EP3760833A1

EP3760833A1 - Internal combustion engine

Info

Publication number: EP3760833A1
Application number: EP19461553.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Przemyslaw WOLNICKI
Original assignee: 3DGence Sp zoo
Current assignee: 3DGence Sp zoo
Priority date: 2019-07-03
Filing date: 2019-07-03
Publication date: 2021-01-06

Abstract

The subject of the present invention is an internal combustion engine comprising at least one cylinder (1) containing at least one piston (2) inside, which piston (2) together with the cylinder (1) and a closing surface form a combustion chamber (1a). At least one fuel valve (5a) and at least one exhaust valve (5b) are lead to the cylinder. The engine includes a control of the fuel valve (5a) and the exhaust valve (5b), and the piston (2) comprising a head section (2a) and an arm (2b) that are permanently connected to each other and fixed to each other, as well as an lubrication system and an oil sump (18). The engine further comprises rings (3) pivotally connected to the piston (2) arms (2b), the arm (2b) of each piston (2) being connected to a separate ring (3), the each ring (3) being located in a circular opening in a rim (4) separate for each ring (3), where the opening is offset relative to the symmetry axis of the rim (4), the rim (4) and the ring (3) being slidably connected to each other. The cylinder (1) is inside the area defined by the ring (3), and all the rims (4) are connected to each other.

Description

The invention relates to an internal combustion engine, in which preferably more than one piston works in one cylinder.

Prior art

There are known internal combustion engines which have two or more pistons in one cylinder, which share a combustion chamber.
PA 1 shows known in the prior art engine with three pistons working in one cylinder. The illustrated engine has a combustion chamber shared by all the pistons. The energy released in the combustion of the fuel mixture is transmitted through the pistons, connecting rods and further to the crankshafts. It should be noted that the engine has as many crankshafts as pistons in the cylinder. This engine comprises many crankshafts, which are components difficult in manufacturing. In addition, the crankshafts need to be synchronized, which additionally increases the mass and complicates the construction of the engine.
PA 2 shows another known in the prior art engine with three pistons working in one cylinder. The presented engine has a combustion chamber shared by all the pistons. In this engine, the energy from the combustion of the fuel mixture is transmitted through a rigid piston arm, the end of which contains a slider moving in a groove in a rotating wheel. The groove, together with the rotating wheel, acts as a crankshaft.

Summary of the invention

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide an engine that would have the advantages of the prior art solutions, while being easier to construct due to components of simpler geometry.
An internal combustion engine according to the invention comprises at least one cylinder containing at least one piston inside, which piston together with the cylinder and the closing surface form a combustion chamber. At least one fuel valve and at least one exhaust valve are lead to the cylinder. The engine includes a control of the fuel valve and the exhaust valve, and a piston comprising a head section and an arm that are permanently connected to each other and fixed to each other, as well as a lubrication system and an oil sump. The engine is characterised in that it further comprises rings pivotally connected to the piston arms, the arm of the each piston being connected to separate ring, the each ring being located in a circular opening in a rim separate for the each ring, where the opening is offset relative to the symmetry axis of the rim, the rim and the ring being slidably connected to each other. The cylinder is inside the area defined by the ring, and all the rims are connected to each other.
Preferably, the closing surface is formed by a cylinder head.
Preferably, the closing surface is formed by the surface of the head section of the subsequent piston, wherein at least two pistons are in one cylinder.
Preferably, the cylinder is made of at least two cylindrical sections, where the symmetry axes of the cylindrical sections meet at one point, with only one piston operating in each of the cylindrical sections.
Preferably, the cylinder has at least three cylindrical sections.
Preferably, the cylindrical sections are symmetrically arranged in relation to the point of intersection of the symmetry axes of the cylindrical sections, and preferably the symmetry axes of the cylindrical sections are spaced apart from each other by the same angle.
Preferably, the engine comprises at least two cylinders.
Preferably, the fuel valve and the exhaust valve are controlled by a camshaft, cams and rocker arms driven by the rim through a torque transmission system.
Preferably, the rim is connected to the power transmission system via an internal gear, preferably the power transmission system comprises the first gear, the pinion and the second gear.
Preferably, the power transmission system includes a flexible connector transmission, preferably implemented as a chain transmission, even more preferably a chain connects the second gear and the camshaft via a drive sprocket and a driven sprocket, where the drive sprocket is connected to the second gear, and the driven sprocket is connected to the camshaft.
Preferably, the fuel value and the exhaust valve are electric valves.
Preferably, a drive sleeve is located around the engine mount, preferably a rolling bearing is provided between the drive sleeve and the engine mount.
Preferably, the engine is characterised in that the drive sleeve is coupled to a drive shaft via a drive gear and a driven gear, where the drive gear is connected to the drive sleeve and the driven gear is connected to the drive shaft, preferably the drive shaft passes through a hole in the oil sump, more preferably rolling bearings are provided between the drive shaft and the oil sump.
Preferably, the oil sump is located around the rim and is connected to the engine mount. Preferably, the rim is an oil supply component, preferably to the camshaft or piston.

