US933363A - Rotary engine. - Google Patents

Description

F.- A. CLEVELAND.

ROTARY ENGINE. APrLIoATIoN FILED Amm, 190s.

933,363; Patented Sept. 7, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

E. A. CLEVELAND.

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED Amm, 1908.

933,363, Pantea'sep1;. 7, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

f E 4g 47 Y the cylinder FREDERICK A.l CLEVELAND, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y.

ROTARY ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented sept. '7, 1909.

Application filed April 9, 1908.v Serial No. 425,991.V

To .all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK A. CLEVE- LAND, a citizen of the United States, and resident of the city` of New York, in the county of New York and Stateof New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Engines, of` which the foli lowing is a specication.

This invention relates to rotary engines, the object being to provide a construction for an engine of this type in which the steam operates constantly upon oneor more pistons to produce a continuous rotary movement.

In the form of illustrate my invention in this application I have provided a number of coperating ro tary cylinder cores positioned in cylindrical.

rotary cylinder cores arel each provided with a projection or wingsteam operates to impart to their respective cylin# chambers. These against which the a rotary movement der cores. An intermediate abutting core' is so positiond as to rotatey in contact with each of the cylinder cores. A recess is provided in the abutting core ofsuch a shape that the projections or wings on the kcylinder cores may pass therethrough in contact with the wall thereof in order to permit a complete rotation of the same and for the purpose of retaining and preventing excessive wear in the packing at The several cores are operatively connected together by suitable mechanism and rotate together relatively so that the projections from the several cylinder cores andthe recess in the intermediate abutting core' will come together at the proper points to permit the projections to pass successively ythrough the recess as stated. At other points in the circle of rotation the outer end of the projec-V tions or wings are in contact with the inner surface of the cylindrical chambers in which each of the aforesaid cylinder coresare positioned, thus providing a closed'joint and also providing for a continuous rotation of cores. An inclosure will be formed at either side of the projections or wings and valves of peculiar construction,

which will be more fully described herein-y after, are provided for admitting steam to either of these inclosures to produce a rotation of the cylinder cores in eitherdirection as may be desired.v Exhaust valves of peculiar construction, which will be more fully described hereinafter, are provided which are opened at the proper points to engine I have adopted to the end ofthe wing.

`upon which is mounted a permit the escape of the steam. By placing several sets of these cylinders end to end on common shafts and arranging the valves controlling the inlet and outlet of the steam to the several sets of cylinders in such a manner that the steam is operating on opposite' sides of the shaft in diferent sets of the cylinders, I obtain a balancing of the side thrust andproduce. an even and smooth rotation which results in a great saving in losses due to friction and also in wear upon the bearings. As the steam is admitted at diiferent points in the rotation of the several cylinders of each set it will be evident that one of the cylinders will always be' in a` position to be operated upon when the steam is admitted and, consequently, dead centers are avoided and the engines may be started at any point.

Other objects will be in part obvious and will in part appear hereinafter in connection with the description of the engine illustrated in the accompanying drawings as one embodiment of my invention.

`Like .parts inthe several views have been 'given similar reference numbers.

Figure 1 is an lend view of an engine embodying my invent-ion showing the valve operatingand reversing mechanism. Fig. 2 is a vertical central section of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 anr enlarged sectional view taken on the line 3 3 0f Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

' At 1 is indicated a suitable base or support i casing or housing 2. In this casingor housing I have provided Vthree cylindrical chambers 3, 4 and 5 in which aremounted sets of cylinder cores, such as 6, 7 and 8, respectively. An inter- `mediate abutting core 9 is mounted so as to rotate in contact with each of the aforesaid cylinder cores 6, 7 and 8, as shown in Fig. '3. The cylinder core 6 is mounted upon a shaft 10, the cylinder core 7 upon a shaft 11, the cylinder core 8 upon a shaft 12, and the intermediate abutting core 9 upon a shaft 13. These shafts are connected so as to rotate together with their respective cores by means ofsuitable gears, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 at 61, 62, 63 and 64. Projections or wings,

such as 14, 15 and 16, are provided on the cylinder cores 6, 'Z and 8, respectively. 'Ihe projections may be secured to their respective cylinder cores by any suitable means.

