JP2008291803A - Flow passage structure for internal combustion engine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a flow passage structure for an internal combustion engine with the fluid passage structure simplified and facilitated manufacturing. <P>SOLUTION: In a fluid block 3, a first cooling water passage 61 connecting a thermostat case 6 with a water pump 5; a second cooling water passage 62 connecting an elbow joint 8 with the first cooling water passage 61, and a third cooling water passage 63 connecting a cooling water discharge port of an oil cooler 7 with the second cooling water passage 62. The first cooling water passage 61 and the third cooling water passage 63 are formed to be approximately vertical with respect to a right side surface 51 of the flow passage block 3. The second cooling water passage 62 is formed to be approximately vertical with respect to an upper surface 54 of the flow passage block 3, and is connected to be approximately vertical with respect to the first cooling water passage 61 and the third cooling water passage 63. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a flow path structure that is mounted on an internal combustion engine, and more particularly, to a technique that realizes simplification of the flow path configuration, ease of manufacture, and the like.

  Generally, in an automobile engine, a cooling water opening and an engine oil opening are provided on a side surface of a cylinder block, and a thermostat case and an oil cooler are mounted so as to close the cooling water opening and the engine oil opening. Also, the water pump is often mounted on the front surface or front side surface of the cylinder block for the convenience of being driven by the crankshaft through power transmission means including pulleys and belts. However, when a thermostat case, oil cooler, and water pump are individually attached to the cylinder block, each must be connected by a large number of cooling water pipes, which increases the number of engine parts and assembly man-hours. As a result, there is a problem that the space around the engine is not enough and the degree of freedom of installation and the maintainability are deteriorated.

  Therefore, the applicant of the present invention has a flow path structure in which a mounting seat for a thermostat case and a mounting seat for an oil cooler are formed flush with each other and a cooling water flow path and an engine oil flow path are formed therein ( (Housing) has been proposed in the past (see Patent Document 1). Also known is a flow path structure in which a pump housing of a water pump and a thermostat case are integrally formed, and a cooling water return pipe for returning cooling water from a vehicle compartment heater is connected to the pump suction chamber of the pump housing. (See Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent No. 3802752 JP-A-4-284124

  In the configuration of Patent Document 1 described above, the outlet hose connected to the radiator and the bypass hose connected to the cooling water jacket of the cylinder head are connected to the thermostat case, and the cooling water return hose from the vehicle compartment heater is also Cooling water is supplied to the oil cooler from the discharge path of the water pump through the horizontal passage portion, which is connected to the thermostat case. This has the following problems. For example, when the engine is warming up, the temperature rise of the engine oil is slower than that of the cooling water, so the cooling water heated in the engine is supplied to the oil cooler to increase the temperature of the engine oil. However, when the cooling water temperature rises to a predetermined value, the flow path of the cooling water is switched by the thermostat, and the cooling water cooled by the radiator is also supplied to the oil cooler via the water pump. Temperature can not be effectively done.

  On the other hand, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, the shape of the thermostat case is very complicated, and it is difficult to assemble each cooling water hose. Further, since the oil cooler is located above the thermostat case and the cooling water recirculation hose is connected to the upper portion of the thermostat case, it is difficult to remove and install the oil cooler. On the other hand, the configuration of Patent Document 2 in which the cooling water recirculation hose from the vehicle compartment heater is connected to the pump suction chamber of the pump housing may be applied to Patent Document 1, but in this case, the flow path structure includes In addition to the cooling water passage from the thermostat to the water pump, the cooling water introduction passage and the cooling water discharge passage for the oil cooler already exist, so if the flow passage from the cooling water recirculation hose to the water pump is further formed, the flow passage There is a problem that the structure becomes complicated and the flow path structure is enlarged.

