Multi-cylinder internal combustion engine having selective cylinder control

Claim 1

A multi-cylinder internal combustion engine having an intake valve and an exhaust valve for each cylinder and a rocker arm assembly for operating each valve, each rocker arm assembly including a rocker arm operatively engageable at one end by a rocker arm actuator and having operative engagement at its other end with a valve, fulcrum means about which each rocker arm is pivotable to transmit actuator motion to the valve, and a fulcrum supporting means positioned intermediate the ends of each rocker arm, each fulcrum supporting means comprising an elongated stud mounted on a surface of the engine and extending generally perpendicular to the mounting surface to project through apertures formed through the rocker arm and fulcrum means, wherein the improvement comprises: modified rocker arm assemblies for the intake and exhaust valves of selected ones of the cylinders, each modified rocker arm assembly having a load transfer means comprising a tubular member superposed on the fulcrum means and encompassing the stud, the fulcrum means and the superposed load transfer means being slidably supported on the stud of the fulcrum supporting means for movement from and toward the engine surface along the longitudinal axis of the stud, an interposer means comprising independent opposed levers pivotably mounted intermediate their ends coacting with each load transfer means, support plate means mounting each lever on the engine for movement transversely of the stud from a nonblocking position into a position to block movement of the load transfer means and associated fulcrum means away from the engine surface thereby to maintain the fulcrum means in a substantially stationary position to provide a substantially fixed pivot axis about which each rocker arm is pivotable, the opposed levers being swingable in a plane normal to the axis of the stud and having end portions constructed and arranged to semi-encompass the stud upon the end portions being moved toward each other into abutting relation to the stud, the interposer means for each load transfer means when in nonblocking position with respect thereto permitting the latter and its related fulcrum means to reciprocate relative to the engine surface and render the rocker arm inoperative to transmit motion from the actuator to the valve, biasing means urging each load transfer means toward a position in which each interposer means is movable into the blocking position contiguous to the load transfer means, and operating means for shifting the interposer means transversely from the stud into and out of blocking position relative to the related load means, the operating means comprising control rods mechanically interconnecting the intake interposers of the selected cylinders to each other and the exhaust interposers of the selected cylinders to each other, and an actuation control means coupled to the control rods.