JP2004316583A - Engine fuel system protecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively protect fuel system members at the time of collision of a vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: This engine fuel system protecting device includes a protector 9 covering the circumference of a fuel injection device 5 arranged in a space between a side wall 2 of an engine body and a curved resin intake manifold 3 connected to the side wall 2 of the engine body. A rib is formed on the intake manifold 3 to abut the protector 9 so as to restrict the deformation of the protector 9 when the protector 9 is deformed to be curled upward toward an engine body side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a fuel system protection device for an internal combustion engine.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Patent Literature 1 discloses a fixing portion of a resin-made intake passage, a fragile portion of the intake passage which is damaged in a shearing direction by reinforcing the fixing portion, and a fuel system component located in the shearing direction where the intake passage is damaged. The fuel cell system is disclosed in which the fuel system components are protected by deformation and damage of the intake passage at the time of a vehicle collision or the like in which the engine room is deformed by reinforcing with a protection member disposed between the fuel cell and the engine.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2003-35228 A
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, Patent Literature 1 merely protects a fuel system member against deformation and damage of a fragile portion of the upper intake manifold. At the time of a vehicle collision, contact of highly rigid parts in an engine room from various directions or However, there is a possibility that the fuel system components cannot be effectively protected against the reduction of the intake manifold living space due to vehicle deformation, and in some cases, the fuel system components may be compressed and destroyed.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The fuel system protection device for an internal combustion engine according to the present invention is characterized in that, when the protector covering the periphery of the fuel system member is deformed so as to be turned up toward the engine body, a rib abutting on the protector to restrict the deformation. Are formed in the intake manifold.
[0006]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, when the rib formed on the intake manifold abuts on the protector, the deformation of the protector to be turned up toward the engine body side is restricted, and the space in which the fuel system member is disposed is controlled by the protector. As a result, the fuel system member can be reliably protected.
[0007]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0008]
FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an engine fuel system protection device according to the present invention. This embodiment is applied to a four-cylinder engine, and the direction perpendicular to the paper of FIG. 1 is the vehicle front-rear direction.
[0009]
The cylinder head 1 made of a metal material such as an aluminum alloy forms an engine body together with a cylinder block (not shown).
[0010]
A resin intake manifold 3 is connected to one side wall 2 of the cylinder head 1, that is, one side wall 2 of the engine body.
[0011]
The intake manifold 3 has a structure in which a number of branch pipes corresponding to the number of cylinders of the engine are connected, and is formed so as to have a shape that is entirely curved toward the upper side of the cylinder head 1.
[0012]
An air cleaner 30 is formed integrally with the intake manifold 3. Here, the flow of the intake air will be briefly described. The intake air introduced from the intake inlet 31 into the air cleaner 30 is supplied from the intake outlet 32 to the collector 33 of the intake manifold 3 via a duct (not shown). It is supplied to the inlet 34.
[0013]
In a space 4 sandwiched between the intake manifold 3 and one side wall 2 of the cylinder head 1, a fuel injection device 5 as a fuel system member forming a part of a fuel system is provided. This fuel injection device includes a fuel injection valve 6 provided for each cylinder and a fuel tube 7 extending in the cylinder row direction and feeding fuel to these fuel injection valves 6. The fuel is supplied to the fuel tube 7 from a fuel tank (not shown) (not shown) through a fuel pipe 8. In addition, a protector 9 that covers the periphery of the fuel injection device 5 is provided in the space 4 so as to protect the fuel injection device 5.
[0014]
The intake manifold 3 includes an upper branch 10 and a lower branch 11 joined to each other by vibration welding.
[0015]
The upper branch 10 has a dividing surface 12 substantially along the direction of intake air flow, and the first member 13 and the second member 14 are joined by vibration welding at the dividing surface 12. An end portion 12 a on the downstream side of the intake air 12 is formed so as to be located on the outer surface of the second member 14 opposite to the space 4. As shown in FIG. 2, a fuel tube 7 in which the fuel injection valve 6 is sub-assembled is fixed to the lower branch 11.
[0016]
The protector 9 is made of a highly rigid metal material such as iron, and as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, two side portions 15 extending obliquely upward from one side wall 2 of the cylinder head 1 and two side portions 15. A long rectangular plate-shaped upper piece 16 connecting the tips of the side pieces 15, and the substantially L-shaped tips of the two side pieces 15 are welded to the ends of the upper piece 16, respectively. . The protector 9 is kept in a non-contact state with one side wall 2 of the cylinder head 1 on the upper side of the engine with a slight gap 17 therebetween, and is fixed by bolts 18 on the lower side of the engine. In other words, the protector 9 is separated from the one side wall 2 of the cylinder head 1 by a slight gap 17 with the locking portion 29 formed above the one side wall 2 of the cylinder head 1 on the engine upper side. Facing each other.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 3, the side piece 15 includes a first side wall 19 that covers one end surface of the fuel tube 7, a second side wall 20 that covers one end of the fuel tube 7 along the longitudinal direction of the fuel tube 7, and a cylinder. A mounting wall 21 extending along one side wall 2 of the head 1, and the mounting wall 21 is fixed to the one side wall 2 of the cylinder head 1 via a lower branch 11 by bolts 18. More specifically, the mounting wall 21 and both ends of the lower branch 11 are fastened together by bolts 18.
