WO2009008743A1

WO2009008743A1 - Circular run gear-piston engine

Info

Publication number: WO2009008743A1
Application number: PCT/NZ2008/000149
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jason Lew
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-07-09
Filing date: 2008-06-18
Publication date: 2009-01-15
Anticipated expiration: 2010-01-09
Also published as: NZ556418A

Abstract

A circular run gear-piston engine comprising an external combustion chamber (1) connected to a toroidal cylinder (5) via a fluid inlet (7), a fluid outlet (8) for exhaust fluids to depart from the cylinder (5), and an annular gear-piston (2) having gear teeth (14) which is adapted to run within the cylinder (5), and wherein heated fluid from the combustion chamber (1) can enter the cylinder (5) via the fluid entry (7) and can propel the annular gear-piston (2), and the gear teeth (14) of the annular gear-piston (2) mesh with and can drive a driven gear (4).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to engines, especially suitable for thermal power machinery, gas turbines, compressed-air or liquid motors; compressed-air powered vehicles, compressed-air energy storage power stations and micro-generator power devices, etc.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Existing reciprocating piston internal combustion engines are inherently inefficient, complex, with severe exhaust pollution, high manufacturing and maintenance costs, bulky engine body, heavy vibration and loud noise and can use only a limited selection of fuels.

Rotary engines, such as the Wankel engine, solved some of the problems of the reciprocating piston internal combustion engine, to a varying degree of success. However, due to low fuel economy, low torque and problems with exhaust gases, the Wankel rotary engine is used in only a few car models. Other rotary engines have had even less usage.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an engine that overcomes or substantially ameliorates at last some of the above problems.

It is an alternative object of the present invention to provide an engine that can be applied to a variety of functional needs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention provides a circular run gear-piston engine comprising a combustion chamber connected to a toroidal cylinder via a fluid inlet, a fluid outlet for exhaust fluids to depart from the cylinder, and an annular gear-piston having gear teeth and which is adapted to run within the cylinder, and wherein fluid from the combustion chamber can enter the cylinder via the fluid entry and can propel the annular gear-piston, and the gear teeth of the annular gear-piston mesh with and can drive a driven gear.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which;

Figure 1 is a cross-section view of the annular gear wheel-piston engine of the preferred embodiment;

Figures 2A and 2B illustrate a detail of the lubricant pool of the engine shown in Figure l ;

Figure 3 illustrates the toroidal cylinder which forms part of the present invention;

Figure 4A is a view of the piston arrangement of this embodiment

Figure 4B is a detailed view of the driven gear of this embodiment;

Figures 5A to 5D are sectional views of an individual piston which forms a part of the present invention;

Figures 6A to 6E depict three forms of complex piston ring as used in the present invention;

Figures 7A to 7 C show side and end views of a seal connectors of a piston as used in the present invention;

Figures 8A and 8B illustrate the engine housing as used in the present invention; Figures 9A and 9B illustrate the external combustion chamber and hot expanding gas mixing device as used in the present invention;

Figure 10 is an additional sectional view, similar to Figure 1, of the annular gear-piston of the preferred engine of the present invention;

Figures HA and HB illustrate an alternative form of toroidal cylinder for the engine of the present invention;

Figures 12A to 12C illustrate and alternative form of gear-piston used in the present invention; and

Figure 13 is a sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The annular gear-piston engine illustrated in Figure 1 comprises an external combustion chamber system 1 (illustrated in more detail in Figure 9) and the annular gear-piston 2 (Figure 10). Fuel, which could be petrol, diesel, ethanol, etc., is mixed with an oxidising agent (typically air) and is injected under high pressure into the combustion chamber 1 by any suitable direct injection device (not shown). An electronic ignition system ignites the gaseous mixture, so that it burns with continuous stable pressure combustion. The high temperature and high pressure gas formed by the combustion is directed onto the annular gear-piston 3, causing it to rotate.

The gas enters the hollow pistons 21 (see Figure 4), and its momentum within each piston continues to be imparted to the leading wall 32 of the piston.

Eventually the gas is emitted through the exhaust outlet 8. The annular gear-piston assembly 2 is made up of four separate components. These are the toroidal cylinder 5 (see Figure 3), the annular gear-piston unit 3, Figure 4A, the driven gear 4 (Figure 4B) and the housing 6 (See Figure 8A).

The toroidal cylinder 5 comprises two high precision semicircular alloy tubes joined together, as in Figure 3, to form a precise torus-shaped cylinder. There is a lateral gas inlet 7, outlet 8, installation opening 9 (see Figure 3), a gear opening 10 and lubricating holes 1 1. The installation opening 9 and the gear opening 10 have matching concave or convex, jigsaw shaped and inclined ends for enabling a good seal to be achieved when the engine is assembled.

The gear opening 10 provides a gap through which the annular gear-piston can engage a driven gear

The ends of the two semicircular tubes 12, similarly, have precisely complementarily shaped ends to provide a good sealed fit. The slanted ends serve to minimise any edge effects where the two half tubes join. The jigsaw-shaped ends can provide high mechanical strength and effective sealing. The cylinder entry port 7 and exit port 8 are tangential to the cylinder. This determines the direction of the gear-piston rotation and assists the effective escape of exhaust gases. The ports 7,8 should be located as far as possible from each other so as to obtain maximum displacement. The two rows of lubricant holes 11 are arranged in a criss-cross pattern and can ensure the toroidal cylinder tube strength while achieving full lubrication.

The annular gear piston 3 (Figure 4A) is formed of a number of piston pieces 47 connected together end-to-end in a circle. Each of the piston pieces 47 (Figure 5) includes an eccentric hollow space forming a piston chamber 21. Gear teeth 14, the grooves 15 between the gear teeth, and gas apertures 16 are made on the thicker, outer wall 17 of each piston piece 47. The thinner, inner wall 18 has a smooth surface to ensure strength and to resist wear. Piston ring grooves 19 are set on the apex of the gear tooth top land at each end of the piston piece for accommodating a piston ring 20 (Figure 6). Gas apertures 16 for the ingress and egress of gas into and out of the piston chamber 21 are made at the bottom land within each groove 15 of the annular gear piston. Apertures are provided on both sides of the central ridge area 22 to ensure structural strength. At each end of the piston piece there are dodecagonal mounts 23 for mounting seal-connectors 45 (Figure 7) and installation grooves for holding internal circlips 24 to hold the mounts 23 of the piston piece in place.

The piston rings 20, best seen in Figure 6, are provided for sealing purposes. The ends 43 are jigsaw shaped for connection and improved sealing. The edge 44 that directly comes in contact with the internal surface of the cylinder will be curved to minimize the wear to the surface. Figure 6 also includes sectional views of the piston ring.

The piston ring is actually two rings 50, 51, one inside the other. One of the rings has a tongue or flange 52 around its inner or outer circumference, that fits within a groove 53 extending around the outer or inner circumference respectively, of the other ring. The effect is an annular tongue-and-groove arrangement.

The complex piston ring 20 has flexibility that enables effective sealing both horizontally and vertically. It is installed on the piston piece then connected with seal-connectors and inserted through the installation opening into the cylinder to form a complete annular gear piston 3. Thus the wear and vibration caused by the centrifugal forces acting on the top of the gear teeth can be minimised.

The single piston working volume is formed after assembly. It is formed of three parts, comprising the inner chamber 21 of the piston piece, gas apertures 16 and gear teeth groove chamber 15. The installation opening is capped and sealed after the piston pieces are installed inside the toroidal cylinder.

The intermeshing teeth of the driven gear 4 and the annular gear piston 3 need to be accurately designed and shaped so as not to wear out the top of the gear teeth and the piston rings. Other issues, such as high transmission efficiency, smooth running, mechanical strength, suitable speed and durability, also need to be addressed by good design principles. The surfaces of the cylinder wall, annular gear piston and piston rings etc., which slide against each other, producing some friction, are plated with a super-hard smooth coating, which will greatly enhance engine performance.

