Eccentric Valve Actuator Reducing Installation Space
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing valves for internal combustion engines with actuators are complex and expensive to produce due to tight tolerances and require significant space, making them inefficient for space-saving designs with large valve lifts.
Innovation Solution
A valve design featuring a drive wheel and a driven wheel of the same size, where the drive wheel is eccentrically connected to a drive shaft, allowing for a constant distance between the wheels' central axes, reducing the number of tolerances needed and enabling larger strokes with minimal installation space, utilizing a carrier or housing for support and protection, and incorporating an electromotive rotary drive for precise control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If a planetary gear mechanism with internally toothed ring gear is used to achieve large valve stroke, then the stroke can be increased, but the valve takes up more space and requires complex manufacturing with tight tolerances
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a conventional planetary gear mechanism where the ring gear is stationary and the planetary gears rotate within it, the patent inverts the approach by using a crank mechanism where the crank pin moves within a circular path defined by the piston constraints. This inversion allows achieving large stroke without requiring a large ring gear diameter, thus reducing installation space while maintaining manufacturing simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and eliminates the complex planetary gear mechanism with internally toothed ring gear from the design. By removing this complex mechanism and replacing it with a simpler crank-piston arrangement, the valve achieves large stroke capability without the space and manufacturing complexity penalties associated with planetary gears
2Length of moving object
If a planetary gear mechanism with internally toothed ring gear is used to achieve large valve stroke, then the stroke can be increased, but the manufacturing complexity and cost increase due to tight tolerances
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the complex planetary gear mechanism with internally toothed ring gear from the design. By removing this complex mechanism and replacing it with a simpler crank-piston arrangement, the valve achieves large stroke capability without the space and manufacturing complexity penalties associated with planetary gears
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the complex mechanical planetary gear system with a simpler crank mechanism. The crank pin moves within a circular path constrained by the piston, creating a straightforward mechanical system that is easier to manufacture with standard tolerances compared to precision planetary gears
3Length of moving object
If the actuator is moved through a large range from closed to fully open position, then the valve lift is increased, but the stroke results from the diameter of the ring gear requiring more space
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a conventional planetary gear mechanism where the ring gear is stationary and the planetary gears rotate within it, the patent inverts the approach by using a crank mechanism where the crank pin moves within a circular path defined by the piston constraints. This inversion allows achieving large stroke without requiring a large ring gear diameter, thus reducing installation space while maintaining manufacturing simplicity
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design allows for a space-saving, economically manufactured valve with large strokes and precise exhaust gas regulation, reducing pollutant emissions by minimizing installation space and production complexity while ensuring reliable operation and reduced actuating forces.
Implementation Method 1
a drive wheel (34), which is connected eccentrically to a drive shaft (30) of an electromotive rotary drive (26) and can be rotated by the drive shaft (30)
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a valve (10) for an internal combustion engine. The valve (10) has a valve housing (18) with an inlet (77), an outlet (78), an actuator (60), which opens or closes a flow cross-section radially within a valve seat (76) between the inlet (77) and the outlet (78), and a driveshaft (30) of a rotary drive (26), said driveshaft eccentrically rotating a drive gear (34). The drive gear (34) is movement-coupled to an equally large output gear (38), and the output gear (38) is mechanically connected to a carrier shaft (54), which actuates the actuator (60), and eccentrically rotates the carrier shaft. The valve (10) has means which keep a distance (A) between a drive gear central axis (46) and an output gear central axis (50) constant, and a central axis (104) of the actuator (60) intersects the driveshaft (30) and the carrier shaft (54).