The present invention relates generally to internal combustion engines and more

specifically to a novel cylindrically shaped rotary engine.

Background of the Invention

ot y engines with pistons piv tally mounted on a rotating rotor have been in

the engine art for some time. See, for example, the U.S. patent to G, E. Hanley, No.

1 ,048,308 and the patent to H D. Anderson, No 37*100,255. Through the years

following, other U.S. patents were issued on improvements and changes to the original

rotary concept, the most notable of which was the patent to-Felix WankeT, No.

?._98R .065 Other, less notorious patents on the subject, have -issued, including Nos.

3,373,723 to D. N. Blosser, 3,438 ^* 358; 3,793.998 to M. Yokoi et al; and 3,855,977 to

F D Statkuε.

The most pertin nt prior art from the standpoint of the present invention

however is the U R Patent to Emil Georg Schubert. No, 3,7-89,809. Schubert describes

an engine generally simil r to the one of the present invention in the disclosure for

which he recognizes the advantage of twice compressing the air to ^" be ^" used with the

fuel During only a single down$troke of the pivotal piston, Schubert compresses air

beneath the piston and then ducts it to the upper - -airface of the piston through a

channeling system built into the forward end of the recess which houses the piston.

One problem with this ducting system for the compressed air is that oniy a portion of

the air compressed below the piston can find its way into the space above the piston

during the single stroke of the piston and, accordingly, the_engine is only partially

supercharged, unlike the present invention. One of the most important distinctions

G 94ΛSXP07 PCT/USM/08831

between the engine of Schubert's disclosure and the present invention is the fact tha

Schubert draws a fuel-air mixture into the space above the piston prior t

ijujjplcn'ieritiiig the mixture with ths compressed air drawn through the channel fro

below the piston and prior to ignition. This method severely limits the compressio

ratios which are potentially achievable with an engine of this kind. High compressio

of a fuel air mixture prior to the programmed time for ignition will cause undesirabl

pre-ignition and backfiring.

Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a rotar

engine which is capable of achieving high compression ratios without the probabilit

of pre-cornbustion and backfiring

A second object of the invention is to provide an internal combustion engin

where the combustion pressure is exhausted from the combustion chamber, allowin

the next injection of fuel to be made into a volume of low pressure, prior to the arriva

of the highly compressed air above the piston.

In connection with the preceding object, another øb ent .of the invention is t

provide a combustion chamber having _^ a shape and -disposition relative to the engin

housing in which resides an apparent rich fuel-air mixture, pending the arrival of th

highly compressed air over the oncoming piston. ^" The -result of this objective is t

produce an extremely powerful explosion

Another object of the invention is to provide means, ^" as described in th

previous objective, for controlling the richness of the fuel-air mixture by controllin

the amount of fuel which is injected into the combustion chamber.

Still another object of the invention is to provide -a novel combustion chamber

configuration for rotary internal combustion engines ^whic will magnify the tangential

force component of the engine, thus producing greatenJorque and power output from

the ngine

A further object of the present invention is to provide -a rotary engine having

exceptionally good characteristics for purging exhaust gases from the engine.

A still further object of the invention is to pr v je which

is clean burning and emits the minimum of unburned particulants.

Other objects of the invention will e apparent from a reading of the

specification &nd description of the various embodiments of the invention.

Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is a prospective view of the engine_of the present invention.

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of he .engine. The arrows A. B and

C represent different airflows as they are related to specific parts of the engine shown

in this figure.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of a piston of the engine of the present invention.

