JP2003035228A - Intake device of engine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reconcile weight-reduction of an intake passage and protection of a fuel passage from shock of a vehicle collision or the like to the inside of an engine room, and to simplify protection members and reduce the weight thereof and improve its mounting workability. SOLUTION: In the case of a damage of the intake passage by a collision or the like, the intake passage is stopped by a fuel passage protecting member before the intake passage reaches the fuel passage, thus protecting the fuel passage. Since the collision force acts on a side of the plate-shaped protecting member, the protecting member may be reduced in weight and obtain rigidity with a simple structure. Further, it is secured by an existing securing means and a securing member for securing the protecting member and securing spots may be reduced, thus reducing in cost and improving workability.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an intake device having a structure for protecting a fuel system device of an automobile engine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, due to problems such as fuel consumption of automobiles, in order to reduce the weight of vehicles, the materials of vehicle parts are changed to reduce the weight. Among them, it is proposed that an intake manifold (hereinafter referred to as an intake manifold), which is a passage for supplying intake air to the engine, is formed of a synthetic resin.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 9-189272 discloses a technique that uses the synthetic resin intake manifold described above to prevent transmission of engine vibration and prevent thermal stress on the intake manifold.

Since the resin intake manifold has a low rigidity, the natural frequency is low and resonance occurs due to a low frequency, and this vibration propagates to the accelerator wire of the throttle body, and the driver feels uncomfortable via the accelerator pedal. There was a problem of transmitting such vibrations.

In a V-type engine, an intake manifold is arranged between the left and right banks, and a column serving as a rigid connecting portion is provided from the side of the intake manifold projecting above one bank to the cylinder head of the engine to increase rigidity. As a result, the natural frequency of the resin intake manifold can be increased, the resonance of the intake manifold itself can be prevented, and the driver's discomfort can be eliminated.

[0006]

However, in the intake device disclosed in the above publication, a strut that is a rigid connecting portion is provided from the side of the intake manifold overhanging the bank on one side to the cylinder head of the engine. When an impact is applied from the side surface of the intake manifold, a force is applied in the direction in which the intake manifold moves inside the bank. When a large impact is applied, the fragile part of the intake manifold, especially the connection part, is likely to be damaged, and there is a risk of damage to the delivery pipe or injector, which is a nearby part, due to detachment or deformation of the connection part. is there.

Further, since the columns are connected and fixed over a plurality of members, the mounting workability is poor, and it is necessary to install a member for mounting the bracket, which causes an increase in cost, and a plurality of brackets. Also, since a new fixing member is required, the number of parts also increases.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the intake system for an engine according to claim 1, a fuel system component for guiding fuel to a fuel injection device of the engine and an intake passage made of resin for guiding intake air to the engine. And a protection member for protecting the fuel system component, wherein the protection member reinforces the fixing portion of the resin portion of the intake passage and damages in the shear direction by reinforcing the fixing portion. By being arranged between the fragile portion of the intake passage and the fuel system component located in the shear direction in which the intake passage is damaged, the strength of the flange portion, which is a relatively fragile portion, is improved and Can be damaged by the protection member installed in the shear direction of the weak part of the intake passage,
The fuel system components can be protected with a simple structure.

In the intake device of claim 2, the protection member is integrally fixed by using the intake passage fixing means, so that the number of parts for installing the protection member does not increase, so that the number of parts is minimized. You can

In the intake system for an engine according to claim 3,
The joint part of the resin intake passage has a flange shape,
The protective member has a plate-like shape, and the protective member is arranged on the upper surface of the flange portion of the intake passage so as to straddle the fixed portion of the intake passage, and is fixed together with the intake passage so that the protective member is a single plate. Can be formed by, and the simplification of parts and the workability of installation are improved.

In the intake system for an engine according to claim 4,
By connecting or mounting accessory parts to the protective member,
Parts can be shared, resulting in cost reduction.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A V-type engine body 1 shown in FIG.
Has three cylinders on each of the left and right columns (six in total), is mounted on the vehicle body so that the crankshaft extends along the vehicle width direction, and the cylinder heads 2 are installed on the left and right banks of the engine body 1. Has been done.

The intake manifold for supplying intake air to the cylinder heads 2 is divided into upper and lower halves, and the lower intake manifold 3 is made of steel (iron plate) and is arranged between the cylinder heads 2. A communication passage is provided for supplying fuel to each cylinder via the communication passages, three communication passages are provided on each side of the lower intake manifold 3, and the upper intake manifold 4 includes an air cleaner and a throttle (not shown). It is integrally formed of resin on the downstream side of a surge tank 5 which is connected to a body or the like and has an arbitrary volume having a function of preventing intake pulsation. Then, the lower intake manifold 3 and the upper intake manifold 4 are connected via a gasket 6.

The lower intake manifold 3 has a cylinder head 2 for supplying fuel to each cylinder.
Three communication holes are provided in each of the left and right rows for installing injectors 7 for injecting fuel into the communication passage to each cylinder of
A total of six injectors 7 are arranged in the lower intake manifold 3.

A delivery pipe 8 is used as a means for supplying fuel to the injector 7. The delivery pipe 8 is composed of a cylindrical pipe, communicates with a fuel pump (not shown), and is arranged above each of the three injectors 7 provided on the left and right of the lower intake manifold 3,
The left and right delivery pipes 8 are communicated with each other by a fuel communication pipe 9, and fuel is supplied to each injector 7.

As shown in FIG. 1 or 2, in the engine and intake system passages of this embodiment, the engine body 1 is mounted on the vehicle body with the crankshaft extending along the vehicle body width direction. The direction of the straight line connecting the connection portion of the surge tank 5 and the delivery pipe 8 and the traveling direction of the vehicle coincide.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a flange portion 10 is formed in the upper intake manifold 4, and through holes 12 are formed in the flange portion 10 from both ends of the upper intake manifold 4 in the crank axis direction to the delivery pipe 8 side. It is provided between the flange portion 10 and the upper intake manifold 4, and the lower intake manifold 3 has bolt holes 11 at positions corresponding to the through holes 12 of the flange portion 10.
Is provided, and this portion constitutes a connecting portion.

As shown in FIG. 5, the through hole 12 of the resin upper intake manifold 4 serves as a fixing portion for the upper intake manifold 4 and the lower intake manifold 3, and rigidity is required. Therefore, the through hole 12 is required. The metal collar 13 is inserted into the.

As shown in FIG. 6, a plate-shaped gusset 14 that integrally covers the flange portion 10 is used as a protective member. As the material of the gusset 14, a material having a rigidity equal to or higher than that of the flange portion 10 to which the gusset 4 is fixed is preferable. In this embodiment, an aluminum material is used.

The gusset 14 has bolt holes 11 of the lower intake manifold 3 and through holes 12 of the flange portion 10.
A through hole 15 of a gusset 14 corresponding to a through hole 12 provided from both ends in the crank axis direction of the upper intake manifold 4 to the flange portion 10 on the delivery pipe 8 side is provided.

The gusset 4 is integrally arranged on the upper surface of the flange portion 10 which is a connecting portion between the upper intake manifold 4 and the lower intake manifold 3 so as to cover the through hole 12 of the flange portion 10. Bolt 1 for connecting the upper intake manifold 4 and the lower intake manifold 3
A stud bolt 6 is fixed to the flange portion 9 of the lower intake manifold. By inserting the gusset 14 and the through holes 12 and 15 of the flange portion 10 of the upper manifold into the bolt 16 and fastening them with a nut,
The flange portion 10 is sandwiched between the gusset 14 and the lower intake manifold 4 to be connected and fixed.

Further, the width of the gusset 14 covers the fastening portion of the surge tank 5 and is a boundary between the upper intake manifold 4 and the flange portion 10 where the curvature of the surface of the upper intake manifold 4 changes abruptly (hereinafter, Upper intake manifold fragile part 18) and gusset 1
The width is such that a gap is formed between the four.

First, for the purpose of comparison, a description will be given of the damage of the intake device in which the gusset 14 is not installed in the surge tank 5 having the same structure as that of the present embodiment, when the vehicle collides.

A shock is applied to the engine mounting space from the direction of travel of the vehicle due to a collision while the vehicle is moving, and the shock is transmitted to the engine body 1 to move the entire engine body 1 to the surge tank 5. As a result, the surge tank 5 located rearward of the engine body 1 in the vehicle traveling direction collides with the wall that separates the vehicle compartment and the engine room where the engine is mounted, and the surge tank 5 receives a shock in front of the vehicle. An impact force in front of the vehicle acts on the connection portion between the lower intake manifold 3 and the surge tank 5, which is the weakest in the intake passage.

