JP2017100586A - Vehicular lower-part airflow control apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular lower-part airflow control apparatus capable of leading, upward of a vehicle, an airflow flowing underneath of the vehicle when the vehicle travels.SOLUTION: A vehicular lower-part airflow control apparatus 20 includes: an undercover opening part 26 disposed in an undercover 24 arranged on a rear side of a vehicle, rearward than a rear wheel 22; a bumper cover opening part 30 that is disposed in a rear bumper cover 28 arranged on a vehicular upper side of the undercover 24 and positioned vehicular rearward and vehicular upward of the undercover opening part 26; an airflow channel 32 for communicating the undercover opening part 26 with the bumper cover opening part 30; and an opening-closing plate 34 that is disposed in the undercover 24 and is an embodiment of opening-closing means for opening-closing the airflow channel 32.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle lower air flow control device.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for optimizing aerodynamic characteristics by changing the angle of an undercover disposed on the rear side of a vehicle with respect to a road surface with respect to a rear wheel.

JP 2006-290229 A

  By the way, downforce can be obtained by guiding the airflow flowing below the vehicle when the vehicle is traveling upward. However, the rear portion of the vehicle with respect to the rear wheels tends to hinder the air flow from the vehicle lower side to the vehicle upper side.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle lower air flow control device capable of guiding an air flow flowing below a vehicle when the vehicle is traveling in consideration of the above fact.

  The vehicle lower air flow control device according to claim 1 of the present invention is disposed at an under cover opening provided in an under cover disposed on the vehicle rear side of the rear wheel, and on the vehicle upper side of the under cover. A bumper opening that is provided on the bumper cover and is located on the vehicle rear side of the under cover opening and on the vehicle upper side, and an air flow path that communicates the under cover opening and the bumper cover opening. And an opening / closing means provided on the under cover or the bumper cover, for opening and closing the air flow path.

  In the vehicle lower air flow control device according to claim 1, when the air flow path is opened by the opening / closing means, a part of the air flowing below the vehicle when the vehicle travels passes through the air flow path from the under cover opening, It is discharged from the bumper cover opening located on the vehicle rear side and the vehicle upper side with respect to the under cover opening. That is, by opening the air flow path when the vehicle is running, a part of the air flow flowing below the vehicle is guided to the upper side of the vehicle through the air flow path.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the vehicle lower part airflow control apparatus which can guide the airflow which flows under a vehicle at the time of vehicle travel to the vehicle upper direction can be provided.

It is the perspective view which looked at the vehicle provided with the vehicle lower part airflow control apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention from diagonally downward. It is the side view which looked at the rear lower part side of the vehicle of Drawing 1 from the vehicle width direction, and has shown the state where the air channel of the vehicle lower part airflow control device was obstructed. It is the side view which looked at the rear lower part side of the vehicle of Drawing 1 from the vehicle width direction, and has shown the state where the air channel of the vehicle lower part airflow control device was opened. It is the perspective view which looked at the vehicle provided with the vehicle lower part airflow control apparatus which concerns on other embodiment of this invention from diagonally downward.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a vehicle lower air flow control device according to the present invention will be described.
In the drawings, the front of the vehicle 18 (hereinafter referred to as “vehicle front” where appropriate) using the vehicle lower airflow control device of the present embodiment is indicated by an arrow FR, and the vehicle width direction (hereinafter referred to as appropriate). "Written in the vehicle width direction" is indicated by an arrow W, and the upper part of the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as "vehicle upper" as appropriate) is indicated by an arrow UP.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the vehicle lower air flow control device 20 (hereinafter simply referred to as “air flow control device 20”) of the present embodiment is based on the rear wheel 22 of the vehicle 18. Are also provided in the under cover opening 26 provided in the under cover 24 disposed on the vehicle rear side, and in the rear bumper cover 28 of the vehicle 18, on the vehicle rear side with respect to the under cover opening 26 and on the vehicle upper side. As an example of the opening / closing means provided in the under cover 24 for opening / closing the air flow path 32, the bumper cover opening 30 positioned, the air flow path 32 communicating the under cover opening 26 and the bumper cover opening 30. And an opening / closing plate 34.

