JP4682915B2 - Car air duct - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle wind guide duct that guides outside air introduced from a front grill of a vehicle to a heat exchange unit such as an air conditioning condenser or a cooling radiator, particularly an in-vehicle guide that is provided with measures for preventing damage due to impact from the front of the vehicle. Regarding wind ducts.

[Conventional technology]
Conventionally, as an in-vehicle wind guide duct, there is one disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. As shown in FIG. 4, the air duct 50 includes a bumper 51 including a bumper lean force 53 and a bumper cover 52 in front of the vehicle, an air conditioning condenser 61 in the engine room, and a cooling radiator 62 in the rear part thereof. And a heat exchange unit 60 including a shroud 64 that holds an electric fan 63 that blows or sucks air, is assembled to the vehicle body, and is introduced from an air intake 55 that is opened in the front grille 54. The outside air is efficiently guided to the heat exchange unit 60, and heat exchange with the refrigerant condenser 61 and the cooling water radiator 62 by air is promoted.

[Problems with conventional technology]
In order to improve the wind guide efficiency, it is desirable that the wind guide duct 50 is disposed in close contact with the bumper 51 and the heat exchange unit 60 without a gap. For this reason, it is necessary to form a closed curved surface that escapes the protrusion of the bumper lean force 53. Desorption is difficult due to the interference with the bumper lean force 53 due to the curved surface. In order to avoid this, it is necessary to divide the air duct 50 into two or more pieces in the vertical direction and to assemble it with the vehicle assembly line, which increases the number of parts in the vehicle assembly process and increases the number of assembly steps. There's a problem.

Furthermore, when the wind guide duct 50 is closely assembled, when an impact is applied to the bumper 51 from the front, the bumper 51 is displaced rearward in response to the impact, and the wind guide duct 50 pushed by the bumper 51 is connected to the bumper 51. The heat exchange unit 60 may be crushed and damaged. Therefore, in the air guide duct 50 disclosed in Patent Document 1, while being formed of a resin material, a deformable portion is provided with a mountain-shaped bending portion on the inside, or a cushioning material that is elastically deformed by forming a part of a rubber material. To prevent damage. Therefore, there is a problem that the number of parts increases, the structure becomes complicated, and the cost increases.
JP 2001-80371 A

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide an in-vehicle wind guide duct that realizes a damage prevention function with an inexpensive configuration and can be easily mounted on a vehicle.

[Means of Claim 1]
In the in-vehicle wind guide duct adopting the means of claim 1, the wind guide duct is assembled on the heat exchange unit side or integrated to form a module, so that handling and vehicle assembly are improved. In addition, since the air duct is assembled by installing the heat exchange unit as a module on the vehicle, it is not necessary to install it as a separate part on the vehicle assembly line as in the past, and the assembly man-hour is greatly reduced. To do.
The air guide duct has a predetermined duct length, and is composed of a pair of sub-ducts that are bent in an L shape to form two duct pieces on both sides of the bent portion. The pair of sub-ducts is provided with a bendable portion that extends from one corner of the bent portion on the side of the heat exchange unit toward the side of the bumper reinforcement side of the duct piece. The pair of sub-ducts are combined in a rectangular shape with respect to the heat exchange unit so that the foldable portion can be bent inward at a point-symmetrical position.
Thereby, the folding structure can be completed with a minimum of two, and a simple and inexpensive configuration can be obtained.

[Means of claim 2]
In the in-vehicle wind guide duct adopting the means of claim 2, the wind guide duct can be handled in a compact state stored on the heat exchange unit side before being mounted on the vehicle. And at the same time, mounting on the vehicle becomes easy. Then, after mounting on the vehicle, it is necessary to extend the air guide duct only by releasing the latched portion of the stored air guide duct, extend it until it abuts against the bumper reinforcement, and lock the stopper to heat the bumper. It can be easily placed between the exchange unit. Therefore, the number of vehicle assembly steps can be greatly reduced.

[Means of claim 3]
In the in-vehicle wind guide duct adopting the means of claim 3, a rectangular cross section having substantially the same shape as the heat exchange unit is constituted by four duct pieces having a predetermined duct length, with respect to one corner portion. Since the foldable portion toward the corner portion is provided and continuous, it can be easily folded without difficulty by pressing lightly. Moreover, the folded height is minimized, that is, the folding stroke can be maximized, and the thinnest and flatly foldable can be folded, so that compactness is improved. At the same time, since a large folding stroke can be taken, impact displacement such as a collision after the vehicle is mounted and extended can be absorbed to a large displacement without damaging the wind guide duct. This is because all the duct length in the direction perpendicular to the air inflow surface of the heat exchange unit of the air duct is folded horizontally along the air inflow surface, so that the duct length becomes the maximum folding stroke as it is. There is also an effect that it is possible to easily improve the shock displacement absorption capacity only by adjustment.

