US 5,562,085 A · Device for controlling number of operating cylinders of an internal combustion engine

Abstract

A device for controlling a partial number of engine cylinders employs a geneva movement, intake-air-cutoff valves, an exhaust-gas-cutoff valve and a DC motor. The geneva movement divides the driving force of the DC motor into two: a force intermittently driving the intake-air-cutoff valves and a force driving the exhaust-gas-cutoff valve, so that the exhaust-gas-cutoff valve cannot open until the intake-air-cutoff valve has closed when the engine operation is changed over to a partial-cylinder-operation mode, and the intake-air-cutoff valve cannot open until the exhaust-gas-cutoff valve has closed when the engine operation is changed over to the full-cylinder-operation mode. As a result, time required for changeover of the engine operation between the full-cylinder operation and the partial-cylinder operation is minnimized and additional driving unit is omitted.

Claims15

Dependent claims

A device for controlling number of operating cylinders of an internal combustion engine having full-time operating cylinders, controlled cylinders, an air intake manifold and exhaust gas manifolds connected respectively to said full-time cylinders and said controlled cylinders, said device comprising:

a housing;
a plurality of passage members disposed in said housing for connecting each of said controlled cylinders with said air intake manifold;
a plurality of intake-air-cutoff valves disposed in said housing for opening and closing said passages;
an exhaust-gas-circulation pipe connecting said exhaust pipe connected to said controlled cylinders and a downstream portion of each of said intake-air-cutoff valves;
an exhaust-gas-cutoff valve disposed in said housing for opening and closing said exhaust-gas-circulation pipe;
an electric motor disposed in said housing for supplying a force to drive said intake-air-cutoff valves and said exhaust-gas-cutoff valve;
and
a link movement, disposed in said housing between said motor and said both valves, for transmitting said driving force intermittently so that said both valves operate at a set interval.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Device for controlling number of operating cylinders of an internal combustion engine

Life of this patent

Device for controlling number of operating cylinders of an internal combustion engine

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims15