Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
123046000 | FREE PISTON | 27 |
20080251050 | Rapid-fire rapid-response power conversion system - A rapid-fire external compression engine having an intake device configured to introduce a pre-compressed fuel-oxidizer mixture from an external source into a combustion chamber having a low-inertia rapid response component. The rapid response component is configured to extract a high percentage of the energy derived from the combustion of the pre-compressed fuel-oxidizer mixture and convert it into mechanical work, which may then be transformed via a variety of methods into usable output power to operate a powered device. | 10-16-2008 |
20090031991 | Method And System For Controlling A Free-Piston Energy Converter - A method and system for controlling a free-piston energy converter is disclosed in which effects of events, like combustion events, in at least one of at least two cylinders, are decoupled from each other by predicting forces acting on the moving mass of the converter during a stroke of the moving mass and by evaluating or estimating a value representing a force which is exerted onto the moving mass, so that the moving mass reaches a desired reference condition or state, like a desired reference kinetic energy, at a certain position along the stroke. | 02-05-2009 |
20090095260 | METHOD TO CONVERT FREE-PISTON LINEAR MOTION TO ROTARY MOTION - Embodiments described herein include a method for converting free-piston linear motion to rotary motion, comprising: providing a free-piston generator or motor/generator that includes one or more pistons; and, for each piston, a surface is provided defining a helical channel, wherein the piston is rotated in a single direction through the helical channel. | 04-16-2009 |
20090320799 | Drive system with a rotary energy-transmission element - The invention relates to a drive system provided with a cylinder shell with two end sections and, inside said cylinder shell, a central combustion chamber with two piston bodies arranged therein, that are displaceable in axially opposed directions within said combustion chamber, wherein a drive rod extending along the longitudinal axis of the cylinder shell is connected with each piston body and has a drive extension extending outwardly from each respective end section of said cylinder shell, wherein said drive rods are each connected via a drive element with a rotary body that can rotate around the cylinder shell, wherein said drive elements are provided with bearings that bear upon said rotary body and that, when in reciprocating motion, drive said rotary body in rotation about said longitudinal axis. | 12-31-2009 |
20100275884 | Quasi Free Piston Engine - A quasi free piston engine uses, a small, lightweight crankshaft to connect the piston assemblies of the free piston engine with a flywheel. While most of the power output from the combustion pistons is extracted by pumping pistons as hydraulic power, the small crankshaft and flywheel ensure exact TDC position of the combustion pistons in operation, and provide a rotating means to drive combustion cylinder intake and exhaust valves. Flywheel speed may be monitored to provide feedback on power extraction for further control of the system. In addition, a hydraulic push-rod system for efficient valve actuation is provided. | 11-04-2010 |
20110083643 | Hydraulic Internal Combustion Engines - Hydraulic internal combustion engines having at least one combustion piston not mechanically connected to a crankshaft or any other combustion piston, but instead acting on hydraulic plungers through valving that is electronically controlled to control the piston position and velocity, typically through an intake stroke, a compression stroke, a combustion or power stroke and an exhaust stroke. Electronically controlled fuel injection and electronically controlled engine valves provided great flexibility in the operating cycles that may be used, with the engine pumping hydraulic fluid to a high pressure accumulator for use in hydraulic motors or other hydraulic equipment. Embodiments using high pressure air injection to sustain combustion are also disclosed. | 04-14-2011 |
20120024264 | HEAT ENGINE - A heat engine comprising compressor and expander displacement elements ( | 02-02-2012 |
20120204836 | LINEAR FREE PISTON COMBUSTION ENGINE WITH INDIRECT WORK EXTRACTION VIA GAS LINKAGE - Various embodiments of the present invention are directed toward a linear free piston combustion engine with indirect work extraction via gas linkage, comprising: a cylinder with two opposed free pistons disposed therein that form a combustion section in a center of the cylinder, each free piston comprising a front face facing the combustion section and a back face facing the opposite direction: two opposed extractor pistons disposed in their own cylinders at opposite ends of the free piston cylinder, each extractor piston comprising a front face facing the combustion section and a back face facing the opposite direction; and two gas linkages, each gas linkage comprising a volume sealed between the back face of a free piston and the front face of an extractor piston; wherein each extractor piston is connected to a rotary electromagnetic machine. | 08-16-2012 |
20130025570 | Digital Hydraulic Opposed Free Piston Engines and Methods - Digital hydraulic opposed free piston internal combustion engines having a pair of free pistons in a pair of cylinders defining a combustion chamber above each free piston. The pair of free pistons is arranged to move within the pair of cylinders with parallel axes of free piston motion, and preferably co-linear axes of free piston motion. At least one hydraulic plunger is under each free piston with each hydraulic plunger in a respective hydraulic cylinder. The hydraulic cylinders are coupled to electronically controlled hydraulic cylinder valving. A controller controls the electronically controlled hydraulic cylinder valving to control the pair of free pistons to have substantially equal and opposite motions. | 01-31-2013 |
20130118453 | FREE-PISTON INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE - A linear-acting, free-piston internal combustion engine suitable for operation on a four-stroke engine cycle comprises a power piston ( | 05-16-2013 |
20130247877 | Free-Piston Engine for Generating Combined Heat and Power - An apparatus is provided for generation of combined heat and power comprising an engine configured in a free-piston arrangement comprising two opposed pistons arranged in an elongated cylinder having at least one inlet port and at least one outlet port with uniflow scavenging, an electricity generator, means for harnessing heat and means for transmitting load from the engine to the electricity generator. The engine is configured to operate at close to constant volume combustion, high compression ratio, a lean fuel to air ratio and uses homogeneous charge compression ignition. The engine further comprises a synchronizing mechanical or hydraulic linkage between said two opposed pistons. A method for generating combined heat and power and a method for configuring apparatus for generating combined heat and power are also provided. | 09-26-2013 |
20150128907 | Cold-Start Strategies for Opposed-Piston Engines - A strategy to cold-start an opposed-piston engine includes, before injecting fuel, preventing air flow through the engine while cranking the engine to heat air retained in the engine, followed by controlling mass air flow through and fuel injection into a cylinder of the engine according to cold-start schedules so as to create and preserve heat for stable engine firing and transition to an idling state of operation. | 05-14-2015 |
20080271711 | Four-Stroke Free Piston Engine - A free piston engine utilizes a shuttle frame external to combustion chambers to rigidly link shuttle parts reciprocating along a centerline. If the shuttle parts are spaced apart along the centerline, the shuttle frame may be struts extending from the shuttle parts and linked by rods. Alternatively the shuttle parts are within a tubular shuttle frame that forms part of the combustion chamber boundary. If one shuttle part is arranged around the other with both centered about the centerline, the shuttle frame may include an annular plate between a cylindrical inner shuttle part and an annular outer shuttle part. Alternatively the shuttle frame may include an inner tube with a cylindrical inner shuttle part within the inner tube, and an outer tube with an annular outer shuttle part arranged between the inner and the outer tubes so that the shuttle frame forms part of the combustion chamber boundary. | 11-06-2008 |
20090255513 | Deformable chamber-based homogeneous charge combustion ignition (HCCI) engine and generator - A reciprocating internal combustion engine is based on Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) that occurs in a deformable, resonant combustion chamber and that is coupled mechanically to efficient, resonant, electromechanical transducers acting as motors and generators. The mechanical coupling also implements fuel/air intake valves and exhaust valves. Embedded sensors allow an electronic control system to start the engine and thereafter to maintain operational configuration of the moving components in response to the effects of imperfect mechanical fabrication and/or assembly and dynamic changes in mechanical properties of the materials with run-time temperature and engine life. | 10-15-2009 |
20110174271 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ELECTRICALLY-COUPLED HEAT ENGINE AND THERMAL CYCLE - In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, there is provided a device for generating electrical energy using a thermal cycle of a working gas. The device comprises at least one piston movably mounted in a container to form a working chamber between the at least one piston and the container, the working chamber containing the working gas performing the thermal cycle. An electrical circuit is mounted stationary relative to the container, the electrical circuit being electromagnetically coupled to provide a motive force to the at least one piston. An electronic power converter is electrically connected to the electrical circuit and to an electrical bus, and an electrical storage device is electrically connected to the electrical bus. The at least one piston is movably mounted such that its motion electromagnetically induces current in the electrical circuit. An electronic controller is electronically connected to the electronic power converter to control motion of the at least one piston to perform, in the thermal cycle, at least one of: (i) expanding the working gas beyond the volume at which compression of the working gas is begun within the thermal cycle or (ii) exhausting the working gas to a remaining volume less than the smallest volume of compressed gas within the thermal cycle. The electronic controller further controls flow of electrical energy to and from the electrical bus to effect a net positive average power transfer from the working gas to the electrical bus over the course of the thermal cycle. | 07-21-2011 |
