JP5546382B2 - engine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an engine that generates power based on the pressure of a fluid such as air, steam, and oil. For example, an engine that generates power when a plurality of pistons circulate around an annular track under the pressure of the fluid. It is about.

  In general, a steam engine supplies high-pressure steam to a cylinder to linearly move a piston, converts the linear motion into a rotational motion by a crank mechanism, and rotates a drive shaft. Further, the direction of the linear motion of the piston is reversed by the inertial force of the flywheel provided in the crank mechanism, and the steam is discharged from the cylinder.

  However, the conventional steam engine as described above has a problem in that it cannot efficiently convert linear motion into rotational motion because energy loss occurs when the traveling direction of the piston is reversed in the crank mechanism. Further, when the steam discharged from the cylinder is released into the atmosphere, there is a problem that the rotation of the drive shaft becomes pulsating. Furthermore, there is a problem that the weight of the apparatus increases due to the flywheel, and a problem that the structure of the apparatus becomes complicated due to the crank mechanism.

  In order to solve the above problems, the applicant of the present application disclosed a double cylinder type engine in Patent Documents 1 and 2 below. In this engine, the rear chambers of two cylinders are connected by a connecting pipe, and working fluid is alternately introduced into the front chambers of both cylinders. When the pistons of the two cylinders reciprocate, the two racks alternately reciprocate in conjunction with this, and the gears meshing with the two racks rotate in both directions. This bidirectional rotational motion is transmitted to the drive shaft as a unidirectional rotational motion.

  According to said structure, the loss at the time of reversing the moving direction of a piston becomes very small compared with a crank mechanism. Further, since the steam is discharged from the other cylinder using the pressure of the steam introduced into one cylinder, the rotation of the drive shaft can be prevented from becoming pulsating. Furthermore, since a flywheel and a crank mechanism are not required, the apparatus can be reduced in weight and simplified.

Japanese Patent No. 38869992 Japanese Patent No. 4019098

  By the way, in the apparatuses shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2, since the reciprocating motion of the piston is basically used, some loss occurs when the moving direction of the piston is reversed. That is, the kinetic energy that has not been transmitted from the piston to the gear is lost.

  In general, in a device that generates power by reciprocating the piston, a volume of steam corresponding to the product of the moving distance of the piston and the cross-sectional area of the cylinder is consumed in one reciprocation. If the cross-sectional area of the cylinder is reduced in order to reduce the consumption of steam, the force that pushes the piston becomes smaller, so the power extracted from the steam becomes smaller. If the consumption of steam can be reduced without reducing the force pushing the piston, the conversion efficiency from steam pressure to power can be increased.

  Further, there is a steam turbine that rotates by blowing steam to blades that are attached in a ring around the rotating shaft. Since the outflow direction of the steam and the rotation direction of the blades are different, the angle formed by the outflow direction of the steam and the surface of the blades cannot be orthogonal (90 degrees), and is inclined at about 45 degrees. The conversion efficiency to rotation is reduced to 30% or less.

  This invention is made | formed in view of this situation, The objective is to provide the engine which can convert the pressure of a fluid into kinetic energy efficiently.

An engine according to the present invention is accommodated in a plurality of pistons having a rack portion, a block in which a hollow portion serving as a track for moving the plurality of pistons in an annular shape is formed, and the block. A rotation mechanism having gears meshing with the rack portion of the piston, a fluid introduction path for introducing fluid from the outside of the block to the cavity, and a fluid discharge path for discharging fluid from the cavity to the outside of the block It comprises. The wall forming the cavity portion in the block has a step portion that discontinuously widens the width of the cavity portion, and an inclined portion that gradually narrows the width of the cavity portion that spreads in the step portion. The fluid introduction path introduces fluid into the wide part of the hollow part by the step part.
The fluid introduced from the fluid introduction path into the wide portion of the hollow portion is gradually narrowed by the inclined portion as compared to a region where the width is discontinuously narrow before the stepped portion. Since it flows more to the wide part, the flow of fluid is biased in one direction. When pushed by the fluid flowing in one direction, the row of pistons moves in the cavity in one direction and rotates the gear of the rotating mechanism in one direction.

Preferably, the wall comes close to or abuts on the piston at a portion before the step portion where the wide portion starts.
Thereby, since the fluid which flows into the area | region where the width | variety is discontinuously narrowed by the said step part is blocked | prevented, the flow to the one direction of the fluid is strengthened.
Further, the wall may be close to or abut on the piston at the end portion of the inclined portion where the wide portion ends. This increases the pressure of the fluid received by the piston that has reached the end portion.

Preferably, at least a part of the side surfaces of the piston that come into contact with each other when moving in a row in the cavity has a plane substantially perpendicular to the track by the cavity.
As a result, the pressure of the fluid is received in the plane substantially perpendicular to the direction of the fluid flow, so that the pressure of the fluid is efficiently converted into the kinetic energy of the piston.

  Preferably, the fluid introduction path introduces fluid at one end of the wide part near the stepped part, and the fluid discharge path is at the other end of the wide part near the end of the inclined part. Drain the fluid.

  Preferably, the rotation mechanism is formed in two places with a partition wall provided in the block in between, and the hollow portion is a side wall provided around the rotation mechanism and the partition wall and the block. And is formed in a ring shape.

  Preferably, the step portion is provided on the cavity side of the side wall of the block, and the inclined portion is provided on an outer wall surface of the partition wall.

  Preferably, a part of the track of the hollow portion that guides the piston is meandering between the two rotation mechanisms, and the wide portion is formed in the meandering portion.

  Preferably, the block includes a lower block and an upper block stacked on the lower block, and the fluid introduction path and the fluid discharge path are provided in the upper block.

  According to the present invention, a plurality of pistons are configured to move in an annular manner by the pressure of the fluid, and power is obtained from the reciprocating motion of the piston rows. Will not occur and energy conversion efficiency can be improved.

  Further, according to the present invention, the direction of fluid pressure and the direction of movement of the piston are the same direction, and the surface receiving the pressure of the piston can be orthogonal to the pressure direction of the fluid, thereby further improving energy conversion efficiency. Can do.

It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the engine which concerns on this embodiment. It is a perspective view of the piston used for the engine of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the state which removed the piston from the engine of FIG. It is a figure explaining the state which attached the upper block to FIG. It is a side view of the engine shown in FIG. (A) And (b) is principal part sectional drawing of an engine for demonstrating introduction and discharge | emission of a high pressure fluid. (A) And (b) is a principal part top view of the engine for demonstrating introduction and discharge | emission of a high pressure fluid.

Hereinafter, an engine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an engine according to the present embodiment, and an upper block 7 described later is removed in order to illustrate the inside of the engine. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the piston 6, and FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the inside of the engine before the piston 6 is assembled. The engine includes two gears 3 a and 4 a rotatably attached to a plate-like lower block 1, rotating mechanisms 3 and 4 including rotating shafts 3 b and 4 b, and a plurality of pistons 6.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the metal-made lower plate block 1 is provided with a side wall 1 a surrounding the inner cavity 2. Inside the side wall 1a, two gears 3a and 4a spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance on the left and right are accommodated rotatably by the rotation shafts 3b and 4b. The diameters and tooth pitches of the two gears 3a and 4a are the same, but the attachment position to the block 1 is shifted in the vertical direction of the drawing.

  A partition wall 5 protruding from the bottom of the lower block 1 is formed between the two rotation mechanisms 3 and 4. The sides of the partition wall 5 facing the rotation mechanisms 3 and 4 are arcuate surfaces 5a and 5b along the cutting edges of the gears 3a and 4a, respectively. Further, on the side facing the side wall 1a of the lower block 1 of the partition wall 5, there are a straight portion 5c made of a surface parallel to the side wall 1a and an inclined portion 5d made of a surface inclined or curved with respect to the side wall 1a. Is provided. The height of the partition wall 5 is almost the same as the height of the side wall 1a.

The cavity 2 of the lower block 1 is an annular cavity that surrounds the rotating mechanisms 3 and 4 and the partition wall 5 at a constant interval. However, since the rotating mechanisms 3 and 4 are attached while being shifted, a part of the orbit of the hollow portion 2 meanders. A step portion 1 b is provided on the inner wall (the cavity portion 2 side) of the side wall 1 a surrounding the cavity portion 2. In the step portion 1b, the width of the cavity portion 2 becomes discontinuously wide. The wide portion 2a is formed in a portion where the orbit of the hollow portion 2 meanders. The wide portion 2 a starting from the step portion 1 b is gradually narrowed by the inclined portion 5 d of the partition wall 5. In the portion in front of the step portion 1b where the wide portion 2a starts, the width of the cavity portion 2 is narrow, and the inner wall of the side wall 1a is close to the piston 6 with almost no gap.
At the four corners of the lower block 1, through holes 1c for screwing the upper block 7 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, the metal rectangular parallelepiped piston 6 has a rack portion 6 a including four protrusions on one surface. The pitch of the teeth of the rack portion 6a is the same as that of the gears 3a and 4a of the rotating mechanisms 3 and 4, and is configured to engage with each other.
The side surfaces 6c of the pistons 6 that come into contact with each other when moving in a row in the cavity 2 are planes substantially perpendicular to the trajectory of the piston 6 by the cavity 2 and are almost perpendicular to the direction of fluid flow. become.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of pistons 6 are inserted in a row along the annular cavity 2 of the lower block 1. The individual pistons 6 are separated and not connected. Each piston 6 is slightly smaller than the width and height of the cavity 2 and fits almost without a gap. The piston 6 inserted around the gears 3a and 4a of the rotating mechanisms 3 and 4 has its rack portion 6a engaged with the gears 3a and 4a. Therefore, when the row of the pistons 6 moves through the hollow portion 2, the gears 3a and 4a rotate due to the meshing of the rack portion 6a, and the power is extracted from the rotary shafts 3b and 4b.

  FIG. 4 shows a structure in which a plate-like upper block 7 is attached on the lower block 1 shown in FIG. 1, and a part of the internal components are shown by broken lines. Since the upper block 7 covers the upper part of the cavity 2 of the lower block 1, the cavity 2 becomes a cylindrical track through which the piston 6 passes, and the airtightness of the cavity 2 is ensured. In the four corners of the upper block 7, through holes 7c for screwing to the lower block 1 are provided.

  FIG. 5 is a side view of the engine of FIG. As shown in the figure, the rotating shafts 3 b and 4 b of the rotating mechanisms 3 and 4 protrude from the surface of the upper block 1, and one rotating shaft 3 b is pivotally supported by the upper block 7. The other rotating shaft 4b further protrudes from the block 7, and a reel 8 for transmitting rotation to the tip is fixed.

  Further, two holes are formed on one edge side of the rectangular upper block 7. One is a fluid introduction path 7 a for introducing a high-pressure fluid into the cavity 2, and the other is a fluid discharge path 7 b for discharging the fluid from the cavity 2. The fluid introduction path 7a is provided close to the step portion 1b of the side wall 1a of the lower block 1, and the fluid discharge path 7b is provided at a position away from the fluid introduction path 7a by a predetermined distance. Although not particularly illustrated, a pressure source is attached to the fluid introduction path 7a, and after the high-pressure fluid is introduced into the track of the blocks 1 and 7, it is discharged from the fluid discharge path 7b.

