Abstract:
An elliptical potary engine having a cylindrical rotor that rotates within a cyclindrical housing having cycling chambers defined between a plurality of radially extending piston vanes disposed within vane channels within the rotor. During the rotation of the rotor, the piston vanes are urged radially outward by cam-like elliptical piston vane guides associated with the head and the base of the housing and are returned therein by the elliptical interior wall as the diameter thereof decreases.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to rotary engines and, more specifically, to an elliptical rotary engine having a substantially cylindrical rotor element that rotates within an elliptical housing. A plurality of piston vanes reciprocate within and partially extend beyond piston channels in the rotor element and are urged toward the interior wall of the elliptical housing by pressurized oil introduced into the piston channel. Convex apex seals extend along the length of the distal ends of the piston vanes and rotate slightly as the engine passes through its cycle in order to conform to the curvature of the housing to provide a reliable seal therebetween. Oil conduits traverse the piston vanes to transfer pressurized oil to the apex seals with the directional flow of oil therethrough regulated by one-way check valves installed therein. The apex seals have conically shaped recesses extending therethrough with the tapered ends providing narrower recesses at the surface in contact with the housing wall in order to provide a constant supply of oil to pass therethough for the lubrication of the frictionally mated surfaces. A serpentine coolant channel extends through the housing base, block and head to maintain proper thermal control of the unit. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     There are other headband devices designed for securing a communication device. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 2,263,275 issued to G. F. Pieper on Nov. 18, 1941. 
     Another patent was issued to F. E. Heydrich on May 10, 1966 as U.S. Pat. No. 3,250,260. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 3,437,079 was issued to D. Odawara on Apr. 8, 1969 and still yet another was issued on Oct. 2, 1973 to A. P. Bentley as U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,375. 
     Another patent was issued to L. D. Chisolm on Dec. 30, 1975 as U.S. Pat. No. 3,929,105. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,191 was issued to L. B. Lloyd on Apr. 19, 1977. Another was issued to O. E. Rosaen on Oct. 12, 1982 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,337 and still yet another was issued on May 26, 1987 to C. N. Hansen as U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,468. 
     Another patent was issued to J. L. McCann on May 16, 1995 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,141. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,587 was issued to Mallen et al on Jun 11, 1996. Another was issued to Holdampf on Jan. 27, 1998 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,268. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 2,263,275 
     Inventor: George F. Pieper 
     Issued: Nov. 18, 1941 
     In a rotary diesel internal combustion engine, a stator having a firing chamber therein and a chamber located in advance of the firing chamber, each of said chambers being provided with a cam face, a rotor snugly fitted in said stator provided with equidistantly spaced cylinders, removable cylinder liners fitted in said cylinders, removable cylinder heads carried by the rotor closing the cylinders and holding the liners in place, pistons reciprocally mounted in the cylinder liners, rigid vanes carried by the pistons slidable through the cylinder heads, means for supplying air from the exterior of the engine to the inner ends of the cylinder at certain times, means for controlling the flow of air from the cylinders to the combustion chamber, and spring means normally urging the vanes and pistons outwardly, the vanes and pistons being adapted to be cammed inwardly by the cam faces of the stator chambers. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,250,260 
     Inventor: Fred E. Heydrich 
     Issued: May 10, 1966 
