US780640A - Rotary engine. - Google Patents

Description

'No. 780,640. BATENTED'JAN124, 1905.

' J. CONWAY.

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 4, 1903.

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Patented January 24, 1905. i

I I JAMES CONWAY, or c'moAeo, ILLINOIS.

ROTARY ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 780,640, dated January 24, 1905. Application filed Noveinber 4,1903. Serial No. 179,758.

10 (ML 1071,0171 it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Litres CONWAY, acitizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and Stateof Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Engines, of which the following is a specification.

U The main objects of my invention are to which has been omitted from the drawings.

An annular hollow casing': is rotatabl y mounted on the shaft 3. The casing 1 consists of two parts, comprising a hollow annular member or disk 5 and an annular shell 6, rigidly bolted to the member 5. Rigidly secured to the member 5 are a plurality of cylinders 7 which are radially disposed and arranged in diametrically-opposed pairs. Each of the cylinders 7 has sl'idably mounted therein a piston 8, and the pistons of each pair of cylinders are rigidly connected by piston-rods 9, which are provided with centrally-disposed yokes 10. The yokes 10 have slid ably mounted therein cross-heads 11, which are movable transversely of said piston-rods and adapted to rotate relatively of the crank-pins 12 of the crank-shaft, the movement of the pistons thus causing the rotation of the casing about said crank-shaft. Each of the cylinders is provided with a steam-chest 13, having a slidevalve 14 mounted therein and connected with the opposite ends of the cylinders by the usual steam-passages. The valve-chests communicate, through the live-steam inlets 15, with a receiving-chamber 16 within the member 5 chamber 16 through the hollow end 19 of the shaft 3 and the apertures 20. The' interior cavity 18 of the casing 4 forms a steam-jacket for the cylinders 7 and connects with the hollow end 21 of the shaft 3 by means of aper-' tures 22. The slide-valves 1 1 are operated by eccentrics 23 on the crank-shaft 3. Leakage of steam outwardly from the receivingchamber 16 is prevented -by the stufling-box 2 1, and similarly the leakage along the other end of the shaft 3 is prevented by stufiingbox 25.

A power-transmitting surface, herein shown as a pulley-rim 26 for receiving a belt, is rigidly connected to the outer periphery 27 of the casing 4 by means of the webs 28, thus pro: viding cooling air-spaces 30, separating said rim from the parts which come into direct contact with the exhaust-steam within the casing. The webs 28 are disposed at an angle to the axis of rotation of the engine and serve as vanes for causing a currentof air to flow between the rim and casing when the engine is running.

The operation of the device shown is as follows: Live steam is admitted to the chamber 16 and then passes into the valve-chests 13 of the cylinders. This causes the pistons to move, and since the crank-shaft is rigidly secured to the supporting-frame, as hereinbefore described, the movement of the pistons I causes the rotation of the casing 4, together with its rim 26. The cranks being diametrically opposite and the pairs of cylinders being at right angles to each other, it will be seen that the device cannot stop on dead-center, Theaction of the eccentrics 23 causes the valves 14 to reciprocate and alternately connect the opposite ends of the cylinders, respectively, with the live-steam inlet and exhaust ports.

Since the casing is of annular form and the cylinders secured therein are symmetrically arranged, it will be seen that the weights of the cylinders and easing are balanced, and therefore serve as a fly-wheel for the engine. The angular arrangement of the webs 28 causes a'continuous current of air to flow over said webs and the rim 26 and prevents excessive heating of the rim.

It will be seen that numerous details of the construction shown may be altered without departing from the spirit of my invention. I therefore do not confine myself to such details except as hereinafter limited in the claims.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an engine, the combination of a fixed crank-shaft; a casing rotatably mounted on said shaft; a plurality of radially-disposed cylinders secured within said casing and rotatable therewith; pistons slidably mounted in said cylinders and connected with said crankshaft; said casing being adapted to form a steam-jacket surrounding said cylinders; an outer rim for transmitting power rigidly secured to said casing and separated by an airspace from the periphery of said casing; and means for causing a current of air to flow between the rim and casing through the rotation of the engine, substantially as described.

2. In an engine, the combination of a fixed crank-shaft; a casing rotatably mounted on said shaft; a plurality of radially-disposed cylinders secured within said casing and rotatable therewith; pistons slidably mounted in said cylinders and connected with said crankshaft; said casing being adapted to form a steam-jacket surrounding said cylinders; an outer rim for transmitting power rigidly secured to said casing and separated by an airspace from the periphery of said casing; and a plurality of vanes secured to the casing and adapted to cause a current of air to flow along said rim, substantially as described.

3. In an engine, the combination of a fixed crank-shaft; a casing rotatably mounted on said shaft; a plurality of radially-disposed cylinders secured within said casing and rotatable therewith; pistons slidably mounted in said cylinders and connected with said crankshaft; said casing being adapted to form a steam-jacket surrounding said cylinders; an outer rim for transmitting power rigidly secured to said casing and separated by an airspace from the periphery of said casing; and a plurality of vanes secured to the casing and disposed at an angle to the axis thereof for causing a current of air to flow between said rim and easing, substantially as described.

4. In an engine, the combination of a fixed shaft, a casing journaled concentrically of said shaft; fluid-operated mechanism within the casing for causing the same to rotate about said shaft; a rim for transmitting power disposed concentrically of the casing and spaced therefrom; and a plurality of vanes connecting said rim and casing and adapted to cause a current of air to flow between the rim and easing, substantially as described.

5. In an engine, the combination of a fixed crank-shaft; a disk journaled concentrically of said shaft and having rigidly secured to one face thereof a plurality of radially-disposed cylinders; pistons mounted in the cylinders and connected with said crank-shaft for rotating the disk; a hollow shell connected with the disk to form an inclosure surrounding said cylinders, and being removable from the disk without disturbing the connections between said disk and cylinders, substantially as described.

6. In an engine, the combination of a fixed crank-shaft having hollow ends; a disk journaled concentrically of said shaft and having therein an annular cavity communicating with one of the hollow ends of the crank-shaft; a plurality of radially-disposed cylinders rigidly secured to one face of said disk; a hollow shell connected with said disk to form an inclosure surrounding said cylinders, and being removable from the disk without disturbing the connections between said disk and cylinders; inlet-ports connecting the cylinders with the cavity in said disk; exhaust-ports connecting the cylinders with the interior of said shell; and a passage connecting the interior of the shell with the other end of the hollow shaft, substantially as described.

Signed at Chicago this 2d day of November, 1903.

JAMES CONWAY.

\Vitnesses:

RUDow RUMMLER, EUGENE A. RUMMLER.

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