Patent Application
20050092807
The present invention relates to a gas combustion-powered apparatus, and more specifically to a gas combustion-powered fastener-driving apparatus having a collapsible combustion volume for displacing a gas volume within a combustion chamber.
Gas combustion devices are known in the art. A practical application of this technology is found in combustion-powered fastener driving tools. One type of such tools, also known as IMPULSE brand tools for use in driving fasteners into workpieces, is described in commonly assigned patents to Nikolich, U.S. Pat. Re. No. 32,452, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,522,162, 4,483,473, 4,483,474, 4,403,722, 5,197,646, and 5,263,439, all of which are incorporated by reference herein. Similar combustion powered nail and staple driving tools are available commercially from ITW-Paslode of Vernon Hills, Ill. under the IMPULSE
brand.
Such tools incorporate a generally pistol-shaped tool housing enclosing a small internal combustion engine. The engine is powered by a canister of pressurized fuel gas, also called a fuel cell. A battery-powered electronic power distribution unit produces a spark for ignition, and the engine also includes a reciprocating piston with an elongated, rigid driver blade disposed within a single cylinder body. When a work contact element is pressed against a workpiece, a fuel-metering valve introduces a specified volume of fuel into a combustion chamber of the engine.
Upon pulling a trigger switch, which causes the spark to ignite a charge of gas in the combustion chamber, the piston and the driver blade are shot downward to impact a positioned fastener and drive it into a workpiece. The piston then returns to its original, or “ready,” position through differential gas pressures within the cylinder. Fasteners are fed magazine-style into a nosepiece, where the fasteners are held in a properly positioned orientation for receiving the impact of the driver blade. The charge of gas is a combustible fuel/air mixture, and the combustion in the chamber causes an acceleration of the piston/driver blade assembly and a resulting penetration of the fastener into the workpiece if the fastener is present in the nosepiece.
Combustion pressure in the chamber is an important consideration because such pressure affects the amount of force with which the piston may drive the fastener. Combustion pressure increases the more rapidly the fuel/air mixture within the combustion chamber can be ignited. The fuel/air mixture in the combustion chamber may be more rapidly ignited when the mixture is in a turbulent state. The ability to rapidly complete processes ancillary to this combustion operation of the tool is another important consideration. Such ancillary processes include: inserting the fuel into the combustion chamber; mixing the fuel and air within the chamber; and removing, or scavenging, combustion by-products remaining in the chamber after a combustion event.
One known method of scavenging the residual combustion by-products between combustion events is by dilution. Dilution scavenging is performed by sending fresh air flowing through the combustion chamber between combustion events to displace combustion by-products. An example of dilution scavenging is described in commonly assigned, copending application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. 13696), which is incorporated by reference herein. A fan is located within the combustion chamber to create the turbulence for a more rapid, higher-energy combustion, and also to drive fresh air through the combustion chamber between combustion events. Although this process is effective to achieve rapid, high-energy combustions and scavenging, the scavenging is not always performed efficiently. Typically, a volume of air required to scavenge the combustion by-products after a combustion event is equal to approximately two and one half times the volume of the combustion chamber itself.
Another known method of scavenging, which is more efficient than the dilution method, is the displacement method. Displacement scavenging is performed by eliminating, or otherwise effectively reducing to zero, the volume within the combustion chamber itself, thereby removing all air within the volume, including that containing combustion by-products. Examples of displacement scavenging are described in patents to Cotta, U.S. Pat. No. 4,721,240, and to Gschwend, U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,495.
Cotta requires the displacement of moveable parts at the front of the combustion chamber toward a rear wall of the chamber. Displacement is thus performed by the movement of a second piston assembly through the combustion chamber in a direction opposite to the piston in the piston chamber. The second piston displaces the entire volume of gas from the combustion chamber, but does not actually reduce the volume to zero. Although reasonably efficient, the complexity of this configuration greatly increases the cost of the tool. The cost and complexity are both significantly increased by the number of extra components required for the second piston assembly, as well as a host additional electrical components (motors, batteries, control circuits, etc.) to operate the complex construction.
Gschwend displaces the combustion chamber volume by requiring that a moveable section at the rear of the combustion chamber move toward the front of the chamber to mostly collapse the chamber from behind, and reduce its volume to near zero. Force from an operator in back of the tool moves the moveable section to toward the front of the combustion chamber, thereby having the moveable section operate like Cotta's piston, but only in the reverse direction. Gschwend also separates the combustion chamber into first volume and a second combustion volume by use of a divider plate configured as a multiple-volume system, as is known in the art, to increase the energy of combustion.
