Patents Examined by Noah Kamen
  • Patent number: 8701618
    Abstract: A piston/piston ring arrangement for an internal combustion engine has a piston that is provided with at least one piston ring accommodated in a ring groove, which ring has a ring gap. A spring element is disposed between the groove root of the ring groove and the piston ring, which element fills the ring gap of the piston ring. A modular unit is composed of such a piston/piston ring arrangement and a cylinder or a cylinder sleeve of an internal combustion engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2014
    Assignee: MAHLE International GmbH
    Inventor: Ulrich Bischofberger
  • Patent number: 8701604
    Abstract: A gas cooler for an internal combustion engine is provided that includes a gas channel for permeating with a gas flow fed to the internal combustion engine in a flow direction, and a heat exchanger inserted in the gas channel in an insertion direction, wherein the heat exchanger comprises at least one connection for feeding or discharging a fluid for cooling the gas flow, wherein the connection comprises a first connection part connected to the heat exchanger before inserting the hat exchanger into the gas channel, and a second connection part that can be connected to the first connection part from the outside.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2014
    Assignee: Behr GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Bjoern Keerl, Elisabeth Lorch
  • Patent number: 8695555
    Abstract: A mass balancing mechanism is provided for balancing mass forces and/or mass torques of an internal combustion engine. The mass balancing mechanism includes an unbalanced shaft (4) having shaft sections (6, 7) for generating the imbalance, two outer bearing journals (9, 10), and at least one inner bearing journal (5) that connects two of the shaft sections, at which bearing journals the unbalanced shaft is rotatably supported at associated bearing points (2, 1, 3) of the internal combustion engine. The inner bearing journal deflects radially relative to the two shaft sections adjacent thereto and forms a radial plain bearing with the inner bearing point (2). According to the invention, the outer bearing journals should each form a radial roller bearing with the outer bearing points (1, 3).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: Schaeffler Technologies GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Peter Solfrank
  • Patent number: 8695544
    Abstract: A high expansion ratio internal combustion engine includes: a variable compression ratio mechanism that varies a mechanical compression ratio of the internal combustion engine; and a variable valve train in which some valve(s) of a plurality of intake valves is phase-variable and the remaining valve(s) is phase-fixed, the variable valve train being configured such that a working angle of the phase-variable intake valve is larger than a working angle of the phase-fixed intake valve, wherein a valve-open timing of the phase-variable intake valve is retarded after a valve-open timing of the phase-fixed intake valve when the internal combustion engine is under low-load operating state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Daisaku Sawada, Eiichi Kamiyama, Takashi Kawasaki, Yukihiro Nakasaka, Daisuke Akihisa, Naoto Hisaminato
  • Patent number: 8695575
    Abstract: A control device for an internal combustion engine includes an engine and a control unit. The engine can switch fuel to be used among plural kinds of fuel. The control unit delays a timing of switching the fuel to a timing of around a fuel cut in a case where switching the fuel is requested.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yusuke Nakayama
  • Patent number: 8695561
    Abstract: An engine that is lighter in weight includes a crankcase, a crankshaft, a body cylinder, a head cylinder, a piston, a piston ring and a cylinder fixing bolt. The piston ring is arranged on an outer peripheral surface of the piston. One end portion of the cylinder fixing bolt extends toward the head cylinder and an other end portion of the cylinder fixing bolt extends toward the crankcase. The cylinder fixing bolt connects the head cylinder, the body cylinder and the crankcase to one another. A lower section of the body cylinder is located within the crankcase. The piston ring abuts on the lower section when the piston is located at a bottom dead center.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: Yamaha Hatsudoki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hideki Fujiwara
  • Patent number: 8695540
    Abstract: A system includes a diesel engine and a fuel-cracking system in fluid communication with a fuel supply to the diesel engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: Aerojet Rocketdyne of DE, Inc.
