Multiple cylinder sinusoidal engine

A multiple cylinder sinusoidal internal combustion engine comprising:

• an engine block comprising first and second sections, each of said sections including a cylindrical central longitudinal aperture and a plurality of radially spaced piston cylinders surrounding said central longitudinal aperture such that the longitudinal axes of said piston cylinders lie parallel to the longitudinal axis of said central longitudinal aperture, each of said sections including a pair of radial slots formed in the wall of each of said piston cylinders, each of said pair of opposed radial slots including an inner slot creating a passageway between its associated piston cylinder and said central longitudinal aperture and an outer slot creating a passageway between its associated cylinder and the exterior of said engine block, said first and second sections affixed together so that said central longitudinal apertures of said sections are aligned with one another along a common longitudinal axis and such that said plurality of piston cylinders are aligned with one another on a one-to-one basis;
• a cylindrical sine shaft rotatably mounted in said cylindrical central longitudinal aperture, said sine shaft including at least two sinusoidal grooves formed in its outer periphery, each of said sinusoidal grooves covering two entire sinusoidal waves only, said sinusoidal grooves being 180.degree. out of phase with one another, one of said sinusoidal grooves being aligned with said inner radial slots in said first engine block section and the other sinusoidal groove being aligned with said inner radial slots in said second engine block section;
• a plurality of elongate pistons, one of said pistons mounted in each of said plurality of piston cylinders so as to reciprocate back and forth therein along a reciprocating path of travel, the pistons mounted in aligned piston cylinders and said surrounding area of said piston cylinders forming a combustion chamber suitable for receiving an ignitable air/fuel mixture medium adapted to expand in said combustion chambers and cause aligned pistons to move away from one another along said reciprocating path of travel, each of said plurality of pistons including an aperture passing centrally through said piston between the ends thereof and along an axis lying orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of said piston, said piston apertures positioned in said pistons so as to be alignable with the radial slots formed in the wall of the piston cylinder in which each piston is mounted;
• a plurality of coupling mechanisms, one coupling mechanism mounted in each of said piston apertures, each of said coupling mechanisms including a pair of blocks suitably slidably mounted in said piston apertures and a spring mounted between said blocks so as to push said blocks away from one another, the length of said blocks being such that the ends of said blocks extend beyond said piston apertures into said radial slots, said block extending through said inner radial slot including a ball bearing race located at its outer end, said plurality of coupling mechanisms further including ball bearings mounted in said ball bearing races in said blocks passing through said inner radial slots, said coupling mechanisms further including retaining means for slidably retaining the outer ends of said blocks extending through said outer radial slots so that said springs produce a force that projects inwardly and presses said ball bearing into said sinusoidal groove whereby the reciprocating movement of said pistons is transmitted into rotary sine shaft motion;
• conduit means formed in said sine shaft for sequentially directing an air/fuel mixture from a source thereof into each of said combustion chambers when said pistons mounted in said piston cylinders are moving through predetermined positions in their related reciprocating path of travel;
• and,
• ignition means mounted adjacent to said combustion chambers for sequentially igniting the air/fuel mixtures in said combustion chambers, said ignition occurring when said pistons are in a predetermined position in their related reciprocating path of travel.

In a multiple cylinder engine including an engine block having a cylindrical central longitudinal aperture and a plurality of radially spaced piston cylinders surrounding said central longitudinal aperture such that the longitudinal axes of said piston cylinders lie parallel to the longitudinal axis of said central longitudinal aperture, a cylindrical shaft having a sinusoidal groove formed in its outer periphery and a plurality of pistons mounted in said piston cylinders so as to be reciprocatable back and forth therein along a reciprocating path of travel upon the receipt of a driving medium in chambers defined by said piston cylinders and said pistons an improved coupling system comprising:

• a pair of opposed radial slots formed in the walls of each of said piston cylinders along a radius extending outwardly from the central longitudinal axis of said central longitudinal aperture, said radial slots including an inner radial slot forming a passageway between its associated piston cylinder and said central longitudinal aperture and an outer radial slot;
• an aperture passing through each of said pistons between the ends thereof and lying along an axis orthogonal to the longitudinal axes of said pistons, said piston apertures positioned in said pistons so as to be alignable with the radial slots formed in the piston cylinders within which a particular piston is mounted;
• and,
• a plurality of coupling mechanisms, one coupling mechanism mounted in each of said piston apertures, each of said coupling mechanisms including a pair of blocks slidably mounted in said piston apertures and a spring mounted between said blocks so as to push said blocks away from one another, the length of said blocks being such that the ends of said blocks extend beyond said piston apertures into radial slots when said piston apertures are aligned with said radial slots, said blocks extending through said inner radial slots including a ball bearing race formed in their outer ends, said plurality of coupling mechanisms further including ball bearings mounted in said ball bearing races in said blocks passing through said inner radial slots and in the sinusoidal groove in said cylindrical shaft aligned, said coupling mechanism further including retaining means for slidably retaining the outer ends of said blocks extending through said outer radial slots so that said springs produce a force that projects inwardly and presses said ball bearings into said sinusoidal groove whereby reciprocating movement of said pistons is transmitted into rotary shaft motion.