Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7487748?dq=5,973,252
Timestamp: 2015-04-25 19:46:01
Document Index: 35286041

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60']

Patent US7487748 - Internal combustion engine and method - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsInternal combustion engine and method with compression and expansion chambers of variable volume, a combustion chamber, a variable intake valve for controlling air intake to the compression chamber, a variable outlet valve for controlling communication between the compression chamber and the combustion...http://www.google.com/patents/US7487748?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7487748 - Internal combustion engine and methodAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS7487748 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 11/458,196Publication dateFeb 10, 2009Filing dateJul 18, 2006Priority dateMar 9, 2005Fee statusPaidAlso published asEP1866531A2, US7255082, US7325520, US7328674, US7415947, US7415948, US7418929, US7421995, US7424871, US7448349, US7481189, US7552703, US7594492, US7658169, US7748351, US7748352, US7757644, US7905204, US20060243229, US20060254249, US20060254554, US20070012020, US20070012021, US20070012022, US20070012023, US20070012024, US20070012291, US20070017200, US20070017201, US20070017202, US20070017203, US20070017204, US20070017476, US20070017477, US20070151537, US20070151538, WO2006096850A2, WO2006096850A3, WO2006099064A2, WO2006099064A3, WO2006099066A2, WO2006099066A3Publication number11458196, 458196, US 7487748 B2, US 7487748B2, US-B2-7487748, US7487748 B2, US7487748B2InventorsJohn ZajacOriginal AssigneeZajac Optimum Output Motors, Inc.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (66), Non-Patent Citations (1), Referenced by (3), Classifications (50), Legal Events (4) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetInternal combustion engine and method
US 7487748 B2Abstract
1. An internal combustion engine, comprising: compression and expansion chambers of variable volume, a combustion chamber, a variable intake valve for controlling air intake to the compression chamber, a variable outlet valve for controlling communication between the compression chamber and the combustion chamber, means for introducing fuel into the combustion chamber to form a mixture of fuel and air which burns and expands in the combustion chamber, a variable inlet valve for controlling communication between the combustion chamber and the expansion chamber, a variable exhaust valve for controlling exhaust flow from the expansion chamber, and means responsive to engine breathing conditions for controlling operation of the valves to provide increased air flow through the combustion chamber when the engine is operating at high altitude, high ambient temperatures, and/or high RPM, and/or when engine breathing is otherwise limited.
2. The engine of claim 1 wherein the means for controlling operation of the valves includes means for delaying closing of the intake valve and opening of the exhaust valve when the engine is operating at high altitude, high ambient temperatures, and/or high RPM, and/or when engine breathing is otherwise limited.
3. The engine of claim 1 wherein the means for controlling operation of the valves is responsive to ambient temperature and/or barometric pressure.
4. The engine of claim 1 including means for varying the valve timing to provide a sudden increase in horsepower by opening the intake valve for a longer period of time to take in more air, opening the outlet valve sooner to maintain a substantially constant compression ratio, burning more fuel to maintain temperature, opening the inlet valve for a longer duration to maintain pressure in the combustion chamber, and opening the exhaust valve when a piston in the expansion chamber is closer to bottom dead center and the pressure in the expansion chamber is substantially above atmospheric pressure.
6. An internal combustion engine having compression and expansion cylinders, a piston in each of the cylinders, a combustion chamber, an intake valve controlling air flow to the compression cylinder, an outlet valve controlling air flow from the compression cylinder to the combustion chamber, an inlet valve controlling flow from the combustion chamber to the expansion cylinder, an exhaust valve for controlling exhaust flow from the expansion chamber, means for controlling the timing of the valves so that the pressure in the expansion chamber is at or near atmospheric pressure when the exhaust valve is opened during normal operation of the engine, and means for varying the valve timing to provide a sudden increase in horsepower by opening the intake valve for a longer period of time to take in more air, opening the outlet valve sooner to maintain a substantially constant compression ratio, burning more fuel to maintain temperature, opening the inlet valve for a longer duration to maintain pressure in the combustion chamber, and opening the exhaust valve when the piston in the expansion chamber is closer to bottom dead center and the pressure in the expansion chamber is substantially above atmospheric pressure.
