BALANCED-FREE PISTON ENGINE

• US 3,610,216 A
• Filed: 11/14/1969
• Issued: 10/05/1971
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/1969
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Tectonics Companies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Anton Braun
• Inventors: Braun, Anton
• Primary Examiner(s): Burns, Wendell E.
• Application Number:
  US04/876,704
• Time in Patent Office: 690 Days
• Field of Search: 123/46,46B,46SA,46A,46H,46E,46SC,192,192B 417/364 290/1R,1A
• US Class Current: 123/46.00R
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 71/00 Free-piston engines; Engines without rotary main shaft

Abstract

Unsymmetrical, synchronized, balanced, free piston engines are disclosed in which a synchronizer-balancer assembly provides balanced operation of the engine by connection to both the engine and a movable member of an energy-absorbing device to be driven by the engine, in order to transmit the reciprocatory power output from the engine to the energy-absorbing device through the synchronizer-balancer assembly. Power within the engine is provided in one embodiment by an alternately acting double-acting power section including a double-acting power piston. The power piston is connected to move with a first portion of the synchronizer-balancer assembly to cause the oppositely directed translational movement, with respect to the engine housing, of a counterbalancing second portion of the synchronizer-balancer, and a movable driving member or other movable member of the energyabsorbing device is connected to move with the counterbalancing second portion in alternating opposite directions from the power piston and first portion. Engines incorporating energy-absorbing devices in the form of a pump, an electrical generator, and a double-acting reciprocal compressor are shown. Also shown are alternate embodiments in which the alternately acting doubleacting power section and its double-acting power piston are replaced by a pair of alternately acting single-acting power sections with a pair of single-acting power pistons, one in each such section.

Claims

1. An unsymmetrical, synchronized, balanced, free piston engine arranged to drive a reciprocally movable member of an energyabsorbing device comprising, in combination:

means for defining a first power cylinder, means for defining an oppositely directed second power cylinder, with the central longitudinal axis of the second power cylinder substantially coaxial to that of the first power cylinder;

a first power piston mounted in the first power cylinder for translational reciprocating movement therein along said axis, the first power piston defining a first combustion chamber within the first power cylinder;

a second power piston mounted in the second power cylinder for translational reciprocating movement therein along said axis, the second power piston defining a second combustion chamber within the second power cylinder, with the second combustion chamber arranged to be alternately acting with the first combustion chamber;

the first power piston and the second power piston being interconnected for translational reciprocating movement together as a unit within the engine;

a synchronizer-balancer assembly having a first movable portion mounted for translational reciprocating movement and connected to move together with the power pistons as a unit, and a second movable counterbalancing portion connected for synchronized translational reciprocating movement in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the power pistons and first movable portion in response to movement of the first movable portion, the counterbalancing portion of the synchronizer-balancer assembly including means for driving connection to a movable member of an energy-absorbing device and having a preselected weight such that the absolute value of the product of the sum of the weight associated to move with the counterbalancing portion of the synchronizer-balancer assembly multiplied by the length of the stroke of the counterbalancing portion of the synchronizer-balancer assembly is substantially equal to the absolute value of the product of the sum of the weight associated to move with the power pistons multiplied by the length of the corresponding stroke of the power pistons.

2. The free piston engine of claim 1 having shaft means connecting the first movable portion of the synchronizer-balancer assembly to the power pistons, and wherein the central longitudinal axes of the shaft means, the first power cylinder, the second power cylinder, the first and second power pistons, the first movable portion and the counterbalancing portion of the synchronizer-balancer assembly are all coaxial.

3. The free piston engine of claim 1, wherein the movable counterbalancing portion of the synchronizer-balancer assembly comprises counter balancing movable weight means symmetricAlly distributed with respect to the common central longitudinal axis of relative translational movement of the power pistons.

4. The free piston engine of claim 1, wherein the energy-absorbing device is a pump.

5. The free piston engine of claim 4, wherein the pump includes at least one pumping chamber and at least one pumping plunger associated with the pumping chamber, and wherein the movable member of the energy-absorbing device includes a cam which causes the pumping plunger to move reciprocally within the pumping chamber in response to movement of the cam, said cam being connected for translational reciprocatory movement with the movable counterbalancing portion of the synchronizer-balancer assembly.

6. The free piston engine of claim 1, wherein the energy-absorbing device is an electrical generator.

7. The free piston engine of claim 6, wherein the movable member of the electrical generator is a reciprocating armature of the generator.

8. The free piston engine of claim 1, wherein the energy-absorbing device is a double-acting reciprocal compressor having a compressor housing with a compressor cylinder formed therein, and wherein the movable member is a compressor piston which is mounted in the compressor cylinder for translational reciprocating movement therein in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the compressor cylinder, the compressor piston defining at least first and second compressor chambers within the compressor housing and the compressor cylinder.