     A rotary sliding vane engine having an engine housing with a peripheral wall having a symmetrical elliptical shaped inner surface and a pair of axially spaced end walls, a rotor mounted for rotation about a fixed axis at the intersection of the major and minor axes of said elliptical surface, said rotor having a pair of axially spaced end flanges of greater diameter than the major diameter of said elliptical surface and a hollow drum intermediate and fixed to said end flanges, axially extending slots in said drum, radially extending grooves in said end flanges aligned with said slots, with the ends of said vanes extending into said grooves in said end flanges, axially extending slots in said drum, radially extending grooves in said end flanges aligned with said slots, sliding vanes carried by said rotor in said slots, with the ends of said vanes extending into said grooves in said end flanges, said vanes cooperating with the inner housing surface to form a plurality of expansible chambers, means in said housing on opposite sides of one end of said minor axis communicating with said expansible chambers to supply combustible mixture to, and exhaust combustion products from said expansible chambers, axle means journalled in said engine housing and extending along rotor, said rotor axis and attached to said one end of said axle ending at the engine housing outer surface and being hollow and communicating with the inside of said drum to form an axial air intake, means on said housing for securing a carburetor to said air intake, radially arranged passages in one of said end flanges, passage means communicating said radial passages to the hollow interior of said drum, the radially outer ends of said radial passages opening to a fluid receiving chamber in said engine housing, means communicating said said fluid receiving chamber to said supply means, impeller means mounted on the face of the other of said end flanges remote from said hollow drum, means in said engine housing adjacent said impeller forming a chamber for receiving fluid from said impeller, and passages in said peripheral wall for directing fluid from said impeller fluid receiving chamber to cool said housing wall, and ignition means adjacent said other end of said minor axis on the some side as said exhaust means and communicating with said expansible chambers as they move past said ignition. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,437,079 
     Inventor: Daisaku Odawara 
     Issued: Apr. 8, 1969 
     A rotary machine of the blade type includes a plurality of blades mounted on a rotor which is eccentrically and rotatably mounted in a stationary outer casing, and working chambers which undergo periodic changes in volume as the rotor rotates. An air-tight rotor has a circumferential wall extending around the radially outer ends of the blades, and this air-tight rotor is rotatably mounted in and concentric with the outer casing, anti-friction means being disposed between the air-tight rotor and the outer casing. The radially outer ends of the blades maintain close contact with the circumfertial wall of the air-tight rotor, and the latter has at least one diametrically extending side wall engaged with the rotor which mounts the blades, the air-tight rotor and the outer casing. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,375 
     Inventor: Arthur P. Bentley 
     Issued: Oct. 2, 1973 
     This specification discloses a rotary internal vane combustion engine comprising a casing defining a rotor chamber of a shape resembling an ellipse. A shaft is journalled in the casing centrally thereof and driveably mounted on the shaft is a rotor presenting a cylindrical surface. The rotor is formed with a plurality of radial slots and slideably in each slot is a vane. The rotor is also formed with a plurality of combustion chambers opening onto its cylindrical surface. The number of combustion chambers is the same as the numbers of slots with a chamber being located between two adjacent slots. 
     An intake port for an air, gas, oil mixture is formed in the casing and communicating with this port are a pair of channels formed in the casing on opposite sides of the rotor chamber. These channels pass about the shaft where it is journalled in the casing and open onto the rotor chamber at points diametrically opposed to the intake port. A manifold type exhaust is formed in the casing about 30 degrees from the intake port. 
