Patent ID: 6457977
Filing Date: 2002-10-01
Classification: F02B,G09B

Abstract:
Apparatus consisting of a set of parts that can be assembled into a variety of internal-combustion engine analogs, the set of parts comprising:a set of platform parts that can be assembled into a platform having a platform rotary axis and a platform reference axis normal to the platform rotary axis, a set of driver parts that can be assembled with the set of platform parts into a driver assembly supported by the platform, the driver assembly comprising one or more drivers and at least one driver connector, each driver containing a first driver point and a second driver point, the first driver point traveling back and forth along a driver line segment, the second driver point traveling in a driver circle around a driver-assembly rotary axis as the first driver point travels back and forth along the driver line segment, the orientation of the driver being described by a driver reference axis normal to the driver-assembly rotary axis and parallel to the driver line segment, the driver-assembly rotary axis being collinear with the platform rotary axis, the driver reference axis of each driver being at any one of a plurality of angular positions relative to the platform reference axis, a driver connector enabling two drivers with adjacent driver circles to be connected together, the driver connector length being less than the spacing between adjacent driver circles where the driver connector length is the distance between parallel planes normal to the driver-assembly rotary axis that bound the driver connector.