US3170444A - Rotary engine - Google Patents

Description

G. V. HADDON ROTARY ENGINE Feb. 23, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 14, 1963 INVENTOR GERARD u HADDON ATTORNEY Feb. 23, 1965 G. v. HADDON 3,17

ROTARY ENGINE FiledvMarch 14, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR GERARD HADDO/V MW?! SM ATTORNEY;

G. V. HADDON ROTARY ENGINE Feb. 23, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 14, 1963 INVENTOR GERARD (f/A000 ATTORNEY Feb. 23, 1965 G. v. HADDON 3,170,444

ROTARY ENGINE Filed March 14, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 F/G. 4 F/G. 5A

90- INTAKE 270 comwsss/o/v 450 POWER 6Z30 EXHAUST INVENTOR.

GERARD K HADDO/V my SM ATTORNEY arrears Patented Feb. 23, less ROTARY. ENGINE Gerard V..Haddon, RD. 1, Glen Mills, Pa. Filed Mar. 14; 196$,Ser. No. 265,238

18 Claims. .(Cl. 123- 4134) In general, this invention relatesto' a new and improved I and the injected material, is oxygen ,This type of opera tionwould eliminate any need for an'injection pump and rotary engine and, morefparticularly, to an. eficient four stroke cycle engine having no reciprocating. parts.

In the past, rotary engines have beenv developed of the two stroke cycle type utilizing wobble plates-and including could simply be controlled by regulating 'the pressure of the oxygenat theinjection nozzles. In the ideal combustion of this mixture, the exhaustwould be steam which could then be condensed to supply water from 3 some other requirement.

The rotary engine of the present. invention utilizes rotating valve plates moving at a speed ditlerent'fr'om engine. 7 I

other rotary engines is the fact that. the-valve plate gears crankshafts and other mechanical linkages for converting the reciprocal motion of a piston into the rotary output of the shaft.

I .Inthe present invention, there are no reciprocating parts in the usual sense. Rather, the apparent reciprocation of pistons ina cylinder is the result of two inter secting rotary planes achieved through the use of a rotating cyliner .which rotates parallel to the axis of the driveshaft and a piston which 'movesin a path determined by the plane of a bearing race whose axis crosses but is nottparallel to the axis of therotating shaft. These two i rotative .rnov'ements give an apparent 'reciprocation to the piston withinthe cylinder, I

.Each cylinder 'spacedabout the rotor has 'a doubleacting piston: therein so. that the pistonwill" be on. the power stroke in one end of the cylinder while the other end of the piston may be utilized to cqmpress-..-the charge at the other end of the cylinder. This has the advantage of eliminating' the loading of components such .as is 7 usually done in a conventional engine when the 'Cor'nprssion load for onec'ylinder must be carried through a crankshaft from alpiston that: is on the powerstroke or frorn fenergy stored in a flywheelfThe piston pins, i.e. those ciorinectedto' the bearing race, are only carryin g the better rotary engine. which utilizes the internal gearing ferred; it being understood, however, that this invention:

(slower in theillustrated embodiment), the rotor .of the A'major advantage ofthis arrangement over can. be utilized to pump or meter oil so as to lubricate the pistons, -.the piston pins, an dthe bearings- Therefore, it is the general object ofthis-invsntion to provide a new andimproved rotary engine;

;A further object of this invention is the provision of a a new and, better rotarycngine having a four stroke cycle p v Still another object is the provision of a rotarygengine havingno reciprocating parts. 5

.A furtherobject ofthisinvent-ion is the provision of a four stroke. cycle rotary engine with a variable conrpressioniratio,

{A still .further. object is the .provision of. a new and thereof'to pump oil-for lubrication purposes. Other objects will appear hereinafter.

For the purpose of. illustrating the invention; there .is SllOWIllIir tl'lB drawings a form which is-presently preis'not limited to the precise arrangements and instrunientalities shown. v v k V I FIGURE l'is a partially sectionalized perspective view-of the rotary engine of the present -.invention. I

actuaL-powerfof therotary engine plus thepowen lossrepresentedby-friction; .Theactual rotating rnass of the low, but the lack of reciprocating heed for a' separate flywheelil;

The compression ratio of i 7 V tent inventionmay be1 easi1y variedfrom 1:1 to. 19.5 :1

. compression ignition cycle) Further, the compression Even, though" the rotary engine of the present invenpower impulses available in. .each revolution in an power can be obtained from a/verysmall power plant.

I 1 'agfas' turbine or, the like WhichhasdiflicuIty in starting.

' At present, such gas'tu'rbincs are usually started by electric motors. which haveto withstand substantial loads forshortperiods of 'tirn'e. 1,.Sucl1 electric motors are by" necessity extremely large, and are prone to burn out when the gas turbine. load is excessive. Byutilizing a I ratio could. be varied initiall'y to-aid in starting theengine.

engine with eight pistons; Thus, Ia large amountof- This'would be extremely "useful where there is a "needior i an engine to. providethe starting powerrequirements of.

:rotaryi'engineidf the present iinvention is kept relatively parts eliminatesthe i the rotary engine of the press'imply'by'v'arying the-angle of the piston thrust bearing. Thusa wide varietygof.iuels couldpbe burned in-the tion, is intended to' be operated on a; four stroke cycle, ,1 the fact that the pistonsf'are,double-actingmakes eight I FIGURE. 56': is'a' dia'gramrnatic v tion of the rotaryvalve plate with respect to one cylinder. and the intake. and exhaust manifolds during one' FIGURE-2 is a partially cut away side plan view of :the rotaryengine :of FIGURE 1.

is, a crosssectional-view of valve'plate and; gearing arrangement of. the rotary. engine of the present invention taken along.1lines 33;0f FlGUREZ; diagram of the f ourstroke cycle;

. :FIGUREA is a scale offthe presentinvention.

complete rotation of the rotor.

" .fFlGUREiS b. is sirnilar to FIGURE 5a except that it is taken during the next succeeding rotation of the rotor.. 50. .InjFIGURl-IS 1 and Z the rotary engine of the present -The engine 10 includes ,an outer casing- 12 through. PQWhichpasses thedriveshaft 14. Thedrives'haft 14 is invention is. generally designated by thenurneral 1d.

coupled to the load of the engine 10 and is additionally adaptedrto be coupled to a starting motor in.a standard manner.

The driveshaft 14 is integrally coupled to a cylindrical i rotor: 16 havingeight cylinders 13 formed therein equally :Spacedfabout the shaft 14 and parallel thereto. fWithin rotaryengine built in accordance with the principles'ot I the present invention, both the turbine and the rotary each cylinder 18, there is reciprocally mounted a doubleacting piston 2% having. a front piston head 21 and aback piston head 22 for reasons which will bediscus'sed below. Y

' q :The piston 20 is constrained by pins 24 rigidly attached starting engine could beidesigned to utilize thesame fuel.

a .QThe rotary engine itself would 'be' started by a small elec- This would be especially useful'for" airplane power plants which do not have readily avail- 'tric starter motor;

able large-sources of electrical energy, but1do have available sources of fuel, I

One example of a compression ignitioncyclewhich would be useful with the rotary engine of the present in all of the othersevenpistons and cylinders are substan-- .1

ventionis where thelcornpressed icharge is hydrogen gas to the pistonZil .and passing through.slottediopenings 26 in the rotor 16. It will be understood that only one piston and cylinder has been described in detail since tially identical. 3 I ,The pinsf24 are-attached by means-of a flexible or vspherical; bearing 28. to an, inner bearingracedtl that rotates with. theroto'r. f The inner bearing race 3i is concentric.withagfixed gouter-be'aringr'ace 312 through suitableroller bearings 34-2 j 1 showing of posiq 7 V a J j n It can be seen that if the outer bearing race 32 is held to. an angle of exactly ninety'degrees with'respect to the longitudinalaxis of the rotor that the pistons could not'reciprocate when the rotor 16was revolved. However, as the angle' of the outer bearing ,race 32 with respect to the axis of the rotor becomes less than ninety. degrees, the pistonswould apparently reciprocate in the cylinders. The amount of apparent reciprocation 7 would be determined the angleat which the outer bearing race isset. The apparent reciprocation of the. pistons occurs .because they are being moved linearly in a'path determined by the position of the outer bearing race 32 and its associated inner bearing race 30, but

Q when taken in combination with the rotation of the cylinder, 18, there is relative reciprocation of the pistons 20fwith respect to the cylinder 18; g

Outer bearing race 32.has rigidly connected thereto a pair of trunnions 36cm opposite sides of the race 32.1

trunnion 36passes through-5a suitable yoke 38 in the casing 12., Gutside the casing 12, a handle .40 isconnectedto both of the trunnions 36. The handles; 40 are rigidly. connected to the trunnions 36 so that rotation of thehandles 40 changes thefangular position of the asthe means for varying the; relative angular position of the outer race 32, other standard means might be utilized'to accomplish the same purpose. 7 7

By providing a means to vary the angle of the outer 'race, the compression" ratio; and the displacement' of theengine can bereadilyfvaried. It'will be understood that the handles 40 are locked in place when the engine is operating so as to retain the bearing races: in a fixed angular position;

In FIGURE'l, only one such trunnion 36 is shown, it' J being understood that the trunnion on the opposite side "of the'race 32' is substantially similar thereto. The

, outer race 32.' Although a rigidhandle has been shown 7 The rotor -16 has a pair of circular valve plates 42.: and 44 associated with the front and back faces respecp .tivelyof the rotor;

The valve plate 42 rotates, at -a speed slightly slower than the speed of the-rotor 16 about an axis slightly Off-SetfflQHlThB axis of the rotor.

in FIGURE 2,"'and is preferably a brass strip or the like.

