FIELD OF INVENTION:
[001] The present subject matter described herein, relates to a vehicle construction and more particularly, relates to crash protection guard / barrier for a fuel rail system of an internal combustion engine.
BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART:
[002] Plastic Fuel rail body helps in continuous availability of fuel, such as gasoline or diesel, to the injector through a channel inside the fuel rail assembly. 10 Hence, the material of fuel rail must be able to withstand the prolonged contact with the fuel. Though plastic is less expensive and light in weight, but is not as durable as metals against impact load. In this case, Plastic fuel rail is mounted on intake manifold, which is eventually mounted on cylinder head. The proximity of the fuel rail assembly to the intake manifold inside the engine compartment is 15 such that during the frontal collision, the intake manifold may be impacted or pressed against the dash panel of vehicle body, which leads to the crack in intake manifold around the injectors, resulting in leakage of the fuel.
[003] A familiar way of protecting a fuel rail assembly from impact load is to mount a protective metal shield around the fuel rail body. This, however, adds to 20 material, weight, and production cost.
[004] However, the assembly, shape, operation and location of the parts mentioned in the prior art are not similar to the present disclosure.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION:
[005] The principal objective of the present invention is to provide crash 25 protection guard / barrier for a fuel rail assembly of an internal combustion engine.
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[006] Another object of the present subject matter is to provide a simple, cost effective, and efficiently designed crash protection guard that is distinct from all conventional designs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION: 5
[007] The present invention relates to a crash protection guard for fuel rail body. The crash protection guard includes a crash protector configured to be disposed between cylinder head cover and intake manifold; the crash protector includes a wedge profile constrained by a longitudinal member, a first flange extending angularly towards the cylinder head, and a second flange extending angularly 10 towards the intake manifold; and a ribbed mounting provided on the cylinder head cover, wherein, the first flange is configured to be secured on the ribbed mounting, and the second flange is configured to be secured with the intake manifold.
[008] In order to further understand the characteristics and technical contents of 15 the present subject matter, a description relating thereto will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the drawings are illustrative only but not used to limit scope of the present subject matter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 20
[009] It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of the present subject matter and are therefore not to be considered for limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments. The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number 25 identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of system or methods in accordance with
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embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:
[0010] Fig. 1 illustrate a view showing a crash protection guard for a fuel rail of a vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0011] Fig. 1a illustrate a perspective view of a crash protector in accordance with 5 an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0012] Fig. 2 illustrate another view showing the crash protection guard of Fig. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0013] The figures depict embodiments of the present subject matter for the purposes of illustration only. A person skilled in the art will easily recognize from 10 the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS: 15
[0014] The present disclosure presents embodiments for a crash protection guard for fuel rail. The crash protection guard includes a crash protector configured to be disposed between cylinder head cover and intake manifold, the crash protector includes a wedge profile defined by a longitudinal member, a first flange extending angularly towards the engine head, and a second flange extending 20 angularly towards the intake manifold; and a ribbed mounting provided on the engine head cover, wherein, the first flange is configured to be secured on the ribbed mounting, and the second flange is configured to be secured with the intake manifold.
[0015] It should be noted that the description and figures merely illustrate the 25 principles of the present subject matter. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present subject matter. It should also be appreciated by those
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skilled in the art that by devising various arrangements that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the present subject matter and are included within its spirit and scope. Furthermore, all examples recited herein are principally intended expressly to be for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the present subject matter and the 5 concepts contributed by the inventor(s) to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the present subject matter, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the 10 following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures.
[0016] These and other advantages of the present subject matter would be described in greater detail with reference to the following figures. It should be noted that the description merely illustrates the principles of the present subject 15 matter. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements that, although not explicitly described herein, embody the principles of the present subject matter and are included within its scope.
