JP4198616B2 - Electronic throttle device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic throttle device that is used to adjust the intake air amount of an engine and is configured to open and close a throttle valve by a motor.

  Conventionally, this type of electronic throttle device includes a throttle body including a bore, a throttle valve for opening and closing the bore, and a motor and gear mechanism provided in the throttle body for driving the throttle valve. is there. In recent years, in order to reduce the weight of engines, parts such as throttle bodies have been made into resin products. An electronic throttle device using a synthetic resin throttle body is described in, for example, the specification and drawings of Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-289837 and the following Patent Document 1.

  On the other hand, in order to reduce the weight of the engine, resin products are also being promoted for the intake manifold connected to the throttle body. Therefore, a synthetic resin throttle body may be connected to a synthetic resin intake manifold, and there are various technical problems related to the connection.

  Patent Documents 2 to 4 below relate to a throttle device that does not have a motor different from an electronic throttle device, and describes connection between a synthetic resin intake manifold and a synthetic resin throttle body.

  In order to prevent deformation of the bore inner wall surface of the throttle body when connecting at least one of the throttle body and the intake manifold, the throttle device described in Patent Document 2 The low-rigidity portion is interposed between the cylindrical portion including the bore and the tightening portion with which the bolt contacts.

  In the throttle body described in Patent Document 3, in order to easily connect the throttle body and the intake manifold, a groove and a tapered surface are formed on a diagonal line on the opposite side in the radial direction across the intake passage in the flange portion of the throttle body. And are formed. The connection member of the intake manifold is provided with a pair of arms on a diagonal line of the connection member so as to correspond to the groove and the tapered surface. One arm is formed with a protrusion engageable with the groove, and the other arm is formed with a claw engageable with the tapered surface. When the flange portion of the throttle body is connected to the connection member of the intake manifold, the groove portion and the tapered surface are engaged with the protrusion and the claw by fitting the flange portion to the two arms.

  In the connection structure between the throttle body and the intake manifold described in Patent Document 4, the connection flange of the intake manifold and the connection flange of the throttle body are reinforced without specially thickening the bases of the connection flanges to concentrate stress. In order to endure, a plurality of reinforcing ribs extending from the outer peripheral surface of the intake manifold are provided on the back surface of the connection flange of the intake manifold.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-265861 (page 7, FIGS. 2 and 13) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-280981 (page 2-3, FIG. 1-3) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-13499 (page 2-3, FIGS. 1 and 2) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-242773 (pages 2, 4 and 3)

  However, since the techniques of Patent Documents 2 to 4 described above are based on the premise that the throttle body and the intake manifold are connected and coupled to each other, equipment for assembling them is required. Moreover, since there are various types of intake manifolds depending on the number of cylinders of the engine, the amount of exhaust, and the intake system layout, it is necessary to prepare a plurality of assembling facilities according to the type of intake manifold. This is also true when an electronic throttle device having a motor is connected to and connected to the intake manifold.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an electronic throttle device that can be manufactured integrally with an intake manifold with a small amount of equipment regardless of the type of intake manifold. It is in.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a resin throttle body including a bore, a throttle valve provided in the throttle body for opening and closing the bore, a throttle body provided in the throttle body, In an electronic throttle device including a motor and a gear mechanism for driving a valve, the throttle body includes a cylindrical metering portion that is molded integrally with a resin intake manifold and accommodates the throttle valve, and the intake manifold is , Including a surge tank and a branch pipe communicating with the surge tank, a part of the weighing part is disposed to protrude into the surge tank, and another part of the weighing part is disposed to protrude outside the surge tank, meter portion of the throttle valve is provided within the throttle body is arranged to protrude into the surge tank And the spirit that it is a part of the part.

  According to the configuration of the above invention, since the throttle body is resin-molded integrally with the intake manifold, it is not necessary to connect and connect the throttle body to the intake manifold.

To achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 2, in the invention described in claim 1, the throttle body, a weighing section, and a case section for housing a motor and gear mechanism, the opening of the case portion It is intended to be configured so as to be divided into three bodies with a cover portion covering the.

  According to the configuration of the invention, in addition to the operation of the invention according to claim 1, by unitizing the case portion containing the motor and the gear mechanism and the cover portion covering the opening of the case portion as a drive portion, The drive unit is widely used for various intake manifolds. Further, since the case portion and the cover portion are formed separately from the measuring portion, the degree of freedom of mold division is increased when forming the intake manifold including the measuring portion.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the motor has a portion protruding from the case portion, and the motor cover portion covering the protruding portion is a weighing portion. The purpose is to be molded integrally.