     A spark plug is mounted on the casing with its points located at the periphery of the rotor chamber. Conductors extend from the spark plug to contact mounted on the exterior of the casing with the contacts being bridged at periodic intervals by a cam driveably mounted on the shaft. The shaft also driveably carries a gear with which meshes a pinion that is driven by a starting motor. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,929,105 
     Inventor: Lloyd Duncan Chisholm 
     Issued: Dec. 30, 1975 
     Rotary internal combustion engine having five distinct phases of operation comprising an air-charge intake phase, a compression phase, expansion phase and exhaust phase. The engine comprises a stator with an undulating working fluid surface and a cooperating vaned rotor wherein the vanes form rotating pockets or chambers of the working fluid through each distinct phase during one revolution of the rotor. The combustion phase takes place at substantially constant volume and is of such a duration to achieve substantially complete combustion. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,191 
     Inventor: L. Babcock Lloyd 
     Issued: Apr. 19, 1977 
     A rotary internal combustion engine that includes a housing that defines an elliptical cavity in which a rotor is disposed. The rotor slidably supports a number of circumferentially spaced, radially disposed blades, with each pair of blades defining a chamber therebetween. The rotor is so rotatably supported in the cavity that the ratio of the intake chamber volume may be adjusted so that there is a minimum residual pressure on exhaust gases and the efficiency of the engine is increased as a result thereof. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,337 
     Inventor: Oscar E. Rosaen 
     Issued: Oct. 12, 1982 
     A rotary internal combustion engine having an elliptical wall member which forms an elliptical internal chamber. A drive shaft is rotatably mounted in the housing and extends transversely through the elliptical chamber. A substantially cylindrical rotor is secured to the drive shaft within the chamber and has a plurality of circumferentially equidistantly spaced vane members radially slidably disposed within the rotor. A source of fluid pressure communicates with the radially inner end of the vane members to urge the vane members radially outwardly so that the vane members contact the elliptical wall. Moreover, each vane member is of a sliding laminated construction to ensure a sealing engagement between the vane member and the wall surface. A fuel and air mixture is supplied to the rotor via an air suction chamber which thereafter is compressed with the fuel between the rotor, the wall portion and adjacent vane members. The fuel/air mixture is ignited by appropriate ignition means to thereby rotatably drive the drive shaft. At at least one rotational position for each combustion cycle two vane members separate the combustion chamber from both the suction and the exhaust chambers to ensure that at least one vane member always separates the combustion chamber from both the suction and exhaust chambers. In addition, a fuel enrichment device utilizes a portion of the compressed fuel/air mixture to selectively augment the fuel supply to the engine. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,468 
     Inventor: Craig N. Hansen 
     Issued: May 26, 1987 
     A rotary internal combustion engine has a housing with an elliptical inside surface surrounding an elliptical rotor forming with the housing combustion chambers. Valve and ignition assemblies connected to a source of air under pressure and injectors for introducing fuel into the air supply sequentially allows the air and fuel mixture to flow into the combustion chambers and ignite the air and fuel mixture therein. Vane and seal assemblies on the rotor and housing are controlled with cam and linkages to provide positive effective gas seals between the housing and rotor. A slack adjuster maintains lateral sealing relationships between the housing vane and seal assemblies and opposite side walls of the housing. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,141 
     Inventor: James L. McCann 
     Issued: May 16, 1995 
     A rotary device has a stator having a space therein with an oval peripheral wall. A rotor is rotatably mounted within the space. The rotor has a circular outer wall. There are two chambers on opposite sides of the stator between the peripheral wall and the outer wall of the rotor. Vanes are reciprocatingly mounted on the rotor for radial movement towards and away from the rotor. Each vane has an outer wall. There is a cam mechanism for maintaining the outer walls of the vanes in contact with the peripheral wall of the stator as the rotor rotates. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,587 
     Inventor: Brian D. Mallen et al. 
     Issued: Jun. 11, 1996 
     A sliding vane engine, where the vanes slide with at least of one of an axial and radial component of vane motion, and where the compression ratio of the engine may be variably controlled. The engine includes a stator and a rotor in relative rotation, and a plurality of vanes in rotor slits defining one or more main chamber cells and one or more vane slit cells. The vanes contain extended pins that move in a pin channel for controlling the sliding motion of the vane. Fuel is mixed by incorporating air turbulence generators at or near the intake region. The intake and exhaust regions of the engine also incorporate a wave pumping mechanism for injecting and scavenging air from the main chamber cells and the vane slits. The compression ratio of the engine may be varied while the engine is in operation, and the engine geometry provides for an extended temporal duration at about peak compression. The engine is insulated by using segmented ceramic inserts on the stator and rotor surfaces. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,268 
     Inventor: Carl J. Holdampf 
     Issued: Jan. 27, 1998 
     A rotary vane internal combustion engine wherein the section of the rotor housing where ignition takes place is formed in the shape of a circular arc matching the curvature of the rotor, with the balance of the housing periphery being composed of a series of tangent arcs to define an elliptical shape that is continuously concave and has no drastic changes in curvature. The rotor and housing are “stretched” along their axial dimensions so that each combustion chamber has an axial measurement substantially greater than its circumferential measurement, and each segment of the rotor surface between adjacent vanes has formed therein a plurality of combustion chamber pockets spaced from one another along the axial dimension of the rotor and each provided with a spark plug. Circumferentially separated and separately throttled primary and secondary intake ports are provided to reduce intake throttle losses at low engine loads, and exhaust ports are provided which extend along the axial length of the rotor housing to avoid localized heating of the vane tips. The vanes are of a novel multi-layer construction with spring loaded seals along their lines of contact with the stationary engine parts, thereby minimizing intra-chamber pressure leakage. 
