System for cooling an engine block cylinder bore bridge
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsTheodore Michael Beyer, Jody Michael Slike, Mathew Hintzen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An engine is provided with an open deck cylinder block having an open water jacket that surrounds a plurality of cylinders that are joined together in a Siamese design by a cylinder bore bridge. The engine also includes a cylinder head gasket, and a cylinder head. For the purpose of removing excess heat from the cylinder bore bridge, cooling channels are provided that allow coolant to flow from the engine block water jacket, across the cylinder bore bridge, and into a cylinder head coolant passageway. In addition, coolant is prevented from flowing from the water jacket on one side of the cylinders, across the bore bridge, and into the water jacket on the other side of the cylinders.
Claims18
An engine comprising:
- a cylinder block having a deck and a water jacket surrounding a plurality of cylinders joined together in a Siamese design by a cylinder bore bridge, the cylinder bore bridge having a first cooling channel formed therein open to the deck extending substantially across the cylinder bore bridge from the water jacket on one side to an end point short of the water jacket on the other side;
- a cylinder head gasket having a second cooling channel, a top surface, and a bottom surface, the bottom surface disposed on the deck;
- and
- a cylinder head having a face surface, the face surface disposed on the top surface of the cylinder head gasket,
- wherein the second cooling channel is adjacent and open to the first cooling channel, and the second cooling channel extends along an entire length L of the first cooling channel, and
- wherein the first cooling channel and the second cooling channel cooperate with the water jacket to enable coolant to flow from the water jacket through the first and second cooling channels to an inlet port in the cylinder head face surface proximate the cooling channel end point.
A cylinder head gasket for use in an engine having a cylinder block with a Siamese cylinder design, the gasket comprising:
- a generally planar gasket body having an upper surface for cooperation with a cylinder head and a lower surface for cooperating with a deck surface of the cylinder block, the gasket having formed therein:
- an inlet port in the lower surface open to a water jacket in the cylinder block adjacent to one side of a cylinder bore bridge formed between two Siamesed cylinders;
- an outlet port formed in the upper surface adjacent to an opposite side of the cylinder bore bridge, open to a cylinder head coolant passageway and sealed from the water jacket in the cylinder block;
- and
- a first elongate cooling channel extending between the inlet and outlet ports for overlying and open to a second elongate cooling channel in the deck surface of the cylinder block extending partially across the cylinder bore bridge from the water jacket adjacent the inlet port and terminating at an end point short of the water jacket on the other side, enabling coolant to flow from the water jacket on one side of the cylinder bore bridge, across the cylinder bore bridge, to the cylinder head coolant passageway on the opposite side of the cylinder bore bridge,
- wherein, the first elongate cooling channel flares out prior to the second elongate cooling channel end point to maintain a minimum summed cross sectional flow area of the first and second channels as a cross sectional flow area of the second elongate channel decreases.
A cylinder head gasket comprising:
- a first cooling channel open and adjacent to a second cooling channel located in a cylinder bore bridge, the cooling channels originating at a cylinder block water jacket on one side of the bridge and terminating at a cylinder head water jacket short of the other side of the bridge, wherein a cross-sectional area of the first cooling channel increases prior to the cylinder head water jacket.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.