US1274812A - Internal-combustion engine. - Google Patents

Description

P. J. M, SULLIVAN. INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 3:0. 191?- 'Patented Aug. 191s,

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

P. 1. M; SULLWANL INTERNAL COMUS TLIO'N ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 30, 1917.

PetentedAug-, -6,1918.

s sHEETs-sH'E 2.

m 1 %13 4:4 Gib awn UNITED STATES omega PATRICK J; M oNAHA N 'sULLIvaN, or wooncLrrrn on-nunson, NEW- JERSEY, ASSIGNOR'TQ MONAHAN.ROTARY ENGINE conroRA'rIon; or NEWQYOBK, I N. Y. A CORPOBAT'ION'OE NEW YOQEtK. v v

' I'NTERNAL-GOMBU STION ENGINE.

Application filed November 30, 1917. Seri aI No. 204,575.

To all whom it may coztcem: v j Be it known that I, PATRICK JOHN Mon- AHAN SULLIVAN a citizen of the 'United States, and residentiiof W oodcliffe-omHud-l son, in the county of Bergenand State-of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful --Improvements in Internal-Combustion Engines, of 'Which the following is a.

. specification.

being connected to a This invention is an improvement in in- "ternal combustion engines of that: type. in

which a p'iston and a cylinder have'a rela I tive back' and forth movement, the piston a rotary crank. The

ordinary engine of this type has thecylinder stationary 'and'the piston mountedito.

reciprocate therein, the latter having a connecting or piston shaft. Insuch engines, it is difficult to keep the stationary cylinder properly cooled ex-' cept by a Water jacket and Water circulat-Qj ing and cooling system a large amount of piston an and Wear on both the pii-iton and cylinder Walls.

The objects of my invention are to over- 'come these and other objections and, While energy is lost and: obj ectionable jarring, f straining and Wear is produced by the bring-1 ing of the piston to a complete stop at each end-of every stroke; and the transfer of I power from the piston to the crank or vlce .Versa, through the piston rod Wh le the lat ter isat an angle to the direction of travel of the piston, produces a side thruston the d objectionable frictional resistance 7 utilizing common general ,forms of piston mo unting-the piston and cylinder that they and'cyhnder, to eliminate. side thrust of the piston n the cylinder, eliminate freciprocae.

tron of heavy parts, secure eflective air coolf jar ofthe'parts, permit of the use ofparts I accomplish theseand other objects by so {have bodily movements in jopposite direcin parallelismwith an "initial position. A I preferred means for somounti'ng the parts "and Which'invol'ves an important partfo'f-m'y 1 invention, includes three paralleli shaftshavl- I done along overlapping'cir'cul'ar paths itvhile g H two trbrlring chambers and through hich the intermediate crank may be connected to at all times maintaining their common axis Specification of Letters Patent.

7 rod pivoted thereto for transmitting power to. the rotaryfl crank .to a standstill or suddenly chang 5 Patented Aug. 6, 191's.

-; in eo ual throvv cranks, twd ofthecranks being rotatable at the same speed in the and is connected to, the piston. By properly gearing or otherwise connecting'the shafts "together, the desired relative directions and speed of rotation may be maintained and I the crank pinof the third shaft maintained in; such position that it-intersectsand is at rlght vangles to thefaxis of the cylinder;

(Thus, the piston rod may be rigidly, connected' to the piston and the thrust imparted to or by the piston-will beat all times solely in the direction ofthe axis .of the ;cylinder rather than at an anglethereto' through a ipivotedjpiston rod asin the ordinaryconstruction. Asboththe pistonand the cylinder move, the diameters of the circles throughwhichthe cylinder and piston move Willbe only one-half the total effective stroke ofthe {piston and thus the crank may have only one half as great a throw as that'of the ordinary engine Withthejsame effective piston stroke. This reduction'jin the radius of the cranks very materiallyreduces the radial pull resulting from-the 'actioiilof centrifugal force on the cranks. At no time in the cycle do the p i tne eir direction ofmoverhent; They-all]? uniform speed 'n'their. respectiveiiarc s of v- -or enormous stresses occurring the 'ordiin power, is effected by usinga double-ended cylinder or connecting two 'cylinderst'ogether equal circlesj'wlthoutj jar,- pounding action 5 in axial alinement so that a single'fpair of crank shafts Will' support, tWo Q Working chambers andthe' third crank placed interv mediate ofthe other t'wonmaybe'yc onnected to a double-ended piston-or two pistons rig idly connectedl, No crank case'is necessary.