7. The engine of claim 6 including means for opening the intake valve when pressure in the compression cylinder is at or near atmospheric pressure.
8. The engine of claim 6 including means for maintaining a substantially constant pressure in the combustion chamber during normal operation of the engine.
9. An internal combustion engine, comprising: compression and expansion chambers of variable volume, a combustion chamber, a variable intake valve for controlling air intake to the compression chamber, a variable outlet valve for controlling communication between the compression chamber and the combustion chamber, means for introducing fuel into the combustion chamber to form a mixture of fuel and air which burns and expands in the combustion chamber, a variable inlet valve for controlling communication between the combustion chamber and the expansion chamber, a variable exhaust valve through which exhaust is discharged from the expansion chamber, and means for opening the exhaust valve when the pressure in the expansion cylinder is at or near atmospheric pressure over a wide range of operating and load conditions.
10. The engine of claim 9 wherein the compression and expansion chambers are cylinders, with a piston in each of the cylinders, a crankshaft interconnecting the pistons for reciprocating movement between top dead center and bottom dead center positions in the cylinders, and the exhaust valve opening when the piston in the expansion cylinder is at or near bottom dead center.
11. The engine of claim 10 wherein the exhaust valve opens when the piston in the expansion cylinder is moving toward top dead center.
12. The engine of claim 9 including means for maintaining a substantially constant pressure in the combustion chamber during normal operation of the engine.
13. The engine of claim 9 including means for varying the valve timing to provide a sudden increase in horsepower by opening the intake valve for a longer period of time to take in more air, opening the outlet valve sooner to maintain a substantially constant compression ratio, burning more fuel to maintain temperature, opening the inlet valve for a longer duration to maintain pressure in the combustion chamber, and opening the exhaust valve when the piston in the expansion chamber when the pressure in the expansion chamber is substantially above atmospheric pressure.
14. An internal combustion engine having expansion and compression cylinders, pistons movable in upward and downward directions between top dead center and bottom dead center positions within the cylinders, a combustion chamber in which air from the compression cylinder and fuel are mixed and burned to form hot expanding gas which is delivered to the expansion cylinder to drive the piston in the expansion cylinder in the downward direction, with the pressure in the expansion chamber dropping below atmospheric pressure before the piston reaches its bottom dead center position and work input being required to complete the downward movement of the piston, and an exhaust valve which in normal operation of the engine is held closed until the work input has been recovered during upward movement of the piston.
15. The engine of claim 14 including means for maintaining a substantially constant pressure in the combustion chamber during normal operation of the engine.
16. The engine of claim 14 including an intake valve for controlling air intake to the compression chamber, an outlet valve for controlling communication between the compression chamber and the combustion chamber, an inlet valve for controlling communication between the combustion chamber and the expansion chamber, means for varying the valve timing to provide a sudden increase in horsepower by opening the intake valve for a longer period of time to take in more air, opening the outlet valve sooner to maintain a substantially constant compression ratio, burning more fuel to maintain temperature, opening the inlet valve for a longer duration to maintain pressure in the combustion chamber, and opening the exhaust valve when the piston in the expansion chamber is closer to bottom dead center and the pressure in the expansion chamber is substantially above atmospheric pressure.
17. The engine of claim 14 including means for providing increased air flow through the combustion chamber when the engine is operating at high altitude, high ambient temperatures, and/or high RPM, and/or when engine breathing is otherwise limited.
18. A method of operating an internal combustion engine having compression and expansion chambers of variable volume, a combustion chamber, and a movable output member in the expansion chamber, the steps of: drawing air into the compression chamber, compressing the air in the compression chamber, delivering the compressed air from the compression chamber to the combustion chamber, mixing fuel with the air in the combustion chamber, burning the fuel and air in the combustion chamber to produce an expanding gas, delivering the expanding gas from the combustion chamber to the expansion chamber to drive the movable member in the expansion chamber, opening an exhaust valve when pressure in the expansion chamber is at or near atmospheric pressure and the piston in the expansion cylinder is moving toward top dead center, and discharging exhaust gas from the expansion chamber through the exhaust valve.
