JPH0726966A - Intake control valve - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To suitably generate a swirl by a simple structure in an intake control valve arranged in the intake passage of an internal combustion engine, and for generating the swirl in intake air as well as controlling the air quantity to flow into the internal combustion engine. CONSTITUTION:A valve body 11 capable of blocking up an intake passage 1 is provided in the intake passage 1 and on the upstream side of the intake valve 3 of an internal combustion engine. The valve body 11 and a rotary shaft 13 are fixed by being tilted by 45 deg.. A driving motor 12 capable of turning the rotary shaft by 180 deg. unit and holding it is connected to the rotary shaft 13. When the driving motor 12 turns the rotary shaft 13 by 180 deg. from the state of blocking the intake passage 1 by the valve body 11, the valve body 11 becomes parallel in the longitudinal direction of the intake passage 1 while generating the drift of air in the intake passage 1 in the turning-movement process and then comes in its full opening state.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an intake control valve, and more particularly to an intake control valve disposed in an intake passage of an internal combustion engine for controlling the amount of air flowing into the internal combustion engine and generating swirl in the intake air. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an internal combustion engine, the higher the combustion efficiency of the intake air-fuel mixture and the higher the efficiency of conversion of combustion energy into mechanical energy, the better fuel consumption characteristics and output characteristics can be obtained. At this time, regarding the combustion efficiency,
It is known that it is effective to generate a so-called swirl in the combustion chamber because the flow of intake air has a great influence.

For this reason, conventionally, an intake port shape and a swirl generating mechanism have been devised which can generate an appropriate swirl in an air-fuel mixture sucked into an internal combustion engine. For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1-87827, two intake ports communicating with the intake passage are provided, and air is preferentially introduced into one of the ports under a predetermined operating condition. Discloses an intake control device for generating swirl.

[0004]

However, the intake control device described in the above publication requires an intake port having two ports for each cylinder, and, under a predetermined operating condition, air is supplied to one of the ports. It was also necessary to provide a mechanism for changing the current, and the structure was not always simple.

Further, in order to finish the intake control device having such a structure as a device capable of generating an effective swirl, it is necessary to sufficiently study the shape of the intake port, that is, the shape of the internal combustion engine body, and to research and develop it. It requires a great deal of cost and man-hours, and has a large cost disadvantage.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and a valve body provided in an intake passage of an internal combustion engine is swung open / closed so as to generate a drift of air in the intake passage, which is inexpensive and easy. It is an object of the present invention to provide an intake control valve that can solve the above-mentioned problems by generating swirl in.

[0007]

The above-mentioned object is provided with a valve body arranged in an intake passage of an internal combustion engine, and a drive means for rotationally driving the valve body, and the valve body is rotated. An intake control valve for controlling an effective passage area in the intake passage by a rotary shaft connecting the valve body and the drive means,
This is achieved by an intake control valve fixed at a predetermined angle θ with respect to the valve body.

Further, when the predetermined angle θ is set to 45 ° in the intake control valve, a large change rate of the effective passage area due to the rotation of the valve body is secured, so that the intake air amount can be controlled. It is valid.

Further, in these intake control valves, when fins are provided on the surface of the valve body for restricting the flow direction of the intake air flowing in the intake passage, the swirl strength is increased because the uneven distribution of the intake air is strengthened. Is effective in improving.

[0010]

In the intake control valve according to the present invention, the valve body rotates in the intake passage as it is rotated by the drive means. At this time, the rotary shaft fixed to the valve body is
A predetermined angle θ is formed with respect to the valve body. On the other hand, the valve element is held in the intake passage via a fixed shaft.

Therefore, when the valve body rotates about the fixed shaft as a center of rotation, the angle formed by the valve body and the intake passage changes, and as a result, the space between the outer periphery of the valve body and the inner wall of the intake passage changes. The area and the position of the effective passage formed at the position fluctuate as the valve body rotates. The position of this effective passage is rotationally moved along the inner circumference of the intake passage as the valve body is rotated. At this time, the intake air flowing in the intake passage is concentrated in the effective passage portion, and therefore,
In the intake passage, a drift of intake air is generated which changes its state as the valve body rotates.

