This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-083912, filed on Apr. 25, 2018, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to an engine.
There is known an engine in which oil for lubrication is supplied to a sliding portion such as a camshaft (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-167647).
In some cases, the engine includes a cylinder head, a cam housing fastened to the cylinder head, and a head cover covering an upper side of the cam housing. These members are fastened via a seal member, which suppresses oil leakage from the engine. Herein, a temperature of the cylinder head is comparatively high due to the combustion of the fuel. However, a temperature of the cam housing is lower than that of the cylinder head, since the cam housing is spaced away from a combustion chamber. This leads to a temperature difference between the cylinder head and the cam housing. In particular, when the engine switches from a low load state to a high load state in a short period of time, this temperature difference increases. This temperature difference might increase a thermal expansion difference between the cylinder head and the cam housing, which might cause oil leakage between the cylinder head and the cam housing.
It is therefore an object of the present disclosure to provide an engine that suppresses oil leakage.
It is an object of the present disclosure to provide an engine including: a cylinder head; a cam housing fastened to the cylinder head; a camshaft rotatably supported by the cam housing and supplied with lubricating oil; and a head cover fastened to the earn housing, wherein the cam housing includes a side wall extending along the camshaft, and an inner side surface of the side wall includes a recessed region recessed downward in a gravity direction.
The lubricating oil supplied to the camshaft increases its temperature due to the combustion of the engine, and splashes the inner side surface of the sidewall of the cam housing in response to the rotation of the camshaft Since the inner side surface of the side wall includes the recessed region recessed downward in the gravity direction, the oil is retained in the recessed region. This transmits the heat of the oil to the earn housing, which promotes heat exchange between the oil and the cam housing. This increases the temperature of the cam housing, which suppresses an increase in a temperature difference between the cam housing and the cylinder head, and also suppresses an increase in a thermal expansion difference between the cam housing and the cylinder head. It is thus possible to suppress oil leakage between the cylinder head and the cam housing.
The cylinder head may include a first seal surface that sandwiches a first seal member in cooperation with the side wall, the side wall may include a second seal surface that sandwiches a second seal member in cooperation with the head cover, and the recessed region may be provided at a position closer to the first seal surface than the second seal surface.
The inner side surface of the side wall may include an upper region continuous from the recessed region to an upper side in the gravity direction, and the upper region may be located outside the cam housing with respect to a line connecting an inner edge of the first seal surface and an inner edge of the second seal surface when viewed in a cross section perpendicular to a direction in which the camshaft extends.
The inner side surface of the side wall may be smoothly continuous from the upper region to the recessed region when viewed in the cross section perpendicular to the direction in which the camshaft extends.
The recessed region may extend along the camshaft.
The side wall may include a rib partially projecting inside the cam housing.
The side wall may include: an intake side wall located on an intake side; and an exhaust side wall located on an exhaust side, and the rib may be provided on the exhaust side wall.
A plurality of cylinders 12 are provided in the cylinder block 10, and the cylinders 12 are arranged in a depth direction of
As for the cylinder head 20, a right side wall 23 and a left side wall 24 respectively located on the right side and the left side in HQ 1 extend in the V direction in which the cylinders 12 are arranged in a line. An intake port 21 and an exhaust port 22 are opened on an outer side surface of the right side wall 23 and an outer side surface of the left side wall 24, respectively. An intake pipe 81 and an exhaust pipe 82 are fastened to the right side wall 23 and the left side wall 24 so as to communicate with the intake port 21 and the exhaust port 22, respectively. Accordingly, the intake pipe 81 and the exhaust pipe 82 communicate with the combustion chamber CH through the intake port 21 and the exhaust port 22, respectively. Additionally, the cylinder head 20 holds an intake valve and an exhaust valve for opening and closing the intake port 21 and the exhaust port 22 in response to the rotation of the intake-side camshaft 53 and the exhaust-side camshaft 54, respectively. The camshafts 53 and 54 are rotatably supported by the cam housing 30.
