Recess on the intake face of the cylinder head for tilted fixing to the engine cylinder head

Abstract

The invention relates to an angled fixing arrangement of a fixing flange (19) of a housing (42) of a combustion engine component to a fixing wall of a cylinder head (15) of the engine, the cylinder head comprising a fixing rail (30) against which the fixing flange (19) is fixed by means of a fixing device (120), characterised in that the fixing device comprises a fixing and guiding insert (110) which is mounted against the wall of a recess (100) formed in the cylinder head from the face of the fixing rail (30).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to an internal combustion engine.

[0002] The invention also relates to a motor vehicle provided with a heat engine having a water / air heat exchanger at the inlet.

[0003] The invention relates more particularly to the fixing of a housing in an inclined manner to a wall of a heat engine, in particular to a wall of a cylinder head of a heat engine. Background Art

[0004] For reasons of aesthetics or passenger comfort, motor vehicles are subject to increasing constraints in reducing the space requirements of their equipment. In particular, vehicles provided with a thermal engine, which is also called an internal combustion engine, comprise an engine compartment which accommodates a powertrain comprising the engine and its components or accessories, the dimensions of which are progressively reduced, which has led to a desire for improvement in the compactness of the engine and its components or accessories.

[0005] In this way, the space in the engine compartment is optimized by reducing the volume of the engine and its components or accessories on the one hand and by arranging the engine and accessories relative to each other in an ingenious manner on the other hand.

[0006] As is known, a heat engine comprises a cylinder housing on which a cylinder head is mounted. Air intake ducts leading to the cylinders are formed in the cylinder head. The cylinder head has a face called the "intake" face, against which an inlet distributor is fixed, which is able to guide the intake air or gases to the inlet ducts (these inlet ducts are formed in the cylinder head and connected to the cylinders), and a face called the "exhaust" face, against which an exhaust manifold is fixed, in order to recover the burnt gases during the combustion process in the engine cylinders.

[0007] Intake air and / or gas is directed towards the inlet distributor, which air and / or gas has previously been compressed when passing through a compressor (e.g. a compression stage of a turbo compressor). In order to increase the efficiency and output of the engine, the intake air is cooled before being introduced into the engine cylinders. In this way, a cooler stage is installed in the air intake circuit upstream of the cylinder head in the circulation direction of the intake air. This cooler stage comprises, for example, an air / water exchanger, by means of which the hot compressed air transfers part of its heat to water or a coolant.

[0008] The heat exchanger is accommodated in a housing which extends downstream in the flow direction of the inlet air via a fixing flange, thereby forming a chamber having, for example, a cylinder head recess. The chamber is part of the inlet distributor chamber.

[0009] In order to reduce the weight of the engine, the housing is fixed against the intake surface of the cylinder head by means of a flange. The fixing of the housing is subject to strong mechanical stresses, which requires high-strength components of metal materials such as steel or steel alloys.

[0010] Furthermore, in order to optimize the space occupied by the engine compartment, the housing is fixed in an inclined direction relative to the intake surface of the cylinder head. The intake surface extends substantially in a vertical plane.

[0011] Publication DE 102014217314-A1 discloses a fixing device for abutting a housing against an intake surface of a cylinder head of a heat engine, the fixing device comprising two supporting walls which are substantially orthogonal to each other and fixed against two orthogonal surfaces of the cylinder head.

[0012] One problem with this fixture is that two orthogonal support surfaces are required for the upper end of the cylinder head, which may result in an excessive thickness of the upper end of the cylinder head.

[0013] Another problem is that the fixing device is part of the heat exchanger housing, which results in increased engine weight.

[0014] Another problem is that the fixing device needs to be arranged near the upper end of the cylinder head, and the second supporting surface on the cylinder housing is perpendicular to the first supporting surface or fixing surface (the first supporting surface or fixing surface is parallel to the fixed rail or the intake surface of the cylinder head).

[0015] The object of the present invention is to overcome these problems. One aspect of the subject matter of the invention is an arrangement for fixing a fixing flange of a housing and an element of an engine to a cylinder head in an inclined manner. Summary of the invention

[0016] The invention relates more particularly to an arrangement for obliquely fastening a fixing flange of a housing of a heat engine component to a fixing wall of an engine cylinder head, the cylinder head comprising a fixing rail, against which the fixing flange is fixed relative to the cylinder head by means of a fixing device, characterized in that the fixing device comprises a fixing and guiding insert which is mounted against a wall of a recess formed in the cylinder head from the face of the fixing rail.

