DESC:FIELD
The present disclosure relates to the field of internal combustion engines, more specifically inline cylinder of the engines.
DEFINITION
As used in the present disclosure, the following terms are generally intended to have the meaning as set forth below, except to the extent that the context in which they are used indicate otherwise.
The term “Inline engine” refers to an internal combustion engine with all cylinders aligned in one row and having no offset and usually found in two, three, four, six and eight cylinder configurations, and are used in automobiles, locomotives, aircrafts, generating sets, earth moving equipment, Pump sets etc.
BACKGROUND
The background information herein below relates to the present disclosure but is not necessarily prior art.
An internal combustion engine, used as a prime mover for generating set of 500 KVA electrical output, at 0.8 PF (Power Factor), typically comprises of six or more number of combustion cylinders, arranged in "In Line" or "V" configuration. The swept volumes of these cylinders vary from minimum 15.2 liters to maximum 24 liters, whereas the cylinder bore size ranges from 115 mm to 159 mm. This type of engine gives a power output of 450 KW at 1500 or 1800 RPM (depending on the requirement of electric power at 50 or 60 Hz respectively) for a Genset prime rating of 500 KVA (Kilo Volt Ampere) at 0.8 PF (Power Factor). Usually, a further 10 % more power is available, to meet the statutory 10% overload capability requirements, where applicable.
However, the conventional six-cylinder engine has a large number of components such as pistons, connecting rods, bearings, and other components necessary for the working of the cylinders, which makes the engine bulky. Moreover, the engine has a large cylinder block to accommodate six cylinders therein. The large size of the cylinder block often causes difficulties while mounting the engine with a generator.
There is therefore felt a need for a smaller internal combustion engine with relatively less number of combustion cylinders to alleviate the aforementioned drawbacks.
OBJECTS
Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies, are as follows:
An object of the present disclosure is to provide an internal combustion engine.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide an internal combustion engine that requires less number of components for its functioning.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide an internal combustion engine that consumes less or fewer foot print.
Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description, which is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
SUMMARY
The present disclosure envisages an internal combustion engine. The engine comprises a cylinders fitted in a cylinder block The cylinders are assembled in a predetermined configuration, each of the piston pair have shape complementary to the bore to define combustion chamber there between. Each cylinder (liner) have an individual cylinder head.
In an embodiment, four cylinders are provided. In another embodiment, six cylinders are provided.
In an embodiment, cylinders are placed adjacent to each other. In an embodiment, the cylinders are in inline configuration.
In an embodiment, each of the cylinders has a square design bore and stroke. In an embodiment, each of the cylinders has a separate cylinder head defined therein.
In an embodiment, the material of each cylinder head and cylinder block is compacted graphite, thereby allowing the engine capable of taking higher peak firing pressures.
In an embodiment, placement of the cylinders, along with the firing order of each piston pairs in each cylinder ensures that the reciprocating movement of a first pair of pistons is opposite to that of a second pair of pistons, thereby ensuring good balancing of the reciprocating parts, for desired primary balancing of the engine.
In an embodiment, the engine includes a crank shaft configured to convert reciprocating displacement of each piston pair into rotary motion.
In an embodiment, the engine includes a secondary balancer unit is operatively disposed below the crank shaft and is configured to rotate at double the speed of the crank shaft speed to facilitate secondary balancing of the engine.
In an embodiment, the engine includes cylinders fitted in a cylinder block, reciprocating piston pairs, a crank shaft, and a secondary balancer unit. The cylinders are placed adjacent to each other, and are in inline configuration. The reciprocating piston pair is provided in each of the cylinders. The reciprocating pistons are configured in pairs such that the reciprocating movement of the first pair of pistons is opposite to that of the second pair of pistons, thereby ensuring good balancing of the reciprocating parts, for desired primary balancing of the engine. The crank shaft is configured to convert reciprocating displacement of each piston pair into rotary motion. The secondary balancer unit is operatively placed below the crank shaft and is configured to rotate at double the speed of the crank shaft speed to facilitate secondary balancing of the engine.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWING
An internal combustion engine of the present disclosure will now be described with the help of the accompanying drawing, in which:
Figure 1 illustrates section view of the internal combustion engine with inline cylinder block, four cylinders, four cylinder heads and for piston pairs;
Figure 2 illustrates a front isometric view of the internal combustion engine of Figure 1;
Figure 3 illustrates a rear isometric view of the internal combustion engine of Figure 1;
Figure 4 illustrates a right hand side view of the internal combustion engine depicting outer components of the engine; and
Figure 5 illustrates a left hand side view of the internal combustion engine of Figure 2.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
100 – Internal combustion engine
102 – Cylinder Heads
104 – Piston pairs
106 – Cylinders (Liners)
108– Cylinder Block
110 – Connecting Rods
112 – Crank shaft
114 – Secondary balancer unit
116 – Injectors
118 – Oil Suction strainer
120 – Fly Wheel
122 – Fly Wheel Housing
124 – EGR cooler
126 – Rocker cover
128 – EGR valve
130 – Fan
132 – Turbocharger
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Embodiments, of the present disclosure, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
Embodiments are provided so as 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, and methods, 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.
