JP6222460B2 - Engine cooling circuit - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an engine cooling circuit, and in particular, includes a radiator that dissipates heat from a refrigerant that has flowed out of the engine, an inlet pipe that connects the refrigerant inlet and the radiator to the engine, a refrigerant outlet from the engine, and a radiator. The present invention relates to an engine cooling circuit having an outlet pipe to be connected.

Conventionally, in order to cool an internal combustion engine such as a gasoline engine or a diesel engine, a cooling circuit that circulates a refrigerant inside the engine has been used. In this cooling circuit, the refrigerant, which has become high temperature by passing through the inside of the engine, is cooled by the radiator and recirculated back into the engine.
In addition, a part of the refrigerant warmed by the engine is used as a heat source for heating such as a car heater. In this case, a part of the refrigerant warmed by the engine is supplied to the car heater, and after the heat is taken out by the car heater, it is returned to the engine.

By the way, when the refrigerant is injected into the cooling circuit at the time of engine manufacture or refrigerant replacement, air is mixed into the cooling circuit together with the refrigerant. When this air becomes bubbles and flows into the car heater together with the refrigerant, water flow noise caused by the bubbles may be generated inside the car heater.
In addition, when air mixed in the cooling circuit flows into the radiator, the heat transfer area for transferring heat is reduced because the refrigerant itself is in direct contact with the pipe wall of the radiator, so that the heat of the refrigerant is sufficient by the radiator. There is a possibility that the cooling efficiency of the engine will be reduced due to no heat dissipation.

  Therefore, in a conventional engine cooling circuit, an air vent valve that opens at a pressure higher than a predetermined level is provided at a position where the water level is high in the cooling circuit where air tends to accumulate, specifically, in an upper tank of the radiator. After injecting the refrigerant, when the engine is loaded and the refrigerant is circulated in the cooling circuit, the air mixed in the refrigerant is sent to the upper tank of the radiator and released from the air vent valve to the outside of the cooling circuit. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

JP 2008-190443 A JP 2009-108812 A

  As described above, an air vent valve for removing air mixed in the cooling circuit is often provided in the upper tank of the radiator at a high water level in the cooling circuit. However, when the installation space of the engine is limited as in a sports car, for example, the radiator may be placed at a lower water level than the coolant outlet (outlet) from the engine. In this case, even if an air vent valve is provided in the upper tank of the radiator, air does not accumulate in the upper tank, so that air cannot be vented effectively. Therefore, it is conceivable to provide an air vent valve near the outlet of the engine having a high water level.

However, even if an air vent valve is provided near the outlet of the engine, a space of the same capacity as that of the upper tank of the radiator is provided below the air vent valve in order to collect air mixed in the cooling circuit due to restrictions on the space for mounting the engine. It may be difficult to provide it. In this case, since it is difficult for air to accumulate below the air vent valve, air cannot be vented effectively.
Further, near the engine outlet, the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through the cooling circuit is high, so that air accumulated below the air vent valve may be caught in the refrigerant and mixed into the cooling circuit again.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and the air mixed in the cooling circuit can be reliably stored below the air vent valve, thereby mixing into the cooling circuit. An object of the present invention is to provide an engine cooling circuit capable of reliably discharging air from an air vent valve.

