JP3465581B2 - Automotive outside air introduction device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle outside air introduction device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in an automobile, an air box is installed between a rear end of a front hood and a lower end of a windshield, and the outside air is taken into the air box and separated from rainwater before being sent out into a passenger compartment. There is. By the way, there is a car in which the engine room is shortened by arranging the windshield toward the front. In such an automobile, since the air box is arranged directly below the lower end of the windshield, it becomes impossible to directly take in outside air from the air box. Therefore, for example, as shown in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 4-57415, an outside air introducing air box is separately provided between the rear end of the front hood and the lower end of the front window glass, and the front and rear air boxes are connected by a duct.

[0003]

However, since this air box for introducing outside air is arranged over almost the entire vehicle width, that is, because it is arranged so as to cover the rear part of the engine room with the entire width. It was an obstacle when servicing the engine.

In view of such circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide an outside air introduction device for an automobile, which has an improved engine maintainability.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is an automobile in which the lower end of the windshield is arranged in front of the air box, and in the vehicle width direction behind the lower end of the windshield. An air box extending to the air box, a rear end communicating with the air box, and a duct having a front end opened upward between the rear end of the front hood and the lower end of the front window glass. .

A space may be formed between the cowl top panel supporting the lower end of the front windshield and the duct upper wall, and a wiper mechanism may be arranged in the space.

It is also possible to form a blind spot in a portion inside the duct where it is difficult for the external airflow to directly come into contact therewith, and arrange a drain at the blind spot.

The blind spot may be formed at a corner between a front wall that falls from the front end opening and an inclined bottom wall that rises toward the rear end opening.

A drain extending in the vehicle width direction may be provided in the air box, and both ends of the drain may be exposed to the inside of the vehicle frame member in front of the front pillar.

A bulging portion projecting inward may be provided at a blind spot of the duct, and the drain may be disposed in the vicinity of the downstream side of the introduced outside air of the bulging portion.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an automobile adopting the outside air introducing device of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a front windshield, 2 is a front hood, and 3 is an air box which is provided on the left and right front pillars 4, 4. The air box 3 has a closed cross section composed of a cowl center panel 5, a cowl front panel 6 and a dash upper panel 7, as shown in detail in FIG. Air box 3
One end of the duct 8 is connected to the central part of the device via a seal material 49 , and the other end is opened upward between the rear end of the front hood 2 and the lower end of the front window glass 1. A blower 9 is connected to the air box 3 at a position closer to the left side of the vehicle body from the duct connection point.

The duct 8 includes a vertical front wall 8b connected to the opening 8a, an inclined bottom wall 8d rising from the lower end of the front wall 8b toward the opening 8c on the side of the air box 3, and front and rear openings 8a, 8c. Upper wall 8e having a stepped portion 8f extending over
It has and. In addition, as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, a bulging portion 50 protruding inward is provided at the left side wall 8f at the blind spot where it is difficult for the introduced airflow to directly hit, that is, the corner between the front wall 8b and the bottom wall 8d. Is formed adjacent to. Further, a drain hole 51 is formed in the left side wall 8f near the rear of the bulging portion 50, and the drain hose 11 is connected to the drain hole 51 to extend to the left side of the vehicle body.

A cowl top panel 12 is joined to the front end of the air box 3, and the cowl top panel 12 extends forward while forming a space 13 between the cowl top panel 12 and the upper wall 8e of the duct 8. On the cowl top panel 12, the lower end of the windshield 1 is fixed with an adhesive 14, and a wiper shaft 15 is installed using a bracket 16. Reference numeral 17 is a cowl cover for covering the opening 8a of the duct 8, and an outside air intake hole 18 is formed at its front end. Reference numeral 19 is a dash panel that separates an engine room 20 and a vehicle compartment 21.

By the way, the duct 8 is connected to the wiper shaft 1.
5 and the opening 8a for the sake of convenience in arranging them in the vehicle width direction.
The rear edge is recessed in a U shape and the stepped portion 8d is enlarged to secure a space for installing the wiper shaft 15 . That is, by configuring the duct 8 in this way, the space 13 is enlarged at the installation location of the wiper shaft 15 shown in FIG. 2, but at the other locations shown in FIG. 3, the drive link 22 of the wiper shaft 15 is provided. The space 13 is not so large since only one is arranged.

The air box 3 is also provided with a drain 23 on the bottom wall formed by the dash upper panel 7 (see FIG. 4). The drains 23 extend in the vehicle width direction, and the tips of the drains 23 face the inside of the vehicle body frame member 24 in front of the front pillar 4, as shown in FIG.
The vehicle body skeleton member 24 has a hood ridge panel 25 and a hood ridge reinforcement 26 that form a closed cross section 27, and the rear end thereof is connected to the front pillar 4. The rear end portion of the vehicle body frame member 24 is constituted by a cowl top side panel 28 instead of the hood ridge panel 25.

The side end of the air box 3 is a front pillar 4.
And the vehicle body skeleton member 24 are connected to each other. However,
Among the panels 5, 6 and 7 constituting the air box 3, the dash upper panel 7 is connected via an L-shaped extension panel 29. That is, the side edges of the dash upper panel 7 and the extension panel 29 are joined together, and the front part 29a of the extension panel 29 is joined to the dash side panel 19, the front pillar inner panel 4a, and the hood ridge rainforce 26 (FIG. 8, 9), and further, attach the rear portion 29b of the extension panel 29 to the front pillar inner panel 4a.
It is joined to. And the extension panel 29
A drain 30 connected to the drain 23 on the side of the air box 3 is formed on the side. That is, the rainwater separated from the air / water in the air box 3 flows through the drain 30, is guided into the vehicle body frame member 24 , and drops from the tip thereof into the front wheel house (not shown).

In this embodiment, the outside air is taken into the air box 3 from the duct 8 having the front end opened upward between the rear end of the front hood 2 and the lower end of the front windshield 1. The rear part of the engine room 20 is hardly covered with the duct 8. Therefore, the duct 8 hardly interferes with the engine maintenance, and the work can be performed easily.

By the way, since the duct 8 is arranged substantially at the center in the vehicle width direction so as not to cover the accessories in the engine room, the duct 8 is arranged to overlap the wiper shaft 15 in the vehicle width direction. Become. So, as mentioned above,
By forming the space 13 between the cowl top cover 17 and the duct upper wall 8e, an installation space for the wiper shaft 15 is secured. That is, the duct 8 can be arranged at a reasonable position so as not to interfere with the maintenance and inspection of the auxiliary machinery.

Further, in this space 13, a wiper shaft is provided.
Since the wiper mechanism is completely separated from the outside air introduction path by inserting the drive link 22 of 15 , it is possible to reduce rainwater invasion into the steam separation structure.

Further, the outside air taken into the duct 8 collides with the inclined bottom wall 8d and is separated into water and water, and the separated rainwater flows through the bottom wall 8d to a corner with the front wall 8b. However, in the present embodiment, the bulging portion 50 is formed at the corner of the front wall 8b and the bottom wall 8d, and the draining hole 51 is arranged. By reducing the flow velocity of the introduced outside air near the downstream side of the introduced outside air, rainwater collected around the discharge holes 51 is prevented from being caught in the outside airflow. Therefore, it is not necessary to increase the cross-sectional area of the duct 8 and reduce the flow velocity of the introduced outside air.
In other words, since the duct 8 can be made compact, the degree of freedom in design is increased accordingly.

Furthermore, even if the air / water separation in the duct 8 is not perfect, the rain water is also separated in the air box 3, so that the air / water separation becomes more reliable.

[0023]

According to the present invention, the outside air is taken into the air box from the duct whose front end is opened upward between the rear end of the front hood and the lower end of the front window glass. The duct hardly interferes during maintenance, and the work can be done easily.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the duct can be disposed so as to overlap the wiper shaft in the width direction of the vehicle body, and a rational layout that does not interfere with the maintenance and inspection of the auxiliary machinery can be achieved. The wiper mechanism can be completely separated from the outside air introduction path, and the infiltration of rainwater into the water / water separation structure can be reduced.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the rainwater separated from the air / water inside the duct is not easily caught in the outside air flow, and the efficiency of the air / water separation is improved.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, since rainwater is separated even in the air box, the separation of air and water becomes more reliable.

Further, according to the invention of claim 1, since the flow velocity of the introduced outside air around the drain is reduced and rainwater is not caught in the outside airflow, the cross-sectional area of the duct can be reduced and the design can be freed accordingly. The degree increases.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an automobile equipped with an outside air introduction device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line BB shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a duct of the device.

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view showing a bulging portion of the duct.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a drain on the air box side of the device.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD shown in FIG.

9 is a sectional view taken along the line EE shown in FIG.

10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line FF shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Windshield 2 ... Front hood 3 ... Air box 8 ... Duct 8a ... Opening

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. In an automobile in which a lower end of a front windshield is arranged in front of an air box, an air box extending in the vehicle width direction is arranged rearward of a lower end of the front windshield, and a rear end communicates with the air box. Let
And a duct that is opened upward between the front hood rear end and the front window glass lower front end is provided, an internal of the duct, per introduction outside airflow directly
A blind spot is formed in the rake part, and a convex bulge is provided inward in the blind spot of the duct.
In addition, a drain is installed near the downstream side of the introduced outside air of the bulging portion.
An outside air introduction device for automobiles, which is characterized by being placed . 2. A space is formed between a cowl top panel supporting a lower end of the windshield and an upper wall of the duct, and a wiper mechanism is arranged in the space. Outdoor air introduction device for automobiles. Wherein said dead portion, claim 1 or claim, characterized a front wall falling from the front end opening, that is formed in the corner portion of the inclined bottom wall that rises toward the rear end opening
2. The outside air introduction device for an automobile according to 2 . 4. The air box is provided with a drain extending in a vehicle width direction, and both ends of the drain are exposed to the inside of a vehicle body skeletal member in front of the front pillar, respectively . The outside air introduction device for a vehicle according to item 1.