As shown in FIG. 12, due to the impact force,
The fastening portion 17 of the flange portion 10 is damaged, and at the fastening portions at both ends, the lower intake manifold 3 is disengaged, and the connecting portion between the lower intake manifold 3 and the surge tank 5 is deformed and detached, resulting in surge. The upper intake manifold 4 of the tank 5 may come into contact with the delivery pipe 8.

On the other hand, when the gusset 4 is installed so as to cover the fastening portions 17 at both ends of the surge tank 5, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the fastening portion 17 of the flange portion 10 is not damaged, the upper intake manifold fragile portion 18 is damaged, and the upper intake manifold 4 is deformed and separated from the flange portion 9 of the surge tank 5, so that There is a risk that the delivery pipe 8 may come into contact with it when it moves.

Next, a mechanism for protecting the delivery pipe 8 from an impact due to damage at the time of a collision of the intake device having the gusset 14 of this embodiment will be described.

In the intake device having the gusset 14 of this embodiment, the gusset 4 is installed so as to cover the fastening portion 17 of the surge tank 5, and a gap is provided between the upper intake manifold fragile portion 18 and the gusset 14. Flange part 1
Similarly to the intake device in which the gussets 4 are installed so as to cover the fastening portions 17 at both ends of 0, the upper intake manifold 4 moves forward in the vehicle due to deformation and damage of the upper intake manifold fragile portion 18.

The upper intake manifold 4 moves toward the front of the vehicle by the gap between the fragile portion 18 of the upper intake manifold and the gusset 14, and then collides with the side surface of the plate-shaped gusset 14 as shown in FIG.

Due to the gap between the upper intake manifold fragile portion 18 and the gusset 14, the movement of the upper intake manifold 4 by the impact force acting on the surge tank 5 is allowed, and the damage of the upper intake manifold fragile portion 18 and the gusset 14 cause Since the impact force can be absorbed, the movement of the upper intake manifold 4 is reliably prevented by the gusset 14, and the delivery pipe 8 positioned on the extension line of the movement of the upper intake manifold 4.
Can be protected.

As described above, the gusset 14 is not damaged by reinforcing the relatively fragile flange portion 10 of the intake passage, and even if the gusset 14 damages the upper portion intake manifold vulnerable to protection of the variation pipe 8. By damaging the portion 18, it is possible to ensure that the variation pipe 8
Can be protected.

Further, since the upper intake manifold 4 collides with the side surface of the plate-shaped gusset 14, the gusset 14
It acts as a shearing force on itself. In the plate-shaped protective member, the rigidity with respect to the shearing force is larger than the rigidity with respect to the force in the bending direction. Therefore, even if the gusset 14 has a lightweight and simple structure, sufficient rigidity can be secured.

Also, by using the gusset 14 as a mounting location when arranging other parts in the intake device, the parts can be installed without changing the shape of existing parts.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7, as an example of parts installed in the intake device, a valve is provided in a partition wall that divides the inside of the surge tank 5 into two, and this valve is provided in accordance with the engine speed and the throttle opening. By opening and closing,
There is a valve (VSV19 ... vacuum switching valve) for controlling an actuator that operates an intake control valve that controls a substantial intake pipe length in two stages.

Since the gusset 14 can also serve as a bracket for installing these parts, it is excellent in versatility without changing the shape of the flange portion 9 of the surge tank 5 which is the installation location.

Further, since the gusset 14 is also used as a mounting point when other components are installed in the intake device, it is not necessary to provide a new setting point.

As an example of parts to be installed in another intake device,
As shown in FIG. 8, a ground cable 20 can be connected to serve also as a ground function.

If the surge tank 5 made of resin is used and the gusset 14 made of metal is not used, the method of sandwiching it by the fixing portion of the resin portion and fastening it with the bolt 16 will energize only the bolt 16 and grounding will be effective. Since it was insufficient, it was necessary to provide a place for grounding other metal parts.

However, since the metal gusset 14 is grounded to the resin surge tank 5 and the metal collar 13 is inserted into the through hole 12 of the surge tank 5 as in this embodiment, the ground cable terminal 21 is Metal part (gusset 14)
A sufficient amount of grounding area can be secured to the surge tank, and the metal collar 13 can improve the current carrying capacity from the gusset 14 to the metal lower intake manifold 3 to ensure a sufficient grounding ability. The connection part of 5 can also be used.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 9, a radio noise condenser 22 for reducing radio noise caused by the ignition system of an automobile may be installed.

