Rotative combustion chamber engine

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an improvement in the combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine (10) is provided. A spherically shaped rotating element (22) is mounted in the engine head (20) for rotation about a first axis (24). The rotating element has a notch which aligns between the combustion chamber and inlet and exhaust passages as the rotating element rotates. A seal assembly (42) seals against the spherical rotating element. The annular seal (54) in contact with the rotating element rotates about an axis and is self-centering in its sealing action to reduce wear and increase sealing effectiveness. The annular seal is mounted and urged into sealing engagement with the rotating element with nested annular seal retainers (56) which also rotate. Various ignition sources can be used, including a spark plug (48) mounted in the rotating element, a laser ignition, multiple spark plugs and plugs having multiple ignition sparks as they pass in an arc across the combustion chamber. The advantages of the invention can be applied to two and four cycle engines and engines combusting gasoline, diesel or other fuels.

TECHNICAL FIELD 
This invention relates to a rotative combustion chamber and its seal for an 
internal combustion engine. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The internal combustion engine has countless applications in industrialized 
societies around the world. In virtually all such engines, a fuel is mixed 
with air and drawn into a combustion chamber. The combustion chamber is 
sealed, permitting a piston to decrease the volume of the combustion 
chamber and compress the fuel air mixture. The ignition source, such as a 
spark plug or adiabatic heating of the air fuel mixture, ignites the fuel, 
resulting in a sudden increase in pressure, driving the piston in the 
opposite direction to increase the volume of the combustion chamber and 
provide a power output to drive an automobile or the like. The combusted 
gases must be driven from the combustion chamber to permit a fresh fuel 
air mixture to be drawn into the combustion chamber to continue the cycle. 
Traditionally, the movement of the air fuel mixture into the combustion 
chamber, and the exhaust of the combusted gases, is achieved by carefully 
timed opening of an intake valve allowing flow of the air fuel mixture 
into the combustion chamber and an exhaust valve to permit the combusted 
gases to be exhausted from the combustion chamber. The valves are normally 
operated by rotating cam shafts having eccentric cam lobes to provide the 
proper valve opening and closing sequence. While the valve operating train 
contains a multitude of parts, and hampers the performance of the engine, 
it has found wide acceptance. 
However, because of the ever growing concern for controlling the emission 
of harmful combustion products and the realization of the limits to the 
fossil fuels typically used in the internal combustion engine, there has 
arisen a need to provide for more efficient operation of the internal 
combustion engine to overcome the inherent disadvantages of the 
traditional cam shaft operated valve train. Efforts in this area have been 
made for many years, and include such examples as Porter U.S. Pat. No. 
1,620,832, issued Mar. 15, 1927; Genet U.S. Pat. No. 2,745,395, issued May 
15, 1956 and Cross U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,639, issued Sept. 19, 1978. 
However, no design alternative to the conventional cam shaft operated 
valves has achieved significant commercial viability. A need therefore 
exists for an improved valving system which increases the efficiency of 
the internal combustion engine and overcomes the disadvantages inherent in 
the conventional valving system. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an improved 
combustion chamber assembly is provided for an internal combustion engine 
having a block, the block defining a cylinder open at a first end and a 
piston movable within the cylinder. The assembly includes a head for 
mounting on the block which defines an inlet passage and an exhaust 
passage. A rotating element, having a generally spherical outer surface, 
is mounted in the head for rotation about a first axis. A depression is 
formed into the outer surface of the rotating element to define a notch. 
An annular seal assembly is provided which includes a seal ring forming a 
circular seal with the outer surface of the rotating element. The circular 
seal lies in a plane generally parallel the first axis with the block, 
seal assembly, piston and rotating element defining a combustion chamber. 
Rotation of the rotating element about the first axis in a first rotational 
direction sequentially connects the inlet passage and combustion chamber 
through the notch to enter a charge into the combustion chamber, seals the 
combustion chamber for compression and combustion and connects the exhaust 
passage to the combustion chamber through the notch to exhaust the 
combusted gases. The annular seal ring rotates about a second axis 
perpendicular the sealing plane as the valve element rotates to equalize 
wear between the seal ring and the rotating element. 
