Abstract: A rotary vane combustion engine is provided that uses a hot wall combustion insert to provide the heat for combusting a fuel-air charge. The rotary vane combustion engine includes a rotor having a plurality of vanes, a stator enclosing the rotor to form a plurality of vane cells between the plurality of vanes, one or more intake ports for providing intake gas to the vane cells, a fuel source for mixing fuel with the intake gas to form a fuel-air charge having a fuel-to-air equivalence ratio, a hot wall combustion insert with an exposed surface provided on the stator for igniting the fuel-air charge during a combustion cycle and producing an exhaust gas, and one or more exhaust ports for removing the exhaust gas from one of the vane cells. The hot wall combustion insert provides the heat to combust the fuel-air charge, and operates on the gas over a wide area, rather than only at a point or a given line of contact.

Abstract: A rotary vane pumping machine having a rotary-linear vane guidance structure, including a translation ring disposed at each axial end of the pumping machine, the translation ring rotating around a fixed hub, with the fixed hub being eccentric to a rotor shaft axis, with the rotor spinning around the rotor shaft axis which is a fixed rotational axis relative to a stator cavity. A plurality of vanes are disposed in a corresponding plurality of vane slots in the rotor, each of the vanes having a tip portion and a base portion, with the base portion having a protruding tab extending from each axial end therefrom. A plurality of linear channels are formed in each translation ring, wherein the protruding tabs extending from the base portion of each of the plurality of vanes communicate with a respective linear channel in the translation ring, whereby the rotor rotation causes rotation of the vanes and a corresponding rotation of the translation ring.

Abstract: A vane slot assembly and installation method for a rotary vane pumping machine including a rotor with a rotor axis of rotation. The rotor has a vane slot with two opposing, azimuthally separated, slot side walls. The rotor has a primary slot gear rack disposed radially along a first slot side wall. A radially reciprocating vane is movably disposed between the slot side walls. The vane has side walls facing the slot side walls, and has a primary vane gear rack disposed radially along a first vane side wall facing the first slot side wall. A plurality of vane slot rollers are movably disposed between the first slot side wall and the first vane side wall. The rollers have axes of rotation substantially parallel to the rotor axis and include an aligned roller having a primary roller gear. The primary roller gear engages the primary vane gear rack and the primary slot gear rack. As a result, friction-reducing roller bearings between the vane and the rotor slot are properly aligned radially.

Abstract: A rotor and stator cooling system for a rotary vane pumping machine having two end plates, a stator assembly, and a rotor. A rotor cooling gas supplied at a cooling gas supply channel in an end plate passes from a radial inner location, along a rotor face chamber of the rotor in an outward radial direction, and then toward a plurality of rotor gas channels in the rotor. The rotor cooling gas absorbs heat from the rotor and then exits through a heated gas exit channel in another endplate. A stator cooling fluid entering at a cooling fluid port in one end plate passes through stator fluid channels of the stator assembly, absorbs heat therein, and exits at another fluid port in the other endplate.