JPH11324732A - Throttle valve device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve workability and reliability at the time assembling work by providing an engaging pin engaging with a turning angle sensor toward an end of a valve shaft. SOLUTION: A throttle body 1 is provide with a valve shaft 5 turnably, while the valve shaft 5 is provided with a valve element 8 opening/closing a throttle chamber 2. An engaging pin 24 is provided in a pin inserting hole of the valve shaft 5, and the engaging pin 24 is engaged to a turning lever 17 of a turning angle sensor 14. When the valve shaft 5 is turned with a wire drum 9, the turning is transmitted to the turning angle sensor 14 through the engaging pin 24 to be detected as an opening of the valve element 8 by the turning angle sensor 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a throttle valve device suitably used for adjusting an intake air amount of, for example, an automobile engine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an automobile engine or the like is provided with a throttle valve device for adjusting an intake air amount of the engine. This type of conventional throttle valve device includes a throttle body provided with a throttle chamber forming an intake passage of an engine, and a throttle body rotatably provided on the throttle body. A protruding valve shaft, a valve body positioned in the throttle chamber, provided on the valve shaft, rotating with the valve shaft to open and close the intake passage, and a valve shaft provided on one end side of the valve shaft. A wire drum, and a rotation angle sensor having a rotation lever connected to the other end side of the valve shaft and detecting a rotation angle of the rotation lever as an opening of the valve body. I have.

[0003] At the other end of the valve shaft, an engagement lever made of a long metal piece or the like is provided. The engagement lever is caulked and fixed to the outer periphery of the other end of the valve shaft via a mounting hole provided on the base end, and the distal end projects radially outward from the valve shaft, and the distal end is It is engaged with a turning lever of a turning angle sensor attached to the throttle body. The wire drum is connected to an accelerator pedal of the vehicle via a wire.

[0004] When the driver of the vehicle depresses the accelerator pedal, the wire drum rotates together with the valve shaft via the wire, whereby the valve element opens.
The rotation angle sensor rotates the rotation lever in a state in which the rotation lever is engaged with the engagement lever on the valve shaft side, and thereby outputs a detection signal corresponding to the rotation angle of the valve shaft to a control unit for engine control. And so on.

[0005]

In the prior art described above, the engaging lever is fixed by caulking to the valve shaft. Therefore, when assembling these, the other end of the valve shaft is attached to the engaging lever. After being inserted into the hole, it is necessary to press and deform the base end side of the engagement lever to fix it to the valve shaft while maintaining this state, and there is a problem that the assembling operation is troublesome.

In addition, when the engagement lever is caulked and fixed to the valve shaft, the protruding position of the engagement lever tends to fluctuate in the rotation direction of the valve shaft due to the pressing force at the time of caulking.
The relationship between the valve closing position of the valve element determined via the engagement lever and the initial position of the rotation lever may vary, which causes a problem that the detection accuracy and reliability of the rotation angle sensor are reduced. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. In the present invention, a connecting structure for a rotation angle sensor can be easily arranged with respect to a valve shaft, and the opening degree of a valve body can be adjusted. It is an object of the present invention to provide a throttle valve device that can be stably detected by a moving angle sensor and that can improve reliability.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a throttle body provided with a throttle chamber forming an intake passage of an internal combustion engine; A valve shaft protruding from the throttle chamber on both sides in the axial direction, a valve body provided in the valve shaft located in the throttle chamber, and rotating with the valve shaft to open and close the intake passage; The present invention is applied to a throttle valve device comprising: a rotation lever connected to a shaft end of the valve shaft; and a rotation angle sensor for detecting a rotation angle of the rotation lever as an opening of the valve body.

A feature of the structure adopted by the first aspect of the present invention is that a pin insertion hole is formed in the shaft end side of the valve shaft in a radial direction, and the valve shaft is provided in the pin insertion hole. The present invention has a configuration in which an engagement pin is provided that protrudes radially outward from the outer peripheral side and engages with a rotation lever of the rotation angle sensor.

[0010] With this configuration, the engagement pin projecting radially from the valve shaft can be engaged with the rotation lever of the rotation angle sensor. When the valve shaft rotates, the rotation lever is rotated by the engagement pin according to the rotation angle, and the rotation angle of the valve shaft can be detected by the rotation angle sensor.

Further, as in the second aspect of the present invention, the engagement pin is formed to protrude only in one radial direction from the outer peripheral side of the valve shaft, so that the engagement pin is formed in a short length to save material. can do.