  On the other hand, in the flow channel structure, by forming the flow channel perpendicular to the wall surface, the flow channel can be die-cut by a casting mold that forms the wall surface when casting the flow channel structure, and the core or cutting Processing can be made unnecessary, but when an oil cooler and a thermostat are attached to the first wall surface, it is necessary to form a cooling water passage for communicating two cooling water passages formed perpendicular to the wall surface. is there. For example, the cooling water passage is formed perpendicular to the second wall surface orthogonal to the first wall surface, so that the flow path can be die-cut by a casting mold that forms the second wall surface. Although it can be formed without using processing, in that case, it is necessary to close the opening formed on the second wall surface side by die cutting with a plug or the like, resulting in an increase in the number of parts, the number of assembly steps, and the like.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a flow path structure for an internal combustion engine that realizes simplification of the flow path configuration, ease of manufacture, and the like.

  In order to solve the above problems, a flow path structure for an internal combustion engine according to the invention of claim 1 includes a water pump that circulates cooling water for cooling the engine, and circulation of the cooling water according to the water temperature of the cooling water. A thermostat for changing a path; and an oil cooler for exchanging heat between the cooling water and engine oil; and mounted on an internal combustion engine that supplies the cooling water to a heater for a vehicle compartment heating. A recirculation pipe connection to which a thermostat case mounting seat to which the accommodated thermostat case is attached, an oil cooler mounting seat to which the oil cooler is attached, and a cooling water recirculation pipe for recirculating cooling water from the vehicle compartment heater is connected. And a cooling water flowing from a cooling water outlet of the thermostat case. Passing through the oil cooler, a first cooling water passage for leading to the suction side of the pump, a second cooling water passage for guiding the cooling water flowing in from the reflux pipe connection portion to the first cooling water passage, and the oil cooler An oil passage through which engine oil flows is formed therein, and the second cooling water passage and the oil passage are adjacent to each other.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flow path structure for an internal combustion engine according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the cooling water flowing from the cooling water discharge port of the oil cooler is guided to the first cooling water passage. A cooling water passage formed therein, a first wall surface on which the thermostat case mounting seat and the oil cooler mounting seat are formed, a return pipe connection portion and a first wall substantially orthogonal to the first wall surface; And the first cooling water passage and the third cooling water passage are formed substantially perpendicular to the first wall surface, and the second cooling water passage is substantially the second wall surface. It is formed vertically and is connected to the first cooling water passage and the third cooling water passage substantially perpendicularly.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, during the warm-up operation of the engine, the cooling water temperature rises and the flow path of the cooling water is switched by the thermostat, and the cooling water cooled by the radiator is supplied to the suction side of the water pump. Even when guided, the engine oil is effectively heated by the cooling water having a temperature higher than that of the cooled cooling water recirculated from the heater core. Further, after the warm-up operation is completed, the temperature of the engine oil becomes higher than the temperature of the cooling water recirculated from the heater core, so that in addition to the cooling effect by the oil cooler, the engine oil by the cooling water flowing through the second cooling water passage A cooling effect is obtained. In addition, since the flow pipe structure to which the oil cooler is attached is provided with a reflux pipe connection portion to which the cooling water return pipe is connected, the shape of the thermostat case can be simplified, and the cooling water returned from the heater core and the engine oil can be connected to each other. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced because heat exchange can be performed with the oil passage formed inside the flow path structure without providing a separate member for heat exchange.

  According to the invention of claim 2, the thermostat case mounting seat and the oil cooler mounting seat are formed on the same first wall surface, and the first cooling water passage and the third cooling water passage are formed on the first wall surface. Furthermore, the second cooling water passage is formed substantially perpendicular to the second wall surface and is connected substantially perpendicular to the first cooling water passage and the third cooling water passage. In addition to being able to form each cooling water passage by die cutting regardless of the core or cutting process, the first cooling water passage and the third cooling water passage can be formed by performing die cutting at the same time when casting the road structure. In addition, the casting mold and the flow path configuration are simplified, and the number of manufacturing steps and manufacturing costs can be reduced. In addition, since the return pipe connection portion to which a return pipe connection joint or the like is attached is formed at the opening end of the second wall surface when the second cooling water passage is formed by die cutting, the above-described plug or the like is not necessary. Thus, the increase in the number of parts and assembly man-hours is also suppressed.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an engine for a passenger car will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a side view of the engine according to the embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the flow path block and the like according to the embodiment as viewed from the back side, and FIG. 3 is a view of cooling water when the engine is warm according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a flow, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional perspective view of a main part of the flow path block according to the embodiment, FIG. 5 is a right side view of the flow path block according to the embodiment, and FIG. It is VI-VI step sectional drawing. In the description of the embodiment, the left side in FIG. 1 is the left side, and the front side in FIG. 1 is the front side. Moreover, in each figure, the black arrow shows the flow of cooling water, and the white arrow shows the flow of engine oil.

