James Atkinson built and patented the engine in 1886. He did not design this engine because he wanted to change the world, but because N.A. Otto already had pretty much all the patents on four-stroke engines. The special feature of this four-stroke engine is that the intake and exhaust cams are mounted directly on the crankshaft and not on a separate camshaft with a 1:2 reduction ratio, as is usually the case with a four-stroke engine. The fact that the engine actually runs in four-stroke mode is achieved by a rocker arm and the main connecting rod, which engages with the crankshaft. Because fuel consumption was already a major consideration at the time, Mr Atkinson arranged the pivot points so that the engine had four strokes of different lengths. In relation to the exhaust stroke 1 (the longest stroke), the intake stroke is 1/3, the compression stroke ¼ and the working stroke 2/3, allowing him to utilise the expansion better.
Technical description:
Water-cooled four-stroke engine. The model is not a scale reduction because the technology would otherwise be installed in an almost closed box. However, the outer contours correspond to the original. The engine can run on gas or petrol.
Technical data:
Bore : 29 mm
stroke: 44, 19, 11, 37 mm
Overall height: 195 mm
Overall length: - - mm
Overall width: - - mm
Flywheel diameter: 197 mm