JPH10311394A - Belt tensioner unit and mounting method for belt tensioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent an assembly of a tension setting spring for a belt tensioner from leaving and simplify assembly work. SOLUTION: In a bracket 11 rotatably supporting a tension pulley, by using a retainer 10 to temporarily removably hold a tension setting spring 16, these parts are formed into a unit. For mounting in an engine, the bracket 11 of a belt tensioner unit is mounted in a support point pin of the engine, the retainer 20 is removed, the tension setting spring 16, by elastic restoration force itself, is engaged with a lock pin of the engine.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a belt tensioner used for applying a predetermined tension to a timing belt of an automobile engine, and more particularly, to a unit capable of unit-handling parts constituting the belt tensioner. It improves handling and workability before mounting on the engine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 7 (A), in a belt driven valve train, a crank pulley (2) attached to a crankshaft (1) and a camshaft pulley (4) attached to a camshaft (3). ), The timing belt (5) is wound around and the camshaft (3) is rotated to open and close the valve (7) in synchronization with the process of the piston (6). Conventionally, a tensioner for a timing belt has a pulley (8) that is in contact with a timing belt (5) and is biased in a direction in which the tension of the timing belt (5) increases by using a spring (not shown) such as a tension coil spring. What is done is common.

As shown in FIG. 7B, a pulley (12) is rotatably supported on a bracket (11) via a bearing, and one end of the bracket (11) is connected to a fulcrum pin (14) of the engine. Swingably mounted, bracket (1
The center of the leaf spring (16) is engaged with a pin (15) provided at the other end of 1), and both ends of the leaf spring (16) are engaged with locking pins (17) and (17) of the engine. ), The bracket (11) is urged in the direction of the arrow together with the pulley (12) by the elasticity of the pulley, and the pulley (12) is pressed against the timing belt (5) to apply tension to the timing belt (5). Are known.

[0004]

When a tensioner unit (10) comprising a bracket (11), a pulley (12) and a leaf spring (16) is mounted on an engine, the pulley (12) is attached to the bracket (11). However, since the leaf spring (16) is separate from the bracket (11) and is not connected to each other at all before mounting on the engine, the worker forgets to attach the leaf spring (16). There is.

[0005] A main object of the present invention is to eliminate such a problem.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A belt tensioner unit according to the present invention includes a bracket which is swingably mounted at one end to an engine, a pulley rotatably supported by the bracket, and a bracket which is connected to the other end of the bracket and the engine. A tension setting spring interposed therebetween to press the other end of the bracket, and the spring is temporarily held by the bracket.

[0007] By temporarily holding the tension setting spring on the bracket with the retainer, parts constituting the belt tensioner can be unit-handled, which facilitates handling and storage. In particular, since the retainer is temporarily held by the bracket, the problem of forgetting to assemble the tension setting spring in the engine assembling process as in the related art is solved.

More specifically, the tension setting spring is in the form of, for example, a leaf spring, and the tension setting spring is attached to a rising piece provided at the other end of the bracket by utilizing its own elasticity. Is temporarily held by a retainer. The rising piece may be integral with the bracket or may be fixed separately from the bracket, and the shape can be various shapes such as a columnar shape and a prismatic shape. A stopper may be provided at the upper end of the rising piece.

For example, the rising piece is in the form of a pin, and the retainer has an elongated hole for receiving the rising piece;
In a state in which a contact portion that comes into contact with both ends of the tension setting spring is provided and the tension setting spring is attached to the pin and elastically deformed,
The rising piece is inserted into the elongated hole of the retainer, and the contact portion of the retainer is brought into contact with the tension setting spring in a direction against the elastic restoring force.

The retainer is, for example, a substantially triangular plate.
One of the vertices has a hole for receiving the rising piece, and the other two vertices have protrusions for coming into contact with the vicinity of both ends of the tension setting spring. In this case, the tension setting spring is wound in a substantially V-shape by winding up a rising piece at a central portion thereof, and is temporarily held in a state of being engaged with a protrusion of the retainer near both ends.

The retainer may have a pair of slits which are flat and open on one side. In this case, the tension setting spring is locked to the slit. That is, the tension setting spring winds a rising piece at the center thereof and bends in a substantially V-shape, and is temporarily held in a state between the center and both ends in engagement with the slit of the retainer. . A stopper may be provided at the upper end of the rising piece to engage with the upper side of the tension setting spring. The retainer may be provided with a hole, a hook, or a portion for hanging a finger as a locking portion for pulling out.

