Integrated Piston and Bridge
AssigneeEcoMotors, Inc.
InventorsPeter Hofbauer, Steven Spurr, John Michael LaFata, II
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A piston coupled to a crankshaft via pullrods presents challenges for coupling the piston to the crankshaft because the connections are provided outside the piston. A bridge is coupled to a piston skirt at the end of the piston away from the piston crown. The bridge structure includes: a central support structure, a first projection extending outwardly from the central support structure in a first radial direction, and a second projection extending outwardly from the central support structure in a second radial direction. The central support structure is substantially hollow with a series of internal braces to yield a lightweight piston.
Claims20
A piston system, comprising:
- a piston having a crown and a skirt wherein the skirt is substantially cylindrically shaped;
- and
- a bridge structure coupled to the piston distal from the crown wherein the bridge structure comprises:
- a central support structure;
- a first projection extending outwardly from the central support structure in a first radial direction;
- a second projection extending outwardly from the central support structure in a second radial direction;
- and the first and second projections extend beyond the skirt.
The piston system of claim 13 wherein an outlet end of the oil supply tube extends inwardly into the oil shaker beyond the bridge structure and an inlet end of the oil drain tube is substantially coincident with the bridge structure.
An opposed-piston engine, comprising:
- a block;
- a cylinder defined in the block;
- a crankshaft disposed within and supported by the block, the crankshaft having at least first and second eccentric journals;
- a first piston disposed in the cylinder;
- a second piston disposed in the cylinder;
- a first pullrod coupled to the first eccentric journal on a first end of the first pullrod;
- and
- a second pullrod coupled to the second eccentric journal on a first end of the second pullrod wherein the first piston includes:
- a crown;
- a substantially cylindrical skirt affixed to the crown at a first end of the skirt;
- and
- a bridge structure affixed to a second end of the skirt, the bridge structure having:
- a substantially-hollow central support structure;
- a first projection extending radially outwardly from the central support structure, and a second projection extending radially outwardly from the central support structure.
A method for assembling a piston, comprising:
- welding a piston crown to a first end of a piston skirt;
- forming a bridge structure by one of casting and forging;
- and
- attaching the bridge structure onto a second end of the piston skirt by at least one of:
- welding, brazing, soldering, gluing, press fitting, bolting, and affixing with a snap ring.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.