Apparatus and method for a balanced internal combustion engine coupled to a drive shaft

Abstract

An internal combustion engine is described in which the piston movement is parallel to the drive shaft. The engine cylinders are arranged in opposed pairs and the piston rods directly coupled so that the power stroke in one cylinder can assist with the compression stroke in the associated cylinder. The coupled or common piston rods have attached thereto a carriage that engages in a cam groove in the drive shaft. The drive shaft cam groove receives the force of the carriage as it is propelled by the pistons and the resulting torque causes a rotation of the drive shaft. The cylinders include a precompression chamber that assists in the exchange of combustion products with air. The internal combustion engine does not require special cooling and does not require a starter motor.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.