WO2022013951A1

WO2022013951A1 - Coolant filling device for hollow-head engine valve, and coolant filling method

Info

Publication number: WO2022013951A1
Application number: PCT/JP2020/027405
Authority: WO
Inventors: 勇介籠橋; 併稲福; 安彦田中
Original assignee: フジオーゼックス株式会社
Priority date: 2020-07-14
Filing date: 2020-07-14
Publication date: 2022-01-20
Also published as: JPWO2022013951A1; CN115003899B; JP7310059B2; CN115003899A

Abstract

Provided are: a coolant filling device for a hollow-head engine valve, with which a coolant can reliably and efficiently be filled into the hollow portion of an engine valve; and a coolant filling method.　A coolant filling device (1), with which it is possible to fill a coolant (N) in the hollow portion (105) of an engine valve (100), comprises: a valve inclination means (40) for inclining the engine valve (100) in the axial direction at a predetermined angle; a coolant guide means (70) that can temporarily retain the coolant (N) in a rod-like shape; a coolant pushing means (80) that can push, into the hollow portion (105), the coolant (N) which is temporarily being retained by the coolant guide means (70); and a partial heating means (53) that can heat the center part of a bottom portion (103) to a temperature higher than the melting point of the coolant (N), and that can melt the coolant (N) which has been pushed into the hollow portion (105) and has thereby made contact with the bottom part (103).

Description

Umbrella hollow engine valve coolant filling device and coolant filling method

The present invention relates to a coolant filling device for an umbrella hollow engine valve and a coolant filling method.

Conventionally, engine valves for inflowing intake gas into the combustion chamber of an engine such as an automobile or a ship and discharging exhaust gas have a hollow portion in which the shaft and umbrella of the valve body are hollow, and metal sodium or the like. There is an umbrella hollow engine valve (hereinafter, also simply referred to as an engine valve) in which a cooling material is enclosed.

Further, in addition to the coolant, a getter material (for example, granular titanium material) which is a gas adsorbent for preventing oxidation of the coolant and creating a negative pressure in the hollow portion is added to such an engine valve. There is something (see Patent Document 1).

As shown in FIG. 7, in the step of filling the hollow portion 205 of the engine valve 200 with the metallic sodium N as described in Patent Document 1, after the getter material G is charged, the rod-shaped metallic sodium N is applied to the upper portion of the shaft portion 201. The lower end portion of the metallic sodium N is pushed into the hollow portion 205 from the opening 204 of the above by the pressing rod R, and the lower end portion of the metallic sodium N is pressed against the inner bottom surface 203 of the umbrella-shaped hollow portion 205 heated by the high frequency induction heating device H. As a result, the metallic sodium N is melted from the pressed portion and filled in the hollow portion 205.

Japanese Patent No. 5843991

However, in this step, when the inner bottom surface 203 is heated by the high frequency induction heating device H, the getter material G on the inner bottom surface 203 is also heated, so that there is a concern about the influence of heat on the getter material G. Further, when the getter material G is interposed between the pushed metal sodium N and the inner bottom surface 203, the metal sodium N does not come into direct contact with the inner bottom surface 203, so that heat transfer is not performed efficiently. There may be variations in the melting mode of metallic sodium N. As a result, not only the filling of the metallic sodium N may not be performed reliably, but also the filling step of the metallic sodium N in the hollow portion 205 is required a plurality of times, which causes a decrease in the filling operation efficiency. At the same time, the equipment for filling the hollow portion 205 with the metallic sodium N becomes large in size, which causes an increase in cost.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is a coolant filling device capable of reliably and efficiently filling the hollow portion of an engine valve with a coolant such as metallic sodium, and filling of the coolant. To provide a method.

(1) According to the first aspect of the present invention, the shaft portion and the other of the shaft portion in the umbrella hollow engine valve having a hollow hollow portion inside the umbrella portion whose diameter is expanded like an umbrella at one end of the shaft portion. A cooling material filling device capable of charging a getter material into the hollow portion from an opening at an end and filling the cooling material, and a valve tilting means for tilting the umbrella hollow engine valve at a predetermined angle in the axial direction, and a rod-shaped rod-shaped device. A cooling material guide means having a tubular holder capable of temporarily holding the cooling material, and a rod-shaped pushing rod capable of pushing the cooling material temporarily held in the holder into the hollow portion. The cooling material pushing means having the umbrella portion and the central portion of the bottom portion of the umbrella portion can be heated to a temperature higher than the melting point of the cooling material, and the cooling material pushed into the hollow portion and in contact with the bottom portion can be melted. It is provided with a partial heating means.

According to the configuration of (1) above, the powdery or granular getter material thrown into the hollow portion can be brought to the end of the hollow portion of the umbrella of the hollow portion and only the central portion of the bottom of the umbrella portion can be heated. Therefore, the getter material is difficult to be heated, and the influence of heat on the getter material can be prevented. Further, when the coolant is pushed into the hollow portion, the coolant directly contacts the bottom of the umbrella portion without the intervention of the getter material, so that the coolant can be efficiently melted.

