US3340858A - Thermal engine - Google Patents
Thermal engine Download PDFInfo
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- US3340858A US3340858A US500081A US50008165A US3340858A US 3340858 A US3340858 A US 3340858A US 500081 A US500081 A US 500081A US 50008165 A US50008165 A US 50008165A US 3340858 A US3340858 A US 3340858A
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F02—COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS
- F02B—INTERNAL-COMBUSTION PISTON ENGINES; COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL
- F02B59/00—Internal-combustion aspects of other reciprocating-piston engines with movable, e.g. oscillating, cylinders
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a thermal engine operating on a different cycle from those of explosion or combustion engines not known.
- crank-shaft connected by a connecting-rod to a piston which can slide in a movable cylinder closed at its end opposite to the crank-shaft;
- the upper portion of the cylinder as well as the inner portion of the movable cylinder-head are planar to provide a practically infinite geometric compression ratio.
- the movable cylinder is advantageously controlled by two symmetrically disposed lateral connecting-rods driven by two lateral crank-shafts symmetrically connected to the central crank-shaft by two symmetrical mechanical systems.
- the two lateral crank-shafts are also advantageously connected to each other by Way of a mechanical linking means providing absolutely symmetrical movement of the two lateral connecting-rods.
- the ports are opened and closed by means of a rotating sleeve disposed outside the movable cylinder and sliding inside the movable cylinder-guide.
- Control of the rotary movement of the rotating sleeve is obtained by means of runners integral with the said sleeve and sliding in a W-shaped groove formed in the inner wall of the skirt of the movable cylinder-guide.
- the cylinder-guide is advantageously provided with a cylinder-head including an intake valve. connected with the atmosphere and an exhaust pipe connected to a reservoir of compressed air originating from the action of the cylinder-head of the movable cylinder playing the part of a piston inside the movable cylinder-guide.
- Each mechanical linking means between the central crank-shaft and one of the lateral crank-shafts advantageously consists of a toothed pinion fixed on the shaft of the central crank-shaft and which meshes with planets which are themselves in engagement with one of the plates supporting the crank-pin of the lateral crank-shaft.
- the plates of the lateral crank-shaft which are not engaged with the planets include teeth engaging with pinions fixed on a connecting-shaft.
- the planets are replaced by a single pinion engaging with a pinion secured to the connecting-shaft whose end pinions engage with the teeth of the plates of the lateral crank-shafts.
- crank-arm of the central crank-shaft hasa length less than that of the crank-arm of the lateral crank-shaft.
- FIGURE 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the principle of the operational cycle of a single cylinder engine in accordance with the invention.
- FIGURES 2 and 3 are two half-elevation cross sectional views, orthogonal to each other, of a possible form of embodiment of a single cylinder engine using the operational principle according to the invention
- FIGURE 4 is a detailed view showing the cup-shaped housing of the driving-rod of the movable cylinder-cylinder head.
- FIGURE 5 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the engine along line V-V of FIGURE 2.
- FIGURE 6 is a detailed view showing the development of the inner wall of the cylinder-guide skirt in which the cylinder guiding grooves are formed as well as the groove for rotationally driving thedevice for opening and closing the ports.
- FIGURE 7 is a detailed view showing a cross-sectional elevation of a modified embodiment of the mechanical link between the central crank-shaft and one of the lateral crank-shafts.
- FIGURE 1 the various members comprising a single-cylinder engine in accordance with the invention have been diagrammatized to the extreme, the said constituent members being shown in the respective positions they occupy in relation to one another at nine vital moments of the complete operational cycle, these moments being designated by references t t t t t t t t t t t t
- the pipes and openings for supplying fuel and comburent and for exhausting burnt gases have not been shown.
- such an engine essentially comprises: a first crank-shaft diagrammatized by its axis of rotation O and its crank-pin 1; a connecting-rod B connecting the said crank-pin to a piston P moving inside a cylinder C, whose cylinder-head C has a fiat head.
- This cylinder has the essential characteristic of being slidable inside a stationary guide G. details of which will be given further on.
- the movable cylinder C is connected by means of a connecting rod B to a second crank-shaft diagrammatized by its crank-pin 2 which has the same axis of rotation O as the first crank-shaft.
- crank-shafts 1 and 2 rotate in opposite directions to each other, respectively in the directions of arrows F and F for instance;
- crank-shaft 1 connected to piston P rotates twice as fast as crankshaft 2 connected to the movable cylinder C;
- crank-shafts 1 and 2 are dynamically connected to each other by means of mechanical means, such as gears for example (not shown in FIGURE 1 but which will be dealt with in detail hereinafter).
- Phase I Taking advantage of the fact that cylinder C is practically empty at time 1 water is injected into it which has the effect of cooling the inside of the cylinder during phase I, and of vaporizing therein in the form of an inert gas.
- guide G has only to be formed of a cylinder which is closed as its upper portion by a cylinderhead G in which an exhaust-valve (not shown) is mounted, which ensures communication with an accumulation reservoir of compressed air.
- Cylinder head C of the movable cylinder then forms a piston inside the cylinder-guide G and it causes air to be forced under pressure into the reservoir once every complete cycle, it being understood that an air intake valve (not shown) is also mounted in the upper portion of guide G.
- the piston P follows the cylinder-head C while gaining on it and pushing it through the medium of the gases contained in the cylinder, then, at the same moment that it catches up with it, that is to say at instant t it starts to move in the opposite direction, leaving the cylinder-head to continue its upward movement.
- the very special design of the engine does away with the inconvenience of the pinking phenomenon which occurs in four-stroke engines and practically turns to advantage the other inconvenience of conventional engines, i.e. the phenomenon of self-ignition.
- phase V that is to say the pre-eminently driving phase
- the piston P and cylinder-head C, of the movable cylinder C now move in an opposite direction to each other, which has the result of prolonging the expansion and of increasing considerably the volume ratios between the expansion and intake phases.
- the diagram of FIGURE 1 explains this very clearly.
- the prolonged expansion is not only favorable to good engine cooling but also has the effect of making possible the fact that the gases are returned to the atmosphere completely burnt and expanded and consequently have no harmful 5 characteristics.
- this feature should make this type of engine very silent.
- crank arm of the crank-shaft 2 of the cylinder-cylinder-head should be longer than that of the crank-arm of crank-shaft-piston 1.
- the stroke of the cylinder-head is therefore, in absolute value, greater than that of the piston. This difference of stroke enables the ratio between intake and expansion to be increased starting from an almost infinite geometric compression ratio.
- the suction stroke starts practically from vacuum
- the compression phase is no longer an absolutely idle period but provides a certain amount of positive work
- FIGURES 2 and 3 Generally speaking, simple examination of FIGURES 2 and 3 enables the essential constitutive elements which have been described with reference to FIGURE 1 to be recognized:
- Piston P Piston P; movable cylinder/cylinder head C; stationary guide G; connecting-rods B and B and crank-pins 1 and 2 on which are pivoted the feet of the said connecting-rods B and B the two crank-shafts having the same geometric axis of rotation 0.
- crank-shaft I is mounted in a ball bearing 4 whose outer casing is integral with a stationary cup-shaped part designated by the general reference 5 and which is shown in detail in FIGURE 4.
- Axle 3 includes a projecting portion 3 on which are fixed, on the one hand a toothed pinion 6 and, on the other, the inner ring of a bearing 7.
- a plate 8 On the outer ring of this bearing 7 is mounted a plate 8 having a cylindrical-shaped skirt 8 the outer wall of which supports the inner ring of a bearing 9.
- the outer ring of this same bearing 9 is integral with the stationary cup 5.
- the inner wall of skirt 8 includes a gearing 10 constantly meshing with three identical toothed pinions, such as pinion 11, which mesh in turn with the gearing 6 of the pinion 6 secured to the projecting portion 3,, of the axle 3 of crankshaft I.
- These three pinions 11 which therefore form planets are mounted by means of bearings, such as 12, on three respective pins such as 13; which are symmetrically positioned relative to the geometric axis and are integral with the stationary cup 5.
- the stationary cup includes a flange or shoulder 5 tion 0 as crank-shaft I and forming one of the engine output shafts, the second being symmetrically disposed in relation to the assembly for the reasons given previously.
- a plate 17 is secured to the inner end of shaft 16 and is rigidly fixed to the plate 8 by means of the pin 2 which in fact forms the crank-pin on which the end of the connecting-rod B pivots.
- crank-shaft I rotates in the direction of arrow F as shown in FIGURE 2, the planets 11, driven by toothed wheel 6, will drive the toothed plate 8 in the opposite direction, that is to say in the direction of arrow F and at a slower speed.
- each connecting-rod B pivots about a shaft 18 projecting from a shoulder 19 integral with cylinder C, it being understood that cup 5 includes on its upper portion an opening 20 allowing clearance for the head of connecting-rod B Furthermore, to avoid a hammering action in the movement of the movable cylinder C inside guide G, particularly because of possible play between the various gearings after a certain period of use, the movements of the two connecting-rods B are coupled to each other by means of a connecting spindle 21 to both ends of which are secured pinions 22 meshing with teeth 17,, provided on the plates 17.
- Pinion 22 controls from the outside, the accessory members (pump, dynamo, etc.).
- Shaft 21 is mounted on bearings 23 integral with the engine casing 24 on which is secured flange 5 of cup 5, centering thus being ensured by the engine casing 24.
- this cylinder includes a cylinder-head C the head of which is flat on the side facing the piston P (in order to obtain a very high compression ratio, piston P is itself flat), but which is extended on the outside by a cylindrical shaped shoulder C which lengthens the cylinder in contact with the guide G by that amount.
- the head of shoulder C includes a threaded ring 27 into which are screwed two bolts 28 (FIG. 2) the heads of which 28 form runners sliding in two vertical guiding grooves 29 formed in the inner wall of the skirt of guiding member G, as can be seen in FIGURE 2 and in the developed diagram of FIGURE 6.
- feeding can be carried out by the opening and closing of inlet and exhaust ports.
- cylinder C includes an outer rotating sleeve 26 in which adequate ports are formed diagrammatized by 31 in FIGURE 2.
- cylinder C as well as guide G are provided, at appropriate points, with ports 30 and 32 which allow either admission or exhaust when the said ports 30-31 and 32 coincide as a result, on the one hand, of cylinder C moving in guide G, and on the other, of rotation of the rotary sleeve 26.
- Rings 33 and 34 are inserted in the body of cylinder C to prevent any loss of compression in the cylinder through ports 31 and between the outer wall of the cylinder and the inner wall of the sleeve 26.
- a slight play promotes a slight upward and downward movement of the sleeve at each rise and fall of the cylinder-cylinder-head, ensuring the efliciency of the rings.
- control of the rotation of sleeve 26 can be very simply carried out as follows (see FIGURES 2, and 6):
- a generally W-shaped groove 35 is provided in the inner wall of the skirt of guide G. Furthermore, in the upper part 26 of the rotating sleeve 26, two bolts 36 are secured, off-set from each other by 180, these bolts being provided with generally olive-shaped heads 36 which slide in groove 35.
- this cylinder-head G has a dome-shape complementary to the cup shape of cylinder-head C of the movable cylinder.
- inlet valve 37 is advantageously provided in the axis of cylinder-head G, while exhaust valve 38 is connected, by way of a pipe 39, to a reservoir accumulating compressed air. It is seen that the movable cylinder-head C, will force air back into the said reservoir once in every complete operational cycle of the engine.
- this source of compressed air may, in addition, be used to carry out servo control, such as that of the brakes, steering, etc. for example.
- This pump can even be used as an engine braking device.
- FIGURE 7 shows a modified form of the mechanical link between connecting-rods B and B
- the cupshaped part 5 has no bottom and the shaft 3,, of crank-shaft I is simply supported by the bearing 7 of plate 8, which no longer has inner teeth.
- the planets 11 are also abolished and replaced by a single pinion 40 mounted loosely on a spindle 41 integral with a stationary support 42.
- the said pinion 4t) meshes constantly, on the one hand, with pinion 6 fixed to shaft 3 of crankshaft I, and, on the other, with a pinion 43 fixed to the connecting-shaft 21 between plates 17 and the two connecting-rods 13 by way of pinions 22 secured to the end of the said shaft 21.
- the two lateral shafts 16 rotating at half the speed of shaft 3 of the central crank-shaft I can supply the starting and reverse speeds.
- the air compressing device disposed at the upper end of the cylinder'head G,, of guide G may be abolished, the said guide G then being used as a normal cylinder of a two-stroke engine, the piston of the said engine consisting in this case of the cylinder-head C, of the movable cylinder.
- the rotating sleeve 26 will in this case be extended so as to ensure both intake and exhaust both in cylinder C and cylinder G.
- a thermal engine comprising a stationary guide
- first and second crankshaft mans having mechanically linked means to connect them to each other,
- said mechanically linked means connected to said first and second crankshaft means to rotate said crankshaft means in opposite directions to each other and to rotate said first crankshaft means twice as fast as said second crankshaft means.
- thermal engine of claim 1 further characterized y means to supply fuel and comburent to said movable cylinder and to exhaust burnt gases from said movable cylinder including a sleeve selectively opening and closing inlet and exhaust ports,
- said sleeve being disposed outside said movable cylinder and having runners sliding in a W-shaped groove formed in the inner surface of said stationary guide and causing said sleeve to rotate about said movable cylinder.
- thermo engine of claim 1 further characterized y said first and said second crankshaft means concentrically mounted in relation to each other.
- said second crankshaft means including two lateral semi-crankshafts lodged in said two cups and supported, on the one hand by said cups, and on the other hand by the engine casing.
- means to supply fuel and comburent to said movable cylinder and to exhaust burnt gases from said movable cylinder including a sleeve selectively opening and closing inlet and exhaust ports, said sleeve being disposed outside said movable cylinder and having runners sliding in a W- shaped groove formed in the inner surface of said stationary guide and causing said sleeve to rotate about said movable cylinder.
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Description
' S p 12,1957. J. JEAN-MARIE JQULES GERIN 3,340,858
Q THERMAL ENGINE File'd Oct. 21, 1965 I 5 Sheets-Sheetl Sept; 12, 1967 J. JEAN-MARlE JULES GQERIN 3,340,358
THERMAL ENGINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 21, 1965 Sept. 12, 1967 J. JEAN-MARIE JULES GERIN 3,340,853
THERMAL ENGINE Filed Oct. 21, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Sept. 12, 1967 J. JEANMARIE JULES GERIN 3,340,358
THERMAL ENGINE Filed Oct. 21, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 -,44 I aa g Fig.4-
32 6 2 26MB! 1 30-h; 57"
Fig.5
'Sept. 12; 1967 J. JEAN-MARIE JULES GERIN 3,340,853
' THERMAL EYNGINE Filed Oct. 21. 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 3,340,858 THERMAL ENGINE Jacques Jean-Marie Jules Gerin, 86 Ave. Victor Hugo, Dijon, France Filed Oct. 21, 1965, Ser. No. 500,081 Claims priority, applicgation France, Nov. 13, 1964,
5 Claims. (in. 123 7s ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to a thermal engine operating on a different cycle from those of explosion or combustion engines not known.
The engine in accordance with the present invention is essentially characterized by the fact that it includes at least the combination:
Of a central crank-shaft connected by a connecting-rod to a piston which can slide in a movable cylinder closed at its end opposite to the crank-shaft;
Of a stationary guide inside which the movable cylinder can slide freely;
Of at least one lateral connecting-rod whose head pivots on the movable cylinder and whose foot pivots on the crank-pin of a lateral crankshaft;
Of a mechanical linking means between the central crank-shaft and the lateral crank-shaft, the said system being designed in such a manner that the lateral crankshaft rotates in the oposite direction to the central crankshaft and at half its speed;
And a fuel supply means for the movable cylinder.
