JP2017009100A - Chain guide and base member - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a chain guide and a base member having excellent workability at low cost, while securing necessary strength, rigidity and durability, with a simple structure.SOLUTION: A chain guide 100 includes a guide shoe 110 and a base member 120. The base member 120 is formed of a pipe material comprising a metal material. The base member 120 has: a circumferential cutout 123 provided on at least one end side in a guide longitudinal direction so as to extend along a circumferential direction of the pipe material; a longitudinal direction cutout 124 extending from one end of the circumferential cutout 123 toward the outside of a base longitudinal direction; and a fitting piece 125 sectioned by the circumferential cutout 123 and the longitudinal direction cutout 124.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a chain guide and a base member that slide and guide a traveling chain.

Conventionally, in order to stabilize a chain traveling between sprockets and properly maintain a tension, it is commonly used to use a chain guide provided with a guide shoe for slidingly guiding the traveling chain.
For example, as shown in FIG. 10, there is an engine timing system for driving a transmission chain CH such as a roller chain suspended endlessly between sprockets S1 and S2 provided on a crankshaft and a camshaft in an engine room. The chain CH is suspended endlessly between a drive sprocket S1 attached to the crankshaft in the engine room and a pair of driven sprockets S2 attached to the camshaft. The chain CH is a chain guide G (swing guide). And a timing system guided by a chain guide 500 (fixed guide) are known.

In this known timing system, the chain guide 500 (fixed guide) is fixed in the engine room by two mounting shafts B1 and B2, and the chain guide G (swing guide) is a timing chain around the swing shaft B0. It is mounted in the engine room so as to be swingable in the suspension plane of CH.
The tensioner T presses the chain guide G (swing guide) to appropriately maintain the tension of the chain CH and suppress vibrations.

In the chain guide 500 used in such a known timing system, it is desirable that the traveling guide surface for sliding the chain CH is made of a material having low friction and resistance to wear, and the whole is made of a resin material having low friction. Is known.
However, the chain guide 500 needs to have a certain strength, rigidity, and durability in order to stably guide the chain CH against tension and vibration. When the chain guide 500 is composed only of a resin material, the necessary strength, rigidity, In order to obtain durability, it is necessary to make the material thicker and larger, and the occupied space in the engine room becomes larger.
Therefore, the travel guide surface is formed of a low-friction resin material, and the resin material is reinforced with a material having high strength, rigidity, and durability such as metal, so that the chain guide 500 as a whole has the required strength and rigidity. A device having a small occupation space while ensuring durability is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

For example, as shown in FIG. 11, a chain guide 500 (fixed guide) known in Patent Document 1 or the like includes a resin-made guide shoe 510 that slides and guides a traveling chain CH, and the guide shoe 510 in the longitudinal direction of the guide. And a plate-like metal base member 520 that is reinforced along the plate.
The base member 520 has mounting portions 525 that extend vertically at positions spaced from the longitudinal direction of the guide, and two mounting portions 525 are bent by 90 ° with respect to the shoe support portion from an integral metal plate. It is formed by doing.

Each of the two attachment portions 525 is provided with attachment holes 525a through which bolts or the like are inserted.
The guide shoe 510 is supported and reinforced by the shoe support portion of the base member 520, and includes a plurality of hook portions 515 provided at end locking pieces at both ends in the guide longitudinal direction and at appropriate portions in the width direction. It is configured to be able to be fitted and removed by being locked to the shoe support portion of 520.

In such a known chain guide 500, in order to increase the strength, rigidity, and durability of the base member 520, it is necessary to form by punching from a thick metal plate, and therefore a large processing machine is required. There is a problem that the processing cost increases.
In addition, since the shoe support portion of the base member 520 and the two attachment portions 525 are formed of an integral metal plate, a large amount of metal material is required. Since there are many outline shapes, there also exists a problem that waste of material also increases.
Further, since the base member 520 is formed in a plate shape, there is a problem that it is difficult to ensure rigidity and the base member 520 is easily bent.

  Therefore, as a chain guide for solving the above-described problem, as shown in FIG. 12, the base member 620 is formed of a hollow pipe material made of a metal material, and the guide shoe 610 is injected with the base member 620 inserted. A chain guide 600 formed integrally by molding or the like has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  Thus, by forming the base member 620 from a hollow pipe material, it can be easily manufactured by a simple method such as cutting a long pipe material with an appropriate length, so the manufacturing process is simplified, In addition, it is possible to arbitrarily design the cross-sectional shape of the pipe material, it is possible to ensure the necessary strength, rigidity and durability with a small amount of material, and there is no waste of material that occurs due to punching, The manufacturing cost can be reduced, and the advantage that the rigidity of the base member 620 can be easily secured by using the pipe material can be obtained.

