Chambered piston for an internal combustion engine

Claim 2

In a piston for a four cycle spark ignition internal combustion engine having a spark plug, the piston cooperating with the engine walls to define a combustion chamber of variable volume, the improvement comprising a piston member with a fixed piston area and having a piston chamber formed within said piston member, said piston chamber having a nozzle of an area of generally five or less percent of the piston area exiting through an outer surface of the piston member into said combustion chamber, said piston chamber having an interior of a crosssectional area at least five times larger than the crosssectional area of said nozzle, said piston chamber containing substantially all of a combustible mixture introduced into the combustion chamber of the engine and being in communication with said spark plug near the completion of the compression cycle, whereby upon ignition of the combustible mixture in said piston chamber by said spark plug, the gases generated by combustion are discharged from said piston chamber out said nozzle to drive said piston member by jet reaction and after being discharged into said combustion chamber act on said outer surface of said piston to further drive said piston member.

Claim 3

The piston member of claim 1, wherein said nozzle of said piston chamber and said spark plug at the end of the compression cycle are aligned with one another, whereby said nozzle of said piston chamber receives said spark plug at the end of the compression cycle.

Claim 4

The piston member of claim 1, wherein said nozzle and said spark plug are misaligned, said piston member having a second opening therein aligned with said spark plug to communicate the interior of said piston chamber with said spark plug at the end of the compression cycle.

Claim 5

The piston member of claim 1, wherein said piston chamber has a flat surface opposite said nozzle and converges from the margins of said flat surface toward said nozzle, said nozzle first converging and then diverging to exit into the combustion chamber.

Claim 6

The piston member of claim 1, wherein said piston member is in the form of a rotor for a rotary engine and includes an elongated wedge member in which said piston chamber is formed.

Claim 7

The piston member of claim 1, wherein a pair of said piston members comprises a rotor for a rotary engine, each piston member includes a hub and a pair of elongated wedge-shaped members disposed on opposite sides of said hub and extending parallel to the axis of rotation of said hub, said wedge-shaped members being at least twice as long as said hub and being mounted at their inner ends on said hub, each of said wedge-shaped members having a pair of substantially radially extending faces and one of said piston chambers formed therein, said piston chamber being elongated and extending in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of said hub, each of said wedge-shaped members having an elongated slot intersecting its associated chamber and extending substantially perpendicularly through one radial face of said wedge-shaped member to form said nozzle, the cross-sectional area of said chamber in a plane including said axis of rotation being at least five times larger than the cross-sectional area of said slot in a plane including said axis of rotation, and a radial passage extending from said chamber to the outer periphery of said wedge-shaped member for establishing communication between said piston chamber and said spark plug in the vicinity of the end of the compression cycle for the respective wedge-shaped member.

Claim 8

A process of operating a four cyclE spark ignition internal combustion engine having a spark plug and a piston cooperating with other portions of the engine to define a variable volume combustion chamber, said piston having a piston chamber therein, said piston chamber having an interior portion and a nozzle portion exiting through an outer surface of the piston into the combustion chamber, the cross-sectional area of said interior portion being at least five times larger than the cross-sectional area of the nozzle portion, and the cross-sectional area of said nozzle portion being five or less percent of the piston area, comprising the steps of: a. charging said combustion chamber with a combustible mixture, b. compressing substantially all of said combustible mixture into said piston chamber, c. igniting the combustible mixture in said piston chamber with said spark plug to increase the pressure in the piston chamber above that in the combustion chamber, d. discharging the high pressure gases formed by combustion of said combustible mixture from said piston chamber through said nozzle portion into said combustion chamber to produce a jet type reaction driving the piston, e. raising the pressure in the combustion chamber with the discharged gases from the piston chamber, the gases in the combustion chamber acting on the outer surface of the piston to further drive the piston, and f. exhausting the gases from the piston chamber and combustion chamber, whereby said piston is driven both by jet reaction of the gases discharged through the nozzle and by the discharged gases increasing the pressure in the combustion chamber and acting on the outer piston surface.

Claim 9

A process of operating a four cyclE spark ignition internal combustion engine having a spark plug and a piston cooperating with other portions of the engine to define a variable volume combustion chamber, said piston having a piston chamber therein, said piston chamber having an interior portion and a nozzle portion exiting through an outer surface of the piston into the combustion chamber, the cross-sectional area of said interior portion being at least five times larger than the cross-sectional area of the nozzle portion, and the cross-sectional area of said nozzle portion being five or less percent of the piston area, comprising the steps of: a. charging said combustion chamber with a combustible mixture, b. compressing substantially all of said combustible mixture into said piston chamber, c. igniting the combustible mixture in said piston chamber with said spark plug to increase the pressure in the piston chamber above that in the combustion chamber, d. discharging the high pressure gases formed by combustion of said combustible mixture from said piston chamber through said nozzle portion into said combustion chamber to produce a jet type reaction driving the piston, e. raising the pressure in the combustion chamber with the discharged gases from the piston chamber, the gases in the combustion chamber acting on the outer surface of the piston to further drive the piston, and f. exhausting the gases from the piston chamber and combustion chamber, whereby said piston is driven both by jet reaction of the gases discharged through the nozzle and by the discharged gases increasing the pressure in the combustion chamber and acting on the outer piston surface.

