Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Nippon Soken, Inc.

Kazuhito Sakai

Toshiaki Asada

Makoto Ishikawa

Tomoaki Suzuki

Toshimitsu Shiba

Shintaro Utsumi

Makoto Okawa

Hiroki Murata

Satoko Tofukuji

Atsunori Kumagai

Nobuhisa Jingu

Takanobu Arai

Hirotsugu Ojima

Shuichi Ezaki

Minoru Kawasaki

Taiki Kawate

Toshimisu Shiba

Ryoji Isarai

A crankshaft in which vibrations can be damped effectively without changing a design of a crankcase. The crankshaft comprises a first crank section located at one end of the crankshaft, and a second crank section located at the other end of the crankshaft. In the first crank section, a mass of a first inner balance weight is greater than a mass of a first outer balance weight. In the second crank section, a mass of a second inner balance weight is greater than a mass of a second outer balance weight.

Crankshaft

In the present invention, an internal combustion engine is provided with a variable-compression-ratio mechanism with a variable mechanical compression ratio and the variable-compression-ratio mechanism comprises a drive device for changing the volume of a combustion chamber when a piston reaches top dead center. The drive device comprises a reverse input blocking clutch disposed in a drive power transmission path for transmitting the rotational force of a rotator. A control device estimates the reverse input torque applied to an output shaft of the reverse input blocking clutch and sets a gradient for torque output by the rotator and a continuation duration for continuing the torque increase on the basis of the reverse input torque.

Internal combustion engine

An internal combustion engine is provided. The internal combustion engine includes a supercharger that is arranged in an intake passage; an intercooler that is arranged downstream of the supercharger in a direction of intake air flow, in the intake passage; and a blow-by gas returning apparatus. The blow-by gas returning apparatus includes a bypass passage, an ejector, and a blow-by gas passage. The bypass passage connects a first position that is arranged between the supercharger and the intercooler, and a second position that is arranged downstream of the intercooler of the intake passage together. The ejector is arranged in the bypass passage, and configured to draw in blow-by gas from the crankcase through the blow-by gas passage when air flows through the bypass passage from the first position toward the second position.

An internal combustion engine comprises a variable compression ratio mechanism that changes the relative position of a cylinder block with respect to a crankcase and a controlling device that controls the variable compression ratio mechanism. The variable compression ratio mechanism contains a driving device that rotates a shaft that includes an eccentric axis, and the drive device includes a clutch that blocks reverse input and is disposed in a drive power transmission route that transmits the rotational power of a motor to the shaft. The control device fixes the mechanical compression ratio to a predetermined low mechanical compression ratio when the amplitude of the rotational power vibration applied to an output shaft of the clutch is less than a predetermined determination value.

A variable compression ratio mechanism of an internal combustion engine includes an operation element, an input actuator, and a reverse input torque cutoff clutch. The reverse input torque cutoff clutch includes a fixed member, a movable member, clearance, a wedge member, and a moving device. A peripheral surface of the fixed member is formed such that the clearance is formed with: a rotation prevention area that prevents the movable member from rotating in a reverse input torque acting direction. When the movable member moves in the direction to change a mechanical compression ratio, the moving device moves the wedge member from the rotation prevention area to the rotation allowable area in an opposite direction and holds the wedge member in the rotation allowable area.

An electrically driven vehicle includes: a vehicle body provided with the vehicle interior, a battery which is mounted to the vehicle body and is able to be used for running, an electric heater which executes an air-conditioning operation which uses an electrical power of the battery when air-conditioning vehicle interior, a power generation device which is at least partly removably mounted to the vehicle body and executes another air-conditioning operation other than the air-conditioning operation which uses the electrical power of the battery when air-conditioning the vehicle interior, and an air conditioning change unit which changes the use state of at least one of the electric heater and the power generation device.

Electrically driven vehicle

A cylinder block () includes an inter-bore flow passage () between adjacent bores (). Each inter-bore flow passage () is formed by closing an opening-side groove portion () continuous from a cylinder block deck face and a bottom-side groove portion () with the use of a lid member () made of copper, and the lid member (is laser-welded to a groove wall face of the opening-side groove portion (). Before the laser-welding, the lid member () has recesses () that are interspersed in a direction, in which a laser beam travels, at any one of connected portions at which the lid member (is connected to the groove wall face of the opening-side groove portion ().

