Outside air temperature sensor attachment structure

Abstract

If a radiator (2) is disposed on the vehicle rearward side of an outside air introduction port (1) for introducing outside air from outside frontward of the vehicle, and an outside air temperature sensor (3) is disposed in a vehicle frontward-side space of the radiator (2), an air guide (4) for guiding traveling wind to the radiator (2) is provided with a lateral partition wall section (5) which extends to the vehicle frontward side along a vehicle width direction end section and which constitutes a partition wall on the vehicle lateral side of the vehicle frontward side space of the radiator (2), and the outside air temperature sensor (3) is attached to a sensor support section (6) which is provided so as to project inward in the vehicle width direction from the lateral partition wall section (5) of the air guide (4) toward the vehicle frontward-side space of the radiator (2).

Description

Outside air temperature sensor mounting structure

[0001] The present invention relates to an outside air temperature sensor mounting structure, and more particularly to an outside air temperature sensor mounting structure disposed on the vehicle front side of a radiator.

[0002] In the following Patent Document 1, an outside air temperature sensor is disposed on the front side of the vehicle radiator.

[0003] Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open Publication No. 3-5509

[0004] However, since Patent Document 1 does not disclose a specific mounting structure for the outside air temperature sensor, there is room for further study on the mounting structure for the outside air temperature sensor. An object of the present invention is to provide an outside air temperature sensor mounting structure that enables the outside air temperature sensor to be rationally disposed in the space in front of the radiator.

[0005] One aspect of the present invention is a vehicle comprising an outside air inlet for introducing outside air from outside the front of the vehicle, a radiator arranged on the vehicle rear side of the outside air inlet, an air guide provided with a lateral partition portion that extends toward the front of the vehicle along the vehicle width direction end of the radiator and forms a partition on the vehicle side of the vehicle front space of the radiator, and an outside air temperature sensor arranged in the vehicle front space of the radiator, wherein the outside air temperature sensor is attached to a sensor support portion that protrudes inward in the vehicle width direction from the lateral partition portion of the air guide toward the vehicle front space of the radiator.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, the outside air temperature sensor can be mounted by an air guide that blocks the vehicle side of the space on the front side of the radiator without using a separate bracket, so that the outside air temperature sensor can be rationally arranged in the space on the front side of the radiator. The objects and advantages of the present invention are realized and achieved by using the elements and combinations thereof recited in the claims. It should be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are merely exemplary and explanatory and do not limit the invention as defined by the claims.

[0007] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing one embodiment of an outside air temperature sensor mounting structure. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the air guide of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a detailed diagram of the sensor support portion of the air guide of FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 3. FIG. 1 is a side view of the outside air temperature sensor mounting structure of FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a side view of the outside air temperature sensor mounting structure of FIG. 1 including a part of the engine compartment. FIG. 1 is a front view of the outside air temperature sensor mounting structure of FIG. 1.

[0008] The external air temperature sensor mounting structure of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is, for example, provided near the upper left end of the vehicle's radiator 2. Similar to the structure described in Patent Document 1, the external air temperature sensor 3 is disposed in the space in front of the radiator 2. The external air temperature sensor 3 detects the external air temperature (outside air temperature), for example, for interior temperature control by an air conditioner or for road surface icing detection. It must be located in a location that is less susceptible to heat inside the vehicle and where the temperature of the sensor body is less susceptible to changes due to direct sunlight or rain. This example differs slightly from typical external air temperature sensor placement by disposing the external air temperature sensor 3 at a slightly higher position in the space in front of the radiator 2. Therefore, in this embodiment, the external air temperature sensor 3 is mounted on an air guide 4 attached to the upper left end of the radiator 2. In this embodiment, the air guide 4 is a molded plastic part, but may be made of other materials. In this embodiment, the width direction of the vehicle is also considered to be the left-right direction of the vehicle. Needless to say, the left and right directions of the vehicle are defined as viewed from inside the vehicle, looking forward.

