WO2010090240A1

WO2010090240A1 - Device for raising temperature of tires

Info

Publication number: WO2010090240A1
Application number: PCT/JP2010/051562
Authority: WO
Inventors: 雅史北川; 英生樋口; 保宮島; 光宣齊藤; 孝行山本
Original assignee: 本田技研工業株式会社
Priority date: 2009-02-04
Filing date: 2010-02-04
Publication date: 2010-08-12
Also published as: JP2010179729A

Abstract

A device (A) for raising the temperature of tires has provided on an engine under cover (30) a guide (31) for distributing relative wind (W) to the left and right. Differently from conventional devices for raising the temperature of tires, the device (A) raises the temperature of tires (T, T) and maintains the raised temperature by means of engine exhaust heat retained in wheel wells (H, H), and thus the device (A) does not require a fan or a compression device for blowing warm air onto the surfaces of the tires (T, T).

Description

Tire heating device

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tire temperature raising device that raises the temperature of a tire of an automobile.

Recently, in view of the demand for energy saving and low environmental load, it is required to improve the fuel efficiency of automobiles more than ever. And in the technical field which concerns on a tire, the tire temperature rising device aiming at the improvement of the fuel consumption of a car is known (for example, refer to patent documents 1 and patent documents 2).
The tire temperature raising device is configured to blow warm air onto the surface of the tire, and the rolling resistance of the tire is reduced by raising the temperature of the tire.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-290916 Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 4-31605

However, around the tire, there are traveling wind and surface air flow which is pulled by the tire rotating at a high speed and flows in the rotational direction on the surface of the tire.
Therefore, in the conventional tire temperature rising device, the warm air must be accelerated using a fan or a compressor so that the injected warm air reaches the tire against the traveling wind around the tire and the surface air flow. . As a result, an extra load is placed on the engine in order to supply the power consumed to drive the fan and the compressor, and the fuel efficiency may be deteriorated.
Also, in the conventional tire temperature rising device, the temperature of the surface of the tire is raised mainly by blowing warm air onto the surface of the tread portion of the tire, so the heat of the surface of the tire is the atmosphere on the road surface and around the tire. It is easy to run away. In other words, in the conventional tire temperature rising device, the heating efficiency which raises the temperature of a tire is bad.

Then, the subject of the present invention is excellent in heating efficiency which raises the temperature of a tire, and provides a tire temperature rising device which can certainly improve fuel consumption of a car, without putting an extra burden on prime movers, such as an engine. It is.

The tire temperature rising device of the present invention which solved the above-mentioned subject is characterized by having a guide which distributes a run style to right and left in a prime mover undercover.
When the car travels, part of the traveling wind received at the front of the car enters the motor room where the motor such as the engine and motor is disposed, and with the exhaust heat of the motor behind the motor room from under the floor to outside the motor I'm leaving.
On the other hand, in the tire temperature raising device of the present invention, since the undercover of the motor has a guide for distributing the traveling wind to the left and right, the traveling wind with the exhaust heat of the motor is guided from the motor room to the wheelhouse. Stay. As a result, the tire temperature increasing device reduces the rolling resistance of the tire by exerting two functions of raising the temperature of the tire with the exhaust heat of the motor staying in the wheel house and maintaining the elevated temperature of the tire. .

In addition, the tire temperature rising device of the present invention is different from the conventional tire temperature rising device (for example, refer to Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2) in which warm air is blown to the surface of the tire to raise the temperature of the tire. Since the temperature of the tire is raised by the exhaust heat of the motor retained in the wheel house and the elevated temperature is maintained, there is no need for a fan or a compressor for blowing warm air onto the surface of the tire. Therefore, according to the tire temperature raising device of the present invention, an extra load due to driving of the fan or the compression device is not applied to the prime mover.

And since the conventional tire temperature rising device (for example, refer to patent documents 1 and patent documents 2) is raising the temperature of the surface of a tire by spraying warm air, the heat of the surface of a tire is a road surface or a tire. It is easy to escape to the surrounding atmosphere. On the other hand, according to the tire temperature raising device of the present invention, the temperature of the tire is increased by the exhaust heat of the motor retained in the wheel house, and the increased temperature of the tire is maintained. And the heat can be supplied to the tire continuously (continuously) and stably.

