An Engine With Rotating Cylinders
Page 38
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
A Resume of Patent Specifications That Have Recently Been Published
A LT HO UG H rotating-cylinder rtengines were used for aircraft in the 1914-1918 war, little seems to have been heard of them since, in spite of their favourable power-weight ratio. A new design for an engine of, this type comes in patent No. -565,62, from L.
Harries, 495„ Holyhead Road, Coventry. The design is novel in that it shows two rotating cylinders and yet employs stationary valve ports; the petrol is fed by an injection pump,
The main feature is the cylinder block; this consists of a flywheel-like disc (1) bored radially to form a pair a co-axial cylinders. Actually, the disc is built up by bolting together a pair of discs, each of which contains half-bores of the cylinders. The assembly is completed by the use of nitrided liners. The crankshaft is, of course,. stationary, the drive being transmitted from the revolving cylinder block, via the shaft (2). On the other end is a geared-up hlowet (3), which supplies the charging air.
Each cylinder is open at its outer end and travels around the casing, eeming under a sparking plug (4) at the appropriate moment; to form a seal against the casing, a springpressed ring (5) is provided. The fuel is injected at a point 45 degrees ahead of thc sparking-plug position.
The exhaust is discharged 'through a piston-controlled "pert (6) in the " flywheel " which, when uncovered, is open to a curved slot in the casing. The other cylinder is shown with its exhaust port (7) in the open position.
The charging air is admitted through a slot in the " roof" of the cylinders, and is arranged to overlap. the exhaust ports so that a momentary straightthrough scavenge is obtained. A camoperated oil pump (8) operates a combined cooling and lubricating system, 'whilst asecond cam (9) operates the 'petrol injector.
IMPROVING ACCESSIBILITY OF INJECTION PUMPS
THE formation of the plunger mechanism 'in separate units is' 'the chief feature of a modified design for
an, injection pump shown in patent No. 565,383, by C.A.V., Ltd., W, Nicolls, and F. Evans, all of Warple Way, London, W.3.
In .the proposed scheme, the plunger, barrel and cylinder are all housed in a casing Which fits a bore in the body, and is secured by a bdlted-on flange (1). The inner end of the bore houses a sliding cup (2),. which acts as a tappet, receiving the thrust of the cam.
The clamping flange (1) is also ingeniously employed as a means for providing each plunger unit with
individual adjustment. Referring to the plan view (3), it will be seen that the screws holding the flange pass through slots; these permit a slight angular movement of the pump unit. To enable the movement to be finely controlled, a pair of adjusting screws AN IMPROVED SPARKING PLUG
ASPARKING plug designed to withstand ex tremes of temperature and pressure, without leaking, forms the subject of patent No. 565,644 from Bendix Aviation Corporation, 'South Bend, Indiana, U.S.A.
In this design the centre electrode is housed in a ceramic insulator (1) and the patent is based mainly. on the means for sealing it in place. The electrode is first lightly riveted over a small copper washer (2), then space 3 is filled with powdered graphite, which both seals and forms a conductor for the current. Above the graphite is placed a plastic medium tohold the contact (4) in place, the circuit being
established by a thin wire (5). The whole is then heated under pressure into agas-tight unit. The unit is held in position by pressure from the long cap-nut applied to a conical copper sleeve (6). The plug shown is radioshielded, but this forms no part of the patent. Other 'modifications are disclosed in two other patents, numbered 565,645 and 565,667 respectively.
SCAVENGING IN OIL ENGINES
TO procure as complete a scavenge as possible is the main object of an improved oil-engine combustion, sys tem shown in patent No. 56,5,377, by H. Weslake and 0. Smith, Arden Hill Farm, Pathlow, Stratford on Avon. . 5.377 The chief novelty is the
provision of a pocket around the exhaust valve, which is the only clear space existing at top-deadcentre.
Relerring.to the drawing, the pocket is formed In. two parts, ope in the cylinder head (1) and a.'• continuation (2) in the piston crown. The pocket is offset to touch the side of the cylinder, whilst the piston depression approaches the cylinder as near as practicable. The injector is located on the cylinder axis, and is arranged to direct a horizontal fan-like spray into the air pocket. The excellent scavenging claimed is due to the fact that the exhaust Naive descends into the pocket and leaves the absolute minimum volume unswept. At all other points the piston approaches closely to its surroundings.
It will be seen that the po6ket is the piston is somewhat deeper than that in the cylinder head. The object of this is to make the capacities of the two' pockets approximately equal, the lesser diameter of the piston pocket being made up by an -increase in its depth. •