Cross-port air flow that improves engine fuel economy and reduces pumping losses during part-throttle operation can be implemented in various types of internal combustion engine systems using ports that interconnect the intake ports of different cylinders, thus allowing different cylinders to share combustion air. Cross-port air flow is commenced during part-throttle engine operation to disrupt the primary combustion air flow from each throttle to its associated cylinder, which reduces charge density and engine power. The engine compensates for the reduced power by incrementally opening the throttles, thus increasing the primary combustion air flow, reducing pumping losses and improving fuel economy.

Synergistic induction and turbocharging includes the use of one or more throttles in close proximity to each cylinder intake valve to control air flow in each intake port delivering air to combustion cylinders in an internal combustion engine system. A turbocharger may also be affixed in close proximity to each cylinder exhaust valve to enable a synergistic combination of hyper-filling cylinders with combustion air and immediate harvesting of exhaust gas by adjacent turbochargers. In some implementations the turbochargers may be low-inertia turbochargers. The combination of individual throttles per intake port and a turbocharger in close proximity to each cylinder enables faster ramp-up of an engine in the early stages of acceleration. Various implementations thus provide improved fuel economy and improved engine performance in tandem, instead of one at the expense of the other.

An opening/closing valve structure for an engine is provided with a valve body for opening and closing an intake passage or an exhaust passage of the engine; a pair of bush members mounted on axial ends of the valve body; and a shaft member axially passing through one of the bush members and projecting from the bush member by a predetermined length within one end of the valve body. Each of the bush members is mounted in such a manner that a part of the bush member is axially received in an end of the valve body and the remaining part thereof axially projects from the end of the valve body. A portion of the shaft member projecting from the one of the bush members is connected to the valve body in such a manner that relative rotation of the shaft member with respect to the valve body is disabled.

An improved throttle body structure is provided. The structure includes a throttle body. The throttle body is provided with a plurality of airflow channels running from top to bottom, each of the airflow channels is internally provided with a butterfly valve for controlling a ventilation volume, and the throttle body is internally provided with injectors whose quantity corresponds to a quantity of the airflow channels. Each of the airflow channels is further internally provided with a tubular atomizer mounted and fixed in a radial direction, the atomizer is in a shape of a blind tube with one opening end, a tube wall of the atomizer is provided with a plurality of atomizing holes, and the opening end of the atomizer is connected to the injectors. The tubular atomizer is used, and the opening end of the atomizer is directly connected to the injectors.

An air intake device for an internal combustion engine of the present invention includes a water discharge passage extending from a bottom surface of a control valve housing part recessed in a housing passage forming part of an air intake passage to an air intake port. The water discharge passage is formed independently from the air intake passage, and includes: a water collection groove recessed in the bottom surface; a water discharge hole formed penetrating a cover of a valve control housing; and a water discharge hole penetrating a flange part of an insert inserted into the air intake port. The downstream end of the water discharge hole is connected to a space defined between an air intake port inner wall surface and an insert cylindrical part.

Synergistic induction and turbocharging includes the use of one or more throttles in close proximity to each cylinder intake valve to control air flow in each intake port delivering air to combustion cylinders in an internal combustion engine system. A turbocharger may also be affixed in close proximity to each cylinder exhaust valve to enable a synergistic combination of hyper-filling cylinders with combustion air and immediate harvesting of exhaust gas by adjacent turbochargers. In some implementations the turbochargers may be low-inertia turbochargers. The combination of individual throttles per intake port and a turbocharger in close proximity to each cylinder enables faster ramp-up of an engine in the early stages of acceleration. Various implementations thus provide improved fuel economy and improved engine performance in tandem, instead of one at the expense of the other.

A throttle device, comprising: a throttle valve (13) disposed in a plurality of intake passages (12) of a throttle body (11); a throttle shaft (14) supporting the throttle valve (13); a motor (15) for driving the throttle valve (13) to open and close through the throttle shaft (14); a rotation transmission mechanism (20) interposed between the motor (15) and the throttle shaft (14); and a position sensor to detect a displacement in the rotation transmission mechanism (20). The rotation transmission mechanism (20) includes a pinion (21) driven by the motor (15) and a control gear (23) interlocked with the pinion (21) and integrally connected to the throttle shaft (14). The position sensor (30) to detect an angular displacement of the control gear (23) and the rotation transmission mechanism (20) are disposed between the plurality of intake passages 12.

An air intake device includes: a valve body which includes a rotating shaft; a bearing member which rotatably supports the rotating shaft of the valve body; and an air intake port which includes a concave portion on which the bearing member is disposed, wherein the bearing member includes a positioning portion for positioning the bearing member with respect to the concave portion of the air intake port, facing surfaces which extend from the positioning portion along the concave portion of the air intake port and face each other in an inward radial direction of the rotating shaft with respect to the concave portion, with a gap therebetween, and protruding portions which protrude toward the concave portion of the air intake port from the facing surfaces and seal the gap.

This valve device includes a body having passages and valve shaft holes, a valve shaft passed through the valve shaft holes in a rotatable manner, and butterfly valves. The butterfly valves include first contour parts and second contour parts forming outer contour parts that are smaller than the first contour parts. The first and second contour parts are fixed to the valve shaft in order to close off the passages at positions set apart from the valve shaft holes toward the downstream side (upstream side) of the passages, and are disposed flanking a straight line parallel to the valve shaft to form prescribed outer contour parts. The body includes first seal parts with which the first contour parts are brought into contact and second seal parts with which the second contour parts are brought into contact within the passages. Fluid leakage in a closed state can thereby be reliably prevented.

Spigots are respectively formed on engine sides of intake passages defined in a first throttle body and intake passages defined in a second throttle body, and end parts of rubber joints extending from individual cylinders of an engine are fitted to corresponding spigots and are fastened and fixed thereto with hose bands. A gear unit is disposed between both throttle bodies and drives and rotates a throttle shaft with a motor via the gear unit to open and close throttle valves of the cylinders. Axis lines of the spigots of the intake passages positioned on both sides of the gear unit are formed to have eccentricity in a direction away from each other, so that a part of the gear unit is positioned between the spigots. Therefore, attachment spaces of the rubber joints are secured without elongating the throttle bodies.