Inlet valves of the rotary type, as shown at 17, 18, and 19, are mounted so as to be rotated in unison with the cylinder cores by means of gears such as 65, .66, 67 and (i8,

shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Surrounding these rotary valves I have provided cylindrical 5 valve sleeves, as shown at 20, 21 and 22 in Figs. 2 and 3, which may be oscllated by iiians of the reversing lever 69 which operates the same through segments and gears 70, 71 and 7 2, shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

10 'galhe cylindrical valve sleeve 20 is provided' with openings 23, 24 and 25 which are so positioned as yto register with the openings o5 113.8, 39 and 40 in the casing or housing 2 as @the valve sleeve 20 is operated by the lever 69, as described. The cylindrical valve sleeve )21 is provided with openings 28, 29 and 30 iivhich are adapted to register with the open- Aings 41, 42 and 43 in the casing or housing 2 niind the cylindrical valve sleeve 22 is pronviided with openings 33, 34 and 35 which are .i adapted to register with the openings 44, 45

and 46 in the casing or housing 2 in a similar imanner, v

in' A supply pipe 47 supplies steam by means 25cm? the passages 48, 49 and 50 to the steam ehests 27, 32 and 37, respectively, from which uit is admitted to the cylindrical chambers 3,

4 and 5 by means of the inlet valves 17, 18 land 19. The admission of the steam to the Bof-' cylindrical chambers 3, 4 and 5 is deter- ?mined and controlled by the position of thc cylindrical valve sleeves 20, 21 and 22, as

will be more fully explained hereinafter.

i `Exhaust openings 51 and 52 are provided .in the valve sleeve 20; exhaust openings'53 -and 54 are provided in the valve sleeve 21 and exhaust openings 55 `and 56 are provided in the valve sleevev 22. These openings may extend longitudinally the .entire length ot the valve sleeves, as shown in Fig. 2, or the same may be so positioned as to comnnmicate` with suitable openings in the housing 2.

The operation of this valve mechanism rrr will be readily understood by reference toy Fig. 3. In the position as shown the valve sleeves 20, 21 and 22: have been set in position by the operating lever 69, as althrough the openings 39 and 24 and from thence through the rotating valve 17, which is just beginning to open the passage through the openings 23 and 38, admitting the steam to the cylindrical chamber 3 and causing the same to operate upon the projection 14. The exhaust from that portion of the cylindrical chamber 3 which is ahead of the projection 14 is provided for by the passage 44 which communicates with the exhaust opening 55 in the valve sleeve 22. The valves 18 and 19 operate in a similar manner upon their respective cylinder cores which are positioned and arranged so -that the -steam is initially admitted to the respective cylindrical chambers successively, thus producing Ol l' ready explained andl shown in Figs. 1 and. 2. The steam in the chamber 32 passesV a continuous and even pressure which causes the rotary movement of the driving shaft.

The reversing of the engine is accomplished by moving the operating lever (39 and thus rotating the valve sleeves 20, 21 and 22 so that the opening 25 registers with the opening 39, the opening 23 with the opening 40 and the exhaust opening 52 with the opening 38. The valve sleeves 21 and 22 are at the same time rotated in a like manner-and it will now be seen that the steam will be admitted to the adjacent cylinder on the opposite side of the valve and will cause a rotation in the reverse direction, that is, the steam from the steam chest 32 will now be admitted through the openings 39, 2,5, 23 and 40 to the cylindrical chamber 4 and will operate upon the projection 15, causing a rotation of the cylinder 7 in the reverse direction from that indicated by the arrow. Atthe same time it will be noted that the exhaust opening 52 in the valve sleeve 20 has been brought into position to provide for the exhaust ofthe steam ahead of the projection 14 in the cylindrical chamber 3. A similar` operation of the valves takes place at the same time for the remaining cylinders and it is thus seen that the engine may be operated equally well in either direction and may be reversed by a simple movement of' the operating lever 69.

It will be noted that the openings in the rotating valves 17, 18 and 19 may be regulated so as to sluit oiln the inlet from the steam chests at any desired point and allow the steam in the cylindrical chambers to operate expansively through the remainder ot the cycle.

As already stated and shown in Fig. 2 several sets of cylinders may be provided to operate the same driving shaft and these sets of cylinders may be arranged to operate concurrently or the projections on the cylinder cores and the valve mechanism of each set may be arranged to operate successively with the corresponding cores of the adjacent sets.

It will be understod that the point at which the steam is admitted to the cylindrical chamber may be varied to meet different requirements and constructions. The most eiiicient results will be obtained 'when this opening is so positioned that the steam will be admitted as soon as the projection or wing has passed out of the recess in the intermediate abutting core. In the drawings this opening has been shown a small distance away from such a point merely for convenience of illustrating the mode of operation of the engine. It will also be understood that my invention may be applied with equally good results to engines designed for use with compressed air and various other sources of power.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of my invention designed without depart-ing from the scope thereof, I intend that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative merely of an operative embodiment of my invention and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim is:

l. In a rotary engine, in combination, a plurality of cylinder cores each positioned in a cylindrical chamber, a plurality of valves adapted to control the admission of steam to said chambers, a plurality of valve sleeves adapted to be operated in conjunction with said valves to cause the steam from said valves to be delivered to either of two adjacent chambers to produce a rotation of said cylinder cores in either direction, and means for operating said valves and valve sleeves. j

2. In`a rotary engine, in combination, a plurality of cylinder' cores each positioned in a cylindrical chamber, a plurality of valves adapted to control the admission of steam to said chambers, a plurality of valve sleeves adapted to be operated in conjunction with said valves to cause the steam therefrom to be delivered to either of two adjacent chambers to produce a rotation of said cylinder cores in either direction, said sleeves also controlling the exhaust from the other of said chambers, and means for operating said valves and valve sleeves.

3. In a rotary engine, in combination, a casing provided with a plurality of cylindrical chambers, a .plurality of cylinder cores each positionedv in one of said chambers, a plurality of valves located interme diary of said chambers andV adapt-ed to control the admission of steam thereto, a plurality of valve sleeves surrounding said valves and adapted simultaneously to cause the steam from said valve to be delivered to said chambers and to control the exhaust valve and valve sleeves.

4. In a rotary engine, in combination, a casing provided with a plurality of cylindrical chambers, a plurality of cylinder cores each positioned in one of said chambers, an abutting core operating in conjunction with said cylinder cores, a plurality of valves each located intermediary of said chambers and adapted to control the admission of steam thereto, a plurality of valve sleeves each operating in conjunction with one of said valves and adapted to control the admission of steam to either one of the adjacent chambers and to control the exhaust of the steam from the other of said adjacent chambers, and means for operating said valves and valve sleeves.

5. In a rotary engine, in combination, a casing` provided with a plurality of cylindrical chambers, a plurality of cylinder cores each positioned in one of said chambers, an abutting core operating in conjunction with said cylinder cores, a plurality of rotary valves each located intermediary of said chambers and adapted to control the admission of steam thereto, a plurality of rotary valve sleeves each operating in conjunction with one of said valves and adapted to control the admission of steam to either one of the adjacent chambers and to control the exhaust of the steam from the other of said adjacent chambers, and means for rotating said valves and valve sleeves.

Signed at New York city in the county of New York and State of New York this 30th day of Mch. A. D. 1908.

FREDERICK A. CLEVELAND.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM M. GATTER, LEWIS J. DooLI'rTLE.

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