CRANKCASE FOR AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE, AND INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE

Abstract

A crankcase includes: at least one cylinder for an internal combustion engine, the cylinder including: a cylinder interior; a cylinder liner which is arranged within the cylinder interior; a cylinder head which closes the cylinder interior, wherein the cylinder head includes a receiving way; a cooling system which guides a coolant flow and has a cooling chamber; a distribution system to separate the coolant flow into a primary partial flow and at least one secondary partial flow, the distribution system including a main channel for the primary partial flow and at least one branch-off passage for the at least one secondary partial flow, the at least one branch-off passage branching off from the main channel and being arranged transversely to the main channel for the at least one secondary partial flow.

Claims

1-13. (canceled)

14. A crankcase, comprising: at least one cylinder for an internal combustion engine, the cylinder including: a cylinder interior; a cylinder liner which is arranged within the cylinder interior; a cylinder head which closes the cylinder interior, wherein the cylinder head includes a receiving way; a cooling system which guides a coolant flow and has a cooling chamber; a distribution system to separate the coolant flow into a primary partial flow and at least one secondary partial flow, the distribution system including a main channel for the primary partial flow and at least one branch-off passage for the at least one secondary partial flow, the at least one branch-off passage branching off from the main channel and being arranged transversely to the main channel for the at least one secondary partial flow.

15. The crankcase of claim 1, wherein the receiving way at least one of includes and guides one of a receiving sleeve and a receiving bushing for one of a device and a component which extends into the cylinder, wherein one of the device and the component is one of an injector and an ignition device.

16. The crankcase according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder liner includes a top-liner region and a residual region, the distribution system is configured for supplying the at least one secondary partial flow to the top-liner region that is located closer to the cylinder head and is configured for supplying the primary partial flow to the residual region located further removed from the cylinder head.

17. The crankcase according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder head includes a flame deck, the cooling system includes a supply passage configured for feeding the coolant flow along the receiving way onto the flame deck of the cylinder head in such a way that an impingement flow occurs on the flame deck.

18. The crankcase according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder liner includes at least one cooling zone, the at least one branch-off passage being fluidically connected with the at least one cooling zone of the cylinder liner.

19. The crankcase according to claim 1, wherein the distribution system includes a plurality of distribution sections and the at least one branch-off passage includes a plurality of the at least one branch-off passage, wherein a respective one of the plurality distribution sections is fluidically connected with a respective one of the plurality of the at least one branch-off passage.

20. The crankcase according to claim 19, wherein the plurality of distribution sections includes a first distribution section and a second distribution section, the first distribution section having a first cross-section that is smaller than a second cross-section of the second distribution section arranged upstream in a flow direction of the coolant flow.

21. The crankcase according to claim 20, wherein the first cross-section and the second cross-section are each round.

22. The crankcase according to claim 1, wherein the distribution system is arranged in a flow direction after the cylinder head.

23. The crankcase according to claim 1, wherein one of the distribution system and a branch of the crankcase is arranged in a flow direction before of the cylinder head.

24. The crankcase according to claim 1, further including a supply passage which is arranged concentrically around the receiving way.

25. The crankcase according to claim 1, further including a supply passage, the supply passage and the receiving way for one of an injector and an ignition device together form a nozzle having an annular cross-section.

26. An internal combustion engine, comprising: an engine including a crankcase, which includes: at least one cylinder for an internal combustion engine, the cylinder including: a cylinder interior; a cylinder liner which is arranged within the cylinder interior; a cylinder head which closes the cylinder interior, wherein the cylinder head includes a receiving way; a cooling system which guides a coolant flow and has a cooling chamber; a distribution system to separate the coolant flow into a primary partial flow and at least one secondary partial flow, the distribution system including a main channel for the primary partial flow and at least one branch-off passage for the at least one secondary partial flow, the at least one branch-off passage branching off from the main channel and being arranged transversely to the main channel for the at least one secondary partial flow.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0032] FIG. 1 is a cylinder of a crankcase according to the concept of the invention;

[0033] FIGS. 2A are B are, respectively, arrangements of a cylinder, cooling system and distributing system;

[0034] FIG. 3 is a detailed view of a distributing system; and

[0035] FIG. 4 is an internal combustion engine with a crankcase according to the concept of the invention.

