Radiator duct

Abstract

It efficiently directs airflow to the radiator. [Solution] The radiator duct 28 surrounds the front area of ​​the radiator from all four sides, guiding the airflow to the radiator. The radiator duct 28 has a rectangular frame-shaped rear part 30 positioned on the radiator side, and a front part 32 positioned in front of the rear part 30 and connected to the rear part 30. The rear part 30 has mounting holes 34A, 34B, and 34C arranged along the front-to-back direction, and the front part 32 is provided with mounting protrusions 36 that engage with the mounting holes 34, 34B, and 34C. By changing the mounting holes 34, 34B, and 34C that the mounting protrusions 36 engage with, the dimensions of the radiator duct 28 in the front-to-back direction can be changed. The dimensions of the radiator duct 28 in the front-to-back direction can be changed to match the shape of the front components (front components 48) of the vehicle in front of the radiator 16, and lateral leakage of airflow is suppressed.

Description

【Technical Field】 【0001】 The present invention relates to a radiator duct that surrounds the front area of a vehicle radiator from all four sides and guides the oncoming air to the radiator. 【Background Art】 【0002】 There is known a radiator that releases heat generated by a power device such as an engine of a vehicle through a liquid. The radiator is often arranged in the engine compartment at the front of the vehicle, particularly at the front of the engine compartment. The oncoming air introduced from the front grille at the front of the vehicle passes through the radiator, and heat is dissipated from the radiator to this oncoming air. A radiator duct for guiding the oncoming air introduced into the engine compartment to the radiator may be arranged in the engine compartment. Patent Document 1 below shows a technique for efficiently guiding the oncoming air to the radiator. 【Prior Art Documents】 【Patent Documents】 【0003】 【Patent Document 1】 Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-267157 【Summary of the Invention】 【Problems to be Solved by the Invention】 【0004】 The radiator duct is preferably provided so as to surround the space between components constituting the front part of the vehicle, such as a bumper and a grille, and the radiator from all four sides so that the oncoming air does not escape to the side. However, when the designs and equipment components at the front of the vehicle are different, the shapes of the components constituting the front part of the vehicle are also different, and it was necessary to prepare different radiator ducts for each shape. 【0005】 The present invention applies a radiator duct that can accommodate components with different shapes of the front part of the vehicle. 【Means for Solving the Problems】 【0006】 The radiator duct according to the present invention has a rectangular frame-shaped rear component positioned on the radiator side and a front component positioned in front of the rear component and connected to the rear component, and the front component can be connected to the rear component by changing its position in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. 【0007】 By changing the position of the front component relative to the rear component in the vehicle's longitudinal direction, the longitudinal length of the radiator duct can be changed. 【0008】 In the radiator duct described above, mounting holes are formed in one of the front and rear parts, arranged along the vehicle's longitudinal direction, and mounting protrusions are provided on the other of the front and rear parts that engage with one of the mounting holes. The position of the front part relative to the rear part is determined by the selection of the mounting hole that the mounting protrusion engages with. [Effects of the Invention] 【0009】 The dimensions of the radiator duct in the front-to-back direction can be changed to correspond to the shape of the components that make up the front part of the vehicle, thereby suppressing the lateral escape of airflow sent to the radiator. [Brief explanation of the drawing] 【0010】 [Figure 1] This diagram schematically shows the internal structure of the front section of the vehicle. [Figure 2] This diagram schematically shows the relationship between the radiator and the radiator duct. [Figure 3] This is a side view of the radiator duct. [Figure 4] This figure shows the mounting projection and its surrounding structure. [Figure 5] This is a cross-sectional view showing the mounting projection engaged with the mounting hole. [Figure 6] This diagram shows the relationship between the vehicle components in front of the radiator and the radiator duct. [Modes for carrying out the invention] 【0011】 Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, terms expressing relative positions and orientations such as front, back, left, right, up, and down refer to relative positions and orientations with respect to the vehicle. In each figure, the direction of arrow FR is forward, the direction of arrow UP is upward, and the direction of arrow LH is left. 【0012】 Figure 1 shows the internal structure of the front of the vehicle 10. The vehicle 10 has an engine 14 and a radiator 16 mounted in the engine compartment 12. The radiator 16 dissipates heat generated by the engine 14 from the coolant circulating between it and the engine 14 to the airflow taken in from the front of the vehicle 10. The coolant circulates between the engine 14 and the radiator 16 through cooling pipes 18. The front of the vehicle 10 is defined by a bumper cover 20. The bumper cover 20 is equipped with a front grille 22 that takes in airflow. Behind the radiator 16, a radiator fan 24 is positioned to generate airflow to the radiator 16 when there is insufficient airflow, such as when the vehicle 10 is driving at low speeds. Also, a bumper reinforcement 26 is positioned behind the bumper cover 20, particularly behind the front grille 22. The bumper reinforcement 26 is a structural member of the vehicle body that extends from left to right at the front of the vehicle 10. In front of the radiator 16, a radiator duct 28 is positioned to guide the airflow taken in from the front grille 22 to the radiator 16. 【0013】 Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the radiator 16 and the radiator duct 28. The radiator duct 28 consists of a rear component 30 positioned near the radiator 16 and a front component 32 positioned further away from the radiator 16 and in front of the rear component 30. The rear component 30 has a roughly rectangular frame shape that is almost the same as the outer shape of the radiator 16, and surrounds the front area of ​​the radiator 16 from all four sides. The rear component 30 may be formed by combining multiple parts to form the overall frame shape. The front component 32 has a U-shape that opens upward, corresponding to the bottom surface and part of the sides of the rear component 30. The front component 32 is detachable from the rear component 30. In particular, as will be described later, the front component 32 can be attached to and detached from the rear component 30 by changing its position relative to the rear component 30 in the front-rear direction. 【0014】 Figure 3 is a side view showing the radiator duct 28 separated into its rear part 30 and front part 32. Multiple mounting holes 34 are formed on the side of the rear part 30, arranged in the front-to-back direction. In this radiator duct 28, three mounting holes 34 are arranged in the front-to-back direction on each of the two sides, forming two rows vertically. The number of mounting holes 34 constituting one row may be two or four or more. Alternatively, three or more rows of mounting holes 34 may be provided. On the inner surface of the side of the front part 32, mounting protrusions 36 are provided that engage with the mounting holes 34 of the rear part 30. The mounting protrusions 36 are provided corresponding to the rows of mounting holes 34, and in this radiator duct 28, two are provided vertically on each of the two sides, corresponding to the two rows of mounting holes 34. Sponges 38 and 40 are placed on predetermined edges of the rear part 30 and front part 32 of the radiator duct 28 to suppress interference with the surrounding structure in the engine compartment 12. The parts of the rear part 30 and the front part 32 other than the sponges 38 and 40 may be made of resin. 【0015】 Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the detailed shape of the mounting projection 36, and Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which the mounting projection 36 is engaged with the mounting hole 34. A roughly semicircular semicircular hole 42 is formed on the side surface of the front part 32. Peripheral ridges 43 are provided along the edge of the arc portion of the semicircular hole 42. The peripheral ridges 43 may include straight portions extending from both ends of the arc portion. These straight portions of the peripheral ridges 43 are positioned to sandwich the mounting projection 36. 【0016】 The mounting projection 36 has a roughly hollow frustoconical shape and protrudes inward from the side surface of the front part 32. The mounting projection 36 is positioned so as to protrude into the semicircular hole 42 formed in the front part 32, on the edge corresponding to the straight edge of the semicircle. The edge of the top surface of the frustoconical part of the mounting projection 36 is rounded. A notch 44 is formed on the side surface of the frustoconical part along the generatrix. The notch 44 opens toward the semicircular hole 42, and this notch 44 provides flexibility to the mounting projection 36. Furthermore, a locking claw 46 is formed on the side surface of the portion of the mounting projection 36 that protrudes into the semicircular hole 42. 【0017】 During the process of inserting the mounting projection 36 into the mounting hole 34, the mounting projection 36 flexes, causing the locking claw 46 to move over the edge of the mounting hole 34. Once the locking claw 46 has moved over the edge of the mounting hole 34, the flexed locking claw 46 returns to its original shape due to its elasticity, and the locking claw 46 engages with the edge of the mounting hole 34. The locking claw 46 prevents the mounting projection 36 from coming out. 【0018】 Figure 6 shows the shape of the radiator duct 28 corresponding to the shape of the components 48 that make up the front part of the vehicle in front of the radiator 16. The components 48 of the front part of the vehicle in front of the radiator 16 (hereinafter referred to as front components 48) refers to the whole of multiple parts such as the bumper cover 20 and the bumper reinforcement 26. It is desirable that the radiator duct 28 does not form any gaps on the sides of the space between the front components 48 and the radiator 16. On the other hand, the shape of the front components 48 varies depending on the vehicle model and specifications. The radiator duct 28 can be adapted to the shape of the front components 48 by changing the mounting position of the front components 32 relative to the rear components 30. 【0019】 Figure 6 shows three front component parts 48A, 48B, and 48C with different lower shapes, particularly different front-to-rear dimensions, and radiator ducts 28 in corresponding configurations. The front-to-rear dimensions a, b, and c of the lower parts of the respective front component parts 48A, 48B, and 48C are such that dimension a is the largest and dimension c is the smallest (a > b > c). 【0020】 For the front component part 48A with the largest lower dimension a shown in (a) of Figure 6, the mounting protrusion 36 of the front part is engaged with the rearmost mounting hole 34A among the three arranged mounting holes 34. Thereby, the front-to-rear length of the radiator duct 28 can be minimized. For the front component part 48B having the intermediate dimension b shown in (b) of Figure 6, the mounting protrusion 36 is engaged with the central mounting hole 34B. Also, for the front component part 48C having the smallest dimension c shown in (c) of Figure 6, the mounting protrusion 36 is engaged with the foremost mounting hole 34C. 【0021】 In this way, the radiator duct 28 can surround the side of the space between the front component part 48 and the radiator 16 with reduced gaps corresponding to the front component parts 48A, 48B, and 48C having different lower dimensions. 【0022】 The radiator duct 28 is configured to correspond to a plurality of front component parts 48 having different front-to-rear dimensions at the lower part, but the radiator duct can also be configured to correspond to a plurality of front component parts having different front-to-rear dimensions throughout the height direction. Specifically, the radiator duct is constituted by a front part and a rear part having the same height dimension, and the mounting position of the front part with respect to the rear part in the front-to-rear direction is changed according to the front-to-rear dimension of the front component part. 【0023】 The radiator duct 28 has mounting holes 34 provided in the rear part 30 and mounting protrusions 36 provided in the front part 32, but conversely, mounting protrusions may be provided in the rear part and mounting holes 34 may be provided in the front part. 【0024】 By constructing the radiator duct from a front and rear component, and changing the mounting position of the front component relative to the rear component in the front-to-rear direction, it is possible to share the radiator duct across several vehicle models or specifications. [Explanation of symbols] 【0025】 10 Vehicle, 16 Radiator, 20 Bumper cover, 22 Front grille, 26 Bumper reinforcement, 28 Radiator duct, 30 Rear part (of radiator duct), 32 Front part (of radiator duct), 34 Mounting hole, 36 Mounting protrusion, 48 Front component.

Claims

[Claim 1] A radiator duct that surrounds the front area of ​​the vehicle's radiator from all four sides and directs airflow to the radiator. A rectangular frame-shaped rear component located on the radiator side, A front part located in front of the rear part and connected to the rear part, It has, The aforementioned front component can be connected to the aforementioned rear component by changing its position in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. Radiator duct. [Claim 2] A radiator duct according to claim 1, wherein one of the front part and the rear part has mounting holes arranged along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the other of the front part and the rear part is provided with a mounting projection that engages with either of the mounting holes, and the position of the front part relative to the rear part is determined by the selection of the mounting hole into which the mounting projection engages.

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