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the seal plane 
and first axis are set at a slight angle to each other to induce rotation 
of the seal ring. The seal assembly further includes a first 
non-continuous annular seal retainer having first and second abutting 
ends. The first annular seal retainer has an annular notch for receiving a 
portion of the seal ring, with the annular seal retainer configured to 
urge the seal ring into sealing engagement with the rotating element 
during the combustion cycle. The first and second abutting ends lie in 
parallel planes which extend obliquely to the sealing plane and are in 
sliding engagement to each other so that the first and second ends slip 
relative to each other as the annular seal retainer expands and contracts 
with temperature variation. In accordance with another aspect of the 
present invention, a second non-continuous annular seal retainer is 
provided which defines an annular notch for receiving a portion of the 
first non-continuous annular seal retainer. The second non-continuous 
annular seal retainer also urges the seal ring into sealing engagement 
with the rotating element during the combustion cycle. 
In accordance with other advantages of the present invention, a coolant 
passage can be formed through the interior of the rotating element. In 
accordance with another aspect, structure can be provided for mounting a 
spark plug in the rotating element, with the spark end exposed to the 
combustion chamber at the point of combustion while the electrode end is 
never exposed to the combustion chamber.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
With reference now to FIGS. 1 and 2, an internal combustion engine 10 
incorporating a first embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. 
The engine 10 includes a relatively conventional block 12 which has coolant 
passages 14 and defines at least one cylinder 16. As will be apparent from 
the following description, the advantages of the present invention can be 
incorporated in any internal combustion engine, regardless of the number 
of cylinders or their configuration. 
Piston 18 moves along the cylinder 16, and is connected to a connecting 
rod, crankshaft and the like in a manner well understood. 
The head 20 is mounted on block 12 as illustrated. The head includes and 
supports a rotating element 22 for rotation about a first axis 24, as best 
seen in FIG. 2. As can be seen, the outer surface 26 of rotating element 
22 has a generally spherical configuration, interrupted by a notch 28 
formed into the element and opposed cylindrical portions 30 which 
cooperate with bearings 32 in the head to facilitate rotation about the 
first axis 24. On one side of the head 20 is formed an inlet passage 34, 
while on the opposite side of the head is formed an exhaust passage 36. A 
conventional inlet manifold 38 is secured to the head for supplying air or 
an air fuel mixture for combustion to the inlet passage 34. An exhaust 
manifold 40 is mounted to the head for exhausting combusted gases from the 
exhaust passage 36. 
An annular seal assembly 42 is mounted in the head 20 and acts to form a 
seal between the block, head and the rotating element to define a 
combustion chamber 44. In operation, if the engine 10 is a four cycle auto 
or diesel cycle engine, the rotating element 22 is rotated in a first 
direction about the first axis, as indicated by arrow 46, with an angular 
velocity one-half of that of the crank shaft in the engine The rotation 
can be affected by any suitable mechanism, including a drive chain, drive 
belt, or gear arrangement. The motion of the rotating element 22 is timed 
so that as the piston 18 is moving downward in the combustion chamber to 
create a relative vacuum therein, the rotating element 22 is moving 
through the position illustrated in FIG. 2, where the notch 28 connects 
the inlet passage with the combustion chamber, to permit a combustion air 
or air fuel mixture to flow from the inlet manifold into the combustion 
chamber. When the piston begins upward movement in the cylinder on the 
compression stroke, the rotating element 22 has preferably rotated so that 
notch 28 is outside the circle of seal assembly 42 to present an 
uninterrupted concave portion of the outer surface 26 to the combustion 
chamber to allow pressurization of the air fuel mixture. As the piston 
completes its compression stroke, a spark plug 48, mounted in the valve 
element with the ignition tip end opening through a port 50 in the valve 
element, begins an arcuate passage across the combustion chamber. One or 
more sparks can be generated at the tip 52 of the plug to ignite the air 
and fuel mixture in the combustion chamber. During the power stroke of the 
engine, as the piston is driven downward in the cylinder by the pressure 
of the combusting gases, the rotating element continues to present an 
uninterrupted concave portion of the outer surface to the combustion 
chamber. As the piston begins its upward movement in the exhaust stroke, 
the notch has moved into a configuration to connect the combustion chamber 
with the exhaust passage 36 which permits the combusted air fuel mixture 
to be exhausted through the exhaust manifold 40. 
With reference now to FIGS. 3-6, the details of the seal assembly 42 will 
be described in greater detail. Seal assembly 42 includes an annular seal 
ring 54, a first annular seal retainer 56, a second annular seal retainer 
58 and a base 60. The annular seal ring 58 is urged into sealing contact 
with the outer surface of the valve element by the other elements of the 
seal assembly, assisted by the pressurization of the combustion chamber 
during compression and power strokes. 
The first annular seal retainer 56 can be seen to have a generally V-shaped 
cross section which defines a notch 62 to receive a portion of the annular 
seal ring 54. The first annular seal retainer 56 forms a non-continuous 
ring, with ends 64 and 66 abutting one another as illustrated in FIGS. 4 
and 5. While the seal between seal ring 54 and the rotating element 22 can 
be seen to lie in a seal plane 68, the ends 64 and 66 extend in planes 
oblique to the seal plane 68. A series of ports 70 are formed through wall 
72 of seal retainer 56 exposed to the combustion chamber. The 
configuration of the second annular seal retainer 58 is similar to seal 
retainer 56, having a generally V-shaped cross section with a notch 74 to 
receive a portion of seal retainer 56. The seal retainer 58 is also a 
non-continuous ring having abutting ends 76 and 78 also lying in planes 
oblique to the seal plane 68. The second annular seal retainer 58 has a 
series of ports 80 formed through the wall 82 facing the combustion 
chamber as well. Second annular seal retainer 58 rests in base 60, as seen 
in FIG. 2. 
A significant advantage of the seal assembly 42 is that the seal ring 54, 
and seal retainers 56 and 58, each rotate in the seal plane as the 
rotating element rotates about the first axis. This rotation provides for 
uniform wear between the seal ring and the rotating element to ensure a 
long term, effective seal not subject to notching or blow by as may occur 
if the seal was maintained fixed. The rotation is preferably achieved by 
providing a slight angle between the first axis 24 and the seal plane 68, 
for example, one quarter degree (15 minutes) of arc. That slight angle 
causes the surface velocity of the rotating element on the left side of 
FIG. 1 where it engages the annular seal to be somewhat different than the 
surface velocity of the rotating element on the right side of FIG. 1 where 
it is contacted by the annular seal. This difference in velocity induces a 
rotation or progression of the seal 54, and therefore the seal retainers 
56 and 58, about a rotational axis 84 extending perpendicular to the seal 
plane 68. As one example, for an engine crankshaft rotational velocity of 
5,000 rpm, the portion of the annular seal in contact with the rotating 
element 22 might rotate at about 8 rpm. 
When the engine is assembled, as shown in FIG. 1, the seal retainers 56 and 
58, formed of somewhat resilient material, preferably urge the annular 
seal ring 54 into engagement with the valve element. Because of the 
orientation of walls 72 and 82 of the seal retainers, pressurization of 
the combustion chamber acts on those walls to force the annular seal ring 
into an enhanced sealing engagement with the valve element. Ports 70 and 
80 permit combustion gases to enter the spaces between the retainers and 
seal ring to provide a gas cushion to enhance the seal as well. 
The materials of seal retainers 56 and 58, as most materials, will expand 
or contract with temperature change. This phenomena is compensated for in 
the present invention by permitting the ends 64 and 66 of retainer 56 and 
ends 76 and 78 of retainer 58 to slide relative to each other, as best 
seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, as the engine warms up or cools down. 
