Tommey Reed, a high school drop-out, he got his GED and also tried college, that didn't allow his lack of educational credentials in mechanical engineering to hold him back. He's been a self-taught student of: mechanical engineering, Electrical Engineer,Software Programer, Electronics,Phisics, Rotbotics, CNC Machining and more for over 35 years, attributing his knowledge to internet resources. "I do a lot of research," Reed said, "and rely on the internet as my home library."
Mr Reed is also is a well trained 4th degree black belt in Aikido, a advanced martial arts style for the past 20+ years. Aikido is best known by martial arts expert 7th degree black belt Steven Seagal.
Mr Reed also teaches Aikido in Warren, Pa.
Reed finds that the more knowledge he gains, the less money he needs to spend on his inventions. He'll often incorporate useful household objects into his designs, saving, in some cases, thousands of dollars.
Reed also saves money by investing in machinery that allows him to build his own components from scratch. This gives him the freedom to experiment with different ideas that have led to some amazing engine designs, two of which we'll cover in this issue: the rotary piston engine and the ratchet engine.
The Rotary Piston Engine
Six years ago while changing a tire with a torque wrench, Reed noticed the vehicle lurching forward each time the lug nut was tightened. This response to pressure got him thinking, "What if you could design an engine using the same concept?" After some research, Reed began developing his engine design, incorporating a piston with the ability to travel in a circle.
Six months of study, and trial and error using compression, led Reed to the conclusion that the only way to make the circular traveling piston function as designed would be to develop an external combustion chamber.
Designed for efficiency, the rotary piston engine uses fossil fuels to their greatest potential. This is achieved, in part, with the piston receiving a 350 degree power stroke before the exhaust comes out of the engine. When the engine fires, the piston has to travel 350 degrees before any exhaust is allowed to escape. The circumference length of the stroke is so great that there is actually zero pressure coming out of the exhaust because all the fuel has been completely burned up. Reed estimates the engine could offer about 85% efficiency and would be capable of getting over 300 MPG.
Because the standard internal combustion engine has very little torque at idle, taking off from a stop requires revving the engine to build up torque. The rotary piston engine has massive amounts of torque even at idle, so less fuel is needed for starts. As Reed described, "The rotary is made for real torque: at 1,000 RPM's, it's like running your engine at 5,500 RPM's." A unique characteristic that makes this design a good candidate for running a high output, low RPM generator.
Not only is the engine efficient, but also very simple. "Without the combustion chamber there is only one moving part in the rotary and that is the vein which moves up and down," Reed noted. Comparatively, the typical internal combustion engine has hundreds of parts, often very small and sensitive.
Another unique feature of the rotary piston engine is its small size. "The piston didn't need to be big to be able to produce a massive amount of instant torque," Reed said. In fact, the engine design uses only one-eighth the amount of piston space normally found in an internal combustion engine, while doing a greater amount of work. By Reed's calculations, a 16-inch, rotary piston engine, with just four cubic inches of piston area, would produce over 1,600 foot pounds of torque, using 600 PSI. "This may sound like a lot of pressure," Reed remarked, "but most people don't realize that a typical engine starts at about 800-2,000 PSI when the piston is at top dead center (TDC)."
The Ratchet Piston Engine
The concept behind Reed's ratchet engine stems from modern day bicycle design: when you tire of pedaling, your feet stay stationary, but the wheels keep moving. Not only that, but once in motion, you can also pedal the bike backwards without losing forward momentum. This is achieved because bearings that allow the wheel to spin freely in one direction, engage the shaft they are mounted on, when spun in the opposite direction.
Reed's ratchet design, which operates at a much lower pressure than his rotary piston design, was developed to be powered by air pressure. The engine operates when air is forced into a cylinder; the piston pushes down, causing the shaft to extend downward. The shaft is connected to two rails with teeth lining one side of each rail. As the rails travel downward, they spin two gears connected to one way bearings, mounted on a shaft. These bearings are turned in opposite directions, so when the rails are traveling down, one bearing is engaging and turning the shaft, while the other bearing spins freely. Thus, the shaft is constantly spinning in the same direction, both when the air is applied and when the spring is returning the piston to its original position.
The engine has a pre-sealed piston that averages about 1% leakage; the remaining 99% of air pumped into the engine is used to create power. The applied air pressure results in immediate torque. Unlike other air engine designs, Reed's has no loss of energy: The amount of power you put in equals the amount of work you get out. As Reed explained, "If you move the piston one inch, the shaft runs the same distance."