Further, in such a tire temperature raising device, the guide may be a straightening rib protruding above the prime mover undercover. This tire temperature raising device can make the guide a simple structure, and can arrange the guide even if the gap between the motor and the motor undercover is small.

Moreover, in such a tire temperature rising device, what further has a strake is desirable. Although the strake is originally known as an aerodynamic device that reduces the drug (Cd value), in the present invention, in addition to this function, it acts to make the motor exhaust heat stay more stable in the wheel house. Do.

Unlike the conventional tire temperature rising device, the tire temperature rising device of the present invention does not need to accelerate warm air and does not apply an extra load to the prime mover, so the fuel consumption of the automobile can be surely improved. Further, the tire temperature raising device according to the present invention increases the temperature of the tire because the total amount of heat contributing to the tire is large and the heat can be continuously and stably supplied to the tire. Excellent thermal efficiency to maintain elevated temperatures.

It is a perspective view which shows partially the front side of the motor vehicle which mounts the tire temperature rising device of this invention, and is the figure which looked at the front side of the motor vehicle from diagonally right rear of the motor vehicle. (A) is a perspective view of the guide which comprises the tire temperature rising apparatus of this invention, the figure which looked down on the guide from diagonally left front, (b) is II-II sectional drawing in (a). FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. It is a perspective view explaining the flow of the traveling wind in the front side of a car, and is a figure showing partially a situation where the front side of a car was looked down on from the left front of a car. It is a perspective view which shows a mode that driving wind is distribute | arranged to right and left by a guide, Comprising: It is a perspective view which shows partially a mode that the front lower side of the motor vehicle was looked up from left rear. (A) is a partial side view of the front side of the car schematically showing the air flow around the tire of the traveling car, (b) is a front part of the car schematically showing the air flow in the wheel house of the traveling car A side view, (c) is a view schematically showing the distribution of air flow in the wheel house, and is a cross-sectional view corresponding to a cross section taken along the line VI-VI in FIG.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a tire temperature rising device of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The tire temperature rising device of the present invention is different from the conventional tire temperature rising device (for example, refer to patent documents 1 and patent documents 2), and a fan and a compression device for actively (warmly) blowing hot air to a tire. The engine exhaust heat (including the heat generation of the transmission) which is the motor exhaust heat is configured to be guided into the wheel house without using. More specifically, the tire temperature raising device according to the present invention is configured to distribute engine exhaust heat to the left and right passively by the traveling wind so as to be guided and retained in the wheel house.

Here, FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 will be mainly referred to. In FIG. 3, a radiator, a shroud, a strake, and the like are shown by imaginary lines. In the following description, the front, rear, upper, lower, left, and right directions are based on the front, rear, upper, lower, left, or right directions shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the tire temperature raising device A of the present embodiment is mainly characterized in that the engine undercover 30 has a guide 31 for distributing the traveling wind to the left and right. The engine undercover 30 corresponds to a prime mover undercover according to the claims.

The engine under cover 30 is disposed below the

front side frames

12a and 12a and the bulkhead lower cross member 12b of the automobile M, thereby covering the lower side (bottom side) of the engine (not shown). In FIG. 1, the code | symbol 6 shows the inner fender which divides the wheel house H, the code | symbol T shows the tire (wheel) arrange | positioned in the wheel house H, and the code | symbol 10 shows a radiator.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2A, the guide 31 in the present embodiment is formed of a straightening rib which protrudes above the engine undercover 30 and distributes the traveling wind to the left and right.
The guide 31 is gently bent in a substantially U-shape in plan view, and is formed to be convex forward and to be gradually displaced rearward as it extends laterally. The guide 31 is formed of an L-shaped plate in cross section as shown in FIG. 2B, and the vertical wall portion 33 rising from the upper surface of the engine undercover 30, and the vertical wall portion 33. And a lateral wall portion 34 that bends and protrudes forward from the front side.

Such a guide 31 is disposed such that the wheel houses H, H are positioned on the extension extending in the lateral direction, as shown in FIG.
In other words, the guide 31 is disposed closer to the front than the rear end Z of the wheel house H, as shown in FIG. The guide 31 is preferably disposed forward of an intermediate position Y in the front-rear direction of the wheel house H, and more preferably disposed between the intermediate position Y and the front end X of the wheel house H. As described later, when the traveling wind W which has passed through the radiator 10 flows from the front side of the engine E (including the transmission) toward the engine undercover 30 as described later, the guides 31 arranged in this way It can be efficiently introduced into the wheel house H.

The guide 31 in the present embodiment can be formed of, for example, a material such as metal or resin. And joining of the guide 31 with respect to the engine under cover 30 should just select a suitable joining method according to material, and welding, adhesion | attachment, a fastener etc. are mentioned as a joining method, for example.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 6 denotes an inner fender, and reference numeral T denotes a tire.
The inner fender 6 in the present embodiment means an inner fender in a broad sense, and defines the wheel house H in which the tire T is disposed. In addition, although the inner fender 6 in this embodiment is drawn integrally for convenience of drawing, if it is what divides the wheel house H, several members will be combined and formed, It is also good. In addition, a part of a frame (not shown) forming the frame of the vehicle body may double as a part of the inner fender 6.

The tire temperature raising device A in the present embodiment further includes a strake 14 as shown in FIG. The strake 14 is an aerodynamic device disposed immediately in front of the tire T, and the strake 14 in the present embodiment is formed of a plate-like body that drops immediately in front of the tire T. The strake 14 is originally known to reduce drag (Cd value) caused by direct impact of the traveling wind on the tread portion of the tire T. And in the strake 14 in the present embodiment, as described later, in addition to this function, the traveling wind without engine exhaust heat is the front of the tire T and the inner side of the tire T (the tire T in the wheel house H is present) Not reduce the volume of air flowing into the wheel house H). As a result, the strake 14 can more stably retain the engine exhaust heat in the wheel house H.

Next, the effect of the tire temperature rising device A which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated. FIG. 4 referred to here is a perspective view for explaining the flow of traveling wind on the front side of the vehicle, and partially showing the front side of the vehicle looking down from the left front of the vehicle. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing how traveling wind is distributed to the left and right by guides, and is a perspective view partially showing the front lower side of a car as viewed from the left rear. FIG. 6 (a) is a partial side view of the front side of the automobile schematically showing the air flow around the tire of the traveling automobile, and FIG. 6 (b) is an automobile schematically showing the air flow in the wheel house of the traveling automobile FIG. 6 (c) is a cross-sectional view corresponding to the VI-VI cross section in FIG. 1, schematically showing the distribution of the air flow in the wheel house. In FIG. 6C, wheels, hubs, drive shafts, knuckles, lower arms, upper arms, dampers, and the like on which the tires are mounted are shown by imaginary lines.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the car M travels, the traveling wind W received at the front side of the car M and passed through a radiator (not shown) is the front side of the engine E (including the transmission) disposed in the engine room R. The part flows toward the lower side (bottom side) of the engine E. Although not shown, a part of the traveling wind W that has hit the front side of the engine E passes through the gap between the upper side of the engine E and the left and right side frame of the engine E and the engine room R behind the engine room R I will go out of R. The code | symbol T has shown the tire in FIG.

Then, the traveling wind W that has flowed from the front side to the lower side (bottom side) of the engine E flows toward the engine undercover 30 as shown in FIG. 3.
At this time, the traveling wind W passes through the radiator 10 and is accompanied by the exhaust heat of the engine, and flows from the front side to the lower side (bottom side) of the engine E so that the exhaust heat is further transmitted to the traveling wind W. Join. Incidentally, the engine exhaust heat is transferred to the traveling wind W flowing from the front side to the lower side (bottom side) of the engine E by heat transfer (convective heat transfer) from the engine E and heat radiation (radiation).

