WO2021070199A1 - An internal combustion engine - Google Patents

An internal combustion engine Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2021070199A1
WO2021070199A1 PCT/IN2020/050864 IN2020050864W WO2021070199A1 WO 2021070199 A1 WO2021070199 A1 WO 2021070199A1 IN 2020050864 W IN2020050864 W IN 2020050864W WO 2021070199 A1 WO2021070199 A1 WO 2021070199A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
piston
pistons
internal combustion
combustion engine
pair
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IN2020/050864
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Vipulkumar Dhirubhai Patel
Original Assignee
Vipulkumar Dhirubhai Patel
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Vipulkumar Dhirubhai Patel filed Critical Vipulkumar Dhirubhai Patel
Publication of WO2021070199A1 publication Critical patent/WO2021070199A1/en

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Classifications

    • 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
    • F02B53/00—Internal-combustion aspects of rotary-piston or oscillating-piston engines
    • F02B53/02—Methods of operating
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F01—MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; STEAM ENGINES
    • F01B—MACHINES OR ENGINES, IN GENERAL OR OF POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT TYPE, e.g. STEAM ENGINES
    • F01B5/00—Reciprocating-piston machines or engines with cylinder axes arranged substantially tangentially to a circle centred on main shaft axis
    • F01B5/006—Reciprocating-piston machines or engines with cylinder axes arranged substantially tangentially to a circle centred on main shaft axis the connection of the pistons with an actuated or actuating element being at the inner ends of the cylinders
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F01—MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; STEAM ENGINES
    • F01C—ROTARY-PISTON OR OSCILLATING-PISTON MACHINES OR ENGINES
    • F01C9/00—Oscillating-piston machines or engines
    • 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
    • F02B75/00—Other engines
    • F02B75/16—Engines characterised by number of cylinders, e.g. single-cylinder engines
    • F02B75/18—Multi-cylinder engines
    • F02B75/24—Multi-cylinder engines with cylinders arranged oppositely relative to main shaft and of "flat" type
    • 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
    • F02B75/00—Other engines
    • F02B75/32—Engines characterised by connections between pistons and main shafts and not specific to preceding main groups
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02T—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
    • Y02T10/00—Road transport of goods or passengers
    • Y02T10/10—Internal combustion engine [ICE] based vehicles
    • Y02T10/12—Improving ICE efficiencies

