JP2005201124A - Fuel supply device of engine in vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure safety while keeping high the pulsation damping function of a distribution pipe 8 for distributing fuel to an injector 23 of an engine 2, in a fuel supply device of the engine 2 in the engine room 1 in the front part of a vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: In the fuel supply device of the engine of the vehicle, the engine 2 is vertically disposed in the engine room 1 in the front part of the vehicle, and the distribution pipe 8 is disposed in the engine 2 substantially in parallel with the cylinder train direction of the engine 2. The distribution pipe 8 has damping walls 81b and 81d for damping the pulsation of fuel in the distribution pipe 8, and a fuel supply connecting part 84 is disposed on the damping wall 81b. The fuel supply connecting part 84 is disposed between the center and the front end in the longitudinal direction of the damping wall 81b. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel supply device for an engine in a vehicle.

  In recent years, electronically controlled fuel supply devices have become common as fuel supply devices for engines in vehicles. As such a fuel supply device, a distribution pipe for distributing fuel to the fuel injection valve of each cylinder is disposed on the side of the engine, and a connection portion of a fuel supply hose for guiding fuel from the fuel tank to this distribution pipe is provided as a distribution pipe. There is one provided at the end.

  One example is Patent Document 1. In the invention described in Patent Document 1, a so-called FR format using a vertically mounted engine is adopted as a vehicle power train format. And the said distribution pipe is arrange | positioned along the engine in the front-back direction of the vehicle, and the said connection part is provided in the rear end of this distribution pipe.

  On the other hand, in recent low-pressure fuel injection devices, vibration noise based on fuel pulsation in the distribution pipe accompanying opening and closing of the injector is a problem. In order to solve this problem, Patent Document 2 discloses a structure in which one side wall of a distribution pipe is a damping wall having flexibility, and fuel pulsation is attenuated by elastic displacement of the damping wall.

According to Patent Document 2, the connecting portion of the fuel supply hose is disposed on the side wall other than the attenuation wall of the distribution pipe. Specifically, the connection portion is provided at a substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction of the side wall of the distribution pipe where the action of buffering the pulsation is maximized.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-44742 JP 2000-329030 A

  By the way, in recent years, there is a demand for a high level of safety in vehicles. When adopting a collision mitigation structure that crushes the front of the vehicle at the time of a light collision and relaxes the impact, it is not limited to the collision mitigation structure. There is a need to reliably prevent secondary disasters in the engine room.

  In the unlikely event that the engine is displaced backward in the event of a vehicle collision, the connecting portion interferes with the dash panel if the connecting portion is provided at the rear end of the distribution pipe as in the invention described in Patent Document 1. There is a fear.

  In recent years, a focus has been placed on reducing the size and weight of vehicles, and in order to increase the weight balance between the front and rear of the vehicle, a front midship type in which the engine is arranged as far back as possible in the engine room at the front of the vehicle is often seen. In the form, in particular, the above-described connecting portion easily interferes with the dash panel.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to provide a connecting portion of the fuel supply hose at the front end of the distribution pipe. In this case, there is a possibility that the functional part arranged in front of the engine will be displaced backward during a light collision and the connecting part may interfere with the functional part. is there.

  Therefore, in order to prevent the secondary disaster described above, it is preferable to provide the connecting portion on the side wall of the distribution pipe.

  By the way, this kind of distribution pipe is formed by sheet metal forming, has a rectangular cross-sectional shape, and the long sides facing each other serve as a pulsation damping wall. Further, a branch fitting portion for attaching an injector is provided on one short side portion, and a bracket for supporting a surrounding harness or tubes is often provided on the other short side portion. Therefore, if the connection portion of the fuel supply hose is to be provided on the side wall of the distribution pipe, it may be inevitably disposed on the pulsation attenuation wall.

  However, in the structure in which the connection portion is arranged on the pulsation attenuation wall, if the connection portion is provided at a substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction of the distribution pipe as in the invention described in Patent Document 2, the flexibility of the pulsation attenuation wall is provided. Is suppressed, the rigidity is increased, and the buffering capacity is decreased. Furthermore, the vibration of the connecting part itself is increased, which is disadvantageous in terms of strength of the part to which the connecting part is attached.

  This invention is made | formed in view of this point, The place made into the objective is to ensure safety, maintaining the pulsation damping function of a distribution pipe highly.

  The first invention is directed to an engine fuel supply apparatus in a vehicle in which a multi-cylinder engine is arranged vertically in an engine room at the front of the vehicle.

