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(11) | EP 0 877 154 A2 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Internal combustion engine provided with rotary sleeve timing system |
| (57) Internal combustion four-stroke-cycle engine utilising a rotary sleeve or jacket
timing system, which rotates at half speed (or multiples) with respect to the engine
axle, comprising a fixed cylinder (1) with head (7), a rotary sleeve (2) top-closed
by a ceiling (3) and provided with a window fit for sequentially placing itself in
correspondence with a feed duct and an exhaust duct obtained in the head, and at least
a rolling and radial centring element (16) so assembled as to originate a small clearance
(17), in order to allow the sleeve an axial translation movement such as to push the
upper ceiling (3) surface against the lower head (7) surface, until they mate and
tight-fit together, ensuring in his way a perfect gas-tightness during compression
and combustion. |
[0001] The present invention relates to an endothermic alternative engine of the type utilising a timing system constituted by a jacket (or sleeve) that rotates co-axially with the cylinder and is provided with apertures or holes suitable to be brought in correspondence with channels obtained in the cylinder head to allow the thermal (otto or diesel) cycle to take place.
[0002] As is known, attempts have been made in the past to replace in endothermic engines the conventional mushroom-valves timing system with mobile sleeve valves. Said sleeve must rotate about its axis at a well-defined speed and be provided with one or more apertures, usually holes, so arranged as to tight-cover and uncover, during its rotation, as many apertures or ducts obtained in the cylinder, so as to put the combustion chamber in communication with the external environment, in such a way as to allow the realisation of the running cycle stages.
[0003] Even though the mobile sleeve timing system involves substantially many advantages, such as a reduced number of components and therefore reduced costs, high rotation running and reduced noisiness, in the practice it has involved also problems and drawbacks which have till now hindered its application, such as, in particular, unsatisfactory tightness, excessive consumption of lubricating oil and in general lower thermodymanic yields compared to a conventional valve engine, due to higher friction an imperfect tightness with blow-by of exhaust gases.
[0004] To try to solve at least partly said problems, there was proposed a particular rotary sleeve timing system for an endothermic four-stroke-cycle engine, with one or more cylinders however oriented, which was the subject matter of the Italian patent application no. MI93A 001587; in said timing system, the piston sliding sleeve of each cylinder is separated from said cylinder and rotates in touch with the internal surface of said cylinder, without axial translation, at a speed equal to half the speed of the engine crankshaft; on said rotary sleeve at least a port or window is obtained that is so sized and located that it can be brought, during the rotation, in coincidence with like intake and exhaust apertures obtained correspondingly in the same cylinder.
[0005] However, in the practice, also this particular rotary sleeve timing system, satisfactory thought it is in case of engines having a rather limited compression ratio, proved not able to solve some problems especially common in endothermic engines having a high compression ratio, which problems were evident in the actual realisation, and which comprise:
- low engine torque due to excessive gear friction and poor explosion gas tightness,
- insufficient cooling and lubrication of the rotary sleeve,
- low thermodynamic yields.
[0006] Object of this invention is to provide an endothermic engine utilising an improved rotary sleeve timing system, such as to solve the aforementioned problems, and to overcome the related drawbacks, and such as to be utilisable in a reliable manner in both otto and diesel cycle engines, even with very high compression ratios, with no danger of compression losses and oil and/or exhaust gas blow-by between the rotary sleeve and the cylinder internal surface.
[0007] It is another object of the invention to provide a rotary sleeve timing system so designed and structured as to be highly reliable and utilisable in engines having high thermodynamic yields.
[0008] It is still another object of the invention to provide an endothermic engine that can work using for the ignition a simple incandescent pigtail, i.e., without using a synchronised spark with a remarkable cost saving and a remarkable simplification of the whole apparatus.
[0009] It is still a further object to provide an endothermic engine of great mechanical simplicity and low cost, and therefore utilisable advantageously also for low-powered cars instead of the two-stroke cycle engine.
