Two-cycle internal combustion engines with scavenger means

Claim 1

In a two-cycle, two-cylinder internal combustion engine having a pair of crankcases, a pair of horizontal cylinders, one in each crankcase, one cylinder being disposed vertically above the other, a rotary, vertically-extending crankshaft in said crankcases rotated as the consequence of reciprocating movement of a piston in each of said cylinders, a carburetor for supplying air/fuel mixture to the crankcases through distributor passages, and an intake passage for each cylinder interconnecting the inside of the respective crankcase to the respective cylinder for valved supply of air/fuel mixture to said respective cylinder, the improvement comprising: a fuel catcher in the form of a horizontal depression inside each crankcase at the bottom thereof, disposed radially outwardly from the rotating portion of the crankshaft in the respective crankcase, a reed valve in the air/fuel mixture path to each crankcase, said reed valve extending into its respective crankcase, vertically overhanging the respective fuel catcher, and vertically spaced therefrom so as to leave a gap between them, each said reed valve being disposed radially outward from said rotating portions of the crankshaft in the respective crankcase, a respective scavenger conduit from the fuel catcher of each crankcase to the intake passage of the other crankcase, and a unidirectional check valve in each scavenger conduit which check valves permit flow toward the intake passage, but not the reverse.