20120125291 | HIGH-EFFICIENCY LINEAR COMBUSTION ENGINE - Various embodiments of the present invention are directed toward a linear combustion engine, comprising: a cylinder having a cylinder wall and a pair of ends, the cylinder including a combustion section disposed in a center portion of the cylinder; a pair of opposed piston assemblies adapted to move linearly within the cylinder, each piston assembly disposed on one side of the combustion section opposite the other piston assembly, each piston assembly including a spring rod and a piston comprising a solid front section adjacent the combustion section and a gas section; and a pair of linear electromagnetic machines adapted to directly convert kinetic energy of the piston assembly into electrical energy, and adapted to directly convert electrical energy into kinetic energy of the piston assembly for providing compression work during the compression stroke. | 05-24-2012 |
20140209067 | System And Method For Electrically-Coupled Heat Engine And Thermal Cycle - In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, there is provided a device for generating electrical energy using a thermal cycle of a working gas. The device comprises at least one piston movably mounted in a container to form a working chamber between the at least one piston and the container, the working chamber containing the working gas performing the thermal cycle. An electrical circuit is mounted stationary relative to the container, the electrical circuit being electromagnetically coupled to provide a motive force to the at least one piston. An electronic power converter is electrically connected to the electrical circuit and to an electrical bus, and an electrical storage device is electrically connected to the electrical bus. The at least one piston is movably mounted such that its motion electromagnetically induces current in the electrical circuit. An electronic controller is electronically connected to the electronic power converter to control motion of the at least one piston to perform, in the thermal cycle, at least one of: (i) expanding the working gas beyond the volume at which compression of the working gas is begun within the thermal cycle or (ii) exhausting the working gas to a remaining volume less than the smallest volume of compressed gas within the thermal cycle. The electronic controller further controls flow of electrical energy to and from the electrical bus to effect a net positive average power transfer from the working gas to the electrical bus over the course of the thermal cycle. | 07-31-2014 |
20140216411 | LINEAR ALTERNATOR ASSEMBLY WITH FOUR-STROKE WORKING CYCLE AND VEHICLE HAVING SAME - A linear alternator assembly is provided that includes a block defining a cylinder. The cylinder block has inlet ports at which fluid enters the cylinder, exhaust ports at which fluid is exhausted from the cylinder, and a fuel port. Energizable coils surround the cylinder. A first and a second magnetic or magnetizable piston are contained within the cylinder and are positionable within the cylinder in response to energization of selective ones of the coils and combustion of fuel within the cylinder to selectively establish a four-stroke working cycle having an intake stroke, a compression stroke, an expansion stroke, and an exhaust stroke, producing at least one of compressed gas and electrical energy. The four-stroke working cycle may be varied to adapt to changes in power demanded, thereby balancing required output power with efficiency considerations. | 08-07-2014 |
20160032820 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TRANSIENT CONTROL OF A FREE-PISTON ENGINE - A free-piston (“FP”) engine is a type of internal combustion engine with no crankshaft, so that its piston trajectory is no longer constrained by the mechanical linkage. FP engines have a high potential in terms of energy saving given their simple structure, high modularity and high efficiency, among other attributes. One of the technical barriers that affect FP engine technology is a lack of precise piston trajectory control. For example, the presence of a transient period after a single combustion event can prevent the engine from continuous firing. The present subject matter provides a control scheme that can utilize a reference and control signal shifting technique to modify the tracking error and the control signal to reduce the transient period. | 02-04-2016 |
20090159050 | Fuel Supply and Combustion Chamber Systems for Fastener-Driving Tools - A fuel supply and combustion chamber system for a portable power tool, such as, for example, a fastener-driving tool, wherein the fuel supply and combustion chamber system can utilize liquid fuels. The fuel supply and combustion chamber system can comprise multiple combustion chambers for achieving predetermined combustion and power output characteristics. In addition, the fuel supply and combustion chamber system can utilize portioning valve structures for providing predetermined amounts of either a gaseous or liquid fuel into the portable power tool combustion chamber. | 06-25-2009 |
20100162998 | FREE PISTON ASSEMBLY AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A FREE PISTON ASSEMBLY - Free piston assembly, comprising at least one piston accommodating device, at least one piston device having a first piston surface and a second piston surface facing away from the first piston surface, which is moveable in a linear manner in the corresponding piston accommodating device, and an expansion space which is arranged in the piston accommodating device and delimited by the first piston surface, wherein the piston device is arranged to be driven by the action of a medium which expands in the expansion space, wherein a resilience space arranged in the at least one piston accommodating device is delimited by the second piston surface, and wherein the resilience space is connected to at least one pre-compression chamber in fluidic manner. | 07-01-2010 |
20160376983 | HIGHLY EFFICIENT TWO-STROKE INTERNAL COMBUSTION HYDRAULIC ENGINE WITH A TORQUING VANE DEVICE INCORPORATED. - The new embodiment of a highly efficient internal combustion hydraulic engine with a vane torquing device herein being provided, is designed to: a).—Maximize to the maximum extent possible the power and pressure produced by each combustion and convert it into mechanical use, and b).—To fit the engine snugly into all size trucks, pick-ups, heavy equipment, large and mid-size vehicles, snowmobiles, boats, buses, by placing the torquing device just below the cylinders. This new embodiment uses three electromagnetic actuators and one mechanical cam actuator to operate. It also has the following two additional features: first, an internal check valve located inside the block, which will make the engine more versatile, adaptable and supple to various road conditions. And second, a flexible longitudinal metal pin between the cam and the blind-type check-out-valve, to make the functioning of the engine more smooth and durable. | 12-29-2016 |
20120318239 | Free Piston Engines with Single Hydraulic Piston Actuator and Methods - Free piston engines having a free piston having a first piston diameter in a cylinder with a combustion chamber on a first side of the first piston and a piston rod having a second diameter fastened to a second side of the first piston and extending to a single second piston having a third diameter smaller than the first diameter, but larger that the second diameter, the single second piston extending into a hydraulic cylinder, the second piston having a first hydraulic area defined by the third diameter in a first hydraulic chamber, and a second hydraulic area defined by the area between the third diameter and the second diameter in a second hydraulic chamber, and valving to control the coupling of a high pressure, a low pressure and a reservoir to the first and second hydraulic chambers to control the free piston. | 12-20-2012 |
20130298874 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR FREE PISTON ENGINE CONTROL - Motion control of a hydraulic free-piston engine is achieved in order to enable advanced combustions such as low temperature combustion. To accomplish this, an active controller acts as a virtual crankshaft, which causes a piston to follow a reference trajectory using energy from a storage element. Given the periodic nature of free-piston engine motion, an advanced controller of the present invention is preferably of robust repetitive type that is capable of tracking periodic reference signals. | 11-14-2013 |
20140116389 | SINGLE-CYLINDER, DUAL HEAD INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE HAVING MAGNETICALLY COUPLED POWER DELIVERY - A single-cylinder, dual head internal combustion engine wherein in a single, mechanically unconstrained piston moves reciprocally within the cylinder between the two heads. Magnets or nonmagnetized ferromagnetic structures in the piston interact with magnets in a sleeve riding on the outside surface of the cylinder to cause synchronous movement of the sleeve. A yoke coupled to the sleeve may be coupled to a conventional crankshaft to convert the reciprocal movement of the sleeve into rotary motion. Multiple single-cylinder, dual head units may be ganged to form multi-cylinder engine configurations. In one embodiment, the magnets in the sleeve are electromagnets whereby de-energizing the electromagnets decouples the sleeve from the piston, thereby eliminating the need for a mechanical clutch in a power train driven by the engine. | 05-01-2014 |
20140165967 | INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES - An internal combustion engine comprising at least one cylinder and a pair of opposed, reciprocating pistons within the cylinder forming a combustion chamber therebetween. The engine has at least one fuel injector disposed at least partly within the cylinder, the fuel injector having a nozzle that is positioned within the combustion chamber and through which the fuel is expelled into the combustion chamber, wherein the nozzle is exposed directly within the combustion chamber. | 06-19-2014 |
20140283791 | FREE-PISTON ENGINE - The free-piston engine | 09-25-2014 |
