Patents Assigned to Achates Power.
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Publication number: 20120073541Abstract: A combustion chamber for an opposed-piston engine includes a squish zone defined between circumferential peripheral areas of opposing end surfaces of the pistons, a cavity defined by one or more bowls in the end surfaces, and at least one injection port that extends radially through the squish zone into the cavity. The cavity has a cross-sectional shape that imposes a tumbling motion on air flowing from the squish zone into the cavity. Opposing spray patterns of fuel are injected into the combustion chamber. In some aspects, the opposing spray patterns are injected along a major axis of the combustion chamber.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 15, 2011Publication date: March 29, 2012Applicant: Achates Power, Inc.Inventors: Kevin B. Fuqua, Fabien G. Redon, Huixian Shen, Michael H. Wahl
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Publication number: 20120073526Abstract: A piston construction for an opposed-piston engine accommodates contoured end surfaces of the piston crowns and articulation of the pistons with piston rods. The shape of each piston crown includes a bowl with an adjoining ridge that protrudes axially of the piston. A cooling construction for the piston includes an outer gallery running around the inner surface of the piston sidewall in the vicinity of the crown. The outer gallery girds and is in fluid communication with a central gallery that abuts the deepest part of the bowl. The outer gallery has an asymmetric profile that rises under the ridge and that slants upwardly under a peripheral portion of the bowl. A mechanism for coupling the piston to a piston rod includes a biaxial slipper bearing.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 15, 2011Publication date: March 29, 2012Applicant: Achates Power, Inc.Inventors: Eric P. Dion, Brendan M. Lenski, Ryan G. MacKenzie
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Publication number: 20120037130Abstract: An opposed-piston engine with a single crankshaft has a rocker-type linkage coupling the crankshaft to the pistons that utilizes a rotatable pivot rocker arm with full-contact plain bearings. A rocker-type linkage utilizes a rotatable pivot bearing with an eccentric aspect to vary translation of piston linkage along the axial direction of a cylinder, which shifts the top dead center (TDC) and bottom dead center (BDC) locations of a piston so as to change the volume of charge air compressed during the power stroke.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 15, 2011Publication date: February 16, 2012Applicant: Achates Power, Inc.Inventor: Kevin B. Fuqua
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Patent number: 8087389Abstract: In a two-cycle, opposed-piston internal combustion engine, opposed pistons disposed in a cylinder are coupled to a pair of side-mounted crankshafts by connecting rods that are subject to substantially tensile forces acting between the pistons and the crankshafts. This geometry reduces or eliminates side forces between the pistons and the bore of the cylinder. The cylinder and the pistons are independently cooled to reduce cylindrical deformation caused by thermal expansion during engine operation.Type: GrantFiled: June 22, 2009Date of Patent: January 3, 2012Assignee: Achates Power, Inc.Inventors: James U. Lemke, William B. McHargue, Michael H. Wahl, Patrick R. Lee
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Publication number: 20110289916Abstract: A two-stroke, opposed-piston engine with one or more ported cylinders and uniflow scavenging includes an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) construction that provides a portion of the exhaust gasses produced by the engine for mixture with charge air to control the production of NOx during combustion.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 16, 2011Publication date: December 1, 2011Applicant: Achates Power, Inc.Inventors: Eric P. Dion, Iain J.L. Read, Fabien G. Redon, Gerhard Regner, Michael H. Wahl
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Publication number: 20110271932Abstract: A combustion chamber for an opposed-piston engine includes a squish zone defined between circumferential peripheral areas of opposing end surfaces of the pistons, a cavity defined by one or more bowls in the end surfaces, and at least one injection port that extends radially through the squish zone into the cavity. The cavity has a cross-sectional shape that imposes a tumbling motion on air flowing from the squish zone into the cavity.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 18, 2011Publication date: November 10, 2011Applicant: Achates Power, Inc.Inventors: Kevin B. Fuqua, Fabien G. Redon, Huixian Shen, Michael H. Wahl, Brendan M. Lenski
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Publication number: 20110186005Abstract: A piston rolling thrust bearing construction is constituted of a pair of bearing plates with opposing faces disposed in a spaced alignment with a rolling ball assembly positioned between the opposing faces to support relative movement between the bearing plates. The piston rolling thrust bearing is mounted to the open end of the skirt of a piston disposed in a cylinder to compensate for non-axial motion relative to the cylinder axis due to the articulating motions of connecting elements or any structural misalignments within an engine drive train assembly.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 2, 2011Publication date: August 4, 2011Applicant: Achates Power, Inc.Inventors: James U. Lemke, Patrick R. Lee, William B. McHargue, Bryant A. Wagner
