JP2006111102A - Intake air cooling device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an intake air cooling device for a vehicle equipped with an inter cooler and a flat air duct above an engine, capable of improving the workability of inspection and so forth for an engine body without need for a major design change of an air duct. <P>SOLUTION: In upper and lower walls of the air duct 21, openings 51, 52 are respectively provided at a portion positioned above an oil level gauge 3a of an engine body 3. At the openings 51, 52, there is detachably provided a covering member 60 having an upper cover for opening and closing the opening 51 at the upper wall and a lower cover for opening and closing the opening 52 at the lower wall. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an intake air cooling device for a vehicle, and particularly relates to the field of air duct arrangement technology for taking traveling wind into an intercooler.

  An engine having a supercharger may be equipped with an intercooler that cools intake air that has risen in temperature when compressed by the supercharger. However, in vehicles such as passenger cars, the cabin has improved the comfortability in recent years. Since the engine room tends to be narrowed due to the expansion to the engine room side, there is a problem of how to arrange an intercooler that requires a relatively large installation space in the engine room. .

  As a technique capable of coping with this problem, for example, in Patent Document 1, an intercooler is disposed flat above the engine body, and a shaping cover disposed above the intercooler extends to the front side of the vehicle. And what is used as a running wind intake air duct to the intercooler is disclosed.

JP 2002-155749 A

  By the way, when an intercooler and an air duct are provided above the engine body as in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to increase the height of the bonnet. However, for example, the height of the bonnet is increased too much for reasons such as design. It may not be possible. In this case, it is conceivable to make the air duct as flat as possible, but in this case, the width of the air duct increases in the vehicle width direction. For example, the vehicle is placed horizontally in the engine room. In the case of a disposed vehicle, the air duct covers the front side surface of the engine body on the front side of the vehicle where an oil level gauge or the like having a relatively high maintenance frequency is disposed. In this case, for example, when the oil level is to be checked, the air duct must be removed from the intercooler each time, resulting in a problem that workability such as inspection work on the engine body is reduced.

  As a countermeasure to this problem, it is conceivable to transfer the oil level gauge to a position where the work of removing the air duct is not necessary. In this case, a major design change is required for the engine body.

  It is also conceivable to attach an air duct to the back surface of the bonnet. However, in this case, the impact absorption of the bonnet is affected, which is not preferable.

  Therefore, the present invention can improve workability such as inspection work on the engine main body without making a major design change of the air duct in a vehicle in which an intercooler and a flat air duct are provided above the engine main body. It is an object of the present invention to provide an intake air cooling device that can be used.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is configured as follows.

  First, the invention according to claim 1 of the present application (hereinafter referred to as the first invention) has an intercooler disposed horizontally above an engine body disposed horizontally in an engine room, and the intercooler. A flat air duct that introduces a traveling wind from the front of the vehicle is disposed above the engine body and extends from the intercooler to the front of the vehicle, and is provided on the upper and lower walls of the air duct. In addition, openings are provided in portions located above predetermined portions of the engine body, and an upper lid portion for opening and closing the upper wall opening and a lower lid portion for opening and closing the lower wall opening are provided in these openings. The lid member is detachably mounted.

  The invention according to claim 2 of the present application (hereinafter referred to as the second invention) is characterized in that, in the first invention, the predetermined part of the engine body is an oil level gauge arrangement part in the engine body.

  In the invention according to claim 3 of the present application (hereinafter referred to as the third invention), in the first invention or the second invention, the lid member is a plate-like coupling member that couples the upper lid portion and the lower lid portion. And the plate-like connecting member is provided such that the direction thereof is a direction along the flow of the traveling wind in the air duct when the lid member is attached to the opening of the air duct. .

  Furthermore, the invention according to claim 4 of the present application (hereinafter referred to as the fourth invention) is the lid member to the opening of the air duct when the opening of the lid member and the air duct is circular in plan view in the third invention. Positioning means for positioning the mounting position of the lid member with respect to the opening of the upper and lower walls of the air duct is provided so that the direction of the plate-like connecting member is in the direction along the flow of the traveling wind in the air duct. Features.