(2) According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the coolant guiding means is the coolant having a depth longer than the depth of the hollow portion pushed into the hollow portion by the push rod. A cylindrical shaft end guide is provided below the holder to cover the portion of the coolant protruding from the opening when the lower end contacts the bottom of the hollow.

According to the configuration (2) above, when the coolant is pushed into the hollow portion by the push rod, the portion protruding from the opening of the coolant is covered by the shaft end guide, so that the coolant is prevented from bending due to pressing against the coolant. Therefore, the coolant can be reliably pushed in without being damaged. In addition, the process of filling the hollow portion with metallic sodium can be completed in one step, the filling work efficiency can be improved, and the equipment for filling the hollow portion with metallic sodium can be miniaturized. It is possible to control costs.

(3) According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect or the second aspect, the valve vibrating means capable of vibrating the umbrella hollow engine valve tilted at a predetermined angle is provided.

According to the configuration of (3) above, the getter material thrown into the hollow portion can be more reliably brought to the end of the umbrella hollow portion of the hollow portion.

(4) According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the shaft portion and the other shaft portion in the umbrella hollow engine valve having a hollow hollow portion inside the umbrella portion whose diameter is expanded like an umbrella at one end of the shaft portion. It is a method of filling a cooling material that can fill the hollow portion from an opening at the end, and by tilting the umbrella hollow engine valve at an angle, the getter material introduced into the hollow portion is put into the hollow portion at the end of the hollow portion. By one-sided alignment step of pulling the umbrella portion to the bottom, a cooling material pressing step of pushing the rod-shaped cooling material into the hollow portion from the opening, and heating the central portion of the umbrella portion to a temperature higher than the melting point of the cooling material. A melting step of melting the cooling material pushed into the hollow portion and in contact with the bottom portion is performed.

According to the method (4) above, the getter material is difficult to be heated, and the influence of heat on the getter material G can be prevented. Further, when the coolant is pushed into the hollow portion, the coolant directly contacts the bottom of the umbrella portion without the intervention of the getter material, so that the coolant can be efficiently melted.

According to the present invention, the coolant for cooling the umbrella hollow engine valve can be reliably and efficiently filled in the hollow portion of the umbrella hollow engine valve.

It is a vertical sectional view of the engine valve in which the coolant is filled by the coolant filling device of the present embodiment (a) after the coolant is introduced (inclined state) and (b) after the coolant is filled (vertical state). Similarly, it is a side view of the coolant filling device. Similarly, it is a partially enlarged side view of the coolant filling device and the lower perspective view of the bottom of the engine valve. Similarly, it is (a) side view, (b) plan view, and (c) IV-IV sectional view of the coil part in a coolant filling device. Similarly, it is a vertical cross-sectional view of the metal sodium forming means in the coolant filling device, and the side view of the metal sodium guide means. Similarly, it is a flow chart of each process which concerns the filling of the coolant in the coolant filling apparatus. It is a vertical sectional view of the engine valve in a state where the coolant is filled by the conventional coolant filling device.

(The present embodiment)
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 through one embodiment of the invention, but the following embodiments are examples and do not limit the invention according to the claims. The direction of the umbrella hollow engine valve 100 will be described with reference to the direction of FIG. 1 (b) (up / down / left / right), and the direction of the coolant filling device 1 will be described with reference to the direction of FIG. 2 (up / down / left / right).

(Umbrella hollow engine valve 100)
As shown in FIG. 1, the umbrella hollow engine valve (hereinafter, simply referred to as an engine valve) 100 has a shaft portion 101 formed in a round bar shape and an umbrella whose diameter is concentrically and umbrella-shaped at the lower end portion of the shaft portion 101. The umbrella portion 102 is provided with a portion 102, and the umbrella portion 102 has a disc-shaped bottom portion 103 at the lower portion. The bottom portion 103 has an inner bottom surface 103a inside the hollow portion 105 and an outer bottom surface 103b outside.

The hollow portion 105 formed inside the engine valve 100 is opened at the upper portion by the opening 104 provided at the upper portion of the shaft portion 101, and the shaft hollow portion 105a formed in the shaft portion 101 and the umbrella portion 102. It is formed so that the hollow portion 105b of the umbrella formed inside forms an integral space.

