According to the invention, the rotary engine operates on the known principle of the internal combustion, but it is employed in a different way.

Prior Art

There are known rotary internal combustion engines, such as the one disclosed in the document US 2020/0378299 A1 of 03.12.2020, which has an engine block with a drive chamber having a drive surface, and a rotor rotatably supported within the engine block. The rotor has a plurality of combustion chambers, each having a configuration which defines a pyramidal-shaped volume and a driven surface. The combustion pressure in the combustion chamber and in the drive chamber is exerted on the drive surface of the drive chamber and on the driven surface of the combustion chamber, hence the rotational motion of the rotor.

There is also known a rotary internal combustion engine RU 2720879 C1 of 13.05.2020), with a disc-shaped compressor rotor assembled in parallel with the shaft, the axis thereof being staggered in relation to the axis of rotation of the shaft by a specific value, so that the exterior surface of the compressor rotor does not touch the interior surface of the compressor operating ring, as well as with a disc shaped turbine rotor whose axis is staggered in relation to the axis of rotation of the shaft by a value which does not allow the exterior surface of the turbine rotor to come into contact with the interior surface of the turbine operating ring. The combustion chamber housing with the intake and discharge pipes is arranged in the compressor ring and in the turbine ring.

A combined rotary-internal combustion engine having the working chambers arranged in the rotor discs is known from the document RU 2738193 C1 published on the date of 09.12.2020. In this case, an internal combustion engine and a rotary external combustion engine are connected by a working shaft, the rotary engine having a rotor consisting of right and left discs, a stator and cylindrical sealing valves. Document RU 2738538 C1 published on the date of 14.12.2020 relates to a multi chamber centrifugal rotary external combustion engine, having the working chambers provided in the engine rotor.

There is also known a rotary internal combustion engine (RO 117204 B published on the date of 30.12.1998), consisting of a stator wherein a rotor is mounted, the stator being provided with some semi-combustion chambers and with some air intake pipes, some fuel supply pipes, some bores for mounting some spark plugs and some pipes for discharging the exhaust gases, the rotor being also equipped with some semi-combustion chambers and with some ducts in which elastic sealing segments are inserted.

There is also known a rotary Wankel engine which presents the disadvantage that the force exerted by the gases exploded on the triangular rotor do not generate a torque exclusively in the sense of rotation, but only predominantly in this sense, thereby losing a part of the power and the gas discharge is incomplete.

Generally, the disadvantages of the known rotary internal combustion engines consist of a complicated construction, a high fuel consumption, a reduced power output, vibrations during the operation, poor sealing, a reduced operation time or signifcant wear of the interior parts.

The technical problem the invention proposes to solve consists in carrying out a rotary engine with compression pistons, having a high efficiency and allowing a higher torque to be obtained, while ensuring a much larger rotor circumference on which the explosions take place in comparison with the existing engines.

The rotary engine according to the invention, which is a spark ignition four-stroke engine, comprising a stator provided with some covers, in which a rotor is mounted concentrically with the stator by means of support bearings arranged on a common axis, solves the technical problem and eliminates the mentioned disadvantages in that the stator has the diameter larger than 400 mm, being provided with 6 combustion chambers, which can generate from one to six explosions per rotation, the combustion chambers being located two by two at the opposite ends of 3 electromagnetic cylinders arranged equidistantly on the stator circumference, each electromagnetic cylinder being provided with an intake valve for the suction of the fuel mixture and with a double-action piston for compressing the fuel mixture at the combustion chamber and for the suction of the fuel mixture for the combustion chamber, respectively, simultaneously with the compression carried out by the piston, the fuel mixture being introduced through a valve into the combustion chamber, wherein there are provided some sealing segments pressed by some springs against the rotor in order to ensure the sealing, on the side stator covers there being arranged two crowns of electromagnetic coils which can be approached or moved away from the rotor on whose circumference there being provided some semi-combustion chamberes, which are aligned with the combustion chamber at the time when there takes place the explosion which is produced by means of a spark plug at an angle with an inclination that may vary depending on the desired power, the rotor having embedded therein some permanent magnets which act together with the coils on the stator covers, ensuring the propulsion in the electric mode.

The advantages of the rotary engine as claimed by the invention consist in the following:

- it can be used directly on the car wheel, the gearbox or clutch not being necessary any longer;

- the losses resulting from the transmission are eliminated;

- it may also operate in normal transmission mode (manual, automatic or cvt- continuous variation transmission).