And the traveling wind W which flowed toward the engine undercover 30 is distributed to right and left by the guide 31, as shown in FIG. At this time, since the wheel houses H and H are positioned on the extension of the guide 31 extending to the left and right, the traveling wind W distributed is directed toward the wheel houses H and H by being guided by the guides 31.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6A, the traveling wind W flows in around the tire T of the traveling automobile M. Further, around the tire T, there is a surface air flow S which is pulled by the tire T rotating at high speed and flows in the rotational direction on the surface thereof.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6B, in the wheel house H, the traveling wind W flows from the lower part of the bumper and the lower side (not shown) inside the hub 20 in the vehicle width direction.
However, even if the car M is traveling, the air flow F in the front and upper part of the wheel house H (the air flow area C3 (see FIG. 6C) described later) has a very small speed, and the flowing direction is also chaotic. The present inventors have confirmed that a flow similar to the above-mentioned vortex flow is formed. Specifically, according to the measurement by simulation conducted by the present inventors, the velocity of the air flow in the upper part in the wheel house H of a car traveling at 30 km / h is about 1.0 to 2.0 m / s, The velocity of the air flow in the upper part of the wheel house H of a car traveling at 90 km / h was about 3.0 to 5.0 m / s.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6 (c), in the wheel house H, mainly the air flow region C1 formed around the tire T and the traveling wind W inside the hub 20 (see FIG. 6 (b)) Is divided into an air flow area C2 into which the air flows and an air flow area C3 in which the air flow speed is extremely small.
In FIG. 6C, reference numeral 21 denotes a wheel on which the tire T is mounted, reference numeral 22 denotes a drive shaft, reference numeral 23 denotes a knuckle, reference numeral 24 denotes a lower arm, and reference numeral 25 denotes an upper arm. Reference numeral 26 denotes a damper.

As described above, the traveling wind W (see FIG. 5) distributed to the left and right by the guide 31 is led to the airflow region C3 (see FIG. 6C) in which the velocity of the airflow is extremely small. As a result, the engine exhaust heat stagnates in the air flow region C3 where the air flow speed is extremely low.
That is, in the tire temperature raising device A of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6C, the engine exhaust heat accumulated in the air flow region C3 raises the temperature of the tire T. In particular, the inner surface of the tire T (the sidewall portion on the inner side in the width direction of the vehicle) is efficiently heated. Incidentally, the sidewall portion having a thinner rubber thickness than the tread portion facilitates heat transfer to the tire air chamber where a large heat capacity can be secured. Then, the engine exhaust heat retained in the air flow region C3 maintains the temperature of the tire T which has been increased.

According to the tire temperature raising device A as described above, the temperature of the tire T is raised by the engine exhaust heat retained in the wheel house H, and the raised temperature is maintained, so that the rolling resistance of the tire T can be reduced. it can. As a result, the fuel consumption of the automobile M is improved.

Also, the tire temperature raising device A is different from the conventional tire temperature raising device (for example, see Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2) in which warm air is blown to the surface of the tire to raise the temperature of the tire. Since the temperature of the tire T is increased by the exhaust heat of the engine retained in the wheel house H and the increased temperature is maintained, there is no need for a fan or compressor for accelerating hot air to the surface of the tire. . Therefore, according to the tire temperature rising device A, unlike the conventional tire temperature rising device (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2), the power consumed for driving the fan and the compression device for accelerating the warm air is supplied. Since the engine is not overloaded, the fuel consumption of the automobile M can be reliably improved.

Also, unlike the tire temperature raising device A (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2), the tire temperature raising device A does not require a fan or a compression device for accelerating warm air. It also does not require a compressor control system. As a result, according to the tire temperature raising device A, since the configuration is simpler than that of the conventional tire temperature raising device, the number of parts and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. And by reducing the number of parts and reducing the weight of the automobile M, the tire temperature raising device A can also contribute to the improvement of the fuel consumption.

