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US 2011 0023812A1 (19) United States (12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2011/0023812 A1 Inden (43) Pub. Date: Feb. 3, 2011 (54) CRANKSHAFT-FREE INTERNAL (52) U.S. Cl. ..................................................... 123/1973 COMBUSTON ENGINE OF IMPROVED EFFICIENCY (57) ABSTRACT (75) Inventor: Michael Inden, Belmont, CA (US) The crankshaft-free internal combustion engine which is of the type that contains at least one cylinder having a longitu Correspondence Address: dinal axis, at least one piston that has a pivot pin and is MICHAEL INDEN slidingly installed in the cylinder, a main driveshaft having a 2241 SEMERAAVENUE central axis, which is offset at a distance from the longitudinal BELMONT, CA 94002-1521 (US) axis of the cylinder, and a cylindrical eccentric which is eccentrically and non-rotationally secured on the main drive (73) Assignee: ALEXANDER KHAMSKY shaft A distinguishing feature of the engine is a connecting rod that has a Substantially L-shaped configuration formed by (21) Appl. No.: 12/462,315 one portion which is substantially straight and is pivotally connected to the pivot pin of the cylinder and a second portion (22) Filed: Aug. 3, 2009 which is substantially transverse to the first portion and piv O O otally receives the cylindrical eccentric. The distance from Publication Classification the central axis of the main driveshaft to the longitudinal axis (51) Int. Cl. of the cylinder is always greater than 0. Such a construction FI6C 7700 (2006.01) significantly improves efficiency of the engine. 134 82 2 2 éC 84 2 132 e 118 2 C 130 2 136 74 Patent Application Publication Feb. 3, 2011 Sheet 1 of 9 US 2011/0023812 A1 32 34 26 22 40 20/ FIG. 1 PRIOR ART Patent Application Publication Feb. 3, 2011 Sheet 2 of 9 US 2011/0023812 A1 FIG. 2 PRIOR ART Patent Application Publication Feb. 3, 2011 Sheet 3 of 9 US 2011/0023812 A1 FIG 3 PRIOR ART Patent Application Publication Feb. 3, 2011 Sheet 4 of 9 US 2011/0023812 A1 82 ZZ FIG. 4 PRIOR ART Patent Application Publication Feb. 3, 2011 Sheet 5 of 9 US 2011/0023812 A1 -90 94 F.G. 5 PRIOR ART G u-92 E2 -\Yu/ 96 FIG. 6 PRIOR ART Patent Application Publication Feb. 3, 2011 Sheet 6 of 9 US 2011/0023812 A1 FIG. 7 PRIOR ART 106 110 Patent Application Publication Feb. 3, 2011 Sheet 7 of 9 US 2011/0023812 A1 84 82 4. 441 I | (E)3 | 104 74 FIG. 9 Patent Application Publication Feb. 3, 2011 Sheet 8 of 9 US 2011/0023812 A1 134 N!&?=NT4( \<<<<<<<<<< ((()))S`````````) 1 40 FIG 10 Patent Application Publication Feb. 3, 2011 Sheet 9 Of 9 US 2011/0023812 A1 148 150 8O NL22 KOEN 146 162 160 Q````````N 76 72 152 154 FIG 11 US 2011/0023812 A1 Feb. 3, 2011 CRANKSHAFT-FREE INTERNAL cylindrical or “main journals 62 and one or more offset COMBUSTION ENGINE OF IMPROVED cylindrical crankpin or “rod” journals 64. The crankshaft EFFICIENCY main journals rotate in a set of Supporting main bearings, causing the offset rod journals or throw 66 to rotate in a TECHNICAL FIELD circular path around the main journal centers, the diameter of which is twice the offset of the rod journals. The diameter of 0001. The present invention relates to internal combustion that path is equal to the distance the piston moves up and engines. More specifically, the present invention relates to a down in its cylinder, which is called a “stroke’. crankshaft-free internal combustion engine, in particular to a 0006 Referring to FIG. 3, an alternative to the above crankshaft-free internal combustion engine having an described conventional crankshaft is a crankshaft-free drive improved design of a driveshaft and engine assembly. shaft and piston assembly. This apparatus is disclosed gener ally in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/151,954 to BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Michael Inden, filed on May 12, 2008, titled Crankshaft-Free 0002 Internal combustion engines are any of a group of Drive Shaft and Piston Assembly of a Split-Cycle Four devices in which the reactant of combustion, e.g., oxidizer Stroke Engine, which is herein incorporated by reference in and fuel, and the products of combustion serve as the working its entirety. The apparatus 70 (for simplicity of the drawing fluids of the engine. Internal combustion (IC) engines can be and description the cylinder block of an engine and other categorized into spark ignition (SI) and compression ignition engine components are not shown) is a driveshaft and piston (CI) categories. SI engines, i.e. typical gasoline engines, use assembly that comprises a rotary driveshaft 72 (hereinafter a spark to ignite the air-fuel mixture, while the heat of com referred to merely as “a shaft”) of a square cross-section pression ignites the air-fuel mixture in CI engines, i.e., typi which includes a circular eccentric 74 mounted in its indexed cally diesel engines. The basic concept of the design of both position and a pair of integrally mounted cylindrical bushings a typical gasoline engine and a diesel engine has not changed 76a and 76b. The shaft 72 is journaled at the bushings 76a and for more than 100 years. 