INTAKE JOINT STRUCTURE FOR TURBOCHARGER

Abstract

Disclosed is an intake joint structure capable of blocking backflow of lubricating oil 18 at a connection position between an air inlet 12 of a turbocharger and a suction pipe 24. A backflow-preventive plate 25 is integrally molded to have a cylindrical portion 25a fitted over the air inlet 12 and a tapered portion 25b curved inward from an upstream end of the cylindrical portion 25a and converged downstream to provide an open end. A downstream end 24a of a suction pipe 24 is molded by soft material over a predetermined range using exchange blow molding. The cylindrical portion 25a of the backflow-preventive plate 25 is fitted over the air inlet 12 through a grommet 26 (first soft layer) and the downstream end 24a of the suction pipe 24 is fitted over the cylindrical portion 25a and is banded by a hose band 27.

Claims

1. An intake joint structure for a turbocharger capable of blocking backflow of lubricating oil at a connection position between an air inlet of the turbocharger and a suction pipe, comprising an integrally molded backflow-preventive plate having a cylindrical portion fitted over said air inlet and a tapered portion curved inward from an upstream end of said cylindrical portion and converged downstream to provide an open end, a downstream end of said suction pipe being integrally molded from soft material over a predetermined range using exchange blow molding, the cylindrical portion of said backflow-preventive plate being fitted over said air inlet via a first soft layer, the downstream end of said suction pipe being fitted over said cylindrical portion and being banded by a hose band.

2. The intake joint structure for the turbocharger as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cylindrical portion of the backflow-preventive plate has a downstream end turned over outward as turnover portion to provide a first annular groove opened upstream on which the downstream end of the suction pipe may abut for positioning.

3. The intake joint structure for the turbocharger as claimed in claim 1, wherein a separate grommet made from soft material is interposed as first soft layer between the cylindrical portion of the backflow-preventive plate and the air inlet.

4. The intake joint structure for the turbocharger as claimed in claim 2, wherein a separate grommet made from soft material is interposed as first soft layer between the cylindrical portion of the backflow-preventive plate and the air inlet.

5. The intake joint structure for the turbocharger as claimed in claim 3, wherein the grommet has a downstream end turned over outside as a turnover portion to provide a second annular groove opened upstream on which the turnover portion of the backflow-preventive plate may abut for positioning.

6. The intake joint structure for the turbocharger as claimed in claim 4, wherein the grommet has a downstream end turned over outside as a turnover portion to provide a second annular groove opened upstream on which the turnover portion of the backflow-preventive plate may abut for positioning.

7. The intake joint structure for the turbocharger as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cylindrical portion of the backflow-preventive plate has an outer periphery integrally molded with a second soft layer using two-color molding.

8. The intake joint structure for the turbocharger as claimed in claim 2, wherein the cylindrical portion of the backflow-preventive plate has an outer periphery integrally molded with a second soft layer using two-color molding.

9. The intake joint structure for the turbocharger as claimed in claim 3, wherein the cylindrical portion of the backflow-preventive plate has an outer periphery integrally molded with a second soft layer using two-color molding.

10. The intake joint structure for the turbocharger as claimed in claim 4, wherein the cylindrical portion of the backflow-preventive plate has an outer periphery integrally molded with a second soft layer using two-color molding.

11. The intake joint structure for the turbocharger as claimed in claim 5, wherein the cylindrical portion of the backflow-preventive plate has an outer periphery integrally molded with a second soft layer using two-color molding.

12. The intake joint structure for the turbocharger as claimed in claim 6, wherein the cylindrical portion of the backflow-preventive plate has an outer periphery integrally molded with a second soft layer using two-color molding.

13. The intake joint structure for the turbocharger as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cylindrical portion of the backflow-preventive plate is integrally molded as second soft layer using two-color molding and an interlocking structure is provided between an upstream end of the cylindrical portion and an outer periphery of the tapered portion.

14. The intake joint structure for the turbocharger as claimed in claim 2, wherein the cylindrical portion of the backflow-preventive plate is integrally molded as second soft layer using two-color molding and an interlocking structure is provided between an upstream end of the cylindrical portion and an outer periphery of the tapered portion.

15. The intake joint structure for the turbocharger as claimed in claim 3, wherein the cylindrical portion of the backflow-preventive plate is integrally molded as second soft layer using two-color molding and an interlocking structure is provided between an upstream end of the cylindrical portion and an outer periphery of the tapered portion.

