Abstract: A control valve is disposed in a communication passage for communication between a combustion chamber and a chamber portion adjacent to the combustion chamber, and through the communication passage at least one of a fuel and an air-fuel mixture, and a highly compressed gas, are supplied or charged into the combustion chamber and the chamber portion adjacent thereto, respectively. The control valve includes a first control valve disposed in the first communication passage and a second control valve disposed in the second communication passage, the first control valve causes the first communication passage to open at a timing near closing of an exhaust port and causes it to close halfway in a compression stroke. The second control valve causes the second communication passage to open at a timing near closing of the scavenging ports and causes it to close prior to closing of the first communication passage.

Abstract: The invention relates to a device in a cylinder head for an internal combustion engine, said cylinder head for each cylinder comprising at least one inlet channel with an inlet valve for controlling the communication between the inlet channel and a combustion chamber, which is at least partially located in the cylinder head, and at least one outlet channel with an outlet valve for controlling the communication between the outlet channel and the combustion chamber, each of the valves being a poppet valve and being moveable between a first position in which the valve disc is in contact with a valve seat in the cylinder head to shut off the communication between the combustion chamber and the channel in question, and a second position in which the valve disc is spaced from the valve seat and opens the communication.

Abstract: An internal combustion engine has at least one pair of first and second cylinders (12, 14) with the first (12) cylinder having a larger swept volume than the second cylinder (14) and respective first and second pistons (16, 18) reciprocable in the cylinders. The second piston (18) has a drive stem (234) and divides the second cylinder into a first volume (15a) containing the drive stem of the second piston and a second volume (15b) between the two pistons. The first cylinder (12) has an air inlet (25) and an exhaust outlet (12). A common combustion space (20) is formed between the pistons when the pistons are substantially at their inner dead center positions, the combustion space comprising the second volume (15b). The engine also has transfer means (38) enabling gas flow between the first and second volumes (15a, 15b) towards the end of the compression stroke of the second piston (18).

Abstract: The engine is provided with an auxiliary chamber having an auxiliary chamber port with an opening communicated with the combustion chamber. The auxiliary chamber port is arranged to be opened or closed with an auxiliary chamber valve. The timing of closing the auxiliary chamber valve is in between a final stage of compression stroke in which the temperature within the cylinder becomes higher and an initial stage of explosion stroke. On the other hand, the timing of opening the auxiliary chamber valve is in a middle stage of the compression stroke, thereby allowing the mixed fuel cooled in the auxiliary chamber to be replaced with a portion of the mixed fuel in the combustion chamber, thereby lowering the temperature within the cylinder.

Abstract: An internal combustion engine is described in which each combustion chamber (10) in the engine has an associated auxiliary chamber (18), and in which, for low compression ratio operation, the auxiliary chamber (18) is constantly connected to the combustion chamber (10) and, for high compression ratio operation, the auxiliary chamber (18) is connected to the combustion chamber (10) by a one way valve (24, 36, 38, 40) which permits gas flow only in the direction from the combustion chamber (10) towards the auxiliary chamber (18).

Abstract: Combustion engines have opposed pistons in one or more cylinders, with the piston motion determined by cams. Ports, for intake and exhaust, are at one end of the cylinder, opened or closed by one piston, with the combustion chamber at the other end, and the engine being well suited to the optional use of a combustion chamber separate from the cylinder and with the communicating passages controlled by the other piston. That arrangement makes the engine particularly suitable for using heavy or unconventional fuels. The cam profile provides for a four-stroke cycle; one piston moves during the intake and exhaust strokes, while the second piston moves for compression and power strokes. Thus the advantages of a four-stroke engine are obtained while retaining the simplicity of a two-stroke engine. The cam profile may be tailored to the burning characteristics of the fuel, as by providing a period of dwell between the end of the compression stroke and the beginning of the power stroke.

Abstract: The cylinder head (401) of a turbocompounded 2-stroke piston engine incorporates, for each cylinder (400), an indirect combustion chamber (402) which is connected to the cylinder clearance volume (413) by a passage (412). The indirect combustion chamber (402) incorporates the inlet valve (408) so that when the valve opens, turbocharging air flows into the cylinder through the chamber (402) and the passage (412). This allows a large proportion of the cylinder head area to be devoted to the exhaust valves (410), with advantages in good scavenging and maximising mass flow rates through the cylinder.

