US1396045A - Internal-combustion engine - Google Patents

Description

G. MELLEN.

INTERNAL COMBUSTIO'N. ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED sinn-,1918.

1 ,396,045.1 Patented NovE 8, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

G. MELLEN.

-INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED sEP111,191s.

1,396,045. y Patented Nov.l8, .19211.

4 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

@wom/woz y /zwwwm @brow mf G. MELLEN.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION min sEP1,11,1918.

1,396,045 Patented Nov. 8, 192L 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

G. MELLEN.

INTERNAL COMBUSHON ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT= Il. 1918K Patented Nov. 8, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 8, 1921.

Application led September 11, 1918. Serial No. 253,630.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GRENVILLE MELLEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cranford, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Internal-Combustion Engines, of which the following is a specication.

My invention relates to internal combustion engines and has for its object to provide means whereby there can be introduced into the engine cylinders, an additional or supercharge of gas, either air or a -combustible mixture, or both, under considerable superatmospheric pressure, in order that the power of the engine may be increased with little or no increase in weight.

In carrying out thisobject I prefer to use a multiple cylinder engine composed `of-a number of units, each unit consisting of two engines, whose cylinders open into a common crank-case, the pistons being connected to the same crank-shaft, or in the same. crank-plane, so that they move in unison, with alternate power strokes. The crankshaft is provided with filler-disks and the crank-case is so constructed that there is a minimum amount of free space therein, so that the charge, corresponding substantially to the cubic contents of both cylinders in addition to that which already fills said crank-case space, is compressed into a relatively small space. I further provide means whereby this compressed supercharge is delivered into the cylinder toward, at, and beyond the end of the normal intake stroke through a large number of `ports and through practically unrestricted short passages. This supercharge of additional delivery is effected only during the bottom of the normal intake stroke, the time being from approximately 4l degrees before bottom center to 4l degrees after bottom center, so that the entire quantity of compressed supercharge is available during this time. As a result an adequate quantity of supercharge from a greater source of supply ata more maintained pressure is delivered, in the time during which the supercharge ports are open, which is about half the length of time that the normal intake valves are open.

My invention particularly relates to the use of a sleeve valve arranged between an extension of the cylinder and a wall of the crank-case, this valve and the cylinder, or an extension thereof having ports adapted to engine, through which a controllable supply of air or combustible gas or both are ad-A mitted into the crank-case.

My invention further relates t0 means for mounting and rotating the sleeve valves in such relation that there is no leakage from one crank-case or crank-case compartment into the next through the sleeve valve gears, where there should be no leakage.

In the drawings Figure l is an elevation of one of the engines, partly in section;

FigyQ is a longitudinal vertical section through a pair of engines;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing the ported skirt of the cylinder;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the rotary sleeve valve;

Fig. 5 is an isometric view of the piston;

Fig. 6 is an isometric view of the upper portion of the crank-case; and

Fig. 7 is an isometric drawing showing a part of the lower portion of the crank-case;

lF ig. 8 is a diagrammatic'. plan of the rotary sleeves and driving mechanism for same in a multiple cylinder engine;

Fig. 9 1s a sectional detail view of the crank-case intake manifold;

Fig. 10 is a transverse sectional elevation of a pair of engines arranged as shown in Fig. l2;

Fig. 11 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the same arrangement; and

Fig. 12 is a diagrammatic plan view of Figs. 10 and 11, showing a modified arrangement of the engines.

As each of the engines is substantially identical in construction, a description of one will .suice for all. Each cylinder is provided with the usual inlet and exhaust valves 1 and 2, which are operated in the usual manner from a cam shaft 3, which'is in turn driven from the crank-shaft 4 by means of gears or a drive-chain (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1) which also drives thel pulley 5 of the magneto 6. Near the lower end of the cylinder proper are provided a number of ports 7, 8 9 in a skirt'or extension thereof, Rotatably mounted in a led e 11 (Fig. 6) of the crank-case is a rotary s eeve valve 12 (shown` in Fig. 4), having port openings 13, 14 and 15 arranged to register respectively with ports 7, 8 and 9 in the.

cylinder. This valve 12 is rotated by means of a gear 16, which may be driven by a worm 12 on the cam-shaft or from a worm driven gear on the rotary valve of the ad' the gears 16 of the sleeve valves may each.

drive the other, only one bein driven by a gear on the cam-shaft. lt is o vious that a separate worm gear shaft could be used.

The upper portion of the crank-case is provided with ports 17 (Fig. 6) which open 1nto manifolds 18, 19, secured to the faces 20 on the sides of the crank-case. Fach of the manifolds is provided with an inlet 21 and 22 having butteriy valves23 and 24 therein. rlhe inlet ports 17 are arranged to register with ports 15 and 9 in the rotary valve and cylinder skirt.

The piston 25 is preferably made in the form shown in Fig. 5, with sides cut away, as shown at 26, to provide a free passageway for compressed` gas from the crank-case, ample bearing surfaces 27 being left as indicated. The wrist pin of the connecting rod is located in the opening 58. As shown in Figs. 1, 2, 6 and 7, the crank-case isfmade t0 conform as closely as possible to the arc of rotation of the cranks and filler disks 28, 2.8 secured to the crank-shaft serve to diminn ish as far as possible the free-space within the crank-case. The connecting rods 29, 29, are connected to a crank or to cranks which are in the same angular position, as shown in Fig. 2 wherein the pair is one behind the other, and'in Fig. l() wherein the pair is side by side and the s ace or spaces in which the crank or each o the cranks of a pair revolve are common or connected by an opening such 'as 30 through the crank-shaft where the pair .is one cylinder behind the other as in Fig. 2,'or by the opening X as shownin Fig. 10 wherein the pair is formed by cylinders side by side, these spaces constituting therefore in effect a single crankcase chamber. There is thus provided a crank-case chamber having a limited free space, in open communication with the ends of the two cylinders, whereby the gas previously drawn into the chamber Von the upstroke of the two pistons, is on their downstroke compressed to a'greatextent.

Each of the normal inlets t0 the cylinders is connected by a pipe 31 which constitutes the normal intake manifold, to a carbureter.

The crank-shaft is lubricated by a forcefeed, and in order to prevent an undue amountof oil being thrown out centrifugally, oil guard plates 50, see Figs. 1v

and 2, are placed at the opening of the crankl case into Vthe cylinder spaces. A dam 32 is pistons is at the end of their downward strokes toward the crank-case,-viz., intake,

stroke for A and explosion stroke for B. Piston 25ihas uncovered port 7 and this port and port 8 are in open register with ports 13 and14 of the sleeve valve, so that there has been a flow of compressed gas from the crank-case into cylinder A, this flow passing up both sides of the piston through the wide passageways 26, through ports 14 and 8 into the annular chamber around the sleeve valve and thencel through ports 13 and 7 into the cylinder. lt 4will be noted that these passageways are roomy and direct, and that there are four large ports so that the flow of gas is practically unrestricted, a feature of great importance since the period of time during which these ports are open is relatively ',short, as previously described. Because of this construction the area of these supercharge ports exceeds the area of the normal intake port or ports, thus to an extent compensating for the shorter time factor. The cylinder is by this means completely filled with gas and at a superatmospheric pressure, that is, at pressure in excess of that of the atmosphere in which the pistons rise, compressing and B exhausting, a fresh supply of air or other gas is drawn into the common crank-case through the ports 15 in the sleeves registering o en. with the ports 17 in the'crank case, an in the skirt of the cylinder. As the pistons reach the' upper limit of their stroke, the exhaust valve in B is closed and the inlet valve opened, so that on the next inward stroke toward the crarfk case, caused by the ignition and explosion of the compressed charge in cylinder A, a normal charge of explosive mixture will be drawn into cylinder B, which will be supplemented during the lower limits of this stroke by a supercharge of compressed gas from the crank-case, since piston 27bvhas uncovered ports 7' in this cylinderB and the corresponding sleeve valve has been rotated to `open the passage-V way to the crank-case in the same manner as heretofore described for cylinder A. On the next upward stroke explosion gases will' be discharged from `cylinder A- and fuel gases will be compressed in cylinder B, the ignition of which will drive the pistons downward on the next or nal stroke of the cycle. It will be noted that only at the end of the normal intake stroke of each cylinder, do the sleeve valves make connection between the crank-.case and such cylinder, and that, as none of the gas compressed in the crank-case is otherwise used, the whole volume of this compressed gas is available for introduction into each of the cylinders in turn at a more greatly maintained pressure. As the volume of gas compressed is that corresponding to the displacement of the two cylinders, there is obtained when compressed into the common reservoir a supply of gas, ample in quantity and under such considerable superatmospheric pressure that the supercharge is delivered to each of the paired cylinders in succession at a highery maintained rate of flow than if the supercharge were drawn from a single crank-case compartment connected to a single cylinder only.