As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, the edges 86 and 88 of seal retainer 56, 
and edges 90 and 92 of seal retainer 58 preferably do not come into 
contact with the rotating element, but define a slight gap therebetween at 
normal operating engine temperature. The gap between the edges 86 and 90 
and the rotating element, exposed to the flame front in the combustion 
chamber, weakens the flame front actually reaching the interface between 
the annular seal ring 54 and the rotating element. A gap of a length of 
1/4 inch and a thickness of 0.020 inches would be suitable for this 
purpose. 
With reference to FIG. 1, the rotating element can be seen to have a hollow 
interior 94 which forms a passage for flow of a liquid coolant. A coolant 
passage 96 can also be formed in the head immediately adjacent the seal 
assembly. Such a configuration provides for very effective cooling 
relative to conventional cam shaft operated valve arrangements, which, 
among other things, reduces the problem of pre-ignition or knocking, 
permitting the engine 10 to utilize a lower octane fuel or an increased 
compression ratio as desired. 
As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the spark plug 48 is mounted within the rotating 
element in a cylindrical chamber 98. The center line 100 of the chamber 98 
is tilted relative to the first axis 24 to ensure that the tip 52 of the 
spark plug passes in an arcuate path bisecting the combustion chamber 
while the end of the chamber 98 opposite port 50 is never exposed to the 
combustion chamber and its hostile combustion byproducts. An insulated 
plug 102 is inserted into cylindrical chamber 98 and has a conductor 104 
extending from the end of the spark plug and to the exterior of the 
rotating element. A similar conductor 106 is mounted in the head and 
connected to a distributor and coil for providing the ignition spark to 
the spark plug. The conductor 106 is mounted in the head so that the 
conductors 104 and 106 move into electrical contact at precisely the 
rotational position of the rotating element 22 where the spark is to be 
generated at the tip 52 of the spark plug to ignite the air flow mixture. 
The present invention provides great flexibility in the design of the 
ignition source, such as spark plug 48. For example, a second spark plug 
can be mounted in the rotating element in a cylindrical chamber 98' (as 
illustrated in dotted line in FIG. 2) so oriented that twin sparks can be 
delivered simultaneously at slightly different positions in the combustion 
chamber for a more uniform combustion. Whether using a single spark plug 
or multiple spark plugs, the tip of each plug will move across the 
combustion chamber in a arcuate path. This provides the possibility of 
extending the conductor 106 to form an arc of similar length to provide 
multiple ignition sparks at the tip of each spark plug as it moves across 
the combustion chamber, again enhancing the combustion process. 
The design of the present invention provides significant advantages over 
conventional cam shaft operated valve engines. Modern cam shaft operated 
valve engines almost always require some overlap between the opening and 
closing of the intake and outlet valves, which creates significant 
emission control problems. In the present invention, there is never an 
overlap between inlet and exhaust flows. Though, the present invention 
allows overlap if desired. Another advantage is the significant reduction 
in parts required as compared to conventional valve engines. For example, 
a conventional engine having a two valve combustion chamber will have one 
cam shaft, two valve seats, two valves, four spring retainer keys, four 
spring bases, two lash cups or rocker arms, two valve guides, two valve 
seals, the head, and a valve cover totalling 23 separate pieces. If four 
valves are used for each combustion chamber, the number of pieces are 
almost doubled to 44. In contrast, for each cylinder in an engine 
incorporating the present invention, only seven pieces are required, 
including the four pieces of the seal assembly, the head, rotating 
element, and a valve cover. 
With only the rotation of the rotating element 22 about first axis 24, and 
the slow progression of seal 54 and seal retainers 56 and 58, induced 
vibration is much less than in conventional valve designs, which provides 
for more quiet operation. The direct cooling of the rotating element and 
seal assembly provides for a greater control of engine temperature and an 
elimination of hot spots which create pre-ignition problems. 
