JP6909124B2 - Vehicle undercover - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an undercover for a vehicle disposed on the lower surface of the floor of a vehicle such as an automobile, and in particular, takes measures against stepping stones without deteriorating the sound absorption performance, and snow or the like in a space with the floor. Regarding vehicle undercovers that prevent intrusion.

The following structures are known as the structures of conventional vehicle undercovers. FIG. 5A is a perspective view illustrating a conventional undercover for a vehicle. FIG. 5B is a bottom view illustrating a conventional undercover for a vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 5A, a cooling air intake 101 is provided at the front portion of the vehicle body of the vehicle 100, in which the traveling wind W generated by the traveling of the vehicle 100 is used as the cooling air C and is taken into the engine room. On the other hand, an undercover 102 is provided on the lower surface of the vehicle body of the vehicle 100 to prevent the running wind W from directly hitting the engine, transmission, and exhaust pipe equipment arranged on the lower surface of the vehicle body of the vehicle 100. ing.

The undercover 102 prevents the running stability from being lowered due to the turbulence of the running wind W due to the unevenness of the device, and also prevents the fuel consumption from being lowered due to the increase in air resistance. In addition to the purpose of reducing the air resistance, the undercover 102 also has a purpose of protecting the engine, avoiding mud, improving the design, and the like (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Further, as a conventional undercover, a laminate composed of a base material layer made of glass fiber and a thermoplastic synthetic fiber and a thermoplastic synthetic fiber non-woven fabric layer formed on both sides of the base material layer is heat-compressed by a hot plate press. (See, for example, Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent No. 5519342 JP-A-2009-96401

As shown in FIG. 5B, the undercover 102 extends from the lower part of the engine room to the lower part of the center floor panel (not shown). The undercover 102 on the front side of the vehicle 100 is provided with two air guide holes 103 and two exhaust ports 104, and the traveling wind W flowing into the engine room from the air guide holes 103 causes the inside of the engine room. The cooling air C is guided to the discharge port 104.

On the other hand, as described above, since the undercover 102 is arranged so as to extend to the lower part of the center floor panel, when the vehicle 100 travels on a snowy road, the snow is generated by the air guide hole 103 and the air guide hole 103. It flows into the undercover 102 from the discharge port 104 and accumulates in the space between the center floor panel and the undercover 102. As a result, there is a problem that the fixed portion between the undercover 102 and the vehicle body, the center floor panel, etc. is damaged due to the weight of the accumulated snow, and the undercover 102 may be separated from the vehicle body, the center floor panel, etc. be.

Further, there is a problem that the weight of the vehicle body increases and the fuel consumption decreases when the vehicle travels in a state where snow is accumulated in the space between the center floor panel and the undercover 102.

Further, by using the non-woven fabric layer as the undercover, it is possible to reduce the weight and sound absorption of the vehicle body as compared with the conventional resin undercover, but the following new problems also occur. For example, when the compressibility of the non-woven fabric layer is lowered in order to improve the sound absorption performance of the undercover, there is a problem that it is difficult to maintain the durability of the undercover against flying stones and the like. On the other hand, when the compressibility of the non-woven fabric layer of the undercover is increased, the durability against the stepping stones is improved, but there is a problem that the sound absorbing performance is deteriorated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a vehicle undercover that prevents snow and the like from entering the space between the floor and the floor while taking measures against stepping stones without deteriorating the sound absorption performance. To do.

The vehicle undercover of the present invention is a vehicle undercover that is arranged on the lower surface of the floor of the vehicle and has a desired compression ratio by press molding, and is arranged below the floor. The floor portion extends from the upper surface cover portion to the rear side of the vehicle and has a space portion between the upper surface cover portion and the upper surface cover portion on the front side of the vehicle. The lower surface cover portion is provided below, and the compression ratio of the lower surface cover portion is higher than the compression ratio of the upper surface cover portion in the region constituting the space portion.