[Means of claim 4 ]
In the in-vehicle wind guide duct adopting the means of claim 4, a locking portion is provided for holding the wind guide duct in a closed state when stored. As a result, the retracted state before mounting on the vehicle is reliably maintained, and when the air guide duct is moved, transported, or assembled, the air guide duct will not be disassembled or deformed. The transportability can be improved.

[Means of claim 5 ]
In the in-vehicle wind guide duct adopting the means of claim 5, the displacement absorbing portion that absorbs the displacement due to the impact applied to the bumper from the outside of the vehicle when it is extended after being mounted on the vehicle and brought into contact with the bumper reinforcement. Since it is formed by folding inside, it does not protrude from the heat exchange unit even when absorbing displacement, and does not interfere with the car body or other parts mounted on the car body, so there is no risk of damage and durability is ensured. it can.

  In the best mode for carrying out the present invention, an air guide duct that shields the space between a bumper cover in front of the vehicle and a heat exchange unit disposed in front of the engine room and introduces air is provided on the heat exchange unit side. Assembling or integrating, it can be stored on the heat exchange unit side before mounting on the vehicle, and it can be mounted on the vehicle by adopting a foldable structure that can expand and abut against the bumper reinforcement after mounting on the vehicle This is an easy and inexpensive construction that realizes a damage prevention function.

The best mode of the present invention will be described with two examples shown in the drawings. In addition, Example 1 shows the example to which this invention was applied, and Example 2 is a reference example which shows the example to which this invention is not applied. In the following description, the traveling direction of the vehicle is referred to as the front, and the backward direction is referred to as the rear.

[Configuration of Example 1]
Fig.1 (a) is a schematic perspective view which shows the structure of the air duct in Example 1 of this invention, FIG.1 (b) is sectional drawing which shows the XX cross section of Fig.1 (a).
In an engine room of a vehicle (not shown), a heat exchanging unit 10 including a condenser 11 for air conditioning at the front part, a radiator 12 for cooling at the rear part, and an electric fan 13 for blowing or sucking air is held. However, it is arranged with a predetermined space (interval) between the front bumper (not shown) of the vehicle. An air intake (not shown) that communicates with the engine room is formed on the upper and lower sides of the front bumper, and an air guide duct 1 that introduces intake air between the air intake and the heat exchange unit 10 is a conventional example. As described above, after the heat exchange unit 10 is mounted on the vehicle body, the heat exchange unit 10 is not mounted on the vehicle body side, but is mounted on the heat exchange unit 10 side in advance and then mounted on the vehicle. FIG. 1 shows a configuration in which the air guide duct 1 assembled and arranged on the heat exchange unit 10 side forms a module with the heat exchange unit 10.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the air guide duct 1 is composed of two sub ducts 2. The sub-duct 2 is a resin thin plate having a predetermined thickness and a duct length C, and has a bendable portion B1 perpendicular to the longitudinal direction at a substantially middle portion in the longitudinal direction, and is folded in a bowl shape (L-shape). The bent part and the duct piece 4 of 2 sides are formed by bending. Further, the sub duct 2 divides the width direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction into two to form a flange portion 3 that can be attached to the heat exchange unit 10 and a duct piece 4 having a predetermined duct length C of the air guide duct 1. It has a bendable part B2. Further, the sub-duct 2 is substantially bent from the corner A where the bendable portion B1 perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the sub-duct 2 and the bendable portion B2 that bisects the width direction intersect at the bent portion bent in a bowl shape. The bendable part B3 is provided in the direction of 45 degrees.

  As a result, the sub-duct 2 bent into a bowl shape has the foldable portions B1 to B3 continuous at the corner A (one point), and therefore the foldable portion B1 when the foldable portion B3 is bent inward. And the foldable portion B2 are also bent in conjunction with each other so that the duct piece 4 of the sub duct 2 can be smoothly folded.

