US3823695A - Rotary engine - Google Patents

Abstract

A rotary engine is provided which includes a stationary shaft, three spaced stationary supports with eccentric cylinders, thereon interposed between the supports and the shaft, a multilobed compressor rotor carried on a sleeve concentric with the shaft between the first and second support, a compressor casing surrounding the rotor carried by bearings on the eccentric cylinders, a multilobed engine rotor between the second and third supports carried by a sleeve concentric with the shaft, an engine casing surrounding the engine rotor carried by bearings on the eccentric cylinders, and multiple passageways in the rotors and the shaft to provide for communication therebetween for fuel mixture introduction, compression, treatment, compression, combustion and exhaust gas feedback.

Description

United States Patent 1191 Swartz 1 ROTARY ENGINE [76] Inventor: William G. Swartz, Box 543, North Hills, Pa. 19038 [22] Filed: June 4, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 366,612

[52] US. Cl 123/823, 418/171, 418/187 51 1m. (:1. F02b 53/08 58 Field of Search 418/171, 186, 187, 188; 123/823, 8.41, 8.47

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,189,976 2/1940 De Lavaud 123/8.47 2,740,386 4/1956 Crandall..... 123/8.41 X 3,298,331 1/1967 Butler 418/187 X Primary Examiner-C. J. Husar Assistant Examiner-Leonard Smith Attorney, Agent, or FirmZachary T. Wobensmith, 2nd; Zachary T. Wobensmith, III 1 11] 3,823,695 1451 July 16, 1974 5 7] ABSTRACT A rotary engine is provided which includes a stationary shaft, three spaced stationary supports with eccentric cylinders, thereon interposed between the supports and the shaft, a multilobed compressor rotor carried on a sleeve concentric with the shaft between the first and second support, a compressor casing surrounding the rotor carried by bearings on the eccentric cylinders, a multilobed engine rotor between the second and third supports carried by a sleeve concentric with the shaft, 'an engine casing surrounding the engine rotor carriedby hearings on the eccentric cylinders, and multiple passageways in therotors and the shaft to provide for communication therebetween for 1 fuel mixture introduction, compression, treatment,

compression, combustion and exhaust gas feedback.

10 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures SHEE'I 1 m PATEN TED JUL I 6 I974 PATENTEUJUHBIW 3.823.695

SHEEI 5 BF 7 REL/VERY 7' BEG/N COMPRESSOR MUTAT/O/V CHAMBER COMPRESSOR C Alp/P5537 /V 0 0 COMP/P5550? ROTARY ENGINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a rotary engine wherein the fuel/air mixture may be compressed prior to delivery to the engine and may be treated in the engine to become a more combustible mixture, with the engine and compressor of the gerotor type with eccentric rotating external casings, and concentric rotating rotors both rotatable about a stationary center shaft.

2. Description of the Prior Art Rotary engines wherein both the engine rotor and its surrounding casing have projections and chambers of the lobed variety, with the rotors on an eccentric crankshaft have been in use for many years. Such engines posses many advantages over the conventional rotary engine with its non-eccentric crankshaft in that they may obviate one-of the primary problems which exists in rotary engines, i.e., that of sealing the rotor and chamber when they are in contact. Such engine or pumps are illustrated in the U.S. Pats. to Patin, No. 2,871,831, Charlson, No. 3,270,682, Patterson No. 3,377,873, and Hansen, No. 3,424,095. However, most eccentric rotary engines also suffer from the same problems of pollution of the atmosphere as do conventional rotary engines.

The rotary engine of my invention with its precompression of the fuelair mixture, admixture of fuel and hot exhaust gases at a selected stage and with further combustion enhancement of the fuel/air mixture does not suffer from the disadvantages of conventional rotary engines and has numerous advantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A rotary engine is provided which has a stationary supporting shaft, a compressor rotor carried on the shaft, eccentric cylinders on the shafton each side of the rotor on which a compressor casing is carried, an engine rotor carried on the shaft, separated from the compressor, an engine casing surrounding the rotor carried on bearings on eccentric cylinders on the shaft on each side of the rotor, and passageways in the shaft and the rotors to provide for treatment of the fuel air mixture, communication therrebetween and with an exhaust valve to feed back a selected volume of the exhaust gas.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a rotary engine which generates considerably less pollution than conventional rotary engines.

A further object of my invention is to provide a rotary engine where in improved sealing of the engine rotor and combustion chambers is obtained.

A further object of my invention is to provide a rotary engine which operates at lower temperatures than conventional engines.

A further object of my invention is to provide a rotary engine which can use a wide variety of fuels for operation.

