A rotary valve internal combustion engine has a piston connected to a crankshaft, where the piston is reciprocatable in a cylinder, and a combustion chamber being defined in part by the piston. The engine has a rotary valve rotatable in a valve housing fixed relative to the cylinder, the rotary valve having a valve body containing a volume defining, in part, the combustion chamber and further having in a wall part thereof a port giving, during rotation of the valve, fluid communication successively to and from the combustion chamber via inlet and exhaust ports in the valve housing. The valve body has a non-uniform radial profile along its axial length and/or about its axis of rotation to accommodate changes in the profile of the valve body during operation to maintain a substantially constant clearance between the valve body and the housing throughout the length of the valve body.

A rotary valve internal combustion engine has a piston connected to a crankshaft, where the piston is reciprocatable in a cylinder, and a combustion chamber being defined in part by the piston. The engine has a rotary valve rotatable in a valve housing fixed relative to the cylinder, the rotary valve having a valve body containing a volume defining, in part, the combustion chamber and further having in a wall part thereof a port giving, during rotation of the valve, fluid communication successively to and from the combustion chamber via inlet and exhaust ports in the valve housing. The valve body has a non-uniform radial profile along its axial length and/or about its axis of rotation to accommodate changes in the profile of the valve body during operation to maintain a substantially constant clearance between the valve body and the housing throughout the length of the valve body.

An internal combustion rotary engine comprises: at least one combustion chamber; a flywheel; at least one piston provided in said flywheel; two or more barrier elements; a circumferential volume between the outer surface of said flywheel, the housing of said flywheel, and two or more barrier elements; wherein some parts of the circumferential volume are also delimited by one or more pistons, and wherein the barrier elements are adapted to be positioned within said circumferential volume thereby to essentially block the flow of air therein, and to be positioned such as to at least partially unblock the flow of air therein, thereby allowing said air flow to take place, and to be positioned such as to be totally open to promote the piston to move between circumferential area and wherein the timing of movement of the barrier elements is dependent from the rotation of said flywheel and/or the location of said piston(s); and wherein the barrier element that is in contact with a portion of pressurized air is adapted to move without the need for sealing while the piston is blocking the pressurized air that is needed for combustion inside the combustion chamber, wherein the piston partitions the pressurized air into two portions, one of which is locked in the combustion chamber while the other is located between the front of the piston and the barrier element.

Apparatus for controlling valve timing in an internal combustion engine locates a first valve port in a first side of the engine cylinder and a second valve port in a second side of the engine cylinder. A first rotating valve disc and a second rotating valve disc are respectively disposed next to the first and second valve port. Each rotating valve disc includes a valve port. Each disc rotates in synchronism with the crankshaft to align its' port with the respective first and second valve ports. A variety of intake devices coupled to the first rotating valve disc control intake air flow into the engine cylinder, and a variety of exhaust devices coupled to the second rotating valve disc control exhaust gas flow from the engine cylinder.

A multi-port rotary valve has penetrations in the form of annulus sectors through its stationary outer shell and through its rotating inner core, with the penetrations being situated so that, once during each rotation of the core, each core penetration overlaps and becomes volumetrically linked to a corresponding congruent pair of shell penetrations, thereby creating, in an ordered temporal sequence, high conductance flow passages that extend completely through the valve. The azimuth-angle locations of the penetrations determine the relative times at which the valve's flow passages begin to open. The central angles of the penetrations determine the duration of the time intervals for which the flow passages are open or partially open. The radial extent of the penetrations determines the conductance of the flow passages.

A multi-port rotary valve has penetrations in the form of annulus sectors through its stationary outer shell and through its rotating inner core, with the penetrations being situated so that, once during each rotation of the core, each core penetration overlaps and becomes volumetrically linked to a corresponding congruent pair of shell penetrations, thereby creating, in an ordered temporal sequence, high conductance flow passages that extend completely through the valve. The azimuth-angle locations of the penetrations determine the relative times at which the valve's flow passages begin to open. The central angles of the penetrations determine the duration of the time intervals for which the flow passages are open or partially open. The radial extent of the penetrations determines the conductance of the flow passages.

A cylinder head assembly for an internal combustion engine includes: a cylinder head defining a combustion chamber and having at least one opening communicating therewith; at least one port; at least one rotatable valve element disposed between the at least one opening and the at least one port; and at least one seal assembly disposed between the at least one rotatable valve element and the cylinder head, the seal assembly comprising a seal having a concave sealing face which conforms to a peripheral surface of the at least one valve element, a labyrinth seal disposed opposite the sealing face, and a resilient secondary seal disposed between the seal and the cylinder head.

A cylinder head assembly for an internal combustion engine includes: a cylinder head defining a combustion chamber and having at least one opening communicating therewith; at least one port; at least one rotatable valve element disposed between the at least one opening and the at least one port; and at least one seal assembly disposed between the at least one rotatable valve element and the cylinder head, the seal assembly comprising a seal having a concave sealing face which conforms to a peripheral surface of the at least one valve element, a labyrinth seal disposed opposite the sealing face, and a resilient secondary seal disposed between the seal and the cylinder head.

A method for introducing combustion air into a cylinder (25) of an internal combustion engine, a high-pressure inlet valve (1) provided therefor and an internal combustion engine that operates using the method and the high-pressure inlet valve are described. All the combustion air for the respective cylinders (25) is introduced into the cylinder (25) of the internal combustion engine, by means of a high-pressure inlet valve (1) arranged in the relevant cylinder head (26) and on the basis of a controlled mass flow, such that mixture formation and charge exchange are intensified. In addition, the temperature and/or pressure of the combustion air is measured and the quantity of combustion air is introduced into the cylinder (25), in a controlled manner and on the basis of the measurement results, by means of the high-pressure inlet valve (1) by opening or closing a sliding piston (3) of the high-pressure inlet valve (1) by displacement. As a result of an axial displacement of the sliding piston (3) between guide sections (5) in the housing (2) of the high-pressure inlet valve (1), passage areas (6) for combustion air are blocked in a closed position (7) and opened in an open position (8). In the passage area (6), the sliding piston (3) has two pressurization areas (10, 11) facing each other, the surfaces of which are of equal size or differ from each other when projected in one plane. The first pressurization area (10) can be designed as a poppet valve (12) and the second pressurization area (11) can be designed as an annular surface (13). The internal combustion engine has a high-pressure line (27) for the combustion air, which line is connected to the high-pressure inlet valve (1). With respect to the longitudinal axis of the cylinder (25), the high-pressure inlet valve (1) is arranged in the cylinder head (26) in an upright or horizontal position.

A rotary valve internal combustion engine has a piston connected to a crankshaft, where the piston is reciprocatable in a cylinder, and a combustion chamber being defined in part by the piston. The engine has a rotary valve rotatable in a valve housing fixed relative to the cylinder, the rotary valve having a valve body containing a volume defining, in part, the combustion chamber and further having in a wall part thereof a port giving, during rotation of the valve, fluid communication successively to and from the combustion chamber via inlet and exhaust ports in the valve housing. The valve body has a non-uniform radial profile along its axial length and/or about its axis of rotation to accommodate changes in the profile of the valve body during operation to maintain a substantially constant clearance between the valve body and the housing throughout the length of the valve body.