• Figure 4 is an enlarged diagrammatic cross, sectional view taken through the

engine and showing the relative positions of all of the pistons at a selected, point in the

rotation of the rotor such as 0°. The valves in i s floor of the rotor recess are

diagram atically shown side by si e to better illustrate their relative operation,

whereas if shown as they appear in the drawing of Figure 2., a side view of the valves

would shown them to be in alignment, that is one behind the other where their

simultaneous operation could not be seen One of the four pistons is illustrated with

closely spaced hatch markings to identify it as the piston which will' be shown in

Figures 5- 1 1 and whose particular operation will be followed in the written description

of a preferred form of the invention which follo s

Figures 5-1 1 are reduced size but similar cross sectional views to that of Figure

4 and showing the sequence of operation through one _f evolution _, ofjthe engine rotor

taken at 45°_ 90°, 135°, 160°. 21 5°. 270° and 315° points of rotor rotation. For -clarity,

only a single piston is shown as that piston operatesjinring _one complete revolution

of the rotor. It should be understood that all of the__ρistons shown in Figure 4 are

present during the revolution of the rotor and they cyclically operate throughout their

respective points in the rotation ir* the same manner as the piston which is shown. The

other pistons have been omitted from the diagrammatic illustrations of these figures

to simplify the understanding of the operation of the invention

Summary of the Invention

The invention comprises improvements in a rotary internal combustion engine

which make the engine more efficient and capable of grsater torque and power output,

size for $ii_e _? than other rotary engine or ^' any reciprocating engine of the prior an, The

improvements include a method and apparatus for double compressing the intake air

in the rotary engine prior to induction of the fuel charge in order to greatly expand the

compression ratio potential of the engine While eompres ^' sing air beneath ^" a pivotal

rotary piston is not new, the present invention provides n novel αnd ^_ effιcιent method

of ducting the compressed air from beneath the pistons and around the exterior of the

engine into the charge receiving chambers above the pistons as they rotate through a

combustion cycle.

Detailed Description of _. the. Invention

Figure 1 depicts the assembled rotary engine. 2 having_a geπer-ally cylindrical

housing 4 and enclosing side plates 6 and 8 bolted to the housing. A hollow power

output shaft 10 emerges from both sides of the motor through-oentcaLapertures in each

of the sides plates, supported by appropriate bearings. The splines 1 1 on the power

take off end of the shaft are shown in Figure 2. A ducting channel 12 for conveying

compressed air B from an opening 16 (Figure 2) ipThe output shaft attaches to the

periphery of the engine housing 4.

Referring to the exploded view of Figure 2 υf the drawings, a rotor 18 is

disposed inside the housing 4 for rotation with the shaft 10. The rotor has a plurality

of wedge shaped recesses 20 around its periphery, each of which accommodate a

generally similarly shaped and pivotally mounted vane type piston 22. Each of the

pistons and their respective mounting recesses are similar to one another in their

construction and operation and accordingly, only a-single piston and recess will be

described in detail,

• A piston 22 is attached to the floor of its respective recess 20 by means of a pin

23 passing through aligned transverse bores in the rearward end of the piston and

through a bore in a raised boss 24, integral with the floor of the r cesvwhich boss fits

within a notch 25 positioned centrally of the rear edge of the piston. Forward of the

boss 24 in the floor of the recess are a pair of openings 26 and 28 which communicate

with the shaft receiving bore in the center of the rofor. ^~ n the assembled motor, these

openings re respectively aligned with openings 30 and 32 in the output shaft 10. A

circular plug or transverse partition 35 in the interior of the shaft 10 separates the

openings 30 and 32 creating two separate air flow paths

The first flow path provides for the conduction of first ambient air A to the

bottom si e of the piston 22 ϊt begins at the open end of the shaft 10, continuing

lengthwise of the shaft and exiting through the shaft opening 32, then passing through

a reed valve 40 located in the opening 28 in the flbor of the rotor recess

The second path conducts compressed air B and begins beneath the piston 22

and passes through a ball check valve 36 disposed-in the opening 26 and hence into

the interior of the shaft 10, through . the shaft oper)ϊng 30. The compressed air then

passes longitudinally of the shaft interior, exiting through the shaft opening 16 and into

the compressed air duct 12 where it then pa$se$ through a Spring biased ball check

valve 38 and into a space inside the housing 4, defined by the top surface of the piston

22, the sides and forward end of the rotor recess 20 and the peripheral inside surface

of the housing 4. Appropriate rings and seals are provided around the edges of the

piston to maintain a tight seal and isolate the chambers above and below the piston,

however such devices are within the skill of the art and will not be described in detail.

