FR3083748A1 - AIR GUIDE SUPPORT FOR A HEAT EXCHANGER - Google Patents

Abstract

Air guide intended to be integrated at the front of a vehicle between a front face of said vehicle and a set of heat exchangers (R, C) of said vehicle comprising at least one high temperature heat exchanger (R) for cooling the liquid for cooling the engine, said air guide (G) comprising a fixing frame (5) defining a mean plane and a plurality of air guide walls (1, 3, 4) integral with said fixing frame, which is characterized in that said air guide is capable of receiving a low temperature heat exchanger (R1) in its upper front part, said fixing frame (5) and / or a side air guide wall (3, 4) comprising retaining supports (53, 54) receiving the lower part of the low temperature heat exchanger, and said upper air guide wall (1) comprising retaining means (14) capable of retaining the upper part of the exchanger low temperature thermal, and said wall being m obile with respect to said frame towards the outside of the air guide duct.

Description

The present invention relates to an air guide intended to be integrated into the front of a vehicle, in particular fixed to a technical front face of the vehicle.

The function of such an air guide is to channel the air entering through at least one opening or ventilation grille in the front facade or front bumper skin of a vehicle to lead it to a set of coolers grouped in something called a "cooling case". By this term, we mean all the organs necessary for cooling the engine, sometimes stacked in layers or partly superimposed. The cooling case includes heat exchangers conventionally consisting of a body for cooling the coolant of the vehicle engine, called a high temperature heat exchanger or high temperature radiator, and a condenser for the air conditioning system, and possibly the air-air exchanger (Air Supercharging Cooler - RAS). The various organs, and mainly the heat exchanger forming the radiator of the vehicle engine block, either the high temperature radiator, or the radiator and condenser group, are supported by a structure located in the front part of the vehicle, in particular in front of the block engine, said structure being called in the trade "technical front face" (or by its acronym "FAT"). An air guide is also attached to the front of said heat exchangers.

Current air guides consist of at least one air guide wall, and in general of several air guide walls mounted on a fixing frame and arranged to form a duct for guiding the air entering from the front face of the vehicle towards the structural element of the vehicle receiving said guide, said conduit framing the heat exchangers of the cooling case.

Currently, to improve the environmental performance of motor vehicles, it turns out that a solution is to add a low temperature heat exchanger, also called a low temperature radiator, used in the loop of the cooling system of the turbocharger which emits hot air. The problem is then to add this additional heat exchanger, the classic cooling case being already installed on the FAT.

The invention aims to propose a new air guide for integrating a low temperature heat exchanger, namely the low temperature radiator. It also aims to propose a new cooling assembly arranged in the front part of a vehicle.

To this end, the invention provides an air guide, intended to be integrated at the front of a vehicle between a front face of said vehicle and a set of heat exchangers of said vehicle comprising at least one high temperature cooler heat exchanger engine coolant, said guide comprising a fixing frame defining a mean plane and a plurality of air guide walls integral with said fixing frame, said walls being arranged in a component substantially normal to said mean plane to form a conduit, said air guide walls consisting of at least two lateral air guide walls and an upper air guide wall. Said guide is fixed by its frame around and in front of at least one of the heat exchangers. According to the invention, said air guide is capable of receiving a low temperature heat exchanger in its upper front part in that said fixing frame and / or a side air guide wall comprises retaining supports for receiving the part bottom of the low temperature heat exchanger, and said upper air guide wall comprises retaining means capable of retaining the upper part of the low temperature heat exchanger, and said wall being movable relative to said frame towards the outside of the leads.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, said upper air guide wall is movable towards the outside of the duct in that it is removable. More particularly, it comprises, at its rear edge, fastening elements snapped in reversibly in housings arranged in said frame. Said wall can thus be removed by forcibly removing said fastening elements from their respective housing to allow passage to the low temperature heat exchanger, and once this exchanger is in place, said wall fastening elements are reclosed so that said wall is maintained again in a plane substantially perpendicular to the mean plane of the frame.

