Vehicle front structure

Abstract

To allow air which has passed through a radiator to flow into a wheel house smoothly.SOLUTION: A vehicle front part 100 includes: a front compartment 10; a wheel house 20L which houses a front wheel 25L; and a radiator 30. The wheel house 20L has an opening 23L communicating with the front compartment 10. The vehicle front part 100 further includes a guide member 60 which guides air flowing into the front compartment 10 through the radiator 30 to the opening 23L and includes a front surface 60A for receiving air which is a concave surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle front structure, and more particularly to a structure of a front compartment disposed at the front of a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent document 1 discloses a vehicle front structure in which raised portions are placed at the left and right ends of an undercover that covers the underside of the front compartment at the front of the vehicle, and air is introduced into the left and right wheel houses through openings provided in the raised portions. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-1419 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the conventional vehicle front structure described in Patent Document 1 only had an opening that connected the front compartment to the inside of the wheelhouse, and there was room for improvement in smoothly introducing air that had passed through the radiator into the inside of the wheelhouse.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to allow air that has passed through a radiator to smoothly flow into a wheelhouse. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The vehicle front structure of the present disclosure is a vehicle front structure comprising a front compartment arranged at the front of the vehicle, a wheelhouse that accommodates the front wheels, and a radiator housed in the front of the front compartment, wherein the wheelhouse has an opening that communicates with the front compartment and a guide member that guides air that has flowed into the front compartment through the radiator to the opening, the guide member having a front surface that receives the air being a concave curved surface.

[0007] This allows the air that has passed through the radiator to flow smoothly into the wheelhouse, preventing the air from passing through the radiator from increasing pressure in the front compartment and improving the efficiency of the radiator fan.

[0008] In the vehicle front structure of the present disclosure, the front compartment may house a drive unit therein, the guide member may be positioned between the radiator and the drive unit, and the opening may be provided in front of the wheelhouse.

[0009] This allows the air that has passed through the radiator to flow into the wheelhouse from the front and smoothly flow out to the outside of the vehicle, effectively preventing the pressure in the front compartment from increasing due to the air that has passed through the radiator.

[0010] The vehicle front structure disclosed herein is provided with a resin decorative cover that is arranged inside the front compartment and covers the upper part of the drive unit, and the guide member is a plate member that is arranged to hang down from the front end of the decorative cover and may be molded from resin integrally with the decorative cover.

[0011] This allows the air that has passed through the radiator to flow smoothly into the wheelhouse with a simple configuration. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] The present disclosure allows air that has passed through the radiator to smoothly flow into the wheelhouse. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view showing a vehicle front structure according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] 2 is a cross-sectional elevation view showing the vehicle front structure of the embodiment, taken along the line AA shown in FIG. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] A vehicle front structure 100 according to an embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vehicle front structure 100 includes a front compartment 10, left and right wheel housings 20L and 20R, a radiator 30, and a guide member 60. Note that FR, UP, and RH in the drawings respectively indicate the front, upper, and right sides of the vehicle 200. The opposite directions of FR, UP, and RH indicate the rear, lower, and left sides. Hereinafter, when the terms "front-rear," "left-right," and "up-and-down" are used in the description, they refer to the front-rear direction of the vehicle 200, the left-right direction of the left-right direction, and the up-and-down direction of the up-and-down direction of the vehicle 200, unless otherwise specified. Furthermore, the terms "front-rear," "left-right," and "up-and-down" refer to the front-rear direction of the vehicle 200, the left-right direction of the left-right direction, and the up-and-down direction of the up-and-down direction of the vehicle front structure 100.

[0015] The front compartment 10 is disposed at the front of the vehicle 200 and is a space that houses the drive unit 40. The front compartment 10 is defined from the front to the rear and left to right by left and right side panels 11L, 11R of the vehicle 200, a front panel 13, and a dash panel 12, the upper surface is defined by a hood 15, and the lower surface is defined by undercovers 16, 17. A front grille 14 that introduces outside air into the front compartment 10 is disposed on the front panel 13. Note that FIG. 1 shows the vehicle front structure 100 with the hood 15 removed.

[0016] The drive unit 40 may be, for example, an electric unit including a motor for driving the vehicle, or may be an engine. A resin design cover 50 is attached to the top of the drive unit 40.

[0017] The left and right wheel houses 20L, 20R are plate members that cover the upper parts of the left and right front wheels 25L, 25R. The wheel houses 20L, 20R are composed of arc-shaped portions 21L, 21R that cover the upper parts of the front wheels 25L, 25R, and semicircular plate portions 22L, 22R that are positioned on the inner side of the front wheels 25L, 25R in the vehicle width direction. The outer sides of the wheel houses 20L, 20R in the vehicle width direction are open. Openings 23L, 23R are provided in front of the arc-shaped portions 21L, 21R. The openings 23L, 23R connect the interiors of the wheel houses 20L, 20R to the interior of the front compartment 10.