     While these rotary engine devices may be suitable for the purposes for which they were designed, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention, as hereinafter described. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     A primary object of the present invention is to provide an elliptical rotary engine that will provide higher efficiency, greater power output and higher RPM and torque than conventional engines. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide an elliptical rotary engine with fewer movable parts that are susceptible to degradation than conventional engines. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an elliptical rotary engine having minimal maintenance and repair requirements. 
     Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide an elliptical rotary engine wherein fuel intake and exhaust occur simultaneously. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide an elliptical rotary engine that may be adapted for operation with various fuel types including gasoline, diesel and alcohol-based fuels. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an elliptical rotary engine with enhanced cooling and lubrication capabilities. 
     Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide an elliptical rotary engine that is simple and easy to use. 
     One other object of the present invention is to provide an elliptical rotary engine that is inexpensive to manufacture and operate. 
     Additional objects of the present invention will appear as the description proceeds. 
     The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art by providing an elliptical rotary engine having a substantially cylindrical rotor element that rotates within an elliptical housing. A plurality of piston vanes reciprocate within and partially extend beyond piston channels in the rotor element and are urged toward the interior wall of the elliptical housing by pressurized oil introduced into the piston channel. Convex apex seals extend along the length of the distal ends of the piston vanes and rotate slightly as the engine passes through its cycle in order to conform to the curvature of the housing to provide a reliable seal therebetween. Oil conduits traverse the piston vanes to transfer pressurized oil to the apex seals with the directional flow of oil therethrough regulated by one-way check valves installed therein. The apex seals have conically shaped recesses extending therethrough with the tapered ends providing narrower recesses at the surface in contact with the housing wall in order to provide a constant supply of oil to pass therethough for the lubrication of the frictionally mated surfaces. A serpentine coolant channel extends through the housing base, block and head to maintain proper thermal control of the unit. 
     The foregoing and other objects and advantages will appear from the description to follow. In the description reference is made to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In the accompanying drawing, like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views. 
     The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is best defined by the appended claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
     In order that the invention may be more fully understood, it will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a partially exploded view of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the rotor assembly; 
     FIG. 4 is a top internal view of the present invention demonstrating the intake phase; 
     FIG. 5 is a top internal view of the present invention demonstrating the compression phase; 
     FIG. 6 is a top internal view of the present invention demonstrating the ignition phase; 
     FIG. 7 is a top internal view of the present invention demonstrating the exhaust phase; 
     FIG. 8 is a sectional side view of the rotor assembly; 
     FIG. 9 is a side view of the present invention demonstrating the flow of coolant through the housing assembly; 
     FIG. 10 is a bottom perspective view of the rotor; 
     FIG. 11 a bottom perspective view of the present invention; 
     FIG. 12 is a rear partially exploded view of the present invention; 
     FIG. 13 is a rear perspective view of the housing base; and 
     FIG. 14 is a bottom perspective view of the housing head. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The following discussion describes in detail one embodiment of the invention. This discussion should not be construed, however, as limiting the invention to those particular embodiments, practitioners skilled in the art will recognize numerous other embodiments as well. For definition of the complete scope of the invention, the reader is directed to appended claims. 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention  10 . The present invention  10  is an elliptical rotary engine  10  contained in a substantially elliptical housing assembly  11  comprising a base  14 , a block  12  and a head  16  bolted together to form a sealed housing assembly  11 . 
