Rotary engine

A rotary engine comprising a housing having a main chamber and at least one discrete and smaller combustion chamber spaced apart from said main chamber, said main chamber being defined by opposing side surfaces and by an endless circumferential surface bridging between said side surfaces and defining the axis of said main chamber, the intersection between all planes prependicular to the axis of said main chamber and said endless circumferential surface thereof being a circle, a rotor within aid main chamber with a fixed axis of rotation parallel to but spaced from the axis of said main chamber and with lateral sides of said rotor in juxtaposed relationship to said main chamber side surfaces, a rotatable drive shaft mounted in said housing at the axis of said rotor and rotated by said rotor, plural passage means for communication between said combustion chamber and main chamber and for intake of cumbustion supporting fluid into and exhaust of burned fluid from said main chamber, and valve means disposed in said passage means, wherein

• said rotor includes (i) a plurality of radially-projecting sealing members in spaced relationship thereabout for maintaining said rotor at all times during rotation thereof in a fluid-sealed condition with respect to said circumferential surface of said main chamber along a single fixed transverse strip area across said circumferential surface, said radially projecting sealing members having end portions thereof at the lateral sides of said rotor, said radially-projecting sealing members being the sole sealing means for maintaining said fluid-sealed condition along said fixed strip area, there being no seal means on the circumferential surface of said main chamber for forming any fluid-sealed condition at said fixed strip area, (ii) piston means consisting of a single radially-oriented axially-parallel piston vane recessible within said rotor and biased during rotation of said rotor to extend radially outward to thereby maintain the radially-outward end thereof at all times in pressing contact relationship with the circumferential surface of said main chamber during rotation of said rotor, said piston vane being moved through said fixed strip area of said main chamber at each revolution of said rotor, and (iii) lateral sealing members for effecting a fluid-sealed condition between said rotor lateral sides and said main chamber side surfaces, said lateral sealing members being carried on lateral sides of said rotor between and portions of said radially-projecting sealing members, and
• said passage means are entirely within said housing, with the porting thereof to and from said main chamber exclusively at locations adjacent said fixed strip area, said porting comprising two ports on each side of said fixed strip area, with all ports on each side of said fixed strip area in an alignment transverse to the circumferential surfaces of said main chamber.