Liquid-cooled internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder block, and method for producing an associated cylinder block

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10436103-B2
Application number	US-201715786457-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 17, 2017
Priority date	Nov 11, 2016
Publication date	Oct 8, 2019
Grant date	Oct 8, 2019

Abstract

Methods and system are provided for a cooling arrangement of an engine. In one example, the cooling arrangement may include first and second cooling ducts, where the second cooling ducts are arranged in gaps formed between adjacent cylinders and the first ducts are arranged outside of the gaps of the adjacent cylinders.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A liquid-cooled internal combustion engine having: at least one cylinder head comprising at least one cylinder; at least one cylinder block, which is connected to the at least one cylinder head and which serves as an upper crankcase half, for accommodating at least one piston; the at least one cylinder comprises a combustion chamber which is formed jointly by the at least one piston, by a cylinder barrel, and by the at least one cylinder head, the piston being displaceable in translational fashion along a cylinder longitudinal axis; and the cylinder block is equipped with a liquid-type cooling arrangement, wherein the cylinder block is equipped with a first coolant duct and a second coolant duct, the first and second coolant ducts forming a liquid-type cooling arrangement, the first and second coolant ducts meandering so as to form loops along the cylinder longitudinal axis at a distance from the cylinder barrel, and where a density of the loops increases toward the at least one cylinder head, and where the first and second coolant ducts are fluidly coupled to a coolant system via first and second valves, respectively, the first and second valves being configured to adjust coolant flow to the first and second coolant ducts individually, wherein the at least one cylinder is a first cylinder, the cylinder head further comprising a second cylinder adjacent to the first cylinder, where each of the first and second cylinders comprise at least one of the first ducts and one of the second ducts, and where the second duct of the first cylinder is next to the second duct of the second cylinder in web between the two adjacent cylinders.

2. The liquid-cooled internal combustion engine of claim 1 , wherein the first and second coolant ducts are U-shaped.

3. The liquid-cooled internal combustion engine of claim 1 , wherein the first and second coolant ducts form loops along the cylinder longitudinal axis over an angle γ.

4. The liquid-cooled internal combustion engine of claim 3 , wherein, for the angle γ, the following applies: γ≤270°.

5. The liquid-cooled internal combustion engine of claim 1 , wherein the first duct of the first cylinder is distal to the first duct of the second cylinder.

6. The liquid-cooled internal combustion engine of claim 1 , further comprising a controller with instructions stored on non-transitory memory thereon that when executed enable the controller to:
selectively flow coolant to only the second duct in response to an engine cold-start.

7. The liquid-cooled internal combustion engine of claim 1 , wherein the cylinder barrel of the at least one cylinder is formed as a cylinder bore of the cylinder block.

8. The liquid-cooled internal combustion engine of claim 1 , wherein the cylinder barrel of the at least one cylinder is a cylinder liner which is inserted into the cylinder block.

9. A system comprising: an engine block having a plurality of cylinders, each comprising at least one first duct of a plurality of first ducts in the block and at least one second duct of a plurality of second ducts in the block, the first ducts being fluidly separated from the second ducts so that coolant from the first ducts does not flow or mix with coolant in the second ducts, and where each of the second ducts is arranged in regions of the engine between each of the cylinders; and a coolant system fluidly coupled to each of the first ducts and the second ducts, the coolant system configured to adjust coolant flow to the first ducts and the second ducts individually via first and second valves, wherein the second ducts are arranged on portions of the cylinders directly next to one another, where the second ducts of cylinders directly next to one another are in face-sharing contact in a web between two adjacent cylinders.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the first ducts are spaced away from the second ducts.

11. The system of claim 9 , further comprising a controller with computer-readable instructions stored on non-transitory memory thereof that when executed enable the controller to:
flow coolant to only the second ducts of the cylinders when an engine temperature is less than an ambient temperature by moving the first valve to a fully closed position and adjusting the second valve to an at least partially open position.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein the first ducts are arranged on portions of the cylinder distal to one another, where a first duct of a cylinder of the plurality of cylinders does not touch first ducts or second ducts of the cylinders of the plurality of cylinders.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein there are exactly four cylinders in the plurality of cylinders, and where the four cylinders are arranged in a line comprising a first outer cylinder directly next to a second inner cylinder, the second inner cylinder being directly next to a third inner cylinder, and a fourth outer cylinder being directly next to the third inner cylinder, and where the first outer cylinder and the fourth outer cylinder comprise second ducts arranged directly between them and the second inner cylinder and the third inner cylinder, respectively, and where the second inner cylinder and the third inner cylinder comprise second ducts arranged therebetween and between them and the first outer cylinder and the fourth outer cylinder, respectively.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the first ducts extend around a first amount of the circumference of a cylinder of the plurality of cylinder and where the second ducts extend around a second amount of the circumference of a cylinder of the plurality of cylinders, and where the first amount is greater than or equal to the second amount.

15. The system of claim 9 , wherein regions between each of the cylinder includes a gap, and where the second ducts are arranged in the gap and where the first ducts are arranged outside the gap.

16. A method comprising: adjusting positions of first and second valves in response to a cold-start, the first and second valves fluidly coupling first ducts and second ducts to a coolant system, respectively; and flowing coolant to only second ducts of a plurality of cylinders comprising first ducts and second ducts during a cold-start, where the first and second cylinder and second ducts are in an engine block, where the second ducts are arranged in gaps formed directly adjacent cylinders of the plurality of cylinders in respective webs between adjacent cylinders, and the first and second coolant ducts meandering so as to form loops along the cylinder longitudinal axis at a distance from the cylinder barrel.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the adjusting includes closing the first valve and at least partially opening the second valve, and where the first ducts are arranged outside of the gaps.

18. The method of claim 16 , further comprising flowing coolant to both the first and second ducts outside of the cold-start, where flowing coolant to both the first and second ducts includes at least partially opening both the first and second valves.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Quix Hans Guenter
• Heinig Klaus-Peter
• Van Bebber David
• Mehring Jan

Classifications

• F01P2025/32

  Engine outcoming fluid temperature · CPC title

• F01P7/14 Primary

  the coolant being liquid · CPC title

• F01P3/02

  Arrangements for cooling cylinders or cylinder heads · CPC title

• F01P2025/31

  Cylinder temperature · CPC title

• F01P2025/13

  Ambient temperature · CPC title