Circulating Piston Engine Annular Bore Torque
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional piston engines face inefficiencies in torque generation, thermal efficiency, and pollutant reduction due to their crankshaft-based design, which limits torque output and increases pollutant formation.
Innovation Solution
A circulating piston engine with an annular bore and moveable valves that create a continuous combustion process, allowing pistons to rotate around the perimeter of the engine, generating high torque and thermal efficiency through a long stroke distance and reduced exposure to combustion heat, along with a separate fuel delivery system for precise fuel ratios.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If conventional crankshaft-based piston engine design is used, then the engine structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but torque output is limited and thermal efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional engine architecture by eliminating the central crankshaft and allowing pistons to circulate around an annular bore, with combustion occurring in peripheral chambers. This fundamental structural inversion enables direct torque application to the rotating assembly, achieving high torque output (4500-10000 ft-lbs) without the mechanical losses and complexity of conventional crankshaft-connecting rod mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from the conventional linear reciprocating motion in a single dimension to circular motion in a planar arrangement. Pistons move in a circular path around an annular bore, converting the traditional up-down reciprocation into continuous rotational circulation, which directly generates torque and eliminates the need for complex conversion mechanisms.
2Productivity
If conventional piston engine design with short stroke is used, then the engine size is compact, but thermal efficiency is reduced due to longer exposure to combustion heat
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous combustion through multiple peripheral combustion chambers that fire in sequence as pistons circulate around the annular bore. This continuous action maintains steady power output and high thermal efficiency (60%) by ensuring that combustion is always occurring in at least one chamber, maximizing energy extraction from the fuel while minimizing heat loss time.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If conventional fuel delivery system is used, then the system is simple, but fuel ratio precision is insufficient and pollutant formation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the fuel delivery system into multiple independent injection points, with each combustion chamber receiving precisely metered fuel through dedicated injectors. This segmentation enables precise control of the air-fuel ratio in each chamber, ensuring complete combustion and minimizing pollutants such as unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide, while the modular structure keeps the overall system manageable.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The engine achieves high torque output (up to 4500 ft-lbs) and thermal efficiency (60%) while reducing pollutant formation, requiring fewer gear ratios and minimizing contaminants in exhaust, compared to conventional engines.
Implementation Method 1
a spark plug ignites the mixture. Combustion of the mixture generates a corresponding force on each piston
Data Source
AI summary
An engine includes a housing defining an annular bore and a piston assembly disposed within the annular bore. The engine includes at least one valve configured to oscillate between a first position within the annular bore to allow the piston assembly to travel from a first location proximate to the at least one valve to a second location distal to the at least one valve and a second position to define a combustion chamber relative to the piston assembly at the second location. The engine includes an exhaust gas port disposed in fluid communication with the combustion chamber and a fuel distribution assembly configured to mix fuel from a fuel source and air from an air source into a fuel and air mixture at a location external to the combustion chamber and to deliver the fuel and air mixture to the combustion chamber.