US783336A - Rotary explosive-engine. - Google Patents

Description

No. 783,336. Q I PATENTED FEB. 21, 1905.

O. R. TWITGHELL.

ROTARY EXPLOSIVB ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED J'ULYBI, 1903.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 WW M No. 783,336- PATENTED FEB. 21, 1905.

G. R. TWITGHELL.

ROTARY EXPLOSIVE ENGINE.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 31,1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

war/ NIT'ED STATES CHARLES R. TWITCHELL, OF DAYTON HEIGHTS, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR Patented February 21, 190 5 PATENT Orrics.

TO BROWN -.WINSTANLEY MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF LOS AN- GELES, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF.CALIFORNIA.

ROTARY EXPLOSlVE-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 783,336, dated February 21, 1905.

Application filed July 31,1903. Serial No. 167,748.

of Dayton Heights, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in R0- tary Explosive-Engines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The object of this invention is to provide simple and highly-eflicient means for actuating the controlling-valves of the several cylinders of a rotary explosive-engine, such means being adjustable while the engine is in operation, so as to control the speed thereof.

The invention will be hereinafter fully set forth, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in perspective. Fig. 2 is a similar view with parts broken away, but viewed oppositely to Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows in detail the connections between the piston-rods and the stationary crank. Fig. 4: is a fragmentary view in perspective, showing the means for introducing the gases.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a supporting-base, and 2 parallel uprights, one forming bearings for a stationary crank-shaft 3, preferably keyed to prevent rotation. The crank 24 on the inner end of the shaft 3 has a pin 5 extending laterally therefrom and designed to form the bearing for the inner ends of the piston-rods 6, whose pistons are movable longitudinally of cylinders 7, fixedly mounted between two parallel disks 8 and 9, the former being carried by the crank-shaft and the latter by a second shaft in axial line with the crank-shaft and having its bearings in the other upright 2. The piston-rods at their inner ends have laterally extended curved flanges 10, one of which enters an annular channel or groove 12 in the face of crank 4 concentric with thecrank-pin 5, while the other flanges of the several rods are engaged by a cap or collar 13, secured to the end of the crank-pin by a bolt 14. In this way the inner ends of the several piston-rods are secured to the crank-shaft, and while they are permitted to freelyrevolve around pin 5 friction between the parts is greatly reduced, and in addition thereto they may be readily removed upon loosening bolt 14 and withdrawing the cap or collar 13.

Concentric with the horizontal portion of the crank-shaft 3 and adjacent to the crank 4 thereof is a pinion 16, from which extends a right-angular arm 17, the free end whereof is coincident with an opening extending longitudinally through the crank-shaft. this opening is located a rod 18, having a handle or crank on its outer end, while its inner end is made fast to the free end of arm 17, so that by turning rod 18 pinion 16 may be made to revolve. With this pinion mesh a series of larger pinions or gear-wheels 19, having their bearings on the inner face of disk 8. Each of these gear-wheels carries a pin 20 for engaging a lever 21, fulcrumed on disk 8, one lever being provided for each cylinder. These several levers at their outer ends engage valvestems 22, mounted in the exhaust-outlets of such cylinders. It follows from what has i been said that the valve-actuating lever 21 of each cylinder is operated once upon each revolution of its coacting gear-wheel 19. To ef- VVithin feet a change in the time or the position in of the engine-that is to say, when it is desired to increase the speed of the engine the several geanwheels are so positioned through the instrumentality of rod 18 and pinion 16 that the levers 21 will unseat the exhaustvalves sooner after the explosion than when the levers being then postponed until the full 8 force of the charge has been spent.

The exhaust from each cylinder-that is, the exhaust controlled by the lever-actuated valvespasses through a pipe or conduit 23, which opens into disk 9. This disk is formed with two parallel spaced-apart walls, the intermediate chamber thus formed constituting a muffler, from which the burned gases may escape through exhaust-ports 24, formed in the outer wall thereof. The several cylinders may also be provided with auxiliary exhaustports 25, opening directly into the muffler, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. In this way I avoid exhausting directly into the atmosphere, and the advantage of exhausting into a muffler rotating with the several cylinders will be at once appreciated.

The charging-gases are introduced through an inlet-pipe 26, (shown in Figs. 1 and 4,) which is carried into one of the uprights 2 and opens at its inner end into an annular supply-chamber 27, through which the shaft 3 is centrally extended. The hub 28 of disk 8, encircling shaft 3, extends into chamber 27 to near the outer wall thereof and is formed with longitudinal ports 29, through which the charge passes to pipes or conduits 30 and through them into the explosion-chambers 31 of'the several cylinders. There the charge is exploded by any suitable means, although I prefer to employ the jump-spark, which may be communicated through wires 32, secured to contact-posts 33, which posts engage an electrically-charged pin 34 of a lever 35, carrying a second electrically-charged pin 36, designed to be engaged by a pin 37 of a pinion 38, which meshes with a pinion 39, mounted on hub 28. The primary connection is with pin 36, while the secondary connection is had with pin 34, the complementary wires of each connection being secured to the base at any point.

The operation is as follows: The actuating medium being introduced through inlet-pipe 26 is, as is well known, induced into the explosion-chambers by the downward or inward movements of the pistons, the gases freely traveling from the annular chamber27through ports 29 and conduits 30 into the explosionchambers of the several cylinders. After the explosion occurs in a cylinder (and it is by the several explosions that the cylinders and the two diskscarried thereby are caused to rotate around the stationary crank-shaft) the burned gases are permitted to escape into the muffler upon the several levers 21 being actuated by pins 20 of gear-wheels 19 to unseat the exhaust-controlling valves. To stop the engine or to regulate the speed, it is only necessary to turn rod 18 so that through pinion 16 the lever-actuating gear-wheels will be rotated in their bearings independently of their revolution with their carrying disk. The engine is of the four-cycle type, the charge of each alternate cylinder being exploded as they revolve around the crank-shaft. This is due to the fact that the gear-pinion 39 has half as many more teeth as the gear-pinion 38.

While I have shown in the drawings a preferred form of construction for carrying out my invention, yet it is to be understood that I do not confine myself to any special form of mechanism for accomplishing the object of myinvention.

I claim as my invention 1. In a rotary explosive-engine, in combination, a series of cylinders having exhaustcontrolling valves, means for operating the valves, means independent of the valve-operating means for periodically actuating suchmeans during the revolutions of the cylinders, and means for regulating or adjusting, while the engine is in operation, the time of actuation of such periodically-actuating means to control the speed of the engine.

2. In a rotary explosive-engine, in combination, a series of cylinders having exhaustcontrolling valves, levers for actuating the same, means independent of said levers for operating them periodically during the revolutions of the cylinders, and means for regulating or adjusting, while the engine is in operation, the time of actuation of such levers by said latter means.

3. In a rotary explosive-engine, in combination, a series of rotary cylinders, means rotating therewith for eflecting the exhaust therefrom, a series of gear-wheels independent of but designed to actuate such means, an independently mounted pinion with which said gear-wheels engage, and means for turning such pinion to adjust the positions of said gear-wheels relatively to said exhausteffecting means for controlling the speed of the engine. 4. In a rotary explosive-engine, in combination, a series of rotary cylinders, means rotating therewith for effecting the exhaust therefrom, comprising a series of levers for unseating the exhaust-valves,gear-wheelsmounted independently of said levers and having pins for engaging the latter to allow the sev eral cylinders to exhaust, an independentlyinounted pinion with which said gear-wheels engage, and means for turning such pinion to adjust the positions of said' gear-wheels and their pins relatively to said levers, to control the speed of the engine.

5. The combination with the hollow shaft, of the series of cylinders having their pistonrods engaging such shaft, each cylinder hav ing means for controlling the exhaust, comprising a lever and a coacting gear-wheel mounted independently of the lever, a pinion concentric With said shaft by which the several In testimony whereof I have signed this gear-wheels are rotated as they revolve therespecification in the presence of two subscribaround, and a crank-rod extended through said ing Witnesses.

shaft and connected to said pinion for turn- CHARLES R. TWITCHELL. ing the latter to effect the adjustment of said Witnesses: gear-wheels relative to their respective levers, J. N OTA MCGILL,

as set forth. E. Gr. STICKNEY.

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