Vehicle front part structure

Abstract

To provide a vehicle front part structure that is able to reduce manufacturing cost while efficiently introducing traveling air to a heat exchange unit by preventing leakage of air.SOLUTION: A vehicle front part structure includes: a radiator 12 in which cooling water is circulated; a condenser 14 of an air conditioner; and a duct 16 that is provided in a front part of a vehicle and guides traveling wind to an inside of the vehicle. The duct 16 is provided so as to cover outer peripheral portions of the radiator 12 and the condenser 14, and has a plurality of fragile regions 24 partitioned by thinned cuts provided on a side surface. A pipe 18 of the condenser 14 is passed through space portions 26 made by removing one or more fragile regions 24.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle front structure, and more particularly to a structure of a duct that guides wind generated when the vehicle is moving toward the inside of the vehicle and its surrounding components. [Background technology]

[0002] The front room of a vehicle is equipped with heat exchange parts such as a radiator for cooling the engine and motor, and a condenser for cooling the refrigerant used in the refrigeration cycle of an air conditioner. Conventionally, there have been vehicle front structures in which the structure of ducts and their surrounding members has been devised to efficiently cool these heat exchange parts.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle front-end structure in which a duct portion is integrally formed with a shroud. According to the structure of Patent Document 1, air does not flow around the radiator through cutouts or gaps, so it is possible to improve the cooling function of the radiator without increasing the number of assembly steps. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2003-237628 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Incidentally, if the wind from traveling can be properly introduced into the heat exchanger through the duct, it will be possible to efficiently cool the heat exchanger, but at the same time, it is also necessary to consider preventing the wind from leaking through gaps in the duct. For example, if the coefficient of drag (CD value) increases due to air leakage, fuel efficiency will decrease, which will result in increased CO2 emissions. Also, when it comes to setting up the duct, it would be good to standardize the parts from the perspective of manufacturing costs.

[0006] Therefore, this specification provides a vehicle front structure that prevents air leakage and efficiently introduces the wind generated by traveling into the heat exchange section while also reducing manufacturing costs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The vehicle front structure disclosed in this specification comprises a radiator through which cooling water is circulated, a condenser of an air conditioning unit, and a duct provided in the front of the vehicle for directing wind generated while the vehicle is moving toward the inside of the vehicle, the duct being provided so as to cover the outer periphery of the radiator and the condenser, with a plurality of weak areas formed on the side separated by thinned cuts, and piping for the condenser being passed through a space created when one or more of the weak areas are separated. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the vehicle front structure disclosed in this specification, the duct is provided so as to cover the outer periphery of the radiator and the condenser, so that the traveling wind can be efficiently guided to the radiator and the condenser. Also, since the space of the duct can be formed according to the position of the condenser piping, even if the configuration of the condenser piping differs depending on the vehicle model, the duct can be standardized and manufacturing costs can be reduced. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a side view showing a schematic view of a vehicle front structure according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the duct in FIG. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] The vehicle front structure will be described below with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, "Fr", "Up", and "Rh" indicate the front, upper, and right side of the vehicle, respectively.

[0011] 1 is a side view showing a vehicle front structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle front structure 10 includes a radiator 12, a condenser 14, and a duct 16.

[0012] The radiator 12 is a known radiator that is installed in the front room and circulates cooling water for cooling heat generated by a drive device such as an engine or an electric motor. The condenser 14 is a known condenser (i.e., a condenser) that cools a refrigerant used in a refrigeration cycle (e.g., a heat pump) of an air conditioner. The condenser 14 is provided in front of the radiator 12 in the vehicle longitudinal direction. In this example, the condenser 14 is detachably fixed to the radiator 12 by fastening means such as bolts (not shown). The condenser 14 and the radiator 12 arranged along the longitudinal direction are hereinafter referred to as a "heat exchange unit" as appropriate. Note that in FIG. 1, the outer peripheral side surfaces of the radiator 12 and the condenser 14 are covered by the duct 16, so that only the pipe 18 portion shown in dark black is shown for the condenser 14, and the other portions are hidden in FIG. 1.