JP-A-10-89428 JP 2014-145398 A

Here, such a chain guide 600 requires an attachment portion for attaching the chain guide 600 to an attachment target such as an engine block. However, in Patent Document 2, the attachment portion is attached to the guide shoe 610 made of a resin material. An example of integrally forming is disclosed.
However, when the mounting part is molded from a resin material, it is difficult to ensure the rigidity and durability of the mounting part, so when attempting to ensure sufficient rigidity and durability of the mounting part, the size of the mounting part is designed to be large. The problem of need arises.

  Patent Document 2 also discloses an example in which a mounting portion 625 is formed integrally with a base member 620 made of a metal material. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, a long member constituting the base member 620 is disclosed. An example of using the both ends of the base member 620 as the mounting portion 625 by forming both ends of the pipe member by bending both ends of the pipe member, and a long shape constituting the base member 620 An example is disclosed in which both ends of the pipe material are bent and both ends of the base member 620 are inserted into attachment holes formed in an attachment target such as an engine block.

  However, in this case, in addition to the shoe support portion that supports the guide shoe 610 of the base member 620, a portion to be used as the attachment portion 625 is required on both ends of the shoe support portion, and thus is necessary as a material for the base member 620. There is a problem that the length of the pipe material is increased, and the total length of the chain guide 600 in the longitudinal direction of the guide is increased.

In the chain guide 600 described in Patent Document 2, the guide shoe 610 is integrally formed by injection molding or the like with the base member 620 inserted, but the guide shoe 610 and the base member 620 are formed separately. After that, there is a need for removably attaching the guide shoe 610 to the base member 620.
In that case, it is necessary to form an engaged portion for engaging a part of the guide shoe 610 in the base member 620. When such an engaged portion is formed in the base member 620, the base member It is necessary to increase the diameter of the pipe material constituting 620. However, if the diameter of the pipe material constituting the base member 620 is increased, it becomes difficult to perform bending at both ends of the pipe material, so that it is difficult to form the mounting portion 625 as shown in FIG. become.

  Therefore, the present invention solves these problems, and a chain guide and base member that achieves low cost and excellent workability while ensuring necessary strength, rigidity, and durability with a simple configuration. Is intended to provide.

The chain guide according to the present invention is a chain guide provided with a guide shoe that slides and guides a traveling chain, and a base member that supports the guide shoe on an upper surface thereof, and the base member is made of a metal material. The base member is formed of a pipe material, and at least one end side in the longitudinal direction of the guide, the circumferential cut extending along the circumferential direction of the pipe material, and from one end of the circumferential cut toward the outside in the longitudinal direction of the guide A longitudinal incision extending and an attachment piece segmented by the circumferential incision and the longitudinal incision, wherein the attachment piece functions as an attachment portion for attaching the base member to an attachment object, It solves the problem.
The base member of the present invention is a base member for a chain guide that supports a guide shoe that slides and guides a traveling chain on its upper surface side, and the base member is formed of a pipe material made of a metal material, The base member has a circumferential cut extending along the circumferential direction of the pipe material on at least one end side in the guide longitudinal direction, a longitudinal cut extending from one end of the circumferential cut toward the outside of the guide longitudinal direction, And a mounting piece separated by a circumferential cut and the longitudinal cut, and the mounting piece functions as a mounting portion for mounting the base member to a mounting target, thereby solving the problem. .

