Radiator piping retention structure

Abstract

To perform attaching step to a bellows structure of cylinder piping in a shorter time than a conventional one, when the bellows structure holds the cylinder piping.SOLUTION: An air guiding duct 50 has a square cylindrical shape, is provided between a radiator 10 and a front grille 15 provided in front of the radiator 10, and is extended in a vehicle fore-and-aft direction so as to surround a front surface 12 of the radiator 10. ON a pipe wall configuring a part of the square cylinder shape of the air guiding duct 50, a holding portion 70 holding a radiator hose 30 that is cylindrical piping is provided. The holding portion 70 is equipped with a notch bellows portion 75 in which crest portions 75A and trough portions 75B which have a notch ring-shaped made by partially notching and opening an annulus ring are concentrically and alternately formed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This specification discloses a retention structure for radiator piping. [Background technology]

[0002] A radiator, which is a heat exchanger, is installed in a vehicle to dissipate heat from the refrigerant for cooling the internal combustion engine and the refrigerant flowing in the vehicle's air conditioner. Air from outside the vehicle is taken in through the front grille at the front of the vehicle and sent to the radiator.

[0003] The radiator has a rectangular parallelepiped shape with the main surface facing the front of the vehicle, and is fitted and supported in a radiator support, which is a rectangular frame member. For example, in Patent Document 1, piping is passed through the gap between the radiator and the radiator support. Furthermore, the periphery of the piping is sealed with a panel material. By filling the gap between the radiator and the radiator support with the panel material, cooling air is prevented from leaking from the side of the radiator.

[0004] Patent Document 2 discloses a cylindrical duct (hose) that connects an engine and an air cleaner. To suppress noise, the engine is surrounded by a partition wall. An opening is provided in the partition wall, and a bellows member is further provided in the opening. The bellows member has ring-shaped peaks and valleys that are alternately arranged in a concentric pattern, and a duct is passed through the central hole. This retention structure seals the gap between the duct and the partition wall even when the engine vibrates, making it possible to suppress noise leakage. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-87751 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2020-157898 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] When a cylindrical pipe such as a hose or a duct is held by a ring-shaped bellows member, a process of inserting the pipe into a central hole of the bellows member is required. If the pipe is long, this insertion process may take a long time.

[0007] Therefore, this specification discloses a radiator piping holding structure that, when holding cylindrical piping with a bellows structure, enables the process of attaching the cylindrical piping to the bellows structure to be completed in a shorter time than before. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] This specification discloses a radiator pipe holding structure that holds cylindrical pipes connected to a refrigerant port provided on the front surface of a radiator. The holding structure includes an air guide duct. The air guide duct has a rectangular cylindrical shape and is provided between the radiator and a front grill provided forward of the radiator, and extends in the vehicle longitudinal direction so as to surround the front surface of the radiator. A holding portion that holds the cylindrical pipe is provided on a pipe wall that constitutes a part of the rectangular cylindrical shape of the air guide duct. The holding portion includes a notched bellows portion in which a part of a circular ring is cut out to open the notched ring-shaped peaks and valleys are formed alternately in a concentric pattern.

[0009] According to the above-mentioned configuration, a holding portion for holding the cylindrical pipe is provided on a pipe wall constituting a part of the air guide duct. The holding portion has a notched bellows portion, and the cylindrical pipe is held on the pipe wall by fitting the cylindrical pipe into the open end of the notched bellows portion.

[0010] In the above configuration, the pipe wall may be a side wall of the air guide duct. In this case, the side wall has a short portion that is relatively short in the vehicle front-rear direction and a long portion that is disposed below the short portion and extends further forward than the front end edge of the short portion. Furthermore, a notched bellows portion that is open upward is formed on the upper end edge of the long portion.

[0011] In the case where the front end of the air guide duct is extended to the rear end of the front grille and the notched bellows portion is provided at the front end of the air guide duct, there is a possibility that the front grille will need to be removed from the vehicle body to expose the open end of the notched bellows portion when installing and removing the cylindrical piping. As in the above configuration, the notched bellows portion is provided at the upper end side of the long portion and the open end of the notched bellows portion is provided at the upper side, so that an operator can access the open end of the notched bellows portion from above the engine compartment, for example, without removing the front grille.

[0012] In the above-mentioned configuration, a straight side extending in the vertical direction may be formed on the front end side of the short portion, in which case the open end of the notched bellows portion is connected to a lower end of the straight side.