To operate the tool as a multiple volume system though, Gschwend requires a complicated system of collapsing guide rods throughout the moveable section and the divider plate between the volumes. The tool's trigger also must be located at an awkward position at the rear of the tool where the operator must be positioned to push the moveable section toward the front of the tool, thereby making the tool itself cumbersome to operate. And similar to Cotta's tool as well, this tool is significantly complex, and requires a great deal of additional electrical and mechanical components to guide the opposing structures of the combustion chamber together and apart at appropriate timings.
There is a need therefore for a commercially available combustion gas fastener-driving tool having a simplified construction that reduces the need for expensive mechanical and electrical components in its construction. Such expensive components limit the availability of cordless combustion gas technology to a range of high cost applications only. A simplified single or multiple combustion volume construction, which can achieve substantially the same performance as the higher cost tools, would greatly extend the availability of combustion gas technology to more affordable, lower cost applications.
The above-listed concerns are addressed by the present gas combustion-powered apparatus, which features a simplified solid chamber structure for igniting a combustible gas to drive a piston. A combustion volume is defined between the piston and a moveable wall of a combustion chamber, and an ignition device ignites the combustible gas in or into the combustion volume to drive the piston. Turbulence is created within the combustion volume to increase the speed and energy of combustion in a single volume by either the movement of the moveable wall, or by a high speed fuel injected into the combustion chamber shortly prior to ignition, or in a second volume by a high speed flame jet exiting the first volume.
More specifically, the present invention provides a gas combustion-powered apparatus includes a driveable piston chamber housing a piston and a combustion chamber having a generally flat wall assembly and a cup-shaped wall defining at least one combustion volume therebetween. The cup-shaped wall is moveable in relation to the piston chamber, and has a generally flat portion opposing, and generally parallel to, the generally flat wall assembly. An ignition source is in operable relationship to the combustion volume, which can ignite a combustible gas within the combustion volume. The piston forms at least a portion of the generally flat wall assembly when the piston is in an undriven state.
In a gas combustion-powered apparatus, the simplified structure of the present invention is effective for generating high-energy combustion to drive a piston, and for a broader cost range of applications than other types of combustion-powered devices. The present invention is also effective in either single-, or multiple-volume combustion apparatuses.
Referring now to
When the piston 16 is in a “ready” position prior to firing, as best seen in
The flat wall assembly 28, together with a cup-shaped wall 38, defines the combustion chamber 12. Referring now to
Although moveable, the cup-shaped wall 38 is preferably held in the fully closed position by a first pawl 50. The first pawl 50 is configured as well known in the art to be preferably located directly, or by a linkage, in association with a housing (not shown) of the tools described above. The first pawl 50 is preferably also a beveled rod, or any solid shape known in the art which is moveable to hold the cup-shaped wall 38 firmly. When in the fully closed position, the flat rear surface 40 of the cup-shaped wall 38 approaches very near to, or contacts, the flat wall assembly 28, which includes the flange outer surface 24 and the piston flat surface 22. When the cup-shaped wall 38 is in the fully closed position therefore, there is preferably no effective volume of air between the flat rear surface 40 and the flat wall assembly 28.
Referring now to
Referring now to
The rapid movement of the cup-shaped wall 38 toward the fully opened position creates turbulence within the combustion chamber 12 and the opening combustion volume therein. The turbulence in turn mixes the fuel and the air in the volume. Ideally, when the cup-shaped moving wall 38 reaches its fully opened position, but before the turbulence with the volume subsides, an ignition source 76 (which is preferably a spark plug) ignites the turbulent air/fuel mixture within the combustion chamber 12. The turbulence within the combustion chamber 12 also increases the speed at which the air/fuel mixture ignites, thereby also increasing the combustion pressure. The rapid increase in combustion pressure drives the piston 16 in the direction C, which in turn drives the driver blade 18 to drive the fastener into the workpiece.