123046000 | Two chambers; one piston | 5 |
20080251050 | Rapid-fire rapid-response power conversion system - A rapid-fire external compression engine having an intake device configured to introduce a pre-compressed fuel-oxidizer mixture from an external source into a combustion chamber having a low-inertia rapid response component. The rapid response component is configured to extract a high percentage of the energy derived from the combustion of the pre-compressed fuel-oxidizer mixture and convert it into mechanical work, which may then be transformed via a variety of methods into usable output power to operate a powered device. | 10-16-2008 |
20090031991 | Method And System For Controlling A Free-Piston Energy Converter - A method and system for controlling a free-piston energy converter is disclosed in which effects of events, like combustion events, in at least one of at least two cylinders, are decoupled from each other by predicting forces acting on the moving mass of the converter during a stroke of the moving mass and by evaluating or estimating a value representing a force which is exerted onto the moving mass, so that the moving mass reaches a desired reference condition or state, like a desired reference kinetic energy, at a certain position along the stroke. | 02-05-2009 |
20090095260 | METHOD TO CONVERT FREE-PISTON LINEAR MOTION TO ROTARY MOTION - Embodiments described herein include a method for converting free-piston linear motion to rotary motion, comprising: providing a free-piston generator or motor/generator that includes one or more pistons; and, for each piston, a surface is provided defining a helical channel, wherein the piston is rotated in a single direction through the helical channel. | 04-16-2009 |
20090320799 | Drive system with a rotary energy-transmission element - The invention relates to a drive system provided with a cylinder shell with two end sections and, inside said cylinder shell, a central combustion chamber with two piston bodies arranged therein, that are displaceable in axially opposed directions within said combustion chamber, wherein a drive rod extending along the longitudinal axis of the cylinder shell is connected with each piston body and has a drive extension extending outwardly from each respective end section of said cylinder shell, wherein said drive rods are each connected via a drive element with a rotary body that can rotate around the cylinder shell, wherein said drive elements are provided with bearings that bear upon said rotary body and that, when in reciprocating motion, drive said rotary body in rotation about said longitudinal axis. | 12-31-2009 |
20100275884 | Quasi Free Piston Engine - A quasi free piston engine uses, a small, lightweight crankshaft to connect the piston assemblies of the free piston engine with a flywheel. While most of the power output from the combustion pistons is extracted by pumping pistons as hydraulic power, the small crankshaft and flywheel ensure exact TDC position of the combustion pistons in operation, and provide a rotating means to drive combustion cylinder intake and exhaust valves. Flywheel speed may be monitored to provide feedback on power extraction for further control of the system. In addition, a hydraulic push-rod system for efficient valve actuation is provided. | 11-04-2010 |
20110083643 | Hydraulic Internal Combustion Engines - Hydraulic internal combustion engines having at least one combustion piston not mechanically connected to a crankshaft or any other combustion piston, but instead acting on hydraulic plungers through valving that is electronically controlled to control the piston position and velocity, typically through an intake stroke, a compression stroke, a combustion or power stroke and an exhaust stroke. Electronically controlled fuel injection and electronically controlled engine valves provided great flexibility in the operating cycles that may be used, with the engine pumping hydraulic fluid to a high pressure accumulator for use in hydraulic motors or other hydraulic equipment. Embodiments using high pressure air injection to sustain combustion are also disclosed. | 04-14-2011 |
20120024264 | HEAT ENGINE - A heat engine comprising compressor and expander displacement elements ( | 02-02-2012 |
20120204836 | LINEAR FREE PISTON COMBUSTION ENGINE WITH INDIRECT WORK EXTRACTION VIA GAS LINKAGE - Various embodiments of the present invention are directed toward a linear free piston combustion engine with indirect work extraction via gas linkage, comprising: a cylinder with two opposed free pistons disposed therein that form a combustion section in a center of the cylinder, each free piston comprising a front face facing the combustion section and a back face facing the opposite direction: two opposed extractor pistons disposed in their own cylinders at opposite ends of the free piston cylinder, each extractor piston comprising a front face facing the combustion section and a back face facing the opposite direction; and two gas linkages, each gas linkage comprising a volume sealed between the back face of a free piston and the front face of an extractor piston; wherein each extractor piston is connected to a rotary electromagnetic machine. | 08-16-2012 |
20130025570 | Digital Hydraulic Opposed Free Piston Engines and Methods - Digital hydraulic opposed free piston internal combustion engines having a pair of free pistons in a pair of cylinders defining a combustion chamber above each free piston. The pair of free pistons is arranged to move within the pair of cylinders with parallel axes of free piston motion, and preferably co-linear axes of free piston motion. At least one hydraulic plunger is under each free piston with each hydraulic plunger in a respective hydraulic cylinder. The hydraulic cylinders are coupled to electronically controlled hydraulic cylinder valving. A controller controls the electronically controlled hydraulic cylinder valving to control the pair of free pistons to have substantially equal and opposite motions. | 01-31-2013 |
20130118453 | FREE-PISTON INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE - A linear-acting, free-piston internal combustion engine suitable for operation on a four-stroke engine cycle comprises a power piston ( | 05-16-2013 |
20130247877 | Free-Piston Engine for Generating Combined Heat and Power - An apparatus is provided for generation of combined heat and power comprising an engine configured in a free-piston arrangement comprising two opposed pistons arranged in an elongated cylinder having at least one inlet port and at least one outlet port with uniflow scavenging, an electricity generator, means for harnessing heat and means for transmitting load from the engine to the electricity generator. The engine is configured to operate at close to constant volume combustion, high compression ratio, a lean fuel to air ratio and uses homogeneous charge compression ignition. The engine further comprises a synchronizing mechanical or hydraulic linkage between said two opposed pistons. A method for generating combined heat and power and a method for configuring apparatus for generating combined heat and power are also provided. | 09-26-2013 |
20150128907 | Cold-Start Strategies for Opposed-Piston Engines - A strategy to cold-start an opposed-piston engine includes, before injecting fuel, preventing air flow through the engine while cranking the engine to heat air retained in the engine, followed by controlling mass air flow through and fuel injection into a cylinder of the engine according to cold-start schedules so as to create and preserve heat for stable engine firing and transition to an idling state of operation. | 05-14-2015 |
20080271711 | Four-Stroke Free Piston Engine - A free piston engine utilizes a shuttle frame external to combustion chambers to rigidly link shuttle parts reciprocating along a centerline. If the shuttle parts are spaced apart along the centerline, the shuttle frame may be struts extending from the shuttle parts and linked by rods. Alternatively the shuttle parts are within a tubular shuttle frame that forms part of the combustion chamber boundary. If one shuttle part is arranged around the other with both centered about the centerline, the shuttle frame may include an annular plate between a cylindrical inner shuttle part and an annular outer shuttle part. Alternatively the shuttle frame may include an inner tube with a cylindrical inner shuttle part within the inner tube, and an outer tube with an annular outer shuttle part arranged between the inner and the outer tubes so that the shuttle frame forms part of the combustion chamber boundary. | 11-06-2008 |
20090255513 | Deformable chamber-based homogeneous charge combustion ignition (HCCI) engine and generator - A reciprocating internal combustion engine is based on Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) that occurs in a deformable, resonant combustion chamber and that is coupled mechanically to efficient, resonant, electromechanical transducers acting as motors and generators. The mechanical coupling also implements fuel/air intake valves and exhaust valves. Embedded sensors allow an electronic control system to start the engine and thereafter to maintain operational configuration of the moving components in response to the effects of imperfect mechanical fabrication and/or assembly and dynamic changes in mechanical properties of the materials with run-time temperature and engine life. | 10-15-2009 |
20110174271 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ELECTRICALLY-COUPLED HEAT ENGINE AND THERMAL CYCLE - In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, there is provided a device for generating electrical energy using a thermal cycle of a working gas. The device comprises at least one piston movably mounted in a container to form a working chamber between the at least one piston and the container, the working chamber containing the working gas performing the thermal cycle. An electrical circuit is mounted stationary relative to the container, the electrical circuit being electromagnetically coupled to provide a motive force to the at least one piston. An electronic power converter is electrically connected to the electrical circuit and to an electrical bus, and an electrical storage device is electrically connected to the electrical bus. The at least one piston is movably mounted such that its motion electromagnetically induces current in the electrical circuit. An electronic controller is electronically connected to the electronic power converter to control motion of the at least one piston to perform, in the thermal cycle, at least one of: (i) expanding the working gas beyond the volume at which compression of the working gas is begun within the thermal cycle or (ii) exhausting the working gas to a remaining volume less than the smallest volume of compressed gas within the thermal cycle. The electronic controller further controls flow of electrical energy to and from the electrical bus to effect a net positive average power transfer from the working gas to the electrical bus over the course of the thermal cycle. | 07-21-2011 |
