Abstract:
A self-contained compressed air system comprising a modified Wankel engine for driving various vehicles, mining gear boxes, pumping oil and water in oil fields and industrial plants, electrical power generators, and specifically, a 5-speed transmission for a front wheel drive vehicle. The compressor engine does not require electrical ignition and water-cooled components.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/107,969, filed Nov. 12, 1998. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the invention 
     The present invention relates to a self-contained air system based on a modified Wankel engine for driving a vehicle and the like. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     The related art of interest describes various fluid intensifier or compressor devices and the like, but no pressurized air driving systems for vehicles. The related art will be described in the order of perceived relevance to the present invention. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,269 issued on Jan. 16, 1996, to Ralph L. Vick describes a fluid intensifier for increasing the pressure of a supplied hydraulic fluid and/or a gas with a single-acting drive piston with a lost motion connection. The piston element has an unequal area pump piston surface in the first end chamber and a small rear area surface in the small area pump piston chamber connected to a piston rod. The opposite end of the rod is connected to a drive piston in a drive cylinder. Other components of the system include a 3-way spring biased control valve and a 2-position 3-way pilot valve. The fluid intensifier apparatus is distinguishable for its triple surfaced piston and piston chamber structure. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,282 issued on Aug. 30, 1988, to Tadashi Igarashi et al. describes a fluid pressure booster including a pair of adjacent cylinders with pistons. A switch valve supplies line air pressure alternately to the drive chambers of the cylinders to reciprocate the pistons. The switch valve is provided with a spool stall preventive means which is arranged to suppress the pressing force on the valve body of the switch valve with the fluid pressure or biasing action of a spring until the valve body reaches the neutral position. The booster device is distinguishable for its dual piston operation. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,746 issued on Mar. 7, 1978, to Richard W. Reynolds describes a hydraulic fluid intensifier system having an axial piston pump motor unit with fluid control circuitry and porting. The system is driven by a hand pump. The system is distinguishable for its reliance on hydraulic fluid. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,639,226 issued on Jun. 17, 1997, to Morten Boutrup et al. describes a portable battery operated air pump for inflating bicycle tires. The air pump is distinguishable for utilizing a conventional piston to pressurize the air. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,173 issued on Jun. 28, 1994, to John R. Wick, Sr. describes a high pressure hydraulic fluid amplifier having a hydraulic motor for driving a single cam and follower in a piston chamber. The amplifier device is distinguishable for its requirement for utilizing hydraulic fluid and a piston. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,000 issued on Dec. 23, 1986, to Wesley A. Burandt describes a variable displacement hydraulic pressure intensifier for driving a piston in a hydraulic cylinder for controlling a surface implement of an aircraft. The intensifier apparatus is distinguishable for utilizing a hydraulic system driven by a piston. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,879 issued on Apr. 12, 1988, to Toshio Yamada et al. describes a pneumatic nailing tool with a pressure intensifier. The compressed air supplied to the tool automatically drives a piston to increase the air pressure for storage in a pressure chamber which is selectively connected or disconnected by a valve mechanism. The pressure intensifier system is distinguishable for its reliance on a drive piston. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,808 issued on Dec. 31, 1996, to Gerard J. De Santis describes a high level pump pressure multiplier designed to eliminate an accumulator in the pressurizing of water. A liquid pressure elevating mechanism consists of two identical cylinders wherein each cylinder contains a plunger operating within a first and second chamber separated by a barrier wall. A control mechanism accommodates the difference in degree of compressibility of the water to maintain the outlet pressure substantially constant. The pump pressure multiplier system is distinguishable for its limitation to pressurizing water. 
     German Patent Application No. 3,228,494 published on Feb. 2, 1984, for Konrad Ziesling describes an air driven pressure amplifier for performing automatic pumping action to a machine, e.g., clamping cylinders, shears, presses, by cutting in or out at predetermined maximum and minimum pressures using a stepped cylinder system. The amplifier device is distinguishable for its reliance on a piston arrangement. 
     Japan Patent Application No. 6-42457 published on Feb. 15, 1994, for Yoji Ise describes a pressurized fluid generating device for converting the revolution energy of a pressurized fluid revolution device to the reciprocating movement of a piston. The device is distinguishable for its reliance on a piston device. 
     None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is a self-contained compressed air system, having as its major component a modified Wankel engine, e.g., MOP No. 12A, and solar panels for charging batteries to power a liquid propane driven motor. The system can be applied to drive a 5-speed transmission for a front wheel drive vehicle. Other applications will be noted later. The compressor engine requires no electrical ignition or water-cooled components. 
     Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a self-contained compressed air system for propelling a vehicle and the like. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a self-contained compressed air system based on a modified Wankel engine. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide a self-contained compressed air system based on a modified Wankel engine absent a combustion cycle and including a solar panel. 
     Still another object of the invention is to provide a self-contained compressed air system based on a modified Wankel engine driving a 5-speed manual transmission for a front wheel drive vehicle. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes. 
     These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a self-contained compressed air system for propelling a front wheel drive vehicle according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the closed loop air system of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the electrical system of the present system including a solar panel. 
    
    
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The present invention provides a front wheel drive vehicle as an example powered by a compressed air system based essentially on a modified Wankel engine and a solar panel with minimum reliance on natural gaseous fuels. This system thus benefits the environment in not emitting pollutants to the atmosphere. 
     FIG. 1 illustrates diagrammatically the driving components of a four-wheel drive vehicle  10  modified to a front wheel drive axle  12  and a rear wheel axle  14  with wheels  16 . The axle  12  is driven by a differential gear  18  connected to a four-wheel drive gear transfer case  20  by a first transfer case drive shaft  22 . The modified Wankel engine  24  ,i.e., rotary gas engine, drives a five-speed manual transmission  26  (including a clutch), transmitting power by a transmission drive shaft  28  to the gear transfer case  20  and a second transfer case drive shaft  30 . The second transfer case drive shaft  30  has a pulley  32  which drives two 7.5 hp. air compressor pumps  33  and  34  by belts (not shown) connected to the respective pulleys  32 . A third compressor pump  35  is connected to the rear axle  14  and is operated when the vehicle  10  is moving. Other conventional automotive elements are two alternators  36  with pulleys  32  receiving a driving force from the pulley  32  in front of the Wankel engine  24  and the air cooler  38  having a 26 cu. in. capacity. A 36 volt D.C. auxiliary drive motor  40  is hooked to the front of the engine  24 . The alternators  36  are positioned on each side of the auxiliary drive motor  40  and supply direct electrical current to two battery banks  42 . Each battery bank  42  consists of six 6 volt batteries and is disposed on opposite sides of the drive motor  40  for balance. A 12 volt D.C. starter motor  44 , disposed adjacent the transmission  26 , is the original starter motor of the modified Wankel engine  24  and is also utilized as an auxiliary starter motor. 
     The Wankel engine  24  has been further modified to utilize a teardrop shaped cut in the rotors (not shown) rather than the conventional triangular shape to enhance the efficiency of the collection of air in terms of cubic feet per minute. The rotors are coated with a ceramic composition. Additionally, the expansion chamber has been plated with chromium, and the apex seals and springs have been coated with a ceramic composition. These changes were made to eliminate the requirement for oil lubrication of the rotors resulting in less pollution in the operation of the modified Wankel engine  24 . 
     FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a closed loop pressurized air system for the modified Wankel engine  24 . The engine  24  has been modified at the lower two spark plug holes for providing air intake throughbores  46  at a 30° angle downward. Throughbores  46  have been drilled to provide a 0.75 in. diameter NPT thread design for an air inlet header assembly (not shown). The carburetor intake side of the Wankel engine has been covered and provided with two 0.250 in. diameter NPT thread design throughbores. The upper two sparkplug holes become throughbores  48  which are provided with 0.375 in. diameter copper tubing passing over the engine to the carburetor intake side and act as a natural vacuum breaker that is created when the rotors are turning in the engine. 
     Turning to the schematic diagram of the closed loop air system  50  of FIG. 2, the air supply system  50  consists essentially of three 80 gallon capacity tanks  52 , the three 7.5 hp. air compressor pumps  33 ,  34  and  35 , and one 5 hp. air pump  58 . Two of the air compressor pumps  33  and  34  are driven off the rear drive shaft  30  (FIG. 1) as noted above and hooked to a 12 volt electric clutch (hidden) in the transmission  26 . The three compressor pumps  33 ,  34  and  35  will supply air directly to the header bank or manifold  54  by perforated conduit  56  that passes through each of the three air reservoir tanks  52 . The three air compressor pumps  33 ,  34  and  35  will produce a maximum of 150 p.s.i. air pressure at 24 c.f.m. for each pump. Since the air supply to the engine  24  is rated at 50 c.f.m. and the pressure rating is in a range of 25 to 100 p.s.i., the engine  24  can run in a range from 50 to 3600 r.p.m. 