The engine valve 100 shown in the present embodiment is a semi-finished product formed as described above by a plurality of forming processes such as hot forging, cold forging, and drawing on columnar special steel. The engine valve 100 can fill the hollow portion 105 with metallic sodium N, which is a rod-shaped coolant, from the opening 104.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1 (a), in the present embodiment, the metal sodium N before melting filled in the hollow portion 105 of the engine valve 100 has a sufficient amount as shown in FIG. 1 (b). A valve that is longer than the depth of the hollow portion 105 of the engine valve 100 (the length from the upper end portion of the shaft hollow portion 105a to the inner bottom surface 103a) is used so as to be filled in the 105. Therefore, when the metallic sodium N is pushed into the hollow portion 105, it protrudes upward by, for example, about 15 mm from the opening 104 (hereinafter, the protruding portion is referred to as a protruding portion N1).
The coolant filling device 1 described below can appropriately fill the hollow portion 105 with metallic sodium N that is longer than the depth of the hollow portion 105 of the engine valve 100.

The engine valve 100 has an opening 104 by fixing a round bar-shaped shaft end member (not shown) to the upper end of the shaft portion 101 by friction welding or the like after the filling of metallic sodium N is completed in a step described later. By closing, the metallic sodium N can be sealed in the hollow portion 105.

The pre-process equipment of the cooling material filling device 1 is provided with a getter material charging means (not shown). The getter material charging means inputs a predetermined amount of the getter material G (see FIG. 1 and the like) from the opening 104 of the engine valve 100 into the hollow portion 105.

(Cooling material filling device 1)
As shown in FIG. 2, the coolant filling device 1 measures the weight of the inert gas supply means 10 capable of ejecting the inert gas into the hollow portion 105 of the engine valve 100 and the weight of the engine valve 100. Means 20, a defined amount determining means 30 capable of determining the appropriateness of the amount of metallic sodium N filled in the engine valve 100, and a valve tilting means 40 for tilting the engine valve 100 in a vertical axial direction to an inclined state. , The valve vibrating means 46 capable of applying vibration to the engine valve 100 in an inclined state, the valve heating means 50 capable of heating a predetermined range of the bottom 103 of the umbrella portion 102, and the metallic sodium molding capable of forming the metallic sodium N into a rod shape. The means 60, the metal sodium guide means 70 that can be introduced into the hollow portion 105 of the engine valve 100 by holding the rod-shaped metal sodium N, and the metal sodium N held by the metal sodium guide means 70 are hollow. It includes a metal sodium pushing means 80 that can be pushed into the portion 105, and a filling determination means 90 that can determine whether or not the hollow portion 105 is filled with the metallic sodium N. These constituent means (excluding a part of the determination means and the measuring means) are fixed to the upper surface of the fixing plate 2 directly or via a support or the like by bolt tightening, welding, or the like.

In the following description, if there is no detailed description of the power, control, etc. of each of the above-mentioned constituent means in the coolant filling device 1, the driving means (not shown) of each constituent means is appropriately referred to the control unit (not shown). It shall operate properly based on the detection signals from sensors that are electrically connected and placed in place.

(Inert gas supply means 10)
As shown in FIG. 2, the inert gas supply means 10 is connected to the hollow pipe 11 connected to the inert gas source (not shown) via the supply pipe 11a and the lower end of the hollow pipe 11 in the vertical direction. It has an elongated nozzle 12 that faces. The inert gas is, for example, nitrogen gas, and is ejected from the inert gas source through the hollow tube 11 and the nozzle 12 from the lower end of the nozzle 12. The hollow tube 11 is fixed to an elevating means (not shown) such as an air cylinder or a solenoid that can expand and contract in the vertical direction, and the lower end of the nozzle 12 is a tapered hole provided inside the inverted cone-shaped guide member 13. Guided by 13a, it is possible to move up and down between the lower limit position located in the hollow portion 105b of the cone and the upper limit position that does not hinder the movement (transportation) of the engine valve 100. The inert gas supply means 10 can fill the hollow portion 105 with the inert gas by moving the hollow tube 11 to the lower limit position and ejecting the inert gas into the hollow portion 105. ing.

(Weight measuring means 20)
As shown in FIG. 2, the weight measuring means 20 has a built-in weight sensor (not shown) capable of measuring the weight of the engine valve 100, and is provided on the upper portion of the base 5 erected on the fixing plate 2. The weight measuring means 20 is arranged at an appropriate position between the process equipment after the getter material G is charged and before the introduction of the metallic sodium N, and measures the weight of the engine valve 100 before and after the introduction of the metallic sodium N. .. The weight measuring means 20 measures the weight of the engine valve 100 before the introduction of the metallic sodium N, for example, after the inert gas is supplied or immediately after the getter material G in the previous step is charged. Further, the weight measuring means 20 measures the weight of the engine valve 100 after the introduction of the metallic sodium N after the filling of the metallic sodium N, which will be described later, is completed.
The measured weight information is used for the determination process of the specified amount determination means 30.

