JP2000190743A - Supporting structure for power unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lightweight supporting structure for a power unit capable of positioning a propeller shaft without lowering the minimum ground clearance of a vehicle and enhancing strength and rigidity of a supporting member for an engine. SOLUTION: An engine side bracket 11 consists of a bracket main body 19, an engine mounting plate 20, and an outer cylinder 12, and is shaped in a closed box shape with a roughly square shaped cross section. Holes 31 for penetrating a propeller shaft 15 are formed on a pair of side wall plates 22 of the bracket main body 19. Because strength and rigidity of the engine side bracket 11 can be enhanced owing to a box shape with a roughly square shaped cross section, the strength and rigidity can be maintained high even though the holes 31 for penetrating the propeller shaft 15 through are formed. By penetrating the propeller shaft 15 through the holes 31, positioning level of the engine side bracket 11 is not necessary to be lowered for avoiding interference with the propeller shaft 15, and the minimum ground clearance is maintained at a desired height.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a support structure for a power unit used in a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a vehicle in which a power unit including an engine and a transmission is disposed along a front-rear direction and a propeller shaft is disposed along a side of the engine (for example, a four-wheel drive vehicle of a midship engine or an RR engine, Or a four-wheel drive vehicle of an underfloor engine type (for example, a cab-over vehicle). Hereinafter, for convenience, the vehicle is referred to as a "vehicle having a propeller shaft arranged side by side on the engine side". ], The propeller shaft is arranged along the side of the engine, so that the engine (power unit) is interposed between both sides of the engine and the side frame.
The propeller shaft will be arranged near the front mounting bracket that supports the propeller shaft.

FIGS. 4 to 6 show an example of such a vehicle. 4 to 6, the vehicle 1 has an engine room 4 disposed below the floor frame 3 behind the front wheels 2. In this engine room 4, a power unit 7 including an engine 5 and a transstation 6 is arranged along the front-rear direction of the vehicle 1. A pair of left and right side frames 8 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 1 is disposed below the floor frame 3. A plurality of cross members (not shown) are connected to the left and right side frames 8, 8 to form a body frame 9.

A pair of left and right front mounting brackets 10 are interposed between the left and right side frames 8 and 8 on both sides of the engine 5 located on the front side of the power unit 7. ) Is supported by the body frame 9. The power unit 7
A rear mounting bracket (not shown) is interposed between the transmission 6 and the vehicle body frame 9 located on the rear side of the vehicle, and the transmission 6 (power unit 7) is supported by the vehicle body frame 9. One end of the front mounting bracket 10 is connected to an engine-side bracket 11 held at one end by the engine 5 and an elastic member 13 inserted into an outer cylinder 12 held at the other end of the engine-side bracket 11. And a vehicle-body-side bracket (not shown) supported on the other end side and held by the vehicle body frame 9.

A transmission 6 has a rear wheel propeller shaft 14 extending rearward of the vehicle 1, and a front wheel 2 propeller shaft 15 extending forward of the vehicle 1 along the side of the engine 5. Has been established. FIG.
Reference numeral 16 denotes an oil pan, and 17 denotes a timing cover.

[0006]

By the way, in the above-mentioned "vehicle in which the propeller shaft is arranged side by side on the engine side" as shown in FIGS.
(Front mounting bracket 10) and the propeller shaft 15 are likely to interfere, and it is difficult to adjust the layout of both.

That is, by providing the front mounting bracket 10 with desired strength and rigidity, the propeller shaft 1
In order to avoid interference with the propeller shaft 15, it is necessary to lower the engine side bracket 11 (the front mounting bracket 10) downward (to escape from the propeller shaft 15) and to arrange the engine 5. Will cause a reduction in In order to prevent lowering of the minimum ground clearance, it is necessary to form an escape portion on the engine side bracket 11 (front mounting bracket 10) to avoid interference with the propeller shaft 15, and depending on the sheet metal, It is not easy to secure the desired strength and rigidity, and the engine-side bracket 11 is manufactured using, for example, a casting that is stronger than sheet metal. However, when a casting is used as the engine-side bracket 11, the weight increases in comparison with the engine-side bracket made of sheet metal, and the cost increases, which is not desirable.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is directed to a lightweight power unit capable of disposing a propeller shaft without lowering the minimum ground clearance of a vehicle and increasing the strength and rigidity of a support member for an engine. It is intended to provide a support structure.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A power unit consisting of an engine and a transmission is arranged along the front-rear direction of the vehicle, a propeller shaft is arranged along the side of the engine, and the engine is composed of an engine-side and vehicle-body-side bracket connected via elastic members. A support structure for a power unit in which the support member is interposed between both sides of the engine and the vehicle body,
One of the engine-side and vehicle-body-side brackets has a box shape having a substantially rectangular cross section, and a hole is formed in an opposing side wall plate of the bracket, and the propeller shaft is inserted through the hole. And According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first aspect, one bracket is an engine-side bracket. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first or second aspect, a mounting portion for an engine accessory is provided on an upper portion of the hole forming portion of the one bracket.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A power unit support structure according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 and FIGS. The support structure of the power unit is, for example, a vehicle in which the propeller shaft is juxtaposed on the side surface of the engine, such as a four-wheel drive vehicle in which the engine 5 is disposed below the floor (below the floor frame 3) shown in FIGS. And a front mounting bracket 10 (support member) shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.
Is interposed between one of the two side portions of the engine 5 and the side frame 8 facing the one of the two side frames 8, 8 (FIG. 4, (See FIG. 5).

