JP2002286392A - Supporting structure of heat exchanger for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the damage of a heat exchanger (condenser) when a vehicle is collided slightly. SOLUTION: The condenser 1 is integrated with its forward air guide 2. A circular pin 22 having a circular section is provided on the upper surface of the guide 2, and a rectangular pin 23 having a rectangular section is provided on the lower surface of the guide 2. The guide 2 is fixed to an upper panel 4 and a lower panel 5 via the pins 22 and 23. When an impact load from the front of the vehicle is operated at the guide 2, a twisting force of a horizontal direction is operated at the pin 23, and hence the pin 23 is damaged. Since the upper part of the guide 2 is then rotatable on the pin 22 as a fulcrum, the pin 22 is not broken, and even after the pin 23 is broken, the condenser 1 is held by the pin 22.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a support structure for a heat exchanger for a vehicle such as a radiator or a condenser for an air conditioner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a vehicle heat exchanger such as a radiator or a condenser is disposed at the forefront in an engine room behind a front bumper, and is supported from a vehicle body via a bracket or the like. In such a support structure, when an impact acts on the front bumper due to a light collision at the front of the vehicle, the impact causes the bumper to retreat, and the bumper or a duct for wind guiding provided behind the bumper is connected to the heat exchanger. There is a risk of contact and damage to the heat exchanger. Therefore, conventionally, the distance between the bumper and the heat exchanger was increased to prevent the deformation of the vehicle body during a light collision from reaching the heat exchanger, thereby protecting the heat exchanger.

[0003]

However, in the above-described conventional configuration, the clearance between the front bumper and the condenser is increased, which hinders the reduction of the front overhang of the vehicle.

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide a support structure for a vehicle heat exchanger that can prevent damage to the heat exchanger at the time of a light collision of the vehicle and reduce the front overhang of the vehicle.

[0005]

An embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. (1) The invention of claim 1 is applied to a structure in which the vehicle heat exchanger 1 is supported on the vehicle body 6 via the connecting members 22 and 23. The above-mentioned object is achieved by providing the connecting member 23 with a fragile structure so that the connecting member 23 is broken when an impact load F applied to the heat exchanger 1 from the front of the vehicle. (2) According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle heat exchanger supporting structure according to the first aspect, the connecting members 22 and 23 are provided on the upper surface side and the lower surface side of the heat exchanger 2, respectively. At least one of the connecting members (23) has a fragile structure such that when an impact load F from the front of the vehicle acts on the heat exchanger 1, at least one of the connecting members (23) is broken. (3) According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle heat exchanger support structure according to the second aspect, the connecting member is a pin member 23 having a fragile structure. (4) According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle heat exchanger support structure according to the second or third aspect, the wind guide duct for guiding the outside air flowing into the heat exchanger 1 from outside the vehicle compartment to the heat exchanger 1. 2 are fixed, and pin members 22 and 23 are formed on the upper surface and the lower surface of the air guide duct 2 respectively. (5) According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the support structure for a vehicle heat exchanger according to the fourth aspect, the wind guide duct 2 includes a load member 2a to which an impact load from the front of the vehicle is applied.
2 and 23 in the vehicle width direction outside.
At least one (23) of the pin members has a non-circular cross-section so that a torsional force acts on the pin member 23 when an impact load F from the front of the vehicle is applied to a.

