Rotary piston driving mechanism

摘要

A driving mechanism transforms continuous longitudinal reciprocation of a piston in a chamber into unidirectional rotation. The mechanism utilizes a closed wave-shaped groove defined in either the cylinder or the chamber and adapted to receive guiding members projecting from the other of the piston and the chamber. When the piston is forced to move longitudinally in either direction, the groove slides over the guiding members to force rotation. The apices of the wave-shaped groove are either contoured or provided with a gating structure to assure that the guide members do not backtrack but instead move in one direction through the groove.