CN218750291U - Transmission device for air inlet grille, related air inlet grille assembly and vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a transmission for an intake grill, an associated intake grill assembly, and a vehicle. The transmission comprises a body extending in an axial direction adapted to be arranged between the blades of the air intake grille and the power unit; a power input section disposed at an end of the body adjacent the power unit and adapted to couple with an output shaft of the power unit; and a power take-off section disposed at an end of the body adjacent the blade and adapted to couple with the blade, wherein the axial direction of the body is coaxial with an axis of an output shaft of the power unit and at a non-zero angle with a pivot axis of the blade. Through adopting this transmission, can make the blade rotate with the pivot axis with the output shaft disalignment of power unit, can also make whole air-inlet grille subassembly more pleasing to the eye when having avoided blade and other structure to interfere.

Description

Transmission device for air inlet grille, related air inlet grille assembly and vehicle

Technical Field

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of vehicles, and more particularly to transmission of intake grills and related intake grill assemblies.

Background

As a window for delivering air to the engine, an intake grille is typically placed directly in front of the front bumper grille and the engine compartment behind the vehicle, primarily to dissipate heat and to admit air to the engine. In the automobile industry, most automobile types adopt a built-in active air inlet grille, and the front periphery of the active air inlet grille is contacted with a front bumper grille to form a sealed air inlet space.

The built-in active air intake grille is generally composed of a plurality of blades, and similar to a common shutter, the opening and closing degree of the plurality of blades can be adjusted according to actual conditions so as to effectively control air intake and heat dissipation. The traditional active air inlet grille has the defects of complex structure, large space occupancy rate and usually sheltered by a front bumper grille, thereby influencing the air inlet and heat dissipation effects.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a transmission for an intake grill is provided. The transmission comprises a body extending in an axial direction adapted to be arranged between the blades of the air intake grille and the power unit; a power input section disposed at an end of the body adjacent the power unit and adapted to be coupled with an output shaft of the power unit; and a power take-off section disposed at an end of the body adjacent the blade and adapted to couple with the blade, wherein the axial direction of the body is coaxial with an axis of an output shaft of the power unit and at a non-zero angle with a pivot axis of the blade.

In some embodiments, the power input section includes a splined shaft adapted to be inserted into an output shaft of the power unit and mate with a first splined groove in the output shaft of the power unit.

In some embodiments, the power input section further comprises: a positioning projection projecting axially outwardly from a free end of the power input section and adapted to be inserted into a positioning groove of an output shaft of the power unit.

In some embodiments, the positioning tab comprises: a plurality of positioning ribs extending radially outward from an axial center of the body and arranged circumferentially uniformly at the free end of the power input end.

In some embodiments, the power output section comprises: the spline part comprises a plurality of splines which are uniformly distributed along the circumferential direction, the outer end face of each spline in the radial direction is an arc surface, and the cross section of each arc surface in the axial direction is in an arc shape which is outwards convex in the radial direction.

In some embodiments, the transmission further comprises a blind bore formed coaxially at the free end of the power take-off section.

In some embodiments, the transmission is integrally formed.

According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, an intake grill assembly is provided. The intake grill assembly includes a power unit including an output shaft extending along an axis; an air intake grille comprising at least one blade rotatably disposed to a front bumper assembly of the vehicle; and at least one transmission according to the preceding first aspect, a power input section of the transmission being coaxially coupled to the output shaft of the power unit and a power output section being coupled to the at least one blade and at a non-zero angle to a pivot axis of the blade.

In some embodiments, the at least one blade includes a first blade and a second blade, which are symmetrically arranged with a center line of the vehicle in a width direction as a symmetry axis, and power coupling portions of the first blade and the second blade are arranged adjacent to each other to couple with the power unit between the first blade and the second blade.

In some embodiments, at least one of the gears comprises a first gear coupled to the first blade; and a second transmission coupled to the second blade, wherein the first transmission and the second transmission are different lengths.

In some embodiments, the pair of coupling portions further includes a follower coupling portion rotatably disposed in a sleeve inside the front bumper assembly.