[0017] Advantageously, the fixing device comprises a fixing and guiding insert mounted against the wall of a recess formed in the cylinder head from the face of the fixing rail. The fixing device is able to support the stresses of clamping or fixing the flange against the cylinder head. The recess may be a countersunk hole formed from the face of the fixing rail of the cylinder head, which makes it possible to position the device for fixing in a precise manner, in particular avoiding areas of less thickness of the cylinder head wall.

[0018] According to other features of the present invention:

[0019] The insert comprises a tubular duct extending in an inclined manner from the face of the fixing rail of the cylinder head.

[0020] Advantageously, the fixing insert comprises a tubular duct extending in an inclined manner from the face of the cylinder head fixing rail, which can cooperate with the fixing flange to facilitate its assembly against the cylinder head and ensure its fixing against the cylinder head fixing rail.

[0021] The recess comprises a support portion parallel to the fixing rail.

[0022] Advantageously, the recess or counterbore comprises a support in the base of the counterbore, parallel to the fixing rail of the cylinder head, so as to distribute and absorb well the stresses fixing the flange against the cylinder head.

[0023] The recess comprises a lateral support surface which is orthogonal to the support portion and is situated at the lower end of the recess.

[0024] Advantageously, the recess comprises a lateral support surface orthogonal to the front support portion and arranged at its lower end so as to distribute and absorb well the stresses fixing the flange against the cylinder head.

[0025] - The insert comprises a screw-on seat adapted to be housed in the recess.

[0026] Advantageously, the fixing device comprises a screw base adapted to be received in the recess. For this purpose, the size of the base is substantially smaller than the size of the recess.

[0027] The screw base of the insert comprises a front support surface and a lateral support surface, which are mounted against the support portion and the lateral support surface of the recess, respectively.

[0028] Advantageously, the screwed base of the insert must be in contact at least with the support portion and the lateral support surface of the recess in order to transmit the loads.

[0029] The screw base has a parallelepiped shape.

[0030] Advantageously, according to an embodiment, the base of the insert has a parallelepiped shape to ensure contact and support of the front and lateral support surfaces respectively against the support portion and support surface of the recess.

[0031] - The screw base is cylindrical.

[0032] Advantageously, the base of the insert has an easily obtainable cylindrical shape.

[0033] - The cylindrical screw base comprises a flat portion.

[0034] Advantageously, the cylindrical base comprises a flat portion as second support wall, which is mounted against the second support surface of the recess, thus ensuring the transmission of the loads fixing the flange against the cylinder head.

[0035] The depth of the recess is less than or equal to the thickness of the screw-on base of the insert.

[0036] Advantageously, the depth of the recess is less than or equal to the thickness of the screw-on seat of the insert, which allows the screw-on seat of the insert to protrude slightly in order to be able to control the compression of the sealing joint arranged between the flange and the cylinder head.

[0037] The screw base comprises a through hole produced by rotation about an axis extending in an inclined manner relative to the front support surface.

[0038] Advantageously, a hole is bored in the counterbore from the first support surface. The hole is intended to receive a fixing screw extending through the base of the fixing insert.

[0039] - The flange comprises a passage in the fixed wall at the upper end, the passage being adapted to surround the tubular conduit.

[0040] Advantageously, the fixing flange comprises a passage formed through the fixing wall at the upper end of the flange and intended to house a tubular duct of fixing means to facilitate the assembly of the fixing flange and therefore of the housing of an element of the engine against the cylinder head.

[0041] - The length of the tubular duct is less than the length of the channel of the flange.

[0042] Advantageously, the length of the tubular duct of the fixing device is less than the length of the passage of the flange, so as to ensure that the flange is held against the cylinder head by pressure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will be understood on reading the following description of specific embodiments of the invention given by way of non-limiting example and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0044] Figure 1 This is a schematic front view of the intake surface of the cylinder head.

[0045] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a heat engine cylinder head.

[0046] Figure 3 is the cross section of the cylinder head with the retaining flange mounted against the cylinder head,

[0047] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of fixing and reinforcing inserts,

[0048] Figure 5is a front view of a fixing insert according to an embodiment, facing the cylinder head,

[0049] Figure 6 is a cross section of a fixing arrangement according to an embodiment,

[0050] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the fixing and reinforcing insert. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] In the following description, the same reference numerals indicate components that are the same or have similar functions.

[0052] The terms up / down refer to an orthogonal reference frame of the motor vehicle, having two horizontal axes in the plane of the vehicle, e.g. extending through the vehicle axles, and an orthogonal axis perpendicular relative to a plane pointing upwards, e.g. from the engine to the bonnet of the vehicle.

