Motor vehicle with a frontend and cooling-air inlet

Abstract

According to the invention, a motor vehicle has a frontend (1) which has a cooling-air inlet, which can be part of a radiator grille or be formed by the radiator grille, and a cooling-air duct (3), which extends in particular behind the cooling-air inlet. The cooling-air duct (3) extends from a left headlight (5) or headlight housing to a right headlight (6) in the vehicle transverse direction. The motor vehicle is preferably a passenger motor vehicle.

Description

[0001] Motor vehicle with a front end and a cooling air intake

[0002] The invention relates to a motor vehicle, in particular a passenger car, with a front end and a cooling air inlet in an area of ​​a so-called radiator grille.

[0003] A known motor vehicle has a front end with a radiator grille and a cooling air duct extending behind the radiator grille in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle to direct cooling air to a so-called radiator. The radiator is typically arranged between two engine longitudinal members, thus having a corresponding maximum width, and extends over a large area—above and possibly also below the engine longitudinal members—of the front end in a vertical direction. Thus, the width of the cooling air duct typically corresponds essentially to the width of the radiator located behind it. The radiator is arranged at a distance behind a bumper cross member.

[0004] In particular, walls of the cooling air duct extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle create undesirable resistance in the event of a collision with an obstacle.

[0005] It is the object of the present invention to provide a motor vehicle having a front end with a cooling air inlet and a cooling air duct, the resistance to deformation of which is reduced.

[0006] This object is achieved by a motor vehicle having the combination of the features of claim 1. Advantageous further developments are mentioned in the dependent claims.

[0007] According to the invention, a motor vehicle has a front end that includes a cooling air inlet, which may be part of a cooling grille or may be formed by the radiator grille, and a cooling air duct, which extends, in particular, behind the cooling air inlet and adjoins it, and which extends, in particular, from the cooling air inlet rearward in the vehicle's longitudinal direction. The cooling air duct extends from a left headlight or left headlight housing to a right headlight or right headlight housing in the vehicle's transverse direction (a y-direction in the vehicle coordinate system). The motor vehicle is preferably a passenger vehicle.

[0008] This ensures that the cooling air duct between the headlights has a maximum width, and the lateral outer walls (i.e., the left and right outer walls in the transverse direction of the vehicle) of the cooling air duct do not pose an obstacle in the event of a collision between the vehicle and an object or a road user such as a pedestrian, if an outer skin is deformed in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. For this purpose, it is advantageous if the cooling air duct does not have any additional walls within the outer walls.

[0009] The left and right headlights or the left and right headlight housings can each form a side wall (a side outer wall) of the cooling air duct.

[0010] However, the cooling air duct can also have a wall that runs directly adjacent to the left and right headlights or the left and right headlight housings.

[0011] The cooling air duct preferably has a width of 850 mm to 1200 mm, preferably 900 mm to 1150 mm, for example approximately 1000 mm. Alternatively or additionally, the cooling air duct has a projection in a transverse direction, ie in a y-direction, relative to a left front body longitudinal member or engine support, from an inner side of the respective support in an outward direction of up to 140 mm, in particular 70 mm to 140 mm, for example approximately 70 mm or approximately 80 mm or approximately 90 mm or approximately 100 mm or approximately 110 mm or approximately 120 mm or approximately 130 mm.

[0012] Thanks to all of the aforementioned alternatives, which can also be combined, the cooling air duct has a very large width in the y-direction of the vehicle coordinate system, so that lateral outer walls of the cooling air duct pose no or only a minor obstacle in the event of a collision between the motor vehicle and an object or a road user such as a pedestrian, if an outer skin (in the area of ​​the cooling air inlet) is deformed in the vehicle's longitudinal direction in a central region of the front end. This applies regardless of whether the lateral outer wall of the cooling air duct is formed by a headlight or headlight housing or by a separate wall. Lateral outer walls of the cooling air duct extend essentially in a y-direction and a z-direction of the vehicle coordinate system. The distance between the inner sides of the body longitudinal members can be approximately 700 mm to 900 mm. A body longitudinal member can have a width of approximately 65 mm.

[0013] Advantageously, the cooling air duct extends in the vertical direction of the vehicle, ie in the z-direction in the vehicle coordinate system, at least up to an upper edge of the headlights or the headlight housings and / or up to an upper inner surface of an outer skin, in each case preferably over an entire width of the cooling air duct.

[0014] This allows the upper wall of the cooling air duct to be positioned as high as possible, allowing as much clearance as possible up to the upper wall of the cooling air duct. This clearance thus minimizes the potential for blockage in the event of a collision with an object or road user.

[0015] Preferably, the cooling air duct can extend downwards at least to the upper edge of a bumper cross member. The bumper cross member is preferably attached to the front ends of the engine longitudinal members or the front body longitudinal members, preferably with a crash box interposed between each.