The volumetric efficiency of an engine incorporating the present invention 
is greatly enhanced over conventional engines because the alignment of 
notch 28 with the combustion chamber and either the inlet or outlet 
passages provide for significant gas flows with little resistance. An 
increase in volumetric efficiency can be directly translated into 
increased horsepower output from the engine. 
The valve overlap is designed into conventional valve engines as a 
requirement to increase the main flow capacity to keep the combustion 
chamber clean at the beginning of the intake cycle. No conventional valve 
engine can fullfil the theoretically ideal separation of inlet and outlet 
valving function of 180.degree. of cam shaft rotation. Presently, almost 
all cam shafts are set at 240.degree.-260.degree., or between 
60.degree.-80.degree. beyond the ideal opening point in the cycle. Thus, 
while chamber scavenging is improved, this overlap causes part of the 
emission air fuel mixture to be released unburned through the exhaust 
valve to produce high emission levels. While fuel injection has helped 
because the scavenging is carried out mostly with air if the injection is 
perfectly synchronized, it appears impossible to eliminate totally such 
overlap despite the enormous development in electronic engine controls. 
The present invention is thus capable of having high values of main flow 
capacity without any overlap in the inlet and outlet cycle. Thus, the 
present invention can reach increases of more than 40% over even the best 
highest specific output multi-valve engines. Further, less power is 
consumed in an engine incorporating the present invention over 
conventional valving operation which has a multitude of valve motions. 
These factors all result in an increase in the fuel efficiency of the 
engine. 
The design of the present invention also provides for a decrease in the 
level of contaminants by increasing the amount of air in the exhaust port. 
The reduction is achieved by mixing of the air in the notch carried 
between the inlet passage and the exhaust passage, and specifically 
reduces the emission of carbon monoxide, hydro-carbons and nitrogen 
monoxide. 
The design of the present invention is well adapted for the use of fuel 
injection. For example, an injector 108, illustrated in FIG. 2, can be 
positioned in the inlet manifold 38 to correct a stream of fuel into the 
center of the piston, improving the mixing of fuel particles and 
refrigerating the surface of the piston at the same time. Further, 
injection in a conventional valve is interfered with by the opening and 
closing movement of the valve, while, in the design of the present 
invention, no such restriction is present. 
Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the fuel injector 190 can be 
mounted in element 22 in chamber 98' to inject the combustion fluid at the 
appropriate point in the combustion cycle. 
Clearly, the advantages of the present invention can be realized if engine 
10 is a gasoline engine, diesel engine or any other fueled engine. In a 
diesel application, chamber 98 can be occupied by a glow plug, while 
chamber 98' is occupied by a diesel fuel injector. Alternatively, as 
illustrated in FIG. 10, the element 22 can form a pre-combustion chamber 
186 which opens into the combustion chamber, with a diesel fuel injector 
188 to inject diesel fuel into chamber 186, and an ignition source or 
heater 189 to heat the pre-combustion mixture. 
Among other advantages of the design of the present invention, the 
components of the annular seal assembly are self-centering on the rotating 
element at moments of greatest combustion chamber pressure. Further, none 
of the elements of the seal assembly must be lubricated, which reduces the 
presence of lubricating materials within the combustion chamber to produce 
carbon deposits or increase harmful emissions. The linear speed of the 
rotating element against the seal 54 are within acceptable parameters for 
effective sliding seals. The extreme simplicity of the seal assembly 42 
and its operating principles provide low difficulty for manufacture and an 
absence of a need for sophisticated technology, reducing manufacturing 
costs. As a further advantage, should the seal assembly wear and need 
replacement, the replacement is quite easy and requires little skill. 
The efficiency of spark plug operation should permit compression ratios of 
about eleven to one with conventionally available fuels without fear of 
pre-ignition or detonation. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the high 
voltage spark generating coil 180 itself can be placed in the cylindrical 
chamber 98 if desired to generate a spark at the appropriate moment in the 
combustion cycle as it passes a stationary low voltage coil 182 without 
need for aligning connectors 104 and 106, a design which is possible 
because of the very effective cooling provided to the rotating element. 
