Rotary steam engine
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- TW · TW
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- 张世和
- Filing Date
- 2024-07-26
- Publication Date
- 2026-08-01
AI Technical Summary
Traditional steam engines have complex structures and low thermal efficiency due to their reciprocating motion mechanism, and steam turbines fail to effectively utilize the pressure generated by steam expansion, leading to inefficient power generation.
A rotary steam engine design utilizing the large volume change of liquid water vaporization, featuring a stator mechanism with aligned stators and rotors, pistons, and gas covers that enable steam to push pistons radially, allowing for a closed system that maximizes steam pressure utilization and reduces frictional resistance.
The rotary steam engine achieves exceptionally high thermal efficiency by effectively harnessing steam pressure and minimizing friction, providing a highly efficient power source for industrial applications.
Smart Images
Figure TWG2TB001903583_001 
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Abstract
Description
[Technical Field]
[0001] This invention relates to an engine, and more particularly to a rotary steam engine. [Previous Technology]
[0002] Today, engines play a crucial role in transportation, industrial machinery, and other power-demanding fields. It is generally known that engines, whether internal or external combustion engines, achieve a complete power cycle through the cooperation of components such as cylinders, pistons, crankshafts, and valves, by performing several strokes.
[0003] The invention of the steam engine in the 18th century ushered in the first industrial revolution and led mankind into the era of mechanized production. It can be seen that the steam engine is of great importance to human civilization. However, because the motion mechanism of the traditional steam engine is reciprocating, it not only makes the structure and manufacturing of the engine extremely complex, but also greatly reduces the heat conversion efficiency of the engine, leading to the elimination of the traditional steam engine.
[0004] Although traditional steam engines have been phased out, steam power is still used in industry today because of the characteristic that water expands 1,700 times when it vaporizes. For example, nuclear power, thermal power and geothermal power generation use steam turbines to convert heat energy into electrical energy. However, steam turbines use steam in an open manner and cannot effectively utilize the pressure generated by the large expansion of steam, so the thermal efficiency is extremely low.
[0005] With the advent of the AI era, there is an urgent need for a large source of electricity. It is evident that how to provide a steam power generation device that is advanced, simple in structure, and has significantly improved thermal efficiency has become the most important issue at present. [Summary of the Invention]
[0006] The main objective of this invention is to provide a rotary steam engine that uses the large volume change of liquid water vaporization as a power source, which has extremely superior efficiency and provides the industry with a power source with extremely high thermal efficiency.
[0007] To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides a rotary steam engine, comprising: a stator mechanism including two stators and two stator oil seals, each stator including a guide ring groove and two annular stator grooves extending on the inner and outer sides of the guide ring groove, the guide ring grooves of the two stators being axially aligned to form a track, and the two stator oil seals being embedded in the grooves of the two stators; a rotor rotatably disposed between the two stators, including multiple cylinders and multiple vent holes, each cylinder having multiple slots through its cylinder wall, the multiple vent holes being open on the outer peripheral surface of the rotor and communicating with the interior of the multiple cylinders respectively; a spindle having multiple axial vent grooves corresponding to the cylinders, passing through the stator mechanism and the rotor, and moving with the rotor; multiple pistons, each piston having a piston oil seal annularly disposed at its upper and lower ends, the multiple pistons being respectively housed in the multiple cylinders, and each having a piston that radially protrudes from the multiple slots and moves along the track. A piston rod, pistons, and piston seals are movable in the space between the cylinder walls of the cylinders, the space between the two stator seals of the stator mechanism, and the plurality of slots to form an engine lubricating oil passage system; and a plurality of gas covers, each radially movable and elastically recoverable, are disposed on the stator mechanism and cover the outer peripheral surface of the rotor, forming an injection space between each gas cover and the outer peripheral surface of the rotor, each gas cover including a gas passage communicating with the injection space and for inputting vapor; wherein, when the injection space is connected to the plurality of vent holes, the vapor enters the injection space through the gas passage of each gas cover and enters the plurality of cylinders through the plurality of vent holes, thereby pushing the plurality of pistons to move radially inward, causing the rotor to rotate relative to the stator mechanism; wherein, when the injection space is not connected to the plurality of vent holes, the piston rods of the plurality of pistons move along the track, causing the plurality of pistons to move radially outward, thereby discharging the vapor in the plurality of cylinders through the plurality of vent holes.