Pivotal movement of the piston 22 about its axis of rotation, pin 23, is

controlled by the cam-like movement of the piston, as it rotates with the rotor and

follows the contour of spaced apart endless loop channels or tracks 42 carried on the

inside of the side plates 6 and 8 The piston 22 is provided with laterally extendin

trunnions 44 and 46 which act as followers by riding in the channels or tracks 42,

During the description of the operation of the motor _other _> __and so fa

unmentioned, mechanical elements of the combination will bε -pointed out.

For an understanding of the operation of the novel rotary engine of the presen

invention, reference is had to the cross sectional views of Figures 4-1 1 The fou

engine pistons of the illustrated embodiment, are identified with reference numeral

22a, 22b, 22c and 22d.

In general, the rotor 18 and its attached output shaft 10 are driven in rotar

motion within the housing 4 by the energy released abov_e the respective pistons 22a

22d by the firing of an explosive mixture of air and fiif_L#t _a single point in th

circumference of the engine housing 4. Following the teachings of this invention, i

would be within the skill of the art to design the engine for clockwise rotation or t

provide for more than one firing point around the circumference of the engine or t

employ a greater or lesser number of pistons than are shown in the accompanyin

drawings. An embodiment having a four piston counterclockwise moving rotor wit f four combustion cycles per rotor revolution will serve as the preferred illustrativ

example of the means, methods and principals of the invention,

A fuel injection nozzle 52 iε connected to α source of pressurized uel in

manner well known, and not illustrated in the drawings A single fuel injection nozzl

is mounted in the closed end of a hollow bulb or blister 54 disposed on the exterio

periphery of the engine housing 4 where its longitudinal axis is angled to the radiu

of the housing 4 at approximately 45 degrees The exact angle of the blister may

other than 45 degrees, however it is noted that some angle other than zero degre

from the housing radius is advantageous in order to provide "shape" or direction to t

explosive energy of the burning fuel-air mixture aπd-specifϊcaliy to provide as lar

as possible tangential component to the force of the energy acting against the forwa

face 56 of the wedge shaped recess 20 in the rotor As will become clearer as t

description proceeds, the hollow space within the blister 54 together with the spa

above the forward end of the piston 22 bounded by the in-sideTace of the rotor rece

becomes the firing or combustion chamber for the fuel-air mixture

Following the burning of the fuel-air mixture the exhaust gases are discharge

■ from above the piston through an aperture 61 in the periphery of the engine housin

4, located approximately 90 radial degrees from the fuel injector nozzle 52

Oxygen for mixing with the fuel is provided from two separate sources and

convenience of reference intake air from the respective two sources will be referre

to as first and second ambient air First ambient air A has already been referred to i

connection with the above description of the openings in the shaft 10 -Second ambie

air C is drawn into the spaces above the pistons 22a-22d through an intake port 6

disposed in the periphery of the housing 4 in a position approximately diametricall

opposite to the position of the fuel injection nozzle 52, The supercharging compresse

air B„ already mentioned as flowing from the opening 16 in the shaft 10. is directe

through the exterior ducting channel 12 and into the interior of the housing 4 at

position approximately periphery mid way between the fuel injector nozzle and th

intake port 63 for the second ambient air C and diametrically opposite to the exhaus

port aperture 61 .

Referring now to Figure 4, and looking first -at piston 22 , it is seen that th

earning action of the tracks 42 an the track following trunnions 44 and 46 hav

5 positioned the piston at its most radially outward or. "ciosed" position where th

forward top edge of the piston is just approaching the opening of the intake port an

the rearmost end of the piston has just cleared the opening of the exhaust port apertur

61 . Inasmuch as the piston 22d is now in its raised or cl se position- a-space sxi-st

below the piston and above the floor of the recess 20: ^~ Ε.eepon-sive to the low pressur

) 0 in this "compression chamber" space 70. the reed -^alve 40 opens, admitting firs

^• ' ambient air A _f which is obtained through the first air flow path in the shaft 10, to fil

the compre_.siυπ chamber 70 below the piston.

