engine

Abstract

The objective is to provide an engine that is miniaturized in the width direction intersecting the axial direction of the crankshaft. [Solution] An engine comprising a main body having a crankshaft, an intake manifold connected to the intake side of the main body, an intake pipe connected to the intake manifold, a compressor of a supercharger provided in the intake pipe, and a water-cooled intercooler provided in the intake pipe and downstream of the compressor, wherein the intercooler is provided along the front surface of the main body intersecting the axis of the crankshaft.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an engine.

Background Art

[0002] There is a configuration in which an intercooler is arranged on the side surface of the intake side of the engine body (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the above engine, since the intercooler is arranged on the side surface of the intake side, it is enlarged in the width direction intersecting the axis of the crankshaft.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an engine that is reduced in size in the width direction intersecting the axis of the crankshaft.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The above object can be achieved by an engine including a main body having a crankshaft, an intake manifold connected to the side surface of the intake side of the main body, an intake pipe connected to the intake manifold, a compressor of a supercharger provided in the intake pipe, and a water-cooled intercooler provided in the intake pipe and provided on the downstream side of the compressor, wherein the intercooler is provided along the front surface of the main body intersecting the axis of the crankshaft.

[0007] The shape of the intercooler may be such that the thickness in the direction of the crankshaft axis is smaller than the size of the intercooler in the direction perpendicular to the direction of the crankshaft axis.

[0008] The length of the intake pipe from the compressor to the intercooler may be shorter than the length of the intake pipe from the intercooler to the intake manifold.

[0009] The main body has a camshaft, and when viewed from the front side, the intercooler may be positioned higher than the crankshaft and lower than the camshaft.

[0010] The main body may be mounted on the vehicle with the axis of the crankshaft aligned with the vehicle's longitudinal direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an engine that is miniaturized in the width direction intersecting the axis of the crankshaft. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle equipped with an engine. [Figure 2] Figure 2A is a front view of the engine of this embodiment, Figure 2B is a side view of the engine of this embodiment, and Figure 2C is an explanatory diagram of the engine of a comparative example. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] [Vehicle Outline] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of vehicle A equipped with engine 1. Vehicle A consists of a body B, engine 1, transmission 100, propeller shaft 102, differential gear 103, drive shaft 104, drive wheels 110, and driven wheels 111. Engine 1 is an inline engine with four cylinders 4. The direction in which the four cylinders 4 are aligned is the same as the direction of the axis C of the crankshaft of engine 1. The axis C is also aligned along the longitudinal direction of vehicle A. Engine 1 is located in the engine compartment at the front of vehicle A.

[0014] The power of engine 1 is transmitted to the drive wheels 110 via the transmission 100, propeller shaft 102, differential gear 103, and drive shaft 104. The drive wheels 110 correspond to the rear wheels, and the driven wheels 111 correspond to the front wheels. Engine 1 includes a main body 3. The main body 3 has an intake side 3a, an exhaust side 3b, a front 3c, a rear 3d, and a top 3e. The intake side 3a faces the left side of vehicle A, and the intake manifold, which will be described later, is connected to it. The exhaust side 3b faces the right side of vehicle A, and the exhaust manifold is connected to it. The front 3c faces the front side of vehicle A. The rear 3d faces the rear side of vehicle A, and the transmission 100 is located there. The top 3e faces the top side of vehicle A. Next, engine 1 will be described in detail.

[0015] [Engine Overview] Figure 2A is a front view of engine 1 of this embodiment. Figure 2B is a side view of engine 1 of this embodiment. Figure 2C is a front view of comparative engine 1x. Figure 2A is a view of engine 1 from the front 3c side. Figure 2B is a view of engine 1 from the intake side 3a side. Figure 2C is a view of comparative engine 1 from the front 3c side. Figures 2A and 2C show a center line CL that passes through the axis C and is parallel to the vertical direction. Figures 2A and 2C omit illustrations of the exhaust manifold and exhaust passage. First, engine 1 of this embodiment will be described. The main body 3 includes a cylinder block 5, a cylinder head 7, an oil pan 9, and a chain case 10. The cylinder head 7 is located on top of the cylinder block 5. The oil pan 9 is located below the cylinder block 5. The chain case 10 is located so as to cover the front side of the main body 3. The chain case 10 houses a timing chain that interlocks the crankshaft 11, intake camshaft 12, and exhaust camshaft 13, which will be described later. Furthermore, the pulley 11a attached to the tip of the crankshaft 11 protrudes forward from an opening formed in the chain case 10. The pulley 11a drives the auxiliary pulleys via a belt.

