Thermo valve for cooling water control

Abstract

To realize temporary holding to an inlet housing during assembly while suppressing costs, in a thermo valve sandwiched and fixed between a cylinder head and the inlet housing.SOLUTION: A gasket 12 is attached to a flange 13 constituting the thermo valve. The gasket 12 is composed of a seal part 22 that is fitted into an annular step part 24 provided in an inlet housing 3, and a boss part 23 that is in elastic contact with an inner peripheral surface of the inlet housing 3. As the boss part 23 is in contact with the inlet housing 3 with friction, the thermo valve 8 can be temporarily held in the inlet housing 3.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a thermovalve for controlling cooling water used in a water-cooled engine. [Background technology]

[0002] In water-cooled engines, the flow of coolant is controlled by sending it to the radiator or returning it to the water pump depending on its temperature, and this flow control generally uses a thermovalve equipped with a temperature-sensitive member that expands and contracts with changes in the coolant temperature. That is, a thermovalve is equipped with a valve body fixed to the housing and a movable valve element that moves with changes in the coolant temperature, and a flange provided on the valve body is sandwiched and fixed between the inlet housing and the cylinder head via a gasket.

[0003] Now, the thermovalve is fixed between the inlet housing and the cylinder head. When assembling the thermovalve, the thermovalve is first attached to the inlet housing (temporarily held in place), and then the inlet housing is placed on top of the cylinder head and fixed with bolts. During this assembly process, the thermovalve needs to be held in place so that it does not fall off the inlet housing.

[0004] Regarding this point, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which a locking recess is formed on the inner surface of the inlet housing, while a locking tongue is provided on the valve body which fits into the locking recess by elastic deformation, and the locking tongue catches the locking recess to prevent the thermovalve from falling off. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-332779 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Although the technique in Patent Document 1 is effective in preventing the thermovalve from falling off, there are concerns that it is costly because a locking recess must be machined into the inlet housing, that it is costly because a locking tongue must be provided as a new component on the valve body, and that the locking tongue acts as a resistance to the flow of cooling water, increasing pressure loss and thereby worsening fuel efficiency.

[0007] Regarding this issue, it would be possible to use a jig that is inserted from the outside into the inlet port of the inlet housing and use the jig to pull the thermovalve to the inlet housing during the assembly process, but if the inlet port is tilted relative to the axis of the thermovalve, the jig cannot clamp the tip of the thermovalve, making installation using the jig difficult. Therefore, some kind of innovation is required for the thermovalve.

[0008] The present invention has been made to improve this current situation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present invention relates to stomach Inlet housing and cylinder head The present invention relates to a thermovalve for controlling cooling water, which is disposed in a cooling water passage formed in a " Fixed to the inlet housing and the cylinder head The valve includes a valve body and a movable valve element provided on the valve body so as to move in response to a change in the temperature of the cooling water, The valve body has a flange that fits into a notched annular step portion formed in one or both of the opposing surfaces of the inlet housing and the cylinder head, and a gasket attached to the flange, The gasket is provided at the annular step. The flange is held from both sides and fixed between the inlet housing and the cylinder head. Large diameter A seal portion and a cooling water passage of the inlet housing and a small-diameter boss portion integrated with the seal portion on one side of the flange so as to fit into the inlet housing, forming a convex outer shape, and the outer peripheral surface of the boss portion is set to elastically abut against the inner surface of the inlet housing. " It has the following characteristics:

[0010] The present invention can be embodied in various ways. As a preferred embodiment, claim 2 provides: " The sealing portion of the gasket is set to have an outer diameter that provides a gap between the sealing portion and an outer circumferential surface of the annular step portion when the gasket is sandwiched and fixed between the inlet housing and the cylinder head. An annular notch is formed in an outer peripheral surface of the boss portion of the gasket except for the tip portion so as to provide a gap between the outer peripheral surface of the inlet housing and the boss portion is configured so that only the tip portion elastically contacts the inner surface of the inlet housing. " The following configuration is adopted. The invention of claim 3 is the same as claim 1 or 2, "The seal portion of the gasket has a width dimension that fits into the annular step portion, and the inner diameter of the seal portion is larger than the inner diameter of the boss portion, so that the inner surface of the gasket also has a convex shape." The structure is as follows. Effect of the Invention

[0011] In the present invention, the boss portion provided on the gasket elastically presses against the inner peripheral surface of the inlet housing, so that the thermo valve can be maintained attached to the inlet housing during the assembly process.

