Means To Whirl Fluid Before, Upon, Or After Entry Into Combustion Chamber Patents (Class 123/306)
  • Patent number: 11773769
    Abstract: In an opposed-piston engine, a piston has a top land. The piston top land has a non-cylindrical shape which affords more clearance with a piston bore to thrust and anti-thrust sides than to front-facing and rear facing sides.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2023
    Assignee: Achates Power, Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel M. Chown, Ryan G. MacKenzie, Isaac B. Thomas
  • Patent number: 11326543
    Abstract: The invention is provided with an ignition control section and an injection control section. When partial compression ignition combustion is carried out, the ignition control section causes an ignition plug to carry out: main ignition in which a spark is generated in a late period of a compression stroke or an initial period of an expansion stroke to initiate SI combustion; and preceding ignition in which the spark is generated at earlier timing than the main ignition. Also, when the partial compression ignition combustion is carried out, the injection control section causes an injector to inject fuel at such timing that the fuel exists in a cylinder at an earlier time point than the preceding ignition. Timing of the preceding ignition is more advanced when a swirl flow is gentle than when the swirl flow is strong.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: Mazda Motor Corporation
    Inventors: Kota Matsumoto, Tomonori Urushihara, Keiji Maruyama, Masanari Sueoka, Ryohei Ono, Yuji Harada, Toru Miyamoto, Atsushi Inoue, Tatsuhiro Tokunaga, Takuya Ohura, Yusuke Kawai, Tomohiro Nishida, Keita Arai, Yodai Yamaguchi
  • Patent number: 11143094
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a gas intake device (1) for a cylinder of an internal-combustion engine. Gas intake device (1) comprises an intake pipe (2), an intake valve (3), a calibration part (4) for intake valve (3), and means for generating an aerodynamic motion of the gas in the cylinder about an axis substantially perpendicular to the axis of said cylinder. Furthermore, intersection (7) between intake pipe (2) and calibration part (4) occurs in a line nonparallel to the plane of fire face (FF).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: IFP Energies nouvelles
    Inventors: Xavier Gautrot, Julien Trost, Martin Ritter, Christophe Lechard
  • Patent number: 10690084
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine includes an ignition plug and an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to: (i) execute a lean-burn operation in a first operation region, (ii) execute an operation in a second operation region at an air-fuel ratio lower than an air-fuel ratio during the lean-burn operation, and (iii) control a gas flow in a cylinder so that a ratio of a change in a gas flow speed around the ignition plug during ignition to a change in an engine rotation speed in a first engine rotation speed region within the first operation region is smaller than the ratio in a second engine rotation speed region within the second operation region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2020
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Sachio Mori, Koshiro Kimura, Satoshi Tsuda
  • Patent number: 10526932
    Abstract: A head assembly for an internal combustion engine includes an electromagnetic valve actuation system. The head has an intake or exhaust passage defined therein. A valve is disposed in the passage and is operable to selectively open and close the passage. The head has a cooling passage defined therein for passage of a cooling fluid. An electromagnetic actuator has a piston in mechanical communication with the valve and a coil in fluid communication with the cooling passage. The electromagnetic actuator is operable to move the valve between a closed and an open position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2020
    Inventor: David Meisel
  • Patent number: 10495049
    Abstract: A control device for an internal combustion engine includes an air-fuel ratio controller to execute a stoichiometric operation in which an air-fuel ratio of an air-fuel mixture in a combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine is set to a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio and a lean operation in which the air-fuel ratio is set to an air-fuel ratio leaner than the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio. A ignition timing controller is to calculate at least one ignition timing control parameter based on a laminar combustion velocity and to control an ignition plug provided in the combustion chamber to ignite based on the at least one ignition timing control parameter in a transitional state between the stoichiometric operation and the lean operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2019
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masanobu Takazawa, Hiroshi Hanabusa, Haruya Kitano
  • Patent number: 10323612
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for reducing fueling errors resulting from pressure pulsations in a port injection fuel rail. The pressure pulsations result from pressure pulsations generated in a high pressure fuel pump delivering fuel to both the port injection fuel rail and a direct injection fuel rail. A center of a port injection fuel pulse is positioned on an average pressure-crossing of the pressure pulsations so as to cancel out the effect of the over-average and under-average pressure pulsations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2019
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Ethan D. Sanborn, Paul Hollar, Daniel Dusa, Joseph Lyle Thomas
  • Patent number: 10184435
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a fuel injection unit for an internal combustion engine. The fuel injection unit includes: a separator that is disposed in an intake port to supply air into a combustion chamber formed in an engine head, and that divides a channel for air into an upper channel and a lower channel; a blade disposed ahead of the separator and opening or closing the upper channel or the lower channel by rotating; and a first injector disposed over the intake port. In particular, when the first injector injects fuel, the blade does not interfere with the fuel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2019