20120125291 | HIGH-EFFICIENCY LINEAR COMBUSTION ENGINE - Various embodiments of the present invention are directed toward a linear combustion engine, comprising: a cylinder having a cylinder wall and a pair of ends, the cylinder including a combustion section disposed in a center portion of the cylinder; a pair of opposed piston assemblies adapted to move linearly within the cylinder, each piston assembly disposed on one side of the combustion section opposite the other piston assembly, each piston assembly including a spring rod and a piston comprising a solid front section adjacent the combustion section and a gas section; and a pair of linear electromagnetic machines adapted to directly convert kinetic energy of the piston assembly into electrical energy, and adapted to directly convert electrical energy into kinetic energy of the piston assembly for providing compression work during the compression stroke. | 05-24-2012 |
20140209067 | System And Method For Electrically-Coupled Heat Engine And Thermal Cycle - In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, there is provided a device for generating electrical energy using a thermal cycle of a working gas. The device comprises at least one piston movably mounted in a container to form a working chamber between the at least one piston and the container, the working chamber containing the working gas performing the thermal cycle. An electrical circuit is mounted stationary relative to the container, the electrical circuit being electromagnetically coupled to provide a motive force to the at least one piston. An electronic power converter is electrically connected to the electrical circuit and to an electrical bus, and an electrical storage device is electrically connected to the electrical bus. The at least one piston is movably mounted such that its motion electromagnetically induces current in the electrical circuit. An electronic controller is electronically connected to the electronic power converter to control motion of the at least one piston to perform, in the thermal cycle, at least one of: (i) expanding the working gas beyond the volume at which compression of the working gas is begun within the thermal cycle or (ii) exhausting the working gas to a remaining volume less than the smallest volume of compressed gas within the thermal cycle. The electronic controller further controls flow of electrical energy to and from the electrical bus to effect a net positive average power transfer from the working gas to the electrical bus over the course of the thermal cycle. | 07-31-2014 |
20140216411 | LINEAR ALTERNATOR ASSEMBLY WITH FOUR-STROKE WORKING CYCLE AND VEHICLE HAVING SAME - A linear alternator assembly is provided that includes a block defining a cylinder. The cylinder block has inlet ports at which fluid enters the cylinder, exhaust ports at which fluid is exhausted from the cylinder, and a fuel port. Energizable coils surround the cylinder. A first and a second magnetic or magnetizable piston are contained within the cylinder and are positionable within the cylinder in response to energization of selective ones of the coils and combustion of fuel within the cylinder to selectively establish a four-stroke working cycle having an intake stroke, a compression stroke, an expansion stroke, and an exhaust stroke, producing at least one of compressed gas and electrical energy. The four-stroke working cycle may be varied to adapt to changes in power demanded, thereby balancing required output power with efficiency considerations. | 08-07-2014 |
20160032820 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TRANSIENT CONTROL OF A FREE-PISTON ENGINE - A free-piston (“FP”) engine is a type of internal combustion engine with no crankshaft, so that its piston trajectory is no longer constrained by the mechanical linkage. FP engines have a high potential in terms of energy saving given their simple structure, high modularity and high efficiency, among other attributes. One of the technical barriers that affect FP engine technology is a lack of precise piston trajectory control. For example, the presence of a transient period after a single combustion event can prevent the engine from continuous firing. The present subject matter provides a control scheme that can utilize a reference and control signal shifting technique to modify the tracking error and the control signal to reduce the transient period. | 02-04-2016 |
20090159050 | Fuel Supply and Combustion Chamber Systems for Fastener-Driving Tools - A fuel supply and combustion chamber system for a portable power tool, such as, for example, a fastener-driving tool, wherein the fuel supply and combustion chamber system can utilize liquid fuels. The fuel supply and combustion chamber system can comprise multiple combustion chambers for achieving predetermined combustion and power output characteristics. In addition, the fuel supply and combustion chamber system can utilize portioning valve structures for providing predetermined amounts of either a gaseous or liquid fuel into the portable power tool combustion chamber. | 06-25-2009 |
20100162998 | FREE PISTON ASSEMBLY AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A FREE PISTON ASSEMBLY - Free piston assembly, comprising at least one piston accommodating device, at least one piston device having a first piston surface and a second piston surface facing away from the first piston surface, which is moveable in a linear manner in the corresponding piston accommodating device, and an expansion space which is arranged in the piston accommodating device and delimited by the first piston surface, wherein the piston device is arranged to be driven by the action of a medium which expands in the expansion space, wherein a resilience space arranged in the at least one piston accommodating device is delimited by the second piston surface, and wherein the resilience space is connected to at least one pre-compression chamber in fluidic manner. | 07-01-2010 |
20160376983 | HIGHLY EFFICIENT TWO-STROKE INTERNAL COMBUSTION HYDRAULIC ENGINE WITH A TORQUING VANE DEVICE INCORPORATED. - The new embodiment of a highly efficient internal combustion hydraulic engine with a vane torquing device herein being provided, is designed to: a).—Maximize to the maximum extent possible the power and pressure produced by each combustion and convert it into mechanical use, and b).—To fit the engine snugly into all size trucks, pick-ups, heavy equipment, large and mid-size vehicles, snowmobiles, boats, buses, by placing the torquing device just below the cylinders. This new embodiment uses three electromagnetic actuators and one mechanical cam actuator to operate. It also has the following two additional features: first, an internal check valve located inside the block, which will make the engine more versatile, adaptable and supple to various road conditions. And second, a flexible longitudinal metal pin between the cam and the blind-type check-out-valve, to make the functioning of the engine more smooth and durable. | 12-29-2016 |
20120318239 | Free Piston Engines with Single Hydraulic Piston Actuator and Methods - Free piston engines having a free piston having a first piston diameter in a cylinder with a combustion chamber on a first side of the first piston and a piston rod having a second diameter fastened to a second side of the first piston and extending to a single second piston having a third diameter smaller than the first diameter, but larger that the second diameter, the single second piston extending into a hydraulic cylinder, the second piston having a first hydraulic area defined by the third diameter in a first hydraulic chamber, and a second hydraulic area defined by the area between the third diameter and the second diameter in a second hydraulic chamber, and valving to control the coupling of a high pressure, a low pressure and a reservoir to the first and second hydraulic chambers to control the free piston. | 12-20-2012 |
20130298874 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR FREE PISTON ENGINE CONTROL - Motion control of a hydraulic free-piston engine is achieved in order to enable advanced combustions such as low temperature combustion. To accomplish this, an active controller acts as a virtual crankshaft, which causes a piston to follow a reference trajectory using energy from a storage element. Given the periodic nature of free-piston engine motion, an advanced controller of the present invention is preferably of robust repetitive type that is capable of tracking periodic reference signals. | 11-14-2013 |
20140116389 | SINGLE-CYLINDER, DUAL HEAD INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE HAVING MAGNETICALLY COUPLED POWER DELIVERY - A single-cylinder, dual head internal combustion engine wherein in a single, mechanically unconstrained piston moves reciprocally within the cylinder between the two heads. Magnets or nonmagnetized ferromagnetic structures in the piston interact with magnets in a sleeve riding on the outside surface of the cylinder to cause synchronous movement of the sleeve. A yoke coupled to the sleeve may be coupled to a conventional crankshaft to convert the reciprocal movement of the sleeve into rotary motion. Multiple single-cylinder, dual head units may be ganged to form multi-cylinder engine configurations. In one embodiment, the magnets in the sleeve are electromagnets whereby de-energizing the electromagnets decouples the sleeve from the piston, thereby eliminating the need for a mechanical clutch in a power train driven by the engine. | 05-01-2014 |
20140165967 | INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES - An internal combustion engine comprising at least one cylinder and a pair of opposed, reciprocating pistons within the cylinder forming a combustion chamber therebetween. The engine has at least one fuel injector disposed at least partly within the cylinder, the fuel injector having a nozzle that is positioned within the combustion chamber and through which the fuel is expelled into the combustion chamber, wherein the nozzle is exposed directly within the combustion chamber. | 06-19-2014 |
20140283791 | FREE-PISTON ENGINE - The free-piston engine | 09-25-2014 |
