JP2674845B2 - Automotive power unit equipment - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a front engine / front drive type automobile in which a plurality of cylinders are linearly arranged as an engine in a power unit device for driving the automobile. The present invention relates to a power unit device that uses an in-line multi-cylinder engine that is arranged.

[Conventional technology]

Generally, when the vehicle is a normal vehicle having a displacement of 1000 cc or more, even if the engine used for the power unit device of the front engine / front drive is a series 4-cylinder engine, the crank in the series 4-cylinder engine is used. Since the axial length is relatively shorter than the internal width of the engine room, this 4-cylinder engine
The traveling mission mechanism may be directly connected to one end of the vehicle, and the vehicle may be mounted in the engine room at the front sideways (that is, the crank axis may be oriented substantially at right angles to the traveling direction of the vehicle).

When the vehicle is a light vehicle with a smaller displacement than the above, the engine used for the power unit device of the front engine / front drive is a series type 3
Even in the case of a cylinder engine, the length dimension in the crankshaft direction of the in-line 3-cylinder engine is relatively shorter than the inner width dimension of the engine room. With the mechanism directly connected, it can be mounted sideways in the engine room at the front.

However, when the engine of a normal vehicle is an in-line multi-cylinder engine having five or more cylinders, and when the engine of a light vehicle is an in-line multi-cylinder engine having four or more cylinders. Since the length dimension of these engines in the crankshaft direction is considerably longer than the inner width dimension of the engine room, as described above, a serial multi-cylinder engine including five or four or more cylinders. When the above is applied to the power unit device in the ordinary vehicle or the light vehicle, the engine cannot be laterally mounted in the front engine room with the traveling mission mechanism directly connected to one end of the engine.

Therefore, conventionally, when an in-line multi-cylinder engine having five or four or more cylinders is applied to a power unit device of a front engine / front drive type ordinary vehicle or a light vehicle, the multi-cylinder engine is conventionally used. Is a V-type engine and the length dimension in the crankshaft direction is reduced so that it can be mounted sideways in the engine room, or an in-line multi-cylinder engine with a traveling mission mechanism at one end thereof. In a directly connected state, it is mounted in the engine room in a vertical direction (that is, the crank axis is set in a vertical direction substantially parallel to the traveling direction of the automobile).

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, if the multi-cylinder engine, which is mounted sideways as in the former case, is made into an expensive V-type engine, the price will be significantly increased.

On the other hand, like the latter, an in-line multi-cylinder engine having five or four or more cylinders is vertically installed in the engine room of a normal vehicle or a light vehicle with a running mission mechanism directly connected to one end thereof. Installing it in the opposite direction can avoid a significant increase in price, but on the other hand, the total length of the power unit device, that is, the total length from the front end of the engine to the rear end of the traveling mission mechanism, becomes extremely long, so the rigidity of the power unit device is greatly increased. Not only does this reduce the vibration of the vehicle body in an automobile, but also the size in the front-rear direction of the engine room must be increased, which leads to an increase in the overall length of the automobile. It is said that the overhang dimension from the shaft to the front end face of the power unit device will also be large, resulting in a reduction in the turning performance of the vehicle. There is a problem.

Also, in the conventional case, in the latter, in order to reduce the height of the power unit device, the drive shaft for the front wheels is configured to penetrate the oil pan in the engine mounted vertically, so that the structure is In addition to becoming extremely complicated, oil leakage is caused, and the workability of maintenance such as inspection and repair of the power unit device is greatly reduced.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a power unit device for a front engine / front drive type automobile which solves these problems.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a "running mission having an in-line multi-cylinder engine mounted in an engine room at the front of an automobile, and an input shaft and an output shaft to which power is transmitted from one end of a crank shaft of the engine. In a power unit device including a mechanism and a differential gear mechanism that transmits an operation from an output shaft in the traveling mission mechanism to a drive shaft to both left and right front wheels, the engine is provided with a differential gear mechanism more than the differential gear mechanism. It is located on the front side, the axis of the crankshaft in the engine is in a lateral direction substantially at right angles to the traveling direction of the automobile, and the axis of the cylinder bore in each cylinder is of the crankshaft as viewed from the direction of the axis of the crankshaft. While mounted so as to be inclined forward with respect to the vertical plane including the axis, the traveling mission mechanism, A vertical line where the input shaft and the output shaft of the traveling mission mechanism pass through the axis of the crankshaft and the drive at a position rearward of the engine and higher than the differential gear mechanism when viewed from the direction of the axis of the crankshaft. It is located between the vertical line passing through the axis of the shaft, and the input shaft is located at the top and the output shaft is located at the bottom.
Further, the input shaft and the output shaft are arranged so as to be substantially parallel to the crank shaft. "

