Radial engine

An engine comprising;

• a substantially cylindrical housing, a plurality of piston elements fixed to said housing and extending radially relative to the longitudinal central axis thereof, a rotor rotatably mounted in said housing on an axis parallel with said longitudinal central axis to execute an orbital motion within the housing, a plurality of tubular elements each slidably mounted over a respective of said fixed piston elements, said tubular elements being closed at their inner ends and having their inner ends in slidable driving engagement with said rotor for causing reciprocation of the tubular elements over the piston elements upon rotation of the rotor whereby the volume of the space defined by the interior of each of said tubular elements and the respective of said piston elements varying with the rotation of said rotor, a cylindrical wall of housing surrounding each of said piston elements being spaced therefrom to define an annular slot, a flange portion formed on each of said tubular elements sealingly and slidably engaged in said slot to form a pumping space between said flange portion of the tubular elements and the sides of the slot of variable volume with the reciprocation of said tubular element, an air inlet port formed in the housing in communication with each of said slots, a port extending through each of tubular elements from said slot into the combustion space defined between the interior of the respective tubular element and the respective piston to pump air into that space, said rotor having a rotor lubricant duct therein opening into the faces of the rotor adjacent the inner ends of the respective of said tubular elements, said tubular elements each having lubricant supply ducts formed therein and opening at one end thereof at the inner end such that they periodically communicate with said rotor lubricant duct on orbital rotation of said rotor, the other ends of said lubricant supply ducts opening into opposite faces of the respective flange portion of said tubular element which are in slidable engagement in the slot, said rotor duct being connected to a lubricant supply associated with the engines, and a lubricant return passage extending from opposite faces of said flange portion through each of said tubular elements to the interior of said housing for returning lubricant to said lubricant supply.