Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Teikoku Piston Ring Co., Ltd.

Honda Giken Kabushiki Kaisha

Nippon Leakless Industry Co., Ltd.

Kazuo Shibata

Hideaki Ushio

Tadayoshi Hayashi

Yoshikazu Fujisawa

Tadashi Ohya

Satoshi Yamamura

Tsunehisa Hata

Kazuhisa Ishizuka

Tsuyoshi Tanaka

Akira Tanaka

Kiyoyuki Kawai

Shigekazu Tanaka

Masamichi Hoshi

Shigemasa Kajiwara

Toshinari Sonoda

Masashi Murata

Naomichi Mitsuyama

Takashi Taguchi

Atsushi Iwamoto

Masahiko Tashiro

Hirokazu Osaki

Sigemi Kobayashi

Sumiko Watanabe

An engine includes: a cylinder block; and a piston ring, in which the cylinder block has a cylinder liner portion formed of an aluminum-based composite reinforced by a ceramic containing at least either of a silicon carbide and an alumina, and in which the piston ring is coated with a nitride film () including a vanadium nitride layer () exposed on an outer circumferential sliding surface ().

Engine

A process for producing a ceramic molding having a three-dimensional network structure with a plurality of spherical cells and a plurality of through holes present in dividing walls between the spherical cells, includes: a step of obtaining an aggregate of coated particles in which a plurality of ceramic particles are attached to the surface of spherical synthetic resin particles; a step of arranging the aggregate of coated particles in closest packed form within a mold; a step of filling gaps in the aggregate of coated particles with a ceramic so as to give a shaped product; a step of releasing the shaped product from the mold; a step of thermally decomposing the spherical synthetic resin particles of the shaped product so as to form the spherical cells and form the plurality of through holes in dividing wall-forming sections that are present between adjacent spherical cells; and a step of sintering the ceramic particles and the ceramic so as to form the dividing walls.

Process for producing ceramic molding having three-dimensional network structure

The ceramic molded body of the present invention includes spherical cells of a spherical bubble plurally formed therein: in the ceramic molded body the spherical cells neighboring each other are communicated through communication porosities and form a three-dimensional network structure, and a ratio (M/M) of a median (M) of inner diameters of the communication porosities to a median (M) of inner diameters of the spherical cells is less than 0.5. In the ceramic molded body used for manufacturing a metal matrix composite, a metal is filled within the spherical cells and the communication porosities.

Ceramic molded body and metal matrix composite

In a cylinder block, at least one member disposed around a bore is made of a metal matrix composite including a ceramic compact having a three-dimensional mesh structure comprised of a plurality of spherical cells and a plurality of communicating pores for allowing adjacent spherical cells to communicate with each other, with the plurality of spherical cells filled with a metal.

Cylinder block

A mold is provided which is capable of producing a sound fiber-reinforced composite article utilizing a die-casting process. A cavity in the mold includes a composite article forming area in which a formed product of fiber is located, a molten metal storing area located adjacent the composite article forming area to fill a molten metal into the formed product of fiber, and a molten metal flow slackening area for reducing the turbulent flow of the molten metal from gates to introduce it to the molten metal storing area. Thus, the flow of the molten metal introduced into the molten metal storing area, is brought into a substantially laminar flow state, so that the inclusion of air in the molten metal flow is inhibited. Therefore, the molten metal in the molten metal storing area can be smoothly filled into the formed product of fiber under pressure.

Casting mold for producing a fiber-reinforced composite article by die-casting process

In an engine block structure in a multi-cylinder engine in which a piston is incorporated from the side of a crank chamber into each of a plurality of cylinders disposed in series in a cylinder block, cylinder axes of the two adjacent cylinders are disposed to extend in such directions that they are gradually spaced apart from each other as proceeding from the side of a valve operating chamber toward the crank chamber as viewed from a direction of arrangement of the cylinders. Thus, a sufficient crankshaft bearing area can be ensured without bringing an increase in number of parts and an increase in size of the engine block.

