JP2021156168A - Connector attachment heat shield bracket of internal combustion engine - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a heat shield bracket which can prevent a connector from thermal damage as a whole.SOLUTION: A bracket 16 is fixed to, for example, a flange 3a of a transmission case 3, and protects a connector 14 of an O2 sensor 12 from the thermal damage of a catalyst case 5. The bracket 16 comprises a heat shield part 17 for protecting the connector 14 from the heat of the catalyst case 5, and an attachment part 19 integrally formed at the heat shield part 17 via a wall part 18. A first auxiliary bracket 21 is fixed to the heat shield part 17 by welding, and the connector 14 is attached to the first auxiliary bracket 21 by snap-engagement. Since the heat shield part 17 also shields an engagement claw 22 of the connector 14, the connector 14 can be protected from the thermal damage of the catalyst case 5 as a whole.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a heat shield bracket for mounting a connector for harness connection in an internal combustion engine such as an automobile.

Many sensors are used in the internal combustion engine, and along with this, many harnesses are stretched around the engine body. The harness is generally connected to the sensor via a connector. The connector consists of a movable part to which one end of the harness is connected and a fixed part to which this is connected. When the fixed part is attached to the sensor, and when the fixed part is connected to the harness (cable) pulled out from the sensor, the fixed part is connected. There are cases where it is done.

In any case, the connector is attached to the bracket, but since the connector has a resin part and does not necessarily have high heat resistance, it is used for exhaust system members such as exhaust manifolds, catalyst cases, and exhaust pipes that get hot. When arranging the connector nearby, it is necessary to provide a heat shield function to the bracket to which the connector is attached.

Therefore, a bracket having a heat shield structure or the like has been proposed. As an example, Patent Document 1 discloses that a bracket is provided with a heat shield portion that shields heat from the exhaust manifold, and a connector is arranged at a portion of the heat shield portion opposite to the exhaust manifold. On the other hand, Patent Document 2 discloses that a fixing portion of a connector is fixed to a bracket and a protector for heat shielding is attached to the connector by a spring-type clip body.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-186147 Microfilm of Jitsukaihei No. 1-166243

By the way, fixing with screws is possible as a means of attaching the connector, but fixing with screws has problems of poor workability and loosening of screws, so in recent years, in general, mushroom shapes that deform against elasticity, etc. The engaging claws of the above are projected onto the installation surface of the main body, and the engaging claws are forcibly inserted into the engaging holes provided in the bracket to be attached to the bracket. That is, a clip-type connecting means is adopted.

In Patent Document 1, since the main body of the connector is hidden behind the heat shield, the heat is shielded for the time being, but since the engaging claw of the connector is exposed in the direction of the exhaust manifold, the engaging claw is melted by heat. It may soften or soften, so it is hard to say that it is sufficient as a measure against heat damage.

On the other hand, in Patent Document 2, although the entire connector can be covered with a protector, since the clip body of the protector only grips the connector by elastic force, there is a problem that the protector easily falls off due to vibration and the protector. There is a problem that the vibration of the connector may spread to the connector and the connection may be disconnected, or there is a problem that the heat shield function of the connector is not always sufficient because the heat received by the protector is transferred to the connector, so the reality is doubtful. Is.

The invention of the present application has been made to improve such a situation.

The present invention relates to a heat shield bracket for attaching a connector arranged in a place where the exhaust system member receives heat, and the bracket is:
"It includes a mounting portion that is stacked and fixed to the engine body, and a heat shield that is integrally arranged with the mounting portion and is arranged so as to protect the connector from the heat of the exhaust system member. An auxiliary bracket to which the connector is attached is fixed to the heat portion or the mounting portion so as to be located on the opposite side of the heat shield portion from the exhaust system member. "
It is configured as.

In the present invention, it is possible to attach only the connector to the bracket, or it is also possible to attach a clip for holding the harness together. When providing a clip for holding the harness, an auxiliary bracket different from the auxiliary bracket for the connector may be provided. When the clip body for the harness is provided in this way, the harness can be held in a state where it does not hang down, which is preferable.

In the present invention, since the entire auxiliary bracket is hidden behind the heat shield while the heat shield is viewed from the exhaust system member, even if the connector attachment means is a resin engaging claw method, The engaging claws are not exposed to the heat (particularly radiant heat) emitted from the exhaust system member. Therefore, it is possible to accurately prevent heat damage while maintaining a state in which the connector can be attached with one touch. Further, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the connector does not adhere to the heat shield portion, and in this case, it is possible to remarkably suppress the connector from receiving heat through the heat shield portion.

When a plurality of auxiliary brackets are provided and a clip body is provided on one auxiliary bracket as in the embodiment, the posture can be maintained in a state where the harness does not hang down. Therefore, it is suitable when the harness is arranged in the lower part of the engine room in the internal combustion engine for automobiles.

It is a perspective view which shows the use state of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the bracket of an embodiment, (A) is a perspective view, (B) is a BB perspective view of (A), (C) is a partial view of (B). (A) is a view of IIIA-IIIA of FIG. 2 (A), (B) is a view of IIIB-IIIB of FIG. 2 (A), and (C) is a sectional view taken along line CC of (B).

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This embodiment is applied to a bracket of an internal combustion engine for an automobile. In the following, the front-back and left-right terms are used to specify the direction, but the front-back direction is the crank axis direction, and the left-right direction is the direction orthogonal to the crank axis and the cylinder bore axis. Regarding the front and the back, the side where the timing chain is arranged is the front, and the side where the mission kens is arranged is the back. To be on the safe side, the direction is clearly shown in FIG.

FIG. 1 shows a part of an internal combustion engine. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 indicates the rear portion of the cylinder block, reference numeral 2 indicates the rear portion of the oil pan, reference numeral 3 indicates a mission case, and reference numeral 4 indicates a transmission oil tank. 5 is arranged in a vertically longitudinal posture, and an exhaust pipe 8 is connected to the lower end of the catalyst case 5 via joint devices 6 and 7. The cylinder block 1, the oil pan 2, and the mission case 3 constitute the engine body described in the claims. In addition, the cylinder head, head cover, and timing chain case (front cover) are also components of the engine body.

The upper and lower joint devices 6 and 7 are provided with spherical fitting type flanges 6a and 7a, and the upper and lower flanges 6a and 7a are connected by bolts 10 via a pair of springs 9. The exhaust pipe 8 is bent so as to extend downward from the joint device 7 and extend in the horizontal direction, and an O2 sensor (oxygen concentration sensor) 12 is attached to the horizontal portion.

The first harness 13 is connected to the O2 sensor 12, and the second harness 15 is connected to the first harness 13 via the connector 14. The connector 14 includes a fixed portion 14a and a movable portion 14b that can be freely inserted and removed from the fixed portion 14a, and the fixed portion 14a is attached to the bracket 16.

The bracket 16 is made of a metal plate such as a stainless steel plate, and as shown in FIGS. The heat shield portion 17 is provided with a mounting portion 19 that is integrally continuous via a rear facing wall portion 18 on a side edge close to the mission case 3. Therefore, the bracket 16 is bent in a substantially crank shape (stepped shape) in a plan view.

Then, the first auxiliary bracket 21 having an L-shape in a plan view is fixed to the rear surface of the heat shield portion 17 by welding. The first auxiliary bracket 21 is provided with an upright piece 21a that faces backward and has a wide surface facing in the left-right direction. The fixing portion 14a of the connector 14 is attached.

As shown in FIG. 2 (B), the fixing portion 14a of the connector 14 is provided with an engaging claw 22 that elastically deforms, while as shown in FIGS. 2 (A) and 3 (A), the first auxiliary bracket An engaging hole 23 is formed in the standing piece 21a of the 21. By fitting the engaging claw 22 into the engaging hole 23 against its elasticity, the fixing portion 14a of the connector 14 is fitted to the first auxiliary bracket 21. It is attached to the door so that it cannot be removed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the mounting portion 19 of the bracket 16 is fixed to the flange 3a of the transmission case 3 with bolts 24. Therefore, a bolt insertion hole 25 is bored in the mounting portion 19. The mounting portion 19 is fixed by one bolt 24, but is prevented from rotating by the wall portion 18 hitting the outer peripheral surface of the flange 3a in the transmission case 3. Therefore, it is held in a predetermined posture by fastening one bolt 24.

At the lower end of the mounting portion 19 of the bracket 16, an overhanging portion 26 that is inclined so as to shift outward (the side away from the mission case 33) as it goes downward is integrally provided, and the mounting portion 19 and the lower end of the overhanging portion 26 are integrally provided. A parallel flat portion 19a is formed, and a second auxiliary bracket 27 having an L-shape in a side view is fixed to the flat portion 19a by welding.

Since the second auxiliary bracket 27 has an L-shape when viewed from the side, it has a rearward standing piece 27a with the wide surface facing up and down, and the first harness 13 is held by the standing piece 27a via a clip 28. A long hole-shaped clip engaging hole 29 for the purpose is formed. The clip 28 includes an engaging claw 28a that fits into the clip engaging hole 29 against elasticity, and a holding portion 28b that can forcibly fit the first harness 13. The holding portion 28b may be rotatably attached to the engaging claw 28a.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the rearward-facing rib piece 30 is bent and formed in a state of being continuous with the lower portion of the inner edge of the mounting portion 19 and the inner edge of the overhanging portion 26. Further, the ridge 31 is formed to bulge while straddling the mounting portion 19 and the overhanging portion 26. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a ridge 32 extending across the attachment portion 19, the wall portion 18, and the heat shield portion 17 is also formed to bulge. When these rib pieces 30 and ridges 31 and 32 are provided, bending deformation can be prevented and rigidity can be improved. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 33 indicates a bottom frame constituting the engine room.

As can be roughly understood from FIG. 1, the first harness 13 is pulled upward from the O2 sensor 12, and the clip 28 attached to the second auxiliary bracket 27 grips the middle part to bring the first harness 13 into a bent posture. It is held and its upper end is connected to the fixing portion 14a of the connector 14.

Then, as shown by the dotted arrow in FIG. 2B, heat (radiant heat) is dissipated from the upper part of the catalyst case 5 and the exhaust pipe 8 toward the connector 14, but the connector 14 is not exposed to heat. It is prevented by the heat shield portion 17. In this case, since the connector 14 is attached to the first auxiliary bracket 21, the engaging claw 22 of the connector 14 is also protected from heat by the heat shield 17. Therefore, the engaging claw 22 does not melt or soften, and the entire connector 14 can be protected from heat damage.

Further, as described above, in the embodiment, since the second auxiliary bracket 27 is formed and the clip 28 is attached, the first harness 13 is held so as not to hang down. Therefore, the first harness 13 does not come into contact with the exhaust pipe 8 or hang down below the engine room, and the first harness 13 is not damaged by running.

The above embodiment has been applied to the heat shield bracket of the connector that connects the harness connected to the O2 sensor, but the present invention has a heat shield bracket for the connector that connects the harness connected to the A / F sensor. Widely applicable to connector mounting brackets that may be exposed to heat. Therefore, the shape and mounting position of the bracket, the placement position and posture of the auxiliary bracket, and the like may be designed according to the placement position of the connector and the like. It is also possible to provide an auxiliary bracket to which the connector is attached at the attachment portion of the bracket.

The present invention can be embodied in a heat shield bracket for attaching a connector of an internal combustion engine. Therefore, it can be used industrially.

1 Cylinder block 3 Mission case 5 Catalyst case 8 Exhaust pipe 12 O2 sensor as an example of sensor 13 1st harness 14 Connector 14a Fixed part 14b Movable part 16 Bracket 17 Heat shield part 18 Wall part 19 Mounting part 21 1st auxiliary bracket ( Auxiliary bracket of claim)
22 Engagement claw 23 Engagement hole 24 Fastening bolt 26 Overhang 27 Second auxiliary bracket

Claims (1)

A heat shield bracket that attaches a connector placed in a place that receives heat from exhaust system members.
It is provided with a mounting portion that is stacked and fixed to the engine body, and a heat shield that is integrally arranged with the mounting portion and is arranged so as to protect the connector from the heat of the exhaust system member. An auxiliary bracket to which the connector is attached is fixed to a portion or a mounting portion so as to be located on the side opposite to the exhaust system member with the heat shield portion interposed therebetween.
Heat shield bracket for mounting connectors on internal combustion engines.

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