US 4,380,977 AGranted

Device for selectively controlling the number of operative cylinders in multi-cylinder engines

OwnerEdward Holsteininventor

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Abstract

A manual or automatically operated valve assembly is situated between one of the carburettor barrels and the intake manifold leading to four of the cylinders in an 8-cylinder engine or three of the cylinders in a V-6 engine. When open, the engine functions normally, but when closed, four of the cylinders are cut off from the carburettor so that the engine operates on only four cylinders. At the same time air intake ports open up so that a controlled amount of air is drawn into the inoperative four cylinders and exhausted through the exhaust valves so that these four cylinders will operate against a relatively low compression as well as acting as a vacuum breaker in order to stop oil pumping passed the piston rings. Control of the amount of air is by varying the size of these air intake ports.

A device for selectively controlling the number of operative cylinders in a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine which includes a multi-barrel carburettor and an attaching flange therefor, with one half of the barrels being operatively connected to one half of the cylinders and the other half of the barrels being operatively connected to the other half of the cylinders, intake manifolds operatively connected between the barrels and the cylinders operatively connected thereto;

comprising in combination a valve assembly operatively connected between the one half of the barrels of the carburettor and the manifold operatively connected thereto, said valve assembly being movable from a barrel shut off position to a barrel open position and vice versa, means to move the valve assembly from one position to the other position and relief air intake means between atmosphere and said manifold, said air intake means being operatively connected to said manifold when said valve assembly is in the barrel shut off position and disconnected from said manifold when said valve assembly is in the barrel open position, said device including an apertured mounting plate operatively secured between the carburettor flange and the intake manifolds, said mounting plate including a communication aperture between said one half of said barrels and the corresponding intake manifold and a further communication aperture between said other half of said barrels and said other intake manifold, said valve assembly being situated within one of said apertures, said valve assembly including a valve seat surrounding the upper end of the communication aperture in which the valve assembly is situated, a valve having a valve head and a stem depending therefrom, said head being operatively engageable with said seat, a piston and cylinder, said cylinder extending from adjacent said seat into the manifold connected to said one of said communication apertures, said piston being operatively connected to said valve stem for movement therewith and means operatively connecting said relief air intake means to the interior of said piston when said valve is in the barrel shut off position.

Abstract

Claims26