Throttle valve for an internal combustion engine provided with a conditioning circuit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016003167-A1
Application number	US-201514751467-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 26, 2015
Priority date	Jun 26, 2014
Publication date	Jan 7, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A throttle valve for an internal combustion engine provided with a valve body, a tubular feeding duct defined in the valve body, a throttle plate, and an actuating device which controls rotation of the throttle plate. The actuating device includes an electric motor and an actuating device conditioning circuit defined in the valve body. The conditioning circuit includes a tube made of a first material able to conduct heat, and the valve body is entirely made of a second metal material and is provided with a seat for housing the tube, in which is provided a layer of a structural and heat-conducting resin, interposed between the seat and the tube.

First claim

1 . A throttle valve for an internal combustion engine comprising:
a valve body entirely made of a first metallic material; a tubular feeding duct, defined in the valve body and through which the air taken in by the internal combustion engine flows; a throttle plate arranged inside the feeding duct and splined to a shaft mounted in a rotary manner so as to rotate around a rotation axis between a maximum opening position and a closing position to open and close the feeding duct; an actuating device for controlling rotation of the throttle plate around the rotation axis, the actuating device including an electric motor and a gear drive for transmitting motion from the electric motor to the shaft of the throttle plate; an actuating device conditioning circuit defined in the valve body including a tube for the passage of conditioning fluid; and wherein the valve body includes a seat for housing the tube; wherein the tube is made of a second material able to conduct heat selected from a group including: steel, aluminum, or copper; and wherein a substantially uniform layer of a structural and heat-conducting resin is provided interposed between the seat and the tube and applied on the entire available surface of the seat so as to allow fixing of the tube in the seat.

2 . The valve as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the tube is fixed in the seat by the layer of structural and heat-conducting resin.

3 . The valve as set forth in claim 1 , further including a lock for constraining the tube in the appropriate seat, the lock including a number of fixing brackets or plates distributed along the entire length of the tube.

4 . The valve as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the throttle plate is made of the same second metal material that makes up the valve body.

5 . The valve as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the seat is open on the upper side and the surface that defines the seat itself has a shape that is complementary to an outer surface of the tube.

6 . The valve as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the valve body includes a tubular housing arranged next to the feeding duct and housing the electric motor; and wherein the gear drive is arranged in a chamber of the valve body defined by first and second shells, the first shell defining a removable lid and the second shell arranged next to the feeding duct and next to the tubular housing.

7 . The valve as set forth in claim 6 ,
wherein the tube includes a first branch provided in the upper portion of the second shell and/or a second branch provided in the upper portion of the tubular housing.

8 . The valve as set forth in claim 7 , wherein the tube is substantially L-shaped.

9 . A method to manufacture the throttle valve of claim 1 , the method comprising the steps of:
manufacturing the valve body provided with the seat by causing the second metal material to undergo a die casting process; applying a trace of the structural and thermosetting resin on the bottom of the seat; and inserting the tube into the seat so as to obtain a substantially uniform layer of the structural and thermosetting resin, which is interposed between the seat and the tube.

10 . The method as set forth in claim 9 , wherein the valve body is subject to a thermal treatment to cause the polymerization of the structural and thermosetting resin.

Assignees

• Magneti Marelli Spa

Inventors

• Musolesi Stefano
• Colli Marcello

Classifications

• F02D9/1035

  Details of the valve housing · CPC title

• F02D9/1085 Primary

  Non-organic materials, e.g. metals, alloys, ceramics · CPC title

• F02D9/1075

  Materials, e.g. composites · CPC title

• F02D9/108

  Plastics · CPC title

• F02M31/102 Primary

  Particular constructional characteristics of the shape of the heat exchange surfaces · CPC title