Patents by Inventor Aaron Ness
Aaron Ness has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Publication number: 20260049660Abstract: The present application includes a cylinder head gasket for an internal combustion engine that includes a plurality of metal layers that together form a flange portion extending radially to or adjacent a cylinder bore, wherein the plurality of metal layers are configured to be interposed between substantially an entirety of an interface between a cylinder head and a cylinder liner of the internal combustion engine.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 14, 2024Publication date: February 19, 2026Applicant: Caterpillar Inc.Inventors: Aaron Ness, Alonzo Peter Borchert, Cassidy L. Schumacher, Aaron C. Luft, Justin E. Shreve
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Publication number: 20250297569Abstract: A piston for engine may include an annular body including a combustion bowl defining a volume and surrounded on a top side thereof by an annular crown portion defining a top squish surface with include an inner edge defining an opening to the combustion bowl. The opening may include an area for combustion gases to enter the bowl during a compression stroke of the piston. The combustion bowl may include a reentrant surface that defines a tangent that forms a reentrant angle with the top squish surface. The reentrant angle may range from 28.0 degrees to 32.0 degrees. A ratio of a bowl volume to an area of the entry opening may ranges from 45 mm to 52 mm. A ratio of a bowl volume to the reentrant angle may range from 12 cc/deg to 15 cc/deg.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 21, 2024Publication date: September 25, 2025Applicant: Caterpillar Inc.Inventors: Christopher M. Hoops, Sean Jeffery Moser, Adam J. Clute, Andrew Joseph Loetz, Aaron Ness, Tyler M. Kackley
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Patent number: 12146452Abstract: A piston for an internal combustion engine includes a piston skirt and a piston crown attached to the piston skirt. The piston crown includes a combustion face forming a piston rim extending circumferentially around a piston center axis, and a combustion bowl. The combustion face further forms a bowl edge defining an intersection of the combustion bowl and the piston rim, and includes a reentrant surface extending between the bowl edge and a bowl outer wall. A ratio of a bowl max dimension to a bowl opening dimension is from about 1.10 to about 1.15.Type: GrantFiled: July 13, 2023Date of Patent: November 19, 2024Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.Inventors: Aaron Ness, Andrew J. Loetz, Adam J. Clute, Sri Harsha Uddanda
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Patent number: 12037961Abstract: A piston for an internal combustion engine includes a piston skirt and a piston crown attached to the piston skirt and including a combustion face. The combustion face forms a piston rim and a combustion bowl. A bowl edge defines an intersection of the combustion bowl and the piston rim, and a reentrant surface defining a reentrancy angle extends between the bowl edge and a bowl outer wall. A ratio of a bowl depth dimension coincident with the piston center axis to a compression height dimension coincident with the piston center axis is from about 0.30 to about 0.35.Type: GrantFiled: July 13, 2023Date of Patent: July 16, 2024Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.Inventors: Aaron Ness, Andrew J. Loetz, Adam J. Clute, Sri Harsha Uddanda
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Patent number: 10400663Abstract: A piston comprises a crown portion with a contoured bowl having a reentrant surface extending from the top squish surface that connects to a lower sidewall surface that connects to a swirl pocket surface disposed adjacent the bottom bowl surface.Type: GrantFiled: December 18, 2017Date of Patent: September 3, 2019Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.Inventors: Aaron Ness, Jeff Howard, Sri Harsha Uddanda, Lucas Allen Burger
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Publication number: 20190186341Abstract: A piston comprises a crown portion with a contoured bowl having a reentrant surface extending from the top squish surface that connects to a lower sidewall surface that connects to a swirl pocket surface disposed adjacent the bottom bowl surface.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 18, 2017Publication date: June 20, 2019Applicant: Caterpillar Inc.Inventors: Aaron Ness, Jeff Howard, Sri Harsha Uddanda, Lucas Allen Burger
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Patent number: 9822729Abstract: A piston is disclosed. The piston may have a piston crown having a top surface. The piston may also have a first land disposed in the piston crown adjacent the top surface. The first land may have a side surface disposed generally orthogonal to the top surface. Further the piston may have a second land axially separated from the first land. In addition, the piston may have a groove disposed between the first land and the second land. The piston may also have a notch extending between the side surface and the top surface. The notch may have a generally concave shape and may extend circumferentially around the top surface.Type: GrantFiled: November 2, 2015Date of Patent: November 21, 2017Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.Inventors: Aaron Ness, John R. Brubaker
