Cross-scavenged, two-cycle internal combustion engine

A two-cycle, internal combustion engine comprising an engine block, a cylinder in said engine block having a head and generally opposed inlet and outlet walls respectively including at least one intake port through which a fresh charge is admitted into said cylinder and at least one outlet port through which exhaust gases are exhausted from said cylinder, a piston mounted for reciprocative movement inside said cylinder, said piston having a top surface extending transversely to the axis of said cylinder and an inlet face portion which periodically covers and uncovers said intake port during reciprocative movement of said piston, a circumferentially extending recess in said piston at the juncture between said top surface and said inlet face portion, said recess having an inner wall which extends downwardly from said top surface in radially inward relation from said inlet face portion, said inner wall being in front of a limited portion of said intake port and located in closely adjacent proximity thereto such that, as said piston inlet face starts to uncover said intake port, an initial flow of fresh charge flows through only said limited portion of said intake port and is deflected by said recess inner wall towards said cylinder head and along said cylinder intake wall in a direction generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of said cylinder, and deflector means on said piston top surface and including a front face extending upwardly from said top surface in radially inwardly spaced relation from said inner wall and directly behind same at a greater distance from said inlet face portion than said inner wall, said deflector means deflecting additional streams of fresh charge flowing through the entire intake port, during subsequent uncovering thereof by said piston inlet face, towards said cylinder head inwardly from the initial stream of fresh charge so that said cylinder is progressively filled with fresh charge from said cylinder inlet wall towards said cylinder outlet wall.