FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention relates to air distributor duct assembly of vehicle.
PRIOR ART
Vehicle front is provided with bumper grill assembly comprising of bumper and
grill to admit air for engine room cooling requirements.
Air flows into the engine compartment through the grill openings so as to
I I remove heat from the heat exchangers like condenser, radiator and inter cooler.
Conventional bumper of vehicle is usually having atleast two grills i.e. lower
and upper grill as shown in fig. 1 (Left side).
The ram air enters the cooling module through the grills, opening of which is
inline with said cooling module (heat exchanger).
However, to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the vehicle, multiple grill openings .
are provided at various locations in said front bumper, which are not in line
with the cooling modules as shown in fig. 1 (Right side).
Due to this the direct ram air entry to the heat exchanger module is not
possible as in the conventional inline bumper grill design. Also the gap between
the front bumper grill and heat exchanger module leads to increase in the
possibility of air leakage resulting less amount of air flow through the heat
I exchangers. This leads to inefficient cooling of the heat exchanger.
I.
In certain cases the front bumper grills are .provided with flow guides which
help to guide the air towards the heat exchanger modules. However, the air
flow diverted by these bumper guides is non-uniform, which can't be directed
to the specific region of the heat exchanger modules. In specific if the distance
and position of heat exchanger module with front bumper grill are high,
bumper grill guide results in inferior performance.
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Now, reference may be made to following prior arts:-
A prior art discloses an air duct disposed at a front end module that includes a
radiator grille of a vehicle, a bumper cover having an opening, and an
intercooler. A first duct that guides air into the intercooler through the radiator
grille. A second duct that guides air into the intercooler through an opening of
the bumper cover and is integrally formed with the first duct, and a separation
wall formed between the first duct and the second duct.
Another prior art is directed to a dual air duct of a vehicle which includes an
upper duct that guides running wind flowing outside an intercooler through a
radiator grill to upper portion of the intercooler and a lower duct that guides
running wind flowing outside the intercooler through a hole of a bumper cover
to lower portion of the intercooler.
Further, a duct structure of the vehicle front. is known to have been provided,
wherein a front grille is installed on a bumper facia at the front extremity of the .
vehicle and a radiator is installed inside the engine room behind the front
grille. A duct device is installed between the front grille and the radiator, and
the air intruding from the front grille is fed to the radiator through the duct
parts of the duct device. A shutter of opening/closing type to admit passage of
the air flowing in the duct parts or shut off it is installed in the duct parts of
the duct device.
Another known art constitutes an air control system in the front end of a motor
vehicle with openings in a front wall defining the front end, through which
cooling air flows into a motor compartment. Air ducts are provided which feed
the cooling air into a the mbtor compartment, substantially against the
direction of travel and which are formed by boundary walls running
approximately parallel to the direction of the air flow.
Here an air guidance is created in the front end of a motor vehicle.
JP 2004299446A:- A condenser is arranged in front of a radiator integrally
with an oil cooler through a partition. An end of the condenser at the partition
side is positioned in an air flow caused by a duct at the oil cooler side. A pair of
left and right ducts respectively have openable and closable shutters.
The aforesaid known arts involve the following disadvantages:-
- It is applicable to the vehicle in which opening of grill is in alignment
with the heat exchanger.
- It covers entire opening in the bumper and also covers the entire surface
of the heat exchanger.
- It prevents only air leakage.
- It is complicated in design, requiring more time for assembly and making
the manufacturing difficult.
- It is complicated in construction. .
- It is expensive.
Hence, the present invention has been proposed to address the aforesaid
drawbacks.
OBJECTS, OF THE INVENTION
Primary object of the present invention is to provide air distributor duct
assembly of vehicle which overcomes disadvantages associated with the prior
art.
Another object of the present invention is to provide air distributor duct
assembly of vehicle which is very simple in construction.
.
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Further object of the present invention is. to provide air distributor duct
assembly of vehicle which is cost effective.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide air distributor duct
assembly of vehicle which is efficient and reliable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to this invention, there is provided air distributor duct assembly of
vehicle comprising of an air distributor duct mounted on inner side .of front
bumper, wherein said air duct is having a plurality of inlets, outlet of which is
directed towards specific region of heat exchanger for cooling thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS:
Further objects and advantages of this invention will be more apparent from
the ensuing description when read in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings and wherein:
Fig. 1 shows: conventional front bumper with grill in vehicle.
Fig. 2 shows: exploded side view'of vehicle front.
Fig. 3 shows: isometric view of air distributor duct of present invention.
Fig. 4 shows: isometric view of front bumper with air distributor duct according
to the present invention.
Fig. 5 shows: condenser zones.
I Fig. 6 shows: air flow through bumper grill opening for model of vehicle without
air duct .
Fig. 7 shows: air flow through bumper grill opening for model of vehicle with air
duct.
