Vehicle front structure

Abstract

To increase the sound volume of the horn sound of a vehicle without increasing the size of a horn device.SOLUTION: A vehicle front structure 10 includes: a radiator 16 which is provided so as to be apart rearwards from a front bumper 12; an air guide duct 20 which is provided between a front bumper 12 and the radiator 16 in the vehicle front-rear direction; and a vibrating member 30 which is attached to a wall surface 24 of the air guide duct 20. When the vibrating member 30 vibrates, the wall surface 24 vibrates, and the sound (horn sound) is emitted into an internal space 26 of the air guide duct 20. The sound volume of the horn sound is amplified by resonance in the internal space 26 and is emitted to the front of a vehicle via a front opening part 22 of the air guide duct 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This specification discloses an improvement in the front structure of a vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] In Patent Document 1, in a structure where a grille inner for increasing the rigidity of a front bumper cover is arranged in front of a horn device in a vehicle, a megaphone hole for propagating the sound from the horn device toward the front of the vehicle is provided in the grille inner, and a vehicle front structure is disclosed. Patent Document 2 discloses a vehicle front structure including an intercooler, a duct for guiding air having an opening facing forward and sending the air entering through the opening to the intercooler, and a horn device arranged inside the duct.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] A vehicle is capable of emitting a siren sound. The siren sound is a sound emitted toward a person outside the vehicle by the operation of the driver. Conventionally, as shown in Patent Document 1 or 2, the siren sound was generally output from a horn device provided in the vehicle.

[0005] Here, there may be a case where it is desired to increase the volume of the siren sound. For example, in places where the regulations regarding the volume of the siren sound vary by country, in order to comply with the regulations even in a country that requires a siren sound with a large volume, it is required to increase the volume of the siren sound. Also, there are cases where the siren sound is emitted forward through an opening that opens toward the front of the vehicle. In recent years, there has been a design trend to reduce the area of the opening provided in the front of the vehicle. Therefore, it is required to emit a siren sound with a sufficient volume from a small opening to the front of the vehicle.

[0006] When the siren sound is output from the horn device, to increase the volume of the siren sound, it is conceivable to increase the size of the horn device. However, due to space constraints in the front vehicle structure, it may not be possible to install such a large horn device.

[0007] The purpose of the vehicle front structure disclosed in this specification is to increase the volume of the siren sound of the vehicle without increasing the size of the horn device.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0008] The vehicle front structure disclosed in this specification includes a cooled member, and a wind guide duct that has a front opening and sends the wind that has entered through the front opening to the cooled member. It also includes a vibration member that is attached to the wall surface of the wind guide duct and generates a siren sound in the internal space of the wind guide duct by vibrating the wall surface. It has a megaphone shape in which the opening cross-sectional area gradually increases as it goes forward. It is characterized by this. The air guiding duct has a plurality of internal walls erected parallel to each other so as to stand upright from the inner surface of the wall surface of the air guiding duct toward the internal space side of the air guiding duct and extend in the vehicle front-rear direction to the inner surface of the front opening portion. According to this configuration, by vibrating the wall surface of the wind guide duct with the vibration member, a siren sound is generated in the internal space of the wind guide duct. The siren sound is amplified in volume by resonance in the internal space of the wind guide duct. The siren sound with the amplified volume is emitted to the front of the vehicle through the front opening of the wind guide duct.

[0009]

[0010] ​The wall surface of the air guide duct is configured to include a flat plate portion, and the vibration member may be attached to the central portion of the flat plate portion.

[0011] According to this configuration, the vibration member 30 can more preferably vibrate the wall surface 24. That is, the volume of the siren sound can be made larger.

[0012] The vibration member may vibrate at the same frequency as the natural frequency of the internal space of the air guide duct.

[0013] According to this configuration, the siren sound emitted into the internal space of the air guide duct can be more preferably resonated. That is, the volume of the siren sound can be made larger.

[0014] The inner surface of the wall surface of the air guide duct may be configured as a smooth surface.

[0015] According to this configuration, it is possible to suppress the siren sound from staying in the internal space of the air guide duct. That is, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the volume of the siren sound emitted to the front of the vehicle.

[0017] According to this configuration, a standing wave can be generated between the plurality of internal walls. Thereby, the volume of the siren sound can be made larger.