[0018]
The side piece 15 will be described in detail. The side piece 15 in this embodiment has a three-dimensional structure obtained by bending a substantially L-shaped flat plate at two places, and includes a first side wall 19 and a second side wall. 20 are continuous with each other, and the mounting wall 21 is continuous with the second side wall 20 via the first side wall 19. The tip of the first side wall 19 and the tip of the second side wall 20 form a substantially L-shaped tip of the side piece 15.
[0019]
That is, both ends of the protector 9 are box-shaped by the upper piece 16 and the both pieces 15, 15. Further, the mounting wall 21 of the side piece 15 has a structure in which a part thereof abuts on the lower branch 11 and a part abutting on the lower branch 11 is fixed by a bolt 18.
[0020]
On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper piece 16 extends obliquely above the fuel injection device 5 along the cylinder row direction. As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of lightening holes 22 are formed in the upper piece 16 mainly to reduce the weight, and the upper piece 16 has A bead 23 extending in the direction is formed. The bead 23 is a depression that is convex toward the upper side of the cylinder head 1 and is formed by press working.
[0021]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, two ribs 24 extending in the intake flow direction are formed on each of the branch pipes (four) on the upper branch 10 of the intake manifold 3. I have. These ribs 24 are formed such that the distal ends 24 a of the ribs 24 face the upper surface 16 a of the distal end of the upper piece 16 on the intake manifold 3 side with a slight gap 25 therebetween. More specifically, each rib 24 is formed such that the tip end 24a faces the upper surface 16a of the upper piece 16 which is closer to the intake manifold 3 than the bead 23.
[0022]
The ribs 24 formed on the intake manifold 3 may be provided for each branch pipe, and the number of ribs formed on each branch pipe is limited to two as in the above-described embodiment. is not.
[0023]
When a large impact load acts on the intake manifold 3 from the direction of arrow F in FIG. 4 when the engine room is deformed due to a vehicle collision, the intake manifold 3 is expected to break first along the joint surface between the upper branch 10 and the lower branch 11. It is expected that the fracture will occur from either the line 26 or the second predicted fracture line 27 substantially along the dividing surface 12 of the upper branch.
[0024]
Here, the behavior of the protector 9 when the intake manifold 3 breaks from the first break prediction line 27 will be described.
[0025]
As shown in FIG. 5, when the intake manifold 3 breaks from the first break prediction line 26 and the upper branch 10 tilts toward the cylinder head 1, the tip of the upper piece 16 of the protector 9 hits the upper branch 10. The load is input to the protector 9 in the direction of arrow f, that is, from the intake manifold 3 side.
[0026]
At this time, the protector 9 tries to deform so as to be turned up toward the cylinder head 1 side as a whole, but the upper surface of the tip of the upper piece 16 is caught by the rib 24 provided on the upper branch 10. The deformation of the protector 9 to be turned up toward the cylinder head 1 is suppressed.
[0027]
When a load is further input to the protector 9 in the state shown in FIG. 5 from the intake manifold 3 side, in other words, when an excessive load is input to the protector 9, as shown in FIG. Of the protector 9, the upper side of the engine abuts against a locking portion 29 formed on the cylinder head 1. That is, the gap 17 disappears due to the fall of the protector 9 toward the cylinder head 1, and the upper side of the engine of the protector 9 is supported by the cylinder head 1, more specifically, the locking portion 29. In other words, when the protector 9 falls down by a predetermined amount (an amount corresponding to the gap 17) toward the engine body side, the protector 9 comes into contact with the locking portion 29 provided on the upper part of the one side wall 2 of the cylinder head 1.
[0028]
That is, the protector 9 is supported by the cylinder head 1 not only on the lower side of the engine of the protector 9 but also on the upper side of the engine, and the excessive load input to the protector 9 is supported by the cylinder block 1 and the fuel Space for protecting the injection device is secured.
[0029]
Here, in the protector 9, the mounting wall 21 of the side piece 15 fixed to the cylinder head 1 is not provided with a rib or the like for increasing the strength, and the mounting wall 21 has a flat plate shape. The distal end of the upper piece 16 is increased in rigidity by a bead 23, and the base end of the upper piece 16 is formed in a box shape by joining both side pieces 15, 15, and the rigidity is also increased. Therefore, when a load is input to the protector 9 from the intake manifold 3 side, the protector 9 is deformed from the mounting wall 21 as shown in FIG. Try to turn up to the side.