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA MOTORS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Dong Ho Chu
  • Patent number: 9845815
    Abstract: An apparatus for creating a swirling flow of fluid comprises a transmission base (1) with an internal cavity (2) to receive the fluid flow from outside via a side hole (3) which will become a hole side edge (4) to control the flow through of the fluid into the transmission base in a laminar swirling flow in the internal cavity of the transmission base. A part of the hole side edge may have an elevated insert supporting shoulder (10) to support the overlay attachment of another transmission base to stack them higher.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2017
    Inventor: Metha Yoavaphankul
  • Patent number: 9828936
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides an apparatus for improving engine air flow including: a combination recess which is formed at an intake port of a cylinder head and is extended toward a combustion chamber along an air flow path at a position combined with an intake manifold; a fixing body which is fit-inserted to and combined to the combination recess; and a plate an end of which is combined to the fixing body on the flow path of the intake port and which guides the air flow flowing into the intake port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2017
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA MOTORS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Dong Ho Chu
  • Patent number: 9732683
    Abstract: A motor response control method in a variable charge motion system in which a VCM motor is differentially controlled by a PWM duty regardless of back pressure of intake air in an intake manifold when a current engine rotation speed in revolutions per minute is less than a specific engine rotation speed in revolutions per minute in a VCM position learning state by a controller whereas the VCM motor is differentially controlled by the PWM duty based on the back pressure of intake air in the intake manifold when the current engine rotation speed in revolutions per minute is greater than the specific engine rotation speed in revolutions per minute.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2017
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA MOTORS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Young-Min Kim
  • Patent number: 9677499
    Abstract: There is provided a control device of an engine that includes a turbo-supercharger and a variable valve mechanism, the control device including: a valve timing change means; an ignition timing change means; a fuel injection amount change means; an acceleration request detection means; a supercharging pressure detection means; and an acceleration control means that corrects, when the acceleration request is detected, retarding of ignition timing in a low supercharging region where the supercharging pressure is lower than a predetermined value, that completes the correction of the retarding of the ignition timing in a high supercharging region where the supercharging pressure is equal to or higher than the predetermined value to provide a valve overlap and that changes the fuel injection amount such that an air-fuel ratio at which a mixture air of a scavenging gas and an exhaust gas is easily burned within an exhaust passage is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: NISSAN MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Takeshi Tsuyuki
  • Patent number: 9664150
    Abstract: A fresh air system for supplying combustion chambers of an internal combustion engine with fresh air may include a housing, through which at least one fresh air path passes, and a flap mechanism, which includes at least one flap adjustably mounted on the housing. The flap may be rotatably adjustable between a closed position, in which the flap closes off the fresh air path in a fluid-tight manner and an opened position, in which the flap opens the fresh air path for fresh air to flow through. The flap mechanism may include a spring-elastic preload element, which supports itself on the housing and preloads the flap against at least one of the opened position and the closed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: Mahle International GmbH
    Inventors: Winfried Brand, Ivano Morgillo
  • Patent number: 9341108
    Abstract: A plate-shaped butterfly valve is rotatable to throttle intake airflow, which is to be drawn into an internal combustion engine, and to direct the intake airflow toward a specific periphery in a cross section of a passage. The passage has a passage wall defining a passage wall step. The passage wall step is located on the downstream side from a rotation locus of the butterfly valve relative to intake airflow. The passage wall step has a raised side and a depressed side, which are located on the downstream side and on the upstream side, respectively, relative to intake airflow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hiroaki Hattori
  • Patent number: 9273650
    Abstract: A system for improving distribution of gases within an intake manifold of an engine is presented. The system may be used to improve engine air-fuel control. In one example, turbulence of gases entering an intake manifold is increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2016
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: David Born, Nolan Dickey
  • Patent number: 9038592
    Abstract: Disclosed is an engine that comprises an engine block, and the engine block comprises a cylinder. The engine further comprises a cylinder head mounted to the engine block, and the cylinder head comprises an intake valve seat and a shroud. Further yet, the engine comprises a combustion chamber formed at least partially by the cylinder and the cylinder head. The intake valve is configured to travel between a fully closed position seated against the intake valve seat and an opened position displaced from the intake valve seat, thus allowing intake flow through the intake valve seat into the combustion chamber. The shroud only partially surrounds a periphery of the valve and extends along at least a portion of the travel of the intake valve so as to restrict intake flow along only a portion of the intake valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2015
