1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a small-size two cycle combustion engine of a kind mainly used as a drive source for a work machine or equipment such as, for example, a brush cutter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Two cycle combustion engines of the kind referred to above conventionally have scavenging passages for supplying an air/fuel mixture into the engine combustion chamber. In those two cycle combustion engines, the scavenging passages are formed in an engine cylinder block simultaneously with casting of the engine cylinder block. Formation of respective scavenging ports at downstream ends of the scavenging passages has hitherto required the use of a slide die slidable in a direction radially of the cylinder block, thus rendering the die assembly to be complicated and costly.
In order to alleviate the foregoing problems, Japanese Examined Utility Model Publication No. 58-43616, for example, discloses the use of scavenging-passage-defining wall members separate from the engine cylinder block, but incorporated in the cylinder block to define the scavenging passages. Specifically, the scavenging-passage-defining wall members have their opposite side edges inserted from below into corresponding engagement grooves, which are defined in the cylinder block so as to extend in a direction parallel to the cylinder axis, i.e., the longitudinal axis of the cylinder bore in the cylinder block and are then fixed in position to define the respective scavenging passages partitioned from the cylinder bore.
However, considering that in the two cycle combustion engine of the conventional type referred to above, an air/fuel mixture within the crankcase, which contains air and fuel mixed still insufficiently, is introduced into the scavenging passages during the scavenging stroke, fuel contained in the air/fuel mixture is apt to deposit on inner surfaces of the scavenging passages during the flow of the air/fuel mixture through the scavenging passages to thereby form layers of fuel pitch. Once the layers of fuel pitch so deposited come to have a substantial thickness, they may depart from the inner surfaces of the scavenging passages to form fuel droplets, which are subsequently introduced into the combustion chamber. Accordingly, the fuel mixed insufficiently with the air, which is so introduced into the combustion chamber, will be eventually burned and this leads to reduction in combustion efficiency. Also, it may occur that since the air/fuel mixture introduced into the combustion chamber through the scavenging ports is not sufficiently and satisfactorily controlled in direction of flow towards the combustion chamber, the blow-off of the air/fuel mixture cannot be suppressed effectively.
On the other hand, the two cycle combustion engine disclosed in the above mentioned prior art document is found to be advantageous in that the cost of manufacture thereof can be reduced, but has a problem associated with the use of the scavenging-passage-defining wall members that are made of the same material as that of the cylinder block, for example, an aluminum alloy or spring steel, and separate from the cylinder block. Specifically, since those scavenging-passage-defining wall members are fixed in position solely by means including the engagement grooves defined in the cylinder block for receiving therein the opposite side edges of the scavenging-passage-defining wall members, one or some of the scavenging-passage-defining wall members may accidentally fall or depart downwards from the associated engagement grooves at the time the cylinder block is connected with the crankcase, resulting in a possible reduction of the assemblability of the combustion engine.
In view of the foregoing, the present invention is intended to provide a two cycle combustion engine provided with the scavenging passages of a structure, which can be formed by the use of a simplified die assembly and is effective to minimize or substantially eliminate an undesirable deposit of fuel contained in the air/fuel mixture, while allowing the air/fuel mixture to be injected into the combustion chamber in such a manner as to effectively avoid the blow-off of the air/fuel mixture.
In order to accomplish the foregoing object of the present invention, there is, in accordance with the present invention, provided a two cycle combustion engine which includes a cylinder block having a cylinder bore defined therein, a scavenging-passage-defining wall member made separate from the cylinder block and fitted to the cylinder block to form an inner diametric wall of a scavenging passage. The scavenging-passage-defining wall member is provided with a scavenge regulating segment spaced from an outer diametric surface of the scavenging passage and two opposed side surface of the scavenging passage that are opposed to each other in a direction circumferentially of the cylinder bore. The scavenge regulating segment so secured to the scavenging-passage-defining wall member occupies a circumferential center portion of an inner-diametric-wall side of the scavenging passage.
According to the present invention, since the scavenging-passage-defining wall member, which is a member separate from the cylinder block and is fitted to the cylinder block, is employed, the die assembly used to form the cylinder block may be of a structure including no slide die and, therefore, the cost of manufacture can be reduced.
Also, since the scavenging-passage-defining wall member is provided with the scavenge regulating segment that is spaced from an outer diametric surface and two inner side surfaces of the scavenging passage, and occupying a circumferential center portion on an inner diametric side of the scavenging passage, the cross-sectional areas of the scavenging passage is reduced locally to allow the air/fuel mixture flowing around the scavenge regulating segment to flow at an increased velocity and also to allow the flow of the air/fuel mixture to be concentrated in a region proximate to the outer diametric surface and two inner side surfaces of the scavenging passage. Because of the flow of the air/fuel mixture at the increased velocity, an undesirable deposit of fuel contained in the air/fuel mixture on the outer diametric surface and inner side surfaces of the scavenging passage can be suppressed, thereby avoiding an undesirable reduction of the combustion efficiency, which would otherwise result from introduction of the fuel into the combustion chamber in the form of fuel droplets.
