| Piston type aircraft engine -> Monitor Keywords |
|
|
 
Piston type aircraft engineRelated Patent Categories: Data Processing: Vehicles, Navigation, And Relative Location, Vehicle Control, Guidance, Operation, Or Indication, With Indicator Or Control Of Power Plant (e.g., Performance), Internal-combustion EnginePiston type aircraft engine description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20080027620, Piston type aircraft engine. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/071,233, entitled "VIBRATION DAMPER FOR AIRCRAFT ENGINE," which was filed on Feb. 11, 2002, and is currently pending. That application relies on priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/331,380, which was filed on Nov. 14, 2001, and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/341,874, which was filed on Dec. 21, 2001. This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/787,247, entitled "A POP-OFF VALVE FOR AN AIRCRAFT ENGINE HAVING A TURBOCHARGER CONTROL SYSTEM AND PROPELLER CONTROL SYSTEM BY A STEPPER MOTOR," which was filed on Feb. 27, 2004, and is currently pending. This application is also related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/566,946, entitled "CRANKCASE FOR A COMBUSTION ENGINE," which was filed on Oct. 28, 1998, and was granted on Jul. 03, 2001 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,253,726. The contents of all five applications are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The invention is generally related to propulsion assemblies for aircraft. More specifically, the invention is directed to a propulsion assembly for an airplane with a piston type internal combustion engine. [0004] 2. Description of Related Art [0005] Internal combustion engines have been and continue to be manufactured in a variety of sizes and configurations for various transportation applications, including automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, and aircraft. For example, V6 and V8 engines, meaning V-type configurations with 6 or 8 cylinders, respectively, have become common in today's automobiles. [0006] Internal combustion engines have also been used in aircraft. Early internal combustion engines for aircraft include radial type engines in which the cylinders are arranged circumferentially and extend radially from a centrally disposed crankshaft. Radial type engines have a substantially round cross section. For aircraft, engines with horizontally opposed cylinders became popular because of their relatively flat, rectangular shape. These engines may even be placed inside the wing of the aircraft due to their low profile. [0007] V-type engines have been used in aircraft since at least World War II. However, the use of V-type engines in modern aircraft provide challenges due to their size and shape, among other reasons. Rolls-Royce developed a 12 cylinder V-type engine during World War II that was widely used. Known as the "Merlin" engine, this engine had a displacement of about 27 liters and weighed about 766 kg. The maximum engine speed of the Merlin was 3,000 rpm and it had a maximum horsepower of 1,695. [0008] A derivative of the Merlin was the Allison V-1710 engine. This engine was a 12 cylinder, supercharged engine with a total displacement of 28 liters and a weight of 610 kg. The V-1710 had a maximum engine speed of 3,300 rpm and a maximum horsepower of 1,325. The V-1710 was also liquid cooled. [0009] The Jumo 210G engine was also developed during World War II arid relied on a fuel injection system. The Jumo 210G engine was a 12 cylinder engine with a total displacement of 21 liters, a maximum engine speed of 2,700 rpm, a maximum horsepower of 718. The Jumo 210G weighed 445 kg. [0010] As would be appreciated by those skilled in the art, most, if not all, of the engines that were developed for use in World War II aircraft are not suitable for use in modern light and ultralight airplanes due to their large size, weight, and power. Specifically, most modern light and ultralight aircraft that rely on an internal combustion engine for propulsion fall into the category of privately-owned aircraft. Typically, these aircraft are small (by comparison with a commercial jet aircraft) and are designed to accommodate one or more persons. As such, these aircraft are not suited to accept the engines designed for World War II fighters, bombers, and other aircraft for the simple reason that the engines developed during World War II were enormous in size, by comparison with their counterparts that are manufactured and sold for the private aircraft market. As would be appreciated by those skilled in the art, World War II vintage engines would occupy the space available in most modern offices. These engines, as mentioned, are quite large and heavy, and produce too much horsepower for light and ultralight aircraft. [0011] To reduce weight, most light and ultralight aircraft engines are typically air cooled, although like the V-1710, a few have been liquid cooled. Air cooled engines utilize the cool air of the aircraft's environment to provide cooling to the engine so that the engine does not overheat. However, a sudden drop in altitude can create a condition known as shock cooling which can cause the engine block to crack. For an aircraft powered by an air-cooled engine, to heat the passenger cabin, heat is typically transferred from an area adjacent to the exhaust system. In particular, as would be appreciated by those