<< Configuration of Embodiment >>
<Overall configuration>
An engine E shown in FIG. 1 is an in-line four-cylinder gasoline engine, and is mounted horizontally in an engine room of a passenger car. The engine E has a cylinder block 1 and a cylinder head 2 fastened to the upper surface of the cylinder block 1 as main components, and a flow path block (flow path) also serving as an oil filter base on the front left end side of the cylinder block 1. Structure 3) is fastened. The flow path block 3 is a die-cast molded product made of an aluminum alloy, and as shown in FIG. 2, in addition to the element replaceable oil filter 4, a water pump 5, a thermostat case 6, a water-cooled oil cooler. 7. An elbow joint 8 for heater reflux cooling water is mounted. A member denoted by reference numeral 9 in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a coolant outlet joint fastened to the cylinder head 2.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the cooling system includes a radiator 21 installed in front of the engine E, two electric fans 22 arranged on the rear surface of the radiator 21, a water pump 5 that pumps cooling water, and a cooling water temperature. It comprises a thermostat 23 to be controlled, a heater core (heater for vehicle compartment heating) 24, piping for connecting these devices, and the like.

  The radiator 21 is a downflow type in which cooling water is circulated from the upper side to the lower side of the radiator core 25, an upper tank 26 is installed at the upper end, and a lower tank 27 is installed at the lower end. High-temperature cooling water flows into the upper tank 26 from the cylinder head 2 (cooling water outlet joint 9) via the upper hose 31. It flows into case 6.

  The water pump 5 is driven by a crank pulley (not shown) via a belt 33 (see FIG. 1), and pumps cooling water to the cylinder block 1, the cylinder head 2, and the oil cooler 7. The thermostat 23 is housed in the thermostat case 6 and closes when the engine E is cold, thereby preventing the cooling water from flowing from the lower hose 32 (that is, the radiator 21) to the water pump 5 while being broken. As shown by the arrows, the cooling water fed from the cylinder head 2 (cooling water outlet joint 9) via the bypass hose 34 is caused to flow into the water pump 5.

  The heater core 24 is connected to the cylinder block 1 via a feed hose 36 and is connected to the upper part of the flow path block 3 via a return pipe (cooling water return pipe) 37 and two return hoses (cooling water return pipes) 38 and 39. The elbow joint 8 is connected.

<Flow path block>
As shown in FIG. 1, the flow path block 3 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the vertical direction, and is fastened so that the rear surface thereof is in contact with the cylinder block 1. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, an oil cooler mounting seat 52 to which the oil cooler 7 is fastened and a thermostat case mounting to which the thermostat case 6 is fastened are attached to the right side surface (first wall surface) 51 of the flow path block 3. The seat 53 is formed flush with the top and bottom. Further, a press-fitting hole (refluxing pipe connecting portion) 55 into which the elbow joint 8 is press-fitted is formed in the upper surface (second wall surface) 54 of the flow path block 3. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a water pump mounting seat 56 to which the water pump 5 is fastened is formed on the left side surface of the flow path block 3, and the oil filter 4 is slanted as shown in FIG. Attached to the top of the top facing upward

<Cooling water passage>
As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the flow path block 3 includes a first cooling water passage 61 that connects a cooling water outlet (not shown) of the thermostat case 6 and the suction side of the water pump 5, and an elbow joint. 8 and the first cooling water passage 61, the second cooling water passage 62 that connects the cooling water discharge port (not shown) of the oil cooler 7, and the second cooling water passage 62. And are formed. In addition, on the rear surface of the flow path block 3, as a cooling water path, a fourth cooling water path 64 (see FIG. 2) for allowing cooling water discharged from the water pump 5 to flow into the cylinder block 1 or a fourth cooling water path. A fifth cooling water passage 65 is formed to connect the cooling water 64 and a cooling water introduction hole (not shown) of the oil cooler 7.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the upper surface 54 of the flow path block 3 is formed substantially perpendicular to the right side surface 51, and the first cooling water passage 61 and the third cooling water passage 63 are flow channels. It is formed substantially perpendicular to the right side surface 51 of the road block 3 and arranged side by side in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface 54. Further, the second cooling water passage 62 is formed substantially perpendicular to the upper surface 54 of the flow path block 3 and is connected substantially perpendicular to the first cooling water passage 61 and the third cooling water passage 63. Yes.

<Oil passage>
As shown in FIG. 2, an oil introduction hole 66 for introducing engine oil from the cylinder block 1 to the flow path block 3 is provided on the rear surface of the flow path block 3, and engine oil is recirculated from the flow path block 3 to the cylinder block 1. An oil reflux hole 67 is opened. 4 and 5, the flow path block 3 includes an oil introduction path (oil passage) 68 for introducing engine oil from the oil filter 4 to the oil cooler 7, and engine oil from the oil cooler 7. An oil recirculation passage (oil passage) 69 for recirculating the air to the cylinder block 1 side is formed.

<< Effects of Embodiment >>
In this embodiment, since the thermostat case 6 is connected only to the lower hose 32 and the bypass hose 34 by adopting the above-described configuration, the shape of the thermostat case 6 is simplified and the oil cooler 7 located at the upper part is also provided. Can be easily attached and detached. Further, the second cooling water passage 62 is connected to the third cooling water passage 63 so that the cooling water recirculated from the heater core 24 and the cooling water recirculated from the oil cooler 7 are merged and then flowed into the water pump 5 side. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the flow path configuration of the flow path block 3 from becoming complicated.

  On the other hand, the first cooling water passage 61 and the third cooling water passage 63 are formed substantially perpendicular to the right side surface 51 of the flow path block 3, and the second cooling water passage 62 is formed with respect to the upper surface 54 of the flow path block 3. Since the second cooling water passage 62 is connected substantially perpendicularly to the first cooling water passage 61 and the third cooling water passage 63, the core block is formed when the flow path block 3 is cast. In addition to being able to form each cooling water passage by die cutting regardless of adoption or cutting, since the first cooling water passage 61 and the third cooling water passage 63 can be simultaneously die-cut by a casting mold that forms the right side surface 51, Casting man-hours and manufacturing costs can be greatly reduced. Further, the second cooling water passage 62 can be punched and formed by a casting mold for forming the upper surface 54, and the elbow joint 8 to which the return hose 39 is connected is attached to the open end to the upper surface 54 of the second cooling water passage 62. Therefore, a plug or the like for closing the open end is unnecessary, and an increase in the number of parts and the number of assembly steps can be suppressed.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the fourth cooling water passage 64 through which the cooling water discharged from the water pump 5 flows into the cylinder block 1 and the cooling water introduction hole of the oil cooler 7 are connected to the fifth cooling water. Since the cooling water temperature rises to a predetermined value and the flow path of the cooling water is switched by the thermostat 23, the cooling water cooled by the radiator 21 does not pass through the cylinder block 1 because the cooling water temperature rises to a predetermined value. It is supplied to the cooling water introduction hole of the cooler 7. Accordingly, after the warm-up operation of the engine E is completed, the engine oil can be cooled by the cooling water before being heated by the cylinder block 1, so that the cooling efficiency is increased. Conversely, the cooling water temperature is increased to a predetermined value during the warm-up operation. After that, while the engine oil still needs to be heated, the cooling water through the radiator 21 is introduced into the oil cooler 7, so that the engine oil cannot be effectively heated.