Abstract: A variable compression engine has a cylindrical subcompression chamber formed in its cylinder head to communicate with the combustion chamber and having a variable inner volume adjustable by a piston slidably fitted therein and being controllably actuatable by an actuator activatable by a control signal generated by a control unit in accordance with the operational conditions of the engine as monitored by pertinent sensors producing respective detection signals which are fed as inputs into the control unit, which further controls the engine ignition timing. Thus, the compression ratio and the ignition timing can be accurately and positively controlled to obtain maximum torque without occurrence of knocking and to obtain desirable performance features such as reduction of pollutants in the exhaust gas emission and lowering of specific fuel consumption.

Abstract: A controlled pressure combustion chamber for a reciprocating engine. The engine includes a main cylinder and a main reciprocating piston. In the cyliner head is a second cylinder which opens to the first cylinder. A free piston in the second cylinder in shiftable in the second cylinder to absorb energy upon displacement of the main piston in the main cylinder due to compression and combustion. A pneumatic cushion is defined behind the free piston in its second cylinder and pressure in the pneumatic cushion adjusts displacement of the free piston. The free piston includes a projection which abuts an abutment in the second cylinder and motion of the free piston is damped. Valves in the second cylinder maintain the desired pressure in the pneumatic cushion.

Abstract: A two stroke spark ignition engine requiring a minimum of one pair of cylinders is constructable in multiple cylinder pairs. Each cylinder contains two oppositely working pistons. Four pistons drive, without rocking couples, opposite sides of a single crankshaft having three crankpins. Two paired cylinders are interconnected through and share a common precombustion chamber insuring cylinder pressure equalization and require only one fuel injector and one spark plug. The valveless engine has piston controlled intake and exhaust ports and crank phasing insures that exhaust ports are opened and closed prior to the respective opening and closing of the intake ports rendering the uniflow scavenged cylinders superchargeable. The precombustion chamber is optionally made variable in volume to simultaneously provide a variable compression ratio to both cylinders without affecting piston geometry or stroke.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for pretreatment of fuel in a combustion device such as an internal combustion engine, in which a fuel is partially combusted by a catalytic reaction to form a high temperature hydrogen-rich product gas, which gas is thereafter directly injected into an oxidizing atmosphere in the combustion chamber of the device. A composite catalyst is utilized constituted by diverse catalytic materials to achieve different contributing effects on the catalytic combustion process by the respective materials, particularly the inhibition of coke formation by the use of magnesium oxide, and platinum to achieve low temperature ignition and partial combustion of a fuel-oxidizer mixture.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for achieving hypergolic combustion, in which a hydrocarbon fuel is partially combusted by a catalytic reaction to form a high temperature hydrogen-rich product gas, which is directly injected into an oxidizing atmosphere in a combustion chamber while at a temperature sufficiently elevated to enable hypergolic combustion therein. The air-fuel ratios are selected to minimize coke formation at the elevated temperatures of the product gas.

Abstract: Internal combustion engine comprising at least one cylinder (10), one piston (2) mounted to the crankshaft (2'), and at least one inlet valve and one exhaust valve. At the end of the cylinder (1) corresponding to the top dead center of the piston (2) are arranged on one hand a second cylinder (3) and a second piston (6) which are integral parts of the cylinder (1) and on the other hand a third cylinder (4) and a third piston (7) wherein injection means (8) and ignition means (9) are provided, the cylinder (4) communicating by a conduit (5) with the cylinders (1) and (3). The coupler means (11) provide for the drive of a small crankshaft (13). The control (10) enables via the coupler (11) a rotation angle shift up to 180.degree. between the shaft of the crankshaft (2') of the cylinder (1) and the shaft of the small crankshaft (13 ), the latter having two throws (14) and (14') offset by 180.degree. and actuating the pistons (6) and (7).

