JP2012086660A - Duct structure for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively absorb collision energy, while reducing the maximum value of a load which a duct for a vehicle receives upon a vehicle-front collision.SOLUTION: When a lower duct 100L moves to a vehicle rear side upon a front collision, a recessed part 310 of an end of an air guide shroud 300 receives a rear end 110R of a straightening vane 110 and the straightening vane 110 is bent so that the rear end 110R of the straightening vane 110 is directed to a vehicle front side along an inner circumferential surface of the recessed part 310. The recessed part 310 is formed so that an upper end shape part of the vehicle front side projects downward. Accordingly, the straightening vane 110 is wound round as the lower duct 100 moves to the vehicle rear side. The straightening vane 110 is then bent and wound round, and thereby the collision energy is absorbed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle duct structure.

  There is known an air duct that introduces cooling air taken in from upper and lower grills formed above and below a front bumper into a heat exchanger such as a radiator disposed on the rear side of the front bumper.

  Such an air guide duct is disposed in close contact with the front bumper and the heat exchanger in order to improve the air guide efficiency.For this reason, when an impact is applied to the front bumper from the front of the vehicle at the time of the front collision of the vehicle, Under the impact, the front bumper moves backward, and the wind guide duct for the vehicle pushed by the front bumper is crushed and damaged between the front bumper and the heat exchanger.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a displacement that is interposed between a bumper and a heat exchanger, guides outside air introduced from an opening of the bumper to the heat exchanger, and absorbs displacement due to an impact input to the bumper from outside the vehicle. In the in-vehicle wind guide duct having the absorbing portion, the displacement absorbing portion includes a slit formed in advance in the vehicle duct so as to extend in the input direction of the impact, and an extending direction of the slit with the slit portion as an end portion. There has been proposed an in-vehicle wind guide duct including a bent portion bent in a mountain shape along a substantially orthogonal direction (see Patent Document 1).

  Here, when absorbing the impact input to the bumper from the outside of the vehicle, the energy absorption effect is not exhibited until the in-vehicle wind guide duct is broken. Therefore, the load that the in-vehicle air guide duct receives increases rapidly until the in-vehicle air guide duct breaks, and then the energy is absorbed when the in-vehicle air guide duct breaks, so that the load decreases rapidly. To do. That is, the load received changes abruptly at the moment when the in-vehicle wind guide duct breaks. Therefore, the load received by the in-vehicle wind guide duct has a peak, and the maximum value of the load is the peak value.

JP 2001-080371 A

  In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle duct structure that can effectively absorb collision energy while reducing the maximum value of the load received by the vehicle duct during a vehicle frontal collision. is there.

  The invention according to claim 1 is provided between the opening that opens to the front of the vehicle and introduces cooling air, and the heat exchanger that is provided on the vehicle rear side of the opening, and is introduced from the opening. A vehicle duct for guiding the cooling air to the heat exchanger, a rectifying plate that forms part of an outer wall of the vehicle duct and rectifies the cooling air introduced into the vehicle duct, and the rectifying plate And a weakened portion formed at a boundary portion between the outer wall and the adjacent outer wall, an extending member extending from the heat exchanger toward the vehicle duct, and an end portion in the extending direction of the extending member And a recess that receives the rear end portion of the current plate and curves the current plate so that the rear end faces the vehicle front side when the vehicle duct moves to the vehicle rear side.

  In the first aspect of the invention, when the vehicle duct moves to the vehicle rear side at the time of a vehicle front collision, the rear end portion of the current plate also moves to the vehicle rear side. The rear end portion of the moving rectifying plate is received by the concave portion at the end portion of the extending member extending from the heat exchanger. Then, the rectifying plate is bent so that the rear end portion of the rectifying plate faces the front side of the vehicle by the recess, so that the collision energy is absorbed. Therefore, the load received by the vehicle duct is reduced.