[0036] Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplifications set out herein illustrate embodiments of the invention, and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0037] FIG. 1 shows a cylinder 100 according to the concept of the invention. Cylinder 100 has a cylinder interior 120, which is restricted in the radial direction by a cylinder liner 140 and in which a piston 122 which is shown herein in a simplified manner and, which can be moved in a translatory manner along a main axis HA and thus can be accommodated. Cylinder liner 140 can be used in a crankcase of an internal combustion engine 1000 not shown here. In order to generate a drive movement, piston 122 is moved up and down by a combustion carried out within cylinder interior 120. A cylinder head 160 closes cylinder 100 on an upper side, in other words on a side of cylinder 100 opposite a crankshaft of the internal combustion engine. At the transition to cylinder interior 120, cylinder head 160 has a flame deck 164, which represents the boundary surface to a combustion chamber 124, in which combustion takes place within cylinder interior 120. Flame deck 164 thus forms the frontal boundary of combustion chamber 124 opposite piston 122. Cylinder head 160 has a receiving way 162, in particular a receiving way which includes and/or guides a receiving sleeve or a receiving bushing or the like for a device or component which extends into the cylinder or component, in particular for an injector or an ignition device for an injector or an ignition device 162. By way of an injector 162.1, fuel can be fed into combustion chamber 124, in particular in embodiments used in a diesel engine.

[0038] By way of an ignition device 162.2, which may be designed in particular as a spark plug, a mixture located in cylinder interior 120 can be ignited. This is the case especially in embodiments used in gas or gasoline engines.

[0039] Receiving way 162 may be designed to accommodate an injector 162.1 or an ignition device 162.2, or may already be designed as a one-piece component incorporating integrated injector 162.1 or integrated ignition device 162.2; therefore, receiving way 162 does not necessarily need to be in the embodiment of a separate part, but receiving way 162 may simply be designed as a receptacle in a work piece or device. Furthermore, cylinder head 160 has a cooling system 170 with a cooling chamber 166, essentially in the embodiment of an interior cavity. In the present example, receiving way 162, in particular a way which includes and/or guides a receiving sleeve or receiving bushing or the like for a device or component extending into the cylinder, in particular for an injector or an ignition device is arranged in a rotationally symmetric manner around main axis HA.

[0040] Furthermore, cylinder head 160 has a supply passage 210 arranged concentrically around receiving way 162. Supply passage 210 has an approximately annular cross section which is variable in sections and changes in its radius, in particular changes in the axial direction and serves the supply of a coolant flow KS. Due to the annular cross-section around receiving way 162 and in particular due to a taper 212, supply passage 210 and receiving wayl 62—which in the current example is in the embodiment of a sleeve or bushing—form a nozzle 214, which turns coolant flow KS into an impingement flow PS, which impinges onto flame deck 164 inside cooling chamber 166. Impingement flow PS ensures that coolant flow KS spreads along flame deck 164 at relatively high speed, close to a wall in the form of a radially spreading flow. This leads to relatively high heat transfer. This means that the heat in combustion chamber 124 resulting from a combustion in cylinder 100 which is being transferred via flame deck 164 into cooling chamber 166 is effectively absorbed and dissipated by coolant flow KS. Coolant flow KS, which spreads in the form of impingement flow PS over flame deck 164, is then discharged from cooling chamber 166 via a discharge passage 220 and fed into a distribution system 240.

[0041] Distribution system 240 separates coolant flow KS, which has already absorbed a first amount of heat in cylinder head 160, into a primary partial flow K1 and into at least one secondary partial flow K2. In the present case, four secondary partial flows K2.1, K2.2, K2.3, K2.4 are branched off, each of which is fed to a cooling zone 142.1, 142.2, 142.3, 142.4 of a top-liner region 142 of cylinder liner 140 for cooling. Remaining primary partial flow K1, that is the non-branched part of coolant flow KS, is fed to a remaining region 144, in this example below top liner region 142.

[0042] “Below” in this context means being positioned further away from the cylinder head in the direction of the crankshaft. Top liner region 142 is the zone of cylinder interior 120 where, as expected, the highest temperatures occur due to combustion. Therefore, according to the concept of the invention, at least one separate cooling circuit is provided for this region, which is supplied by at least one secondary partial flow K2.1, K2.2, K2.3, K2.4. The remaining region 144 is accordingly a zone of cylinder interior 120, in which—compared to the top liner region—lower temperatures occur. Therefore, this area can be cooled in particular with a lower specific cooling capacity. It is also possible, for example, to cool remaining region 144 with the same absolute cooling capacity as top-liner region 142, but to design remaining region 144 larger, so that the specific cooling capacity in remaining region 144 is lower.

[0043] In the present example, top liner region 142 is again separated into four cooling zones 142.1, 142.2, 142.3, 142.4. From the perspective of main axis HA, these are arranged axially adjacent to one another within top liner region 142. Each cooling zone 142.1, 142.2, 142.3 142.4 is designed as an annular cooling channel which surrounds cylinder interior 120 tangentially surrounding within cylinder liner 140, wherein the cooling channels do not have to be designed as individually arranged and separate channels but can also be different zones of a cooling chamber which may be partially or completely fluidically connected with one another. Each cooling zone 142.1, 142.2, 142.3, 142.4 is supplied via the respective secondary partial flow K2.1, K2.2, K2.3, K2.4. By dividing top-liner region 142 into individual cooling zones, an even more precise local influence on the cooling capacity can be advantageously achieved. In particular, in a zone of combustion chamber 124, where higher temperature development is to be expected, a correspondingly higher cooling capacity can be achieved.

