Patents by Inventor Bernd Steiner

Bernd Steiner 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).

  • Patent number: 9243526
    Abstract: A method for operating an engine is provided. The method comprises adjusting an oil pressure in an oil circuit, the oil circuit including a pump in fluidic communication with a hydraulically adjustable cam follower and switching the hydraulically adjustable cam follower into a connected state to a disconnected in response to the oil pressure adjustment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Jan Mehring, Klemens Grieser, Kai Sebastian Kuhlbach, Bernd Steiner
  • Publication number: 20160003186
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine includes a cylinder head, a cylinder block serving as an upper crankcase half for holding a crankshaft in at least two crankshaft bearings, at least one further shaft mounted in at least two shaft bearings, an oil circuit with oil-conducting lines for supplying oil to at least two bearings, and an exhaust-gas recirculation arrangement. A heat conductor runs between at least one of the bearings and a thermally more highly loaded region of the internal combustion engine which, at least in the warm-up phase of the internal combustion engine, is at a higher temperature than the associated bearing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 4, 2015
    Publication date: January 7, 2016
    Inventors: Jan MEHRING, Stefan QUIRING, Bernd STEINER, Hans Guenter QUIX, Moritz Klaus SPRINGER
  • Patent number: 9222398
    Abstract: A cooling system for an engine is provided. In one embodiment, an internal combustion engine comprises a cabin heat exchanger circuit including a connecting line opening on an inlet side into a cylinder block coolant jacket, a main coolant pump arranged in the cabin heat exchanger circuit, an auxiliary coolant pump arranged in the connecting line, and a check valve. In this way, additional cooling and/or heating may be provided to the engine and associated components by the auxiliary coolant pump.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2015
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Jan Mehring, Kai Sebastian Kuhlbach, Bernd Steiner, Michael Tobergte, Hans Guenter Quix
  • Patent number: 9169801
    Abstract: Embodiments for selectively filling a cylinder block cooling jacket with oil are provided. In one example, a control unit may be rotated among a plurality of working positions to open up and/or block flow of oil into and out of the cylinder block cooling jacket.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2015
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Jan Mehring, Thomas Lorenz, Bernd Steiner, Moritz Klaus Springer
  • Patent number: 9140176
    Abstract: A method to operate a split coolant circuit of a combustion engine wherein a cylinder head coolant jacket and an engine block coolant jacket are provided in series with a pump delivering coolant to an inlet of the cylinder head coolant jacket without being directly connected to an inlet of the engine block coolant jacket. This allows for 100% of the pump flow rate to be delivered to the cylinder head coolant jacket before division of coolant flow occurs for various engine operating conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2015
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Bernd Steiner, Jan Mehring, Martin Wirth, Bernd Brinkmann
  • Patent number: 9130145
    Abstract: A surface acoustic wave component contains two fan-shaped interdigital transducers disposed on a piezoelectric substrate, the prongs and gaps of which transducers forming groups having the same length, called cells, between them, and narrow in the averaged prong direction. The cells are structured like cells of unidirectional transducers, and at least one of the fan-shaped interdigital transducers is composed of partial transducers. The partial transducers are disposed one behind the other, perpendicular to the averaged prong direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2015
    Assignee: Vectron International GmbH
    Inventors: Guenter Martin, Bernd Steiner
  • Patent number: 9121335
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine is provided. The internal combustion engine includes an oil circuit and a pump in fluidic communication with a supply line and at least one lubricant receiving component and a liquid cooling system including a coolant circuit having an oil pressure actuated coolant valve and a coolant valve control line in fluidic communication with the pump and having a first configuration in which coolant may flow therethrough and a second configuration in which coolant is inhibited from flowing therethrough, the first and second configurations triggered in response to a change in oil pressure in the coolant valve control line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2015
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Stefan Quiring, Michael Tobergte, Hans Guenter Quix, Kai Sebastian Kuhlbach, Bernd Steiner, Jan Mehring
  • Publication number: 20150198079
