Cooling air discharging structure for vehicle

Abstract

To solve the problem that a discharge region of cooling air in an underfloor space is blocked by frozen snow or the like splashed during traveling in a conventional vehicle.SOLUTION: This vehicular cooling-air discharge structure 10 has an under cover 21 for covering an underfloor space 27 of a vehicular body 12 of a car 11 from below, and the under cover 21 is formed with first out-of-car communication parts 18A and 18B in the rear of a front wheel tire house 22A and 22B. Power generation components in the vehicle 11 are disposed on the upper surface of the undercover 21 around the first outside-of-vehicle communication parts 22A and 22B in the underfloor space 27. With this structure, when the vehicle 11 travels on a snowy road, water, snow, or the like splashed from the road surface adheres to the undercover 21 and is less likely to freeze. Since the first vehicle outside communication parts 22A and 22B are hardly blocked by the frozen body, the cooled air in the underfloor space 27 is stably discharged from the first vehicle outside communication parts 22A and 22B to the outside of the vehicle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooling air discharge structure for a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] A conventional cooling air discharge structure for a vehicle is known, for example, from Patent Document 1. A vehicle has an engine room formed in the front and a passenger compartment formed behind the engine room. The lower part of the engine room is covered by an undercover.

[0003] The undercover is, for example, a press-formed part made of steel plate, and is fastened to the suspension cross member. The rear side of the undercover is disposed opposite the floor panel of the passenger compartment, and a cooling air passage is formed between the undercover and the floor panel. When the vehicle travels forward, the traveling air is introduced from the front of the vehicle body into the engine compartment and used as cooling air.

[0004] The rear edges of the undercover on the left and right sides in the vehicle width direction are formed to protrude toward the rear of the vehicle relative to the central rear edge. In other words, the central rear edge of the undercover is cut toward the front of the vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-136062 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In conventional cooling air exhaust structures for vehicles, the rear end edges on the left and right sides of the undercover are designed to protrude beyond the central rear end edge, so that the cooling air introduced into the vehicle is actively exhausted behind the wheel housing for the front wheels.

[0007] However, when the vehicle is traveling on a snowy road, the discharge area on the rear side of the front wheel housing may be blocked by frozen bodies such as water and snow that are splashed up from the road surface.

[0008] Furthermore, because the exhaust area is blocked, the cooling air is exhausted to the outside from the exhaust area at the rear center edge of the undercover, which weakens the negative pressure in the main flow of the traveling airflow below the undercover, causing the traveling airflow to lift up the front of the vehicle, resulting in a problem of poor riding comfort for occupants.

[0009] Furthermore, in electric vehicles such as BEVs (Battery Electrical Vehicles), exhaust system components that are found in engine vehicles are omitted or made smaller, making it difficult to ensure the heat required to prevent the freezing. As a result, there is a problem in that the water or snow freezes in the cooling air outlet area, making it difficult to maintain the aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle.

[0010] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and relates to a cooling air exhaust structure for a vehicle that stably exhausts cooling air introduced into the interior of the vehicle to the outside of the vehicle through an exterior communication portion of the undercover. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] One embodiment of the present invention relates to a cooling air exhaust structure for a vehicle, which exhausts cooling air blown into an underfloor space of a vehicle body to the outside of the vehicle, and is characterized in that it comprises an undercover that covers the underfloor space from below the vehicle body, and a first exterior communication portion formed in the undercover behind a front wheel tire housing of the vehicle body and exhausting the cooling air to the outside of the vehicle, and at least cooling water piping of the vehicle or heat-generating components of the vehicle are arranged on the upper surface of the undercover in the underfloor space around the first exterior communication portion. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] One embodiment of the present invention relates to a vehicle cooling air discharge structure having an undercover that covers the underfloor space of a vehicle body from below, and a first exterior communication portion is formed in the undercover behind a front wheel tire housing. Furthermore, power generation components of the vehicle are disposed on the upper surface of the undercover around the first exterior communication portion in the underfloor space. With this structure, when the vehicle is traveling on a snowy road, water, snow, etc. splashed up from the road surface adheres to the undercover and is less likely to freeze. Furthermore, because the first exterior communication portion is less likely to be blocked by frozen material such as snow, the cooling air in the underfloor space is stably discharged to the outside of the vehicle through the first exterior communication portion. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1A] 1 is a perspective view illustrating a vehicle having a vehicle cooling air discharge structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 1B] 1 is a perspective view illustrating a vehicle having a vehicle cooling air discharge structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a vehicle having a vehicle cooling air discharge structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 1 is a plan view illustrating a vehicle cooling air discharge structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a cooling air discharge structure for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] A vehicle cooling air discharge structure 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In describing this embodiment, the same components will generally be designated by the same reference numerals, and repeated description will be omitted. The front-to-rear direction of the paper indicates the overall length of the vehicle 11, the left-to-right direction of the paper indicates the width direction of the vehicle 11, and the up-to-down direction of the paper indicates the height direction of the vehicle 11.