  A plurality of fuel injectors provided in each intake passage of each cylinder of the engine and arranged in a row in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction, are disposed in the fuel injectors. And a return-less distribution pipe that distributes

  Further, the engine is arranged such that the center of gravity of the engine is located behind the center of the axle of the front wheel of the vehicle.

  Furthermore, at least one of the side walls of the distribution pipe is an attenuation wall that attenuates the pulsation of fuel in the distribution pipe by flexibility, and is provided on a side wall other than the attenuation wall, and is fitted to each injector. A plurality of branch fitting portions to be worn and a fuel supply connecting portion provided at a position between the center and the front end of the damping wall in the vehicle front-rear direction are provided.

  In the case of the above configuration, the multi-cylinder engine is placed vertically in the engine room in front of the vehicle so that the cylinder row direction is the same as the vehicle front-rear direction. At this time, the engine is mounted by a so-called front midship system in which the position of the center of gravity is positioned rearward of the center of the axle of the front wheel.

  In the engine, a distribution pipe for supplying fuel to an injector provided for each intake passage of each cylinder is disposed along the vehicle longitudinal direction. This distribution pipe introduces the fuel sent from the fuel tank into the distribution pipe, and distributes the fuel to each injector through the branch fitting portion branched from the distribution pipe. The front end of this distribution pipe faces the front of the vehicle, and the rear end faces the rear of the vehicle where the dash panel is located.

  Therefore, the front end portion of the distribution pipe may interfere with the engine functional component if the engine functional component in front of the engine is displaced backward due to a vehicle collision. On the other hand, the rear end of the distribution pipe may interfere with the dash panel when the engine is temporarily moved backward due to a vehicle collision.

  Therefore, in the present invention, a fuel supply connecting portion for connecting a fuel supply hose for supplying fuel from a fuel tank to the distribution pipe is provided not on an end of the distribution pipe but on one of the side walls. Yes.

  By providing the fuel supply connection portion on the damping wall, a bracket for supporting a harness and tubes in the engine room can be provided on the side wall of the piping that is not the damping wall. Thereby, the flexibility of the attenuation wall is ensured, and the attenuation function of the attenuation wall can be ensured.

  By the way, the distribution pipe is of a returnless type that does not have a return passage through which excess fuel returns to the fuel tank side after the fuel is sent to the injector. This return-less distribution pipe is originally made to vibrate due to the vibration of the distribution pipe, fuel pipe and its clamp, etc. due to the reflected wave or pulsation pressure caused by the collision with the other member of the spool of the fuel pump or injector. Have the problem of occurring.

  Therefore, at least one of the side walls of the distribution pipe is used as an attenuation wall that attenuates the pulsation, and this attenuation wall attenuates the pulsation in the distribution pipe by the flexibility of the attenuation wall. Near the center in the longitudinal direction of the wall, the wall deflection is maximum, that is, the damping effect is maximum. Therefore, it is not preferable to dispose the fuel supply connection portion near the center of the attenuation wall, because the flexibility of the attenuation wall is suppressed and the rigidity is increased and the attenuation effect is reduced. At the same time, the vibration of the fuel supply connection part itself increases, which is disadvantageous in terms of strength at the joint with the distribution pipe.

  Therefore, in the present invention, when the combustion supply connection portion is provided on the attenuation wall, the fuel supply connection portion is provided at a position between the center of the attenuation wall in the vehicle front-rear direction and the front end. As a result, problems such as a decrease in the above-described attenuation effect are solved.

  Therefore, in the case of said structure, the secondary disaster in an engine room can be prevented reliably at the time of a vehicle collision. Further, the function of the damping wall to attenuate the pulsation in the distribution pipe accompanying the fuel injection is not lowered.

  According to a second invention, in the first invention, the engine further comprises a dash panel disposed at a rear end of the engine room and having a concave portion with a center portion in the vehicle width direction recessed in the rear side in the vehicle front-rear direction. The rear end portion is located in the recess.

  In the case of the above configuration, by providing a recess in the dash panel and disposing the engine in the recess, the engine is disposed as far back as possible in the engine room.

  Therefore, a dash panel is positioned immediately after the engine, and the rear end portion of the distribution pipe easily interferes with the dash panel when the engine is displaced backward. However, by disposing the fuel supply connection portion in front of the center in the vehicle front-rear direction of the damping wall that is the side wall of the distribution pipe, the fuel supply connection portion is prevented from interfering with the dash panel. Can do.

  According to a third invention, in the first or second invention, the fuel supply connection portion is provided at a position between two adjacent branch fitting portions in the vehicle front-rear direction of the attenuation wall. And

  In the case of the above configuration, since the fuel supply connection portion and each branch fitting portion are displaced in the front-rear direction, the reflection of fuel due to opening and closing of the injector or the like is not directly transmitted from the branch fitting portion to the fuel supply connection portion. . Further, the fuel from the fuel supply connection portion is not concentratedly supplied to the specific injector.

  Accordingly, it is possible to stabilize the supply of fuel from the fuel tank to the distribution pipe and to reduce variations in the fuel injection amount between the cylinders.

  In a fourth aspect based on the third aspect, the engine is an in-line four-cylinder, and the fuel supply connecting portion is the first branch fitting portion for the first cylinder from the front in the vehicle front-rear direction on the damping wall. And the second branch fitting portion for the second cylinder.

  In the case of the above configuration, in the in-line four-cylinder engine, the fuel supply connection portion is disposed not at the center in the longitudinal direction of the attenuation wall but at the front end portion but at a position other than the front end portion. Therefore, the fuel supply connection portion does not interfere even if the engine functional component in front of the engine is displaced backward, does not reduce the attenuation effect of the attenuation wall, and suppresses variations in the fuel injection amount between the cylinders. It is arranged at a position where it can.

  According to a fifth invention, in any one of the first to fourth inventions, a supply pipe fixed to the vehicle, one end portion is connected to the fuel supply connection portion, and the other end portion is the supply pipe. And a fuel supply hose connected to the intermediate portion of the fuel supply hose.

  In the case of the above configuration, one end portion of the fuel supply hose is connected to the fuel supply connection portion. This fuel supply hose is curved and arranged in an S shape. The other end of the fuel supply hose is connected to the supply pipe. The supply pipe is fixed to the vehicle and leads to the fuel tank. Therefore, the fuel is supplied from the supply pipe that leads to the fuel tank to the distribution pipe through the fuel supply hose. The supply pipe and the fuel supply connection portion are connected to each other by a fuel supply hose having a sufficient length.

  Therefore, even when the engine is displaced backward, there is a space in the length of the fuel supply hose, so there is no effect on the fuel supply connection part, the connection part between the hose and the supply pipe, and the hose. .

  According to the fuel supply apparatus for an engine of the present invention, the fuel supply connection portion is provided not on the end portion of the distribution pipe but on the attenuation wall that is a side wall, so that safety can be ensured.

  Further, even if the fuel supply connecting portion is the damping wall, it is disposed not in the central portion but in front of the center, so that the damping function of the damping wall can be maintained high.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a fuel supply device for an engine in a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Here, in this embodiment, for convenience of explanation, the front-rear direction of the vehicle is simply referred to as the front-rear direction, and the up-down direction of the vehicle is simply referred to as the up-down direction.

  1 is an engine room located in the front of the vehicle, 2 is an engine arranged vertically in the engine room 1, 4 is an air cleaner arranged in front of the engine 2, and 6 is on the right side of the air cleaner 4. The battery is arranged.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a dash panel 11 that partitions the vehicle compartment (not shown) and the engine room 1 is provided at the rear end of the engine room 1. At the center of the dash panel 11 in the vehicle width direction, an engine installation recess 11a is provided in the rear. In the engine room 1, a pair of left and right front side frames 15, 15 extending in the front-rear direction and having a predetermined interval in the vehicle width direction are disposed. Further, wheel houses 18 and 18 for the front wheels 9 and 9 are provided outside the left and right front side frames 15 and 15 so as to protrude into the engine room 1.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the engine 2 is disposed between the left and right front side frames 15 and 15. At this time, the rear end portion of the engine 2 is located in the engine mounting recess 11 a of the dash panel 11, and the center of gravity of the engine 2 is located behind the axle X of the front wheels 9, 9. Thus, the front midship type is realized by arranging the center of gravity of the engine 2 behind the axle X of the front wheels 9 and 9 and as far rearward as possible in the engine room 1 at the front of the vehicle. Yes. The engine room 1 is relatively small, and engine functional parts such as the air cleaner 4 and the battery 6 are located immediately in front of the engine 2.

  The engine 2 is an in-line four-cylinder engine in which four cylinders 21, 21,... Are arranged in parallel in the longitudinal direction, and the engine 2 is vertically installed in the engine room 1 so that the cylinder row faces the vehicle longitudinal direction. Has been. An intake manifold 22 is disposed on the left side wall of the engine 2, and the intake manifold 22 communicates with four intake passages (not shown) of the engine 2 for introducing intake air into the cylinders 21, 21,. Further, in each intake passage, an injector 23 is inserted from the outside of the engine 2 in order to inject fuel into the intake passage. The injectors 23 are arranged in a line along the cylinder line.

