FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1910
1910 - 0951.PDF
NOVEMBER IO,' 1910^ [/UGSf] THE PARADOX ROTARY ENGINE. End view of the 4-cyl. Paradox rotary engine. AN interesting rotary engine for aeroplanes, which has many un mmon features, has been introduced into this country by Mr. Carl Deissner, and an actual motor can be seen in operation in London by those interested. Externally the Paradox engine is an ordinary 4-cyUnder rotary engine, and has nothing very peculiar about it, except that the valves are all mechanically operated in an ingenious way by.skew-gearing. Internally, how ever, the motor is quite different from anything that is at present in actual use; and, although the principle is not entirely new, the manner in which it has been carried out is, so far as we are aware, novel. The characteristic feature of the Paradox engine is that opposite pistons are connected to gether by one rigid and straight piston-rod, which also serves the purpose of a connecting-rod, inas much as it is attached at its centre to the crank-pin of a crank-shaft. If for the moment we disregard the fact that the engine rotates en bloc, and merely consider the action of a pair of opposite pistons, their motion would obviously be to and fro, and the path of the central point on the piston-rod a straight line. But in practice the cylinders do rotate, and the engine being designed to operate on the four-stroke cycle, a cylinder makes half a revolution about the axis of the engine during the time that the piston travels the length of its stroke. This combination of motions makes the resultant path of the centre point on the piston-rod a circle, and the radius of the circle is one quarter of the stroke of the piston. It follows, therefore, that if the centre point on the piston-rod is connected to a crank having a throw equal to a quarter of the stroke, and the said crank shaft is caused to rotate at twice the speed of the engine and in the same direction, then the engine will be in a condition to operate. This is in effect what is provided in the Paradox motor, the engine and the crank-shaft being geared together by a two-to-one ratio, in order to regulate their respective velocities. This interconnection by gearing is the special constructional feature of the Paradox engine, the inventor claiming that no other similar engine has hitherto been constructed with this positive con nection between the engine-casing and the crank-shaft. Theoretically such an engine should work without this gearing, because the action and reaction between the two members would necessarily cause them to exactly follow their respective paths if either one of them moved at all. It only requires a few moments' study of a diagrammatic sketch of such an engine as this, however, to show that the re actions under such conditions would throw a terrific bending strain Diagrammatic sketch illustrating the principle of action of the Paradox rotary engine, also showing the relative paths of the piston and cylinder. on the piston-rod, and very heavy pressure on the walls of the cylinders. In the Paradox engine the use of a positive-gear con nection maintains the relative motion as an independent function, and thus eliminates any tendency to build up a cumulative bending stress on the connecting-rod ; and so far as pressure of the pistons on the walls of the cylinders is concerned, this is only such as result The Paradox rotary engine, showing the skew gears that operate the valves and drive the magneto. In the aeroplane type of motor the heavy framework supporting the engine Is abolished. 949
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