16. The intake joint structure for the turbocharger as claimed in claim 4, wherein the cylindrical portion of the backflow-preventive plate is integrally molded as second soft layer using two-color molding and an interlocking structure is provided between an upstream end of the cylindrical portion and an outer periphery of the tapered portion.

17. The intake joint structure for the turbocharger as claimed in claim 5, wherein the cylindrical portion of the backflow-preventive plate is integrally molded as second soft layer using two-color molding and an interlocking structure is provided between an upstream end of the cylindrical portion and an outer periphery of the tapered portion.

18. The intake joint structure for the turbocharger as claimed in claim 6, wherein the cylindrical portion of the backflow-preventive plate is integrally molded as second soft layer using two-color molding and an interlocking structure is provided between an upstream end of the cylindrical portion and an outer periphery of the tapered portion.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0033] FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of a typical turbocharger;

[0034] FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the invention;

[0035] FIG. 3 is a sectional view in a direction of arrows III in FIG. 2;

[0036] FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a further embodiment of the invention; and

[0037] FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a still further embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0038] Next, embodiments of the invention will be described in conjunction with the drawings.

[0039] FIGS. 2 and 3 show an embodiment of an intake joint structure according to the invention characterized in that a backflow-preventive plate 25 is interposed at a connection position between an air inlet 12 of the turbocharger 1 mentioned above (see FIG. 1) and a suction pipe 24 so as to make it possible to block backflow of lubricating oil 18.

[0040] The backflow-preventive plate 25 is integrally molded to have a cylindrical portion 25a fitted over the air inlet 12 and a tapered portion 25b curved inward from an upstream end (right-sided end in FIG. 2) of the cylindrical portion 25a and converged downstream (left in FIG. 2) to provide an open end. The cylindrical portion 25a has a downstream end turned over outward as turnover portion 25c to provide a first annular groove 25d opened upstream on which a downstream end of the suction pipe 24 may abut for positioning.

[0041] This kind of backflow-preventive plate 25 requires to be molded with highly durable hard material so as to reliably prevent a trouble that aged deterioration causes the plate to be partly fractured into pieces and sucked into the turbocharger 1. However, mere interposition of the backflow-preventive plate 25 at a connection position between the air inlet 12 of the turbocharger 1 and the suction pipe 24 might result in fitting-together of hard materials since the suction pipe 24 is generally blow-molded from polypropylene resin, leading to difficulty in ensuring sealability.

[0042] Thus, in the embodiment, the downstream end 24a of the suction pipe 24 is molded from soft material over a predetermined range using exchange blow molding (blow molding of a type integrating different materials together in a single process). The cylindrical portion 25a of the backflow-preventive plate 25 is fitted over the air inlet 12 via a grommet 26 (first soft layer) made from rubber or other soft material, and the downstream end 24a of the suction pipe 24 is fitted over the cylindrical portion 25a and is banded by a hose band 27, so that flexible transformation of the grommet 26 and the downstream end 24a of the suction pipe 24 eliminates any gap between the parts to thereby ensure satisfactory sealability.

[0043] Especially in the embodiment illustrated, the cylindrical portion 25a of the backflow-preventive plate 25 has an outer periphery integrally molded with a soft layer 25e (second soft layer) using two-color molding (injection molding of a type where a primary side of different materials is molded and a secondary side is thermally fused on and integrated with the primary side in one and the same mold), which can provide fitting-together of soft materials between the downstream end 24a of the suction pipe 24 and the cylindrical portion 25a of the backflow-preventive plate 25, thereby further enhancing the sealability.

[0044] In use of the grommet 26 as mentioned in the above, it is further preferable that the grommet 26 has a downstream end turned over outward as turnover portion 26a to provide a second annular groove 26b opened upstream on which the turnover portion 25c of the backflow-preventive plate 25 may abut for positioning.

[0045] With such construction, in an operational condition in, e.g., downhilling with an engine brake on and with an accelerator off where an engine rotational frequency is substantially increased irrespective of a low turbo rotational frequency to drastically increase a supplied oil amount, excessive lubricating oil 18 may leak to the air inlet 12 of the turbocharger 18, but backflow of the lubricating oil 18 along an inner wall of the air inlet 12 is blocked by the tapered portion 25b of the backflow-preventive plate 25 to prevent inflow of the oil into the suction pipe 24, thereby reliably preventing oil leakage from the turbocharger 1 to the suction side.

