JPH06234373A - Automobile with movable front wing - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent foreign matter (including muddy water particles) from reaching a windshield in the state of a movable wing protruding on a bonnet by providing this movable wing oscillatingly on the upper face of the bonnet, between the front bumper and windshield of an automobile. CONSTITUTION:A movable front wing 9 of the length extended over the whole width direction length of the bonnet 6 of an automobile is oscillatingly fitted, by a pin 10, to the longitudinal intermediate part of the stream line shape bonnet 6 lowered at the front part. This wing 9 is accommodated in the enclosable state in a recessed part 11 formed at the upper face of the bonnet 6, and formed in such a way that the surface of the wing 9 is flush with the surface of the bonnet 6 in the enclosed state. The oscillation angle of this movable wing 9 is changed according to the travel state into a water splash guard position 12 for stopping water splash from a vehicle traveling abreast, a heavy rain position 13, a glare preventive position 14 in snowfall and fog, an insect guard position 17, and the like so as to obtain a required effect.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention intends to solve a particularly safety problem that occurs when the front portion has a streamlined shape in order to save fuel consumption of an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional bonnet type passenger cars, in particular,
As a means of reducing fuel consumption, lower the front of the bonnet,
Furthermore, a smooth streamlined structure from the top of the bonnet to the front window has been used to reduce the air resistance coefficient. However, along with this, there were some situations in which the safety deteriorated as shown below.

Firstly, a large truck or a bus runs in the rain, especially on a highway, when heavy rain occurs or when the road surface is damaged and ruts are formed and rainwater is accumulated in the depression. On this occasion, this water is ejected onto the adjacent lane. Since the upper end of the ejected water is lower than the eye level of a passenger car driver,
There is no harm when a passenger car is tracking backwards on the next lane, but when traveling side by side, the bonnet scoops this water up to the front window, so the front is completely invisible. The dangers associated with this are not comparable to the fuel savings due to streamlining during the parallel run.

Secondly, while traveling on the wet road, the relatively fine particles in the water spray on the rear part of the front vehicle fall slowly, so that they are scooped up to the front window as described above. Because the slope of the front wind is larger than the bonnet, the air flow rises along the wind, but the water droplet has a larger inertial force than the air,
There are many opportunities to hit and adhere to wind glass. If there is a large amount of rainfall from the sky, water droplets from below will not cause much damage, but even when the rain stops and another vehicle stops the wiper, the streamlined car cannot be stopped. Since it stopped, the mud in the water on the road was concentrated, and it adhered to the wind glass and dried due to the running wind, so it was necessary to use a window washer frequently, which made it even worse on a snow melting road. There are many opportunities to encounter them, which hinders safety. Furthermore, the rubber lip of the wiper blade is easily damaged due to muddy water, the wiping ability during rain is reduced, and a large number of streaks are formed on the glass surface after wiping, which is dangerous because the scenery in front can be seen.

Thirdly, the above-mentioned scooping phenomenon is considerably disadvantageous even if the wind is damaged due to the collision of insects in the summer, and since it cannot be cleaned with a wiper, even if it runs fast with a straight streamline type. It doesn't make sense to stop and clean.

Fourthly, in the case of collision with bounced stones of other vehicles, wild animals, etc., when the hood is low, the main collision does not occur at the tip of the bonnet and the car is scooped up and the main collision occurs at the front window. There is a risk that it will occur and penetrate the glass and collide with the driver.

Fifth, the luminous intensity of light attenuates as a power of the distance from the light source. Although the headlight collects light with a reflector or lens, attenuation due to distance is unavoidable, so the road surface at a close distance is too bright compared to the illuminance in the front, which is necessary for safety. A car with a low ponnet can see the road surface at a very short distance, so the driver's pupils close and the distance required for high-speed driving becomes difficult to see, which is dangerous and causes driver fatigue. During snowfall or fog, reflected light returns from the air,
It is even more dangerous. In the retractable headlight, there is a space between the left and right lamps when in use, which is even more dangerous.

