Assembly to equip a motor vehicle

Abstract

Assembly (10) for a motor vehicle (1), comprising: - a crossmember (8) for forming a frame of the vehicle chassis having a through-hole (20); and - an engine (2) having an oil drain hole and a plug (15) configured to be screwed in a predetermined screwing direction to seal the drain hole; said through-hole being located in the extension of the plug in said screwing direction. Figure for the abbreviation: Fig 1

Description

Title of the invention: Assembly for equipping a motor vehicle technical field

[0001] The present invention relates, in general, to motor vehicle engines and, in particular, to the propulsion assembly formed by the engine, a crossmember of the vehicle chassis, and a device for mounting the engine on the crossmember.

[0002] The present invention also relates to a motor vehicle equipped with such a propulsion system. Previous techniques

[0003] The oil change operation of a vehicle with an internal combustion engine classically includes the steps of replacing the engine oil as well as the oil filter.

[0004] To empty the oil pan, the plug that seals its drain hole is removed and the oil is allowed to flow freely into a container.

[0005] Previously, any parts of the vehicle that prevent or hinder access to the oil pan plug and / or that could be contaminated by the flow of oil are removed, for example bodywork elements.

[0006] Dismantling certain parts, in particular certain engine parts which require lengthy and complex interventions for their removal, is however not feasible for an oil pan drain. Description of the invention

[0007] The invention therefore aims to overcome this drawback and to facilitate the operation of draining the engine oil sump.

[0008] In particular, the object of the invention is to facilitate access to the drain plug and to reduce the risk of contamination of the crossmember by the drain oil.

[0009] The invention proposes for this purpose an assembly for a motor vehicle, comprising:

[0010] - a crossmember configured to be associated with longitudinal members of a vehicle chassis, said crossbar having a through hole;

[0011] - an engine comprising an oil pan having an oil drain port and a cap configured to be screwed onto said oil pan in a predetermined screwing direction to seal said drain orifice;

[0012] - a mounting device for said motor on said crossmember in a position predetermined;

[0013] characterized in that in said predetermined position said through orifice is located in the extension of said plug along said screwing direction.

[0014] Thus, the rod of the screwing tool can be inserted through the orifice, being oriented along the screwing direction, to reach and unscrew the oil pan plug.

[0015] It is therefore not necessary to remove the crossmember to access and unscrew the oil pan drain plug. The oil change operation on the motor vehicle is thus simple and quick.

[0016] Since the arrangement of the cap head allows the use of a conventional screwing tool, such an assembly is also economical.

[0017] In addition, thanks to such a positioning of the through orifice relative to the plug, and therefore relative to the drain orifice, it is easier to position the vehicle so that during the oil change the oil flows through the through orifice and does not soil or only slightly soil the crossmember.

[0018] It should be noted that the expression "screwing tool" used here does not limit the use of the tool to screwing itself and includes unscrewing.

[0019] According to another feature, said cross member has at least one portion with increased thickness oriented longitudinally like the cross member, said through orifice being provided in said increased thickness.

[0020] According to yet another feature, said cross member extends longitudinally from a first transverse edge to a second transverse edge, opposite said first transverse edge, and extends transversely from a first longitudinal edge to a second longitudinal edge, opposite said first longitudinal edge, said first longitudinal edge and said second longitudinal edge each extending from one to the other of said first transverse edge and second transverse edge, said through orifice being brought close to one of said first longitudinal edge and second longitudinal edge.

[0021] According to yet another feature, said through orifice is in the middle of said first transverse edge and second transverse edge.

[0022] According to yet another feature, said through orifice has an annular perimeter entirely delimited by said crossbar.

[0023] According to yet another characteristic, said through orifice has a circular contour.

[0024] Furthermore, said through orifice has a diameter greater than or equal to 70 mm.

[0025] According to another feature, the cross member comprises a bottom portion and two lateral portions extending each from a respective end of said bottom portion and facing each other so that said cross member has a U-shaped profile, said through orifice being provided in said bottom portion.

[0026] According to yet another feature, said head of said cap has a recess configured to receive in complementary form a terminal portion of a conventional screwing tool.

[0027] The invention also relates to a motor vehicle having a chassis comprising two longitudinal members generally extending parallel and at a distance from each other, equipped with an assembly according to any one of the above characteristics. Brief description of the drawings

[0028] Other purposes, advantages and features will become apparent from the following description, given for illustrative purposes only and made with reference to the accompanying drawings on which:

[0029] [Fig-1] is a bottom and elevation view of a front part of a motor vehicle equipped with an assembly according to the invention, the engine under-protection fairing being absent.

[0030] [Fig.2] is a perspective view of the front part of the vehicle illustrated in [Fig.1], Shot taken from the front and top of the vehicle, without the bodywork.