In addition, since the air/fuel mixture flows along the two inner side surfaces of the scavenging passage, the air/fuel mixture is injected into the combustion chamber through the scavenging port in a predetermined direction along the two inner side surfaces of the scavenging passage and, therefore, the blow-off of the air/fuel mixture through the exhaust port can be effectively avoided by setting such direction properly.
Furthermore, since the scavenge regulating segment can easily be provided in the scavenging-passage-defining wall member which is the member separate from the cylinder block, increase of the cost of manufacture can be suppressed.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, each of the scavenging-passage-defining wall member and the scavenge regulating segment is made of a plate member. This is particularly advantageous in that the scavenging-passage-defining wall member and the scavenge regulating segment can be formed inexpensively. It is to be noted that the scavenge regulating segment may be secured to the scavenging passage by, for example, a welding technique.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cylinder block is formed with engagement grooves open axially downwardly of the cylinder block and the scavenging-passage-defining wall member is inserted at its opposite side portions within the respective engagement grooves. The scavenging-passage-defining wall member so inserted may be retained in position by a retaining member, fitted to the cylinder block, so that the scavenging-passage-defining wall member is not detached from the engagement grooves. According to this structural feature, while the scavenging-passage-defining wall member inserted in the engagement grooves from an opening below those engagement grooves may depart from the cylinder block, this departure can be advantageously barred by the retaining member, thereby increasing the assemblability of the combustion engine.
In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of the scavenging passages are closely juxtaposed to each other in a direction circumferentially of the cylinder block and a plurality of the scavenge regulating segments are provided for the single scavenging passage defining wall and positioned one by one inside each of the scavenging passage. This allows the use of the only one scavenging-passage-defining wall member for the plurality of scavenging passages and, therefore, the structure can be simplified advantageously.
In any event, the present invention will become more clearly understood from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments and the drawings are given only for the purpose of illustration and explanation, and are not to be taken as limiting the scope of the present invention in any way whatsoever, which scope is to be determined by the appended claims. In the accompanying drawings, like reference numerals are used to denote like parts throughout the several views, and:
Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In particular,
Referring to
The cylinder block 1 has a multiplicity of spaced cooling fins 1b formed integrally therewith so as to protrude outwardly while extending around the cylinder block 1, and is formed with a cylinder bore 1A defined therein. A reciprocating piston 9 is accommodated therein for movement up and down in a direction axially of the cylinder bore 1A.
As best shown in
The thermal insulator block 20 has an air supply passage 21 and an air/fuel mixture supply passage 22 defined therein so as to extend parallel to each other and communicated with the cylinder block 1 through the first side wall portion of the cylinder block 1, with the air supply passage 21 positioned above the air/fuel mixture supply passage 22. A peripheral wall of the cylinder block 1 defining the cylinder bore 1A is formed with a downstream passage portion of the air/fuel mixture supply passage 22, which has an air/fuel mixture supply port 22a open into the cylinder bore 1A, and an exhaust passage 23 defined therein and having an exhaust port 23a open into the cylinder bore 1A so as to communicate with the combustion chamber 1a so that exhaust gases (burned gases) can be exhausted to the outside through this exhaust passage 23 by way of the muffler 7.
The illustrated combustion engine also includes first and second scavenging passages 24 and 27 for communicating between the combustion chamber 1a in the cylinder block 1 and the crank chamber 2a in the crankcase 2 through the crankshaft bearings 10, with the second scavenging passage 27 positioned at a location closer to the exhaust port 23a than the first scavenging passage 24. Those first and second scavenging passages 24 and 27 have their respective downstream ends defining respective first and second scavenging ports 24a and 27a which are positioned at a level lower than the uppermost edge of the exhaust port 23a. The first and second scavenging passages 24 and 27 are closely juxtaposed relative to each other in a direction substantially circumferentially of the cylinder block 1.
As will become clear from the subsequent description, the first and second scavenging passages 24 and 27 referred to above are provided in two pairs, one pair positioned across the cylinder bore 1A.
The cylinder block 1 also has an air intake passage 52 defined therein for introducing an air from the air supply passage 21 in the thermal insulator block 20 into upper regions of the first and second scavenging passages 24 and 27. The air supply passage 21 in the thermal insulator block 20 has a downstream exit provided with a reed valve 54 operable to open the air supply passage 21 when the pressure inside the air intake passage 52 communicated therewith decreases down to a value lower than a predetermined pressure. It is to be noted that although the air intake passage 52 is, in the illustrated embodiment, communicated with both of the first and second scavenging passages 24 and 27, it may be communicated with only one of the first and second scavenging passages closer to the exhaust passage 23, that is, the second scavenging passage 27.
