Method of making one-piece piston

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The invention relates to a method of producing a one-piece piston having a cooling duct.

[0004] 2. The Prior Art

[0005] Such a piston, which is manufactured from steel by casting, is known from practical operation. To obtain a closed cooling duct, releasable casting cores have to be used, which complicate the production process and make it expensive.

[0006] A one-piece cooling duct piston is also known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,947. However, this reference does not teach anything regarding the method of producing such a piston.

[0007] The present invention deals with the problem of producing a one-piece piston having a closed cooling duct in a constructionally simple way.

[0008] This problem is solved with a method for producing a one-piece piston having a closed cooling duct annularly extending in the piston crown at the level of the piston ring band, and an annular recess between the piston ring band and the box-shaped piston skirt. The piston skirt is connected with the piston bosses suspended on the piston crown and to a radially inner region below the crown. The method comprises forging a piston blank, machining an annular recess between the piston ring band and the box-shaped piston skirt, with the depth of the recess being machined so that the upper end of the skirt remains connected to the radially inner region below the crown, machining a downwardly-open cooling duct, producing boss bores and finishing the outer contour of the piston, and closing the downwardly-open cooling duct with a cover ring.

[0009] In regard to the state of the art, the design of a jointed piston (articulated piston) needs to be mentioned as well, where the crown of the piston is connected with the piston pin separately from the piston skirt only via the pin (see, for example, DE-OS 36 43 039). With such a jointed piston, there is a cooling duct in the crown of the piston that is open at the bottom, such duct being closed with a divided sheet metal ring. The manufacture of such a cooling duct is possible only by dividing the piston in two parts, which, however, leads to increased expenditure in the manufacture of the jointed piston because the piston skirt has to be additionally machined separately. In addition, as compared to the one-piece piston according to the invention, such a jointed piston requires a longer piston pin, which increases the weight.

[0010] A method of producing a one-part cooling duct piston is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,533, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. The present invention improves on this patent by machining the annular recess so that the upper end of the piston skirt remains connected to the radially inner region below the crown. The connection can extend all around, or could be strut-like and only be in selected locations.

[0011] The present invention is an improvement over the previous one-piece piston because it is a stronger design and has correspondingly higher safety margins in highly stressed areas. In addition, the piston secondary motion is reduced because of the stiffer design, which results in less ring motion, which reduces wear and lessens oil requirements, and has a reduced risk of cavitation. Furthermore, the improved design makes the distribution of side load more even, contributing to less cylinder liner wear. Finally, the piston of the present invention is easier to machine. It allows for a turning operation with fewer interruptions, and requires no deburring action. In certain cases, the stiffness of the skirt is sufficient to guide the piston only in the skirt section. Guidance in the ring band area could be eliminated, if desired.

[0012] Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed as an illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention.

[0013] In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views:

[0014] FIG. 1 shows a lateral, partly sectional view of a piston blank according to the invention:

[0015] FIG. 2 shows a bottom view of the piston blank;

[0016] FIG. 3 shows a lateral, partly sectional view of the finished piston; and

[0017] FIG. 4 shows a bottom, partly sectional view of the finished piston.

[0018] FIGS. 1 and 2 show a one-part piston blank 1 produced according to a known drop-forging process. The contour of the finished piston is indicated by dash-dotted lines. Piston blank 1 comprises a piston crown 2 with piston ring band 3 produced later, a piston skirt 4, and piston bosses 5 suspended on piston crown 2. The piston blank can be produced from a forgeable steel or Al-alloy.

[0019] FIGS. 3 and 4 show the finished piston 6 produced by the method according to the invention. In a first process step, piston blank 1 is provided with an annular recess 7 by machining (turning), whereby its axial height is slightly greater than the height of the later cooling duct 8. However, piston crown 2 is not fully separated from piston skirt 4 and is still connected all around. This connection 13 can be either circumferential or strut-like, having breaks in the connection at certain points, although a circumferential connection is preferred.

[0020] For producing the downwardly open cooling duct 8, a hook-like turning tool 15 is inserted in recess 7 and cooling duct 8 is turned into the desired shape by setting the tool 15 axially and radially as required. Subsequently, boss bores 9 are produced in the known way and the outer contour of piston 6 is finished by machining.

[0021] For closing the downwardly open cooling duct 8, a cover ring 10 divided in two parts (e.g. a divided disk spring) is inserted with initial stress on piston crown 2 in matching supports. Cover ring 10 is provided with an inlet aperture 11 and an outlet aperture 12 for the cooling oil.

[0022] A one-part piston with a closed cooling duct is produced by this method at favorable cost, and has, for example greater strength as compared to pistons manufactured by a casting process, because the piston material can be selected freely, i.e., forged steel or forgeable Al-alloy, so that the piston is better suited for highly stressed Diesel engines.

[0023] Furthermore, machining the recess so that an upper end of the piston skirt remains connected to a radially inner region below the crown creates a stronger design and has correspondingly higher safety margins in highly stressed areas. Piston secondary motion is reduced because of the stiffer design, which results in less ring motion, which reduces wear and lessens oil requirements, and has a reduced risk of cavitation. In certain cases the stiffness of the skirt is sufficient to guide the piston only in the skirt section. Guidance in the ring band area could be eliminated, if desired.

[0024] The improved design makes the distribution of side load more even, contributing to less cylinder liner wear. Finally, the piston of the present invention is easier to machine. It allows for a turning operation with fewer interruptions, and requires no deburring action.

[0025] Accordingly, while only a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it is obvious that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.