US 6,474,288 B1 · Internal combustion engine that completes four cycles in one revolution of the crankshaft

Abstract

An internal combustion engine that completes four cycles, intake, compression, expansion and exhaust in one revolution of the crankshaft is disclosed. The combustion chamber is formed with four parallel vanes joined at their ends by shared bearings and pivot pins within two fixed parallel walls. The vanes lozenge across alternate corners of the chamber to change the volume defined by the four moveable vanes and the two fixed parallel walls. The chamber volume changes from a minimum to a maximum to a minimum and back to the original maximum to achieve four cycle operation with one crank shaft revolution. The crankpin may have two side by side connecting rods rotating each of the adjacent driven vanes. The driven vanes may be connected about a common shared pivot pin that extends into the fixed side walls and the other two interconnected follower vanes may be driven in rotation and translation about their shared and common pivot pins.

Claims40

Dependent claims

An internal combustion engine comprising:

a crankcase and an engine block connected together;
a gas control chamber formed within the engine block, said chamber having at least one curved and two planar walls;
a crankshaft operatively disposed in the crankcase;
first and second connecting rods operatively connected to the crankshaft, said connecting rods extending from the crankcase into the gas control chamber;
and
an arrangement of vane assemblies operatively disposed in the gas control chamber, said vane assemblies being operatively connected to each other and said first and second connecting rods.

3 more elements

An internal combustion engine comprising:

a block having a crankshaft and a combustion chamber defined by fixed coplanar walls;
four vanes disposed in said combustion chamber, each of said vanes having two ends and each end being defined by a vane boss, wherein the four vanes are connected end to end to form a four-sided circuit with four common rotational points, and wherein the opposite sides of the four-sided circuit are equal in length and the adjacent sides of the circuit are unequal in length to permit nesting of the vane bosses to provide adequate vane pivot;
flanges provided on each vane and in sliding contact with said coplanar walls to provide for heat transfer and a sealing surface to define an interior volume for the four-sided circuit;
and
means for coupling said four-sided circuit to said crankshaft so as to convert oscillation of the interior volume of the four-sided circuit into rotational motion of the crankshaft.

2 more elements

A method of operating an internal combustion engine having 4 vanes with opposite vanes being equal in length and adjacent vanes unequal in length to provide a higher compression ratio with the 4 said vanes rotatably connected end to end in a circuit to form a combustion chamber assembly, said combustion chamber assembly being defined by the inner sides of four said vanes that are also slidably bounded by the coplanar walls of a block with at least one intake port and at least one exhaust port located in said coplanar wall slidably opened by the said vanes, having a first link with one end rotationally located in a first said vane by a wrist pin, having the opposite end rotatably located in said block with a first pivot shaft and having means to position said first pivot shaft with respect to said block, having a second link with one end rotationally located in a second said vane by a wrist pin, having the opposite end rotationally located in said block with a second pivot shaft with means to position said second pivot pin with respect to said block, having a third said vane rotatably connected to a crankshaft, comprising the steps of:

positioning at least one said pivot shaft to vary the compression ratio of said combustion chamber;
positioning at least one said pivot shaft to vary the volume of said combustion chamber assembly at the end of the exhaust stroke and the beginning of the intake stroke;
and
positioning at least one said pivot shaft to vary both the compression ratio and the volume at the end of the exhaust stroke and the beginning of the intake stroke of said combustion chamber assembly.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Internal combustion engine that completes four cycles in one revolution of the crankshaft

Life of this patent

Internal combustion engine that completes four cycles in one revolution of the crankshaft

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims40