JP7524749B2 - Vehicle front structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a front structure for a vehicle such as an automobile.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which an air-cooled intercooler is disposed between a front bumper and a condenser that cools the refrigerant for the air conditioner. The front bumper disclosed in Patent Document 1 has an air inlet that introduces air into the engine compartment, and an air outlet that exhausts the air introduced into the engine compartment from the air inlet to the outside of the engine compartment.

JP 2010-58639 A

However, in the case of Patent Document 1, if there is an object in front of the intercooler that blocks the air flow from the front of the vehicle, there is a risk that a negative pressure area will be created behind the object.

Therefore, in Patent Document 1, some of the air that passes through the intercooler may not be discharged outside the engine compartment through the air exhaust port, but may rise to the front of the condenser, causing the temperature of the condenser to rise.

In other words, in Patent Document 1, there is room for further improvement in the way the air introduced through the air inlet flows.

The front structure of the vehicle of the present invention comprises a front bumper of the vehicle having a set of openings aligned along the vehicle width direction and capable of introducing air from the outside, a first heat exchanger located behind the set of openings and arranged in the vehicle width direction in the engine room of the vehicle straddling the set of openings, and a second heat exchanger located rearward and above the first heat exchanger, the front bumper having a blocking wall portion between the set of openings and blocking the inflow of air from the outside, and a core portion of the first heat exchanger exchanging heat with the air introduced from the set of openings, the portion located behind the blocking wall portion being covered by a covering member that blocks the passage of air.

According to the present invention, the air that passes through the core of the first heat exchanger is prevented from blowing back in the area located behind the blocking wall of the front bumper, and is prevented from rising in front of the second heat exchanger.

In other words, by providing a covering member, the temperature rise on the front surface of the second heat exchanger is suppressed, and the decrease in heat exchange efficiency can be suppressed.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a front bumper in the front structure of the vehicle. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic diagram of the positional relationship of various heat exchangers in the front structure of the vehicle. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic view of the front structure of the vehicle as viewed from the side of the vehicle. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic positional relationship between an engine oil cooler and an undercover. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic front view of the front structure of the vehicle with the front bumper removed.

Below, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Figures 1 to 5 are explanatory diagrams that show a schematic overview of the front structure of a vehicle to which the present invention is applied. Figure 1 is a front view of the front bumper 1 of the vehicle. Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram that shows a schematic diagram of the positional relationship of various heat exchangers (placed in the engine compartment 16) as viewed from the front side of the vehicle. Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram that shows a schematic diagram of the front structure of the vehicle as viewed from the side of the vehicle. Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram that shows a schematic diagram of the relative positional relationship of the engine oil cooler 10 and the undercover 19 as viewed from the front side of the vehicle. Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram that shows a schematic diagram of the front structure of the vehicle as viewed from the front with the front bumper 1 removed. The vehicle to which the present invention is applied is, for example, an automobile that uses an internal combustion engine as a drive source to drive the drive wheels of the vehicle.

A front bumper 1 made of, for example, a resin material is attached to the front of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, the front bumper 1 has a set of openings 2, 2 aligned in a straight line along the width direction of the vehicle, and an opening separation wall 3 located between the set of openings 2, 2.

The pair of openings 2, 2 are elongated holes with a rectangular outer shape extending along the vehicle width direction, allowing air from the outside (wind generated while traveling) to be introduced into the engine compartment 16 (described below) at the front of the vehicle. The pair of openings 2, 2 are formed to have the same shape. The pair of openings 2, 2 are formed to be symmetrical when viewed from the front (when viewed from the front side of the vehicle).

The opening partition wall 3 is a portion sandwiched between a pair of openings 2, 2 in the width direction of the vehicle, and is a blocking wall portion that blocks the inflow of air from the outside into the engine room 16 (described later). A radar 4 capable of detecting an object located in front of the vehicle is attached to the opening partition wall 3. The radar 4 is set, for example, so that its length along the vehicle width direction (length along the width direction of the front bumper 1) is the same as the length of the opening partition wall 3 along the vehicle width direction. In addition, the radar 4 is set, for example, so that its length along the vehicle up-down direction (length along the up-down direction of the front bumper 1) is the same as the length of the opening partition wall 3 along the vehicle up-down direction.

The radar 4 may be set to a size that does not extend beyond the opening partition 3, and may be positioned so that it does not extend beyond the opening partition 3. In other words, the opening partition 3 is set to a size that does not allow the radar 4 to extend beyond it.

In addition, instead of forming the opening partition 3, a set of openings 2, 2 lined up in a straight line may be formed by placing the radar 4 in the center of a long and narrow rectangular hole along the vehicle width direction. In this case, the radar 4 is located between the set of openings 2, 2 and functions as a blocking wall that blocks the inflow of air from the outside into the engine room 16 (described below). When the radar 4 is attached to the opening partition 3 in this way, or when the radar 4 functions as a blocking wall, the front bumper 1 can ensure an installation position for the radar 4 without preparing a special place for installation of the radar 4.

The reference number 5 in FIG. 1 is an upper opening located above the pair of openings 2, 2, which introduces air to an automatic transmission oil cooler 14 (described below), an air conditioner condenser 12 (described below), a radiator 13 (described below) for the cooling water of the internal combustion engine, etc.

As shown in FIG. 2, behind the front bumper 1 are housed an engine oil cooler 10 as a first heat exchanger, an intercooler radiator 11 as a second heat exchanger, an air conditioner condenser 12, a cooling water radiator 13, and an automatic transmission oil cooler 14 that cools the oil used in the automatic transmission (not shown). 15 in FIG. 2 is a bumper reinforcement, which is a component of the front bumper 1.

As shown in FIG. 3, these components are arranged in the engine compartment 16 in the vehicle longitudinal direction in the following order from the front of the vehicle: engine oil cooler 10, intercooler radiator 11, air conditioner condenser 12, and coolant radiator 13. The intake air introduction section 18, which is the tip of the intake duct 17 of the internal combustion engine, is arranged above the intercooler radiator 11. Note that the automatic transmission oil cooler 14 is omitted in FIG. 3 for convenience and is not shown, but is arranged, for example, in a position approximately aligned with the air conditioner condenser 12 in the vehicle longitudinal direction.

In FIG. 3, 19 denotes an undercover that constitutes the bottom wall (lower wall) of the engine room 16. The undercover 19 is formed with an undercover hole 20 that allows air that has passed through the engine oil cooler 10 to be discharged to the bottom of the vehicle. The undercover hole 20 is formed behind the engine oil cooler 10.

The engine oil cooler 10 is a heat exchanger that cools engine oil (lubricating oil) of the internal combustion engine that is the driving source of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 2, the engine oil cooler 10 has a metal core portion 21 that exchanges heat with air introduced through a pair of openings 2, 2, and a rectangular frame-shaped support portion 22 that supports the outer periphery of the core portion 21.

The engine oil cooler 10 is arranged at an angle along the vehicle's fore-and-aft direction. More specifically, the engine oil cooler 10 is arranged at an angle so that its lower end, which is located lower in the vehicle's up-and-down direction, is located further forward in the vehicle's fore-and-aft direction than its upper end, which is located higher in the vehicle's up-and-aft direction. By arranging the engine oil cooler 10 at an angle in this way, the length along the vehicle's fore-and-aft direction (layout length) can be made shorter than when the engine oil cooler 10 is arranged sideways.

The core portion 21 of the engine oil cooler 10 has an overall shape of a rectangular parallelepiped that is elongated along the vehicle width direction, and is located behind the set of openings 2, 2 and the opening partition wall 3. The core portion 21 of the engine oil cooler 10 is arranged along the vehicle width direction within the engine room 16 of the vehicle, spanning the set of openings 2, 2 and the opening partition wall 3.

The core portion 21 is covered by a covering member 23 that blocks the passage of air at a portion located behind the opening partition wall portion 3 in the vehicle longitudinal direction. The covering member 23 is a thin member, and is attached, for example, to the surface of the core portion 21 facing the front of the vehicle. The covering member 23 is made of, for example, a material whose main component is PA66 (nylon) (PA66 + GE (glass fiber)).

The width of the covering member 23 (length along the vehicle width direction) is set to the same length as the length along the vehicle width direction of the opening partition wall 3. In other words, the width of the covering member 23 is set to be the same as the distance between a pair of openings 2, 2.

The core portion 21 may have a rear surface thereof covered by a covering member 23 in the vehicle longitudinal direction. The covering member 23 may have a width equal to or smaller than the length of the opening partition wall 3 along the vehicle width direction. Furthermore, the covering member 23 may be molded integrally with the support portion 22 of the engine oil cooler 10.

The intercooler radiator 11 cools the cooling water of an intercooler (not shown), which cools the supercharged intake air of an internal combustion engine. In other words, the intercooler radiator 11 is a heat exchanger that cools the intake air supplied to the internal combustion engine, which is the driving source of the vehicle.

The intercooler radiator 11 has an overall flattened rectangular parallelepiped shape and is located rearward of the engine oil cooler 10 in the vehicle's longitudinal direction. The intercooler radiator 11 is also located above the engine oil cooler 10 in the vehicle's vertical direction. The intercooler radiator 11 is also positioned so that the distance between it and the engine oil cooler 10 in the vehicle's longitudinal direction is small.

The maximum temperature of the fluid (intake air) flowing inside the intercooler radiator 11 is lower than the maximum temperature of the fluid (engine oil) flowing inside the engine oil cooler 10.

The air conditioner condenser 12 condenses the refrigerant used in the air conditioner, and is located rearward of the intercooler radiator 11 in the vehicle longitudinal direction. The air conditioner condenser 12 has an overall flattened rectangular shape, and is located adjacent to the intercooler radiator 11. When viewed from the front of the vehicle, the air conditioner condenser 12 is formed to be one size larger overall than the engine oil cooler 10. When viewed from the front of the vehicle, the air conditioner condenser 12 has a continuous outer periphery all around, and is located outside the outer periphery of the engine oil cooler 10.

The cooling water radiator 13 cools the cooling water of the internal combustion engine, and is located rearward of the air conditioner condenser 12 in the vehicle front-rear direction. The cooling water radiator 13 has an overall flattened rectangular shape, and is located adjacent to the air conditioner condenser 12. When viewed from the front of the vehicle, the cooling water radiator 13 is formed to be one size larger overall than the air conditioner condenser 12. When viewed from the front of the vehicle, the cooling water radiator 13 has an outer peripheral edge that is continuous all around and is located outside the outer peripheral edge of the air conditioner condenser 12. When viewed from the front of the vehicle, the cooling water radiator 13 has an outer peripheral edge that is continuous all around and is located outside the outer peripheral edge of the automatic transmission oil cooler 14.

The undercover holes 20 formed in the undercover 19, which has an overall rectangular plate shape, are a set of openings aligned in a row along the vehicle width direction as shown in FIG. 4, and allow air that has passed through the core portion 21 of the engine oil cooler 10 to be discharged to the bottom of the vehicle.

The undercover 19 has a bridge portion 24 located between a pair of openings of the undercover hole 20. In other words, the undercover 19 has a bridge portion 24 of a predetermined width that blocks the center portion of the hole along the vehicle width direction and divides the hole into two in the vehicle width direction.

By having the bridging portion 24, the undercover 19 can improve its strength and durability compared to when the set of openings that make up the undercover hole portion 20 is continuous.

When a set of openings 2, 2 and an opening partition wall 3 located between the set of openings 2, 2 are formed in the front bumper 1, a negative pressure area (stagnation point) is generated behind the opening partition wall 3. As a result, the air that passes through the engine oil cooler 10 is blown back without escaping to the undercover hole 20, and as shown by the arrow in Figure 5, it rises in front of the intercooler radiator 11, which may raise the temperature of the front surface of the intercooler radiator 11 (the surface facing the front of the vehicle).

Therefore, the core portion 21 of the engine oil cooler 10 located behind the opening partition wall portion 3 is covered by a covering member 23.

This prevents the core portion 21 of the engine oil cooler 10 from blowing back in the portion located behind the opening partition wall portion 3. In other words, providing the covering member 23 improves the flow of air introduced into the engine room 16.

As a result, the air that passes through the core portion 21 of the engine oil cooler 10 is prevented from blowing back in the portion located behind the opening partition portion 3, and is prevented from rising in front of the intercooler radiator 11. In other words, by providing the covering member 23, the intercooler radiator 11 is prevented from increasing in temperature on the front surface (the surface facing the front of the vehicle), and a decrease in heat exchange efficiency is prevented.

In addition, the temperature rise of the front surface (the surface facing the front of the vehicle) of the intercooler radiator 11 is suppressed, so the intake temperature is reduced, the charging efficiency is improved, and the engine's power performance is improved.

The covering member 23 is designed so that its length (width) along the vehicle width direction is the same as the distance between the pair of openings 2, 2. This improves the appearance of the vehicle when viewed from the front.

If the covering member 23 is molded integrally with the support portion 22 of the engine oil cooler 10, costs can be reduced and productivity can be improved compared to when the covering member 23 is constructed as a single part.

In addition, when the covering member 23 covers the surface of the core portion 21 facing the front of the vehicle, the air that is obstructed by the covering member 23 and rises toward the upper side of the vehicle is not heated by the core portion 21 of the engine oil cooler 10. Therefore, when the covering member 23 covers the surface of the core portion 21 facing the front of the vehicle, the temperature rise in front of the intercooler radiator 11 can be further suppressed compared to when the covering member 23 covers the surface of the core portion 21 facing the rear of the vehicle.

On both sides of the intercooler radiator 11, there are located intake air inlets 18 of intake ducts 17 that introduce air into the internal combustion engine. As shown in FIG. 5, the intake air inlets 18 are located above the intercooler radiator 11 in the vertical direction of the vehicle. The intake air inlets 18 are also located next to (on both sides of) the air conditioner condenser 12 in the width direction of the vehicle.

In the intake air introduction section 18, the opening that serves as the intake port does not open toward the front side of the vehicle, but in this embodiment, it opens toward the upper side in the vehicle width direction and the vehicle vertical direction. In detail, as shown in FIG. 5, the intake air introduction section 18 has an upstream end opening 30 of the intake duct 17 that opens toward the front side of the vehicle, and an L-shaped end wall 31 that covers the upstream end opening 30. The end wall 31 has a vertical wall portion 32 that covers the upstream end opening 30, and a horizontal wall portion 33 that connects the vertical wall portion 32 and the lower wall of the upstream end opening 30. That is, in the intake air introduction section 18, the vertical wall portion 32 and the upstream end opening 30 of the intake duct 17 are separated from each other by the length of the horizontal wall portion 33 along the vehicle front-rear direction. In the intake air introduction section 18, air flows into the upstream end opening 30 of the intake duct 17 from a portion of the periphery of the vertical wall portion 32 where the horizontal wall portion 33 is not set. Therefore, if air that has passed through the core 21 of the engine oil cooler 10 is blown back and directed toward the front surface of the intercooler radiator 11 (the surface facing the front of the vehicle), there is a risk that the intake temperature will rise.

However, the front structure of the vehicle in this embodiment prevents air that has passed through the core portion 21 of the engine oil cooler 10 from being blown back and directed to the front surface (the surface facing the front of the vehicle) of the intercooler radiator 11.

Therefore, the vehicle front structure of this embodiment can prevent high-temperature air that has passed through the core portion 21 of the engine oil cooler 10 from being led into the intake introduction portion 18.

As a result, the vehicle front structure of this embodiment reduces the intake air temperature, improving the charging efficiency and improving the power performance of the internal combustion engine.

The vehicle front structure (front end) described in the above embodiment has been explained based on a so-called radiator grill-less vehicle, which does not have a front end opening above the protruding part of the vehicle's front bumper, but the present invention is also applicable to vehicles that have a radiator grill opening above the protruding part of the vehicle's front bumper.

In the case of a vehicle without a radiator grill, as in this embodiment, there is no wind that can be introduced into the heat exchangers located above the vehicle, such as the intercooler radiator 11, the air conditioner condenser 12, and the coolant radiator 13. In other words, there is less dynamic pressure (high pressure areas) acting on these heat exchangers, making the blowback phenomenon more likely to occur.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Front bumper 2...Opening 3...Opening partition wall 4...Radar 5...Upper opening 10...Engine oil cooler 11...Intercooler radiator 12...Air conditioner condenser 13...Cooling water radiator 14...Automatic transmission oil cooler 15...Bumper reinforcement 16...Engine room 17...Intake duct 18...Intake introduction section 19...Undercover 20...Undercover hole 21...Core section 22...Support section 23...Covering member 24...Bridge section

Claims (11)

A front bumper of a vehicle having a set of openings arranged along a vehicle width direction and capable of introducing air from the outside;
a first heat exchanger located behind the pair of openings and arranged in an engine compartment of the vehicle along a vehicle width direction across the pair of openings;
a second heat exchanger disposed in the engine compartment and located rearward and above the first heat exchanger;
an undercover that constitutes a bottom wall of the engine compartment,
the undercover has an undercover hole portion extending along a vehicle width direction through which air that has passed through the first heat exchanger can be discharged to a lower portion of the vehicle,
the front bumper has a blocking wall portion that blocks the inflow of air from the outside, the blocking wall portion being sandwiched between the pair of openings;
The first heat exchanger has a core portion that exchanges heat with air introduced through the set of openings,
A vehicle front structure, wherein the core portion has a portion located rearward of the blocking wall portion covered with a covering member that blocks the passage of air. The vehicle front structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the covering member covers the surface of the core portion facing the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle front structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the covering member covers the surface of the core portion facing the front of the vehicle. The first heat exchanger has a frame-shaped support portion that supports the core portion,
4. The vehicle front structure according to claim 1, wherein the covering member is formed integrally with the support portion. A front structure for a vehicle as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the second heat exchanger has a lower maximum temperature of the fluid flowing therethrough than the first heat exchanger. The first heat exchanger is an oil cooler that cools engine oil of an internal combustion engine,
6. The vehicle front structure according to claim 1, wherein the second heat exchanger cools cooling water of an intercooler that cools intake air of the internal combustion engine. The vehicle front structure according to claim 6, characterized in that the intake air introduction section of the internal combustion engine is located next to the second heat exchanger. The vehicle front structure according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the blocking wall is a radar attached to the front bumper to detect objects ahead. The vehicle front structure according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the width of the covering member is the same as the spacing between the set of openings. A front structure for a vehicle as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the first heat exchanger is disposed at an angle along the vehicle front-rear direction. The undercover hole portion is a set of openings arranged in a straight line along the vehicle width direction,
11. The vehicle front structure according to claim 1, wherein the undercover has a bridge portion located between the pair of openings.

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