JP2008057405A - Vehicle intake duct - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a duct appropriately crush when external force is applied and return to an original shape when the external force is removed. <P>SOLUTION: The vehicle intake duct D is loosely fitted in a through hole 40 formed on a first duct wall part 22 and extends into a duct main body 20, and includes an abutment support member 50 abutting on an inside of a second duct wall part 24 and a flat spring 60 capable of energizing the abutment support member 50 toward the second duct wall part 24. The duct includes a reinforcement plate 42 supporting the second duct wall part 24 from an inside between the second duct wall part 24 and the support member 50. The abutment support member 50 is provided with a projection part 56 abutting on the first duct wall part 22 and covering a gap between the through hole 40 and the abutment support member 50. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle intake duct, and more particularly, to a vehicle intake duct that includes a first duct wall portion and a second duct wall portion facing the first duct wall portion.

  In many automobiles (vehicles), as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, an engine EG is mounted in an engine room 12 defined in the front portion of the vehicle body 10. As is well known, the engine EG is driven to rotate by burning an air-fuel mixture obtained by mixing clean air introduced through an air cleaner AC installed in the engine room 12 and fuel supplied from a fuel tank. Therefore, it is indispensable to stably supply the external air particularly during traveling. Therefore, a vehicle intake duct D1 for introducing outside air connected to the air cleaner AC is arranged on the front side of the engine room 12 (a front vehicle body component), and air outside the vehicle is taken in and guided to the air cleaner AC. ing.

  Here, the vehicle air intake duct D1 is generally located near the front center of the vehicle body 10, which is the front side of the engine room 12, and is located on the front side of the engine room 12 to fix the radiator RD (vehicle body component). 14 and an engine hood 16 that closes the engine room 12 so as to be openable and closable, that is, is disposed so as to face a gap S defined therebetween. However, as shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 13, it is often difficult to ensure a large vertical dimension due to the vehicle body shape, and the outer shape of the vehicle intake duct D1 has a height dimension. It has a wide flat shape that keeps low.

  For this reason, the vehicle intake duct D1 is molded from a synthetic resin material by a blow molding technique or an injection molding technique, as shown in a partially broken view in FIG. 12, and the first duct wall 22 and the first duct wall 22 The main body of the duct body 20 is the second duct wall portion 24 located opposite to the main body. The duct body 20 has a bent shape due to the positional relationship between the attachment portion to the radiator support 14 and the arrangement portion of the air cleaner AC, and an air intake port 26 is opened at one end (front end) in the longitudinal direction. In addition, an air outlet 28 is opened at the other end (rear end) in the longitudinal direction. Further, attachment pieces 30 and 30 are formed on the front side portion of the duct body 20 adjacent to the air intake port 26, and a fitting connection portion 32 is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the air delivery port 28. Therefore, the duct main body 20 uses the fitting connection portion 32 to connect the rear portion of the duct main body 20 to the air cleaner AC, and has attachment means (pins or bolts, etc.) inserted through the attachment pieces 30 and 30. By fixing the front side portion to the upper surface of the radiator support 14 by using, the air intake 26 is disposed between the radiator support 14 and the engine hood 16 so as to be disposed in the engine room 12.

Here, in the duct body 20 described above, the rigidity of the first duct wall portion 22 and the second duct wall portion 24 is reduced due to the thinning due to weight reduction, the flattening of the outer shape, and the like. The rigidity of the front part of the duct body 20 in which the inlet 26 is formed is low. For this reason, (1) negative pressure in the duct body 20 at the time of air intake accompanying rotation driving of the engine EG, (2) flexibility of the duct body 20 due to temperature rise in the engine room 12, etc. The first duct wall portion 22 and the second duct wall portion 24 are easily deformed concavely toward the inside of the duct body 20. When the first duct wall portion 22 and the second duct wall portion 24 are deformed in a concave manner in this way, the cross-sectional area in the direction orthogonal to the air flow direction in the duct body 20 and the opening area of the air intake port 26 are reduced. Therefore, there arises a disadvantage that the air required by the engine EG cannot be taken in sufficiently. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, a support rib 34 protruding into the duct body 20 is provided on the first duct wall portion 22 at a portion facing the air intake port 26, and the support rib 34 is used to As a configuration for supporting the two duct wall portions 24 from the inside, measures are taken to prevent the concave deformation of the first duct wall portion 22 and the second duct wall portion 24 (deformation of the duct body 20). For example, Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2 discloses a technique related to such a vehicle intake duct.
JP 2004-276869 A JP 2004-308453 A

