Patent Grant
10704450
Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to piston cooling jets for engines.
Piston cooling jets may be mounted to an engine crankcase proximate to a crankshaft. Each piston cooling jet may be fastened to the crankcase with a banjo bolt. The banjo bolt extends into an oil chamber in the crankcase, thereby allowing pressurized oil to flow into the piston cooling jet and spray upwards onto a bottom side of a piston during engine operation. Such cooling is often used with high compression and/or turbocharged engines.
A typical piston cooling jet is formed of metal. In particular, piston cooling jets are typically formed of steel or aluminum. It has been found that forming the piston cooling jet is expensive, due to the cost of the material for the metal component. Further, the forming and bending of oil channel pipes along with the joining operations used to mate individual components to each other may be complex.
A need exists for a versatile piston cooling jet that allows for various configurations and orientations of nozzles outlets. A need exists for a piston cooling jet assembly that is easy to manufacture and reduces overall part mass. A need exists for a versatile assembly having components that may be efficiently and most-effectively manufacture.
With those needs in mind, certain embodiments of the present disclosure provide a piston cooling jet assembly that includes a first body and a second body. The first body includes a housing having an inlet fluidly coupled with nozzle outlets by a valve chamber. The second body is couple to the first body to form an interior chamber disposed inside the first body and the second body. The interior chamber is fluidly coupled with the inlet and the nozzle outlets. The interior chamber directs fluid received via the inlet through the nozzle outlets and out of the piston cooling jet assembly in a direction towards a spray target.
In at least one embodiment, the first body and the second body are formed of one or more plastics.
In at least one embodiment, the housing, the inlet, the nozzle outlets, and the valve chamber of the first body are configured to be integrally formed as a unitary component.
In at least one embodiment, the valve chamber receives a valve. The valve is configured to control an amount of pressure at which the fluid is directed into the inlet or an amount of pressure at which the fluid is directed out of the nozzle outlets.
The valve includes a spring and a check ball that are configured to be displaced by the fluid received via the inlet.
The second body may be welded, adhered, or fastened to the first body.
Optionally, the first body includes a mounting bracket that is elongated and encompasses a mating axis and the second body includes a mounting bracket that encompasses the same mating axis. The mounting brackets of the first and second bodies may removably receive a mating component in order to operably couple the piston cooling jet assembly to the mating component.
One or both of the mounting brackets of the first body or second body may removably retain a collar within the mounting brackets.
Optionally, the first body includes one or more recesses that are configured to reduce a weight of the first body, add structure to the first body, or provide a uniform cross-section of the first body.
The nozzle outlets include a first nozzle outlet and a second nozzle outlet. The interior chamber includes a divider configured to control an amount of fluid directed out of the first nozzle outlet and to control an amount of fluid directed out of the second nozzle outlet.
The first body also includes a mating surface that has a shape that is substantially common to a shape of a mating surface of the second body. The mating surface of the first body is configured to operably couple to the mating surface of the second body when the second body is operably coupled to the first body.
Before the embodiments of the disclosure are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The disclosure is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including” and “comprising” and variations thereof is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items and equivalents thereof.
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a piston cooling jet assembly that includes a first body operably coupled to a second body. The first body includes an inlet, nozzle outlets, a valve chamber, and a mounting bracket that may be formed as a single, unitary component and formed of plastic. The second body includes a mounting bracket and may be formed as a single, unitary component formed of plastic. The piston cooling jet assembly may be fastened to a crankcase and configured to allow pressurized oil to flow through the piston cooling jet assembly and out of the piston cooling jet assembly in a direction towards a spray target. In at least one embodiment, the valve chamber retains a check valve that controls an amount of pressure at which the fluid is directed into and out of the piston cooling jet assembly. The piston cooling jet assembly including the first body and the second body, which may be manufactured of plastic, is configured to provide various different configurations and orientations of nozzle outlets. The first body and the second body may be coupled together (such as through welded joints, or the like) to form the piston cooling jet assembly that allows for various spray patterns and/or spray target locations.
Referring to
In the illustrated embodiment, the first body 102 and the second body 104 both have a shape that is substantially T-shaped. Additionally, the first body 102 includes a mating surface 142 that has a shape (e.g., T-shaped) that is substantially common to a shape of a mating surface 144 of the second body 104. Optionally, the mating surface 142 of the first body 102 may have a shape that is unique to the shape of the mating surface 144 of the second body 104. In the illustrated embodiment, the first and second bodies 102, 104 are coupled to form a substantially planar entity of the piston cooling jet assembly 100. For example, the mating surface 142 of the first body 102 and the mating surface 144 of the second body 104 are substantially planar relative to each other. Optionally, the mating surfaces 142, 144 may be curved such that the first and second bodies 102, 104 coupled together form a non-planar piston cooling jet assembly 100.