[0009] The radiator 2 is generally disposed at the front end of the vehicle to efficiently cool the coolant using wind generated by the vehicle's movement. Similar to a typical vehicle, an outside air inlet 1 for introducing outside air is provided at the front end of the radiator 2 (see FIGS. 8 and 9 ). In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10 , the outside air inlet 1 includes an upper inlet 1a at the top of the vehicle and a lower inlet 1b at the bottom. As shown in FIG. 10 , the outside air temperature sensor 3 is disposed at the same height as the upper inlet 1a, i.e., the outside air temperature sensor 3 is disposed rearward of the upper inlet 1a. Therefore, the following description of the outside air inlet 1 will be focused primarily on the upper inlet 1a.

[0010] 1, the air guide 4 in this embodiment is configured to close the vehicle left end portion at the top of the space on the vehicle front side of the radiator 2 to efficiently introduce outside air into the radiator 2, and therefore is provided with a side partition wall 5 extending toward the vehicle front side along the vehicle left end portion of the radiator 2. As shown in FIG. 8, a vehicle rear end surface 31a of a side partition wall portion of an upper grill member 31 attached to the upper inlet 1a abuts against a vehicle front end surface 5a of the side partition wall 5, thereby forming a partition on the vehicle left side of the space on the vehicle front side of the radiator 2. Note that an upper air guide surface 32 consisting of a surface inclined from the upper front side toward the lower rear side of the vehicle is provided on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the side partition wall 5 at the upper end of the side partition wall 5 of the air guide 4. An upper air guide member (not shown) is disposed on the vehicle widthwise inner side of this upper air guide surface 32, and a similar inclined surface provided on this upper air guide member is connected to the upper air guide surface 32 of the air guide 4, so as to guide the running wind from above the space on the vehicle front side of the radiator 2 to the vehicle front side of the radiator 2. The air guide 4 is joined to the top surface of the radiator 2 at an end portion on the vehicle rear side of the upper air guide surface 32.

[0011] 2 is a perspective view of only the air guide 4 of FIG. 1 . In this embodiment, a sensor support portion 6 protrudes from the side partition wall 5 toward the inside in the vehicle width direction on the vehicle lower side of the upper air guide surface 32. When the air guide 4 is attached to the radiator 2 as shown in FIG. 1 , the sensor support portion 6 protrudes toward the space in front of the radiator 2. As the name suggests, the sensor support portion 6 is used to attach the outside air temperature sensor 3. Therefore, by attaching the outside air temperature sensor 3 to the sensor support portion 6, the outside air temperature sensor 3 is disposed in the space in front of the radiator 2. To efficiently attach the outside air temperature sensor 3 to the sensor support portion 6, the sensor support portion 6 is provided with a rear wall portion 7 at a position rearward of the outside air temperature sensor 3. The rear wall portion 7 extends inward in the vehicle width direction from the side partition wall 5, and by attaching the outside air temperature sensor 3 to the rear wall portion 7, the outside air temperature sensor 3 is disposed forward of the vehicle at the height of the rear wall portion 7. As shown in detail in Figure 3, a mounting hole 21 is opened at the inner end of the rear wall portion 7 in the vehicle width direction, approximately in the center in the vertical direction of the vehicle, and the engaging portion 22 of the outside air temperature sensor 3 is inserted into this mounting hole 21 to attach the outside air temperature sensor 3 to the sensor support portion 6.

