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US 11,598,243 B2Granted
Four-stroke opposed piston engine architecture and related methods
OwnerMehar Bade, William Vincent Meyers, Jr. +1inventors
InventorsMehar Bade, William Vincent Meyers, Jr., James Warren
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Compact and quiet opposed piston engines (OPEs) are provided. Though compact and quiet, the OPEs provide substantial mechanical shaft power that is required for a range of applications. The inventive OPEs may have a plurality of size displacements.
Claims20
A four-stroke opposed piston engine (OPE) comprising:
- one or more cylinders, each of the one or more cylinders comprising a pair of inwardly opposed pistons;
- a cooling jacket configured to cool the one or more cylinders, and comprising one or more fins to increase the surface area of the cooling jacket to expose coolant flowing inside the jacket to air;
- and
- an intake aperture in each of the one or more cylinders for receiving a removable, modular intake valve assembly comprising a modular intake valve assembly seat body connected to a respective intake aperture by insertion of the intake valve assembly seat body into the intake aperture to enable a flow of combustion air into an interior of the one or more cylinders, and an exhaust aperture in each of the one or more cylinders for receiving a removable, modular exhaust valve assembly comprising a modular exhaust valve assembly seat body connected to a respective exhaust aperture by insertion of the exhaust valve assembly seat body into the exhaust aperture to enable that a flow of exhaust and combustion by-products out of the interior of the one or more cylinders.
1 more element
A method for cooling a four-stroke opposed piston engine (OPE) comprising:
- configuring a cooling jacket to surround and cool one or more cylinders of the OPE, each of the one or more cylinders comprising a pair of inwardly opposed pistons,
- configuring the cooling jacket to comprise one or more fins to increase the surface area of the cooling jacket to expose coolant flowing inside the jacket to air;
- and
- controlling operation of a guide valve that directs flow of a first, coolant percentage to the cooling jacket and directs a second, coolant percentage to a water tank of a combined heat and power system using a stepper motor based on the temperature of the OPE.
1 more element
A method for configuring an opposed piston engine (OPE) without a piston head comprising:
- configuring the OPE with an intake aperture in each of one or more cylinders;
- configuring the OPE with an exhaust aperture in each of the one or more cylinders;
- receiving a removable, modular intake valve assembly in the intake aperture comprising a modular intake valve assembly seat body connected to a respective intake aperture by insertion of the intake valve assembly seat body into the intake aperture to enable a flow of combustion air into an interior of the one or more cylinders, and receiving a removable, modular exhaust valve assembly in the exhaust aperture comprising a modular exhaust valve assembly seat body connected to a respective exhaust aperture by insertion of the exhaust valve assembly seat body into the exhaust aperture to enable a flow of exhaust and combustion by-products out of the interior of the one or more cylinders.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.