Patent Application
20240416744
This nonprovisional application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-099873 filed on Jun. 19, 2023 with the Japan Patent Office, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The present disclosure relates to a duct structure of a vehicle.
As a conventional duct structure of a vehicle, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. No. 2016-117450 discloses a structure in which a sound absorbing member is disposed in an intake duct such that a back space is formed between an inner wall of the intake duct and the sound absorbing member. The liquid that has passed through the sound absorbing member can be stored in the rear space.
The frequency at which the sound absorbing member easily absorbs sound varies depending on the thickness of the air layer located in the back space. For this reason, in a configuration in which the liquid is stored in the back space as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2016-117450, the sound absorbing capability varies depending on the amount of the liquid stored in the back space. As a result, there is a concern that it is difficult to achieve both liquid storage and appropriate sound absorbing capability.
The present disclosure is made in view of the above problem, and it is an object of the present disclosure to provide a duct of a vehicle capable of maintaining appropriate sound absorbing capability while storing liquid.
A duct structure of a vehicle according to the present disclosure includes: a duct disposed upstream of a cooling fan that blows air toward a power storage stack, the duct having an air intake port opening toward an interior of the vehicle; and a sound absorbing member disposed in the duct. The duct has a bottom wall portion. The sound absorbing member is disposed to leave a gap between an inner surface of the bottom wall portion and the sound absorbing member. The inner surface of the bottom wall portion has a portion facing the gap and including a flow path forming portion and a reservoir forming portion, the flow path forming portion forming a flow path portion that allows liquid to flow, the reservoir forming portion forming a reservoir portion where the liquid flowing through the flow path portion is stored. A distance between the reservoir forming portion and the sound absorbing member is larger than a distance between the flow path forming portion and the sound absorbing member. A step is formed between the reservoir forming portion and the flow path forming portion.
In the above configuration, liquid can be stored in the reservoir portion. Further, the step is formed between the flow path forming portion and the reservoir forming portion, which makes it possible to prevent liquid having passed through the flow path portion and stored in the reservoir portion from flowing back to the flow path portion, and prevent the liquid from accumulating in the flow path portion. Accordingly, the thickness of an air layer located in the gap between the flow path forming portion and the sound absorbing member can be kept constant and appropriate sound absorbing capability can be maintained.
In the duct structure according to the present disclosure, a downstream opening of the duct is located downstream of the reservoir portion and opens toward the cooling fan, and the downstream opening may be located at a higher position than the reservoir portion.
In the above configuration, the downstream opening of the duct is located at a higher position than the reservoir portion, which makes it possible to prevent liquid stored in the reservoir portion from entering the cooling fan.
In the duct structure according to the present disclosure, the duct may include a first portion extending in a first direction, and a second portion located downstream of the first portion and extending in a second direction crossing the first direction. The flow path forming portion and the reservoir forming portion may be included in the second portion. The first portion may be provided with the air intake port and an opening that communicates with the second portion. The second portion may have a sidewall portion connecting the flow path forming portion and the opening to each other. The sidewall portion may be provided with a guide portion that guides liquid flowing through the first portion to the flow path forming portion.
In the above configuration, liquid can be guided to the flow path portion by the guide portion, which makes it possible to prevent the liquid from adhering to the sound absorbing member.
The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present disclosure when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the same or common parts are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and the description thereof will not be repeated. In each of the drawings, the X-axis direction indicates the vehicle width direction, the Y-axis direction indicates the vehicle front-rear direction, and the Z-axis direction indicates the height direction of the vehicle.
The vehicle 100 is, for example, a hybrid electric vehicle that can travel using power of at least one of a motor and an engine, or an electrically powered vehicle that travels using a driving force obtained by electric energy.
Vehicle 100 includes power storage device 1, rear seat 60, and floor panel 70. The power storage device 1 is disposed, for example, below the rear seat 60. More specifically, the power storage device 1 is disposed between the seat cushion of the rear seat 60 and the floor panel 70. Note that the position of the power storage device 1 is not limited to the above, and the power storage device 1 can be disposed as appropriate as long as the power storage device 1 can be cooled using air in the vehicle interior.
As shown in
The power storage cell 4 is, for example, a secondary battery such as a nickel-metal hydride battery or a lithium ion battery. The power storage cell 4 has, for example, a rectangular shape. The power storage cell 4 may use a liquid electrolyte or a solid electrolyte. The power storage cell 4 may be a unit capacitor configured to be capable of storing power.