Definitions

  • the present subject matter in general relates to engines and in particular relates to a reciprocating internal combustion engine comprising radially opposed pistons.
  • a two-stroke or two-cycle engine is a type of internal combustion engine which completes a power cycle with two strokes, i.e. up and down movements, of the piston during one crankshaft revolution only. This is in contrast to a "four-stroke engine", which requires four strokes of the piston to complete a power cycle during two crankshaft revolutions.
  • the end of the combustion stroke and the beginning of the compression stroke happen simultaneously, with the intake and exhaust (or scavenging) functions occurring at the same time.
  • IN2004K000386A discloses a 4 stroke internal combustion engine with a piston assembly comprising a housing provided with an assembly of rotating pistons, preferably at least a pair of rotating pistons forming air tight chambers in the housing and a speed control means mounted on the housing for controlling speed of the rotating pistons in the housing.
  • W02006003678A1 also discloses a 4-stroke engine which has a piston assembly comprising of an assembly of pistons having a pair of rotating pistons provided in a cylindrical housing and a speed control mechanism for controlling the speed of the pistons.
  • W02019075077A1 discloses a toroidal combustion engine comprising a first and second toroidal cylinder which shares a common intersection to define a combustion chamber.
  • Each toroidal cylinder carries a piston set, which rotates about circular paths disposed in planes perpendicular to each other.
  • conventional engines are still not affordable to masses apart from having a bulky and complex construction.
  • conventional internal combustion engines require frequent maintenance, thereby further leading to maintenance and service costs.
  • conventional internal combustion engines are faced with challenges of low power density and efficiency apart from high cost of manufacturing. Piston side thrust and friction are other problems that are prevalent in conventional internal combustion engines.
  • conventional internal combustion engines derive limited power and in order to increase power of an engine, it is necessary to increase its size. Hence, power to weight ratio of a conventional engine is quite less.
  • fuels such as Petrol, Natural Gas, LPG, Diesel Bio-Diesel, Landfill gas and other gaseous/liquid fuels.
  • the present invention provides an internal combustion (I.C.) engine mechanism which operates by angularly oscillating one or more pairs of pistons in a toroidal chamber defined by a housing or by a section of hollow toroid.
  • the pistons are attached to respective piston-arms, which are further attached rigidly to respective oscillating shafts.
  • a connecting-arm which is rigidly mounted on to the oscillating shaft also oscillates by the same angular motion, which in turn rotates the crankshaft, thereby resulting in power generation.
  • the subject matter relates to an internal combustion engine.
  • the internal combustion engine comprises a curved chamber for accommodating a plurality of pistons, the plurality of pistons comprising at least one pair of pistons defining a combustion chamber there between; an igniting means for igniting fuel inside said combustion chamber; and at least one pair of piston arms for supporting said pair of pistons, the piston arms of said at least one pair of piston arms configured to oscillate independently of each other and to move said pair of pistons towards and away from each other in said curved chamber for performing the defined strokes of the internal combustion engine.
  • the curved chamber comprises a toroidal chamber defined by a housing and/or toroidal liner.
  • At least one pair of piston arm comprises at least two pairs of pistons located opposite to each other in said curved chamber.
  • one piston arm of the at least one pair of piston arms supports at least one piston of the at least one pair of pistons and the other piston arm of the at least one pair of piston arms supports at least the other piston of the at least one pair of pistons.
  • the piston mounted on one piston arm and the corresponding piston mounted on the second piston arm defines the combustion chamber.
  • the piston arms and the pistons are configured to define two combustion chambers opposite to each other in the curved chamber.
  • piston arms and the pistons are configured to operate independently of each other such that opposite pairs of pistons perform compression stroke and expansion stroke alternatively.
  • each piston arm comprises a centrally located oscillating shaft for transferring connecting with one end of a connecting arm.
  • the internal combustion engine further comprises a connecting rod, a small end of which is attached to the other end of the connecting arm.
  • the internal combustion engine further comprises a crankshaft attached to the big end of connecting rod.
  • Figure 1 shows a three-dimensional view of a piston of an internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 2 shows a three-dimensional view of a piston-arm with oscillating shaft of an internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 3 shows a three-dimensional view of a piston fastened to a piston-arm of an internal combustion engine to form a piston-arm assembly in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 4 shows a three-dimensional view of the assembly of two piston-arm assemblies placed in an angular orientataion with each other in an internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 5 a shows side view of a first partof a housing of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 5b shows side view of a second part of a housing of the internal combustion engine from the other side in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 6a shows a pair of piston-arm assembly enclosed in the first part of the housing of the internal combustion engine from one side in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 6b shows a pair of piston and piston-arm assembly enclosed in two side housings of the internal combustion engine from both sides in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 7 shows a three-dimensional view of a connecting-arm of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 8 shows a three-dimensional view of a connecting-rod of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 9a shows the connecting-arm mounted on the piston assembly pair of the internal combustion engine enclosed in the side housings in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 9b shows the piston and piston-arm with connecting-arm assemblywithout the housing of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 10a shows a connecting-rod connected to a connecting-arm on piston assembly pair enclosed in the side housing of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 10b shows the connecting-rod connected to the connecting-arm of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 11 shows a crankshaft subassembly of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 12 shows a crankshaft assembly of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 13a shows the crankshaft connected into the assembly through a connecting-rod of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 13b shows the arrangement of Figure 13a without side housings to clearly depict the arrangement of Figure 13a in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 14 shows a pair of pistons, piston-arm, connecting-arm, connecting-rod, full crankshaft assembly without side housings of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 15 shows a pair of piston, piston-arm, connecting- arm, connecting-rod, full crankshaft assembly of the internal combustion engine with one of the side housing from side view in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 16 shows the formation of four-bar link mechanism by the assembly in the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 17 shows an exploded view of the internal combustion engine of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 18 shows two chambers formed by arranging of two pair of pistons and side housings of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG 19 shows working of the internal combustion engine, with pistons in compression stroke, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 20 shows working of the internal combustion engine with pistons of the internal combustion engine finishing their compression stroke in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figures 21 and 22 show a front view and a three-dimensional view of a piston-arm with oscillating shaft of an internal combustion engine in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 23 shows a three-dimensional view of a piston fastened to a piston-arm of an internal combustion engine to form a piston-arm assembly in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 24 shows a three-dimensional view of the assembly of two piston-arm assemblies placed in an angular orientataion with each other in an internal combustion engine in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 25 shows a pair of pistons, piston-arm, connecting-arm, connecting-rod, full crankshaft assembly without side housings of the internal combustion engine in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 26 shows two chambers formed by arranging of two pair of pistons and side housings of the internal combustion engine in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 27 shows working of the internal combustion engine, with pistons in compression stroke, in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 28 shows working of the internal combustion engine with pistons of the internal combustion engine finishing their compression stroke in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 29 shows the toroidal liner that can be employed to form combustion chamber to eliminate combustion gas leakage and improve engine performance, efficiency & emissions.
  • compositions, an element or a group of elements are preceded with the transitional phrase "comprising”, it is understood that we also contemplate the same composition, element or group of elements with transitional phrases “consisting essentially of, “consisting”, “selected from the group of consisting of, “including”, or “is” preceding the recitation of the composition, element or group of elements and vice versa.
  • the invention provides an internal combustion (I.C.) engine mechanism and an engine thereof, which is technically advanced as compared to conventional 2-stroke and 4-stroke I.C. engines.
  • the engine according to the present invention offers numerous benefits, such as compact design, light weight, high power density, low cost of manufacturing and better efficiency.
  • the I.C. engine according to the present invention can be used with various fuels such as Petrol, Natural Gas, LPG, Diesel, Bio- Diesel, Landfill gas and other gaseous/liquid fuels.
