2014 Create the Future Design: Automotive & Transportation Category Winner

Continuously Variable Displacement (CVD) Engine

Steve Arnold
Engine Systems Innovations, Inc.
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

“The CVD engine is the result of six years of continuing research and design work. Receiving such a prestigious award helps us realize that we are on the right track, and stiffens our resolve to get this game-changing technology into the marketplace. NASA Tech Briefs reaches key technical and business professionals at all levels within many, if not all, of the organizations that we hope will become adopters of our CVD technology.”
Passenger car engines are sized to produce very high horsepower to suit the consumer’s demand for drivability and performance. Unfortunately, engines run most efficiently at high load conditions and very inefficiently at the low loads where they spend most of their time. This results in poor fuel economy and high CO2 emissions.

The patented CVD engine mechanism fundamentally changes the geometry in the crankcase of the engine that has remained essentially unchanged since the advent of the internal combustion engine.

The true elegance of the CVD design concept is that the fuel economy improvements do not require changes to many of the truly complex and high-risk areas of engine development, and do not negate the advances that have been made in other technology areas. Essentially, all advances in combustion, fuel, and air delivery systems, valve trains, and auxiliary components can be adapted to the CVD engine with simple reconfiguration rather than fundamental redesign. No high-risk, high-cost new materials or manufacturing methodologies are needed. The CVD engine has a similar part count and smaller engine compartment footprint to current engines, meaning that these new engines will fit within current car engine compartment volumes.

For more information, visit http://contest.techbriefs.com/auto_winner 

Honorable Mentions

3000-Mile Capacitor-Powered Electrical Vehicle

Denny Wheeler,
Crystalline Energy Research,
Nampa, ID

A new Capacitor Energy Pack (CEP) for electrical vehicles uses Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitors (MLCCs) that include dielectric materials that have K (dielectric constant) factors in excess of 300 million. Utilizing a charging system that converts 240 Volts AC (VAC) to 336 Volts DC (VDC), the CEP could store 1,000 Kilowatt Hours (KWh). With the energy pack, the range of EVs and hybrids will increase above lithium-ion battery or ultracapacitor options. Expanding the CEP size or adding additional CEPs will further improve driving range and vehicle power functionality.

For more information, visit http://contest.techbriefs.com/energy_pack 

Transmission Lestran Orbital IVT™

Hans Peter Hemmer,
ASTREMO,
Sankt Augustin, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

The Lestran Orbital IVT™ transmission de sign transmits mechanical power via oscillating torque, rather than traditional speed ratio methods. The approach combines the mechanical efficiency of a fixed gear ratio transmission with the engine efficiency obtained using a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). The power from the centrifugal forces of rotating eccentric masses is harnessed to create the oscillating torque. Infinitely variable torque, from zero torque to the full capability of torque output, can be produced with no clutching or conversion required at the input.

For more information, visit http://contest.techbriefs.com/transmission