Vehicle lower portion structure

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9738331-B2
Application number	US-201414917891-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 12, 2014
Priority date	Sep 11, 2013
Publication date	Aug 22, 2017
Grant date	Aug 22, 2017

Abstract

At a vehicle lower portion structure S 1 , a first inclined portion 24 is formed at a rear end portion of a first undercover 20 , and a second inclined portion 34 is formed at a front end portion of a second undercover 30 . The second inclined portion 34 overlaps at least a portion of the first inclined portion 24 as seen in a vehicle plan view and a vehicle front view. An exhaust portion 40 is demarcated and formed by the first inclined portion 24 and the second inclined portion 34 . An underfloor space UA and a space within an engine compartment 12 are communicated by the exhaust portion 40 . Hot air within the engine compartment 12 can be made to flow via the exhaust portion 40 toward the underfloor space UA.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle lower portion structure comprising:
a first undercover that is provided at a vehicle lower portion, and that covers, from a vehicle lower side, an engine compartment that is at a vehicle front portion;
a second undercover that is provided at a vehicle rear side of the first undercover, and that covers, from a vehicle lower side, an underfloor that is at a vehicle rear side of the first undercover;
a first inclined portion provided as a rear end portion of the first undercover, the first inclined portion is angled toward a vehicle lower side and a vehicle rear side; and
a second inclined portion provided as a front end portion of the second undercover, the second inclined portion is angled toward a vehicle upper side and a vehicle front side, is disposed so as to be apart from the first inclined portion at a vehicle rear side of the first inclined portion, and overlaps at least a portion of the first inclined portion as seen in at least one of a vehicle plan view or a vehicle front view,
wherein the second inclined portion includes a plurality of inclined portions, and
wherein an adjacent pair of the plurality of inclined portions includes a first adjacent inclined portion that is disposed at a vehicle lower side and a second adjacent inclined portion that is disposed at a vehicle upper side, an inclination angle of the first adjacent inclined portion with respect to a line extending along a vehicle longitudinal direction is set to be smaller than an inclination angle of the second adjacent inclined portion with respect to the line extending along the vehicle longitudinal direction.

2. The vehicle lower portion structure of claim 1 , wherein an inclination angle of the second inclined portion with respect to the vehicle longitudinal direction is set to be greater than or equal to an inclination angle of the first inclined portion with respect to the vehicle longitudinal direction.

3. The vehicle lower portion structure of claim 1 , wherein a guide portion, that extends from a distal end of the first inclined portion toward the second inclined portion, is formed at the first inclined portion.

4. The vehicle lower portion structure of claim 1 , wherein a distal end of the first inclined portion is disposed further toward a vehicle lower side than the second undercover.

5. The vehicle lower portion structure of claim 1 , wherein the second inclined portion overlaps at least a portion of the first inclined portion as seen in a vehicle plan view and a vehicle front view.

6. A vehicle lower portion structure comprising:
a first undercover that is provided at a vehicle lower portion, and that covers, from a vehicle lower side, an engine compartment that is at a vehicle front portion;
a second undercover that is provided at a vehicle rear side of the first undercover, and that covers, from a vehicle lower side, an underfloor that is at a vehicle rear side of the first undercover;
a first inclined portion provided as a rear end portion of the first undercover, the first inclined portion is angled toward a vehicle lower side and a vehicle rear side; and
a second inclined portion provided as a front end portion of the second undercover, the second inclined portion is angled toward a vehicle upper side and a vehicle front side, and is disposed so as to be apart from the first inclined portion at a vehicle rear side of the first inclined portion
wherein the second inclined portion includes a plurality of inclined portions, and
wherein an adjacent pair of the plurality of inclined portions includes a first adjacent inclined portion that is disposed at a vehicle lower side and a second adjacent inclined portion that is disposed at a vehicle upper side, an inclination angle of the first adjacent inclined portion with respect to a line extending along a vehicle longitudinal direction is set to be smaller than an inclination angle of the second adjacent inclined portion with respect to the line extending along the vehicle longitudinal direction, and
wherein the second inclined portion overlaps at least a portion of the first inclined portion as seen in a vehicle plan view and a vehicle front view.

7. The vehicle lower portion structure of claim 6 , wherein an inclination angle of the second inclined portion with respect to the vehicle longitudinal direction is set to be greater than or equal to an inclination angle of the first inclined portion with respect to the vehicle longitudinal direction.

8. The vehicle lower portion structure of claim 6 , wherein a guide portion, that extends from a distal end of the first inclined portion toward the second inclined portion, is formed at the first inclined portion.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Ito Keita
• Ishikawa Masahiro
• Yoshimoto Kenichiro
• Kanbe Masato

Classifications

• B60K11/06

  with air cooling · CPC title

• B62D35/02 Primary

  Streamlining the undersurfaces {(B62D35/005, B62D35/007, B62D35/008 take precedence)} · CPC title

• Y02T10/88

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

• Y02T10/82

  Elements for improving aerodynamics · CPC title