Air deflector including an access hatch for a vehicle lifting point

Abstract

The invention relates to an air deflector comprising an access hatch for a lifting point of a motor vehicle. The air deflector (2) is delimited by an upper face (4) intended to be held opposite the underbody of a motor vehicle and a lower face (6) intended to be opposite the roadway when the air deflector (2) is attached to a motor vehicle. The air deflector (2) includes at least one first opening (20) allowing access to a lifting point of a motor vehicle from the lower face (6) of the air deflector. Remarkably, the air deflector (2) includes a first access hatch (22), movable between a closed position in which said hatch at least partially obstructs the first opening (20), and an open position in which said hatch unobstructs the first opening (20). Figure 1

Description

Title of the invention: Air deflector comprising an access hatch for a lifting point of a motor vehicle Technical field to which the invention relates

[0001] The invention relates to the field of motor vehicles and, more particularly, to an air deflector intended to be fixed to the underbody of a motor vehicle. Technological background

[0002] Electric motor vehicles represent a major development in the field of mobility, offering an alternative that is both more ecological and more economical compared to internal combustion vehicles.

[0003] However, one of the main concerns regarding electric vehicles remains their range. To address this issue, car manufacturers are seeking to reduce the aerodynamic drag of electric vehicles in order to significantly increase their range.

[0004] One solution is to place aerodynamic deflectors at the level of the underbody of vehicles, in order to improve the airflow between the road and the vehicle, thereby reducing its aerodynamic resistance and, consequently, its electrical consumption.

[0005] To obtain better results, the aerodynamic deflectors have progressively been extended over the entire surface of the underbody of motor vehicles, particularly at the level of their rocker panels.

[0006] The enlargement of the air deflectors has nevertheless had the disadvantage of concealing a larger area of ​​the underbody, making access to the chassis now difficult.

[0007] To remedy this problem, cutouts were made in the air deflectors to allow quick and easy access to certain parts of the chassis. In particular, cutouts were made in the air deflectors to allow the passage of a lifting device so that it could bear against a lifting point, thus enabling the vehicle to be lifted safely during a wheel change, for example.

[0008] Although these cutouts are essential for the reasons mentioned above, they have the disadvantage of degrading the aerodynamic properties of the deflector. Another disadvantage is that, when they are visible at the bottom of the body, they detract from the vehicle's aesthetics. Object of the invention

[0009] To overcome the aforementioned drawbacks, the invention provides an air deflector for the underbody of a motor vehicle, delimited by an upper face intended to be held opposite the underbody of a motor vehicle, and a lower face intended to be opposite the roadway when the air deflector is attached to a motor vehicle. The air deflector includes at least one first opening allowing access to a lifting point of a motor vehicle from the lower face of the air deflector when said deflector is attached to a motor vehicle.

[0010] The invention is remarkable in that the air deflector includes a first access hatch, and the first access hatch is movable between a closed position in which said hatch at least partially blocks the first passage, and an open position in which said hatch releases the first passage.

[0011] The invention thus proposes an air deflector comprising a removable means for at least partially closing a first passage formed through an air deflector, so that this first passage disturbs the airflow along the underside of said deflector as little as possible, while allowing easy and quick access to said passage when desired. Advantageously, the presence of the first hatch thus increases the aerodynamic properties of the air deflector, while also allowing the first passage to be temporarily concealed in order to preserve the aesthetics of a motor vehicle equipped with said air deflector.

[0012] According to another embodiment of the invention, at least one pivot joint connects the first access hatch to the air deflector to allow movement of said hatch between its closed position and its open position. In other words, the air deflector includes at least one means allowing the first hatch to pivot between its closed position and its open position.

[0013] According to another embodiment of the invention, the first access hatch comprises at least one reversible retaining means for holding said hatch in the closed position. Preferably, at least one reversible retaining means comprises a lug configured to insert and then be forcibly extracted from a housing opening onto the underside of the air deflector.

[0014] According to another embodiment of the invention, the air deflector comprises at least one first side forming an angle with its upper face, the value of which is between 60° and 120°, and said first side delimits at least a portion of the first passage, and in the closed position the first access hatch at least partially obstructs the first passage at the level of the first side. Preferably, In the closed position, the first access hatch completely blocks the first passage at the first side.

