Manufacturing method of throttle device

Abstract

To promote the size reduction of a product, and to simplify the positioning work of a full-closed stopper or the like.SOLUTION: A manufacturing method of a throttle device has: a throttle body 10; a throttle valve; a throttle gear 30; a spring member 40; a full-closed stopper mechanism composed of a body-side full-closed abutment face 115f at the throttle body 10 side and a gear-side full-closed abutment face 37m at the throttle gear 30 side; an abutment face of an initial opening regulation part 47 which is arranged at the spring member 40 integrally therewith; and an initial opening stopper mechanism composed of the initial opening regulation stopper abutment face 115f at the throttle body 10 side. At least one point of the body-side full-closed abutment face 115f, the gear-side full-closed abutment face 37m, an abutment face 47f of the initial opening regulation part 47, the initial opening regulation stopper abutment face 115f, an initial opening regulation part abutment part 38k, and an engagement part 47k of the initial opening regulation part 47 so as to bring about a positional relationship in which a full-closed position and an initial opening position relatively form a prescribed angle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a throttle device that adjusts the flow rate of combustion air supplied to an engine. [Background technology]

[0002] A technique related to the above throttle device is described in Patent Document 1. As shown in Fig. 14, the throttle device 100 described in Patent Document 1 includes a throttle body 103 having an intake passage 103h that guides combustion air to the engine, and a throttle valve (not shown) that is rotatable between a fully closed position and a fully open position in the intake passage 103h and includes a throttle shaft 105 integrated with the center of rotation. The throttle device 100 also includes gear mechanisms 106w, 106x that transmit the rotational force of a motor 106 to the throttle shaft 105, and a throttle gear 107. The throttle device 100 also includes a spring member 108 that applies a spring force to the throttle gear 107 such that the throttle valve rotates toward an opener opening position (a position opened by a predetermined angle from the fully closed position).

[0003] The throttle body 103 is provided with a fully closed opening regulating screw 110 for adjusting the fully closed position of the throttle valve (throttle gear 107) and an opener opening regulating screw 112 for determining the opener opening position. The fully closed position of the throttle valve and the opener opening can be adjusted by the fully closed opening regulating screw 110 and the opener opening regulating screw 112. However, with the configuration including the fully closed opening regulating screw 110 and the opener opening regulating screw 112, it is difficult to slim down the throttle body 103. This also increases the cost of the product. Furthermore, it is not preferable that the fully closed opening regulating screw 110 and the opener opening regulating screw 112 can be adjusted by any person. It is also necessary to take measures against the screws 110 and 112 falling off and to ensure airtightness of the gap between the screw hole and the screw.

[0004] In order to improve this point, in the throttle device 120 described in Patent Document 2, as shown in FIG. 15, a fully closed stopper mechanism 125 consisting of a fully closed opening degree regulating lever 125r on the throttle shaft 123 side and a stopper 125s on the throttle body 121 side is proposed. Here, when adjusting the fully closed position, the fully closed opening degree regulating lever 125r is set in a relatively rotatable state at the axial end of the throttle shaft 123. In this state, the throttle valve 122 is positioned at the fully closed position as shown in FIG. 15, and the fully closed opening degree regulating lever 125r is abutted against the stopper 125s on the throttle body 121 side. Then, in this state, the fully closed opening degree regulating lever 125r is welded to the throttle shaft 123 so that it cannot rotate relatively. This method makes it possible to eliminate the need for the fully closed opening degree regulating screw 110 described above. Similarly, by positioning the opener opening degree of the throttle valve, the opener opening degree regulating screw 112 can also be eliminated. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2002-371866 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2018-040288 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, in the case of the fully-closed stopper mechanism 125 equipped with the fully-closed opening degree regulating lever 125r, a relatively large space needs to be secured for the rotation of the fully-closed opening degree regulating lever 125r. Also, since the fully-closed opening degree regulating lever 125r and the throttle gear (see dashed double-dashed line, number omitted) are separately welded to the throttle shaft 123 for the throttle body 121, the work is time-consuming.

