JP7313776B2 - vehicle front structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle front structure.

Various heat sources exist in the engine room of an automobile. These heat sources are cooled by using outside air (driving wind) taken in from a front grill having an opening. For example, there has been proposed a grille structure for an intercooler-equipped automobile that can suppress the intrusion of foreign matter and muddy water while driving while improving the performance of taking in outside air (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2004-114984 A

In recent years, however, there has been a demand for more efficient cooling of the heat source than simply directing running air to the heat source. If the engine compartment remains hot for a long period of time, heat damage is more likely to occur in the parts. In order to prevent such heat damage and reduce the functional deterioration of component parts, it is necessary to use high-grade materials, such as using highly heat-resistant materials, which has led to increased costs. Therefore, by cooling the heat source more efficiently, for example, it is possible to configure the members provided near the heat source without using a highly heat-resistant material, which is desirable because it enables cost reduction and facilitates recycling. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to provide a vehicle front structure which is relatively simple in structure but which can improve the cooling capacity and reduce the cost.

In order to achieve the above object, the vehicle front structure of the present invention is a cooling structure for air-cooling a heat source in an engine room, wherein a vehicle front end exterior member is provided with an air intake opening communicating with the inside of the engine room, the air intake opening is provided with a guide member for guiding air toward the heat source, and a cover having an opening on a side surface and covering at least a part of the heat source is provided in the engine room,Furthermore, the cover has a slit on the front side,The guide member has at least an open end on the side surface of the cover.outside ofguide outside air alongIn addition, it has a structure that guides outside air in the direction of the slit on the front side of the cover.It is characterized by

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle front structure that is relatively simple in structure, yet has an improved cooling capacity and enables cost reduction.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example of a vehicle front structure according to the present invention, viewed from above. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an example of the guide member as seen from the vehicle front side direction. 3A and 3B are schematic diagrams for explaining the state of the guidance of outside air. FIG. 4 is a front view showing an example of the shape of the air intake in the front grille.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited or restricted to the following examples. It should be noted that the drawings referred to below are schematically described, and the dimensional ratios of the objects drawn in the drawings may differ from the dimensional ratios of the actual objects. The dimensional ratios of objects and the like may differ between drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of an example of a vehicle front structure according to the present invention, viewed from above. In FIG. 1, the downward direction is the front of the vehicle. A front grille 11, which is an exterior member, is arranged at the front end of the vehicle. The front grille 11 is provided with an intake port 13 for taking outside air into the engine room 12 . The intake port 13 is configured by providing an opening in the front grille 11 that communicates with the engine room 12 .

Inside the engine room 12, an engine body 10, a turbo 15a (including a link pin 15b), an insulator, an exhaust manifold (exhaust gas pipe) 15c, an intercooler 16, and the like are provided. Among these, the turbo 15a and the exhaust manifold 15c serve as heat sources. The heat source is provided with a cover 17, such as a heat shield or water shield, to prevent heat damage to peripheral parts (failure, melting, plating peeling, component cracks, etc. due to the heat source) and to prevent contact with high-temperature parts during maintenance. The cover 17 may hinder efficient cooling of the heat source.

In the present invention, the cover 17 covers at least part of the heat source and has an opening on the side. A guide member 14 is provided at the intake port 13 to guide the air toward the heat source existing in the engine room 12 . In this embodiment, an air duct is arranged as a guide member 14 behind the front grille 11 . The air duct is positioned in front of the heat source. The guide member 14 has a structure that guides outside air along at least the open end 18 on the side surface of the cover. By introducing outside air along the opening edge 18 of the side surface of the cover, the hot air inside the cover 17 can be drawn out, so that the cooling efficiency can be improved.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a substantially rectangular tubular air duct, which is an example of the guide member 14 . FIG. 2 shows the air duct 14 viewed from the front grill 11 side. The air duct has a shape in which the opening area of the opening decreases from the front side of the vehicle toward the rear side of the vehicle. Since the air duct 14 is tapered toward the rear side of the vehicle in this manner, the flow velocity of the guided outside air can be increased, so that an efficient cooling effect can be obtained without enlarging the opening. If the air duct 14 has such a tapered shape, the air resistance can be reduced, that is, the CD value (the amount of change from the air resistance coefficient when the air duct 14 is omitted in the vehicle) can be reduced). Furthermore, the structure in the engine room 12 is less visible from the front (Fr) side, which is advantageous in terms of design. A rib 19 is formed in the opening of the air duct to separate it into two left and right chambers. By making both the shape (outer shape) of the air duct 14 and the direction of the rib 19 oblique to the right, the outside air introduced from the left opening of the rib 19 can be directed toward the opening end 18 on the side surface of the cover. Also, the outside air introduced from the opening on the right side of the rib 19 can be directed to the front of the cover 17 . In this way, the air duct 14 is provided with the rib 19 that enhances the directivity of the introduced outside air, and the direction of air introduction and the open end 18 of the side surface of the cover are made substantially the same in the vehicle width direction, so that the outside air introduced from the left opening of the rib 19 contributes to the extraction of the hot air, and the outside air introduced from the right opening of the other rib 19 can cool the cover 17 from the outside by guiding the air to the cover 17. In FIG. 1, the open end 18 of the side surface of the cover is provided in the vehicle width direction, but the angle of the open end 18 is allowed to vary by about 45° or less with respect to the vehicle width direction.