As shown in
The second duct 20 is disposed downstream of the first duct 10. The second duct 20 connects the first duct 10 and the power storage device 1. A cooling fan 40 is disposed inside the second duct 20. The cooling fan 40 blows cooling air toward the power storage stack 3. As the cooling fan 40, for example, a sirocco fan or a propeller fan can be employed.
The first duct 10 is disposed on the upstream side of the cooling fan 40, and guides air taken in from the vehicle interior to the cooling fan 40. The first duct 10 includes an air intake port 10a that opens toward the vehicle interior, and a downstream opening 10b that opens toward the cooling fan 40.
The first duct 10 includes a first portion 11 and a second portion 12. The first portion 11 extends along the first direction. The first direction is, for example, a direction substantially parallel to the front-rear direction of the vehicle. The first portion 11 is provided with an air intake port 10a and an opening 10c communicating with the second portion 12.
The second portion 12 extends along a second direction intersecting the first direction. The second direction is, for example, a direction substantially parallel to the vehicle width direction. The second portion 12 connects the first portion 11 and the second duct 20. The sound absorbing member 30 is disposed inside the second portion 12. The second portion 12 is provided with the above-described downstream opening 10b.
The second portion 12 has a bottom wall portion 120 and a sidewall portion 130. The bottom wall portion 120 faces the sound absorbing member 30. The bottom wall portion 120 is located below the sound absorbing member 30. A gap is formed between the bottom wall portion 120 and the sound absorbing member 30.
The bottom wall portion 120 has an inner surface 120a. The inner surface 120a includes a flow path forming portion 121 and a reservoir forming portion 122 in a portion facing the gap. The flow path forming portion 121 forms a flow path portion 15 allowing the liquid to flow.
The reservoir forming portion 122 forms a reservoir portion 16 where the liquid flowing through the flow path portion 15 is stored. The downstream opening 10b is located higher than the reservoir portion 16.
The reservoir forming portion 122 is disposed on the downstream side of the flow path forming portion 121, and is located at a position lower than the flow path forming portion 121. A step 123 is provided between the reservoir forming portion 122 and the flow path forming portion 121.
The sidewall portion 130 is provided so as to stand upward from an end portion of the flow path forming portion 121 located on the first portion 11 side. The sidewall portion 130 connects the flow path forming portion 121 and the opening 10c. The sidewall portion 130 is provided with a guide portion 131 that guides the liquid flowing through the first portion 11 to the flow path forming portion 121. The guide portion 131 is configured by, for example, a recessed portion that is recessed toward the air intake port 10a side. Since a gap is formed between the recess and the sound absorbing member 30, the liquid flowing through the first portion 11 can be guided to the flow path forming portion 121 through the gap.
The sound absorbing member 30 is formed of any material having sound absorbing properties. The sound absorbing member 30 may be formed of, for example, an inorganic fiber such as glass wool or rock wool, a metal fiber material such as aluminum fiber, a synthetic resin foam such as a polystyrene resin or a polyethylene resin, a soft material such as urethane or rubber, or a porous material. Further, the sound absorbing member 30 may be constituted by a composite or a stack of various appropriate materials including the above-described materials.
As described above, the sound absorbing member 30 is disposed so as to provide a gap with the inner surface 120a of the bottom wall portion 120. Specifically, for example, the sound absorbing member 30 is disposed above the flow path forming portion 121 so as to be substantially parallel to the flow path forming portion 121. The sound absorbing member 30 is disposed above the reservoir forming portion 122 so as to be inclined upward toward the downstream side. The distance between the reservoir forming portion 122 and the sound absorbing member 30 is larger than the distance between the flow path forming portion 121 and the sound absorbing member 30.
As illustrated in
Here, as described above, the step 123 is provided between the flow path forming portion 121 and the reservoir forming portion 122. Therefore, it is possible to suppress backflow of the liquid L from the reservoir portion 16 to the flow path portion 15, and it is possible to suppress accumulation of the liquid in the flow path portion 15. Thus, the thickness of the air layer located in the gap between the flow path forming portion 121 and the sound absorbing member 30 can be kept constant, and appropriate sound absorbing capability can be maintained.
Further, since the downstream opening 10b of the first duct 10 is located at a position higher than the reservoir portion 16, it is possible to prevent the liquid L stored in the reservoir portion 16 from entering the cooling fan 40.
In addition, when the liquid L moves from the first portion 11 to the flow path portion 15, the liquid L can be prevented from adhering to the sound absorbing member 30 by guiding the movement by the guide portion 131.
Although the present disclosure has been described and illustrated in detail, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, the scope of the present disclosure being interpreted by the terms of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-099873 | Jun 2023 | JP | national |
