US2086609A - Internal combustion engine - Google Patents

Description

July 13, 1937. H. c. EpwARDs 2,086,609

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Oct. 6, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet l JMW HEHE/EET C EEA/5R05.

llowm July' 13, 1937. H, C, EDWARDS 2,086,609

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Juvly 13, 1937. H, C EDWARDS y 2,086,609

INTERNAL COMBUS TION ENGINE Filed 0G13. 6, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 gmwnloz Patented July 13, 1931 PATENT OFFICE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Herbert C. Edwards, Detroit, Mich., assigner to Packard Motor Car Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application October 6, 1932, Serial No. 636,455

6 Claims.

y 'I'his invention relates to internal combustion engines and more particularly to multi-bank cylinder engines of the type in which fuel and air are iortroduced separately into the combustion cham- 5 IS.

An object of my invention resides in theprovision of mechanism in a multi-bank cylinder engine which can be remotely controlled to re'- lieve compression in one bank of cylinders where- 10 by the crank shaft can be more easily turned in starting.

Still another object of my invention resides in mechanism for relieving compression in some of the cylinders of an internal combustion engine.

15 Othery objects of the invention will appear from .the following description taken in connection with the drawings, which form a part of `this specification, and in whichz' Fig. 1 is a fragmentary end view of a multi-bank radial engine, partly in section and partly broken avielily, having my invention incorporated there-V W l Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of the engine taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional viewof the engine taken substantially'on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the engine taken substantially on line 4--4 of Fig. 3 showing the mechanism for connecting the two sets of fuel 30 control devices each of which is associated with one of the banks of cylinders;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 3 illustrating la part of the actuating means for the compression relief mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view of the engine taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 3 with the front end wall `broken away;

Fig. '1 is a fragmentary view taken on line 1--1 of Fig. 6 illustrating rocker levers for'actuating 4 0 the fuel injection device and the inlet and exhaust valve operating mechanism.

vReferring now to the drawings by characters of reference, the numeral Ill represents a barrel type crank case having a removable front end 4 5 wall II and a removable rear end wall l2, such Awalls being secured to the crank case by means of bolts as indicated at I3. Within the crank case, I provide a. pair of transversely extendingwalls I4 l which are ld etachably secured in position by 50 bolts as indicated at I5. Intermediate the walls I4 isl another transversely extending wall I6 which has associated therewith studs I1 adapted to extend through the crank case. axially of the crank case through the bearing 65 portions of the walls I4 and I6 is a crankshaft Extending (Cl. 12S-182) I8 on the forward end of which is mounted a propeller for aeroplanes (not shown). Suitable roller bearings, as indicated at I9, are arranged in the walls I4 forcarrying the crank shaft. The crank shaft is formed with a large circular bear- 5 ing portion 20 which engages in the bearing portion 2l of the wall I6. On each side of the bearing portion of the crank shaft project crank pins 22. 1

Thecrank case is formed with two rows of 10 openings into which cylinders 23 extend, and such openings in the two rows are staggered relatively and thus there are two banks of radially extending cylinders, the cylinders in one bank being arranged intermediate the cylinders of the other bank, looking at the ends of the engine.

"I'he cylinders are formed with flanges 24 and around the forward ends of the flanges of the front bank of cylinders and the rear flanges of the rear bank of cylinders are provided hoop means, as indicated at 25, which are placed in tension greater than that developed therein by any forces developed in the engine during operation. Suitable means, such as a turn-buckle, in-

dicated at 26, are employed for placing these hoops or bands in tension. The adjacent flanges of the cylinders in the two banks are formed so that they intert and suitable crabs 21 engage adjacent edge portions of such cylinder flanges in the two banks. The studs II each project through a crab and nuts 28 are threaded on the studs and are'screwed down to place the wall I6 and the studs I1 in tension greater than that developed therein by explosion forces in the cyl inders. 'I'his manner of holding the cylinders yupon a crank case forms the subject matter of my Patent No. 1,933,246 issued October 31, 1933, and no claim is .made thereto in this application. Pistons 29 are arranged for reciprocation in each of the cylinders and connecting rods 30 are 40 pivotally carried by the master rod hubs 3|, the master rods being connected to one of the pistons in each bank. This piston connection is of a conventional form and each hub encircles one of the crank pins 22.

