US1598891A - Multicycle-internal-combustion engine - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 7 ,19ze. 1,598,891

C. L. STOKES IUIQTICYCLE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed March s. 1923 WIfT-Iesaes.

Patented Sept. 7, 1926 UNITEDI'STCATES PATENT OFFICE.

cn annns LAWRENCE sroxns, or Los enemas, curromwm.

I MULTICYCLE-INTERNAL-COMBUSTION I ENGINE.

Application filed March 8, 1923. Serial No. 623,684.

My invention relates to improvements in the cyclic operation of internal combustion engines.

The principal object of my invention isto provide means whereby an internal combustion engine may be operated on as manydifferent cycles as desired at will,-thereby varying the power at will.

A specific object of my invention is to illustrate the means for operating a multicylinder engine at will, either as a two-cycle or a four-cycle engine. I

Referring to the drawings, in which like numbers indicate the same parts Fig. 1 is a View, partsectional, showing a 4-cylinder engine with my improvements thereon.

Fig. 2is avertical sectional view along the lines 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is alongitudinal section along the lines 3-3 of Fig. 2. i

The design of engine selected to illustrate my invention is that of thewell known twocycle type, having crankcase compression, but my invention is adapted to other types of engines, in particular it is applicable to the crank chamber and each cylinder, it will not engine described in my United States Patent No. 1,308,560, July 1, 1919, and therefore the invention is not to be construed as being specifically limited to the design as illustrated.

'The cylinders are. numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4 and the crank shaft 23 is made of a regular four-cycle type, that is, the crank pins are all, arranged in the same plane having the crank pins of cylinders 1 and 4 180 apart from the crank pins of cylinders 2 and 3. Thus the pistons in cylinders 1 and 4 are at 'the bottom of their stroke when the pistons in cylinders 2 and 3 are at the top of their stroke Fig. 2 illustrates the general structure of each of the pistons and cylinders, and it will be noted that piston 11 is of a well-known two cycle type, as is cylinder 1, and cylinder 1 will be noted as having an inlet port 24 and exhaust port 19 substantially at the bot tom 0 the stroke of piston 11.

n The rank chambers 1*, 2*, 3, 4, for each cylinder-are separated from each other crank chamber by air tight partitions and to fully understand the connections between each be necessary to describe furtherthe mechand the manifold 26 has connected thereto a action of the fitting 13, and 13 is also conanism. beyond that which isillustrated in F 1g. 2, the same construction being followed in each cylinder and crank chamber.

- The crank chamber 1 is connected to cylinder 1 by a passage 25 connecting the crankchamber through the inlet port 24 to the interior of cylinder 1.

On the end of crank shaft 23 is fitted a gear 10, which drives another gear 9 at onehalf the crank shaft speed. A hollow cylindrical rotary valve 6 is fitted centrally of gear 9 and valve 6 is contained in a casing 22 attached to the side of cylinder 1 in order to connect the interior of valve 6 with passage 25. A small gear 8 is fitted on valve 6, between 9 and cylinder 1, and another small gear 7 is arranged to mesh with gear 8 in order to actuate a second hollow cylindrical rotary valve 5 contained in a casing 21, whichv casing is fastened to the side of cylinder 1 in order to connect the interior of 5 with the passage 25. Casings 21 and 22 connect through passageways therein to passage 25 through ports in the outer cylinder wall and as valves 5 and 6 are rotated, ports 1, 2, 31, 4 and ports 1", 2", 3", and 4" register at their appointed time with the aforesaid passageways, thereby opening the interior of valves5 and 6 to passageway 25 for the purpose of passing a carburetted charge, or air, to the crank chambers 1 2 3, 4 and then sealing the crank chambers for compression by the movement of said valves. v

Casings 21 and 22 are manifolded together carburetor 15, preferably of the duplex type as shown. At the point of manifolding a valve 12 is arranged to shut 01f the interior of casing 22 from carburetor 15 by the lever nected to simultaneously close a valve 14 on one side of carburetor 15 at the same time as The operation of my engine in order to work on the four-cycle principle is as fol- Valves 12 and 14 are closed as illustrated in Fig. 1 whereupon, if cylinder 1 is considered at the bottom of its firing stroke a charge of air compressed in 1 will have passed through. the passage 25 and thereby expelled the burnt gases through exhaust port 19. Piston 11 will then be moving on its up-stroke and port 1 will be coming into registration with the ports leading into pas-- sage 25 and the suction caused by the upward movement of piston 11 will draw a carburetted charge through the side 20 of carburetor 15, casing 21, and the interior of rotary valve 5. At the same time the scavenging air in 1 will be compressed and piston 11 being at the top of its stroke valve 1 will be timed to close the entry of car buretted charge into passageway 25.

Piston 11 now starts on its down stroke whereby the carburetted charge already drawn into crank chamber 1 through passageway 25 will be compressed so that when piston 11 reaches the bottom of its stroke, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the carburetted charges compressed in 1 will be expelled through 25 into 1 thereby driving out the scavenging air from 1 into exhaust port 19. At this time port 1" will be approaching to register with the ports leading into passageway 25 and, as piston 11 starts onits upward stroke thereby compressing the carburetted charge in 1, a volume of fresh air will be drawn, responsive to the suction in 1", through ports 17 22, and the interior of rotary valve 6.

iPiston 11 having reached the upward limit of its stroke and thereby compressed the c arburetted charge in 1, the charge is fired and at the same time valve 1" is timed to close thereby cutting off fresh air from entry into 1*. The carburetted charge having been fired, piston 11 descends on its power stroke, thereby compressing the fresh air in 1*, and when 11 has reached the bottom of its power stroke ports 19 and 21are opened and the air compressed in P is forced through 25 to the interior of 1, thereby expelling the burnt gases through 19.