(Specified amount determination means 30)
As shown in FIG. 2, the specified amount determination means 30 is electrically connected to the weight measuring means 20 and obtains the weight difference d of the engine valve 100 before and after the introduction of the metallic sodium N measured by the weight measuring means 20. , Determine whether the introduced metallic sodium N is in the specified amount. When the weight difference d = 0, the specified amount determining means 30 determines that it is normal, and when the weight difference d ≠ 0, it determines that there is an excess or deficiency in the introduced metallic sodium N, that is, an error.

The production line control means (not shown) does not perform any special control when the specified amount determination means 30 determines to be normal, but prevents defective products from being mixed when the specified amount determination means 30 determines to be an error. As a process, for example, the production line is temporarily stopped, or the engine valve 100 determined to be an error is controlled to be discharged to the outside of the production line as a defective product.

(Valve tilting means 40)
As shown in FIG. 2, the valve tilting means 40 tilts the gripping arm 41 capable of gripping the shaft portion 101 of the engine valve 100 and the gripping arm 41 by a predetermined angle (for example, 45 degrees) around the horizontal rotation shaft 5a. It has a tilting mechanism 43 which is possible.

The gripping arm 41 has a pair of thin plates having an arm portion 41a provided with a driving means (not shown) such as a motor and a non-slip member such as rubber attached to one end of the arm portion 41a so as to face each other. It has a grip portion 41b capable of gripping an object from a horizontal direction by operating a driving means.
A valve vibrating means 46, which is a vibration motor, is fixed to the other end of the gripping arm 41 by a bolt or the like.

The tilting mechanism 43 has an expansion / contraction means 43a that can be expanded and contracted in the vertical direction by an air cylinder, a solenoid, or the like, and a flat plate-shaped rotary link 43b that extends in the horizontal direction and bends in a reverse shape. The bent portion of the rotary link 43b is rotatably supported by a rotary shaft 5a projecting horizontally from the side surface of the base 5, one end is rotatably connected to the upper end of the telescopic means 43a, and the other end is gripped. It is non-rotatably connected to the substantially center of the arm 41.

The tilting mechanism 43 can reciprocate the gripping arm 41 between the horizontal position shown by the virtual line in FIG. 2 and the tilted position shown by the solid line by expanding and contracting the telescopic means 43a in the vertical direction. ing.

After the inert gas is supplied, the valve tilting means 40 grips the shaft portion 101 of the engine valve 100 in which the weight is measured in the vertical direction by the gripping arm 41, and the gripping arm 41 is held at a predetermined angle by the tilting mechanism 43. By tilting the engine valve 100 to an inclined position (for example, 45 degrees), the engine valve 100 can be tilted by a predetermined angle in the axial direction to be in an inclined state. As a result, the valve tilting means 40 can shift the getter material G in the umbrella hollow portion 105b to one side of the umbrella hollow portion 105b (see FIGS. 1A and 3A).

The valve vibrating means 46 can vibrate the tilted engine valve 100 via the gripping arm 41. As a result, the valve vibrating means 46 can reliably offset the getter material G in the hollow portion 105b of the umbrella, which cannot be offset only by tilting the engine valve 100. The valve vibration means 46 may be independently provided so that the valve vibration means 46 can be brought into contact with the engine valve 100 in an inclined state to directly apply vibration.
Further, instead of the vibration motor, the valve vibrating means 46 may employ a striking device (not shown) that vibrates by striking.

(Valve heating means 50)
As shown in FIG. 2, the valve heating means 50 is a heating device using high frequency, and is a position changing unit 55 that changes a heating unit 51 for outputting heat and a coil unit 53, which will be described later, within a predetermined range. Consists of including.

The heating unit 51 includes an induction heating power supply 52 that generates an alternating current, a coil unit (partial heating means) 53 that generates a magnetic flux by the alternating current, and a temperature control unit 54 for controlling the temperature of the coil unit 53. .. The induction heating power supply 52 can pass an alternating current to the coil unit 53 via a feeder line (not shown) arranged along the rotary arm 55a described later, and is close to the coil unit 53 due to the magnetic flux generated in the coil unit 53. The bottom 103 of the engine valve 100 can be heated (see FIG. 3A). The temperature control unit 54 is the coil unit 53 until the temperature at the center of the bottom 103 detected by the thermal camera 57 shown in FIG. 2 reaches a predetermined temperature (for example, 140 ° C. to 160 ° C.) higher than the melting point of the metallic sodium N. The induction heating power supply 52 is controlled so as to continuously generate a magnetic field.

As shown in FIG. 4, the coil portion 53 (partial heating means) of the present embodiment is, for example, a base 53a which is a copper material and has an annular shape and an annular hollow inside, and a cone provided on the upper surface of the base 53a. It has a trapezoidal and annular heating concentration portion 53b. The coil portion 53 can locally concentrate the region for induction heating by increasing the magnetic flux density by the heating concentration portion 53b.