[0053] The invention proposes an arrangement for obliquely fastening an element of a thermal engine or internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle to the engine.

[0054] Figure 1 and Figure 2 A cylinder head 15 of a heat engine, in particular an intake face 14 of the cylinder head 15 , is shown.

[0055] according to Figure 3 The inlet distributor is mounted close to the cylinder head so as to cover the inlet openings of the cylinder head. The inlet distributor is formed by a fixing flange 19 which enables the housing 42 of an engine component or accessory to be fixed to the cylinder head, in this case a component such as Figure 4 A water / air heat exchanger 11 is shown.

[0056] In order to facilitate the understanding of the present invention, in the following description, it is described that the housing 42 of the heat exchanger 11, in particular the fixing flange 19 of the housing, is fixed obliquely against the intake surface 14 of the cylinder head 15 of the heat engine using a fixing device, that is, the intake air flow axis is inclined relative to the plane of the intake surface 14 of the cylinder head; the fixing axis of the fixing device (for example, a screw) is also inclined relative to the plane of the intake surface 14 of the cylinder head. The angle formed between the fixing axis and the axis orthogonal to the plane of the intake surface of the cylinder head is less than 45°, in particular between 20° and 45°. However, the housing can be the housing of another element or accessory of the engine.

[0057] Motor vehicle thermal engines are associated in a known manner with an air intake circuit. This circuit directs the cold air captured in the front area of ​​the motor vehicle towards the engine. The air passes through elements of the engine, which may include an air filter, an intake valve, a compression stage, wherein the compression stage may be a compressor of a turbocompressor. Compressing the air can increase its temperature, and it is known to increase the passage through a heat exchanger, usually of the air / water type, in order to reduce the temperature of the intake air before it is introduced into the engine. The air can also be mixed with recirculated exhaust gases obtained from the exhaust circuit, which increases the temperature of the recirculated air / gas intake mixture. The mixing usually takes place upstream of the heat exchanger in the direction of air circulation.

[0058] The inlet air, which has reached a high temperature during compression or by mixing with the recirculated gas, passes through a water / air type heat exchanger 11, known as "WaterCAC", in order to be injected into the Figure 4 The heat exchanger is contained in a housing 42 which is fixed against the intake face 14 of the cylinder head 15.

[0059] In order to optimize the space requirement of the engine and its components or accessories installed in the engine compartment of a motor vehicle, the housing 42 of the exchanger 11 is fixed in an inclined manner against the substantially vertical intake face 14 of the engine. Figure 4 As shown, the intake air flow axis is inclined relative to the intake face 14 of the cylinder head. The flow of the intake air is carried out along a direction A1 from the outside toward the cylinder head, and the direction A1 forms an acute angle with an axis orthogonal to the plane of the intake face 14 of the cylinder head 15, which is less than 45°, in particular between 20° and 45°. In order to facilitate the understanding of the present invention, the cylinder head 15 is schematically a parallelepiped with a flat and vertical intake face 14.

[0060] according to Figure 3 and Figure 4 The exchanger housing 42 is therefore fixed in an inclined manner against the inlet face 14 and, in this case, close to the upper end 12 of the inlet face 14 by means of the fixing flange 19 .

[0061] The fixing flange 19 comprises a support surface 20 opposite to the intake surface 14 of the cylinder head, and an opposite outer surface 21 inclined relative to the support surface 20 .

[0062] The support surface 20 is intended to abut against a fixing rail 30 having a plane that is substantially parallel to the intake face 14 of the cylinder head.

[0063] The housing 42 is fixed to the outer face 21 of the flange. The flange 19 thus delimits a chamber 18 which is part of the intake chamber of the inlet distributor of the engine. Preferably, the fixing flange 19 is assembled to the exchanger housing 42, for example by clip-fitting.

[0064] The fixing flange 19 is fixed against the cylinder head by fixing means (such as screws) arranged at the edge of the flange's support surface. The fixing axis of the fixing means is inclined relative to the support surface 20 at the upper end of the flange 19 and is orthogonal to the support surface 20 at the lateral edges and the lower end.

[0065] In order to optimize the weight of the engine and its components or accessories, the fixing flange 19 is made of a light material, which can be a plastic material. However, the plastic material does not have sufficient rigidity to ensure that the flange 19 is fixed obliquely against the cylinder head 15 to the exchanger housing.

[0066] The present invention proposes a fixing arrangement 10 of a fixing flange 19 (at the upper part of the flange), and a cylinder head 15, such as Figure 1 and Figure 3 The fixing of the flange to the cylinder head is performed by using fixing means comprising fixing means such as screws, the axes of which are inclined relative to an axis orthogonal to the plane of the intake face 14 of the cylinder head 15 .

