Claims
- 1. A microcombustion engine comprising:a chamber; a first piston situated in said chamber; a second piston situated in said chamber; at least one intake port in said chamber; at least one output port in said chamber; and wherein said first and second pistons are moveable towards each other so as to compress and ignite a fuel mixture into a combustion without a spark and that forces said first and second pistons to move away from each other, resulting in a burnt fuel mixture leaving said chamber through said at least one output port and another fuel mixture entering said chamber through said at least one intake port to be compressed and ignited by said first and second pistons into a knock combustion that again forces said first and second pistons to move away from each other.
- 2. The engine of claim 1, further comprising:a first electromagnet proximate to said first piston; a second electromagnet proximate to said second piston; wherein said first and second electromagnets convert kinetic energy from said first and second pistons, respectively, into electrical energy.
- 3. The engine of claim 2, wherein said first and second electromagnets drive said pistons into resonance, generate electricity and synchronize said first and second pistons.
- 4. The engine of claim 3, wherein said chamber and first and second pistons are micromachined from at least one material from a group consisting of silicon, ceramic, sapphire, silicon carbide, Pyrex and metal.
- 5. The engine of claim 1 which has a length of about 1 millimeter or less.
- 6. The engine of claim 1 comprising a substantially planar inner layer attached on opposing surfaces thereof to a pair of substantially planar outer layers and said chamber being formed in said inner layer.
- 7. A microcombustion engine comprising:a chamber; a first piston situated in said chamber; a second piston situated in said chamber, wherein said first and second pistons are moveable towards each other so as to compress and ignite a fuel mixture into a combustion without a spark; a first detector proximate to said first piston; a second detector proximate to said second piston; a first transducer proximate to said first pistons; and a second transducer proximate to said second piston.
- 8. The engine of claim 7, wherein said chamber, and said first and second pistons are micromachined.
- 9. The engine of claim 8, wherein said first and second pistons may move towards each other in said chamber to compress a fuel mixture to result in a homogeneous auto ignition of the fuel mixture into a combustion.
- 10. The engine of claim 9, further comprising:an input port situated in said chamber; and an exhaust port situated in said chamber.
- 11. The engine of claim 10, wherein:said first and second pistons are moved away from each other by the combustion; contents of the combustion exit said chamber via said exhaust port; and the fuel mixture enters said chamber via said input port.
- 12. The engine of claim 11, wherein:said first detector senses a position of said first piston within said chamber; said second detector senses a position of said second piston within said chamber; said first transducer occasionally exerts a force upon said first piston; said second transducer occasionally exerts a force on said second piston; and the forces exerted on said first and second pistons tend to keep said first and second pistons synchronized.
- 13. The engine of claim 12, wherein:said first transducer converts kinetic energy of said first piston into electrical energy; and said second transducer converts kinetic energy of said second piston into electrical energy.
- 14. The engine of claim 13, wherein:said first transducer is an electromagnet; and said second transducer is an electromagnet.
- 15. The engine of claim 14, wherein:said chamber is micromachined from a material; and said first and second pistons are micromachined from the material.
- 16. The engine of claim 15, wherein the material is from a group consisting of silicon, ceramic, sapphire, silicon carbide, Pyrex and metal.
- 17. The engine of claim 16, wherein:said first and second pistons have first ends facing each other and permanent magnets attached to their second ends; and said first and second electromagnets are said first and second detectors, respectively.
- 18. A microcombustion engine comprising:a chamber; a first piston situated in said chamber and freely moveable along a length of said chamber; a second piston situated in said chamber and freely moveable along the length of said chamber, wherein said first and second pistons are moveable towards each other so as to compress and ignite a fuel mixture into a combustion without a spark; and a vent situated in said chamber; and wherein said chamber, first piston, second piston, and vent are micromachined from a material.
- 19. The engine of claim 18, further comprising:a first transducer situated at a first end of said chamber; and a second transducer situated at a second end of said chamber.
- 20. The engine of claim 19, further comprising a detector for sensing positions of said first and second pistons.
- 21. The engine of claim 20, wherein said first and second pistons are moveable in said chamber towards each other to compress and ignite a fuel mixture, which enters said chamber via said vent, into a combustion that forces said first and second pistons away from each other, resulting in a burnt fuel mixture to exit said chamber via said vent.
- 22. The engine of claim 21, wherein said first and second transducers convert movement of said first and second pistons into electrical energy.
- 23. The engine of claim 22, further comprising a circuit connected to said first and second detectors and to said first and second transducers.
- 24. The engine of claim 23, wherein said circuit receives signals from said detectors and outputs signals to said transducers which apply forces to said pistons to synchronize said first and second pistons' movements in said chamber.
- 25. The engine of claim 24, wherein said circuit receives electrical energy from said transducer for application to a load or storage.
- 26. The engine of claim 25, wherein said transducers are electromagnets.
- 27. The engine of claim 26, wherein said first and second transducers comprise said first and second detectors.
- 28. The engine of claim 27, further comprising:a first permanent magnet attached to said first piston; a second permanent magnet attached to said second piston; and wherein said first and second permanent magnets affect said first and second transducers, respectively.
- 29. The engine of claim 28, wherein the material is from a group consisting of silicon, ceramic, sapphire, silicon carbide, Pyrex and metal.
Parent Case Info
This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/476,931 filed Dec. 30, 1999, which is incorporated herein by reference.
US Referenced Citations (6)
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry |
A Numerical Study of a Free Piston IC Engine Operating on Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition Combustion, S. Scott Goldsborough and Peter Van Blarigan, Mar. 1-4, 1999. |