[0044] For branching off secondary partial flows K2.1 to K2.4, distribution system 240 has a main channel 250, which in turn has a base section 242.0 with a circular cross-sectional region A0 and four distribution sections 242.1, 242.2, 242.3, 242.4, which are axially spaced along a distribution axis VA and are distinctly cylindrical. Each distribution section 242.1, 242.2, 242.3, 242.4 respectively has a cavity with a circular cross-sectional area A1, A2, A3, A4 with a radius R1, R2, R3, R4, which is smaller than the cross-sectional area A0, A1, A2, A3 of a basic or distribution section 242.0, 242.1, 242.2, 242.3, viewed in flow direction RS of primary partial flow K1.

[0045] From each distribution section a branch passage 146.1, 146.2, 146.3, 146.4 respectively branches off transversely to distribution axis VA, and in particular perpendicular to distribution axis VA, which fluidically connects respective distribution section 242.1, 242.2, 242.3, 242.4 with corresponding cooling zone 142.1, 142.2, 142.3, 142.4. For example, first branch-off passage 146.1 connects first distribution section 242.1 with first cooling zone 142.1.

[0046] Due to the axially adjacent arrangement of the cylindrically formed distributor sections 242.1, 242.2, 242.3, 242.4, annular step shoulders S1, S2, S3, S4 (see FIG. 3) are formed because of the radii which decrease in the direction of flow, on each of which the coolant flow KS moving along the distributor axis VA is partially throttled and/or swirled. This ensures that coolant flow KS does not flow past a respective branch passage 146.1, 146.2, 146.3, 146.4, but is specifically throttled and thus supplied as a secondary partial flow K2.1, K2.2, K2.3, K2.4 in particular to the respective branch passage 146.1, 146.2, 146.3, 146.4. In this way, a uniform distribution of the cooling capacity to different cooling zones 142.1, 142.2, 142.3, 142.4 is achieved advantageously with relatively low design expenditure. Alternatively, in addition to an even distribution—via a corresponding design of cross-sectional areas A1, A2, A3, A4—a targeted uneven distribution is also possible, whereby in a certain cooling zone or a certain number of cooling zones 142.1, 142.2, 142.3, 142.4 a larger or smaller cooling volume is supplied than is the case in a different cooling zone or number of cooling zones 142.1, 142.2, 142.3, 142.4. A residual passage 230 is connected to fourth distribution section 242.4, which fluidically connects distribution system 240 with residual area 144, which is annular and tangentially surrounds an axial section of cylinder interior 120. Via residual passage 230, residual primary partial flow K1 can be supplied to residual region 144 for cooling. In general, in the context of the invention, several regions can also be distinguished as the top-liner region 142 and the residual region 144 by considering further areas, each of which has at least one cooling zone.

[0047] FIGS. 2A and 2B each show a possible arrangement of the cooling water flow, designated as cooling devices 200, 200′. FIG. 2A shows a serial arrangement, FIG. 2B shows a parallel arrangement of the cooling water flow. Cooling device 200 shown in FIG. 2A corresponds substantially to the further development shown in FIG. 1. Here, a coolant source 260 provides a coolant, in particular cooling water, which is guided in the form of a coolant flow KS into cooling chamber 166 of a cylinder head 160. There, coolant flow KS first cools—as shown in FIG. 1 and not shown in more detail here—via an impingement flow PS onto flame deck 164 of cylinder head 160. Subsequently, coolant flow KS is supplied to a distribution system 240, where it is divided into a primary partial flow K1 and at least one secondary partial flow K2. These partial flows K1, K2 are each used to supply an area of a cylinder liner 140 for cooling purposes. The at least one secondary partial flow K2 is supplied to a top liner region 142, and the primary partial flow K1 to a residual region 144. Subsequently, partial flows K1, K2 are supplied to a coolant sink 262.