[0010] These and still other objects and related advantages, which will be more apparent from the following description are achieved by an endothermic engine of the type with a rotary sleeve timing system separated from the rotary-mounted cylinder rotating coaxially to the same, and provided with holes or apertures or windows suitable to be brought, during the rotation, in coincidence with intake and exhaust apertures, which engine, according to the present invention, comprises:
- a fixed cylinder with the related head, said head being provided with at least a hole, at least an exhaust duct and at least an intake duct;
- means for igniting the fuel mixture inserted in said hole obtained in said head;
- a rotary jacket or sleeve bell-like top-closed by a plate or ceiling, the external surface of said ceiling being so shaped as to mate and slidingly perfectly adhere to the internal surface of said head, said ceiling being provided with one or more windows and/or holes so located as to place themselves in correspondence of said exhaust duct, said intake duct and said ignition means obtained in said head, during the rotation of the sleeve;
- at least a thrust bearing element for said rotary sleeve, so sized and located as
to allow an axial translation (flotation) of said sleeve until the external surface
of said ceiling fits and rotary slidingly adheres to the internal surface of said
head, with the ensuing pressure-resistance during the compression stage;
means being also provided for lubrication, as well as means for connecting the connecting rod to the piston that slides in said sleeve.
[0011] More particularly, said axial translation is suitable to distribute throughout the whole surface the lubricating fluid, with the well-known squish effect.
[0012] Both the external surface of said ceiling and the internal surface of said head have preferably a flat shape.
[0013] According to variants of the present invention, the external surface of said ceiling has a male cone or truncated-cone shape, while the internal surface of said head has a female cone or truncated-cone shape, or the external surface of said ceiling has a hemispheric convex shape while the internal surface of said head has a hemispheric concave shape.
[0014] According to an embodiment of the present invention, said ignition means are constituted by at least a sparking plug provided with the usual devices for the synchronisation of the spark.
[0015] Said sparking plug is mounted integrally with the head in said hole located in the centre of the head, and provides to igniting the mixture in the explosion stage, through a corresponding central hole obtained in said ceiling.
[0016] According to a variant of the present invention, said sparking plug is fixed-mounted in said central hole obtained in said ceiling through the central hole obtained in the head, and rotates integrally with said sleeve, receiving current by means of sliding contacts or a spark or the like.
[0017] In a four-stroke-cycle engine, the rotary sleeve rotates with a number of rotations equal to half the number of rotation of the driving shaft, and the ratio of the teeth of the bevel gear pair is 1:2. However, also multiple ratios are realisable, such as 1:4, 1:8, etc.
[0018] It has been observed that the pressure generated by the explosion pushes the rotary sleeve against the head, causing the adhesion of the ceiling external surface against the corresponding head internal surface, ensuring a perfect gas-tightness on the sliding plane, and eliminating in this way any loss, with remarkable advantages as concerns environment pollution and engine power.
[0019] Obviously, between the ceiling external surface and the head internal surface a thin film of lubricant is provided, which ensures lubrication, eliminating any seizure danger. Lubrication may be realised either using a mixture constituted by oil and gasoline, or oil forced through a positive-displacement pump or the like through a network of channels associated to suitably positioned rabbles, oriented, in particular on the ceiling external surface, based on theoretical evaluations and/or indications obtained from experimental tests, or by effect of lubrication obtained directly from gasoline and the use of known materials with a very low friction coefficient or even self-lubricating.
[0020] As said, in order to allow the mating and adhesion of the sleeve ceiling against the internal surface of the head during the explosion, said thrust-bearing and centering element is so positioned as to generate a clearance for the sleeve along its longitudinal axis, comprised between 0,01 and 0,10 mm.
[0021] In this way, the thrust generated by the explosion in the inside of the sleeve, is actually substantially discharged against the whole surface of the head, thus obtaining a perfect tightness in particular in the more critical and maximum stress stage.
