I have an idea for a design for an internal combustion engine, but since people have been designing engines for 100+ years, I figure somebody else probably had this idea already. So I wanted to see what happened to it. Does anybody know of a good place to research a history of ICE's that never panned out? Perhaps nobody has thought of this, and I'm onto something new, but I doubt it. Thanks.
Well you could try a search on the U.S. Patent Office website. They have an advanced search tool.
See here:
Notable failures: solid fuel (powder) recip engine as gas generator for turbine.
Design ideas that succeeded in varying degree: opposed pistons in one cylinder, rotary cylinders recip to rotary motion other than crankshafts - like sun and planet variable volume rotary pistons i.e. Wankel Cylinders in opposed, Vee, X formations.
...to name but a few....
Brian W
With a good search aid you can find any patented principle. There are quite a few..... There are even quite a few that works....
You will never be able to find all the "good" ideas that did not work (or that did not seem to work).....
However, the problem you will face - like all these that have made a working prototype - is that the engine users (your customers, sponsors, etc.) wants to have a reliable engine. And you need lot of testing (a lot more than you dream of) before you can give the same garanties that the manufacturers of the well proven engines.
If you have a lot of money (more than I can dream of :-) ), you can try to develop your concept. :-)
[...]
By "try to develop" I was thinking of developing to a commercial product, not "only" to a working model. Actually, I contributet to the development of a working model
The rotary vane compressor is a well-established type. Introducing the refinement of holding the vane out of contact with the cylinder wall is a novelty (which one supposes would be destructive of efficient pumping.) Having two concentric rotary vane arrangements also seems somewhat novel.
Brian Whatcott
Brian Whatcott wrote: [... the text I moved to the end....]
...well, actually, no. There is a type (or actually two slightly different types) of compressor that employ the same priciple. The novelity is to use the principle as a engine (the patent was accepted). In addition, the inventer - who said he knew 28 about different engine concept - did not know about these vane compressors (he did know the sliding vane compressor you mention).
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