Laser welding method and engine cooling structure

An electrically driven vehicle equipped with a battery usable for running in which a power generation unit of engine driven type that charges the battery is detachably mounted on a vehicle body, includes including a first connection part that brings a high-voltage system in which the battery and the power generation unit are electrically connected together into a connected state in a state in which the power generation unit is mounted in a mounting position and brings the high-voltage system into a disconnected state in a state in which the power generation unit is dismounted from the mounting position, whereby the first connection part switches a connection state of the high-voltage system in accordance with installation or removal of the power generation unit. The first connection part includes a connector on the vehicle side and a connector on the power generation unit side.

A starter for an internal combustion engine includes a power transmission mechanism. The power transmission mechanism has an outer race plate fastened to a crankshaft, and a ring gear coupled to a rotational shaft of an electric motor for starting the engine. The power transmission mechanism further has a one-way clutch for permitting torque transmission only from the ring gear to the outer race plate, and two sealing members. Lubricant is supplied from the cylinder block to the interior of the power transmission mechanism for lubricating the power transmission mechanism. The outer race plate has a groove on its contact surface of a contact portion between the crankshaft and the outer race plate. The groove extends in the entire circumferential direction of the crankshaft. This maintains the coupling strength between the outer race plate and the crankshaft, while enhancing the sealing performance of the power transmission mechanism.

Starter for internal combustion engine

The lubricant-return holes are provided in the intermediate portion of the ring gear. Thus, the lubricant stagnating above the first oil sealing member can be easily discharged to the oil pan side via the lubricant-return holes even when the ring gear has stopped rotating in response to the starter motor being turned off after completion of the start of the internal combustion engine. As such, the level of the surface of lubricant stagnating between the ring gear and the outer race member does not rise, and therefore the lubricant surface virtually does not reach the outer race and the one-way clutch that are rotating while the internal combustion engine is running. Thus, bubbling of lubricant and production of sludge, which may otherwise be caused by agitation of the lubricant surface, can be prevented.

Lubrication structure of cranking rotational force transmission mechanism for internal combustion engine

A ring gear is formed by joining a race side-region formed body, a gear side-region formed body and an intermediate region formed body. Accordingly, it is possible to perform processing of an inner race portion of the race side-region formed body with none of the gear side-region formed body and the intermediate region formed body present. By causing the gear side-region formed body and the intermediate region formed body to absorb changes in design depending on the type of internal combustion engine, it is possible to standardize the size and the shape of the race side-region formed body for various engine types. Because the inner race portion, as well as a disposition surface and a contact surface for the seal rings are formed on the same race side-region formed body, it is possible to finish the surfaces with precise positional relationship.

Ring gear, internal combustion engine-starting torque-transmission mechanism, and method of manufacturing ring gear

In an electrically driven vehicle equipped with a battery usable for running, a power generation unit of engine driven type that charges the battery is detachably mounted on the vehicle including a case where at least an engine of the power generation unit is detachably mounted, and the vehicle includes first stop means for bringing the power generation unit in a stopped state when the power generation unit is installed in or removed from the vehicle, and a generation stop switch for making an operation request to the power generation unit. More specifically, the first stop means stops an operation request signal to the power generation unit through low-voltage system wires when the generation stop switch is ON (no operation request is made).

Electrically-driven vehicle

An outer race support plate to which torque of a pinion gear is transmitted from a ring gear via a one-way clutch and thus rotates a crankshaft is provided separately from a flywheel and is mounted to the crankshaft not via the flywheel. As a result, impact noise produced when the one-way clutch engages is not directly transmitted to the flywheel. Accordingly, noise radiation from the flywheel can be suppressed, thereby enabling noise to be reduced.

Startup torque transmitting mechanism of an internal combustion engine

A torque transmitting mechanism, including a ring gear; a crankshaft side member which rotates in conjunction with a crankshaft; a one-way clutch arranged between the ring gear and the crankshaft; a bearing arranged between the crankshaft or the crankshaft side member and a surface of the ring gear that faces in the opposite direction from the side of the ring gear on which the one-way clutch is arranged; a first oil seal member arranged together with the bearing between the crankshaft or the crankshaft side member and the surface of the ring gear that faces in the opposite direction from the side of the ring gear on which the one-way clutch is arranged, and is arranged on the opposite side of the bearing from the internal combustion engine main body; and a second oil seal arranged between the ring gear and the internal combustion engine main body.

Growing community of inventors

Makinohara, Japan

Kazuhito Sakai