[0030]
Note that the behavior of the protector 9 is the same as when the intake manifold 3 breaks from the second break line 27, as well as when the intake manifold 3 breaks from the first break line 26.
[0031]
In this way, even if a load is input to the protector 9 due to the deformation or breakage of the intake manifold 3 and the protector 9 is to be turned up toward the cylinder head 1, the upper surface 16 a of the tip of the upper piece 16 of the protector 9 is not affected. Abuts against the ribs 24 formed on the intake manifold 3 and is caught, thereby suppressing deformation of the protector 9 trying to turn up toward the cylinder head 1 side and positively securing a space for protecting the fuel injection device 5. can do.
[0032]
In addition, the protector 9 is deformed from the mounting wall 21 as a starting point because the mounting wall 21 fixed to the cylinder head 1 is flat and has a lower rigidity than other parts. Therefore, the protector 9 is deformed so as to be turned up toward the cylinder head 1 from the mounting wall 21 as a starting point. That is, the protector 9 is deformed only in a certain direction in response to a load input from the intake manifold 3 side, and the ribs 24 are provided so as to suppress the deformation in the certain direction, thereby protecting the fuel injection device 5. Space can be positively secured.
[0033]
When a larger load is input to the protector 9, the upper side of the engine of the protector 9 abuts against the locking portion 29 of the cylinder head 1, so that the fuel injection device 5 is protected even when an excessive load is input. Space can be reliably secured.
[0034]
Further, since the ribs 24 provided on the upper branch 10 are provided for each branch pipe, even if the upper branch 10 is not uniformly deformed or broken along the cylinder row direction, the rib 24 is surely provided. The upper surface 16a of the tip of the upper piece 16 of the protector 9 can be brought into contact with the rib 24 formed on the intake manifold 3 and hooked.
[0035]
The technical ideas of the present invention that can be grasped from the above embodiments will be listed together with their effects.
[0036]
(1) A fuel system protection device for an engine includes a fuel system member disposed in a space interposed between a side wall of an engine body and a curved intake manifold made of resin connected to the side wall of the engine body. A rib is provided on the intake manifold to cover the protector and to abut the protector to restrict the deformation when the protector is turned up toward the engine body. In other words, the ribs formed on the intake manifold abut against the protector, so that the protector is prevented from being turned up toward the engine body, and the protector secures the space in which the fuel system members are arranged, and The system members can be reliably protected.
[0037]
(2) More specifically, in the fuel system protection device for an engine according to the above (1), when the protector falls down by a predetermined amount or more toward the engine main body side, the locking portion that comes into contact with the protector has an engine. It is provided on the main body. Thus, a space for protecting the fuel system member can be positively left, and damage to the fuel system member can be prevented.
[0038]
(3) The fuel system protection device for the engine is provided along the direction of the engine cylinder rows in a space between the side wall of the engine body and the curved intake manifold connected to the resin-made intake manifold connected to the side wall of the engine body. A fuel system member arranged,
A protector that is fixed to the engine body and covers the periphery of the fuel system member so as to protect the fuel system member. The protector includes two side pieces extending from the side wall of the engine body toward the intake manifold. And an elongated plate-like upper piece connecting the tips of both side pieces, and the intake manifold has a rib extending toward the upper piece of the protector and having a tip close to the upper piece of the protector. . When a load is applied to the protector from the intake manifold side, the protector is deformed so that the mounting wall of the side piece is deformed and turned up toward the engine body as a whole. As a result, when the intake manifold is deformed in a direction in which the space sandwiched between the side wall of the engine body and the curved resin intake manifold connected to the side wall of the engine body is narrowed, ribs set on the protector and the intake manifold are formed. And the fuel system member covered with the protector can be reliably protected.
[0039]
(4) In the engine fuel system protection device according to the above (3), more specifically, a rib formed on the intake manifold is formed for each branch pipe of the intake manifold.
[0040]
(5) In the fuel system protection device for an engine according to the above (3) or (4), the side piece of the protector includes a first side wall covering one end surface of the fuel system member, and one end of the fuel system member connected to the fuel system. It has a second side wall that covers along the longitudinal direction of the member, and a mounting wall fixed to the side wall of the engine body, and the tip of the side piece of the protector has the tip of the first sidewall and the tip of the second sidewall. The mounting wall is located on the base end side of the first side wall and the second side wall, and has a flat plate shape along the side wall of the engine body. As a result, since the mounting wall for fixing the protector to the side wall of the engine body has a flat plate shape, when stress is applied to the protector from the outside, the protector can be deformed starting from the mounting wall. it can.
