JP2014092140A - Engine cooling apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an engine cooling apparatus capable of supplying air to a radiator even in a state that an air supply to the radiator is inhibited due to malfunction of a shutter.SOLUTION: An engine cooling apparatus includes: a shutter 12 to control the amount of air; a case 6 to which the air from the shutter 12 is to be supplied; a radiator 3; and a fan 4. The case 6 includes an opening/closing member 22 so as to be openable and closable. Even in a state that the shutter 12 restricts an air supply, the opening/closing member 22 is opened by driving the fan 4 and bringing a supply space 6S of the case 6 into a negative pressure, and external air is sucked.

Description

  The present invention relates to an engine cooling device, and more particularly, to an improvement of a cooling device including a shutter that controls an amount of air supplied to a radiator provided in a vehicle.

  As a cooling device for such an engine, Patent Document 1 discloses that a traveling wind adjusting mechanism is arranged at the front position of an engine radiator and a motor radiator of a hybrid vehicle, and the amount of traveling wind is adjusted by the traveling wind adjusting mechanism. The structure to be described is described.

  In Patent Document 1, a traveling wind adjusting mechanism supports a plurality of horizontally elongated plate-like fins so as to be rotatable about a central axis in a lateral orientation, and adjusts the angles of the plurality of fins by a rotation motor. The air volume can be adjusted.

JP 2007-22297 A

  When warming up is required, such as immediately after the engine is started, the shutter (fin in Patent Document 1) arranged immediately before the radiator is set to a closed posture, and the running wind supplied to the radiator is shut off. Achieve efficient warm-up.

  In addition, since such a shutter is usually provided in a grill part at the front end of the vehicle body, it is possible to improve the aerodynamic characteristics by suppressing the inflow of air into the engine room by closing the shutter. It is.

  The shutter is driven by an actuator such as an electric motor. Accordingly, it is conceivable that the posture of the shutter is fixed when the shutter support portion or the rotation motor is broken. If the shutter is closed and fixed, the radiator's heat dissipation function is lost, which may cause engine overheating.

  An object of the present invention is to rationalize an engine cooling device capable of supplying air to a radiator even when a shutter for controlling the amount of air supplied to the radiator of the vehicle is fixed in a state in which the amount of air supply is limited. It is in the point which constitutes.

  A feature of the present invention is that a radiator that dissipates heat from an engine provided in a vehicle, a case that forms a supply space that supplies external air to the radiator, and a side that is opposite to the case with respect to the radiator. A fan that takes in external air through the supply space of the case, and a shutter that opens and closes to control the supply amount of air supplied from the outside to the case, and the shutter reduces the supply amount of air. In the restricting state, when the fan is operated, the case is provided with an opening / closing member that is opened due to a pressure drop in the supply space and allows outside air to be sucked into the supply space.

  According to this configuration, in a situation where the shutter is fixed in a state in which the supply amount of air is limited due to a failure or the like, the fan can be operated to set the supply space of the case to a negative pressure. As a result, the opening / closing member is opened, and air outside the case is sucked into the case and supplied to the radiator to cool the engine.

  According to the present invention, an opening is formed in the outer wall of the case, the opening / closing member is disposed at a position for opening / closing the opening inside the case, and the opening / closing member is biased in a direction to close the opening. good.

  The opening / closing member is a member that functions when the shutter fails. Therefore, it is normally biased toward the opening side to keep the closed state. As a result, an engine warming effect and an aerodynamic characteristic improvement effect are obtained, and the engine cooling function is reliably exhibited when the shutter fails. The biasing force is set in a range in which the opening / closing member can be operated when the pressure in the case becomes negative due to the drive of the fan.

  In the present invention, the opening / closing member may be swingably supported on the inner surface of the case in such a posture that its swing end faces the radiator and the base end on the swing fulcrum side faces the shutter.

  According to this, when air is supplied to the supply space of the case in a state where the shutter is in the open posture, the opening / closing member is maintained in the closed posture by the action of air pressure in the supply space. On the contrary, when the fan operates in a state where the shutter is in the closed position, the swinging end of the opening / closing member swings in the direction of the supply space of the case, and air is supplied to the supply space. In particular, since the swinging end of the opening / closing member is disposed in a posture toward the radiator, air easily flows to the radiator side when the opening / closing member is opened.

  The present invention comprises a cushioning material sandwiched between the opening / closing member and the case when at least one of the opening / closing member and the outer wall of the case when the opening / closing member in the open position reaches the closed position. Also good.

  According to this, for example, even when the opening / closing member swings due to the vibration of the engine or the vibration at the time of traveling, the noise that the opening / closing member hits the case is suppressed, and the silence is improved. Further, since it is possible to prevent a gap from being created between the opening / closing member and the case due to vibration, the effect of improving the aerodynamic characteristics particularly when the shutter is in the closed state can be favorably maintained.

