Intake manifold structure

Abstract

To suppress interference of an intake manifold and a fuel pipe in head-on collision of a vehicle, when an engine is vertically disposed in an engine room.SOLUTION: Vehicle components are disposed at a front side of an intake manifold 10. A fuel pipe is disposed at a rear side of the intake manifold 10. The intake manifold 10 is disposed at an intake downstream end side of a plurality of independent intake pipe portions 11, and has a mounting portion 33 connecting the plurality of independent intake pipe portions 11 respectively to a part at one side in a vehicle width direction of the engine. The mounting portion 33 has a front mounting portion 36 relatively positioned at a front side and a rear mounting portion 37 relatively positioned at a rear side. The rear mounting portion 37 is constituted to have rigidity higher than that of the front mounting portion 36.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The technology disclosed herein belongs to the technical field relating to intake manifold structures. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, measures have been considered for dealing with vehicle collisions by devising an intake manifold structure connected to an engine.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a front structure of an engine in which an engine is placed horizontally in an engine compartment so that the row of cylinders coincides with the width of the vehicle, a plastic intake manifold is fastened at its top and bottom to the front of the engine, a fuel distribution pipe extending in the direction of the crankshaft is arranged below an upper mounting part of the intake manifold, the intake manifold is divided into a side closer to the engine and a side farther from the engine and is composed of a number of joined segments, the base segment closer to the engine has greater strength than the other segment farther from the engine, a plastic oil separator cover is provided on the front of the engine, and the base segment and the oil separator cover are each provided with a setback restriction portion that abuts against each other as the base segment is displaced during a collision. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-158994 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When an engine is arranged so that the cylinder row direction is the vehicle front-rear direction, the intake manifold is arranged on one side of the engine in the vehicle width direction. In this case, a fuel pump and a fuel pipe connected to the fuel pump are arranged in the rear part of the engine, and an alternator and other vehicle parts are arranged in the front part of the engine. In such a configuration, in the event of a frontal collision of the vehicle, the vehicle parts move backward and come into contact with the intake manifold. As a result, if the intake manifold moves backward in a chain reaction, there is a risk that the intake manifold will interfere with the fuel pipe.

[0006] The engine structure described in Patent Document 1 is configured to suppress interference between the intake manifold and the fuel pipes on the assumption that the engine is placed horizontally in the engine room, but does not suppress interference between the intake manifold and the fuel pipes even when the engine is placed vertically in the engine room. Therefore, there is room for improvement in terms of suppressing interference between the intake manifold and the fuel pipes when the engine is placed vertically in the engine room.

[0007] The technology disclosed herein has been made in consideration of these points, and its purpose is to prevent interference between the intake manifold and fuel piping in the event of a frontal vehicle collision when the engine is mounted vertically in the engine compartment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the technology disclosed herein targets an intake manifold structure including an intake manifold connected to one side in the vehicle width direction of a multi-cylinder engine that is vertically arranged in an engine compartment with the cylinders aligned in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle, wherein vehicle parts are arranged on the vehicle front side of the intake manifold, and a fuel piping through which fuel flows is arranged to extend in the vertical direction on the vehicle rear side of the intake manifold, the intake manifold is formed by branching for each cylinder and has a plurality of independent intake pipe sections lined up in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle, and mounting sections are provided on the intake downstream ends of the plurality of independent intake pipe sections and connect the plurality of independent intake pipe sections to the one side part in the vehicle width direction of the engine, the mounting sections have a front mounting section located relatively to the front of the vehicle, and a rear mounting section located relatively to the rear of the vehicle, and the rear mounting section is configured to have higher rigidity than the front mounting section.

[0009] According to this configuration, in the event of a vehicle frontal collision, the front mounting portion is deformed by the collision load, while the rear mounting portion is prevented from being deformed as much as possible, thereby preventing the intake manifold from collapsing backward in a chain reaction. In particular, by absorbing the collision load by the deformation of the front mounting portion, the load received by the rear mounting portion can be reduced, and deformation of the rear mounting portion can be prevented as much as possible. This makes it possible to prevent interference between the intake manifold and the fuel pipe in the event of a vehicle frontal collision.

[0010] In the intake manifold structure, a thickness of the rear mounting portion in a vehicle width direction is greater than a thickness of the front mounting portion in a vehicle width direction. And .

