Vehicle with airflow control device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10071595-B2
Application number	US-201715415435-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 25, 2017
Priority date	Mar 31, 2016
Publication date	Sep 11, 2018
Grant date	Sep 11, 2018

Abstract

A vehicle airflow control device includes: a wheel shutter that is provided to a vehicle wheel, and is movable by a driving mechanism between an open position at which an opening between spokes of the vehicle wheel is brought into an open state and a closed position at which the opening is brought into a closed state; a shutter device that is provided to an introduction path of an air into an engine compartment, and is switchable between an open state in which an air is permitted to be introduced and a closed state in which an introduction of an air is blocked; and a control mechanism that actuates the driving mechanism to move the wheel shutter to either one of the open position and the closed position in accordance with the open and closed states of the shutter device.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle, comprising:
a vehicle wheel comprising a wheel shutter, the wheel shutter being movable by a driving mechanism between an open position at which an opening between spokes of the vehicle wheel is brought into an open state and a closed position at which the opening is brought into a closed state;
a vehicle body comprising an engine compartment that accommodates an engine and a shutter device that is provided to an introduction path of an air into the engine compartment, the engine compartment defining an inserted portion where a driving shaft configured to transmit a driving force of the engine to the vehicle wheel is inserted, the inserted portion being adjacent to the vehicle wheel, the shutter device being switchable between an open state in which the air is permitted to be introduced through the introduction path and the inserted portion toward the vehicle wheel and a closed state in which the air is blocked from being introduced through the introduction path and the inserted portion toward the vehicle wheel; and
a control mechanism that actuates the driving mechanism to move the wheel shutter to either one of the open position and the closed position in accordance with the open and closed states of the shutter device,
wherein the control mechanism is configured to:
when the shutter device is in the open state, move the wheel shutter to the open position; and
when the shutter device is in the closed state, execute a determination whether a driving state of the vehicle is any one of a deceleration driving, an acceleration driving and a constant speed driving, and move the wheel shutter, in response to a result of the determination, to the open position or the closed position.

2. The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein when the shutter device is in the closed state, and the driving state of the vehicle is either one of the acceleration driving and the constant speed driving, the control mechanism moves the wheel shutter to the closed position.

3. The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein when the shutter device is in the closed state, and the driving state of the vehicle is the deceleration driving, the control mechanism moves the wheel shutter to the open position.

4. The vehicle according to claim 2 , wherein when the shutter device is in the closed state, and the driving state of the vehicle is the deceleration driving, the control mechanism moves the wheel shutter to the open position.

5. The vehicle according to claim 1 ,
wherein the vehicle body comprises a bumper, and
wherein the shutter device is a grille shutter device that is capable of opening and closing an opening formed on a front face of the bumper.

6. The vehicle according to claim 2 ,
wherein the vehicle body comprises a bumper, and
wherein the shutter device is a grille shutter device that is capable of opening and closing an opening formed on a front face of the bumper.

7. The vehicle according to claim 3 ,
wherein the vehicle body comprises a bumper, and
wherein the shutter device is a grille shutter device that is capable of opening and closing an opening formed on a front face of the bumper.

8. The vehicle according to claim 4 ,
wherein the vehicle body comprises a bumper, and
wherein the shutter device is a grille shutter device that is capable of opening and closing an opening formed on a front face of the bumper.

9. The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the wheel shutter is pivoted on a center of the vehicle wheel.

10. The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the vehicle wheel comprises the wheel shutter including a shutter that is on a back face of at least one of the spokes.

11. The vehicle according to claim 1 ,
wherein when the shutter device is in the closed state, and the driving state of the vehicle is either one of the acceleration driving and the constant speed driving, the control mechanism moves the wheel shutter to the closed position, and
wherein when the shutter device is in the closed state, and the driving state of the vehicle is the deceleration driving, the control mechanism moves the wheel shutter to the open position.

Assignees

• Fuji Heavy Ind Ltd
• Subaru Corp

Inventors

• Hasegawa Takumi
• Kobayashi Ryuya

Classifications

• B60K11/02

  with liquid cooling · CPC title

• Y02T10/88

  Optimized components or subsystems, e.g. lighting, actively controlled glasses · CPC title

• B60T5/00

  Vehicle modifications to facilitate cooling of brakes · CPC title

• B60B7/20 Primary

  having an element mounted for rotation independently of wheel rotation · CPC title

• B60K11/085 Primary

  with adjustable shutters or blinds · CPC title