Rotary engine casing with seal engaging plate having mating surface defining a fluid cavity

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10072566-B2
Application number	US-201514974489-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 18, 2015
Priority date	Dec 18, 2015
Publication date	Sep 11, 2018
Grant date	Sep 11, 2018

Abstract

A rotary engine casing having at least one end wall of an internal cavity for a rotor including a seal-engaging plate sealingly engaging the peripheral wall to partially seal the internal cavity and a member mounted adjacent the seal-engaging plate outside of the internal cavity. The member and seal-engaging plate having abutting mating surfaces which cooperate to define between them at least one fluid cavity communicating with a source of liquid coolant. When the casing includes a plurality of rotor housings, the end wall may be between rotor housings. A method of manufacturing a rotary engine casing is also discussed.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A rotary engine casing comprising first and second axially spaced apart end walls interconnected by a peripheral wall, the first end wall, second end wall and peripheral wall together enclosing an internal cavity configured to sealingly engage a rotor rotatable therein, at least the first end wall having a split configuration including a seal-engaging plate sealingly engaging the peripheral wall to partially seal the internal cavity and a member mounted adjacent the seal-engaging plate outside of the internal cavity, the seal-engaging plate having a sliding surface facing away from the member and defining a surface of the internal cavity, and a mating surface abutted to a mating surface of the member, at least one fluid cavity being located between the mating surfaces of the member and of the seal-engaging plate, the at least fluid cavity communicating with a source of liquid coolant, the at least one fluid cavity configured to in use cool the rotor.

2. The rotary engine casing as defined in claim 1 , wherein the casing includes two axially spaced apart end-casing sections located at opposite ends of the rotary engine casing and a central-casing section mounted between and connected to the two end-casing sections, the central-casing section including the peripheral wall, the first end wall located in one of the end-casing sections, and the member is an end-casing member.

3. The rotary engine casing as defined in claim 2 , wherein the central-casing section includes at least one fluid cavity in fluid communication with the at least one fluid cavity defined between the mating surfaces.

4. The rotary engine casing as defined in claim 2 , wherein the central-casing section has a plurality of apertures extending therethrough in communication with the at least one fluid cavity.

5. The rotary engine casing as defined in claim 1 , wherein said at least the first end wall includes the first and second end walls.

6. The rotary engine casing as defined in claim 1 , wherein the member has a thickness greater than a thickness of the seal-engaging plate.

7. The rotary engine casing as defined in claim 1 , wherein the mating surfaces include complementary depressions cooperating to form the at least one fluid cavity.

8. The rotary engine casing as defined in claim 1 , wherein one of the mating surfaces includes at least one depression cooperating with the other of the mating surfaces to form the at least one fluid cavity.

9. The rotary engine casing as defined in claim 1 , wherein the member is an intermediate member and the mating surface of the intermediate member is a first mating surface, the intermediate member has a second mating surface opposite the first mating surface, and the seal-engaging plate is a first seal engaging plate, the casing further comprising a third end wall and an additional peripheral wall, the first end wall, third end wall and additional peripheral wall together enclosing an additional internal cavity configured to sealingly engage an additional rotor rotatable therein, the internal cavities separated by the first end wall, the first end wall including a second seal-engaging plate sealingly engaging the additional peripheral wall to partially seal the additional internal cavity, the intermediate member located between the first and second seal-engaging plates, the second seal-engaging plate having a mating surface abutted to the second mating surface of the intermediate member, the mating surface of the second seal-engaging plate and the second mating surface of the intermediate member cooperating to define between them at least one additional fluid cavity communicating with the source of liquid coolant.

10. The rotary engine casing as defined in claim 9 , wherein the seal-engaging plates each have a thickness smaller than a thickness of the intermediate member.

11. The rotary engine casing as defined in claim 9 , wherein each of the at least one fluid cavity is defined by a respective depression formed in the mating surface of the first seal-engaging plate, and each of the at least one additional fluid cavity is defined by a respective depression formed in the mating surface of the second seal-engaging plate.

12. A rotary engine casing comprising:
a plurality of axially spaced end walls;
two end-casing sections located at opposite ends of the rotary engine casing and each including a respective one of the end walls; and
a central-casing section mounted between the two end-casing sections, the central-casing section comprising:
a plurality of rotor housings each including a peripheral wall of a respective internal cavity for receiving a respective rotor, each peripheral wall cooperating with two of the end walls to enclose the respective internal cavity; and
an intermediate section mounted between each adjacent ones of the rotor housings, each intermediate section including a first seal-engaging plate sealingly engaging the peripheral wall of a first of the adjacent ones of the rotor housings to partially seal the internal cavity thereof, a second seal-engaging plate sealingly engaging the peripheral wall of a second of the adjacent ones of the rotor housings to partially seal the internal cavity thereof, and an intermediate member mounted between the first and second seal-engaging plates, the intermediate member and first seal-engaging plate having abutting first mating surfaces cooperating to define between them at least one first fluid cavity communicating with a source of liquid coolant, the intermediate member and second seal-engaging plate having abutting second mating surfaces cooperating to define between them at least one second fluid cavity communicating with the source of liquid coolant.

13. The rotary engine casing as defined in claim 12 , wherein the intermediate member has a thickness greater than a thickness of each of the seal-engaging plates.

14. The rotary engine casing as defined in claim 12 , wherein each of the at least one first fluid cavity is defined by a respective depression formed in the mating surface of the first seal-engaging plate, and each of the at least one second fluid cavity is defined by a respective depression formed in the mating surface of the second seal-engaging plate.

15. The rotary engine casing as defined in claim 12 , wherein each end-casing section includes at least one fluid cavity in fluid communication with the at least one first fluid cavity and with the at least one second fluid cavity.

16. The rotary engine casing as defined in claim 12 , wherein the respective end wall of each end-casing section includes an end-casing seal-engaging plate sealingly engaging the peripheral wall of a respective one of the rotor housings to partially seal the internal cavity thereof and an end-casing member mounted adjacent the end-casing seal-engaging plate outside of the internal cavity, the end-casing member and end-casing seal-engaging plate having abutting mating surfaces cooperating to define between them at least one additional fluid cavity communicating with the source of liquid coolant.

17. A rotary engine casing comprising first and second axially spaced apart end walls interconnected by a peripheral wall, the first end wall, second end wall and peripheral wall together enclosing an internal cavity configured to sealingly engage a rotor rotatable therein, at least the first end wall including a seal-engaging plate sealingly engaging the peripheral wall to partially seal the internal cavity and a member mounted adjacent the seal-engaging plate outside of the internal cavity, the member and seal-engaging plate ha

Assignees

• Pratt & Whitney Canada

Inventors

• Villeneuve Bruno
• Gauvreau Jean-Gabriel

Classifications

• F01C20/02

  specially adapted for several machines or engines connected in series or in parallel · CPC title

• F01C21/10

  Outer members for co-operation with rotary pistons; Casings (casings for rotary engines or machines in general F16M) · CPC title

• F02B2053/005

  Wankel engines · CPC title

• F01C1/22

  of internal-axis type with equidirectional movement of co-operating members at the points of engagement, or with one of the co-operating members being stationary, the inner member having more teeth or tooth- equivalents than the outer member · CPC title

• F01C21/108

  with an axial surface, e.g. side plates · CPC title