    Inventor: Alan B. Minick
  • Patent number: 8689745
    Abstract: A split-cycle air-hybrid engine includes a rotatable crankshaft. A compression piston is slidably received within a compression cylinder and operatively connected to the crankshaft. An expansion piston is slidably received within an expansion cylinder and operatively connected to the crankshaft. A crossover passage interconnects the compression and expansion cylinders. The crossover passage includes a crossover compression (XovrC) valve and a crossover expansion (XovrE) valve defining a pressure chamber therebetween. An air reservoir is operatively connected to the crossover passage. An air reservoir valve selectively controls air flow into and out of the air reservoir. The engine is operable in an Air Expander and Firing (AEF) mode. In the AEF mode, the pressure in the air reservoir is greater than or equal to approximately 5 bar absolute, preferably greater than or equal to approximately 7 bar absolute, and more preferably greater than or equal to approximately 10 bar absolute.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2014
    Assignee: Scuderi Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Riccardo Meldolesi, Nicholas Badain, Ian Gilbert
  • Patent number: 8689743
    Abstract: A piston for an internal combustion engine has a piston head and a piston skirt. The piston head has a circumferential ring belt and a circumferential cooling channel. The piston skirt has a working surface assigned to its major thrust side and to its minor thrust side. A bore that proceeds from the cooling channel is provided, which ends in the working surface assigned to the major thrust side, and is disposed at an incline, in such a manner that the bore exit encloses an acute angle (?) with the center axis (M) of the piston. An opening is formed in the working surface, and a deflection surface inclined relative to the working surface is provided between the bore and the bore exit. The working surface assigned to the major thrust side has a depression which forms at least one oil capture region above the opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2014
    Assignee: MAHLE International GmbH
    Inventor: Rainer Scharp
  • Patent number: 8683963
    Abstract: A hydraulic control device is equipped with an oil jet that injects oil to a piston, an oil gallery through which oil injected by the oil jet and oil supplied to a lubrication part of an engine pass, an oil pump that pumps oil to the oil gallery, and a switching valve that is provided on an oil jet passage connecting the oil gallery and the oil jet together and leads oil supplied from the oil gallery to either the oil jet or an oil pan disposed at an upstream side of the oil pump. An ECU controls the switching valve on the basis of an engine speed and an engine cooling water temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hideo Kobayashi, Toshihisa Sugiyama, Kenichi Yamada, Shusaku Sugamoto, Bunki Kawano
  • Patent number: 8683984
    Abstract: A thermocompression motor includes a piston dividing a cylinder into a first and a second chamber and includes a heat exchanger having at least one air channel and at least one exhaust gas channel. In a first cycle, the first and second chamber are connected via the air channel, whereby air from the first chamber is pushed into the heat exchanger and heated air is conveyed from the heat exchanger into the second chamber. In a second cycle, fuel is burned in the second chamber. In a third cycle, only the connection of the second chamber to the exhaust gas channel is open during a subsequent volume increase of the first chamber. In a fourth cycle, fresh air is sucked into the first chamber during a further volume increase of the first chamber, while the connection between the first and second chamber via the air channel is interrupted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2014
    Inventor: Christian Daublebsky von Eichhain
  • Patent number: 8683987
    Abstract: Otto intake-cycle controlled-air (throttled) internal combustion engines suffer from parasitic pumping losses associated with partial vacuums developed in their intake manifolds and in the cylinders above their pistons. To solve this problem, there is provided individually partitioned dry-sump crankcases dynamic pneumatic coupling pressure reduction cycle system and method that reduce the damaging parasitic effects of the differential pressure about a piston head during an intake cycle which is a source of part-load pumping-loss friction. This closed loop system includes an independent supplemental mechanical fail-safe system of a turbo-compound engine variant for pneumatic coupling of individual cylinder-crankcase volumes. It does not alter the cylinder homogeneous mixture charge integrity and stability. The system is applicable to several engine configurations, such as controlled air intake or uncontrolled air intake combustion engines, using different fuel types, either in liquid or in gazeous state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2014
    Assignee: R & D Machma Inc.
    Inventor: Jean-Pierre Marcil
  • Patent number: 8683970
    Abstract: An air intake system for an off-road vehicle includes an intake conduit upstream of a segmented debris removal device and a mail filter element. A baffle is disposed in the intake conduit and extends into the incoming air stream to avoid swirl in the air stream and provide more even air flow distribution into the segments of the segmented debris removal device. The baffle may have two generally parallel elements spaced from one another to reduce mixing of air regions separated by the baffle. The baffle reduces or eliminates vortices that adversely affect air flow into the segmented debris removal device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2014
    Assignee: CNH America LLC
    Inventors: Thomas Michael Chlystek, Kaushal Ghorpade, Keith James Ward
  • Patent number: 8677954
