JP4246049B2 - Intake air temperature controller - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an intake air control device that enables temperature adjustment of intake air to an engine.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an electronically controlled fuel injection apparatus employed in a fuel supply system for an engine such as a vehicle, a so-called Peltier element (electron utilizing the Peltier effect) that is controlled to heat or cool the fuel injection apparatus (injector) Some have a temperature control element (for example, see Patent Document 1). As a result, the injector is heated at low engine temperatures to promote fuel vaporization, and at high engine temperatures, the injector is cooled to suppress the vapor lock phenomenon caused by the vaporization of pre-injection fuel. It is possible to obtain.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-194769

By the way, as an engine control parameter related to the temperature, there is an intake air temperature in addition to the engine temperature (cooling water temperature), which is easily influenced by the outside air temperature depending on the position of the intake port. If it is too high, the density of the air drawn into the engine will decrease, and if it is too low, the density of the air drawn into the engine will increase, but the fuel will hardly vaporize and the ignitability of the mixture will decrease. Sometimes. In such a case, the engine output is usually optimized by adjusting the fuel injection amount. However, if the intake air temperature itself can be positively controlled, the engine output can be further improved. Therefore, there is a demand for a solution to such a problem.
Therefore, the present invention provides an intake air temperature control device capable of further improving the engine output by suppressing the influence of the outside air temperature.

As a means for solving the above problem, the invention described in claim 1 is an intake air temperature control for adjusting an intake air temperature of a motorcycle engine (for example, the engine 18, 71 of the embodiment) to optimize the output of the engine. An air cleaner element (for example, the air cleaner element 51 of the embodiment) is provided at a front portion in an air cleaner case (for example, the air cleaner case 34 of the embodiment ) that forms an intake passage (for example, the intake passage 53 of the embodiment) of the engine. A throttle body (for example, the throttle body 33 of the embodiment) is connected to the lower rear side of the air cleaner case, and an air funnel (for example, the air funnel 50 of the embodiment) extending upward from the throttle body is provided in the air cleaner case. A rear wall of the air cleaner case, A Peltier element (for example, Peltier element 63 in the embodiment) is disposed above the air funnel on the clean side in the cleaner case and in the vicinity of the attachment surface of the injector (for example, injector 55 in the embodiment).

  According to this configuration, it is possible to heat the intake air in the intake passage by flowing current to the Peltier element, while cooling the intake air by flowing current in the opposite direction to the Peltier element. Is possible.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to secure a large installation area of the Peltier element by arranging the Peltier element in the air cleaner case having a large wall surface. In addition, the Peltier element can be feedback controlled using an intake air temperature sensor generally provided in the air cleaner case.

  According to this configuration, the injected fuel from the injector attached to the air cleaner case is difficult to adhere to the Peltier element.

  According to this configuration, the Peltier element does not touch outside air before being filtered by the air cleaner element.

  According to this configuration, when the intake air is cooled by the Peltier element, the intake air introduced into the air cleaner case can be efficiently cooled.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that a Peltier element is arranged behind the mounting surface of the injector.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, an intake air temperature sensor (for example, the intake air temperature sensor 61 of the embodiment) is provided in the air cleaner case, and the Peltier is in accordance with the intake air temperature in the air cleaner case measured by the intake air temperature sensor. The intake air temperature is controlled by supplying a current to the element.

According to the present invention, the intake air temperature of the engine can be kept at an appropriate temperature regardless of the outside air temperature, and the output of the engine can be improved.
Moreover , the installation area of the Peltier element can be expanded to more reliably control the intake air temperature, and if the existing intake air temperature sensor is also used, the Peltier element can be feedback-controlled while reducing the number of parts. .
Furthermore , it is possible to satisfactorily adjust the intake air temperature by suppressing the adhesion of the injected fuel to the Peltier element.
Furthermore , it is possible to satisfactorily adjust the intake air temperature by suppressing the adhesion of dirt to the Peltier element due to the introduction of outside air.
In addition , the intake air in the air cleaner case can be efficiently cooled to improve the engine output .