[0011] That is, even if the rear mounting portion is not deformed, the rear mounting portion and the independent intake pipe portion may break. According to the above configuration, even if the independent intake pipe portion breaks from the rear mounting portion due to a collision load, the independent intake pipe portion breaks on a side farther from the engine than the front mounting portion. As a result, the intake manifold moves backward while moving away from the engine. In detail, when the independent intake pipe portion breaks from the mounting portion, it breaks from the front mounting portion and then from the rear mounting portion. Therefore, when the independent intake pipe portion breaks from the rear mounting portion, the independent intake pipe portion breaks from the rear mounting portion while rotating rearward and outward in the vehicle width direction with the rear mounting portion as a fulcrum. As a result, when the independent intake pipe portion breaks from the rear mounting portion, a force is applied rearward and outward in the vehicle width direction, so that the intake manifold moves backward and outward in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, interference between the intake manifold and the fuel pipe can be more effectively suppressed.

[0012] In the intake manifold structure, the mounting portion may have a plurality of lateral ribs on its outer peripheral surface extending in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle, and the number of the lateral ribs in the rear mounting portion may be greater than the number of the lateral ribs in the front mounting portion.

[0013] With this configuration, the rigidity of the rear mounting portion is increased, so that deformation of the rear mounting portion can be suppressed as much as possible, thereby more effectively suppressing interference between the intake manifold and the fuel piping in the event of a vehicle frontal collision.

[0014] In an intake manifold structure having horizontal ribs provided at a mounting portion, the mounting portion may further have a plurality of vertical ribs extending in the vehicle width direction so as to intersect with the plurality of horizontal ribs, and the horizontal ribs and the vertical ribs of the rear mounting portion may be thicker than the horizontal ribs and the vertical ribs of the front mounting portion, respectively.

[0015] With this configuration, the rigidity of the rear mounting portion is increased, and deformation of the rear mounting portion can be more effectively suppressed, thereby more effectively suppressing interference between the intake manifold and the fuel piping in the event of a vehicle frontal collision.

[0016] In the intake manifold structure, the intake manifold may be made of resin.

[0017] With this configuration, it is easier to create a structure that creates a difference in rigidity between the front and rear mounting portions compared to when the intake manifold is made of metal, and it is therefore easier to realize a structure that prevents interference between the intake manifold and the fuel piping in the event of a frontal collision. Effect of the Invention

[0018] As described above, the technique disclosed herein can suppress interference between the intake manifold and the fuel pipe during a vehicle frontal collision. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a side view of an engine having an intake manifold structure according to an exemplary embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of the intake manifold of the engine. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is an enlarged rear view of the intake manifold of the engine. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the intake manifold as viewed from the upper left rear side. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a side view of the first split piece of the intake manifold as viewed from the right side. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a plan view of the intake manifold. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view showing the fifth fastening portion. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane corresponding to line VIII-VIII in FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane corresponding to line IX-IX in FIG. [Figure 10]FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the intake manifold as seen from the lower left rear side. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the second split piece of the intake manifold. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the front, rear, left, right, top, and bottom of a vehicle will be simply referred to as the front, rear, left, right, top, and bottom, respectively. With respect to the left-right direction, the left side when looking from the rear to the front side is referred to as the left, and the right side is referred to as the right.

[0021] Fig. 1 is a side view of engine 1 as seen from the left side. Engine 1 is a multi-cylinder engine, specifically having four cylinders. Engine 1 is placed vertically in an engine room of a vehicle so that the cylinders are aligned in the front-to-rear direction. Engine 1 is disposed so that the left side is the intake side and the right side is the exhaust side.

[0022] An intake manifold 10 for introducing intake air into the cylinders is connected to the left side surface of the cylinder head of the engine 1. The intake manifold 10 is made of synthetic resin. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the intake manifold 10 has a plurality of (four in this example) independent intake pipe sections 11 that are branched for each cylinder and aligned in the front-rear direction, a surge tank section 13 that is connected to the lower end of each independent intake pipe section 11 and distributes the intake air to each independent intake pipe section 11, and an intake introduction pipe 14 that extends forward from a front and upper part of the surge tank section 13 and introduces the intake air from an intake pipe (not shown). A detailed configuration of the intake manifold 10 will be described later.