[0046] Moreover, the suction pipe 24 has the downstream end 24a molded from soft material over a predetermined range using exchange blow molding and the cylindrical portion 25a of the backflow-preventive plate 25 is fitted over the air inlet 12 via the grommet 26 made of soft material, so that flexible transformation of the downstream end 24a of the suction pipe 24 and of the soft layer 25e eliminates any gap between the parts to thereby ensure satisfactory sealability. Especially, according to the embodiment, when the cylindrical portion 25a of the backflow-preventive plate 25 has the outer periphery integrally molded with the soft layer 25e using two-color molding, the downstream end 24a of the suction pipe 24 and the cylindrical portion 25a of the backflow-preventive plate 25 provide fitting-together of the soft materials, thereby further enhancing the sealability.

[0047] Since the downstream end of the suction pipe 24 can abut for positioning on the first annular groove 25d upon fitting the downstream end of the suction pipe 24 over the cylindrical portion 25a of the backflow-preventive plate 25, any shifting of the cylindrical portion 25a of the backflow-preventive plate 25 inward of the downstream end 24a of the suction pipe 24 is prevented to substantially enhance the workability upon mounting of the backflow-preventive plate 25.

[0048] Specifically, without such positioning structure, the cylindrical portion 25a of the backflow-preventive plate 25 might be shifted without being recognized due to the overlaying downstream end 24a of the suction pipe 24 which hides the cylindrical portion 25a and would be left unattended, possibly resulting in deteriorated sealability due to resultant ineffective banding by the hose band 27 or/and resultant easy drop of the backflow-preventive plate 25 due to insufficient clamp of the cylindrical portion 25a at the position between the air inlet 12 and the downstream end 24a of the suction pipe 24.

[0049] Thus, according to the above-mentioned embodiment, oil leakage from the turbocharger 1 to the suction side can be reliably prevented to preliminarily prevent components of the air cleaner from being contaminated by leaking lubricating oil 18. Moreover, even the backflow-preventive plate 25 is interposed at the connection position between the air inlet 12 of the turbocharger 1 and the suction pipe 24, satisfactory sealability can be ensured. Furthermore, any fear of the cylindrical portion 25a of the backflow-preventive plate 25 being shifted inward of the downstream end 24a in the suction pipe 24 can be eliminated to thereby substantially enhance the workability upon mounting of the backflow-preventive plate 25.

[0050] Moreover, mere interposition of the grommet 26 can readily enhance the sealability between the cylindrical portion 25a in the backflow-preventive plate 25 and the air inlet 12, so that a cost necessary for enhancement of the sealability at this position can be suppressed. Moreover, since the turnover portion 25c of the backflow-preventive plate 25 can abut for positioning on the second annular groove 26b of the grommet 26, any fear of the grommet 26 being shifted inside of the cylindrical portion 25a of the backflow-preventive plate 25 can be eliminated to thereby substantially enhance the workability upon mounting of the grommet 26.

[0051] FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a further embodiment of the invention where a cylindrical portion 25a of a backflow-preventive plate 25 is integrally molded as soft layer (second soft layer) using two-color molding and an interlock structure 25f is provided between an upstream end of the cylindrical portion 25a and an outer periphery of the tapered portion 25b. More specifically, a projection 25g which projects downstream is circumferentially formed over the outer periphery of the tapered portion 25b and the cylindrical portion 25a is thermally fused onto the projection 25g in a sandwich manner in the molding into an interlock structure 25f. With such construction, the cylindrical portion 25a is reliably interlocked with the tapered portion 25b through the interlock structure 25f to utilize the whole of the cylindrical portion 25a as second soft layer to thereby further enhance the clamping force.

[0052] FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a still further embodiment of the invention. As illustrated, a stronger connection may be attained by, for example, forming an anchoring portion h on a tip of the projection 25g.

[0053] It is to be understood that an intake joint structure for a turbocharger according to the invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, instead of the separate grommet made from soft material as the first soft layer, the first soft layer may be integrally molded on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion of the backflow-preventive plate using the two-color molding.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

[0054] 1 turbocharger [0055] 12 air inlet [0056] 18 lubricating oil [0057] 24 suction pipe [0058] 24a end [0059] 25 backflow-preventive plate [0060] 25a cylindrical portion [0061] 25b tapered portion [0062] 25c turnover portion [0063] 25d first annular groove [0064] 25e soft layer (second soft layer) [0065] 25f locking structure [0066] 25g projection [0067] 25h anchoring portion [0068] 26 grommet (first soft layer) [0069] 26a turnover portion [0070] 26b second annular groove [0071] 27 hose band