A sprocket 55 on the intake side and a sprocket 56 on the exhaust side are connected to ends of the camshafts 53 and 54 in the +Y direction, respectively. A timing chain 65 for interlocking the crankshaft 15 and the sprockets 55 and 56 is wound around the sprockets 55 and 56. As a result, when the crankshaft 15 rotates, the sprockets 55 and 56 also rotate via the timing chain 65. A chain cover 60 for housing the timing chain 65 is fastened to ends of the cam housing 30 and the cylinder head 20 in the +Y direction. In addition, the illustration of the chain cover 60 is simplified.
The lubricating oil stored in the oil pan 16 is supplied to the camshafts 53 and 54 via a plurality of paths. For example, the oil is supplied among the camshafts 53 and 54 and journal bearings via oil paths formed within the camshafts 53 and 54. The journal bearings are provided in the support walls 37 and hold the camshafts 53 and 54 for rotation. Further, the oil is supplied from a cam shower to the intake cams 53e and the exhaust cams 54c.
Seal surfaces 33s, 34s, and 35s are formed on upper sides of the right side wall 33, the left side wall 34, and the rear side wall 35, respectively. The seal faces 33s, 34s and 35s are continuous to one another and are substantially parallel to the XY plane.
The cam housing 30 and the head cover 40 are fastened to each other while the seal member CL3 is sandwiched between the seal surfaces 33s, 34s and 35s and a seal surface of the head cover 40. This suppresses a gap from being generated between the cam housing 30 and the head cover 40. The seal surfaces 33s, 34s and 35s are an example of a second seal surface that sandwiches the seal member CL3 in cooperation with the head cover 40. Further, as will be described later in detail, seal surfaces 37s and 38s substantially parallel to the YZ plane are formed on the right side wall 33 and the left side wall 34 near the chain cover 60, respectively. Furthermore, the inner side surface of the right side wall 33 and the inner side surface of the left side wall 34 respectively include recessed regions 330 and 340 described later in detail.
As described above, a gap between the cylinder head 20 and the cam housing 30, a gap between the cam housing 30 and the head cover 40, and a gap between the chain cover 60, and the cylinder head 20 and the cam housing 30 are sealed. Thus, for example, the lubricating oil supplied to the camshafts 53 and 54 is prevented from leaking outside.
Next, a description will be given of the right side wall 33 of the cam housing 30 illustrated in
The recessed region 330 is recessed downward in the gravity direction.
Herein, the camshafts 53 and 54 are supplied with the oil from a plurality of paths, and the oil increases its temperature due to the combustion in the engine 1 while the oil is flowing through such paths. Thus, such high temperature oil retained in the recessed region 330 transmits the heat from the oil to the right side wall 33 of the cam housing 30, thereby promoting the heat exchange between the oil and the cam housing 30. Further, the recessed region 330 is formed to extend in the X direction in which the camshafts 53 and 54 extend. This ensures a contact area between the oil and the inner side surface of the right side wall 33 of the cam housing 30, which promotes the heat exchange between the oil and the cam housing 30. In addition,
The heat exchange between the high temperature oil and the cam housing 30 is promoted in such a manner, whereby the temperature of the cam housing 30 increases. This suppresses an increase in a temperature difference between the cylinder head 20 and the cam housing 30, which suppresses an increase in a thermal expansion difference between the cylinder head 20 and the cam housing 30 due to this temperature difference. Herein, if the thermal expansion difference between the cylinder head 20 and the cam housing 30 increases, the seal surfaces 23s, 24s, and 25s of the cylinder head 20 might be positionally displaced relative to the seal surface of the cam housing 30 opposite thereto. As a result, the seal member CL2 interposed between the seal surfaces might be damaged, and then the oil might leak between the cylinder head 20 and the cam housing 30. In the present embodiment, the increase in the thermal expansion difference is suppressed as described above, thereby suppressing such oil leakage.
Further, as illustrated in
Incidentally, unlike the seal surface of the cam housing 30 facing the seal surface 23s of the cylinder head 20, the periphery of the seal surface 33s of the cam housing 30 and the seal surface of the head cover 40 facing each other is distant away from the cylinder head 20. Therefore, in this periphery, the temperature difference and the thermal expansion difference between the cam housing 30 and the head cover 40 hardly increase and the oil leakage hardly occurs. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the recessed region 330 is formed in the periphery of the seal surface 23s of the cylinder head 20, in which the oil leakage tends to occur.