[0023] As shown in Fig. 1, an alternator 2 as a vehicle component, particularly an engine accessory, is disposed in front of the intake manifold 10. The alternator 2 generates electricity by the rotation of the engine and functions as a starter when the engine is started. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the alternator 2 is disposed at the same height as the surge tank portion 13, and is disposed in a position overlapping with the surge tank portion 13 when viewed from the front side.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, a fuel pipe 3 through which fuel flows is disposed on the rear side of the intake manifold 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the fuel pipe 3 includes a low-pressure pipe 3a that supplies fuel from a fuel tank (not shown) to a fuel pump 4, and a high-pressure pipe 3b through which fuel pressurized by the fuel pump 4 flows. The low-pressure pipe 3a is made of a flexible resin tube. The high-pressure pipe 3b is made of a metal pipe. The low-pressure pipe 3a and the high-pressure pipe 3b are both disposed so as to extend in the vertical direction. The downstream end of the high-pressure pipe 3b is connected to the rear end of the fuel distribution pipe 5. The fuel distribution pipe 5 is a distribution pipe for supplying fuel to each cylinder, and extends in the front-rear direction along the left side surface of the engine 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the fuel distribution pipe 5 is disposed between a mounting portion 33 (to be described later) and a surge tank portion 13.

[0025] Hereinafter, the configuration of the intake manifold 10 according to this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 4, each independent intake pipe section 11 of the intake manifold 10 is integrally connected to the lower left portion of the surge tank section 13. Each independent intake pipe section 11 extends from the connection section with the surge tank section 13 in a curved manner upward and to the right, and is disposed so as to cover the upper side of the surge tank section 13. At least a part of the independent intake pipe sections 11 (particularly the independent intake pipe section 11 located at the front side) covers the upper side of the intake introduction pipe 14. Each independent intake pipe section 11 is connected to the inside of the surge tank section 13 at its lower end. The intake air passes through the intake introduction pipe 14 and is stored in the surge tank section 13, and then passes through each independent intake pipe section 11 and is introduced into the cylinder.

[0027] 6, each independent intake pipe section 11 has, in order from the intake upstream side, a main passage section 12, an intermediate section 44 (a section of a second split piece 40 described below), and a downstream end section 34 (a section of a first split piece 30 described below). Each independent intake pipe section 11 is formed by joining the main passage section 12, the intermediate section 44, and the downstream end section 34 to each other.

[0028] The main passage sections 12 of the independent intake pipe sections 11 are integrated with each other over the entire longitudinal direction. That is, adjacent main passage sections 12 are connected to each other via a connecting section 52 located between both the independent intake pipe sections 11. The connecting section 52 is provided with a plurality of horizontal ribs 52a extending in the front-rear and left-right directions in order to improve the rigidity of the independent intake pipe sections 11.

[0029] Adjacent intermediate portions 44 are connected to each other via connecting portions 44a (see Figs. 8 and 9). Each intermediate portion 44, except for the frontmost intermediate portion 44, has a vertical rib extending in the left-right direction.

[0030] The downstream end portions 34 adjacent to each other are connected to each other via connecting portions 34c (see Figs. 8 and 9). The downstream end portions 34 are shorter at the two rear downstream end portions 34 than at the two front downstream end portions 34. At the two front downstream end portions 34, horizontal ribs 34a extending in the front-rear direction and vertical ribs 34b extending in the left-right direction are formed so as to be perpendicular to each other and form a mesh shape. At the two rear downstream end portions 34, no horizontal ribs 34a are formed, and only vertical ribs 34b are formed. Each vertical rib 34b is formed continuously to a front vertical rib 36b and a rear vertical rib 37b, which will be described later.

[0031] 5 and 6, the ends of the independent intake pipe sections 11 opposite the surge tank section 13 (i.e., the most downstream portion of the downstream end section 34) are integrated with each other to form a mounting section 33 for mounting the intake manifold 10 to the cylinder block of the engine 1. The mounting section 33 is located above and away from the surge tank section 13.

