1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to small internal combustion engines of the type typically used with lawnmowers, lawn and garden tractors, small sport vehicles, or other small working implements. In particular, the present invention relates to the positioning and operation of the engine controls and other user interface components of such engines.
2. Description of the Related Art
Small internal combustion engines are typically configured as horizontal crankshaft engines or vertical crankshaft engines. Horizontal crankshaft engines are often used in applications such as snow throwers and generators, for example, while vertical crankshaft engines are often used in applications such as walk-behind lawnmowers and lawn and garden tractors, for example, although the foregoing usage may vary. Horizontal and vertical crankshaft engines typically include one or two engine cylinders, and have drive trains configured as L-head/side valve type, overhead valve (“OHV”) type, and overhead cam (“OHC”) type.
Additionally, small internal combustion engines typically include a number of user interfaces which are manipulated by a user of the engine in order to operate, maintain, and service the engine. These user interfaces include engine controls for starting, stopping, and varying the speed of the engine. For example, in engines with carburetors, a choke control is actuated to provide an enriched air/fuel mixture to the engine to aid in starting, and a throttle control is used to regulate the amount of air/fuel mixture delivered to the engine in order to vary the engine speed. Other engine controls include ignition switches for enabling or disabling engine ignition, as well as fuel shut-off valves for opening and closing the flow of fuel from the fuel tank of the engine to the carburetor.
In addition to the engine controls, other user interfaces for small internal combustion engines include the fuel tank cap, which is removed from the fuel tank for filling fuel into the fuel tank, as well as the oil fill cap, which is removed from the oil fill conduit for filling oil into the crankcase of the engine.
The foregoing user interfaces must be accessed by a user, some more frequently than others, for operating, maintaining, and servicing the engine. However, a problem with known small engines is that these interfaces are typically distributed at various locations around the engine housing. As an example, a single cylinder horizontal shaft engine may include a fuel tank at the top and to one side of the engine, the fuel tank including the fuel tank cap; an oil fill conduit at a lower rear portion of the engine, the oil fill conduit including the oil fill cap; carburetor throttle and choke controls at a lower left portion of the engine on the front side; and a carburetor primer bulb on an upper front side of the engine, etc. Further, positioning of the user interfaces is often not consistent from engine to engine.
Problematically, positioning of the user interfaces at various locations around the engine often makes at least some of the user interfaces inconvenient for ready access by the user, and in some cases, may make it difficult for the user to locate and/or identify particular user interfaces when same need to be accessed.
Further, the carburetor throttle and choke controls for small engines are typically in the form of slide levers which tend to occupy a large amount of space at the engine surface, which space is often at a premium in small engines. The carburetor and choke controls may be located on the engine in a manner in which they are not easily and readily accessible by the user.
What is needed is a small internal combustion engine having user interfaces which are positioned and operable in a manner which is an improvement over the foregoing.
The present invention provides a small internal combustion engine having user interfaces which are located proximate to one another and within a centralized portion of the engine which is easily accessible by a user, such that the user may readily identify and operate the user interfaces as needed. The user interfaces include, for example, the carburetor choke and throttle controls, the carburetor primer bulb, the engine ignition key switch, the fuel shut-off valve, the fuel fill inlet and fuel tank cap, and the oil fill inlet and oil fill cap. The carburetor choke and throttle controls are preferably configured as rotary members mounted within an upper front portion of the engine shroud, and are shaped for easy grasping by a user to control the running of the engine.
In one embodiment, a horizontal crankshaft V-twin engine is provided. As an illustration of the positioning of the user interfaces, the engine may be conceptually divided by intersecting horizontal and vertical planes into four quadrants, including upper and lower front quadrants and upper and lower rear quadrants. A plurality of the user interfaces are conveniently positioned close to one another and generally within the upper front quadrant of the engine, which allows the user interfaces to be easily identified and accessed by a user of the engine. In particular, each of the carburetor throttle and choke controls, the carburetor primer bulb, the ignition key switch, the fuel shut-off valve, the fuel tank cap, and the oil fill cap are positioned close to one another and within an easily accessible control area which is disposed within the upper front quadrant of the engine, concentrated about the upper front portion of the engine shroud.
Additionally, the carburetor throttle and choke controls are in the form of rotary members which are mounted within an upper portion of the engine shroud. The rotary members occupy a minimum amount of space on the engine, are intuitive in operation, and are easily grasped and manipulated by a user to control the operation of the carburetor. In one embodiment, the rotary members are connected via first and second linkage sets, respectively, to the throttle valve and choke valve of the carburetor. Advantageously, the first and second linkage sets are covered by the engine shroud and the fuel tank to hide the linkage sets from view, and to protect the linkage sets from incidental contact and damage.
In one embodiment, two control members are provided for separately controlling the carburetor choke and throttle via first and second linkage sets, respectively. In another embodiment, a single control member may be provided for controlling both the carburetor choke and throttle via a third linkage set.
In one form thereof, the present invention provides an internal combustion engine having a substantially horizontally disposed crankshaft, the 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, the engine including at least three user interfaces positioned substantially within the upper front quadrant.
In another form thereof, the present invention provides an internal combustion engine, including an engine housing including a crankcase; a crankshaft rotatably supported within the crankcase; a shroud connected to the engine housing, the shroud having a distal region which is spaced away from the crankshaft; and at least three user interfaces concentrated about the shroud distal region.
In a further form, the present invention provides An internal combustion engine, including an engine housing including a crankcase; a crankshaft rotatably supported within the crankcase, the crankshaft disposed substantially horizontally; a shroud connected to the engine housing; and at least one control member rotatably mounted within the shroud, the control member operatively connected to an air/fuel mixing device.
In a still further form, the present invention provides an internal combustion engine, including an engine housing including a crankcase; a crankshaft rotatably supported within the crankcase, the crankshaft disposed substantially horizontally; a shroud connected to the engine housing, the shroud defining a control region in an upper portion of the shroud which is spaced from the crankshaft; at least one engine control member rotatably mounted within the shroud in the control region.
The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplification set out herein illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention, and such exemplification is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention any manner.
Referring to
Engine cover or shroud 28 is connected to crankcase 22 and covers at least a portion of each of crankcase 22 and cylinders 24. Cylinder wraps 30 are also connected to crankcase 22 and cylinders 24, and closely surround portions of cylinders 24 for directing cooling air around cylinders 24. Fuel tank 32 is mounted via brackets 34 to the upper ends of cylinder wraps 30.
Engine 20, as thus generally described, includes front side 36 (FIG. 2), rear side 38 (FIGS. 3-5), right side 40 (FIG. 3), left side 42 (FIG. 4), and top side 44 (FIG. 5). As shown in FIG. 1 and also in
Small internal combustion engines other than horizontal crankshaft V-twin engine 20 may also be conceptually divided in a similar manner. For example, in a vertical crankshaft V-twin engine, the upper front quadrant would encompass the same general area as upper front quadrant 46 of engine 20, including for example, the upper front portion of cylinders 24 and the upper front portion of shroud 28.
Advantageously, and as discussed in further detail below, many of the user interfaces of engine 20 are positioned substantially within upper front quadrant 46 of engine 20. Alternatively stated, many of the user interfaces of engine 20 are concentrated about a distal region shroud 28 which is spaced away from crankshaft 26, such the upper front region of shroud 28, as shown in
As used herein, the term “user interface” refers to an engine component which is operated by a user in the normal course of operating, maintaining, or servicing an internal combustion engine such as engine 20, including, for example, the carburetor choke and throttle controls, carburetor primer bulb, ignition switch, fuel shut-off valve, fuel tank inlet/cap, and oil fill inlet/cap of the engine. Specifically, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Referring to
In operation, when choke control 54 is rotated along arrow 132, bent end 120 of control shaft 84 also rotates along arrow 132, and rod 116 translates upwardly along arrow 134, thereby rotating plate 124 and choke valve shaft 126 along arrow 136 to concurrently rotate choke valve 110 within throat 96 of carburetor. In this manner, a user may selectively open and close choke valve 110 of carburetor 90 as necessary by rotating choke control 54 in opposite directions.
Referring to
In operation, when throttle control 56 is rotated about arrow 174, bent end 120 of control shaft 84 rotationally translates within slot 148 of lever 140, thereby rotating lever 140 at pivot 142 along arrow 176. Rotation of lever 140 translates and stretches spring 152, and rotates throttle/governor lever 154 at pivot 155 about arrow 178, in turn translating rod 168 upwardly along arrow 180 and rotating plate 170 and throttle shaft 172 about arrow 182 to thereby rotate throttle valve 112 within throat 96 of carburetor 90. In this manner, throttle valve 112 may be moved between open and closed positions to regulate the amount of air/fuel mixture which is supplied to engine 20 through carburetor 90.
An alternate control embodiment (not shown) may include a third linkage set operably connecting a single choke/throttle control member to choke valve 110 and to throttle valve 112 of carburetor 90.
First and second linkage sets 114 and 138 are substantially covered from the front of engine 20 by shroud 28, and are substantially covered from the top of engine 20 by fuel tank 32. In this manner, first and second linkage sets 114 and 138 are substantially hidden from view by shroud 28 and fuel tank 32, and are also thereby protected from incidental contact and damage.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Fuel tank cap 66 is threadably secured to the filler neck (not visible) of fuel tank 32, and may be removed to allow fuel to be filled into fuel tank 32. As shown in
Oil fill cap 70 is attached to the inlet of oil fill conduit 72 in a suitable manner, and may be removed to allow oil to be filled through oil fill conduit 72 into crankcase 22 of engine 20. Oil fill conduit 72 projects through opening 196 (
While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.
This application claims the benefit under Title 35, U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/402,841, entitled INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE, filed on Aug. 12, 2002.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20040025811 A1 | Feb 2004 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60402841 | Aug 2002 | US |