JP2591830B2 - Vehicle power unit joint reinforcement device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a device for reinforcing a joint between an engine and a transaxle constituting a power unit for a vehicle.

(Prior art) Front engine front wheel drive vehicle (FF
Vehicle) and rear engine rear wheel drive vehicle (RR vehicle), the transmission and the differential gear are configured as a single unit to form a transaxle, and the transaxle and the engine are combined to form a power unit. After the power from the engine is shifted by the transmission, the power is distributed to the left and right drive wheels by the differential gear, and the vehicle can run.

When the engine is placed horizontally, the power units are arranged, for example, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 4th
FIG. 5 is a plan view of the vehicle viewed from above so that the direction of the arrow points to the front of the vehicle body. FIG. 5 is a front view of the vehicle viewed from the front of the vehicle body. Power unit. The power unit is mounted on the vehicle body through about four brackets including the engine mount bracket 4, and the bracket 4 supports the portion 2 a of the transaxle 2 that overhangs from the engine 1 on the surface including the coupling surface 3 on the vehicle body.

On the other hand, the connecting portion between the engine 1 and the transaxle 2 has a not so large connecting area and therefore needs to be reinforced. Otherwise, the resonance point is lowered, which causes a muffled sound. For this purpose, for example, Nissan Service Weekly Report “NISS
AN. Sunny ", published in September 1987 by Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., usually provided a stay 5 bridging between the engine 1 and the transaxle overhang 2a.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, as shown in FIG. 4, the end 5a of the stay 5 to be connected to the transaxle overhang portion 2a is avoided by the presence of the engine mount bracket 4 in the connecting position. Has to be positioned relatively forward of the vehicle body, and as a result, the inclination angle θ of the stay 5 with respect to the crankshaft axis of the engine 1 cannot be avoided. For this reason, as apparent from the inclination of the stay 5 shown in FIG. 5, the stay 5 can increase the vehicle body vertical bending rigidity of the connecting portion between the engine 1 and the transaxle to some extent. As is apparent from the inclination shown in the figure, the bending rigidity of the connecting portion in the vehicle longitudinal direction cannot be increased to the left.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problem by moving an end of a stay to be connected to a transaxle overhang on an engine mount bracket for the overhang.

(Means for Solving the Problems) For this purpose, a power unit connecting portion reinforcing apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a power unit formed by connecting an engine and a transaxle to each other in a plane including a connection between the engine and the transaxle. In a vehicle attached to a vehicle body with an engine mount bracket at a transaxle portion that overhangs from an engine, one end of a stay that reinforces a coupling portion between the engine and the transaxle is provided along a coupling surface between the engine and the transaxle. The engine mount bracket extends so as to bridge between a pair of mutually separated ribs, is welded to each of the pair of ribs, and has the other end detachably connected to the engine.

(Operation) The power from the engine is shifted by the transaxle and distributed and output to the left and right drive wheels to drive the vehicle.

By the way, the transaxle side end of the stay that reinforces the joint between the engine and the transaxle is connected to the engine mount bracket for the transaxle overhang portion. The end can be sufficiently far away from the engine crank shout axis to increase the angle of inclination of the stay. For this reason, the bending rigidity of the connecting portion in the transaxle overhang direction can be sufficiently increased.

In addition, when connecting the one end of the stay to the engine mount bracket, in particular, the end of the stay is connected between a pair of mutually separated ribs of the engine mount bracket extending along the connecting surface between the engine and the transaxle. The bridge ends are extended and welded to each of the pair of ribs, so that the stay ends are connected to the engine mount bracket at two places apart from each other without adding any parts. As a result, the binding strength is increased, and the effect of reinforcing the joint between the engine and the transaxle can be further enhanced with an inexpensive configuration.

Also, the above welding is done with the engine mount bracket,
This makes it possible to handle the stay as an integral part, and also contributes to improving the workability of mounting the power unit, which is very advantageous.

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

1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention.
5 and FIG. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The power unit composed of the engine 1 and the transaxle 2 connected by the surface 3 is disposed laterally on an engine mount member 6 extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction. And
Both sides of the power unit in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body are mounted on the vehicle body via the members 6 by engine mount brackets 4 and 7, respectively, and both ends of the power unit in the left-right direction of the vehicle body are mounted on the vehicle body by engine mount brackets 8 and 9, respectively.

The engine mount bracket 4 is for attaching the power unit to the vehicle body at the transaxle overhang portion 2a as described above with reference to FIG. 3, and the transaxle side end of the stay 5 for reinforcing the joint between the engine 1 and the transaxle 2 5a is arranged parallel to the axis of the engine crankshaft and as far away from it as possible, and both side ribs 4a, 4a of the bracket 4 having a substantially U-shaped cross section.
b and welded to them (indicated by 10). On the other hand, the engine-side end 5b of the stay 5 is connected to the engine 1 with bolts 11.

The power from the engine 1 is shifted by a transmission in the transaxle 2 and then transmitted to left and right drive wheels as indicated by arrows by a differential gear in the transaxle 2 to run the vehicle. During the operation of the power unit, a bending moment applied to a joint between the engine 1 and the transaxle 2 is partially received by a stay 5 bridged between the engine 1 and the transaxle 2 (overhang portion 2a). . By the way, since the transaxle side end 5a of the stay 5 is not connected to the transaxle overhang portion 2a but to the engine mount bracket 4 attached thereto, the stay end 5a
Despite the presence of the engine mount bracket 4, the stay inclination angle θ can be increased greatly from the engine crankshaft axis. Therefore,
The bending rigidity in the overhang direction (in this example, the front-rear direction of the vehicle body) at the joint between the engine 1 and the transaxle 2 can be sufficiently increased.

When the stay end 5a is connected to the engine mount bracket 4 at two locations with the ribs 4a and 4b separated from each other by a distance between the two ribs, the connection shown in FIGS. Compared with the structure, this also contributes to the enhancement of the bending rigidity of the joint.

(Effect of the Invention) As described above, the device of the present invention has a configuration in which the transaxle-side end 5a of the stay 5 is replaced with the transaxle overhang portion 2a and attached to the engine mount bracket 4 to be attached thereto. Despite the presence of this bracket, the stay end 5a can be largely separated from the engine crankshaft axis to increase the stay inclination angle θ, and the connection between the engine 1 and the transaxle 2 can be sufficiently provided in the overhang direction. The bending rigidity can be high.

In addition, when connecting the stay end 5a to the engine mount bracket 4, the stay end 5a
A pair of mutually spaced ribs 4a and 4b of an engine mount bracket extending along a coupling surface 3 between the engine 1 and the transaxle 2 are extended so as to bridge between the ribs 4a and 4b, and are welded to the pair of ribs, respectively. 10), the stay end 5a is connected to the engine mount bracket 4 at two places apart from each other without adding any components, and the bonding strength is increased, and as a result, The effect of reinforcing the joint between the engine 1 and the transaxle 2 can be further enhanced with an inexpensive configuration.

In addition, the above welding 10 is used for the engine mount bracket 4
And the stay 5 can be handled as an integral part, which contributes to improving the workability of mounting the power unit, which is very advantageous.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a power unit coupling portion reinforcing device according to the present invention as viewed from above the vehicle body, FIG. 2 is a front view of the device as viewed from the front of the vehicle body, and FIG. FIGS. 4 and 5 are a plan view and a front view similar to FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively, illustrating a conventional apparatus. 1 ... Engine 2 ... Transaxle 2a ... Overhang part 4 ... Engine mount bracket 5 ... Stay 10 ... Welding

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A power unit comprising an engine and a transaxle connected to each other is mounted on a vehicle body by an engine mount bracket at a transaxle portion which overhangs from the engine in a plane including a connection between the engine and the transaxle. In a vehicle, one end of a stay that reinforces a connection between the engine and the transaxle is bridged between a pair of mutually spaced ribs of the engine mount bracket extending along a connection surface between the engine and the transaxle. And a welding portion attached to the pair of ribs, and the other end is detachably connected to the engine.