The cover 17 may be provided with another opening (through hole, slit) on the front side (front of the vehicle) in addition to the side surface (opening end 18). When extracting the hot air inside the cover 17 by introducing the outside air along the opening end 18 of the side surface of the cover, the outside air introduced through the slit makes it easier to extract the hot air inside the cover 17, and the improvement of the cooling efficiency can be realized.

Here, an air duct has been described as an example of the guide member 14, but the guide member 14 is not limited to a cylindrical shape as long as it has an air guiding effect, and a rib or the like can also be used as the guide member 14. As an example, a guide rib may be provided between the lower portion of the hood and the upper portion of the front bumper of the vehicle, and the guide rib may guide the air to the heat source.

Further, in addition to guiding the outside air along the opening end 18 of the side surface of the cover, it is more preferable from the viewpoint of cooling efficiency to have another guide member that can guide the outside air in the direction of the other opening (through hole, slit). As another guide member, for example, an opening (air inlet) penetrating into the engine room can be provided in addition to the opening (air inlet) that guides the air toward the heat source.

The effect of the present invention will be described by schematically showing how the outside air is guided in FIG. Outside air is guided from the guide member (air duct) 14 in the direction of the arrow in the figure. A heat source 15a is provided on the rear side of the cover 17, and if the inside of the cover 17 and members that are likely to be heated by the heat source can be efficiently cooled, the members will not be overheated. In order to efficiently cool the inside of the cover 17 and the vicinity of the members, it is preferable to expose the area indicated by S in the figure (near the open end 18 on the side surface of the cover) to the outside air. By exposing the area S to the outside air, the hot air inside the cover 17 is drawn out from the opening on the side surface of the cover 17, thereby improving the cooling efficiency.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing an example of the shape of the air intake 13 in the front grill 11. As shown in FIG. The front grille 11 has, for example, a plurality of rectangular openings as shown in FIG. The intake port 13 is necessary to cool the heat source, but it is preferable to make the opening area as small as possible in order to lower the air resistance (CD value). However, if the opening is a narrow slit with a width of, for example, about 5 mm, although the outside air has momentum immediately after passing through the slit, the overall air volume is small and the outside air is hardly guided through the opening. By optimizing the shape of the guide member (air duct) to be used and the shape of the intake port of the front grille, it is possible to make the left and right air volume balance suitable and secure the air volume at the desired position. If a combination of rectangular openings is used as an intake port, the air guidance characteristics may vary depending on the width and position of the vertical beams 20 . Therefore, it is preferable to adjust the installation position of the air duct 14 by paying attention to the width of the vertical bar 20 and the relationship between the position of the vertical bar 20 and the position of the opening of the air duct 14 .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Engine main body 11... Front grill (vehicle front end exterior member)
12... Engine room 13... Intake port 14... Air duct (guide member)
15a...Turbo (heat source)
15b... Link pin 15c... Exhaust manifold (heat source)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 16... Intercooler 17... Cover 18... Opening edge part of the side surface of a cover 19... Rib 20... Vertical bar S... Cooling-required area

Claims (1)

A cooling structure for air-cooling a heat source in an engine room,
The vehicle front end exterior member is provided with an intake port communicating with the engine room,
The air inlet is provided with a guide member for guiding air in the direction of the heat source,
A cover that covers at least a portion of the heat source and has an opening on a side surface is provided in the engine room, and the cover has a slit on the front side,
The vehicle front structure, wherein the guide member guides the outside air along at least the outside of the open end of the side surface of the cover and guides the outside air in the direction of the slit on the front side of the cover .

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