  By the way, in recent years, a so-called “pedestrian injury reducing body” has been developed, and the engine hood 16 constituting this body is designed to absorb impact by deforming in a concave manner when receiving an impact force from above. It has become. Therefore, when the vehicle intake duct D1 disposed just below the engine hood 16 is pressed from above by the engine hood 16 that deforms in a concave manner, the duct body 20 deforms in a collapsible manner so as to follow this. Therefore, it is required that the deformation of the engine hood 16 is not hindered. Therefore, in the conventional vehicle intake duct D1, as shown in FIG. 13, the shape of the support rib 34 described above is changed to a column shape (a prism or a cylinder) or a cone shape (a pyramid or a cone) (not shown). When a pressing force (external force) by the hood 16 is applied from above, the support rib 34 is compressively deformed in a bending manner or in a flexing manner, so that the crushing deformation of the duct body 20 proceeds smoothly. .

  However, in the structure in which the support rib 34 is compressed or bent in a bending manner or flexibly, the repulsive force gradually increases as the deformation of the support rib 34 increases, and the deformation mode of the support rib 34 is also different for each duct. Therefore, the adjustment of the load was quite difficult. In particular, in the case of the duct body 20 formed by the blow molding technique, it is difficult to control the thickness of the support rib 34 at the time of molding, and thus the strength of the support rib 34 is likely to vary. If it is formed thicker, the crushing deformation of the duct body 20 is hindered as shown in FIG. On the other hand, in the case of the duct main body 20 formed by combining the first duct wall portion 22 and the second duct wall portion 24 formed based on the injection molding technique, it is relatively easy to control the thickness of the support rib 34. Although it is possible, the point that the repulsive force gradually increases as the deformation of the support ribs 34 increases and the deformation mode of the support ribs 34 is not constant are the same as in the above-described blow-molded duct, so that the load still remains. There were inherent challenges that were difficult to adjust.

  Further, since the vehicle intake duct D1 described above is disposed in a portion that is easily accessible by hand on the front side of the engine room 12, when the engine hood 16 is opened to perform maintenance work in the engine room 12, a maintenance worker However, there is a risk of putting a hand on the duct body 20 and putting weight on it, or placing a heavy object on the duct body 20 temporarily. That is, even during normal times, an external force may be applied to the second duct wall 24, the support ribs 34 may be compressively deformed, and the duct body 20 may be crushed. However, the support rib 34 of the above-described form may be plastically deformed when the deformation amount is large, and may not return to the original standing shape even when the pressing force is released. Moreover, since it is difficult to confirm the support rib 34 from the outside of the duct body 20, it is difficult to notice that the support rib 34 has been deformed. If the support rib 34 is used in a deformed state as described above, the duct body 20 is easily deformed due to the causes (1) and (2) described above, and the function as an intake duct is reduced. End up.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle intake duct that can be appropriately deformed when an external force is applied, and can return to its original shape when the external force is released. To do.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve an intended object, the invention according to claim 1 is a vehicle intake duct comprising a first duct wall portion and a second duct wall portion facing the first duct wall portion. In
Abutting support means that loosely fits in a through-hole formed in the first duct wall and extends into the duct, and abuts on the inner side of the second duct wall;
The gist includes an urging means capable of urging the abutting support means toward the second duct wall.

  Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when an external force that presses the second duct wall portion against the first duct wall portion is applied to the second duct wall portion, the contact support means is the first duct wall. When the urging means is deformed by moving outward from the portion, the deformation of the second duct wall portion proceeds smoothly. Further, when the external force applied to the second duct wall portion is released, the urging force (repulsive elastic force) of the urging means acts on the second duct wall portion via the contact support means. The wall portion is pushed in a direction away from the first duct wall portion, and easily returns to the original shape.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a reinforcing portion for supporting the second duct wall portion from the inside is provided between the second duct wall portion and the contact support means. Is the gist.
Therefore, according to the second aspect of the invention, the external force applied to the outer surface of the second duct wall portion 24 is appropriately applied to the contact support member 50.