  However, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the second cooling water passage 62, the oil introduction passage 68, and the oil return passage 69 are adjacent to each other in the passage block 3. Even if the water temperature rises and the flow path of the cooling water is switched by the thermostat 23, the engine oil is supplied by the cooling water recirculated from the heater core 24, which is higher in temperature than the cooling water supplied from the cooling water introduction hole of the oil cooler 7. The temperature is effectively increased. Further, after the warm-up operation is completed, the temperature of the engine oil becomes higher than the temperature of the cooling water recirculated from the heater core 24, so that the cooling water flowing through the second cooling water passage 62 is added to the cooling effect of the oil cooler 7. Since the engine oil cooling effect is obtained, both the engine oil temperature rising effect during the warm-up operation and the engine oil cooling effect after the warm-up operation can be improved.

  Although the description of the specific embodiment is finished above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to an in-line four-cylinder gasoline engine, but the present invention may be applied to a V-type engine or a diesel engine. In the above embodiment, the oil filter and the water pump are attached to the flow path block. However, these may be attached to the cylinder block or the like. In addition, the specific shape of the flow path block, the specific equipment configuration of the cooling system, the piping layout, and the like can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

It is a side view of the engine concerning an embodiment. It is the perspective view which looked at the channel block etc. concerning an embodiment from the back. It is a schematic diagram which shows the flow of the cooling water at the time of engine warm which concerns on embodiment. It is a principal part section perspective view of a channel block concerning an embodiment. It is a right view of the channel block concerning an embodiment. It is VI-VI step sectional drawing in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Cylinder block 2 Cylinder head 3 Flow path block (flow path structure)
4 Oil filter 5 Water pump 6 Thermostat case 7 Oil cooler 23 Thermostat 24 Heater core (heater for vehicle compartment heating)
34 Bypass hose 37 Return pipe (cooling water return pipe)
38 Return hose (cooling water return pipe)
39 Return hose (cooling water return pipe)
51 Right side (first wall)
52 Oil cooler mounting seat 53 Thermostat mounting seat 54 Upper surface (second wall surface)
55 Press-fitting hole (Reflux piping connection)
56 Water pump mounting seat 61 First cooling water passage 62 Second cooling water passage 63 Third cooling water passage 68 Oil introduction passage (oil passage)
69 Oil return path (oil passage)
E engine

Claims (2)

A water pump that circulates cooling water for engine cooling, a thermostat that changes the flow path of the cooling water according to the temperature of the cooling water, and an oil cooler that exchanges heat between the cooling water and engine oil And is mounted on an internal combustion engine that supplies the cooling water to a vehicle compartment heater,
A thermostat case mounting seat to which a thermostat case containing the thermostat is mounted, an oil cooler mounting seat to which the oil cooler is mounted, and a cooling water return pipe for circulating cooling water from the vehicle compartment heater are connected. A flow path structure having a reflux pipe connection portion,
A first cooling water passage for guiding cooling water flowing in from the cooling water outlet of the thermostat case to the suction side of the water pump;
A second cooling water passage for guiding the cooling water flowing in from the reflux pipe connection portion to the first cooling water passage;
An oil passage through which the engine oil passing through the oil cooler flows is formed in the interior,
The flow path structure for an internal combustion engine, wherein the second cooling water passage and the oil passage are adjacent to each other. A third cooling water passage for guiding the cooling water flowing in from the cooling water discharge port of the oil cooler to the first cooling water passage is formed therein;
A first wall surface on which the thermostat case mounting seat and the oil cooler mounting seat are formed; and a second wall surface that is formed with the reflux pipe connection portion and is substantially orthogonal to the first wall surface;
The first cooling water passage and the third cooling water passage are formed substantially perpendicular to the first wall surface;
The second cooling water passage is formed substantially perpendicular to the second wall surface and is connected substantially perpendicular to the first cooling water passage and the third cooling water passage. The flow path structure for an internal combustion engine according to claim 1.

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