[0007] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the problem that the present invention aims to solve is to eliminate the screw adjustment mechanism such as a full-close stopper, thereby eliminating the need for measures to prevent the screw from falling off and to ensure airtightness of the gap between the screw hole and the screw, etc. Also, by eliminating the need for a full-close opening degree regulating lever, etc., the product can be made smaller, and the position adjustment work for the full-close opening degree and the opener opening degree can be simplified. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The above-mentioned problems are solved by the inventions. The first invention includes a throttle body having an intake passage that introduces combustion air to an engine, a throttle valve that is rotatable between a fully closed position and a fully open position in the intake passage and has a throttle shaft integrated at the center of rotation, a throttle gear that transmits the rotational force of an electric actuator to the throttle shaft, a spring member that applies a spring force to the throttle gear such that the throttle valve rotates from the fully closed position toward an initial opening position that is opened a predetermined angle, a fully closed stopper mechanism that restricts the rotation of the throttle valve in the closing direction beyond the fully closed position by abutment between a body-side fully closed abutment surface on the throttle body side and a gear-side fully closed abutment surface on the throttle gear side, and an engagement portion that is provided integrally with the spring member and engages with an abutment portion for an initial opening restriction portion of the throttle gear at an angle larger than the initial opening position of the throttle valve. a throttle body side initial opening restriction stopper abutment surface, and an initial opening stopper mechanism for abutting an abutment surface of the initial opening restriction portion with an initial opening restriction stopper abutment surface of the throttle body side at the initial opening position of the throttle valve, the method comprising machining at least one of the body side fully closed abutment surface of the throttle body side, the gear side fully closed abutment surface of the throttle gear side, the abutment surface of the initial opening restriction portion, the initial opening restriction stopper abutment surface of the throttle body side, the abutment portion for the initial opening restriction portion of the throttle gear, and the engagement portion of the initial opening restriction portion so that the fully closed position where the body side fully closed abutment surface of the throttle body side and the gear side fully closed abutment surface of the throttle gear side abut each other forms a predetermined angle relative to one another. In this way, the initial opening stopper mechanism and the fully closed stopper mechanism are adjusted.

[0009] According to the present invention, at least one of the body side fully closed abutment surface on the throttle body side, the gear side fully closed abutment surface on the throttle gear side, the abutment surface of the initial opening degree regulating portion, the initial opening degree regulating stopper abutment surface on the throttle body side, the abutment portion for the initial opening degree regulating portion of the throttle gear, and the engaging portion of the initial opening degree regulating portion are machined so that the fully closed position where the body side fully closed abutment surface on the throttle body side and the gear side fully closed abutment surface on the throttle gear side abut, and the initial opening position where the abutment surface of the initial opening degree regulating portion and the initial opening degree regulating stopper abutment surface on the throttle body side abut, are in a positional relationship that forms a predetermined angle relative to one another. In this way, the fully closed position of the throttle valve and the opener opening position can be adjusted by machining the body side fully closed abutment surface and the gear side fully closed abutment surface of the fully closed stopper mechanism, or by machining the abutment surface of the initial opening restriction part of the initial opening stopper mechanism and the initial opening restriction stopper abutment surface, etc., making it possible to eliminate the need for the fully closed stopper mechanism, the screw adjustment mechanism of the initial opening stopper mechanism, the fully closed opening restriction lever, etc. Furthermore, the position adjustment work for the fully closed opening and initial opening can be simplified.

[0010] The second invention The throttle valve includes a throttle body having an intake passage for introducing combustion air into an engine, a throttle valve rotatable between a fully closed position and a fully open position in the intake passage and having a throttle shaft integrated at the center of rotation, a throttle gear for transmitting the rotational force of an electric actuator to the throttle shaft, a spring member for biasing the throttle gear with a spring force such that the throttle valve rotates from the fully closed position toward an initial opening position at a position opened by a predetermined angle, and a spring member for biasing the throttle gear with a fully closed contact surface on the throttle body side. a fully closed stopper mechanism that restricts rotation of the throttle valve in a closing direction beyond the fully closed position by abutment with a gear-side fully closed abutment surface on the throttle gear side; an initial opening degree restriction portion that is provided integrally with the spring member and has an engagement portion that engages with the initial opening degree restriction portion abutment portion of the throttle gear at an angle larger than the initial opening degree position of the throttle valve; and an initial opening degree stopper mechanism that brings the abutment surface of the initial opening degree restriction portion into abutment with an initial opening degree restriction stopper abutment surface on the throttle body side at the initial opening degree position of the throttle valve, a method for manufacturing a throttle device, the method comprising machining at least one of the body-side fully-closed abutment surface of the throttle body, the gear-side fully-closed abutment surface of the throttle gear, the abutment surface of the initial opening degree regulating portion, the initial opening degree regulating stopper abutment surface of the throttle body, the abutment portion for the initial opening degree regulating portion of the throttle gear, and an engaging portion of the initial opening degree regulating portion, so that a fully-closed position where the body-side fully-closed abutment surface of the throttle body and the gear-side fully-closed abutment surface of the throttle gear come into contact with each other and an initial opening position where the abutment surface of the initial opening degree regulating portion and the initial opening degree regulating stopper abutment surface of the throttle body come into contact with each other form a predetermined angle relative to one another; With the abutment surface of the initial opening restriction part, which is formed integrally with a spring member, abutting against the initial opening restriction stopper abutment surface of the throttle body, either the body side fully closed abutment surface on the throttle body side of the fully closed stopper mechanism or the gear side fully closed abutment surface on the throttle gear side is processed so that it is in a positional relationship forming a predetermined angle with the abutment surface of the initial opening restriction part.

[0011] According to the third aspect of the present invention, the body-side fully-closed contact surface of the fully-closed stopper mechanism on the throttle body side or the gear-side fully-closed contact surface on the throttle gear side is machined by cutting, which makes it possible to adjust the fully-closed position in a simple manner.