19. The method of claim 18 wherein the movable member is a piston which reciprocates between top dead center and bottom dead center positions in the expansion chamber, and the exhaust valve is opened when the piston in the expansion cylinder is at or near bottom dead center.
20. The method of claim 18 where pressure in the combustion chamber is maintained substantially constant during normal operation of the engine.
21. A method of operating an internal combustion engine having compression and expansion chambers of variable volume, a combustion chamber, and a movable output member in the expansion chamber, the steps of controlling air flow to the compression chamber with an intake valve, controlling communication between the compression chamber and the combustion chamber with an outlet valve, controlling communication between the combustion chamber and the expansion chamber with an inlet valve, and varying the valve timing to provide a sudden increase in horsepower by opening the intake valve for a longer period of time to take in more air, opening the outlet valve sooner to maintain a substantially constant compression ratio, burning more fuel to maintain temperature, opening the inlet valve for a longer duration to maintain pressure in the combustion chamber, and opening the exhaust valve when pressure in the expansion chamber is substantially above atmospheric pressure. Description
Provisional Application No. 60/660,045, filed Mar. 9, 2005; Provisional Application No. 60/660,046, filed Mar. 9, 2005, Provisional Application No. 60/660,050, filed Mar. 9, 2005, Provisional Application No. 60/760,478, filed Jan. 20, 2006, Provisional Application No. 60/760,641, filed Jan. 20, 2006, Provisional Application No. 60/760,642, filed Jan. 20, 2006, the priority of which are claimed. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
During the last part of the stroke, the expansion piston is working against a partial vacuum and provides negative net work for that part of the stroke. To compensate for the negative work, the exhaust valve is kept closed during the first part of the upward stroke, and the lost work is recovered when the higher pressure below the piston pushes it back up. When the pressure above the expansion piston approaches atmospheric pressure, the exhaust valve is opened, and the exhaust gases are pushed out of the cylinder by the piston as it completes its upward stroke. In the example given, the exhaust valve opens when the piston has moved 30% of its upward travel. With the exhaust valve being opened at atmospheric pressure, no work is lost, and efficiency is maintained. Opening the exhaust valve near atmospheric pressure also avoids loud exhaust noises and can allow the engine to operate without a muffler.
Moreover, with factors such as a longer burn time, no cooling of the combustion chamber walls, and good temperature control, the exhaust is much cleaner than in typical Otto and Diesel engines, and consequently the engine may not need a costly catalytic converter either.
Since the engine can maintain the correct or optimum combustion chamber pressure by varying valve timing, the engine can compensate for situations where normal engine breathing is limited with no loss in performance. Such conditions exist, for example at high altitude, high ambient temperature, and low atmospheric pressure as well as at higher engine RPM. At high altitude, the air is less dense, the barometric pressure is lower, and the reduction in air pressure would normally cause less air mass to be drawn into the compression cylinder.
At high ambient temperatures, the density of the air is lower than it would be at normal temperatures, and less air mass would likewise be drawn into the compression cylinder. However, since only a portion of the capacity of the compression cylinder is utilized under normal operating conditions, it is possible to allow the intake valve to be open for a longer period of time when a high ambient temperature or a decrease in barometric pressure is detected. Thus, for example, instead of opening the intake valve for 40% of the intake stroke, it can be opened for 50% or 60% of the stroke as needed, and this extra capacity will allow a greater volume of air to be drawn into the cylinder and compressed to compensate for the air being less dense. The ability to draw in additional air can also be used to compensate for breathing losses that occur at high RPM. The net result in each of these cases is that the same mass of air will be drawn into the engine, the same amount of work will be required to compress it, and the same work output will be maintained even though the density of the air is less at high altitude or high temperatures and also when breathing is more difficult at high RPM. In this way, the performance of the engine is maintained over a wide range of ambient conditions without any decrease in efficiency or performance.
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