The above, and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description thereof in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein.
A preferred embodiment of a valve assembly according to the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The internal combustion 500 shown in
The valve assembly 100 is attached to the cylinder head 600 so as to open or close ports 620P, 630P of the corresponding gas lines 620, 630 with respect to the combustion chamber 610, the ports 620P, 630P being configured to fluidly connect the corresponding gas lines 620, 630 to the combustion chamber 610.
Specifically, as shown in
The valve assembly 100 is configured so as to selectively fluidly connect or close the corresponding ports 620P, 630P by a driving mechanism provided in the internal combustion 500.
That is, the driving mechanism includes a cam member 720 rotatably driven about the axial line by a driving shaft 710.
The valve 1 is configured to take an opening position where the corresponding port 620P, 630P is fluidly connected to the combustion chamber 610 when the cam member 72 operatively pushes the valve 1 towards one side along the axial line direction (a direction close to the cylinder head 600) against a biasing force of the coil spring 60, and a blocking position where the corresponding port 620P, 630P is closed with respect to the combustion chamber 610 by the biasing force of the coil spring 60 when the pushing force by the cam member 72 is not applied.
As shown in
The shaft portion 11 is supported at the cylinder head 600 in a movable manner along the axial line direction.
Specifically, the cylinder head 600 is fixedly provided with a hollow valve guide 650 having an axial line hole (see
Reference number 660 in
The flare portion 12 is configured so as to sit on a valve seat of the corresponding port 620P, 630P to close the corresponding port 620P, 630P with respect to the combustion chamber 610 when the valve 1 is positioned at the blocking position, and move away from the valve seat to fluidly connect the corresponding port 620P, 630P with respect to the combustion chamber 610 when the valve 1 is positioned at the opening position.
In the present embodiment, the valve 1 includes a stem member 10 in which the shaft portion 11 and the flare portion 12 are integrally formed.
The stem member 10 has a hollow shape having a hollow portion 15 of which the flare portion 12 is an open end.
The stem member 10 is formed by drawing a plate shaped member of steel, heat resisting steel, stainless, titanium alloy and the like.
The valve 1 further has a lid member 20 coupled to the open end of the flare portion by caulking so as to close the hollow portion 15 of the stem member 10.
The lid member 20 is formed of the plate shaped member of steel, heat resisting steel, stainless, titanium alloy and the like.
With the configuration where the valve 1 has a hollow shape as described above, it is possible to reduce the weight of the valve assembly 100 as a whole.
Specifically, the lid member 20 has a center portion that has an upper surface facing the hollow portion, and a peripheral portion that extends radially outward from the center portion with the axial line X of the shaft portion 10 as a reference, the peripheral portion being coupled to the stem member 10.
In the embodiment shown in
Reference number 19 in
The valve 1 preferably includes a powder coolant 30 in an internal space 15 defined by the stem member 10 and the lid member 20, as shown in
In a case where the powder coolant 30 is provided as described above, the valve 1 is formed by coupling the lid member 20 to the stem member 10 by caulking in a state where the powder coolant 30 has been accommodated in advance in the hollow portion 15 of the stem member 10.
A powder body of aluminum nitride or ceramics having an average particle diameter of 1 μm or more may be used as the powder coolant 30.
In the present embodiment, the valve 1 also has the following configuration.
As shown in
Specifically, the reduced diameter portion 12c is configured to intersect the enlarged diameter portion 12a in a longitudinal cross sectional view.
That is, the enlarged diameter portion 12a and the reduced diameter portion 12c are configured such that an outline in the longitudinal cross sectional view of the enlarged diameter portion 12a and an outline in the longitudinal cross sectional view of the reduced diameter portion 12c intersect at a predetermined angle rather than being substantially parallel. The lid member 20 is sandwiched by the enlarged diameter portion 12a and the reduced diameter portion 12c, as shown in
The valve 1 with the configuration could effectively prevent the pressure of the hollow portion from being raised 15 during operation of the internal combustion, while reducing the weight by making the stem member 10 into the hollow shape and effectively suppressing the rise of the temperature thanks to the powder coolant 30 accommodated in the hollow portion 15 of the stem member 10.
Specifically, since the valve 1 is arranged so as to face the combustion chamber 610, the valve 1 is normally exposed to high temperature of about 450° C. when provided in the fuel gas supply line 620 and of about 800° C. when provided in the fuel gas discharge line 630 during the operation of the internal combustion.
Therefore, the stem member 10 may tend to expand and deform due to the rise of the internal pressure of the hollow portion 15 even if the temperature rise of the stem member 10 is alleviated to some extent by the coolant 30 accommodated in the hollow portion 15 of the stem member 10.
In particular, in a case where the thickness of the stem member 10 is made thin in order to reduce the weight of the stem member 10, such risk becomes higher.
