Rotary disc engine

A rotary internal combustion engine comprising a generally cylindrical shaped rotor housing, a pair of cylindrical shaped rotary discs having inner and outer concentric members and a plurality of spaced apart vanes connecting the inner and outer concentric members and extending axially outward therefrom, a pair of substantially flat stators mounted over the open ends of the rotor housing and an injection system. The rotary discs are structured for mating engagement with one another by inserting the vanes of each rotary disc into the chambers of the other rotary disc formed by the vanes and the inner and outer members, thereby forming an interlocked rotary disc assembly structured to rotate within the rotary housing. A plurality of spark plugs protrude through spaced apart mounting holes in one of the stators and into the combustion chambers. A plurality of spaced apart exhaust ports extend through the other stator. A hollow tubular member extends out from a centrally disposed bore in each rotary disc and a free wheel embedded therein and through a centrally disposed free wheel in the corresponding stator. The free wheels are connected to a central shaft which extends through the tubular member to produce a continuous rotation in a single direction. A gear wheel, structured to mesh with the gears of a starting motor, is mounted on the end of each tubular member. A single port injection system distributes the air-fuel mixture into the combustion chambers. A plurality of water jackets ports, structured to allow a cooling medium to flow therethrough, extend axially through the outer band of the rotor housing and the first and second stators. A plurality of pick-up coils and magnetic bolts are correspondingly mounted in the stators and rotary discs to trigger the spark plug firing as the rotary discs rotate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 1. Field of the Invention
 The present invention relates in general to the field of rotary engines
 and, more particularly, to a rotary internal combustion disk engine.
 2. Description of the Related Art
 Rotary engines were developed to address certain limitations inherent in
 conventional piston driven reciprocating engines. Specifically,
 conventional reciprocating engines utilize a plurality of pistons in
 combination with a multitude of other moving parts, such as connecting
 rods, crankshafts, camshafts, and intake and exhaust valves. Moreover, the
 relationship between these moving parts involves constant friction which
 causes the parts to wear over time and which causes a certain amount of
 vibration within the engine, thereby stressing all of the parts within and
 adjacent to the engine.
 Over the years several different rotary engine designs have been developed.
 For instance, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,282,258, 3,595,014, 4,127,367, and
 4,666,379 disclose various rotary engine designs. Although somewhat useful
 for their intended purposes, none have proven to be entirely satisfactory.
 Specifically, these prior art engines involve complex configurations which
 are difficult and, consequently, expensive to manufacture. Additionally,
 these prior art rotary engines have been found to be inefficient and,
 consequently, produce insufficient power.
 More recent rotary engine designs utilize internal combustion to improve on
 the insufficient power and inefficiencies of the early designs. For
 instance, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,744,736, 5,400,754 and 5,484,272 disclose
 rotary internal combustion engines which were developed to address the
 problems associated with the early rotary engine designs. However, these
 prior art rotary engines still include some of the problems associated
 with the earlier designs and also have not proven to be entirely
 satisfactory.
 Accordingly, there is still a need in the art for an efficient rotary
 internal combustion engine which produces sufficient power and which is
 based on a fairly simple construction which is reasonably inexpensive to
 manufacture. The present invention is particularly suited to overcome
 those problems which remain in the art in a manner not previously known.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 The present invention is directed towards a new and improved rotary
 internal combustion engine comprising a generally cylindrical shaped rotor
 housing, a pair of cylindrical shaped rotary discs, a pair of
 substantially flat stators mounted over the open ends of the rotor housing
 and a fuel injection system. The rotary discs each include an inner
 concentric member, an outer concentric member and a plurality of spaced
 apart vanes connecting the inner and outer concentric members and
 extending axially outward from the inner end of the rotary disc. The
 rotary discs are structured for mating engagement with one another by
 inserting the vanes of each rotary disc into the chambers of the other
 rotary disc formed by the vanes and the inner and outer members, thereby
 forming an interlocked rotary disc assembly. The resultant rotary disc
 assembly is structured to rotate within the rotary housing. A plurality of
 spark plugs protrude through spaced apart mounting holes in one of the
 stators and into the combustion chambers. A plurality of spaced apart
 exhaust ports extend through the other stator. A hollow tubular member
 extends out from a centrally disposed bore in each rotary disc and free
 wheel embedded therein and through a centrally disposed free wheel in the
 corresponding stators to prevent backward rotation of the rotary discs.
 Two additional free wheels embedded in the rotary discs, are connected to
 a central shaft to produce a continuous rotation in a single direction. A
 gear wheel, structured to mesh with the gears of a starting motor, is
 mounted on the end of each tubular member. A single port injection system
 includes a centrally located throttle body structured to distribute the
 air-fuel mixture into the combustion chambers via intake runners and
 intake ports extending radially through the outer band of the rotor
 housing and corresponding intake ports in the outer concentric member of
 each rotary disc. The intake ports in the rotor housing and rotary discs
 are structured and disposed so that, as the rotary discs rotate within the
 rotor housing, the intake ports in the rotary discs are periodically
 aligned with the intake ports in the rotor housing, thereby allowing the
 combustible air-fuel mixture to flow through the intake ports and into the
 combustion chambers. A plurality of water jackets ports, structured to
 allow a cooling medium to flow therethrough, extend axially through the
 outer band of the rotor housing and the first and second stators. A
 plurality of pick-up coils and magnetic bolts are correspondingly mounted
 in the stators and rotary discs to trigger the spark plug firing as the
 rotary discs rotate.
 It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved
 rotary internal combustion engine which has all the advantages of the
 prior art devices and none of the disadvantages.
 It is another object of the present invention to provide such an engine
 which is more efficient than the prior art rotary engines.
 It is also an object of the present invention to provide such an engine
 which produces improved power over the prior art rotary engines.
 It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an engine
 which utilizes a fairly simple construction.
 It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such an engine
 which is reasonably inexpensive to manufacture.
 These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become
 more readily apparent in the description which follows.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of
 the drawings
 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
 Before explaining the disclosed embodiment of the present invention in
 detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its
 application to the details of the particular arrangement shown since the
 invention is capable of other embodiments. Also, the terminology used
 herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.
 As shown in FIGS. 1-8, the present invention is directed towards a new and
 improved rotary internal combustion disc engine 10 comprising a rotor
 housing 20, a pair of cylindrical shaped rotary discs 40, a pair of
 substantially flat stators 60, 70 and an injection system 80. The rotor
 housing 20 is generally cylindrical shaped and includes an outer band 22
 surrounding a hollow open chamber 24.
 The rotary discs 40 each include an inner concentric member 42, an outer
 concentric member 44 and a plurality of spaced apart vanes 46 connecting
 the inner 42 and outer 44 concentric members and extending axially outward
 from the inner end 45 of the rotary disc 40. A plurality of chambers 48
 are defined by the vanes 46 and the inner 42 and outer 44 members. The
 rotary discs 40 are structured for mating engagement with one another by
 inserting the vanes 46 of each rotary disc 40 into the chambers 48 of the
 other rotary disc 40, thereby forming an interlocked rotary disc assembly.
 The resultant rotary disc assembly is structured to rotate within the
 rotary housing 20. In the present embodiment, each rotary disc 40 includes
 four vanes 46, thereby forming eight chambers 48 upon combining the rotary
 discs 40 into the rotary disc assembly. Oil seals 51 are positioned around
 the chambers 48 between the rotary disks 40 and stators 60, 70 to prevent
 oil from getting into the combustion chambers 48.
 The first stator 60 is mounted over the first open end 26 of the rotor
 housing 20 and includes a plurality of spaced apart spark plug mounting
 holes 62, each structured to removably receive a spark plug therein. In
 the present embodiment, three spark plugs are provided. A plurality of
 spaced apart mounting holes 64 are disposed on the first stator 60 to
 align with corresponding internally threaded mounting holes 30 in the
 outer band 22 of the rotor housing 20, adjacent the first open end 26. The
 mounting holes 64, 30 are structured to secure the first stator 60 to the
 rotor housing 20 with externally threaded screws or bolts.