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: Joseph R Gonsowski, Eric J Haaland, Dan A Warrington
  • Patent number: 8997721
    Abstract: An intake apparatus of an engine provided with a fuel supply device for supplying fuel into an intake passage. A guide body is disposed in the intake passage located downstream from the fuel supply device, and the guide body may have at least one hole. The volume ratio of the guide body relative to the intake passage range and the volume ratio of the total holes relative to the guide body are ranged in the preferable volume percent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2015
    Inventor: Toshihiko Yamamoto
  • 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: 8991370
    Abstract: An intake apparatus of an engine provided with a fuel supplying device for supplying fuel into an intake passage, includes: a guide body having multiple holes disposed in the intake passage located downstream from the fuel supplying device. The guide body has a stepped portion extending in a direction intersecting with a direction of a flow of intake air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Inventor: Toshihiko Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 8985087
    Abstract: An air intake system for an internal combustion engine has a valve body that can open/close a passage cross section of a part of an air intake passage; a rotation shaft that extends to both sides of the valve body and supports rotation of the valve body; a valve accommodating recess that is formed on an inner wall surface of the air intake passage and accommodates therein the valve body; and a protruding line that is formed on an outer peripheral side surface of the valve body, which faces the valve accommodating recess, and extends along a shaft direction of the rotation shaft. The air intake system further has a communication passage that directly connects the valve accommodating recess and an intake port of the internal combustion engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignee: Mahle Filter Systems Japan Corporation
    Inventors: Junichi Matsuzaki, Takashi Kawano
  • Publication number: 20150059689
    Abstract: A system for targeting an air-fuel mixture flow pattern within the intake port of an internal combustion engine is provided. The system includes a flow pattern control plate movably provided within the intake port. The plate includes at least one air-fuel mixture funneling opening. The opening is rounded and is preferably ovoid. Preferably there are two openings with one opening being larger than the other. The upstream side of the plate includes a sloped surface formed from its edge toward the openings, thus funneling the air-fuel mixture passing from the upstream side, through the plate, and to the downstream side. The size, shape and number of openings can be selectively adjusted thus making the system tunable. The intake port includes a sloped portion formed on its inner surface adjacent the flow pattern control plate to funnel the flow of the air-fuel mixture through the openings formed in the plate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 4, 2013
    Publication date: March 5, 2015
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Ted Vincent Mull, JR.
  • Publication number: 20150027404
    Abstract: The inventive subject matter provides apparatus, systems and methods for treating and delivering a fuel to a combustion chamber of an engine in order to improve efficiency of the engine. In one aspect of the invention, a fuel injector that cooperates with an internal combustion engine to combust a first fuel to produce power is presented. The fuel injector includes a fuel inlet, a pre-conditioning vortex chamber, and an excitation chamber. The fuel injector includes a vortex chamber that conforms a pulsed amount of the first fuel to produce a vortex that includes a coherent dynamic pressure wave. The fuel injector also includes an excitation mechanism that at least partially ignites the fuel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 5, 2014
    Publication date: January 29, 2015
    Applicant: Thrival Tech, LLC
    Inventors: Garrett Hill, Scott Lazar, Dustin Stonehouse
  • Publication number: 20140305403
    Abstract: A cylinder head for an internal-combustion engine includes, for each cylinder of the engine, at least one intake duct extending from an inlet located at a lateral face of the head down to an outlet cylindrical mouth and an intake valve associated with each intake duct. The surface of the intake duct has a longitudinal projection for deflecting the flow of air that flows through the intake duct. The projection is configured to provide a deflection of the air flow towards the two sides of the valve stem, so as to substantially reduce the quantity of air that hits the valve stem directly. The projection extends down to the outlet cylindrical mouth, so as to hinder a flow of air through an angular sector of the cross-sectional area of the outlet mouth which angular sector faces towards the lateral face of the cylinder head.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 7, 2014
    Publication date: October 16, 2014
    Inventors: Luca TOSATO, Flavio PERSONENI
  • Patent number: 8844492
    Abstract: An intake manifold is provided that controls swirl on entry to a combustion chamber. Each intake manifold includes a fin or rib portion positioned to reduce or eliminate swirl induced by the configuration of the intake manifold, particularly when used in a large engine having a left bank and a right bank of combustion chambers. By controlling swirl induced by the intake manifold, swirl consistency is improved between engine cylinders and between the left bank and the right bank, improving the consistency of power output and reducing emissions, particularly particulate emissions, also called smoke.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2014
    Assignee: Cummins Inc.
    Inventors: Paul Douglas Free, Jason Robert Griffin, Alex Edward Priestley, Stephen Sunadh Gidla, Peter Vinson Woon, Joseph Scot Roederer
  • Patent number: 8833347
    Abstract: This invention relates to an automatically regulated gaseous mixer for small universal gas engine comprising a mixer body, a choker, an air inlet port, a main gas passage, a main metering jet, a mixture outlet port, a throttle valve, a gas connecting passage and an auxiliary gas passage, which is characterized in that an auxiliary gas passage is set parallel to the main gas passage and connected through a vertical gas passage. Its top end is linked to the main gas passage and the lower end is connected with the auxiliary gas passage, one end of the auxiliary passage is connected with the mixture outlet port. The shaft of throttle valve is in line with auxiliary gas passage and is extended into the auxiliary gas passage to form an automatically regulated valve. The advantages of this invention are simple and compact; practical and reliable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2014
    Inventors: Huachang Yang, Hao Wu
  • Publication number: 20140251264
    Abstract: A fuel injection valve realizing improved circumferential uniformity of swirling fuel is provided. The fuel injection valve includes swirling chambers each having an inner peripheral wall whose curvature is gradually larger from upstream to downstream, paths for swirling each of which, having a fuel flow-in region formed along a valve axis direction, guides fuel to the associated one of the swirling chambers, and fuel injection orifices open into the associated swirling chambers, respectively. In the fuel injection valve, the paths for swirling are interconnected in a central portion of an orifice plate and are smaller in height toward where they are interconnected.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 6, 2014
    Publication date: September 11, 2014
    Applicant: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshio OKAMOTO, Kazuki YOSHIMURA, Noriyuki MAEKAWA, Nobuaki KOBAYASHI, Eiji ISHII, Takahiro SAITO
  • Publication number: 20140251263
    Abstract: A fuel injection valve realizing improved circumferential uniformity of swirling fuel is provided. The fuel injection valve includes a swirling chamber having an inner peripheral wall whose curvature is gradually larger from upstream to downstream, a path for swirling which, having a fuel flow-in region formed along a valve axis direction, guides fuel to the swirling chamber, and a fuel injection orifice open into the swirling chamber. In the fuel injection valve, the path for swirling is inclined toward the fuel injection orifice formed on a downstream side of the swirling chamber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 6, 2014
    Publication date: September 11, 2014
    Applicant: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshio OKAMOTO, Kazuki YOSHIMURA, Noriyuki MAEKAWA, Nobuaki KOBAYASHI, Eiji ISHII, Takahiro SAITO
  • Publication number: 20140251262
    Abstract: A fuel injection valve realizing improved circumferential uniformity of swirling fuel is provided. The fuel injection valve includes swirling chambers each having an inner peripheral wall whose curvature is gradually larger from upstream to downstream, paths for swirling each of which, having a fuel flow-in region formed along a valve axis direction, guides fuel to the associated one of the swirling chambers, and fuel injection orifices open into the associated swirling chambers, respectively. In the fuel injection valve, a curved portion is formed on the bottom, in a sectional view along the valve axis direction, of an inlet portion of each of the paths for swirling so as to change the fuel flow in each of the paths for swirling.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 6, 2014
    Publication date: September 11, 2014
    Applicant: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshio OKAMOTO, Kazuki YOSHIMURA, Noriyuki MAEKAWA, Nobuaki KOBAYASHI, Eiji ISHII, Takahiro SAITO
  • Patent number: 8770168
