Power generator for piston instrumentation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10487774-B2
Application number	US-201514743221-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 18, 2015
Priority date	Oct 30, 2014
Publication date	Nov 26, 2019
Grant date	Nov 26, 2019

Abstract

A piston assembly for monitoring at least one operating condition of an internal combustion engine and/or piston during use of the piston in the engine, for example during an engine test, is provided. The piston assembly includes an electronic instrumentation unit coupled to the piston for collecting data related to the operating conditions. Instead of a battery or wireless power transfer system, the piston assembly includes a thermoelectric module to provide energy to the electronic instrumentation unit. One side of the thermoelectric module is coupled to an undercrown surface of the piston, which is typically hot due its proximity to the combustion chamber. The opposite side of the thermoelectric module is cooled by a cooling fluid, such as a spray of cooling oil. The temperature flux at the thermoelectric module is converted into electrical energy and used to power the electronic instrumentation unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A piston assembly, comprising:
a piston including a combustion surface for exposure to heat from a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine;
said piston including an undercrown surface spaced from said combustion surface for exposure to a cooling medium;
an electronic instrumentation unit coupled to said piston;
at least one sensor for sensing at least one condition of said piston and/or the engine, said at least one sensor being coupled to said electronic instrumentation unit for providing the at least one condition to said electronic instrumentation unit; and
a thermoelectric module coupled to said undercrown surface of said piston for receiving the heat from the combustion chamber, a portion of said thermoelectric module being exposed for contact by the cooling medium, said thermoelectric module being electrically connected to a power input of said electronic instrumentation unit, wherein said thermoelectric module converts a temperature difference between the cooling medium and the heat from the combustion chamber into energy and transfers the energy to said power input of said electronic instrumentation unit, and said electronic instrumentation unit uses the energy received from said thermoelectric module to store and/or transmit to a computer the at least one condition of said piston and/or the engine.

2. The piston assembly of claim 1 , wherein said thermoelectric module is disposed along a center axis of said piston.

3. The piston assembly of claim 1 further including a cooling medium supply for providing the cooling medium to said undercrown surface and said thermoelectric module.

4. The piston assembly of claim 3 , wherein said cooling medium supply is a nozzle and said cooling medium is a spray of cooling fluid.

5. The piston assembly of claim 1 further including power management electronics disposed between said thermoelectric module and said electronic instrumentation unit for receiving the energy from said thermoelectric module and adjusting the energy before transmitting the energy from said thermoelectric module to said electronic instrumentation unit.

6. The piston assembly of claim 1 including a power source separate from said thermoelectric module coupled to said electronic instrumentation unit for providing additional energy to said electronic instrumentation unit.

7. The piston assembly of claim 1 , wherein said at least one sensor includes a plurality of thermocouples disposed at a plurality of locations along said piston for measuring the temperature of said piston at each of the locations; and each of said thermocouples being coupled to said electronic instrumentation unit for providing the temperature at each of the locations to said electronic instrumentation unit.

8. The piston assembly of claim 1 , wherein said piston includes a crown portion presenting said combustion surface and said undercrown surface;
said combustion surface includes a bowl;
said crown portion includes a plurality of ring grooves for maintaining piston rings;
said piston includes a pair of skirt sections spaced from one another by pin bosses, wherein said pin bosses define a pin bore for receiving a wrist pin;
said electronic instrumentation unit is mounted with fasteners on one of said pin bosses of said piston;
said electronic instrumentation unit includes a ground and said power input for receiving the energy from said thermoelectric module;
said electronic instrumentation unit includes a data collector for obtaining the at least one condition of said piston or the engine, storing data about the at least one condition, and transmitting the data to a computer;
said electronic instrumentation unit includes a memory for storing the data, a processor, and a radio for transmitting the data to the computer;
said thermoelectric module is thermally coupled to said undercrown surface at a center axis of said piston by a thermally conductive epoxy; and
said at least one sensor includes a plurality of thermocouples disposed at a plurality of locations along said piston for measuring the temperature of said piston at each of the locations;
each of said thermocouples being coupled to said electronic instrumentation unit for providing the temperature at each of the locations to said electronic instrumentation unit;
a power management electronics disposed between said thermoelectric module and said electronic instrumentation unit for receiving the energy from said thermoelectric module and adjusting the energy before transmitting the energy from said thermoelectric module to said electronic instrumentation unit; and
a cooling medium supply disposed adjacent said piston for providing the cooling medium to said undercrown surface and said heat sink and said thermoelectric module, wherein said cooling medium supply is a nozzle, and said cooling medium is a spray of cooling oil.

9. The piston assembly of claim 1 , wherein said piston comprises a crown portion presenting said combustion surface and said undercrown surface, said crown portion includes a plurality of ring grooves;
said piston includes a lower portion depending from said ring belt, said lower portion includes a pair of skirt sections spaced from one another by pin bosses, wherein said pin bosses define a pin bore;
said piston extends longitudinally from said crown portion to said lower portion; and
said thermoelectric module is disposed on said undercrown surface radially inwardly of said ring grooves and longitudinally between said combustion bowl surface and said lower portion.

10. A piston assembly, comprising:
a piston including a combustion surface for exposure to heat from a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine;
said piston including an undercrown surface spaced from said combustion surface for exposure to a cooling medium;
an electronic instrumentation unit coupled to said piston;
at least one sensor for sensing at least one condition of said piston and/or the engine, said at least one sensor being coupled to said electronic instrumentation unit for providing the at least one condition to said electronic instrumentation unit; and
a thermoelectric module coupled to said undercrown surface of said piston for receiving the heat from the combustion chamber, said thermoelectric module being electrically connected to a power input of said electronic instrumentation unit,
a heat sink disposed on a surface of said thermoelectric module opposite said undercrown surface for exposure to the cooling medium;
wherein said thermoelectric module converts a temperature difference into energy and transfers the energy to said power input of said electronic instrumentation unit, and said electronic instrumentation unit uses the energy received from said thermoelectric module to store and/or transmit to a computer the at least one condition of said piston and/or the engine.

11. A system for monitoring at least one condition of a piston and/or internal combustion engine during use of the piston in the engine, comprising:
an electronic instrumentation unit for being coupled to a piston;
at least one sensor for sensing at least one condition of said piston and/or the engine, said at least one sensor being coupled to said electronic instrumentation unit for providing the at least one condition to said electronic instrumentation unit; and
a thermoelectric module connected to a power input of said electronic instrumentation unit and for being coupled to the piston and for converting a temperature difference between a cooling fluid and heat from a combustion chamber into energy and transferring the energy to said power input of the electronic instrumentation unit, such that said electronic ins

Assignees

• Federal Mogul Corp
• Tenneco Inc

Inventors

• Neuendorf Jonathan Owen
• Gyetvay Patrick
• Gladwin Ross

Classifications

• G01K2215/00

  Details concerning sensor power supply · CPC title

• F02F3/16 Primary

  having cooling means · CPC title

• G01K13/06

  in linear movement · CPC title

• F02F3/00 Primary

  Pistons · CPC title

• H01L35/32

  Electricity · mapped topic