In attaching the belt tensioner to the engine, a bracket attached to the engine at one end, a pulley rotatably supported by the bracket, and a bracket interposed between the other end of the bracket and the engine are provided. A belt tensioner unit is constituted by a tension setting spring for urging one end and a retainer for temporarily holding the tension setting spring on a bracket, and the one end of the belt tensioner bracket is attached to a fulcrum pin of an engine. The retainer is removed and the tension setting spring is engaged with the locking pin of the engine by its own elastic restoring force.

In practice, after the bracket is attached to the fulcrum pin of the engine, the retainer is removed in a state where the pulley fixing bolt is inserted into the eyebrow hole of the pulley and temporarily tightened.
After confirming that the tension setting spring has engaged the locking pin of the engine by its own elastic restoring force, the work of tightening the pulley fixing bolt is performed.

When the bracket on which the tension setting spring is temporarily held by the retainer is attached to the engine, the tension setting spring is mounted at the same time, and furthermore, the tension setting spring is resilient to itself by simply removing the retainer. Since it is hooked on the locking pin of the engine by the restoring force, the assembling by one-touch operation is realized, and not only the forgetting of assembling is eliminated but also the workability is greatly improved.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First, the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 will be described. A leaf spring (16) for setting a tension is bent in a substantially V-shape as shown in the drawing using a retainer (20). By temporarily holding the rising piece of the bracket (11), that is, the pin (15) in this state, in the state shown in FIG.
The bracket (11), the pulley (12), and the leaf spring (16) constituting the belt tensioner (10) can be handled in a unit before and during mounting.

The bracket (11) is shown in FIGS.
As shown in (B), a fulcrum pin (14) serving as a swing center
A pin (1a) having a through hole (14a) at one end for receiving a tension setting spring (16) at multiple ends.
5). The intermediate portion has a boss (18), and a pulley (12) is rotatably fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the boss (18) via a rolling bearing (13). The boss (18) has an arc-shaped concave portion, that is, a cocoon hole (19) formed concentrically with the through hole (14a) on the end face. The pulley (12) can be fixed at a desired position within the angular range of the eyebrows (19) by inserting a pulley fixing bolt (not shown) from the eyebrows (19) and screwing into the screw holes of the engine. it can.

The retainer (20) has a substantially triangular plate shape as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and has a hole (21) for receiving the pin (15) of the bracket (11) near one vertex. And a projection (22) in contact with the tension setting spring (16) near the other two vertices. In the illustrated example, the hole (21) is a long hole, so that the pin (15) can be easily inserted. The hole (21) is illustrated as a through hole,
It does not necessarily have to penetrate.

In FIG. 3 and FIG. 7 (B), the through-hole (1) of the bracket (11) is inserted into the fulcrum pin (14) of the engine.
4a) is attached, and a pulley fixing bolt is inserted into the eyebrow hole (19) of the boss (18) and temporarily tightened. Since the tension setting leaf spring (16) is temporarily held in the retainer (20) in a state of being bent in a substantially V shape as shown in the figure, the tension setting leaf spring (16) is used when the belt tensioner unit is mounted on the engine. (16) does not interfere with the locking pins (17) and (17).

When the hole (21) of the retainer (20) near the vertex (generally indicated by reference numeral 23) is pulled upward as shown by an arrow in FIG. 1, the hole (21) of the retainer (20) is pulled up. The engagement with the pin (15) and the engagement between the projection (22) and the leaf spring (16) are released, and at the same time, the leaf spring (16) bent in a substantially V-shape is expanded by the elastic restoring force. Open and close the engine locking pins (17) (1) near both ends.
7) is engaged. At this time, the pin (15) is
The bracket (11) is urged in the direction of the arrow about the fulcrum pin (14) by being pulled in the direction indicated by the arrow. As a result, the pulley (12) pushes the timing belt (5) to apply tension.

In order to facilitate the work of removing the retainer (20), a slit as shown by reference numeral 24 in FIGS. 1 and 2 (A) is provided in the retainer (20), and a slit (24) near the vertex is provided near the vertex (24). When an upward force is applied as seen in the above, it may be bent from the slit (24).

Next, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the retainer (30) is a flat plate having a pair of slits (31). This retainer (30) is made of a steel plate press, and is provided with a finger hole (32: FIG. 6A) or a hook-shaped hook portion (33: FIG. 6B) so that an operator can easily remove it. Helps improve efficiency.