As shown in FIG. 2, the position change unit 55 has a rotation arm 55a extending in a predetermined direction and having a coil portion 53 at one end thereof, and a rotation control unit 55b that rotatably supports the other end of the rotation arm 55a. The rotation control unit 55b has a rotation means (not shown) such as a motor, and reciprocates the coil unit 53 via the rotation arm 55a between the initial position shown by the virtual line in FIG. 2 and the proximity position shown by the solid line. It is possible to move it.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the coil portion 53 is located on the same axis as the engine valve 100 at a close position and at a predetermined distance (about several millimeters) so as to face the outer bottom surface 103b of the engine valve 100. Distributed apart.

The heating portion 51 has a coil portion 53 that has been moved to a close position, so that only the central portion of the bottom portion 103 of the tilted engine valve 100 (for example, a range slightly wider than the diameter of the rod-shaped metallic sodium N, FIG. 3A). The point region e) shown in (b) can be heated to a predetermined temperature. As a result, the influence of heat on the getter material G that is offset in the hollow portion 105b of the umbrella is minimized, and the metallic sodium N that is pushed (introduced) into the hollow portion 105 and comes into contact with the inner bottom surface 103a is removed. Can be heated directly.

(Metallic Sodium Molding Means 60)
As shown in FIG. 2, the metal sodium forming means 60 is arranged in the upper part of the coolant filling device 1, and as shown in FIG. 5, the tapered hole 61a which accommodates the metal sodium N and temporarily reduces the diameter downward in the lower part. A vertical cylinder 61 having a And a cutter 64 such as an air grinder that can be moved in the horizontal direction by a driving means (not shown) such as a motor or a solenoid and can cut the rod-shaped metallic sodium N extruded from the nozzle 63 in a timely manner. The metallic sodium forming means 60 presses the metallic sodium N contained in the cylinder 61 from above by the piston 62, squeezes the metallic sodium N from the nozzle 63 into a rod shape, and cuts the metallic sodium N into an appropriate length by the cutter 64. Can be done.

(Metallic Sodium Guide Means 70)
As shown in FIG. 2, the metal sodium guide means (cooling material guide means) 70 is arranged below the metal sodium forming means 60, and as shown in FIG. 5, a rod-shaped squeezed by the metal sodium forming means 60. The engine valve 100 has a tubular holder 71 made of a transparent synthetic resin that can receive metallic sodium N from above and temporarily hold it, and metallic sodium N extruded from the holder 71 by the metallic sodium pushing means 80 described later. A shaft end guide 72 that can be introduced into the hollow portion 105 from the opening 104 of the above, and is arranged between the holder 71 and the shaft end guide 72 to temporarily prevent the metallic sodium N received in the holder 71 from falling off. It is provided with a stopper 74 for using the stopper 74.

The holder 71 and the shaft end guide 72 are fixed to a rectangular plate-shaped movable plate 76 provided so as to be slidable in the vertical direction with respect to the vertically long portion of the L-shaped plate-shaped base plate 75 by bolts or the like. Further, the stopper 74 is directly fixed to the horizontally long portion of the base plate 75 by a bolt or the like. As shown in FIG. 2, the base plate 75 is non-rotatably fixed to a rotation shaft 4a protruding from the side surface of the support column 4 erected on the fixing plate 2.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the shaft end guide 72 has a cylindrical shape having a through hole 73 in the vertical direction, and is directly below the holder 71 at the receiving position described later, and has a predetermined distance (for example, for example) from the holder 71. It is provided so as to be separated (about 10 mm) (see FIG. 5).

As shown in FIG. 3A, the through holes 73 of the shaft end guide 72 have different diameters or shapes at the upper part, the middle part, and the lower part. A guide hole 73b having a diameter slightly larger than that of the metallic sodium N is provided, and a fitting hole 73c that can be fitted to the upper end of the shaft portion 101 of the engine valve 100 is provided at the lower portion. The shaft end guide 72 receives the metallic sodium N extruded from the holder 71 by the tapered hole 73a and guides it in the centripetal (axial center) direction, and securely from the opening 104 of the engine valve 100 fitted in the fitting hole 73c. Can be introduced in.

Further, in the shaft end guide 72, the metallic sodium N is pushed into the hollow portion 105 (introduced) by setting the guide hole 73b to be relatively long (for example, longer than the tapered hole 73a and the fitting hole 73c). ), It is possible to cover the periphery of the upper end portion of the protruding portion N1 protruding from the opening 104.

