Patents by Inventor Kai Sebastian Kuhlbach

Kai Sebastian Kuhlbach 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).

  • Publication number: 20110271916
    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 oil circuit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2011
    Publication date: November 10, 2011
    Applicant: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Bernd Steiner, Kai Sebastian Kuhlbach, Jan Mehring
  • Publication number: 20110197832
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine is provided. The internal combustion engine includes a cylinder block having a cooling jacket and a cylinder head having two cooling jackets. In one example, the internal combustion engine may be operated so as to reduce engine friction and emissions during cold engine starts.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 3, 2011
    Publication date: August 18, 2011
    Applicant: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Oliver Berkemeier, Kai Sebastian Kuhlbach, Martin Lutz, Jan Mehring, Richard Fritsche
  • Patent number: 7992535
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to an internal combustion engine having a cylinder head and cylinder block serving as an upper crankcase portion for holding a crankshaft in multiple bearings. The engine has an oil pump for feeding engine oil to the cylinder head prior to supplying the multiple bearings in the cylinder block.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2011
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Bernd Steiner, Kai Sebastian Kuhlbach, Jan Mehring
  • Publication number: 20110079187
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to an internal combustion engine having a cylinder head and cylinder block serving as an upper crankcase portion for holding a crankshaft in multiple bearings. The engine has an oil pump for feeding engine oil to the cylinder head prior to supplying the multiple bearings in the cylinder block.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2010
    Publication date: April 7, 2011
    Applicant: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Bernd Steiner, Kai Sebastian Kuhlbach, Jan Mehring
  • Publication number: 20110056456
    Abstract: Engine oil may pool in various locations in the cylinder head near the valves and underneath the camshaft. Rather than directly conducting the oil to the oil return passages, the oil is conducted to a surface proximate the exhaust ducts before being conducted to the oil return passage so that the oil is readily warmed up during a cold start by the contact with a surface in the cylinder head proximate exhaust ducts. The provision of such a surface proximate exhaust ducts is facilitated by the integrated exhaust manifold design in which the exhaust ducts are merged prior to exiting the cylinder head. By rapidly heating the oil, the oil's viscosity decreases, thereby reducing friction and improving fuel efficiency.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 3, 2010
    Publication date: March 10, 2011
    Applicant: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Bernd Steiner, Kai Sebastian Kuhlbach, Jan Mehring
  • Publication number: 20110041498
    Abstract: An exhaust gas system configured for an internal combustion engine includes a cylinder head having at least two cylinders, a single exhaust duct emerging from the cylinder head, an individual exhaust duct provided between each cylinder and the single exhaust duct, and a reservoir of fixed volume integrated in the cylinder head and coupled to the single exhaust duct via a connecting duct. A reservoir valve is provided in the connecting duct in some embodiments. According to one embodiment, a method is disclosed in which the reservoir valve is commanded to an open position when flow through the single exhaust duct is large and commanded to a closed position when flowrate through the single exhaust duct is small. In some embodiments, a turbine, with a selectable volume upstream of the impeller, is coupled to the cylinder head.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 16, 2010
    Publication date: February 24, 2011
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Kai Sebastian Kuhlbach
  • Publication number: 20100269878
    Abstract: A cylinder head has at least two exhaust gas ducts, an exhaust gas collector collecting exhaust gas from the exhaust gas ducts, a coolant channel around the exhaust gas ducts and the exhaust gas collector, and a thermoelectric element in thermal contact with the exhaust gas duct, the exhaust gas collector, and the coolant channel. The thermoelectric element is arranged around the periphery of the exhaust gas duct and the exhaust gas collector.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 23, 2010
    Publication date: October 28, 2010
    Applicant: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventor: Kai Sebastian Kuhlbach
