Claims
- 1. In a hot gas engine, a piston-rod assembly adapted for connecting a reciprocating piston in a cylinder with a crosshead member adapted to be connected through a pivotable connecting rod to the engine crankshaft, the improvement comprising:
- (a) a hollow, piston terminating at one end in a closed head portion and at the opposite end in a base portion of generally cup shape with an upwardly extending center portion having a central bore therein;
- (b) a rod having a first end adapted to be disposed in the central bore of said base portion of said piston and a second end having a reduced diameter portion extending axially away from said first end and terminating at one end in a shoulder;
- (c) means securing said first end of said rod in the central bore of said base portion of said piston to provide an integral, fluid-tight, radially and angularly aligned piston-rod assembly;
- (d) said crosshead member having an axial bore coaxial with the line of reciprocation of said piston, a pilot bore at a first end of the crosshead member and said axial bore, and a transverse bore perpendicular to said axial bore;
- (e) a cylindrical wrist pin having a transverse bore and adapted to be closely fitted wihin the transverse bore of said crosshead member with the transverse bore of the wrist pin aligned with the axial bore of said crosshead member to provide a crosshead member-wrist pin assembly for closely receiving the reduced diameter portion of said rod; and
- (f) means for securing said rod to said crosshead member-wrist pin assembly with a full diameter portion of said rod closely fitted within said pilot bore and with said shoulder abutting the bottom of the pilot bore at the first end of said crosshead member.
- 2. The piston-rod assembly recited in claim 1, wherein the other end of the reduced diameter portion of said rod terminates in threads and said means for securing said rod to said crosshead member-wrist pin assembly includes a nut threaded onto said threaded other end.
- 3. The piston-rod assembly recited in claim 1, wherein the other end of said reduced diameter portion of said rod terminates in threads and said means for securing said rod to said crosshead member-wrist pin assembly includes an internally threaded section on the extreme end of the axial bore of said crosshead member.
Government Interests
The Government of the United States of America has rights in this invention pursuant to Contract DEN3-32 awarded by the United States Department of Energy.
US Referenced Citations (9)