     A 5 hp. pump  58  serves as an auxiliary pump and is belt driven by an 11 hp. liquid propane gas engine  60  with an electric start mechanism. Air is drawn from the three 80 gal. air supply tanks  52  directly through the air cooler  38  (displaced for illustration), air regulator  62 , air filter  64 , and air lubricator  66  into the air inlet manifold  68  of the modified Wankel engine  24 . An air throttle control valve  70  is controlled by a pedal  72  and its associated spool valve  74  to regulate the amount of air pressure and cubic feet per minute (cfm) flow to the modified Wankel engine  24 . 
     The air exhausted from the modified Wankel engine  24  departs from the upper air exhaust throughbores  48  into an air exhaust manifold  76  and passes through conduit  102 , a one-way check valve  78  and conduits  100  and  79  to the compressors  33 ,  34  and  35 . The third compressor  35  not linked to the drive shaft  30  (see FIG. 1) is connected to the rear wheel axle  14  and operates only when the vehicle  10  is moving to accept external air at the intake conduit  80  and filtered at the common air filter  82 . 
     The compressed exhaust air from the three compressors  33 ,  34  and  35  is collected in a conduit  84  which passes through the perforated conduit  56  in the three air tanks  52  and combines with fresh air entering from the inlet conduit  86  and exiting from the 5 hp. air pump  58  (belt driven by the 11 hp. propane gas engine). 
     A conduit  92  bleeds air from conduit  79 , and thus feeds a mixture of fresh air from the air intake pipe  80  and exhaust air from conduit  79  to the 5 hp. air pump  58 . The compressed air mixture then passes through conduit  88  and a one-way check valve  90  to enter the three 80 gal. air tanks  52 . 
     A portion of the air is bled from the air entering the air tanks  52  passes through the check valve  96  and joins the exhaust gases coming from the engine  24  for a recycle through check valve  78  and conduit  100  to the compressors circuit. 
     The recycled air from the three 80 gal. air tanks  52  and the header bank  54  passes through a one-way check valve  104  in the conduit  106  back to the air cooler  38  and the modified Wankel engine  24 . 
     Turning to FIG. 3, the electrical system diagram  108  is illustrated. The foot operated switches are controlled by the pedal  72  to sequentially operate on/off sprung push buttons  110 ,  112  and  114 . Push button  110  activates the 5 hp. pump  58  to supply the three 80 gal. air tanks  52  (shown with the adjoining elements conduit  94  and the header bank  54 ) along with a main air line header control valve  70  which has a toggle switch control on the vehicle&#39;s dashboard (not shown) to permit air to be supplied to the engine  24 . Push button  112  activates the starter motor  44 . Push button  114  activates the 36 V. auxiliary drive motor  40 . 
     A main power control panel  116  supplies the energizing electricity to the switches of the foot pedal  72 . Panel  116  receives electrical power of 36 volts D.C. from each of the two battery banks  42 . Each battery bank consists of six 6 volt batteries connected in series. One bank  42  energizes the 36 volt motor  40  while the other bank  42  is being recharged by utilizing the automatic charging switch  118 . 
     The two alternators  36  (only one shown) produce 130 amperes each from the running of the modified Wankel engine  24  as regulated by the voltage regulator  120 . 
     The battery banks  42  have a voltage regulator  122  for obtaining electricity from three solar panels  124  positioned on top of the vehicle  10  via three solar panel charge controllers  126  connected in parallel. Each 80 watt rated solar panel  124  produces 15.5 volts to supply a total of 46.5 volts at 8 amperes to the solar charge controllers  126 . 
     Thus, an innovative compressed air system based on a modified Wankel engine has been presented to drive a vehicle, utilizing solar panels and a liquid propane motor. The vehicle can be a mass transit vehicle like trucks and buses. Other carriers can be a small helicopter and boats. Other uses contemplated are as follows. 
     (1) In the mining industry, the air motor can be used to drive gear boxes and the like underground to operate equipment without the danger of a fire hazard and the formation of gaseous exhaust. 
     (2) In the oil fields, the air motor can be used to pump oil or water when a fire hazard is a threat. 
     (3) In industrial plants, the air motor can be used to operate any type of equipment such as fire pumps previously driven by diesel motors. 
     (4) The air motor can be used to operate generators to produce electricity. 
     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the sole embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.