[0013] According to the above configuration, the cylindrical pipe can be fitted into the notched bellows portion using the straight side as a guide.

[0014] In the above configuration, the holding structure for the radiator pipe may further include an auxiliary side piece that covers the notch portion forward of the short portion.

[0015] According to the above configuration, leakage of cooling air from the cutout portion is suppressed.

[0016] In the above configuration, a seal piece may be provided at a circumferential end of the notched bellows portion to close the circumferential end.

[0017] According to the above configuration, cooling air is prevented from leaking out of the air guide duct from the groove having a V-shaped cross section constituted by the peaks and valleys of the notched bellows portion. Effect of the Invention

[0018] According to the radiator piping holding structure disclosed in this specification, when a cylindrical piping is held by a bellows structure, the process of attaching the cylindrical piping to the bellows structure can be completed in a shorter time than before. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view illustrating a front portion of a vehicle including a holding structure for a radiator pipe according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the periphery of a radiator hose in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 13 is a perspective view illustrating the holding portion of the side plate alone. FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is a perspective view illustrating the holding portion alone, in which the viewpoint of FIG. 3 is inverted. FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a structure of a side plate. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing an example of an auxiliary side piece attached to a side plate. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a first alternative example of a holding portion. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a second modified example of the holding portion. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] The following describes a radiator pipe holding structure according to an embodiment with reference to the drawings. The shapes, materials, quantities, and values ​​described below are examples for the purpose of explanation and can be changed as appropriate according to the specifications of the electronic device unit and the support structure. In the following, the same reference numerals are used for equivalent elements in all drawings.

[0021] In addition, in Figures 1 to 8, an orthogonal coordinate system consisting of the FR axis, the RW axis, and the UP axis is used to indicate the position and direction of each component. The FR axis is the vehicle longitudinal axis with the front of the vehicle being the positive direction. The RW axis is the vehicle width axis with the right side of the vehicle being the positive direction. The UP axis is the vehicle vertical axis with the upward direction being the positive direction.

[0022] Fig. 1 illustrates a front structure of a vehicle including a radiator 10. Fig. 2 illustrates an enlarged perspective view of a radiator hose 30, which is a cylindrical pipe, and its surroundings. As will be described later, the holding structure for the radiator pipe according to this embodiment includes an air guide duct 50.

[0023] The radiator 10 is a heat exchanger that dissipates heat from a refrigerant for cooling an internal combustion engine. For example, the radiator 10 includes a hose through which the refrigerant flows and fins provided around the hose. Cooling air flows between the hose and the fins, dissipating heat from the refrigerant flowing inside the hose.

[0024] The radiator 10 is a part of an air conditioning system of a vehicle, and receives a refrigerant pressurized by a compressor (not shown), for example. A radiator in an air conditioning system is also called a condenser, but hereinafter, the radiator in the air conditioning system and the radiator in the internal combustion engine system are collectively referred to as the radiator 10.

[0025] In addition, when a rotating electric machine is provided as a drive source for the vehicle, the radiator 10 also functions as a radiator of a refrigerant that cools the rotating electric machine as well as high-voltage equipment such as a step-up / step-down converter, a DC / DC converter, and an inverter. For example, the radiator 10 has three independent refrigerant flow paths: a refrigerant flow path for the internal combustion engine, a refrigerant flow path for the air conditioning system, and a refrigerant flow path for the high-voltage equipment.

[0026] 1 and 2, radiator 10 is disposed, for example, at the front end of an engine compartment of a vehicle. Radiator 10 is, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped device with a main surface being a front surface 12 facing the front of the vehicle. Radiator 10 illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 has a refrigerant port 14 provided on front surface 12. For example, radiator port 14 is provided on an upper right end portion (the end portion in the positive direction of the RW axis and the end portion in the positive direction of the UP axis) of front surface 12.

[0027] As shown in the figure, a radiator hose 30, which is a cylindrical pipe that serves as a refrigerant flow path, is connected to the refrigerant port 14. Furthermore, the radiator hose 30 extends from the front surface 12 of the radiator 10 through an air guide duct 50, passes along the side of the radiator 10, and further to the rear of the radiator 10. A holding portion 70 is provided on the air guide duct 50. This holding portion 70 holds the radiator hose 30.

