Vehicle snorkel

Abstract

To obtain a vehicle snorkel capable of inhibiting accumulation of water therein.SOLUTION: A vehicle snorkel 40 includes: a first passage formation part 41 forming a first passage 41A for circulation of air along a front pillar 12; and a second passage formation part 42 forming a second passage 42A for circulation of air connected to a lower part of the first passage 41A and extending to the vehicle front. The vehicle snorkel 40 further includes a recessed part 44 recessed to the vehicle lower side from an intersection part between the first passage 41A and the second passage 42A. At a bottom wall part 44A of the recessed part 44, a drain hole 46 is formed penetrating through the bottom wall part 44A.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a snorkel for a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Vehicles equipped with a vehicle snorkel are known (see, for example, Patent Document 1 below). In such vehicles, the vehicle snorkel can suck in air around the upper part of the vehicle's front pillars and guide it to the air cleaner of the engine at the front of the vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 2-125420 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, in a vehicle snorkel, water may enter through the air intake portion, so it is necessary to prevent water from accumulating inside.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In consideration of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a snorkel for a vehicle that can prevent water from accumulating inside. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The vehicle snorkel of the first aspect is a vehicle snorkel configured to suck in air around the upper part of the vehicle's front pillar and guide it to the air cleaner of the engine at the front of the vehicle, and includes a first passage forming portion that forms a first passage for air circulation along the front pillar, a second passage forming portion that forms a second passage for air circulation that is connected to the lower part of the first passage and extends toward the front of the vehicle and is connected to the air cleaner at its front end, and a recess that is recessed toward the bottom of the vehicle from the intersection of the first passage and the second passage and has a drain hole formed through the bottom wall.

[0007] In a vehicle snorkel according to a first aspect, a first passageway forming portion forms a first passageway for air circulation along a front pillar. A second passageway forming portion forms a second passageway for air circulation that is connected to a lower portion of the first passageway, extends toward the front of the vehicle, and is connected to an air cleaner at its front end. Therefore, air drawn in from around the upper portion of the vehicle's front pillar passes through the first passageway and the second passageway, and is then guided to the engine air cleaner at the front of the vehicle. The vehicle snorkel according to the first aspect includes a recessed portion that extends downward from the intersection of the first passageway and the second passageway, and a drainage hole is formed through the bottom wall of the recessed portion. Therefore, if water enters the vehicle snorkel through the air intake portion, the water falls into the recessed portion due to its own weight, allowing the water to be discharged through the drainage hole without flowing downstream of the passageway.

[0008] The vehicle snorkel of the second aspect is the vehicle snorkel of the first aspect, and includes a snorkel body that forms the first passage forming portion and a portion of the second passage forming portion that is continuous with it, and an inlet that forms another portion of the second passage forming portion, is connected to the inside of the lower part of the snorkel body in the vehicle width direction, and is positioned inside of the fender panel in the vehicle width direction, and the inner bottom surface of the snorkel body has an inclined surface that slopes upward toward the front of the vehicle in at least a portion of the portion forward of the recess.

[0009] According to a vehicle snorkel according to a second aspect, the first passage forming portion and a portion of the second passage forming portion connected thereto are formed by the snorkel body. Another portion of the second passage forming portion is formed by an inlet, which is connected to the inside of the lower portion of the snorkel body in the vehicle width direction and is positioned inside the fender panel in the vehicle width direction. This allows air around the upper portion of the vehicle's front pillar to pass through the snorkel body and then through the inlet to be guided to the engine air cleaner at the front of the vehicle. The inner bottom surface of the snorkel body is provided with an inclined surface that slopes upward toward the front of the vehicle in at least a portion of the portion forward of the recess. This allows water that falls forward of the recess to flow toward the recess via the inclined surface, which is advantageous for drainage through the drain hole.

