Internal-combustion engines – Charge forming device – Heating of combustible mixture
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-23
2002-01-22
McMahon, Marguerite (Department: 3747)
Internal-combustion engines
Charge forming device
Heating of combustible mixture
Reexamination Certificate
active
06340021
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is a National Stage Application of International Application No. PCT/AT98/00199, filed Aug.25, 1998. Further, the present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of Austrian Patent Application No. A-1416/97 filed on Aug. 25, 1997.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the operating mode of an internal combustion engine having at least one piston and cylinder that can be moved with respect to one another and interact, in which a crankshaft can be driven preferably by a piston by way of a power transmission and in which the piston in the cylinder occupies in succession a bottom and a top dead center position, forming a largest and a smallest inner cylinder chamber, and the cylinder chamber can be sealed periodically, for example, by controlled valves.
The invention further includes an internal combustion engine having at least one piston and cylinder that can be moved with respect to one another and interact, in which a crankshaft can be driven preferably by a piston by way of a power transmission and in which the piston in the cylinder occupies in succession a bottom and a top dead center position, forming a largest and a smallest inner cylinder chamber, and the inner cylinder chamber can be sealed periodically, for example, by controlled valves, against a gas feed- and an exhaust gas discharge device, and optionally has a mechanism for the introduction and/or ignition of an operating fluid or fuel mixture.
2. Description of Background and Revelant Information
The operating mode of known combustion engines having a piston moved in a cylinder essentially includes a loading stroke with the introduction of air or a combustible gas mixture in the inner cylinder chamber, as well as a compression thereof by the piston moved into its top dead center position, after which, in a power stroke, a combustion of operating fluid takes place under elevation of temperature and pressure, and resulting in displacement of the piston into its bottom dead center position, whereupon, in an emission stroke, the burned gases or exhaust gases are discharged from the inner cylinder chamber. The sequence of gas feed, compression, and exhaust gas discharge is controlled by movable sealing devices, in particular valves, in the region of the cylinder head, as a function of the rotation of the crankshaft. The performance of this process, which is generally called the four-cycle principle, can be brought to higher specific levels by pressing air or combustible gas mixture into the inner cylinder chamber, for example, by way of a turbo-supercharger or compressor, because the filing of the cylinder with combustible medium can thus be increased, in particular a high engine speeds.
In the two-cycle principle, access to a feed and exhaust gas channel in the cylinder wall is opened by the piston itself in the region of the bottom dead center position, so that gas can be transported through the inner cylinder chamber, and exhaust gas can be “flushed” with a charge of fresh gas. After the charge of fresh gas or gas mixture, which is effected by elevating its pressure, the piston is moved to the top dead center position with compression of the fresh gas, in which region a combustion of the operating fluid is initiated. The pressure of the fresh gas or gas mixture is elevated by a displacement effect of the piston itself and/or by a means for elevating pressure.
All known operating modes of internal combustion engines, however, have in common the disadvantages that, on the one hand, no adiabatic or isentropic expansion of the combustion gas to essentially the ambient pressure is allowed or can be allowed to occur and, on the other hand, an isochoric dissipation of the inherent heat in the combustion gas takes place as it is discharged from the inner cylinder chamber and thus the utilization of the energy of the operating fluid or combustion gas is low.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, there is provided an internal combustion engine comprising at least one cylinder. A cylinder head is provided. At least one piston is included having a top dead center position wherein the piston is disposed near the cylinder head and a bottom dead center position wherein the piston is disposed away from the cylinder head. The piston and cylinder are movable with respect to one another. A crankshaft is included. At least one intake valve and at least one exhaust valve are provided. Each valve is controlled to respectively allow gas intake and exhaust gas discharge. A movable recuperator is disposed between the cylinder head and the piston. The recuperator allows at least one of intake gas to flow from the intake valve and through the recuperator and exhaust gas to flow through the recuperator and to the exhaust valve. The recuperator moves only when the piston is in a region of the top dead center position and in a region of the bottom dead center position.
The recuperator may be movable away from the piston when the piston is in the region of the top dead center position and may be movable towards the piston when the piston is in the region of the bottom dead center position. The recuperator may be movable between at least a first position in which a space is defined between the cylinder head and at least a second position in which the space is reduced, and a combustion chamber may be defined between the piston and at least the recuperator. The recuperator may comprise a cross section which is essentially the same as a cross section of the cylinder. The recuperator may be disposed between the valves and the piston, and the recuperator may comprise a mechanism for moving the recuperator. The recuperator may comprise at least one of a metal, a ceramic, and a catalytically effective coating. The engine may further comprise a pressure elevating device adapted to feed a gaseous medium to the internal combustion engine. The pressure elevating device may be driven by one of the crankshaft and an external drive. The engine may further comprise a control device coupled to an intake side of the intake valve, a pressure accumulator coupled to the control device, and a pressure elevating device coupled to the control device, wherein the pressure elevating device is adapted to feed a gaseous medium to the internal combustion engine. At least a portion of the cylinder may be at least one of externally non-cooled and heat-insulated.
The invention also provides for a method of operating an internal combustion engine which includes at least one cylinder, a cylinder head, at least one piston having a top dead center position defined by the piston being disposed near the cylinder head and a bottom dead center position defined by the piston being disposed away from the cylinder head, the piston and cylinder being movable with respect to one another, a crankshaft, at least one intake valve and at least one exhaust valve, each valve being controlled to respectively allow gas intake and exhaust gas discharge, and a movable recuperator disposed between the cylinder head and the piston, the recuperator allowing at least one of intake gas to flow from the intake valve and through the recuperator, and exhaust gas to flow through the recuperator and to the exhaust valve, the method comprising introducing a compressed gaseous medium into the cylinder via the intake valve when the piston is in the region of the top dead center position, closing the intake valve, heating the compressing the gaseous medium using the recuperator, combusting the gaseous medium so as to move the piston to the bottom dead center position, opening the exhaust valve to discharge the combusted gaseous medium from the cylinder, wherein recuperator moves only when the piston is in a region of the top dead center position and in a region of the bottom dead center position.
The method may further comprise moving the recuperator away from the piston when the piston is in the region of the top dead position, and moving the recuperator towards the piston when the pi
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