[0012] According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the body-side fully-closed contact surface on the throttle body side or the gear-side fully-closed contact surface on the throttle gear side of the fully-closed stopper mechanism is provided on the upper surface of a truncated pyramid, which makes it possible to suppress the generation of burrs when cutting the contact surfaces.

[0013] According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the throttle gear and the spring member are set in a jig manufactured based on the throttle body, and the abutment surface of the initial opening restriction portion provided integrally with the spring member is abutted against a portion of the jig corresponding to the initial opening restriction stopper abutment surface of the throttle body, and the gear side fully closed abutment surface is machined so that the gear side fully closed abutment surface on the throttle gear side constituting the fully closed stopper mechanism and the abutment surface of the initial opening restriction portion are in a positional relationship forming a predetermined angle relative to each other. In this way, since the gear side fully closed abutment surface on the throttle gear side of the fully closed stopper mechanism can be machined with the throttle gear and the spring member set in a jig separate from the throttle body, foreign matter due to machining is prevented from entering the throttle body.

[0014] According to the sixth aspect of the invention, after removing the throttle gear and the spring member from the jig, the throttle gear is set on the throttle shaft in a state in which it can rotate relatively with the gear side fully closed abutment surface on the throttle gear side abutting against the body side fully closed abutment surface on the throttle body side, and with the throttle valve held in the fully closed position, the throttle shaft and the throttle gear are positioned, and in the positioned state, the throttle shaft and the throttle gear are fixed so that they cannot rotate relatively.

[0015] According to the seventh invention, the spring member is configured so that a return spring portion which generates a spring force in the closing direction when the throttle valve is at an opening position larger than the initial opening position, and an opener spring portion which generates a spring force in the opening direction when the throttle valve is at an opening position smaller than the initial opening position are connected in series, and an initial opening restriction portion which is integral with the spring member is located at the boundary between the return spring portion and the opener spring portion. Effect of the Invention

[0016] According to the present invention, since it is possible to eliminate a screw adjustment mechanism such as a full-close stopper, it is possible to eliminate the need for measures to prevent the screw from falling off, and to ensure airtightness of the gap between the screw hole and the screw, etc. In addition, since it is possible to eliminate the need for a full-close opening degree regulating lever, etc., it is possible to reduce the size of the product and simplify the position adjustment work for the full-close opening degree and the opener opening degree. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a throttle device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the upper right. [Diagram 2] 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view (cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1) of the intake passage of the throttle device as viewed from the axial direction. [Diagram 3] 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view (a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 1) as viewed perpendicular to the axis of an intake passage of the throttle device. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a side view of the throttle device as viewed from the right side. [Diagram 5] 2 is a perspective view showing a throttle gear and a spring that constitute the throttle device. FIG. [Figure 6] 11 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the throttle gear, a spring, and a combined stopper portion of the throttle body at an opener opening position. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the relationship between the throttle gear, a spring, and a combined stopper portion of the throttle body at an opener opening position. [Figure 8] 4 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the throttle gear, a spring, and a combined stopper portion of the throttle body in a fully closed position. FIG. [Figure 9] 11 is a plan view showing the relationship between the throttle gear, a spring, and a combined stopper portion of the throttle body in a fully closed position. FIG. [Figure 10]11 is a perspective view showing a state in which a gear-side full-close abutment surface of a full-close stopper portion of the throttle gear with a spring attached thereto is cut with the throttle gear set in a jig; FIG. [Figure 11] 11 is an enlarged view of the portion indicated by the arrow XI in FIG. 10 . [Figure 12] 12 is an enlarged view showing a state in which a portion indicated by an arrow XII in FIG. 11 is being machined. [Figure 13] 11 is an enlarged side view showing the relationship between the opener opening degree regulating portion of the spring and the gear-side full-close abutment surface of the full-close stopper portion of the throttle gear. FIG. [Figure 14] FIG. 1 is an overall side view of a conventional throttle device. [Figure 15] FIG. 1 is a side view (as viewed from a direction perpendicular to the axis of an intake passage) showing the relationship between a throttle valve and a full-close stopper mechanism in a conventional throttle device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] [Embodiment 1] A throttle device according to a first embodiment of the present invention and a manufacturing method thereof will be described below with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 13. The throttle device is a device for adjusting the flow rate of combustion air supplied to a vehicle engine (not shown), and includes an intake passage (described later) connected to the intake passage of the engine. Here, front-rear, left-right, and up-down in the drawings are defined for the sake of convenience, and the center direction (axial direction) of the intake passage coincides with the front-rear direction.

