INTAKE SYSTEM FOR MULTIPLE-CYLINDER ENGINE

Abstract: An intake system for a multiple-cylinder engine (E) has a main intake passage open to the atmosphere at its upstream end, a plurality of discrete intake passages (12a-f) which communicate the respective cylinders (2a-f) with the main intake passage by way of intake ports, and a circular (11L, 14, 11R, 15) passage which is communicated with the cylinders. The circular passage is adapted to propagate pressure waves generated by the intake strokes without reflecting the pressure waves, and is provided with a valve (14b, 15b) which opens the circular passage to permit propagation of the pressure waves in a predetermined high engine speed range. The length of the circular passage is selected so that the pressure waves resonate in the predetermined high engine speed range.

Description: This invention relates to an intake system for a multiple-cylinder engine, the intake system being of the type referred to in the first part of claim 1 or of claim 10. There have been put into practice two types of multiple-cylinder engines which are arranged to be supercharged by a kinetic effect of intake air, one being a type supercharged by an inertia effect of intake air and the other being a type supercharged by a resonance effect of intake air. From the viewpoint of compactly arranging the engine, the latter type is advantageous over the former type in that the former type must be provided with a surge tank which is inherently large in size while in the latter type the surge tank is not necessarily needed. The engine of the latter type will be referred to as a "resonance-supercharged engine" hereinbelow. In the resonance-supercharged engine, the engine speed range in which the resonance effect of intake air becomes maximum depends upon the length of the resonance tube which is formed by a part of the intake passage. That is, if the length of the resonance tubes is long so as to obtain a maximum resonance effect i n the low engine speed range, a sufficient resonance effect in the high engine speed range cannot be obtained and vice-versa. JP-A 61-138.824, which forms the basis of the first part of claim 1, discloses an intake system wherein at the downstream end junction of the branch passages forming the ring passage a butterfly valve is provided which is closed at high engine speed and is opened at low engine speed. WO-A 81/01742, which forms the basis of the first part of claim 10, discloses an intake system for an in-line engine wherein two resonance volumes are provided. The cylinders are connected by discrete intake passages with the first resonance volume which communicates with the second resonance volume by means of a resonance tube. The second resonance volume is bypassed by an extension so that this resonance volume and the extension form a ring passage which is common to the first resonance volume and all of the discrete intake passages. In the vicinity of the junction of the extension with the upstream portion of the resonance volume and downstream of this junction an on-off-valve is provided. Further, the two resonance volumes, in addition to said resonance tube, are connected by a tube of large cross sectional area wherein a further on-off-valve is provided. The two on-off-valves provide fairly large flow cross sections and are both closed in the low engine speed range and opened in the high engine speed range. Thereby the resonance tube which is formed by the extension in the ring passage and the resonance tube communicating the first and the second resonance volume can be bypassed so that intake flow takes place mainly through this bypass and pressure losses in the resonance tubes can by avoided. In view of the foregoing observations and description the object of the present invention is to provide an intake system of the type stated in the first parts of claims 1 and 10, respectively, which can widen the engine speed range wherein an optimum resonance effect is obtained without substantially increasing the overall size of the engine. This is obtained by two basic structures of an intake system according to the invention stated in claims 1 and 10, respectively. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a schematic view showing a V-6 engine provided within an intake system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the engine shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a plan view of the engine, Figure 4 is a view showing the relation of opening and closure of the on-off valves employed in the embodiment with the engine torque and the engine speed, Figure 5 is a schematic view for illustrating the principle of the present invention, Figure 6 is a view for illustrating a pressure vibration near the intake ports, Figure 7 is a graph for illustrating the effect of the present invention, and Figures 8 to l3 are schematic views respectively showing engines provided with intake systems in accordance with other embodiments of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In Figures l to 3, an engine body E of a V-6 engine having an intake system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention comprises left and right cylinder banks lL and lR set at an angle to each other. No. l, No. 3 and No. 5 cylinders 2a, 2c and 2e are formed in the left cylinder bank lL, and No. 2, No. 4 and No. 6 cylinders 2b, 2d and 2f are formed in the right cylinder bank lR. The firing order is 5-6-3-4-l-2. That is, the cylinders 2a to 2f are divided into two groups and the cylinders in each group are disposed in one and the same cylinder bank so that the cylinders in each cylinder bank do not fire one after another. The cylinders 2a to 2f are respectively provided with intake ports 3a to 3f which open toward a V-shaped space V between the cylinder banks lL and lR. Further, the cylinders 2a to 2f are respectively provided with exhaust ports 5a to 5f which open in the sides of the corresponding cylinder banks remote from the V-shaped space V. The cylinders 2a, 2c and 2e in the left cylinder bank lL are arranged in a row parallel to the crankshaft 4 as are the cylinders 2b, 2d and 2f in the right cylinder bank lR. The row of the cylinders 2a, 2c and 2e in the left cylinder bank lL is offset forward (leftward in Figure l) relative to the row of the cylinders 2b, 2d and 2f in the right cylinder bank lR. Intake air is introduced into the cylinders 2a to 2f through an intake passage 9 comprising a common intake pipe l0, and left and right branch intake pipes llL and llR branching off from the downstream end of the common intake pipe l0. The branch intake pipes llL and llR project into the space V between the cylinder banks from one end of the cylinder banks and extend in parallel to the crankshaft 4 at the downstream end portions within the space V. The intake ports 3a, 3c and 3e for the cylinders 2a, 2c and 2e in the left cylinder bank lL are separately communicated with the left branch intake pipe llL by way of discrete intake pipes l2a, l2c and l2e which are relatively small in length. Similarly the intake ports 3b, 3d and 3f for the cylinders 2b, 2d and 2f in the right cylinder bank lR are separately communicated with the right branch intake pipe llR by way of discrete intake pipes l2b, l2d and l2f which are relatively small in length. In this particular embodiment, the part of the branch intake passages llL and llR within the space V and near thereto and the discrete intake pipes l2a to l2f are integrally formed by casting, and fixed to the engine body E by bolting the discrete intake pipes l2a to l2f on the corresponding cylinder banks lL and lR. The portion of the intake passage 9 at which the left and right branch intake pipes llL and llR branch off from the common intake pipe l0 forms a first pressure reflecting portion l3 having a relatively large volume. A second pressure reflecting portion l4 is formed at a portion downstream of the first pressure reflecting portion l3 and upstream of the V-shaped space V between the cylinder banks lL and lR. The second pressure reflecting portion l4 comprises a communicating passage portion l4a communicating the branch intake pipes llL and llR with each other and an on-off valve l4b for opening and closing the communicating passage portion l4a. The branch intake pipes llL and llR are respectively provided with extensions llL-a and llR-a projecting forward from the V-shaped space V. The extensions llL-a and llR-a are communicated with each other by way of a communicating passage portion l5a and form a third pressure reflecting portion l5. The communicating passage portion l5a is opened and closed by an on-off valve l5b. The lengths of the extensions llL-a and llR-a are selected so that the second and third pressure reflecting portions l4 and l5 are symmetrical with respect to the center of the engine E. Throttle valves l6L and l6R, which are interlocked with each other to be opened and closed by angles equal to each other, are respectively provided in the branch intake pipes llL and llR. In Figure l, reference numerals l7 and l8 respectively denote an air cleaner and an airflow meter. A fuel injection valve 5lL is provided in each of the discrete intake pipes l2a, l2c and l2e at the downstream end thereof, and a fuel