Abstract: An electronic revolution rate limiting apparatus is described which generally comprises a transducer for generating a tachometer signal which is indicative of the revolution rate of the internal combustion engine, a circuit for producing a control signal which is responsive to the tachometer signal and the operation state of the engine and which determines the maximum revolution rate for each of a plurality of operation states, and a switch for interacting with the ignition system of the engine to prevent a sparking voltage from being induced in the ignition system in response to the value of the control signal. When the revolution rate limiting apparatus is employed in a power plant in which the operation states comprise a plurality of drive states (e.g., forward, neutral, reverse), the circuit for producing the control signal is also responsive to which drive state the power plant is in, such that the maximum revolution rate may be individually controlled for each drive state.

Abstract: An internal combustion engine is provided having a pair of cylinders interconnected by means of a narrow connecting channel. A working piston reciprocates in one cylinder and is conventionally attached to a crankshaft by means of a connecting rod and crankpin. An auxiliary piston reciprocates in the other cylinder and is driven in timed relation to the working piston by means of a cam affixed to the crankshaft and a cam follower attached to a connecting rod. Means are provided for adjusting the relative timing of the two pistons so as to vary the compression ratio of the engine. The auxiliary piston may function as a compression and ignition means by moving rapidly toward its top dead center position only when the working piston is close to its top dead center position. Other movements of the auxiliary piston provide the advantages of low pressure internal supercharging, and minimizing the retarding effect on the working piston by the compressive forces within the combustion chamber.

Abstract: A system to control operation of an IC engine, comprising, as a principal subsystem, a digital control system for executing computing processing by using inputs representative of parameters of engine operating conditions, including an engine speed signal, thereby producing a control signal to control at least one actuator which can regulate a factor of engine operation. The digital control system comprises means for examining the length of pulse intervals of the engine speed signal and discriminating means for forming a judgement that the engine is stalling when the pulse intervals continue to be longer than a predetermined length of time for a predetermined period of time, so that the system does not misjudge the presence of a noise signal to be an indication of engine stall.

Abstract: In an internal combustion engine intended to provide high fuel economy, low noxious emissions and high power, a pair of four cycle power cylinders are alternately fed by a two cycle charge cylinder in which a rich air/fuel mixture is compressed and delivered alternately to variable volume charge chambers communicating with the power cylinders, the three cylinders operating off a common crankshaft. A lean air/fuel mixture is inducted to each power cylinder on its intake stroke. Ignition occurs in the charge chamber and the flame front moves therefrom into the lean mixture in the power cylinder. The volume of the charge chamber may be varied in response to power requirements of the engine. A valve between the charge cylinder and charge chamber blocks flow therebetween during ignition and provides a restricted orifice between the charge chamber and power cylinder during the compression stroke controlling flow therebetween.

Abstract: A mixture-compressing, spark-ignited internal combustion engine has a combined throttle and compression control. The engine has at least one main piston sliding in a main cylinder and driving a crankshaft, and an auxiliary piston sliding in an auxiliary cylinder, which auxiliary piston is driven at half the frequency of the crankshaft by a drive shaft activated by a drive means coupled to the crankshaft. The compression chamber formed by the auxiliary piston is connected with the compression chamber formed by the main piston, and a control device is provided for modification of the phase piston of the auxiliary piston relative to the main piston so as to achieve a compression chamber volume at compression top dead center of the main piston which is variable as a function of the operating parameters of the internal combustion engine.

Abstract: The internal combustion engine comprises one or more cylinders in which a main piston provides the means to drive a drive shaft, there is a cylinder head over the cylinders. Auxiliary pistons slide in each auxiliary cylinder in the cylinder head and each communicating with the main cylinder. The auxiliary piston moves up or down to change the compression ratio of each cylinder, each auxiliary cylinder is ported with a hydraulic pressure fluid supply for movement of the auxiliary piston to increase compression and ported to an exhaust to decrease compression, said porting is controlled by a differential resolver that is actuated by the throttle.

Abstract: An internal combustion engine comprising a first exhaust valve arranged in an exhaust port in the exhaust system of said internal combustion engine, and a second exhaust valve arranged in the exhaust port downstream from said first exhaust valve, the timing of the opening of the first exhaust valve being earlier than that of the second exhaust valve, whereby the two valves temporarily form a secondary combustion chamber therebetween.