The gist of the invention described in claim 3 is that, in the invention described in claim 1 or 2, the urging means is a plate spring.
Therefore, according to the invention which concerns on Claim 3, a 2nd duct wall part can be urged | biased by the flexible elastic deformation of a leaf | plate spring.

The gist of the invention described in claim 4 is that, in the invention described in claim 1 or 2, the urging means is a coil spring.
Therefore, according to the invention which concerns on Claim 4, a 2nd duct wall part can be urged | biased by the compressive elastic deformation of a coil spring.

The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the contact support means contacts the first duct wall portion and the through hole and the corresponding contact support member. The gist of the invention is to provide a protrusion that covers the gap.
Therefore, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent outside air from flowing in through the gap between the through hole and the contact support means when the vehicle intake duct is normally used.

  According to the vehicle air intake duct according to the present invention, when an external force is applied to the second duct wall, the second duct wall is appropriately deformed. Even if it is put into practice, it does not hinder the concave deformation of the engine hood. Further, when the external force applied to the second duct wall portion is released, the urging force (repulsive elastic force) of the urging means acts on the second duct wall portion, so that the second duct wall portion returns to its original shape. Thus, the function as a duct can be maintained.

  Next, a preferred embodiment of the vehicle air intake duct according to the present invention will be described and described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, the same components and components as those of the conventional vehicle intake duct described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 14 will be described with the same reference numerals.

  FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a vehicle intake duct according to the present embodiment as viewed obliquely from below, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing each member constituting the vehicle intake duct in a separated state. The vehicle intake duct D according to the present embodiment includes a first duct wall portion 22 and a second duct wall portion 24 facing the first duct wall portion 22, and the first duct wall portion 22 and the second duct wall. The duct body 20 is formed by the portion 24.

  The duct body 20 is molded by a known blow molding technique or injection molding technique. In the case of molding by blow molding technology, for example, after forming a hollow intermediate molded member (not shown) from a synthetic resin material such as TPO (thermoplastic elastomer), both end portions of the intermediate molded member are placed at required positions. By cutting out, the air intake port 26 and the air delivery port 28 are provided. Further, attachment piece portions 30 and 30 having holes for allowing insertion of bolts, pins and the like in the front portion of the duct body 20 adjacent to the air intake port 26 are laterally extended from the duct body 20. It is integrally formed in the extended state. Further, a cylindrical fitting connection portion 32 connected to the air inlet of the air cleaner AC is formed outside the air outlet 28 around the outer periphery of the air outlet 28. Such a duct main body 20 is formed so that the thicknesses of the first duct wall portion 22 and the second duct wall portion 24 are substantially the same at any part, although there are some differences.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vehicle intake duct D of the present embodiment is loosely fitted into a through-hole 40 formed in the first duct wall portion 22 and extends into and out of the duct, and the second duct wall portion. And a leaf spring 60 as an urging means capable of urging the abutment support member 50 toward the second duct wall portion 24. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the through-hole 40 provided in the first duct wall portion 22 is set to a shape and size that allows the abutment support member 50 to be inserted, and is, for example, a circle having a diameter of about 10 to 15 mm. ing. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the through-hole 40 is formed at a position behind the radiator support 14, that is, over the radiator support 14 in a state where the duct body 20 is fixed to the upper surface of the radiator support 14. The contact support member 50 inserted through the through hole 40 is not in contact with the radiator support 14. The through hole 40 is opened by a drill, a hole saw, a hot blade cutter, or the like in a post-process after the duct body 20 is blow-molded. However, when the first duct wall portion 22 and the second duct wall portion 24 are formed by the injection molding technique, the through hole 40 can be formed simultaneously with the formation of the first duct wall portion 22.

  The abutting support member 50 corresponds to the support rib 34 in the conventional vehicle intake duct D illustrated in FIG. 12, and when the inside of the duct body 20 becomes negative pressure due to the rotational drive of the engine EG, Even when the duct body 20 becomes flexible as the temperature in the room 12 rises, it functions to prevent deformation of the front portion of the duct body 20. Therefore, the arrangement position where the contact support member 50 functions properly is based on the premise that the contact support member 50 does not overlap the radiator support 14 together with the through-hole 40 through which the contact support member 50 is inserted. Originally, it is desirable to set the distance L from the front end of the duct body 20 in which the air intake 26 is formed to be approximately 30 mm or less.