[0010] The vehicle snorkel of the third aspect is the vehicle snorkel of the second aspect, wherein a groove portion is formed in the lower part of the snorkel body, which is located further outward in the vehicle width direction than the connection portion with the inlet and is open toward the upper side of the vehicle when viewed in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction, the groove portion is configured to include the recess, the inclined surface is formed on at least a portion of the inner bottom surface of the groove portion in the portion forward of the recess, and further the groove depth at the front part of the groove portion in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction is set shallower than the depth of the recess.

[0011] According to the vehicle snorkel of the third aspect, a groove is formed in the lower part of the snorkel body, outward in the vehicle width direction from the connection portion with the inlet, and open toward the upper side of the vehicle in the vehicle longitudinal direction. Therefore, when air and water enter this vehicle snorkel through the air intake portion, air with a low specific gravity flows from the snorkel body into the inlet, and water with a high specific gravity falls into the groove of the snorkel body. The groove also includes the recess, and the inclined surface is formed on at least a portion of the inner bottom surface of the groove, which is located forward of the recess. Therefore, water that falls onto the inclined surface forward of the recess can be directed toward the recess by the inclined surface, which is advantageous for drainage through the drain hole. Furthermore, the groove depth at the front of the groove in the vehicle longitudinal direction is set shallower than the depth of the recess, thereby reducing pressure loss of the intake air flowing through the snorkel body. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] As described above, the vehicle snorkel according to the present invention has the excellent effect of being able to prevent water from accumulating inside. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a vehicle equipped with a vehicle snorkel according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is an exploded perspective view showing components of a vehicle snorkel and an air cleaner according to a first embodiment. [Figure 3] 1 is a perspective view showing a snorkel for a vehicle according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4] 1 is a perspective view showing a lower part of a snorkel body of a vehicle snorkel according to a first embodiment, as viewed obliquely from below. [Figure 5] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration in the vicinity of an intersection between a first passage and a second passage in a vehicle snorkel according to a first embodiment, as viewed from the outside in a vehicle width direction. [Figure 6]6 is a cross-sectional view showing the vehicle snorkel according to the first embodiment attached to the vehicle body side, taken along a line corresponding to line 6-6 in FIG. 5. [Figure 7] 10 is a side view showing the design surface side of the lower part of the snorkel body of the vehicle snorkel according to the second embodiment, as viewed from the outside in the vehicle width direction. FIG. [Figure 8] 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the vehicle snorkel according to the second embodiment attached to the vehicle body side is cut at a position corresponding to line 8-8 in FIG. 7. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] [First embodiment] A vehicle snorkel according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 6. In these figures, the arrow FR indicates the front side of the vehicle, the arrow UP indicates the upper side of the vehicle, and the arrow OUT indicates the outer side in the vehicle width direction.

[0015] (composition) 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle 10 equipped with a vehicle snorkel 40 according to this embodiment. The vehicle snorkel 40 is used in the intake system of a vehicle such as an SUV (sports utility vehicle).

[0016] First, a brief description will be given of a vehicle 10 equipped with a vehicle snorkel 40. As shown in FIG. 1 , a pair of left and right front pillars 12 are disposed on both sides of the front of the vehicle 10. The pair of front pillars 12 are columnar and support a vehicle roof 14. The front pillars 12 form the front edge of a front side door opening 16 and also form both side portions of a windshield opening 18. The front side door opening 16 connects the outside of the vehicle cabin with the inside of the vehicle cabin and is opened and closed by a front side door 20. The windshield opening 18 is provided at the upper front of the vehicle cabin, and a windshield 22 is attached to the windshield opening 18.

[0017] A hood 24 is provided on the vehicle front side of the lower end of the windshield opening 18. The hood 24 is an openable / closable door that covers an engine compartment (power unit compartment) 26 in the vehicle front portion 10F from above in an openable / closable manner. An engine (not shown) is mounted in the engine compartment 26. A fender panel 28 is disposed on the side of the front portion of the vehicle body to the lateral side of the hood 24. The fender panel 28 is disposed outward in the vehicle width direction from the lower portion (not shown) of the front pillar 12. A hole 28H (see FIG. 6) is formed through an upper portion of the fender panel 28 at the rear in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction. Although not shown in FIG. 1, the hole 28H (see FIG. 6) is formed in a portion of the fender panel 28 that is covered from the vehicle width direction outer side by the vehicle snorkel 40, and is formed in a substantially rectangular shape with the longitudinal direction being the vehicle fore-and-aft direction in a side view of the vehicle.

