Air duct

Abstract

The simple configuration allows airflow to be directed over a wider area of ​​the radiator's front surface. [Solution] The air duct 10 has an internal passage 11 that guides airflow to a radiator 90 located at the front of the vehicle. The longitudinal direction of the vehicle is defined as the longitudinal direction L, and the vertical direction of the vehicle when it is positioned on a horizontal plane is defined as the vertical direction Z. The air duct 10 has an inlet 20 that opens forward and extends in the longitudinal direction L, and an outlet 30 that is connected to the rear end of the inlet 20, extends upward and opens rearward, and is provided to cover the radiator 90. The connection portion 40 between the upper wall 21 of the inlet 20 and the front wall 34 of the outlet 30 is made of a flexible material that is softer than the rest of the air duct 10.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an air duct.

Background Art

[0002] A radiator for heat exchange between a coolant such as an internal combustion engine and air is provided at the front of a vehicle. Patent Document 1 discloses an air duct for taking in traveling wind into the radiator. The air duct described in Patent Document 1 has a grill that opens forward (hereinafter, inlet), and a duct that is connected to the rear end of the inlet, extends upward, opens rearward, and is provided so as to cover the front surface of the radiator (hereinafter, outlet). Further, in order to guide the traveling wind introduced into the air duct through the inlet to a position higher than the upper part of the front surface of the radiator, a rectifying device for applying a force to move the traveling wind toward the radiator side is provided on the front wall of the outlet. The rectifying device includes a first electrode and a second electrode provided on the inner surface and the outer surface of the front wall, respectively, and a plasma actuator connected to the first electrode and the second electrode.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the air duct described in Patent Document 1, since a rectifying device including a plasma actuator is provided, the configuration of the air duct becomes complicated.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] An air duct for solving the above problems is an air duct having an internal passage that guides airflow to a radiator located at the front of a vehicle, and comprises an inlet that opens forward and extends in the front-rear direction when the vehicle's front-rear direction is defined as the front-rear direction and the vehicle's up-down direction when the vehicle is located on a horizontal plane as the up-down direction, and an outlet connected to the rear end of the inlet, extending upward and opening to the rear, and provided to cover the radiator, wherein the connection portion between the upper wall of the inlet and the front wall of the outlet is formed of a flexible material that is softer than the rest of the air duct. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0006] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of the front of a vehicle to which one embodiment of the air duct is applied. [Figure 2] Figure 2(a) is a perspective view of the air duct in Figure 1, viewed from the front, and Figure 2(b) is a perspective view of the air duct in Figure 1, viewed from the rear. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the operation of the air duct shown in Figure 1. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of Figure 3. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of an example of a modified air intake duct. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0007] An embodiment of the air duct will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 4. In the following explanation, the longitudinal direction of the vehicle will be referred to as the longitudinal direction L, and the vertical direction of the vehicle when it is positioned on a horizontal plane will be referred to as the vertical direction Z.

[0008] As shown in Figure 1, a radiator 90 is provided at the front of the vehicle. The radiator 90 performs heat exchange between the airflow from the vehicle and the coolant. The coolant may be used to cool the internal combustion engine mounted on the vehicle, or it may be used to drive the motor mounted on the vehicle.

[0009] An air intake duct 10 is provided in front of the radiator 90 at the front of the vehicle. The air intake duct 10 has an internal passage 11 that guides airflow to the front surface 91 of the radiator 90. In front of the air duct 10, exterior components 80 such as a front grille and front bumper are provided. At the lower part of the exterior components 80, an opening 81 is provided to introduce airflow into the front opening 24 of the air duct 10, which will be described later.

[0010] As shown in Figures 1, 2(a), and 2(b), the air duct 10 has an inlet 20 and an outlet 30. The inlet 20 opens forward and extends in the front-to-back direction L.

[0011] The inlet 20 has an upper wall 21, a pair of side walls 22, and a lower wall 23. The upper wall 21 is inclined so that it is positioned higher towards the rear, and extends along the vehicle width direction W.