[0013] The duct 16 is provided at the front of the vehicle and guides the wind generated while the vehicle is traveling toward the inside of the vehicle. More specifically, the duct 16 is formed to extend in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle from an upper opening 20 and a lower opening 22 provided in the front bumper to the condenser 14 and the radiator 12, which are heat exchangers, so as to connect these components. The duct 16 separates the space from the upper opening 20 and the lower opening 22 to the heat exchangers from the other spaces, and guides the wind generated while the vehicle is traveling, which is taken in from the upper opening 20 and the lower opening 22, to the heat exchangers.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, the duct 16 covers part or all of the outer periphery of the condenser 14 and the radiator 12. For example, if the radiator 12 is rectangular, the duct 16 has a rectangular frame shape surrounding it. The duct 16 has a plurality of weak regions 24 formed on the sides, separated by thin cuts. In FIG. 1, the weak regions 24 are indicated by dashed lines. One or more of the weak regions 24 are separated to form space portions 26. In FIG. 1, two space portions 26 are formed. The piping 18 of the condenser 14 (hereinafter referred to as "condenser piping 18") passes through each of the space portions 26.

[0015] The above configuration will be further described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the duct in Fig. 1. Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram with other peripheral members omitted in order to show the arrangement of the condenser 14 and the duct 16. Note that the condenser 14 is shown in dark black, and the side of the duct 16 (i.e., the portion covering the outer side of the condenser 14) is shown by a dashed line.

[0016] FIG. 2 further shows an enlarged view of the side of the duct 16 in an ellipse surrounded by a two-dot chain line. As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 2, a plurality of slits are formed on the side of the duct 16, and the slits serve as weakened regions 24. The slits shown by the dashed lines can be formed by, for example, punching, and may be formed by thinning the entire wall or by arranging discrete holes. Alternatively, both may be combined. Then, when assembling the duct 16 and its peripheral members, one or more weakened regions 24 that correspond to the position of the condenser pipe 18 are cut (i.e., separated from the duct 16). The duct 16 after this cutting is shown on the right side of the thick arrow. Then, a space portion 26 is formed at the location where the weakened region 24 is separated. As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 2, the condenser pipe 18 is passed through the space portion 26.

[0017] With the above-mentioned configuration, in the vehicle front structure disclosed in this specification, even if the position of the condenser pipe 18 differs for each vehicle model, the space portion 26 may be formed in the duct 16 according to the position. Therefore, since it is not necessary to change the structure of the duct 16 for each vehicle model, it is possible to reduce costs by standardizing the duct 16. In addition, since the space portion 26 may be formed in the duct 16 according to the position of the condenser pipe 18, it is not necessary to form unnecessary gaps in other parts of the duct 16. In other words, the gaps in the duct 16 can be minimized. As a result, air leakage in the path that leads the traveling wind introduced from the upper opening 20 and the lower opening 22 to the heat exchanger can be suppressed, and therefore efficient cooling of the heat exchanger is possible. Furthermore, by not causing an increase in the CD value due to air leakage, it is possible to address issues such as a decrease in fuel efficiency and an increase in CO2 emissions.

[0018] The above description is merely an example, and the vehicle front structure disclosed in this specification may be configured such that the condenser piping is passed through a space portion generated by the detachment of one or more weak regions of the duct, and other configurations may be changed as appropriate. For example, in the example of Figures 1 and 2, only one row of weak regions 24 is formed in the vertical direction, but two or more rows may be formed, and by removing a plurality of weak regions 24 at the same time, both the position and the size of space portion 26 may be set. [Explanation of symbols]

[0019] 10 vehicle front structure, 12 radiator, 14 condenser, 16 duct, 18 condenser piping, 20 upper opening, 22 lower opening, 24 weak area, 26 space.

Claims

[Claim 1] a radiator through which cooling water circulates; A condenser of an air conditioner; A duct provided at the front of the vehicle to guide the wind toward the inside of the vehicle; Equipped with The duct is The radiator and the condenser are provided so as to cover their outer peripheries, Multiple weak areas separated by thinned cuts are formed on the sides, The condenser piping is passed through a space portion generated by the detachment of one or more of the weakened areas. A vehicle front structure comprising:

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