In order to achieve the above object, an engine cooling circuit according to the present invention connects a radiator that radiates heat of refrigerant that has flowed out of the engine, a reserve tank that stores refrigerant, a refrigerant inlet to the engine, and a radiator. and inlet pipe, a cooling circuit of an engine having an outlet pipe for connecting the refrigerant outlet and the radiator from the engine, an opening is formed in the pipe wall of the inlet pipe or outlet pipe, from the radiator and the reserve tank At the higher water level, the inlet pipe or outlet pipe is provided so as to extend upward from the opening of the inlet pipe or outlet pipe, and is attached to the upper part of the storage part for storing the air flowing in together with the refrigerant from the opening. , The air stored in this reservoir An air vent valve that discharges to the reserve tank, and the storage section includes a first storage chamber that communicates the inside of the storage section with the opening of the inlet pipe or the outlet pipe and the air vent valve, and the first storage chamber. A partition wall that is divided into a second storage chamber adjacent to the first storage chamber is provided, and a communication port that connects the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber is formed in the partition wall.
In the present invention configured as described above, air flowing into the first storage chamber of the storage unit together with the refrigerant from the inlet pipe or the outlet pipe through the opening is stored in the first storage chamber, It flows into a 2nd storage chamber through the opening of a partition, and is stored in this 2nd storage chamber. Since the partition between the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber is partitioned by the partition wall, the flow of the refrigerant flowing into the first storage chamber directly from the opening by the partition wall is directly stored in the second storage chamber. The air stored in the second storage chamber is hindered from flowing into the chamber, so that the air stored in the second storage chamber is drawn into the flow of the refrigerant flowing into the first storage chamber from the opening and flows out again into the cooling circuit. It is suppressed. Therefore, the air mixed in the cooling circuit can be reliably stored in the storage portion arranged below the air vent valve, and the air mixed in the cooling circuit can be reliably discharged from the air vent valve.

In the present invention, preferably, the communication port of the partition wall is a slit extending from the upper end to the lower end of the partition wall.
In this invention comprised in this way, it can inhibit effectively that the flow of the refrigerant | coolant which flowed into the 1st storage chamber flows in into the 2nd storage chamber directly, and, thereby, 2nd It can be reliably suppressed that the air stored in the storage chamber is caught in the flow of the refrigerant flowing into the first storage chamber from the opening and flows out again into the cooling circuit.

Moreover, in this invention, Preferably, the opening of an inlet pipe or an outlet pipe is formed in the side surface of the pipe wall of these inlet pipes or an outlet pipe.
In the present invention configured as described above, the opening is formed in the side surface of the pipe wall where the flow velocity of the refrigerant is lower than that of the pipe center of the inlet pipe or the outlet pipe. It is possible to effectively suppress the air that is flowing in the refrigerant having a high flow velocity flowing into the storage portion from the opening and flowing out again into the cooling circuit.

Further, in the present invention, it is preferable to have a retention portion that is formed to extend rearward from the opening with respect to the flow of the refrigerant, and retain the refrigerant flowing in from the opening, and the storage portion is provided above the retention portion. The first storage chamber of the storage unit communicates the opening of the inlet pipe or the outlet pipe and the air vent valve via the staying portion, and the second storage chamber of the storage portion is connected to the staying portion. Closed.
In the present invention configured as described above, the staying portion is formed so as to extend backward from the opening with respect to the flow of the refrigerant, and the storage portion is provided above the staying portion. Alternatively, it is possible to prevent the refrigerant flowing through the outlet pipe from flowing into the first storage chamber from the opening while maintaining the flow rate, so that the air stored in the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber is reduced in flow rate. It is possible to effectively prevent the refrigerant from being caught in a high refrigerant and flowing out again into the cooling circuit. In particular, since the second storage chamber is closed with respect to the staying portion, the air stored in the second storage chamber is caught in the flow of the refrigerant that has flowed into the staying portion, and again enters the cooling circuit. Flowing out is reliably suppressed.

Further, in the present invention, preferably, the storage portion is disposed at the highest water level position in the cooling circuit of the engine.
In the present invention configured as described above, the air mixed in the cooling circuit is likely to gather in the reservoir due to its buoyancy, and thus the air mixed in the cooling circuit is moved below the air vent valve. Therefore, air mixed in the cooling circuit can be reliably discharged from the air vent valve.

  According to the engine cooling circuit of the present invention, the air mixed in the cooling circuit can be reliably stored below the air vent valve, so that the air mixed in the cooling circuit can be reliably discharged from the air vent valve. it can.