According to the first and ninth aspects of the present invention, since the base member is formed of a pipe material made of a metal material, the base member is easy to manufacture and avoids waste of material caused by punching or the like. Not only can the strength, rigidity, and durability of the member be secured, but also a mounting part for mounting the base member to the mounting target by attaching the mounting piece divided by the circumferential cut and the longitudinal cut formed in the pipe material As a result, it is possible to easily form the mounting portion even when the pipe material has a large diameter, and the entire area of the base member in the longitudinal direction of the guide is used as a shoe support portion for supporting the guide shoe. Since it can be used, the length of the pipe material required as the material of the base member can be reduced, and in the longitudinal direction of the guide. It is possible to shorten the total length of the chain guide.
In addition, since a pipe material having a large diameter can be used as the material of the base member, an engaged portion that engages a part of the guide shoe is formed by processing a part of the pipe material. The design freedom of the base member can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the guide shoe is integrally formed on the upper surface side of the base member, and the resin of the guide shoe is formed on the inner peripheral side of the base member through the base through hole formed on the upper surface of the base member. By being inserted, the guide shoe can be firmly fixed to the base member without requiring the user to attach the guide shoe to the base member. By allowing the resin material to enter, the rigidity and durability of the base member can be improved.
According to the third aspect of the invention, the base through hole is formed in plural on the upper surface of the base member at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the guide, thereby further improving the fixing strength of the guide shoe to the base member. In addition to this, the inflow property of the resin material to the inner peripheral side of the base member through the base through hole can be improved.
According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the base member has the engaged portion formed by crushing a part of the side edge in the width direction up and down, so that the guide is not increased without increasing the processing load. The hook part formed in the shoe can be engaged from the outside in the width direction, and an existing guide shoe having the hook part can be used.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the engagement protrusion formed on the lower surface of the guide shoe is inserted into the base through hole formed on the upper surface of the base member. Therefore, the movement of the guide shoe in the longitudinal direction of the guide relative to the base member can be restricted, and an existing guide shoe having an engagement protrusion formed on the lower surface can be used.
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the base body of the base member is crushed up and down so that the inner peripheral surfaces of the pipe members are in contact with each other, thereby reducing the thickness of the base body in the vertical direction. The exclusive space in the installation environment of the chain guide such as in the engine room can be reduced, and the width dimension of the base body can be increased to favorably support the guide shoe.
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the pipe material is a seamless pipe material continuous in the circumferential direction, the rigidity and durability of the base member can be further improved.
According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the guide shoe has a travel guide surface that is curved along the longitudinal direction of the guide and a lower surface that is formed in a flat shape, so that the diameter of the pipe material that constitutes the base member. Even when it is difficult to bend the upper surface side of the base member along the longitudinal direction of the guide, the guide shoe can be favorably supported by the base member.

The perspective view which shows the chain guide of 1st Embodiment. The perspective view which shows the guide shoe of 1st Embodiment. The perspective view which shows the base member of 1st Embodiment. The perspective view which shows the base member of 1st Embodiment seeing from the direction different from FIG. The perspective view which shows the chain guide of 2nd Embodiment. The perspective view which shows the base member of 2nd Embodiment. The perspective view which shows the base member of 2nd Embodiment seeing from the direction different from FIG. The perspective view which shows the base member of 3rd Embodiment. The perspective view which shows the chain guide of a reference example. Explanatory drawing of the timing system of the conventional engine. The perspective view which shows the conventional chain guide. The perspective view which shows the other conventional chain guide.

  Below, chain guide 100 concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention is explained based on a drawing.

  The chain guide 100 is configured as a fixed guide fixed to an engine block (not shown) to be attached, and is applied to the known timing system described above.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the chain guide 100 includes a guide shoe 110 that slides and guides a traveling chain on its upper surface, and a base member 120 that supports the guide shoe 110 along the guide longitudinal direction (chain traveling direction). I have.

The guide shoe 110 is formed of a synthetic resin material, and has a travel guide surface 111 extending along the guide longitudinal direction and a lower surface 112 supported by the base member 120 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. .
As shown in FIG. 1, the traveling guide surface 111 is formed to be curved along the longitudinal direction of the guide so that the central portion swells upward, and the lower surface 112 is formed to be flat as shown in FIG. ing.

On the lower surface 112 of the guide shoe 110, as shown in FIG. 2, an engaging protrusion 113 that protrudes downward is formed at the center in the longitudinal direction and the width direction of the guide. The engagement protrusion 113 is inserted into a base through hole 126 of the base member 120 described later, and restricts the movement of the guide shoe 110 relative to the base member 120 in the guide longitudinal direction (and the width direction).
In addition, a plurality of thinning recesses 114 are formed on the lower surface 112 in the vicinity of the center in the longitudinal direction of the guide where the thickness of the guide shoe 110 increases.
Further, hook portions 115 projecting downward are formed on both side edges in the width direction of the guide shoe 110. These hook portions 115 engage with an engaged portion 127 of the base member 120 described later from the outside in the width direction, and restrict the lifting of the guide shoe 110 with respect to the base member 120 and the movement in the width direction. In the present embodiment, two hook portions 115 are formed on each side edge in the width direction of the guide shoe 110, but any number of hook portions 115 may be used.

