JP2014136464A - Aerodynamic control device for vehicle or movable body and vehicle or movable body including aerodynamic control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an aerodynamic control device configured to be able to appropriately control a flow separation range of a flow around a vehicle body or a body of a vehicle such as a motor vehicle or other movable body even in a situation in which a non-stationary or transient flow phenomenon occurs in the flow around the vehicle body or the body.SOLUTION: An aerodynamic control device for a vehicle or the other movable body of the present invention comprises an air flow guide member provided near a front surface of a vehicle body or a body, and guiding an air flow coming from forward of the vehicle body or the body to at least one of a right side surface and a left side surface of the vehicle body or the body while adjusting a state of the air flow. The air flow guide member may be an arm-shaped member extending along a surface of a front screen of the vehicle or the body above the front screen, and may be provided with an angle adjustment unit adjusting an angle direction of the air flow guide member.

Description

  The present invention relates to an aerodynamic control device for vehicles such as automobiles or other moving bodies such as airplanes, hovercrafts, linear motor cars, and ships, and more particularly, the vehicle or other movements while the vehicle or other moving bodies are traveling. It relates to a device for changing the aerodynamic force received by the body.

  During traveling of a vehicle such as an automobile or other moving body, the driving stability (fuel force or aerodynamic force) received from the flow of air flowing around the body or fuselage greatly affects the running stability, fuel consumption, etc. of the vehicle or other moving body. Receive. Therefore, in order to control the flow around the vehicle body or the fuselage of a traveling vehicle or other moving body, a rectifying member (air spoiler) is arranged on the side of the vehicle body or the fuselage to improve the behavior of the vehicle body or the fuselage. Stabilization is achieved (Non-Patent Document 1). For example, in Patent Document 1, the rudder angle of a wing attached to the surface of the vehicle body is fixed or arbitrarily changed to control the force acting on the vehicle body, and the body groove is formed in addition to the wing to change the posture of the vehicle body. A configuration to control is disclosed. In Patent Document 2, a vertical slit is provided in the front bumper of the vehicle to form a duct (aero slit) through which air flows on the back side, and when the vehicle receives a crosswind, it flows from the slit due to a pressure difference between the duct entrance and exit. A structure that reduces the yawing moment due to the airflow by actively separating the flow below the front wind by blowing out the airflow (when there is no crosswind, there is no pressure difference between the duct inlet and outlet, so the flow blows out from the slit. And no air flow separation occurs).

JP-A-5-176413 JP-A-2005-306237

“Automobiles and hydrodynamics: Flow around the vehicle body and aerodynamic characteristics” Junji Sumiya and two others, Nagare 23 (2004) pp. 445-454

  By the way, generally, the flow control or the aerodynamic characteristic control of the vehicle or other moving body around the vehicle body or the fuselage is configured so that the separation region or the adhesion region of the flow around the vehicle body or the fuselage can be appropriately obtained. Therefore, the aerodynamic device attached to the vehicle body or the fuselage is designed so that the separation region or the adhesion region is appropriate corresponding to the flow predicted on the vehicle body or the fuselage. However, the air flow experienced by a moving vehicle or other moving object is often unsteady or transient, and when such unsteady air flow occurs, Where transient flow phenomena occur on the fuselage surface, such as separation, reattachment, and vortex, conventional aerodynamic devices have a relatively narrow control range and cannot adequately handle unsteady or transient flows. There is a case. Further, the flow control around the vehicle body or the fuselage that has been proposed in the past is, for example, a control that is configured in consideration of steady aerodynamic characteristics such as adaptation of steady CY (yaw moment coefficient). On the other hand, it may not be very effective.

  Thus, one object of the present invention is an apparatus for controlling the flow around a vehicle body or a fuselage of a vehicle such as an automobile or other moving body, even in a situation where an unsteady or transient flow phenomenon occurs. Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus configured to appropriately control a separation region of a flow around a vehicle body or a fuselage of a vehicle or other moving body.

  According to the present invention, the above-described problem is an aerodynamic control device for a vehicle, in which an air flow near the front surface of the vehicle body and coming from the front of the vehicle body is changed to the right side surface, left side surface, and roof of the vehicle body. This is achieved by an apparatus having an air flow guide member that guides the air flow to at least one of the upper surfaces while adjusting the state of the air flow. In such a configuration, the “air flow state” specifically refers to the flow rate of the air flow, the size and / or range of the separation region. According to the above configuration, the air flow guide member is located on the front surface of the vehicle body of the vehicle, typically near the surface of the front screen (front window or windshield) of the vehicle, and the air flow guide member is running In this vehicle, the airflow is guided while appropriately changing the state of the airflow passing through the airflow guiding member from the front of the vehicle body and passing through the right side surface, the left side surface, and the roof top surface of the vehicle body. The presence of the air flow guide member adjusts the flow rate of the air flow flowing on the right side surface, the left side surface, or the roof top surface, and the size and / or range of the separation area, thereby stabilizing the vehicle behavior. Gender control.

  In the above configuration, the air flow guiding member may be more specifically a rod-like or arm-like member, and extends along the surface of the front screen above the front screen of the vehicle. May be arranged. The length of the air flow guide member may be approximately the same as the vertical width of the front screen. In addition, the state of the leeward air flow can be arbitrarily adjusted by the angle direction (with respect to the central axis of the vehicle body) in the plane of the front screen of the arm-shaped air flow guiding member, so that the vehicle An angle adjusting unit that adjusts the angle direction of the air flow guiding member may be provided so that the state of the air flow is appropriately controlled according to the traveling state.

  In the configuration in which the angle adjustment unit is provided, the adjustment of the angle direction of the air flow guide member may be performed in various manners. As will be described in more detail in the section of the embodiment described later, for example, when the angular direction of the air flow guide member is set to a direction along the center axis of the vehicle body, the vehicle body is directed to the side of the leeward vehicle body. The separation area of the flowing air flow is the largest, the effect of the yaw moment due to the air flow is the smallest, and when the angular direction of the air flow guiding member is set perpendicular to the center axis of the vehicle body, the yaw moment due to the air flow Therefore, the angle direction of the air flow guiding member may be set to adapt to a desired state. Further, the air flow guide member may be rotatable along the surface of the front screen above the front screen, and depending on the rotation range, speed or cycle, the right side surface and the left side of the leeward vehicle body Since the separation area of the air flow on the surface or the top surface of the roof changes, the rotation range, rotation speed and / or rotation cycle of the air flow guiding member can be changed to suit the desired state. Good. Further, two or more air flow guide members may be provided, and various air flow guide members may be provided in the leeward air flow separation regions according to the respective angular directions or rotation ranges, rotation speeds, and / or rotation cycles. Therefore, the angular directions of the two or more air flow guide members may be appropriately adjusted independently of each other.

  Note that the air flow guide member is disposed on the front surface of the vehicle body of the vehicle, typically in the vicinity of the surface of the front screen of the vehicle, and in an ordinary vehicle, on the surface of the front screen of the vehicle. In that, there is a wiper and the air flow guide member should not interfere with the operation of such wiper. Therefore, preferably, the air flow guide member may be arranged such that the extending range of the air flow guide member is different from the movable range of the wiper on the front screen of the vehicle.

  Thus, according to the present invention, a vehicle including the aerodynamic control device configured in any one of the above aspects is provided.

  The configuration of the aerodynamic control device described above can also be applied to other moving bodies such as aircraft, hovercraft, linear motor cars, and ships. Therefore, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an aerodynamic control device for a mobile body, wherein the airflow coming from the front of the fuselage is near the front surface of the mobile body, and the right side surface of the fuselage. There are provided a device having an air flow guiding member for guiding the air flow to at least one of the left side surface and the roof upper surface while adjusting the state of the air flow, and a moving body including such an aerodynamic control device.

