Engine with electrical component box

Abstract

To provide an engine with an electric component box that can install an electric component box to an engine so as not to be subject to thermal impact as much as possible and not to become bulky and is improved so as not to take unnecessary man hours for checking and extra time due to arrangement of customer convenience.SOLUTION: An engine with an electric component box includes an electric component box 1 for storing electrical components for an engine which is arranged while being supported to an intake manifold 9 laterally outward on an opposite cylinder head side of the intake manifold 9. The electric component box 1 is installed while being positioned on an outline L of a radiator 2 in view of an axial direction of a crankshaft 11.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an engine in which an electric component box is assembled to the engine itself, that is, an engine with an electric component box.

Background Art

[0002] An electric component box, which is a housing case containing various sensors, an engine control ECU, a fault diagnosis device, and other engine electric components, for example, a fuse box (or junction box), was provided according to the convenience of the engine delivery destination. That is, the mounting location was determined by the design of the vehicle body side on which the engine is mounted, such as a lawn tractor (mower), a rice transplanter, a forklift, etc.

[0003] For example, in a backhoe (construction machine) shown in Patent Document 1, a fuse box (314) is arranged above a battery (312) located at a position away from the engine in the engine room. Also, in a work vehicle shown in Patent Document 2, the fuse box (73) was arranged above the battery (55) or beside the rear seat configuration frame (23).

[0004] That is, the mounting positions of the fuse boxes for engines were different from each other depending on the engine models and not unified. Therefore, there was a chronic problem that it took extra man-hours and time to confirm and check the locations of the fuse boxes and the harnesses related to them for each engine delivery destination.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

[0006] The objective of the present invention is to provide an improved engine with an electrical component box that, through further structural improvements, can be mounted on the engine in a way that minimizes thermal effects and is not bulky, thereby eliminating the need for extra checking time and effort due to customer-specified placement. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In an engine with an electrical component box, An electrical components box housing electrical components for the engine is positioned to the side of the intake manifold, opposite the cylinder head, and outside the intake manifold. The aforementioned electrical component box is vibration-damped and supported by the intake manifold. A radiator and cooling fan are positioned at one end of the crankshaft in the axial direction. The electrical component box is provided such that, when viewed in the axial direction of the crankshaft, it is located on or inside the outer line of the radiator. The cooling fan is configured to provide air cooling to the electrical component box. The aforementioned crank shaft With the axial direction of the engine defined as the front-rear direction, and the side with the radiator and cooling fan defined as the front, and the opposite side defined as the rear, the intake manifold has a rectangular box-shaped intake body that is elongated in the front-rear direction, and with the width direction of the engine, which intersects the front-rear direction, defined as the lateral direction, and the side with the electrical component box defined as the lateral side, the intake body is positioned on the lateral side of the cylinder head's head cover. The electrical component box is provided with a bracket portion that protrudes forward on its front end surface, and a bracket portion that protrudes rearward on its rear end surface, Front end face and the rear end face Both bracket portions are vibration-damped and supported by the intake manifold via vibration dampers. A gap is formed between the intake body and the electrical component box, which is longitudinal in the front-to-back direction and oriented along the vertical plane. In a view along the axial direction of the crankshaft, both bracket portions are provided on the outer line of the radiator, and the gap and the vibration damper are provided so as to be contained within the outer line of the radiator.

[0008] Regarding the present invention, any feature configurations or means other than those described above are as described in the claims. Claim 2 See below for further information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, since the electrical component box containing electrical components for the engine is provided on the engine itself, the electrical component box can be inspected and maintained before the engine is delivered to the customer. In other words, conventionally, it was necessary to go to the customer's site to assemble the electrical component box in a location other than the engine, or to find the location where it was installed other than the engine at the customer's request to inspect and maintain it, which required time and effort. However, with the present invention, these time and effort can be eliminated.

[0010] Since the electrical components box is located on the intake side (the engine's intake side), which is relatively colder, it can be installed in an environment with low thermal load, even though it is located near the engine, ensuring stable operation of the electrical components housed in the box and good maintainability.