The bracket (11) has the pin (1)
A bent part (15a) as a rising piece instead of 5)
Are formed. The bent portion (15a) has a T-shape, and both arms of the T-shape constitute a stopper (15b). The stopper (15b) is provided with a tension setting leaf spring (1).
6) By being located on the upper edge side, the retainer (3
When the leaf spring (16) is removed, the bent portion (15) is removed.
It plays a role in keeping from a). As illustrated in the drawing, the bent portion (15a) and the stopper (15
Although b) can be easily and inexpensively formed integrally with the bracket (11), it is also possible to fix a separate body to the bracket by appropriate fixing means.

The retainer (30) is engaged with the bent portion (15a) of the bracket (11) and the leaf spring (16), so that the leaf spring (16) is bent in a substantially V shape as shown. Temporarily hold. The retainer (30) has a pair of slits (31) for engaging the leaf spring (16).

The procedure for attaching the retainer (30) to the engine is similar to that described above. After the bracket (11) is attached to the fulcrum pin (14) of the engine and the belt tensioner unit is attached, the retainer (30) is pulled out upward. The leaf spring (16) is restored and the engine locking pin (17)
(17), and a predetermined belt tension is applied.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, the tension setting spring is detachably and temporarily held by the bracket which rotatably supports the tension pulley by using the retainer, so that these components can be unitized. This eliminates operational problems such as forgetting to attach the tension setting spring.

Further, workability when the belt tensioner unit is mounted on the engine is also improved. That is,
The work is completed simply by attaching the bracket of the belt tensioner unit to the fulcrum pin of the engine, removing the retainer, and engaging the tension setting spring with the locking pin of the engine by its own elastic restoring force. Therefore, only by pulling out the retainer, that is, with one touch, the setting of the tension setting spring can be completed and the predetermined tension can be set at the same time, and the work can be performed efficiently. Moreover, belt tension can be set without any special jig, and after setting, it has the same function as the current one.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of a belt tensioner unit showing an embodiment of the present invention.

2 (A) is a bottom view of the retainer in FIG. 1,
(B) is a side view.

FIG. 3A is a front view of a bracket with a pulley,
(B) is a sectional view.

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of a belt tensioner unit showing another embodiment of the present invention.

5A is a bottom view of FIG. 4, and FIG. 5B is a side view.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a modification of the retainer in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining a belt tensioner of an engine timing belt.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 belt tensioner 11 bracket 12 pulley 16 leaf spring for tension setting 20, 30 retainer

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A bracket which is pivotally attached to an engine at one end, a pulley rotatably supported by the bracket, and the other end of the bracket interposed between the other end of the bracket and the engine. A belt tensioner unit comprising: a tension setting spring for pushing; and the spring is temporarily held on the bracket. 2. The belt tensioner according to claim 1, wherein the tension setting spring is in the form of a leaf spring, and the tension setting spring is temporarily held by a retainer in a state of being attached to a rising piece provided at the other end of the bracket. unit. 3. The retainer has a substantially triangular plate shape, has a hole near one vertex for receiving the rising piece, and comes into contact with the vicinity of both ends of the tension setting spring near the other two vertices. 3. The belt tensioner unit according to claim 2, comprising: 4. The tension setting spring is wound in a substantially V-shape by winding up a rising piece at a center portion, and is temporarily held in a state of being engaged with a protrusion of a retainer near both ends. 3. Belt tensioner unit. 5. The belt tensioner unit according to claim 2, wherein the retainer has a pair of slits for retaining a tension setting spring which is flat and opened on one side. 6. A tension setting spring which winds up a rising piece at a central portion and bends into a substantially V-shape, and temporarily holds the tension setting spring at a portion between the central portion and both ends in engagement with a slit of a retainer. The belt tensioner unit according to claim 5, wherein 7. The belt tensioner unit according to claim 5, wherein a stopper is provided at an upper end of the rising piece to engage with an upper side of a tension setting spring. 8. The belt tensioner unit according to claim 5, wherein the retainer is provided with an engaging portion for pulling out. 9. A bracket attached to the engine at one end, a pulley rotatably supported by the bracket, and a bracket interposed between the other end of the bracket and the engine for urging the one end of the bracket. A belt tensioner unit is constituted by a tension setting spring and a retainer for temporarily holding the tension setting spring on the bracket. A method of mounting a belt tensioner, comprising engaging a spring for engagement with a locking pin of an engine by its own elastic restoring force.