Los Angeles herald., 1909-08-01
ROTARY ENGINE
FOR AUTOMOBILE
DEMONSTRATING CAR is BEING
BUILT
L. A. ROTARY GAS ENGINE CON-
PANY CLAIMS SUCCESS
Auto with New Style Motor Will Be
Completed In About Three
Weeks

The Los Angeles Rotary Gas Engine
company has under construction ar
automobile in which will be used the
rotary gas engine and after five years
of experimental work it is believed that
the question of the rotary engine has
| been successfully solved.
The car which will be completed in
about three weeks. is being constructed
| by Thomas Forbes, formerly of Min
neapolis, who has made a deep study
| OF the rotary gas engine for many
| years, and is confident that he has
made a wonderful and useful discov-
| cry
The application of the rotary gas en-
gine will doubtless create great inter-
est in the motor world.
The demonstrating car when COM
| rleted will be essentially a Los Angeles
product, all the parts being made in
this city.
The body of the car was constructed
by the Beacon Lumber company, and
the other parts of the mechanism were
| built by the Los Angeles Rotary Gas
Engine company.
When the demonstrating car has
been finished and its success assured,
which is not doubted by the makers, 1t
is the plan of the company to build
plant in Los Angeles and begin at once
the manufacture of automobiles.
Some of the strong points of the ro-
tory as advanced by Mr.. Forbes, the
designer. are given below.
Is of Four-cycle Type
The Los Angeles rotary gas engine is
an internal combustion motor of the
Otto. or four-cycle, type, using either
vaporized gasoline or distillate or illum-
mating kas for fuel.
The motor is composed of five cylin-
6ers. set radially around. and with
their respective pistons and connecting
rods act in common upon q single
throw crank shaft.
The cylinders are cast separately
with cooling fanges. and are fastened
| in a substantial manner to the engine
case. This case is provided with two
Hess Bright ball bearings, which vir-
tually carry all the load of the reVolv-
ing parts.
The details of construction have ali
been designed with the greatest care,
and special attention has been given
each individual part to make it of such
material and design as will be best
adapted to the work it performs.
One of the important features of
this motor, is the method of operating
the inlet and exhaust valves, which UP
to the present time has been a serious
owing to the complications which
seemed necessary. The patents owned
by the company fully cover and protect
device for accomplishing this in
very simple and positive manner,
which eliminates all gearing.
Principle of Operation
In the ordinary reciprocating type of
motor the cylinder is stationary, the
piston is the reciprocating member, and
the crank shaft the revolving part. In
the rotary this method is virtually re-
versed, the crank shaft being the sta
tionary member and both the cylinders,
piston rods and connecting rods rotate
around the crank shaft, going in one
direction all the time, which entirely
eliminates the evil effect of reciprocal
ton and reduces the vibration to
minimum.
With the five-cylinder rotary we OBJ
tain a power impulse or explosion"
every two-fifths of a revolution, which
gives an extremely steady running en-
gine.
1t is seen that the principle of the
rotary converts the engine itself into
q fan which generates it's own current
of air, thereby doing away with the
necessity of a cooling fan, which is
used in other types of air-cooled en-
gines.
This principle also insures'a a positive
cooling of the cylinder, which is not
dependent on the current of air gem
Grated by swiftly moving automobile,
making it equally adapted to station
ary purposes
Each cylinder is provided with an
auxiliary exhaust post, which allows a
large percentage of the hot burnt gases
to escape by their own pressure into
muff1er. This method of exhaust un-
questionably increases the air cooling
properties of the engine.
fabrication is one of the essential
and vital points of any engine, and in
the rotary positive and effective
method of oiling all parts is cheaply
accomplished by forcing a small supply
of oil through a duct in the crank
shaft to the stationary pin, centrifugal
force carrying it with absolute GER
tainty into all the cylinders.
BY simple and ingenious device the