US1881149A - Hydrocarbon engine - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 4, 1932. E. H. TOWLE HYDROCARBON ENGINE Filed' Jm. 6, 1931 mvwoz Y czwao M ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 4, 1932 ELLINGWQOD H. TOWLE, OF LARCHMONT, NEW YORK HYDROCARBON ENGINE Application filed January 6, 1981. Serial No. 506,908.

My invention relates to engines of the hydrocarbon type wherein a mixture of fuel and air is compressed and exploded in cylinders to cause reciprocation of the pistons and it is especially useful as applied to hydrocarbon engines used for driving automobiles, aeroplanes and other vehicles. The invention is applicable to a single cylinder engine as well as to various multi-cylinder types, in the latter case the invention being duplicated for each cylinder. With the understanding that the invention is adapted for use regardless of the number of cylinders, I have illustrated it in the drawing of the present case embodied in an engine having two cylinders merely by way of illustrating one example of the invention from which those skilled in the art will be able to apply the invention to various types of engines.

The present invention relates to a combination of parts which have a two-fold effect upon the engine. First, the present invention results in a more perfect application of oil for lubricating the reciprocating pistons, main shaft bearings and wrist pin; and this results in, more perfect operation of the en- .gine and reduction in wear. Secondly, the oil is applied to the walls of the piston in a manner which not only tends to cool the piston but also to maintain different parts of the top of the piston at a more uniform temperature. v

It is well known that in a hydrocarbon engine of the explosive type that the greatest heat duling combustion is created at some point over the top of the piston, generally near the center of the piston, so that the heat at the outer portions of the piston is considerably lessvthan at this central point. I have found that instead of reducing the temperature of thepiston as a whole, it is more important to reduce the temperature at the hottest point, so that the temperature throughout the piston will remain more nearly uniform during operation, so that ex ansion and contraction of the iston wil be more uniform throughout. or this reason the oil taken from the crank casing is dashed or spread'against the central portion of the p1ston to primarily reduce the temperature at this point to bring it more nearly to the temperature of the other portions of the piston.

Where the oil is spread against the hottest portion of the piston head it is not necessary to depend so much upon the ordinary water or air cooling systems usually employed for cooling the engine and in fact I have been able to operate an engine embodying my invention without a radiator and without cool- 9 ing means other than natural radiation. Notwithstanding the absence of the ordinary radiator and the circulating system I have been able to operate the engine with greater efficiency than the correspondin types of commercial engines. While pointing out that the use of the present invention may avoid the necessity of using the radiator or other outside cooling system, there is nothing in the present invention which would pre- 9 vent the use of these where desired.

However, by eliminating the ordinary radiator and the water circulating system of the ordinary engine it is possible to reduce the weight of the engine and its operating parts as a whole and to avoid the difficulties heretofore encountered by defects in the ordinary cooling systems employed with hydrocarbon engines. I It is not as important a consideration to be so able tooperate an engine at relatively low temperatures as it is to maintain a more uniform temperature throughout the piston and cylinder because the latter condition makes it possible to obtain greater efiiciency than V where the mean temperature of the various parts of the engine is relatively low but where diiferent portions have wide differences in temperature. The present invention, by applying oil from the crank case primarily to the portion of the piston which ordinarily is heated to the highest degree, makes it possible to keep this ortion of the piston more nearly within t 1e temperature-range of other portions thereof, thereby making the expansion and contraction of the piston as a whole more uniform.

The oil which is projected against the top portion of the piston also sprays onto the skirt 10o thereof so that the circulating oil has a tendpossible to use a piston of iron and to reducethe weight to a point where it compares more favorably in regard to the weight factor with i aluminum pistons. This is a desirable feature because iron pistons are advantageous over aluminum pistons except for the weight factor.

The method of circulating the oil shown herein partly for cooling .purposes, also insures a more complete application of oil to the Walls of the cylinders than is possible with the previous oiling systems. This is true of the oil supplied to the main bearings of thecrank shaft.