123046000 | Single chamber; one piston | 3 |
20080251050 | Rapid-fire rapid-response power conversion system - A rapid-fire external compression engine having an intake device configured to introduce a pre-compressed fuel-oxidizer mixture from an external source into a combustion chamber having a low-inertia rapid response component. The rapid response component is configured to extract a high percentage of the energy derived from the combustion of the pre-compressed fuel-oxidizer mixture and convert it into mechanical work, which may then be transformed via a variety of methods into usable output power to operate a powered device. | 10-16-2008 |
20090031991 | Method And System For Controlling A Free-Piston Energy Converter - A method and system for controlling a free-piston energy converter is disclosed in which effects of events, like combustion events, in at least one of at least two cylinders, are decoupled from each other by predicting forces acting on the moving mass of the converter during a stroke of the moving mass and by evaluating or estimating a value representing a force which is exerted onto the moving mass, so that the moving mass reaches a desired reference condition or state, like a desired reference kinetic energy, at a certain position along the stroke. | 02-05-2009 |
20090095260 | METHOD TO CONVERT FREE-PISTON LINEAR MOTION TO ROTARY MOTION - Embodiments described herein include a method for converting free-piston linear motion to rotary motion, comprising: providing a free-piston generator or motor/generator that includes one or more pistons; and, for each piston, a surface is provided defining a helical channel, wherein the piston is rotated in a single direction through the helical channel. | 04-16-2009 |
20090320799 | Drive system with a rotary energy-transmission element - The invention relates to a drive system provided with a cylinder shell with two end sections and, inside said cylinder shell, a central combustion chamber with two piston bodies arranged therein, that are displaceable in axially opposed directions within said combustion chamber, wherein a drive rod extending along the longitudinal axis of the cylinder shell is connected with each piston body and has a drive extension extending outwardly from each respective end section of said cylinder shell, wherein said drive rods are each connected via a drive element with a rotary body that can rotate around the cylinder shell, wherein said drive elements are provided with bearings that bear upon said rotary body and that, when in reciprocating motion, drive said rotary body in rotation about said longitudinal axis. | 12-31-2009 |
20100275884 | Quasi Free Piston Engine - A quasi free piston engine uses, a small, lightweight crankshaft to connect the piston assemblies of the free piston engine with a flywheel. While most of the power output from the combustion pistons is extracted by pumping pistons as hydraulic power, the small crankshaft and flywheel ensure exact TDC position of the combustion pistons in operation, and provide a rotating means to drive combustion cylinder intake and exhaust valves. Flywheel speed may be monitored to provide feedback on power extraction for further control of the system. In addition, a hydraulic push-rod system for efficient valve actuation is provided. | 11-04-2010 |
20110083643 | Hydraulic Internal Combustion Engines - Hydraulic internal combustion engines having at least one combustion piston not mechanically connected to a crankshaft or any other combustion piston, but instead acting on hydraulic plungers through valving that is electronically controlled to control the piston position and velocity, typically through an intake stroke, a compression stroke, a combustion or power stroke and an exhaust stroke. Electronically controlled fuel injection and electronically controlled engine valves provided great flexibility in the operating cycles that may be used, with the engine pumping hydraulic fluid to a high pressure accumulator for use in hydraulic motors or other hydraulic equipment. Embodiments using high pressure air injection to sustain combustion are also disclosed. | 04-14-2011 |
20120024264 | HEAT ENGINE - A heat engine comprising compressor and expander displacement elements ( | 02-02-2012 |
20120204836 | LINEAR FREE PISTON COMBUSTION ENGINE WITH INDIRECT WORK EXTRACTION VIA GAS LINKAGE - Various embodiments of the present invention are directed toward a linear free piston combustion engine with indirect work extraction via gas linkage, comprising: a cylinder with two opposed free pistons disposed therein that form a combustion section in a center of the cylinder, each free piston comprising a front face facing the combustion section and a back face facing the opposite direction: two opposed extractor pistons disposed in their own cylinders at opposite ends of the free piston cylinder, each extractor piston comprising a front face facing the combustion section and a back face facing the opposite direction; and two gas linkages, each gas linkage comprising a volume sealed between the back face of a free piston and the front face of an extractor piston; wherein each extractor piston is connected to a rotary electromagnetic machine. | 08-16-2012 |
20130025570 | Digital Hydraulic Opposed Free Piston Engines and Methods - Digital hydraulic opposed free piston internal combustion engines having a pair of free pistons in a pair of cylinders defining a combustion chamber above each free piston. The pair of free pistons is arranged to move within the pair of cylinders with parallel axes of free piston motion, and preferably co-linear axes of free piston motion. At least one hydraulic plunger is under each free piston with each hydraulic plunger in a respective hydraulic cylinder. The hydraulic cylinders are coupled to electronically controlled hydraulic cylinder valving. A controller controls the electronically controlled hydraulic cylinder valving to control the pair of free pistons to have substantially equal and opposite motions. | 01-31-2013 |
20130118453 | FREE-PISTON INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE - A linear-acting, free-piston internal combustion engine suitable for operation on a four-stroke engine cycle comprises a power piston ( | 05-16-2013 |
20130247877 | Free-Piston Engine for Generating Combined Heat and Power - An apparatus is provided for generation of combined heat and power comprising an engine configured in a free-piston arrangement comprising two opposed pistons arranged in an elongated cylinder having at least one inlet port and at least one outlet port with uniflow scavenging, an electricity generator, means for harnessing heat and means for transmitting load from the engine to the electricity generator. The engine is configured to operate at close to constant volume combustion, high compression ratio, a lean fuel to air ratio and uses homogeneous charge compression ignition. The engine further comprises a synchronizing mechanical or hydraulic linkage between said two opposed pistons. A method for generating combined heat and power and a method for configuring apparatus for generating combined heat and power are also provided. | 09-26-2013 |
20150128907 | Cold-Start Strategies for Opposed-Piston Engines - A strategy to cold-start an opposed-piston engine includes, before injecting fuel, preventing air flow through the engine while cranking the engine to heat air retained in the engine, followed by controlling mass air flow through and fuel injection into a cylinder of the engine according to cold-start schedules so as to create and preserve heat for stable engine firing and transition to an idling state of operation. | 05-14-2015 |
20080271711 | Four-Stroke Free Piston Engine - A free piston engine utilizes a shuttle frame external to combustion chambers to rigidly link shuttle parts reciprocating along a centerline. If the shuttle parts are spaced apart along the centerline, the shuttle frame may be struts extending from the shuttle parts and linked by rods. Alternatively the shuttle parts are within a tubular shuttle frame that forms part of the combustion chamber boundary. If one shuttle part is arranged around the other with both centered about the centerline, the shuttle frame may include an annular plate between a cylindrical inner shuttle part and an annular outer shuttle part. Alternatively the shuttle frame may include an inner tube with a cylindrical inner shuttle part within the inner tube, and an outer tube with an annular outer shuttle part arranged between the inner and the outer tubes so that the shuttle frame forms part of the combustion chamber boundary. | 11-06-2008 |
20090255513 | Deformable chamber-based homogeneous charge combustion ignition (HCCI) engine and generator - A reciprocating internal combustion engine is based on Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) that occurs in a deformable, resonant combustion chamber and that is coupled mechanically to efficient, resonant, electromechanical transducers acting as motors and generators. The mechanical coupling also implements fuel/air intake valves and exhaust valves. Embedded sensors allow an electronic control system to start the engine and thereafter to maintain operational configuration of the moving components in response to the effects of imperfect mechanical fabrication and/or assembly and dynamic changes in mechanical properties of the materials with run-time temperature and engine life. | 10-15-2009 |
20110174271 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ELECTRICALLY-COUPLED HEAT ENGINE AND THERMAL CYCLE - In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, there is provided a device for generating electrical energy using a thermal cycle of a working gas. The device comprises at least one piston movably mounted in a container to form a working chamber between the at least one piston and the container, the working chamber containing the working gas performing the thermal cycle. An electrical circuit is mounted stationary relative to the container, the electrical circuit being electromagnetically coupled to provide a motive force to the at least one piston. An electronic power converter is electrically connected to the electrical circuit and to an electrical bus, and an electrical storage device is electrically connected to the electrical bus. The at least one piston is movably mounted such that its motion electromagnetically induces current in the electrical circuit. An electronic controller is electronically connected to the electronic power converter to control motion of the at least one piston to perform, in the thermal cycle, at least one of: (i) expanding the working gas beyond the volume at which compression of the working gas is begun within the thermal cycle or (ii) exhausting the working gas to a remaining volume less than the smallest volume of compressed gas within the thermal cycle. The electronic controller further controls flow of electrical energy to and from the electrical bus to effect a net positive average power transfer from the working gas to the electrical bus over the course of the thermal cycle. | 07-21-2011 |