Other objects and advantageous-features of the invention will be apparent from the description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The nature and characteristic features of the invention will be more readily understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part thereof, in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of reduced size,

taken approximately on the line 1--1 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 2 is an end elevation view taken from the right end of the apparatus of FIG. 1; I

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view, enlarged, taken approximately on the line 33 of FIG. 1, and illustrating the compressor portion of the engine;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view enlarged, taken approximately on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is. a vertical sectional view taken approximately on the line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view, enlarged, taken approximately on the line 66 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view, enlarged, taken approximately on the line 7-7 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view, enlarged, taken approximately .on the line 88 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8A is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating further details of the spark plug;

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic view. illustrating the cycle for one rotation of the compressor rotor;

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the cycle for one rotation of the engine rotor as seen from the compressor end of the engine, and

FIG. 11 isa diagrammatic view illustrating the cycle for one rotation of the engine rotor as seen from the exhaust side of the engine.

It should, of course, be understood that the description and drawings herein are illustrative merely and that various modifications and changes can be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now, more particularly to the drawings, the rotary engine of my invention includes a stationary shaft 10 with a plurality of internal passageways to be later described. The shaft 10 is supported at three locations by triangular support brackets 15, 16 and 17, which brackets are retained in alignment by three rods 20 passing therethrough with nuts 21 at each end and spacers 22 on the rods between the brackets 15 and 16, and 16 and 17. I

The support bracket 15 has an eccentric cylinder 24 thereon interposed between it and shaft 10, secured to both the bracket and the shaft with the bracket in an exterior groove 25 of the cylinder. The bracket 16 has an eccentric cylinder 26 thereon between it and shaft 10 secured to the bracket 16. The bracket 16 is illustrated in FIG. 5 as being of triangular shape, preferably fabricated of metal. The bracket 15 is of the same triangular configuration as bracket 16, and is illustrated in FIG. 2.

The bracket 17 has an eccentric cylinder 27 interposed between it and shaft 10, and secured to both the bracket 17 and the shaft with the bracket engaged in a groove 28 in the cylinder.

The bracket 17 is of the same construction as bracket 15.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 the shaft is shown with an air intake housing 30 mounted thereon carrying three fuel pipes 31, 32 and 33 which are connected to a supply of fuel 34 under pressure with an interposed shut off valve 35.

The housing 30 is open at the sides and provided with filter material 36 for removing dirt and other particles from the'air drawn therethrough. The shaft 10 has a passageway Pl at its right end as seen in FIG. 1 which has a tube 41 therein with holes 42 for filtered air admission. An air throttle valve 43 is provided to control air admission through holes 42 by movement of the handle 44.

The compressor C for the rotary engine is located betweenthe supports and 16 and includes a rotor 45' shown in detail in FIG. 3 with radial lobes or projections 46, six being preferred, joined by concave surfaces 47 extending the length of the rotor. The rotor 45 is preferably fabricated of cast iron and secured'to a sleeve 50 which'is carried on the outer surface 51 of the shaft 10 and extends to the left between shaft 10 and cylinder 26. The rotor 45 has passageways 52, one for each lobe 46, at one end of the rotor and corresponding passageways 53 at the other end of the rotor, which extend through the sleeve 50 for communication with passageways within shaft 10 to be described and extend radially outwardly to the surfaces 47.

The compressor C also includes an outer casing 55 which has two disc like end plates 56 carried by bearings 57 on the eccentric cylinders 24 and 26. The outermost plate 56 is retained from axial rightward movement by a split ring 58 on the cylinder 24 between the plate and the bracket 15. The plates 56-have stepped portions 60 which are engaged in gas-tight relation by longitudinally extending compression bars 61 of which seven are illustrated in the preferred embodiment and constructed of aluminum to provide for effective cooling. The compression bars 61 of rectangular shape with concave interior surfaces 62 and flat outer sides 63 have concave casing inserts 64 secured thereto. The inserts 64 extend between the plates 56 in gas-tight relation and each one is fastened to two compression bars 61 by bolts 65 and nuts 66. The inserts are preferably formed of steel and have interior surfaces 67 of opposite contour to the surfaces 47 of the rotor 45, but can mate together as shown in FIG. 3.

Seven tension rods 68 areprovided extending between the inserts 63 and the end plate 56 retaining the same in the rigid gas-tight casing 55.

The shaft 10 has two additional passageways P2 and P3 which extend to the left as seen in FIG. 1 and terminate in the motor end of the shaft 10, to be described below. A fourth passageway P4 in shaft 10 extends to the left from the compressor C to the engine end of shaft 10 and carries hot exhaust gas back into the compressor as will be described. V

'For operation of the compressor reference can be had to FIG. 9 wherein the cycle for one rotation of rotor 45 is described. Starting at top dead center (TDC) the rotor 45 is rotated clockwise by the rotation of casing 55 and air is drawn through the filter 36 into the tube 41 through holes 42 in a volume as determined by the setting of the throttle valve 43.

