Crankshaft supporter
AssigneeSuzuki Motor Corporation
InventorMakoto Nakamura
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A crankshaft supporter having a support member which is attached to a cylinder block of an engine so as to support a crankshaft and which is formed of an aluminum alloy matrix with a preform cast inside. The support member includes a mounting surface, bolt holes and a dowel hole. A penetrated section of the preform has a through hole defining the bolt hole. The support member has a recess section formed of the matrix. The recess section is positioned between the mounting surface of the support member and an opposing surface of the penetrated section that faces the mounting surface so as to shape the dowel hole therein.
Claims13
A crankshaft supporter comprising:
- a support member which is attached to a cylinder block of an engine to support a crankshaft and which is formed of a matrix of aluminum alloy with a preform cast inside, said support member having a mounting surface in contact with an attachment surface on said cylinder block;
- a first bolt hole corresponded to a second bolt hole in said cylinder block and opened to said mounting surface;
- a dowel hole in coaxial alignment with said first bolt hole and opened to said mounting surface;
- a support member-side bearing metal on the support member for supporting the crankshaft in cooperation with a cylinder block-side bearing metal on the cylinder block;
- a dowel pin inserted in said dowel hole for positioning the attachment surface on said cylinder block and the mounting surface on the support member side so as to join the cylinder block-side bearing metal with the support member-side bearing metal when mounting the support member to the cylinder block;
- and
- said support member having a recess section which is formed of said matrix and which is positioned between said mounting surface and an opposing surface of a penetrated section of said preform that faces said mounting surface, said dowel hole being formed entirely within said recess section;
- and
- wherein the dowel pin has a tip which is inserted into the recess section and is positioned above the opposing surface of the penetrated section of said preform.
A crankshaft supporter comprising:
- a support member which is attached to a cylinder block of an engine to support a crankshaft and which is formed of a matrix of aluminum alloy with a preform cast inside;
- said support member having a mounting surface in contact with an attachment surface on said cylinder block, a bolt hole corresponding to a bolt hole in said cylinder block and opened to said mounting surface, and a sleevelike dowel member in coaxial alignment with said bolt hole and protruding outwardly beyond said mounting surface;
- said preform having a penetrated section in which a through hole defining said bolt hole is formed;
- said dowel section including a sleevelike forming member which is fixed to said preform in coaxial alignment with said bolt hole and which is cantilevered outwardly beyond said mounting surface;
- and
- said dowel section having an annular portion which is formed of said matrix and which projects outwardly from said mounting surface in surrounding relationship to said forming member to define a dowel which interfits in an opposed opening formed in said cylinder block.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.