Further, in the vehicle undercover of the present invention, the upper surface cover portion has the floor portion shape region formed by pressing along the shape of the floor portion, and the floor portion shape region is in contact with the floor portion. It is characterized in that it is arranged in.

Further, in the vehicle undercover of the present invention, the compression ratio of the lower surface cover portion located on the rear side of the vehicle with respect to the region constituting the space portion is the compression ratio of the lower surface cover portion of the region constituting the space portion. It is characterized by being lower than the compression ratio.

Further, the vehicle undercover of the present invention is characterized in that the upper surface cover portion is arranged along the outer peripheral edge of the lower surface cover portion from the front end portion of the vehicle.

Further, the vehicle undercover of the present invention is characterized in that the upper surface cover portion and the lower surface cover portion are arranged in pairs in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle with the central portion of the vehicle as a boundary.

The vehicle undercover of the present invention has an upper surface cover portion and a lower surface cover portion formed by press molding with a desired compressibility. Then, on the front side of the vehicle, a space portion in which the upper surface cover portion and the lower surface cover portion are arranged so as to overlap each other is formed, and in the area of the space portion, the compressibility of the lower surface cover portion is the same as that of the upper surface cover portion. It is formed higher than the compression ratio. With this structure, the undercover around the front tire can take measures against stepping stones without deteriorating the sound absorption performance.

Further, in the vehicle undercover of the present invention, the upper surface cover portion has a floor portion shape region press-molded along the shape of the floor portion of the arrangement region. With this structure, the upper surface cover portion is arranged in a state where there is no gap with respect to the floor portion or in a state where there is a very small gap, so that snow or the like can be removed from the rear of the vehicle while the vehicle is running. It becomes difficult to penetrate into the space between the lower surface cover on the side and the floor panel. Then, it becomes difficult for snow or the like to accumulate in the space, the undercover is prevented from being separated from the vehicle body due to the weight of the snow or the like, and the fuel consumption of the vehicle is prevented from being lowered.

Further, in the vehicle undercover of the present invention, the compressibility of the lower surface cover portion on the rear side of the vehicle with respect to the space portion is formed to be lower than the compressibility of the lower surface cover portion of the space portion. With this structure, the durability of the undercover against stepping stones can be enhanced on the front side of the vehicle, and the sound absorption performance of the undercover can be enhanced on the rear side of the vehicle.

Further, in the vehicle undercover of the present invention, the upper surface cover portion is arranged along the outer peripheral edge of the lower surface cover portion from the front end portion of the vehicle. With this structure, the upper surface cover portion is arranged in the vehicle width direction around the front tire of the vehicle, so that the durability of the undercover against flying stones can be improved and the sound absorption performance can be improved.

Further, the vehicle undercovers of the present invention are arranged in pairs in the vehicle width direction with the central portion of the vehicle as a boundary, and are assembled from the front to the rear of the vehicle to cover the entire lower surface of the vehicle. It is possible to take measures against flying stones without deteriorating the sound absorption performance.

It is a top view explaining the vehicle undercover which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view explaining the vehicle undercover which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing explaining the vehicle undercover which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing explaining the vehicle undercover which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is (A) perspective view and (B) bottom view which explains the conventional undercover for a vehicle.

Hereinafter, the vehicle undercover 10 (hereinafter, referred to as “undercover 10”) according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the description of the present embodiment, in principle, the same code number is used for the same member, and the repeated description is omitted.

FIG. 1 is a plan view for explaining the vehicle 11 provided with the undercover 10 of the present embodiment, and shows a state in which the lower surface side of the vehicle 11 is viewed. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the undercover 10 of the present embodiment, and shows a state seen from the upper surface side before being attached to the vehicle 11. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the undercover 10 of the present embodiment, and shows a cross section in the direction of the AA line shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the undercover 10 of the present embodiment, and shows a cross section in the BB line direction shown in FIG. In the description of FIGS. 3 and 4, for convenience of explanation, the area where the sheet metal floor panel 19 and the undercover 10 are arranged is mainly shown, and other areas are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the vehicle 11, if the vehicle body has uneven shapes such as protrusions, dents, and gaps, the running wind is disturbed in the uneven shapes, the running stability is lowered, and the air resistance is reduced. Fuel consumption will decrease due to the increase in fuel consumption. Therefore, the vehicle body of the vehicle 11 is designed in consideration of the aerodynamic characteristics, and in particular, by attaching the undercover 10 to the lower surface of the floor panel 19 of the vehicle 11, the lower surface of the floor panel is flattened to improve the aerodynamic characteristics. ..

