Rotary engine

Details Rotary engine Rotary engine

2000-04-28

2002-01-29

Denion, Thomas (Department: 3748)

Internal-combustion engines

Rotary

With compression, combustion, and expansion in a single...

C123S248000, C418S036000, C418S037000, C418S035000, C192S074000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06341590

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to internal-intermittent-combustion engines, and, more specifically, to a sequential rotary piston engine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heat engines are classified as the external-combustion type (the working fluid is entirely separated from the fuel-air mixture, and heat from the products of combustion are transferred through the walls of a containing vessel or boiler), and the internal-combustion type in which the working fluid consists of the products of combustion of the fuel-air mixture itself. Nowadays, the reciprocating internal-combustion engine and the steam turbine are by far the most used types of heat engines with the gas turbine in wide use only for high-speed aircraft.
Fundamental advantages of the reciprocating internal-combustion engine over power plants of other types are the absence of heat exchangers in the working fluid stream, the parts of the internal-combustion engine can work at temperatures well below the maximum cyclic temperature, a lower ratio of power-plant weight and bulk to maximum output (possibly except in the case of units of more than 10,000 hp), mechanical simplicity, and the cooling system handles a small quantity of heat.
The advantages of the reciprocating internal-combustion engine are of special importance in the field of land transportation, where small weight and bulk of the engine and fuel are always essential. In our present civilization the number of units and the total rated power of internal-combustion engines in use is far greater than that of all other prime movers combined.
The reciprocating internal-combustion engine dates back to 1876 when the German engine pioneer, Nikolaus Otto, developed the spark-ignition engine, and 1892 when Diesel invented the compression-ignition engine. Since then, engines have experienced a continuous development as our knowledge of the engine process has increased, as new technologies appeared and as the demand for new types of engines arose.
Usually, in a intermittent internal-combustion engine, a major moving part, called a piston, slides backwards and forwards in a straight line, inside a cylindrical cavity called cylinder. Such movement causes a volume variation of the cavity formed by the piston and the cylinder, that is used to perform a two or a four-stroke cycle.
An alternative to the design of linear-reciprocating-internal-combustion engine is the rotary design. The advantages of rotary over reciprocating action are primarily a matter of compactness, geometry, weight and cost of manufacturing.
Even before Otto's 119-year-old idea got its first positive results, some ideas like the Pump of Ramelli were developed. (Ramelli's Pump, developed in the sixteenth century, is the oldest reference to this type of rotary machines). Many engines of this category have been built, but the only one that has been developed to the point of quantity production is the Wankel (used in a line of sports-type cars by Mazda of Japan), where a rotating member is arranged to vary the working volume by an eccentric motion within a non-circular space. The most difficult problem with this engine is that of sealing the combustion chamber against leakage without excessive friction and wear. This problem is far more difficult than that with conventional piston rings as a “line of contact” instead of a surface of contact is usually involved and the surfaces to be sealed are discontinuous, with sharp corners. The Wankel engine is indeed smaller and lighter and has less vibration than conventional engines of the same output. There is no evidence that it is cheaper to produce. The sealing problem seems to have been solved as far as reasonable durability is concerned, but there is evidence of considerable leakage. This defect and the attenuated shape of the combustion chamber are responsible for poor fuel economy as compared with the equivalent conventional engine.
The idea of engines which toroidal pistons rotate or reciprocate within toroidal cylinders has also been advanced (like the Scott's Omega engine in the 1960's, where pistons reciprocate in a toroidal cylinder by means of a complex arrangement of cranks and shafts). The difficulties of connecting such pistons to the output shaft by a simple and reliable mechanism, together with the problem of sealing the sliding surfaces involved, caused the abandonment of such ideas.
Examples of such rotary engines are provided in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,186,383; 3,937,187; 4,035,111 and 5,242,288 all are illustrative of such prior art. While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described. Furthermore, whatever the merits, features and advantages of the above cited references, none of them achieve or fulfill the purposes of the Sequential Rotary Piston Engine (S.R.P.E.) of the present invention.
U. S. Patent No. 3,186,383
Inventor: Martin Cordingley Potter
Issued: Jun. 1, 1965
This invention concerns internal combustion engines and more particularly relates to rotary engines. This invention includes an output shaft, a body member mounted for rotation about the axis of the shaft, a plurality of annular cavities within the body member having a center of curvature on the rotational axis of the body member, an arcuate piston in each cavity, connector means secured to the pistons transmitting motion of the pistons to the output shaft, inlet means in the chambers whereby fuel may be applied to the combustion chambers between the pistons and end faces of the cavities, means for removing burnt gases from the chambers, first unidirectional clutch means between the body member and a fixed support, second unidirectional clutch means between the connector means and a fixed support, third unidirectional clutch means between the body member and the output shaft, fourth unidirectional clutch means between the connector means and the output shaft, the first and second unidirectional clutch means preventing motion of the body member and connector means relative to the fixed support in the reverse sense of the output shaft, the third and fourth clutch means allowing overrun of the output shaft relative to the body member or connector means.
U.S. Patent Number 3,937,187
Inventor: Henry Bergen
Issued: Feb. 10, 1976
A toroidal cylinder is provided with a slot formed around the inner wall. A central shaft carries a sun wheel engaging a set of planet gears which in turn engage a fixed ring gear secured to the cylinder adjacent the slot. A pair of rings are provided carrying sets of pistons running within the cylinder, the edges of the rings sealably running within the slot. Pins on the planet gears engage slotted arms secured to the rings so that opposite pairs of pistons move toward and away from one another in sequence thus providing compression and expansion strokes in the cylinder together with intake and exhaust strokes. A fuel mixture ignited by spark plugs or the like may be used or, alternatively, fuel injection may be utilized and inlet and exhaust ports are formed within the walls of the toroidal cylinder.
U.S. Patent Number 4,035,111
Inventor: Peter J. Cronen, Sr.
Issued: Jul. 12, 1977
A rotary engine having a toroidal chamber which is stationary, and in which the pistons convey power to a common crankshaft under the control of a four-bar linkage including novel means for preventing reverse motion of any piston in the chamber. Inlet and exhaust valves to control the flow of energizing fluid are provided, and are actuated directly from the crankshaft. Novel sub-components include the four-bar linkage, the valve mechanism, and the arrangement by which rotary movement of the pistons in the chamber is eliminated.
U.S. Patent Number 5,242,288
Inventor: Ogden W. Vincent
Issued: Sep. 7, 1993
An engine or pump is described which has a round cylinder in cross section, the surface of the cylinder being a round toroidal tube in the rotary dir

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