Cylinder head for an internal combustion engine as well as an internal combustion engine with such a cylinder head

Abstract

Cylinder head (10) for an internal combustion engine, comprising at least one first sealing flange surface (12) via which the cylinder head (10) can be connected to an intake element, at least one second sealing flange surface (14) via which the cylinder head (10) can be connected to an exhaust element, a sealing surface integrated into the respective sealing flange surface (12, 14) via which the cylinder head (10) can be connected to a cylinder head cover element, at least one first receiving area (24) arranged on the side of the first sealing flange surface (12) for at least one first camshaft (26) to be mounted on the cylinder head (10), and at least one second receiving area (42) arranged on the side of the second sealing flange surface (14) for at least one second camshaft (44) to be mounted on the cylinder head (10), wherein the receiving areas (24, 42) are connected by means of at least one intermediate wall (64) of the cylinder head (10) are fluidically separated from each other,characterized in that the intermediate wall (64) extends in the vertical direction of the cylinder head (10) at least partially to at least one collecting area of ​​the cylinder head (10), in which lubricant flowing along the intermediate wall (64) can be received, and at least one discharge opening is assigned to the collecting area, through which lubricant received in the collecting area can be discharged from the collecting area and supplied to a lubricant chamber of a crankcase of the internal combustion engine.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a cylinder head for an internal combustion engine according to the preamble of patent claim 1 and to an internal combustion engine with such a cylinder head according to the preamble of patent claim 7.

[0002] Such a cylinder head and an internal combustion engine with such a cylinder head are known from DE 10 2009 020 100 A1. The cylinder head has at least one first sealing flange surface, via which the cylinder head can be connected to an intake element, for example, an intake module. Furthermore, the cylinder head has at least one second sealing flange surface, via which the cylinder head can be connected to an exhaust element. The exhaust element is, for example, an exhaust module, in particular an exhaust manifold.

[0003] The intake module allows air drawn in by the internal combustion engine to flow into the combustion chambers in the form of the internal combustion engine's cylinders. The exhaust element allows exhaust gas to be removed from the internal combustion engine's cylinders.

[0004] The cylinder head further comprises a sealing surface integrated into the respective sealing flange surface, via which the cylinder head can be connected to a cylinder head cover element. This makes it possible to integrate the cylinder head cover element into the intake element and / or the exhaust element, i.e., to form it integrally with the latter. This eliminates the need for a separate, additional cylinder head cover element, such as a cylinder head cover. In other words, the intake element and / or the exhaust element can assume the function of a cylinder head cover element, covering or overlapping the cylinder head at least in part.

[0005] Furthermore, the cylinder head has at least one first receiving area arranged on the side of the first sealing flange surface for at least one first camshaft to be mounted on the cylinder head and at least one second receiving area arranged on the side of the second sealing flange surface for at least one second camshaft to be mounted on the cylinder head.

[0006] It has been shown that during operation of an internal combustion engine, a mixture containing a gaseous portion and a liquid portion can form. The liquid portion is formed, for example, by liquid suspended particles absorbed in the gaseous portion or in the gas. Such a mixture is, for example, a lubricant mist, in particular a lubricating oil mist. Such a lubricant mist is created when lubricant for cooling and / or lubricating at least two components of the internal combustion engine that are movable relative to one another is thrown up and thus foamed as a result of the movement of at least one of the components.

[0007] As a result, the liquid portion of the mixture must be separated from the gaseous portion (lubricant mist), which is carried out by at least one separation element of a separation device. Such a separation element is, for example, an oil separator. Conventionally, such a separation element requires a lot of space, is expensive, and is heavy, due to the large quantities of the mixture produced.

[0008] It is therefore an object of the present invention to further develop a cylinder head and an internal combustion engine with such a cylinder head of the type mentioned at the outset in such a way that the effort required to carry out the separation can be avoided or kept particularly low.

[0009] This object is achieved by a cylinder head having the features of patent claim 1 and by an internal combustion engine having the features of patent claim 7. Advantageous embodiments with expedient and non-trivial further developments of the invention are specified in the remaining claims.

