Air duct

Abstract

The running air can be applied over a wider range on the front surface of the radiator. 【Solution means】The air guiding duct 10 is disposed in front of a radiator 90 provided at the front portion of a vehicle and has an internal passage 11 for guiding running air to the front surface of the radiator 90. The air guiding duct 10 has an air intake 12 opening forward and an exhaust port 13 opening rearward and provided so as to cover the front surface 91 of the radiator 90. The upper end of the exhaust port 13 is positioned above the upper end of the air intake 12. The air guiding duct 10 has an upper wall 20 connecting the upper end of the air intake 12 and the upper end of the exhaust port 13. The lower surface of the upper wall 20 includes the air intake 12 and has a curved portion 21 that is convex downward in the front-rear direction L.

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 describes an air guiding device that is arranged in front of the radiator and takes in traveling wind into the radiator.

[0003] The air guiding device described in Patent Document 1 has a grill that opens forward, and a duct that is connected to the rear end of the grill, extends upward, opens rearward, and is provided so as to cover the front surface of the radiator. Further, in order to guide the traveling wind introduced into the air guiding device through the grill to a position higher up on the front surface of the radiator, a flow rectifying device that applies a force to move the traveling wind upward is provided on the front wall of the duct. The flow 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

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In the air guiding device described in Patent Document 1, since a flow rectifying device including a plasma actuator is provided, the configuration of the air guiding device becomes complicated.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The air guiding duct for solving the above problems is an air guiding duct disposed in front of a radiator provided at the front of a vehicle and having an internal passage for guiding traveling wind to the front surface of the radiator. When the front and rear of the vehicle are respectively defined as the front and rear in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and the upper and lower in the vertical direction of the vehicle when the vehicle is located on a horizontal plane are respectively defined as the upper and lower, it has an air inlet opening forward and an exhaust port opening rearward and provided so as to cover the front surface of the radiator. The upper end of the exhaust port is located above the upper end of the air inlet, and it has an upper wall connecting the upper end of the air inlet and the upper end of the exhaust port. The lower surface of the upper wall includes the air inlet and has a curved portion that is convex downward in the longitudinal direction.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0007]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0008] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the air guiding duct will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. In the following, the longitudinal direction of the vehicle will be described as the longitudinal direction L, the vertical direction of the vehicle when the vehicle is located on a horizontal plane will be described as the vertical direction Z, and the width direction of the vehicle will be described as the vehicle width direction W.

[0009] The air guiding duct 10 of the present embodiment has a symmetrical shape in the vehicle width direction W. As shown in FIG. 1, a radiator 90 is provided at the front part of the vehicle. The radiator 90 performs heat exchange between the running air of the vehicle and the cooling water of in-vehicle equipment (not shown in the figure). The in-vehicle equipment may be an internal combustion engine or a motor.

[0010] A duct 10 is arranged in front of the radiator 90 at the front part of the vehicle. The duct 10 has an internal passage 11 that guides the running air to the front surface 91 of the radiator 90. Exterior members 80 such as a front grille and a front bumper are provided in front of the duct 10. An opening 81 for introducing the running air into the air inlet 12 of the duct 10 is provided at the lower part of the exterior member 80.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2(a), FIG. 2(b), and FIG. 3, the duct 10 has an air inlet 12 that opens forward and an exhaust port 13 that opens rearward and is provided so as to cover the front surface 91 of the radiator 90.

[0012] The upper end of the exhaust port 13 is located above the upper end of the air inlet 12. The upper end of the air inlet 12 is located below the center position in the vertical direction Z of the exhaust port 13. The positions of the lower end of the exhaust port 13 and the lower end of the air inlet 12 in the vertical direction Z are the same.

[0013] The duct 10 has an upper wall 20, a lower wall 30, and a pair of side walls 40. The air inlet 12 is formed by the front edges of the upper wall 20, the lower wall 30, and the pair of side walls 40, and has a rectangular shape in a front view that is long in the vehicle width direction W (see FIG. 2(a) and FIG. 3).

[0014] The exhaust port 13 is formed by the rear edges of the upper wall 20, the lower wall 30, and the pair of side walls 40, and has a rectangular shape in a front view that is long in the vehicle width direction W (see FIG. 2(b)). The upper wall 20 connects the upper end of the air inlet 12 and the upper end of the exhaust port 13.

[0015] The lower surface of the upper wall 20 includes the air supply port 12 and has a curved portion 21 that is convex downward in the front-rear direction L. The portion of the curved portion 21 in front of the lowest point 22 is curved so that it is located higher as it is located more forward. The portion of the curved portion 21 behind the lowest point 22 is curved so that it is located higher as it is located more rearward.

[0016] It is preferable that the lowest point 22 of the curved portion 21 is located above the central position of the air supply port 12 in the vertical direction Z. It is preferable that the lowest point 22 of the curved portion 21 is located in front of the central position of the air guide duct 10 in the front-rear direction L.

[0017] The upper wall 20 has a front wall portion 23 and a connecting portion 24. The front wall portion 23 is continuous with the rear end of the curved portion 21 and extends upward. The connecting portion 24 is continuous with the upper end of the front wall portion 23 and extends rearward. The rear end of the connecting portion 24 is connected to the radiator 90.

