JP7396174B2 - Engine sensor mounting structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an engine sensor mounting structure.

Generally, a flow path through which a fluid such as engine oil flows is provided with a sensor that detects the temperature, pressure, and other conditions of the fluid.

For example, the flow passage structure of an engine disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a main gallery provided inside a cylinder block (engine body), and a branch passage that intersects with the main gallery and into which fluid flows from the main gallery. . A dead end section is provided beyond the intersection of the main gallery and the branch road in the fluid flow direction in the main gallery. A detection section of a sensor that detects the state of the fluid is provided on the back side of the cul-de-sac.

JP2019-94806A

In Patent Document 1, the main gallery extends inside the engine body in the crankshaft direction. That is, in Patent Document 1, the sensor is necessarily arranged near the wall on one side of the engine main body on the outer side in the crankshaft direction, that is, near the wall on the front and rear sides of the engine main body. However, with such a sensor arrangement, there is a risk that the sensor may interfere with these parts or devices, for example, when it is desired to increase the outer diameter of the crank pulley or when it is desired to change the layout of auxiliary equipment.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and its main purpose is to arrange a sensor for detecting the state of fluid flowing inside the engine body on the outside of the engine body in the crankshaft direction. The objective is to attach it to the engine body without interfering with other interfering objects.

The sensor mounting structure for an engine according to the present invention includes a main channel that extends in the crankshaft direction inside the engine body, through which fluid flows, and a main channel that intersects the main channel and directs the fluid flowing from the main channel to the engine main body. The sub-flow path includes a sub-flow path for supplying the supplied portion provided inside, a bracket attached to a side wall portion of the engine main body, and a detection means for detecting the state of the fluid, and the sub-flow path is configured to A communication port that intersects the main flow path at a communication port opened in the wall surface of the main flow path and extends toward the side wall of the engine main body, and communicates with the outside of the engine main body at a first opening formed in the side wall. A second flow communicates with the outside of the engine main body through the first flow path and a second opening formed in the side wall, and extends from the side wall into the interior of the engine main body and communicates with the supplied portion. provided inside the bracket attached to the side wall so as to cover the passage, the first opening and the second opening, and connect the first passage and the second passage to each other. the detection means is held by the bracket, and the detection section of the detection means faces the third flow path section.

According to this configuration, the detection means is attached to one side wall of the engine body via a bracket. Thereby, even if an interfering object is arranged on the outer side (front and rear side) of the engine main body in the crankshaft direction, it is possible to suppress the detection means from interfering with the interfering object.

Further, the fluid flowing through the sub-channel flows smoothly in the order of the first channel section, the third channel section, and the second channel section without flowing backward. Therefore, the energy loss of the fluid until it reaches the supplied region is reduced, compared to, for example, a case where a dead end section that accommodates the detection section of the detection means is provided at the front end of the fluid flow direction (crankshaft direction) in the main channel. , can be suppressed as much as possible.

In one embodiment, the fluid flowing through the main passage is branched into a plurality of branch passages lined up in the crankshaft direction, and the fluid is directed to one end of the main passage in the crankshaft direction by a pressure feeding means. The sub-flow path is the branch path located on the other side of the plurality of branch paths in the direction of the crankshaft.

Normally, fluid conditions such as pressure and temperature gradually worsen from the upstream side to the downstream side. According to this configuration, by detecting the state of the fluid flowing through the branch path on the most downstream side, it is possible to detect the state of the fluid with worse conditions. This allows for a safer design.

In one embodiment, a crank pulley is disposed on the other side of the engine main body in the crankshaft direction.

According to this configuration, interference between the detection means and the crank pulley can be suppressed, so the crank pulley can be made larger.

In one embodiment, the inner diameter of the first flow path section is smaller than the inner diameter of the main flow path.

According to this configuration, by narrowing the inner diameter of the first flow path immediately before flowing into the third flow path inside the bracket, the flow rate of the fluid flowing into the third flow path can be increased. Thereby, the detection accuracy of the detection means can be further improved.

In one embodiment, the detection means is at least one of a pressure sensor that measures the pressure of the fluid and a temperature sensor that measures the temperature of the fluid.

According to this configuration, pressure and temperature, which are important indicators of the state of the fluid, can be measured.

