Rotary engine and method for determining engagement surface contours therefor
AssigneeOutland Technologies (USA), Inc.
InventorJames B. Klassen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An improved rotary engine and method for determining the contours of the sealing surfaces thereof. The improved engine provides for maintaining a predetermined, optimal gap between the sealing surfaces during rotation. The gap may be parallel or angled, and may be positive or negative so as to form an interference engagement. The rotors of the engine may be provided with mirror-image sealing surfaces so as to prevent development of excessive back-lash and clearance, and also to permit efficient reverse operation. The sealing surfaces may also be provided with recesses for interrupting the seal at predetermined points in the rotational cycle, for enhanced wear characteristics and/or to accommodate abrasive or shear-sensitive fluids.
Claims92
An engine, comprising:
- a housing;
- a first rotor mounted for rotation in the housing about a first axis, said first rotor including first and second opposite facing contoured faces and a surface defining at least part of a sphere having a center;
- a second rotor mounted for rotation in said housing about a second axis said second rotor including third and fourth contoured faces and a surface defining at least part of a sphere having a common center with said center of said first rotor;
- the first axis and second axis being offset from being collinear by an angle α and intersecting at the common centers of the rotors;
- each contact face of each rotor being defined by the locus formed as the rotors rotate about their respective axes by points on the other rotor;
- the points of each rotor that define the locus lying along an outer edge of a cone whose central axis is essentially a radius extending outward from the common centers of the rotor at an angle α/2 from a normal to the axis of the other rotor;
- said first and second contoured faces being mirror image identical and said third and fourth contoured faces being mirror image identical and said first and third contoured faces being arranged in face-to-face engagement;
- whereas said engagement of said mirror image contoured faces prevents backlash between said rotors so as to maintain a predetermined gap between said faces during operation of said engine.
An engine, comprising:
- a housing having an interior surface that defines an inlet port and an outlet port;
- a first rotor mounted for rotation on the housing about a first axis, said first rotor including first and second opposite facing contoured faces and an outer surface defining at least part of a sphere having a center;
- a second rotor mounted for rotation on said housing about a second axis said second rotor including third and fourth contoured faces;
- the first axis and second axes being offset from being collinear by an angle α and intersecting at the common centers of the rotors;
- each contour face of each rotor being defined by the conceptual locus lying along an outer edge of a cone whose central axis is essentially a radius extending outward from the common centers of the rotor at an angle α/2 from a normal to the axis of the other rotor and the points on the cone define each contour face as the rotors rotate about their respective axes;
- said first and second contoured faces are on opposite sides of a lobe on the first rotor and said third and fourth contoured faces are on opposite sides of a lobe on the second rotor and said first and third contoured faces being arranged in face-to-face engagement;
- whereas said engagement of each contour face of each rotor prevents backlash between said rotors so as to maintain a predetermined gap between said faces during operation of said engine.
The engine as recited in claim 69 where the first rotor is a power rotor.
An engine comprising a housing adapted to house a first rotor having a first central axis of rotation, a second rotor having a second central axis of rotation that intersects the first central axis of rotation and is offset from being collinear from the first central axis an angle alpha, the first rotor having a plurality of lobes each having a first contoured face and a second contoured face and the second rotor having a plurality of rotor heads each having a first contoured face and a second contoured face whereby each contoured face is defined by a locus line along an outer edge of a conceptual cone of the opposing rotor where the center axis of the locus intersects the intersect point of the first central axis and the second central axis and is at an angle which is an angle alpha/2 away from a normal to the central axis of rotation of the opposing rotor whereby the locus defines each contoured face and the engagement of contoured faces between the said rotors to maintain a predetermined gap between said faces during operation and a center sphere having a surface that defines at least part of a sphere is adapted to engage a corresponding inner surface on at least one of the rotors with a fluid film gap thereinbetween.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.