  In general, according to the present invention described above, the aerodynamic characteristics of the traveling vehicle body or the fuselage can be improved by controlling the air flow on the vehicle body or the fuselage surface by the air flow guiding member appropriately disposed on the front surface of the vehicle body or the fuselage. It is done. In particular, in the present invention, by appropriately adjusting the angular direction in which the air flow guiding member is disposed, the state of the air flow in the lee side is adjusted, and more stable vehicle or moving body behavior can be stabilized. It is possible to adjust the sex. Therefore, unlike conventional rectifying members and rectifying structures that are fixedly arranged to correspond to a steady air flow that is assumed in advance, according to the present invention, an unsteady or transient flow phenomenon is caused. Even in the situation that occurs, it is possible to selectively execute control of the air flow in accordance with the phenomenon that has occurred.

  Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the present invention.

1A and 1B are a schematic top view and a side view, respectively, of an embodiment of an aerodynamic control device of the present invention. FIG. 1C is a schematic diagram of several examples of cross-sections of the arm-shaped member as viewed from C-C ′ in FIG. FIG. 1D is a schematic side view of the aerodynamic control device of the present invention mounted on the front screen of the vehicle. FIG. 1E is a block configuration diagram of a control unit for driving the aerodynamic control device of the present invention. 2A is a perspective view (left) and top view (right) of the front of the vehicle when the aerodynamic control device of the present invention is not operated, and FIG. 2B is an operation of the aerodynamic control device of the present invention. They are a perspective view (left) and a top view (right) of the front of the vehicle at the time. FIG. 2C shows the value of the yaw moment coefficient CY relative to the angle of airflow (bias angle) received by the vehicle from the front when the arm-like member of the aerodynamic control device is set at various angles (arm angles). ing. FIG. 2D shows the value of the yaw moment coefficient with respect to the arm angle when the yaw angle is 30 ° and −30 °. FIG. 2E is a schematic top view of the vehicle for explaining the air flow yaw angle and arm angle. 3A and 3B are a side view (upper side) and a top view (lower side) of the vehicle for explaining the difference in lift acting on the vehicle depending on the state of the airflow passing through the upper surface of the vehicle. (A) shows the non-operating state of the aerodynamic control device of the present invention, and (B) shows the aerodynamic control device of the present invention in which the arm-like member is rotated around the central axis of the front screen. It shows the state. FIG. 3C illustrates the state of lift acting on the upper surface of the vehicle in a state where the arm-like member is pivoted to the right of the central axis of the front screen in the aerodynamic control device of the present invention. 1 is a front view (upper left), a side view (upper right), and a top view (lower) of a vehicle. FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a vehicle for explaining the state of air flow when the arm member is rotated in various manners in the vicinity of the side edge of the front screen in the aerodynamic control device of the present invention. FIG. (A), (B) is a figure explaining the difference in the lateral force which acts when an arm-shaped member is rotationally moved only on the right or left side of the vehicle. (C), (D) It is a figure explaining the difference in the magnitude | size of the peeling area which arises when an arm-shaped member is rotationally moved on both right and left sides.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Base 2 ... Rotation motor 3 ... Motor shaft 4 ... Rotation gear 5 ... Arm-shaped member (air flow induction member)
6 ... Windshield 7a ... Car body (front end of roof)
7b ... Body (upper rear end of front body)
8 ... Wiper

  The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to a few preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the figure, the same reference numerals indicate the same parts.