According to another particular embodiment of the invention, said upper air guide wall is movable towards the outside of the duct, relative to said frame, by pivoting around a hinge securing its rear part and said fixing frame. Said wall can thus be tilted towards the outside, to clear a passage making it possible to pass and install the low temperature heat exchanger, and once the exchanger set up, the wall is folded down in a plane substantially perpendicular to the mean plane of the frame

Preferably according to the invention, said upper air guide wall further comprises lateral tabs for securing said upper air guide wall to the frame of the air guide and / or to the respectively adjacent lateral air guide walls, a fixing element, which can be removable, passing through said tab to be fixed in a housing arranged in said frame and / or a said side wall.

Preferably according to the invention, said receiver retaining means of the low temperature heat exchanger, carried by the upper air guide wall, are in the form of stops, the front part of which is curved downwards.

Preferably according to the invention, the receiving retaining supports of the low temperature heat exchanger, carried by said fixing frame, comprise a front stop curved upwards.

Preferably according to the invention, the receiving retaining supports of the low temperature heat exchanger carried by the fixing frame and the receiving retaining means of the low temperature heat exchanger carried by the upper air guide wall are molded respectively. with said frame and with said wall.

Preferably according to the invention, the lateral parts of the air guide, in particular those of the frame, comprise means for lateral wedging of the low temperature heat exchanger. Advantageously, said lateral wedging means consist of a set of flexible strips extending transversely to a vertical upright of the frame.

Advantageously according to the invention, the lateral air guide walls comprise through holes and arranged for the passage of connecting pipes of the low temperature heat exchanger.

The invention also provides a cooling assembly disposed in the front part of a vehicle, said assembly comprising heat exchangers fixed to the technical front part of the vehicle, including at least one high temperature heat exchanger for cooling the engine coolant around which is fixed the fixing frame of an air guide, said air guide comprising a plurality of air guide walls integral with said fixing frame and arranged in a component substantially normal to said mean plane of the frame to form an oriented duct towards the front, said air guide walls consisting of at least two lateral air guide walls and an upper air guide wall. According to the invention, said assembly further comprises a low temperature heat exchanger for cooling air from a turbocharger, attached in front of said high temperature heat exchanger by joining to said air guide which is as defined above, so that said low temperature heat exchanger is held under the upper air guide wall, by means for retaining its upper part secured to said upper air guide wall and by supports secured to the fixing frame supporting its lower part.

The invention also relates to the method of mounting the cooling assembly, in that the upper air guide wall is removed or raised from the air guide to install a low temperature heat exchanger.

The invention also relates to a motor vehicle comprising a cooling assembly disposed in its front part as described above.

Other particularities and advantages of the invention will emerge on reading the description given below of a particular embodiment of the invention, given by way of indication but not limitation, with reference to the appended drawings in which:

- Figure 1 shows in perspective three quarters, from the front and laterally, an air guide according to the invention framing a cooling assembly according to the invention comprising in particular high and low temperature heat exchangers, of a vehicle automobile;

- Figure 2 illustrates in a perspective view, partially exploded, the upper part of Figure 1, in a view from the front and laterally, on the side opposite to that of the view of Figure 1,

- Figure 3 illustrates in a partial perspective view, a magnification of a fixing housing of Figure 2;

- Figure 4 shows, in a perspective view of three-quarters, from the left side and from the inside, the upper right part in section in the vertical plane, Figures 1 or 2, the low temperature heat exchanger being removed;

- Figure 5 shows, in a perspective view of three-quarters, from the right side and from the inside, the upper left part in section in the vertical plane, Figures 1 or 2, the low temperature heat exchanger being removed;

- Figure 6 shows, in another perspective view of three quarters, from above and from the front, the upper part of Figure 1.

The orientations expressed in the description of the figures are given with reference to the conventional XYZ reference of the vehicle in which X represents the front-rear longitudinal direction of the vehicle, oriented towards the rear, Y the transverse direction of the vehicle, oriented towards the right, and Z the vertical direction towards the top of the vehicle. The terms "left" and "right" refer to the usual left and right sides of the vehicle, unless otherwise specified.

FIG. 1 represents an air guide G according to the invention in its use, integrated in a cooling assembly arranged in the front part of a vehicle. Said assembly comprises heat exchangers including at least one high temperature heat exchanger R for cooling the engine coolant forming the main heat exchanger, to which is attached a condenser C which is the condenser of the vehicle air conditioning system. A low temperature heat exchanger R1, air cooler coming from a turbocharger, is added in front of said high temperature heat exchanger R and condenser C assembly. Said air guide is fixed to this high temperature heat exchanger R, and surrounds the condenser C which is fixed to the front of said high temperature heat exchanger. Said air guide directs the incoming air from the front face of the vehicle, not shown in the figures, to the bundles of the heat exchangers.

The air guide according to the invention as illustrated consists of four walls 1, 2, 3, 4, integral with a rigid fixing frame 5 and arranged in a component substantially normal to said mean plane of the frame to form a leads. Said fixing frame 5 is further provided with fixing means making it possible to mount it in front of the high temperature heat exchanger R.

According to the example of the invention, the walls consist of two lateral air guide walls 3, 4, generally of elongated shape, substantially parallel to each other and opposite, and which are substantially vertical, and of a guide wall d 'upper air 1 and a lower air guide wall 2, substantially horizontal, adjacent at their respective ends to a said side wall.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, according to the invention, the upper air guide wall 1 is removable on the frame 5 for fixing the air guide, it can be removed towards the outside of the guide pipe air. According to the example illustrated, it comprises, at its rear edge, fastening elements 10, 10 ′ which are snap-fastened, either force-fitted, reversibly, into housings 51, 51 ′ hollowed out in an upright of the fixing frame 5, in this case the amount facing the rear edge of said wall. Said upper wall can thus be removed by forcibly removing said fastening elements from their respective housing. Said wall 1 thus removed provides passage to the low temperature heat exchanger R1, and once this member is in place, said wall fastening elements are re-locked in their respective housings. Said wall 1 is then held again in a plane substantially perpendicular to the mean plane of the frame.

The low temperature heat exchanger R1 is installed transversely in the upper part of the air guide, at the front of the high temperature heat exchanger R and condenser C assembly, which, according to the example, occupies the entire space vertically in the inside the air guide duct, making it rest by its lower part on supports 53, 54 integral with the frame, according to the example molded with the fixing frame 5 of the air guide. Said supports 53, 54, two in number according to the example, each have in their front part a stop 530, 540 for holding said low temperature heat exchanger R1. Said low temperature heat exchanger R1 does not occupy the entire interior space of the air guide duct, said supports 53, 54 are arranged at a suitable height on the fixing frame 5 so that said low temperature heat exchanger R1 of a hand rests at its base on said supports and on the other hand is held in its upper part by pressing against retaining stops 13, 14 which extend forward by bending inwards, integral with the guide wall upper air 1, or according to the example molded with said upper wall 1. Preferably, although not shown according to this example, said supports integral with the frame 5 are arranged to support said low temperature heat exchanger R1 at the lower part of its beams.

As shown in Figure 6, once said low temperature heat exchanger R1 thus installed, the fixing of said upper air guide wall 1 snapped into the frame 5 is locked by additional lateral fastening elements 11 (the fixing element located symmetrically on the other side is not visible in Figure 6). Said lateral fastening elements 11 are snap-on. In the illustrated embodiment, these fixing elements are removable. They are introduced on each side of said wall, respectively into a fixing lug 111, 112 pierced with a through hole of said fixing element, molded with said wall, to be force-fitted into an elongated lateral fixing hole 510 ( the hole located symmetrically on the other side is not visible in FIG. 6) attached respectively to an upright of the frame 5. This lateral fixing of the wall reinforces the stability of the fixing of said low temperature heat exchanger R1 to this wall, the fasteners being subjected to the various vibrations of the vehicle. In another non-illustrated embodiment of the invention, the fastening elements can be integrated as a hinge.

Advantageously and according to the embodiment of the invention represented by this example and as visible in FIG. 5, to reinforce the stability of the low temperature heat exchanger R1, wedging means in the form of sets of elastic blades 55 are provided. laterally, said blades being arranged transversely to at least one of the vertical uprights of the frame 5, in the receiving zone of said member R1, so that said blades in contact with the lateral parts of said member R1 contribute to maintaining said member R1, in particular by blocking it in the transverse direction.

