232results about "Piston type power plants" patented technology

The disclosure relates to fluid working devices including reciprocating internal combustion engines, compressors and pumps. A number of arrangements for pistons and cylinders of unconventional configuration are described, mostly intended for use in reciprocating internal combustion IC engines operating without cooling. Included are toroidal combustion or working chambers, some with fluid flow through the core of the toroid, pistons reciprocating between pairs of working chambers, tensile valve actuation, tensile links between piston and crankshaft, energy absorbing piston-crank links, crankshafts supported on gas bearings, cylinders rotating in housings, injectors having components reciprocate or rotate during fuel delivery. In some embodiments pistons mare rotate while reciprocating. High temperature exhaust emissions systems are described, including those containing filamentary material, as are procedures for reducing emissions during cold start by means of valves at reaction volume exit. Compound engines having the new engines as a reciprocating stage are described. Improved vehicles, aircraft, marine craft and transmissions adapted to receive or be linked to the improved IV engines are also disclosed.

A vertical takeoff and landing aircraft having at least three wings and at least six propulsion units, each of which are located radially from two adjacent propulsion units, by equal or substantially equal angles. The at least six propulsion units together being located symmetrically, or at substantially symmetric positions, about the approximate center of gravity of the aircraft, when viewed from above. A vertical stabilizer may or may not be employed. If no vertical stabilizer is employed, yaw control during horizontal flight may be achieved through differential thrust using the at least six propulsion units. Yaw control during vertical flight may be provided by a plurality of yaw control panels. Absent yaw control panels, yaw control during vertical flight may be provided using differential propulsion unit tilt angles.

A VTOL vehicle including a fuselage with two foldable wings, two tiltable nacelles attached to the wings, a vertical stabilizer, a horizontal stabilizer, and two auxiliary thrusters. Each nacelle contains a system of vanes located at the rear opening thereof, and actuators are provided for extending and retracting the vanes in conjunction with nacelle tilting mechanisms to deflect the airflow over a predetermined range of angles from the horizontal. Each nacelle also contains two rotary engines, each of which directly drives a fan. The fans face each other and operate in counter-rotating directions at the same rotational speed. An alternative embodiment includes two additional nacelles attached to the fuselage instead of having the auxiliary thrusters. A redundant computerized flight control system maintains stability of the vehicle as it transitions from one flight mode to another.

A vertical takeoff and landing aircraft having a fuselage with three wings and six synchronously tilt-able propulsion units, each one mounted above, below, or on each half of the aforementioned three wings. The propulsion units are vertical for vertical flight, and horizontal for forward flight. The aircraft wings are placed such that the rear wing is above the middle wing which is placed above the front wing. The placement of each of the propulsion units relative to the center of gravity of the aircraft about the vertical axis inherently assures continued stability in vertical flight mode, following the loss of thrust from any one propulsion unit. The placement of the propulsion units, viewing the aircraft from the front, is such that each propulsion units' thrust wake does not materially disturb the propulsion unit to its rear. When engine driven propellers or rotors are utilized, flapped wing panels are attached outboard of the forward and / or rearward propulsion units to provide yaw control during vertical flight.

A vertical takeoff and landing aircraft having a fuselage with, preferably, three wings and six synchronously tilt-able propulsion units, each one mounted above, below, or on each half of the aforementioned three wings. The propulsion units are oriented vertically for vertical flight and horizontally for forward flight. Each propulsion unit comprises a propeller having a plurality of blades, where the pitch angle associated with the distal end of each blade and the proximal end of each blade are independently adjustable. As such, each of the propellers can be adjusted to exhibit a first blade pitch angle distribution optimized for vertical flight and a second blade pitch angle distribution optimized for forward flight.

Provided are alternative hybrid transmission systems for marine, or two wheeled land vehicles, as well as propulsion systems and vehicles comprising such transmission systems, to improve various propulsion systems using a combination of at least two power sources with the option for simultaneous or alternating power input from two or more power sources, while providing desired characteristics or components. Such characteristics or components can include, but are not limited to: power, torque, acceleration, cruising speed or power, fuel efficiency, battery charging, endurance, power sizing, weight, capacity, efficiency, speed, mechanically and / or electrically added system requirements, design, fuel selection, functional design, structural design, lift to drag ratio, weight, and / or other desired characteristic or component.