7 The L-shaped cross, section is necessary soas to provide a bearing surface for the valve plate lwhen forw'ard thrust below. Further, this type of bearing is more easily utilized in thesmallclearance area between the casing 12 and thevalve plate'42. Further, the innerffront face The valveplate :42 Y

has a bearing 46 separating itfrom thecasing '12. The

bearing 46 is L-shaped incross section, as'ican be'jseen [is applied thereto in a mannerwhich; will be discussed of'tlie casing 1-2 has an annular recess 48 therein adapted it to cooperate with a circular ribififlfforr'ned'on the face of the valve plate 42 adjacent casing 12.

The valve plate 42. has four equally spaced fuellin 'jector passages-52,54, 56 and 58 passing from thecir-" cular rib 50 to a point within the mean radius of 'the pistons: from the axis of .the shaft, on'the face of'the valve plate'adjacent the rotor '16. It'should be noted I 'at this point that the radius of the circular'rib 50 is such that it is, for most of its travel. except for possibly an angle of thirty degrees from top dead center of the thefurthermost point of cylinders 18. Thereason' for this particular spacing is to insure thatthe'fuel injector passages 52-; 54, 56 and '58 do not come into communi:

' .rotor, further from the axis of rotation of' the rotor than cation with inlet and exhaust ports 60 and'62 respective1yi Inlet port 60 extends from a point thirty degrees counterclockwise oftop dead center to a point one hundred fifty degrees of top dead center and has a Width equal to the diameter of the cylinders and an inner and outer radius equal to thelinner and outer radii of the outlet. ports 6i} and 62fare ,}of'course, formed through'the of th" casing12- Theinlet port'dtl is d ,cylinders about the 'axis ofthe rotor. The ,inletr and" V to be connected to a suit able charge source and the outletport 62' is adapted to be connected to a suitable discharge receiver.

The outlet. discharge port 62 is a mirror image of the inlet port oil-and extends frorna point 210 degrees. counterclockwise from top dead center. toa point 330' degrees counterclockwise from top dead .center About two degrees clockwise from top 'dead center or just a little beforetop dead center is placed a fuel injector nozzle 64 which is supplied" with fuel :through d a conduit fifrorn a variable output fuel injectionpump 68 mount'edon the casing 12 The fuel injector nozzle 64 is adapted to communicatewith the annular groove 48 so asv tube in communication with the fuel injector passages 52', 54, 56' or 58 when they pass through the point slightly before top dead center where the injector nozzle 64 is located. The valveplate 42 additionally includes four valve ports 76, 72, 74 and 76'spaced ninety degrees from 'one anOther and forty-five degrees frornthe closest fuel injector passageways 52; 54', 56 and 58. 'The valve ports 70, 72, 74 and 76 are intended to have an area slightly lessthan the area of the end of;the-cylinders 18 For example iif the cylinders'h'ad a diameterof one inch, the valve port would have a: diameter ofVs inch except for radial sectors on opposite-sides of the valve port which would give a tapered shape to the port; The radialsectors would 'betak'enfwith their center at" the center of the valve plate.

The shaft 14' has mounted thereon a circular gear 78 having 'a givennurnb'er 11 teeth aboutthe' periphery-thereof. The "valve plate 42 has anv innerv gear 80 whose diameter is "slightly, greater than the diameter of the gear 78; The gears '78 and 39 mesh along onecommon ar-- cuateportionfand do not mesh along another-portion.

The gear 80in the case of'anieightcylinder.engine, such as-is shown, would have eight-sevenths it teeth. For ex ample, "the gear 80 might have thirty-two ,teeth w hilethe gear 78 :would have twenty-eight teeth; 'This would cause the valve plate 42 to rotate seven-eighths as' -fast as the rotor 16:

' In the case wherein six. cylindersfratherlthan-eight would beyutilizedponly"threezequally spaced ports and I I three equally spaced fuel injector passageways-wouldlbe utilized and the rotor would turnsix-fifthsas,fast'as'the valve plate. "This combination can be vari'edfor. greater;

or lesser numbers ,of' cylinders in acco rdance' ;with the principles o-f'the present invention;v However, thein'r vention will be' discussed withrespecttoaneight cylinder engine. n l j Because of the eccentricity of the"valve p'latei42with the operation of one particular cylinder. through a com- 'plete four stroke cycle so that abetter understanding can 7 be had'of the operation of theentire rotary engine. .'It "should be remembered that' forevery two cornplete rota- '-tions of the rotor 16 or its associated cylinder 18, the

valve plate 42 will'rotate one and three-quartertimes.

