US2387540A - Fluid-pressure engine - Google Patents

Description

FLUID PRESSURE ENGINE Filed oche, 1943 s sheets-,sheet 1 F. E. swAlN FLUID PRESSURE ENGINE Filed oct. a. 194s s sheets-sheet' 2 www y F. E. swAlN FLUID PRESSURE ENGINE ocr. 23, 1945.l

Filed oct. a, 1943 :s sheetssheet s Y Patented Oct. 23, 1945 FLUm-rREssURE ENGINE Frank Edward Swain, Ewell, England Application October 8, 1943,' Serial No. 505,543

In Great Britain November 11, 1942 7 Claims. `(Cl. 12S- 50) This invention relates to a fluid-:pressure engine, for example, an internal-combustion engine or a compressor, of the kind of which the cylinders, coacting with pistons, have radially-extending axes. The cylinders may be arranged in a circle with their axes in a plane at rightangles to the crankshaft axis, or in two or more parallel circles. Alternatively, they may beV arranged side-by-side in a single line or in two or more lines.

Objects and advantages of the invention will Fbe understood from the following description in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings. i

According to the invention, one of each of the said coacting members (piston or cylinder) is connected to a Z-type crankshaft, the axes of the cylinder, of the crankshaft, and of the inclined pin thereof, all meeting at a point. .If the said coacting member be connected with oneend oi the inclined pin, it will be completely reciprocated once for each revolution of the crankshaft. If it be connected to a lug extending from the centre of the adjacent side of the inclined pin it will be completely reciprocated twice for each crankshaft revolution. The pistons may be stationary, the cylinders being connected to the crankshaft, instead of the more usual arrangement of reciprocating piston and stationary cylinder. Alternatively each of the coacting members (piston and cylinder-the latter formed as a sleeve valve if desired) may be connected to opposite ends of the inclined crankpin. Or one of them may be connected to the near side of the centre of the pin (for double recprocation) and the other to one end thereof. t

In the accompanying diagrammatic drawings:

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a flat-twin internal-combustion engine according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a part-sectional elevation of a double V-twin internal-combustion engine also in accordance with the invention;

Figure 3 is a cross-section `of the engine of Figure 2; Y Y

Figure 4 is a sectional elevation of another form of internal-combustion engine, according to ,the invention, with the piston shown in elevation; and

Figure 5 is a'sectional elevation, rather similar to that of Figure 4, of yet another form of internal-combustion engine according to the invention. y

The same reference numerals are used throughwhen the pistons are at in-centre.

out the Various figures as far as possible to denote similar parts.

In the construction of Figure 1, II represents the inclined pinof a Z-type crankshaft I2 having a sleeve I3 journalled on the pin, `and in this case opposite ends of the sleeve carry lugs I4, I4 connected by connecting rods I5, I5 to pistons I6, I6 respectively reciprocable in diametrically-opposite cylinder bores. The engine in question is a two-stroke engine with crank case compression, having transfer passages I1, I'I leading fromthe crank case to the cylinder bores (the inlet to the crank case is not shown), whilst the ports I3, I8 are exhaust ports. The cylinders are, of course, stationary, the cylinder heads being indicated bythe chain lines I9. The pistons work in unison, and the chain lines Ilia, represent the positions of the connecting rods It will be observed that the axis of the cylinder marked X, the axis of the crankshaft marked Y and the axisV of the inclined pin I I marked Z all meet at a point, as shown in Figure l.

It Will be evident that during one complete revolutionof the crankshaft each piston is completely reciprocated (up and down) once.

Figures 2 and 3 show a four-cylinder tWostroke engine with two pairs of radial, side-byside cylinders 2 I, 22, indicated by chain lines, arranged with their axes in two planes at rightangles to one another. The engine is,I in fact, a double V-twin.

In the present instance, the coacting members include pistons I5 which are stationary and reciprocating sleeve-Valve cylinders 24 which are worked from lugs at the ends of sleeves I3 on the inclined portions II of the crankshaft. 'Ihe two inclined portions II, II are in this instance essentially a single inclined portion with an intermediatev bearing portion. cylinders 24 of each pair (2| or 22) of stationary cylinders, being connected to opposite ends of the double inclined portion, are out of step, as shown clearly in Figure 2. Each is reciprocated completely only once for each crankshaft revolution.

The pistons in this case may be water-cooled, 26 (Figures 2 and 3) indicating outlet passages and 2l (Figure 3) an inlet passage.

The left-hand sleeve-valve cylinder 24 in Figure 2 is shown at its in-centre position, in which ignition is occurring and the power stroke beginning. The right-hand cylinder 24 of Figure 2 is shown at its out-stroke position in which its inlet ports 29 are aligned with corresponding ports leading to passages 30 in the stationary cylinder block and through which the charge may be introduced. 3| represents an exhaust port in a sleeve-valve cylinder 24.