In this embodiment, the bendable portions B1 to B3 are integrally provided with a U-shaped bending groove so that the resin thin plate constituting the sub duct 2 can be easily folded as shown in FIG. Furthermore, a simple shape is adopted in which the thickness of the bending groove is made thinner than the thickness of the other duct pieces 4. In addition, as a reference example to which the present invention is not applied, the bending groove may be formed as a separate body, for example, an elastic body such as rubber or a leaf spring, and may be insert-molded with the resin sub-duct 2 or mechanically. A hinge structure in which a concave / convex structure that forms a pair in the bent groove portion of the duct part 4 and the flange part 3 of the sub duct 2 is provided as a simple bending structure, and a rotating pin that penetrates the concave / convex part in the longitudinal direction may be mounted. In short, when the air duct 1 is folded, it is easily deformed, has airtightness without being damaged by excessive deformation, and is easily restored when the folded air duct 1 is extended. Alternatively, any other material may be used.

  Further, the sub-duct 2 bent into a bowl shape is screwed with a plurality of bolts with one side to the long side (or horizontal side) of the heat exchange unit 10 and the other side to the short side (or vertical side) of the heat exchange unit 10. It is assembled by wearing or patching as described later. At this time, the vertical side of the sub duct 2 is formed with the notch 5 for avoiding interference such as bumper lean force arranged in the bumper and the duct piece 4 folded and stored to form the air guide duct 1. A stopper 6 for holding is integrally provided.

  In the present embodiment, two sub-ducts 2 bent in the above-mentioned bowl shape are used, arranged so as to be point-symmetric with each other, assembled to the heat exchange unit 10, and provided with the air guide duct 1 as a module in advance. The heat exchange unit 10 is formed. Note that the air guide duct 1 is not assembled into the heat exchange unit 10 in advance to form a module, but a module having a structure in which, for example, the shroud 14 of the heat exchange unit 10 and the flange portion 3 of the air guide duct 1 are integrated. I do not care.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a retracted state of the air guide duct 1 of the heat exchange unit 10 as a module in which two sub ducts 2 are assembled. 2A is a schematic perspective view for explaining the folding operation of the air guide duct 1, FIG. 2B is a schematic perspective view showing a retracted state of the air guide duct 1, and FIG. It is an expanded sectional view which shows the latching state of the latching | locking part which has the patchon structure of the ZZ cross section of (b).
The air duct 1 is folded and stored on the heat exchange unit 10 side before being mounted on the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 2 (a), when the vicinity of the bendable part B3 of the duct piece 4 on the vertical side of the sub duct 2 is pushed from the outside to the inside with an appropriate force, the bendable part B3 is deformed. Since it is configured easily, it can be easily folded, and at the same time, the bendable part B1 and the bendable part B2 can be folded together to close each duct piece 4 so as to fold the empty box made of paper.

  A state in which each duct piece 4 is folded and closed, that is, in a stored state, is the structure shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2 (b), the stored air guide duct 1 is folded into the duct pieces 4 that are folded and come into contact with each other in order to suppress the elastic restoring force that remains slightly in each of the foldable parts B1 to B3. A pair of locking portions 7 is provided. Since the duct piece 4 is formed by injection molding of a resin material or the like, the locking portion 7 is provided with at least one pair of simple mechanism patchons as shown in FIG. ing. When the engaging part 7 is folded by pushing the duct piece 4 from the outside to the inside with an appropriate force, as soon as the duct pieces 4 that are in contact with each other start to contact each other, the engaging protrusion 7a of the engaging part 7 and the other engaging part 7 The receiving hole 7b is fitted and locked with the patch, and a wedge shape is given to the tip of the locking projection 7a so as to be fitted with a relatively light pressing force, so that it is prevented from coming off. ing. Note that the above-described patchon structure is a pseudonymically named name for a structure that fits and locks with this simple patchon.

[Operation of Example 1]
The air guide duct 1 configured as described above is folded and stored before mounting on the vehicle, so that it constitutes a compact heat exchange unit 10 that can be handled and assembled to the vehicle. Simple and easy. Further, the air guide duct 1 that is securely attached can be configured simply by extending the stored air guide duct 1 after the vehicle mounting assembly and locking the stopper 6 to the bumper lean force. In this state, the outside air introduced from the air intake port of the bumper is efficiently guided to the heat exchange unit 10 through the space surrounded by the air guide duct 1, and heat exchange between the refrigerant in the condenser 11 and the outside air is performed. Done. In addition, the air that has passed through the condenser 11 is guided to the radiator 12 and contributes to heat exchange with the cooling water in the radiator 12.

  By the way, when an impact is applied to the bumper from the front, the bumper lean force is deformed by the impact to absorb the impact. When the deformation due to the impact is large, the displacement directly acts on the air guide duct 1 disposed in close contact with the rear. However, even if a large displacement acts directly, the air guide duct 1 has foldable portions B1 to B3 that can be folded in the front-rear direction, so that the foldable portions B1 to B3 absorb the displacement. The air guide duct 1 can be absorbed without damage to a considerable displacement.

