Front-facing airflow control device having a plurality of support frames

Abstract

The invention relates to an airflow control device (1) for a front-end module of a motor vehicle. This device (1) comprises: - at least one first (2) and a second (4) support frames produced by a bi-injection molding process of thermoplastic materials; and - a sealing assembly system for said support frames (2, 4). Figure for the abstract: Figure 1

Description

Title of the invention: Front-facing airflow control device having a plurality of support frames

[0001] The invention relates to the field of front-end airflow control devices for motor vehicles.

[0002] The front ends of motor vehicles generally include one or more main air inlets through which an airflow enters towards the front compartment of the motor vehicle. Behind these air inlets, heat exchangers for the motor vehicle's cooling system are generally located, such as the one used for passenger compartment air conditioning, or the one used for engine cooling.

[0003] It is known to provide, in the air path passing through the main air inlets, an airflow control device. Such a device generally comprises a support frame on which one or more shutters are pivotally mounted, so as to reduce the available passage area for the incoming airflow. This control device is sometimes called an active grille shutter, or even a controlled air intake module. Such a shutter device may also be designated by the acronym AGS (for "Active Grille Shutter").

[0004] The airflow control device allows adjustment of the airflow passing through the air inlets and reaching the heat exchangers. This makes it possible to optimize the efficiency of these heat exchangers according to requirements by varying the amount of air they receive.

[0005] Generally, the heat exchangers of the cooling module, positioned downstream—in the direction of the incoming airflow—of the control device, are assembled with the rear of the support frame of said device. Since the performance of these various exchangers depends on the quantity of air supplying or passing through them, it is necessary to assemble them in a sealed manner with the support frame to prevent air from taking any path other than the one passing through the exchangers.

[0006] Support frames are known today, generally made by bi-material injection, the more flexible injected part allowing a sealing lip to be made to ensure a tight connection with the heat exchanger having the largest dimensions.

[0007] However, the cooling module includes heat exchangers of different sizes. Consequently, this solution does not allow for a leak-proof assembly with several heat exchangers of the cooling module, which negatively impact the performance of smaller heat exchangers. Consequently, the air supply required by the engine compartment components is not guaranteed with such a solution.

[0008] One solution considered to address this problem was to integrate the production of a second sealing lip into the two-component injection molding process of the support frame. However, this solution is also unsatisfactory because the mold required to manufacture such a support frame is very complex to produce and, consequently, very expensive. Furthermore, the molding process itself is also longer and more complex to implement. This solution is therefore not suitable for the manufacturing requirements of automotive parts.

[0009] The invention aims in particular to offer an advantageous solution to the problems outlined, by proposing a device whose support frame is made by bi-material injection in a simple, fast and inexpensive manner, and which allows a sealed assembly with several heat exchangers of the cooling module, regardless of their dimensions.

[0010] To this end, the invention relates to a device for regulating the airflow at the front of a motor vehicle, comprising:

[0011] - at least a first and a second support frame, each support frame being manufactured using a bi-injection molding process of a first thermoplastic material and a second thermoplastic material softer than the first, and each support frame comprising a sealing lip made of the second thermoplastic material; and

[0012] - a watertight assembly system for said support frames.

[0013] Thus, with the airflow regulation device according to the invention, it is possible to assemble at least two heat exchangers separate from the cooling module in a sealed manner, while maintaining rapid and inexpensive manufacturing of said device. Indeed, a first heat exchanger can be assembled in a sealed manner with the first support frame of the device, the seal between these two components being ensured by the sealing lip of this first support frame, which is made of a thermoplastic material softer than the rest of the support frame. A second heat exchanger can also be assembled in a sealed manner to the device according to the invention via the second support frame, which also includes its own sealing lip, made of a thermoplastic material softer than the rest of the second support frame.Each of the first and second support frames can be manufactured independently using a bi-injection molding process with a first thermoplastic material and a second, softer thermoplastic material. The overall seal of the device is maintained by the assembly system of the two support frames. By. Consequently, the loss of incoming airflow is drastically reduced, thanks to the airtight seal of each of the two heat exchangers, which prevents any leakage of incoming air through other pathways. It is therefore possible to optimize the performance of these heat exchangers, knowing precisely the volume of air passing through them. Ultimately, it is possible to guarantee with greater accuracy the amount of air treated by the heat exchangers of the cooling module that is supplied to the engine compartment components.

