A reversible pneumatic vane motor includes a stator housing with a pressure air inlet passage and an exhaust air outlet passage, a cylinder supported in the stator housing, a vane carrying rotor rotatable in the cylinder and forming a clearance seal portion with the cylinder, air communication ports located at opposite sides of the seal portion for supplying motive pressure air or scavenging exhaust air from the cylinder, a primary outlet diametrically opposite the clearance seal portion, and a directional valve for connecting alternatively the air communication ports to the pressure air inlet passage and the exhaust air outlet passage. The motor also includes auxiliary outlet ports which are located between the primary outlet and each one of the air communication ports, and the directional valve includes control parts for opening up and closing, respectively, communication between the auxiliary outlet ports and the atmosphere via the exhaust air outlet passage.

A reversing mechanism for a pneumatically or hydraulically powered tool having a rotor adapted to rotate in either of first and second rotational directions. The reversing mechanism allows a user to actuate a button and rotate a valve to direct air flow through the tool. By pressing the button, the button will move a base laterally, and in doing so, rotates the valve. Rotating the valve then aligns a barrier of the valve in a direction tangential to the selected rotational direction of the tool, better directing forced air or fluid and more efficiently distributing the air or fluid in the selected rotational direction.

A rotary engine includes a housing and elliptical rotors mounted to rotor shafts for rotation within a chamber of the housing. A valve disk mounted to a rotor shaft includes a port passing between first and second sides. A valve plate includes a bore defining a cylindrical sidewall for rotationally receiving the valve disk. The valve disk includes a groove disposed in a wall, and includes a ring member disposed in the groove that contacts the sidewall of the bore when the valve disk is disposed in the bore. The apparatus may include multiple valve disks disposed in separate bores to operate as exhaust or intake valves. Circumferential channels may be included in the bore sidewalls within which the ring members are disposed.

An intake/outlet pipe optimization method for a rotary engine, comprising the steps of: (A) providing a rotary engine; (B) providing a simulation software package, to perform a series of simulations for the rotary engine according to different combinations of a pipe length, a pipe diameter, a pipe shape and a pipe angle, to determine an optimal combination of the pipe length, the pipe diameter, the pipe shape, and pipe angle, to obtain an optimal power output for the rotary engine; and (C) performing tests for the rotary engine, by utilizing the optimal combination of the pipe length, the pipe diameter, the pipe shape, and pipe angle obtained in step (B), to obtain a test optimized power output for the rotary engine.

An apparatus is disclosed that includes a fluid inlet in fluid communication with a valve assembly, the valve assembly structured to selectively permit the flow of a motive fluid from the fluid inlet to a fluid driven motor, and wherein the valve assembly further includes a first plunger and a second plunger, one of the first plunger and the second plunger including a plurality of axially incorporated fluid channels, wherein the plunger including a plurality of axially incorporated fluid channels is structured to be selectively driven by an actuator such that as the plunger including a plurality of axially incorporated fluid channels is axially displaced away from a first position the number of axially incorporated fluid channels in fluid communication with the fluid inlet and the fluid driven motor increases.

An apparatus is disclosed that includes a fluid inlet in fluid communication with a valve assembly, the valve assembly structured to selectively permit the flow of a motive fluid from the fluid inlet to a fluid driven motor, wherein the valve assembly further includes a first plunger including a plurality of axially extending fluid channels, wherein the plunger is selectively movable by an actuator in a manner such that as the plunger is displaced farther away from a closed position, the number of axially extending fluid channels placed in fluid communication with the fluid inlet increases, and wherein the axially extending fluid channels permit the flow of the motive fluid from the fluid inlet to the fluid driven motor.