JP2015200235A - intake system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent breaking of an intake duct from causing damage to the other components during a minor crash on a vehicle body front side for the intake duct provided so that an intake port is located closer to the vehicle body front than a front bulkhead.SOLUTION: A radiator 12 and an air-conditioner condenser 13 are attached to a front bulkhead 11, and a front duct 23b of an intake duct 23 is protruded forward of an upper cross member 11a of the front bulkhead 11. The front duct 23b includes a lower split body 25 fixed to the upper cross member 11a and formed of a hard resin material; and an upper split body 24 formed of a soft resin material, and a circumferential groove 32 extending circumferentially is provided in the lower split body 25 near the upper cross member 11a. It is possible to easily bend the lower split body of the high strength member by breaking of the circumferential groove and prevent damage to the condenser 13 and the like by flying debris at a time of a minor crash on the vehicle front side.

Description

  The present invention relates to an intake device for an automobile engine, and more particularly to an intake device that can reduce an impact force against a collision partner during a forward collision.

  In an intake system for an automobile engine, in order to prevent the intake of hot air in the engine room warmed by the engine, the intake port on the front side of the vehicle body rather than the radiator supported by the front bulkhead in the front side part of the vehicle body in the engine room There are some which are provided to be located.

  On the other hand, in order to relieve the impact force on the pedestrian when the automobile and the pedestrian collide, it is desired to provide an impact absorbing structure at the time of the collision. As such a shock absorbing structure, for example, an intake duct extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body is constituted by divided parts joined by a joining line extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body so as to face the rear end of the intake duct. A wedge-shaped rigid body is provided on the body side, and the rear end of the intake duct hits the wedge-shaped rigid body due to the relative displacement of the intake duct to the rear of the vehicle at the time of a collision, and the intake duct is expanded and destroyed. In some cases, the crash stroke at the time of a collision is ensured to improve the collision safety (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-299443 A

  However, in the thing of the said patent document 1, when the division | segmentation part by which the intake duct was destroyed collided with other parts, there exists a possibility of damaging the part. For example, if a condenser of a radiator or an air conditioner is damaged, it becomes necessary to replace these parts in addition to repairing the front bumper and the front grill, resulting in a problem that the repair cost increases.

  Moreover, the thing of the said patent document 1 had the problem that the components cost increased and the weight increased, since a dedicated component (the wedge-shaped rigid body) for breaking the intake duct was required.

  In view of the above background, the present invention provides an intake device provided with an intake port positioned on the front side of the vehicle body relative to the front bulkhead. It is an object to prevent this.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is an intake device that is disposed in an engine room (2) provided in a front portion of a vehicle body (1) and introduces intake air into an internal combustion engine (3). An intake duct (23) provided so as to pass above the front bulkhead (11) provided at the front portion of the engine room and protrude forward from the front bulkhead; A fragile portion (32) is provided near the front end of the front bulkhead.

  According to this configuration, the intake air can be introduced into the internal combustion engine while avoiding the hot air in the engine room by causing the intake duct to protrude forward from the front bulkhead provided at the front of the engine room. Since the weak part is provided near the front end of the front bulkhead in the intake duct, the front bumper and the front grill are deformed during a light collision on the front side of the vehicle, and the protruding part of the intake duct protrudes forward from the front bulkhead When a collision load is applied, the protruding part of the intake duct bends in the vicinity of the front end of the front bulkhead.Therefore, in the structure that destroys the intake duct, the damaged parts are radiators, condensers of air conditioners, etc. There is no collision with the parts supported by the front bulkhead, and the number of parts exchanged during a light collision can be reduced.

  In the above invention, the intake duct (23) may protrude obliquely downward from the front to the front of the front bulkhead.

  According to this configuration, the forward projecting portion of the intake duct can be reliably bent downward in the vehicle body by a load applied from the front side at the time of a collision on the front side of the vehicle.