[0032] The mounting portion 33 extends in the front-rear direction so as to integrate the multiple independent intake pipe sections 11 with one another. The mounting portion 33 is formed in a flange shape. The mounting portion 33 has multiple fastening portions 35 (five in this example) that are fastened to the left side surface of the cylinder head of the engine 1 with bolts 62 (see FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 5, the fastening portions 35 are provided in the front portion of the foremost independent intake pipe section 11, in the portion between adjacent independent intake pipe sections 11, and in the rear portion of the rearmost independent intake pipe section 11. The multiple fastening portions 35 are arranged in a staggered pattern in the up-down direction relative to the front-rear direction. Specifically, when the multiple fastening parts 35 are, from the front side, the first fastening part 35a, the second fastening part 35b, the third fastening part 35c, the fourth fastening part 35d, and the fifth fastening part 35e, the first fastening part 35a, the third fastening part 35c, and the fifth fastening part 35e are located relatively lower, and the second fastening part 35b and the fourth fastening part 35d are located relatively upper. As shown in FIG. 7, the fifth fastening part 35e is formed so as to be thicker in the left-right direction than the first fastening part 35a. In addition, a reinforcing rib 33a is provided between the fifth fastening part 35e and the rear and lower end of the mounting part 33. As a result, the peripheral part of the fifth fastening part 35e has higher rigidity than the other fastening parts 35a to 35d.

[0033] The mounting portion 33 has a front mounting portion 36 located relatively forward and a rear mounting portion 37 located relatively rearward. The front mounting portion 36 is a portion that connects the two front independent intake pipe portions 11 of the multiple independent intake pipe portions 11 in the front-rear direction, and the rear mounting portion 37 is a portion that connects the two rear independent intake pipe portions 11 of the multiple independent intake pipe portions 11 in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 6, the front mounting portion 36 extends to the position of the third fastening portion 35c.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 6, the front mounting portion 36 is provided with a plurality of front horizontal ribs 36a extending in the front-rear direction and a plurality of front vertical ribs 36b extending in the left-right direction, which are perpendicular to each other and form a mesh pattern. The rear mounting portion 37 is provided with a plurality of rear horizontal ribs 37a extending in the front-rear direction and a plurality of rear vertical ribs 37b extending in the left-right direction, which are perpendicular to each other and form a mesh pattern. Two front horizontal ribs 36a are formed, and three rear horizontal ribs 37a are formed. That is, the number of rear horizontal ribs 37a is greater than the number of front horizontal ribs 36a. The rear horizontal ribs 37a and the rear vertical ribs 37b are thicker than the front horizontal ribs 36a and the front vertical ribs 36b. As a result, the rear mounting portion 37 has higher rigidity than the front mounting portion 36.

[0035] Fig. 8 is a cross section of the front mounting portion 36 cut at the position of the second fastening portion 35b, and Fig. 9 is a cross section of the rear mounting portion 37 cut at the position of the fourth fastening portion 35d. As shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the thickness W2 of the rear mounting portion 37 in the left-right direction (i.e., the vehicle width direction) is thicker than the thickness W1 of the front mounting portion 36 in the left-right direction. Specifically, the thickness W2 of the rear mounting portion 37 is approximately twice as thick as the thickness of the front mounting portion 36. This makes the rear mounting portion 37 more rigid than the front mounting portion 36.

[0036] As shown in Fig. 5, the surge tank section 13 is formed to be continuous with the rear end of the intake air introduction pipe 14, and extends in the front-rear and left-right directions. When viewed from the front-rear direction, the surge tank section 13 has an elliptical shape that is longer in the up-down direction than in the left-right direction (see Fig. 3). The surge tank section 13 has a plurality of reinforcing ribs 13a on the right side to increase rigidity.

[0037] The intake air introduction pipe 14 extends at an incline to the right as it approaches the rear. The intake air introduction pipe 14 is configured not to bulge to the right of the surge tank portion 13. Specifically, when attached to the engine 1, the rightmost peak of the intake air introduction pipe 14 is formed to be at approximately the same position in the left-right direction as the right side portion of the surge tank portion 13.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 5, in order to ensure the rigidity of the intake manifold 10, front and rear bridge parts 71, 72 are provided in the right part of the intake manifold 10 so as to extend in the up-down direction and connect the surge tank base part 31, the inlet pipe base part 32, and the mounting part 33, which will be described later. The front bridge part 71 is provided at the position of the second fastening part 35b in the front-rear direction. The upper end part of the front bridge part 71 is connected to the lower end part of the front mounting part 36, the lower end part of the front downstream end part 34, and the lower end part of the front intermediate part 44. The lower end part of the front bridge part 71 is connected to the upper and right part of the intake inlet pipe 14. The upper end part of the front bridge part 71 is formed so as to connect the two front independent intake pipe parts 11 in the front-rear direction. The rear bridge part 72 is provided at the position of the fourth fastening part 35d in the front-rear direction. The upper end of the rear bridge portion 72 is connected to the lower end of the rear mounting portion 37, the lower end of the rear downstream end portion 34, and the lower end of the rear intermediate portion 44. The lower end of the rear bridge portion 72 is connected to the upper and rear end portion of the surge tank portion 13. The upper end of the rear bridge portion 72 is formed so as to connect the two rear independent intake pipe portions 11 in the front-rear direction.

[0039] A protruding portion 38 that protrudes downward is formed at the bottom of the surge tank portion 13. As shown in Fig. 10, the protruding portion 38 is formed so as to protrude not only downward but also toward the right side (i.e., the engine side). The lower end of this protruding portion 38 is fastened and fixed to the left side surface of the cylinder block of the engine 1 via a bolt 61.

[0040] In this embodiment, the intake manifold 10 is composed of three split pieces divided in the left-right direction (vehicle width direction). Specifically, the intake manifold 10 has a first split piece 30 located on the side closest to the engine 1 (right side), a third split piece 50 located on the side farthest from the engine 1 (left side), and a second split piece 40 located between the first split piece 30 and the third split piece 50. These first to third split pieces 30, 40, and 50 are each integrally molded from resin using a mold separately, and after molding, are joined together and integrated by vibration welding. This prevents gaps from being formed between the first to third split pieces 30, 40, and 50.

[0041] The first split piece 30 constitutes the right side portion of the surge tank section 13 (hereinafter referred to as the surge tank base 31), the entire front portion and the right side portion of the rear portion of the intake inlet pipe 14 (hereinafter referred to as the inlet pipe base 32), the mounting portion 33, the right side portion 71a of the front bridge portion 71, the right side portion 72a of the rear bridge portion 72, the downstream end portion 34 of the independent intake pipe section 11, and the protruding portion 38. 11, the second separate piece 40 constitutes the left side of the surge tank section 13 (hereinafter referred to as the surge tank other section 41), the left side of the rear section of the intake intake pipe 14 (hereinafter referred to as the intake pipe other section 42), the right side of the main passage section 12 of the independent intake pipe section 11 (hereinafter referred to as the independent pipe base section 43), the intermediate section 44 between the main passage section 12 and the downstream end section 34 of the independent intake pipe section 11, the left side section 71b of the front bridge section 71, and the left side section 72b of the rear bridge section 72. The third separate piece 50 constitutes the left side of the main passage section 12 of the independent intake pipe section 11 (hereinafter referred to as the independent pipe other section 51), the connecting section 52 of the main passage section 12, and the horizontal rib 52a of the connecting section 52.

[0042] The surge tank portion 13 is formed by mating the first split piece 30 and the second split piece 40 together in the surge tank portion 13. The surge tank portion 13 is formed by mating the surge tank base portion 31, which is one half of the first split piece 30, and the surge tank other portion 41, which is one half of the second split piece 40, together.

[0043] The intake introduction pipe 14 is formed by mating the first split piece 30 and the second split piece 40 together at the intake introduction pipe 14. The surge tank portion 13 is formed by mating the half of the introduction pipe base portion 32 of the first split piece 30 and the half of the introduction pipe other portion 42 of the second split piece 40 together.

[0044] The main passage portion 12 in the independent intake pipe portion 11 is formed by mating the second split piece 40 and the third split piece 50 together at the main passage portion 12. That is, the main passage portion 12 is formed by mating the half of the independent pipe base portion 43 in the second split piece 40 and the half of the independent pipe other portion 51 (see FIG. 10) in the third split piece 50 together. As shown in FIG. 11, the independent pipe base 43 has a plurality of (four in this case) communication holes 43a that communicate with the inside of the surge tank portion 13, each corresponding to the independent intake pipe portion 11. Intake air is introduced from the surge tank portion 13 to the independent intake pipe portion 11 via the communication holes 43a.

[0045] The independent intake pipe section 11 is formed over its entire longitudinal direction by joining together the first to third separate pieces 30, 40, 50. The portion of the independent intake pipe section 11 downstream of the main passage section 12 is formed by joining together the downstream ends 34 of the first separate piece 30 and the middle portions 44 of the second separate piece 40 in the left-right direction.

