Oil seal arrangement for rotary internal combustion engine
AssigneePratt & Whitney Canada Corp.
InventorsEugene Gekht, Sebastien Bolduc, Mike Fontaine
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A rotor of a rotary internal combustion engine, including an annular oil seal assembly snugly received within each oil seal groove, each oil seal assembly including a seal ring retaining first and second axially spaced apart annular sealing elements in substantial radial alignment with one another, the seal ring radially pressing each of the sealing elements in sealing engagement with a respective surface in the groove in opposite directions from one another, and a spring member biasing the seal ring axially away from the end face.
Claims20
A method of limiting radially outwardly directed oil leaks between an end face of a rotor of a Wankel engine and an adjacent end wall of a stator of the engine, the method comprising:
- providing an annular groove within the end face of the rotor around a shaft of the rotor;
- inserting an outer seal ring within the annular groove;
- sealingly engaging an inner seal ring in the annular groove with a first axial surface at a first location and with a second axial surface at a second location, the first and second locations being located within the same annular groove and being axially spaced apart from one another, the first axial surface being a radially inner surface of the outer seal ring;
- and
- biasing the inner and outer seal rings against the end wall.
A rotor of a rotary internal combustion engine, the rotor comprising:
- a body having two axially spaced apart end faces and a peripheral face extending between the end faces, the peripheral face defining three circumferentially spaced apex portions, the body having a central bore for receiving an eccentric portion of a shaft therein, each of the end faces having an annular oil seal groove defined therein around the central bore;
- and
- an annular oil seal assembly snugly received within each oil seal groove, each oil seal assembly including a seal ring retaining first and second axially spaced apart annular sealing elements positioned such as to overlap at least partially along a radial direction of the body, the seal ring radially pressing each of the sealing elements in sealing engagement with a respective surface in the groove in opposite directions from one another, and a spring member biasing the seal ring axially away from the end face.
A rotary internal combustion engine comprising:
- a stator body having an internal cavity defined by two axially spaced apart end walls and a peripheral wall extending between the end walls, the cavity having an epitrochoid shape defining two lobes;
- a rotor body having two axially spaced apart end faces each extending in proximity of a respective one of the end walls of the stator body, and a peripheral face extending between the end faces and defining three circumferentially spaced apex portions, the rotor body being engaged to an eccentric shaft to rotate within the cavity with each of the apex portions remaining adjacent the peripheral wall, each of the end faces having an annular oil seal groove defined therein around the eccentric shaft;
- and
- an annular oil seal assembly snugly received within each oil seal groove, each oil seal assembly including a seal ring retaining first and second axially spaced apart annular sealing elements positioned such as to overlap at least partially along a radial direction of the rotor body, the seal ring radially pressing each of the sealing elements in sealing engagement with a respective surface in the groove in opposite directions from one another, and a spring member biasing the seal ring axially away from the end face.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.