  Further, the protruding portion (23b) protruding forward from the front bulkhead in the intake duct has an upper divided body (24) and a lower divided body (25) which are divided vertically on a plane along the protruding direction. The upper divided body may be formed of a soft material, the lower divided body may be formed of a hard resin material, and the fragile portion may be provided in the lower divided body.

  According to this configuration, since the fragile portion is provided in the lower divided body that constitutes the lower side of the protruding portion of the intake duct, the protruding portion of the intake duct bends downward during a collision on the front side of the vehicle. As a result, the upper divided body made of soft material is positioned on the front side of the vehicle body, and when a load is applied from the front side of the vehicle body (obliquely upward) at the time of a light collision, the impact can be absorbed by deformation of the upper divided body made of soft material. The shock absorption can be suitably performed. In addition, the shape-retaining property that maintains the shape of the long intake duct by protruding forward from the front bulkhead can be secured by the lower divided body made of the hard resin material.

  The upper divided body projects forward from the lower divided body and has a duct front end (24a) that forms an air inlet, and the duct front end is a member (26) fixed to the front grille. It is good to be placed on the top.

  According to this configuration, the duct front end portion is mounted on the member fixed to the front grille by the shape following property of the soft material by providing the duct front end portion forming the air inlet at the protruding end portion of the upper divided body. The sealing of the projecting portion of the upper divided body can be ensured only by placing. Furthermore, since the fixed state is maintained by the adhesion of the soft material without the need for fasteners or screws, the fixing structure can be simplified, so the intake port is placed close to the front grill where it is difficult to screw. It can arrange | position and can suppress inhalation of the hot air of an engine room much more.

  Moreover, the said weak part is good to include the groove | channel (32 * 33) extended in the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface of the said lower side division body.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to easily realize a structure that makes it easier to bend the lower divided body downward in the event of a collision on the front side of the vehicle body.

  As described above, according to the present invention, since the fragile portion is provided near the front end of the front bulkhead in the intake duct, the front bumper and the front grill are deformed at the time of a light collision on the front side of the vehicle, and are forward of the front bulkhead. When a collision load is applied to the protruding part of the intake duct that protrudes from the front, the protruding part of the intake duct bends near the front end of the front bulkhead. It does not hit parts supported by the front bulkhead such as radiators and condensers of air conditioners, and the number of parts exchanged during a light collision can be reduced.

The perspective view which shows the engine room of the front part of the motor vehicle to which this invention was applied, remove | excluding the engine hood Cross section along line II-II in FIG. Disassembled side view of front duct in intake duct (A) is a cross-sectional view of the cross section taken along line IVa-IVa in FIG. 1 as viewed in the direction of the arrow, (b) is a cross-sectional view of the cross section taken along line IVb-IVb in FIG. A perspective view of the intake duct as seen from diagonally forward of the vehicle A perspective view of the air intake duct as viewed from an oblique rear of the vehicle Side view showing bent state of intake duct due to light forward collision The figure corresponding to FIG.4 (b) which shows the other example of a weak part.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an engine room at the front of an automobile to which the present invention is applied, with an engine hood removed. In the following description, when front / rear, left / right, and upper / lower are used, the direction of the vehicle body 1 is indicated by an arrow in the figure.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an engine 3 as an internal combustion engine is mounted horizontally in an engine room 2 provided at a front portion of a vehicle body 1. A bumper face 4, a front grille 5, and left and right headlights 6 are disposed at the front of the vehicle body 1. The bumper face 4 and the front grille 5 are made of synthetic resin, and are integrally coupled by fasteners or the like provided at appropriate positions on the mating surfaces. The bumper face 4 is supported by a bumper beam (not shown) coupled to a vehicle body frame (not shown) via an extension (not shown), and the front grille 5 may also be supported by the bumper beam. 6 is fixed to the vehicle body 1.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part when a cross section taken along line II-II in FIG. 1 is viewed in the direction of the arrow. The two-dot chain line in the figure indicates the engine hood 7. As shown in FIG. 2, a front bulkhead 11 is provided at the front portion of the vehicle body 1 in the engine room 2. The front bulkhead 11 is formed, for example, by joining members formed by pressing a steel plate into a concave shape and combining the members formed in a rectangular closed cross-sectional shape according to the strength so as to have a rectangular frame portion in the front view of the vehicle body 1. Is formed. Note that left and right side members (not shown) extending in the vertical direction on the left and right sides (both sides in the vehicle body width direction) of the frame portion of the front bulkhead 11 are coupled to the left and right front side frames (not shown) to form the vehicle body frame. Thus, the front bulkhead 11 is supported.