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," “including,” and “having,” are open ended transitional phrases and therefore specify the presence of stated features, operations, elements, modules, units and/or components, but do not forbid the presence or addition of one or more other features, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The particular order of steps disclosed in the method and process of the present disclosure is not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance as described or illustrated. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
The present disclosure envisages an internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine (hereinafter referred to as “engine 100”) is now described with the help of Figure 1 through Figure 5.
The engine 100 comprises a plurality of cylinders 106, and a reciprocating piston pair 104. In an embodiment, the engine 100 includes components such as, cylinder head 102, injector 116, oil suction strainer 118, fly wheel 120, housing 122 for fly wheel 120, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) cooler 124, rocker cover 126, and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve 128 and the like.
The injectors 116 are configured to spray fuel in atomized or mist form in to the piston combustion chamber and are mounted in the cylinder heads 102. The fly wheel 122 is configured to allow smooth fast angular velocity fluctuations of the crankshaft 112. The EGR cooler 124 is configured to keep the temperature of exhaust gases low. Further, the EGR valve 128 connects the exhaust manifold to the intake manifold and is controlled by either a vacuum or a built-in electric step motor. The oil suction strainer 118 is configured to remove large contamination particles from the engine 100. A fan 130 is operatively disposed on the engine 100 and is configured to facilitate and support the engine’s temperature management. Also, the engine 100 includes a turbocharger 132 which further includes a turbine and air compressor which is used to harness the waste exhaust gases emitted from the engine 100.
In an embodiment, the engine 100 includes a cylinder block 108, cylinders (liners) 106 are arranged "in line" in the cylinder block 108. In an embodiment, four reciprocating piston pairs 104 one in each cylinder 106 (with a pair of pistons 104 moving in opposite direction to the other pair) four cylinder heads 102 are placed over the respective cylinders 106 which are inside the cylinder block 108 along with a crankshaft 112. 4 connecting rods 110 connected to the crankshaft 112 to transfer the reciprocating motion of the piston pairs 104 to the rotating motion of the crank shaft 112 and a secondary balancer unit 114. In an embodiment, six cylinders are provided which have similar design as the aforementioned four cylinders.
In a predetermined configuration each of the piston pairs 104 are assembled in to the each cylinder 106 in the cylinder block 108. The piston pairs 104 have a shape complementary to the bore to define combustion chamber there between. More particularly, each of the cylinders 106 has a square design bore and stroke.
In an embodiment, the cylinder heads 102 are assembled on the cylinder block 108 over each cylinder 106 separately. The concept of separate cylinder head 102 ensures ease in service and manufacturing of components of the engine 100. In an embodiment, each head 102 is securely covered with the rocker cover 126 by bolting the rocker cover 126.
In an embodiment, the placement of the cylinders 106, along with the firing order of the pistons 104 ensures that the reciprocating movement of a first pair of pistons 104 is opposite to that of a second pair of pistons 104, thereby ensuring good balancing of the reciprocating parts, for desired primary balancing of the engine 100.
In an embodiment, the engine 100 includes a crank shaft 112 configured to convert reciprocating displacement of each piston pair 104 into rotary motion. In an embodiment, a secondary balancer unit 114 is operatively placed below the crank shaft 112 and configured to rotate at double the speed of the crank shaft 112 speed to facilitate secondary balancing of the engine 100.
In an embodiment, the engine includes four cylinder heads 102, four cylinders 106 with the reciprocating piston pairs 104, a crank shaft 112, and a secondary balancer unit 114. In an embodiment, each cylinder 106 has a square design bore and stroke. The cylinders 106 are placed adjacent to each other, and are in inline configuration with respect to the cylinders 106 placed in the cylinder block 108. The reciprocating piston pair 104 is provided in each of the cylinders 106. The cross section of each reciprocating piston pair 104 is complementary to the bore to define combustion chamber there between. The reciprocating piston pairs 104 are configured in pairs such that the reciprocating movement of the first pair of pistons 104 is opposite to that of the second pair of pistons 104, thereby ensuring good balancing of the reciprocating parts, for desired primary balancing of the engine 100. The crank shaft 112 is configured to convert reciprocating displacement of each piston pair 104 into rotary motion. The secondary balancer unit 114 is operatively placed below the crank shaft 112 and is configured to rotate at double the speed of the crank shaft speed to facilitate secondary balancing of the engine 100.
In an embodiment, the material of each cylinder head 102 and the cylinder block 108 is compacted graphite which makes the engine 100 capable of taking higher peak firing pressures.
The engine 100 of the present disclosure is suitable for 500 kVA genset category products. In an embodiment, the bore size and the stroke are unique in nature. In another embodiment, each cylinder 106 has a bore diameter of 175 mm, a stroke length of 175 mm, and therefore a swept volume of 16. 8 Lit, and therefore called as square type design, which allows engine 100 to be compact in size and allows engine 100 to run at higher speeds. In an embodiment, the higher size bore is thermodynamically efficient and gives lesser fuel consumption. Further, getting 16.8 liter engine capacity in four cylinders in in-line construction is unique. This ensures less time to service and spares to buy, less parts to go wrong, increases robustness & single sided servicing.
