Claims
- 1. An internal combustion engine comprising, in combination, housing means defining a longitudinal axis, at least two axially aligned piston receiving chambers within said housing means, said piston receiving chambers having annular configurations and each chamber being substantially closed at one end and open at its opposite end such that the open ends of said chambers are in substantially axially opposed relation, an annular piston disposed within each of said piston receiving chambers means mounting said pistons for reciprocal and rotatable movement within said chambers, said pistons being rotatable about a common axis and each cooperating with its associated piston receiving chamber to define an annular combustion chamber, at least one connecting rod pivotally connected to each of said pistons and extending generally parallel to the axis of rotation of said pistons, drive shaft means supported by said housing means for rotation about an axis coincident with the common axis of said annular pistons, said drive shaft means extending outwardly of said housing means, means interconnecting said connecting rods to said drive shaft means so as to effect selective rotation of said drive shaft means upon reciprocating movement of said pistons, and means for introducing combustible fuel into said combustion chambers and effecting ignition of said fuel in a manner to effect reciprocating movement of said pistons.
- 2. An internal combustion engine as defined in claim 1 wherein the axis of said two axially aligned piston receiving chambers is substantially coincident with said longitudinal axis of said housing means.
- 3. An internal combustion engine as defined in claim 2 wherein each of said pistons has an annular working face lying in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis of said pistons, each of said pistons further having a skirt portion defined by radially spaced coaxial annular wall surfaces.
- 4. An internal combustion engine as defined in claim 3 wherein each of said pistons has a pair of connecting rods pivotally connected to said skirt portion thereof, said connecting rods associated with each of said pistons being in substantially diametrically opposed relation relative to the axis of rotation of said pistons.
- 5. An internal combustion engine as defined in claim 1 wherein said pistons include means responsive to ignition of fuel within said combustion chambers for biasing said pistons in selected rotational directions about said common axis.
- 6. An internal combustion engine as defined in claim 5 wherein each of said pistons has an annular working face lying in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis of said pistons, and wherein said means on said pistons for biasing said pistons in selected rotational directions comprises a plurality of pressure surfaces formed on said working face of each piston, said pressure surfaces being inclined outward from said working faces of said pistons so that a force component acts normal to said pressure surfaces upon ignition of fuel within said combustion chambers.
- 7. An internal combustion engine as defined in claim 1 wherein said drive shaft means comprises a drive shaft supported by said housing for rotation about an axis substantially coincident with the axis of rotation of said pistons, and including fly wheel means mounted on said drive shaft externally of said housing means.
- 8. An internal combustion engine as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for introducing combustible fuel into said combustion chambers and effecting ignition thereof includes intake and exhaust valve means cooperable with said combustion chambers and selectively operable to facilitate the introduction of a combustible fuel charge into said combustion chambers and effect discharge of exhaust gases therefrom after combustion of said fuel charges.
- 9. An internal combustion engine as defined in claim 8 including planetary cam plate means mounted for rotational movement in timed relationship to reciprocating movement of said pistons, and means interconnecting said planetary cam plate means to said intake and exhaust valve means so as to effect sequential opening and closing of said intake and exhaust valve means in timed relation to reciprocating movement of said pistons.
- 10. An internal combustion engine as defined in claim 9 wherein said means interconnecting said planetary cam plate means to said intake and exhaust valve means includes push rod means operatively interconnecting said planetary cam plate means and said intake and exhaust valve means, said push rod means being supported by said housing means for axial movement.
- 11. An internal combustion engine as defined in claim 1 wherein said means interconnecting said connecting rods to said drive shaft means so as to effect rotation of said drive shaft means upon reciprocating movement of said pistons includes crankshaft means supported for rotation about an axis lying in a plane substantially normal to the axis of rotation of said annular pistons, said crankshaft means being connected to said connecting rod means such that reciprocating movement of said annular pistons effects rotation of said crakshaft means about its said axis of rotation.
- 12. An internal combustion engine as defined in claim 11 wherein said annular pistons are interconnected to said crankshaft means such that said pistons reciprocate in opposite directions along their said common axis during operation of said engine.
- 13. An internal combustion engine as defined in claim 11 wherein said crankshaft means includes a pair of axially aligned crankshafts the common axis of which intersects said axis of rotation of said annular pistons and lies in a plane substantially normal thereto.
- 14. An internal combustion engine as defined in claim 9 wherein said means for introducing a combustible fuel into said combustion chambers and effecting selective ignition thereof includes a plurality of combustion initiating elements disposed within said combustion chanbers, and means for effecting selective ignition of said combustion ignition means in timed relation to rotational movement of said planetary cam plate means.
- 15. An internal combustion engine as defined in claim 11 including gimbal frame means supporting said crankshaft means for rotation about the axis of said annular pistons in a plane substantially normal to said axis of said pistons, and clutching or clamping brake means operatively associated with said gimbal frame means and adapted to selectively prevent rotation of said crankshaft means and said associated annular pistons about the axis of rotation of said annular pistons such that reciprocating movement of said pistons effects driving rotation of said drive shaft means.
- 16. An internal combustion engine as defined in claim 15 wherein said clamping brake means is operative to release said gimbal frame means and allow rotation of said crankshaft means and said pistons about said axis of said pistons so as to facilitate reciprocating movement of said pistons without effecting driving rotation of said drive shaft means.
- 17. An internal combustion engine as defined in claim 15 wherein said means for introducing combustible fuel into said combustion chambers and effecting ignition thereof includes intake and exhaust valve means cooperable with said combustion chambers, planetary cam plate means mounted for rotational movement in planes substantially normal to the axis of said drive shaft means, means interconnecting said planetary cam plate means to said intake and exhaust valve means so as to effect sequential opening and closing of said intake and exhaust valve means, and gear means interconnecting said cam plate means to said crankshaft means to maintain said planetary cam plate means in timed relation to movement of said piston means irrespective of rotational movement of said crankshaft means about the axis of said drive shaft means.
- 18. An internal combustion engine as defined in claim 11 including gimbal means supporting said crankshaft means for rotation about its own axis, said gimbal means being rotatable about an axis coincident with the axis of said drive shaft means so as to rotate said crankshaft means about said axis of said drive shaft means upon rotation of said gimbal means, and including fluid pressure means operatively associated with said gimbal means to selectively control rotation thereof about said axis of said drive shaft means.
- 19. An internal combustion engine as defined in claim 18 wherein said gimbal means includes an annular gimbal ring having an axis of rotation coincident with said axis of said drive shaft means and lying in a plane substantially perpendicular to said axis of said drive shaft means, said gimbal ring having a plurality of radial vanes disposed about its peripheral surface, and wherein said fluid pressure means includes a trough formed in said housing means and adapted to receive said vanes therein during rotation of said gimbal ring, and a fluid pressure nozzle means associated with said trough and adapted to apply fluid pressure against said vanes in a manner to stop rotation of said gimbal ring and selectively control the direction of rotation thereof relative to said drive shaft means.
- 20. An internal combustion engine as defined in claim 19 including clutch means operatively associated with said gimbal ring and operative to prevent rotation thereof independently of said fluid pressure means.
- 21. An internal combustion engine as defined in claim 13 which includes a pair of diametrically opposed connecting rods pivotally connected to each of said pistons, the connecting rods of each pair of connecting rods being connected, respectively, to said axially aligned crankshafts such that the connecting rods of each pair of connecting rods rotate in opposite rotational directions relative to each other during reciprocating movement of said pistons.
- 22. An internal combustion engine comprising, in combination, housing means defining a longitudinal axis, at least two axially aligned annular piston receiving chambers within said housing means the common axis of which is coincident with said longitudinal axis of said housing means, said piston receiving chambers each being substantially closed at one end thereof and open at the opposite end such that the open ends of said chambers are in substantially axially opposed relation, an annular piston disposed within each of said piston receiving chambers and being reciprocally and rotatably slidable therein, said pistons cooperating with said housing means to define an annular combustion chamber for each of said pistons, at least one connecting rod pivotally connected to each of said pistons and extending generally parallel to the axis of said piston chambers, drive shaft means supported by said housing means for rotation about an axis coincident with the common axis of said pistons, said drive shaft means extending outwardly of said housing, fuel control means for introducing combustible fuel into said combustion chambers, said fuel control means including valve means cooperable with said substantially closed ends of said piston receiving chambers and selectively operable to facilitate the introduction of combustible fuel into said combustion chambers and effect discharge of exhaust gases after combustion of said fuel, means for effecting combustion of fuel introduced into said combustion chambers so as to effect reciprocating movement of said pistons, crankshaft means interconnecting said connecting rods to said drive shaft means so as to facilitate selective rotation of said drive shaft means upon reciprocating movement of said pistons, gimbal means supporting said crankshaft means for rotation about an axis which intersects the axis of said drive shaft means and lies in a plane substantially normal to said axis of said drive shaft means, said gimbal means also facilitating selective rotation of said crankshaft means and said pistons about said axis of said drive shaft means during reciprocating movement of said pistons, and clamping brake means operatively associated with said gimbal means and operable between a first position preventing rotation of said crankshaft means and said pistons about said axis of said drive shaft such that reciprocating movement of said pistons effects rotation of said drive shaft, and a second position allowing said rotation of said crankshaft means and pistons about said axis of said drive shaft means so that reciprocating movement of said pistons will cause rotation of said pistons and crankshafts about said drive shaft means when said drive shaft means is prevented from rotating.
