Multi-cylinder internal combustion engine
First Claim
1. A multi-cylinder internal combustion engine comprising:
- a plurality of cylinders;
a cylinder array including two or more of the cylinders disposed in series;
a throttle body assembly including a predetermined number of throttle bodies formed with air-intake channels in communication with air-intake ports formed for each cylinder in a cylinder head; and
throttle valves disposed in the respective air-intake channels;
wherein the respective throttle valves are opened and closed by electric motors provided independently for the respective throttle valves, the air-intake ports belonging to end cylinders located at the ends of the cylinder array in a direction of an arrangement of the cylinders of the cylinder array being formed to approach a plane positioned at the center of the cylinder array in the direction of the arrangement, which is a center plane orthogonal to the direction of the arrangement, as they approach an entrance thereof, andwherein an entrance of a respective air-intake port is formed in the cylinder head.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine having throttle valves to be opened and closed by electric motors, output control is enabled in various ways according to the state of usage of an object to be driven by the multi-cylinder internal combustion engine with a simple structure with the scope of application of shared components being expanded to reduce the cost. In addition, a throttle body assembly is downsized in the direction of the arrangement of the cylinders. A multi-cylinder internal combustion engine includes a predetermined number of cylinders, a throttle body assembly including the throttle bodies formed with intake-air channels and throttle valves. The respective throttle valves are opened and closed by the electric motors provided independently for each throttle valve. Air-intake ports of the first and fourth cylinders are formed so as to approach a center plane in the direction of the arrangement as they approach entrances.
18 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A multi-cylinder internal combustion engine comprising:
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a plurality of cylinders; a cylinder array including two or more of the cylinders disposed in series; a throttle body assembly including a predetermined number of throttle bodies formed with air-intake channels in communication with air-intake ports formed for each cylinder in a cylinder head; and throttle valves disposed in the respective air-intake channels; wherein the respective throttle valves are opened and closed by electric motors provided independently for the respective throttle valves, the air-intake ports belonging to end cylinders located at the ends of the cylinder array in a direction of an arrangement of the cylinders of the cylinder array being formed to approach a plane positioned at the center of the cylinder array in the direction of the arrangement, which is a center plane orthogonal to the direction of the arrangement, as they approach an entrance thereof, and wherein an entrance of a respective air-intake port is formed in the cylinder head. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A multi-cylinder internal combustion engine comprising:
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a plurality of cylinders; a cylinder array wherein two or more of the cylinders are disposed in series; air-intake channels being in communication with air-intake ports formed in each of said plurality of cylinders; a throttle valve disposed in each of the respective air-intake channels; and a motor independently provided relative to each of the respective throttle valves for selectively opening and closing the respective throttle valves, the air-intake ports belonging to end cylinders located at the ends of the cylinder array in the direction of an arrangement of the cylinders of the cylinder array being formed to approach a plane positioned at the center of the cylinder array in the direction of the arrangement, which is a center plane orthogonal to the direction of the arrangement, as they approach an entrance thereof, and wherein an entrance of a respective air-intake port is formed in the cylinder head. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A multi-cylinder internal combustion engine comprising:
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a plurality of cylinders; a cylinder array wherein two or more of the cylinders are disposed in series; air-intake channels being in communication with each of said plurality of cylinders; a throttle valve disposed in each of the respective air-intake channels; and a motor independently provided relative to each of the respective throttle valves for selectively opening and closing the respective throttle valves, the air-intake ports belonging to end cylinders located at the ends of the cylinder array in the direction of an arrangement of the cylinders of the cylinder array being formed to approach a plane positioned at the center of the cylinder array in the direction of the arrangement, wherein each motor is arranged to be symmetric with respect to an adjacent air-intake port and the arrangement of first two motors of two adjacent air-intake ports is arranged to be symmetric with respect to second two motors of two adjacent air-intake ports that are displaced a predetermined distance relative to the first two motors. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A multi-cylinder internal combustion engine comprising:
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a plurality of cylinders; a cylinder array including two or more of the cylinders disposed in series; a throttle body assembly including a predetermined number of throttle bodies formed with air-intake channels in communication with air-intake ports formed for each cylinder in a cylinder head; and throttle valves disposed in the respective air-intake channels; wherein the respective throttle valves are opened and closed by electric motors provided independently for the respective throttle valves, the air-intake ports belonging to end cylinders located at the ends of the cylinder array in a direction of an arrangement of the cylinders of the cylinder array being formed to approach a plane positioned at the center of the cylinder array in the direction of the arrangement, which is a center plane orthogonal to the direction of the arrangement, as they approach an entrance thereof, and wherein the electric motors drive corresponding gear mechanisms associated with the respective throttle valves to independently open and close the respective throttle valves.
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Specification