US1350795A - Rotary motor - Google Patents

Description

L. D. EPPERSON.

ROTARY MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED APR.21,1919.

1,350,795 Patented Aug. 24, 1920.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

WITNESS: INVENTOR.

A ORNEY.

L. D. EPPERSON.

ROTARY MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED APR.2I, l9l9.

Patented Aug. 24, 1920..

3 SHEETSSHEET 3 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LANDY' D. EPPERSON, 0F MOUNT WASHINGTON, MISSOURI.

ROTARY MOTOR.

Application filed April 21,

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LANDY D. EPPERSON, a citizen of the United States, residin at Mount Vashington, in the county of ackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Motors, of which the following is a specification. 1

This invention relates to rotary motors or impellers adapted for operation under fluid pressure, such as steam or compressed air, or through the force created by combustion or explosion, and my'object is to produce an efficient and economical motor which possesses the desirable features of strength, durability and compactness of construction.

lVith this general object in view the invention consists incertain novel and useful features of construction and combinations of parts as hereinafter described and claimed; and in order that it may be. fully understood, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1, is a side elevation of a rotary motor embodying my invention, with part of the casing broken away to disclose the interior of the motor.

Fig. 2, is a top plan view of the motor.

Fig. 3, is a central horizontal section of the motor.

Fig. 4, is a central vertical section taken on the line IV-lV of Fig. 1.

V Fig. 5, is a vertical section taken on the line V-V of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6, is a fragmentary View corresponding to Fig. 1 but showing the rotary piston and rotary abutment in a different position from that. in which they are disclosed by Fig. 1.

Fig. 7, is a fragmentary section corresponding to Fig. 3, but showing a modified construction.

Fig. 8, is a vertical section with parts 7 omitted to show the inner face of oneside of the casing.

In the said drawings like reference characters identify like parts. 1 isthe casing of the motor, the same-being formed with two intersecting circular chambers 2 and 3, the former of greater radial depth than the latter.

The casing comprises two members 4 and 5 bolted together peripherally as at 6, and each of said chambers 4 and 5 is composed of two sections fitting flatly together as though the casing had been sawed into two Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 24, 1920. 1919. Serial No. 291,431.

parts, and at such meeting edges have outwardly projecting flanges 8 through which the securing bolts 7 extend, it being noted in this connection that the said meeting edges are disposed to one side of the center of the casing at such point that the propelling fluid shall not readily reach the joint thus produced, it being, of course, understood that such joint in practice, will be packed in any suitable manner as indicated at Concentrically with respect to the circular chambers 2 and 3, the sides of the casing are formed with circular webs 1O dis posed inward of the planes of the sides of the said chambers so as to provide narrow spaces 11 between companion webs, for the accommodation of the webs of the piston and abutment, as hereinafter more particularly referred to.

The companion webs are provided centrally with outwardly projecting hubs 12 threaded at their outer ends, and said webs are provided with bushings 13 of Babbitt metal or the like to provide journal bearings for similar shafts 14 and 15 for the rotary piston and rotary abutment respectively, and said shafts are respectively connected by intermeshing gear wheels 16 and 17 for transmitting power from one to the other. One of them is also adapted to be equipped with a fly wheel, and the other with a pulley for transmitting power to an object to be turned.

Formed integral with or rigidly secured on shaft 14 is a circular disk or web 18 fitting in the space 11 between the casing webs 10 at the piston side of the casing, and projecting from the periphery of said web and of the same thickness is an arm 19 with which is integrally formed a. segmental piston 20 adapted for travel in the circular piston chamber 2, it being noted that at the point of communication between the two chambers 2 and 3, the outer edges of the webs-1O at the piston side of the motor are formed with segmental recesses 10 struck from the same radius as the outer side of the chamber 3 to accommodate the circular abutment 21 fitting in the. chamber 3 and formed at the periphery of a circular web or disk 22 fitting in the space 11 between the webs 10 at the abutment side of the motor and cast with or rigidly secured'on the shaft 15, it being noted that the abutment 21 is cut away to provide an opening 28 slightly longer than the piston 20, and that the web 22 of the abutment is correspondingly recessed for the accommodation of the piston, and it will be further noted that the webs 10 at the abutment side of the motor are recessed at 2 k to accommodate the piston, in the same sense that the recess 10*, accommodates the abutment 21. I

One side web of the casing is provided with an intake opening 25 for the fluid, and with an exhaust opening 26, said openings communicating with the piston chamber adjacent the abutment, and the parts being so proportioned that as the abutment closes communication between the piston chamber 2 and the abutment chamber, the rear end of the piston begins to uncover the intake port 25, the exhaust port being wholly open at this time, but cut off from communication with the abutment chamber 3 by the abutment. At about the time the front end of the piston overlaps and closes the exhaust port, the opening in the abutment comes into communication with the piston chamberjust ahead of the piston and as the operation, continues the former uncovers the recess 2% and the piston passes into said recess and into the recess in the web 22, in

'which position it is shown by Fig. 1, it being noted that when the piston is at the opposite side of the shaft from that in which it appears in Fig. 1, the uncut portion of the abutment occupies the recess 10 at the piston side of the motor and thus offers, close to the intake port, a resistance against which the .motive fluid reacts to drive the piston.

