JP2006316697A - Intake control device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an intake control device controlling air flow to each cylinder while easing influence on air flowing via an intake port with a simple structure. <P>SOLUTION: The intake control device 10 is mounted on an engine 50 including a plurality of cylinders and controls air flow to each cylinder by making at least one 52 of a plurality of intake ports 52, 54 of each cylinder capable of opening and closing. And the device is provided with an intake air passage forming member 12 defining a common space S having the plurality of intake ports 52, 54 communicated to in a plurality of cylinders, a plurality of the cylindrical parts 18 arranged in the intake air passage forming member 12 and communicating to at least one intake port 52 of the plurality of intake ports 52, 54 of each cylinder, a plurality of gas flow control valve 20 arranged in each cylindrical part 18 in such a manner that the same can open and close the cylindrical parts 18, and the shaft 22 passing through a plurality of the cylindrical part 18 and connecting and interlocking the plurality of gas flow control valves 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an intake control device that is attached to an engine having a plurality of cylinders and that controls at least one of a plurality of intake ports of each cylinder to open and close to control the flow of air to each cylinder.

  Conventionally, a swirl control valve (SCV) that controls the flow of air to an in-vehicle engine is known. For example, one side of two independent intake ports is closed by SCV, the flow velocity of air passing through the other intake port is increased, lateral turbulence in the combustion chamber is enhanced, and volume efficiency and combustion are achieved in a low rotation and high load range. It is possible to improve the efficiency.

  As such an SCV, all of the SCVs arranged in each of a plurality of cylinders and arranged in one of the intake pipes branched corresponding to the two intake ports of each cylinder are those intake pipes. What is connected by the one shaft which penetrates is known as an example (refer patent document 1). Similarly, another example is one in which an independent valve shaft is provided for each SCV arranged for each of a plurality of cylinders and arranged in one of the two intake ports of each cylinder. (See Patent Document 2).

JP 2001-152943 A JP 2002-155750 A

  However, in the thing of the said patent document 1, since the shaft penetrates all the intake pipes branched corresponding to the intake port, the intake pipe which is left open without being opened, that is, the air in the intake port There is a problem in that the flow is affected by the penetrating shaft, for example, the efficiency of filling air is hindered. Moreover, in the thing of the said patent document 2, since a valve shaft is provided for every SCV, there exists a problem that a complicated mechanism is required in order to operate those valve shafts with one actuator.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an intake control device that controls the flow of air to each cylinder while reducing the influence on the air flowing through the intake port with a simple configuration.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an intake control device according to the present invention is attached to an engine having a plurality of cylinders, and at least one of a plurality of intake ports of each cylinder can be opened and closed to allow air to be supplied to each cylinder. An intake control device for controlling a flow, the intake passage forming member defining a common space in which a plurality of intake ports in the plurality of cylinders communicate with each other, and the intake passage forming member disposed in the intake passage forming member. A plurality of tubular portions each communicating with the at least one intake port of the plurality of intake ports, a plurality of air flow control valves disposed in the tubular portions so that the tubular portions can be opened and closed, and the plurality of the plurality of air flow control valves. And a shaft that connects the plurality of airflow control valves to be interlocked with each other.

  With the above configuration, since the shaft penetrates the plurality of cylindrical portions arranged in the intake passage forming member, the shaft penetrates the common space and does not penetrate the intake port. Accordingly, the influence of the air flow in the intake port that is not opened and closed by the airflow control valve is mitigated by the shaft. Moreover, since a shaft penetrates a plurality of cylindrical portions and connects a plurality of airflow control valves, the configuration is simple.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to control the flow of air to each cylinder while reducing the influence on the air flowing through the intake port with a simple configuration.

  Hereinafter, an intake control device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a place where an intake control device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a diesel engine 50. In FIG. 1, only approximately half of the intake side of the cylinder head 50a of the engine 50 is depicted. The engine 50 has four cylinders, and two intake ports 52 and 54 are provided for each cylinder. A fuel injection mechanism such as a fuel injection valve is not shown.

