Anthony Michell’s Crankless Engines: Michell invented this engine in the mid-teens based on a simple yet ingenious method of eliminating many
moving engine parts by replacing the crankshaft, connecting rods and the bearings of a conventional engine with a wobble plate. See many more
photos and learn more @ http://theoldmotor.com/?p=119936
Really neat concept but I can see where the mechanics would not have lasted very long. Either the piston would have worn or wobble plate would have worn through very fast. I would think the balance would have been a real problem also. But good old American ingenuity will prevail!
This swash plate drive design is common to many automotive air conditioner compressors.
Not American. Australian/English know how.
It's still a crank shaft, or output shaft. Is this thingy like a two cycle. Stroke it's still a stroke
Looks like an 8 cylinder equivalent engine with each "piston end" having 2 firing points (via the slotted skirts). Very smart man to work all that out!
As far as I know all of Michell's engines were four-strokes. This one pictured here was built in the
mid-1920s and is a five cylinder w/two plugs a cylinder. It was part of a self contained unit including
the flywheel, clutch and transmission. More photos and info @ http://theoldmotor.com/?p=119936
The principle was invented by an American named Walter Macomber and patented in 1909 and 1913. There were a number of variations to the design by others. Michell's "copy" replaced a connecting rod design by introducing a thrust ball design. So, as usual, the "imperials" just copied the design.
As Tom Miller mentioned, the axial piston design is still in use today in automotive air conditioning compressors.
The photo above shows the engine used by the Eagle Macomber Motor Car Company and you can learn more @ http://theoldmotor.com/?p=26452
Many of W.G. Macomber’s Rotary Engine patent drawings one of which can be seen below are at @ http://theoldmotor.com/?p=27472
I would not call Michell's engine a "copy" as Macomber's engines were rotary and many of the 80 engines Michell built used opposing pistons and were not arranged in a circle.
It looks like the wobbly /swash plate engine goes all the way back to DK West’s 1875 steam engine.
http://www.google.com.br/patents/US165139
The cylinders have to be arranged in a circle or the swash plate doesn't work. Michell's cylinders most certainly were arranged in a circle around the shaft. That's why the engines were round. The cylinders also have to fire in sequence around the plate to push it forward and turn the shaft. It makes no difference that Michell's cylinders had opposing pistons. The pistons/cylinders opposite the firing cylinder are fired in an off-set sequential sequence. Just more of the same.
Interesting on the steam "motor". Technically, steam is not an engine as it requires an external force. Was DK West an American?
Was that patent information auto-transcribed? It comes across part gobble-gook. I'm not sure where the owner of the patent was from. It could be England.
Ken & Herb, D.K. West was apparently was from England. Sometimes Google Patent weirds out
and displays nonsense like it is doing with this patent.