    Abstract: A two stroke crank case scavenged two-stroke internal combustion engine, the engine including: —a cylinder (2) configured to reciprocatingly receive a piston (6) therein defining a combustion chamber (8), the combustion chamber comprising an ignition means (5) for igniting an air/fuel mixture and an exhaust port (40) for evacuating the exhaust fumes, —a crank case (3) including a crank shaft (18), —an indirect fuel supply system (4), such as a carburettor (12) or a low pressure fuel-injection system, for supplying fuel to the crank case (3) to be scavenged to the combustion chamber (8), —at least one transfer duct (20, 20?) each extending from the crank case (3) to at least one corresponding transfer port (21, 21?) for connecting to the combustion chamber (8), —additional air filling means (25, 24, 27, 23, 23?, 22, 22?,26, 26?) for at least partly filling the transfer duct/s (20, 20?) with additional air from the transfer port (21, 21?) towards the crank case (3), —and a direct injection means (7) for injecti
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2014
    Assignee: Husqvarna AB
    Inventors: Joel Berneklev, Mikael Bergman
  • Patent number: 8677967
    Abstract: Disclosed is an intake manifold having a surge tank connected to an air intake passage for air to be supplied to an internal combustion engine. The intake manifold includes a gas introduction section communicated to the air intake passage or the surge tank for introducing gas containing fuel component to the surge tank and a negative pressure feed passage communicated to a portion of the air intake passage or the surge tank which portion is upstream of the gas introduction section in the movement direction of the air and configured to feed a negative pressure inside the surge tank to the outside. The negative pressure feed passage is connected to the air intake passage or the surge tank via an expansion chamber having a larger cross-sectional area than the cross-sectional area of the negative pressure feed passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2014
    Assignee: Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Atsushi Ito, Fumihiro Shinkai
  • Patent number: 8677968
    Abstract: A shaft assembly includes a shaft, a spacer and a cover. The body of the shaft includes a sealing portion, a balancing portion and a hollow portion which may collectively define a generally cylindrical space. The spacer substantially encloses the hollow portion of the body. The cover encapsulates the shaft body and the spacer to provide a substantially continuous cylindrical surface in sealing engagement with the sealing portion. The shaft assembly may be rotatably installed in an engine such that the balancing portion may be partially submerged in an oil bath in the engine and such that the substantially continuous cylindrical surface of the cover minimizes turbulence and aeration of the oil bath when the shaft assembly is rotated. The shaft may be configured for rotation in synchrony with a crankshaft. A method for encapsulating the shaft includes forming a continuous cylindrical surface in sealing engagement with the shaft body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2014
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Glenn E. Clever, Charles K. Buehler
  • Patent number: 8677951
    Abstract: An opposed piston engine has an outer piston and an inner piston, which are disposed in a cylinder and are driven in opposite directions and delimit a common combustion chamber. The inner piston drives a crankshaft via a connecting rod and the outer piston drives the crankshaft via a pair of traction connecting rods. The outer piston is supported by a connecting rod that is guided linearly in a guide block, and the connecting rod protrudes from a bridge that is connected at both end portions to a traction connecting rod. Accordingly, it is provided that each traction connecting rod contains a U-shaped curved piece of tube, preferably with parallel legs, which with its U-shaped curved portion encloses a part of the circumference of the pivot bearing supported by the bridge and is fixed, especially bolted, with its leg ends onto a traction connecting rod bearing mounted on the crankshaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2014
    Assignee: Mahle Koenig Kommanditgesellschaft GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Franz Laimboeck
  • Patent number: 8677970
    Abstract: A piston and an engine are provided that includes various precise configuration parameters, including dimensions, shape and/or relative positioning of combustion chamber features. More particularly, configuration parameters for a piston crown and a piston bowl located within the piston crown are provided. The piston bowl configuration results in a combustion process that yields decreased heat transfer to a cylinder head of the internal combustion engine as well as reduced NOx emissions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2014
    Assignee: Cummins Intellectual Property, Inc.
    Inventors: Rishikesh Venugopal, Donald W. Stanton, Bhargav Ranganath, Thomas Geyer
  • Patent number: 8677952
    Abstract: A drive train for the sleeve of a sleeve valve engine has a pair of drives imparting compound motion to the sleeve which gives improved port opening and closing. One drive uses a engine driven first gear to give eccentric motion to the sleeve by a cam and follower. The other drive uses an engine driven second gear to give a small simultaneous rotation to the sleeve by an eccentric pin during a split sleeve. One drive allows axial response without preventing rotational response from the other drive. The sleeve path allows tall narrow ports which allow the piston rings to be nearer the piston crown and this reduces emissions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2014
    Assignee: Green Energy Gas Engines Pty. Ltd.
    Inventors: Joseph Angelo Beninca, Mark Frederick Jones
  • Patent number: 8677971
    Abstract: A pressure driven apparatus comprising a housing, at least one flexible membrane located within the housing dividing the interior of the housing into at least two chambers. At least one input or exhaust cam assembly operates in conjunction with the at least one flexible membrane to provide an expansion zone within the housing. Fluid enters the housing producing movement of the flexible membrane. The flexible membrane is connected to a drive member such that the movement of the fluid within the expansion zone results in the membrane imparting a force to the drive member. The flexible membrane includes seals used to maintain a dynamic and movable seal with respect to the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2014
    Inventor: Roger Benham