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, descriptions of directions such as front, rear, left and right are the same as the directions in the vehicle.
As shown in FIG. 1, a front fork 3 that pivotally supports a front wheel 2 of a motorcycle 1 is pivotally supported by a head pipe 6 provided at a front end portion of a vehicle body frame 5 via a steering stem 4 so as to be steerable. A main frame 7 of the vehicle body frame 5 extends obliquely downward and rearward from the head pipe 6, and a rear end portion thereof is bent downward to be connected to the pivot plate 8. Further, a front end portion of a seat frame 9 extending obliquely upward and rearward is connected to the rear portion of the main frame 7.

  A pivot arm 8 is pivotally attached to the pivot plate 8 via a pivot shaft 11, and a rear wheel 12 is pivotally supported at the distal end of the swing arm 13. The upper end of the cushion unit 14 is attached to the upper part of the base end side of the swing arm 13, and the lower end of the cushion unit 14 is connected to the pivot plate 8 at a position below the pivot shaft 11 via the link mechanism 15. .

  A fuel tank cover 17 is mounted above the main frame 7, and a water-cooled in-line four-cylinder engine 18 is mounted below the main frame 7. A driver seat 19 and a rear passenger pillion seat 20 are provided behind the fuel tank cover 17. A driver step 21 is attached to the rear part of the pivot plate 8, and a rear passenger step 22 is attached to the lower part of the seat frame 9. On the inner side of the fuel tank cover, an air cleaner case 34 is disposed at the front, and a fuel tank body 17a is disposed at the rear.

  A handle 23 is attached to the upper end of the front fork 3. A brake caliper 24 is attached to the lower end portion of the front fork 3 via a caliper bracket, and a brake disc 25 corresponding to the brake caliper 24 is attached to the hub portion of the front wheel 2 so that the front disc brake of the motorcycle 1 is attached. 26 is configured. A rear disc brake (not shown) having the same configuration as that of the front disc brake 26 is provided on the right side of the rear wheel 12.

  The front part of the motorcycle 1 is covered with a front cowl 27, and the periphery of the seat frame 9 is covered with a rear cowl 28. A rear sprocket 29 is attached to the left side of the rear wheel 12, and a drive chain 31 is wound around the rear sprocket 29 and a drive sprocket 30 disposed on the left side of the rear portion of the engine 18. It is transmitted to the wheel 12.

  A downstream side of the throttle body 33 corresponding to each cylinder is connected to the upper rear side of the cylinder head 32 of the engine 18, and an upstream side of each throttle body 33 is connected to the air cleaner case 34. An exhaust pipe 35 corresponding to each cylinder is connected to the front part of the cylinder head 32. The exhaust pipe 35 curves downward from the front part of the cylinder head 32 and passes below the crankcase 36. The rear part is bent upward and connected to a silencer 37 supported by the seat frame 9. A radiator 38 for cooling the engine 18 is disposed in front of the exhaust pipe 35.

As shown in FIG. 2, the engine 18 is a reciprocating engine that causes the piston 42 to reciprocate linearly in the cylinder 41 by burning the air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber 40, and the reciprocating motion of the piston 42 causes the connecting rod 43 to move. Thus, the crankshaft 44 converts it into rotational motion and outputs rotational power.
In the cylinder head 32, an intake port 45 and an exhaust port 46 are formed for each cylinder, and the openings on the combustion chamber 40 side of these ports 45 and 46 are opened and closed by an intake valve 47 and an exhaust valve 48, respectively. An opening of the intake port 45 of each cylinder is provided on the upper rear side of the cylinder head 32, and the downstream side of the throttle body 33 is connected to this opening via an insulator 49. An upstream side of the throttle body 33 is connected to a lower rear side of the air cleaner case 34, and an air funnel 50 corresponding to each throttle body 33 is disposed in the air cleaner case 34. The insulator 49, the throttle body 33, and the air funnel 50 form an intake air introduction passage that linearly extends obliquely upward and rearward from the opening of the intake port 45 of each cylinder in the cylinder head 32.