[0018] The vehicle snorkel 40 of this embodiment is formed in a duct shape and is configured to draw in air around the upper part of the front pillar 12 of the vehicle 10 and guide it to the air cleaner 30 (shown simply in the figure) of the engine in the front part 10F of the vehicle. A known structure can be applied to the mounting structure of the vehicle snorkel 40 on the vehicle body, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted. Fig. 2 shows an exploded perspective view of the components of the vehicle snorkel 40 and the air cleaner 30, and Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the vehicle snorkel 40. In Fig. 2, the direction in which air is drawn into the vehicle snorkel 40 is indicated by an arrow X, and the direction in which the intake air flows is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

[0019] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the vehicle snorkel 40 includes a first passageway forming portion 41 that forms a first passageway 41A for air circulation along the front pillar 12 (see FIG. 1), and a second passageway forming portion 42 that forms a second passageway 42A that is connected to a lower portion of the first passageway 41A and extends toward the front of the vehicle. The second passageway 42A is connected to the air cleaner 30 (see FIG. 1) at its front end. Also, as shown in FIG. 1, a slit-shaped intake port (intake opening) 41B is formed in an upper portion of the first passageway forming portion 41. The intake port 41B is formed, for example, in a portion of the first passageway forming portion 41 that faces the windshield 22. The position, shape, size, number, and other factors of the intake ports 41B can be set as appropriate.

[0020] The vehicle snorkel 40 also has a recess 44 (see the partial enlarged view) recessed downward from the intersection of the first passage 41A and the second passage 42A. Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of the lower part of the vehicle snorkel 40, the rear part in the vehicle longitudinal direction, as viewed from diagonally below. As shown in the partial enlarged view of Fig. 1 and Fig. 4, a drain hole 46 is formed through the bottom wall 44A of the recess 44. In this embodiment, the drain hole 46 is a circular hole, and is set to a size (for example, a diameter of 6 mm) that makes it difficult for water to enter from the outside.

[0021] 3, the vehicle snorkel 40 has a snorkel body 50 that forms the first passage forming portion 41 and a portion of the second passage forming portion 42 that is continuous with the first passage forming portion 41, and an inlet 60 that forms another portion of the second passage forming portion 42 and is connected to the inside in the vehicle width direction of the lower part of the snorkel body 50. As shown in FIG. 1, the inlet 60 is disposed inside the fender panel 28 in the vehicle width direction and extends along the front-to-rear direction of the vehicle.

[0022] 2, an opening 68 for connection to the air cleaner 30 is formed in a vehicle width direction inner portion of the rear portion 60R of the inlet 60 in the vehicle front-rear direction. In contrast, an opening 32 for connection to the inlet 60 is formed in a vehicle width direction outer portion of the air cleaner 30. The opening 68 of the inlet 60 is connected to the opening 32 of the air cleaner 30. Note that an opening 34 for attachment to an intake system of an engine (not shown) is formed in the vehicle width direction inner portion of the air cleaner 30.

[0023] FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the configuration near the intersection of the first passage 41A and the second passage 42A as viewed from the outside in the vehicle width direction. Although the outline of the snorkel body 50 shown in FIG. 5 indicates a cross section, for convenience, the cross section is shown in bold without thickness in FIG. 5. FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the vehicle snorkel 40 attached to the vehicle body, taken along line 6-6 in FIG. 5. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, an opening 58 for connection with the inlet 60 is formed in the inner portion of the snorkel body 50 in the vehicle width direction. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, an opening 62 for connection with the snorkel body 50 is formed in the outer portion of the front portion 60F of the inlet 60 in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction in the vehicle width direction.

