US2608964A - Opposed piston engine - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 2, 1952 M. MALLORY OPPOSED PISTON ENGINE Filed'sept. 30. 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 gwen/1M Mar/0n /Y/'a//Ory Sept. 2, 1952 Filed Sept. 30, 1949 Ni. MALLORY OPPOSED PISTON ENGINE 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Z5 7 l 11111110 llll ,Il

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Patented Sept. 2, 1952 {oProsED r1s'roN.=ENG1NE AMatrici;Mallory, neuerer/rich. Applicationsepiemher 30,*.1e4afseria1no- A118,868

This invention relatesto, an opposed pistonin- :tern-al. `combustion engine I- of` the ,y type Vwhere the pistons are connected; to respective crank lshaf ts which'gare mechanically ,I connected .to insure-:two

rotations of one to one of theotJoer.-` Many variations canine made Yinthetipfiingarnimanner of charging yand exhausting. :Th-epresent invenftionzcomprsesgring the. charge while both-pis- ;tons .are approximately at their inner deadcenters, and exhausting .anjd Acharging :through opffposedports inthe,cylindeimwallsiin position to be luncovered -by the slow moving lpiston inthe outer portion of its travel.

.Details will `appear as the description proceed-s with reference to the drawings forming a part of the disclosure. In .these -drawings Fig. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic `longitudinal section through one 'form of the invention, showing the parts at ring with the ejector operating means diagrammatically shown; FigsrZ, 3 and 4 are similar views showing successive stages in theop- -ierative cycle, and Fig. V5,is a fragmentarvlongitudinal section through the operatingrfshaitand .-a-sso-ciated parts of theejector operatingmeans.

' `The engine shown Nin the drawings comprises a .cylinder l I in which there are opposedpistons lIII .aand lI2 :connected by rods i.i3.;and I4 to cranks 1 IEYIa-nd Iton shaft-5-1.1 .and t8.' ,An exha-ustport I9 is shownthroughone-sident the cylinder,

andan inlet port 2U Vthrough the opposite side' oft-he c'linder admits air from 4a `blower 2I,iwhioh V'may carry fuel vintroduced by rinjector 22. If lpreferredfiuelIn-aybe introduced byf-an injector 23 through one side of central portion of the cylinder opposite the usual spark plug 24.

'Shafts I1 and I8 are connected by suitable means, such .as engagement of spur gears 25 and 216 on the shafts l"1 and IB with gear 26', which insures two rotations of shaft I1 to one of shaft I8.

Preferably the end of the piston I2 is beveled at =21 on the side where inlet 20 is located.

For one method of operation, described below, the spark plug 24 is connected to means for producing a long succession of sparks by a vibrating coil or equivalent means. In the arrangement shown in Fig. l, rot-or 28 is driven in unison with crank shaft I8, by gears 1Ill), 4I and 42 or other suitable means, and contact arm 29, in the construction shown, makes contact with terminal about 30 before piston i2 reaches inner dead center, and thus clos-es the circuit through battery 3l and primary coil 32. When magneti-c action of the prim-ary coil moves armature -33 to separate breaker points 34, the current is interl,s claims. (ci. 1123-51) Vp v rupted until thezmagnetism created by the rprimary coil fades :to =a point where the armature -moves .away fromv the coil .again causing breaker vpoi-nt 34"-toconta'ct. Thus a rapid succession of sparks are induced by secondary coil-.SI5 Yand cross the spark :gapsand producea hot spot.`

"'Thelfuel injection may be timed in any sui-table manner and onemeans Vfor such vtiming is shown diagrammaticallyin Fig. V1 and in partial-section *inn-Fig. i5, .and may comprise a cam or striker .43

' mounted on a shaft .39 operating an armV of aibe'll `crank leveri; the other -arm of which is connectedby afrodAS to a bell crank lever 4l which times thev injector23. iSimilarly, a cam orstriker dron shaft 39 may time the injector. 22 through bell crank lever 50 and rod 5I.