[0014] The control system according to the invention advantageously comprises any one or more of the following features, taken alone or in combination:

[0015] - the sealing lip of each support frame is composed of the second material thermoplastic;

[0016] - the first support frame and the second support frame are dimensioned to be assembled, in a sealed manner, respectively with a first heat exchanger and with a second heat exchanger of a cooling module of the motor vehicle;

[0017] - at least one support frame comprises four sides, including two lateral uprights, an upper end cross member and a lower end cross member, said upper and lower end cross members connecting said side uprights;

[0018] - at least one support frame includes a central cross member;

[0019] - the second support frame defines an area smaller than that of the first frame support;

[0020] - the second support frame is located within the area defined by the first frame support;

[0021] - the second support frame is nested within the first support frame;

[0022] - the two support frames are next to each other and are connected to each other by the intermediary of at least part of only one of their respective flanks;

[0023] - the watertight assembly system comprises at least one complete male member commentary of at least one female organ;

[0024] - the male organ comprises at least one projecting tongue and the female organ includes at least one groove into which said at least one protruding tongue is inserted;

[0025] - the male organ is located on one side of one of the two support frames and the female organ complementary to the male organ is located on one side of the other support frame, the said sides being adjacent to each other;

[0026] - the male organ is located on the outer face of one side of one of the two frames support, and the female organ complementary to said male organ is located on the outer face of one side of the other support frame, said sides being adjacent to each other;

[0027] - the male organ is located on the outer face of one side of the second support frame, and the female organ complementary to the said male organ is located on the inner face of one side of the first support frame, said sides being adjacent to each other;

[0028] - the male organ is located on the inner face of one side of the first support frame, and the female organ complementary to the male organ is located on the outer face of one side of the second support frame, said sides being adjacent to each other;

[0029] - the assembly system includes at least one clipping element located on the minus one side of the first support frame, said clipping element being configured for clipping said first support frame onto the second support frame;

[0030] - the assembly system includes at least one clipping element located on the side of the second support frame, said clipping element being configured for clipping said second support frame onto the first support frame;

[0031] - the sealing lip of at least one support frame extends over the entire periphery of said support frame;

[0032] - the second thermoplastic material is a thermoplastic elastomer, of preference for hardness between 45 shore A and 80 shore A;

[0033] - the first thermoplastic material is chosen from the list consisting of PPGF30, PA6GF30 or PBTGF30;

[0034] - the device comprises at least one third injection-molded bi- material of a first thermoplastic material and a second thermoplastic material softer than the first and comprising a sealing lip of second thermoplastic material, said third support frame being assembled in a watertight manner with at least one of the first or second support frames;

[0035] - said third support frame is dimensioned to be assembled, in such a way sealed, with a third heat exchanger from a motor vehicle cooling module;

[0036] - two of the three support frames are located within Faire defined by the last support frame.

[0037] The invention also relates to an assembly of a front-facing airflow regulation device for a motor vehicle and at least one heat exchanger.

[0038] Advantageously, said at least one heat exchanger is chosen from the list consisting of: radiator or condenser.

[0039] The assembly comprises, according to a variant of the invention, a radiator assembled in a sealed manner to a first support frame and a condenser assembled in a sealed manner to a second support frame.

