Movable Flap Aerodynamic Screen for Vehicle Airflow Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lower aerodynamic screens for vehicle front bumpers require multiple designs and molds to accommodate different vehicle configurations, leading to increased manufacturing costs and diversity due to the need to manage air flow to disc brakes through lateral air guides, which are either open or closed depending on the vehicle's design.
Innovation Solution
A lower aerodynamic screen with side air guides that feature a movable flap, held in place by stapling or clipping means, allowing selective positioning to either block or allow air passage towards the disc brakes, adaptable to any vehicle type, reducing manufacturing complexity and costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple designs of aerodynamic screens are used to accommodate different vehicle configurations, then adaptability to various vehicle types is improved, but manufacturing complexity and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The air guide incorporates a movable flap that can be positioned in different configurations (open or closed) to adapt to different vehicle types. This dynamic element allows a single screen design to serve multiple vehicle configurations without requiring multiple mold designs, thereby reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The single aerodynamic screen design with the configurable flap serves multiple functions: it can adapt to vehicles with flexible lower blades (flap closed) and vehicles without such blades (flap open). This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate screen designs for different vehicle types, reducing both manufacturing complexity and diversity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple mold designs are used for different vehicle configurations, then adaptability is improved, but manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
By designing a universal aerodynamic screen with a configurable flap, the invention eliminates the need for multiple mold designs. The same mold produces screens for all vehicle configurations, and the flap's different positions accommodate various vehicle types. This significantly reduces manufacturing costs by consolidating mold requirements while maintaining full adaptability.
3Reliability
If air guides are closed for vehicles with flexible lower strips, then aerodynamic performance is improved, but device complexity increases due to management of multiple screen models
Solution Approach 1:
The movable flap provides a dynamic solution that replaces the need for managing multiple screen models. The flap can be closed for vehicles with flexible lower strips to maintain aerodynamic performance, and opened for vehicles without such strips. This single dynamic mechanism eliminates the complexity of managing multiple screen models while preserving aerodynamic performance where needed.
Data Source
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Figure 3~4
AI summary
A lower aerodynamic screen of a front shield of a motor vehicle includes lateral air guides shaped to channel air passing under the aerodynamic screen towards front disc brakes of the vehicle, wherein each air guide is defined by two substantially vertical lateral walls and by an upper wall linked to upper edges of the lateral walls, the air guide being provided, downstream relative to a direction of flow of the air, with a window defined by rear edges of the lateral walls and the upper wall, from which the air emerges towards the disc brakes, the air guide further including a flap that is movable between a position in which it blocks the window and a position in which it is retracted from the window.