Further, the valve element constituting the present invention opens or closes by swirling in the intake passage, and generates a flow velocity in the rotation direction in the intake passage in the process of changing its state. Therefore, in the intake passage, the above-mentioned drift and the flow velocity in the rotation direction are combined to generate a swirl of appropriate strength.

If the angle θ formed between the valve body and the rotary shaft is 45 °, the valve body is ± 45 °, that is, 90 °, while the rotary shaft rotates 360 °. Change the angle within. Therefore, if the state where the angle between the valve body and the intake passage is 90 ° is fully closed, the valve body is parallel to the intake passage when the angle is 0 °, and the intake passage is almost fully opened. It becomes a state.

Further, when the fin is formed on the surface of the valve body, the intake air flows in the intake passage in the direction along the fin. At this time, since the valve body opens or closes while rotating, the collision angle between the fins that rotate together with the valve body and the air flowing through the intake passage gradually changes as the state of the valve body changes. Changes to.

Therefore, the flow direction of the air regulated by the fins is rotated as the valve body is swung, so that the flow passage is more likely to flow in the flow passage than when the fins are not present. A powerful swirl will be generated.

[0016]

1 is a sectional view showing a state in which an intake control valve 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is incorporated in an intake passage 1. Here, the intake passage 1 communicates with an intake port 2 of the internal combustion engine, and also communicates with a fuel supply source such as an air filter, a throttle valve, and an injector (not shown) so that the intake valve 3 provided in the intake port 2 opens. This is a passage through which the air-fuel mixture controlled to have an appropriate amount and air-fuel ratio flows toward the internal combustion engine while the valve is being opened.

A part of the intake passage 1 is provided with the intake control valve 1
It is composed of a fitting member 4 for ensuring a good assembling property of 0. That is, when assembling the intake control valve 10, first, the intake control valve 10 is integrally assembled to the fitting member 4, and then the fitting member 4 is fitted to the main body of the intake passage 1.

The intake control valve 10 corresponds to the valve body 11 for rotating the inside of the intake passage 1 to control the effective passage area in the intake passage 1, the drive means described above, and the drive for rotating the valve body 11. It is configured by a motor 12 and a rotary shaft 13 that connects the valve body 11 and the drive motor 12.

The valve body 11 and the rotary shaft 13 are fixed by fixing the valve body 1
This is performed by inserting the rotary shaft 13 into the rotary shaft insertion port 11a provided in the first unit and fixing the both with bolts 14.
Here, the rotary shaft insertion port 11a is provided so that the rotary shaft 13 is fixed to the valve body 11 with a predetermined angle θ. Particularly, in the present embodiment, the above-mentioned predetermined angle θ is 4
Each member is designed so that the rotation shaft 13 forms an angle of 45 ° with the longitudinal direction of the intake passage 1 while being set at 5 °.

Therefore, when the rotary shaft 13 is at the predetermined rotational angle position, the valve body 11 and the longitudinal direction of the intake passage 1 are perpendicular to each other as shown by the solid line in FIG. Then, when the rotary shaft 13 rotates 180 ° from this state,
As shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 1, the state where the valve body 11 and the longitudinal direction of the intake passage 1 are parallel is established.

In this case, the valve body 11 of this embodiment
Is a disk-shaped member whose outer diameter is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the intake passage 1. Therefore, as described above, when the valve body 11 is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the intake passage 1, the conduction in the intake passage 1 is blocked by the valve body 11 and the fully closed state is established. On the other hand, when the valve body 11 is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the intake passage 1, the conduction state inside the intake passage 1 is hardly blocked by the valve body 11 and the fully open state is established. .