[Functions and effects of the invention]

When the in-line engine having a plurality of cylinders is laterally mounted in the engine room at the front of the automobile, as described above, the traveling mission mechanism is provided at a position rearward of the engine and higher than the differential gear mechanism. ,
By disposing the input shaft and the output shaft of the traveling mission mechanism substantially parallel to the crankshaft, it is possible to overlap the in-line multi-cylinder engine and the traveling mission mechanism with respect to the direction of the crankshaft. Therefore, the length dimension along the axial direction of the crankshaft in the power unit device including the engine, the traveling mission mechanism, and the differential gear mechanism, that is, the lateral width dimension of the automobile in this power unit device, can be measured in the engine room. It can be made much shorter than the case where the traveling mission mechanism is directly connected to one end of the in-line engine installed in.

Further, the traveling mission mechanism is located at a position higher than the differential gear mechanism, and the input shaft and the output shaft of the traveling mission mechanism are vertical lines passing through the axis of the crankshaft when viewed from the direction of the axis of the crankshaft. Since the drive transmission mechanism and the differential gear mechanism are arranged so as to be positioned between the drive transmission shaft and a vertical line passing through the axis of the drive shaft, a part of the drive transmission mechanism is located behind the differential gear mechanism. Since the vehicle can be overlapped with the traveling direction of the vehicle under the condition that the differential gear mechanism does not project, the differential gear mechanism can be brought closer to the engine by this amount.

In addition to this, since the input shaft of the traveling mission mechanism is located above and the output shaft is located below, the length dimension along the traveling direction of the vehicle in the traveling mission mechanism is Since the size can be greatly reduced even when the output shaft and the output shaft are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction, this fact and the fact that the traveling mission mechanism and the differential gear mechanism are combined with each other in the traveling direction of the vehicle The differential gear mechanism can be brought closer to the engine in combination with the fact that a part of the mechanism can overlap under the condition that it does not project rearward from the differential gear mechanism. The length dimension from the rear end face of the mechanism to the front end face of the engine, that is, the length dimension along the traveling direction of the vehicle in the power unit device can be significantly reduced. At the same time, the overhang dimension from the drive shaft for both front wheels to the front end face of the engine, that is, the front end face of the power unit device is determined by the in-line multi-cylinder engine in which one end is directly connected to the traveling mission mechanism in the engine room. It can be made shorter than when it is mounted vertically.

Moreover, by mounting the in-line multi-cylinder engine so that the axis of the cylinder bore in each cylinder inclines forward with respect to the vertical plane when viewed from the direction of the crankshaft, the height dimension in the power unit device is The drive shaft for the front wheels can be lowered without being configured to penetrate the oil pan in the engine as in the conventional case.

Therefore, according to the present invention, in the power unit device including the in-line multi-cylinder engine having a plurality of cylinders, the traveling mission mechanism, and the differential gear mechanism, the width dimension along the lateral direction of the vehicle and the progress of the vehicle. Since the length along the direction can be significantly reduced and the height can be reduced, the engine room accommodating the power unit device has a complicated structure and oil leakage. Can be remarkably downsized and the rigidity can be greatly improved without causing the occurrence of
Moreover, since the overhang size can be reduced, it is possible to avoid a decrease in the turning performance of the automobile.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a vehicle body frame, reference numeral 2 denotes front and rear wheels on both sides of the vehicle, and reference numeral 3
Is a differential gear mechanism arranged in a portion between the front wheels 2 and reference numeral 4 is a drive shaft for transmitting power from the differential gear mechanism 3 to the front wheels 2.

Reference numeral 5 denotes an in-line multi-cylinder engine in which six cylinders are arranged in a straight line. The engine 5 is provided at a portion in front of the differential gear mechanism 3 with a crankshaft 6 in the engine 5. The cylinder shaft 7 is oriented laterally so as to be substantially perpendicular to the traveling direction of the automobile, and the axis 8 of the cylinder bore 7 in each cylinder is viewed from the direction of the crankshaft 6 in the direction of the crankshaft 6.
An appropriate angle (θ) in the forward direction with respect to the vertical line 9 passing through the axis line of
Mount it so that it only tilts.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a traveling mission mechanism constituted by an input shaft 11, an output shaft 12, and a plurality of gear trains provided between the shafts 11 and 12, and the traveling mission mechanism 10 is constituted by the engine 5 The input shaft 11 of the traveling mission mechanism 10 is located at a position rearward of and higher than the differential gear mechanism 3.
When the output shaft 12 and the output shaft 12 are arranged so as to be substantially parallel to the crankshaft 6 of the engine 5, the input shaft 11 and the output shaft 12 of the traveling mission mechanism 10 are viewed from the direction of the axis of the crankshaft 6. Is located between the vertical line 9 passing through the axis of the crankshaft 6 and the vertical line 18 passing through the axis of the drive shaft 4, and the input shaft 11 is positioned above and the output shaft 12 is positioned below. Configure.

Further, a flywheel 13 for the engine 5 is rotatably provided on the input shaft 11 of the traveling mission mechanism 10, and a silent chain 14 is wound between the flywheel 13 and the crankshaft 6 of the engine 5. And the rotation of the crankshaft 6 is transmitted to the flywheel 13 (in this case, the crankshaft 6 and the flywheel are
Instead of the silent chain 14, it may be configured to transmit power by a gear mechanism), and between the flywheel 13 and the input shaft 11 for intermittent transmission of power. While the clutch mechanism 15 is provided, the pinion gear 16 fitted to the output shaft 12 of the traveling mission mechanism 10 is meshed with the final driven gear 17 of the differential gear mechanism 3 to transmit power to the differential gear mechanism 3. To configure.

In this configuration, when the crankshaft 6 is rotated by starting the engine 5, the flywheel 13 is interlocked with this.
Rotates. Therefore, when the clutch mechanism 15 is turned on for power transmission, the rotation is transmitted to the input shaft 11 of the traveling mission mechanism 10, and the rotation is transmitted to the input shaft 11 and the output shaft 12.
After being speed-changed to a suitable speed by a plurality of gear trains between and, it is transmitted to the differential gear mechanism 3 and the left and right front wheels 2 are rotationally driven, so that the vehicle travels forward.

In this case, the traveling mission mechanism 10 is located at a position rearward of the engine 5 and higher than the differential gear mechanism 3, and the input shaft 11 and the output shaft 12 of the traveling mission mechanism 10 are connected to the crankshaft 6 of the engine 5. Between the vertical line 9 passing through the axis of the crankshaft 6 and the vertical line 18 passing through the axis of the drive shaft 4 when viewed in the direction of the axis of the crankshaft 6 from the direction of the axis of the crankshaft 6. Since the in-line multi-cylinder engine 5 and the traveling mission mechanism 10 can be overlapped with each other in the direction of the axis of the crankshaft 6, the engine 5, The length W along the crankshaft direction in the power unit device including the traveling mission mechanism 10 and the differential gear mechanism 3, that is, the vehicle in this power unit device The width dimension W in the transverse direction, it can be much shorter than when directly connected to the traveling transmission mechanism with respect to one end of the straight engine mounted transversely in the engine compartment.

Further, when viewed from the axial direction of the crankshaft 6, the traveling mission mechanism 10 is located at a position higher than the differential gear mechanism 3, and the input shaft 11 and the output shaft 12 of the traveling mission mechanism 10 are connected to the crankshaft 6. This traveling mission mechanism is arranged so as to be located between the vertical line 9 passing through the axis of the drive shaft 4 and the vertical line 18 passing through the axis of the drive shaft 4.
10 and the differential gear mechanism 3 can be overlapped with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle under the condition that a part of the traveling mission mechanism 10 does not project rearward from the differential gear mechanism 3. , The differential gear mechanism 3 to the engine 5
Can be approached.

In addition to this, by configuring the input shaft 11 of the traveling mission mechanism 10 to be located on the upper side and the output shaft 12 to be located on the lower side, the length dimension along the traveling direction of the vehicle in the traveling mission mechanism 10 is The length from the rear end face of the differential gear mechanism 3 to the front end face of the engine 5 can be significantly reduced even when the input shaft 11 and the output shaft 12 are arranged side by side in a substantially horizontal lateral direction. The dimension L, that is, the length dimension L of the power unit device along the traveling direction of the vehicle can be significantly reduced, and the drive shaft 4 to the front wheels 2 to the front end face of the engine 5, that is, the front end of the power unit device. The overhang dimension S up to the surface is changed to the vertical direction in the engine room by using the in-line multi-cylinder engine directly connected to the traveling mission mechanism at one end as in the conventional case. It can be made shorter than the case of mounting.

In addition, the in-line multi-cylinder engine 5 is mounted such that the axis 8 of the cylinder bore 7 in each cylinder is tilted forward by an appropriate angle (θ) with respect to the vertical plane when viewed from the direction of the crankshaft 6. As a result, the height dimension H in the power unit device can be reduced without the need to configure the drive shaft for the front wheels to penetrate the oil pan in the engine as in the conventional case.

[Brief description of the drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a side view of a front portion of an automobile, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1 ... Body frame, 2 ... Front wheel, 3 ... Differential gear mechanism, 4 ... Drive shaft, 5 ... Engine, 6 ... Crank shaft, 7 ... Cylinder bore, 8 ... Cylinder bore axis, 9 , 18 ... vertical line, 10 ... running mission mechanism, 11 ...
… Input shaft, 12 …… output shaft, 13 …… flywheel, 14…
… Silent chain, 15… Clutch mechanism, 16… Pinion gear, 17… Final driven gear.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An in-line multi-cylinder engine (5) mounted in an engine room at the front of an automobile, and an input shaft (11) and an output to which power is transmitted from one end of a crank shaft (6) of the engine (5). A traveling mission mechanism (10) having a shaft (12) and power from an output shaft (12) of the traveling mission mechanism (10) are transmitted to a drive shaft (4) to both left and right front wheels (2). A power unit device comprising a differential gear mechanism (3), wherein the engine (5) is located at a position on the front side of the differential gear mechanism (3), and the crankshaft ( The axis of 6) is a lateral direction substantially perpendicular to the traveling direction of the automobile, and the axis (8) of the cylinder bore (7) in each cylinder is the crankshaft (6) when viewed from the direction of the axis of the crankshaft (6). Axis of The traveling mission mechanism (10) is mounted so as to be inclined forward with respect to a vertical plane including the same, and the traveling mission mechanism (10) is located at a position rearward of the engine (5) and higher than the differential gear mechanism (3). The input shaft (11) and the output shaft (12) in the traveling mission mechanism (10) as viewed from the direction of the crankshaft (6) and the drive shaft (4) and the vertical line passing through the axis of the crankshaft (6). ), The input shaft (11) is located in the upper part, the output shaft (12) is located in the lower part, and
A power unit device for an automobile, wherein the input shaft (11) and the output shaft (12) are arranged so as to be substantially parallel to the crank shaft (6).