JP2002115607A - Air cleaner structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air cleaner structure for securing the length of a suction path in an engine room, in which an inclined engine is mounted, in keeping with improved assembling property and torque. SOLUTION: This air cleaner structure for an engine mounted with its cylinder shaft inclined and the suction path consisting of an intake manifold 3, a throttle body 2 and an air cleaner 1 arranged in almost horizontal and linear direction comprises forming a recessed portion 14 ranging over the upper and side faces of the air cleaner 1, protruding a connection 7 of a flexible air cleaner hose 9 on a wall face 18 of the recessed portion 14 and communicating the throttle body 2 with the air cleaner 1 via the air cleaner hose 9. The length of the air cleaner hose can be increased by the equivalence of the recessed portion without greatly changing the capacity of the air cleaner.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION When an engine is mounted on a vehicle, it may be stored in a limited space under a seat depending on the model of the vehicle. At this time, the space between the air cleaner and the throttle body or the space between the air cleaner and the intake pipe is simplified for installation space of other parts. The present invention provides an engine having the above-described intake passage,
The present invention relates to an air cleaner structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an engine mounted on a vehicle is driven by a fuel supply device, an intake passage, and a control system for these components. As shown in FIG. 8, the intake passage comprises an air cleaner 1, a throttle body 2, an intake manifold 3, and the like. And so on. In this intake passage, throttle sensor detection, ISC valve control, and injector control are performed. On the other hand, in places where the engine is
With the cylinder axis of the engine inclined, the intake passage formed by the intake manifold, throttle body and air cleaner of the engine is arranged substantially horizontally and linearly (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-280968).

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a conventional air cleaner 1 connected to a throttle body 2 in an intake passage has an upper casing 4 and a lower casing 5, between which a cleaner element 6 is mounted. ing. A cylindrical connecting portion 7 is provided on a side surface of the upper casing 4.
Is formed in a protruding manner, and a thick portion 8 is formed at the end of the protruding portion to prevent the tip from coming off. The air cleaner 1 is connected to the throttle body 2 by a flexible air cleaner hose 9. On the air cleaner 1 side, the connecting portion 7 is covered with the air cleaner hose 9, and a band 10 is mounted on the outer peripheral surface thereof, and the air cleaner hose 9 is fixed. ing. The air cleaner 1 takes in air from the lower casing 5 and sends clean air from the upper casing 4 to the throttle body 2 via the air cleaner hose 9.

[0004]

As described above, in a structure in which the air cleaner hose 9 is attached to the air cleaner 1 in a vehicle or the like in which the engine is mounted at an angle because the volume of the engine room is small, the air cleaner 1 The distance from the (body side) to the throttle body 2 or the intake pipe (engine side intake pipe such as a turbo air pipe) is shortened, the length of the air cleaner hose 9 is shortened, and the assembly of the air cleaner hose 9 becomes difficult. There is a possibility that the swing between the engine and the body cannot be completely absorbed.
Therefore, in order to cover these, a layout change of the air cleaner 1, the intake manifold 3, the throttle body 2, and the like can be considered.

However, since the intake passage composed of the intake manifold 3, the throttle body 2 and the air cleaner 1 is arranged substantially horizontally and linearly, when the layout is changed to another layout, there is a possibility that the intake passage cannot be stored in the engine room. . Further, it is conceivable to make the air cleaner 1 thinner in the direction of the passage in order to extend the passage distance. However, if the air cleaner capacity is reduced, there is a possibility that the intake resistance increases and the noise reduction effect decreases. Further, even if the length of the branch of the intake manifold 3 is obtained by bending the branch of the intake manifold 3 on a horizontal plane, if the length of the branch of the intake manifold 3 is changed, a torque curve that requires a shift in the tuning of the inertia supercharging can be obtained. There is a risk of disappearing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an air cleaner structure in which the ease of assembling an air cleaner hose and the length of an intake passage meet the purpose of improving torque.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is directed to a first aspect of the present invention, which comprises an intake manifold, a throttle body, and an air cleaner of an engine in a state where a cylinder axis of the engine is inclined. In an air cleaner structure of an engine in which an intake passage is disposed substantially horizontally and substantially linearly, a concave portion is formed over the upper surface and side surfaces of the air cleaner, and a connection portion of a flexible air cleaner hose is formed in the concave portion. And the air cleaner hose communicates the throttle body with the air cleaner.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a bulging portion of an air cleaner is formed on the connecting portion projecting from the side wall of the concave portion so as to face the peripheral surface of the connecting portion. I do.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, a continuous surface between the inner surface of the connecting portion and the inner surface of the bulging portion is formed as a smooth curved surface on the inner surface of the air cleaner. I do.