    Abstract: A piston for a four valve direct injection diesel engine defines a combustion chamber comprising a recess (10) in the piston crown, which is rotationally symmetrical about the axis of the piston in axial cross-section and is defined by a base and a side wall. A generally conical projection (5) is upstanding from the base. The recess (10) includes a lower toroidal portion (8) and an upper portion (10), whose diameter progressively increases towards the piston crown. The upper and lower portions of the recess are separated by an annular, arcuate lip (12) extending into the recess.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2014
    Assignee: Ricardo UK Limited
    Inventors: Richard Cornwell, Fabrizio Conicella
  • Publication number: 20140165960
    Abstract: A variable intake manifold apparatus for an internal combustion engine, may include an inlet drawing in outside air and being connected to a main passage, first and second outlets branched from the main passage and fluid-connected to the inlet through the main passage and releasing the outside air drawn through the main passage through the first and second outlets, and a partition dividing the main passage and one of the first and second intake passages.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 6, 2013
    Publication date: June 19, 2014
    Applicants: Kia Motors Corporation, Hyundai Motor Company
    Inventors: Dong Hee Han, Seung Kook Han, Hyun Jun Lim, Dong Ho Chu, Yoon Joo Kim, Ji Ho Kim, Hyuk Im, Jong Il Park
  • Publication number: 20140165959
    Abstract: An engine having a variable valve timing device and a variable tumble device, may include the variable valve timing device advancing or delaying a rotation of an intake camshaft or an exhaust camshaft, an intake valve or an exhaust valve configured to be operated by the intake camshaft or the exhaust camshaft respectively to open and close an intake port or an exhaust port, and the variable tumble device that may be disposed on an upstream side of the intake valve in the intake port and changes a flow of a gas being suck to form a tumble in a combustion chamber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 31, 2013
    Publication date: June 19, 2014
    Applicants: Kia Motors Corporation, Hyundai Motor Company
    Inventors: Dong Hee Han, Seung Kook Han, Dae Yoon Oh, Wootae Kim, Dong Ho Chu, Jong Il Park, Yoon Joo Kim, Hyuk Im, Hyun Jun Lim
  • Patent number: 8683973
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine, which includes a cylinder block, a cylinder head fastened to the cylinder block, an aperture formed in a side of the cylinder head, and a conduit assembly, such as an intake runner assembly or an exhaust conduit assembly. A combustion chamber is formed by the cylinder block and the cylinder head. The intake runner assembly is received within the aperture and configured to communicate air to the combustion chamber. The intake runner assembly includes a first piece and a second piece. The first piece has a first channel that includes a bend. The second piece has a second channel that includes another bend mirroring the bend of the first channel. The first piece is coupled to the second piece such that the first and second channels together form a flow path through the intake runner assembly, and the bends of the first and second channels together form a smooth turn in the flow path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2014
    Assignee: Briggs & Stratton Corporation
    Inventor: Jason J. Raasch
  • Patent number: 8677950
    Abstract: A combustion chamber in an opposed-piston, internal-combustion engine is disclosed in which the pistons tops are designed so that when they approach each other, they induce a tumble flow in one or two hemispherical spaces defined in the piston tops. The combustion chamber further includes injectors side mounted in the cylinder wall. In one embodiment, the tumble flows in the two hemispheres are in the same direction and in another embodiment, in opposite directions. In yet another embodiment, there is only one injector and one hemisphere in which a tumble flow is induced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2014
    Assignee: EcoMotors, Inc.