injection valve 5lR is provided in each of the discrete intake pipes l2b, l2d and l2f at the downstream end thereof. The upper ends of the fuel injection valves 5lL and 5lR are positioned higher than the branch intake pipes llL and llR and are respectively connected to delivery pipes 52L and 52R. The delivery pipes 52L and 52R extend substantially in parallel to the crankshaft 4 and are connected to a fuel supply passage 53 in parallel at one ends. The other ends of the delivery pipes 52L and 52R are connected, in parallel, to a fuel return passage 54. A damper 55 is connected to the fuel supply passage 53. Fuel in a fuel reservoir (not shown) is pumped into the delivery pipes 52L and 52R through the fuel supply passage 53 and distributed to the fuel injection valves 5lL and 5lR. A pressure regulator 56 is connected to the fuel return passage 54 and excessive fuel is returned to the fuel reservoir through the fuel return passage 54. An engine speed signal is input into a control unit U from an engine speed sensor 2l and the control unit U outputs a control signal according to the engine speed to an actuator l9 for driving the on-off valve l4b in the second pressure reflecting portion l4 or an actuator 20 for driving the on-off valve l5b in the third pressure reflecting portion l5. The control unit U selectively opens and closes the on-off valves l4b and l5b according to the engine speed in the manner shown in Figure 4(b). That is, when the engine speed is lower than a first value NA, the on-off valves l4b and l5b are both closed, and when the engine speed is higher than a second value NB which is larger than the first value NA, the on-off valves l4b and l5b are both opened. When the engine speed is not lower than the first value NA and not higher than the second value NB, the on-off valve l4b in the second pressure reflecting portion l4 is opened while the on-off valve l5b in the third pressure reflecting portion l5 is closed. In the low engine speed range lower than the first value NA where both the on-off valves l4b and l5b are closed, the left and right branch intake pipes llL and llR are communicated with each other by way of the first pressure reflecting portion l3, whereby an extremely long resonance air column is formed which highly contributes to supercharging effect in the low engine speed range. Curve Tl in Figure 4(a) is the torque curve in this case, and the resonance reaches a peak at an engine speed indicated at Nl in Figure 4(a). In the intermediate engine speed range between the first and second values NA and NB where the on-off valve l5b in the third pressure reflecting portion l4 is closed and the on-off valve l4b in the second pressure reflecting portion l4 is opened, the left and right branch intake pipes llL and llR are effectively communicated with each other by way of the second pressure reflecting portion l4, whereby a relatively long resonance air column is formed. Curve T2 in Figure 4(a) is the torque curve in this case, and the resonance reaches a peak at an engine speed indicated at N2 in Figure 4(a). In the high engine speed range higher than the second value NB where the on-off valves l4b and l5b are both opened and the left and right branch intake pipes llL and llR are effectively communicated by way of both the second and third pressure reflecting portions l4 and l5, the resonance reaches a peak at an engine speed indicated at N3 which is higher than the engine speed N2 at which the resonance reaches a peak in the intermediate engine speed range. Curve T3 in Figure 4(a) is the torque curve in this case. Figure 5 is a schematic view showing an intake system equivalent to the intake system of this embodiment in the state where both the on-off valves l4b and l5b are opened and the left and right branch intake pipes llL and llR are effectively communicated by way of the second and third pressure reflecting portions l4 and l5, thereby forming a circular passage CP (Figure 5). Near the intake ports for the cylinders which do not continuously fire one after another, for example, near the intake ports 3a, 3c and 3e for the cylinders 2a, 2c and 2e in the left cylinder bank lL, there are generated basic pressure vibrations (represented by line A in Figure 6) in which negative pressures are produced in the course of the intake strokes of the respective cylinders 2a, 2c and 2e and positive pressures are produced at the end of the intake strokes. For example, the pressure wave generated near the intake port 3e for No. 5 cylinder 2e is propagated along the circular passage CP in opposite directions and to act on the intake ports for the other