[0011] Furthermore, since the electrical components box is located on the side of the intake manifold opposite the cylinder head, it is possible to access and work on the electrical components box while keeping the engine from being bulky or taking up too much space laterally.

[0012] As a result, we can provide an improved engine with an electrical component box that minimizes heat damage and reduces bulk, thus eliminating the need for extra checking time and effort due to customer-specific placement requirements. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1]Show the Inlet Manifold ASSY (Intake Manifold with Fuse Box), (A) is a plan view, (B) is a right side view [Figure 2] Show the Inlet Manifold ASSY of FIG. 1, (A) is a rear view, (B) is a front view [Figure 3] Show the Inlet Manifold ASSY of FIG. 1, (A) is a bottom view, (B) is a perspective view seen from the upper right rear [Figure 4] Right side view of the engine with an electric component box [Figure 5] Front view of the radiator of the engine of FIG. 4 seen through transparency [Figure 6] Plan view of the engine of FIG. 4 [Figure 7] Rear view of the engine of FIG. 4 [Figure 8] Perspective view of the engine of FIG. 4 seen from the upper right front through the radiator

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the engine with an electric component box according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, when applied to a spark ignition engine (SI engine) suitable for various working machines such as a lawn mower and a small forklift

[0015] In FIGS. 4 to 8, an industrial SI (Spark Ignition) engine E has a cylinder block 12 having a crankshaft 11, a cylinder head 13 assembled on the cylinder block 12, a head cover 14 assembled on the cylinder head 13, an oil pan 15 assembled under the cylinder block 12, a transmission case (timing transmission case) 16 assembled at one end of the cylinder block 12, and the like. On the upper surface side of the head cover 14, a plurality (three) of coil-integrated plug caps 19 and a pressure regulating valve 20 are provided

[0016] In this engine E, in the axial direction of the crankshaft 11, the side with the cooling fan 17 is the front, the side with the flywheel 18 is the rear, the side with the intake manifold 9 is the left, and the side with the exhaust manifold 10 and the alternator 21 is the left In front of the transmission case 16, there is a transmission belt 23 that is wound around the crank pulley 11A, the fan pulley 17A for driving the cooling fan (engine cooling fan) 17 and the water pump 22, and the driven pulley 21A of the alternator 21.

[0017] On the left side of engine E (of the cylinder block 12) are the exhaust manifold 10, alternator 21, starter (not shown), etc. (see Figures 5-7). On the right side of engine E (of the cylinder block 12) are the intake manifold 9, engine ECU 6, fuse box (an example of an "electrical components box") 1, etc. (see Figures 5-7, 8). At the front of engine E are the drive belt 23, cooling fan 17, radiator 2, etc. (see Figures 4-6, 8), and at the rear are the flywheel 18, gas mixer 7 connected to the rear end of the intake manifold 9, vaporizer (gas regulator) 8, etc. (see Figures 4-7).

[0018] In front of the cooling fan 17, a radiator 2, which has a rectangular shape when viewed from the front, is positioned vertically, extending in all directions. A fan shroud 3 is provided on the rear of the radiator 2, and the cooling fan 17 is positioned inside the fan shroud 3. The rotation axis (notation omitted) of the fan pulley 17A is set at the height level of the lower end of the cylinder head 13.

[0019] As shown in Figures 4 to 8, the radiator 2 is composed of an upper tank section 2A, a radiator core 2B, and a lower tank section 2C. The upper tank section 2A, which is the inlet for the coolant, and the lower tank section 2C, which is the outlet for the coolant, are connected to inlet and outlet radiator hoses 2a and 2b, respectively. The inlet radiator hose 2a is connected to the water flange 5, and the outlet radiator hose 2b is connected to the intake passage 22a of the water pump 22.