    Abstract: A selector guide valve in cooling system of an internal combustion engine is provided. The selector guide valve includes a first control drum independently rotatable and including an inlet receiving engine coolant from a pump and a plurality of coolant openings extending through the first control drum and a second control drum independently rotatable, circumferentially surrounding the first control drum, and including a plurality of coolant openings extending through the second control drum.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 13, 2015
    Publication date: July 16, 2015
    Inventors: Michael Tobergte, Bernd Steiner, Kay Hohenboeken, Bert Pingen, Stefan Quiring, Jan Mehring
  • Publication number: 20150167531
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to a method for expediting warm up of an internal combustion engine cylinder block and engine oil utilizing an existing oil coolant circuit. A method for warming up an internal combustion engine with at least one cylinder, a cylinder block which is formed by an upper crankcase half mounted to a lower crankcase half, said lower crankcase half containing an oil sump which is fed, via a supply line, by a coolant jacket, an inlet side of said coolant jacket supplied in turn with oil via the oil sump by an oil pump, the method comprising: releasing oil from the coolant jacket via gravity to reduce a cooling capacity of the internal combustion engine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2015
    Publication date: June 18, 2015
    Inventors: Jan Mehring, Moritz Klaus Springer, Bernd Steiner, Thomas Lorenz
  • Patent number: 9051991
    Abstract: Embodiments for mass balancing an engine are provided. In one example, an internal combustion engine having at least one cylinder which is associated with a crank drive comprises at least one mechanically driven balancing unit for balancing the mass forces, the balancing unit including at least one balancing weight which serves as an unbalance by initially rotating a first mass about a rotational axis relative to a second mass when the balancing unit is operational, and an interrupter unit to disconnect the at least one balancing unit from the mechanical drive in a switched off state and connect it to the mechanical drive in a switched on state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2015
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Stefan Quiring, Bernd Steiner
  • Patent number: 9004020
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to a method for expediting warm up of an internal combustion engine cylinder block and engine oil utilizing an existing oil coolant circuit. A method for warming up an internal combustion engine with at least one cylinder, a cylinder block which is formed by an upper crankcase half mounted to a lower crankcase half, said lower crankcase half containing an oil sump which is fed, via a supply line, by a coolant jacket, an inlet side of said coolant jacket supplied in turn with oil via the oil sump by an oil pump, the method comprising: releasing oil from the coolant jacket via gravity to reduce a cooling capacity of the internal combustion engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2015
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Jan Mehring, Moritz Klaus Springer, Bernd Steiner, Thomas Lorenz
  • Patent number: 8893669
    Abstract: A hybrid cooling system for an engine is provided. The system comprises a block oil cooling circuit, a head coolant cooling circuit, the head and block circuits having a common heat exchanger. The system also includes a flow device in the head cooling circuit for preventing coolant flow in the head cooling circuit at least during a first phase of a warm-up phase of the internal combustion engine, a delivery device in the block cooling circuit which delivers engine oil constantly under pressure through the block cooling circuit to bearing points in a cylinder block and to bearing points in a cylinder head, and a control element arranged in a control line to reduce the delivery capacity of the delivery device through the block cooling circuit at least during the first phase of the warm-up phase. In this way, heat transfer in the common heat exchanger may be substantially prevented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2014
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Jan Mehring, Bernd Steiner, Carsten Weber
  • Patent number: 8833073
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine is provided herein. The internal combustion engine may include a turbocharger including a turbine positioned in an exhaust passage, the turbine having a turbine housing. The internal combustion engine may further include a cooling system having an engine block coolant jacket fluidly coupled to a pump, a cylinder head coolant jacket fluidly coupled to the pump, and a turbine coolant passage traversing the turbine housing and fluidly coupled to the pump and bypassing the engine block coolant jacket.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2014
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Kai Sebastian Kuhlbach, Bernd Steiner, Jan Mehring
  • Publication number: 20140209046
    Abstract: A method to operate a split coolant circuit of a combustion engine wherein a cylinder head coolant jacket and an engine block coolant jacket are provided in series with a pump delivering coolant to an inlet of the cylinder head coolant jacket without being directly connected to an inlet of the engine block coolant jacket. This allows for 100% of the pump flow rate to be delivered to the cylinder head coolant jacket before division of coolant flow occurs for various engine operating conditions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2014
    Publication date: July 31, 2014
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Bernd Steiner, Jan Mehring, Martin Wirth, Bernd Brinkmann
  • Patent number: 8695556
    Abstract: Embodiments for balancing an engine are provided. In one example, a method for balancing mass forces of a crank drive of an internal combustion engine having at least one cylinder comprises providing at least one balancing unit which has at least one balancing weight which serves as an unbalance and which rotates about a rotational axis when the balancing unit is operational, the at least one balancing unit being embodied as a switchable balancing unit, and switching on the at least one balancing unit as a function of at least one operating parameter of the internal combustion engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Bernd Steiner, Stefan Quiring
  • Patent number: 8667795
    Abstract: Disclosed is a turbocharged internal combustion engine having at least one intake for supplying the internal combustion engine with fresh air or fresh mixture on an inlet side, a cylinder head having at least two cylinders which are arranged along a cylinder head longitudinal axis and each of which has at least one outlet opening which is adjoined by an exhaust line for discharging the exhaust gases out of the cylinder, the exhaust lines of at least two cylinders being merged on an outlet side, so as to form an integrated exhaust manifold within the cylinder head, to form an overall exhaust line. Also disclosed is at least one exhaust-gas turbocharger which comprises a turbine arranged in the overall exhaust line and a compressor arranged in the at least one intake.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2014
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Bernd Steiner, Kai Sabastian Kuhlbach
  • Publication number: 20140034008
    Abstract: Embodiments for selectively filling a cylinder block cooling jacket with oil are provided. In one example, a control unit may be rotated among a plurality of working positions to open up and/or block flow of oil into and out of the cylinder block cooling jacket.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 22, 2013
    Publication date: February 6, 2014
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Jan Mehring, Thomas Lorenz, Bernd Steiner, Moritz Klaus Springer
  • Patent number: 8621865
    Abstract: Embodiments for cooling a turbine of an engine are provided. In one example embodiment, an internal combustion engine comprises a turbocharger including a turbine having a coolant jacket integrated in a housing of the turbine, and an oil circuit coupled to the coolant jacket of the turbine. By cooling the turbine with the oil circuit, the turbine may be constructed from less-heat resistant materials.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2014
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Jan Mehring, Ludwig Stump, Kai Sebastian Kuhlbach, Bernd Steiner, Carsten Weber, Franz J. Brinkmann, Frank Kraemer, Jens Groeger
  • Patent number: 8601987
    Abstract: A system for providing cooling to at least one cylinder of an engine is disclosed. The system comprises at least one coolant jacket in a cylinder head arranged on an inlet side of a cylinder and at least one coolant jacket in the cylinder head arranged on an outlet side of the cylinder. The outlet-side coolant jacket may be part of a water cooling circuit, while the inlet-side coolant jacket may be part of an oil circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2013
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Bernd Steiner, Kai Sebastian Kuhlbach, Jan Mehring
  • Patent number: 8555825
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine is disclosed that has a cylinder block with multiple cylinders, a bridge between adjacent cylinders, a cooling slot in the bridge, and a water jacket portion in the cylinder block. A cylinder head is coupled to the cylinder block which has a first cooling passage fluidly coupling the cooling slot and the water jacket portion in the cylinder block, a water jacket portion in the cylinder head, and a second cooling passage in the cylinder head fluidly coupling the cooling slot with the water jacket portion in the cylinder head. A cylinder head gasket is arranged between the cylinder head and the cylinder block which has a first orifice in the cylinder head gasket cooperating with the first cooling passage a second orifice in the cylinder head gasket cooperating with the second cooling passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2013
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Ingo Lenz, Urban Morawitz, Richard Fritsche, Guenter Bartsch, Bernd Steiner, Jeroen Slotman