The front mounting bracket 10 includes:
One end (upper right side in FIG. 1) is held by the engine 5 side, and the other end side (lower left side in FIG. 1) is fitted into the outer cylinder 12 with the engine side bracket 11 (one bracket) holding the outer cylinder 12. And a vehicle-side bracket (not shown), one end of which is supported by the shaft 18 in the elastic member 13 and the other end of which is held by the vehicle body frame 9.

The engine-side bracket 11 is connected to a bracket body 19 having a substantially rectangular cross section (a substantially rectangular cylindrical shape) and an opening at one end (upper right side in FIG. 1) of the bracket body 19, and It comprises an engine mounting plate 20 to be mounted and the outer cylinder 12 coupled to an opening at the other end (lower left side in FIG. 1) of the bracket body 19. The engine side bracket 11 includes a bracket body 19.
Are closed by the engine mounting plate 20 and the outer cylinder 12 to form a closed box shape as a whole.

The bracket body 19 comprises a bottom plate 21 and a pair of opposed side wall plates 22 suspended from both sides of the bottom plate 21. A lower member 23 having a substantially U-shaped cross section, and an upper portion of the lower member 23 FIG. 1 upper) Upper plate 2 connected to the opening
4 is roughly constituted. The upper plate 24 is disposed at one end of the bracket body 19 (upper right in FIG. 1), and is disposed at the other end of the bracket 19 (lower left in FIG. 1). The upper plate tip portion 26 having a smaller width dimension than the side plate body portion 25, and the upper plate body portion 25 and the upper plate portion so that the width dimension becomes smaller as the width dimension changes from the upper plate body portion 25 to the upper plate tip portion 26. And an upper plate middle portion 27 connecting the side plate tip portions 26.

The bottom plate 21 of the lower member 23 is
The shape is substantially the same as 4. The side wall plate 22 includes the upper plate 2
4 comprises a side wall plate main body portion 28, a side wall plate intermediate portion 30, and a side wall plate front end portion 29 corresponding to the upper side plate main body portion 25, the upper side plate intermediate portion 27, and the upper side plate front end portion 26, respectively. ) To the other end (lower left side in FIG. 1), the height dimension (vertical direction in FIG. 1) decreases. Further, since the side wall plate 22 is formed corresponding to the upper plate main body 25, the upper plate middle part 27, and the upper plate front end 26, the surface level of the side wall plate main body 28 is lower than that of the side wall plate front end 30. It is higher than the surface level.

The end on one end side (upper right side in FIG. 1) of the side wall plate 22 is not linear in a side view, but is in a bent shape (two
, The shape of overlapping the letters in opposite directions,
For convenience, it is referred to as “overlapping character shape”. )It has become. A hole 31 is formed in the side wall plate main body 28 of the pair of side wall plates 22. The propeller shaft 15 is inserted through the hole 31. The hole 31 is sized to sufficiently allow the propeller shaft 15 to swing.

Further, as shown in FIG.
At the upper part (near the side wall plate middle part 30) of the part where the hole 31 is formed in the side wall plate main body part 2 of the second side plate body 28, a substantially L-shaped bracket (hereinafter, for convenience, a front side bracket and a rear side bracket in FIG. First and second L-shaped brackets 4
0,41. It constitutes a mounting part for an engine accessory of the present invention. ) Are joined.

First and second L-shaped brackets 40 and 41
Are formed with bolt insertion holes 42 and 43. A substantially L-shaped bracket (hereinafter, referred to as a third L-shaped bracket) 45 joined to an oil pipe 44 (engine accessory) is superimposed on the first L-shaped bracket 40 and bolts 46 are used. The oil pipe 44 is held. One end of the oil pipe 44 is branched so as to form a substantially T-shape, and an oil pan side pipe 47 and a turbocharger side extending to an oil pan (not shown) and a turbocharger (not shown) respectively at both open ends. A pipe 48 is fitted and fixed by a clamp 49 so as not to come off. The other end of the oil pipe 44 bends and extends above the vehicle, and is connected to an exhaust pipe cover 5 described later.
It is inserted through a hole 51 formed at zero. At the other end of the oil pipe 44, a blow-by gas reducing device pipe 52 connected to a blow-by gas reducing device (not shown) is fitted and fixed by a clamp (not shown). A substantially L-shaped flange (hereinafter, referred to as a fourth L-shaped flange) 54 having a hole 53 is attached to the other end of the oil pipe 44.