Thus, in this embodiment, the rotary shaft 1
The angle formed by the valve element 11 with respect to the longitudinal direction of the intake passage 1 is changed by 90 ° (± 45 °) at the maximum with the rotation of 3.
It is possible to establish a fully closed state and a fully open state in the intake passage 1, and it is possible to secure a wide control range of the amount of circulating intake air.

When it is not always necessary to control the valve body 11 within the maximum 90 ° range as described above, the predetermined angle θ
It is also possible to set an arbitrary angle as. In this case, the valve body 11 changes the angle formed with the intake passage 1 within a range of ± θ °, and the intake air amount is controlled within that range.

As described above, in the internal combustion engine, generating swirl in intake air is effective in improving combustion efficiency. The intake control valve 10 is characterized in that it functions as a control valve that controls conduction in the intake passage 1 and that it can generate an appropriate swirl in intake air. The principle of swirl generation will be described in detail below, focusing on the operation of the valve body 11 of the intake control valve 10.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the result of a simulation regarding the trajectory of the valve body 11 of the intake control valve 10 changing from the fully closed state to the fully open state. Here, the same figure (A)
4B is a diagram when the trajectory of the valve element 11 is captured from the side surface, and FIG. 8B is a diagram where the trajectory is captured from the upstream side of the intake passage 1.

As can be seen from these drawings, in the process of the valve body 11 shifting from the fully open state to the fully closed state, the air flow in the circumferential direction in the intake passage 1 is accompanied by the rotation of the valve body 11. Occur. Such a flow velocity in the circumferential direction can be obtained by the intake passage 1
Swirl is generated inside, which promotes the mixing of the air taken in from the air filter with the fuel supplied from the injector, etc., and contributes to the improvement of combustion efficiency.

Such an effect is obtained by the valve body 1 as described above.
1 is not only exerted when the state changes from the fully open state to the fully closed state, but is naturally also exerted when transitioning from the fully closed state to the fully opened state. Therefore, when the valve body 11 is appropriately rotated during the operation of the internal combustion engine, a swirl is generated in the intake passage 1 along with the operation, and the combustion efficiency is improved.

By the way, the valve body 11 shown in FIG.
It is understood that the valve element 11 is changing as shown in FIG. That is, FIG.
The fully closed state of the valve body 11 is shown, and thereafter, the state is changed from moment to moment toward FIGS. 3B to 3I to reach the fully closed state.

In the valve opening process shown in FIG. 1, the air-fuel mixture flowing in the intake passage 1 is separated from the inner wall of the intake passage 1 and the valve body 1.
It will flow through the effective passage 15 formed between 1 and 2. The effective passage 15 is shown in FIGS.
While the valve body 11 rotates 180 ° toward, the effective passage area is changed, and the opening position in the intake passage 1 is rotated 90 °.

Therefore, the air-fuel mixture in the valve opening process is accompanied by a strong drift that is concentrated in a specific region in the intake passage 1. Therefore, when the intake valve 3 is opened and the air-fuel mixture flows into the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine, swirl is generated in the combustion chamber due to the uneven flow of the air-fuel mixture, and the intake port 2 becomes a helical port. Swirl can be secured without applying special processing.

Since the drift position is rotated with the rotation of the valve body 11, and the swirl is generated in the air-fuel mixture flowing in the intake passage 1 as described above,
Good swirl with excellent mixing promotion is generated in the combustion chamber. In addition, as shown in FIG.
Not only when the state changes from the fully closed state to the fully opened state,
Naturally, it is also exhibited when shifting from the fully open state to the fully closed state.

As described above, according to the intake control valve 10 of this embodiment, a good swirl can be easily generated without forming the intake port 2 of the internal combustion engine into a special shape. In addition, since it is sufficient to assemble it to the internal combustion engine in this way, even for an internal combustion engine that does not consider the swirl of the intake air at all, it is possible to easily improve the combustion efficiency by the swirl without significantly increasing the cost. can do.

