Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Description
Apparatus and Method of Packagin~
An ~ngine C~linder Assembly
Technical Fleld
This invention relates generally to an engine
cylinder assembly which includes a cylinder liner, a
piston, rings, and a connectinq rod and More
particularly to an apparatus and method of packaging
the cylinder assembly for subsequent installation as a
unit into a cylinder bore of an engine block.
~ackqround Art
Recently some engine manufacturers have
provided new or remanufactured exchange cylinder
assemblies as an overhaul kit for servicing an engine.
Once the cylinder liner, piston and connecting rod to
be replaced are removed from the engine, the cylinder
assembly is installed as a unit within the cylinder
bore. Such cyllnder assemblies obviate the time
consuming operation of individually assembling the
component parts on the engine.
As disclosed in U.S. Patent 4,g80,368 dated
November 6, 1984, one o~ the known devices for
retaining the component parts of the assembly in the
assembled position during installation includes
inserting a plastic cup-shaped member into the cylinder
liner. The cup-shaped member seals against the liner
and creates a vacuum for preventing the piston from
sliding out of the liner. However, that arrangement is
useful primarily for cylinder assemblies of smaller
engines wherein the cylinder assembly can be readily
lifted by the mechanic without the aid of a mechanical
hoist. One of the problems in applying this cylinder
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assembly concept to the larger engines is that the
assembly would be too heavy for the mechanic to
manually lift and install within the cylinder bore. As
an example, the combined weight of the cylinder liner,
piston, and connecting rod on some large engines can
easily exceed 400 to 500 pounds such that a hoist would
necessarily be required for liEting and subsequently
lowering the cylinder assembly into the cylinder bore.
Thus a separate device would be required for attachment
to the cylinder liner so that the assembly could be
raised and subsequently lowered into the cylinder bore
with a hoist. Further, the combined weight of the
piston and connecting rod assembly would be of a
magnitude that one could not reliably depend on
retaining the piston within the liner simply with a
vacuum.
Another known device for retaining the
cylinder assembly together uses a pivoted clamp to
engage beneath a radially extending flange of the
cylinder liner. The piston is then retained by a
plurality of set screws threaded through the clamp and
frictionally engage the outer surface of the piston.
One of the problems associated with that device, when
used on cylinder assemblies for large engines, is that
the piston could be damaged by the set screws when the
set screws are tightened sufficiently to support the
combined weight of the piston and connecting rod.
The present invention is directed to
overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth
above.
Disclosure of the Invention
In one aspect of the present invention, an
apparatus adapted to package a cylinder liner, a
piston, rings, and a connecting rod as an engine
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cylinder assembly for installation into a cylinder bore
of an engine block as a unit is provided. The
apparatus comprises a pair of liner engagement brackets
adapted to positively grippingly engage the cylinder
liner, means for releasably connecting the pair of
brackets together, a lifting e:Lement, and means for
releasably attaching the lifting element to the piston
so that a portion of each bracket is sandwiched between
the lifting element and the piston.
In another aspect of the present invention, a
method of packaging a cylinder liner, a piston, rings,
and a connecting rod as an engine cylinder assembly
comprises the steps of assembling the cylinder liner,
piston, rings and connecting rod into their operational
relationship one with the other to form the assembly,
positioning a pair of liner engagement brackets in
positive gripping engagement with the cylinder liner,
releasably connecting the pair of brackets together,
and releasably attaching a lifting element to the
piston so that a portion of each bracket is positioned
between the lifting element and the piston.
The present invention provides an apparatus
which can be used both for prepackaging a cylinder
liner, a piston, rings, and a connecting rod into a
cylinder assembly and for subsequently installing the
cylinder assembly into a cylinder bore as a unit
without damaging the piston or other components of the
cylinder assembly. The apparat~s positively grippingly
engages the cylinder liner and is securely attached to
the piston so that a hoist can be attached thereto for
lifting the cylinder assembly and for subsequent
lowering the cylinder assembly into the cylinder bore.