[0018] The lower wall 30 connects the lower end of the air supply port 12 and the lower end of the exhaust port 13. The lower wall 30 is located below the upper wall 20 and extends along both the front-rear direction L and the vehicle width direction W. The side wall 40 connects the side end of the air supply port 12 and the side end of the exhaust port 13. The side wall 40 connects the ends of the upper wall 20 and the lower wall 30 in the vehicle width direction W to each other.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 3, the side wall 40 is inclined with respect to the front-rear direction L so that it is located more inward in the vehicle width direction W toward the rear side. The air guide duct 10 is formed of a rigid resin material. The rigid resin material is, for example, polypropylene.

[0020] <Operation of this Embodiment> As shown by the dashed arrow in Fig. 4, when a part of the traveling wind introduced from the air inlet 12 into the internal passage 11 of the air guide duct 10 contacts the curved portion 21 on the lower surface of the upper wall 20, due to the Coandă effect, it will be pulled toward the curved portion 21 side, that is, the upper side. In this case, since the Coandă effect acts on the traveling wind immediately after it is introduced from the air inlet 12, the traveling wind is more likely to be pulled upward.

[0021] <Effects of this Embodiment> (1) The air guide duct 10 is disposed in front of the radiator 90 provided at the front of the vehicle and has an internal passage 11 for guiding the traveling wind to the front surface 91 of the radiator 90. The air guide duct 10 has an air inlet 12 that opens forward and an exhaust port 13 that opens rearward and is provided to cover the front surface 91 of the radiator 90. The upper end of the exhaust port 13 is located above the upper end of the air inlet 12. The air guide duct 10 has an upper wall 20 that connects the upper end of the air inlet 12 and the upper end of the exhaust port 13. The lower surface of the upper wall 20 includes the air inlet 12 and has a curved portion 21 that is convex downward in the front-rear direction L.

[0022] According to such a configuration, since the above actions are achieved, the traveling wind can be applied over a wider range of the front surface 91 of the radiator 90. (2) The lowest point 22 of the curved portion 21 is located above the central position of the air inlet 12 in the vertical direction Z.

[0023] If the lowest point 22 of the curved portion 21 is located below the air inlet 12, there is a possibility that the pressure loss increases due to the reduction of the passage cross-sectional area of the internal passage 11. In this regard, according to the above configuration, it is possible to suppress the reduction of the passage cross-sectional area of the internal passage 11 caused by providing the curved portion 21. Thereby, while the traveling wind is pulled upward by the Coandă effect, it is possible to suppress the traveling wind from becoming difficult to flow through the internal passage 11.

[0024] (3) The lowest point 22 of the curved portion 21 is located in front of the central position of the air guide duct 10 in the front-rear direction L. When the lowest point 22 of the curved portion 21 is located behind the center position of the air guiding duct 10 in the front-rear direction L, depending on the dimensional relationship between the air intake port 12 and the exhaust port 13, there is a possibility that the running wind may not easily reach the upper part of the exhaust port 13, that is, the upper part of the front surface 91 of the radiator 90.

[0025] In this regard, according to the above configuration, the running wind can suitably reach the upper part of the front surface 91 of the radiator 90. <Modification Example> The above embodiment can also be implemented with modifications as follows, for example. The above embodiment and the following modification examples can be implemented in combination with each other within a technically non - conflicting range.

[0026] · The side walls 40 may extend along the front - rear direction L. That is, the pair of side walls 40 may extend parallel to each other. · The air guiding duct 10 may have an asymmetric shape in the vehicle width direction W.

[0027] · Depending on the dimensional relationship between the air intake port 12 and the exhaust port 13, the lowest point 22 of the curved portion 21 may be positioned at the center position of the air guiding duct 10 in the front - rear direction L, or may be positioned behind the center position.

[0028] · Depending on the dimensional relationship between the air intake port 12 and the exhaust port 13, the lowest point 22 of the curved portion 21 may be positioned at the center position of the air intake port 12 in the vertical direction Z, or may be positioned below the center position.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0029] 10... Air guiding duct 11... Internal passage 12... Air intake port 13... Exhaust port 20... Upper wall 21... Curved portion 22... Lowest point 23... Front wall portion 24... Connection portion 30... Lower wall 40... Side wall 80... Exterior member 81... Opening 90... Radiator 91... Front surface

Claims

1. A wind duct is disposed in front of a radiator provided at a front portion of a vehicle and has an internal passage for guiding wind to a front surface of the radiator, When the front and rear of the vehicle in the longitudinal direction are defined as the front and rear, respectively, and the upper and lower of the vehicle in the vertical direction when the vehicle is positioned on a horizontal plane are defined as the upper and lower, respectively, An air intake opening at the front; an exhaust port that opens rearward and covers a front surface of the radiator; an upper end of the exhaust port is located higher than an upper end of the air intake port; an upper wall connecting an upper end of the air inlet and an upper end of the exhaust port, and a lower wall connecting a lower end of the air inlet and a lower end of the exhaust port and extending along a front-rear direction, a lower surface of the upper wall has a curved portion that is connected to the air supply port and is convex downward in the front-rear direction, The upper wall has a front wall portion that is continuous with a rear end of the curved portion and extends upward, A portion of the curved portion that is forward of the lowest point of the curved portion is curved so as to be positioned upward as it moves forward, A portion of the curved portion that is rearward of the lowest point is curved so as to be positioned upward as it moves rearward. Air guide duct.

2. The lowest point of the curved portion is located above the center position of the air supply port in the vertical direction. The air duct according to claim 1.

3. The lowest point of the curved portion is located forward of the center position of the air guide duct in the front-rear direction. The air guide duct according to claim 1 or 2.

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