[0019] <Overview of the throttle device> The throttle device, as shown in Fig. 1, includes a throttle body 10. The throttle body 10 includes a substantially cylindrical throttle pipe section 11 having an intake passage 11h, a gear housing section 12 formed to the right of the throttle pipe section 11, and a motor housing section 13 provided below the throttle pipe section 11. Note that a cover member for the gear housing section 12 is omitted in Fig. 1. A throttle valve 20 is provided in the throttle pipe section 11 of the throttle body 10 so as to cross the intake passage 11h, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 2, the throttle valve 20 is a disk-shaped butterfly valve, and is configured to be rotatable between a fully closed position and a fully open position within the intake passage 11h. That is, a throttle shaft 21 extending in the left-right direction is fixed to the rotation center of the throttle valve 20 in a state in which it cannot rotate relatively. The left end of the throttle shaft 21 is rotatably supported by the left bearing 11r of the throttle pipe section 11, and the right end of the throttle shaft 21 is rotatably supported by the right bearing 11j of the throttle pipe section 11. The right end of the throttle shaft 21 protrudes into the gear housing section 12 of the throttle body 10, and a throttle gear 30 is attached to the right end of the throttle shaft 21 in a state in which it cannot rotate relatively.

[0021] As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the motor 14 is housed in the motor housing portion 13 of the throttle body 10 facing rightward, and the output shaft (figure number omitted) of the motor 14 protrudes into the gear housing portion 12. As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, a drive gear 14w is attached to the output shaft of the motor 14, and the drive gear 14w meshes with a large-diameter gear portion 16r of a counter gear 16 provided in the gear housing portion 12. As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the small-diameter gear portion 16s of the counter gear 16 meshes with a gear portion 31 formed on the outer circumferential surface of a throttle gear 30. As a result, when the motor 14 is driven, the rotational force of the motor 14 is applied to the throttle shaft 21 via the drive gear 14w, the counter gear 16, and the throttle gear 30, and the throttle valve 20 rotates in the intake passage 11h.

[0022] A coil spring 40 is attached around the cylindrical portion 32 of the throttle gear 30 (see Figs. 2 and 5). The spring 40 is biased so as to hold the throttle valve 20 at the opener opening position (see the solid line in Fig. 3) via the throttle gear 30 when the motor 14 is stopped (or in the event of a malfunction). Here, the opener opening position is a position where the throttle valve 20 has rotated a predetermined angle (e.g., 8°) in the open direction from the fully closed position (see the two-dot chain line in Fig. 3).

[0023] <About the composition of Spring 40> As shown in Fig. 5, the spring 40 is made up of a return spring portion 43 and an opener spring portion 45 connected in series. The return spring portion 43 is a coil spring wound clockwise, and applies a spring force to the throttle gear 30 in the closing direction when the throttle valve 20 (throttle gear 30) rotates in the opening direction from the opener opening position. The opener spring portion 45 is a coil spring wound counterclockwise, and applies a spring force to the throttle gear 30 in the opening direction when the throttle valve 20 (throttle gear 30) rotates in the closing direction from the opener opening position.

[0024] 5, the boundary end of the return spring portion 43 and the boundary end of the opener spring portion 45 are bent into a substantially L-shape while overlapping each other to form an opener opening degree restricting portion 47 that protrudes radially outward from the spring 40. The tip of the return spring portion 43 (opposite the boundary end) is provided with a body side end 43f that is engaged with the spring engaging portion 116 (see FIG. 4) of the throttle body 10. The tip of the opener spring portion 45 (opposite the boundary end) is provided with a gear side end 45b that is engaged with the spring engaging portion 31z (see FIG. 5, etc.) of the throttle gear 30.

[0025] <Configuration of throttle gear 30> The throttle gear 30 is a resin gear that transmits the rotational force of the motor 14 to the throttle shaft 21 as described above. As shown in Fig. 5, the throttle gear 30 includes a cylindrical portion 32 having a diameter surrounded by a spring 40, a flange portion 33 provided at the right end (upper end) of the cylindrical portion 32, and an inner flange portion 34 provided at the left end (lower end) of the cylindrical portion 32. A gear portion 31 having a planar arc shape is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the flange portion 33 of the throttle gear 30. A connecting plate 35 having a through hole 35k is fixed to the inner flange portion 34 of the throttle gear 30 by insert molding in a state where the through hole 35k is positioned coaxially with the cylindrical portion 32.

[0026] The right end small diameter portion of the throttle shaft 21 is inserted into the through hole 35k of the connecting plate 35 of the throttle gear 30 and crushed by crimping, so that the throttle shaft 21 and the throttle gear 30 cannot rotate relative to each other.

[0027] 5, a full-close stopper portion 37 is provided at the closing direction rotation end of the gear portion 31 of the throttle gear 30, and a spring locking portion 31z is formed on the left side (lower side) of the full-close stopper portion 37. Further, at a position further toward the closing direction side from the full-close stopper portion 37 of the throttle gear 30, a flat spring receiving block 38 is formed so as to protrude leftward (downward) and face the spring locking portion 31z. Further, a groove-shaped opener opening degree regulating portion abutment portion 38k is formed in the spring receiving block 38 at a position diagonally leftward (lower) of the spring locking portion 31z.