9. The improved, free piston engine of claim 1, wherein the second power cylinder is adjacent to, coaxial with, and interconnected with the first power cylinder to form a double-acting power cylinder, wherein the first power piston and the second power piston are interconnected as parts of a single double-acting power piston member, and wherein the combination of the double-acting power piston and the double-acting power cylinder form a double-acting power section.

10. improved free piston engine of claim 1, wherein the first power piston and the first power cylinder comprise a first single-acting power section, wherein the first single-acting power section is positioned adjacent an end of the engine, and wherein the second power piston and the second power cylinder comprise a second single-acting power section.

11. The improved free piston engine of claim 10, wherein the first combustion chamber is defined in the first power cylinder between the outer face of the first power piston and the closed outer end of the first power cylinder, and wherein the second combustion chamber is defined in the second power cylinder between the outer face of the second power piston and the closed outer end of the second power cylinder.

12. The improved free piston engine of claim 10, wherein the second single-acting power section is positioned on the extreme end of the engine opposite from the first single-acting power section.

13. The improved free piston engine of claim 1, wherein the first power cylinder and first power piston define the first combustion chamber at one end of the engine, the second power cylinder and second power piston define an oppositely acting second combustion chamber at the opposite end of the engine, and the synchronizer-balancer assembly is located between said combustion chambers.

14. The improved free piston engine of claim 13 having an energy absorbing device also located between said combustion chambers.

15. The improved free piston engine of claim 14 in which the energy-absorbing device and synchronizer-balancer assembly are located immediately adjacent each other between said combustion chambers.

16. The improved free piston engine of claim 3 having means for adjustment of the total weight of said counterbalancing movable weight means.

17. The improved free piston engine of claim 16 having means for removal of at least a portion of said counterbalancing movable weight means.

18. An unsymmetrical, synchronized, balanced, free pisTon engine arranged to drive a reciprocally movable member of an energy-absorbing device comprising, in combination:

means for defining a first power cylinder section;

means for defining an oppositely directed second power cylinder section with its central longitudinal axis substantially coaxial with the corresponding axis of the first power cylinder section;

a first power piston reciprocable along said axis in the first power cylinder section, a second power piston reciprocable along said axis in the second power cylinder section;

said first and second power pistons being rigidly interconnected for translational reciprocating movement back and forth as a unit along said axis;

means for causing combustion alternately and successively in the respective power cylinder sections and thereby providing the reciprocating movement of said power pistons;

a synchronizer-balancer assembly having a first movable portion supported for translational reciprocating movement with said power pistons, a second movable counterbalancing portion, and means interconnecting said first and second movable portions for translational reciprocating movement of the second portion in a direction opposite to and coaxial with the direction of translational movement of the first movable portion and power pistons, said second portion of the synchronizer-balancer assembly having a weight greater than the weight required to counterbalance only the first portion of the synchronizer-balancer assembly, and said second portion also having means for driving connection of said second movable counterbalancing portion to a movable member of an energy-absorbing device.

19. An improved free piston engine according to claim 18, in which each of said portions has its mass symmetrically balanced with reference to their common central longitudinal axis of translational movement.

20. An asymmetrical, synchronized, balanced, free piston engine arranged to drive a reciprocally movable member of an energy-absorbing device comprising, in combination:

first and second stationary power cylinder sections, first and second alternately acting power piston portions mounted for reciprocating movement in the respective first and second power cylinder sections, the first and second power pistons portions being interconnected for reciprocating movement together as parts of a power assembly in which all parts of the power assembly always move together as a unit;

a synchronizer-balancer assembly having a first movable portion connected to move as a unit as part of the power assembly, and also having a counterbalancing second movable portion operatively connected to the first movable portion for reciprocating movement at all times in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the first movable portion and in synchronism therewith; and

a connection for connecting the reciprocally movable member of the energy-absorbing device to only the counterbalancing portion of the synchronizer-balancer assembly (as distinguished from the power assembly) such that the movable member of the energy-absorbing device moves as a unit with the counterbalancing portion of the synchronizer-balancer assembly and is driven by forces transmitted from the alternately acting power piston portions through the counterbalancing portion of the synchronizer-balancer assembly, the first and second portions of the synchronizer-balancer assembly having preselected relative weights such that the absolute value of the product of the sum of the weight associated to move with the counterbalancing portion of the synchronizer-balancer assembly multiplied by the length of its stroke is substantially equal to the absolute value of the product of the sum of the weight associated to move with the power assembly multiplied by the length of its corresponding opposite stroke.

21. A free piston engine according to claim 20 in which one of the movable portions of the synchronizer-balancer assembly has a weight greater than the weight required to counterbalance only the otheR movable portion of the synchronizer-balancer assembly.