  In the intake system 30 of the engine 50, first, air sucked from an intake port (not shown) is introduced into an intake pipe 34 that defines a part of the intake passage IP through an air cleaner 32. Further, based on the depression amount of an accelerator pedal (not shown) operated by the driver, the air flows into the surge tank 38 while the flow rate is adjusted by the opening degree of the throttle valve 36 whose opening degree is adjusted by the throttle actuator 36a. Then, the air flowing into the surge tank 38 enters the intake control device 10 to be described later, and passes through the intake control device 10 and the intake ports 52 and 54 formed in a branched manner corresponding to the respective cylinders. Air is distributed to a combustion chamber (not shown).

  The intake control device 10 of the present embodiment is attached to the engine 50 and is provided to connect the intake pipe 34 and the plurality of intake ports 52 and 54, and has an inlet for air flowing in from the intake pipe 34 side, that is, the upstream side. There are eight outlets corresponding to the number of intake ports 52 and 54 on the engine 50 side, that is, on the downstream side. An exploded perspective view of the intake control device 10 is shown in FIG. 2, and a perspective view thereof is shown in FIG. The intake control device 10 includes an intake passage forming member 12 that forms an outer shell thereof, a plurality of cylindrical portions 18 that respectively communicate with one intake port 52 of the two intake ports 52 and 54 of each cylinder, The plurality of air flow control valves 20 arranged in each of the plurality of cylindrical portions 18 and a shaft 22 connecting the air flow control valves 20 are configured. The shaft 22 is operated by an actuator 24 that is controlled by an ECU 100 described later. Further, the airflow control valve 20 can be regarded as the SCV.

  The intake passage forming member 12 defines a common space S in which all of the eight intake ports 52 and 54 in the four cylinders communicate with each other (see FIG. 1). The intake passage forming member 12 includes a flat plate-like support member 14 on the engine 50 side, and a box-shaped member 16 connected to the support member 14 and integrated (see FIGS. 2 and 3). The support member 14 is provided with a first hole portion 14a having a shape that fits the cylindrical portion 18 so as to support the cylindrical portion 18, and the intake air that does not communicate with the cylindrical portion 18 between the first hole portions 14a. A second hole portion 14b that continues to the port 54 is provided, and the first hole portion 14a and the second hole portion 14b communicate with each other. The end of the cylindrical portion 18 is fitted and connected to the first hole portion 14a, and the wall of the cylindrical portion 18 separates the hole of the first hole portion 14a from the hole of the second hole portion 14b (see FIG. 2). The second hole portion 14b has an opening area larger than the opening area of the corresponding intake port 54 so that the opening area of the intake port 54 is not reduced even when the intake control device 10 is attached to the cylinder head 50a. Has been. On the other hand, one surface of the box-shaped member 16 is opened, and a connecting pipe 16a connected to the intake pipe 34 protrudes from a surface opposed to the one surface. The support member 14 is aligned with the opened surface, and bolts (not shown) are screwed into the support members 14 and the locking portions 14c and 16b of the box-shaped member 16, so that the support member 14 and the box-shaped member 16 are Are united.

  The cylindrical portion 18 is formed of a cylindrical tube having both ends opened, and has an opening larger than the opening area of the intake port 52. As described above, the cylindrical portion 18 is fitted into the first hole portion 14a of the intake passage forming member 12 and connected by welding or the like. When the intake control device 10 is assembled, the tubular portion 18 is connected to the intake passage forming member 12. Be placed. The cylindrical portion 18 is arranged on the upstream side of the intake port 52 when the intake control device 10 is attached to the engine 50, communicates with the intake port 52, as if the intake port 52 is extended. The cylindrical portion 18 has two holes 18 a having a slightly larger diameter than the shaft 22 so as to be penetrated by the shaft 22, and the two holes 18 a are on a line orthogonal to the axis of the cylindrical portion 18. And provided on the cylindrical wall of the cylindrical portion 18 facing each other. The shaft 22 is attached to the hole 18a via a bearing (not shown) or the like, and the hermeticity between the hole 18a and the shaft 22 is maintained. Moreover, although the airflow control valve 20 which will be described later is disposed in the tubular portion 18, the tubular portion 18 completely shuts off the flow of air to the intake port 52 by closing the airflow control valve 20, The structure ensures high sealing performance (not shown).