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Publication number: 20170122251Abstract: A piston is disclosed. The piston may have a piston crown having a top surface. The piston may also have a first land disposed in the piston crown adjacent the top surface. The first land may have a side surface disposed generally orthogonal to the top surface. Further the piston may have a second land axially separated from the first land. In addition, the piston may have a groove disposed between the first land and the second land. The piston may also have a notch extending between the side surface and the top surface. The notch may have a generally concave shape and may extend circumferentially around the top surface.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 2, 2015Publication date: May 4, 2017Applicant: CATERPILLAR INC.Inventors: Aaron NESS, John R. BRUBAKER
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Patent number: 9429101Abstract: A piston for an internal combustion engine is disclosed. The piston includes an upper surface configured to at least partly face a cylinder head of the internal combustion engine. The upper surface includes a combustion bowl surface, and a squish face having an internal edge disposed a first distance from the longitudinal axis along a radial direction. The combustion bowl surface includes a planar surface extending radially outward from the longitudinal axis of the piston, a first concave surface disposed outside the planar surface in the radial direction, the first concave surface having a first radius of curvature, and a second concave surface disposed outside the first concave surface in the radial direction, the second concave surface having a second radius of curvature, the second radius of curvature being smaller than the first radius of curvature.Type: GrantFiled: July 15, 2014Date of Patent: August 30, 2016Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.Inventors: Robert Nacke, Stuart Niese, Aaron Ness, Fabio Menotti, Chris Hoops, Andrew Gaarder
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Patent number: 9228531Abstract: A piston for balancing combustion efficiency and smoke generation with NOx production includes a combustion face forming a combustion bowl having a compound curvature increased in sharpness in a radially outward direction. An outer bowl surface defines a large radius of curvature adjacent an inner bowl surface, and a medium radius of curvature adjacent a cylindrical wall surface. The inner bowl, outer bowl, and wall surfaces together contour the combustion bowl, such that a diameter of the combustion bowl is about 124 mm so as to establish a bowl to bore ratio of about 0.71 in a direct injection compression ignition engine with a compression ratio of about 15:1 to 17:1.Type: GrantFiled: May 13, 2013Date of Patent: January 5, 2016Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.Inventors: Aaron Ness, Scott Coulier, Thomas Kammerdiener, Jonathan Kilkenny
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Publication number: 20150053167Abstract: A piston for an internal combustion engine is disclosed. The piston includes an upper surface configured to at least partly face a cylinder head of the internal combustion engine. The upper surface includes a combustion bowl surface, and a squish face having an internal edge disposed a first distance from the longitudinal axis along a radial direction. The combustion bowl surface includes a planar surface extending radially outward from the longitudinal axis of the piston, a first concave surface disposed outside the planar surface in the radial direction, the first concave surface having a first radius of curvature, and a second concave surface disposed outside the first concave surface in the radial direction, the second concave surface having a second radius of curvature, the second radius of curvature being smaller than the first radius of curvature.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 15, 2014Publication date: February 26, 2015Applicant: Caterpillar Inc.Inventors: Robert Nacke, Stuart Niese, Aaron Ness, Fabio Menotti, Chris Hoops, Andrew Gaarder
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Publication number: 20140331961Abstract: A piston for balancing combustion efficiency and smoke generation with NOx production includes a combustion face forming a combustion bowl having a compound curvature increased in sharpness in a radially outward direction. An outer bowl surface defines a large radius of curvature adjacent an inner bowl surface, and a medium radius of curvature adjacent a cylindrical wall surface. The inner bowl, outer bowl, and wall surfaces together contour the combustion bowl, such that a diameter of the combustion bowl is about 124 mm so as to establish a bowl to bore ratio of about 0.71 in a direct injection compression ignition engine with a compression ratio of about 15:1 to 17:1.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 13, 2013Publication date: November 13, 2014Applicant: Caterpillar Inc.Inventors: Aaron Ness, Scott Coulier, Thomas Kammerdiener, Jonathan Kilkenny