Bulletin E-Edition:
Reinventing the engine
Redmond inventor's efficient design could have wide-ranging effects
By David Fisher / The Bulletin
Published: May 22. 2007 4:00AM PST| order photo
Brad Raether's patent-pending new design for a piston and cylinder wall is simple, but he hopes it is effective enough to start a revolution in everything from pedal power to fuel-efficient engines. His concept uses a crossbar running through a race in the cylinder wall to twist the piston rod, increasing the piston's leverage and turning each piston stroke more directly into rotary motion. Raether says tests show that his system, built with the basic parts sitting in front of him, transfers up to three times as much of a piston stroke's power to the drive wheels as a normal engine.
Rob Kerr / The Bulletin
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Sometimes the simplest ideas are the ones that move society forward the most.
Running a pole between two wheels to make an axle. Running steam through a tube to drive a piston. Building an engine into a cart to make a car.
Working out of his nondescript garage in Redmond, Brad Raether thinks he has found another one of those great leaps forward with a relatively simple innovation, and he's putting all of his time - and a healthy chunk of his own and his family's money - behind it.
In essence, Raether says he has developed a more efficient way to transform linear power - the drive of a piston or the stroke of a bicyclist's leg - into rotary power - the motion needed to drive wheels.
The idea looks simple. Rather than hooking the bottom of a piston rod to a crook in a crankshaft, which is the way piston engines have converted linear motion into rotary motion for 300 years, Raether's model uses a crossbar that runs inside a race in the cylinder wall to twist the piston rod with each stroke. The bottom of the rod spins a gear, which connects directly to a drivetrain, eliminating the crankshaft altogether.
The design of the race gives the piston more leverage throughout its stroke, transferring about three times more of its power than a conventional piston, Raether said.
Among the potential results: Production automobiles that get 75 to 100 miles per gallon, with minimal changes to their standard engines.
Or possibly more efficient bicycles, pedal-powered cars, or small pedal-powered airplanes.
Or possibly more efficient power production plants. More efficient compressed air-driven vehicles, used extensively in mining and manufacturing where sparks can be deadly. And standard internal combustion engines that could run at lower RPMs because they transfer their power more efficiently, dramatically reducing fuel usage, waste-heat and engine wear and tear.
Raether says his tests have shown so far that any of those outcomes are possible with his invention, if he can get it to market.
His patent is pending but, as with most inventions, commercializing it is not an easy task.
Raether's garage hides an 8-foot-tall, 8,000-pound milling machine, bought with about $60,000 of the $100,000 he's raised so far, through his own resources, along with a handful of investors and financial help from his brother, Bob. He's using it to build a 14-inch-by-7-inch-by-21-inch prototype engine that he says should generate as much thrust as a standard V-8 automobile engine.
Raether's prototype will likely run off compressed air, he said. He's hoping to use connections he formed racing speedboats to set a new land speed record for compressed-air vehicles, "for fun, publicity and credibility." From there, he'll market it to whomever might find an application for it.
A Tumalo native, Raether, 49, is not an engineer. He ran some Southern California car dealerships for a while and ran a wholesale business in Phoenix, making enough money to support his speedboat racing habit before he returned to Central Oregon. He has tinkered with engines all his life and now, engineering degree or not, he believes the time is right for the world to smile on a bright idea developed by a garage-mechanic inventor.
At the moment, he's looking for sponsors to back his speed record attempt. Next, he hopes to try his design in an electrical generator.
"Right now, I think, you almost have the perfect storm for this type of technology," Raether said last week. "You've got the political stuff the way it is, you've got the environmental stuff the way it is, you've got the cost of oil going up. All of these things are just coming together right now to where a project like this, I believe, is possible where maybe 10 years ago, 20 years ago for sure, something like this wouldn't have even had a chance."
Q: If you find a way to commercialize your design, do you hope to set up a manufacturing facility of your own in Central Oregon, or do you hope to sell the design to an existing manufacturer?
A: I will, of course, entertain any offers or potential for selling my design and intellectual property to an existing manufacturer but am fully prepared to start a manufacturing facility in Central Oregon and explore various markets for engines or other products utilizing my design.
Q: Inventors have to wear a lot of hats to get their products to market - innovator, marketer, fundraiser, CEO. What's the toughest aspect of the process for you?
A: I think the toughest aspect of being an inventor was the personal challenges of believing that what I had was really worth devoting everything I have and all the resources available to me into making this project a reality.
Q:No one has patented this particular design in the 200 or 300 years that piston-driven engines have been around. Is that because no one has thought of it, or is it just difficult to make it work?
A: I think it's human nature for people to not think outside the box, and most educated engineers I believe have a predetermined idea of what an engine is and how it should work, and therefore the people that are the most familiar with engines don't have the ability to find some of the new answers that are there for us to discover.
David Fisher can be reached at 617-7862 or at dfisher@bend bulletin.com.
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