As illustrated in
Further, as illustrated in
The increase in the thermal expansion difference between the cylinder head 20 and the cam housing 30 due to the temperature difference therebetween is suppressed as described above, which also suppresses the oil leakage between the seal surfaces 37s and 38s of the cam housing 30 and the seal surface 68s of the chain cover 60. In addition, the heat exchange between the oil and the cam housing 30 suppresses an excessive increase in the temperature of the oil. This suppresses deterioration of the oil, and deterioration of the lubricity thereof due to an excessive decrease in the viscosity thereof.
Further, each surface area of the inner side surfaces of the right side wall 33 and the left side wall 34 is ensured, which also ensures an area of a surface with which blowby gas generated in the engine 1 contacts. Therefore, the blowby gas contacts with the inner side surfaces of the right side wall 33 and the left side wall 34, which promotes separation of oil from the blowby gas. This suppresses an increase in the oil consumption, and generation of White smoke due to introduction of the blowby gas into the intake system.
In the present embodiment, the rear side wall 35 is different from the right side wall 33 and the left side wall 34, but the rear side wall 35 may be configured similarly. With this configuration, it is possible to exchange the heat between substantially the entire cam housing 30 and the oil, which further suppresses the increase in the temperature difference between the cam housing 30 and the cylinder head 20.
In the present embodiment, the recessed region 330 is formed over substantially the entire region of the right side wall 33 extending in the Y direction, but is not limited thereto. For example, the recessed region 330 described above may be formed only in a part of the region of the right side wall 33 extending in the Y direction. For example, such a recessed region 330 may be formed at a position closer to the chain cover 60 than the rear side wall 35. This increases the temperature of the right side wall 33 of the cam housing 30 in the vicinity of the chain cover 60, which suitably suppresses the oil leakage between the cam housing 30 and the chain cover 60. The same applies to the recessed region 340 of the left side wall 34.
Next, a description rill be given of a cam housing 30a according to a variation.
In addition, the provision of the ribs 347 in the left side wall 34a increases volume of the left side wall 34a, which ensures rigidity thereof. The ensuring of the rigidity of the left side wall 34a on the exhaust side suppresses vibration of the left side wall 34a due to the combustion in the engine. This suppresses vibration noise of the head cover 40 due to the vibration transmission from the left side wall 34a to the head cover 40.
The position of the rib 347 is not limited to the position illustrated in
Ribs similar to the ribs 347 may also be provided in the right side wall 33 on the intake side. This further suppresses the oil leakage. Also, the vibration of the right side wall 33 can be suppressed. However, the provision of such ribs might lead to an increase in the weight of the housing and to deterioration of the fuel consumption. Therefore, it is desirable to set the position, the size and, the number of ribs in consideration of the increase in the weight of the housing, the effect of suppressing the oil leakage, the effect of reducing the vibration, and the like. For example, the vibration caused by the combustion of the engine tends to be transmitted to the left side wall 34a on the exhaust side, as compared with the right side wall on the intake side. Therefore, in this variation, in consideration of reducing the vibration of the left side wall 34a on the exhaust side while suppressing the increase in the weight of the cam housing 30a, the ribs 347 are provided only in the left side wall 34a.
Although some embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments but may be varied or changed within the scope of the present disclosure as claimed.
In the above embodiment and variation, the recessed region 330 is smoothly continuous to the curved region 331, but is not limited to such a shape. For example, the recessed region may be formed into a groove shape on a region of the inner surface of the sidewall that is substantially horizontal when viewed in cross section perpendicular to the direction in which the camshafts extend. Further, the inner side surface of the side wall may be curved such that the inclination angle gradually approximate horizontal from the upper side to the lower side in the gravity direction, and the recessed region may be defined by a shape that protrudes upward in the gravity direction from an inner edge of this curved region of the housing so as to stop the flow of oil to the inside of the housing. In the above embodiment and variation, the linear region 332 is formed into a substantially straight, but is not limited thereto, and may be formed into a curved shape.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2018-083912 | Apr 2018 | JP | national |