Piston motor with swash-plate engine assembly

Claim 2

An axial piston engine comprising: a fixed cylinder block having means defining a plurality of cylinders with opposed pistons, disposed about and paralleling the long axis of the engine; a straight, bend resistant, tubular shaft, bending only relatively very slightly when subject to forces exerted by fluctuating combustion pressures on said piston; two longitudinally spaced, radial bearings supporting the shaft on the cylinder block; an end of said shaft extending axially beyond one of said bearings and having means defining a radially extending annular flange at said end; a Swash-plate detachably mounted on said end of said shaft; a wobble ring; bearing means between the outer periphery of the wobble ring and the swash-plate, journalling the latter with respect to the former; and a plurality of connecting rod step bearing means being supported upon said wobble ring; the wobble ring being of hollow, box shaped radial section and the elastic yielding point of the swash-plate being substantially greater than that of the wobble ring.

Claim 3

The axial piston engine of claim 1, said swash-plate being disposed for rotation about a swash center in a position perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said shaft; an annular counter bearing mounted coaxially adjacent each step bearing; a corresponding plurality of connecting rods, each having a foot pan having a concave front bearing surface for engagement with the respective step bearing means and an annular, convex rear bearing surface; the outer diameter of each foot pan being smaller than the internal dismeter of the respective annular counter bearings, so that said connecting rod foot pans may be axially aligned with said counter bearings for installation and removal, but are, while working, captured between the respective step bearings and counter bearings, the connecting rods being so configured that in every working position the connecting rod foot pans are out of axial alignment with said counter bearings.

Claim 4

The axial piston engine of claim 1 wherein the connecting rod step bearing means are recessed into the wobble ring throughout at least a major portion of the length of said connecting rod step bearing means.

Claim 5

An axial piston engine comprising: a fixed cylinder block having means defining a pluralitY of cylinders with opposed pistons, disposed about and paralleling the long axis of the engine; a straight, bend resistant, tubular shaft, bending only relatively very slightly when subject to forces exerted by fluctuating combustion pressures on said piston; two, longitudinally spaced, radial bearings supporting the shaft on the cylinder block; an end of said shaft extending axially beyond one of said bearings and having means defining a radially extending annular flange at said end; a swash-plate detachably mounted on said end of said shaft; a wobble ring; bearing means between the outer periphery of the wobble ring and the swash-plate, journalling the latter with respect to the former; and a plurality of connecting rod step bearing means being supported upon said wobble ring; said swash plate including a hub; and further comprising pretensioned bolts holding the swash-plate against said flange; and a power-take-off shaft extending through said hub and into the bore of said tubular shaft.

Claim 6

An axial piston engine comprising: a fixed cylinder block having means defining a pluralitY of cylinders with opposed pistons, disposed about and paralleling the long axis of the engine; a straight, bend resistant, tubular shaft, bending only relatively very slightly when subject to forces exerted by fluctuating combustion pressures on said piston; two, longitudinally spaced, radial bearings supporting the shaft on the cylinder block; an end of said shaft extending axially beyond one of said bearings and having means defining a radially extending annular flange at said end; a swash-plate detachably mounted on said end of said shaft; a wobble ring; bearing means between the outer periphery of the wobble ring and the swash-plate, journalling the latter with respect to the former; and a plurality of connecting rod step bearing means being supported upon said wobble ring; said swash plate including a hub; and further comprising pretensioned bolts holding the swash-plate against said flange; and a power-take-off shaft extending through said hub and into the bore of said tubular shaft.

Claim 7

An axial piston engine comprising: a fixed cylinder block having means defining a plurality of cylinders with opposed pistons, disposed about and paralleling the long axis of the engine; a straight, bend resistant, tubular shaft, bending only relatively very slightly when subject to forces exerted by fluctuating combustion pressures on said piston; two longitudinally spaced, radial bearings supporting the shaft on the cylinder block; an end of said shaft extending axially beyond one of said bearings and having means defining a radially extending annular flange at said end; a swash-plate detachably mounted on said end of said shaft; a wobble ring; bearing means between the outer periphery of the wobble ring and the swash-plate, journalling the latter with respect to the former; and a plurality of connecting rod step bearing means being supported upon said wobble ring; the wobble ring being of fabricated, electron beam welded construction.

