Placement of an opposed-piston engine in a heavy-duty truck
AssigneeAchates Power, Inc.
InventorKevin B. Fuqua
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An engine placement configuration for a heavy-duty truck includes a chassis having two spaced-apart frame rails running in a longitudinal direction of the chassis, between front and rear ends, and a front wheel assembly with an axle attached to the frame rails. An opposed-piston engine is supported on the frame rails and positioned between the front end and the axle. The opposed-piston engine includes a cylinder assembly with a longitudinal axis disposed between the frame rails and oriented vertically with respect to the longitudinal direction. Alternatively, the opposed-piston engine includes a row of cylinders disposed between the rails and running in the longitudinal direction.
Claims20
A truck, comprising:
- a chassis with spaced-apart frame rails running in a longitudinal direction of the chassis, between front and rear ends;
- a front wheel assembly with an axle attached to the frame rails;
- and,
- an opposed-piston engine supported on the frame rails and positioned between the front end and the axle;
- the opposed-piston engine including an inline cylinder assembly with a longitudinal axis running through space between the rails;
- and
- the cylinder assembly being oriented vertically with respect to the longitudinal direction;
- in which the opposed-piston engine includes two crankshafts positioned at respective exhaust ends and intake ends of the cylinders, a gear assembly coupling the two crankshafts, and a powertrain drive member coupled to the gear assembly.
A truck, comprising:
- a chassis with two spaced-apart frame rails running in a longitudinal direction of the chassis, between front and rear ends;
- a front wheel assembly with an axle attached to the frame rails;
- and,
- an opposed-piston engine supported on the frame rails and positioned between the front end and the axle;
- the opposed-piston engine having an inline configuration including a row of cylinders disposed in space between the rails and running in the longitudinal direction;
- and
- in which the opposed-piston engine includes two crankshafts positioned at respective exhaust ends and intake ends of the cylinders, a gear assembly coupling the two crankshafts, and a powertrain drive member coupled to the gear assembly.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.