  According to the configuration of the above invention, in addition to the operation of the invention according to claim 2, since the projecting portion of the motor is located on the measuring portion side, the dead space on the measuring portion side is effectively used for the projecting portion of the motor. Is done.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the measuring portion and the case portion are joined to each other by welding.

  According to the configuration of the invention described above, in addition to the operation of the invention according to claim 2 or 3, the measuring portion and the case portion are easily coupled by welding, and a sealing property is obtained between the two portions.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the throttle valve is insert-molded with respect to the measuring portion.

  According to the configuration of the above invention, in the invention according to any one of claims 2 to 4, the outer peripheral shape of the throttle valve is transferred to the bore of the measuring portion.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, an electronic throttle device integrated with the intake manifold can be manufactured with a small number of facilities regardless of the type of intake manifold.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the invention, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the electronic throttle device by reducing the drive unit manufacturing facility to one. In addition, since the case part and the cover part may be retrofitted to the measuring part integrated with the intake manifold, the electronic throttle device can be easily manufactured. Furthermore, since the measuring unit is individually molded, the degree of freedom of mold division is increased when the measuring unit is molded, the molding wall thickness of the measuring unit can be made uniform, and deformation thereof can be reduced.

  According to the third aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the second aspect of the invention, since the protrusion of the motor is located on the weighing part side, the dead space on the weighing part side is used for the protrusion of the motor. Effectively used, the entire electronic throttle device can be reduced in size.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 2 or 3, since the weighing part and the case part are joined by welding, the weighing part and the case part are easily joined, Sealability is obtained between the two. For this reason, use of a sealing material can be omitted, and the manufacture of the electronic throttle device can be simplified.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, in addition to the effect of the invention described in any one of claims 2 to 4, since the throttle valve is insert-molded in the measuring portion, the outer peripheral shape of the throttle valve is transferred to the bore. The For this reason, it is possible to improve the degree of sealing between the valve and the bore when the throttle valve is fully closed.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an electronic throttle device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the intake manifold assembly 1. FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view of the intake manifold assembly 1. The intake manifold assembly 1 includes an electronic throttle device 2 integrated with an intake manifold and other accessory parts. The electronic throttle device 2 includes a synthetic resin throttle body 4 including a bore 3, a metal or resin throttle valve 5 for opening and closing the bore 3, and a drive unit 6 for driving the throttle valve 5. Prepare.

  The throttle body 4 is formed integrally with an intake manifold 7 made of synthetic resin. In this embodiment, the intake manifold 7 is configured for four cylinders, and includes a surge tank 8 and four branch pipes 9 communicating with the tank 8. A switching valve 10 for switching the intake passage is assembled in the middle of each branch pipe 9. In FIG. 2, when the throttle valve 5 is opened in the throttle body 4, the air flowing into the bore 3 is, when the switching valve 10 is open, the intermediate port 11 of the branch pipe 9 as indicated by a broken line arrow in FIG. 2. From the outlet section 12 through the pipe 9. On the other hand, when the switching valve 10 is closed, as shown by the solid line arrow in FIG. 2, it enters from the inlet portion 13 of the branch pipe 9 and flows out from the outlet portion 12 through the pipe 9.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a portion of the throttle body 4. FIG. 4 is a front view of the throttle body 4 portion. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a portion of the throttle body 4. FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a part of FIG. The throttle body 4 is formed integrally with the intake manifold 7, and includes a measuring portion 21 that houses the throttle valve 5, a case portion 22 that houses the motor 14 and the gear mechanism 15, and a cover portion 23 that covers the opening 22 a of the case portion 22. It can be divided into three bodies. The drive unit 6 described above includes a case unit 22 and a cover unit 23.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in this embodiment, a flat type motor 14 is used, and a part of the motor 14 protrudes outward from the case portion 22. A motor cover portion 24 that covers the protruding portion 14 a of the motor 14 is formed integrally with the measuring portion 21. Moreover, in this embodiment, the measurement part 21 and the case part 22 are mutually couple | bonded by welding. FIG. 7 shows the inner opening surface of the case portion 22. FIG. 8 shows an opening surface of the measuring unit 21. As shown in FIG. 7, a shaft hole 17 that is aligned with a later-described support shaft 16 </ b> B of the throttle valve 5 is provided in the inner opening surface of the case portion 22, and the protruding portion 14 a of the motor 14 is exposed. As shown in FIG. 8, a flange portion 21a is provided on the opening surface side of the measuring portion 21, and a shaft hole 18 in which the support shaft 16B of the throttle valve 5 is disposed is provided in the flange portion 21a. The shaft hole 18 is aligned with the shaft hole 17 of the case portion 22 described above. In addition, a motor cover portion 24 that covers the protruding portion 14a of the motor 14 is formed integrally with the flange portion 21a.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the throttle valve 5 is provided in the bore 3 of the measuring portion 21 so as to be rotatable through bearings 19 by supporting shafts 16 </ b> A and 16 </ b> B at both ends. In this embodiment, the throttle valve 5 and the support shafts 16A and 16B are integrally provided. The throttle valve 5 and the support shafts 16A and 16B are insert-molded when the measuring portion 21 is resin-molded. At one end of the support shaft 16B, a recess 16a that is coupled to a drive shaft 31 described later is formed. The flange portion 21a described above is formed on the support shaft 16A side, and the motor case portion 24 described above is formed integrally with the flange portion 21a.