[0031] [Fig.3] shows in perspective a lower part of the engine of the assembly represented in [Fig.1] which includes the oil pan.

[0032] [Fig.4] illustrates the unscrewing of the oil pan plug with a screw tool conventional on a perspective view of the engine and crossmember taken from bottom to top on [Fig.1], the other elements of the vehicle being absent.

[0033] [Fig.5] illustrates a variant of the screwing tool of [Fig.4].

[0034] [Fig.6], [Fig.7] and [Fig.8] are detailed views of the cross member. Detailed description

[0035] In the present description, the forward-backward, left-right and up-down directions are those usually attributed to a vehicle. Thus, in [Fig. 1], the front, rear, left and right of the vehicle are respectively at the top, bottom, right and left, while the top and bottom of the vehicle are respectively opposite the reader and towards the reader.

[0036] The vehicle 1 illustrated in figures 1 and 2 comprises a chassis 3, an engine 2 and a mounting device 11 ([Fig.2]) for the engine 2 on the chassis 3.

[0037] The chassis 3 comprises a first longitudinal member 4 and a second longitudinal member 5 generally extending parallel and at a distance from each other.

[0038] The longitudinal members 4 and 5 are here each longitudinally oriented along the front-rear direction of the vehicle 1.

[0039] The chassis 3 further comprises a front cross member 6, a rear cross member 7 and an intermediate cross member 8, each extending from one to the other of the longitudinal members 4 and 5 and transversely to the longitudinal members 4 and 5.

[0040] The front cross members 6, rear cross members 7 and intermediate cross members 8 generally extend parallel and at a distance from each other, the intermediate cross member 8 being located between the front cross member 6 and the rear cross member 7.

[0041] The longitudinal members 4 and 5 together with the front cross members 6, rear cross members 7 and intermediate cross members 8 form a frame 9 of the chassis 3.

[0042] The intermediate cross member 8, the motor 2 and the mounting device 11 here form the assembly 10 according to the invention.

[0043] The mounting device 11 is configured to mount the motor 2 on the intermediate cross member 8 of the chassis 3 in a predetermined position.

[0044] The mounting device 11 here includes suspension mechanisms 19 ([Fig.2]) configured to control the movements of the motor 2 and the cross member 8 towards each other.

[0045] The engine 2 comprises an upper part including a cylinder block 12 ([Fig.2]), and a lower part including an oil sump 13, the lower part being below the upper part.

[0046] The engine 2 is located above the chassis 3, the lower part including the oil pan 13 being turned towards the cross member 8.

[0047] With reference to figures 3 to 5, the oil casing 13 has a drain hole 14 and a plug 15 screwed onto the oil casing 13 to seal the drain hole 14.

[0048] The plug 15 is configured to be screwed onto the oil housing 13 in a predetermined screwing direction 16 (shown as a dashed line in Figures 4 and 5).

[0049] The drain port 14 is here a tapped hole made in the wall of the oil sump 13.

[0050] The plug 15 has a threaded portion (not visible), configured to be screwed into the tapped hole of the orifice 14, and a head 17 protruding from the threaded portion.

[0051] The head 17 is adapted to cooperate by complementary shape with the terminal portion of a shank of a conventional screwing tool.

[0052] More specifically, the head 17 here has a recess 18 ([Fig.3]) configured to receive the terminal portion of the shaft of such a tool.

[0053] The complementarity of the respective shapes of the recess 18 and the terminal portion allows the rotation of the tool around the screwing direction 16 to cause that of the plug 15.

[0054] The recess 18 here has a polygonal cross-section, more precisely a square. The shape of the recess 18 is also normalized here.

[0055] Examples of the conventional screw-driving tool 21 are shown in Figures 4 and 5.

[0056] The tool 21 shown in [Fig.4] includes a conventional angled wrench 22, here equipped with a conventional extension 23 forming the tool's shaft.

[0057] The tool 21 shown in [Fig.5] is similar except that the angled key 22 is replaced by a conventional ratchet key 48.

[0058] As can be seen in particular in figures 1, 4 and 5, the cross member 8 has a through orifice 20 which is in the extension of the plug 15 of the oil sump 13 along its screwing direction 16.

[0059] In other words, with respect to vehicle 1, the through orifice 20 is located opposite the drain orifice 14 in the left-right direction and in the front-rear direction of vehicle 1.

[0060] As can be seen in figures 4 and 5, this allows the rod 23 of the screwing tool 21 to be passed through the through orifice 20, being (longitudinally) oriented along the screwing direction 16, to reach and unscrew the plug 15 of the oil housing 13.

[0061] It will be noted that the vehicle 1 is here arranged so that the screwing direction 16 is along the vertical direction, the oil flow thus tending to flow along the screwing direction 16 and therefore through the orifice 20.

[0062] We will now describe in more detail the cross member 8 and the mounting device 11 with reference to figures 6 to 8.