  The under cover 24 is attached to the rear bumper cover 28 from the lower side of the vehicle. One under cover opening 26 is formed in the under cover 24 of the present embodiment. The under cover opening 26 extends in the vehicle width direction and opens toward the vehicle lower side. Specifically, the under cover opening 26 of the present embodiment is substantially rectangular with the vehicle width direction as the longitudinal direction.

  The rear bumper cover 28 is attached to the vehicle body and is disposed above the under cover 24 in the vehicle. In the rear bumper cover 28 of the present embodiment, two bumper cover openings 30 are formed at an interval in the vehicle width direction. As described above, these bumper cover openings 30 are located on the vehicle rear side and the vehicle upper side of the under cover opening 26, respectively. Each under cover opening 26 extends in the vehicle width direction and opens toward the rear of the vehicle.

  The air flow path 32 is formed by an internal space of an air duct 36 as an example of a flow path forming member. One end of the air duct 36 is connected to the edge of the under cover opening 26 or near the edge, and the other end is connected to the edge of the bumper cover opening 30 or near the edge. The upper inner surface and the lower inner surface of the air duct 36 are curved so that the air introduced from the under cover opening 26 can be smoothly guided to the bumper cover opening 30.

  The opening / closing plate 34 has a plate shape whose longitudinal direction is the vehicle width direction, and shaft portions 34A that project in the longitudinal direction are provided at both ends of the longitudinal direction. The shaft portion 34 </ b> A is disposed at the center in the vehicle width direction of the longitudinal end portion of the opening / closing plate 34. Further, both shaft portions 34A of the opening / closing plate 34 are rotatably supported by bearing portions (not shown) provided at both edges in the longitudinal direction of the bumper cover opening 30 so that the vehicle width direction is a rotation shaft direction. Yes.

  In the present embodiment, the plurality of opening / closing plates 34 are arranged side by side in the vehicle front-rear direction. Specifically, when the opening / closing plate 34 is in a closed state in which the air flow path 32 (specifically, the undercover opening 26) is closed, the end portions in the width direction of the adjacent opening / closing plates 34 are located above and below the vehicle. The opening / closing plate 34 is arranged so as to overlap in the direction.

  A rotational force is transmitted from the actuator 38 to the shaft portion 34 </ b> A of the opening / closing plate 34. The opening / closing plate 34 to which the rotational force is transmitted rotates about the shaft portion 34A. Here, when the opening / closing plate 34 rotates around the shaft portion 34A in the forward direction of the vehicle (counterclockwise in FIG. 3), the air passage 32 is opened, and the backward direction of the vehicle (clockwise in FIG. 2) is established. When rotating, the air flow path 32 is closed. When the opening / closing plate 34 rotates about the shaft portion 34A in the forward direction of the vehicle, the opening angle θ of the opening / closing plate 34 increases, and one end 34B of the opening / closing plate 34 extends downward from the under cover opening 26 to the vehicle. Stick out. With this configuration, part of the air flowing under the vehicle when the vehicle is traveling can be easily guided into the air flow path 32. Further, the amount by which a part of the air flowing under the vehicle is guided into the air flow path 32 increases or decreases according to the amount of the one end 34B of the opening / closing plate 34 protruding from the under cover opening 26 to the vehicle lower side. Here, the “opening angle θ” refers to an angle with respect to the opening / closing plate 34 in a state where the air flow path 32 is closed.

  In this embodiment, a servo motor is used as an example of the actuator 38, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration.

  The actuator 38 is attached to the under cover 24 via a bracket (not shown), and is driven and controlled by an ECU (Engine Control Unit) 40 mounted on the vehicle.

