Patent ID: 8037863

Claim:
In a rotary vane internal combustion engine having an external housing and an eccentrically mounted rotor therein, the rotor being operable for rotational movement within the external housing to define compression and expansion cavities, the improvement comprising: a plurality of splines arranged in a radial array defining slots between successive splines of the radial array, and further comprising sealing elements confronting the slots defined therebetween; a plurality of blades in mechanical communication with the rotor and extending radially therefrom, each blade being arranged between an adjacent pair of the splines with the sealing elements of the splines forming a seal with the associated blade therebetween, the blades being expandable for engagement with at least one interior confronting face of the external housing; wherein each blade comprises a first blade component, a second blade component adjacent the first blade component, and at least one expansion wedge at least partially seated between the first and second blade components operable to expand the width of the blade when the blade is subjected to centrifugal forces, each blade further comprising a blade tip seal for sealing engagement with the at least one confronting face of the external housing and first and second side seals for sealing engagement with the at least one confronting face of the external housing.