Referring to diagram 1 and 2 of the device, it is in embodiments of the aerodynamic control device for a vehicle of the present invention, Stated generally, an arm-like member 5 is air flow guiding member, a vehicle such as an automobile In front of the front screen or the windshield, it is arranged at an arbitrary angle with respect to the central axis of the vehicle, generally along the surface of the front screen. More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the aerodynamic control device is engaged with the rotary motor 2 on the base 1 and the shaft 3 of the motor 2 to engage the shaft 3. The rotary gear 4 is configured to rotate in response to the rotation, and an arm-like member 5 having one end fixed by a gantry 4 a at the center of the rotary gear 4. As shown in FIG. 1D, the base 1 is attached to the lower portion of the center of the front screen of the vehicle body, and the arm-like member 5 is attached to the front according to the rotation angle of the rotary gear 4. Above the screen, it is set so as to extend in an arbitrary angular direction from a base 1 at the lower center of the front screen in a plane substantially parallel to the surface of the front screen, or the base 1 is pivoted As shown in FIG. That is, the motor 2 and the rotating gear 4 constitute an angle adjusting unit. Since the wiper 8 is usually provided on the front screen as shown in the drawing, the range in which the arm-like member can extend is such that the operation of the wiper 8 does not interfere with the arm-like member 5. Even if it is too close to the front screen, the effect of adjusting the air flow, which will be described later, is not sufficiently obtained, so that the wiper is set to be different from the movable range. Also, two aerodynamic control devices shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B may be provided at the lower part of the front screen so that the respective arm-like members 5 can be rotated independently.

  Various shapes may be selected as the cross-sectional shape of the arm-shaped member 5. As illustrated in FIG. 1C, it may be arbitrarily selected from (i) a rectangle, (ii) an oval, and the like. As will be described later, the arm-shaped member generates a vortex flow in the air flow passing therethrough to obtain various aerodynamic effects, and thus provides some resistance to the passage of the air flow. Preferably, the shape may be (iii) a protrusion or film body added, and as shown in (iv), when the arm-like member is not in operation (in this case, it extends along the lower edge of the front screen) May be provided with a foldable “back fin” structure that is housed in the arm-shaped member and protrudes from the arm-shaped member (radially from its axis) when the arm-shaped member is used.

  Control of the extending angular direction of the arm-like member 5 is executed by the operation of the motor 2 and the rotating gear 4 as already mentioned. Specifically, in the control of the motor 2, first, as illustrated in FIG. 1E, a control command instructing the set angle position of the arm-shaped member or the rotation of the arm-shaped member is given to the motor controller. . When fixing the arm-shaped member at the set angle position, the motor controller gives the motor driver an instruction to operate the motor while referring to the value of any sensor that detects the position of the arm-shaped member. Is done. When the arm member is rotated (reciprocating), the motor driver is instructed to rotate the arm member within the rotation range and rotation speed specified in the control command. The operation instruction is given and the motor is operated. Whether the arm-shaped member is fixed at the set angle position or the rotation of the arm-shaped member may be appropriately determined by the driver or according to the traveling state of the vehicle in order to obtain a desired aerodynamic characteristic, A control command may be generated by such determination.

When the above-described aerodynamic control device of the present invention is used, the motor 2 is driven so that the arm-like member 5 follows the control command generally along the front screen above the front screen of the vehicle. The arm-like member 5 is arranged so as to be rotated to an angular position or to be reciprocated in the angular direction on the front screen. Hereinafter, the state of the airflow around the vehicle body corresponding to the state of the position of the arm-like member 5 in the angular direction will be described with reference to FIGS.

(1) When an arm-like member is statically arranged With reference to FIG. 2 (A), when a crosswind is blowing while the vehicle is traveling, the airflow of the combined wind of the crosswind and the travel wind is It will flow from diagonally forward to the rear side on the opposite side. In that case, the air flow usually flows along the vehicle body in a state of adhering to the vehicle body (the right diagram in FIG. 2A). However, when the arm-like member 5 is arranged above the front screen as shown in FIG. 2B, a vortex flow is generated in the leeward airflow after passing through the arm-like member 5, and the airflow is It flows along the vehicle body in the peeled state (FIG. 2 (A) left diagram), and thereby the yaw moment on the vehicle body due to the air flow is reduced. (That is, the downstream of the arm-shaped member 5 is a flow control area.)