[0012] The lower wall 23 is located below the upper wall 21 and extends along both the longitudinal direction L and the vehicle width direction W. The pair of side walls 22 extend along the vertical direction Z and the longitudinal direction L, and connect one end of the upper wall 21 and the other end of the lower wall 23 in the vehicle width direction W.

[0013] The inlet 20 has a front opening 24 enclosed by the leading edges of the upper wall 21, a pair of side walls 22, and the lower wall 23. In this embodiment, the front opening 24 is rectangular in front view, elongated in the vehicle width direction W (see Figure 2(a)).

[0014] The outlet 30 is connected to the rear end of the inlet 20, extends upward, and opens to the rear, covering the front surface 91 of the radiator 90. The outlet 30 has an upper wall 31, a pair of side walls 32, a lower wall 33, and a front wall 34.

[0015] The upper wall 31 is curved so as to be positioned more upward as it is positioned more rearward and extends along the vehicle width direction W. The lower wall 33 is continuous with the rear end of the lower wall 23 of the inlet 20 and is positioned below the upper wall 31. The lower wall 33 extends along both the front-rear direction L and the vehicle width direction W.

[0016] The pair of side walls 32 extend along the vertical direction Z and the front-rear direction L. The pair of side walls 32 connect the one ends and the other ends of the front wall 34 and the lower wall 33 in the vehicle width direction W respectively, and also connect the one ends and the other ends of the upper wall 31 and the lower wall 33 in the vehicle width direction W respectively.

[0017] The front wall 34 is inclined so as to be positioned more upward toward the rear side and extends along the vehicle width direction W. The front wall 34 is continuous with the rear end of the upper wall 21 of the inlet 20 and the front end of the upper wall 31.

[0018] The outlet 30 has a rear opening 35 surrounded by the rear edges of each of the upper wall 31, the pair of side walls 32, and the lower wall 33. The rear opening 35 of the present embodiment is rectangular in a front view and long in the vehicle width direction W (see FIG. 2(b)).

[0019] The connection portion 40 between the upper wall 21 of the inlet 20 and the front wall 34 of the outlet 30 has a protrusion 41 protruding inside the internal passage 11. The connection portion 40 is formed of a soft flexible material compared with other portions of the air duct 10. The flexible material is, for example, an elastomer. Further, the other portions of the air duct 10 are formed of a hard resin material. The hard resin material is, for example, polypropylene. In the present embodiment, the air duct 10 is formed by two-color molding using the flexible material and the hard resin material.

[0020] <Operation of the present embodiment> As shown by the arrows in Figure 3, the airflow from the vehicle is introduced into the internal passage 11 of the air guide duct 10 through the inlet 20. When the airflow flows backward through the internal passage 11, a portion of the airflow comes into contact with the connection portion 40 between the upper wall 21 of the inlet 20 and the front wall 34 of the outlet 30. As shown in an enlarged view in Figure 4, the airflow is pulled towards the connection portion 40 due to the Coanda effect. As a result, the airflow is pulled upward. At the same time, the connection portion 40 that the airflow contacts is pulled inward and deformed due to the Coanda effect.

[0021] Here, since the connecting portion 40 is made of a softer, more flexible material than the other parts, the connecting portion 40 is more easily deformed inward. As a result, the airflow is more likely to come into contact with the connecting portion 40, and the Coanda effect causes the airflow to be pulled more towards the connecting portion 40, i.e., upward.

[0022] As a result of these factors, airflow will reach higher positions on the front 91 of the radiator 90. <Effects of this embodiment> (1) The air guide duct 10 has an internal passage 11 that guides airflow to a radiator 90 located at the front of the vehicle. The air guide duct 10 has an inlet 20 that opens forward and extends in the longitudinal direction L, and an outlet 30 that is connected to the rear end of the inlet 20, extends upward and opens rearward, and is provided to cover the radiator 90. The connection portion 40 between the upper wall 21 of the inlet 20 and the front wall 34 of the outlet 30 is made of a flexible material that is softer than the rest of the air guide duct 10.