[0010] In order to create a cylinder head for an internal combustion engine of the type specified in the preamble of claim 1, by which the effort required to carry out the separation described above can be avoided or kept particularly low, the invention provides that the receiving areas are fluidically separated from one another by at least one intermediate wall of the cylinder head. This fluidic separation of the receiving areas prevents lubricant, in particular lubricating oil, supplied to the cylinder head from being thrown up by both one of the camshafts and the other camshaft and thus foaming.

[0011] In other words, the spinning and foaming of the lubricant, by means of which, for example, bearing points of at least one of the camshafts are lubricated and / or cooled, can be avoided or kept to a particularly low level, so that the formation of a mixture with a gaseous portion and with a liquid portion in the form of suspended particles from the lubricant absorbed in the gaseous portion can be avoided or kept to a particularly low level.

[0012] Lubricant thrown up or thrown off by one of the camshafts can very quickly hit the intermediate wall from this camshaft and precipitate there, so that the aforementioned mixture in the form of a lubricant mist does not form or only forms in very small quantities. This prevents the lubricant from being thrown up and foamed up by both camshafts one after the other. Since the formation of such a mixture is avoided or minimized, the effort required to separate the liquid portion from the gaseous portion can also be avoided or kept to a particularly low level. Preferably, a separation device or at least one separation element, for example an oil separator, for separating the liquid portion from the gaseous portion can be dispensed with.This results in particularly small installation space requirements, low costs, and a low weight for the internal combustion engine. Alternatively, it is possible to use a particularly small, lightweight, and cost-effective separation element to implement such a separation system.

[0013] In addition, it is provided that the intermediate wall extends at least partially in the vertical direction of the cylinder head to at least one collecting region of the cylinder head, wherein lubricant flowing along the intermediate wall, in particular due to gravity, can be absorbed in the collecting region. The lubricant thrown up and / or thrown off by the camshafts can thus be guided to the collecting region by means of the intermediate wall in that the lubricant deposited on the intermediate wall flows or flows along the intermediate wall at least substantially in the vertical direction of the cylinder head until it reaches the collecting region. This flow of lubricant along the intermediate wall to the collecting region can occur in particular due to gravity, so that additional actuators for conveying the lubricant to the collecting region can be avoided.

[0014] Furthermore, at least one discharge opening is assigned to the collection area, through which lubricant received in the collection area can be discharged from the collection area and fed to a lubricant chamber of a crankcase of the internal combustion engine. The discharge opening is formed, for example, by a return bore, through which the lubricant can flow from the collection area, particularly due to gravity, into the crankcase, in particular into a crankcase of the crankcase, and from there can be fed back to the lubrication points of the internal combustion engine to be supplied with the lubricant. This avoids complex, costly, and space-intensive discharge measures for conveying the lubricant from the collection area.

[0015] In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the intermediate wall extends in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder head over the entire longitudinal extent of the respective receiving areas. In other words, the receiving areas are fluidly separated from each other by the one-piece intermediate wall in the transverse direction of the cylinder head. This results in a small number of parts and minimal assembly effort, thus resulting in low cylinder head costs.

[0016] The longitudinal direction of the cylinder head corresponds at least substantially to the respective axes of rotation about which the camshafts are or are to be mounted on the cylinder head so as to be rotatable relative to the cylinder head. The transverse direction runs perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the cylinder head, for example, starting from one of the axes of rotation toward the other axis of rotation or vice versa. The transverse direction and the longitudinal direction define a plane to which the vertical direction of the cylinder head, which extends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and perpendicular to the transverse direction, runs perpendicular.

[0017] It has also proven particularly advantageous if the collection area is located vertically along the cylinder head at the lowest point of the intermediate wall, particularly the cylinder head. This allows the lubricant to be supplied to the collection area particularly effectively.

