“Atkinson Gas Engine Animated” by MichaelFrey – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atkinson_Gas_Engine_Animated.gif#mediaviewer/File:Atkinson_Gas_Engine_Animated.gif
(first posted 10/15/2012) Let’s start by stating the obvious: Apparently, the “Atkinson Cycle” and “Miller Cycle” names are not trademarked since neither is true to its original patents when it comes modern Otto engines. Of the two engines, the Atkinson is the more significantly changed. From this animation of the original/genuine Atkinson Cycle engine by Bill Todd at douglas-self.com, it’s quite obvious that this complex mechanical dance is not what’s taking place under the hoods of millions of the Toyota and other hybrid cars claiming to use an Atkinson cycle engine. Indeed, a key aspect of James Atkinson’s 1882 engine design is being employed, but in a much simpler form. Read the rest of this entry »