[0012] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view (II cross-sectional view) of the sensor support portion 6 cut vertically at the position of the mounting hole 21 (the outside air temperature sensor 3 is also shown). The mounting hole 21 is a rectangular through-hole that is slightly elongated in the vertical direction of the vehicle. The clip-shaped engaging portion 22 of the outside air temperature sensor 3 is inserted into this mounting hole 21 to attach the outside air temperature sensor 3 to the sensor support portion 6 (rear wall portion 7). The engaging portion 22 protrudes toward the rear of the vehicle from the outside air temperature sensor 3 when the outside air temperature sensor 3 is attached to the air guide 4. The engaging portion 22 is provided with a pair of engaging claws 23 in the vertical direction of the vehicle, for example, and the pair of engaging claws 23 can be bent in a direction toward each other. Of the pair of engaging claws 23, the upper surface of the upper engaging claw 23 and the lower surface of the lower engaging claw 23 have inclined surfaces that approach each other at the tip ends in the direction of engagement. The protruding base ends of the engaging portions also have inclined surfaces that approach each other. Therefore, the pair of engagement claws 23 protrude most in the vertical direction of the vehicle at the center of the engagement portion protrusion direction on the upper surface of the upper engagement claw 23 and the lower surface of the lower engagement claw 23. Therefore, when the pair of engagement claws 23 of this engagement portion 22 is inserted into the mounting hole 21, the pair of engagement claws 23 are pushed by the edge of the mounting hole 21 in the vertical direction of the vehicle and move closer to each other. When the parts of the pair of engagement claws 23 that protrude most in the vertical direction of the vehicle pass through the mounting hole 21, the pair of engagement claws 23 move away from each other as the engagement portion 22 moves in the insertion direction, and their protruding base ends abut against the vehicle rear side surface of the rear wall portion 7, preventing them from being removed.

[0013] The engaging portion 22 can be removed from the mounting hole 21 by pinching and bringing the pair of engaging claws 23, which face each other in the vertical direction of the vehicle, from the vertical direction of the vehicle when the outside air temperature sensor 3 is attached as shown in Figure 4. For example, when replacing the outside air temperature sensor 3, it is necessary to pinch the engaging claws 23 of the engaging portion 22 rearward of the rear wall 7. The radiator 2 is disposed on the rear side of the rear wall 7, and a gap 24 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, having a predetermined dimension large enough to allow insertion of fingers, is provided between the rear wall 7 and the radiator 2 so that the engaging claws 23 of the engaging portion 22 can be pinched and brought closer together. Thus, when removing the outside air temperature sensor 3, fingers can be inserted into the gap 24 between the radiator 2 and the rear wall 7 and the pair of engaging claws 23 of the engaging portion 22 can be pinched and brought closer together, thereby removing the engaging portion 22 through the mounting hole 21.

[0014] To explain the detailed configuration of the sensor support portion 6, as shown in FIG. 3 , three cross sections (II-II, III-III, and IV-IV cross sections) are taken sequentially from the position of the mounting hole 21 at the inner end of the sensor support portion 6 in the vehicle width direction toward the outer side in the vehicle width direction, and the respective cross sections are shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 . First, as an overview of the air guide 4, another wall portion is provided as a second rear wall portion 8 further rearward of the rear wall portion 7 of the sensor support portion 6. This second rear wall portion 8 extends inward in the vehicle width direction from the side partition portion 5 at the vehicle rear end of the side partition portion 5 so as to follow the side partition portion 5, and its protrusion dimension toward the inner side in the vehicle width direction is smaller than the protrusion dimension toward the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the rear wall portion 7 of the sensor support portion 6. 1 , the second rear wall 8 is disposed at the vehicle left end of the radiator 2 so as to abut against the vehicle front side surface of the radiator 2, and the second rear wall 8 and the side partitions 5 close the vehicle left rear end of the vehicle front space at the vehicle upper side of the radiator 2, enabling all of the traveling air in this vehicle front space to be guided to the radiator 2. The second rear wall 8 and the side partitions 5 form the base (main body) of the air guide 4, and this base is provided with, for example, the sensor support 6 and the upper air guide surface 32. An upper wall 9 and a lower wall 10 extending toward the vehicle front and rear are provided at the upper and lower vehicle ends of the rear wall 7 of the sensor support 6, and at the position where the second rear wall 8 is present, the respective vehicle rear ends are connected to the second rear wall 8.

[0015] The upper wall portion 9 and the lower wall portion 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7 . First, the protruding dimension of the upper wall portion 9 toward the front of the vehicle is generally greater than the protruding dimension of the lower wall portion 10 toward the front of the vehicle. In other words, the vehicle longitudinal dimension of the upper wall portion 9 forward of the rear wall portion 7 is greater than the vehicle longitudinal dimension of the lower wall portion 10 forward of the rear wall portion 7. At the position where the second rear wall portion 8 is present ( FIG. 7 ), the upper wall portion 9 and the lower wall portion 10 extend rearward of the vehicle to the position of the second rear wall portion 8, as described above, and are connected to the second rear wall portion 8 at that position. As a result, at the position where the second rear wall portion 8 is present, the second rear wall portion 8, the rear wall portion 7, the upper wall portion 9, and the lower wall portion 10 form a rectangular cross section (a lattice structure), which enhances the support rigidity of the sensor support portion 6 at the base of the air guide 4, which is formed by the second rear wall portion 8 and the side partition wall portion 5. In contrast, at a position where the second rear wall portion 8 is not present (FIG. 6), both the upper wall portion 9 and the lower wall portion 10 extend further rearward than the rear wall portion 7, but the amount of protrusion toward the rear of the vehicle is small. However, the upper wall portion 9 and the lower wall portion 10, which extend toward both the front and rear of the vehicle, are provided at the upper and lower ends of the rear wall portion 7, which is originally made of a plate-like portion, to form an I-shaped cross section, which increases the rigidity of the sensor support portion 6 itself, which protrudes inward in the vehicle width direction.

[0016] On the other hand, when viewed from the side partition wall 5, the lower wall portion 10 on the vehicle front side closer to the rear wall portion ends at a position (FIG. 5) in front of the mounting hole 21 in the vehicle width direction inside, and only the upper wall portion 9 exists forward of the rear wall portion 7. Looking at this in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 4 (vehicle side view) showing the mounting position of the outside air temperature sensor 3, the rear wall portion 7 has the upper wall portion 9 extending forward of the vehicle above the outside air temperature sensor 3, and further, the front end of the upper wall portion 9 is located further forward of the front end of the outside air temperature sensor 3. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the vehicle side of the upper inlet 1a and lower inlet 1b, which include the radiator 2 and air guide 4. As mentioned above, the front end of the upper wall portion 9 is located further forward of the front end of the outside air temperature sensor 3, thereby preventing rainwater and the like from dripping directly onto the outside air temperature sensor 3. Furthermore, as shown by the arrow in the figure, even if snow enters through the lower inlet 1b as the vehicle is traveling, passes through the gap 24 between the rear wall 7 and the radiator 2, rises, and then falls along the upper air guide surface 32, it is possible to prevent the snow from falling directly onto the outside air temperature sensor 3. The reason that the lower wall 10 is not present at the position of the outside air temperature sensor 3 is because a harness 25 is connected from below the outside air temperature sensor 3 via a connector 33.

[0017] FIG. 9 is a side cross-sectional view of a vehicle including the engine compartment 26 and the lower front portion of the vehicle. In this embodiment, the air guide 4 disposed above the radiator 2 allows the outside air temperature sensor 3 to be positioned in the space in front of the radiator 2, allowing the outside air temperature sensor 3 to be positioned rearward of the radiator 2 at the same height as the upper air inlet 1a. That is, the outside air temperature sensor 3 in this embodiment is positioned higher than the outside air temperature sensors 3 in a typical vehicle. Therefore, when the vehicle is stopped, the outside air temperature sensor 3 can be isolated from the influence of heat from the engine compartment 26 that passes through the gap between the undercover 34 and the radiator 2 and further through the gap between the radiator 2 and the outside air inlet 1. This minimizes the influence of heat from the engine compartment 26 on the detected outside air temperature even when the vehicle is stopped. Furthermore, the high position of the outside air temperature sensor 3 makes it less likely for the outside air temperature sensor 3 to become wet, even when the vehicle is driving through a flooded road, for example. On the other hand, even if the outside air temperature sensor 3 is exposed to flowing water in a flooded road, the outside air temperature sensor 3 can be firmly held by the rear wall portion 7 located on the rear side of the vehicle.

[0018] FIG. 10 shows the radiator 2, outside air temperature sensor 3, and air guide 4 of this embodiment as viewed from the front of the vehicle. As described above, the outside air inlet 1 includes an upper inlet 1a and a lower inlet 1b. In this embodiment, the outside air temperature sensor 3 is located rearward of the upper inlet 1a, allowing a grille shutter 11 to be installed at the lower inlet 1b. The grille shutter 11 opens and closes the outside air inlet 1, thereby opening and closing the space in front of the radiator 2. Closing the outside air inlet 1 (lower inlet 1b) with the grille shutter 11 improves the aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle. Of course, the grille shutter 11 can be left open to maintain the cooling capacity of the engine compartment 26 and the radiator 2. In this embodiment, the harness 25 connected to the outside air temperature sensor 3 can only be routed forward from near the center of the radiator 2 on the right side of the vehicle. However, by locating the outside air temperature sensor 3 at a higher position, the length of the harness 25 can be shortened.

[0019] Although the outside air temperature sensor mounting structure according to the embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the configuration described in the above embodiment and various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, while the above embodiment describes in detail an example in which the air guide 4 is mounted on the left end of the radiator 2, the air guide 4 may be mounted on the right end of the vehicle. Similarly, in the above embodiment, the air guide 4 and the outside air temperature sensor 3 are disposed above the space in front of the radiator 2, but the height at which the air guide 4 and the outside air temperature sensor 3 are disposed is not limited to this.

[0020] In this embodiment, the radiator 2 is disposed on the vehicle rear side of the outside air inlet 1 which introduces outside air from outside the front of the vehicle, and when the outside air temperature sensor 3 is disposed in the space on the vehicle front side of this radiator 2, the air guide 4 which guides the running wind to the radiator 2 is provided with a side partition wall 5 which extends towards the vehicle front along the end in the vehicle width direction and constitutes a partition on the vehicle side of the space on the vehicle front side of the radiator 2, and the outside air temperature sensor 3 is attached to a sensor support part 6 which protrudes inward in the vehicle width direction from the side partition wall 5 of this air guide 4 towards the space on the vehicle front side of the radiator 2. This allows the outside air temperature sensor 3 to be attached by the air guide 4 without using a separate bracket, so that the outside air temperature sensor 3 can be rationally disposed in the space on the vehicle front side of the radiator 2. The sensor support section 6 also has a rear wall section 7 that extends inward in the vehicle width direction from the side partition section 5 at a position rearward of the outside air temperature sensor 3, and the outside air temperature sensor 3 is positioned on the front side of the vehicle at the height of this rear wall section 7. This allows the outside air temperature sensor 3 to be firmly held in place by the rear wall section 7 located on the rear side of the vehicle, even in cases where the outside air temperature sensor 3 is exposed to flowing water in a flooded road. Furthermore, the presence of the rear wall section 7 between the outside air temperature sensor 3 and the radiator 2 makes it possible to block hot air from the radiator 2.

[0021] Furthermore, by providing upper and lower wall portions 9 and 10 at the upper and lower ends of the rear wall portion 7, which extend toward the front and rear of the vehicle, the rigidity of the rear wall portion 7 itself is improved, and as a result, the outside air temperature sensor 3 can be firmly supported. The rear wall portion 7 also has an upper wall portion 9 that extends toward the front of the vehicle above the outside air temperature sensor 3. The front end of the upper wall portion 9 is located further forward than the front end of the outside air temperature sensor 3 in a side view of the vehicle. Alternatively, the front-to-rear dimension of the upper wall portion 9 further forward than the rear wall portion 7 is set to be larger than the front-to-rear dimension of the wall portion further forward than the rear wall portion 7. This makes it possible to prevent rainwater from dripping directly onto the outside air temperature sensor 3, or to prevent snow falling from above from falling on the outside air temperature sensor 3. The air guide 4 also has a second rear wall 8 on the vehicle rear side of the rear wall 7, and the vehicle rear end portions of the upper wall 9 and the lower wall 10 are joined to the second rear wall 8. This forms a rectangular cross-sectional structure at the base of the sensor support part 6 in the protruding direction, improving the rigidity of the base of the sensor support part 6.

