Atsugi Motor Parts Company, Limited

Nissan Motor Company Limited

Unisia Jecs Corporation

Atsugi Unisia Corp.

Tatsuyuki Matsuya

Seinosuke Hara

Seiji Suga

Takayuki Arai

Hiromichi Ofuji

Takaharu Goto

Kenichi Sato

Hiroaki Watanabe

Hirofumi Katoh

Toshio Harima

Naohiro Iwaya

Hiroaki Hamada

Takehisa Kondo

A temperature-sensing, variable-speed fan drive with a fluid coupling filled with working fluid, for cooling two stacked heat exchangers, namely an engine cooling-system radiator and an air-conditioner condenser located in front of the radiator, comprises a partition plate dividing the internal space of a fan housing into a reservoir chamber and a working chamber, and two different communication ports, each formed in the partition plate to communicate the reservoir chamber with the working chamber. In addition to a first valve mechanism which adjusts the opening of one of the two communication ports in response to atmospheric temperature in the circumference of the housing, a second valve mechanism is provided to adjust the opening of the other of the two communication ports in response to a refrigerant pressure in the air-conditioner condenser. The second valve mechanism includes a valve portion which opens and closes the other communication port, a push rod associated with the valve portion, and an actuator which shifts the push rod from inactive to active in response to a control signal. Also provided is a fan-drive controller which outputs the control signal to the actuator when the refrigerant pressure in the air-conditioner condenser exceeds the predetermined threshold value.

Temperature sensing fan drive with fluid coupling

In order to ensure an adequate supply of oil onto the thrust surfaces of a reciprocating type internal combustion engine piston, recesses are formed in the skirt proximate each thrust surface. The boundary defined between the surface of the skirt and the recess is defined by a rounded surface which smoothly merges the recess with the surface of the skirt, eliminates sharp edges, and permits oil to flow uninhibited out of the recess onto the thrust surfaces.

Internal combustion engine piston

A fan drive clutch is provided which includes a fluid coupling for coupling a drive shaft and a clutch housing on which a fan for blowing air to a radiator is disposed. This clutch has a pump plate for defining a fluid reservoir chamber and a working chamber. The pump plate includes a valve opening through which working fluid passes from the reservoir chamber into the working chamber. The fan drive clutch further includes a valve arm which has a valve plate for opening and closing the valve opening. The valve arm includes an elastically transformable section at a connecting portion between it and the valve plate. This section is operable to absorb movement of the valve arm which may be caused due to a clearance between the shaft for supporting the valve arm and the bearing hole for rotatably supporting the shaft. Therefore, an entire surface of the valve plate is maintained in contact with the facing surface of the pump plate to hermetically close the valve opening without occurrence of any gap therebetween regardless of the movement of the valve arm.

Fan drive clutch for internal combustion engine

The pressure prevailing in a variable volume chamber which controls the compression ratio developed by a piston, is used control the movement of a valve which regulates the supply and draining of the chamber. During high load the high pressure is used to drain the chamber while under light load the lower pressure permits the chamber to be supplied with hydraulic fluid in a manner which tends to fill the same during induction phases and the like when the pressure in the cylinder is low.

Variable compression piston arrangement for internal combustion engine

To induce high compression engine operation hydraulic fluid is fed into a variable volume chamber defined between an outer piston and an inner one which is reciprocatively disposed therein via a supply passage which includes a one-way valve. When low compression engine operation is required the pressure supplied to a valve chamber in which a spool valve is disposed is increased to the point whereat the spool valve moves to a position wherein the supply passage is closed and a drain and transfer passages are opened. The drain passage leads directly to the cylinder bore so as to enable the hydraulic fluid in the variable volume chamber to be vented unrestrictedly. The transfer passage permits a small amount of hydraulic fluid to flow through the variable volume chamber to the drain passage in a manner which cools the same and prevents degradation of the hydraulic fluid retained in the one-way valve and the like.

Variable compression control arrangement for internal combustion engine

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Tatsuyuki Matsuya