US759571A - Rotary steam-engine. - Google Patents

Description

9, BESTAVAILABLE COP PATENTED MAY 10, 1904.

A. E. SUITER.

ROTARY STEAM ENGINE.

APPLIUATION FILED SEPT. 18, 1903.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

NO MODEL.

KAAAIIII/ av M... M EJ NQN N z r/x QR Wifgzsses (Albany-v5 no: onms mus co Pun-Mama. wmmamu n 1.

-PA'TENTED MAY 10, .1904.

M 759,571. BEST AVAILABLE COP A. E. SUITBR. ROTARY STEAM ENGINE.

9, 11 BEST AVAILABLE COP I I 'PATENTED MAY 10, 1904. A. E. SUITER.

ROTARY STEAM ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 1a, 1903.

6 SHBET SSHEET 3.

N0 MODEL.

INt mm rams 0o. mom-mo" WASNIKQTOI. aw i BEST AVAiLABLE coP PATENTED MAY 10, 1904.

A. E. SUITBR. ROTARY STEAM ENGINE. APPLIUATION FILED SEPT. 18, 1903.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

' no MODEL.

areas so. PM)

o. 759,571, BEST AVAILABLE COP PATENTED MAY 10, 1904.-

A. E. SUITER. ROTARY STEAM ENGINE.

APPLIOATION. FILED SEPT. 1a, 1903.

.6 SHEETS-SHEET 5- no MODEL.

BEST

' UNITED STATES VAILA COP Paten ed May 10, 1904.

I PAT NT OFFI E.

ALBERT SUl'llCii, OF LOCKl-l'AYEN, PENNSYLVANIA,

ROTARY STEAM-ENGINE.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 7 59,571, dated May I Application iilaci September 13, 1903. Serial hi0. 173,711. (Rollo a651,)

To 11]] whom it may ormant.-

Be it known that 1, Answer E. SUPPER, n

' citizen of the United States. residing at Locichaven, in the county of Clinton and State of Pennsylvania, hare invented a new and useful Rotary Steam-Engine, of which the following is a specification. Y

My invention relates to rotary engines, and

V comprises in its most comprehensive form the compoundrotary engine hereinafter fully described. shown in the wompanyingdrm'ings;

i .and having the novel features thereof pointed out. in the 'appended'claims.

l1 One object of the invention is to produce an exceedingly comimct, powerful, and eeonomi'eai stimm engine or motor susceptible of high 1 'spe'ed. in which nli clearance is completely iholished and the fnlfl pressure and expansion of 511331112413 utilized to their full limit in in;-

' Another object of invention is to use the 1 exhaust-swam in the production of mechanicnl' forces and finally as a generator of heat to prevent condensation of live steam/ A fi-ntherobiect of the invention is to produce snch combinations of stemn-chests, ey] in- UOIS, and steam-ports that the current of live steam passesdirectly-from the stczun-chests to the exgmn'sion-chests without loss of energqx 11y diminution of tmn-pera-tur'e or friction.

A further object is to giroduce an engine in which all the working parts have rotary movev nmnt amiaretimed to act in unison.

A f'urtlmr objectis to provide a centrifugal governor for controlling the point of eu't-ofi" for the steam enterii-ig the expansion-chamhcrs according to the amount of ioad on the engine.

A further object is to garovide metailic packing devices forthe joumaiashnfting', and re:

volving pistons and aQmtmen-tvalves which are mlzrpted to'expand automaiziwily to ofi'set i my wear of the nching, so that, nntii iii-1e jacking is practically'worneomiilcteiy away it wili maintain swim-tight joints.

A further object to provideaeombiniv tion of valves andopemtingflevers therefor whereby both cylinders of the engine may be employed as high pressure cylinders or either in side-elerntien pas-finia parting meclmniqalenergy to the resiolvi ng' ew.

cylinder me} be useti indeneniientiyof the" other. and wherehy tile enginenaay-be :re-

versmi.

A further object is to piece theexheust-ports 1 of the high-pressure cyiinder inn direct iine with the inlet-points of the iowpressnreeyltransmission of steam f-roni the high to the low-pressure cyl nder 7 in the din-wings, Figiiffiil av '38 compound rotary engine constructed in accord with my invention, certain parts being 011111) ,Iixl for tl no sake of clean-mess; Fig.2 is a transverse section through the high-preSsnrec-ylin= derof the engine shown in,-Fig;"1.-fJFig; 3 is C index, thus preventing ios s offjin the 'vpressure i a xiew in lon'gitudinal'seetionflirougi thegyiq inders, governor,- and yais e-operntnng. mechk-d anism of a compound rotary engine simiiar to I a that shown in Fig. 11, hutfwithta somewhat difi'erent'forin of go$ernon f ci igl-gi zis a Yer;- I c J ticaltransrerse section vthrough the high-pressure steain-ehvstof theengineshown in Fig.'-"I

Fig. 5 is a detai i view of one of tl e'valvedisks rfOl' controlling the entrance of into the engine-cylinders. Fig.4; is-a 'detail view of the counter-disk eooqperating iviththe valve-disk-showii in Fig. 5.. Fig; 713 view in elevation of the gorernorshown mFig, 3; the view being taken from the front. Fig. 8

is a diagrammatic View to iiiustrnie the action of the abutment-valves in permittingthe pas- Fig. 10 is nfi taii'riewfshowingfthe j lg '13 is a detail view-in showing necking iflfiiiibgl's as in 1'1" m-wpiied to a piston tiade vorehntm ntowi Fig. 14- is a. detail in eievation of one side of the piston-Made. showing a sneeiai form of I packing. Fig. 15 is a view sirnilar to Fig. 14,

showing a somewhat different form .01 Pack- 4 ing.. Fig. 16 is a detail View in section.

B EST AVAILABLE eoPf through a piston blade, showing the relation of the steam-ring and packing members. Fig- 17 is a detail view showing in plan a partof the-mechanism for reversing the action of the governor shown in Fig. 1. tail view from the back of a part of the meclianism for reversing the action of the governorshown in Fig. 1. Fig. 19 is a detail view of the rack formed on operatingrrod 88 and the segmental gear which meshes therewith. Fig.