[0063] The cross member 8 comprises a body 24 of generally elongated shape extending longitudinally from a first transverse edge 25 to a second transverse edge 26, opposite the first transverse edge 25 ([Fig.8]).

[0064] It will be noted that this longitudinal extension direction of the cross member 8 corresponds to the left-right direction of the vehicle 1 when the assembly 10 is fitted to the vehicle 1, the first transverse edge 25 being further to the left of the vehicle 1 than the second transverse edge 26.

[0065] The body 24 further extends transversely from a first longitudinal edge 27 to a second longitudinal edge 28, opposite the first longitudinal edge 27.

[0066] It will be noted that this direction of transverse extension of the cross member 8 corresponds to the front-rear direction of the vehicle 1 when the assembly 10 is fitted to the vehicle 1, the longitudinal edge 27 being further forward of the vehicle 1 than the longitudinal edge 28.

[0067] The first longitudinal edge 27 and the second longitudinal edge 28 each extend from the first transverse edge 25 to the second transverse edge 26.

[0068] The through-hole 20 is offset here from the center of the cross member 8 along its transverse extension direction. More precisely, the through-hole 20 is here closer to the second longitudinal edge 28 than to the first longitudinal edge 27.

[0069] The through orifice 20 is also located here in the middle of the distance between the first transverse edge 25 and the second transverse edge 26.

[0070] The body 24 of the cross member 8 has two opposing principal faces, each delimited by the first longitudinal edge 27, the second longitudinal edge 28, the first transverse edge 25 and the second transverse edge 26, namely a face upper face 36 and lower face 37 facing upwards and downwards respectively.

[0071] The through orifice 20 is here more precisely formed by a recess made in the body 24 of the cross member 8, which recess forms a passage opening through both the lower face 37 and the upper face 36, which passage is axially oriented transversely to the cross member, here following the up-down direction of the vehicle 1 when the assembly 10 is fitted to the vehicle 1.

[0072] The through orifice 20 here has a circular contour.

[0073] Generally, the diameter of the orifice 20 is chosen so as to allow the passage of the shank of a conventional screwing tool whose arrangement, in particular the dimensions and shape of the shank, will be determined by the conventional arrangement of the part of the plug 15 designed to cooperate with such a tool, for example the dimensions and shape of the recess 18.

[0074] The orifice 20 also allows the drain oil to flow through the cross member 8, thus minimizing the risk of contamination.

[0075] The applicant found that a diameter for the orifice 20 offering a good compromise between minimizing the risk of soiling and preserving the mechanical performance of the cross member 8 is approximately 70mm.

[0076] Alternatively, the orifice 20 has a diameter greater than or equal to 70mm.

[0077] Alternatively, the orifice 20 has a diameter of less than 100mm.

[0078] The body 24 has two thicker portions, 29 and 30, each oriented longitudinally like body 24, the through orifice being provided in one of these overthick portions.

[0079] Portion 29 extends transversely from longitudinal edge 27. Portion 30 extends transversely from longitudinal edge 28.

[0080] Portions 29 and 30 here have substantially the same thickness.

[0081] Portions 29 and 30 are here of substantially uniform thickness along one edge transverse 25 to the other transverse edge 26 of the crossbeam 8.

[0082] The body 24 has a thinned portion 31, that is to say in particular of less thickness than the thicker portions 29 and 30, extending transversely between the thicker portions 29 and 30, here from portion 29 to portion 30.

[0083] The body 24 comprises a bottom portion 32 and two lateral portions 33 extending each from a respective end of the bottom portion 32 and opposite each other so that the body 24 has a U-shaped profile, the through orifice 20 being provided here in the bottom portion 32.

[0084] The motor 2 is located on the side of the hollow defined by the U-shaped profile of the body 24 of the cross member 8 and is partially received in this hollow (figures 2, 4 and 5).

[0085] The lateral portions 33 are arranged here in mirror image of each other.

[0086] Each lateral portion 33 here has an L-shaped form, a first branch 34 extending from the bottom portion 32 and a second branch 35 extending from the first branch 34 to the respective transverse edge 25 or 26 of the body 24.

[0087] Each first branch 34 extends while being inclined towards the side opposite the bottom portion 32.

[0088] Each second branch 35 extends substantially parallel to the bottom portion 32.

[0089] It will be noted that the thinned portion 31 extends only along the bottom portion 32 and the inclined branches 34.

[0090] The assembly 10 here further comprises a device for fixing the cross member 8 to the stringers 4 and 5 by each of its longitudinally opposed end portions, which end portions here each comprise a second respective branch 35.

[0091] The fixing device 38 comprises, for each second arm 35, a plate 39 fixed to the upper face 36 and a bracket 40 of which a first arm 41 is fixed to the plate 39 and a second arm 42 transverse to the first arm 41 is fixed to the respective longitudinal member 4 or 5.

