Description:FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
[39 OF 1970]
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
[See Section 10, Rule 13]

AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE

BY
MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA LIMITED, A COMPANY REGISTERED UNDER THE INDIAN COMPANIES ACT, 1913, HAVING ADDRESS AT MAHINDRA RESEARCH VALLEY (MRV), MAHINDRA WORLD CITY, PLOT NO.41/1, ANJUR P.O., CHENGALPATTU, KANCHIPURAM DISTRICT, TAMILNADU – 603004, INDIA

THE FOLLOWING SPECIFICATION PARTICULARLY DESCRIBES THE INVENTION AND THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS TO BE PERFORMED
AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an internal combustion engine.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Generally, in a multi-point fuel injection gasoline or gas fuelled internal combustion engine, a fuel rail is mounted on an intake manifold. The fuel rail enables the flow of fuel to the fuel injectors into a cylinder of the internal combustion engine. The intake manifold facilitates the air intake into the cylinder of the internal combustion engine and delivers it to a cylinder head port of the cylinder. The conventional assembly of the fuel rail on the intake manifold occupies a large space. Further, assembling the fuel rail on the intake manifold requires a large number of components. Further, overall manufacturing cost of the entire assembly is high due to the large number of components. The assembly of the intake manifold and fuel rail is also complex due to the large number of components. Moreover, the complexity affects the serviceability of the entire assembly. The separate mountings for electrical components on the intake manifold also affects component life due to noise, vibration, and harshness.
Therefore, there is a need for a better intake manifold and fuel rail assembly, which is compact, cost effective and easy to assemble.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect of the present invention, an internal combustion engine is provided. The internal combustion engine includes an intake manifold having a plurality of independent runners each fluidly coupled to a cylinder head of a cylinder. The internal combustion engine also includes a fuel channel integrally formed within the intake manifold. The fuel channel has a plurality of fuel injection ports having a plurality of fuel injectors disposed in the respective fuel injection ports. Each fuel injection port is fluidly coupled to the fuel channel and the corresponding independent runner of the intake manifold in such a manner that a fuel is injected from the fuel channel into the independent runner through the corresponding fuel injection port.
According to the present disclosure, the internal combustion engine is a gasoline engine.
According to the present disclosure, the internal combustion engine is a gas fuelled engine.
According to the present disclosure, the intake manifold is made up of a plastic material or a metal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an intake manifold of a fuel channel of an internal combustion engine, according to the present disclosure;
FIG. 2 illustrates a sectional view of the intake manifold of the internal combustion engine shown in FIG. 1, according to the present disclosure;
FIG. 3 illustrates a sectional view of the fuel channel of the internal combustion engine shown in FIG. 1, according to the present disclosure; and
FIG. 4 illustrates a sectional view of an independent runner of the intake manifold, according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION.
Embodiments, of the present disclosure, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Embodiments are provided to thoroughly and fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to the person skilled in the art. Numerous details are set forth relating to specific components to provide a complete understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that the details provided in the embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, well-known processes, well-known apparatus structures, and well-known techniques are not described in detail.
References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” mean that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, or function described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in an embodiment” or “in an implementation” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment or implementation.
The terminology used, in the present disclosure, is only for the purpose of explaining a particular embodiment and such terminology shall not be considered to limit the scope of the present disclosure. As used in the present disclosure, the forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly suggests otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “consists,” “including,” and “having,” are open ended transitional phrases and therefore specify the presence of stated elements, modules, units and/or components, but do not forbid the presence or addition of one or more other elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
The terms first, second, third, etc., should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure as the aforementioned terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another component, or section. Terms such as first, second, third etc., when used herein do not imply a specific sequence or order unless clearly suggested by the present disclosure.
FIG. 1 illustrates an internal combustion engine (100) according to the present disclosure. The internal combustion engine (100) includes a plurality of cylinders (not shown). A plurality of pistons (not shown) are disposed slidably in the cylinders. The pistons are mounted on a crankshaft (not shown) to convert the linear motion of the pistons into a rotation of the crankshaft.
In the internal combustion engine (100), a combustion process, i.e. the basic chemical process of releasing energy from the homogenous air fuel mixture takes place inside the engine. The expanding combustion gases push the piston, thereby rotating the crankshaft. For the formation of a homogenous air fuel mixture, air from outside is taken into the engine into an intake manifold (102) through an air intake (not shown). The air passes through an air filter (not shown). The air is then conveyed through an inlet air duct (not shown) and an inlet hose (not shown) to a throttle body (116). The air enters the intake manifold (102) through the throttle body (116).
The intake manifold (102) has a plurality of independent runners (104, 106, 108, 110) each fluidly coupled to the cylinder head of the cylinder. The intake manifold (102) is made up of a plastic material or a metal. It should be noted that material of the intake manifold (102) does not limit the scope of the present invention. Further, the intake manifold (102) provides mounting provision for a fuel pressure sensor (112), and a plurality of ignition coils (114) for corresponding cylinders of the internal combustion engine (100). The intake manifold (102) has the throttle body (116) mounted thereon.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the throttle body (116) has a valve (118). In the illustrated embodiment, the valve (118) is a butterfly valve (118). It should be noted that the valve (118) can be of any other type without limiting the scope of what is disclosed. The valve (118) consists of a rotating circular plate, attached to a transverse spindle and mounted inside a pipe in order to regulate air flow. The valve (118) may operate between an angle of 0 degrees and 90 degrees, based on the air intake requirement of the internal combustion engine (100).
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the internal combustion engine (100) further includes a fuel channel (120) integrally formed within the intake manifold (102). The fuel channel (120) has a plurality of fuel injector ports (122, 124, 126, 128). Each fuel injector port (122, 124, 126, 128) is fluidly coupled to the fuel channel (120) and the corresponding independent runner (104, 106, 108, 110) of the intake manifold (102) in such a manner that a fuel is injected from the fuel channel (120) into the independent runner (104, 106, 108, 110) through the corresponding fuel injection port (122, 124, 126, 128). Further, the internal combustion engine (100) has a plurality of fuel injectors (130, 132, 134, 136) disposed in the respective fuel injection ports (122, 124, 126, 128). The fuel channel (120) has an inlet nipple (138). The inlet nipple (138) enables insertion of fuel into the fuel channel (120) from a pressure regulator outlet (not shown) and a low pressure filter (not shown). The inlet nipple (138) inducts fuel into the fuel channel (120) at a pressure of 3-10 bars.
FIG. 4 illustrates a sectional view of the independent runner (104) of the intake manifold (102). Air passes through the air filter (not shown) of the internal combustion engine (100) into the throttle body (116) through the inlet air duct (not shown) and an inlet air hose (not shown) of the internal combustion engine (100). At low idle RPM, the throttle body (116) is closed. When required, the throttle body (116) operates between angles of 0 and 90 degrees to further pass air to the cylinder head. The air is sent to the cylinder head through the independent runner (104). When the air passes through the independent runner (104), fuel in the fuel channel (120) is injected into the independent runner (104) via the fuel injector (130). The fuel forms a homogenous air fuel mixture with the air before entering into the cylinder head of the cylinder.

