Internal combustion engines with straight line reinforcing members between cylinder heads and main bearings
AssigneeNational Research Development Corporation
InventorWilfred Percival Mansfield
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An internal combustion engine structure in which the tendency of the combustion forces to separate the cylinder head from the crankshaft bearings is resisted by external tie-rod structures attached at opposite ends to engine structure adjacent these two parts. The tie-rods run as nearly as possible in straight lines, and therefore typically lie obliquely to the crankshaft axis and to the transverse planes containing the cylinder axes. The tie-rod structures may be ribs or fins and may also be attached to parts of the engine wall intermediate their ends to make those parts more rigid.
Claims7
An internal combustion engine structure comprising:
- a crankshaft;
- a plurality of cylinders;
- pistons arranged to reciprocate within said cylinders and impart drive to said crankshaft;
- the axes of said cylinders being offset from each other in the direction of the axis of said crankshaft, so as to each lie in a different transverse plane relative to said crankshaft axis;
- a cylinder head surmounting each of said cylinders, and each forming the head of a combustion zone for that cylinder;
- main bearings supporting said crankshaft and located in transverse planes relative to said crankshaft axis and intermediate those of the axes of said cylinders;
- reinforcement members each extending in a straight line and joining said cylinder heads to said main bearings in a straight line, whereby to withstand the tendency of the engine firing forces to separate them;
- and
- said reinforcement members being connected to said cylinder heads at locations corresponding closely with said transverse planes of the said cylinder axes, and to said bearings at locations corresponding closely with their own transverse planes, whereby each reinforcing member lies oblique relative to said transverse planes.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.