In the ordinary operation of an engine at high speed, there is introduced on the in'- take stroke, only about 85% of the gas which would otherwise fill such chamber to atmospheric pressure at a suicient time factor, which means that there is less than atmospheric pressure in the cylinder before the compression stroke begins. By my. in-

vention, the supercharge from the crank-case not only fills the cylinder to atmospheric pressure 0n the admission stroke but there is a considerable superatmospheric pressure before the compression stroke begins, with the result that the ,maximum compression pressure under which it is found practical to operate, may be obtained in combustion chambers larger, in proportion to the piston displacement, than is usual, thus increasing the mean effective pressure. The total power of the engine for the same piston displacement is thus materially increased', and.

the ratio of weight to power developed is decreased.

I have shown two manifolds, one on each side of the engine through which gas may be admitted to the crank-case. I may close the admission valve of one and connect a carbureter to the other of such manifolds so that the ,supercharge consists of a mixture of air and fuel. This arrangement has been found to increase the power of the engine, when at sea-level, from 30 to 40%.

owever, air alone may be admitted, and in either case, the high compression of the supercharge will assist in maintaining the power of the engine at higher levels, as when the engine is used on an aeroplane. The compressed supercharge of air .will in this latter instance be particularly useful at higher level, since it will furnish to the cylinder -gas of greater density and therefore containing more oxygen 'than the natural air at any given level, thereby not only insuring an additional amount of oxygen for combustion but greater density of the working charge. 90

As shown in Figs. 10, 11 and 12, I may arrange the separate engines of the dual unit so that the engines of one unit are side by side instead of one behind the other. By this arrangement a shorter engine is obtained which is of advantage in certain types of aeroplanes. In this case the crank-shafts 4, 4 of each row of four engines are provided With gears 80, 80, in mesh with a gear 81 on the transmission shaft 82. In this arrangement the eam-shafts 83 are arranged above each row of engines, these cam-shafts and the sleeve drive shaft 84 being driven in any suitable manner, as by gears or chains, from the crank-shaft and in properly timedrela- 105 tion thereto. The normal inlet valves 1, 1, are arranged on adjoining sides of adjacent cylinders, the fuel being supplied to the inlet passages from pip3e 31. In this arrangement, the cylinders and A4 are fired si- 110 multaneously, then cylinders B3 and A2, then B4 and A and then B2 and A3, the cranks connected to the pistons of each pair of engines or supercharge unit being in parallel planes.

I claim 1. In a four stroke-cycle internal combus` tion engine of the crank-.case compression type including a compression space in open communication with the end of both cylin- 120 ders, a crank-shaft in the compression space, pistons connected to the crank-shaft in the same angular relation, inlet and exhaust valves in the upper portion of the cylinders, the" combination, in each cylinder, of two 125 ports spaced from eachother in axial direction, a sleeve valve having two ports spaced in axial direction and adapted to register with the ports of the cylinder, a casing surrounding the sleeve valve and defining a 130 passage 'intermediate the ports of the sleeve valve, gear mechanism 4for actuating the sleeve valve to periodically bring the ports in the sleeve va'lveand the cylinder in registry, all said parts being so related that-compressed gas is admitted from 'the compression space into the cylinder When the piston is near the end of the suction stroke.

2. Apparatus in accordance With claim l including an additional port in the cylinder, in the sleeve valve and in the casing surrounding the sleeve valve adapted to register to admit gals into the compression space and means forv additionally actuating the sleeve valve to admit gas through the said ports during each stroke of thepistons away from the compression space. i

3. An internal lcombustion engine comprising multiple pairs of engines as defined in claim 2 and including a manifold interconnecting the admission ports in the casings surrounding the sleeve valves.

4f. An engine according to claim 3 having a carbureter connected to the manifold.

5. An internal combustion engine comprising multiplepairs of engines according to claim 2, having admission ports to the compression space on` opposite sides thereof and a'separate manifold for the ports on each side. Y

6. An internal combustion engine comprising multiple pairs of engines according to claim 2in which each sleeve valve is surrounded by a gear and the gears of each pair of engines are in mesh and one of said meshed gears is driven from a Worm on the cam shaft.

In testimony whereof, I aiiix my signature.

GRENVILLE MELLEN.

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