Thus, the cylinder 18. is moving faster than=the-valve V 'plate42. I; V

- In FIGURE, 5a, the valve plate 42 is shown in-a position wherein port 76 is directly over cylinder 18 at atop. deadzcente'r'p Since no fuelinjector passageway is ass ociated with fuel. injector nozzlejio t when cylinder 18 its at top, dead center, the cylinder18 will not'receive any fuel from the injector nozzle 64',

Intake stroke: Asthe rotor-16 rotates through thirty degrees, the valve port with the int ak e. p'

' 'fromtop dead center,

' S ce the cylinder l tt isf not in denim l prj sntt s s s iet sa .6 3.- ",Tihe po .ver 'st fol e continues until-just betorejbotfdeadcehten;or f540 degrees -tromthe start; of]t g i salmoshcompletey' 52; and is catchinggup ffpa'st thefuelinjectionIpassagew tothe'nextwalve port ithon the; valve plate 42 I g Exhaust stroke: QnthelastlSO degrees of rotat of. the rotor 16, the cylinder. 13 catches up with valve port "Til so that as piston head 21 moves back toward 'valve plate 42, the burnt gases in the chamber are forced out other inert atmosphere to enter the cylinder 18. Indie nozzleo t so that the exhaust would be steam.

As the cylinderl8 rotated from thirty degrees counterclockwiseof top dead center to 150 degrees clockwise of topdeadcenter, 'a part of port 76 was always across the faceof the cylinder so that intake tookplace during this 120 degree rotation the rotor 16.: However, as the cylinder 18 is moving faster thaii'the valve port 76', less and less of the valve port-Z 6 is exposed to the cylinder 18.

7 .However, once thejrot-or' has moved 150 degrees, the

cylinder 13 is closed andthe compression stroke can hemeant gin. .From top dead center to bottom dead center, the

front piston head-2i has movedfrom a position adjacent f the valve plate 42 to [a position furthest from the valve plate42. During this period, the, charge from: the inlet port 6h has filled the chamber in the cylinder 'th'between the valve plate 42 and the piston head 21.

7 Compression stroke r When the rotor passes bottom dead center or "180 degrees counterclockwise from its start position," the cylinder is completely passes port 76 andstarts to catch up. to fuel injector passageway .52.

As this happens, the cylinder 18 pas'sesi hy exhaust port 62 However, since rho valve port is exposed to the toward the valve plate lithechar'ge: inthe chamber is relative to the valve plate i2 from'valve port '76 to valve' port 753) or one-quarter of the way around valve plate 42. This indicates that for two rotations of rotor 16, the

valve plate 42 has rotated one and three-quarter times or that the 'valve plate rotates seven-eighths as fastas the rotor 16. Again, just after top dead cententhe cylinder 18 would come into communication with the inlet port at and the cycle recommencesl, l i

To raise the temperature of the charge trapped in the chamber onthe compression. strolce -suflicie'ntly to ignite the fuel charge, a compression ratio of between 11:1 and. 20:1 is used." ()Wing to thisihigh compression, the fuel must'be injected at a very highpressure to penetrate the dense volume of air and, therefore, normally a special type of injection pump is used. 'ln additionto pumping fuel into the cylinders, the fuel injector pump 68 incor porates' intricate mechanisms for controlling the quantity Of'fllel injected .thusproviding a -means of controlling engine speed by varying the fuel'supplied: The injection pumpuetl'could be eliminated By providing arr-injection nozzle regulator if the injected material isoxygenJ Each of. the other' cylinders 18 c0operates with the valve plate 42 in exactly the same manner] as was'dis- 1 cylinder i18, the valve plate 42 prevents the gases in the chamber between front piston head Zil'andvalve-p'late 42 from escaping. Since the piston head 21 is 'now moving being compressed; The charge is compressed to such an extent that-its temperature rises very-rapidly.

7 At about 270 degreesOf rotation, the cylinder is catches up with fuel injec'tor passageway 52. l-lowever, Y as'was stated previously, the fuel injector passageway 52. is-not in communication with the exhaust port 62 as the.

circular ribfitl has a greate'r radius than the outermost radius of the outlet port 62};- T hus, the charge .in they chamber will, continue fto 'bje' compressed until, at top dead'c'enter, the temperature ishigh enough to' ignite, a

charge ofjfuel injeoted into' the cylinder at thislprecise' f moment. As shown in FIGURE 5!); the fuel injector passageway 52 is directly in linefwi-tlicylinde'r that topd-eadycenter' 360 degrees or one complete rotatiomof the rotorlo rafter tinre zero'. .As stated previouslyythe' in- .1 jeotor nozzle"o t-rcan he positioned slightly, bcforejdil degrees such'i-j'as' 358 degrees" or two,'degrees clockwise ifjdesired. In either instance, when the passageway sz comes' in communication with. i the injector nozzle 6 i-, fuelwillbe injected intothe cylin V dofl 1 v T j f ;Power. stroke: 'The burning of .the;,-air'-fuel barge orkfl" i d' c'senh is of -the gases which push't charges) brings; ahotit: ra t "pistorii'heagifi n'dpr'oduces the ipowe str tion 11 .ard the valve plate d4 alveport Qdur in'g this power, stro AflhlS point, the cylinder through the valve port-'70, exhaust port 62, and the exhaust pipes of the engine. As can be seen in FIGURE" 51'], ,after' the rotor has moved 690 degrees, the-exhaust :3, the miteear as tween'the rotor l 6 fr0nt; and back faces and the valve Rings '88 are provided-in's'uitablecussed above :That is, at top dead center the cycle starts for each of the cylinders and continue iin the maunerdescribed in FIGURES 4,5a.and 5b. It will be understood that each cylinder is associated with its own valve port or fuel injector nozzle, ascan best be seen in FIGURE 3, at any given time dining the 'operation of the rotary f 'ngineto.