1 is a system configuration diagram of an engine cooling circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view of an outlet housing according to an embodiment of the present invention attached to an engine. It is a figure which shows the outlet housing by embodiment of this invention, Fig.3 (a) is the top view which looked at the outlet housing from upper direction, FIG.3 (b) is the front view of an outlet housing. It is the top view which looked at the pipe part of the outlet housing by the embodiment of the present invention from the upper part. It is a VV arrow line view of the pipe part shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the storage part of the outlet housing by embodiment of this invention, FIG.6 (a) is the top view which looked at the storage part from upper direction, FIG.6 (b) is the front view of a storage part, FIG.6 (c) FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the storage portion as viewed from below. It is a VII-VII arrow line view of the storage part shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, an engine cooling circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
First, an overall configuration of an engine cooling circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an engine cooling circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  First, reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1 denotes an engine cooling circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerant circulates and cools inside the engine 2 to maintain each part of the engine 2 within an appropriate temperature range. At the upper part of the engine 2, there is provided a refrigerant outlet 4 through which the refrigerant circulated through the engine 2 flows out, and an outlet housing 6 is attached to the refrigerant outlet 4. A refrigerant inlet 8 to the inside of the engine 2 is provided at the lower part of the engine 2, and an inlet housing 10 is attached to the refrigerant inlet 8.

  An outlet hose 12 is connected to the outlet housing 6, and an end of the outlet hose 12 opposite to the engine 2 is connected to an upper tank 16 of the radiator 14. That is, the refrigerant flowing out from the refrigerant outlet 4 of the engine 2 flows into the radiator 14 from the outlet housing 6 via the outlet hose 12. The refrigerant that has flowed into the radiator 14 is cooled by exchanging heat with the cooling air supplied to the surface of the radiator 14.

  An inlet hose 18 is connected to the inlet housing 10, and an end of the inlet hose 18 opposite to the engine 2 is connected to a lower tank 20 of the radiator 14. That is, the refrigerant cooled by passing through the radiator 14 returns to the inside of the engine 2 from the radiator 14 through the inlet hose 18 and the inlet housing 10.

  A heater 26 is connected to the outlet housing 6 and the inlet housing 10 via heater hoses 22 and 24. A part of the refrigerant flowing out from the refrigerant outlet 4 of the engine 2 flows into the heater 26 from the outlet housing 6 via the heater hose 22 and is used as a heat source for heating. The refrigerant cooled through the heater 26 returns to the inside of the engine 2 through the heater hose 24 and the inlet housing 10.

  Further, the inlet housing 10 is provided with a water pump 28. The water pump 28 is driven by the power extracted from the engine 2 and circulates the refrigerant among the engine 2, the radiator 14, and the heater 26.

  The outlet housing 6 described above is disposed at the highest water level position in the cooling circuit 1 of the engine 2. Further, an air vent valve 30 is provided at the upper portion of the outlet housing 6, and a reserve tank 34 is connected to the air vent valve 30 via an overflow pipe 32. When the pressure in the cooling circuit 1 exceeds a predetermined pressure, the air vent valve 30 is opened, and the air accumulated below the air vent valve 30 is discharged together with the refrigerant to the reserve tank 34 via the overflow pipe 32. Further, when the engine 2 is stopped or the like, the volume of the refrigerant in the cooling circuit 1 decreases as the temperature of the refrigerant decreases, and the pressure in the cooling circuit 1 decreases, so that the refrigerant is stored in the reserve tank 34. The refrigerant that has returned returns to the cooling circuit 1 through the overflow pipe 32 and the outlet housing 6, thereby maintaining the water level of the refrigerant in the cooling circuit 1.

  Next, the structure of the outlet housing 6 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 is a perspective view of the outlet housing 6 attached to the engine 2, FIG. 3A is a plan view of the outlet housing 6 viewed from above, and FIG. 3B is a front view of the outlet housing 6. It is.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the outlet housing 6 includes a pipe portion 36 (outlet pipe) connected to the engine 2, and a storage portion 38 provided above the pipe portion 36. An air vent valve 30 is attached above the reservoir 38.
As shown in FIG. 2, the outlet hose 12 and the heater hose 22 are connected to the pipe portion 36. An overflow pipe 32 is connected to the air vent valve 30.