 The second stator 70 is mounted over the second open end 28 of the rotor
 housing 20 and includes a plurality of spaced apart exhaust ports 72
 extending therethrough. The exhaust ports 72 are disposed so that exhaust
 gas may escape the chambers 48 in the rotary discs 40. In the present
 embodiment, three exhaust ports 72 are provided. A plurality of spaced
 apart mounting holes 74 are disposed on the second stator 70 to align with
 corresponding internally threaded mounting holes 30 in the outer band 22
 of the rotor housing 20, adjacent the second open end 28. The mounting
 holes 74, 30 are structured to secure the second stator 70 to the rotor
 housing 20 with externally threaded screws or bolts.
 Each rotary disc 40 also includes a free wheel 52 embedded within a
 central, axially disposed bore 49 in the inner concentric member 42. A
 hollow tubular member 50 extends out from the bore 49 and free wheel 52
 through the outer end 47 of each rotary disc 40 and through a centrally
 disposed free wheel 66, 76 in the corresponding first 60 and second 70
 stators. The free wheels 66, 76 in the first and second stators 60, 70 are
 structured to prevent backward rotation of the rotary discs 40. The free
 wheels 52 are connected to a central shaft 54 which extends through the
 tubular member 50 to produce a continuous rotation in a single direction.
 A gear wheel 90 is mounted on the end of each tubular member 50. The gear
 wheels 90 are structured and disposed to mesh with the gears of a starting
 motor.
 The fuel injection system 80 is a single point injector 81 mounted in a
 centrally located throttle body 82 to distribute the air-fuel mixture into
 the combustion chambers 48 via the plenum 87 and the intake runners 84,
 intake ports 86 extending radially through the outer band 22 of the rotor
 housing 20 and corresponding intake ports 41 in the outer concentric
 member 44 of each rotary disc 40. The intake ports 86, 41 in the rotor
 housing 20 and rotary discs 40 are structured and disposed so that, as the
 rotary discs 40 rotate within the rotor housing 20, the intake ports 41 in
 the rotary discs are periodically aligned with the intake ports 86 in the
 rotor housing 20, thereby allowing the combustible air-fuel mixture to
 flow through the intake ports 86, 41 and into the combustion chambers 48.
 The air enters the system 80 through an air inlet 88 connected to the
 system 80. Although a single point system is preferred, it should be
 appreciated that a multiport injection system may, alternatively, be
 utilized to improve fuel distribution.
 A plurality of water jackets ports 110 extend axially through the outer
 band 22 of the rotor housing 20 and the first 60 and second 70 stators.
 The water jacket ports 110 are structured to allow a cooling medium to
 flow therethrough. Oil inlet passages 111 allow oil to flow in between the
 discs and the stator. There is a bushing 113 in each stator to avoid
 leakage of oil.
 A plurality of pick-up coils 120 extend through the first 60 and second
 stators 70 and are structured for periodic alignment with magnetic bolts
 122 mounted within the outer end 47 of the outer concentric member 44 of
 each rotary disc 40 as the rotary discs 40 rotate. Upon alignment of the
 magnetic bolts 122 and pick-up coils 120, each pick-up coil 120 generates
 a small alternating current which signals an electronic control unit to
 trigger the corresponding spark plug to fire. In the present embodiment,
 three pick-up coils 120 and spark plugs 121 are utilized.
 In operation, the rotary internal combustion engine 10 of the present
 invention comprises eight working chambers, four in the expanding stage
 and four in the contracting stage. A typical cycle is initiated by the
 ignition stroke in chamber 1, which:
 1. completes the exhaust stroke in chamber 2;
 2. brings in the air-fuel mixture into chamber 3 through the intake ports
 86, 41;
 3. partially compresses burned gas in chamber 4;
 4. suctions some of the air-fuel mixture into chamber 5;
 5. compresses the air-fuel mixture in chamber 6;
 6. scavenges some burned gas from an exhaust port into chamber 7; and
 7. returns some of the air-fuel mixture from chamber 8 to an intake runner
 84.
 The cycle is then repeated when the compressed gas in chamber 6 is ignited
 by the corresponding spark plug.
 While the invention has been described, disclosed, illustrated and shown in
 various terms of certain embodiments or modifications, which it has
 presumed in practice, the scope of the invention is not intended to be,
 nor should it be deemed to be, limited thereby and such other
 modifications or embodiments as may be suggested by the teachings herein
 are particularly reserved, especially as they fall within the breadth and
 scope of the claims here appended.