[0016] The crankshaft 11 is rotatably supported by the cylinder block 5 and the oil pan 9. The cylinder head 7 is provided with an intake camshaft 12 and an exhaust camshaft 13. The intake camshaft 12 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the crankshaft 11 via a timing chain and drives the intake valves of each cylinder 4. The exhaust camshaft 13 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the crankshaft 11 via a timing chain and drives the exhaust valves of each cylinder 4.

[0017] The intake camshaft 12 is located on the intake side 3a side of the center line CL. The intake camshaft 12 is equipped with a variable valve timing mechanism 12a. The variable valve timing mechanism 12a is a mechanism that changes the opening and closing timing of the intake valve driven by the intake camshaft by changing the rotational phase of the crankshaft 11 and the rotational phase of the intake camshaft 12. The exhaust camshaft 13 is located on the exhaust side 3b side of the center line CL.

[0018] An intake manifold 20 is connected to the intake side 3a so as to communicate with the intake port. A water pump 50 is located on the cylinder block 5 below the intake manifold 20 on the intake side 3a. The water pump 50 circulates cooling water to the main body 3. An intake pipe 22 is connected to the intake manifold 20. A throttle valve 24 is provided in the intake pipe 22 just before the intake manifold 20, as shown in Figure 2B. The throttle valve 24 adjusts the amount of intake air introduced into the main body 3 via the intake pipe 22. The intake pipe 22 extends from the intake manifold 20 in the order of front 3c, exhaust side 3b, and top surface 3e. The intake pipe 22 is equipped with, in order from upstream to downstream, a turbocharger compressor 40, an intercooler 30, and the aforementioned throttle valve 24. The turbocharger turbine is located in the exhaust passage. The exhaust energy received by the turbine causes the compressor 40 to rotate, which can then supercharge the intake air.

[0019] The shape of the intercooler 30 is arranged along the front surface 3c. The intercooler 30 has a thickness T that is smaller than the width W and smaller than the height H. The intercooler 30 is positioned so that the direction of the thickness T is in the direction of the axis C. Therefore, the height H and width W correspond to the dimensions in the direction perpendicular to the axis C. The intercooler 30 is water-cooled and improves intake efficiency by cooling the intake air that has become hot after being supercharged by the compressor 40. Cooling water inlet and outlet pipes are connected to the intercooler 30, but these are omitted from the illustration. In addition, the inner diameter of the intake pipe 22 is enlarged on both the intake and outlet sides of the intake air to the intercooler 30.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 2C, in the engine 1x of the comparative example, an intercooler 30x is provided at a position close to the intake manifold 20 of the intake pipe 22x. The intercooler 30x is arranged along the intake side surface 3a of the main body 3x. Further, the intercooler 30x is arranged so as to overlap the water pump 50.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2A, in the engine 1 of the present embodiment, the intercooler 30 is arranged along the front surface 3c. As shown in FIG. 2C, in the engine 1x of the comparative example, the intercooler 30x is arranged along the intake side surface 3a. Therefore, the width LW from the center line CL of the engine 1 to the intake manifold 20 is smaller than the width LWx from the center line CL of the engine 1x to the intake manifold 20. For this reason, the width AW from the compressor 40 of the engine 1 to the intake manifold 20 is smaller than the width AWx from the compressor 40 of the engine 1x to the intake manifold 20. Thus, the engine 1 is miniaturized in the width direction intersecting the axis C. The direction of such an axis C is along the front-rear direction of the vehicle A in which the engine 1 is mounted on the vehicle A. Therefore, an increase in the width-direction space of the engine 1 in the vehicle A can be suppressed.

[0022] Also, as described above, the shape of the intercooler 30 is such that the thickness T in the direction of the axis C is smaller than the size in the direction orthogonal to the direction of the axis of the intercooler 30. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 2B, an increase in the size of the engine 1 in the direction of the axis C is suppressed.

