Protective structure of catalytic device

Abstract

To provide a protection structure of a catalyst device which enables grass entering into a periphery of a catalyst device to be removed properly while protecting the catalyst device properly.SOLUTION: A protection structure of a catalyst device 10 is disposed below a floor of a vehicle and includes: a guard member 18 provided below the catalyst device 10 and configured to protect the catalyst device 10; and a plate-like brackets 16 connecting a fixing member 14 located above the guard member 18 with the guard member 18. In the bracket 16, a width of its upper part is smaller than a width of its lower part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This specification discloses a protection structure for a catalytic device disposed under the floor of a vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] Normally, an exhaust pipe for guiding exhaust gas discharged from the engine to the outside of the vehicle is provided under the floor of a vehicle equipped with an engine. A catalytic device for purifying harmful substances contained in the exhaust gas is provided in the middle of this exhaust pipe. The catalytic device is a device that purifies harmful substances contained in the exhaust gas by oxidation or reduction.

[0003] As described above, such a catalytic device is disposed under the floor of the vehicle. Therefore, as the vehicle travels, foreign objects on the road surface may collide with the catalytic device, and the catalytic device may be damaged. Thus, conventionally, it has been proposed to provide a guard member that is disposed below the catalytic device and protects the catalytic device.

[0004] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which a liquid addition valve for injecting a reaction liquid for purifying exhaust gas into the exhaust gas is disposed under the floor of a vehicle, and a guard plate for protecting the liquid addition valve is further provided. The guard plate has a protection plate that covers the liquid addition valve from below and a heat shield plate that extends upward from the edge of the protection plate.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] However, in the case of the guard plate of Patent Document 1, grass that has entered the gap between the protection plate and the liquid addition valve cannot be appropriately removed.

[0007] Therefore, this specification discloses a protective structure for a catalyst device that can properly protect the catalyst device and properly remove grass that has grown around the catalyst device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The catalytic converter protection structure disclosed herein is a protective structure for a catalytic converter located under the floor of a vehicle, comprising: a guard member provided below the catalytic converter and protecting the catalytic converter; a fixing member located above the guard member; and a plate-shaped bracket connecting the guard member, wherein the bracket has a lower width smaller than its upper width. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the protective structure for the catalyst device disclosed herein, the bracket can cut the grass, thus allowing for the proper removal of grass that has grown around the catalyst device. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This is a schematic side view of the area surrounding the catalyst device. [Figure 2] This is a bottom view of the area around the catalyst unit, seen from below. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] The protective structure of the catalytic converter 10 will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a schematic side view of the area around the catalytic converter 10. Figure 2 is a bottom view of the area around the catalytic converter 10, viewed from below. In each figure, Fr, Up, and Rh indicate the front, top, and right side of the vehicle, respectively.

[0012] An exhaust pipe 12 is located under the vehicle floor, which guides exhaust gas from the engine to the outside of the vehicle. The catalytic converter 10 is installed along the path of this exhaust pipe 12. The catalytic converter 10 is a purification device that purifies harmful substances contained in the exhaust gas by oxidation or reduction. The catalytic converter 10 contains a catalyst that activates harmful substances. Such a catalytic converter 10 is, for example, a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) device. An SCR is a catalytic converter that reacts ammonia (NH3) with nitrogen oxides (NOx) to reduce them to nitrogen (N2) and water (H2O). However, the catalytic converter 10 is not limited to an SCR device and may be other types of catalytic converters. For example, the catalytic converter 10 may be a three-way catalytic converter that oxidizes and reduces hydrocarbons (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) along with nitrogen oxides (NOx).

[0013] In any case, as shown in Figure 1, the catalytic converter 10 has a larger diameter than the exhaust pipe 12 and protrudes downwards. Therefore, as the vehicle moves, road obstacles may interfere with the catalytic converter 10, causing damage to it. To prevent such damage to the catalytic converter 10, the vehicle is further equipped with a guard member 18 to protect the catalytic converter 10.

[0014] The guard member 18 includes a protective plate 22 (not visible in Figure 1, see Figure 2), a connecting fitting 24, and a side plate 20. The protective plate 22 is a flat plate-shaped member located directly below the catalytic converter 10, covering most of the catalytic converter 10 from below. The connecting fitting 24 is attached to the vehicle-width end of the protective plate 22. The protective plate 22 is connected to the side plate 20 via this connecting fitting 24.