In one embodiment, the fluid is engine oil, the main flow path is a main gallery provided inside the cylinder block, and the supplied portion is provided inside the cylinder block and is connected to the crankshaft. This is a supporting bearing part.

According to this configuration, the lubrication state between the crankshaft and the bearing portion can be evaluated by detecting the state of the engine oil immediately after it flows through the main gallery.

According to the present invention, a sensor that detects the state of fluid flowing inside the engine body can be attached to the engine body without interfering with an interfering object disposed on the outer side of the engine body in the crankshaft direction.

FIG. 1 is a right side view showing an engine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the inside of the cylinder block. FIG. 3 is a front view of the engine. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a joint surface of the cylinder block to the bracket. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a joint surface of the bracket to the cylinder block.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. The following description of preferred embodiments is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its applications, or its uses.

The engine 1 according to the present embodiment is a vertical multi-cylinder engine in which a plurality of cylinders (not shown) are lined up in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle (the left-right direction in FIG. 1). That is, the direction in which the central axis of the crankshaft (crankshaft) accommodated in the cylinder block 11 extends, that is, the crankshaft direction, coincides with the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

Hereinafter, in this specification, the vehicle longitudinal direction (crankshaft direction) may be simply referred to as the longitudinal direction. Furthermore, among the directions perpendicular to the crankshaft direction, the direction that coincides with the vehicle width direction is referred to as the left-right direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, a cylinder head 12 is provided at the top of the cylinder block 11. In addition, in FIG. 1, 3 is an oil pan, 4 is a water pump, 5 is an oil filter, and 6 is an oil cooler. In this specification, the cylinder block 11, cylinder head 12, and oil pan 3 are collectively referred to as the "engine body 10." Although not shown, a transmission is disposed on the rear side (one side in the crankshaft direction) of the engine body 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, the crankshaft (crankshaft) 20 includes a plurality of crank pins 21, 21,... and a plurality of crank journals 22, 22,... arranged in the front-rear direction (crankshaft direction). . Each crank pin 21 is connected to a connecting rod (not shown) of a piston housed in each cylinder. Each crank pin 21 and each crank journal 22 are connected to each other by a crank arm 23.

As shown in FIG. 2, inside the cylinder block 11, a plurality of bearing parts 13, 13, . . . arranged in the front-rear direction (crankshaft direction) are provided. Each bearing portion 13 holds a sliding bearing 13a. Each bearing portion 13 (each sliding bearing 13a) supports a crankshaft (crankshaft) 20 in each crank journal 22. Lubrication between each crank journal 22 and each bearing portion 13 (slide bearing 13a) is performed by engine oil supplied to each bearing portion 13 (slide bearing 13a) from each branch path 16, which will be described later. That is, the bearing portion 13 (sliding bearing 13a) is a supplied portion to which engine oil is supplied.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the front end of the crankshaft 20 projects forward from the cylinder block 11 (engine body 10). A crank pulley 24 is rotatably coupled to the front end of the crankshaft 20. That is, the crank pulley 24 is arranged on the front side (the other side in the crankshaft direction) of the engine main body 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, a main gallery 30 as a main flow path is provided inside the cylinder block 11 (engine body 10). The main gallery 30 extends inside the cylinder block 11 (engine body 10) in the front-rear direction (crankshaft direction). Specifically, the main gallery 30 is formed of a hole that penetrates the wall of the cylinder block 11 in the front-rear direction. The front end of the main gallery 30 is closed by a cap 31.

As schematically shown in FIG. 2, engine oil as a fluid supplied from an oil pump 8 as a pressure feeding means flows into the main gallery (main flow path) 30. The oil pump 8 is arranged on the rear side of the engine main body 10. The oil pump 8 supplies engine oil to the rear end of the main gallery 30 (one end in the crankshaft direction). Specifically, engine oil stored in the oil pan 3 is sucked up and pressurized by driving the oil pump 8. The pressurized engine oil is fed under pressure to the oil filter 5 and filtered. Thereafter, the engine oil is cooled by the oil cooler 6 and then sent to the main gallery 30.

As shown in FIG. 3, the main gallery 30 is disposed to the upper right of the crankshaft 20 (upper left in FIG. 3), and partially overlaps the crank pulley 24 when viewed from the front. Further, the main gallery 30 is arranged near the right side wall 17 (the left side wall in FIG. 3) of the cylinder block 11. The right side wall portion 17 is a wall portion extending in the front-rear direction (crankshaft direction).