The present invention provides a compact assembly with the integration of the intake manifold and the fuel channel of the internal combustion engine. The integration of the intake manifold and the fuel channel provides flexibility in design layout of the intake manifold. The integration of the intake manifold and the fuel channel also reduces the number of components required for assembly of the intake manifold onto the engine. The reduction in number of components reduces the manufacturing cost of the entire assembly and also reduces time taken to assemble the intake manifold onto the internal combustion engine. Further, the reduction in number of components reduces the complexity of the intake manifold assembly. Moreover, the reduction in complexity and assembly time of the intake manifold leads to easier/faster serviceability of the internal combustion engine. The electrical components such as, the ignition coils and injectors, being mounted rigidly on the intake manifold have improved component life due to reduced noise, vibration, and harshness in the assembly.
Further, the intake manifold, the fuel channel, and the fuel injectors are part of the safety critical fuel system, the integral design, of the fuel channel with the intake manifold provides more safety as compared to the conventional design.
The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
Any discussion of devices, articles or the like that has been included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the disclosure. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all these matters form a part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the disclosure as it existed anywhere before the priority date of this application.
, Claims:
1. An internal combustion engine (100) comprising:
an intake manifold (102) having a plurality of independent runners (104, 106, 108, 110) each fluidly coupled to a cylinder head of a cylinder; and
a fuel channel (120) integrally formed within the intake manifold (102), the fuel channel (120) having a plurality of fuel injection ports (122, 124, 126, 128) having a plurality of fuel injectors (130, 132, 134, 136) disposed in the respective fuel injection ports (122, 124, 126, 128), each fuel injection port (122, 124, 126, 128) is fluidly coupled to the fuel channel (120) and the corresponding independent runner (104, 106, 108, 110) of the intake manifold (102) in such a manner that a fuel is injected from the fuel channel (120) into the independent runner (104, 106, 108, 110) through the corresponding fuel injection port (122, 124, 126, 128).
2. The internal combustion engine (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the internal combustion engine (100) is a gasoline engine.
3. The internal combustion engine (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the internal combustion engine (100) is a gas fuelled engine.
4. The internal combustion engine (100) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the intake manifold (102) is made up of a plastic material or a metal.