Supercharging combustion engines

Claim 3

Apparatus for supercharging an internal combustion engine having a block, a plurality of cylinder located within said block, each of said cylinders having a differential piston movable twice between an upstroke and a downstroke in a four-stroke cycle, and forming an upper and lower chamber in said cylinder and valve means associated with each of said cylinders and interconnected with each other for flow of air therebetween, said valve means being synchronously operable in conjunction with the cycle of said pistons to admit air into the lower chamber of each cylinder during the upstroke of its piston and to discharge air from said lower chamber during the downstroke of its piston, said valve means including means for discharging a portion of said air from each cylinder during one downstroke to the lower chamber of an associated cylinder in which the piston of the associated cylinder is in one upstroke, and for causing the lower chamber of each cylinder to receive compressed air from at least one associated cylinder whose piston is in the other downstroke during the other upstroke of the piston of each cylinder, each cylinder compression during the other downstroke the air remaining in its lower chamber after the one downstroke and the compressed air received from the associated cylinder during the one upstroke and thereafter discharging the same into the upper chamber of each said cylinder.

Claim 4

Apparatus for supercharging an internal combustion engine having a block, a plurality of cylinder located within said block, each of said cylinders having a differential piston movable twice between an upstroke and a downstroke in a four-stroke cycle, and forming an upper and lower chamber in said cylinder and valve means associated with each of said cylinders and interconnected with each other for flow of air therebetween, said valve means being synchronously operable in conjunction with the cycle of said pistons to admit air into the lower chamber of each cylinder during the upstroke of its piston and to discharge air from said lower chamber during the downstroke of its piston, said valve means including means for discharging a portion of said air from each cylinder during one downstroke to the lower chamber of an associated cylinder in which the piston of the associated cylinder is in one upstroke, and for causing the lower chamber of each cylinder to receive compressed air from at least one associated cylinder whose piston is in the other downstroke during the other upstroke of the piston of each cylinder, each cylinder compression during the other downstroke the air remaining in its lower chamber after the one downstroke and the compressed air received from the associated cylinder during the one upstroke and thereafter discharging the same into the upper chamber of each said cylinder.

Claim 5

The apparatus according to claim 2 including means for admitting air to said lower chamber from without said engine during said one upward stroke of said piston.

Claim 6

The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said valve means comprises a pair of first duct means extending through said block in a common plane parallel to the axis of its associated cylinder, one of said pair of ducts being located below and the other of said pair of ducts being located above the associated piston when said associated piston is situated in the downstroke position, and second duct means offset from the plane of said first duct means and extending through said block below its associated piston when said associated piston is situated in its downstroke position, a shaft journaled within said block and rotatable about its horizontal axis in synchronism with the pistons, said shaft extending transversely to said cylinders, said block having an air inlet port associated with each of said cylinders, said shaft having an axial bore closed at each end, a hub formed on said shaft in association with each of said respective cylinders, each of said hubs having a first and second groove spaced radially about their circumference in a plane common to the plane of said first pair of ducts and at least one radial channel in the plane of said second duct communicating with said axial bore, said grooves and channels being angularly offset with respect to the axis of rotation of said shaft, said first grooves and channel being arranged so that on rotation of said shaft said inlet and said one of said pair of ducts are connected during one upstroke of said piston, said one of said pair of ducts is connected to said other of said pair of ducts during one of the downstrokes of said piston, and said second duct and said channel are connected, during the other of said downstrokes of said piston.

Claim 7

The apparatus according to claim 4 including a second channel in said hub arranged to connect with said second duct during the other downstroke.

Claim 8

The apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said one downward stroke of said piston Corresponds to the expansion stroke of said working cycle and the other downward stroke to the suction stroke, the upward strokes corresponding to the exhaust and compression strokes respectively.

Claim 9

The apparatus according to claim 6 including a fourth duct formed in said block extending into the upper chamber and a corresponding channel radially formed in said hub and communicating with said axial bore, said fourth duct and said corresponding channel being offset from said other ducts and radially arranged so that compressed air is discharged into said upper chamber during the end of the expansion stroke, said compressed air facilitating oxidation of the combustion products therein.