  • the configuration of the engine eliminates the piston sidethrust forceon the cylinder, thereby reducing thefriction as compared to conventional 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines.
  • the I.C. engine of the invention also eliminates use of intake/exhaust valves and associated valvetrain components.
  • the present engine eliminates several other parts, thereby making the overall structure less complex and simpler. Consequently, the engine according to the present inventionrequires substantially less expenses in manufacturing and is light weight in construction.
  • the I.C. engine according to the present invention works on the principle of opposed pistonsengines. This results in high power production as compared to conventional I.C. engines of similar sizes.
  • the power to weight ratio of the present engine is substantially higher as compared to conventional engines.
  • the concept of the present I.C. engine has a completely different mechanism than conventional I.C. engines at least with respect to reciprocating motion of the piston.
  • piston reciprocates in a toroidal chamber with angular motion.
  • the mechanism eliminates the side thrust generated in conventional I.C. engines. This construction eliminates user of several parts of conventional I.C. engines, resulting in a very compact mechanism.
  • the present invention provides a reciprocating internal combustion engine comprising a plurality of radially opposed pistons.
  • an exploded view of the internal combustion engine (hereinafter referred to as I.C. engine) is depicted in Figure 17.
  • the I.C. engine 100 is manufactured from a plurality of components, comprising but not limited to, a plurality of pistons 1, a plurality of piston-arms 2, an oscillating shaft 4, one or more side housings 5, an intake port 7, an exhaust ports 8, a port 9 for spark plug, a connecting arm 10, a connecting rod 11, a crankpin 12 and a crankshaft 13.
  • the piston 1 has a curved configuration for its movement in a curved chamber 6 having a toroidal shaped configuration.
  • the curved chamber 6 is defined by the side housings 5, as shown in Figures 18 to 20 or by placing the toroidal liner 6’ at the location.
  • the piston 1 comprises a piston through hole H that aligns with a respective piston-arm through hole FF provided at the end of the piston-arm 2, a three-dimensional view of which is depicted in Figure 2. As shown in
  • the piston-arm 2 comprises a piston-arm through hole H’ at each of its end.
  • One piston 1 with the piston through hole H is mounted on each end of the piston-arm 2 such that the piston through hole H aligns with the piston-arm through hole H’.
  • Each piston 1 is mounted at the end of the piston-arm 2 by means of a piston pin (not shown) or by any other fastening means.
  • the piston-arm 2 further comprises an oscillating shaft 4 at its central portion.
  • the piston-arm 2 comprises S-shaped configuration with the oscillating shaft 4 protruding in the transverse direction from its central section.
  • the oscillating shaft 4 comprises a plurality of splines Son its surface for locking the oscillating shaft 4 with the big end of the connecting arm 10 with matching spline or any other means which is depicted in Figure7.
  • Figure 3 illustrates a three-dimensional view of a piston-arm assembly 3 that comprises the assembly of one piston 1 on opposite ends of one piston-arm 2.
  • two piston-arm assemblies 3 comprising a first piston-arm assembly 3 a and a second piston-arm assembly 3b are provided to make a pair of opposing piston assemblies, as shown in Figure 4.
  • Figure 4 illustrates a three-dimensional view of a first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b attached to each other in accordance with the present embodiment of the invention.
  • the first piston-arm assembly 3 a and the second piston-arm assembly3b are placed in an offset manner in their angular orientation with respect to each other in an embodiment.
  • first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b are located in an angular orientation of about 90 degrees from each other as depicted in Figure 4.
  • angular orientation of the first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b is not restricted to 90 degrees and may include orientation in any other angle without deviating from the scope of the present invention.
  • the first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b are enclosed in a housing 5 comprising a first part 5a and a second part 5b, as shown in Figures 5a and 5b.
  • the first part 5a and the second part 5b of the housing 5 accommodate the first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b sides laterally.
  • the assembly of the first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b inside the first part 5a of the housing 5 is depicted in Figure 6a.
  • Figure 6b shows assembly of the first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b within the first part 5a and the second part 5b of the housing 5.
  • the two-sided housings 5 comprising the first part 5a and the second part 5b, cover the first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b from both the sides laterally, thereby forming a hollow toroidal shaped chamber 6, as shown in Figures 18 to 20, within which the pistons lreciprocate in an angular manner around oscillating shaft4 axis within a predefined angle.
  • the hollow toroidal shaped chamber 6 can also be formed by placing the toroidal liner 6’ in between the housing 5a and 5b.
  • the first part 5a of the housing 5 comprises intake ports 7 and exhaust ports 8 as well as intake manifolds 15 and exhaust manifolds 16 built into it, as shown in Figure 5a.
  • the second part 5b of side housing 5 also comprises a port 9, as shown in figure 5b, to accommodate a fuel igniting means.
  • the fuel igniting means comprises a spark plug in case of a spark ignited engine or one or more fuel injectors in case of a compression ignited engine configuration.
  • the locations, size and shape of the intake ports 7, exhaust ports 8 and means of igniter port 9 of the housing matched on the toroidal liner 6’ to align the same.
  • Figure 7 illustrates a three-dimensional view of the connecting-arm 10 comprising a first end 10a and a second end 10b.
  • the first end 10a of the connecting-arm 10 is rigidly mounted onto the oscillating shaft4 of the first piston-arm assembly 3a, as shown in Figures 9a and 9b.
  • Figure 9a illustrates a three-dimensional view of the connecting-arm 10 mounted on the oscillating shaft 4 when the first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b are assembled inside the housing 5.
  • Figure 9b depicts a three-dimensional view of the connecting-arm 10 mounted on the oscillating shaft 4 without the first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b.
  • Figure 8 illustrates a three-dimensional view of the connecting-rod 11 comprising the big end B and a small end S.
  • the small end S is attached to the second end 10b of the connecting-arm 10 by means of a pin joint (not shown) in an embodiment.
  • Figure 10a shows the assembly of the connecting-rod 11 with the connecting-arm 10 such that the small end S of the connecting-rod 11 is pivotably attached to the second end 10b of the connecting-arm 10.
  • connecting-rod assembly 14 The assembly of the connecting-arm 10 and the connecting-rod 11, as shown in Figure 10b, is referred to as the connecting-rod assembly 14 for the purpose of the present description.
  • the connecting-rod assembly 14 is depicted without the housing 5 in Figure 10b for the sake of clarity.
  • Figure 11 depicts a three-dimensional view of a portion of the crankshaft 13 comprising the crank pin
  • Figure 12 depicts a three-dimensional view of the complete crankshaft 13.
  • Figure 13a depicts the connection of the connecting -rod 11 to the crank pin 12 of the crankshaft 13.
  • Figure 13b shows the connection of the connecting-rod 11 to the crankpin 12 without the housing for the purpose of clarity.
  • Figure 14 illustrates a three-dimensional view of assembly of the first piston-arm assembly 3 a, the second piston-arm assembly 3b, the connecting-arm 10, the connecting-rod 11 and the crankshaft 13 without the housing.
  • Figure 15 illustrates the assembly of Figure 14 enclosed within the housing 5 in an embodiment of the present subject matter.Firgure-16 shows the formation of four bar link mechanism formed by the connecting-arm 10, the connecting-rod 11, the crankshaft 13 and the housing 5. There are two such four-bar mechanisms in an internal combustion engine according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. While housing 5 forms the link LI, the crankshaft forms link L2, the connecting-rod forms link L3 and the connecting-arm forms link L4.
  • Figure 17 depicts the exploded view of the entire internal combustion engine assembly 100.
  • FIGS 18 to 20 illustrate working of the internal combustion engine assembly 100 of the invention in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention.
  • the internal combustion engine 100 works by angularly oscillating the pistons 1,1 in the toroidal chamber 6, 6 formed by the first part 5a and the second part 5b of the housing5and or by placing the toroidal liner 6’ at the location of toroidal chamber 6.
  • the pistons 1, 1 are attached at the ends of the piston-arm2 wherein the oscillating shaft 4 is rigidly connected to said piston-arms 2.
  • the connecting-arms 10 oscillate by the same angular position.
  • the connecting-armlO behaves as the link L4, the crankshaft 13 as link L2 and the connecting -rod 11 is link L3.
  • the housing 5 that houses the oscillating shafts 4 and the crankshaft 13 becomes the grounded link LI.
  • the connecting-arm 10 (link L4) oscillates angularly along with pistons 1, the connecting -rod 11 (link L3) transmits the force from the piston 1 via piston- arm 2 and the oscillating shaft4 to the connecting-arm 10 and finally on to the crankshafts 13. This enables the crankshaft 13 to rotate, thereby leading to generation of power.
  • the geometry of the four- bar link mechanism determines the angular motion of the pistons 1 and hence, of the connecting-arm 10 (link L4).
  • the lengths of each link can be determined based on the desired engine specifications.
  • the piston travel angle is determined by the lengths of connecting-armlO, the connecting-rodll, the crank radius and the distance between the axis of oscillating shaft 4 and crankshaft 13.
  • the housings 5 form a hollow toroid passage due to the semicircle cross section of each part 5a and 5b.
  • the two parts 5a and 5b of the housing 5 When the two parts 5a and 5b of the housing 5 are assembled, they form hollow toroid passage 6 with full circle cross section.
  • one or more toroidal liners 6’ are provided inside the hollow toroidal section 6 to prevent any possibility of leakage of combustion gases from the joint of the first part 5a and the second part 5b of the housing 5, which define the toroidal section 6, in the assembled state.
  • a perspective view of the toroidal liner 6’ according to an embodiment of the present invention is depicted in Figure 29.