     FIG. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view of the present invention  10 . The rotor assembly  23  resides within the elliptical housing assembly  11  and the piston vanes  34  are urged towards the interior wall  21  thereof by elliptical piston vane guides  80 ,  82  and pressurized oil  74  throughout the rotational movement during normal cycling. 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the rotor assembly  23 . Piston vanes  34  reciprocate within the piston vane channels  28  in the rotor  24 . Pressurized oil  74  is introduced into the piston vane channels  28  to urge the piston vanes  34  and the associated apex seals  36  against the interior wall  21  of the block  12  and lubricate the contacting surface areas therebetween. Oil channels  42  are etched in the face of the arcuate edge of the piston vanes  34  to ensure the proper distribution of oil  74  thereon. The oil  74  then passes through conical oil conduits  40  extending through the apex seal  36  with the direction of the flow therethrough regulated by one-way check valves in the form of similarly configured wedge-shaped plugs  44  thus insuring a constant flow of oil  74  to the face of the apex seals  36  which are always in contact with the interior wall  21  of the elliptical block  12  as it rotates therein. The distribution of oil  74  over the face of the apex seals  36  is enhanced by oil channels  42  emanating from each oil conduit  40 . The vertical extension of the oil channels  42  in the face of the apex seal  36  is less than the vertical height of the intake  18  and exhaust ports  20  of the housing block  12 . The surfaces of the apex seals  36  have the same curve as the elliptical wall  21  on its small diameter, so the surfaces of the apex seals  36  touch the elliptical walls  21  completely, and the check valve plugs  44  are pushed inside, in this position oil  74  comes out and lubricates the surface of the apex seal  36  because during the cycle, the middle area of the apex seals.  36  are going to be faced through the intake ports  18  and exhaust port  20 . 
     FIG. 4 is a top interior view of the present invention  10  demonstrating the intake phase of cycling chamber “A”  90 . For illustrative purposes the cycle of one cycling chamber  90  of the present invention  10  is shown although the other three cycling chambers  90  are simultaneously passing through the phases of their respective cycles. We will follow the action of chamber “A”  90  as defined by the area between piston vanes  1  and  2 . 
     A fuel air mix  68  is introduced into chamber “A”  90  through the intake port  18  where it is sealed therei by the piston vanes  34  that are urged circumferentially toward the elliptical wall  21  of the housing block  12  to press the convex apex seals  36  thereagainst as the rotor  24  turns counterclockwise. The elliptical shape of the piston valve guides  80 ,  82  and oil pressure provide the bias that maintains the piston vanes  34  against the elliptical wall  21 . Apex seals  58  are positioned between the elliptical wall  21  and the arcuate edge of each piston vane  34  and configured to pivot arcuately therein as determined by the variable angle of the elliptical wall  21 . The mating surfaces between the apex seal  34  and the piston vane  34  as well as the elliptical wall  21  are lubricated from oil  74  passing through the oil conduits  38  in the piston vane  34 . 
     FIG. 5 is a top interior view of the present invention demonstrating the compression phase of chamber “A”  90 . During rotation of the rotor  24  the piston vanes  34  extend or retract accordingly within the piston channels  28 . The fuel and air mixture  68  in chamber “A”  90  is compressed to a volatile temperature. The apex seals  36  pivot within the lubricated arcuate edge of the piston vane  34  accordingly to adjust to the curvature of the elliptical wall  21  through the rotation thereof. 
     FIG. 6 is a top interior view of the present invention demonstrating the compression phase of chamber “A”  90 . A spark from the spark plug ignites the fuel mixture  68  once it reaches the proper compression. The force of the resulting explosion applies force to the lead piston vane  39  resulting in the counterclockwise rotation of the rotor assembly  23 . 
