US 4,633,829 AGranted

Rotary internal combustion engine

OwnerRichard H. Kolleninventor

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Abstract

A rotary internal combustion engine includes a housing having a pair of communicating rotor chambers and a pair of parallel axis rotors provided in each chamber. The rotors each have outer gear teeth and an inner chamber having a mixer. A fuel/air mixture introduced into the inner chambers is homogenized by the mixer and the resulting fuel/air mist is introduced into the areas between the outer gear teeth. Rotation of the rotors compresses the fuel/air mist between the outer gear teeth and, following ignition at a point proximate engagement of the teeth, the expanding exhaust gases create a rotational force driving the rotors. The exhaust gases are extracted via ports in the housing position immediately before the inlets for the air/fuel mist. Alternatively, the inner chamber may be used to compress air which is then directed toward a fuel injector nozzle.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A rotary internal combustion engine operating on fuel and air, comprising:

a housing having a pair of communicating parallel axis rotor chambers;
a pair of parallel axis rotors, one in each rotor chamber of said housing, said rotors each having on its outer periphery a plurality of circumferentially spaced axial teeth with a plurality of intervening circumferentially spaced axial passages, said rotors being positioned with said teeth and passages of one rotor engaging, respectively, said passages and teeth of the other rotor, and each of said rotors further having an internal mixer chamber surrounding a plurality of axial generally cylindrical oblique helicoid walls forming a mixer means;
mean for introducing a mixture of the fuel and air into said mixer chambers of said rotors whereby rotation of said rotors correspondingly rotates said mixer means to homogenize said mixture to produce a fuel/air mist;
means for transferring said mist from said mixer chambers to a predetermined injection point in said rotor chambers of said housing such that said mist is disposed in selected passages of said rotors as said selected passages rotate past said predetermined injection point;
means for igniting said mist at a predetermined ignition point in said rotor chambers of said housing, said predetermined ignition point being proximate a combustion chamber formed by interengagement of the teeth of said rotors immediately adjacent said selected passages, whereby exhaust resulting from ignition of said mist urges expansion of said combustion chamber and causes rotation of said rotors;
and
means for extracting said exhaust as said selected passages rotate past a predetermined exhaust point in said rotor chambers of said housing, said predetermined exhaust point being located in said rotor chambers such that said selected passages of said rotors rotate past said predetermined exhaust point before rotating past said predetermined injection point.

4 more elements

A rotary internal combustion engine operating on fuel and air, comprising:

a housing having a pair of communicating parallel axis rotor chambers;
a pair of parallel axis rotors, one in each chamber of said housing, each said rotor having on its outer periphery a plurality of circumferentially spaced axial teeth with a plurality of intervening circumferentially spaced axial passages, said rotors being positioned with said teeth and passages of one rotor engaging, respectively, said passages and teeth of the other rotor, and each of said rotors further having an internal compressor chamber surrounding a plurality of axial generally cylindrical oblique helicoid walls forming a compressor means;
means for introducing the air into at least one of said compressor chambers of said rotors whereby rotation of said rotors compresses the air;
means for transferring said compressed air exiting from said at least one of said compressor chambers to a predetermined injection point in said rotor chambers of said housing such that said compressed air is disposed in selected passages of said rotors as said selected passages rotate past said predetermined injection point;
means for injecting the fuel into said selected passages of said rotors proximate said predetermined injection point, said fuel and compressed air combining to form a fuel/air mist disposed in said selected passages of said rotors;
means for igniting said mist at a predetermined ignition point in said rotor chambers of said housing, said predetermined ignition point begin proximate a combustion chamber formed by interengagement of the teeth of said rotors immediately adjacent said selected passages, whereby exhaust resulting from ignition of said mist urges expansion of said combustion chamber and causes rotation of said rotors;
and
means for extracting said exhaust as said selected passages rotate past a predetermined exhaust point in said rotor chambers of said housing, said predetermined exhaust point being located in said rotor chambers such that said selected passages of said rotors rotate past said predetermined exhaust point before rotating past said predetermined injection point.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.