| 摘要 |
An internal combustion engine 10 is provided having at least one pair of cylinders 30, 31 which overlaps to form one enclosure 20. The two cylinders 30, 31 have central axes 2, 4 which are offset. The reciprocally-offset cylinders 30, 31 are joined to form the enclosure 20 with a centerline 26 perpendicular to the lateral central axes 2, 4 of the two cylinders 30, 31. Each cylinder 30, 31 is of generally uniform cross-section. The cylinders 30, 31 have central axes 2, 4 that are preferably generally parallel but not axially-aligned. The cylinders 30, 31 are connected to form an open cylinder connection pathway 42. Separate pistons 50, 51 are disposed within each cylinder 30, 31 with their crowns 52 facing each other and oriented toward the centerline 26. The crowns 52, in combination with the cylinder walls 32, form a shared combustion chamber 40 with shared intake valve 70, exhaust valve 90 and a means for ignition of combustible mixtures. The cylinders 30, 31 are reciprocally and vertically offset by a distance G such that the cross-sectional projection of each cylinder 30, 31 only partially overlaps the cross-sectional projection of the opposing cylinder 30, 31 by a distance H. The offset non-overlapping portion H provides sufficient surface 46 to mount intake and exhaust valves 70, 90 adjacent to the cylinders 30, 31 within the same cylinder block 22, 24.
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