Moreover, once the cylinder assembly is positioned
within the bore sufficient for the cylinder liner to be
supported by the engine block, the apparatus can be
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released from the cy:Linder liner while remaining
attached to the piston so that the hoist can be used to
lower the piston and rod assembly to a position wherein
the connecting rod can be attached to the crankshaft.
Brief Description oE the Drawings
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an
embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is top plan view of the embodiment of
Fig. l; and
Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing
the relationship of the present invention and a
cylinder bore of an engine
Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
Referring now to the drawings, an apparatus 10
i5 shown for packaging a cylinder assembly 11 for
subsequent installation into a cylinder bore 12 of an
engine block partially shown at 13 in Fig. 3. The
engine cylinder assembly includes a cylindrical
cylinder liner 14 and a piston assembly 16 slidably
positioned within the cylinder liner 14D The cylinder
liner has a bore 17 extending therethrough and a
radially outwardly extending flange 18 at one end
thereof. A plurality of 0-ring seals 19 are seated in
appropriate annular grooves at the other end of the
cylinder liner. The piston assembly 16 includes a
piston 21, a plurality of rings 22 seated in
appropriate grooves in the piston, and a connecting rod
23 pivotally connected to the piston by a wrist pin
24. The piston 21 has a pair of threaded holes 26 in
the top surface thereof.
The apparatus 10 holds the cylinder liner 14
and piston assembly 16 together in the packaged engine
cylinder assembly and includes a pair of liner
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engagement brackets 27 and a lifting element 28. The
liner engagement brackets 27 are releasably connected
together by a pair of t.hreaded fastener means 29. The
lifting element 28 is releasably attached to the piston
21 by a pair of bolts 31.
Each of the liner engagement brackets 27 has
an outer arcuate edge 32, an i:nner edge 33, a lower
surface 34 and an upper surface 36. The lower surfaces
36 of the brackets 27 are in e:ngagement with the end of
the cylinder liner 14. A radi.ally inwardly extending
lip 37 at the outer edge 32 is spaced from the lower
surface 34 and is positioned beneath the flange 18 of
the cylinder liner 14 and in contact with the
cylindrical surface of the liner to provide positive
gripping engagement between the bracket 27 and the
cylinder liner 14. A pair of spaced apart lugs 38
extend upwardly from the upper surface 36 with each lug
having a hole 39 extending therethrough perpendicular
to the inner edge 33~ Each of the brackets 27 also has
a slot 41 opening at the inner edge, a threaded hole
43, a lug 44 extending upwardly from the upper surface
36 adjacent the outer edge, and a hole 46 extending
through the lug substantially parallel to the upper
surface 36.
The threaded fastener means 29 in this
embodiment includes a pair of bolts 47 individually
extending through the aligned holes 39 in the lugs 38
and a pair of nuts 48 threaded onto the bolts.
The lifting element 28 has a pair of holes 49
extending therethrough. The bolts 31 extend through
the holes 49 in the lifting element, the slots 41 in
the brackets 27 and thread into the threaded holes 26
in the piston 21. A lifting eye 51 is connected to the
lifting element 28.
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Industrial Applicability
The above-described apparatus 10 is used in
the method of packaging the cylinder liner 14, the
piston 21, rings 22 and connecting rod 23 as the engine
cylinder assembly 18. The method generally includes
assembling the componen-t parts of the assembly together
substantially as shown in Fig. 1. The liner engagement
brackets 27 are then positioned on the flange end of
the cylinder liner 14 and moved toward one another
until the inner edges 33 are im abutment with each
other and the lips 37 are beneath the flange 18 and in
engagement with the cylindrical surface of the liner
14. The bolts 47 are then inserted through the holes
39 and the nuts 48 threaded thereon to clamp the
brackets 27 togehter. The lifting element 28 is then
attached to the piston 21 with the bolts 31 wherein a
portion of the brackets 27 are sandwiched between the
lifting element and the piston and the piston is
securely clamped against the lower surfaces 36 of the
brackets 27.
