An internal combustion engine assembly for a motor vehicle is provided. The engine assembly comprising: an engine; an electric motor; and a balance shaft comprising an eccentric mass, wherein the electric motor is configured to selectively rotate the balance shaft in order to balance a vibration characteristic of the engine. A method of operating the engine assembly is also provided.

An internal combustion engine includes a crankshaft including an outer crankshaft gear and an in-line balance shaft system coupled to the crankshaft. The in-line balance shaft system is configured to balance reciprocating inertial forces of the internal combustion engine, the in-line balance shaft system is configured to provide concurrent and counter-rotating balance forces. The in-line balance shaft system includes a planetary gear set coupled to the crankshaft. The planetary gear set is coupled to the outer crankshaft gear such rotation of the crankshaft drives the planetary gear set. The planetary gear set includes an input gear and an output gear. The input gear is coupled to the crankshaft such that rotation of the crankshaft causes rotation of the input gear.

An internal combustion engine includes: a wall body that is formed on a crankcase to accommodate a generator by sandwiching the generator between the wall body and a generator cover coupled to the crankcase from outside; a casing that includes a casing wall, the casing wall being formed on the crankcase and, at a position apart from the wall body in an axial direction of the crankshaft, facing the wall body with a space contiguous to an outer surface of the crankcase sandwiched between the casing wall and the wall body; and a balancer shaft that has an axis thereof parallel to the rotation axis of the crankshaft, and is rotatably supported by the casing while one end of the balancer shaft protrudes from the casing wall into the space. Accordingly, the engine can reduce its weight by shortening the balancer shaft as much as possible without upsetting weight balance.

A balance device for an internal combustion engine includes a crankshaft and a balance shaft. The crankshaft includes a CS eccentric weight. The balance shaft includes a BS eccentric weight. A CS connected point deviated from the CS main shaft, and a BS connected point deviated from the BS axial shaft are connected with a connection rod. A CS connection mechanism that enables relative rotation of the crankshaft and the connection rod is provided at the CS connected point. A BS connection mechanism that enables relative rotation of the balance shaft and the connection rod is provided at the BS connected point. A guide section guides a motion of the connection rod so that the balance shaft rotates in an opposite direction to the crankshaft.

To provide a vehicle that includes a balancer mechanism for reducing vibration of the engine and can leave a space margin for increasing the fuel tank in size and/or arranging equipment or components at the rear of the cylinder and above the crankcase. A vehicle includes: an engine mounted on a body frame. The engine comprises a crankcase with a ceiling wall, a crankshaft provided in the crankcase, and a balancer mechanism for reducing vibration of the engine by power transmitted from the crankshaft. The balancer mechanism comprises an idler gear disposed behind the crankshaft and rotated by power transmitted from the crankshaft, and a first balancer disposed behind the idler gear and rotated by power transmitted from the idler gear. The idler gear and the first balancer are disposed along the ceiling wall.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, an electric motor is used to generate correction torques to counteract unwanted torque pulses generated by an internal combustion engine during a cylinder deactivation mode. In some embodiments, the electric motor may be mounted to an accessory drive such as a power take-off mechanism or a front end accessory drive (FEAD). In some embodiments, the correction torques may be determined using an engine model. The correction torques help to reduce or eliminate noise, vibration, and/or harshness (NVH) during the cylinder deactivation mode.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, an electric motor is used to generate correction torques to counteract unwanted torque pulses generated by an internal combustion engine during startup and/or shutdown. In some embodiments, the electric motor may be mounted to an accessory drive such as a power take-off mechanism or a front end accessory drive (FEAD). In some embodiments, the correction torques may be used to enforce an engine speed target profile for startup or shutdown, and may be determined using a feedback control loop based on the engine speed. The correction torques help to reduce or eliminate noise, vibration, and/or harshness (NVH) during startup and/or shutdown.

Oil pump and oil pump-integrated balancer device each have a pump housing formed by housing body 31 and cover member 32, pump shaft 33 having driven side helical gear 43 at which thrust force occurs when transmitting rotation force and rotating a rotor by the rotation force provided from drive side helical gear 13 that is engaged with driven side helical gear 43, first and second thrust receiving portions 47, 46 formed close to hole edges of bearing holes 32a, 31a of the cover member and the housing body, and first and second thrust limiting portions 49, 48 provided at the driven side helical gear and the pump shaft, contacting the thrust receiving portions from axis direction and limiting thrust movement of the pump shaft. With this configuration, oil pump and oil pump-integrated balancer device which are capable of securing stable support of the pump shaft are provided.

An engine system has a balance gear coupled to a balance shaft. The balance gear is formed by a disc having first and second opposite sides extending radially outwardly to a circumferential edge defining a series of teeth, with a first sector of the disc having a first aperture therethrough, and a second opposite sector of the disc having a second aperture therethrough. A damper is positioned within the second aperture and extends across the disc. The damper has a container enclosing a plurality of particles therein. Opposed ends of the container are outboard of the first and second sides of the disc. A method of forming the balance gear is also provided.

A balance shaft structure includes a balance shaft including a balance weight, a driven gear to rotate the balance shaft by being engaged with a drive gear, a scissors mechanism, whose position in an axial direction is regulated, including a scissors gear to reduce backlash between the drive gear and the driven gear and an axially urging member to urge the scissors gear toward the driven gear in the axial direction, a first regulating portion to regulate an axially inner position of the scissors mechanism, and a second regulating portion fixed to the balance shaft on a side close to the shaft end part of the balance shaft beyond the first regulating portion and configured to regulate an axially outer position of the scissors mechanism.