Patent ID: 6926505

Claim:
A rotary machine comprising: a housing with an internal wall defining a working volume; a rotor mounted for rotational movement within the working volume, said rotor having first and second curved faces meeting at apices; means for rotating said rotor within said housing; said housing defining first and second spaced apart generally side by side vane locations communicating with said working volume; first and second vanes having a rotor-contacting end, disposed in each said vane location; said rotor movable within the working volume to a top position so as to contact said internal wall to divide said working volume into a first minimum size working volume and a second much larger size working volume; said vane locations communicating with said minimum size working volume so that the rotor-contacting ends of said vanes contact spaced apart portions of said first rotor curved face; said first and said second vanes comprising a first full time reciprocating seal with a first portion of said first rotor curved face and a second reciprocating valving seal with a second portion of said first rotor curved face; said first vane reciprocably movable in said first vane location for movement of its rotor-contacting end to maintain substantially continuous seal forming contact with said first rotor curved face as said rotor moves in said housing; said second vane reciprocably movable in said second vane location for movement of its rotor-contacting end toward and away from said first rotor curved face to form a selectable valving seal contact with said first rotor curved face; and so as to form a selectably openable additional working volume between the rotor-contacting ends of said vanes, said first rotor curved face and said internal wall.