Effect of the Invention

[0018] According to the vehicle front structure disclosed in this specification, the volume of the siren sound of the vehicle can be increased without increasing the size of the horn device.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Embodiment for Carrying out the Invention

[0020] FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a vehicle front structure 10 according to this embodiment. In each drawing of this specification, the X-axis direction represents the vehicle front-rear direction, the Y-axis direction represents the vehicle width direction, and the Z-axis direction represents the height direction. In this specification, the front in the vehicle front-rear direction is simply referred to as the front, and the rear in the vehicle front-rear direction is simply referred to as the rear.

[0021] The vehicle front structure 10 has a front bumper 12. A front grille 14 is provided on the front bumper 12. The front grille 14 is an opening for taking in the wind from the front of the vehicle into the vehicle interior.

[0022] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the A-A direction of FIG. 1. The vehicle front structure 10 has a radiator 16 as a member to be cooled, which is provided at a distance rearward from the front bumper 12. The radiator 16 cools a medium (for example, water) for cooling a motor or the like. The member to be cooled is not limited to the radiator 16. For example, the member to be cooled may be an intercooler for lowering the temperature of the air compressed by a turbo.

[0023] The vehicle front structure 10 has an air guide duct 20 provided between the front bumper 12 and the radiator 16 in the vehicle front-rear direction. The air guide duct 20 is formed of resin. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the air guide duct 20. Hereinafter, the air guide duct 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

[0024] The air guide duct 20 has a front opening 22 that opens toward the front of the vehicle. The air guide duct 20 has a plurality of wall surfaces 24. The plurality of wall surfaces 24 form an internal space 26 of the air guide duct 20. Further, the air guide duct 20 has a rear opening 28. The rear opening 28 is connected to the radiator 16. With such a configuration, the air that enters through the front opening 22 is sent to the radiator 16 via the internal space 26 and the rear opening 28 by the air guide duct 20. Thereby, the radiator 16 is cooled. Incidentally, the air guide duct 20 has the same width (length in the vehicle width direction) as the front grille 14.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, the front grille 14 is provided near the lower end of the front bumper 12. Since the front opening 22 of the air guide duct 20 is provided so as to communicate with the front grille 14, the front opening 22 is also provided near the lower end of the vehicle. The opening size of the rear opening 28 is larger than the opening size of the front opening 22 so that the radiator 16 is more preferably hit by air. As shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, in the present embodiment, the upper wall surface 24 of the air guide duct 20 rises upward as it goes rearward. Thereby, the opening size of the rear opening 28 is enlarged. The wall surface 24 that constitutes the rising portion is referred to as a front wall surface 24a. The front wall surface 24a is flat. That is, the front wall surface 24a corresponds to a flat plate portion. The front wall surface 24a is an inclined surface facing the front and upward. The front wall surface 24a is the wall surface 24 having the largest area among the plurality of wall surfaces 24 that form the internal space 26.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle front structure 10 has a vibration member 30. The vibration member 30 is, for example, a vibration motor. The vibration member 30 is attached to the wall surface 24 of the air guide duct 20. In the present embodiment, one vibration member 30 is attached to the air guide duct 20, but a plurality of vibration members 30 may be attached to the air guide duct 20. The vibration member 30 is connected to a controller (for example, an in-vehicle ECU (Electronic Control Unit)) (not shown) and vibrates according to a control signal transmitted from the ECU in response to an operation of a vehicle occupant.

[0027] When the vibrating member 30 vibrates, the wall surface 24 of the air guide duct 20 vibrates. When the wall surface 24 vibrates, sound is generated. This sound becomes a siren sound.

[0028] The siren sound generated by the vibration of the vibrating member 30 is released into the internal space 26 of the air guide duct 20. By adjusting the vibration amount (amplitude) of the vibrating member 30, the volume of the siren sound released into the internal space 26 can be adjusted. The internal space 26 has a natural frequency, and the sound released into the internal space 26 resonates at the natural frequency of the internal space 26. Thereby, the volume of the siren sound is amplified. The siren sound with amplified volume is emitted forward of the vehicle through the front opening 22 and the front grille 14. Thus, in the present embodiment, instead of increasing the size of the horn device, the siren sound is generated by vibrating the wall surface 24 of the air guide duct 20 by the vibrating member 30, and the volume of the siren sound is amplified by resonance in the internal space 26 of the air guide duct 20.

