Patents Examined by Noah Kamen
  • Patent number: 9038578
    Abstract: The invention relates to a unit for simulating the pressure and temperature conditions of an air flow drawn in by a reciprocating internal combustion engine (1) at a height above sea level, corresponding to the operating height of said reciprocating internal combustion engine (1). According to the invention, the unit comprises at least: (a) a radial inward-flow turbine (2) for expanding an air flow towards the pressure and temperature of the air drawn in by the reciprocating internal combustion engine; (b) a first container (4) and (c) a second container (5) connected to the first container (4) by means of at least a connection pipe (7) in order to balance the pressure between the two containers; (d) a centrifugal compressor (3); and (e) a vacuum pump (6) for maintaining a pressure equal to the pressure of the air flow drawn in by the reciprocating internal combustion engine (1).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2015
    Assignee: UNIVERSIDAD POLITECNICA DE VALENCIA
    Inventors: Francisco Payri González, José María Desantes Fernández, José Galindo Lucas, José Ramón Serrano Cruz
  • Patent number: 9010282
    Abstract: A piston cooling jet includes a housing, a nozzle, a valve, a pressure chamber, a pressure adjusting passage, and a filter. The nozzle is provided to project outward from the housing, and capable of spraying oil toward a piston. The valve is capable of moving reciprocally inside the housing, and configured to receive a load due to a hydraulic pressure in an engine-side oil passage applied from a front side of the valve. The valve includes a valve-side oil passage that communicates with the engine-side oil passage. The pressure chamber communicates with the valve-side oil passage. The pressure adjusting passage is disposed between the pressure chamber and a space outside the housing. The filter is disposed in the valve, and configured to remove foreign matter that cannot pass through the pressure adjusting passage from oil passing through the valve-side oil passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2015
    Assignees: Taiho Kogyo Co., Ltd., Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshitaka Yamaguchi, Masahiro Kawahara, Motoichi Murakami, Akihiro Honda
  • Patent number: 9010296
    Abstract: The present invention provides a piston for a spark-ignition engine, comprising: a land part 18, an upper surface part of which has a crown part 26 forming a combustion chamber; a pair of skirt parts 20 extending downward from a peripheral part of the land part 18 and facing each other in a radial direction thereof; a pair of sidewall parts 19 coupling side end parts of the pair of skirt parts 20 to each other; and a pin boss part 21 that is formed in each of the sidewall parts 19. The present invention can inhibit the generation of HC produced at the time of combustion, while thermally protecting a top ring 30 fitted into a top ring groove 24a on an outer circumferential surface of the land part 18. The crown part 26 is configured by a flat base surface 27 and a bulging part 15 bulging upward above the base surface 27, and a thinned part 40 provided in the land part 18 is formed deep such that the deepest part thereof is positioned inside the bulging part 15.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2015
    Assignees: Kolbenschmidt K. K., Mazda Motor Corporation
    Inventors: Kazuyuki Teshima, Yoshikazu Nishiyama, Hiroyuki Takeshige, Hiroaki Muranaka
  • Patent number: 9010283
    Abstract: While enlargement of cover members attached to an engine body is avoided, the flexibility of the shapes of the cover members is increased and it is made possible to lead to a predetermined position drainage discharged from a cooling water pump attached to the external surface of a lateral wall of the engine body. A drainage discharge hole for discharging drainage is provided in a lower portion of a pump case. An engine side rib leads downward drainage discharged from the drainage discharge hole is integrally provided on an engine body forming part of the engine body so as to project from an external surface of a lateral surface thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2015
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuki Nagata, Yusuke Tomioka, Takashi Sunaga
  • Patent number: 9010288
    Abstract: A six-stroke engine includes a cylinder, a piston, a cylinder head, a combustion chamber, cylinder injector, a spark plug, an intake port, an exhaust port, an intake valve, an exhaust valve, a valve gear, and a control device. The valve gear operates the intake valve and the exhaust valve to execute six strokes including an intake stroke, a compression stroke without ignition, an expansion stroke without combustion, a compression stroke with ignition, an expansion stroke with combustion, and an exhaust stroke in this order. The control device is programmed to cause the cylinder injector to inject fuel and to energize the spark plug in the compression stroke with ignition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2015
    Assignee: Yamaha Hatsudoki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Ei Tsukahara, Takurou Kamichika
  • Patent number: 9004037
    Abstract: A piston assembly includes a piston having a crown with an upper combustion surface with a cylindrical outer surface extending downwardly from the upper combustion surface. A pair of pin bosses depends from the crown to a pair of pin bores having generally cylindrical bearing surfaces aligned along a pin bore axis with a top wall portion extending between the pin bosses. The top wall portion has a concave bearing surface forming a continuous concave bearing surface with the pin bores. A separate skirt is fixed to the piston against relative movement. At least one rib extends upwardly from the top wall portion of the piston on opposite sides of the pin bore axis to a lower wall surface of the crown. The at least one rib joins the crown to the top wall portion to provide structural support to the top wall portion against unwanted deflection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2015
