Abstract
An opposed, free-piston engine and method are disclosed. The opposed, free-piston engine comprises: a pair of adjacent cylinders, each extending from a first cylinder end to a second cylinder end along an elongate axis and comprising a first cylinder housing a first pair of opposed, free pistons comprising a first piston housed towards the first cylinder end and a second piston housed towards the second cylinder end; a second cylinder housing a second pair of opposed, free pistons comprising a third piston housed towards the first end cylinder and a fourth piston housed towards the second cylinder end; and a pair of link rods comprising a first link rod and a second link rod, the first link rod having a first link rod end and a second link rod end, the first link rod being coupled towards the first link rod end with the first piston and being coupled towards the second link rod end with the fourth piston, the second link rod having a third link rod end and a fourth link rod end, the second link rod being coupled towards the third link rod end with the second piston and being coupled towards the fourth link rod end with the third piston. In this way, the interconnecting link rods transfer movement of pistons in one cylinder to pistons in the other cylinder. This helps to obviate the need for bounce chambers and provides for a more compact arrangement with fewer parts.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Patent number | WO2021152296 |
| IPC | F01B11/00,F01B7/02,F02B71/00 |
| Priority date | 30/01/20 |
| Publication status | Published - 5 Aug 2021 |