CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-178525 filed on Sep. 30, 2019, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The technology relates to an airflow adjusting apparatus that adjusts an airflow generated around a vehicle body of a traveling vehicle.

Traveling wind may be generated against a vehicle such as an automobile while the vehicle is traveling. Such traveling wind can cause air resistance or drag on the vehicle. The traveling wind can cause a turbulent flow accompanied by a vortex flow around a vehicle body, thereby increasing the air resistance and deteriorating aerodynamic noise (i.e., so-called wind noise) and aerodynamic vibration. International Publication WO2011/024736A1 discloses a vehicle airflow adjusting apparatus including a plasma actuator that is attached to a surface of a vehicle body. The plasma actuator includes two or more electrodes that are disposed with a dielectric interposed in between. The plasma actuator uses plasma generated upon application of a high voltage to the electrodes to induce an airflow. Such an airflow may be sometimes referred to as ion wind or an induced airflow.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the technology provides an airflow adjusting apparatus that includes two or more airflow generators and a controller. The airflow generators are arranged in a first direction and a second direction along a surface of an object. The airflow generators are configured to generate respective airflows in directions parallel to each other along the surface of the object. The second direction intersects with the first direction. The controller is configured to control outputs from the respective airflow generators independently of each other. The controller is configured to cause a total output from the airflow generators in a first group of the two or more airflow generators to be greater than a total output of the airflow generators in a second group of the two or more airflow generators. The airflow generators in the first group are arranged side by side in an airflow generation direction. The airflow generators in the second group are arranged side by side in the airflow generation direction and are adjacent to the airflow generators in the first group. The airflow generation direction is a direction in which the airflows are generated.

An aspect of the technology provides an airflow adjusting apparatus that includes two or more airflow generators and a controller. The airflow generators are arranged in a grid pattern or in a zigzag pattern along a surface of an object. The airflow generators are configured to generate respective airflows in directions parallel to each other along the surface of the object. The controller is configured to control outputs from the airflow generators on a group basis. The group includes the airflow generators arranged side by side in an airflow generation direction. The controller is configured to cause a total output from the airflow generators in a first group to be greater than a total output from the airflow generators in a second group. The second group is adjacent to the first group. The airflow generation direction is a direction in which the airflows are generated.

An aspect of the technology provides an airflow adjusting apparatus for a vehicle. The airflow adjusting apparatus includes two or more plasma actuators and a controller. The plasma actuators are arranged in a grid pattern or in a zigzag pattern along a vehicle body surface of the vehicle. The plasma actuators are configured to induce respective airflows in directions parallel to each other along the vehicle body surface. The controller is configured to control outputs from the plasma actuators on a group basis. The group includes the plasma actuators arranged side by side in a direction in which the airflows are induced. The controller includes circuitry. The circuitry is configured to generate a control instruction for the plasma actuators. The control instruction causes a total output from the plasma actuators in a first group to be greater than a total output from the plasma actuators in a second group. The second group is closer to a center of the vehicle in a vehicle widthwise direction than the first group.

