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US 7,546,819 B2Granted
Two-stroke, opposed-piston internal combustion engine
AssigneeAchates Power, Inc.
InventorsJames U. Lemke, William B. McHargue
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In a two-stroke, opposed-piston internal combustion engine with optimized cooling and no engine block, the opposed pistons are coupled to a pair of crankshafts by connecting rods that are subject to substantially tensile forces acting between the pistons and the crankshafts.
Claims22
An internal combustion engine, comprising:
- a frame including two bulkheads and beams attached to the bulkheads;
- at least one cylinder disposed between the bulkheads;
- a pair of opposed pistons in the at least one cylinder;
- each bulkhead including an I-beam section;
- a pair of side-mounted crankshafts supported by the I-beam sections for rotation;
- a plurality of rods linking each piston to both crankshafts and adapted to move in response to primarily tensile forces acting between the pistons and the crankshafts;
- the engine characterized by an engine cycle in which each piston is substantially withdrawn from the cylinder and then driven back into the cylinder;
- and
- a system to apply a liquid coolant to the external surface of each piston that is withdrawn from the at least one cylinder;
- wherein the crankshafts are adapted to rotate in opposite directions, the engine further including:
- a first gear on the first crankshaft;
- a second gear on the second crankshaft;
- and,
- a third gear supported on the frame, the third gear having an annulus with an outside circumference engaging the first gear at a first location and an inside circumference engaging the second gear at a second location opposite the first location.
11 more elements
A combination for an internal combustion engine, including:
- a radially symmetric cylinder, including:
- a tube with two ends;
- a first manifold mounted to the tube at a first end;
- a second manifold mounted to the tube at a second end;
- an exhaust port in the first manifold;
- an inlet port in the second manifold;
- and,
- a fuel injection element mounted to the tube;
- a pair of opposed pistons disposed in the cylinder and adapted to be at least partially withdrawn from the cylinder to receive externally-applied liquid coolant during engine operation;
- and
- a dispenser apparatus for showering the liquid coolant onto the outside surface of an external portion of each piston withdrawn from the cylinder.
8 more elements
A method for operating an internal combustion engine including at least one cylinder with at least two ports and a pair of opposed pistons disposed therein, including:
- causing the pistons to be at least partially withdrawn from the at least one cylinder during engine operation;
- and
- showering an external surface portion of the skirt of each piston with a liquid coolant when the external surface portion is outside the cylinder.
A two-cycle, opposed piston, internal combustion engine, comprising:
- at least one cylinder module, wherein the at least one cylinder module is not in an engine block;
- a pair of opposed pistons in each cylinder module and adapted to be substantially withdrawn from the at least one cylinder module during engine operation;
- each piston including a skirt and a crown;
- each pair of pistons adapted to be coupled to the engine so as to exert no side force on a cylinder module during engine operation;
- and
- means for showering a liquid coolant onto an external portion of each piston that is substantially withdrawn from a cylinder module;
- the cylinder module comprising:
- a tube with two open ends, a longitudinal center, and an outside surface;
- a first manifold mounted to a first end of the tube;
- a piston-modulated exhaust port in the first manifold;
- a second manifold mounted to a second end of the tube;
- a piston-modulated inlet port in the second manifold;
- and
- a fuel injection element mounted to the tube near the longitudinal center.
11 more elements
An internal combustion engine, including:
- a frame including two bulkheads and beams attached to the bulkheads;
- a cylinder disposed between the bulkheads;
- a pair of opposed ringless pistons in the cylinder;
- first and second side-mounted crankshafts supported for rotation on beam sections of the bulkheads and having axes in a common plane normal to the axis of the cylinder;
- and,
- rods connecting each piston to the first crankshaft and to the second crankshaft.
3 more elements
An internal combustion engine, comprising:
- a cylinder with an internal bore;
- first and second opposed pistons adapted to reciprocate in the bore and to protrude from the bore during at least a portion of an operating cycle of the engine;
- first and second side mounted crankshafts;
- connectors connecting the pistons to the crankshafts;
- roller bearings supporting the crankshafts and coupling points of the connectors to the pistons and the crankshafts;
- and
- a supply system adapted to apply a liquid to the bearings to lubricate the bearings and to shower the liquid onto an external portion of each piston that protrudes from the bore to cool the piston.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.