Engine cover made from carbon fiber and alloy

An engine cover made from carbon fiber and alloy is revealed. The engine cover made from carbon fiber and alloy includes an inner layer made from alloy, an outer layer made from carbon fiber and an adhesive. A connecting edge is disposed around the inner layer made from alloy and a plurality of insertion holes is arranged at the connecting edge. A bent part is set on the outer layer made from carbon fiber and located corresponding to the connecting edge. The bent part is covered around and over the connecting edge. The adhesive is filled into each insertion hole for connecting the outer layer made from carbon fiber to the inner layer made from alloy. Thereby the engine cover has light weight, good thermal stability, radiation resistance, water resistance, corrosion resistance etc. Moreover, the shock absorption is achieved due to the adhesive.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an engine cover made from carbon fiber and alloy, especially to an engine cover made from carbon fiber and alloy that features on light weight, increased structural strength, and higher bonding strength.

Descriptions of Related Art

A vehicle is a necessity for most people in an affluent society. Along with progress in the vehicle technology, driver's safety and convenience in use have received great attention. Vehicle safety technology has become one of the development priorities in the automotive industry to ensure the safety and security of automobiles and passengers.

Generally, a plurality of parts including an engine, a radiator, a battery, etc. is mounted in an engine room. An engine cover disposed over the engine room is lifted up for repair or maintenance. Moreover, the engine cover also protects important components located in the engine room. During movement, the appearance of the vehicles, especially the vehicle head, is easy to have collision, vibration, or impact caused by stones. For driver's security and safety, the engine cover is made from metal alloy with higher strength. For example, the engine cover is formed by an inner layer and an outer layer, both made from iron aluminum alloy. The edge of the outer layer is covered over the edge of the inner layer and then is fixed on the edge of the inner layer by welding. However, the engine cover with such design has the following shortcomings.

1. The huge engine cover made from metal is quite heavy. This has negative effect on fuel consumption and vehicle speed.

2. The engine cover formed by the inner layer and the outer layer welded to each other has strong rigidity. Thus the engine cover is easy to get deformed due to collision or shock.

Thus there is room for improvement and a need to provide a novel design of the engine cover.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an engine cover made from carbon fiber and alloy and having properties of light weight, higher structural strength and improved bonding strength.

In order to achieve the above object, an engine cover made from carbon fiber and alloy according to the present invention includes an inner layer made from alloy, an outer layer made from carbon fiber and an adhesive. A connecting edge is disposed around the inner layer made from alloy and a plurality of insertion holes is arranged at the connecting edge. A bent part is set on the outer layer made from carbon fiber and located corresponding to the connecting edge. The bent part is covered around and over the connecting edge. Each insertion hole is filled with the adhesive so as to connect the carbon fiber outer layer to the alloy inner layer. Thereby the engine cover features on light weight, good thermal stability, radiation resistance, water resistance, corrosion resistance etc. Moreover, the shock absorption is achieved by the adhesive.

The outer layer made from carbon fiber is a multi-layer structure having a layer of carbon fiber fabric, a resin layer, a layer of carbon fiber fabric, a resin layer, a layer of glass fiber cloth, a resin layer, and a layer of glass fiber cloth from top to bottom.

The inner layer made from alloy is also a multi-layer structure formed by an aluminum alloy layer, a resin layer, a layer of glass fiber cloth, a resin layer, and a layer of glass fiber cloth from top to bottom.

The adhesive is made from fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite.

The distance between two adjacent insertion holes on the connecting edge is ranging from 12 centimeters (cm) to 15 cm.

Compared with the structure available now, the present invention has the following advantages:

1. The weight of the entire vehicle is reduced by light-weight design of the carbon fiber outer layer. Thus the vehicle speed can be increased.

2. The engine cover made from carbon fiber and alloy features on good thermal stability, radiation resistance, water resistance, corrosion resistance etc., due to properties of the carbon fiber of the outer layer.

3. The adhesive is made from fiber reinforced polymer composite so that all the connection area of the engine cover has certain strength. Moreover, the shock absorption and shock resistance are achieved by the properties of the resin.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Refer toFIG. 1,FIG. 2andFIG. 3, an engine cover made from carbon fiber and alloy of the present invention includes an inner layer made from alloy1, an outer layer made from carbon fiber2and an adhesive3. A connecting edge11is disposed around the inner layer made from alloy1and a plurality of insertion holes12is arranged at the connecting edge11. A bent part21is set on the outer layer made from carbon fiber2and located corresponding to the connecting edge11. The bent part21is covered around and over the connecting edge11. The adhesive3is filled into each of the insertion holes12for connecting and fixing the outer layer made from carbon fiber2to the inner layer made from alloy1.

Refer fromFIG. 1toFIG. 4, the shape of the inner layer made from alloy1and that of the outer layer made from carbon fiber2are determined according to requirements of the vehicles. Then the connecting edge11is formed around the inner layer made from alloy1. The insertion holes12are arranged at the connecting edge11circularly. Next the bent part21is formed on the outer layer made from carbon fiber2at the position corresponding to the insertion holes12. The bent part21is covered around and over the connecting edge11. Then the insertion holes12on the connecting edge11are filled with the adhesive3respectively so as to fix the inner layer made from alloy1and the outer layer made from carbon fiber2with each other.

The outer layer made from carbon fiber2is a multi-layer structure having a layer of carbon fiber fabric, a resin layer, a layer of carbon fiber fabric, a resin layer, a layer of glass fiber cloth, a resin layer, and a layer of glass fiber cloth from top to bottom. The inner layer made from alloy1is also a multi-layer structure consisting of an aluminum alloy layer, a resin layer, a layer of glass fiber cloth, a resin layer, and a layer of glass fiber cloth from top to bottom. In order to achieve certain connection strength, the distance between two adjacent insertion holes12on the connecting edge11is ranging from 12 centimeters (cm) to 15 cm while 15 cm is preferred. As to the adhesive3, it is made from fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite.

In summary, compared with the structure available now, the present invention provides the following advantages:

1. The weight of the entire vehicle is reduced by light-weight design of the carbon fiber outer layer. Thus a higher vehicle speed can be attained.

2. The engine cover made from carbon fiber and alloy features on good thermal stability, radiation resistance, water resistance, corrosion resistance etc., due to properties of the carbon fiber of the outer layer.

3. The adhesive is made from fiber reinforced polymer composite so that all the connection area of the engine cover has certain strength. At the same time, the shock absorption and shock resistance are achieved by the properties of the resin.