehicle interior. The noise-dampening element can thus be formed, for example, from a layer of the mounting element and is made of a particularly noise-absorbing textile. This offers the advantage that, in addition to efficiently reducing particulate matter emissions, the wheel arch can simultaneously be used to particularly advantageously reduce noise, and the wheel arch can also be designed with a particularly low number of components.

[0021] In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the wheel arch cover and / or the receiving element completely cover a tread area of ​​the wheel arch. In other words, the area in the wheel arch where fine dust impacts due to centrifugal forces from the tire and / or airflow during a move is completely lined with the receiving element. This full-surface coverage enables the collection and binding of fine dust in the wheel arch in a particularly advantageous manner. The area is located especially above and in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, both in front of and behind the tire. Thus, fine dust can be bound with exceptional efficiency.

[0022] Additionally or alternatively, a side area of ​​the wheel arch can be completely covered by the mounting element and / or the wheel arch cover, particularly by the mounting element. In this case, the side area is arranged essentially vertically in the vehicle's vertical direction and thus transversely to the tire's tread. Advantageously, the mounting element can therefore completely line the wheel arch. The outer surface of the housing part is thus completely covered by or clad with the mounting element. This allows for particularly effective binding of fine dust.

[0023] In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the receiving element or wheel arch cover is held to the housing part by means of a fixing element. In other words, an element is provided by which the receiving element can be fixed to the housing part. In the simplest case, the fixing is achieved by means of conventional methods known in the prior art. Additionally or alternatively, the fixing element can, for example, also be designed, at least partially, as a type of grid, which is arranged over the receiving element, wherein the openings of the grid are significantly larger than the fine dust particles, so that these can pass through the fixing element unimpeded and enter the receiving element. The fixing element, in particular the grid-like design, offers the advantage that the wheel arch can be designed to be particularly durable.

[0024] In a further embodiment of the invention, the receiving element is designed to enable the binding of the fine dust particles to the receiving element electrostatically, mechanically, and / or chemically. In other words, a material of the receiving element can, for example, be electrostatically charged in order to bind the particles. Furthermore, a mechanical bond can be formed, for example, due to a surface finish. Additionally or alternatively, a chemical bond can also be formed between the fine dust and the receiving element to bind the fine dust. This offers the advantage that the fine dust particles can be bound to the receiving element particularly firmly and irreversibly in a highly efficient manner.

[0025] A second aspect of the invention shows a method for operating a motor vehicle in which fine dust particles, in particular those caused by tire abrasion and / or brake abrasion, are collected by means of a wheel housing according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the motor vehicle (in particular at least semi-autonomously) drives or is driven, whereby an airflow occurs in the wheel housing and / or a vehicle tire arranged in the wheel housing is rotated, and through the airflow and / or the rotation of the vehicle tire, fine dust particles which are arranged on the vehicle tire and / or on a brake are subjected to radial acceleration, whereby the fine dust particles are moved directly, i.e. without further aids, such as suction elements, to the collection element and bound or fixed there.

[0026] In other words, in order to use the wheel arch particularly advantageously as a fine dust filter, or rather to utilize its filtering properties for fine dust, the car is moved so that brake dust and tire abrasion, which constitute a significant part of the fine dust particles in the wheel arch, are flung out due to the centrifugal force of the vehicle tire and / or alternatively by the airflow when the vehicle is moving and then collect, for example, behind a porous surface of the part of the wheel arch cover designed as a receiving element, and are thus bound and removed from the environment.

[0027] Advantages and advantageous embodiments of the first aspect of the invention are to be regarded as advantages and advantageous embodiments of the second aspect of the invention and vice versa.

[0028] A third aspect of the invention relates to a motor vehicle which has a wheel arch according to the first aspect of the invention and / or is designed to carry out a method according to the second aspect of the invention.

[0029] Advantages and advantageous embodiments of the first and second aspects of the invention are to be regarded as advantages and advantageous embodiments of the third aspect of the invention, and vice versa.

[0030] Further features of the invention will become apparent from the claims, the figures, and the description of the figures. The features and combinations of features mentioned above in the description, as well as the features and combinations of features mentioned below in the description of the figures and / or shown in the figures alone, are not only usable in the combinations specified, but also in other combinations or on their own.

[0031] The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to a preferred embodiment and the drawings. The drawings show: Fig. 1 A schematic sectional view of a wheel arch of a motor vehicle.

[0032] The only Fig.Figure 1 shows a schematic sectional view of a wheel arch 1 of a motor vehicle 2, which is depicted schematically and in part. The wheel arch 1 serves to accommodate a vehicle tire 3. The wheel arch 1 comprises a housing part 4, which is made of a dimensionally stable material, and has an outer surface 6 oriented towards the environment 5 of the motor vehicle 2. A wheel arch cover 7 is formed on this outer surface, which is at least partially formed by a receiving element 8. This receiving element is designed to bind or absorb fine dust particles, particularly passively, which are directed onto the receiving element, in particular by the rotating vehicle tire 3 and / or air currents that occur in the wheel arch, especially due to movement of the motor vehicle. Part of the environment 5 is air, which is arranged between the receiving element 8 and the vehicle tire 3.