[0020] The lower end of radiator 2 is set to approximately the same height as the crankshaft 11, and the upper end of radiator 2 is set to a height level above the top surface of the head cover 14. The left end of radiator 2 is set to approximately the same position as the left end of alternator 21 (or the left end of exhaust manifold 10), and the right end of radiator 2 is set to protrude slightly (50-90 mm) to the right of the right end of intake manifold 9.

[0021] As shown in Figures 1 to 3, a fuse box 1, which houses electrical components for the engine such as fuses 30 and relays 31, is mounted and supported on the intake manifold 9, located on the side of the intake manifold 9 opposite the cylinder head (right side). In other words, the intake manifold assembly A is formed by integrating the fuse box 1 with the intake manifold 9. The intake manifold 9 is bolted to the right side of the cylinder head 13, and the fuse box 1 is mounted to the intake manifold 9 in a vibration-damped state at a position midway between the front and rear on the right side of the intake manifold 9, using two vibration dampers at the front and rear. The five fuses 30 are arranged from back to front, for example, for AC, ST, BAT, VIC2, and STRLY, and the three relays 31 are arranged from back to front, for example, for starter relay, power relay, and ETV relay.

[0022] The intake manifold 9 comprises three branch pipe sections 9B, each separated for each intake port (not shown) cylinder, a mounting flange 9C connecting the ends of each branch pipe section 9B, and a single intake body 9A communicating with the base end of each branch pipe section 9B. The intake body 9A has a long rectangular shape, with a connection hole 24 formed in the front wall 9a for connecting an air cleaner (not shown), a communication hole 25 formed in the rear wall 9b for communicating with the throttle body 8, and a mounting section 26 formed in the upper wall 9c for mounting various sensors. In addition, a long, vertically oriented, strip-shaped mounting plate (made of metal, etc.) 27 is attached to the lower right end of the intake body 9A by two mounting bolts 28 at the front and rear.

[0023] The pair of vibration dampers 4,4 are positioned as far apart as possible in the front-to-back direction along the length of the fuse box 1, thus providing elastic support to the fuse box 1 while preventing excessive vibration. Furthermore, the mounting plate 27 to which the vibration dampers 4,4 are secured with nuts is attached to the intake manifold 9 with a pair of mounting bolts 28 that are spaced further apart in the front-to-back direction than the overall length of the plate, so as not to interfere with the fuse box 1. Therefore, the fuse box 1 and the mounting plate 27 with the two vibration dampers 4,4 attached can be easily and conveniently attached to and detached from the intake manifold 9 using tools without interfering with the fuse box 1.

[0024] As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the fuse box 1 consists of an open housing section 1A and a bottomless lid section 1B that covers the upper side of the housing section 1A. The housing section 1A has a bottom section 1C with a notch (or hole) 1c for routing wiring and the main wire harness 1W. The bottom section 1C may be integrally formed with the housing section 1A or it may be detachably attached. Bracket sections 1a, 1a are formed on the front and rear of the housing section 1A, projecting forward or backward, and these bracket sections 1a, 1a are supported on the mounting plate 27 via vibration dampers 4, 4.

[0025] The vibration damper 4 is preferably a general vibration damping rubber having a pair of screw-shafted discs 4A, 4A and cylindrical rubber 4B integrated between each of the discs 4a, 4a of the screw-shafted discs 4A, 4A by baking or the like, but other types are also acceptable. Each screw shaft 4b is arranged in a left-right direction and is fastened with a nut through the mounting plate 27 and bracket portion 1a at a point near each mounting bolt 28 between the pair of mounting bolts 28, 28.

[0026] The front and rear pair of bosses 29, 29, into which the mounting bolts 28 are screwed, are formed on the intake manifold 9, extending to the right in connection with the intake body 9A and the front and rear branch pipe sections 9B, respectively. The mounting plate 27 is provided with a slight distance between it and the housing box section 1A in the left-right direction, so that even if the fuse box 1 shakes relative to the intake manifold 9 due to engine vibrations, these two components 1 and 9 do not interfere with each other.