Fuel is injected into the air stream in tube 41 from an atomizing nozzle (not shown) connected to fuel pipe 31 with the fuel/air mixture flowing in passageway P1 into the compressor chamber CH1 formed by the casing assembly and the rotor 45 through passageways 52 after the rotor 45 has rotated 25. At the same time that the fuel/air mixture is being drawn in through passageway Pl, hot exhaust gases are flowing back through passageway P4 into passageway P1 and diluting the fuel/air mixture by l5 to 20 percent of its volume.

The rotor 45 continues on its intake rotation for an additional 155 degrees until the rotation carries the passageway 52 past passageway P1 and cuts off further fuel/air intake.

The rotor 45 continues to rotate for I30 compressing the mixture until passageway P2 is exposed to the compressed fuel/air mixture which then vents through passageway 53 into passageway P2.

A measured volume of atomized fuel is delivered to the mixture in passageway P2 by a nozzle N2, and this mixture is then delivered to'the engine end of the shaft 10 through passageway P2 for treatmentas described below.

Referring now to the engine portion E of the shaft 10, between supports 16 and 17 arotor is secured to the sleeve 50 which rotates on the outer surface 51 of the shaft 10 in concentric relation.

The rotor 75 is shown in detail in FIG. 6 and includes a plurality of lobes or projections 78, six being preferred, joined by concave surfaces 79 extending the length of the rotor. The rotor 75 is preferably fabri-- cated of cast iron and has steel inserts 80 at the end of each of the lobes 78 to improve the wearability thereof.

seals 82 are constructed of suitable flame resistant material to assist in retention of flame in the combustion area and compensate for tooth wear.

The rotor 75 is provided with six semi-circular mutation chambers 84 extending the length of the rotor and communicating with the passageways P2 and P3 in shaft 10 by means of passageways 85 through the sleeve 50. An outer casing 88 surrounds the rotor 75 with two disc-like end plates 89 carried by bearings 90 on the eccentric cylinders 26 and 27.

A retaining snap ring 87 is provided between the outermost end plate 89 and support 17 to prevent leftward axial movement of the plate.

The plates 89 have stepped portions 91 which are engaged in gas-tight relation by seven longitudinally extending compression bars 92, preferably constructed of aluminum to assist in cooling of the engine. The compression, bars 92 of rectangular shape in cross section have concave interior surfaces 95 and flat sides 96 to which concave casing inserts 98 are secured by bolts 100 and nuts 10].

The inserts 98, preferably formed of steel, extend between the plates 89 and have interior surfaces of opposite contour tosurfaces 79 and mate therewith as shown in FIG. 6.

The end plates 89, the bars 92, and the inserts 98 are maintained in gas-tight relation by seven tension bars 106 extending between and in threaded engagement with the .end plates 89 forming the rigid casing 88.

As shown more particularly in FIG. 8. an adjustable valve 110, is provided at the entrance 111 to passageway P4 permitting a measured quantity of exhaust gas to flow therein.

A transverse passageway P5 is provided which extends across the shaft intersecting passageway P3 and terminating adjacent the innermost end plate 89.

The ignition system is illustrated in FIG. 8 and includes an ignition plug 115, with its insulation 116 connected to a source of electricity (not shown) to provide a constant spark which is exposed to the fuel/air mixture through passageway 12] in sleeve 50 and rotor 75 to surfaces 79 at a selected time interval as determined by the position of an adjustable ignition gate 118, whose position in shaft 10 is controlled by gear 119 and lobed portion 120 thereof.

An additional passageway 121' is provided through shaft 10 for delivery through passageways 121 from the surface 79 to a passageway P6 in shaft 10 for exhaust of burned gases.

It should be noted that the innermost end plate 56 of compressor casing 55 has a ring gear 125 secured thereto by cap screws 126 thereon which is engaged by a gear 127 mounted on a shaft 128 journalled in the bracket l6 and with a gear 129 thereon engaged with a ring gear 130 secured to the innermost end plate 89 of the casing 88 by cap screws 131.

Rotation of both casings 55 and 88 in synchronized relation is therefore obtained withoptional power takeoff by further geared engagement (not shown) with one of the gears 127 or 129.

For operation of the engine reference can be had to FIGS. 10 and 11 where the cycle of operation is illustrated. Starting at top dead center with compressed fuel/air mixture available from passageway P2, rotation of the rotor 75 causes a passageway 85 to be in communication with passageway P2 and fuel/air mixture flows into a mutation chamber 84 where it expands and picks up heat which assists the nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen and carbon atoms in the mixture to combine into a more optimum CO relationship for combustion. The intake rotation continues for 50 until cut off from passageway P2 and the rotor 75 rotates for 230 more while the mixture in chamber 84 is treated as described above.