[0033] A method for operating the motor vehicle 2 can thus be carried out by means of the wheel housing 1 and / or the motor vehicle 2, in which fine dust particles are captured or bound by means of the wheel housing 1. In this method, the motor vehicle 2 is driven, or the motor vehicle drives itself, so that the vehicle tire 3 arranged in the wheel housing 1 rotates and / or at least an airflow is formed in the wheel housing 1 of the motor vehicle 2, whereby fine dust particles experience radial acceleration and thus, in particular, centrifugal forces at the vehicle tire 3 or at the brake 10 arranged there, whereby the fine dust particles are moved directly, i.e., without the aid of further means, to the capture element 8 and bound there.

[0034] The receiving element 8 advantageously has several layers 9, at least one of which is designed to bind the fine dust particles. Furthermore, the receiving element 8 has at least one porous surface, which is arranged facing the environment, particularly on the outside of the receiving element 8 or the wheel arch cover 7.

[0035] Additionally or alternatively, layer 9 or further layers 9 of the receiving element 8 can have pores into which the fine dust particles can be received. It is advantageous if at least two layers 9 of the receiving element 8 have pores, wherein the pores of one layer 9 are larger than the pores of the other layer 9, so that, for example, one pore size can form a kind of inlet into the receiving element 8, and the other pores of the further layer 9 form a reservoir or, figuratively speaking, a receiving container for the fine dust particles.

[0036] Advantageously, the receiving element 8 or the wheel arch cover 7 is designed such that it completely covers or clads a tread area and, in particular, an additional side area of ​​the wheel arch 1. This provides a particularly large surface area within the wheel arch onto which the fine dust particles, accelerated by centrifugal forces and / or guided by the airflow, can strike and be bound. This allows the absorption capacity for fine dust particles of the wheel arch 1 or the receiving element 8 to be particularly high.

[0037] Advantageously, the fine dust particles are bound to the holding element 8 electrostatically and / or mechanically and / or chemically. This allows the fine dust particles to be bound for a particularly long time and / or particularly firmly.

[0038] In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the receiving element 8 or the wheel arch cover 7 is arranged on the housing part 4 by means of a fixing element 11, wherein the fixing element 11 can be designed at least partially as a planar grid. The wheel arch cover 7 or the receiving element 8 can thus be arranged between the grid and the housing part 4, whereby the receiving element 8 can be held particularly advantageously by a kind of sandwich construction.

[0039] Advantageously, the wheel arch cover 7 or the mounting element 8 is at least partially designed as a noise-dampening element. For example, a further layer 9 can serve as noise insulation, which, in particular, is located on the inside, i.e., towards the vehicle interior, compared to the layer 9 that binds the fine dust particles. This offers the advantage that both noise protection and fine dust filter functions are combined, allowing the wheel arch 1 to be designed in a particularly compact manner.

[0040] The wheel arch 1 shown, the motor vehicle 2 shown and the method presented here make it possible to reduce particulate matter emissions during the operation of the motor vehicle 2 in a particularly advantageous way, whereby brake dust and tire abrasion are flung out due to centrifugal forces of the vehicle tire 3 and / or air currents and bound upon impact with the receiving element 8. Reference symbol list 1 wheel arch 2 motor vehicles 3 vehicle tires 4 Housing part 5 Environment 6 Outdoor area 7 Wheel arch cover 8 Recording element 9 shift 10 Brake 11 Fixing element

Claims

[1] Wheel housing (1) for a motor vehicle (2), which serves to accommodate a vehicle tire (3), comprising a housing part (4) which is made of a dimensionally stable material and has an outer surface (6) oriented towards an environment (5) of the motor vehicle (2), on which a wheel housing cover (7) is arranged, which is at least partially formed by a receiving element (8) which is designed to bind fine dust particles which hit the receiving element (8), wherein the receiving element (8) has several layers (9), at least one of which is designed to bind the fine dust particles, wherein at least two layers (9) of the receiving element (8) have pores, the pores of one layer (9) being larger than the pores of the other layer (9). [2] Wheel arch (1) according to claim 1, characterized by, that the receiving element (8) has at least one porous surface which is arranged in the direction of the environment (5) and / or has pores in which the fine dust particles can be received. [3] Wheel arch (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the wheel arch cover (7) and / or the receiving element (8) have a noise reduction element. [4] Wheel arch (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the wheel arch cover (7) and / or the receiving element completely cover a tread area of ​​the wheel arch (2). [5] Wheel arch (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the receiving element (8) is held on the housing part (4) by means of a fixing element (11). [6] Wheel arch (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the receiving element (8) is designed to bind the fine dust particles electrostatically and / or mechanically and / or chemically. [7] Method for operating a motor vehicle (2) in which fine dust particles are received by means of a wheel housing (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the motor vehicle (2) is moving and / or being driven, whereby an airflow occurs in the wheel housing and / or a vehicle tire arranged in the wheel housing is rotated, and through the airflow and / or the rotation of the vehicle tire fine dust particles which are arranged on the vehicle tire and / or on a brake are subjected to radial acceleration, whereby the fine dust particles are moved directly to a receiving element of the wheel housing and are bound by it. [8] Motor vehicle (2) with a wheel arch (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and / or designed to carry out a method according to claim 7.

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