TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention claims the priority of the Chinese application 202211199876.4 filed on September, the 29th of 2022, the content of which (text, drawings and claims) is incorporated herein by reference.

The present disclosure generally relates to the technical field of vehicle parts manufacturing, and more specifically relates to an air guiding assembly and a front bumper assembly having the air guiding assembly.

BACKGROUND

Air guiding assembly, also known as anti-recirculation baffle, is usually arranged between a front bumper and a cooling system of a vehicle, whose function is to prevent the air in the front end of an engine compartment from flowing back, so that the airflow entering the front bumper assembly through an air intake grille of the front bumper can be directly blown to the cooling system (such as water tank, condenser, etc.), so as to ensure the airflow sealing and good aerodynamic performance. The sealing effect of the air guiding assembly directly affects the condensation performance of the air conditioner and the cooling performance of the water tank of the vehicle.

The air guiding assembly is usually assembled with a front bumper frame and an anticollision beam along the longitudinal direction, and then connected with a front bumper body having the air intake grille to form the front bumper assembly. In order to realize the assembly, the air guiding assembly is provided with an installation opening suitable for the front bumper frame and the anti-collision beam, which makes a large hole exist between the air guiding assembly and the front bumper body in the assembled front bumper assembly in some cases, especially for some designs of the front bumper frame, thus leading to air leakage and affecting the sealing effect.

SUMMARY

The purpose of the present disclosure is to propose an improved air guiding assembly to solve the assembly problem between the air guiding assembly and the front bumper frame and ensure good sealing performance.

To this end, according to one aspect of the present disclosure, an air guiding assembly is provided. The air guiding assembly is arranged in a front bumper assembly and comprises a panel body configured as a frame structure and provided with a supporting portion suitable for installing environmental components and a sealing portion suitable for sealing and abutting against the environmental components, wherein the panel body is provided with at least one opening to accommodate the environmental components; a cover component attached to the panel body and configured to pivot between a shielding position covering the opening and an opening position exposing the opening.

According to the above technical concept, the present disclosure may further include any one or more of the following alternative forms.

In some alternative forms, the cover component is configured to comprise a covering section and a pivoting section for attaching the covering section to the panel body, wherein the covering section and the pivoting section are adjacent to the supporting portion and made of the same material.

In some alternative forms, the cover component further comprises a clamping portion arranged at the free end of the covering section away from the pivoting section, and the panel body is correspondingly provided with a bayonet matched with the clamping portion, and the bayonet is arranged on the supporting portion.

In some alternative forms, the cover component further comprises a first sealing section and a second sealing section respectively formed on both sides of the covering section, wherein the first sealing section is suitable for sealing and abutting against the environmental component inside the opening, and the second sealing section is suitable for sealing and abutting against the environmental component outside the opening.

In some alternative forms, the area of the first sealing section is larger than that of the second sealing section.

In some alternative forms, the environmental components comprise anti-collision beam, front bumper frame and front bumper body, and the cover component is disposed at least at the opening for the front bumper frame.

In some alternative forms, when the cover component is in the opening position, a vertical supporting leg of the front bumper frame is adapted to be accommodated in the opening, wherein the covering section does not interfere with the supporting leg during pivoting from the opening position to the shielding position, while the first sealing section is adapted to contact with the supporting leg and to be elastically deformed.

In some alternative forms, the supporting leg is provided with a vertical reinforcing rib, and a gap of 2mm to 3mm is provided between the first sealing section and the reinforcing rib in the shielding position.

In some alternative forms, the supporting portion of the panel body is made of hard plastic, and the sealing portion is made of soft rubber.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a front bumper assembly is also provided. The front bumper assembly comprises an anti-collision beam, a front bumper frame, a front bumper body, and the above-mentioned air guiding assembly, wherein the anticollision beam and the front bumper frame are configured to be attached to the air guiding assembly, and the air guiding assembly realizes the airflow guiding and sealing in the front bumper assembly.