The engine illustrated is of the four-stroke cycle type. 'Ihe head of each cylinder is provided wlth an inlet valve 32 and an outlet valve 33 (Fig. 1) which control inlet and outlet pa'sg sages extending through the head. These valves are normally closed by coil springs 34 which engage with retainers 35 secured on the valve stems and the valvesy are opened through the operation of rocker levers 36 which are actuated by tappet mechanisms or push rods 31 and 38 (Fig. 3), the 55 which meshes with the gear 55. Such gearing admitted into the cylinders through the inlet passages and the exhaust gases leave the cylindersthrough the outlet passages. 'Ihe piston heads are formed with a depressed end wall in order that they may closely approach the cylinder heads and, at the same time, have a clear-'- ance-fory the inlet and outlet valves. The combustion .chambers are dened by the head portions of the cylinders and. the end wall of their associated pistons.4

Associated with each cylinder is a fuel injection device which consists generally of a nozzle section 39 and a pump section 40 (Fig. l). The fuel injection devices for the front bank of cylinders are associated witlLthe forward wall portion thereof while the injection devices for the rear bank of cylinders are associated with the rearmost wall portions thereof. 'I'he nozzle sections of the devices can be of any conventional character, however, Patent No. 1,690,893 of November 6, 1928 to Hermann Dorner can be referred `to as a specific example. The pump section of 'each device consists of a casing 4I having va barrel portion 42 therein and a plunger 43 reciprocable in the barrel. 'I'he plunger includes an enlarged guide portion 44 which bears against the interior wall 'of the casing and is pressed toward the crank case by means of the coil spring 45 arranged within the casing. The casing and the barrel are provided with radially extending ports, as indicated at 46. A manifold 41 extends around each of the banks of cylinders and each is in communication with the ports 46 of the injection devices associated with the adjacent bank of cylinders. Oil is supplied to the manifold under low pressure by suitable pump means (not shown) so that, whenever the plungers 43 uncover the passages 46, the barrels will be open to the manifold and will be maintained full of oil.l

-through the crank case and serve as the bearing for the push rod sections 48. The push rods for -the devices associated with the rear bank of cylinders extend into a compartment 5I (Fig. 3)

formed by the walls I2 and I4 while the pu'shrods for the injection devices associated with the forward bank of cylinders extend into a compartment 52 in the crank case which is formed by the walls II and I4. The push rods for the valves associated with the rear bank of cylinders extend into the compartment 5I and the push rods for the valves for the forward bank of cylinders extend into the compartment 52.

'I'he mechanisms for operating the push rods for the valves and the injection devices in each of the compartments are similar and therefore I will describe only one of such mechanisms. Fixed to the crank shaft is a gear'f53 which meshes with a gear 54carried by a shaft on which a gear 55 is fixed. Rotatably mounted on the crank shaft is a cammember 56 having aninternal gear 51 provides a reductidn drive from the crank shaft -to the cam member which, in 'this instance, is an 8' to 1 ratio. Within each end compartment -are mounted in the wall I6 and the'front wall I 4, the

stud shafts 58 lwhich are fixed to the walls I4. Each of such shafts has three rock levers 53, 69 and 6I pivotally mounted thereon and nuts 62 engage the shafts to secure 'the levers axially 'in position. Rock levers 68 are engaged `by the exhaust valve push rods 38, the rock levers 6I are engaged by the inlet valve push rods 31 and the rock levers 59 are engaged by the push rods 49 associated with the fuel injection devices. The rock levers 69 and 6I carry rollers 63 and the rock levers 59 have abutments 64 associated therewith which bear against the cam members 56. Such cam members have three rows of lobes 561, 562, 563 which rotate in zones to actuate the rock levers and thereby move them in a direction which imparts movement to the push rods for the valves and injection devices.