or desirable It isonly necessary" to have a longitudinally extending slot' between the the piston. T p r i a a. ie: at' mpia at rs p e n-di e w re. er j i gether the several shafts, and to permit of a compact base or frame, the three shafts may be in a plane at right angles to the axis of the cylinder with the cranks of the. two outer shafts connected to the double-ended cylinder or pair ofalined cylinders midway between theopposite cylinder heads. This is'not an essential so far as the principle of.

operation is concerned as the two parallel cylinder supporting shafts may be mounted in various different positions in respect to each-other, for instance, adjacent to the opposite cylinder heads with their cranks in journals on said cylinder heads, as shown andclaimed specifically in my application Serial No. 180,490, filed July 14., 1917.

' embodiment of my broad invention which has been built and found to. operate highly nection; and

A further'embodiment of my broad invention is shown and specifically claimed in my prior application Serial No. 148,057, filed February 13, 1917, in which embodiment the cylinders or working chambers are supported by the crank of only one of the.

. -I have reserved for the present application all of the generic claims to mybroad invention andliave presented in the other applications above referred to only such claims or definitions of alternative forms as are notapplicable to thespecific form hereinafter described.' Y

In the accompanying drawings, to which reference is to be had, I have illustrated one satisfactorily and which also involves certain subsidiary but important novel -,features 7 of construction.

In these drawings, Figure 1 1s a side elevation of an engine constructed in accordance with my invention, portions thereof being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view; Fig. 3 is a'detail of the fuel conduit con- Figs. 4 to 7, inclusive, are diagrammatic views showing the pistons and cylinders in the successive positions they take during one revolution of the crank-shafts.

The engine, as diagrammatically illustrated in Figs. 4 to 7 inclusive, includes a double-ended cylinder which may be considered as two cylinders 10 and 11 rigidly connected and in axial alinement. Therein is'a double-ended piston which-may be considered as two pistons 12 and 13 rigidin respect to each other and connected by acconnecting or piston rod 14 which maybe a straight bar integral with, or rigid with, orpivoted to both pistons, For supporting the cylinders there is provided a plurality of shafts (here shown as two'iii number) 15 and 16 having equal-throw parallel cranks of a radius'equal to one-quarter the total desired'efi'ective piston stroke. The shafts aresupported andjournaled in any suitable stationary bed or frame (not shown). and

the cranks 17 and 18 thereof are journaledin bearings 19 and 20 rigid with the cylinders. 'Tliese bearings are diagrammatically illustrated as being in brackets on diametrically opposite sides oft-lie double-ended cylinder, intermediate of its ends, but, as will be apparent, wlientlie operation considered, these bearings on the cylinder may be at opposite ends or at any other two spaced points. It will. also be apparent that any number of shafts greater than two may be employed, it only. being necessary that they shall have parallel axes and equal throw cranks and all rotate at the same speed in the samedirection. In order to'iiisure this equal speed and direction of rotation of the cylinder carrying shafts, any form of gearing or other connecting means may be employed.

The same'bed or frame that carries the.

two shafts 15 and 16'carries a third-shaft 1 having. a crank 22 of the same'throw as the cranks 17 and 18, but journaled to the connecting rod 14 intermediate of the ends of the latter instead of to the cylinders. This shaft has its axis parallel to the other shafts but is intended for rotation in the opposite direction. and this opposite direction of rotation may be insured by any suitable form of gearing 01 connecting means between the shaft of one or all'of the other shafts.

