JP4024953B2 - Air intake duct structure - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an air intake duct structure that has good separation between water and air and can be manufactured at a relatively low cost.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As air intake ducts to be mounted on a vehicle, there are an extremely large number of known techniques, and examples shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 are given. The air intake duct 1 a is arranged such that its upper surface is substantially flush with the height of the cab 3 and is hidden behind the cab 3. As shown in FIG. 10, the upper cap portion 24 and an air passage 25 connected to the upper cap portion 24 are provided, and an air inlet 2 a is formed below the cap portion 24. A partition plate 26 is provided inside the air passage 25 to partition the air passage 25. A rubber connector 6 is attached to the lower end of the air passage 25 and connected to the engine side.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Since the upper end of the air intake duct 1 a is substantially flush with the upper surface of the cab 3, there is no problem with the mountability. However, as shown in FIG. 10, since the air is introduced in a meandering manner from below, the intake resistance is increased, and relatively dirty air on the lower side of the cab 3 is easily introduced. The air 22 including the water 23 introduced from the air introduction port 2a is introduced to the air cleaner side (not shown) through the air passage 25 along the partition plate 26 with almost no separation. In this case, the water 23 is drained outward by an air valve provided on the air cleaner side, but the water 23 is separated from the air 22 when there is a large amount of water intrusion due to heavy rain because of the air valve alone. It is not drained and wets the elements in the air cleaner. Further, when powder snow enters from the air inlet 2a, there is a problem that it adheres to the element and lowers the engine output. Further, the water 23 overflowing from the spear 27 of the cap 24 falls, enters the inside through the connecting portion between the hood and the rubber connector 6, and is sucked to the engine side.
[0004]
The present invention has been invented in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air intake duct structure that can effectively perform water droplet separation and can be implemented relatively inexpensively.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention extends in the vertical direction along the rear surface of the cab of the vehicle, and has an upper end flush with the height of the cab and a side end flush with the side surface of the cab. And an air intake duct formed above the side edge on the front side and the front end on the side surface side, and a curved surface is provided at a portion facing the air inlet on the rear surface of the air intake duct. The air intake duct structure to be formed is configured. More specifically, a plurality of inverted V-shaped V-ribs are disposed on the rear surface of the air intake duct at appropriate intervals along the vertical direction. The ribs are integrally formed by blow molding with a resin.
[0006]
The air intake duct of the present invention is disposed on the rear surface of the cab and separates water and air introduced from air inlets provided on the upper front and side surfaces and introduces the separated air to the engine side. However, it is characterized in that a curved surface and a V-rib are formed on the rear surface of the air intake duct. That is, the air containing rainwater introduced from the air introduction port hits the curved surface, and the air is smoothly guided downward, but the water having mass adheres to the curved surface. Thereby, water droplet separation is performed. In addition, since a plurality of inverted V-shaped V-ribs are arranged on the rear surface along the vertical direction, water droplets adhering to the V-ribs are divided in the horizontal direction along the shape of the V-ribs. Guided to a remote location. This prevents water droplets from entering the engine. Further, the air intake duct is formed by resin blow molding, and the V-rib is integrally formed, so that it can be manufactured at a relatively low cost.
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the air intake duct structure of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a space 5 is formed between the cab 3 and the loading platform 4 in the vehicle. The air intake duct 1 of the present invention is interposed in the space 5, and as shown in FIG. 1, the side ends of the cab 3 are made to coincide with the full width of the cab 3, and the upper surface of the cab 3 is made to coincide with the upper end thereof. Arranged. Therefore, the air intake duct 1 does not interfere with the overhanging portion 4a even if the overhanging portion 4a is present at the upper front portion of the loading platform 4. Further, as shown, the rubber connector 6 attached to the lower end of the air intake duct 1 is connected to an air cleaner (not shown) of the engine 20. As shown in FIG. 1, since an arcuate surface 3a is formed on the upper side of both side ends of the cab 3, the air intake duct 1 is disposed exposed behind the arcuate surface 3a. Therefore, the exposed portion is directly exposed to air or the like. Note that an air inlet 2 of the air intake duct 1 is formed in the exposed portion.
[0008]
Next, the structure of the air intake duct 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in the figure, the air intake duct 1 includes a resin-made duct body 7 that is integrally formed by blow molding and has a slightly complicated structure, a rubber connector 6 attached to the lower portion thereof, and the like. First, air inlets 2 'and 2 "are formed above the front end of the duct body 7 and above the front end of the side face. The air inlets 2' and 2" are of an integral structure. It consists of what is fixed to the duct main body 7 so that attachment or detachment is possible. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a filter 8 is detachably attached to the back side of the air inlet 2 ′. The inside of the duct body 7 is configured to form a sealed space except for a lower opening 16 to which the rubber connector 6 is attached, and air from the air inlet 2 circulates in the sealed space and is introduced to the engine 20 side. Is done.
[0009]
As shown in FIG. 4, a curved surface 9 made of a suitable arcuate surface is formed at a portion of the rear surface of the duct body 7 facing the air inlet 2 ′. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, a V-rib 10 is formed on the rear surface of the duct body 7 so as to protrude inward. The V-ribs are formed in an inverted V-shape that is pointed upward, and a plurality of V-ribs are arranged along the vertical direction. Due to the inverted V shape, the V rib 10 spreads in the left-right direction downward. An adjustment rib 11 is provided on the rear surface of the duct body 7, and a horizontal rib 12 for increasing rigidity, a vertical rib 13 that crosses the intermediate portion in the vertical direction, and the like are provided on the surface.
[0010]