Implementation Method
[0009] The following examples illustrate possible implementations of the present invention, but are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention.
[0010] Please refer to Figures 1 to 11, which show one embodiment of the present invention. The rotary steam engine 1 of the present invention includes a stator 10, a rotor 20, a spindle 30, a plurality of pistons 40 and a plurality of gas shrouds 50.
[0011] The stator mechanism 10 includes two stators 11A and 11B and two stator oil seals 17. The two stators 11A and 11B each include a guide ring groove 111 and two annular stator grooves 16 extending on the inner and outer sides of the guide ring groove 111. The guide ring grooves 111 of the two stators 11A and 11B are axially aligned to form a track 12. The two stator oil seals 17 are embedded between the stator grooves 16 of the two stators 11A and 11B. The rotor 20 is rotatably disposed between the two stators 11A and 11B. The rotor 20 includes a plurality of cylinders 21 and a plurality of vent holes 22. A plurality of slots 212 are provided on the cylinder wall 211 of each cylinder 21. The plurality of vent holes 22 are open on the outer peripheral surface of the rotor 20 and communicate with the interior of the plurality of cylinders 21 respectively. The spindle 30 has multiple axial ventilation grooves 31 corresponding to the cylinder 21, which pass through the stator mechanism 10 and the rotor 20, and the spindle 30 moves together with the rotor 20. Each of the multiple pistons 40 has a piston oil seal 44 encircling its upper and lower ends. The multiple pistons 40 are respectively housed in the multiple cylinders 21, and each of the multiple pistons 40 has a piston shaft 41 that radially protrudes from the multiple slots 212 and moves along the track 12. Each piston 40 and each piston oil seal 44 moves within the space between the cylinder walls 211 of each cylinder 21, the space between the two stator oil seals 17 of the stator mechanism 10, and the multiple slots 212, thus forming an engine lubricating oil passage system. The plurality of gas covers 50 are radially movable and elastically recoverable, disposed on the stator mechanism 10 and covering the outer peripheral surface of the rotor 20. A gas injection space S is formed between each gas cover 50 and the outer peripheral surface of the rotor 20. Each gas cover 50 includes a gas channel 51 communicating with the gas injection space S and providing steam input. When the gas injection space S is connected to the plurality of vent holes 22, steam enters the gas injection space S through the gas channel 51 of each gas cover 50 and enters the plurality of cylinders 21 through the plurality of vent holes 22, pushing the plurality of pistons 40 to move radially inward, causing the rotor 20 to rotate relative to the stator mechanism 10. When the gas injection space S is not connected to the plurality of vent holes 22, the piston shafts 41 of the plurality of pistons 40 move along the track 12, causing the plurality of pistons 40 to move radially outward, discharging the steam in the plurality of cylinders 21 through the plurality of vent holes 22.
[0012] When liquid water is heated to 100°C and becomes steam, its volume expands approximately 1700 times. Utilizing this unique advantage as a power source would make it the most efficient engine. Each of the gas covers 50 can elastically and recoverably cover the outer circumference of the rotor 20, minimizing steam escape. Furthermore, the steam pressure within each gas cover 50 pushes it outward, significantly reducing frictional resistance between the gas covers 50 and the rotor 20 during operation. The energy loss due to friction between the mechanical components is extremely low. Therefore, this rotary steam engine possesses exceptionally high efficiency, providing the industrial sector with a highly thermally efficient power source.