By providing the pivotable cover component, the air guiding assembly of the present disclosure effectively solves the problem of assembly conflict between the air guiding assembly and environmental components. It does not need to add additional parts, and the cover component is easy to be directly molded and integrated with the panel body, thus greatly improving the assembly efficiency with a simple structure and cost while ensuring good sealing effect and structural strength, and suitable for front bumper assemblies with various shapes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will be better understood by the following alternative embodiments described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals identify the same or similar parts, in the drawings:

Fig. 1 A is an internal schematic view of a front bumper assembly;

Fig. IB is an exploded schematic view of the front bumper assembly of Fig. 1 A;

Fig. 1C is a schematic view of the connection of a front bumper frame and an anti- collision beam;

Fig. ID is a schematic view of the connection of the front bumper frame and the anticollision beam in another way;

Fig. IE is a schematic view of the connection of the front bumper frame and the anticollision beam shown in Fig. ID with an air guiding assembly;

Fig. IF is an enlarged top plan view of portion A in Fig. IE;

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of an air guiding assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 3 is a partial schematic view of a panel body of the air guiding assembly;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged schematic view of portion C in Fig. 2, showing the cover component between an opening position and a shielding position;

Fig. 5 is a schematic view of the cover component in Fig. 4 in the opening position;

Fig. 6 is a schematic side plan view of the cover component in the position shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a schematic view of the assembly of the air guiding assembly shown in Fig. 2 with the anti-collision beam and the front bumper frame;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged schematic view of portion D in Fig. 7, showing the cover component in the opening position;

Fig. 9 is similar to Fig. 8, showing the cover component in the shielding position;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged top plan view of the cover component in the shielding position;

Fig. 11 is a schematic top plan view of the cover component in the shielding position and in sealing abutment with the front bumper frame and the front bumper body respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The implementation and usage of the embodiments will be discussed in detail below. However, it should be understood that the specific embodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of specific ways to implement and use the present disclosure without limiting the scope of the present disclosure. In the description for the structural positions of various components, representations of directions such as “upper”, “lower”, “top” and “bottom” are not absolute, but relative. When the various components are arranged as shown in the drawings, these representations of directions are appropriate. However, when the positions of the various components in the drawings are changed, these representations of directions are also changed accordingly.

In this context, unless otherwise specified, the terms such as “installation”, “connection”, “attach” and “fix” should be understood broadly. For example, it can be fixed connection, detachable connection or integrated; it can be mechanically connected or electrically connected; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components. For those skilled in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in this context can be understood according to specific situations.

In this context, “transverse direction” and “longitudinal direction” are relative to the traveling direction of the vehicle. “Transverse direction” refers to the left and right direction or axle direction of the vehicle, “longitudinal direction” refers to the front and rear direction of the vehicle, that is, the X direction shown in the figures, and “vertical direction” refers to the Z direction shown in the figures. “Inside” and “outside” refer to the inside and outside directions relative to the vehicle.

In this context, the terms “first”, “second” and so on are not used to limit the sequence and the number of components unless otherwise stated.

As shown in Fig. 1A to Fig. IF, the existing front bumper assembly usually includes a front bumper body 10 having an air intake grille 11, and the inner surface of the front bumper body 10 is attached with an air guiding assembly 20 to ensure that the airflow introduced from the air intake grille 11 directly flows to a cooling system, thereby ensuring the air conditioning condensation performance and the cooling performance of the water tank of the vehicle. In some ways, the air guiding assembly 20 is constructed as a frame structure adapted to the shape of the cooling system, such as the water tank. In addition, a front bumper frame 40 and an anti-collision beam 30 are attached to the front bumper assembly to provide structural strength. In most cases, the installation sequence of the front bumper assembly is from the inside to the outside, that is, the anti-collision beam 30 and the air guiding assembly 20 are assembled substantially in the longitudinal direction (the X direction in Fig. IB), then the front bumper frame 40 is assembled in the X direction or the vertical direction (the Z direction), and finally the front bumper body 10 is assembled in the X direction, thus forming the front bumper assembly as a whole. In combination with a configuration shown in Fig. 1C, the front bumper frame 40 is usually provided with two vertically extending supporting legs 41, 42 arranged at both ends at intervals in the transverse direction to be attached to the anti-collision beam 30, so as to ensure the vertical rigidity of the front bumper assembly. In some cases, if the structural strength of the middle portion of the front bumper assembly is insufficient, as shown in another configuration mode in Fig. ID, a middle supporting leg 43 will be added at the middle position of the front bumper frame 40 in the transverse direction to provide the middle rigidity of the front bumper assembly. As mentioned above, since the components of the front bumper assembly are assembled substantially in the X direction, and the front bumper frame 40 and the anti-collision beam 30 need to be assembled in the air guiding assembly 20, the air guiding assembly 20 is provided with a plurality of openings on a panel body 21 to accommodate the front bumper frame 40 and the anti-collision beam 30, which makes a hole 22 with larger size formed at the opening of the middle supporting legs 43 especially after the front bumper frame 40 is assembled in the air guiding assembly 20, as shown in Fig. IE. After the front bumper body 10 is assembled, as shown in portion B in Fig. IF, the airflow introduced from the air intake grille 11 will escape from the hole 22, thus affecting the cooling performance. If it is desired to change the assembly sequence to avoid the above defects, it may bring other problems such as changing the structural design and high cost.

It should be noted that the above description provides information related to the present disclosure, but the designs of the illustrated components are not meant to be prior art.

According to the concept of the present disclosure, an improved air guiding assembly is provided, which makes the connection process of the air guiding assembly with the front bumper frame more convenient, and there is no risk of damaging the sealing performance.

Referring to Fig. 2, an air guiding assembly 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a panel body 210, which can also be constructed as a frame structure to adapt to a cooling system, wherein the panel body 210 is provided with at least one opening to accommodate environmental components. Here, the environmental components include, but are not limited to, anti-collision beam, front bumper frame, front bumper body, and in some cases, other environmental components that provide other functions. In the illustrated embodiment, for example, the opening 220 is suitable for receiving the middle supporting leg 43 of the front bumper frame 40, and the openings 240, 250 are suitable for receiving the anti-collision beam 30.

The air guiding assembly 200 is a typical double injection component. As shown in Fig. 3, it is usually provided with a supporting portion 211 suitable for installing the environmental components and a sealing portion 212 suitable for sealing and abutting against the environmental components. The supporting portion 211, which can also be called hard plastic portion, can be made of hard plastic such as PP+TD10, and is mainly used for positioning and fixing the environmental components to play the role of structural support. The sealing portion 212, which can also be called soft rubber portion, can be made of soft rubber such as EPDM or TPV, and is mainly used for contacting with the environmental components and playing a sealing role. Advantageously, the opening edge of each of the openings 220, 240 and 250 is constituted by the sealing portion 212.

According to the present disclosure, the air guiding assembly 200 further includes a cover component 230, which is attached to the panel body 210 as shown in combination with Figs. 2 and 4, and is configured to pivot between a shielding position covering the opening 220 and an opening position exposing the opening 220. It should be understood that in this context, the cover component is described for the opening 220 of the middle supporting leg of the front bumper frame, and depending on the requirements of different design configurations, the cover component can be provided at various suitable openings, not limited to the opening 220 in the illustrated embodiment. Furthermore, one cover component is described here as an example, but it is also feasible to provide more than one cover component for each suitable opening, and the designs of each cover component can be completely or substantially the same.

In the illustrated embodiment, by providing the cover component 230, when in the opening position, an installation path for the middle supporting leg of the front bumper frame to enter the opening 220 can be provided, which can be along the X direction or the Z direction. Once the middle supporting leg of the front bumper frame is installed in place, the cover component 230 can be pivoted in the shielding position to shield the opening 220. At this time, the air guiding assembly 200 can be used as a guiding component to prevent the airflow from escaping, thus ensuring the sealing effect, the condensation performance of the cooling system and the cooling performance of the water tank.

In some embodiments, the cover component 230 is configured to include a covering section 231 and a pivoting section 232 for attaching the covering section 231 to the panel body 210, wherein the covering section 231 and the pivoting section 232 are adjacent to the supporting portion 211 and made of the same material, thereby ensuring durability, especially the pivoting section 232 is not easy to break and is suitable for repeated use. It should be understood that the covering section 231 extends to cover substantially the entire area of the opening 220. Alternatively, the covering section 231 can pivot upward to the opening position around the pivoting section 232, and then pivot downward to the shielding position. In this way, the covering section 231 can overlap the panel body 210. In an alternative embodiment, the covering section 231 can pivot downward to the opening position around the pivoting section 232, as shown by the arrow in Fig. 5, and then pivot upward to the shielding position. In this way, the covering section can be kept in the opening position by its own gravity without manual holding, and the operation is more convenient.