[0015] FIG. 1A is a perspective view illustrating a vehicle 11 having a vehicle cooling air discharge structure 10 of this embodiment, showing the vehicle 11 as viewed from above. FIG. 1B is a perspective view illustrating a vehicle 11 having a vehicle cooling air discharge structure 10 of this embodiment, showing the vehicle 11 as viewed from below. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a vehicle 11 having a vehicle cooling air discharge structure 10 of this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating an arrangement area of ​​the power generation components in the vehicle cooling air discharge structure 10 of this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the flow of cooling air discharged from the vehicle cooling air discharge structure 10 of this embodiment to the outside of the vehicle, showing a cross-section along line AA shown in FIG. 3.

[0016] 1A, the vehicle 11 is, for example, an engine vehicle, a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle), an HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle), a PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), etc. Note that the vehicle 11 may also be an engine vehicle.

[0017] If the vehicle 11 is, for example, a BEV, engine parts are not required, and the front compartment 13 (see FIG. 2) of the vehicle body 12 can be used as, for example, a front trunk 14 (see FIG. 2). The front trunk 14 is primarily a storage space for storing luggage.

[0018] As shown in the figure, a front bumper 15, a front grille 16, and a cooling air intake 17 are formed at the front of the vehicle body 12. The cooling air intake 17 is, for example, an opening for introducing running air into the interior 13 when the vehicle 11 is traveling. The front grille 16 is mounted above the front bumper 15 in the area of ​​the vehicle body 12 where the cooling air intake 17 is formed.

[0019] 1B, front wheel tire housings 18A, 18B and rear wheel tire housings 18C, 18D are mounted at the four corners of the vehicle body 12. Tires 19 are mounted inside the front wheel tire housings 18A, 18B and the rear wheel tire housings 18C, 18D, respectively.

[0020] As shown in the figure, an undercover 21 is attached to the bottom surface of the vehicle body 12, taking into consideration the aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle 11. The undercover 21 is formed of, for example, a steel plate or CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic). In this embodiment, the undercover 21 is disposed over substantially the entire surface of the vehicle body 12 from the front to the rear, excluding, for example, the areas where the front tire wells 18A, 18B and the rear tire wells 18C, 18D are disposed. Note that the undercover 21 may also be disposed, for example, from the front of the vehicle body 12 to the periphery of the tip ends of the rear tire wells 18C, 18D, and any design change is possible.

[0021] Additionally, first exterior-of-vehicle communicating portions 22A, 22B are formed in the undercover 21 behind the front wheel tire housings 18A, 18B, respectively. The first exterior-of-vehicle communicating portions 22A, 22B are formed as openings that communicate between an underfloor space 27 (see FIG. 2) of the vehicle body 12 and the outside of the vehicle. As shown in the figure, the first exterior-of-vehicle communicating portions 22A, 22B may be formed as cutouts that are continuous with the front wheel tire housings 18A, 18B.

[0022] Here, the front region 21A of the undercover 21 is the region from the front of the vehicle body 12 to the periphery of the tip of the front wheel tire housings 18A, 18B. The front region 21A of the undercover 21 forms a slope shape that curves from the front to the rear of the vehicle body 12 so as to be convex downward in the vertical direction of the vehicle body 12.

[0023] With this structure, the traveling wind generated by the traveling of the vehicle 11 flows along the front region 21A of the undercover 21 toward the bottom of the vehicle body 12, and is contracted, increasing its flow velocity. The main flow of the traveling wind flows from the front to the rear of the vehicle body 12 between the front tire housings 18A, 18B. As a result, the underside of the undercover 21 between the front tire housings 18A, 18B becomes negative pressure, and a vertically downward load is generated on the vehicle body 12, improving the CI value of the vehicle 11.

[0024] As described above, in this embodiment, the first exterior-of-vehicle communication portions 22A, 22B are formed in the undercover 21 behind the front tire housings 18A, 18B. With this structure, a negative pressure state is created below the first exterior-of-vehicle communication portions 22A, 22B, causing the cooling air blown into the underfloor space 27 to be sucked outside the vehicle. As a result, while the vehicle 11 is traveling, the amount of traveling air introduced from the cooling air intake 17 into the interior 13 increases, and the amount of air passing through the radiator 20 (see FIG. 2) also increases. This improves the cooling function of the vehicle's on-board battery 26 (see FIG. 2) and the like of the vehicle 11.