[0013] The stator mechanism 10 further includes a plurality of bolts 13 and a plurality of bolt sleeves 14. The two stators 11A and 11B each include a plurality of through holes 112. The plurality of bolt sleeves 14 abut against the two stators 11A and 11B. The plurality of bolts 13 pass through the plurality of through holes 112 and the plurality of bolt sleeves 14 of the two stators 11A and 11B, thereby fixing the distance between the two stators 11. In addition, when the plurality of bolts 13 pass through the plurality of through holes 112 of the two stators 11A and 11B, the guide ring grooves 111 of the two stators 11 can be precisely aligned to form a track, and further serve as a precise limit for the plurality of air hoods 50.
[0014] The rotor 20 includes a rotor body 23 and a ring member 24 disposed around the rotor body 23. The rotor body 23 includes the plurality of cylinders 21, and the ring member 24 includes the plurality of vent holes 22 and can be considered equivalent to a cylinder head. Such a mating structure facilitates processing, manufacturing, and assembly. Preferably, the ring member 24 further includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced recesses 241. Oil can be injected into the recesses 241 through the oil injection holes 54 of the air shroud. The recesses 241 have an oil storage function, so that the air shroud oil seals 52 on both sides of the bottom of the air shroud 50 and the rotor 20 receive sufficient lubrication. For example, a recess 241 (e.g., a small concave round hole) is provided every 3 mm at the contact points between the ring member 24 and the plurality of air shrouds 50. The depth of each recess 241 is 1 mm. However, the shape, spacing, and depth of the plurality of recesses 241 can vary according to different design requirements.
[0015] The stator 11B is provided with an oil inlet 114, and the oil inlet 114 is connected to an oil inlet pipe 116 with the opening facing upward. The oil inlet pipe 116 with the opening facing upward uses gravity to flow lubricating oil into the engine. The oil inlet 114 is located between the two stator oil seals 17 and is used to inject lubricating oil. The lubricating oil enters the cylinder 21 through the slot 212 and then enters between the stator 11A and the two stator oil seals 17. The stator 11A is provided with an oil outlet 115, and the oil outlet 115 is provided with an oil outlet pipe 117 with the opening facing downward. Finally, the oil flows out of the rotary steam engine 1 through the oil outlet 115 of the stator 11A and the oil outlet pipe 117. The sealed engine lubricating oil passage system can ensure that the moving parts of the rotary steam engine 1 are adequately lubricated throughout the engine operation.
[0016] In this embodiment, the rotary steam engine 1 further includes a plurality of gas cover shafts 60 and a plurality of tension springs 70. The two stators 11 each include a plurality of stator holes 113. The plurality of gas cover shafts 60 are radially movable and pass through the plurality of stator holes 113. The plurality of tension springs 70 are respectively connected between the stator mechanism 10 and the plurality of gas cover shafts 60. In detail, the two ends of each tension spring 70 are respectively hooked to a positioning hook 15 of a gas cover shaft 60 and the stator mechanism 10, thereby allowing each gas cover 50 to maintain a tendency to move towards the outer peripheral surface of the rotor 20 when the steam pressure decreases, thus avoiding insufficient gas pressure.
[0017] In this embodiment, each stator hole 113 extends radially elongatedly along the stator mechanism 10, and each gas cover 50 has an annular oil seal 52 on one annular end face, which contacts the outer peripheral surface of the rotor ring 24. The gas cover oil seal 52 is partially fixed in a gas cover groove 53 of the gas cover 50 by an adhesive material (e.g., strong adhesive). The high-pressure steam in the gas cover 50 will push the gas cover 50 outward. However, each gas cover shaft 60 is limited by the slightly elongated space of the stator hole 113. The diameter of the stator hole 113 is larger than the outer diameter of the gas cover shaft 60. The high-pressure steam cannot completely escape the constraint of each gas cover 50. Therefore, during the operation of the rotary steam engine 1, an air cushion or air film is formed between the gas cover oil seal 52 and the ring 24, so the frictional resistance is extremely small.
