US896399A - Engine. - Google Patents

Description

' 4 s. LAWSON.

ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12, 1907.

PATENTED AUG; 18, 1908;

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Witnesses V Inventor;

I I Samuel Liza/s07;

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72 l VftnesSes 72 lnvemolr- 7 Samuel Lawson v PATEN'TED AUG. 13, 1908. s. LAWSON.

ENGINE. APPLICATION IILED SEPT. 12, 1907.

SAMUEL LAWSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ENGINE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 18, 1908.

Application filed. September 12, 1907. Serial No. 392,433.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL LAWSON, a citizen of the United States, residing in New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Engines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to .steam engines or analogous devices whereby pistons are operated by fluid pressure to cause rotation of one or more members, for generating power; or where, conversely, the operation of one or more pistons from rotation of a shaft or other mechanical member, will cause the device to act as a pump for delivering fluid; and has for its object to provide an improved form of mechanism in which power is imparted to a shaft or pulley, from a reciprocating piston member, without the use of an intermediate pitman or connecting rod.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating embodiments of my invention, Figure 1 shows the engine in end elevation. Fig. 2 is a side elevation with the outer plate of the side, casing removed, and the valve rods broken away. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the pistons on line 33 indi cated in Fig. 2, with one valve chest partly broken. away. Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line 14 indicated in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 shows one of the pistons separately, in side elevation. Fig. 6 is an end view of the piston. Fig. 7 is a vertical section through one of the valve members. Fig. 8 is a vertical section through one of the valve members on the line 88 indicated in Fig. 7; and Fig. 9 is a vertical section on the line'99 indicated in Fig. 7.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawings, a pair of cylinders 11 and 12 are connected by a web 13 and may be integral with them and with a suitable frame member 1 1 having a base 15 mounted on a housing 16. In each of the cylinders reciprocate pistons, 17 and 18, that are identical. Each cylinder has at an intermediate part, a chamber, which are connected, and denoted by 19, being formed by a rectangular frame 20, that is provided with a cover plate 21. Each of the pistons carries a guide, denoted by 22 and 23, and each has a transverse channel, 24 and 25. These guides project a certain distance into the chamber 19, that is sufliciently wide to permit reciprocation of the pistons; the latter being somewhat elongated so that the cylinders are .of the crank disks.

never open to the chamber. In the said chamber are pivotally mounted two crank members, preferably formed by crank disks 54 and 55, that have their shafts 26 and 27 rotatable 21 for the chamber. Suitable connecting means are provided between the crank disks and the pistons, in the nature of crank pins, that will cause the reciprocation of the pistons to rotate the crank disks; or vice versa, the pistons being reciprocated upon rotation In the construction illustrated, crank pins 56 and 57 are secured to the respective cranks, and engage blocks 58 and 59 slidable in the channels in the respective guides 22 and 23. The two cranks are set in alinement, and provided with teeth on their periphery, that mesh whereby the cranks will rotate in unison, being of the same size.

According to the relative positions of the cr ank pins when the crank members are caused to mesh, the two pistons will either reciprocate in unison, or will move in opposite directions. In the construction illustrated, the crank pins are shown as set at the same relative points in the circumference, and in the position shown the pistons are at the intermediate part of the stroke. U on rotation of the cranks, one piston wil move in one direction, and the other piston will advance in the opposite direction. When the crank-has advanced 90 degrees the pistons will be at respectively opposite ends of the cylinders; and upon com letion of a half revolution, the pistons wil have returned to the intermediate position. The third quarter of the revolution will cause the pistons to move in opposite directions from the inter mediate position to the opposite ends of the cylinder from what they just occupied, and upon the completion of the revolution the pistons will return to their former intermediate position.