[0010] The invention of claim 4 is claim 2 or claim 3.
In the invention of the above, the casing of the air cleaner is formed into upper and lower halves, the cleaner element is arranged between the upper and lower casings, and the concave wall surface protruding the connection portion is displaced from the upper portion substantially at the center of the cleaner element to the outside of the casing. It is characterized by having been formed.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the engine body 11 is mounted on a vehicle with the cylinder shaft inclined and the intake side directed obliquely upward, and the intake manifold 3
Are arranged substantially horizontally and linearly above the intake side of the engine body 11. The surge tank 12 of the intake manifold 3 is supported on the engine body 11 by a bracket 13. The throttle body 2 is mounted on the surge tank 12.

An air cleaner 1 is disposed on a linear extension of the throttle body 2, and the throttle body 2 and the air cleaner 1 are connected by a flexible air cleaner hose 9. The air cleaner hose 9 is the air cleaner 1
Is inserted into the cylindrical connecting portion 7 protrudingly formed in the concave portion 14 of the
The outer surface of the inserted air cleaner hose 9 is the band 1
0 (see FIG. 5). The air cleaner structure at this location can improve the assemblability and the torque at low speed.

Next, the air cleaner 1 and the air cleaner hose 9 will be described. First, the air cleaner hose 9 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), (b) and (c), it is a flexible cylindrical body having a crank-shaped axis with a rounded corner, and the front part and the rear part of the cylindrical body have a gentle angle. A bellows portion 15 is formed in the central portion of the tubular body connecting the front portion and the rear portion to absorb and allow relative displacement between the engine side and the vehicle body side and to facilitate assembly. . In addition, since the air cleaner hose 9 has a crank shape in which bent portions are formed at the front and rear portions of the cylindrical body, the bellows portion 15 can be smoothly expanded and contracted even at positions where the oral axes on both sides to be connected are mutually displaced. And can be easily connected. Further, band grooves 16 are formed at both ends of the cylindrical body, and the cross-sectional shapes of both ends are formed in a circular shape (b) and an elliptical shape (c), and can be inserted into respective connection portions.

Next, the air cleaner 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. The casing of the air cleaner 1 is formed in a box shape by assembling the upper casing 4 and the lower casing 5, and the lower casing 5 is provided with an air intake 17. Further, when assembling the upper casing 4 and the lower casing 5, the cleaner element 6 is attached to the intermediate portion. In the upper casing 4, a recess 14 opening on the upper surface and the side surface is formed on the throttle body 2 side, and a cylindrical connecting portion 7 is formed on the recess wall surface 18 facing the opening side surface toward the opening side surface. I have. The recess wall surface 18 is formed closer to the throttle body 2 than the center of the cleaner element 6 so as to prevent the internal air flow from being biased. As shown in FIG. 7, a bulging portion 19 is formed around the connecting portion 7 (two-directional surfaces on the left and right sides of the connecting portion 7 in FIG. 7 or three-directional surfaces including a lower side not shown). The inner wall surface w, which is the connection point of the connection portion 7, has a funnel shape with a smooth curved surface, and the passing air resistance is reduced, so that a larger amount of air can flow.

By configuring the air cleaner 1 in this manner, the capacity of the air cleaner is reduced as compared with the ordinary type. However, the air cleaner 1 is made as small as possible by making the concave portion 14 the minimum size in which the air cleaner hose 9 can be inserted.
You're earning the capacity. Further, since the length of the air cleaner hose 9 can be made longer than that of the air cleaner hose attached to the air cleaner 1 having a normal shape, the assembly becomes easier and the swing between the body and the engine can be easily absorbed. In addition, a configuration in which the air cleaner hose 9 is connected by inserting it into the case of the air cleaner 1 is also conceivable, but the distance between the engine side and the vehicle body side is short, and it is expected that considerable engine vibration is transmitted to the air cleaner 1. Securely connect the air cleaner hose 9 with the air cleaner 1 using the clamp.
However, in the case of the plug-in type, it is not possible to use an inexpensive and surely airtight fixing band clamp as in the present invention. In addition, in the case of the plug-in type, a curved surface that produces a funnel effect cannot be formed on the connection inner wall surface.