20 is a. view in horizontal longitudinal section through a simple rotary engine constructed in accord with my invention, certain parts being omitted for the sake of clearness. Fig. 21 is a cross-section in vertical plane through the cylinder of the engine shown in Fig. 20.

- In all the figures corresponding parts are designated by the same characters of reference. Referring to the drawings in detail, 1 represents a base-plate to which 'theengine is bolted."

' 2' designates a high-pressure cylinder, 3 a

. low-pressure cylinder, and-4 a main shaft passmg through both cylinders and carrying beltpulleys 5, Fig.3." Both cylinders are provided with channels in the walls thereof, as shown,

, to permit the circulation of exhaust-steam -i1i order to prevent condensation of steam in the expansion-chambers of said cylinders. The high-pressure and low-pressure cylini ders are'substantially alike in design, though certain minor differences will be hereinafter pointed out. The high-pressure cylinder (shown in cross-section in Fig. 2) has incommonwith the low-pressure cylinder, expansion-chambers 7, and on either side thereof,

and communicating therewith are smaller cylindricalc'hambers 8,-in which are mounted abutmentgvalves. Theex'pansion-chambersi' contain a rotary piston mounted on the shaft 4 and havingahub 9, fromwhich project three piston-blades 310, both the -hub and pistonblades being provided with suitable'packing devices, which will be hereinafter described. The piston-blades 10 are curved convexly on either side, as shown, and the curvature is the same as that of the wall of the expansionchambers 'Z, the utility-of which form will .5

afterward be shown.. Extending longitudi: nally through the chambers 8, containing the -abutment-valves, are shafts 11, which also extend through similar chambers adjacent to the "expansion-chambers in the low-pressure cylinder; The abutment-valves each consist of a hub-portlon 11, having projecting therefrom three wings 12, spaced equidistant around the hub portion and being curved at their endsto correspond to the curvature of the chambers 8, in which they are mounted to .rotate,and havingtheir sides concavely cu rved, so that when one of the abutments is in the.

position indicated in .Fig. 2 at the left side the curvature'of one of the wings will form a continuation ofjthe wall of an'expansion Fig. 18 is a de chamber 7. At the point of juncture of two adjoining wings of an abutment-valve there is provided agroove extcndinglongitudinally of' the valve-that is to say, parallel to its airis to provide the passages necessary for the steam at certain times; It will be noted that as each of the wings of the abutment-valves has on either-side a concave curve of the same radius as the expansion-chambers and each 'of'the blades 10 of the rotary-piston has a convex curve'on either -side on -.the same radius it is possible for the piston-blades to con: tact completely with the wings of the abut-- ment-valves when at certain points of their travel.v Each of the wings of the abutmentvalves is provided with packing devices, as

shown, which will be hereinafter described 'in 7 detail.

The steam-chests for both cylinders are placed between the high and low pressure cylinders, as best shown in Figs. 3'and 4, the lowpressure chest, Whose outer wall is designated at 13,- lying outside of and completely enveloping the high-pressure steam-chest, whose wall is designated at 14. The wall of the low-pressure steam-chest, like that of both cylinders, is channeled for the passage of exhaust-steam, as shown, for the purpose of utilizing what heat is contained in the exhaust-steam to keep up, the temperature of the steam-chest wall,

thus preventing condensation within the chest. The valve for controlling the admission of i the steam into the steam-chests is indicated at 15 and comprises the outer casing 16 and the inner partition 17, terminating at its upper end in a chamber 18, to-which steamis admitted at 18 and in which is mounted to osioo cillate a valve proper, 19, of the form shown.-

-On the right'of the partition 17 and between it and the casing 16 is a passage 20, for thetransmission of steam to the low-pressure cyl-' inder, said passage 20 opening through the 18-, as shown, and to the left of the partition 17 is apassage 21, similar to the passage 20- and leading to the high-pressure cylinder, the openings from the passages 20 and 21 into the chamber 18, it will be observed, .being placed sidewall of the partition 17 into the chamber a near the top of said chamber and separated by an arc of about one hundred and twenty degrees. The valve proper, 19, which is oscillated by means of a lever 22, moving'over a curved and slotted guide 23, is adapted when in the position indicated in Fig.1 to, admit steam directly to the high-pressure lnder. horizontal position the val via 19 will he rocked suiliciently to open the passage leading from By raising the lever 22 until it is in' the valve-chamberlS into the passage 20, but j will not close the passage 2i, leading to the higlnpressure steam-chest. Consequently 3 wings L] of the same a rea asthe solid portions with both passages receiving steam directly from the pipe leading from the boiler the pressure of the steam in both cylinders will engine is driven in the customary direction and when reversed.

Lying adjacent to each of the val ve-disks 32 is a counter-disk 39, having a hub ll) loosely iournale/l on the shaft 4 and forming an envelop over the hub of the valve-dish 32, and

of the valve-disk 32. Normally the wings 41 of the counter-disk coincide in position with be the same, and the engine will have two high-pressure cylinders instead of being a compound engine. to a point half-way between the horizontal By raising the lever 22 g relation to .the pistons inthe cylinders that ment the valve 19 will be caused to close the passage 21, leading tothe high-pressure cylthe passage of steam directly to thelo'w pres.-

inder, and the passage 29, leading to the lowpressure cylinder, will he opened to permit sure steam-chest and cylinder without passing through'the high-pressure cylinder, thus cutting out the high -pressnre cylinder en- 'tirely and using the cylinder which ordinarily serves as a low-pressure cylinder a high-pressure cylinder and driving the engine by means of that cylinder alone.

The passage of the steam from the highpressure steam-chest into the high-pressure cylinder takes place through the ports 24 25,

providixl on opposite sides of the main shaft 4 in the end plate 26 of thehigh-pressure cylinder, and the exhaust-ports from'the high- The ports for the admission of steam to the pressurecyiinder into the low-pressu re steamvchest are designated at 27, 28, 29, and 30, as best shown in Fig. 4:

"a low-pressure cylinder are disposed substantiailybpposite the ports 24 25 in theend plate 31 oi the low-pressure cylinder, each port being therefore between apair of exhaust-ports from the high-pressure cylinder.

