JPH10317926A - Spring retainer for internal combustion engine and manufacture thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve abrasion resistance of the underside of an outward flange at low cost by fixedly securing a receiving plate made of hard metal on the underside of the outward flange of a retainer main body made of aluminum alloy on which the upper end of a valve spring abuts, through an adhesive coating layer made of pure aluminum or the like. SOLUTION: The retainer main body 6 of a spring retainer is formed out of aluminum alloy, and a thin receiving plate 7 made of hard metal is integratedly fixedly secured on a part extending from the underside of the outward flange 6a to the outer circumferential face of the upper half part of a cylindrical part 6b through an adhesive coating layer 8 made of pure aluminum or nickel. The adhesive coating layer 8 is fixedly secured to the receiving plate 7 by hot rolling, thermal spraying or the like in the case of pure aluminum, and by plating or the like in the case of nickel. By interposing such an adhesive coating layer 8, when the retainer main body 6 and the receiving plate 7 are strongly pressure contacted with each other, they can be firmly fixed to each other, and the abrasion resistance of the face abutting of a valve spring can be improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a spring retainer made of an aluminum alloy used for a valve train of an internal combustion engine and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 schematically shows an example of a valve operating mechanism of an internal combustion engine. A spring retainer (2) is provided at a shaft end of an engine valve (1) with a pair of half-cylindrical cylinders. Cotta (3)
Has been fixed through.

A valve spring (4) is contracted between a lower surface of an outward flange (2a) of a spring retainer (2) and a cylinder head (not shown), and an engine valve is provided.
(1) is constantly urged upward through a spring retainer (2). (5) is a rocker arm which is in contact with the upper end of the engine valve (1). The rocker arm is swung up and down by a rotating cam (not shown) to open and close the engine valve (1).

[0004] In order to reduce the inertial mass of the valve train, the spring retainer (2) used in such a valve train has been considered to be made of aluminum alloy instead of conventional iron.

[0005]

The spring retainer (2) made of an aluminum alloy is inferior in mechanical strength, wear resistance, etc. as compared with the spring retainer made of iron. Therefore, in particular, the lower surface of the outward flange (2a) against which the upper end of the valve spring (4) is strongly pressed is worn early, and the durability and reliability are impaired.

In order to solve this problem, a hard metal receiving plate may be fixed to the lower surface of the outward flange (2a) by welding, brazing, or the like. Is difficult, and there are problems such as a variation in bonding strength and an increase in cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is very easy to fix a retainer body made of an aluminum alloy and a metal receiving plate with a large bonding strength to thereby form an outward flange. An object of the present invention is to provide a spring retainer for an internal combustion engine and a method for manufacturing the same, which can improve the wear resistance of the lower surface at low cost.

[0008]

According to the spring retainer of the present invention, the above-mentioned problem is solved as follows. (1) A hard metal receiving plate is fixed to the lower surface of the outward flange of the retainer body made of an aluminum alloy, which is in contact with the upper end of the valve spring, via an adhesive coating layer made of pure aluminum or nickel.

(2) In the above item (1), a hard metal receiving plate is also fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion of the retainer main body.

Further, according to the manufacturing method of the present invention, the above-described object is achieved by forming a molding chamber which complements the retainer body to be produced between the upper and lower molds in the press device, and at least forming the molding chamber in the molding chamber. A metal receiving plate having substantially the same shape as the outward flange of the retainer body, and having an adhesive coating layer made of pure aluminum or nickel on one surface,
After inserting the material made of aluminum alloy in an overlapping manner so that the adhesive coating layer faces the material side, by pressing the material, it is plastically deformed to form the retainer body, and on the lower surface of the outward flange, The problem is solved by fixing the receiving plate.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a spring retainer according to the present invention.
Is formed of an aluminum alloy (for example, an Al-Si system), and a portion extending from the lower surface of the outward flange (6a) to the outer peripheral surface of the upper half portion of the cylindrical portion (6a) as shown in FIG. , Hard metal thin plate (for example, around 1.0mm)
(7) is integrally fixed via an adhesive coating layer (8) made of pure aluminum or nickel fixed to the upper surface and the inner peripheral surface.

In the case of pure aluminum, the adhesive coating layer (8) is fixed to the receiving plate (7) by hot rolling (in the state of a plate-like material before forming the receiving plate) or by thermal spraying. In this case, plating can be performed. The thickness of the adhesive coating layer (8) is preferably a minimum thickness such that the receiving plate (7) does not directly contact the retainer body (6).
When the thickness is 40 μm and nickel, the thickness is preferably in the range of 1 to 4 μm.

When such an adhesive coating layer (8) is interposed, when the retainer main body (6) and the receiving plate (7) are strongly pressed against each other, they are firmly fixed to each other. That is, although the bonding force between the metal material and the aluminum alloy containing Si is generally small, the bonding force between the metal material and pure aluminum and nickel, and the bonding force between the aluminum alloy and pure aluminum and nickel are large. The adhesive coating layer 8 made of nickel plays a role of a strong binder, and the metal receiving plate 7 and the retainer body 6 made of aluminum alloy are firmly bonded.

