JP2001329813A - Spring retainer for internal combustion engine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To heighten rigidity of a spring retainer formed of sheet metal and reduce the weight. SOLUTION: A cylindrical part 2 and a spring bracket flange 3 are integrally formed by sheet metal, an outward reinforcement flange 4 is integrated with the lower end of the cylindrical part 2, and the middle part of the spring bracket flange 3 is bent downward to integrally form a ring-shaped projection guide 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a spring retainer used for a valve train of an internal combustion engine, and more particularly to a spring retainer made of sheet metal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A valve retainer for an internal combustion engine uses a spring retainer which is fixed to an upper end portion of an engine valve via a pair of cotters and supports an upper end of a valve spring.

[0003] This spring retainer is generally formed by forging a steel material, and is formed to be thick as a whole, so that it is heavy and obstructs in reducing the inertial mass of the valve train. Has become.

A conventional spring retainer which addresses such a problem is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 62-185807.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-185808 and Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 62-185808 disclose spring retainers made of sheet metal to reduce the weight.

[0005]

The tapered cylindrical portion of the spring retainer, into which the cotter is fitted, receives a large pressing force to expand the diameter of the cylindrical portion.
Since a large upward reaction force of the valve spring repeatedly acts on the spring receiving flange, a high rigidity is required particularly for a spring retainer mounted on an automobile engine operated at high speed and under high load.

In the case of a structure in which the spring receiving flange is simply formed integrally with the upper end of the cylindrical portion, as in the above-described conventional sheet metal spring retainer, high rigidity cannot be obtained, and the lower end of the cylindrical portion has a cotter. Therefore, there is a risk that the diameter of the spring receiving member will be reduced and the spring receiving flange will be deformed upward.

In order to increase the rigidity of the above-mentioned conventional structure, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the material. However, in such a case, the weight is reduced.

Further, as in the latter conventional spring retainer, a plurality of circumferential portions of the spring receiving flange are cut away and bent downward, and the bent piece is used as a guide portion for positioning the valve spring. Not only does the rigidity of the spring receiving flange further decrease, but also due to the notch effect, stress concentrates on the cut corner, which may cause cracks and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has high rigidity in spite of being formed entirely of sheet metal, thereby reducing the weight as much as possible. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a spring retainer.

[0010]

According to the present invention, the above-mentioned problem is solved as follows. (1) A spring for an internal combustion engine, comprising: a tubular portion having a tapered hole at the center where a pair of cotters can be fitted; In the retainer, the cylindrical portion and the spring receiving flange are integrally formed by sheet metal,
An outward reinforcing flange is integrally formed at the lower end of the cylindrical portion.

(2) In the above item (1), at least a plurality of circumferential portions of the intermediate portion of the spring receiving flange are bent downward to restrict the lateral movement of the valve spring. To form

(3) In the above item (1), an upward or downward annular guide piece for regulating the lateral movement of the valve spring is integrally provided on the outer peripheral edge of the reinforcing flange.

(4) In any one of the above items (1) to (3), a downward annular guide piece is integrally connected to the outer peripheral edge of the spring receiving flange.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front elevational view in the center in a state of being assembled to a valve operating mechanism.

In both figures, a spring retainer (1)
Is a tapered tubular portion (2), a spring receiving flange (3) connected to the upper end thereof outwardly, and a reinforcing flange (4) connected to the lower end of the tubular portion (2) outwardly. ) And an annular ridge guide (5) formed by recessing a substantially central portion of the spring receiving flange (3) downward.
Using a thin steel plate of about 2 mm, it is integrally formed by sheet metal processing, that is, pressing, deep drawing, spatula drawing, or the like.

The spring retainer (1) has a cylindrical portion (2).
The inward bead (6a) of the pair of cotters (6) (6) fitted in the tapered hole (2a) inside is fitted into the annular groove (7a) at the shaft end of the engine valve (7). As a result, it is fixed substantially integrally therewith.

A ridge guide on the spring receiving flange (3)
The upper end of the valve spring (8) is pressed against the outer lower surface of (5), whereby the spring retainer (1) and the engine valve (7) are constantly urged upward.

The ridge guide (5) is a valve spring (8).
This is for preventing the upper end portion from being largely displaced laterally and coming off the spring receiving flange (3), but also has a reinforcing effect on the spring receiving flange (3).

In the first embodiment, the cylindrical portion (2)
Since the outwardly extending reinforcing flange (4) is continuously provided at the lower end of the cylindrical portion, the rigidity of the lower end of the cylindrical portion (2) is increased. Therefore, the cylindrical part
The lower end of (2) is enlarged by the cotter (6) to prevent the cotter (6) from sinking.

As a result, it is not necessary to increase the thickness of the cylindrical portion (2) to increase the rigidity as in the prior art, and it is not necessary to increase the spring retainer.
(1) Lightening can be achieved.