  Next, the pipe portion 36 of the outlet housing 6 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. 4 is a plan view of the pipe portion 36 of the outlet housing 6 according to the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from above, and FIG. 5 is a view taken along the line VV of the pipe portion 36 shown in FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 3, a flange 40 is provided at an end of the pipe portion 36 of the outlet housing 6 on the engine 2 side, and the pipe portion 36 is connected to the engine 2 by the flange 40. A tubular upstream portion 42 is formed so as to extend obliquely upward from the flange 40, and a tubular downstream portion 44 is formed so as to extend in the horizontal direction from the upper end of the upstream portion 42. The outlet hose 12 is connected to the end of the downstream portion 44. In addition, a connection portion 46 to which the heater hose 22 is connected is formed at an intermediate portion of the upstream portion 42.
The refrigerant flowing out from the refrigerant outlet 4 of the engine 2 flows into the pipe portion 36 from the lower end of the upstream portion 42, a part of which flows from the connection portion 46 to the heater hose 22, and the rest via the downstream portion 44. It flows to the outlet hose 12.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, at the end of the downstream portion 44 on the upstream portion 42 side, the upper portion of the side surface of the tube wall (that is, from the center in the height direction of the side surface of the tube wall to the upper surface of the tube wall). In the range). A recess-shaped retention portion 50 having an open upper surface is formed so as to extend rearward from the opening 48 with respect to the flow of the refrigerant (rightward in FIGS. 4 and 5). That is, the staying part 50 communicates with the inside of the downstream part 44 through the opening 48.
Furthermore, a flat plate-like joint portion 52 is provided around the upper surface of the retention portion 50, and the lower surface of the storage portion 38 is joined to the upper surface of the joint portion 52.

  Then, the storage part 38 and the air vent valve 30 of the outlet housing 6 by embodiment of this invention are demonstrated with FIG.3, FIG6 and FIG.7. 6A is a plan view of the storage portion 38 of the outlet housing 6 according to the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from above, and FIG. 6B is a front view of the storage portion 38 of the outlet housing 6 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 (c) is a bottom view of the storage portion 38 of the outlet housing 6 according to the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from below. Moreover, FIG. 7 is a VII-VII arrow view of the storage part 38 shown in FIG.

  First, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the storage portion 38 includes a flat plate-like base portion 54 that is joined to the upper surface of the joint portion 52 of the pipe portion 36. And the storage chamber 56 of the reverse recessed shape which the bottom face opened so that it may extend upwards from this base part 54 is formed. The storage chamber 56 is formed to have an L-shaped cross section when viewed from the bottom, and is formed by two partition walls 58 and 60 extending in the height direction of the storage chamber 56 (vertical direction in FIG. 6B). The first storage chamber 62 positioned at the corner of the L-shape, and the second storage chamber 64 and the third storage chamber 66 positioned on both sides of the first storage chamber 62 are partitioned.

  The inner periphery of the upper surface of the retention part 50 when the base part 54 of the storage part 38 is joined to the joint part 52 of the pipe part 36 is shown in phantom in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6C, among the three storage chambers 62, 64, 66 described above, the first storage chamber 62 and the third storage chamber 66 are located above the staying portion 50, The first storage chamber 62 and the third storage chamber 66 communicate with the staying portion 50 through the bottom surfaces. On the other hand, the second storage chamber 64 is located outside the retention portion 50 in plan view, and the bottom surface of the second storage chamber 64 is closed by the upper surface of the joint portion 52 of the pipe portion 36. That is, the second storage chamber 64 is closed with respect to the staying part 50.

The outer periphery of the lower end of the air vent valve 30 is shown in phantom lines in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the upper end of the first storage chamber 62 is connected to the lower end of the air vent valve 30. That is, the first storage chamber 62 allows the opening 48 of the pipe portion 36 and the air vent valve 30 to communicate with each other through the staying portion 50.
On the other hand, the upper end of the second storage chamber 64 and the upper end of the third storage chamber 66 are closed by the upper surface of the storage portion 38 and are not in direct communication with the air vent valve 30.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6C and FIG. 7, a partition wall 58 that partitions the first storage chamber 62 and the second storage chamber 64, and the first storage chamber 62 and the third storage chamber 66. The partition wall 60 is formed with slits 68 and 70 (communication ports) extending from the upper end to the lower end of the partition walls 58 and 60, respectively. The first storage chamber 62 and the second storage chamber 64 communicate with each other through the slits 68 and 70, and the first storage chamber 62 and the third storage chamber 66 communicate with each other. .