[0018] In order to realize a particularly simple assembly of the exhaust element and the intake element on the cylinder head and to create a particularly small installation space requirement for the cylinder head, it is provided in a further embodiment of the invention that the sealing flange surfaces extend obliquely to the vertical direction of the cylinder head and run towards each other in the vertical direction from bottom to top.

[0019] In order to create an internal combustion engine for a motor vehicle, in particular a passenger car, of the type specified in the preamble of claim 7, in which the effort required to carry out the separation described above can be avoided or kept particularly low, the invention provides that the receiving areas of the cylinder head of the internal combustion engine are fluidically separated from one another by at least one intermediate wall of the cylinder head. Advantageous embodiments of the cylinder head according to the invention are to be regarded as advantageous embodiments of the internal combustion engine according to the invention, and vice versa.

[0020] By fluidically separating the receiving areas, undesirable spinning and foaming of lubricant, especially lubricating oil, by the camshafts can be prevented, as the lubricant spun onto and off the camshafts impacts the intermediate wall shortly after being spun onto and off and can precipitate there. Lubricant spun off one of the camshafts thus does not impact the other camshaft and is therefore not broken up into even smaller droplets and spun further. This prevents the formation of a mixture with a gaseous component and a liquid component formed by the spun-on lubricant, or keeps the amount and mass of the mixture to a minimum.As a result, measures to separate the liquid part from the gaseous part can be avoided or kept to a particularly low level in terms of their performance and thus in terms of their weight, costs and installation space requirements.

[0021] Further advantages, features, and details of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment and from the drawings. The features and combinations of features mentioned above in the description, as well as the features and combinations of features mentioned below in the description of the figures and / or shown alone in the figures, can be used not only in the respective specified combinations, but also in other combinations or on their own, without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0022] The drawing shows: Fig. 1 a schematic perspective view of a cylinder head for an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle, with two receiving areas for respective camshafts, wherein the receiving areas are fluidically separated from one another by means of an intermediate wall of the cylinder head; Fig. 2 a partial schematic front view of the cylinder head; and Fig. 3 shows a further schematic front view of the cylinder head with the camshafts mounted on the cylinder head.

[0023] Fig. Figure 1 shows a cylinder head 10 for an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle, in particular a passenger car, designed as a reciprocating piston internal combustion engine. The cylinder head 10 is connectable to a crankcase of the internal combustion engine and has - as seen in conjunction with Fig. 2 - a first sealing flange surface 12 and a second sealing flange surface 14 facing away from the first sealing flange surface 12. The cylinder head 10 is connected to a Fig. 1, for example, an intake module. When connected to the cylinder head 10, the intake element is fluidly connected to the intake ports 16 of the cylinder head 10.

[0024] During operation, the internal combustion engine draws in air, which flows through the intake element. From the intake element, the air flowing through the intake element can flow into the intake ports 16. The intake ports 16 open into cylinders of the internal combustion engine, which constitute the combustion chambers of the internal combustion engine. The air drawn in by the internal combustion engine can flow via the intake ports 16 into the respective cylinders of the internal combustion engine assigned to the corresponding intake ports 16.

[0025] The internal combustion engine comprises four cylinders and is designed as a so-called in-line engine, with the cylinders arranged in series in the longitudinal direction of the internal combustion engine. The longitudinal direction of the internal combustion engine corresponds to the Fig. 1 by a directional arrow 18 indicated longitudinal direction of the cylinder head 10. The first sealing flange surface 12 is thus arranged on a so-called inlet side 20 of the cylinder head 10, which is also referred to as the intake side.

[0026] An exhaust element, for example in the form of an exhaust manifold, can be connected to the cylinder head 10 via the second sealing flange surface 14. In the state connected to the cylinder head 10, the exhaust element is fluidically connected to Fig. 1 not recognizable and assigned to the cylinders exhaust ports of the cylinder head 10.

[0027] The exhaust element serves, in particular, to discharge exhaust gas flowing out of the cylinders of the internal combustion engine. The second sealing flange surface 14 is thus arranged on a so-called exhaust side 22 of the cylinder head 10, which is also referred to as the exhaust side.

