Cylinder/reciprocating-piston device, compressed air engine, and vehicle

A cylinder/reciprocating-piston device for a compressed air engine, the cylinder/reciprocating-piston device including:

• a hollow cylinder, which is closed upwardly and downwardly, having a hollow-cylinder wall,
• a piston, and
• a plurality of valves each having a valve closure part configured to close a valve flow channel extending through the valve, the valves being selected from the group consisting of electric valves, pneumatically-actuated valves, hydraulically-actuated valves and mechanically-actuated valves,
• wherein:
• the hollow-cylinder wall defines a pressure space and comprises:
• a surface that delimits the pressure space in a radial direction,
• a ceiling wall that upwardly delimits the pressure space in an axial direction,
• a floor wall that downwardly delimits the pressure space in the axial direction, and
• a piston-rod opening in at least one of the floor wall and the ceiling wall, the piston-rod opening(s) being configured such that a piston rod attached to the piston is guidable therethrough from outside into the pressure space,
• the piston is disposed in the pressure space such that the piston divides the pressure space into a first pressure chamber between the piston and the ceiling wall, and a second pressure chamber between the piston and the floor wall,
• the piston is displaceable in the pressure space in a pressure-tight manner in the axial direction by a piston stroke that is defined between a first end position, at which the piston is located in the vicinity of or in abutment with the ceiling wall, and a second end position, at which the piston is located in the vicinity of or in abutment with the floor wall,
• the hollow-cylinder wall further includes:
• one or more inlet first-pressure-chamber openings, via which a first pressure medium is supplyable through the valve flow channel of at least a first one of the plurality of valves into the first pressure chamber, and one or more outlet first-pressure-chamber openings, via which the first pressure medium is dischargeable through the valve flow channel of at least a second one of the plurality of valves out of the first pressure chamber, and/or
• one or more inlet second-pressure-chamber openings, via which a second pressure medium is supplyable through the valve flow channel of at least a third one of the plurality of valves into the second pressure chamber, and one or more outlet second-pressure-chamber openings, via which the second pressure medium is dischargeable through the valve flow channel of at least a fourth one of the plurality of valves out of the second pressure chamber,
• each of the valve flow channels of the plurality of valves has a minimum flow-cross-section in an open state of the valve closure part,
• the minimum flow-cross-section of the first one of the plurality of valves, or the sum of the minimum flow-cross-sections of a plurality of the first one of the plurality of valves, is/are more than 10% of an effective cross-sectional surface area of the piston, and/or
• the minimum flow-cross-section of the second one of the plurality of valves, or the sum of the minimum flow-cross-sections of a plurality of the second one of the plurality of valves, is/are more than 10% of the effective cross-sectional surface area of the piston, and/or
• the minimum flow-cross-section of the third one of the plurality of valves, or the sum of the minimum flow-cross-sections of a plurality of the third one of the plurality of valves, is/are more than 10% of the effective cross-sectional surface area of the piston, and/or
• the minimum flow-cross-section of the fourth one of the plurality of valves, or the sum of the minimum flow-cross-sections of a plurality of the fourth one of the plurality of valves, is/are more than 10% of the effective cross-sectional surface area of the piston.

A compressed air engine comprising:

• at least two cylinder/reciprocating-piston devices (1), each having a hollow cylinder, which is closed upwardly and downwardly, having a hollow-cylinder wall with at least one piston-rod opening, a piston movably disposed in the hollow cylinder, and a plurality of valves each having a valve closure part configured to close a valve flow channel extending through the valve, the valves being selected from the group consisting of electric valves, pneumatically-actuated valves, hydraulically-actuated valves and mechanically-actuated valves,
• a common piston rod connected with the pistons of the cylinder/reciprocating-piston devices and movably extending outward through the piston-rod openings of the hollow-cylinder walls, and
• a first crankshaft coupled with the common piston rod such that the back-and-forth movement of the common piston rod is converted into rotational movement of the first crankshaft,
• wherein:
• each of the hollow-cylinder walls defines a pressure space and comprises:
• a surface that delimits the pressure space in a radial direction,
• a ceiling wall that upwardly delimits the pressure space in an axial direction,
• a floor wall that downwardly delimits the pressure space in the axial direction, and
• the at least one piston-rod opening in at least one of the floor wall and the ceiling wall, the piston-rod opening(s) being configured such that the common piston rod is guidable therethrough from outside into the pressure space,
• the pistons are respectively disposed in the pressure spaces such that the pistons respectively divide each of the pressure spaces into a first pressure chamber between the piston and the ceiling wall, and a second pressure chamber between the piston and the floor wall,
• the pistons are respectively displaceable in the pressure spaces in a pressure-tight manner in the axial direction by a piston stroke that is defined between a first end position, at which the piston is located in the vicinity of or in abutment with the ceiling wall, and a second end position, at which the piston is located in the vicinity of or in abutment with the floor wall,
• each of the hollow-cylinder walls further includes:
• at least one first-pressure-chamber opening, via which a first pressure medium is supplyable into and/or dischargeable from the first pressure chamber through the valve flow channel of at least a first one of the plurality of valves, and
• at least one second-pressure-chamber opening, via which a second pressure medium is supplyable into and/or dischargeable from the second pressure chamber through the valve flow channel of at least a second one of the plurality of valves,
• the at least two cylinder/reciprocating-piston devices are disposed on the same side relative to a connection of the common piston rod with the first crankshaft, and
• the first pressure medium is the same as or different from the second pressure medium.