The rotor 75 after travelling 280 vents the mixture from chamber 84 through passageway 85 to passageway P5 where a controlled volume of atomized fuel is delivered by nozzle N3 and this optimum combustion mixture is'then delivered into a combustion chamber CH formed brtween two adjacent lobes 78, inserts 98, and bars 92. The venting from chamber 84 through passageway P5 continues for 40 of rotor 75 rotation and the rotor 75 then rotates 40 more back to top dead center with no activity in the chamber 84 until top dead center where intake begins again as explained.

The optimum combustible mixture introduced into a chamber CH at bottom dead center after 30 of rotation continues to flow into the chamber from passageway P3 for 30 of rotation until flow. in passageway P5 is cut off and the mixture is compressed in the chamber CH for 120 of rotor 75 rotation to top dead center where the ignition spark is exposed to the mixture through passageway 117 and combustion takes place creating a power impulse.

The rotor 75 rotates for 180 of power impulse to bottom dead center where themixture of burned gases is exhausted through passageway 121 to passageway P6 for exhaust to atmosphere;

The operation continues as explained with seven power impulses produced for each revolution of the outer casing.

It should be noted that a multiplicity of fuels can be eccentric members on each side of said rotor secured to said shaft,

a casing mounted on and rotatable about said eccentric members,

said casing having a plurality 'of spaces thereon greater in number than the number. of rotor lobes and providing an expansible combustion chamber between each pair of lobes,

a first passageway in said shaft communicating with a source of fuel/air mixture under pressure,

said rotor having a plurality of mutation chambers,

one for each rotor lobe for selective communication with said first passageway for mutation of said fuel/air mixture,

a second passageway in said shaft for selectively venting each of said mutation chambers to a combustion chamber,

ignition means for igniting said fuel mixture in said combustion chamber, and exhaust means for venting the products of combustion.

2. A rotary engine as defined in claim 1 in which said lobes at theirends have inserts of wear resistant material.

3. A rotary engine as defined in claim 1 in which said lobes contiguous to their ends have flame seal members for engagement with said casing.

4. A rotary engine as defined in claim 1 in which said source of fuel-air mixture under pressure comprises a compressor driven by said engine.

5. A rotary engine as defined in claim 1 in which means is provided for injecting a measured quantity of fuel into said mixture between said mutation chamber and said expansible chamber.

6. A rotary engine as defined in claim 1 in which said shaft has members thereon for varying the timing of said ignition means.

7. A rotary engine as defined in claim 1 in which said rotor is of cast iron.

8. A rotary engine as defined in claim 7 in which means is provided for injecting a measured quantity of fuel into said compressed mixture in said first passageway.

9. A rotary engine as defined in claim 1 in which structure is provided for mixing a portion of said products of combustion with said fuel/air mixture in advance of said mutation chambers.

10. A rotary engine as defined in claim 9 in which valve means is provided in said shaft for controlling the flow of said portion of said products of combustion.

Claims (10)

1. A rotary engine which comprises a stationary shaft, a multi-lobed rotor rotatably mounted on said shaft, eccentric members on each side of said rotor secured to said shaft, a casing mounted on and rotatable about said eccentric members, said casing having a plurality of spaces thereon greater in number than the number of rotor lobes and providing an expansible combustion chamber between each pair of lobes, a first passageway in said shaft communicating with a source of fuel/air mixture under pressure, said rotor having a plurality of mutation chambers, one for each rotor lobe for selective communication with said first passageway for mutation of said fuel/air mixture, a second passageway in said shaft for selectively venting each of said mutation chambers to a combustion chamber, ignition means for igniting said fuel mixture in said combustion chamber, and exhaust means for venting the products of combustion.

2. A rotary engine as defined in claim 1 in which said lobes at their ends have inserts of wear resistant material.

3. A rotary engine as defined in claim 1 in which said lobes contiguous to their ends have flame seal members for engagement with said casing.

4. A rotary engine as defined in claim 1 in which said source of fuel-air mixture under pressure comprises a compressor driven by said engine.

5. A rotary engine as defined in claim 1 in which means is provided for injecting a measured quantity of fuel into said mixture between said mutation chamber and said expansible chamber.

6. A rotary engine as defined in claim 1 in which said shaft has members thereon for varying the timing of said ignition means.

7. A rotary engine as defined in claim 1 in which said rotor is of cast iron.

8. A rotary engine as defined in claim 7 in which means is provided for injecting a measured quantity of fuel into said compressed mixture in said first passageway.

9. A rotary engine as defined in claim 1 in which structure is provided for mixing a portion of said products of combustion with said fuEl/air mixture in advance of said mutation chambers.

10. A rotary engine as defined in claim 9 in which valve means is provided in said shaft for controlling the flow of said portion of said products of combustion.

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