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US-12618328-B2 - Rotary machine

US12618328B2US 12618328 B2US12618328 B2US 12618328B2US-12618328-B2

Abstract

The disclosure provides rotary machines that include, in one embodiment, a rotatable shaft defining a central axis A, the shaft having a first end and a second end. The shaft can have a first hub disposed thereon with a plurality of cavities. At least one contour is slidably received into an arcuate cavity in an exterior surface of the hub. The contour has a convex outer surface that cooperates with an inwardly facing curved surface of a housing to form a working volume.

Inventors

  • William Lukaczyk
  • William Anderson
  • Riccardo Meldolesi

Assignees

  • LUMENIUM LLC

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20241118

Claims (19)

  1. 1 . A rotary machine, comprising: a) a stationary housing defining an inwardly facing continuously curved surface; b) front and rear side plates attached to the stationary housing component; c) a rotatable shaft defining a central axis A, the rotatable shaft having a first end and a second end, the rotatable shaft having a first hub disposed thereon, the first hub having a body with a volume generally defined between front and rear surfaces that are spaced apart along the rotatable shaft, the perimeters of the front and rear surfaces defining at least one radially outwardly facing concavity through the hub configured to slidably mate with at least a portion of a first contour assembly, the first hub being situated axially between the front and rear side plates; d) a plurality of rollers disposed within said at least one radially outwardly facing concavity; and e) wherein the first contour assembly is movably disposed on the plurality of rollers disposed within said at least one radially outwardly facing concavity defined on the first hub, the first contour assembly being defined by a pair of opposed outwardly facing front and rear surfaces and convex radially inwardly facing and convex radially outwardly facing surfaces, the convex radially inwardly facing surface of the first contour assembly facing the at least one radially outwardly facing concavity of the first hub, the convex radially outwardly facing surface, the front and rear side plates and the inwardly facing continuous curved surface of the stationary housing cooperating to form a working volume, the rotatable shaft and first hub being configured to rotate with respect to the stationary housing and front and rear side plates, wherein: the first contour assembly oscillates on the plurality of roller bearings within the concavity of the hub as the hub and rotatable shaft rotate; and first and second lateral ends of the first contour assembly seal against the inwardly facing continuous curved surface of the housing component as the rotatable shaft rotates.
  2. 2 . The rotary machine of claim 1 , wherein the rotary machine is a four cycle internal combustion engine, and wherein the first hub rotates once to accomplish the four cycles of the internal combustion engine.
  3. 3 . The rotary machine of claim 1 , wherein components of the rotary machine are located within and move inside the stationary housing.
  4. 4 . The rotary machine of claim 1 , wherein the stationary housing is affixed to a foundation that also supports a plurality of bearings that in turn rotatably supports the rotatable shaft about the axis A.
  5. 5 . The rotary machine of claim 1 , wherein the inwardly facing continuously curved surface is configured to contact seals attached to the first contour assembly.
  6. 6 . The rotary machine of claim 1 , wherein the inwardly facing continuously curved surface includes a plurality of ports defined therethrough to permit the passage of gases through the plurality of ports as the rotary machine operates.
  7. 7 . The rotary machine of claim 1 , wherein the inwardly facing continuously curved surface includes at least one passage therethrough to receive at least one of a spark plug and a fuel injector.
  8. 8 . A rotary machine, comprising: a) a stationary housing defining an inwardly facing continuously curved surface; b) front and rear side plates attached to the stationary housing component; c) a rotatable shaft defining a central axis A, the shaft having a first end and a second end, the shaft having a first hub disposed thereon, the first hub having a body with a volume generally defined between front and rear surfaces that are spaced apart along the rotatable shaft, the perimeters of the front and rear surfaces defining at least one radially outwardly facing concavity through the hub configured to slidably mate with at least a portion of a first contour assembly, the first hub being situated axially between the front and rear side plates, said first hub defining at least one oil flow passage therethrough that terminates at said at least one radially outwardly facing concavity; and d) a first contour assembly at least partially slidably disposed on the concavity defined on the first hub, the first contour assembly being defined by a pair of opposed outwardly facing front and rear surfaces and convex radially inwardly facing and convex radially outwardly facing surfaces, the convex radially inwardly facing surface of the first contour assembly facing the at least one radially outwardly facing concavity of the first hub, the convex radially outwardly facing surface, the front and rear side plates and the inwardly facing continuous curved surface of the stationary housing cooperating to form a working volume, the rotatable shaft and first hub being configured to rotate with respect to the stationary housing and front and rear side plates, wherein: the first contour assembly oscillates within the concavity of the hub as the hub and central shaft rotate; first and second lateral ends of the first contour assembly seal against the inwardly facing continuous curved surface of the housing component as the central shaft rotates; and the rotary machine further includes an oil pump that pumps oil through said at least one oil flow passage to drive oil between said at least one radially outwardly facing concavity and said convex radially inwardly facing surface of the first contour assembly.
  9. 9 . The rotary machine of claim 8 , wherein the first contour assembly defines at least one oil flow passage therethrough for receiving oil driven between said at least one radially outwardly facing concavity and said convex radially inwardly facing surface of the first contour assembly.
  10. 10 . The rotary machine of claim 8 , wherein oil is driven down said rotatable shaft along an axial direction where the flow of oil is divided into flow channels that extend into each arm of the hub.
  11. 11 . The rotary machine of claim 10 , wherein the flow of oil is divided at a location near the end of each arm of the hub and directed toward to drive oil between said at least one radially outwardly facing concavity and said convex radially inwardly facing surface of the first contour assembly.
  12. 12 . The rotary machine of claim 9 , wherein the first contour assembly includes an exit port into the stationary housing where it can get picked up and recycled.
  13. 13 . The rotary machine of claim 8 , wherein the rotary machine includes a plurality of contour assemblies that are lubricated by oil directed through said at least one oil flow passage.