As shown in FIG. 5, the stopper 74 has a plate-shaped stopper portion 74a having a stopper surface (not shown) and an expansion / contraction means 74b such as a solenoid in which the stopper portion 74a is fixed by a bolt or the like. The stopper portion 74a is oriented in a direction in which the stopper surface is orthogonal to the axial direction of the holder 71, and can be reciprocated between the closed position shown by the virtual line in FIG. 5 and the open position shown by the solid line by the operation of the expansion / contraction means 74b. The lower end of the insertion hole 71a of the holder 71 can be opened and closed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the holder 71 fixed to the base plate 75 has an axial direction due to the rotation of the base plate 75 due to the rotation of the rotating shaft 4a connected to a driving means (not shown) such as a motor. The receiving position that faces up and down and can receive the metallic sodium N molded into a rod shape by the metallic sodium molding means 60, the axial direction is diagonally oriented (for example, tilted at 45 degrees), and the lower end of the holder 71 is tilted. It is close to the upper end of the engine valve 100 in the state and can be displaced between the engine valve 100 in the inclined state and the introduction preparation position located on the same axis. At this time, the shaft end guide 72 and the stopper 74 fixed to the base plate 75 together with the holder 71 are also displaced while maintaining their positional relationship with each other.

Further, the movable plate 76 is provided in an elongated hole (not shown) in the vertical direction provided in either the base plate 75 or the movable plate 76, and is provided in the other of the base plate 75 or the movable plate 76. By inserting a pin (not shown) and sliding it in the elongated hole, it is fixed to the base plate 75 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction.

The shaft end guide 72 fixed to the movable plate 76 is a shaft in the engine valve 100 in an inclined state by sliding the movable plate 76 by a driving means (not shown) such as a solenoid at an introduction preparation position facing an oblique direction. It is possible to reciprocate between the separation position separated from the upper end portion of the portion 101 (see FIG. 2) and the fitting position fitted to the upper end portion of the shaft portion 101 in the tilted engine valve 100 (see FIG. 3). It has become. At this time, the holder 71 fixed to the movable plate 76 also reciprocates while maintaining the positional relationship with each other.

The metallic sodium guide means 70 receives the rod-shaped metallic sodium N formed by the metallic sodium forming means 60 by the holder 71 at the receiving position and temporarily holds it (at this time, the stopper portion 74a of the stopper 74 is in the closed position). ), The holder 71 is moved to the introduction preparation position, the shaft end guide 72 is moved from the separated position to the fitting position, and the stopper portion 74a of the stopper 74 is moved to the open position, whereby the metallic sodium N is transferred to the engine valve. It is possible to prepare for introduction so that it can be introduced (pushed) into the hollow portion 105 of 100.

(Metallic sodium pushing means 80)
As shown in FIG. 2, the metal sodium pushing means (coolant pushing means) 80 is provided diagonally above the metal sodium guide means 70, and fixes a rod-shaped pushing rod 81 made of metal such as SUS and the pushing rod 81. It has a rod holder 82 and a pressing means 83 such as a motor, a solenoid, an air cylinder, or a hydraulic cylinder. The metallic sodium pushing means 80 pushes the rod holder 82 having the pushing rod 81 fixed to the tip thereof downward by the pushing means 83 along the axial direction of the engine valve 100 in an inclined state (for example, for example). It can be pushed in (about 100 to 300 g), and the movable range is between the initial position where the pushing rod 81 is most pulled in and the pushing position where the pushing rod 81 is pushed out most.

The push rod 81 is set to be, for example, about 15 mm longer than the length from the upper end portion of the holder 71 to the lower end portion of the shaft end guide 72 so that the metallic sodium N can be sufficiently pushed into the hollow portion 105. ..

The metallic sodium pushing means 80 presses the metallic sodium N in the holder 71 of the metallic sodium guide means 70 in the introduction preparation state from above by the pushing rod 81. As a result, the metallic sodium N held in the holder 71 can be pushed (introduced) into the hollow portion 105 of the engine valve 100. At this time, since the getter material G is offset in the hollow portion 105b of the umbrella, the lower end portion of the pressed metallic sodium N comes into direct contact with the central portion of the inner bottom surface 103a.

Further, the metallic sodium pushing means 80 presses the upper end portion of the protruding portion N1 of the metallic sodium N protruding from the opening 104 of the engine valve 100 by the pushing rod 81 at this time. At this time, the metallic sodium N in contact with the inner bottom surface 103a is gradually melted, and the metallic sodium pushing means 80 moves the pushing rod 81 from the initial position to the pushing position to transfer the metallic sodium N to the engine valve 100. In the hollow portion 105, it can be pushed downward from the opening 104 by, for example, about 15 mm.

Here, the metallic sodium pressing means 80 may change the pressing force on the metallic sodium N as follows depending on the situation.

For example, when extruding the metallic sodium N in the holder 71 (when introducing the metallic sodium N into the hollow portion 105 of the engine valve 100), the metallic sodium N is pressed with a pressing force of, for example, about 50 g (the first). 1 push). If the metallic sodium N is caught in the hollow portion 105 of the engine valve 100 during pressing, the metallic sodium N is pressed with a pressing force of, for example, about 100 g (second pressing). Further, when the bottom portion 103 of the engine valve 100 is heated and the lower end portion of the metallic sodium N comes into contact with the inner bottom surface 103a of the engine valve 100 (the metallic sodium N is pressed against the heated inner bottom surface 103a). In the case of melting), metallic sodium N is pressed with a pressing force of, for example, about 300 g (third pressing).

