From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Article discussing a patented rear-engined, frameless passenger car with a two-stroke radial engine.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 128\3\ scan0034 | |
| Date | 22th April 1939 | |
| 522 Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} 1104 Rear-Engined, Frameless Fig. 1—Perspective view of G.{Mr Griffiths - Chief Accountant / Mr Gnapp} M.{Mr Moon / Mr Moore}’s unit-built rear-engined development Fig. 2—Side view of radial two-stroke engine, showing carburetor, scavenging blower, and distributing and changeover valve A, carburetor; B, blower; C, bypass to blower; D, fuel-return pipe from blower bypass to carburetor; E, rotary valve; F, change-over valve; G, valve in bypass to blower; H, fuel-control valve of carburetor. F, G, and H are connected to the accelerator pedal. By P. M.{Mr Moon / Mr Moore} HELDT A SERIES of eight patents recently issued to E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} O.{Mr Oldham} Schjolin of Pontiac, Mich., and assigned by him to General Motors Corp., cover various details of a rear-engined, frameless (or unit-type) passenger car. The patented features include the induction system, the cooling system, the vibration damper, and the mounting of the engine on the body; a conical-type friction clutch and a method of controlling same by hydraulic means; a gear-shift mechanism, and a special type of seat. The writer understands that General Motors not only has worked out the designs for this car on paper and secured patent protection on its various novel features, but has actually built and tested the car. As most of the applications date back to the early part of 1936, it is not unlikely that development has been carried considerably farther than is disclosed by these patent specifications. The engine is of the two-stroke radial type, with double cylinders of U form, two adjacent parallel cylinders having a common combustion chamber. As shown in Fig. 2, there are four such pairs of cylinders. The crankshaft has two crankpins that are slightly offset angularly relative to each other, to permit the pistons which control the exhaust ports to slightly lead the pistons controlling the inlet port. With such an arrangement of crank and cylinders it is possible to obtain uniflow operation and efficient scavenging. A two-stroke engine, of course, calls for a scavenging pump, and a Roots' blower is shown in the drawing. Within the crankcase there is a valve with a single outlet port that rotates with the crankshaft, which connects the blower to the different cylinder pairs in turn. Concentric with the rotary valve there is another valve with four outlet ports adapted to register with the inlet passages to the four pairs of cylinders. A valve-controlled by-pass is provided between the delivery side and the suction side of the blower, and an auxiliary conduit returns any unvaporized gasoline from the blower by-pass to the carburetor. The change-over valve concentric with the rotary valve, the valve in the by-pass to the blower, and the gasoline-metering valve of the carburetor are interconnected by outside linkage, all being controlled by means of the accelerator pedal. When the accelerator pedal is in the idling position, the change-over valve (concentric with the rotary valve) shuts off the main inlet passages to the cylinders, but opens the small auxiliary inlet passages. At the same time the valve in the by- April 22, 1939 Automotive Industries | ||