Preferred embodiment

The present invention is explained now in more detail in a preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying Drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 presents the relative positions of cylinders, pistons, rings and rim.
Fig. 1a presents the relative positions of the cylinder, piston, ring and rim, in a simplified view in individual steps of engine operation.
Fig. 2 presents the power transmission from the rim to the camshafts.
Fig. 3 presents a view of the engine with an oil sump attached.
Fig. 4 presents a view of the engine with attached oil sump in an oblique projection,
Fig. 5 presents a cross-section of the engine from Fig. 3, which shows the power transmission to the drive shaft.

Fig. 1 presents the positions of the cylinder 1, pistons 2, rings 3 and rims 4 in relation to each other. In the embodiment, the cylinder 1 is formed by three cylindrical parts 1b, which together with the head sections 2a of the pistons 2 form a combustion chamber 1a. The presented engine is a four-stroke engine, which can be a diesel engine or a spark-ignition engine. For the clarity of the drawing, the spark plugs or incandescent plugs are not shown, but it should be remembered that a person skilled in the art will know that these components should be taken into account while designing the engine.
In this embodiment, the engine comprises a cylinder 1 comprising three cylindrical sections 1b, which together with the head sections 2a of the pistons 2 form a combustion chamber 1a, wherein the symmetry axes of the symmetrical sections 1b meet at one point. The pistons 2 travel along the cylindrical sections 1b of the cylinder 1, which results in a change of the volume of the combustion chamber 1a. During the movement, the pistons 2 move in accordance with the operation steps typical of a four-stroke engine, i.e. suction, power where the piston moves away from the centre of the cylinder 1, and compression and exhaust, where the piston 2 travels towards the centre of the cylinder 1. In operation, the movement of the pistons 2 is correlated with the operation of the fuel valves 5a and the exhaust valves 5b via the camshafts 6, cams 7 and rocker arms 8, as shown in more detail in Fig. 2. It should be noted that in the case of a spark-ignition engine the ignition is synchronized with the movement of the pistons 2.
The engine should have at least one fuel valve 5a and at least one exhaust valve 5b for each cylinder 1.
It should be noted that the engine according to the invention may have a different number of cylinders. In the case of an engine with one piston 2 in the cylinder 1 it will be necessary to place a head that will close the combustion chamber 1a. It should also be noted that engines with, for example, two or four pistons in one cylinder are possible. The cylindrical sections 1b can be arranged arbitrarily, but preferably they are arranged symmetrically with respect to each other, and most preferably are spaced apart from each other by the same angle. This setting allows the run-out to be reduced and increases the culture of the engine operation as well as minimizes the impact on other elements of the structure.
The piston 2 comprises a head section 2a and an arm 2b. The head section 2a of the piston 2 limits the combustion chamber 1a and is in contact with the fuel mixture as well as receives the energy released upon ignition of the mixture. The arm 2b transmits the received energy from the ignition of the mixture to the ring 3 and transmits energy from the ring 3 in the remaining steps of engine operation. It should be noted that the arm 2b of the piston 2, in order to perform its function, must remain in the axis of the cylindrical section 1b. This means that the cylinder 1 and the piston 2 must be able to receive the degrees of freedom associated with the displacement and rotation of the arm 2b of the piston 2.
The arm 2b of the piston 2 is pivotally connected to the ring 3. The ring 3, together with the arm 2b of the piston 2, acts as a connecting rod of an internal combustion engine in a typical arrangement. The ring 3 is located in the eccentric hole in the rim 4. The ring 3 and the rim 4 are connected slidably to each other. During operation, the arm 2b of the piston 2, while moving, forces the movement of the ring 3, which in turn forces the rotation of the rim 4. In the present invention, the rim 4 acts as a crankshaft of a typical internal combustion engine. It should also be added that due to a high inertia, the rim 4 also acts as a flywheel.
Fig. 1a shows three steps of engine operation illustrating the cooperation of the piston 2, the ring 3 and the rim 4. For simplicity, the components are omitted that may hinder the understanding of the principle of engine operation. It should be noted that only one piston 2 is shown in Fig. 1a - the other pistons operate in the same way, all the elements operating with the subsequent pistons are rotated by 120 degrees in the axis of the centre 1c of the cylinder 1 with respect to the piston shown.
In step I, the piston 2 is seen in the farthest position relative to the centre 1c of the cylinder 1. In this position, the centre 3a of the ring 3 is located between the piston 2 and the centre 1c of the cylinder 1.