A vertical takeoff and landing aircraft having a fuselage with, preferably, three wings and six synchronously tilt-able propulsion units, each one mounted above, below, or on each half of the aforementioned three wings. The propulsion units are oriented vertically for vertical flight and horizontally for forward flight. Each propulsion unit comprises a propeller having a plurality of blades, where the pitch angle associated with the distal end of each blade and the proximal end of each blade are independently adjustable. As such, each of the propellers can be adjusted to exhibit a first blade pitch angle distribution optimized for vertical flight and a second blade pitch angle distribution optimized for forward flight.

Embodiments are directed towards hybrid power supply that provides electric power to a multirotor rotorcraft to extend range or flying time. In one embodiment, an internal combustion engine and fuel tank are provided that interoperate with a battery provided by a commercial multirotor rotorcraft to substantially extend flying time or flying distance.

A solid state microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP) for dual mode illumination and dimming into modern aerospace searchlights. The system is a universal dimming platform with “smart functions” that include and are not limited to multiple light intensity linearization curves, analog and / or digital input dimming interface, built-in tests and health monitoring, synchronized dual mode light output with canopy position, light driver redundancy, lamp life reporting, and controlled switching with improved EMI. With real-time monitoring of the system parameters it monitors the lights proper operation and failures which can be a concern for flight-critical lighting.

An aircraft includes a propulsive fan arrangement having an intake and an exhaust. The fan arrangement is mounted adjacent a gas washed surface of the aircraft in the form of a suction surface of a wing. The intake is separated from the suction surface to define a channel therebetween. The aircraft further includes a Venturi device positioned downstream of the fan exhaust to draw boundary layer air through the channel.

The invention relates to a structural configuration of the rear fuselage (4) of an aircraft with propeller engines (1) comprising propellers (23) formed in turn by blades (3), the mentioned propeller engines (1) being located at the rear part of the aircraft and the empennage (5) of the aircraft in turn being located behind the plane of the propellers (23), characterized in that the structural configuration of the rear fuselage (4) comprises an outer skin (6) and an inner skin (7), both skins (6, 7) being joined by means of radial elements (13) configuring cells (14), such that the obtained structural configuration maximizes the torsional strength of the rear fuselage (4) of the aircraft in the event of damage of the mentioned rear fuselage (4) due to the detachment of one of the blades (3) of the propeller engines (1).

The invention relates to the field of aircrafts, in particular to a tiltable hybrid rotor-wing aircraft. According to the tiltable hybrid rotor-wing aircraft disclosed by the invention, an electric multi-rotor-wing module and an aero-engine fixed-wing module are combined. At the take-off stage, two movable tilting wings are in a vertical state, and the maximum lift force can be provided for the tiltable hybrid rotor-wing aircraft when the tiltable hybrid rotor-wing aircraft takes off; four rotor wings keeps the aircraft body stable, so that the tiltable hybrid rotor-wing aircraft stably rises; when the tiltable hybrid rotor-wing aircraft rises to needed cruising height, two movable tilting wings which are in the vertical state are changed to be in a horizontal state, the four rotor wings are folded, and the air resistance is reduced, so that the tiltable hybrid rotor-wing aircraft flies safely and stably, the tiltable hybrid rotor-wing aircraft has the advantages of a fixed-wing aircraft and the advantages of a multi-rotor-wing aircraft, namely the requirements for take-off and landing sites are low, and the tiltable hybrid rotor-wing aircraft is stable and reliable during cruising; the tiltable hybrid rotor-wing aircraft is powered by both oil and electricity, and a needed power mode is selected according to actual situations when the tiltable hybrid rotor-wing aircraft is used, so that the effect of saving energy sources is reached.

The rotors of a helicopter are powered by electric motors. The electrical energy required for this purpose is produced by a motor-generator unit, which comprises one or more internal combustion engines. The motor-generator unit can be secured under the cabin floor. This yields a hybrid helicopter that can set the rotational frequency of the rotors within a large interval.

