US3200800A

US3200800A - Internal combustion engine

Info

Publication number: US3200800A
Application number: US190603A
Authority: US
Inventors: Bois Francois M Du
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1962-04-27
Filing date: 1962-04-27
Publication date: 1965-08-17
Anticipated expiration: 1982-08-17

Description

7, 1965 F. M. DU BOIS 3,200,800

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed April 27, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ff mi 20 2| 25 INVENTOR FRANCOIS M. DUBOIS BY Jada/141% ATTORN S Aug. 17, 1965 F. M. DU BOIS 3,200,800

INTERNAL COMBUS TION ENGINE Filed April 27, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fl q- 89 us 9| 92 INVENTOR.

FRANCOIS M. DUBOIS m ulw ATTOR EYS United States Patent 3,2titi,80ti L ITERNAL Cfih iii-USWGN ENGENE Francois M. Du Refs, 11% Park Ave, New York, NIiZ'. Filed Apr. 27, 1962, See. No. 1%,dil3 7 (or. iris-e4 This invention relates to an internal combustion engine which is intended to reduce the costs of construction, operation, and maintenance of such engines, and to be of increased efficiency.

One of the problems of motor manufacture concerns the making of a balanced crankshaft, the difficulty of which is multiplied in relation to the number of cranks on the shaft. It is an object of the invention to provide a multi-cylinder engine with a crankshaft having fewer cranks than is provided by any successful engine of the prior art. A particular object of the novel construction is to elminate a multiplicity of connecting rods with their complexity of connections to cylinder and crank.

Another object is to reduce piston wear on cylinder walls which arises largely because the thrust of the piston is not transmitted in a straight line to the connecting rod but always at an angle having a subsantially laterally directed component of force. Another object is to reduce wear on cylinder and piston rings and thereby to educe the number of repairs necessary in the life of an engine.

Another object is to apply the novel principles of this invention to 2 and 4 cycle engines and to engines which are charged by carburetor or by injection, gasoline or diesel.

The objects of the invention are accomplished, generally speaking, by an internal combustion engine having a reciprocable frame mounted for movement in a single plane, a plurality of pistons mounted in cylinders which are side by side and fire in the same direction, and which are opposed by similar pistons, means connecting the pistons to the frame, means to charge and fire the pistons together, and power transmitting means connected to the frame in balanced relation to the cylinders.

Another object of the invention is to construct an engine operated on the novel principles which can be charged and fired by existing systems of fuel supply, valving, and ignition. The invention will consequently be described in relation to what is novel omitting that which is known and readily adaptable without invention to the novel construction.

In the drawings which are diagrammatic and illustrative,

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of a simple form of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the assembling of a plurality of power units on a single crankshaft;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic elevational view of a more complex engine;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic elevational view of a two cycle diesel embodying novel principles;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic plan view and FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic elevational view of a modification.

in FIG. 1 reference numeral 9 indicates the engine block in which is mounted a crankshaft it having a crank 11 to which is connected a power transmission means 12 in the form or" a connecting rod. The connecting rod is connected to the cross bar 13 of a frame which has

side pieces

14, 15 connected at their ends to

pistons

16, 12,8, 17, 1Q, respectively, which are mounted, with the aid of piston rings 24, in cylinders 2'1 21, 22, 23. The pistons 16, 11.7 are rigidly mounted at the ends of side frame member 15, and

pistons

18, 19 are correspondently mounted at the ends of side frame member 14. All the pistons and the

frame members

14, 15, 13 he in a single plane so that, when the engine is in operation the power of the explosions is delivered in a straight line without lateral components.

The cylinder heads are supplied with inlet valves 28 at one end and at the other end, with exhaust valves 26 at one end and 27 at the other end, and with spark plugs 259 for each cylinder. The

cylinders

20, 22 cooperate by driving their pistons in the same direction and

cylinders

21, 23 cooperate by driving their pistons in the opposite direction.