[0048] The arrangement of a cooling device 200′ shown in FIG. 2B differs substantially from the further development shown in FIG. 2A in that a distribution system 240′ is arranged between the pressure medium source 260 and a cylinder head 160′. Alternatively, instead of distribution system 240′, a branch 244, for example formed as a T-piece or similar branch, can also be used. Thus, coolant flow KS is already divided into two partial flows K1, K2 before it is supplied to cylinder head 160′. One partial flow K1, K2, in particular the branched-off secondary partial flow K2, is thereby guided past cooling chamber 166′ of cylinder head 160′ via a cylinder head bypass 168 without removing heat from the latter, in other words, practically without developing any cooling capacity. In contrast, primary partial flow K1 is guided for cooling purposes into cooling chamber 166′, analogously to the further development shown in FIG. 2A, where it impinges onto flame deck 164 in particular by way of an impingement flow PS which is not shown here. Secondary partial flow K2, which is directed via cylinder head bypass 168 and is therefore practically not yet used for cooling, is fed to top liner region 142 of cylinder liner 140 downstream of cylinder head bypass 168. Here, in accordance with the concept secondary partial flow K2 can optionally be further divided by way of a further distribution system not shown here, in order to supply different cooling zones within top liner region 142, analogously to the further development shown in FIG. 1. Primary partial flow K1 which is already used for cooling cylinder head 160′, is on the other hand supplied to residual region 144 for cooling the same. Both partial flows K1, K2 are supplied to a coolant sink 262 downstream of respective regions 142, 144 of cylinder liner 140.

[0049] FIG. 3 shows a detail of the distribution system 240. In particular, visible here are annular step shoulders S1, S2, S3, S4, which are respectively formed at the transitions between distribution sections 242.1, 242.2, 242.3, 242.4 of sub-distributor 242, as well as at the transition of distribution section 242.4 to residual passage 230. For example, first step shoulder S1 is formed at the transition between first distribution section 242.1 and second distribution section 242.2. Analogously, at the transition between the second distribution section 242.2 and third distribution section 242.3, second step shoulder S2 is formed, and at the transition between third distribution section 242.3 and fourth distribution section 242.4, third step shoulder S3 is formed. At the transition of distribution section 242.4 to residual passage 230 fourth step shoulder S4 is formed.

[0050] Coolant flow KS conducted through distribution system 240 is deflected at step shoulders S1, S2, S3, S4 and supplied to a respective branch passage 146.1, 146.2, 146.3, 146.4 for the purpose of supplying a cooling zone 142.1, 142.2, 142.3, 142.4. The mass flow of secondary partial flow K2.1, K2.2, K2.3, K2.4 branched off at this step shoulder S1, S2, S3, S4 can be influenced by designing the size of an annular step area AS1, AS2, AS3, AS4 of a step shoulder S1, S2, S3, S4. If, for example, step area AS2 of second stage shoulder S2 is selected to be larger, a correspondingly larger proportion of coolant flow KS is deflected at this second step shoulder S2, and supplied as a second secondary partial flow K2.2 to second branch passage 146.2 in order to supply second cooling zone 142.2 with coolant.

[0051] FIG. 4 shows an internal combustion engine 1000 with an engine 700. Engine 700 has a crankcase 800, which in turn has a number Z of eight cylinders 100—shown here in highly simplified form. Each cylinder 100 has a distribution system 240 which, in accordance with the concept of the present invention, divides a coolant flow not shown here into a primary cooling flow and at least one secondary cooling flow.

COMPONENT IDENTIFICATION LISTING

[0052] 100 cylinder [0053] 120 cylinder interior [0054] 122 piston [0055] 140 cylinder liner [0056] 142 top liner region of cylinder liner [0057] 142.1-142.4 cooling zone of top liner region [0058] 144 residual region of cylinder liner [0059] 146, 146.1-146.4 first to fourth branch-off passage [0060] 160, 160′ cylinder head [0061] 162 receiving way, in particular receiving way which includes and/or guides a receiving sleeve or a receiving bushing or the like for a device or component which reaches into the cylinder, in particular an injector or an ignition device. [0062] 162.1 injector [0063] 162.2 ignition device [0064] 164 flame deck [0065] 166, 166′ cooling chamber [0066] 168 cylinder head bypass [0067] 170 cooling system [0068] 200, 200′ cooling device [0069] 210 feed passage [0070] 212 taper [0071] 214 nozzle [0072] 220 discharge passage [0073] 230 residual passage [0074] 240, 240′ distribution system [0075] 242.0 base section [0076] 242.1-242.4 distribution section [0077] 250 main channel [0078] 260 coolant source [0079] 262 coolant sink [0080] 700 engine [0081] 800 crankcase [0082] 1000 internal combustion engine [0083] A, A1-A4 cross section, first to fourth cross section [0084] AS, AS1-AS4 step area, first to fourth step surface [0085] HA main axis [0086] K1 primary partial flow [0087] K2 secondary partial flow [0088] K2.1-K2.4 first to fourth secondary partial flow [0089] KS coolant flow [0090] PS impingement flow [0091] RS flow direction of coolant flow [0092] S, S1-S4 step shoulder, first to fourth step shoulder [0093] VA distribution axis [0094] Z number of cylinders

[0095] While this invention has been described with respect to at least one embodiment, the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.