In this way, by appropriately changing the pressing force of the metallic sodium pressing means 80, it is possible to improve the efficiency of power consumption and appropriately melt the metallic sodium N.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3A, when the metallic sodium pushing means 80 pushes the upper end portion of the protruding portion N1 in the metallic sodium N, the guide hole 73b of the shaft end guide 72 that covers the periphery of the upper end portion is used. As a result, the bending of the metallic sodium N is suppressed, so that the metallic sodium N can be pushed into the hollow portion 105 without being damaged. Then, the pressed metallic sodium N is surely melted by the getter material G being offset and the lower end directly pressed against the inner bottom surface 103a whose central portion is heated. As a result, the molten metallic sodium N can be efficiently filled in the hollow portion 105 (umbrella hollow portion 105b) while minimizing the influence of heat on the getter material G. Further, since the metal sodium N longer than the depth of the hollow portion 105 can be filled, the filling step of the metal sodium N can be completed in one time, the filling work efficiency can be improved, and the metal sodium N can be filled. The equipment for filling the hollow portion 105 can be miniaturized, and the cost can be suppressed.

The metallic sodium pushing means 80 moves the pushing rod 81 from the pushing position to the initial position based on the completion of filling of the metallic sodium N, and pulls out the pushing rod 81 from the hollow portion 105.

(Filling determination means 90)
As shown in FIG. 2, the filling determination means 90 is electrically connected to the metallic sodium pushing means 80, and based on the fact that the pushing rod 81 has moved to the pushing position, the metallic sodium into the hollow portion 105 of the engine valve 100 is obtained. It is determined that the filling of N is completed. A timer (not shown) was provided, and the filling determination means 90 completed the filling of the metallic sodium N based on the elapse of a predetermined time from the start of pressing the metallic sodium N by the metallic sodium pressing means 80 (third pressing). You may judge that.

Based on the determination by the filling determining means 90 that the filling of the metallic sodium N is completed, the valve tilting means 40 sets the gripping arm 41 in the horizontal position after the pushing rod 81 is pulled out by the metallic sodium pushing means 80. At the same time as returning, the grip on the engine valve 100 is released, and the engine valve 100 is placed on the weight measuring means 20. The weight measuring means 20 measures the weight of the mounted engine valve 100 (engine valve 100 after the introduction of metallic sodium N).

(Flow until filling of metallic sodium N)
As shown in FIG. 6, the inert gas supply means 10 ejects the inert gas into the hollow portion 105 (step S1) with respect to the engine valve 100 into which the getter material G is charged, and the weight measuring means 20 The weight of the metallic sodium N before introduction is measured (step S2).

(One-sided process)
The valve tilting means 40 tilts the engine valve 100 in the axially vertical state in which the weight is measured, for example, by 45 degrees, and displaces the engine valve 100 in the tilted state (step S3).
The valve vibrating means 46 vibrates the engine valve 100 in an inclined state (step S4). As a result, the getter material G in the hollow portion 105b of the umbrella can be completely offset.

(Heating process)
Further, the heating unit 51 heats the central portion of the bottom portion 103 of the tilted engine valve 100 to, for example, 150 ° C. (step S5).

(Coolant pressing process, melting process)
After that, the metal sodium guide means 70 and the metal sodium pushing means 80 introduce the metal sodium N into the hollow portion 105 of the engine valve 100 in an inclined state [first pushing] (step S6), and further, the metal sodium pushing means 80 , Metallic sodium N is pushed from the upper end of the protruding portion N1 protruding from the opening 104 by the pushing rod 81 [third pushing] (step S7). As a result, the lower end portion of the metallic sodium N is pressed against the inner bottom surface 103a of the engine valve 100 and melted, and the metallic sodium N is filled in the hollow portion 105. It should be noted that the introduction and pushing of the metallic sodium N in steps S6 and S7 into the hollow portion 105 are continuously performed without an interval between the work steps.

(Filling confirmation process)
When the filling determination means 90 determines that the filling of the metallic sodium N is completed (YES in step S8), the valve tilting means 40 returns the engine valve 100 to the horizontal position and places it on the weight measuring means 20. .. The weight measuring means 20 measures the weight of the engine valve 100 filled with metallic sodium N (step S9), and the specified amount determining means 30 determines that the weight of the engine valve 100 is appropriate (specified amount) (step S10). YES), no special processing is performed, and the series of processing is completed.

On the other hand, if the filling completion of the filling determination means 90 is not determined in step S8 (NO in step S8), the determination in step S8 (conditional branching) is repeated. Further, in step S10, if the specified amount determining means 30 determines that the weight of the engine valve 100 is not appropriate (NO in step S10), a process of stopping the production line is executed (step S11). ).

