JP5930169B2 - Ventilation control device for vehicle - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle ventilation amount control device that controls the ventilation amount of cooling air guided to an engine room of a vehicle.

  In general, in a vehicle, outside air flows into the engine room through an opening (a ventilation opening) of a front grill on the front surface of the vehicle body, and a radiator and the like are cooled. It is known that by increasing the amount of air passing through the engine room, the engine room can be cooled, but the air resistance (aerodynamic characteristics) and the front wheel lift characteristics are deteriorated and the running performance is lowered.

  In order to achieve both cooling performance and driving performance, it is known that a shutter that opens and closes the opening of the front grille on the front side of the vehicle is provided in the engine room, and the amount of running air flowing into the engine room is adjusted by opening and closing the shutter. (See Patent Document 1). When the cooling is required, the opening / closing member is opened to allow the traveling wind to pass through the engine room, so that the cooling performance can be kept to a minimum and the cooling performance can be maintained.

  However, since a shutter is provided in the engine room, a large space is required in the engine room. For this reason, it is difficult to apply the present invention to a vehicle having a small engine room layout or a small vehicle having a small deformation allowance such as shock absorption at the time of collision.

JP 2007-1504 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle airflow control device that can achieve both cooling performance and traveling performance without affecting the space inside the engine room. .

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle airflow control device according to a first aspect of the present invention, comprising: a lower side of a dash panel that partitions an engine room and a passenger compartment; and a front cross member that is positioned below the dash panel. an opening for discharging the air through the engine room is formed on the outside, characterized in that a closing means for opening and closing the opening.

  In the present invention according to claim 1, the amount of air discharged from between the lower side of the dash panel and the front cross member through the engine room can be adjusted by the opening / closing means, and the engine room can be adjusted from the front of the vehicle into the engine room. It is possible to control the flow rate of the incoming inflow air. For this reason, it is possible to achieve both cooling performance and running performance without affecting the space inside the engine room.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the vehicle air flow control device according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the opening / closing means rotates about a rotation center axis extending in the vehicle width direction. An opening / closing valve member that opens and closes between the lower side of the dash panel and the front cross member by moving, and the rotation center axis of the opening / closing valve member is longer than the front axle of the vehicle. It is located behind the direction.

  In the present invention according to claim 2, it is possible to adjust the amount of air discharged to the rear part in the width direction of the vehicle on the rear side of the engine room.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the vehicle air flow control device according to the second aspect of the present invention. In the vehicle air flow control device according to the second aspect, the opening / closing valve is configured such that the lower edge is rotated upward at the rear. Thus, an opening / closing driving means for opening and closing the opening / closing valve is provided by opening the lower side of the dash panel and the front cross member.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the lower edge can be rotated upward by the opening / closing driving means, and when the opening / closing driving means malfunctions, the opening / closing valve operates to open and introduces outside air. Can be secured.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle air flow control device according to the present invention, wherein the on-off valve is a plurality of rectangular divided valves divided in the vertical direction. The opening / closing drive means includes a synchronization mechanism that simultaneously opens and closes the plurality of divided valves.

  In the present invention according to claim 4, since a plurality of rectangular dividing valves are provided, the amount of air discharged to the rear portion is reduced between the lower side of the dash panel and the front cross member in the vertical direction of the vehicle. It can be adjusted evenly.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle air flow control device according to the present invention, wherein the vehicle air flow control device according to claim 3 or 4 is a temperature state detection means for detecting a temperature state of the engine of the vehicle. The opening / closing drive means is controlled to be driven based on detection information of the temperature state detection means.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the opening / closing drive means can be driven based on the information of the temperature state detection means when the engine temperature state requires cooling.

  The vehicle airflow control device of the present invention can achieve both cooling performance and traveling performance without affecting the space inside the engine room.

1 is a side view illustrating a vehicle air flow control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is a top view in FIG. It is the III-III arrow directional view in FIG. It is an external view showing the whole structure of an on-off valve. It is an operation | movement block diagram of an opening / closing drive means. It is an external view showing the whole structure of the on-off valve which concerns on the other Example of this invention. FIG. 7 is a view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 6.

  FIG. 1 is a side view showing a main part of a vehicle equipped with an air flow control device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is III in FIG. 4 is a view taken along line III, FIG. 4 shows the appearance of the on-off valve, and FIG. 5 shows the operation block of the on-off driving means.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, an engine 3 is arranged inside an engine room 2 of the vehicle 1, and a radiator 4 as a heat exchanger for cooling the cooling water of the engine 3 is disposed in front of the engine room 2. Is provided. The vehicle 1 on the front side of the radiator 4 is provided with an air intake 5, and traveling air is introduced into the engine room 2 as cooling air from the air intake 5 as the vehicle 1 travels.

  An engine room 2 of the vehicle 1 is partitioned from a vehicle compartment 7 by a dash panel (toe board) 6. The front wheel 8 of the vehicle 1 is supported on the vehicle body side of the vehicle 1 via a suspension (not shown). The suspension is supported on the vehicle body side via a front suspension cross member (cross member) 9 as a front cross member.

