Various embodiments of the present disclosure are directed towards free-piston combustion engines. As described herein, a driver section may be provided in a free-piston combustion engine for storing energy during an expansion stroke. The driver section may be configured to store sufficient energy to perform the subsequent stroke. In some embodiments, the driver section may be configured to store sufficient energy so as to enable the engine to operate continuously across engine cycles without electrical energy input. A linear electromagnetic machine may be provided in a free-piston combustion engine for converting the kinetic energy of a piston assembly into electrical energy.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure are directed towards free-piston combustion engines. As described herein, a driver section may be provided in a free-piston combustion engine for storing energy during an expansion stroke. The driver section may be configured to store sufficient energy to perform the subsequent stroke. In some embodiments, the driver section may be configured to store sufficient energy so as to enable the engine to operate continuously across engine cycles without electrical energy input. A linear electromagnetic machine may be provided in a free-piston combustion engine for converting the kinetic energy of a piston assembly into electrical energy.

Various embodiments of the present invention are directed toward a linear combustion engine, comprising: a cylinder having a cylinder wall and a pair of ends, the cylinder including a combustion section disposed in a center portion of the cylinder, a pair of opposed piston assemblies adapted to move linearly within the cylinder, each piston assembly disposed on one side of the combustion section opposite the other piston assembly, each piston assembly including a spring rod and a piston comprising a solid front section adjacent the combustion section and a gas section; and a pair of linear electromagnetic machines adapted to directly convert kinetic energy of the piston assembly into electrical energy, and adapted to directly convert electrical energy into kinetic energy of the piston assembly for providing compression work during the compression stroke.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure are directed towards free-piston combustion engines. As described herein, a driver section may be provided in a free-piston combustion engine for storing energy during an expansion stroke. The driver section may be configured to store sufficient energy to perform the subsequent stroke. In some embodiments, the driver section may be configured to store sufficient energy so as to enable the engine to operate continuously across engine cycles without electrical energy input. A linear electromagnetic machine may be provided in a free-piston combustion engine for converting the kinetic energy of a piston assembly into electrical energy.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure are directed towards free-piston combustion engines. As described herein, a driver section may be provided in a free-piston combustion engine for storing energy during an expansion stroke. The driver section may be configured to store sufficient energy to perform the subsequent stroke. In some embodiments, the driver section may be configured to store sufficient energy so as to enable the engine to operate continuously across engine cycles without electrical energy input. A linear electromagnetic machine may be provided in a free-piston combustion engine for converting the kinetic energy of a piston assembly into electrical energy.

Disclosed are four-stroke internal combustion engines and engine modules. The engine modules described herein convert linear reciprocating motion of a piston within a cylinder to rotational motion of a flywheel, which rotates around the cylinder's axis, or to rotational motion of the cylinder, which rotates within the flywheel. The linear reciprocating motion of the piston causes rotation of the flywheel or cylinder by piston pins being pushed down a sloped, spiraling surface of the flywheel, resulting in highly efficient power transfer. The rotational motion is transferred through a final drive, such as a drive shaft, drive train or drive chain. Engines described herein may include pairs of engine modules.

The present invention is a linear internal combustion free-piston engine with three acting pistons per combustion chamber, that has the ability to store energy until needed. This engine utilizes a spring to store potential energy after combustion. The present invention also introduces additional air into the combustion chamber during the combustion cycle providing a more complete burn of the fuel, has the ability to self-start, and does not idle. Multiple engines can be married together and run as a single unit.

The present invention is a linear internal combustion free-piston engine with three acting pistons per combustion chamber, that has the ability to store energy until needed. This engine utilizes a spring to store potential energy after combustion. The present invention also introduces additional air into the combustion chamber during the combustion cycle providing a more complete burn of the fuel, has the ability to self-start, and does not idle. Multiple engines can be married together and run as a single unit.

There is disclosed an internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine includes a cylinder unit and a piston unit. The cylinder unit is rotatably coupled to a pair of spaced-apart crankshafts, with the cylinder unit moveable along a longitudinal axis. The piston unit is continually disposed within the cylinder unit, with the piston unit rotatively coupled to a second pair of spaced-apart crankshafts. The piston is moveable along the longitudinal axis in a direction opposite the direction of the cylinder during a combustion cycle. Both the cylinder unit and the piston unit are structured to be balanced relative to the respective center-of-gravity of each unit. Each center-of-gravity is located midway between the pair of spaced-apart crankshafts to which each unit is rotatively coupled.

An engine may include a cylinder having a first combustion chamber at one end thereof and a second combustion chamber at an opposing end thereof, first and second cylinder heads at an end of the first combustion chamber and the second combustion chamber, respectively, and a double-faced piston slidably mounted within the cylinder. The piston may be configured to move in a first stroke from the first end to the second end of the cylinder. The piston and the cylinder may be configured such that the first stroke includes an expansion stroke portion during which chemical energy from combustion in the first combustion chamber is converted into mechanical power of the piston, and a momentum stroke portion during which the piston continues to move to the second end of the cylinder and gases are exchanged between the first combustion chamber and a location outside the cylinder.