Hydrogen internal combustion engine with injection rings

Abstract

To provide a hydrogen internal combustion engine that is free from the drawbacks described herein and is easy and economical to manufacture. [Solution] The hydrogen internal combustion engine is provided with at least one cylinder (2) having an inlet (16) for supplying oxidizing air to the cylinder (2) and an outlet (17) for discharging combustion gas from the cylinder (2), at least one piston (6, 7) slidably engaged with the cylinder (2), and an injection unit (21) for supplying fuel hydrogen to the cylinder (2). The injection unit (21) has a supply manifold (22), which extends around at least a portion of the side wall (5) of the cylinder (2) and communicates with the cylinder (2) through a plurality of supply holes (24) obtained through the side wall (5) of the cylinder (2).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Cross - reference to related applications This patent application claims priority from Italian Patent Application No. 102024000029055, filed on December 19, 2024, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention relates to a hydrogen internal combustion engine.

Background Art

[0003] In particular, the present invention relates to a type of hydrogen internal combustion engine including at least one cylinder provided with an inlet for supplying oxidizing air to the cylinder and an outlet for discharging combustion gases from the cylinder, at least one piston slidably engaged with the cylinder, and an injector attached through the side wall of the cylinder to supply fuel hydrogen to the cylinder.

[0004] In this case, the cylinder is slidably engaged by two opposing pistons, each of these pistons being connected to an associated transmission shaft by an associated coupling device, the associated coupling device including a crank attached to rotate around the axis of rotation of the transmission shaft and a connecting rod rotatably coupled to the crank and the associated piston.

[0005] Known hydrogen internal combustion engines of the above type have several drawbacks mainly arising from the fact that directly injecting fuel hydrogen into the cylinder makes it difficult to correctly disperse the fuel hydrogen in the cylinder and to correctly mix the fuel hydrogen and the oxidizing air in the cylinder.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] The objective of the present invention is to provide a hydrogen internal combustion engine that is free from the drawbacks described above and is easy and economical to manufacture. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to the present invention, a hydrogen internal combustion engine is provided as claimed in the appended claims.

[0008] The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a non-limiting embodiment thereof. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a schematic perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the internal combustion engine of the present invention, partially removed for clarity. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of an internal combustion engine, partially removed for clarity. [Figure 3] Figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an internal combustion engine, partially removed for clarity. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Referring to Figures 1, 2, and 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a hydrogen internal combustion engine, in this case a two-stroke internal combustion engine, which, as a whole, includes at least one cylinder 2, the cylinder 2 having a longitudinal shaft 3 and defining a combustion chamber 4 separated by a side wall 5 coaxial with the shaft 3, and is slidably engaged by two pistons 6, 7 facing each other.

[0011] Each piston 6, 7 is connected to associated transmission shafts 8, 9, which are mounted to rotate around a rotation axis 10 lateral to the shaft 3 via the interposition of a coupling device 11.

[0012] The device 11 includes a crank 12 that is angularly fixed and coupled to related shafts 8, 9 so as to rotate around related shaft 10, and a connecting rod 13 that extends between two shafts 14, 15 that are parallel to each other and to shaft 10, where shaft 14 is the axis of rotation between the crank 12 and the connecting rod 13, and shaft 15 is the axis of rotation between the pistons 6, 7 and the connecting rod 13.

[0013] Furthermore, the engine 1 has an inlet 16 for supplying oxidizing air to the cylinder 2 and an outlet 17 for discharging combustion gases from the cylinder 2.

[0014] The inlet 16 includes a suction manifold 18, which extends coaxially with the shaft 3 around the wall 5 and communicates with the cylinder 2 through a number of slots 19, which are uniformly distributed around the shaft 3 and obtained through the wall 5, and are opened and closed by the displacement of the piston 6 along the cylinder 2.

