Abstract: A split-cycle engine includes: a first cylinder housing a first piston, wherein the first piston performs an intake stroke and a compression stroke, but does not perform an exhaust stroke; a second cylinder housing a second piston, wherein the second piston performs an expansion stroke and an exhaust stroke, but does not perform an intake stroke; and a valve chamber housing a valve, the valve comprising an internal chamber that selectively fluidly couples to the first and second cylinders, wherein the valve and internal chamber move within the valve chamber and relative to the first and second cylinders.

Abstract: An internal combustion engine includes a working cylinder (2) including an inlet valve (6) and an adherent pneumatic inlet valve actuator (8), an outlet valve (7) and an adherent pneumatic outlet valve actuator (9), and a working piston (4), a compressor cylinder (3) including an inlet valve (10), an outlet valve (11), and a compressor piston (5) operated by the working piston (4), a compressed-air tank (14) connected to the compressor cylinder (3) via a first compressed-air conduit (15), and a second compressed-air conduit (16) that extends from the first compressed-air conduit (15), the first inlet valve actuator (8) and the outlet valve actuator (9) of the working cylinder (2) being connected to the second compressed-air conduit (16).

Abstract: An engine has a stationary first body portion with one or more surfaces that define a portion of a fluid flow path through the engine. The stationary first body portion has a substantially cylindrical outer surface. A first piston assembly is configured to reciprocate relative to the stationary first body portion and to accommodate one or more second piston assemblies reciprocating inside and relative to the first piston assembly. The first piston assembly has an extension portion. The extension portion has a substantially cylindrical inner surface that defines a space to receive the stationary first body portion. One or more sealing elements are between the substantially cylindrical outer surface of the stationary first body portion and the extension portion of the first piston assembly.

Abstract: An opposed-piston, opposed-cylinder OPOC engine is disclosed in which the central axis of the two cylinders is collinear. In four-stroke engines, this is possible with a built up crankshaft. Disclosed are connecting rod configurations that are suitable for a two-stroke engine that can be assembled to a unitary crankshaft, including both pullrods in tension and pushrods in compression. The configuration includes pistons arranged symmetrically, but with offset timing of the intake and exhaust pistons. The offset timing leads to a slight imbalance which can be partially overcome by having the center of gravity of the crankshaft offset from the axis of rotation.

Abstract: An engine includes an engine casing and a first piston configured to reciprocate relative to the engine casing. The first piston has a wall that defines a substantially cylindrical chamber. One or more second pistons are configured to reciprocate inside the substantially cylindrical chamber. A combustion chamber intake port and a combustion chamber exhaust port extend through the wall. A shutter is outside the wall and is movable between a first position substantially blocking fluid flow through the combustion chamber exhaust port but not blocking fluid flow through the combustion chamber intake port and a second position substantially blocking fluid flow through the combustion chamber intake port but not blocking flow through the combustion chamber exhaust port. An actuator causes the shutter to move between the first position and the second position in response to the first piston reciprocating relative to the engine casing.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: The horizontally opposed center fired engine improves on the traditional design of the horizontally opposed engines and center fired engines with a better engine geometry. The present invention utilizes four pairs of opposing pistons to compress a larger volume of air-fuel mixture within four different cylinders. The four different cylinders are radially positioned around a center axle in order to achieve a perfectly symmetric engine geometry. The center axle consists of two different shafts spinning in two different directions, which could drastically reduce engine vibrations in the present invention. Engine vibrations are caused by a change in engine speed and result in a loss of energy. Due to the design, the present invention will only experience energy loss in the form of entropy and friction. Thus, the present invention can convert a higher percentage of chemical energy into mechanical energy than any other internal combustion engine.

Abstract: Crossover valve systems and corresponding methods offer an effective means to overcome large opening pressure force, or provide reasonable gas flow area, or both. In an exemplary embodiment, a crossover valve system for a split-cycle engine having a power cylinder and a crossover passage comprises first and second crossover valves, each valve opening outwardly away from the power cylinder and providing fluid communication between the power cylinder and the crossover passage, with the diameter of the second crossover valve being larger than the diameter of the first crossover valve; and an actuation mechanism operative to open the first crossover valve, then the second crossover valve after a predetermined delay to allow a certain rise in the pressure inside the power cylinder, resulting in much smaller differential pressure forces across the crossover valves, larger flow areas, or both.

Abstract: An engine has a crankshaft, rotating about a crankshaft axis of the engine. An expansion piston is slidably received within an expansion cylinder and operatively connected to the crankshaft such that the expansion piston reciprocates through an expansion stroke and an exhaust stroke of a four stroke cycle during a single rotation of the crankshaft. A compression piston is slidably received within a compression cylinder and operatively connected to the crankshaft such that the compression piston reciprocates through an intake stroke and a compression stroke of the same four stroke cycle during the same rotation of the crankshaft. A ratio of cylinder volumes from BDC to TDC for either one of the expansion cylinder and compression cylinder is fixed at substantially 26 to 1 or greater.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: An internal combustion engine twin power unit that includes a crossover passage fluidly connecting a first cylinder to a second cylinder such that an air-fuel mixture introduced in the first cylinder is transferred to the second cylinder via the crossover passage, and wherein an ignition in any cylinder causes combustion of the air-fuel mixture in both cylinders via the crossover passage. Also included is a rod assembly, which is connected to the first piston and the second piston which are disposed in the cylinders. The rod assembly rigidly fixes the first piston and the second piston in a fixed spatial relation to each other. In addition, an intake port is included that is in fluid communication with both the first cylinder and the second cylinder.

Abstract: The invention discloses a differential speed reciprocating internal combustion engine. It consists of one or more cylinders, a pair of pistons in each cylinder, and a crank connecting rod mechanism for each piston. The piston pair consists of a power piston and an auxiliary piston that are positioned oppositely in the same cylinder. The pistons keep a differential angle of 35°-75° CA and make differential speed movement under the control of a coordination mechanism. Since combustion takes place at a position close to the middle of the travel of the power piston, the crank connecting rod mechanism has a large lever arm coefficient when it is under the maximum combustion pressure. Thus the combustion thermal energy can be more efficiently utilized.

Abstract: Disclosed are crankshaft, single-plate cam and beam mechanisms that provide significant improvements in performance for 2 & 4-stroke engines, compressors and pumps. These cost effective mechanisms include linkages with the new and improved use of pivoting arms that operate with a variety of cylinder arrangements. One embodiment of the crankshaft mechanism has its crankpin roller positioned within a novel yoke-arm. The cam mechanism uses a pair of centrally positioned parallel links that are connected to roller cam followers and single or diametrically-opposed pistons. A pair of laterally extending follower arms connects to the ends of the links to provide support and alignment for the piston rods. Between the reciprocating links, cam followers and follower arms is a rotating odd-lobe plate cam. A beam mechanism uses opposite-direction extending balancing beams that are connected to links, cam followers and piston rods.

Abstract: The invention concerns a combustion engine comprising a cylinder and a piston which is displaceably guided in the cylinder, the piston having a piston head facing a combustion chamber and being coupled to a crankshaft via a connecting rod, wherein a second piston which is displaceably guided in the cylinder is provided opposite to the piston, the second piston also having a piston head, wherein the combustion chamber is disposed between the two piston heads, and the second piston is coupled to a crankshaft via a connecting rod.

Abstract: An internal combustion reciprocation engine conjoined and integrated with a supplementary piston mechanism. The supplementary piston mechanism serves as a storage and return volume for fresh gases to be ignited during the power stroke. Thus, erasing the need for a combustion chamber at top dead center. The storage occurs during the intake or compression stroke through a small volume gaseous communication conduit to the top of supplementary piston mechanism. And is returned to the top of the main power piston during the power stroke through the same small volume gaseous communication conduit. Ignition in the power stroke occurs as the supplementary piston mechanism working in supplementation with the main power piston achieves the proper compression ratio. The high combustion pressure provided by the ignition is then transfered to the the crankshaft through the connecting rod with greater advantage late in the power stroke.

Abstract: Efficiency almost doubles as the normally lost combustion chamber volume in an internal combustion engine, which does no work, is utilized to produce work. An internal combustion engine of positive displacement type with little fixed combustion chamber volume. A secondary cam actuates a secondary piston through a secondary cam follower. The secondary cam is driven by a timed means of gear or chain or belt from the rotation of the crankshaft. An interconnecting passage forms a gaseous communication between the primary and secondary piston. The secondary piston activated by the secondary cam stores fresh gasses in the compression cycle. The secondary piston then returns the gasses to be combusted to the volume on top of and provided by the primary piston in the power stroke. At the proper compression ratio the mixture is ignited.

Abstract: A positive displacement engine with integrated positive displacement rotary fluid compressor has a piston chamber, a piston disposed in the piston chamber, a rotary compressor housing, the rotary compressor housing have first and second interconnected rotary compressor chambers, and first and second rotary compressor elements disposed in the first and second rotary compressor chambers, respectively. The first and second rotary compressor elements each have an elongated arm portion pivotally connected to the piston, and have a generally circular base portion eccentrically pivotally connected to first and second crankshafs. The first and second crankshafts are interconnected to rotate synchronously in opposite directions such that the rotary compressor elements rotate, eccentrically about the crankshafts, within the rotary compressor chambers, synchronously in opposite directions.