JP3392761B2 - Swingable pipe joint device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a swingable pipe joint device, and is more effective when used in an exhaust system of an automobile engine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A flange having a spherical concave portion is fixed to one tube, a part of a seal bearing having a spherical convex portion is closely attached to the other tube, and the spherical convex portion is fitted to the spherical concave portion. A shaft member that penetrates the flange and is fixed to the other pipe side is provided, and the elastic force of the compression coil spring held by the shaft member is applied to the flange to ensure close contact between the spherical concave portion and the convex portion. This type is commonly used.

An example of this type of vehicle is the vehicle
This will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. 9 is a simplified side view of the front portion of the automobile as seen from the side.
An engine room 5 is formed by being surrounded by the engine hood 2, the dash panel 3, the front member 4, and the like. The front member 4 is composed of a front grille 7, a front bumper 8 and the like, and these are provided with ventilation holes for passing traveling wind. The engine 9 placed horizontally is mounted on the vehicle body 1 using an elastic mount component (not shown).
Supported by. An exhaust gas purification catalyst catalytic converter 11 is integrally connected to an exhaust manifold 10 that is firmly connected to the engine 9, and an exhaust pipe 15 is further connected via a swingable pipe joint device 12.

The detailed structure of the pipe joint device 12 will be described. Since the catalytic converter 11 here is made of cast iron, the outlet pipe 13 thereof is also made of cast iron, and a flange-shaped projection 14 is integrally provided at the end thereof. ing. A pipe 15 (exhaust pipe described above) to be connected to the outlet pipe 13 is made of a steel plate, and a flange 16 formed by press-forming a steel plate is fixed to the pipe 15. In this fixing method, the end portion of the pipe 15 is inserted into the open end portion 18 of the flange 16 as shown by the welding point 17, and the entire circumference is welded. The spherical concave portion 1 is continuous with the opening end portion 18.
9 is molded, and the flat plate portion 20 is provided continuously to the molded product 9. A part of the ring-shaped seal bearing 21 is brought into close contact with the outlet pipe 13 side, and the spherical shapes of both the concave and convex portions are set so that the spherical convex portion 22 formed on the outer peripheral portion thereof can closely adhere to the spherical concave portion 19. It is finished.

The shaft member 23 is a long bolt having a spring seat 24. The shaft member 23 penetrates a through hole 25 formed in the flat plate portion 20 of the flange, and a screw portion 26 at the tip is firmly screwed into the protrusion 14. The compression coil spring 27 is the shaft member 23.
It is installed between the flat plate portion 20 and the spring seat 24 in the state of being penetrated, and its elastic force is transmitted to the flange 16 so that the spherical concave portion 19 and the convex portion 22 are brought into close contact with each other. In addition, such a structure is provided symmetrically as is clear from FIG.

When the engine 9 swings in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 9 due to torque fluctuations or the pipe 15 vibrates, the relative displacement between the outlet pipe 13 and the pipe 15 is allowed by the angular movement around the swing center 28. The airtightness at that time is ensured by the seal bearing 21. The relative displacement in this case is
The spherical concave portion 19 and the convex portion 22 slide in close contact with each other, and the compression coil spring 27 is deformed accordingly.

[0007]

The exhaust gas that has undergone the oxidation reaction in the catalytic converter 11 is extremely hot, and the heat is most transferred to the seal bearing 21, which further makes the spherical recess 19 extremely hot. This heat is radiant heat from the outer surface 29 of the spherical recess, and excessively heats the peripheral parts. The high temperature phenomenon as described above causes the following problems. That is, in order to secure the heat resistance and abrasion resistance of the seal bearing 21, it is necessary to make the material of the bearing very high quality, which is disadvantageous in terms of cost. Normally, the seal bearing 21 is made of graphite. However, at a thermally harsh place such as immediately after the catalytic converter 11, it becomes necessary to use a ceramic material instead of graphite.
Further, since the compression coil spring 27 is remarkably heated by radiant heat, normal Ni 8 to 10%, Cr 18
Sufficient durability cannot be obtained with about 20% stainless steel. Therefore, for example, it is necessary to use a high nickel alloy having a significantly increased content of the above elements.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problem and Its Action The present invention is provided to solve the above-mentioned problems.
According to the invention of claim 1, the flange having the spherical concave portion is fixed to one of the tubes, and a part of the seal bearing having the spherical convex portion is brought into close contact with the other tube, and the spherical convex portion is matched with the spherical concave portion. Then, a shaft member that penetrates the flange and is fixed to the other pipe side is provided, and the elastic force of the compression coil spring held by the shaft member is applied to the flange to closely contact the spherical concave portion and the convex portion. In the case of the type that aims at the above, the heat shield plate arranged between the outer surface of the spherical recess and the compression coil spring blocks the radiant heat to the compression coil spring, and the heat shield plate has a guide function of cooling air. It is characterized by that. Therefore, the abnormal heat of the compression coil spring is prevented by the heat shield plate, and the temperature of the seal bearing is lowered to an allowable value by the guide function of the cooling air.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the heat shield plate is attached to the flange while being pressed against the flange by the elasticity of the compression coil spring. It is mounted with a simple structure using a compression coil spring. The invention of claim 3 is
The heat shield plate according to claim 1, wherein the heat shield plate is attached to the pipe on the side where the flange is fixed,
The heat shielding and air cooling functions are the same as those described above, and the assembly is simplified by fixing the pipes by welding.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. In addition, about the part which performs the same function as the part demonstrated in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the same code | symbol is described in the figure and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted. First, the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described.
In the claims, "one pipe" means pipe 1
5 and likewise the “other tube” corresponds to the outlet tube 13. Further, in all the embodiments described below, the pipe (exhaust pipe) 15 is connected to the catalytic converter 11, and the present invention is devised as being suitable for a thermally harsh place such as a catalytic converter. Has been done.