In step II, the ring has made a rotation and the piston 2 is located between the extreme positions. The centre 3a of the ring 3 is to the left of the piston 2. The angle between the arm 2b of the piston 2 and the ring 3 has changed, but the arm 2b of the piston 2 maintains the same orientation with respect to the cylinder 1.
In step III, the piston 2 is in the closest position to the centre 1c of the cylinder 1. The rim 4 has made a rotation and now the centre 3a of the ring 3 is located behind the centre 1c of the cylinder 1 relative to the piston 2. Assuming that at that moment work would take place as a result of the combustion of the fuel mixture, the piston 2 would be in a position analogous to that of step II. Given a high inertia of the rim 4, it would be able to pass, due to inertia, through the point where the piston 2 is in the closest position to the centre 1c of the cylinder 1, which would further allow energy to be received by the ring 3 and the piston 2 to move up.
Fig. 2 shows a system for power transmission from the rim 4 to the camshafts 6 via a chain transmission. In the embodiment, an internal gear 9 is attached to the rim 4, which cooperates with a first gear 10. The first gear 10 is connected to a pinion 11 so that these elements rotate with the same angular speed. The pinion 11 cooperates with a second gear 13 which is connected to a drive sprocket 14. The second gear 13 has the same angular speed as the drive sprocket 14, wherein the second gear 13 and the drive sprocket 14 are arranged on an engine mount 12 that acts as an axle. Then the drive sprocket 14, via a chain 15, transmits power to driven sprockets 6a, which are connected to the camshafts. It is to be noted that the axles for the first gear 10, the pinion 11, the second gear 13 and the drive sprocket 14 are on the axles that are stationary with respect to the cylinder 1 and the engine mount 12.
Fig. 3 shows an engine attached to an oil sump 18. In the embodiment, a drive sleeve 16 is seen which transmits torque from the rim to the drive shaft 19. The drive sleeve 16 surrounds the aforementioned components transmitting the torque from the rim 4 through the internal gear 9 to the camshafts 6. As with the second gear 13 and the drive sprocket 14, the engine mount 12 acts as an axle for the drive sleeve 16. A drive gear 17 is attached to the end of the sleeve. At the bottom of the engine there is an oil sump 18 that receives oil flowing from the engine, which oil goes then to the oil pump and filter, which are not shown in the Figure. For a better understanding, Fig. 4 shows the engine in an oblique projection in which the drive sleeve 16 is better seen with its relative position with respect to the components driving the camshafts 6.
Fig. 5 shows the transmission of power from the rim 4 to the drive shaft 19. As shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, the drive sleeve 16 is attached to the rim 4. The drive sleeve 16 is located around the engine mount 12, and a rolling bearing 20a is provided between these components. A drive gear 17 is attached to the drive sleeve 16, and inside the drive gear 17 there is a holder of the oil sump 18, which is not in contact with the drive gear 17. The drive gear 17 transmits torque from the rim 4 to the driven gear 19a which is a part of the drive shaft 19. The drive shaft 19 is led out through an opening in the oil sump 18. In addition, rolling bearings 20b, 20c are provided between the drive shaft 19 and the oil sump 18.
The illustrated embodiment assumes the use of one cylinder 1 and one rim 4. It is to be noted that it is possible to add further modules comprising cylinder 1, pistons 2, rings 3 and rim 4, which allows more power to be obtained. In a configuration with a larger number of cylinders, the modules are arranged so that the rims 4 have a common axis of rotation and are connected to each other. In this configuration, the cylinders 1 are also connected to each other. In addition, it should be noted that with a larger number of cylinders 1, where the operating cycles on subsequent cylinders are offset with respect to each other, it is possible to achieve a more regular engine work with a more stable torque generated on the drive shaft 19.
It should be noted that in the embodiment the control of the fuel valves 5a and the exhaust valves 5b is only exemplary and achievable in various ways. Various types of mechanical control are possible, which control will be coupled to the rim 4, but also electrically operated valves can be used.
The rim 4 may additionally be designed so as to enable, by means of it, to provide oil for the lubrication of the pistons 2, the camshafts 6 and other parts requiring lubrication. It should be noted that, for the clarity of the solution, the cooling and lubrication systems is not shown. A person skilled in the art will know that these components are indispensable components of an internal combustion engine and will know where and how these systems should be implemented. In the engine in question, solutions known in the art can be used for lubricating and cooling the engine. For the same reason, the injection and exhaust systems are not shown. A person skilled in the art will be able to design appropriate systems for the engine according to the invention.

List of markings

1: cylinder
1a: combustion chamber
1b: cylindrical section
1c: centre of the cylinder
2: piston
2a: head section
2b: arm
3: ring
3a: centre of the ring
4: rim
5a: fuel valve
5b: exhaust valve
6: camshaft
7: cam
8: rocker arm
9: internal gear
6a: driven sprocket
10: first gear
11: pinion
12: engine mount
13: second gear
14: drive sprocket
15: chain
16: drive sleeve
17: drive gear
18: oil sump
19: drive shaft
19a: driven gear
20a, 20b, 20c: rolling bearings

Claims

An internal combustion engine comprising at least one cylinder (1) containing at least one piston (2) inside, which piston (2) together with the cylinder (1) and a closing surface form a combustion chamber (1a), wherein at least one fuel valve (5a) and at least one exhaust valve (5b) are lead to the cylinder, where the engine includes a control of the fuel valve (5a) and the exhaust valve (5b), and the piston (2) comprising a head section (2a) and an arm (2b) that are permanently connected to each other and fixed to each other, as well as an lubrication system and an oil sump (18) characterised in that the engine comprises rings (3) pivotally connected to the piston (2) arms (2b), the arm (2b) of each piston (2) being connected to a separate ring (3), the each ring (3) being located in a circular opening in a rim (4) separate for each ring (3), where the opening is offset relative to the symmetry axis of the rim (4), the rim (4) and the ring (3) being slidably connected to each other, where the cylinder (1) is inside the area defined by the ring (3), and all the rims (4) are connected to each other.
The engine according to claim 1 wherein the closing surface is formed by a cylinder (1) head.
The engine according to claim 1 wherein the closing surface is formed by the surface of the head section (2a) of the subsequent piston (2), wherein at least two pistons (2) are in one cylinder (1).
The engine according to claim 3 wherein the cylinder (1) is made of at least two cylindrical sections (1b), where the symmetry axes of the cylindrical sections (1b) meet at one point, with only one piston (2) operating in each of the cylindrical sections (1b).
The engine according to claim 4 wherein the cylinder (1) has at least three cylindrical sections.
The engine according to claim 5 wherein the cylindrical sections (1b) are symmetrically arranged in relation to the point of intersection of the symmetry axes of the cylindrical sections (1b), preferably the symmetry axes of the cylindrical sections (1b) are spaced apart from each other by the same angle.
The engine according to any claim 1-6 wherein the engine comprises at least two cylinders (1).
The engine according to any claim 1-7 wherein the fuel valve (5a) and the exhaust valve (5b) are controlled by a camshaft (6), cams (7) and rocker arms (8) driven by the rim (4) through a torque transmission system.
The engine according to claim 8 wherein the rim (4) is connected to the power transmission system via an internal gear (9), preferably the power transmission system comprises the first gear (10), the pinion (11), and the second gear (13).
The engine according to claim 9 or 10 wherein the power transmission system includes a flexible connector transmission, preferably implemented as a chain transmission, even more preferably a chain (15) connects the second gear (13) and the camshaft (6) via a drive sprocket (14) and a driven sprocket (6a), where the drive sprocket (14) is connected to the second gear (13), and the driven sprocket (6a) is connected to the camshaft (6).
The engine according to any claim 1-7 wherein the fuel value (5a) and the exhaust valve (5b) are electric valves.
The engine according to any claim 1-11 wherein a drive sleeve (16) is located around the engine mount (12), preferably a rolling bearing (20a) is provided between the drive sleeve (16) and the engine mount (12).
The engine according to claim 12, wherein the drive sleeve (16) is coupled to a drive shaft (19) via a drive gear (17) and a driven gear (19a), where the drive gear (17) is connected to the drive sleeve (16) and the driven gear (19a) is connected to the drive shaft (19), preferably the drive shaft (19) passes through a hole in the oil sump (18), more preferably rolling bearings (20b, 20c) are provided between the drive shaft (19) and the oil sump (18).
The engine according to any claim 1-13 wherein the oil sump (18) is located around the rim (4) and is connected to the engine mount (12).
The engine according to any claim 1-14 wherein the rim (4) is an oil supply component, preferably to the camshaft (6) or piston (2).