KR101646475B1

KR101646475B1 - Active airflap

Info

Publication number: KR101646475B1
Application number: KR1020150136604A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 정지민
Original assignee: 현대자동차주식회사
Priority date: 2015-09-25
Filing date: 2015-09-25
Publication date: 2016-08-12

Abstract

The present invention relates to an active air flap capable of remarkably improving aerodynamic performance by securing sealing between a flap and a radiator grill.
The present invention relates to a vehicle comprising a flap rotatably installed adjacent to a radiator grille of a vehicle; An actuator for rotating the flap; And a sealing means for sealing the flap and the radiator grille by applying vacuum pressure to a portion of the radiator grill where the flap and the radiator grill are in contact with each other while the flap is pivoted to a position for closing the radiator grill.

Description

ACTIVE AIR FLAP

The present invention relates to an active air flap, and more particularly, to an active air flap capable of remarkably improving aerodynamic performance by securing sealing between a flap and a radiator grill.

The air flap can cut the air flowing into the radiator grill when the coolant temperature is below a predetermined temperature during running of the vehicle, thereby reducing the running resistance (i.e., air resistance) due to the air flow rate, Device.

Such an air flap is divided into an internal air flap disposed adjacent to the condenser, and an external air flap disposed adjacent to the side of the vehicle's grill.

On the other hand, the external air flap can improve the aerodynamic performance compared to the built-in air flap since it can block the flow of air inflow. However, since the sealability between the flap and the grill is not secured, There is a disadvantage in that the improvement of aerodynamic performance can not be expected.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an active air flap capable of significantly improving aerodynamic performance by securing sealing between a flap and a radiator grill, .

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an active air flap,

A flap rotatably installed adjacent to the radiator grille of the vehicle;

An actuator for rotating the flap; And

And sealing means for sealing the flap and the radiator grille by applying vacuum pressure to a portion where the flap and the radiator grill are in contact with each other while the flap is pivoted to a position for closing the radiator grill .

The sealing means includes a vacuum pump for applying a vacuum pressure between the radiator grill and the flap, and the radiator grill and the flap are sealed by the vacuum pressure applied by the vacuum pump.

And a rotary arm is connected to the actuator, and the rotary arm is rotated by the actuator to rotate the flap.

One end of the rotary arm is rotatably installed on the actuator, and a link is movably installed on the other end of the rotary arm.

One end of the link is movably connected to the rotary arm, and the other end of the link is rotatably installed on the flap.

And an elastic member is interposed between the rotary arm and the link.

And regulating means for regulating the movement of the link.

The restricting means includes a first engaging jaw formed at one end of the link and a second engaging jaw formed at the other end of the rotatable arm,

And the first engaging jaw and the second engaging jaw are arranged so as to be engageable by movement of the link.

And the restricting means further comprises a stopper spaced apart from the first stopping jaw of the link by a predetermined distance.

A sealing contact portion capable of contacting the radiator grill is formed on a front surface of the flap and a sealing contact portion of the flap is brought into contact with the radiator grill when the flap is pivoted to a closed position for closing the radiator grill.

An active air flap according to another aspect of the present invention includes:

A radiator grille having a plurality of grille bodies spaced apart to form a plurality of air inlets, wherein a pressure drop space is formed in each grille body;

A flap rotatably installed to open or close the air inlet of the radiator grill;

An actuator for rotating the flap; And

And a vacuum pump connected to apply vacuum pressure to the pressure drop space of the grill body,

And the flap and the grill body are movable in a direction in close contact with each other as vacuum pressure is applied to the pressure drop space by the vacuum pump.

And the vacuum pump has a vacuum hose communicably connected to the pressure drop space of the grill body.

The flap has a communication hole communicable with the pressure drop space of the grill body, and the vacuum hose is communicably connected to the pressure drop space of the grill body through the communication hole of the flap.

According to the present invention, when the flap closes the radiator grille, vacuum pressure is applied to the connection portion of the flap and the radiator grille, thereby securing the sealing between the flap and the radiator grille, thereby remarkably improving aerodynamic performance.