  Such an abutment support member 50 is formed separately from the duct body 20 from a synthetic resin material such as PP (polypropylene) by injection molding technology, as described above with reference to FIG. It is a solid or hollow round bar-like member that is loosely fitted in the through hole 40. Specifically, the contact support member 50 includes a support portion 52 located inside the duct main body 20 when the duct main body 20 is not deformed, and a contact portion 54 always located outside the first duct wall portion 22. It is configured. The support portion 52 is set to a length capable of supporting the second duct wall portion 24 from the inside in a state where the second duct wall portion 24 is not deformed (a state where the duct body 20 is not deformed). . The abutment portion 54 is formed with a protrusion 56 having an outer shape that is slightly larger than the diameter of the through hole 40. When the duct body 20 is not deformed, the protrusion 56 is formed in the first duct wall portion 22. It comes to contact with. That is, by covering the gap formed between the through-hole 40 and the support portion 52 with the protruding portion 56, air in the engine room 12 is prevented from being sucked into the duct body 20 through the gap. It has become.

  However, the protruding portion 56 may be formed separately from the contact support member 50 and attached to the contact portion 54. Thus, in the case of the protrusion 56 separated from the contact support member 50, it can also be formed from urethane, rubber, or the like.

  Further, a reinforcing plate 42 that is in close contact with the second duct wall portion 24 is provided on the inner side of the second duct wall portion 24, and the tip of the contact support member 50 is connected to the second duct wall via the reinforcing plate 42. The inside of the duct wall portion 24 is supported. The reinforcing plate 42 is used to appropriately act on the corresponding contact support member 50 even when an external force applied to the second duct wall portion 24 is applied to a portion deviated from the portion supported by the contact support member 50. It is. A locking pin 58 protrudes from the tip of the abutting support member 50, and the locking pin 58 enters and engages with a locking hole 44 formed in the reinforcing plate 42. . However, the locking pins 58 and the locking holes 44 are set as necessary, and may not be formed if it is determined that they are unnecessary.

  The reinforcing plate 42 described above is formed by a separate injection molding technique when the second duct wall section 24 is molded by a blow molding technique in which the thickness of the second duct wall section 24 cannot be controlled. Therefore, when the second duct wall portion 24 is formed by an injection molding technique capable of controlling the thickness, the reinforcing plate 42 can be formed integrally with the second duct wall portion 24.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the leaf spring 60 as the urging means is formed integrally with the mounting portion 62 fixed to the outer surface of the first duct wall portion 22 and the through-hole. 40, and is attached to the outside of the duct body 20 in a cantilever manner. This leaf spring 60 is formed from a synthetic resin material such as polypropylene (PP), for example, by injection molding technology, and the rebound elastic force can be adjusted by changing the thickness dimension, width dimension, etc. When an external force is applied from the thickness direction, a flexural deformation appears.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, when the mounting portion 62 is fixed to the outer surface of the first duct wall portion 22, the contact support member 50 that extends outward from the first duct wall portion 22. The contact deformation portion 64 comes into contact with the tip of the contact portion 54. Accordingly, when the contact support member 50 moves outward of the duct body 20 through the through-hole 40 due to the deformation of the second duct wall portion 24, the contact deformation member 64 is pressed by the contact support member 50 and bent. It is elastically deformed and an urging force (repulsive elastic force) for urging the contact support member 50 toward the second duct wall portion 24 is generated along with the elastic deformation.

  The leaf spring 60 can be attached to the duct body 20 by welding the leaf spring 60 to the duct body 20 using a known vibration welding technique. In addition, a screw fixing form using a separately prepared screw fastening force, a locking claw part provided in the duct body 20 and a fixing part 62 for locking the mounting part 62 to the locking claw part, and an adhesive were used. An adhesive form or the like can also be suitably implemented.