  The ECU 40 drives and controls the actuator 38 in accordance with the running state (for example, vehicle speed) or the operation of an operation member (not shown) by the driver, and the opening angle θ of the opening / closing plate 34, that is, the amount of air passing through the air flow path 32 (in other words, The amount of air introduced from the undercover opening 26) is adjusted. Here, for example, when determining the traveling state based on the vehicle speed, the ECU 40 closes the air flow path 32 with the opening / closing plate 34 (the opening angle θ is zero degrees) until the vehicle speed exceeds a preset speed, and the vehicle speed is When the speed exceeds a preset speed, the opening angle θ of the opening / closing plate 34 is adjusted according to the speed exceeding the speed, and the amount of air passing through the air flow path 32 is increased or decreased. On the other hand, when judging based on the operation amount (operation time, operation frequency, etc.) of the operation member by the driver, the ECU 40 presets the opening angle θ of the opening / closing plate 34 according to the operation amount when the operation member is operated. The amount of air passing through the air flow path 32 is increased or decreased by adjusting the angle. The ECU 40 may be configured to adjust the opening angle θ of the opening / closing plate 34 based on both the running state and the operation amount of the operation member by the driver.

Next, the effect of this embodiment is demonstrated.
In the air flow control device 20, when the air flow path 32 is opened by the opening / closing plate 34 (in this embodiment, the under cover opening 26 is opened), a part of the air that flows below the vehicle when the vehicle 18 travels. Passes through the air flow path 32 from the under cover opening 26 and is discharged from the bumper cover opening 30 located on the vehicle rear side and the vehicle upper side with respect to the under cover opening 26. That is, by opening the air flow path 32 when the vehicle 18 is traveling, a part of the air flow A flowing under the vehicle is guided to the upper side of the vehicle through the air flow path 32. In this way, by using a part of the air flow A as the air flow B (see FIG. 3) that is guided upward of the vehicle, the force (down force) that presses the vehicle 18 against the road surface increases. Will improve.

  In the air flow control device 20, the amount of air passing through the air flow path 32 (the amount of air in the air flow B) can be increased or decreased by adjusting the opening angle θ of the opening / closing plate 34. For this reason, it is possible to appropriately adjust the down force and air resistance generated by guiding a part of the air flow A flowing below the vehicle through the air flow path 32 when the vehicle 18 is traveling in accordance with the traveling state. it can. As a result, the air flow control device 20 can optimize the fuel consumption and the steering stability by balancing the air resistance and the down force according to the traveling state of the vehicle 18.

  In the air flow control device 20 of the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, an opening / closing plate 34 is provided on the under cover 24 and the under cover opening 26 is opened / closed by the opening / closing plate 34. It is not limited to this configuration. For example, as in the air flow control device 42 shown in FIG. 4, the opening / closing plate 34 may be provided on the rear bumper cover 28 instead of the under cover 24, and the opening / closing plate 34 may open and close the bumper cover opening 30. The other configuration of the air flow control device 42 is the same as that of the air flow control device 20.

  In the above-described embodiment, the shaft portion 34A is arranged at the center in the vehicle width direction of the end portion in the longitudinal direction of the opening / closing plate 34. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the shaft portion 34A is disposed in the opening / closing plate. It is good also as a structure arrange | positioned in the vehicle width direction one end side of the edge part of the longitudinal direction of 34.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the opening / closing plate 34 that rotates about the shaft portion 34A is taken as an example of the opening / closing means. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and any structure can be used as long as the air flow path 32 can be opened and closed. May be used. For example, the under cover opening 26 or the bumper cover opening 30 may be opened and closed by sliding a slide member provided on the under cover 24 or the rear bumper cover 28.

  Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above, and various modifications other than the above can be implemented without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Of course.

18 Vehicle 20 Air Flow Control Device (Vehicle Lower Air Flow Control Device)
22 Rear wheel 24 Under cover 26 Under cover opening 28 Rear bumper cover 30 Bumper cover opening 32 Air flow path 34 Opening / closing plate (opening / closing means)
42 Air Flow Control Device (Vehicle Lower Air Flow Control Device)

Claims (1)

An under cover opening provided in an under cover disposed on the vehicle rear side of the rear wheel;
A bumper cover opening disposed on the vehicle upper side of the under cover, the bumper cover opening located on the vehicle rear side of the under cover opening and on the vehicle upper side;
An air flow path communicating the under cover opening and the bumper cover opening;
An opening / closing means provided on the under cover or the bumper cover, for opening and closing the air flow path;
A vehicle lower airflow control device.

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