GB2590679A

GB2590679A - Vehicle cabin ventilation

Info

Publication number: GB2590679A
Application number: GB1919244.2A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Pinkstone Adam; Alan Harris Roy; Edward Poulton Roy; James Prince Ian; Paul Smith Adam
Original assignee: Dyson Technology Ltd
Current assignee: Dyson Technology Ltd
Priority date: 2019-12-23
Filing date: 2019-12-23
Publication date: 2021-07-07
Anticipated expiration: 2039-12-23
Also published as: GB201919244D0; GB2590679B; WO2021130468A1

Abstract

A vehicle comprises a passenger cabin ventilation system. The system includes a vent (310, figure 3), a duct 320 to supply an airflow to the vent, and a cover 340. A blower (220, figure 1) may be included. The duct extends along a sill 58 of a vehicle door and the cover encases the duct. Ideally the duct has a plurality of bores 325 that extend across an airflow passage of the duct and include respective aerofoil-shaped surrounding sidewalls 322 to seal the bores from the airflow passage. The cover may include a corresponding plurality of legs 341 that pass through the bores to provide a load path from the cover to the sill independent of the duct, thereby providing rigid and robust protection for the duct. Fixings (e.g. screws or rivets) can extend through the legs to secure the cover to the sill. A first inner side wall 345 and a second outer side wall 346 of the cover may pass on either side of the duct to provide additional load paths to the sill. The duct may be resiliently compressible.

Description

VEHICLE CABIN VENTILATION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a vehicle comprising a passenger cabin and a ventilation system for ventilating the passenger cabin.

Background of the Invention

Passenger vehicles are generally provided with a ventilation system to supply air into the cabin. The ventilation system generally comprises a system for preparing conditioned air (which is generally external air which has been filtered and/or heated and/or cooled and/or dehumidified as required) such as a heating, ventilation, air-conditioning (HVAC) system. At least one blower may direct the conditioned air to a plurality of outlets in the form of vents distributed about the vehicle cabin. Appropriate ducts may be provided to provide an airflow path between the blower and the vents. The vents and/or the airflow supplied to the vents may generally be user adjustable.

The positioning and control of cabin air flow can have a direct impact on vehicle occupant comfort and resulting perception of the vehicle. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide air vents distributed throughout the cabin at convenient locations, for example proximal to vehicle occupant seating positions

Summary of the Invention

The present invention provides a vehicle comprising a passenger cabin and a ventilation system for ventilating the passenger cabin, the ventilation system comprising: a vent; a duct for ducting airflow to the vent, and a cover, wherein the duct extends along a sill of a door opening of the vehicle, and the cover covers the duct The ventilation system thus enables ducting of airflow past a vehicle door opening. For example, the ventilation system could comprise an airflow source, such as a blower, located at a front of the passenger cabin, and the vent could be located towards a rear of the passenger cabin, for example, in a second or third row seating region.

Various approaches for ducting airflow past a vehicle door opening are known in the prior art.

A first known approach is to locate a duct inside the door with an inlet on a front edge of the door and an outlet on a rear end of the door. Airflow may thereby be ducted through the closed door between an upstream component mounted to the vehicle body in front of the door opening and a downstream component mounted to the vehicle body behind the door opening. But this configuration incurs a number of disadvantages. Firstly, it can be difficult to package the duct inside the door given the relatively shallow depth of a typical vehicle door and the large number of other components necessarily located inside the door. Secondly, airflow through the duct is interrupted when the door is opened. A second known approach is to lay the duct along the floor of the passenger cabin. However, this arrangement disadvantageously intrudes into cabin leg room and disrupts a desirably flat floor to the passenger cabin.