skilled in the art, to heat the cabin of an aircraft, manufacturers build a metal box around a portion of the exhaust system and pass ambient air through the metal box before introducing the heated air to the passenger cabin. [0012] One unfortunate side-effect of this design is that, if the exhaust system is not perfectly maintained, leaking carbon monoxide (CO) can become entrained in the heated air before being vented into the passenger cabin. If the CO concentration becomes too high, the pilot and passengers may suffer from anoxia, which could have disastrous consequences, especially if the pilot and passengers loose consciousness during flight. [0013] Although liquid cooled engines can prevent shock cooling, and can provide heat to the passenger cabin without the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning, liquid cooled engines are typically heavier than air cooled engines because of the addition of a radiator and liquid to provide the cooling medium. [0014] Engines that are designed for automotive applications are not suitable for use in aircraft, for a number of reasons. For example, the wide range of conditions in which combustion in the aircraft engine must take place prohibits the use of an automotive engine in an aircraft. As altitude increases, air pressure decreases, temperature decreases, and oxygen content decreases. The aircraft engine must be able to operate reliably despite these varying conditions. Although car engines may be designed to adjust for some changes in altitude, e.g. up to 10,000 feet, light and ultralight aircraft fly well above 10,000 feet. Also, because these engines are used in small aircraft, weight is an issue. Moreover, the duty cycles for automotive engines are far less severe than the duty cycles for aircraft engines. For example, when a car is started, its duty cycle is typically about 30%, whereas the duty cycle of an aircraft engine is about 100% when started. Moreover, an aircraft engine must be able to be maintain operation at 100% of its operating speed for one-half hour. Among other reasons, because car engines are not designed for high altitude (greater than 10,000 feet) use, because they are heavy, and because they are not designed to operate at 100% of rated speed for extended periods of time, car engines are not designed for aircraft use. [0015] The United States Federal Aviation Administration ("US FAA") has developed a certification program for aircraft and engines. In particular, to meet US FAA FAR 33 and US FAA FAR 23, incorporated herein by reference in their entireties, for engine and aircraft certification, respectively, the engine must undergo rigorous testing and must have backup systems in case of a failure in flight of any of the engine systems. Certification requires redundancy for many of the features of the engine. The features are provided in duplicate so that if one system fails, the duplicate system will provide the necessary function for continuous engine operation. This redundancy necessarily adds weight to the engine. [0016] It is also desirable to meet certain guidelines of the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics ("RTCA"), particularly RTCA DO-160d and RTCA DO-178b, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. These RTCA guidelines are directed to the control systems of the aircraft and engine. [0017] There have been attempts in recent years to develop a water-cooled, V-type aircraft engine capable of meeting the rigorous government guidelines mentioned above. However, each of these known attempts to design a commercially-viable engine have been unsuccessful. [0018] In view of the foregoing, and for many other reasons enumerated herein, there is a need in the industry to provide an efficient, light weight, reliable engine that can be certified for use in a small aircraft. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0019] It is therefore an aspect of the present invention to provide a propulsion assembly suitable for placement in an aircraft for propelling the aircraft. The assembly includes an internal combustion engine, a propeller that is operatively connected to the engine, and an electronic control unit that is electrically connected to the engine. The assembly can be certified under US FAA FAR 33 guidelines. [0020] It is another aspect of the present invention to provide an internal combustion engine for the propulsion assembly that meets RTCA DO 160d and 178b guidelines. [0021] It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a piston type four stroke internal combustion engine that has two to twelve cylinders. Continue reading about Piston type aircraft engine... Full patent description for Piston type aircraft engine Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Piston type aircraft engine patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Piston type aircraft engine or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Method and device for controlling an internal combustion engine Next Patent Application: Method of decoding a cam signal for an internal combustion engine Industry Class: Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Piston type aircraft engine patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.40705 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Computers: Graphics , I/O , Processors , Dyn. Storage , Static Storage , Printers 174 |
 * Protect your Inventions * US Patent Office filing 
PATENT INFO |
|
