Four-cycle internal combustion engine and associated methods of fuel combustion
AssigneeHonda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorShoichi Honda
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A four-cycle internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder bore formed in a cylinder block, a piston slidably fitted in the cylinder bore, and a combustion chamber formed in a cylinder head above the piston. The bore, piston and combustion chamber have an elongated non-circular cross-section which, for example, can be of elongated circular or elliptical shape. An intake system for fuel mixture is connected to the combustion chamber to supply fuel mixture to a central region of the combustion chamber and an exhaust system is connected to each end of the combustion chamber in an outer region for discharge of exhaust gases.
Claims25
A four-cycle internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder block having a cylinder bore therein, a piston slidably fitted in said bore, a cylinder head on said block, said cylinder head being provided with a combustion chamber merging with said cylinder bore, said piston, cylinder bore and combustion chamber having a transverse cross-section of non-circular shape with a major longitudinal axis and a minor transverse axis, vertical planes passing through said longitudinal and transverse axes intersecting along a central axis passing through the center of the cylinder bore and combustion chamber, said combustion chamber having a central region and an outer region, inlet means for introducing fuel mixture into said central region of the combustion chamber on opposite sides of said vertical plane passing through said longitudinal axis and discharge means for discharging exhaust gases at said outer region of said combustion chamber on opposite sides of said vertical plane passing through said longitudinal axis, said inlet means being arranged around said central axis at a distance therefrom which is less than the distance of said discharge means from said central axis, said inlet means comprising a pair of inlet valves on opposite sides of said vertical plane passing through said transverse axis, said discharge means comprising a pair of exhaust valves on opposite sides of said vertical plane passing through said transverse axis in said outer region outside said inlet valves.
A method for the combustion of an air-fuel mixture in a four-cycle internal combustion engine having a cylinder block with a cylinder bore therein, a piston slidably fitted in the bore and a cylinder head on the block provided with a combustion chamber merging with the cylinder bore, said piston, cylinder bore and combustion chamber having a transverse cross-section of non-circular shape with a major longitudinal axis and a minor transverse axis, said method comprising introducing fuel mixture into a central region of the combustion chamber proximate the transverse axis and on opposite sides of a vertical plane passing through said longitudinal axis, said fuel mixture being introduced into said combustion chamber along two paths which are inclined and intersect at a common point located in a vertical plane passing through said transverse axis, igniting said fuel mixture to effect combustion thereof in said central region and propagation of the combustion away from said transverse axis in opposite directions towards an outer region of the combustion chamber remote from the said transverse axis and article of said two paths of introduction of said fuel mixture and discharging exhaust gases produced by said combustion at said outer region of the combustion chamber on opposite sides of said vertical plane passing through said longitudinal axis, the introduction of the fuel mixture and the discharge of the exhaust gases being effected in vertical planes equally spaced on opposite sides of and parallel to said vertical plane passing through said major longitudinal axis, said fuel mixture being introduced into the combustion chamber at equally spaced locations around the center of the combustion chamber and the exhaust gases being discharged at equally spaced locations around the center of the combustion chamber, the locations of the discharge of the exhaust gases being more distant from said center of the combustion chamber than the locations of the introduction of the fuel mixture.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.