Fig. 8 shows: mass flow rate across condenser in fan off (left side) and fan on
condition [right side).
Fig. 9 shows: mass flow rate across radiator in fan off (left side) and fan on
condition (right side).
Fig. 10 shows: mass flow rate across gaseous zone of condenser in fan off (left
side) and fan on condition (right side). ,
Fig. 11 shows: air normal velocity contour in condenser front face in vehicle
without air distributor (left side) and in vehicle with air distributor (right side).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION WITH REFERENCE TO
ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS:-
The present invention discloses air distributor duct assembly of vehicle. Now,
reference may be made to fig. 2, wherein the air distributor duct (2) is disposed
between front bumper (1) and heat exchanger (3) for cooling the heat
exchanger. Behind the heat exchanger engine (4) is located.
Now, referring to fig. 3 indicating air duct (A) which comprises a plurality of
inlets (5) in alignment with opening of upper grill (U) in the front bumper (F) of
vehicle as shown in fig. 4. Said inlets are connected to each other with the help
of connecting means (6). Said connecting means constitutes inclined surfaces
as shown to act as air guide and also to supplement air flow and prevent air
leakage.
The duct is disposed at an inclination such that its outlet remains inclined
with respect to its inlets.
Further, the outlet is directed towards upstream of the heat exchanger for
cooling its upper zone with air flow because it is the most heated zone, which
requires more cooling than other zones.
In this regard, reference may be made to fig. 5 indicating condenser zones
having three zones i-e. gaseous zone (upper zone) (I), gaseous and liquid zone
(middle zone) (2) and liquid zone (lower zone) (3).
I As it is known, condenser is used to condense the refrigerant from its gaseous
to its liquid state, typically by cooling it. In doing so, the heat is expelled and
transferred to the .cooling air.
I
Ideally in the gaseous zone, the superheated refrigerant vapor dissipates the
sensible heat to the cooling air and converts into saturated vapor. In the
gaseous and liquid zone, the saturated vapor exhausts the latent heat of
vaporization to the atmospheric air and converts into saturated liquid. In the
1 liquid zone the liquid refrigerant exhausts the sensible heat to the cooling air
there by reducing its temperature further.
In most of the condensers the gaseous zone is on the top of the condenser and
thermodynamically the superheated vapors has high temperature. To convert
the gaseous vapor into saturated liquid, high mass flow rate of ram air is
required. To improve the mass flow rate, the air distributer is used to distribute
the air on the gaseous zone of the condenser. The temperature difference
between the gaseous vapors and the ram air is high resulting in high heat
transfer thereby improving the cooling capacity of the condenser.
The air distributor duct is snap fit to the vehicle front bumper and grill
assembly so as to direct the air towards the front face of heat exchanger
(particularly its upper zone), thereby improving the air conditioning and cooling
performance of engine of vehicle. During forward motion of vehicle, air enters
the inlet and exit through the outlet of duct to the specified location of the heat
exchanger for cooling. The duct facilitates uniform entry of air to the heat
exchanger module.
The present invention can be akcommodated in the conventional vehicle. It is .
applicable to the vehicle, grill opening of which is not in line with the heat
exchanger face.
The duct 'can be extended to other heat exchanger modules by providing
additional outlet.
I As the assembly of air distributor is carried out by snap fit to the front bumper,
therefore a minimum additional structure is needed without requiring any
constructional changes in e vehicle. Further, the inlets and "Y outlets are
provided in the bumper inner side, hence not,visible from vehicle exterior. This
retains aesthetic appearance of the vehicle.
I . The air duct is preferably made of plastic to reduce weight and cost. It can be made by method of molding without restricting scope of the invention to the
same.
~ Test Results
1. Air flow streamline at vehicle speed 40 kmph
In base model without air distributor, the air entering into the engine
compartment through multiple openings in upper grill passes over the top of
heat exchanger assembly without contributing to heat removal from the heat
exchanger, which can be noticed from the fig. 6 indicating the following:-
I - Hood assembly (H)
I - Inlet air passing over heat exchanger (I)
- Fender (D)
- Front bumper (F)
- Heat exchafiger (E)
In contrast to the prior art, in base model with air distributor the air entering
into the engine compartment through multiple upper grills is diverted towards
the heat exchanger module thus improving the performance of the heat
exchangers, which can be noticed from the fig: 7 indicating the following:-
1 - Air distributor duct (A)
- Inlet air diverting towards heat exchanger (B)
2. Mass flow rate across heat exchanger assembly:-
I
Air distributor improves the cooling performances of heat exchangers, by
increasing the air mass flow rate across condenser and radiator assembly. As
the speed of the vehicle increases the mass flow rate across the heat
exchangers increases and at every speed the mass flow rate with air distributor
is higher than without it, both in fan off and fan on condition as shown in fig. 8
and 9. The lower and upper curve indicates base without air distributor and
base with air distributor respectively.
