Patent ID: 9303559
Filing Date: 2016-04-05
CPC Classification: F02B

Claim Text:
1. An internal combustion engine for propelling an automotive vehicle comprising: a frame structure, a pair of piston and cylinder assemblies mounted on said frame structure including two side by side cylinders and pistons movably mounted in said cylinders for simultaneous movements through repetitive cycles, each including simultaneous compression strokes and immediately following simultaneous power drive strokes, an output shaft connected with said pistons so as to be moved by said pistons through a predetermined number of rotational movements during each cycle of movement of said pistons, a passage between said side by side cylinders to communicate the cylinders; a fuel injection system including an injector operatively associated with each of said piston and cylinder assemblies, said fuel injection system being constructed and arranged in (a) a first mode of operation wherein fuel is injected into both said side by side cylinders to establish at the beginning of the simultaneous power drive strokes of the pistons of both cylinders a charge of ignitable compressed fuel and air mixture in each of said cylinders, and both mixtures are ignited to affect simultaneous internally fired power drive strokes of both pistons, and (b) a second mode of operation wherein the fuel is injected into only one of said side by side cylinders to establish at the beginning of the simultaneous power drive strokes of the pistons of both cylinders a charge of ignitable compressed air fuel mixture in said one cylinder and a charge of unignitable compressed air in the other cylinder, and the mixture in said one cylinder is ignited with the resultant pressure therein shared by said passage with the other cylinder to affect simultaneous shared power drive strokes of both pistons, said fuel injection system further including a controller operable in response to a predetermined operating condition of the automotive vehicle to maintain said internal combustion engine continuously in said second mode of operation and while continuously in said second mode of operation changing in accordance with a predetermination pattern which one of the two piston and cylinder assemblies constitutes the one cylinder which has the ignition fuel-air mixture therein.