Excess combustion pressure in the piston chamber 14 is expelled through an exhaust port 78, and the piston 16 comes to a stop against a resilient member 80 after the piston passes the exhaust port in the direction C. Although the resilient member 80 is preferred to act as a brake for the piston 16, air pressure between the piston and a generally closed end 82 of the piston chamber 14 may also be utilized to provide a braking force for the piston. Additionally, when the cup-shaped wall 38 reaches its fully opened position, by a linkage with the tool housing and trigger (not shown) similar to that of the first pawl 50, a second pawl 84 moves in the direction D to contact the cup-shaped wall and fixedly hold it in the fully opened position, and thus also fixedly sealing the piston chamber flanged end 26 to the internally extending sleeve portion 48 at the chamber seal 46.
As residual gas within the combustion chamber 12 and the piston chamber 14 cools, a vacuum develops in the chambers, which closes a valve 86 over the exhaust port 78, and draws the piston 16 back to the initial ready position aligning with the flange outer surface 24 (
Referring now to
To maximize the mixing effect, the fuel line 70 and fuel port 72 should be positioned at the flanged end 26 of the piston chamber 14 to fire the jet of fuel in a direction E toward the flat rear surface 40 of opened cup-shaped wall 38, and more preferably toward a center point 92 of the flat rear surface. The ignition source 76 should also be located ideally on the flanged end 26, and generally in the same plane as the fuel port 72 and the piston surface 22, but at a maximum distance from the fuel port along the flanged end. By this preferred configuration, the fuel jet travels a maximum distance from the fuel port 72 toward the center 92 of the rear surface 40, and then toward the ignition source 76 before igniting. This extended distance allows for better mixing of the fuel with air in the combustion volume.
Also according to this configuration, the first spring 54 is preferably eliminated, and the cup-shaped wall 38 can be directly fixed to the work contact element 52, thereby moving to the fully opened position directly when the work contact element is placed against the workpiece. The fuel need not be injected when the combustion chamber 12 opens, but instead is preferably introduced into the already-open chamber whenever firing is desired. Ideally then, when the trigger is activated, the second pawl 84 moves in the direction D to lock the cup-shaped wall 38 into the fully opened position, as described above (
According to these embodiments of the present invention, a combustion volume is created from a simplified construction of an expanding collapsible chamber by moving apart two generally opposing walls of the chamber. Turbulence for a rapid combustion is thus created by one of two methods described above. According to the first method, components of the chamber move apart immediately prior to igniting the fuel/air mixture, to expand the combustion volume. The turbulence created by the moving components is adequate to produce the rapid combustion needed for a practical tool if ignition occurs early enough. According to the second method though, a fuel jet both creates the turbulence, and also is the mixing element for the air and fuel. Both turbulence generation methods produce adequate fuel/air mixtures for rapid, high-energy combustions.
Referring now to
The apparatus 100 includes a combustion chamber 102 in communication with a piston chamber 104, and is formed of materials as described above with respect to the apparatus 10. The piston chamber 104 is preferably cylindrical, and is located partially within the combustion chamber 102, which is also preferably cylindrical and has a larger outer diameter than the piston chamber, however, non-cylindrical shapes are also contemplated. A moveable plug 106 is located within the combustion chamber 102. In this embodiment, the combustion chamber 102 is preferably a rigid structure, and does not move relative to the piston chamber 104.
The moveable plug 106 includes a generally flat base portion 108, which preferably is shaped as a round disk having an outer periphery 110, which generally corresponds to an inner wall 112 of the combustion chamber 102. Connected to the base portion 108 is a generally ring-shaped wall 114, which has a ring inner wall 116 that preferably corresponds to an outer wall 118 of the piston chamber 104, and a ring outer wall 120 that generally corresponds to the inner wall 112 of the combustion chamber 102. As best seen in
Connected to the base portion 108, and on a side 124 of the base portion opposite to the ring-shaped wall 114, is a stem portion 126. The stem portion 126 is preferably centered relative to the base portion 108, and preferably generally aligns with the driver blade 18 of the piston 16. The stem portion preferably extends through an opening 128 in a rear wall 130 of the combustion chamber 102, and is fixedly attached to an attaching member 132, which in turn is operably linked to the work contact element 52 directly, by spring tension, or other linking methods known in the art. Although the moveable plug 106 is preferably formed from separate and/or hollow pieces, the base portion 108, the ring-shaped wall 114, and the stem portion 126 are more preferably formed together as a single, solid piece, and of generally rigid, combustion-resistant materials as are known in the art.
