Jet exhaust piston engine

Abstract

This invention is a piston in cylinder engine using water injection into a relative vacuum heated to steam by expanding in the cylinder and by an electric arc or other heat source. The resulting steam explosion applies a work force on the piston. The piston has jet nozzles uncovered at the end of its work stroke to jet the piston to help propel it during the return stroke and to form a vacuum in place of the usual compression stroke. The piston has a cover plate with tapered pins depending into jet nozzles through the piston to block the jet nozzles during the main work stroke.

1 . A reciprocating piston engine having a power and an exhaust stroke, a least one cylinder and a piston therein having at least one opening through it head end to back end to exhaust the fluid in the head end during the exhaust stroke, and a lid for sealing said opening closed during the power stroke, and means for opening said lid during the exhaust stroke and for closing the lid during the power stroke;
 a water supply and metering means connected to said water supply and said engine to mete out a charge of water for each power stroke of said engine, said metering means including an injector set to be controlled by a vacuum in the head end of said cylinder to suck in said charge of water to explode the water into steam, and means for supplying heat to said cylinder to maintain said steam long enough to run the power stroke of said engine.   
     
     
         2 . An engine as in  claim 1 , said opening being a jet propulsion shaped nozzle hole to help propel the piston on the exhaust stroke. 
     
     
         3 . An engine as in  claim 1 , said lid having a depending stopper for entering each said opening to seal for the power stroke whereby pressure on the lid presses in said stopper. 
     
     
         4 . An engine as in  claim 3  said lid being open with arms each supporting a said stopper. 
     
     
         5 . An engine as in  claim 1 , having a crankshaft, a lid rod secured to said lid, at least one connecting rod connecting said crank shaft to said lid rod, said connecting rod having an extended cam arm with cam means connecting said piston to said connecting rod for moving said piston relative to said lid to close said opening for power strokes and opening said opening during exhaust strokes. 
     
     
         6 . An engine as in  claim 1  said piston being a jet piston, each said opening being one hole through the piston from head to back, said lid mounted to relatively move up and down on the head end of the piston to open and close each said hole. 
     
     
         7 . A reciprocating piston for an engine, said piston having at least one jet nozzle hole through it from head end to back, and a lid for alternately covering and opening each said jet nozzle hole together for exhausting through the piston to jet propel the piston during the exhaust stroke, and at least one separate hole through said piston having a shaft therethrough slip-fit for supporting and guiding said lid. 
     
     
         8 . An engine as in  claim 1 , further comprising an electric arc and water stream plug through the head end of said cylinder to combine water and heat to make steam in the cylinder for running the engine, said plug having a vacuum cylinder with a smaller water injection cylinder concentric thereon, a vacuum piston in said vacuum cylinder, an attached water piston in said water injection cylinder, a water inlet to charge the water cylinder cut off by said water piston to limit water flow, a hole connected from said vacuum cylinder to said cylinder ahead of said piston to operate said vacuum piston when the pressure is low enough to explode the water to steam. 
     
     
         9 . A reciprocating piston as in  claim 7 , further comprising a nozzle plug mounted on said lid one for each said jet nozzle hole with spring to extend said plug into a said nozzle hole, said plugs spacing said lid to clear above said piston for better exhaust flow through said jet nozzle holes. 
     
     
         10 . An engine as in  claim 1 , said cylinder having a head end which has electrical contacts and a water nozzle connected to said check valve and aimed to short said electrical contacts to conduct an electrical arc through the water to explode that water into steam in said cylinder to drive said engine with no steam boiler needed. 
     
     
         11 . The method of operating a reciprocating piston steam engine by forming a vacuum by movement of the piston away from the head end of the cylinder at the start of the work stroke, sucking with the vacuum a metered amount of water into the vacuum in the cylinder at the start of the work stroke when the vacuum is strong enough to cause the water to explode into steam, supplying sufficient heat to keep the steam from condensing for the work stroke, and exhausting the cylinder by opening at least one jet hole through the piston during the return stroke to form an exhaust jet to help power the return stroke. 
     
     
         12 . An engine as in  claim 15  with at least one exhaust jet hole through the piston having a head end and an exhaust end having a work stroke and an exhaust stroke a lid for closing the jet hole during the work stroke,
 at least one rod-like member running through the piston extending from the head end to beyond the exhaust end, said lid being secured to said rod to open and close said jet hole, 
 stop means at the head end of said cylinder to engage said rod to close said cover at the top end of the exhaust stroke, and stop means connected to said engine to be hit by said rod to push the rod back to open the cover for the exhaust stroke, and means to hold said cover in position relative to said piston between ends of travel of said piston. 
 
     
     
         13 . The method of operating the engine as in  claim 11  including closing an electrical circuit through the water as it is injected into the head end of the cylinder to quickly explode the water to steam to move the piston with that expanding steam to operate the engine. 
     
     
         14 . The method of operating the engine as in  claim 11  including concentrating light into the head end of the cylinder to supply heat to the cylinder to help make and keep steam for the work strokes. 
     
     
         15 . A reciprocating piston engine having only a power and exhaust stroke having at least one cylinder with piston therein and connecting rod and crank shaft to produce rotary motion, the improvement being:
 said cylinder having at the head end a water metering vacuum injector connected for injecting a metered amount of water into the head end of the cylinder when holding a vacuum down to a preset value at the start of the work stroke connected and set to open to let a charge of water be sucked in with the vacuum when low enough to explode said water to steam above a minimum temperature to drive the engine.   
     
     
         16 . An engine as in  claim 15  further comprising a substantially steady source of heat to the head end of the cylinder to substantially equal the heat taken up by the water turning to steam to keep steam for the work cycle. 
     
     
         17 . An engine as in  claim 16  wherein said source of heat being concentrated sun light, and light directing means to direct that light to the head end of said cylinder. 
     
     
         18 . An engine as in  claim 17 , the head end of said cylinder being made of material such as high temperature glass to let the light in. 
     
     
         19 . An engine as in  claim 15  and a pressure relief valve in the head end of said cylinder set to limit pressure to a safe value. 
     
     
         20 . An engine as in  claim 15  further comprising at least one propulsion jet nozzle opening through the entire piston to exhaust the head end of the cylinder through the jet nozzle opening to provide jet propulsion of the piston during said exhaust stroke to help drive the engine, a cover for said nozzle, means connected for opening said cover for the exhaust stroke and for closing said nozzle opening during the work stroke. 
     
     
         21 . An engine as in  claim 15 , said opening having a jet nozzle inserted pressure tight therein to form the exhaust into a jet for thrust.