Grill shutter

Abstract

To control a damage mode of a shaft.SOLUTION: A grille shutter 100 includes: opening / closing bodies 20, 30 which open or close an outside air introduction opening provided at a front grille of a vehicle; and an actuator 40 which rotationally drives the opening / closing bodies 20, 30. The opening / closing bodies 20, 30 include: shafts 21, 31 in which one ends 23, 33 are rotationally driven by the actuator 40; and fins 26, 27, 36, 37 protruding in a radial direction of the shafts 21, 31. In the shafts 21, 31, strengths of one end side portions 22, 32 are higher than strengths of the other end side portions 24, 34.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a grill shutter structure that opens and closes an outside air introduction opening provided in a front grill of a vehicle. [Background Art]

[0002] A grill shutter that adjusts the flow rate of cooling air introduced through an outside air introduction opening of a front grille to a radiator is provided in front of a vehicle (see Patent Document 1). [Prior Art Documents] [Patent Documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2020-19331 [Summary of the Invention] [Problem to be Solved by the Invention]

[0004] Incidentally, during traveling, flying stones or the like may hit the grill shutter and damage the grill shutter. Specifically, the shaft of an opening / closing body included in the grill shutter may break, resulting in a portion where the rotational driving force of the actuator is not transmitted, which may reduce the ability of the grill shutter to adjust the ventilation amount to the radiator. In the grill shutter described in Patent Document 1, since the diameter of the shaft that rotates the opening / closing body is uniform along the length direction, it is not possible to control the damage mode of the shaft, and there is a problem that it is difficult to predict which portion of the shaft will break when hit by a flying stone or the like.

[0005] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to control the damage mode of the shaft of a grill shutter. [Means for Solving the Problem]

[0006] The grill shutter of the present invention is an outside air introduction opening provided in a front grill of a vehicle A frame (10) attached to the front structure of the vehicle so as to face the and an opening (17) of the frame (10)A grill shutter (100, 200) comprising an opening / closing body (20, 30) for opening and closing, and an actuator (40) for rotationally driving the opening / closing body, wherein the opening / closing body (20, 30) includes a shaft (21, 31, 51) whose one end (23, 33, 53) is rotationally driven by the actuator (40), and fins (26, 27, 36, 37, 56, 57) protruding radially from the shaft, and the shaft (21, 31, 51) includes the one end (23, 33, 53), the other end (25, 35, 55), the portion between the one end and the other end located on the side of the one end (22, 32, 52), and the portion between the one end and the other end located on the side of the other end (24, 34, 54) The structure includes, wherein one end (23, 33, 53) is rotatably supported in a hole (16) on one end of the frame (10), and the other end (25, 35, 55) is rotatably supported in a hole (15) on the other end of the frame (10), and the one end portion (22, 32, 52) and the other end portion (24, 34, 54) are connected to constitute the shaft, and one end portion (26, 36, 56) is attached to the one end portion (22, 32, 52) so as to protrude radially, and the other end portion (24, 34, 54) is attached so as to protrude radially, The aforementioned one-end portion (22, 32, 52) is larger than the aforementioned other-end portion (24, 34, 54). Having a large diameter It is characterized by the following.

[0007] Furthermore, in the grill shutter of the present invention, the one-end portion (22, 32, 52) is greater than the other-end portion (24, 34, 54). Rimodan The area can be large. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] This invention can control the failure mode of the grill shutter shaft. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view of the grill shutter of the embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a perspective view showing the opening and closing mechanism of a grill shutter in another embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The grill shutter 100 of the embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. The arrows FR, UP, and RH shown in each figure indicate the front, top, and right sides of the grill shutter 100, respectively. The opposite directions of each arrow FR, UP, and RH indicate the rear, bottom, and left sides. When the directions front / back, left / right, and up / down are used in the following description, unless otherwise specified, they refer to the front / back in the front-back direction, left / right in the left-right direction, and up / down in the up / down direction of the grill shutter 100. The grill shutter 100 is mounted on the vehicle so that the front side faces the front of the vehicle (direction of travel), the top side faces the top of the vehicle, and the right side faces the right side of the vehicle. Therefore, when the grill shutter 100 is mounted on the vehicle, the front, top, and right sides of the grill shutter 100 are the front, top, and right sides of the vehicle, respectively.

