A rotary engine having an insert in a peripheral wall of the stator body, the insert being made of a material having a greater heat resistance than that of the peripheral wall, having a subchamber defined therein and having an inner surface, the subchamber communicating with the cavity through at least one opening defined in the inner surface and having a shape forming a reduced cross-section adjacent the opening, a pilot fuel injector having a tip received in the subchamber, an ignition element having a tip received in the subchamber, and a main fuel injector extending through the stator body and having a tip communicating with the cavity at a location spaced apart from the insert. The subchamber has a volume corresponding to from 5% to 25% of a sum of the minimum volume and the volume of the subchamber. A method of injecting heavy fuel into a Wankel engine is also discussed.

A rotary engine having a crankshaft, a housing provided with lobe accommodating portions arranged to surround the crankshaft, and combustion chambers communicating with the lobe accommodating portions, a rotor rotatable eccentrically with respect to the crankshaft and provided with lobes continuously accommodated in the lobe accommodating portions, a housing cover provided with a bearing portion through which the crankshaft is inserted so as to be rotatably supported, and a lubricating unit to supply oil to the bearing portion, wherein the lubricating unit includes an oil pan to accommodate oil therein, an oil pump to pump up oil filled in the oil pan, and an oil supply passage having both ends located in the oil pump and the bearing portion, respectively, is provided. This structure may allow direct and effective lubrication of the bearing portion, and can employ a journal bearing.

Disclosed herein is a concentric rotary machine including at least one chamber and at least one isolator (sliding port), which may be linear or rotary. In some embodiments, the isolator separates the chamber into two sub-chambers. In some embodiments, the machine includes a shaft and a piston, wherein the piston may be configured to rotate about the shaft's rotation axis, and wherein the piston includes a cavity for weight balance configuration and/or as a cooling mean. In other embodiments, isolator includes a receptacle (piston-passing opening) to allow for said piston to pass therethrough, and the isolator may include at least one extra cavity to avoid high pressures developed during the passing of the piston there through. In some embodiments, the machine includes a valve at the intake and/or outlet port, to control the amount of a working fluid.

A compact energy cycle construction that utilizes a working fluid in its operation is disclosed having a compact housing of a generally cylindrical form, an orbiting scroll type expander, a central shaft which is driven by the expander, a generator having a rotor and a stator with the central shaft being mounted to the rotor for rotating the rotor relative to the stator, a pump mounted to the central shaft, an evaporator positioned between the expander and the generator and surrounding the central shaft, and the orbiting scroll type expander, the central shaft, the generator, the pump, and the evaporator being housed within the compact housing to form an integrated system operable in accordance with an energy cycle.

A compressor includes a housing, and a drive assembly, a compression assembly and an expansion assembly which are provided in the housing; the compression assembly is connected to and driven by the drive assembly, and is configured to perform multi-stage compression on a refrigerant under drive of the drive assembly; the expansion assembly is connected to the drive assembly and is configured to expand the refrigerant compressed by the compression assembly. A refrigeration cycle device includes the above-mentioned compressor.

A non-Wankel rotary engine having an insert in the peripheral wall of the outer body, the insert being made of a material having a greater heat resistance than that of the peripheral wall, having a subchamber defined therein and having an inner surface bordering the cavity, the subchamber communicating with the cavity through at least one opening defined in the inner surface and having a shape forming a reduced cross-section adjacent the opening, a pilot fuel injector having a tip received in the subchamber, an ignition element having a tip received in the subchamber, and a main fuel injector extending through the housing and having a tip communicating with the cavity at a location spaced apart from the insert.

A non-Wankel rotary engine having an insert in the peripheral wall of the outer body, the insert being made of a material having a greater heat resistance than that of the peripheral wall, having a subchamber defined therein and having an inner surface bordering the cavity, the subchamber communicating with the cavity through at least one opening defined in the inner surface and having a shape forming a reduced cross-section adjacent the opening, a pilot fuel injector having a tip received in the subchamber, an ignition element having a tip received in the subchamber, and a main fuel injector extending through the housing and having a tip communicating with the cavity at a location spaced apart from the insert.

In one aspect, described is a rotary engine having a purge port located rearwardly of the inlet port and forwardly of the exhaust port along a direction of the revolutions of the rotor, the purge port being in communication with the exhaust port through each of the chambers along a respective portion of each revolution, and the inlet and outlet ports being relatively located such that a volumetric compression ratio of the engine is lower than a volumetric expansion ratio of the engine.

A rotary engine including a rotor sealingly received within an internal cavity of an outer body to define a plurality of combustion chambers having a variable volume, a pilot subchamber located in a wall of the outer body, the pilot subchamber in fluid communication with the internal cavity via at least two spaced apart transfer holes defining a flow restriction between the pilot subchamber and the internal cavity, a pilot fuel injector in fluid communication with the pilot subchamber, an ignition element configured for igniting fuel in the pilot subchamber, and a main fuel injector extending through the stator body and communicating with the cavity at a location spaced apart from the pilot subchamber. A method of combusting fuel in a rotary engine is also discussed.

A method of controlling an air intake flow in a rotary engine having primary and secondary inlet ports, including positioning the secondary inlet port rearwardly of the primary inlet port and forwardly of the exhaust port along a direction of a revolution of the rotor, providing independently closable communications between an air source and the primary and secondary inlet ports, and controlling air intake flows between the air source and the primary and secondary inlet ports. Controlling air intake flows includes simultaneously allowing the air intake flow between the primary inlet port and the air source and between the secondary inlet port and the air source. Exhaust gases of the engine are purged with the air intake flow of the secondary inlet port. A rotary engine is also discussed.