Another advantage of my invention is that theengine may be run for long periods before requiring changing of the oil in the crank case. In most hydrocarbon engines the oil which strikes the under side of the head of the piston does so-in small quantities and the excessive heat in the piston head causes the portion of the oil to be partly burned and as a result carbon particles are deposited on the under side of the piston head. Some of these carbon particles fall back into the oil and circulate with it and they tend to cut the various bearing surfaces. F or this reason it is necessary to renew the oil in the crank casing in most hydrocarbon engines about every five hundred miles of operation as otherwise the -bearings will be injured by the grinding action of the carbon. In the present case there is a suflicient supply of oil projected against the under side of the piston head to actas a cooling agent and prevent the temperature of the piston head from rising to a point where the oil will be destructively affected so that the carbon particles referred to are not formed in the present engine even after op eration over long periods such as a year.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the following de- V taileddescription of one embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing forming part of this application, v a Figure 1 is a vertical, sectional view through the middle of a hydrocarbon engine embodying my invention, the engine illustrated containing two cylinders,

Figure 2 is a vertical, sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure l, and

.more in detail hereinafter.

' Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

' As has been pointed out above, the present invention may be applied to a hydrocarbon engine having'one or any greater number of cylinders and I deem it suficient to enable those skilled in the art to apply the invention to illustrate the same in an engine having two cylinders, as shown in the accompanying drawing, but I do not limit the invention to application to an engine having any particular number of cylinders. The invention may be applied to different types of engines.

In the drawing I have shown a crank casing 1 of ordinary construction which, together with the lower portion of the cylinder block 2 forms a housing for the crank which is formed on the crank shaft 3. The cylinder block is shown as provided with two cylinders 4, 42 in which two pistons 5, 5 reciprocate, it being understood that the mixture of fuel and air is exploded within the cylinder chambers between the heads and the tops of the respective pistons in accordance with common practice in the art.

Each piston is shown as composed of a top horizontal wall 6, and of a cylindrical wall or skirt 7, extending downwardly therefrom and I have indicated both of these walls as being of less thickness than the walls of pistons as heretofore used in hydrocarbon engines because the present invention, as stated above, makes it possible to use pistons with thin walls,.and therefore of light construction. However, I do not limit the applicaton reciprocates within its respective cylinder and each is provided with suitable rings 8 which may be of ordinary or any special form as my invention requires no modification of the piston rings but permits the use of any type. The bosses 9 extending inwardly from opposite sides .of the skirt 7 form bearings for the wrist pin 10 on which the connecting rod 11 may be pivotally connected. Any type of wrist pin and hearing may be used'as far as the'present invention is concerned, but the connecting rod is drilled to provide oil grooves, as will be pointed out Inasmuch as I have shown an engine hav ing two pistons, I have shown the crank shaft 3 as provided with two crank throws, one for each piston, and it will be understood that in an engine having one cylinder there will be but one crank throw; or, if the enginehas a greater number of pistons than that illustrated, there maybe a corresponding increase shaft. In describing the engine illustrated, it may be ointed out that'each crank throw s prefera ly formed of a disk 12 of circu- 12 in the number of crank throws on the crank lar form, preferably integral with the crank shaft and disposed concentrically in relation to the axis thereof.

Between this disk .and the diagonal member 13 of the crank throw there is a crank pin 14 which rotates around the axis of the crank shaft and on which the lower end of conforming to the periphery of the crank pin and also having a lateral flange 30 provided with apertures to receive the connecting bolts therethrough. I have shownshims 21 clamped between the flanges 17, 30 and these are adapted to be adjusted laterally so that their inner edges 31' may be brought 1nto close relation to the periphery of the pin 14 in order to prevent the oil from passing back and forth beyond the shims. The bolts 32 pass through the flanges 17 and 30 and through the shims and serve to hold these parts in assembled relation around the crank in. p The construction is the same for both pistons and the descriptionappliesto both alike, but to distinguish the parts unprimed numbers will be applied to those parts which relate to the left hand piston in Figure 1,-and corresponding primed numbers will be applied to the parts which relate to the right hand piston in Figure 1.

The main bearing 33 for the crank shaft is shown as formed in the crank housing and there is an oil groove 34 formed in the wall of the housing, it being illustrated as disposed diagonally so that its upper end-communicates with an oil pocket 35. formed between the outer wall of the housing and an inner partition or wall 36 which is shown as cast integral with the housing .and spaced from the outer wall toform the oil ocket. The oil groove 34 extends downwar ly and communicates with the longitudinal groove 37 disposed along the face of the crank shaft and terminating at the inner'end of themain bearing 33. The oil for the main bearing, therefore, travels from the pocket downwardly through the oil groove 34 and'thence into the oil groove 37 in which it is distributed onto the shaft within the main bearing. One face of the disk 12 is provided with a circular groove 38 which extends inwardly within the disk and preferably at an angle to its axis, as shown in Figure 1. This groove is preferably formed eccentric to theaxis of thecrank shaft, so that when the parts are receive the oil which flows out between the -crank shaft andthe main bearing. The purpose in making this groove eccentric is so that the oil which is received from the end of the main bearing into the groove will, by reason of the revolution of the disk 12 be forced towards-the portion of the groove which is furthest from the axisv of the crank shaft and which portion I have indicated by the numeral 39. This forcing of the oil towards one part of the groove is caused by centrifugal action, due to the revolution of the crank.