With respect to the-back pistonhead 22, this piston. 1 head is; on its 'compressionistroke when the-piston head "'21 is on its power strokebi This is accomplished by providing the hack rotating valve plate idas a mirrorii'nage of the front rotating valve plate42 The back rotating valve plate' l t has its gear's similar to gears 86 meshing,

with "gears 78bit the shaft 14 exactly 180 degreesout of -f phase with the gearing 'associatedwith v alve 'plate' Thus, a fuel injectornozzle 82'i's provided for thev valve 7. 7 plate 44 which is positioned at bottomdead-center'of r0 j *tation of the rotor tidy-Since the back of thei'notor is -in elfect a mirror image of'the front of the motor, the intake port 84 associated:withfthe' back-"of the rotor is on: the same side as'the: exhaust 'port'ozx'associated'with the frontof-the r ot'or' l 'i Similarly, a hackexhaustjport (not shown) I is associatedwithj the back'iof the rotor on the is ar'nir'ror image of the backinlet porttllka 1-? f Thus, in a given cylindergithelbacksypiston'headzis.180

: degrees; behind thefront piston head in the cornpressionif'ign ition' cycle. This absorption-of the 'power strok e by the compression in the'op'posite pistonfef" piston oc'curs nar nns thej'time'.-1 With of, j the',piston.jwill be. balanced by compression on the .otl er'side of'the piston andintake and exhaust will coi [For thehack of'thei mo'tor chambers, however, theipower' stroke will be utilized toexhaust the clian ber inside.

in front' of the 'motor, and compression iii-{front -of the I -1notor will be coincident with intakefofn the'hick of the motor. i

Each of the 'cylinders'l s has a circular vO-ringseal 86 at "each end thereof to prevent the; escape "of gases beto achieve a seal between; the casing 12 and the rotor 16.

The motor lltl is cooled bysupplying a coolant through conduit 9t) into a rotary seal housing 92 which isplaced J P Over one'end 9d of a'liollow extension .96 of the shaft fl illld itsassoc ated cylinder 13, the cylinder is hassmoved 75 14.. Coolant'such as Waterpasses through the rotary' s'eal same sidejot' the casing' lz' a's the frontginlet portjotlan'd double-acting A phase difference duii'nglhalf the operatlong'the power stroli'eij'of one piston, will additional1y.;bes imiiltaneonsly opei tivelwith-the exhaust.strokeloflanother, and simi larlyj-ajcornpression stroke willgbe'simultaiieous with rough ithe ntakeport V 92 through the end 94 into each cylinder 18. 104 are supplied with tcoolant by centrifugal force. The 1 coolant inthe'chamber 100 and the annular passageways'102 andil'tM is 'returned-zvto' acoolant outlet pipe 7 1116 by tubular coolant pipe 108 having its openiehd 110 ,times as fast as the-rotor; The valve plate have equally and oppositely spaced therearoundjhe n;numb er ,7

, of airfand gasified fuel.

7 .but is contemplated by extension 96 continues within the rotor 16 to the front end of the motor wherein passageways 98 are provided in the hollow extension to allow the coolant to pass into a center chamber 100 within the rotor. Coolant is forced into the chamber 1410 by centrifugal force. Further, chamthe hollow extension 96. The

ber 1019 is in communication with annular passageways 102 and 104 formed about the front and back ends of The annular passageways 192 1 and within the rotary seal housing 92 and communicating with the coolant outlet pipe'106. The tubular coolant pipe 108 islconcentriciwiththe hollow shaft-,extension96 so that "an annular passageway 112 is formed to r'eturnthe coolant from chamberltlllthrough an opening 114 to be varied equally at will.

Further, it should be noted that the objects of theupresi ent invention were achieved in that no reciprocating parts were utilized. The pistons move me circular path determined by the outer race 32'and the rotor 16 also moves in a circular path.- It was only'the. relative move merit of the, piston with respect to the cylinder that gave the coolant return pipe 106;. The motor 10 pumps its I water by'centrifugal action into the passageways 102 and 104 to assurec'ontinuou's cooling of the rotor.