Moreover, in the conventional tire temperature rising apparatus (for example, refer patent document 1 and patent document 2), since the temperature of the surface of a tire is raised by spraying warm air, the heat of the surface of a tire is a road surface or a tire. Easy to escape to the atmosphere surrounding On the other hand, the tire temperature raising device A always raises the temperature of the tire T by the engine exhaust heat retained in the wheel house H and maintains the increased temperature of the tire T, thereby contributing to the tire T The total amount of heat (the total amount of heat in the air flow region C3) is large, and the heat can be continuously and stably supplied to the tire T (without interruption). As a result, the tire temperature increasing device A is superior in thermal efficiency to increase the temperature of the tire T and maintain the increased temperature as compared with the conventional tire temperature increasing device.

Further, according to the tire temperature raising device A, the guide route of the traveling wind W accompanied by the engine exhaust heat can be laid out along the upper surface of the engine undercover 30, so that between the engine E and the engine undercover 30. Space can be used effectively.

Further, in the tire temperature raising device A, since the guide 31 is formed by the flow straightening rib protruding above the engine undercover 30, the guide 31 can be made to have a simple structure, and the engine E and the engine undercover 30 The guides 31 can be arranged even if the distance between them is small.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, since the tire temperature increasing device A has the strake 14 immediately before the tire T, the traveling wind not accompanied by the exhaust heat of the engine by flowing through the lower part of the bumper, under the floor, etc. Avoid hitting from the front of the That is, the strake 14 reduces the amount of air flowing into the wheel house H when the traveling wind not accompanied by the engine exhaust heat collides with the tire T. More specifically, the strake 14 reduces the traveling wind W without engine exhaust heat flowing around the tire T shown in FIG. And reduce the flow rate leaking out of the wheel house H. Also in the case shown in FIG. 6B, the strake 14 can suppress the flow rate of the traveling wind W not accompanied by the engine exhaust heat flowing into the upper part of the wheel house H. In other words, the air flow area C2 shown in FIG. 6C is reduced, and the air flow area C3 in which the speed of the air flow is extremely small in the wheel house H is expanded. As a result, the tire temperature raising device A causes engine exhaust heat to stay more stably in a larger area in the wheel house H. Therefore, according to the tire temperature raising device A, the thermal efficiency for increasing the temperature of the tire T and maintaining the increased temperature of the tire T is further excellent.

Further, in the tire temperature raising device A, the guide 31 is gently bent in a substantially U-shape in a plan view, and the vertical wall portion 33 rising from the upper surface of the engine undercover 30 and the front from this vertical wall portion 33 Since the lateral wall portion 34 that is bent and extended is provided, according to the tire temperature raising device A, the traveling wind W accompanied by the engine exhaust heat can be smoothly made the wheel house H without using a fan or a compression device. , H can be led.

As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can implement with a various form.
In the above embodiment, it is assumed that the guide 31 is provided by being joined to the engine undercover 30, but in the present invention, the guide 31 may be integrally formed with the engine undercover 30. Further, the guide 31 may be formed by a cut and raised section of the engine undercover 30.

In the above embodiment, the guide 31 has a substantially U-shape in a plan view, but the present invention may be configured as long as the guide 31 can distribute the traveling wind W to the left and right on the engine undercover 30. There is no particular restriction on Therefore, the guide 31 may be configured by a vertical wall linearly extending in the vehicle width direction on the engine undercover 30.

Further, in the above embodiment, the guide 31 has been described on the assumption that it is line-symmetrical in plan view with respect to the center line extending in the front-rear direction of the automobile M, but as long as the object (problem) of the present invention is not hindered The guide 31 may have an asymmetrical shape with respect to the center line.

Further, in the above embodiment, the tire temperature raising device applied to an engine car has been described, but the present invention is applied to an electric car (including a hybrid car and a fuel cell car) whose motor is a motor Good. Furthermore, when there is an exhaust heat source other than the prime mover such as a battery box, the exhaust heat may be introduced to the front wheels or rear wheels in the same way.

6 inner fender 10 radiator 14 strake 30 engine under cover (motor under cover)
31 Guide A Tire Heating Device M Automobile H Wheelhouse T Tire W Driving Wind

Claims

A tire temperature raising device characterized by having a guide for distributing traveling wind to the left and right in a prime mover undercover.
The tire heat-up device according to claim 1, wherein the guide is a flow straightening rib which protrudes on the motor undercover.
The tire warming device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a strake.