The invention relates to a power unit, in particular for a hybrid vehicle, having a two-cylinder reciprocating piston engine which comprises two pistons guided in two cylinders in a tandem arrangement and two counter-rotating crankshafts connected to the pistons by connecting rods and having an alternator that can rotate in the opposite direction to the first crankshaft and in the same direction as the second crankshaft. The invention is characterized in that the alternator is in driving engagement with at least the first crankshaft via a traction mechanism and comprises a counterbalance, wherein the first crankshaft is connected via a timing chain or a timing belt to a balancing shaft which carries a further balancing mass. The invention also relates to a vehicle, in particular a hybrid vehicle, having such a power unit.

The invention relates to a power unit, in particular for a hybrid vehicle, comprising a reciprocating piston engine and comprising a generator which can be in driving engagement therewith, wherein the reciprocating piston engine has at least two pistons, which are guided in at least two cylinders in tandem arrangement, and two counter-rotating crankshafts, which are connected to the pistons by connecting rods and which are mechanically coupled so as to be in phase, wherein a first generator can be driven by the first crankshaft and a second generator can be driven by the second crankshaft.

A piston internal combustion engine with generator has two cylinders and cylinder heads and pistons with connecting rods and two crankshafts which are connected by gears with a ratio of 1:−1 (with opposite direction of rotation). The first crankshaft with the gear is mounted parallel to the second crankshaft with the second gear in one engine case such, that the gears engage. The first crankshaft is coupled to the first generator rotor and the second crankshaft is coupled to the second generator rotor or the flywheel. The moment of inertia of the first crankshaft assembly with the first gear and the first generator rotor is equal to the moment of inertia of the second crankshaft assembly with the second gear and the second generator rotor or flywheel. The cylinders with the pistons and are positioned perpendicularly to the plane of symmetry between the crankshafts, with the axes of the pair of cylinders lying in a plane with the both pistons being at the top dead center simultaneously.

A power unit for a hybrid vehicle is provided with a twin-cylinder reciprocating piston engine, which has two pistons which are guided in two cylinders in tandem arrangement. Two counter-directional crankshafts are connected with the pistons by connecting rods. At least one generator is rotatable co-directionally to the first crankshaft and counter-directionally to the second crankshaft. A camshaft with valve cams are operatively connected with control valves. A flywheel mass element is arranged on the second crankshaft or on a flywheel mass compensating shaft, and a compensating camshaft are provided. The compensating camshaft includes at least one compensating cam element which is operatively connected with a linearly guided compensating mass.

The disclosure relates to a method for operating an internal combustion engine of a truck or omnibus, in particular a truck or omnibus with a permissible total mass of at least 3.5 tonnes, wherein (i) an electrolysis unit for the production of hydrogen, water is split into hydrogen and oxygen, (ii) a carbon dioxide sorption unit extracts carbon dioxide from the ambient air, (iii) the hydrogen and the carbon dioxide are fed to a methanol synthesis unit for the production of methanol, and are synthesised therein to methanol, (iv) a photovoltaic unit absorbs solar energy and converts it into electrical energy. The electrolysis unit, the carbon dioxide sorption unit and the methanol synthesis unit are powered by the electrical energy generated in the photovoltaic unit. The methanol produced is transported by means of a distributor system to at least one tank of the truck or omnibus, and is supplied from the tank as required to the internal combustion engine, and therein is combusted to generate mechanical energy.

The invention relates to a generator set, in particular a generator set of a hybrid vehicle, with a two-cylinder piston engine (1), which has a crankshaft housing (10), in which two counter-rotating crankshafts (11, 12) are arranged, which are connected by means of piston rods (13) to pistons (18, 19), which are guided inside two cylinders (21, 22) in a tandem arrangement, wherein at least one crankshaft (11, 12) is drivingly connected to a generator (41, 42), and wherein the piston engine (1) comprises a cylinder head (20), which is connected to the crankshaft housing (10), wherein the piston engine (1) has a lower-mounted camshaft (30), and the cylinder head (20) can be connected to the crankshaft housing (10) in at least two positions, in particular positions rotated through 180 relative to each other. Furthermore, the invention relates to a vehicle with such a generator set.

A piston internal combustion engine with generator has two cylinders and cylinder heads and pistons with connecting rods and two crankshafts which are connected by gears with a ratio of 1:1 (with opposite direction of rotation). The first crankshaft with the gear is mounted parallel to the second crankshaft with the second gear in one engine case such, that the gears engage. The first crankshaft is coupled to the first generator rotor and the second crankshaft is coupled to the second generator rotor or the flywheel. The moment of inertia of the first crankshaft assembly with the first gear and the first generator rotor is equal to the moment of inertia of the second crankshaft assembly with the second gear and the second generator rotor or flywheel. The cylinders with the pistons and are positioned perpendicularly to the plane of symmetry between the crankshafts, with the axes of the pair of cylinders lying in a plane with the both pistons being at the top dead center simultaneously.

An internal combustion engine wherein at least two cylinders continuously communicate via the cylinder head and wherein the connecting rod in one cylinder is offset from the connecting rod in the second cylinder by a first angle between 8 and 12 degrees as measured from the crankshaft, and a camshaft having a second offset of one half of the first angle offset.

The invention relates to a power unit, in particular for a hybrid vehicle, comprising a reciprocating piston engine and comprising a generator which can be in driving engagement therewith, wherein the reciprocating piston engine has at least two pistons, which are guided in at least two cylinders in tandem arrangement, and two counter-rotating crankshafts, which are connected to the pistons by connecting rods and which are mechanically coupled so as to be in phase, wherein a first generator can be driven by the first crankshaft and a second generator can be driven by the second crankshaft.

A drive unit is situated between a first wheel axle and a second wheel axle and has an internal-combustion engine with a crankshaft system including a horizontally oriented crankshaft, which crankshaft acts upon a continuously variable transmission system which drives wheels of the first wheel axle and of the second wheel axle. The crankshaft is caused to rotate by at least one piston of the engine. The crankshaft interacts with a first set of V-pulleys of the transmission system, which first set of V-pulleys, by way of a first drive shaft, is connected with a first differential of the first wheel axle. The first set of V-pulleys, by way of an endless member, is in an operative connection with a set of V-pulleys which, with the interposition of a second drive shaft, influences a second differential of the second wheel axle.