The lateral air guide walls 3, 4 have arrangements, in particular lights 30, 40, allowing the connection pipes to pass through said low temperature heat exchanger R1, located laterally on said member R1, so that this heat exchanger R1 is connected to other elements of the hot air cooling loop emitted by the turbocharger of the motor vehicle engine.

In a manner known per se, said upper air guide wall 1 preferably has reinforcing ribs and also a sealing lip with the front part of the vehicle through which the outside air enters.

The air guide according to the invention thus makes it possible to add a low temperature heat exchanger to the usual heat exchangers of the engine cooling case installed on the technical front face of the vehicle, and at the rear of the air guide, without affecting the performance of said air guide.

Claims (10)

1. Air guide intended to be integrated at the front of a vehicle between a front face of said vehicle and a set of heat exchangers (R, C) of said vehicle comprising at least one high temperature heat exchanger (R) cooler engine coolant, said air guide (G) comprising a fixing frame (5) defining a mean plane and a plurality of air guide walls (1, 3, 4) integral with said fixing frame, said walls being arranged in a component substantially normal to said mean plane to form a duct, said air guide walls consisting of at least two lateral air guide walls (3, 4) and an upper air guide wall (1), and said guide being able to be fixed by its frame (5) around and in front of at least one of the heat exchangers (R), in particular of the high temperature heat exchanger (R), characterized in that said air guide is suitable for receiving r a low temperature heat exchanger (R1) in its upper front part, said fixing frame (5) and / or a side air guide wall (3, 4) comprising retaining supports (53, 54) receiving the lower part of the low temperature heat exchanger, and said upper air guide wall (1) comprising retaining means (13, 14) capable of retaining the upper part of the low temperature heat exchanger, and said wall being movable relative to said frame (5) towards the outside of the duct. 2. Air guide according to claim 1, characterized in that said upper air guide wall (1) is movable towards the outside of the duct in that it is removable. 3. Air guide according to claim 2, characterized in that said upper air guide wall (1) comprises, at its rear edge, fastening elements (10, 10 ') snap-in, reversibly, into housings (51, 51 ') arranged in said fixing frame (5). 4. Air guide according to claim 1, characterized in that said upper air guide wall (1) is movable towards the outside of the duct, relative to said frame (5), by pivoting around a hinge securing its rear part and said fixing frame. 5. Air guide according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said upper air guide wall (1) further comprises lateral tabs for securing (111, 112) of said air guide wall upper to the frame (5) of the air guide and / or to the side air guide walls (3, 4) respectively adjacent, a fixing element (11), which can be removable, passing through said tab to be fixed in a housing (510) arranged in said frame (5) and / or a said side wall (3,4). 6. Air guide according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lateral parts of the air guide, in particular those of the frame (5), comprise lateral wedging means (55) of the heat exchanger low temperature. 7. Air guide according to the preceding claim 6, characterized in that said lateral wedging means (55) consist of a set of flexible strips extending transversely to a vertical upright of the frame. 8. Air guide according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lateral air guide walls (3, 4) comprise through orifices (30, 40) and arranged for the passage of connection pipes of the '' low temperature heat exchanger. 9. Cooling assembly disposed in the front part of a vehicle, said assembly comprising heat exchangers fixed to the technical front face of the vehicle, at least one of which is a high temperature heat exchanger (R) for cooling the engine coolant, around which is fixed the fixing frame (5) of an air guide (G), said air guide comprising a plurality of air guide walls integral with said fixing frame (5) and arranged in a component substantially normal to said middle plane of the frame to form a forward-facing duct, said air guide walls consisting of at least two lateral air guide walls (3, 4) and an upper air guide wall (1 ), characterized in that said assembly further comprises a low temperature heat exchanger (R1) air cooler from a turbocharger, attached in front of said high temperature heat exchanger (R), by solidaris ation on said air guide which is as defined in claims 1 to 8, said low temperature heat exchanger (R1) being held under the upper air guide wall (1), by retaining means (13, 14 ) of its upper part, integral with said upper air guide wall, and by supports (53, 54) integral with the fixing frame (5) which support its lower part. ίο 10. Motor vehicle comprising at least one cooling assembly as defined in claim 9.