[0028] A sealing surface is integrated into the respective sealing flange surface 12, 14, via which the cylinder head 10 can be connected to a cylinder head cover element, for example in the form of a cylinder head cover. The cylinder head cover element serves to cover the cylinder head 10 at least in part. Due to the integration of the sealing surface into the respective sealing flange surface 12, 14, it is possible to at least partially integrate the cylinder head cover element into the intake element and / or the exhaust element. In other words, the intake element and / or the exhaust element can assume the function of the cylinder head cover element of covering the cylinder head 10 at least in part, so that an additional, separately mounted cylinder head cover element can be omitted.

[0029] On the side of the first sealing flange surface 12 and thus on the inlet side 20, the cylinder head 10 has a first receiving area 24 for a first camshaft 26 in the form of a Fig. 3. In the first receiving area 24, a bearing track 28 is provided for supporting the intake camshaft on the cylinder head 10. The bearing track 28 extends in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder head 10, indicated by the directional arrow 18, and comprises a plurality of bearing points 30 at which the intake camshaft is or is to be mounted so as to be rotatable about an axis of rotation relative to the cylinder head 10. The axis of rotation of the intake camshaft extends in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder head 10, i.e., parallel to the longitudinal direction.

[0030] The intake camshaft serves to actuate gas exchange valves in the form of intake valves 32, of which one intake valve 32 in Fig. 3. The intake valves 32 control the inflow of air into the cylinders. Each intake valve 32 is assigned a spring element 34, of which Fig. 3, a spring element 34 can be seen. The intake valves 32 are actuated by the intake camshaft against a respective spring force of the spring elements 34.

[0031] The bearing points 30 comprise a respective bearing block 36 on the cylinder head side and a corresponding bearing block 36 and in Fig. 3. The bearing caps 38 are connected to the corresponding bearing blocks 36 by means of bearing screws 40. The bearing blocks 36 and the bearing caps 38 each define half of a respective bearing recess, which is also referred to as a bearing bore. When mounted on the cylinder head 10, the intake camshaft is accommodated in the respective bearing recess along its outer circumference over a lengthwise section.

[0032] On the side of the second sealing flange surface 14 and thus on the exhaust side 22, a second receiving area 42 for a second camshaft 44 is in the form of a Fig. 3 is arranged. For supporting the exhaust camshaft, a bearing channel 46 is provided in the receiving area 42, which extends in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder head 10 and comprises a plurality of bearing points 48. Of the bearing points 48, Fig. 1, a bearing point 48 can be seen. At the bearing points 48, the exhaust camshaft can be mounted so as to be rotatable about a rotational axis relative to the cylinder head 10. The rotational axis of the exhaust camshaft also extends at least substantially in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder head 10 and at least substantially parallel to the rotational axis of the intake camshaft.

[0033] The bearing points 48 comprise a respective cylinder-head-side bearing block 50 and a respective bearing cap 52 corresponding to the respective bearing block 50. The bearing caps 52 are connected to the corresponding bearing blocks 50 by means of bearing screws 54. The respective bearing block 50 and the respective corresponding bearing cap 52 also each define half of a respective bearing receptacle, which is also referred to as a bearing bore. Thus, when mounted on the cylinder head 10, the exhaust camshaft is accommodated over a respective length range on the outer circumference side in the corresponding bearing receptacle of the bearing channel 46.

[0034] The exhaust camshaft is used to actuate gas exchange valves in the form of exhaust valves 56, of which Fig. 3, an exhaust valve 56 is shown. The exhaust valves 56 control the outflow of exhaust gas from the cylinders and into the exhaust element. As can be seen from Fig. 3, a respective spring element 58 is assigned to the exhaust valves 56. The exhaust valves 56 are actuated by means of the exhaust camshaft against a respective spring force of the corresponding spring element 58.