  The cross member 9 is arranged at the lower position of the toe board 6, and the traveling air (cooling air) introduced from the air intake 5 as the vehicle 1 travels cools the radiator 4, the engine 3, and the like. It flows rearward, and most of the cooling air is discharged to the outside through a gap (rear lower opening) 11 between the lower side of the toe board 6 and the cross member 9.

  Due to the cooling air that flows into the interior of the engine room 2 (due to the outside air introduced from the air intake 5), the air resistance (aerodynamic characteristics) and the front wheel lift characteristics may deteriorate, and the running performance may deteriorate. For this reason, the rear lower opening 11 is closed, and opening / closing means 12 for reducing the amount of outside air introduced from the air intake 5 (controlling the amount of inflow air flow) is provided. That is, by closing the rear lower opening 11 by the opening / closing means 12, the amount of cooling air discharged to the outside from the rear lower opening 11 is regulated (reduced), and the amount of outside air introduced from the air intake 5 (running wind) Introduction amount) will be reduced.

  As a result, it is possible to prevent deterioration of traveling performance by suppressing deterioration of air resistance (aerodynamic characteristics) and front wheel lift characteristics.

  The reason why the amount of outside air introduced from the air intake 5 is reduced by reducing the amount of cooling air discharged from the rear lower opening 11 to the outside is as follows.

A wind amount corresponding to the amount of outside air introduced from Tokazeguchi 5, if the previous wind speed of the radiator 4 (cooling wind) was V _R, wind speed V _R is
V _R = L · V · {ΔC _P / (T + 1)} ^1/2 ··· (1)
Can be expressed as
In the equation (1), L is the leakage coefficient of the cooling air, V is the vehicle speed, T is the total pressure loss inside the radiator 4 and the engine room 2.

ΔC _P is the difference (ΔC _P = C _PIN −C _POUT ) between the pressure loss C _PIN at the inlet (air intake 5) and the pressure loss C _POUT at the outlet (rear lower opening 11). by reducing the pressure loss C _POUT of the lower opening 11), i.e., by reducing the amount of cooling air discharged from the rear lower opening 11 to close the rear lower opening 11 to the outside, the wind speed V _R becomes smaller That is, the amount of outside air introduced from the air intake 5 is reduced.

  The opening / closing means 12 can adjust the amount of air discharged from the rear lower opening 11 through the engine room 2, and controls the amount of inflow air flowing into the engine room 2 from the front of the vehicle 1. be able to. For this reason, by adjusting the amount of outside air introduced from the air intake 5 to the minimum necessary amount, it is possible to prevent a decrease in traveling performance while maintaining cooling performance.

  Therefore, it is possible to achieve both cooling performance and running performance without affecting the space inside the engine room 2.

  The opening / closing means 12 is an opening / closing valve member that opens and closes the rear lower opening 11 by rotating about a rotation center axis extending in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle 1. It is located behind the vehicle 1 with respect to the axle 10 connecting the rotation center axes.

  The opening / closing means 12 will be specifically described with reference to FIGS.

  An opening / closing shaft 16 is rotatably supported on the lower side of the toe board 6 via a bearing 15, and the opening / closing shaft 16 is rotationally driven by an opening / closing motor 17 serving as an opening / closing driving means. A resin-made plate-like on-off valve 18 has an upper edge fixed to the on-off shaft 16, and a notch 19 in which the exhaust pipe 13 is disposed is formed at the center of the lower edge of the on-off valve 18.

  When the exhaust pipe 13 is arranged at the lower part of the cross member 9, the notch 19 is not necessary.

  A metal member 20 is provided in the notch 19 facing the exhaust pipe 13. A rubber seal 21 that contacts the cross member 9 is provided at the lower edge of the on-off valve 18. The on / off valve 18 is protected from the heat of the exhaust pipe 13 by the metal member 20, and leakage of the incoming air wind when the on / off valve 18 is closed by the seal 21 is suppressed.

  The on-off valve 18 opens and closes when the on-off shaft 16 is rotated by the driving of the on-off motor 17, and the on-off valve 18 is arranged so as to be in an open state when the lower edge rotates upward at the rear. ing. The rear lower opening 11 which is a gap between the lower side of the toe board 6 and the cross member 9 is opened, so that the cooling air is discharged from the rear lower opening 11 to the outside and the amount of outside air introduced from the air intake 5 is secured. (Cooling performance maintenance).

  When the opening / closing motor 17 is driven, the opening / closing valve 18 is closed and the rear lower opening 11 is closed, whereby the amount of cooling air discharged from the rear lower opening 11 is regulated (reduced) and introduced from the air intake 5. The amount of outside air is reduced (preventing deterioration in running performance).