76b for rotation about a shaft axis 78. A connecting rod 80 is 0003. The basic components of an internal combustion pivotally connected to both the circular eccentric 74 of the engine are well known in the art and include the engine block, shaft 72 and a piston 82 at its top distal end. The mechanical cylinders, pistons, valve, crankshaft and camshaft. Such an linkage of the connecting rod 80 to the piston 82 and the engine gains its energy from the heat released during the circular eccentric 74 which is indexed on the shaft 72 serves combustion of the non-reacted working fluids, e.g., the oxi to convert the reciprocating motion of the piston (as indicated dizer-fuel mixture. In all internal combustion engines, useful by directional arrow A for the piston 82) to the rotational work is generated from the hot, gaseous products of combus motion (as indicated by directional arrow C) of the shaft 72. tion acting directly on moving Surfaces of the engine, such as The cylindrical bushings 76a and 76b have a coaxial opening the top or crown of a piston. of Substantially the same cross-section as a cross-section of 0004 Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary embodiment of a the Shaft 72 of FIG. 3. prior art conventional internal combustion engine is shown at 0007 Though this embodiment of the invention shows 20. The engine 20 includes an engine block 22 having the cross-sections of the shaft 72 and opening of the circular cylinder 24 extending therethrough. The cylinder 24 is sized eccentric 74 as Substantially square, it is within the scope of to receive the reciprocating piston 26 therein. Attached to the this invention that other cross-sections may also be employed, top of the cylinder 24 is the cylinder head 28, which includes Such as other polygons with different numbers of sides, an inlet valve 30 and an outlet valve 32. The bottom of the ellipses, or others which will assure an indexed position of the cylinder head 28, cylinder 24 and top (or crown 34) of the circular eccentric 74 on the shaft 72. piston 26 form a combustion chamber 36 chambers into 0008. In an alternative exemplary modification of the which fuel and oxidizer (e.g. air) are introduced, and com invention 86, illustrated in FIG.4, a connecting rod 88 may be bustion takes place. A connecting rod 38 is pivotally attached positioned tangentially to the circular eccentric 74 in order to at its top distal end 40 to the piston 26. A crankshaft 42 maximize torque applied to the shaft 72 during the power includes a mechanical offset portion—the crankshaft throw stroke. 44, which is pivotally attached to the bottom distal end 46 of 0009 FIGS. 5 and 6, which are schematic diagrams of an connecting rod 38. The mechanical linkage of the connecting exemplary embodiment of two circular eccentrics 90 and 92, rod 38 to the piston 26 and crankshaft throw 44 serves to illustrate how orientation of openings 94 and 96 for mounting convert the reciprocating motion (as indicated by arrow 48) of circular eccentrics on a shaft provides indexing of the circular the piston 26 to the rotary motion (as indicated by arrow 50) eccentrics on the shaft. FIG.5 illustrates the circular eccentric of the crankshaft 42. The crankshaft 42 is mechanically 90 which has an opening 94 of substantially the same cross linked (not shown) to 35 an inlet camshaft 52 and an outlet section as a cross-section of the shaft 72, positioned at a camshaft 54, which precisely control the opening and closing distance “E1 from the center of the circular disk 90. The of the inlet valve 30 and outlet valve 32 respectively. The opening 96 of the Substantially same cross-section positioned cylinder 24 has a longitudinal centerline (piston-cylinder at a distance “E2 from the center of the circular disk 92 in axis) 56, which is also the centerline of reciprocation of the FIG. 6 is turned at an angle “G” with respect to the position of piston 26. The crankshaft 48 has a center of rotation (crank the opening 94 of the circular eccentric 90 of FIG. 5. Because shaft axis) 58. The center of rotation 58 of the crankshaft 48 in a four-stroke cycle engine, a four stroke cycle is completed substantially coincides with the centerline 56 of the cylinder in two revolutions of a shaft, the second index angle is equal and reciprocation of the piston 26.