Lubrication is achieved'by utilizing the gears 78' and 80 to pump oil into' an oil catcher groove 116 within the rotor 16. f This oil is pumped from theoil catcher groove 116 by centrifugal action through-eight passageways 118 to the center of each .of the eight cylinders 18.

lnthis'manner, the pistons and cylinders 18 are lubricated. The-oil pumped into the cylinder 18 then passes j through'the passageways 26 on the rotor 16 and is forced outwardly so as to lubricate the bearings-.28,, bearing races and' 32, and roller bearing,34.' Thus, complete. 1 lubrication .is achieved through pumping of the valve plate gears78 and 80. The oil forced into the casing 12 is collected at the bottom thereof through a suitable drain hole 120'formed in the bottomof the casing .to be returned to an oil pan 122 from whence it-isreturned tothe motor by an auxiliary pump 124and an oil ireg'turn passagewayf126 formedinwthe': housing adjacent *valveiplate. gears 78 and 80.; desired, the auxiliary pump" 124' can be eliminated "andt the yalv'e plate gears will provide all the pumpingafor'the system;

-bearings128 to. absorb the thrust 'of'th'e motortandrprovide: rollingccontact between the casing .12 and the shaft 1d; ,Thebearing 128 is jpr'ovided'witli bearingoil through an opening 130..The bearing oil can be drained through aidrainl'132in communication with a heating oil cavity 134 adjacent the' thr'lust bearing'128; Thecavity'134" is 7 formed by utilizing arotary-seal136 between the shaft 14-and the casing;12,fy 1: l

:or valveportsand charge 'ignitionpoints f It; is. not necessary-, although highly desirable that the rotary engine of the present invention be of the fuel inan apparent reciprocal movement thereto.,

d inzo thfer spe The present. invention may be embodre v cific formswithout departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and; accordingly, reference. should be made to the appended claims, rather tha'n to the 'foregoing specification as indicating the scope of the invention;

1 claim: 7 r

1. A rotary-compression ignition engine comprising a cylindrical rotor, said rotor having a plurality of cylinders equally spaced fromvand parallel to the axis ofthe rotor, said cylinders being, equi angular ly' spaced with respect to the axis of the rotor, a double-acting'piston havinga head at each end thereof disposed within each of said cyl inders, guide means for constraining said pistons to a uniform path'as sa'id rotor is rotated about its axis to cause relative reciprocal motion between-teach piston and its saidrotor from substantially 90 to an angle less than 90, V

,thei compression ratio of said rotary compression ig'ni- Shaft 141s additionally provided with suitabletthrust vi pg a vg as sailastmehtioned an g 7 'jection-type; However, the theory'of theqpresent inven-x-w sion ratio and would complicatethe ignition problem,

vention.

,tion can be utilizedfor a spark-ignition compression ignition motor wherein the intake would consist of a charge- This would limit the compresthev'teachings of the present ina It should be notedjtha by utilizing a single fuel injec- I tionpump tofeedboth fuel injector' nozzles 64*and'82,

the balanced operation of .the rotary, engine was assured Ition engine "being decreases.

associated cylinder, valve means associated'with the ends of said cylinders, at least two exhaust ports, at least two intake ports,,ea'ch piston head and its associated; cylinder ,end forming a combustion chamben'ignition means, saidvalve means, guide meanstand ignition means cooperatmg with said'intake and exhaust port sqto achievela four stroke compression-ignition cycle in eachof said chambers, said guide means including a fixed circular outer guide track, said pistonshaving their paths during. rotation' of said 'rotor determined by said fixedicircular guide trackpw' a i p 2. The rotary compression ignitionengine of claim 1 1 wherein said. med guide track has its center coincident with the axis of said cylindricalrotor; and compression ratio control means for varying the angle of the plane of said fixed circular guide track withrespect to thelaxis of 3 A rotary compression ignition engine comprising a cylindrical rotor, said rotor having a; plurality of cylinders equally spaced from and parallel'tothe axisof the rotor,

saidcylinders'being equi-angula'rly spacedwith respect to the axis ofpthe rotor a idoubie-actinggpistonhavingf 50" a head, at; each end there'er .disposediwithin each'of said cylinders, guide; means for constraining said pistons to a uni forrn' path as said rotor. is rotated about its axis to .v causev relative reciprocal motion between each piston and itaZaSsQciated cylinder; valve umeansi lassocia'ted withthe 1ends of'sa idcylinders; at least-two,,exhaust ports, at least c twouintakeports, reach piston head land 1 s associated cyl- 1 inder end forming a cqmbus'tiorij chamber, ,ignitioh means, i said valve jmeaiis, guide means and ignition meanscoperating with said.intake 'andlexhaust'portstollachieve a four stroke eompressiomignitioni cycle in eachi-ofi said aid valve m eansj including".valve' 'platesson veach*end of said rotor, said ,cylinder lbei ng formedof' .longitudinal bores: extending from one end of said'rotor f to the' other end of said roton' -said valve .plate ghavirig V valve portsther'ein,'saidi valve' platesibeing rotatable; said i valve plate ports beingspaced on said valve-plateto open the ends of'said 'cylinders-attimed' intervalsto 'coincide chambers,

with said exhaust or intake ports;

4. The-rotary compression,ignition engine/of claim 3 wherein said guide means'constrainsu said piston sto one completefrelative reciprocation .within its associated cylinder during one complete rotationrofssaid rotor, said valve plates'being operative to'allow each'of saidzchame in accordaincewith-said ratio.

