Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Nippon Soken, Inc.

Toshiaki Asada

Shuichi Ezaki

Yasushi Kusaka

Kimitoshi Tsuji

Manabu Tateno

Kenji Kataoka

Kazuhito Sakai

Makoto Ishikawa

Tomoaki Suzuki

Toshimitsu Shiba

Shinichi Mitani

Naohide Fuwa

Yukihiro Nakasaka

Shinji Sadakane

Toyokazu Baika

Akihiro Yamanaka

Toshio Tanahashi

Kenichi Nomura

Kazuhiro Iwahashi

Toshimi Murai

Yushiro Yasuda

Akio Furuishi

Yuichi Miyazaki

Kouji Ohara

Toshimisu Shiba

Shintaro Horisawa

Kenichiroh Shindoh

Ryoji Isarai

An oil circulation system of an internal combustion engine comprises a first oil pan and second oil pan, first oil supplied parts supplied with oil stored in the first oil pan, second oil supplied parts supplied with oil stored in the second oil pan, and a heating part. The heating part has oil paths through which oil flows and heats the oil flowing through the oil paths. The oil circulation system comprises a first circulation path circulating oil through the first oil pan, heating part, and first oil supplied parts, and a second circulation path circulating oil between the second oil pan and the second oil supplied parts.

Oil circulation system of internal combustion engine

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

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 variable valve operating device that makes it possible to reduce the loss in driving force transmission from a camshaft to a valve during a valve lift is provided. The rotary motion of a drive cam is transmitted to a swing member via intermediate rollers. A coupling member couples the intermediate rollers, to a swing fulcrum that is fastened to a control shaft. The swing fulcrum is positioned eccentrically to the center of the control shaft. Further, when the control shaft is positioned at a predetermined rotation position, the swing fulcrum is positioned so that the control shaft is placed between the swing fulcrum and the intermediate rollers. Preferably, the swing fulcrum, the control shaft, and the intermediate rollers are aligned.

Variable valve operating device

The present invention relates to a variable valve operating device and makes it possible to inhibit friction during driving force transmission and provide high durability through the use of a compact configuration. A first roller, which comes into contact with a drive cam surfaceof a camshaft, has a larger diameter than a second roller, which comes into contact with a slide surfaceof a swing member. A coupling shaftcouples the first rollerto the second rollerso that the rollerscan rotate independently. The slide surfaceis curved toward the drive cam surface

A valve driving device (), that converts rotational motion outputted from a valve-driving source to linear motion through cam mechanisms () provided to respective cylinders () and drives valves () in respective cylinders through the linear motion, the valve driving device is equipped with electric motors () that are shared as the valve-driving source in a group of cylinders comprising a plurality of cylinders in which open-valve periods of the valves do not overlap; and motion-transmission mechanisms () that transmit rotational motion of the electric motors () to cams () in respective cam mechanisms () in the group of cylinders.

Valve driving device for multi-cylinder internal combustion engine

There is provided a valve gear of an internal combustion engine converting a rotational motion of a motor into a linear motion by a cam, and driving an intake valve or an exhaust valve of a cylinder so as to be opened and closed based on the linear motion, a motor control apparatus which can actuate the motor in a rocking chive mode in which a rotating direction of the cam is changed during a lift of the valve. The motor control apparatus controls a motion of the motor such that the cam starts rotating before the valve starts lifting in the rocking drive mode.

Valve gear

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.

There is provided a valve gear () with a motor (), a cam mechanism () which converts a rotational motion of the motor () into a linear motion of an intake valve () by a cam (), and a motor control apparatus () which controls the motor () such that an acceleration characteristic during a lift of the intake valve () changes in correspondence to a rotation number of an internal combustion engine.

Valve gear of internal combustion engine

Engine starting apparatus comprising a one way clutch. A first oil seal is located on the outer side of a second oil seal in the radial direction of a ring gear. Upon starting of an engine, the time that the first oil seal is slid on the ring gear is short, and after the start of the engine, the first oil seal is not slid on the ring gear. The second oil seal is located on the inner side of the first oil seal in the radial direction of the ring gear. Therefore, the second oil seal hardly deteriorates even if slid on a flywheel at high speed after the start of the engine. By locating the first and second oil seals at different positions in the radial direction of the ring gear, it is possible to improve the startability and the lifetime of a starting apparatus. At least one oil seal has a taper shape in order to generate a thrust force which forces the ring gear away from the flywheel.

Starting apparatus

A first arm member and a second arm member are provided. The first arm member is positioned between a cam and a valve body to oscillate in synchronism with the rotation of the cam. The second arm member changes the angle of the first arm member in accordance with the rotation angle of a control shaft. The temperature prevailing in the neighborhood of the control shaft and cam is detected. The rotation angle of the control shaft is corrected so as to avoid the influence of the detected temperature.

Variable valve mechanism

Disclosed is a variable valve mechanismfor changing the lift amount and operating angle of an internal combustion engine valve disc. The variable valve mechanism comprises a first cam, which rotates in accordance with crankshaft rotation; a transmission memberthat includes a second cam, which oscillates in synchronism with the rotation of the first camand transmits the force exerted by the first camto the valve disc; a control shaft, which is adjusted for a predetermined rotation position; an adjustment mechanismfor varying the lift amount and operating angle of the valve discby changing the oscillation range of the transmission memberin accordance with the rotation position of the control shaft; a lost motion springfor pressing the transmission membertoward the first camto ensure that the transmission memberremains coupled to the first cam; and an assist springfor pressing the transmission memberin resistance to the force exerted by the lost motion spring

Growing community of inventors

Mishima, Japan

Toshiaki Asada