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DE-102021212899-B4 - VARIABLE VEHICLE FENDER ASSEMBLE STRUCTURE AND CONTROL METHOD OF THE SAME

DE102021212899B4DE 102021212899 B4DE102021212899 B4DE 102021212899B4DE-102021212899-B4

Abstract

Variable fender assembly structure of a vehicle, comprising: a fender assembly (10) coupled to part of an outer edge of a wheel guard (5) of a vehicle and manufactured with a form that covers a wheel of the vehicle; a flap element (20) which is positioned in the rear part of the fender assembly (10) and is rotatably coupled to the fender assembly (10); a drive element that rotates the flap element (20); and a control that actuates the drive element to control whether the flap element (20) is rotated or not rotated, wherein the flap element (20) has a first flap (22) and a second flap (24), wherein the second flap (24) has a larger area than the first flap (22), the control system determines whether the drive element is normal or fails, The control system determines the speed of the vehicle when it is determined that the drive element is normal, and The control unit actuates the drive element depending on the speed of the vehicle in order to control whether the flap element (20) is rotated, wherein the control unit controls the drive element such that the first flap (22) and the second flap (24) do not turn if the vehicle's speed is less than a first speed, wherein the control unit controls the drive element such that the first flap (22) is rotated and the second flap (24) is not rotated when the speed of the vehicle is higher than the first speed and lower than a second speed which is higher than the first speed, wherein the control unit controls the drive element such that the second flap (24) is rotated and the first flap (22) is not rotated when the speed of the vehicle is higher than the second speed and lower than a third speed which is higher than the second speed, and wherein if the speed of the vehicle is above the third speed, the drive element is controlled such that the first flap (22) and the second flap (24) are rotated.

Inventors

  • Untae Kim
  • Junsik SHIN

Assignees

  • HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY
  • KIA CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20211117
Priority Date
20210218

Claims (8)

  1. Variable fender assembly structure of a vehicle, comprising: a fender assembly (10) coupled to a portion of an outer edge of a wheel guard (5) of a vehicle and formed with a shape that covers a wheel of the vehicle; a flap element (20) positioned in the rear portion of the fender assembly (10) and rotatably coupled to the fender assembly (10); a drive element that rotates the flap element (20); and a control element that actuates the drive element to control whether the flap element (20) is rotated or not rotated, wherein the flap element (20) has a first flap (22) and a second flap (24), the second flap (24) having a larger area than the first flap (22), wherein the control element determines whether the drive element is normal or fails, the control element determines the speed of the vehicle when it is determined that the drive element is normal, and the control element actuates the drive element depending on the speed of the vehicle to control whether the flap element (20) is rotated, wherein the control element acts such that the first flap (22) and the second flap (24) do not rotate when the speed of the vehicle is less than a first speed, wherein the control element acts such that the first flap (22) is rotated and the second flap (24) is not rotated when the speed of the vehicle is greater than the first speed and less than a second speed The speed is higher than the first speed, wherein the control unit controls the drive element such that the second flap (24) is rotated and the first flap (22) is not rotated when the speed of the vehicle is higher than the second speed and lower than a third speed higher than the second speed, and wherein when the speed of the vehicle is above the third speed, the drive element is not rotated. element is controlled in such a way that the first flap (22) and the second flap (24) are rotated.
  2. Variable fender trim structure of the vehicle according to Claim 1 , wherein: the flap element (20) is articulated to and coupled with the fender assembly (10).
  3. Variable fender trim structure of the vehicle according to Claim 1 , wherein: the first flap (22) is arranged under the fender assembly (10), and the second flap (24) is arranged next to the first flap (22) on the fender assembly (10).
  4. Variable fender trim structure of the vehicle according to Claim 2 , wherein: the drive element includes a drive motor (34) and a drive actuator (32), the first flap (22) is rotated by the drive actuator (32), and the second flap (24) is rotated by the drive motor (34).
  5. Variable fender trim structure of the vehicle according to Claim 4 , wherein: the drive actuator (32) comprises an actuator main body (32-1) attached to the fender assembly (10) and an actuator shaft (32-2) extending outwards from the actuator main body (32-1) to be rotated, the actuator shaft (32-2) being fitted and coupled into the coupling groove formed in the first flap, and the first flap (22) being rotated by the rotation of the actuator shaft (32-2).
  6. Variable fender trim structure of the vehicle according to Claim 4 , wherein: the drive motor (34) comprises a motor body (34-1) attached to the fender assembly (10) and a motor shaft gear (34-2) projecting from the motor body (34-1) to the outside in order to be rotated, the motor shaft gear (34-2) is coupled to the connecting gear formed in the second flap (24) in the form of a plug/receive coupling, and the second flap (24) is rotated by the rotation of the motor shaft gear (34-2).
  7. Control method of a variable fender assembly structure of a vehicle according to Claim 1 , featuring: Determining by the control system whether the drive element is normal or has failed after the vehicle starts; Determining the speed of the vehicle by the control system when it is determined that the drive element is normal; and control whether the flap element (20) is rotated by controlling the drive element via the control unit according to the vehicle speed, wherein: if it is determined that the vehicle speed is less than the first speed, the drive element is controlled by the control unit such that the first flap (22) and the second flap (24) are not rotated; if it is determined that the vehicle speed is greater than the first speed and less than a second speed which is greater than the first speed, the drive element is controlled by the control unit such that the first flap (22) is rotated and the second flap (24) is not rotated; if it is determined that the vehicle speed is greater than the second speed and less than a third speed which is greater than the second speed, the drive element is controlled by the control unit such that the second flap (24) is rotated and the first flap (22) is not rotated; and if it is determined that the vehicle speed is greater than the third speed, the drive element is controlled by the control unit such that The control ensures that the first flap (22) and the second flap (24) are rotated.
  8. Control method of the variable fender assembly structure of the vehicle according to Claim 7 , furthermore comprising: displaying a warning light on an instrument panel of the vehicle by the control unit when it is determined that the drive element is abnormal.

Description

BACKGROUND (a) Area The present disclosure relates to a variable fender assembly structure and a control method thereof. More precisely, the present disclosure relates to a variable fender assembly structure of a vehicle that is capable of minimizing gap suction by adjusting the opening and closing of a flap of a fender panel or fender assembly according to a driving speed of a vehicle, and to a control method thereof. (b) Description of the related technique Fuel efficiency is becoming increasingly important in the automotive industry as emissions and environmental regulations become stricter. To improve fuel efficiency, research is actively being conducted into reducing drag through the use of aerodynamically designed components. Furthermore, the aerodynamic influence of high-speed wheel/tire rotation, previously an unexplored area, has recently been demonstrated. Since it is known that the gap between a wheel arch (wheel guard) and a tire makes a significant contribution to vehicle resistance, studies on reducing this gap are ongoing; however, it is also important to effectively dissipate or disperse any eddy current generated by the tire in the wheel arch, and therefore it is difficult to minimize the gap between the wheel arch and the tire without limitations. The wheel arch shape is generally designed as either round or rectangular, taking into account various design factors, and consequently, a significant difference in aerodynamic performance results. If the wheel arch shape is variable, it can be changed to a circular or rectangular shape depending on the situation; however, the fender usually consists of a metal plate and a plastic trim, and therefore its shape is fixed. Once the shape is confirmed, the aerodynamic performance is determined by it, thus limiting performance. Conventional methods consist of maximizing a damping effect by lengthening a suspension travel length at low speed using a variable suspension and decreasing the suspension length at high speed to vary the upper gap according to the situation, or applying a flexible structure to the front of the wheel guard and varying the front gap by means of air, as well as a method for changing the front gap by applying an air guide device of a sliding structure. As described above, conventional technology has been developed to adjust the upper and front gaps between the wheel arch and the tire, but the technology to adjust the rear gap is insignificant. As a result of evaluating the aerodynamic influence by dividing the vehicle's fender assembly into 4 equal parts and reducing the gap between the wheel arch and the tire, there were, on the other hand, as in 1 An aerodynamic improvement of approximately 6 points (a drag coefficient) was demonstrated, and as a result of inducing an exhaust flow to this part by increasing the gap through the removal of part C, an aerodynamic improvement of approximately 3 points was confirmed. While reducing the gap between the wheel arch and the tire generally improves aerodynamics, in the case of part C (the rear part of the wheel assembly), increasing the gap to allow air to escape and increase airflow is advantageous. The state of the art refers to the DE 10 2019 110 770 A1 Reference was made to a diffuser system for a vehicle, in which a pivoting plate is arranged on a fender. The plate can be moved from a stowed position to a usable position. From the US 2012/ 0 091 753 A1 Furthermore, a fender element with a guide element is known, wherein the guide element is arranged at the bottom of the fender element. The DE 10 2008 046 314 A1 shows a wheel arch arrangement, wherein a variable contour is arranged on the wheel arch arrangement. Furthermore, attention is drawn to the DE 10 2020 204 009 A1 Reference is made to an air curtain device. This is mounted on the inside of the bumper and has an intake opening and an exhaust opening. The object of the invention is therefore to minimize suction in the space between the fenders. The information mentioned above, which is revealed in this background section, is only intended to improve the understanding of the background of the revelation and therefore may contain information that does not represent the state of the art, which is already known to someone with ordinary technical skills in this country. SUMMARY The invention is defined by the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments are the subject of the dependent claims. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a variable fender assembly structure and a control method thereof are therefore provided, which can minimize interspace suction by forming a flap on a rear part of a fender assembly of a vehicle and adjusting the opening and closing of the flap. The flap element can be hinged to and coupled with the fender assembly. The first flap can be arranged under the fender assembly, and the second flap can be arranged next to the first flap on the fender assembly. The drive element can contain a dri