For controlling the admission of steam to the high pressnre cylinder through the ports l 2425 rotary valvcsare provided, as best shown .45 has the slime kind of valve, the difference hein Figs. 3, 5, and 6. Each of the cylinders ing memlyoncof size, and hence one descripof one of cylinders, as is also seen in Fig.

3. Theconnectionof thehub 34 of the valve disk w'itlrthe main" shaft 4 isof the form shown in Fig. 5, comprisinga key 37, pro.- vided on the shaft which engages the recess- 38 in the hub of the valve-disk, the object of this formofconnection beingto permit movement ofthe valve-disk on the shaft, so that the valve may operate equally well when the 'ly in contact with the end plate the solid portions 35 of the val vedisk,and the two disks rotate together. The val ved:sks are of course mounted on the shaft 4 with the openings 36 of the val ved isk come over the-stcam-ports leading into the cylinders at the proper moment to drive the pistons without loss of power.

hen a heavy load is on the. cngine,itis desirable for tho period during which steam enters the cylinders from the steam-chests to be as long as possible in order to give as much (i ireot holler-1 ircssu re as possihle to-the hlades of the piston; but when the load is light it is advantageous to shorten the period of direct boiler-pressure and increase the length ofthe' period of expansion of steam in theeylinders.

new BESTAVAILA E Cop 3' This provided for in the arrangement of valve-d sks and connixir-disks already do scrihod, together with the governor of either form shown in Fig. 1 01 Fig. "The form.

shown in Fig. 3 is the preferred forn-l and comprises the following parts: Extending. through the shaft 4 from the highq-rressure 'on the hub 40 of the counter-disk 39 and to a sleeve 43, which. is securely attacl nulito the hub of the counter-disk of the valve of the low-pressure cylinder, as clearlyjshown' in Fig. 3. At the otherend the governor-shaft is provided with a stuliing-hi-ix 44,-litted into the end of the main driving-'shaft4 and has rigidly attached thereto an arm 45, extending 'to either side of the shaft 42. Pii'otally connected with the arm 45 at eithercnd is a link 46, which is connected at its other end with a rock-lever 47, pivotnl'ly mounted upon a projection on the faceof the helt-pulloy Sand havingat one end a weight 48. lo order to hold the weights in the position shown in Fig. 7, springs 49 areprovided of sn-llicient tension to hold the arms 47 against swinging outward undercentrifugal force. of the weights when the engineis going at moderate speed; but when the speed increases ahoven certain predetermined rate for which the tension of the springs 49 is adjusted the centrif- 'ugal force of the weights 4.8 is suflicicnt to mitted through t BEST AVAILABLE cos crank 43 to the disk 39,

which is loosely Our'naIed on the shaft 4, and the counter-disk i s-moved ahead of thedisk 32, so that the rings 40 of the counter disk no longer coincide of the waive-disk 32, butinstead overlie portions of. the openings 36, thus shortening the period of entry of the steam from the steam-chests into the cylinders.- With high boiler-pressure and a light load on the. engine the maximum speed of the pistons and shaft 4 will sodn' be developed, and when such is the case the weights 48 will swing outward under the influence of centrifugal force until they reach their limit of movement, and the governor-shaft 42 will be rocked so far in a- :forward direction that therings 40 of the counter-disk will cover almost completely the ,openings -36 in the valve-disk 32, thus reducing almost to nothing the quantity of steam admitted tathecylinders, which will of course reduce the-peedof the engine. With a heavy load uponQ-ih e engine speed is not developed- ".so rapidly'ah'd the centrifugal tendency of the weights, ififldoes not become sufficient to I overcomez the tension of the springs 49, so .the gove; ;-,\or-shaft 42 is not rocked, and'the counter-$ 3k 32 is not. advanced to diminish 1 the period of; entry'of steam'into thecylinders." g Y I It is vital in the successful operation of rotary engines that mechanism be provided for operating the abutment-valves at intervals so related to the movement of the piston-blades thatlthe wings of the abutment-valves may be closed in quickly behind the piston-blades and may also move out of the way of approaching piston-blades at the right moment. If mechanism is not provided which effects the proper timing of the' movements of the abutmentvalves in relation to the movement ofthe piston-blades, pounding'willi'esult from the con tact of the piston blades with the wingsof the abutment-valves or there will be a loss of energy owing tol 'th e escape of steam around the ends of the piston-blades when passing through the valves;

One of the cardinal invention is the provision of means for oper-' ating the'abutment-valves, which positively insures the proper timing of the movements of the valves and the piston-blades, which prevents pounding, which obviates the loss of energy by the escape of steam, and which per-.

mits adjustment ofthe valve-operating mechanism to compensate for wear of the abutment-wings orthe piston-blades, or both.-

ln the operation of theabutment-valves in the engine forming the'su-bject of this application. the'direct pressure of live steam'is used to turn the abutment valves through the greater port on of each movement thereof and mechanical means is employed only to pro-.

duccth'e initial portion of each movement and in position with the solid parts features of the present to prevent positively any backward move-. ment of the abutment-valves from any cause. In order to prod uce'the initial portibn of each movement of the abutment-valves, Iprovide on the main-shaft 4 of the engine a disk 50, having adjustably mounted thereon at the )0 center a member 51, comprising the circular' portion 52 and three arms 53, having concavelycurved.-:-faces 54, which-are arranged equidistant from each other at the periphery i of the circular portion 52 and correspond in ")5 number-to the blades of the piston, which in this instance is three. The member 51 is adju'sted in position by means of a set-screw 55, passing through a curved slot 56', so that the. member may be shifted forward in the direc- 8o opposite direction, as may be necessary.

edthc abutment valves, I provide thesmall the face thereof which is directed toward the disk 50 a plurality of. pins or bolts 58 each 7 disk being provided with three pins or bolts 'to correspond to the number of wings of each 1 abutment-valve. Upon the pins 58 are mounted freely-rotatable rollers 59, adapted for engagement with the arms 53 upon the 'mem-, ber 51.