  In the vehicle intake duct D of the present embodiment, as described above, the spring coefficient (spring constant) of the leaf spring 60 is set by setting the size (thickness dimension and width dimension) of the contact deformation portion 64 or changing the material. In addition, the strength accompanying the crushing deformation of the duct body 20 can be adjusted. Therefore, when the spring coefficient of the leaf spring 60 is about 12 N / mm, for example, the front portion of the duct body 20 (the portion where the contact support member 50 is disposed) is pressed at a speed of 25 ± 5 mm / min. If a load of about 240 ± 50 N is applied, the duct body 20 can be crushed by about 20 mm.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle intake duct D of this embodiment described above is first supported by fixing the adhesive reinforcing plate 42 to the inner surface of the second duct wall portion 24 by vibration welding or the like and through the through hole 40. After the portion 52 is inserted into the duct main body 20 and the contact support member 50 is set to the duct main body 20, the attachment portion 62 of the leaf spring 60 is fixed to the first duct wall portion 22, whereby the vehicle intake duct The assembly of each member constituting D is completed. It is also possible to set the contact support member 50 to the duct body 20 with the leaf spring 60 first attached to the duct body 20 and then the contact deformation portion 64 of the leaf spring 60 being greatly deformed. .

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the duct body 20 assembled with the contact support member 50, the leaf spring 60, and the like uses a fitting connection portion 32 to connect the rear portion of the duct body 20 to an air cleaner. The front portion of the duct body 20 is fixed to the upper surface of the radiator support 14 by using attachment means (pins or bolts) connected to the AC and inserted through the locking holes of the attachment pieces 30 and 30. As a result, the first duct wall portion 22 comes into contact with the radiator support 14 that is the front vehicle body component of the engine room 12, the second duct wall portion 24 comes close to the engine hood 16, and the air intake 26 is disposed in the radiator support. 14 and the engine hood 16 are opened forward. Moreover, the contact part 54 and the leaf | plate spring 60 of the contact support member 50 are located in the back side of the radiator support 14, and the movement of the contact support member 50 is not controlled.

  Such a vehicle intake duct D of this embodiment is installed in the engine room 12 and is used as a duct for normal implementation (FIGS. 3 and 4). Even if the negative pressure in the duct main body 20 at the time or the flexibility of the duct main body 20 due to the temperature rise in the engine room 12 occurs, the abutment support member 50 is supported by the leaf spring 60, so the duct main body 20 hardly deforms. That is, in a normal implementation state, the leaf spring 60 elastically supports the contact support member 50 pushed to the outside of the first duct wall portion 22, so that the second duct wall portion is caused by the repulsive elastic force of the leaf spring 60. 24 deformation is prevented. Therefore, deformation of the duct body 20 is prevented, and the opening area of the air intake port 26 is not reduced.

  When a pressing force (external force) by the engine hood 16 that deforms in a concave manner is applied to the second duct wall portion 24 of the duct body 20, as shown in FIGS. The contact support member 50 pushed by the portion 24 pushes the leaf spring 60. At this time, since the pressing force by the engine hood 16 is larger than the urging force (repulsive elastic force) of the leaf spring 60, the contact deformation portion 64 of the leaf spring 60 is flexibly deformed, and the contact support member 50 is It is allowed to move outward of the duct body 20. Accordingly, the second duct wall portion 24 deforms in a concave manner as the contact support member 50 moves downward, and the duct body 20 deforms in a crushed manner.

  Since the reinforcing plate 42 is provided on the inner side of the second duct wall 24, when an external force is applied to the second duct wall 24 within the range reinforced by the reinforcing plate 42, The accompanying pressing force acts appropriately on the contact support member 50. Therefore, even if an external force is applied to the second duct wall portion 24 at a portion removed from the contact support member 50, only the portion pressed by the external force is prevented from being deformed in a concave manner.

  Further, the abutting support member 50 can move to a position where substantially the entire support portion 52 extends from the through hole 40 to the outside of the duct body 20 in accordance with the flexural deformation of the leaf spring 60. Accordingly, the second duct wall portion 24 is positioned in a direction approaching the first duct wall portion 22 until the reinforcing plate 42 disposed inside the second duct wall portion 24 contacts the inside of the first duct wall portion 22. Deformation is allowed. As a result, a large amount of crushing deformation of the duct body 20 is ensured, so that the concave deformation of the engine hood 16 is not hindered, and the shock absorbing performance of the engine hood 16 can be maximized. Is possible.

  When the external force on the duct body 20 is released, the restoring force of the duct body 20 and the urging force (repulsion force) of the leaf spring 60 that urges the abutting support member 50 toward the second duct wall portion 24. The duct body 20 that has been deformed in a crushed manner returns to its original state due to the elastic force. And since the 2nd duct wall part 24 which returned to the original shape is supported from the inner side by the contact support member 50 supported by the leaf | plate spring 60 similarly to before deformation | transformation, the vehicle intake duct D of a present Example. Is provided for implementation while exhibiting the same functions as before the deformation.

