Vehicle structure

Abstract

[Problem] To suppress increases in ventilation resistance when air in a vehicle cabin is discharged. [Solution] The present invention includes: a rear panel 40; a drafter 80 that is provided in the rear panel and discharges air in a vehicle cabin from an exhaust port to outside of the vehicle; and a cover 90 that is provided on the rear panel so as to cover the drafter. The cover includes an opening 91 having an area larger than the opening area of the exhaust port.

Description

Vehicle structure

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle structure.

[0002] The air inside the vehicle cabin is exhausted for ventilation, and a device called a drafter is installed at the rear of the vehicle. Conventional technology related to ventilation inside the vehicle cabin describes a ventilator that is attached to a ventilation port (equivalent to a drafter) provided on the rear panel of the vehicle body inside the rear bumper, and that exhausts air inside the vehicle cabin through the ventilation port, and that is attached facing the ventilation port and has a valve that opens and closes due to the action of negative pressure generated outside the ventilator.

[0003] JP 2011-121442 A

[0004] The inventor has noted that the opening area of ​​the exhaust port of the ventilator in Patent Document 1 is smaller than the opening area of ​​the ventilation port, and in such cases, the air resistance when exhausting air increases, reducing the functionality of the drafter.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to suppress an increase in ventilation resistance when exhausting air from inside a vehicle compartment.

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is a vehicle structure having a rear panel, a drafter, and a cover. The drafter is provided on the rear panel and configured to exhaust air from the vehicle interior to the outside through an exhaust port. The cover is provided on the rear panel so as to cover the drafter. The cover has an opening with an area larger than the opening area of ​​the exhaust port.

[0007] According to the above vehicle structure, it is possible to prevent the airflow resistance from increasing when the air inside the vehicle compartment is discharged.

[0008] Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a main part of a vehicle structure according to an embodiment; Fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration in the vicinity of a rear part of the vehicle structure according to an embodiment; Fig. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing a cover that constitutes the vehicle structure; Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of Fig. 3 as viewed from the rear side; Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the inside of the cover when the cover is cut along the vehicle width direction; Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the inside of the cover when the cover is cut along the front-rear direction.

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted. In the drawings, the size and proportions of each component are exaggerated to facilitate understanding of the embodiments, and may differ from the actual size and proportions.

[0010] In each figure, arrows represented by X, Y, and Z are used to indicate the orientation of components constituting the vehicle structure according to the embodiment. X constitutes the front-rear direction of the vehicle and is referred to as the front-rear direction X. Y indicates the width direction of the vehicle and is referred to as the vehicle width direction Y. Z indicates the height direction of the vehicle and is referred to as the height direction Z.

[0011] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a vehicle structure according to an embodiment. Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the rear portion of the vehicle structure according to an embodiment. Fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a cover 90 that constitutes the vehicle structure. Fig. 4 is a schematic view of Fig. 3 as seen from the rear side. Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the inside of the cover 90, obtained by cutting the cover 90 along the vehicle width direction Y. Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the inside of the cover 90, obtained by cutting the cover 90 along the front-rear direction X.

[0012] The vehicle structure according to this embodiment can be applied to any automobile equipped with a drafter 80. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the vehicle rear structure according to this embodiment includes a bumper fascia 10, bumper reinforcements 20, crash boxes 30, and a rear panel 40 (also referred to as a back panel). The vehicle structure also includes a rear side member 50, a floor panel 60, a wheelhouse protector 70, the drafter 80, and a cover 90. These will be described below.

[0013] The bumper fascia 10 is configured as an exterior member of the vehicle and extends approximately in the vehicle width direction Y. An undercover Cv is attached to the lower part of the bumper fascia 10 as shown in FIG.

[0014] The bumper reinforcement 20 is a hollow member having a rectangular cross section, extends in the vehicle width direction Y, and is disposed adjacent to the bumper fascia 10 .

[0015] The crash boxes 30 are disposed adjacent to the bumper reinforcements 20 and are configured to absorb energy during an impact. The crash boxes 30 are disposed behind the rear panel 40.

[0016] The rear panel 40 is disposed adjacent to the crash box 30 and is configured in the form of a thin plate. The rear panel 40 is configured to mount the drafter 80. The rear panel 40 can be made of a steel plate or the like.