  The airflow control valve 20 is composed of a single valve that is rotated about a shaft 22. Here, FIG. 4 shows a side view of the support member 14 viewed from the upstream side, that is, from the side in contact with the box-shaped member 16. According to FIG. 4, the four air flow control valves 20 arranged in every other eight holes provided in the support member 14 are connected by the shaft 22 so as to perform the same movement. The airflow control valve 20 is disposed in the cylindrical portion 18 described above, and is operated to the valve open position (the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 5B) and the valve closed position via the shaft 22, and the cylindrical portion 18 is moved. Make it openable. That is, by opening and closing the airflow control valve 20 disposed in the cylindrical portion 18, one of the two intake ports 52 and 54 in one cylinder is opened and closed. In the present embodiment, four cylinders are arranged in a straight line, and all the airflow control valves 20 related thereto are arranged in a straight line, so that the shaft 22 is arranged in the cylinder row direction. .

  The assembled intake control device 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 5. FIG. 5 is a partial schematic view of the intake control device 10 and the cylinder head 50a in a state where the assembled intake control device 10 is attached to the engine 50. FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. ) Is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. That is, FIG. 5A is a diagram regarding the intake port 54 that is left open, and FIG. 5B is a diagram regarding the intake port 52 that can be opened and closed by the airflow control valve. In FIG. 5, the sizes of the intake ports 52 and 54 and the intake control device 10 are exaggerated, which are different from actual ones.

  In a state where the intake control device 10 is connected to the engine 50, the cylindrical portion 18 is installed upstream of the intake port 52, the airflow control valve 20 is disposed, and the cylindrical portion where the airflow control valve 20 is provided. 18 is connected to an intake port 52. The other intake port 54 is configured such that the shaft 22 is positioned upstream of the intake port 54 in a state where the intake control device 10 is connected to the engine 50 (FIG. 5A). reference).

  The airflow control valve 20 in the intake control device 10 having such a configuration is brought into a valve opening position and a valve closing position by operating the shaft 22 under the control of an actuator 24 based on a control output from a control device (ECU) 100. Is done. The ECU 100 is composed of a microcomputer including a CPU, ROM, RAM, A / D converter, input interface, and output interface. A load sensor 110 that detects an engine load, a rotation speed sensor 120 that detects an engine speed, an accelerator position sensor 130 that detects the amount of depression of an accelerator pedal, and the like are connected to the input interface via electrical wiring. Based on the detection signals from these sensors 110, 120, 130, etc., a signal is sent from the output interface via the electric wiring so that the engine 50 can be smoothly operated in accordance with a preset program. Is output.

  In this embodiment, the flow of air to each cylinder is controlled by controlling the intake control device 10. Specifically, at a light load, an output signal to the actuator 24 is output from the ECU 100 so that the airflow control valve 20 is in the closed position, that is, the intake port 52 is closed. As a result, air from the upstream side is guided to the combustion chamber of each cylinder of the engine 50 only through the intake port 54, and the turbulent lateral flow in the combustion chamber is caused by the early air guided through the intake port 54. (Swirl flow) is strengthened, and volumetric efficiency and combustion efficiency are improved. Conversely, an output signal to the actuator 24 is output from the ECU 100 so that the airflow control valve 20 is in the valve open position except when the load is light, that is, the intake port 52 is opened. As a result, a necessary amount of air is guided to the combustion chamber via the two intake ports 52 and 54.

