Method and system for an engine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10267240-B2
Application number	US-201615175829-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 7, 2016
Priority date	Jun 19, 2015
Publication date	Apr 23, 2019
Grant date	Apr 23, 2019

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided for a variable displacement engine. In one example, a method may include flowing charge air from a deactivated cylinder to an adjacent firing cylinder.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
operating a supercharged auto-ignition internal combustion engine having at least one cylinder head comprising at least two cylinders,
each cylinder having at least one outlet opening for discharging exhaust gases to an exhaust-gas discharge system and at least one inlet opening for receiving charge air from an intake system, and where each cylinder further comprises a piston which is movable along a piston longitudinal axis between a bottom dead center BDC and a top dead center TDC; and the intake system further comprising at least one exhaust-gas turbocharger a compressor coupled to a turbine arranged in the exhaust-gas discharge system;
adjusting a position of the inlet openings and outlet openings of the cylinders via a valve drive, and
deactivating one of the two cylinders during some engine conditions, where the deactivation further includes discharging intake air received by the deactivated cylinder to an operational cylinder through at least one inlet opening of the inlet openings of the deactivated cylinder following a compression stroke of a piston of the deactivated cylinder moving from bottom dead center to top dead center to a flow transfer duct, and where the flow transfer duct direct the discharged charge air to an operational cylinder.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one inlet opening of the deactivated cylinder is opened between a range later than 50° CA to 90° CA after bottom dead center during the course of the compression stroke.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the at least one inlet opening of the deactivated cylinder is closed before the piston reaches top dead center during the compression stroke.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one inlet opening and at least one outlet opening oscillate between open and closed positions, and where a valve lift Δh may be measured between an open position and a closed position during an oscillating duration Δt.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein a valve lift Δh comprises an intake stroke valve lift Δh in measured during the course of the intake stroke, and where the intake stroke valve lift Δh in is at least three times greater than a compression stroke valve lift Δh comp measured during the course of the compression stroke of the deactivated cylinder.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein each cylinder of the two cylinders has two inlet openings for admitting intake air, and where a first inlet opening of the deactivatable cylinder is opened during a compression stroke of the deactivatable cylinder to flow charge air to the operational cylinder during the deactivation of the deactivatable cylinder.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein during the deactivation of the deactivatable cylinder, both of the inlet openings are open during an intake stroke of the deactivated cylinder, and where only one of the two inlet openings is open during the compression stroke of the deactivatable cylinder, and where the open inlet opening allow charge air to flow out of the deactivated cylinder, through the flow transfer duct, through an open inlet opening of the operational cylinder, and into the operational cylinder during an intake stroke of the operational cylinder.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein during the deactivation of the deactivatable cylinder, both of the inlet openings are open during an intake stroke of the deactivated cylinder, and where the two inlet openings are open during the compression stroke of the deactivatable cylinder, and where the inlet openings allow charge air to flow out of the deactivated cylinder, through the flow transfer duct, through an open inlet opening of the operational cylinder, and into the operational cylinder during an intake stroke of the operational cylinder.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the flow transfer duct is formed by the intake system, and where the flow transfer duct fluidly couples at least one inlet opening of the deactivatable cylinder to at least one inlet opening of the operational cylinder, and where a shut-off valve is configured to seal the flow transfer duct from the intake system.

10. A method comprising:
deactivating a second cylinder of a pair of adjacent first and second cylinders, where each of the pair of cylinders comprises two inlet valves and two outlet valves;
flowing intake air from an intake manifold to the second cylinder during an intake stroke of the second cylinder via the two inlet valves;
compressing intake air in the second cylinder during a compression stroke of the second cylinder, and where at least one inlet valve of the two inlet valves of the second cylinder is at least partially opened during the compression stroke; and
discharging charge air from the second cylinder to the first cylinder via a flow transfer duct fluidly coupling the at least one inlet valve of the second cylinder to a nearest inlet valve of the first cylinder.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the flow transfer duct comprises a shut-off valve configured to fluidly separate the flow transfer duct from the intake manifold when in a closed position, and where the shut-off valve is moved to the closed position when the second cylinder is deactivated.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the flow transfer duct comprises a shut-off valve configured to fluidly separate the flow transfer duct from the intake manifold when in a closed position, and where the shut-off valve is moved to the closed position when the at least one inlet valve of the two inlet valves of the second cylinder is at least partially opened during the compression stroke of the second cylinder.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the first cylinder receives charge air from the second cylinder through a first inlet valve and where the first cylinder receives charge air from the intake manifold through a second inlet valve, and where the first inlet valve is fluidly coupled to the flow transfer duct.

14. A system comprising:
an in-line four cylinder diesel engine where each cylinder comprises at least two inlet valves and at least two outlet valves, the engine further comprising an intake manifold with a number of inlet runners equal to a total number of inlet valves of the cylinders;
a first group of cylinders comprising a first outer cylinder and a second inner cylinder adjacent to the first cylinder; and a first flow transfer duct fluidly coupling at least one inlet valve of the first outer cylinder to at least one inlet valve of the second inner cylinder;
a second group of cylinders comprising a third inner cylinder and a fourth outer cylinder adjacent the third inner cylinder, and a second flow transfer duct fluidly coupling at least one inlet valve of the third inner cylinder to at least one inlet valve of the fourth outer cylinder; and
a valve drive configured to adjust a position of the inlet and outlet valves of the cylinders, the valve drive further configured to deactivate at least one cylinder of each of the first and second cylinder groups, where air is conducted into the deactivated cylinder via its inlet valves and then out of the deactivated cylinder to the adiacent cylinder via one of the flow transfer ducts.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the first flow transfer duct fluidly couples proximal inlet valves of the first outer cylinder and the second inner cylinder, and where the second flow transfer duct fluidly couples proximal inlet valves of the third inner cylinder and the fourth outer cylinder, the first flow transfer duct being fluidly separated from the second flow transfer duct.

16. The system of claim 14 , wherein th

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Sommerhoff Franz Arnd
• Kemmerling Joerg
• Smiljanovski Vanco
• Kindl Helmut Matthias
• Willems Werner
• Kuske Andreas

Classifications

• F02D41/0087

  Selective cylinder activation, i.e. partial cylinder operation (deceleration cut-off F02D41/123) · CPC title

• F01L13/08

  for decompression, e.g. during starting; for changing compression ratio · CPC title

• F02D17/026 Primary

  delivering compressed fluid, e.g. air, reformed gas, to the active cylinders other than during starting · CPC title

• F02D13/06 Primary

  Cutting-out cylinders · CPC title

• F02D41/0082

  per groups or banks (F02D41/0087 takes precedence) · CPC title