[0023] With this configuration, the effects of the above-described embodiment are achieved, and with a simple configuration, airflow can be directed over a wider area of ​​the front surface 91 of the radiator 90. (2) The connecting portion 40 has a projection 41 that protrudes inward from the internal passage 11.

[0024] With this configuration, since the connecting portion 40 has a projection 41 that protrudes inward from the internal passage 11, when the airflow flows backward through the internal passage 11, a portion of the airflow is more likely to come into contact with the projection 41. As a result, the Coanda effect is further enhanced, causing the airflow to be pulled upward more strongly.

[0025] (3) The upper wall 21 is inclined so that it is positioned higher towards the rear. The front wall 34 is inclined so that it is positioned higher towards the rear. With this configuration, compared to a configuration in which the upper wall 21 extends along the longitudinal direction L and the front wall 34 extends along the vertical direction Z, the airflow is more likely to come into contact with the projection 41, thus further enhancing the Coanda effect. As a result, the airflow is pulled upwards even more.

[0026] <Example of changes> The above embodiment can also be implemented with modifications as follows, for example. This embodiment and the following modifications can be combined with each other to the extent that they do not contradict each other technically.

[0027] As shown in the modified example in Figure 5, the connecting portion 40 may be curved so as to protrude inward into the internal passage 11. In this modified example, the upper wall 21 and a portion of the front wall 34 including the connecting portion 40 are curved so as to protrude inward into the internal passage 11.

[0028] With this configuration, as the airflow flows backward through the internal passage 11, a portion of the airflow is more likely to come into contact with the connection portion 40. As a result, the Coanda effect is further enhanced, causing the airflow to be pulled upward more strongly.

[0029] In the modified example shown in Figure 5, components identical to or corresponding to those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as in the above embodiment, thereby omitting redundant explanations. In the above embodiment of the air duct 10 or the above modified example of the air duct 10, the entire upper wall 21 of the inlet 20 and the front wall 34 of the outlet 30 may be formed of a flexible material.

[0030] In the above embodiment of the air duct 10, the upper wall 21 of the inlet 20 may extend along the front-rear direction L. In the above embodiment of the air duct 10, the front wall 34 of the outlet 30 may extend along the vertical direction Z.

[0031] In the above embodiment of the air duct 10, the connecting portion 40 may not have a protrusion 41. The materials constituting the other parts of the air duct 10 are not limited to polypropylene, but may also be made of other materials such as polyethylene, polyamide, or ABS.

[0032] The flexible material constituting the connecting portion 40 is not limited to elastomers, but can also be made of other materials such as rubber or resin. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0033] 10... Air duct 11...Internal passage 20... Inlet 21… Upper wall 22…Side wall 23... Lower wall 24...Front opening 30…Outlet 31… Upper wall 32…Side wall 33... Lower wall 34...Front wall 35...Rear opening 40...Connection part 41...Protrusion 80… Exterior components 81…Opening 90...Radiator 91...Front

Claims

1. An air duct having an internal passage that directs airflow to a radiator located at the front of the vehicle, When the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is defined as the longitudinal direction, and the vertical direction of the vehicle when it is positioned on a horizontal plane is defined as the vertical direction, An inlet that opens forward and extends in the front-to-back direction, It has an outlet connected to the rear end of the inlet, extending upward and opening to the rear, and provided to cover the radiator, The connection between the upper wall of the inlet and the front wall of the outlet is formed of a softer, more flexible material compared to the rest of the air duct. Air duct.

2. The connecting portion has a projection that protrudes inward from the internal passage. The air guide duct according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned upper wall is inclined such that it is positioned higher towards the rear. The aforementioned front wall is inclined such that it is positioned higher towards the rear. The air guide duct according to claim 2.

4. The connecting portion is curved so as to protrude inward from the internal passage. The air guide duct according to claim 1.

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