In Fig. 4, the parts are shown at the end of one stroke. As the three'shafts rotate,

(theshaft- 21 clockwise and the shafts 15 and 16 counter-clockwise) tlirougha quarter of a revolutiomthe parts come to the positionshown in Fig. 5. It will be noted that both the piston and tlie cylinder have had their common axis raised and that the piston has moved toward the right while the cylinder has moved toward the left. During the next quarter of a revolution of the shafts, the parts come to the position shown in Fig. 6 in which the piston isat the oppo'site end .of its stroke.

In Fig. 7 the parts are shown in the posis tions which they occupy after the next quarter of a: revolution and from this position they pass on to the position shown in Fig. 4.

The supporting of the cylinder and piston in this manner permits them to have bodily,

planetary movements along circular paths in opposite directions while ma ntaining their axes at all times in parallelism with an initial position; every part moves in a true circle; the relative reciprocation of the pie-- ton. and cylinder is accomplished Without bringing .any parts to a dead stop at the end" of a stroke;the cylinder isefi'eo'tively air:

or compressor; It is only necessary that suitable valvesfvalve operating mechansim and supply and exhaust conduits be pro,-

vided. The "cranks'which support.v the pistons and cylinders may be replaced by any equivalent mechanism, such as eccentrics,- which 'W1ll give the movements above described. The power may be taken from'the engine through any one'or vthroughtwo or more of the shafts and the' engine' may be balanced by a'fly-Wheel, or a plurality of cylinders may bemounted side by side .on separate oppositely extending cranks-of the .same shaftsso that the movement of one double-ended; cylinder; and its piston Will counter-balance the movement "of another 1 similar cylinder and piston. I

It Will also be evident that, so far as cer- I tain aspects of the inventionare involved,

one end of the double-endedcylinder and "-provided'w'ith a series of perforations or is one end of the double-ended piston: may be omitted" so that there is provided only a sin-' gle Working chamber. The cylinder may have itsaxis extending vertically, horizontally or in any other desired direction.-

In Figs. 1 and-2, I have shown a practi-- cal Working embodiment of my invention,

The bed or frame of the engine includes two side members 23 and 24 each having a row of three superposed bearings forthe three shafts 15,21 and 16. Between the two and supported by the cranks 17 and 18 of the shafts 15 and 16 are the tWo' cylinders 10 and Hand Within the two cylinders are the r pistons 12 and 13'connectedjby the rod 14 Which latter is journaled on the crank 22 of .the shaft 21. The movement and general operation of-these' parts is the same as-is diagrammatically illustrated-in Figs. 4 to 7-. The fcylinder is shown as, having radi- "ating-Ffla'nges toiacilitate air-cooling and as having intermediate and 'exhaustpuppet valves ofa common form. As an important .part of thespecific construction illustrated one of the cylinder supporting cranks, for lnstance, the crank 19,- has a Worm or helical gear '25 meshing with a helical gear 26 car- .ried by. a camshaft "27 journaled in the bracket or extension 19 at one side of the cylinder. As both the crank 17 and the cam shaft 18 have their axis relatively movable so far as the cylinder'is concerned, it is evident that as the shaft .l'5'ro tates the gears will remain in mesh and that the cam sh aft 27"Iwill'be causedto rotate about its own,

usual stationary cylinder.

any suitable type'of carbureteror othermix ing device. This 'is preferably stationary and the conduit connectionsare such. that the mixture is'properly delivered fromjthis stationary carbureter to the moving cylin ders.- As"sh0W ,.L.Carbureter 31 is mounted on thefra-me and delivers through a conduit.

32 to .a transversely extending sleeve .33 free to oscillate about the axis of the conduit to The explosivemixture may be formed in. I

.the cylinder' intermediate of the ends and has branches3 5 and 36 leadingtolthe two: inletgports. conduit 37 is pivoted to the endo'f'the manifold and isfree to slide backand forth in the'sleeve' 33. Thus'the manifold 34. may'mo've in ajtrue circle and the conduit 37 will have a movement similar to that of theordina'rypistourod 'Ihe portion of said conduit'37 Within. the sleeve is otherwise so constructed that the explosive.

mixture may-(enter thesconduit 37 at all times and independently of the relative positions" of the manifold and" carburetor. .Although' this fuel'su'pply means possesses certain important advantages, yet itfWi'll. be evident that other'means might be designed for accomplishing the desired results.

For effecting the ignition of the explosive mixture Within the cylinders, any suitable form of igniting means may be employed. In the drawings, I 'haye illustrated spark plugs 40 of a commontypefof;construction. I The electric current maybe; delivered-to i lip thesespark plugs throughYflexible Wiresalthough preferably I avoid the liability of a loosening of'the connections of said Wires by providing the spark plugs vvithbrus'hes I 41 bearing against circular contact plates 4:2. Theseplates are'preferably insulatedv from the'frame of the machine and as they are stationary they may be readily connect-- edtoih'e source of electrical energy. The radius of each plate is substantially equal to the radius'of the cranks so that the'brushes 41 will remain infproper' Contact during the.

bodily movement of the cylinders; Each plate maybe of a single annular or circular piecejofimetal and thefproper make-andreak' contacts or. timer may be in the portion of the elect-ric circuit (notshown) or the plates themselves gill MY be; formedprimarily of insulation material with only a,

small portion constituting alconductor and in the electric circuit. Thus, the current will be. delivered to the spark plugs only when the brushes 41 reach the conducting portion of their respective plates 42, By

rotating the plates 42 abouttheiraxes, the.

time of the spark may be advanced or retarded.

' Any suitable means may taking care of the exhaust gas. this is permitted to deliver directly to the atmosphere from the exhaust valves and theiroutlets 43. These may be connected to a manifold and a delivery conduit similar to the manifold34, its branches 35 and .36 and the conduit 37. I

be provided for For insuring'the simultaneous rotation of the three shafts 15, 16 and 21, with the shafts 15 and 16 rotating in. one direction and the shaft2l in the opposite direction,

- suitable gearing may be employed for conthe three shafts or, if desired, from allthree. In Fig. 2 I have shown a belt pulley- 45 and afly-wheel 46. One of these may necting said shafts. As shown, each of the three shafts has a gear wheel 44, the three gear wheels'meshing in series. The power of the englne may be taken from any one of serve the purpose ,of both if desired. Having thus described my invention,

what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is; 1 1. In combination, a cylinder, a pair of cranks rotatable about parallel spaced axes for supporting the saine and maintaining it at all times in parallelism with an initial position, a piston within said cylinder, and a crank connected .to said piston and rotatable in theopposite direction to said first mentioned cranks. p

v 2. In combination, a cylinder, a piston, a-pair of parallel cranks of equal throw for supporting said cylinder and permitting bodily movement of said cylinder along a circular path and maintaining its axis at all times in parallelism with an initial position', a crankconnected to said piston and having the same throw as ,the first mentioned cranks, and gearing connecting one of said first mentloned cranks and said last mentionedcrank for. insuring simultaneous rotation in opposite directions.

3. In combination, a double-ended engine cylinder, means for imparting to said cylinder a bodily movement in respect to a transversely. extending axis of rotation while retaining it in'parallelism' with its initial position, a piston within said cylinder, and means for imparting to said piston a bodily movement in the opposite direction in respect to Jan axis of rotation parallel to said first mentioned 'RXIS while retaining it in parallelism with an initialposition.

