Fluid Control Valve

Abstract

To provide a compact fluid control valve for suppressing the protrusion of a connector.SOLUTION: A motor throttle valve 10 includes a speed reduction mechanism 20 incorporated in a storage space 19 between a cover 11 equipped with a connector 30 and a valve body 16, the storage space 19 being sealed with the valve body 16 and the cover 11 laser-welded to each other. The speed reduction mechanism 20 includes an intermediate shaft 36 arranged in parallel to a motor shaft 13 and a valve shaft 35, a first intermediate gear 41 engaging with a motor gear 37 fixed to the end of the motor shaft 13, and a second intermediate gear 42 engaging with a valve gear 39 fixed to the valve shaft 35. The first intermediate gear 41 and the second intermediate gear 42 are arranged side by side in the axial direction of the intermediate shaft 36 and constructed integrally with each other. The first intermediate gear 41 is arranged on the electric motor 12 side further than the second intermediate gear 42. A connector 30 is arranged above the motor shaft 13 on the lateral side of the second intermediate gear 42.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a structure of a fluid control valve incorporating a speed reducing mechanism. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, electric throttle valves have been widely adopted in recent years for throttle valves that control the amount of intake air for internal combustion engines mounted on automobiles. Most electric throttle valves have an electric motor, a reduction mechanism, and a throttle valve built into the body.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses an example of an electric throttle valve. In the electric throttle valve disclosed in Patent Document 1, one side of the body is open, and the drive shaft of the electric motor and the drive shaft of the valve are arranged substantially parallel to the opening direction of the opening. In addition, a reduction mechanism that changes the speed of the rotation of the drive shaft of the electric motor and transmits it to the drive shaft of the valve is arranged so as to face the opening of the body. The opening of the body is covered with a cover to form a sealed structure.

[0004] Furthermore, the cover is provided with a connector that connects the wiring connected to the internal devices such as the electric motor to the outside. In Patent Document 1, the connector is disposed in a position close to the motor gear fixed to the drive shaft of the electric motor. Also, the connector is disposed outside the cover facing the side of the body so that the wiring extends in a direction perpendicular to the drive shaft of the electric motor. This makes it possible to reduce the overall dimension of the electric throttle valve in the drive shaft direction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-78333 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] There is a known technique for welding a body and a cover with a laser beam in order to improve the sealing performance and reduce the weight of a fluid control valve such as the electric throttle valve of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1. For example, it is conceivable to irradiate a laser beam onto the edge of the opening of the body and the outer periphery of the cover, thereby welding the cover to the opening and sealing the inside of the body.

[0007] However, in a fluid control valve having a structure in which a connector is provided on a cover and the connector is arranged facing sideways as in Patent Document 1, there is a possibility that the protruding end of the connector may protrude outward beyond the outer periphery of the body.

[0008] In this manner, if the connector is structured so as to protrude outward beyond the outer periphery of the body, the connector may get in the way and there may be places where the cover and the edge of the opening of the body cannot be welded together.

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a fluid control valve that can be configured compactly as a whole, in a structure in which a cover including a connector and a body are sealed by laser welding. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to achieve the above object, the fluid control valve of the present invention comprises a valve body having a fluid passage, a valve element for adjusting a flow path cross-sectional area of ​​the fluid passage, an electric motor, a cover fixed to the valve body and forming an accommodation space between the cover and the valve body, and a transmission arranged in the accommodation space for reducing the rotation of a motor shaft which is a drive shaft of the electric motor, increasing the drive torque, and transmitting the reduced rotation to a valve shaft which drives the valve element, the motor shaft and the valve shaft being arranged in parallel, and the valve body and the cover being laser welded together to seal the accommodation space. A fluid control valve, wherein the transmission includes an input gear fixed to an end of the motor shaft, an output gear fixed to the valve shaft, a first intermediate gear meshing with the input gear, a second intermediate gear fixed to the first intermediate gear and meshing with the output gear, and an intermediate shaft arranged in parallel to the motor shaft and the valve shaft and supporting the first intermediate gear and the second intermediate gear, the first intermediate gear and the second intermediate gear being arranged side by side in an axial direction of the intermediate shaft, and the first intermediate gear being arranged closer to the electric motor than the second intermediate gear, the second intermediate gear and the output gear are disposed within the cover; a connector for connecting an external power supply line to the electric motor, the connector being disposed on the cover adjacent to an end of the drive shaft of the electric motor and on the side of the second intermediate gear; but arrangement the connector is located inward from an edge portion located at an outer peripheral end of the cover, and is disposed at the same position as the second intermediate gear in the axial direction of the drive shaft of the electric motor. It is characterized by:

[0011] Preferably, the valve body is made of a laser light absorbing material, and the cover is made of a laser light transmitting material.