[0027] As shown in Figures 5 and 7, in a view in the front-to-back direction (view in the direction of the crankshaft 11 axis), the fuse box 1 is positioned so as to fit on (or inside) the outer line L of the radiator 2. More specifically, the left-to-right position of the fuse box 1 is set such that the rightmost line rL extending vertically along the outer line L of the radiator 2 overlaps with the left-to-right central area of ​​the fuse box 1. Also, as shown in Figures 4 and 8, the ECU 6 for engine control is located below and behind the fuse box 1.

[0028] As shown in Figures 4 to 8, the ECU 6 consists of one or more ECU control components (not shown) housed in an ECU case 6A, and a pair of front and rear ECU wire harnesses 32, 32 are connected to it, extending downward from the bottom of the ECU case 6A. These ECU wire harnesses 32, 32, along with a main wire harness 1W connected to the fuse box 1 and a sub-wire harness 33 that is electrically connected to various engine accessories, are bundled together to form the engine harness 34.

[0029] As shown in Figures 4, 5, and 8, a gasoline rail 35 is routed in the front-to-back direction between the intake manifold 9 and the fuse box 1, specifically directly below the front and rear vibration dampers 4, 4. Between the fuse box 1 and the ECU 6, a wire harness (part of the wire harness) 36 is routed in the front-to-back direction, a wire harness (part of the wire harness) 37 is routed diagonally downwards and forwards, and a wire harness (part of the wire harness) 38 is routed diagonally upwards and backwards, from top to bottom. In addition, a case protrusion (part of the crankcase) 39 is formed diagonally downwards and forwards of the fuse box 1 in the cylinder block 12 (diagonally upwards and forwards of the ECU 6).

[0030] With the above configuration, the following effects (1) to (6) can be obtained. (1) Since the fuse box is installed in the engine, the time and effort required to go to the engine delivery site (customer's site) and install the fuse box in a vehicle body or other location other than the engine, or to locate a fuse box that is installed elsewhere due to the customer's circumstances, and then inspect and maintain it, can be reduced or decreased. In other words, there is an advantage in being able to inspect and maintain the electrical component box before the engine is delivered.

[0031] (2) By simply adding two bosses 29, 29 to the intake manifold 9, an economical and rational configuration for installing the fuse box 1 on the engine E can be realized. (3) Since the fuse box 1 is located on the intake side (intake side of the cylinder block 12), which is relatively colder, it can be installed in an environment with low thermal load while still being located in the engine area, ensuring stable operation of the electrical components housed within and good maintainability.

[0032] (4) The fuse box 1 is positioned to the side of the intake manifold 9, which has the advantage of making it easy to access and work on the fuse box without making the engine bulky. (5) Since the fuse box 1 is positioned on the outer line L of the radiator 2 when viewed in the axial direction of the crankshaft 11, the air cooling effect of the cooling fan 17 reaches the fuse box 1 sufficiently, further reducing the thermal load.