According to other characteristics of the invention:
The upper portion of the cylinder as well as the inner portion of the movable cylinder-head are planar to provide a practically infinite geometric compression ratio.
The movable cylinder is advantageously controlled by two symmetrically disposed lateral connecting-rods driven by two lateral crank-shafts symmetrically connected to the central crank-shaft by two symmetrical mechanical systems.
The two lateral crank-shafts are also advantageously connected to each other by Way of a mechanical linking means providing absolutely symmetrical movement of the two lateral connecting-rods.
The supply of fuel and comburent, 'as well as the evacuation of burnt gases takes place by the opening and closing of ports connecting the cylinder to the intake and to the exhaust at the right moments.
According to a simple form of embodiment, the ports are opened and closed by means of a rotating sleeve disposed outside the movable cylinder and sliding inside the movable cylinder-guide.
Control of the rotary movement of the rotating sleeve is obtained by means of runners integral with the said sleeve and sliding in a W-shaped groove formed in the inner wall of the skirt of the movable cylinder-guide.
The cylinder-guide is advantageously provided with a cylinder-head including an intake valve. connected with the atmosphere and an exhaust pipe connected to a reservoir of compressed air originating from the action of the cylinder-head of the movable cylinder playing the part of a piston inside the movable cylinder-guide.
Each mechanical linking means between the central crank-shaft and one of the lateral crank-shafts advantageously consists of a toothed pinion fixed on the shaft of the central crank-shaft and which meshes with planets which are themselves in engagement with one of the plates supporting the crank-pin of the lateral crank-shaft.
The plates of the lateral crank-shaft which are not engaged with the planets include teeth engaging with pinions fixed on a connecting-shaft.
According to a variant, the planets are replaced by a single pinion engaging with a pinion secured to the connecting-shaft whose end pinions engage with the teeth of the plates of the lateral crank-shafts.
The crank-arm of the central crank-shaft hasa length less than that of the crank-arm of the lateral crank-shaft.
Other characteristics, features and advantages of the present invention will be brought out from the description which follows below with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIGURE 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the principle of the operational cycle of a single cylinder engine in accordance with the invention.
FIGURES 2 and 3 are two half-elevation cross sectional views, orthogonal to each other, of a possible form of embodiment of a single cylinder engine using the operational principle according to the invention,
FIGURE 4 is a detailed view showing the cup-shaped housing of the driving-rod of the movable cylinder-cylinder head.
FIGURE 5 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the engine along line V-V of FIGURE 2.
FIGURE 6 is a detailed view showing the development of the inner wall of the cylinder-guide skirt in which the cylinder guiding grooves are formed as well as the groove for rotationally driving thedevice for opening and closing the ports.
FIGURE 7 is a detailed view showing a cross-sectional elevation of a modified embodiment of the mechanical link between the central crank-shaft and one of the lateral crank-shafts.
In FIGURE 1, the various members comprising a single-cylinder engine in accordance with the invention have been diagrammatized to the extreme, the said constituent members being shown in the respective positions they occupy in relation to one another at nine vital moments of the complete operational cycle, these moments being designated by references t t t t t t t t t In order not to needlessly overcrowd the diagram of FIGURE 1, the pipes and openings for supplying fuel and comburent and for exhausting burnt gases have not been shown. A possible solution to this problem will be given subsequently with reference to the embodiment of the single-cylinder engine shown by way of example in FIG- URES 2 to 7.
More particularly, such an engine essentially comprises: a first crank-shaft diagrammatized by its axis of rotation O and its crank-pin 1; a connecting-rod B connecting the said crank-pin to a piston P moving inside a cylinder C, whose cylinder-head C has a fiat head. This cylinder has the essential characteristic of being slidable inside a stationary guide G. details of which will be given further on.
According to another essential feature of the invention, the movable cylinder C is connected by means of a connecting rod B to a second crank-shaft diagrammatized by its crank-pin 2 which has the same axis of rotation O as the first crank-shaft.
It is important to note that according to the essential features of the present invention:
The two crank-shafts 1 and 2 rotate in opposite directions to each other, respectively in the directions of arrows F and F for instance;
Crank-shaft 1 connected to piston P rotates twice as fast as crankshaft 2 connected to the movable cylinder C;
The two crank-shafts 1 and 2 are dynamically connected to each other by means of mechanical means, such as gears for example (not shown in FIGURE 1 but which will be dealt with in detail hereinafter).
The relative lengths of the connecting-rods B and B are calculated in such a way that the geometric compression ratio is very large as is seen very clearly in FIGURE 1 at instants t and t A description will now follow of the operational cycle of the single cylinder engine the constituent members of which have just been described with reference to the various instants i to 11, of the diagram of FIGURE 1, it being observed that for the clarity of the description it is assumed that between two successive times, crankshaft 1 rotated a quarter of a turn in the direction of arrow F and that, in consequence, crank-shaft 2 rotated an eighth of a turn in the direction of arrow F Assuming for a moment that cylinder-head C of cylinder C remains stationary at the level of line H-H it can be seen that the piston P moves in relation to this last line H-H according to the conventional cycle for a four-stroke engine, that is to say, intake T compression T explosion-expansion T and exhaust T Returning to the present description, it is seen that the reciprocating movement of the cylinder-head C in relation to the said line H-I-I clearly shows the differences between the conventional operational cycle and that of the engine according to the invention.