[0092] The mounting device 11 here comprises two suspension mechanisms 19 each connecting a respective first branch 34 of the cross member 8 to a respective side of the motor 8, namely here its left side and its right side, the two mechanisms 19 being here identical and arranged in mirror image of each other.

[0093] Each mechanism 19 here comprises a connection head 44 fixed to the side of the motor 2, a connection channel 45, fixed to the cross member 8, and a suspension member 46 mechanically connecting the head 44 to the channel 45.

[0094] The chute 45 has a bottom wall 43 and two side walls 47 extending opposite each other from the bottom wall 43, the chute 45 thus having a U-shaped section.

[0095] The chute 45 is housed, here partially, in the space delimited by the thinned portion 31 and the thickened portions 29 and 30 of the body 24, with its bottom 43 against the upper face 36 and its side walls 47 each against a respective thickened portion 29 or 30.

[0096] The suspension member 46 is partially received in the hollow of the chute 45 and fixed to the side walls 47.

[0097] It will be noted that in the embodiment of the assembly described above, the through orifice 20 has an annular perimeter 49 ([Fig.6]) entirely delimited by the cross member 8.

[0098] In an unrepresented variant, the through orifice 20 has a perimeter partially delimited by the cross member 8, for example the through orifice is formed by a recess made in one of the longitudinal edges of the body of the cross member.

[0099] In other variants not shown:

[0100] - other complementary shapes are possible for the head recess of the plug and the terminal portion of the tool; for example, the polygonal section is different from square, for example triangular or with more than four sides, for example hexagonal; or the section has a shape different from hexagonal, for example a star or cruciform shape;

[0101] - the chassis frame comprises, in addition to the intermediate cross member, more or less than two crossbeams, for example one crossbeam, three crossbeams, or more than three;

[0102] - the intermediate cross member is not intermediate to the front cross member and the cross member rear, but forms for example the front cross member or the rear cross member of the chassis frame;

[0103] - the recess is not formed in the head of the cap but in the portion terminal of the screw tool shaft which is then configured to receive the head of the plug;

[0104] - the longerons are oriented differently, for example in the left direction- right of the vehicle, and the crossbar is following the front-to-rear direction of the vehicle;

[0105] - the through orifice is closer to the second longitudinal edge of the cross member than of the first longitudinal edge of the crossbeam;

[0106] - the cross member body has a single thickened portion rather than two, or more than two extra-thick portions;

[0107] - the orifice has a contour shape different from circular, for example oval or rectangular.

Claims

Demands

1. Assembly for a motor vehicle (1), comprising: - a cross member (8) configured to be associated with side members of a chassis (3) of the vehicle, said cross member (8) having a through hole (20); - an engine (2) comprising an oil sump (13) having an oil drain hole (14) and a plug (15) configured to be screwed onto said oil sump in a predetermined screwing direction (16) to seal said drain hole (14); - a mounting device (11) for said engine (2) on said cross member (8) in a predetermined position; characterized in that in said predetermined position said through hole (20) is located in the extension of said plug (15) in said screwing direction (16).

2. Assembly according to claim 1, wherein said cross member (8) has at least one portion in excess thickness (29, 30) oriented longitudinally like the cross member (8), said through orifice (20) being provided in said excess thickness (29, 30).

3. Assembly according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said cross member (8) extends longitudinally from a first transverse edge (25) to a second transverse edge (26), opposite said first transverse edge (25), and extends transversely from a first longitudinal edge (27) to a second longitudinal edge (28), opposite said first longitudinal edge (27), said first longitudinal edge (27) and said second longitudinal edge (28) each extending from one to the other of said first transverse edge (25) and second transverse edge (26), said through orifice (20) being brought near one of said first longitudinal edge (27, 28) and second longitudinal edge (27, 28).

4. Assembly according to claim 3, wherein said through orifice (20) is in the middle of said first transverse edge (25) and second transverse edge (26).

5. Assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said through orifice (20) has an annular perimeter (49) entirely delimited by said cross member (8).

6. Assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said through orifice (20) has a circular contour.

7. Assembly according to claim 6, wherein said through orifice (20) has a diameter greater than or equal to 70mm.

8. Assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the cross member (8) comprises a bottom portion (32) and two lateral portions (33) each extending from a respective end of said bottom portion (32) and facing each other so that said cross member (8) has a U-shaped profile, said through orifice (20) being provided in said bottom portion (32).

9. Assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that a head (17) of said plug (15) has a recess (18) configured to receive in complementary form the terminal portion of a conventional screwing tool (21).

10. Motor vehicle (1) having a chassis (3) comprising two longitudinal members (4, 5) extending generally parallel and at a distance from each other, equipped with an assembly (10) according to any one of the preceding claims.

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