  • toroidal liner 6 ensures that combustion chamber defined by the toroidal chamber 6 is jointless, thereby leading to an improvement in various parameters of the engine, such as performance, emission, efficiency etc.
  • the toroidal liners described herein can also be manufactured as a section of hollow toroid chamber 6 in an embodiment.
  • the pistons 1 oscillate angularly inside the hollow toroid passage 6.
  • the housing 5 also comprises ports created into the hollow toroid. These ports allow air/combustion gases pass through them.
  • the ports comprise the intake ports 7 and the exhaust ports8.
  • the intake ports 7 allow entry of air or fuel-air mixture inside the toroidal passage 6 and exhaust ports 8 allows the combustion gases release as exhaust gases after completion of the power stroke.
  • the opening and closing of these ports 7, 8 depend on position of the pistons 1 as the pistons 1 either cover or uncover respective ports for entry of air or fuel-air mixture inside the toroidal passage 6 or release of exhaust gases from the engine 100.
  • an external force is used to rotate the crankshaft 13 in an embodiment.
  • means for self-starting the engine without external power may be employed.
  • pistons 1 start oscillating angularly in a predefined angle in the toroidal chamber 6 formed by the housing5.
  • the angle of motion of piston 1 is determined by the geometry of the four-bar mechanism.
  • the pistons 1 on one piston- arm assembly 3 move in one direction and the pistons 1 on the other piston-arm assembly 3 move in opposite direction within the toroidal chamber 6. Therefore, the pistons 1 according to the present embodiment, either move towards each other or away from each other during oscillation.
  • the pistons 1 move away from each other and the exhaust ports8 are opened by the exhaust pistons.
  • two exhaust pistons are provided in the internal combustion engine 100 as they uncover the exhaust ports8, as shown in Figure 18. This allows the gases under pressure to escape out of the engine 100.
  • intake ports7 are opened in the same manner by the intake pistons.
  • the said intake pistons allow fresh charge, in case of a spark ignited engine, or fresh air, in case of compression ignition (diesel) engine, to enter the toroidal chamber 6 as shown in Figure 18.
  • two intake pistons are provided in the engine 100.
  • crankshaft 13 results in movement of the pistons 1 in the toroidal chamber 6 in such a way that the pistons 1 cover the exhaust port 8and the intake ports 7, thereby closing them.
  • the air/charge gets trapped within the chamber that is formed by pistons 1 and the hollow toroid passage 6 inside the housing andundergoes compression, as shown in Figure 19.
  • This stroke is termed as the compression stroke of the engine.
  • two pistons l will be closest to each other, as shown in Figure 20.
  • the fuel mixed with air gets ignited and a very high pressure is generated within the toroidal combustion chamber formed by the pistons 1 and the hollow toroid passage of the housing 5.
  • the pressure of gas pushes the pistons 1 away from each other.
  • This stroke is termed as the expansion stroke(or power stroke) of the engine.
  • the exhaust port 8 and the intake ports 7 are opened and the cycle is repeated until interrupted.
  • the force generated by high-pressure combustion gases inside the engine is transferred to the crankshaft 13 via connecting-arms 10 and connecting -rodsl 1. This generates torque and hence, power onto crankshaft 13 that can be utilized for various purpose.
  • each pair of pistons 1 defines a toroidal combustion chamber 6 therebetween and a fuel igniting means comprising a spark plug in case of a spark ignited engine or one or more fuel injectors in case of a compression ignited engine configuration being provided for each toroidal combustion chamber 6.
  • a fuel igniting means comprising a spark plug in case of a spark ignited engine or one or more fuel injectors in case of a compression ignited engine configuration being provided for each toroidal combustion chamber 6.
  • two pairs of pistons 1 are provided, which define two toroidal combustion chambers 6 opposite to each other, as shown in Figures 18 to 20.
  • more than two pairs of pistons 1 may be provided to define more than two toroidal combustion chambers 6 in the engine 100.
  • each pair of pistons 1 is aligned in terms of strokes generated by the engine.
  • both the pairs of pistons lare configured to perform all strokes of the engine simultaneously.
  • the opposite pairs of pistons lare configured to perform different strokes of the engine alternately.
  • Figure 21 illustrates a front view of a piston-arm 2 in accordance with the second embodiment of the present subject matter.
  • Figure 22 illustrates a three-dimensional view of the piston-arm 2 in accordance with the second embodiment of the present subject matter.
  • the piston-arm 2 according to the present embodiment comprises a central elongated member and a U-shaped curved member such that each end of the U-shaped curved member comprises a through hole H’ and the central elongated member comprises the splined oscillating shaft 4 that locks with the splined end 10a of the connecting arm lOin a similar manner as in the previous embodiment.
  • Figure 23 illustrates a three-dimensional view of a piston-arm assembly 3 comprising pistons 1 attached at the ends of the U-shaped curved member of the piston-arm 2 in accordance with the second embodiment of the present subject matter.
  • Figure 24 illustrates a three-dimensional view of a first piston-arm assembly 3 a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b attached to each other in accordance with the second embodiment of the present subject matter.
  • the first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b are pivotably attached with each other through the central elongated member such that the respective oscillating shafts 4 of the first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b are oriented in opposite directions.
  • Figure 25 illustrates a three-dimensional view of assembly of the first piston-arm assembly 3a, the second piston-arm assembly 3b, the connecting- arm 10, the connecting- rod 11 and the crankshaft 13 without the housing in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention.
  • the overall configuration of the engine according to the second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, the difference being in the configuration of the piston arms 2.
  • This changed configuration of the piston arms3 defines the movement of the pistons 1 in the toroidal chamber 6.
  • different configurations of the piston arms 2 in the first and second embodiments define how the pairs of pistons move in the toroidal chamber 6 in respective embodiments.
  • both sides of the pistons 1 move simultaneously towards or away from each other during compression stroke and expansion stroke respectively.
  • pistons 1 of one pair come closer to each other to define a compression stroke
  • pistons 1 of the other pair move away from each other to define the expansion stroke. Therefore, the opposite pairs of pistons 1 always perform different strokes of the engine alternatively.
  • FIGS 26 to 28 illustrate working of the internal combustion engine assembly 100 of the invention in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention.
  • the working of major components of the internal combustion engine 100 according to the second embodiment is the same as in the first embodiment.
  • the only difference in working of the present embodiment is that if the pistons 1 of one combustion chamber 6 is performing compression stroke then the pistons 1 of the other combustion chamber 6 performs the expansion stroke.
  • the crankshaft rotates it moves the pistons 1 via connecting rod, connecting arm and piston arms.
  • the connecting arms oscillate as the crankshaft rotates.
  • the oscillation of the connecting arms moves the pistons 1 in each combustion chambers 6.
  • the movement of pistons 1 in the toroidal combustion chambers 6 is depicted by arrows in Figures 27 and 28.
  • each pair of pistons 1 along with the piston housing 5a and 5bdefines a toroidal combustion chamber 6 therebetween and a fuel igniting means comprising a spark plug in case of a spark ignited engine or one or more fuel injectors in case of a compression ignited engine configuration being provided for each toroidal combustion chamber 6.
  • a fuel igniting means comprising a spark plug in case of a spark ignited engine or one or more fuel injectors in case of a compression ignited engine configuration being provided for each toroidal combustion chamber 6.
  • two pairs of pistons 1 are provided, which define two toroidal combustion chambers 6 opposite to each other, as shown in Figures 26 to 28.
  • more than two pairs of pistons 1 may be provided to define more than two toroidal combustion chambers 6 in the engine 100.
  • each pair of pistons 1 are aligned to perform alternative strokes at the same time.
  • the other pair of pistons 1 performs the expansion stroke, as shown in Figures 27 and 28.
  • the engine according to the present invention is configured to use many fuels such as Petrol, Natural Gas, LPG, Diesel Bio-Diesel, Landfill gas and other gaseous/liquid fuels.
  • the engine design according to the present invention eliminates the piston side thrust, thereby leading to reduced friction as compared to conventional 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines.
  • the engine of the present invention can be configured as a 2-stroke engine, and hence eliminates the use of intake/exhaust valves as well as associated valvetrain components.
  • the engine according to the present invention is less complex and less expensive to manufacture.
  • the engine design is compact and has reduced weight.
  • the present engine is configured to generate more power as compared to conventional engine of similar sizeas it works on opposed piston engine principle.
  • the power to weight ratio of the present engine is high as compared to conventional 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines.
  • the pairs of pistons in the second embodiment do no move simultaneously in compression or expansion stroke, there is even less power variation on the crankshaft.
  • the compression stroke requires power from the crankshaft to compress air and in the expansion stroke, power from combustion pressure is transmitted to the crankshaft.
  • the power required to compress and expand the gas is reduced. This results in reduction in fluctuation of power at the engine crankshaft as the pressure from the pair of pistons that are in expansion stroke aid in the compression of gas in the other pair of pistons which are in compression stroke.
  • the engine according to the present invention and particularly the second embodiment helps in reducing the size of the flywheel as the engine needs to handle less power fluctuation at the crankshaft.
  • crankshaft design could be made into a single piece instead of multi piece shown here.
  • the oscillating shaft design could be altered in order to reduce the size of the engine further.

