Rear aerodynamic deflector for motor vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to an aerodynamic deflector comprising a protective base (110) and two folded edges (130) laterally bordering said base (110) and extending over it. The rear portion of said base (110) comprises two lateral corner zones (111), each designed to interpose, when the deflector is installed along a mounting axis (A), between a lower attachment tab integral with the rear bumper skin and an upper attachment tab (41) integral with the rear trunk panel lining (40). The deflector is characterized in that said lateral folded edges (130) are flared from front to back at a predetermined angle (θ) with respect to said mounting axis (A). Figure to be published with the abbreviation: Fig. 2

Description

Title of the invention: Rear aerodynamic deflector for a motor vehicle Technical field

[0001] The invention generally relates to rear aerodynamic deflectors intended to be fixed under the rear part of the underbody of a motor vehicle. Prior art

[0002] It is well known that aerodynamics plays an important role in the design of a motor vehicle, as its effects are great on fuel consumption and road behavior, particularly at high speed. Improving the aerodynamic performance of vehicles can therefore contribute significantly to reducing pollutant emissions, by lowering fuel consumption, while making vehicles safer and more comfortable from an acoustic point of view.

[0003] The underbody of the vehicle has a significant impact on the air drag generated at the rear of the vehicle, air drag which opposes the tractive effort. Car manufacturers have therefore moved towards a fairing of the underbody and a reduction in ground clearance to limit the volume of air entering under the vehicle and facilitate the flow of air under the body. It is now common practice to equip vehicles with deflectors made of plastic material which are arranged under the body to improve aerodynamics and protect sensitive elements such as pipes from impacts.

[0004] In particular, document EP 2 983 969 discloses a vehicle equipped with a body underbody extending generally parallel to the rolling surface of this vehicle and comprising a load floor in its rear part.

[0005] The vehicle also includes a rear deflector which is arranged below the load floor, in particular to improve the aerodynamics of the vehicle and to protect the underbody from possible projections, such as gravel projections.

[0006] Having a general bowl shape, this rear deflector comprises a protective sole extending below the load floor, generally parallel to the latter, as well as two lateral dropped edges laterally bordering the sole while extending substantially vertically above the latter towards the load floor so as to improve the aerodynamics of the vehicle.

[0007] The rear part of the protective sole is fixed at its two lateral corner zones to the rear bumper skin and to the rear trunk panel lining of the vehicle.

[0008] More precisely, each lateral corner zone of this rear part of the protective sole is interposed between a lower attachment tab secured to the rear bumper skin and an upper attachment tab secured to the rear trunk panel lining to which this lateral corner zone is fixed by means of a screw passing through its orifice as well as those provided in these tabs and being bolted onto a nut crimped into the orifice of the upper attachment tab.

[0009] While ensuring excellent support for the rear part of the deflector, this type of attachment nevertheless has the disadvantage of being particularly difficult for an operator to carry out and thus requiring a relatively long assembly time.

[0010] In fact, the latter must first of all lift the deflector above him while holding it at arm's length, then position it slightly in front of its mounting position and at an angle in order to bypass the silencer of the exhaust circuit as well as the studs protruding from the load floor and allowing the front part of this deflector to be fixed.

[0011] This operator must then translate it from front to back along a substantially longitudinal mounting axis so that each lateral end portion of the rear part of its protective sole is inserted between the two fixing lugs secured respectively to the rear bumper skin and the rear panel lining, and finally align the holes in order to be able to insert the fixing screws. Description of the invention

[0012] The present invention therefore aims to facilitate the operations of mounting such a rear deflector.

[0013] To this end, it proposes an aerodynamic deflector intended to be fixed under the rear part of the underbody of a motor vehicle, comprising a protective sole and two fallen edges laterally bordering said sole and extending above the latter, the rear part of said sole comprising two lateral corner zones each provided to be inserted, when said deflector is installed along a substantially longitudinal mounting axis oriented from front to rear, between a lower attachment tab secured to the rear bumper skin and an upper attachment tab secured to the rear trunk panel lining,each said corner side area having an orifice provided to be aligned with two other orifices provided respectively in two said corresponding lower and upper attachment tabs in order to allow the insertion from below of a fixing screw through these three orifices and its bolting onto a nut crimped in the orifice of the upper attachment tab; characterized in that said lateral flanged edges are flared from front to rear at a predetermined angle relative to said mounting axis.