[0033] (6) Since the fuse box 1 is attached to the intake manifold 9, the intake manifold 9 can be pre-assembled with the fuse box 1 as an intake manifold assembly A. Therefore, compared to assembling the intake manifold 9 and the fuse box 1 separately to the engine, only the intake manifold assembly A needs to be assembled to the engine (to the cylinder head 13), which has the advantage of reducing assembly man-hours and time. (summary) Embodiments of the present invention have the following configurations. In other words, as shown in Figure 5, an electrical component box (1) for housing electrical components for the engine is positioned laterally outside the intake manifold (9) on the side opposite the cylinder head, and the electrical component box (1) is vibration-damped and supported by the intake manifold (9). As shown in Figure 8, a radiator (2) and a cooling fan (17) are arranged at one end of the crankshaft (11) in the axial direction, and the electrical component box (1) is positioned so as to be on or inside the outer line (L) of the radiator (2) when viewed in the axial direction of the crankshaft (11). The cooling fan (17) is configured to provide air cooling to the electrical component box (1). As shown in Figure 8, the crank shaft With the axial direction of (11) being the front-rear direction, and the side of the front-rear direction where the radiator (2) and the cooling fan (17) are located being the front side, and the opposite side being the rear side, the intake manifold (9) is equipped with a rectangular box-shaped intake body (9A) that is elongated in the front-rear direction, and with the width direction of the engine intersecting the front-rear direction being the lateral direction, and the side of the lateral direction where the electrical component box (1) is located being the lateral side, the intake body (9A) is positioned on the lateral side of the head cover (14) of the cylinder head (13). As shown in Figures 1(A) and 1(B), the electrical component box (1) has a bracket portion (1a) on its front end surface that protrudes forward, and a bracket portion (1a) on its rear end surface that protrudes rearward, Front end face and the rear end face Both bracket portions (1a)(1a) are vibration-damped and supported by the intake manifold (9) via vibration-damping devices (4)(4). As shown in Figure 3(B), a gap (1C) is formed between the intake body (9A) and the electrical component box (1) that is longitudinal in the front-to-back direction and oriented along the vertical plane. As shown in Figure 5, in an axial view of the crankshaft (11), the gap (1C) and the vibration dampers (4)(4) are positioned to fit inside the outer line (L) of the radiator (2). The two bracket portions (1a)(1a) are located on the outer line (L) of the radiator (2). As shown in Figure 8, the upper wall (9c) of the intake body (9A) is positioned on one side of the head cover (14), and as shown in Figures 1(B) and 3(B), the upper surface (9ca) of the upper wall (9c) of the intake body (9A) is positioned higher than the electrical component box (1) and is formed to align with the horizontal plane.

[0034] [Another embodiment] Various types of electrical component boxes 1 are possible, including fuse boxes, boxes housing ECUs, and junction boxes (component boxes that incorporate components such as relays and fuses and have a centralized connection function for electrical circuits).

[0035] Alternatively, the fuse box 1 may be replaced with a vibration damper 4 and mounted to the intake manifold 9 or other locations (cylinder block 12, transmission case 16, etc.) using a heat-shielding connector or a connector that provides both vibration damping and heat shielding. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0036] 1. Electrical component box (fuse box) 2 radiators 6 ECU 9. Intake Manifold 11 Crank Axle L Outer line (radiator)

Claims

1. An electrical components box housing electrical components for the engine is positioned to the side of the intake manifold, opposite the cylinder head, and outside the intake manifold. The aforementioned electrical component box is vibration-damped and supported by the intake manifold. A radiator and cooling fan are positioned at one end of the crankshaft in the axial direction. The electrical component box is provided such that, when viewed in the axial direction of the crankshaft, it is located on or inside the outer line of the radiator. The cooling fan is configured to provide air cooling to the electrical component box. The axial direction of the crankshaft is defined as the front-rear direction, with the side containing the radiator and cooling fan being the front and the opposite side being the rear, the intake manifold comprises a rectangular box-shaped intake body that is elongated in the front-rear direction, the width direction of the engine intersecting the front-rear direction is defined as the lateral direction, with the side containing the electrical component box being defined as the lateral side, and the intake body is positioned on the lateral side of the cylinder head's head cover. The electrical component box has a bracket portion that protrudes forward from its front end surface and a bracket portion that protrudes rearward from its rear end surface, and both the front and rear end surface bracket portions are vibration-damped and supported by the intake manifold via vibration dampers. A gap is formed between the intake body and the electrical component box, which is longitudinal in the front-to-back direction and oriented along the vertical plane. An engine with an electrical component box, wherein, in a view in the axial direction of the crankshaft, the gap and the vibration damper are positioned to fit inside the outer casing of the radiator.

2. The engine with an electrical component box according to claim 1, wherein the upper wall of the intake body is positioned on one side of the head cover, and the upper surface of the upper wall of the intake body is formed at a higher position than the electrical component box and in a direction along the horizontal plane.

3. The engine with an electrical component box according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the ECU for the engine is located below the electrical component box.

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