The casing 6 (Figures 8A and 8B) comprises two interlocking alloy castings 36. It serves to hold and stabilise the toroidal cylinder 5 and the driven gear 4, as well as cooling, exchange heat and lubricate. One end of the shaft of the driven gear 4 will extend out of the casing. The gas entry port 7, exhaust port 8, coolant inlet 25, and coolant outlet 26 are all on the casing.

On the inner surface of the casing 6, between the gas entry port 7 and exhaust 8, there are spiralling cooling and heat exchange channels 27. Vapour formed from cooling and heat exchange may be led into a second, coaxial circular run gear-piston (not shown) to boost the energy output from the combustion gases. In other words, if, for example, water is used as the engine coolant, and the water is heated to the point that steam vapour is produced, that steam can be used to drive a second engine of the present invention, perhaps mounted in series of parallel with the first one, to increase the work output.

Between the exhaust port 8 and the driven gear 4 there is a lubricant pool 28 (see Figure 2A, which is the detail A from Figure 1) and through the lubrication apertures 11 on the toroidal cylinder lubricates the ring-gear-piston 3. A lubricant hole is seen in detail in Figure 2B, which is taken from the section B-B of Figure 2A. There is an insulation layer on the external surface of the casing 6, the external combustion chamber 1 and outer pipes etc. (not shown) to minimise heat loss.

If the cooling and heat exchange efficiency is not sufficient to recover the heat of the exhaust gas, a heat exchanger (not shown) can also be installed at the exhaust outlet, to recover exhaust heat to do additional work, so as to maximise the use of fuels and to minimise waste.

The external combustion chamber 1 (Figure 9A) comprises the combustion sub-chamber 29 and the expansion sub-chamber 30 sealed together. These two sub chambers are made from heat- resistant alloy cast, which has an overall dumb-bell-like shape, with a waist 31. The wall of the combustion sub-chamber 29 has a fuel mixture inlet entry 32, an electronic ignition device installation opening 33 and a vapour outlet 34. At the neck of the combustion chamber 35, there is an inlet 36 provided for expanding agents (such as water, etc.) which expand with the heat of combustion to assist the gas propulsion. There is a mixing device 37 inside the expansion sub- chamber 30 (seen in cross-section in Figure 9B). As a result of the fuel combustion, the high temperature gas expands, causing the vapour pressure also to increase. This pressure energy can then be converted into mechanical work. The vapour outlet 38 includes a regulator valve 39 to control the combustion rate inside the chamber for continuous, stable pressure, and complete combustion. Using an direct injection device (not shown), fuels and accelerants are mixed in accurately determined proportions then injected into the combustion sub-chamber to be electronically ignited for continuous, stable pressure combustion. The high temperature and high-pressure gas resulting from the combustion will be led into the Circular Run Gear-Piston 2 to do work.

Figures 11 to 13 illustrate alternative arrangements to various details of the present invention. Figures 1 IA and 1 IB show an alternative toroidal cylinder 40. Figures 12A to 12C illustrate an alternative gear-piston arrangement, in which the driven gear 4 is located internally of the annular gear, and the pistons 47 are arranged around the outside of the annular gear-piston 41, to receive the hot combustion gas directly from the combustion chamber. Figure 13 shows these two variations combined together in a single embodiment.

As before, hot gases from the combustion chamber enter at high velocity through the inlet port 7 and strike the vanes 42 of the annular gear piston assembly 3. Momentum is imparted to the piston assembly 3 by the gases, and they enter piston chambers 46, where they remain, still driving against the leading surface 32 of the piston chamber until exhausted through the outlet port 8. The motion of the piston gear wheel assembly is imparted by the gear teeth 48 to the inwardly mounted driven gear wheel 4, which drives the drive shaft.

The piston chambers 46 are defined by the spaces between the vanes 42, the body of the gear piston wheel 41 itself, and the inner surface 49 of the toroidal cylinder. The outer edge of each vane is provided with a piston ring groove 19, to accommodate a piston ring. Typically, they are composite rings 20, just as described earlier with reference to the first embodiment.

