Opposed-piston engine having a single crankshaft coupled to the opposed pistons by linkages with pivoted rocker arms

An internal combustion engine including at least one cylinder with longitudinally-separated exhaust and intake ports, a pair of pistons disposed in opposition in a bore of the cylinder, and piston linkages coupled to the pistons, comprising:

• rocker arms for coupling the piston linkages to a crankshaft;
• a fixed, stationary pivot shaft;
• in which each rocker arm is pivoted on the pivot shaft by an eccentric pivot bearing received in a pivot bearing seat in the rocker arm, and each eccentric pivot bearing is constituted of an eccentric sleeve that fits around the pivot shaft;
• a pivot bearing actuator engaging the eccentric pivot bearing for varying a rotational position of the eccentric pivot bearing on the pivot shaft,
• a gallery in the pivot shaft, extending in an axial direction of the pivot shaft;
• one or more sets of first radial holes extending in an annular direction in the pivot shaft at each pivot location, each first radial hole extending from the gallery to the side surface of the pivot shaft;
• and,
• one or more sets of second radial holes extending in an annular direction in each eccentric pivot bearing;
• in which the numbers of first and second radial holes, and the pitches between the holes, are chosen such that at any position to which the eccentric radial bearing is rotated, at least one second hole in each eccentric pivot bearing overlaps at least one first hole at the corresponding rocker arm location on the pivot shaft.