There is a'port 40 which at one end communicates with the groove 39 of the disk and it projects diagonally through a portion of the crank pin and atthe other end it communicates with the peripheral groove 41 formed in the head of-the connecting rod around the crank pin.

The cap 18 which connects the connecting rod with the crank pin is provided with outlet .ports 42 extending through the same for the purpose of permitting oil to flow out of that portion of the groove 41 which is below the shims 21. I have shown a flange or rim 43 on one side of the disk 12 and as the latter disk dips into the oil 44 at the bottom of the crank case the oil carried up on the surface of the disk is concentrated towards the rim 43 and it flies from this into the oil pocket 35 to be circulated in the manner hereinafter described.

Before the engine is started most of the oil will be in the lower part of the crank case as shown in Figure 1, and the several disks 12 dip into this oil. When the engine is started the crank shafts and the crank will revolve and of course the pistons will reciprocate with the pistons and the cranks, an oscillating motion taking place in the connecting rod where it pivots on the wrist pin 10. During the operation of the engine the rapidly revolving disks 12 which dip into the oil in the bottom of the crank case, carrv up the oil on their surfaces and centrifugal action causes this oil to collect on the rim 43 and be thrown off toward the pocket 35 and while all of the oil on the surface of the disk may not be thrown into the pocket, a suflicient proportion will be to carry out the circulation of oil as herein described.

The disk 12 will be continually picking up the oil in the bottom of the crank caseand throwing it into the pocket 35. The oil will flow from this pocket downwardly through the port 34 and into the oil groove 37 to supply the main bearing with lubricating oil. The oil will thence pass out of the end of the main bearing, i. e., between the surface ofthe bearing and the surface of the shaft 3 into the groove 39' in the revolvingv disk. Centrifugal action will cause the oil .iso

the connecting I der will be thrown back into the bottom of: the crank case and become part of the body.

which enters this groove to be thrust out wardly toward the eccentric portion 39 and into the port 40. The oil will forced upwardly in.the latter port and 1nto the peripheral groove 41.

When the crank is in the upper position,

, as shown at the left in Figure 1, the oil which is forced up through the port and inmthe groove 41 wil passmpwardly through the central bore 47 extending lengthwise through rod. At the upper end of this bore and within the member 48 of the connectingirod 'the bore 47 communicates with a plurality of ports'49 which extend around the wrist pin 10 and which have their opentravels up through the bore 47 passes into the ports 49 some of this oil serving to lubricate between the wrist pin and the member 48 of the connecting rod and the balance-of the oil being projected in the form of drops, jets or streams against the under surface of the 'top wall 6 of the piston. After striking the top wall of the piston, the oil sprays laterally, and travels down the inner surface of the skirt 7 F The oil which dces'not re-. main in contact with the iston or the cyliuof oil that is constantly present there.