  In the invention according to claim 5 of the present application (hereinafter referred to as fifth invention), in any one of the first invention to the fourth invention, the air duct covers the top surface of the intercooler and the engine body. And

  Next, the effect of the present invention will be described.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the upper and lower walls of the air duct are each provided with openings at portions located above predetermined portions of the engine body, and the openings of the upper wall are opened and closed at these openings. Since the lid member having the upper lid part and the lower lid part that opens and closes the opening of the lower wall is detachably mounted, even when the air duct is flat and covers the engine body from above, It is possible to easily access a predetermined portion of the engine body through the opening without removing a cover member without making a major design change, thereby improving workability such as inspection work.

  Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the oil level gauge can be easily accessed through the opening simply by removing the lid member, and the workability of the oil level inspection work performed relatively frequently is greatly improved.

  Here, the lid member may be configured such that the upper lid portion for opening and closing the opening of the upper wall and the lower lid portion for opening and closing the opening of the lower wall are independent, and both lid portions can be integrally opened and closed. Although it is good also as what was connected via the connection member, when it connects, there exists a possibility that this connection member may prevent the flow of the driving | running | working wind in an air duct.

  However, according to the third invention, the connecting member is formed in a plate shape, and the direction of the connecting member is a direction along the flow of traveling wind in the air duct when the lid member is attached to the opening of the air duct. Therefore, the connecting member does not hinder the flow of traveling wind in the duct.

  By the way, the shape of the opening of the air duct and the lid member can be various shapes such as a plan view, a circle, a quadrangle, and a triangle. In that case, when the shape of the lid member is a quadrangle or a triangle, the lid member is previously set so that the direction of the plate-like connecting member is in the direction along the flow of traveling air in the air duct when the lid member is attached to the opening of the air duct. If the shape is formed, the direction of the plate-like connecting member becomes the direction along the flow of the running air in the air duct relatively easily and surely by simply matching the direction of the opening of the air duct and the direction of the lid member. Can be attached to. However, in the case of a circle, it is difficult to grasp the direction as a reference from the outside, and it is difficult to mount it in the above direction.

  However, according to the fourth invention, when the opening of the upper and lower walls of the lid member and the air duct is circular in plan view, when the lid member is attached to the opening of the air duct, the direction of the plate-like connecting member is in the air duct. Positioning means for positioning the lid member mounting position with respect to the opening of the upper and lower walls of the air duct is provided so as to be in the direction along the flow of the traveling wind. Therefore, even when the lid member is circular in plan view, the lid member can be easily And it can mount | wear so that it may become a direction along the flow of the driving | running | working wind in an air duct reliably.

  Further, according to the fifth invention, the air duct covers the upper surfaces of the intercooler and the engine main body, so that it can also be used as a cover for the engine main body and the intercooler.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the engine room 2 of the vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment is provided with an engine 3, a battery 4, and the like. A frame-shaped shroud panel 6 (see FIG. 3) that is attached to the member and extends in the vehicle width direction is provided, and a radiator 7 is fixed to the shroud panel 6. Although not shown, the engine 3 is an in-line 4-cylinder engine, which is disposed horizontally so that the direction of the cylinder row is the vehicle width direction, the intake side is the front side of the vehicle, and the exhaust side is the rear side of the vehicle. It is arranged to be.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the intake system of the engine 1 includes an intake air intake duct 11, an air cleaner 12, a supercharger 13 that compresses intake air by using exhaust pressure, and the like in order from the upstream side. An intercooler 14 that cools the intake air that has been compressed and increased in temperature, a throttle valve (not shown), and the like are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the intercooler 14 is disposed on the upper portion of the engine 3 and is fixed to the constituent members of the engine 3 with bolts or the like (not shown). The core 14a performs heat exchange, and the core 14a. And a cover 14c provided on the upper portion of the case 14b. The cover 14c is provided with a traveling wind inlet 14d composed of a plurality of hexagonal holes for taking in the traveling air for cooling the intake air. The upper and lower walls of the case 14b are provided with the traveling wind intake. An opening corresponding to the inlet 14d is provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a flat (see FIG. 3) traveling wind intake duct 21 that guides the traveling wind entering from the front grill 5 to the intercooler 14 is disposed above the intercooler 14. And extends forward of the vehicle. Mounting portions 21a, 21a, 21b, and 21b are respectively provided on the left and right side portions and the rear side wall of the front portion of the duct 21, and the left and right side mounting portions 21a and 21a are provided on the upper surface of the shroud panel 6 and the rear side wall. Wall mounting portions 21b and 21b are fixed to the cowl upper panel 8 of the vehicle body constituting member by bolts or the like.