[0015] The side plate 20 is a plate-shaped member positioned to the side and below the catalyst device 10. The side plate 20 is positioned such that its thickness direction is approximately perpendicular to the vertical direction. The other end of the connecting fitting 24 is attached to this side plate 20.

[0016] These guard members 18 are suspended and held from the fixing member 14 by a bracket 16. The fixing member 14 is a member fixed to the vehicle body. The fixing member 14 may be, for example, the vehicle frame (e.g., a side member or cross member), or an additional member fastened to the vehicle frame to fix the guard member 18. In this example, the fixing member 14 is a rod-shaped member extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle at a position adjacent to the catalytic converter 10 in the vehicle width direction. Both ends of the fixing member 14 are fastened to the vehicle frame directly or indirectly.

[0017] Bracket 16 connects the fixing member 14 and the guard member 18. In this example, bracket 16 is positioned such that its plate thickness direction is approximately perpendicular to the vertical direction. Also, as shown in Figure 1, multiple brackets 16 (three in the illustrated example) are arranged with spacing in the front-to-back direction.

[0018] As shown in Figure 1, each bracket 16 has a shape close to an inverted triangle, with its width narrowing from the top to the bottom. In other words, the lower part of the bracket 16 is narrower than the upper part. Alternatively, the front edge of the bracket 16 slopes backward as it moves downward. This configuration allows for the effective removal of grass that has grown between the guard member 18 and the catalyst device 10.

[0019] In other words, as shown in Figure 1, a small gap is formed between the guard member 18 and the catalytic converter 10. As the vehicle moves, long grass 100 growing from the ground may enter this gap. This long grass 100 may then become entangled in the guard member 18 or the catalytic converter 10 and accumulate there.

[0020] In this example, as described above, the bracket 16 that supports the guard member 18 has a substantially inverted triangular shape. Such a bracket 16 functions as a blade for cutting long grass 100. That is, as the vehicle travels, the front edge of the bracket 16 is inclined as described above. Therefore, as the vehicle travels, the grass 100 that abuts against the front edge slides downward along the front edge. During this sliding-down process, stress is applied to the grass 100, and the grass 100 is cut.

[0021] As a result, the long grass 100 that attempts to enter between the guard member 18 and the catalytic device 10 is cut short by the bracket 16. By cutting the grass 100 short, the grass 100 is not entangled with the guard member 18 or the catalytic device 10. As a result, the grass 100 that enters between the guard member 18 and the catalytic device 10 can be effectively removed.

[0022] As is clear from the above description, in this example, by making the bracket 16 that supports the catalytic device 10 have a shape in which the width of the lower part is smaller than the width of the upper part, the bracket 16 can also function as a plate for cutting the grass 100. In other words, there is no need to separately provide a dedicated member for cutting the grass 100. As a result, the grass 100 can be effectively removed while avoiding cost increases. Also, as described above, in this example, a plurality of brackets 16 are provided at intervals in the front-rear direction. In this case, the possibility that the grass 100 that could not be cut by the first bracket 16 can be cut by the subsequent brackets 16 is increased. As a result, the grass 100 can be removed more effectively.

[0023] Note that the configurations described so far are examples, and may be appropriately changed as long as the configuration described in claim 1 is provided. For example, the configuration of the guard member 18 may be appropriately changed. Also, the bracket 16 may have other shapes as long as the width of the lower part is smaller than the width of the upper part. Also, the number of brackets 16 may be one or four or more.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0024] 10 Catalytic converter, 12 Exhaust pipe, 14 Fixing member, 16 Bracket, 18 Guard member, 20 Side plate, 22 Protective plate, 24 Connecting fitting.

Claims

[Claim 1] A protective structure for a catalytic converter located under the floor of a vehicle, A guard member provided below the catalyst device to protect the catalyst device, A fixing member located above the guard member, and a plate-shaped bracket connecting the guard member, The bracket is provided such that the width of its lower part is smaller than the width of its upper part. A protective structure for a catalyst device, characterized by the following features.

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