GB1323133A - Rotary engines fluid-operated motors and fluid pumps - Google Patents

Abstract

1323133 Rotary pumps; motors and engines R A PFEIFFER 8 Sept 1970 [8 Sept 1969] 42939/70 Heading F1F A rotary pump, motor or engine comprises a stator housing having end walls whose inner surfaces are in substantially constant axial separation from each other and cylindrical outer and inner walls to form an annular space divided into two separate chambers by a rotor concentrically rotatable within the stator housing, and a plurality of vanes equi-angularly spaced around the rotor to divide each chamber into a plurality of isolated compartments, wherein the rotor or vanes or both are axially displaceable with respect to the stator housing on rotation of the rotor to vary the volumes of the said compartment. In one embodiment described as a four-stroke I.C. engine, a stator housing 10, Figs.1, 2 and 3, comprises end walls 11, 12 having sinusoidal inner surfaces 13, 14 respectively and outer and inner cylindrical walls 18, 15 to form an annular space divided into separate chambers 28, 29 by a rotor body 25 keyed to a shaft 20 concentrically journalled in the stator housing. Vanes 31 to 36 equi-angularly spaced around the rotor body divide the chamber 28 into compartments 40 to 45 and the chamber 29 into compartments 46 to 51 so that as the rotor body rotates a gaseous fuel/air mixture sucked in through inlet passages 62, 63 is in sequence inducted, compressed, ignited and expanded in each compartment and finally exhausted through discharge passages 65, 66. In operation on a two-stroke cycle a gaseous fuel/air mixture inducted through an inlet passage 122, Fig.9, after compression in the first chamber is transferred through a tranfer passage 124 into the second chamber in which it is ignited and expanded and finally exhausted through a discharge passage 126. The outlet from the transfer passage 124 and the discharge passage 126 are disposed sufficiently close together to permit scavenging of the exhaust gases. In another embodiment, a gaseous fuel/air mixture is compressed in one chamber and transferred to the other chamber in which a four-stroke cycle is carried out. To prevent excessive wear on seals 39 between the vane tips and the outer cylindrical wall 18, lateral projections 52, 53 which co-operate with thrust bearings 54 are formed on the vanes. Instead of operating as an I.C. engine the machine may function as a pump with one chamber pumping a gaseous fluid and the other a liquid. In a further embodiment, the rotor body is divided by vanes 156 to 159, Figs.12, 13 diametrically opposite pairs of parts 171, 173 and 172, 174 with parts 171, 173 connected to an inner sleeve 186 splined to a shaft 150 and parts 172, 174 connected to an outer sleeve 189 splined to the inner sleeve. Radial projections 177 on each of the rotor body parts co-operate with a sinusoidal guideway 178 in the outer cylindrical wall 148 to reciprocate the rotor body parts between the end walls which may be either planar whence no reciprocation of the vanes occur or sinusoidal whence both rotor pads and vanes reciprocate. Another embodiment is described in which the rotor body parts are connected to a shaft which is obliquely disposed with respect to the axis of the stator housing. This shaft being connected to an axially directed shaft by level gearing. (For Figures see next page)