JPS59156875A - Air dam - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To lengthen the life of an air dam and heighten its performance, by providing a remote drive means for moving the air dam up and down. CONSTITUTION:Rails 8 are protruded upward at the right and left ends of a movable air dam 1. The rails 8 are guided by upper and lower rollers 10 and rollers 7 pivotally coupled to right and left side plates 9 and located on both the sides of the rails, so that the rails can be moved up and down. A lip 12 is protruded forward from the lower edge of the movable air dam 1. When the moving speed of a vehicle is made high, a motor 3 is started to move down geared wires 4 through a gear 6 to displace the air cam 1 downward while guiding it by the rails 8 and the rollers 7, 10. When the air dam 10 has reached the lower limit position, a limit switch is operated to stop the motor 3 to maintain the air dam in a protruded position.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to an air dam.

Automobile air dams reduce the lift that acts on the front wheels due to driving speed, improving handling at high speeds, especially crosswind stability.

It is provided to reduce drag, lateral force, etc., and its effect is more effective as the clearance with the road surface is smaller.

However, as shown in the side view of Figure 1, when a long air dam is installed, the approach angle θ becomes small, which causes the vehicle to be transported by trailer.

Since this bumps into contact with road curbs and the like when driving on uneven roads, various structures have been proposed in which this is movable rather than fixed.

Some movable air dams are known to be able to move up and down by guiding rollers attached to the air dam along rails installed on the vehicle body. When raising and lowering the air dam,
It cannot withstand long-term use because it causes strain between the rollers and the rails, making it difficult to move up and down smoothly, and easily rattling.

It is also known that the air dam is raised and lowered via a telescoping link operated by a motor. However, in this type of structure, parallel links are used to stabilize the left and right vertical movement of the air dam. Because it uses a skirt, it is structurally complex and moves back and forth when going up and down, allowing wind to escape through the gap between the air dam and the skirt, reducing the effectiveness of the air dam.

The present invention was proposed in view of these circumstances, and aims to provide a long-life and effective air dam.
In an air dam that is attached to a skirt panel so that it can be raised and lowered, a pair of left and right rails protrude upward near the left and right ends of the air dam, and a pair of rails are sandwiched between the rails from the front and back near the left and right ends of the skirt panel. It is characterized by comprising three rollers that guide the air dam vertically so as to be vertically movable and a remote drive means that moves the air dam upward and downward.

An embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings. Fig. 2 is a perspective view thereof, Fig. 3 is a control system diagram of the air dam shown in Fig. 2,
Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the elevating mechanism of the air dam shown in Fig. 2, Fig. 5 is a front view of Fig. 4, Fig. 6 is a side view and plan view of Fig. 5, Fig. 7 (A), ( B) is the case when the air dam is raised in Figure 2.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing the case of being lowered, and FIG. 8 is a front view showing a modification of FIG. 5.

First, in Figs. 2 to 6, 1 is a movable air dam, 2 is a skirt panel, 3 is a motor, 4 is a lower end fixed near the left and right ends of the movable air dam 1, and an upper end is a gear 6, respectively.
A pair of guard wires mesh with each other, 5 is an L-shaped pipe into which the guard wires 4 and 4 are inserted, 7 is a roller pivoted to the left and right side plates 9 fixed to the skirt panel 2, and 8 is movable. Rails protrude upward near the left and right ends of the air dam 1, and each rail 8 has upper and lower rollers 10 pivotally connected to left and right side plates 9, respectively.
It is sandwiched between rollers 7 and guided so as to be vertically movable. Reference numeral 12 designates an IJ knob protruding forward along the lower edge of the movable air dam 1, 13 a speedometer, and 14 a controller.

In such a structure, first, when the traveling speed becomes high, the controller 14 discriminates the signal from the speed make 13 and starts the motor 3, as shown in FIG.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the guard wires 4, 4 move downward through the gear 6 due to the rotation of the motor 3, so that the air dam 1 is moved downward from the rail 8. roller 7.1
When the air dam 1 reaches the lower limit position, a limit switch (not shown) is activated to stop the motor 3, so the movable air dam 1 moves as shown in FIG.
It is held in the extended position as shown in B). .

Next, when the traveling speed becomes low, the motor 3 is reversed by the action of the speedometer 13 and controller 14, and the movable air dam 1 is moved upward via the gear 6 and guard wires 4, 4, and by the action of the limit switch, The motor 3 stops, and the movable air dam 1 moves as shown in FIG. 7(A).
Retained in storage position.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the rail 87 rollers 7, 10
, instead of the side plate 9, as shown in FIG. 8, there is a link having one end pivotally connected to the body and the other end slidably inserted into a horizontal long hole of the air dam 1α, and a link having one end pivotally connected to the air dam. It can also be raised and lowered by a link mechanism such as a link whose end is slidably guided laterally by a guard wire.

With this structure, the air dam can withstand wind pressure and smoothly move up and down.

In short, according to the present invention, in an air dam that is movably attached to a skirt panel, a pair of left and right rails protrude upward near the left and right ends of the air dam, and a pair of rails protrude upward near the left and right ends of the skirt panel, respectively. Equipped with three rollers that sandwich each rail from the front and back and guide it vertically up and down, and a remote drive means that moves the air dam up and down, it has a long life and high performance. Therefore, the present invention is extremely useful industrially.

[Brief explanation of the drawings] Fig. 1 is a side view showing a passenger car equipped with a known air dam;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the elevating mechanism of the air dam shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is a front view of FIG. 4. Figure 6 is a side view and plan view of Figure 5, Figure 7 (A),
(B) is a side view showing the case where the air dam is raised and lowered in Figure 2, respectively, and Figure 8 is a side view showing the case where the air dam is raised and lowered.
It is a front view which shows the modification of a figure. 1. Air dam, 2. Skirt panel. 3. Motor, 4. Guard wire, 5. Vibrator, 6...Gear, 7...Roller, 8...Rail, 9
...Side plate, 10...Roller, 11...Link, 12...
Lip, 13... speedometer, 14... controller, sub-agent Masafumi Tsukamoto P) 30 Mo4IIB

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an air dam that is attached to a skirt panel so that it can be raised and lowered, a pair of left and right rails protrude upward near the left and right ends of the air dam, and a pair of rails are sandwiched between the rails from the front and back near the left and right ends of the skirt panel. An air dam characterized by comprising three rollers that guide the air dam vertically so as to be vertically movable and a remote drive means that moves the air dam upward and downward.