[0012] Preferably, the connector is located in an extension direction of a drive shaft of the electric motor and is disposed perpendicular to the axis of the drive shaft.

[0013] Preferably, the valve body has an opening that opens toward the extension direction of the end of the motor shaft, the storage space being formed within the opening, the valve body having a body side edge portion that protrudes outward from the edge of the opening, and the cover having a cover side edge portion that protrudes outward from the outer periphery of the cover, and the body side edge portion and the cover side edge portion are laser welded together.

[0014] Preferably, the fluid control valve is an electric throttle valve that controls the amount of intake air of an internal combustion engine. Effect of the Invention

[0015] According to the fluid control valve of the present invention, the reducer is accommodated in the accommodation space within the cover, and the first intermediate gear of the reducer is disposed closer to the electric motor than the second intermediate gear, so that the input gear, which is fixed to an end of the drive shaft of the electric motor, is disposed closer to the electric motor. Inside the cover This makes it possible to dispose the connector on the side of the second intermediate gear close to the drive shaft of the electric motor.

[0016] This makes it possible to reduce the external dimensions of the fluid control valve, which is made up of the cover and body including the connector, and to give the entire fluid control valve a compact configuration.

[0017] In addition, the cover including the connector is compact. death, connector is larger than the edge of the outer circumferential end of the cover. Protruding outwards Things to do This makes it possible to prevent the connector from getting in the way when laser welding the outer periphery of the cover to the body. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a side view of an electric throttle valve according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a top view of the electric throttle valve according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3]FIG. 2 is a top view of the electric throttle valve with the cover removed. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the upper part of the electric throttle valve. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a manner in which the body and the cover are connected. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0020] FIG 1 is a side view of an electric throttle valve 10 (fluid control valve) according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG 2 is a top view of the electric throttle valve 10 according to this embodiment. FIG 3 is a top view of the electric throttle valve 10 with the cover 11 removed. FIG 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the upper part of the electric throttle valve 10. Note that FIG 4 is a cross-sectional view of the upper part of the electric throttle valve 10 cut vertically, more specifically, parallel to the axial direction of a motor shaft 13 which is the drive shaft of an electric motor 12 which will be described later. Note that in the following description, the axial direction of the motor shaft 13 is taken as the up-down direction.

[0021] An electric throttle valve 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention is a fluid control valve that controls the amount of intake air of an internal combustion engine mounted on, for example, an automobile.

[0022] As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the electric throttle valve 10 includes a valve body 16 in which an intake passage 15 (fluid passage) is formed, a valve 17 (valve body) that opens and closes the intake passage 15 to adjust the flow path cross-sectional area, and an electric motor 12 that drives the valve 17.

[0023] The valve body 16 has an upper body 21 in which an accommodation space 19 is formed to house the electric motor 12, and a lower body 22 in which an intake passage 15 is formed and in which a valve 17 is provided, and is configured such that the upper body 21 and the lower body 22 are fixed together by bolts 23.

[0024] An opening 25 is provided at the top of the upper body 21 so as to face the accommodation space 19 , and the opening 25 is covered by a cover 11 . The cover 11 is also provided with a connector 30 for connecting wiring for supplying power to the electric motor 12 and wiring for connecting to a rotation angle sensor (not shown) or the like to an external device. The connector 30 is disposed on the upper part of the electric motor 12 and faces toward the side of the valve body 16, i.e., perpendicular to the axial direction of the motor shaft 13.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 4, in the accommodation space 19 between the upper body 21 and the cover 11, a speed reduction mechanism 20 and the electric motor 12 are accommodated.

[0026] The motor shaft 13, which is the drive shaft of the electric motor 12, and the valve shaft 35, which drives the valve 17, extend in the vertical direction and are arranged parallel to each other. The upper ends of the motor shaft 13 and the valve shaft 35 are arranged to face through an opening 25 of the upper body 21. In other words, the opening 25 of the upper body 21 opens in the extension direction of the upper end of the motor shaft 13.

[0027] Between the motor shaft 13 and the valve shaft 35, an intermediate shaft 36 is provided which is fixed to the upper body 21 and extends in the vertical direction parallel to the motor shaft 13 and the valve shaft 35.

