Patent Application
20190353117
The present disclosure relates generally to a cylinder liner and, more particularly, to a cylinder liner having a flange with a varied diameter.
Many components of an internal combustion engine, such as a multi-cylinder diesel or gasoline engine, are subjected to high loads and/or wear during operation of the engine. For example, an engine block and/or a cylinder bore of the engine block may experience loads from combustion events occurring within combustion chambers formed by the cylinder head, pistons, and cylinder bores of the engine block. As a result, cylinder bores of the engine block may include a cylinder liner in which the piston reciprocates (e.g., to protect the cylinder bore from stresses experienced during combustion events). A cylinder liner may be adapted for one or more uses and/or functions by varying the design of the cylinder liner.
One attempt to adapt a cylinder liner (e.g., via a flange with a varied diameter) is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0084193 published on Mar. 24, 2016 (“the '193 application”). In particular, the '193 application discloses a cylinder liner having a flange with an annular groove. The annular groove is formed in the outer annular surface of the flange at an axial location about midway through the axial thickness of the flange. The disclosed cylinder liner may be used in any application where it is desired to increase the reliability and operating life of the associated engine. The disclosed cylinder liner may increase reliability and operating life by enhancing sealing and improving contact pressure consistency at an interface between the cylinder liner and an associated engine block. This enhanced sealing may be provided by increasing flexibility in the flange of the cylinder liner by way of an annular groove.
While the cylinder liner of the '193 application may enhance sealing and improve contact pressure consistency at an interface between the cylinder liner and an associated engine block, other designs of a cylinder liner having a flange with a varied diameter may facilitate other functions and/or uses of the cylinder liner.
The cylinder liner of the present disclosure provides one or more uses that are different than what is set forth above in the art.
In one aspect, the present disclosure is related to a cylinder liner. The cylinder liner may include a generally cylindrical body having a top end and a bottom end. The cylinder liner may include a flange connected to the generally cylindrical body at the top end of the generally cylindrical body. The flange may have an annular surface. A first diameter of a top portion of the annular surface may be less than a second diameter of a bottom portion of the annular surface.
In another aspect, the present disclosure is related to a combustion engine. The combustion engine may include an engine block that at least partially defines a plurality of cylinder bores. The combustion engine may include a cylinder liner assembly, within one of the plurality of cylinder bores. The cylinder liner assembly may include a generally cylindrical body having a top end and a bottom end. The generally cylindrical body may have a cylinder liner wall that defines a cylinder liner bore. The cylinder liner assembly may include a flange connected to the generally cylindrical body at the top end of the generally cylindrical body. The flange may have an annular surface. A first diameter of a top portion of the annular surface may be less than a second diameter of a bottom portion of the annular surface. The flange may have a gasket recess configured for a gasket. The combustion engine may include a cylinder head configured to, in combination with the gasket and using one of a plurality of counter bores in the cylinder head, seal the one of the plurality of cylinder bores.
In yet another aspect, the present disclosure is related to a cylinder liner assembly. The cylinder liner assembly may include a generally cylindrical body having a top end and a bottom end. The cylinder liner assembly may include a flange connected to the generally cylindrical body at the top end of the generally cylindrical body. The flange may have an annular surface. A first diameter of a top portion of the annular surface may be less than a second diameter of a bottom portion of the annular surface. A cylinder liner wall of the generally cylindrical body and the flange may define a cylinder liner bore. The cylinder liner assembly may include a gasket recess in a top surface of the flange. The cylinder liner assembly may include a gasket in the gasket recess.
This disclosure relates to a cylinder liner. The cylinder liner has universal applicability to any machine utilizing such a cylinder liner. The term “machine” may refer to any machine that performs an operation associated with an industry such as, for example, mining, construction, farming, transportation, or any other industry. As some examples, the machine may be a vehicle, a backhoe loader, a cold planer, a wheel loader, a compactor, a feller buncher, a forest machine, a forwarder, a harvester, an excavator, an industrial loader, a knuckleboom loader, a material handler, a motor grader, a pipelayer, a road reclaimer, a skid steer loader, a skidder, a telehandler, a tractor, a dozer, a tractor scraper, or other paving or underground mining equipment. Moreover, one or more implements may be connected to the machine and driven from an engine that includes a cylinder liner.
Engine block 102 may be made from a one-piece casting and may include an upper section 104 and a lower section 106. The upper section 104 may include a variety of openings on a top deck 108, such as cylinder bores 114, attachment bores 110, and fluid passages 112. Although six-cylinder bores 114 are shown, engine block 102 may include any number of cylinder bores 114 depending on the configuration of the engine being utilized. A cylinder head (not shown in
As indicated above,
In some implementations, a cylinder liner, described herein, may be installed in cylinder bore 114. In this configuration, when engine block 102 is not counter-bored for a flange of a cylinder liner (or where the cylinder liner is used with a counter-bored cylinder head), a bottom edge of the flange of the cylinder liner may contact a top surface of top deck 108, as described elsewhere herein.
