Exhaust layout with accompanying firing sequence for two-stroke cycle, inline, opposed-piston engines

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10001057-B2
Application number	US-201414450808-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 4, 2014
Priority date	Aug 4, 2014
Publication date	Jun 19, 2018
Grant date	Jun 19, 2018

Abstract

An opposed-piston engine includes an inline cylinder block with an open exhaust chamber that contains all of the engine's exhaust ports. Exhaust outlets open from the exhaust chamber through opposing sides of the cylinder block. A turbocharger is positioned on each side of the cylinder block and has an inlet closely coupled with a respective exhaust outlet. The exhaust chamber is divided into separate collector sections, each collector section containing the exhaust ports of one or more cylinders, and each turbocharger has a first inlet closely coupled with a first collector section and a second inlet closely coupled with a second collector section. The engine has a cylinder firing sequence which alternates between the cylinders in the first and second collector sections.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An opposed-piston engine, comprising:
a cylinder block with a first side and a second side, where the first side and the second side are on opposite sides of the cylinder block and
a plurality of cylinders divided into a first cylinder group and a second cylinder group and disposed in an inline array between the first side and second side, in which each cylinder in the first cylinder group and in the second cylinder group includes an inlet port separated in an axial direction of the cylinder from an exhaust port;
a first collector section and a second collector section being formed in the cylinder block;
wherein
the first collector section including at least two exhaust ports of at least two cylinders of the first cylinder group is fluidly connected to each other within the cylinder block, and
the first collector section having a first outlet on the first side of the cylinder block and a second outlet on the second side of the cylinder block;

wherein
the second collector section including the exhaust ports of at least two cylinders of the second cylinder group being fluidly connected to each other within the cylinder block, and
the second collector section having a third outlet on the first side of the cylinder block and a fourth outlet on the second side of the cylinder block; and
wherein the second collector section is separated from the first collector section by a divided wall positioned within the cylinder block; and

a first turbocharger positioned on the first side of the cylinder block and having a first inlet receiving the exhaust from the first exhaust outlet of the first collector section and a second inlet receiving the exhaust from the third outlet of the second collector section; and
a second turbocharger positioned on the second side of the cylinder block and having a third inlet receiving the exhaust from the second exhaust outlet of the first collector section and a fourth inlet receiving the exhaust from the fourth outlet of the second collector section.

2. The opposed-piston engine of claim 1 , wherein the opposed-piston engine has a firing sequence in which the firing of one of the at least two cylinders of the first cylinder group having the exhaust port in the first collector section is followed by the firing of one of the at least two cylinders of the second cylinder group having the exhaust port in the second collector section.

3. The opposed-piston engine of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of cylinders includes 2N cylinders (N=2, 3, . . . , n ), in which the exhaust ports of N first cylinders are contained in the first collector section and the exhaust ports of N second cylinders are contained in the second collector section, and the opposed-piston engine has a firing sequence in which the firing of one of the at least two cylinders of the first cylinder group in the first collector section is followed by the firing of one of the at least two cylinders of the second cylinder group in the second collector section.

4. The opposed-piston engine of claim 1 , wherein:
the first turbocharger is a twin-scroll device having the first inlet in fluid communication with the first collector section through the first side of the cylinder block and having the second inlet in fluid communication with the second collector section through the first side of the cylinder block; and,
the second turbocharger is a twin-scroll device having the third inlet in fluid communication with the first collector section through the second side of the cylinder block and having the fourth inlet in fluid communication with the second collector section through the second side of the cylinder block.

5. The opposed-piston engine of claim 4 , wherein the opposed-piston engine has a firing sequence in which the firing of one of the at least two cylinders of the first cylinder group having the exhaust port in the first collector section is followed by the firing of one of the at least two cylinders of the second cylinder group having the exhaust port in the second collector section.

6. The opposed-piston engine of claim 4 , wherein the plurality of cylinders includes 2N cylinders (N=2, 3, . . . , n ), in which the exhaust ports of N first cylinders are contained in the first collector section and the exhaust ports of N second cylinders are contained in the second collector section, and the opposed-piston engine has a firing sequence in which the firing of one of the at least two cylinders of the first cylinder group in the first collector section is followed by the firing of one of the at least two cylinders of the second cylinder group in the second collector section.

7. A method for operating an opposed-piston engine having a cylinder block with a first side and a second side, where the first side and the second side are on opposite sides of the cylinder block and
a plurality of cylinders divided into a first cylinder group and a second cylinder group and disposed in an inline array between the first side and the second side, in which each cylinder in the first cylinder group and the second cylinder group includes axially-separated inlet and exhaust ports, in which the opposed-piston engine includes a first collector section and a second collector section being formed in the cylinder block;
wherein
the first collector section including at least two of the exhaust ports of at least two cylinders of the first cylinder group is fluidly connected to each other within the cylinder block,
the first collector section having a first outlet on the first side of the cylinder block and a second outlet on the second side of the cylinder block;

wherein
the second collector section including at least two exhaust ports of at least two cylinders of the second cylinder group is fluidly connected to each other within the cylinder block, and
the second collector section having a third outlet on the first side of the cylinder block and a fourth outlet on the second side of the cylinder block; and
wherein the second collector section is separated from the first collector section by a divided wall positioned within the cylinder block; and

the method comprising:
firing one of the at least two cylinders of the first cylinder group having the exhaust port in the first collector section:
discharging exhaust gas from the cylinder of the first cylinder group into the first collector section;
directing a portion of the exhaust gas from the first collector section to a first inlet of a first turbocharger; and
directing a portion of the exhaust gas from the first collector section to a first inlet of a second turbocharger; and then,
firing one of the at least two cylinders of the second cylinder group having the exhaust port in the second collector section;
discharging exhaust gas from the cylinder of the second cylinder group into the second collector section;
directing a portion of the exhaust gas from the second collector section to a second inlet of the first turbocharger; and
directing a portion of the exhaust gas from the second collector section to a second inlet of the second turbocharger.

8. The method of claim 7 , in which the plurality of cylinders are fired according to a firing sequence in which the firing of one of the at least two cylinders of the first cylinder group having the exhaust port in the first collector section is followed by the firing of one of the at least two cylinders of the second cylinder group having the exhaust port in the second collector section.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of cylinders includes 2N cylinders (N=2, 3, . . . , n), in which the exhaust ports of N first cylinders are contained in the first collector section and the exhaust ports of N second cylinder

Assignees

• Achates Power Inc

Inventors

• Fuqua Kevin B

Classifications

• F02B37/025

  Multiple scrolls or multiple gas passages guiding the gas to the pump drive · CPC title

• F02B37/001

  using exhaust drives arranged in parallel · CPC title

• F02B25/08

  Engines with oppositely-moving reciprocating working pistons · CPC title

• F01N13/107

  More than one exhaust manifold or exhaust collector · CPC title

• F01B7/14

  acting on different main shafts · CPC title