  A distribution pipe 8 that distributes fuel supplied from a fuel tank (not shown) through the fuel supply hose 12 to the injectors 23, 23,... Is arranged on the side of the engine 2 substantially parallel to the cylinder row direction. It is installed.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the distribution pipe 8 is a cylindrical sheet metal press-formed product having a substantially rectangular cross section. The distribution pipe 8 includes a narrow lower wall 81a and an upper wall 81c that form a rectangular short side, a wide left wall 81b and a right wall 81d that form a rectangular long side, an end wall 81e, 81e.

  The lower wall 81a is provided with branch fitting portions 82a, 82b, 82c, and 82d in order from the front with a predetermined interval corresponding to the injectors 23, 23,. At the same time, the distribution pipe 8 is connected between the first branch fitting portion 82a and the second branch fitting portion 82b and between the third branch fitting portion 82c and the fourth branch fitting portion 82d. Mounting brackets 83 and 83 for mounting to the 2 are disposed.

  A fuel supply connecting portion 84 for connecting the fuel supply hose 12 to the distribution pipe 8 is provided on the left side wall 81b. Specifically, the fuel supply connecting portion 84 is located at a position corresponding to the space between the first branch fitting portion 82a and the second branch fitting portion 82b in the front-rear direction, and in the height direction at the center in the height direction. It is provided at a position offset upward from.

  On the right side wall 81d, support brackets 85, 85 for supporting the harness 14 and tubes in the engine room 1 are provided so as to protrude from the right side wall 81d to the upper wall 81c side.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the branch pipes 8 are attached to the engine 2 by the mounting brackets 83, 83 while the branch fitting parts 82 a to 82 d are fitted to the injectors 23, 23,. The distribution pipe 8 is disposed substantially parallel to the cylinder row at the upper left position of the engine 2, engine functional parts such as an air cleaner 4 and a battery 6 are positioned in front thereof, and a dash panel 11 is positioned in the rear thereof. Will do. Further, the harness 14 in the engine room 1 is supported by the support brackets 85, 85, and the harness 14 extends just above the upper wall 81 c of the distribution pipe 8.

  The distribution pipe 8 is a returnless type in which a return pipe for returning the fuel to the fuel tank is not provided. For this reason, impact energy is generated as the injectors 23 are opened and closed, and the pulsating pressure of the fuel in the distribution pipe 8 becomes a problem.

  Therefore, in the distribution pipe 8, the left side wall 81b and the right side wall 81d, which are wide in width, serve as damping walls having flexibility. In other words, the left side wall 81b or the right side wall 81d absorbs the reflection of the fuel generated when the injectors 23 are opened and closed by its flexibility, thereby buffering the fuel pulsation.

  The fuel supply hose 12 has one end connected to the fuel supply connecting portion 84 and the other end connected to a fuel supply pipe 13 fixed to the vehicle body side. Further, the intermediate portion is curved in an S shape, and the fuel supply connecting portion 84 and the fuel supply pipe 13 are connected by the fuel supply hose 12 having a length. Yes. The fuel supply pipe 13 is connected to a fuel tank (not shown) at the rear of the vehicle, and fuel is supplied from the fuel tank to the distribution pipe 8.

  By the way, when an engine functional component such as an air cleaner 4 or a battery 6 in front of the engine 2 moves backward in the engine room 1 when the vehicle collides, the engine functional component may interfere with the front end of the engine 2. is there. Alternatively, when the engine 2 itself is displaced backward, there is a possibility of interfering with the dash panel 11 behind the rear end of the engine 2. The distribution pipe 8 is provided on the side of the engine 2, and both end walls 81 e and 81 e of the distribution pipe 8 are located near the front end portion or the rear end portion of the engine 2. Therefore, in such a case, the front end wall 81e or the rear end wall 81e of the distribution pipe 8 may also interfere with the engine functional component or the dash panel 11.

  In the distribution pipe 8, the fuel supply connection 84 is provided not on the end wall 81e of the distribution pipe 8 but on the left side wall 81b, which is a side wall. Even if it interferes with the engine functional parts or the dash panel 11, the fuel supply connection portion 84 is not affected at all. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of a secondary disaster caused by the fuel system at the time of a vehicle collision.

  Further, in the above configuration, the fuel supply connection portion 84 is disposed on the left side wall 81 b (hereinafter referred to as “attenuation wall 81 b”) having a pulsation attenuation function of the distribution pipe 8. The damping wall 81b absorbs fuel pulsation due to the flexibility of the wall, and in order not to reduce the damping function, it is preferable that no member or component be disposed on the damping wall 81b. However, even if the fuel supply connecting portion 84 is the attenuation wall 81b, the attenuation function of the attenuation wall 81b is prevented from being lowered by being disposed in front of the center in the longitudinal direction. That is, the attenuation function of the attenuation wall 81b is maximized near the center of the wall, and the wall is constrained toward the end walls 81e and 81e, and its flexibility is weakened. Therefore, by offsetting the fuel supply connecting portion 84 in the longitudinal direction from the vicinity of the center of the attenuation wall 81b and disposing it on the front end side, the flexibility of the attenuation wall 81b is not suppressed and the attenuation function is reduced. Absent.