Claim 8

An axial piston engine comprising: a fixed cylinder block having means defining a plurality of cylinders with opposed pistons, disposed about and paralleling the long axis of the engine; a straight, bend resistant, tubular shaft, bending only relatively very slightly when subject to forces exerted by fluctuating combustion pressures on said piston; two longitudinally spaced, radial bearings supporting the shaft on the cylinder block; an end of said shaft extending axially beyond one of said bearings and having means defining a radially extending annular flange at said end; a swash-plate detachably mounted on said end of said shaft; a wobble ring; bearing means between the outer periphery of the wobble ring and the swash-plate, journalling the latter with respect to the former; and a plurality of connecting rod step bearing means being supported upon said wobble ring; the wobble ring being of fabricated, electron beam welded construction.

Claim 9

An axial piston engine comprising: a fixed cylinder block having means defining a plurality of cylinders with opposed pistons, disposed about and paralleling the long axis of the engine; a shaft; a swash-plate fixedly mounted on said shaft; a wobble ring; a plurality of connecting rods; respective step bearings for said connecting rods supported by said wobble ring; bearing elements in said swash-plate guiding the outer periphery of said wobble ring; rotation-fast retaining means holding said wobble ring for limited movement, radially with respect to the long axis of said cylinder block, whereby said wobble ring is held rotation-fast with respect to the cylinder block.

Claim 10

An axial piston engine comprising: a fixed cylinder block having means defining a plurality of cylinders with opposed pistons, disposed about and paralleling the long axis of the engine; a shaft; a swash-plate fixedly mounted on said shaft; a wobble ring; a plurality of connecting rods; respective step bearings for said connecting rods supported by said wobble ring; bearing elements in said swash-plate guiding the outer periphery of said wobble ring; rotation-fast retaining means holding said wobble ring for limited movement, radially with respect to the long axis of said cylinder block, whereby said wobble ring is held rotation-fast with respect to the cylinder block.

Claim 11

The axial piston engine of claim 6 wherein said rotation-fast retaining means is borne on said cylinder block via a supporting device independently mounted for limited radial movement around the outer periphery of said shaft.

Claim 12

The axial piston engine of claim 6 wherein said rotation-fast retaining means is borne directly upon said cylinder block.

Claim 13

The axial piston engine of claim 6 wherein said rotation-fast retaining means is disposed centrally within the inner periphery of said wobble ring.

Claim 14

The axial piston engine of claim 6 wherein said rotation-fast retaining means is an axial guide link disposed at the center of the swash element defined by said swash-plate and said wobble ring.

Claim 15

An axial piston engine comprising: a fixed cylinder block having means defining a plurality of cylinders with opposed pistons, disposed about and paralleling the long axis of the engine; a shaft; a swash-plate fixedly mounted on said shaft; a wobble ring; a plurality of connecting rods; respective step bearings for said connecting rods supported by said wobble ring; bearing elements in said swash-plate guiding the outer periphery of said wobble ring; rotation-fast retaining means holding said wobble ring for limited movement, radially, with rEspect to the long axis of said cylinder block, whereby said wobble ring is held rotation-fast with respect to the cylinder block; said bearing means being roller bearing elements disposed with means defining a flange-like enclosing ring on said swash plate, said roller bearing elements acting radially upon the wobble ring; said roller bearing elements being rounded off on the radially outermost extents thereof at the juncture of their radially outer peripheral surfaces and one end surface of each, to provide for formation of a wedge-shaped oil film between said roller bearing elements and said flange-like enclosing ring during running of the engine.

Claim 16

An axial piston engine comprising: a fixed cylinder block having means defining a plurality of cylinders with opposed pistons, disposed about and paralleling the long axis of the engine; a shaft; a swash-plate fixedly mounted on said shaft; a wobble ring; a plurality of connecting rods; respective step bearings for said connecting rods supported by said wobble ring; bearing elements in said swash-plate guiding the outer periphery of said wobble ring; rotation-fast retaining means holding said wobble ring for limited movement, radially, with rEspect to the long axis of said cylinder block, whereby said wobble ring is held rotation-fast with respect to the cylinder block; said bearing means being roller bearing elements disposed with means defining a flange-like enclosing ring on said swash plate, said roller bearing elements acting radially upon the wobble ring; said roller bearing elements being rounded off on the radially outermost extents thereof at the juncture of their radially outer peripheral surfaces and one end surface of each, to provide for formation of a wedge-shaped oil film between said roller bearing elements and said flange-like enclosing ring during running of the engine.

