Patent GB-191009657-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in Rotary Engines.
Inventor: WOODS WILLIAM RATHILION
Filed: 1910-04-21
Granted: 1911-04-21
Abstract: 9657. Woods, W. R. April 21. Fixed-abutment type; cooling parts; governing and regulating motors; packing drums and vanes; valve-gear; working-fluid supply.-Relates to a rotary internal - combustion engine having sliding-rocking vanes. A hollow watercooled drum 2, Fig. 1, is mounted by trunnion ends 3, Fig. 4, in eccentric bearings in the cylinder ends, and is slotted and provided with rocking bearings 19 to receive two vanes 12, 13. These bearings 19 are adjusted by nuts 22 controlling pieces 20. The vane 12 is keyed to the shaft 14, and the vane 13 is mounted loosely thereon. Each vane is provided with spring-pressed packing pieces 23, Fig. 12. On either side of the point of contact of the drum 2 with the cylinder a hinged packing - piece 27, 28 is adapted to be swung into the operative position corresponding to the direction of rotation of the drum. Interchangeable inlet and exhaust valves 37, 38 control air inlets 34, 36 and exhaust conduits 33, 35. These valves are operated from the shaft 14 by the device shown in Fig. 10, the spindles 45, 46 being connected to the valve spindles by clutches which can be disconnected to allow the valves to be shifted to take up their reverse positions. Disposed above the cylinder is a compressed-air receiver 55 communicating with the cylinder through valves 56, 58 operated through cranks and rollers by cams 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, Figs. 4 and 8. For normal working the rollers are placed above the single-lift cams 91, 93, which operate the valves in succession once for every revolution of the drum. The cycle of operations for clockwise running is then as follows: As the vane 13 passes the port 41, the valve 38 opens to establish communication between the air inlet 36 and the cylinder. At the same time the exhaust valve 37 opens and allows the vane 13 to expel the exhaust gases through the conduit 33. Both valves 37, 38 close when the vane 13 has passed the port 40, and the vane 12, which has just received an impulse from an explosion, moves round, compressing the air charge through the now open valve 56 into the receiver 55. When the vane 12 reaches the port 57, the valve 56 closes, and the air is retained in the receiver until the vane 12 has passed the port 59 whereupon the valve 58 opens and allows the compressed air to enter the combustion space. During the travel of the vane 12 between the ports 59, 41 a charge of petrol or the like is injected under pressure into the combustion space and the mixture ignited. The receiver 55 may be supplied with compressed air by a pump of the same type as the engine, the pump being automatically uncoupled when the desired pressure is attained. For clockwise running with extra power another pair of the cams 90 ... 94 is brought into operation so that the valve 56 remains closed and the valve 58 opens twice every revolution, each vane 12, 13 acting as a power piston. Similar arrangements are provided for anticlockwise running. For starting, stopping, and reversing, hand levers are provided to operate the valves. Thus, to stop the engine the valves 38, 56 are held open while the valves 37, 58 are closed, so that the engine is solely employed in compressing air into the receiver 55, and is quickly brought to rest. A separate fuel injector, Fig. 18, for each direction of working is arranged to communicate with each end of the working chamber 4. Each injector comprises an outer casing 123, a needle 124, and an intermediate sleeve 125. Compressed air is supplied through an inlet 128 and ports 137, and petrol through an inlet 127. Springs 131, 135, 136 of successively increasing strength provide resilient connexions between a fixed flange 130, a flange 129 on the sleeve 125, a washer 133 bearing on a collar 132 on the needle spindle, and a fixed part of the framework. Normally both the sleeve 125 and the needle 124 are closed. The needle is first opened by a cam operated by the spindle of the particular valve which is admitting compressed air from the receiver 55 to the combustion chamber. This cam, acting on the roller 146, causes the needle 124 to slide axially, so that the collar 132 moves the washer 133 and allows the spring 131 to slide the sleeve 125 into its open position. When the valve closes, the several parts of the injector also close, only in the reverse order. In order to regulate the quantity of fuel delivered by the injector, the device shown in Fig. 20 is employed. It consists of a lever 148, the upper end of which prevents the needle from closing until a cam engages the end of a lever 153, thereby releasing the lever 148. A hand - controlled screw 150 regulates the position of the lever 148. The engine, according to the Provisional Specification, may be operated by steam.