Cast light metal piston

Abstract

A cast light metal piston for an internal combustion engine may include a piston crown and a piston skirt adjoining the piston crown. The piston skirt may include two skirt walls arranged on a pressure side and a counterpressure side, respectively. The piston skirt may have two box walls connecting the skirt walls, which conically taper towards one another in a direction of the piston crown. The piston may include an annularly encircling cooling channel. A thickness of the piston crown may amount to a maximum of 4.5 mm.

Claims

1. A cast light metal piston having a reciprocating axis for an internal combustion engine, comprising: a piston crown and a piston skirt adjoining the piston crown, the piston skirt including: two skirt walls arranged on a pressure side and a counterpressure side, respectively; a first box wall connecting the skirt wall on the pressure side to the skirt wall on the counterpressure side, the first box wall having a first pin hub positioned between a pressure side portion of the first box wall and a counterpressure side portion of the first box wall; a second box wall connecting the skirt wall on the pressure side to the skirt wall on the counterpressure side, the second box wall having a second pin hub positioned between a pressure side portion of the second box wall and a counterpressure side portion of the second box wall; an annularly encircling cooling channel; wherein a thickness of the piston crown amounts to a maximum of 4.5 mm; wherein the pressure side portion of the first box wall and the pressure side portion of the second box wall conically taper toward one another in a direction toward the skirt wall arranged on the pressure side and conically taper toward one another in a direction toward the piston crown; wherein the counterpressure side portion of the first box wall and the counterpressure side portion of the second box wall conically taper from respective first and second end portions toward one another in the direction toward the piston crown; wherein the skirt wall arranged on the pressure side is shorter in a circumferential direction of the reciprocating axis than the skirt wall arranged on the counterpressure side; and wherein the first and second box walls are separated from one another by a distance in a radial direction of the reciprocating axis, and wherein the distance between the pressure side portion of the first box wall at the first pin hub and the pressure side portion of the second box wall at the second pin hub is greater than the distance between the counterpressure side portion of the first box wall at the first pin hub and the counterpressure side portion of the second box wall at the second pin hub.

2. The piston according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the piston crown amounts to a maximum of 3.5 mm.

3. The piston according to claim 1, wherein the skirt wall arranged on the pressure side has a thinner thickness in a circumferentially middle region than in circumferential end regions coupled to the pressure side portions of the first and second box walls.

4. The piston according to claim 1, wherein the first and second box walls are in a biconvex arrangement.

5. The piston according to claim 1, wherein the cooling channel is formed via at least one of a salt and sand core.

6. The piston according to claim 1, wherein the piston crown and skirt are aluminum.

7. The piston according to claim 1, wherein the counterpressure side portion of the first box wall and the counterpressure side portion of the second box wall diverge away from one another in a direction of the skirt wall arranged on the counterpressure side.

8. The piston according to claim 1, wherein the pressure side portion of the first box wall and the pressure side portion of the second box wall are structured convexly to one another along a direction extending between the skirt wall on the pressure side and the reciprocating axis.

9. An internal combustion engine, comprising: a cast light metal piston having a reciprocating axis, including: a piston crown adjoining a piston skirt, the piston skirt including a pin hub, two skirt walls arranged on a pressure side and a counterpressure side, respectively, and first and second box walls connecting the skirt walls to the pin hub, the first and second box walls conically tapering towards one another in a direction of the piston crown; an annularly encircling cooling channel arranged in the piston crown; wherein a thickness of the piston crown is 4.5 mm or less; wherein each of the first and second box walls comprises a pressure side portion arranged between the pin hub and the skirt wall arranged on the pressure side and a counterpressure side portion arranged between the pin hub and the skirt wall arranged on the counterpressure side; wherein the pressure side portions of the first and second box walls conically taper from respective first and second end portions towards one another in a direction towards the skirt wall on the pressure side; and wherein the counterpressure side portions of the first and second box walls diverge away from one another in a direction towards the skirt wall on the counterpressure side wherein the first and second box walls are separated from one another by a distance in a radial direction of the reciprocating axis, and wherein the distance between the pressure side portion of the first box wall at the first pin hub and the pressure side portion of the second box wall at the second pin hub is greater than the distance between the counterpressure side portion of the first box wall at the first pin hub and the counterpressure side portion of the second box wall at the second pin hub.