[0017] The rear side members 50 are disposed on the rear side of the vehicle, such as side sills, so as to extend in the front-rear direction X. A rear panel 40 can be disposed at the rear end of the rear side members 50.

[0018] The floor panel 60 is disposed on top of the rear side member 50. The floor panel 60 is attached to the upper surface of the rear side member 50.

[0019] The rear side members 50 are a pair of frame components extending in the front-to-rear direction, with their front portions attached to a pair of side sills and their rear portions attached to the rear panel 40 and the crash boxes 30 .

[0020] The crash boxes 30 absorb energy by compressively deforming and collapsing upon receiving a load input from behind during a rear-end collision.

[0021] As shown in Figure 2, the front side of the rear panel 40 (left side in the figure) is the interior space, the rear side of the rear panel 40 (right side in the figure) is the exterior space, the upper side of the floor panel 60 is the interior space, and the lower side of the floor panel 60 is the exterior space.

[0022] The wheel house protector 70 is configured as an exterior material that is placed around the front and rear wheels of the vehicle body.

[0023] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the drafter 80 is attached by penetrating the rear panel 40 and is configured to exhaust air from the vehicle interior to the outside when the pressure inside the vehicle interior becomes higher than the pressure outside the vehicle. In this embodiment, the drafters 80 are arranged in two locations, one on the left and one on the right, spaced apart in the vehicle width direction Y. For convenience of illustration, Figure 2 shows the outer surface of the drafter 80 in the vehicle width direction Y, and omits the cover 90. The front of the drafter 80 corresponds to the lower part of the vehicle interior, such as a luggage compartment.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 5 , the drafter 80 includes a housing 81 and vanes 82. The housing 81 includes an exhaust port 85 therein that connects the interior of the vehicle with the exterior of the vehicle. The exhaust port 85 opens toward the rear of the vehicle. The vanes 82 are attached to the interior of the exhaust port 85 of the housing 81 so as to be able to open and close depending on the pressure difference between the interior and exterior of the vehicle. Specifically, when there is no pressure difference between the interior and exterior of the vehicle, the exhaust port 85 is closed, and when the pressure inside the vehicle is greater than the pressure outside the vehicle, the exhaust port 85 is opened due to the pressure difference, thereby discharging air inside the vehicle to the exterior of the vehicle. Two vanes 82 are arranged in the vehicle width direction Y, but the number of vanes 82 does not have to be two as long as they can discharge air inside the vehicle.

[0025] The cover 90 is attached to the rear panel 40 and is provided on the rear panel 40 so as to cover the drafter 80. The cover 90 may be made of a material such as resin. The cover 90 has a bottom surface 93, a top surface 94, a rear side surface 95, a left side surface 96, a right side surface 97, an opening 91, and a fragile portion 92.

[0026] The drafter 80 and the cover 90 are provided above the crash box 30 and are provided in a position that overlaps (at least partially overlaps) the crash box 30 in the vehicle longitudinal direction.

[0027] The opening 91 is provided in the lower part of the rear side surface 95 and is configured to allow the passage of air discharged from the drafter 80. The area of ​​the opening 91 in the cover 90 is configured to be larger than the opening area of ​​the exhaust port 85 of the drafter 80. This configuration prevents the airflow resistance from increasing when the air inside the vehicle cabin is discharged, and prevents the ventilation performance of the drafter 80 from being impaired.

[0028] The cover 90 is provided to cover the drafter 80. This prevents or suppresses water or the like kicked up by the tires from entering the interior through the gap between the undercover Cv and the wheelhouse protector 70, bouncing off the bumper fascia 10, and splashing onto the drafter 80 (see the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2 ).

[0029] 6, the opening 91 is configured to be located below the position of the exhaust port 85 of the drafter 80. With this configuration, even if water or the like enters the inside of the cover 90 through the opening 91, it is possible to prevent or suppress the water or the like from splashing onto the opening of the drafter 80.

