Closes the technology cycle

TECHNOLOGY BREAKTHROUGHS

• Power to weight ratio
• a 75kw motor weighs 24kg
• a 300kw motor weighs 40kg

Fuel consumption and emissions

• 35% to 40% decrease in fuel usage with a target of 3 to 4 litres of diesel per 100km's
• 30% to 40% decrease in emissions to exceed all proposed international standards including Europe's planned nitrogen oxide protocols.
• Operates on petrol, diesel or kerosene if required.

Natural resource Preservation

• Does not require reticulating oil system, (diesel only).
• Reduces total vehicle manufacturing costs by up to 20% with the elimination of many current standard components.
• Engine manufacture is simplified, uses considerably less metal in the building process and reduces production costs by up to 60%.
• Smaller engine space allows for greater safety design features to be developed reducing deaths and injury from head on collisions.
• Ability to increase internal vehicle space while maintaining current length and weight ratio's.

The Smitkin Engine

• Air cooled
• Very low fuel consumption
• Reticulating oil system eliminated
• Simple to manufacture
• Runs in any direction
• Runs in any position
• No threaded components required inside the engine
• No cams, chains or cogs inside the engine
• Easy to assemble with no tools required for inside the engine
• No crankshaft. Uses a multiplier
• Nothing changes direction when it runs
• Slow piston speed
• Improved time areas from the geometry
• Improved exhaust emissions because of the centrifuge
• Runs stratified combustion
• Improved thermodynamic cycle
• Excellent power to weight ratios
• High torque over a wide RPM range
• No side loading on the piston during the power stroke
• Vibration free when running
• Runs as a hybrid set up by placing magnets between the cylinders.

Power to Weight Ratios

  CC-Range           kW Range   Cylinders  Weight
  900- 2000           75-110        3        24
  3000               120-160        3        24
  5000               260-375        6        40
  10,000             375-745        6        65

International Diesel Engine Development

European Auto manufacturing have pumped several billion dollars into the development of improved diesel engines, evidenced by the growing use of the diesel engine production in Europe.

However Volkswagen engines say that they can barely meet European planned nitrogen oxide standards for the year 2000 and can't make those proposed for 2005 (Business Week 26th August 1996)

SMITKIN Technology would allow Europe's car manufacturers to not only meet the standards but exceed the protocols.

Japanese and Korean manufacturers admit to being less advanced in developing engines that will improve both fuel and emission standards. SMITKIN Engines have only 30 parts compared with current four cylinder Diesel engines that have approximately 2000 -- a major breakthrough.

Manufacturing and Licence Proposal

SMITKIN will license, the manufacturers of the SMITKIN Engine for specific applications or industries for a period of 20 years.

The licence will require a licence fee and a royalty per production unit. SMITKIN will provide technical support for an initial period.

Technical Information

The Continuous Cycle Engine Development Company Ltd is a registered Company in New Zealand, and was formed in 1993 to act as a vehicle for the testing and development of new type of Rotary Piston Engine. Patent application along with patent improvements have been made in most countries of the world. The Continuous Cycle Engine Development Company Ltd, is licenced to use the name SMITKIN, which is the name given to the engine.

The SMITKIN is a Continuous Cycle Engine, in that every component including the pistons, operate without having to change direction. The few components that make up the nucleus of the engine rotate off their given axis and are able to more efficiently transfer the energy produced by the cylinders to the output shaft. Conventional Piston Engines offer poor mechanical advantage of converting the expanding thermal energy during most of the working stroke, whereas the SMITKIN utilises an inventive drive element in this part of the engine. This allows all of it's components to operate in a perfect circle producing an energy saving and making the engine more efficient in converting the expanding thermal energy. At the same time the engine is very smooth running and free from vibration.

The SMITKIN has few moving parts with no belts, cogs, chains, cams, valves, or spring in the engine and it has no components that are considered high wear.