20120125291 | HIGH-EFFICIENCY LINEAR COMBUSTION ENGINE - Various embodiments of the present invention are directed toward a linear combustion engine, comprising: a cylinder having a cylinder wall and a pair of ends, the cylinder including a combustion section disposed in a center portion of the cylinder; a pair of opposed piston assemblies adapted to move linearly within the cylinder, each piston assembly disposed on one side of the combustion section opposite the other piston assembly, each piston assembly including a spring rod and a piston comprising a solid front section adjacent the combustion section and a gas section; and a pair of linear electromagnetic machines adapted to directly convert kinetic energy of the piston assembly into electrical energy, and adapted to directly convert electrical energy into kinetic energy of the piston assembly for providing compression work during the compression stroke. | 05-24-2012 |
20140209067 | System And Method For Electrically-Coupled Heat Engine And Thermal Cycle - In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, there is provided a device for generating electrical energy using a thermal cycle of a working gas. The device comprises at least one piston movably mounted in a container to form a working chamber between the at least one piston and the container, the working chamber containing the working gas performing the thermal cycle. An electrical circuit is mounted stationary relative to the container, the electrical circuit being electromagnetically coupled to provide a motive force to the at least one piston. An electronic power converter is electrically connected to the electrical circuit and to an electrical bus, and an electrical storage device is electrically connected to the electrical bus. The at least one piston is movably mounted such that its motion electromagnetically induces current in the electrical circuit. An electronic controller is electronically connected to the electronic power converter to control motion of the at least one piston to perform, in the thermal cycle, at least one of: (i) expanding the working gas beyond the volume at which compression of the working gas is begun within the thermal cycle or (ii) exhausting the working gas to a remaining volume less than the smallest volume of compressed gas within the thermal cycle. The electronic controller further controls flow of electrical energy to and from the electrical bus to effect a net positive average power transfer from the working gas to the electrical bus over the course of the thermal cycle. | 07-31-2014 |
20140216411 | LINEAR ALTERNATOR ASSEMBLY WITH FOUR-STROKE WORKING CYCLE AND VEHICLE HAVING SAME - A linear alternator assembly is provided that includes a block defining a cylinder. The cylinder block has inlet ports at which fluid enters the cylinder, exhaust ports at which fluid is exhausted from the cylinder, and a fuel port. Energizable coils surround the cylinder. A first and a second magnetic or magnetizable piston are contained within the cylinder and are positionable within the cylinder in response to energization of selective ones of the coils and combustion of fuel within the cylinder to selectively establish a four-stroke working cycle having an intake stroke, a compression stroke, an expansion stroke, and an exhaust stroke, producing at least one of compressed gas and electrical energy. The four-stroke working cycle may be varied to adapt to changes in power demanded, thereby balancing required output power with efficiency considerations. | 08-07-2014 |
20160032820 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TRANSIENT CONTROL OF A FREE-PISTON ENGINE - A free-piston (“FP”) engine is a type of internal combustion engine with no crankshaft, so that its piston trajectory is no longer constrained by the mechanical linkage. FP engines have a high potential in terms of energy saving given their simple structure, high modularity and high efficiency, among other attributes. One of the technical barriers that affect FP engine technology is a lack of precise piston trajectory control. For example, the presence of a transient period after a single combustion event can prevent the engine from continuous firing. The present subject matter provides a control scheme that can utilize a reference and control signal shifting technique to modify the tracking error and the control signal to reduce the transient period. | 02-04-2016 |
20090159050 | Fuel Supply and Combustion Chamber Systems for Fastener-Driving Tools - A fuel supply and combustion chamber system for a portable power tool, such as, for example, a fastener-driving tool, wherein the fuel supply and combustion chamber system can utilize liquid fuels. The fuel supply and combustion chamber system can comprise multiple combustion chambers for achieving predetermined combustion and power output characteristics. In addition, the fuel supply and combustion chamber system can utilize portioning valve structures for providing predetermined amounts of either a gaseous or liquid fuel into the portable power tool combustion chamber. | 06-25-2009 |
20100162998 | FREE PISTON ASSEMBLY AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A FREE PISTON ASSEMBLY - Free piston assembly, comprising at least one piston accommodating device, at least one piston device having a first piston surface and a second piston surface facing away from the first piston surface, which is moveable in a linear manner in the corresponding piston accommodating device, and an expansion space which is arranged in the piston accommodating device and delimited by the first piston surface, wherein the piston device is arranged to be driven by the action of a medium which expands in the expansion space, wherein a resilience space arranged in the at least one piston accommodating device is delimited by the second piston surface, and wherein the resilience space is connected to at least one pre-compression chamber in fluidic manner. | 07-01-2010 |
20160376983 | HIGHLY EFFICIENT TWO-STROKE INTERNAL COMBUSTION HYDRAULIC ENGINE WITH A TORQUING VANE DEVICE INCORPORATED. - The new embodiment of a highly efficient internal combustion hydraulic engine with a vane torquing device herein being provided, is designed to: a).—Maximize to the maximum extent possible the power and pressure produced by each combustion and convert it into mechanical use, and b).—To fit the engine snugly into all size trucks, pick-ups, heavy equipment, large and mid-size vehicles, snowmobiles, boats, buses, by placing the torquing device just below the cylinders. This new embodiment uses three electromagnetic actuators and one mechanical cam actuator to operate. It also has the following two additional features: first, an internal check valve located inside the block, which will make the engine more versatile, adaptable and supple to various road conditions. And second, a flexible longitudinal metal pin between the cam and the blind-type check-out-valve, to make the functioning of the engine more smooth and durable. | 12-29-2016 |
20120318239 | Free Piston Engines with Single Hydraulic Piston Actuator and Methods - Free piston engines having a free piston having a first piston diameter in a cylinder with a combustion chamber on a first side of the first piston and a piston rod having a second diameter fastened to a second side of the first piston and extending to a single second piston having a third diameter smaller than the first diameter, but larger that the second diameter, the single second piston extending into a hydraulic cylinder, the second piston having a first hydraulic area defined by the third diameter in a first hydraulic chamber, and a second hydraulic area defined by the area between the third diameter and the second diameter in a second hydraulic chamber, and valving to control the coupling of a high pressure, a low pressure and a reservoir to the first and second hydraulic chambers to control the free piston. | 12-20-2012 |
20130298874 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR FREE PISTON ENGINE CONTROL - Motion control of a hydraulic free-piston engine is achieved in order to enable advanced combustions such as low temperature combustion. To accomplish this, an active controller acts as a virtual crankshaft, which causes a piston to follow a reference trajectory using energy from a storage element. Given the periodic nature of free-piston engine motion, an advanced controller of the present invention is preferably of robust repetitive type that is capable of tracking periodic reference signals. | 11-14-2013 |
20140116389 | SINGLE-CYLINDER, DUAL HEAD INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE HAVING MAGNETICALLY COUPLED POWER DELIVERY - A single-cylinder, dual head internal combustion engine wherein in a single, mechanically unconstrained piston moves reciprocally within the cylinder between the two heads. Magnets or nonmagnetized ferromagnetic structures in the piston interact with magnets in a sleeve riding on the outside surface of the cylinder to cause synchronous movement of the sleeve. A yoke coupled to the sleeve may be coupled to a conventional crankshaft to convert the reciprocal movement of the sleeve into rotary motion. Multiple single-cylinder, dual head units may be ganged to form multi-cylinder engine configurations. In one embodiment, the magnets in the sleeve are electromagnets whereby de-energizing the electromagnets decouples the sleeve from the piston, thereby eliminating the need for a mechanical clutch in a power train driven by the engine. | 05-01-2014 |
20140165967 | INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES - An internal combustion engine comprising at least one cylinder and a pair of opposed, reciprocating pistons within the cylinder forming a combustion chamber therebetween. The engine has at least one fuel injector disposed at least partly within the cylinder, the fuel injector having a nozzle that is positioned within the combustion chamber and through which the fuel is expelled into the combustion chamber, wherein the nozzle is exposed directly within the combustion chamber. | 06-19-2014 |
20140283791 | FREE-PISTON ENGINE - The free-piston engine | 09-25-2014 |