  Inside the frame portion of the front bulkhead 11, a radiator 12 and a condenser 13 of an air conditioner are disposed. Appropriate locations of the radiator 12 and the outer periphery of the condenser 13 are fixed to the frame portion of the front bulkhead 11, the condenser 13 is disposed on the front side of the front bulkhead 11, and the radiator 12 is disposed on the rear side. A radiator fan 14 is attached to the rear surface.

  The upper cross member 11a that forms the upper part of the frame portion of the front bulkhead 11 is formed of a U-shaped cross-sectionally pressed steel plate that is open to the lower side, and is within the width of the upper cross member 11a in the vehicle front-rear direction. The radiator 12 and the capacitor 13 are accommodated. As a result, when the vehicle body 1 has a frontal collision, a member disposed in front of the front bulkhead 11 strikes the front bulkhead 11, and the impact force is not enough to deform the front bulkhead 11. Damage to the radiator 12 and the capacitor 13 can be prevented.

  Next, with reference to FIG.1 and FIG.2, the outline of the intake device to which this invention was applied is demonstrated. An intake manifold 22 is provided on the upstream side of the intake manifold 21 attached to the engine 3, and an intake duct 23 that extends forward of the vehicle via an air cleaner 20 is coupled to the intake manifold 22. Yes. The intake duct 23 is for introducing intake air into the engine 3 via the air cleaner 20, the intake manifold 22 and the intake manifold 21, and takes in intake air so as not to take in hot air in the engine room 2. The air inlet 23a is positioned in the vicinity of the front grille 5 on the front side of the vehicle body 1. In this way, the intake device that introduces the intake air taken from the intake port 23a into the engine 3 is configured.

  In the engine room 2, the intake manifold 22 is positioned below the upper cross member 11 a of the front bulkhead 11, and the intake duct 23 extends forward so as to get over the upper cross member 11 a. . The intake duct 23 in the illustrated example is formed by connecting a front duct 23b that protrudes from the upper cross member 11a toward the front grille 5 and a rear duct 23c that extends from the upper cross member 11a to the coupling portion of the air cleaner 20. Has been. The front duct 23 b constitutes a protruding portion that protrudes forward from the front bulkhead 11.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the front duct 23 b is formed by overlapping an upper divided body 24 and a lower divided body 25 that can be divided in the vertical direction of the vehicle body 1. The upper divided body 24 has a concave cross-sectional shape opened downward, and the lower divided body 25 has a concave cross-sectional shape opened upward so as to face the upper divided body 24, and By superposing, an intake air introduction path having a substantially rectangular closed cross-section shape is formed by the concave cross-sections.

  The lower divided body 25 may be formed of, for example, PP material as a hard resin material, and the upper divided body 24 may be formed of, for example, thermoplastic elastomer as a soft material. A synthetic resin material is suitable as the material of the upper divided body 24 and the lower divided body 25, but the type of the synthetic resin material is not limited to the above example, and the lower divided body 25 has a shape retaining property. The upper divided body 24 is preferably a soft resin material that is not easily deformed by vibration or the like during traveling, but is easily deformable by an external force.

  The lower divided body 25 has a body portion 25a formed in a substantially rectangular closed cross-sectional shape on the upper cross member 11a side, a concave surface shape continuous with the lower half portion of the body portion 25a, and extends to the front side of the vehicle body 1. It has the extended lower part 25b. A pair of left and right plate-like fixing plate portions 25c formed between the extending ends of a pair of ribs extending to the left and right sides of the body portion 25a are provided at the lower portions on the left and right sides of the body portion 25a. The fixing plate portion 25c and the upper cross member 11a are each provided with a clip insertion hole, and the body portion 25a is fixed to the upper surface of the upper cross member 11a by a clip 31 inserted through the clip insertion hole (FIG. 2 and FIG. 2). 4). As described above, the lower extension 25b has a concave cross-sectional shape that is continuous with the lower half of the body 25a (see FIG. 4), and the body 25a is fixed to the upper surface of the upper cross member 11a. The upper cross member 11a extends obliquely downward toward the front of the vehicle body 1 (see FIG. 2).

  The upper divided body 24 has a duct front end portion 24a formed to extend forward of the lower extension portion 25b, and extends rearward from the duct front end portion 24a and is located above the lower extension portion 25b. And an upper extending portion 24b overlapped with each other. The upper extending portion 24b has a concave cross-sectional shape that opposes the concave shape of the lower extending portion 25b, forms an intake air introduction path between the upper extending portion 25b, and the lower divided body 25. Are joined to the upper half of the body portion 25a. In addition, the coupling | bonding of the upper side division body 24 and the lower side division body 25 may be a well-known structure in the case of assembling synthetic resin materials. In the illustrated example, the engagement protrusions provided on the left and right side walls of the lower extension 25b are engaged with the engagement recesses provided on the left and right side walls of the upper extension 24b by an elastic restoring force. is there.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the upper divided body 24 is formed in the vicinity of the duct front end portion 24 a in the upper extending portion 24 b between the extending ends of a pair of ribs extending rightward. A plate-like fixed plate portion 24c is provided. The fixed plate portion 24c has a fixed surface that is spaced apart from the pair of fixed plate portions 25c in the axial direction of the front duct 23b and orthogonal to the fixed surface of the pair of fixed plate portions 25c. A wind guide duct 26 made of, for example, a soft synthetic resin (for example, TPO) coupled with a clip or a tapping screw is fixed to the rear surface of the front grill 5, and a support piece formed integrally with the wind guide duct 26. 26a is provided in the shape of a wall on the right side of the front duct 23b. Similarly to the fixing plate portion 25c, the fixing plate portion 24c and the support piece 26a are each provided with a clip insertion hole, and the upper divided body 24 is fixed to the support piece 26a by the clip 31 inserted through the clip insertion hole. The The air guide duct 26 has a portion extending in the flow direction above the fresh air flow path so as to guide the fresh air entering from the front grill 5 toward the radiator 12 (condenser 13). This further prevents hot air in the engine room 2 from flowing into the front grille 5 from the engine hood 7 and mixing with fresh air. With the air guide duct 26 thus provided, the cooling efficiency of the radiator 12 (capacitor 13) can be effectively improved.

  In this way, the front duct 23b composed of the upper divided body 24 and the lower divided body 25 that are integrally coupled to each other is fixed to the vehicle body 1. Further, since the lower divided body 25 is made of a hard resin material, it is possible to ensure the overall strength of the front duct 23b that is extended to the front of the vehicle.

  The duct front end portion 24 a is placed on the upper surface of the portion that guides the flow of fresh air in the air guide duct 26. The front duct 23b is fixed at three locations that form a triangle together with the two locations that fix the body portion 25a on the rear side of the vehicle to the upper cross member 11a of the front bulkhead 11, so that the front duct 23b travels. Since vibration at the time is prevented without any problem, there is no problem even if the duct front end 24a is placed on the upper surface of the air guide duct 26.

  The air inlet 23a is formed by a duct front end portion 24a so as to open forward and downward when the front duct 23b is assembled. Further, the air guide duct 26 is provided with an opening 26b corresponding to a portion that opens below the air inlet 23a. Thereby, the air flowing in from the front grille 5 side can be taken into the front duct 23b from the front and the lower side of the vehicle.