The first body 102 includes a mounting portion 116 and a fluid portion 118. The mounting portion 116 extends along a leg 170 of the second body 104, and the fluid portion 118 extends along a cross-bar 172 of the second body 104 between a first end 162 and a second end 164. The mounting portion 116 extends between a first top surface 156 and the mating surface 142. The fluid portion 118 extends between a second top surface 158 and the mating surface 142. In the illustrated embodiment, the second top surface 158 of the fluid portion 118 is substantially planar to the first top surface 156 and is disposed closer to the mating surface 142 than the first top surface 156 of the mounting portion 116. Optionally, the first and second top surfaces 156, 158 may be non-planar with respect to each other.
The second body 104 also includes a mounting portion 136 that extends along the leg 170 of the T-shape, and a fluid portion 138 that extends along the cross-bar 172 of the T-shape. Optionally, the piston cooling jet assembly 100 may have various other shapes and/or sizes. For example, the assembly 100 may be substantially L-shaped, I-shaped, or the like. Optionally, the first body 102 may have a shape and/or size that is unique to the shape and/or size of the second body 104. In one or more embodiments, the first body 102 may be substantially T-shaped and the second body 104 may be not be substantially T-shaped. For example, the second body 104 may only include the fluid portion 138 and may not include the mounting portion 136. The piston cooling jet assembly 100 may have any alternative shape or size that enables the piston cooling jet assembly 100 to fit inside an engine and to spray the fluid onto one or more sides or surfaces of a piston during engine operation.
The valve chamber 112 is disposed on the first top surface 156 of the mounting portion 116 and extends a distance away from the first top surface 156 along an inlet axis 114. In the illustrated embodiment, the valve chamber 112 has a substantially tubular cross-sectional shape about the inlet axis 114 and extends between the first top surface 156 and a chamber surface 166. Optionally, the valve chamber 112 may have any alternative shape and/or size, may be operably coupled to any alternative surface of the first body 102 or any alternative surface of the second body 104.
The first body 102 also includes a mounting bracket 124 that is disposed at the mounting portion 116 of the first body 102. The mounting bracket 124 is elongated along and encompasses a mating axis 130. The mounting bracket 124 may also be referred to herein as a mounting passage. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the mounting bracket 124 is an open passage that extends between the first top surface 156 and the mating surface 142 of the first body 102. In the illustrated embodiment, the mounting bracket 124 has a first portion 146 that has a first circular cross-sectional shape and a second portion 148 that has a second circular cross-sectional shape. The first portion 146 extends a distance away from the first top surface 156 and into the first body 102. The second portion 148 extends a distance away from the mating surface 142 and into the first body 102. Optionally, the mounting bracket 124 may have various other shapes and may extend partially between the first top surface 156 and the mating surface 142.
The second body 104 includes a mounting bracket 126 that has a substantially common shape and size as the mounting bracket 124 of the first body 102. The mounting bracket 126 of the second body 104 is also elongated along and encompasses the mating axis 130. The mounting brackets 124, 126 of the first and second bodies 102, 104, respectively, are female mating components that are configured to removably receive a male mating component (not shown) in order to operably couple the assembly 100 with the male mating component. For example, the mounting brackets 124, 126 may receive a bolt, a screw, a rod, or the like, of an engine assembly in order to operably couple the piston cooling jet assembly 100 with the engine assembly.
In one or more embodiments, the mounting brackets 124, 126 may also be referred to as passages, connectors, mounting fixtures, mounting components, or the like, and may have any alternative configuration that allows the piston cooling jet assembly 100 to be operably coupled to a mating component. For example, the first and second bodies 102, 104 may include male mounting brackets and/or features that are configured to be operably coupled to female mounting brackets and/or features (not shown) of the mating component. Optionally, the first body 102 may include the mounting bracket 124 and the second body 104 may not include the mounting bracket 126. For example, the mounting bracket 124 of the first body 102 may operably couple the piston cooling jet assembly 100 with the mating component (e.g., an engine or turbocharged engine assembly).