In some embodiments, the cover component 230 further includes a clamping portion 233 arranged at the free end of the covering section 231 away from the pivoting section 232. Correspondingly, the panel body 210 is provided with a bayonet 213 matched with the clamping portion 233, as shown in Fig. 4, and the bayonet 213 is advantageously arranged on the supporting portion 211. In this way, the covering section 231 in the shielding position is kept in the shielding position by the clamping action of the clamping portion 233 and the bayonet 213 to ensure the sealing action, and at the same time, the cover component has good stability and durability due to the use of the same hard rubber material as the supporting portion 211.

In some embodiments, the cover component 230 further includes a first sealing section 234 and a second sealing section 235 respectively formed on both sides of the covering section 231, wherein the first sealing section 234 is suitable for sealing and abutting against the environment component inside the opening, that is, the middle supporting leg 43 of the front bumper frame 40, and the second sealing section 235 is suitable for sealing and abutting against the environment component outside the opening, that is, the front bumper body 10.

With reference to Figs. 7 to 9, for the middle supporting leg 43 of the front bumper frame 40, in some cases, a reinforcing rib 44 extending in the vertical direction is provided to enhance the vertical rigidity, which makes the first sealing section 234 contact with the reinforcing rib 44 and deform in the process of pivoting from the opening position to the shielding position, as shown in portion E in Fig. 8. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 10, the area of the first sealing section 234 of the cover component is advantageously configured to be larger than that of the second sealing section 235, so as to facilitate the deformation of the first sealing section.

In some embodiments, the first sealing section 234 fills the portion between the middle supporting leg 43 (especially the reinforcing rib 44) and the covering section 231 so that the covering section 231 does not interfere with the middle supporting leg during the pivoting from the opening position to the shielding position. In other words, as shown in Fig. 10, a gap dl between the covering section 231 and the reinforcing rib 44 is filled by the first sealing section 234, and the first sealing section 234 is adjacent to the sealing section 212 at the opening of the panel body 210, so that the portion contacting with the middle supporting leg 43 and the reinforcing rib 44 is only made of deformable soft rubber, which ensures the sealing performance and the smooth implementation of the pivoting movement of the cover component. Alternatively, the gap dl may be 3mm to 5 mm.

In some embodiments, a gap of 2mm to 3mm is provided between the first sealing section 234 and the middle supporting leg 43 (especially the reinforcing rib 44), as shown by d2 in Fig. 10, which can prevent the first sealing section from twisting or not restoring from the deformed state to the correct sealing state when in the shielding position, thus ensuring the sealing effect.

By providing the pivotable cover component, the air guiding assembly of the present disclosure effectively solves the problems of assembly and airflow sealing of the front bumper frame, in particular, and the cover component is simple in structure and easy to be demoulded integrally with the panel body, so that there is no need to provide additional parts to increase the cost but the assembly efficiency is greatly improved. As shown in Fig. 11, after the cover component is in the shielding position and clamped to the panel body 210 through the clamping portion 233, the first sealing section 234 is well sealed with the middle supporting leg 43 of the front bumper frame, and the second sealing section 235 is well sealed with the front bumper body 10. Obviously, the assembled front bumper assembly is more stable and reliable, providing structural support while ensuring sealing performance.

Here, it should be understood that the embodiments shown in the figures only show the optional shapes, sizes and arrangements of various components of the air guiding assembly and the front bumper assembly according to the present disclosure which are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Other shapes, sizes and arrangements can be adopted without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

The technical contents and technical features of the present disclosure have been disclosed above. However, it can be understood that those skilled in the art can make various changes and improvements to the above disclosed concept, but all the changes and improvements fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure. The description of the above embodiments is illustrative and not restrictive, and the scope of protection of the present disclosure is defined by the claims.