Vehicle-Body Rear Structure With Rear-Pillar Duct Airflow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle designs struggle to effectively reduce air resistance while maintaining a desirable exterior design, particularly for electric vehicles, as conventional methods for directing airflow to minimize drag are limited by exterior aesthetics.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle-body rear structure incorporating a duct-inlet and duct-outlet system with a rearward-protruding side spoiler, where the duct-inlet takes in airflow along the vehicle's side face and directs it inward via a larger rear narrowing angle, combined with a duct-outlet that discharges air to create an ejector effect, guiding airflow to a central point downstream.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a large-sized roof side spoiler is provided at both sides of the vehicle-body rear face portion to improve aerodynamic performance, then air resistance is reduced, but exterior design is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
An air supply route body is introduced as an intermediary component between the side face portion and the rear face portion. This body includes a duct that guides airflow from the side face through the rear pillar to the rear face, acting as a mediator to control airflow without requiring large external spoilers, thus maintaining exterior design while improving aerodynamics
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the airflow parameters by creating a controlled air supply route through the rear pillar. By adjusting the duct configuration and air supply mechanism, the airflow direction and velocity are modified to achieve better aerodynamic performance without increasing the physical size of external components
2Object-affected harmful factors
If an air duct is formed between the air-supply route body and rear pillar outer to deflect airflow, then airflow control is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rear pillar outer serves multiple functions: it acts as both a structural support component and as one wall of the air duct. The air supply route body also functions as both an aerodynamic control device and as a housing structure. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated duct components, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity
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
This structure reduces air resistance by deflecting airflow inward, maintaining a sleek exterior design and enhancing aerodynamic performance without increasing the size of the side spoiler, while ensuring good rear-view visibility.
Implementation Method 1
a rear end portion of the vehicle-body side face portion is configured to be deflected toward a vehicle-body central side in a plan view when the traveling air gets separated from the rear end portion of the vehicle-body side face portion
Implementation Method 2
an outer surface of the side spoiler is configured to be smoothly continuous from a rear end of an outer surface of the vehicle-body side face portion and have a rear narrowing angle which is larger than that (rear-end angle) of the outer surface of the vehicle-body side face portion
Data Source
AI summary
There are provided a lid body, a rear pillar, and a duct having a duct-inlet portion and a duct-outlet portion. The duct-inlet portion takes in traveling air flowing down along an outer surface of a vehicle-body side face portion. The duct-outlet portion discharges the traveling air passing through an inside of the rear pillar from a vehicle-body rear face portion. A side spoiler portion protruding rearward from an outward-side point of the duct-outlet portion over a range of a vertical width of the duct-outlet portion is provided, and an outer surface of the side spoiler portion is configured to be smoothly continuous from a rear end of an outer surface of the vehicle-body side face portion and have a rear narrowing angle which is larger than that of the outer surface of the vehicle-body side face portion in a horizontal section.