  An air cleaner element 51 is provided in the front portion of the air cleaner case 34. The air cleaner element 51 is substantially cylindrical, and has a lower end abutting so as to cover an opening of an air duct 52 provided on the lower front side of the air cleaner case 34, and is inclined so as to be located rearward as it is positioned upward. Fixed in state. An air duct 52 serving as an outside air introduction passage to the air cleaner case 34 extends obliquely downward and forward from the lower front side of the air cleaner case 34, and is directed substantially forward in front of the engine 18 and above the radiator 38 toward the front end of the intake port 52 a. Arranged in the state of letting. The air duct 52, the air cleaner case 34, the funnel, the throttle body 33, the insulator 49, and the intake port 45 constitute an intake passage 53 of the engine 18.

  Here, when the intake port 52a of the air duct 52 opens forward in front of the engine 18 and above the radiator, a large amount of outside air is generated by the traveling wind pressure when the motorcycle 1 is traveling. It is introduced so as to be pushed into the air cleaner case 34 without being affected by the heat. As a result, the intake air density to the engine 18 is increased and the charging efficiency is increased, so that the output of the engine 18 is increased. A movable valve 52b is provided at the front of the air duct 52 to throttle the outside air introduction passage according to the speed of the motorcycle 1 or the like.

An injector 54 disposed so as to be able to inject fuel toward the intake port 45 of the cylinder head 32 is attached to a portion downstream of the throttle valve 33a that opens and closes the intake passage 53 in each throttle body 33. In addition, an injector 55 disposed so as to be able to inject fuel toward the opening of each air funnel 50 is attached to the rear side of the upper portion (upper wall) of the air cleaner case 34.
The outside air introduced into the air cleaner case 34 through the air duct 52 is filtered by passing through the air cleaner element 51 from the inside to the outside, and then, the intake air is introduced from each air funnel 50 to each cylinder. The gas enters the passage and is supplied into the cylinder 41 as an air-fuel mixture with the fuel injected from the injectors 54 and 55.

  Here, the clean side in the air cleaner case 34, that is, a site on the downstream side of the air cleaner element 51 in the intake passage 53, in the vicinity of the mounting surface of the injector 55 of the air cleaner case 34 (the inner surface of the upper wall of the air cleaner case). A Peltier element 63 to be described later is attached.

  In FIG. 3, reference numeral 56 denotes a control circuit for controlling the electronically controlled fuel injection device. The control circuit 56 is a so-called ECU (Electronic Control Unit), has a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and the like, and operates by receiving power supply from the battery 57. The control circuit 56 measures an intake air temperature, an air flow meter 58 that measures the intake air amount, an opening sensor 59 that measures the opening of the throttle valve 33a, a rotation angle sensor 60 that detects the rotation angle of the crankshaft 44, and an intake air temperature. An input from the intake air temperature sensor 61, an output from the water temperature sensor 62 for measuring the engine temperature (cooling water temperature), etc., is input, and a predetermined process is performed. A command signal is output to each part in order to control the ignition timing of the air-fuel mixture.

The intake air temperature sensor 61 is provided, for example, at the rear of the air cleaner case 34, and the intake air temperature sensor 61 measures the temperature in the air cleaner case 34 as an intake air temperature that is one of the control parameters of the electronically controlled fuel injection device. Thus, the control circuit 56 outputs command signals to the injectors 54 and 55 so that the fuel injection amount is suitable for the density of the intake air, in other words, the oxygen concentration.
An electronic temperature control element utilizing the Peltier effect that is controlled to heat or cool the air in the air cleaner case 34, that is, a Peltier element 63 is provided on the upper rear side of the air cleaner case 34 in this embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the Peltier element 63 includes, for example, an arbitrary number of alternately arranged P-type semiconductors 64 and N-type semiconductors 65 connected in series using a copper plate electrode 66, and a pair of them. It has a known structure that is sandwiched between ceramic substrates 67. By applying a direct current to the Peltier element 63 via the lead wire 68, a heat dissipation phenomenon or an endothermic phenomenon occurs between the semiconductors 64 and 65 and the copper plate electrode 66, and one ceramic substrate 67 side is heated, and the other The ceramic substrate 67 side is cooled. The heating temperature and the cooling temperature can be adjusted by increasing / decreasing the current or voltage flowing through the Peltier element 63 and increasing / decreasing the heat absorption amount and the heat dissipation amount. Further, by reversing the direction of the current, the heat absorption side, that is, the cooling side, and the heat radiation side, that is, the heating side can be switched.

