Patent ID: 7556014

Claim:
Apparatus for changing a maximum cylinder displacement in an internal combustion engine having a combustion cycle of at least four strokes, the apparatus comprising: a crankshaft rotatable about a crankshaft axis, a connecting rod in engagement towards a first end with a throw of the crankshaft and configured to couple towards a second end to a piston in a cylinder of the internal combustion engine, and an eccentric coupling between the crankshaft and the connecting rod, wherein the eccentric coupling comprises an epicyclic gear means for coupling movement of the first end of the connecting rod to the throw of the crankshaft, the epicyclic gear means comprising a fixed gear fixedly located on the throw and a plurality of rotatable gears spaced apart around the fixed gear and a connecting rod gear rotatably located in the first end of the connecting rod, wherein the connecting rod gear defines an aperture which cooperates with the rotatable gears and in turn with the fixed gears, whereby movement of the connecting rod is coupled to movement of the crankshaft, and wherein the centre of the aperture defined by the connecting rod is offset from the centre of the first end of the connecting rod and with which the throw of the crankshaft rotatably engages.