Cycloid rotor engine
AssigneeLiquidPiston, Inc.
InventorsNikolay Shkolnik, Alexander C. Shkolnik
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A rotary engine has a cycloid rotor and a sealing grid including a face seal that rotates with the rotor, and including other seals that do not rotate with the rotor. As the rotor rotates within a housing, the rotor, housing and seal grid form at least one working chamber between them, the chamber undergoing a change from initial volume V1 to V2, which is less than V1, thus compressing a working medium, and subsequently expanding to volume V3, which may be larger than V1, such that the chamber volume is a smooth and continuous function of rotor's rotational angle.
Claims17
An improved engine of the type including a cycloidal rotor having N lobes and a housing having a corresponding set of N+1 lobe-receiving regions for successively receiving the lobes as the rotor rotates about an axis relative to the housing, the housing having (i) a pair of sides axially disposed on first and second sides of the rotor, and (ii) a peak disposed between each pair of adjacent lobe-receiving regions, and (iii) an intake port and an exhaust port, wherein the improvement comprises:
- a plurality of peak seals, at least one of the plurality of peak seals disposed on each peak and configured to maintain contact with the rotor throughout a period of rotation of the rotor, each peak seal being radially biased against the rotor throughout the rotation of the rotor, due to a cycloidal geometry of the rotor and the lobe-receiving portions;
- a first passageway defined in the rotor to communicate cyclically between the intake port and a working chamber, the first passageway configured to allow air to enter from a radial face of the rotor into the working chamber, the working chamber defined as a volume lying between two peak seals, the housing and the rotor;
- a second passageway, distinct from the first passageway, defined in the rotor to communicate cyclically between the exhaust port and the working chamber, the second passageway configured to allow exhaust gas to exit from the working chamber through the radial face of the rotor;
- a first face seal, disposed between the first side of the housing and the rotor, configured to seal the working chamber;
- and
- a second face seal, disposed between the second side of the housing and the rotor, configured to seal the working chamber;
- wherein the first face seal is disposed near an outer edge of the rotor, the outer edge defined by an intersection of an axial face of the rotor with the radial face of the rotor,
- wherein the passageways and the face seals are configured to cause each face seal to maintain contact with both the rotor and one of the sides of the housing through all angular positions of the rotor while avoiding communication with either of the ports.
An improved engine of the type including a rotor having N lobes and a housing having a corresponding set of N+1 lobe-receiving regions for successively receiving the lobes as the rotor rotates about its axis and orbits about an axis relative to the housing, the housing having (i) a pair of sides axially disposed on first and second sides of the rotor, and (ii) a peak disposed between each pair of adjacent lobe-receiving regions, and (iii) an intake port and an exhaust port, wherein the improvement comprises:
- a first passageway defined in the rotor to communicate cyclically between the intake port and a working chamber defined as a volume lying between two peak seals, the housing and the rotor, the first passageway configured to allow air to enter from a radial face of the rotor into the working chamber;
- a second passageway, distinct from the first passageway, defined in the rotor to communicate cyclically between the exhaust port and the working chamber, the second passageway configured to allow exhaust gas to exit from the working chamber through the radial face of the rotor;
- a sealing grid comprising a plurality of peak seals, at least one of the plurality of peak seals disposed on each peak and configured to maintain contact with the rotor, such peak seal being radially biased against the rotor;
- and
- a face seal, disposed on the rotor and configured to maintain contact with the sides of the housing and a chamfered portion of the rotor, and to seal the working chamber, such face seal being axially biased against the housing side;
- wherein the face seal is disposed near an outer edge of the rotor, the outer edge defined by an intersection of an axial face of the rotor with the radial face of the rotor,
- wherein the ports, passageways and face seal are configured to cause the face seal to maintain contact with both the rotor and one of the sides of the housing through all angular positions of the rotor while avoiding the face seal crossing over either of the ports.
An improved engine of the type including a rotor having N lobes and a housing having a corresponding set of N+1 lobe-receiving regions for successively receiving the lobes as the rotor rotates about its axis and orbits about an axis relative to the housing, the housing having (i) a pair of sides axially disposed on first and second sides of the rotor, and (ii) a peak disposed between each pair of adjacent lobe-receiving regions, and (iii) an intake port and an exhaust port, wherein the improvement comprises:
- a first passageway defined in the rotor to communicate cyclically between the intake port and a working chamber defined as a volume lying between two peak seals, the housing and the rotor, the first passageway configured to allow air to enter from a radial face of the rotor into the working chamber;
- a second passageway, distinct from the first passageway, defined in the rotor to communicate cyclically between the exhaust port and the working chamber, the second passageway configured to allow exhaust gas to exit from the working chamber through the radial face of the rotor;
- a sealing grid comprising a plurality of peak seals, at least one of the plurality of peak seals disposed on each peak and configured to maintain contact with the rotor, such peak seal being radially biased against the rotor;
- and
- a face seal, disposed on the rotor and configured to maintain contact with the sides of the housing and to seal the working chamber, such face seal being axially biased against the housing side, where over the course of rotation the face seal does not cross over the intake or exhaust port, and 2×(N+1) button seals, one for each side of every peak, disposed within the housing side, axially biased toward the rotor and configured to maintain contact with the peak seal and the face seal,
- wherein the face seal is disposed near an outer edge of the rotor, the outer edge defined by an intersection of an axial face of the rotor with the radial face of the rotor,
- wherein the ports, passageways and face seal are configured to cause the face seal to maintain contact with both the rotor and one of the sides of the housing through all angular positions of the rotor while avoiding the face seal crossing over either of the ports.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.