There is given hereinafter an embodiment of the rotary engine as claimed by the inventon, also with reference to fig. 1...5, which present:

Fig.1 - an exploded view of the rotary engine according to the invention;

Fig. 2 - a bottom view of the engine in fig.1 ;

Fig. 3 - a top view of the engine in fig. 1 ;

Fig.4 - an enlarged view of a detail in fig.3;

Fig.5 - a view of the semi-combustion chambers of the rotor.

The engine claimed by the invention comprises a stator 6 wherein there is arranged a rotor 7, concentric with the stator 6, rotatably mounted in some bearings 9 arranged on a common axis. The stator 6 is closed on one side with a cover 12 having arranged thereon two crowns of electromagnetic coils 14 that can be approached or moved away from the rotor.

The stator diameter can be larger than 400 mm in comparison with the engines knowm from the prior art, that have the diameter of the axis of rotation of the crankshaft of 200-400 mm. In case of using the same in very large vehicles, such as ships, trucks etc, the stator diameter can be much larger.

The stator 6 is provided with six combustion chambers 4, opposite two by two to an electromagnetic cylinder 2, namely A-B, C-D, E-F, at the level of three combustion chambers, namely A, C, E, there being carried out the compression of the fuel mixture, and at the level of the other three combustion chambers, namely B, D, F there being carried out the suction of the fuel mixture.

The combustion chambers 4 are located in pairs at the ends of three electromagnetic cylinders 2 arranged equidistantly on the circumference of the stator 6. Each electromagnetic cylinder 2 is provided with an intake pipe 1 for the suction of the fuel mixture and with a double-action compression piston 3, for compressing the fuel mixture at the combustion chamber 4, and for the suction of the fuel mixture for the combustion chamber 4, respectively. At the same time with the compression carried out by the compression piston 3, the fuel mixture is introduced through a valve 13 into the combustion chamber 4, wherein there are provided some sealing segments 5.

The sealing segments 5 are arranged in the combustion chambers 4 and are pressed by some sealing segments springs 14 towards the rotor 7, to thereby ensure the sealing. The sealing segments 5 have a cylindrical shape at the side entering the combustion chamber, and at the side towards the rotor 7 they have a shape corresponding thereto, the explosions taking place inside the segments, the latter ensuring the gas sealing. At the same time, their shape ensures the sealing when some semi-combustion chambers 11 provided on the circumference of the rotor 7 are being aligned with the combustion chamber.

The semi-combustion chambers 11 provided on the rotor 7 are aligned with the combustion chamber 4 at the time of the explosion. This is initiated by means of a spark plug 10 at a variable angle, said inclination angle may vary depending on the desired power (torsion).

For an increased power there is necessary a higher inclination and for more rotations per minute a lower inclination is needed, which leads to a high yield and to a higher torque. Likewise, the rotor circumference on which the explosions take place is much larger in comparison with the existing engines known from the prior art.

On the other hand, for the operation in the electric mode, the rotor 7 is provided with some permanent magnets 16 embedded in the rotor, these magnets being provided in a variable number of 2, 4, 6, 8 etc. Likewise, the rotor 7 is manufactured of steel or other materials, and in the side covers 12 of the stator there can be embedded crowns of electromagnetic coils, the coil number varying depending on the engine size and on the desired power. This results in a hybrid engine with much higher torque than the conventional engines. Not having high friction forces, particularly <1%, the electric side of the engine can be used for the engine brake (generating the slowing down force) and/or for regenerating the batteries, as in the case of a conventional hybrid engine.

Thermal operation of the engine

In the thermal mode, the engine operates as follows: the fuel mixture is taken into the electromagnetic cylinder 2 through the intake valve 1 , then it is compressed by the double-action piston 3. When the piston 3 compresses the fuel mixture at the combustion chamber A, this takes in the fuel mixture for the combustion chamber B. When the fuel mixture is compressed by the compression piston 3, it is introduced into the combustion chamber 4 through a combustion chamber valve 13 which is arranged between the electromagnetic cylinder 2 and the combustion chamber 4, then the explosion takes place at the moment when the combustion chambers 11 on the rotor 7 are aligned with the combustion chamber 4 on the stator 6. Said explosion is produced by means of the spark plug 10 and thus the propulsion force is produced by the gas expansion which causes the semi-chambers of combustion 11 to be rejected as against the combustion chamber 4, determining the rotor 7 to rotate. Thus, there is repeated the cycle of three explosions per rotation, and namely the combustion chambers (A, C, E) and at the second rotation the combustion chambers (B, D, F). The engine may operate with one up to six explosions per cycle, consequently, for an increased power developed by the engine there are necessary more explosions.

