Front view of a motor vehicle with hood nose recess

Abstract

The invention relates to a front face (1a) of a motor vehicle comprising a hood (2) extending between an inner face (3), facing an engine compartment (4), and an outer face (5), to a front end (6) forming a hood nose (7), the hood nose (7) extending in an inclined direction (DI) with respect to the axis (AL) of the vehicle, the front face (1a) further comprising a front end (8) having a cover portion (9a), designed to extend opposite the inner face (3) of the hood nose (7), at a distance from the latter to form a channel (10), between the front end (8) and the hood nose (7), extending in the inclined direction (DI) and dimensioned to prevent whistling generated by airflow in the channel (10) that could be caused by movement of the front face (1a). (Figure 1)

Description

Title of the invention: Front face of a motor vehicle with recessed hood nose

[0001] The technical field relates to the front faces of motor vehicles designed to avoid aerodynamic whistling and to motor vehicles having such a front face.

[0002] Car manufacturers are particularly attentive to offering their customers comfortable vehicles for their passengers. Among the essential comfort criteria are, of course, the management of vibrations and noise generated by the vehicle's movement. All of these noises and vibrations are immediately felt physically by a customer test-driving a new car. Thus, acoustic and vibration characteristics are among those that most influence a customer's judgment of the perceived quality of the vehicle they are test-driving. The comfort linked to the quality of these acoustic and vibration characteristics constitutes the primary criterion for choosing between two equivalent models. It is therefore important for car manufacturers to improve the acoustic characteristics of their vehicles as much as possible.

[0003] During its movement and depending on its speed, a motor vehicle is subjected to an increasing aerodynamic pressure field, particularly exerted on the front end. Highly exposed to these aerodynamic stresses, the hood nose, corresponding to the front line of the hood, can become a source of aerodynamic whistling.

[0004] Integrating a seal on the front of the inner face of the hood helps to limit these acoustic phenomena. However, such a seal presents several drawbacks: first, in a context of seeking to reduce manufacturing costs, it incurs an additional expense, particularly related to its installation, which proves cumbersome. Indeed, if adhesive is used to fix the seal, assembly is lengthy, imprecise, and requires significant rework in case of misalignment. Similarly, when clips are used, assembly remains expensive and time-consuming. It can also cause musculoskeletal disorders due to the repetitive effort and clipping operations. Furthermore, due to constraints related to the exterior styling of vehicles, the hood and its front line do not always allow for the installation of acoustic protection such as a seal, primarily due to lack of space.

[0005] Thus, there is a need for a solution that preserves acoustic comfort, while avoiding the need to install an acoustic seal.

[0006] The present invention aims to overcome the problems described above.

[0007] In this technical context, one objective of the present invention is to provide a front face without a joint that prevents the generation of aerodynamic whistling.

[0008] To this end, the present invention relates to a front face of a motor vehicle comprising a hood extending between an inner face, facing an engine compartment, and an outer face, to a front end forming a hood nose, the hood nose extending in a direction inclined relative to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, the front face further comprising a facade having a cover portion, designed to extend opposite the inner face of the hood nose, at a distance from the latter to form a channel, between the facade and the hood nose, extending in the inclined direction and dimensioned to avoid a whistling sound generated by a flow in the channel of an airflow likely to be caused by a movement of the front face.

[0009] The invention finally relates to a motor vehicle having a front face according to the invention.

[0010] Thus, the front face according to the invention eliminates the need for a gasket, while also preventing aerodynamic whistling. Indeed, thanks to the channel formed between the cover and the inner face of the hood nose, the airflow generated by the vehicle's movement prevents whistling. Furthermore, the cover eliminates problems associated with gasket installation, ensuring assembly without subsequent adjustments, and finally, reduces costs and therefore assembly time.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the front face, the hood nose is formed by a hood skin and a hood lining forming a crimp on the inner face, the covering part extending opposite the front end of the hood nose and beyond the crimp.

[0012] According to one possibility, the cover portion extends parallel to the hood nose.

[0013] In one embodiment, the covering part forms a rigid lip.

[0014] According to one embodiment, the covering part comes from the material with the facade.

[0015] According to an alternative method, the covering part is attached to an upper part of the facade.

