US2253445A

US2253445A - Rotary internal combustion engine

Info

Publication number: US2253445A
Application number: US344974A
Authority: US
Inventors: Shufeldt Enrique
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1940-07-11
Filing date: 1940-07-11
Publication date: 1941-08-19
Anticipated expiration: 1958-08-19

Description

Aug. 19, 1941. E. SHUFELDT 2,253,445

ROTARY INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed July 11, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1372710218 3511/ eZdt av myrmrea.

ATTORNEYS 1941. E. SHUFELDT I ROTARY INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed July '11, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'w aw aa ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 19, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROTARY INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Enrique Shufeldt, La Cueva, N. Mex.

Application July 11, 1940, Serial No. 344,974

I 1 Claim.

This invention relates to rotary internal combustion engines and has for an object to provide a simplified engine which will be devoid of valves, which will have four power impulses to each revolution of the shaft and which will simultaneously exhaust the burned gas, draw in fresh gas and compress the charge during the power impulse.

A further object is to provide an engine having impeller blades travelling in a planetary path around a globular portion of the shaft and having respective pins engaged in segmental grooves ninety degrees apart in the globular portion, the pins travelling at an angle to the direction of the grooves and having reciprocatory motion from end to end of respective grooves to impart rotary motion to the shaft.

A further object is to provide apparatus of this character which will be formed of a few strong, simple and durable parts, which will be inexpensive to manufacture, and which will not easily get out of order.

-With the above and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood that various modifications may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claim without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any' of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a rotary internal combustion engine constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the engine with the top of the impeller removed to expose the impeller rings and blades of the-globular portion of the shaft.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the two independently movable impeller rings separated from each other.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the shaft, grooved globular driving portion of the shaft, impeller rings and blades assembled with the globular portion of the shaft.

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the invention taken on the line 55 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a plan view similar to Figure 2 but showing the impeller blades in a different position of their relative movement.

Figure 7 is a front elevation of one of the rings and its blades.

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic view showing the intake position of the blades.

Figure 9 is a diagrammatic view showing the A compression position of the blades.

Figure 10 is a diagrammatic view showing the Referring now to the drawings in which likecharacters of reference designate similar parts in the various views, the engine comprises a globular casing I'll having an annular housing H arranged in surrounding relation to the casing. A pair of shaft bearings l2 extend in alined position from the casing I0 and the housing ii is inclined relatively to the bearings in a plane intersecting the axis of the bearings and the casing at approximately 30, as best shown in Figure 1. The housing is formed of twosections connected together by bolts l3, one of the bearings I2, the upper section of the housing, and the upper part of the casing are formed as a unit. Also the lower section of the housing, the lower part of the casing and the other bearing are formed as a unit.

Rotatably mounted in the casing is a hollow metal ball l4, shown best in Figure 4, having sockets l5, best shown in Figure 5, to receive the squared ends of alined sections of the engine shaft a the impeller ring 2|.

IS. The sections of the shaft extend through the bearings l2 and the latter may be mounted on any type of a support desired.

The metal ball ll forms a globular portion of the engine shaft 16 and nicely fits within the globular housing Ill. The globular portion \ll of the shaft is provided in the present embodiment of the invention with four segmental grooves l1, l8, I9 and 20, best shown in Figure 4. The grooves are arranged at an angular advance of from each other and terminate short of the shaft l6 at what may be termed the poles of the globular portion Id at its connection with the shaft.

Impeller rings 2| and 22, best shown in separated condition in Figure 3, are disposed in superposed axially alined position to ride one upon the other at different speeds. The ring 2| is provided with diametrically oppositely dis: posed impeller blades 23 which are offset as shown at 24 in Figure 7 to receive the companion ring 22 while the latter is provided at diametrically opposite points with impeller blades 25 which are offset as shown at 26 in Figure 3 to receive Thus the blades of one ring overlap the other ring and the blades of both rings are of such contour as to snugly fit in the housing II, which latter is analogous to the cylinder of an engine.

The housing II is provided with an exhaust pipe 21, best shown in Figure 2, and is also provided with an intake pipe 28, these pipes entering the housing i I on opposite sides of a vertical plane passing through the axis of the shaft IS. The intake pipe is connected to a carburetor 29, as best shown in Figure 1.

The impeller ring 2| is provided with pins 30 and 3!, best shown in Figure 3, projecting interiorly of the ring at the impeller blades 23. Likewise, the impeller ring 22 isprovided with

pins

32 and 33 which project interiorly of the ring at the blades 25. The pins of the ring 25 are offset as shown at 84 in Figure 3 while the pins of the ring 22am offsetas shown at 35. These offsets permit the pins and blades to oscillate in the same plane, while the rings oscillate in parallel planes etrical to the plane of the pins and piston blades at difierent speeds to turn th shaft as'will now be described.

As clearly shown in Figure 4 the pins 36 and ill of the impeller ring 2i ride respectively in the diametrically disposed grooves ill and iii of the glubular portion 86 of the shaft. The

pins

32 and 33 of the impeller ring 22 ride respectively in the diametrically opposite grooves l9 and 26 of the globular portion of the shaft.

The power stroke of ignited gas causes the pins to travel in the housing ii at an angle to the direction of the grooves from end to end of re-= There ar four power impulses to each cycle,

the compressed gas being fired by a spark plug 38 connected by a wire ill to a magneto 38 which is mounted on one of the bearings l2 and is geared to the fiy=wheel section it of the shaft as shown at 39 in Figure i.

In the diagrammatic Figures 8, 9, l0 and 11, for the purpose of more clearly explaining the operation, the two blades 25 of on ring have been distinguished by priming one blade, and also the two blades 23 of the other ring have been dist M by priming one of the blades.

Figure 8 shows fresh gas being drawn into the housing between the blade 23' and the blade 25, while gas is being compressed between the blade 25 and the blade 23. I

Figure 9 shows the compressed gas between the

blades

25 and 23 being fired, while the fresh gas supply between the blades 23' and 25 is ready to be compressed since the blade 23' is travelling faster than the blade 25.

As shown in Figure 10, the ignited gas between the blade 25 and blade 23 is shown furnishing the power stroke since the blade 23 is movin faster than the blade 25. At the sam time, the blade 23' is moving faster than the blade 25 and is compressing the charge which is shown ready to be compressed in Figure 9. At the same time, since the blade 22' is moving faster than the blade 25', a fresh charge is being drawn into the housing between th blades 23'-and 25'.

As shown in Figure 11, the spent gas after furnishing the power stroke and driving the blades 23 and 23' faster than the blades 25 and 25', is about to be expelled from the casing, while at the same time a compressed charge is ready to be fired between the blades 23' and 25 and a fresh charge ready for compression erdsts in the housing between blades 23' and 25'. During exhaus initial angular advance of 180,during the time period the blade moves from left to right in the annular housing, then the pin reaches the end of its groove and reverses its direction to guide the blade from right to left diagonally upward in the annular housing to turn the globular portion of the shaft through the second 180 angular ad= Vance. The impeller rings oscillate upon each other at varying speeds during a complete cycle of the globular portion of the shaft. The variation of oscillatory speed of both impeller rings and consequently the relative variation of the speed of the respective blades of the rings produce the power, exhaust, intake and compression of the spent gases, the compressed charge is fired to initiate the next succeeding cycle course around the globular portion ll of the shaft. The respecpositions of the blades and is caused by the grooves being ,close together at the poles of the globular portion of the shaft and wide apart at the central circumference, or equator as it may betermed, of the globular portion of the shaft.

From the above description it is thought that the construction and operation of the invention will be fully understood without further explanation. 1

What is claimed is:

An engine including a globular casing, an annular housing arranged in surrounding relation on the casing, a pair of alined shaft bearings extending from the casing and the housing, the

housing being inclined relatively to the axis of the bearings at an angle, a shaft having cylindrical portions disposed in said bearings and having a globular intermediate portion disposed in said casing and housing, said globular portion being provided with segmental grooves spaced uniformly from each other at the central circumference of the globular portion and converging toward and terminating short of the poles at the junction of the globular portion with the cylindrical portions of the shaft, a pair of axially alined impeller rings superposed upon each other in surrounding relation on said globular portion, impeller blades disposed at diametrically opposite points of each ring fitting in the housing, pins projecting radially inward from each ring at the blades of the ring slidably engaged in respective grooves of the globular portion, exhaust and fuel inlet pipes connected to said housing on opposite sides of one cylindrical portion ,of the shaft, a spark plug connected to the housing at a point substantially diametrically opposit a point midway between the intake and exhaust pipes, and means for energizing the spark plug, the

arrangement being such that each explosion starts one of the blades downward in the annular housing on a'planetary course around the globular portion of the shaft, the respective pin of said blade first travelling in its respective groove to force the shaft to rotat axially through an initial angular advance of then reversing its direction in the groove to force the shaft through compression positions during each revolution of the globular portion of the shaft.

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