[Effect of Example 1]
In the air guide duct 1 of the present embodiment, the air guide duct 1 is assembled on the heat exchange unit 10 side or integrated to form a module, so that handling and vehicle assembly are improved, and the module Since the air guide duct 1 is also assembled by assembling the heat exchange unit mounted on the vehicle as described above, it is not necessary to assemble it as a separate part on the vehicle assembly line as in the prior art, and the number of assembling steps is greatly reduced.

  In addition, since the air duct 1 can be handled in a compact state stored on the heat exchange unit 10 side before mounting on the vehicle, handling and transportation are improved, and at the same time, mounting on the vehicle is easy. It becomes. Then, after mounting the vehicle, the air guide duct 1 is extended only by releasing the latched portion of the stored air guide duct 1, and is extended until it comes into contact with the bumper lean force to lock the stopper. It can be easily arranged between the bumper and the heat exchange unit 10. Therefore, the assembly man-hour can be greatly reduced.

  Further, the four duct pieces 4 having a predetermined duct length C constitute a rectangular cross section substantially the same shape as the heat exchange unit 10, and a foldable portion toward the corner A with respect to one corner A Since B1 to B3 are provided and continuous, they can be folded easily and easily by pressing lightly. Moreover, the folded height is minimized, that is, the folding stroke can be maximized, and the thinnest and flatly foldable can be folded, so that compactness is improved. At the same time, since the folding stroke can be made large, impact displacement such as a collision after the vehicle is mounted and expanded can be absorbed to a large displacement without damaging the air guide duct 1. This is because all duct lengths in the direction perpendicular to the air inflow surface of the heat exchange unit 10 of the air guide duct 1 are folded horizontally along the air inflow surface, so that the duct length becomes the maximum folding stroke as it is. There is also an effect that it is possible to easily improve the shock displacement absorption capability only by adjusting the thickness C.

  Further, a duct piece 4 having a predetermined duct length C is bent into a bowl shape to form a sub duct 2 having one bent portion and two sides, and the sub duct 2 is continuously bent at one corner A. By adopting a structure in which the possible parts B1 to B3 are provided and the two sub-ducts 2 are arranged so as to face each other symmetrically with respect to each other, the folding structure can be completed with a minimum of two, and the structure is simple and inexpensive. be able to.

  Further, a locking portion 7 is provided for holding the air guide duct 1 in a closed state when stored. As a result, the retracted state prior to mounting on the vehicle is reliably maintained, and when the air guide duct 1 is moved, transported, or assembled, the air guide duct 1 will not be disassembled or deformed. Improvement and transportability can be improved.

  In addition, it is formed by folding the displacement absorption part that absorbs the displacement caused by the impact applied to the bumper from the outside when it is extended after mounting on the vehicle and comes into contact with the bumper reinforcement. In this case, the outer shape of the heat exchange unit 10 does not protrude and does not interfere with the vehicle body or other components mounted on the vehicle body.

  In addition, a thin bend groove structure with improved deformability is adopted so that the bendable part can be bent sufficiently with a small pressing force, so that it can be stored easily and reliably, and it can absorb impact displacement. The displacement can be reliably absorbed by bending, and the duct is not damaged.

[Configuration of Example 2]
FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of the air guide duct 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of the air duct in Example 2 of the present invention, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view showing the YY cross section of FIG.
The air guide duct 1 of the present embodiment forms a rectangular cross section by four duct pieces 4 having a predetermined plate thickness and a duct length C, similarly to the air guide duct 1 of the first embodiment. However, the difference from the first embodiment is not a sub-duct structure bent into a bowl shape having a bent portion, and therefore does not include a plurality of bendable portions continuous to one corner A of the bent portion. Each of the four duct pieces 4 has a flange portion 3 that can be attached to the heat exchange unit 10 and a predetermined duct length C by dividing the width direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction into two in the longitudinal direction of the duct piece 4. Only the bendable part B2 forming the duct piece 4 is provided, and the four duct pieces can be bent independently of each other.

  The four duct pieces 4 have the same shape and are paired with each other, and one of the adjacent duct pieces 4 has an end face claw 8 that inscribes the other and prevents it from falling outside. Thus, the folding is always folded inward. A pair of duct pieces 4 constituting the vehicle vertical direction of the air guide duct 1 when mounted on the vehicle are provided with a notch 5 and a stopper 6 to avoid interference with the bumper lean force as in the first embodiment. Other structures and configurations are not completely different. In FIG. 3, the same code | symbol is used for the component which is common in Example 1. FIG.

