CLIAMS:We claim:
1. A mechanism (100) for balancing of forces in an Internal Combustion engine of a vehicle, the mechanism (100) comprising:
at least one balancer shaft (106) connectable to an engine (250), wherein the at least one balancer shaft (106) is configured parallel to a crankshaft (101) axis (A-A); and
at least one driving member (108) connectable to the at least one balancer shaft (106), wherein the at least one driving member (108) is adapted to rotate the at least one balancer shaft (106) independent of rotation of a crankshaft (101),
wherein, the at least one driving member (108) is adapted to be interfaced to a control unit (200) of the engine to regulate rotation of the at least one balancer shaft (106) corresponding to engine speed.

2. The mechanism (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one balancer shaft (106) comprises of at least one counter-weight (107).

3. The mechanism (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the at least one counter-weight (107) is adapted to be out of phase to a direction of forces in the internal combustion engine.

4. The mechanism (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one balancer shaft (106) is mounted external to the engine (250).

5. The mechanism (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one balancer shaft (106) is mounted inside the engine (250).

6. The mechanism (100) as claimed in claim 4, wherein the at least one balancer shaft (106) is supported on the engine (250) by a plurality of bearings (106a).

7. The mechanism (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one drive member (108) is at least one of a motor and an actuator.

8. The mechanism (100) as claimed in claim 1 comprises of at least one sensor (109) configured to determine the engine speed.

9. The mechanism (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one drive member (108) is adapted to rotate the at least one balancer shaft (106) at a speed equal to or higher than the engine speed corresponding to engine loads.

10. The mechanism (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the balancer shafts (106) are two in number.

11. A vehicle comprising a mechanism (100) for balancing of forces in an Internal Combustion engine as claimed in claim 1.
,TagSPECI:TECHNICAL FIELD
The present disclosure generally relates to Automobiles. Particularly but not exclusively, the present disclosure relate to an Internal Combustion (I.C) engine of the automobile. Further, embodiments of the present disclosure disclose a mechanism for balancing of forces in the internal combustion engine.

BACKGROUND
In internal combustion engines, there are inherent unbalanced forces caused by rotating and reciprocating masses. This is due to imparting of significant forces and moments on engine blocks via crankshaft by the reciprocating pistons. In other words, the reciprocation of the pistons within cylinders generates an inertial force. This inertial force is exerted upon the crankshaft and can cause vibrations. Further, these unbalanced forces shift the centre of gravity of the crankshaft away from its original axis of rotation, which results in uneven distribution of mass around the crankshaft axis. This imparts large magnitude loads on the bearing. In addition, when crankshaft is running at high speeds, and more specifically at critical speeds, the angular frequency of crankshaft becomes equal to its natural frequency, resulting in large amplitude vibrations which are in turn transmitted to engine block. This condition is known as resonance and can be considered as a significant cause for rupture or failure of rotating masses. These vibrations (more particularly at resonance conditions) cause noise and results in passenger discomfort and reduce durability of the engine, which are undesirable.

In order to overcome the problems associated with unbalanced forces in the engine, reciprocating and rotating masses inside the engine are statically as well as dynamically balanced during assembly of the engine. Static balancing can be defined as a state of balance when the centre of gravity of mass lies on the axis of rotation i.e. the mass is evenly distributed along the axis of rotation. Dynamic balancing can be defined as a condition where the rotating mass does not produce any resultant inertial force and/or couple (moment). Usually, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM’s) provide more emphasis on dynamic balancing of moving parts to achieve an increased engine performance. Dynamic balancing is generally done by adding counter-weights (counter-balancing masses) on the crankshaft or by providing one or more balancer shafts in the engine. Conventionally, the balancer shafts used to reduce or cancel out undesired forces and/or vibrations which result from residual imbalances inherent in the design architecture of machinery with rotating and/or reciprocating parts, or mechanisms, such as Internal Combustion (I.C) engines. These balancer shafts are sometimes called “counterbalance” shafts. Balancer shafts have been provided for improving smoothness in engine operation by nullifying inertial forces and/or inertial couple induced by pistons, connecting rods and other moving parts, when the engine is running, and thereby suppress or reduce vibrations in the engine.