  Here, the collision energy is absorbed when the current plate constituting the vehicle duct is bent, that is, the collision energy is absorbed while the current plate is continuously curved. Therefore, for example, the peak value of the load received by the vehicle duct is smaller, that is, the maximum value of the received load is smaller than the configuration in which the vehicle duct is broken or damaged to absorb the collision energy.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the recess is formed such that the rectifying plate is wound as the duct moves to the vehicle rear side after the rear end portion of the rectifying plate faces the vehicle front side. Yes.

  In the invention of claim 2, since the current plate is wound as the vehicle duct moves to the rear side of the vehicle, compared with a configuration in which the current plate is not wound, even in a narrow space, the rear side of the vehicle duct The amount of movement is secured.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the extension portion is plate-shaped, and the cooling air discharged from the vehicle duct is guided to the plate-like extension portion by the heat exchanger.

  In the invention of claim 3, since the extending portion has a wind guiding effect for guiding the cooling air to the heat exchanger, the cooling air is guided to the heat exchanger by the vehicle duct and the plate-like extending portion. The cooling efficiency of the heat exchanger is improved.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the collision energy is effectively reduced while reducing the maximum value of the load applied to the vehicle duct as compared with the configuration in which the vehicle duct is broken or damaged to absorb the collision energy. Can be absorbed.

  According to invention of Claim 2, compared with the structure which a baffle plate does not wind, even if it is a narrow space, the moving amount | distance at the vehicle rear side of the vehicle duct can be ensured.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the cooling efficiency of the heat exchanger can be improved as compared with a configuration in which the extending portion does not have a wind guide effect for guiding the cooling air to the heat exchanger.

1 is a perspective view showing a vehicle to which a vehicle duct structure according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is sectional drawing which followed the 2-2 line of FIG. 1 which shows the front part structure of the vehicle to which the vehicle duct structure which concerns on embodiment of this invention was applied. (A) is a perspective view of the state which the lower duct which comprises the duct structure for vehicles which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and the radiator which has a wind shroud were isolate | separated, (B) is the radiator which has a lower duct and a wind shroud FIG. (A) is an expansion perspective view which shows the side duct of the lower duct which comprises the duct structure for vehicles which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (B) is an expansion perspective view which shows the state where the side duct bent at the time of vehicle front collision. is there. (A) is a perspective view of a state in which a lower duct constituting a duct structure for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention and a radiator having a wind guide shroud are combined, and (B) is a curve of a current plate at the time of a vehicle front collision It is a perspective view which shows the state wound around. (A) is a side view schematically showing the state of the current plate before the front collision of the vehicle, and (B) is a side view schematically showing the state where the current plate is bent and wound at the time of the vehicle front collision. . 1A is a side view schematically showing a state of a rectifying plate before a front collision of the vehicle, and FIG. 1B is a front view of the vehicle in the first other configuration different from FIG. 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view which shows typically the state where the baffle plate curved and wound at the time of a collision. (A) in other 2nd other composition different from Drawing 1 concerning the embodiment of the present invention is a side view showing typically the state of the baffle plate before a vehicle front collision, (B) It is a side view which shows typically the state where the current plate bent and wound at the time of vehicle front collision

  A vehicle duct structure according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In each figure, the vehicle front side in the vehicle longitudinal direction is indicated by an arrow FR, the vehicle upper side in the vehicle vertical direction is indicated by an arrow UP, and the vehicle outer side in the vehicle width direction is indicated by an arrow OUT.

<Vehicle front structure>
A vehicle front structure to which a vehicle duct structure according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a front bumper 12 is provided on the front surface of the vehicle 10 along the vehicle width direction. As shown in FIG. 2, a bumper reinforcement 50 is provided inside the front bumper 12 so that the vehicle width direction is the longitudinal direction. An engine (not shown) is disposed in the front portion of the vehicle 10 and an engine room 14 covered with an engine hood 16 (see also FIG. 1) is provided. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 10 is provided with a headlight 18 on the vehicle upper side of the front bumper 12 at both ends in the vehicle width direction.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a radiator 60 as an example of a heat exchanger is provided in the engine room 14. The radiator 60 has a rectangular shape when viewed from the front. The radiator 60 has a structure in which a large number of thin tubes made of aluminum or the like are arranged, and fins 66 provided on the narrow tubes are exposed on the front surface 60A on the front side of the vehicle. Cooling water that circulates between the engine (not shown) flows through the narrow pipe of the radiator 60.