    Inventor: Peter Hofbauer
  • Patent number: 8662054
    Abstract: An ECU 70 is provided to an engine 50 including a TCV 57 that changes a tumble flow generated inside a cylinder and being configured to be capable of securing a cooling of a cylinder block 51 and suppressing an occurrence of a cooling loss in a cylinder head 52. The ECU 70 includes a control unit that feedback-controls the TCV 57 based on a primary blow-off voltage Vi so that a flow velocity of air flowing along a surface on the cylinder head 52 side becomes greater than a flow velocity of air flowing along a surface on the piston 53 side in a case where a flow velocity of air flowing along a surface on one of the cylinder head 52 side and the piston 53 side becomes greater than a flow velocity of air flowing along a surface on another side in the cylinder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Tetsuo Omura
  • Patent number: 8627799
    Abstract: Apparatus constituting part of an induction and fuel delivery system for a cylinder of a piston internal combustion engine comprising a small cyclone into which is tangentially discharged a flow of heated air to generate a sustained vortex of high rotational speed; a modulatable fuel injector delivering a flow of atomized fuel into said small cyclone wherein it underdoes flash evaporation and energetic mixing; a delivery duct connecting said small cyclone to the inlet tract of said cylinder wherein said vortex fuel-air mixture is mixed with heated induction air; and means to prevent overheating of said modulatable fuel injector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2014
    Inventor: David Littlewood Johnson
  • Patent number: 8622044
    Abstract: In an intake arrangement for a combustion chamber in which a first intake duct produces a substantially rotational flow in the chamber, the flow from a second intake duct is divided into two components. The first component is an axial flow into the chamber and the second component is a rotational flow having the same sense of rotation as the first duct. The first and second components arise from the shaping of a junction region between branches of the second intake duct adjacent the chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2014
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Lorenzo Magro, Domenico Maccarrone
  • Patent number: 8602012
    Abstract: A car engine air-intake unit has a round main body. The main body has airflow guides and airflow guiding plates to guide air flowing into the intake tube to rotate, and blades are provided which protrude out of the main body and extend from the airflow guiding plates to increase the rotating angle and stroke of the guided air flow. The intake unit can be used in cooperation with any of various specific air-intake tubes, and can be assembled and adjusted to support different air intake amounts and any of various air-intake tubes of different bores, and thus offers convenience of use.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2013
    Inventor: Chung-Yu Yang
  • Patent number: 8597524
    Abstract: The current application is directed to an enclosed rotor-based cavitational and catalytic flow-through reaction chamber (“ERCCFRC”) that can be employed in a variety of thermal, chemical, and fluid-mechanical processes. The ERCCFRC features a reaction chamber that incorporates a spinning rotor, generating fluid-mechanical forces and cavitation in a fluid within the ERCCFRC. The reaction chamber further incorporates one or more heterogeneous catalysts that promote specific chemical reactions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2013
    Assignee: Donnelly Labs LLC
    Inventor: Joseph L. Donnelly
  • Patent number: 8561581
    Abstract: A radial, two-stroke uniflow internal combustion (IC) cylinder and multiple cylinder engine, the cylinder having a cylinder wall and a cylinder head, the cylinder head having an exhaust port, a fuel injector, and a spark means disposed through the cylinder head, a piston reciprocally mounted in the cylinder for movement alternately through compression and power strokes, and an inlet swirl port disposed through the cylinder wall providing fluid communication into the cylinder chamber, and having an annular exhaust air manifold in exhaust gas communication with each exhaust ports, and an exhaust-driven radial in-flow turbine that drives the inlet air compression.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2013
    Inventor: Jack R. Taylor
  • Patent number: 8555853
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine includes a pair of adjacent cylinders, each one of the pair of adjacent cylinders includes a piston, a first intake valve, a second intake valve, a primary port associated with the first intake valve, and a secondary port associated with the second intake valve. Each of the ports is configured to provide a predominant direction of airflow therethrough during engine operation when viewed from above the cylinders and effectively oriented to provide respective in-cylinder air-swirl of opposite direction in each one of the pair of adjacent cylinders during an intake stroke of a respective piston.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2013
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Shengming Chang, Mark S. Huebler
  • Patent number: 8555854
    Abstract: A piston for a direct injection engine is provided, the piston having a bowl at an upper end, the bowl forming a portion of a combustion chamber. The bowl includes an inner surface and a dome that defines a volume configured to receive a fuel-air mixture, the inner surface of the bowl and the dome each including at least one surface feature as a target for the fuel spray. The surface feature may protrude from the inner surface of the bowl or may be recessed into the inner surface. Such surface features may reduce soot and improve fuel-air mixing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2013
    Assignee: Southwest Research Institute
    Inventors: Rainer J. Rothbauer, Charles E. Roberts, Jr., Thomas W. Ryan, III
  • Patent number: 8544445
    Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for fabricating and running an engine in two modes. The first mode is an efficiency mode having a high compression ratio and efficiency for low to medium loads. The second mode is a power mode having high power density for higher loads. The system may use a lean mixture in the efficiency mode, which mixture is made richer for more power in the power mode. The system may also use ignition timing to allow the efficiency mode and the high power mode to be at the same mixture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Pinnacle Engines, Inc.