[0028] <Assembling the throttle gear 30 and spring 40> When the spring 40 is attached to the throttle gear 30, the opener spring portion 45 of the spring 40 is disposed around the cylindrical portion 32 of the throttle gear 30, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. In this state, the gear side end 45b of the opener spring portion 45 is engaged with the spring locking portion 31z of the throttle gear 30. Also, the engagement portion 47k of the opener opening restriction portion 47 of the spring 40 is engaged with the opener opening restriction portion abutment portion 38k of the spring receiving block 38 of the throttle gear 30. In this state, the opener opening restriction portion 47 and the gear side end 45b of the spring 40 are sandwiched between the spring receiving block 38 of the throttle gear 30 and the spring locking portion 31z, and the spring 40 is attached to the throttle gear 30. In this state, an attachment load is applied to the opener spring portion 45 of the spring 40 to ensure return to the open position of the opener.

[0029] Next, the throttle gear 30 with the spring 40 attached thereto is assembled into the gear housing portion 12 of the throttle body 10. Here, as shown in Fig. 4, a dual-purpose stopper portion 115 is provided on the side wall portion of the gear housing portion 12 of the throttle body 10 at a position radially outward of the throttle gear 30 and diagonally upwardly forward with respect to the axis of the throttle shaft 21. The dual-purpose stopper portion 115 is a member that constitutes the stopper portion on the throttle body 10 side of the full-close stopper mechanism (described later) and the opener opening stopper mechanism (described later), and is formed in the shape of a square bar extending in the left-right direction in parallel with the throttle shaft 21, as shown in Fig. 7 etc.

[0030] 7 and 9, the dual-purpose stopper portion 115 is formed with an abutment surface 115f on which the abutment surface 47f of the opener opening degree restricting portion 47 of the spring 40 and the gear-side fully-closed abutment surface 37m of the fully-closed stopper portion 37 of the throttle gear 30 can abut. That is, the abutment surface 115f of the dual-purpose stopper portion 115 of the throttle body 10 functions as the initial opening degree restricting stopper abutment surface and the body-side fully-closed abutment surface of the present invention. Also, as shown in FIG. 4, a spring locking portion 116 is provided on the side wall portion of the gear housing portion 12 of the throttle body 10 at a position opposite to the dual-purpose stopper portion 115 with the throttle shaft 21 interposed therebetween. The body-side end portion 43f of the return spring portion 43 of the spring 40 is locked to the spring locking portion 116 of the throttle body 10.

[0031] That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the spring 40 and the throttle gear 30 are set in the throttle body 10 with the body side end 43f of the spring 40 engaged with the spring engaging portion 116 of the throttle body 10 and the opener opening regulating portion 47 abutting against the abutment surface 115f of the dual-purpose stopper portion 115.

[0032] <About the opener opening stopper mechanism> When the throttle valve 20 is at the opener opening position (see solid line in FIG. 3), the contact surface 47f of the opener opening restriction portion 47 of the spring 40 contacts the contact surface 115f of the combined stopper portion 115 of the throttle body 10, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. In this state, an attachment load is applied to the return spring portion 43 and the opener spring portion 45 of the spring 40 to ensure returnability to the opener opening position. That is, the contact surface 47f of the opener opening restriction portion 47 of the spring 40 and the contact surface 115f of the combined stopper portion 115 constitute an opener opening stopper mechanism.

[0033] <About the full-close stopper mechanism> When the throttle gear 30 and the throttle valve 20 are rotated in the closing direction from the opener opening position by the drive of the motor 14, the gear side end 45b of the spring 40 (opener spring portion 45) moves in the closing direction with the closing rotation of the throttle gear 30, as shown in Figures 8 and 9. At this time, since the opener opening restriction portion 47 of the spring 40 abuts against the dual-purpose stopper portion 115 of the throttle body 10, the gear side end 45b of the opener spring portion 45 approaches the opener opening restriction portion 47, and the opener spring portion 45 is deformed in the diameter contracting direction. As a result, the spring force that the opener spring portion 45 of the spring 40 applies to the throttle gear 30 in the opening direction increases. Then, when the throttle valve 20 reaches the fully closed position as shown by the two-dot chain line in Fig. 3, the gear side fully closed contact surface 37m of the fully closed stopper portion 37 of the throttle gear 30 comes into contact with the contact surface 115f of the dual-purpose stopper portion 115 of the throttle body 10, as shown in Fig. 9. Therefore, the gear side fully closed contact surface 37m of the fully closed stopper portion 37 of the throttle gear 30 and the contact surface 115f of the dual-purpose stopper portion 115 form a fully closed stopper mechanism.

[0034] <Operation of the spring 40 during opening of the throttle valve 20> When the throttle gear 30 and the throttle valve 20 are rotated in the opening direction from the opener opening position by the drive of the motor 14, the engagement portion 47k of the opener opening regulating portion 47 of the spring 40 is pushed by the spring receiving block 38, and the opener opening regulating portion 47 moves away from the abutting surface 115f of the dual-purpose stopper portion 115 and moves in the opening direction. Here, the body side end 43f of the return spring portion 43 of the spring 40 is engaged with the spring engaging portion 116 of the throttle body 10. Therefore, when the opener opening regulating portion 47 of the spring 40 is pushed by the spring receiving block 38 of the throttle gear 30 and moves in the opening direction, the opener opening regulating portion 47 approaches the body side end 43f of the return spring portion 43, and the return spring portion 43 is deformed in the diameter contracting direction. As a result, the spring force applied by the return spring portion 43 of the spring 40 to the throttle gear 30 in the closing direction increases.