    Assignee: Federal-Mogul Corporation
    Inventor: Floin Muscas
  • Patent number: 9004040
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine includes, but is not limited to an engine block, a crankshaft associated to the engine block, a cylinder head fixed on top of the engine block so as to define an assembly axis of the internal combustion engine, a camshaft, and a housing for a timing device connecting the crankshaft to the camshaft, the housing having a frontal opening which is laterally delimited by two opposite sidewalls belonging to the engine block and two opposite sidewalls belonging to the cylinder head, the frontal opening being closed with a first cover fixed to the sidewalls of the engine block, and with a second cover fixed to the sidewalls of the cylinder head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2015
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Francesco Russo, Domenico Palmisani, Lorenzo Magro
  • Patent number: 9004021
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine includes a cylinder crankcase and a cylinder head that includes an integrated exhaust manifold, wherein the cylinder crankcase, the cylinder head and the integrated exhaust manifold have a continuous water jacket that forms part of a coolant circuit of the internal combustion engine. To ensure during shut-down cooling and/or warm-up cooling of the exhaust manifold that a majority of the coolant that is fed into the water jacket reaches the exhaust manifold, while only a small portion of the coolant flows around the cylinder through the cylinder crankcase, the coolant circuit includes a collector that communicates via passage openings having reduced opening cross-sections with the water jacket, and coolant channels arranged in extension of a flow direction through the passage-openings lead to the exhaust manifold, while coolant channels branching off laterally behind the passage-openings lead to the cylinder crankcase.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2015
    Assignee: Audi AG
    Inventors: Stephan Adam, Joachim Doerr, Axel Pohlmann
  • Patent number: 8997700
    Abstract: Internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder housing component (1) displaying a first series of cylinders (2) and a second series of cylinders (3), some pistons (6,8), two lines of crankshafts suitable for coupling at the same rotation speed through a gear train (14,16) and a variably timed transmission (10), characterized in that the variably timed transmission (10) comprises a system of channels and/or passages linked, directly and/or indirectly, to the internal channel of the coupling shaft in order to feed lubricant to the internal ring (50) extending between the bracket (18) and the sliding tube (17), as well as into one or more of the channels extending between the coupling shaft (12) and a section of the sliding tube (17).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2015
    Inventor: Gilbert Van Avermaete
  • Patent number: 8997708
    Abstract: An intake manifold capable of discharging oil or water in a liquid reservoir in a stable manner includes an introduction section for introducing air to a combustion chamber of an engine, a liquid reservoir provided under the introduction section for retaining a liquid medium, a differential pressure tank including a first chamber, a second chamber, and a differential pressure valve for regulating flow from the second chamber to the first chamber, a return passage for allowing the liquid medium accumulated in the liquid reservoir to return to the first chamber from the liquid reservoir when the pressure in the second chamber is higher than the pressure in the first chamber, and an exhaust passage for discharging the liquid medium having flown into the second chamber from the first chamber to the instruction section when the pressure in the second chamber is lower than the pressure in the first chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2015
    Assignee: Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Keisuke Sekiguchi, Tomohisa Senda, Hideto Yano
  • Patent number: 8997698
    Abstract: A system for a multi-cylinder compression ignition engine includes a plurality of nozzles, at least one nozzle per cylinder, with each nozzle configured to spray oil onto the bottom side of a piston of the engine to cool that piston. Independent control of the oil spray from the nozzles is provided on a cylinder-by-cylinder basis. A combustion parameter is determined for combustion in each cylinder of the engine, and control of the oil spray onto the piston in that cylinder is based on the value of the combustion parameter for combustion in that cylinder. A method for influencing combustion in a multi-cylinder engine, including determining a combustion parameter for combustion taking place in in a cylinder of the engine and controlling an oil spray targeted onto the bottom of a piston disposed in that cylinder is also presented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2015
    Assignee: Delphi Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Gregory T. Roth, Harry L Husted, Mark C. Sellnau
  • Patent number: 8997709
    Abstract: A mass equalization gear mechanism of an internal combustion engine is provided, having a gear mechanism housing (8) with bearing points (16, 17, 18), at least one equalization shaft (6) with a drive section (9) and an imbalance section (12) and rolling bearings (10, 11, 15) by which the equalization shaft is mounted in the bearing points. In this context, the gear mechanism housing is hydraulically sealed, with the result that the imbalance section and at least one of the rolling bearings is hydraulically separated from the drive section and is provided with autonomous lubrication.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2015
    Assignee: Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG
    Inventors: Robin Raab, Siegfried Tisch, Peter Solfrank
  • Patent number: 8997701