  Further, also in the height direction of the attenuation wall 81b, the attenuation of the attenuation wall 81b is further prevented by offsetting the fuel supply connection portion 84 from the center and disposing it on the upper side.

  Since the fuel supply connection portion 84 is disposed on the left side wall 81b, no components are disposed on the upper wall 81c. For this reason, the harness 14 etc. can be supported using the said support brackets 85 and 85, and the harness 14 etc. can be arrange | positioned using the space above the said distribution pipe 8 effectively.

  Further, since the fuel supply connecting portion 84 is disposed between the first branch fitting portion 82a and the second branch fitting portion 82b of the distribution pipe, the reflection of the fuel from the injector 23 is described above. While preventing direct entry into the fuel supply hose 12, the fuel supplied from the fuel supply hose 12 to the distribution pipe 8 is intensively distributed to a specific branch fitting portion, for example, the first branch fitting portion 82a. This can be prevented. Therefore, fuel can be stably supplied from the supply hose 12 to the distribution pipe 8 and variations in the amount of fuel supplied to each injector 23 can be suppressed.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, It includes other various embodiment. In other words, in the above-described embodiment, the engine 2 having four cylinders is the target. However, even if there are not four cylinders, there are many cylinders, and the distribution pipe for distributing fuel to the plurality of injectors 23 is substantially the same as the cylinder row direction of the engine. Any engine arranged in parallel may be used.

  In the above embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the distribution pipe 8 is substantially rectangular. However, the cross-sectional shape may be triangular or elliptical as long as it has an attenuation wall.

1 is a plan view of a fuel supply device for an engine in a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. The front view of the distribution pipe which fitted the injector is shown. The side view of the distribution pipe which fitted the injector is shown.

Explanation of symbols

1 Engine Room 11 Dash Panel 11a Engine Installation Recess (Recess)
12 Fuel supply hose 13 Fuel supply pipe (supply pipe)
2 Engine 21 Cylinder 23 Injector 8 distribution pipe 81b Left side wall (damping wall)
81d Right side wall (attenuation wall)
82a First cylinder branch fitting portion 82b Second cylinder branch fitting portion 84 Fuel supply connection portion X Front axle

Claims (5)

A fuel supply device for an engine in a vehicle in which a multi-cylinder engine is arranged vertically in an engine room at the front of the vehicle,
A plurality of injectors for fuel injection provided in each intake passage of each cylinder of the engine and arranged in a row in the vehicle longitudinal direction;
A return-less distribution pipe that extends in the vehicle longitudinal direction and distributes fuel to each of the injectors,
The engine is arranged so that the center of gravity of the engine is located behind the axle center position of the front wheel of the vehicle,
The above distribution pipe
At least one of the side walls is a damping wall that attenuates the pulsation of the fuel in the distribution pipe by flexibility;
A fuel supply connecting portion provided on a side wall other than the damping wall and provided at a position between a plurality of branch fitting portions fitted to the injectors and a center and a front end of the damping wall in the vehicle front-rear direction. And a fuel supply device for an engine in a vehicle. The engine fuel supply apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 1,
A dash panel further disposed at the rear end of the engine room, and having a concave portion whose center portion in the vehicle width direction is recessed toward the rear side in the vehicle longitudinal direction;
A fuel supply device for an engine in a vehicle, wherein a rear end portion of the engine is located in the recess. In the fuel supply device for an engine in the vehicle according to claim 1 or 2,
The fuel supply device for an engine in a vehicle, wherein the fuel supply connection portion is provided at a position between two adjacent branch fitting portions in the vehicle front-rear direction of the attenuation wall. The engine fuel supply apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 3,
The engine is an inline 4 cylinder,
The fuel supply connecting portion is provided at a position between the first first cylinder branch fitting portion and the second second cylinder branch fitting portion from the front in the vehicle longitudinal direction on the damping wall. A fuel supply device for an engine in a vehicle. The engine fuel supply apparatus for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A supply pipe fixed to the vehicle;
A fuel supply hose having one end connected to the fuel supply connecting portion and the other end connected to the supply pipe;
A fuel supply device for an engine in a vehicle, wherein an intermediate portion of the fuel supply hose is curvedly arranged in an S shape.

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