Next, further modifications of the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In the embodiment described above, the reservoir 38 is provided in the outlet housing 6 disposed at the highest water level position in the engine cooling circuit 1, but the reservoir 38 is provided in the outlet hose 12, the inlet hose 18, or the inlet housing 10. May be provided. In this case, the storage circuit 38 is provided at a position where air mixed in the cooling circuit 1 is likely to gather, for example, a bent portion of the outlet hose 12 or the inlet hose 18 that is bent so as to protrude upward. The air mixed in 1 can be easily collected in the storage unit 38.

  Next, functions and effects of the engine cooling circuit 1 according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention and the modification of the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  First, since the outlet housing 6 is disposed at the highest water level position in the cooling circuit 1, the air mixed in the cooling circuit 1 easily collects in the outlet housing 6 due to its buoyancy. That is, the air mixed in the cooling circuit 1 becomes bubbles and flows into the pipe portion 36 of the outlet housing 6 from the refrigerant outlet 4 of the engine 2 together with the refrigerant. The refrigerant that has flowed into the pipe portion 36 flows obliquely upward along the upstream portion 42 of the pipe portion 36, and turns in the horizontal direction toward the downstream portion 44 at the connection portion between the upstream portion 42 and the downstream portion 44.

A part of the refrigerant flowing into the downstream portion 44 from the upstream portion 42 of the pipe portion 36 flows into the staying portion 50 from the opening 48 of the downstream portion 44 with bubbles. Since the opening 48 is formed on the side surface of the pipe wall where the flow rate of the refrigerant is low compared to the center of the pipe of the downstream portion 44, the refrigerant having a high flow rate entrains the bubbles that have entered the staying portion 50 and enters the cooling circuit 1. It is suppressed that it flows out again.
Further, since the staying portion 50 extends rearward with respect to the flow of the refrigerant from the opening 48, the refrigerant flowing in the downstream portion 44 is prevented from flowing into the staying portion 50 while maintaining the flow rate. It is suppressed that the high refrigerant entrains the bubbles that have entered the staying part 50 and flows out again into the cooling circuit 1.

The bubbles that flow into the staying part 50 float upward from the staying part 50, flow into the first storage chamber 62 and the third storage chamber 66 that communicate with the staying part 50, and the first of these. The air is stored in the storage chamber 62 and the third storage chamber 66.
Further, a part of the air stored in the first storage chamber 62 flows into the second storage chamber 64 through the slit 68 and is stored in the second storage chamber 64. Since the second storage chamber 64 is closed with respect to the staying portion 50, the air stored in the second storage chamber 64 is caught in the flow of the refrigerant flowing into the staying portion 50 and the cooling circuit 1. It is suppressed that it flows out in again. In addition, since the partition between the second storage chamber 64 and the first storage chamber 62 is defined by a partition wall 58, the partition wall 58 flows into the first storage chamber 62 from the opening 48 through the stay portion 50. Therefore, the refrigerant flow is prevented from flowing directly into the second storage chamber 64, so that the air stored in the second storage chamber 64 flows into the first storage chamber 62 from the opening 48. It is suppressed that the refrigerant is caught in the refrigerant flow and flows out again into the cooling circuit 1.
In particular, the first storage chamber 62 and the second storage chamber 64 communicate with each other via a slit 68 formed so as to extend from the upper end to the lower end of the partition wall 58, and thus flowed into the first storage chamber 62. The refrigerant flow is effectively inhibited from flowing directly into the second storage chamber 64, so that the air stored in the second storage chamber 64 is allowed to flow from the opening 48 to the first storage chamber. It is reliably suppressed that the refrigerant flows into the chamber 62 and is entangled in the flow of the refrigerant and flows out into the cooling circuit 1 again.