50 are recesses 60, the positions ofwhich are indicated in Fig. 9. In each of the recesses, 60'is adjustably mounted asegmental block 61, which is adjusted in position by means of a set-screw, as shown, and which has the ihshown, to present rounded shoulders for engage-ment with the rollers 59 upon the pins 58. The relative arrangement of the various parts in the mechanismdescribed in the precedwhich it is shown that the segmental blocks 61' lie substantially midway betweeh the projections 53 and the pins 58, and rollers 59 are so placed on the disks 57 V-that the rollers may .portion- 52 of member 51 and also rollalong the concave faces of the blocks 61. v

When Fig; 9. is compared with Fig. 8, which shows the piston-blades and abutment-wings jacent piston-blades. The operation of the abutment-valves will be understood from a careful examination of Figs. 8 and 9'and Figs.'-2 and 20.

noted that steam is supposed to be entering, the upper expansion-chamber of the engine cylinder through the port 24 at the left of tion of movement of'the main shaft or in the Upon the shafts 11, upon which are mountdisks 57, each of which has projecting from 85 Spaced "at equal distances :around the disk ner face thereof cut away at 'the ends, as 1 55 ing paragraphs is illustrated best in Fig. 9, in .1 5

travel along the periphery of the circular in the position occupied thereby when the 5 projecting arms 53 lie slightly behind the ad- 1 20 Referring first to Figs. 8 and-9 it will he #5 7 arm 53 on the member 51 it into the position shown in Fig 8, at which time the Wing of the abutment-valve in ad- :vance of the piston will pass out 'ofcontact passage into the space between the rear surface iof the abutment-wing and the front surface of -the approaching piston-blade of some of the {dive steam from the lower expansion-chamber. I=As this steam is operating only upon the one face of the abutment wing, the abutment will 35 segmental block to the rear of the piston-blade BEST AVAILABLE cos" Fig. 8, and consequently the steam acts equally upon the two adjacent faces of the abutment-valve wings, which at the time form a portion of the limits of the expansion-chainber. Consequently there is. no tendency of the valve to revolve in a reversed direction; but to prevent the possibility of such revolution one of the segmental blocks 61 is in such position thatonc of the rollers 59, carried by the dish 57, associated with the left abutnicntvalve, lies in contact with the inner face thereof, and any reverse movement is positively prevented.

Upon comparing the position of the wings on the right in Fig. 8

of the abutment-valve and the position of thereto inFig. 9 it will be noted that as apiston-blade approaches one of the valves the which corresponds to that piston-blade will engage'the roller 59 which corresponds to the wing of the abut merit-valve on theright in-thepath of the ap proaching pistonblade and will impartsutli- 'cient movementto the abutment-valve to move withthe hub of the piston and will permit the be'turned in the direction indicated by them-- row until the wing immediately behind the piston-blade moves up into a position similar to that shown at the left in Fig 21, and the passing through the abutment will then come into such position that the contact of one of the rollers 59 therewith will efi'ectiveL'v prethe parts corresponding l at that time forms a continuation of the puter vent any material amount of backward movcton-blade and abutment wing have reached a position similar to that shown at the left of Fig. 21 the live steam in the upper expansion- 5 ment of the abutment-valve. 'After the pis- J chamber of the cylinder enters the space hetween the piston-bhulehnd the abutment-wing immediately behind it through a small crevice between the end of the piston-blade and the surfaceoftheabutment-wingadjacentthereto.

wall of the expansion-chamber.

The steam admitted through the crevice between the end of the piston-blade and the ad jacent surface of the'abut-men t-wing fills up the groove at the end of the piston-blade between the twoadjacentabutment-wings and the steam-port 24, which lies on that side of the cylinder, as well as all other spaces accessible. At this time the movement of the valve-disk 32 will open'the' port 24 and will allow steam to pass from the steam-chest into the space between the piston-blade and the abutment-wingbehind it. The entrance of the fresh steam from the steam-chest is thus cushioned by the steam imprisoned between the piston-blade and the abutmentin the manner described in the preceding paragraph, and the escape of the fresh steam around the end of the piston-blade is effectively prevented by the close contact of the .end of the piston-' blade and the surface adjacent thereto.

From the foregoingdescription of the val vcoperating mechanism and explanation of its mode of operation it will be seen that-the initial portion only of each movement of an abutment-valve isproduced by mechanical of the abutment-win},

means and that the greater portion of each movement following the initial portion thereof-is due to the directaction of steamupon i It, will'als'o be seen the abutmcnt w'ingsi that the arrangement of parts is such that live steamis allo\ve(l to pass around the end of each piston-blade as it passes'through an abutment-valve and tween the piston-blade and the following abutment-wing insullicient quantity to fill theadyacentsteam-port in order to cushion the entrance of steam from the steam-chest when the steam-port is open and to draw the we ceding abutment-wing into close contact with to enter the space bethe end of the advancing piston,'thus acting like a cheek-valve and preventing any escape. ofthe steam from the, steam-chest around'the end of the piston hlade by passing betweenit' and the surface of the adjacent abutmcntwing.

By means of the set-screw 55 and the curved slot 56 in the member 51 it is possible to adjust the position of the member 5.1 to correct any failure of the abutments to move in proper time relation to the piston-blade. When the pistonblades strike aguinstthe abutmentvalves as the blades enter the valves, it will be necessary .to shift the member 5] Forward in the direction of movement of the main shaft of the engine, and when the abutmentvalves are moved forward too quickly it will be necessary to shift the member 51 in the opposite direction. 4

liy ma hing the segmental block 6i adjust able toward and from the center of the disk 54) i am enabled to insure proper positioning,

of said blocks and aliutment vnlve, so that the end'of the piston-blade will lie in contact with the face of the adjacent abutment 'ing and the said face will form a continuation of the inner surface of the wall of the expansionchamber, but at the same time avoid'pressure of the abutment-wing against the end of the piston-blade, with consequent wear of the abutment-wing and piston=blade.

In order to prevent the escape .of steam through the journals of theshafts of the abutment-valves. and pistons in the end plates of the-cylinders and valve-chambers, I provide the form of paeking=best shown in Fig. 10, in which is illustrated the packing of one of the shafts of an abutment-valve and which corresponds in construction to the packing of the other shafts and makes separate description I thereof unnecessary.

l antifrictionjmaterial 62 isa hollow valve-stem having a project- .ing flange-or disk inside the head or end plate of the abutmeht valvechamber, said disk havingali annular groove 63, which is filled with of 'any suitable kind,

end plate. 1.