As described above, generating swirl in intake air in an internal combustion engine is effective in improving combustion efficiency, and in turn, in improving fuel economy and output characteristics. On the other hand, there has been devised a method of realizing the fuel consumption and output characteristics of an internal combustion engine by improving energy conversion efficiency by reducing pumping loss.

Here, the pumping loss means that the combustion energy generated when the piston operates against the exhaust pressure and the intake pressure in the exhaust stroke and the intake stroke during operation of the internal combustion engine is converted into mechanical energy. It is the loss caused by being consumed without being used. Therefore, the smaller the pumping loss, the more efficiently the combustion energy can be converted into mechanical energy, and good characteristics can be secured for the internal combustion engine.

As a mechanism for reducing such pumping loss, an intake control valve for controlling conduction of the intake passage is provided upstream of the intake valve of the internal combustion engine, and is realized by appropriately controlling the opening / closing valve timing. Known from the past. Here, as the opening timing control of the intake control valve, early closing control for closing the intake control valve prior to the intake valve, delayed closing control for closing the intake control valve after closing the intake valve, and the like are known.

The principle of reducing the pumping loss by controlling the opening / closing valve timing of the intake control valve will be briefly described below by taking the early closing control as an example.

FIG. 4 shows the pressure (P) in the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine when the opening / closing valve timing control of the intake control valve is not executed.
-The volume (V) diagram (curve shown by a broken line in FIG. 4) and the P-V diagram when the intake control valve is early closed are shown.

As shown by the broken line in the figure, in the compression process of the internal combustion engine, the piston moves from the bottom dead center to the top dead center with both the intake valve and the exhaust valve closed, so that V
Is small and P is large. During this period, the piston, that is, the internal combustion engine, works on the air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber.

When the compression process is completed and the air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber is ignited, the explosion process is started and the combustion pressure rapidly rises, and then the piston is moved from the top dead center to the bottom dead center. Therefore, the P-V curve changes so that the volume V is large and the pressure P is small. During this time, the combustion energy works on the piston.

When the explosion process is completed in this way, the exhaust valve of the internal combustion engine is opened and the exhaust process is started. In this exhaust step, as the piston moves from the bottom dead center to the top dead center, the gas in the combustion chamber is discharged,
The pressure P is a value slightly larger than the atmospheric pressure and has a substantially constant value regardless of V. Therefore, during this period, the internal combustion engine performs work for discharging exhaust gas.

On the other hand, when the exhaust process is completed, the exhaust valve is closed and the intake valve is opened to start the intake process. In this case, since the air-fuel mixture is sucked from the intake port as the piston moves from the top dead center to the bottom dead center, the inside of the combustion chamber has a substantially constant negative pressure regardless of the change in V. In this case, the internal combustion engine will work as much as the negative pressure in the combustion chamber.

That is, in order for the internal combustion engine to perform one cycle operation, it is necessary to give work from the internal combustion engine side in the compression process, the exhaust process, and the intake process.
Of the combustion energy generated in the explosion process, the energy consumed by these cannot be extracted as mechanical energy.

On the other hand, when the early closing control for closing the intake control valve prior to the intake valve is executed during the intake stroke, the P-V diagram in the intake stroke and the compression stroke is the curve shown by the solid line in FIG. It is formed like.

That is, according to the early closing control, the intake passage is blocked before the piston reaches the bottom dead center during the intake stroke. Will be reduced. Therefore, the amount of work required of the internal combustion engine to complete the intake stroke against the negative pressure becomes rather large.

However, since the subsequent compression process is executed in a state where the negative pressure is stored in the combustion chamber, the internal combustion engine is in a state of working until the pressure in the combustion chamber changes to the positive pressure. Accordingly, when the work amount from the intake stroke to the compression stroke until the pressure in the combustion chamber changes to a positive pressure, the energy loss corresponding to at least the shaded area in FIG. 4 is reduced.