To install the engine cylinder assembly 11 in
the cylinder bore 12, a hoist (not shown) is connected
to the lifting eye 51 to raise and otherwise manipulate
the engine cylinder assembly to a location above the
cylinder bore. The engine cylinder assembly is then
lowered into the bore as a unit. When the cylinder
liner 14 reaches the position shown in Fig. 3,
frictional contact between the O~ring seals 19 and the
wall of the bore is generally sufficient to support the
weight of the engine cylinder assembly. The bolts 31
are then loosened slightly, the bolts and nuts 47,48
removed, and the brackets 27 separated from their
engagement with each other and the cylinder liner. The
hoist can thlen be employed to lower the piston assembly
16 relative to the cylinder liner 14 to a position at
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which the connecting rod is attached to the crankshaft
of the engine. The bolts 31 are then removed to detach
the lifting element from the piston.
The method steps specifically include
5 assembling the cylinder liner 14, the piston 21, rings
22 and the connecting rod 23 into their operational
relationship one with the other to form the assembly,
positioning the pair of liner engagement brackets 27 in
positive gripping engagement with the cylinder liner
10 14, releasably connecting the pair of brackets 27
together, and releasably attaching the lifting element
28 to the piston so that a portion of each bracket is
positioned between the lifting element and the piston.
The positioning step includes the steps of moving the
15 brackets toward each other and positioning a radially
inwardly extending lip 37 beneath the radially
outwardly extending flange 18 of the cylinder liner
14. The connecting step includes the step of clamping
the abutting edges 37 of the brackets together with a
20 threaded fastener means 29. The attaching step
includes the step of inserting the bolts 31 through the
holes 49 in the lifting element 28 and threadably
engaging the threaded holes 26 in the piston. The
attaching step further includes tightening the bolts 31
25 sufficiently to clamp the portion of the brackets
between the lifting element and the piston.
The method of installing the packaged engine
cylinder assembly 11 into the cylinder bore 12 of the
engine block 13 includes the steps of inserting the
30 assembly into the cylinder bore 12, disconnecting the
pair of brackets from each other, separating the
brackets to release the positive gripping engagement
with the cylinder liner and to move the portion of the
brackets from between the lifting element and the
35 piston, lowering the lifting element and thus the
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piston relative to the cylinder liner to a position at
which the connecting rod 23 can be connected to the
crankshaft, and detaching the lifting element 28 from
the piston.
In some ~-type engines, the cylinder bore 12
is angled slightly relative to the vertical. Under
this condition, a suitable bar can be inserted into the
hole 4~ in the lug 44 to tilt the engine cylinder
assembly 11 to an angle substantially matching the
angle of the bore. The engine cylinder assembly 11 is
then lowered into the bore while the engine cylinder
assembly is maintained at the appropriate angle.
The apparatus 10 can also be used to remove
the cylinder liner 14 from the bore once the cylinder
liner is raised sufficiently to release the frictional
contact between the 0-ring seals and the bore. For
this operation, the brackets 27 are connected together
as previously described with the lip 37 engaging the
flange 18 of the cylinder liner~ However, the lifting
element 28 is connected to the brackets 27 by suitable
bolts extending through the holes 49 and threaded into
the threaded holes 43.
In view of the foregoing, it is readily
apparent that the structure of the present invention
provides an improved apparatus for packaging a cylinder
liner, a piston, rings and a connecting rod as an
engine cylinder assembly for installation into a
cylinder bore of an engine block as a unit. More
specifically, the lips of the brackets engage beneath
the flange of the cylinder liner to positively
grippingly engage the cylinder liner. ~ikewise, the
lifting element is positively attached to the piston by
bolts threacled into thLeaded holes of the piston
thereby clamping a portion of the bracket between the
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lift1ng element and the piston. The apparatus does not
rely on any frictional engagement between the apparatus
and the elements.
Other aspects, objects and advantages will
become apparent from a study oi the specification,
drawings and appended claims.
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