.65.i$ al'ky provided in the shaft underneath which -i fitted to a ground valve-seat in the i the. flang'e of the, valve-stem 62, which, allows sliding movement of the valve-stempn the I shaft; but 'causes'it to in theend of the hollow valve- stem 62, and 67 isa set collar keyed to theshaft and hav- ,.-ingiattached thereto a valve-stem 62 and gland 7 structure. The flange of'the valve-stem 62,-

' dicated at 69. The valve is kept in engage-- gaging withthe 5 this swivel revolve with the shaft.

65- is the gland of a stufling-box 66, formed coiled spring 68, which has swivel connection with the end 0f the .gland, as shown; The gland 65 firmly screwed into the stufiing-b'ox 66, so that the form practically one provided with its facing of antifriction ma terial, as already described, is held by the pressure of the steam in the abutment-valve chamber in contact with the ground valvescat in the end plate, this contact being facilitated by-the vacuum-chamber, caused by cutting away a portionofthe valve-seat, as inment with theseat by means of the coiled spring 68, carr'ied'hy the set collar 67 and enend of the gland 65 by means of the swivel connection already mentioned, permitting the free rotation of the gland, as it is screwed into thevalve, while the spring remains stationary 'with the set collar 67, to' which it is attached. As the gland 65 and the stufiing-box revolve with the shaft and do not come into contact with anything to cause wear, a steam-tight joint will be maintained until the valve-seat in the headplate and the antifriction-material face of the flange of the val ve-stem 62 are worn out, thespring 68 and the pressure of the steam in the abutment-valve chamber being effective at all times to keep the valve' in engagement with the seat.

sate therefor. projections 73, already described, and the recesses of corresponding shape provided in'the' valves is shown in Figs. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and and in general view in Fig. 2. The

16 in detail V main portion of the packing for each of the blades of the rotating piston consists of two of the form'shownin' Fig. 11, each-"comprising an end arm adapted pieces of iron or steel tolie in the and a shorter'arm which extends along the side of the said wing or blade toward the center. These members will be known as angle-irons 70, the long arms being designated as 71 and piston-b'lades-is provided with a groove extending across the indicated in. Fig. 12, the groove being wide enough to permit .irons to be laid therein side byside, .asshown'i'nFigs. 14- and 15. Grooves on the sides of the piston-blades are also provided, as shown in Fig. 12, for the shorter arms 72 of the angle-irons. grooves are of the in Fig. '13, and the ently appear.

These utility thereof will presf groove across 'the end of a wing of the abutment valve'or blade of the piston,

the shorter arms as 72. Each of the reception of the end from side to side, as

the arms 71 of two anglepeculiar fo'rm best shown 9 i Each of the arnis 72 of the angle-irons; assho'wn in Figs. '11 and 13,-is pro-' vided with a projection 73, which is inclined on its upper surface, on the lower surface. 72 are also inclined, as shown.

permit the seatingof the arms 72 in provided in the endsof the piston-blades, it is of course necessary to provide triangular recesses for the holdthe arm 71 of the angle-irons in contact with the inner surface of the cylinder there is provided in the end of each of the pistonblades a recess 74, as shown .in Figs. 12 and 13, which forms a seat for the plug 75, which 'The ends of the arms In order to projections 73, and in order to,

as shown, and straight the grooves is hcld'in contact in the fiat surface of the arm 71 of the angle-iron by means of a spring 76.

(Best shown in Fig'. 13.) It-will be readily seenthatthis arrangement will insure contact of the arms 71 of the angle-irons with the inner surface of the cylinder as long as any of the material of said arms is left, thus compensating effectively for the wear of said arms by the continued operation of the engine. Now as car of the arm 71 takes place from contact with the curved inner surface of the inder wear will also occur on the arm 72 from contact'with the head-plates thereof, and it is desirable to provide'some means to compen- Such means is found inthe .arms 72 will he forced outward into proper contact with the ends of the cylinder.

in order to insure equal rates of wear upon consequentlya uniform rate of .wear is in- S sured.

'.lo cause the two arms 71, which lie in the groove aerossthc end of each piston-plate, to

I remain at all times parallel and more outward as a single. structure under the influence of the spring-pressed plug 75, it is desirable to provide eachof said arms on the side adjacent to its fellow with a pinand slot, as best shown in Fig. 13. Each of said arms heing thus provided, the pin on one engages with the slot provided in the other, and whilethe longi t'udinal movementof each armii'l to permit proper contact of the arni..72 with the head v plates little-sleeve is innofwise prevented,

any appreciabledisalinenient of the arms 71 is completely avoided. a In order to keep the ends of the arms 72' in proper relation with the hub of the piston, the ends'of said arms 3 a-Fecut on inclines, as shown 'in'Figs. 11 and l hand the steam-ring 77. as shown in Fig. j'l6, is provided.with a correspondingly-inclined outer surface, which is adapted to engage-with theinclined ends ,of the armi'zl. This arrangement of the stcmn-riug and the arms 72 is provided in order. that additional means may he provided to insure the proper j'degree of-outw 'u'd movement of the arms 71 5 to compensate for wear. thereof and at the 40 same time a tight contact he maintained he- I" tween thesurfacc of the steamrring and the e'nds of the-arm 72. The steam-ring is: of course to he held in proper contact with the ends of the cylinder .by any suitable means, as spring-pressed blocks, similar to those employed to keep the arms 71 in contact with the flat curved surfacc of the cylinder. in order that the rateof wear upon the surface of the steam-ring whose contact with the end 5 of the cylinder may lie-the same'as that of the arms Tl and 72 of the angle-irons, it is prel'- erahly formed with a narrow projecting rim on the face toward the end plates of the cylinder, which is of course the part which re-' eeivos the wear. This rim is-indicated at 78 in Fig. 2.

The parking employed on the abutmentyalre wings-is similar tothatdcscrihed inthe preceding paragraphs as used on ,the blades no of (he piston, and hem-e it is unnecessary to descrihe in detail the parking for each of said valve-wings; hutowing to the largersurface of the end of each of said valve-wings ti is necessary to provide douhle sets of packing 1 is devices for each wing instead of a single set,

BESTAVAI'LAB'LE cos .5

as employed on each 'iistoi'i-blade. This ai- There have been described in the foregoing paragraphs of the specification all the essential elements of an engine constructed in accordance with my invention; hut no mention I has heen made of the special form of valves and operating devices therefor nscd for con- E trolling-the direction of motion of the engine l and thcexhaust from the cylinders, and this while not absolutelyessential to the operation i of the engine is an important constructive fea-. tare, which has special utility in an engine de-' :v

Referring to Figs. 1,2, 18,

rangei'ncnt is clearly indicated in.l ig. 2.

i signed as mine is. and 19, there will be seen various parts of the,

, said valve mechanism, which will now he do? scribed. In Fig. 2. are shown rotaryfvalves- 80, each consisting of'a segmental member: I pivotallymounted in a chamher 81, communi: 5 eating with an expansion-chamber of the-cyls ind'ei'and with channels 82 83 lathe wall of the cylinder, of which the channels 82 lead to the low-pressuresteam-chest and the channels 83 to the channels in the wall of tl icjcylinder, as shownat 84f 'itli the ValVesBl inthe po; sition shown in Fig. 2 it will hGSeenthat'the piston will rotate in the direction shownby the arrows, and the exhaust-steam from. the

cxpansion cliamherswill pass into channels 82, leading to thelow prcssure steam-chest, .95

low-pressure, cylinder in the manner already explained. and, the engine. will operate as a tion-ot' moicment ol the piston will-not be changed: hut the exhaust from the cylinder instead of going into the channels leading to the low-pressure steam-chest will be thrown channels 84' of the outer wall of the'cylinder, and the enginewill no longer act asv a compound engine. r V in order to impart movement to the 'valves 8, as ahovedescribed, I provide rolls 85, as 9 shown-in Fig. 1, each of which is-connccted to two of the valves and which is connected at its upper end by means of a link with a hell-crank lever H6. The hell-crank levers 86, of which there are two at each end of the en 1 5 gine. though only one is shown in Fig. l, are rigidly mounted. on rods 87, supported in brackets on the cylinders. Movement is im parted to the. entire system of valves hy the reciprm'atory movementot' a rod H8.councct {3 from which steam will he conducted into the compoumlengine. running in the direction i which is arbitrarilycalled the forwarddi,

one-third of a rotation to the right, the direc- 1'16 directly into those communicating witlrthe 5 955,571 BESTAVAILABLE cos I edat itsend's with two'of the bell-cranks'and operated by the lever 89, which has a pin-andslot connection therewith, as shown.

The valve-operating mechanism just described is that employed in connection with both of the cylinders of the engine and the movementof the valves of both cylinders'is simultaneous. i

The valves used in the low-pressure cylinder are similar in some respects to those of the high-pressure cylinder; but it 'is obvious that it is unnecessary foreach ekpansionchamber of the low-pressure cylinder to communicate with the channels'leading to a steam 'chest,for the reason that after steam has been used in the-'low-pressure cylinder theonly further use .to which it may be put is that of supplying heat to. the walls of the cylinders to prevent condensation of steam within'the cylinder, and consequent. loss of energy.

The arrangement of the passages from the "expansion-chamberof the low-pressure cylin-.

der to the channels in the walls thereof is substantially as shown in- Fig. 21, and the valves are. of the'same formas those illustrated. in Fig.2. The rockingofthe valvesciii their' v seats serves'merely to control. the d'iredt'idn'of' the movement of: the piston in the low-pres- I sure cylinder and has no effect uponthe character of the engine. a g

"In the engine shown in Fig'. 1. the governor employed isone of the ordinary ball 'type and is'not in some respects so suitable for an en v gine of the typeto which this invention per- .35

-' scribed at length. Consequently the descriptains as that shown in Fig. 3 and already dotion of theform of governor shown in Fig. 1 has been'reserved as amodification that may be employed, if desired.

In the form of. governor shown in Fig. 1 I make use of a pair of pivoted arms 90,mounted at the'top of a'rotary spindle 91 and provided 'at their lower ends with weights or balls 92. 'The spindle -91 is hollow, as usual, and has extending upward .therethrough a vertical governor-rod 94, mounted for vertical movement in the hollow spindle and connected with the arms by means of links 95. R0- tation is imparted to the hollow spindle t'rom a positively-driven shaft 96 by means of bevelgears97,supported within-a frame 98, in the 'upperfaportion of which the spindle is jour- .naled.' #The I0(l 94: extends downward from the bottom of'the frame 98 and is pivotally connec d at its lower endywith a link .99, at

the lower end of which is pivotally mounte d'a; I block 100., The blo'cklOO-is slidably'mduhted" in a groove 101 in an arm 102, which is rigidly attached to a transverse-shaft 103, which may be supported in any suitable form of bearings. (Not shown.) At one end of the arm 102 pivotally mounted a link'104, which is con.- nected at its ldwcr end with a rod 105, which is vertically movable in a guideway formed in the upper portion of the wall of the lowpressure steam-chest and in the bottom of a frame 105", on the top'of which a frame 98 is supported. The rod 105 is connected, by

means of a link 106,with one arm of abe'llcrank 107, the other arm of which has attached thereto a ring 108,encircling agrooved collar .109. The collar 109 has projecting from one sidethereof'an arm 110,wl 1ich carries a stud that engages an oblique slot 111, formecL-in the hub of the counter-d isk of the low-pressure cylinder, The collar 109 is feathered to the main shaft of the engine, and the counter-disks in the two steam-chests are connected by means of a sleeve 112, so that when the collar 109 is moved longitudinally of the main shaft of the engine thetwo counter-disks will be advanced I ahead of the. shaft or moved in the opposite.

direction, according to the direction of movement of the grooved collar. l Associatedwith the block 100 is a grooved block 113, which isheld atTi'ight angles to the groove 101 in the are 102, and on a shaft 114,

which is disposed in alinement with the shaft 103, is rigidly secured a disk 115, which has i v a stud 116, that engages withthe groove in the 9.

block 113. At the end of the shaft 114 op posite the disk 115 is a small segmental gear longitudinal rod 88, and rigidly secured upon -the shaft 114, midway between its ends,'is an arm 119, having on the end thereota weight 117, which is adapted to engage with a short rack 118, formed on the upper surface of the which lies normally in the position shown in solid lines in-Fig. land which will be raised past the vertical by the engagement of the rack 118 with-the segmentalgear- 117 when-' 'ever the rod 88 is shifted to reverse the en-' gine. NVhen the weight 120 passes the point.

immediately above the shaft 114, gravity will cause it todescend to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. l, and the on 'm omentof the stud 116 with the block 113 will shift it to the end of thcarm 102 opposite that at which it is normally located. Consequently the outward movement of the balls of the governor which previously caused a downward movement of the link 103 will, whcnthe weight 120 occupics the position. shouni bydotted lines in Fig. 1', cause an upward movemcntof the link 104 and will produce a similar reversal of the movement of the, bell crank 107 and the shrouded collar 109,. This reversal of the movements of. the bell-crank and collar is for the purposeof adapting the movemcntof-the f compound engine already described; but the valves 80, indicated therein, are of somewhat different form from those employed with the low-pressure cylinder of a compound engine,

for the reason that the movements necessary in the valves of the compound engine are not necessary here. In other respects the cylin der of the simple rotary engine and the means for properly timing and adjusting the move I .ments of the abutment valves and pistons are the same as those employed in connection with the low-pressure cylinder of the compoundengine. Hence detailed description thereof by specific reference to the diflerent parts, as indicated in the drawings, appc'ardto be'unnecr The operation of an engine onstructed in accordance with my invention, 13S been brought out in piecemeal in the' description of the different sets of meehanisms'enter ing'into the construction of the engine with'suflicient degree of clearness to renderifi rthepstatement thereof unnecessary at this poin'tpbut I'wish to draw attention tocertain advantages posses sed by an engine constructed'in accordance with lily-invention, which are not found, so

far as I amaware, in rotary enginesas hitherto constructed. cardinal feature of my inven- {.tion lies in theabutment valves, w hichgolisist' 0 of three wings, as described, said wings being i substantiallyof the same widthgat ltheirex- -f tremities' as the openings betweenthe wings jand having their faces jcu't on arcs of 'the'same 1 radius as the expansion-chambers of the cyl- 3 5 inder in connection with which they are used. By means of abutment-valves constructed in this mannerandsupportedon shaftsso situated that the faces of the valves may be brought into alinement with the wall hi the expansion- 40 chamber of the cylinder it is possible to completely eliminate all clearance when the end of apiston-blad passes fromthe valve-chamher into contact with the wallofthe-eiipan sion-chamber of thecylinder and atthe same 45. time to do away with the sudden. movement of the abutment-valve necessaryfin engines having abutment valves whose faces are curved in the,manner'de'scribed, but havinga larger number 'of wing s. This sudden move- .ment referred to is'clearly illustrated in Patent No. 610,191; and it is obvious with an abutmentrvalve constructed as shown in thatpatent such movement is necessary in order to cause the 'passage of the piston blade $5 through-the valve with a minimum loss of en ergy bythe escape of steam, around the end of the piston blade. In the construction p which 1 use it will be seen that the end of a wing'of -an abutment valve remains 'in' CD11! tact with the hub of thepiston during the.ex-

p'an'sion of the steam in the expansion-chamher and during the passage of the piston-blade through the valve .thus completely preventing all backward travel of the steam and also 5 making it possiblefor.thdabutment-valve to begin its forward movement immediatel yafl -ter thepiston-blade passes into contact with the wall of the cylinder after going through. the valve, to move gradually forward untll the succeeding piston blade is almost into the 7 valve, when the next wing of the abutmefntis brought rapidly into position behind the piston-blade, as already explained in a preceding paragraph. v r f By means of the disk valves for controll ng the admission of steam into thecylinders and the counter-disks controlled by the governors,

as already described, the's'pee'd of the engine is controlled effectively, and the admission of steam into the cylinders is automatically ad- 0 justedto the load on the engine in a very simple manner. On account of the way in which i the disk valves are keyedto the shaft said.

valves'are made. to operate equally well to regulate the admission of steam when the en; 5 'gine is going in a normally for-wardgdirection and when reversed. V g

The other advantages possessed by an engine constructed in accordance with my invention have been suggested in connection-with the 9 description of the different sets of mechanism embodied therein,'and attentionwill not be agairridirectedthereto; m.

Having described the naturef 'arid 'of my invention, what'I claim as new, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, is;

1. The combination in a rotary steam-en- "gine, of a cylinderv having a plurality of .ex-

pansion chambers, rotary abutment valves separatin saidchambers,'each of the valvewings hading rounded outer ends of. extended width for contact with thebody of the piston thereby to permit movement 01' the abutmentvalve in advance of the approachof a pistonblade and the wings being separated by sub- 5 stantially V-shaped recesses, a piston having .a plurality of blades adapted to enter the abutmentrecesses, means for imparting initial movement to the abutment-valves, and-means for stopping the valves in position to permit 'Qv the passage of the piston-blades withoutc'learancew- 2. The combination. in a rotary steam-en gine, of a cylinder having a plurality of expansion chambers, and rotatably mounted I I 5 abutmentvalves separating said expansionchambers, each of said valves having three wings whose ends each comprise an arc of sixty degrees and whose faces are curved on the same radius as said expansion-chambers 0 thereby to permit preliminary movement of an abutment-valve in advanc of the approach of arpiston-blade.

3. The combination in a rotary steam-engine, of a cylinder'containing a plurality of. I25 expansion-chambers, a plurality of rotatablymounted abutment-valves separating-said chambers, each of [said rotatably mounted abutment-valves having a plurality-of wings, and-a piston having a blade-adapted to traverse 13 BEST AVAILABLE COP said expansion'charnbers, each of the wings of said abutment-valves having its faces curved on the same radiusas said expansion-chambers and its end adapted to cont-art with the'hub of said piston during the passage of a pistonblade through the valve the ends of the wings being of a widthapproximately equal to the.

width of the space between said wings thereby to permit preliminary movement of, the abutment-valves immediately after a pistonblade is passed therethrough;

4. The combination in a rotary steam-engine', of a cylinder having a plurality of ex- 'pansionehambers,' a plurality of rotatablymounted abutmentvalves separating said chambers, and a piston mounted to rotate within said cylinder having a blade adapted to "traverse said expansion-chambers and pass through said abutment-valves, each of said abutment-valves having a plurality of wings each of which haslts faces concavely curved on the same radius as the expanslon-chambers,

vand the piston-blade being eonvexlycurved upon each of its faces'on the same radius as said expansion-chambers and abutmentswings.