    Abstract: An exemplary two-stroke internal combustion engine can comprise one or more cylinders comprising exhaust ports, one or more pistons configured to cyclically cover and uncover the exhaust ports during reciprocation of the pistons within the cylinders, and one or more rotary exhaust valves associated with each exhaust port. The exhaust valves can be configured to rotate around a valve axis that is substantially parallel to an axis of rotation of a crank shaft of the engine. Each exhaust valve at least partially obstructs the associated exhaust port during a portion of the exhaust valve's rotation about the valve axis while the associated exhaust port is at least partially uncovered by the associated piston, thereby trapping fresh charge within the combustion chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2015
    Assignee: University of Idaho
    Inventors: Andrew Hooper, Coleman Bode, Alexander Fuhrman, Ty Lord
  • Patent number: 8997724
    Abstract: A spark-ignition engine capable of reducing the content of hydrocarbon in exhaust gas is provided. When viewed from a direction parallel to a cylinder center axis, given a central virtual line passing a squish area maximum-width section and the center of a combustion chamber recessed section, and one area a and the other area b divided by the central virtual line, an intake valve port or an exhaust valve port is opened in one area of any opposed section of opposed sections of the combustion chamber recessed section. A spark-plug attachment hole is formed in the other area of the opposed section, such that, when viewed from the direction parallel to the cylinder center axis, a spark discharge section at a tip of a spark plug does not overlap the central virtual line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2015
    Assignee: KUBOTA Corporation
    Inventors: Eishin Nakashima, Shunji Okano, Hiroyuki Kawasoe, Tamotsu Ohashi, Naoki Inoue, Yuki Ozaki
  • Patent number: 8991340
    Abstract: An electrically-coupled thermal cycle is used to create an electrically-powered heat pump. Energy stored in electrical circuitry is cycled in and out of a working cylinder via windings so that the piston head performs a heat pump cycle. Such a heat pump may be used to extract heat energy from ambient air, and to deliver that heat to an external heat sink by way of the cylinder head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: Altor Limited LC
    Inventor: Jonathan R. Wood
  • Patent number: 8991352
    Abstract: An intake manifold section for installing in an intake system of an internal combustion engine may have a tube body including an inlet opening, an outlet opening and a fresh air path section running from the inlet opening to the outlet opening. An air mass sensor may be fastened to the tube body and protrude into the fresh air path section. A bypass channel may be disposed on the tube body and bypass the fresh air path section connected to a blow-by gas path at an inlet side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: Mahle International GmbH
    Inventors: Sven Alexander Kaiser, Gerald Combe, Konrad Kohler, Adolf Kremer, Martin Matt, Hans-Werner Schneider
  • Patent number: 8991338
    Abstract: A vehicle includes an engine capable of being intermittently stopped after it is started; a water pump for circulating cooling water, and an ECU. When the cooling water has low temperature the ECU controls the water pump to limit the flow rate of the cooling water to be smaller than when the cooling water has high temperature. When the cooling water has a limited flow rate the ECU sets lower a threshold value of the cooling water's temperature for permitting intermittently stopping the engine than when the cooling water does not have a limited flow rate. When the cooling water has a limited flow rate the engine can nonetheless be intermittently stopped at an appropriate time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Ryuta Teraya
  • Patent number: 8991356
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine and a method for maximizing fuel efficiency of an internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine includes an engine block assembly having an electromagnet coupled thereto and an engine component movable relative to the engine block assembly. The engine component includes a permanent magnet coupled thereto. A control system is provided to selectively provide an electrical current to the electromagnet to produce a desired magnetic field, wherein the magnetic field of the electromagnet cooperates with a magnetic field of the permanent magnet to affect a motion of the engine component in respect of the engine block assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Inventor: Douglas A. Pelmear
  • Patent number: 8991353
    Abstract: A valve for an engine cylinder includes a head. The valve is selectively moveable between a closed position in which the head blocks a port and an open position in which the head unblocks the port. A lower stem is formed as one-piece with the head, and a thermal cavity formed within the lower stem. The thermal cavity is at least partially filled with a heat transfer medium. An upper stem is attached to the lower stem opposite the head. A thermal barrier is located adjacent a junction of the lower stem and the upper stem.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: James B. Lewis, Hong Wai Nguyen
  • Patent number: 8985065
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine (10) comprises a chamber (12), inlet valving (24, 26) operable to admit constituents of a combustible mixture into the chamber for combustion in the chamber to provide a pressure increase in the chamber, outlet valving (16) operable to release an outflow of liquid from the chamber under the influence of that pressure increase as an energy output of the chamber, input valving (136) for selectively admitting a heated aqueous fluid into chamber and a supply system (130, 132, 134) for supplying heated aqueous fluid to the input valving. The input valving is arranged to admit the heated aqueous fluid into a region of the chamber in which combustion of the combustible mixture occurs such that at least a portion of the heated aqueous fluid will dissociate to provide hydrogen that is combusted in the chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Inventor: Nigel Alexander Buchanan