JP2006298190A - Air intake device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air intake device ensuring a flow passage in a limited space while preventing ingress of hot air which is turned around a forward part of a vehicle from a rear part of a radiator and blown back into an air cleaner suction duct. <P>SOLUTION: The air intake device comprises: a hood 1; an air cleaner intake duct 6 which is arranged between the hood and an upper part of a radiator 3 arranged in a motor room 2 covered by the hood, and sucks the air from the forward part of a vehicle and guides the air to an air cleaner; an air guide cover 16 which is arranged in front of an outside air intake port 8 of the air cleaner intake duct to guide the air from the forward part of the vehicle to the outside air intake port 8; and a flow passage opening/closing member 17 which is movably mounted on the air guide cover 16 to open/close the air guide distribution passage 15. The flow passage opening/closing member 17 closes the air guide distribution passage 15 when the vehicle is stopped. The flow passage is opened by the force of the air flowing from the forward part of the vehicle into the air guide distribution passage 15 when the vehicle runs. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an air intake device, and more particularly, to a technique for blocking hot air that circulates from the rear to the front of a radiator and blows back.

  For example, since the engine performance deteriorates when air in an engine room that has become hot is guided to an air cleaner, cold outside air is guided directly to the air cleaner using an air duct.

As a conventional structure, for example, the air duct is extended in the vehicle width direction, the outside air intake port of the air duct is directed to the front of the vehicle, the space between the upper portion of the radiator and the duct wall, and the space between the hood inner and the upper surface of the duct. A structure has been proposed in which each is sealed with a sealing member to prevent heat that has reached a high temperature from entering from the outside air intake (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-8-177658 (see page 2 and page 3, FIG. 1 and FIG. 3)

  By the way, in the structure described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to prevent the air that has become hot in the engine room from blowing back from the rear of the radiator to the front of the vehicle by the sealing member.

  However, when it is necessary to mount a large radiator in a limited space, such as a fuel cell vehicle, in the structure described in Patent Document 1, the space between the upper end of the radiator and the hood inner is narrowed, and the air duct In addition, since the flow path in front of the air duct becomes small, the amount of air that can be taken in from the outside decreases. For this reason, in this structure, there is a possibility of causing a pressure loss when trying to increase the intake air amount during traveling.

  Therefore, the present invention provides an air intake device that can secure a flow path in a limited space while preventing hot air that has flowed back from the rear of the radiator to the front of the vehicle and entering the air cleaner intake duct. The purpose is to provide.

  An air intake device according to the present invention is disposed between a hood and an upper portion of a radiator disposed in a motor room covered with the hood, an air cleaner intake duct that takes air from the front of the vehicle and guides it to an air cleaner, An air guide cover that is disposed in front of an outside air intake port of an air cleaner intake duct and that forms an air guide flow path for guiding air from the front of the vehicle to the outside air intake port, and is movably attached to the air guide cover, A flow path opening / closing means for freely opening and closing the air guide flow path.

  According to the air intake device of the present invention, an air guide flow passage that guides air (outside air) flowing from the front of the vehicle to the outside air intake port is opened and closed in an air guide cover disposed in front of the outside air intake port of the air cleaner intake duct. Since the flow path opening / closing means is provided, the flow path opening / closing means is opened when the vehicle is running, the air guide flow passage is opened, and cold air (outside air) can be guided to the air cleaner intake duct from the outside of the vehicle. When the vehicle is stopped (during idling), the flow path opening / closing means is closed to block the air guide flow passage, and the hot air that has flowed back from the rear of the radiator to the front of the vehicle can be blocked.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, the hot air in the motor room can be shut out in front of the outside air intake port of the air cleaner intake duct, and the hot air can be prevented from flowing into the air cleaner.

  Hereinafter, specific embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  1 is a plan view of the motor room as seen from above with the hood removed, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the motor room as seen from above with the motor room cover removed, and FIG. 3 is a state where the hood is attached. FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part in the vicinity of the air cleaner intake duct, FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part in the line of FIG. 1B-B, and FIG. FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main portion showing a state where the air guide flow passage is opened by the flow path opening / closing means, FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a main portion showing a state where the air guide flow passage is blocked by the flow passage opening / closing means. It is sectional drawing.

  This embodiment is an example in which the air intake device of the present invention is applied to a fuel cell vehicle equipped with a fuel cell system that generates electromotive force by reacting air and fuel (hydrogen).

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the hood 1 includes a motor room 2 that houses a drive system such as an air system component, a fuel system component, a cooling system component, auxiliary equipment, or the like constituting the fuel cell system. It is provided to cover. A large-sized radiator 3 that is enlarged to the height of the limit in the motor room 2 is arranged in the front part of the motor room 2 covered with the hood 1.

  In a fuel cell vehicle, since a large amount of heat is generated during power generation, a fuel cell vehicle having a larger size than a radiator for an internal combustion engine is used. For example, the radiator 3 is arranged such that the upper end portion of the radiator 3 is higher than the upper rail 4 arranged in the upper width direction of the front end side of the motor room 2 and is inclined to the rear of the vehicle. Further, the radiator 3 is thicker than a radiator for an internal combustion engine, and has a sufficiently large core area to improve heat dissipation performance.

  An air cleaner intake duct 6 for taking in air from the front of the vehicle and guiding it to the air cleaner 5 is disposed between the hood 1 and the upper portion of the radiator 3. The air cleaner intake duct 6 is connected to an air cleaner 5 disposed near one side edge of the bottom of the vehicle in the motor room 2, extends from the bottom of the vehicle to the front upper part of the vehicle, and extends from one side of the vehicle width direction to the center of the vehicle. The outside air intake 8 is disposed almost directly above the radiator 3 by extending in the direction of the vehicle width around 90 degrees.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the air intake portion 9 of the air cleaner intake duct 6 in which the outside air intake 8 is formed is fixed to the front end side of the bracket 11 fixed to the upper rail 4 with a fastener 10 such as a screw bolt. ing. The bracket 11 and the air intake portion 9 are fixed by engagement between an engagement protrusion (not shown) and an engagement hole, or by riveting.

  A motor room cover 14 that covers the upper portion of the motor room 2 is provided inside the hood 1. The motor room cover 14 covers the electric motor and the air system parts arranged in the motor room 2 to protect these parts and to improve the appearance of the parts. An air guide cover 16 that forms an air guide flow passage 15 for guiding (leading) air (outside air) from the front of the vehicle to the outside air intake 8 is integrally formed on the front end side of the motor room cover 14. Is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the air guide cover 16 is integrated with the motor room cover 14 so as to extend from the front end edge of the motor room cover 14 to the front of the vehicle, and is placed on the bracket 11 at a predetermined interval. By being arranged, an air guide flow passage 15 is formed between the bracket 11 and the air guide flow passage 15. The air guide flow passage 15 is provided so as to communicate from the front end of the vehicle to the front vicinity of the outside air intake 8 of the air intake portion 9 fixed to the bracket 11. The air guide cover 16 is provided to extend in the vehicle width direction so as to cover the front of the radiator 3 and the upper front portion. The air guide cover 16 is movably attached with a flow path opening / closing member 17 that is a flow path opening / closing means that allows the air guide flow passage 15 to be opened and closed.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the flow path opening / closing member 17 is formed of a long rubber member excellent in heat resistance, and one end thereof is formed on the inner surface of the air guide cover 16 close to the outside air intake port 8. It is inserted into the formed notch 18 and fixed. The flow path opening / closing member 17 is provided so as to hang down as long as the free end side is in contact with the bracket 11.

  The flow path opening / closing member 17 is formed with a plurality of slits 19 along the longitudinal direction from the air guide cover 16 side (upper side) to the bracket 11 side (lower side), so-called “goodwill”. It has a shape like this. Therefore, air that flows into the motor room 2 from the opening 21 formed in the bumper 20 in front of the vehicle during traveling flows through the air guide flow passage 15 so that the flow path opening / closing member 17 is movable by the force of the air. Then, the air guide flow passage 15 is opened. On the other hand, if air does not flow through the air guide flow passage 15 or when the flow rate is low even when idle, the flow path opening / closing member 17 remains suspended and the air guide flow passage 15 is kept sealed. To do.

