Internal combustion engine

Claim 1

In an internal combustion engine of the piston and cylinder type, the improvement which comprises: a detachable cylinder head assembled from two hollowed-out components to provide a cavity having radial symmetry within the cylinder head and wherein the cavity is divided into a first and a second drum-accommodating section for each cylinder of the engine; a first passage for fuel mixture traversing said cylinder head by way of said first drum-accommodating section; a second passage for exhaust gases traversing said cylinder head by way of said second drum-accommodating section; a rotor journalled in said cylinder head, said rotor comprising a shaft having a first and a second drum for each cylinder of the engine coaxial thereon, each drum having a spherical section defined by two parallel planes of a sphere, the planes being disposed symmetrically about the centre of the sphere, the intersection between the planes and the spherical section being rounded off; each drum having a surface recess thereon; when in position, said rotor occupies said cavity in gas-tight sealing contact with the walls of the cylinder head so that the first and second drum-accommodating sections are in gas-tight sealing isolation from each other; the first drum interrupts the first passage; the second drum interrupts the second passage; and means is provided for rotating the rotor at a speed related to the operating cycle of the engine so that the surface recess of the first drum makes successive contact with the ends of the interrupted first passage to transfer successive charges of fuel mixture to the cylinder during rotation of the rotor and the surface recess of the second drum makes successive contact with the ends of the interrupted second passage to transfer successive charges of exhaust gases from the cylinder during rotation of the rotor.