Rotary heat engine

An engine comprising a stator having a circular interior surface, a rotor surrounded by said stator surface, means mounting the rotor for rotation about an axis parallel to but spaced from the central axis of said stator surface, a series of vanes carried by the rotor, means urging the vanes radially outward from the rotor, a corresponding number of shoes having arcuate surfaces slidable against and curved to conform to said stator surface, said arcuate surfaces having the same fixed arcuate length, means mounting each shoe on one of said vanes for pivotal movement about a pivotal axis adjacent to the radially outer end of the vane, said vanes and shoes separating a series of chambers between the rotor and said stator surface, said chambers being caused to expand in constant progression and said shoes to move apart in constant progression as the shoes move around one half of said stator surface from where the stator surface is closest to the rotor to where the stator surface is furthest from the rotor, and said chambers being caused to contract in progression and said shoes to move toward each other in constant progression as said shoes continue movement around the other half of said stator surface, means forming ports through said stator surface, each port being open into only one chamber at a time as the chambers rotate past each port, and said ports comprising a first set of ports which open into the chambers during their expansion and a second set of ports which open into the chambers during their contraction, means forming a first set of passages extending from said first set of ports through and outside of the stator, means forming a second set of passages extending from said second set of ports through and outside of the stator, means to heat a portion of said means forming said first set of a passages, means to cool a portion of said means forming said second set of passages, said heating means and cooling means being located outside of the chambers and the portion of the stator which encloses them, and means for sealing said chambers and passages to confine gas in the space within them and prevent outflow of gas from said space during operation of the engine.