Therefore, in a vehicle in which the engine is mounted in a space below the seat, the intake manifold 3, the throttle body 2, and the air cleaner 1 are arranged substantially horizontally and substantially linearly in the lateral direction of the vehicle. When there are great restrictions on the layout and the arrangement of the air cleaner 1,
In the above-described air cleaner structure, the surface having the connection portion on the throttle body 2 side and the surface having the connection portion 7 of the air cleaner 1 are opposed to each other, and the flexible loose crank-shaped air cleaner hoses 9 are connected to each other. Since it is only inserted and tightened with the band 10, the assembling becomes easy. Further, since the air cleaner hose 9 is connected to the connection portion 7 of the recess wall surface 18, the length of the air cleaner hose 9 can be increased,
The ease with which the air cleaner hose 9 is attached to the connection part 7 is improved. In addition, since the air cleaner hose 9 can be made to have a sufficient length, torque performance can be maintained. Furthermore, since the length of the intake manifold 3 is determined by the output characteristics due to inertial supercharging such as pulsation, the close arrangement of the throttle body 2 and the air cleaner 1 as in the present invention is advantageous for low-speed torque performance. .

[0017]

The present invention is as described above. According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the flexible air cleaner hose is inserted into the connection portion projecting from the recess of the air cleaner, the capacity of the air cleaner is reduced. The length of the air cleaner hose can be increased without greatly changing the length of the air cleaner hose, so that the air cleaner hose can be easily routed and the assemblability can be improved. In addition, the fastening position of the air cleaner hose can be changed to a longer hose length, which makes it easier to absorb the swing between the engine and the body, improving the vibration absorption performance of the air cleaner hose and improving its durability. Is improved. In addition, the protrusion of the connection portion is reduced from the overall shape of the air cleaner, so that the connection portion can be prevented from being damaged during the transfer of the air cleaner, thereby facilitating the transfer.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the bulging portion of the air cleaner is formed on the connecting portion projecting from the concave portion so as to face the peripheral surface of the connecting portion. By reducing the noise, the inertia supercharging effect due to the silencing effect and the pulsation can be maintained, the rigidity of the connecting portion is improved by the bulging portion, and the bulging portion serves as a protection member for the connecting portion, so that the damage of the connecting portion can be prevented. . In the invention according to claim 3,
On the inner surface of the air cleaner, the continuous surface between the inner surface of the connecting portion and the inner surface of the bulging portion is formed as a smooth curved surface, so that the flow of air is improved by the funnel effect of the air outlet, and more air is removed. It is possible to flow.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the wall of the recess formed in the upper casing of the air cleaner, at which the connecting portion is projected, is formed at a position displaced outward from the upper portion substantially at the center of the cleaner element. The flow passes through the entire cleaner element, so that the air passing through the cleaner element is not deviated, and the cleaning action is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an intake structure of an engine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a side surface (a), cross sections (b), and (c) of an air cleaner hose used in the air cleaner structure of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the air cleaner of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the air cleaner of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the air cleaner of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a partial cross section of the air cleaner of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a main part for explaining a flow of clean air from a protruding portion of the air cleaner of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a system diagram around a conventional engine.

FIG. 9 is a top view of a conventional air cleaner.

FIG. 10 is a side sectional view of a conventional air cleaner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air cleaner 2 Throttle body 3 Intake manifold 4 Upper casing 5 Lower casing 6 Cleaner element 7 Connection part 9 Air cleaner hose 14 Concave part 18 Concave side wall 19 Swelling part

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An air cleaner structure for an engine, wherein an intake passage including an intake manifold, a throttle body, and an air cleaner of the engine is mounted in a substantially horizontal and substantially linear manner with the cylinder axis of the engine inclined. A concave portion is formed on the upper surface and the side surface of the air cleaner, and a connection portion of a flexible air cleaner hose is protruded from the concave portion on the side wall of the concave portion, and the air cleaner hose connects the throttle body and the air cleaner. And air cleaner structure. 2. The air cleaner structure according to claim 1, wherein a bulging portion of the air cleaner is formed on a connecting portion protruding from the side wall of the concave portion so as to face a peripheral surface of the connecting portion. 3. The air cleaner structure according to claim 2, wherein a continuous surface between the inner surface of the connecting portion and the inner surface of the bulging portion is formed as a smooth curved surface on the inner surface of the air cleaner. 4. A casing of the air cleaner is formed into upper and lower two parts, a cleaner element is arranged between the upper and lower casings, and a concave wall surface on which a connecting portion is projected is displaced from an upper portion substantially at the center of the cleaner element to the outside of the casing. The air cleaner structure according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the air cleaner structure is formed.