The centrifugal action is sufliclent to force the oil from the groove 38 upwardly through the port 40 when the crank pin is in the upper half'of its stroke, and the force also causes the oil to move upwardly throu h the bore 47 in the connecting rod and out t rough the ports 49 to .spray against the piston in the mannerjust described. *When the crank pin 14 together with the connecting rod lland piston are in the lower half of the stroke the bore 47 will be in communication with that half of the groove 41 which is below the shims and during this time the oil will continue to flow groove 41 but instead of flowing up 1nto the A wardly through the. connecting rod it will flow downwardly through the release apertures 42 and fall down into the bottom of the housing. During this time there is no upward circulation through the connecting rod but the bore 47 of the latter nevertheless remains in communication with thegroove 41 above the shims so that no'oil' can return orfiow back The purpose ofth'e release apertures 42 is to permit continuation of the flow of the oil from the groove 38 in the disk 12 and through the. port 40 so that when the crankpin is on the upper half of the stroke carbon in which the crank is and the .port 40 communicates with the. portion of the groove 41 which is above the shims the oil will be in motion when this communication is established. Inasmuch as hydroengines are operated up to 2000 or even more revolutions per minute the period makin the upper half of its revolution is very brie and if the variings directed upwardly. The oil which ous oil channels were depleted of oil during the lower half of the stroke there would not be sufii'cient time for the channels to fill dur--' ing the upper half of the stroke and for the oil to beprojected from the top of the co n there is always} but in the boreff 40 so that as soon as communication is estab--' lished between the bore 40 and the. bore 47 of the connecting rod, which occurs during the upper half of the stroke, the oil will immediately be forced out of the upper end of the connecting rod tov spray against the under sideof the top wall of the piston. In other words, during the brief interval that the spraying actiontakes place, no time will be required to establish the flow through the various oil channels because the oil in the bore 47 is already in motion. By dividing the groove 41 into upper and lower portions by means of the shims 21, and by providing the relief apertures 42 it is possible to maintain through the port 40 and through a portion of i ,the groove 41 in order to maintain a supply of oil within the port 40'ready for this oil to circulate through the upperhalf of the groove 41'and through the bore 47 of the connecting rod when the crank ismaking the upper half of its stroke. The oil which passes through the'r'elief apertures 42 is performing at such times no useful purpose other than permit ting the flow to continue as; described. The portions of the shims which project into the groove 41 'di'vide this groove off lI1t0 upper and lower sections, the upper sectioncommunicating with the bore of the connecting rod while the .lower section discharges through the relie apertures 42.

While the engine'is in operation oil is continually picked up by the disk 12 and is thrown by the latter into the oil, pocket 35 to be circulated in the manner above described. The oil, after passing from the main bearmg, enters the groove 38 and because of the eccentric position of this groove the oil is forced through the bore 40 and continues to circulate either upwardly-through the connecting rod, during the upper half of the stroke, or downwardly through the relief apertures 42 back into the lower portion of the housing. v

It will be apparent from the above that there is an ample supply of oil flowing and through the main bearings and in addition there through the connecting rod to be splashed against the top wall of the piston. The centrifugal action of the oil in the eccentric is a supply of oil flowing upwardly groove 38 not only serves to propelthe oil 1 upper half of the stroke is added to the action taking place within the eccentric groove. It will be apparent that the flow of oil against the under side of the piston will be greater as the speed of the engine increases and this is a desirable factor because when the engineiis running athigh speed it is necessary to supply a greater flow of oil to carry away'heat' from the piston. After the oil which has been circulated against the piston is thrown down to the bottom of the crank casing it loses a large percentage of the heat which it received while in contact with the piston, through radiation through the walls of the crank casing.

When starting an engine incold weather it is generally necessary to operate it at reduced speed for several minutes in order to permit the parts to warm up to a point where.

- they will operate without damage before the ing to the engine is put under load.

Where the present 1nvention is employed the engine may be brought up to operating temperature much more quickly than heretofore because of the rapid circulation of the oil in the manner here described. It is, in fact, desirable to operate the enginezuntil the oil in the crank casing and the lower portions of the cylinders has begun to atomize or form a mist before the engine is called upon to operate a load, and this requires that the oil be heated tojan eificient operating condition. Whereas in former practice it was necessary to run the en ine idle, when start in in cold weather, or some minutes to br1ng the oil up to operating temperature, with the present invention this condition is reached after a few strokes of the engine, ow-

rapid circulation \of the oil in contact with the hottest portion of the piston. 1

The present invention improves the circulation of oil between the parts which require lubrication and it also maintains more even temperature throughout the piston as well as serving to cool the latter as a whole and the bearings to a temperature approximating the temperature of the walls of the cylinders. tions may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention and I desire to cover all changes and modifications which come within the scope of the following claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim is: v

1. In ahydrocarbon engine the combination of a cylinder, a piston reciprocating therein, a shaft having a crank throw, a connecting rod connected between said crank throw and said piston and having a longitudinal bore therethroughfor thepassage of oil and having an outlet for the oil at the .ternately with the compartments Various changes and modificaupper end of the connecting rod to cause the oil flowing through said bore to-be projected .municating .alternately with the compartments of said groove whereby said ort is in communication with the bore of said con.- necting rod during the upper half of the piston stroke and in communication with said discharge aperture during the lower half of the piston stroke, and means for supplying oil tojsaid second mentionedport.