[0015] Preferably, the first side is intended to be visible at the level of a side skirt of a motor vehicle equipped with an aerodynamic deflector according to the invention.

[0016] According to another embodiment of the invention, the first access hatch comprises at least one reversible retaining means for holding the first hatch in the closed position, and said retaining means is located on the upper face of the air deflector. This embodiment advantageously ensures that the retaining means is not visible from the lower face of the air deflector, so as to preserve the aesthetics of the lower face and not disrupt the flow of air along said lower face.

[0017] According to another embodiment of the invention, the air deflector comprises means for attaching it to the underbody of a motor vehicle such that the first side runs at least partially along a side skirt of the vehicle. Preferably, the means for attaching it are reversible to allow for easy mounting and then removal of the air deflector from a motor vehicle.

[0018] An air deflector according to the invention may include several passages, each passage being closed by an access hatch as described above as well as several edges mentioned previously, intended to run at least partially along a side skirt of a motor vehicle.

[0019] Of course, the different characteristics, variants and embodiments mentioned above can be combined with each other in various ways, provided that they are not incompatible or mutually exclusive.

[0020] The invention also relates to a motor vehicle comprising an air deflector as described above.

[0021] According to one embodiment, the motor vehicle includes an electric motor. Description of the figures

[0022] The invention will be better understood from the following description, which relates to preferred embodiments, given by way of non-limiting examples, and explained with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which:

[0023] [Fig-1] illustrates a perspective view of an air deflector according to the invention, including a first access hatch in the open position so as to free up a first passage;

[0024] [Fig.2] illustrates another perspective and partial view of the air deflector visible on [Fig.1], when the first access hatch is in the closed position;

[0025] [Fig.3] illustrates a partial view of one side of a motor vehicle equipped with an air screen visible on [Fig.1], when the first flap is in the closed position;

[0026] [Fig.4] illustrates a partial view of one side of a motor vehicle equipped with an air screen visible on [Fig.3], when the first hatch is in the open position, to allow a jack to rest on a lifting point of the motor vehicle. Detailed description of the invention

[0027] As a reminder, the invention proposes an aerodynamic deflector for the underbody of a motor vehicle, comprising at least one passage allowing access to a lifting point of a motor vehicle equipped with said deflector, the aerodynamic performance and aesthetics of which are increased.

[0028] Figures 1 and 2 illustrate a non-limiting embodiment of an air deflector 2 according to the invention. The air deflector 2 is delimited by an upper face 4 intended to be held opposite the underbody of a motor vehicle, and a lower face 6 intended to be opposite the roadway, when the air deflector 2 is attached to a motor vehicle.

[0029] According to the present example, the air deflector forms a plate 8 of substantially rectangular shape. The plate 8 is traversed by at least two openings 10 visible in [Fig.2], to allow the plate 8 to be held to the underbody of a motor vehicle, using reversible retaining means such as screws or similar means.

[0030] An edge 12 of the plate 8 is at least partially extended by a first side 14. More precisely, this first side 14 forms an angle with the upper face 4 of the plate 8, the value of which is between 60° and 120°, preferably of the order of 90°.

[0031] The first side 14 is configured to run along, at least in part, a side skirt 16 of a motor vehicle equipped with the aerodynamic deflector 2. More specifically, the aerodynamic deflector is configured so that the first side 14 conceals a lifting point 18 of said motor vehicle, as illustrated by [Fig.3].

[0032] The air deflector 2 includes a first passage 20, visible in [Fig. 1], allowing access to a lifting point 18 of a motor vehicle equipped with said air deflector as illustrated in [Fig. 4]. To allow easy access to the lifting point, this first passage 20 passes through the plate 8 as well as the first side 14 of the air deflector. In other words, the first passage 20 passes through both the plate 8 and the first side 14 of the air deflector 2.

[0033] As mentioned previously, the presence of this first passage 20 nevertheless has the disadvantage of degrading the aerodynamic properties of the air deflector at the level of said passage and also to harm the aesthetics of a motor vehicle equipped with the aerodynamic deflector, at the level of its side skirt 16.

[0034] To remedy these drawbacks, the invention proposes adding a first access hatch 22 to the air deflector 2. The first access hatch 22 is attached to the first side 14 of the air deflector by means of a pivot joint which extends parallel or substantially parallel to an edge 24 delimiting the first side 14. According to the present example, the pivot joint is formed by a groove or a raised area provided on the upper face of the air deflector extending parallel to said edge 24.

[0035] The pivot joint is configured to allow movement of the first access hatch between an open position and a closed position. As illustrated in [Fig. 2], in the closed position, the first access hatch 22 completely blocks the first passage 20 at the level of the first side 14. In the open position, the first access hatch 22 forms a sufficient angle with the first side 14 to allow easy and quick access to the first passage 20 from this first side 14.

[0036] The deflector includes reversible means for holding the first flap to the plate 8, in order to keep the first flap in the closed position when a motor vehicle equipped with the aerodynamic deflector 2 is in driving condition.

[0037] According to the present example, the reversible retaining means comprise several lugs 26 visible in [Fig. 1], located at an edge 27 of the first access hatch opposite the pivot joint mentioned above. These lugs 26 are configured to insert and then be forcibly extracted from recesses 28 of complementary shape. Advantageously, these recesses 28 are located on the upper face 4 of the plate 8, so as not to be visible from the lower face of the air deflector when the first access hatch is in the closed position as illustrated in [Fig. 2], in order to preserve the aesthetics of the lower face of the air deflector and thus not disrupt the flow of air along said lower face.

[0038] As illustrated by [Fig. 4], in the open position, the first access hatch 22 allows easy and quick access to a lifting point 18 of a motor vehicle equipped with the air deflector 2. To facilitate understanding of the invention, it should be noted that the first access hatch is not shown in [Fig. 3] to allow better visibility of the lifting point 18. A lifting means 30 can then be inserted through the first passage 20 to be able to bear on the lifting point 18, without it being necessary to remove the air deflector from the underbody of the motor vehicle.

Claims

Demands

1. Air deflector (2) for the underbody of a motor vehicle, delimited by an upper face (4) intended to be held opposite an underbody of a motor vehicle and a lower face (6) intended to be opposite the roadway when the air deflector (2) is attached to a motor vehicle, the air deflector (2) comprising at least a first passage (20) allowing access to a lifting point (18) of a motor vehicle from the lower face (6) of the air deflector, characterized in that the air deflector (2) comprises a first access hatch (22), and in that the first access hatch (22) is movable between a closed position in which said hatch at least partially obstructs the first passage (20), and an open position in which said hatch releases the first passage (20).

2. Air deflector (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one pivot link connects the first access hatch (22) to the air deflector (2) to allow movement of said hatch between its closed position and its open position.

3. Air deflector (2) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first access hatch (22) includes at least one reversible means for holding said hatch in the closed position.

4. Air deflector (2) according to claim 3, characterized in that at least one reversible retaining means comprises a lug (26) configured to insert and then be forcibly extracted into a housing opening onto the lower face (6) of the air deflector.

5. Air deflector (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it comprises at least one first side (14) forming an angle with the upper face (4) of the air deflector, the value of which is between 60° and 120°, and in that said first side (14) delimits at least a part of the first passage (20), and in that, in the closed position, the first access hatch (22) at least partially closes the first passage (20) at the level of the first side (14).

6. Air deflector (2) according to claim 5, characterized in that, in the closed position, the first access hatch (22) closes completely the first passage (20) at the level of the first side (14).

7. Air deflector (2) according to claim 6, characterized in that the first access hatch (22) includes at least one reversible retaining means for the first hatch in the closed position, and in that said retaining means is present at the level of the upper face (4) of the air deflector.

8. Air deflector (2) according to any one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the air deflector (2) comprises means for securing to the underbody of a motor vehicle such that the first side (14) runs at least partly along a side skirt (16) of the motor vehicle.

9. Motor vehicle characterized in that it comprises an aerodynamic deflector (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. Motor vehicle according to claim 9, characterized in that it comprises an electric motor.

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