2C and 2D show changes in the yaw moment coefficient (CY) due to the air flow when the direction of the air flow and the direction of the arm-like member above the front screen are changed. . In these drawings, the direction of airflow is represented by the angle of yaw, that is, the angle of the wind in the yaw direction of the vehicle body, with the front front of the vehicle body being 0 degrees. The arm angle is expressed as an angle that is defined as 0 degree on the central axis of the vehicle body and + in the right direction of the vehicle body (see FIG. 2E). The yaw moment coefficient is given by CY = M / (1 / 2ρV ² · A · WB) and is a non-dimensional quantity of the magnitude of the yaw moment generated by the wind. Here, M is the yaw moment, ρ is the air density, V is the relative wind speed, A is the front projection area, and WB is the wheelbase length. Thus, as understood with reference to FIGS. 2C and 2D, when the yaw moment coefficient CY is reduced when the yaw angle is reduced, the arm-like member is moved to the lower end of the front screen. The yaw moment coefficient is also reduced by changing the state extending along the direction of the vehicle (no operation at −90 °) onto the center axis of the vehicle body. As the yaw moment coefficient CY decreases, the influence of the yaw behavior due to the wind decreases, so the figure shows that the lateral stability is improved by appropriately adjusting the direction of the arm-shaped member according to the wind direction and the yaw behavior of the vehicle. It is shown that it becomes possible to adjust. That is, according to the aerodynamic control device for a vehicle of the present invention, it is possible to control the aerodynamic force around the vehicle body and adjust the lateral stability by controlling the direction of the arm-shaped member.

(2) When the arm-shaped member is reciprocally rotated When the arm-shaped member 5 of the aerodynamic control device of the present invention is reciprocated on the front screen so as to reciprocate in the angular direction, its rotation range and rotation speed Various aerodynamic effects can be obtained according to (or period). First, referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, when the arm-like member 5 is not rotated, as shown in FIG. 3A, the air flow from the front of the vehicle is caused by the roof of the vehicle body. Flowing with the upper surface attached, a negative pressure region is formed on the upper surface of the roof and lift is generated. In such a situation, when the arm-like member 5 is rotated as shown in FIG. 3B, a vortex flow is generated in the air flow flowing on the roof upper surface, thereby forming a separation region of the air flow and negative pressure. The effect of reducing the region and lifting force is obtained. Note that a uniform peeling area is formed on the upper surface of the roof by increasing the rotational speed of the arm-shaped members or by simultaneously rotating the arm-shaped members with two arm-shaped members. On the other hand, when the rotation speed of the arm-like member is lowered, the formation of a separation region having a constant period and a steady flow are formed. Further, as shown in FIG. 3C, when the rotation of the arm-like member is limited to the range on either the left or right side from the center axis of the vehicle, the upper surface of the roof on the side where the rotation of the arm-like member has been executed. Only the separation region is formed, and a steady flow is formed on the other side, so that a difference in lift occurs between the left and right sides of the vehicle body, thereby generating a roll moment.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, when the rotation of the arm-like member is limited to the range near the lower end of the front screen, the arm-like member is placed on the side of the vehicle body behind the area where the rotation of the arm-like member is executed. In this case, a separation zone is formed, and thereby the lateral force on the vehicle body due to the air flow is reduced. That is, if the rotation range of the arm-shaped member is set to the right as shown in FIG. 4A, the lateral force to the right side of the vehicle body is reduced, and the rotation range of the arm-shaped member is set to the left as shown in FIG. Then, the lateral force to the left side of the vehicle body is reduced. Accordingly, by appropriately controlling the range in the vicinity of the lower end of the front screen that rotates the arm-like member, the lateral force difference between the left and right sides of the vehicle body is generated, and the turning moment or yaw moment of the vehicle can be generated and adjusted. Generally speaking, as the rotation range is increased or the rotation speed is increased, the range of the separation region is increased and the lateral force on the surface of the vehicle body is reduced.