  By arranging the intake control device 10 having the airflow control valve 20 that can be switched between the valve opening position and the valve closing position in the intake system 30 of the engine 50 as described above, for example, the following effects can be obtained. First, since all the airflow control valves 20 are connected by the shaft 22 and interlocked by the rotation of the shaft 22 by the operation of the actuator 24, all the airflow control valves 20 perform the same opening / closing movement. Further, since the shaft 22 is disposed outside the intake ports 52 and 54 and upstream of them, a part of the intake passage IP formed by the intake port 54 is not narrowed by the shaft 22, The influence of the shaft 22 on the air to each cylinder flowing through the port 54 is mitigated. That is, the increase in air resistance of the air flowing through the intake port 54 by the shaft 22 is suppressed, and more air can be drawn into the combustion chamber of the engine 50 via the intake port 54. As a result, the output of the engine 50 is improved.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on the said embodiment, this invention is not limited to this. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the cylindrical portion 18 and the airflow control valve 20 are directly arranged on the upstream side of the intake port 52 of the engine 50. However, for example, an independent branch pipe is connected to and connected to the intake port. The intake air control device 10 may be disposed on the upstream side. That is, the intake air control device 10 may be arranged in the middle of a widely used intake manifold. In this case, the intake control device 10 may be incorporated into the intake manifold and integrated. In addition, the intake control device 10 may be formed integrally with the intake manifold or the cylinder head 50a. Furthermore, if the air flow control valve 20 is provided in the intake control device 10 according to the present invention so as to be able to open and close one intake port among a plurality of intake ports in one cylinder, the number of cylinders, the number of intake ports, etc. Not limited to. For example, it is possible to provide three intake ports in one cylinder and provide two air flow control valves 20 so that two of the intake ports can be opened and closed. Moreover, the opening degree of the airflow control valve 20 may be continuously adjusted according to various operation states. The intake control device according to the present invention can be applied to an internal combustion engine other than a diesel engine, and can be applied to a spark ignition engine or a compression ignition engine.

  In the above embodiment, the present invention has been described with a certain degree of concreteness, but various modifications and changes can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention described in the claims. It must be understood that. That is, the present invention includes modifications and changes that fall within the scope and spirit of the appended claims and their equivalents.

It is a schematic structure sectional view showing the place where the intake air control device concerning the embodiment of the present invention was applied to the diesel engine. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the intake control device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the intake control device shown in FIG. 2. It is a side view of the support member which has the cylindrical part and airflow control valve of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a partial schematic view of an intake control device and a cylinder head in a state where the intake control device is connected to an engine, (a) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1, and (b) is a cross-sectional view of FIG. It is sectional drawing along the BB line.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Intake control apparatus 12 Intake passage formation member 14 Support member 14a 1st hole part 14b 2nd hole part 14c Locking part 16 Box-shaped member 16a Connection pipe 16b Locking part 18 Cylindrical part 18a Hole 20 Airflow control valve 22 Shaft 24 Actuator 30 Intake system 32 Air cleaner 34 Intake pipe 36a Throttle actuator 36 Throttle valve 38 Surge tank 50 Engine 50a Cylinder heads 52, 54 Intake port 100 ECU
110 Load sensor 120 Rotational speed sensor 130 Throttle position sensor

Claims (1)

An intake control device that is attached to an engine having a plurality of cylinders and that can open and close at least one of a plurality of intake ports of each cylinder to control the flow of air to each cylinder,
An intake passage forming member that defines a common space in which a plurality of intake ports in the plurality of cylinders communicate with each other;
A plurality of cylindrical portions disposed in the intake passage forming member, each communicating with the at least one intake port of the plurality of intake ports of each cylinder;
A plurality of air flow control valves disposed in each of the cylindrical portions so that the cylindrical portions can be opened and closed;
A shaft that penetrates the plurality of cylindrical portions and connects and links the plurality of airflow control valves;
An air intake control device comprising:

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