Rotary engine

A rotary internal combustion engine comprising:

• a housing defining a substantially circular rotor chamber therein, said chamber having a circumferential wall;
• drive shaft means extending into said chamber;
• a circular rotor in said chamber mounted on said drive shaft means to rotate therewith and having a diameter less than the diameter of said chamber, said rotor and drive shaft means being offset from the center axis of said chamber;
• inlet means for introducing air and fuel into said chamber, said inlet means extending through said housing and opening into said chamber;
• outlet means for exhaust gases extending through said housing and in fluid communication with said chamber;
• at least two pairs of vanes slidingly mounted in said rotor, one vane of each pair being located diametrically opposite to the other vane of the pair;
• means for fixedly connecting the vanes of each pair together so that a predetermined total distance between outer ends of said vanes of each pair remains constant and the same for each pair of vanes, said predetermined distance being substantially equal to the distance from a specific point on said circumferential wall of the chamber which is closest to the circumferential periphery of the rotor and a second point on the wall of said chamber diametrically opposite said specific point;
• two separate rings having radial bores being slidably mounted on said drive shaft means;
• said connecting means comprising two rods extending between the vanes of each pair and being slidable in radial bores in said drive shaft means and said rings, said rings permitting thermal expansion and contraction of said vanes;
• wherein a portion of each of two circumferential wall sections is slightly removed from an initial, internal wall section that is cylindrical, to permit full rotation of said rotor and vanes in said chamber.