[0028] The reduction mechanism 20 is composed of a motor gear 37 (input gear) fixed to the upper end of the motor shaft 13, an intermediate shaft 36, an intermediate gear 38 rotatably supported on the intermediate shaft 36, and a valve gear 39 (output gear) fixed to the upper end of the valve shaft 35.

[0029] The intermediate gear 38 has a first intermediate gear 41 that meshes with the motor gear 37 and a second intermediate gear 42 that meshes with the valve gear 39, and the first intermediate gear 41 and the second intermediate gear 42 are aligned in the vertical direction, i.e., in the axial direction of the intermediate shaft 36, and fixed to each other.

[0030] The reduction gear mechanism 20 transmits the rotational driving force of the electric motor 12 from the motor shaft 13 through the motor gear 37, the first intermediate gear 41, the second intermediate gear 42, and the valve gear 39 to the valve shaft 35 while reducing the speed, thereby driving and rotating the valve 17 to open and close.

[0031] Incidentally, a return spring (not shown) is provided inside the upper body 21. The return spring rotates the valve shaft 35 relative to the upper body 21, biasing the valve 17, for example, to a predetermined intermediate opening state. Therefore, in the electric throttle valve 10, the valve 17 is in a predetermined intermediate opening state when the operation of the electric motor 12 is stopped, and the valve 17 is opened or closed from the predetermined intermediate opening by operating the electric motor 12.

[0032] In the electric throttle valve 10 of this embodiment, of the intermediate gears 38, the first intermediate gear 41 is disposed close to the electric motor 12, and the second intermediate gear 42 is disposed on the cover 11 side. Therefore, the motor gear 37 is disposed in a position close to the electric motor 12 by aligning its axial position with the first intermediate gear 41, and the valve gear 39 is disposed in a position far from the valve 17 by aligning its axial position with the second intermediate gear 42.

[0033] 4, the connector 30 is disposed in a space above the motor gear 37. That is, the connector 30 is located in the extension direction of the motor shaft 13, close to the end of the motor shaft 13, and disposed to the side of the second intermediate gear 42.

[0034] FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a method for attaching the cover 11 to the electric throttle valve 10. As shown in FIG.

[0035] When assembling the electric throttle valve 10 of this embodiment, after installing the electric motor 12, the reduction mechanism 20, etc. in the upper body 21 to which the lower body 22 is fixed, the opening 25 at the top of the upper body 21 is covered with the cover 11, and the upper body 21 and the cover 11 are welded and fixed together using a laser device.

[0036] The upper body 21 is made of a material that absorbs laser light, and the cover 11 is made of a material that transmits laser light.

[0037] 4 and 5, a body-side edge portion 50 that protrudes outwardly around the entire periphery of the outer periphery of the upper body 21 is provided around the edge of the opening 25. Also, a cover-side edge portion 51 is provided around the outer periphery of the cover 11 so as to overlap the body-side edge portion 50 around the entire periphery. 5, when the upper body 21 and the cover 11 are laser-welded, laser light LB is irradiated from the cover 11 side to the entire periphery of the cover side edge 51. This causes the cover side edge 51 and the body side edge 50 to be laser-welded and fixed, and the accommodation space 19 between the upper body 21 and the cover 11 is sealed.

[0038] As described above, the electric throttle valve 10 of this embodiment has a structure in which the reduction gear mechanism 20 is accommodated in the accommodation space 19 of the upper body 21, and the accommodation space 19 is sealed by the cover 11. The upper body 21 and the cover 11 are fixed to each other by laser welding at the peripheral edges 50, 51, so that the upper body 21 and the cover 11 can be made smaller and lighter than a structure in which the upper body 21 and the cover 11 are fixed to each other by, for example, bolts.

[0039] The reduction mechanism 20 is composed of a motor gear 37 fixed to the upper end of the motor shaft 13, a valve gear 39 fixed to the valve shaft 35, a first intermediate gear 41 that meshes with the motor gear 37, a second intermediate gear 42 that is fixed to the first intermediate gear 41 and meshes with the valve gear 39, and an intermediate shaft 36 that supports the first intermediate gear 41 and the second intermediate gear 42, and the first intermediate gear 41 and the second intermediate gear 42 are arranged side by side in the axial direction of the intermediate shaft 36.

[0040] In this embodiment, since the first intermediate gear 41 is disposed closer to the electric motor 12 than the second intermediate gear 42, a space can be provided above the upper end of the motor shaft 13 and to the side of the second intermediate gear 42, and a connector 30 for connecting a power supply line from the outside to the electric motor 12 can be disposed in this space. The connector 30 may be disposed in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the motor shaft 13, i.e., facing toward the side of the cover 11, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, for example.