The principal concept of balancing using balancer shafts includes a pair of shafts rotating in opposite directions at twice the engine speed. Equally sized eccentric weights on these shafts are sized and phased so that the inertial reaction to their counter-rotation cancels out in the horizontal plane, but adds in the vertical plane, giving a net force equal to but 180 degrees out-of-phase with the undesired vibration, thereby cancelling it.

Conventionally, the balancer shafts are driven by crankshaft itself and are interposed in the drive train of engine camshaft or crankshaft. The drive train of the crankshaft or camshaft employs mechanical members such as but not limiting to a gear drive, a belt drive and a chain drive to rotate the balancer shafts. When gear drives are used, a driving gear is mounted on the crankshaft/camshaft which meshes with a pinion mounted on the balancer shaft. If distance between crankshaft and balancer shaft axes is considerably more, a timing belt or a chain drive may be employed. There are number of problems associated with conventional balancer shaft drive train, such as increase in weight of engine, reduction in overall compactness of the engine, friction between mating or meshing members, requirement of frequent lubrication of mechanical members for smooth operation and durability, and the like. In addition to these, there are other drawbacks in conventional mechanical drives used to drive the balancer shafts, such as undesirable impact load on teeth, backlash, interference and frictional losses, which are most commonly encountered in case of gear drives, slip i.e. relative motion between the belt and pulley in case of pulley and belt drives and the like. Further, in most of the cases, the vibrational forces and torsional moments acting on the crankshaft are transmitted to the balancer shaft via these mechanical drives that can cause noise generation. Also, when gear drives are used, there is a tendency for the intermeshing wheels to separate as the temperature increases, thereby causing an increase in noise level of running gears, adversely affecting the teeth of intermeshing gears. To account for this, various fixing arrangements have been proposed to secure the balancer shafts to the engine without involving significant cost. However, there was a limited success with this design.

In addition to the above, it should be noted that the balancer shafts needs to be operated only when the crankshaft speed reaches certain limit. However, mechanical connection between the balancer shaft and the crankshaft rotates the balancer shaft continuously with the crankshaft. This results in reduction in total output power from the engine, and thereby results in reduction in efficiency of the engine. Furthermore, in case of internal combustion engines having even number of cylinders, the balancer shaft needs to be rotated in substantially twice the speed of rotation of the crankshaft. Hence, there is a requirement for an arrangement in the mechanical drives to increase the speed of rotation of the balancer shafts.

In light of foregoing discussion, it is necessary to develop an improved mechanism for complete balancing of rotating and reciprocating masses in the internal combustion engine, to overcome one or more limitations stated above.

SUMMARY
The one or more drawbacks of conventional balancer mechanisms as described in the prior art are overcome and additional advantages are provided through the mechanism as claimed in the present disclosure. Additional features and advantages are realized through the technicalities of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered to be a part of the claimed disclosure.

In one non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a mechanism for balancing of forces in an Internal Combustion engine of a vehicle. The mechanism comprises of at least one balancer shaft connectable to an engine, wherein the at least one balancer shaft is configured parallel to a crankshaft axis, and at least one driving member connectable to the at least one balancer shaft. The at least one driving member is adapted to rotate the at least one balancer shaft independent of rotation of a crankshaft wherein, the at least one driving member is adapted to be interfaced to a control unit of the engine to regulate rotation of the at least one balancer shaft corresponding to engine speed.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the at least one balancer shaft comprises of at least one counter-weight, wherein the at least one counter-weight is adapted to be out of phase to a direction of unbalanced forces in the internal combustion engine.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the at least one balancer shaft is mounted external to the engine.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the at least one balancer shaft is mounted inside the engine.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the at least one balancer shaft is supported on the engine by a plurality of bearings.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the at least one drive member is a motor.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the mechanism comprises of at least one sensor configured to determine the engine speed.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the at least one drive member is adapted to rotate the at least one balancer shaft at a speed equal to or higher than the engine speed.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the balancer shafts are two in number.