According to a third aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, a vehicle is provided. The vehicle includes a front bumper assembly including an air intake; and an intake grill assembly according to the second aspect of the foregoing.

Drawings

The above and other features, advantages and aspects of various embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent by referring to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like or similar reference characters designate like or similar elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic perspective view of an intake grill assembly according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic view of a front bumper assembly according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic view of a blade in two positions of movement in an intake grill assembly fitted to a front bumper assembly according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic side view of a blade from the left side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic side view of a blade from the right according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-sectional schematic view of a structure between two vanes in an air intake grille assembly according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 shows a schematic front view of a transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 8 and 9 show a mid-left side view and a right side view, respectively, of a transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 10 shows a side view schematic of a power take-off section of a transmission and a power coupling of a blade according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While certain embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it is to be understood that the present disclosure may be embodied in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein, but rather are provided for a more thorough and complete understanding of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the drawings and embodiments of the disclosure are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.

In describing embodiments of the present disclosure, the terms "include" and its derivatives should be interpreted as being inclusive, i.e., "including but not limited to. The term "based on" should be understood as "based at least in part on". The term "one embodiment" or "the embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment". The terms "first," "second," and the like may refer to different or the same object. Other explicit and implicit definitions are also possible below.

As mentioned previously, conventional active air intakes are generally located between the front bumper grille, which is frontally shielded by the front bumper grille, and the condensation module of the engine compartment, through which air must pass to enter the active grille, resulting in inefficient air transfer. In addition, the built-in active air inlet grille is basically in a multi-blade form, when the blades are opened, air must pass through the front bumper grille and then can enter the condensation module through the multiple active air inlet grille blades, and therefore the heat dissipation effect is poor.

Another serious problem with the multiple blade configuration is that more blades cause redundancy in the blade turning mechanism. Specifically, the rotating mechanism generally includes: a link connecting each blade link, a mounting bracket for each blade, and a plurality of rotating shafts, etc., which results in an increase in assembly and maintenance costs and an increase in weight. In the rotating mechanism, one blade is connected with the driving shaft, and the other blades rotate through the linkage connecting rod, so that the failure rate of the mechanism is increased. In addition, when the plurality of blades are opened, the space occupancy rate is high, the windward area is reduced, air intake is not facilitated, and the heat dissipation effect is poor. The multi-blade structure also has the blades normally in a visible state in a closed state, which affects the aesthetic appearance.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an intake grill assembly, associated vanes, and vehicle to address, or at least partially address, the above-mentioned problems and other potential problems with conventional intake grill assemblies. FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an intake grill assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The air inlet grille component, also called an air inlet grille assembly, according to the embodiment of the disclosure comprises an air inlet grille and a power unit. The air intake grill includes at least one vane 100.

The number of vanes 100 in the intake grill according to the embodiment of the present disclosure corresponds to the number of air intakes 2021 in the front bumper assembly 202 of the vehicle. Fig. 2 shows a schematic view of a front bumper assembly 202 to which a blade 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can be applied, and fig. 3 shows a simplified schematic view of an intake grill assembly applied to the front bumper assembly 202. From the exemplary embodiment shown in fig. 2, the two air intakes 2021 are arranged symmetrically with a center line C in the width direction of the vehicle as a symmetry axis. Correspondingly, as shown in fig. 3, the air intake grille according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may include only two blades 100, which are symmetrically disposed inside the air inlet 2021 corresponding to the front bumper assembly 202 with the center line C in the width direction of the vehicle as the axis of symmetry. In this way, the use of the bumper grille at the bumper air inlet 2021 is no longer required, which can facilitate the reduction of wind resistance, improve air intake efficiency, and also reduce the number of components and cost. The blade 100 may be rotatably disposed on the front bumper assembly 202 about an axis A1 shown in fig. 1. Fig. 3 (a) shows a schematic view of the blade 100 in the shielding position, and (B) shows a schematic view of the blade 100 rotated about the pivot axis A1 from the shielding position to the open position.