As shown, on the lower surface of the vehicle 11, mainly a pair of front tires 12 located in front of the front tire 12, a pair of rear tires 13 located behind the front tire 12, and a central portion of the vehicle 11 in the vehicle width direction in the front-rear direction. A propeller shaft 14 and an exhaust pipe 15 extending to the rear tire 13 and a fuel tank 16 located in front of the rear tire 13 are arranged. A front undercover 17 that covers the lower part of the engine room is mainly assembled on the front side of the front tire 12. The undercover 10 of the present embodiment is assembled between the front tire 12 and the fuel tank 16. A rear undercover 18 is assembled on the rear side of the rear tire 13.

As described above, the floor panel 19 is formed with a tunnel portion 20 extending in the front-rear direction from the central portion of the vehicle 11 in the vehicle width direction in order to arrange the propeller shaft 14 and the exhaust pipe 15. Therefore, the undercovers 10 of the present embodiment are arranged in pairs on the left and right in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle 11, but since their structures and functions are the same, they are assembled on the left side of the vehicle 11 in the vehicle width direction in the following description. The undercover 10 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2, the undercover 10 has an upper surface cover portion 10A and a lower surface cover portions 10B and 10C. The upper surface cover portion 10A and the lower surface cover portions 10B and 10C are each formed into a desired shape by heating and compressing a sheet-shaped non-woven fabric by press molding. The material of the non-woven fabric is, for example, thermoplastic needle felt. Although the details will be described later, the bottom covers 10B and 10C are integrally molded, but their compression ratios are different. The material of the non-woven fabric is not limited to thermoplastic needle felt, and for example, the non-woven fabric or PET fiber is formed on the surface of a base material in which a thermoplastic resin such as polyethylene or polypropylene and glass fiber are mixed. A sheet-like material can also be used. Further, as the material of the undercover 10, a case where hard urethane is used instead of the non-woven fabric may be used.

The alternate long and short dash line indicates the front tire 12 on the left side of the vehicle 11, and the dotted line 22 indicates the arrangement area of the upper surface cover portion 10A. The upper surface cover portion 10A is arranged around the front tire 12, and as shown in FIG. 4, closes the vehicle width direction from the side sill 41 to the floor frame 44 near the tunnel portion 20 in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle 11. It is arranged like this.

The upper surface cover portion 10A is arranged on the lower surface of the sheet metal floor panel 19 (see FIG. 3) so as to have as little gap as possible. Then, in the region of the arrangement region facing the floor panel 19, almost the entire region of the upper surface cover portion 10A is formed as a floor portion shape region press-molded along the shape of the floor panel 19. Details will be described later, but when the gap between the upper surface cover portion 10A and the floor panel 19 is eliminated or becomes extremely small, snow or the like can be prevented from snow or the like in the space portion 35 between the lower surface cover portion 10C and the floor panel 19. It becomes difficult to infiltrate to (see Fig. 3).

On the other hand, the lower surface cover portions 10B and 10C are formed so as to extend to the rear side of the vehicle 11 from the upper surface cover portion 10A to flatten the lower surface of the vehicle 11 and improve the aerodynamic characteristics. Therefore, a space portion 35 is formed between the lower surface cover portion 10C and the floor panel 19 on the rear side of the arrangement region of the upper surface cover portion 10A. Therefore, for example, the lower surface cover portion 10C is formed with conical protrusions 23 and 24 at two locations, and the lower surface cover portion 10C is clip-fixed to the floor panel 19 via the conical protrusions 23 and 24. As a result, the lower surface cover portion 10C is less likely to be separated from the floor panel 19.