Sixth, it is difficult for a bonnet type practical vehicle to lay down the front window until the bonnet and the front window form an integrated streamline shape for many reasons. For example, in the case of an integrated streamline type, the lower end of the windshield needs to be extended to the front end of the bonnet, which increases weight, manufacturing difficulty, cost increases, distortion of the front and side scenery, difficulty in securing the wiper wiping area, etc. In addition to the large increase in air conditioning, it is necessary to make the bottom of the glass black because of anti-reflection glare, and even if the air resistance is slightly reduced, the cooling load is greatly increased. Therefore, even if the bonnet is streamlined in a practical vehicle, it is different from the streamlined surface that wraps the entire vehicle body.
Airflow collisions occur on the windshield, increasing the air resistance compared to a perfect streamline type.

[0009]

In the current automobiles having a streamlined front part, various safety problems as described above occur in accordance with the above. On the other hand, even with the streamline type, the air resistance cannot be sufficiently reduced halfway as described above. The present invention addresses both of these solutions.

[0010]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The design conditions of the highest priority from the front window of the automobile to the hood are:
This is the view from the front down from the start to the low speed running. It is required that the obstacles near the front and the head of the child can be easily confirmed. On the other hand, when driving at high speeds, it is known that the field of view at a close range is not necessary for safety, and conversely it is harmful to the driver based on the theory of automatic control. The present invention, while traveling at medium and high speed, depending on the weather, when trying to obstruct the visibility of the range required for medium and high speed, using an unnecessary space in the field of view at the time of the medium and high speed,
Furthermore, by sacrificing the running resistance a little, it prevents the deterioration of the visibility required at middle and high speeds.

On the other hand, when there is no fear of obstruction of the visibility during high speed traveling, an unnecessary space is used for the visibility during the middle and high speeds to further reduce the traveling resistance.

Concretely, firstly, regarding the scooping of water splashed by the parallel running vehicle, the water channel is projected onto the bonnet only when necessary, and the scooped water is guided mainly to the side. , Stop reaching the front window. For the material of the protrusion, the same resin material as the energy absorption bumper is used to ensure safety in the event of a pedestrian collision.

Secondly, for scooping up the muddy water particles, the water channel may be used. However, the water channel may be used in common with or independently of the water channel to project from the bonnet surface mainly near the center of the front end of the bonnet and the front window. There is also a case where a wind guide part is provided to generate an upward airflow, and muddy water particles are blown up above the wiper wiping range of the front window before reaching the front window. If you make enough updraft,
Since the increase in air resistance due to this is unavoidable, the protrusion height may be automatically adjusted according to the traveling speed in order to suppress the increase in resistance to the necessary minimum.

With respect to the collision of the third insect, the amount of protrusion is changed by the above means.

The same applies to the collision of a fourth animal or the like, but when traveling at a low speed in an urban area, there is no problem even if the forward and downward visual field is slightly reduced compared to when starting, and the central portion of the bonnet is Even if it slightly protrudes, it may not affect the field of view, so use this space to take safety measures in the event of a pedestrian collision. When a pedestrian collides with a pedestrian at a low speed, the pedestrian is generally hit by a bumper, falls, and hits the head with a bonnet. In this case, if a member having a stroke for absorbing energy is provided on the bumper, it is possible to contribute to improving safety.

To prevent the reflected light from the fifth snow and fog,
It is necessary to mainly secure the visibility in the distance by setting the position where the front lower view is narrowed.

Regarding the sixth air resistance, since the air resistance is proportional to the square of the speed, it is effective at high speed running. At high speeds, due to the influence of the inertial force of the air, even if the vehicle body has a slight unevenness, the air flow tends to flow along the envelope of the most protruding part, so the air flow at the protruding part in the center of the bonnet It is possible to reduce running resistance by starting up to an intermediate value between the hood and the front window. Further, the protrusion amount may be changed depending on the speed. At this time, the optimum position at each speed is stored in advance in the computer, but because it is affected by wind speed, etc., even when performing fine adjustment in real time by referring to the accelerator opening command value issued by the cruise control device etc. is there.