[0014] These flared lateral fallen edges make it possible in particular to guide the positioning of the deflector in relation to the upper attachment tabs which are partially hidden from the operator's view because they are located above the lower attachment tabs.

[0015] Furthermore, once the two lateral corner zones are engaged between two corresponding attachment tabs, the deflector is limited in its lateral movement by the abutment cooperation between the lateral flanged edges and the external lateral edges of the upper attachment tabs, so as to prevent the disengagement of one or other of the lateral corner zones and thus to facilitate the alignment of the different orifices by the operator.

[0016] According to preferred characteristics of said aerodynamic deflector according to the invention: - said flare angle is between 10 and 20°; - each said corner lateral zone has on its upper face an imprint extending around the perimeter of its orifice and opening onto the rear edge of said sole, each of these imprints being delimited at the periphery by a recess forming a guide stop for the collar of a said corresponding crimped nut when said deflector is put in place; - the shape and dimensions of said indentations are configured so as to ensure sufficient alignment of the holes in the corner side areas with those in the upper legs to allow the insertion of a screw, while leaving longitudinal and transverse clearance to take into account manufacturing tolerances; - said prints have a depth of between 1.5 and 2 mm; - each said imprint has a parabolic-shaped profile whose axis is parallel to said mounting axis and centered on the orifice of the corresponding lateral corner zone; - said lateral corner zones have a thickness greater than that of the rest of said sole; and / or - said lateral corner zones have stiffening ribs on their upper face.

[0017] The invention also relates, in a second aspect, to a motor vehicle comprising such a deflector fixed against the lower face of the underbody and each lateral corner zone of the protective sole of which is interposed between a lower attachment lug secured to the rear bumper skin and an upper attachment lug secured to the rear trunk panel lining to which this lateral corner zone is fixed by means of a screw passing through its orifice as well as those provided in these lugs and being bolted onto a nut crimped into the orifice of the upper attachment lug.

[0018] According to an advantageous characteristic, the transverse entry spacing between the rear ends of said lateral fallen edges is 20 to 40 mm greater than that separating the two external side edges of said upper attachment tabs secured to the rear trunk panel lining. Brief description of the drawings

[0019] The description of the invention will now be continued by the detailed description of an exemplary embodiment, given below for illustrative but non-limiting purposes, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

[0020] [Fig. 1] represents a partial view from below and in perspective of the rear part of a motor vehicle on which a rear deflector according to the invention is being installed;

[0021] [Fig.2] is a top view illustrating the installation of the rear deflector of the [Fig.l] opposite the trunk rear panel lining;

[0022] [Fig.3] represents an enlarged perspective top view of a rear corner of the deflector of [Fig.l];

[0023] [Fig.4] is an enlarged bottom perspective view of the rear corner of [Fig.3] in approaching a corresponding tab of the trunk rear panel lining; and

[0024] [Fig.5] represents an enlarged view from below of the rear corner of [Fig.3] after its insertion between a lower attachment tab secured to the rear bumper skin and an upper attachment tab secured to the rear trunk panel lining. Description of the embodiments

[0025] [Fig.l] shows the rear part of the underside of a motor vehicle on which a rear aerodynamic deflector 100 is about to be mounted on the load floor 20 of the underbody of this vehicle, the rear bumper skin 30 and the rear trunk panel lining 40, in particular to improve the aerodynamics of the vehicle.

[0026] In the description which follows and by convention, the terms “lower”, “upper”, “front” and “rear” will be defined in relation to the mounting position of the rear aerodynamic deflector 10 according to the invention in a vehicle.

[0027] The terms "external" and "internal" will be used to define the relative position of an element with reference to the median longitudinal plane of the deflector. The element closest to this plane will thus be described as internal as opposed to the other element further from this same plane which will be described as external.

[0028] Furthermore, the term "substantially" will be used to indicate that a slight deviation is permitted from a predetermined nominal position or arrangement, while remaining included within the scope of the invention. For example, "substantially longitudinal" will indicate that a deviation of the order of 15° from a strictly longitudinal orientation is permitted within the scope of the invention.

[0029] Having a general bowl shape, the rear deflector 100 is molded in a single piece from a thermoplastic material such as polypropylene (PP), advantageously loaded with natural and / or synthetic fibers in order to improve its mechanical strength.