Further, in the invention according to claim 3, the pin insertion hole is formed as a bottomed hole opened on the outer peripheral side of the valve shaft, and the engagement pin is fixed at the base end side in the pin insertion hole. The distal end projects radially from the valve shaft.

Thus, only the distal end of the engagement pin can be projected from the pin insertion hole of the valve shaft, the engagement pin can be formed to be short, and the projection position of the engagement pin can be determined by the pin insertion hole. Can be determined.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the rotation angle sensor includes a sensor case fixed to the throttle body and a protruding end that is rotatably provided on the sensor case and protrudes toward the valve shaft. A rotation shaft provided with the rotation lever on the side thereof, a sliding brush provided in the rotation shaft located in the sensor case, and slidably in contact with the sliding brush provided in the sensor case. And a resistor.

Thus, the rotation of the valve shaft can be transmitted to the rotation shaft via the engagement pin and the rotation lever, and the rotation angle is detected as a change in resistance between the sliding brush and the resistor. be able to.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a throttle valve device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 3 show an embodiment according to the present invention. In the present embodiment, a throttle valve device for an automobile engine will be described as an example.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a throttle body formed by means such as aluminum die casting.
Are disposed on both sides of a throttle chamber 2 connected in the middle of an intake passage (not shown) of the engine, and radially opposite each other with the throttle chamber 2 interposed therebetween, and protrude outward from the throttle chamber 2. It is composed of bearing accommodating portions 3, 4 and the like. The distal end side of the bearing accommodating portion 4 is a cylindrical sensor mounting portion 4A for mounting a rotation angle sensor 14 described later.

5 is a bearing housing 3 of the throttle body 1,
4 is a valve shaft rotatably inserted by using each bearing 6 in
The valve shaft 5 has an axially intermediate portion disposed in the throttle chamber 2, one end 5 </ b> A protruding outward from the bearing housing 3, and the other end 5 </ b> B at the sensor mounting portion of the bearing housing 4. It protrudes into 4A. And the other end 5B of the valve shaft 5
As shown in FIG. 2, a bottomed pin insertion hole 7 into which an engagement pin 24 described later is inserted is bored in a radial direction on the outer periphery of the.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a valve body located in the throttle chamber 2 and fixed to the valve shaft 5. The valve body 8 is formed of a circular metal plate or the like corresponding to the inner diameter of the throttle chamber 2. The valve body 8 opens and closes the intake passage of the engine by being rotated together with the valve shaft 5, and adjusts the intake air amount of the engine.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a wire drum provided on one end 5A of the valve shaft 5 in a detented state using a nut 10 or the like. The wire drum 9 is a semicircular drum portion extending in the rotation direction of the valve shaft 5. 9A, and is connected to an accelerator pedal (both not shown) of the vehicle via a wire wound around the drum portion 9A. The wire drum 9 transmits the operation amount of the accelerator pedal to the valve shaft 5 so that the valve shaft 5
Is turned in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3 toward the valve opening direction of the valve body 8.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a retainer plate fixed to the one end 5A of the valve shaft 5 together with the wire drum 9 in a detented state.
The retainer plate 11 has an L-shaped stopper 11A that comes into contact with the throttle body 1 when the valve shaft 5 rotates.
And the like to determine the fully closed position and the fully open position of the valve element 8.

Numeral 12 denotes the valve shaft 5 via each spring holding member 13.
The return spring 12 is mounted between the throttle body 1 and the valve shaft 5 side, and urges the valve shaft 5 in the valve closing direction of the valve body 8. doing.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a rotation angle sensor provided on the throttle body 1. The rotation angle sensor 14 includes a sensor case 15 mounted on a sensor mounting portion 4A of the bearing housing 4 as shown in FIG. A rotating shaft 16 rotatably provided on the sensor case 15 and having one end protruding toward the sensor mounting portion 4A; an L-shaped rotating lever 17 fixed to the protruding end of the rotating shaft 16; An urging spring 18 for urging the rotating lever 17 in the valve closing direction of the valve body 8, a sliding brush 20 provided on the rotating shaft 16 via a brush holder 19, and fixed in the sensor case 15. The sliding brush 20 includes a resistor 22 and the like, which are provided on a substrate 21 which is provided.

Here, the rotating lever 17 projects radially outward from the rotating shaft 16, and the distal end portion 17 A is bent in the axial direction toward the valve shaft 5. And this tip part 17A is
As shown in FIG. 3, the engaging pin 24 is engaged with the engaging pin 24 on the valve shaft 5 from the valve opening direction to the valve closing direction of the valve body 8, and this engaged state is held by the biasing spring 18. .

