The present application claims the priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2008-0071695 filed Jul. 23, 2008, the entire contents of which application is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a slide type continuous variable valve lift device.
2. Description of Related Art
As for an engine, a camshaft is rotated by a rotating force transmitted from a crank shaft, and an intake valve and an exhaust valve are reciprocated up and down with regular timing by cams of the camshaft. Thereby, intake air is supplied to a combustion chamber, and combustion gas is exhausted. In this process, a fuel-air mixture is compressed and exploded to generate power.
At this time, a device that can continuously vary the lift distance of a valve according to an operating speed of the engine is called a continuous variable valve lift (CVVL) device.
Hereinafter, a conventional CVVL device will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.
The conventional CVVL device illustrated in
A rocker roller 64 is provided on the upper portion of the rocker arm 60, in contact with the outer circumference of the cam lobe 40, and the rocker arm 60 is configured to rotate around the coupler 62 in response to the rotation of the cam lobe 40.
With the above-described configuration, when the cam lobe 40 rotates counterclockwise at the position shown in
In this case, the center of curvature of the rounded surface 54 is located above the center of rotation of the frame 50. Thus, when the sliding block 66 provided in the upper end of the rocker arm 60 is pulled to the right, the frame 50 rotates in a clockwise direction. As a result, the sliding block 66 comes into contact with the upper portion of the rounded surface 54.
A drive cam 56 is formed in a portion of the frame 50, which comes into contact with the swing arm roller 32. When the frame 50 rotates clockwise at the position shown in
Further, when the shaft coupler 70 rotates counterclockwise from the position shown in
In other words, the conventional CVVL device shown in
However, in the conventional CVVL device described as above, when the swing arm rotates following the rotation of the cam lobe, sliding friction may occurs in at least five places including the contacts between the cam lobe and the frame, between the cam lobe and the rocker roller, between the sliding block and the rounded surface, between the drive cam and the swing arm roller and between the swing arm roller and the swing arm. A large amount of power is lost by friction, and thus precise operation control becomes difficult.
Other problems include increasing the number of springs, which apply an elastic force to respective parts in order to constantly maintain the coupling positions of the respective parts, and increasing loss of friction of the respective parts
Furthermore, the friction loss of the respective parts is increased greatly due to the increased number of springs, which apply an elastic force to respective parts to constantly maintain the coupling positions of the respective parts.
Moreover, since the conventional CVVL device is made up of a large number of parts, it is difficult to fabricate the device, manufacturing costs are increased, and the overall robustness of the device becomes lower.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.
Various embodiments of the present invention provide a slide type continuous variable valve lift (CVVL) device that may minimize the number of places where sliding friction between respective parts may occur so as to minimize power loss and enable more precise operation control as well as reduce the number of parts so as to enhance the overall robustness of the device.
In various aspects of the present invention, the slide type CVVL device may include a swing arm rotating to press a valve, a cam lobe, a roller transmitting a driving force of the cam lobe to the swing arm, and/or a guide guiding the roller to move along a predetermined guide path.
The guide may selectively guide the roller to move along both a first path and a second path or only the second path. The roller may intermittently presses the swing arm on the first path but the roller may not press the swing arm on the second path. The cam lobe may be placed above the swing arm. The guide may include a first guide surface extending away from an upper surface of the swing arm to define the first path thereon and a second guide surface extending from a distal end of the first guide surface to the cam lobe to define the second path thereon. The roller may be configured to move in contact with the first guide surface or the second guide surface. The guide may be constructed in such a manner that the first guide surface or the second guide surface comes into contact with the roller according to a rotation angle of the guide.
The guide may be configured to select a path of the roller based on a rotation angle of the guide.
The slide type continuous variable valve lift device may further include a guide control member along which the guide guides the roller. The guide control member may comprise an eccentric cam which rotates the guide.
The guide may be configured to rotate around a rotating shaft which is placed on a predetermined point lower than an upper surface of the swing arm.
The roller may include a substantially cylindrical cam lobe contact and substantially cylindrical swing arm contacts. The swing arm contacts may have a diameter smaller than that of the cylindrical cam lobe contact. The cylindrical swing arm contacts may be provided on opposite ends of the cam lobe contact, respectively. The swing arm may have a through hole, which allows the camp lobe contact to move thereinto. The swing arm may be configured to receive the camp lobe contact.
Various aspects of the present invention are directed to a slide type continuous variable valve lift device may including a swing arm pivotally coupled to a rotating shaft to press a valve, a cam lobe displaced above the swing arm and opposite the rotating shaft of the swing arm, a roller displaced between the swing arm and the cam robe and transmitting a driving force of the cam lobe to the swing arm, a guide coupling the roller and the swing arm and guiding the roller to move along a predetermined path so as to change a distance between the roller and the valve, and/or a guide control member regulating operation of the guide.
The guide control member may control the guide to selectively move the rotation center of the roller to follow both a first path and a second path of the predetermined path or only the second path of the predetermined path. The roller may intermittently presses the swing arm on the first path but does not press the swing arm on the second path.
The guide may include a rotating shaft, a first guide surface extending away substantially in a radial direction from the rotating shaft of the guide to define the first path and a second guide surface extending from a distal end of the first guide surface toward the cam lobe substantially in a circumferential direction to define the second path.
The guide may be configured to select a path of the roller along the predetermined path based on a rotation angle with respect to the rotating shaft of the guide.
The rotating shaft of the guide may be placed or positioned lower than an upper surface of the swing arm. The swing arm may comprise a receiving portion formed at a lower surface thereof to retain the rotating shaft of the guide.
The guide control member may comprise an eccentric cam engaged with the guide and configured to regulate a rotation angle of the guide.
The slide type continuous variable valve lift device may further comprise an elastic member configured to press the roller toward the cam lobe and press the guide toward the guide control member at the same time.
According to various embodiments of the present invention, the CVVL device can reduce the number of places where sliding friction between respective parts may occur to minimize power loss and enable more precise operation control, reduce the number of parts so as to enhance the overall robustness of the device, and advance the time of maximum valve opening so as to improve the fuel efficiency of an engine.
The methods and apparatuses of the present invention have other features and advantages which will be apparent from or are set forth in more detail in the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and the following Detailed Description of the Invention, which together serve to explain certain principles of the present invention.
Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. While the invention(s) will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will be understood that present description is not intended to limit the invention(s) to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, the invention(s) is/are intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents and other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
As shown in
The swing arm 100 is configured to rotate around the rotating shaft 120 so as to press the suction valve 10. The cam lobe 200 is positioned above the swing arm 100 (e.g. as shown in the upper left part of
In various embodiments, the slide type CVVL device includes a spring 600 which elastically presses the roller 300 against the cam lobe 200 so the roller 300 can continue to be in constant contact with the cam lobe 200.
The guide 400 is configured to selectively guide the movement of the roller 300 in such a manner that the roller 300 can move along both a first path and a second path of the guide path predetermined by the guide. Alternatively, the guide may select the roller to move along only one of the first path and second path of the guide. The roller 300 intermittently presses the swing arm 100 on the first path, whereas the roller 300 does not press the swing arm 100 on the second path. The guide 400 has a first guide surface 410 extending away from the upper surface of the swing arm 100 (in the first path direction) and a second guide surface 420 extending from the distal end of the first guide surface 410 toward the cam lobe 200 (in the second path direction). Accordingly, in various embodiments, the path is predetermined by the shape and configuration of the first and second guide surfaces. Further, the guide may be configured to guide the roller 300 along both the first and second paths or to guide the roller along only one portion of the first and second paths. Thus, the guide determines whether the predetermined path of the roller includes the first path.
Further, the roller 300 is configured to be pushed by the cam lobe 200 in response to the rotation of the cam lobe 200 thereby moving into contact with the first or second guide surfaces 410 and 420 respectively.
Consequently, the roller 300 presses the swing arm 100 to rotate when moving downwards along the first guide surface 410 but not when moving sideways along the second guide surface 420. The roller 300 does not start to press the swing arm 100 as the cam lobe 200 rotates from the position shown in
The guide 400 is configured to be rotated around a rotating shaft 430 by the eccentric cam 500 which is placed (on the right part of
In the position shown in
While the present invention has been described with respect to the eccentric cam 500 as a part for rotating the guide 400 to change the path of the roller 300, as would be understood by one skilled in the art from the foregoing, the eccentric cam 500 can be replaced by any means capable of rotating or moving the guide 400 so that the path of the roller 300 can be changed.
The slide type CVVL device of the present invention can further include the frame 700 to which the rotating shaft 120 and the rotating shaft 430 are rotatably coupled. With the frame 700 additionally provided, the relative distance between the rotating shaft 120 and the guide 400 is kept substantially constant even if the rotating shaft 120 is pushed upwards by operation of the hydraulic tappet 20. In this manner, contact positions of respective parts are kept constant thereby making it possible to more precisely adjust or modify the timing to open. Likewise, the distance to lift the suction valve may also be precisely adjusted. Here, since the spring 600 is wound on a support shaft 610 whose position is fixed, arc holes 710 may be formed in portions of the frame 700 through which the support shaft 610 extends. The center of curvature of the respective arc hole 710 is the same as or positioned at substantially the same point as the center of the rotating shaft 430.
In addition, the rotating shaft 430 of the guide 400, if located at a higher position than the upper surface of the swing arm 100, may interfere with the roller 300 which is moving downwards. In various embodiments, the rotating shaft 430 of the guide 400 is generally located at a lower point than the upper surface of the swing arm 100 during operation.
The roller 300 is a part that continues to be in constant contact with the cam lobe 200 and the guide surfaces 410 and 420 and comes into contact with the swing arm 100 to press the swing arm 100. As shown in
The swing arm 100 is formed with a through hole 110 into which the cam lobe contact 310 can be inserted so the swing arm 100 is not pressed downwards by the cam lobe contact 310.
With this construction in which part of the lower portion of the cam lobe contact 310 can be inserted into the through hole 110, the roller 300 can stably press the swing arm 100 without being separated from the swing arm 100 even if for example an external force or vibration is applied.
When the cam lobe 200 rotates clockwise from the position shown in
When the cam lobe 200 further rotates clockwise from the position shown in
That is, the operation shown in
When the eccentric cam 500 rotates clockwise from the position shown in
In this position where the roller 300 is in contact with the first guide surface 410, the roller 300 moves downwards as soon as the cam lobe 200 rotates. Thus, the suction valve 10 is opened more quickly than the case shown in
That is, the operation shown in
As described above, the slide type CVVL device of the present invention can continuously vary the lift distance of the suction valve 10 using a smaller number of parts than the conventional CVVL device shown in
Accordingly, the slide type CVVL device of the present invention leads to a simpler construction and causes to reduce the number of places where parts are pressed and abraded against each other thereby improving the overall strength of the device.
Furthermore, the low lift state shown in
For convenience in explanation and accurate definition in the appended claims, the terms “upper” or “lower”, “front” or “rear”, “inside” or “outside”, and etc. are used to describe features of the exemplary embodiments with reference to the positions of such features as displayed in the figures.
The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain certain principles of the invention and their practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to make and utilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as well as various alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto and their equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10-2008-0071695 | Jul 2008 | KR | national |
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7-63023 | Mar 1995 | JP |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20100018484 A1 | Jan 2010 | US |