[0028] A front grill 15, which is a front member (front surface member) of the vehicle, is provided in front of the radiator 10. The front grill 15 is a mesh-like or slit-like member, and outside air flows from the front grill 15 into the engine compartment as cooling air, and is then sent to the radiator.

[0029] The radiator 10 is supported by a radiator support 20. The radiator support 20 is a rectangular frame in which the radiator 10 is housed and supported.

[0030] An air guide duct 50 is provided so as to extend forward from the radiator support 20. The air guide duct 50 is a rectangular cylindrical member provided between the front grille 15 and the radiator 10. The air guide duct 50 extends in the front-to-rear direction of the vehicle so as to surround the front surface 12 of the radiator 10. The air guide duct 50 is provided to prevent the outside air taken in from the front grille 15 from leaking to the side of the radiator 10.

[0031] The air guide duct 50 has, as its pipe walls, a radiator cover 52 which is an upper wall, a front bumper absorber 54 which is a lower wall, and side plates 56, 60 which are side walls. The side plates 56, 60 are made of a resin material such as polypropylene or polyethylene.

[0032] A holding portion 70 that holds the radiator hose 30 is provided on the side plate 60 on the RW axis positive side. The reason why the holding portion 70 is provided on the side plate 60 on the RW axis positive side is that the refrigerant port 14 is provided at the RW axis positive end of the front surface 12 of the radiator 10. For example, when the refrigerant port 14 is provided at the RW axis negative end of the front surface 12 of the radiator 10 (the right side when looking at the front surface 12 from the front), the holding portion 70 is provided on the side plate 56 on the RW axis negative side.

[0033] The side plates 56, 60 which are the side walls of the air guide duct 50 are provided with a bumper notch 62 (see FIG. 5) for passing the front bumper reinforcement 17 which is a reinforcing member extending in the vehicle width direction. Furthermore, the side plate 60 on which the holding portion 70 is provided has a notch 77 provided in front of the short portion 71. As described later, this notch 77 allows, for example, an operator to access the notched bellows portion 75 from above the side plate 60, and enables the radiator hose 30 to be attached to and detached from the notched bellows portion 75.

[0034] Fig. 3 illustrates a perspective view of the holding portion 70 extracted from the side plate 60. Fig. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the holding portion 70 rotated 180° (turned upside down) about the UP axis.

[0035] For example, the holding portion 70 is molded integrally with the other portions of the side plate 60. Alternatively, the holding portion 70 is molded separately from the other portions of the side plate 60 and then integrated with them by welding or the like.

[0036] The retaining portion 70 includes a short portion 71, a long portion 72, and a notched bellows portion 75. The short portion 71 and the long portion 72 are flat plate-shaped members, and the short portion 71 is formed so that the vehicle front-to-rear dimension is relatively short (compared to the long portion 72). The long portion 72 is formed so that the vehicle front-to-rear dimension is relatively long, and extends further forward of the vehicle than a front end side 71A of the short portion 71. Due to this difference in dimensions, a notched portion 77 is formed forward of the short portion 71.

[0037] The holding portion 70 is provided with a notched bellows portion 75 extending from the short portion 71 to the long portion 72. The notched bellows portion 75 has peaks 75A and valleys 75B that are concentrically arranged alternately, the peaks 75A and valleys 75B being formed by partially cutting out a circular ring to open it. The notched bellows portion 75 further has an abutment inner circumferential surface 75D that abuts against the radiator hose 30. That is, the notched bellows portion 75 has peaks 75A and valleys 75B that surround the abutment inner circumferential surface 75D.

[0038] For example, notched bellows portion 75 is provided on upper end side 72B of long portion 72, and the upper side is open. Open end 75C of notched bellows portion 75 serves as an insertion opening when radiator hose 30 is inserted into notched bellows portion 75. Referring to Fig. 4, a protrusion 75E is provided at open end 75C of contact inner circumferential surface 75D. Protrusion 75E prevents radiator hose 30 inserted into notched bellows portion 75 from coming off notched bellows portion 75.

[0039] 3 and 4, for example, the central angle (deployment angle) of notched bellows portion 75 is set to be 180°. However, the central angle of notched bellows portion 75 is not limited to this example. For example, as shown in FIG. 8 described later, the central angle of notched bellows portion 75 may be 90°. For example, the range of the central angle of notched bellows portion 75 is set to be equal to or greater than 90° and less than 360°.