[0046] The front-side bridge portion 71 is formed by joining the first separate piece 30 and the second separate piece 40 together at the front-side bridge portion 71. That is, the front-side bridge portion 71 is formed by joining the right side portion 71a of the first separate piece 30 and the left side portion 71b of the second separate piece 40 together.

[0047] The rear-side bridge portion 72 is formed by joining the first separate piece 30 and the second separate piece 40 to each other at the rear-side bridge portion 72. That is, the rear-side bridge portion 72 is formed by joining the right side portion 72a of the first separate piece 30 and the left side portion 72b of the second separate piece 40 to each other.

[0048] Here, in the case where the alternator 2 is disposed in front of the intake manifold 10 as in the first embodiment, in the event of a vehicle frontal collision, the alternator 2 moves backward and comes into contact with the intake manifold 10. As a result, if the intake manifold 10 moves backward in a chain reaction, there is a risk that the intake manifold 10 will interfere with the fuel pipe 3.

[0049] In contrast, in this embodiment, the rigidity of the rear mounting portion 37 is made higher than that of the front mounting portion 36. As a result, when the alternator 2 and the intake manifold 10 come into contact with each other, the front mounting portion 36 is deformed by the collision load, while the rear mounting portion 37 is prevented from being deformed as much as possible, thereby making it possible to suppress the intake manifold 10 from moving backward in a chain reaction. In particular, by deforming the front mounting portion 36 to absorb the collision load, the collision load received by the rear mounting portion 37 can be reduced, and therefore deformation of the rear mounting portion 37 can be suppressed as much as possible. As a result, interference between the intake manifold 10 and the fuel pipe 3 can be suppressed in the event of a vehicle frontal collision.

[0050] In this embodiment, the thickness W2 of the rear mounting portion 37 in the vehicle width direction is thicker than the thickness W1 of the front mounting portion 36 in the vehicle width direction. As a result, even if the independent intake pipe portion 11 breaks from the rear mounting portion 37 due to a collision load, the independent intake pipe portion 11 breaks on a side farther from the engine 1 than the front mounting portion 36. In detail, when the independent intake pipe portion 11 breaks from the mounting portion 33, it breaks from the rear mounting portion 37 after breaking from the front mounting portion 36, which has a relatively weak rigidity. Therefore, when the independent intake pipe portion 11 breaks from the rear mounting portion 37, the independent intake pipe portion 11 breaks from the rear mounting portion 37 while rotating rearward and outward in the vehicle width direction with the rear mounting portion 37 as a fulcrum. As a result, when the independent intake pipe section 11 breaks off from the rear mounting section 37, a force is applied to the intake manifold 10 toward the rear and toward the outside in the vehicle width direction, so that the intake manifold 10 moves backward toward the rear and toward the outside in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, interference between the intake manifold 10 and the fuel pipe 3 during a vehicle frontal collision can be more effectively suppressed.

[0051] In particular, in this embodiment, since the alternator 2 is at the same height as the surge tank portion 13, when the alternator 2 moves backward, it comes into contact with the surge tank portion 13. Therefore, a force acts on the intake manifold 10 to rotate rearward and upward with the mounting portion 33 as a fulcrum. At this time, since the rigidity of the rear mounting portion 37 is high, the rear mounting portion 37 is likely to become a fulcrum. As a result, the independent intake pipe portion 11 connected to the front mounting portion 36 is likely to twist, and the independent intake pipe portion 11 is likely to break from the front mounting portion 36 before the rear mounting portion 37. Therefore, when the independent intake pipe portion 11 breaks from the mounting portion 33, the intake manifold 10 moves backward toward the rear and toward the outside in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, interference between the intake manifold 10 and the fuel pipe 3 during a vehicle frontal collision can be more effectively suppressed.

[0052] In this embodiment, the mounting portion 33 has, on its outer circumferential surface, a plurality of front lateral ribs 36a and rear lateral ribs 37a extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and the number of rear lateral ribs 37a is greater than the number of front lateral ribs 36a.

[0053] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the mounting portion 33 further has a plurality of front vertical ribs 36b and rear vertical ribs 37b extending in the vehicle width direction so as to intersect with the plurality of front horizontal ribs 36a and rear horizontal ribs 37a, and the rear horizontal ribs 37a and rear vertical ribs 37b are thicker than the front horizontal ribs 36a and front vertical ribs 36b, respectively.

