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Cooling module

Cooling module description/claims

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-136603 filed on May 23, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

The present invention relates to a cooling module including a fan shroud and an air cleaner unit.

For example, heat exchangers, such as a radiator and a condenser, and a blower for introducing air to the heat exchangers are mounted to a vehicle body through a front end panel. The front end panel is also known as a shroud panel, a carrier, a radiator support and the like. The front end panel is integrally formed with a fan shroud of the blower. The fan shroud is configured to support a fan of the blower and to form an air passage from the heat exchangers to the fan.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-171041 describes a cooling module having a front end panel. In the described cooling module, the front end panel forms a closed space in its upper beam portion, and an air cleaner unit is housed in the closed space.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-238825 describes an exterior unit for a fixed air conditioner. In the described exterior unit, an auxiliary case for supporting a fan is disposed to oppose a radiator and a condenser. The auxiliary case is formed with a fan shroud that has a substantially cylindrical shape for surrounding the fan. Further, a part of the fan shroud is shared with a side wall of an air cleaner. As such, the exterior unit is made compact.

In vehicles, it has been desired to reduce damage to a person, such as a pedestrian, in a case a vehicle collides with the person. To reduce damage or impact to a pedestrian in a collision, it is proposed to increase a clearance between an engine hood and a front end panel, that is, a free space above the front end panel within an engine compartment, thereby easing deformation of the engine hood and the like.

In the cooling module described in Publication No. 11-171041, since the fan shroud and the air cleaner unit are arranged in an up and down direction of a vehicle, the size of the cooling module increases. Further, the weight of the cooling module increases. Also, since the air cleaner is disposed at the upper beam portion of the fan shroud, it will be difficult to sufficiently provide the free space above the front end panel.

In a case where the fan shroud described in Publication No. 10-238825 is employed to a cooling module for a vehicle, a size of the cooling module will be reduced and hence it will be easy to provide the free space above the cooling module. However, in a case where the air cleaner is disposed to oppose the heat exchangers, the air cleaner is heated by air that has passed through the heat exchangers. As a result, the temperature of intake air to be introduced into an engine through the air cleaner will be increased.

The present invention is made in view of the foregoing matter, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a cooling module having a structure capable of reducing the weight and increasing a space on its top in a condition mounted in an engine compartment of a vehicle while effectively cooling air to be introduced to an internal combustion engine.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a cooling module to be mounted to a front part of a vehicle includes a heat exchanger for performing heat exchange between air and a heat medium, a fan shroud, a blower and an air cleaner unit for filtering air to be introduced into an internal combustion engine of the vehicle. The fan shroud is disposed downstream of the heat exchanger with respect to a flow of air passing through the heat exchanger. The blower is held by the fan shroud. The fan shroud includes an air introducing portion defining an air passage from the heat exchanger to the blower. The air cleaner unit is disposed such that a front end of the air cleaner unit is offset from the heat exchanger with respect to a horizontal direction. The air cleaner unit has a side wall that partly forms the air introducing portion of the fan shroud. A clearance is provided between the side wall of the air cleaner unit and the heat exchanger such that air upstream of the heat exchanger is conducted toward a downstream position of the heat exchanger through the clearance.

Accordingly, the air cleaner unit is configured such that a part of the air cleaner unit serves as a part of the air introducing portion of the fan shroud. In other words, the air cleaner unit and the air introducing portion of the fan shroud share a wall between them. Therefore, the weight of the cooling module is reduced. Since the heat exchanger and the air cleaner unit are arranged in the horizontal direction, a space provided above the cooling module in a condition mounted in an engine compartment of the vehicle is increased. For example, the space is effectively used for a pedestrian protection system.

In addition, since the front end wall of the air cleaner unit is offset from the heat exchanger, when viewed along the flow of the air, that is, from the front side, the air cleaner unit is cooled by air that has not passed through the heat exchanger. As such, an increase in temperature of the air to be introduced into the engine is reduced. Further, since the clearance is provided between the side wall of the air cleaner unit and the heat exchanger, air is conducted from an upstream position of the heat exchanger toward a downstream position of the heat exchanger through the clearance. Therefore, the air cleaner unit is effectively cooled by the air passing through the clearance. As such, engine torque is increased while restricting the increase in temperature of the air to be introduced into the engine.

Accordingly, the cooling module having the structure capable of reducing the weight and increasing the space on its top in the condition mounted in the engine compartment while effectively cooling the air to be introduced into the engine is provided.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like parts are designated by like reference numbers and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cooling module, when viewed from a diagonally front side of a vehicle, according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

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