[0012] And because it is a simple measure of adding a boss to the gasket, which is an essential component of the sealing means, and there is no need to process the inlet housing or add new components to the thermo valve, it is possible to significantly suppress increases in costs. Also, because the boss is disposed along the inner circumference of the inlet housing, it does not create resistance to or disrupt the flow of cooling water, and therefore there is no problem of worsening fuel efficiency due to increased pressure loss.

[0013] By providing a notch in the boss of the gasket as in claim 2, the pressing force of the inlet housing can be applied evenly to the seal portion of the gasket when the inlet housing is fastened to the cylinder head with a bolt, thereby ensuring high sealing performance of the gasket. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an embodiment, in which (A) is a plan sectional view and (B) is a partially enlarged view of (A). [Diagram 2] 1A is a perspective view of a thermovalve, and FIG. 1B is a front view. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This embodiment is applied to a cooling water control device for a water-cooled engine for a vehicle.

[0016] (1).Basic structure As shown in FIG. 1(A), a coolant return relay chamber 2 is formed in a cylinder head 1, and an inlet housing 3 or an outlet housing is stacked and fixed to the outer surface of the cylinder head 1 with multiple bolts (not shown) so as to cover the return relay chamber 2.

[0017] The return relay chamber 2 is formed, for example, integrally with the rear end of the cylinder head 1 on the side opposite to the timing chain. Alternatively, the return relay chamber 2 can be formed of a block body fixed to the rear end of the cylinder head. Furthermore, the return relay chamber 2 can be formed in the cylinder block.

[0018] The return relay chamber 2 of the cylinder head 1 is hollow, and is connected to a heater return passage 4 and a leak passage 5. Although not shown, a feed port for feeding water to the water pump also communicates with the return relay chamber 2. The return relay chamber 2 is an example of a cooling water passage recited in the claims.

[0019] In the inlet housing 3, an expanding chamber 6 communicating with the return relay chamber 2 and a radiator return port 7 communicating with the expanding chamber 6 are formed as cooling water passages. The radiator return port 7 is inclined by a certain angle θ in a plan view with respect to the axis of the return relay chamber 2 and the expanding chamber 6. A hose 7a is connected to the radiator return port 7.

[0020] A thermo valve 8 is disposed straddling the return relay chamber 2 of the cylinder head 1 and the expansion chamber 6 of the inlet housing 3. When the thermo valve 8 is disposed at the rear end of the cylinder head 1, it is disposed in a position perpendicular to the rear end face of the cylinder head (hence, it is disposed parallel to the crank axis and the cam axis).

[0021] The thermovalve 8 has a central shaft 9 that extends into the leak passage 5, and a large-diameter slider 10 and a leak valve plate 11 that closes the leak passage 5 are slidably attached to this central shaft 9. The slider 10 is fitted into a temperature-sensitive actuator 11a from the outside, and the slider 10 moves in the axial direction due to the expansion and contraction of a temperature-sensitive member built into the temperature-sensitive actuator 11a.

[0022] The thermo valve 8 has a ring-shaped flange (valve seat) 13 that is fixed between the inlet housing 3 and the cylinder head 1 via a gasket 12, and an arm 14 disposed in the expansion chamber 6 of the inlet housing 3 is fixed to the flange 13, and the tip of the central shaft 9 is gripped by a cap 15 at the tip of the arm 14. Thus, the central shaft 9 is held immovable. The flange 13 has an outward-facing cylindrical portion and has an L-shaped cross section. The interior surrounded by the flange 13 forms a cooling water passage.

[0023] Furthermore, a movable valve body 16 is integrally attached to the slider 10 and overlaps the flange 13 from the return relay chamber 2 side. When the movable valve body 16 moves together with the slider 10, the movable valve body 16 moves toward or away from the flange 13, causing the cooling water to flow from the inlet housing 3 to the cylinder head 1 or the flow to be blocked.

[0024] A cage 17 inserted into the return relay chamber 2 of the cylinder head 1 is fixed to the flange 13, and a spring bearing ring 18 on which the slider 10 slides is formed at the tip of the cage 17. A first spring 19 is disposed between the spring bearing ring 18 and the movable valve body 16. Therefore, the movable valve body 16 is biased in the closing direction by the first spring 19.

[0025] When the temperature of the cooling water is below a predetermined temperature, the temperature-sensing member remains contracted and the movable valve body 16 is held in a closed state by the first spring 19. Therefore, the cooling water does not pass through the radiator. On the other hand, when the temperature of the cooling water reaches a predetermined temperature, the temperature-sensing member starts to expand and the slider 10 starts to move in the direction opposite the inlet housing 3. Then, the movable valve body 16 attached integrally to the slider 10 moves toward the inside of the return relay chamber 2 against the first spring 19, and water starts to pass from the inlet housing 3 to the cylinder head 1.

[0026] The amount of movement of the movable valve body 16 increases in proportion to the rise in the temperature of the cooling water, and the amount of cooling water circulating to the radiator also increases. When the temperature of the cooling water rises to a predetermined temperature, the movable valve body 16 moves completely, and almost the entire amount of cooling water circulates to the radiator.

[0027] A second spring 20 in the form of a conical spring is interposed between the rear end of the slider 10 and the leak valve plate 11. When the coolant temperature is lower than a predetermined temperature and the movable valve body 16 is closed, most of the coolant flowing through the cylinder head jacket pushes and displaces the leak valve plate 11, flows into the return relay chamber 2, and flows into the water pump through a feed port (not shown). Note that a portion of the coolant flowing through the cylinder head jacket is sent to the heater core of the vehicle, and the coolant returning from the heater core flows from the return relay chamber 2 through the feed port into the water pump.

[0028] In this embodiment, the central shaft 9, the flange 13, the arm 14, and the cage 17 form a valve body.

[0029] (2) Gasket The gasket 12 is made of a soft material such as an elastomeric synthetic resin, and as shown in FIG. At the annular step 24 It is composed of a seal portion 22 that holds the flange 13 from both the front and back sides, and a boss portion 23 that is integrally connected to the front side of the seal portion 22 and elastically abuts against the inner periphery of the inlet housing 3. Since the seal portion 22 holds the flange 13, its cross section is U-shaped or C-shaped. Since the boss portion 23 has a smaller diameter than the seal portion 22, the gasket 12 has a convex outer shape and an inner shape.

[0030] In addition, an annular step 24 into which the seal portion 22 fits is formed on the opening edge of the inlet housing 3. The annular step 24 may be formed only on the opening edge of the cylinder head 1, or may be formed on both the inlet housing 3 and the cylinder head 1. As shown in FIG. 1(B), when the seal portion 22 is sandwiched and fixed between the inlet housing 3 and the cylinder head 1, a gap is provided between the outer circumferential surface of the seal portion 22 and the outer circumferential surface of the annular step portion 24.

[0031] The boss portion 23 has a portion that protrudes inward from the surface portion of the slider 10 and a portion that protrudes outward beyond the seal portion 22, and the protruding dimension from the seal portion 22 is approximately the same as the overall thickness of the seal portion 22. A notch (annular groove, groove strip) 25 that reaches the outer surface of the seal portion 22 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the boss portion 23. Therefore, the protrusion strip 23a of the boss portion 23 located on the side opposite the seal portion 22 abuts against the inner peripheral surface of the inlet housing 3.

[0032] 1(B), the shapes of the seal portion 22 and the boss portion 23 in their free state are indicated by dotted lines. Therefore, the portions indicated by dotted lines are compression allowances 22a, 23b. In this way, the seal portion 22 is crushed when the inlet housing 3 is fixed to the cylinder head 1, thereby ensuring high sealing performance.

[0033] Furthermore, when installing the thermo valve 8, the gasket 12 is attached to the inlet housing 3 in advance, and then the inlet housing 3 is placed on the cylinder head 1 and fastened with bolts. However, since the boss portion 23 of the seal portion 22 elastically abuts against the inner circumferential surface of the inlet housing 3, the thermo valve 8 is temporarily held in the inlet housing 3 by the friction generated between the boss portion 23 and the inlet housing 3.

[0034] Therefore, the thermovalve 8 can be temporarily held in the inlet housing 3 without requiring additional processing on the inlet housing 3 or adding a separate member to the thermovalve 8. Also, since there is no need for a jig to be inserted from the radiator return port 7, even if the radiator return port 7 of the inlet housing 3 is inclined with respect to the axis of the thermovalve 8 as in the embodiment, the thermovalve 8 can be temporarily held in the inlet housing 3 without any problem (if the radiator return port 7 is inclined with respect to the axis of the thermovalve 8, even if a jig is inserted from the radiator return port 7, it is not possible to grip the cap 15 of the thermovalve 8. Therefore, the thermovalve 8 cannot be temporarily held using a jig.).