'I'he outer faces of the rock levers 59 are formed withv a groove 65 at the free end thereof which curves longitudinally, and the section 49 of the tappets for operating the fuel injection devices` are slidable longitudinally of the levers in such grooves. Adjustment of -the tappet sections toward the kfree end of theassociated rock levers will lengthen the plunger stroke after closing the ports 46, while movement toward the pivoted ends of the rock levers will decrease the plunger stroke and thus the quantity and timing of the fuel' charges can be regulated. Rotatably. carried by each wall vI4 is a ring 66 and links 61 pivotally connect each of the tappet sections 49 with the adjacent ring. On the rear ring is fixed a rack 68 (Fig. l) with which a gear 69 is in mesh, and

this gear is fixed on a shaft 19 whichYV extends vthrough the crank case I8. An arm 1I is fixed to the projecting` end of the shaft carrying the gear 69 and mechanism, as indicated at 12, is associated with the arm so that it can be rotated from a distance. Rotation of the rear ring 66 will shift the contact position of the tappet sections of the injection mechanism for the rear bank of cylinders, and thus the stroke of the plungers 43 after closing the passages 46 will be varied and likewise will vary the time of closure. I'hus the rear injection devices can be simultaneously regulated both as to quantity of the delivered charges and the time of delivery relative to the piston position.

It is desirable that the front ring 66 operate uniformly and simultaneously with the rear ring so that all of the injection devices can be regulated similarly and together by a single manipulation upon the part of the operator. To this end, I arrange a rock shaft 13 within the crank case between two of the cylinders in the rear bank and pivotally mount it in the wall I6 and the rear wall I4 with an end extending into the rear compartment. An arm 14 is iixedatl one end to the rock shaft and in the rear compartment and is pivotally connected to a bracket 15 fixed on the ring 66 by an adjustable link 16. 4Another rock shaft 11 extends within the crank case between two cylinders of the front bank and is pivotally front end of the rock shaft/extending into the front compartment. The rearendof the rock shaft 11 has an arm 18 fixed thereto which is connected by a link.19 to an arm 88 fixed to the rock shaft 13. 'I'he front end of the rock shaft 11 has an arm 8I fixed thereto which is lconnected byv a link 82 to a bracket83 fixed on'the front ring' 66. The\ mechanism just described isali contained within the crankv case and will move the front ring simultaneously and uniformly `with 75 to relieve the compression in a plurality of ythe cylinders when the engine is of thel compressionignition type and I prefer to relieve the compression in the entire group o`f cylinders in one of the banks through a single operation. vTo this end, the rock. levers 8| of the inlet valve control mechanisms for the front bank of cylinders are each formed with a boss 85 (Fig. 6) arranged to co-operate with`|a cam ring 88 located adjacent ,theffront row of cams 55. Carried on the free ends of the front shaft 08 is a circular plate 81 which is secured in axial position by the nuts 62.

