This disclosure relates to the field of fuel injection systems for two-cycle engines.
Two-cycle engines are utilized in a variety of applications. Because their power to weight ratios are substantially greater than their four-cycle counterparts, and because they can operate regardless of orientation, they are especially useful for straddle seat type vehicle applications, such as snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), personal watercrafts (PWCs), and motorcycles. Unfortunately, many currently available two-cycle engines are fuel inefficient, emit an undesirable amount of pollution, and/or exhibit poor running quality. Part of these undesirable characteristics may be attributed to the placement of fuel injectors within the engine.
Some embodiments of the invention include a straddle seat type vehicle with a two-cycle internal combustion engine, a straddle seat, and a chassis supporting the engine and the seat. The engine includes a cylinder with a piston, a cylinder head, and a crankcase. The engine also includes an air inlet for introducing air into the crankcase and a crankcase fuel injector passing through a wall of the crankcase for injecting fuel into the crankcase. The crankcase fuel injector injects fuel in a jet that defines a central jet axis. The air inlet introduces air into the crankcase in an airflow that defines a central airflow axis. The engine is arranged such that the central jet axis is directed generally opposite to the central airflow axis.
In some embodiments, the invention includes a transfer passage between the cylinder and the crankcase, and a transfer passage fuel injector located to direct fuel into the transfer passage. Some embodiments of the invention also include a method of injecting fuel into a two-cycle internal combustion engine. The invention permits more accurate fuel delivery calibration, resulting in reduced fuel consumption, reduced emissions, improved running quality, and improved engine durability.
The following detailed description should be read with reference to the drawings, in which like elements in different drawings are numbered identically. The drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, depict selected embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Several forms of the embodiments will be shown and described, and other forms will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It will be understood that embodiments shown in drawings and described are merely for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments as defined in the claims that follow.
A snowmobile 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is shown in
A watercraft 62 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is shown in
An ATV 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is shown in
A motorcycle 110 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is shown in
Similar components on each vehicle are identified above with like names and element numbers. Distinctions between such components are indicated above with the use and non-use of one or more primes after the element number. In order to simplify the discussion hereinafter, no prime indicators are used. It is understood, however, that all references to elements defined in multiple vehicle types (e.g., chassis 20, engine 30, seat 36, footrest 50, steering post 58, handlebars 60, etc.) may apply to each of such vehicles. It is understood that the discussion may apply equally to other straddle seat type vehicles.
The engine 30 is of the two-cycle (sometimes referred to herein as two-stroke) type. As shown in
As shown in the
The piston 138 may connect to crankshaft 134 in a conventional fashion via a connecting rod 170, an upper connecting rod bearing 174 and a lower connecting rod bearing 176, as shown in
The crankcase fuel injector 182 may be provided through a wall of the crankcase 132, and may inject fuel into the crankcase 132 below the piston 138 and/or cylinder 126. The injected fuel mixes with air entering the crankcase 132 via the air inlet assembly 162. In some embodiments, cylinder 126 has an internal cavity of substantially cylindrical shape and defines a central cylinder axis BB, as shown in
One or more of the various axes discussed above may be further oriented to obtain reduced fuel consumption, reduced emissions, improved running quality, and improved engine durability. In some embodiments, the crankcase fuel injector jet axis AA is directed at an angle α of between 0 and 20 degrees from a plane E normal to the central cylinder axis BB, as shown in
Upward movement of the piston 138 creates a pressure differential across the inlet 162 that in turn causes combustion air to pass into the crankcase 132. As the piston 138 moves downwardly, the combustion air or fuel and combustion air mixture (sometimes referred to herein as fluid) in the crankcase 132 is compressed and eventually is forced under pressure into the combustion chamber above the piston 138 where combustion may then take place. In some embodiments, the combustion air or fuel and combustion air mixture is forced from the crankcase to the combustion chamber via one or more transfer passages 156. Transfer passages 156 may be any channel or aperture useful for fluid communication between the crankcase 132 and the combustion chamber.