[0041]
(6) In the engine fuel system protection device according to the above (5), when an excessive load is input to the protector from the intake manifold side, the protector is configured to hit the engine body. Thus, a space for protecting the fuel system member can be positively left, and damage to the fuel system member can be prevented.
[0042]
The present invention described above can be described as follows from another viewpoint. A fuel supply device for supplying fuel into the engine is provided above the lower branch 11 which is an intake intake of the engine body, and an upper branch 10 is provided as an intake manifold which is curved so as to be connected to the intake intake from above the engine body. In the intake system for an engine, when the upper branch 10 is moved down toward the engine body due to a collision deformation of the vehicle, the protector covers the fuel system member so as to prevent interference between the upper branch 10 and the fuel system member. The protector 9 is fixed to the engine main body at a lower position, and the upper branch 10 interferes with the protector 9 as the intake manifold moves toward the engine main body. At this time, even when the protector 9 is turned upward around the mounting portion (the starting point of deformation) fixed to the engine body when moving to the engine side, the upward movement of the protector 9 is Since the ribs 24 provided at the lower part of the branch 10 engage with the protector 9 to restrict the movement thereof, the protector 9 can remain at a position covering the fuel supply device, and the interference between the upper branch 10 and the fuel supply device can be prevented. .
[0043]
Further, when the protector 9 moves to the engine body side by a predetermined amount, the movement is restricted by the locking portion 29 provided on the engine body, so that the protector 9 is supported from above and the engine side, so that the upper part is surely secured. The movement of the branch 10 can be restricted.
[0044]
A bead 23 for securing rigidity in the longitudinal direction of the upper piece 16 is provided on the rectangular plate-shaped upper piece 16 of the protector 9 along the upper branch 10, that is, along the cylinder arrangement direction of the engine. Is formed. Even if the position where the rib 24 and the upper piece 16 of the protector 9 first engage with the upper branch 10 due to the movement of the upper branch 10 by the bead 23 is at the end of the upper piece 16 or near the center thereof, The upward turning of the whole can be suppressed. That is, the position of the engagement between the rib 24 and the protector 9, which is assumed to interfere with the upper branch 10 and the protector 9 at all angles due to the collision, is unclear where the upper piece 16 of the protector 9 is engaged. However, by ensuring the rigidity of the entire upper piece 16, it is possible to reliably prevent the entire protector 9 from being turned up regardless of the interference at any position.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing the overall configuration of an engine fuel system protection device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part of a fuel system protection device for an engine according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a protector included in the engine fuel system protection device according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a side view of the engine fuel system protection device according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a deformed state at the time of a vehicle collision.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a deformed state at the time of a vehicle collision.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a deformed state at the time of a vehicle collision.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Cylinder head 2 ... Side wall 3 ... Intake manifold 4 ... Space 5 ... Fuel injection device 9 ... Protector 10 ... Upper branch 11 ... Lower branch 15 ... Side piece 16 ... Upper piece 24 ... Rib

Claims (6)

An engine fuel system protection device having a protector that covers a fuel system member disposed in a space interposed between a side wall of an engine body, a curved resin intake manifold connected to the side wall of the engine body, and ,
When the protector is deformed so as to be turned up toward the engine body side, a rib for abutting against the protector is formed in the intake manifold so as to regulate this deformation. apparatus. The fuel system protection device for an internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein when the protector falls down by a predetermined amount or more toward the engine main body, a locking portion that contacts the protector is provided on the engine main body. . A resin intake manifold connected to the side wall of the engine body,
A fuel system member disposed in the space between the side wall of the engine body and the curved intake manifold along the engine cylinder row direction;
A protector that is fixed to the engine body and covers a periphery of the fuel system member so as to protect the fuel system member.
The protector has two side pieces extending from the side wall side of the engine body toward the intake manifold, and an elongated plate-like upper piece connecting the tips of the two side pieces,
The intake manifold extends toward the upper piece of the protector, and has a rib having a tip close to the upper piece of the protector. The fuel system protection device for an engine according to claim 3, wherein the rib formed on the intake manifold is formed for each branch pipe of the intake manifold. Side pieces of the protector are fixed to a first side wall covering one end surface of the fuel system member, a second side wall covering one end of the fuel system member along the longitudinal direction of the fuel system member, and a side wall of the engine body. And a mounting wall,
The tip of the side piece of the protector is composed of the tip of the first side wall and the tip of the second side wall,
The fuel system protection for an engine according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the mounting wall is located at a base end side of the first side wall and the second side wall, and has a flat plate shape along the side wall of the engine body. apparatus. The engine fuel system protection device according to claim 5, wherein the protector is configured to abut against the engine body when an excessive load is input to the protector from the intake manifold side.

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