[0016] The cooling air duct can also extend to an area under the bumper cross member.

[0017] The cooling air duct is preferably produced by plastic injection molding. If appropriate, the cooling air duct is formed in one piece, but can also consist of several interconnected parts. In particular, the cooling air duct can be composed of at least an upper part (an upper wall part), a left part (a left wall part), and a right part (a right wall part). As explained above, partial regions or partial walls of the cooling air duct can also be formed by a headlight or a headlight housing. The adjacent components of the cooling air duct then preferably lie sealingly against the headlight or headlight housing. According to a preferred development, the cooling air duct has at least a length, i.e. an extension in the vehicle longitudinal direction, i.e. in the x-direction in the vehicle coordinate system, of 50 mm to 150 mm, preferably 60 mm to 150 mm, for example approximately 75 mm.

[0018] According to a preferred development, the cooling air duct extends in the direction of vehicle travel to an inner side of a body outer skin and / or to an inner side (rear side) of additional lights which are arranged in the central region of the front end.

[0019] This can prevent unwanted airflow.

[0020] Advantageously, the cooling air duct is wider than the distance between inner sides of a left front body longitudinal member or engine support and a right front body longitudinal member or engine support, in particular wider than the distance between outer sides of the left front body longitudinal member or engine support and the right front body longitudinal member or engine support.

[0021] Thus, the cooling air duct is relatively wide and a relatively large space can be provided without the potential for blockage in the event of a collision with an object or road user in the central area of ​​the front end of the vehicle.

[0022] According to a preferred development, the cooling air duct has a wall spaced apart from the outer body shell, which extends in the transverse direction of the vehicle, i.e., the y-direction, and in the vertical direction of the vehicle, i.e., the z-direction. An opening for the intake of raw air is formed in the wall.

[0023] A raw air intake duct is connected to the opening. The raw air intake duct serves, for example, as a raw air intake for an internal combustion engine.

[0024] This ensures that the raw air intake is sufficiently spaced from the outer body shell so that, together with a corresponding raw air intake duct, it does not pose a blocking potential in the event of a collision with an object or road user. The cooling air duct preferably has elastically deformable regions at its front end for contact with an inner side of the outer body shell and / or an additional light. The elastically deformable regions are attached to the walls of the cooling air duct extending in the vehicle's longitudinal direction.

[0025] In the case of a cooling air duct made of plastic injection molding, the elastically deformable areas could be molded in during the production of the cooling air duct.

[0026] The elastically deformable areas can thus be positioned against the vehicle's outer skin, compensating for manufacturing tolerances. The cooling air duct can thus be sufficiently sealed against the vehicle's outer skin.

[0027] The features mentioned above can be combined with each other as far as possible and reasonable.

[0028] A brief description of the characters follows.

[0029] Fig. 1 is a schematic front view of a motor vehicle showing an outline of a cooling air duct according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a lateral region of the cooling air duct according to the embodiment of the present invention with a raw air intake.

[0031] An embodiment of the present invention is explained below with reference to Figures 1 and 2.

[0032] As shown in the schematic front view of Figure 1, a passenger vehicle according to the exemplary embodiment has a front end 1 with a cooling air inlet in the form of a radiator grille, which is not shown in Figure 1, and a cooling air duct 3, which is arranged behind the radiator grille adjacent to a vehicle outer skin, also not shown, and whose outer outline is shown in Figure 1. The cooling air duct 3 is arranged between a left headlight housing 5 and a right headlight housing 6 and extends in the vehicle transverse direction (i.e. in the y-direction in the vehicle coordinate system) from the left headlight housing 5 to the right headlight housing 6. The cooling air duct 3 is arranged at least above a bumper cross member 7, which is arranged at the front ends of a left engine mount 9 and a right engine mount 10.Furthermore, the cooling air duct 3 extends behind the bumper cross member 7, corresponding to a radiator 13. The engine mounts 9, 10 can also be referred to as front body longitudinal members and are part of the body of the passenger vehicle. The cooling air duct 3 guides the air from the radiator grille, i.e., the air intake, to the radiator 13 located behind the cooling air duct 3.

[0033] The cooling air duct 3 has an upper wall 33 that extends substantially in the vehicle's longitudinal direction (x-direction) and transverse direction (y-direction), approximately at the height of an upper edge of the headlight housings 5 ​​and 6 and near an upper vehicle outer skin or a front flap 17. Furthermore, the cooling air duct 3 has lateral walls 31 (left) and 32 (right) that extend substantially in the vehicle's longitudinal direction (x-direction) and vertical direction (z-direction). In other words, the walls 31, 32, 33 form a boundary of the cooling air duct 3 in the vehicle's transverse direction and vertical direction. The lateral walls 31, 32 are spaced apart from one another by approximately 850 mm to 1200 mm. The side walls 31 and 32 are spaced significantly further apart from each other than the two engine supports 9 and 10, i.e. the side walls 31 and 32 are located outside the engine supports 9, 10 in the vehicle transverse direction (y-direction).