2. In a hydrocarbon engine the combination of a cylinder, a piston reciprocating therein, a shaft having a crank throw, a connecting rod connected between said crank throw and said piston and provided with a longitudinal bore therethrough for the passage of oil, and having an outlet for the oil at the upper end of the connecting rod to cause the oil flowing through said bore to be rojected against the under side of the piscompartments, said crank throw having a throw and communicatingport extending into the crank pin thereof,

and terminating at the periphery of said crank pin whereby as the crank throw revolves said latter port will communicate 'alof said groove whereby said crank throw ort is in communication with the bore of sai connecting rod during the upper half of the engine strike and in communication with said discharge aperture during the lower half of the engine stroke,

3. In a hydrocarbon engine tion of a cylinder, '9. piston reciprocating therein, -a shaft having a crank throw, a connecting rod connected between said crank throw and saidpiston, said connectin rod having a longitudinal bore therethroug for "the passage of oil and having an outlet for the oil at the upper end of the connecting rod to cause the oil flowing through said bore to be projected against the under side of the piston head, said connecting rod having a head provided with a circumferential groove extending around the crank pin of said crank throw, and communicating with said bore, said crank head having shims and means for supplying oil to said second mentioned port.

the combine-- I against the under side means forming a pocket to hold a supply clamped between the members of said head and projecting into said groove to dividethe same into upper and lower compartments, said head having a discharge aperture for discharging oil from one of said compartments, 'said crank throw havinga port extending into the crank pin thereof and communicating alternately with the compartments of said groove whereby said crank throw. port is in communicatlon with the bore of said connecting rod during the upper half of the engine stroke and in communication with said discharge aperture during the lower half of the engine stroke whereby there may be a continuous flow of oil through said second mentioned port, and means for supplying oil to said latter port.

4. In a hydrocarbontengine having a crank casing provided with a main bearing,'the combination of a crank shaft journa'led therein and havinga crank throw, a cylinder, a piston reciprocating. therein, a connecting rod connected between said crank throw' and said piston and provided with a longitudinal bore having an openingfor directing oil "flowing through said bore of oil and means for conducting oil from said pocket to said main bearing, said crank throw-being adaptedto carry oil upfrom the lower portion of the crank casing and to discharge it into said pocket, said con-' necting rod having a head provided with a groove disposed around a crank pin of said crank throw and means for dividing said of the piston head,

discharge ports, said crank throw having a groove to receive the oil passing from said main bearing and having a port communiclating-at one end with said groove and at t e 6. In a hydrocarbon'engine the combination of a cylinder, a piston reciprocating other end communicating with the- ,groove-in said connecting rod.

therein, a shaft having a crank throw, a connecting rod connected between said crank throw and said piston and having a longitudinal bore therethrough: for the passage of oil and having an outlet for the oil at the upper end of the connecting rod to cause the oil flowing through said bore to be projected against the'under side of said piston a head head, said connecting rod having provided with a groove communicating with said bore, means for dividing said groove into separate compartments, said head having a discharge aperture for dischar 'ng oil from one of said compartments, sai crank throw having a port extending into the crank pin thereof and communicating alternately with the compartments of said groove whereby said port is in communication with the bore of said connecting rodduring the upper half of the piston stroke and in communication with said discharge aperture during the lower half of the piston stroke, and means for supplying oil to said second mentioned port. v

Signed at the city, countyv and State of New York this 4th day of October,,1930.

' ELLINGWOOD H. TOWLE.

groove into upper and lower compartments,

saidrcrank throw having a groove to receive the oil passing from said main bearing and having a port communicating at one end with said groove and municating periodically with the port in said connectin rod. 7

5. In a ydrocarbon engine having a crank casing provided with a main bearing, the

combmation of a crank shaft j ournaled there-- a cylinder, a

in and having a crank throw, piston reciprocating therein, a connecting rod connected between said crank throw and said piston and provided with a longitudinal bore having an opening for directing oil flowing through said bore against the under side of the piston head means forming a pocket to hold a supply 0 oil and means for conducting oil from said pocket to said main bearing, said crank throw being adapted to carry oil up from the lower portion of the crank said pocket, said connecting rod aving a casing and to dischar e it into at the other end comhead provided with a groove disposed around a a crank pin of said crank throw, and means for dividing said groove into upper and lower compartments one of said" compartments communicating with the connecting rod portand the other compartment having

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