Geared reciprocating piston engine with spherical rotary valve

Abstract

A gear driven four cycle, opposed, internal combustion engine with pairs of twin pistons connected by a semi-rigid shaft converts reciprocating motion to rotary torque by segmented upper and lower rack and pinion gears which alternate left and right, above and below, with a rocking rack motion at the precise centerline of the piston travel. Central oscillating arms with pairs of translating, rotating cranks, on each side of the twin pistons, smoothly reverse the piston directions without stressing the rack and pinion gear drives. Lateral loads and friction from the piston to the cylinder walls are eliminated. The equivalent torque developed is more than quadruple that of a conventional crankshaft design. The parallel twin cylinders are connected by a common rotary valve at each end of the opposed cylinders. Each cylinder houses a spherical rotary valve with an internal flow baffle which is connected to companion rotary valves by concentric shafts. The sphere is sealed with concentric piston rings inserted into a donut compression head at the top of the cylinder, below the large diameter intake and exhaust manifolds. The rotary valve, the drive pinions and the pistons are interconnected by gears for one full rotation per four cycle power stroke. Improved supercharged intake and exhaust flows are realized by the gently curved directional flow of the spherical valve over that of conventional plunger types of valves. Exhaust gas scavenging is enhanced by the overlapping intake stroke of the baffled spherical valve. Simplified manufacture, elimination of sliding friction, low weight, and multiple torque per horsepower are claimed.