FIG. 1 shows a four cycle engine in which standard carbureting means charges cylinders .26 22 simultaneously through valves 2% and charges

cylinders

21, 23 simultaneously through valves 25. Similiarly exhaust valves 26 release the exploded charges simultaneously from

cylinders

29, 22 and the exhaust valves 27 release the exploded charges simultaneously from the

cylinders

21, 23. Spark plugs 29 in

cylinders

20, 22 are fired simultaneously by known means and spark plugs 29 in

cylinders

21, 23 fire simultaneously. The cylinders 25%, 22 fire in alternation to the

cylinders

21, 23. The power thrust of

pistons

17, 19 is balanced by admitting equal chrages and their effect upon the crankshaft is balanced by the mechanical position of the link 12 which is located on a line mid-way between the

pistons

17, 19 The same is true, of course, for the power thrust of

pistons

16, 18.

When the engine of FIGJ is to fire in accordance with an ordinary four cycle system, the cycle for the cylinders 2t), 22, in half turns, is compression, explosion, exhaust, charge, and the corresponding cycle for cylinders 21, 2.3, during the same half turns, is explosion, exhaust, charge, and compression.

The crankshaft has a single throw or crank and requires only two bearings for its own mounting and one bearing for the crank. The single connecting rod 12 transmits all power to the crank. There are, thus, two explosions in the first turn of the crankshaft and none in the second. For some purposes this is satisfactory. However, the cycle can be arranged so that cylinders 231, 23 are charged in the first half turn, compressed in the second, fired in the thirdand discharged in the fourth.

In FIG. 1 the crankshaft is at right angles: to the plane of the frame. In FIGS. 5 and 6 it is arranged parallel to the frame. In this case the

frame side members

14 and 15 are provided with rectangular offset mid-portions i4, 15' which maintain the balance of the frame and admit the crankshaft, the dimensions of the rectangular portion beng sufiicient to permit the reciprocation of the frame.

In FIG. 2 is shown a layout similar to that of FIG. 5 as to the crankshaft but in which the crankshaft is provided with two

cranks

61, 62 which are connected by rods 63, 6d pivotally to

frames

65, 66 which are similar in construction to the

frame

14, 15 of FIGS. 5 and 6. The frame is connected at its ends to pistons in the manner described in FIG. 1. Frame as is also connected at its ends in the maner set forth in FIG. 1 but the cranks of the shaft being oppositely aligned by The pistons of frame 65 will be at their compressed position at the left end of the cylinders when the pistons of frame 6-6 are in compression position at the right end of the cylinders. This arrangement provides for one explosion for each half turn of the crankshaft. Thus the pistons 67 being at the start of the power stroke, the pistons 68 have completed exhaust, the pistons 69 are beginning exhaust and the pistons '76 are begining compression. There will thus be a power impulse at each half turn of the crank. A bearing '71 sustains the central portion of the shaft and bearings '72, '73 sustain its ends. A single crank suffices for the operation of four cylinders.

. received way and at the same time. lltill is conveniently equal to the capacity of 91 and 117 In FIG. 3 is shown a structure in which the case of the engine 3d includes two sets of four opposed cylinders 42, 4 5, 2-6, 5-8, lined side by side in a single plane in cylinders which are constructed to fire in opposition to cylinders 41, 43, i5, 47; The frame has four connecting rods fixed at their ends to the pistons 32 to 39 inclusive. The cycle for this engine, for the first half turn involves charging for

cylinders

42 and 48, explosion for cylinders 44 and 46, discharge for cylinders 41 and 4'7, and compression for

cylinders

43 and 45. In the second half turn cylinders 42 and 4t compress, 4d and 4-6 exhaust, 4'7 and 41 are charged, and cylinders 45 and 4-3 are fired.

In the third half turn cylinders 2 and 48 are fired, 44 and 46am charged, cylinders 31 and 4-7 are compressed, and

cylinders

43 and 45 exhaust. In the fourth half turn cylinders 4-2 and 48 exhaust, cylinders 44 and 4-6 compress, cylinders 41 and 47 fire and

cylinders

43 and 45 are charged.

The oiling of the apparatus can be carried out in accordance with known principles. In FIG. 6, for example, the crank case is provided with a sump 7t? filled with oil which is splashed by the end of the crank during its revolutions and by bafiie '71 which is added to the lower 'end of the frame and is provided with inclined surfaces '72 which directs the oil toward the cylinders at the frames reciprocate.