Laying the duct along the sill in accordance with the present invention advantageously avoids problems encountered with the aforementioned known ducting arrangements. In particular, in the present invention airflow through the duct is not interrupted by opening of the door, and a flat floor to the cabin space may be maintained as the duct does not extend across the floor. However, locating the duct on the sill is problematic; inasmuch that the duct is then in the path of passengers entering and exiting the passenger cabin, and passengers may tend to step on the duct whilst entering and exiting, thereby risking crushing the duct. Crushing of the duct may undesirably temporarily interrupt or restrict airflow through the duct, and worse may even permanently damage the duct. The present invention addresses this crushing risk by providing a cover over the duct for protecting the duct from crushing by a passenger stepping on the sill. The cover may, therefore, provide a protective structure protection of the duct. The cover may provide a load path to the sill independent of the duct. In a simple embodiment, the cover may protect the duct by spreading the load of a passenger stepping on the cover over a larger area of the duct. The cover is preferably rigid such that the cover itself is resistant to deformation and may best spread load over the duct The cover could be formed of a rigid plastic material, for example, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene.

The cover may comprise a leg providing a load path to the sill independent of the duct.

In other words, the leg forms a path that does not pass through the duct by which a load applied to the cover may transmitted to the sill. In this embodiment, therefore, load applied to the cover is transmitted to the sill by the leg rather than by the duct. The cover thus protects the duct, not just by spreading applied load over the duct, but by reducing or even preventing loading of the duct. The risk of crushing of the duct is thereby further reduced.

The cover may comprise a pair of legs each providing a load path to the sill independent of the duct, the legs extending to the sill beside mutually opposite sides of the duct. In this arrangement the cover bridges the duct, and a load applied to the cover is transmitted to the sill via each of the legs. Because the legs are located on mutually opposite sides of the duct, the cover may be relatively stable and unlikely to topple under an applied load, and the risk of crushing of the duct is thereby further reduced.

The leg may be integral with the cover. In other words, the cover and the leg could have a unitary construction, for example, the leg and the cover may be a single-piece plastic moulding. This construction is less complex than a multi-part construction of the cover, and may simplify assembly of the vehicle. Moreover, providing the leg integrally with the cover reduces the risk of misalignment of the leg with other parts of the cover, thereby reducing the risk of failure or weakening of the load path.

The leg may extend across an airflow passage of the duct to the sill. For example, the duct could comprise a pair of diametrically opposed apertures and a leg may extend through the upper aperture, diametrically across the airflow passage of the duct, through the lower aperture, and onto the sill. This arrangement facilitates a straight load path from a point of the cover directly above the duct to the sill. Compared for example to a leg extending around the outside of the duct to the sill, in this arrangement the load path may be less geometrically convoluted, and so may be capable of transmitting relatively higher compression loads and the cover may be less susceptible to buckling. The risk of crushing of the duct is thereby further reduced. A disadvantage of this configuration however is that obtaining an acceptably air-tight seal between the rim of the apertures and the leg can be difficult, risking leakage of airflow from the duct.

In view of the above noted disadvantage, the duct may optionally define a bore extending across an airflow passage of the duct and a side wall around the bore sealing the bore from the airflow passage, and the leg of the cover may extend through the bore to the sill.

In this arrangement a bore through which the leg extends is sealed from the airflow passage by the side wall, thereby preventing leakage of airflow from the duct. Similarly, to the immediately preceding statement, this arrangement facilitates a straight load path from a point of the cover directly above the duct to the sill, thereby reducing the risk of crushing of the duct, whilst avoiding the risk of leakage of airflow from the duct where the leg crosses the airflow passage. Additionally, the side wall may serve the further purpose of reinforcing the duct, thereby further reducing the susceptibility of the duct to crushing.

The side wall may define an aerofoil. That is to say, the outer diameter of the side wall may have an aerofoil shape. Shaping the side wall to define an aerofoil may reduce the restriction presented to air flowing through the airflow passage of the duct and/or may reduce turbulence imparted on the airflow. Additionally, the level of acoustic noise generated as the airflow flows past the side wall may be reduced. Shaping the outer diameter of the side wall to define an aerofoil may thus reduce the undesirable consequences of routing the leg of the cover through the airflow passage of the duct.