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Abstract

Described herein is an internal combustion engine 100. The internal combustion engine 100 includes a curved chamber 6 for accommodating a plurality of pistons 1. The plurality of pistons 1 includes at least one pair of pistons 1 defining a combustion chamber therebetween. An igniting means is provided for igniting fuel inside said combustion chamber. At least one pair of piston arms 2 are provided for supporting said pair of pistons 1. The piston arms 2 of the at least one pair of piston arms 2 are configured to oscillate independently of each other and to move said pair of pistons 1 towards and away from each other in said curved chamber 6 for performing the defined strokes of the internal combustion engine.

Description

AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present subject matter in general relates to engines and in particular relates to a reciprocating internal combustion engine comprising radially opposed pistons. BACKGROUND
Conventional 2-stroke and 4-stroke internal combustion engines comprise more than a century old mechanism. Numerous variations and modifications of internal combustion engines are known in the art. Moreover, various patent applications filed in respect of conventional internal combustion engines prove that innovation in this field is far from over. Several other variations of engine mechanisms have also been tried by various inventors. A two-stroke or two-cycle engine is a type of internal combustion engine which completes a power cycle with two strokes, i.e. up and down movements, of the piston during one crankshaft revolution only. This is in contrast to a "four-stroke engine", which requires four strokes of the piston to complete a power cycle during two crankshaft revolutions. In a two-stroke engine, the end of the combustion stroke and the beginning of the compression stroke happen simultaneously, with the intake and exhaust (or scavenging) functions occurring at the same time.
IN2004K000386A discloses a 4 stroke internal combustion engine with a piston assembly comprising a housing provided with an assembly of rotating pistons, preferably at least a pair of rotating pistons forming air tight chambers in the housing and a speed control means mounted on the housing for controlling speed of the rotating pistons in the housing.
W02006003678A1 also discloses a 4-stroke engine which has a piston assembly comprising of an assembly of pistons having a pair of rotating pistons provided in a cylindrical housing and a speed control mechanism for controlling the speed of the pistons.
W02019075077A1 discloses a toroidal combustion engine comprising a first and second toroidal cylinder which shares a common intersection to define a combustion chamber. Each toroidal cylinder carries a piston set, which rotates about circular paths disposed in planes perpendicular to each other. While there has always been an attempt to improve internal combustion engines, conventional engines are still not affordable to masses apart from having a bulky and complex construction. Further, conventional internal combustion engines require frequent maintenance, thereby further leading to maintenance and service costs. Furthermore, conventional internal combustion engines are faced with challenges of low power density and efficiency apart from high cost of manufacturing. Piston side thrust and friction are other problems that are prevalent in conventional internal combustion engines. Moreover, conventional internal combustion engines derive limited power and in order to increase power of an engine, it is necessary to increase its size. Hence, power to weight ratio of a conventional engine is quite less.
Therefore, there arises a need to develop an internal combustion engine that overcomes the above and other related problems of conventoinal internal combustion engines.
SUMMARY
It is an object of the present subject matter to provide a compact and light weight internal combustion engine.
It is another object of the present subject matter to provide an internal combustion engine having high power density, low cost of manufacturing and improved efficiency.
It is yet another object of the present subject matter to provide an internal combustion engine that can be used with various types of fuels, such as Petrol, Natural Gas, LPG, Diesel Bio-Diesel, Landfill gas and other gaseous/liquid fuels.
It is yet another object of the present subject matter to provide an internal combustion engine that eliminates the piston side thrust, thereby reducing the frictionbetween piston and cylinder.
It is yet another object of the present subject matter to provide an internal combustion engine that eliminates the use of intake valve, exhaust valve and associated valvetrain components.
It is yet another object of the present subject matter to provide a simple, light weight and compact internal combustion engine that eliminates the use of sevaral movable and stationary components.
It is yet another object of the present subject matter to provide an internal combustion engine that requires less manufacturing, maintenance and service cost.
It is yet another object of the present subject matter to provide an internal combustion engine that produces high power as compared to conventional internal combustion engines of similar sizes.
It is yet another object of the present subject matter to provide an internal combustion engine that has high power to weight ratio.
The present invention provides an internal combustion (I.C.) engine mechanism which operates by angularly oscillating one or more pairs of pistons in a toroidal chamber defined by a housing or by a section of hollow toroid. The pistons are attached to respective piston-arms, which are further attached rigidly to respective oscillating shafts. As the pistons oscillate in angular path defined by the toroidal chamber around oscillating shaft axis, a connecting-arm which is rigidly mounted on to the oscillating shaft also oscillates by the same angular motion, which in turn rotates the crankshaft, thereby resulting in power generation.
The subject matter relates to an internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine comprises a curved chamber for accommodating a plurality of pistons, the plurality of pistons comprising at least one pair of pistons defining a combustion chamber there between; an igniting means for igniting fuel inside said combustion chamber; and at least one pair of piston arms for supporting said pair of pistons, the piston arms of said at least one pair of piston arms configured to oscillate independently of each other and to move said pair of pistons towards and away from each other in said curved chamber for performing the defined strokes of the internal combustion engine.
In an embodiment of the present subject matter, the curved chamber comprises a toroidal chamber defined by a housing and/or toroidal liner.
In another embodiment of the present subject matter, at least one pair of piston arm comprises at least two pairs of pistons located opposite to each other in said curved chamber.
In yet another embodiment of the present subject matter, one piston arm of the at least one pair of piston arms supports at least one piston of the at least one pair of pistons and the other piston arm of the at least one pair of piston arms supports at least the other piston of the at least one pair of pistons.
In yet another embodiment of the present subject matter, the piston mounted on one piston arm and the corresponding piston mounted on the second piston arm defines the combustion chamber.
In yet another embodiment of the present subject matter, the piston arms and the pistons are configured to define two combustion chambers opposite to each other in the curved chamber.
In yet another embodiment of the present subject matter, the piston arms and the pistons are configured to operate independently of each other such that opposite pairs of pistons perform compression stroke and expansion stroke alternatively.
In yet another embodiment of the present subject matter, each piston arm comprises a centrally located oscillating shaft for transferring connecting with one end of a connecting arm.
In yet another embodiment of the present subject matter, the internal combustion engine further comprises a connecting rod, a small end of which is attached to the other end of the connecting arm.
In yet another embodiment of the present subject matter, the internal combustion engine further comprises a crankshaft attached to the big end of connecting rod. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present invention can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
Figure 1 shows a three-dimensional view of a piston of an internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 shows a three-dimensional view of a piston-arm with oscillating shaft of an internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 showsa three-dimensional view of a piston fastened to a piston-arm of an internal combustion engine to form a piston-arm assembly in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 shows a three-dimensional view of the assembly of two piston-arm assemblies placed in an angular orientataion with each other in an internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 5 a shows side view of a first partof a housing of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 5b shows side view of a second part of a housing of the internal combustion engine from the other side in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 6a shows a pair of piston-arm assembly enclosed in the first part of the housing of the internal combustion engine from one side in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 6b shows a pair of piston and piston-arm assembly enclosed in two side housings of the internal combustion engine from both sides in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 7 shows a three-dimensional view of a connecting-arm of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 8 shows a three-dimensional view of a connecting-rod of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 9a shows the connecting-arm mounted on the piston assembly pair of the internal combustion engine enclosed in the side housings in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 9b shows the piston and piston-arm with connecting-arm assemblywithout the housing of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 10a shows a connecting-rod connected to a connecting-arm on piston assembly pair enclosed in the side housing of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 10b shows the connecting-rod connected to the connecting-arm of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 11 shows a crankshaft subassembly of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 12 shows a crankshaft assembly of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 13a shows the crankshaft connected into the assembly through a connecting-rod of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 13b shows the arrangement of Figure 13a without side housings to clearly depict the arrangement of Figure 13a in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 14 shows a pair of pistons, piston-arm, connecting-arm, connecting-rod, full crankshaft assembly without side housings of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 15 shows a pair of piston, piston-arm, connecting- arm, connecting-rod, full crankshaft assembly of the internal combustion engine with one of the side housing from side view in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 16 shows the formation of four-bar link mechanism by the assembly in the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 17 shows an exploded view of the internal combustion engine of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 18 shows two chambers formed by arranging of two pair of pistons and side housings of the internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 19 shows working of the internal combustion engine, with pistons in compression stroke, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 20 shows working of the internal combustion engine with pistons of the internal combustion engine finishing their compression stroke in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Figures 21 and 22 show a front view and a three-dimensional view of a piston-arm with oscillating shaft of an internal combustion engine in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 23 shows a three-dimensional view of a piston fastened to a piston-arm of an internal combustion engine to form a piston-arm assembly in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 24 shows a three-dimensional view of the assembly of two piston-arm assemblies placed in an angular orientataion with each other in an internal combustion engine in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 25 shows a pair of pistons, piston-arm, connecting-arm, connecting-rod, full crankshaft assembly without side housings of the internal combustion engine in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 26 shows two chambers formed by arranging of two pair of pistons and side housings of the internal combustion engine in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 27 shows working of the internal combustion engine, with pistons in compression stroke, in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 28 shows working of the internal combustion engine with pistons of the internal combustion engine finishing their compression stroke in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 29 shows the toroidal liner that can be employed to form combustion chamber to eliminate combustion gas leakage and improve engine performance, efficiency & emissions.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In this disclosure, whenever a composition, an element or a group of elements is preceded with the transitional phrase "comprising", it is understood that we also contemplate the same composition, element or group of elements with transitional phrases "consisting essentially of, "consisting", "selected from the group of consisting of, "including", or "is" preceding the recitation of the composition, element or group of elements and vice versa.
The invention provides an internal combustion (I.C.) engine mechanism and an engine thereof, which is technically advanced as compared to conventional 2-stroke and 4-stroke I.C. engines. The engine according to the present invention offers numerous benefits, such as compact design, light weight, high power density, low cost of manufacturing and better efficiency. Further, the I.C. engine according to the present invention can be used with various fuels such as Petrol, Natural Gas, LPG, Diesel, Bio- Diesel, Landfill gas and other gaseous/liquid fuels.The configuration of the engine eliminates the piston sidethrust forceon the cylinder, thereby reducing thefriction as compared to conventional 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines.The I.C. engine of the invention also eliminates use of intake/exhaust valves and associated valvetrain components. Additionally, the present engine eliminates several other parts, thereby making the overall structure less complex and simpler. Consequently, the engine according to the present inventionrequires substantially less expenses in manufacturing and is light weight in construction.
The I.C. engine according to the present invention works on the principle of opposed pistonsengines. This results in high power production as compared to conventional I.C. engines of similar sizes. The power to weight ratio of the present engine is substantially higher as compared to conventional engines. The concept of the present I.C. engine has a completely different mechanism than conventional I.C. engines at least with respect to reciprocating motion of the piston. In the present invention, piston reciprocates in a toroidal chamber with angular motion. The mechanism eliminates the side thrust generated in conventional I.C. engines. This construction eliminates user of several parts of conventional I.C. engines, resulting in a very compact mechanism.
The present invention provides a reciprocating internal combustion engine comprising a plurality of radially opposed pistons. In an embodiment of the present invention, an exploded view of the internal combustion engine (hereinafter referred to as I.C. engine) is depicted in Figure 17. As shown herein, the I.C. engine 100 is manufactured from a plurality of components, comprising but not limited to, a plurality of pistons 1, a plurality of piston-arms 2, an oscillating shaft 4, one or more side housings 5, an intake port 7, an exhaust ports 8, a port 9 for spark plug, a connecting arm 10, a connecting rod 11, a crankpin 12 and a crankshaft 13.
In an embodiment, the configuration of a piston 1 in a three-dimensional view as depicted in Figure 1.
The piston 1 according to the present invention has a curved configuration for its movement in a curved chamber 6 having a toroidal shaped configuration. The curved chamber 6 is defined by the side housings 5, as shown in Figures 18 to 20 or by placing the toroidal liner 6’ at the location. The piston 1 comprises a piston through hole H that aligns with a respective piston-arm through hole FF provided at the end of the piston-arm 2, a three-dimensional view of which is depicted in Figure 2. As shown in
Figure 2, the piston-arm 2 comprises a piston-arm through hole H’ at each of its end. One piston 1 with the piston through hole H is mounted on each end of the piston-arm 2 such that the piston through hole H aligns with the piston-arm through hole H’. Each piston 1 is mounted at the end of the piston-arm 2 by means of a piston pin (not shown) or by any other fastening means.
The piston-arm 2 further comprises an oscillating shaft 4 at its central portion. In the present embodiment, the piston-arm 2 comprises S-shaped configuration with the oscillating shaft 4 protruding in the transverse direction from its central section. In an embodiment, the oscillating shaft 4 comprises a plurality of splines Son its surface for locking the oscillating shaft 4 with the big end of the connecting arm 10 with matching spline or any other means which is depicted in Figure7.
Figure 3 illustrates a three-dimensional view of a piston-arm assembly 3 that comprises the assembly of one piston 1 on opposite ends of one piston-arm 2. In a preferred embodiment, two piston-arm assemblies 3 comprising a first piston-arm assembly 3 a and a second piston-arm assembly 3b are provided to make a pair of opposing piston assemblies, as shown in Figure 4. Figure 4 illustrates a three-dimensional view of a first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b attached to each other in accordance with the present embodiment of the invention. As shown in this figure, the first piston-arm assembly 3 a and the second piston-arm assembly3b are placed in an offset manner in their angular orientation with respect to each other in an embodiment. In a preferred embodiment, the first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b are located in an angular orientation of about 90 degrees from each other as depicted in Figure 4. However, angular orientation of the first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b is not restricted to 90 degrees and may include orientation in any other angle without deviating from the scope of the present invention.
The first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b are enclosed in a housing 5 comprising a first part 5a and a second part 5b, as shown in Figures 5a and 5b. As shown herein, the first part 5a and the second part 5b of the housing 5 accommodate the first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b sides laterally. The assembly of the first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b inside the first part 5a of the housing 5 is depicted in Figure 6a.
Figure 6b shows assembly of the first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b within the first part 5a and the second part 5b of the housing 5. As shown herein, the two-sided housings 5 comprising the first part 5a and the second part 5b, cover the first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b from both the sides laterally, thereby forming a hollow toroidal shaped chamber 6, as shown in Figures 18 to 20, within which the pistons lreciprocate in an angular manner around oscillating shaft4 axis within a predefined angle. The hollow toroidal shaped chamber 6 can also be formed by placing the toroidal liner 6’ in between the housing 5a and 5b. In an embodiment, the first part 5a of the housing 5 comprises intake ports 7 and exhaust ports 8 as well as intake manifolds 15 and exhaust manifolds 16 built into it, as shown in Figure 5a. In an embodiment, the second part 5b of side housing 5 also comprises a port 9, as shown in figure 5b, to accommodate a fuel igniting means. In different embodiments, the fuel igniting means comprises a spark plug in case of a spark ignited engine or one or more fuel injectors in case of a compression ignited engine configuration. The locations, size and shape of the intake ports 7, exhaust ports 8 and means of igniter port 9 of the housing matched on the toroidal liner 6’ to align the same.
Figure 7 illustrates a three-dimensional view of the connecting-arm 10 comprising a first end 10a and a second end 10b. During assembly, the first end 10a of the connecting-arm 10 is rigidly mounted onto the oscillating shaft4 of the first piston-arm assembly 3a, as shown in Figures 9a and 9b. Figure 9a illustrates a three-dimensional view of the connecting-arm 10 mounted on the oscillating shaft 4 when the first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b are assembled inside the housing 5. For the purpose of illustration, Figure 9b depicts a three-dimensional view of the connecting-arm 10 mounted on the oscillating shaft 4 without the first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b.Figure 8 illustrates a three-dimensional view of the connecting-rod 11 comprising the big end B and a small end S. The small end S is attached to the second end 10b of the connecting-arm 10 by means of a pin joint (not shown) in an embodiment. Figure 10a shows the assembly of the connecting-rod 11 with the connecting-arm 10 such that the small end S of the connecting-rod 11 is pivotably attached to the second end 10b of the connecting-arm 10. The assembly of the connecting-arm 10 and the connecting-rod 11, as shown in Figure 10b, is referred to as the connecting-rod assembly 14 for the purpose of the present description. The connecting-rod assembly 14 is depicted without the housing 5 in Figure 10b for the sake of clarity.
Figure 11 depicts a three-dimensional view of a portion of the crankshaft 13 comprising the crank pin
12. Figure 12 depicts a three-dimensional view of the complete crankshaft 13. Figure 13a depicts the connection of the connecting -rod 11 to the crank pin 12 of the crankshaft 13. Figure 13bshows the connection of the connecting-rod 11 to the crankpin 12 without the housing for the purpose of clarity.
Figure 14 illustrates a three-dimensional view of assembly of the first piston-arm assembly 3 a, the second piston-arm assembly 3b, the connecting-arm 10, the connecting-rod 11 and the crankshaft 13 without the housing. Figure 15 illustrates the assembly of Figure 14 enclosed within the housing 5 in an embodiment of the present subject matter.Firgure-16 shows the formation of four bar link mechanism formed by the connecting-arm 10, the connecting-rod 11, the crankshaft 13 and the housing 5. There are two such four-bar mechanisms in an internal combustion engine according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. While housing 5 forms the link LI, the crankshaft forms link L2, the connecting-rod forms link L3 and the connecting-arm forms link L4. Figure 17 depicts the exploded view of the entire internal combustion engine assembly 100.
Working of the Engine According to First Embodiment:
Figures 18 to 20 illustrate working of the internal combustion engine assembly 100 of the invention in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention.
The internal combustion engine 100 works by angularly oscillating the pistons 1,1 in the toroidal chamber 6, 6 formed by the first part 5a and the second part 5b of the housing5and or by placing the toroidal liner 6’ at the location of toroidal chamber 6. The pistons 1, 1 are attached at the ends of the piston-arm2 wherein the oscillating shaft 4 is rigidly connected to said piston-arms 2. As the pistons 1 travel in an angular manner in the toroidal chamber 6 around the axis of the oscillating shaft4, the connecting-arms 10 oscillate by the same angular position. As can be seen from the four-bar link mechanism as depicted in Figure 16, the connecting-armlO behaves as the link L4, the crankshaft 13 as link L2 and the connecting -rod 11 is link L3. The housing 5 that houses the oscillating shafts 4 and the crankshaft 13 becomes the grounded link LI. As the connecting-arm 10 (link L4) oscillates angularly along with pistons 1, the connecting -rod 11 (link L3) transmits the force from the piston 1 via piston- arm 2 and the oscillating shaft4 to the connecting-arm 10 and finally on to the crankshafts 13. This enables the crankshaft 13 to rotate, thereby leading to generation of power. The geometry of the four- bar link mechanism determines the angular motion of the pistons 1 and hence, of the connecting-arm 10 (link L4). The lengths of each link can be determined based on the desired engine specifications. Hence, the piston travel angle is determined by the lengths of connecting-armlO, the connecting-rodll, the crank radius and the distance between the axis of oscillating shaft 4 and crankshaft 13.