In the present instance, the axially-outer ends 33 of the sleeve-valve cylinders 24 serve as compressor pistons, to compress the charge .and deliver it to a receiver, connected with the passages 30 whence it is returned to the interior of the sleeve-valve cylinders through the inlet ports 23 when the sleeve-valve cylinders reach the out-centre positions and the ports are placed in the open position. The ports 29 and SI it will be observed, trace out a complete ellipse during each crankshaft revolution and very satisfactory porting can be provided by a suitable shaping of the ports, the opening of the ports being controlled mainly by the rotary movement of the sleeve-Valve cylinders 24. Y

In the construction of Figure 4, as applied to a multiple-row', radial engine (only one pair of coacting members being shown in detail), both the piston I5 and the cylinder 24 adapted as a sleeve valve are respectively connected by connecting rods I5 with lugs on the same side and at opposite ends of the sleeve I3 journalled upon the inclined portion II of the crankshaft I2. Thus, the coacting piston and cylinder are oppositely reciprocated, each again effecting only one complete reciprocation for each crankshaft revolution. In this example 29 again represents an inlet port and 3l an exhaust Dort in thesleevevalve cylinder. As opposed thrusts are applied alongthe connecting rods I5 (as indicated by the arrows) the resultant thrust on the sleeve I3 (in an axial direction) Will be very small.

Here again the outer face 33 of the sleeve-valve cylinder is adapted as a pump for generating a suitable air pressure for supply to the inlet of the engine.

In this example, there is a diametrically-opposite piston and sleeve-'valve cylinder (not shown) respectively connected by the connecting rods I 5b to lugs at the opposite ends of the sleeve I3 and diametrically opposite the lugs to which the connecting rods I5 are connected. The two sleevevalve cylinders, it will be observed, are reciprocated 180 out of phase, as are also the two pistons I6, an arrangement which is very applicable to a flat twin.

The construction of Figure 5 has much in common with that of Figure 4 except that here the connecting rods I5 and I5b are forked at their radially-inner ends and connected in pairs' to pairs of trunnions 35 at opposite ends of the sleeve I3, this arrangement also being very applicable to an opposed twin construction or more particularly to a flat multi-cylinder arrangement with two banks of in-line cylinders, only the mid- 6 dle cylinder of one bank being shown in detail.

The inclined pins II of the crankshaft I2 will be mounted at different inclinations to one another as necessary to give a desired firing 01`er What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A fluid-pressure engine having a ported cylinder, a piston coacting therewith, one of the members being reciprocable with respect to the other, and a Z-type crankshaft, the axes of the said one member, of the crankshaft, and of the inclined pin thereof, all meeting at a point.

2. A fluid-pressure engine having a Z-type crankshaft, a ported cylinder with its axis extending radially of the crankshaft axis, a piston coacting with said cylinder, and a sleeve journalled on the inclined pin of the crankshaft, one of said coacting'members being connected to'said sleeve so as to be reciprocated with respect toy theother coacting member on the rotation of the crankshaft, the axes of the reciprocating member, of the crankshaft and of the inclined pin thereof, all meeting at oneV point.k 3. A fluid-pressure engine having a Z-type crankshaft, a ported cylinder with its axis extending radially of the crankshaft axis, a piston coacting with said cylinder, and a sleeve journalled on the inclined pin of the crankshaft one of said coacting members being connected to one end of said sleeve so as to be completely reciprocated once for each crankshaft revolution, the axes of the reciprocating member, of the crankshaft and of the inclined pin thereof, all meeting at one point.

4. A iiuid-pressure engine having a Z-type cranlshaft, a stationary piston with its axis extending radially of the crankshaft axis, a sleeve journalled on the inclined pin of said crankshaft and a ported cylinder coacting with said piston and connected to Said sleeve so as to be reciprocated on rotation of the crankshaft, the axes of the cylinder, of the crankshaft and of the inclined pin thereof, all meeting at one point.

5. A uid-pressure engine having a Z-type crankshaft, a sleeve journalled on the inclined pin of the crankshaft, radially-extending ported cylinders with piston therein, and connecting rods by Which each piston and cylinder are connected to spaced points of the sleeve so as to be reciprocated out of phase during rotation of the crankshaft, the axes of the reciprocating members, of the crankshaft and of the inclined pin thereof, all meeting at one point.

6. A two-stroke internal-combustion engine, according to claim 4, in which the radially-outer end of the cylinder serves as an air pump.

7. A two-stroke internal-combustion engine, according to claim 5, in which the radially-outer end of the cylinder serves as an air pump.

FRANK EDWARD SWAIN.

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