Embodiments are directed toward an engine. In some embodiments, the engine includes a water pump and a balancer shaft. In some embodiments, the water pump has a plain bearing. In some embodiments, plain bearing is supplied with pressurized oil. In some embodiments, the balancer shaft drives the water pump as well as cam shafts.

A self-aligning mud pump apparatus is provided. In one embodiment, the mud pump includes a rotatable crankshaft, a crosshead, a crosshead guide, and a hub disposed in a housing. The hub is disposed on the crankshaft and is operable to convert rotating motion of the crankshaft to reciprocating motion of the crosshead within the crosshead guide. The hub is coupled to the crosshead via a connecting rod, which is connected the crosshead such that the connecting rod has five degrees of freedom with respect to the crosshead guide. The mud pump may also or instead include a piston coupled to the crosshead with five degrees of freedom between the piston and the crosshead. Additional systems, devices, and methods are also disclosed.

A cylinder unit includes a piston disposed in the cylinder bore that is connected to a piston connecting frame member. The piston connecting frame member replaces a conventional connecting rod, and reciprocates exclusively along the bore axis. A crank connecting member has a linear rail at its top that is captured in a transverse gap along the bottom of the piston connecting frame member, and converts the circular movement of a crank throw to linear motion of the piston connecting frame member.

An internal combustion engine, including a pair of opposed pistons, a pair of opposed cylinders, and an output shaft, wherein each of the pistons is arranged for reciprocating motion within a respective one of the cylinders, driven by combustion, and the pistons are coupled to the output shaft by a coupling such that said reciprocating motion of the pistons drives rotation of the output shaft, wherein the coupling includes a unitary connecting rod coupled to the opposed pistons, the connecting rod having side guides for guiding a slider bearing located for reciprocating movement relative to the connecting rod, and the coupling further includes a crankshaft rotatably mounted within the slider bearing, the crankshaft having at least one guide shoulder for supporting axial location relative to the slider bearing.

A transmission device, particularly for an engine with variable compression rate and/or variable displacement, includes, in a cylinder housing: a combustion piston capable of moving in a combustion cylinder of the engine and secured to a transmission member; a gear engaging with a first rack of the transmission member and providing transmission of the movement between the combustion piston and a crankshaft of the engine; a connecting rod engaging, at a first end, with the gear and, at a second end, with the crankshaft; and a control member engaging with the gear and secured to a control piston. The combustion piston and the transmission member are slidably linked with the cylinder housing in a main direction.

A piston assembly includes a piston head for reciprocating back and forth within a cylinder of an engine, an upper rod coupled to the piston head at one longitudinal end of the upper rod and fixed relative to the piston head, and a lower rod rotatably coupled to an opposite longitudinal end of the upper rod, the lower rod configured to pivot about the opposite longitudinal end of the upper rod. The lower rod is configured to couple to a crankshaft at a longitudinal end of the lower rod opposite the upper rod. Methods of forming a piston assembly and engines incorporating such piston assemblies are also disclosed.

A turbocharger for a combustion engine has an adjusting device for matching its operating behavior to the operating behavior of the combustion engine, an actuating actuator, and a transmission element. The transmission element is coupled between the actuating actuator and the adjusting device. The transmission element has a one-part component body, which in each case extends from a first coupling point to a second coupling point along a longitudinal axis and, in each of its end regions, has a coupling element for coupling to the actuating actuator and to the adjusting device. The respective coupling element is designed as an integral part of the component body in the form of a ball receptacle of a ball joint connection in the component body.

A skid for supporting a reciprocating pump assembly, the reciprocating pump assembly including a power end frame assembly having a pair of end plate segments and a plurality of middle plate segments disposed between the end plate segments. The end plate segments each have at least a pair of feet and the middle plate segments each having at least one foot. The skid includes a base and a plurality of pads extending from the base. At least a portion of the plurality of pads correspond to the end plate segment feet and at least another portion of the plurality of pads correspond to the at least one foot of each middle plate segment.

An internal combustion engine includes an engine block, a piston, a cylinder head, and a valve train. The engine block includes a cylinder block including a cylinder bore and a crankcase defining a crankcase chamber with a crankshaft positioned within the crankcase chamber. The piston is coupled to the crankshaft and configured to reciprocate within the cylinder bore. The cylinder head is coupled to the cylinder block. The valve train includes a camshaft, a first and second pushrod, a first and second rocker arm, an exhaust valve housed, and an intake valve. The first rocker arm, the second rocker arm, the exhaust valve, and the intake valve each include at least a layer of a low friction material. The first and second pushrod each pass through a pushrod seal to prevent fluid from reaching the rocker chamber to fluidly isolate the rocker chamber from the crankcase chamber.

A piston assembly includes a piston head for reciprocating back and forth within a cylinder of an engine, an upper rod coupled to the piston head at one longitudinal end of the upper rod and fixed relative to the piston head, and a lower rod rotatably coupled to an opposite longitudinal end of the upper rod, the lower rod configured to pivot about the opposite longitudinal end of the upper rod. The lower rod is configured to couple to a crankshaft at a longitudinal end of the lower rod opposite the upper rod. Methods of forming a piston assembly and engines incorporating such piston assemblies are also disclosed.