Many other ignition sources can be incorporated into the design of the 
present invention, including any physical ignition source, such as a 
laser, super hot air, a glow plug or other electric spark source, or by 
any suitable chemical ignition source. When laser combustion or ignition 
sources have been adequately developed in the industry, such a laser beam 
system would be readily adaptable to replace the conventional spark plug 
in the design of the present invention as desired. For example, the laser 
can be mounted in the head at about the position of electrode 106 of FIG. 
1 to direct a laser beam along the centerline of chamber 98 into the 
combustion chamber to ignite the fuel air mixture when the element 22 
rotates to the ignition point. Alternatively, the laser can simply be 
directed through a small aperture in the cylinder wall to ignite the 
mixture. However, the design of the present invention can utilize standard 
off-the-shelf spark plugs in the meantime. 
In addition to the description above, which generally relates to a four 
cycle combustion engine, the advantages of the present invention can be 
readily incorporated in a two cycle engine 200, as illustrated in FIG. 
9A-G. In the two cycle engine 200, the rotating element 202 rotates about 
axis 210 within the head 228 of the engine. An air inlet port 226 opens 
through the head to the rotating element, as does an exhaust port 224. The 
block 204 mounts a conventional crankshaft 208, connecting rod 222 and 
piston 206 which reciprocates along the cylinder 230 within the block. The 
rotating element 202 has a notch which forms a superior port 214 which 
moves into and out of alignment with the exhaust port 224, combustion 
chamber 232 and inlet port 226 as the element 202 rotates in the direction 
of arrow 234 about axis 220. An inferior port 216 is formed in the block 
204 which opens through the cylinder wall near the bottom dead center 
position of the piston 206. In contrast to the four cycle engine, the 
rotational velocity of the crankshaft 208 about axis 218 is identical to 
the rotational velocity of the rotating element 202 about axis 220. A fuel 
injector 220 is mounted in the rotating element 202, as is a spark plug 
212. 
With reference to FIGS. 9A-G, the operation of two cycle engine 200 can be 
described. FIG. 9A illustrates the two cycle engine near the end of the 
power stroke. As the piston moves downward in the cylinder as shown in 
FIGS. 9B and C, the inferior port permits fresh air to enter the 
combustion chamber and the superior port connects the combustion chamber 
to the exhaust port 224, causing fresh air to flow into the combustion 
chamber through inferior port 216 in the direction of arrows 236 to purge 
the combusted air into the exhaust port. Fresh air continues to flow in 
through both the inferior and superior ports as the engine cycle moves to 
the position shown in FIG. 9D when the superior port 214 connects the 
intake port 226 and the combustion chamber 232. 
The piston moves upward in the cylinder to compress the air as shown in 
FIGS. 9E and F. At a desired point in the compression, illustrated in FIG. 
9E, fuel is injected by injector 220 into the combustion chamber to mix 
with the air being compressed. Near the top dead center position of the 
piston in the cylinder, the spark plug 212, aligned with the center line 
of the cylinder, is energized to ignite the air and fuel mixture to 
generate the power stroke illustrated in FIGS. 9G AND 9A. 
Among the advantages provided by the present invention applied to a two 
cycle engine include the reduction of the classic valve overlap of two 
cycle engines. By incorporating direct injection in the rotating element, 
scavenging can be done by air alone. This drastically reduces the level of 
emission contaminants. There is also the opportunity to increase 
compression, or reduce octane requirements in the fuel. Of course, engine 
200 could be operated without a fuel injector in the rotating element if 
desired, as by conventional carburation or fuel injection. 
While several embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated in 
accompanying drawings, and described in the foregoing Detailed 
Description, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to 
the embodiments disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, 
modifications and substitutions of parts and elements without departing 
from the scope and spirit of the invention.