[0018] The radiator 30 is disposed in front of the drive unit 40, at the front of the front compartment 10. The radiator 30 is a heat exchanger that releases heat from the coolant that cools the drive unit 40 into the outside air. The radiator 30 is provided with a fan 31 that introduces outside air when the vehicle 200 is traveling at low speed.

[0019] The guide member 60 is a plate member that guides the air that has flowed into the front compartment 10 through the radiator 30 to the openings 23L and 23R of the wheel houses 20L and 20R. The guide member 60 is composed of an upper guide member 61 and a lower guide member 62.

[0020] The upper guide member 61 is a plate member that has a length in the vehicle width direction substantially the same as that of the decorative cover 50, is attached to the front end of the decorative cover 50, hangs down from the front end, and has a lower end that curves toward the front of the vehicle. The front surface 61A of the upper guide member 61 is a concave curved surface.

[0021] The lower guide member 62 is connected to the lower end of the upper guide member 61 and is a plate member that hangs down while its lower end curves toward the front of the vehicle. A front surface 62A of the lower guide member 62 is a concavely curved surface. The length of the lower guide member 62 in the vehicle width direction is longer than that of the upper guide member 61. The front surface 61A of the upper guide member 61 and the front surface 62A of the lower guide member 62 form the front surface 60A of the guide member 60. The front surface 60A is a concavely curved surface. The front surfaces 60A, 61A, 62A are surfaces that receive the air that has flowed into the front compartment 10 through the radiator 30.

[0022] The upper guide member 61 and the lower guide member 62 are made of resin and may be resin-molded integrally with the decorative cover 50. Alternatively, the guide member 60 may be manufactured separately from the decorative cover 50 and attached to the front end of the decorative cover 50.

[0023] 1 and 2, while the vehicle 200 is traveling, outside air that flows into the front compartment 10 from the front grille 14 passes through the radiator 30. The air that passes through the radiator 30 is guided by the front surface 60A of the guide member 60, splits into left and right airflows toward the outside in the vehicle width direction. The air is then guided by the front surface 62A of the lower guide member 62 and flows into the wheel houses 20L, 20R through the openings 23L, 23R of the wheel houses 20L, 20R. The air that has flowed into the wheel houses 20L, 20R flows out of the vehicle 200 from the open outer sides of the wheel houses 20L, 20R in the vehicle width direction.

[0024] In this way, in the vehicle front structure 100 of the embodiment, the guide member 60 allows the air that has passed through the radiator 30 to smoothly flow into the wheel houses 20L, 20R. This makes it possible to suppress an increase in pressure inside the front compartment 10 due to the air that has passed through the radiator 30.

[0025] Furthermore, when the fan 31 is operating while the vehicle 200 is traveling at a low speed, the pressure inside the front compartment 10 can be prevented from increasing, thereby improving the efficiency of the fan 31.

[0026] In the above description, the lower guide member 62 is longer in the vehicle width direction than the upper guide member 61, but this is not limited to this. The length of the lower guide member 62 in the vehicle width direction may be the same as the length of the upper guide member 61 or the decorative cover 50 in the vehicle width direction. [Explanation of symbols]

[0027] 10 front compartment, 11L, 11R side panel, 12 dash panel, 13 front panel, 14 front grille, 15 hood, 16, 17 under cover, 20L, 20R wheel house, 21L, 21R arc-shaped portion, 22L, 22R semicircular plate portion, 23L, 23R opening, 25L, 25R front wheel, 30 radiator, 31 fan, 40 drive unit, 50 design cover, 60 guide member, 60A, 61A, 62A front surface, 61 upper guide member, 62 lower guide member, 100 vehicle front structure, 200 vehicle.

Claims

1. A front compartment located at the front of the vehicle; A wheelhouse that houses the front wheels, A radiator housed in a front portion of the front compartment, the wheel house has an opening communicating with the front compartment, a guide member that guides the air that has flowed into the front compartment through the radiator to the opening, the guide member having a front surface that receives the air and is a concave curved surface; A vehicle front structure characterized by:

2. 2. The vehicle front structure according to claim 1, The front compartment accommodates a drive unit therein, the guide member is disposed between the radiator and the drive unit, the opening is provided in front of the wheel house; A vehicle front structure characterized by:

3. 3. The vehicle front structure according to claim 2, a resin design cover that is disposed inside the front compartment and covers an upper portion of the drive unit; The guide member is a plate member arranged to hang down from the front end of the decorative cover and is molded from resin integrally with the decorative cover; A vehicle front structure characterized by:

Images