As shown,

4.- In combination," a plurality of cylinders in axial 'alinement and rigidly connected together, each cylinder having a working chamber at its outer end, separate pistons in said cylinders, means for moving said cylinders in respect versely extendingaxis of rotation while retaining them imparallelism with an initial position, and means "for moving said pistons in the opposite direction. r

5. In combination, a double-ended cylinder, means for imparting a planetary movement thereto about one axis of rotation, a double-ended piston within said cylinder, and means for imparting a planetary movement to said piston about a different axis of rotation.

6. In combination, a-,double-ended cylinder, means for imparting a planetary movement thereto about one axls of 1'otation, a double-ended piston within sald'cylinder, and means for imparting a planetary 0 a trans.-

movement to said piston about a different pistons a planetary movement in the opposite direction. r

9. In combinat1on, 'a pain of ri idl bnected cylinders, a pair of I'lgldly connected pistons therein, means for imparting to said cylinders a bodily' novement about a fixed transversely extending axis while retainlng said cylinders in parallelism with an imtialposition, and means for lmparting to,

said pistons a bodily movement about a separate, fixed, transversely extending axis.

while retaining said pistons in parallelism with'an initial position.

10. In combination, a palr of rigidly connected cylinders, a pair of separate pistons therein, a pair of crank shafts having parallel axes and equal throw cranks,- said cranks being connected to said cylinders to permit, the bodily movement of the latter, and a third crankshaft having its crank connected-to said pistons to permit a bodily and opposite movement of the latter.

11. In combination, three crank shafts having parallel axes and equal throw cranks arranged in a row, a pair of cylinders in alinement with each other and rigidly con: nected and mounted on the cranks of the twki end crank shafts, and a pair of plstons ranged in a row and having equal throw.

cranks, a cylinder connected to and carried by the cranks of the two end shafts, a pis-. ton connected to the crank of the interme-' diate shaft, and means insuring the simulta neous rotation of the two end shafts in the same direction and the simultaneous rotation of the middle shaft in the opposite direction.

14. In combination, three crank shafts an ranged in a row and having equal throw cranks, "a cylinder bodily carried. by the cranks of two shafts, and a piston connected to the crank of the third shaft.

15. In combination, three crank shafts ar ranged in a row and havingequal throw cranks, a cylinder bodily carried by the cranks of two shafts, a piston connected to the crank of the third shaft, and means for insuring the rotation ofthe two cranks in one direction and the third crank in the opposite direction;

- '16. In combination, a cylinder, a piston therein, means for su porting said cylinder. and permitting ofa odily planetary movement and maintaining its axis ln parallelism with an initial position, means for sugporting said piston and permitting of a ho ily planetary movement in the opposite direction, an igniter carried'by said cylinder,

and means for delivering current to said igniter, said means inclnding'a pair of con- ;tacts, one in the form of a brush and the other in the form of an annular plate.

17. In combination, a cylinder, a pair of cranks rotatable about parallel spaced axes it at all times in parallelism with an intiial position, a valve operating cam shaft carried by said cylinder, and gearing connecting said cam shaft and one of said cranks.

18. In combination, a cylinder, means inw for supporting the same and mamtammg I eluding a crank for supporting said cylinder, and ehecting the bodily movement thereof with said'crank during the rota-- tion of the latter, ashaft carried by said cylinder, gearing connecting said shaft andsaid crank, and valve operating mechanism controlled by the "rotation of said shaft.

19LIn combinatlon, a -piston having a planetary movement in one direction, a double-ended cyllnder having a planetary movement in the opposlte dlrectlon', a valve op- .erating cam shaft carried by said cylinder,

and means for rotating said shaft about its axis during the bodily movement of said cylinder.

20. In .combination,a double-ended cylinder having a planetary movement with its axis maintained in parallelism with an initial position, a supply manifold extending lengthwise of said cylmder and connected;

to opposite ends thereof, a stationary carbureter, and a'conduit having one end con nected to said manifold and movable along a circular path and having the opposite end slidably connected to said carbureter,

Signed at New York, in the county of New York, and State of New York, this 26th day of November, A. D. 1917.

PATRICK J. MONAHAN SULLIVAN.

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