[0022] The thrust of the explosion is actually very high (in a 50cc engine it reaches 5000 Newton). Said thrust-bearing element for said sleeve is constituted, according to a first embodiment, by a ball bearing (or a roller bearing) which performs also a function of radial centering (with oblique races according to an ideal angle). This ball bearing is preferably positioned in the sleeve lower part and is in an ideal situation as the low part is cold and extremely well oiled by the oil-beating in the sump.
[0023] According to another embodiment, said thrust-bearing element is constituted by an annular flange radially protruding from the top of said sleeve ceiling and forming an integral whole with the surface of said ceiling, suitable to slidingly adhere to the head internal surface, increasing in this way the tightness during the compression and explosion stages, and to stop the axial translation towards the lower part of the sleeve, striking against a special step provided in the cylinder body.
[0024] Obviously, in special cases it is possible to realise both of the above described thrust-bearing elements, for instance in case of engines having a very high number of rotations, or of great size, etc.
[0025] According to a further embodiment of the present invention, said hole obtained in the head and said ignition means inserted in said hole have an off-centre position with respect to the centre of the head and with respect to the centre of the sleeve ceiling.
[0026] Besides, in this way it is possible to realize an engine according to the invention, wherein the sleeve ceiling is provided with one only aperture or window which is sequentially positioned in correspondence of the feed duct, the hole bearing said off-centre ignition means and the exhaust duct obtained in the head and through which feeding, ignition and exhaust are realised.
[0027] This embodiment allows to employ ignition means constituted by a pigtail which is kept always incandescent. In fact, the pigtail is insulated from the explosion chamber by the sleeve ceiling and gets in touch with the mixture only during the ignition stage, when the window obtained in the sleeve places itself in correspondence of the ignition means. In this ways the advantage is obtained of not having to use the expensive and complex device for the spark timing.
[0028] Besides, with the off-centre arrangement of the ignition means, lubrication feeding takes place through suitable ducts in the centre of the head, in correspondence of the centre of the sleeve ceiling, realising in this way a better and more uniform distribution of the same lubricant.
[0029] According to still another embodiment of the present invention, said ignition means are constituted by a high turbulence precombustion chamber, such as a Comet/Riccardo precombustion chamber or the like, into which gas oil is introduced and atomised during the engine passive cycle, said atomised gas oil being then mixed in the same precombustion chamber with the highly compressed air coming from the sleeve through one only aperture or window obtained in the sleeve ceiling when said aperture places itself in communication with the inlet hole of said precombustion chamber obtained in said head, causing in this way the ignition of the formed mixture and realising a diesel cycle without injector.
[0030] As said, one (or more) apertures are obtained in the sleeve "ceiling", while two (or more) apertures are obtained in the cylinder head, one being an exhaust aperture and another one being an intake aperture.
[0031] Apertures are angle positioned, so as to coincide at the time appropriate to open and close the same, in coincidence with the up and down movement of the piston, creating the classical stages of the four-stroke-cycle (either diesel or otto): intake, compression, explosion-expansion, exhaust.
[0032] The sleeve is connected with the engine axle by a gear system whose teeth number ratio is two to one (or multiples of two). The simplest system is constituted by one only bevel gear pair, but many other connections may be realised. What matters is that the sleeve rotates at a one to two speed (or multiples of two) with respect to the engine axle. It is worth stressing the extreme mechanical simplicity and therefore the very low cost of realisation of the engine according to the present invention, which renders it particularly suitable for low-powered cars, wherein the mechanical complexity and the high cost of the valve timing system have prevented the diffusion in favour of the two-stroke-cycle engine, accepting the defects of the same, namely high acoustic and air pollution and the necessity of mixing fuel with oil. A classic example of application is represented by engines for motorscooter 50, small auxiliary engines, etc. Another advantage of the invention is the reduced height, only a little more than the height of a two-stroke-cycle engine. Another advantage is due to the fact that in the engine according to the present invention, the rotation of the sleeve and therefore of the gas mixture-containing chamber facilitates and spurs an intimate mixing of the mixture ingredients, which allows to obtain a maximum yield and a low environment pollution.