It should at once be observed that owing to the movable cylinder C sliding inside guide G, it becomes easy to ensure intake and exhaust of the gases by opening and closing the appropriate ports in the manner of an engine operating on a two-stroke cycle, the cylinder-head C of the said cylinder playing the part of a stationary cylinder. This will all be dealt with in detail further on.
Taking into account this possibility of intake and exhaust by the opening and closing of ports, which are not shown in FIGURE 1 in order not to complicate it unnecessarily, the operational cycle is as follows:
Phase I.Taking advantage of the fact that cylinder C is practically empty at time 1 water is injected into it which has the effect of cooling the inside of the cylinder during phase I, and of vaporizing therein in the form of an inert gas.
Phase II.-During the down-stroke of piston P, pure fresh air is drawn in and injected into cylinder C.
It is important to note that, owing to the design of the engine, it is very simple to obtain this compressed air. It can be seen that guide G has only to be formed of a cylinder which is closed as its upper portion by a cylinderhead G in which an exhaust-valve (not shown) is mounted, which ensures communication with an accumulation reservoir of compressed air. Cylinder head C of the movable cylinder then forms a piston inside the cylinder-guide G and it causes air to be forced under pressure into the reservoir once every complete cycle, it being understood that an air intake valve (not shown) is also mounted in the upper portion of guide G.
It should furthermore be observed that during these two first phases I and II of the operational cycle which correspond to the intake phase T of the conventional four-stroke cycle, piston P and cylinder-head C of cylinder C slide in the same direction, the piston simply moving more quickly than the cylinder. As a result, the cubic capacity of the engine according to the invention is reduced in relation to that of the same engine operating on the four-stroke cycle during the intake phase.
'Phases III, IV and V (corresponding to the compression and expansion phases T and T 3 of a four-stroke engine).-During the first part of the up-stroke of piston P during phase III, more pure air is injected under pressure, then, during the second part of this phase III, the
the engine, on one hand, and reducing the geometric pressure ratio, on the other. Therefore this allows of a very high geometric compression ratio resulting in almost total exhausting of burnt gases and, consequently, an operational cycle starting from a practically empty cylinder.
Furthermore, given that during phases III and IV the piston P and cylinder-head C of cylinder C slide in the same direction, piston P moving more quickly than the cylinder, it can immediately be deduced that, contrary to what occurs in a conventional engine, the compression phase does not, in the present case, involve a purely resistive work and therefore a loss.
On its up-stroke the piston P compresses the gas against a cylinder-head C which gives way before it. In other words, it may be said that the compression pushes the cylinder-cylinderhead C which, through the connecting-rod and the other mechanical linking means,
carry out positive work which accordingly lessens the purely resisting work.
It will be seen, by examining what occurs in time a, and at the beginning of the phase V, that this lessening of purely resisting work of compression can still be very appreciably improved.
At time t that is to say when piston P reaches its upper dead centre and starts downwards again, it is seen that head C of cylinder C, on the contrary, continues its upward movement.
Therefore, during phases III, IV and V, the piston P follows the cylinder-head C while gaining on it and pushing it through the medium of the gases contained in the cylinder, then, at the same moment that it catches up with it, that is to say at instant t it starts to move in the opposite direction, leaving the cylinder-head to continue its upward movement.
It is immediately apparent that this absolutely new and essential feature of the present invention, which distinguishes it completely from the conventional four-stroke engine, can be turned to advantage to advance the moment of explosion or of combustion of the fuel very much in advance of instant t that is to say practically to the start of phase IV From the foregoing it follows that it is possible to gain phase IV upon the four strokes of a conventional engine, that is to say half of phase T and, consequently, to increase the thermal efficiency in very considerable proportions.
Furthermore, the very special design of the engine does away with the inconvenience of the pinking phenomenon which occurs in four-stroke engines and practically turns to advantage the other inconvenience of conventional engines, i.e. the phenomenon of self-ignition.
Another important characteristic of the engine according to the invention resides in that during phase V, that is to say the pre-eminently driving phase, the piston P and cylinder-head C, of the movable cylinder C now move in an opposite direction to each other, which has the result of prolonging the expansion and of increasing considerably the volume ratios between the expansion and intake phases. The diagram of FIGURE 1 explains this very clearly.
As a consequence of this as well as the resulting increase in thermal efficiency of the engine, the prolonged expansion is not only favorable to good engine cooling but also has the effect of making possible the fact that the gases are returned to the atmosphere completely burnt and expanded and consequently have no harmful 5 characteristics. In addition, this feature should make this type of engine very silent.
Phase VI.--During this last phase the piston P and cylinder-head C of the movable cylinder again move in an opposite direction to each other until they almost touch each other, which ensures an almost total exhaust of the burnt gases and an intake starting almost from vacuum.
It is desirable that the crank arm of the crank-shaft 2 of the cylinder-cylinder-head should be longer than that of the crank-arm of crank-shaft-piston 1. The stroke of the cylinder-head is therefore, in absolute value, greater than that of the piston. This difference of stroke enables the ratio between intake and expansion to be increased starting from an almost infinite geometric compression ratio.
Before continuing, the essential advantages of the engine according to the invention can be rsumd as follows:
Very high compression ratio;
Very high ratio of volumes between expansion and intake;
Total exhaust of burnt gases;
The suction stroke starts practically from vacuum;
The compression phase is no longer an absolutely idle period but provides a certain amount of positive work;
The explosion or combustion of the gases occurs at the most favourable position of the moving members;
Engine cooling is made very much easier.