Engine block structure in multi-cylinder engine

A metal gasket assembly for a cylinder head includes a pair of elastic metal substrates each having an outer shape which conforms with the outer shape of the gasket assembly, cylinder openings corresponding to cylinders in the cylinder head, a peripheral region surrounding the cylinder opening, which may be greater in thickness than remaining region of the relevant substrate, and a bead in the peripheral region. The substrates are superimposed with each other with top portions of the beads of the substrates in abutment with each other. A by-plate may be arranged between the substrates and has an increased thickness in its peripheral region which surrounds the cylinder opening and which is in direct abutment with the top portions of the beads in the substrates.

Metal gasket assembly

A fiber-reinforced light alloy member excellent in heat conductivity and sliding properties which contains a mixed fiber uniformly dispersed in a light alloy matrix, the mixed fiber including of a ceramic fiber having a fiber volume fraction of 4 to 60% and a carbon fiber having a fiber volume fraction of 0.5 to 10%, and is produced through a thermal treatment at a heating temperature of 400.degree. to 550.degree. C.

Fiber-reinforced light alloy member excellent in heat conductivity and

Cooperating slidable aluminum alloy members comprising first and second slidable aluminum alloy members that have a slide portion and slide surface, respectively, which slide relative to each other. The slide portion of the first slidable aluminum alloy member is being comprised of a fiber-reinforced aluminum alloy. The reinforcement fiber used for the first slidable aluminum alloy member being a mixture of an alumina fiber and a carbon fiber. The slide surface of the second slidable member is provided with a layer of heat resistant synthetic resin in which are dispersed a solid lubricant and an abrasion resistance improving agent.

Cooperating slidable aluminum alloy members

A cylinder block made of fiber-reinforced light alloy for an internal combustion engine comprises a cylinder barrel having a fiber-reinforced part formed around a cylinder bore, and a cylinder block outer wall surrounding the cylinder barrel and defining a water jacket between itself and the barrel, wherein a reinforcing deck part is provided to connect between the outer wall and an end portion of the barrel adjacent the cylinder head joining surface, the deck part having a thickness in the direction of barrel axis set to be not less than 7% of a piston stroke.

Cylinder block made of fiber-reinforced light alloy for internal

An internal combustion engine having a cylinder block made of a light-alloy with a cylinder wall around a cylinder bore including a cylindrical fiber-reinforced portion which is formed of a mixture of an alumina-based fiber and a carbon fiber with a light-alloy matrix. The alumina-based fiber has a fiber volume fraction set in a range of 8 to 20%, and the carbon fiber has a fiber volume fraction set in a range of 0.3 to 15%. The alumina-based fiber contains 25% or less, by weight, of silica, has an average aspect ratio of 20 to 150, and an alpha rate of 2 to 60%. The carbon fiber has an average aspect ratio set in a range of 10 to 100 and a Young's modulus set in a range of 20 to 30 t/mm.sup.2. The piston for the cylinder bore has an iron-plated layer covered by a tin-plated layer. The piston rings for the piston may be of austenitic stainless steel to provide thermal expansion characterics similar to the cylinder wall and may be provided with a nitride or chromium-plated layer.

Internal combustion engine

An aluminum alloy slide support member which is disclosed herein as a cylinder block of an internal combustion engine includes a slide portion, such as the cylinder for slideably supporting the piston, made of a fiber-reinforced aluminum alloy containing at least an alumina fiber as a reinforcing material, wherein the alpha rate of the alumina fiber is set in a range of 10.0 to 50.0% and the volume content of the alumina fiber is set in a range of 8.0 to 20.0%. Another embodiment employs carbon fibers in addition to the alumina fibers. Further, the walls of the cylinder barrel are of a varying thickness to equalize the cooling and cause uniform thermal expansion of the cylinder barrel.

Growing community of inventors

Saitama, Japan

Kazuo Shibata