[0015] The outlet 17 includes a plurality of slots 20, which are uniformly distributed around the shaft 3 and obtained through the wall 5, and are opened and closed by the displacement of the piston 7 along the cylinder 2.

[0016] Engine 1 further includes an injection unit 21 for injecting fuel hydrogen into cylinder 2.

[0017] Unit 21 includes a supply manifold 22, which extends coaxially with the shaft 3 around at least a portion of the side wall 5 and is associated with a known type of injector 23 mounted to supply fuel hydrogen to the manifold 22.

[0018] In this case, the manifold 22 has an annular shape that surrounds the shaft 3.

[0019] The manifold 22 communicates with the combustion chamber 4 through a plurality of supply holes 24, which are dispersed, in particular uniformly dispersed, around the axis 3 and obtained through the wall 5, each having a longitudinal axis 25.

[0020] Shaft 25 is coplanar with the receiving plane P perpendicular to shaft 3 and can be in the radial direction with respect to shaft 3 or tangent to the periphery coaxially with shaft 3.

[0021] According to a variant not shown, shaft 25 can be inclined with respect to plane P, converge towards shaft 3 or intersect each other.

[0022] The engine 1 is further provided with a known spark plug not shown facing the chamber 4 or, according to a variant not shown, facing a pre-chamber communicating with the chamber 4.

[0023] There are several advantages mainly resulting from the fact that fuel hydrogen is supplied to the engine 1 first to the manifold 22 and then to the chamber 4 through the hole 24, ensuring correct dispersion of the fuel hydrogen in the cylinder 2 and optimal mixing of the fuel hydrogen and the oxidizing air in the cylinder 2.

Description of Reference Signs

[0024] 1 Engine 2 Cylinder 3 Longitudinal Axis 4 Combustion Chamber 5 Side Wall 6, 7 Piston 8, 9 Associated Transmission Shaft 10 Rotation Axis 11 Coupling Device 12 Crank 13 Connecting Rod 14 Shaft 15 Shaft 16 Inlet 17 Outlet 18 Suction Manifold 19 Slot 20 Slot 21 Injection Unit 22 Supply Manifold 23 Injector 24 Supply Hole 25 axes

Claims

1. A hydrogen internal combustion engine comprising at least one cylinder (2) provided with an inlet (16) for supplying oxidizing air to the cylinder (2) and an outlet (17) for discharging combustion gas from the cylinder (2); at least one piston (6, 7) slidably engaged with the cylinder (2); and an injection unit (21) for supplying fuel hydrogen to the cylinder (2), wherein the injection unit (21) includes a supply manifold (22), the supply manifold (22) extends around at least a portion of the side wall (5) of the cylinder (2) and communicates with the cylinder (2) through a plurality of supply holes (24) obtained through the side wall (5) of the cylinder (2).

2. The internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein the injection unit (21) further includes at least one injector (23) connected to the supply manifold (22).

3. The internal combustion engine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the supply hole (24) has a housing plane (P) perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (3) of the cylinder (2) and a longitudinal axis (25) that is coplanar with the cylinder (2).

4. The internal combustion engine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the supply hole (24) has longitudinal axes (25) that are inclined with respect to a housing plane (P) perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (3) of the cylinder (2).

5. The internal combustion engine according to claim 4, wherein the longitudinal axis (25) of the supply hole (24) converges toward the longitudinal axis (3) of the cylinder (2).

6. The internal combustion engine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the supply hole (24) has longitudinal axes (25) that are radial with respect to the longitudinal axis (3) of the cylinder (2).

7. The internal combustion engine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the supply hole (24) has longitudinal shafts (25) that are in contact with the circumference of the longitudinal shaft (3) of the cylinder (2) in a coaxial manner.

8. The internal combustion engine according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the supply manifold (22) has an annular shape that surrounds the longitudinal axis (3) of the cylinder (2).

9. The internal combustion engine according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the cylinder (2) is slidably engaged by two opposing pistons (6, 7).

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