The housings 5 according to the present invention form a hollow toroid passage due to the semicircle cross section of each part 5a and 5b. When the two parts 5a and 5b of the housing 5 are assembled, they form hollow toroid passage 6 with full circle cross section. In a preferred embodiment, one or more toroidal liners 6’ are provided inside the hollow toroidal section 6 to prevent any possibility of leakage of combustion gases from the joint of the first part 5a and the second part 5b of the housing 5, which define the toroidal section 6, in the assembled state. A perspective view of the toroidal liner 6’ according to an embodiment of the present invention is depicted in Figure 29. Employment of the toroidal liner 6’ ensures that combustion chamber defined by the toroidal chamber 6 is jointless, thereby leading to an improvement in various parameters of the engine, such as performance, emission, efficiency etc. The toroidal liners described herein can also be manufactured as a section of hollow toroid chamber 6 in an embodiment.
The pistons 1 oscillate angularly inside the hollow toroid passage 6. The housing 5 also comprises ports created into the hollow toroid. These ports allow air/combustion gases pass through them. In an embodiment, the ports comprise the intake ports 7 and the exhaust ports8. The intake ports 7 allow entry of air or fuel-air mixture inside the toroidal passage 6 and exhaust ports 8 allows the combustion gases release as exhaust gases after completion of the power stroke. The opening and closing of these ports 7, 8 depend on position of the pistons 1 as the pistons 1 either cover or uncover respective ports for entry of air or fuel-air mixture inside the toroidal passage 6 or release of exhaust gases from the engine 100.
In order to start the engine 100, an external force is used to rotate the crankshaft 13 in an embodiment. In other embodiments, means for self-starting the engine without external power may be employed. As the crankshaft 13 rotates pistons 1 start oscillating angularly in a predefined angle in the toroidal chamber 6 formed by the housing5. As mentioned earlier, the angle of motion of piston 1 is determined by the geometry of the four-bar mechanism. In the present embodiment, the pistons 1 on one piston- arm assembly 3 move in one direction and the pistons 1 on the other piston-arm assembly 3 move in opposite direction within the toroidal chamber 6. Therefore, the pistons 1 according to the present embodiment, either move towards each other or away from each other during oscillation.
In the first stroke, the pistons 1 move away from each other and the exhaust ports8 are opened by the exhaust pistons. In a preferred embodiment, two exhaust pistons are provided in the internal combustion engine 100 as they uncover the exhaust ports8, as shown in Figure 18. This allows the gases under pressure to escape out of the engine 100. Right after the exhaust ports 8 are opened, intake ports7 are opened in the same manner by the intake pistons. The said intake pistons allow fresh charge, in case of a spark ignited engine, or fresh air, in case of compression ignition (diesel) engine, to enter the toroidal chamber 6 as shown in Figure 18. In a preferred embodiment, two intake pistons are provided in the engine 100.
The further rotation of the crankshaft 13 results in movement of the pistons 1 in the toroidal chamber 6 in such a way that the pistons 1 cover the exhaust port 8and the intake ports 7, thereby closing them.
The air/charge gets trapped within the chamber that is formed by pistons 1 and the hollow toroid passage 6 inside the housing andundergoes compression, as shown in Figure 19. This stroke is termed as the compression stroke of the engine. At the end of the compression stroke, two pistons lwill be closest to each other, as shown in Figure 20. Based on design criteria, the fuel mixed with air gets ignited and a very high pressure is generated within the toroidal combustion chamber formed by the pistons 1 and the hollow toroid passage of the housing 5. The pressure of gas pushes the pistons 1 away from each other. This stroke is termed as the expansion stroke(or power stroke) of the engine. At the end of the expansion stroke, the exhaust port 8 and the intake ports 7 are opened and the cycle is repeated until interrupted. The force generated by high-pressure combustion gases inside the engine is transferred to the crankshaft 13 via connecting-arms 10 and connecting -rodsl 1. This generates torque and hence, power onto crankshaft 13 that can be utilized for various purpose.
In the embodiment depicted in Figures 18 to 20, two pairs of pistons 1 are depicted. Each pair of pistons 1 defines a toroidal combustion chamber 6 therebetween and a fuel igniting means comprising a spark plug in case of a spark ignited engine or one or more fuel injectors in case of a compression ignited engine configuration being provided for each toroidal combustion chamber 6. In the present embodiment, two pairs of pistons 1 are provided, which define two toroidal combustion chambers 6 opposite to each other, as shown in Figures 18 to 20. However, more than two pairs of pistons 1 may be provided to define more than two toroidal combustion chambers 6 in the engine 100.
Further, the embodiment described in Figures 18 to 20 is configured such that each pair of pistons 1 is aligned in terms of strokes generated by the engine. In other words, both the pairs of pistons lare configured to perform all strokes of the engine simultaneously. However, in another embodiment, as depicted in Figures 21 to 29, the opposite pairs of pistons lare configured to perform different strokes of the engine alternately.
Figure 21, illustrates a front view of a piston-arm 2 in accordance with the second embodiment of the present subject matter. Figure 22 illustrates a three-dimensional view of the piston-arm 2 in accordance with the second embodiment of the present subject matter. The piston-arm 2 according to the present embodiment comprises a central elongated member and a U-shaped curved member such that each end of the U-shaped curved member comprises a through hole H’ and the central elongated member comprises the splined oscillating shaft 4 that locks with the splined end 10a of the connecting arm lOin a similar manner as in the previous embodiment. Figure 23 illustrates a three-dimensional view of a piston-arm assembly 3 comprising pistons 1 attached at the ends of the U-shaped curved member of the piston-arm 2 in accordance with the second embodiment of the present subject matter. Figure 24 illustrates a three-dimensional view of a first piston-arm assembly 3 a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b attached to each other in accordance with the second embodiment of the present subject matter. As shown herein, the first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b are pivotably attached with each other through the central elongated member such that the respective oscillating shafts 4 of the first piston-arm assembly 3a and the second piston-arm assembly 3b are oriented in opposite directions. Figure 25 illustrates a three-dimensional view of assembly of the first piston-arm assembly 3a, the second piston-arm assembly 3b, the connecting- arm 10, the connecting- rod 11 and the crankshaft 13 without the housing in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention.
As can be seen from above, the overall configuration of the engine according to the second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, the difference being in the configuration of the piston arms 2. This changed configuration of the piston arms3 defines the movement of the pistons 1 in the toroidal chamber 6. In other words, different configurations of the piston arms 2 in the first and second embodiments define how the pairs of pistons move in the toroidal chamber 6 in respective embodiments. In the previous embodiment, both sides of the pistons 1 move simultaneously towards or away from each other during compression stroke and expansion stroke respectively. However, in the second embodiment, if the pistons 1 of one pair come closer to each other to define a compression stroke, pistons 1 of the other pair move away from each other to define the expansion stroke. Therefore, the opposite pairs of pistons 1 always perform different strokes of the engine alternatively.
Working of the Engine According to Second Embodiment:
Figures 26 to 28 illustrate working of the internal combustion engine assembly 100 of the invention in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention.
The working of major components of the internal combustion engine 100 according to the second embodiment is the same as in the first embodiment. The only difference in working of the present embodiment is that if the pistons 1 of one combustion chamber 6 is performing compression stroke then the pistons 1 of the other combustion chamber 6 performs the expansion stroke. As the crankshaft rotates it moves the pistons 1 via connecting rod, connecting arm and piston arms. The connecting arms oscillate as the crankshaft rotates. The oscillation of the connecting arms moves the pistons 1 in each combustion chambers 6. The movement of pistons 1 in the toroidal combustion chambers 6 is depicted by arrows in Figures 27 and 28.
In the present embodiment of Figures 26 to 28, two pairs of pistons 1 are depicted. Each pair of pistons 1 along with the piston housing 5a and 5bdefines a toroidal combustion chamber 6 therebetween and a fuel igniting means comprising a spark plug in case of a spark ignited engine or one or more fuel injectors in case of a compression ignited engine configuration being provided for each toroidal combustion chamber 6. In the present embodiment, two pairs of pistons 1 are provided, which define two toroidal combustion chambers 6 opposite to each other, as shown in Figures 26 to 28. However, more than two pairs of pistons 1 may be provided to define more than two toroidal combustion chambers 6 in the engine 100.
Further, the embodiment described in Figures 26 to 28 is configured such that each pair of pistons 1 are aligned to perform alternative strokes at the same time. In other words, if one pair of pistons 1 perform compression stroke, the other pair of pistons 1 performs the expansion stroke, as shown in Figures 27 and 28.
As can be seen from above, the engine according to the present invention is configured to use many fuels such as Petrol, Natural Gas, LPG, Diesel Bio-Diesel, Landfill gas and other gaseous/liquid fuels. The engine design according to the present invention eliminates the piston side thrust, thereby leading to reduced friction as compared to conventional 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines. The engine of the present invention can be configured as a 2-stroke engine, and hence eliminates the use of intake/exhaust valves as well as associated valvetrain components. Further, the engine according to the present invention is less complex and less expensive to manufacture. Moreover, the engine design is compact and has reduced weight. The present engine is configured to generate more power as compared to conventional engine of similar sizeas it works on opposed piston engine principle. The power to weight ratio of the present engine is high as compared to conventional 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines.
Since the pairs of pistons in the second embodiment do no move simultaneously in compression or expansion stroke, there is even less power variation on the crankshaft. The compression stroke requires power from the crankshaft to compress air and in the expansion stroke, power from combustion pressure is transmitted to the crankshaft. In the second embodiment when the pairs of pistons move to perform compression and expansion strokes alternatively, the power required to compress and expand the gas is reduced. This results in reduction in fluctuation of power at the engine crankshaft as the pressure from the pair of pistons that are in expansion stroke aid in the compression of gas in the other pair of pistons which are in compression stroke. Moreover, the engine according to the present invention and particularly the second embodiment helps in reducing the size of the flywheel as the engine needs to handle less power fluctuation at the crankshaft.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. While the embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed above, but its use is not limited to the description set forth and described embodiments, which can be applied to various fields suitable for the present invention, for the person skilled in the art, can be easily realized a further modification, thus without departing from the generic concept claims and equivalents as defined by the scope of the present invention is not limited to the specific details shown and described herein with legend.
There variations in the design can be made as per the requirements such as piston shape could me made with square or rectangle cross section instead of round in the presented in the drawing. Also, multiple engines could be coupled on to the same crankshaft to increase the power. In this respect, one or more similar assemblies of a connecting rod, a connecting arm and a housing with engine mechanism described above, are attached to the crankshaft to provide as a conventional multi-cylinder internal combustion engine. Crankshaft design could be made into a single piece instead of multi piece shown here. The oscillating shaft design could be altered in order to reduce the size of the engine further.