  The Peltier element 63 configured as described above is expected to have one ceramic substrate 67 inside the air cleaner case 34 in an opening formed by greatly notching the upper wall of the air cleaner case 34 in order to secure a large installation area. In addition, the other ceramic substrate 67 is exposed to the outside of the air cleaner case 34 and is attached to the air cleaner case 34 via a heat insulating material 69. As a result, air in the air cleaner case 34 can be heated by passing a direct current through the Peltier element 63 so that the ceramic substrate 67 facing the inside of the air cleaner case 34 of the Peltier element 63 serves as a heat radiating surface. By flowing a current in the direction, the air in the air cleaner case 34 can be cooled. The power supply to the Peltier element 63 is controlled by the control circuit 56 so that the temperature (intake air temperature) in the air cleaner case 34 measured by the intake air temperature sensor 61 becomes a preset temperature (for example, 10 ° C.). . The preset intake air temperature is set to generate an optimum output for the engine 18 in accordance with the operating state of the engine 18 comprehensively determined from each information input to the control circuit 56. Value.

Next, the flow of control of the Peltier element 63 by the control circuit 56 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
First, the ignition of the motorcycle 1 is turned on and the process is started (step S1). First, the temperature in the air cleaner case 34 (intake air temperature) measured by the intake sensor is read (step S2). Next, it is determined whether or not the read temperature in the air cleaner case 34 is an appropriate temperature, that is, whether the intake air temperature is set in advance (step S3). At this time, when the temperature in the air cleaner case 34 is an appropriate temperature (YES), the process returns to step S2 and the above process is repeated.

  In step S3, when it is determined that the temperature in the air cleaner case 34 is not the appropriate temperature (NO), the process proceeds to step S4, where the temperature in the air cleaner case 34 is higher than the appropriate temperature (10 ° C. in this embodiment). A determination is made whether the value is low. At this time, if the temperature in the air cleaner case 34 is lower than the appropriate temperature (YES), a certain amount of current is allowed to flow in a direction for heating the ceramic substrate 67 side facing the inside of the air cleaner case 34 of the Peltier element 63 for a certain time. (Step S5). When the temperature in the air cleaner case 34 is higher than the appropriate temperature (NO), a certain amount of current is allowed to flow in the direction for cooling the ceramic substrate 67 facing the inside of the air cleaner case 34 of the Peltier element 63 for a certain period of time ( Step S6). After these processes are completed, the process returns to step S2 again and the above process is repeated.

  According to the above-described embodiment, the intake air temperature control device that optimizes the output of the engine 18 by adjusting the intake air temperature of the engine 18 and improves the output, and includes a part of the intake passage 53 of the engine 18. The Peltier element 63 is arranged in the air cleaner case 34 to be configured, and the Peltier element 63 is feedback-controlled by the control circuit 56 by using an intake air temperature sensor 61 generally provided in the air cleaner case 34. While it is possible to heat the intake air in the intake passage 53 by flowing a current through the element 63, it is possible to cool the intake air by flowing a current in the opposite direction to the Peltier element 63. .

Therefore, the intake air temperature of the engine 18 can be accurately controlled regardless of the outside air temperature, and the output of the engine 18 can be improved.
Further, since the Peltier element 63 is disposed in the air cleaner case 34 having a large wall surface, there is an effect that the installation area of the Peltier element 63 can be ensured and the intake air temperature can be controlled more reliably.
Further, by using the existing intake air temperature sensor 61 provided in the air cleaner case 34, there is an effect that the Peltier element 63 can be feedback-controlled while suppressing an increase in the number of parts.