  In this embodiment, the radiator 60 is described as an example of the heat exchanger. However, in addition to the radiator 60, the heat exchanger is provided in the vehicle 10 such as a condenser (heat radiator) that forms a vehicle air conditioner. Various heat exchangers can be included.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a lower grill 70 is formed at the lower part of the front bumper 12 on the front surface of the vehicle 10. An upper grill 80 is formed on the front side of the vehicle 10 above the front bumper 12 (between the front bumper 12 and the engine hood 16) and between the headlights 18 (see FIG. 1). In the lower grill 70 and the upper grill 80, a plurality of fins 32 arranged with the vehicle width direction as a longitudinal direction are arranged at intervals in the vehicle vertical direction.

  In the vehicle 10, outside air is taken as cooling air from each of the lower grill 70 and the upper grill 80 and introduced into the engine room 14. Then, when the introduced cooling air (outside air) passes through the radiator 60, heat is exchanged with the cooling water flowing through the radiator 60, thereby cooling the cooling water. (Not shown) is cooled.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle rear side of the radiator 60 is surrounded by a fan shroud 62. The fan shroud 62 extends to the vehicle rear side, and an opening 62A is formed at the vehicle rear side end. A cooling fan 64 is provided in the opening 62A. The cooling fan 64 is rotationally driven by a driving force of a fan motor, an engine (not shown) or the like, so that the outside air on the front side of the vehicle is cooled by the lower grill 70 and the upper grill 80 even when the vehicle 10 is stopped. As introduced.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a pair of left and right plate-like wind guide shrouds constituting a vehicle duct structure are provided on both outer sides in the vehicle width direction on the vehicle front side in a frame portion 68 constituting the periphery of the radiator 60. 300 is provided. The plate-shaped wind guide shroud 300 is arranged with the vehicle width direction being the plate thickness direction, and extends toward the vehicle front side.

  Further, at the vehicle front side end portion of the wind guide shroud 300, there are three substantially circular concave portions 310, 320, and 330 that are concave on the vehicle rear side as viewed from the side, arranged in this order from the bottom to the top and bottom. It is formed (see FIG. 2). The lower recess 310 is formed such that the upper end shape portion on the vehicle front side protrudes downward. Further, the middle and upper concave portions 320 and 330 (see FIG. 2) are formed so that the lower end shape portion on the vehicle front side protrudes upward.

  As described so far, the lower grill 70, the upper grill 80, and the front bumper 12 having the bumper reinforcement 50 are provided at the front portion of the vehicle 10, and the lower grill 70, the upper grill 80, and the bumper reinforcement 50 in the engine room 14 are provided. A radiator 60 is arranged on the vehicle rear side.

  A lower duct 100 </ b> L is provided between the lower grill 70 and the radiator 60 to form a flow path for guiding the cooling air introduced from the lower grill 70 to the radiator 60. Further, between the upper grill 80 and the radiator 60, an upper duct 100 </ b> U that forms a flow path for guiding the cooling air introduced from the upper grill 80 to the radiator 60 is provided.

<Lower duct and upper duct>
Below, the lower duct 100 and the upper duct 100U which comprise the vehicle duct structure which concerns on embodiment of this invention are demonstrated. The lower duct 100L disposed on the lower side of the bumper reinforcement 50 in the vehicle vertical direction and the upper duct 100U disposed on the upper side of the bumper reinforcement 50 in the vehicle vertical direction are basically the same except for the portion constituting the bottom surface described later. The structure is the same.

