JP2000203463A - Under cover structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide flow rectifying operation for cooling air effecting inflow through the air conduction port of a front bumper and to improve appearance. SOLUTION: Since a protrusion edge part 12 with which a gap A between the rear edge of the bottom wall 2a of the air conduction port 2 of a front bumper 1 and the front of a first cross member 3 is filled is formed on the front end part of an under cover 11, cooling air flowing in through the air conduction port 2 is rectified by the protrusion edge part 12 and conducted in an engine room E.R. Internal structure, such as a first cross member 3, is prevented from being seen through the air conduction port 2 from an obliquely upper position and appearance is improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an undercover structure for closing a lower portion of a driving unit mounting room such as an engine room at the front of a vehicle body of an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some automobiles have improved aerodynamic characteristics on the lower side of a vehicle body, and prevent splash intrusion, chipping prevention, and cutoff of hot air and noise into a driving unit room such as an engine room at the front of the vehicle body. For this purpose, for example, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, there is known an engine room E / R in which the lower side is closed by an under cover 8 made of a synthetic resin material.

The under cover 8 is basically fastened and fixed to a strength member at the front of the vehicle body such as the first cross member 3 and a front side member (not shown), and the front edge is formed at the lower edge of the front bumper 1. I am trying to fix it.

[0004] The front bumper 1 is formed with a ventilation port 2 for taking in outside air for cooling a heat source such as an air conditioning condenser 4 and a radiator 5 mounted on the first cross member 3.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 6 denotes a hood lock stay having a lower end fastened and fixed to the front surface of the first cross member 3 by bolts and nuts 7 and an upper end fastened and fixed to a radiator core upper rail (not shown).

[0006]

Since a required gap A is set between the rear end of the wind guide port 2 of the front bumper 1 and the first cross member 3, for example, when outside air flows in from the wind guide port 2, FIG. As shown by the arrow 6, the air guide port 2
The air is trapped in the space below the lower wall 2a, and a vortex is generated, which hinders efficient cooling of the air conditioning condenser 4, the radiator 5, and the like.

In order to ensure a sufficiently large opening area of the air guide opening 2, the opening height H is set relatively large. For example, as shown by an eye point E in FIG. In addition, when the air guide opening 2 is viewed obliquely from above, the internal structure of the first cross member 3 and the lower end of the hood lock stay 6 can be seen.

For this reason, the parts which can be seen from outside the vehicle, such as the first cross member 3 and the hood lock stay 6, are painted black so that they are difficult to see. It is undeniable that it will be disadvantageous.

Therefore, according to the present invention, a rectifying action of the cooling air taken in from the wind guide port of the front bumper is obtained, so that the cooling effect can be enhanced. It is intended to provide an undercover structure for an automobile which can further improve the above.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a structure in which a lower portion of a driving unit mounting room separated from a front portion of a vehicle body is closed by a flat undercover. The front end portion is characterized in that a protruding edge portion that fills a gap between a rear edge of a bottom wall of a wind guide port provided in a front bumper and a front portion of a first cross member is bulged.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the upper surface of the protruding edge according to the first aspect is formed substantially on the rear edge of the bottom wall of the wind guide port of the front bumper. It is characterized by being substantially aligned.

According to the third aspect of the present invention,
Wherein the undercover is divided into a front portion having a protruding edge portion and a rear portion.

According to the invention of claim 4, claims 1 to 3 are provided.
Are formed in a substantially hat-shaped cross section over the left and right side edges of the undercover, and the left and right hat-shaped cross sections are closed by end walls.

In the invention of claim 5, claims 1 to 4
The rear wall of the protruding edge described in (1) is characterized in that it has a concave portion that fits into a protruding part fixed to the front surface of the first cross member.

[0015]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the gap between the rear edge of the bottom wall of the wind guide port of the front bumper and the front portion of the first cross member is closed to form the projecting edge of the under cover. Is provided, a rectifying effect of the cooling air taken in from the air guide port by the protruding edge portion can be obtained, and a cooling effect in the drive unit mounting room can be enhanced.

Further, the front portion of the first cross member can be covered and hidden by the protruding edge portion, so that the internal structure is not exposed from obliquely upward through the wind guide port.
The appearance can be improved and the quality can be improved, and it is not necessary to apply the conventional black paint for camouflage, which is advantageous in terms of cost.

According to the invention described in claim 2, according to claim 1
In addition to the effect of the invention, the upper surface of the protruding edge portion is configured to be substantially flush with the bottom wall of the air guide port, so that the rectifying effect of the cooling air can be enhanced.

According to the third aspect of the invention, in addition to the effects of the first and second aspects, the undercover is divided into a front portion having a protruding edge portion and a rear portion. The deep drawing of the protruding portion can be easily performed by, for example, injection molding the front portion, so that the moldability of the undercover can be improved and the cost can be advantageously obtained.

According to the invention described in claim 4, according to claim 1,
In addition to the effects of the inventions of (1) to (3), the protruding edge portion is formed in a substantially hat-shaped cross section over the left and right side edges of the undercover, and the right and left hat-shaped cross sections are closed by end walls. The portion functions as a large reinforcing rib extending in the left-right direction, so that the surface rigidity and the mounting rigidity of the undercover can be increased.

According to the invention described in claim 5, according to claim 1,
In addition to the effects of the inventions of (1) to (4), the rear wall of the protruding portion is adapted to the front surface of the first cross member and the protruding part fixed to the front surface, thereby forming a parting line between the protruding portion and the front surface of the first cross member. There is no gap, and thus the appearance can be further improved, and the rectifying effect of the cooling air can be further improved.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals are assigned to the same parts as in the above-mentioned conventional configuration.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 11 denotes an undercover made of a synthetic resin material with the lower side of the engine room E / R closed, and the undercover 11 is basically the first cross member 3 and the like. It is fastened and fixed to a strength member at the front of the vehicle body such as an outer front side member, and the front edge is fixed to a lower edge of the front bumper 1 by a clip (not shown) or the like.

The front bumper 1 is provided with a ventilation port 2 for taking in outside air for cooling a heat source such as a condenser 4 for air conditioning and a radiator 5 mounted on the first cross member 3.

A required gap A is set between the rear end of the air guide port 2 and the first cross member 3, while the air guide port 2 has an opening height dimension to secure a sufficiently large opening area. H is set relatively large.

The lower end of the hood lock stay 6 is fastened and fixed to the front surface of the first cross member 3 by bolts and nuts 7.

The front end of the under cover 11 has a protruding edge 12 filling a gap A between the rear edge of the bottom wall 2a of the air guide port 2 of the front bumper 1 and the front surface of the first cross member 3. Has been bulged.

The protruding edge portion 12 has a substantially hat-shaped cross section and is formed over the left and right side edges of the under cover 11, and the upper surface thereof is formed substantially on the extension of the rear edge of the bottom wall 2a of the air guide port 2. The bottom wall 2a is substantially flush with the bottom wall 2a, and the right and left hat-shaped cross sections are closed by end walls 13.

On the rear wall of the protruding portion 12, a protruding part fixed to the front surface of the first cross member 3, for example, a concave portion 14 fitted to the lower end of the hood lock stay 6 is formed. A gap is not formed in the parting line between the part 12 and the front surface of the first cross member 3.

In the present embodiment, the under cover 11
Is divided into a front portion 11A having a protruding edge portion 12 and a rear portion 11B, and the rear end of the front portion 11A and the front end of the rear portion 11B are overlapped to form a lower surface of the first cross member 3. Are fastened and fixed by clips or the like.