FIG. 4 illustrates an engine casing in which the crankshaft 81 is rotatably mounted and is connected by crank 82 and link 83 to frame $4 which has side members S5, 85 and centrally located

rods

37, 88. A description of one cylinder will suffice inasmuch as the others are similarly constructed. Mounted on the end of rod 86 of the frame are the pistons 89, 9% which are in' the

cylinders

91, 92, respectively. The cylinder head 93 contains an injection nozzle 95 which supplies fuel to the cylinder in accordance with standard diesel technique. Also mounted in the cylinder head is a valve 97 which communicates through a passage 99 with the head of a cylinder lltBI which contains the piston N3 which is mounted on the head of rod 87. A valve .111 is opened as the piston N3 moves toward the right,

admitting air, and closed as soon as the piston reverses and moves to the left. An opening in the side of the cylinder Th1 admits air except at the times when it is covered by piston 1%. As soon as the piston has covered opening M5 on its travel to the left compression begins and the air is forced under compression through passage 99 past valve 97 into the cylinder 91 above the head of the piston 89. The valve 97 closes as soon as a proper amount of air has been admitted for admixture with the fuel which has been admitted through injector 95. Compression then occurs atop piston 89, when compression becomes sufiiciently high, the fuel charge fires exhaust, and drives the piston 39 and frame 86 to the right, moving piston 11% with it. The piston 8? moves past the port I13 and the burned gases escape. At the same time air which had filled cylinder 1M to the right of piston 11)?) is compressed and forced through passage I15 unseating check valve It)?! and scavenging the burned gases from cylinder 91. A perforated plate .or a spring 130 prevents the ball 1% from closing the passage The construction of cylinder IE7 is identical with that of cylinder 91 and performs in the same The capacity of cylinder together but it may be greater or lesser depending upon the needs of a particular operation.

The two

cylinders

92, 94 at the right hand end of the drawing are similar in structure and in function to those which have just been described except that they are timed so that their power strokes will be in alternation with those of the opposed.

Shaft

87, 88 pass through sleeves I21, respectively, and are provided with piston rings which cooperate with the wall of the sleeve to retain the pressure within the cylinder Itii Within the cylinders. The check valve 199 is forced closed during the compression stroke of its adjacent piston 89 and is opened by the pressure generated by the piston 1493 in cylinder 1M. In this two cycle form of the invention there is an explosion for every turn of the crankshaft, the cylinders at each end firing alternately.

The advantages of the invention are numerous. In addition to those which are stated above as objects of the invention, and which have been attained, are these: The power stroke is perfectly balanced within the capacity of carburetors and injectors to supply equal charges of fuel to cylinders of the same size. In all normal practice this results in a perfect balance. There are no pivots in the pistons, no piston pins, no bearings between pin and piston, and no direct connection between the piston and the crankshaft. All motion is trans mitted to the crankshaft by the rigid frame and that motion may be transmitted by a single connecting rod. The frame need not be heavy because it is not subjected to bending and twisting stresses from the pistons. Nevertheless, in apparatus designed for heavy use the side members of the frame, such as 14-, 15 of the H frame of FIG. 1 may be mounted in guides which absorb the lateral thrust which is imparted to the closed members by the link 12. These guides may be located as at GG .in FIG. 1.

The principles of multiplication of units as indicated in the figures may be carried out as desired.

The engine is of internal combustion type, of either two or four cycles, uses a combustable liquid or a gas, is ignited by spark plugs or by diesel principle and involves the principle of the balanced, simultaneous firing of a plurality of cylinders at each power stroke. The

construction is simpler than that of standard engines, the sources of failure are reduced and the cost of repairs is less.

As many apparently widely different embodiments of the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodimens.

What is claimed is:

ll. An internal combustion engine comprising a crankshaft, a connecting rod attached thereto, an H-shaped, rigid frame attached to the crankshaft, pistons fixed to the ends of the H, power cylinders enclosing the pistons, a fuel injection means for each said cylinder, an exhaust means for each said cylinder, the cylinders on one side of the crankshaft being thus adapted to fire together, opposed'pressure generating cylinders intermediate the said pistons, pistons in the intermediate cylinders each cylinder of which has a'volume greater than that of a single power cylinder, conduit means connecting the intermediate cylinders to the power cylinders at one end of the pressure cylinders, conduit means connecting the power cylinders to the pressure cylinders at the opposite end of the pressure cylinders, and valve means associated therewith controlling the cycle of the engine.

2. An engine comprising a rigid frame mounted for reciprocation in one plane, a group of three pistons in cylinders one one side of the frame and a group of three pistons in cylinders on the oppsite side of the frame, means connecting the frame to the pistons, the central cylinders of each three being of about the same capacity as the other pair in the same group and being connected thereto at one end and at a midpoint of each cylinder of the pair by conduits leading from opposite sides of the central cylinders, valve means controlling the flow of gas from the central cylinder to the pair, port means admitting air to opposite sides of the central piston alternately, and discharge port means in the cylinder pair, the compression stroke of the central piston in one direction serving to charge the pair for firing, and the compression aaoaeoo stroke in the other direction serving to scavenge the pair of burned gases.

3. An internal combustion engine having cylinders arranged in oppositely disposed groups, each of which contains several cylinders of which a plurality are power cylinders and another is a source of compressed air, means to fire the power cylinders of a group simultaneously means to force air for combustion from the source cylinder into the power cylinders of a group as the pistons of the group move in one direction, conduit means to force air for scavenging into the power pistons of the group as the pistons move in the other direction, and means to inject fuel into each power cylinder.

The engine of claim 3 including a rigid frame interconnecting all pistons for movement together in the same direction, a crankshaft disposed between the groups, and power transmission means operatively attached to the frame and the crankshaft.

5. The engine of claim 3 including power transmitting means operatively connected to both groups of pistons.

6. An internal combustion engine having cylinders arranged generally in one plane and arranged in oppositely disposed groups, each of which contains several cylinders of which a plurality are power cylinders and another is a source of compressed air, means to lire the power cylinders of a group simultaneously, conduit means to force air for combustion from the source cylinder into the power cylinders of a group as the pistons of the group move in one directions, conduit means to force air for scavenging into the power pistons 0f the group as the pistons move in the other direction, means to inject fuel into each power cylinder, and transmitting means connected to the pistons including a crank shaft parallel to the plane of the cylinders.

7. An internal combustion engine having cylinders arranged generally in one plane and arranged in oppositely dispose groups, each of which contains several cylinders of which a plurality are power cylinders and another is a source of compressed air, means to fire the power cylinders of a group simultaneously, conduit means to force air for combustion from the source cylinder into the power cylinders of a group as the pistons of the group move in one direction, conduit means to force air for scavenging into the power pistons of the group as the pistons move in the other direction, means to inject fuel into each power cylinder, and power transmitting means connected to the pistons including a crank shaft transverse to the plane of the cylinders.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,658,698 2/28 Wood 123-54 2,137,730 11/38 Smith 123-56 2,159,072 5/39 Beall et a1 12356 2,387,107 10/45 Appeman 12354 2,825,319 3/58 Harrer 12356 FOREIGN PATENTS 971,415 7/50 France. 1,056,016 10/53 France.

832,807 2/52 Germany.

FRED E. ENGELTHALER, Primary Examiner. RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Examiner.

Claims

1. AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE COMPRISING A CRANKSHAFT, A CONNECTING ROD ATTACHED THERETO, AN H-SHAPED, RIGID FRAME ATTACHED TO THE CRANKSHAFT, PISTONS FIXED TO THE ENDS OF THE H, POWER CYLINDERS, ENCLOSING THE PISTONS, A FUEL INJECTION MEANS FOR EACH SAID CYLINDER, AN EXHAUST MEANS FOR EACH SAID CYLINDER, THE CYLINDERS ON ONE SIDE OF THE CRANKSHAFT BEING THUS ADAPTED TO FIRE TOGETHER, OPPOSED PRESSURE GENERATING CYLINDERS INTERMEDIATE THE SAID PISTONS, PISTONS IN THE INTERMEDIATE CYLINDERS EACH CYLINDER OF WHICH HAS A VOLUME GREATER THAN THAT OF A SINGLE POWER CYLINDER, CONDUIT MEANS CONNECTING THE