The cycle is thus of the four-cycle type and is repeated in the order named. The same operation applies to cylinders 2, 3 and i and the firing order as illustrated is 1, 2,

'Should it be desired to operate the engine as a two-cycle engine, 13 is actuated to open valve 14 and close port 17 by valve 12, thereby admitting a carburetted charge from both sides of 15 to casings 21 and 22. Thereupon the c cle of operations "as already described for our-cycle operation is repeated, with the exception that in place of fresh air being introduced through port 1", a carburetted charge is inspirated therethrough thereby providing a carburetted charge for each down stroke of piston11, it being understood as already explained, that both valves 5 and 6 are actuated at onehalf crank shaft speed, and it is now further explained that the ignition for each cylinder is timed as for a two-cycle engine, that is, there will be a firing spark for each cylinder at the proper time no matter whether the engine is operated as a twocycle or a four-cycle engine. This is better understood by the further explanation that when the engine is operated as a four-cycle engine the additional spark has no effect on the scavenging charge of air.

Qwing to the cylinders operating in pairs, it will be thus be seen that, when the engine is operating as a two-cycle engine, cylinders 1 and 1 will both fire on each down ward stroke of their pistons, and the same will happen with the cylinders 2 and 3.

In this manner it will be seen that a fourcylinder engine can be used to largely eliminate the use of change speed gears in an automobile, inasmuch as when a reserve of power is needed, the only operation necessary will be the throwing of lever 13, whereby the engine will be changed from the fourcycle to the two-cycle type. When the additional power isnot needed the engine may be operated on the four-cycle principle, thereby effecting a great economy. At the same time it-will be noted that the space occupied by a four cylinder motor of this type will be much less than the space rcquired for an engine of the same power if working solely on the four-cycle principle.

It will be obvious also that casings 2l-and 22 may each lead to aseparate carburetor, provided that one of them has means, as illustrated, for closing off the carburetor and admitting air, in order to change the cycle of operations.

I claim a 1. An internal combustion engine embodying a cylinder, a piston, a plurality of intake valves for said cylinder, a plurality of carburetors, and means including a' common passa e for delivering an explosive mixture from said carburetors to said cylinder through said valves.

2. An internal combustion engine embodying a cylinder, a piston, a crank shaft, and a. compression chamber in combination with means operated by the crank shaft to control the supply of fuel and air to the compression chamber and means to supply a charge of explosive mixture to the compression chamber during each up-stroke of the engine or for alternately supplying a charge of air and a charge of explosive mixture to the compression chamber during the up strokes-of the piston.

3. An internal combustion engine embodying a cylinder, a piston, a crank shaft,

inder through a passage, and a pair of valves opening into the passage, in combination with means to supply air to the compression chamber through one valve during a first up-stroke ,of the piston and fuel and air through the other valve during-a second up-stro e of the piston. o

5. An internal combustion engine embodying a cylinder, a piston, a crankshaft, a compression chamber connected to the cylinder, a valve opening into one part of the compression chamber, a valve opening into a second part of the compression chamber, both valves being actuated bythe crank shaft, in combination with a manifold attached to the valves, means to' supply fuel and air to the manifold and means in the manifold to passfuel and air to one or both valves at will. 6. An internal combustion engine embodying a cylinder, a piston, a crank shaft, a compression chamber connected to the cylinder by a as'sage, a. pair of rotary valves actuated y the crank shaft at one half the crank shaft speed opening into the passage, in combination with a pair of caslngs for containing said valves and means" for supplying fuel and air to one or both of the casings through a common passage? 7. An internal combustion engine arranged to operate as a two-cycle or a fourcycle engine at will and embodying a plurality of cylinders, a crank shaft, a plurality of pistons arranged in the cylinders symmetrically in pairs with respect to the crank shaft, compression chambers for the cylinders connected thereto individually by a passage, a pair of casings attached to each compression chamber for supplying fuel and air thereto, a pair of valves in the casings for controlling the passage of fuel and air therethrough, in combination with means associatedwith the casings for causing the fuel and air to pass solely through one of the casings and air through the other of the casings or for causing fuel and air to pass through both of thecasings at will, and

means for causing ignition in each cylinder during each revolution of the crank shaft.

8. An internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder, a pistontherefor, an exhaust port for said cylinder, a pair of intake ports for said cylinder, means for supplying an explosive mixture to said cylinder through said intakeports, and means for supplying air only to said cylinder through one of said ports for scavenging the same. i

a 9. An internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder, a piston therefor, an

exhaust port, a plurality of intake ports,

means for supplying fuel to said cylinder through said intake ports, and means for selectively supplying air only to said cylinder through one of said' intaks ports.

10. An internal combustion engine com-v prisinga cylinder, 'a piston therefor, an

exhaust port forsaid cylinder, a plurality of intake ports for the same, means including a common passage for supplying fuel to said cylinder through said ports, and means for selectively supplying air only through one of said intake ports.

11. In an internal combustion engine, a

cylinder, a piston therefor, means including a conduit for conducting an explosive mixture to said cylinder, a second conduit in communication with said cylinder, valve means for selectively admittlng air only or an explosive mixture 1nto said second conduit for causing said engine to operate as a four-cycle or a two-cycle engine.

Signed at Wilmington, in the county of Los Angeles, and State-of California, this 16th day of February A. D. 1923.

. CHARLES LAWRENCE STOKES.

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