[0067] It is known that the oblique fixation on a vertical support surface (in this case the intake surface 14) introduces mechanical stresses along the fixation axis. The stresses consist of stresses along an axis orthogonal to the support surface 20 and stresses parallel to the support surface, which may cause deformation of the component. It is necessary to provide a means for strengthening the fixation of the flange 19 to the cylinder head.

[0068] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cylinder head 15 comprises at least one recess 100, preferably as Figure 2 , which are formed from the face of the fixing rail 30. The recess 100 may be a countersunk hole.

[0069] One of the same two notches is described.

[0070] According to an embodiment, the recess 100 has a support portion 101 which may be rectangular in the recess base, extending along the longitudinal axis X of the cylinder head 15 and having a depth of approximately 2 to 5 mm.

[0071] The support portion 101 of the recess is substantially parallel to the intake surface 14 of the cylinder head 15 .

[0072] The recess has a lateral support surface 102 which, in the depth of the recess, is orthogonal to the support portion 101. The lateral support surface 102 is arranged at the lower end of the recess 100 and is directed towards the upper part of the cylinder head.

[0073] Preferably, the support portion 101 and the lateral support surface 102 are obtained by machining. The support portion and the lateral support surface orthogonal to the support portion can be obtained in the same operating cycle as the entire intake surface using the same tool guide reference, which facilitates the machining operation of the two surfaces and improves the accuracy of the obtained surface.

[0074] At the base of the recess 100 , a threaded hole 103 is drilled which opens from the support 101 and whose axis X1 is substantially inclined relative to the plane of the support 101 and therefore to the intake face 14 of the cylinder head.

[0075] according to Figure 4 and Figure 5 In the embodiment shown, the fixing device 120 comprises a fixing and guiding insert 110 which makes it possible to facilitate the assembly and fixing of the flange 19 against the fixing rail 30 of the cylinder head. The insert 110 comprises a screw base 111 which is substantially parallelepiped and is mounted against the support 101 of the recess 100. The screw base 111 comprises a support face 115 which may be square or rectangular and which is in contact with the support 101.

[0076] Preferably, the thickness of the screw base 111 is equal to or even slightly greater than the depth of the recess 100 so as to effectively control the contact and support of the fixing flange 19 against the fixing rail 30 of the cylinder head, in particular to control the compression of the sealing joint (not shown) arranged between the flange 19 and the rail 30.

[0077] The screw-on base 111 comprises a through hole 116 , the axis of which merges with the axis of the threaded hole 103 opening from the support 101 of the recess 100 , after the screw-on base of the insert 110 has been mounted against the cylinder head in the housing of the recess.

[0078] The screw base 111 comprises a square or rectangular front support surface 115, which is mounted against the support portion 101. The surface of the front support surface 115 of the screw base may be equal to the surface of the support portion 101 of the recess 100.

[0079] The insert 110 comprises a lateral support surface 112 orthogonal to a front support surface 115 which is mounted against a lateral support surface 102 of the recess 100 directed towards the upper part of the cylinder head.

[0080] Preferably, the front support face 115 and the lateral support face 112 of the screw base 111 opposite the support portion 101 and the lateral support face 102 of the recess 100 will be machined, respectively.

[0081] like Figure 5 As shown, the insert 110 also comprises a guide duct 24 to ensure assembly and retention of the fixing flange 19. Preferably, the guide duct 24 is formed by a tubular duct 25 extending from the screw base 111 (and therefore substantially from the face of the fixing rail 30) along an axis aligned with the axis of the through hole 116. The tubular duct 25 is cylindrical and rectilinear. The tubular duct has a cylindrical inner channel cross section 26 at least equal to the cross section of the through hole 116.

[0082] The tubular guide duct cooperates with a fixing flange 19 of the exchanger comprising a passage able to receive a cylindrical tubular duct 25. Preferably, the outer diameter of the tubular duct 25 is substantially equal to or slightly smaller, within assembly play, than the cross-sectional diameter of the passage.

[0083] In the same way, the length of the tubular duct 25 is slightly less than the passage length of the fastening flange 19 of the exchanger housing 42 .

[0084] according to Figure 6 and Figure 7 In the preferred embodiment shown, the insert 110 is cylindrical and tubular, with a cylindrical screw base 111 housed in the recess 100. The cylindrical insert 110 has a planar front support face 115 mounted against the support portion 101 of the recess. The axis of the cylindrical insert 110 is not orthogonal to the front support face 115. The axis orthogonal to the front support face 115 forms an acute angle with the axis of the cylindrical insert 110.