[0006] In the section of the means for solving the above-mentioned problems, which explains the configuration of the present invention, the drawings of the embodiments are used to make the present invention easier to understand. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. (1) The vehicle heat exchanger is supported on the vehicle body via the connecting member, and when the impact fruit tree acts from the front of the vehicle, the connecting member has a fragile structure so that the connecting member is broken. The damage of the heat exchanger at the time of a light vehicle collision can be prevented without increasing the size. (2) According to the second aspect of the present invention, the connecting member is provided on the upper surface side and the lower surface side of the heat exchanger, and either one of the connecting members is made to have a fragile structure. Thus, the heat exchanger is held, and it is possible to prevent the heat exchanger from being damaged by interference with other components. (3) According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the connecting member is configured as a pin member having a fragile structure, the forming of the connecting member is easy and the cost can be reduced. (4) According to the invention of claim 4, the air guide duct for guiding the outside air flowing from outside the vehicle compartment to the heat exchanger is fixed to the heat exchanger, and the projections are provided on the upper surface and the lower surface of the air guide duct, respectively. Accordingly, the gap between the air guide duct and the heat exchanger can be reduced, the air guide effect by the air guide duct is improved, and the blowback of hot air from the downstream side of the heat exchanger can be suppressed. (5) According to the fifth aspect of the invention, at least one of the pin members has a non-circular cross section, and a torsional force is applied to the pin member by an impact load from the front of the vehicle, so that only the pin member is easily broken. can do.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view (as viewed from obliquely front) of a vehicle front portion showing a support structure for a vehicle heat exchanger according to an embodiment of the present invention. A condenser 1 is arranged at the forefront of the engine room, and a radiator (not shown) is arranged behind the condenser 1. A pair of air guides 2 is attached to left and right ends of the condenser 1.
The upper and lower portions of the condenser 1 are supported by a body frame 6 (only a part is shown) via an upper panel 4 and a lower panel 5. The structure of this support will be described later. A reinforcement member 3 (hereinafter, bumper reinforcement) provided inside the front bumper is disposed in front of the air guide 2. The air guide 2
Is formed with a notch 2a for preventing interference with the bumper reinforcement 3.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of the condenser 1 and the air guide 2. FIG. 3 (a) is a view as viewed in the direction of an arrow in FIG. 2 (a view as viewed from the front), and FIG. Bb line sectional view of FIG. 3,
(C) is an arrow c view of FIG. 2 (view from above). As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the air guide 2 includes a support portion 20 that supports the header pipe 1 a of the condenser 1 and a flat plate portion 21 that extends forward from a side end of the support portion 20. A circular pin 22 having a circular cross section protrudes upward from the upper surface of the support portion 20, and a rectangular pin 23 having a rectangular cross section protrudes downward from the lower surface of the support portion 20.

Notched grooves 24 having the same width as the header pipe 1a are formed in the upper and lower inner surfaces of the support portion 20 in the vehicle width direction. At the entrance of the notch groove 24, a claw 25 is projected in the vertical direction.
It is located between the upper and lower end faces. The header pipe 1a
As shown in the figure, the upper and lower claws 25 are pushed and spread to get over the claws 25 and inserted into the cutout grooves 24, whereby the condenser 1 and the air guide 2 are integrated. With such integration, the gap (L in FIG. 3C) between the air guide 2 and the condenser 1 can be reduced as compared with the case where the air guide 2 and the condenser 1 are separately supported from the vehicle body 6. At the same time, the number of parts of the support portion is saved.

The integrated condenser 1 and air guide 2 are attached to an upper panel 4 and a lower panel 5 as shown in FIG. That is, first, the rectangular pin 23 is inserted into the rectangular hole 5 a provided in the lower bracket 5 via the substantially box-shaped mount rubber 27. Next, the circular hole 4 a provided in the upper bracket 4 is inserted into the circular pin 22 via the substantially cylindrical mount rubber 26. Finally, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper panel 4 is fastened to the vehicle body frame 6 by bolts 7, whereby the condenser 1 and the air guide 2 are sandwiched between the upper panel 4 and the lower panel 5 via the mounting rubbers 26, 27.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a view showing a deformed state of the condenser 1 and the air guide 2 before and after the collision, FIG. 6 is a view showing a deformed state of a lower portion of the air guide 2 (a VI view in FIG. 4), FIG. 7 is a view showing a deformed state of the upper portion of the air guide 2 (a view taken in the direction of arrow VII in FIG. 4). Prior to a light vehicle collision, air from outside the vehicle compartment is taken into the engine compartment from the front of the vehicle via an opening (not shown) of the front muffler, guided to the condenser 1 by the air guide 2, and further passed through the radiator behind the vehicle. pass. Thereby, the heat exchange between the air and the refrigerant is performed by the condenser 1, and the heat exchange is performed between the air and the cooling water by the radiator. In this case, as described above, since the gap L between the condenser 1 and the air guide 2 in the front-rear direction is small, the air guide effect by the air guide 2 is high, and the outside air introduced into the engine room is efficiently guided to the condenser 1 and the radiator. As a result, the backflow of hot air from the downstream side of the condenser 1 is suppressed, and the heat exchange efficiency is improved.

When the front bumper collides lightly with an obstacle in the front of the vehicle, the bumper reinforce 3 retreats and a rearward impact load F acts on the notch 2a of the air guide 2. Here, since the notch 2a is provided on the left and right sides in the vehicle width direction with respect to the circular pin 22 and the rectangular pin 23 for supporting the air guide, the impact load F is
A horizontal bending load with 23 as a fulcrum. in this case,
Since the circular pin 22 is rotatable in the horizontal direction with respect to the upper panel 4, as shown in FIG. 5, the air guide 2 rotates relative to the pin 22 as a fulcrum. On the other hand, the rectangular pin 23
Cannot rotate in the horizontal direction with respect to the lower panel 5, a horizontal torsional force acts on the pin 23 due to the bending load, and when the torsional force exceeds the breaking strength of the rectangular pin 23, as shown in FIG. The rectangular pin 23 breaks. In this case, a slit 2s is provided around the mounting portion of the rectangular pin 23, and the strength of the pin 23 is reduced. As a result, the rectangular pin 23 is broken before the capacitor 1 is damaged by the impact load F.

After the rectangular pin 23 is broken, as shown in FIG. 7, the lower portion of the air guide 2 is pushed to the rear of the vehicle by the bumper reinforcement 3, and the condenser 1 and the air guide 2 are connected to the upper panel 4 via the circular pin 26. Held from. As a result, the capacitor 1 can be prevented from coming into contact with other components after a light collision, and the capacitor 1 can be protected. Thereafter, when the air guide 2 is repaired, it is only necessary to newly attach the rectangular pin 23, and the repair cost is low.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the condenser 1 and the air guide 2 are integrated, and the circular pin 22 and the rectangular pin
3 is provided so as to receive an impact load from the front bumper in the notch 2a on the front side of the air guide 2. Thereby, at the time of a light collision, a horizontal bending load acts on the air guide 2 with the pins 22 and 23 as fulcrums,
3 breaks and the capacitor 1 is retracted rearward. As a result, the capacitor 1 is prevented from being damaged, so that the distance between the front bumper and the capacitor 1 can be reduced, and the front overhang can be reduced. In this case, since the pin 23 has a rectangular cross section, the pin 23 can be easily broken by the torsional force.

Further, since the circular pin 22 is not damaged, the capacitor 1 and the air guide 2 are temporarily held by the circular pin 22, so that the capacitor 1 can be prevented from being damaged by interference with other parts. Further, since the condenser 1 and the air guide 2 are integrated, the gap L between the condenser 1 and the air guide 2 can be reduced, the air guide effect by the air guide 2 is enhanced, and the hot air from the wake side of the condenser is reduced. Blowback is suppressed, and the heat exchange efficiency of the condenser 1 and the radiator is improved. Furthermore, since the capacitor 1 and the air guide 2 are connected to the vehicle body by the pins 22 and 23, a connecting member having a fragile structure can be easily formed, and the cost can be reduced.

As described above, according to the present invention, the heat exchanger such as the condenser 1 is connected to the vehicle body via the pins 22 and 23, and at least one of the pins (the rectangular pin 23) has a fragile structure, and the light weight on the front side of the vehicle is reduced. It is characterized in that an impact load is prevented from acting on the capacitor 1 or the like by breaking the pin 23 at the time of collision, and this is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be implemented in various forms. Can be. For example, in the above embodiment, the condenser 1 and the air guide 2 are integrated, and the pins 22 and 23 are
However, pins 22 and 23 may be provided on the capacitor 1. In the above embodiment, the structure for supporting the capacitor 1 has been mainly described. However, the radiator may be similarly supported.

