Rotary engine construction

Claim 2

Improved rotary engine construction comprising an outer cylindrical housing, a stationary shaft member axially disposed through the housing and having its opposite ends recessed to form tubular portions which define elongated annular wall sections and enclosed chambers, an output shaft supported through one side of the cylindrical housing for rotation about an axis extending radially outWardly of said housing, driving gear means fixed to an inner end of the power output shaft, rotor mechanisms rotatably mounted around the tubular shaft at opposite sides of the power output shaft, ring gear means fast on the rotor mechanisms for meshing with said driving gear means at two opposite sides thereof, each of said rotor mechanisms including fuel combusting chambers and supporting hub portions, and pistons mounted for reciprocating movement in their respective fuel combusting chambers, cam means for producing rotative movement of the rotor mechanisms in response to internal combustion displacement of the pistons, conduit means including a plurality of sets of circumferentially spaced apart passageways formed internally of each of said tubular portions and extending radially outwardly through the stationary shaft in communication with respective fuel combusting chambers of the rotor mechanisms for supplying fuel mixtures and exhausting combusting gas mixtures, and ignition means including distributor apparatus for igniting gas mixture in the fuel combusting chambers in timed relationship.

Claim 3

A structure according to claim 1 in which the power output shaft includes a gear secured at an inner end thereof, and said fuel burning rotor mechanism includes axially spaced sets of fuel combusting chambers, reciprocating pistons in the chambers and supporting hub portions mounted for rotation around the stationary shaft at opposite sides of the said output shaft, gear means fixed to inner sides of the hub portions in a position to mesh with the output shaft gear at opposite sides thereof, each of said axially spaced sets of fuel combusting chambers including four fuel combusting chambers and reciprocating piston units circumferentially spaced apart around the stationary shaft at 90* intervals, cam rollers pivotally attached at outer extremities of said pistons, cam liner means secured around the inner periphery of the housing and being formed with spaced apart cam tracks for engaging said cam rollers, said cam tracks presenting sinuous cam guiding surfaces which extend toward and away from the stationary shaft uniformly in a reversely curved manner at 90* intervals around the said housing to provide a four-cycle reciprocation of each of the said pistons and a continuous rotative travel of the fuel combusting chambers about the said stationary shaft, said stationary shaft and tubular portions being provided with internal circumferentially spaced apart passageways for supplying fuel to each of the fuel combusting chambers, passageways for exhausting products of combustion, and passageways for conducting flows of coolant at either side of said passageways for exhausting combustion gases, spark plug means mounted in said stationary shaft and distributor means rotatable with said hub portions for igniting fuel mixtures in said chambers in timed relationship.

Claim 4

A structure according to claim 2 in which the said passageways for supplying fuel and exhausting products of combustion occur in staggered relationship in the stationary shaft whereby register of a passageway in the shaft and an adjacent hub portion for one fuel combusting chamber may be selectively utilized with all remaining passageways being sealably closed.

Claim 5

A structure according to claim 1 in which said tubular portions define elongated annular wall sections and enclosed chambers and said circumferentially spaced passageways being formed internally of the annular wall sections.

Claim 6

A structure according to claim 1 in which the tubular portions are defined by elongated annular wall sections and enclosed chambers and said ignition means includes spark plugs located in the enclosed chambers of the tubular portions.

Claim 7

A structure according to claim 1 in which the tubular portions define elongated annular wall sections and enclosed chambers and said annular wall sections being internally formed with coolant passageways which are arranged at either side of the said exhaust passageways In cooling relationship therewith.

Claim 8

A structure according to claim 1 in which the distributor apparatus is mounted for rotation with the rotor mechanisms around the stationary shaft and operable to periodically actuate the ignition means.

Claim 9

A structure according to claim 1 in which the supporting hub portions of the rotor mechanisms are located radially therethrough passageways through which fuel mixtures and combustion gas mixtures may pass and said passageways in the hub portions occurring in staggered relationship to provide for successively registering the passageways with respective combustion chambers.

Claim 10

A structure according to claim 1 in which the said passageways for fuel mixtures and exhaust products of combustion include inlet and outlet portions occurring in staggered relationship in the said stationary shaft, whereby register of a passageway in the shaft and an adjacent hub portion for one fuel combusting chamber may be selectively utilized with all remaining passageways being sealably closed.