As shown in FIG. 4, the early-closing control is adjusted so that the combustion chamber pressure in the subsequent compression process is reduced and the same combustion pressure as when the early-closing control is not executed is generated. If you do, P
The −V curve will coincide with the PV curve shown by the broken line after the explosion process, and the energy loss including the region will be greatly reduced.

As described above, in addition to the intake valve provided to control the conduction of the intake port of the internal combustion engine, the provision of the intake control valve capable of appropriately controlling the conduction timing of the intake passage improves the characteristics of the internal combustion engine. Is effective from the viewpoint of.

At this time, unlike the intake control valve 10 of the present embodiment, the conventionally used intake control valve had a valve body and its rotation axis arranged in the same plane. Then, the rotating shaft is extended perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the intake passage and is rotated 90 ° to realize the fully closed state and the fully opened state.

That is, in the conventional intake control valve, it is necessary to drive the valve body perpendicularly to the flow direction of the intake air flowing through the intake passage, and the drive motor for driving the valve body has a large driving force. Was required. Further, in order to establish both the fully open state and the fully closed position by such a configuration, it is also necessary to have a configuration capable of holding the rotating shaft in 90 ° units.

Therefore, in constructing a conventional intake control valve, it is necessary to use a motor having at least three poles or more in terms of the motor configuration and capable of generating a sufficiently large output as a drive motor. It was a big disadvantage in terms of mounting space and cost.

On the other hand, according to the intake control valve 10 of the present embodiment, as described above, the rotation of the valve body 11 is not performed directly against the flow of intake air. Therefore, the force required to drive the valve body 11 is significantly smaller than that of the conventional intake control valve. Further, in the intake control valve 10, if the valve body 11 can be held in units of 180 °, both the fully open state and the fully closed state can be established. Therefore, the drive motor 12 is realized by a motor having two magnetic poles. You can

In this way, the intake control valve 10 of this embodiment is
Can configure the drive motor 12 with a motor that is smaller in size, saves power, and has a simpler structure than a conventional intake control valve.
It is extremely effective.

When the intake control valve 10 is used to reduce the pumping loss, the operation of the valve element 11 which controls the flow of intake air upstream of the intake valve 3 is sensitively reflected as a change in the intake air amount. It is desirable to be done. Therefore, the valve body 1
The shorter the distance between 1 and the intake valve 3 (“L” in FIG. 1), the more ideal. This is because it is not possible to directly control the flow of air existing between the valve body 11 and the intake valve 3 by opening and closing the valve body 11.

By the way, the intake control valve 10 of this embodiment is
The rotary shaft 13 is held at an angle of 45 ° with respect to the longitudinal direction of the intake passage 1. For this reason, the position where the valve body 11 is disposed is not directly below the drive motor 12, but is closer to the intake valve 3. Therefore, in a situation where the mounting position of the drive motor is restricted due to restrictions on the mounting space, etc., compared to the conventional intake control valve in which the valve body has to be positioned directly below the drive motor, Obviously, the intake control valve 10 of this embodiment is advantageous.

In this way, the intake control valve 10 of this embodiment is
Can easily generate swirl without performing any processing on the intake port 2 of the internal combustion engine, and reliably control the conduction of the intake passage with high responsiveness to reduce pumping loss. Can be planned.

Therefore, according to the intake control valve 10 of the present embodiment, both the combustion efficiency of the air-fuel mixture and the efficiency of conversion of combustion energy into mechanical energy are improved without a significant increase in cost, and the internal combustion engine The fuel consumption characteristics and output characteristics of the engine can be significantly improved.

By the way, the swirl generated in the intake air is
The stronger the uneven flow of air in the intake passage 1, the stronger the flow. 5 to 8 show the valve body 2 of the intake control valve 10.
1, 31, 41, 51 are provided with fins 22, 32, 42, 52 for restricting the flow direction of air to strengthen the uneven flow.