     FIG. 7 is a top interior view of the present invention demonstrating the exhaust phase of chamber “A”  90 . The exhaust gases  70  are expelled through the exhaust port  20  and chamber “A”  90  is ready to accept a fresh mixture from the intake port  18  as the next cycle begins. 
     FIG. 8 is a sectional side view of the rotor assembly  23 . Pressurized oil  74  is introduced through the oil ports  30  into the piston channel  34  and the oil conduits  38  extending completely through the piston vanes  34  in order to lubricate the surface of the apex seal  36 . The oil  74  helps to pressurize the piston channel  34  thereby exerting a force to the piston vane  34  in order to maintain a seal against the elliptical wall  21  of the engine block  12 . One-way check valves  39  are installed in the oil conduits  38  to control the flow therethrough. 
     FIG. 9 is a sectional side view of the present invention  10  demonstrating the flow of coolant  63  through the housing assembly  11 . The present invention  10  further includes a cooling system within the housing assembly  11 . Coolant  63  is introduced to the housing  11  through a coolant inlet port  14  and flows through a plurality of conduits  58  extending through the base  14 , the block  12  and the head  16  until exiting through a coolant outlet  62 . 
     FIG. 10 is a bottom perspective view of the rotor assembly  23 . The rotor assembly  23  rotates inside the internal elliptical chamber  22 . Four oil ports  32  extend longitudinally through the rotor  24  which have an angle from the front side of the rotor (which are close to the rotors center) to the back side of it. The angular properties of the oil ports  32  use centripetal force to create an oil pump effect once rotation of the rotor assembly  23  is initiated. 
     FIG. 11 is a bottom perspective view of the present invention  10 . The present invention  10  is an elliptical rotary engine  10  contained in a substantially elliptical housing assembly  11  comprising a base  14 , a block  12  and a head  16  bolted together to form a sealed housing member. A spark plug  64  is removably inserted in the housing block  12  to provide a means for spark ignition. A coolant inlet  60  and a coolant outlet  62  in the base  14  to provide for the introduction and removal of coolant  63  to the housing assembly  11 . An oil outlet port (not shown) may be centrally positioned for removing oil  74  from the rotor assembly  23 . 
     FIG. 12 is a partially exploded rear perspective view of the present invention  10 . This view depicts the position of the oil intake port  52  and spark plug  64  as they appear on the housing block  12  and head  16 . 
     FIG. 13 is a top perspective view of the housing base  14 . Shown are the oil ports  88  and coolant ports  58  that allow for fluid transport through the base  14  of the housing assembly  11  to lubricate and provide thermal stability to the present invention  10 . Coolant  63  is introduced to the present invention  10  through the coolant inlet  60  on the bottom of the housing base  14 . The coolant  63  then progresses through a coolant conduit  58  in the base  14 , into a coolant conduit  58  in the block  12  and into coolant conduits  58  in the housing head  16 . The coolant  63  is transferred from one coolant conduit  58  to an adjacent one where it returns to coolant conduits  58  in the base  14  through the corresponding coolant conduit  58  in the block  12 . The coolant  63  continues this serpentine circulation throughout the housing assembly  11  until reaching the coolant outlet  62  for preparation for recirculation. 
     Oil  74  works as a coolant for the rotor assembly  23  and other internal parts of the elliptical rotary engine  10 . There are gaskets  48  placed in the head  16  and the base  14  which are elliptically shaped to prevent them from turning around themselves. The elliptical shape also provides a lubrication system from small diameter of elliptical gaskets  48 . 
     FIG. 14 is a bottom perspective view of the housing head  16 . Shown are the oil outlet ports  76  and coolant ports  58  that allow for fluid transport through the head  16  of the housing assembly  11  to lubricate and provide thermal stability to the present invention  10 . After the rotor  24  turns a little more there will be a small gap between the surface of the apex seal  36  and the curve of the elliptical wall  21  so the check valve plugs  44  come out to prevent oil  74  from overflowing in the gap and flow into the intake and exhaust ports.