It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the front part of the engine room of a passenger car. It is sectional drawing which shows the engine room front part of the state which the grille shutter closed. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows a flap, a buffer material, and a wind guide case. It is sectional drawing which shows the flap of a closed state. It is sectional drawing which shows the flap of an open state. It is a perspective view which shows the flap of another embodiment (a). It is sectional drawing which shows the flap of another embodiment (a). It is sectional drawing which shows the flap of another embodiment (b).

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
〔overall structure〕
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an engine 2, a radiator 3, and a radiator fan 4 are provided inside an engine room 1 at the front position of the vehicle, and air from the front end of the vehicle body is guided to the radiator 3. A wind case 6 (a specific example of the case) is provided on the front side of the radiator 3, and a grill shutter 10 is disposed at the front end position of the wind guide case 6 to constitute a cooling device for the engine 2.

  The radiator 3 is connected to a water jacket (not shown) of the engine 2 via a water hose 7, and cooling water is supplied by driving a water pump (not shown). The water pump includes an electromagnetic clutch, and is configured to be able to switch between a driving state and a stopped state by intermittently driving power from the engine 2. The water pump may be driven by an electric motor.

  The radiator fan 4 is disposed in the inner space of the shroud 8 on the rear side of the radiator 3 and is driven by an electric fan motor 4M. In addition, you may comprise this radiator fan 4 so that the drive from the engine 2 may be transmitted via an electromagnetic clutch.

  The air guide case 6 is configured in a rectangular tube shape so as to form a supply space 6S that guides air from the front grill of the engine room 1 to the radiator. The rear end of the wind guide case 6 is connected to the front surface of the radiator 3, and a grill shutter 10 for controlling the amount of air supplied to the radiator 3 is provided at the introduction opening at the front end.

  The grille shutter 10 has a configuration in which a plurality of shutter plates 12 (specific examples of shutters) that are long in the lateral direction with respect to the frame 11 are swingably supported around a support shaft 13 in a lateral orientation. . The plurality of shutter plates 12 are rotated about a support shaft 13 by an electric opening / closing motor 14 to determine a swing angle.

  The drawing does not show a transmission structure for opening and closing the shutter plate 12, but a link mechanism, a rotating shaft, a rod, a wire, or a plurality of shafts that decelerate and transmit the driving rotational force of the opening / closing motor 14 to the plurality of support shafts 13. Gears etc. are provided.

〔flap〕
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, in the cooling device for the engine 2, an opening 6 </ b> H is formed in the bottom wall 6 </ b> A of the air guide case 6. Inside the bottom wall 6A (on the upper surface side of the bottom wall 6A), a cushioning material 20 such as rubber or sponge having a large number of through holes 20H is provided so as to cover the opening 6H. A plate-like frame 21 is provided at a position where it can come into contact with the upper surface of the cushioning material 20, and a plurality of flaps 22 (an example of an opening / closing member) are provided at a position covering the open portion 21 </ b> A of the frame 21 so as to be freely opened and closed.

  The flap 22 is made of resin or a metal plate, and has a posture in which the base end portion H on the swing fulcrum side is directed toward the grill shutter 10 (front) and the swing end is directed to the radiator side (rear). Has been placed. The base end portion H of the flap 22 is swingably supported by a shaft body 23 supported by the frame 21. The frame 21 is connected and fixed to the bottom wall 6 </ b> A of the air guide case 6 in a state of contacting the upper surface of the cushioning material 20.

  Only one flap 22 may be provided. The shaft body 23 may be fixed to either the flap 22 or the frame 21.

  When the radiator fan 4 is stopped or the grill shutter 10 is opened, the flap 22 is maintained in the closed position as shown in FIGS. A cushioning material 20 is disposed between the flap 22 and the air guide case 6. The flap 22 is urged by gravity in the direction of the cushioning material 20. As a result, the flap 22 is in a closed posture in close contact with the upper surface of the cushioning material 20 as long as the supply space 6S of the air guide case 6 does not become negative pressure. Further, when the supply space 6S of the air guide case 6 has a negative pressure, the swing end swings upward as shown in FIG.

  In addition, you may provide the spring, rubber | gum, etc. for biasing the flap 22 to a closed attitude | position.

[Operating form]
In a vehicle such as an automobile, when warm-up is required just after the engine 2 is started, for example, the water pump and the radiator fan 4 are stopped, and all the shutter plates 12 of the grille shutter 10 are shown in FIG. Set to the closed position. This warm-up control is executed by the engine ECU or the like based on the measured value of the engine temperature sensor.

  The warm-up control ends when it is determined that the warm-up is completed based on the measurement result of the water temperature sensor or the like. Thereafter, when the engine 2 needs to be cooled, the water pump and the radiator fan 4 are actuated to set the shutter plate 12 of the grille shutter 10 to the open posture. When the shutter plate 12 is set to the open posture, the control may be performed so that the shutter plate 12 has a predetermined target angle based on information such as the engine temperature.

  As described above, when the shutter plate 12 is set to the open posture, the shutter plate 12 may be fixed in the closed posture due to a mechanical failure of the shutter plate 12 or a failure of the opening / closing motor 14. Even in such a case, the flap 22 of this embodiment can supply cooling air to the radiator 3.

