Compressed air engine

摘要

An air engine system includes a motor coupled to the drive shaft of an air engine to control the speed of the air engine. The air engine uses compressed air from a compressed air source provided by an air compressor. The air engine may be used on a vehicle, providing a clean environmentally-friendly means of locomotion. Conventional internal combustion engines may be retrofitted to operate on compressed air. Many of the parts on an internal combustion engine are not needed after retrofitting to be an air engine, including the heads. The heads are replaced by head plates that are coupled to solenoids that provide both intake and exhaust functions to the cylinders, thereby replacing the valves in the heads. A kit provides parts and instructions for retrofitting an existing internal combustion engine to run on compressed air.

主权项

1. An apparatus comprising:
a power source; an air tank; an air compressor electrically coupled to the power source that provides compressed air to the air tank; an air engine comprising:
an engine block that includes a plurality of pistons in a plurality of cylinders that provide power to a drive shaft;at least one head plate coupled to the engine block having air ports;a plurality of air solenoids coupled to air ports on the head plate to provide air input from the compressed air in the air tank to the plurality of cylinders in the engine block through the air ports on the head plate and to provide air exhaust from the plurality of cylinders in the engine block through the air ports on the head plate;a timing mechanism that activates the plurality of air solenoids to provide the power to the drive shaft; a motor mechanically coupled to the drive shaft and electrically coupled to the power source, wherein speed of the motor determines speed of the drive shaft; and an accelerator electrically coupled to the motor that controls speed of the motor.