The first portion 146 of the mounting bracket 124 removably retains a collar 140 within the mounting bracket 124. Optionally, the collar 140 may be removably retained in the mounting bracket 126 of the second body 104, or the collar 140 may be shaped and sized to be removably retained within both mounting brackets 124, 126 of the first and second bodies 102, 104. The collar 140 may also be referred to herein as a compression limiter. For example, the collar 140 may be manufactured of a metal or metallic alloy and may removably receive the mating component inside the mounting brackets 124, 126 to operably couple the piston cooling jet assembly 100 to the mating component. The collar 140 may have one or more alignment features that may align the collar 140 inside one or more of the brackets 124, 126. The collar 140 may be welded, fastened, adhered, insert-molded, or the like, inside one or more of the brackets 124, 126, or the like. Optionally, the piston cooling jet assembly 100 may not include the collar 140 disposed inside the mounting brackets 124, 126.
The first body 102 also includes a stiffener 154 that extends a distance away from and along the second top surface 158. In the illustrated embodiment, the stiffener 154 is elongated along the second top surface 158 and extends partially between the first end 162 and the second end 164. Optionally, the stiffener 154 may have various other shapes and/or sizes, may be disposed on other surfaces of the first body 102, may be disposed on the second body 104, and/or may extend in other directions, or any combination therein. The stiffener 154 increases strength of the first body 102. Optionally, the first body 102 and/or the second body 104 may include any number of stiffeners 154 in order to increase or improve a strength of the piston cooling jet assembly 100.
In the illustrated embodiment, the first body 102 also includes recesses 160 that have a substantially triangular cross-sectional shape. The recesses 160 extend from the first top surface 156 of the first body 102 and into the housing 106 of the first body 102. The recesses 160 may also be referred to herein as pockets, metal-saving pockets, divots, or the like, such that the recesses are a removal or absence of material from the first body 102. The recesses 160 reduce a weight of the first body 102. In the illustrated embodiment, the first body 102 includes two recesses 160 that remove or eliminate material from the first body 102. Optionally, the first body 102 and/or the second body 104 may include less than two or more than two recesses having uniform and/or unique shapes and/or sizes in order to reduce weight, add structure, and/or provide a uniform cross-section of the piston cooling jet assembly 100.
The inlet 108 is an open passage that extends from the chamber surface 166 into the valve chamber 112. The fluid is directed into the piston cooling jet assembly 100 through the inlet 108 in a direction 216. Optionally, the piston cooling jet assembly 100 may include two or more inlets to direct fluid into the assembly 100. The inlet 108 is fluidly coupled with the outlets 110 inside the assembly 100 by a valve pocket 214. Optionally, the inlet 108 may be fluidly coupled with the nozzle outlets 110 by one or more additional passages, chambers, or the like. The outlets 110A, 110B are disposed at the first end 162 and the second end 164, respectively, of the first body 102. In the illustrated embodiment, the outlets 110A, 110B are open passages that extend from the second top surface 158 into the first body 102. Optionally, the assembly 100 may include any number of outlets 110 that may be disposed at any uniform, patterned, or random confirmation with respect to each other outlet. For example, one nozzle outlet may be disposed at a position closer to the inlet axis 114 than the other nozzle outlet. Optionally, one or more nozzle outlets 110 may be disposed on one or more surfaces of the second body 104 and may be open passages that extend into the second body 104. Optionally, one or more nozzle outlets 110 may be disposed at one or more of the mounting portions 116, 118 of the first or second bodies 102, 104, respectively.
The first body 102 includes a first pocket 120 (shown in
As shown in
The nozzle outlets 110A, 110B are fluidly coupled with the inlet 108 by the valve pocket 214 of the valve chamber 112. When the fluid is directed into the inlet 108, the check ball 208 and the spring 206 are displaced and the fluid may be directed through the valve pocket 214 and into the interior chamber 150 that is formed between the first and second bodies 102, 104. The interior chamber 150 directs the fluid received via the inlet 108 through the nozzle outlets 110A, 110B and out of the piston cooling jet assembly 100. The check valve 204 controls an amount of pressure at which the fluid is directed into the inlet 108. Additionally, the check valve 204 controls an amount of pressure at which the fluid is directed out of the nozzle outlets 110A, 110B. For example, the check valve 204 is configured to control a pressure at which the nozzle outlets 110A, 110B emits cooling oil within an engine.