  The motor 14 is fixed to one end of the case portion 22 in a state in which the protruding portion 14a protrudes. A drive gear 32 is fixed to the output shaft 14 b of the motor 14. A gear shaft 33 is fixed to the case portion 22. An intermediate gear 34 is rotatably supported on the gear shaft 33. The intermediate gear 34 is prevented from being detached by being covered with the cover portion 23 when the cover portion 23 is assembled to the case portion 22. A drive shaft 31 is rotatably supported by the case portion 22 via a bearing 35. A throttle gear 36 is fixed on the drive shaft 31. At one end portion of the drive shaft 31, a convex portion 31a coupled to the concave portion 16a of the support shaft 16B is formed. A magnet 37 is provided near the other end of the drive shaft 31. One end of a return spring 38 is connected to the throttle gear 36. The other end of the return spring 38 is connected to the case portion 22. With this connection, the throttle gear 36 is urged to rotate in the direction in which the throttle valve 5 is fully closed. The drive gear 32, the intermediate gear 34, and the throttle gear 36 mesh with each other, and the rotation of the output shaft 14b is decelerated and transmitted to the throttle gear 36. Then, the rotation of the throttle gear 36 is transmitted to the throttle valve 5 via the drive shaft 31 and the support shaft 16B, and the throttle valve 5 is driven to open and close. These drive shaft 31, drive gear 32, gear shaft 33, intermediate gear 34, bearing 35, throttle gear 36, return spring 38 and the like constitute the gear mechanism 15 of the present invention.

  A throttle sensor 41 is fixed to the cover portion 23 corresponding to the magnet 37 provided in the case portion 22. A signal output from the throttle sensor 41 is sent to an electronic control unit for controlling the engine. The cover portion 23 is formed with a boss portion 42 that is aligned with the tip of the gear shaft 33. The cover part 23 is fixed to the case part 22 with screws or the like while maintaining airtightness.

  FIG. 9 is a side view with the motor 14 partially broken. The motor 14 includes a casing 25, a magnet 26 accommodated in the casing 25, an armature 27, and an output shaft 14a. Both ends of the output shaft 14 a are rotatably supported by the casing 25 via the sintered bearing 28. In this embodiment, a material having higher magnetic efficiency than that of the conventional material is used for the magnet 26. By using the magnet 26, the motor 14 can be flattened and downsized.

  According to the electronic throttle device 2 integrated with the intake manifold according to this embodiment described above, the throttle body 4 and the intake manifold 7 are integrally molded with resin. Therefore, the throttle body 4 and the intake manifold 7 are individually molded. There is no need to connect and connect. For this reason, unlike the prior art, no equipment for assembling the throttle body 4 and the intake manifold 7 is required. Further, even when many types of intake manifolds are manufactured according to differences in the number of cylinders of the engine, the displacement, the intake system layout, etc., it is not necessary to prepare a plurality of assembly facilities corresponding to the differences in the intake manifolds. As a result, the electronic throttle device 2 integrated with the intake manifold 7 can be manufactured with a small amount of equipment regardless of the type of the intake manifold 7.