As shown in FIG. 2, the main gallery 30 is connected to a plurality of branch passages 16, 16, . . . arranged in the front-rear direction (crankshaft direction). Each branch path 16 intersects with the main gallery 30. Each branch path 16 corresponds to each crank journal 22 and extends downward to each bearing portion 13 (sliding bearing 13a) that supports each crank journal 22.

Engine oil flowing through the main gallery 30 is branched into a plurality of branch paths 16, 16, . Each branch passage 16 supplies engine oil flowing (branched) from the main gallery 30 to each bearing portion 13 . Thereby, lubrication with engine oil is performed between each crank journal 22 and each bearing portion 13 (sliding bearing 13a).

As shown in FIG. 2, a sub-flow path 40 according to the present embodiment is provided inside the cylinder block 11. The sub flow path 40 is a branch path located at the most front side (the other side) in the longitudinal direction (crankshaft direction) among the plurality of branch paths 16, 16, . That is, the sub-flow path 40 intersects the main gallery (main flow path) 30 as one of the plurality of branch paths 16, 16, . ) is supplied to a bearing portion 13 as a supplied portion provided inside the container.

The sub flow path 40 has a different aspect compared to the other branch paths 16. Hereinafter, the configuration of the sub flow path 40 will be explained in detail.

As shown in FIG. 4, the sub-channel 40 has a first channel section 41. As shown in FIG. The first flow path portion 41 intersects the main gallery 30 at a communication port 33 opened in the wall surface 32 of the main gallery 30 .

Here, as shown in FIG. 6, the right side wall portion 17 of the cylinder block 11 is provided with a joint surface 18 for attaching a bracket 60, which will be described later. A first opening 19a and a second opening 19b are formed in the joint surface 18 (right side wall portion 17). The second opening 19b is located below and in front of the first opening 19a (lower right side in FIG. 6). In addition, in FIG. 6, 18a is a bolt hole for fastening the bracket 60.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first flow path portion 41 extends from the connection portion (communication port 33) with the main gallery 30 toward the right side wall portion 17 of the cylinder block 11 (engine body 10). (on the left side). The first flow path section 41 communicates with the outside of the cylinder block 11 (engine main body 10) at the first opening 19a.

As shown in FIG. 5, the inner diameter d2 of the first flow path section 41 is smaller than the inner diameter d1 of the main gallery.

As shown in FIG. 5, the sub flow path 40 has a second flow path section 45. The second flow path section 45 communicates with the outside of the cylinder block 11 (engine main body 10) at the second opening 19b. The second flow path portion 45 extends from the right side wall portion 17 (second opening 19b) to the inside of the cylinder block 11 (engine body 10).

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the second flow path portion 45 extends from the right side wall portion 17 (second opening 19b) to the left side (in FIG. 5) inside the cylinder block 11 in the horizontally extending portion 45a. extending to the right). The second flow path portion 45 extends diagonally downward to the left (diagonally downward to the right in FIG. 5) from the left end (right end in FIG. 5) of the horizontally extending portion 45a in the obliquely extending portion 45b. The obliquely extending portion 45b of the second flow path portion 45 communicates with the bearing portion 13. The second flow path portion 45 is located below the first flow path portion 41 .

Here, a bracket 60 is attached to the right side wall portion 17 of the cylinder block 11 (engine main body 10). The bracket 60 is formed into a substantially U-shape when viewed from above. One end of the substantially U-shaped bracket 60 faces the left side and faces the right side wall 17 of the cylinder block 11. The other end of the substantially U-shaped bracket 60 faces the front side. As shown in FIG. 7, a joint surface 61 corresponding to the joint surface 18 of the right side wall portion 17 of the cylinder block 11 is formed at one end (left wall portion) of the substantially U-shaped bracket 60. As shown in FIG. An opening 62 is formed in the joint surface 61 .

As shown in FIG. 7, the opening 62 is divided into an inlet portion 62a and an outlet portion 62b. The outlet portion 62b is located below and in front of the inlet portion 62a (lower left side in FIG. 7). A guide wall 63 is provided slightly inside the bracket 60 than the entrance portion 62a. The guide wall 63 is not provided inside the bracket 60 from the outlet portion 62b. An accommodating section 64 that accommodates a detection section 71 of a sensor 70, which will be described later, is provided inside the bracket 60 rather than the outlet section 62b. The entrance portion 62a corresponds to the first opening 19a. The outlet portion 62b corresponds to the second opening 19b.

