Air handling constructions for opposed-piston engines

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9581024-B2
Application number	US-201414284058-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 21, 2014
Priority date	May 21, 2014
Publication date	Feb 28, 2017
Grant date	Feb 28, 2017

Abstract

An opposed-piston engine has a cylinder block with a plurality of cylinders arranged inline, with each cylinder including an intake port longitudinally separated from an exhaust port. The engine is equipped with an air handling system that includes intake and exhaust chambers inside the cylinder block. All of the cylinder intake ports are contained in the intake chamber to receive charge air therein. The intake chamber includes elongated air inlets opening through opposing sides of the cylinder block. The exhaust chamber includes at least one exhaust outlet opening through a side of the cylinder block; all of the cylinder exhaust ports are contained in the exhaust chamber to discharge exhaust thereinto.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An opposed-piston engine, comprising:
a cylinder block with first and second opposing sides and a plurality of cylinders disposed in an inline array between the opposing sides, in which each cylinder includes an intake port separated in an axial direction of the cylinder from an exhaust port,
an undivided intake chamber inside the cylinder block;
a first air inlet that opens through the first side into the intake chamber and a second air inlet that opens through the second side into the intake chamber;
each air inlet having an elongate dimension;
all of the cylinder intake ports being contained in the intake chamber to receive charge air therein; and,
an exhaust chamber in the cylinder block including at least one exhaust outlet that opens through one of the opposing sides;
all of the cylinder exhaust ports being contained in the exhaust chamber to discharge exhaust thereinto.

2. The opposed-piston engine of claim 1 , further including a respective charge air cooler adjacent each of the opposing sides of the cylinder block, each charge air cooler having an elongate outlet opening in fluid communication and aligned with an elongate dimension of an air inlet.

3. The opposed-piston engine of claim 2 , further including an air flow manifold coupling the charge air coolers to a supercharger.

4. The opposed-piston engine of claim 3 , in which the at least one exhaust outlet is in fluid communication with a turbine inlet.

5. The opposed-piston engine of claim 3 , in which the at least one exhaust outlet is in fluid communication with a turbine inlet and an EGR inlet.

6. The opposed-piston engine of claim 1 , in which the at least one exhaust outlet is in fluid communication with a turbine inlet.

7. The opposed-piston engine of claim 1 , in which the at least one exhaust outlet is in fluid communication with a turbine inlet and an EGR inlet.

8. The opposed-piston engine of claim 1 , in which the cylinders disposed in one of a straight inline array and a slant inline array.

9. The opposed-piston engine of claim 8 , in which the opposed-piston engine further includes first and second crankshafts supported on the cylinder block.

10. An air handling method for an opposed-piston engine according to claim 1 , comprising:
feeding compressed air into charge air coolers situated on opposing sides of the cylinder block;
feeding opposing streams of cooled compressed air from the charge air coolers into an intake chamber space inside the cylinder block;
all intake ports receiving the compressed air in the intake chamber space; and,
all cylinder exhaust ports discharging exhaust in an exhaust chamber space inside the cylinder block.

11. An air handling method for an opposed-piston engine according to claim 1 , comprising:
feeding opposing streams of cooled compressed air into an undivided intake chamber in the cylinder block;
all intake ports receiving the compressed air in the undivided intake chamber;
and, all exhaust ports discharging exhaust in an undivided exhaust chamber in the cylinder block.

12. An air handling system for an opposed-piston engine having a cylinder block with a plurality of cylinders aligned in a row, in which each cylinder includes an intake port longitudinally separated from an exhaust port, comprising:
an intake chamber in the cylinder block with the cylinder intake ports contained therein;
the intake chamber including first and second elongate air inlets that open through first and second opposing sides, respectively, of the cylinder block;
a first charge air cooler positioned adjacent the first side of the cylinder block;
a second charge air cooler positioned adjacent the second side of the cylinder block;
the first charge air cooler having an elongate outlet coupled to the first elongate air inlet; and,
the second charge air cooler having an elongate outlet coupled to the second elongate air inlet.

13. An air handling system according to claim 12 , in which each outlet opening has a width that is no greater than a width of the intake chamber.

14. An air handling system according to claim 12 , in which each outlet opening has a width that is no greater than a width of the air inlet to which it is coupled.

15. An air handling system according to claim 14 , in which each air inlet has a width that is no greater than a width of the intake chamber.

16. An air handling system according to claim 12 , in which the charge air coolers are disposed in a folded configuration with respect to the cylinder block.

17. An air handling system according to claim 16 , in which each charge air cooler is coupled to an air inlet by an adapter having a first end that is aligned and coextensive with the outlet opening of the charge air cooler and a second end that is aligned and coextensive with the air inlet.

18. An air handling system according to claim 16 , further including a supercharger in fluid communication with the charge air coolers.

19. An air handling system according to claim 12 , in which each charge air cooler has a major surface facing the side to which it is adjacent.

20. An air handling system according to claim 12 , further including an exhaust chamber in the cylinder block with the cylinder exhaust ports contained therein, in which the exhaust chamber includes one or more exhaust openings through the sides of the cylinder block.

21. An air handling system according to claim 20 , in which the exhaust chamber is in fluid communication with a turbine inlet and with an EGR channel.

22. An opposed-piston engine including a cylinder block with first and second opposing sides and a plurality of cylinders disposed in an inline array between the opposing sides, a first crankshaft mounted to a top portion of the cylinder block in alignment with the inline array, and a second crankshaft mounted to a bottom portion of the cylinder block in alignment with the inline array, in which:
a first charge air cooler located along the first side of the cylinder block has an outlet in fluid communication with an intake chamber inside the cylinder block that contains intake ports of the cylinders; and,
a second charge air cooler located along the second side of the cylinder block has an outlet in fluid communication with the intake chamber.

23. The engine according to claim 22 , in which each of the first and second charge air coolers has a major flat surface facing the side along which it is located.

24. The engine according to claim 22 , further including a supercharger having an inlet and an outlet, and a third charge air cooler having an inlet and an outlet, in which:
a manifold couples the outlet of the supercharger with inlets of the first and second charge air coolers and with an inlet of a recirculation channel;
the inlet of the supercharger is in fluid communication with the outlet of the third charge air cooler; and,
the recirculation channel has an outlet coupled to the inlet of the third charge air cooler.

25. The engine according to claim 24 , further including an EGR channel, in which an outlet of the EGR channel is coupled to the inlet of the third charge air cooler and an inlet of the EGR channel is in fluid communication with an exhaust chamber inside the cylinder block containing exhaust ports of the cylinders.

Assignees

• Achates Power Inc

Inventors

• Fuqua Kevin B
• Koszewnik John J
• Naik Suramya D
• Redon Fabien G
• Regner Gerhard
• Zermeño-Benitez Rodrigo

Classifications

• F02B29/0406

  Layout of the intake air cooling or coolant circuit · CPC title

• Y02T10/144

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• F02M35/112

  for engines with cylinders all in one line · CPC title

• F02M26/08

  for engines having two or more intake charge compressors or exhaust gas turbines, e.g. a turbocharger combined with an additional compressor · CPC title

• F01N13/105

  having the form of a chamber directly connected to the cylinder head, e.g. without having tubes connected between cylinder head and chamber · CPC title