[0023] Also, as shown in FIG. 2A, the length of the intake pipe 22 from the compressor 40 to the intercooler 30 is shorter than the length of the intake pipe 22 from the intercooler 30 to the intake manifold 20. In other words, the intercooler 30 is located on the exhaust side surface 3b via the center line CL, and is provided at a position closer to the exhaust camshaft 13 than the intake camshaft 12. In contrast, in the comparative example, the length of the intake pipe 22x from the compressor 40 to the intercooler 30x is longer than the length of the intake pipe 22x from the intercooler 30x to the intake manifold 20. Therefore, in this embodiment, the intake air pressurized and heated by the compressor 40 can be cooled earlier by the intercooler 30 than in the comparative example. As a result, in this embodiment, the upper limit value of the heat resistance of the intake pipe 22 and the intake manifold 20 downstream of the intercooler 30 can be set lower than in the comparative example.

[0024] Also, when viewed from the front surface 3c side, the intercooler 30 is located at a position lower than the intake camshaft 12 and the exhaust camshaft 13, and higher than the crankshaft 11. For example, when the intercooler 30 overlaps at least one of the crankshaft 11, the intake camshaft 12, and the exhaust camshaft 13, there is a possibility that the intake pipe 22 is greatly curved on the front surface 3c side and the length of the intake pipe 22 becomes long. In this embodiment, the increase in the intake resistance is suppressed by avoiding the lengthening of the intake pipe 22 as described above.

[0025] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2B, the portion 10a of the chain case 10 corresponding to the variable valve timing mechanism 12a has a greater thickness in the direction of the axis C than other portions, and in particular, it protrudes forward. This is to provide clearance for the variable valve timing mechanism 12a. The intercooler 30 is thus positioned lower than the variable valve timing mechanism 12a. For example, if the intercooler 30 were positioned so as to overlap the variable valve timing mechanism 12a in the direction of the axis C, the engine 1 would become larger in the direction of the axis C. In this embodiment, since the intercooler 30 is positioned lower than the variable valve timing mechanism 12a, the increase in the size of the engine 1 in the direction of the axis C is suppressed. Similarly, the intercooler 30 is provided at a higher position than the pulley 11a fixed to the crankshaft 11. As described above, the pulley 11a protrudes from the chain case 10 in the direction of the axis C. In this embodiment, since the intercooler 30 is positioned higher than the pulley 11a, the increase in the size of the engine 1 in the direction of the axis C is suppressed.

[0026] In this embodiment, vehicle A is a vehicle equipped only with engine 1 as a power source for driving. However, vehicle A may be a hybrid vehicle equipped with a motor in addition to engine 1 as a power source for driving. Furthermore, although a variable valve timing mechanism 12a is provided on the intake camshaft 12, a variable valve timing mechanism may also be provided on the exhaust camshaft 13. Alternatively, a variable valve timing mechanism may be provided only on the exhaust camshaft 13.

[0027] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention as described in the claims. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0028] 1 Engine 3 Main unit 3a Intake side 3c front 11 Crankshaft 12 Intake camshaft 12a Variable valve timing mechanism 13 Exhaust camshaft 20 Intake Manifold 22 Intake pipe 30 Intercooler 40 Compressors Vehicle A C axis center

Claims

1. A main body having a crankshaft, An intake manifold connected to the intake side of the main body, An intake pipe connected to the aforementioned intake manifold, The compressor of the supercharger installed in the intake pipe, The system includes a water-cooled intercooler provided in the intake pipe and located downstream of the compressor, The intercooler is provided along the front surface of the main body, intersecting the axis of the crankshaft, in an engine.

2. The engine according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the intercooler is such that the thickness in the direction of the axis of the crankshaft is smaller than the size of the intercooler in the direction perpendicular to the direction of the axis of the intercooler.

3. The engine according to claim 2, wherein the length of the intake pipe from the compressor to the intercooler is shorter than the length of the intake pipe from the intercooler to the intake manifold.

4. The aforementioned body has a camshaft, The engine according to claim 3, wherein, when viewed from the front side, the intercooler is positioned higher than the crankshaft and lower than the camshaft.

5. The engine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the main body is mounted on the vehicle with the axis of the crankshaft aligned with the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

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