The cover may comprise a fixing for securing the cover to the sill. For example, the fixing may comprise a bolt connecting the cover and the sill. In this arrangement the fixing secures the cover in position relative to the sill, thereby preventing misalignment or displacement of the cover with respect to the duct. Consequently, the risk of crushing of the duct is further reduced. Additionally, in this arrangement the cover may itself function

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in turn to secure the duct to the sill, thereby simplifying the process of assembly of the vehicle.

The fixing may extend through the leg. For example, the leg may be tubular and the fixing may extend through a bore of the leg. This arrangement best balances the force exerted on the cover by tension in the fixing against the counteracting force provided by the leg. Accordingly, the cover may be less susceptible to damage by the fixing, and so the risk of the cover failing, and the duct being crushed is reduced. Additionally, a tube may be a particularly efficient form for the leg, in which circumstance it may be desirable for the fixing to extend through the bore of the leg to minimise the overall footprint of the leg and fixing, and thereby minimise the required diameter of the bore.

The duct may be resiliently compressible. For example, the duct could be formed of foamed low-density polyethylene. A resiliently compressible duct is particularly well suited to this application because of the risk of crushing of the duct. Specifically, in this configuration, even if the cover were to fail under load and the duct were crushed, the duct would be unlikely to be permanently damaged and would tend to return to its original shape on removal of the load. Consequently, the hazards associated with crushing the duct that arise from this application are reduced.

The duct may be greater in width than in height. The duct may, therefore, have a shallow vertical profile. It is desirable in this application to minimise the height of the duct to minimise the intrusion into the door opening. In contrast, the width of the duct is a relatively unimportant factor given the typically great width of a vehicle sill. This configuration therefore advantageously minimises the height of the duct for a given cross-sectional area of the duct. Moreover, the reduced height of the duct means that the cover is required to be spaced only a relatively short height above the sill. Consequently, the cover may be more securely fastened to the sill, and the risk of misalignment or displacement of the cover with respect to the sill or the duct may be reduced. Accordingly, the risk of crushing of the duct may thereby be reduced.

The cover may comprise a second leg providing a second load path to the sill independent of the duct, wherein the second leg extends beside the duct to the sill.

The second leg provides a second load path for transmitting load applied to the cover to the sill. Consequently, for a given load on the cover, the load on the first leg is reduced.

As a result, the first leg may be less susceptible to failure. Furthermore, because the second leg extends beside the duct to the sill, the cover may be more stable and less likely to topple under a load applied on the cover at a position between the leg and the second leg. Accordingly, the protection offered to the duct by the cover is improved and the risk of crushing of the duct is thereby reduced.

The cover may comprise a third leg providing a third load path to the sill independent of the duct, wherein the third leg extends beside an opposite side of the duct to the sill. That is to say, the third leg extends to the sill on an opposite side of the duct to the second leg.

In this arrangement this second and third legs are thus located on mutually opposite sides of the duct such that the cover bridges the duct.

The third leg provides a third load path for transmitting load applied to the cover to the sill. Thus, for a given load on the cover, the load on the first and second legs is reduced, and consequently the risk of failure of the cover and so crushing of the duct is thereby correspondingly reduced. Moreover, the third leg further improves the stability of the cover, inasmuch that the cover is less likely to topple under a load applied on the cover at a position between the leg and the third leg. Accordingly, the protection offered to the duct by the cover is further improved and the risk of crushing of the duct is thereby further reduced.

The duct may comprise a further bore extending across the airflow passage downstream of the bore, and a further side wall around the further bore sealing the further bore from the airflow passage, wherein airflow moves along the airflow passage between the bore and the further bore along an axis, and the bore and the further bore are aligned along the axis.