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Publication number: 20110186017Abstract: Ported engines with opposed pistons are coupled to a single crankshaft through rocker arm linkages. Each pair of opposed pistons is coupled to a single crankpin of the crankshaft. Each piston is coupled to a respective rocker arm linkage by a rolling thrust bearing which prevents linkage movement that is transverse to the axis of the piston from being transferred to the piston. Each piston of a pair of opposed pistons is coupled to the same crankpin by respective rocker arm linkages in which connecting rods run between the crankpin and respective rocker arms. One connecting rod is connected to first rocker arm below the rocker arm's pivot point and another connecting rod is connected to a second rocker arm above the rocker arm's pivot point.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 2, 2011Publication date: August 4, 2011Applicant: Achates Power, Inc.Inventors: James U. Lemke, Patrick R. Lee, William B. McHargue, Bryant A. Wagner
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Publication number: 20110114070Abstract: An apparatus and a method for controlling swirl of air in a ported, two-stroke internal combustion engine include deflecting air into the intake port of a ported cylinder by an array of vanes disposed around the cylinder's intake port. The angle of deflection establishes the swirl of air in the cylinder. Swirl is varied by changing the angular positions of the vanes under the control of a vane drive mechanism coupled to an actuator. A swirl control mechanization controls vane angular position in response to engine operating parameters.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 17, 2010Publication date: May 19, 2011Applicant: Achates Power, Inc.Inventors: Feng Song Liu, Gordon R. Rado, Michael H. Wahl, Tristan M. Burton
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Publication number: 20110094223Abstract: An opposed piston engine includes at least one cylinder with inlet and exhaust ports and opposed pistons disposed in the cylinder for reciprocating opposed motion toward and away from each other. An auxiliary system pumps liquid coolant separately to the cylinder and pistons. Another auxiliary system controls the flow of intake and exhaust gas in the engine.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 31, 2010Publication date: April 28, 2011Applicant: Achates Power, Inc.Inventors: James U. Lemke, Ronald J. Hoffman, Michael H. Wahl, Patrick R. Lee
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Patent number: 7931005Abstract: An electrical generator includes an opposed piston, internal-combustion engine with a piston and a hypocycloidal drive connected by a rod to the piston. The construction of the hypocycloidal drive imposes a sinusoidal period on the linear motion of the piston and connecting rod. As generator associated with the piston produces a sinusoidal voltage in response to the liner motion of the piston and connecting rod.Type: GrantFiled: December 31, 2009Date of Patent: April 26, 2011Assignee: Achates Power, Inc.Inventors: James U. Lemke, William B. McHargue
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Patent number: 7861679Abstract: In an opposed piston engine, a pair of pistons are disposed in opposition in the bore of a cylinder. The cylinder includes first liquid coolant grooves having a first cooling capacity to cool a portion of the cylinder extending from a central portion toward an exhaust port, and second liquid coolant grooves having a second cooling capacity, less than the first cooling capacity, to cool a portion of the cylinder extending from the central portion toward an inlet port. Each piston includes a cylindrical skirt with a crown and an open end opposite the crown, a piston rod with a bore, a first end attached to a back surface of the crown, and a second end extending through the open end of the skirt, a radial array of liquid coolant flow passages in communication with the bore and disposed between the first end and the back surface of the crown, and a single wristpin retained on the second end section of the piston rod and positioned externally to the piston.Type: GrantFiled: September 21, 2009Date of Patent: January 4, 2011Assignee: Achates Power, Inc.Inventors: James U. Lemke, Ronald J. Hoffman, Michael H. Wahl, Patrick R. Lee
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Publication number: 20100319661Abstract: A ported cylinder for a diesel engine includes a circular groove in the bore, located on the outside of respective port. An oil wiper ring or a group of oil wiper rings is seated in the circular groove for wiping excess lubricating oil from a piston surface. A compressing ring is disposed between the oil wiper ring or group of oil wiper rings and the floor of the circular groove to urge the oil wiper rings into contact with the piston surface. An oil wiper ring construction includes a major surface with oil-conducting channels.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 28, 2010Publication date: December 23, 2010Applicant: Achates Power, Inc.Inventor: Clark A. Klyza