As can be seen from fig. 3, first, for a single air inlet 2021 in the front bumper assembly 202, only a single blade 100 is required for complete shielding, simplifying the structure of the air intake grille and improving the shielding effect. In the open position, the blade 100 can be completely offset from the air inlet 2021, so that the airflow can flow into the engine compartment without being blocked, and the cooling efficiency of various components in the engine compartment is ensured. Of course, in some embodiments, the vanes 100 may also be partially offset from the air intake 2021 or a portion of the vanes 100 in the projected area of the air intake 2021 in the direction of travel of the vehicle in the open position to enable blocking of foreign objects, as will be further explained below. In addition, by employing this structure, a front bumper grille can be eliminated from the front bumper assembly 202, further simplifying the structure while ensuring air intake efficiency.

Secondly, it can also be seen from fig. 3 that the pivot axes A1 of the two blades 100 corresponding to the front bumper assembly 202 are not coaxial, and this is achieved by the two blades 100 sharing one power unit 203, the specific implementation of which will be further explained below. On the one hand, this arrangement enables a more aesthetic rotation of the blade 100. On the other hand, it is also more important that the driving structure is simpler, and thus the cost can be reduced.

Of course, it should be understood that the location, number, and form of the front bumper assembly 202 and its air intake 2021 shown in fig. 2 and 3 are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. The air intake grill according to the embodiments of the present disclosure is also applicable to any other suitable front bumper assembly 202 and its air intake 2021. For example, in alternative embodiments, the blade 100 may be disposed on the front bumper assembly 202 in a longitudinal arrangement. The concepts of the present disclosure will be described herein primarily with respect to the shape and configuration of the front bumper assembly 202 and its air intake 2021 as shown in fig. 2. It should be understood that other numbers or shapes of the air inlets 2021 are also similar and will not be described in detail below.

The blade 100 may be held at any intermediate position between the open position and the shielding position, in addition to being rotatable between and held at the shielding position and the open position. This may be achieved, for example, by controlling the rotational angle of the power unit 203. In some embodiments, power unit 203 may be a stepper motor or a servo motor. Power unit 203 may be rotated to any desired angle to hold blade 100 in either the shielded or open position or any suitable intermediate position between the two positions. In this manner, the control system of the vehicle may control the position of the blade 100 as needed to cause the proper airflow into the engine compartment.

The power unit 203 may be disposed between the first blade and the second blade. As will be described in detail below, one power unit 203 may be coupled between the first and second blades via two transmissions 300 and drive the first and second blades to rotate between the shielding position and the open position and be capable of being held in any position between the two positions. As mentioned above, by using one power unit 203 to drive two vanes 100, the structure of the air inlet grille can be more compact and reasonable, and the transmission is more flexible and reliable, thereby improving the reliability of the whole air inlet grille assembly.

In some embodiments, blade 100 may include a power coupling 1031 that couples with axis A2 of the output shaft of power unit 203. In this way, in the case of an intake grill having two blades 100, the power unit 203 is arranged between the power coupling portions 1031 of the two blades 100 via the transmission 300. In some embodiments, the coupling may also include a follower coupling 1032. The follower coupling 1032 is rotatably coupled to the inside of the front bumper assembly 202. As mentioned in the foregoing, the two couplings are coaxial, i.e. the axes of the follower coupling 1032 and the power coupling 1031 are collinear with the pivot axis A1. In this way, the power unit 203 can drive the blade 100 to rotate via the power coupling portion 1031.

Fig. 6 shows an enlarged cross-sectional schematic view of a portion where two blades 100 are coupled with a power unit 203. As shown in fig. 6, in some embodiments, the output shaft of the power unit 203 is a bore-like structure, and its axis A2 may be at a non-zero angle with the pivot axis A1. The specific structure of the power unit 203 will be further described below. In this way, on the one hand, this arrangement makes it possible to avoid the blades 100 interfering with the components of the front bumper assembly 202 during rotation. On the other hand, this arrangement enables the blade 100 to rotate more smoothly and aesthetically. This can be achieved by providing a transmission 300 between the axis A2 of the output shaft of the power unit 203 and the power coupling 1031.

