US43690A - Improvement in rotary engines - Google Patents

Description

NITE) STATES PATENT rtree.

WILLIAM HINDS, OF LITTLE FALLS, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN ROTARY ENGINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 43,690, (lated August 2, 1864; antedatcd July 25, 1864. p

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM HiNns, of Little Falls, county of Herkimer, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Rotary Steam-Engine and Rotary Pump; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, makinga part of this speciiication, and to the letters of reference marked thereon. v

The invention of an efieient and powerful rotary steam-engine that will compete with the reciprocating engine has hitherto baffled the skill of all inventors. There are two very formidable difficulties that beset the production of this desideratum, one of which is working the pistons transversely to or in lateral directions from that in which the driving cylinders or drums are rotated. The other 1s the difficulty of packing engines to make them steam tight without creating considerable friction in doing it. v

To remedy these evils is the purpose of my invention. In the former case I have discovered and employed devices that abate a large portion of the friction. In doing this, however, I have been compelled to lengthen the steam-joint some, considerably beyond that of the reciprocating engine, and perhaps other rotaries. For this, however, there will be an offset that will compensate for some of it, produced from using packing that has but little exposed surface for the steam to act upon; consequently weaker springs can be used that will make lighter contact and less friction.

To enable others to make and use my invention, I will now describe its construction and operation.

Figure l of the drawings is a perspective view of the entire engine. Fig. 2 is a vertical section made through the center of one cylininder and drum at right angles to the axis of the rotating drum. Fig. 3 is the seat for the steam-valve to Work in. Fig. 4. is the steam valve or gate shown under side up. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the valve seat.

The same kind of letters refer to like parts throughout.

The parts marked A are cylinders formed on perfect circles, and are connected at theinner ends by the dividing-plate C, which has flan ges on either side to lock over the ends of the cylinders. a are ports that should extend down on either side nearly or quite to the ccnter of the piston. (Shown by the red lines in Fig. 2.) The object of extending the ports down to the point indicated is to prevent the steam from reacting or acting back against one end of the piston before it has ceased to act on the other end, and to limit the action of the steam to the under half of the rotating drum, where the pistons present the largest surface for the steam to act against.

B are the cylinder-heads, constructed with flanges on the inside, (similar to those on the plate 0,) and lock over the ends of the cylininders A, and are secured thereto by the bolts b, Fig. l. The cylinder-heads B have feet at the bottom to bolt them to platforms, timbers, or frame-work Where they are designed to be used.

a is the shaft to which the drums are secured, and H is the driving pulley. rIhe shaft turns in boxes (not shown) that can be raised, by known devices to keep the drums in coutact with the cylinder to preserve a cut ofi.

F is the cylinder that goes to form the rotating drum. The cylinder-head at one end is cast with the cylinder. The cylinder-head at the other end is cast separate from the cylinder, and is tted to and locks over the end of the cylinder into rabbets formed for that purpose. The loose head is secured in the drum by bolts that pass through the loose head and screw into the fast one, or ilan ges or projections may be made in the inside of the cylinder to secure the loose head to. The drum has slots through it on opposite sides for the piston D to work in. The piston-s are of a width to loosely fill the spaces between the heads of thc rotating drums, except at the out ends, where a width equal to the length of the drums are required to permit so much of the ends of the pistons as come into contact with the steam to come into contact with the heads of the cylinders A and dividing-plate G. At the f packing-pieces to keep them constantly in a radial position with the cylinders A. Underneat h the packing-bars are springs of suflicient I s`ide in and out.

E are a kind of segment of a width to loosely fill the spaces between the drum-heads and turn over the t'ulcrums or points at gin grooves formed in the cylinders of the drums for that purpose. The circular ends ofthe segments are made from the points at g. On these ends of the segments are narrow teeth or eogs (marked e) of just sufficient strength to prevent thev segments from slipping on the valve while the engine is at work, any vibratory motion being prevented by the grooves inwhich the points of the segments work. The use of these segments is to support and con- .ie the pistons to a proper line of action without bearing in or on the ways orjaws forming t'le slots in the drums. At f are light packingbars resting in grooves in the jaws of the drums, and are kelt in contact with the pisY tons by springs under their bottom edges to prevent the steam from passing into the drums.

