JP3361412B2 - Air intake structure of car engine room - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a motor vehicle in which air taken into an engine room is at least partially exhausted from an opening below the engine at the bottom of the engine room. The air intake structure of the engine room. 2. Description of the Related Art In a front engine type automobile, an engine housed in an engine room is air-cooled by air taken in from a radiator grill or an air intake of a bumper through a radiator. 63-
According to Japanese Patent No. 145715, in order to reduce the air resistance during traveling, when the bottom surface of the engine room is covered with an undercover extending rearward from the bottom surface of the front bumper,
It has been proposed to add an air intake to this undercover. [0003] The air intake is intended to cover the engine room from below with an under cover, and the air intake added when traveling on rainy weather or on a rough road or the like. There is a problem that mud or muddy water enters from the mouth and the engine room becomes dirty. [0004] In view of the above, the present invention provides an air intake in an engine room of an automobile, which can improve the cooling performance of the engine without adding an air intake to the bottom of the engine room without polluting the interior of the engine room. The purpose is to provide an uptake structure. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a motor vehicle in which the lower part of an engine housed in a front engine room is open to the atmosphere, the motor being extended from a bumper bottom surface. The engine room under cover ends near the lower part of the front end of the engine on the vehicle,
A duct that extends rearward of the vehicle to the vehicle rear end of the undercover and exhausts air taken in from the front in the direction along the undercover is provided below, and the cross-sectional shape of this duct is directed toward the rear of the vehicle. A valve control means for opening and closing the inlet at the vehicle front end of the duct and opening the valve when the temperature detected by the sensor for detecting the engine water temperature reaches a predetermined temperature is provided. It is characterized by being attached. The air whose flow velocity has been increased is discharged from the duct whose sectional shape is gradually reduced along the opening area below the engine. Therefore, the amount of air that has entered through the air intake of the radiator grill or the bumper increases due to the exhaust from the duct, which lowers the air pressure in the opening area below the engine. Further, by controlling the opening and closing of the valve at the inlet of the duct, the air in the duct is exhausted only when the engine water temperature rises to a predetermined level so that the engine is not unnecessarily cooled. 1 and 2, an air intake structure for an engine room of an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In FIG. 1, air is taken into the engine room 2 through a radiator grill 6 and an air intake 7a of a bumper 7. 10 is a bumper 7 at the bottom of the engine room 2
Is an under cover extending from the bottom surface of the vehicle to the vicinity of the front end of the vehicle below the bottom surface 1a of the engine 1. The engine bottom surface 1a is supported at a plurality of positions, and an opening 15 to the atmosphere is formed below the engine bottom surface 1a. As a result, the air taken into the engine room 2 cools the engine 1 and is mostly exhausted from the complete opening 15 thereunder. The under cover 10 has a duct 13 extending from the front of the vehicle to the rear end of the vehicle and exhausting air taken in from the front in a direction along the under cover 10. The cross-sectional shape is formed so as to gradually decrease toward the rear of the vehicle. However, the inclination angle θ is set to 35 ° or less so that the air resistance can be ignored. The width of the duct 13 is substantially the same as the width of the radiator, and the height is set to secure the minimum ground clearance. The outlet 13b of the duct 13 matches the rear edge of the under cover 10 and is formed vertically. At the end of the duct 13 on the vehicle front side, a plate-like valve 14 for opening and closing an inlet 13a is provided. Valve 1
4 is rotatably supported at both ends thereof by pins 19 on the side wall of the duct 13 and is urged by a coil spring 16 to an open position restrained by a stopper 17 protruding from the side wall. A solenoid 20 as valve control means is disposed on the upper surface of the under cover 10, and a rod 21
The upper end of the valve 14 is connected with a flexible wire 18 via a pulley 22. The engine 1 is provided with a sensor for detecting the water temperature, and when the detected temperature reaches, for example, 80 ° C., a solenoid 20 is provided by an attached drive circuit.
Activate The operation of the air intake structure for the engine room of the automobile having the above-described structure is as follows. The air that has entered from the radiator grill 6 and the air intake 7a enters the engine room 2 through the radiator 5, cools the engine 1 and is mostly exhausted from the opening 15 on the bottom surface. When the engine water temperature reaches 80 ° C., the solenoid 20 drives the rod 21 forward, opens the valve 14 in the horizontal direction by the coil spring 16, and stops the valve 17 in the horizontal position.
To hold. The flow rate of the air entering from the inlet 13a of the duct 13 is increased by the throttle shape, and
B is exhausted in a direction along the under cover 10. As a result, the wind speed along the rear of the vehicle increases at the opening 15 in the region below the engine bottom surface 1a.
The pressure in the region 5 decreases, the amount of air flowing into the radiator 5 from the radiator grill 6 and the air intake 7a increases, and the cooling performance improves. When the engine water temperature is lower than 80 ° C., the valve 14 closes to prevent overcooling of the engine 1 and suppress the progress of wear between parts in the engine. According to the present invention, the wind speed in the exhaust area below the engine is increased by the exhaust flow of the duct, and thus the air pressure in the area is reduced, so that the radiator is taken into the engine room. The amount of air passing increases, and the cooling performance is improved. Since the exhaust flow of the duct is not introduced into the engine room, the inside of the engine room is not contaminated. In other words, the amount of air can be increased while keeping the structure or design of the radiator grill and the air intake of the bumper. Since the air in the duct is exhausted only when the engine water temperature rises to a predetermined level, it is unnecessary to cool down the engine unnecessarily.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows an air intake structure of an engine room of an automobile according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing a front portion of the vehicle, and FIG. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part of the air intake structure. [Description of Signs] 1 Engine 2 Engine room 6 Radiator grill 7a Air intake 10 Under cover 13 Duct 14 Valve 15 Opening 20 Solenoid

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] [Claim 1] In an automobile in which the lower part of an engine housed in a front engine room is open to the atmosphere, an engine room under cover extending from the bottom surface of a bumper is used as an engine vehicle. A duct which terminates near a lower portion of a front end and extends to the under cover to the vehicle rear end of the under cover and exhausts air taken in from the front in a direction along the under cover. The cross-sectional shape of this duct is gradually reduced toward the rear of the vehicle, and a valve for opening and closing the inlet is provided at the front end of the duct on the vehicle front side, and a sensor for detecting the engine coolant temperature is provided. An air intake structure for an engine room of an automobile, further comprising valve control means for opening the valve when the temperature reaches a predetermined temperature.