[0033] A further advantage is represented by the absence of an alternate, spring-back movement, as is the case for conventional valves, which limit the rotation speed, on penalty of a surging of the same. An engine according to the invention can rotate at 15,000/20,000 rpm, as proved by the tested prototypes. It should be taken into account that the sleeve can freely move upward, which allows to strongly press the sleeve "ceiling" against the head during the explosion, and to ensure a perfect gas-tightness. This movement has also the double aim of facilitating lubrication, due to the well-known "squish" effect (i.e., lubrication by intense compression), which shows excellent friction coefficients. This lubrication may be obtained with oil or the same fuel (for instance, gas oil in diesel engines).
[0034] Besides, by a suitable off-centre positioning, the sparking plug is kept separated from the sleeve "ceiling" by the combustion chamber, communicating with the same only in a specific stage of the cycle, namely at the time of ignition/explosion.
[0035] This allows the development of new automotive developments, in particular the following ones:
1) otto cycle engines can run without needing a synchronised spark, but with a simple incandescent pigtail, which is always lit. Of course, the position of the incandescent glow plug defines the spark advance (fixed advance). Avoiding the cost of the synchronised spark with its components (magneto flywheel, contact breaker, spark coil, sparking plug, etc.) leads to a remarkable saving, and the cost of the engine becomes even lower than that of an equivalent two-stroke-cycle engine.
2) As an alternative, the present invention allows four-stroke-cycle self-igniting model-engines (which are at present methanol- plus nitromethane-running) to run with a gasoline-plus oil mixture. In fact, according to the known art, using gasoline in model-engines is impossible, because as in the combustion chamber an incandescent glow plug is always present, gasoline would detonate (advance spark ignition), while according to the present invention, the incandescent glow plug "appears in the sleeve window" only at the time when ignition is necessary. Taking into account that the present fuel (methyl alcohol plus nitromethane) costs five to ten times more than gasoline and contains about half the calories/gram, the interest of this invention also for model-making is understandable. Besides, in this case there does not exist the problem of a separate oil lubrication (with the related exhaust losses), as in the field of model-making an oil mixture is fully accepted.
3) A further application of the present invention is the possibility of making low-powered diesel-cycle engines without injector. As is known, the high cost and mechanical complexity of an injector that has to atomise fuel at a very high pressure within a very short time, has prevented the diffusion of low- or very low-powered diesel engines, also because the injection hole cannot be smaller than a given diameter, on penalty of its occlusion. Instead, according to the present invention, it is possible to keep the precombustion chamber, which may be of the Comet/Riccardo type (or of other type), separate, and to saturate it with gas oil vapours throughout the duration of the cycle, and with the continuous inlet of fuel, without injector. This continuous injection may take place by means of a continuous positive-displacement micropump and at a relatively low pressure. During the whole passive cycle of the engine (pumping), in the precombustion chamber there is enough time to atomise gas oil. At the right time, i.e. when the piston is near the explosion TDC, the aperture in the sleeve puts the precombustion chamber in communication with the highly compressed air of the cylinder; such air invades the precombustion chamber at very high speed and turbulence, setting it aflame and causing the even more highly pressurised gas to go back to the combustion chamber. This system allows the making of diesel cycle engines without injector with a displacement that was unthinkable until now (for instance, 50/100 cc). This extension of the diesel cycle to low-powered engines is of great interest in particular in the field of auxiliary static motors (small electrical generators, motor-pumps, mowers, etc.), wherein gasoline-motors are used today that consume a much more expensive and valuable fuel.
[0036] In substance, the engine according to the present invention comprises two distinct "spaces" or "zones" or "volumes", of which the first one is fixed and comprises ignition means, while the volume of the second one varies according to the piston position, said spaces being separate from one another during the passive stage of the cycle (exhaust, intake, compression start), while being in communication with one another during the active stage of the cycle (compression end, explosion, expansion).