Claims

Claim:
1. An internal combustion engine comprising: a curved chamber 6 for accommodating a plurality of pistons 1, the plurality of pistons 1 comprising at least one pair of pistons 1 defining a combustion chamber therebetween; an igniting means for igniting fuel inside said combustion chamber; and at least one pair of piston arms 2 for supporting said pair of pistons 1 , the piston arms 2 of said at least one pair of piston arms 2 configured to oscillate independently of each other and to move said pair of pistons 1 towards and away from each other in said curved chamber 6 for performing the defined strokes of the internal combustion engine.
2. The internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the curved chamber 6 comprises a toroidal chamber 6 defined by a housing 5and pair of piston 1.
3. The internal combustion engine as claimed in claims 1 or 2, wherein the at least one pair of pistons
1 comprises at least two pairs of pistons 1 located opposite to each other in said curved chamber 6.
4. The internal combustion engine as claimed in any one of previous claims, wherein one piston arm 2 of the at least one pair of piston arms 2 supports at least one piston 1 of the at least one pair of pistons 1 and the other piston arm 2 of the at least one pair of piston arms 2 supports at least the other piston 1 of the at least one pair of pistons 1.
5. The internal combustion engine as claimed in any one of previous claims, wherein the piston 1 mounted on one piston arm 2 and the corresponding piston 1 mounted on the second piston arm 2 defines the combustion chamber.
6. The internal combustion engine as claimed in any one of previous claims, wherein the piston arms
2 and the pistons 1 are configured to define two combustion chambers opposite to each other in the curved chamber 6.
7. The internal combustion engine as claimed in any one of previous claims, wherein the piston arms 2 and the pistons 1 are configured to operate independently of each other such that opposite pairs of pistons 1 perform compression stroke and expansion stroke alternatively.
8. The internal combustion engine as claimed in any one of previous claims, wherein each piston arm 2 comprises a centrally located oscillating shaft 4 for transferring connecting with one end of a connecting arm 10.
9. The internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 8, further comprises a connecting rod 11, a small end S of which is attached to the other end of the connecting arm lOand a crankshaft attached to the big end B of connecting rod 11.
10. The internal combustion engine as claimed in any one of previous claims, further comprises one or more toroidal liners 6’ inside the hollow toroidal section 6 to prevent possibility of leakage of fuel from the joint of the first part 5a and the second part 5b of the housing 5.
11. The internal combustion engine as claimed in any one of previous claims, further comprises one or more such engines connected to same crankshaft to increase the power of an engine without substantially increasing the size of the engine.
PCT/IN2020/050864 2019-10-07 2020-10-07 An internal combustion engine WO2021070199A1 (en)

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IN201921040584 2019-10-07

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Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2006003678A1 (en) * 2004-07-05 2006-01-12 Prasanta Ray A piston assembly for an engine and an engine comprising the same
US8695564B2 (en) * 2010-02-04 2014-04-15 Dalhousie University Toroidal engine
WO2019075077A1 (en) * 2017-10-12 2019-04-18 Mueller Kevin M Toroidal engine

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2006003678A1 (en) * 2004-07-05 2006-01-12 Prasanta Ray A piston assembly for an engine and an engine comprising the same
US8695564B2 (en) * 2010-02-04 2014-04-15 Dalhousie University Toroidal engine
WO2019075077A1 (en) * 2017-10-12 2019-04-18 Mueller Kevin M Toroidal engine

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