[0022] Furthermore, a gap 24 having a predetermined dimension in the vehicle longitudinal direction is provided between the rear wall 7 and the radiator 2. This allows a finger to be inserted into the gap 24 between the rear wall 7 and the radiator 2 to disengage the outside air temperature sensor 3 from the rear wall 7, thereby making it relatively easy to remove the outside air temperature sensor 3. The outside air inlet 1 has an upper inlet 1a on the upper side of the vehicle and a lower inlet 1b on the lower side of the vehicle. The outside air temperature sensor 3 is positioned at the height of the upper inlet 1a and to the rear of the upper inlet 1a. This configuration makes the outside air temperature sensor 3 less likely to become wet, even when the vehicle is traveling through a flooded road. This also reduces the impact of heat from the engine compartment 26 passing through the gap between the undercover 34 and the radiator 2 on the outside air temperature sensor 3. Furthermore, a grille shutter 11 is provided at the lower inlet 1b, which can open and close the space in front of the radiator 2 to the outside. This improves the aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle.

[0023] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...outside air inlet, 1a...upper inlet, 1b...lower inlet, 2...radiator, 3...outside air temperature sensor, 4...air guide, 5...side partition wall portion, 6...sensor support portion, 7...rear wall portion, 8...second rear wall portion, 9...upper wall portion, 10...lower wall portion, 11...grille shutter, 24...gap

Claims

1. An outside air temperature sensor mounting structure comprising: an outside air inlet for introducing outside air from outside the front of a vehicle; a radiator arranged on the vehicle rear side of the outside air inlet; an air guide provided with a lateral partition portion that extends toward the front of the vehicle along the vehicle width direction end of the radiator and forms a partition on the vehicle side of the space on the front side of the radiator; and an outside air temperature sensor arranged in the space on the front side of the radiator, wherein the outside air temperature sensor is mounted on a sensor support portion that protrudes inward in the vehicle width direction from the lateral partition portion of the air guide towards the space on the front side of the radiator.

2. The outside air temperature sensor mounting structure described in claim 1, characterized in that the sensor support portion has a rear wall portion extending from the side partition portion toward the inside in the vehicle width direction at a position rearward of the outside air temperature sensor, and the outside air temperature sensor is positioned on the front side of the vehicle at the height position of the rear wall portion.

3. The outside air temperature sensor mounting structure according to claim 2, wherein the rear wall portion has an upper wall portion extending toward the front of the vehicle above the outside air temperature sensor.

4. An outside air temperature sensor mounting structure as described in claim 3, characterized in that the front end of the upper wall portion is located further forward than the front end of the outside air temperature sensor when viewed from the side of the vehicle.

5. An outside air temperature sensor mounting structure according to claim 2, characterized in that the rear wall portion has upper and lower wall portions extending toward the front and rear of the vehicle at the upper and lower ends of the vehicle.

6. An outside air temperature sensor mounting structure as described in claim 5, characterized in that the vehicle longitudinal dimension of the upper wall portion forward of the rear wall portion is larger than the vehicle longitudinal dimension of the lower wall portion forward of the rear wall portion.

7. The outside air temperature sensor mounting structure described in claim 5, characterized in that the air guide has a second rear wall portion on the vehicle rear side of the rear wall portion, and the vehicle rear side ends of the upper wall portion and lower wall portion are connected to the second rear wall portion.

8. An outside air temperature sensor mounting structure as described in claim 2, characterized in that the outside air temperature sensor is mounted on the rear wall portion, and there is a gap of a predetermined dimension in the vehicle's fore-and-aft direction between the rear wall portion and the radiator.

9. An outside air temperature sensor mounting structure as described in claims 1 to 4 and 8, characterized in that the outside air inlet has an upper inlet on the upper side of the vehicle and a lower inlet on the lower side of the vehicle, and the outside air temperature sensor is positioned on the rear side of the vehicle at the height position of the upper inlet.

10. The outside air temperature sensor mounting structure according to claim 9, wherein the lower inlet has a grille shutter that can open and close the space in front of the radiator to the outside.

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