The further bore facilitates insertion through the duct of further items, for example, of further fixings or legs of the cover through the duct. The axis represents an average direction of airflow along the airflow passage between the bore and the further bore. Because the bore and the further bore are aligned along the axis of the airflow, the further bore may be located in the slipstream of the bore. Consequently, the restriction presented to air flowing through the duct and the turbulence imparted on the airflow by the bore and the further bore may be reduced. In the context, the term 'aligned' means that both bores are intersected by the axis.

The average direction of airflow along the airflow passage may be expected to be traced by a centroid axis of the airflow passage. The immediately preceding feature may thus alternatively be expressed as, the duct comprising a further bore extending across the airflow passage downstream of the bore, and a further side wall around the further bore sealing the further bore from the airflow passage, wherein the bore and the further bore are aligned along an axis parallel or coincident with the centroid axis of the airflow passage.

The further bore may have the features aforementioned with reference to the bore.

The cover may comprise a further leg providing a load path to the sill independent of the duct, wherein the further leg extends through the further bore to the sill. In other words, the cover may comprise a second leg, spaced apart from the first leg, and arranged to extend through the further bore to the sill. The further leg provides another load path for transmitting load from the cover to the sill. Consequently, for a given load on the cover, the load on the first leg is reduced. As a result, the first leg may be less susceptible to failure. Furthermore, because the further leg is spaced apart from the leg, the cover may be more stable and less likely to topple under a load applied on the cover at a position between the leg and the further leg. Accordingly, the protection offered to the duct by the cover is improved and the risk of crushing of the duct is thereby reduced.

The airflow passage may have a uniform cross-sectional area between the bore and the further bore. A uniform cross-sectional area of the airflow passage may advantageously result in a relatively smooth laminar airflow between the bore and the further bore with minimal change in pressure of the airflow. This arrangement may elongate the wake of the airflow leading from the bore, thus enhancing the slipstream effect experienced by the further bore.

The ventilation system may comprise a blower for generating an airflow located forward of the door opening, the vent may be located rearward of the door opening, and the duct may duct airflow from the blower to the vent. For example, the blower may be located at a front of the passenger cabin and may be concealed from view by an instrument panel, and the vent may be located on a '13' or 'C' pillar of the vehicle for directing airflow towards row 2 or row 3 passengers. In this arrangement the blower may thus be located a relatively great distance away from the vent. This may reduce the level of acoustic noise generated by the blower that is audible in the vicinity of the vent. Passenger comfort may thus be improved. Furthermore, this configuration allows the blower to be located forward of the door opening where it may be easier to package the blower.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In order that the present invention may be more readily understood, embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure lA and 1B are illustrative top and side views of a vehicle comprising a ventilation assembly; Figure 2 is an illustrative view of a section of a vehicle cabin and door assembly including a ventilation assembly in accordance with an embodiment; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a ventilation assembly; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a section through the ventilation assembly; Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of a section through the ventilation assembly; Figure 6 is a top view of the duct of the ventilation assembly on a sill of the vehicle; and Figure 7 is an exploded cross section showing the duct fastening arrangement.

Detailed Description of the Invention

It may be appreciated that references herein to "vertical" or "horizontal' are to be understood to be made generally with reference to the intended "in use" orientation of the features when installed in a vehicle. Likewise, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the "transverse" and -longitudinal" axis of a vehicle are established terms in the art (wherein the transverse direction is parallel to the axles and the longitudinal direction is perpendicular to the axles).

Figure 1 shows a vehicle 1 having a passenger cabin 2 and a vehicle ventilation system for supplying air to the cabin 2. The configuration of the vehicle is for example purposes only but shows a six-seat configuration with the seating arranged in three rows, each row including two seats 5. Such a seating configuration may, for example, be used in a "sports utility vehicle" (or "SUV"). The vehicle may for example be an electric vehicle (an "EV") and, whilst it will be appreciated that the present disclosure is not limited to such vehicles, the skilled person will be aware that the type of drive system may result in specific packaging or configuration requirements for the vehicle ventilation system 10. The body of the vehicle typically includes a number of upwardly extending support members which are known as pillars and between which the vehicle door frames 50 are defined. The pillars of a passenger vehicle 1 are generally designated sequentially, from the front of the vehicle to the rear, as an A pillar 20, B pillar 30 and C pillar 35.