The upper surface cover portion 10A is fixed to the lower surface cover portion 10B in advance by a clip or the like, and then assembled to the vehicle body frame or the like of the vehicle 11. At this time, as shown by the arrow 25, the upper surface cover portion 10A is arranged along the outer peripheral edge of the lower surface cover portions 10B and 10C from the front end portions. With this structure, snow and the like infiltrate from between the undercover 10 and the floor panel 19 from the front of the vehicle 11 when the vehicle 11 is traveling, but the snow and the like extend to the front side of the lower surface cover portions 10B and 10C in the vehicle width direction. By arranging the upper surface cover portion 10A, it becomes difficult for snow or the like to penetrate into the space portion 35 between the lower surface cover portion 10C and the floor panel 19.

The undercover 10 is mainly attached to the vehicle body frame of the vehicle 11 via clips or bolts via the outer peripheral edges of the lower surface cover portions 10B and 10C.

In the cross section shown in FIG. 3, the lower surface cover portions 10B and 10C of the undercover 10 are bolted to the floor panel 31 of the vehicle body at the front end portions thereof. On the other hand, as shown by the circle 32, the upper surface cover portion 10A is sandwiched and fixed between the lower surface cover portions 10B and 10C and the floor panel 33 of the vehicle body, and is fixed to the upper surface cover portion 10A and the floor panel 33 of the vehicle body. There is no gap or there is very little gap.

Further, the region indicated by the arrow 34 of the upper surface cover portion 10A is a floor portion shape region press-molded according to the shape of the floor panel 19 described above. In this region as well, the upper surface cover portion 10A and the floor panel of the vehicle body are formed. There is no gap with 19 or it is very small.

As shown in the figure, the lower surface cover portion 10B is bolted to the floor panel 31 at its front end portion, but snow or the like enters the undercover 10 through a slight gap due to wind pressure during traveling or the like. And infiltrate. However, in the area indicated by the circle 32 or the arrow 34, as described above, there is no gap between the upper surface cover portion 10A and the floor panel 33 of the vehicle body, or the gap is very small, such as snow. The gap will disappear due to snow or the like.

With this structure, it becomes difficult for snow or the like that has entered from the front end of the lower surface cover portion 10B to penetrate into the large space portion 35 between the lower surface cover portion 10C and the floor panel 19, and the snow that accumulates in the space portion 35. Etc. can be significantly reduced. As a result, the fixed portion between the undercover 10 and the floor panel 19 of the vehicle body is damaged by the accumulated snow or the like, and the undercover 10 is prevented from being separated from the vehicle body. In addition, it is possible to prevent the weight of the vehicle body from being significantly increased due to accumulated snow or the like, and to prevent the fuel consumption from being lowered.

Further, in the region indicated by the arrow 36, the upper surface cover portion 10A and the lower surface cover portion 10B are arranged so as to overlap each other to form the space portion 37. As described above with reference to FIG. 2, the upper surface cover portion 10A is assembled around the front tire 12 of the vehicle 11, and the region indicated by the arrow 36 is a region having a high probability of being hit by a stepping stone during traveling.

Therefore, the compressibility of the non-woven fabric of the lower surface cover portion 10B is higher than the compressibility of the non-woven fabric of the upper surface cover portion 10A. Specifically, the compressibility of the non-woven fabric of the lower surface cover portion 10B is about 20% or more and 30% or less higher than the compressibility of the non-woven fabric of the upper surface cover portion 10A. The upper surface cover portion 10A and the lower surface cover portion 10B are formed by press-molding a non-woven fabric of the same material, but the thickness T1 of the lower surface cover portion 10B is, for example, about 3 mm due to the difference in the compressibility, and the upper surface is formed. The thickness T2 of the cover portion 10A is, for example, about 4 mm.

The region indicated by the arrow 36 is a region where there is a high probability that a stepping stone will hit during traveling. However, due to the above structure, the lower surface cover portion 10B has a structure having high durability against stepping stones, so that the undercover 10 has a stepping stone. A structure that is not easily damaged is realized.