When the bracket 60 is attached to the right side wall portion 17 of the cylinder block 11, it covers the first opening 19a and the second opening 19b. Specifically, the inlet portion 62a of the opening 62 faces the first opening 19a, while the outlet portion 62b faces the second opening 19b. In addition, in FIG. 8, 61a is a bolt hole for fastening the bracket 60 to the right side wall part 17.

The sub-channel 40 has a third channel section 47 . The third flow path section 47 is provided inside the bracket 60. The third flow path section 47 connects the first flow path section 41 and the second flow path section 45 to each other.

Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the third flow path portion 47 first extends from the inlet portion 62a (first opening 19a) in the opening 62 of the bracket 60 to the guide wall 63 on the inside side of the bracket 60. (to the left in FIG. 4). As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the third flow path section 47 then extends downward and forward (lower left side in FIG. 7) to the housing section 64 along the guide wall 63. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the third flow path portion 47 extends from the accommodating portion 64 to the outlet portion 62b (second opening 19b) toward the outside of the bracket 60 (to the right in FIG. 4).

Next, the engine sensor mounting structure will be explained. As shown in FIG. 7, the bracket 60 holds a sensor 70 as a detection means for detecting the state of engine oil. Specifically, the sensor 70 is attached from the front side to a joint surface formed on the other end (front wall) of the substantially U-shaped bracket 60 via a sensor attachment member 66. The sensor 70 is an oil pressure/oil temperature sensor that has the functions of a pressure sensor that measures the pressure of engine oil and a temperature sensor that measures the temperature of the engine oil. The detection section 71 of the sensor 70 is housed in the housing section 64 inside the bracket 60, passing through the sensor mounting member 66 and the joint surface (front wall section). That is, the detection section 71 of the sensor 70 faces the third flow path section 47 .

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the sensor 70 is attached to the right side wall 17 (one side wall) of the cylinder block 11 (engine main body 10) via the bracket 60. As a result, even if an interfering object such as the crank pulley 24 or an auxiliary device is placed on the outer side (front and rear) of the engine body 10 in the crankshaft direction, the sensor 70 can be prevented from interfering with the interfering object. Can be suppressed.

As described above, the sensor 70 that detects the state of the fluid flowing inside the engine body 10 is attached to the engine body 10 without interfering with any interfering objects disposed on the outer side (front and rear sides) of the engine body 10 in the crankshaft direction. be able to.

Furthermore, the engine oil flowing through the sub-flow path 40 flows smoothly in the order of the first flow path section 41, the third flow path section 47, and the second flow path section 45 without backflowing. Therefore, compared to the case where, for example, a dead end section that accommodates the detection section 71 of the sensor 70 is provided at the front end of the main gallery (main flow path) 30 in the fluid flow direction (crankshaft direction), the bearing section 13 (supplied region ) It is possible to suppress the energy loss of the engine oil (fluid) as much as possible until the engine oil (fluid) reaches the point.

Normally, the conditions of engine oil, such as pressure and temperature, gradually deteriorate from the upstream side to the downstream side. For example, the pressure of engine oil is highest immediately after being pumped by the oil pump 8, and gradually decreases as it flows through the main gallery 30 from the upstream side to the downstream side. Similarly, the temperature of the engine oil is lowest immediately after being cooled by the oil cooler 6, and gradually increases as it flows through the main gallery 30 from the upstream side to the downstream side. According to the present embodiment, by detecting the state of the engine oil flowing through the most downstream branch path 16, it is possible to detect a worse state of the engine oil. This allows for a safer design.

Since interference between the sensor 70 and the crank pulley 24 can be suppressed, the crank pulley 24 can be made larger. This makes it possible to strengthen the torsional rigidity of the crank pulley 24 and adjust the rotational speed of auxiliary equipment such as the water pump 4.

By narrowing the inner diameter d2 of the first flow path section 41 immediately before it flows into the third flow path section 47 inside the bracket 60, the flow rate of the engine oil flowing into the third flow path section 47 can be increased. Thereby, the detection accuracy of the sensor 70 can be further improved.