  • Publication number: 20100229819
    Abstract: A cylinder head has at least three cylinders each coupled to at least one exhaust port, individual exhaust ducts coupled to each of the exhaust ports, and a combined exhaust duct coupling all individual exhaust ducts. The combined exhaust duct emerges from the cylinder head at a location displaced longitudinally from a center of the cylinder head.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 11, 2010
    Publication date: September 16, 2010
    Applicant: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Kai Sebastian Kuhlbach, Guenter Bartsch, Jens Dunstheimer, Martin Lutz
  • Patent number: 7721683
    Abstract: The invention relates to a cooling strategy for an internal combustion engine (1) which has at least one cylinder head (2) and an associated cylinder block (3). A coolant flows in a coolant circuit (4), with at least one control element (6, 7, 8, 9) being assigned to the coolant circuit (4). During a warmup of the internal combustion engine, in successive phases, the coolant flow is conducted to separate cooling regions by the control elements (6, 7, 8, 9), wherein in an operating mode at operating temperature which follows the warmup, the coolant flow is conducted to separate cooling regions by the control elements (6, 7, 8, 9) taking into consideration the operating states of the internal combustion engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2010
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Martin Lutz, Carsten Weber, Jan Mehring, Ingo Lenz, Kai Sebastian Kuhlbach, Richard Fritsche
  • Publication number: 20100083920
    Abstract: A cylinder head adapted to be mounted to a cylinder block of an internal combustion engine has a cooling jacket at least partially integrated in the cylinder head. The engine has two groups of cylinders: inside cylinders and outside cylinders. Each cylinder has at least one exhaust port, each leading to an individual duct. Individual ducts of outside cylinders converge to form an outside combined duct. In a four-cylinder, individual ducts of inside cylinders converge to form an inside combined duct with the inside combined duct remaining separated from the outside combined duct by the cooling jacket. The inside combined duct is farther away from the mounting surface of the cylinder head to the cylinder block than the outside combined duct. The cooling jacket includes: upper, middle, and lower cooling jackets and connectors between the upper and lower cooling jackets.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2009
    Publication date: April 8, 2010
    Applicant: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventor: Kai Sebastian Kuhlbach
  • Publication number: 20080308050
    Abstract: The invention relates to a cylinder head (1) which, at an assembly end-side (9), can be connected to a cylinder block, having a coolant jacket (2), which is at least partially integrated in the cylinder head (1), for an internal combustion engine having at least two cylinders, in which each cylinder has at least one outlet opening (3a, 3b) for discharging the exhaust gases out of the cylinder, with an exhaust-gas line (4a, 4b) adjoining each outlet opening (3a, 3b), the exhaust-gas lines (4a, 4b) of the at least two cylinders merging within the cylinder head (1) to form a combined exhaust-gas line (6), and the coolant jacket (2) having a lower coolant jacket (2a), which is arranged between the exhaust-gas lines (4a, 4b, 5, 6) and the assembly end-side (9) of the cylinder head (1), and an upper coolant jacket (2b), which is arranged on that side of the exhaust-gas lines (4a, 4b, 5, 6) which is situated opposite the lower coolant jacket (2a).
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 13, 2008
    Publication date: December 18, 2008
    Inventors: Kai Sebastian Kuhlbach, Jan Mehring, Martin Lutz, Jens Dunstheimer, Christoph Holbach, Markus Hermanns
  • Publication number: 20080168956
    Abstract: The invention relates to a cooling strategy for an internal combustion engine (1) which has at least one cylinder head (2) and an associated cylinder block (3). A coolant flows in a coolant circuit (4), with at least one control element (6, 7, 8, 9) being assigned to the coolant circuit (4). During a warmup of the internal combustion engine, in successive phases, the coolant flow is conducted to separate cooling regions by the control elements (6, 7, 8, 9), wherein in an operating mode at operating temperature which follows the warmup, the coolant flow is conducted to separate cooling regions by the control elements (6, 7, 8, 9) taking into consideration the operating states of the internal combustion engine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 17, 2008
    Publication date: July 17, 2008
    Inventors: Martin Lutz, Carsten Weber, Jan Mehring, Ingo Lenz, Kai Sebastian Kuhlbach, Richard Fritsche