  The flow path opening / closing member 17 is a ram pressure of air (outside air) that flows into the motor room 2 when reaching a certain vehicle speed (the pressure of air that naturally enters the motor room 2 during traveling). ), The one part divided by the respective slits 19 begins to open (the opening degree of the one part increases as the vehicle speed increases), thereby opening the air guide flow passage 15 described above. In addition to operating the opening / closing operation of the flow path opening / closing member 17 by the ram pressure, an actuator may be used, and when a certain vehicle speed is detected, the actuator is operated electronically to open / close the flow path opening / closing member 17. good.

  An air inflow port 22 communicating with the outside air intake 8 is provided between the motor room cover 14 and the air guide cover 16. The air inlet 22 is formed as an opening having a horizontally long rectangular shape above the flow path opening / closing member 17. Air that flows in from the air inlet 22 and air that flows in through the air guide flow passage 15 are taken into the outside air inlet 8.

  A first seal member 23 is provided between the hood 1 and the motor room cover 14 to prevent the hot air from the rear of the radiator 3 from flowing around the front of the radiator 3 and blowing it back. As shown in FIG. 4, the first seal member 23 is provided in contact with the upper surface of the motor room cover 14 near the air inlet 22 and the inner surface of the hood 1, and is fixed to one of the surfaces. The first seal member 23 is substantially U-shaped so as to surround the air inlet 22 except for the front of the air inlet 22, as shown by a one-dot chain line in FIG. The hot air that circulates from the front to the front and blows back is blocked, and the hot air is prevented from entering the air inlet 22.

  Further, a second seal member 24 is provided between the motor room cover 14 and the air cleaner intake duct 6 to prevent hot air from the rear of the radiator 3 from flowing around the front of the radiator 3 and blowing it back. As shown in FIG. 4, the second seal member 24 is provided in contact with the inner surface of the motor room cover 14 near the outside air intake 8 and the upper surface of the air intake portion 9 of the air cleaner intake duct 6. It is fixed to the surface. The second seal member 24 is substantially U-shaped so as to surround the outside air intake port 8 except for the front of the outside air intake port 8 as indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. The hot air that circulates from the rear to the front and blows back is blocked, and the hot air is prevented from entering the outside air intake 8.

  The first seal member 23 and the second seal member 24 are each formed of rubber, urethane foam, or the like having excellent heat resistance.

  In the air intake device configured as described above, when the vehicle travels, as shown in FIG. 3, the air A1 (cold air) that flows into the motor room 2 from the opening 21 formed in the bumper 20 is converted into the hood 1. Through the air flow path between the air guide cover 16 and the air guide cover 16. In addition, air flows into the air cleaner intake duct 6 through a different path. That is, the air A1 flowing into the motor room 2 from the front of the vehicle flows through an air guide flow passage 15 formed between the air guide cover 16 and the bracket 11 as shown in FIG. The member 17 is pushed open and flows into the outside air intake 8.

  Therefore, the flow rate of air flowing from the outside air intake 8 into the air cleaner intake duct 6 is increased, and pressure loss due to an increase in the intake air amount by the compressor can be prevented. In particular, in an intake system that takes in air with a compressor, such as a fuel cell vehicle, if the high-temperature heat behind the radiator circulates in front of the vehicle and is drawn in, the temperature inside the compressor rises and the compressor may break. is there. For this reason, normally, when the intake temperature of the compressor exceeds the set temperature, control is applied and the system is stopped. However, in the present embodiment, by adopting the above-described structure, sufficient air can be taken in using a limited space in the motor room 2, and thus the above-described problems can be avoided.