  14. 14 . A rotary machine, comprising: a) a stationary housing defining an inwardly facing continuously curved surface; b) front and rear side plates attached to the stationary housing component; c) a rotatable shaft defining a central axis A, the shaft having a first end and a second end, the shaft having a first hub disposed thereon, the first hub having a body with a volume generally defined between front and rear surfaces that are spaced apart along the rotatable shaft, the perimeters of the front and rear surfaces defining at least one radially outwardly facing concavity through the hub configured to slidably mate with at least a portion of a first contour assembly, the first hub being situated axially between the front and rear side plates; and d) a first contour assembly at least partially slidably disposed on the concavity defined on the first hub, the first contour assembly being defined by a pair of opposed outwardly facing front and rear surfaces and convex radially inwardly facing and convex radially outwardly facing surfaces, the convex radially inwardly facing surface of the first contour assembly facing the at least one radially outwardly facing concavity of the first hub, the convex radially outwardly facing surface, the front and rear side plates and the inwardly facing continuous curved surface of the stationary housing cooperating to form a working volume, the rotatable shaft and first hub being configured to rotate with respect to the stationary housing and front and rear side plates, wherein: the first contour assembly oscillates within the concavity of the hub as the hub and central shaft rotate; first and second lateral ends of the first contour assembly seal against the inwardly facing continuous curved surface of the housing component as the central shaft rotates; and the first contour assembly includes at least one guide configured and arranged to follow a circumferential guide path to maintain a predetermined spacing between the convex radially outwardly facing surfaces of the first contour and the inwardly facing continuous curved surface of the stationary housing.
  15. 15 . The rotary machine of claim 14 , wherein the at least one guide includes at least one yoke extending outwardly from said first contour assembly that is configured to ride along a guide track that traverses a path that circumscribes the central axis A.
  16. 16 . The rotary machine of claim 15 , wherein the at least one guide includes at least one roller configured to ride along the guide track as the first contour assembly orbits the rotatable shaft.
  17. 17 . The rotary machine of claim 16 , wherein the at least one guide includes two yokes extending away from the first contour assembly along a direction parallel to the central axis A, wherein each guide includes a plurality of rollers for engaging with the guide track.
  18. 18 . The rotary machine of claim 17 , wherein the guide track includes a cam ring.
  19. 19 . The rotary machine of claim 14 , wherein the contour includes at least one seal disposed therein configured to engage with at least one of the inwardly facing continuous curved surface of the stationary housing, front side plate and rear side plate to help seal the working volume.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This patent application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/435,081, filed Feb. 7, 2024, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 12,146,411 on Nov. 19, 2024, which in turn is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/488,858, filed Sep. 29, 2021, now abandoned, which in turn is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/252,837, filed Jan. 31, 2019 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,168,608 on Nov. 9, 2021, which in turn is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/097,928, filed Apr. 13, 2016, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,184,392 on Jan. 22, 2019, which in turn claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/146,958, filed Apr. 13, 2015. This patent application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/435,081, filed Feb. 7, 2024, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 12,146,411 on Nov. 19, 2024, which in turn is a continuation-in-part of and claims the benefit of priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/176,012, filed Feb. 28, 2023, and issued on Mar. 5, 2024 as U.S. Pat. No. 11,920,476, which in turn is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/828,348, filed May 31, 2022, which in turn is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/012,342, filed Sep. 4, 2020, now abandoned, which in turn is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priority to International Patent Application No. PCT/US2019/063762, filed Nov. 27, 2019, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/771,961, filed Nov. 27, 2018. This patent application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/435,081, filed Feb. 7, 2024, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 12,146,411 on Nov. 19, 2024, which in turn is a continuation-in-part of and claims the benefit of priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/055,164, filed Nov. 14, 2022, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/281,058, filed Nov. 18, 2021 and also is a continuation-in-part of and claims the benefit of priority to International Patent Application PCT/US2021/032831, filed May 17, 2021, which in turn claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/025,790, filed May 15, 2020. This patent application is related to International Patent Application No. PCT/US14/56383, filed Sep. 18, 2014, which in turn claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/879,628, filed Sep. 18, 2013. This patent application is also related to International Patent Application No. PCT/US13/30649, filed Mar. 13, 2013, which in turn claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/697,481, filed Sep. 6, 2012, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/610,781, filed Mar. 14, 2012. Each of the aforementioned patent applications and patents is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for any purpose whatsoever. BACKGROUND U.S. Pat. No. 6,758,188, entitled “Continuous Torque Inverse Displacement Asymmetric Rotary Engine”, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discloses an Inverse Displacement Asymmetric Rotary (IDAR) engine. The engine includes an inner chamber wall, an outer chamber wall, and a movable contour. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/732,160, filed Mar. 25, 2010, which is also incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, presents improved embodiments vis-à-vis the embodiments of U.S. Pat. No. 6,758,188. The present disclosure provides significant improvements over these embodiments, as described herein. SUMMARY The disclosed embodiments improve upon and add to embodiments described in the patents and patent applications referenced above. In some aspects, the present disclosure provides the following features: In some implementations, the disclosure provides a rotary machine to combust an air-fuel mixture that releases chemical energy and produces usable work at a rotating shaft. The rotary machine can include a fixed housing with an oval like shape (or other suitable shape), and a central or main shaft without eccentrics or gears as shown in the first embodiment. It may secondly, use swinging arms which pivoting about a shaft with cam tracks and cam followers to create the functional motion of the second embodiment. Thirdly, It can use gears, eccentrics and connecting rods to induce its functional motion as shown in the third embodiment. The machine can provide for three combustion events per revolution in a very compact space. The device further includes combustion contour components which have the side opposite the c