[0037] Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will be better stressed by the following detailed description, made with reference to the attached sheets of drawings, given solely by way of non limiting examples, wherein:
Figure 1 shows schematically the cross-section of a one-cylinder engine according to the present invention, of the flat-head type,
Figure 2 shows, always schematically but on a magnified scale, a section of the engine of Figure 1, seen from the top along A-A,
Figure 3 shows schematically a section of the engine of Figure 1, seen from the bottom, along B-B,
Figure 4 shows schematically the cross-section of the engine according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the thrust-bearing element is constituted by an annular flange protruding from the sleeve ceiling top, and the ignition means are so positioned as to be off-centre with respect to the sleeve ceiling centre,
Figure 5 shows, always schematically but on a magnified scale, a section of the engine of Figure 4, seen from the top along E-E,
Figure 6 shows schematically a section of the engine of Figure 4, seen from the bottom, along F-F, and
Figure 7 shows, always schematically, a diesel cycle engine without injector, realised according to the present invention.
[0038] The engine according to the invention comprises a cylinder 1 in whose inside the rotary sleeve 2, bell-like top-closed by a plate or ceiling 3, is rotary-mounted, moved by crankshaft 4 through a bevel gear pair 5. As said, in a four-stroke-cycle engine the ratio of the teeth of the bevel gear pair is 1:2, to cause the sleeve to rotate with a number of rotations equal to half the number of rotations of the crankshaft.
[0039] Besides, as has also been said, the external surface of ceiling 3, which is flat in the embodiment shown in the figures, may be cone or truncated cone-shaped, or hemispheric or it may have any other shape suitable to allow it to mating-rotate against the corresponding lower surface of head 7.
[0040] An alternative piston 6 is mounted in the inside of sleeve 2; ceiling 3 of sleeve 2 is provided with a central hole 9 which is gone through by the end of sparking plug 10 for the ignition of the mixture, and with a window 8 that, during the rotation of the sleeve, places itself sequentially in correspondence of windows 11 and 12 provided in head 7 and in connection with intake duct 13 respectively exhaust duct 14 obtained in the head. The size and the positions of the windows may be so selected as to achieve, for a minimum time fraction during the cycle stages, a connection between the feed duct and the exhaust duct, ensuring thereby the washing of the cylinder.
[0042] In head 7 there is centrally obtained hole 15, in whose inside the sparking plug 10 is fixedly housed. In this case, the edge of hole 9 obtained in ceiling 3 of rotary sleeve 2 freely rotates around the end of the sparking plug. According to a different embodiment of the present invention, the sparking plug 10 is integrally mounted with ceiling 3 of rotary sleeve 2 and rotates with the latter in the inside of hole 15 obtained in the head.
[0043] As in this case the sparking plug is rotary, it is possible to regulate the passage of the current to the sparking plug by providing the sleeve-sparking plug unit with a radial protrusion connected to the electrode of the sparking plug, causing such electrode, during the rotation of the sleeve, to come to sliding with a like non-rotary protrusion, connected with the high voltage circuit, and preferably housed on the cylinder.
[0044] As the two protrusions come near to each other, there is a passage of current and therefore a sparkle between the two electrodes of the sparking plug. In this way there is obtained not only the transmission of the current to the rotary sparking plug, but also the realization of an extremely simple current breaker on the high voltage circuit.
[0045] Always according to the invention, sleeve 2 is mounted on thrust bearings 16 interposed between the cylinder and the sleeve, in such a number and position as to contrast radial stresses, so as to prevent sleeve from any slap, while allowing an axial translation movement (flotation) in the order of some tenths of millimetre: in this way, the thrust due to the explosion pushes the external surface of ceiling 3 against the internal surface of head 7, ensuring thereby a perfect sliding tightness. It has been observed that this is realised by mounting thrust bearing 16 in such a way as to ensure a clearance 17 in the order of 0.01-0.10 mm between the ceiling and the head.
[0046] According to the present invention, the rotary sleeve timing system may be so structured as to be applicable to internal combustion engines of both the two- and the four-stroke-cycle types by changing the rotation speed of the sleeve according to the rotation speed of the driving shaft, i.e. by selecting the speed of the sleeve based on the stroke number of the engine, the number and position of the holes obtainable in the sleeve ceiling and the number and position of intake and exhaust ducts obtainable in the cylinder head.