[0040] 3 and 4, notched bellows portion 75 is provided on upper end side 72B of long portion 72, and open end 75C of notched bellows portion 75 is directed upward, thereby enabling access to notched bellows portion 75 from above holding portion 70. For example, an operator can open the front hood to open the engine compartment, and then remove auxiliary side piece 80 (see FIG. 1) to enable access to holding portion 70.

[0041] For example, if the air guide duct 50 is extended to the rear end of the front grill 15 and the notched bellows portion 75 is provided at the front end of the side plate 60, a step of removing the front grill 15 may be required when attaching and removing the radiator hose 30. In the radiator piping holding structure according to this embodiment, the open end 75C of the notched bellows portion 75 is open upward at the upper end side 72B of the long portion 72, so that it is not necessary to remove the front grill 15 and an operator can access the open end 75C of the notched bellows portion 75 from above.

[0042] When the radiator hose 30 is fitted into the notched bellows portion 75, the radiator hose 30 is pushed into the inside of the contact inner circumferential surface 75D from the open end 75C. In response to this pushing, the contact inner circumferential surface 75D, the peaks 75A and the valleys 75B are bent and deformed radially outward. When the radiator hose 30 is accommodated within the contact inner circumferential surface 75D, the radiator hose 30 is held by the notched bellows portion 75.

[0043] In order to reliably hold the radiator hose 30, the diameter of the radiator hose 30 may exceed the inner diameter of the contact inner circumferential surface 75D (when the hose is not being held). In other words, the notched bellows portion 75 may be bent and deformed radially outward, and the radiator hose 30 may be held by its elastic force. In this way, the sealing performance between the radiator hose 30 and the contact inner circumferential surface 75D is maintained, and leakage of cooling air from between them is suppressed.

[0044] In order to provide flexibility as a bellows, for example, notched bellows portion 75 is formed to be thinner than short portion 71 and long portion 72. Also, in order to prevent scraping of radiator hose 30, notched bellows portion 75 is formed so that the width (RW axial direction dimension) of contact inner circumferential surface 75D is larger than the plate thickness of short portion 71 and long portion 72.

[0045] Also, for example, the circumferential end of the notched bellows portion 75 is closed by a seal piece 75F (see FIG. 3). In the notched bellows portion 75, a groove having a V-shaped cross section is formed by the peaks 75A and the valleys 75B, which may become a leakage flow path for the cooling air and cause it to leak outside the side plate 60 (outside in the vehicle width direction). Thus, by providing the seal piece 75F at the circumferential end of the notched bellows portion 75, such leakage of the cooling air is suppressed.

[0046] By providing seal piece 75F, the peripheral portion of seal piece 75F is less likely to bend compared to a case in which seal piece 75F is not provided. For this reason, seal piece 75F may be omitted from, for example, the end closer to protrusion 75E of the two circumferential ends of notched bellows portion 75.

[0047] A straight edge 71B extending in the vertical direction is formed on front end edge 71A of short portion 71. The lower end of straight edge 71B is connected to open end 75C of notched bellows portion 75. For example, straight edge 71B is continuously connected to a semicircular terminal end of contact inner circumferential surface 75D. Also, protrusion 75E (see FIG. 4) is provided opposite this connection point. With the above structure, for example, when an operator fits radiator hose 30 into notched bellows portion 75, straight edge 71B can be used as a guide edge.

[0048] 5 illustrates a structure in which the retaining portion 70 is a part of the side plate 60. For example, the retaining portion 70 is provided above the bumper cutout 62. Furthermore, referring to FIG 6, an auxiliary side piece 80 is provided on the side of the retaining portion 70 (outside in the vehicle width direction).

[0049] The auxiliary side piece 80 is a member that covers the notch portion 77 of the holding portion 70 and is a member for suppressing leakage of cooling air from the notch portion 77. The auxiliary side piece 80 is fastened to the side plate 60 by inserting a fastening member such as a clip (not shown) into a fastening hole (not shown) of the side plate 60.

[0050] The auxiliary side piece 80 includes, for example, an inner wall 81, an outer wall 82, a ceiling wall 83, and a front wall 84. The rear end of the inner wall 81 abuts against the front end side 72A of the long portion 72. The ceiling wall 83 is formed so as to have a longer dimension in the vehicle front-rear direction than the long portion 72, covers the eaves portion 64 of the side plate 60, and further covers the long portion 72 (the long portion 72) over the entire length of the long portion 72.

