One-Piece Expanded Polymer Air Guide for Vehicle Front End
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current air guides for vehicles are complex, heavy, and have high production and assembly costs, with high air leakage rates, which hinder engine cooling efficiency and vehicle architecture flexibility.
Innovation Solution
A one-piece air guide made of expanded polymer materials, such as expanded polypropylene, with integrated sealing means and a reception area for the crosspiece, allowing for reduced weight, flexibility, and efficient air flow management, while minimizing the number of parts and assembly complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple separate air guide modules with sealing lips are assembled, then air leakage rate is reduced, but device complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate air guide modules into a single integrated air guide component made of expanded polymer material. This one-piece construction eliminates the need for assembling multiple modules with sealing lips, thereby reducing the number of parts and assembly complexity while maintaining effective air channeling function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses expanded polymer material (such as expanded polypropylene) with cellular structure to create a lightweight yet functional air guide. This composite material provides both structural integrity and air guiding capability in a single component, reducing weight compared to traditional multi-part assemblies while maintaining reliability.
2Weight of moving object
If rigid structural parts are used to reduce mass, then weight is reduced, but vehicle architecture flexibility is constrained
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameters by using expanded polymer material with cellular structure, which provides a favorable strength-to-weight ratio. This material offers both lightness for weight reduction and inherent flexibility to adapt to various vehicle architectures, including low overhang designs, unlike rigid structural parts.
Solution Approach 2:
The expanded polymer material inherently provides flexible characteristics that allow the air guide to adapt to different vehicle architectures. The material's cellular structure enables it to be integrated into various spatial configurations without constraining vehicle design flexibility, particularly for low overhang architectures.
3Weight of moving object
If expanded polymer material is used, then weight is reduced and flexibility is improved, but structural rigidity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs expanded polymer material (expanded polypropylene or similar) with a cellular structure that provides optimal balance between weight reduction and structural strength. The cellular architecture of the composite material maintains sufficient rigidity for structural support while achieving significant weight reduction compared to solid materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The expanded polymer material provides locally optimized properties where the cellular structure delivers both lightness and adequate structural strength at the required locations. The material's inherent flexibility and strength characteristics are distributed throughout the air guide structure to meet both weight reduction and structural integrity requirements.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution reduces air leakage, improves engine cooling efficiency, decreases vehicle weight and consumption, and simplifies assembly, while maintaining vehicle architecture flexibility and reducing overhang.
Implementation Method 1
the expanded polypropylene gives the air guide a certain flexibility and a favorable compressibility during impacts at low speed (less than 15 km/h)
Implementation Method 2
the expanded polypropylene gives the air guide a certain flexibility and a favorable compressibility during impacts at low speed
Implementation Method 3
This material also reduces noise and play with other parts of the vehicle
Data Source
Figure 1~3b
Figure 4~5b
Figure 6~9
AI summary
The invention relates to an air guide (10, 100) intended to be integrated into the front of a vehicle between a technical front panel (1) connected to a crossmember (2) by longitudinally compressible elements (3) and a front fascia (4) of said vehicle provided with at least one ventilation opening (4a), the air guide (10, 100) having a front face (10a, 100a) and a rear face (10b, 100b), characterized in that the air guide (10, 100) is made of a polymer material selected from expanded polymer materials and in that it comprises: - at least one guide channel (11, 12, 101-104) between its front and rear faces, intended to conduct air from a ventilation opening (4a) of the front fascia (4) to the technical front panel (1), - a receiving zone (16, 116) of the traverse (2), - a fixing zone (17, 117) to the technical front face (1) of the vehicle located on its rear face (10b, 100b).