JPH0221559Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] This invention relates to a water drain plug for an intercooler, and is particularly applicable to an intercooler installed between a supercharger and an intake manifold of a vehicle equipped with a supercharged engine. Regarding water drain plugs.

[Conventional technology]

In recent years, an increasing number of vehicles are equipped with supercharged engines to increase engine power. In response to these trends, recent efforts have been made to lower the temperature of the pressurized intake air using a supercharger, increase air concentration, and dramatically improve intake efficiency, while also lowering the air-fuel mixture temperature in the combustion chamber to prevent knocking. Supercharged engines equipped with intercoolers are now available to suppress engine power and safely increase engine power.

There are two types of intercoolers: water-cooled and air-cooled. Both are installed in the intake path that connects the supercharger and the intake manifold, and the intake air, which has been pressurized by the supercharger and has a high temperature, is transferred to the intercooler. It is designed to be lowered by passing it through the inside.

[The problem that the idea aims to solve]

However, in a supercharged engine equipped with such an intercooler, water may accumulate in the intercooler due to condensation when driving in the rain or when the vehicle is parked, and in such cases, the accumulated water may leak into the engine. If inhaled, it would cause an irregular explosion in the engine, and if the accumulated water froze, it would damage the intercooler itself.

In order to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, condensed water was isolated from the intercooler in Utility Model No. 54-53115.
There is a prior art in the publication No. In this prior art, the interior of the intercooler is partitioned with a partition plate to form a water storage chamber, and condensed water is allowed to flow into the water storage chamber through a small hole provided at the lowest position of the partition plate, separating it from the intercooler, and It is designed to drain accumulated water from a drain tank attached to the room. However, this prior art requires constant monitoring of the amount of water in the water reservoir, and there is a risk that the water in the water reservoir may freeze, so improvements still need to be made.

Therefore, the prior art disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 56-53052 is designed to close the valve while the engine is operating, that is, when pressure is applied to the intercooler, and open the valve when the pressure drops to drain water. be. This prior art is provided with a spool valve that is biased in the valve opening direction by a spring disposed inside the drain pipe, and when no pressure is applied, the spool valve is inserted into the intake manifold through a groove formed in the support plate of the spring disposed within the drain pipe. Drain the water of
Furthermore, when the supercharger operates and the internal pressure of the intake manifold increases, this pressure is sensed and the spool valve closes to prevent leakage of supercharged air.

However, valves that operate by sensing pressure are
Although it has the advantage of excellent responsiveness, it is sensitive to external disturbances such as pressure fluctuations, and there is a risk that the valve may open during engine operation and leak supercharged air.

The present invention was developed by focusing on the above-mentioned problem, and is capable of discharging condensed water accumulated in the intercooler while the engine is stopped. The object of the present invention is to provide a water drain plug for an intercooler that does not have the risk of valve failure.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above objectives, the structure of the intercooler drain valve of the present invention is such that a water drain opening/closing valve is installed at the lowest position of the intercooler casing, which is provided in the intake path connecting the supercharger and the intake manifold. A temperature sensing member disposed within the casing closes the on-off valve when the temperature of the temperature sensing member becomes high, and opens the on-off valve when the temperature drops.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of this invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 shows the intercooler drain plug 1 of this invention.
2 is a front view of the intercooler 1 with the intercooler 0 attached.
Compressed air B sent from a compressor of a supercharger (not shown) enters the intercooler 1 from an intake inlet 2, is cooled by a fin 3, and is then sent from an intake outlet 4 to an intake manifold (also not shown). It's summery.

In this invention, an opening is provided at the lowest position of the main body casing of the intercooler 1, and an automatically opening/closing type drain plug 10 is attached to this opening.

FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of the drain plug 10, and is an enlarged cross-sectional view of section A in FIG. 1. The drain plug 10 of this embodiment is attached to an opening 6 provided in a casing outer plate 5 of an intercooler 1, and the opening 6 is covered from both sides with a casing 13 provided with water holes 11 and 12. An opening/closing valve made of a valve body 15 is provided within 13 and biased by a spring 14 in a direction to open the opening 6. 16 is a sealing member provided on the lower surface of this valve body 15.

A cylindrical container 17 in which wax W, which is a temperature sensing member, is sealed is provided in the center of the valve body 15, and within this container 17 is an actuating rod 18 whose one end is fixed to the casing 13 above the container 17. The free end is inserted into the container 17 while maintaining a sealing property. Reference numeral 19 denotes a guide for regulating the vertical movement of the cylindrical container 17.

In the intercooler 1 equipped with the drain plug 10 configured as described above, when the engine is stopped, the intercooler 1 itself is cold, so the wax W is contracted. Therefore, since the valve body 15 is biased by the spring 14 to open the opening 6, the water M in the intercooler 1 at this time is transmitted through the outer plate 5 to the water drain at the lowest position of the main body casing 13. The water collects at the stopper 10 and is discharged to the outside of the intercooler 1 through the water holes 11 and 12.

However, when the engine is operated and hot supercharged air passes through the intercooler 1, the temperature of the drain plug 10 also rises, and the wax W in the cylindrical container 17 expands. Then, the actuating rod 18 is pushed out of the container 17 by the pressure, that is, the cylindrical container 17 is lowered and the valve body 15 attached thereto is pushed through the sealing member 16 into the opening 6.
Close. In this way, the drain plug 1 of this invention
Since the intercooler 1 is sealed during engine operation, supercharged air is supplied to the intake manifold without leaking to the outside.

In addition, moisture such as raindrops that entered the intake system while the vehicle was running and accumulated in the intercooler 1,
When the water drain plug 10 cools down after the engine is stopped, water is discharged to the outside of the intercooler 1 from the water holes 11 and 12 in the same manner as described above, so that irregular combustion in the engine due to water does not occur when the engine is started.

In this embodiment, the valve body 15 is operated using wax that expands when the temperature rises, but instead of wax, a member such as a bimetal whose shape changes according to temperature changes is used as a temperature sensing member to make the valve element 15 actuated. It is also possible to operate the body 15.

[Effects of the invention] As explained above, the intercooler drain valve of the present invention opens and closes the water drain valve by sensing the temperature inside the intercooler main body casing. Even when fluctuation factors are activated, the thermal capacity of the main body casing and other components suppresses sudden changes in temperature and prevents malfunction of the on-off valve.When the engine stops and the temperature drops, water is drained and the intercooler is constantly maintained. This has the effect of preventing water from accumulating inside.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a front view of an intercooler equipped with a water drain plug of this invention, and Figure 2 is a sectional view showing the structure of an embodiment of the water drain plug for an intercooler of this invention, and is an enlarged sectional view of part A in Figure 1. be. 1...Intercooler, 5...Outer plate, 6...Opening, 10...Drain plug, 11, 12...Water hole, 1
3... Casing, 14... Spring, 15... Valve body, 16... Seal member, 18... Rod, W...
...Watskus.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A water drain opening/closing valve is installed at the lowest position of the intercooler casing provided in the intake path connecting the supercharger and the intake manifold, and a temperature sensing member placed inside the casing detects the temperature of this temperature sensing member. The intercooler drain plug closes the on-off valve when the temperature becomes high, and opens the on-off valve when the temperature becomes low.