With this report we have included graphs taken from a model of a 70mm single cylinder engine that we built for testing where we can change the format of the model from a conventional engine to the SMITKIN principle.

Noticeable features from the graphs are: piston travel of the SMITKIN against a conventional engine and the power output of the SMITKIN against the conventional engine.

The top graph shows the piston travel of a SMITKIN against a conventional engine. The SMITKIN has a short over the top time and a long dwell period at the bottom of the liner compared to a conventional crankshaft engine. Also noticeable is that the compression stroke does not mirror the power stroke. The compression stroke in degrees turned of the output shaft is less than the power stroke, and that the power stroke is more linear to degrees turned than a conventional engine.

These characteristics have been produced by the drive element in the engine and it has made it more efficient in converting the thermal energy.

The lower graph is the power out of the shaft from our model. The SMITKIN shows a more efficient conversion of the energy from the cylinder than the conventional engine. At 5 degrees from the top the SMITKIN was five times more efficient than the conventional engine.

During the power stroke the SMITKIN has a short over the top time compared with the conventional engine and then a more linear travel of the piston for degrees turned with the piston speed remaining constant with no acceleration or deceleration occurring. Another important construction of the SMITKIN is that during the power stroke, for 100 degrees turned of the output shaft, the centre line of the piston from its connection point to where it transfers its energy is all in line so that during the power stroke the piston has no side loading.

Also at the end of the power stroke the piston remains longer at the bottom of the liner than a conventional engine giving the SMITKIN much improved time areas over conventional engines. As a result piston porting with good time areas can be achieved that does not stress the liner or the rings allowing for a greater reliability in the engine.

The graph of the conventional engine confirmed that it had poor conversion from the top stroke, then as the centre lines of the conrod and the crank journal moved towards becoming square the engine produced a rapid rise towards a good level of efficiency only to quickly decay with the centre lines moving off square. Our testing confirmed that the SMITKIN is more efficient at converting the energy from the start of the stroke producing a graph that was even, and at a higher level for more degrees turned of the output shaft. The drive element in the SMITKIN has improved the efficiency of how the expanding thermal energy is converted to rotational energy and no component in the engine needing to change direction to do its work more power from less capacity and fuel can be achieved and along with that improve exhaust emissions.

Conventional Piston Ported Engine

Single Cylinder Engine of Swept volume, CM3, = 565.5
BORE in mm                                                  100
STROKE in mm                                                 72
CON-ROD LENGTH in mm                                        145
CRAN K-ANGLE after tdc at start of calculation               90
CRANK-ANGLE after tdc at end of calculation                  95
.
  Crank-angle after tdc       Height from tdc      Cylinder Volume
               90.00              40.5                  318.4
               95.00              43.6                  342.8

SMITKIN Piston Ported Engine

CRANK-ANGLE after tdc at start of calculation               90
CRANK-ANGLE after tdc at end of calculation                100
.
  Crank-angle after tdc       Height from tdc        Cylinder Volume
               90.00                 37.4                   293.5
               95.00                 40.5                   318.4
              100.00                 43.6                   342.8

These calculations have been done from the 'SINGLE CYLINDER MODEL' that we use to demonstrate the engine's principles. Other engines that we have running are improved further through geometry. It is possible to achieve 103 degree's rotation to displace the 342cc that is normally produced at 90 degrees by conventional geometry.

So as noted from the above figures, the cylinder in the SMITKIN Engine will be at a higher pressure for the same degrees turned as a conventional engine to produce work during the power stroke, and therefore is able to produce the work over a longer cycle. Also the SMITKIN is able to convert the cylinder pressure at an earlier stage than conventional geometry.

If a conventional piston ported engine was to exhaust at 95 degrees, the SMITKIN would produce 103 degrees turned of the output shaft without any alteration of the height of the exhaust port. These calculations have a bearing on the thermodynamic cycle of the SMITKIN Engine.

Centrifuge Effect on the Combustion Chamber

There are problems encountered by today's engines which are difficult to overcome and one of them being fuel on top of the piston. It is difficult to stop what is heavy, ending up at the bottom of the cylinder, and what is lighter, being at the top. Hot air is lighter and cold air is heavier and heavy fuel particles or drops of oil end up on the piston crown.

The vigorous rattling sound of a direct injected diesel starting up on a cold morning is an example of that. Fuel is injected into ~he cylinder when the piston is almost at the top of its stroke and a good portion of the fuel hits the top of the piston. (Earlier injection tips using four orifices have been known to cut four grooves into the piston because of the speed the fuel was hitting the piston) The diesel engine on a cold morning has difficulty getting all the fuel injected to reach auto ignition because of it being on the top of the cold piston and so travels down the power stroke without being ignited but warming up from the heat of the power stroke. When the engine compresses the next time the heat rise causes it to ignite earlier than the new injected charge and the pre ignition sound is heard and repeated until all the fuel in the top of the piston is ignited with each injected stroke.

It is also difficult to keep all the fuel that is vapourising off the top of the piston to stay in the combustion chamber while the exhaust valves are open and white smoke is visible because of that. The conventional two stroke engine suffers with similar problems. Oil from the lubrication of the engine ends up on the top of the piston and vapourises out of the exhaust port visible as white smoke.

The SMITKIN however does not suffer with the same problem because the entire engine is basically spinning flywheel and because of that it operates opposite to a conventional engine. What is heavy goes to the top of the cylinder away from the piston and what is light ends up at the bottom. Heavy fuel oil particles centrifuge to the top of the cylinder and is able to be utilised by the engine during the next power stroke.

Our first prototype has been demonstrated many times using fuel oil mixes of 20-1 without any sign of visible smoke coming from the exhaust at any speed or loading. The incoming air being colder and more dense than the heated gases from the previous charge at the end of the blowdown period can be directed up the side of the piston to stay trapped at the top of the cylinder above the exhaust ports. So the volumetric efficiency or how well the cylinder is refilled and kept filled with a combustible mixture is controlled somewhat by the centrifugal effect of the engine.

The Smitkin Engine

The following information has been prepared so that it is possible to better understand the principles employed in the design and operation of the SMITKIN

The SMITKIN is an air cooled engine, and is a form of rotary cylinder, piston ported, two stroke type engine, that has no crankshaft with any bolts or screws inside the engine. There are no belts, gears, springs, cams or chains inside the engine. The few parts that make up the inside of the engine only use needle roller type bearings to operate the engine. Other than compression rings on the pistons the earlier engine ran with a single seal on the fuel shaft while the later engines will not require any seals.

The overall design of the SMITKIN has resulted in a very small compact and lightweight flywheel type engine, that is easily cooled and highly efficient during it's operation. It is possible to build a 4 cylinder 1.6 litre engine that is 40cm in diameter and 25cm long and weighing 18kg. A 6 cylinder 2.4 litre engine will be 2 around 46cm by 28cm and will weigh 26kg. These new designed SMITKIN Engines are a complete engine only requiring fuel and electric's to be plugged into the engine to make it run. While some of our earlier engines were slightly larger in size, like the 3 cylinder .9 litre engine that we have built, which is 46cm by 18cm and weighing 19kg, the components inside the new engines are no different in strength in relation to the capacity of the engine than the engines we have already built. As only part of the weight of the complete engine spins, we have found them to be very responsive and the compression allows them to slow down quickly.

One of the most interesting features of the SMITKIN Engine is the geometry that is used in the engine. When the engine is running there are no parts that reciprocate or change direction. That also includes the pistons. The top face of the piston forms a perfect circle with the turning of the engine as it runs. We can demonstrate to you from an engine model how that works. By placing a chalk marker to the top face of the piston we can show how the piston forms a perfect circle whole forming stroke in the cylinder. So while the rings have to deal with the forces of being in contact with the liner, while stroke is being formed, (the same as in conventional engines), the SMITKIN Engine pistons do not have to be stopped and restarted in a new direction like a conventional crankshaft engine. Once the engine is spinning, then very little energy is needed to keep it running because everything in the engine spins off axis points. This fact has raised the efficiency of the engine.

The thermodynamic cycle of the SMITKIN Engine has been greatly affected from that of a simple piston ported two stroke engine because of the geometry and also because of the engine spinning.

The geometry as we have discussed allows the piston to operate in a perfect circle while at the same time forming stroke in the cylinder. It is very easy to calculate from TDC in a conventional crankshaft engine having a fixed stroke and conrod length, how far the piston has travelled from the top (or how much capacity has been displaced or pressure lost) for degrees turned of the output shaft.

For the same stroke and conrod length the SMITKIN produces more degrees turned of the output shaft for the amount of travel of the piston from the top of the stroke or TDC. We are able to demonstrate from a model of the engine that if a conventional piston ported crankshaft engine had it's time area set to exhaust at 95 degrees, the SMITKIN having the same stroke and conrod length would rotate it's output shaft to 103 degrees for the same exhaust height as the conventional engine. Therefore the cylinder is running at a higher pressure for degrees turned of the output shaft. This TDC calculation is further enhanced because the top dwell period is about half of that of a conventional engine and the conversion of the pressure begins earlier and at a higher level for degrees turned while at the same time the cylinder runs at a higher pressure for degrees turned.

The geometry has made the piston travel from TDC to be more linear to the degrees turned of the output shaft that a conventional engine and does not have the same violent piston acceleration and deceieration characteristics, for one revolution turned, that a crankshaft produces in the conventional engine, which makes it easier for the rings. Also the engine has no side loading of the piston during the working stroke as the conrod stays on the centre line of the piston during that time. The power stroke of the engine is 190 degrees and the compression stroke 170 degrees. The bottom dwell time of the piston is doubled which gives improved time area over conventional geometry. This had been achieved without creating any unfavourable mechanical stresses in the engine, and as we discussed earlier, there is nothing in the engine that changes direction when it runs. The engine has a natural operation for being self balancing when it runs and is free from vibration. The engine, being a flywheel spinning has also affected the trapping efficiency and the air to fuel ratios. The centrifuge effect means that even at low RPM the incoming charge is stratified. Heavier fuel particles and cold incoming air, centrifuge to the top of the cylinder away from the side of the piston where transfer takes place.

There can be considerable leaning out of the fuel without having misfiring because the closer to the head the richer the mixture is. The geometry assists with these combustion characteristics as in a SMITKIN spark ignited engine is possible to begin combustion as soon as the exhaust port closes without any unfavourable pulsation reversion. We are mindful however that the heat releases need to be phased to when the greatest pressure can be converted into work done, which appears much earlier in the SMITKIN Engine. It is common to fire 45 degrees BTDC at Idle depending on how the geometry is set up.

The colder incoming charge more easily displaces the hot gasses by allowing the incoming charge to attach between the side of the piston and back wall of the liner, which is then centrifuged to the cylinder head as the transfer port opens. As a result there is a very low escape of unburned hydrocarbons. There is never any exhaust smoke even if the oil level is raised to where combustion is affected, as the centrifuge effect keeps it off the top of the piston during the exhaust phase.

This is helpful as a tuned exhaust may be difficult over a wide RPM range.

The SMITKIN Engine appears to have a significantly high torque level at a very low RPM and it is able to produce a more even curve. While our engines have conventional bore to stroke ratios it appears we don't need long strokes to get good leverage from a crank shaft.

The SMITKIN Engine is suitable for many applications and is well suited to become a generator by placing 3mm magnets bonded onto alloy shoes between the cylinders. The windings are placed in the housing around the engine.