The valve body 21 shown in FIG. 5 gives priority to suppressing the flow resistance at the time of opening the valve, and restricts the air flow direction in one direction between the valve open state and the valve closed state. , Emphasizes drift.

Further, the valve body 31 shown in FIG. 6 constantly regulates the air flow radially from the central portion of the valve body 31 when the valve body 31 changes while rotating from the open state to the closed state. Therefore, the air is efficiently concentrated in the effective passage portion.

Further, the valve body 7 shown in FIG. 7 has a spherical shape formed by the fins 42, has a small flow resistance at the time of full opening, and has a strong drift in a transient state between the fully open state and the fully closed state. It is effective.

Further, FIG. 8 shows a structure in which the fins 52 are three-dimensionally formed. With this structure, as in the case of the valve bodies 21 and 42 shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, a strong drift action is secured in the transient state. It is possible to keep the flow resistance small when fully opened.

Thus, the valve body 2 as shown in FIGS.
According to 1, 31, 41, and 51, in the fully closed state and the fully opened state, the inside of the intake passage 1 can be surely blocked or made conductive, and in the transient state, the flow of the circulating air is appropriately regulated. Then, strong drift can be generated. Therefore, these valve bodies 21, 31, 41, 5
According to 1, it is possible to generate a stronger swirl.

[0063]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the valve body turns about the rotary shaft, the intake air is concentrated in the effective passage formed in the intake passage of the internal combustion engine. The area and position of the effective passage fluctuate as the valve disc turns. Further, the turning itself of the valve element also produces a flow velocity in the rotational direction in the intake passage. Therefore, according to the intake control valve of the present invention, by appropriately turning the valve element, it is possible to generate an appropriate swirl in the intake passage, and without increasing the cost significantly, the combustion efficiency of the internal combustion engine is improved. Can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the valve element is ± 45 ° with respect to the longitudinal direction of the intake passage, that is, 90 degrees.
Since it operates in the range of °, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, it becomes possible to establish the fully open state and the fully closed state only by rotating the rotating shaft by 180 °. Therefore, in the intake control valve according to the present invention, the drive means is 180
As long as it can hold the rotary shaft in units of °, it has a feature that it can be realized with a simple structure and a wide control range of the intake air amount can be secured.

Further, according to the third aspect of the invention, the fins provided on the valve body appropriately regulate the flow direction of the air flowing through the intake passage. Then, this restricting direction rotates with the turning of the valve element, and turbulent flow is generated in the intake passage. Therefore, the intake control valve according to the present invention can generate a more powerful swirl than the intake control valves according to the first and second aspects.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing the configuration of an embodiment of an intake control valve according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a locus of a valve body of an intake control valve of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram continuously showing the locus of the valve body of the intake control valve of the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the effect of the intake control valve of the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a first embodiment of a valve body suitable for generating swirl.

FIG. 6 is a second embodiment of a valve body suitable for generating swirl.

FIG. 7 is a third example of a valve body suitable for generating swirl.

FIG. 8 is a fourth embodiment of a valve body suitable for generating swirl.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 intake passage 2 intake port 3 intake valve 10 intake control valve 11, 21, 31, 41, 51 valve body 12 drive motor 13, 23, 33, 43, 53 rotating shaft 15 effective passage 22, 32, 42, 52 fin

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An effective passage in the intake passage, comprising a valve body arranged in an intake passage of an internal combustion engine, and drive means for rotatably driving the valve body, and rotating the valve body. An intake control valve for controlling an area, wherein a rotary shaft connecting the valve body and the drive means is fixed at a predetermined angle θ with respect to the valve body. 2. The intake control valve according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined angle θ is 45 °. 3. The intake control valve according to claim 1 or 2, wherein fins are provided on a surface of the valve body to restrict a flow direction of intake air flowing through the intake passage. Intake control valve.