[0040] The invention also relates to a front-end module for a motor vehicle comprising an airflow control device according to one of the variants described or an assembly according to one of the variants described. Brief description of the figures

[0041] The invention will be better understood upon reading the following description, given solely by way of example and made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0042] [Fig-1] [Fig. 1] is a perspective view representing an airflow regulation device according to an embodiment of the invention,

[0043] [Fig.2] [Fig.2] is an exploded view of the device shown in [Fig.1],

[0044] [Fig.3] [Fig.3] is an enlargement of the dotted area shown in the [Fig.2], Detailed description

[0045] Figures 1 to 3 show an air flow control device for a front-end module of a motor vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention, designated by general reference 1.

[0046] This airflow control device 1 for the front panel module of a motor vehicle comprises:

[0047] - at least one first 2 and a second 4 support frames, each support frame (2, 4) being produced by a bi-injection molding process of a first thermoplastic material and a second thermoplastic material softer than the first, and each support frame (2, 4) comprising a sealing lip (3, 5) of the second thermoplastic material; and

[0048] - a watertight assembly system (7, 8) for said support frames.

[0049] In this description, certain elements or parameters can be indexed, such as first element or second element, first parameter and second parameter, first criterion and second criterion, etc. In this case, it is simply a matter of indexing to differentiate and name similar but not identical elements, parameters, or criteria. This indexing does not imply any priority of one element, parameter, or criterion over another, and such designations can easily be interchanged without departing from the scope of this description. Nor does this indexing imply any order in time, for example, for evaluating one criterion or another.

[0050] In the following description, "upper" and "lower" refer to the arrangement of the elements on the front air intake sealing device in the mounted state of the sealing device on the motor vehicle.

[0051] Each support frame 2, 4 is manufactured using a bi-injection molding process known to those skilled in the art, in which two thermoplastic materials with different mechanical properties are injected simultaneously or concurrently to generate a single-piece part consisting of two parts with different properties. Each of these two support frames 2, 4 can thus be manufactured independently hanging from each other, while ensuring the overall sealing of device 1 necessary for the optimal operation of the heat exchangers which will be associated with each of the two support frames 2, 4.

[0052] The first thermoplastic material may be any known thermoplastic material that is less soft than the second thermoplastic material. The first thermoplastic material must have sufficient mechanical strength to allow assembly or attachment to external elements, such as heat exchangers, and to resist deterioration under the repeated action of the airflow passing through the regulating device of the invention. By way of example, the first thermoplastic material may be chosen from the following list of materials: PPGF30, PA6GF30, or PBTGF30.

[0053] The second material can be any known thermoplastic material that is softer than the first thermoplastic material. The second thermoplastic material has sufficient deformation properties to ensure the sealing lip function during assembly between the support frame (4, 5) that carries said lip and a heat exchanger. By way of example, the second thermoplastic material is a material with a hardness between 45 Shore A and 80 Shore A, preferably between 50 and 80 Shore A, and preferably between 60 and 80 Shore A.

[0054] The regulating device 1 comprises a first support frame 2 having four sides 2a, 2a', 2b, 2b'. These sides 2a, 2a', 2b, 2b' may, in particular, constitute two lateral uprights 2a, 2a' and two end cross members 2b, 2b' connecting the two lateral uprights 2a, 2a' to each other, thus defining an opening in the first support frame 2 and delimiting an area. The first support frame 2 has a generally rectangular shape. More specifically, the first support frame 2 has an upper end cross member 2b and a lower end cross member 2b', these orientations arbitrarily corresponding to the arrangement of the shutter device 1 when mounted in the motor vehicle. The upper end cross member 2b is then positioned opposite the top of the motor vehicle and the lower end cross member 2b' is, for its part, positioned opposite the bottom of the motor vehicle.

[0055] The first support frame 2 is dimensioned to be assembled, in a sealed manner, with a first heat exchanger. In other words, the dimensions of this first support frame 2 are substantially identical to those of the first heat exchanger, which ensures a sealed assembly between these two elements.

[0056] The first support frame 2 may also include at least one intermediate center cross member 2c parallel to the side uprights 2a, 2a' and connecting the end cross members 2b, 2b'. This intermediate center cross member 2c connects, more specifically, the upper end cross member 2b to the lower end cross member 2b' within the opening of the first support frame 2. Such a configuration may allow to accommodate series of aerodynamic flaps on either side of the central cross member 2c.