According to the above, it is also possible to increase the gradient of the windshield without increasing the air resistance, and depending on this, the weight of the windshield is reduced, the cooling capacity is reduced, and the dazzling property of the upper surface of the instrument panel is prevented. There are also effects such as improvement.

[0019]

The vehicle constructed as described above has a necessary field of view in the lower front when starting and traveling at low speeds, and shields the front lower field of view which is harmful to the operability of high speed traveling at high speeds. By improving safety and utilizing this space, air resistance is usually reduced and fuel consumption is reduced.
When the weather conditions deteriorate and the necessary field of view is obstructed, the field of view can be improved by sacrificing the air resistance coefficient a little in addition to using this space. When the visibility is poor, the vehicle speed is reduced, so even if the air resistance coefficient increases slightly, the air resistance is proportional to the square of the speed, so there is little possibility that the absolute value of the air resistance or fuel consumption will increase, and the time benefit will increase in speed. It should be reduced proportionately.

[0020]

EXAMPLES Examples will be described with reference to the drawings.
In FIG. 1, 1 is a road surface, 2 is a front part of a vehicle body of a bonnet type automobile, and the left side is a traveling direction. 3 is the front wheel, 4 is the front bumper, 5 is the non-retractable headlight, 6 is the streamlined bonnet with a lower front, 7 is the roof, 8 is the front window.
The gradient of 6 has to be made considerably larger than that of the bonnet 6, so that 6, 8 and 7 cannot form an integrated streamline type, and even if 6 is a streamline type Therefore, the air resistance coefficient cannot be sufficiently reduced unless the means of the present invention is used. Reference numeral 9 denotes a movable front wing of the present invention, which is rotatably supported by a pin 10 fixed on a hood, and 9 is for blowing up in a roof direction so that muddy water particles do not hit the front window as described above. The position for generating updraft is shown. Reference numeral 12 is a position for protecting the water spray from the above-mentioned parallel running vehicle.
It is discharged to the left and right by being blocked by the acute-angled waterway that forms the upper surface of the. No. 13 was a heavy rain, but the rain on the front of the bonnet
At the same time as preventing the wind from reaching the wind along the hood, it tries to blow up the rain that falls on the rear of the hood and the wind to the roof as much as possible. Reference numeral 14 is the above-mentioned snowfall position, an anti-glare position in fog, and 15 is a position when snowfall is more intense than that of 14, which prevents malfunction of the wiper due to snow accumulation in the wind. However, as in position 13, the wing is not tilted forward, but slightly tilted backward to prevent accumulation of blocked snow, and if snow still accumulates, the angle may be temporarily changed to remove it. . 16 is an animal collision and pedestrian safety position, 17 is an insect repellent position, 18 is a position for reducing air resistance at the time of high speed running mentioned above, 19 is a position for starting and low speed running which requires the above-mentioned close range visibility In the position, the wings 9 are stowed in the recesses 11 on the bonnet shown in cross section.
In some cases, all or part of the illustrated positions described above may be automatically changed according to the vehicle speed.

FIG. 2 shows a method of driving the above-mentioned wings.
It is a sectional view taken along the center plane of the vehicle body, and the left side of the figure is the traveling direction. Numeral 9 is the same wing as that shown in FIG. 1, and is rotatably supported by a pin 10 connected to the bonnet, and fan-shaped plates 20 are connected at right angles near the left and right ends in the traveling direction of 9,
An internal gear 21 is coupled to the side surface of 20. 22 is a digital servomotor, and 23 is a worm gear reducer connected to it, which is connected to the back side of the hood. 24
Is a shaft connected to the gear side of the gearbox, and the output shaft extends through both sides of the gearbox. A pinion 25 is coupled to the traveling right wholesaler 24 and meshes with the internal gear 21. A pinion 25 (not shown) is connected to the left end of the shaft 24 in the traveling direction, and is connected to the wing 9 by a target mechanism. Limit switches (not shown) are provided at both ends of the swing stroke of the wings 9. The motor 22 may use a stepper motor or a hydraulic cylinder that uses the signal as a synchronization signal.