The rotation angle sensor 14 is connected to a rotation shaft 16.
Rotates following the valve shaft 5 to detect the rotation angle as a resistance change between the sliding brush 20 and the resistor 22, and outputs a detection signal corresponding to the opening of the valve body 8. Connector 2
3 is output.

Reference numeral 24 denotes an engagement pin provided on the other end 5B of the valve shaft 5. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the engagement pin 24 uses fixing means such as press-fitting, screwing, welding or the like. The base end side is fixed in the pin insertion hole 7, and the front end side protrudes from the outer peripheral side of the valve shaft 5 only in one radial direction with a certain protruding dimension. When the valve shaft 5 rotates in the valve opening direction of the valve body 8 with the distal end side engaged with the rotation lever 17 of the rotation angle sensor 14, the engagement pin 24 changes its rotation angle. It is configured to transmit the rotation to the rotation shaft 16.

The throttle valve device according to the present embodiment has the above-described configuration, and its operation will now be described.

First, when the driver of the vehicle releases the operation of the accelerator pedal, the valve body 8 is held at the fully closed position together with the valve shaft 5 by the urging force of the return spring 12. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the rotation angle sensor 14 causes the rotation lever 17 to abut (engage) with the engagement pin 24 on the valve shaft 5 side by the urging force of the urging spring 18. Rotation axis 1
Numeral 6 holds a predetermined initial position corresponding to the fully closed position of the valve element 8.

When the accelerator pedal is depressed, when the wire drum 9 is pulled by the wire,
The valve shaft 5 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 3 against the return spring 12, and the valve body 8 opens by an opening degree corresponding to the accelerator operation amount. At this time, since the rotating lever 17 is held in a state of contact with the engaging pin 24 by the urging spring 18,
The rotation shaft 16 rotates with a rotation angle substantially equal to that of the valve shaft 5. Thus, the rotation angle of the valve shaft 5 is detected by the rotation angle sensor 14 as the opening of the valve body 8, and the detection signal is output to a control unit (not shown) for controlling the engine.

Therefore, during operation of the vehicle, the opening degree of the valve body 8 which is opened and closed according to the operation amount of the accelerator pedal can be detected by the rotation angle sensor 14, and the control unit uses this detection signal to detect the opening degree. Engine control can be performed.

Thus, according to the present embodiment, the valve shaft 5
An engagement pin 24 is provided in the pin insertion hole 7 of the
4 is engaged with the rotation lever 17 of the rotation angle sensor 14, the rotation of the valve shaft 5 can be transmitted to the rotation shaft 16 using the engagement pin 24, the rotation lever 17, and the like. The opening degree of the body 8 can be stably detected by the rotation angle sensor 14.

When manufacturing the throttle valve device, a pin insertion hole 7 is formed in the other end 5B of the valve shaft 5,
The valve shaft 5 and the engagement pin 24 can be assembled simply by fixing the base end side of the engagement pin 24 in the pin insertion hole 7,
These assembling operations can be performed more efficiently than in the prior art.

Further, by forming the pin insertion hole 7 at a predetermined position with respect to the valve body 8, the projecting position of the engagement pin 24 with respect to the rotation direction of the valve shaft 5 can be reliably determined. This can prevent the engaging pin 24 from projecting at the time of assembling.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the connection structure for the rotation angle sensor 14 can be easily arranged with respect to the valve shaft 5, and the initial position of the rotation lever 17 (the rotation shaft 16) can be adjusted by the valve. Body 8
And the detection accuracy of the rotation angle sensor 14 and the reliability of the throttle valve device can be reliably improved.

Further, the pin insertion hole 7 is formed as a bottomed hole, and only the distal end side of the engagement pin 24 is projected from the pin insertion hole 7 only in one radial direction. The pin 24 can be formed short, and its material can be saved.

When assembling the rotation angle sensor 14 to the throttle body 1, for example, if both ends of the engagement pin project from the valve shaft 5, the rotation lever 17 to be engaged with one end of the engagement pin is provided. There is a possibility that erroneous assembling may be caused to engage with the other end side of the engaging pin. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the rotating lever 17 is connected to the engaging pin 24 having a single projecting end. The rotation angle sensor 14 can be securely prevented from being erroneously assembled.

In the above embodiment, the valve shaft 5 is provided with the bottomed pin insertion hole 7, and the engagement pin 2 is inserted through the pin insertion hole 7.
4, the present invention is not limited to this. A through hole is provided as a pin insertion hole that radially penetrates the other end of the valve shaft, and the pin is inserted into the through hole. It is good also as a structure which makes both ends of the engaged pin project radially outward from the valve shaft, respectively.