[0034] Alternatively, the side walls 31 and 32 can also have corresponding recesses for the headlights 5 and 6, i.e., their headlight housings, in the area of ​​the headlights 5 and 6, so that the headlight housings 5 ​​and 6 form walls of the cooling air duct 3. In this case, the side walls 31 and 32 rest against the headlight housings as tightly as possible.

[0035] Fig. 2 shows a right-hand, front section of the front end 1 according to the exemplary embodiment in a perspective view. As shown in Fig. 2, sealing lips 37, 39 are attached to the front ends of the walls 31, 32, 33, which are designed for sealing engagement with an inner side of a body shell. The sealing lips 37, 39 are made of an elastic material, for example EPDM. The cooling air duct 3 is manufactured in several parts by means of plastic injection molding. For example, the cooling air duct 3 can be manufactured using a two-component injection molding process, with the sealing lips 37, 39 being injection-molded onto the walls 31, 33, and 34.

[0036] The cooling air duct 3 has a length of approximately 50 mm to 150 mm in the vehicle's longitudinal direction (x-direction), i.e. from the radiator grille to the radiator 13. As can be seen in Fig. 2, the cooling air duct 3 has an end wall 35 approximately in the vehicle's longitudinal direction at the level of the radiator 13 but to the side of the radiator 13 in the vehicle's transverse direction, which end wall extends in the vehicle's transverse direction (y-direction) and in the vehicle's vertical direction (z-direction) and closes a gap or area between the radiator 13 and the side walls 31 and 32. The cooling air duct 3 is therefore considerably wider than the radiator 13, as can also be seen from Fig. 1. The end wall 35 lies sealingly against the radiator 13. In the end wall 35 there is an opening 15 for a raw air intake for a vehicle air conditioning system and / or an internal combustion engine. The raw air is led from the opening 15 via a raw air duct to the raw air consumer, for example an internal combustion engine.In the exemplary embodiment, the opening 15 for the raw air intake is formed in the end wall 35 to the right of the radiator 13. Alternatively or additionally, the opening 15 can also be formed to the left of the radiator 13 in the corresponding end wall 35.

[0037] In the event of a frontal collision in a central area of ​​the front end 1 with, for example, a pedestrian, which is defined by the “upper leg impact” load case of the Euro NCAP organization, the outer body shell including the radiator grille is deformed, i.e., dented, in the vehicle’s longitudinal direction. In the central area of ​​the front end 1, behind the vehicle’s outer shell including the radiator grille, there is the cooling air duct 3, which forms a free space, i.e., a free deformation space, behind the vehicle’s outer shell or the radiator grille up to the radiator 13 and extends from the left headlight housing 5 to the right headlight housing 6. In this very wide, free deformation space, the cooling air duct 3 advantageously does not form any additional resistance in the aforementioned frontal collision, so that the requirements of the “upper leg impact” load case can easily be met without additional measures.

Claims

Patent claims 1. Motor vehicle, in particular a passenger car, with a front end (1) which has a cooling air inlet, for example a radiator grille, and a cooling air duct (3) which extends in the transverse direction of the vehicle from a left headlight (5) to a right headlight (6).

2. Motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the cooling air duct (3) has a width of 850 to 1200 mm, preferably 900 to 1150 mm, for example 1000 mm to 1000 mm.

3. Motor vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cooling air duct (3) extends at least to an upper edge of the headlights (5, 6).

4. Motor vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cooling air duct (3) extends downwards at least to an upper edge of a bumper cross member (7) which is fastened in particular to front ends of body longitudinal members (9, 10).

5. Motor vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cooling air duct (3) is formed by plastic injection molding, optionally in one piece or in several parts.

6. Motor vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the cooling air duct (3) has at least a length of 50 mm to 150 mm, preferably 60 to 150 mm, for example 75 mm.

7. Motor vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the cooling air duct (3) extends from an inner side of an outer body skin.

8. Motor vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the cooling air duct (3) is wider than the distance between inner sides of a left front body longitudinal member (9) and a right front body longitudinal member (10), in particular wider than the distance between the outer sides of the left front body longitudinal member (9) and the right front body longitudinal member (10).

9. Motor vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the cooling air duct (3) has an end wall (35) spaced from the outer body skin, which extends in the transverse direction of the vehicle and in the vertical direction of the vehicle, wherein an opening (15) for the intake of raw air is formed in the end wall (35).

10. Motor vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the cooling air duct (3) has elastically deformable regions at its front end for contact with an inner side of the body outer skin.

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