  Furthermore, when the separation region is formed behind the arm-shaped member by rotation, the air resistance in the vehicle body is increased. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 4C and 4D, two arm-like members 5 are provided (two sets of aerodynamic control devices shown in FIG. 1 are provided), and the arm-like members are respectively provided on the left and right sides of the vehicle body. If the size of the range of the separation area is adjusted by executing the rotation of the member while adjusting the rotation range and rotation speed, the magnitude of the air resistance received by the entire vehicle body can be increased or decreased. . In this case as well, generally speaking, the larger the rotation range or the higher the rotation speed, the larger the range of the peeling area and the greater the air resistance. (The rotation range in FIG. 4C is larger than the rotation range in FIG. 4D, so the air resistance increases.)

  Thus, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, when the pivoting movement of the arm-shaped member is executed, the pivoting range and the pivoting speed are adjusted, and the size of the separation area leeward from the arm-shaped member. It is possible to change the force (lateral force, lift) or air resistance acting on the surface of the vehicle body by adjusting. Therefore, the lateral force, drag, lift, yaw moment, roll moment, and pitching moment of the vehicle body can be adjusted by aerodynamics by adjusting the rotational movement of the arm-shaped member, which can be used to adjust vehicle behavior and motion performance. It will be possible. For example, when a certain body vibration occurs, the body vibration is suppressed by aerodynamically generating a force or moment fluctuation in the opposite phase to the vibration. Also, it is possible to aerodynamically generate a roll moment inward of the turn when the vehicle turns (see FIG. 3C), thereby stabilizing the roll behavior of the vehicle body. The rotation range and rotation speed of the arm-shaped member for aerodynamically generating an appropriate force fluctuation on the appropriate surface of the vehicle body or reducing the force depending on the behavior or running state of the vehicle are experimentally determined. Or, theoretically, it may be determined. The important thing is that the surface area acting on the car body is reduced due to the rotation movement of the arm-like member, and the surface force acting on the vehicle body is reduced. Thus, it is possible to adjust the increase and decrease of the force acting on the vehicle body surface as appropriate.

  Although the above description has been made in relation to the embodiment of the present invention, many modifications and changes can be easily made by those skilled in the art, and the present invention is limited to the embodiment exemplified above. It will be apparent that the invention is not limited and applies to various devices without departing from the inventive concept.

  The configuration of the series of aerodynamic control devices described above may be applied to the fuselage of other moving bodies such as aircraft, hovercraft, linear motor cars, ships, etc., and may be used to control aerodynamics around the fuselage. It should be understood that such cases also belong to the scope of the present invention.

Claims (8)

  An aerodynamic control device for a vehicle, wherein the air flow is located near a front surface of a vehicle body of the vehicle, and the air flow coming from the front of the vehicle body is directed to at least one of a right side surface, a left side surface, and a roof top surface of the vehicle body. The apparatus which has an airflow induction | guidance | derivation member induced | guided | derived while adjusting the state of.   2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the air flow guiding member is an arm-shaped member extending along a surface of the front screen above the front screen of the vehicle, and the angular direction of the air flow guiding member. A device provided with an angle adjustment unit for adjusting the angle.   3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the angle adjusting unit is capable of rotating the air flow guiding member along a surface of the front screen above the front screen of the vehicle, and rotating the air flow guiding member. A device in which a moving range, a rotating speed and / or a rotating cycle can be changed.   4. The apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein two air flow guiding members are provided, and the angular direction can be adjusted independently of each other.   5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an extension range of the air flow guide member is different from a movable range of a wiper on a front screen of the vehicle.   A vehicle comprising the aerodynamic control device according to claim 1.   An aerodynamic control device for a moving body, the air flow being located near a front surface of the body of the moving body and coming from the front of the body to at least one of a right side surface, a left side surface and a roof top surface of the body An apparatus having an air flow guiding member for guiding the air flow while adjusting the state of the air flow.   A moving body comprising the aerodynamic control device according to claim 7.

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