  In the present embodiment, since the air guide cover 16 extends in the vehicle width direction, the air A1 that has flowed into the motor room 2 from the front of the vehicle is pushed from above by the air guide cover 16. Attached. Therefore, much of the air A1 pressed by the air guide cover 16 is blown to the radiator 3, and the radiator 3 is cooled by the air A1, thereby further improving the heat exchange efficiency.

  On the other hand, at the time of idling, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the hot air A <b> 2 having a high temperature wraps around from the rear of the radiator 3 and blows back toward the front of the vehicle. However, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the flow path opening / closing member 17 keeps the state where it is hung down at the time of idling and keeps the air guide flow passage 15 blocked, so that it can go around the front of the vehicle. The hot air A2 is prevented from entering the outside air intake port 8.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, since the first seal member 23 is provided between the hood 1 and the motor room cover 14, the hot air A2 that has flowed back from the rear of the radiator 3 to the front of the vehicle is returned to the first seal member 23. It can be blocked by the seal member 23, and the hot air A2 can be prevented from entering the outside air intake port 8. Similarly, in the present embodiment, since the second seal member 24 is provided between the motor room cover 14 and the air intake portion 9 of the air cleaner intake duct 6, the second seal member 24 turns around from the rear of the radiator 3 to the front of the vehicle and blows back. The heated air A2 can be blocked by the second seal member 24, and the hot air A2 can be prevented from entering the outside air intake port 8.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since the air guide cover 16 is formed integrally with the motor room cover 14, it is possible to realize cost reduction, improvement in installation work efficiency, and improvement in appearance.

  The specific embodiment to which the present invention is applied has been described above. However, the above-described embodiment is an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

It is the top view of the state which removed the food | hood and looked at the motor room from the top. It is the top view of the state which removed the motor room cover and looked at the motor room from the top. It is a principal part expanded sectional view in FIG. 1A-A line in the state in which the hood was attached. It is a principal part expanded sectional view of the air cleaner intake duct vicinity part. It is a principal part expanded sectional view in FIG. 1B-B line. It is a principal part expanded sectional view which shows a driving | running | working state and shows the state by which the air guidance flow path was open | released by the flow-path opening / closing means. It is a principal part expanded sectional view which shows an idle state, and shows the state by which the air guidance flow path was sealed with the flow-path opening / closing means.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Hood 2 ... Motor room 3 ... Radiator 5 ... Air cleaner 6 ... Air cleaner intake duct 8 ... Outside air intake port 9 ... Air intake part 11 ... Bracket 14 ... Motor room cover 15 ... Air guide flow path 16 ... Air guide cover 17 ... Flow Road opening / closing member (channel opening / closing means)
19 ... Slit 20 ... Bumper 21 ... Opening A1 ... Air (outside air)
A2 ... hot air

Claims (6)

An air cleaner intake duct that is disposed between the hood and the upper portion of the radiator disposed in the motor room covered with the hood, and that takes in air from the front of the vehicle and guides it to the air cleaner;
An air guide cover that is disposed in front of an outside air intake of the air cleaner intake duct and that forms an air guide flow path for guiding air from the front of the vehicle to the outside air intake;
An air intake device comprising: a flow path opening / closing means that is movably attached to the air guide cover and that opens and closes the air guide flow path. The air intake device according to claim 1,
The flow path opening / closing means closes the air guide flow path when the vehicle is stopped, and opens the air guide flow path by the force of air flowing from the front of the vehicle to the air guide flow path when the vehicle is running. Air intake device. The air intake device according to claim 1 or 2,
The air guide cover is provided to extend in the width direction of the vehicle so as to cover the front of the radiator and the upper front portion. At least the air intake device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The air guide cover is formed integrally with a motor room cover disposed inside the hood. The air intake device according to claim 4,
An air intake device characterized in that a first seal member is provided between the hood and the motor room cover to prevent hot air from behind the radiator from blowing back to the front of the radiator. The air intake device according to claim 4 or 5,
An air intake device, characterized in that a second seal member is provided between the motor room cover and the air cleaner intake duct to prevent hot air from the rear of the radiator from blowing back to the front of the radiator.

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