The vehicle ventilation system 10 receives air from outside of the vehicle 1 through an intake 110, conditions the air by filtering and heating/cooling and/or humidifying/dehumidifying the air and distributes the conditioned air into the vehicle cabin 2. A heating, ventilation, air-conditioning ("HVAC") system 200, which may include at least one heat exchanger 210, caries out the heating/cooling and/or humidifying/dehumidifying and a blower 220 for generating an airflow. The components of the heating, ventilation, air-conditioning ("HVAC") system 200 may be concealed from the passenger cabin behind a dashboard or instrument panel 40. The ventilation system may also include a ventilation assembly 300 for distributing air about the vehicle cabin 2. The ventilation assembly 300 may include a number of vents 305, 310 positioned around the cabin 2. The vents 305, 310 may be user adjustable (either by direct manual adjustment or by adjustment using a control system) to enable vehicle occupants to optimise their individual comfort. The ventilation assembly 300 may also include ducts 320 for delivering air from the HVAC system 200 to the vents 305, 310 in the cabin.

Vents 305, 310 may typically be positioned such that an occupant in an adjacent seat 5 of the cabin 2 are able to direct and adjust the airflow at themselves as required. As such it is desirable to provide vents in the rear portions of the cabin as well as the forward areas (which are closer to the vehicle ventilation system). A convenient location for such vents 310 is on the rearward pillars such as the B pillar 30 or the C pillar 35. As will be described further below, embodiments of the present invention provide a convenient arrangement for directing airflow to a pillar mounted vent 310.

As shown in figure 2 and 3, the vehicle 1 has a body including a cabin floor 40 and a side panel including an A pillar 20, a B pillar 30 and a C pillar 35. A door frame 50 is defined between the adjacent pillars (the A and B pillar in the example of the invention) and is closed by a door 55. If the vehicle is an EV then the floor 40 may extend over a battery pack. It is also generally an advantage for occupant comfort and convenience for the vehicle floor 40 to be generally flat. These may be constraints in the convenient supply of ventilation ducts to the rear portions of the cabin. The bottom of the door frame 50 is defined by a longitudinally extending sill 58. It may be noted from figure 3 that the longitudinal sill 58 may also be the upper extent of a longitudinally extending structural member of the car body.

The general configuration of the duct 320 is shown in figure 2. The duct 320 is shaped to extend along the lower portion of the door frame 50 and includes a first portion 320a which extends generally vertically downwardly along the A pillar 20, a second portion 320b which extends generally longitudinally along the sill 58 of the door frame 50 and a third section 320c which extends generally upwardly along the B pillar 30. The first portion 320a may be in fluid communication with a connecting portion 328 which extends transversely between the outside wall of the car body and the heating, ventilation, air-conditioning ("HVAC") system 200. The connecting portion 328 may extend through an inside of a dashboard of the vehicle and can have any convenient configuration. The third portion 320c ends at a vent 310 intended to direct airflow at a passenger seated in the second row of seats 5. As best seen in Figure 3, a cover 340 is provided on the sill 58 extending over and protecting the duct portion 320b which extends generally longitudinally along the sill 58.

The relative configuration of the cover 340 and duct 320 of the ventilation assembly 300 is shown in the partial cross sections of Figures 4 and 5. The cover 340 and duct 320 are both positioned on the upper surface of the sill 58 and are on the dry side of a door seal.