[0029] In order to be able to vibrate the wall surface 24 more preferably by the vibrating member 30, the vibrating member 30 is preferably attached to the wall surface 24 having as large an area as possible. In the present embodiment, the vibrating member 30 is attached to the front wall surface 24a. Further, in order to be able to vibrate the wall surface 24 more preferably, the vibrating member 30 is preferably attached to the central portion of the wall surface 24 (the front wall surface 24a in the present embodiment).

[0030] The vibrating member 30 preferably vibrates at the same frequency as the natural frequency of the internal space 26. Thereby, in the siren sound released into the internal space 26, the frequency components in the vicinity of the natural frequency of the internal space 26 increase, and the siren sound released into the internal space 26 can be resonated more preferably. That is, the volume of the siren sound can be made larger.

[0031] The inner surface of the wall 24 of the air guiding duct 20 (the surface facing the internal space 26) may be configured as a smooth surface. For the inner surface of the wall 24 to be a smooth surface means that the inner surface of the wall 24 is composed of a continuous plane or curved surface, and there are no corners, steps, or protrusions on the inner surface of the wall 24. By the inner surface of the wall 24 being a smooth surface, it is possible to suppress the siren sound from staying in the internal space 26. That is, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the volume of the siren sound emitted to the front of the vehicle. In addition, as a secondary effect of the inner surface of the wall 24 being a smooth surface, there is an effect that the air entering from the front opening 22 can be smoothly sent to the radiator 16 without staying in the internal space 26. Thereby, the radiator 16 can be cooled more suitably.

[0032] The front opening 22 may be in a megaphone shape. The megaphone shape means a shape in which the opening cross-sectional area gradually increases toward the front. Thereby, the opening size of the front opening 22 becomes larger, and the volume of the siren sound emitted from the front opening 22 can be made larger. Also, by being in a megaphone shape, it is possible to output a sound wave (siren sound) closer to a plane wave from the front opening 22, and it is possible to propagate the siren sound without attenuation over a longer distance.

[0033] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal wall 32 provided in the air guiding duct 20. Further, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view seen from the B - B direction in FIG. 4. The air guiding duct 20 may have a plurality of internal walls 32 erected in parallel with each other from the inner surface of the wall 24 toward the internal space 26 side. In FIG. 5, two internal walls 32 are provided, but three or more internal walls 32 may be provided. The internal walls 32 may be provided so as to extend in the vehicle front - rear direction so as not to obstruct the flow of sound or air in the internal space 26. Note that the internal walls 32 are formed of resin.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of internal walls 32 are provided so as to face each other. Thereby, a standing wave S can be generated in the internal space 26 (particularly between the plurality of internal walls 32). By generating the standing wave S, the volume of the siren sound can be made louder.

[0035] As described above, the embodiments of the electric vehicle according to the present disclosure have been described. However, the electric vehicle according to the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit thereof.

Description of reference numerals

[0036] 10 Vehicle front structure, 12 Front bumper, 14 Front grille, 20 Air duct, 22 Front opening, 24 Wall surface, 24a Front wall surface, 26 Internal space, 28 Rear opening, 30 Vibration member, 32 Internal wall.

Claims

1. A cooled member, a guiding air duct having a front opening that is megaphone-shaped and opens toward the front of the vehicle, with the cross-sectional area of the opening gradually increasing toward the front, and sending the air entering from the front opening to the cooled member, a vibrating member attached to the wall surface of the guiding air duct and generating a siren sound in the internal space of the guiding air duct by vibrating the wall surface, comprising: the guiding air duct having a plurality of internal walls standing upright in parallel to each other so as to stand upright from the inner surface of the wall surface of the guiding air duct toward the internal space side of the guiding air duct and extend in the vehicle front-rear direction to the inner surface of the front opening, A vehicle front structure characterized by the above.

2. The wall surface of the guiding air duct is configured to include a flat plate portion, The vibrating member is attached to the central portion of the flat plate portion. The vehicle front structure according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

3. The vibrating member vibrates at the same frequency as the natural vibration frequency of the internal space of the guiding air duct. The vehicle front structure according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

4. The inner surface of the wall surface of the guiding air duct is configured with a smooth surface. The vehicle front structure according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

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