10. The internal combustion engine according to claim 9, further comprising two spray nozzles for piston cooling, wherein one spray nozzle is directed at an inflow of the cooling channel and the other spray nozzle is directed at a bottom side of the piston crown facing the piston skirt.

11. The internal combustion engine according to claim 9, wherein the thickness of the piston crown is 3.5 mm or less.

12. The internal combustion engine according to claim 9, wherein the skirt wall arranged on the pressure side is shorter in a circumferential direction of the piston than the skirt wall arranged on the counterpressure side.

13. The internal combustion engine according to claim 9, wherein the pressure side portions of the first and second box walls are structured convexly to one another along a radial direction with respect to the reciprocating axis.

14. The internal combustion engine according to claim 9, wherein a distance in a radial direction of the reciprocating axis between the counterpressure side portions of the box walls at the pin hub is less than that defined between the pressure side portions of the first and second box walls at the pin hub.

15. The internal combustion engine according to claim 9, wherein the cooling channel has a varying diameter.

16. The internal combustion engine according to claim 9, wherein the piston crown and skirt are aluminum.

17. A light metal piston for an internal combustion engine, comprising: a piston crown having a central region defining a thickness of 4.5 mm or less; a piston skirt coupled to the piston crown; an annular cooling channel disposed in the piston crown; the piston skirt including a first skirt wall arranged on a pressure side, a second skirt wall arranged on a counterpressure side, a first box wall connecting the first skirt wall to the second skirt wall, a second box wall connecting the first skirt wall to the second skirt wall and arranged at a distance from the first box wall, and a pin hub extending along a direction transverse to the first box wall and the second box wall, wherein the pressure side is separated from the counterpressure side via the pin hub; wherein each of the first box wall and the second box wall comprises a pressure side portion arranged between the pin hub and the first skirt wall and a counterpressure side portion arranged between the pin hub and the second skirt wall; wherein the first box wall and the second box wall taper towards one another in a direction of the piston crown, and wherein the pressure side portion of the first box wall and the pressure side portion of the second box wall conically taper from respective first and second end portions towards one another in a direction towards the first skirt wall; wherein the counterpressure side portion of the first box wall and the counterpressure side portion of the second box wall diverge away from one another in a direction towards the second skirt wall; and wherein the first and second box walls are separated from one another by a distance in a radial direction of the reciprocating axis, and wherein the distance between the pressure side portion of the first box wall at the first pin hub and the pressure side portion of the second box wall at the second pin hub is greater than the distance between the counterpressure side portion of the first box wall at the first pin hub and the counterpressure side portion of the second box wall at the second pin hub.

18. The piston according to claim 17, wherein the pressure side portion of the first box wall and the pressure side portion of the second box wall are structured to extend convexly to one another between the first skirt wall and the pin hub.

19. The piston according to claim 17, wherein the cooling channel has a varying diameter.

20. The piston according to claim 17, wherein the first skirt wall is shorter in a circumferential direction of the piston than the second skirt wall.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) There it shows, in each case schematically,