In the above embodiment, the wire drum 9 is provided at one end 5A of the valve shaft 5. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an electric motor or the like is connected to one end of the valve shaft. The electric motor may be used to electrically open and close the valve shaft according to the operation amount of the accelerator pedal.

Further, in the above embodiment, the contact type rotation angle sensor 14 having the sliding brush 20 and the resistor 22 which are in sliding contact with each other is used. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A non-contact type rotation angle sensor in which a rotor provided on a rotation lever side and a stator provided on a sensor case side are arranged apart from each other, and magnetically detects relative rotation therebetween. May be used.

[0041]

As described above in detail, according to the first aspect of the present invention, an engagement pin is provided in the pin insertion hole of the valve shaft, and the engagement pin is engaged with the rotation lever of the rotation angle sensor. With this configuration, the rotation of the valve shaft can be reliably transmitted to the rotation lever by the engagement pin, and the opening of the valve body can be stably detected by the rotation angle sensor. Further, at the time of manufacturing the throttle valve device, the engagement pin can be easily assembled in the pin insertion hole formed in the valve shaft. At this time, the projecting position of the engagement pin can be appropriately determined with respect to the rotation direction of the valve shaft by the pin insertion hole, and the initial position of the rotating lever can be accurately determined in accordance with the fully closed position of the valve body. Can be set.
Therefore, the connecting structure for the rotation angle sensor can be easily arranged on the valve shaft, and the detection accuracy of the rotation angle sensor and the reliability of the throttle valve device can be reliably improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the engagement pin is formed to protrude only in one radial direction from the outer peripheral side of the valve shaft, the engagement pin can be formed to be short and the material thereof can be reduced. Can save money. In addition, by providing the engagement pin with a single protruding end, erroneous assembly of the rotation angle sensor can be reliably prevented.

Further, according to the invention of claim 3, the base end side of the engagement pin is fixed in the bottomed pin insertion hole, and the tip end side of the engagement pin is projected radially from the valve shaft. Therefore, the material of the engagement pin can be saved, and erroneous assembly of the rotation angle sensor can be prevented.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the rotation angle sensor is constituted by the sensor case, the rotation shaft, the rotation lever, the sliding brush and the resistor, the rotation of the valve shaft is engaged. The rotation can be reliably transmitted to the rotation shaft via the pin and the rotation lever, and the opening of the valve body can be stably detected by the rotation angle sensor.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a throttle valve device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part in FIG. 1 showing an engagement pin of a valve shaft together with a rotation angle sensor and the like.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the throttle body viewed from a direction indicated by arrows III-III in FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Throttle body 2 Throttle chamber 5 Valve shaft 7 Pin insertion hole 8 Valve 14 Rotation angle sensor 15 Sensor case 16 Rotation shaft 17 Rotation lever 20 Sliding brush 22 Resistor 24 Engagement pin

Claims (4)

[Claims] A throttle body provided with a throttle chamber forming an intake passage of an internal combustion engine; a valve shaft rotatably provided in the throttle body and projecting from the throttle chamber on both axial sides; A valve body that is provided in the valve shaft and located in the throttle chamber and that opens and closes the intake passage by rotating together with the valve shaft; and a rotating lever that is connected to the shaft end of the valve shaft. In a throttle valve device comprising a rotation angle sensor for detecting a rotation angle of the rotation lever as an opening degree of the valve body, a pin insertion hole is formed in a radial direction on a shaft end side of the valve shaft. A throttle valve is provided in the pin insertion hole, the engagement pin protruding radially outward from the outer peripheral side of the valve shaft and engaging with a rotation lever of the rotation angle sensor. apparatus. 2. The throttle valve device according to claim 1, wherein the engagement pin protrudes only in one radial direction from an outer peripheral side of the valve shaft. 3. The pin insertion hole is formed as a bottomed hole that opens on the outer peripheral side of the valve shaft, and the engagement pin has a base end fixed in the pin insertion hole and a distal end from the valve shaft. 3. The throttle valve device according to claim 1, wherein the throttle valve device is configured to protrude in a radial direction. 4. The rotation angle sensor is provided on a sensor case fixed to the throttle body, and is rotatably provided on the sensor case. The rotation lever is provided on a protruding end side protruding toward the valve shaft. A rotating shaft provided in the sensor case, a sliding brush provided on the rotating shaft and provided in the sensor case, and a resistor provided in the sensor case and slidably in contact with the sliding brush. The throttle valve device according to claim 1, 2 or 3.