Internal-combustion engines – Engine speed regulator – Open loop condition responsive
Reexamination Certificate
2002-10-03
2003-09-23
Vo, Hieu T. (Department: 3747)
Internal-combustion engines
Engine speed regulator
Open loop condition responsive
Reexamination Certificate
active
06622698
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
A throttle valve control unit according to the invention relates to a unit to control the opening/closing of a throttle valve in a vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Among the drawings of the conventional throttle valve control unit according to the embodiment,
FIG. 5
is a sectional view of an essential part of the conventional throttle valve control unit, and
FIG. 6
is a plan view of a casing for the conventional throttle valve control unit.
A throttle valve tube
31
made of a metal has a tubular shape and lets an air-fuel mixture pass therethrough.
A throttle valve
32
made of a metal in a disc shape opens/closes the passage of the throttle valve tube
31
and is integrally formed with a throttle valve shaft
33
located across the center of the disc of the throttle valve
32
.
A pair of bearings
34
,
34
are buried in the tube wall
35
of the throttle valve tube
31
and support the throttle valve shaft
33
at both ends.
A connection chamber
36
adjacent to the throttle valve
32
is provided in a space in which the throttle valve shaft
33
is projected through one of the bearings
34
.
Three transmission gears
37
,
38
, and
39
are engaged with each other, and the throttle valve shaft
33
is fixed at the center hole of the transmission gear
37
at one end of the arrangement of the three transmission gears
37
,
38
and
39
, so that the transmission gear rotates the throttle valve
32
. The three transmission gears
37
,
38
, and
39
are provided in the connection chamber.
A slider
40
is made of a resilient metal material, and attached to a sidewall of the transmission gear
37
which has its center fixed at the throttle valve shaft
33
.
A motor
41
is stored in a rectangular housing
41
a
and fixed at the tube wall
35
of the throttle valve tube
31
and has its motor terminal
41
b
and its motor shaft
41
c
projected. The motor shaft
41
c
of the motor
41
is fitted into the center hole of the gear
39
at the other end of the arrangement of the three transmission gears
37
,
38
, and
39
. More specifically, the rotation of the motor
41
rotates the throttle valve shaft
33
through the three transmission gears
37
,
38
, and
39
. The motor
41
is provided in the connection chamber
36
.
A casing
42
made of insulating resin has a container shape whose outer shape is substantially elliptical. The casing
42
is attached to cover the connection chamber
36
from the outside, and covers the motor
41
, the transmission gears
37
,
38
and
39
, and the slider
40
.
A resistance substrate
43
that is insulating and in a U-shape has conductive paths
44
on the surface, and is provided at one end of the casing
42
. When the casing
42
is mounted over the connection chamber
36
, the conductive paths
44
of the resistance substrate
43
slide into contact with the sliders
40
attached at the sidewall of the transmission gear
37
.
A sensor terminal
45
made of a metal conductor in a strip shape has one end connected to the conductive path
44
at the resistance substrate
43
. The sensor terminal
45
is formed together with the casing
42
by insert molding, and therefore is buried in the insulating resin of the casing
42
except for a surface.
A motor feeding terminal
46
is a strip shaped metal conductor, one end of which is raised upward as a clip shaped motor feeding portion
46
a
from the bottom of the casing
42
compared to the other part of the motor feeding terminal
46
. The motor feeding terminal
46
is formed together with the casing by insert molding, and therefore buried in the insulating resin of the casing except for the motor feeding portion
46
a
. When the casing
42
is mounted over the connection chamber
36
, the motor terminal
41
b
and the motor feeding portion
46
a
are connected.
A connector housing
47
made of insulating resin has a recessed portion and is integrally formed with the casing
42
. The sensor terminals
45
and the motor feeding terminals
46
gather at the connector housing
47
for connection with external connectors.
A method of manufacturing a conventional throttle valve control unit will now be described. To begin with, the casing
42
and the connector housing
47
are formed by insert-molding integrally with the sensor terminals
45
and the motor feeding terminals
46
, and at the same time, the clip-shaped motor feeding portion is formed and worked. In this way, the sensor terminals
45
and the motor terminals
46
formed at the bottom of the casing
42
are gathered at the connector housing
47
, so that their ends are exposed. Then, the resistance substrate
43
is attached and fixed to one end of the casing
42
so that the ends of the conductor paths
44
and the sensor terminals are connected. In a separate step, the throttle valve
32
, the bearings
34
, and the throttle valve shaft
33
are attached to the throttle valve tube
31
, and a motor is attached in the connection chamber
36
. The transmission gears
37
,
38
, and
39
are provided so that the gear
37
at one end of the arrangement of the gears
37
,
38
, and
39
has its center fixed to the throttle valve shaft
33
, and the gear
39
at the other end has its center hole fixed to the motor shaft
41
c
. Then, the sliders
40
are attached to a side surface of the transmission gear
37
at the said one end. Finally, the assembled casing
42
is placed to cover the connection chamber, and the casing
42
is rigidly mounted to the unit assembled in the throttle valve tube in the above separate step. At the time, the clip-shaped motor feeding portion
46
a
on the side of casing
42
is engaged with the motor terminal
41
b
, while the conductive paths
44
of the resistance substrate
43
are in contact with the sliders
40
attached at the side surface of the transmission gear
37
. In this way, the conventional throttle valve control unit is completed.
In the above conventional throttle valve control unit and the manufacturing method thereof, there is a connection portion to the motor terminal whose tip end is in a complicated, clip shape, and the connection portion is raised from the casing compared to the other part. The other part must therefore be distributed over the casing. The motor feeding terminal in this shape must be formed integrally with the casing by insert molding, which makes the molding die structure complicated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a throttle valve control unit having a simple molding die structure and a manufacturing method thereof.
A throttle valve control unit according to the invention includes a container shaped casing, a rotation detection portion provided at the inner surface of the casing, a sensor terminal led from the rotation detection portion, exposed in a connector housing provided at the outer surface of the casing and held at the casing by insert-molding, a motor feeding terminal provided in parallel with the sensor terminal, having its one end exposed in the connector housing and held at the casing by insert molding, and its other end having an exposed part extended into the casing, and a motor feeding conductor provided separately from the motor feeding terminal and attached in the casing. One end of the motor feeding conductor is connected with the exposed part of the motor feeding terminal, and connected with a motor terminal as it is held between a pair of first folded portions provided at the other end of the motor feeding conductor. The motor feeding terminal is powered to drive a motor through the motor feeding conductor, the motor shaft of the motor rotates the throttle valve shaft to open/close the throttle valve, and the opening/closing angle of the throttle valve is detected based on the rotation transmitted to the rotation detection portion through the throttle valve shaft.
In this way, the motor feeding conductor provided separately from the motor feeding terminal is used, and this motor feeding conductor does not have to be formed integral
Alps Electric Co. ,Ltd.
Beyer Weaver & Thomas LLP
Huynh Hai
Vo Hieu T.
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