[0035] As shown by Fig. 2, the sealing flange surfaces 12, 14 facing away from each other extend obliquely to the vertical direction of the cylinder head 10 indicated by a directional arrow 60 and run towards each other in the vertical direction from bottom to top. As a result, the cylinder head 10 points in its Fig. 2, the cylinder head 10 has at least substantially the shape of the Greek capital letter delta (Δ). This results in a particularly small installation space requirement for the cylinder head 10. Furthermore, the exhaust element and the intake element can be installed particularly easily, especially if they are formed at least substantially integrally with one another. For this purpose, the exhaust element and the intake element are, for example, simply placed vertically onto the cylinder head 10.

[0036] The vertical direction of the cylinder head 10 indicated by the directional arrow 60 corresponds to the vertical direction of the internal combustion engine. The vertical direction runs at least substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the cylinder head 10, wherein the vertical direction and the longitudinal direction define a plane to which the transverse direction of the cylinder head 10 indicated by a directional arrow 62 runs at least substantially perpendicular. As can be seen from Fig. As can be seen in Figure 3, the transverse direction runs at least substantially perpendicular to the respective rotational axis of the intake camshaft and the exhaust camshaft. In other words, the exhaust camshaft is arranged opposite the intake camshaft in the transverse direction of the cylinder head 10.

[0037] In order to achieve low-friction, low-wear, and low-loss bearings for the intake camshaft and the exhaust camshaft, at least some of the bearing points 30, 48 are supplied with a lubricant in the form of lubricating oil. The lubricant serves to lubricate and / or cool components that move relative to one another during operation of the internal combustion engine, namely the cylinder head 10, the intake camshaft, and the exhaust camshaft.

[0038] Since the intake camshaft and the exhaust camshaft, which are collectively referred to as camshafts, rotate during the operation of the internal combustion engine, the lubricant is thrown up and / or off the camshafts.

[0039] If no appropriate countermeasures are taken, this spinning up and / or down can lead to foaming and thus to the formation of a mixture in the form of a lubricant mist. The mixture or lubricant mist has a gaseous portion and a liquid portion. The liquid portion is formed by suspended particles in the form of droplets of the lubricant, which are absorbed in the gaseous portion. The mixture is therefore an aerosol. As a result of the formation of this mixture, a separation of the liquid portion from the gaseous portion is necessary in order to be able to feed the liquid portion, i.e. the lubricant in the mixture, back into the lubricant circuit of the internal combustion engine. To effect such a separation, a separation device with at least one separation element, in particular an oil separator, is provided, for example.

[0040] In order to avoid the formation of such a mixture and consequently to minimize the effort required to separate the liquid portion from the gaseous portion, it is provided in the cylinder head 10 that the receiving areas 24, 42 are fluidically separated from one another by means of at least one intermediate wall 64 of a central web 66 of the cylinder head 10 arranged transversely between the receiving areas 24, 42. As can be seen in particular from Fig. 1, the intermediate wall 64 extends in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder head 10 over the respective complete longitudinal extent of the receiving areas 24, 42 and has no through openings via which the receiving areas 24, 42 could be fluidically connected to one another in the transverse direction of the cylinder head 10.

[0041] By providing the intermediate wall 64, lubricant thrown off the camshafts hits the intermediate wall 64 very quickly, ie, shortly after being thrown off, and can precipitate on the intermediate wall 64. This prevents the lubricant thrown off one of the camshafts from hitting the other camshaft and thereby being broken up into even smaller droplets and thrown further.

[0042] At a vertically lowest point of the central web 66, at least one collection area is provided, to which the intermediate wall 64 extends in the vertical direction of the cylinder head 10. The lubricant flowing along the intermediate wall 64, particularly due to gravity, is thus guided by the intermediate wall 64 to the collection area and can be collected or trapped there.

[0043] At the lowest point of the collection area, at least one discharge opening is preferably provided, through which the lubricant contained in the collection area can be discharged from the collection area and fed to a lubricant chamber of the crankcase of the internal combustion engine. The lubricant from the collection area can then be fed back into a lubricant circuit of the internal combustion engine and subsequently reused for lubricating and / or cooling lubrication points. The discharge opening is formed, for example, by a bore and / or an opening through which the lubricant can be fed to a lubricant return line.