[0035] <Adjustment of the opener opening stopper mechanism and the full-close stopper mechanism> The adjustment of the opener opening stopper mechanism and the fully closed stopper mechanism is performed using a support jig 50 manufactured so as to be able to support the throttle gear 30 and the spring 40 in the same state as the throttle body 10. As shown in Fig. 10, the support jig 50 is equipped with a shaft body D configured so as to be able to support the throttle gear 30 in the same manner as the throttle shaft 21, and a stopper reference jig 52 formed at a position corresponding to the dual-purpose stopper portion 115 of the throttle body 10. Furthermore, it is equipped with a cutting machine 54 (e.g., an end mill) capable of cutting the gear-side fully closed contact surface 37m of the fully closed stopper portion 37 of the throttle gear 30 set in the support jig 50.

[0036] In adjusting the opener opening stopper mechanism and the fully closed stopper mechanism, first, with the spring 40 attached to the throttle gear 30, the shaft D is passed through the through hole 35k of the throttle gear 30, and the abutment surface 47f of the opener opening restriction portion 47 of the spring 40 is abutted against the lower surface (abutment surface) of the stopper reference jig 52, as shown in Figures 10 and 13. In this state, as shown in Figure 13, the gear side fully closed abutment surface 37m of the fully closed stopper portion 37 of the throttle gear 30 is cut by an end mill 54 so that the gear side fully closed abutment surface 37m of the fully closed stopper portion 37 of the throttle gear 30 is at an angle position equal to the opener angle θ (for example, 8°) from the abutment surface 47f of the opener opening restriction portion 47 of the spring 40. Here, by forming the gear side fully closed abutment surface 37m of the fully closed stopper portion 37 on the upper surface of a truncated pyramid, as shown in Figures 11 and 12, it is possible to suppress the generation of burrs when cutting the gear side fully closed abutment surface 37m.

[0037] After the cutting process is completed, the throttle gear 30 and the spring 40 are set in the throttle body 10 as described above. At this stage, the throttle gear 30 and the throttle shaft 21 are held so as to be capable of relative rotation. In this state, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the gear-side fully closed contact surface 37m of the fully closed stopper portion 37 of the throttle gear 30 is brought into contact with the contact surface 115f of the dual-purpose stopper portion 115 of the throttle body 10. Next, with the throttle valve 20 held in the fully closed position, the throttle gear 30 and the throttle valve 20 (throttle shaft 21) are positioned relative to each other. Then, with the throttle gear 30 and the throttle valve 20 (throttle shaft 21) positioned, the throttle shaft 21 and the throttle gear 30 are held so as not to be capable of relative rotation by the crimping process described above. In this state, the adjustment of the fully closed stopper mechanism and the opener opening degree stopper mechanism is completed.

[0038] <Correspondence between the terms of the throttle device according to the first embodiment and the terms of the present invention> The motor 14, the drive gear 14w, and the counter gear 16 according to this embodiment correspond to the electric actuator of the present invention. The opener opening position according to this embodiment corresponds to the initial opening position of the present invention, and the opener opening stopper mechanism according to this embodiment corresponds to the initial opening stopper mechanism of the present invention. The spring 40 according to this embodiment corresponds to the spring member of the present invention, the opener opening restriction portion 47 of the spring 40 corresponds to the initial opening restriction portion of the present invention, and the abutment surface 47f of the opener opening restriction portion 47 corresponds to the abutment surface of the initial opening restriction portion. Furthermore, the abutment portion 38k for the opener opening restriction portion of the throttle gear 30 corresponds to the abutment portion for the initial opening restriction portion of the present invention. The abutment surface 115f of the dual-purpose stopper portion corresponds to the body-side fully closed abutment surface of the fully closed stopper mechanism of the present invention and the initial opening restriction stopper abutment surface of the initial opening stopper mechanism. The support jig 50 according to this embodiment corresponds to the jig of the present invention.

[0039] <Advantages of the manufacturing method of the throttle device according to this embodiment> According to the manufacturing method of the throttle device according to this embodiment, the opener opening degree regulating portion 47 of the spring 40 (spring member) is brought into contact with the dual-purpose stopper portion 115 (stopper portion) of the throttle body 10. Then, the gear-side fully-closed abutment surface 37m of the fully-closed stopper portion 37 of the throttle gear 30 and the abutment surface 47f of the opener opening degree regulating portion 47 of the spring 40 are machined so that they are in a positional relationship forming a predetermined angle. In this way, by machining the gear-side fully-closed abutment surface 37m on the throttle gear 30 side of the fully-closed stopper mechanism, the opener opening degree of the throttle valve 20 can be adjusted, making it possible to eliminate the need for a screw adjustment mechanism for the fully-closed stopper, a fully-closed opening degree regulating lever, and the like. Furthermore, the position adjustment work of the fully-closed stopper, etc. can be simplified.

