Rotary internal combustion engine

Claim 1

A double chamber, four-stage rotary internal combustion engine comprising a substantially elliptical rotor eccentrically mounted for rotation in a casing having a wall defining a substantially cylindrical inner surface, side seals mounted in peripheral edges of sides of the rotor for cooperation with said walls of the casing, sealing means mounted on the apices of the rotor for cooperation with the substantially cylindrical inner surface of the casing to define chambers on opposite sides of the rotor, a drive shaft mounted for rotation in the casing and provided with an eccentric journal which is rotatably disposed within a central bore formed within the rotor so that on rotation of the rotor the volume of each chamber varies from a maximum to a minimum and back to a maximum, and a geared connection between the rotor and the housing to ensure that the drive shaft rotates at twice the speed of the rotor and that the rotor follows a predetermined path around the casing, inlet and exhaust valve means including inlet and exhaust valves mounted in inlet and exhaust ports respectively formed in the wall defining the substantially cylindrical inner surface adjacent the apices of the rotor when the chambers on opposite sides of the rotor are at their maximum and minimum volumes, and valve actuating means connecting the inlet and exhaust valves to the drive shaft through a speed reduction of 4:1 so that the inlet port is opened for successive induction to the chambers when the rotor has reduced the volume of one of the chambers to a minimum and closed after two revolutions of the drive shaft, and the exhaust port is opened for successive discharge from the chambers after a further revolution of the drive shaft and closed after a further two revolutions of the drive shaft, the sealing means mounted on the apices of the rotor comprising rockable shoes which are capable of tracking around the substantially cylindrical inner surface and which each carry at least two sealing strips circumferentially spaced by an amount greater than the circumferential extent of th inlet and exhaust ports at the substantially cylindrical inner surface.