Reciprocating piston engine

In an apparatus combination characterized as a reciprocating piston engine wherein a plurality of pistons are individually, reciprocably mounted each within a cylinder, a piston including a piston head having a crown side and a side opposite, the crown side facing into a closed variable volume side of a cylinder having an intake valve through which fuel and air can be admitted into a cylinder in an intake stroke of a piston, the fuel and air compressed by an upstroke of a piston, the compressed fuel burned such that expanding gases created by burning fuel push against the crown head of a piston to provide a power stroke, and the gases created by the burning fuel are then exhausted through an exhaust valve on the upstroke of a piston to complete an operating cycle,

• a piston shaft in association with each of said pistons, one end of which is pivotally connected to the side of a piston head opposite the crown side, while opposite end of the shaft is operatively connected to a drive shaft to impart rotary motion thereto as the pistons are reciprocated within the cyclinders during said operating cycle,
• the improvement comprising
• a plurality of roller gear pinions concentrally mounted upon and integral with said drive shaft, one in number for each piston and cylinder, each being provided with a circumferential array of gear teeth, and rollers on each opposite side thereof,
• a plurality of elongated roller gears, one in number for each roller gear pinion, each having a shaft portion with a terminal end of which is pivotally connected to a piston head on a side opposite the crown, while an opposite end of each of said roller gears is open centered and of elongated circular shape forming an inside face, the inside face thereof is provided with gear teeth for continuous meshing engagement with the circumferential array of gear teeth of a mating one of said roller gear pinions,
• a pair of raised roller rails, one parallel to the other on opposite sides of the teeth of each of said elongated roller gears and extending completely around and parallel to a circumference of the inside face of said respective elongated roller gear, said rails mating with and rolling upon the rollers of said roller gear pinions, each of said elongated roller gears being actuatable by the reciprocatable motion of one of said pistons to which the shaft portion thereof is pivotally connected to rotate the respective roller gear pinion and drive shaft,
• guide bar roller shafts, spaced apart, in-line and mounted in bearings upon the engine in generally parallel orientation with the drive shaft, one each on alternately disposed sides of each of said roller gear pinions, and the respective elongated roller gear,
• guide bars, one each of which is mounted on each one of said elongated roller gears on a side thereof faced toward said guide roller shafts, each of said guide bars engaging an alternately disposed pair of said guide bar roller shafts such that on a downstroke of a respective one of said pistons, as occurs during a power stroke, a respective one of said guide bars moves between said respective pairs of guide bar roller shafts guiding the respective elongated roller gear through a path to maintain continuous rolling and meshing engagement between the rollers and teeth of said respective elongated roller gear and said respective roller gear pinion, and on an upstroke of said respective one of said pistons, as occurs during an exhaust stroke, the respective guide bar rolls around to an opposite side of the respective pair of guide roller shafts while continuing to maintain continuous rolling engagement between the respective rails and rollers, and meshing contact between the teeth of said respective elongated roller gear and said respective roller gear pinion to rotate the drive shaft.