[0024] As shown in Figure 6, the portion of the snorkel body 50 on the opening 58 side (the portion on the inner side in the vehicle width direction) is formed in a shape that protrudes inward in the vehicle width direction as a whole, and passes through the hole 28H in the fender panel 28. Furthermore, the opening 58 of the snorkel body 50 is inserted into the inside of the opening 62 of the inlet 60. The snorkel body 50 and the inlet 60 are connected in a fitted state. Note that a known structure is used for connecting the snorkel body 50 and the inlet 60, so detailed illustrations and explanations will be omitted.

[0025] A groove 54 is formed in the lower part of the snorkel body 50, outward in the vehicle width direction from the connection portion 52 with the inlet 60. The groove 54 is open toward the upper side of the vehicle when viewed in the vehicle front-rear direction, and extends along the vehicle front-rear direction when viewed from above the vehicle. Additionally, the groove 54 is formed to include an area located outward in the vehicle width direction from the opening 58 of the snorkel body 50 shown in FIG. 5 when viewed from above the vehicle. The groove 54 shown in FIG. 6 is a component that can be understood as a drainage groove and includes a recess 44. Note that in FIG. 6, a portion of the recess 44 located further back in the plane of the drawing than the cross section of FIG. 6 is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

[0026] 5, a front portion 44F in the vehicle front-rear direction of the portion forming the recess 44 is inclined upward toward the front of the vehicle. An inclined surface 54S is formed on an inner bottom surface 54A of the groove 54 in a portion (here, as an example, the front portion in the vehicle front-rear direction) that is further forward than the recess 44. The groove depth of the front portion 54F in the vehicle front-rear direction of the groove 54 is set shallower than the depth of the recess 44.

[0027] (Actions and Effects) Next, the operation and effects of this embodiment will be described.

[0028] In this embodiment, air around the upper portion of the front pillar 12 of the vehicle 10 shown in FIG. 1 is drawn in through the intake port 41B of the vehicle snorkel 40, passes through the first passage 41A, and is guided through the second passage 42A to the engine air cleaner 30 in the front portion 10F of the vehicle. The vehicle snorkel 40 is formed with a recess 44 that is recessed downward from the intersection of the first passage 41A and the second passage 42A, and a drain hole 46 is formed through the bottom wall portion 44A of the recess 44. Therefore, if water enters through the intake port 41B at the top of the first passage forming portion 41, the water falls into the recess 44 by its own weight, allowing the water to be discharged from the drain hole 46 without flowing downstream of the passage.

[0029] 6, in the vehicle snorkel 40 of this embodiment, a groove 54 is formed in the lower portion of the snorkel body 50, outward in the vehicle width direction from the connection portion 52 with the inlet 60, and open toward the upper side of the vehicle as viewed in the vehicle front-rear direction. Therefore, when water and dust, as well as air, enter the snorkel body 50 through the intake port 41B (see FIG. 1) and flow downward (see arrow FL) as shown in FIG. 5, air with a low specific gravity can flow from the snorkel body 50 into the inlet 60 (see arrow A), while water and dust with a high specific gravity can fall into the groove 54 of the snorkel body 50 (see arrow B). This gas-liquid separation effectively prevents water and dust from entering the inlet 60 (and thus into the engine air cleaner 30 (see FIG. 1)).

[0030] Further, groove 54 is configured to include recess 44, and an inclined surface 54S is formed on a portion of an inner bottom surface 54A of groove 54 that is further forward of recess 44 on the vehicle. As a result, water that falls onto inclined surface 54S further forward of recess 44 on the vehicle can be guided by inclined surface 54S toward recess 44 (see arrow C), which is advantageous for drainage through drain holes 46. Furthermore, because the depth of groove 54 at front portion 54F in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction is set shallower than the depth of recess 44, pressure loss of intake air flowing through snorkel body 50 is reduced.