`VBoth pistons .are at their inner dead centers,

-as shown in Fig. `1, when lfiring' .takes place. The

vwor'fking.stroke lasts las long as the distance between the-pistons increases, that is, until piston I Iihas passed its outer dead cen-tento a point, in-

#dicated Liii-Fig. 2,-whe rethe inward movement-of =the pis-ton I1I equalsrthe outward movement of piston I2. This point will vary somewhat with variation-in-theproportion of the lengths ofthe tothe crankarms'but, :as indicatedon the 1 rdrawings, is reached when'piston il. I f is about 31 past outer dead centerandwhen piston I2 has traveled 1051/ past inner dead-center. At this `point-piston I 2 starts to "uncover exhaust port I8. "Thus Ithe complete Yexpansion of -thespace between the pistons is -u-tilizediin `4the working stroke.' v

Shortly after the exhaust `port "opens atthe position shown in Fig. 2, piston I2 begins t0 uncover port 2D, as shown in Fig. 3. Bevel 21 on the end of piston I2 serves to direct the air, introduced through port 20, towards piston II, so that the introduced air rst occupies the space along the upper side of the cylinder, in the position shown in the drawings, and then the space adjacent piston II, the waste gases being crowded downward and out the port I9. The period, after exhaust starts before port 20 opens, may be varied somewhat, but the arrangement shown, where port 20 begins to open when piston I2 is still about 48 before outer dead center, is recommended. By the time piston I2 reaches outer dead center, piston II is at inner dead center. and the pistons are the nearest together that they get during the exhaust period. From that point on, piston I I moves outward faster than piston I2 moves inward until the exhaust port is closed.

Carbureted gas may be employed to charge the cylinder through port 20, or the preliminary scavenging may be by uncarbureted air, and fuel may be mixed with the later portion of the air by means of injector 22 or otherwise, or the entire charge of fuel may be supplied through injector 23. Also the engine may be run so that ring is initiated by spark plug 24, or after starting, the motor may be run as a Diesel engine.

To insure proper ring, many engines of the Diesel or semi-Diesel type employ constantly heated hot spots to insure ring when the fuel reaches that spot. Fig. 1 shows a modification that may be termed a timed electrically heated hot spot. The electric heating is begun long enough before the fuel injection begins to delinitely establish the hot spot before fuel injection and is continued as long as it is helpful. For example, when timed as shown to start the electric heating about 30 before inner dead center, the fuel injection may begin about 20 before dead center, being varied as to exact time in accordance with well known principles.

In this way, the advantages of a hot spot are obtained without the wastful heating of engine gases by the hot spot before it is needed for firing purposes. v

Some ofthe advantages of the timed electrically heated hot spot may be obtained with other types of engines, but it is of especial advantage with the relatively long power stroke and the relatively'long period injection of air begins before ring in the engine herein disclosed, as it avoids the unnecessary heating andexpansion of gases of the new charge during the relatively long charging period while enabling control of the .ring so as to fully utilize the relatively long power stroke.

In my prior Patent No. 2,545,098, dated March 13, 1951, the application for which was co-pending with the present application, there is shown a motor having the same arrangement and Atiming of work stroke and exhaust, and the broader claims to that arrangement are in that application, but in that application all scavenging and charging air` are introduced near the middle of the cylinder lengthwise thereof, while kthe pres-A ent application isvdirected to the introduction of air through a side port governed by the same piston that governs thel exhaust.

' What I claim is:

1. An internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder, opposed pistons in the cylinder, mechanical connections between the pistons reciprocating one of the pistons twice to one reciprocation of the other piston, means for burning a charge behaving the end of the slow piston shaped to direct gases from said inlet towards the other end of the cylinder and the inlet port positioned to open when the slow piston has moved about 26.5 beyond the point where it begins to open the exhaust port.

3. An engine in accordance with claim 1 and having means to direct air under pressure to said inlet, and a valve controlled inlet from a fuel injector into said entering air.A

4. An enginerin accordance with claim 1 and having means to direct air under pressure to said inlet, andv means to inject liquid fuel into the cylinder at firing times.

5. An engine in accordance with claim 1 and comprising means for producing for each power stroke a timed electrically heated hot spot in the 'cylinder timed to begin shortly before firing and to continue during firing, and means to inject fuel towards said hot spot timed to start injection shortly after 'the electric heating is started for each power stroke.

MARION MALLORY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS France of 1941

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