Next, the procedure for manufacturing the spring retainer will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the press device will be briefly described.

In FIG. 3, (9) shows a circular mold hole at the center.
A die having (9a), (10) is a lower die fitted to the die hole (9a) of the die (9) so as to be able to ascend and descend, and (11) is an upper die entering and exiting the upper part of the die hole (9a). (Punch). The inner diameter of the mold hole (9a) is substantially equal to the outer diameter of the spring retainer to be manufactured.

At the center of the lower surface of the upper mold (11), a small-diameter portion (11a) having an outer diameter substantially equal to the tapered hole (6c) at the center of the retainer body (6) and gradually decreasing in diameter is projected. Have been. In the center of the upper surface of the lower die (10), a concave portion (12) forming a complement with the cylindrical portion (6b) of the retainer body (6), and the concave portion (12) is connected to the upper die (11). A tapered bottomed hole (13) through which the lower end of the small diameter portion (11a) can enter and exit is formed.

In order to manufacture the spring retainer, first, an adhesive coating layer made of pure aluminum or nickel as described above is formed on the upper surface of the lower mold (10) in the mold hole (9a).
The metal receiving plate (7) to which (8) has been previously fixed is attached to the adhesive coating layer.
(8) The downwardly facing tubular piece (7a) fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion (6b) with the side facing upward is placed so as to fit into the concave portion (12).

Next, a thick disk-shaped material (14) made of an aluminum alloy and having a circular hole (14a) at the center is placed on the upper surface of the receiving plate (7).

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper die (11) is lowered to a predetermined position, and the material (14) is forged by cold. Then, the material (14) is plastically deformed in a closed molding chamber formed between the lower mold (10) and the upper mold (11), and at the same time, the adhesive coating layer (8) of the receiving plate (7). ).

As a result, the adhesive coating layer (8) is firmly fixed to the lower surface of the outward flange (6a ') and the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion (6b') of the molded retainer body (6 '), And the adhesive coating layer (8) as a strong binder
(6 ') and the receiving plate (7) are integrally connected.

As a result, a spring retainer similar to that shown in FIG. 1 is obtained. After molding, the JIS
In some cases, T6 heat treatment and finish processing may be performed on each part.

As described above, when the metal receiving plate (7) is fixed to the lower surface of the outward flange (6a) of the retainer body (6) made of aluminum alloy and the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion (6b),
As shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 2, it goes without saying that the abrasion resistance of the contact surface with the upper end of the valve spring (4) can be improved. In this case, it is possible to minimize wear of the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion (6b).

If the valve spring (4) is unlikely to cause lateral runout such as in a low-speed rotation type engine, the receiving plate (7) may be fixed only to the lower surface of the outward flange (6a). Good.

In this case, in addition to the same manufacturing procedure as described above, it is also possible to manufacture using a raw material (14) to which a receiving plate (7) is fixed in advance.

[0025]

【The invention's effect】

(A) According to the present invention, the retainer main body and the receiving plate made of different materials can be easily and firmly fixed to each other to improve the wear resistance of the contact surface with the valve spring.

(B) According to the second aspect, it is also possible to prevent the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion of the retainer main body from being worn when the valve spring sways.

(C) According to the method of the third aspect, the receiving plate can be easily fixed at the same time as the press forming of the retainer main body, so that the manufacturing cost is reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view in the center longitudinal section of a spring retainer of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion A in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state before forming a spring retainer in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state after molding.

FIG. 5 is a front view in the center longitudinal section of a valve train having a conventional spring retainer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 (1) engine valve (2) spring retainer (3) cotter (4) valve spring (5) rocker arm (6) (6 ') retainer body (6a) (6a') outward flange (6b) (6b ') cylinder (6c) Tapered hole (7) Receiving plate (8) Adhesive coating layer (9) Die (9a) Mold hole (10) Lower mold (11) Upper mold (11a) Small diameter part (12) Concave part (13) Bottom hole (14) Material (14a) Circular hole

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A hard metal receiving plate is fixed to a lower surface of an outward flange of a retainer body made of an aluminum alloy, which is in contact with an upper end of a valve spring, via an adhesive coating layer made of pure aluminum or nickel. A spring retainer for an internal combustion engine, comprising: 2. The spring retainer for an internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein a hard metal receiving plate is also fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion of the retainer body. 3. A molding chamber which is complementary to a retainer body to be manufactured is formed between upper and lower molds of the press device, and has at least a substantially same shape as an outward flange of the retainer body in this molding chamber. After inserting a metal receiving plate having an adhesive coating layer made of pure aluminum or nickel on one surface and a material made of an aluminum alloy in such a manner that the adhesive coating layer faces the material side, the material is pressed. A method of manufacturing a spring retainer for an internal combustion engine, comprising: forming a retainer body by plastically deforming the retainer body; and fixing the receiving plate to a lower surface of an outward flange of the retainer body.