Internal combustion engine with spherical rotary valve

Internal combustion engine comprising at least one cylinder housing containing a reciprocally movable piston along the central axis of revolution thereof, and a combustion chamber on the top of said cylinder, wherein said combustion chamber is in fluid communication with a cylinder head assembly for an internal combustion engine having at least one cylinder housing containing a reciprocally movable piston along the central axis of revolution thereof, and a combustion chamber (3) on top of said piston, wherein said cylinder head assembly comprises a cavity (5A) in fluid communication with said combustion chamber (3), and at least a first rotary valve (5) nested in said cavity (5A), said valve,

• having a substantially spherical body defining a central axis of rotation normal to the cylinder central axis and
• comprising a passageway therethrough to bring the combustion chamber into intermittent fluid communication with an exhaust duct for evacuating the burnt gases, said passageway comprising a 90 deg bend connecting:
• a first opening (31) to the exhaust duct substantially parallel to, preferably coaxial with the valve central axis of rotation, to
• a second opening (30), such that by rotation of the valve round its axis of rotation, said second opening (30) can be intermittently brought into fluid communication with the combustion chamber (3), and further comprising
• a shaft (7) fixed to the valve and coaxial with the valve central axis of rotation and located opposite the exhaust duct (10), said shaft comprising connecting means to a drive for rotating the valve in correspondence with the operating strokes of the piston in the cylinder,
• characterized in that,
• the valve is rotatably mounted in cantilever within the cylinder head assembly through one or several bearings (8), all exclusively mounted around said shaft (7).