[0030] With reference to figures 1 and 2, this deflector 100 comprises a protective sole 110 provided to extend under the load floor 20, generally parallel to the latter, as well as a front transverse fallen edge 120 and two lateral fallen edges 130 bordering the sole 110 while extending substantially vertically above the latter towards the load floor 20 so as to improve the aerodynamics of the vehicle 1.

[0031] For the purpose of its attachment to the load floor 20, the deflector 100 also comprises two barrels 140 of oblong section extending vertically from and above the sole 110 and in the substantially horizontal bottom wall 141 of each of which a respective passage orifice 142 is provided.

[0032] These three orifices 142 are arranged so as to be able to be aligned simultaneously and then crossed by corresponding studs 21 welded to the load floor 20 and projecting vertically downwards from its lower face located opposite the ground (the end of one of these studs being visible in [Fig.l]).

[0033] Each barrel 140 also advantageously comprises means for retaining a plastic nut against the lower face of its bottom wall 141 around the perimeter of a passage orifice 142.

[0034] As illustrated in [Fig.l], the rear part of its sole 110 comprises two lateral corner zones 111 of substantially rectangular shape and each provided, when the deflector 100 is put in place along a substantially longitudinal mounting axis A oriented from front to rear, to be inserted between a first lower attachment tab 31 projecting substantially horizontally from the rear edge of the lower face of the rear bumper skin 30 and a second upper attachment tab 41 projecting substantially horizontally from a corresponding jamb 42 of the rear panel lining 40.

[0035] In order to reinforce their rigidity and their mechanical resistance and as is clearly visible in [Fig.3], these lateral corner zones 111 have a greater thickness than that of the rest of the sole 110, the value of which is approximately 2 mm.

[0036] This excess thickness of the lateral corner zones 111 is preferably between 1 and 2 mm, which corresponds to an overall thickness of between 3 and 4 mm.

[0037] Each corner lateral zone 111 also has a circular orifice 112 provided to be axially aligned with two other orifices 33, 43 respectively provided in a first lower attachment tab 31 and in a second corresponding upper attachment tab 41, in order to allow the insertion of a fixing screw to the through these three holes which are then bolted onto a nut 44 set in hole 43.

[0038] As illustrated in [Fig. 4], each crimped nut 44 conventionally comprises a threaded column 44A passing through the orifice 43 of an upper attachment lug 41 and projecting above this lug 41, as well as a collar 44B extending radially at the lower end of this column 44A and forming an annular contact surface resting against the lower face of the periphery of the orifice 43.

[0039] The column 44A, deformed by the crimping operation, forms a bead coming to bear against the upper face of the periphery of the orifice 43, so that the nut 44 is fixed to the upper attachment lug 41 by pinching the periphery of this orifice 43 between this bead and the collar 44B.

[0040] In order to allow the deflector 100 to be put in place and as illustrated in [Fig.2], the transverse entry spacing ei between the rear ends of the lateral flanged edges 130 is slightly greater (by 20 to 40 mm) than that e2 separating the two external lateral edges of the upper attachment tabs 41.

[0041] Furthermore, and as is clearly visible in this [Fig. 2], the lateral flanged edges 130 are flared from front to rear at a predetermined angle 0 relative to the mounting axis A of the deflector 100, so as to facilitate the insertion of each of the lateral corner zones 111 of the rear part of the sole 110 of the deflector 100 between two corresponding attachment tabs 31, 41 of the bumper skin 30 and the rear panel lining 40.

[0042] This flare angle 0 is preferably between 10 and 20° and advantageously equal to 15°.

[0043] These flared lateral fallen edges 130 make it possible in particular to guide the positioning of the deflector 100 relative to the upper attachment tabs 41, partially hidden from the operator's eyes because they are located above the lower attachment tabs 31.

[0044] Furthermore, once the two lateral corner zones are engaged between two corresponding attachment tabs 31, 41, the deflector 100 is limited in its lateral movement by the abutment cooperation between the lateral flanged edges 130 and the external lateral edges of the upper attachment tabs 41, so as to prevent the disengagement of one or other of the lateral corner zones 111 and thus to facilitate the alignment of the orifices 112, 33 and 43 by the operator.

[0045] As illustrated in [Fig. 3] and in order to further facilitate the alignment of each orifice 112 with the orifice 43 of a corresponding upper attachment tab 41, each corner lateral zone 111 has on its upper face an imprint 113 with a curved profile, extending around the periphery of this orifice 112 and opening onto the rear edge of the sole 110.

