JP2024079926A - Waterproof structure of prime mover chamber of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

To inhibit penetration of water from a cowl louver into a prime mover chamber.SOLUTION: A space between a hood 12 and a cowl louver 18 is sealed by a rubber seal 24 engaged with a cowl louver front wall 22. Two projections 34 extending in a vehicle lateral direction and arranged parallel to each other are provided on front and rear wall surfaces of the cowl louver front wall 22. Grooves 36 configured to engage with the projections 34 are provided on a wall surface, which faces the cowl louver front wall 22, of the rubber seal 24. The projection 34 and the groove 36 configured to engage with each other have the same cross sectional shape.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a waterproof structure for a motor compartment located at the front of a vehicle and housing a motor such as an engine.

Vehicles are known that have a motor compartment that houses a motor that drives the vehicle, such as an engine, at the front of the vehicle, protruding forward of the passenger compartment where the passengers sit. A hood that opens and closes is located above the motor compartment. A waterproof structure is provided in the part of the vehicle body that corresponds to the rear edge of the closed hood to prevent water from entering the motor compartment.

The following Patent Document 1 shows a cowl louver (4) provided between the lower edge of the windshield (2) of a vehicle body and a closed front hood (3). The cowl louver (4) has a seal mounting portion (6) at its front edge that extends along the vehicle body width direction, and the seal mounting portion (6) holds a hood seal (10). The hood seal (10) comes into contact with the underside of the front hood (3), sealing the gap between the front hood (3) and the cowl louver (4).

The following Patent Documents 2 and 3 also show drainage structures for draining water from within the cowl louvers.

The reference symbols in parentheses above are those used in the following Patent Document 1, and are not related to the reference symbols used in the description of the embodiments of this application.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-218029 JP 2006-205913 A JP 2005-200007 A

If the rubber seal engaged with the cowl louvers to seal the gap between the hood and the cowl louvers shrinks over time, a gap will form between the seal and the cowl louvers. Water can get into the engine compartment through this gap.

There is room for improvement in the waterproof structure between the hood and the cowl louvers, which prevents water from entering the engine compartment.

The waterproof structure for the engine compartment of the present invention includes a cowl louver arranged along the lower edge of the windshield of the vehicle, and a seal rubber that seals between the closed hood of the vehicle and the cowl louver. The cowl louver includes a cowl louver front wall formed along the front edge of the cowl louver. The seal rubber extends along the left-right direction of the vehicle and engages with the cowl louver so as to sandwich the cowl louver front wall. At least one of the front wall surface and the rear wall surface of the cowl louver front wall is provided with a plurality of ridges that extend in parallel along the left-right direction of the vehicle. The seal rubber is formed with grooves that engage with the plurality of ridges provided on the front wall of the cowl louver.

By providing multiple engaging ridges and grooves on the opposing wall surfaces of the cowl louver front wall and the seal rubber, even if a gap occurs between them, it becomes a curved gap. When water passes through the gap, pressure loss occurs when it passes through the curved corners of the gap, and water infiltration into the engine room is suppressed.

In the waterproof structure of the engine room described above, the protrusions on the front wall of the cowl louvers can have a square cross-sectional shape. This simple shape allows many bent corners to be formed in the gap.

The waterproof structure for the engine compartment described above can further include a gutter that is disposed at the front of the cowl louvers in the vehicle front-rear direction, adjacent to the front edge of the cowl louvers, and extends left and right along the front edge of the cowl louvers. Even if water passes through the gap between the front wall of the cowl louvers and the rubber seal, the gutter catches the water and prevents it from entering the engine compartment.

In the above-mentioned waterproof structure for the engine compartment, the leading edge of the gutter can be made to contact the underside of the closed hood of the vehicle. This prevents water from entering the engine compartment through the gap between the gutter and the hood.

On the joint surface between the cowl louver and the seal rubber, multiple ridges and grooves are arranged so that they intersect with the expected direction of water infiltration. This causes the path through which water can infiltrate to bend continuously, causing pressure loss at the corners of the bends and preventing water from infiltrating into the engine room.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the front part of a vehicle, particularly the hood and windshield, and the configuration around them. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a cowl louver and its surrounding structure, particularly the waterproof structure of the engine room. FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a detailed shape of a cowl louver front wall. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a detailed shape of a seal rubber. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a detailed shape of a front end portion of the gutter. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the gutter bottom plate taken along line AA in FIG. 2.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, terms that indicate relative positions and orientations, such as front, back, left, right, up, down, etc., refer to relative positions and orientations with respect to the vehicle.

