Toroidal combustion chamber with side injection
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An internal combustion engine, comprising:
- a cylinder wall;
a first piston disposed in the cylinder;
a second piston disposed in the cylinder in an opposed relationship with respect to the first piston;
a crankshaft having first and second eccentric journals;
a first connecting rod coupling the first piston to the first eccentric journal; and
a second connecting rod coupling the second piston to the second eccentric journal, wherein;
the pistons reciprocate within the cylinder upon rotation of the crankshaft;
there is a particular angle of rotation of the crankshaft at which the pistons are closest to each other;
the piston top of the first piston has three regions;
a center, an outer ring near the periphery of the piston, and an inner ring, all of which have a center that is substantially coincident with a central axis of the cylinder;
the piston top of the second piston has three regions;
a center, an outer ring near the periphery of the piston, and an inner ring, all of which have a center that is substantially coincident with the central axis of the cylinder;
a face of the first piston and a face of the second piston are a predetermined distance apart in their respective center regions and the same predetermined distance apart in their respective outer rings when the crankshaft is at the particular angle, the predetermined distance is taken in a direction parallel to the central axis of the cylinder; and
a volume between the first and second pistons proximate the inner ring substantially forms a toroidal volume when the crankshaft is at the particular angle.
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Abstract
A toroidal combustion chamber shape with a side injector is disclosed for an opposed-piston engine. Fuel is injected into the toroidal volume from a fuel injector in the cylinder wall. In one embodiment, fuel is injected from each injector a plurality of times with the timing between the injections such that fuel clouds from each injection remain substantially isolated from each other.
31 Citations
21 Claims
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1. An internal combustion engine, comprising:
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a cylinder wall; a first piston disposed in the cylinder; a second piston disposed in the cylinder in an opposed relationship with respect to the first piston; a crankshaft having first and second eccentric journals; a first connecting rod coupling the first piston to the first eccentric journal; and a second connecting rod coupling the second piston to the second eccentric journal, wherein; the pistons reciprocate within the cylinder upon rotation of the crankshaft; there is a particular angle of rotation of the crankshaft at which the pistons are closest to each other; the piston top of the first piston has three regions;
a center, an outer ring near the periphery of the piston, and an inner ring, all of which have a center that is substantially coincident with a central axis of the cylinder;the piston top of the second piston has three regions;
a center, an outer ring near the periphery of the piston, and an inner ring, all of which have a center that is substantially coincident with the central axis of the cylinder;a face of the first piston and a face of the second piston are a predetermined distance apart in their respective center regions and the same predetermined distance apart in their respective outer rings when the crankshaft is at the particular angle, the predetermined distance is taken in a direction parallel to the central axis of the cylinder; and a volume between the first and second pistons proximate the inner ring substantially forms a toroidal volume when the crankshaft is at the particular angle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A combustion chamber in an opposed-piston engine, comprising:
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a cylinder wall; an intake piston disposed within the cylinder wall; an exhaust piston disposed within the cylinder wall with a top of the intake piston opposite a top of the exhaust piston wherein; the piston top of the intake piston has three regions;
a center, an outer ring near the periphery of the piston, and an inner ring, all of which are substantially symmetrically arranged with respect to a plane through a central axis of the cylinder;the piston top of the exhaust piston has three regions;
a center, an outer ring near the periphery of the piston, and an inner ring, all of which have a center substantially coincident with the central axis of the cylinder;a channel is defined in the outer ring region of the exhaust piston; and wherein the center of the intake piston and the center of exhaust piston are a predetermined distance apart; and
the outer ring of the intake piston and the outer ring of the exhaust piston are the same predetermined distance apart. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method to provide fuel to an opposed-piston, internal-combustion engine, the method comprising:
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injecting fuel multiple times into a combustion chamber of the engine, the combustion chamber comprising; a cylinder wall; an intake piston disposed within the cylinder wall; an exhaust piston disposed within the cylinder wall with a top of the intake piston opposite a top of the exhaust piston wherein; the piston top of the intake piston has three regions;
a center, an outer ring near the periphery of the piston, and an inner ring, all of which are have a center substantially coincident with a central axis of the cylinder;the piston top of the exhaust piston has three regions;
a center, an outer ring near the periphery of the piston, and an inner ring, all of which have a center substantially coincident with the central axis of the cylinder wherein the center of the intake piston and the center of exhaust piston are a predetermined distance apart; and
the outer ring of the intake piston and the outer ring of the exhaust piston are the same predetermined distance apart;two channels are defined in the outer ring region of the intake piston with the two channels diametrically opposed; and a volume between the intake and exhaust pistons proximate the inner ring substantially forms a toroidal volume. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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Specification