There are two possible approaches to extracting the maximum work from the heat of the combustion gases. The first approach is to introduce expanding agents into the combustion chamber system to increase energy conversion efficiency. The second approach is to insulate the system and use heat exchanges to transfer heat from the exhaust gases to increase energy use. One approach should be selected and the engine designed accordingly. The best of the Circular Run Gear-Piston engine's series of technical parameters and standards, materials' properties, processing accuracy also can to be determined by prototype testing, and may also depend upon the particular use to which the engine is to be put.

Whilst the embodiment described above relates to an engine driven by fluid, clearly the engine may be readily driven by other means, for example, by compressed air. This would have advantages of not relying on conventional fuels such as petrol and diesel, and no pollution to the atmosphere.

Clearly, the circular run gear-piston, the key structure of the present invention can be applied to many types of power machinery.

This invention described herein has characteristics which allow it to take various forms, from small engines several watts output, to huge engines of several hundred megawatts, depending on the application. Of course, they can be used alone or connected in parallel or series to produce any desired level of mechanical power. For example, in a motor vehicle, there could be one engine positioned alongside, and operatively connected to, each driving wheel of the vehicle.

It is to be understood that various modifications may be adopted without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the following claims.

Claims

WHAT I CLAIM IS:

1. A circular run gear-piston engine comprising a combustion chamber connected to a toroidal cylinder via a fluid inlet, a fluid outlet for exhaust fluids to depart from the cylinder, and an annular gear-piston having gear teeth and which is adapted to run within the cylinder, and wherein fluid from the combustion chamber can enter the cylinder via the fluid entry and can propel the annular gear-piston, and the gear teeth of the annular gear-piston mesh with and can drive a driven gear.

2. A circular run gear-piston engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fluid inlet is substantially tangential to the circumference of the cylinder.

3. A circular run gear-piston engine as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the fluid outlet is substantially tangential to the circumference of the cylinder.

4. A circular run gear-piston engine as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the toroidal cylinder includes a gear opening through which the driven gear meshes with the annular gear-piston.

5. A circular run gear-piston engine as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the annular gear-piston is formed from a plurality of piston chambers defined by spaces between vanes of the the gear-piston, and the inner wall of the toroidal cylinder.

6. A circular run gear-piston engine as claimed in claim 5, wherein the outer edge of each vane is provided with a piston ring groove.

7. A circular run gear-piston engine as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the annular gear-piston is formed from a plurality of piston pieces.

8. A circular run gear-piston engine as claimed in claim 7, wherein each piston piece includes a piston chamber which fluid can enter and exit.

9. A circular run gear-piston engine as claimed in claim 7 or claim 8, wherein the piston pieces are connected together and sealed by seal connectors.

10. A circular run gear-piston engine as claimed in claim 9, wherein each seal connector has a dodecagon shaped base and a square body.

11. A circular run gear-piston engine as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein each end of each piston piece is provided with a piston ring groove.

12. A circular run gear-piston engine as claimed in claim 1 1, wherein each piston ring groove is situated substantially at the middle of a gear tooth top land.

13. A circular run gear-piston engine as claimed in claim 6, 11 or 12, further comprising a piston ring located within the piston ring groove, the piston ring comprising two concentric rings, interconnected by means of an annular tongue-and-groove arrangement.

14. A circular run gear-piston engine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the engine further includes a casing to house the toroidal cylinder.

15. A circular run gear-piston engine as claimed in claim 14, wherein the casing includes an insulation coating.

16. A circular run gear-piston engine as claimed in claim 14 or 15, wherein the casing includes a spiral groove which forms a fluid flow channel through which cooling fluid can flow.

17. A circular run gear-piston engine as claimed in claim 14, 15 or 16, wherein vapour that is produced from cooling the engine, is used to drive a second circular run gear wheel- piston.

18. A circular run gear-piston engine as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the combustion chamber includes an entry port through which an expanding agent can enter the combustion chamber.

19. A circular run gear-piston engine substantially as claimed herein with reference to any of •5 the accompanying drawings.

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