In this regards, the valve 1 is configured such that the lid member 20 is coupled to the flare portion 12 of the stem member 10 by caulking so as to be sandwiched by the enlarged diameter portion 12a and the reduced diameter portion 12c, and the reduced diameter portion 12c intersects the enlarged diameter portion 12a in the longitudinal cross sectional view after caulking.
With such a configuration, when the valve 1 is exposed to high temperature during the operation of the internal combustion, the flexion point 12b between the enlarged diameter portion 12a and the reduced diameter portion 12c thermally expands radially outward with the axial line X of the shaft portion 11 as the reference, whereby a gap, which fluidly connects the hollow portion 15 to outside while preventing the accommodated powder coolant 30 from leaking outside, is created between the stem member 10 and the lid member 20.
Therefore, the rise of the internal pressure of the hollow portion 15 due to the temperature rise is effectively prevented, thereby preventing the deformation of the stem member 10.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the valve 1 is configured so as to relieve the internal pressure of the hollow portion 15 to outside through the gap that opens to the combustion chamber 610. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the rise of the internal pressure rise of the hollow portion 15 while effectively preventing the engine oil from being mixed into the valve 1 and preventing the valve 1 from being damaged.
Specifically, if an internal pressure escape hole is provided in the vicinity (portion A of
If the internal pressure escape hole is provided at the portion (portion B of
On the other hand, the valve 1 is configured so that the gap created between the stem member 10 and the lid member 20 is used as the internal pressure escape hole. That is, in the valve 1, the internal pressure escape hole is positioned in the combustion chamber 610. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the rise of the internal pressure of the hollow portion 15 while effectively preventing the engine oil from being mixed into the valve 1 and preventing the valve 1 from being damaged.
In a configuration where the lid member 20 is arranged so as to be substantially orthogonal to the shaft portion 11 of the stem member 10 as shown in
According to such a configuration, the flexion point 12b easily expands radially outward with the axial line X of the shaft portion 11 as the reference during thermal expansion of the stem member 10, whereby the gap is more reliably obtained.
Preferably, the stem member 10 may be formed of a material having a thermal expansion coefficient larger than that of the lid member 20.
For example, the stem member 10 may be formed of SUS305 (linear thermal expansion coefficient 16×10−6° C. in a temperature range of 0° C. to 100° C.), and the lid member 20 may be formed by SUH3 (linear thermal expansion coefficient 11×10−6° C. in a temperature range of 0° C. to 100° C.).
By forming the stem member 10 with a material that tends to thermally expand more easily than the lid member 20 as described above, the gap could be reliably formed between the stem member 10 and the lid member 20 in the operation of the internal combustion.
In
By providing the lid member 20′ having the concave portion at an upper surface facing the hollow portion 15 of the center portion as shown in
Since the modified embodiment shown in
In the embodiment shown in
With the configuration, the gap between the stem member 10 and the lid member 20′ could be made smaller.
Moreover, a thick lid member 20′ may be used, which has a depression at the upper surface facing the hollow portion 15 in the center portion, and the depression could be used as the concave portion, as shown in
However the above described various valves are configured so that the lid member 20 is coupled to the flare portion 12 only by caulking, the lid member 20 could be coupled to the flare portion by welding a part of the peripheral edge of the lid member 20 to the flare portion 12 as long as the gap is created between the lid member 20 and the flare portion 12 thanks to the thermal expansion in the operation of the internal combustion.
The coil spring 60 is configured so that the outer diameter at the distal end that is held at the retainer 50 is smaller than the outer diameter at the proximal end that is held at the cylinder head 600, as shown in
In the present embodiment, the coil spring 60 has an enlarged diameter portion 61 extending from the proximal end towards the other side along the axial line direction so as to surround the valve guide 650, and a tapered portion 65 that has a diameter becoming smaller as extending from the enlarged diameter portion 61 towards the other side along the axial line direction and terminates at the distal end.
The enlarged diameter portion 61 has an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the valve guide 650.
The tapered portion 65 is configured so that the inner diameter at the distal end is smaller than the outer diameter of the valve guide 650.
In the present embodiment, the plate-like retainer 50, which is configured so that the end of the movable area of the retainer 50 towards the other side along the axial line direction is defined by the plate-like holding member 40, holds the distal end of the coil spring 60, thereby bringing the distal end of the coil spring 60 close to the shaft portion 11 of the valve 10 as much as possible.
Specifically, the conventional valve assembly is configured so that the distal end of the coil spring is held by way of the cotter having a tapered outer peripheral surface and the retainer having a tapered inner peripheral surface, as described in the section of the Related Art.
