Method and device for varying the compression of an internal combustion engine

Abstract

Method and adjusting device for varying the compression of an internal combustion engine with a cylinder receiving section (2) which is pivotably mounted in the crankcase section (4) of the engine supporting the crankshaft, about a tilting shaft bearing (8) on one side of the engine, to effect a variation in the engine compression. A tilting mechanism (70) acting between the crankcase section and the cylinder receiving section is arranged on the side of the engine opposite the tilting shaft bearing (8), enabling the distance between the two engine parts to be varied. A hydraulic adjusting device (76, 78) is connected to the tilting mechanism (70) for adjusting the lateral tilting of the cylinder receiving section (2) relative to the crankcase section (4). The adjusting device operates mainly without the supply of external driving force and uses hydraulic pressure energy stored in a pressure accumulator (96) which is charged with pressure energy derived from the compression and combustion in the engine cylinders and is transmitted to the accumulator (96) via the tilting mechanism (70) and the adjusting device (76, 78). The tilting mechanism comprises a mechanism which is rotatably mounted in the crankcase section (4) and whose variation in angular position corresponds to the variation in the distance between the cylinder receiving section and the crankcase section. The angular movement of the mechanism (56, 72) is used for varying the effective length of a hydraulic piston-cylinder arrangement (78) connected between the crankcase section (4) and the cylinder receiving section (2), the moving piston (82) of which arrangement divides the interior of the cylinder housing (80) into two variable chambers (92, 94), one (94) of which can be hydraulically connected to a reservoir (108) and the other (92) to the pressure accumulator (96).

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.