US2297823A - Internal combustion engine - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 6, 1942. BARNEs INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed May 19, 1941 I n I;

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Patented, Oct. 6, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Neal J. Barnes, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii Application May 19, 1941, Serial No. 394,211

3Claims.

This invention relates to internal combustion engines of the ignition-by-compgzssion kind and has for one of its objects 't'd improve generally upon this type of engine and other objects being to provide a peculiar auxiliary ignition chamber in which a special piston operates and has provision for its adjustment to effect the properly timed combustion. Further objects and. advantages to be attained will hereinafter more fully appear.

The invention consists in the novel general structure and in the particular parts and combinations and arrangements of parts thereof as hereinafter described and defined in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawing illustrating a practical adaptation of the invention, in which,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the engine cylinder, the piston therein and associated parts having to do with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a view, on an enlarged scale, and partly in longitudinal section and side elevation, illustrating details of the auxiliary piston and the correlated elements directly associated therewith;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view showing details of the screw-threaded and counterbored portions of the bore in which the stern of the auxiliary piston is received and adjusted;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view partly in elevation and partly in longitudinal section, on an enlarged scale to illustrate details of the auxiliary piston structure;

Figure 5 is an inverted plan view of the bottom end of the auxiliary piston with parts broken away to illustrate certain details in the form and arrangement of the compression rings of the piston; and

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a companion pair of the piston compression rings and a piston body segment detached but illustrating the form of that part of the body segment which receives the pair of compression rings.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the numeral I designates the power cylinder of the engine, the cylinder as shown being provided with external annular heat dissipating fins 2. As shown, the head 3 of the cylinder.is tapered upwardly toward the center thereof, or, in other words, it is of hollow conical form and it is provided at diametrically opposite places with fuel inlet and exhaust valves 4 and 5, respectively. Fitted in the cylinder I is a piston I which is of the present invention is concerned, that is to say, it is formed with the usual, substantially cylindrical, hollow skirt portion and is provided with the regular circumferential annular grooves for the accommodation of the conventional compression rings I.

The space I between the cylinder head 3 and the piston head 9 is the main combustion chamber of the engine, and, in accordance with the present invention, the piston head 8 is provided with an auxiliary compression and ignition chamber I0 which is of much smaller size and capacity than the main combustion chamber 8 and receives therein a compression head II carried by an axial stem II, which latter is mounted on the cylinder head 3 and said compression head ll being positioned at a definite distance below the cylinder head 3 so as to enter the auxiliary chamber III when the piston 6 is nearing the completion of its compression stroke or its exhaust stroke, as the case may be.

As shown, the major lower portion ot the compression and ignition chamber is of larger diameter and greater length than that of the compression head II, and formed either substantially cylindrical, as shown, or, obviously, of a spherical form, as desired, but the entrance portion I3 of the chamber, in all cases, is substantially cylindrical and of a diameter approximately that of the compression head I I, that is tosay, so that said entrance portion I3 is slidable over the compression head II with a relatively close fit. In

this connection, it is here pointed out that the outer annular edge portion of the entrance is rounded, as at I4, or otherwise flared outwardly so as to guide the compression rings into the entrance II as the chambered portion of the piston head's receives the compression head I I and, too, the inner end portion of the entrance I3 is merged roundedly with the adjacent wall portion of the chamber III, as at I5, to guide th compression rings into the entrance l3 when the chambered portion of the piston head 9 is moved away from the compression head ll.

Preferably, the compression head II comprises a built-up structure of separate annular segments I6 which are superimposed the one upon the other and meet flatwise in contact with each other and. being assembled on an axial shank extension of the supporting stem I! of said compression head II. As shown, the segments I6 of the compression head II are secured between an annular flange I. provided on the stem I! at the base 01' the shank extension I! and a retainconventional in all respects except as a feature in: collar I. having a flared central opening 20 just above described, is to facilitate the provision of annular external grooves for the reception of the compression rings 23, which rings are preferably in superimposed pairs and the split portion 24 of the one ring being set diametrically opposite the split portion of the companion ring, and, preferably, said split portions are diagonally instead of radially disposed and, too, the

split portion of the one ring is inclined in the direction opposite that of the inclination of the split portion of the companion ring so that, should the two split portions happen to come in overlapping relation to each other, due to the shifting of the rings in the operation of the compression head II, the splits will be crossed whereby an effective sealing contact is maintained betweenthe peripheries of the compression rings 23 and the wall face of the cylindrical entrance I3 to the auxiliary compression and ignition chamber ID. The annular ring-receiving grooves of the compression head II are provided by annularly chamfering one face of each of the segments l6, as at 25, and shown more clearly in Figure 6 of the drawing. This not only provides the ring-receiving grooves when the segments iii are assembled on the shank extension H of the supporting stem l2 but the assembling of the pairs of rings 23 is readily accomplished by placing the rings simultaneously with the assembling of the segments on the shank extension ll prior to the riveting of the end portion 22 of the shank extension upon the retaining collar l9 and the adjacent segment [6.