  The base member 120 is formed of a seamless metal pipe material continuous in the circumferential direction, and supports the guide shoe 110 on its flat upper surface 121 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the base member 120 has a circumferential cut 123 extending along the circumferential direction of the pipe material, and a longitudinal cut extending from one end of the circumferential cut 123 toward the outside in the guide longitudinal direction. 124 are formed on both ends in the longitudinal direction of the guide. The circumferential notch 123 is formed on the lower side of the pipe material over a partial range of the pipe material in the circumferential direction, and the longitudinal notch 124 extends from one end of the circumferential notch 123 in the guide longitudinal direction of the pipe material. Reach the end.

  As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the base member 120 has mounting pieces 125 divided by a circumferential cut 123 and a longitudinal cut 124, and each mounting piece 125 has a lower side (that is, a guide shoe 110 side). The attachment pieces 125 function as attachment portions 125 for attaching the base member 120 to an attachment object such as an engine block. In the present embodiment, each attachment piece 125 is formed with an attachment hole 125a, and a bolt or the like that is fixed to the attachment object is inserted into this attachment hole 125a.

The base member 120 has a base body 122 positioned between a pair of circumferential cuts 123, and a base through hole 126 penetrating from the outer peripheral surface side of the pipe material to the inner peripheral surface is formed on the upper surface of the base main body 122. Is formed.
In addition, on both side edges of the base body 122 in the width direction, engaged portions 127 formed so as to be partially crushed up and down are formed. In the present embodiment, two engaged portions 127 are formed on each side edge of the base body 122 in the width direction.

  Next, the chain guide 200 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated based on FIGS. Here, the second embodiment is exactly the same as the first embodiment described above except for a partial configuration. Therefore, by replacing the reference numerals in the 100s shown in the specification and drawings relating to the first embodiment with the reference numerals in the 200s, the description of the configuration other than the differences will be omitted.

  First, in the chain guide 200, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, one of the attachment pieces 225 formed at both ends of the guide member in the longitudinal direction of the base member 220 is bent downward and extends downward. The other of the attachment pieces 225 is bent upward (ie, on the guide shoe 210 side) and extends upward.

  In the chain guide 200, the entire base body 222 is crushed up and down so that the inner peripheral surfaces of the pipe members are in contact with each other. As a result, the upper surface 221 and the lower surface of the base member 220 are formed flat.

  Further, in the chain guide 200, the engaged portion 127 in the first embodiment is not formed, and the hook portion 215 of the guide shoe 210 is engaged with the side edge in the width direction of the base body 222 crushed up and down. doing.

  Next, the chain guide 300 which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated based on FIG. Here, in this reference example, except for a partial configuration, it is exactly the same as the first embodiment described above. Therefore, by replacing the reference numerals in the 100s shown in the specification and drawings relating to the first embodiment with the reference numerals in the 300s, the description of the configuration other than the differences will be omitted.

  First, in the chain guide 300, as shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of base through holes 326 penetrating from the outer peripheral side to the inner peripheral side of the pipe member are formed on the upper surface 321 of the base member 320 at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the guide. Has been. In this embodiment, the hook portion is not formed on the guide shoe (not shown), and the guide shoe (not shown) is integrally formed on the upper surface 321 side of the base member 320 by insert molding or the like. The resin material of the guide shoe enters through the base through-hole 326, and the inner peripheral side of the base body 322 is filled with the resin material. In this embodiment, the resin material is filled on the inner peripheral side of the base member 320, but the resin material may partially enter the space on the inner peripheral side of the base member 320.

  Next, the chain guide 400 which concerns on the reference example of this invention is demonstrated based on FIG. Here, in this reference example, except for a partial configuration, it is exactly the same as the first embodiment described above. Therefore, by replacing the reference numerals in the 100th series shown in the specification and drawings relating to the first embodiment with the reference numerals in the 400th series, explanations of configurations other than the differences will be omitted.

  First, in the chain guide 400 of the present reference example, as shown in FIG. 9, mounting holes 425a are formed in a portion formed by crushing both ends in the longitudinal direction of the pipe material in the width direction. In this reference example, both ends in the longitudinal direction of the pipe material in which the attachment holes 425 a are formed function as the attachment portions 425.

  In this reference example, a plurality of base through holes penetrating from the outer peripheral side to the inner peripheral side of the pipe member are formed on the upper surface of the base member 420 at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the guide. The guide shoe 410 is integrally formed on the upper surface side of the base member 420, and the resin material of the guide shoe 410 enters the inner peripheral side of the base member 420 through the base through hole, and on the inner peripheral side of the base member 420. The resin material is filled.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various design change can be performed without deviating from this invention described in the claim. Is possible.