In the present invention, the direction of the impact force acting on the intake passage is not limited to the traveling direction of the vehicle. For example, in FIG.
Is located above the engine room wall 23 that separates the engine room from the vehicle interior, and hits the inclined engine room upper wall portion 24 to cause the lower intake manifold 3 to sneak downward, and a shearing force acts on the joint portion. It is also effective when doing.

As another embodiment, as shown in FIG.
The lower intake manifold 3 is located above the cylinder head 2, and the injector 7 is attached to the cylinder head 2.
Also in the V-type engine in which is installed, the same effect is brought about by providing the gusset 14 at the connecting portion between the cylinder head 2 and the lower intake manifold 3.

Further, not only in the V-type engine but also in the series engine, the gusset 14 may be provided in the damaged portion near the fuel passage (for example, the joint portion of the intake passage).

According to the present invention, in order to achieve both the weight reduction of the intake passage and the prevention of fuel leakage at the time of collision, a protective member is provided in the intake passage of the engine even when the intake manifold itself is deformed or damaged. The fuel system can be protected.

Further, by providing a gap between the damaged portion and the protective member, it is possible to allow the movement of the damaged component due to the impact such as a collision, so that the impact force can be mitigated.

Since the protection member is connected to the intake passage by the engine connecting means, the number of parts for fixing the protection member can be reduced.

Further, by installing the protective member, the number of fixing points does not increase, so that the workability can be improved.

By covering the connecting portion between the intake passage and the engine with the plate-shaped protective member, the impact force is received by the side surface of the plate-shaped protective member, so that a sufficient rigidity of the protective member is ensured and the protective member is protected. It enables simplification and improves workability.

Further, since the protective member is also used as the installation location of the parts to be installed around the intake passage, it is not necessary to change the shape of the existing parts so that they can be installed, and excellent versatility can be obtained.

In the intake system of an engine, the intake passage of which is made of resin and the protective member of which is made of metal, parts that need to be connected to the metal part can be connected, and the parts can be shared.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a V-type engine that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a V-type engine which is an embodiment of the present invention.

[Fig. 3] Exploded view of intake manifold and surge tank

[Fig. 4] Detailed view of surge tank

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a fastening portion of the intake manifold / surge tank.

[Figure 6] Surge tank diagram with gusset

[Figure 7] VSV mounting diagram

[Figure 8] Ground cable connection diagram

[Figure 9] Radio noise condenser connection diagram

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a V-type engine as another embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram around the upper and lower intake manifold connecting portions.

12 is an explanatory view of a damaged portion at the time of a collision in FIG.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory view of a damaged portion at the time of a collision in the connecting portion of the upper and lower intake manifolds when the gussets are provided at both ends of the fastening portion of the flange portion.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory view of a damaged portion at the time of a collision in the upper and lower intake manifold connecting portions when the gusset is integrally provided in the fastening portion of the flange portion in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 engine body 2 cylinder head 3 Lower intake manifold 4 Upper intake manifold 5 surge tank 6 gasket 7 injectors 8 Delivery pipe 9 Fuel communication pipe 10 Flange part 11 Bolt holes on the flange of the intake manifold 12 Through hole on the flange of surge tank 13 colors 14 Gusset 15 gusset through holes 16 volts 17 Fastening part 18 Upper intake manifold fragile part 19 VSV 20 ground cable 21 Ground cable terminal 22 Radio noise condenser 23 Engine room wall 24 Engine room upper wall 25 actuators

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A fuel system component for guiding fuel to a fuel injection device of an engine, a resin-made intake passage for guiding intake air to the engine, and a protection member for protecting the fuel system component. Reinforcing the fixed portion of the resin portion of the intake passage, and vulnerable portion of the intake passage damaged in the shear direction by reinforcing the fixed portion and the fuel system located in the shear direction where the intake passage is damaged An intake device for an engine, which is arranged between parts. 2. The intake system for an engine according to claim 1, wherein the protection member is provided by using the intake passage fixing means.
An intake device for an engine, which is fixed integrally. 3. The engine intake system according to claim 1, wherein the resin-made intake passage coupling portion has a flange shape, the protection member has a plate shape, and the protection member has the intake air An intake device for an engine, wherein the intake passage is fixed on the upper surface of a flange portion of the passage so as to straddle the fixed portion of the intake passage and fixed together with the intake passage. 4. The engine air intake device according to claim 1, wherein an accessory is connected to or mounted on the protective member.