In fan on condition, at low speed the effect of air distributer on heat exchangers
is less but as the speed increases its effect increases considerably.
The higher mass flow rate at fari off condition improves the engine performance .
by reducing the operating time of fan to meet the cooling requirement. When
! . the coolant temperature reaches the minimum operating temperature, the fan
gets switched off. In case, these temperatures are maintained with mass flow
rate through the radiator in fan off condition, the load on the engine reduces.
This improves the overall Fuel economy of the vehicle.
As thc spccd of the vehicle increases the mass flow ratc across the gaseous
. . . . /,. s-.: ,-. : .p y ,,::. ::, I:, cases and for all spccd the mass flow ratc with air distributcr is
-..>.. ..... .,...,, ...;, ; v,-: .: * .. ., ../ . 4L1>1,, ;; >r> v~iti-i~iut,t b oth in fan off and f2n on rrlode as shown in fig. 10. The
;'.:w"~ T", r.i r lT,,-\Yt
. . .
...- . . . ,; Lii< - z curve indicates base with~uta ir dis?ributr;r and base yvi iAtL A a i? air
. . &. ..:-r rt,r.,irib-torre spectively.
.-2.: < .
::.. .Lr.T, :b .=_li ,::,- v-ii;G,..L,..i ty contours on the condenser shows that with the air distributor
i, i= r. :~.. -.<.. . r. . - ,7
:;,; c7;i:,,.r,in ir.; rrg. 1 1 , which indica!.es 'nigh air mass ~i<:ra~te~ &i, ~ai r ri::rmaj
v:::locity at gascous zone (FI).
" - ;rTlpr;jVeS :pit: Lr-fu\f 3l i rI &, npoL?lir" aiiiidiiLLIu, )i itr.~~,,c.4 ii exckanger mod~tles by
increasirig air mass flow rate by diverting the air towards the heat
cxchangcr modules which was flowing to thc cnginc roo= x~jthout
:.-,A,,?,.? *, ,F i:97-:;+Y,> ,-f ; to the heat exchanger perhrrnancc.
,.,. 3 . 51rrl31~'r ? design, rrlarlu[acturirlg of which is easy. rA- "'
- Cost effective.
- Rcquircs icss tirnc for assembly.
n<.c::;;i.;cn::;::iat~ in existing vehicle withcut requiring ally modificatio::,
. * covers orlly up- per grll! operlirlg arid specific of heat excf-;angi;r.
, ~-~ i~DU"I[U'Ti i"i^i i"i'i:3. dr .i1i7 ' . flow.
- Kctains aesthetic appeal of vehicle.
1.. :.. :2 +. .:> ;><> :=. .-..<:> .A .. .. . -. .- .. .- .. .. -LA iliiii,ii that the present invention is susceptible to modificaiions,
. . . . . , - 7 . : - z2 " -7..r(
- .:: = . , . ..- : : < a . ;:<: , i i i changes by those ; : 1.h~a t-:. s, .. . ; LA\,.-:; ;i; .; : ;.i . . . . . .i <
z % . <. '.;- ,-.- ,. r,i r t i i < , i i ..: .i .iT xi, i,ier - thr: fG!lc;wirlg claims:- . . > - - - -

WE CLAIM:
1. Air distributor duct assembly of vehicle comprising of an air distributor
duct mounted on inner side of front bumper, wherein said air duct is
having a plurality of inlets, outlet of which is directed towards specific
region of heat exchanger for cooling thereof.
2. Air distributor duct assembly of vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said inlets are connected with the help of a connecting means
constituting inclined surfaces.
3. Air distributor duct assembly of vehicle as claimed in claim 1 or 2,
wherein the duct is placed at an inclination that its outlet is inclined
with respect to its inlets (offset from the axis)
4. Air distributor duct assembly of vehicle as claimed in any of the
preceding claims, wherein the outlet is directed towards upstream of the
heat exchanger for cooling its superheated upper zone with air flow.
5. Air distributor duct assembly of vehicle as claimed in any of the
preceding claims, wherein the duct is provided between front bumper
and heat exchanger, which is detachably attached to the upper grill of
front bumper.
6. Air distributor duct assembly of vehicle as claimed in any of the
preceding claims, wherein the duct can be extended to any number of
heat exchangers.
7. Air distributor duct assembly of vehicle as claimed in any of the
preceding claims, wherein the opening of upper grill of the vehicle is not
in alignment with the heat exchanger.
8. Air distributor duct assembly of vehicle as claimed in any of the
preceding claims, is assodiated with the advantageous features such as
herein described.
9. Air distributor duct assembly of vehicle. substantially as herein described
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Dated Q this 23rd day of December, 20 13
(SOMA RANI MISHRA)
OF L.S.DAVAR & CO.,
APPLICANT'S AGENT