123046000 | Electric generating means | 7 |
20080251050 | Rapid-fire rapid-response power conversion system - A rapid-fire external compression engine having an intake device configured to introduce a pre-compressed fuel-oxidizer mixture from an external source into a combustion chamber having a low-inertia rapid response component. The rapid response component is configured to extract a high percentage of the energy derived from the combustion of the pre-compressed fuel-oxidizer mixture and convert it into mechanical work, which may then be transformed via a variety of methods into usable output power to operate a powered device. | 10-16-2008 |
20090031991 | Method And System For Controlling A Free-Piston Energy Converter - A method and system for controlling a free-piston energy converter is disclosed in which effects of events, like combustion events, in at least one of at least two cylinders, are decoupled from each other by predicting forces acting on the moving mass of the converter during a stroke of the moving mass and by evaluating or estimating a value representing a force which is exerted onto the moving mass, so that the moving mass reaches a desired reference condition or state, like a desired reference kinetic energy, at a certain position along the stroke. | 02-05-2009 |
20090095260 | METHOD TO CONVERT FREE-PISTON LINEAR MOTION TO ROTARY MOTION - Embodiments described herein include a method for converting free-piston linear motion to rotary motion, comprising: providing a free-piston generator or motor/generator that includes one or more pistons; and, for each piston, a surface is provided defining a helical channel, wherein the piston is rotated in a single direction through the helical channel. | 04-16-2009 |
20090320799 | Drive system with a rotary energy-transmission element - The invention relates to a drive system provided with a cylinder shell with two end sections and, inside said cylinder shell, a central combustion chamber with two piston bodies arranged therein, that are displaceable in axially opposed directions within said combustion chamber, wherein a drive rod extending along the longitudinal axis of the cylinder shell is connected with each piston body and has a drive extension extending outwardly from each respective end section of said cylinder shell, wherein said drive rods are each connected via a drive element with a rotary body that can rotate around the cylinder shell, wherein said drive elements are provided with bearings that bear upon said rotary body and that, when in reciprocating motion, drive said rotary body in rotation about said longitudinal axis. | 12-31-2009 |
20100275884 | Quasi Free Piston Engine - A quasi free piston engine uses, a small, lightweight crankshaft to connect the piston assemblies of the free piston engine with a flywheel. While most of the power output from the combustion pistons is extracted by pumping pistons as hydraulic power, the small crankshaft and flywheel ensure exact TDC position of the combustion pistons in operation, and provide a rotating means to drive combustion cylinder intake and exhaust valves. Flywheel speed may be monitored to provide feedback on power extraction for further control of the system. In addition, a hydraulic push-rod system for efficient valve actuation is provided. | 11-04-2010 |
20110083643 | Hydraulic Internal Combustion Engines - Hydraulic internal combustion engines having at least one combustion piston not mechanically connected to a crankshaft or any other combustion piston, but instead acting on hydraulic plungers through valving that is electronically controlled to control the piston position and velocity, typically through an intake stroke, a compression stroke, a combustion or power stroke and an exhaust stroke. Electronically controlled fuel injection and electronically controlled engine valves provided great flexibility in the operating cycles that may be used, with the engine pumping hydraulic fluid to a high pressure accumulator for use in hydraulic motors or other hydraulic equipment. Embodiments using high pressure air injection to sustain combustion are also disclosed. | 04-14-2011 |
20120024264 | HEAT ENGINE - A heat engine comprising compressor and expander displacement elements ( | 02-02-2012 |
20120204836 | LINEAR FREE PISTON COMBUSTION ENGINE WITH INDIRECT WORK EXTRACTION VIA GAS LINKAGE - Various embodiments of the present invention are directed toward a linear free piston combustion engine with indirect work extraction via gas linkage, comprising: a cylinder with two opposed free pistons disposed therein that form a combustion section in a center of the cylinder, each free piston comprising a front face facing the combustion section and a back face facing the opposite direction: two opposed extractor pistons disposed in their own cylinders at opposite ends of the free piston cylinder, each extractor piston comprising a front face facing the combustion section and a back face facing the opposite direction; and two gas linkages, each gas linkage comprising a volume sealed between the back face of a free piston and the front face of an extractor piston; wherein each extractor piston is connected to a rotary electromagnetic machine. | 08-16-2012 |
20130025570 | Digital Hydraulic Opposed Free Piston Engines and Methods - Digital hydraulic opposed free piston internal combustion engines having a pair of free pistons in a pair of cylinders defining a combustion chamber above each free piston. The pair of free pistons is arranged to move within the pair of cylinders with parallel axes of free piston motion, and preferably co-linear axes of free piston motion. At least one hydraulic plunger is under each free piston with each hydraulic plunger in a respective hydraulic cylinder. The hydraulic cylinders are coupled to electronically controlled hydraulic cylinder valving. A controller controls the electronically controlled hydraulic cylinder valving to control the pair of free pistons to have substantially equal and opposite motions. | 01-31-2013 |
20130118453 | FREE-PISTON INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE - A linear-acting, free-piston internal combustion engine suitable for operation on a four-stroke engine cycle comprises a power piston ( | 05-16-2013 |
20130247877 | Free-Piston Engine for Generating Combined Heat and Power - An apparatus is provided for generation of combined heat and power comprising an engine configured in a free-piston arrangement comprising two opposed pistons arranged in an elongated cylinder having at least one inlet port and at least one outlet port with uniflow scavenging, an electricity generator, means for harnessing heat and means for transmitting load from the engine to the electricity generator. The engine is configured to operate at close to constant volume combustion, high compression ratio, a lean fuel to air ratio and uses homogeneous charge compression ignition. The engine further comprises a synchronizing mechanical or hydraulic linkage between said two opposed pistons. A method for generating combined heat and power and a method for configuring apparatus for generating combined heat and power are also provided. | 09-26-2013 |
20150128907 | Cold-Start Strategies for Opposed-Piston Engines - A strategy to cold-start an opposed-piston engine includes, before injecting fuel, preventing air flow through the engine while cranking the engine to heat air retained in the engine, followed by controlling mass air flow through and fuel injection into a cylinder of the engine according to cold-start schedules so as to create and preserve heat for stable engine firing and transition to an idling state of operation. | 05-14-2015 |
20080271711 | Four-Stroke Free Piston Engine - A free piston engine utilizes a shuttle frame external to combustion chambers to rigidly link shuttle parts reciprocating along a centerline. If the shuttle parts are spaced apart along the centerline, the shuttle frame may be struts extending from the shuttle parts and linked by rods. Alternatively the shuttle parts are within a tubular shuttle frame that forms part of the combustion chamber boundary. If one shuttle part is arranged around the other with both centered about the centerline, the shuttle frame may include an annular plate between a cylindrical inner shuttle part and an annular outer shuttle part. Alternatively the shuttle frame may include an inner tube with a cylindrical inner shuttle part within the inner tube, and an outer tube with an annular outer shuttle part arranged between the inner and the outer tubes so that the shuttle frame forms part of the combustion chamber boundary. | 11-06-2008 |
20090255513 | Deformable chamber-based homogeneous charge combustion ignition (HCCI) engine and generator - A reciprocating internal combustion engine is based on Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) that occurs in a deformable, resonant combustion chamber and that is coupled mechanically to efficient, resonant, electromechanical transducers acting as motors and generators. The mechanical coupling also implements fuel/air intake valves and exhaust valves. Embedded sensors allow an electronic control system to start the engine and thereafter to maintain operational configuration of the moving components in response to the effects of imperfect mechanical fabrication and/or assembly and dynamic changes in mechanical properties of the materials with run-time temperature and engine life. | 10-15-2009 |
20110174271 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ELECTRICALLY-COUPLED HEAT ENGINE AND THERMAL CYCLE - In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, there is provided a device for generating electrical energy using a thermal cycle of a working gas. The device comprises at least one piston movably mounted in a container to form a working chamber between the at least one piston and the container, the working chamber containing the working gas performing the thermal cycle. An electrical circuit is mounted stationary relative to the container, the electrical circuit being electromagnetically coupled to provide a motive force to the at least one piston. An electronic power converter is electrically connected to the electrical circuit and to an electrical bus, and an electrical storage device is electrically connected to the electrical bus. The at least one piston is movably mounted such that its motion electromagnetically induces current in the electrical circuit. An electronic controller is electronically connected to the electronic power converter to control motion of the at least one piston to perform, in the thermal cycle, at least one of: (i) expanding the working gas beyond the volume at which compression of the working gas is begun within the thermal cycle or (ii) exhausting the working gas to a remaining volume less than the smallest volume of compressed gas within the thermal cycle. The electronic controller further controls flow of electrical energy to and from the electrical bus to effect a net positive average power transfer from the working gas to the electrical bus over the course of the thermal cycle. | 07-21-2011 |
