Claims
- 1. An internal combusion engine comprising:
- a housing, said housing having a cylindrical bore formed therethrough;
- a pair of piston members, each piston member having a head at one end and connecting means secured to the other end, said piston members being slidably disposed in said housing throughbore so that said piston heads are in a facing relationship;
- fuel inlet passage means in said housing for communicating a combustible fuel to said throughbore and between said piston heads and exhaust passage means in said housing for exhausting fumes from said throughbore;
- crankshaft means rotatably mounted in said housing, said connecting means being attached to said crankshaft means to rotatably drive said crankshaft means upon reciprocation of said piston members in said throughbore;
- a cylindrical inlet valve member rotatably mounted in said housing adjacent said throughbore and in said fuel inlet passage means, said inlet valve member having a diametric throughbore which selectively opens and closes said inlet passage means in dependence upon the rotational position of said inlet valve member;
- a cylindrical outlet valve member rotatably mounted in said housing adjacent said throughbore and in said exhaust passageway, said outlet valve having a diametric throughbore which selectively opens and closes said exhaust passageway in dependence upon the rotational position of said outlet valve member; and
- means for rotatably driving said valve members in synchronism with the reciprocation of the piston members in the housing throughbore, wherein said crankshaft means further comprises a pair of crankshafts rotatably mounted in said housing in a spaced and parallel relationship, one crankshaft being positioned adjacent each axial end of the housing throughbore, and means for drivingly connecting said crankshaft in synchronism to an output shaft, wherein said rotatably driving means is operatively connected between one end of at least one crankshaft and one end of said valve members, and wherein said rotatable driving means further comprises a valve drive shaft rotatably mounted in said housing, first bevel gear means for rotatably driving one end of the valve drive shaft from one end of one crankshaft and second bevel gear means for rotatably driving said valve members from the other end of said valve drive shaft.
- 2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said drivingly connecting means further comprises a single pinion rotatably mounted to said housing and operatively disposed between one crankshaft and the output shaft and a pair of pinions rotatably mounted to said housing and operatively disposed between the other crankshaft and the output shaft whereby said crankshafts rotate in opposite rotational directions.
- 3. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said first bevel gear means is connected to the end of the crankshaft opposite from said means for drivingly connecting said crankshaft to the output shaft.
- 4. The invention as defined in claim 1 and including power take off means at at least one end of at least one crankshaft.
- 5. The invention as defined in claim 4 wherein said power take off means further comprises a portion of said crank shaft which extends outwardly and exteriorly of said housing.
- 6. An internal combustion engine comprising:
- a housing, said housing having a cylinder wall forming a cylindrical bore therethrough;
- a pair of piston members, each piston member having a head at one end and connecting means secured to the other end, said piston members being slidably disposed in said housing throughbore so that said piston heads are in a facing relationship and a combustion chamber is formed by said cylinder wall between said pistons;
- fuel inlet passage means in said housing on one side of said pistons for communicating a combustible fuel to said throughbore and between said piston heads and exhaust passage means in said housing on the opposite side of said pistons and communicating with said throughbore for exhausting fumes from said throughbore;
- crankshaft means rotatably mounted in said housing, said connecting means being mounted to said crankshaft means to rotatably drive said crankshaft means upon reciprocation of said piston members in said throughbore;
- a cylindrical inlet valve member rotatably mounted in said housing adjacent said throughbore and in said fuel inlet passage means, said inlet valve member having a diametric throughbore which selectively opens and closes said inlet passage means in dependence upon the rotational position of said inlet valve member;
- a cylindrical outlet valve member rotatably mounted in said housing adjacent said throughbore and in said exhaust passageway, said outlet valve having a diametric throughbore which selectively opens and closes said exhaust passageway in dependence upon the rotational position of said outlet valve member; and
- means connected to said valve member for rotatably driving said valve members in synchronism with the reciprocation of the piston members in the housing throughbore.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is a continuation-in-part of patent application Ser. No. 803,051, entitled ROTARY VALVE CONSTRUCTION FOR AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE and filed on June 3, 1977, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,946.
US Referenced Citations (6)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
345605 |
Mar 1931 |
GBX |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
803051 |
Jun 1977 |
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