  Therefore, the vehicle intake duct D according to the present embodiment has the following operational effects. First, in a normal implementation state where the engine is installed in the engine room 12 and used as a duct, deformation of the duct body 20 is prevented by the contact support member 50 and the leaf spring 60, and the function as a vehicle intake duct is reduced. do not do. When an external force that presses the second duct wall portion 24 against the first duct wall portion 22 is applied to the second duct wall portion 24, the plate is supported by the contact support member 50 that is pushed outward of the duct body 20. Since the spring 60 is elastically deformed flexibly, and the corresponding contact support member 50 is allowed to move outward of the duct body 20 due to the elastic deformation of the leaf spring 60, the second duct wall 24 is depressed. The crushing deformation of the duct body 20 due to various deformations proceeds smoothly. Therefore, when the pressing force from the engine hood 16 that deforms in a concave manner is applied to the second duct wall 24, the crushing deformation of the duct body 20 proceeds smoothly. The engine hood 16 can sufficiently exhibit the impact absorbing performance without being hindered.

  Moreover, since the reinforcing plate 42 is provided inside the second duct wall 24, an external force applied to a wide area on the outer surface of the second duct wall 24 is appropriately applied to the contact support member 50, Partial deformation of the second duct wall portion 24 is prevented.

  Further, when the external force on the second duct wall portion 24 is released, the urging force (repulsive elastic force) of the leaf spring 60 acts on the second duct wall portion 24 via the contact support member 50. The second duct wall portion 24 is pushed in a direction away from the first duct wall portion 22, and the duct body 20 that has been crushed and deformed returns to its original shape. Therefore, since the duct body 20 returns to the original shape, even the duct body 20 having a deformation history is used as a vehicle intake duct having the same function as that before the deformation.

  In the above-described embodiment, the synthetic resin leaf spring 60 is exemplified as the urging means. However, the leaf spring 60 is not limited to the one made of synthetic resin, for example, a metal formed from spring steel. Any material formed from a material having rebound resilience, such as made of rubber or molded from a rubber plate, can be used.

  In the above-described embodiment, the contact support member 50 as the contact support means and the leaf spring 60 as the biasing means are individually formed as separate members. However, the contact support member 50 and the leaf spring are separately formed. As shown in FIG. 7, 60 can be configured as a single member formed integrally if there are no molding restrictions and functional restrictions. Thus, when the contact support member 50 and the leaf spring 60 are configured as a single member, cost reduction can be expected by reducing the number of parts and the number of molding work steps.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the cantilever plate spring is exemplified as the biasing means. However, for example, a double-support plate spring may be employed. In the case of such a dual-supported form, the mounting strength with respect to the duct body 20 is improved, so that the urging force (repulsive elastic force) of the leaf spring can be set large.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the contact support member 50 as the contact support means and the reinforcement plate 42 as the reinforcing portion are individually formed as separate members. However, the contact support member 50 and the reinforcement plate 42 are illustrated. If there is no restriction on molding and restriction on the assembly work to the duct main body 20, although not shown in the figure, it can be configured as a single member formed integrally. When the contact support member 50 and the reinforcing plate 42 are configured as a single member, cost reduction can be expected by reducing the number of parts and the number of molding operations.

  8 and 9 are schematic perspective views showing a vehicle intake duct according to a modified example, in which a coil spring 70 is implemented as a biasing means. That is, the vehicle intake duct D according to the modification is loosely fitted into a through-hole 40 formed in the first duct wall portion 22 so as to extend in and out of the duct and abutment support means that abuts on the inside of the second duct wall portion 24. And a coil spring 70 as an urging means capable of urging the abutment support member 50 toward the second duct wall portion 24.