[0018] Preferably, each gas shroud 50 further includes at least one oil filling hole 54 with an opening facing the outer peripheral surface of the rotor ring 24, and each piston 40 includes an annular recess 42 for storing oil. Specifically, each gas shroud 50 includes a plurality of oil filling holes 54 located outside the gas shroud oil seal 52, and each oil filling hole 54 is connected to an oil source via an oil nozzle 55 and an oil pipe 56. When each piston 40 moves in the cylinder 21, oil is present in the annular recess 42 of each piston 40. A large amount of oil not only provides sufficient lubrication but also effectively dissipates heat. Furthermore, the bottom of each piston 40 includes a chamber 43, which effectively reduces weight.
[0019] When the recess 241 of the ring 24 passes through the opening of the oil injection hole 54, oil will enter the recess 241 of the ring 24. In this way, the gas cover oil seal 52 can maintain a lubricated state during operation, reducing frictional resistance and wear. The recess 241 is relatively small, and the gas cover oil seal 52 will become flat and wide after being compressed to cover the recess 241. Therefore, the oil will not leak, ensuring and maintaining a better lubrication effect for a long time.
[0020] In the preferred embodiment of this case, the track 12 has four identical strokes within 360 degrees, so that the spindle 30 can be subjected to the actuating force of four power strokes at the same time when rotating. However, the track 12 may also be provided with only two or three identical strokes or other numbers of strokes within 360 degrees.
[0021] The operation of the rotary steam engine 1 is explained as follows. When each of the gas shroud shafts 60 is radially positioned above the rotor 20 at a power stroke start point C corresponding to the track 12, steam begins to enter the gas shroud 50 at an advance point A before the power stroke start point C. At this point, the piston 40 is constrained by the track 12 and remains stationary until the plurality of vent holes 22 move to the corresponding power stroke start point C and begin to slide down the track 12. Only then are the cylinders 21 pushed by the steam. Therefore, the stroke between the advance point A and the power stroke start point C is not considered a power stroke; it merely allows the cylinders 21 to bear pressure earlier. When the plurality of vent holes 22 move to the corresponding exhaust point B, the steam in each cylinder 21 begins to exhaust outward through the plurality of vent holes 22. In other words... When the vent 22 of the rotor 20 moves to the stroke range corresponding to the advance point A, each cylinder 21 begins to be pressurized; when the vent 22 of the rotor 20 moves to the starting point C of the power stroke, the power stroke begins; when the vent 22 of the rotor 20 moves to the exhaust point B, the exhaust stroke begins.
[0022] Furthermore, during the stage when the piston 40 slides down the track 12, if the air pressure in the gas cover 50 is sufficient to push the piston 40, the piston shaft 41 slides down along the inner side 121 of the power stroke of the track 12. If the air pressure in the gas cover 50 is insufficient to push the piston 40 down (e.g., when the engine is turned off), the piston shaft 41 moves along the outer side 122 of the power stroke of the track 12 under the action of centrifugal force.
[0023] Furthermore, the ventilation groove 31 connects to each of the cylinders 21. When the engine is running, when the piston 40 moves downward along the engine radial direction, the air below the piston 40 is discharged through the ventilation groove 31; when the piston 40 moves upward along the engine radial direction, external air enters each of the cylinders 21 through the ventilation groove 31.