As shown in FIG. 7, water reservoirs 14 and 15 are formed on the lower end side of the duct body 7. The water reservoir 14 is formed on the left and right sides of the opening 16 to which the rubber connector 6 at the lower end of the duct body 7 is connected, at a position slightly away from the opening 16. Further, the water reservoirs 14 and 15 are provided with drain holes 17 and 18, respectively. A plurality of drain holes 17 and 18 are provided at different heights, and even if mud or the like accumulates in the water reservoirs 14 and 15 and one of the drain holes 17 or 18 is blocked, the water drains. I can do it. In addition, openings 19 and 21 are provided above the water reservoirs 14 and 15. The lower end in the left-right direction of the V rib 10 is disposed above the openings 19 and 21, respectively.
[0011]
Next, the operation of the air intake duct of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, the air 22 including the water 23 is first introduced into the duct body 7 of the air intake duct 1 from the air introduction port 2 and hits the curved surface 9. Since water has a mass compared to the air 22, the water 23 adheres to the curved surface 9 without flowing down along the curved surface 9. On the other hand, the air 22 flows smoothly along the curved surface 9. Therefore, water and air are largely separated at this portion. The separated air 22 flows down the center side of the duct body 7 as shown in the figure, enters the rubber connector 6 from the opening 16 (FIG. 7) of the duct body 7, and is introduced to the engine 20 (FIG. 2) side. On the other hand, the water 23 adhering to the inner wall of the rear surface of the duct body 7 such as the curved surface 9 adheres to a plurality of V ribs 10 provided. The adhering water 23 flows down along the V rib 10 as shown in FIG. 7, is divided into the left and right directions as shown in FIG. 7, and falls from the left and right directions. As described above, the openings 19 and 21 of the water reservoirs 14 and 15 are formed below the left and right ends of the V-rib 10. Therefore, the water 23 that has fallen from the left and right ends is introduced into the water reservoirs 19 and 21, falls from the drain holes 17 and 18, and is discharged to the outside air side.
[0012]
The water reservoirs 14 and 15 are located slightly away from the opening 16 of the duct body 7, and the drain holes 17 and 18 are also away from the opening 16, so that water discharged from the drain holes 17 and 18 is removed. 23 is not sucked into the rubber connector 6 connected to the opening 16 and introduced into the engine 20 at all. As described above, the water 23 is effectively separated by the curved surface 9 and the V rib 10 and discharged to the outside air side.
[0013]
The molded body having a shape like the air intake duct structure of the present invention is performed by resin molding using a resin mold. In general, the resin molding includes an injection molding method and a blow molding method. Injection molding is suitable for molding parts with relatively high precision, and a molding die necessary for this is expensive. On the other hand, in blow molding, it is difficult to produce a highly accurate molded product as compared with injection molding, and in particular, it is difficult to mold a portion that intersects at right angles or a narrow portion. However, in the case of the air intake duct structure of the present invention, the accuracy is not so much required. In particular, the curved surface 9 and the V rib 10 do not need to be molded with high accuracy, and blow molding can sufficiently mold a desired shape. Further, all the parts of the duct body 7 are also formed of a taper structure or the like that is easy to blow-mold. As described above, it can be manufactured at a relatively low cost.
[0014]
【The invention's effect】
1) According to the air intake duct structure of the first aspect of the present invention, the curved surface is formed on the rear surface of the air intake duct so that the air can easily flow smoothly and the separation of water and air is effectively performed. Done.
2) According to the air intake duct structure described in claim 2 of the present invention, a large number of inverted V-shaped V-ribs are formed on the rear surface of the air intake duct along the vertical direction. Divides in the left and right direction, flows down to the outside, and prevents water droplets from entering the engine.
3) According to the air intake duct structure of the third aspect of the present invention, since it is manufactured by blow molding, it can be carried out relatively inexpensively.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a partial front view of a cab provided with an air intake duct of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a rear view of the air intake duct of the present invention.
4 is a side view of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a top view of FIG. 3;
6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3;
FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing an engagement state between a V rib and a water reservoir.
FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a state of water droplet separation in the air intake duct.
FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing a cab provided with a conventional air intake duct.
10 is a front view showing a detailed structure of the air intake duct in FIG. 9;
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air intake duct 2 Air inlet 2 'Air inlet 2 "Air inlet 3 Cab 3a Arc surface 4 Loading platform 4a Overhang part 5 Space 6 Rubber connector 7 Duct body 8 Filter 9 Curved surface 10 V rib 11 Adjustment rib 12 Horizontal Rib 13 Vertical rib 14 Water reservoir 15 Water reservoir 16 Opening 17 Water draining hole 18 Water draining hole 19 Opening 20 Engine 21 Opening 22 Air 23 Water

Claims (3)

It extends in the vertical direction along the rear surface of the cab of the vehicle, its upper end is flush with the height of the cab, its side edge is flush with the side surface of the cab, the front side side edge and the side side front end The air intake duct has a structure in which an air inlet is formed above, an opening of the duct body is formed on the lower end side, and an air passage is formed between the air inlet and the opening of the duct body. And
A curved surface formed on an upper portion facing the air inlet of the rear surface of the air intake duct to form the rear of the air passage,
A plurality of inverted V-shaped V-ribs protruding from the rear surface into the air passage and disposed at appropriate intervals along the vertical direction;
A water reservoir portion disposed on a lower side of the air passage and communicating with the air passage through an opening of the water reservoir portion.
The opening of the water reservoir is disposed below the lower end of the V rib disposed at the lowermost position of the plurality of V ribs, and allows the water flowing down along the V rib to enter the water reservoir. Air intake duct structure characterized by allowing . The air intake duct structure according to claim 1, further comprising a drain hole for draining the water reservoir portion in communication with the outside . The V ribs, an air intake duct structure according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that it is integrally formed with the rear surface by blow molding with resin.

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