[0016] The invention will be better understood upon reading the following detailed description, given solely by way of non-limiting example and made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0017] [Fig.1] [Fig.1] represents a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a front face of a vehicle according to a first embodiment of the invention;

[0018] [Fig.2] [Fig.2] represents a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a front face of a vehicle according to a second embodiment of the invention;

[0019] In these figures, the same references are used to designate the same elements.

[0020] A front face, 1b according to the invention, illustrated in the figures, equips a motor vehicle according to the invention.

[0021] The front face la, 1b comprises a hood 2 extending between an inner face 3, facing an engine compartment 4, and an outer face 5, up to a front end 6 forming a hood nose 7. As illustrated in the figures, the hood nose 7 extends in an inclined direction DI with respect to the longitudinal axis AL of the vehicle.

[0022] The front face la, 1b also includes a front face 8. The front face 8 supports, for example, a ventilation grille and a bumper, not shown in the figures.

[0023] As illustrated in the figures, the front face 8 of the front face la, 1b according to the invention further comprises a cover portion 9a, 9b, designed to extend opposite the inner face 3 of the hood nose 7, at a distance from the latter to form a channel 10, between the front face 8 and the hood nose 7, extending along the inclined direction DI. The distance between the cover portion 9a, 9b and the inner face 3 is chosen so that the channel 10 is sized to prevent whistling generated by airflow in the channel 10 that could be caused by movement of the front face la, 1b, when the vehicle is moving forward. For example, the channel 10 has a thickness, measured between the cover portion 9a, 9b and the inner face 3, on the order of a few millimeters to a few centimeters.

[0024] In the example illustrated in [Fig. 2], the cover portion 9b is integral with the face 8. Thus, the cover portion 9b forms an extension of the face 8, projecting from it. The cover portion 9b therefore forms a rigid lip.

[0025] In the example illustrated in [Fig. 1], the cover part 9a is attached to an upper part 12 of the facade 8. For example, the cover part 9a is formed of an inclined plane 13, forming a rigid lip 11b, extended by a rim 14 allowing the fixing of the cover part 9a to the upper part 12 of the facade 8.

[0026] As illustrated in the figures, the cover portion 9a, 9b extends substantially parallel to the hood nose 7.

[0027] Finally, in the example described, the hood nose 7 is formed by a hood skin 15 and a hood lining 16 forming a crimp 17 on the inner face 3. The part of overlap 9a, 9b extends opposite the front end 6 of the hood nose 7 and beyond the crimp 17.

[0028] Thus, the front face 1a, 1b eliminates the need for a gasket while preventing aerodynamic whistling. Indeed, thanks to the formation of the channel 10 between the overlapping part 9a, 9b and the inner face 3 of the hood nose 7, the airflow generated by the vehicle's movement prevents the generation of whistling.

[0029] The invention is not limited to the embodiments of the front face described above, only by way of example, but other embodiments can be designed by a person skilled in the art without departing from the scope and extent of the present invention.

Claims

Demands

1. Front face (la, 1b) of a motor vehicle comprising a hood (2) extending between an inner face (3), facing an engine compartment (4), and an outer face (5), to a front end (6) forming a hood nose (7), the hood nose (7) extending in an inclined direction (DI) relative to the axis (AL) of the vehicle, the front face (la, 1b) further comprising a front face (8) having a cover portion (9a, 9b), designed to extend opposite the inner face (3) of the hood nose (7), at a distance from the latter to form a channel (10), between the front face (8) and the hood nose (7), extending in the inclined direction (DI) and dimensioned to avoid a whistling sound generated by a flow in the channel (10) of an airflow that may be caused by a movement of the front face (la, 1b).

2. Front face (la, 1b) according to claim 1, characterized in that the hood nose (7) is formed by a hood skin (15) and a hood lining (16) forming a crimp (17) on the inner face (3), the cover part (9a, 9b) extending opposite the front end (6) of the hood nose (7) and beyond the crimp (17).

3. Front face (la, 1b) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cover part (9a, 9b) extends parallel to the hood nose (7).

4. Front face (la, 1b) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the cover part (9a, 9b) forms a rigid lip (lia, 11b).

5. Front face (1b) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the cover part (9b) comes from the same material as the face (8).

6. Front face (la) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the cover part (9a) is attached to an upper part (12) of the facade (8).

7. Motor vehicle having a front face (la, 1b) according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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