  The duct front end portion 24a is merely placed on the upper surface of the air guide duct 26, but the upper divided body 24 including the duct front end portion 24a is formed of a soft material (elastomer in the present embodiment). Thereby, for example, even if the upper surface of the air guide duct 26 has a slight waveform, there is a shape following property due to deformation of the soft material, and there is no problem just by placing the duct front end portion 24a on the air guide duct 26. And the sealing property at the edge of the opening 26b is ensured.

  For example, when the upper divided body 24 is also formed of the same hard resin material as the lower divided body 25, the assembly accuracy of the front bulkhead 11 and the air guide duct 26 is not required, and the front end of the long front duct 23b In order to align the duct front end portion 24a with the opening 26b, it is necessary to fix the duct front end portion 24a using fasteners, screws, or the like. On the other hand, if the intake port 23a (the duct front end 24a) is placed close to the front grille 5 so as not to take in hot air from the engine room 2 as much as possible, it becomes difficult to secure a working space from above the front grille 5, It becomes difficult to fix the duct front end 24a. On the other hand, according to the present invention, since the upper divided body 24 is formed of a soft material, a fixed state is ensured only by placing the duct front end portion 24a on the air guide duct 26 due to its adhesion. As shown in the example, it can be clipped at three points, and the fixing structure of the intake duct 23 can be simplified.

  As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, in the vicinity of the body portion 25 a of the lower divided body 25 (near the upper cross member 11 a (front bulkhead 11)), the outer circumferential surface of the lower divided body 25 is arranged in the circumferential direction. A circumferential groove 32 formed so as to extend is provided. The circumferential groove 32 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the lower extending portion 25 b of the concave cross-sectional shape over the entire length in the circumferential direction, and is provided in the lower half circumference of the front duct 23 b constituting the intake duct 23. It has been.

  By configuring the intake duct 23 in this way, the front duct 23b extends forward from the front bulkhead 11, and the intake port 23a formed by the duct front end 24a is from the front bulkhead 11 (radiator 12). It opens in the front and immediately behind the front grill 5. Thereby, the hot air in the engine room 2 is not introduced into the engine 3 as the intake air, and a preferable intake air can be introduced.

  On the other hand, when the intake duct 23 is extended to the vicinity of the front grill 5, the load F at the time of a light front collision of the vehicle body 1 causes the intake duct 23 to pass through the front grill 5 as shown by an arrow in FIG. There is a risk of joining the front duct 23b.

  According to the present invention, with respect to the input of the load F, the soft soft material upper divided body 24 is freely deformed and can be in a collapsed state with almost no resistance. The air guide duct 26 on which the duct front end portion 24a is placed is also a soft material, and can be in a crushing state without substantial resistance. On the other hand, the lower divided body 25 of the hard resin material is not easily deformed, but as described above, the circumferential groove 32 is provided in the vicinity of the upper cross member 11a of the front bulkhead 11, and is applied from the front of the vehicle. When the lower divided body 25 tries to bend downward as indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 7 due to the load F, the upper portion of the circumferential groove 32 may be broken. That is, the thinned portion by forming the circumferential groove 32 in the lower divided body 25 is a fragile portion. When the upper portion breaks once, the circumferential groove 32 breaks down to the lower portion. As shown in FIG. 7, the lower divided body 25 is bent downward with the circumferential groove 32 at the bottom as a thin hinge portion. become. It should be noted that the breaking strength of the portion provided with the circumferential groove 32 is preferably such that it is broken by a load F of 3 kg.

  As a result, when a load is applied from the front to the front duct 23b of the intake duct 23 at the time of a frontal collision, the soft upper divided body 24 made of a soft resin material is not deformed to break, and the hard resin material is used. Since the lower divided body 25 made of is prevented from being deformed by being bent easily, the capacitor 13 and the like are not damaged by the scattering of the fragments. Therefore, the repair location can be reduced and the repair cost can be suppressed.