1 is a diagram showing the front part of a vehicle 10, particularly the hood 12 and windshield 14 and their surroundings. Below the hood 12, a motor room 16 (see FIG. 2) is defined, which houses a motor that drives the vehicle, such as an engine or a motor. A synthetic resin cowl louver 18 is disposed adjacent to the front edge of the windshield 14 and at the boundary with the hood 12. The cowl louver 18 extends in the left-right direction along the lower edge of the windshield 14 and the rear edge of the hood 12. As shown in the figure, the cowl louver 18 may be curved along the lower edge of the windshield 14 that is curved forward and convex. The cowl louver 18 also defines a recess extending in the left-right direction, which receives water that has flowed down the windshield 14 or water that has passed over the hood 12 from the front. The water received by the cowl louver 18 is discharged to the side through the recess. This prevents water from entering the motor room 16. Additionally, the cowl louvers 18 are provided with openings (not shown) for drawing air into the passenger compartment. Furthermore, a front wiper (not shown) may be housed within the recess of the cowl louvers 18.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the waterproof structure of the engine room 16 around the cowl louvers 18. The cowl louvers 18 include a cowl louver bottom plate 20 that forms the bottom of the recess defined by the cowl louvers 18, and an upright cowl louver front wall 22 that extends in the left-right direction along the front edge of the cowl louvers 18. The cowl louver front wall 22 stands upward from the front edge of the cowl louver bottom plate 20, tilting slightly forward in particular.

A rubber seal 24 is engaged with the upper end of the cowl louver front wall 22 to seal between the cowl louver 18 and the hood 12. The hood 12 includes a hood outer (not shown) that forms the outer surface of the vehicle body, and a hood inner 26 that is overlapped with the hood outer and located inside it. The seal 24 extends in the left-right direction together with the cowl louver front wall 22. When the hood 12 is closed and the upper end 28 of the seal 24 abuts against the hood inner 26, the seal 24 is crushed due to the flexibility of the rubber, sealing between the hood inner 26 and the cowl louver front wall 22. In FIG. 2, the seal 24 is shown in a state before being crushed. The seal 24 also has a base 30 that engages with the cowl louver 18 so as to sandwich the cowl louver front wall 22 in the front-rear direction.

Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view showing the cowl louver front wall 22 in detail, and Figure 4 shows a cross-sectional view showing the seal rubber 24 in detail. A cut 32 is formed from below in the base 30 of the seal rubber 24, and the cowl louver front wall 22 is inserted into this cut 32. The parts of the base 30 that define the cut 32, located on the left and right in Figure 4, sandwich the cowl louver front wall 22, thereby fixing the seal rubber 24 to the cowl louver front wall 22.

The front and rear wall surfaces of the cowl louver front wall 22 are provided with ridges 34 extending in the left-right direction. Two ridges 34 extending parallel to each other are provided on each of the front and rear wall surfaces. The cross-sectional shape of the ridges 34 is rectangular or square. The ridges 34 arranged on the upper edge side of the cowl louver front wall 22 are arranged at a position away from the upper edge of the cowl louver front wall 22. As a result, a corner is formed between the upper edge of the cowl louver front wall 22 and the upper ridges 34 by the wall surface of the cowl louver front wall 22 and the side surface of the ridges 34.

The notch 32 formed in the seal rubber 24 has a groove 36 formed in its wall surface that corresponds to the ridge 34 of the cowl louver front wall 22. Two grooves 36 extend parallel to each other in the left-right direction on each of the front and rear wall surfaces. The grooves 36 have the same cross-sectional shape as the ridge 34, and the overall cross-sectional shape of the notch 32 is the same as the cross-sectional shape of the cowl louver front wall 22.

Two ridges 34 and two grooves 36 are arranged on the joint surface between the cowl louver front wall 22 and the seal rubber 24 so as to intersect with the expected direction of water infiltration from the cowl louver 18 into the engine room 16. This creates a continuous crank-shaped bend in the path through which water infiltrates.

As the seal rubber 24 shrinks over time, a gap forms between it and the cowl louver front wall 22, and water can enter the engine room 16 through this gap from inside the recess of the cowl louver 18. However, with the waterproof structure of this embodiment, the gap between the cowl louver front wall 22 and the seal rubber 24 is bent in a continuous crank shape in the direction of water intrusion, so pressure loss occurs at the corners of the crank shape, and water intrusion into the engine room 16 can be suppressed.

