Segmented Internal Combustion Engine With Decouplable Blocks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing internal combustion engines lack a compact and safe design that allows for independent operation of engine blocks, leading to potential failures and reduced operational safety, especially in aircraft applications.
Innovation Solution
The design features two engine blocks with their own crankshafts, decouplable via clutches, allowing for independent operation, with transmissions arranged externally to reduce weight and enhance rigidity, and a hybrid system with an electric motor for enhanced performance and redundancy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single engine block is used, then the structure is simple, but operational safety is reduced because the entire engine fails if one component fails
Solution Approach 1:
The engine is divided into multiple independent engine blocks (first engine block and second engine block), each with its own crankshaft and cylinders. These blocks are coupled together but can operate independently, allowing one block to continue functioning if the other fails, thereby improving operational safety without requiring a completely redundant dual-engine system.
2Device complexity
If engine blocks are coupled together to share components, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability decreases because a failure in one block can affect the other
Solution Approach 1:
The engine system is segmented into independent engine blocks that share minimal common components. Each block has its own crankshaft, cylinders, and essential systems, creating functional independence while maintaining a unified engine structure through the coupling mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
A coupling mechanism acts as an intermediary between the first and second engine blocks, allowing them to be mechanically connected for shared support structures while enabling easy decoupling if needed. This intermediary connection provides structural benefits without creating critical dependencies that would compromise reliability.
3Volume of moving object
If transmissions are arranged internally within engine blocks, then installation space is reduced, but weight increases and rigidity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The transmission system is relocated from an internal arrangement within engine blocks to an external arrangement on the output shaft. This dimensional repositioning allows the transmission to be mounted separately, reducing the weight and complexity burden on the engine blocks themselves while maintaining compact overall packaging through optimized spatial arrangement.
4Power
If a hybrid system with electric motor is added, then power and redundancy are increased, but device complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The electric motor is merged with the existing engine block structure, with the motor integrated into or coupled with one of the engine blocks. This combining approach allows the hybrid system to share common components such as mounting structures, control systems, and cooling mechanisms, thereby reducing the overall complexity increase that would result from a completely separate motor system.
Data Source
AI summary
An internal combustion engine according to the invention comprises at least two engine blocks which are coupled to one another and each of which includes at least two cylinders, each cylinder being connected to a common drive shaft via a transmission and a clutch. If there is a problem with one engine block, same can be disconnected from the drive shaft so that the engine can continue to operate by means of the other engine block.