In Figure 5, the rotor 18 has turned counterclc-ckwise 45 degrees and the pisto

22d, following the cam track 42, has moved from—a fully closed to a fully "ope

15 position, creating an air space above the upper surface of the piston which is fille

with the second ambient air C passing through the intake port 63. In the process o

that downward pivotal movement of the piston 22drthe reed valve 40 is closed an

the ball check valve is forced open by virtue of the high air pressure in th

compression chamber 70. As the compressed air blesd-ε from the chamber 70 i

0 fol low$ the already described second air flow path into the duct 12,

Figure 6 shows the rotor having turned an additional 45 degrees from th

position shown in Figure 5. The pivotal position of the piston 22d has not substantiall

changed from that shown in Figure 5 because the cam track 42 is shaped so as to

maintain the piston in the open position during this segment of the rotor rotation. As

seen from the drawing, the leading edge of the piston has passed the opening 72 in the

periphery of the housing 4, thus exposing the space above the piston to the ingestion

of the compressed, or supercharging air B which is present in the duct T2. The

admission of the compressed air augments the quantity of second ambient air already

present in the space above the piston. The ball check valve 38 at the mouth of the

opening 72 acts to admit the high pressure air from the duct 12 into the space above

the piston and then closes the opening 72 after the compressed air has been admitted.

At this rotor position, the ball check valve 36 beneath the piston is still open due to

the residue of compressed sir beneath the piston. Once the compressed air has escaped

from the chamber beneath the piston, the ball check vaSive will close under the pressure

of a well known type of biasing spring (not shown)_nr th . centrifugal force being

exerted on the ball by the rotation of the rotor, or both.

Figure 7 illustrates the 135 degree rotation position where the piston 22d is

beginning its closure movement while the reed valve 40 is opening to begin admitting

first ambient air ^

The illustration of Figure 8 advances the rotor rotation an additional 25 degrees

from that shown in Figure 1, showing the piston 22d approaching half closure as it

pivotally responds to the contour of the cam track 42. As the piston continues its

closure movement, the combined portions of the second ambient air C a ά the

compressed air B which fill the charging space above the piston 22d are now being

additionally compressed as the volume of the space occupied by these two volumes

of air becomes increasingly smaller, Elsewhere, below the piston, the compression

chamber 70 continues to inhale first ambient air. As earlier stated, one of the primary

objects of the invention is to provide an engine .apparatus which is capable of

producing very high compression ratios. It is now seen how that is accomplished with

a second stage of compression which compresses air that has already undergone a first

stage of compression below the piston. Not only does the secorrd stage of compression

greatly multiply the possible compression ratios aclritfvcible with the engine of the

present invention, it is doing so out of the ρresenee__of fuel, which has not yet been

mixe with the twice compressed air. Without the fiici, as an added component, there

is no possibility of undesirable re-combustion.

For the next and most significant of all of the steps in the combustion cycle,

reference is again had to Figure 4, which becomes illustrative of the next notable

position of the piston 22d which this description is particularly following. In Figure

4 the piston 22d has been pivoted to a closed position and the air above the piston has

been very highly compressed with attendant high air temperature. Due to the forward

motion of the rotor and the squeezing action of the curved upper surface of the piston

as it approaches the inner surface of the housing 4 tlαrhrg-its upward movement, the

hot compressed air is forced forwardly into the space-defined by the interior of the fuel

injector mounting blister 54 and the space just above the downwardly sloping leading

edge of the piston, Just prior to the time at which the -highly compressed air in the

chamber above the piston is rotated to a position where it can make contact with the

combustion chamber 54, fuel is mechanically or electrically injected in a manner well

known., thus introducing a charge of fuel into the charge holding" space 54. which

becomes he firing or combustion chamber The appropriate mixtu _of fuel and

highly compressed hot air forms a combustible mixture which spontaneously ignites

in an explosion The force of the explosion drives the piston down in its-cam track,

producing a turning force on the rotor. At the same time, a large component of the

explosive force acts directly against the forward wall of the rotor recess 20 in a

tangential direction, driving the rotor forward with .an-unitsually high force moment,

that is, the tangential force component multiplied hy-the distance from the center of

the output shaft 1 to the force effective center of the* said forward face of the -recess