[0024] In addition, the rotary steam engine 1 of the present invention can be used as a power source for industry. It can also use solar water heating equipment to heat cold water into high-temperature hot water, or use geothermal energy to produce a continuous source of high-temperature hot spring water. By heat exchange, non-corrosive water can be turned into high-temperature hot water and added to the boiler. At this time, as long as the boiler is heated slightly to make the hot water reach 100 degrees Celsius, the hot water can be vaporized to produce high-pressure steam. The steam enters the gas hood 50 through the gas pipe to drive the rotary steam engine 1 of the present invention to generate electricity, which can produce an extremely cheap source of electricity. Since the use of steam in this rotary steam engine is closed, and only by using a closed space can the pressure generated by the large expansion of steam be almost fully utilized, the thermal efficiency of this steam engine will inevitably be greatly improved, which is expected to bring an optimal solution for human energy. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]
[0008] Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the present invention. Figures 3 and 4 are exploded views of a rotor of an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 is a partial enlarged view of Figure 5. Figures 7 to 9 are schematic diagrams of operation of an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 10 is a partial cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of a second stator of an embodiment of the present invention.
Claims
1. A rotary steam engine, comprising: A stator mechanism includes two stators and two stator oil seals. Each stator includes a guide ring groove and two annular stator grooves extending on the inner and outer sides of the guide ring groove. The guide ring grooves of the two stators are axially aligned to form a track. The two stator oil seals are embedded between the stator grooves of the two stators. A rotor is rotatably disposed between the two stators and includes multiple cylinders and multiple vent holes. Each cylinder has multiple slots in its cylinder wall. The multiple vent holes are open on the outer peripheral surface of the rotor and communicate with the interior of each cylinder. A spindle has multiple axial vent grooves corresponding to the cylinders, passes through the stator mechanism and the rotor, and moves with the rotor. The system comprises multiple pistons, each with a piston oil seal annularly arranged at its upper and lower ends. The pistons are housed in multiple cylinders and each has a piston shaft that axially protrudes from multiple slots and moves along a track. Each piston and piston oil seal moves within the space between the cylinder walls of each cylinder, the space between the two stator oil seals of the stator mechanism, and the multiple slots, forming an engine lubricating oil passage system. It also comprises multiple gas covers, each radially movable and elastically recoverable, disposed on the stator mechanism and covering the outer circumferential surface of the rotor. Each gas cover forms an injection space with the outer circumferential surface of the rotor. Each gas cover includes a gas passage connecting to the injection space and allowing steam to enter. When the injection space connects to the multiple vent holes, steam enters the injection space through the gas passages of each gas cover and then enters the multiple cylinders through the multiple vent holes, pushing the pistons radially inward and causing the rotor to rotate relative to the stator mechanism. When the gas injection space is not connected to the multiple vent holes, the piston shafts of the multiple pistons move along the track, causing the multiple pistons to move radially outward and discharge the vapor in the multiple cylinders through the multiple vent holes.
2. The rotary steam engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stator mechanism further includes a plurality of bolts and a plurality of bolt sleeves, the two stators each further includes a plurality of through holes, the plurality of bolt sleeves abut against the two stators, and the plurality of bolts pass through the plurality of through holes and the plurality of bolt sleeves of the two stators.
3. The rotary steam engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rotor includes a rotor body and an annular member disposed around the rotor body, the rotor body includes the plurality of cylinders, the annular member includes the plurality of vent holes, and an annular groove is provided on the outer edge of the top of the cylinder, the annular groove accommodating a sealing ring between the rotor body and the annular member.
4. The rotary steam engine as claimed in claim 3, wherein the ring further includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced recesses.
5. The rotary steam engine as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of gas cover shafts and a plurality of tension springs, the two stators each further comprising a plurality of stator holes, the plurality of gas cover shafts being radially movable through the plurality of stator holes, and the plurality of tension springs being respectively connected between the stator mechanism and the plurality of gas cover shafts.
6. The rotary steam engine as claimed in claim 5, wherein each of the stator bores extends radially elongated along the stator mechanism.
7. The rotary steam engine as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein each piston includes an annular recess for storing oil.
8. The rotary steam engine as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein each of the gas shrouds further includes at least one oil filling hole with an opening facing the outer peripheral surface of the rotor.
9. The rotary steam engine as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein an annular end face of each of the gas shrouds is further provided with a gas shroud oil seal, the gas shroud oil seal contacting the outer peripheral surface of the rotor.