A description now follows, with reference to FIGURES 2 to 7, of a possible form of embodiment of a singlecylinder engine making use of the new operational cycle according to the invention.
Generally speaking, simple examination of FIGURES 2 and 3 enables the essential constitutive elements which have been described with reference to FIGURE 1 to be recognized:
Piston P; movable cylinder/cylinder head C; stationary guide G; connecting-rods B and B and crank-pins 1 and 2 on which are pivoted the feet of the said connecting-rods B and B the two crank-shafts having the same geometric axis of rotation 0.
It should be remarked that, in order not to complicate either the description or the drawing, the latter only show a half-elevation-cross-sectiona1 view, it being understood that the assembly is perfectly symmetrical and that, in fact, there are two connecting-rods B and two mechanical linking systems between each connecting-rod B and one of the two ends of the central crank-shaft I on the crank-pin 1 of which the foot of connecting-rod B pivots. It should therefore be remembered that everything in the description relating to the connecting-rod B is in fact duplicated.
More particularly, and keeping in mind the preceding remarks, the axle 3 of crank-shaft I is mounted in a ball bearing 4 whose outer casing is integral with a stationary cup-shaped part designated by the general reference 5 and which is shown in detail in FIGURE 4. Axle 3 includes a projecting portion 3 on which are fixed, on the one hand a toothed pinion 6 and, on the other, the inner ring of a bearing 7. On the outer ring of this bearing 7 is mounted a plate 8 having a cylindrical-shaped skirt 8 the outer wall of which supports the inner ring of a bearing 9.
The outer ring of this same bearing 9 is integral with the stationary cup 5. Furthermore, the inner wall of skirt 8 includes a gearing 10 constantly meshing with three identical toothed pinions, such as pinion 11, which mesh in turn with the gearing 6 of the pinion 6 secured to the projecting portion 3,, of the axle 3 of crankshaft I. These three pinions 11 which therefore form planets are mounted by means of bearings, such as 12, on three respective pins such as 13; which are symmetrically positioned relative to the geometric axis and are integral with the stationary cup 5.
The stationary cup includes a flange or shoulder 5 tion 0 as crank-shaft I and forming one of the engine output shafts, the second being symmetrically disposed in relation to the assembly for the reasons given previously.
A plate 17 is secured to the inner end of shaft 16 and is rigidly fixed to the plate 8 by means of the pin 2 which in fact forms the crank-pin on which the end of the connecting-rod B pivots.
Before going any farther, it can now be established that if crank-shaft I rotates in the direction of arrow F as shown in FIGURE 2, the planets 11, driven by toothed wheel 6, will drive the toothed plate 8 in the opposite direction, that is to say in the direction of arrow F and at a slower speed. It is immediately apparent that by determining the ratios between the respective diameters of the aforementioned gears, it is easy to cause plate 8, and consequently crank-pin 2, to rotate in the opposite direction to that of crank-pin 1 and at half the speed thereof as is necessary to put into effect the operational principle of the invention which has been described hereinabove The head of each connecting-rod B pivots about a shaft 18 projecting from a shoulder 19 integral with cylinder C, it being understood that cup 5 includes on its upper portion an opening 20 allowing clearance for the head of connecting-rod B Furthermore, to avoid a hammering action in the movement of the movable cylinder C inside guide G, particularly because of possible play between the various gearings after a certain period of use, the movements of the two connecting-rods B are coupled to each other by means of a connecting spindle 21 to both ends of which are secured pinions 22 meshing with teeth 17,, provided on the plates 17. Pinion 22 controls from the outside, the accessory members (pump, dynamo, etc.). Shaft 21 is mounted on bearings 23 integral with the engine casing 24 on which is secured flange 5 of cup 5, centering thus being ensured by the engine casing 24.
Guide G inside which the movable cylinder C slides is rigidly secured to the engine casing 24 by means of connecting brackets, such as 25, which are bolted at their lower end to flange 5 of cup 5, the said cup being centered in the bore 24 of engine housing 24, which bore constitutes the basic means for centering the assembly.
To obtain good sliding and eflicient guiding of cylinder C, this cylinder includes a cylinder-head C the head of which is flat on the side facing the piston P (in order to obtain a very high compression ratio, piston P is itself flat), but which is extended on the outside by a cylindrical shaped shoulder C which lengthens the cylinder in contact with the guide G by that amount.
Furthermore, in order to avoid as much as possible the harmful hammering of cylinder C inside guide G, the head of shoulder C includes a threaded ring 27 into which are screwed two bolts 28 (FIG. 2) the heads of which 28 form runners sliding in two vertical guiding grooves 29 formed in the inner wall of the skirt of guiding member G, as can be seen in FIGURE 2 and in the developed diagram of FIGURE 6.
Owing to the very special design of the engine, feeding can be carried out by the opening and closing of inlet and exhaust ports.