The potential for this air-powered engine to energize a small vehicle holds promise. Imagine, for instance, an electric vehicle equipped with scuba tanks, instead of batteries. Sounds a little odd until you consider that a typical scuba tank can hold up to 96 cubic feet of air, at 3200 PSI, and weighs less than a battery. "Pound for pound, a scuba tank has more potential energy than a battery," Reed said. "Every battery I've ever bought has gone bad, but an air tank, rarely, if ever, goes bad." Need to re-fuel? An electric car takes hours to recharge; air tanks can be re-filled in about 20 minutes.
The main advantage of the ratchet engine is the immediate availability of torque. The typical internal combustion engine has to be geared low and revved up in order to build enough torque to get the wheels turning. The ratchet engine could be connected directly to the drive shaft, requiring no gearing or transmission. And, a regenerative braking system, similar to Jake brakes, could supply compressed air that flows back into the air tanks, as the brakes are applied.
Reed is exploring all avenues of potential for his ratchet engine, including an underwater, linear piston engine. Similar to a high-tech, underwater wheel, this idea is best described as a submerged conveyor belt with attached containers that catch air and rise to the surface. The design would work on the concept of displacement: using a high volume of air at very low pressure to fill the containers. The containers rise to the surface at an accelerated rate due to the expansion of air inside.
To illustrate the displacement concept, Reed offers this example:
A gallon of water weighs 8.3 pounds. If you fill a gallon container underwater, it will give you 8.3 pounds of force going upward. If I fill up a cubic foot of air, let's say, ten feet underwater, it's going to take about 4.3 PSI of air at this depth. Once you fill 1,728 cubic inches (one cubic foot), it will travel ten feet upward doing work, and I didn't have to put any more energy into it. With that ten feet of distance at 62 pounds per foot, I've got 620 pounds of force.
Tommey Reed's rotary piston and ratchet engine designs are just two of this prolific inventor's pursuits into alternative energies and technologies.
Future projects:
Advanced air car using re-compress braking, Computer control hydroponics in doors, pulse rotary turbo engine version, thermo-solar reactor electrical generator, advanced wind compress air generator motor and much more.
If you have any question on these project or more, please contact Mr Reed at:
E-mail :meaikido@aol.com
Phone :814-730-6674
Mr Reed is also is a well trained 4th degree black belt in Aikido, a advanced martial arts style for the past 20+ years. Aikido is best known by martial arts expert 7th degree black belt Steven Seagal.
Mr Reed also teaches Aikido in Warren, Pa.
Reed finds that the more knowledge he gains, the less money he needs to spend on his inventions. He'll often incorporate useful household objects into his designs, saving, in some cases, thousands of dollars.
Reed also saves money by investing in machinery that allows him to build his own components from scratch. This gives him the freedom to experiment with different ideas that have led to some amazing engine designs, two of which we'll cover in this issue: the rotary piston engine and the ratchet engine.
The Rotary Piston Engine
Six years ago while changing a tire with a torque wrench, Reed noticed the vehicle lurching forward each time the lug nut was tightened. This response to pressure got him thinking, "What if you could design an engine using the same concept?" After some research, Reed began developing his engine design, incorporating a piston with the ability to travel in a circle.
Six months of study, and trial and error using compression, led Reed to the conclusion that the only way to make the circular traveling piston function as designed would be to develop an external combustion chamber.
Designed for efficiency, the rotary piston engine uses fossil fuels to their greatest potential. This is achieved, in part, with the piston receiving a 350 degree power stroke before the exhaust comes out of the engine. When the engine fires, the piston has to travel 350 degrees before any exhaust is allowed to escape. The circumference length of the stroke is so great that there is actually zero pressure coming out of the exhaust because all the fuel has been completely burned up. Reed estimates the engine could offer about 85% efficiency and would be capable of getting over 300 MPG.
Because the standard internal combustion engine has very little torque at idle, taking off from a stop requires revving the engine to build up torque. The rotary piston engine has massive amounts of torque even at idle, so less fuel is needed for starts. As Reed described, "The rotary is made for real torque: at 1,000 RPM's, it's like running your engine at 5,500 RPM's." A unique characteristic that makes this design a good candidate for running a high output, low RPM generator.
Not only is the engine efficient, but also very simple. "Without the combustion chamber there is only one moving part in the rotary and that is the vein which moves up and down," Reed noted. Comparatively, the typical internal combustion engine has hundreds of parts, often very small and sensitive.
Another unique feature of the rotary piston engine is its small size. "The piston didn't need to be big to be able to produce a massive amount of instant torque," Reed said. In fact, the engine design uses only one-eighth the amount of piston space normally found in an internal combustion engine, while doing a greater amount of work. By Reed's calculations, a 16-inch, rotary piston engine, with just four cubic inches of piston area, would produce over 1,600 foot pounds of torque, using 600 PSI. "This may sound like a lot of pressure," Reed remarked, "but most people don't realize that a typical engine starts at about 800-2,000 PSI when the piston is at top dead center (TDC)."
The Ratchet Piston Engine
The concept behind Reed's ratchet engine stems from modern day bicycle design: when you tire of pedaling, your feet stay stationary, but the wheels keep moving. Not only that, but once in motion, you can also pedal the bike backwards without losing forward momentum. This is achieved because bearings that allow the wheel to spin freely in one direction, engage the shaft they are mounted on, when spun in the opposite direction.
Reed's ratchet design, which operates at a much lower pressure than his rotary piston design, was developed to be powered by air pressure. The engine operates when air is forced into a cylinder; the piston pushes down, causing the shaft to extend downward. The shaft is connected to two rails with teeth lining one side of each rail. As the rails travel downward, they spin two gears connected to one way bearings, mounted on a shaft. These bearings are turned in opposite directions, so when the rails are traveling down, one bearing is engaging and turning the shaft, while the other bearing spins freely. Thus, the shaft is constantly spinning in the same direction, both when the air is applied and when the spring is returning the piston to its original position.
The engine has a pre-sealed piston that averages about 1% leakage; the remaining 99% of air pumped into the engine is used to create power. The applied air pressure results in immediate torque. Unlike other air engine designs, Reed's has no loss of energy: The amount of power you put in equals the amount of work you get out. As Reed explained, "If you move the piston one inch, the shaft runs the same distance."
The potential for this air-powered engine to energize a small vehicle holds promise. Imagine, for instance, an electric vehicle equipped with scuba tanks, instead of batteries. Sounds a little odd until you consider that a typical scuba tank can hold up to 96 cubic feet of air, at 3200 PSI, and weighs less than a battery. "Pound for pound, a scuba tank has more potential energy than a battery," Reed said. "Every battery I've ever bought has gone bad, but an air tank, rarely, if ever, goes bad." Need to re-fuel? An electric car takes hours to recharge; air tanks can be re-filled in about 20 minutes.
The main advantage of the ratchet engine is the immediate availability of torque. The typical internal combustion engine has to be geared low and revved up in order to build enough torque to get the wheels turning. The ratchet engine could be connected directly to the drive shaft, requiring no gearing or transmission. And, a regenerative braking system, similar to Jake brakes, could supply compressed air that flows back into the air tanks, as the brakes are applied.
Reed is exploring all avenues of potential for his ratchet engine, including an underwater, linear piston engine. Similar to a high-tech, underwater wheel, this idea is best described as a submerged conveyor belt with attached containers that catch air and rise to the surface. The design would work on the concept of displacement: using a high volume of air at very low pressure to fill the containers. The containers rise to the surface at an accelerated rate due to the expansion of air inside.
To illustrate the displacement concept, Reed offers this example:
A gallon of water weighs 8.3 pounds. If you fill a gallon container underwater, it will give you 8.3 pounds of force going upward. If I fill up a cubic foot of air, let's say, ten feet underwater, it's going to take about 4.3 PSI of air at this depth. Once you fill 1,728 cubic inches (one cubic foot), it will travel ten feet upward doing work, and I didn't have to put any more energy into it. With that ten feet of distance at 62 pounds per foot, I've got 620 pounds of force.
Tommey Reed's rotary piston and ratchet engine designs are just two of this prolific inventor's pursuits into alternative energies and technologies.
Future projects:
Advanced air car using re-compress braking, Computer control hydroponics in doors, pulse rotary turbo engine version, thermo-solar reactor electrical generator, advanced wind compress air generator motor and much more.
If you have any question on these project or more, please contact Mr Reed at:
E-mail :meaikido@aol.com
Phone :814-730-6674