[0047] According to another embodiment shown in Figure 4, ceiling 23 of rotary sleeve 22 is provided with the thrust-bearing element constituted by the annular flange 24 which prevents the axial translation toward the lower part of sleeve 22, striking against the step 25 obtained in cylinder 1.
[0048] The ignition means constituted by sparking plug 10 is off-centre with respect to the ceiling of sleeve 23 and is inserted in hole 26 obtained in head 27. In head 27 there are also obtained windows 11 and 12, in connection with intake duct 13 respectively exhaust duct 14. In the ceiling of sleeve 23 there is instead obtained one only window 28 which places itself sequentially in correspondence of intake duct 13, hole 26 housing the ignition sparking plug 10 and exhaust duct 14.
[0049] Figure 7 shows a further embodiment wherein the ignition means are off-centre with respect to the centre of the ceiling of sleeve 23 and the centre of head 32, and are constituted by a high-turbulence precombustion chamber 30 in which gas oil is continuously introduced through duct 31. In precombustion chamber 30 gas oil is atomised mixed with the highly compressed air coming from the sleeve through the one only window 28 obtained precisely in the ceiling of the sleeve when said window stands in correspondence of exhaust duct 33 of precombustion chamber 30 at the end of the compression.
1. An endothermic engine of the rotary sleeve timing system type separated from the cylinder
so mounted as to rotate co-axially with the cylinder and provided with apertures or
holes suitable to be brought, during the rotation, in coincidence with intake and
exhaust apertures, characterised in that it comprises:
- a fixed cylinder (1) with the related head (7,27), said head (7,27) being provided with at least a hole (15,26), at least an exhaust duct (14) and at least an intake duct (13);
- means for igniting the fuel mixture inserted in said hole (15, 26) obtained in said head (7, 27);
- a mechanical connection (bevel gear pair, gear chain or the like) between the motor axle and the sleeve, such that the sleeve rotates at half speed (or multiples of two) with respect to the motor axle;
- a rotary jacket or sleeve (2, 22) bell-like top-closed by a plate or ceiling (3, 23), the external surface of said ceiling (3, 23) being so shaped as to mate and slidingly perfectly adhere to the internal surface of said head, said ceiling (3, 23) being provided with one or more windows and/or holes (8, 9, 28) so located as to place themselves in correspondence of said exhaust duct (14), said intake duct (13) and said ignition means obtained in said head, during the rotation of the sleeve;
- at least a thrust bearing element (16, 24) for said rotary sleeve (2), so sized
and located as to allow an axial translation (flotation) of said sleeve until the
external surface of said ceiling (3, 23) mates and rotary slidingly adheres to the
internal surface of said head (7, 27), with ensuing pressure-tightness during the
compression stage;
means being also provided for lubrication, as well as means for connecting the connecting
rod to the piston (6) that slides in said sleeve (2).
2. The engine according to claim 1, characterised in that said allowed axial translation
is comprised between 0,01 and 0,10 mm, suitable to realise a perfect distribution
of lubricant on said surfaces.
3. The engine according to claim 1 and 2, characterised in that said thrust-bearing and
centering element (16, 24) is so positioned as to generate for the sleeve a clearance
(17) along its longitudinal axis comprised between 0,01 and 0,10 mm, i.e. such as
to allow said axial translation.
4. The engine according to claim 1, characterised in that both the external surface of
said ceiling (3, 23) and the internal surface of said head (7, 27) have a flat shape.
5. The engine according to claim 1, characterised in that the external surface of said
ceiling has a male cone or truncated-cone or hemispheric convex shape, while the internal
surface of said head has a female cone or truncated-cone or hemispheric concave shape.
6. The engine according to claim 1, characterised in that said ignition means represented
by a sparking plug (10) are integrally mounted with head (7) in said central hole
(15) of the head, and provide to the ignition of the mixture during the explosion
stage through said central hole (9) obtained in said ceiling (3).
