Rotary Engine with Rotating Fuel and Exhaust Distributor

Abstract

An internal combustion engine having combustion chambers that rotate about a main shaft axis in a step-wise manner. A first and second rotor each have elongate pistons that are interdigitated so that when one rotor rotates with respect to the other rotor, some combustion chambers between the interdigitated pistons decrease in volume and other combustion chambers increase in volume. Fuel mixture and exhaust apparatus forms one end wall of the combustion chambers to feed a fuel mixture to the increasing-volume chambers and extract the exhaust gasses from other decreasing-volume chambers. The fuel mixture and exhaust apparatus rotates in a direction opposite the first and second rotors, and twice the rotational rate of such rotors.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An internal combustion engine, comprising:
 a main shaft rotatable in a first rotary direction for delivering torque to a load;   a first rotor having pistons;   a second rotor having pistons interleaved with the pistons of the first rotor;   a respective combustion chamber located between the pistons of said first rotor and the pistons of said second rotor, each combustion chamber increasing in volume and decreasing in volume as the first rotor and the second rotors rotate in said first rotary direction and drive said main shaft, and each said combustion chamber undergoing an intake cycle, a compression cycle, an ignition cycle and an exhaust cycle; and   a fuel and exhaust distributor forming a wall to the combustion chambers, said fuel and exhaust distributor having a fuel port and an exhaust port, and said fuel and exhaust distributor rotatable in a rotary direction opposite to the first rotary direction of said main shaft to align the fuel port with combustion chambers that are increasing in volume and to align the exhaust port with combustion chambers that are decreasing in volume.   
     
     
         2 . The internal combustion engine of  claim 1 , wherein said first rotor includes a cylindrical housing with the pistons of said first rotor attached thereto, an annular edge of said cylindrical housing sealed to said fuel and exhaust distributor. 
     
     
         3 . The internal combustion engine of  claim 1 , wherein said fuel and exhaust distributor is constructed as a circular plate having first and second opposing planar faces, said fuel port and said exhaust port formed in said first planar face and open into respective said combustion chambers, and said circular plate of said fuel and exhaust distributor having first and second annular channels formed in said second planar face, said first annular channel connected through said circular plate to said fuel port, and said second annular channel connected through said circular plate to said exhaust port. 
     
     
         4 . The internal combustion engine of  claim 3 , further including a stationary mixture and exhaust member having a planar face sealed to the second planar face of said fuel and exhaust distributor, said stationary mixture and exhaust member having a fuel port in communication with said first annular channel of said fuel and exhaust distributor, and said stationary mixture and exhaust member having an exhaust port in communication with the second annular channel of said fuel and exhaust distributor. 
     
     
         5 . An internal combustion engine, comprising:
 a main shaft rotatable about an axial axis thereof;   a first rotor rotatably driving said main shaft in only one rotary direction about said axial axis;   a second rotor rotatably driving said main shaft in said one rotary direction about said axial axis, said first rotor and said second rotor driving said main shaft in a step-wise manner;   said first rotor having pistons and said second rotor having pistons, and combustion chambers between the pistons of said first rotor and the pistons of said second rotor, said combustion chambers having respective volumes that change as said first rotor rotates in a step-wise manner with respect to said second rotor;   a fuel and exhaust distributor forming a wall of said combustion chambers, said fuel and exhaust distributor having a fuel port and an exhaust port; and   said fuel and exhaust distributor rotating with respect to said first rotor and said second rotor to align the fuel port with a combustion chamber experiencing an increasing volume and to align said exhaust port with a combustion chamber experiencing a decreasing volume.   
     
     
         6 . The internal combustion engine of  claim 5 , wherein said fuel and exhaust distributor is constructed with half as many fuel ports as combustion chambers, and constructed with half as many exhaust ports as combustion chambers. 
     
     
         7 . The internal combustion engine of  claim 6 , further including a counter-rotating mechanism coupled between said main shaft and said fuel and exhaust distributor for rotating said fuel and exhaust distributor in a direction opposite the one rotary direction of said first rotor and said second rotor. 
     
     
         8 . The internal combustion engine of  claim 7 , wherein said counter-rotating mechanism comprises gears. 
     
     
         9 . The internal combustion engine of  claim 7 , wherein said counter-rotating mechanism rotates said fuel and exhaust distributor at a rate twice a rotational rate of either said first rotor or said second rotor. 
     
