Combustion pre-chamber device for an internal combustion engine

• US 10,494,981 B2
• Filed: 06/07/2019
• Issued: 12/03/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cummins Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Cummins Incorporated
• Inventors: Perr, Andrew P., Saad, Philipe F., Akinola, Akintomide K., Lewis, Jr., Rick Vaughan, Doig, Dwight A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Amick, Jacob M
• Application Number:
  US16/434,257
• Publication Number:
  US 20190284985A1
• Time in Patent Office: 179 Days
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2003/024 Cooling cylinder heads
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 3/02 Arrangements for cooling cylinders or cylinder heads
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 3/16 for cooling fuel injectors or sparking-plugs
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 19/10 with fuel introduced partly into pre-combustion chamber, and partly into cylinder
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 19/1009 heating, cooling
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 19/12 with positive ignition engines with non-timed positive ignition, and with incandescent chambers F02B9/08
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 19/16 Chamber shapes or constructions not specific to sub-groups F02B19/02 - F02B19/10
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 19/18 Transfer passages between chamber and cylinder
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 21/0203 characterised by the type of gaseous fuel
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 21/0275 for in-cylinder direct injection, e.g. injector combined with spark plug
• CPC Class Codes: F02P 13/00 Sparking plugs structurally combined with other parts of internal-combustion engines connection of ignition coil to spark plug connector F02P3/02; with fuel injectors F02M57/06 ; spark plug connector per se H01T13/04 – H01T13/06; predominant aspects of sparking plug, see H01T13/40 – H01T13/44
• CPC Class Codes: H01T 13/54 having electrodes arranged in a partly-enclosed ignition chamber
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/12 Improving ICE efficiencies
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/30 Use of alternative fuels, e.g. biofuels

Abstract

A combustion pre-chamber device for a spark ignition internal combustion engine is configured to engage a spark plug and be mounted to a cylinder head in communication with a combustion chamber of a cylinder of the engine. The combustion pre-chamber device includes a number of bores that open at an outer surface thereof that extend into the body and receive a coolant flow to provide cooling for a combustion pre-chamber of the combustion pre-chamber device.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a combustion pre-chamber device for engaging a cylinder head of an internal combustion engine, the combustion pre-chamber device including a body with an outer surface extending between a first end and an opposite second end of the body, the first end of the body including an opening to an inner passage defined by the body for receiving a spark plug, the second end of the body defining a combustion pre-chamber and at least one through-hole in communication with the combustion pre-chamber that opens at the outer surface, the body further including at least one bore extending from an opening at the outer surface into the body to a closed end of the at least one bore that is located within the body of the combustion pre-chamber device.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second end of the body extends at least partially into a combustion chamber of a cylinder of the internal combustion engine with the body engaged to the cylinder head, wherein the plurality of through-holes fluidly couple the combustion pre-chamber with the combustion chamber of the cylinder.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the combustion pre-chamber device defines a cooling channel in the outer surface and that at least one bore opens in the cooling channel.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the at least one bore includes a plurality of bores that each open in the cooling channel.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the plurality of bores includes at least one radial bore that extends into the body along a longitudinal axis that intersects a central longitudinal axis of the body of the combustion pre-chamber device, the plurality of bores further including at least one tangential bore that extends into the body along a longitudinal axis that does not intersect the central longitudinal axis.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the radial bore intersects the tangential bore.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one bore includes at least one radially extending bore extending to a first closed end and at least one tangentially extending bore extending to a second closed end.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the radially extending bore and the tangentially extending bore intersect one another at or adjacent the first and second closed ends.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one radially extending bore includes a plurality of radially extending bores and the at least one tangentially extending bore includes a plurality of tangentially extending bores that intersect respective ones of the plurality of radially extending bores.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the combustion pre-chamber device defines a cooling channel in the outer surface and each of the plurality of radially extending bores and each of the plurality of tangentially extending bores open in the cooling channel.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of radially extending bores and each of the plurality of tangentially extending bores extend distally from respective opening in the cooling channel into the body toward a distal end wall of the body.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the plurality of through-holes includes at least one tip through-hole that extends through the distal end wall and at least one circumferential through-hole that is proximal of the distal end wall.

13. An apparatus, comprising:

a body including a first end defining an inner passage along a first inner surface of the body at the first end, the inner passage including threads operable to receive a plurality of complementary spark plug threads defined by a spark plug; and

the body including a second end opposite the first end positionable into a combustion chamber of a cylinder, the second end defining a combustion pre-chamber along a second inner surface of the body and a plurality of second end threads along an outer surface of the second end operable to couple to a plurality of complementary cylinder head threads defined by the cylinder head, wherein the second end includes at least one through-hole operable to fluidly couple the combustion pre-chamber and the combustion chamber of the cylinder, and the body includes at least one first bore and at least one second bore that intersects the at least one first bore, the at least one first and second bores each extend into the body from an opening at the outer surface to a blind end thereof that is located within the body.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at least one first bore extends radially into the body toward a central longitudinal axis of the body and the at least one second bore extends tangentially relative to the central longitudinal axis into the body.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least one first bore includes a plurality of radially extending bore and the at least one second bore includes a plurality of tangentially extending bores that intersect respective ones of the plurality of radially extending bores.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the body defines a cooling channel in the outer surface and the opening of each of the at least one first bore and the at least one second bore is in the cooling channel.

17. A system comprising:

an internal combustion engine including a cylinder defining a combustion chamber;

a cylinder head engaged to the internal combustion engine, the cylinder head including a spark plug passage and a head cooling passage; and

a combustion pre-chamber device positioned in the spark plug passage and coupled to the cylinder head, the combustion pre-chamber device including a first end and a second end and having an inner surface and an outer surface, the inner surface defining a combustion pre-chamber in fluid communication with the combustion chamber, the outer surface defining a cooling channel about the combustion pre-chamber device for receiving a coolant flow from the head cooling passage, the combustion pre-chamber device further including at least one bore opening at the cooling channel, the at least one bore extending to a blind end location within the combustion pre-chamber device, the at least one bore receiving the coolant flow to provide cooling of the combustion pre-chamber.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the at least one bore includes a first radially extending bore and a second tangentially extending bore that intersects the first radially extending bore, the coolant flowing through the first and second bores.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising a spark plug engaged in the combustion pre-chamber device, the spark plug including at least one electrode in fluid communication with the combustion pre-chamber.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the second end of the combustion pre-chamber device includes a distal end wall in the combustion chamber and at least one through-hole that extends through the distal end wall.