[0040] In addition, the gear-side fully-closed abutment surface 37m of the fully-closed stopper portion 37 of the throttle gear 30 is machined by cutting. This allows the opener opening to be adjusted in a simple manner. Furthermore, since the gear-side fully-closed abutment surface 37m of the fully-closed stopper portion 37 is provided on the upper surface of a truncated pyramid, the generation of burrs during the cutting of the gear-side fully-closed abutment surface 37m can be suppressed. In addition, since the gear-side fully-closed abutment surface 37m on the throttle gear 30 side of the fully-closed stopper mechanism can be machined with the throttle gear 30 and the spring 40 set on a support jig 50 separate from the throttle body 10, foreign matter caused by machining will not get into the throttle body 10.

[0041] <Example of change> Here, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the throttle device of this embodiment, an example is shown in which the gear-side fully closed abutment surface 37m of the fully closed stopper portion 37 of the throttle gear 30 is machined by a cutting machine 54 such as an end mill. However, instead of machining the gear-side fully closed abutment surface 37m of the fully closed stopper portion 37 by the cutting machine 54, for example, a method of machining by thermal deformation is also possible. Also, in this embodiment, an example is shown in which the gear-side fully closed abutment surface 37m of the fully closed stopper mechanism on the throttle gear 30 side is machined in a state in which the abutment surface 47f of the opener opening degree regulating portion 47 of the spring 40 is abutted against the dual-purpose stopper portion 115 of the throttle body 10. However, it is also possible to process the abutment surface 115f (the portion with which the gear side fully-closed abutment surface 37m on the throttle gear 30 side abuts) of the combined stopper portion 115 of the throttle body 10 of the fully-closed stopper mechanism while the opener opening restriction portion 47 of the spring 40 is abutted against the combined stopper portion 115 of the throttle body 10. Also, in this embodiment, an example has been shown in which the throttle gear 30 and the throttle shaft 21 are connected by crimping so as to be non-rotatable relative to each other, but they can also be connected by welding or the like so as to be non-rotatable relative to each other.

[0042] Also, in this embodiment, an example has been shown in which the gear-side fully-closed abutment surface 37m of the throttle gear 30 constituting the fully-closed stopper mechanism is machined in a state in which the abutment surface 47f of the opener opening restriction portion 47 of the spring 40 in the opener opening stopper mechanism is in abutment with the abutment surface 115f (stopper reference jig 52 of the support jig 50) of the dual-purpose stopper portion 115. However, it is also possible to machine the abutment surface 47f of the opener opening restriction portion 47 of the spring 40 in the opener opening stopper mechanism or the abutment surface 115f of the dual-purpose stopper portion 115 in the opener opening stopper mechanism in a state in which the gear-side fully-closed abutment surface 37m of the throttle gear 30 constituting the fully-closed stopper mechanism is in abutment with the abutment surface 115f of the dual-purpose stopper portion 115. Also, instead of machining the contact surface 47f of the opener opening degree restricting portion 47 of the spring 40, it is possible to machine the opener opening degree restricting portion contact portion 38k of the throttle gear 30 or the engagement portion 47k of the opener opening degree restricting portion 47.

[0043] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the spring 40 is composed of the return spring portion 43 and the opener spring portion 45 connected in series, and the opener opening degree restricting portion 47 is provided at the boundary between the return spring portion 43 and the opener spring portion 45. However, it is also possible to manufacture the return spring portion 43 and the opener spring portion 45 separately, and provide the opener opening degree restricting portion 47 on the connecting member connecting the return spring portion 43 and the opener spring portion 45. Also, in this embodiment, an example is shown in which the throttle gear 30 and the spring 40 are set on the support jig 50 when cutting the gear-side fully-closed abutment surface 37m of the fully-closed stopper portion 37 of the throttle gear 30. However, it is also possible to cut the gear-side fully-closed abutment surface 37m of the fully-closed stopper portion 37 of the throttle gear 30 with the throttle gear 30 and the spring 40 directly set on the throttle body 10. In this embodiment, an example has been shown in which the dual-purpose stopper portion 115 serves both as the body-side fully-closed contact surface 115f on the throttle body 10 side and as the initial opening degree restriction stopper surface 115f. However, it is also possible to provide the body-side fully-closed contact surface 115f on the throttle body 10 side and the initial opening degree restriction stopper surface 115f at separate positions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 10. Throttle body 115··· Dual-purpose stopper section (full-close stopper mechanism, initial opening stopper mechanism) 115f··Abutment surface (full-close stopper mechanism (full-close abutment surface on the body side), initial opening stopper mechanism (initial opening restriction stopper abutment surface)) 14 Motor (electric actuator) 14w···Drive gear (electric actuator) 16 Counter gear (electric actuator) 20 Throttle valve 21 Throttle shaft 30 Throttle gear 37 Full-close stopper section (full-close stopper mechanism) 37m Gear side front closing contact surface (full closing stopper mechanism) 38k...Contact part for opener opening regulation part (contact part for initial opening regulation part) 40... Spring (spring member) 43 Return spring section 45 Opener spring part 47 Opener opening degree control unit (initial opening degree control unit, initial opening degree stopper mechanism) 47f....Abutment surface (Initial opening restriction part abutment surface) 47k Engagement part (engagement part of initial opening restriction part) 50 Support jig (jig)