  Therefore, in the following description, the lower duct 100L will be described as an example, and the L and U after the reference will be omitted unless it is necessary to distinguish them.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the lower duct 100 </ b> L has a flow path 102 that guides cooling air in the vehicle front-rear direction. The channel 102 has a cylindrical shape with a substantially rectangular cross section.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the rectifying plate 110 constituting the ceiling surface of the flow path 102 of the lower duct 100 </ b> L and the lower absorber 120 constituting the bottom face constitute both side surfaces on the outer side in the vehicle width direction of the flow path 102 of the lower duct 100. The side duct 130 is configured to extend outward in the vehicle width direction.

  A slit 140 is formed from the vehicle rear side toward the vehicle front side at a boundary portion between the rectifying plate 110 and the lower absorber 120 constituting the lower duct 100L and the side duct 130. In other words, the slit 140 is formed at the corner of the flow path 102 of the lower duct 100.

  A linear narrow groove 132 is formed on the outer surface of the central portion of the side duct 130 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle along the vertical direction of the vehicle (see also FIG. 4). The side duct 130 is configured such that the narrow groove 132 is slightly convex outward in the vehicle width direction (see also FIG. 4).

  As shown in FIG. 2, on the other hand, the upper duct 100U has substantially the same configuration as the lower duct 100L as described above, but the bottom surface is not the lower absorber 120 but the current plate 110U.

  2 and 3B, the vehicle rear side end portions 110R of the three rectifying plates 110 of the lower duct 100L and the upper duct 100U are provided on both outer sides in the vehicle width direction of the radiator 60. The shroud 300 is assembled so as to slightly enter the recesses 310, 320, and 330 of the shroud 300.

<Action and effect>
Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment will be described. In the following description, the lower duct 100L is mainly illustrated and described, but the same applies to the upper duct 100U.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, when the lower duct 100 </ b> L moves to the vehicle rear side at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle 10 (see FIG. 1), the concave portion 310 at the end of the wind guide shroud 300 becomes the rear of the rectifying plate 110. The end 110R is received, and the rectifying plate 110 is curved so that the rear end 110R of the rectifying plate 110 faces the vehicle front side along the inner peripheral surface of the recess 310 (see FIG. 7A). (See arrow J1).

  The recess 310 is formed such that the upper end shape portion on the vehicle front side protrudes downward. Therefore, the rectifying plate 110 is wound as the lower duct 100 moves to the vehicle rear side (see the arrow J2 in FIG. 7A). Then, the rectifying plate 110 is curved and wound in this way, so that the collision energy is absorbed.

  Although illustration is omitted, when the upper duct 100U moves to the rear side of the vehicle, the recesses 320 and 330 at the end of the wind guide shroud 300 receive the rear end 110R of the current plate 110 and the rear end 110R of the current plate 110. After the rectifying plate 110 is curved along the recesses 320 and 330 such that the rear end portion 110R faces the front side of the vehicle, the rectifying plate 110 is wound.

  In the present embodiment, the rectifying plate 110 of the lower duct 100L is wound so as to wind a vortex counterclockwise in FIG. 2 because the recess 310 is formed such that the upper end shape portion on the vehicle front side protrudes downward. Turned. On the other hand, since the rectifying plate 110 of the upper duct 100U is formed so that the concave portions 320 and 330 protrude so that the lower end shape portion on the vehicle front side protrudes upward, the rectifying plate 110 is wound so as to spiral in the clockwise direction in FIG. .

  In this embodiment, since the slits 140 are formed in the lower duct 100L and the upper duct 100U, the rectifying plate 110 is curved and wound without being constrained by the side duct 130.

  Here, for example, in the case where the vehicle duct is broken or damaged and absorbs collision energy, the load received by the vehicle-mounted duct increases rapidly until the vehicle-mounted duct is broken. When the duct breaks, the load is drastically reduced by absorbing energy. That is, the load received changes abruptly at the moment when the in-vehicle duct breaks. Therefore, since the load received by the in-vehicle duct has a peak, the maximum value (peak value) of the received load increases.

  In contrast, the lower duct 100L and the upper duct 100U of the present embodiment absorb the collision energy while the current plate 110 is curved and wound. Therefore, the peak value of the load received by the lower duct 100L and the upper duct 100U at the time of the front collision of the vehicle is reduced, that is, the maximum value of the received load is reduced as compared with the structure that absorbs the collision energy by being broken or broken. That is, even if the peak value, that is, the maximum value is small, the time for absorbing the collision energy becomes long.