An airplane wing configuration includes a first wing positioned above and forward of a second wing on an airplane fuselage. The first wing is operable to direct airflow over an upper surface of the second wing, whereby the first and second wings are capable of generating greater lift than a sum of their individual lifts. The first wing may include an adjustable wing flap that redirects airflow over the upper surface of the second wing, and the second wing may include a rotatable portion that pivots to vary the angle of attack of the second wing independent of the first wing.

In a rotary engine having rotating cylinders which burns a fuel which is not mixed with oil there is a real problem of centrifugal force form the rotating engine causing oil to flow into the combustion chambers. The disclosed rotary engine has oil reservoirs which are positioned radially outwardly from the pistons so that centrifugal force resulting from engine rotation tends to keep oil out of the combustion chambers. A helicopter utilising this rotary engine comprises: an aircraft body; a rotary engine having a housing containing an upright crankshaft which has a lower end portion rotatably attached above the aircraft body; a first main lifting rotor centrally attached to an opposite upper end portion of the crankshaft of the rotary engine; and, a second main lifting rotor attached to the housing of the rotary engine so that when the rotary engine is operating the first main lifting rotor is rotated in one direction, and the engine and the second main lifting rotor together tend to rotate in an opposite direction. A brake mechanism allows the relative rotational speed of the rotors may be controlled.

The invention provides a gasoline-electric hybrid power multi-rotor aircraft and a flight control method thereof. The aircraft comprises a fuselage, a main power system and an auxiliary control system. The main power system comprises a fuel engine, a transmission system and main elevating propellers. The two main elevating propellers are symmetrically arranged on the two sides of the fuselage. The fuel engine drives the main elevating propellers to rotate through the transmission system. The two main elevating propellers are consistent in rotation speed and opposite in rotation direction. The auxiliary control system comprises a plurality of auxiliary propellers driven by a motor. The multiple auxiliary propellers are connected with the fuselage through supporting rods and symmetrically distributed on the two sides of the fuselage. The auxiliary propellers and the driving motor obliquely rotate by set angles in the fuselage direction around the axes of the installed supporting rods. According to the gasoline-electric hybrid power multi-rotor aircraft provided by the invention, only a set of simple transmission mechanism is added, a steering engine control mechanism is omitted, the structure complexity is increased less, the reliability is still ensured to a certain extent, the endurance time is greatly prolonged, the loading capacity is greatly improved, and the practicability of the multi-rotor aircraft is greatly improved.

A turboprop engine assembly for an aircraft, including an internal combustion engine having a liquid coolant system, an air duct in fluid communication with an environment of the aircraft, a heat exchanger received within the air duct having coolant passages in fluid communication with the liquid coolant system and air passages air passages in fluid communication with the air duct, and an exhaust duct in fluid communication with an exhaust of the internal combustion engine. The exhaust duct has an outlet positioned within the air duct downstream of the heat exchanger and upstream of an outlet of the air duct, the outlet of the exhaust duct spaced inwardly from a peripheral wall of the air duct. In use, a flow of cooling air surrounds a flow of exhaust gases. A method of discharging air and exhaust gases in an turboprop engine assembly having an internal combustion engine is also discussed.

A vertical take-off and loading (VTOL) rotary aircraft or helicopter has eight propellers in a quad propeller arm configuration where each propeller arm has two counter-rotating propellers. Folding propeller arms are designed to allow storage in a single car sized garage. Each propeller may be powered by a three-phase alternating current motor. The main power plant for the aircraft is a gas combustion engine that generates electricity. If the gas engine fails, a battery backup system will safely bring the aircraft down for a controlled landing. The direct current bus is redundant in that even with a gas combustion engine failure the direct current bus battery pack will safely bring down the aircraft. Various embodiments of this invention may also include a landing gear crumple zone designed to soften a hard landing.

