Patent ID: 7677210
Filing Date: 2010-03-16
Classification: F01B,F02B

Abstract:
1. An engine block assembly comprising: a stationary housing; a cylinder bank rotatably mounted to the housing about a central longitudinal axis, the cylinder bank having a plurality of cylinders therein radially distanced from the central longitudinal axis, each cylinder having associated therewith a cylinder wall formed about a major cylinder axis; a plurality of pistons wherein one piston is provided in each cylinder to form a combustion chamber therein, wherein each piston sequentially moves from a down most position within the cylinder to an up most position within the cylinder during a first portion of rotation of the cylinder bank, wherein each piston sequentially dwells about the up most position for substantially all of an air-fuel mixture to be combusted within the combustion chamber, and wherein each piston then sequentially moves from about the up most position to the down most position during a second portion of rotation of the cylinder; a plurality of connecting rods each having a proximal end attached to a respective piston, and a remote end distant from the respective piston; a thrust plate operatively connected to the remote ends of the connecting rods, the thrust plate being rotatably mounted to the stationary housing about a thrust plate axis and in a thrust plane defined by the remote ends of the connecting rods; a synchronizing member operatively connecting to the cylinder bank and the thrust plate so that the cylinder bank and thrust plate rotate at the same speed; and wherein the piston dwell motion is created by adjusting one or more of the following design parameters: (1) the angle of the thrust plane with respect to a plane that is perpendicular to the central longitudinal axis, (2) the angular rotational offset of the thrust plate about an axis which is parallel to the central longitudinal axis and which intersects the thrust plate axis, (3) the angular rotational offset of the thrust plate about the thrust plate axis with respect to a reference point in the thrust plane, (4) the lateral offset of the thrust plate axis from the central longitudinal axis, and (5) the tilt of the major cylinder axes with respect to the central longitudinal axis.