When the upper surface of the hood has a deep curved surface in the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction, the mechanism of FIG.
When the wing 9 is to be largely rotated, the fitting portion with the bonnet becomes complicated, so that the mechanism shown in FIG. 3 may be used. In Figure 3, the left side is the direction of travel, and 9a is the wing.
Reference numerals 26 and 27 denote brackets connected to the left and right ends of the front and rear ends thereof, and the pins 28 and 29 are connected to the brackets. Reference numeral 30 designates a case containing two front and rear geared motors, which is connected to the back side of the hood. The column 31 moves up and down by the front motor, and the upper end is rotatably supported by the pin 28. The front end of the arm 32 is connected to the output shaft 33 of the rear motor and swings around the shaft 33,
A pin 34 is connected to the rear end. The upper end of the rod 35 is rotatably supported by the pin 29, and the lower end thereof is rotatably supported by the pin 34. Therefore, when the wing 9a is raised forward, the column 31 is pushed up, and when it is raised backward, the arm 32 is rotated counterclockwise. However, in order to avoid interference with the curved surface of the bonnet, the opposite side may be slightly lifted.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the front portion of an automobile of another embodiment, and the left side of the figure is the traveling direction. In contrast to the case where one wing is provided at right angles to the traveling direction in FIG. 1, in this example, the right wing 9br and the left wing 9b are provided on the hood 6b.
1 is arranged in a V shape, depending on the
In the parallel running vehicle water splash protection position shown in 2, during standby,
By guiding the air blocked by the wings to the left and right,
By suppressing the increase of air resistance at this position, even if a flying water comes, by actively guiding the right and left, even if the height of the wing is lowered as much as possible, the flying water will keep the wing. The increase in running resistance is suppressed by not exceeding it.

The control means has three modes: manual angle, speed interlocking, and fully automatic. The driver first selects a desired mode by the changeover switch. In the angle manual mode, the driver directly indicates the opening of the wing, and in the speed interlocking mode, the driver indicates each of the above objectives, and the opening is the optimum value stored in advance in the computer according to the vehicle speed. Is automatically selected. In the fully automatic mode, the selection of the purpose is also performed by the computer.

When the fully automatic mode is selected, the desired automatic selection is first made depending on the vehicle speed. That is, when the vehicle is stopped, the starting position is 19 in FIG. 1, at a low speed, a pedestrian collision safety position (not shown), and in the speed range of the automobile road, there are 18 high-speed running resistance reducing positions. On the other hand, another purpose is to cause a priority interruption. The camera 42 of FIG.
Is connected to the vehicle body in the front window 8b in a forward direction and analyzes the image information to determine each target position from the transparency of the window. However, since the contrast and illuminance of the scenery in the front are not stable, There may be a marker behind the upper wing. The marker P of 40 is an object which gives a pulse input, and the visibility of a poor visibility, such as a water jet of a parallel running vehicle, depends on the degree of lack of the high frequency band from the frequency characteristics of the received video signal and the contrast of the marker. Determine the reason. The marker L of 41 directly determines the frequency characteristic by comparing the data between the scanning lines of the video. The parallel running position 12 in FIG. 1 is slow if the motor is operated after detecting the occurrence of a situation in the camera as described above, so that the highest priority interrupt by the dedicated switch is possible.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of an automobile having a retractable headlight. Reference numeral 5c shows a case in which headlights mounted on both left and right ends of a vehicle body are projected from a bonnet 6c surface to a lightable position. 9c is a wing arranged so as to fill the space between both cases, and the position of 9c in the figure is
It shows a state in which it is rotated around a hinge (not shown) provided at the lower part of the bonnet at the position 10c and is deployed at a position to protect the water spray from the parallel running vehicle. It is jetted right and left from 36.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the front part of a cab-over type vehicle having a streamlined type, and the wings 9d are stored so as to form substantially the same surface as the surface of the hood 6d during high-speed running. The position of indicates a state in which water jets, muddy water particles, and the like project horizontally forward from the storage position and a water guiding groove 37 is formed in order to prevent the water splash, muddy water particles, and the like from reaching the front window 8d. Figure 7
Shows the shape of the vehicle seen from the front, and the wing 9d has a lower central portion, which facilitates guiding the water flow to the left and right.

FIG. 8 shows another embodiment in which the left side of the drawing is the traveling direction. Racks 21 on the left and right of the wing 9e
2 is connected to the same motor 22 and 23 in FIG. 2 and is meshed with the pinion 25e connected to the output shaft 24e in FIG. 8 connected to the gearbox. At the position to prevent the pedestrian and the position for pedestrian safety, when the aim is to reduce high-speed running resistance,
Depending on the motor, the front surface of the pad 38 is pulled in to a substantially flush surface with the hood 6e. When the wing 9e is at the position shown in the figure, the water entering from the groove portion 37e is guided to both ends and the lower portion of the vehicle body by the duct 39 provided in the bonnet 6e. In the case of this embodiment, it is not always necessary to lower the central portion as shown in FIG. It is known that a cab-over type vehicle is highly dangerous when it collides with a pedestrian because its head is likely to hit the vehicle body at the initial stage of the collision. Therefore, at the time of a pedestrian collision, the stroke for retracting the wings 9e to the retracted position is used, and the collision energy is absorbed by the torque limiter (not shown) attached to the shaft 24e.
At this time, the pad 38 relaxes the load due to the inertial resistance when the wing 9e is accelerated rearward due to the collision,
The purpose is to gain a contact area with the head of a spherical pedestrian. The pad 38 and the duct 39 may be used in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, while the cab-over type vehicle may also use the swinging wing as shown in FIGS.

[0029]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above, it has the following effects.

When traveling at high speed in fine weather, the fuel efficiency is reduced as much as possible, the visibility necessary for safety is ensured in bad weather, the safety at the time of a pedestrian collision at low speed, and the proximity at the time of starting and driving slowly. It is possible to secure the visibility of distance and achieve the means for the highest priority purpose under each condition by time division.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a front portion of a hood type automobile of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a drive mechanism of a wing portion.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the drive mechanism of the wing portion.

FIG. 4 is a top view showing a front portion of a bonnet type automobile according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a front portion of a bonnet type automobile according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a front portion of a cab-over type automobile according to another embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a front view of the automobile of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a wing portion of a cab-over type automobile according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of sign]

 6, 6b, 6c, 6d, 6e Bonnet 7, 7d Roof 8, 8b, 8c, 8d Front window 9, 9a, 9c, 9d, 9e Wing 9br Wing right 9b1 Wing left 10, 28, 29, 33, 34 Pin 22 Motor 23 Gearbox 24, 24e Output shaft 25, 25e Pinion 42 Camera 38 Pad 39 Duct

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A movable wing is provided between a front bumper and a window of an automobile, and a shape with little air resistance but a dangerous scene and a shape with increased air resistance but reducing or preventing the danger are time-divided. Cars to choose from. 2. The automobile according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of environmental safety measures shapes can be selected according to external environmental conditions. 3. The automobile according to claim 1, wherein the shape is automatically changed according to the traveling speed. 4. In an automobile whose front shape is a front lowering,
In order to prevent water splashing from the wheels of other vehicles from being guided to the front shape and reaching the front window, a water channel that has an opening projecting forward or downward from the front surface of the vehicle body. A vehicle having a retractable water channel that is provided with the water channel and moves the opening in a direction to reduce the protrusion when the water channel is not necessary.