The base portion 108 and the ring-shaped wall 114 have a cup-like shape, and move and function in relation to the piston chamber 104 similarly to the way the cup-shaped wall 38 moves and functions in relation to the piston chamber 14 of the apparatus 10, as described above. As best seen in
Referring now to
When the plug 106 is fully open, the first and second combustion volumes V1 and V2 together contain approximately the amount of volume by which the mixing volume Vm is reduced. In other words, the distinct volumes within the combustion chamber 102 preferably generally satisfy the equation V1+V2+Vmopen=Vmclosed. Although the mixing volume Vm is not entirely collapsed in this configuration, the present inventors contemplate that the moveable plug 106 and chambers 102, 104 are configurable so that the resilient stop 140 is alternatively removed, and the base portion 108 then will open all of the way to the rear wall 130 of the combustion chamber 102. The formula described above would then still be satisfied as Vmopen becomes equal to zero.
The first combustion volume V1 is preferably annular, and the second combustion volume V2 is cylindrical. A diameter of the cylindrical volume V2 will then preferably be approximately equal to an inner diameter of the annular volume V1. The cylindrical volume V2 also ideally conforms to the shape of the cylindrical portion 122 of the piston chamber 104 located within the combustion chamber 102. The mixing volume Vm is basically cylindrical, but can also be considered annular when movement of the plug 106 is effected by the central inclusion of the stem portion 126 through the mixing volume Vm. One skilled in the art, however, will be aware that movement of the plug 106 may instead be operably linked to the movement of the work contact element 52, without the inclusion of the stem portion 126, through many other linkage methods known in the art, without departing from the present invention.
As best seen in
Referring now to
Referring now to
To further increase the turbulence in V1 caused by the structure of the moving plug 106, a recess 154 is preferably provided on the inner wall 112 of the combustion chamber 102, and located in the vicinity of the ring-shaped wall 114 when the plug 106 is in the fully closed position. The recess 154 thus allows additional airflow between the combustion chamber inner wall 112 and the outer wall 120 of the ring-shaped wall 114. A first ring seal 156 is preferably located on the ring outer wall 120 opposite to the extending portion 148 of the ring inner wall 116. Airflow is then sealed between the ring outer wall and the combustion chamber inner wall 112 when the first ring seal 156 moves past the recess 154 and the plug 106 reaches the fully opened position.
Before the first ring seal 156 passes the vicinity of the recess 154, however, the ring outer wall 120 and the combustion chamber inner wall 112 are configurable to allow additional airflow between the mixing volume Vm and the first combustion volume V1 while the plug 106 is moving, but before first ring seal contacts the combustion chamber inner wall. A second ring seal 158 is optionally included on the ring outer wall 120, and near the base portion 108, to prevent any direct airflow between the mixing volume Vm and the first combustion volume V1 by having the second ring seal be always in contact with the combustion chamber inner wall 112 away from the recess 154, and regardless of whether the plug 106 is in the fully opened or fully closed positions. The present inventors contemplate that it may desirable in some circumstances to prevent direct airflow into the first combustion volume V1 from the mixing volume Vm.
Referring now to
As the air/fuel mixture in the second combustion volume V2 is ignited, the increased pressure in the volume V2 rapidly pushes the piston 16 and driver blade 18 to drive the fastener into the workpiece. Similarly to the operation of the apparatus 10 described above, excess pressure in the piston chamber 104 is exhausted through the exhaust port 78 as and after the piston 16 passes the exhaust port. As the gas remaining within the piston chamber 104 and combustion volumes V1 and V2 cools, a vacuum develops which acts to pull the piston 16 back to the initial ready position. When the tool 100 is removed from the workpiece, the work contact element 52 is returned to its original ready position as well by compression force of a second spring 160, which is ideally compressed between a second spring stop 162 located on the work contact element 52, and either of the combustion chamber 102 or the piston chamber 104.
The combination of the return movement of the work contact element 52 to its ready position, together with the vacuum created in the combustion volumes V1 and V2 from the cooling gas, causes the plug 106 to move to its original closed position, thereby collapsing both of the combustion volumes V1 and V2, while also effectively scavenging the remaining combustion gases from both combustion volumes as well. The movement of the plug 106 to its fully closed position also reduces the pressure in the mixing volume Vm, which in turn draws fresh air into the volume Vm through an air check valve 164. The air check valve 164 is preferably a reed valve, but can be any combustion-resistant one-way valve as is known in the art. When the trigger is released, the pawl 134 moves in the direction D to lock the attaching member 132 near the combustion chamber 102 (
Because the mixing volume Vm is not utilized in the actual combustion (the air/fuel mixture in the volume Vm is not ignited), it is not an important consideration for combustion purposes to displace the entire volume Vm, or scavenge its unignited contents. The present inventors do contemplate, however, that other considerations may make it desirable to completely displace the mixing volume Vm (
Referring now to
For this configuration, the attaching member 132 is connected directly to the work contact element 52, thereby opening the first and second combustion volumes to the fully opened position when the work contact element 52 is pressed against the workpiece. For this particular configuration then, the fuel jet is preferably injected upon activation of the trigger, and the ignition source 76 is timed to spark after a brief delay to allow the air and fuel to fill and mix in both combustion volumes. The air/fuel mixture enters the second combustion volume V2 through the combustion port 146 from the first combustion volume V1, or through the fuel valve 144 from the mixing volume Vm, or both.
When the mixing volume Vm is used as an air/fuel mixture source for the second combustion volume V2, fuel is preferably injected into the mixing volume Vm through the first fuel port 142, when the work contact element 52 opens the plug 106 to the fully opened position. The present inventors also contemplate, however, that because no fuel is actually required in the mixing chamber Vm for combustion, the first fuel port 142 may be entirely eliminated from the structure, leaving the mixing volume Vm as a source for fresh air only into the combustion volumes V1, V2, and the second fuel port 166 as the only fuel source for the three volumes. In this configuration, it is also preferable to eliminate the second ring seal 158 from the structure in order to allow direct airflow between the mixing volume Vm and the first combustion volume V1 while the combustion volume V1 is expanding.
For this configuration, the first combustion volume V1, into which the fuel is injected, is defined between a preferably flat portion 168 of the ring-shaped wall 114 and an opposing region 170 of the combustion chamber 102. The flat portion 168 is preferably generally parallel to both the base portion 108 and the opposing region 170, and located on an end of the ring-shaped wall 114 opposite to the base portion 108. The opposing region 170 also preferably defines the plane in which the ignition source 76 and the fuel port 166 are preferably located. The moveable flat portion 168 thus performs, with respect to the opposing region 170, similarly to how the flat rear surface 40 (
Once the air/fuel mixture in the first combustion volume V1 is ignited, the flame front travels rapidly across the annular volume V1 and into the second combustion volume V2 through the combustion port 146 as a high-energy flame jet. Directing a separate, unignited fuel jet into the second combustion volume V2 is not an important consideration because the high-energy flame jet itself from the first combustion volume V1 is a sufficient source of turbulence to create an adequate high-energy combustion in the volume V2, which then resultantly fires the piston 16. For the second combustion volume V2 therefore, the ignited high-energy flame jet performs the turbulence function of the unignited fuel jet into the first combustion volume V1. The rest of the operation of this configuration of this embodiment is as described above with respect to
Referring now to
The apparatus 170 includes a combustion chamber 172 in communication with the piston chamber 104. The piston chamber of the apparatus 170 is preferably the same as that of the apparatus 100, described above (
A moveable cup 176 moves relative to both the combustion chamber 172 and the piston chamber 104. The moveable cup includes a generally flat plate 178 and a ring wall 180 attached to flat portion along one entire edge 182 of the ring wall. The ring wall 180 is preferably tubular, and has a cylindrical diameter slightly larger than the outer wall 118 of the piston chamber 104. The flat plate 178 is generally parallel to the annular wall 174, and includes an annular portion 184 that extends from the ring wall 180 toward an inner wall 186 of the combustion chamber 172. The inner wall 186 is also preferably a tube, and the annular portion 184 is configured to have an outer periphery 188 slightly smaller than a diameter of the inner wall. A mixing seal 190, which is preferably a combustion-resistant o-ring, prevents airflow between the outer periphery 188 of the flat plate 178 and the inner wall 186.
As best seen in
When in the ready position, fuel is preferably injected into the mixing volume Vm through a fuel valve 200 located on the inner wall 186 of the combustion chamber 172, to mix with air that enters the mixing volume Vm through a first air intake port 202. A first air check valve 204 prevents backflow through the air intake port 202.
