GB2036660A

GB2036660A - A motor vehicle

Info

Publication number: GB2036660A
Application number: GB7939407A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Kloeckner Humboldt Deutz AG
Current assignee: Kloeckner Humboldt Deutz AG
Priority date: 1978-11-22
Filing date: 1979-11-14
Publication date: 1980-07-02
Also published as: FR2442169A1; DE2850566C2; GB2036660B; DE2850566A1; FR2442169B1

Abstract

A motor vehicle, for example a tractor, including an internal combustion engine mounted under a cover (1) and a substantially vertical wall (6) at one end of the engine's mounting space. A gap (5) extending between the cover (1) and the wall (6) along their respective tops and substantially vertical sides is sealed by a substantially U-section elastic seal (8). The base (11) of the "U" bears on an end portion (7) of the wall (6), which end portion is angled in a direction substantially parallel with the vehicle's longitudinal axis. The limbs (9, 10) abut on the cover (1) and on a part (2) of the vehicle body. At least one of the limbs (9, 10, 11) of the "U" is secured by one or more fasteners (16) to the element (3, 4, 7) adjacent to the respective limb. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A motor vehicle This invention relates to a motor vehicle, including an internal combustion engine mounted under a cover, a substantially vertically disposed wall at one end of the engine's mounting space, and an elastic seal for sealing a gap extending between the cover and the wall along their respective tops and their substantially vertical sides. The invention is particularly relevant to a tractor having the engine mounted at its front under the bonnet.

When manufacturing the parts of the casing, for example for the internal combustion engine, the driver's pedestal or cab and the like of a tractor, to be used in the aforementioned motor vehicles, manufacturing inaccuracies may occur which during assembly of the casing may cause difficulties. Further, in order to avoid or at least reduce harmonic vibrations which may be set up when a motor vehicle is driven art a certain speed, or within a certain speed range, some parts of the casing or components joined thereto are resiliently mounted so that during operation the parts move relatively to one another both longitudinally and transversely.

Moreover, it is an essential requirement to soundproof the interior of the vehicle body, or in the case of a tractor with its front-mounted engine the driver's pedestal or cab, against the engine's mounting space. Likewise, it is necessary to ensure that atmospheric effects will not penetrate from outside into the encased spaces and/or that foreign bodies do not reach them.

It is an aim of the invention to provide for a motor vehicle a seal which meets in the simplest possible manner the aforementioned requirements, that is to say a multi-purpose elastic seal for sealing the engine cover against the wall and the adjacent vehicle body or- in the case of a tractor with its front-mounted engine and bonnet- against the casing of the driver's pedestal or cab and which at the same time seals the gaps between the parts against external effects.

Accordingly, the invention comprises a motor vehicle including an internal combustion engine mounted under a cover and a substantially vertically disposed wall at one end of the engine's mounting space, wherein a substantially U-section elastic seal for sealing a gap extending between the cover and the dividing wall along their respective tops and their substantially vertical sides is arranged so as to abut tightly on said two elements, wherein the base of the "U" bears on the wall while one of its legs abuts on the cover and its other one on a part of the vehicle body, and wherein at least one of the limbs of the U-section seal is secured by means of one or more fasteners to the element adjacent to the respective limb.

Such a seal for a motor vehicle according to the invention can be manufactured by using relatively simple means and can also easily be assembled.

Moreover, due to its U-section elastic construction it is in use very adaptable, which means to say that even in the event of substantial manufacturing inaccuracies ofthe casing parts and operationally caused movements of the parts to be sealed reliable sealing will always be ensured.

A motor vehicle including a seal according to the invention may be equipped with a rear-mounted or front-mounted engine. The latter arrangement applies to present-day's tractors each of which has the engine mounted under the cover/bonnet at its front.

In this case, the substantially vertical wall may serve as a dividing wall for separating the rear of the engine's - front - mounting space from the driver's pedestal or cab and the other leg of the U-section seal may abut on the casing of the pedestal or cab.

It is advantageous if the seal is mounted in such a way that its base bears on an end portion of the wall angled in a direction substantially parallel with the vehicle's longitudinal axis and if, in addition, the one leg bears on an inwardly angled end portion of the cover. If the engine is mounted at the vehicle's front, the end portion of the wall is preferably angled in the direction of the vehicle's forward travel while, if the engine is rear-mounted, the end portion is preferably angled in the direction of the vehicle's reverse movement. Although it is feasible for the angled end portions of the wall and cover, or bonnet, respectively, to be separate pieces joined, for example by welding, to the respective elements, it is more advantageous if they are an integral part of and formed by a bend in these elements, for example at the time the latter are stamped.

The one leg of the seal may be secured by the fastener, or fasteners, which preferably are rivets, to the inwardly angled end portion of the cover or bonnet. Alternatively or additionally, the seal may be secured by a number of clips arranged in its base to the angled end portion of the wall, the clips being held in this instance in a clamping portion of the base.

In order to secure the seal in its mounted position, it is advantageous if it is thickened in the region of its base and/or is provided in said region with a reinforcing insert of a suitable material. For the purpose of improving the seal's elasticity, it is also advantageous if at least one of its legs is of undulating shape.

In order to make the invention more readily understood, two embodiments thereof will now be described, by way of example only, in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective partial view of casing parts of an internal combustion engine and of a driver's cab of a tractor including a seal according to the invention; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of a seal mounted in the tractor shown in Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a seal mounted in the tractor of Figure 1.

Figure 1 illustrates the mid-region of a tractor, for example a tractor as used in the agricultural and/or construction industries. The reference numeral 1 denotes a bonnet for covering the front-mounted internal combustion engine not illustrated - of the tractor. A casing part 2 of a driver's cab is located rearwardly of the bonnet 1. As may be seen from Figure 2, the rear end portion of the bonnet 1 is bent inwardly and downwardly to form an end portion 4with a gap 5 remaining between the end portions 3 and 4 and extending from one side of the tractor to the other one.A substantially vertical dividing wall 6 forming the rear boundary of the internal combustion engine's mounting space and separating the latter from the driver's cab is provided at its substantially vertical sides and at its top with an end portion 7 which is bent, in the embodiment illustrated, in the direction of the tractor's forward travel and spacedly extends below the gap 5. A seal 8 serves, as shown in Figure 2, to seal the gap 5 against atmospheric effects and/orforeign bodies and also to seal the bonnet 1 against the dividing wall 6. The seal 8 which is of U-section and includes two legs 9 and 10 and a connecting base 11 is made of an elastic material, for example a foamed polyurethane, rubber or plasticised polyvinyl chloride. The base 11 of the seal 8 bears on the bent end portion 7 of the dividing wall 6which may be sheet-metal.The free end portion of each of the legs 9 and 10 is provided with a sealing lip 12 and 14 respectively. The sealing lips 12 and 14 abut elastically on the main portion of the casing part 2 and on the bent end portion 3 respectively and form at these locations a lasting seal. The base 11 of the seal 8 is provided with a clamping portion 15 formed between a recessed section of the base and a back-bent tongue integrally joined to the base at its junction with the leg 9. The clamping portion houses a number of metal clips 16 which serve to fasten the base 11 and hence the seal 8 to the bent end portion 7 of the wall 6. The clips 16 are each provided with a barb 17-or another hook functioning like or similarly to a barb - by means of which they will grippingly claw into the end portion 7 of the wall 6.

This clamping joint constitutes a reliable yet at any time disconnectable joint.

Figure 3 illustrates another embodiment of a seal mounted in a tractor according to the invention, in which the arrangement of the bonnet 1, the casing part 2 and the dividing wall 6 relative to one another is the same as that illustrated in Figure 2. A seal 19 also of U-section has two legs 20 and 21 connected to one another by the base 22. The two legs 20 and 21 are of undulating shape so as to improve the elasticity of the seal. The leg 20 is fastened by means of rivets 23 to the bent end portion 3 of the bonnet 1 whereas the sealing lip 24 on the leg 21 is pressed, by the prevailing elasticity, from underneath against the main portion of the casing part 2. In order to stiffen the seal 19 in the region of its base 22, a reinforcing insert 25 of a suitable material is arranged in the base and extends into the leg 21.