Furthermore, although the pin 23 on the upper surface of the air guide 2 has a rectangular cross section, it may have a non-circular cross section other than a rectangle (for example, an elliptical cross section). Furthermore, although the slit 2s is provided around the rectangular pin 23, the strength of the pin 23 may be adjusted by appropriately setting the cross-sectional shape (such as the cross-sectional area) of the pin 23 or changing the material. . Further, although the rectangular pins 23 are provided on the lower surface of the air guide 2, they may be provided on the upper surface or on both upper and lower surfaces. Furthermore, when supporting the condenser 1 and the air guide 2, the circular hole 4a of the upper panel 4 is inserted into the circular pin 22 (FIG. 4), but a bracket separate from the upper panel 4 is provided, and this bracket is used. Via pin 22 and upper panel 4
May be combined.

In the above embodiment, the pins 22 and 23 are provided on the heat exchanger side (air guide 2). However, the pins 2 and 23 are provided on the vehicle body side (upper panel 4 and lower panel 5).
2, 23 may be provided, and a fitting hole for the pins 22, 23 may be provided on the heat exchanger side. Further, although the capacitor 1 and the vehicle body are connected via the pins 22 and 23, the connection member may be connected via other components other than the pins and the connecting member may have a weak structure.

In the correspondence between the above embodiment and the claims, the pins 22 and 23 serve as connecting members and pin members, the condenser 1 and the radiator serve as heat exchangers, the air guide 2 serves as a wind guide duct, and the cutout portions. 2a constitutes a load application part, respectively.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle front portion showing a support structure of a vehicle heat exchanger according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of a condenser and an air guide according to the embodiment.

3 (a) is a view as viewed from an arrow in FIG. 2, and FIG. 3 (b) is a view in FIG.
FIG. 3B is a sectional view taken along line b, and FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a support structure of the vehicle heat exchanger according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a deformed state of the vehicle heat exchanger according to the present embodiment before and after the collision.

6 is a view showing a deformed state of a lower portion of the air guide (a VI view in FIG. 4).

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a deformed state of an upper portion of the air guide (a view taken along arrow VII in FIG. 4).

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Condenser 2 Air guide 2a Notch 4 Upper panel 5 Lower panel 6 Body frame 22 Round pin 23 Rectangular pin

Continued on front page F term (reference) 3D038 AA10 AB01 AC01 AC07 AC11 AC13 AC20 3J066 AA01 AA23 BA03 BB04 BC03 BF12 BG04 3L065 AA03 AA04 AA05 AA09

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A structure for supporting a heat exchanger for a vehicle on a vehicle body via a connecting member, wherein the connecting member is broken such that when an impact load from the front of the vehicle acts on the heat exchanger. A support structure for a vehicle heat exchanger, wherein the member has a fragile structure. 2. The support structure for a vehicle heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the connecting members are provided on an upper surface side and a lower surface side of the heat exchanger, respectively, and an impact load from the front of the vehicle is provided. When acting on the heat exchanger, so that at least one of the connecting members breaks,
A support structure for a vehicle heat exchanger, wherein at least one of the connecting members has a fragile structure. 3. The support structure for a vehicle heat exchanger according to claim 2, wherein the connecting member is a pin member having a fragile structure. 4. The support structure for a vehicle heat exchanger according to claim 2, wherein a wind guide duct for guiding outside air flowing from outside the vehicle compartment to the heat exchanger is fixed to the heat exchanger. A support structure for a vehicle heat exchanger, wherein the pin members are formed on upper and lower surfaces of the wind guide duct, respectively. 5. The support structure for a heat exchanger for a vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the air guide duct is configured such that a load acting portion to which an impact load from the front of the vehicle is applied is located outside the pin member in the vehicle width direction. For a vehicle, at least one of the pin members has a non-circular cross-section so that when an impact load from the front of the vehicle is applied to the load acting portion, a torsional force acts on the pin members. Support structure for heat exchanger.