[0085] The screw-in base 111 comprises a through hole 116, the axis of which is aligned with the axis of the cylindrical insert 110. The length of the screw-in base is substantially equal to the depth of the recess 100.

[0086] A cylindrical screw-on base 111 extends from the face of the fixing rail 30 through the tubular guide tube 25 , the cylindrical screw-on base 110 and the tubular guide tube 25 being coaxial.

[0087] Preferably, the outer diameters of the cylindrical screw-on base 111 and the tubular guide tube 25 are equal to facilitate the production of the insert 110 .

[0088] Preferably, the cylindrical screw base 111 comprises a flat portion 114 orthogonal to the front support surface 115. The flat portion 114 is intended to abut against the lateral support surface 102 of the recess.

[0089] The insert 110 is mounted against the cylinder head 15 so that the parallelepiped or cylindrical screw-on seat 110 is housed in the recess 100 .

[0090] The front support surface 115 is mounted against the support portion 101 of the recess 100 .

[0091] In the same way, the lateral support wall 112 or the flat portion 114 is mounted against the lateral support surface 102 of the recess 100 pointing toward the upper part of the cylinder head.

[0092] The fixing flange 19 of the exchanger housing is mounted around the tubular conduit 25 and then assembled as a whole against the cylinder head by screwing bolts around the studs 51 pressed into the threaded holes 103. The flange 19 is held against the cylinder head 15 using the tubular conduit 25.

[0093] Preferably, the fixing device 120 is made of a metal material having sufficient rigidity, and the rigidity thereof is approximately 30000 N / mm to 200000 N / mm.

[0094] The following objectives are achieved: The fixing arrangement enables the fixing flange of the housing to be fixed obliquely against the intake face of the cylinder head, ensuring sufficient rigidity on the one hand and easy assembly on the other hand. The guide insert enables assembly errors to be prevented. The arrangement can be arranged at or not at the upper end of the cylinder head.

[0095] It goes without saying that the invention is not limited solely to the embodiments of this overview described above by way of example, but encompasses all variants.

[0096] The figures show the fixing at the upper end edge of the cylinder head, but it can be arranged below the intake surface of the cylinder head.

Claims

1. An arrangement for obliquely fixing a fixing flange (19) of a housing (42) of a heat engine component to a fixing wall of a cylinder head (15) of the engine, the cylinder head comprising a fixing rail (30) against which the fixing flange (19) is fixed by means of a fixing device (120), It is characterized in that The fixing device comprises a fixing and guiding insert (110) mounted against the wall of a recess (100) formed in the cylinder head from the face of the fixing rail (30).

2. The arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that The fixing and guiding insert (110) comprises a tubular duct (25) which extends in an inclined manner from the face of the fixing rail of the cylinder head.

3. The arrangement according to claim 2, characterized in that The recess (100) comprises a supporting portion (101) parallel to the fixing rail (30).

4. The arrangement according to claim 3, characterized in that The recess (100) includes a lateral support surface (102) which is orthogonal to the support portion (101) at the lower end of the counterbore forming the recess and points toward the upper portion of the cylinder head (15).

5. The arrangement according to claim 4, characterized in that The fixing and guiding insert (110) has a screw-on seat (111) which carries the tubular duct (25) and is adapted to be housed in the recess (100).

6. The arrangement according to claim 5, characterized in that The screw base (111) of the fixing and guiding insert comprises a front support surface (115) and a lateral support surface (112), which are respectively mounted against the support portion (101) and the lateral support surface (102) of the recess.

7. An arrangement according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that The screw base (111) has a parallelepiped shape.

8. The arrangement according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that The screw base (111) is cylindrical.

9. The arrangement according to claim 8, characterized in that The second supporting wall of the cylindrical screw base (111) includes a flat portion (114).

10. The arrangement according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that The depth of the recess (100) is less than or equal to the thickness of the screw base (111) of the fixing and guiding insert (110).

11. The arrangement according to claim 6, characterized in that The screw base (111) comprises a through hole (116) which is produced by rotation about an axis extending in an inclined manner relative to the front support surface (115).

12. The arrangement according to claim 11, characterized in that The passage cross section of the tubular conduit (25) is in the continuation of the through hole (116).

13. The arrangement according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that The fixing flange (19) comprises a passage in the fixing wall at an upper end, the passage being adapted to surround the tubular conduit (25).

14. The arrangement according to claim 13, characterized in that The length of the tubular conduit is shorter than the length of the passage of the fixing flange (19).

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