20120125291 | HIGH-EFFICIENCY LINEAR COMBUSTION ENGINE - Various embodiments of the present invention are directed toward a linear combustion engine, comprising: a cylinder having a cylinder wall and a pair of ends, the cylinder including a combustion section disposed in a center portion of the cylinder; a pair of opposed piston assemblies adapted to move linearly within the cylinder, each piston assembly disposed on one side of the combustion section opposite the other piston assembly, each piston assembly including a spring rod and a piston comprising a solid front section adjacent the combustion section and a gas section; and a pair of linear electromagnetic machines adapted to directly convert kinetic energy of the piston assembly into electrical energy, and adapted to directly convert electrical energy into kinetic energy of the piston assembly for providing compression work during the compression stroke. | 05-24-2012 |
20140209067 | System And Method For Electrically-Coupled Heat Engine And Thermal Cycle - In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, there is provided a device for generating electrical energy using a thermal cycle of a working gas. The device comprises at least one piston movably mounted in a container to form a working chamber between the at least one piston and the container, the working chamber containing the working gas performing the thermal cycle. An electrical circuit is mounted stationary relative to the container, the electrical circuit being electromagnetically coupled to provide a motive force to the at least one piston. An electronic power converter is electrically connected to the electrical circuit and to an electrical bus, and an electrical storage device is electrically connected to the electrical bus. The at least one piston is movably mounted such that its motion electromagnetically induces current in the electrical circuit. An electronic controller is electronically connected to the electronic power converter to control motion of the at least one piston to perform, in the thermal cycle, at least one of: (i) expanding the working gas beyond the volume at which compression of the working gas is begun within the thermal cycle or (ii) exhausting the working gas to a remaining volume less than the smallest volume of compressed gas within the thermal cycle. The electronic controller further controls flow of electrical energy to and from the electrical bus to effect a net positive average power transfer from the working gas to the electrical bus over the course of the thermal cycle. | 07-31-2014 |
20140216411 | LINEAR ALTERNATOR ASSEMBLY WITH FOUR-STROKE WORKING CYCLE AND VEHICLE HAVING SAME - A linear alternator assembly is provided that includes a block defining a cylinder. The cylinder block has inlet ports at which fluid enters the cylinder, exhaust ports at which fluid is exhausted from the cylinder, and a fuel port. Energizable coils surround the cylinder. A first and a second magnetic or magnetizable piston are contained within the cylinder and are positionable within the cylinder in response to energization of selective ones of the coils and combustion of fuel within the cylinder to selectively establish a four-stroke working cycle having an intake stroke, a compression stroke, an expansion stroke, and an exhaust stroke, producing at least one of compressed gas and electrical energy. The four-stroke working cycle may be varied to adapt to changes in power demanded, thereby balancing required output power with efficiency considerations. | 08-07-2014 |
20160032820 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TRANSIENT CONTROL OF A FREE-PISTON ENGINE - A free-piston (“FP”) engine is a type of internal combustion engine with no crankshaft, so that its piston trajectory is no longer constrained by the mechanical linkage. FP engines have a high potential in terms of energy saving given their simple structure, high modularity and high efficiency, among other attributes. One of the technical barriers that affect FP engine technology is a lack of precise piston trajectory control. For example, the presence of a transient period after a single combustion event can prevent the engine from continuous firing. The present subject matter provides a control scheme that can utilize a reference and control signal shifting technique to modify the tracking error and the control signal to reduce the transient period. | 02-04-2016 |
20090159050 | Fuel Supply and Combustion Chamber Systems for Fastener-Driving Tools - A fuel supply and combustion chamber system for a portable power tool, such as, for example, a fastener-driving tool, wherein the fuel supply and combustion chamber system can utilize liquid fuels. The fuel supply and combustion chamber system can comprise multiple combustion chambers for achieving predetermined combustion and power output characteristics. In addition, the fuel supply and combustion chamber system can utilize portioning valve structures for providing predetermined amounts of either a gaseous or liquid fuel into the portable power tool combustion chamber. | 06-25-2009 |
20100162998 | FREE PISTON ASSEMBLY AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A FREE PISTON ASSEMBLY - Free piston assembly, comprising at least one piston accommodating device, at least one piston device having a first piston surface and a second piston surface facing away from the first piston surface, which is moveable in a linear manner in the corresponding piston accommodating device, and an expansion space which is arranged in the piston accommodating device and delimited by the first piston surface, wherein the piston device is arranged to be driven by the action of a medium which expands in the expansion space, wherein a resilience space arranged in the at least one piston accommodating device is delimited by the second piston surface, and wherein the resilience space is connected to at least one pre-compression chamber in fluidic manner. | 07-01-2010 |
20160376983 | HIGHLY EFFICIENT TWO-STROKE INTERNAL COMBUSTION HYDRAULIC ENGINE WITH A TORQUING VANE DEVICE INCORPORATED. - The new embodiment of a highly efficient internal combustion hydraulic engine with a vane torquing device herein being provided, is designed to: a).—Maximize to the maximum extent possible the power and pressure produced by each combustion and convert it into mechanical use, and b).—To fit the engine snugly into all size trucks, pick-ups, heavy equipment, large and mid-size vehicles, snowmobiles, boats, buses, by placing the torquing device just below the cylinders. This new embodiment uses three electromagnetic actuators and one mechanical cam actuator to operate. It also has the following two additional features: first, an internal check valve located inside the block, which will make the engine more versatile, adaptable and supple to various road conditions. And second, a flexible longitudinal metal pin between the cam and the blind-type check-out-valve, to make the functioning of the engine more smooth and durable. | 12-29-2016 |
20120318239 | Free Piston Engines with Single Hydraulic Piston Actuator and Methods - Free piston engines having a free piston having a first piston diameter in a cylinder with a combustion chamber on a first side of the first piston and a piston rod having a second diameter fastened to a second side of the first piston and extending to a single second piston having a third diameter smaller than the first diameter, but larger that the second diameter, the single second piston extending into a hydraulic cylinder, the second piston having a first hydraulic area defined by the third diameter in a first hydraulic chamber, and a second hydraulic area defined by the area between the third diameter and the second diameter in a second hydraulic chamber, and valving to control the coupling of a high pressure, a low pressure and a reservoir to the first and second hydraulic chambers to control the free piston. | 12-20-2012 |
20130298874 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR FREE PISTON ENGINE CONTROL - Motion control of a hydraulic free-piston engine is achieved in order to enable advanced combustions such as low temperature combustion. To accomplish this, an active controller acts as a virtual crankshaft, which causes a piston to follow a reference trajectory using energy from a storage element. Given the periodic nature of free-piston engine motion, an advanced controller of the present invention is preferably of robust repetitive type that is capable of tracking periodic reference signals. | 11-14-2013 |
20140116389 | SINGLE-CYLINDER, DUAL HEAD INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE HAVING MAGNETICALLY COUPLED POWER DELIVERY - A single-cylinder, dual head internal combustion engine wherein in a single, mechanically unconstrained piston moves reciprocally within the cylinder between the two heads. Magnets or nonmagnetized ferromagnetic structures in the piston interact with magnets in a sleeve riding on the outside surface of the cylinder to cause synchronous movement of the sleeve. A yoke coupled to the sleeve may be coupled to a conventional crankshaft to convert the reciprocal movement of the sleeve into rotary motion. Multiple single-cylinder, dual head units may be ganged to form multi-cylinder engine configurations. In one embodiment, the magnets in the sleeve are electromagnets whereby de-energizing the electromagnets decouples the sleeve from the piston, thereby eliminating the need for a mechanical clutch in a power train driven by the engine. | 05-01-2014 |
20140165967 | INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES - An internal combustion engine comprising at least one cylinder and a pair of opposed, reciprocating pistons within the cylinder forming a combustion chamber therebetween. The engine has at least one fuel injector disposed at least partly within the cylinder, the fuel injector having a nozzle that is positioned within the combustion chamber and through which the fuel is expelled into the combustion chamber, wherein the nozzle is exposed directly within the combustion chamber. | 06-19-2014 |
20140283791 | FREE-PISTON ENGINE - The free-piston engine | 09-25-2014 |