, 5. The combination in a rotary steam-en- 'gine, of a cylinder. having a plurality of expension-chambers, a piston mounted to rotate in said cylinder and having bladesadapted to traverse said expansion-chambers, a plurality of abutment-valves separating said expansionchambers, and mechanism operated by said piston to impart an initial movement to said abutment-valves whenever the piston-blade passes through a valve, said mechanism comprising a member carried by the piston-shaft and having a plurality of arms and disks mounted on the shafts of the abutment-valves and provided with pins adapted to be engaged by the arms of said member.

6. The combination in a rotary steam-engine, of a cylinder provided with a plurality of expansion chambers, a shaft extending through said cylinder, a rotatable piston rigidly mounted thereon and having a plurality.

of blades, rotaryabutment-valves separating said expansion-chambersand adapted to permit the passage of the piston-blades therethrough, and mechanism fox-imparting initial movement to said abutment-valves to permit the passage of the piston-blades, comprising a disk mounted on the piston-shaft and having a plurality of arms, disks associated with the abutment-valves and a plurality' of pins, bearing antifriction-rollers provided on said disks and adapted for engagement with the arms on the first-mentioned disk.

7. The combination in a rotary steam-engine, of a cylinder having a plurality of ex- 1:ansion-chamhers, a piston mounted for rotation within said cylinder, rotary abutmentvalves separating said elnuubers, means for imparting initial movement to said abutmentvalves, comprising a member mounted for rotation with the piston and having a plurality of arms, and disks mounted for rotation with said abutment-valves, each having a plurality of pins adapted for engagement with said arms, and means for preventing backward movement of said alnitment-valves, comprising a disk mounted for rotation with said pis ton and having a plurality of adjustable segments adapted to engage with the pins upon the disks associated with the abutmentval ves.

8. ,The combination with a rotary pistonblade or abutment-valve wing, of packingcomprisingmetallic bars bentat right angles and having one portion thereof disposed in a groove in the end of said plate or wing and the other portion thereof disposed in grooves in the sidesfof said wing or blade,said side po'rtions of the packing-bars being taperedat their terminals to make the ratcof wear of the surface thereof uniform, and means for moving said bars outward from the end and sides of said blade or wing to compensate for wear of the surface of. said bars.

9'. The combination with a rotary pistonblade orabutment-valve wing, of packing comprising metallic. bars bent at an angle and having one portion thereof seated in a groove in the end of said bladeor wing and the other portion seated in grooves in the sides of saidblade or wing, 21 spring-pressed plug in the end of said blade or wing adapted to hold the end portions of said bars outward, and inward projections provided on the side portions of said bars and having sloping surfaces adapted t engagereverselyinclined walls of recesses provided in the sides of said-wing or blade and to foree said side portions of said packing-bars outward from said wing or blade.

10. The. combination with a rotary piston comprising a hub and blades, of packing devices comprising angular bars disposed in grooves across theends and sides of said blades,- the side portions of said bars terminating in beveled ends, and a steam-ring mounted in an" annular groove in the hubot' said"piston and having a beveled periphery adapted to engage the beveled ends of the side portions of said packing-bars so that the outward movement of the steam-ring to compensate for wear on the surface thereof will cause corresponding outward movement of said packing-bars.

11. The combination with acylinder-head in a rotary engine, of ashaft mounted torotate BEST AVAlLABLE COP 13. A rotary steam-engine having the walls of the cylinders and steam-chests channe ed to form'a swim-jacket, and valved exhaust orts for the passage of exhaust-steam from the cylinder to said jacket thereby to: maintain said walls at ahigh temperature and prevent the condensation of steam in the steam chests or cylinders.

H. In a rotary engine, a cylinder, :1 revoluble piston having blades, a revoluble'abutment having a plurality of wings, means for imparting initial movement to the abutmentin advance of the approach of a piston-bladtg.

said abutment being movable to operable position by the pressure-of the actuating fluid, and

i means for limiting the movement of the abutment under pressure.

15. The combination in a steanrengi'nc, of i a cylinder, a piston, a hollow shaft connected to the piston, a ported cylinderhead, a revuluble valve-disk mounted on the shaft and having ports that are successively brought into alinement with 'the cylinder-head ports, a counter-disk movableto regulate the area of the'ports of the valve-disk, a governor-shaft extending through the hollow shaft and'having at its-inner end a crank-arm extending througl'i an opening "I the piston-shaft and secured w the counter-shaft, and a centrifugal governorconnect-ed to the outer end ofthe governor-shaft and serving to rock the same to alter the position of the counter-disk, substantially as specified. i

16. The combination in a rotary steam-engine, of a cylinder having-a plurality of expansionchanibers separated by rotating abutment-valves, a piston having, a plurality of blades mounted to rotate in said expansionchambers, steam-pm-ts in the cylinder end adjacent to the end of the abutment-valves, and steam-inlet valves cooperating with said ports and so connected withthe piston and the ab'utment-valves that steam will be admitted at intervals timed to enable the steam to impart movement to the abutment-valves.

17. The (:OflilJlflZllZlOIl in a rotaryengine, of a cylinderhavingapluralityofexpansion-chainhers separated by rotating abutment-valves, a piston having, a plurality ol blades mounted to rotate in' said expansion-chemibers, steamports in the cylinder-end adjacent to the abutment-valves,. steam-inlet valves cooperating with said ports, connections between said piston and said steam-inlet valves to impart movement to said valves, and mechanism-associated with the piston for imparting initial movement to the abutn'ient-valves, the linalmovement of the abutment-valves being caused by the direct action of steam acting between the piston-blades and the wings of the almtnn-ntvalves.

Intestimony that claim the foregoingas my own l have hereto allixed my signature in the presence of two vituesses.

W. .l. lncsnlcn, WM. bacsn.

Images