1 is a front perspective view of an active air flap according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the radiator grille is removed from the active air flap of Fig. 1;
3 is a rear perspective view of the active air flap according to the present invention as viewed from the back.
4 is a view showing a state in which the flap of the active air flap according to the present invention opens the radiator grill.
5 is a view showing a state in which the flap of the active air flap according to the present invention closes the radiator grill.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. For the sake of convenience, the size, line thickness, and the like of the components shown in the drawings referenced in the description of the present invention may be exaggerated somewhat. The terms used in the description of the present invention are defined in consideration of the functions of the present invention, and thus may be changed depending on the user, the intention of the operator, customs, and the like. Therefore, the definition of this term should be based on the contents of this specification as a whole.

1 to 3, an active air flap according to the present invention includes a radiator grille 30 of a vehicle, a flap 10 rotatably installed adjacent to the radiator grill 30, (Not shown).

1, the radiator grill 30 has a plurality of grill bodies 31 mounted on a front bumper or the like of the vehicle, and the plurality of grill bodies 31 are spaced apart to form a plurality of air inlets 32 .

A pressure drop space 33 is formed in each grill body 31 and a contact end 35 is formed at an end of the grill body 31. The contact end 35 is shown in an enlarged view of FIG. The width of the wall of the grille body 31 may be larger than the width of the wall of the grille body 31 as shown in Fig.

The flap 10 is disposed adjacent to the radiator grill 30 at the front side of the vehicle so as to open (see FIG. 4) or close (see FIG. 5) the air inlet 32 of the radiator grill 30.

Further, the flap 10 has a plurality of sealing contacts 15 formed corresponding to the spacing distance of the contact ends 35, as shown in Fig. 5, when the flap 10 closes the grill body 31 of the radiator grill 30, the sealing contact portion 15 of the flap 10 is extended from the grill body 31 And the contact end 35 of the contact member 35 can be brought into close contact with each other.

The actuator 20 is constituted by a driving motor or the like and is configured to rotate the flap 10.

The rotary arm 21 is connected to the actuator 20 and the rotary arm 21 can be rotated by the actuator 20. One end of the rotary arm 21 is rotatably installed at the actuator 20 and a link 22 is movably installed at the other end of the rotary arm 21. [

One end of the link 22 is movably connected to the other end of the rotary arm 21 and the other end of the link 22 is rotatably installed on a side surface of the flap 10. [

Particularly, since the link 22 is configured to move linearly along the longitudinal direction of the rotary arm 21, interference or interference between the flap 10 and the radiator grill 30 is prevented during the rotation operation of the rotary arm 21 can do.

As the flap 10 opens the air inlet 32 of the radiator grill 30 as the link 22 moves from the swivel arm 21 toward the actuator 20 as shown in Figure 4, 10) can be smoothly turned to the open position.

As the flap 10 closes the air inlet 32 of the radiator grill 30 as shown in Fig. 5, as the link 22 moves from the swivel arm 21 toward the radiator grill 30, And the contact end 35 of the radiator grill 30 can be more tightly contacted.

The present invention may further include regulating means for regulating the movement distance of the link 22 when the link 22 moves in the rotation arm 21. [

The restricting means may include a first locking protrusion 51 formed at one end of the link 22 and a second locking protrusion 52 formed at the other end of the rotation lock 21. When the link 22 is moved toward the radiator grille 30 from the rotary arm 21 (see Fig. 5), the first locking step 51 is arranged to be engageable with the second locking step 52 It is possible to prevent the link 22 from being detached from the rotary rock 21.

Further, the restricting means may further include a stopper 53 spaced apart from the first latching jaw 51 of the link 22 at regular intervals. The stopper 53 of the link 22 is engaged with the second engaging jaw 52 of the rotary arm 21 when the link 22 moves from the rotary arm 21 toward the actuator 20 It is possible to prevent the link 22 from moving excessively toward the rotary rock 21.

An elastic member 23 is interposed between the rotary arm 21 and the link 22 and the link 22 can be resiliently supported with respect to the rotary arm 21 by the elastic member 23.

Particularly, in the present invention, the portion where the flap 10 is in contact with the radiator grill 30 in a state where the flap 10 is rotated to the closed position for closing the air inlet 32 of the radiator grill 30 And a sealing means for sealing the radiator grill 30 and the flap 10 by applying vacuum pressure to the contact end 35 of the flap 10 and the sealing contact 15.

The sealing means includes a vacuum pump 40 for applying vacuum pressure to a portion where the radiator grill 30 and the flap 10 are in contact (the contact end 35 and the sealing contact 15 in Fig. 5) The contact end 35 of the radiator grill 30 and the sealing contact portion 15 of the flap 10 can be more airtightly attached by the application of the vacuum pressure of the radiator grill 30 and the radiator grill 30 30 can secure more reliable sealing performance.

The vacuum pump 40 is connected to apply the vacuum pressure to the pressure drop space 33 of the radiator grill 30.

The vacuum pump 40 has a plurality of vacuum hoses 41 individually connected to the pressure drop space 33 of the plurality of grill bodies 31. The plurality of vacuum hoses 41 are vacuum- And may be connected to the pump 40.

The flap 10 may have a communication hole 17 communicating with the pressure drop space 33 of the grill body 31. 5, when the flap 10 closes the air inlet 32 of the radiator grill 30, the vacuum hose 41 is in communication with the pressure drop space 33 through the communication hole 17 So that the flap 10 and the grill body 32 can move in the direction in which the flap 10 and the grill body 32 come into close contact with each other through which the pressure in the pressure drop space 33 is lowered, And the connecting end 35 of the grill body 32 are tightly adhered to each other so that the sealing performance between the flap 10 and the radiator grill 30 can be sufficiently secured.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. .

10: flap 15: sealing contact
17: communication ball 20: actuator
21: synovial membrane 22: link
23: elastic member 30: radiator grill
31: grill body 32: air inlet
33: pressure drop space 40: vacuum pump
41: Vacuum hose

Claims

A flap rotatably installed adjacent to the radiator grille of the vehicle;
An actuator for rotating the flap; And
And sealing means for sealing the flap and the radiator grille by applying vacuum pressure to a portion where the flap and the radiator grill are in contact with each other while the flap is pivoted to a position for closing the radiator grill Active air flap.

The method according to claim 1,
Characterized in that the sealing means includes a vacuum pump for applying vacuum pressure between the radiator grill and the flap, and the radiator grill and the flap are sealed by the vacuum pressure applied by the vacuum pump, flap.

The method of claim 2,
Wherein the actuator is connected to a rotary arm, and the rotary arm is rotated by the actuator to rotate the flap.

The method of claim 3,
Wherein one end of the rotary arm is rotatably installed on the actuator, and a link is movably installed on the other end of the rotary arm.

The method of claim 4,
Wherein one end of the link is movably connected to the rotatable arm, and the other end of the link is rotatably mounted on the flap.

The method of claim 5,
Wherein an elastic member is interposed between the rotating piece and the link.

The method of claim 6,
Further comprising regulating means for regulating the movement of said link.

The method of claim 7,
The restricting means includes a first engaging jaw formed at one end of the link and a second engaging jaw formed at the other end of the rotatable arm,
Wherein the first engaging jaw and the second engaging jaw are arranged to be engageable by movement of the link.

The method of claim 8,
Wherein the restricting means further comprises a stopper spaced apart from the first engaging jaw of the link at regular intervals.

The method of claim 9,
Wherein a sealing contact portion capable of contacting the radiator grill is formed on a front surface of the flap and a sealing contact portion of the flap is in contact with the radiator grill when the flap is pivoted to a closed position for closing the radiator grill. Air flap.

A radiator grille having a plurality of grille bodies spaced apart to form a plurality of air inlets, wherein a pressure drop space is formed in each grille body;
A flap rotatably installed to open or close the air inlet of the radiator grill;
An actuator for rotating the flap; And
And a vacuum pump connected to apply vacuum pressure to the pressure drop space of the grill body,
Wherein the flap and the grill body are movable in a direction in which the flap and the grill body are in close contact with each other as the vacuum pressure is applied to the pressure drop space by the vacuum pump.

The method of claim 11,
Wherein the vacuum pump has a vacuum hose communicatively connected to the pressure drop space of the grill body.

The method of claim 12,
Wherein the flap has a communication hole communicable with the pressure drop space of the grill body and the vacuum hose is communicatively connected with the pressure drop space of the grill body through the communication hole of the flap.