  Further, in this embodiment, since the rectifying plate 110 is wound as the lower duct 100L and the upper duct 100U move to the vehicle rear side, the amount of movement of the lower duct 100L and the upper duct 100U on the vehicle rear side is increased even in a narrow space. Can be secured.

  Even if the lower duct 100L and the upper duct 100U move greatly to the vehicle rear side, as shown in FIG. 4B, the side duct 130 hits the frame portion 68 so that the narrow groove 132 portion protrudes outward in the vehicle width direction. Bending to absorb the collision energy.

  Furthermore, since the cooling air is guided to the radiator 60 by the lower duct 100L and the upper duct 100U and the plate-like air guide shroud 300, the cooling efficiency of the radiator 60 is improved.

  Further, since the lower duct 100L and the upper duct 100U are not in direct contact with the fins 66 of the radiator 60 by the wind guide shroud 300, the breakage of the fins 66 is prevented.

  Further, since the rectifying plate 110 is curved, the possibility that the rectifying plate 110 is broken and the fragments hit the radiator 60 and is damaged is reduced.

<Others>
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the rectifying plate 110 is configured to be wound as the lower duct 100L and the upper duct 100U move to the vehicle rear side, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the vehicle front side upper end shape portion may be a substantially horizontal recess 312 and the rectifying plate 110 may be curved in a substantially U shape.

  Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 8, the upper end shape portion on the vehicle front side may be a concave portion 314 that is inclined obliquely upward, and the end portion 110 </ b> R of the rectifying plate 110 may be curved so as to face obliquely upward.

  In short, any configuration may be used as long as the rectifying plate 110 is bent without being bent.

  Further, in this embodiment, the rectifying plate 110 constituting the upper and lower surfaces of the lower duct 100L and the upper duct 100U is formed with slits 140 at the corners so as to bend freely without being constrained by the side duct 130. It is not limited to. For example, the boundary portion (corner portion) between the rectifying plate 110 and the side duct 130 may be thinned and easily broken.

  In the present embodiment, the rectifying plate 110 constituting the upper surface and the lower surface of the lower duct 100L and the upper duct 100U is curved, but the present invention is not limited to this. The side duct 130 constituting the side surfaces of the lower duct 100L and the upper duct 100U may also be curved.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. Needless to say, various embodiments can be implemented without departing from the scope of the present invention.

10 Vehicle 60 Radiator (Heat exchanger)
70 Lower grille (opening)
80 Upper grill (opening)
100L lower duct (vehicle duct)
100U upper duct (vehicle duct)
110 Current plate 130 Side duct (outer wall)
140 Slit (fragile part)
300 Wind guide shroud (extension member)
310 recess 312 recess 314 recess 320 recess 330 recess

Claims (3)

An opening that opens to the front of the vehicle and that introduces cooling air, and a heat exchanger that is provided on the vehicle rear side of the opening, and that heats the cooling air introduced from the opening. A vehicle duct leading to the exchanger,
A part of the outer wall of the vehicle duct, and a rectifying plate that rectifies the cooling air introduced into the vehicle duct;
A weakened portion formed at the boundary between the current plate and the outer wall adjacent thereto,
An extending member extending from the heat exchanger toward the vehicle duct;
The extension member is formed at an end portion in the extending direction, and when the vehicle duct moves to the vehicle rear side, the rear end portion of the current plate is received, and the rear end portion faces the vehicle front side. A recess that curves the current plate,
A vehicle duct structure comprising:   2. The recess according to claim 1, wherein the rectifying plate is wound around as the vehicle duct moves to the vehicle rear side after the rear end portion of the rectifying plate faces the vehicle front side. The vehicle duct structure described.   3. The vehicle duct according to claim 1, wherein the extending portion is plate-shaped, and the cooling air discharged from the vehicle duct is guided to the heat exchanger by the plate-shaped extending portion. 4. Construction.

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