(2) FIG. 1 a piston according to the invention in a lateral view,

(3) FIG. 2 a view of the piston according to the invention from below,

(4) FIG. 3 a sectional representation along the section plane 3-3,

(5) FIG. 4 a sectional representation through the piston according to the invention along the section plane 4-4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) According to FIGS. 1 to 4, a cast light metal piston 1 according to the invention, in particular an aluminium piston 1, 1 for an internal combustion engine 16 (see FIG. 3) comprises a piston crown 2 facing a combustion chamber 17 and a piston skirt 3 adjoining thereon. The piston skirt 3 has two skirt walls 4, 5 arranged on the pressure side DS and the counter side GDS as well as two box walls 6, 7 connecting these skirt walls 4, 5. The box walls 6, 7 in this case are conically aligned to one another in the direction of the piston crown as is clearly shown according to FIG. 4, which means that they taper towards one another from first and second ends 18, 19 and in the direction of the piston crown 2. Through this oblique position of the two box walls 6, 7 adequate strength of the light metal piston 1 can be achieved despite a reduced thickness d of the piston crown 2. In the region of the box walls 6, 7 a pin hub 8 each for connecting the piston 1 to a connecting rod which is not shown are additionally provided. According to the invention, the piston 1 now comprises an at least partly annularly encircling cooling channel 9, which according to FIGS. 3 and 4 additionally cools in particular a transition region between the piston crown 2 and a ring region 10. In the region of the ring region 10, for example an encircling top land 11 as well as various ring grooves 12 for receiving for example piston rings which are not shown are provided. As a further feature that is substantial to the invention the thickness d of the piston crown 2 amounts to a maximum of 4.5 mm. The thickness d of the piston crown 2 preferentially amounts to a maximum of 3.5 mm, preferably even a maximum of 3 mm or a maximum of 2 mm. Through the combination according to the invention according to the comparatively thin piston crown 2 with the additionally arranged cooling channel 9, a particularly light, i.e. a piston 1 that is reduced with respect to its weight can be created, which because of the lower moved mass can be operated more energy efficiently.

(7) Looking at FIG. 2 it is evident that the skirt wall 4 arranged on the pressure side DS is designed shorter in circumferential direction of the piston 1 than the skirt wall 5 arranged on the counterpressure side GDS, wherein the two box walls 6, 7 conically taper towards one another in the direction of the skirt wall 4 on the pressure side. This minimises in particular the risk of a crack formation in the region of the box walls 6, 7 and in the region of the skirt walls 4, 5. The two box walls 6, 7 in this case run in the direction of the skirt wall 5 on the counterpressure side away from one another, wherein obviously a tapering towards one another of the two box walls 6, 7 in the direction of the skirt wall 5 on the counterpressure side is also conceivable, so that in this case the two box walls 6, 7 are arranged biconvexly to one another.

(8) The cooling channel 9 during the casting of the light metal piston 1, in particular of the aluminium piston 1 can be produced by means of a salt core or also by means of a sand core in the usual manner. In order to be able to feed cooling oil into the cooling channel 9 or to remove cooling oil from the same again, the same has an inflow 13 and an outflow 14 which are shown in FIG. 2. Here, inflow and outflow 13, 14 can obviously be also arranged the other way round. The coolant to be fed into the cooling channel 9 for the piston cooling, for example engine oil, can for example be expelled by two spray nozzles 15 and 15, wherein the spray nozzle 15 is directed for example at the inflow 13 of the cooling channel 9 whereas the spray nozzle 15 is directly directed at a bottom side of the piston crown 2, directly cooling the same because of this. Because of the minor thickness d of the piston crown 2 the heat transmitted out of the combustion chamber 17 can be dissipated comparatively rapidly and because of this the the piston 1, 1 effectively cooled. Here it is obviously additionally conceivable that a crankshaft rotating below the piston 1, 1 splashes oil onto the bottom side of the piston crown, thereby additionally cooling the same be.

(9) In summary, the substantial features of the piston 1, 1 according to the invention can be characterized as follows: through an extremely thin piston crown 2 combined with an additionally arranged cooling channel 9 the piston 1, 1 according to the invention can be produced with greater strength despite the lower weight. The obliquely positioned box walls 6, 7 bring about the required stiffness and strength for a long lifespan of the piston crown and thus make possible low crown wall thicknesses.