The cross-sectional shape of the ridges 34 and grooves 36 may be a shape other than a rectangle or a square, for example a triangle, and one, some, or all of the ridges 34 and grooves 36 may have a shape different from the other ridges 34 and grooves 36. The number of ridges 34 and grooves 36 corresponding to the ridges 34 provided on one wall surface of the cowl louver front wall 22 is not limited to two, and may be three or more. The ridges 34 and grooves 36 corresponding to the ridges 34 may be provided on either the front wall surface or the rear wall surface of the cowl louver front wall 22.

Returning to FIG. 2, the explanation will be continued. A gutter 38 may be disposed in front of the cowl louver 18, adjacent to the front edge of the cowl louver 18 and extending in the left-right direction along the front edge. The gutter 38 has a gutter bottom plate 40 and a gutter front wall 42 that cooperate with the cowl louver front wall 22 or the seal rubber 24 to form an upwardly open U-shape. The gutter 38 is made of rubber and may be fixed to the seal rubber 24 by adhesion or the like, or may be molded integrally with the seal rubber 24. As a result, the gutter 38 is supported so as to be suspended from the cowl louver front wall 22. The gutter front wall 42 is erected upward from the front edge of the gutter bottom plate 40. As shown in FIG. 5, an abutment lip 44 is provided on the upper edge of the gutter front wall 42, extending along the upper edge. The abutment lip 44 bends in contact with the hood inner 26 when the hood 12 is closed, and seals between the front edge of the gutter 38 and the hood 12 by tight contact. Water that goes over the cowl louver front wall 22 is received by the gutter 38 and flows sideways along the gutter 38. In addition, the gap between the front edge of the gutter 38 and the hood 12 is sealed, preventing water from entering the engine room 16 beyond the gutter front wall 42.

The gutter 38 is provided with a support base 46 that extends rearward from the rear edge of the gutter 38, particularly from the rear edge of the gutter bottom plate 40. The support base 46 extends along the underside of the cowl louver bottom plate 20 and is in contact with the underside of the cowl louver bottom plate 20 at least in part, particularly at its rear end. The support base 46 may be provided continuously extending in the left-right direction together with the gutter 38, or may be configured like a beam and arranged at multiple locations in the left-right direction with a gap between them. The support base 46 allows the gutter 38 to be cantilevered on the cowl louvers 18.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the gutter bottom plate 40 taken along line A-A in Figure 2. The gutter bottom plate 40 has a zigzag cross-sectional shape in the left-right direction, that is, a shape that is bent alternately up and down, and the gutter front wall 42 also has a zigzag shape. This gives the gutter 38 an overall bellows shape, and when the gutter 38 is attached, it can be curved to match the curvature of the front edge of the cowl louvers 18. On the other hand, if the gutter 38 is manufactured to be curved to match the cowl louvers 18, the gutter bottom plate 40 and the gutter front wall 42 may be formed flat without being bellows shaped.

10 vehicle, 12 hood, 14 windshield, 16 engine compartment, 18 cowl louver, 20 cowl louver bottom plate, 22 cowl louver front wall, 24 seal rubber, 26 hood inner, 28 upper end, 30 base, 32 notch, 34 ridge, 36 groove, 38 gutter, 40 gutter bottom plate, 42 gutter front wall, 44 abutment lip, 46 support base.

Claims (4)

A cowl louver disposed along a lower edge of a windshield of a vehicle, the cowl louver including a cowl louver front wall formed along a front edge of the cowl louver;
a seal rubber extending along a vehicle left-right direction and engaged with the cowl louver so as to sandwich the cowl louver front wall, thereby sealing between a closed hood of the vehicle and the cowl louver;
Equipped with
At least one of a front wall surface and a rear wall surface of the cowl louver front wall is provided with a plurality of protrusions extending parallel to each other along the left-right direction of the vehicle,
The seal rubber is formed with grooves that engage with the plurality of protrusions and have the same cross-sectional shape as the engaging protrusions.
Waterproof structure of the vehicle's engine compartment. The waterproof structure for a motor room of a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the plurality of protrusions is rectangular. The waterproof structure for the engine room of a vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a gutter disposed on the front side of the cowl louver in the vehicle longitudinal direction, adjacent to the front edge of the cowl louver, and extending left and right along the front edge of the cowl louver. The waterproof structure for a motor compartment of a vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the front edge of the gutter is in contact with the underside of the closed hood of the vehicle.

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