Liquid cooling system for rotary internal combustion engine

Claim 1

In a rotary internal combustion engine in which a rotor is eccentrically mounted on a mainshaft so that the rotor planetates within a multi-lobed, substantially trochoidal shaped cavity formed within the housing of the engine and which engine is disposed in its normal operative position with the major and minor axes of the cavity respectively extending substantially vertically and parallel to a horizontal plane and wherein combustion occurs in the area adjacent one of the lobe junctures so that the area of highest heat flux extends substantially along one side of the housing parallel to the major axis of said cavity, a cooling system for the housing of said engine comprising: a. a plurality of first cooling passageways in the housing adjacent the area where the highest heat flux is produced and extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said mainshaft; b. header means forming chambers in the housing at the opposite ends of said housing to connect said first cooling passageways together end-to-end to provide for series flow of coolant through each of said plurality of first cooling passageways from one end of the housing to the other and upwardly adjacent said area of highest heat flux; c. inlet means in the housing at a point below the minor axis of the trochoidal cavity and adjacent the combustion exhaust gas discharge means to communicate said first cooling passageways to a source of coolant to supply the first cooling passageways with coolant; d. outlet means in the housing at a point above the minor axis to communicate with said first cooling passageways and receive heated coolant from the latter; e. second cooling passageways in the housing adjacent the area where the lowest heat flux is produced and extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the mainshaft and communicating with said outlet means; and f. by-pass means downstream from said inlet means for passing a portion of the coolant passing through said first cooling passageways into said second cooling passageways.