The right-hand transmission in fig. 6, i.e. the transmission coupled to the power coupling 1031 of the first blade, is hereinafter referred to as the first transmission 3011). As can be seen in fig. 6, the second transmission 3012 on the left (i.e., coupled to the power coupling 1031 of the second blade) may have a similar shape as the first transmission 3011, but a different size to accommodate the distance between the output shaft of the power unit 203 and the power coupling of the first and second blades. The first transmission 3011 will be primarily used hereinafter to describe an exemplary embodiment of the transmission 300. It should be understood that, for the second transmission 3012, the structures are similar except that the axial length is slightly different, and will not be described separately below.

Fig. 7 to 9 show a front view, a left side view and a right side view of the transmission on the right side in fig. 6. In some embodiments, the transmission 300 may extend in an axial direction, i.e., a transmission shaft extending along an axis. The transmission 300 includes a power input section 302 coupled to the power unit 203 and a power output section 303 coupled to the power coupling portion 1031 in the axial direction, as shown in fig. 7. The transmission 300 may be arranged coaxially with the output shaft of the power unit 203. In some embodiments, the power input section 302 may employ a splined shaft. Correspondingly, the output shaft of the power unit 203 may adopt a first spline groove structure so that the power input section 302 adopting the spline shaft structure is inserted therein and rotates therewith. For example, in some embodiments, the bore output shaft (or output bore) of the power unit 203 may have an internal bore configuration with a first splined recess formed on an inner wall of the bore. The spline shaft of the power input section 302 can be inserted into the output hole and mate with the first spline grooves to rotate synchronously with the output shaft of the power unit 203. In some embodiments, to facilitate positioning, a positioning protrusion 3021 may protrude axially outward at the free end of the power input section 302. The positioning projection 3021 may include a plurality of positioning ribs 3022 extending radially outward from the axial center of the body 301 of the transmission 300, as shown in fig. 7 and 8. Correspondingly, a positioning groove into which the positioning rib 3022 can enter is formed at the bottom of the output hole of the power unit 203. Positioning of the transmission 300 in the internal recess of the power unit 203 can be facilitated by inserting the power input section 302 into the internal recess and the positioning ribs 3022 being received in the positioning slots.

In some embodiments, the power take-off section 303 has an arcuate spline portion. As shown in fig. 7 and 8, the arcuate spline portion includes a plurality of splines evenly distributed in the circumferential direction, and an outer end face of each spline in the radial direction is an arcuate structure. The arc-shaped structure extends substantially in the axial direction of the power output section 303, and bulges outward at the middle in the axial direction. In the power coupling portion 1031, internal teeth, i.e., second spline grooves corresponding to the arc-shaped spline portions of the power output section 303 are provided, as shown in fig. 6 and 10. Each of the second spline grooves is provided with an opening having a width larger than that of the other portion at least in the axial direction, thereby avoiding interference of the arcuate spline portions during rotation.

The power output section 303 can be inserted into the power coupling portion 1031 at a predetermined angle. The arc surface of the arc spline part can ensure that the axis of the transmission device 300 and the axis of the power coupling part 1031 can normally transmit under the condition of non-zero angle. By adopting the transmission device 300 with the arrangement, under the condition that the axis A2 of the output shaft of the power unit 203 and the pivot axis A1 of the blade 100 form a non-zero angle, the power unit 203 drives the blade 100 to rotate, so that the opening and closing performance can be ensured, and meanwhile, the aesthetic degree of the air inlet grille can be ensured.

In some embodiments, the transmission 300 may be integrally molded from a suitable plastic material. In some embodiments, to further reduce weight, the transmission 300 may include a blind bore 3031 formed coaxially from an end of the power output section 303, as shown in fig. 9. The depth of the blind hole 3031 may be in the range of 50% to 80% of the length of the entire transmission 300, in such a manner that the strength can be secured without reducing the strength of the transmission 300. In some embodiments, the diameter of the blind bore 3031 may taper from the open portion to the bottom portion to facilitate molding of the transmission 300.

