harold wrote:
Perhaps we can find a way to orient the ports for the very minimum amount of material so that the throw can be as short as possible. Of course, this is nearly structurally impossible and the valves would probably leak like a bastard.
Been done with rotaries, back in 1850 and known as "Allen Valves". Ovalized ports making for a smaller (and lighter) valve. Never made it past 1869. Conn's short-stroke was, by this measure, very old hat indeed.
You can do it with a gear-driven escapement mechanism. The moment the linkage arm changes direction, an extra gear is inserted into the drive train that changes the direction of drive--you can also change the ratio at the same time.
