{
  "patent_number": "US 2988008",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How the Wankel Rotary Engine Works",
  "original_title": "Rotary piston machines",
  "summary": "A 1957 invention by Felix Wankel that replaces heavy, moving pistons with a triangular rotor spinning inside a chamber to create power.",
  "what_it_does": "The Wankel engine uses a triangular rotor that spins inside an oval-shaped housing. As the rotor turns, it creates three separate combustion chambers that expand and contract. This design allows the engine to perform the four stages of combustion—intake, compression, power, and exhaust—in a continuous, circular motion rather than the up-and-down movement of traditional engines.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover traditional reciprocating piston engines found in most cars.",
    "Does not cover electric motors or battery-powered propulsion systems.",
    "Does not cover gas turbine engines or jet propulsion technology."
  ],
  "filed": "1957-02-04",
  "granted": "1961-06-13",
  "expires": "1978-06-13",
  "status": "expired",
  "holder": "WANKEL AND NSU MOTORENWERKE AG",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/wankel-and-nsu-motorenwerke-ag",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Wankel Felix",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/wankel-felix"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 45,
  "tags": [
    "automotive",
    "mechanical"
  ],
  "abstract": null,
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/2988008/wankel-rotary-engine",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/2988008/wankel-rotary-engine/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US2988008",
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}