[0011] The grill shutter 100 consists of a frame 10, an upper opening / closing body 20, a lower opening / closing body 30, and an actuator 40.

[0012] The frame 10 has a rectangular ring shape and is composed of an upper plate 11, a lower plate 12, a left side plate 13, and a right side plate 14, with an opening 17 in the center. The frame 10 is attached to the front structure of the vehicle such that the opening 17 faces an outside air intake opening (not shown) provided in the front grille of the vehicle.

[0013] An upper opening / closing body 20 and a lower opening / closing body 30 are positioned in the opening 17 of the frame 10, rotatably supported by a hole 15 in the left side plate 13 and a hole 16 in the right side plate 14. The upper opening / closing body 20 consists of a shaft 21 and plate-shaped fins 26 and 27 that protrude radially from the shaft 21. The lower opening / closing body 30 is similar to the upper opening / closing body 20, consisting of a shaft 31 and fins 36 and 37. One end 23 of the shaft 21 of the upper opening / closing body 20 and one end 33 of the shaft 31 of the lower opening / closing body 30 are connected to an actuator 40 mounted on the outside of the right side plate 14. The actuator 40 rotates the shafts 21 and 31 of the upper opening / closing body 20 and the lower opening / closing body 30 as shown by arrows 91 and 92, thereby opening and closing the opening 17.

[0014] The shaft 21 of the upper opening / closing body 20 is composed of one end 23, the other end 25 which is the end opposite to the one end 23 in the axial direction, one end portion 22 which is the part between the one end 23 and the other end 25 and is located on the side of the one end 23, and the other end portion 24 which is the part between the one end 23 and the other end 25 and is located on the side of the other end 25. The material of the shaft 21 is not particularly limited, but it is preferably an injection-molded resin material such as polypropylene. This makes it possible to lighten the shaft. It is also possible to reduce the number of parts by integrally injection molding the shaft 21 and the fins 26 and 27. The diameter of the one end portion 22 is larger than the diameter of the other end portion 24, and the strength of the one end portion 22 is greater than the strength of the other end portion 24.

[0015] The shaft 31 of the lower opening / closing body 30, like the shaft 21 of the upper opening / closing body 20, is composed of a one-end portion 32 on the side of one end 33 which has a larger diameter and strength, and a other-end portion 34 on the side of the other end 35 which has a smaller diameter and strength.

[0016] As explained above, the grill shutter 100 is composed of shafts 21 and 31 with relatively high-strength one-end portions 22 and 32 and relatively low-strength other-end portions 24 and 34. Therefore, when flying stones hit the upper opening / closing body 20 and the lower opening / closing body 30, the low-strength other-end portions 24 and 34 are damaged, suppressing damage to the high-strength one-end portions 22 and 32. In this way, the grill shutter 100 can control the damage mode of the shafts 21 and 31. Furthermore, by suppressing damage to the one-end portions 22 and 32, the risk of damage to the shafts 21 and 31 and fins 26, 27, 36, and 37 near the one end that can be rotationally driven by the actuator 40 is reduced, and the deterioration of the ventilation volume adjustment function of the grill shutter 100 can be suppressed. In addition, since the diameter of the other-end portion 24 of the grill shutter 100 is small, the contact area with the hole 15 provided in the left-side plate 13 is reduced, which reduces the required torque of the actuator 40.

[0017] Next, the configuration of the grill shutter 200 in another embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 2. The configuration of the frame 10 of the grill shutter 200 is the same as that of the grill shutter 100 described earlier, so its illustration and description will be omitted.

[0018] The opening and closing body 50 of the grill shutter 200 consists of a tapered shaft 51, where one end 53 is thicker than the other end 55 and the diameter decreases from one end 53 to the other end 55, and fins 56 and 57 projecting radially from the shaft 51. The grill shutter 200 has greater strength at one end 52 of the shaft 51 than at the other end 54, and thus performs the same function / effect as the grill shutter 100 described with reference to Figure 1.