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Patent number: 7784436Abstract: In a two-stroke, opposed-piston internal combustion engine with optimized cooling and no engine block, opposed pistons protrude from the bore during at least a portion of an operating cycle of the engine and are cooled by application of a liquid coolant to their interiors.Type: GrantFiled: December 20, 2006Date of Patent: August 31, 2010Assignee: Achates Power, Inc.Inventors: James U. Lemke, William B. McHargue
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Publication number: 20100212638Abstract: In multi-cylinder opposed engine constructions provision of lubricant for lubricating bearings, for cooling cylinders, and for cooling pistons includes pumping an inlet stream of lubricant through a gallery in the engine that is in fluid communication with bearing lubricant passages and cylinder coolant passages and providing lubricant from the inlet stream of lubricant into at least one piston coolant manifold in response to a first engine operating condition.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 12, 2010Publication date: August 26, 2010Applicant: Achates Power, Inc.Inventors: Gordon E. Rado, Louis F. Medeiros
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Publication number: 20100212637Abstract: Integrated, multi-cylinder opposed engine constructions include a unitary support structure to which cylinder liners are removeably mounted and sealed and on which crankshafts are rotatably supported. The engine constructions include a cooled piston with a resiliently deformable joint connecting crown and skirt and a cooled cylinder liner with wipers to manage lubricant in the cylindrical interstice between the cylinder bore and the piston skirts.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 12, 2010Publication date: August 26, 2010Applicant: Achates Power, Inc.Inventors: James U. Lemke, Gordon E. Rado, Michael H. Wahl, Patrick R. Lee, Clark A. Klyza, Eric P. Dion
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Publication number: 20100212613Abstract: Integrated, multi-cylinder opposed engine constructions include a unitary support structure to which cylinder liners are removeably mounted and sealed and on which crankshafts are rotatably supported. The unitary support structure includes cooling manifolds that provide liquid coolant to the cylinder liners. Exhaust and intake manifolds attached to the support structure to serve respective ports in the cylinder liner. The engine constructions may also include certain improvements in the construction of cooled pistons with flexible skirts, and in the construction of cylinders with sealing structures mounted outside of exhaust and inlet ports to control lubricant in the cylindrical interstice between the through bore and the pistons.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 12, 2010Publication date: August 26, 2010Applicant: Achates Power, Inc.Inventors: James U. Lemke, Gordon E. Rado, Michael H. Wahl, Patrick R. Lee, Eric P. Dion, Jin Dai, Louis F. Medeiros, Tristan M. Burton, Ryan G. MacKenzie, Brendan M. Lenski, Todd R. Rose, Clark A. Klyza
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Publication number: 20100186723Abstract: In a two-stroke, opposed-piston internal combustion engine with optimized cooling and no engine block, opposed pistons protrude from the bore during at least a portion of an operating cycle of the engine and are cooled by application of a liquid coolant to their interiors.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 20, 2006Publication date: July 29, 2010Applicant: Achates Power, LLCInventors: James U. Lemke, William B. McHargue
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Publication number: 20100109343Abstract: An electrical generator includes an opposed piston, internal-combustion engine with a piston and a hypocycloidal drive connected by a rod to the piston. The construction of the hypocycloidal drive imposes a sinusoidal period on the linear motion of the piston and connecting rod. As generator associated with the piston produces a sinusoidal voltage in response to the liner motion of the piston and connecting rod.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 31, 2009Publication date: May 6, 2010Applicant: Achates Power, Inc.Inventors: James U. Lemke, William B. McHargue
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Publication number: 20100012055Abstract: In an opposed piston engine, a pair of pistons are disposed in opposition in the bore of a cylinder. The cylinder includes first liquid coolant grooves having a first cooling capacity to cool a portion of the cylinder extending from a central portion toward an exhaust port, and second liquid coolant grooves having a second cooling capacity, less than the first cooling capacity, to cool a portion of the cylinder extending from the central portion toward an inlet port. Each piston includes a cylindrical skirt with a crown and an open end opposite the crown, a piston rod with a bore, a first end attached to a back surface of the crown, and a second end extending through the open end of the skirt, a radial array of liquid coolant flow passages in communication with the bore and disposed between the first end and the back surface of the crown, and a single wristpin retained on the second end section of the piston rod and positioned externally to the piston.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 21, 2009Publication date: January 21, 2010Applicant: Achates Power, Inc.Inventors: James U. Lemke, Ronald J. Hoffman, Michael H. Wahl, Patrick R. Lee