The plate is formed withcurved slots 88 through which supporting pins 89Le'xtend, such pins being -secured at one end to the cam ring 86 and having a head at the other end of larger diameter than the width of the slots 88. Secured to the cam ring is a bracket having fixed thereto a bifurcated member 90 which is engaged by the arm 9| extending from a bell crank 92 which is mounted upon. a stub shaft 93 extending from a. bracket 94 fixed to the front wall Il. To another arm 95 of the bell crank is pivotally connected a rod 96 which extends rearwardly through the front wall I4. This rod 96 is also pivoted to a sleeve 91 (Fig. 5) which is swiveled on 'a shaft 98 extending across an opening in the wall Iii,` and also pivoted to the sleeve 91 vis a rod 99 which extends rearwardly of the crank case through the rear wall Minto the compartment 5I. A link |00 is pivoted to the rod se and is slidamy mounted' pivot 98 and will move the rod S5 in a reverse but parallel direction to that in which the rod 99 is moved. .Reciprocation of the rod 95 will rotate the bell crank 92 and the arm 9i will be rotated and move the bracket 90 therewith. The cam ring 86, being iixed to the bracket 90, will be moved therewith so that the lobes 86' on such cam ring will be brought into a position whereby they engage the bosses 85 on the rock levers GI or whereby they disengage the same, such movement being limited when the pins 89 reach the ends of the slots 88. As the lobes on the cam ring are brought vinto engagement with' the rock lever bosses, theytend to rotate the same on their pivots and, when moved in one direction, the push rod Y mechanisms 31 will be moved outward radially to move the associated intake valves and, when moved in the other direction, they will be moved the cam ring with the-bosses on the levers 6I will hold the associated valve mechanism in open position so that the cam lobe 563-wil1 not engage taneously and similarly regulating the quantity.

of the fuel charges and the time of their delivery with respect to the position of the piston in the cylinders of a multi-bank engine. It will also be seen that I have provided mechanisms which can be controlled by a single operation for relieving the compression in the front bank of cylinders while still allowing explosions in the rear bank of cylinders., Bothof these mechanisms can be operated from a point remote from the engine so that they can be readily controlled from the cockpit of an aeroplane when the engine is used in this connection. The compression relieving mechanism, with the exception of the extension, is wholly enclosed within the crank case and is arranged so that it will operate readily irrespective of the staggered relation of the Icylinders in the two banks.

Although the invention has been described in connection with a specific embodiment, the principles involved are susceptible of numerous other applications which will readily occur to persons skilled in the art. The invention is therefore to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. In an engine having a crank case and a bank of radially extending cylinders, each of said cylinders having a valve controlled passage, a cam actuated mechanism for opening each oi the valves including a rock lever, shafts in the crank case on which the rock levers are mounted, a ring member secured on the shafts, a cam ring having lobes adapted to engage the rock levers to hold the valves in open position, a movable support for the cam ring carried by the ring member, and means for rotatably regulating said cam ring to move' thelobes into or out of engagement with the rock levers.

2. In an engine having a crank case and a bank of radially extending cylinders, each of said cylindershaving' valve controlled passages, a cam actuated means for holding a valve of each cylinder in open position, a cam ring engageable with said means for holding the valves in open position, regulating means for moving the cam ring into or out of position in which the valves are held open, a support in the crank case for said cam ring, and movable actuator connections between the cam ring and the regulating means.

3. In an engine having a crank case and a bank of radially extending cylinders, each oi' said cylinders vhaving a valve controlled passage, a mechanism for opening each of the valves including'a cam actuated rock lever, shafts fixed in the crank case on which the rock levers are mounted, a ring member iixed on the shafts, said member having arcuate slots therein, a cam ring having lobes adapted to engage and lift the rock levers to hold the valves open, pins vfixed to the cam'ring and extending through the slots in the ring member, and means for rotating the cam ring to move the lobes into or out of engagement with the rock levers.

4. In an engine of the character described, a crank case having aligned compartments formed by transverse walls, a bank of cylinders extending radially from one compartment 'of the crank case, each ofsaid cylinders\having a valve conof the valves, uid mechanim each including a cam operated rock lever in a compartment oi' thel l crank case. a rotatably adjustable cam ring havol one bank oi' cylinders to maintain the inlet` passages open.

8. In an engine, two banks of radially extending cylinders. each of said cylinders having an air inlet passage. a crank shaft, pistons in the cylinders connected to the crankshalt, valve means for the air inlet passages, means operated by a moving part of the engine for moving'A said inlet valve means to open position, a cam ring engageable with said inlet valve opening means associated with the cylinders inon'e bank ,to hold said opening means in open position, and means lor said valve moving means.

. rotating said cam ring to regulate its relation with

Images