Suitable valve mechanism is provided for admitting the steam or other fiuid-pressure medium to the two ends of each cylinder, and for connecting them with an exhaust passage, which mechanism will alternately admit the steam to each of the adjacent ends and alternately connect them with the eX- haust passage. Such mechanism is preferably controlled and operated by the engine and is shown as operated from the crank shafts. In the drawings there is a tubular valve mechanism at each end of the cylinder,

60 in bearings 28 and 29, formed in the cover plate and a description of one will explain both. Each of thevalve devices 30 and 31 comprises a valve chest or casing 32 in which oscillates a tubular valve 33. The valve has one end closed and also has an intermediate partition 34 providing aclosed chamber 35. This chamber is provided with three orts 36, 37 and 38 arranged in a transverse plane. An inlet pipe 39 connects with the casing and steam is thereby supplied to the valve opposite these orts. In the casing are passages 40 and 41 eading to the two cylinders 11 and 12 respectively. In the position of the valve shown in Fig. 8 the steam from the admission pipe 39 passes into the valve through port 37 and out through port 38, and through the passage 41 into the cylinder 12. Upon turning the valve, the port 38 will be closed by the casing while the port 37 will be brought to register with the passage 40 to the cylinder 11; and the port 36 will register with the inlet passage 39. Such movement of the valve will close the cylinder 12 and open the cylinder 11 to the steam.

At the other end of the valve member, it is open to an exhaust passage 42, and the valve contains a single port 43. This port is alternately connected with the cylinders 11 and 12, by passages 44 and 45 in the valve casing, with which the port 43 is alternately brought to register. It will be understood that when steam is being admitted to one end of one cylinder, the valve is properly operated to have the steam exhausting from the other end of the same cylinder.

The valve members are supplied with crank arms 45 and 46 respectively, to which are pivoted eccentric rods 47 and 48. Each crank shaft carries an eccentric, 49 and 50, Whose straps 51 and 52 are connected with the eccentric rods. These connecting mem bers are properly adjusted so that steam is admitted to one end of one cylinder, and at the same time to the opposite end of the other cylinder. When the cylinders reach the end of their respective stroke, the exhaust port is cut out, and steam is admitted, to drive the pistons to the opposite ends of the cylinders. Thereupon the valves are again shifted and the pistons each driven in the opposite direction.

One of the shafts for the crank member, for instance the shaft 27 is extended and supported by a standard 60, and carries a flywheel or pulley 61 fast thereon. This will serve to carry the pistons over their dead centers at the end of the stroke thereof, and will also serve to supply power for any desired purpose. By this construction it will be seen that the use of a connecting rod between the crank and a piston is obviated, the crank pin of the crank being practically connected with the piston, and therefore a considerable saving in space is effected;

ing in each cylinder, a pair of guides one on each cylinder, a pair of pivoted crank members, a pair of pivoted blocks slidable in the guides of the cylinders, a pair of crank pins one on each crank and engaging said blocks, each crank member having a. gear portion which gears mesh to cause the cranks to rotate in unison, a valve device connected with the one pair of adjacent ends of cylinders and also connected with an admission for fluid under pressure, the valve being operated to alternately connect the cylinder ends to admit the pressure fluid, means for operating said valve from one of said cranks, a valve device at the opposite adjacent ends of the cylinders and connected with an exhaust port and operated to alternately connect such cylinder arms with the exhaust, and means for operating the latter valve from the other of said cranks whereby the respective cylinders have their ends alternately connected with the exhaust and-with the pressure fluid.

2. The combination of a pair of connected cylinders each having a chamber in one side at an intermediate portion, a pair of pistons one in each cylinder, a pair of channeled guides one on each said pistons extending into one of said chambers, a pair of pivoted crank members, a pair of blocks one slidable in each of said guide channels, a pair of crank pins one on each crank engaging one of said blocks, said crank members being geared together to rotate in unison upon reciprocation of said pistons, a pair of valve devices one at each end of the cylinders comprising a valve casing, a pair of admission ports leading to each of the cylinder ends adjacent thereto, the casing having a transverse conduit providing a passage, the casing also having a passage connecting with one end there of, a tubular valve member arranged to oscillate in the casing, the valve member having a closed chamber at one portion and provided with three ports therein arranged to alternately connect with the transverse passage of the two adjacent cylinder ends, the valve member having another chamber open at the end thereof to said passage, and also having a lateral passage that is alternately opened to the adjacent ends of the cylinders, two eccentrics one on each of the crank members, a

crank arm connected with each of said valve members, and a connecting rod between each I l/Vitnesses:

FRED. J. DOLE, l/VILLIAM H. REID.

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