It is to be understood that the aspects and embodiments of the disclosure described above may be used in any combination with each other. Several of the aspects and embodiments may be combined together to form a further embodiment of the disclosure.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING FIGURES
The novel features and characteristics of the disclosure are set forth in the appended description. The disclosure itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying figures. One or more embodiments are now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures wherein like reference numerals represent like elements and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates the schematic diagram of the mechanism for balancing of forces in an Internal Combustion engines, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates perspective view of an engine employed with the mechanism for balancing forces in an Internal Combustion engines according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

The figures depict embodiments of the disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The foregoing has broadly outlined the features and technical advantages of the present disclosure in order that the detailed description of the disclosure that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the disclosure. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the disclosure as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the disclosure, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present disclosure.

To overcome one or more limitations stated in the background, the present disclosure relates a mechanism for balancing forces, more particularly the unbalanced forces and moments in Internal Combustion engines (hereinafter referred to as I.C engines). In an I.C engine, there are inertial forces acting on the piston during power stroke (called combustion/explosive forces). These explosive forces are transmitted to the crankshaft via connecting rod which causes the crankshaft rotation. The presence of reciprocating masses like piston, connecting rod, etc, and rotating masses like crankshaft, flywheel, etc causes vibrations in the engine during its operation. If amplitudes of these vibrations increase to larger magnitudes, they may affect smooth operation of the engine and may also reduce durability of the engine. To overcome the problems arising due to vibrations generated in the engine, the present disclosure provides a mechanism to minimize these vibrations to safe/permissible levels, so that the engine can operate smoothly and for a longer duration of time. The basic concept of balancing comprises of balancer shaft(s) rotating at angular speeds equal to or greater than the engine speed depending on loading conditions. Equally sized eccentric weights on these shafts are sized and phased so that the inertial reaction to their counter-rotation cancels out in the horizontal plane, but adds in the vertical plane, giving a net force equal to but 180 degrees out-of-phase with the undesired vibrations of the basic engine, thereby cancelling it. In simple words, the balancer shaft is intended to annihilate or minimize vibrations caused by unbalanced forces and/or moments, by running at an appropriate angular speed and phase, so that the amplitudes of these vibrations are reduced. Thus, balancer shafts can be considered as vibration dampeners of I.C engines.

The mechanism for balancing unbalanced forces in I.C engines in accordance with the present disclosure comprises of at least one balancer shaft connectable to the engine. The axis of the balancer shaft is parallel to the axis (A-A) of the crankshaft. The balancer shaft is provided either outside the engine supported by a suitable supporting member, or inside it. Further, the balancer shaft is rotated (or driven) by a driving member at required angular speeds, and the driving member is adapted to rotate the balancer shafts independent of the rotation of the crankshaft. In other words, the rotation of balancer shaft by the driving member is not influenced by crankshaft rotation. However, the speed at which the balancer shaft is driven is determined based on the speed at which crankshaft rotates. To serve this purpose, a drive member is adapted to be interfaced with a control unit of the engine, which has an arrangement to determine the angular speed of the crankshaft, based on which the speed of rotation of the balancer shaft is regulated.

The balancer shaft further comprises of at least one counter-weight fixed to it. The counter-weight is intended to minimize or cancel out unbalance forces. Further, the at least one counter-weight is fixed to the balancer shaft so that the counter-weight is always in phase opposition to the direction of unbalanced forces. This is explained in greater detail in the forthcoming paragraphs of detailed description. Further, the mechanism described in the above paragraphs is controlled by a control unit to which the mechanism is interfaced. The control unit, as is known to a person skilled in the art, is an integral part of all modern vehicles which controls various activities during engine operation, such as but not limiting to fuel supply, and the like. Accordingly, the angular speed of the at least one balancer shaft is controlled by the control unit based on crankshaft speed. This in turn depends on the speed sensed by the crankshaft speed sensor, which is recorded and manipulated by the control unit.