It is possible to measure pressure and temperature, which are important indicators of the condition of engine oil.

By detecting the state of the engine oil immediately after it flows through the main gallery 30, the lubrication state between the crank journal 22 (crankshaft) and the bearing portion 13 (sliding bearing 13a) can be evaluated.

Although the present invention has been described above using preferred embodiments, such description is not a limitation, and of course, various modifications are possible.

The oil pump 8 may supply engine oil to the front end (the other end in the crankshaft direction) of the main gallery 30.

Examples of interfering objects include not only the crank pulley 24 and auxiliary equipment (for example, the water pump 4) disposed on the front side of the engine body 10 (on the other side in the crankshaft direction), but also the For example, a transmission located on the side).

The main flow path 30 is not limited to the main gallery provided in the cylinder block 11, and may be, for example, a head gallery provided in the cylinder head 12.

The sensor 70 is not limited to an oil pressure/oil temperature sensor, and may be, for example, either an oil pressure sensor or an oil temperature sensor. Further, the sensor 70 may be a sensor that measures the viscosity of engine oil. Sensor 70 may have any configuration as long as it measures the condition of the fluid.

The bracket 60 may be attached to the left side wall of the cylinder block 11. Further, the bracket 60 may be attached to the left and right side walls of the cylinder head 12 or the oil pan 3, for example.

The fluid is not limited to engine oil, but may also be engine cooling water, for example. In this case, the supplied part becomes a cooled part that requires cooling.

The engine 1 may be a horizontally mounted engine.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION Since this invention can be applied to the sensor mounting structure of an engine, it is extremely useful and has high industrial applicability.

d1 Inner diameter d2 Inner diameter 1 Engine 3 Oil pan 8 Oil pump (pressure feeding means)
10 Engine body 11 Cylinder block 12 Cylinder head 13 Bearing part (supplied part)
16 Branch road 17 Right side wall part (side wall part)
19a First opening 19b Second opening 20 Crankshaft (crankshaft)
22 Crank journal (crankshaft)
24 Crank pulley 30 Main gallery (main flow path)
32 Wall surface 33 Communication port 40 Sub-channel 41 First channel section 45 Second channel section 47 Third channel section 60 Bracket 70 Sensor (detection means)
71 Detection section

Claims (6)

a main channel that extends inside the engine body in the crankshaft direction and through which fluid flows;
a sub-flow path that intersects with the main flow path and supplies the fluid flowing from the main flow path to a supplied portion provided inside the engine main body;
a bracket attached to a side wall of the engine body;
Detecting means for detecting the state of the fluid,
The sub-channel is
Intersecting the main flow channel at a communication port opened in a wall surface of the main flow channel and extending toward a side wall of the engine main body, and communicating with the outside of the engine main body at a first opening formed in the side wall. a first flow path section;
a second flow path portion that communicates with the outside of the engine main body in a second opening formed in the side wall portion, and that extends from the side wall portion into the interior of the engine main body and communicates with the supplied portion;
a third flow path provided inside the bracket attached to the side wall so as to cover the first opening and the second opening, and connecting the first flow path and the second flow path to each other; has a section and a
The detection means is held by the bracket,
The detecting section of the detecting means is a sensor mounting structure of the engine facing the third flow path section. In claim 1,
The fluid flowing through the main flow path is branched into a plurality of branch paths aligned in the crankshaft direction,
The fluid is supplied to one end of the main channel in the crankshaft direction by a pressure feeding means,
In the engine sensor mounting structure, the sub-flow path is a branch path located on the other side of the plurality of branch paths in the direction of the crankshaft. In claim 2,
An engine sensor mounting structure, wherein a crank pulley is disposed on the other side of the engine body in the crankshaft direction. In any one of claims 1 to 3,
In the engine sensor mounting structure, the inner diameter of the first flow path portion is smaller than the inner diameter of the main flow path. In any one of claims 1 to 4,
An engine sensor mounting structure, wherein the detection means is at least one of a pressure sensor that measures the pressure of the fluid and a temperature sensor that measures the temperature of the fluid. In any one of claims 1 to 5,
The fluid is engine oil,
The main flow path is a main gallery provided inside the cylinder block,
The supplied part is a sensor mounting structure for an engine, which is a bearing part provided inside the cylinder block and supporting a crankshaft.

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