[0057] The first support frame 2 is composed of a rigid part 2d made of the first thermoplastic material and a softer part forming the sealing lip 3 of the first support frame 2. This sealing lip 3 protrudes towards the rear of the device 1 and extends over the entire periphery defined by the rigid part 2d of the first support frame 2.

[0058] The airflow control device 1 also includes a second support frame 4 having four sides 4a, 4a', 4b, 4b'. These sides 4a, 4a', 4b, 4b' may, in particular, constitute two lateral uprights 4a, 4a' and two end cross members 4b, 4b' connecting the two lateral uprights 4a, 4a' to each other, thus defining an opening in the second support frame 4, and delimiting an area smaller than that delimited by the first support frame 2. The second support frame 4 then has a generally rectangular shape. More specifically, the second support frame 4 has an upper end cross member 4b and a lower end cross member 4b', these orientations arbitrarily corresponding to the arrangement of the shutter device 1 when mounted in the motor vehicle.The upper end cross member 4b will then be positioned opposite the top of the motor vehicle, and the lower end cross member 4b' will be positioned opposite the bottom of the motor vehicle.

[0059] The second support frame 4 is dimensioned to be assembled, in a sealed manner, with a second heat exchanger. In other words, the dimensions of this second support frame 4 are substantially identical to those of the second heat exchanger, which ensures a sealed assembly between these two elements.

[0060] The second support frame 4 is composed of a rigid part 4d made of the first thermoplastic material and a softer part forming the sealing lip 5 of the second support frame 4. This sealing lip 5 protrudes towards the rear of the device 1 and extends over the entire periphery defined by the rigid part 4d of the second support frame 4.

[0061] The second support frame 4 has smaller dimensions than the first support frame 2, which allows the second support frame 4 to be positioned within the area defined by the first support frame 2 and to be nested within the first support frame and assembled in a sealed manner to the latter by means of the assembly system 7, 8.

[0062] The assembly system ensures a watertight seal between the support frames 2, 4 of the device according to the invention, thus guaranteeing the overall watertightness of the device and enabling the optimal operation of the heat exchangers associated with the support frames 2, 4. To this end, the watertight assembly system comprises at least one male member (represented in the form of protruding tabs 8 in the diagram). (represented in the figures) complementary to at least one female component (represented as grooves 7 in the embodiment shown in the figures). Of course, any other male and female components complementary to each other and enabling a watertight assembly between the two support frames can be considered in the assembly system of device 1 according to the invention. According to the embodiment shown, the tabs 8 and grooves 7 are formed from the material of the side uprights 4a, 4a' and the side uprights 2a, 2a', respectively. These side uprights are adjacent to each other in pairs. They are therefore made of the first thermoplastic material during the bi-injection molding process. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, each of the outer faces of the side uprights 4a, 4a' of the second support frame 4 has a protruding tab 8 extending along their entire length. The side uprights 2a, 2a' of the first support frame 2 each have, on their inner face, a complementary groove 9 extending along their entire length, into which the protruding tabs 8 are inserted. Therefore, the watertightness of the assembly between the first support frame 2 and the second support frame 4 is guaranteed, and in a simple way.Of course, the distribution of the protruding tongues 8 and grooves 7 can be different. For example, the protruding tongues can be distributed along the inner face of the side uprights 2a, 2a' of the first support frame 2 while the grooves are distributed along the outer face of the side uprights 4a, 4a' of the second support frame 4. Alternatively, it is possible to consider that the grooves and tongues are distributed on the upper and lower end rails of the two support frames 2, 4.

[0063] The assembly system further comprises clipping elements 20 distributed on the two end cross members 4b, 4b' of the second support frame 4, each clipping element 20 associating with one of the lugs (not visible in the figures) distributed on two end cross members 2b, 2b' of the first support frame 2. The clipping between the clipping elements 20 and the lugs carried by the first support frame 2 further secures the assembly between the two support frames 2, 4, which secures the assemblies between the grooves 7 and the protruding tongues 8.