  As described above, when air is stored in the first storage chamber 62, the second storage chamber 64, and the third storage chamber 66, the pressure in the cooling circuit 1 exceeds a predetermined pressure. The air vent valve 30 is opened. Thereby, the air stored in the first storage chamber 62 below the air vent valve 30 is discharged to the reserve tank 34 via the overflow pipe 32. In addition, the air stored in the second storage chamber 64 and the third storage chamber 66 flows into the first storage chamber 62 through the slits 68 and 70, and from the first storage chamber 62. The gas is discharged to the reserve tank 34 through the air vent valve 30 and the overflow pipe 32.

  As described above, according to the engine cooling circuit 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the air mixed in the cooling circuit 1 can be reliably stored in the storage portion 38 disposed below the air vent valve 30. The air mixed in the cooling circuit 1 can be reliably discharged from the air vent valve 30.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Engine cooling circuit 2 Engine 4 Refrigerant outlet 6 Outlet housing 8 Refrigerant inlet 10 Inlet housing 12 Outlet hose 14 Radiator 18 Inlet hose 30 Air vent valve 36 Pipe part 38 Reservoir part 48 Opening 50 Retention part 56 Reservoir room 58, 60 Bulkhead 62 1 storage chamber 64 second storage chamber 66 third storage chamber 68, 70 slit

Claims (4)

Connecting a radiator for radiating heat of the refrigerant flowing out of the engine, and a reserve tank for storing the refrigerant, the inlet pipe for connecting the refrigerant inlet and the radiator to the engine, and a coolant outlet and the radiator from engine An engine cooling circuit having an outlet pipe,
An opening is formed in the pipe wall of the inlet pipe or the outlet pipe,
Reservoir that is provided in the inlet pipe or the outlet pipe so as to extend upward from the opening of the inlet pipe or the outlet pipe at a higher water level than the radiator and the reserve tank, and stores air that flows in together with the refrigerant from the opening. And
An air vent valve attached to the upper part of the reservoir, and for discharging the air stored in the reservoir to the reserve tank;
The storage section includes a first storage chamber for communicating the interior of the storage section with the inlet pipe or the outlet pipe opening and the air vent valve, and a second storage chamber adjacent to the first storage chamber. A cooling circuit for an engine, comprising: a partition wall that is partitioned into two, and a communication port that communicates between the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber. The engine cooling circuit includes a radiator that dissipates heat of the refrigerant flowing out of the engine, an inlet pipe that connects the refrigerant inlet to the engine and the radiator, and an outlet pipe that connects the refrigerant outlet from the engine and the radiator. And
An opening is formed in the pipe wall of the inlet pipe or the outlet pipe,
A storage part that is formed to extend upward from the opening of the inlet pipe or the outlet pipe, and stores air that flows in together with the refrigerant from the opening;
An air vent valve attached to the upper part of the storage part and for discharging the air stored in the storage part,
The storage section includes a first storage chamber for communicating the interior of the storage section with the inlet pipe or the outlet pipe opening and the air vent valve, and a second storage chamber adjacent to the first storage chamber. A partition that divides the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber is formed in the partition,
The opening of the inlet pipe or the outlet pipe is formed on the side surface of the pipe wall of these inlet pipe or outlet pipe,
It is formed so as to extend rearward from the opening with respect to the flow of the refrigerant, and has a retention portion for retaining the refrigerant flowing in from the opening,
The storage section is provided above the staying section, and the first storage chamber of the storage section communicates the opening of the inlet pipe or the outlet pipe and the air vent valve through the staying section, An engine cooling circuit, wherein the second storage chamber of the storage section is closed with respect to the storage section.   The engine cooling circuit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the communication port of the partition wall is a slit extending from an upper end to a lower end of the partition wall.   4. The engine cooling circuit according to claim 1, wherein the storage section is disposed at a highest water level position in the engine cooling circuit. 5.

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