[0046] Each of these indentations 113 is delimited at the periphery by a vertical recess 114 forming a guide stop for the collar 44B of a corresponding crimped nut 44 when the deflector 100 is put in place (see figures 4 and 5).

[0047] The shape and dimensions of these indentations are configured so as to ensure sufficient alignment of the orifices 112 and 43 to allow the insertion of a screw while leaving longitudinal and transverse clearance in order to take into account manufacturing tolerances which may cause certain dimensional dispersions in the chain of dimensions of the deflector 100 and the rear panel lining 40 ([Fig.5]).

[0048] As can be seen in this [Fig.5], each imprint 113 has a parabolic-shaped profile whose axis is parallel to the mounting axis of the deflector 100 and centered on the corresponding orifice 112.

[0049] In order to allow the upper attachment tabs 41 to be pressed against the lateral corner zones 111, the indentations 133 have a depth advantageously equal to or greater than the thickness of approximately 1.5 mm of the collars 44B of the crimped nuts 44, this depth thus preferably being between 1.5 and 2 mm.

[0050] According to embodiment variants not shown, the lateral corner zones have stiffening ribs on their upper face, the guide impressions then being made at least partially in these ribs.

Claims

Claims

1. Aerodynamic deflector intended to be fixed under the rear part of the underbody of a motor vehicle, comprising a protective sole (110) and two fallen edges (130) laterally bordering said sole (110) while extending above the latter, the rear part of said sole (110) comprising two lateral corner zones (111) each provided to be inserted, when said deflector is installed along a substantially longitudinal mounting axis (A) oriented from front to rear, between a lower attachment tab (31) secured to the rear bumper skin (30) and an upper attachment tab (41) secured to the rear trunk panel lining (40), each said lateral corner zone (111) having an orifice (112) provided to be aligned with two other orifices (33,43) arranged respectively in two said corresponding lower (31) and upper (41) attachment tabs in order to allow the insertion from below of a fixing screw through these three orifices (33, 112, 43) and its bolting onto a nut (44) crimped into the orifice (43) of the upper attachment tab (41), said lateral flanged edges (130) being flared from front to back at a predetermined angle (0) relative to said mounting axis (A), characterized in that each said lateral corner zone (111) has on its upper face an imprint (113) extending around the periphery of its orifice (112) and opening onto the rear edge of said sole (110), each of these imprints (113) being delimited at the periphery by a recess (114) forming a guide stop for the collar (44B) of a said crimped nut (44) corresponding to the installation of said deflector.,

2. Aerodynamic deflector according to claim 1, characterized in that said flare angle (0) is between 10 and 20°.

3. Aerodynamic deflector according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the shape and dimensions of said indentations (113) are configured so as to ensure sufficient alignment of the orifices (112) of the lateral corner zones (111) with those (43) of the upper tabs (41) to allow the insertion of a screw, while leaving longitudinal and transverse play in order to take into account manufacturing tolerances.

4. Aerodynamic deflector according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said indentations (113) have a depth of between 1.5 and 2 mm.

5. Aerodynamic deflector according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each said imprint (113) has a parabolic-shaped profile whose axis is parallel to said mounting axis (A) and centered on the orifice (112) of the corresponding lateral corner zone (111).

6. Aerodynamic deflector according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said lateral corner zones (111) have a greater thickness than that of the rest of said sole (110).

7. Aerodynamic deflector according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said lateral corner zones (111) have stiffening ribs on their upper face.

8. Motor vehicle characterized in that it comprises a deflector according to one of the preceding claims fixed against the lower face of the underbody and each lateral corner zone (111) of the protective sole (110) is interposed between a lower attachment lug (31) integral with the rear bumper skin (30) and an upper attachment lug (41) integral with the rear trunk panel lining (40) to which this lateral corner zone (111) is fixed by means of a screw passing through its orifice (112) as well as those (33, 43) formed in these lugs (31, 41) and being bolted onto a nut (44) crimped in the orifice (43) of the upper attachment lug (41).

9. Motor vehicle according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the transverse entry spacing (ej between the rear ends of said lateral fallen edges (130) is 20 to 40 mm greater than that (e2) separating the two external lateral edges of said upper attachment tabs (41) integral with the rear trunk panel lining (40).

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