[0031] As described above, the vehicle snorkel 40 according to this embodiment can prevent water from accumulating inside.

[0032] [Second embodiment] Next, a vehicle snorkel according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 7 and 8. Figure 7 shows a side view of the lower design surface of a snorkel body 80 of a vehicle snorkel 70 according to the second embodiment, as viewed from the outside in the vehicle width direction. Figure 8 also shows a cross-sectional view of the vehicle snorkel 70 attached to the vehicle body, taken along line 8-8 in Figure 7 (a cross-sectional view corresponding to Figure 6 of the first embodiment).

[0033] 7 and 8, the vehicle snorkel 70 of this embodiment differs from the vehicle snorkel 40 of the first embodiment (see FIG. 1, etc.) in that it has a structure for streamlining the lower design surface of the snorkel body 80. Other configurations of this embodiment are similar to those of the first embodiment. Therefore, components of this embodiment that are similar to those of the first embodiment are assigned the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

[0034] As shown in Figure 8, the outer side wall portion 54C, which is the side wall of the groove portion 54 on the outer side in the vehicle width direction, is not part of the side wall portion 82 on the outer side in the vehicle width direction of the snorkel body 80.In this respect, the groove portion 54 of this embodiment differs from the groove portion 54 of the first embodiment (see Figure 6, etc.).However, since it is similar to the groove portion 54 of the first embodiment in other respects, for convenience it is given the same symbol as the groove portion 54 of the first embodiment.

[0035] 8, as in Fig. 6, a part of the recess 44 located further back in the plane of the drawing than the cross section of Fig. 8 is indicated by a two-dot chain line. An outer side wall portion 44C, which is the side wall on the outer side in the vehicle width direction of the recess 44, is not part of the outer side wall portion 82 on the outer side in the vehicle width direction of the snorkel body 80, and in this respect the recess 44 of this embodiment differs from the recess 44 of the first embodiment (see Fig. 6, etc.). However, since the recess 44 of the first embodiment is similar in other respects, it is denoted by the same reference numeral as the recess 44 of the first embodiment for convenience.

[0036] As shown in Fig. 7, the lower end of the side wall 82 of the snorkel body 80 extends linearly from the rear to the front in the vehicle longitudinal direction. As shown in Fig. 8, the lower end of the side wall 82 of the snorkel body 80 and the upper end of the outer side wall 54C of the groove 54 are connected by a connecting wall 84.

[0037] Note that, as an example, the front end of the connecting wall portion 84 in the vehicle longitudinal direction is integrally connected to the side wall portion 82, so that air between the side wall portion 82 and the connecting wall portion 84 does not leak out from the front side of the vehicle. The front end portion of the side wall portion 82 shown in Fig. 7 is a portion formed solely for forming the desired design surface. Furthermore, although not shown, the snorkel body 80 is configured to include portions that are bent inward from the front end portion of the side wall portion 82 in the vehicle width direction and form the design surfaces of the front and front upper surfaces of the snorkel body 80.

[0038] According to the vehicle snorkel 70 according to the second embodiment described above, it is possible to prevent water from pooling inside, and also to ensure design.

[0039] [Supplementary explanation of the embodiment] In the first and second embodiments, the lower part of the snorkel body 50, 80 shown in Figures 6 and 8 has a groove 54 formed therein, which is open toward the upper side of the vehicle as viewed in the fore-and-aft direction, and is located outward in the vehicle width direction from the connection part 52 with the inlet 60. This configuration is preferable, but as a modification of the above embodiments, for example, the inner bottom surface of the lower part of the snorkel body located outward in the vehicle width direction from the connection part 52 with the inlet 60 may have a portion of the inner bottom surface that is forward of the recess 44 without forming a groove and is inclined downward and toward the outer side in the vehicle width direction. In such a modification, at least a portion of the inner bottom surface of the snorkel body that is forward of the recess 44 may have an inclined surface that is inclined upward and toward the front of the vehicle.