To do this, the solution shown in the drawings by way of example can be adopted to advantage. In this form of embodiment, cylinder C includes an outer rotating sleeve 26 in which adequate ports are formed diagrammatized by 31 in FIGURE 2. Obviously, cylinder C as well as guide G are provided, at appropriate points, with ports 30 and 32 which allow either admission or exhaust when the said ports 30-31 and 32 coincide as a result, on the one hand, of cylinder C moving in guide G, and on the other, of rotation of the rotary sleeve 26. Rings 33 and 34 are inserted in the body of cylinder C to prevent any loss of compression in the cylinder through ports 31 and between the outer wall of the cylinder and the inner wall of the sleeve 26. A slight play promotes a slight upward and downward movement of the sleeve at each rise and fall of the cylinder-cylinder-head, ensuring the efliciency of the rings.
According to a feature of the invention, control of the rotation of sleeve 26 can be very simply carried out as follows (see FIGURES 2, and 6):
A generally W-shaped groove 35 is provided in the inner wall of the skirt of guide G. Furthermore, in the upper part 26 of the rotating sleeve 26, two bolts 36 are secured, off-set from each other by 180, these bolts being provided with generally olive-shaped heads 36 which slide in groove 35.
It is immediately apparent that when the sleeve 26 carries out its up-and-down movement through the action of cylinder C which drives it, heads 36 by moving in the successive Vs of groove 35, will force sleeve 26 to rotate about cylinder C. It should be noted that the rectilinear branches of groove 35 are connected to one another by curvilinear portions so that the olive-shaped heads 36 are caused to pivot on themselves when they reach the end of one branch to restart on the adjacent branch.
During the description of the engine operating cycle, it was seen that it is necessary to inject compressed air during phases III and IV and that this compressed air could easily be obtained by taking advantage of the movement of the movable cylinder-head C of movable cylinder C to act as a piston inside the guide G acting as a stationary cylinder and closed for this purpose at its upper end by a cylinder head G provided with an inlet valve and an exhaust pipe.
In the form of embodiment shown as an example in FIGURES 2 and 3, it will be seen that this cylinder-head G, has a dome-shape complementary to the cup shape of cylinder-head C of the movable cylinder. Moreover, inlet valve 37 is advantageously provided in the axis of cylinder-head G, while exhaust valve 38 is connected, by way of a pipe 39, to a reservoir accumulating compressed air. It is seen that the movable cylinder-head C,, will force air back into the said reservoir once in every complete operational cycle of the engine.
It should be noted that this source of compressed air may, in addition, be used to carry out servo control, such as that of the brakes, steering, etc. for example.
This pump can even be used as an engine braking device.
FIGURE 7 shows a modified form of the mechanical link between connecting-rods B and B In this variant the cupshaped part 5 has no bottom and the shaft 3,, of crank-shaft I is simply supported by the bearing 7 of plate 8, which no longer has inner teeth. Furthermore the planets 11 are also abolished and replaced by a single pinion 40 mounted loosely on a spindle 41 integral with a stationary support 42. The said pinion 4t) meshes constantly, on the one hand, with pinion 6 fixed to shaft 3 of crankshaft I, and, on the other, with a pinion 43 fixed to the connecting-shaft 21 between plates 17 and the two connecting-rods 13 by way of pinions 22 secured to the end of the said shaft 21.
It is obvious that, as in the preceding case, the ratios between the various pinions are so calculated that the connecting rod B rotates in an opposite direction to that of the connecting-rod B and at half its speed.
Referring to the form of embodiment according to FIGURE 7, it is possible to use the intermediate pinion 40 to drive a train of appropriate pinions to provide for the top speed of the vehicle.
The two lateral shafts 16 rotating at half the speed of shaft 3 of the central crank-shaft I can supply the starting and reverse speeds.
The addition of a supplementary reducing gear having,
for example, two combinations would make it possible to obtain four forward speeds in a particularly easy manner. It is to be understood that the present invention has only been described and shown purely by way of explanation and not in any limitative sense, and that modifications of detail can be carried out without falling outside the scope of the invention.
Thus, in particular, the application of the invention to an engine operating by self-ignition has been described hereinabove to bring out the possibilities of use of a compression ratio which is not comparable to those which may be used on conventional engines. It is of course possible to make use of the engine according to the invention with a much lower compression ratio and this would allow of a sparking plug being placed in cylinder-head C of the movable cylinder and to use pertol as fuel.
Then again, the air compressing device disposed at the upper end of the cylinder'head G,, of guide G may be abolished, the said guide G then being used as a normal cylinder of a two-stroke engine, the piston of the said engine consisting in this case of the cylinder-head C, of the movable cylinder. The rotating sleeve 26 will in this case be extended so as to ensure both intake and exhaust both in cylinder C and cylinder G.
It is possible to improve the efficiency of the engine according to the invention still further by emitting the air compressing device and using, on the contrary, in a closed chamber outside the cylinder-head G a system of the type used in the field of steam engines for reducing backpressure (atmospheric pressure). Thus, for example, a device for injecting water into a partial vacuum, as occurs during phase I of the engine operational cycle, and acting as it were as a condenser, could fulfill this purpose.
I claim:
1. A thermal engine comprising a stationary guide,
a movable cylinder closed at one end slidably mounted in said stationary guide,
a piston slidably mounted in said movable cylinder,
first and second crankshaft mans having mechanically linked means to connect them to each other,
a connecting rod connecting said piston to said first crankshaft means,
at least one side connecting rod connecting said movable cylinder to said second crankshaft means,
said at least one side connecting rod connected to said movable cylinder having a stroke longer than said connecting rod connected to said piston,
said mechanically linked means connected to said first and second crankshaft means to rotate said crankshaft means in opposite directions to each other and to rotate said first crankshaft means twice as fast as said second crankshaft means.