  In this embodiment, the case portion 22 that houses the motor 14 and the gear mechanism 15 and the cover portion 23 that covers the opening 22a of the case portion 22 can be unitized as the drive portion 6, whereby the drive portion 6 It is widely used for various types of intake manifolds. For this reason, the manufacturing equipment of the drive part 6 can be united, and the manufacturing cost of the electronic throttle device 2 can be reduced. Moreover, in this embodiment, since the separately manufactured drive part 6 should just be retrofitted with respect to the measurement part 21 integrated with the intake manifold 7, manufacture of the electronic throttle device 2 can be made easy. In other words, if the measuring portion having the intake manifold and the case portion are integrally formed without distinction, it is necessary to assemble the motor and gear mechanism components into a molded product integrated with the intake manifold after the formation, which makes it difficult to assemble. In this embodiment, since the drive unit 6 is retrofitted to the metering unit 21 integrated with the intake manifold 7, there is no difficulty in assembling such parts. Moreover, since the case part 22 and the cover part 23 are shape | molded separately from the measurement part 21, when the intake manifold 7 containing the measurement part 21 is shape | molded, the freedom degree of metal mold split increases. For this reason, the shaping | molding wall thickness of the measurement part 21 can be made uniform, and the deformation | transformation can be reduced.

  In this embodiment, since the projecting portion 14a of the motor 14 is located on the weighing unit 21 side, the dead space on the weighing unit 21 side is effectively used for the projecting portion 14a of the motor 14. For this reason, the whole electronic throttle device 2 can be reduced in size. In particular, in this embodiment, since the flat motor 14 is used, the electronic throttle device 2 as a whole can be further downsized in that sense.

  In this embodiment, since the measurement part 21 and the case part 22 are couple | bonded by welding, both the parts 21 and 22 are couple | bonded easily and airtightness is obtained between both the parts 21 and 22. For this reason, use of a sealing material can be abbreviate | omitted and manufacture can be simplified.

  In this embodiment, since the throttle valve 5 is insert-molded with respect to the measuring portion 21, the outer peripheral shape of the throttle valve 5 is transferred to the bore 3 of the measuring portion 21. For this reason, when the throttle valve 5 is fully closed, the sealing degree between the valve 5 and the bore 3 can be improved.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A part of structure can also be changed suitably and implemented in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of invention.

  For example, the intake manifold-integrated electronic throttle device 2 is not limited to the shape and structure shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the shape of the intake manifold, the attachment position of the throttle body, and the like may be changed as appropriate.

The perspective view which shows a partially broken intake manifold assembly. The side view which shows a partially broken intake manifold assembly. The top view which shows the part of a throttle body. The front view which shows the part of a throttle body. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the part of a throttle body. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which decomposes | disassembles and shows a part of FIG. The figure which shows the inner side opening surface of a case part The figure which shows the opening surface of a measurement part. The motor is partially broken and is a side view.

Explanation of symbols

2 Electronic throttle device 3 Bore 4 Throttle body 5 Throttle valve 7 Intake manifold 14 Motor 14a Protruding portion 15 Gear mechanism 21 Measuring portion 22 Case portion 22a Opening 23 Cover portion 24 Motor cover portion

Claims (5)

A resin throttle body including a bore, provided in the throttle body, a throttle valve for opening and closing the bore, is provided in the throttle body, a motor and a gear mechanism for driving the throttle valve In the electronic throttle device
The throttle body includes a cylindrical measuring portion that is molded integrally with a resin intake manifold and accommodates the throttle valve;
The intake manifold includes a surge tank and a branch pipe communicating with the surge tank,
A part of the measuring part is arranged to protrude into the surge tank, and another part of the measuring part is arranged to protrude outside the surge tank,
The electronic throttle device according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the throttle body where the throttle valve is provided is a part of the measuring portion that protrudes into the surge tank . The said throttle body is comprised so that a division | segmentation into three bodies of the said measurement part, the case part which accommodates the said motor and the said gear mechanism, and the cover part which covers the opening of the said case part is possible. The electronic throttle device according to 1.   3. The electronic throttle device according to claim 2, wherein a part of the motor protrudes from the case part, and a motor cover part covering the protruding part is formed integrally with the measuring part.   The electronic throttle device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the measuring portion and the case portion are joined to each other by welding.   The electronic throttle device according to claim 2, wherein the throttle valve is insert-molded with respect to the measuring portion.

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