An assembly including a connecting rod, a bushing, and a locking pin capable of providing different compression ratios in an engine is provided. The bushing is disposed in a bore of the connecting rod. An outer surface of the bushing includes a pair of notches, and an inner surface of the connecting
An assembly including a connecting rod, a bushing, and a locking pin capable of providing different compression ratios in an engine is provided. The bushing is disposed in a bore of the connecting rod. An outer surface of the bushing includes a pair of notches, and an inner surface of the connecting rod includes a corresponding notch for receiving the locking pin. The notches are spaced from one another by greater than 180° and by no more than 190°. The locking pin is movable in the notch, allowing the bushing to rotate from a low compression position to a high compression position, or vice versa. The bushing has a varying thickness, and thus a center axis of an opening of the bushing is closer to the shaft of the connecting rod body when the bushing is in the low compression orientation than in the high compression orientation.
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1. A connecting rod assembly for use in an internal combustion engine, comprising: a connecting rod body including a shaft extending to a small end;said small end including an inner surface presenting a circular bore;a bushing disposed in said circular bore of said small end;said bushing including a
1. A connecting rod assembly for use in an internal combustion engine, comprising: a connecting rod body including a shaft extending to a small end;said small end including an inner surface presenting a circular bore;a bushing disposed in said circular bore of said small end;said bushing including an outer surface in sliding contact with said inner surface of said small end;said bushing presenting a circular opening surrounding a center axis for receiving a wrist pin;said center axis of said circular opening being closer to said shaft of said connecting rod body when said bushing is in a low compression orientation than when said bushing is in a high compression orientation; andsaid outer surface of said bushing including a first notch and said inner surface of said connecting rod body including a second notch aligned with said first notch of said bushing to form a pin hole for receiving a locking pin. 2. The connecting rod assembly of claim 1, wherein said bushing is made of two pieces joined together, a first one of said pieces has an axially extending portion and a radially extending flange, a second one of said pieces includes a radially extending flange having an annular shape, and said flanges extend radially outwardly on opposite sides of said connecting rod body to connect said bushing to said connecting rod body. 3. The connecting rod assembly of claim 1, wherein said bushing has a thickness varying around said circular opening. 4. The connecting rod assembly of claim 1, wherein said connecting rod assembly includes a locking mechanism including said locking pin to lock said bushing in said high and low compression orientations, said locking pin is slidable in an axial direction in said second notch from a first position for locking said bushing in said high compression orientation to a second position for locking said bushing in said low compression orientation. 5. The connecting rod assembly of claim 4, wherein said bushing is able to rotate freely between said high compression orientation and said low compression orientation when said locking pin is between said first and second positions. 6. The connecting rod assembly of claim 4, wherein said locking mechanism includes a spring which biases said locking pin into said first position for locking said bushing in said high compression orientation, and said connecting rod body includes a hydraulic channel leading into said second notch for conveying a pressurized hydraulic fluid to overcome a biasing force imparted by said spring to move said locking pin into said second position for locking said bushing in said low compression orientation. 7. The connecting rod assembly of claim 1, wherein said connecting rod body includes a pair of circumferentially spaced apart first shoulders, said bushing includes a pair of circumferentially spaced apart second shoulders, said first shoulders of said connecting rod body are spaced apart from one another to allow said bushing to rotate by greater than one hundred and eighty degrees (180°) and by no more than one hundred and ninety degrees (190°) relative to said connecting rod body, said second shoulders of said bushing are spaced apart from one another to allow said bushing to rotate by greater than one hundred and eighty degrees (180°) and by no more than one hundred and ninety degrees (190°) relative to said connecting rod body, said first shoulders are located on opposite sides of said shaft adjacent said small end of said connecting rod body, and one of said first shoulders of said connecting rod body is located on one side of said second notch. 8. The connecting rod assembly of claim 7, wherein one of said second shoulders of said bushing engages said first shoulder of said connecting rod body which is spaced from said second notch when said bushing is in said high compression ratio orientation, and the other one of said second shoulders of said bushing engages said first shoulder of said connecting rod body located on said side of said second notch when said bushing is in said low compression ratio orientation. 9. The connecting rod assembly of claim 1, wherein said connecting rod body extends along said shaft from a large end for connection to a crank shaft of the engine to said small end; said connecting rod body is made of metal;said metal of said connecting rod body includes at least one of steel, aluminum, and magnesium;said circular bore of said connecting rod body is circular and extends from one side to an opposite side of said connecting rod body;said bushing includes a bushing body presenting said circular opening;said bushing body is made of two pieces joined together;a first one of said pieces of said bushing body has an axially extending portion and a radially extending flange;a second one of said pieces of said bushing body includes a radially extending flange having an annular shape;said flanges extend radially outwardly on opposite sides of said connecting rod body to connect said bushing body to said connecting rod body;said center axis of said bushing body is offset from a center axis of said circular bore of said connecting rod body;said bushing body has a thickness varying around said circular opening;said bushing is rotatable within said circular bore of said connecting rod body to vary relative positioning of the wrist pin relative to the crank shaft;said connecting rod assembly further includes a locking mechanism including said locking pin to lock said bushing in said high and low compression orientations and to selectively allow inertia to drive said bushing between said orientations for changing the compression ratio of the engine;said locking pin is slidable in an axial direction in said second notch from a first position for locking said bushing in said high compression orientation to a second position for locking said bushing in said low compression orientation;said bushing is able to rotate freely between said high compression orientation and said low compression orientation when said locking pin is between said first and second positions;said locking mechanism includes a spring which biases said locking pin into said first position for locking said bushing in said high compression orientation;said connecting rod body includes a hydraulic channel leading into said second notch for conveying a pressurized hydraulic fluid to overcome a biasing force imparted by said spring to move said locking pin into said second position for locking said bushing in said low compression orientation so long as the hydraulic fluid remains pressurized;said connecting rod body includes a pair of circumferentially spaced apart first shoulders;said first one of said pieces of said bushing body includes a pair of circumferentially spaced apart second shoulders;said first shoulders are spaced apart from one another to allow said bushing to rotate by greater than one hundred and eighty degrees (180°) and by no more than one hundred and ninety degrees (190°) relative to said connecting rod body;said second shoulders of said bushing body are spaced apart from one another to allow said bushing to rotate by greater than one hundred and eighty degrees (180°) and by no more than one hundred and ninety degrees (190°) relative to said connecting rod body;said first shoulders are located on opposite sides of said shaft adjacent said small end of said connecting rod body;one of said first shoulders of said connecting rod body is located on one side of said second notch;one of said second shoulders of said bushing body engages said first shoulder of said connecting rod body which is spaced from said second notch when said bushing is in said high compression ratio orientation; andthe other one of said second shoulders of said bushing body engages said first shoulder of said connecting rod body located on said side of said second notch when said bushing is in said low compression ratio orientation. 10. The connecting rod assembly of claim 1, wherein said bushing includes a first cylindrically shaped piece presenting said circular opening and a second ring shaped piece secured to said cylindrically shaped piece; said second ring shaped piece includes an outwardly extending flange which presents opposite shoulders for contacting said connecting rod body when said bushing is in said high and low compression orientations; andsaid second ring-shaped piece includes said first notch. 11. The connecting rod assembly of claim 10, wherein said small end of said connecting rod body includes a slot extending from said inner surface to an outer surface; said ring shaped piece of said bushing is received in said slot;said flange of said ring shaped piece is disposed outwardly of said outer surface of said small end; andone of said shoulders of said flange contacts said connecting rod body adjacent said shaft when said bushing is in said high and low compression orientations. 12. The connecting rod assembly of claim 11, wherein one of said shoulders of said flange engages said connecting rod body on one side of said second notch when said bushing is in said high compression ratio orientation, and the other one of said shoulders of said flange engages said connecting rod body in a location spaced from said second notch when said bushing is in said low compression ratio orientation. 13. A method of manufacturing a connecting rod assembly for use in an internal combustion engine, comprising the steps of: providing a connecting rod body including a shaft extending to a small end, the small end including an inner surface presenting a circular bore; anddisposing a bushing in the circular bore of the small end of the connecting rod, the bushing including an outer surface in sliding contact with the inner surface of the small end, the bushing presenting a circular opening surrounding a center axis for receiving a wrist pin, the center axis of the circular opening being closer to the shaft of the connecting rod body when the bushing is in a low compression orientation than when the bushing is in a high compression orientation, the outer surface of the bushing including a first notch and the inner surface of the connecting rod body including a second notch aligned with said first notch of said bushing to form a pin hole for receiving a locking pin. 14. The method of claim 13 including providing the bushing by joining two pieces together, wherein a first one of the two pieces has an axially extending portion and a radially extending flange and second one of the two pieces includes a radially extending flange having an annular shape; and the step of disposing the bushing in the circular bore of the small end of the connecting rod includes positioning the bushing such that the flanges extend radially outwardly on opposite sides of the connecting rod body to connect the bushing to the connecting rod body. 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the bushing has a thickness varying around the circular opening. 16. The method of claim 13, wherein the connecting rod assembly includes a locking mechanism including the locking pin to lock the bushing in the high and low compression orientations, the locking pin is slidable in an axial direction in the second notch from a first position for locking the bushing in the high compression orientation to a second position for locking the bushing in the low compression orientation, and the bushing includes a first cylindrically shaped piece presenting the circular opening and a second ring shaped piece secured to the cylindrically shaped piece; said second ring shaped piece includes an outwardly extending flange which presents opposite shoulders for contacting said connecting rod body when said bushing is in said high and low compression orientations; andsaid second ring-shaped piece includes a third notch. 17. The method of claim 13, wherein the bushing includes a first cylindrically shaped piece presenting the circular opening and a second ring shaped piece secured to the cylindrically shaped piece, the second ring shaped piece includes an outwardly extending flange which presents opposite shoulders for contacting the connecting rod body when the bushing is in the high and low compression orientations, the second ring-shaped piece includes a third notch, and wherein the small end of the connecting rod body includes a slot extending from the inner surface to an outer surface; and wherein the step of disposing the bushing in the circular bore of the small end of the connecting rod includes disposing the ring shaped piece of the bushing in the slot such that the flange of the ring shaped piece is disposed outwardly of the outer surface of the small end, and one of the shoulders of the flange contacts the connecting rod body adjacent the shaft when the bushing is in the high and low compression orientations. 18. A method for adjusting a compression ratio of an engine, comprising the steps of: providing a connecting rod assembly including a connecting rod body, a bushing, and a locking pin;the connecting rod body including a shaft extending to a small end, the small end including an inner surface presenting a circular bore;the bushing being disposed in the circular bore of the small end of the connecting rod, the bushing including an outer surface in sliding contact with the inner surface of the small end, the bushing presenting a circular opening surrounding a center axis for receiving a wrist pin;the outer surface of the bushing including a first notch and the inner surface of the connecting rod body including a second notch aligned with said first notch of said bushing to form a pin hole for receiving the locking pin; andmoving the locking pin in the second notch of the connecting rod body, wherein the bushing rotates relative to the connecting body from a low compression position to a high compression position, or from a high compression position to a low compression position, and the center axis of the circular opening is closer to the shaft of the connecting rod body when the bushing is in the low compression orientation than when the bushing is in the high compression orientation. 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of moving the locking pin in the second notch of the connecting rod body includes conveying a pressurized hydraulic fluid though a hydraulic channel of the connecting rod body into the second notch to move the locking pin. 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the connecting rod body includes a pair of circumferentially spaced apart first shoulders, the bushing body includes a pair of circumferentially spaced apart second shoulders, the first shoulders are located on opposite sides of the shaft adjacent the small end of the connecting rod body, and one of said first shoulders of the connecting rod body is located on one side of the second notch; and the step of rotating the bushing including engaging one of the second shoulders of the bushing body with the first shoulder of the connecting rod body which is spaced from the second notch to position the bushing in the high compression ratio orientation or engaging the other one of the second shoulders of the bushing body with the first shoulder of the connecting rod body located on the side of the second notch to position the bushing in the low compression ratio orientation.
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이 특허에 인용된 특허 (10)
Naruoka Takao (Mishima JPX) Moriya Yoshihito (Takahama JPX), Compression ratio changing device using an eccentric bearing for an internal combustion engine.
Naruoka Takao (Mishima JPX) Moriya Yoshihito (Takahama JPX) Ichimiya Touru (Mishima JPX), Device for locking/unlocking rotation of an eccentric bearing used in a compression ratio changing mechanism of an inter.
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