The exhaust gases resulting from combustion are released through a general discharge valve 8 located on the stator cover, which ensures the gas discharge and that can be adjusted to maintain a 10-bar pressure in the engine all the time, for the purpose of equalizing the fuel mixture pressure in the combustion chamber 4, for example of 10 bar, in order to avoid the compression leakages at the level of the sealing segments 5, for example, when these are worn out.

Between the rotor 7 and the stator (engine block) 6 there is a 1-2 mm gap, which helps to evacuate the exhaust gases resulting from the explosions; thus, after the semi-combustion chambers 11 pass beyond the sealing segments 5, the gases are eliminated in the 1-2 mm gap. The sealing segments 5 are pressed against the rotor 7 by the sealing segment springs 14. The cylinders being electromagnetic 2, they can be activated and deactivated, as required, by the engine computer, thus there being avoided the unnecessary energy losses when switching to the engine operation in the electric mode, or in the regeneration mode (battery charging - engine brake).

Due to the configuration of the engine (electro-thermal), this can be used directly on the car wheel, thus eliminating the gearbox or clutch, i.e., the losses due to friction of the transmission. This is possible due to the high torque of the electric motor developed at the start up and at low speeds <60 km/h, and at higher speeds, the thermal engine will start and this, in its turn, has a high torque and a great flexibility due to the fact that it can operate with 1 , 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 explosions per rotation, depending on the power required to travel the route, this depending on the landforms: hill/valley which require ascent/descent, or the type of road/highway communication route etc.

As a consequence of the reduced friction, the engine brake will be taken over by the electrical part of the engine, and by the regenerative braking the batteries will be charged. The regenerative braking uses the energy resulting from continuing the operation in the classic engine mode even if the car slows down, energy which would normally be lost, for charging the battery. The engines may also operate concomitantly, together generating increased power for special needs (drift, racing, towing).

The engine may also operate with normal trasmission (manual, automatic, or cvt- continuous variation transmission). In this hybrid version, the advantages are great due to lowering the center of gravity of the car at the wheel level, and as a result of the elimination of the transmission losses (gearbox, clutch, differential gearing).

There can be used configurations with two engines, for example, mounted onto the two rear wheels, or with four engines mounted on the rear/front wheels. Likewise, the engine may operate using diesel fuel or gasoline, by replacing the spark plugs 10 with injectors and injection pump to thereby obtain the diesel engine.

Electrical operation of the engine

In the electrical operation mode, the engine uses two crowns of electromagnetic coils 15 arranged on the sides of the stator 6, that can be approached or moved away from the rotor 7. In this way, the energy losses by electromagnetic friction are eliminated when the thermal engine is activated.

On the rotor 7 there are embedded permanent magnets 16 in a number of 2, 4, 6, 8 etc, in order to increase the electric motor power and regeneration (charging of the batteries). The electric motor is used upon the start up and the regeneration (when using the engine brake). During the operation as electric motor, the electromagnetic cylinders 2 and the compression pistons 3 stop automatically, and the sealing segments 5 can be lifted by electromagnetic actuation in order to avoid the unnecessary wear and friction on the rotor.

The engine can operate as a classic engine or as a hybrid engine.

Components of the rotary engine

1. Electromagnetic cylinder intake valve

2. Electromagnetic compression cylinder (ionization chamber)

3. Compression piston

4. Combustion chamber (A, B), (C D), (E, F) Pairs of combustion chambers 4 located at the ends of the electromagnetic compression cylinders 2

5. Sealing segment

6. Stator (engine block)

7. Rotor

8. General discharge valve

9. Support/rotation bearings

10. Spark plug

11. Semi-combustion chambers

12. Engine cover

13. Combustion chamber valve

14. Spring of the sealing segment 5

15. Crowns of electromagnetic coils

16. Permanent magnets (neodium)

The scope of the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described herein. Furthermore, from the attached description and figures, for the person skilled in the art there can be obvious other modifications of the present invention, in addition to the embodiments presented herein, which are also included in the protection field of the claims. Moreover, in the description there are cited different documents from the known prior art, whose content is presented in their entirety by reference.