[0030] The cover 90 is configured such that the lower surface 93 is inclined toward the opening 91. In other words, the lower surface 93 of the cover 90 is inclined downward toward the rear in the vehicle front-to-rear direction. With this configuration, even if water or the like enters the inside of the cover 90 through the opening 91, the inclination of the lower surface 93 allows it to be discharged to the outside and prevents it from accumulating inside.

[0031] 5, the inner surfaces of the walls of the cover 90, i.e., the lower surface 93, upper surface 94, rear side surface 95, left side surface 96, and right side surface 97, are configured to be positioned at a predetermined distance from the outer periphery of the drafter 80. This configuration prevents or suppresses a decrease in the ventilation function of the drafter 80 due to an increase in ventilation resistance when exhausting air from the vehicle interior.

[0032] Furthermore, the drafter 80 protrudes (overhangs) from the rear panel 40 toward the rear of the vehicle, and is positioned inside the cover 90 so that its underside 93 extends laterally (horizontally) within the cover 90. With this configuration, even if water or other liquids enter the interior of the cover 90 through the opening 91, they can be repelled by the underside 83 of the drafter 80, thereby preventing or suppressing water or other liquids from splashing on the opening of the drafter 80. Note that the extending direction of the underside 93 may be slightly inclined up or down relative to the horizontal, as long as it can repel water or other liquids that may enter the interior.

[0033] Furthermore, the material of the cover 90 can be selected so that its strength is lower than that of the rear panel 40. By configuring it in this way, when a collision load is input to the bumper during a rear collision and then input to the cover 90, it is possible to make it less likely that the rear panel 40 and the drafter 80 will be damaged.

[0034] Furthermore, the material of the cover 90 can be selected so that its strength is lower than that of the crash boxes 30. By configuring it in this way, it is possible to prevent the cover 90 from remaining crushed during a rear-end collision, reducing the amount of crushing of the crash boxes 30 and reducing the amount of energy absorption.

[0035] 6, the fragile portions 92 are configured to be provided near the installation portion with the rear panel 40. By configuring in this manner, stress is concentrated at the fragile portions 92 in the event of a collision with a collision barrier or the like, causing the cover 90 to break or fall off, thereby preventing or suppressing damage to the rear panel 40 by the cover 90. In this embodiment, the fragile portions 92 are configured to have groove-like recesses on the upper and lower surfaces of the cover 90.

[0036] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Although the above description has been given of the fragile portions being provided on the upper or lower surface of the cover 90, they may also be configured to be provided on the lateral side surfaces of the cover 90. Furthermore, although the description has been given of the fragile portions having a concave shape, they may also be configured to have a convex shape.

[0037] The following embodiments are also included within the scope of the present invention: a vehicle structure according to claim 1 having the features of claim 2; a vehicle structure according to claim 1 or claim 2 having the features of claim 3; a vehicle structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3 having the features of claim 4; a vehicle structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4 having the features of claim 5; a vehicle structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5 having the features of claim 6; and a vehicle structure according to any one of claims 1 to 6 having the features of claim 7.

[0038] 40 rear panel, 80 drafter, 83 underside, 90 cover, 91 opening, 92 weak part, X longitudinal direction, Y vehicle width direction, Z height direction.

Claims

1. A vehicle structure comprising: a rear panel; a drafter provided on the rear panel for discharging air from the vehicle interior through an exhaust port to the outside of the vehicle; and a cover provided on the rear panel to cover the drafter, wherein the cover has an opening with an area larger than the opening area of ​​the exhaust port.

2. The vehicle structure according to claim 1, wherein the opening is provided below the position of the exhaust port.

3. A vehicle structure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cover has a lower surface that is inclined toward the opening.

4. A vehicle structure according to claim 1, wherein the wall surface of the cover is spaced apart from the outer periphery of the drafter.

5. A vehicle structure according to claim 1, wherein the drafter is positioned so that its lower surface extends laterally inside the cover.

6. The vehicle structure according to claim 1, wherein the strength of the cover is lower than the strength of the rear panel.

7. A vehicle structure according to claim 1, further comprising crash boxes provided on the rear panel for absorbing energy in the event of a rear collision, wherein the strength of the cover is lower than that of the crash boxes.

8. A vehicle structure according to claim 1, wherein the cover has a weakened portion in the vicinity of the installation portion with the rear panel.

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