Here, the components other than the heat shield plate 30 are the same as those in FIG. The heat shield plate 30 is arranged between the outer side surface 29 of the spherical concave portion and the compression coil spring 27, and is arranged symmetrically. Both heat shield plates 30 and 30 have a substantially “C” shape as shown in FIG. 2 in order to perform the function of guiding the cooling air.
It is shaped to surround the leeward side. Cooling air flows in from the lower side of FIG. 2 as indicated by the arrow, and this lower side is the front of the vehicle, that is, the side of the front grill 7. Since the tube 15, the spherical recess 19, the seal bearing 21 and the like have a circular cross section, the shape as shown in FIG. 2 is selected in order to effectively flow the cooling air around it. In particular, since the cooling property of the part 31 on the leeward side becomes insufficient, the distance between the two heat shield plates 30, 30 becomes narrower toward the leeward side, and the air flow from the left and right collides near the part 31. Therefore, a turbulent flow is generated so that more cooling air comes into contact with the portion 31.

Although various methods can be considered for mounting the heat shield plate 30, the elasticity of the compression coil spring 27 is used here. As is clear from FIG. 3, the heat shield plate 30
The mounting flange 32 is formed in a horizontal direction, and a hole 33 that matches the above-mentioned through hole 25 is formed therein. The outer periphery of the flange 16 is bent as shown in FIG. 1, and the mounting flange 32 is fitted to the corner 34 of the flange 16 to set the relative position between the flange 16 and the heat shield plate 30. That is, the heat shield plate 30 is placed at an appropriate position between the outer side surface 29 and the compression coil spring 27.
Are arranged.

4 and 5 schematically show the installation shape of the heat shield plate 30 in the same manner as in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 shows that the cooling air is positively applied to the portion 31. In FIG. 5, the heat shield plates 30 and 30 which are staggered to each other are required to obtain a smooth flow, and the left and right flows are caused to collide in the vicinity of the portion 31, and the cooling of the portion 31 is promoted by the turbulent flow. Is.

In the embodiment of FIG. 6, a step portion 35 is provided on the heat shield plate 30 on the leeward side, the flow passage resistance is large below the step portion 35, and the flow passage resistance is small above the step portion 35. There is.
By doing so, more cooling air is supplied to the outer surface 29, which is the high-heat side.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is a case where the heat shield plate 30 is attached to the tube 15 side. A projection 36 for mounting is formed by bending the lower part of the heat shield plate 30,
The outer peripheral surface of the is welded by spot welding, and the reference numeral 37 indicates the nugget.

Although not mentioned in the claims, the following constructions derived from the embodiments have advantageous effects. That is, by constructing this pipe joint device as a pair with a catalytic converter of an automobile and guiding the air flow during traveling by a heat shield plate, it is possible to prevent adverse cooling conditions in a narrow engine room. Therefore, the high heat portion can be cooled well. Since the mounting flange 32 is aligned with the corner portion 34,
There is an advantage that the mounting position of the heat shield plate 30 is set correctly.

[0017]

According to the present invention, the heat shield plate is installed between the outer surface of the spherical recess and the compression coil spring to block the radiant heat generated particularly from the outer surface of the spherical recess,
It is possible to prevent a thermal adverse effect on the compression coil spring and use a low-priced spring material. Further, since the heat shield plate has the function of guiding the cooling air, it is possible to positively cool the outer surface of the spherical recess and keep the temperature of the seal bearing itself as low as possible, and therefore The material can be manufactured at a low cost, and the thermal durability can be improved.

An important effect of the structure of the present invention is that the heat shield plate can be installed without changing the structure or size of the existing pipe joint device, or with only a slight design change. This is because such a merit can be obtained by attaching the heat shield plate to the flange by the elasticity of the compression coil spring or fixing a part of the heat shield plate to one pipe.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention and is a front view in which only one side is longitudinally cut.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line (2)-(2) of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional view mainly including a heat shield plate.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional plan view showing a modification of the arrangement of the heat shield plates.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional plan view showing a modified example of the arrangement of another heat shield plate.

FIG. 6 is a three-dimensional view when the shape of the heat shield plate is changed.

FIG. 7 is a vertical front view of a half of one side showing another embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a simplified cross-sectional plan view of the main part of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a simplified side view showing a state of being adopted in an automobile.

FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional front view of a conventional pipe joint device.

[Explanation of symbols]

19 Spherical recess 16 flange 15 One tube 22 Spherical convex part 13 The other tube 23 Shaft member 27 Compression coil spring 29 Outside 30 heat shield

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A flange having a spherical concave portion is fixed to one of the pipes, a part of a seal bearing having a spherical convex portion is brought into close contact with the other pipe, and the spherical convex portion is fitted to the spherical concave portion. A shaft member that penetrates the flange and is fixed to the other pipe side is provided, and the elastic force of the compression coil spring held by the shaft member is applied to the flange to ensure close contact between the spherical concave portion and the convex portion. The heat shield plate disposed between the outer surface of the spherical recess and the compression coil spring blocks the radiant heat to the compression coil spring and the heat shield plate has a guide function for cooling air. A swingable pipe joint device. 2. The swingable pipe joint device according to claim 1, wherein the heat shield plate is attached to the flange while being pressed against the flange by the elasticity of the compression coil spring. 3. The swingable pipe joint device according to claim 1, wherein the heat shield plate is attached to the pipe on the side where the flange is fixed.