. 9 exhaust .port only once during two complete revolutions of said rotor. h I a Y 5. The rotary compression ignition enginev of claim 4 wherein said rotor rotates at a speed different from said valve plate; eachvalve plate having a numbern vof equiangularly spaced valve ports, said rotor having 211 numher-of cylinders, the relative speed of said 'rotor and said valve plates with respect to each other'being' whereby duringi'two complete fre volutions of saidrotor,

,; said-rotor hasmovedxfrom one valve port to the next adjacent valve port'relativerto each'of-said valve plates.

6. The rotary compression ignitionien'gine of claim 5.

wherein said rotor rotates i "times fasterthan said valve plates, speed changing means connecting each of said valve plates to s'aid rotor to effect said speed ratio, said Speed changing meansincluding put fuel injection pump.

a gear'concentric with said rotor having a constant times (2n -1) teeth, said valve plates haveiaconcentric gear associated therewith having k2n numberof teeth, said valve plate gear beingdrivenkby said'rotor gear whereby said valve plates rotate slower than Said rotor 7. The rotary compression ignition engine of, claim 5 where n said rgnitionurneansincludes n ignition co'ntrol sociated with each end of said rotor, said fuel-injectors being operative when one of jsaid ignitionpoints passes fthereby simultaneously with a chamber,'said chamberand. said ignition points being in said last-mentioned position .when the piston head associated with said chamber is closest to; said rotating valve plate'whereby said last mentioned particular piston'fheadis at the end of its com pression stroke, I

I 9. The rotary compression ignition engine of claim 6 including" lubricating oil supply ,means, said valve plate {and rotor gears being operative to pump oilfrom said lubricating oil supply means to'said pistons and cylinders to lubricate saidpistons and cylinders.

. 5 1 The rota ry compres'sion'ignition engine of c1aim ,8'

H wherein "said ignition points are fuel injection passag'et ways through said valve plates, said'fuel injection pas- .sagewaysextendingfrom a'point within the radius or said cylinders fromIsaid rotoraxis on the side of said Valve plate adjacent said cylinders to a point out of the radius of saidcylinders on the side of said valve .plate,

opposite from said cylinders jsaidexhaust and intake ports being wholly Within the radius of said-cylinders and j abutting said valve plates. on'theside opposite from-said- .1, cylinders, whereby saidjwf lel i jection passageways do I not communicate with saidexhaust and intake ports.

' 11. The rotary compressionignition engineof claim 10' wherein said fuel injection means is placed at the point of f v rotor, double-acting pistons having a pistonhead at each 1 end thereof disposed withinceach of said bores, guide in wherein n is four and there are eight cylinders and eight double-acting pistons. I

13. The rotary compression ignition engine of claim 1 wherein saidlrotor has a hollow shaft therein, coolant supply means for supplying coolant. to said hollovv sh aft,

said hollow shaft being in communication with. a ;cnam-- ber adjacent said cylinders, said chamber being formed in' saidrotor around said hollow shaft, and a coolant re- ;turn conduitconcentricwith saidhollow shaft, said cool- Kant return conduit being in communicationiwith. said chamber. to returncoolant tosaidcoolantsupply means.

14; The rotary compression-ignition engine of claim 8 wherein said :fueluinjection means includesfuel injection nozzles mounted adjacent said: valve plates, said-fuel injection nozzles being supplied from a single variable out- 15, Therotary compression ignition engine of claim 8 I wherein said intake port is adapted to receive hydrogen,

asa charge for the chambers, said fuel injection means being operativeto supply oxygenwhereby the exhaust of said rotary compression ignition engineis steam.

. 16. A rotary engine comprising a cylindrical'rotor 7 having aplurality of bores therethrough equally spaced from and parallel to the axis of the rotor, said boresbeing equi-angularlyspaced with respect to the axis of sa d means forconstraining said pistons toa circularpa th as I said rotor is rotatedabout its axis tocause relative reciproical motion between each piston and its associated bore, exhaust and intake means associatedwitheachend of said bores, each piston head and its associated bore end forming a coinbusticm chamber, fuel supply means, said intake and exhaust means and said fuel supply meanscooperating to achieve a four stroke compression-lgnition cycle in eacliof said chambers; timing means for timing the cooperation between said intake and-exhaust means and said fuel supply means, said timing means including "rotary valve plates adjacent the ends of each of said chambers,. sa'id"rotary valve plates rotating at a speed different from saidrotor, the difierence in speed. between 7 said rotor andsaid rotary valve. plates being proportional to the'number of bores in said rotor. a