A compound engine for a means of transportation, includes a diesel engine and a gas turbine with at least one compressor and with at least one turbine. The diesel engine and the gas turbine are interconnected in such a manner that during continuous duty operation the compound engine is configured to be operated only by way of the diesel engine, and the diesel engine is optionally operated on its own or together with a compressor and a turbine of the gas turbine as a turbocharger for the diesel engine. The compound engine is configured to be operated by way of the diesel engine or the gas turbine.

The rotors of a helicopter are powered by electric motors. The electrical energy required for this purpose is produced by a motor-generator unit, which comprises one or more internal combustion engines. The motor-generator unit can be secured under the cabin floor. This yields a hybrid helicopter that can set the rotational frequency of the rotors within a large interval.

The invention relates to the technical field of unmanned aerial vehicles, in particular to a hybrid power multi-shaft rotor wing unmanned aerial vehicle. The hybrid power multi-shaft rotor wing unmanned aerial vehicle comprises an unmanned aerial vehicle body. The unmanned aerial vehicle body comprises a flight control system and a multi-shaft drive system arranged inside a vehicle shell. The hybrid power multi-shaft rotor wing unmanned aerial vehicle is characterized by further comprising an oil-electricity hybrid power system, a servo module and a measurement and control module; the oil-electricity hybrid power system is composed of an oil-fired piston engine, an oil tank, an electricity generation module, a rectifier module and a lithium battery; one end of the oil-fired piston engine is connected with the oil tank through an oil pipe; the other end of the oil-fired piston engine is connected with the servo module; an output shaft of the oil-fired piston engine is connected with the electricity generation module; the electricity generation module is connected with one end of the rectifier module; the other end of the rectifier module is connected with the lithium battery in parallel and then is connected with the multi-shaft drive system; the multi-shaft drive system is composed of a plurality of single-shaft drivers. The hybrid power multi-shaft rotor wing unmanned aerial vehicle has the advantages of being long in endurance, large in load, easy to control, good in safety and the like.

Variations of an aerial vehicle, all with capability of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), with one variation comprising at least three engines, at least three rotors, a flight control system, battery, and propulsion system. The second VTOL aerial vehicle variation being a hybrid with engine-powered rotors and electric-powered rotors configured to work with a flight control system and battery. The first and second variations having the option of a genset system which recharges the battery. The third VTOL aerial vehicle variation being all-electric-powered rotors configured to work with a flight control system and a genset system which powers the rotors and / or recharges the battery.

A propulsion assembly for propelling an aircraft is disclosed. The assembly includes a four stroke internal combustion engine, a propeller shaft that is operatively connected to the engine, and an electronic control unit that is connected to the engine and is configured to monitor and control at least one operating parameter of the engine. The engine includes two to twelve cylinders having a total displacement of less than 19.6 liters, and a crankshaft that is operatively connected to the cylinders. The crankshaft rotates at a speed of at least 3,000 rpm when the engine is operating under normal conditions. The engine also includes a closed loop liquid cooling system and a fuel injection system. The engine has a total power output of 140 to 600 hp, and a total wet installed weight of less than 1.1 kg / hp. The engine meets current RTCA DO-160d, RTCA DO-178b, and US FAA FAR33 guidelines.

A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is provided and includes wings, first and second nacelles supported on each of the wings, each of the first and second nacelles including a propeller drivable to generate aircraft thrust, and an asymmetrical power generation unit. The asymmetrical power generation unit includes a single engine unit disposed in only one of the first and second nacelles to generate power to drive the propellers of both the first and second nacelles.

Features for a tail-sitter aircraft having efficiently designed propulsive elements are disclosed. The aircraft may have a tail with landing mounts to support the aircraft in a vertical position for takeoff and landing. The aircraft may have a hybrid propulsion system including an electric power source, such as a generator and an electric motor, and a prime power subsystem, such as an internal combustion engine. The electric and prime power subsystems may be used controllably in varying amounts depending on the phase of flight, such as takeoff, horizontal flight, landing, or maneuvers. The aircraft may have blades with piezo elements to provide shape-changing capability to the blade. The shape of the blade, such as the pitch and / or twist, may be controllably changed for optimal efficiency with the blade depending on phase of flight. The blade shape may be changed from a rotor-like shape during takeoff and landing, to a propeller-like shape during horizontal flight.