Patent ID: 8613270

Claim:
A rotary energy converter comprising: an outer housing and an inner housing disposed within the outer housing, at least one of the outer and inner housings being rotatable relative to the other of the outer and inner housings and comprising a drive member, and an enclosure defined between an inner peripheral surface of the outer housing and an outer peripheral surface of the inner housing; at least two barriers disposed in the enclosure, at least one of the barriers being rotatable relative to at least one other barrier and at least one of the barriers comprising a retractable barrier mounted along a pivot axis and being pivotable between an extended position in which the at least one retractable barrier extends into the enclosure and a retracted position in which the at least one retractable barrier retracts from the extended position, the enclosure being divided into at least two chambers when the at least one retractable barrier is in the extended position; an intake port for introducing a fluid into one of the at least two chambers; an exhaust port formed in a top wall of the outer housing for axially exhausting fluid from another of the at least two chambers; and an exhaust duct extending from within the enclosure to outside the outer housing having a cross-section substantially the same as the enclosure cross-section.