The rigidity of the spring receiving flange (3) is increased by the reinforcing action of the ridge guide (5) provided on the spring receiving flange (3), and the rigidity of the spring receiving flange (3) is deformed upward by the reaction force of the valve spring (8). Is prevented.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. Instead of omitting the ridge guide (5) of the first embodiment, the outer peripheral edge of the spring receiving flange (3) is inclined. A downwardly directed annular guide piece (9) is continuously provided, and the guide piece (9) restricts the lateral movement of the valve spring (8).

Even if such a guide piece (9) is provided, since it has a reinforcing effect, the rigidity of the spring receiving flange (3) can be increased, and the reaction force when the valve spring (8) is pressed can be increased. It is prevented from deforming upward.

Note that the guide piece (9) as described above is
As shown by the two-dot chain line, the spring receiving flange (3) of the first embodiment may also be provided, so that its rigidity can be further increased.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a front elevational view in the center in a state in which the third embodiment is assembled to a valve operating mechanism. The spring retainer (1) of the third embodiment has a flat spring receiving flange (3) at the upper end of the cylindrical portion (2), and the outer diameter of the reinforcing flange (4) similar to the above-described embodiment is slightly reduced. Large, on the outer edge,
An annular guide piece (10) for restricting the lateral movement of the valve spring (8) is continuously provided upward.

Also in the third embodiment, a reinforcing flange (4) and an upwardly directed annular guide piece (10) connected to the reinforcing flange (4) are provided at the lower end of the cylindrical portion (2). The rigidity of the lower end of (2) is high, and the cotter (6) can be prevented from sinking.

FIG. 6 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which an annular guide piece (10) connected to a reinforcing flange (4) is provided.
Is directed downward, contrary to the third embodiment. Also in this embodiment, since the guide piece (10) also has a reinforcing effect, the rigidity of the lower end of the cylindrical portion (2) can be increased.

In the third and fourth embodiments, as shown by two-dot chain lines in FIGS. 5 and 6, the outer peripheral edge of the spring receiving flange (3) is provided with the same oblique angle as that shown in FIG. A downwardly directed guide piece (9) may be provided continuously, so that the upper end of the valve spring (8) can be restricted from moving laterally, and the rigidity of the spring receiving flange (3) is increased. be able to.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. In a first embodiment, a spring receiving flange
Although the ridge guide (5) formed in (3) is annular, the ridge guide (5) is discontinuous, for example, two or more arc-shaped ridge guides are integrally formed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. May be.

[0030]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the reinforcing flange is integrally provided at the lower end of the cylindrical portion, the rigidity of the lower end of the cylindrical portion is increased irrespective of the sheet metal, and the portion is formed. The cotter is prevented from sinking due to an increase in diameter. Further, since it is not necessary to increase rigidity by increasing the thickness of the material, the weight of the spring retainer can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the ridge guide also has a reinforcing function, the rigidity of the spring receiving flange can be increased, and the ridge guide does not deform upward due to the reaction force of the valve spring. .

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the guide piece also has a reinforcing action, the rigidity of the cylindrical portion can be further increased by a synergistic effect with the reinforcing flange.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the rigidity of the spring receiving flange can be increased by the reinforcing action of the guide piece, and the rigidity of the spring receiving flange can be further increased by using it together with the ridge guide.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is also a front view in the center longitudinal section in a state where it is assembled to a valve operating mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a central longitudinal sectional front view showing a state in which a second embodiment of the present invention is assembled to a valve operating mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a central longitudinal sectional front view of a state in which it is assembled to a valve operating mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a central longitudinal sectional front view showing a state where a fourth embodiment of the present invention is assembled to a valve operating mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 (1) Spring retainer (2) Cylindrical part (2a) Tapered hole (3) Spring receiving flange (4) Reinforcement flange (5) Ridge guide (6) Cotta (6a) Bead (7) Engine valve (7a) Annular groove (8) Valve spring (9) (10) Guide piece

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An internal combustion engine comprising: a tubular portion having a tapered hole at the center where a pair of cotters can be fitted; and a spring receiving flange connected to an upper end of the tubular portion and receiving an upper end of a valve spring. A spring retainer for an internal combustion engine, wherein the cylindrical portion and the spring receiving flange are integrally formed of a sheet metal, and an outward reinforcing flange is integrally formed at a lower end of the cylindrical portion. 2. A ridge guide for restricting lateral movement of a valve spring by bending at least a plurality of circumferential portions of an intermediate portion of a spring receiving flange downward. Spring retainer for internal combustion engines. 3. The spring retainer for an internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein an upwardly or downwardly directed annular guide piece for restricting lateral movement of the valve spring is integrally provided on an outer peripheral edge of the reinforcing flange. 4. The spring retainer for an internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein a downward annular guide piece is integrally connected to an outer peripheral edge of the spring receiving flange.