  An opening 21c is provided in the lower wall of the traveling wind intake duct 21 above the traveling wind intake 14d of the intercooler 14, and an opening 21c is provided between the opening 21c and the traveling wind intake 14d. The space is communicated through a flexible duct 22 having flexibility.

  Here, the front end portion of the traveling wind intake duct 21 is located in the gap between the upper portion of the shroud panel 6 and the front portion of the bonnet 9 as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a depression 6 a that is recessed downward is provided in a portion where the front end portion of the traveling wind intake duct 21 in the shroud panel 6 is located, and the front end of the traveling wind intake duct 21 is also provided. The lower half 21d of the portion is disposed in the recess 6a. Here, the traveling wind inlet 21e at the front end of the traveling wind intake duct 21 is not visible from the outside of the vehicle through the front grill 5 disposed below the front end of the bonnet 9 that is inclined downward toward the front of the vehicle. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the bonnet 9 is provided at a position higher than the front end portion 9 a.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the shroud panel 6 has a lower half portion 21 d of the traveling wind intake duct 21 extending from the vicinity of the front end of the traveling wind intake duct 21 to the vicinity of the lower end of the rear surface of the front grill 5. An air guide plate 23 extending in the direction is attached. The air guide blade 23 has a bottom surface portion 23 a and side surface portions 23 b and 23 c, and a portion of the bottom surface portion 23 a on the traveling air intake duct 21 side is disposed in the recess 6 a of the shroud panel 6.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a portion of the inner panel 31 of the bonnet 9 that is located above the air guide plate 23 has a cross-sectional shape that is curved upward and is recessed from the vicinity of the front end of the traveling wind intake duct 21. A curved recess 31a is provided that extends so as to extend the upper half 21f of the traveling wind intake duct 21 to the vicinity of the upper end of the rear surface of the grill 5.

  In the state where the bonnet 9 is closed, the upper ends of the left and right side surfaces 23b, 23c of the air guide plate 23 are connected to the upper ends of the air guide plate 23 and the left and right sides of the curved recess 31a of the inner panel 31 of the bonnet 9. Seal members 41, 41 are provided for sealing the gap.

  When the bonnet 9 is closed, the air guide plate 23, the curved recess 31 a of the inner panel 31, and the seal members 41, 41 form an auxiliary duct portion that is continuous with the traveling wind intake duct 21. It is like that.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the inner panel 31 at the front end of the bonnet 9 extends in the vehicle width direction, and the inner panel 21 and the shroud panel 6 are in a state where the bonnet 9 is closed. A seal member 42 is provided for sealing between the upper surface and the upper half 21 d of the traveling wind intake duct 21.

  Here, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and the like, the upper wall and the lower wall of the front portion of the traveling wind intake duct 21 are above the portion where the oil level gauge 3a in the engine 3 is disposed. The circular openings 51 and 52 are respectively provided in the positions located at, and a lid member 60 for opening and closing the openings 51 and 52 is detachably attached to the openings 51 and 52.

  4 to 6, the lid member 60 includes an upper lid portion 61 that opens and closes an opening 51 in the upper wall of the traveling wind intake duct 21 and a lower lid portion that opens and closes an opening 52 in the lower wall. 62 and plate-like connecting members 63 and 63 for connecting these lid portions 61 and 62. The connecting members 63 and 63 are integrally formed with the upper lid portion 61, and the lower end portion is fixed to the lower lid portion 62.