[0064] In an embodiment of the invention not shown, the first support frame and the second support frame may be side by side and are connected to each other via at least a portion of one of their respective flanks. Such a configuration makes it possible to accommodate additional vehicle front-end module configurations, in which, for example, two heat exchangers need to be positioned side by side.

[0065] In another variant of the invention not shown, the regulating device may comprise a third frame similar in design to the first and The second support frame can be hermetically sealed and assembled with at least one of the first or second support frames using the assembly system of the invention. This third support frame can allow for the hermetically sealed assembly of an additional heat exchanger thanks to a sealing lip made of a thermoplastic material softer than the thermoplastic material of which the rigid part of said third frame is made. This third support frame can define an area smaller than that of the second support frame and can therefore be nested within the second support frame. Alternatively, this third frame can be adjacent to the first or second support frame and, consequently, be connected to one of these two support frames via at least a portion of one of their respective sides.

[0066] The invention is not limited to the embodiments presented, and other embodiments will be obvious to those skilled in the art. In particular, it is possible that the device of the invention may comprise an even greater number of support frames, some of which may be nested within each other and others may be adjacent, so as to be able to cover all possible front-end module architectures of motor vehicles. List of references

[0067] 1: Front face airflow control device

[0068] 2: first support frame

[0069] 2a, 2a', 2b, 2b': sides of the first support frame

[0070] 2c: median cross member

[0071] 2d: rigid part of the first support frame

[0072] 3: Sealing lip of the first support frame

[0073] 4: second support frame

[0074] 4a, 4a', 4b, 4b': sides of the second support frame

[0075] 4d: rigid part of the second support frame

[0076] 5: Sealing lip of the second support frame

[0077] 7: groove

[0078] 8: protruding tab

[0079] 10: protrusions of the sealing lip of the first support frame

[0080] 20: Clipping elements for the support frames

Claims

Claims

1. Air flow regulation device (1) for a motor vehicle front panel module, characterized in that it comprises: - at least a first (2) and a second (4) support frame, each support frame (2, 4) being produced by a bi-injection molding process of a first thermoplastic material and a second thermoplastic material softer than the first, and each support frame (2, 4) comprising a sealing lip (3, 5) made of a second thermoplastic material; and - a sealed assembly system (7, 8) for said support frames (2, 4).

2. Device (1) according to the preceding claim, in which only the sealing lip (3, 5) of each support frame is composed of the second thermoplastic material.

3. Device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the first support frame (2) and the second support frame (4) are dimensioned to be assembled, in a sealed manner, respectively with a first heat exchanger and with a second heat exchanger of a cooling module of the motor vehicle.

4. Device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the second support frame (4) is nested in the first support frame (2).

5. Device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the sealed assembly system comprises at least one male member (8) complementary to at least one female member (7), said male member (8) being located on a flank of one of the two support frames and the female member (7) complementary to said male member being located on a flank of the other support frame, said flanks being adjacent to each other.

6. Device (1) according to the preceding claim, in which the male member comprises at least one projecting tab (8) and the female member comprises at least one groove (7) in which said at least one projecting tab (8) is inserted.

7. Device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising at least one third support frame molded by bi-material injection of a first thermoplastic material and a second thermoplastic material softer than the first and comprising a sealing lip made of a second thermoplastic material, said third support frame being assembled in a sealed manner with at least one of the first (2) or second (4) support frames.

8. Device (1) according to the preceding claim, in which two of the three support frames are located within the area defined by the last support frame.

9. Assembly of a device (1) for regulating the air flow of a motor vehicle front panel module according to any one of the preceding claims, and of at least one heat exchanger.

10. Motor vehicle front panel module comprising an air flow regulation device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 8 or an assembly according to claim 9.

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