17. A' rotary compression ignition engine comprising a cylindrical rotor, said rotor having a plurality of cyl-- inders equally spacedfrom-and parallel to. the axis of the rotor, saidcylinders being equi-angm la'rly spacedwith respect "to the axis ofjthe rotor, a piston having a head disposed within eachiof "said.cylinders,'.guide,.rneans for constraining said pistontoauniform path as said rotor is rotated about its axis to cause relative reciprocal m'o-j {.tion between each pistonand its associated cylinden' valve' travel of said pistons closest to said valve plates on each side of said rotor,-said intake'ports extendingslightly less than 180 from the points of said fuel injection means in the direction of rotation of ,said' rotoradjacent ".each valve plate, said exhaust ports':.extending slightly g p less than 180'] from said fuel injection means in a 'direction counter to the direction of'rotation of said. rotor adjacent'each valve plate.

l2.",The rotary compression ignition engineuof claim. 5

means associated' with the ends of ,said cylinders, an exfj'haust port, an-intake p0rt, ;each piston head'and its-asso- 'ciated cylinder "end forming a combust nchambenij. n1-

tionwnieans, said valve r'neans,jfguide meansandigiinidn meansfcooperating Withsaid intake'and exhaustfports to--' f achieve a four stroke lcompression ignition. cy'cle in each of, said'chambers, said valve. means includinga;'valvefplate at an. end of the rotor, eacli cylirid'er beingalongitudi' 'nal bore extending fr'om saidlonez'end'of the rotor, saidj valve plate having valve ports therein, saidvalv'e plate P being rotatable, said valve plateports being "spaced on said ,valveplate to open feach cylinder end adjacent said'rotor end at timed intervals,to coincide with said exhaust or.

intake ports.

' 18. A rotary compression ignition engine comprising a cylindrical rotor, said rotor havinga pluralityof cylinders ,equallyspaced from andparallel" to the axis of the" rotor, saidcylinders being 'equi-angularly spaced with 're spectto' the axis of the rotor, ad uble-acting piston fhaving, a head atfeach end thereof disposed within each of said cylinders, guiderneans for constraining" said pistons to a uniform path' as said-rotor is -rotatedabout its axis to cause relative reciprocal motion between each ll piston and its associated cylinder, valve ,means associated with the ends of-said'cylinders, at least two exhaust ports, at least two intake ports, each piston headand its associated cylinder end forming a combustion chamber,

ignition means, said valve means, guide means and ignition means cooperating with said intake and exhaust ports toj achieve a ,four stroke"compression-ignition cycle. in

eachof said chambers, said valve means includingvalve plates on each end of said rotor, said valve plates being rotatable in' timed relationship to the rotation of said rotor, gear meansysaid gear meansincluding a gearcon- I centric with said-rotor, saidivalvef plates having 'a con centric gear associated-therewith, said, valve plate (gear being driven by said rotor gear-whereby said valve plates may rotate in relation to said-rotor, lubricating oil '15 3 .-E

Claims (1)

1. A ROTARY COMPRESSION IGNITION ENGINE COMPRISING A CYLINDRICAL ROTOR, SAID ROTOR HAVING A PLURALITY OF CYLINDERS EQUALLY SPACED FROM AND PARALLEL TO THE AXIS OF THE ROTOR, SAID CYLINDERS BEING EQUI-ANGULARLY SPACED WITH RESPECT TO THE AXIS OF THE ROTOR, A DOUBLE-ACTING PISTON HAVING A HEAD AT EACH END THEREOF DISPOSED WITHIN EACH OF SAID CYLINDERS, GUIDE MEANS FOR CONSTRAINING SAID PISTONS TO A UNIFORM PATH AS SAID ROTOR IS ROTATED ABOUT ITS AXIS TO CAUSE RELATIVE RECIPROCAL MOTION BETWEEN EACH PISTON AND ITS ASSOCIATED CYLINDER, VALVE MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ENDS OF SAID CYLINDERS, AT LEAST TWO EXHAUST PORTS, AT LEAST TWO INTAKE PORTS, EACH PISTON HEAD AND ITS ASSOCIATED CYLINDER END FORMING A COMBUSTION CHAMBER, IGNITION MEANS, SAID VALVE MEANS, GUIDE MEANS AND IGNITION MEANS COOPERATING WITH SAID INTAKE AND EXHAUST PORTS TO ACHIEVE A FOUR STROKE COMPRESSION-IGNITION CYCLE IN EACH OF SAID CHAMBERS, SAID GUIDE MEANS INCLUDING A FIXED CIRCULAR OUTER GUIDE TRACK, SAID PISTONS HAVING THEIR PATHS DURING ROTATION OF SAID ROTOR DETERMINED BY SAID FIXED CIRCULAR GUIDE TRACK.

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