For the mating of the follower coupling 1032 with the front bumper assembly 202, in some embodiments, a sleeve may be provided at a suitable location on the inside of the front bumper assembly 202. The follower coupling 1032 is coaxially disposed in the sleeve and is rotatable relative to the sleeve. To facilitate coupling of the follower coupling portion 1032 and the sleeve, a bearing may be disposed between the follower coupling portion 1032 and the sleeve. In some alternative embodiments, at least one of the follower coupling 1032 and the sleeve may be made of a self-lubricating material to facilitate rotation therebetween.

Having described embodiments of the present disclosure, the foregoing description is intended to be exemplary, not exhaustive, and not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terms used herein were chosen in order to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application, or technical improvements to the techniques in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.

Claims (12)

1. A transmission for an intake grill, comprising:

a body (301) extending in an axial direction, adapted to be arranged between a blade (100) of the intake grille and a power unit (203);

a power input section (302) arranged at an end of the body (301) adjacent to the power unit (203) and adapted to be coupled with an output shaft of the power unit (203); and

a power take-off section (303) arranged at an end of the body (301) adjacent to the blade (100) and adapted to be coupled with the blade (100), wherein the axial direction of the body (301) is coaxial with an axis (A2) of an output shaft of the power unit (203) and at a non-zero angle with a pivot axis (A1) of the blade (100).

2. The transmission of claim 1, wherein the power input section (302) comprises:

a spline shaft adapted to be inserted into the output shaft of the power unit (203) and to mate with a first spline groove in the output shaft of the power unit (203).

3. The transmission of claim 2, wherein the power input section (302) further comprises:

a positioning projection (3021) projecting axially outward from a free end of the power input section (302) and adapted to be inserted into a positioning groove of the output shaft of the power unit (203).

4. Transmission according to claim 3, characterized in that said positioning projection (3021) comprises:

a plurality of positioning ribs (3022) extending radially outward from an axial center of the body (301) and arranged evenly in a circumferential direction at the free end of the power input section (302).

5. A transmission arrangement as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the power take-off section (303) comprises:

the arc spline portion comprises a plurality of splines which are evenly distributed along the circumferential direction, the outer end face of each spline in the radial direction is an arc surface, and the cross section of each arc surface in the axial direction is in an arc shape which is convex outwards in the radial direction.

6. The transmission of claim 5, further comprising:

a blind bore (3031) formed coaxially at the free end of the power output section (303).

7. Transmission according to any of claims 1-4 and 6, characterized in that the transmission is integrally formed.

8. An air intake grille assembly, comprising:

a power unit (203) comprising an output shaft extending along an axis (A2);

an intake grille comprising at least one blade (100), the at least one blade (100) being rotatably arranged to a front bumper assembly (202) of a vehicle; and

at least one transmission (300) according to any of claims 1-7, a power input section (302) of the transmission (300) being coaxially coupled to the output shaft of the power unit (203), and a power output section (303) being coupled to the at least one blade (100) and being at a non-zero angle to a pivot axis (A1) of the blade (100).

9. The air intake grille assembly of claim 8 wherein the at least one vane (100) comprises:

first and second blades symmetrically arranged with a center line of a width direction of the vehicle as a symmetry axis, and power coupling portions (1031) of the first and second blades are arranged adjacent to each other to be coupled with the power unit (203) between the first and second blades.

10. The intake grille assembly of claim 9, wherein at least one of the transmissions (300) includes:

a first transmission (3011) coupled to the first blade; and

a second transmission (3012) coupled to the second blade, wherein the first transmission and the second transmission are different lengths.

11. The air intake grille assembly of claim 9 or 10 wherein the pair of coupling portions further comprises:

a follower coupling portion (1032) rotatably provided in the sleeve inside the front bumper assembly (202).

12. A vehicle, characterized by comprising:

a front bumper assembly (202) including an air intake (2021); and

the inlet grille assembly of any one of claims 8-11.

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