Claim 17

The axial piston engine of claim 11 wherein said roller bearing elements are guided in a race ring via guide pin means.

Claim 18

The axial piston engine of claim 12 further including polished surface means on the swash-plate laterally supporting said race ring against shaking movement of said wobble ring.

Claim 19

The axial piston engine of claim 11 wherein the bearing elements are provided in two groups of truncated cone rollers, the axes of rotation of the two groups being arranged for acceptance of both axial tensile and compressive stresses and radial stresses; the two groups being disposed at an angle to one another.

Claim 20

Axial piston engine as in claim 14, characterized in that the rollers (20a and 20b as well as 22 and 23) are provided with an additional axial hole (27) and are braced on their outer face.

Claim 21

Axial piston engine as in claim 14, characterized in that in a known cross roller bearing with roller element axes alternately shifted at an angle, the guide surfaces of one roller which is directed radially outward simultaneously act as the running surface for the other roller and vice versa.

Claim 22

Axial piston engine as in claim 14, characterized in that the rollers (22 and 23) are guided in guide pins on a cage (28).

Claim 23

Axial piston engine as in claim 14, characterized in that the rings which support the roller bearing elements (70, 71) are separately supported between two polished side surfaces (75) against the shaking movement of the swash ring (10).

Claim 24

An axial piston engine comprising: a fixed engine block having means defining a plurality of cylinders aligned with the longitudinal axis of the block; each cylinder reciprocally receiving a pair of opposed pistons; a wobble ring at each end of the block; a connecting rod for each piston; and a foot bearing for each connecting rod, each connecting rod being connected to a respective piston and having the respective foot bearing thereof supported by the respective wobble ring; a straight central shaft; a swash plate fixedly removably mounted on said shaft, whereby the wobble rings are fixed rotationally with respect to the cylinder block; only two radial bearings supporting said shaft between the two wobble rings; said shaft being but slightly flexible for absorbing forces exerted by explosive combustion within the cylinders between the opposed pistons, with permissible respectively slight flexing of said shaft; a power take-off means coaxial with said shaft at at least one end of said shaft; and means securing the power take-off means to the shaft with respect to rotation of the shaft about the longitudinal axis thereof, for flexure of said shaft between said two radial bearings without corresponding flexure of said power take-off means, said power take-off means extending axially beyond said shaft.

Claim 25

An axial piston engine comprising: a fixed engine block having means defining a plurality of cylinders aligned with the longitudinal axis of the block; each cylinder reciprocally receiving a pair of opposed pistons; a wobble ring at each end of the block; a connecting rod for each piston; and a foot bearing for each connecting rod, each connecting rod being connected to a respective piston and having the respective foot bearing thereof supported by the respective wobble ring; a straight central shaft; a swash plate fixedly removably mounted on said shaft, whereby the wobble rings are fixed rotationally with respect to the cylinder block; only two radial bearings supporting said shaft between the two wobble rings; said shaft being but slightly flexible for absorbing forces exerted by explosive combustion within the cylinders between the opposed pistons, with permissible respectively slight flexing of said shaft; a power take-off means coaxial with said shaft at at least one end of said shaft; and means securing the power take-off means to the shaft with respect to rotation of the shaft about the longitudinal axis thereof, for flexure of said shaft between said two radial bearings without corresponding flexure of said power take-off means, said power take-off means extending axially beyond said shaft.

Claim 26

The axial piston engine of claim 19 wherein: said shaft is tubular; wherein said securing means is axially short compared to the shaft and the power take-off means and secures the power take-off means to the shaft adjacent one of said two radial bearings and wherein the power take-off means includes a stub shaft received over part of its length in the bore of said tubular shaft, there being substantial clearance between said shaft and said stub shaft to provide for flexure of said shaft between said two radial bearings without corresponding flexure of said power take-off means.