Use of terms such as “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof in the description, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a setup system, device or method that comprises a list of components or steps does not include only those components or steps but may include other components or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device or method. In other words, one or more elements in a mechanism proceeded by “comprising… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the mechanism.

Reference will now be made to a mechanism for balancing of forces in the internal combustion engine, and is explained with the help of figures. The figures are for the purpose of illustration only and should not be construed as limitations on the mechanism. Wherever possible, referral numerals will be used to refer to the same or like parts.

Figure 1 is an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure which illustrates a schematic diagram of a mechanism for balancing of forces in an I.C engine. The term “balancing” herein above and below essentially refers to harmonizing the unbalanced forces and/or moments acting on all the moving parts of the engine. These unbalanced forces and moments are inherent in every engine and are primarily due to inertial forces and moments acting on piston, connecting rod, crankshaft and associated components. The balancing of these unbalanced forces and/or moments is necessary from the point of view of improving NVH (Noise-Vibration-Harshness) characteristics of the engine. The mechanism (100) essentially comprises of an engine crankshaft (101), at least one balancer shaft (106) connectable to the engine (250) (shown in FIG. 2), at least one driving member (108) and other auxiliary components. A detailed explanation on the mechanism (100) is reflected henceforth in the detailed description.

As shown in FIG. 1, the crankshaft (101) of the engine is connected to pistons (105) inside the cylinder (104) via connecting rods (105a). The crankshaft (101) is supported in the crankshaft bearings (102) (also known as main bearings). In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the bearings (102) include but not limiting to journal bearings, roller bearings and the like. The crankshaft (101) also comprises of plurality of crank webs (103) connected by crank pins. The crank webs (103) are further provided with counter-weights (103a) so that the primary force balance is accomplished. The one or more counter-weights (103a) (or counter balancing masses) are mounted on crank webs (103) such that the centre of gravity of these masses (103a) is offset (or eccentric) from the axis (A-A) of rotation of the crankshaft (101). The unbalanced forces which cause uneven distribution of rotating masses about the crankshaft (101) axis (A-A) are balanced by these eccentric weights (103a), thereby achieving balancing of the crankshaft (101). In addition, the crankshaft (101) is provided with at least one pulley (101a) which serves the purpose of driving other auxiliary drives on the engine. The crankshaft (101) also has a flywheel (101b) which acts as energy reservoir for storing and delivering necessary power whenever required. The balancing mechanism (100) in accordance with the present disclosure incorporated in a four-cylinder engine, as shown in FIG. 1, is an exemplary embodiment, and is intended for the purpose of better understanding of the disclosure. However, one should not construe the same as the only construction, and can be typically incorporated to Internal Combustion engines having any number of cylinders.

The mechanism (100) as shown in FIG. 1 further comprises of at least one balancer shaft (106) connectable to the engine (250), with an axis parallel to the axis (A-A) of the crankshaft (101). In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the balancer shaft (106) is mounted external to the engine (250). In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the balancer shaft (106) is mounted inside the engine (250). Each of the at least one balancer shaft (106) is supported by least one bearing (106). A bearing (106a) surface ensures rotational motion of the at least one balancer shaft (106). In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the bearings used to support the at least one balancer shaft includes but not limiting to journal bearings, roller bearings, and the like. The balancer shaft (106) rotation is independent of the rotation of the crankshaft (101) and can be controlled suitably. In other words, the balancer shaft (106) is rotated by at least one driving member (108) and is not operated by the crankshaft (101) i.e. there is no mechanical or any other type of linkage between the balancer shaft (106) and crankshaft (101). However, the balancer shaft (106) is rotated based on the speed of the crankshaft (101).