In an embodiment, the engine 100 is a high Speed Diesel (Natural Gas version also available). The engine 100 has turbocharged intercooled aspiration. The engine 100 has a compression ratio of 16.5:1 and is a liquid cooled for Diesel version. The engine 100 has a rated power of 452 kW (HP) and has an oil sump with a capacity of 50 Lit. The engine 100 has dimension of 1613mm by 1370mm by 1676mm and has a dry weight of 2200 kg.
The firing order of four cylinders 106 is 1-3-4-2, i.e., the first cylinder 106 fires first, then the third cylinder 106, the fourth cylinder 106, and at last the second cylinder 106. In an embodiment, the placement of the cylinders 106, along with the firing order of the pistons 104 ensures that the reciprocating movement of a pair of pistons 104 is opposite to that of the second pair of pistons 104, thereby ensuring good balancing of the reciprocating parts, for desired primary balancing of the engine 100.
In an embodiment, inline 4, 6 or 8-cylinder engines accruing in substantial benefits to an end customer in terms of development cost, performance etc., and which is conventionally unavailable in the market can be developed with the configuration of the cylinder 106 described in the present disclosure.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Individual components of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but are interchangeable. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the present disclosure, and all such modifications are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.
TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS
The present disclosure described herein above has several technical advantages including, but not limited to, the realization of an internal combustion engine, that:
• requires less number of components for its functioning;
• is compact; and
• consumes fewer footprints.
The embodiments herein, 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.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
The use of the expression “at least” or “at least one” suggests the use of one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as the use may be in the embodiment of the disclosure to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results.
Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, 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 of 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.
The numerical values mentioned for the various physical parameters, dimensions or quantities are only approximations and it is envisaged that the values higher/lower than the numerical values assigned to the parameters, dimensions or quantities fall within the scope of the disclosure, unless there is a statement in the specification specific to the contrary.
While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the components and component parts of the preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that many embodiments can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the disclosure. These and other changes in the preferred embodiment as well as other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the disclosure and not as a limitation.

,CLAIMS:WE CLAIM:
1. An internal combustion engine (100) comprising:
a. a plurality of cylinders (106) fitted in a cylinder block (108); and
b. a reciprocating piston pair (104) provided in each of said cylinders (106), wherein said cylinders (106) are assembled in a predetermined configuration, each of said piston pair (104) having shape complementary to said bore to define combustion chamber there between.
2. The internal combustion engine (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least four cylinders (106) are provided.
3. The internal combustion engine (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein six cylinders (106) are provided.
4. The internal combustion engine (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said cylinders (106) are placed adjacent to each other.
5. The internal combustion engine (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said cylinders (106) are in inline configuration.
6. The internal combustion engine (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each of the cylinders (106) has a square design bore and stroke.
7. The internal combustion engine (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each of said cylinders (106) has a separate cylinder head (102) defined therein.
8. The internal combustion engine (100) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the material of each cylinder head (102) and said cylinder block (108) is compacted graphite, thereby allowing the engine capable of taking higher peak firing pressures.
9. The internal combustion engine (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein placement of said cylinders (106), along with the firing order of said piston pairs (104) ensures that the reciprocating movement of a first pair of pistons (104) is opposite to that of a second pair of pistons (104), thereby ensuring good balancing of the reciprocating parts, for desired primary balancing of the engine (100).
10. The internal combustion engine (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said engine (100) includes a crank shaft (112) configured to convert reciprocating displacement of each piston pair (104) into rotary motion.
11. The internal combustion engine (100) as claimed in claim 10, wherein a secondary balancer unit (114) is operatively placed below said crank shaft (112) and configured to rotate at double the speed of the crank shaft speed to facilitate secondary balancing of said engine (100).
12. The internal combustion engine (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, said engine (100) comprising:
a. four cylinders (106) fitted in a cylinder block (108), each cylinder (106) having a square design bore and stroke, said cylinders (106) are placed adjacent to each other, and said cylinders (106) are in inline configuration;
b. a reciprocating piston pair (104) provided in each of said cylinders (106), the cross section of said piston pair (104) being complementary to the bore to define combustion chamber there between, said reciprocating pistons (104) configured in pairs such that the reciprocating movement of the first pair of pistons (104) is opposite to that of the second pair of pistons (104), thereby ensuring good balancing of the reciprocating parts, for desired primary balancing of the engine (100);
c. a crank shaft (112) configured to convert reciprocating displacement of each piston pair (104) into rotary motion; and
d. a secondary balancer unit (114) is operatively disposed below said crank shaft (112) and configured to rotate at double the speed of the crank shaft speed to facilitate secondary balancing of said engine (100).

Dated this 06th Day of July, 2021

MOHAN RAJKUMAR DEWAN
of R.K. DEWAN & COMPANY IN/PA-25
APPLICANT’S PATENT ATTORNEY

TO,
THE CONTROLLER OF PATENTS
THE PATENT OFFICE, AT MUMBAI