Referring now to
A flange 216 is located on the ring wall 180 between the ring wall and the ring wall extension 198, and generally conforms to the shape of the ring wall, but extends outward from either side of the ring wall. When the moveable cup 176 is in the fully opened position, the flange 216 contacts a first purging seal 218 and a second purging seal 220, to close airflow through a first purging opening 222 between the annular wall 174 of the combustion chamber 172 and the ring wall 180, and through a second purging opening 224 between the ring wall and the outer wall 118 of the piston chamber 104, respectively. The first and second purging seals 218, 220 are preferably constructed similarly to the seals described above.
In this embodiment, when the moveable cup is in the fully opened position, the combustion chamber is divided into two effective combustion volumes V1 and V2, and the third mixing volume Vm is effectively eliminated. Also in this embodiment, the annular first combustion volume V1 preferably surrounds the cylindrical second combustion volume V2 instead of the piston chamber 104, and both combustion volumes align along their respective planar borders parallel to the annular wall 174 and the rear wall 192 of the combustion chamber 172. And except for this different structural placement, the combustion volumes V1 and V2 otherwise function the same as described above with respect to the apparatus 100.
When in the fully opened position, activation of a trigger (not shown) causes a spark from the ignition source 76 to ignite the fuel/air mixture in the first combustion volume V1. The ignition source is preferably located on the annular wall 174 of the combustion chamber 172. The ignited flame front travels through the first combustion volume V1 until reaching, and exiting through, a combustion port 226. The combustion port 226 may be located on the ring wall 180 to directly connect the first and second combustion volumes V1 and V2, but more preferably the combustion port is located on the annular portion 184 of the flat plate 178 facing the rear wall 192 of the combustion chamber 172. The present inventors further contemplate that, for some circumstances, it may also be preferable to inject fuel directly into the first combustion volume V1 from the fuel valve 200, and particularly if and when there is a significant delay between the movement of the moveable cup to the fully opened position, and the activation of the trigger.
When the combustion port 226 is located on the annular portion 184, a combustion recess 228 is preferably formed in the rear wall 192 of the combustion chamber 172 to create a path for the high-energy flame jet to travel. The third air intake port 212 is therefore preferably located near the combustion recess 228 and the combustion port 226 such that the combustion recess can provide a continuous path for the flame jet to travel from the first combustion volume V1 through the combustion port 226 into the combustion recess 228, and then from the combustion recess 228 through the third air intake port 212 into the second combustion volume V2 to ignite that volume as well. To allow for a maximum distance for the flame front to travel, it is preferable that the combustion port 226, the combustion recess 228, and the third air intake port 212 be located at a distance farthest away from the ignition source 76. The present inventors also contemplate that it can be advantageous to locate the second air intake port 208, where the most airflow turbulence is created, on the annular portion 184 nearest the ignition source 76, and to located the first air check valve 204 within the combustion recess 228 to allow a maximum displacement of the mixing volume Vm.
Similar to with the apparatus 100, described above, the flame jet into the second combustion volume V2 provides both the desired turbulence and ignition of the air/fuel mixture within that volume to create a high-energy combustion. This combustion in the second combustion volume V2 then drives the piston 16 in the direction C, as best seen in
Referring now to
According to this embodiment of the present invention, the need for pawls can be entirely eliminated, and the need for springs reduced to a minimum. This embodiment provides a “cup within a cup” (moveable cup within a combustion chamber) configuration which gives all of the advantages described above for multiple-volume apparatuses, but at the same time also allows for the significantly more compact geometry closer to that of single volume apparatuses.
Utilization of moveable plugs and or cup-shaped walls therefore, allow combustion-powered tools according to the present invention to adapt the turbulence generation methods, described above for a single-volume combustion chamber, to multiple-volume combustion apparatuses. The present invention can thus be adapted to both lower- and higher-energy combustion-powered fastener-driving operations. Furthermore, although the present invention has been described in relation to single-, dual-, and triple-volume combustion apparatuses, those skilled in the art will know that the basic principles of the present invention may be utilized in combustion apparatuses employing any number of volumes in their structure, with departing from the present invention.
Those skilled in the art are further apprised that combustion apparatuses, such as in the present invention, may also be effectively employed in other devices which drive a piston, or devices that may be powered by combustion in general. While particular embodiments of the combustion-powered apparatus of the present invention have been shown and described, it will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the invention in its broader aspects, and as set forth in the following claims.
