Piston comprising a piston head cooled by splash lubrication

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9828939-B2
Application number	US-201414780148-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 24, 2014
Priority date	Mar 26, 2013
Publication date	Nov 28, 2017
Grant date	Nov 28, 2017

Abstract

A piston of an internal combustion engine may include a piston head, a piston hub and a connecting rod having a joint end connected via an articulated connection to the piston hub. A reservoir may be provided and configured to receive splash oil for cooling the piston head. The reservoir may include at least one splash outlet directed towards the piston head. The reservoir may be arranged at the joint end of the connecting rod on a side facing towards the piston head.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A piston of an internal combustion engine, comprising:
a piston head and a piston hub having a hub bore defining an axis;
a connecting rod including a joint end arranged coaxially to the axis of the hub bore and connected via an articulated connection to the piston hub, wherein the joint end of the connecting rod includes a first portion and a second portion disposed away from the piston head in relation to the first portion, the first portion having an outer side facing towards the piston head;
a reservoir disposed between the piston head and the joint end of the connecting rod and including an inlet opening to receive splash oil for cooling the piston head, the reservoir further including a shell arranged on the first portion of the joint end and extending circumferentially to the axis along the outer side of the first portion, the shell including at least one splash opening directed towards the piston head, wherein the shell is arranged between the outer side of the joint end and an underside of the piston head facing towards the connecting rod, and wherein the inlet opening is disposed at a circumferential end of the shell between the piston head and the joint end of the connecting rod.

2. The piston as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the reservoir is suppliable with splash oil via a supply line arranged in the connecting rod.

3. The piston as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the inlet opening is configured to receive splash oil via a separately arranged nozzle during an operating cycle of the piston.

4. The piston as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the separately arranged nozzle and the inlet opening are arranged with respect to each other so that a splash jet communicated from the separately arranged nozzle is directed into the inlet opening during a first phase of the operating cycle and the splash jet misses the inlet opening during a second phase of the operating cycle.

5. The piston as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the shell of the reservoir is configured as a half-pipe-shaped shell part, the shell part including an open half-pipe side disposed at the circumferential end in a region of the inlet opening and a closed half-pipe side facing towards the piston head, and wherein the closed half-pipe side includes the at least one splash opening.

6. The piston as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the shell part has a U-shaped longitudinal axis disposed substantially centered with respect to the axis of the hub bore.

7. The piston as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the at least one splash opening of the shell part is a first splash opening, and further including a second splash opening, wherein the second splash opening is larger than the first splash opening and the second splash opening is disposed further away from the inlet opening than the first splash opening.

8. The piston as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the at least one splash opening is arranged with respect to a connecting-rod zenith on a side of the shell part facing away from the inlet opening.

9. The piston as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the shell part includes one end configured as a funnel shaped mouth and another end configured closed.

10. The piston as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the shell part is configured as a sheet metal part.

11. The piston as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the shell part is configured as a plastic part.

12. The piston as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the piston head includes a cooling duct inlet opening communicating with a cooling duct, and wherein the splash jet is at least temporarily directed to the cooling duct inlet opening of the cooling duct in response to missing the inlet opening of the reservoir.

13. The piston as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the shell is coupled to the first portion of the joint end via at least one hump protruding inwardly from the shell and bearing against the outer side of the joint end, and wherein a space for accommodating splash oil is defined between the shell and the outer side of the joint end.

14. The piston as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the shell includes an open side disposed at the circumferential end in a region of the inlet opening and a closed side arranged at the joint end of the connecting rod facing towards the piston head, and wherein the shell includes a plurality of splash openings.

15. A piston of an internal combustion engine, comprising:
a piston head and a piston hub having a hub bore, the piston head and the piston hub together defining an axis;
a connecting rod having a joint end coupled via an articulated connection to the piston hub, wherein the joint end includes a first portion and a second portion disposed away from the piston head in relation to the first portion;
a reservoir arranged at the first portion of the joint end between the connecting rod and the piston head, wherein the reservoir is configured as a shell part including a mouth, a closed end circumferentially spaced from the mouth and a plurality of splash openings arranged between the mouth and the closed end, and wherein the mouth defines an inlet opening for receiving splash oil for cooling the piston head.

16. The piston as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the shell part extends along a curved longitudinal axis between the mouth and the closed end, and wherein the plurality of splash openings are arranged along the longitudinal axis of the shell part.

17. The piston as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the plurality of splash openings are directed towards the piston head and include at least two splashing openings having a dissimilar size from one another.

18. A piston and connecting rod assembly for an internal combustion engine, comprising:
a piston head and a piston hub having a hub bore defining an axis;
a connecting rod including a joint end arranged coaxially to the axis of the hub bore and connected via an articulated connection to the piston hub, wherein the joint end of the connecting rod includes a first portion and a second portion disposed away from the piston head in relation to the first portion, the first portion having an outer side facing towards the piston head;
a reservoir disposed at the joint end of the connecting rod and including an inlet opening to receive splash oil for cooling the piston head, the reservoir further including a shell part arranged between the first portion of the joint end and the piston head, the shell part extending circumferentially to the axis along the outer side of the first portion, wherein the shell part includes at least two splash openings directed towards the piston head; and
wherein the at least two splash openings include a first splash opening and a second splash opening larger than the first splash opening.

19. The piston and connecting rod assembly as claimed in claim 18 , wherein the second splash opening is disposed further away from the inlet opening than the first splash opening.

20. The piston and connecting rod assembly as claimed in claim 18 , wherein the shell part extends along a curved longitudinal axis and includes a mouth at one longitudinal end and a closed end at another longitudinal end, and wherein the mouth defines the inlet opening.

Assignees

• Mahle Int Gmbh

Inventors

• Boczek Sascha-Oliver
• Keller Klaus

Classifications

• F16J1/09

  with means for guiding fluids (F16J1/08 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F02F3/22 Primary

  the fluid being liquid · CPC title

• F01P3/08

  Cooling of piston exterior only, e.g. by jets · CPC title

• F16J1/16

  with gudgeon-pin; Gudgeon-pins · CPC title

• F16C9/04

  Connecting-rod bearings; Attachments thereof · CPC title