[0051] The outer wall 82 is a flat plate-shaped member facing the short portion 71 and the long portion 72, and is separated from the short portion 71 and the long portion 72 by a gap W1 in the vehicle width direction. The radiator hose 30 passes through this gap. For example, the outer wall 82 is formed so that its dimension in the vehicle front-rear direction is longer than that of the long portion 72, and the outer wall 82 covers the notch portion 77 of the retaining portion 70 from the outside in the vehicle width direction.

[0052] <Another example of the holding part> 7 shows another example of the holding portion 70. In this holding portion 70, the bellows of the notched bellows portion 75 are formed to have multiple stages. That is, in the notched bellows portion 75, notched ring-shaped peaks 75A and valleys 75B are provided alternately in a concentric pattern in multiple stages. By using such a multiple-stage bellows structure, the bending width of the notched bellows portion 75 can be expanded compared to a single-stage bellows structure, and a radiator hose 30 with a larger diameter can be accommodated.

[0053] 8 illustrates a notched bellows portion 75 having a multi-stage bellows structure. In this example, the short portion 71 and the long portion 72 are not formed in the holding portion 70, and the notched bellows portion 75 is formed at the front end thereof. The open end 75C of the notched bellows portion 75 is provided in the front.

[0054] As described above, according to the radiator piping holding structure of this embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 to 8, the radiator hose 30 can be held by the side plate 60 simply by fitting the radiator hose 30 into the open end 75C of the notched bellows portion 75. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 10 radiator, 12 front surface of radiator, 14 refrigerant port, 15 front grill, 30 radiator hose (cylindrical piping), 50 air duct, 60 side plate (pipe wall and side wall of air duct), 70 retaining portion, 71 short portion, 71A front end edge of short portion, 71B straight side of short portion, 72 long portion, 72A front end edge of long portion, 72B upper end edge of long portion, 75 notched bellows portion, 75A peak portion, 75B valley portion, 75C open end, 75D contact inner surface, 75E protrusion portion, 75F sealing piece, 77 notched portion, 80 auxiliary side piece.

Claims

1. A radiator pipe holding structure that holds a cylindrical pipe connected to a refrigerant port provided on a front surface of a radiator, a rectangular cylindrical air guide duct provided between the radiator and a front grille provided forward of the radiator and extending in a vehicle front-rear direction so as to surround a front surface of the radiator; A pipe wall constituting a part of the rectangular tube shape of the air guide duct is provided with a holding portion for holding the cylindrical pipe, The holding portion includes a notched bellows portion in which a part of a circular ring is cut out to open, and in which peaks and valleys are alternately formed concentrically, The pipe wall is a side wall of the air guide duct, The side wall includes a short portion having a relatively short dimension in the vehicle front-rear direction, and a long portion that is provided below the short portion and extends further toward the front of the vehicle than a front end side of the short portion, The notched bellows portion is formed at an upper end side of the long portion, the notched bellows portion being open at the top. Radiator piping retention structure.

2. The radiator piping holding structure according to claim 1, A straight line extending in the vertical direction is formed on the front end side of the short portion, The open end of the notched bellows portion is connected to the lower end of the straight side. Radiator piping retention structure.

3. The radiator piping holding structure according to claim 1 or 2, Further provided is an auxiliary side piece covering a cutout portion in front of the short portion. Radiator piping retention structure.

4. The radiator piping holding structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, A seal piece is provided at a circumferential end of the notched bellows portion to close the circumferential end. Radiator piping retention structure.

5. A radiator piping holding structure for holding a cylindrical piping connected to a refrigerant port provided on a front surface of a radiator, comprising: a rectangular cylindrical air guide duct provided between the radiator and a front grille provided forward of the radiator and extending in a vehicle front-rear direction so as to surround a front surface of the radiator; A pipe wall constituting a part of the rectangular tube shape of the air guide duct is provided with a holding portion for holding the cylindrical pipe, the holding portion includes a notched bellows portion in which a part of a circular ring is cut out to open, and in which peaks and valleys are alternately formed concentrically, A seal piece is provided at a circumferential end of the notched bellows portion to close the circumferential end. Radiator piping retention structure.

Images