Furthermore, since the Peltier element 63 is attached in the vicinity of the attachment surface of the injector 55 in the air cleaner case 34, the injected fuel from the injector 55 becomes difficult to adhere to the Peltier element 63, and the intake air temperature is adjusted well. There is an effect that can be.
Further, since the Peltier element 63 is attached to the clean side in the air cleaner case 34, the Peltier element 63 is not exposed to outside air before being filtered by the air cleaner element 51, and the adhesion of dirt to the Peltier element 63 is suppressed. Thus, there is an effect that the intake air temperature can be adjusted satisfactorily.
In addition, since the Peltier element 63 is attached to the upper wall of the air cleaner case 34, when the intake air introduced into the air cleaner case 34 is cooled by the Peltier element 63, the air cleaner case depends on the difference in air density. The relatively high-temperature air that tends to stay in the upper part of 34 can be intensively cooled. That is, there is an effect that the intake air in the air cleaner case 34 can be efficiently cooled to improve the output of the engine 18.

  Here, since the Peltier element 63 is small and light, it is easy to suppress the influence on the intake passage 53, and since precise temperature adjustment is possible and temperature responsiveness is good, a vehicle such as a motorcycle 1 or the like. It is also suitable for the case where the required temperature varies variously as in the engine 18 of the present invention. Moreover, when the intake air is directly introduced into the intake passage 53 from the intake port 52a that opens forward as in the motorcycle 1, the intake air temperature may be too low if the outside air temperature is low. However, this can also be solved by adjusting the temperature with the Peltier element 63.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the same effect can be obtained even when installed in the air cleaner element 51, the throttle body 33, the insulator 49, the cylinder head 32, etc. instead of the air cleaner case 34. Is possible.
Further, the present invention can be applied to an engine other than the parallel four-cylinder engine, and can also be applied to an engine 71 that intakes each cylinder via an intake manifold 70 as shown in FIG. At this time, the intake manifold 70 constitutes a part of the intake passage 72 of the engine 71. The intake manifold 70 is a collection portion of branch pipes corresponding to, for example, the respective cylinders # 1 to # 4, and from the throttle body 33. Also, a Peltier element 73 is disposed on the downstream side. Then, by heating or cooling the intake air passing through the intake manifold 70, the intake air temperature can be adjusted and controlled more effectively. The engine 71 has the same configuration as that of the above embodiment except that the configuration of the intake passage 72 is different, and the description thereof is omitted.
Further, when supplying a constant amount of current to the Peltier elements 63 and 73, since the Peltier elements have saturation points of heating and cooling temperatures, the intake air temperature sensor 61 is eliminated by appropriately setting the amount of current in advance. In addition, the control by the control circuit 56 can be eliminated. Furthermore, instead of controlling both heating and cooling, only one of them may be controlled.
And the structure in the said Example is an example, and it cannot be overemphasized that a various change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary of invention.

1 is a side view of a motorcycle according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged explanatory diagram of a main part in FIG. 1. It is a block diagram which shows the structure around the engine of the said motorcycle. It is sectional explanatory drawing of a Peltier device. It is a flowchart figure which shows the process sequence in a control circuit. It is explanatory drawing which shows the modification of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

18, 71 Engine 34 Air cleaner case 53, 72 Intake passage 55 Injector 63, 73 Peltier element 70 Intake manifold

Claims (3)

An intake air temperature control device that adjusts the intake air temperature of a motorcycle engine to optimize the output of the engine,
An air cleaner element is provided at a front portion in an air cleaner case forming an intake passage of the engine, a throttle body is connected to a lower rear side of the air cleaner case, and an air funnel extending upward from the throttle body is provided in the air cleaner case. Arranged at the rear,
An intake air temperature control device , wherein a Peltier element is disposed on the upper wall of the air cleaner case, above the air funnel on the clean side in the air cleaner case and in the vicinity of the mounting surface of the injector . The intake air temperature control device according to claim 1, wherein a Peltier element is disposed behind a mounting surface of the injector. An intake air temperature sensor is provided in the air cleaner case, and the intake air temperature is controlled by supplying a current to the Peltier element in accordance with the intake air temperature in the air cleaner case measured by the intake air temperature sensor. Item 3. The intake air temperature control device according to Item 1 or 2.

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