Energy efficient clean burning two-stroke internal combustion engine

• US 7,194,989 B2
• Filed: 02/23/2006
• Issued: 03/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samuel Raymond Hallenbeck
• Original Assignee: Samuel Raymond Hallenbeck
• Inventors: Hallenbeck, Samuel Raymond
• Primary Examiner(s): Cronin; Stephen K.
• Assistant Examiner(s): WILSON, AARON NOEL
• Application Number:
  US11/360,822
• Publication Number:
  US 20060196456A1
• Time in Patent Office: 397 Days
• Field of Search: 123/56.1, 123/48.R, 123/78.B, 123/193.6, 123/73.AA, 123/73.AV, 123/73.AB
• US Class Current: 123/56.1
• CPC Class Codes: F01L 11/02 in piston
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 2075/025 two
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 25/08 Engines with oppositely-moving reciprocating working pistons
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 33/04 with simple crankcase pumps, i.e. with the rear face of a non-stepped working piston acting as sole pumping member in co-operation with the crankcase
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 75/16 Engines characterised by number of cylinders, e.g. single-cylinder engines F02B75/26 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 75/24 with cylinders arranged oppositely relative to main shaft and of "flat" type
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 75/32 Engines characterised by connections between pistons and main shafts and not specific to preceding main groups
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 69/045 for injecting into the combustion chamber F02M69/046 takes precedence

Abstract

A precision cast engine has a piston unit and a rotor unit to translate linear thrust from the piston unit into rotary power. Each piston rod is attached to a thrust absorber carriage running on precision bearings to eliminate piston drag on the cylinder walls. One or more drive rods extend from the carriage each into a curved groove on a power rotor to rotate it to transmit power via one or more drive shafts connected to drive components of transportation or other devices. An air intake valve on each piston provides automatic self aspirating to force combusted gasses out and draw in a controlled recharge of air for the fuel air mix.

Claims

1. A two-stroke combustion engine comprising:

a main engine body formed by precision casting, the main engine body comprising two main units comprising a precision cast drive piston unit for providing the power to drive a vehicle or other device and a precision cast driven power rotor unit interconnected with and being driven by the piston unit to rotate the power rotor unit so that the power rotor unit is attachable to a transportation device drive train to move a transportation device or to another device to provide a rotary motion usable by the device;

the piston unit comprising at least one cylinder comprising a precision cast piston chamber having an inner cylindrical piston chamber wall;

a low pressure fuel injector communicating with the piston chamber through an opening in the piston wall or installed in a piston head to inject a controlled spray of fuel into the piston chamber;

at least one positive air intake valve communicating with the piston chamber for admitting a metered charge of recharge air into the piston chamber to mix with the fuel;

a spark plug communicating with the piston chamber to provide a spark for combusting the air and fuel mixture;

at least one positive energized exhaust valve adjacent to the spark plug with at least one exhaust channel communicating with the piston chamber with the exhaust valve in an open position for exhausting combusted gases from the piston chamber to purge the piston chamber so that the piston chamber is self-purging;

a precision cast piston comprising a cylindrical piston head having a front face and a back face and a piston rod attached to the back face of the piston head at a first end of the piston rod, the piston head movable within the piston chamber in response to combustion in the piston chamber, the piston head having an air intake opening in the front face of the piston head, and a first air intake valve installed in the air intake opening with the first air intake valve movable within the piston head from a closed first position with the first air intake valve aligned with the front face of the piston head and the air intake opening sealed by the first air intake valve and an open second position with the first air intake valve spaced apart from the front face of the piston head leaving the air intake opening open to admit air therethrough, the piston rod having a central piston rod opening along the length of the piston rod in communication with the air intake opening in the piston head, and a second air intake valve at a second end of the piston rod, the second air intake valve movable relative to the piston rod between a closed first position with the second air intake valve closed over the piston rod opening and an open second position with the second air intake valve spaced apart from the piston rod opening to admit air into the piston rod opening;

the piston unit further comprising a thrust absorber comprising a chamber aligned with and adjacent to the piston chamber, the thrust absorber chamber having an upper pair of spaced parallel tracks and a lower pair of spaced parallel tracks and at least one elongated opening through a wall of the thrust absorber chamber along the length of the thrust absorber chamber and a piston rod opening between the thrust absorber chamber and the piston chamber;