- 23. An internal combustion engine as defined in claim 22 wherein said valve means includes a plurality of intake and exhaust valves supported by said housing means for cooperation with each of said combustion chambers, said intake and exhaust valves associated with each of said combustion chambers being disposed in a circular array in alternating angularly spaced relationship about the circumference of said circle, said fuel control means further including a push rod operatively associated with each of said intake and exhaust valves, each of said push rods being supported by said housing means for axial movement and extending within said housing means generally parallel to the axis of said pistons, and cam plate means operatively associated with said push rods to effect movement thereof to operate the associated intake and exhaust valves in timed relationship to reciprocating movement of said pistons.
- 24. An internal combustion engine as defined in claim 23 wherein said cam plate means includes a pair of planetary cam plates rotatable about the axis of said drive shaft and lying in planes substantially normal to said axis of said drive shaft, each of said planetary cam plates being operatively associated with the intake and exhaust valves associated with one of said combustion chambers, each of said planetary cam plates having a plurality of cam lobes thereon each of which is operative to effect movement of a pair of adjacent intake and exhaust valves.
- 25. In combination, housing means, a rotatable drive shaft supported by said housing means, a pair of opposed reciprocative and rotatable pistons disposed within said housing means, means for effecting movement of said pistons in power strokes, at least one crankshaft, gimbal means supported by said housing means and supporting said crankshaft with the longitudinal axis of said crankshaft intersecting the axis of said drive shaft and lying in a plane perpendicular to said axis of said drive shaft, said gimbal means further being rotatable about an axis coincident with the axis of said drive shaft and supporting said crankshaft for rotation within said perpendicular plane about the axis of said drive shaft, means interconnecting said crankshaft to said pistons so as to effect rotation of said crankshaft about its longitudinal axis and effect reciprocating movement of said pistons upon movement of said pistons in said power strokes, gear means positively interconnecting said crankshaft to said drive shaft, and control means cooperative with said gimbal means to selectively control rotation thereof about its said axis of rotation so as to control the rotational speed of said drive shaft for a given reciprocating speed of said pistons whereby said crankshaft, gimbal means and control means provide a stepless transmission between movement of said pistons and rotation of said drive shaft.
- 26. The combination as defined in claim 25 wherein said gimbal means includes an annular gimbal ring lying in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis of said drive shaft, and wherein said control means includes a clutching means or clamping band cooperable with the outer peripheral surface of said gimbal ring and operative to tighten against said gimbal ring to selectively control rotation of said gimbal ring between rotatable and stop conditions.
- 27. The combination of claim 25 wherein said control means includes fluid pressure means operatively associated with said gimbal means to selectively control rotation thereof about said axis of said drive shaft means.
- 28. The combination as defined in claim 27 wherein said gimbal means includes an annular gimbal ring having a plurality of radial vanes disposed about its peripheral surface, and wherein said fluid pressure means includes a trough formed in said housing means and adapted to receive said vanes therein during rotation of said gimbal ring, and fluid pressure nozzle means associated with said trough and adapted to apply fluid pressure against said vanes in a manner to stop rotation of said gimbal ring and selectively control the direction of rotation thereof relative to said drive shaft means whereby to control the rotational speed of said drive shaft.
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 588,876, filed June 20, 1975 and now abandoned, and relates generally to internal combustion engines, and more particularly to a novel compact internal combustion engine having opposed, axially aligned, reciprocating and rotatable pistons and a drive shaft disposed coaxially of the pistons.
In accordance with the present invention, an internal combustion engine is provided which employs opposed, axially aligned, reciprocating pistons which have annular configurations and are rotatable within annular chambers. The pistons are connected through radially disposed crankshafts to a drive shaft disposed coaxially of the pistons. A feature of the present invention lies in the provision of a gimbal frame which supports the crankshafts and facilitates rotation of the crankshafts and pistons about the axis of the drive shaft such that the engine may be maintained in an operating condition while the drive shaft remains stationary.
Another feature of the invention is the provision of a clamping brake or clutching means operative with the gimbal frame to selectively prevent or allow rotation of the pistons and associated crankshafts about the axis of the drive shaft. Actuation of the clamping brake to prevent rotation of the cranks and pistons effects driving rotation of the drive shaft, while release of the clamping brake allows the pistons and cranks to rotate about the axis of the drive shaft.
An additional feature of the invention lies in the provision of planetary cam plates which lie in planes normal to the axis of the drive shaft and are rotatably driven by and in timed relation to the crankshafts. The cam plates actuate valve push rods and control the ignition system for proper timing in a four cycle engine embodiment of the invention.
A further feature of the invention lies in the provision of a stepless transmission between opposed axially reciprocal pistons and a drive shaft whereby a highly variable drive means is obtained.
Another feature of the present invention lies in the provision of hydrostatic means to control rotation of the gimbal frame so as to allow forward rotation, stopping or reverse rotation of the gimbal frame relative to the drive shaft, reverse rotation of the gimbal frame facilitating an overdrive condition of the engine.
US Referenced Citations (7)
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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588876 |
Jun 1975 |
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Patent Grant
4043301