2. The thermal engine of claim 1, further characterized y means to supply fuel and comburent to said movable cylinder and to exhaust burnt gases from said movable cylinder including a sleeve selectively opening and closing inlet and exhaust ports,
said sleeve being disposed outside said movable cylinder and having runners sliding in a W-shaped groove formed in the inner surface of said stationary guide and causing said sleeve to rotate about said movable cylinder.
3. The thermal engine of claim 1, further characterized y said first and said second crankshaft means concentrically mounted in relation to each other.
4. The thermal engine of claim 3, further characterized y two lateral cups supporting said first crankshaft means,
said second crankshaft means including two lateral semi-crankshafts lodged in said two cups and supported, on the one hand by said cups, and on the other hand by the engine casing. 5. The thermal engine of claim 4, further characterized y means to supply fuel and comburent to said movable cylinder and to exhaust burnt gases from said movable cylinder including a sleeve selectively opening and closing inlet and exhaust ports, said sleeve being disposed outside said movable cylinder and having runners sliding in a W- shaped groove formed in the inner surface of said stationary guide and causing said sleeve to rotate about said movable cylinder.
References Cited 6 FOREIGN PATENTS 27,113 1/1907 Austria. 932,999 3/1947 France.
MARK M. NEWMAN, Primary Examiner. WENDELL E. BURNS, Examiner.
Claims (1)
1. A THERMAL ENGINE COMPRISING A STATIONARY GUIDE, A MOVABLE CYLINDER CLOSED AT ONE END SLIDABLY MOUNTED IN SAID STATIONARY GUIDE, A PISTON SLIDABLY MOUNTED IN SAID MOVABLE CYLINDER, FIRST AND SECOND CRANKSHAFT MANS HAVING MECHANICALLY LINKED MEANS TO CONNECT THEM TO EACH OTHER, A CONNECTING ROD CONNECTING SAID PISTON TO SAID FIRST CRANKSHAFT MEANS, AT LEAST ONE SIDE CONNECTING ROD CONNECTING SAID MOVABLE CYLINDER TO SAID SECOND CRANKSHAFT MEANS, SAID AT LEAST ONE SIDE CONNECTING ROD CONNECTED TO SAID MOVABLE CYLINDER HAVING A STROKE LONGER THAN SAID CONNECTING ROD CONNECTED TO SAID PISTON, SAID MECHANICALLY LINKED MEANS CONNETED TO SAID FIRST AND SECOND CRANKSHAFT MEANS TO ROTATE SAID CRANKSHAFT MEANS IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS TO EACH OTHER AND TO ROTATE SAID FIRST CRANKSHAFT MEANS TWICE AS FAST AS SAID SECOND CRANKSHAFT MEANS.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
FR994918 | 1964-11-13 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US3340858A true US3340858A (en) | 1967-09-12 |
Family
ID=8842479
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US500081A Expired - Lifetime US3340858A (en) | 1964-11-13 | 1965-10-21 | Thermal engine |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US3340858A (en) |
Cited By (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO1980002443A1 (en) * | 1979-05-07 | 1980-11-13 | P Lavaux | Internal combustion and injection thermal engine |
US4977864A (en) * | 1979-06-04 | 1990-12-18 | Grant Lloyd L | Diesel engine |
US5934228A (en) * | 1997-12-31 | 1999-08-10 | Wheat; Fred O. | Adjustable combustion chamber internal combustion engine |
US6341583B1 (en) * | 1997-12-27 | 2002-01-29 | Kil Jung Ryu | Torque increasing opposite direction engine |
US20100154749A1 (en) * | 2008-12-19 | 2010-06-24 | Claudio Barberato | Three-stroke internal combustion engine, cycle and components |
Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
AT27113B (en) * | 1905-07-17 | 1907-01-10 | Charles Y Knight | Explosive engine. |
FR932999A (en) * | 1941-09-22 | 1948-04-07 | Vickers Electrical Co Ltd | Improvements to internal combustion turbo-engines |
-
1965
- 1965-10-21 US US500081A patent/US3340858A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Patent Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
AT27113B (en) * | 1905-07-17 | 1907-01-10 | Charles Y Knight | Explosive engine. |
FR932999A (en) * | 1941-09-22 | 1948-04-07 | Vickers Electrical Co Ltd | Improvements to internal combustion turbo-engines |
Cited By (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO1980002443A1 (en) * | 1979-05-07 | 1980-11-13 | P Lavaux | Internal combustion and injection thermal engine |
FR2456212A1 (en) * | 1979-05-07 | 1980-12-05 | Lavaux Pierre | SIMULTANEOUS TIME HEAT ENGINE |
US4977864A (en) * | 1979-06-04 | 1990-12-18 | Grant Lloyd L | Diesel engine |
US6341583B1 (en) * | 1997-12-27 | 2002-01-29 | Kil Jung Ryu | Torque increasing opposite direction engine |
US5934228A (en) * | 1997-12-31 | 1999-08-10 | Wheat; Fred O. | Adjustable combustion chamber internal combustion engine |
US20100154749A1 (en) * | 2008-12-19 | 2010-06-24 | Claudio Barberato | Three-stroke internal combustion engine, cycle and components |
US8215268B2 (en) * | 2008-12-19 | 2012-07-10 | Claudio Barberato | Three-stroke internal combustion engine, cycle and components |
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