a thrust absorber carriage attached to an end portion of the piston rod, the thrust absorber carriage comprising at least one upper pair of precision rolling elements and at least one lower pair of precision rolling elements attached to the thrust absorber carriage, so that the at least one upper pair of rolling elements ride in the upper pair of spaced parallel tracks and the at least one lower pair of rolling elements ride in the lower pair of spaced parallel tracks to guide the movement of the piston so that there is no friction between the piston and the piston chamber wall for a highly efficient movement of the piston within the piston chamber;

the thrust absorber carriage further comprising at least one thrust rod extending orthogonally from the thrust absorber carriage and through the at least one elongated opening through a wall of the thrust absorber chamber to connect with the rotor unit;

the rotor unit comprising a grooved cylinder type power distribution system positioned adjacent to the piston unit, the rotor unit interconnected with a means for driving a transportation device, the rotor unit comprising a grooved cylindrical power rotor attached to the engine body by two thrust bearings, the power rotor positioned parallel to and spaced from the piston chamber, the power rotor having an external curved groove in the power rotor to receive the at least one thrust rod moving within the curved groove to turn the power rotor to transmit power to the means for driving a transportation or other device;

so that during a power stroke fueled by low-pressure electronic fuel injection mixed with air electronically ignited to combustion by the spark plug, the piston head is thrust away from the spark plug with the thrust absorber carriage absorbing the thrust and aligning the movement of the piston heads so that the piston head moves without contacting the piston cylinder wall and the at least one thruster rod moves within the curved groove in the power rotor to turn the power rotor to transmit power to drive a transportation or other device, and at an end of the power stroke the at least one exhaust valve opens to release the combustion gas pressure at which time the air intake valves on the piston head and piston rod open to release pressurized purging air from the at least one positive air intake valve and purge the combustion gases from the piston chamber, and as the exhaust valve closes, controlled recharge air enters the combustion chamber through the at least one positive air intake valve and the air intake valve closes when the combustion chamber is recharged and the at least one electronically controlled air intake valve then unlocks to open behind the piston and allow the purging chamber to refill as the piston head returns in a chamber compression stroke to a firing position at the spark plug end of the piston chamber, and the at least one purging air chamber valve electronically relocks to start the next combustion power stroke;

wherein moving parts of the engine are pressure lubricated in conduits separate from the combustion in the piston chamber.

2. The engine of claim 1 wherein the piston unit and the power unit are bolted together along a seam to form the engine body so that each of the units can be unbolted and removed from the engine body and replaced by a replacement unit when the unit is damaged so that the unit may be rebuilt to use in another engine.

3. The engine of claim 2 wherein on the seam where the units bolt together an edge of each unit has a half of a small seal tube cast into the edge to accommodate a round rubber seal to seal a lubricant in the unit and a half of a lubricant tube cast beside the seal tube and other channels to move a pressurized lubricant to all parts of the engine.

4. The engine of claim 2 further comprising a series of spaced dowel pins positioned in mating holes between the two units along the seam to hold the two units in precise alignment.

5. The engine of claim 1 wherein the at least one thrust rod comprises at least two thrust rods extending from the thrust absorbing carriage in different orthogonal directions and further comprising an additional power receiving unit for each of the thrust rods attached to a different side of the piston unit to provide additional drives for different components of transportation and other devices.

6. The engine of claim 5 wherein a vertical drive unit drives a rotary wing of a flying transportation device and a horizontal rotor unit drives a propeller of the flying transportation device both without the use of gears for flying vertically and horizontally.

7. The engine of claim 1 wherein the piston unit comprises at least two piston cylinders positioned in linear alignment.

8. The engine of claim 1 wherein the piston unit comprises a pair of piston heads and piston rods, each piston head moving within one of two separate piston chambers in linear alignment sandwiching a single thrust absorber chamber and single thrust absorber carriage therebetween attached to both piston rods.

9. The engine of claim 1 wherein the at least one piston head air intake opening comprises an air intake valve shaft running the full length of the piston head and piston shaft, the piston head having an end opening to accommodate a valve operating spring, a spring holder, a valve actuator, and grooves along the valve shaft opening to allow a lubricant to flow to piston seals and to the thrust absorber bearings.

10. The engine of claim 1 wherein the second air intake valve is supported by the thrust absorber carriage, the second air intake valve further comprising a valve operating system.

11. The engine of claim 1 wherein most of the moving parts are operating on roller bearings.

12. The engine of claim 1 further comprising an oil pump to pump oil under pressure to flow from the pump to piston seals and an oil groove in a piston bushing.

13. The engine of claim 1 further comprising carrier mounts located outside on the engine body to position and mount the engine in a transportation device.

14. The engine of claim 1 further comprising a lubricant sump at a bottom of the rotor unit wherein the power rotor operates partially in the lubricant sump.