  In the above embodiment, the portion of the circumferential groove 32 provided at the bottom of the lower divided body 25 is located near the front end of the upper cross member 11a (so as to match the corner on the front side of the vehicle). As a result, the lower divided body 25 can bend at a portion of the circumferential groove 32 with the corner on the vehicle front side of the upper cross member 11a as a fulcrum, and can be bent more reliably.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the front duct 23b is bent obliquely downward from the upper cross member 11a toward the front. Thereby, when the load F is applied from the front as shown by the arrow in FIG. 7, the front duct 23 b is easily bent downward, and the thin portion by the circumferential groove 32 in the lower divided body 25 is surely broken. Can do.

  Moreover, the groove | channel as a weak part by this invention is not restricted to the said circumferential groove | channel 32, The other example of a weak part is shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 8, a plurality of long hole-like grooves 33 that are long in the circumferential direction are arranged on the outer circumferential surface of the lower divided body 25 so as to be continuous in the circumferential direction. Thereby, similarly to the circumferential groove 32 in the illustrated example, the portion provided with the long hole-shaped groove 33 becomes a thin-walled portion, and the thin-walled portion due to the long-hole-shaped groove 33 in the lower divided body 25 is broken at the time of a front collision, Since the plurality of long hole-shaped grooves 33 can be cut in the continuous circumferential direction, the same operational effects as in the illustrated example can be obtained. In the example of FIG. 8, the long hole-shaped groove 33 having the thin wall as the bottom wall is shown, but a long hole penetrating the peripheral wall of the lower divided body 25 may be used.

  In the above embodiment, in the piping of the intake duct 23, the rear duct 23c having a bellows-like portion is provided as a separate part in order to facilitate the routing between the upper cross member 11a side and the lower intake manifold 22 side. However, the front duct 23b and the rear duct 23c may be formed as a single unit.

  Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments and can be easily understood by those skilled in the art. As long as it does not deviate from the above, it can be appropriately changed. For example, although the circumferential groove 32 is provided over the entire length in the circumferential direction of the lower divided body 25, it may be partially provided in the vicinity of the mating surface side with the upper divided body 24. Since a large tension acts on the upper portion of the lower divided body 25 due to the downward bending of the lower divided body 25, the circumferential groove portion provided on the upper portion of the lower divided body 25 is broken by the tension, which triggers it. Can be broken to the lower part of the lower divided body 25. In addition, the front duct 23b is configured by the upper divided body 24 and the lower divided body 25 that are divided vertically, but the dividing direction is not limited to the vertical direction, and may be the left-right direction. Even in that case, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained by bending in either the left or right direction. In addition, all the components shown in the above embodiment are not necessarily essential, and can be appropriately selected without departing from the gist of the present invention.

1 Car body 2 Engine room 3 Engine (internal combustion engine)
11 Front bulkhead 11a Upper cross member (front bulkhead)
23 Intake duct 23b Front duct 24 Upper divided body 24a Duct front end 25 Lower divided body 26 Air duct (member fixed to the front grille)
32 Circumferential groove (fragile part)
33 Slotted slot (fragile part)

Claims (5)

An intake device that is disposed in an engine room provided in a front portion of a vehicle body and introduces intake air into an internal combustion engine,
An intake duct provided so as to pass above the front bulkhead provided at the front of the engine room and protrude forward from the front bulkhead;
An air intake apparatus, wherein a weak portion is provided near a front end of the front bulkhead in the air intake duct.   The intake device according to claim 1, wherein the intake duct projects obliquely downward from the front to the front of the front bulkhead. The protruding portion that protrudes forward from the front bulkhead in the intake duct has an upper divided body and a lower divided body that are divided vertically in a plane along the protruding direction,
The upper divided body is formed of a soft material,
The lower divided body is formed of a hard resin material,
The intake device according to claim 1, wherein the weakened portion is provided in the lower divided body. The upper divided body projects forward from the lower divided body, and has a duct front end portion that forms an air inlet,
The intake device according to claim 3, wherein the duct front end is placed on a member fixed to a front grill.   The intake device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the fragile portion includes a groove extending in a circumferential direction of an outer peripheral surface of the lower divided body.

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