[0041] This makes it possible to prevent the connector 30 from protruding above the cover 11. Also, since the connector 30 can be arranged by making full use of the width of the cover 11 (the vertical width on the paper surface of FIG. 2), the connector 30 can be prevented from protruding laterally beyond the cover 11 and the upper body 21. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the external dimensions of the electric throttle valve 10, which is made up of the cover 11 including the connector 30 and the valve body 16, and to make it compact, which improves the ease of installation when used, for example, as a throttle valve for adjusting the intake flow rate of an internal combustion engine.

[0042] Since the upper body 21 is formed of a material that absorbs laser light, and the cover 11 is formed of a material that transmits laser light, the upper body 21 and the cover 11 can be welded together by irradiating laser light from the cover 11 side. In this embodiment, by arranging the connector 30 close to and above the upper end of the motor shaft 13 and to the side of the second intermediate gear 42 as described above, the connector 30 can be arranged inside the edges 50, 51 at the outer circumferential end of the upper body 21 and the cover 11. This makes it possible to prevent the connector 30 from interfering with irradiation when irradiating laser light from the cover 11 side to the cover side edge 51 of the outer circumferential part for welding, and makes it easier to manufacture the electric throttle valve 10.

[0043] Although the description of the embodiment is finished above, the aspects of the present invention are not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the detailed shape of each part of the electric throttle valve 10 in the above embodiment may be changed as appropriate. For example, the connector in the above embodiment may be oriented in any direction.

[0044] Further, the electric throttle valve 10 in the above embodiment is an electric throttle valve that controls the amount of intake air of an internal combustion engine, but the present invention can be widely applied to other fluid control valves. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 10. Electric throttle valve (fluid control valve) 11 Cover 12 Electric motor 13 Motor shaft 15 Intake passage (fluid passage) 16 Valve body 17 Valve (valve body) 19 Containment Space 20 Reduction mechanism (transmission) 21 Upper Body 25 Opening 30 Connectors 35 Valve shaft 36 Intermediate shaft 37 Motor gear (input gear) 39 Valve gear (output gear) 41 1st intermediate gear 42 Second intermediate gear 50 Body side edge 51 Cover side edge

Claims

1. the valve body having a fluid passage, a valve element for adjusting a flow path cross-sectional area of ​​the fluid passage, an electric motor, a cover fixed to the valve body and forming an accommodation space between the cover and the valve body, and a transmission that is disposed in the accommodation space and that reduces the speed of rotation of a motor shaft that is a drive shaft of the electric motor, increases the drive torque, and transmits the reduced speed to a valve shaft that drives the valve element, The motor shaft and the valve shaft are arranged in parallel, The valve body and the cover are laser welded to each other to seal the accommodation space, the transmission includes an input gear fixed to an end of the motor shaft, an output gear fixed to the valve shaft, a first intermediate gear meshing with the input gear, a second intermediate gear fixed to the first intermediate gear and meshing with the output gear, and an intermediate shaft disposed in parallel to the motor shaft and the valve shaft and supporting the first intermediate gear and the second intermediate gear, the first intermediate gear and the second intermediate gear are arranged side by side in an axial direction of the intermediate shaft, and the first intermediate gear is arranged closer to the electric motor than the second intermediate gear, the second intermediate gear and the output gear are disposed within the cover; a connector for connecting a power supply line from an outside source to the electric motor is disposed on the cover, adjacent to an end of the drive shaft of the electric motor and to a side of the second intermediate gear; The connector is located inward from an edge portion located at an outer circumferential end portion of the cover, and is disposed at the same position as the second intermediate gear in the axial direction of the drive shaft of the electric motor. A fluid control valve comprising:

2. 2. The fluid control valve according to claim 1, wherein the valve body is formed of a laser light absorbing material, and the cover is formed of a laser light transmitting material.

3. 3. The fluid control valve according to claim 1, wherein the connector is located in an extension direction of a drive shaft of the electric motor and is disposed perpendicular to an axis of the drive shaft.

4. The valve body has an opening that opens toward an extension direction of an end of the motor shaft, and the accommodation space is formed within the opening. a body side edge portion protruding outward from an edge of the opening of the valve body, The cover has a side edge portion protruding outward from an outer periphery thereof, 4. The fluid control valve according to claim 1, wherein the body side edge portion and the cover side edge portion are laser welded to each other.

5. 5. The fluid control valve according to claim 1, wherein the fluid control valve is an electric throttle valve for controlling an intake amount of an internal combustion engine.

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