[0040] In addition, in the above embodiment, the inner bottom surface 54A of the groove portion 54 shown in Figures 5 and 7, etc., has an inclined surface 54S that slopes upward toward the front of the vehicle in the front portion of the portion forward of the recessed portion 44 in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle.However, as a variation of the above embodiment, a variation can also be adopted in which an inclined surface that slopes upward toward the front of the vehicle is formed in the entire portion of the inner bottom surface (54A) of the groove portion (54) forward of the recessed portion (44) or in a portion of the portion forward of the recessed portion (44) other than the front portion in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle.

[0041] Furthermore, as another modification of the above embodiment, the inner bottom surface of the snorkel body may be configured so that the portion of the recess (44) on the front side of the vehicle does not incline but extends in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle.

[0042] The groove depth of the groove portion 54 at each position in the vehicle longitudinal direction may be set in various ways. For example, the depth of the groove portion 54 may be set so as to gradually decrease toward the front of the vehicle. In the above embodiment, the groove depth at the front portion 54F of the groove portion 54 in the vehicle longitudinal direction is set to be shallower than the depth of the recessed portion 44, and this configuration is preferable. However, as a modification of the above embodiment, the groove depth at the front portion 54F of the groove portion 54 in the vehicle longitudinal direction may also be set to be equal to the depth of the recessed portion 44.

[0043] In addition, in the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the intake port 41B for drawing in air is formed on the front side of the vehicle at the top of the front pillar 12, but the intake port provided at the top of the vehicle snorkel may be provided at a position other than the position shown in FIG. 1 of the above embodiment, such as a position higher in the vehicle vertical direction than the front pillar (12).

[0044] The above-described embodiment and the above-described modifications can be implemented in appropriate combinations.

[0045] The above describes one example of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the above, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented in various modified forms within the scope of the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 10 vehicles 10F Front of vehicle 12 Front pillar 28 Fender panel 30 Air cleaner 40 Vehicle snorkel 41 First passage forming part 41A First aisle 42 Second passage forming part 42A Second aisle 44 recess 44A Bottom wall 46 Drain hole 50 Snorkel body 52 Inlet connection 54 Groove 54A Inner bottom of groove (inner bottom of snorkel body) 54F Front of groove in vehicle longitudinal direction 54S Slope 60 Inlet 70 Vehicle snorkel 80 Snorkel body

Claims

1. A snorkel for a vehicle configured to suck in air around the upper part of a front pillar of a vehicle and guide it to an air cleaner of an engine at the front of the vehicle, a first passage forming portion that forms a first passage for air circulation along the front pillar; a second passage forming portion that is connected to a lower portion of the first passage, extends toward the front of the vehicle, and forms a second passage for air circulation that is connected to the air cleaner at a front end side; a recessed portion recessed downward from an intersection of the first passage and the second passage, the recessed portion having a drain hole formed through a bottom wall portion thereof; A vehicle snorkel comprising:

2. a snorkel body that constitutes the first passage forming portion and a part of the second passage forming portion that is continuous therewith; an inlet that forms another part of the second passage forming portion, that is connected to the inside of the lower part of the snorkel body in the vehicle width direction, and that is arranged on the inside of the fender panel in the vehicle width direction; and 2. The vehicle snorkel according to claim 1, wherein an inclined surface is provided on at least a portion of the inner bottom surface of the snorkel body that is forward of the recess, the inclined surface inclining upward toward the front of the vehicle.

3. a groove portion is formed in a lower portion of the snorkel body, the groove portion being provided outward in the vehicle width direction from a connection portion with the inlet and having an open upper side as viewed in the vehicle front-rear direction; 3. The vehicle snorkel of claim 2, wherein the groove portion includes the recess, and the inclined surface is formed on at least a portion of the inner bottom surface of the groove portion in a portion forward of the recess, and further, the groove depth at the front of the groove portion in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle is set shallower than the depth of the recess.

Images