The balancer shaft (106) further comprises of at least one counter-weight (107) mounted on it. The at least one counter-weight (107) has a centre of gravity offset from the axis of the balancer shaft (106), so that mass distribution about the balancer shaft (106) axis is uniform. Further, the counter-weight (107) is angularly positioned on the balancer shaft (106) in such a way that it is in phase opposition i.e. out of phase to the direction of unbalanced forces inside the engine. This is achieved by orientating the counter-weight (107) exactly out of phase to a reference angular position of the crankshaft (101). For example, in case of four-cylinder I.C engines, when first and fourth pistons are at TDC (Top Dead Centre), the counter-weights are below the axis of rotation of balancer shaft (106). Similarly, when first and fourth pistons are at BDC (Bottom Dead Centre), the counter-weights (107) are above the balancer shaft (106) axis. It should be noted that the above example is not in any way limiting the scope of the present disclosure, and is intended only for the purpose of illustrating the phase opposition of counter-weights (107) with respect to crankshaft (101) position. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the phase angle between the counter-weight (107) and the crankshaft (101) includes but not limiting to +/- 180 degrees.

Further, the at least one balancer shaft (106) is connected to at least one driving member (108) so that the balancer shaft (106) is driven at an appropriate angular speed. The driving member (108) rotates the balancer shaft (106) with an angular speed and in desired direction. The driving member (108) essentially comprises of driver which is coupled to the balancer shaft (106). In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the driver of the driving member (108) includes but not limiting to a mechanical member such as but not limiting to a shaft. In still another embodiment of the present disclosure, the driver is coupled to the balancer shaft (106) by a coupling means such as but not limiting to a mechanical coupling. The driving member (108) regulates the angular speed of the balancer shaft (106) based on the angular speed as well as load of crankshaft (101). In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the driving member (108) rotates the balancer shaft (106) with an angular speed equal to or greater than crankshaft (101) speed. In addition, the driving member (108) can stop the rotation of the balancer shaft (106) when the crankshaft (101) speed comes below a threshold value, thereby results in considerable reduction in power consumption. This is because, at very low engine speeds, amplitudes of vibration are insignificant, and there is little or no requirement to damp out these small amplitude vibrations. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the driving member (108) includes but not limiting to actuators. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the driving member includes but not limiting to motors, such as but not limiting to electric and hydraulic motors.

As shown in FIG. 1 the driving member (108) is interfaced with a control unit (200) of the engine and a power source. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the power sources include but not limiting to an electrical power source such as but not limiting to a battery. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the control unit (200) is an integral part of all modern vehicles and is used to control various activities right from the power generation inside the engine cylinder to the transmission of power to drive wheels. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the control unit (200) includes but not limiting to Electronic Control Unit (ECU). The control unit (200) comprises of arrangements to operate and control various components of vehicle including the engine and the mechanism (100) for balancing forces in the engine. The control unit (200) regulates the driving member (108) so that the balancer shafts (106) can be driven at variable speeds based on the crankshaft (101) speed. This is accomplished with the help of at least one sensor (109) interfaced with the control unit (200). In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the sensor used to measure angular speed of the crankshaft includes but not limiting to mechanical sensors, light sensors and the like. The at least one sensor (109) senses the speed of the crankshaft (101) which is appropriately recorded by the control unit (200). Based on the speed of the crankshaft (101), the control unit (200) manipulates the speed of the balancer shaft (106) using the driving member (108).

FIG. 2 is an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure illustrating a mechanism to balance unbalanced forces in an I.C engine. The mechanism (100) comprises of two number of balancer shafts (106) mounted external to the engine (250) as clearly shown in FIG. 2. The balancer shafts (106) are supported by at least one bearing (106a) and the at least one bearing (106a) is fixed to the engine (250) as clearly shown in FIG. 2. The driving member (108) coupled to the balancer shafts (106) transmits power as well as motion to the balancer shafts (106). In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the driving member (108) includes but not limiting to an electric motor and a hydraulic actuator.