Claim 10

A rotating piston for a rotary internal combustion engine comprising a hub and a pair of elongated wedge-shaped members disposed on opposite sides of said hub and extending parallel to the axis of rotation of said hub, said wedge-shaped members having a pair of generally radial faces, being mounted on their inner ends to said hub and at least twice the length of said hub, said piston cooperating with a similar second piston and the engine walls to define a pair of variable volume wedgeshaped combustion chambers between the wedge-shaped members, each of said wedge-shaped members having a piston chamber formed therein extending in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation, a elongated slot intersecting said chamber and extending generally perpendicularly through one of said radial faces to form a nozzle exiting onto one of the combustion chambers, the cross-sectional area of said piston chamber in a plane including the axis of rotation being at least five times larger than the cross-sectional area of said slot in a plane including the axis of rotation, and a generally radial passage intersecting said piston chamber and extending to the outer periphery of said wedge-shaped member for communicating said piston chamber with a spark plug or fuel injector of the engine, whereby a combustible mixture may be burned in said piston chamber to raise the pressure in the piston chamber above that in the combustion chamber, the gases generated by combustion being discharged out the nozzle to the associated combustion chamber to first drive the piston with jet type reaction and then acting on the outer radial face of said piston to further drive the piston.

Claim 11

A rotating piston for a rotary internal combustion engine comprising a hub and a pair of elongated wedge-shaped members disposed on opposite sides of said hub and extending parallel to the axis of rotation of said hub, said wedge-shaped members having a pair of generally radial faces, being mounted on their inner ends to said hub and at least twice the length of said hub, said piston cooperating with a similar second piston and the engine walls to define a pair of variable volume wedgeshaped combustion chambers between the wedge-shaped members, each of said wedge-shaped members having a piston chamber formed therein extending in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation, a elongated slot intersecting said chamber and extending generally perpendicularly through one of said radial faces to form a nozzle exiting onto one of the combustion chambers, the cross-sectional area of said piston chamber in a plane including the axis of rotation being at least five times larger than the cross-sectional area of said slot in a plane including the axis of rotation, and a generally radial passage intersecting said piston chamber and extending to the outer periphery of said wedge-shaped member for communicating said piston chamber with a spark plug or fuel injector of the engine, whereby a combustible mixture may be burned in said piston chamber to raise the pressure in the piston chamber above that in the combustion chamber, the gases generated by combustion being discharged out the nozzle to the associated combustion chamber to first drive the piston with jet type reaction and then acting on the outer radial face of said piston to further drive the piston.

Claim 12

A process of operating a rotary internal combustion engine having a pair of wedge-shaped pistons cooperating with each other and other portions of the engine to define a wedge-shaped variable volume combustion chamber, one of said pistons having a chamber therein, said piston chamber having an interior portion and a nozzle portion exiting through an outer surface of the piston into the combustion chamber, the cross-sectional area of said interior portion being at least five time larger than the cross-sectional area of the nozzle portion, comprising the steps of: a. charging said wedge-shaped combustion chamber with air or fuel-air mixture, b. compressing subStantially all of said air or fuel-air mixture between said wedge-shaped pistons and into said piston chamber, c. igniting the fuel-air mixture to increase the pressure in the piston chamber above that of the combustion chamber, d. discharging the high pressure gases formed through said nozzle portion into said wedge-shaped combustion chamber to produce a jet type reaction driving said one piston away from the other piston, e. raising the pressure in the combustion chamber with the discharged gases from the piston chamber, the gases in the combustion chamber acting on the outer surface of said one piston to further drive said one piston away from the other piston, and f. moving the other piston toward said one piston to exhaust the gases from the combustion chamber, whereby said one piston is driven both by the jet reaction of the gases discharged from the nozzle and by the discharged gases increasing the pressure in the combustion chamber and acting on the outer surface of said one piston.

Claim 13

A process of operating a rotary internal combustion engine having a pair of wedge-shaped pistons cooperating with each other and other portions of the engine to define a wedge-shaped variable volume combustion chamber, one of said pistons having a chamber therein, said piston chamber having an interior portion and a nozzle portion exiting through an outer surface of the piston into the combustion chamber, the cross-sectional area of said interior portion being at least five time larger than the cross-sectional area of the nozzle portion, comprising the steps of: a. charging said wedge-shaped combustion chamber with air or fuel-air mixture, b. compressing subStantially all of said air or fuel-air mixture between said wedge-shaped pistons and into said piston chamber, c. igniting the fuel-air mixture to increase the pressure in the piston chamber above that of the combustion chamber, d. discharging the high pressure gases formed through said nozzle portion into said wedge-shaped combustion chamber to produce a jet type reaction driving said one piston away from the other piston, e. raising the pressure in the combustion chamber with the discharged gases from the piston chamber, the gases in the combustion chamber acting on the outer surface of said one piston to further drive said one piston away from the other piston, and f. moving the other piston toward said one piston to exhaust the gases from the combustion chamber, whereby said one piston is driven both by the jet reaction of the gases discharged from the nozzle and by the discharged gases increasing the pressure in the combustion chamber and acting on the outer surface of said one piston.