Air intake apparatus and manufacturing method of air intake apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9683530-B2
Application number	US-201514660190-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 17, 2015
Priority date	Mar 18, 2014
Publication date	Jun 20, 2017
Grant date	Jun 20, 2017

Abstract

An air intake apparatus includes an air intake apparatus body including a surge tank, a valve body rotatably attached to the surge tank and configured to rotate between an open position and a closed position to open and close a fluid passage formed at a partition wall dividing an inside of the surge tank into two parts, the valve body being out of contact with the partition wall at the open position and being in contact with the partition wall at the closed position, the air intake apparatus body being formed by a first member to which the valve body is attached and a second member joined to each other, and the first member including a jig-receiving portion arranged in a vicinity of the fluid passage and configured to receive a jig holding the first member when the first member and the second member are being joined to each other.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An air intake apparatus comprising:
an air intake apparatus body including a surge tank for an internal combustion engine;
a valve body rotatably attached to the surge tank and configured to rotate between an open position and a closed position to open and close a fluid passage formed at a partition wall dividing an inside of the surge tank into two parts, the valve body being out of contact with the partition wall at the open position and being in contact with the partition wall at the closed position;
the air intake apparatus body being formed by a first member to which the valve body is attached and a second member joined to the first member; and
the first member including a jig-receiving portion arranged in a vicinity of the fluid passage and configured to receive a jig holding the first member when the first member and the second member are being joined to each other, wherein
the first member includes an actuator attach portion to which an actuator rotating the valve body is configured to be attached,
the jig-receiving portion is provided at the actuator attach portion,
the air intake apparatus body is formed by the first member and the second member joined to each other in a state where the jig-receiving portion of the actuator attach portion is held by the jig,
the actuator attach portion includes a jig-insertion hole serving as the jig-receiving portion,
the first member corresponds to a middle piece including the partition wall dividing the inside of the surge tank into the two parts,
the second member corresponds to an upper piece arranged at an upper surface side of the partition wall and a lower piece arranged at a lower surface side of the partition wall,
the jig-insertion hole includes a first jig-insertion hole into which the jig is inserted when the middle piece and the upper piece are being joined to each other, and a second jig-insertion hole into which the jig is inserted when the middle piece and the lower piece are being joined to each other, and
the first jig-insertion hole is arranged at a side which is closer to the upper piece than to the lower piece, and the second jig-insertion hole is arranged at a side which is closer to the lower piece than to the upper piece.

2. The air intake apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the first member includes the partition wall dividing the inside of the surge tank into the two parts,
the jig-receiving portion includes a jig-receiving surface including a flat surface surrounding the fluid passage formed at the partition wall, and
the first member and the second member are joined to each other in a state where the jig-receiving surface including the flat surface is supported by the jig.

3. The air intake apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the jig-receiving surface is arranged at an outer side relative to a seal surface configured to be in contact with a seal member of the valve body, the seal member is arranged along an edge portion of the fluid passage.

4. A manufacturing method of an air intake apparatus, comprising:
a step of attaching a valve body to a first member, the valve body rotating between an open position and a closed position to open and close a fluid passage formed at a partition wall dividing an inside of a surge tank for an internal combustion engine into two parts, the valve body being out of contact with the partition wall at the open position and being in contact with the partition wall at the closed position;
a step of forming an air intake apparatus body including the surge tank for the internal combustion engine in a manner that the first member to which the valve body is attached and a second member are joined to each other by vibration welding; and
the step of forming the air intake apparatus body including a step of joining the first member and the second member to each other by the vibration welding in a state where a jig-receiving portion arranged in a vicinity of the fluid passage of the first member is held by a jig, wherein
the first member includes an actuator attach portion to which an actuator rotating the valve body is configured to be attached,
the jig-receiving portion is provided at the actuator attach portion,
the step of forming the air intake apparatus body includes a step of joining the first member and the second member to each other by the vibration welding in a state where the jig-receiving portion of the actuator attach portion is held by the jig,
the first member corresponds to a middle piece including the partition wall dividing the inside of the surge tank into the two parts,
the second member corresponds to an upper piece arranged at an upper surface side of the partition wall and a lower piece arranged at a lower surface side of the partition wall, and
the step of forming the air intake apparatus body includes a step of joining one of the upper piece and the lower piece, and the middle piece to each other by the vibration welding in a state where the jig-receiving portion is held by the jig, and thereafter further joining the other of the upper piece and the lower piece, and the middle piece to each other by the vibration welding in a state where the middle piece and the one of the upper piece and the lower piece is joined to each other and where the jig-receiving portion is held by the jig, the one of the upper piece and the lower piece including a relatively higher rigidity than the other and the other of the upper piece and the lower piece including a relatively lower rigidity than the one.

5. The manufacturing method of the air intake apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein
the jig-receiving portion includes:
a first jig-insertion hole arranged at a side which is closer to the upper piece than to the lower piece, the jig is inserted in the first jig-insertion hole when the middle piece and the upper piece are being joined to each other,
a jig-receiving surface including a flat surface surrounding the fluid passage formed at the partition wall of the middle piece,
a second jig-insertion hole arranged at a side which is closer to the lower piece than to the upper piece, the jig is inserted in the second jig-insertion hole when the middle piece and the lower piece are being joined to each other, and

the step of forming the air intake apparatus body includes:
a step of joining the middle piece and the lower piece to each other by the vibration welding in a state where the jig-receiving surface of the middle piece is held by the jig and where the jig is inserted in the second jig-insertion hole of the middle piece, the jig-receiving surface including the flat surface, and
a step of joining the middle piece to which the lower piece is joined and the upper piece to each other by the vibration welding in a state where the jig is inserted in the first jig-insertion hole of the middle piece, the step of joining the middle piece to which the lower piece is joined and the upper piece to each other being conducted after the step of joining the middle piece and the lower piece to each other by the vibration welding.

Assignees

• Aisin Seiki

Inventors

• Kato Takuya
• Hasegawa Motonobu
• Ishii Masato
• Hirabayashi Tomoyuki
• Kondo Kazuya
• Tanaka Yuta

Classifications

• F02M35/116

  for engines with cylinders in V-arrangement or arranged oppositely relative to the main shaft · CPC title

• B23K2201/04

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• F02M35/10354 Primary

  Joining multiple sections together (joining plastic materials together in general B29C65/00) · CPC title

• F02M35/10321

  Plastics; Composites; Rubbers · CPC title

• B23K2201/006

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic