Liquid propulsion apparatus and method of fabrication

Claim 2

Liquid propulsion apparatus comprising: an internal combustion engine including a chamber having an element movably disposed therein to form an expansible combustion chamber of Said engine; a rotatable shaft of said engine rotatably mounted therein and coupled to said element to rotate about a longitudinal axis in response to movement of said element within said chamber, said rotatable shaft having an internal bore therethrough substantially coaxially disposed with respect to said rotational axis along the length of said shaft between the ends thereof; and at least one set of impeller vanes attached to said shaft within the internal bore between the ends thereof for imparting to a fluid within the bore a force along the rotational axis of the shaft directed toward one end thereof in response to rotation of said shaft.

Claim 3

Liquid propulsion apparatus as in claim 1 comprising an eccentric means disposed on said rotatable shaft and coupled to said element for moving said element within said chamber in response to rotation of said shaft, said eccentric means including a working surface which is located at a radius from the longitudinal axis of said shaft which is greater than the radius of said internal bore in the shaft at the location therealong of said eccentric means.

Claim 4

Liquid propulsion apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said rotatable shaft includes walls disposed about the internal bore therethrough which are impervious to propulsion liquid passing therethrough and which provide distributed moment of inertia over the length thereof to form the flywheel for the internal combustion engine.

Claim 5

Liquid propulsion apparatus as in claim 1 comprising: bearings rotatably mounting said shaft in said engine; and an oil passage disposed within the walls of said shaft intermediate the outer surface thereof and the inside surface of the internal bore therethrough, said oil passage being everywhere eccentric the rotational axis of said shaft and communicating with said bearings and with said eccentric means.

Claim 6

Liquid propulsion apparatus as in claim 4 wherein: said rotatable shaft comprises at least two longitudinal sections joined together along mating surfaces which include longitudinal portions; at least one section including a wall member having an outer surface and an inside surface which defines the internal bore through said shaft and including a portion of an eccentric means attached thereto; and a recessed passage formed within a mating surface of at least one of a pair of shaft sections intermediate the outer and inside surfaces, said recessed passage forming said oil passage communicating with the working surface of the portion of eccentric means and with the outer surface of the wall member at a location along the length thereof near the position of a bearing thereon.

Claim 7

Liquid propulsion apparatus as in claim 1 comprising an auxiliary shaft rotatably mounted in said internal combustion engine in skew relationship to said rotatable shaft and coupled thereto intermediate the ends thereof for transferring rotational movement between said rotatable and auxiliary shafts.

Claim 8

Liquid propulsion apparatus as in claim 1 comprising: inlet means having a liquid conduit therethrough and being attached to said internal combustion engine near one end of said rotatable shaft with the internal bore therethrough in liquid-communicating alignment with the liquid conduit of said inlet means; and outlet means having a liquid conduit therethrough and being attached to said internal combustion engine near the opposite end of said rotatable shaft with the internal bore therethrough in substantial alignment with the initial portion of the liquid conduit of said outlet means.

Claim 9

Liquid propulsion apparatus as in claim 7 wherein: said inlet means includes valve means for selectively terminating flow of liquid through the liquid conduit of said inlet means in the direction toward said internal combustion engine; and said inlet means includes a liquid connection to the conduit of said inlet means at a location therealong on the side of said valve means remote from said internal combustion engine for supplying Liquid to said engine for cooling the same substantially independently of the operating condition of said valve means.

Claim 10

Liquid propulsion apparatus as in claim 7 wherein: said internal combustion engine includes an exhaust passage from said combustion chamber; said outlet means includes an auxiliary passage which communicates with said exhaust passage of said engine near said opposite end of said rotatable shaft and which is eccentric the internal bore through said rotatable shaft in the initial portion of said outlet means; and said outlet means includes mixing means along the liquid conduit therethrough which communicates with said auxiliary passage for combining fluids in said exhaust and auxiliary passages with liquid discharged from said opposite end of the rotatable shaft.

Claim 11

Liquid propulsion apparatus as in claim 9 comprising unidirectional valve means disposed within said auxiliary passage intermediate said mixing means and said engine for impeding flow of liquid toward said exhaust passage.

Claim 12

Liquid propulsion apparatus as in claim 7 comprising: a boat including bottom and sides and stern and bow forming a hull, said hull including a water inlet aperture in the bottom thereof intermediate the bow and stern; means for mounting said internal combustion engine within said hull with the rotatable shaft of said engine substantially aligned with the centerline from bow to stern of the hull and with said opposite end of said rotatable shaft near the stern of the hull; said inlet means includes a water input port at the end of the liquid conduit therethrough remote from said engine; means coupling said input port of said inlet means to the inlet aperture through the bottom of the hull for passing water therethrough; and water discharge means including said outlet means coupled to said engine and having an outlet port disposed outside said hull for passing water discharged from said rotatable shaft generally rearwardly for propelling said boat.

Claim 13

Liquid propulsion apparatus as in claim 11 wherein said water discharge means includes selectively deflectable nozzle means coupled to said outlet means for directing the water discharge from said rotatable shaft in a selected direction to provide steerage and reverse maneuverability.

Claim 14

An impeller-output shaft for an internal combustion engine having movable piston means forming an expandable combustion chamber of said engine, and comprising: a rotatable shaft having an internal bore therethrough substantially coaxially disposed with respect to the rotational axis of the shaft along the length of the shaft between the ends thereof for conducting fluid through said shaft between the ends thereof; a plurality of fluid-translating impeller vanes attached to the internal walls of said shaft and protruding radially inwardly therefrom; and coupling means attached to said shaft for coupling to piston means radially oriented about said shaft for translating the radially-aligned movement of the piston means within the expandable combustion chamber into rotational motion of said shaft.

Claim 15

An impeller-output shaft for an internal combustion engine having movable piston means forming an expandable combustion chamber of said engine, and comprising: a rotatable shaft having an internal bore therethrough substantially coaxially disposed with respect to the rotational axis of the shaft along the length of the shaft between the ends thereof for conducting fluid through said shaft between the ends thereof; a plurality of fluid-translating impeller vanes attached to the internal walls of said shaft and protruding radially inwardly therefrom; and coupling means attached to said shaft for coupling to piston means radially oriented about said shaft for translating the radially-aligned movement of the piston means within the expandable combustion chamber into rotational motion of said shaft.

Claim 16

An impeller-output shaft as in claim 13 wherein said coupling means includes an eccentric cam lobe attached to the shaft for coupling to the movable piston means of the engine.

Claim 17

An impeller-output shaft as in claim 13 wherein the internal combustion engine is of the type including a rotary piston means having an internal gear, and said coupling means includes a gear on said shaft disposed to engage the internal gear in the rotary piston means of a rotary-piston internal combustion engine.