While it is preferable to rivet the retaining col- 7 lar 59 in place, as herein described, it is obvious that the same may be secured detachably to the end portion of the shank extension I! by means of a suitable screw or nut element, in which case it is obvious that the segments I6 of the compression head ll may be removed and replaced for repairs or renewal of the parts, as occasion may require. It is here further pointed out that it is preferable to make the compression head segments H5 in different thicknesses and locating the segment of least thickness next adjacent the annular flange N3 of the supporting stem i 2 and placing the other segments of greater thickness sequentially and progressively toward the end of the shank extension H, by which arrangement the respective pairs of compression rings 23 are correspondingly located at different distances apart as shown more clearly in Figures 2 and 4. However, in some cases, the several compression head segments l6 may be made of the same thickness. It is here further noted that, in keeping with the customary practice, the compression rings 23 have a certain amount of inherent resiliency and have an original set so that their peripheries are normally outside the circumference of the compression head H and of a diameter slightly greater than that of the entrance I 3 to the auxiliary compression and ignition chamber I0 whereby the are compressed and held under tension while passing through said entrance I3, and it is for this reason that the outer end portion of said entrance i3 is rounded annularly or flared as at M, and the inner end portion of said entrance I3 is made to merge roundedly with the adjacent wall portion of the chamber to, as at E5, so as to eliminate abrupt edge portions or shoulders which might interrupt the passing of the compression rings into and out of the entrance 13, but by which provision and arrangement the rings are guided, compressed and eased into and out of said entrance l3.

With the compression hea i I provided and positioned as thus far described, in the operation of the engine and the piston travelling on its compression stroke, and with the inlet valve 2 and exhaust valve 5 closed, the fuel charge which has been supplied into the space in the power cylinder 1 between the cylinder head 3 and head 9 of the piston 6 is compressed in the usual manner. As the piston 6 nears the end of its compression stroke the compression head it on the supporting stem I2 is received in the entrance I3 of the compression and ignition chamber i2, thereby compressing to a much higher degree that part of the fuel charge which has already been compressed in the auxiliary chamber it) and by which high compression the fuel in said chamber I0 is ignited, and as soon as the compression head H has passed beyondthe inner end of the entrance i 3 to said chamber the flame immediately ignites the compressed charge in the combustion chamber 8 between the cylinder head 3 and piston head 9.

If the engine be of the four cycle type, the main combustion chamber 8 and auxiliary com bustion and ignition chamber iii are scavenged in the usual way upon the opening of the exhaust valve 5 and the travel of the piston 2 on its exhaust stroke. If the engine be of the two cycle or other type the scavenging of the chambers 8 and ill will be accomplished in the regular y.

To regulate the timing of ignition in. the auxiliary chamber i0 provision is made to accordingly adjust the compression head it to different positions from the cylinder head 2. This is preferably accomplished by screw-threading a portion of the supporting stem l2, as at 25, and fitting the same in a correspondingly threaded bore 21 of an elongated plug element 28, which latter has its inner end portion externally screwthreaded, as at 29, and fitted into a correspondingly threaded axial opening in the cylinder head 3. As shown, the plug member 28 has a tapered enlargement of its body, as at 30, providing an annular shoulder 3! at the base of its externally screw-threaded portion 22, between which and the adjacent outer face portion of the cylinder head 3 is placed a sealing ring or washer Next adjacent the enlargement 30, the plug element 28 is provided with a polygonal collar 33 or other suitable means for the application of a wrench or other suitable implement for screwing the plug element 28 into place and removing it from the cylinder head 3. It is also preferable to provide the major body portion of the plug element 28 with a plurality of heat dissipating fins or flanges 34.

By the provision and arrangement of the plug element 28 the supporting stem I2 of the compression head II is readily adjusted longitudinally of the plug element, even while the plug element is in place on the cylinder head 3, by rotating the supporting stem I2 in either direction in the screw-threaded bore 21 of the plug element, for the convenience of which the supporting stem 12 is square, as at 35, or otherwise provided at its outer end for the reception of a wrench or other manipulating implement. To lock the supporting stem in its adjusted position, it is provided on its screw-threaded outer end portion with a jam nut 38 which is tightened against the outer end of the plug element 28. In providing for. the longitudinal adjustment of the supporting stem I! in the plug element 28, and at the same time preventing the products of combustion in the chamber 8 from coming in contact with the screw-threaded portion of the stem, the inner end portion of the axial bore of the plug element 28 is counterbored some distance from the inner end of the plug element, as at 31, and with a smooth cylindrical surface, to receive therein, with a freely slidable but close fitting, the nonthreaded portion 38 of the stem l2 next adjacent the screw-threaded portion 21, the length of said counterbored portion 31, of course, to be at least of suflicient length to permit the necessary longitudinal adjustments of the compression head supporting stem 12 without moving the nonthreaded portion of the stem out of the counterbore.

From the foregoing description and the illustration of the invention in the drawing, it is apparent that an exceedingly simple yet practical and highly efiicient structure is provided in an internal combustion engine of the ignition-by compression kind and particularly of the type including an auxiliary combustion and ignition chamber is produced and in which is provided means for varying the timing of ignition. In this connection, in addition to the minimization of essential parts in the structure and simplification in the means of adjustment of the auxiliary compression head for varying the timing of ignition, it is here pointed out that by the peculiar form and arrangement of the auxiliary combustion and ignition chamber I and particularly in the proportionate dimensions of the chamber itself, and the entrance l8 thereto and the compression head II, the proper compression and ignition of that part of the fuel charge therein is uniformly accomplished and efiected at whatever speed the engine piston 6 is operating and the only adjustment in the position of the compression head ll being for the timing of the ignition. There is a further advantage in the particular position of the compression rings 23 on the compression head H, inthat, during the time the compression head is within the entrance 13 to, the auxiliary compression and ignition chamber ID, the yieldabilityof the compression rings 23 permits of the usual lateral movement or .slap of the piston 6 during its reciprocation in the power cylinder I, and thus relieving the compression head supporting stem ll of lateral stresses or strains thereon. A

still further advantage of the present invention is that the elements thereof can be applied to almost any conventional internal combustion engine without any material alteration in the engine other than to substitute a piston with the auxiliary compression and ignition chamber incorporated therewith, which may be by a special integral structure or by having the chamber i0 attached to the piston as a separate element, and in the mere provision of a threaded opening in the cylinder head 3 to receive the plug element 28 in which the stem l2 carrying the compression head H is mounted with longitudinal adjustment. There is yet another advantage in that, by

g the utilization of the present invention, lower grade hydrocarbon liquids and the heavier fuel oils may be used in the operation of the engine.

While the illustrated and herein described structure embodies a practical adaptation of the invention, it is obvious that considerable modiiication and alteration may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. The invention, therefore, is not limited to the specific construction and arrangement shown.

What is claimed is:

l. Ignition-by-compression means for internal combustion engines, comprising in combination with a cylinder head and a reciprocating piston, in the space in the cylinder between which element the fuel charge is compressed, of an auxil iary compression and ignition chamber arranged below the flat upper face of the reciprocating piston, a compression head carried by the cylinder head and having a packing engagement with the contracted upper end of the auxiliary compression and ignition chamber.

2. An internal combustion engine, comprising a cylinder, a cylinder head, inlet and exhaust valves arranged in said cylinder head, a reciprocating piston for compressing the charge in the head below the valves and having a flat upper face provided with a central opening communicating with an enlarged auxiliary compression and ignition chamber in the piston, and a compression head adjustably carried by the cylinder head with outwardly extending packing rings of a diameter approximately equal to the opening in the reciprocating piston.

3. An internal combustion engine, comprising a cylinder, a cylinder head, a reciprocating piston in the cylinder and having a flat upper face provided with a central opening communicating with an enlarged auxiliary compression and ignition chamber in the piston, a plug element removably secured in the cylinder head and provided with radiating blades, a rod vertically adjustable in the plug element, and a compression head carried by the rod and provided with outwardly extending packing rings of a diameter approximately that of the central opening in the flat upper face of the reciprocating piston.

NEAL J. BARNES.

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