Referring now to
A stream of cooling air CA induced by the cooling fan 28 during the rotation of the latter is utilized to cool the cylinder block 1, having been guided by a shroud 32, covering the cylinder block 1 and the muffler 7 (
Thus, it will readily be seen that each of the first and second scavenging passages 24 and 27 is partitioned from the cylinder bore 1A with the scavenging-passage-defining wall member 34 and is communicated with the cylinder bore 1A through the respective first or second scavenging port 24a or 27a left above the scavenging-passage-defining wall member 34.
As best shown in
As shown in
In view of the foregoing, the first and second scavenging passages 24 and 27 of each pair are partitioned from the cylinder bore 1A by the presence of the single or common partitioning wall portions 34a of the scavenging-passage-defining wall members 34 and are therefore communicated with the cylinder bore 1A only through the first and second scavenging ports 24a and 27a shown in
As shown in
The plane of connection 53 referred to above is defined by respective mating surfaces of the cylinder block 1 and the crankcase 2, that is, the bottom end face of the cylinder block 1 and an upper face of the crankcase, with which the bottom end face of the cylinder block 1 is connected. The plane of connection 53 is, in this embodiment, perpendicular to the cylinder axis CC.
As shown in
Hereinafter, the operation of the two cycle combustion engine of the structure hereinbefore described will be described.
During the intake stroke of the two cycle combustion engine as shown in
During the subsequent scavenging stroke, the air/fuel mixture M and the air A are introduced into the combustion chamber 11a through the associated first and second scavenging ports 24a and 27a of the first and second scavenging passages 24 and 27, respectively. At this time, the air A is first introduced into the combustion chamber 11a from the first and second scavenging ports 24a and 27a as shown in
Also, during the scavenging stroke, the flow of the air/fuel mixture M is regulated by the scavenge regulating segments 37 and 38 within the scavenging passages 24 and 27 so that the air/fuel mixture M can flow in regions bound by the opposite side and outer diametric surfaces 24A, 24B, 27A, 27B, 24C and 27C of the respective scavenging passages 24 and 27 before it is injected into the cylinder bore 1A through the scavenging ports 24a and 27a (shown in
It is to be noted that the scavenge regulating segments 37 and 38 positioned inside the respective scavenging passages 24 and 27 regulate the flow of the air/fuel mixture with the cross-sectional areas of those scavenging passages 24 and 27 reduced locally. As a result, not only can the air/fuel mixture M flowing the scavenging passages 24 and 27 past the associated scavenge regulating segments 37 and 38 flow at a high velocity, but also the flow of the air/fuel mixture M concentrates in respective regions of the scavenging passages 24 and 27 adjacent the outer diametric surfaces 24C and 27C and the inner side surfaces 24A, 24B, 27A and 27B. Consequently, by the effect of the air/fuel mixture flowing at such high velocity, an undesirable deposit of fuel, contained in the air/fuel mixture M, on the outer diametric surfaces 24C, 27C, and the inner side surfaces 24A, 24B, 27A, and 27B of those scavenging passages 24 and 27 can be suppressed advantageously and, hence, reduction of the combustion efficiency, which would otherwise result from introduction of the fuel into the combustion chamber 1a in the form of fuel droplets, can be avoided effectively.
The air/fuel mixture is, after having flowed past the inner side surfaces 24A and 24B, 27A and 27B of the first and second scavenging passages 24 and 27, respectively, injected into the combustion chamber 1a through the scavenging ports 24a and 27a (shown in
Furthermore, since the scavenging-passage-defining wall members 34, which are members separate from the cylinder block 1 and are fitted to the cylinder block 1, is employed, the die assembly used to form the cylinder block 1 may be of a simple structure including no slide die and, therefore, the cost of manufacture can be reduced. Also, since the scavenging-passage-defining wall members 34 are members separate from the cylinder block 1 as described above, the scavenge regulating segments 37 and 38 can be easily provided in the associated scavenging-passage-defining wall members 34, resulting in suppression of increase of the manufacturing cost. Yet, since the scavenging-passage-defining wall members 34 and the scavenge regulating segments 37 and 38 are made of a metallic plate, the scavenging-passage-defining wall members 34 and the scavenge regulating segments 37 and 38 themselves can be advantageously manufactured inexpensively.
Yet, since the scavenging-passage-defining wall members 34 are, as shown in
Although the present invention has been fully described in connection with the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings which are used only for the purpose of illustration, those skilled in the art will readily conceive numerous changes and modifications within the framework of obviousness upon the reading of the specification herein presented of the present invention. For example, one or both of the lower ends of the first and second scavenging passages 24 and 27 shown in
Accordingly, such changes and modifications are, unless they depart from the scope of the present invention as delivered from the claims annexed hereto, to be construed as included therein.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2005-343512 | Nov 2005 | JP | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
20030226526 | Rosskamp et al. | Dec 2003 | A1 |
20040237914 | Watkins et al. | Dec 2004 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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58-43616 UY | Oct 1993 | JP |
2000-170538 | Jun 2000 | JP |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20070119396 A1 | May 2007 | US |