[0054] These configurations increase the rigidity of the rear mounting portion 37, thereby minimizing deformation of the rear mounting portion 37. This makes it possible to more effectively prevent interference between the intake manifold 10 and the fuel pipe 3 during a vehicle frontal collision.

[0055] In this embodiment, a reinforcing rib 33a is provided between the fifth fastening portion 35e and the rear lower end of the mounting portion 33. This makes the peripheral portion of the fifth fastening portion 35e more rigid than the other fastening portions 35a to 35d. This makes it possible to suppress deformation of the rear mounting portion 37 as much as possible. As a result, interference between the intake manifold 10 and the fuel pipe 3 during a vehicle frontal collision can be more effectively suppressed.

[0056] (Other embodiments) The technology disclosed herein is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be substituted without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims.

[0057] For example, in the above-described embodiment, the intake manifold structure is applied to a four-cylinder engine, but the above-described intake manifold structure can be applied to any engine having two or more cylinders.

[0058] In the above-described embodiment, the thickness of the rear mounting portion 37 in the vehicle width direction is made thicker than the thickness of the front mounting portion 36 in the vehicle width direction, thereby making the rigidity of the rear mounting portion 37 higher than that of the front mounting portion 36. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the rigidity of the rear mounting portion 37 may be made higher than that of the front mounting portion 36 by making the number of rear transverse ribs 37a and rear vertical ribs 37b greater than those of the front transverse ribs 36a and front vertical ribs 36b, or by making the thicknesses of the rear transverse ribs 37a and rear vertical ribs 37b thicker than those of the front transverse ribs 36a and front vertical ribs 36b.

[0059] In the above embodiment, the alternator is given as an example of the vehicle part, but the vehicle part is not limited thereto and may be, for example, a motor, a battery, or the like.

[0060] The above-described embodiments are merely illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims, and all modifications and variations within the scope of the claims are within the scope of the present disclosure. [Industrial Applicability]

[0061] The technology disclosed herein is useful as an intake manifold structure having an intake manifold connected to one side in the vehicle width direction of a multi-cylinder engine that is vertically mounted in an engine compartment with the cylinders aligned in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle. [Explanation of symbols]

[0062] 1 Engine 2 Alternator (vehicle part) 3 Fuel piping 10. Intake manifold 11 Independent intake pipe section 33 Mounting part 36 Front mounting part 36a Front horizontal rib 36b Front vertical rib 37 Rear mounting part 37a Rear horizontal rib 37b Rear vertical rib

Claims

1. An intake manifold structure including an intake manifold connected to one side in a vehicle width direction of a multi-cylinder engine that is vertically disposed in an engine room such that the cylinders are aligned in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, A vehicle component is disposed on a vehicle front side of the intake manifold, A fuel pipe through which fuel flows is disposed to extend in a vertical direction on the vehicle rear side of the intake manifold, The intake manifold is A plurality of independent intake pipe sections are formed by branching for each cylinder and arranged in the front-rear direction of the vehicle; an attachment portion provided on an intake downstream end side of the plurality of independent intake pipe portions and connecting the plurality of independent intake pipe portions to the one side portion of the engine in a vehicle width direction; having The mounting portion has a front mounting portion located relatively to the front of the vehicle and a rear mounting portion located relatively to the rear of the vehicle, The rear mounting portion is configured to have a higher rigidity than the front mounting portion, An intake manifold structure, wherein a thickness of the rear mounting portion in a vehicle width direction is greater than a thickness of the front mounting portion in the vehicle width direction.

2. 2. The intake manifold structure according to claim 1, The mounting portion has a plurality of lateral ribs extending in the vehicle front-rear direction on an outer circumferential surface thereof, An intake manifold structure, characterized in that the number of the transverse ribs at the rear mounting portion is greater than the number of the transverse ribs at the front mounting portion.

3. 3. The intake manifold structure according to claim 2, The mounting portion further includes a plurality of vertical ribs extending in a vehicle width direction so as to intersect with the plurality of horizontal ribs, 13. An intake manifold structure, comprising: a rear mounting portion having a width greater than a width of the rear mounting portion; a vertical rib and a horizontal rib, the vertical rib being thicker than the width of the front mounting portion;

4. In the intake manifold structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The intake manifold structure is characterized in that the intake manifold is made of resin.

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