On the other hand, the sound absorption performance is lowered by increasing the compression rate of the non-woven fabric of the lower surface cover portion 10B, but the sound absorption performance is lowered by arranging the upper surface cover portion 10A above the lower surface cover portion 10B and forming a double structure. Can be supplemented. Further, the upper surface cover portion 10A is arranged in a region where the stepping stones do not hit, so that the compression rate of the non-woven fabric of the upper surface cover portion 10A can be lowered as described above, and the sound absorption performance thereof can be improved.

As shown in the figure, the compressibility of the non-woven fabric of the lower surface cover portion 10C behind the region indicated by the arrow 36 is lower than the compressibility of the non-woven fabric of the lower surface cover portion 10B of the region indicated by the arrow 36, and the thickness T3 thereof is large. For example, it is about 4 mm. That is, in the lower surface cover portion 10C, the probability of hitting the stepping stones during traveling is low, and the momentum of the stepping stones is attenuated, so that the sound absorption performance can be prioritized over the durability against the stepping stones, and the vehicle 11 as a whole Sound absorption performance can be improved.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle 11, the floor panel 19 is formed with a concave tunnel portion 20 extending in the front-rear direction at the center thereof. Further, on the lower surface of the floor panel 19, two floor frames 43, 44, 45, 46 extending from the side sill 41, 42 side, respectively, extend in the front-rear direction and are joined. The floor frames 44 and 46 are joined in the vicinity of the tunnel portion 20.

As shown in the figure, a pair of left and right undercovers 10 are arranged in the vehicle width direction with the central portion of the vehicle 11 as a boundary. Specifically, the undercover 10 on the left side of the vehicle 11 in the vehicle width direction is arranged from the side sill 41 to the floor frame 44 near the tunnel portion 20, and the undercover 10 on the right side in the vehicle width direction is arranged from the side sill 42 to the tunnel portion 20. It is arranged up to the floor frame 46 in the vicinity of.

As described above, in the regions indicated by arrows 47 and 48, the upper surface cover portion 10A becomes a floor portion shape region that follows the shape of the floor panel 19, and also in this region, the upper surface cover portion 10A and the floor panel 19 of the vehicle body There is no gap or there is very little gap. In the present embodiment, the shape of the floor panel 19 includes the shape of the floor panel 19 and the shapes of the floor frames 43, 44, 45, and 46 joined to the floor panel 19.

In the present embodiment, various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

10 Undercover 10A Top cover 10B Bottom cover 11 Vehicle 12 Front tire 13 Rear tire 19 Floor panel 20 Tunnel 35 Space

Claims (5)

An undercover for a vehicle that is arranged on the lower surface of the floor of a vehicle and has a desired compression ratio by press molding.
An upper surface cover portion arranged below the floor portion and
It extends to the rear side of the vehicle from the upper surface cover portion, and is arranged below the floor portion in a state where a space portion is provided between the upper surface cover portion and the front side of the vehicle. Has a bottom cover and
A vehicle undercover characterized in that the compressibility of the lower surface cover portion is higher than the compressibility of the upper surface cover portion in the region constituting the space portion. The upper surface cover portion has the floor portion shape region formed by pressing along the shape of the floor portion, and is disposed so that the floor portion shape region is in contact with the floor portion. The vehicle undercover according to claim 1. The claim is characterized in that the compression ratio of the lower surface cover portion located on the rear side of the vehicle with respect to the region constituting the space portion is lower than the compression ratio of the lower surface cover portion of the region constituting the space portion. The vehicle undercover according to claim 1 or 2. The aspect according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the upper surface cover portion is arranged along the outer peripheral edge of the lower surface cover portion from the front end portion of the vehicle. Undercover for vehicles. The vehicle undercover according to claim 4, wherein the upper surface cover portion and the lower surface cover portion are arranged in pairs in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle with the central portion of the vehicle as a boundary.

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