It will be noticed that the cylinder7 drum, and piston, &c., are often mentioned in the plural number. The reason to be assigned for this is that there two cylinders, two drums, aid two pistons, making the engine double in most respects. The object ot' so making them is to regulate them for a constant and equal pressure from thc steam at all times and avoid any weak or dead points. To do this the pistons in the twochambers are set crosswise or at right angles to eachother, as shown in Fig. 2. rlhe propriety of this may be seen from the position of the two pistons. The one shown in black lines presents in that position the largest area of surface for the steam to act upon, while the piston in the other chamber (shown by the red lines) presents but half the area of steam-surface. The steam entering on either side of the cut oft will press on either end of the piston and will rotate the drum in either direction. While the end of the piston shown by red lines is passing from the narrowest point to the widest point ofthe steamchannel, the end of the piston at the widest point will be passing to the narrowest point, thereby keeping the average area of the steam- `bearing surface of the pistons equal at all points throughout their entire revolution, and thus rendering y-wheels wholly unnecessary.

Fig. 3 is a valve-seat. I is the bottom thereot', forming with the elevated sides and partitions a chamber or recess for the valve to workin, and-forming also the chambers I, that extend through the bottom plate and rest over ports of the same size in the cylinders.

L is a port to admit the steam, andi are ports' opening horizontally through the side elevations to permit the ingress of the steam into Vthe chambers I, and from thence into the cylinders. The ports t are only of about halt1 the size of the ports through the cylinders.

a are pins through the seat, the lower ends ot' which serve in holes in the cylinders to steady the seat thereon. The upper ends serve in holes through the cope M to hold that in place.

Fig. 4 is the steam-valve, shown bottom side up. As shown, it presents elevated sides and a cross-partition near to the letter J of a depth to correspond with the sides of the seat. The sidesl ofthe valve work' within the sides of the seat, and come in contact on the lines-between the letters t' and j, as shown in the cross-section, Fig. 5.

J is the top plate ot' the valve, and works over the chambers I to close and open them as their uses shall require. The sidesof the valve have also ports t' through them to correspond with the ports t' in the sides of the seat.

v It are ports for the escape of the steam after it has acted into the chamber formed by the cope M, from whence it escapes throughthe exhaust-port N. The cope M and port N embodied therewith are secured to the seat by the bolts m, which pass through the cope and seat and screw into the cylinders. The valve and the seat and cope, between which the valve works, are iitted steam-tight at all points where they work together, in order to permit no steam to escape except what passes through the ports. The movement ofthe valve is limited at one end by coming in contact with a kind of ledge over the port L, (line o, Fig. 3,) and at the other end by flanges extending downward from the plate J outside ofthe elevated sides of the seat, and stops against the partitions forming the chambers I.

The valve is operated by the lever K, that has a rightangular turn upward to work through a slot in the plate J, Fig. l. In the valve-seat are four chambers and four ports opening into them. In the valve are likewise four ports to correspond with the ports in the sea-t. The chambers and ports are so arranged that moving the valve to one end of the seat closes the ports and' opens the chambers at that end, while at the other end the ports are opened and the chambers closed, so that removing the valve to the other end of the seat completely reverses the whole order of the arrangement, and by shifting the valve from end to end of the seat throws the steam into the cylinders on either side of the cut-0H, causing the engine to run in either direct-ion with equal facility. The direction ofthe steam out of the chamber of the valve into the chambers I, and from thence into the cylinders, is more clearly shown by the arrows in red. (See cross-` section, Fig. 5.)

To convert the engine into apump requires only that the drums and pistons shall be rotated by a power applied "to the shaft. For this purpose the valve may be removed and ports made directly into the cylinders, or cylinder, as only one may be needed in some cases.

The improvements that may be claimed t0 constitute the usefulness of this invention are doing away with a great portion of the friction and avoiding any Weak or dead points in .its action, making the engine to run with equal power throughout its entire revolution. y

What I claim as my invention, and wish to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, 1s

l. The construction and arrangement of the segments E, that guide and control the piston D, so as to avoid contact or frictionwith the slots or ways in which the piston moves.

2. Constructing the piston D` with a. slot through it to work over the shaft while it is moving across the cylinder.

3. The steam-valve made with a single port for the admission of steam into the chamber of the valve to be ejected from thence through a series of ports into the chambers I, and from thence into the cylinders, from whence it escapes through the chambers I and ports h into f the chamber M, and exhausted through the port N, al1 of which is constructed substantially as and for the purposes set forth in the specification.

WM. HINDS.

Witnesses:

R. D. O. SMITH, ANDREW WHI'LELEY.

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