[0035] The cooling water flows inside the flange 13, but the boss portion 23 is located outside the opening of the flange 13 and is in close contact with the inner circumferential surface of the inlet housing 3, and since the boss portion 23 does not protrude significantly, the boss portion 23 does not resist or disrupt the flow of the cooling water as it flows from the inlet housing 3 to the cylinder head 1. Therefore, the cooling water can pass through smoothly without increasing pressure loss.

[0036] By forming a notch 25 on the outer peripheral surface of the boss portion 23 that reaches the seal portion 22 as in the embodiment, when the inlet housing 3 is stacked and fixed to the cylinder head 1, the pressing force of the inlet housing 3 does not act on the boss portion 23, so that the seal portion 22 can be compressed evenly to ensure high sealing performance.

[0037] As shown in Figure 2, a jiggle pin (jiggle valve) 26 for bleeding air is provided on part of the flange 13. The jiggle pin 26 is located at the upper end in the vertical direction for its air bleeding function. In other words, when attaching the thermo valve 8 to the cylinder head 1, it is necessary to set the orientation of the thermo valve 8 so that the jiggle pin 26 is located at the upper end.

[0038] Therefore, by providing a cutout 27 in the boss portion 23 to expose the jiggle pin 26, the visibility of the jiggle pin 26 is improved. When the cutout 27 is formed in the boss portion 23, the position of the thermovalve 8 can be visually confirmed by the cutout 27 itself, so the installation position of the thermovalve 8 can be accurately grasped. Note that the axis O2 of the cap 15 and central shaft 9 is shifted slightly from the axis O1 of the flange 13 by a dimension E toward the opposite side (downward) from the jiggle pin 26.

[0039] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention can be embodied in various other ways. For example, in the embodiment, the return cooling water from the radiator flows into the inlet housing, but it is also possible to provide a radiator feed port in the inlet housing. In the embodiment, the boss portion extends continuously except for the cutout portion, but it is also possible to divide the boss portion into multiple portions. [Industrial Applicability]

[0040] The present invention can be embodied in a thermo valve, and therefore has industrial applicability. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 1. Cylinder head 2 Return relay room (cooling water passage) 3 Inlet housing 5 Leak passage (coolant passage) 6 Enlarged chamber of inlet housing (cooling water passage) 7 Radiator return port 8 Thermo valve 9. Central axis that constitutes the valve body 10 Slider 11 Leak valve plate 12 Gasket 13 Flange (valve seat) that constitutes the valve body 14 Arm that constitutes the valve body 15 Cap that constitutes the valve body 16 Movable valve body 17 Cage that constitutes the valve body 19,20 Spring 22 Seal part 23 Boss section 24 Annular step 25 Notch 26 Jigglepin 27 Excision

Claims

1. A thermovalve for controlling cooling water, which is disposed in a cooling water passage formed in an inlet housing and a cylinder head, a valve body fixed to the inlet housing and the cylinder head; and a movable valve body provided on the valve body so as to move in response to a change in temperature of the cooling water, The valve body has a flange that fits into a notched annular step portion formed in one or both of the opposing surfaces of the inlet housing and the cylinder head, and a gasket attached to the flange, The gasket has a large-diameter seal portion that holds the flange from both the front and back sides at the annular step portion and is fixed by being sandwiched between the inlet housing and the cylinder head, and a small-diameter boss portion that is integrated with the seal portion on one side of the flange so as to enter the cooling water passage of the inlet housing, and has a convex outer shape, and the outer peripheral surface of the boss portion is configured to elastically abut against the inner surface of the inlet housing. Thermo valve for cooling water control.

2. The sealing portion of the gasket is set to an outer diameter that leaves a gap between the sealing portion and the outer peripheral surface of the annular step portion when the gasket is sandwiched and fixed between the inlet housing and the cylinder head, an annular notch is formed in an outer peripheral surface of the boss portion of the gasket except for a tip portion thereof so as to provide a gap between the outer peripheral surface of the inlet housing and the boss portion is configured so that only the tip portion thereof elastically contacts the inner surface of the inlet housing; 2. A thermovalve for controlling cooling water according to claim 1.

3. The sealing portion of the gasket has a width dimension that fits into the annular step portion, and the inner diameter of the sealing portion is larger than the inner diameter of the boss portion, so that the inner surface shape of the gasket is also convex.

3. A thermovalve for controlling cooling water according to claim 1 or 2.

Images