According to the structure of the above-described embodiment, the gap A is closed between the rear edge of the bottom wall 2a of the wind guide port 2 of the front bumper 1 and the front portion of the first cross member 3 so that the under cover 11 is closed. 1 does not deflect downward from the rear edge of the bottom wall 2 a of the outside air flowing into the wind guide port 2, and the upper surface of the projection 12 indicates an arrow in FIG. And almost all of the inflowing outside air can flow as cooling air directed to the air-conditioning condenser 4 and the radiator 5, so that not only these heat exchangers but also various functional parts in the engine room ER can be used. The cooling effect can be enhanced.

Further, since the front portion of the first cross member 3 can be covered and hidden by the protruding edge portion 12, the internal structure is not exposed from obliquely upward through the air guide port 2, so that the appearance can be improved and the sense of quality can be improved. In addition to this, it is not necessary to apply a conventional black coating for camouflage, so that it can be advantageously obtained in terms of cost.

Here, in particular, in the present embodiment, in addition to the configuration in which the upper surface of the protruding edge portion 12 is substantially flush with the bottom wall 2a of the air guide port 2 as described above, The protruding edge 12
A concave portion 14 is provided on the rear wall, and the concave portion 14 is fitted to a protruding part such as a lower end portion of a hood lock stay 6 fixed to the front surface of the first cross member 3 to receive the same, and the protruding edge portion 1 is received.
Because there is no gap in the parting line between the front part 2 and the front of the first cross member 3,
The rectification effect of the cooling air can be enhanced to promote the air guiding and cooling effect into the engine rooms E and R, and the appearance can be further improved to enhance the quality.

Further, the protruding edge portion 12 is formed in a substantially hat-shaped cross section over the left and right side edges of the under cover 11, and the right and left hat-shaped cross sections are closed by the end wall 13. Functions as a large reinforcing rib extending in the left-right direction, and can increase the surface rigidity of the undercover 11, and therefore, can increase the mounting rigidity when the undercover 11 is mounted on the vehicle body.

Further, in this embodiment, the under cover 11
Is divided into a front portion 11A having the protruding edge portion 12 and a rear portion 11B.
Since the protruding edge portion 12 can be deep-drawn into a desired height and shape by, for example, injection molding of 1A, the moldability of the undercover 11 can be improved and the cost can be advantageously obtained.

It should be noted that the undercover 11 does not have to be divided into the front part 11A and the rear part 11B as described above, but may have a single panel structure as shown in FIG. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory sectional view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary perspective view showing an undercover according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory sectional view showing a conventional structure.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an undercover in a conventional structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 front bumper 2 wind guide port 2a lower wall 3 first cross member 6 projecting part 11 under cover 11A front part 11B rear part 12 protruding edge part 13 end wall 14 concave part

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3D003 AA00 AA01 AA08 AA10 BB02 CA02 CA13 DA14 3D038 AA01 AA03 AA04 AA05 AB01 AC05 AC07 AC11

Claims (5)

[Claims] In a structure in which a lower portion of a drive unit mounting room separated from a front portion of a vehicle body is closed by a flat undercover, a front end portion of the undercover is provided behind a bottom wall of a wind guide port provided in a front bumper. An undercover structure for an automobile, wherein a protruding edge portion filling a gap between an edge and a front portion of a first cross member is formed by bulging. 2. The front bumper according to claim 1, wherein the upper surface of the protruding portion is formed substantially on the extension of the rear edge of the bottom wall of the wind guide port of the front bumper, and is substantially flush with the bottom wall of the wind guide port. An undercover structure for an automobile according to claim 1. 3. The undercover structure for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the undercover is divided into a front portion having a protruding edge portion and a rear portion. 4. The hatched portion is formed in a substantially hat-shaped cross section over the left and right side edges of the undercover, and the left and right hat-shaped cross sections are closed by end walls. An undercover structure for an automobile according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The automobile according to claim 1, wherein a rear wall of the protruding edge portion has a concave portion that fits into a protruding part fixed to a front surface of the first cross member. Under cover structure.