Arc Roller Rotary Engine for Low-Friction Multi-Event Combustion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rotary engines face challenges in efficiently articulating cyclical motion within a compact space while maintaining low friction and effective sealing, particularly in achieving multiple combustion events per revolution without compromising efficiency or increasing complexity.
Innovation Solution
The rotary machine employs a combination of stationary and orbiting gears, connecting rods, and arced seals to articulate cyclical motion within a stationary oval housing, utilizing a revolving gearbox with arced roller ways and bearings to support arcing motion, allowing for multiple combustion events per revolution without direct contact with interior surfaces, and incorporates a central shaft with a gearbox and contour assemblies that change volume as the shaft rotates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a rotary engine uses a compact design with multiple combustion events per revolution, then productivity increases, but device complexity increases due to the need for intricate motion articulation mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism consisting of a contour follower, arced seals, and roller ways that mediate between the combustion chamber and the stationary housing. This intermediary system articulates the cyclical motion required for multiple combustion events per revolution while maintaining a compact form factor, thus resolving the contradiction between productivity and device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs arced seals and curved roller ways that follow the contour of the combustion chamber. This curved geometry enables smooth cyclical motion articulation for multiple combustion events per revolution within a compact space, addressing the contradiction by using geometric curvature to simplify the motion mechanism while maintaining high productivity
2Productivity
If the rotary engine uses a compact design with multiple combustion events per revolution, then productivity increases, but friction increases due to closer proximity of moving parts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional sliding friction contacts with rolling contacts through the implementation of roller ways and arced roller seals. This substitution reduces friction significantly while maintaining the compact design that enables multiple combustion events per revolution, thus resolving the contradiction between productivity and energy loss
Solution Approach 2:
The curved roller ways and arced seals create optimized contact surfaces that minimize friction while enabling the compact cyclical motion required for multiple combustion events per revolution, addressing the contradiction between productivity and friction by using geometric optimization
3Productivity
If the rotary engine uses a compact design with multiple combustion events per revolution, then productivity increases, but sealing difficulty increases due to gap management between moving surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces arced seals as intermediary elements that bridge the gap between the moving contour follower and the stationary housing. These arced seals maintain reliable sealing across the gaps created by cyclical motion while enabling multiple combustion events per revolution in a compact space, resolving the contradiction between productivity and sealing reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The arced seals with curved geometry conform to the contour of the combustion chamber, maintaining effective sealing across moving surfaces while enabling the compact design that supports multiple combustion events per revolution, thus resolving the contradiction between productivity and sealing difficulty
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration enables efficient articulation of cyclical motion, maintains low friction, and achieves effective sealing, allowing for multiple combustion events per revolution in a compact space, enhancing power transfer and reducing oil consumption while mitigating contamination and thermal issues.
Implementation Method 1
a multiplicity of arced roller ways that support the hard cylindrical underside of a contour moving in an arc like direction about an imaginary axis
Implementation Method 2
arced seals to prevent the transfer of fluids or gasses between the gap of the relative moving surfaces of the gearbox and adjacent contour
Implementation Method 3
a rotary machine to combust an air-fuel mixture that releases chemical energy and produces usable work at a rotating shaft
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure provides rotary machines that include, in one embodiment, a shaft defining a central axis A, the shaft having a first end and a second end. The shaft can have a first gearbox disposed thereon defining one or more cavities therein. At least one contour is slidably received into an arcuate cavity in an exterior surface of the gearbox. The contour has a convex outer surface that cooperates with an inwardly facing curved surface of a housing to form a working volume. A gearbox mechanism consisting of gears, crankshafts, bearings and connecting rod creates an oscillatory motion 2 times per revolution such that the contour can navigate about the arcuate cavity without contacting the cavity at a high rate of rotating speed. Thus, said working volume can expand and compresses twice per rotatable shaft revolution.