cylinders in the cylinder bank, i.e., the intake ports 3a and 3c for No. l and No. 3 cylinders 2a and 2c in the left cylinder bank lL as shown by the arrows in Figure 5. In this case, the pressure wave is propagated along the circular passage CP without being reflected since the circular passage CP has no enlarged volume chamber. When the time required for the pressure wave to circuit the circular passage CP is equalized to the period τ of the basic pressure vibrations described above, that is, when the relation between the overall length L of the circular passage CP (an equivalent length calculated taking into account the influence of the volume of the discrete intake pipes and the like) and the period τ becomes τ =L/a (l) (wherein a represent the speed of sound) a pressure wave generated in No. 5 cylinder 2e and propagated along the circular passage CP is superposed on a pressure wave generated in No. 3 cylinder 2c, and the pressure wave propagated from No. 3 cylinder 2c is superposed on a pressure wave generated in No. l cylinder 2a in a similar manner, and the pressure wave propagated from No. l cylinder 2a is superposed on the next pressure wave generated in No. 5 cylinder 2e in a similar manner as shown by the solid line arrow in Figure 6. Thus, the pressure waves generated in the cylinders 2a, 2c and 2e in the left cylinder bank lL resonate with each other, whereby the pressure vibration is enhanced as shown by line B in Figure 6. Similarly, the pressure waves generated in the cylinders 2b, 2d and 2f in the right cylinder bank lR resonate with each other, whereby the pressure vibration is enhanced as shown by line C in Figure 6. By virtue of the resonance effect, the volumetric efficiencies in the respective cylinders can be highly improved in the high speed range. It is preferred that the distance Ll between the discrete intake pipe l2e for No. 5 cylinder 2e (the upstream-most cylinder in the left cylinder bank lL) and the discrete intake pipe l2f for No. 6 cylinder 2f (the upstream-most cylinder in the right cylinder bank lR) as measured along the upstream side portion of the circular passage CP, and the distance L2 between the discrete intake passage l2a for No. l cylinder 2a (the downstream-most cylinder in the left cylinder bank lL) and the discrete intake pipe l2b for No. 2 cylinder 2b (the downstream-most cylinder in the right cylinder bank lR) as measured along the upstream side portion of the circular passage CP be sufficiently larger than the distance L3 between two adjacent discrete intake pipes in each cylinder bank, and more preferably the distances Ll and L2 are substantially equal to each other. That is, if the distances Ll and L2 are as short as the distance L3, the intake ports in which the intake stroke occurs one after another are mutually communicated with a short distance intervening therebetween and the condition becomes equivalent to the condition that the cylinders are not divided into two groups, whereby the pressure wave generated in each cylinder will interfere with the pressure waves generated in the cylinders the intake strokes of which occur immediately before and after the intake stroke of the cylinder to weaken the mutual pressure waves. When the distances Ll and L2 are sufficiently large, independence of the mutual cylinder groups can be maintained and the interference of the pressure waves can be prevented. Further when the distances Ll and L2 are substantially equal to each other, the time required for the pressure waves propagated from the intake ports in one cylinder bank, i.e., for the cylinders in one cylinder group to reach the intake ports in the other cylinder bank is equal to about a half of the time required for the pressure waves to circuit the circular passage CP, and accordingly, when the pressure waves from the cylinders in each cylinder group are in the state of resonance, the pressure waves propagated from one cylinder bank to the other cylinder bank through the upstream portion of the circular passage CP and the pressure waves propagated from said the other cylinder bank to said one cylinder bank through downstream portion of the circular passage CP act on each other to mutually enhance the pressure vibrations as shown by the dashed line arrow in Figure 6, thereby further enhancing the resonance supercharging effect. Though the basic state of resonance in which one pressure wave of the pressure vibration generated in each cylinder group is superposed on the next pressure wave is shown in Figure 6, a state of resonance can be obtained also when the pressure waves are propagated to be superposed on every second or third pressure wave, and accordingly, a state of resonance can be obtained at engine speeds an integral number of times as high as the engine speed at which said basic state of resonance is obtained. However, in the case that the distances Ll and L2 are substantially equal to each other, the pressure waves from the respective cylinder groups cancel each other at engine speeds an even number of times as high as the engine speed at which the basic state of resonance is obtained, and a state of resonance can be obtained only at engine speeds an odd number of times as high as the same. As regards improving the volumetric efficiency at the high engine speed range, the intake system of this embodiment in which the circular passage CP is formed at the high engine speed range is advantageous over an intake system having a pressure reflecting portion upstream of the cylinders without a circular passage. That is, if the branch intake pipes llL and llR are connected with each other only at a portion on the upstream side of the cylinders without being communicated on the downstream side of the cylinders and the junction thereof is arranged to function as a pressure reflecting portion, the volumetric efficiency is improved when a positive pressure wave obtained when a negative pressure wave generated in each cylinder is reflected by the pressure reflecting portion and comes to act on the cylinder to enhance the pressure at the end of the intake stroke, and the relation between the distance from the intake port to the pressure reflecting portion (equivalent length) L′ and the period τ of the pressure vibration at this time is as follows. τ/2 = 2L′/a (2) The period τ of the pressure vibration described above becomes shorter with increase in the engine speed. Accordingly, in order to enhance the supercharging effect in the high engine speed range, the distance L′ between the intake port and the pressure reflecting portion must be short. However, the distance between the intake port and the pressure reflecting portion differs from cylinder to cylinder by the distance between adjacent intake ports, and as the distance between the cylinder and the pressure reflecting portion becomes small, the difference becomes relatively large, and inbalance of the pressure waves acting on the cylinders is increased, thereby making it difficult to improve the overall volumetric efficiency. Actually, our experiments revealed that when the distance between the intake port for the middle cylinder and the pressure reflecting portion is set to about 240mm, the average effective pressure which represents the overall volumetric efficiency reaches a peak at about 4000rpm as shown by line D in Figure 7, but even if the distance concerned is further shortened, the average effective pressure cannot reach a peak at an engine speed higher than 4000rpm. On the other hand, in the case of the intake system of this embodiment, a resonance effect can be obtained when the formula (l) is satisfied. As can be understood from a comparison of the formulae (l) and (2), the overall length L of the circular passage CP which satisfies the formula (l) is four times as long as the length L′ which satisfies the formula (2) for a given period τ of the pressure vibration. Accordingly, in the case of the intake system of this embodiment, the relative difference in the length of the pressure propagating path between the cylinders can be kept small even if the intake system is designed to obtain a sufficient resonance effect in the high engine speed range. For example, when the overall length L of the circular passage CP is 880mm, the average effective pressure changes with the engine speed as shown by line E in Figure 7 and reaches a peak at about 4500rpm, and when the overall length L of the circular passage CP is 730mm, the average effective pressure changes with the engine speed as shown by line F in Figure 7 and reaches a peak at about 5000rpm. It is possible to further increase the engine speed at which the average effective pressure reaches a peak. As can be understood from the description above, in accordance with this embodiment, a satisfactory resonance effect can be obtained over a wide engine speed range covering the low engine speed range to the high engine speed range. When, unlike in this embodiment, a surge tank is provided in the intake system, the pressure vibration which contributes to the supercharging effect is weakened by the attenuating effect of the surge tank. Further it is preferred that the length ℓ and the diameter d of each discrete intake pipe be selected to satisfy the following formula. wherein ϑ represents the crank-angle degree that the intake valve is open, N max represents the highest acceptable engine speed, a represents the speed of sound and V m represents the mean volume of the combustion chamber while the intake valve is open. That is, when the above formula is satisfied, inertia effect supercharging cannot occur in the discrete intake pipe. When inertia effect supercharging occurs in the discrete intake pipe, resonance effect supercharging is interfered with. More particularly, as is well known, the inertia effect is a phenomenon wherein a pressure propagates through a distance 2ℓ + α (α representing the distance between the piston and the intake valve at the time when the piston speed is at its maximum) during the time interval T from the time at which the piston speed is at its maximum to the end of the intake stroke while a negative pressure wave is converted into a positive pressure wave. The resonant wave which is generated at the end of the intake stroke takes a time T′ substantially equal to the time interval T to propagate through a distance 2ℓ. Accordingly, when inertia effect occurs, the phases of the pressure waves differ from each other by about T and thus interfere with each other. Accordingly, it is preferred than the sizes of the discrete intake pipes be selected to satisfy the above formula in order to prevent occurrence of the inertia effect. Though in the embodiment described above, the overall length L of the circular passage CP is not variable, the overall length L is changed according to the engine speed in the embodiment shown in Figure 8. That is, in the embodiment shown in Figure 8, the circular passage CP is provided with a communicating passage 30 which communicates the branch intake pipes llL and llR at a portion near the end of the downstream side portion of the passage CP. The communicating passage 30 is provided with a first on-off valve 3l and the branch intake passages llL and llR are respectively provided with second on-off valves 32 on the downstream side of the communicating passage 30. In this embodiment, in the highest engine speed range, the first on-off valve 3l is opened and the second on-off valves 32 are closed, and in the second highest engine speed range, the first on-off valve 3l is closed and the second on-off valves 32 are opened. Figure 9 shows still another embodiment of the present invention in which the present invention is applied to a three-cylinder in-line engine. In Figure 9, a three-cylinder, in-line engine has three cylinders 112a, 112b and 112c arranged in a single line. Intake ports 113a, 113b and 113c for the cylinders 112a to 112c are connected by way of short discrete intake pipes 119a to 119c to an intake passage 115 which opens to the atmosphere. The downstream end portion of the intake passage 115 is extended to turn back and connect to an upstream portion of the intake passage 115, thereby forming a circular passage CP for resonance. The circular passage CP is provided with on-off valves 117 respectively in the upstream and downstream end portions which are controlled by a control unit (not shown) to close the circular passage CP in the low engine speed range and open the same in the high engine speed range. In this embodiment, the discrete intake pipes 119a to 119c for the cylinders 112a to 112c are converged together into a single pipe and then the single pipe is connected to the intake passage 115. The cross-sectional area S1 of the part of the circular passage CP which does not serve to introduce intake air into the cylinders 112a to 112c is smaller than the cross-sectional area S2 through which intake air flows into the cylinders 112a to 112c. This serves to enhance the pressure wave propagated through the circular passage CP. Figure 10 shows another embodiment of the present invention in which the present invention is applied to a four-cylinder in-line engine. The important feature of this embodiment is that the circular passage CP is provided with a shortcut passage 120 and a switching valve 121. The switching valve 121 is operated to open the shortcut passage 120 and to close the circular passage CP at a portion immediately upstream of the shortcut passage 120, thereby forming a relatively short circular passage when the engine speed is in the highest range, and is operated to close the shortcut passage 120 to form a relatively long circular passage when the engine speed is in the second highest range. The circular passage CP is also provided with an on-off valve 117 which opens the circular passage CP when the engine speed becomes higher than a predetermined speed.

Claims: An intake system for a multiple-cylinder engine wherein the cylinders are arranged in two groups (1L, 1R) and firing occurs alternately in each cylinder group, the intake system comprising first and second branch passages (11L, 11R), a plurality of discrete intake passages (12a, 12c, 12e; 12b, 12d, 12f) for connecting the cylinders of the cylinder groups to a respective one of the first and second branch passages, a common intake passage (10) open to the atmosphere, whereby the branch passages at their upstream ends are connected to the common intake passage and at their downstream ends are connected together to form a ring passage which is adapted to propagate pressure waves generated by the intake strokes, and valve means (15b, 32) arranged at or near the junction (15a) of the branch passages at the downstream ends thereof which are opened in the high engine speed range to open said ring passage, characterized in that the branch passages (11L, 11R) are connected together at a second junction (14a, 30) in their side portions downstream of their connection (13) to the common intake passage (10), and in that a second valve (14b, 31) is provided in the second junction which is opened in the high engine speed range, so as to selectively determine the length of the ring passage, whereby the first and second junctions (15a, 14a) and the connection (13) form pressure wave reflecting portions (15, 14, 13), respectively, and whereby the length of said ring passage is selected so that the pressure waves resonate in said high speed range. An intake system as defined in claim 1, characterized in that the second junction (14a) is provided in the upstream side portions of the branch passages, whereby the first junction (15a), the branch passages and the second junction form a ring passage. An intake system as defined in claim 1, characterized in that the second junction (30) is provided in the downstream side portions of the branch passages, whereby the connection of the branch passages to the common intake passage, the branch passages and the second junction form a ring passage. An intake system as defined in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said,valve means (15b) and said second valve (14b) are both closed in a low engine speed range and that the valve means (15b) is closed and the second valve (14b) is open in an intermediate engine speed range, whereby the length of the first and second branch passages is selected so that the pressure waves resonate in the low engine speed range and the distance between the cylinders and the second pressure reflecting portion (14) is selected so that the pressure waves resonate in the intermediate engine speed range when the second walve (14b) is opened and the valve means (15b) are closed. An intake system as defined in any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the cylinder groups (1L, 1R) are provided in the respective cylinder banks of a V-type engine. An intake system as defined in claim 5, characterized in that the branch passages extend in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder banks and that the intake ports of the cylinders open toward the space between the cylinder banks. An intake system according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the length and the diameter of each of the discrete intake passages are selected so that an inertia effect cannot occur therein. An intake system as defined in any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the distance (L1) between the upstream-most discrete intake passages of the respective branch passages, as measured along the upstream side portions of the branch passages, and the distance (L2) between the downstream-most discrete intake passages (12a, 12b) of the respective branch passages, as measured along the downstream side portions of the branch passages, are longer than the distance (L3) between two adjacent cylinders in either cylinder group. An intake system as defined in claim 8, characterized in that the distance (L1) between the upstream-most discrete intake passages of the respective branch passages, as measured along the upstream side portions of the branch passages, and the distance (L2) between the downstream-most discrete intake passages of the respective branch passages, as measured along the downstream side portions of the branch passages, are substantially equal. An intake system for an in-line multiple-cylinder engine, wherein the cylinders are connected to a common intake passage (115) by a respective discrete intake passage (119a to 119c) and wherein the common intake passage comprises an extension (CP) connecting a downstream portion of the common intake passage with an upstream portion thereof at a junction so as to form a ring passage, and a first valve (117, 121) provided in the extension in the vicinity of the junction, characterized in that there is a second valve (117) provided at the other end of the extension (CP) in the vicinity of the downstream end of the common intake passage, which is opened in a high engine speed range. An intake system as defined in claim 10, characterized in that the first valve is an on-off-valve. An intake system as defined in claim 10, characterized in that a shortcut passage (120) is provided in the ring passage (CP) shortcutting the common intake passage and the extension thereof downstream of said junction and that a switching valve (121) is provided at the junction of the shortcut passage and the extension so as to selectively open the shortcut passage and close the ring passage at a portion immediately upstream of the shortcut passage. An intake system as defined in claim 10, characterized in that said discrete intake passages merge together and communicate with the common intake passage by way of a single connecting passage and in that said junction is upstream of the junction of the connecting passage to the common intake passage. An intake system as defined in claim 13, characterized in that the cross sectional area of the extension passage is smaller than the cross sectional area of the common intake passage.

Inventors: HITOMI, MITSUO, OKAZAKI, KATSUMI, SASAKI, JUNSO, YUZURIHA, YASUHIRO
Applicants: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
Application year: 1987
Main classification: F02B27
IPC codes: F02B75, F02B27