In such a conventional configuration, the thickness (i.e. a radial width with the shaft portion of the valve as the reference) of the cotter and the retainer becomes thicker due to the necessity of forming the tapered surfaces. Consequently, the distal end of the coil spring cannot be brought close to the shaft portion of the valve, resulting in applying a large bending moment onto the cotter and the retainer for holding the distal end of the coil spring.
On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the distal end of the coil spring 60 is supported by the plate-like holding member 40 and the plate-like retainer 50.
Specifically, the shaft portion 11 is formed with a concave groove that opens radially outward at the external surface on the other side along the axial line direction.
The holding member 40 is a plate-like ring member that engages into the concave groove.
a) is a plan view of the holding member 40.
As shown in
Specifically, the center hole 41 has a diameter that is larger than the outer diameter of the concave groove and that is smaller than the outer diameter of the shaft portion 11.
The slit 42 forms a passage through which the shaft portion 11 is passed when attaching or detaching the holding member 40 to or from the shaft portion 11, and has a shape and an opening width that enables the holding member 40 to elastically deform when attaching or detaching the holding member 40 to or from the shaft portion 11.
In addition to the above configuration, the holding member 40a may be provided with a cutout portion 43 opening to the center hole 41 (see
By providing the cutout portion 43 in the holding member 40, it is possible to further reduce the weight thereof and facilitate the elastic deformation thereof.
a) shows a partial longitudinal cross sectional view in the vicinity of the holding member 40 and the retainer 50 of the valve assembly 100.
The retainer 50 is a ring member that is externally inserted around the shaft portion 11 in a relatively movable manner along the axial line direction in a state that its inner peripheral surface 51 in form of cylindrical shape contacts the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 11 and that is contacted to a first end surface facing the one side along the axial line direction of the holding member 40 so that the end of the movable area of the retainer 50 towards the other side along the axial line direction is defined.
That is, the holding member 40 is configured so that the first end surface facing the one side along the axial line direction forms an engaging surface 40a contacting the retainer 50 (see
The retainer 50 is guided by contacting the inner peripheral surface 51 to the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 11 in a slidable manner, and is configured so that a first end surface facing the one side along the axial line direction forms a supporting surface 50b that engages the distal end of the coil spring 60 and a second end surface facing the other side along the axial line direction forms a contacting surface 50a that contacts the engaging surface 40a of the holding member 40 (see
In the present embodiment, the retainer 50 has a concave portion at the second end surface as shown in
The concave portion has a shape and a size enabling the holding member 40 to be engaged into.
That is, in the present embodiment, a bottom surface of the concave portion forms the contacting surface 50a and an inner peripheral surface of the concave portion prevents radially outward deformation of the holding member 40.
The retainer 50 may take various shapes as long as the first end surface facing the one side along the axial line direction forms the supporting surface 50b and the second end surface facing the other side along the axial line direction forms the contacting surface 50a in a state where the inner peripheral surface 51 of cylindrical shape is guided by the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 11.
The retainer 50 may be configured to include a ring portion having the supporting surface 50b and the contacting surface 50a, and an internal cylinder portion integrally extending to the one side along the axial line direction from the inner end in the radial direction of the ring portion, as shown in
The configuration including the internal cylinder portion as shown in
The configuration including the external cylinder portion as shown in
Further, it is obviously possible that the retainer 50 is formed only by the ring portion, as shown in
In the embodiment where the concave portion, into which the holding member 40 is to be engaged (see
The retainer 50 preferably has the outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the proximal end of the coil spring 60.
According to such a configuration, the bending moment acting on the retainer 50 from the coil sprint 60 is further reduced.
Preferably, it may be configured so that at least a part of the distal end of the coil spring 60 overlaps with the holding member 40 when seen along the axial line direction of the shaft portion 11, thereby supporting the distal end of the coil spring in a more stable manner.
Another embodiment of the valve assembly according to the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the drawing, same reference characters are denoted for the same members as in embodiment 1, and the description thereof will not be repeated.
While the above described valve assembly 100 according to the Embodiment 1 is configured such that the distal end of the coil spring 60 is held by the plate-like retainer 50, the valve assembly 100B according to the present embodiment is configured such that the distal end of a coil spring 60B is held by the engaging surface 40a of the holding member 40.
That is, the valve assembly 100B is configured so that the plate-like retainer 50 is omitted and a coil spring 60B in place of the coil spring 60 is provided with respect to the valve assembly 100 according to Embodiment 1.
The coil spring 60B differs from the coil spring 60 only in that a concave portion is formed in an end surface at the distal end.
The concave portion has a size and a shape enabling the holding member 40 to be engaged into.
The valve assembly 100B having the above configuration could also achieve reduction in size and weight, similarly to the Embodiment 1.
This specification is by no means intended to restrict the present invention to the preferred embodiments and the modified embodiments set forth therein. Various modifications to the valve assembly may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-112484 | Apr 2006 | JP | national |