  As a result, the wind guide duct 1 is folded and stored on the heat exchange unit 10 side before the vehicle mounting assembly, and after the vehicle mounting assembly, the stored wind guide duct 1 is extended to stop the bumper lean force. The air guide duct 1 can be configured in such a manner that the air guide duct 6 is firmly attached only by being locked.

[Effect of Example 2]
In the air guide duct 1 of the present embodiment, the air guide duct 1 is assembled on the heat exchange unit 10 side or integrated to form a module, and a folding structure for storage and extension is provided with four duct pieces 4. Since the structure is realized by independently bending, the same operations and effects as those of the first embodiment are obtained. Furthermore, since the air guide duct 1 is composed of two pairs of simple and identical duct pieces 4 having only one bendable part B2, the assembly is easy and the price is lower.

[Modification]
In the above-described embodiment, an example in which it is arranged between a front bumper mounted in an engine room of a front engine specification provided on the front side of a vehicle and a heat exchange unit and is configured by a resin thin plate of an air guide duct that shields introduced air. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a metal thin plate may be used. It can also be applied between a rear bumper mounted in a rear engine specification engine room and a heat exchange unit.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the case where it is disposed between the bumper and the heat exchange unit. It is possible to apply a folding structure.

(A) is a schematic perspective view which shows the structure of a wind guide duct, (b) is sectional drawing which shows the XX cross section of Fig.1 (a) (Example 1). (A) is a schematic perspective view explaining the folding operation | movement of an air guide duct, (b) is a schematic perspective view which shows the accommodation state of an air guide duct, (c) is ZZ of FIG.2 (b). (Example 1) which is an expanded sectional view which shows the latching state of the latching | locking part which has a patchon structure of a cross section. (A) is a schematic perspective view which shows the structure of an air duct, (b) is sectional drawing which shows the YY cross section of Fig.3 (a) (Example 2). It is a schematic diagram of the vehicle front part of the vehicle carrying an in-vehicle wind guide duct (conventional example).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air guide duct 2 Subduct 3 Flange part 4 Duct piece 5 Notch 6 Stopper 7 Locking part 7a Locking protrusion 7b Locking receiving hole 8 End surface claw 10 Heat exchange unit 11 Capacitor 12 Radiator 13 Electric fan 14 Shroud A Corner part B1 , B2, B3 Bendable part C Duct length

Claims (5)

An air intake port formed on the upper and lower sides of a beam-like bumper lean force provided on the vehicle front side and extending in the vehicle width direction;
Between the heat exchange unit arranged on the rear side of the bumper lean force,
An in-vehicle air duct that shields air introduced from the air intake so as to flow into the heat exchange unit ;
One end of the air duct is assembled or integrated on the heat exchange unit side, and the other end abuts against the bumper lean force to form the shield.
The air guide duct has a predetermined duct length, and is composed of a pair of sub-ducts that are bent in an L shape to form two duct pieces on both sides of the bent portion.
The pair of sub-ducts can be bent at one of the two duct pieces from the corner of the bent portion on the heat exchange unit side toward the bumper reinforcement side of the duct piece. Part is provided,
The pair of sub ducts are combined in a rectangular shape with respect to the heat exchange unit so that the foldable portion is bent inward at a point-symmetrical position. duct. The in-vehicle air duct according to claim 1,
The wind guide duct has a folding structure that can be stored on the heat exchange unit side before mounting on the vehicle, and can extend after the mounting on the vehicle and abut against the bumper reinforcement. In-vehicle wind guide duct. The in-vehicle wind guide duct according to claim 1 or 2,
The air guide duct has a rectangular cross section substantially equivalent to the outer shape of the heat exchange unit,
The rectangular cross section is formed by four duct pieces having a predetermined duct length,
The air guide duct is provided with two or more foldable portions parallel to the air inflow surface of the heat exchange unit and two or more foldable portions toward the corner portion with respect to the corner portion. In-vehicle air duct. The in-vehicle wind guide duct according to claim 2 ,
An in-vehicle wind guide duct provided with a locking portion for holding the wind guide duct in a closed state when stored in the wind guide duct. The in-vehicle wind guide duct according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The air duct is extended after mounting on the vehicle and abuts against the bumper lean force.
When the shock absorber is applied to the bumper
An in-vehicle wind guide duct characterized by being formed by the above .

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