Method and system for adjusting a compression ratio

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9683493-B2
Application number	US-201514734540-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 9, 2015
Priority date	Jun 18, 2014
Publication date	Jun 20, 2017
Grant date	Jun 20, 2017

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided for adjusting a compression ratio of a combustion chamber. In one example, a method may include altering an axial position and rotational orientation of a control element comprising a spark plug and a fuel injector in response to an engine operation. The method further includes changing a distance between intake and exhaust valves of a cylinder to the control element, the spark plug, and the fuel injector.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
adjusting a compression ratio of a combustion chamber via adjusting a volume of the combustion chamber by actuating a control element along a control element axis, the control element comprising a spark plug and a fuel injector, the actuating including rotating the control element during its displacement to and away from the combustion chamber, where the spark plug is closer to exhaust valves and the fuel injector is closer to intake valves as the control element moves farthest away from the combustion chamber, and where the spark plug and fuel injector are wore equidistant to the exhaust and intake valves as the control element moves closer to the combustion chamber.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein adjusting the compression ratio includes one or more of displacing and rotating the control element to a first setting and a second setting along the control element axis, which is parallel to a stroke axis of a piston of the combustion chamber, the spark plug and fuel injector mounted directly to the control element without any other components therebetween.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first setting includes actuating the control element to a first position farthest away from the combustion chamber and rotating the control element in a clockwise direction about the control element axis.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the second setting includes actuating the control element to a second position nearest to the combustion chamber and rotating the control element in a counterclockwise direction about the control element axis.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein displacing and rotating the control element further includes actuating a charge motion control valve based on movement of the control element.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein displacing the control element is in response to one or more of an engine load and a condensate level in a charge air cooler.

7. A method, comprising:
adjusting a control element housing a spark plug and a fuel injector to decrease a compression ratio, wherein adjusting the control element to decrease the compression ratio includes displacing and rotating the control element, spark plug, and fuel injector further away from intake and exhaust valves of a cylinder, and where the spark plug and fuel injector are equidistant from the intake and exhaust valves.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein adjusting the control element includes adjusting to a first position to decrease the compression ratio and adjusting to a second position to increase the compression ratio.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein adjusting the control element includes changing an axial position and a rotational orientation of the control element, the spark plug, and the fuel injector along an axis parallel to movement of a piston of the cylinder.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein adjusting the control element to a first position includes raising the control element away from the cylinder and rotating the control element in a clockwise direction in response to an engine load being greater than a threshold load.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the spark plug is proximal to one or more exhaust valves and the fuel injector is proximal to one or more inlet valves when the control element is in the first position.

12. A method comprising:
adjusting a control element housing a spark plug and a fuel injector to adjust a compression ratio, wherein adjusting the control element includes lowering the control element toward a combustion chamber and rotating the control element in a counterclockwise direction in response to one or more of an engine load being less than a threshold load and a condensate level of a charge air cooler being greater than a condensate threshold.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the spark plug and the fuel injector are equidistant to one or more exhaust valves and inlet valves when the control element is lowered and rotated counterclockwise.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising raising the control element away from the combustion chamber and rotating the control element in a clockwise direction to a first position to increase a volume of the combustion chamber and thereby decrease the compression ratio of the combustion chamber, where a second position includes lowering and rotating the control element counterclockwise.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the second position decreases a volume of the combustion chamber and thereby increases the compression ratio of the combustion chamber.

16. The method of claim 14 , further comprising adjusting a charge motion control valve in response to the control element moving toward either the first position or the second position.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising fully activating the charge motion control valve when the control element is in the second position and decreasing activation or terminating the charge motion control valve when the control element is in the first position.

18. A system, comprising:
a combustion chamber comprising a piston;
the piston movable along a stroke axis;
a control element disposed above the piston in a combustion chamber head, the control element movable and rotatable along a control element axis parallel to the stroke axis such that an axial location and a rotational orientation of the control element are altered upon actuating the control element;
a spark plug and a fuel injector arranged in the control element; and
a controller with computer-readable instructions for:
actuating the control element to a first position in response to an engine load being greater than a threshold load and actuating the control element to a second position in response to the engine load being less than the threshold load, where the control element, spark plug, and fuel injector are closer to one or more intake and exhaust valves of the combustion chamber in the first position, further comprising the spark plug being proximal to one or more exhaust valves and the fuel injector being proximal to one or more intake valves in the first position, and where the control element, spark plug, and fuel injector are moved further away from one or more intake and exhaust valves of the combustion chamber in the second position, the second position further comprising the fuel injector and spark plug being equidistant to the intake and exhaust valves.

19. The system of claim 18 , wherein a location and an orientation of the spark plug and the fuel injector are altered corresponding to alteration of the axial location and the rotational orientation of the control element.

20. The system of claim 18 , further comprising a charge motion control valve where the charge motion control valve is altered based on the control element being in the first position or the second position.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Quix Hans Guenter
• Van Bebber David
• Huth Florian

Classifications

• Y02T10/125

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• F02D15/04 Primary

  by alteration of volume of compression space without changing piston stroke · CPC title

• F02B75/042

  the cylinderhead comprising a counter-piston · CPC title

• F02M57/06

  the devices being sparking plugs · CPC title

• F02M2200/851

  provisions for adjusting the angular, rotational or axial position of injectors · CPC title