Next, the operation of the engine having the above-described configuration will be described.
6 (a), 6 (b), 7 (a), and 7 (b) are an essential part cross-sectional view and an essential part top view of the engine for explaining introduction / discharge of the high-pressure fluid.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 7 (a), when high-pressure fluid is introduced into the fluid introduction path 7a of the upper block 7, the fluid is the step 1b of the lower block 1, the wall surface of the side wall 1a, and the piston. 6 fills the gap in the back surface 6b facing the rack portion 6a. In FIG. 7A, the fluid introduced from the fluid introduction passage 7a is blocked by the wall surface of the step portion 1b and the side wall 1a in the right direction and the downward direction, and the rack portion 6a of the piston 6 is separated by the partition wall 5 in the upper direction. Since it abuts against the straight portion 5c, the back surface 6b of the piston 6 is completely blocked. Therefore, the side surface 6c of the piston 6 in the left direction is pressed. As a result, the fluid flows while moving the left piston 6 in the left direction, and is discharged to the outside when the fluid reaches the fluid discharge path 7b as shown in FIGS. 6B and 7B.

  When the fluid is discharged from the fluid discharge path 7 b, the next piston 6 is guided along the inclined portion 5 d of the partition wall 5 to the side wall 1 a side of the cavity portion 2. That is, as the piston 6 that has entered the wide portion 2a of the hollow portion 2 moves along the wide portion 2a that is gradually narrowed by the inclined portion 5d, the side surface 6c of the piston 6 becomes perpendicular to the direction of fluid flow. Will effectively receive the pressing force.

As described above, according to the engine according to the present embodiment, the orbit of the cavity portion 2 is formed in the blocks 1 and 7 so that the plurality of pistons 6 are moved in an annular manner. On the top, a fluid introduction path 7a and a fluid discharge path 7b such as steam are formed. The fluid introduced into the wide portion 2a of the hollow portion 2 from the fluid introduction path 7a has a width that is gradually narrowed by the inclined portion 5d as compared to a region where the width is discontinuously narrowed by the step portion 1b. Since more flows to 2a, the fluid flow is biased in one direction. By being pushed by the fluid flowing in one direction, the row of pistons 6 moves in one direction in the cavity 2 and rotates the gears 3a, 4 of the rotating mechanisms 3, 4 in one direction. The fluid moving together with the piston 6 is discharged from the inside of the blocks 1 and 7 to the outside by the fluid discharge path 7b provided on the downstream side.
Therefore, in the engine according to the present embodiment, as in the conventional engine in which the piston 6 is reciprocated by rotating the gears 3a and 4a of the rotating mechanisms 3 and 4 based on the circular motion of the piston 6 in the annular track. The loss associated with the reversal of the moving direction of the piston does not occur at all, so that the energy conversion efficiency can be increased.

  Further, in the engine according to the present embodiment, since a plurality of pistons 6 move in a row inside the blocks 1 and 7 where fluid is introduced and discharged, only one piston moves in the cylinder. Compared with the method, the consumption of fluid can be greatly reduced. That is, in the method using only one piston, in order to move the piston by a certain distance, a fluid having a volume corresponding to the product of the moving distance and the cross-sectional area of the cylinder is consumed. On the other hand, in the system of the present invention using a plurality of pistons 6, the subsequent pistons 6 enter one after another into the space after the movement of a certain piston 6. Only the difference between the volume corresponding to the product of the distance and the cross-sectional area of the orbit of the cavity 2 and the volume of the subsequent piston 6 is obtained. Therefore, in this engine, since the consumption of steam can be reduced without reducing the cross-sectional area of the cylinder as in the conventional system, the energy conversion efficiency can be increased.

  In the engine according to the present embodiment, the direction of movement of each piston 6 and the direction of fluid flow are always the same, and the surface (side surface 6c) that receives the pressure of the piston 6 is orthogonal to the direction of fluid flow. Therefore, the fluid pressure can be efficiently converted into the kinetic energy of the piston 6.

  Further, in the engine according to the present embodiment, the wall (side wall 1a) forming the cavity portion 2 is close to the piston 6 with almost no gap in the portion before the step portion 1b where the wide portion 2a starts. Thereby, the fluid flowing into the region in front of the stepped portion 1b is effectively blocked, so that the direction of fluid flow can be concentrated on the wide portion 2 side that gradually narrows by the inclined portion 5d.