  Since the opening / closing valve 18 is rotated by the opening / closing motor 17 so that the lower edge of the opening / closing valve 17 is upward, the opening / closing valve 18 opens as the vehicle 1 travels even if a malfunction occurs in the opening / closing motor 17. Therefore, the introduction of outside air can be secured, and the cooling in the engine room 2 can be maintained.

  The opening / closing motor 17 is controlled to open the opening / closing valve 18 when cooling is required based on the temperature state (cooling water temperature, operating state, etc.) of the engine 3 which is information obtained from the temperature state detecting means. Yes.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the opening / closing motor 17 is controlled to be driven based on a command from the motor control ECU 31. Information on the operating state such as the rotational speed of the engine 3 is sent from the engine ECU 32 to the motor control ECU 31 to detect the temperature state. In addition, information of a water temperature sensor 33 that detects the cooling water temperature of the engine 3 is sent to the motor control ECU 31 to detect the temperature state.

  For this reason, by controlling the driving of the opening / closing motor 17 based on the command of the motor control ECU 31, the opening / closing valve 18 can be opened / closed based on the temperature state (cooling water temperature, operating state, etc.) of the engine 3. Therefore, when the cooling is required, the opening / closing motor 17 can be driven to open the opening / closing valve 18.

  The air flow control device described above is provided with the opening / closing means 12 in the rear lower opening 11 which is a gap between the lower side of the toe board 6 and the cross member 9 and does not affect the space inside the engine room 2. By regulating (reducing) the amount of cooling air discharged from the lower opening 11 to the outside by the opening / closing means 12, the amount of outside air introduced from the air intake 5 is reduced, and air resistance (aerodynamic characteristics) and front wheel lift characteristics are reduced. It is possible to prevent the deterioration of the running performance by suppressing the deterioration of the vehicle. Further, by opening the rear lower opening 11 by the opening / closing means 12 when cooling is required, the amount of outside air introduced from the air intake 5 can be increased and the cooling performance can be maintained.

  As a result, it is possible to achieve both cooling performance and running performance in a state where the space inside the engine room 2 is not affected.

  Another embodiment of the opening / closing means will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 shows an appearance of an on-off valve according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 shows a view taken along line VII-VII in FIG.

  A frame member 35 corresponding to the rear lower opening 11 is provided on the lower side of the toe board 6, and three rectangular resin dividing valves 36 are provided on the frame member 35. That is, the dividing valve 36 is in a state of being divided in the vertical direction. Each dividing valve 36 is supported by a frame member 35 so as to be rotatable around an axis extending in the width direction of the vehicle. The frame member 35 is provided with an opening / closing motor 37, and the driving force of the opening / closing motor 37 is transmitted to the three divided valves 36 via the synchronization mechanism 38.

  When the rear lower opening 11 is opened and closed, the open / close motor 37 is driven to open and close the three divided valves 36 simultaneously through the synchronization mechanism 38. For this reason, between the lower side of the toe board 6 and the cross member 9, the amount of air discharged to the rear part can be adjusted evenly in the vertical direction of the vehicle.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used in the industrial field of vehicle airflow control devices.

1 Vehicle 2 Engine Room 3 Engine 4 Radiator 5 Air Vent 6 Dash Panel (Toe Board)
7 Car compartment 8 Front wheel 9 Front suspension cross member (cross member)
10 axle 11 rear lower opening 12 opening / closing means 13 exhaust pipe 15 bearing 16 opening / closing shaft 17, 37 opening / closing motor 18 opening / closing valve 19 notch 20 metal member 21 seal 31 motor control ECU
32 Engine ECU
33 Water temperature sensor 35 Frame material 36 Dividing valve 38 Synchronization mechanism

Claims (5)

An opening formed between a lower side of the dash panel that partitions the engine room and the vehicle compartment and a front cross member positioned on the lower side of the dash panel, and for opening and closing the opening. ventilation amount control apparatus for a vehicle characterized by comprising a means. In the vehicle ventilation control apparatus according to claim 1,
The opening / closing means is an opening / closing valve member that opens and closes between the lower side of the dash panel and the front cross member by rotating around a rotation center axis extending in the vehicle width direction,
The vehicle air flow control device according to claim 1, wherein the rotation center axis of the on-off valve member is located rearward in the front-rear direction of the vehicle with respect to an axle of a front wheel of the vehicle. In the vehicle ventilation control apparatus according to claim 2,
The on-off valve is opened between the lower side of the dash panel and the front cross member by rotating the lower edge toward the rear upper part,
An air flow control device for a vehicle, comprising: an opening / closing drive means for opening / closing the on / off valve. In the vehicle ventilation amount control device according to claim 3,
The on-off valve is formed by a plurality of rectangular divided valves divided in the vertical direction,
The vehicle air flow control device, wherein the opening / closing drive means includes a synchronization mechanism that simultaneously opens and closes the plurality of divided valves. In the vehicle airflow rate control device according to claim 3 or 4,
A temperature state detecting means for detecting a temperature state of the engine of the vehicle;
The vehicle opening / closing drive means is controlled based on detection information from the temperature state detection means.

Images