[0044] Since the formation of the described mixture is avoided or kept to a minimum, a separation element, for example in the form of an oil separator, of any separation device provided can also be kept particularly small in terms of its installation space, weight, and cost. Only very small quantities of the mixture are supplied to the separation element, since the formation of the mixture can be kept particularly small due to the provision of the intermediate wall 64. This results in low weight, low costs, and very little installation space for the cylinder head 10. List of reference symbols 10 cylinder head 12 first sealing flange surface 14 second sealing flange surface 16 Inlet channel 18 Direction arrow 20 Inlet side 22 Exhaust side 24 recording area 26 first camshaft 28 Lagergasse 30 storage location 32 Inlet valve 34 spring element 36 storage chair 38 bearing caps 40 bearing screw 42 Recording area 44 second camshaft 46 Lagergasse 48 storage location 50 storage chairs 52 bearing caps 54 bearing screw 56 exhaust valve 58 spring element 60 Direction arrow 62 Direction arrow 64 Partition wall 66 central bridge

Claims

[1] Cylinder head (10) for an internal combustion engine, with at least one first sealing flange surface (12), via which the cylinder head (10) can be connected to an intake element, with at least one second sealing flange surface (14), via which the cylinder head (10) can be connected to an exhaust element, with a sealing surface integrated into the respective sealing flange surface (12, 14), via which the cylinder head (10) can be connected to a cylinder head cover element, with at least one first receiving area (24) arranged on the side of the first sealing flange surface (12) for at least one first camshaft (26) to be mounted on the cylinder head (10), and with at least one second receiving area (42) arranged on the side of the second sealing flange surface (14) for at least one second camshaft (44) to be mounted on the cylinder head (10), wherein the receiving areas (24,42) are fluidically separated from each other by means of at least one intermediate wall (64) of the cylinder head (10), , characterized by that the intermediate wall (64) extends in the vertical direction of the cylinder head (10) at least in regions up to at least one collecting region of the cylinder head (10), in which lubricant flowing along the intermediate wall (64) can be received, and at least one discharge opening is assigned to the collecting region, via which lubricant received in the collecting region can be discharged from the collecting region and fed to a lubricant chamber of a crankcase of the internal combustion engine. [2] Cylinder head (10) according to claim 1, characterized by that the intermediate wall (64) extends in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder head (10) over the respective complete longitudinal extent of the receiving areas (24, 42). [3] Cylinder head (10) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized bythat the collecting area is arranged in the vertical direction of the cylinder head (10) at a lowest point of the intermediate wall (64). [4] Cylinder head (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the sealing flange surfaces (12, 14) extend obliquely to the vertical direction of the cylinder head (10) and run towards each other in the vertical direction from bottom to top. [5] Internal combustion engine for a motor vehicle, with a cylinder head (10) which has at least one first sealing flange surface (12) via which the cylinder head (10) can be connected to an intake element, at least one second sealing flange surface (14) via which the cylinder head (10) can be connected to an exhaust element, a sealing surface integrated into the respective sealing flange surface (12, 14) via which the cylinder head (10) can be connected to a cylinder head cover element, a first receiving area (24) arranged on the side of the first sealing flange surface (12) for at least one first camshaft (26) to be mounted on the cylinder head (10), and at least one second receiving area (42) arranged on the side of the second sealing flange surface (14) for at least one second camshaft (44) to be mounted on the cylinder head (10), wherein the receiving areas (24,42) are fluidically separated from each other by means of at least one intermediate wall (64) of the cylinder head (10), , characterized by in that a crankcase of the internal combustion engine has a lubricant chamber, the intermediate wall (64) extends in the vertical direction of the cylinder head (10) at least in some areas up to at least one collecting region of the cylinder head (10), in which lubricant flowing along the intermediate wall (64) can be received, and at least one discharge opening is assigned to the collecting region, via which lubricant received in the collecting region can be discharged from the collecting region and fed to the lubricant chamber of the crankcase.

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