One end of a stay 55 is connected to the second L-shaped bracket 41 by a bolt (not shown). The holes 56 formed on the other end of the stay 55 and the holes 53 of the fourth L-shaped bracket 54 have holes (first and second holes, respectively, for convenience) formed in the exhaust pipe cover 50 (engine accessory). The holes 57 and 58 at the other end of the stay 55 and the first hole 5 are aligned.
7, a bolt 59 is inserted into the fourth L-shaped bracket 5
A stud bolt 60 is inserted into the hole 53 and the second hole 58, and nuts 6 are formed in holes 61, 61 formed in the exhaust pipe cover 50 corresponding to a cylinder block (not shown).
The exhaust pipe cover 50 is supported by the engine-side bracket 11 and the cylinder block by these bolts 59, nuts 62, stud bolts 60, and the like. The stud bolt 60 is
The exhaust pipe cover 50 also has a positioning function.

A hole (hereinafter referred to as a pipe mounting hole) 63 is formed above the portion where the hole 31 is formed in the side wall plate main body 28 (the rear side in FIG. 3) to which the second L-shaped bracket 41 is mounted. ing. A cooling water pipe bracket 65 joined to a cooling water pipe 64 (engine accessory) is overlapped with a portion where the pipe attachment hole 63 is formed (constituting an engine accessory attachment part of the present invention). And attached by bolts 66. The cooling water pipe 64 is supported by the engine side bracket 11 via a cooling water pipe bracket 65. The oil pipe 44 and the cooling water pipe 64 are joined and integrated at a branch portion of the oil pipe 44.

As described above, the first and second L-shaped brackets 40 and 41 and the pipe mounting are provided above the portion of the front mounting bracket 10 where the hole 31 is formed in the engine side bracket 11 (one bracket). Holes 63 are provided, and engine accessories such as the oil pipe 44, the exhaust pipe cover 50, and the cooling water pipe 64 are attached to these parts, so that the front mounting bracket 10 (the engine side bracket 1)
1) can be arranged closer to the engine 5, so that the engine 5 can be easily supported.

The engine mounting plate 20 has a substantially U-shaped cross section, and has the above-mentioned "overlapping shape" along the one end of the side wall plate 22. The engine mounting plate 20 is arranged so as to close the opening at one end of the side wall plate 22 and is joined to the side wall plate 22. A plurality of bolt insertion holes 32 are formed in the engine mounting plate 20, and the engine 5 is mounted on the engine mounting plate 20 by bolts (not shown) inserted into the bolt insertion holes 32.

In the power unit support structure configured as described above, the engine-side bracket 11 has a box shape with a rectangular cross section, so that the strength and rigidity can be improved (the section modulus increases). For this reason, the engine side bracket 11
Even when the hole 31 for inserting the propeller shaft 15 is formed, the engine-side bracket 11 can maintain high strength and rigidity. Furthermore, by inserting the propeller shaft 15 into the hole 31 formed in the engine-side bracket 11, it is not necessary to lower the arrangement position of the engine-side bracket 11 in order to avoid interference with the propeller shaft 15, and the minimum ground clearance can be reduced to a desired level. Can be maintained at height. Further, as described above, by forming the engine-side bracket 11 in a box shape having a rectangular cross section, in order to secure desired strength and rigidity as compared with, for example, a U-shape or a plate shape,
The plate thickness can be reduced, and the weight can be reduced accordingly.

Since the engine-side bracket 11 is box-shaped to secure the desired strength and rigidity, the engine-side bracket 11 and the front mounting bracket can be used to secure the desired strength and rigidity as compared with a case where the engine-side bracket 11 is not box-shaped. 10 can be reduced in size. Furthermore, by reducing the size of the front mounting bracket 10 in this manner, the front mounting bracket 10 can be provided in a narrow space, and layout can be facilitated.

A hole 31 is formed in the pair of side wall plates 22 and a plurality of bolt insertion holes 3 are formed in the engine mounting plate 20.
2, the engine side bracket 11
As a result, the weight of the front mounting bracket 10 can be reduced. Further, holes 3 are formed in the pair of side wall plates 22.
1, the generation of the vibration sound of the pair of side wall plates 22 and, consequently, the engine-side bracket 11 is suppressed as compared with the case where the holes are not formed in the pair of side wall plates 22, which is advantageous in terms of sound vibration. It will be. Further, in the present embodiment, the side wall plate 22 has different surface levels of the side wall plate main body portion 28 and the side wall plate tip portion 30 (that is, the side wall plate 22 does not have a flat plate shape).
The generation of the vibration sound of the engine-side bracket 11 is further suppressed, which is further advantageous in terms of sound vibration.

Further, a hole 31 is formed in the engine side bracket 11.
Is formed and the propeller shaft 15 is inserted into the hole 31, so that the differential can be arranged closer to the center of the vehicle 1. Further, since the propeller shaft 15 is inserted into the hole 31 of the engine-side bracket 11, the propeller shaft 15 can be securely held by that much.

In this embodiment, with respect to the side wall plate 22, the surface levels of the side wall plate main body portion 28 and the side wall plate front end portion 30 are different (ie, not flat), and the end portion of the side wall plate 22 on one end side. The engine mounting plate 20 has the “overlapping shape” along the end on one end side of the side wall plate 22. For this reason, the engine side bracket 11 and the front mounting bracket 10 can improve the strength and rigidity as compared with the case where they are formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and thus can further reduce the size and weight. .

In the above embodiment, the engine side bracket 11 is formed in a U-shaped cross section, a hole 31 is formed in the engine side bracket 11, and the propeller shaft 15 is inserted through the hole 31. However, instead, the vehicle body side bracket may be formed in a U-shaped cross section, and a hole may be formed in the vehicle body side bracket so that the propeller shaft 15 is inserted through the hole.

[0028]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since one of the brackets has a box shape with a rectangular cross section and the strength and rigidity can be improved, a hole for inserting the propeller shaft into one of the brackets is formed. However, one bracket can maintain high strength and rigidity. Further, by inserting the propeller shaft through the hole formed in one bracket, it is not necessary to lower one bracket to avoid interference with the propeller shaft, and the minimum ground clearance can be maintained at a desired height.

Further, as described above, since one of the brackets has a box shape having a rectangular cross section to improve the strength, it is possible to secure desired strength and rigidity as compared with, for example, a U-shape or a plate shape. It is possible to reduce the plate thickness,
The weight can be reduced accordingly. Since one of the brackets is box-shaped to secure the desired strength and rigidity, compared to a case where the box-shaped bracket is not used, in order to secure the desired strength and rigidity, the one bracket and, consequently, the engine support member are downsized. be able to. Further, by reducing the size of the support member for the engine as described above, the support member for the engine can be provided in a narrow space, and the layout can be easily performed.

Further, since the holes are formed in the pair of side wall plates, the generation of vibration noise of the pair of side wall plates and, consequently, the one bracket is suppressed as compared with the case where the holes are not formed in the pair of side wall plates. This is advantageous in terms of sound and vibration. In addition, since the propeller shaft is inserted into the hole of one bracket, the propeller shaft can be securely held by that amount.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since a hole is formed in the engine-side bracket and the propeller shaft is inserted into the hole, the differential can be arranged more centrally on the vehicle.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the mounting portion for the engine accessory is provided on the upper portion of the hole forming portion of the one bracket, and the engine accessory is mounted on the one bracket. (One bracket) can be arranged closer to the engine, so that the engine can be easily supported.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a support structure of a power unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cutaway side view schematically showing the support structure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the support structure and engine accessories (such as an oil pipe) of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a side view schematically showing an example of a conventional vehicle.

5 is a diagram schematically illustrating an arrangement relationship between an engine, a propeller shaft, and a mounting bracket of the vehicle in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a side view of a partial cut for explaining a problem of the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 5 engine 6 transmission 7 power unit 10 front mounting bracket (support member for engine) 11 engine side bracket (one bracket) 15 propeller shaft (for front wheel) 19 bracket body 22 side wall plate 31 hole

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A power unit including an engine and a transmission is disposed along a front-rear direction of a vehicle, a propeller shaft is disposed along a side of the engine, and an engine side and a vehicle body side connected via an elastic member. A support structure for a power unit in which a support member for an engine comprising a bracket is interposed between both sides of the engine and a vehicle body, wherein one of the brackets on the engine side and the vehicle body has a substantially rectangular cross section. Forming a box, forming a hole in the opposite side wall plate of the bracket,
A support structure for a power unit, wherein the propeller shaft is inserted through the hole. 2. The power unit support structure according to claim 1, wherein said one bracket is an engine side bracket. 3. The power unit support structure according to claim 1, wherein a mounting portion for an engine accessory is provided on an upper portion of the hole forming portion of the one bracket.