For example, the chain guide may be configured by arbitrarily combining the configurations of the plurality of embodiments and the reference example.
Moreover, although each above-mentioned embodiment is provided in the engine which has a timing system, it is not limited to this but is applicable to various apparatuses.
Further, the present invention is not limited to a chain transmission mechanism, and may be applied to a similar transmission mechanism such as a belt or a rope, and can be used in various industrial fields.
In the above-described embodiment, the attachment pieces divided by the circumferential cut and the longitudinal cut are described as being formed on both ends of the guide longitudinal direction, but the attachment pieces are arranged in the guide longitudinal direction. You may form only in the one end side.
In the embodiment described above, a seamless pipe material continuous in the circumferential direction is used as the material of the base member. However, the base member material is formed by winding a plate material in the longitudinal direction of the guide. You may use the pipe material in which the slit extended along was formed.
In the above-described embodiment, the mounting hole into which the bolt fixed to the mounting target is inserted is described as being formed in the mounting piece. However, the mounting hole may not be formed in the mounting piece.
In the above-described embodiment, the example in which both of the pair of attachment pieces extend downward and the example in which one of the pair of attachment pieces extends downward and the other extends upward are described. For example, both the pair of attachment pieces may be extended upward, and the attachment pieces may be extended in directions other than the upper side or the lower side.

100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600 ... Chain guide 110, 210, 410, 510, 610 ... Guide shoe 111, 211 ... Traveling guide surface 112 ... Lower surface 113 ... Engagement Projection 114 ・ ・ ・ Meat recess 115, 215, 515 ・ ・ ・ Hook 120, 220, 320, 420, 520, 620 ・ ・ ・ Base member 121, 221, 321 ・ ・ ・ Upper surface 122, 222, 322. -Base body 123, 223, 323 ... Circumferential cuts 124, 224, 324 ... Longitudinal cuts 125, 225, 325, 425, 525, 625 ... Mounting pieces (mounting parts)
125a, 225a, 325a, 425a, 525a, 625a ... Mounting hole 126, 226, 326 ... Base through hole 127 ... Engaged part CH ... Chain G ... Chain guide B0 ... Oscillating shaft B1 ... Mounting shaft B2 ... Mounting shaft T ... Tensioner
S1, S2 ... Sprocket

Claims (9)

A chain guide comprising a guide shoe that slides and guides a traveling chain, and a base member that supports the guide shoe on its upper surface side,
The base member is formed from a pipe material made of a metal material,
The base member has, on at least one end side in the guide longitudinal direction, a circumferential cut extending along the circumferential direction of the pipe material, and a longitudinal cut extending from one end of the circumferential cut toward the outside of the guide longitudinal direction, An attachment piece segmented by the circumferential cut and the longitudinal cut,
The chain guide, wherein the mounting piece functions as a mounting portion for mounting the base member to a mounting target. A base through hole penetrating from the outer peripheral surface side of the pipe member to the inner peripheral surface side is formed on the upper surface of the base member,
The guide shoe is made of a resin material, is integrally formed on the upper surface side of the base member,
The chain guide according to claim 1, wherein a resin material of the guide shoe enters the inner peripheral side of the base member through the base through hole.   The chain guide according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of the base through holes are formed on the upper surface of the base member at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the guide. The guide shoe has a hook portion formed on the side edge in the width direction,
The said base member is formed by crushing a part of the width direction side edge up and down, and has a to-be-engaged part which engages the said hook part from the width direction outer side. Chain guide. A base through hole penetrating from the outer peripheral surface side of the pipe member to the inner peripheral surface side is formed on the upper surface of the base member,
The guide shoe has an engaging protrusion on a lower surface supported by the base member,
The chain guide according to claim 1, wherein the engagement protrusion of the guide shoe is inserted into the base through hole.   The chain guide according to claim 1 or 5, wherein the base body of the base member is crushed up and down so that inner peripheral surfaces of the pipe members are in contact with each other.   The chain guide according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the pipe material is a seamless pipe material continuous in a circumferential direction thereof. The guide shoe has a travel guide surface that slides and guides the chain, and a lower surface supported by the base member,
The travel guide surface is curved along the longitudinal direction of the guide,
The chain guide according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the lower surface is formed in a flat shape. A base member for a chain guide that supports a guide shoe that slides and guides a traveling chain on its upper surface side,
The base member is formed from a pipe material made of a metal material,
The base member has, on at least one end side in the guide longitudinal direction, a circumferential cut extending along the circumferential direction of the pipe material, and a longitudinal cut extending from one end of the circumferential cut toward the outside of the guide longitudinal direction, A mounting piece segmented by the circumferential cut and the longitudinal cut,
The mounting member functions as a mounting portion for mounting the base member to a mounting target.

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