  The coil spring 70 as an urging means has an upper end abutting against an abutting portion 54 of the abutting support member 50 inside a spring supporting portion 72 mounted or formed outside the first duct wall portion 22, and a lower end portion. Is disposed in contact with the bottom of the spring support 72. Therefore, when an external force is applied to the second duct wall portion 24, the contact support member 50 pushes the coil spring 70 in the axial direction and compressively elastically deforms the coil spring 70. Therefore, the contact support member 50 passes through the through hole 40. The duct body 20 is crushed and deformed as it protrudes outward (inside the spring support portion 72) of the duct body 20. Further, since the urging force (repulsive elastic force) of the coil spring 70 acts on the second duct wall portion 24 via the contact support member 50, the external force applied to the second duct wall portion 24 is released. The second duct wall 24 is pressed outward through the contact support member 50, and the duct body 20 returns to its original shape. Therefore, even in the vehicle intake duct D according to such a modified example, the same effects as the vehicle intake duct D of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

  The abutment support member 50 is not limited to one as in the above-described embodiments and modifications, and a plurality of abutment support members 50 are arranged in view of the shape and size of the duct body 20 and the air intake port 26. It may be. In the case where a plurality of abutting support members 50 are provided, the number of plate springs 60 or coil springs 70 as urging means corresponds to each abutting support member 50 individually. A plurality of the plate springs 60 or the coil springs 70 may be provided corresponding to the plurality of contact support members 50.

  Further, in the above-described embodiments and modifications, the contact support member 50 loosely fitted in the through-hole 40 extends inward and outward (inside and outside) of the duct body 20 in a state where the duct body 20 is not deformed. Although the shape is illustrated, it is also possible to adopt a shape that is flush with the outer surface of the first duct wall portion 22 and does not extend outward when the duct body 20 is not deformed. In the case of the contact support member 50 having such a shape, a leaf spring 60 that can be brought into close contact with the outer surface of the first duct wall portion 22 is employed. Even in the case of a vehicle intake duct employing such a contact support member 50, the same effects as those of the vehicle intake duct D of the above-described embodiments and modifications can be obtained.

  The vehicle air intake duct according to the present invention includes a first duct wall portion and a second duct wall portion positioned to face the first duct wall portion, and the duct main body, for example, between a vehicle body component and an engine hood. It is arrange | positioned in the state which faced the air intake provided in the front-end part of this, and can implement suitably for the various vehicles which have an engine hood especially.

The partially broken perspective view which looked at the vehicle intake duct of the present Example from diagonally downward. The disassembled perspective view shown in the state which isolate | separated the member which comprises a vehicle intake duct. The sectional side view which showed the state which attached the vehicle intake duct to the vehicle front in the state before a deformation | transformation of an engine hood. IV-IV sectional view taken on the line of FIG. The sectional side view which showed the state which attached the vehicle intake duct to the vehicle front in the state to which the pressing force by the deformed engine hood was added. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 5. The disassembled perspective view of the vehicle intake duct which comprised the contact support member and the urging | biasing means as a single member. The sectional side view which showed the state which attached the vehicle intake duct which concerns on the example of a change in the vehicle front in the state before a deformation | transformation of an engine hood. The sectional side view which showed the state which attached the vehicle intake duct which concerns on the example of a change in the vehicle front in the state to which the pressing force by the deformed engine hood was added. The perspective view which simplified the inside of the engine room in a vehicle. XI-XI sectional view taken on the line of FIG. The partially broken perspective view which looked at the conventional vehicle intake duct from diagonally upward. The sectional side view which showed the state which assembled | attached the conventional vehicle intake duct illustrated in FIG. 12 in the vehicle front in the state before a deformation | transformation of an engine hood. The sectional side view which showed the state which assembled | attached the conventional vehicle intake duct illustrated in FIG. 12 in the vehicle front in the state which the pressing force by the deformed engine hood was added.

Explanation of symbols

22 1st duct wall part, 24 2nd duct wall part, 40 Through-hole, 42 Reinforcement member (reinforcement part),
50 contact support member, 56 projecting portion, 60 leaf spring (biasing means), 70 coil spring (biasing means)

Claims (5)

In a vehicle air intake duct comprising a first duct wall and a second duct wall facing the first duct wall,
Abutting support means that loosely fits in a through-hole formed in the first duct wall and extends into the duct, and abuts on the inner side of the second duct wall;
A vehicle air intake duct comprising biasing means capable of biasing the abutting support means toward the second duct wall.   The vehicle intake duct according to claim 1, further comprising a reinforcing portion that supports the second duct wall portion from the inside between the second duct wall portion and the contact support means.   The vehicle intake duct according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the biasing means is a plate spring.   The vehicle intake duct according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the biasing means is a coil spring. The vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the abutting support means is provided with a projecting portion that abuts the first duct wall portion and covers a gap between the through hole and the corresponding contact supporting member. Intake duct.

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