The invention may include further specific placements of the crankcase fuel injector 182 to increase fuel efficiency, promote complete combustion, and/or reduce fuel contact on surfaces where it is not desired. For purposes of illustration, a fuel spray pattern is represented by fuel spray cone 188 in FIGS. 10 and 12A–C. In some embodiments, the crankcase fuel injector 182 is positioned to inject fuel below the piston 138. The crankcase fuel injector 182 may also be positioned to inject fuel above the crankshaft 134. In some embodiments, the crankcase fuel injector 182 is positioned to spray fuel so it does not substantially impinge on the lower connecting rod bearing 176 (i.e., does not impinge to an undesirable extent). For example, crankcase fuel injector 182 may spray fuel above the highest point reached by lower connecting rod bearing 176 as it travels through its revolution path. The crankcase fuel injector 182 may be further positioned to spray fuel so it does not substantially impinge on an internal surface of the crankcase 132. In particular, these locations for crankcase fuel injector 182 reduce fuel impingement on surfaces where it may remove lubricating oil.
In some embodiments, there are two cylinders 126 and two crankcase fuel injectors 182, although of course there may be as many cylinders and associated fuel injectors as desired. In such embodiments, the two crankcase fuel injectors 182 may be oriented on generally parallel axes, as shown by lines A and B in
As shown in
Transfer passage fuel injector 194 may be further positioned according to the invention to increase fuel efficiency and/or promote complete combustion. Transfer passage fuel injector 194 may be positioned to dispense fuel into the transfer passage 156 in a jet directed substantially transverse to a direction of fluid (e.g., combustion air, or combustion air and fuel mixture) flow in the transfer passage 156. This orientation is particularly useful for increasing fuel atomization of the fuel injected by transfer passage fuel injector 194. In some embodiments, central axis D of transfer passage fuel injector 194 is generally parallel to central axis B of crankcase fuel injector 182, as shown in
Crankcase fuel injector 182 and transfer passage fuel injector 194 may be placed in certain relationships to each other to promote efficiencies. In some embodiments, crankcase fuel injector 182 and transfer passage fuel injector 194 are located along generally parallel axes, as shown by lines A and C in
The invention also includes a method of injecting fuel into any of the various engine embodiments described above. Such a method includes introducing air into the crankcase 132 and injecting fuel into the crankcase 132 through the crankcase fuel injector 182. Because of the placement of the crankcase fuel injector 182 and the air inlet assembly 162, the fuel is substantially atomized after injection.
Since the crankcase fuel injector 182 is located to inject fuel in a direction towards the air inlet assembly 162, as opposed to upstream of the inlet valve, the invention allows for a wide variety of fuel injection timing schemes. The fuel may be injected at any time during the rotation of the crankshaft 134. In some embodiments, fuel is continuously injected into the crankcase 132. This freedom in fuel injection timing schemes may provide for greater operating efficiency, reduced emissions, and improved engine running quality.
In embodiments provided with transfer passage fuel injector 194, the amount of fuel delivered to crankcase fuel injector 182 and transfer passage fuel injector 194 may be manipulated by the engine control unit based on different engine 30 loads. In some embodiments, substantially all of the fuel is supplied to the crankcase fuel injector 182 under full load engine 30 operating conditions. Fuel delivery may also be divided between the crankcase fuel injector 182 and the transfer passage fuel injector 194 such that transfer passage fuel injector 194 assumes a progressively larger proportion of the fuel delivery as the engine 30 load is decreased. In some embodiments, substantially all of the fuel is supplied to the transfer passage fuel injector 194 under no-load idle and/or light part-load engine 30 operating conditions. Such diverting of fuel to crankcase fuel injector 182 or transfer passage fuel injector 194 may provide for increased operating efficiency, reduced emissions, and improved running quality.
Further, to improve emissions at part load conditions, the timing of fuel injection by the transfer passage fuel injector may be manipulated such that the instantaneous fluid volume into which the fuel is injected is substantially fully trapped by the piston, thereby minimizing the quantity of unburnt fuel that exits the exhaust port 144.
Thus, embodiments of the various straddle seat type vehicles with two-stroke engines provided with crankcase fuel injection and/or transfer passage fuel injection are disclosed. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention can be practiced with embodiments other than those disclosed. The disclosed embodiments are presented for purposes of illustration and not limitation, and the invention is limited only by the claims that follow.
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