Opposed piston internal-combustion engine with hypocycloidal drive and generator apparatus

Abstract

An opposed piston, internal-combustion engine including a cylinder with a bore and opposed pistons disposed within the bore is provided with one or more hypocycloidal drives that convert the linear motion of a piston to rotary output motion. An electrical generator includes an opposed piston, internal-combustion engine with a coil mounted to the skirt of a piston and a hypocycloidal drive connected by a rod to the piston. The construction of the hypocycloidal drive imposes a sinusoidal period on the linear motion of the piston. As the piston transports the coil though a magnetic field, a sinusoidal voltage is induced in the windings of the coil.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The below-described figures are meant to illustrate principles and examples discussed in the following detailed description. They are not necessarily to scale.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hypocycloidal drive for an opposed piston engine.

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of an opposed piston, internal-combustion engine with hypocycloidal drives in which the pistons are near bottom dead center positions. FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the opposed piston engine of FIG. 2A in which the pistons are near top dead center positions.

FIG. 3 is a side section view of the opposed piston, internal-combustion engine of FIGS. 2A and 2B.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a generator apparatus constituted of an opposed piston internal-combustion engine with hypocycloidal drives and having at least one generator.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one side of the generator apparatus of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross section of the side shown in FIG. 5.

Claims

1. A hypocycloidal drive for an internal combustion engine, comprising: a pair of spaced-apart ring gears with equal pitch diameters D on inside annuluses;means for mounting the ring gears in the engine;a pair of pinions with equal pitch diameters d, where d=D/2, each pinion engaging the inside annulus of a respective ring gear;a first journal having an axis;the first journal mounted to the pinions such that the axis coincides with the pitch diameters of the pinions; and,a second journal rotatably mounted to an outside of each pinion.

2. A hypocycloidal drive for an internal combustion engine, comprising: a pair of spaced-apart ring gears, each with a pitch diameter D;a pair of pinions, each engaging a respective ring gear, and each with a pitch diameter d, where D=2d;a first journal having an axis;the first journal mounted to the pinions such that the axis coincides with the pitch diameters of the pinions; and,a second journal eccentrically mounted to an outside of each pinion.

3. An internal-combustion engine, comprising: a cylinder with a bore;a pair of opposed pistons disposed in the bore;a hypocycloidal drive for each piston; anda pair of connecting rods for coupling each hypocycloidal drive to a piston such that the hypocycloidal drive translates straight-line linear motion of the piston and a connecting rod into rotary motion of a crankshaft.

4. The internal-combustion engine of claim 3, each hypocycloidal drive including a ring gear, a pinion engaging the ring gear, a first journal eccentrically mounted on a first side of the pinion, the first journal coupled to the second end of a connecting rod, and a second journal eccentrically mounted on a second side of the pinion.

5. The internal-combustion engine of claim 3, each hypocycloidal drive comprising: a pair of spaced-apart ring gears, each with a pitch diameter D;a pair of pinions, each engaging a respective ring gear, and each with a pitch diameter d, where D=2d;the second end of the connecting rod disposed between the ring gears and pinions;a first journal received in a bearing at the second end of the connecting rod and mounted to facing sides of the pinions; and,a second journal for each pinion, each second journal eccentrically mounted to an outside of a pinion.

6. In an opposed piston engine including a cylinder with a bore and a pair of opposed pistons disposed in the bore, a connecting rod connected to each piston, and means mounted to one end of each connecting rod for engaging a journal, a method, comprising: connecting each means to a journal of a respective hypocycloidal drive;reciprocating the pistons in the bore along a straight line path; andtranslating straight line reciprocating movement of each connecting rod into crankshaft rotation with a respective hypocycloidal drive.

7. An apparatus for generating electricity, comprising: an opposed piston internal-combustion engine with a hypocycloidal drive; andat least one coil mounted to be moved by a piston through a magnetic field.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising: a magnet mounted near a cylinder of the engine;the piston being disposed in a bore of the cylinder;the piston being linked to the hypocycloidal drive; andthe at least one coil being mounted to a skirt of the piston.

9. An electrical generating apparatus, comprising: an internal-combustion engine with a cylinder, a pair of opposed pistons mounted in a bore of the cylinder, and a hypocycloidal drive coupled to each piston of the pair of opposed pistons;a magnet mounted near each end of the cylinder; anda coil mounted to each piston of the pair of opposed pistons.

10. A method for generating electrical energy using an internal-combustion engine with at least one piston coupled to a hypocycloidal drive, comprising: providing a magnetic field; andmoving a coil mounted to the piston through the magnetic field.

11. A generating apparatus, comprising: an internal-combustion engine with at least one piston coupled to a hypocycloidal drive; andat least one coil mounted to be moved by the piston through a magnetic field.

12. The generating apparatus of claim 11, wherein the engine is an opposed-piston engine.

13. The generating apparatus of claim 11, wherein: the internal combustion engine includes a connecting rod coupling the at least one piston to the hypocycloidal drive; andthe hypocycloidal output includes at least one hypocycloidal drive with a ring gear having a pitch diameter D, a pinion with a pitch diameter d engaging the ring gear, wherein D=2d, a first journal connected to a point on the pitch diameter d on a first side of the pinion, the first journal rotatably coupled to the connecting rod, and a second journal eccentrically and rotatably mounted on a second side of the pinion.

14. The generating apparatus of claim 12, wherein the internal combustion engine includes at least one pair of opposed pistons, each piston coupled by a connecting rod to a hypocycloidal drive, each hypocycloidal drive comprising: a ring gear;a pinion engaging the ring gear; anda journal received in a bearing at the end of the connecting rod and mounted to a point on a pitch diameter of the pinion.

15. The generating apparatus of claim 14, further including means in the connecting rod for conducting liquid coolant to the interior of a piston.

16. The generating apparatus of claim 11, further comprising: a magnet mounted to a cylinder of the engine;the piston being disposed in a bore of the cylinder;the piston being linked to the hypocycloidal drive; andthe at least one coil mounted to a skirt of the piston.

17. The generating apparatus of claim 16, wherein the engine is an opposed-piston engine.

18. In an internal-combustion engine with a cylinder, a piston mounted in a bore of the cylinder and a hypocycloidal drive coupled to the piston, a generator, comprising: a magnet mounted to the at least one cylinder; anda coil mounted to the piston.

19. The generator of claim 18, wherein the engine is an opposed piston engine.

20. A generating apparatus, comprising: an internal-combustion engine with a hypocycloidal drive; andat least one alternator coupled to the hypocycloidal drive.