Rotary positive displacement engine

A method of making a rotor for use in an engine, in which the engine includes a housing having an interior surface defining at least a partially spherical cavity, the cavity having a center;

• a first rotor mounted for rotation within the housing about a first axis, the first rotor including first faces;
• a second rotor mounted for rotation within the housing about a second axis, the second rotor including second faces;
• the first axis and second axis being offset from being collinear by an angle a and intersecting at the center of the cavity;
• the method comprising the steps of:
• obtaining a rotor body having external rotational symmetry;
• and
• contouring the faces of the first and second rotors so that:
• the faces of the first and second rotors cooperate with each other and the interior surface of the housing to form chambers that change volume with rotation of the first and second rotors about the first and second axes respectively;
• and
• each contoured face includes a side face and a contact face defining a vane between them, and each contact face of each one rotor is shaped by cutting away material from that rotor on one side of a locus formed as the rotors complete one revolution about their respective axes by points on the other rotor lying along an outer edge of a cone whose central axis is a radius extending outward from the center of the cavity at an angle .alpha./2 from a normal to the axis of the other rotor.

An engine having a housing, a first rotor mounted for rotation on the housing about a first axis, the first rotor including first contoured faces and defining at least part of a sphere having a center, a second rotor mounted for rotation on the housing about a second axis, the second rotor including second contoured faces and defining at least part of a sphere having a common center with the center of the first rotor, the first axis and second axis being offset from being collinear by an angle .alpha. and intersecting at the common centers of the rotors, ports being disposed inside the housing to allow fluid flow in and out of the chambers, characterized in that:

• each contoured face includes a contact face and a side face, and the contact faces and side faces define vanes that cooperate to form chambers that change volume with rotation of the first and second rotors about the first and second axes respectively;
• each contact face of each rotor is defined by the locus formed as the rotors rotate about their respective axes by points on the other rotor;
• the first and second rotors face each other axially across the common center of the rotors;
• the first rotor is a master rotor and the second rotor is a slave rotor;
• and
• each rotor includes a shaft and the vanes of each rotor extend into the shaft of the other rotor.

An engine having a housing, a first rotor mounted for rotation on the housing about a first axis, the first rotor including first contoured faces and defining at least part of a sphere having a center, a second rotor mounted for rotation on the housing about a second axis, the second rotor including second contoured faces and defining at least part of a sphere having a common center with the center of the first rotor, the first axis and second axis being offset from being collinear by an angle .alpha. and intersecting at the common centers of the rotors, ports being disposed inside the housing to allow fluid flow in and out of the chambers, characterized in that:

• the first rotor has a rotor contact end and the rotor contact end of the first rotor is surrounded by the second rotor;
• each contoured face of the first rotor includes a pair of contact faces and side faces connecting the contact faces to thereby define a piston;
• each contoured face of the second rotor includes a pair of contact faces and side faces connecting the contact faces to thereby define a cylinder, one cylinder corresponding to each piston;
• and
• each contact face of each cylinder is defined by the locus formed as the rotors rotate about their respective axes by points on the contact faces of the corresponding piston, whereby the pistons and cylinders cooperate to form chambers that change volume with rotation of the first and second rotors about the first and second axes respectively.

An engine having a housing, a first rotor mounted for rotation on the housing about a first axis, the first rotor including first contoured faces and defining at least part of a sphere having a center, a second rotor mounted for rotation on the housing about a second axis, the second rotor including second contoured faces and defining at least part of a sphere having a common center with the center of the first rotor, the first axis and second axis being offset from being collinear by an angle .alpha. and intersecting at the common centers of the rotors, ports being disposed inside the housing to allow fluid flow in and out of the chambers, characterized in that:

• each contoured face includes a contact face and a side face, and the contact faces and side faces define vanes that cooperate to form chambers that change volume with rotation of the first and second rotors about the first and second axes respectively;
• the first rotor has a rotor contact end and the rotor contact end of the first rotor is surrounded by the second rotor;
• the housing has an interior surface defining at least a partially spherical cavity, whose center coincides with the common center of the rotors and the housing interior surface cooperates with the contoured faces to form the chambers;
• the second rotor is supported by bearings disposed between the second rotor and the housing;
• and
• the second rotor is formed from a first annular portion supported by a first set of bearings at one end of the housing, a second annular portion supported by a second set of bearings at the other end of the housing and plural segments fixed to each of the first and second annular portions, the plural segments separating the chambers.

An engine comprising:

• a housing having an interior cavity which is partially spherical;
• a passive rotor mounted for rotation within the housing about an axis B and having contoured faces defining radially extending cylinders;
• a power rotor mounted for rotation within the passive rotor about an axis A and having pistons extending radially from the power rotor, one piston extending into each cylinder, each piston being defined by contact faces and side faces;
• axis A and axis B meeting at the center of the interior cavity and being at an angle a to each other;
• and
• the contact faces and side faces of the pistons, the contoured faces of the cylinders, and interior surface of the cavity together defining chambers that change volume as the rotors rotate about their respective axes.