     
         10 . The internal combustion engine of  claim 5 , wherein said fuel and exhaust distributor is constructed as a circular plate having first and second opposing planar faces, said fuel port and said exhaust port formed in said first planar face and open into respective said combustion chambers, and said circular plate of said fuel and exhaust distributor having first and second annular channels formed in said second face, said first annular channel connected through said circular plate to said fuel port, and said second annular channel connected through said circular plate to said exhaust port. 
     
     
         11 . The internal combustion engine of  claim 10 , further including a stationary mixture and exhaust member having a planar face sealed to the second planar face of said fuel and exhaust distributor, said stationary mixture and exhaust member having a fuel port in communication with said first annular channel of said fuel and exhaust distributor, and said stationary mixture and exhaust member having an exhaust port in communication with the second annular channel of said fuel and exhaust distributor. 
     
     
         12 . The internal combustion engine of  claim 11 , further including an exhaust pipe coupled through said stationary mixture and exhaust member to the exhaust port thereof, and including a fuel mixture apparatus coupled through said stationary mixture and exhaust member to the fuel port thereof. 
     
     
         13 . The internal combustion engine of  claim 5 , wherein said first rotor and said second rotor are constructed and arranged to rotate in a step-wise manner in said one rotary direction, and the combustion chambers experiencing increasing volume and the combustion chambers experiencing decreasing volume both effectively rotate in a rotary direction opposite said one rotary direction. 
     
     
         14 . An internal combustion engine, comprising:
 a main shaft rotatable about an axial axis thereof in a first rotary direction;   a first rotor having plural pistons, said first rotor rotatably driving said main shaft in a first rotary direction;   a second rotor having plural pistons, said second rotor rotatably driving said main shaft in said rotary direction, said first rotor and said second rotor driving said main shaft in a step-wise manner in said first rotary direction;   combustion chambers between the pistons of said first rotor and the pistons of said second rotor, said combustion chambers having respective volumes that change as said first rotor rotates in a step-wise manner with respect to said second rotor;   a first set of said combustion chambers that increase in volume as said first rotor and said second rotor rotate with respect to each other, and a second set of said combustion chambers that decrease in volume as said first rotor and said second rotor rotate with respect to each other;   said first set of combustion chambers and said second set of combustion chambers effectively rotate in a direction opposite the first rotary direction of said first rotor and said second rotor;   a fuel and exhaust distributor forming a wall of said combustion chambers, said fuel and exhaust distributor having a fuel port for coupling a fuel to at least one combustion chamber experiencing an expanding volume, and said fuel and exhaust distributor having an exhaust port for coupling exhaust gases from a combustion chamber experiencing a decreasing volume; and   said fuel and exhaust distributor rotating in a second rotary direction opposite the first rotary direction of said first rotor and said second rotor to align the fuel port with a combustion chamber experiencing an increasing volume and to align said exhaust port with a combustion chamber experiencing a decreasing volume.   
     
     
         15 . The internal combustion engine of  claim 14 , further including a counter-rotating mechanism for rotating said fuel and exhaust distributor in said second rotary direction. 
     
     
         16 . The internal combustion engine of  claim 15 , wherein said counter-rotating mechanism comprises plural gears. 
     
     
         17 . The internal combustion engine of  claim 15 , wherein said counter-rotating mechanism rotates said fuel and exhaust distributor in said second rotary direction at a rate twice a rotational rate of said first rotary direction. 
     
     
         18 . The internal combustion engine of  claim 14 , further including a stationary mixture and exhaust member having a planar face sealed to a planar face of said fuel and exhaust distributor, said stationary mixture and exhaust member having a fuel port in communication with a first annular channel of said fuel and exhaust distributor, and said stationary mixture and exhaust member having an exhaust port in communication with a second annular channel of said fuel and exhaust distributor. 
     
     
         19 . The internal combustion engine of  claim 18 , further including an exhaust pipe coupled through said stationary mixture and exhaust member to the exhaust port thereof, and including a fuel mixture apparatus coupled through said stationary mixture and exhaust member to the fuel port thereof. 
     
     
         20 . The internal combustion engine of  claim 14 , wherein said internal combustion engine does not include reciprocating valves for respectively controlling the fuel mixture and the exhaust.