Note should be made of the facfthat prior to the detonation of the fuel charge, with

the piston completely closed, the compression chamber 70 beneath the piston has been

recharged with first ambient air

Following once again the rotation of the piston 22d, that piston is seen in Figure

9 as it descends during the duration of the explosion, compressing the first ambient air

in the chamber 70

The next sequence is shown in Figure 10 here the rotor is in the 270 radial

degree position in respect of its position as shown in Figure 4 Following the contour

of the cam track 42, the piston 22d has opened to its fullest extent, and as the piston

passes the exhaust aperture 61 the burned gases and products of combustion are

forced out of the aperture, At this position of the piston 22d _> the ball check valve 36

has been forced open by the pressure beneath the pisiυrt, allowing the air compressed

beneath the descending piston to be conveyed through the shaft 10 and into the

compressed air duct 12 where it will be available for ingestion above piston 22b (not

shown in Figure 10 for sake of clarity)

The 315 degree rotation position is illustrated in Figure 1 1. In this Figure,

piston 22d is a middle pivot position, as it was shown in Figure-8 and once again

the first ambient air is being inducted beneath the piston while the closing of the piston

against the inner periphery of the'' housing 4 continues to expel the burned gases

through the aperture 61

Returning to Figure 4 for the next sequence, it i3* *secn t at- a full combustion

cycle of line pis n 22d has been traced. By further examination of Figures 4-1 1, it is

apparent that all of the pistons' function similarly through their respective radial

positions to the piston 22d whose combustion cycle through its single rotation has been

described. During one revolution of the rotor there are four detonations, as each of

the pistons comes under the combustion chamber 54

Although the detonation process was described in terms of" spontaneous

combustion, it is well within the scope of this invention to employ -glo plugs or spark

plugs to achieve the ignition of the fuel-air charge ^~ fn-t_ιτ5 ^* τχ nectinn it is timely to

briefly describe a second embodiment of the fuel charging apparatus. In this

embodiment which is not illustrated, at least some oi the compressed blsed-air from

beneath the piston is routed to the fuel injector which then introduces a combination

nf fuel and compressed air into the interior of the blister or the combustion chamber

prior to the arrival of the compressed air above the piston. At the point in time when

Vi

the compressed air over the piston is placed in contact with the very rich fuel a

mixture already present in the combustion blister the charge is fired by a properl

timed spark plug The resulting explosion front progresses down the length of th

combustion blister, finally reaching the layer of supercharged air above the piston's to

su f ce The compressed air layer expands and produces substantial additional powe

burning the fuel in the combustion chamber thoroughly— anx cleanly

It is apparent from the detailed description of this preferred embodiment of th

invention how the objectives of high compression r-atios -have been achieved by th

double and supplemental compression of the intake air. Furthermore _; , it is now obviou

how the increased torque output of the engine is achieved through the arrangement

the engine's parts to effect a substantial tangential force on the radial extremities of th

engine's rotor to create an unexpectedly high force moment from the energy generate

by each f c'-air detonation

As evidenced by the embodiment of the invention described in the pare

application, there are other arrangements and embodiments of the apparatus of th

present invention which will achieve the same results of high torque and hig

compression ratios, utilizing the principals of double compression, extended lengt

burning time, substantial purging of he exhaust gases and the -creation of substanti

tangential force components from the firing energy of the engine.

The porting of the intake ambient air and exhaust gasses and the double use an

ducting of compressed air through the use of intake and exhaust ports in one or bot

of the side plates which enclose the engine's rotor within the cylindrical housing wer

all disclosed in the parent application The ports were $rhown in the parent application

as being opened nd closed by the presence or absence against the ports of the sides

of the piston and other portions of the rotor throughout the rotation of the rotor.

While disclosed herein in terms of a rotary engineer is well within the teaching

of this invention to apply this method of operating an internal combustion engine to

a traditional two cycle reciprocating engine. Apply ing-the teachings of this invention,

compression would take place above and helow the piston in the same manrrør at, h taught in this specification, thus achieving the advantages of double ^' compiession.