7. The engine according to claim 1, characterised in that said ignition means represented
by a sparking plug (10) are fixedly mounted in said central hole (9) obtained in said
ceiling (3) through central hole (15) obtained in said head (7), and rotate integrally
with said sleeve, receiving current by means of sliding contacts or a spark or the
like.
8. The engine according to claim 1, characterised in that said thrust-bearing element
-is constituted by an annular flange (24) radially protruding from the top of said
ceiling (23) of the sleeve, and forms a whole with the surfaces of said ceiling, suitable
to slidingly adhere to the internal surface of the head and to increase in this manner
the tightness during the compression and explosion stages, and to stop the axial translation
towards the lower part of sleeve (22), striking against a suitable step (25) provided
in the cylinder body (1).
9. The engine according to claim 1, characterised in that said hole (26) obtained in
head (27) and said ignition means inserted in said hole (26) are off-centre with respect
to the centre of the head and the centre of the sleeve ceiling.
10. The engine according to claim 1, characterised in that the sleeve ceiling is provided
with one only aperture or window (28) which is sequentially positioned in correspondence
of feed duct (13), hole (26) bearing said off-centre ignition means and exhaust duct
(14) obtained in head (27), and through which feeding, ignition and exhaust are realised.
11. The engine according to claims 1, 9, and 10, characterised in that said ignition means
are constituted by a pigtail which is always kept incandescent.
12. The engine according to claims 1 and 9, characterised in that the lubrication feed
is realised through suitable ducts in the centre of the head in correspondence of
the centre of the sleeve ceiling.
13. The engine according to claims 1 and 12, characterised in that said axial translation
of said floating sleeve performs a lubrication of the squish-type made with either
forced oil, or oil-containing mixture (self-lubrication), or the same fuel (in particular,
gas oil in the case of diesel engines).
14. The engine according to claim 1, characterised in that said ignition means are constituted
by a high turbulence precombustion chamber, such as a Comet/Riccardo precombustion
chamber or the like, into which gas oil is introduced and atomised during the engine
passive cycle, said atomised gas oil being then mixed in the same precombustion chamber
with the highly compressed air coming from the combustion chamber through one only
aperture (28) or window obtained in the sleeve ceiling when said aperture places itself
in communication with inlet hole (26) of said precombustion chamber obtained in said
head (27), causing in this way the ignition of the formed mixture and realising a
diesel cycle without injector.
15. The engine according to claim 9, characterised in that all the moving gears are contained
in the inside of the engine shell, which as a consequence results to be free from
external kinematics.
16. The engine according to claim 1, characterised in that it comprises two distinct "spaces"
or "zones" or "volumes", of which the first one is fixed and comprises said ignition
means, while the volume of the second one varies according to the piston position,
said spaces being separate from one another during the passive stage of the cycle
(exhaust, intake, compression start), while being in communication with one another
during the active stage of the cycle (compression end, explosion, expansion).
17. The engine according to claims 9 and 16, characterised in that said sleeve ceiling
realises a separation during the whole passive cycle between the ignition system and
the combustion chamber (in the case of otto cycle) and the two space portions are
put in communication at each cycle during the active stage (compression-explosion),
obtaining a mechanical synchronisation of the ignition, eliminating thereby the synchronised
spark which is replaced by a permanently lit ignition source, such as an incandescent
pigtail or the like.
18. The engine according to claims 14 and 16, characterised in that said sleeve " ceiling"
creates a separation (throughout the passive cycle) between the high turbulence precombustion
chamber and the combustion chamber (in the case of diesel cycle), the two space portions
being put in communication only during the active cycle (end of compression-ignition),
obtaining thereby a mechanical synchronisation of the opening of the precombustion
chamber, and allowing the engine to run without needing an injector, said precombustion
chamber being continuously saturated wit fuel that atomises in its inside and burns
in conditions of very high turbulence when it is put in communication with the combustion
chamber containing only very high pressure compressed air.