As indicated above,
Reference number 302 shows a side view of cylinder liner 304. For example, cylinder liner 304 may include a cylinder liner to be used in engine block 102 (e.g., that is configured for a counter-bored cylinder head, that includes a straight bored cylinder bore 114, and/or the like). In some implementations, cylinder liner 304 may include a generally cylindrical cylinder liner body 306. Cylinder liner body 306 may include a top end and a bottom end and cylinder liner 304 may include a flange 308 connected to cylinder liner body 306 at the top end of cylinder liner body 306. In some implementations, flange 308 may be generally cylindrical, similar to cylinder liner body 306. A bottom surface of flange 308 may contact a top surface of engine block 102 when cylinder liner 304 is installed in cylinder bore 114 of engine block 102, as described elsewhere herein. In addition, a top surface of flange 308 may include a gasket (e.g., in a gasket recess of the top surface), which in combination with the top surface of flange 308, may contact a cylinder head to form and/or seal a combustion chamber when the cylinder head is mounted to engine block 102.
Flange 308 may include an annular surface (e.g., an outer surface of flange 308). Reference numbers 310 through 314 show various portions of the annular surface. For example, the annular surface may include a top portion 310 and a bottom portion 312. As further shown in
In some implementations, and as further shown in
While
Although flange 308 is described as having different portions, in practice, flange 308 may be a single element (e.g., cast as a single element separate from, or in combination with, cylinder liner body 306). Conversely, the different portions described with regard to flange 308 may be cast as separate elements and attached to each other and/or cylinder liner body 306 via welding, use of an adhesive, and/or the like.
Reference number 316 shows a cross-sectional view of cylinder liner 304. As shown, cylinder liner 304 further includes cylinder liner wall 318 that forms the generally cylindrical shape of cylinder liner body 306 and/or flange 308. In some implementations, cylinder liner 304 may include a cylinder liner bore 320 (e.g., formed by cylinder liner wall 318). In some implementations, cylinder liner bore 320 may be a generally cylindrical cavity in which a piston (not shown) of an engine may move when cylinder liner 304 is installed in engine block 102 and the engine is driving the piston.
As indicated above,
As shown by reference number 402, cylinder liner 304 may be configured such that a bottom surface of flange 308 contacts a top surface of engine block 102 when cylinder liner 304 is installed in cylinder bore 114 of engine block 102. In some implementations, and as further shown by reference number 402, flange 308 may be above the top surface of engine block 102 while cylinder liner body 306 is within cylinder bore 114 (e.g., to cause flange 308 to be positioned to create a seal with a cylinder head). As described in more detail below, the configuration of the diameters of top portion 310 and bottom portion 312 of flange 308 provide different clearance paths for a cylinder head (not shown in
As indicated above,
As shown in
As indicated above,
The disclosed cylinder liner 304 may be used with any engine block 102, where cylinder bores 114 of engine block 102 are configured such that flange 308 does not rest in (or entirely in) cylinder bore 114. By including a smaller diameter top portion 310 of flange 308 relative to bottom portion 312 of flange 308, cylinder liner 304 facilitates a tighter pitch between adjacent cylinder bores 114, a tighter pitch between adjacent cylinder liners 304 when installed in engine block 102, and/or the like. For example, the smaller diameter of top portion 310 may facilitate a tighter draft of mounting guide 506 to cylinder bore 114 and/or cylinder liner bore 320. This, in turn, can facilitate a smaller dimension engine block 102 while maintaining a quantity of cylinders bores 114 in engine block 102, a higher quantity of cylinder bores 114 while maintaining a size of engine block 102, and/or the like. Additionally, or alternatively, this can facilitate tighter sealing of a combustion chamber, can reduce costs associated with manufacturing cylinder head 504 (e.g., via a smaller cylinder head 504), and/or the like.
Further, this facilitates use of cylinder liner 304 with different sized engines 102 (e.g., engines 102 that may have different amounts of pitch between cylinder bores 114), that may be associated with different sized cylinder heads 504 (e.g., cylinder heads 504 that have different load paths), and/or the like. Further, cylinder liner 304 may facilitate conservation of space in an engine compartment of a vehicle by facilitating use of a smaller sized cylinder head 504 (e.g., relative to another cylinder head 504 that would be used with another cylinder liner that includes another flange with a diameter that is the same at the top of the flange as at the bottom of the flange), by facilitating use of a smaller engine block (e.g., via a tighter configuration of cylinder bores 114), and/or the like without compromising a diameter of cylinder bore 114.
As used herein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or more items, and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Also, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” or the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on.”
The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the implementations. It is intended that the specification be considered as an example only, with a true scope of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims and their equivalents. Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of possible implementations. Although each dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosure of possible implementations includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set.