[0017] Fig. 1 illustrates a view showing a crash protection guard (100) for a fuel rail (106) of a vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the present 20 disclosure. In an embodiment, the crash protection guard (100) is configured to safeguard the fuel rail (106) during a collision or an impact like situation. As shown, the crash protection guard (100) includes a crash protector (102) configured to be disposed between an engine head cover (108) and intake manifold (110). 25
[0018] Fig. 1a illustrates a perspective view of the crash protector (102) in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the crash protector (102) includes a wedge profile. The wedge profile of the crash protector (102) is defined by a longitudinal member (102a), a first flange (102b) extending angularly from the longitudinal member (102a) towards the engine head 30
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cover (108), and a second flange (102c) extending angularly from the longitudinal member (102a) towards the intake manifold (110).
[0019] Fig. 2 illustrates another view showing the crash protection guard (100) in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the crash protection guard (100) further includes a ribbed mounting (104) provided on 5 the engine head cover (108). In an embodiment, the ribbed mounting (104) includes a plurality of ribs (105) integrated with the engine head cover (108). In an example, the first flange (102b) is configured to be secured on the ribbed mounting (104), and the second flange (102c) is configured to be secured with the intake manifold (110) to define an orientation and position of the crash protection 10 guard (100) in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0020] Referring to Figs. 1, 1a, and 2 collectively, the first flange (102b) includes a first opening (103b) configured to be received by the ribbed mounting (104). Further, the second flange (102c) defines a second opening (103c) configured to be received by the intake manifold (110). In an example, the first flange (102b) is 15 secured on the ribbed mounting (104), and the second flange (102c) is secured on intake manifold (110) through bolting, welding, or any other state of the art joining technique know to a person skilled in the art.
[0021] In operation, the crash protection guard (100) being provided with the fuel rail (106), during an impact or collision like situation, the wedge profile of the 20 crash protector (102) restricts movement of the intake manifold (110) towards the fuel rail (106). Further, the crash protector (102) is designed to undertake bending and twisting loads without getting deformed during the impact or collision like situation. Further, the ribbed mounting (104) including the plurality of ribs (105) integrated with the engine head (108) provides additional stiffness, strength, and 25 rigidity to the crash protector (102) during the impact or collision like situation. Thus, the crash protection guard (100) is an efficient and cost effective solution for safeguarding the fuel rail (106) as compared to the state of the art solutions.
[0022] Although embodiments for the present subject matter have been described in language specific to structural features, it is to be understood that the present 30
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subject matter is not necessarily limited to the specific features described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as embodiments for the present subject matter. Numerous modifications and adaptations of the system/component of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and thus it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and adaptations 5 which fall within the scope of the present subject matter.

We claim:
1. A crash protection guard (100) for fuel rail (106), the crash protection guard (100) comprising:
a crash protector (102) configured to be disposed between an engine head cover (108) and an intake manifold (110), the crash protector (102) 5 including a wedge profile defined by:
a longitudinal member (102a),
a first flange (102b) extending angularly from the longitudinal member (102a) towards the engine head cover (108), and
a second flange (102c) extending angularly from the longitudinal 10 member (102a) towards the intake manifold (110); and
a ribbed mounting (104) provided on the engine head cover (108), wherein,
the first flange (102b) is configured to be secured on the ribbed mounting (104), and the second flange (102c) is configured to be secured 15 with the intake manifold (110).
2. The crash protection guard (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ribbed mounting (104) includes a plurality of ribs (105) integrated with the engine head cover (108).
3. The crash protection guard (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first 20 flange (102b) includes a first opening (103b) configured to be received by the ribbed mounting (104).
4. The crash protection guard (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second flange (102c) defines a second opening (103c) configured to be received by the intake manifold (110). 25
5. The crash protection guard (100) as claimed in claim 3, wherein the first flange (102b) is secured on the ribbed mounting (104) through bolting.
6. The crash protection guard (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first flange (102b) is secured on the ribbed mounting (104) through bolting.
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7. The crash protection guard (100) as claimed in claim 4, wherein the second flange (102c) is secured on the intake manifold (110) through bolting.
8. The crash protection guard (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second flange (102c) is secured on the air manifold (110) through welding.