  That is, even when the shutter plate 12 is in the closed and fixed state, by operating the radiator fan 4, the supply space 6S of the air guide case 6 becomes negative pressure, and the flap is caused by the pressure difference as shown in FIG. 22 can be opened. Thereby, the air outside the air guide case 6 is supplied to the radiator 3, and overheating of the engine 2 is suppressed.

[Another embodiment]
The present invention may be configured as follows in addition to the embodiment described above.

(A) As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, by forming a slit in a sheet-like material 25 that can be flexibly deformed, such as rubber or non-woven fabric, a flap as an opening / closing member for the sheet-like material 25 22 is formed integrally. As a result, the flap 22 swings around the portion of the base end H serving as the swing fulcrum of the flap 22. Moreover, when comprised in this way, as shown to the figure, the several opening 6H may be formed in 6 A of bottom walls, and the flap 22 may be arrange | positioned in the position which covers this several opening 6H.

  By configuring as in this another embodiment (a), when the supply space 6S becomes negative pressure, the flap 22 swings with respect to the base end on the swing fulcrum side, thereby opening the opening 6H. It is possible to send external air to the supply space 6 </ b> S and supply the air to the radiator 3. Moreover, the generation of noise when the flap 22 hits the bottom wall 6A can be suppressed without using the cushioning material 20. In this configuration, not only the gravity urging force but also the restoring force of the material 25 acts on the flap 22 as the urging force and is maintained in the closed posture.

(B) As shown in FIG. 8, a part of the bottom wall 6 </ b> A of the air guide case 6 is protruded downward to form a protruding portion 6 </ b> T, and among the protruding portions 6 </ b> T, the protruding portion 6 </ b> T is located on the rear side. An opening 6H is formed, and a flap 22 as an opening / closing member is provided at a position for opening / closing the opening 6H.

  With this configuration, when air flows backward on the lower surface side of the bottom wall 6A of the wind guide case 6 during traveling of the vehicle body, a negative pressure is generated at the rear position from the top of the protruding portion 6T, and this negative pressure is opened. You may comprise so that the flap 22 may be closed and maintained by acting on the flap 22 via 6H.

  That is, in this alternative embodiment (b), the air is kept at a high speed on the lower surface side of the bottom wall 6A of the wind guide case 6 as in the case of running at high speed with the shutter plate 12 of the grill shutter 10 in the closed position. Even in a situation of flowing in the direction F shown in the figure, a negative pressure is generated in the flap 22 to maintain the closed posture, thereby preventing the inconvenience of supplying outside air to the radiator 3.

  It should be noted that the force for biasing the flap 22 to the closing side by the traveling wind needs to be set smaller than the force for opening the flap 22 upward when the inside of the air guide case 6 is set to a negative pressure. Therefore, adjustment such as adjusting the amount of protrusion of the protrusion 6T may be performed.

(C) A flap 22 as an opening / closing member is provided on the side wall or upper wall of the air guide case 6. As described above, in the configuration including the flap 22 in a portion other than the bottom wall, it is possible to satisfactorily maintain the closed posture by providing an urging mechanism such as a spring or rubber for maintaining the flap 22 in the closed posture.

(D) In the configuration in which the flap 22 is made of a resin or a metal plate, the cushioning material 20 may be provided in the flap 22. That is, the cushioning material 20 is not necessarily limited to the configuration provided in the air guide case 6 as shown in the embodiment, and the noise that the flap 22 directly hits the inner surface of the air guide case 6 is also suppressed by being formed on the flap 22. The buffer material 20 may be provided in both the flap 22 and the air guide case 6.

(E) A sensor that detects that the flap 22 has been opened may be provided, and an alarm device that detects that the flap 22 has been opened by the sensor and recognizes the driver may be provided.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for a cooling device including a shutter that opens and closes at a front position of a radiator.

2 Engine 3 Radiator 4 Fan (Radiator fan)
6 Case (wind guide case)
6H Opening 12 Shutter (shutter plate)
20 Buffer material 22 Opening and closing member (flap)
H Base end

Claims (4)

A radiator for dissipating heat from an engine provided in a vehicle, a case for forming a supply space for supplying external air to the radiator, and a supply space for the case located on the opposite side of the radiator from the case A fan for taking in external air through, and a shutter that opens and closes to control the supply amount of air supplied from the outside to the case,
In the state where the shutter restricts the supply amount of air, the case is provided with an opening / closing member that is opened by a pressure drop of the supply space when the fan is operated, and allows external air to be sucked into the supply space. Engine cooling system.   The opening is formed in the outer wall of the case, the opening / closing member is disposed at a position for opening / closing the opening inside the case, and the opening / closing member is biased in a direction to close the opening. Engine cooling system.   3. The opening / closing member is swingably supported on the inner surface of the case in a posture in which a swing end faces the radiator and a base end on a swing fulcrum side faces the shutter. Engine cooling system.   The cushioning material sandwiched between the opening / closing member and the case when the opening / closing member in the open position reaches the closed position is provided on at least one of the opening / closing member and the outer wall of the case. The engine cooling device according to any one of?

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