  Moreover, in the engine which concerns on this embodiment, since it can assemble | attach only by arranging in the annular | circular cavity 2 of the block 1 separately in the state which isolate | separated several piston 6, it can assemble easily.

  Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  In the engine shown in FIG. 1, the description has been made using the rectangular parallelepiped piston 6. However, there are shapes that take into consideration the shape for smoothly moving the trajectory of the cavity 2 and the shape for efficiently receiving the fluid pressure. Conceivable. For example, the portion excluding the rack portion may be cylindrical.

  In the engine shown in FIG. 1, a linearly inclined surface is illustrated as an example of the inclined portion 5 d of the partition wall 5 in the block 1, but the inclined portion 5 only needs to have a shape that can smoothly guide the piston 6. Other suitable shapes such as a curved surface may be used.

  In the example of FIG. 5, one of the two rotation mechanisms 3 and 4 is not used for energy conversion, but may be used for energy conversion by projecting the rotating shaft 3b in the same manner as the other. The number of rotation mechanisms is arbitrary, and may be one or three or more.

  In the example of FIG. 4, the fluid discharge path 7b is provided near the end of the inclined part 5d where the wide part 2a ends. However, the fluid discharge path may be provided further downstream.

  As mentioned above, although various embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited only to said form, Various modifications are included.

  The present invention is widely applicable to devices that generate a rotational motion based on the pressure of a high-pressure fluid such as steam or oil.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Lower block, 1a ... Side wall, 1b ... Step part, 2 ... Cavity part, 2a ... Wide part, 3, 4 ... Rotation mechanism, 3a, 4a ... Gear, 3b, 4b ... Rotating shaft, 5 ... Partition wall, 5c ... Linear part, 5d ... Inclined part, 6 ... Piston, 6a ... Rack part, 6c ... Side face, 7 ... Upper block, 7a ... Fluid introduction path, 7b ... Fluid discharge path

Claims (8)

A plurality of pistons having a rack portion;
A block in which a hollow portion serving as a trajectory for moving the plurality of pistons in a ring is formed;
A rotation mechanism including a gear housed in the block and meshing with a rack portion of the piston;
A fluid introduction path for introducing fluid from the outside of the block to the cavity,
A fluid discharge path for discharging fluid from the cavity to the outside of the block;
Comprising
A wall forming the cavity in the block;
A step portion discontinuously widening the width of the hollow portion;
An inclined portion that gradually narrows the width of the hollow portion that spreads in the step portion;
Have
The fluid introduction path introduces fluid into the wide part of the cavity by the step;
engine. In the portion in front of the step portion where the wide portion starts, the wall approaches or abuts the piston.
The engine according to claim 1. At least some of the side surfaces of the pistons that contact each other when moving in a row in the cavity have a plane that is substantially perpendicular to the trajectory by the cavity;
The engine according to claim 2. The fluid introduction path introduces fluid at one end of the wide portion close to the step;
The fluid discharge path discharges fluid at the other end of the wide portion near the end of the inclined portion;
The engine according to claim 2 or 3. The rotation mechanism is formed in two places with a partition wall provided in the block in between,
The hollow portion is formed in an annular shape between the rotation mechanism and the partition wall and a side wall provided around the block.
The engine according to any one of claims 2 to 4. The step is provided on the cavity side of the side wall of the block;
The inclined portion is provided on an outer wall surface of the partition wall;
The engine according to any one of claims 2 to 5. A part of the orbit of the hollow portion that guides the piston is meandering between the two rotating mechanisms, and the wide portion is formed in the meandering portion.
The engine according to any one of claims 2 to 6. The block
The lower block,
An upper block stacked on the lower block;
Including
The fluid introduction path and the fluid discharge path are provided in the upper block,
The engine according to any one of claims 1 to 7.