Further, the driving member (108) is controlled by a control unit (200) (shown in FIG. 1). In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the control unit (200) includes but not limiting to Electronic Control Unit (ECU) such as but not limiting to a microprocessor or a microcontroller based control unit. The control unit (200) comprises of arrangements to operate and control the balancing mechanism (100) in accordance with the variations in crankshaft (101) speeds and load conditions. This is accomplished by pre-loading the logic circuitry of the control unit (200) with an appropriate logic so that signals are generated based on the angular speed of the crankshaft (101). These signals are used to regulate the speed of the driving member (108) so that the balancer shafts (106) can be driven at variable speeds corresponding to crankshaft (101) speeds. If speed of crankshaft (101) is below a threshold value, the balancer shaft (106) is made stationary so that no power is consumed or minimal power is consumed. If speed of the crankshaft (101) is higher than the threshold value, the speed at which the driving member (108) (and in turn the balancer shafts) is rotated, is varied accordingly, so as to comply with high angular speed of the crankshaft (101) with minimal amount of power consumption. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the balancer shaft (106) is rotated at twice the speed of the crankshaft (101) when engine is running at higher speeds in a four cylinder engine. The angular speed of the crankshaft (101) is determined with the help of at least one sensor (109) interfaced with the control unit (200). The at least one sensor (109) senses the speed of the crankshaft (101) which is appropriately recorded by the control unit (200). In one embodiment, the control unit (200) controls the rotation of the balancer shaft (106) through the driving member (108) to balance the unbalanced forces and moments in engine, that arise due to reciprocating motion of the piston (105) and rotary motion of the crankshaft (101).

Advantages:
The present disclosure provides a balancing mechanism in which the balancer shaft(s) are driven by a driving member regardless of the position of the crankshaft. This facilitates the mounting of balancer shaft external or internal to the engine depending on space constraints making it flexible.

The present disclosure provides a balancing mechanism in which the balancer shaft(s) are driven by a separate driving member and is independent of rotation of crankshaft i.e. there is no mechanical linkage between the crankshaft and balancer shaft. This eliminates losses in power due to friction, makes the engine compact and eliminates the requirement of extra lubrication.

The present disclosure provides a balancing mechanism in which the balancer shaft(s) speed is controlled based on crankshaft speed. In addition, there is a flexibility to either stop or to resume the rotation of balancer shaft based on threshold levels of crankshaft speed and engine load conditions. This makes the mechanism advantageous in terms of power savings.

The present disclosure provides a balancing mechanism in which the balancer shaft(s) are designed and assembled external or internal to the engine, so that NVH characteristics of the engine can be significantly improved, which in turn increases the engine life, performance and efficiency.

Equivalents
With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as "open" terms (e.g., the term "including" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to," the term "having" should be interpreted as "having at least," the term "includes" should be interpreted as "includes but is not limited to," etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles "a" or "an" limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "a" or "an" (e.g., "a" and/or "an" should typically be interpreted to mean "at least one" or "one or more"); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of "two recitations," without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B, and C, etc." is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, and C" would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B, or C, etc." is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, or C" would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase "A or B" will be understood to include the possibilities of "A" or "B" or "A and B."

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

TABLE OF REFERRAL NUMERALS

Referral Numerals Description
100 Mechanism for balancing
101 Crankshaft
101a Pulley
101b Flywheel
102 Crankshaft bearing
103 Crank web
103a Crankshaft Counter mass
104 Engine cylinders
105 Pistons
105a Connecting rods
106 Balancer shafts
106a Balancer shaft bearings
107 Balancer shaft counter-weights
108 Driving member
109 Crankshaft speed sensor
200 Control unit
250 Engine