The web of the casing opposite the exhaust port has an opening covered by a removable plate 27, so as to give convenient access to the piston and to the peripheral portion of the abutment for cleaning and other purposes.

In Figs. 7 and 8, the abutment'chamber is shown as slightly wider than the piston chamber, this being done in order that the motive fluid shall have less chance to reach a position at opposite sides of the abutment than is the case with a construction where the piston and abutment are of the same width. It is proposed, of course, in either event to provide a suitable packing, such as packing rings or the like, to guard against the passage of pressure past and around the piston and the abutment, but as the use of such packing rings is conventional in rotary engines, the same have been omitted herein.

V For lubricating the motor an oil box 28 is offset from each web 10 above the hub thereof, the upper part of the hub constituting the bottom of the box and having a series of oil passages 29 which extend through the bushing to lubricate the shaft over a wide surface within the bushing, the innermost I of such passages supplying oil against the adjacent edge of the hub of the piston or abutment respectively so. that the oil shall be carried outward by centrifugal force at the end of said hub, it being noted that the hub fits loosely peripherally in the web so thatsuch oil can work inwardly to the side of the web proper in order that it may be carried outward between the side of the same and the juxtaposed web to lubricate said web. A small percentage of the oil will in practice Work outward into the communicating chambers 2 and 3 respectively to assist in lubricating the piston or abutment, it being understood that oil cups not shown, may also be provided for supplying oil to said piston and abutment chambers for insuring proper lubrication therein for the piston and abutment.

Packing nuts 30 fit around the shafts and are secured on the outer ends of the hubs of the webs 10 to guard against waste of oil at the outer ends of the hubs, and said nuts are provided with ratchet teeth 31 engaged by dogs 32 pivoted to lugs 38 secured to the outer or removable end walls of the oil box 28, and to hold said dogs in engagement with said ratchet-toothed nuts to prevent accidental turning thereof, springs 3e are securedto the boxes and bear outwardly against said dogs, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5. By tripping a dog, the adjacent nut can be screwed farther on and thus retain the packing under compression and thereby guard against waste of oil. The oil is circulated by preference into the boxes from/a suitable source through pipes 35 and 36, preferably by means of a pump, not shown, because in common use for this purpose in machinery of various kinds.

To prevent the fluid pressure in. the piston chamber and any which enters the abutment chamber, from working inward and escaping or interfering with the proper lubricating action, packing rings 37 are fitted in the inner faces of the webs 10 and are pressed against the opposite faces thereof by springs 38set in sockets 39, pins 4C0 proj ecting outwardly from said rings into said springs to prevent rotation of the packing IIIIOS.

fil operation fluid under pressure such as steam or air, is admitted to the piston chamher through the intake port 25 as the abutment closes said chamber and the rear end of abutment, and the momentum acquired together with the action of the fly wheel, not shown, will continue the rotation until the piston has passed out of engagement with said abutment and the latter rearward of the recess has closed the piston chamber adjacent the intake opening and immediately after this occurs the piston has again at tained aposition permitting the fluid to en ter the intake port and again apply impelling force to the piston.

It will of course be understood that it is contemplated to provide means for cutting off the fluid pressure supply at different points in the travel of the piston, and any conventional means for accomplishing this result may be employed, and it will also be understood that by equipping the motor with ignition mechanism of conventional type, the motor may be converted into an internal combustion engine, or it may be converted tending axially of the piston chamber, and comprising a circular disk fitting in the space between the adjacent sides of the casing and of less radius than the inner side of the piston chamber, an arm extending outward from said disk and a segmental piston rigid with said arm and engaging said piston chamber and of corresponding width therewith, a shaft parallel with the first-named shaft, extending through and journaled in the casing axially of the abutment chamber thereof, and a circular abutment mounted on said shaft and comprising a central portion fitting in the narrow space between adjacent portions of the sides of the casing, and a peripheral portion fitting in the abutment chamber, said abutment and its central portion having a cut away portion constituting a recess for receiving said piston; the sides of the casing between said shafts being provided with internal segmental recesses for snugly receiving the abutment and with opposite segmental recesses for receiving the piston when the same is in engagement with the peripheral recess of the abutment, and said casing at its abutment side also having an intake port and an exhaust port to be automatically closed and opened by the passage of the piston thereby.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

LANDY D. EPPERSON.

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