[0025] As will be described in detail later with reference to Figure 4, second exterior-of-vehicle communicating portions 23A, 23B are formed on inner surfaces 18E, 18F of the front-wheel tire housings 18A, 18B, respectively, on the inner sides of the tires 19. The second exterior-of-vehicle communicating portions 23A, 23B are formed as openings that communicate an underfloor space 27 (see Figure 2) of the vehicle body 12 with the outside of the vehicle, in other words, between the underfloor space 27 and the spaces within the front-wheel tire housings 18A, 18B. The second exterior-of-vehicle communicating portions 23A, 23B are formed further forward of the vehicle body 12 than the first exterior-of-vehicle communicating portions 22A, 22B, and toward the center of the vehicle body 12 in the vehicle width direction.

[0026] 2, a front hood 28 that can be freely opened and closed to cover the top opening of the compartment 13 is attached to the front of the vehicle body 12 above the compartment 13 of the vehicle body 12. A radiator 20 and a blower fan 24 are disposed behind the cooling air intake 17 in the compartment 13 of the vehicle body 12. The cooling air introduced into the compartment 13 from the cooling air intake 17 passes through the radiator 20 and the blower fan 24, and is then blown into the cooling air intake duct 25.

[0027] The blower fan 24 is disposed near the radiator 20, and operates when the vehicle 11 is stopped or traveling at a low speed, introducing air from outside the vehicle into the compartment 13 through the cooling air intake 17. The cooling air in this embodiment refers to air introduced from outside the vehicle 11 into the compartment 13, such as running air introduced into the compartment 13 through the cooling air intake 17 while the vehicle 11 is traveling, or suction air drawn into the compartment 13 through the cooling air intake 17 by the operation of the blower fan 24 while the vehicle 11 is stopped.

[0028] The cooling air introduction air passage 25 is an air passage for sending the cooling air introduced from the cooling air intake 17 to an underfloor space 27 below a floor panel 29 of the vehicle body 12. For example, in this embodiment, the cooling air introduction air passage 25 has a first air passage 25A between the opening / closing lid portion 14A of the front trunk 14 and the front hood 28, and a second air passage 25B behind the front trunk 14 that connects the underfloor space 27 to the first air passage 25A.

[0029] As shown in the figure, the underfloor space 27 is located below the passenger compartment of the vehicle 11 and is formed as a space between a floor panel 29 of the vehicle body 12 and the undercover 21. The underfloor space 27 houses a drive motor for the vehicle 11, an on-board battery 26, and the like. The on-board battery 26 may be, for example, a secondary battery such as a nickel-metal hydride battery or a lithium-ion battery, or an all-solid-state battery.

[0030] A BCU (Battery Control Unit), a junction box, an inverter, etc. are also disposed in the underfloor space 27, and the above electronic devices are electrically connected to the in-vehicle battery 26. An ESU (Electricity Supply Unit) etc. may also be disposed in the underfloor space 27.

[0031] In the vehicle cooling air exhaust structure 10 of this embodiment, as shown by the area surrounded by dotted line 31 in FIG. 3 , the heat-generating components, such as the BCU, junction box, inverter, ESU, and drive motor, are disposed on the upper surface of the undercover 21 around the first exterior-vehicle communication parts 22A and 22B. The power-generating components are used as heat sources. With this structure, the undercover 21 in the areas where the first exterior-vehicle communication parts 22A and 22B are formed and the surrounding areas are warmed by heat generated from the heat-generating components. When the vehicle 11 travels on a snowy road, water, snow, and the like splashed up from the road surface adhere to the undercover 21 and freeze, making it difficult for the first exterior-vehicle communication parts 22A and 22B to be blocked by frozen material such as snow.

[0032] 3 indicates the arrangement area of ​​the cooling water pipe 32 that communicates with the radiator 20 and through which the cooling water circulates. The cooling water pipe 32 is routed around the vehicle battery 26 in the underfloor space 27, and is also routed to the upper surface of the undercover 21 around the first vehicle exterior communication parts 22A, 22B. With this structure, the cooling water in the cooling water pipe 32 exchanges heat with the vehicle battery 26 and the like, and is heated, thereby warming the undercover 21 around the first vehicle exterior communication parts 22A, 22B. As a result, the first vehicle exterior communication parts 22A, 22B are less likely to be blocked by the frozen body.

[0033] As described above, the second exterior-of-vehicle communicating portions 23A, 23B are the inner surfaces 18E, 18F of the front-wheel tire housings 18A, 18B, respectively, and are formed on the inner sides of the tires 19. Even when the vehicle 11 travels on a snowy road, unlike the first exterior-of-vehicle communicating portions 22A, 22B, water, snow, etc. splashed up from the road surface are less likely to be blown up toward the second exterior-of-vehicle communicating portions 23A, 23B. As a result, the second exterior-of-vehicle communicating portions 23A, 23B are less likely to be blocked by the frozen bodies.