In one or more embodiments, the check valve may not include a spring or a check ball, but instead may include alternative components or features that may control an amount of pressure at which fluid is directed into and out of the piston cooling jet assembly 100. For example, the check valve may include a spring having an alternative shape and/or size, a spring-damper component assembly, a spring element coupled to a sealing element, a magnetic assembly that may apply a spring force or alternative force, or the like. Optionally, the check ball or sealing element may have other shapes and/or sizes to seal (e.g., close off) the inlet 108. Additionally, the seal surface may have other shapes and/or sizes such that the shape of the sealing element may substantially fill the passage between the inlet 108 and the seal surface. Additionally or alternatively, the valve pocket 214 may include different cavities that may contain different components of the check valve. Optionally, the valve pocket 214 may include different cavities that may be left empty (e.g., to reduce the mass of the assembly), and/or may contain components not included with the check valve.
As shown in
In one or more embodiments, the interior chamber 150 may include one or more dividers (not shown) that may control an amount of fluid that may be directed out of each of the nozzle outlets 110A, 110B. For example, the dividers may direct a greater amount of fluid in the interior chamber 150 to the first nozzle outlet 110A than an amount of fluid in the interior chamber 150 that is directed to the second nozzle outlet 110B.
In one or more embodiments, the first body 102 and/or the second body 104 may include any number of nozzle outlets 110 that may direct the fluid out of the interior chamber 150 and in any direction away from the piston cooling jet assembly 100. For example,
Returning to
The second body, including the mounting bracket 126 and the second pocket 122, is integrally formed as a single, unitary body of one or more plastics, instead of metals. For example, the second body 104, formed as a single, unitary component and manufactured of plastic, may reduce a cost of the piston cooling jet assembly 100 relative to the second body 104 being formed of multiple components and not being manufactured of plastics (e.g., formed of metal or metallic alloys). The second body 104 may be molded, printed, etched, or the like, to form a single, unitary component. Forming the second body 104 as a unitary component allows for various different types of geometries that are generally not feasible with known metal piston cooling jets. In one or more embodiments, the first and second bodies 102, 104 may both be formed of a plastic material having a common chemical configuration. Alternatively, the first body 102 may be formed of a plastic material that has a chemical configuration that is different than the plastic material of the second body 104.
The mating surface 144 of the second body 104 is operably coupled to the mating surface 142 of the first body 102 to form the piston cooling jet assembly 100. The second body 104 may be laser welded, ultrasonically welded, fastened, adhered, or the like, to the first body 102. Optionally, the first body 102 and the second body 104 may be integrally formed and molded, printed, etched, or the like, as a single piece. Optionally, one or more components or features of the first body 102 may be integrally formed with the second body 104. For example, the second body 104 may include the valve chamber 112, or the second body 104 may include one or more stiffeners 154.
As described herein, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a piston cooling jet assembly that allows for various configurations and orientations of nozzles outlets. Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a piston cooling jet assembly that is easy to manufacture, reduces overall part mass, and includes components that are efficiently and most-effectively manufactured.
While various spatial and directional terms, such as top, bottom, lower, mid, lateral, horizontal, vertical, front and the like may be used to describe embodiments of the present disclosure, it is understood that such terms are merely used with respect to the orientations shown in the drawings. The orientations may be inverted, rotated, or otherwise changed, such that an upper portion is a lower portion, and vice versa, horizontal becomes vertical, and the like.
Variations and modifications of the foregoing are within the scope of the present disclosure. It is understood that the embodiments disclosed and defined herein extend to all alternative combinations of two or more of the individual features mentioned or evident from the text and/or drawings. All of these different combinations constitute various alternative aspects of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein explain the best modes known for practicing the disclosure and will enable others skilled in the art to utilize the disclosure. The claims are to be construed to include alternative embodiments to the extent permitted by the prior art.
To the extent used in the appended claims, the terms “including” and “in which” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and “wherein.” Moreover, to the extent used in the following claims, the terms “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc. are used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects. Further, the limitations of the following claims are not written in means-plus-function format and are not intended to be interpreted based on 35 U.S.C. § 112(f), unless and until such claim limitations expressly use the phrase “means for” followed by a statement of function void of further structure.
Various features of the disclosure are set forth in the following claims.
This application relates to and claims priority benefits from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/520,656, entitled “Piston Cooling Jet Assembly,” filed Jun. 16, 2017, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
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| 20030005893 | Bontaz | Jan 2003 | A1 |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20180363537 A1 | Dec 2018 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62520656 | Jun 2017 | US |
