Claims
- 1. In an internal combustion engine having a substantially horizontally disposed crankshaft, said engine conceptually divided by intersecting horizontal and vertical planes into four quadrants, including an upper front quadrant, a lower front quadrant, an upper rear quadrant, and a lower rear quadrant, said engine comprising:
at least three user interfaces positioned substantially within said upper front quadrant.
- 2. The internal combustion engine of claim 1, wherein said user interfaces comprise at least three of the following:
a carburetor throttle control; a carburetor choke control; a carburetor primer bulb; an ignition switch; a fuel shut-off valve; a fuel fill inlet; and an oil fill inlet.
- 3. The internal combustion engine of claim 1, wherein said engine includes at least four said user interfaces positioned substantially within said upper front quadrant.
- 4. The internal combustion engine of claim 3, wherein said engine includes at least five said user interfaces positioned substantially within said upper front quadrant.
- 5. The internal combustion engine of claim 4, wherein said engine includes at least six said user interfaces positioned substantially within said upper front quadrant.
- 6. The internal combustion engine of claim 1, including a carburetor throttle control and a carburetor choke control positioned substantially within said upper front quadrant.
- 7. The internal combustion engine of claim 1, wherein said engine includes two cylinders.
- 8. An internal combustion engine, comprising:
an engine housing including a crankcase; a crankshaft rotatably supported within said crankcase; a shroud connected to said engine housing, said shroud having a distal region which is spaced away from said crankshaft; and at least three user interfaces concentrated about said shroud distal region.
- 9. The internal combustion engine of claim 8, wherein said user interfaces comprise at least three of the following:
a carburetor throttle control; a carburetor choke control; a carburetor primer bulb; an ignition switch; a fuel shut-off valve; a fuel fill inlet; and an oil fill inlet.
- 10. The internal combustion engine of claim 8, wherein said engine includes at least four said user interfaces concentrated about said distal shroud region.
- 11. The internal combustion engine of claim 10, wherein said engine includes at least five said user interfaces concentrated about said distal shroud region.
- 12. The internal combustion engine of claim 11, wherein said engine includes at least six said user interfaces concentrated about said distal shroud region.
- 13. The internal combustion engine of claim 8, including a carburetor throttle control and a carburetor choke control concentrated about said distal shroud region.
- 14. The internal combustion engine of claim 8, wherein said engine includes two cylinders.
- 15. An internal combustion engine, comprising:
an engine housing including a crankcase; a crankshaft rotatably supported within said crankcase, said crankshaft disposed substantially horizontally; a shroud connected to said engine housing; and at least one control member rotatably mounted within said shroud, said control member operatively connected to an air/fuel mixing device.
- 16. The internal combustion engine of claim 15, wherein said shroud includes an upper portion spaced away from said crankshaft, and said at least one control member is rotatably mounted within said shroud upper portion.
- 17. The internal combustion engine of claim 15, wherein said air/fuel mixing device comprises a carburetor having a throttle valve and a choke valve.
- 18. The internal combustion engine of claim 17, wherein said engine includes a pair of said control members, one said control member operatively connected via a first linkage set to said throttle valve and the other of said control members operatively connected via a second linkage set to said choke valve.
- 19. The internal combustion engine of claim 15, further comprising at least one additional engine control component mounted within said shroud proximate said at least one control member, said at least one additional engine control component selected from the group consisting of an ignition switch, a fuel shut-off switch, and a carburetor primer bulb.
- 20. The internal combustion engine of claim 15, further comprising at least one of a fuel fill inlet and an oil fill inlet located proximate said at least one control member.
- 21. The internal combustion engine of claim 15, further comprising two cylinders mounted to said crankcase.
- 22. An internal combustion engine, comprising:
an engine housing including a crankcase; a crankshaft rotatably supported within said crankcase, said crankshaft disposed substantially horizontally; a shroud connected to said engine housing, said shroud defining a control region in an upper portion of said shroud which is spaced from said crankshaft; at least one engine control member rotatably mounted within said shroud in said control region.
- 23. The internal combustion engine of claim 22, further comprising a carburetor having a throttle valve and a choke valve.
- 24. The internal combustion engine of claim 23, wherein said engine includes a pair of said control members, one said control member operatively connected via a first linkage set to said throttle valve and the other of said control members operatively connected via a second linkage set to said choke valve.
- 25. The internal combustion engine of claim 22, further comprising at least one additional user interface component located proximate said control region of said shroud.
- 26. The internal combustion engine of claim 25, wherein said at least one additional user interface component comprises one of the following:
a carburetor primer bulb; an ignition switch; a fuel shut-off valve; a fuel fill inlet; and an oil fill inlet.
- 27. The internal combustion engine of claim 25, further comprising at least two said additional user interface components located proximate said control region of said shroud.
- 28. The internal combustion engine of claim 27, further comprising at least three said additional user interface components located proximate said control region of said shroud.
- 29. The internal combustion engine of claim 28, further comprising at least four said additional user interface components located proximate said control region of said shroud.
- 30. The internal combustion engine of claim 29, further comprising at least five said additional user interface components located proximate said control region of said shroud.
- 31. The internal combustion engine of claim 22, further comprising two cylinders connected to said crankcase.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit under Title 35, U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/402,841, entitled INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE, filed on Aug. 12, 2002.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60402841 |
Aug 2002 |
US |