    Inventors: James M. Cleeves, Nicholas Manov, Michael A. Willcox, Simon David Jackson
  • Patent number: 8522748
    Abstract: A method is provided for diagnosing the integrity of a swirl generating system for an internal combustion engine. The swirl generating system includes, but is not limited to swirl controlling elements that are individually located in a respective air passage connecting the intake manifold of the engine to an intake port of an engine combustion chamber, an actuator having a movable shaft, a cinematic chain for mechanically connecting the swirl controlling elements to the actuator movable shaft, an actuator control unit for normally moving the actuator movable shaft in a first direction towards a first final position, and in a second opposite direction towards a second final position, and actuator sensor for sensing the position of the actuator movable shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2013
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Fulvio Brosio, Nando Vennettilli, Domenico Rampone
  • Patent number: 8505501
    Abstract: A radial, two-stroke uniflow internal combustion (IC) cylinder and multiple cylinder engine, the cylinder having a cylinder wall and a cylinder head, the cylinder head having an exhaust port, a fuel injector, and a spark means disposed through the cylinder head, a piston reciprocally mounted in the cylinder for movement alternately through compression and power strokes, and an inlet swirl port disposed through the cylinder wall providing fluid communication into the cylinder chamber, and having an annular exhaust air manifold in exhaust gas communication with each exhaust ports, and an exhaust-driven radial in-flow turbine that drives the inlet air compression.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2013
    Inventor: Jack R. Taylor
  • Patent number: 8430074
    Abstract: A spark ignition direct injection fuel cylinder for an engine includes a rotatable valve at a curved wall of an intake duct. The rotatable valve provides a variable step in to adjust the degree of tumble airflow while reducing flow restriction to improve engine performance across operating conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2013
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Thomas A. McCarthy, Jianwen James Yi
  • Patent number: 8418449
    Abstract: A variable exhaust gas flow deflector for an internal combustion engine is disclosed. The deflector can include a blade located at least partially within an exhaust gas flow of the engine, the blade having a first position and a second position. The blade can move between the first position and the second position as a function of at least one parameter and/or condition of the exhaust gas and/or the internal combustion engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2013
    Assignee: FEV GmbH
    Inventors: Marek Tatur, Dean Tomazic
  • Patent number: 8402941
    Abstract: An intake system is provided with an intake flow control valve (300) provided in an intake port (50) upstream of an intake valve (70). The intake flow control valve (300) may be switched between at least a first position (300A) and a second position (300B), in accordance with the operating state of an engine, by rotating a rotary shaft (360), which is supported by a rotary shaft support part (350). In the first position, the clearance between the valve element and the inner wall of the intake port is small. In the second position, the clearance between the valve element and the inner wall of the intake port is large.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2013
    Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Yoichi Kobori, Masamichi Akagawa
  • Patent number: 8397495
    Abstract: An exhaust mixer (16) is provided for use in an engine exhaust system (10) downstream from an additive injector (14). The mixer (16) includes eight vanes (20), with four of the vanes (20A) extending from a first side (22) of the mixer (16) and arranged in an equally spaced circumferential array around a central axis (24), and the other four of the vanes (20B) extending from an opposite side (26) of the mixer (16) and arranged opposite from the other four vanes (20A) in an equally spaced circumferential array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2013
    Assignee: Tenneco Automotive Operating Company Inc.
    Inventors: Gabriel Salanta, Guanyu Zheng, Daniel Salanta
  • Patent number: 8387588
    Abstract: An ECU controls an internal combustion engine that creates a tumble flow in each engine cylinder and intensifies the tumble flow using fuel injected at a timing near the intake stroke bottom dead center during homogeneous combustion. The ECU includes a fuel property identifying mechanism identifying the property of fuel and combustion state changing mechanism changing the combustion state. When the fuel has a property that requires a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio lower than the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio for gasoline, the combustion state changing mechanism changes the combustion state by, for example, retarding the ignition timing, so that the combustion progresses moderately. This prevents an excessive increase in the combustion speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Takeshi Ashizawa
  • Patent number: 8336519
    Abstract: An intake system of an engine, may include first and second intake passages that are collaterally disposed to the engine, first and second shafts that are collaterally disposed along the first and second intake passages respectively, first flaps and second flaps that are mounted on the first shaft and the second shaft so as to open or close the first intake passages and the second intake passages respectively, an inter-lever, of which one end portion is pivotally and eccentrically connected to the first shaft and the other end portion is pivotally and eccentrically connected to the second shaft, and through which a rotation of the first shaft is transferred to the second shaft, and a driving portion connected to the first shaft and rotating the first shaft to have the first flaps and the second flaps open or close the first intake passages and the second intake passages respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2012
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors Corporation
    Inventor: Yong Cheol Lee