  Among these lid portions 61 and 62, the upper lid portion 61 is provided with a concave portion 61a recessed downward, a flange portion 61b positioned on the outer peripheral side of the concave portion 61a, and a handle portion 61c for operation. The lower surface of the flange portion 61b is provided with an L-shaped engaging portion 64 having a vertical wall portion 64a extending downward from the lower surface and a horizontal wall portion 64b extending from the tip of the vertical wall portion 64a to the outer peripheral side. It has been. Further, an L-shaped engaging portion 65 having a vertical wall portion 65a and a horizontal wall portion 65b is provided at a position opposite to the radial direction on the lower surface of the flange portion 61b (FIG. 5,). (See FIG. 8). Here, the circumferential length, that is, the width of the lateral wall portion 64 b of the engaging portion 64 is made larger than the width of the lateral wall portion 65 b of the engaging portion 65.

  Of these engaging portions 64, 65, a concave portion 64 c that is recessed downward is provided at the center in the width direction of the lateral wall portion 64 b of the engaging portion 64. In addition, a convex portion 61 d that bulges downward is provided at a portion of the lower surface of the lid portion 61 that is located obliquely above the concave portion 64 c of the engaging portion 64.

  On the other hand, the lower lid portion 62 includes an upper wall portion 62a that is curved so as to follow the inner surface shape of the lower wall of the traveling wind intake duct 21, and an annular vertical wall portion 62b that extends downward from the periphery of the upper wall portion 62a. And are provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 (FIG. 7 shows a state where the lid member 60 is removed from the traveling wind intake duct 21), the opening 51 on the upper wall of the traveling wind intake duct 21 has the traveling wind. A receiving surface 51a having a step with respect to the upper surface of the upper wall of the intake duct 21 and on which the flange portion 61b of the upper lid portion 61 of the lid member 60 is slidably mounted, and the receiving surface 51a is notched The first and second cutout portions 51b and 51c are provided. Here, the circumferential length, that is, the width of the first notch 51b is made larger than the width of the second notch 51c. This is intended to prevent an error in the mounting direction when the lid member 60 is mounted in the openings 51 and 52.

  On the other hand, the opening 52 on the lower wall of the traveling wind intake duct 21 is provided with an annular vertical wall portion 52a as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and an annular circumferential wall portion 52a has an annular shape on the inner peripheral surface thereof. The seal member 53 is fixed.

  The lid member 60 is configured to be rotated and attached to the opening 51 of the traveling wind intake duct 21, and is plate-shaped when the lid member 60 is attached to the opening 51 of the traveling wind intake duct 21. The receiving members 51a of the opening 51 of the traveling wind intake duct 21 are arranged so that the direction of the connecting members 63, 63 is the direction along the flow of traveling wind in the traveling wind intake duct 21 indicated by an arrow A in FIG. A convex portion 51d is provided on the lower surface, and the engaging portion 65 of the lid member 60 has a concave portion 64c that can be engaged with the convex portion 51d for positioning the mounting position of the lid member 60 with respect to the opening 51. Is provided.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. First, description will be given of the intake of traveling wind into the intercooler 14. Among traveling winds taken from the front grill 5, those taken mainly from the right side in FIG. It is taken into the intake system of the engine 3 from the intake intake duct 11 and used for combustion of the engine 3, or is passed through the radiator 7 into the engine room 2 and used for cooling the engine 3.

  On the other hand, among the traveling winds taken from the front grille 5, those taken mainly from the left side of the grille 5 in FIG. 1 are auxiliary ducts extending to the vicinity of the grille 5 as shown in FIG. 2. Is taken into the intercooler 14 through the auxiliary duct part, the traveling wind intake duct 21, and the loose duct 22.

  Next, the oil level check of the engine 3 will be described. First, after the bonnet 9 is opened, the lid member 60 is indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 1 from the state shown in FIG. 1 to the state shown in FIG. Rotate approximately 90 ° in the direction. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the engaging portions 64 and 65 of the lid member 60 are positioned in the notches 51 b and 51 c of the opening 51 in the upper wall of the duct 21, and the engaging portions 64 and 65 and the duct are connected. 21 is disengaged from the receiving surface 51b of the opening 51. Then, the lid member 60 is lifted upward from this state and removed from the openings 51 and 52. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, a handle of the oil level gauge 3a located below the opening 51 appears. Then, by grasping the handle of the oil level gauge 3a and pulling it upward, the oil level can be confirmed.

  After the oil level is confirmed, the lid member 60 is connected to the notches 51b and 51c of the opening 51 on the upper wall of the traveling wind intake duct 21 as shown in FIG. With the joint portions 64 and 65 being combined, the lower surface of the upper lid portion 61 of the lid member 60 and the receiving surface 51a of the opening 51 are placed in contact with each other. Then, the lid member 60 is rotated about 90 ° in the direction indicated by the arrow C until a feeling that the concave portion 64c of the engaging portion 64 of the lid member 60 is engaged with the convex portion 51d of the receiving surface 51a is obtained. For example, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the concave portion 64 c of the engaging portion 64 of the lid member 60 and the convex portion 51 d of the receiving surface 51 a are engaged, and the lid member 60 is fixed to the air duct 21. .

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the upper and lower walls of the traveling wind intake duct 21 are provided with the openings 51 and 52 at positions located above the oil level gauge 3a portion of the engine body 3, respectively. In addition, a lid member 60 having an upper lid portion 61 that opens and closes the upper wall opening 51 and a lower lid portion 62 that opens and closes the lower wall opening 52 is detachably attached to these openings 51 and 52. Therefore, even when the traveling wind intake duct 21 is flat and covers the engine body 3 from above, it is only necessary to remove the lid member 60 without making a major design change to the engine body 3. The oil level gauge 3a portion of the engine body 3 can be easily accessed through the openings 51 and 52, and the workability such as inspection work is improved.

  Further, since the upper lid portion 61 and the lower lid portion 62 are connected by the connecting members 63 and 63, the upper lid portions 61 and 62 can be attached to and detached from the openings 51 and 52 at a time.

  The connecting members 63 and 63 are plate-shaped, and the plate-like connecting members 63 and 63 are in a state in which the lid member 60 is attached to the openings 51 and 52 of the traveling wind intake duct 21. At this time, since it is provided so as to be in a direction along the flow of the traveling wind in the traveling wind intake duct 21, the flow of the traveling wind in the traveling wind intake duct 21 is provided even if the cover member 60 is provided. Will not be hindered.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the lid member 60 has a circular shape in plan view and is configured to be rotated and attached to the opening 51 of the traveling wind intake duct 21. However, the opening 51 of the traveling wind intake duct 21 is configured. A convex portion 51d is provided on the lower surface of the receiving surface 51a, and the engaging portion 64 of the lid member 60 can be engaged with the convex portion 51d for positioning the mounting position of the lid member 60 with respect to the opening 51. Since the recess 64c is provided, the lid member 60 should be mounted so as to be in a direction along the flow of the traveling wind in the traveling wind intake duct 21 even when the lid member 60 is circular in plan view. Can do.

  Further, since the traveling wind intake duct 21 covers the upper surfaces of the intercooler 14 and the engine main body 3, it can also be used as a cover for the engine main body 3 and the intercooler 14.

  Further, in a state where the lid member 60 is rotated to be attached to the openings 51 and 52 and in a state where the lid member 60 is attached to the openings 51 and 52, as shown in FIGS. Since the convex portion 61d is pressed against the receiving surface 51a of the opening 51, the receiving surface 51a is indirectly pressed against the lateral wall portion 64b of the engaging portion 64. According to this, the lid member 60 is opened to the opening 51. , 52, the convex part 51d of the receiving surface 51a and the concave part 64c of the engaging part 64 of the lid member 60 can be easily engaged, and the lid member 60 is opened. 51, 52, the engagement between the convex portion 51d of the receiving surface 51a and the concave portion 64c of the engaging portion 64 of the lid member 60 is ensured. Engagement is released Unakoto is not.