[0019] In the grill shutter 100 described above, the strength of the shafts 21 and 31 is changed by varying the diameter of the shafts 21 and 31 in the axial direction, but this is not the only way. For example, the strength may be changed by making the one-end portion 22 and 32 columnar with the shaft member extending to the center, and the other-end portion 24 and 34 cylindrical instead of columnar (first modified example). Alternatively, the strength may be changed by making the other-end portion 24 and 34 C-shaped (second modified example) or semi-circular (third modified example) instead of annular. In other words, the first, second, and third modified examples increase the strength by making the cross-sectional area of ​​the one-end portion 22 and 32 relatively larger than that of the other-end portion 24 and 34. Furthermore, the first, second, and third modified examples may be combined with other embodiments shown in Figure 2.

[0020] Furthermore, although FIG. 1 shows a configuration in which the upper opening / closing body 20 and the lower opening / closing body 30 are driven by one actuator 40, the present invention is not limited thereto. The actuator 40 may be mounted not only on the right side plate 14 but also on the left side plate 13 (not shown), wherein the upper opening / closing body 20 driven by the actuator 40 mounted on the right side plate 14 has one end 23 disposed on the right side plate 14 side, and the lower opening / closing body 30 driven by the actuator 40 mounted on the left side plate 13 may have one end 33 disposed on the left side plate 13 side. By arranging the high-strength one-end side portions 22, 32 of the shafts 21, 31 alternately on the left and right in this manner, even if the shafts 21, 31 are damaged by a flying stone, a portion of the upper opening / closing body 20 and the lower opening / closing body 30 whose drive is maintained by the actuator 40 is likely to remain on both the right side and the left side of the grille shutter 100, thereby preventing the ventilation amount adjustment function of the grille shutter 100 from being biased to the right side or the left side. [Description of Reference Numerals]

[0021] 10 Frame 11 Upper plate 12 Lower plate 13 Left side plate 14 Right side plate 15, 16 Hole 17 Opening 20 Upper opening / closing body 21, 31, 51 Shaft 22, 32, 52 One-end side portion 23, 33, 53 One end 24, 34, 54 Other-end side portion 25, 35, 55 Other end 26, 27, 36, 37, 56, 57 Fin 30 Lower opening / closing body 40 Actuator 50 Opening / closing body 100, 200 Grille shutter

Claims

1. A frame (10) is attached to the front structure of the vehicle so as to face the outside air intake opening provided in the front grille of the vehicle, Opening and closing members (20, 30) for opening and closing the opening (17) of the frame (10), A grill shutter (100, 200) comprising an actuator (40) that rotates the opening and closing body, The opening and closing bodies (20, 30) are The system includes shafts (21, 31, 51) whose one end (23, 33, 53) is rotationally driven by the actuator (40), and fins (26, 27, 36, 37, 56, 57) that protrude radially from the shafts, The shaft (21, 31, 51) includes one end (23, 33, 53), the other end (25, 35, 55), one-end portion (22, 32, 52) located on the side of the one end, and the other-end portion (24, 34, 54) located on the side of the other end, The aforementioned ends (23, 33, 53) are rotatably supported in the holes (16) on one end of the frame (10), The other ends (25, 35, 55) are rotatably supported in the holes (15) on the other end side of the frame (10). The one end portion (22, 32, 52) and the other end portion (24, 34, 54) are connected to form the shaft. The end portions (22, 32, 52) are fitted with end fins (26, 36, 56) that protrude radially. The other end portions (24, 34, 54) are fitted with other end fins (27, 37, 57) that protrude radially. The diameter of one end portion (22, 32, 52) is larger than that of the other end portion (24, 34, 54). Grill shutters (100, 200) featuring the following characteristics.

2. The one end portion (22, 32, 52) has a larger cross-sectional area than the other end portion (24, 34, 54). The grill shutter (100, 200) according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

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