[0034] With this structure, even if the first exterior-of-vehicle communicating portions 22A, 22B are blocked by the frozen body, the cooling air in the underfloor space 27 is discharged to the outside of the vehicle through the second exterior-of-vehicle communicating portions 23A, 23B. In other words, as shown by arrow 33, the cooling air is sucked from the underfloor space 27 through the second exterior-of-vehicle communicating portions 23A, 23B into the front wheel tire housings 18A, 18B, which are placed in a negative pressure state when the vehicle 11 is traveling.

[0035] Thereafter, within the front wheel tire wells 18A, 18B, the rotation of the tires 19 creates a relatively negative pressure behind the tires 19, causing the cooling air to be blown out toward the rear of the front wheel tire wells 18A, 18B. As a result, the cooling air is blown toward the frozen bodies blocking the first exterior-of-vehicle communicating portions 22A, 22B and the surrounding undercover 21. The cooling air then exchanges heat with the on-board battery 26 and the like in the underfloor space 27, becoming warmer than the outside air temperature and melting the frozen bodies, thereby opening the first exterior-of-vehicle communicating portions 22A, 22B.

[0036] As described above, while the vehicle 11 is traveling, the rear of the tire 19 in the front wheel tire wells 18A, 18B is relatively under negative pressure due to the effect of the rotation of the tire 19. The first exterior communicating portions 22A, 22B are formed closer to the rear ends of the front wheel tire wells 18A, 18B than the second exterior communicating portions 23A, 23B.

[0037] With this structure, when the first exterior-of-vehicle communication parts 22A, 22B are open, most of the cooling air in the underfloor space 27 is sucked out to the outside of the vehicle through the first exterior-of-vehicle communication parts 22A, 22B. The cooling air discharged from the underfloor space 27 is less likely to flow in the same direction as the main flow of the traveling air flowing below the undercover 21 while the vehicle 11 is traveling, thereby preventing the Cd value of the vehicle 11 from deteriorating.

[0038] In this embodiment, the undercover 21 is made of steel or the like, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the undercover 21 may be made of a material with excellent thermal conductivity, such as an aluminum alloy. In this case, heat generated from the heat-generating components of the vehicle 11 is efficiently transferred to the first exterior-of-vehicle communication portions 22A, 22B and their surrounding areas. This makes it difficult for the first exterior-of-vehicle communication portions 22A, 22B to be blocked by the frozen body. Various other modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 10. Cooling air exhaust structure for vehicle 11 vehicles 12 Body 13 Inside the cell 14 Front trunk 14A Opening and closing lid 15 Front bumper 16 Front grille 17 Cooling air intake 18A Front wheel tire housing 18B Front wheel tire housing 18C rear wheel tire house 18D Rear wheel tire house 18E Inside surface 18F inner surface 19 Tires 20 Radiator 20 Blower fan 21 Undercover 21A Anterior area 22A First external communication part 22B First external communication part 23A Second external communication part 23B Second external communication part 24 Blower fan 25 Cooling air introduction air path 25A First Air Channel 25B Second Airway 26 Automotive batteries 27 Underfloor space 28 Front hood 29 Floor Panel 32 Cooling water piping

Claims

1. A cooling air exhaust structure for a vehicle that exhausts cooling air blown into an underfloor space of a vehicle body to the outside of the vehicle, an undercover that covers the underfloor space from below the vehicle body; a first exterior communication portion formed in the undercover at the rear of a front wheel tire housing of the vehicle body, for discharging the cooling air to the outside of the vehicle, A cooling air exhaust structure for a vehicle, characterized in that at least a cooling water piping of the vehicle or a heat-generating component of the vehicle is arranged on the upper surface of the undercover in the underfloor space around the first exterior communication portion.

2. 2. The cooling air exhaust structure for a vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a second exterior communication portion formed in the front wheel tire housing forward of the first exterior communication portion and configured to exhaust the cooling air to the outside of the vehicle.

3. the second exterior communication portion is formed on a side of an inner side of a tire of the vehicle body, 3. The vehicle cooling air exhaust structure according to claim 2, wherein the cooling air exhausted from the second exterior communication portion passes through the first exterior communication portion via the tire housing for the front wheels.

4. a cooling air intake disposed in a front portion of the vehicle body; 4. The vehicle cooling air exhaust structure according to claim 1, wherein the cooling air is introduced into the interior of the vehicle body through the cooling air intake, and then blown into the underfloor space.

Images