Another possibility of stiffening the base of either the seal shown in Figure 2 or of that illustrated in Figure 1 is to increase the thickness of the base.

It is to be understood that the rivetted joint between the end portion 3 and the leg 20 may be substituted buy a bonded joint for which a lasting adhesive is used. In addition to securing the leg 20 to the end portion 3, or as an alternative, the base 22 may be secured.to the end portion 7 by rivets or by an adhesive. Likewise, a combination between the rivet joint according to Figure 3 and the clamping joint of Figure 2 is feasible. It goes without saying that screws or other fasteners may be used instead of the rivets 23 if this is found to be advantageous.

Although the invention has so far been described with reference to a tractor as partly illustrated in Figure 1, it is not restricted to the latter and its scope includes other vehicles including those having rearmounted engines. The wall 6, in the latter case, will then not separate the engine's mounting space from the driver's cab or pedestal but may merely define one end of said space or may separate it from the interior of the vehicle body. Further, the hood conventionally referred to as the bonnet when arranged over a front-mounted engine may be a cover of a shape similar to or entirely different from that of the conventional bonnet. However, the end portion 7 of the wall 6 - regardless of whether the end portion is formed by bending in the course of stamping the wall 6 or is joined thereto - will in this instance be angled in the direction of the vehicle's reverse movement, that is to say in a direction opposite that shown in Figure 2, yet still substantially parallel with the vehicle's longitudinal axis. Likewise, the positions of the cover/bonnet 1 and of the casing part 2 would be reversed and thus those of the seals 8 and 19 respectively.

Claims

1. A motor vehicle including an internal combustion engine mounted under a cover and a substantially vertically disposed wall at one end of the engine's mounting space, wherein a substantially U-section elastic seal for sealing a gap extending between the cover and the dividing wall along their respective tops and their substantially vertical sides is arranged so as to abut tightly on said two elements, wherein the base of the "U" bears on the wall while one of its legs abuts on the cover and its other one on a part of the vehicle body, and wherein at least one of the limbs of the U-section seal is secured by means of one or more fasteners to the element adjacent to the respective limb.

2. A motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is a tractor having the engine mounted under the cover/bonnet at its front, wherein the wall is a dividing wall separating the rear end of the engine's mounting space from the driver's pedestal or cab, and wherein the other leg of the U-section seal abuts on the casing of the pedestal or cab.

3. A motor vehicle according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the base of the seal bears on an end portion of the wall angled in a direction substantially parallel with the vehicle's longitudinal axis.

4. A motor vehicle according to claim 3, wherein, if the engine is mounted at the vehicle's front, the end portion is angled in the direction of the vehicle's forward travel while, if the engine is rear-mounted, said end portion is angled in the direction of the vehicle's reverse movement.

5. A motor vehicle according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the one leg of the seal abuts on an inwardly angled end portion of the cover or bonnet.

6. A motor vehicle according to any of the claims 3 to 5, wherein each of the engled end portions is an integral part of and formed by a bend in the wall and cover, or bonnet, respectively.

7. A motor vehicle according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the one leg is secured by the fastener, or fasteners, to the inwardly angled end portion of the cover or bonnet.

8. A motor vehicle according to claim 7, wherein the fastener is, or the fasteners are, rivets.

9. A motor vehicle according to any of the claims 3 to 8, wherein the seal is secured by a number of clips arranged in its base to the angled end portion of the wall, and wherein the clips are housed in a clamping portion of the seal's base.

10. A motor vehicle according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the seal in the region of its base is thickened and/or is provided with a reinforcing insert of any suitable material.

11. A motor vehicle according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of the legs of the seal is of undulating shape.

12. A motor vehicle including an internal combustion engine mounted under a cover, a substantially vertically disposed wall at one end of the engine's mounting space, and an elastic seal for sealing a gap extending between the cover and the wall along their respective tops and their substantially vertical sides, constructed and arranged substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings.