US1384133A - Internal-combustion engine - Google Patents

Description

G. D. HOWE- INTERNAL comausnom ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 27, I920.

Patented July 12, 1921;

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

G. D. HOWE.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 27. I920. 1,3845133, Patented July 12, 1192110 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- UNHTJED STATES PATENT caries.

GEORGE D. HOWE, 0F DAVISON, IKEECHIGAN.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION Enema.

Application filed. January 27, 1920. Serial No. 354,496.

T 0 an whom it may concern:

Be it known that l GEORGE D. Hows, a citizen of the United states of America, residin at Davison, in the county of Genesee and tate of Michigan, have invented certain new and. useful Improvements in InternaLCombustion Engines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to-the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to multi-cylinder internal combustion engines and has special reference to that type of engine having pis tons therein articulated with a crank shaft for'driving said shaft when explosive mixtures are detonated in the cylinders of the engine above the pistons. Such an engine ordinarily has intake and exhaust valves controlling the admission of gas or an explosive mixture to the cylinders and the exhaust of burned gases therefrom, said intake and exhaust valves being operated in timed relation from a cam shaft suitably driven by the crank shaft of the engine. The intake and exhaust thereof necessitates the use of conduits or manifolds for conducting the gases to and from the engine, one of the conduits being known as the exhaust manifold and the other as an intake manifold, which is generally connected to a carbureter or source of fuel for the intake.

My invention, in its broadest aspects, involves the circulation of an explosive mixture through the cylinders of the engine so that the explosive mixture may be heated, prior to being detonated, and placed in a better condition for combustion. To do this certain changes or additions are necessary to the engine, and each change or addition may be characterized in the following particulars.

First, the engine cylinders and the connecting rods may be re-proportioned. If the diameters of the cylinders are increased the connecting rods are maintained the usual length and stroke, but if the cylinders are increased in their longitudinal dimensions so that the engine cylinders will be of greater length than ordinary cylinders, then the connecting rods are proportionately in.- creased so that a greater piston stroke is attained which reduces to a minimum piston slap, vibration, and insures quieter and smoother running of the engine. Another advanta e gained isthat of providing a comparative y longer compression stroke for the piston, the first portion of the long com ression stroke permitting of a portion 0 the operated from the cam shaft, the

explosive mixture within the c linder being transferred, as will hereinafter appear, and the remaining portion of the stroke actually compressing, and permitting of a greater amount of energy or work being derived from detonated and expanding gases in the cylinder by the long return or work stroke of the piston. It is a Well known fact that the exhaust from the average explosive engine indicates that the released burned gases are not at atmospheric pressure and in many in stances are at high pressure when released. By providing a greater work stroke for the piston it is possible to utilize some of the pressure heretofore exhausted, and consequently greater efliciency may be expected from an engine in accordance with this invention.

Second, I provide the engine with what may be termed excess discharge valves which are located in proximity to the intake and exhaust valves of the engineand discharge valves being timed so as to open while the intake and exhaust valves of the cylinder are closed and during approximatelyone-third of the compression stroke of the piston, bearing in mind that the cylinder has been madea greater diameter or a greater length than an ordinary cylinder and the piston stroke increased. It is now obvious that with the discharge valve open that a third of the volume of explosive gas r fuel within the cylinder may be displaced. But, while the excess quantity of gas has been passed through the cylinder it has been heated by the walls "thereof and it is this warm mixture which I conduct to the main supply of fuel so that it will commingle therewith and provide a better combustion. To do this, it is necessary to provide an auxiliary manifold communicating with the excess discharge valve so that the excess explosive mixture may be collected and conducted to the supply of fuel. The auxiliary manifold may be connected to the main manifold, adjacent the carbureter of the engine or connected to the air intake connection of the carbureter, just so that the warmed explosive mixture will commingle with the initial charge to a cylinder, raise its temperature and place itin a better condition. In some instances, the intake, exhaust and auxiliary manifolds may be cast en bloc.

Other advantages and benefits to be derived from my invention will more readily its appear as'the nature of the invention is better understood, and reference will now ,be

had to the drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a plan of a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine in accordance with my invention, showing a cylinder head removed; 4

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the engine, partly-broken away and partly in section, and

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line IIIHI of Fig.- 2.

First considering the usual construction of the engine, there is a crank case 1 containing a crank shaft 2 and on the crank case is mounted a cylinder block 3 having water jackets 4 and cylinders 5, the cylinders 5 containing pistons 6 operatively connected to cranks 6 of the crank shaft 2 by connecting rods 7.

On the cylinder block 3 is a head 8 providing chambers 9 for intake valves 10 and exhaust valves 11, said valves having rods 12 adapted to be raised through the medium of a cam shaft 13 operated from the crank shaft 2, the valves 10 and 11 being closed in the usualmanner. Below the valves 10 and 11 are intake chambers 14 and exhaust chambers 15, the former communicating with a main intake manifold 16 and the latter communicating with" an exhaust manifold 17, said manifolds being supported in the usual manner relative to the cylinder block.

At the side of the engine is a conventional form of carburetor 18 having an air intake connection 19 and an outlet connection opening into the main intake manifold 16 of the engine. All of the elements thus far described are common in many types of lnternal combustion engines, and my present improvement resides in the charge re jectin means. As set forthin the beginmug, may make the cylinders 5 and connecting rods 7 of a greater length than is the usual practice, or the cylinder of a greater diameter with the usual piston stroke ;all of which will be hereinafter considered and besides these changes, I make the following addition.

Between each set of intake and exhaust chambers 1 form a discharge chamber 20 which communicates with the chamber 9 so as to receive an explosive mixture from the cylinder 5, when the valves 10 and 11 are closed. The chamber 20 also communicates with an auxiliary manifold 21 suit ably connected to the cylinders 5 and hav- 'ing abranch 22 communicating with the main intake manifold 16, adjacent the carbureter 18. The manifold may be in the form of a nozzle 23 approximately in'the plane of fuel emitted by the carbureter and constructively arranged to emit its fuel upwardly into the main intake manifold 16,

so that the initial charge of'fuel may commingle with the secondary charge and the two charges enter the cylinders of the en- .gine as the intake valves'lO are opened.

downstroke and the intake valve 10 open,

an explosive charge is drawn from the main intake manifold 16 through the chambers 14 and 9 into the cylinder 5, and bearing in mind that this cylinder has been redesigned or enlarged, approximately a greater volume of fuel is drawn intothe cylinder than is the usual practice. Allof this fuel is to be heated by contact with the'walls of the cylinder and on the up or compression stroke of the piston 6 the intake valve 10 is closed, and the excess discharge valve 24 opened for the first portion of the up or compression stroke of the piston. It is preferably the first part of the upward or compression stroke of the piston 6 that the excess discharge valve 24 is open so that some of the heated explosive mixture will be returned to the chamber 9, pass through the chamber 20 into the auxiliary manifold 21, and through the branch 22 into the main intake manifold 16, where it commingles with the initial supply of fuel and may enter one of the other cylinders of the engine.

As the piston '6 completes the firstportion of its upward or co'mpression stroke the valve 24 is closed, so that approximately the usual volume of fuel will be retained in the cylinder 5 to be compressed therein and exploded. Assuming that the explosive mixture has been detonated, the piston 6 is forced downwardly on an impulse or work stroke and assuming that the cylinder is of greater length than usual, it is obvious that the exploded mixture has greater opportunity to expand and perform work before the exhaust valve 11 is opened for a final atmospheric exhaust; It is therefore possible to derive a greater, amount of energy fromthe burned and expended gases and permit such gases to exhaust at a pressure of the engine piston materially increases the efiiciency of the engine as a power plant.

This phase of my invention may be more clearly understood by reference to Fig. 3. In this figure of the drawings, the cylinder 5 has been increased in its diameter compared to the diameter of an ordinary cylinder, and in consequence of such increase there is necessarily a volumetric or gas capacity increase in the cylinder. It is therefore apparent that the large cylinder may receive a greater or excess charge of an explosive mixture, and, before such charge can be compressed to the same degree as the charge in the usual size of cylinder, that the piston in the large cylinder must travel a greater distance, due to the ratio of clearance space to the piston displacement. For

instance, in Fig. 3, 1 show by dot and dash lines the position the piston may assume when it actually starts to compress and meets with the same resistance as in an ordinary cylinder. It will be noted that the piston has made a greater stroke than an ordinary piston for the reason that it has not met with a compression resistance as high in' the large cylinder. In other words, at the beginning of the stroke of the large piston there is practically no resistance, other than that of moving a volume of gas, to be considered excess, and it is this eXceSs volume that is expelled from the large cylinder, while the valve 24 is open, to commingle with a fresh or initial charge and enter some other" cylinder of the engine or be reserved for future use. So, since there i is no actual compression to be accomplished by the large piston until it makes a greater stroke than an ordinary piston, it is obvious that the crank 6 moving the large piston assumes altogether a different position, at the beginning of actual compression, than the crank of an ordinary piston. This difference of angularity has been brought out in Fig. 3 and it is now evident that there is comparatively less torque and actual work to be performed by the crank shaft when the piston is com: pleting compression. This may be considered in another way. For instance, it may be said that during actual compression of an ordinary piston, the crank 6 travels in an during the lesser part of the crank ascension, or between two hundred and seventy and three hundred and sixty degrees of one revolution of the crank shaft.

It is obvious that when the length of the cylinder is increased and also the connecting rods serving the pistons in said cylinders, that there is a change in the angularity of the connecting rods relative to the crank shaft during the operation of the piston that is different from that of ordinary connecting rods, and by providing long strokes there is less side thrust on the bearings of the crank shaft, less racking of the engine and consequently greater eificiency.

It is thought that the operation and util ity of my invention will be apparent without further description and while in the drawing there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that the structural elements are susceptible to such changes, in size, shape and manner of assemblage, as fall within the sco e of the appended claim.

t at I claim is 7 lln an internal combustion engine, the combination with cylinders, an intake manifold therefor, and intake and exhaust valves controlling the admission of fuel to said cylinders from said intake manifold andthe exhaust of burned gases from said cylinders, of an auxiliary manifold establishing communication between said cylinders and said intake manifold, said engine cylinders being proportioned to receive a greater quantity of fuel than usual so that the excess quantity of fuel may be heated and expelled from the cylinders to the intake manifold, and means controlling the expellation of the excessive fuel from said cylinders.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE D. HOWE.

Witnesses O. F. BARTHEL, ANNA M. Dorm.

Elli

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