In the illustrated version it may be noted that the vehicle structure includes a flange 59 extending upwardly from the sill 58. The flange 59 may provide a sealing surface for the door 50 (not shown in figures 4 and 5) and/or may provide a barrier against water ingress. Both the cover 340 and duct 320 are on the inside of the flange 59. As such, it may be noted that the duct assembly 300 is on a dry side of the door seal. Conveniently the vertical proportions of the ventilation assembly 300 may be substantially equal to the height of the flange 59 to provide a substantially flush finish in the assembled configuration.

The cover 340 may be formed from a rigid moulded plastic (for example ABS or polypropylene) and extends longitudinally along the sill 58. The cover 340 has a width and length which substantially matches the internal dimensions of the sill 58. The upper surface of the cover 340 comprises a treadplate 349 which is generally parallel to and vertically spaced apart from the sill 58. The sides of the cover 340 include vertical aligned side walls 345 and 346. The outer side wall 346 generally abuts the inside of the flange 59. The inner side wall 345 is generally aligned with the inside wall of the sill 58 (which extends down to the floor 40). In the example, the inner side wall 345 is provided with a double walled construction. Such an arrangement may provide a first wall to be positioned against the duct 320 and a second wall which is aligned with the edge of the sill 58. It may be appreciated that the cover 340 provides a generally flush fitting arrangement when positioned on the sill 58.

Internally, the cover 340 may have a cross section with a generally inverted trough-shaped profile. A plurality of support columns are provided spaced longitudinally along the length of the cover 340. Each support column is configured as a leg 341 providing a load path to the sill independent of the duct. The, or each, leg 341 is configured to extend through the duct 320 to engage the sill 58. It may also be noted that the outer side wall 346 and the he inner side wall 345 provide additional compressive load support. As such, the walls 345, 346 may be additional support legs which may provide a particularly balanced support arrangement with legs for transferring load from the cover to the sill provided at both transverse sides of the duct as well as through a mid-section of the duct 320. The legs 341 may be generally centrally located across the width of the cover 340 when viewed in cross section so will provide good resistance to bending of the tread plate 349 in comparison to an arrangement relying upon only side wall legs for support.

A best seen in the exploded cross-section of Figure 7, the centre of each leg 341 includes an aperture 342, extending the full length of the leg 341 and through the treadplate 349, for receiving a fastener 350 to provide an engagement between the cover 340 and the sill 58 of the vehicle body. A recess 344 may also be formed in the upper face of the treadplate 349 extending over the apertures 342 to enable a veneer to be used to conceal the apertures 342 and their associated fasteners. The legs 341 hold the cover in place and may, therefore, be under tension when assembled. The legs 341 also provide a compressive load path from the cover to the sill 58.

The duct 320 may be formed from a flexible material to conform to the shape of the sill 58 and other vehicle body structures. For example, the duct 320 may be soft-foamed LDPE. A duct 320 formed from a resilient material such as soft-foamed LDPE may advantageously be resiliently deformable in use. For example, any forces or dynamic loads which the cover 340 is unable to fully protect the duct 320 may only temporarily deform or restrict the duct 320 before the duct resilient deforms back to its intended shape.

The duct 320 has a shallow cross-sectional profile such that it conforms closely to the sill 58. The duct 320 may have a generally rectangular cross section with an aspect ratio which is significantly wider (in the transverse direction) than it is high (in the vertical direction). Such an arrangement may reduce the extent to which the ventilation assembly 300 intrudes into the door frame 50.

A series of longitudinally spaced bores 325 are provided in the duct 320. The spacing and proportions of the bores 325 match spacing and proportions of the plurality of support legs 341. As such, each bore 325 receives and is penetrated by a leg 341 of the cover 340 when the ventilation assembly 300 is attached to the vehicle. To prevent leakage of air from the duct 320 a sun-ounding side wall 322 extends around each bore 325 and seals the airflow passage on the inside of the duct 320. As a result, it may be noted that locally to the bores 325 the duct may be considered to have two parallel passageways 320a and 320b.

Figure 6 shows a top view of the duct 320 positioned on the sill 58 with the cover 340 omitted for clarity. It may be noted that the bores 325 are each provided with a streamlined body shape aligned to the flow direction through the duct (as indicated by arrow A). Each bore 325 may be formed as a symmetric aerofoil aligned with the airflow direction through the duct. It may also be noted that the bores 325 are generally aligned along a single longitudinal axis. The shaping and alignment of the bores 325 may reduce turbulence and/or drag in the airflow passing through the duct 320. This is shown schematically by the flow lines 600 in figure 6. It may be noted from these flow lines 600 that any wake type turbulence of flow around an upstream bore 325 is confined to a central region 620 of the duct 320 and that the subsequent, downstream, bores 325 are positioned within this wake region 620 such that there is a slipstream effect. The airflow either side of the wake region, in regions 610 and 630 is minimally turbulent. It may be appreciated that this configuration may help both in reducing undesirable noise from the duct 320 and in reducing any pressure drop in the airflow as it passes through the duct.

From the above it may be appreciated that the ventilation assembly 300 of embodiments provides a configuration in which the duct 320 and cover 340 provide a clear airflow routing without overly intruding upon cabin space. The cover 340 provides a rigid and robust protection for the duct 320 for example due to loading if a user steps on the sill when entering the vehicle.

Although the invention has been described above with reference to embodiments, it will be appreciated that various changes or modification may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. For example, whilst the duct and cover of the above embodiment are formed as two entirely distinct components it may be possible to provide alternate arrangements in which the duct is at least partially defined by other surfaces. For example, at least one surface of a duct could be formed by an abutting part of the cover or sill against which the duct or cover seals in use.

Claims

Claims 1. A vehicle comprising a passenger cabin and a ventilation system for ventilating the passenger cabin, the ventilation system comprising: a vent; a duct for ducting airflow to the vent; and a cover, wherein the duct extends along a sill of a door opening of the vehicle, and the cover covers the duct.
2. A vehicle as claimed in claim I, wherein the cover comprises a leg providing a load path to the sill independent of the duct.
3. A vehicle as claimed in claim 2, wherein the leg is integral with the cover.
4 A vehicle as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the leg extends across an airflow passage of the duct to the sill.
5. A vehicle as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the duct comprises a bore extending across an airflow passage of the duct and a side wall around the bore sealing the bore from the airflow passage, and the leg extends through the bore to the sill.
A vehicle as claimed in claim 5, wherein the side wall defines an aerofoil.
7 A vehicle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising a fixing for securing the cover to the sill
8. A vehicle as claimed in claim 7 when dependent on any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the fixing extends through the leg.
9 A vehicle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the duct is resiliently compressible
10. A vehicle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, the cover comprising a second leg providing a second load path to the sill independent of the duct, wherein the second leg extends beside the duct to the sill.
11. A vehicle as claimed in claim 11, the cover comprising a third leg providing a third load path to the sill independent of the duct, wherein the third leg extends beside an opposite side of the duct to the sill.
12. A vehicle as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 12, the duct comprising a further bore extending across the airflow passage downstream of the bore, and a further side wall around the further bore sealing the further bore from the airflow passage, wherein airflow moves along the airflow passage between the bore and the further bore along an axis, and the bore and the further bore are aligned along the axis.
13. A vehicle as claimed in claim 13, wherein the cover comprises a further leg providing a load path to the sill independent of the duct, the further leg is spaced apart from the leg, and the further leg extends through the further bore to the sill.
14 A vehicle as claimed in claim 13 or claim 14, wherein the airflow passage has a uniform cross-sectional area between the bore and the further bore A vehicle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the ventilation system comprises a blower for generating an airflow, the blower is located forward of the door opening, the vent is located rearward of the door opening, and the duct is configured for ducting airflow from the blower to the vent.