Claims

1. The throttle body has an intake passage for introducing combustion air to an engine, a throttle valve that is rotatable between a fully closed position and a fully open position in the intake passage and has a throttle shaft integrated at the center of rotation, a throttle gear that transmits the rotational force of an electric actuator to the throttle shaft, a spring member that applies a spring force to the throttle gear such that the throttle valve rotates from the fully closed position toward an initial opening position that is opened by a predetermined angle, and a spring member that biases the throttle gear against a fully closed contact surface on the throttle body side. a fully closed stopper mechanism that restricts rotation of the throttle valve in a closing direction beyond the fully closed position by abutment with a gear side fully closed abutment surface on the throttle gear side; an initial opening degree restriction portion that is provided integrally with the spring member and has an engagement portion that engages with the initial opening degree restriction portion abutment portion of the throttle gear at an angle larger than the initial opening degree position of the throttle valve; and an initial opening degree stopper mechanism that abuts the abutment surface of the initial opening degree restriction portion against an initial opening degree restriction stopper abutment surface on the throttle body side at the initial opening degree position of the throttle valve. having a method for manufacturing a throttle device, the method comprising machining at least one of the body-side fully-closed abutment surface of the throttle body, the gear-side fully-closed abutment surface of the throttle gear, the abutment surface of the initial opening degree regulating portion, the initial opening degree regulating stopper abutment surface of the throttle body, the abutment portion for the initial opening degree regulating portion of the throttle gear, and an engaging portion of the initial opening degree regulating portion, so that a fully-closed position where the body-side fully-closed abutment surface of the throttle body and the gear-side fully-closed abutment surface of the throttle gear come into contact with each other and an initial opening position where the abutment surface of the initial opening degree regulating portion and the initial opening degree regulating stopper abutment surface of the throttle body come into contact with each other form a predetermined angle relative to one another; A manufacturing method for a throttle device, in which, with the abutment surface of the initial opening restriction portion, which is formed integrally with the spring member, abutting against the initial opening restriction stopper abutment surface of the throttle body, either the body side fully closed abutment surface on the throttle body side of the fully closed stopper mechanism, or the gear side fully closed abutment surface on the throttle gear side is processed so that it is in a positional relationship forming a predetermined angle with the abutment surface of the initial opening restriction portion.

2. A method for manufacturing the throttle device according to claim 1, comprising the steps of: A method for manufacturing a throttle device, wherein the body-side fully-closed contact surface of the fully-closed stopper mechanism on the throttle body side or the gear-side fully-closed contact surface of the throttle gear side is machined by cutting.

3. A method for manufacturing the throttle device according to claim 1 or 2, comprising the steps of: A manufacturing method for a throttle device, wherein the body side fully closed abutment surface of the fully closed stopper mechanism on the throttle body side, or the gear side fully closed abutment surface of the throttle gear side, is provided on the upper surface of a truncated pyramid.

4. A method for manufacturing the throttle device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising the steps of: The throttle gear and the spring member are set in a jig manufactured based on the throttle body, A manufacturing method for a throttle device, in which the abutment surface of an initial opening restriction part, which is formed integrally with the spring member, is abutted against a portion of the jig corresponding to the initial opening restriction stopper abutment surface of the throttle body, and the gear side fully closed abutment surface is processed so that the gear side fully closed abutment surface on the throttle gear side that constitutes the fully closed stopper mechanism and the abutment surface of the initial opening restriction part are in a positional relationship that forms a predetermined angle relative to each other.

5. A method for manufacturing the throttle device according to claim 4, comprising the steps of: After removing the throttle gear and the spring member from the jig, the throttle gear is set on the throttle shaft in a relatively rotatable state with the gear-side fully-closed contact surface of the throttle gear in contact with the body-side fully-closed contact surface of the throttle body; positioning the throttle shaft and the throttle gear while the throttle valve is held at the fully closed position; A method for manufacturing a throttle device, in which the throttle shaft and the throttle gear are fixed so as not to rotate relative to each other in the positioned state.

6. A method for manufacturing the throttle device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising the steps of: the spring member is configured such that a return spring portion which generates a spring force in a closing direction when the throttle valve is at an opening position larger than the initial opening position, and an opener spring portion which generates a spring force in a opening direction when the throttle valve is at an opening position smaller than the initial opening position are connected in series, A manufacturing method for a throttle device, wherein an initial opening degree regulating portion formed integrally with the spring member is located at the boundary between the return spring portion and the opener spring portion.

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