  In the above-described embodiment, as the positioning means, the convex portion 51d is provided on the lower surface of the receiving surface 51a of the opening 51, and the concave portion 64c is provided in the engaging portion 64 of the lid member 60. In addition, a positioning display may be provided in the openings 51 and 52, and positioning may be performed based on the display. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the rotation direction when closing the lid member 60 may be displayed on the lid member 60 or the like.

  In the embodiment described above, the direction of the plate-like connecting members 63 and 63 is substantially the vehicle front-rear direction. However, when the shape of the traveling wind intake duct 21 is different, the flow of the traveling wind is Since the directions may be different, in that case, for example, the direction may be slightly inclined in a plan view so as to be along the flow of the traveling wind.

  The opening of the traveling wind intake duct 21 and the shape of the lid member can be various shapes such as a plan view, a circle, a quadrangle, and a triangle. In this case, when the shape of the lid member is a quadrangle or a triangle, the direction of the plate-like connecting member is along the flow of the traveling wind in the air duct with the lid member attached to the opening of the traveling wind intake duct 21. If the lid member is molded in advance so that the direction of the air duct opening and the direction of the lid member are aligned with each other, the direction of the plate-like connecting member is relatively easy and reliable. It can be mounted in a direction along the flow.

  In addition, the lid member 60 is configured such that the upper lid portion 61 and the lower lid portion 62 are connected via the connecting members 63 and 63 so as to be integrally openable and closable, but the upper lid portion and the lower lid are not provided with the connecting member. The parts may be independent of each other, and even in this case, the effect of the first invention of the present application is achieved.

  The present invention can be widely applied to an intake air cooling device for a vehicle.

It is a principal part top view of the vehicle front part which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is an AA cross section of FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross section of the main part BB in FIG. 2. It is a perspective view of a lid member simple substance. It is CC cross section of FIG. FIG. 6 is a DD cross section of FIG. 5. It is an enlarged plan view of the air duct front part in the state where a lid member was removed. FIG. 2 is a partially broken enlarged plan view of a front portion of an air duct in a state where a lid member is rotated by approximately 90 ° with respect to the state of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle 2 Engine room 3 Engine 3a Oil level gauge 7 Radiator 14 Intercooler 21 Running wind intake duct (air duct)
51 Opening 51d Opening receiving surface convex portion (positioning means)
60 Lid member 61 Upper lid part 62 Lower lid part 63, 63 Plate-like connecting member 64c Recessed part of engaging part of lid member (positioning means)

Claims (5)

The intercooler is placed flat above the engine body, which is placed horizontally in the engine room, and a flat air duct is installed above the engine body to introduce the driving wind from the front of the vehicle to the intercooler. An air intake cooling device for a vehicle extended from the intercooler to the front of the vehicle, wherein upper and lower walls of the air duct are each provided with an opening at a position located above a predetermined portion of the engine body. In addition, a lid member having an upper lid portion that opens and closes the opening of the upper wall and a lower lid portion that opens and closes the opening of the lower wall is detachably attached to these openings. . 2. The vehicle intake air cooling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined part of the engine body is an oil level gauge arrangement part in the engine body. The lid member has a plate-like coupling member that couples the upper lid portion and the lower lid portion, and the direction of the plate-like coupling member is within the air duct when the lid member is attached to the opening of the air duct. The intake air cooling device for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the intake air cooling device is provided in a direction along a flow of the traveling wind. When the opening of the lid member and the air duct is circular in plan view, when the lid member is attached to the opening of the air duct, the direction of the plate-like connecting member is in the direction along the flow of traveling wind in the air duct. 4. The intake air cooling apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 3, further comprising positioning means for positioning a mounting position of the lid member with respect to the opening of the upper and lower walls of the air duct. The air intake cooling device for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the air duct covers an upper surface of the intercooler and the engine main body.

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