In the one-sided alignment step, the step of vibrating the engine valve 100 by the valve vibrating means 46 (step S4) may be omitted.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the following modifications and changes can be made to the above embodiments without departing from the gist of the present invention. Further, it is possible to appropriately combine the above-described embodiment of the present invention and the respective constituent members, treatments, conditions and the like in the following modified examples.

(Modification 1)
In the above embodiment, each process device is arranged one by one to process the engine valve 100 one by one, but the present invention is not limited to this, and some process devices that require time for processing are arranged in parallel. Then, the plurality of engine valves 100 may be processed in parallel in some processes.

(Modification 2)
In the above embodiment, the metal sodium forming means 60, the metal sodium guide means 70, and the metal sodium pushing means 80 each perform a process of forming the metal sodium N into a rod shape, temporarily holding the metal sodium N, and pushing the metal sodium N into the hollow portion 105 of the engine valve 100. Although it is carried out by means, it may be carried out by a single means (metal sodium supply device). In this case, a rod-shaped metal sodium N may be prepared in advance, and only the process of pushing the metallic sodium N into the hollow portion 105 of the engine valve 100 may be performed.

e Point area G Getter material N Metallic sodium 1 Cooling material filling device 2 Fixing plate 4 Support pillar 4a Rotating shaft 5 Base 5a Rotating shaft 10 Inactive gas supply means 11 Hollow pipe 11a Supply pipe 12 Nozzle 20 Weight measuring means 30 Amount determination means 40 Valve tilting means 41 Grip arm 41a Arm part 41b Grip part 43 Tilt mechanism 43a Telescopic means 43b Rotating link 46 Valve vibration means 50 Valve heating means 51 Heating part 52 Inductive heating power supply 53 Coil part 53a Base 53b Heating concentration part 54 Temperature control unit 55 Position fluctuation unit 55a Rotation arm 55b Rotation control unit 57 Thermal camera 60 Metallic sodium forming means 61 Cylinder 61a Tapered hole 62 Piston 63 Nozzle 64 Cutter 70 Metal sodium guide means 71 Holder 71a Insertion hole 72 Shaft end guide 73 Through hole 73a Tapered hole

73b Guide hole

73c Fitting hole 74 Stopper 74a Stopper part 74b Telescopic means 75 Base plate 76 Movable plate 80 Metallic sodium Pushing means 81 Pushing rod 82 Rod holder 83 Pressing means 90 Filling judgment means 100 Engine valve 101 Shaft part 102 Umbrella Part 103 Bottom 103a Inner bottom 103b Outer bottom 104 Opening 105 Hollow 105a Shaft hollow 105b Umbrella hollow

Claims

The getter material can be injected into the hollow portion from the opening at the other end of the shaft portion in the umbrella hollow engine valve having a hollow hollow portion inside the umbrella portion whose diameter is expanded like an umbrella at one end of the shaft portion and the shaft portion. , A coolant filling device that can fill the coolant,
A valve tilting means for tilting the umbrella hollow engine valve at a predetermined angle in the axial direction,
A coolant guiding means having a cylindrical holder capable of temporarily holding the rod-shaped coolant, and a coolant guiding means.
A coolant pushing means having a rod-shaped pushing rod capable of pushing the coolant temporarily held in the holder into the hollow portion.
A partial heating means capable of heating the central portion of the bottom portion of the umbrella portion to a temperature higher than the melting point of the cooling material and melting the cooling material pushed into the hollow portion and in contact with the bottom portion. A cooling material filling device for an umbrella hollow engine valve characterized by being provided.
The coolant guide means is such that when the lower end portion of the coolant, which is longer than the depth of the hollow portion pushed into the hollow portion by the push rod, comes into contact with the bottom portion in the hollow portion, the coolant guide means. The coolant filling device for an umbrella hollow engine valve according to claim 1, wherein a cylindrical shaft end guide that covers a portion protruding from the opening is provided below the holder.
The cooling material filling device for an umbrella hollow engine valve according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a valve vibrating means capable of vibrating the umbrella hollow engine valve tilted at a predetermined angle.
A coolant can be filled into the hollow portion from the opening at the other end of the shaft portion in an umbrella hollow engine valve having a hollow hollow portion inside the umbrella portion whose diameter is expanded like an umbrella at one end of the shaft portion and the shaft portion. It is a method of filling the coolant.
A one-sided process in which the getter material introduced into the hollow portion is brought closer to the end of the hollow portion by tilting the hollow engine valve of the umbrella at an angle.
The coolant pressing step of pushing the rod-shaped coolant from the opening into the hollow portion,
Performing a melting step of heating the central portion of the bottom portion of the umbrella portion to a temperature higher than the melting point of the coolant to melt the coolant that has been pushed into the hollow portion and brought into contact with the bottom portion. A method of filling the coolant for an umbrella hollow engine valve.