AN IMPROVED ROTARY ENGINE TO BE WORKED BY STEAM OR OTHER FLUID
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred George Brookes, of 62, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
ROTARY ENGINE TO BE WORKED BY STEAM OR OTHER FLUID."-A communi-
cation from abroad by Edmond Geisenberger and Gabriel Cherpit,
bath of Rumussels in the Kingdom of Belgium. Engineers.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred George Brookes
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 23rd June 1873.
I, ALFRED GEORGE BROOKES, of 62, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVED ROTARY ENGINE TO BE WORKED BY STEAM OR OTHER FLUID," a com-
munication to me from abroad by Edmond Geisenberger and Gabriel
Cherpit, both of Brussels, in the Kingdom of Belgium, Engineers, to be
as follows:-
This Invention, as communicated to me, relates to rotary motive-power
engines in which the action of steam or other fluid imparts rotary

page_text: motion directly cither to a shaft within a closed case or cylinder, or to
the case or cylinder itself, and consists in the improvements herein-after
described in obtaining the said rotary motion from the steam or fluid.
In a closed metal case, shaped as hercin-after described, is mounted a
cylindrical shaft, the ends of which shaft, which are of less diameter
than the part within the case, pass through the said case to the outside so
as to communicate the motion of the engine as required. The said shaft
is mounted so that that part of it within the case hercin-after called the
"inner" shaft shall at one portion of its periphery be in contact with
the inner surface of the said case, by preference at the top, leaving a free
space between the other parts of the said inner shaft and the case.
Through the said inner shaft is made or formed a longitudinal slot
traversed by a disc or plate, which disc or plate corresponds in shape
with the sectional figure of the case, and extends on cach side to the
inner surface of the case, being capable of sliding motion in the said slot
so as to accommodate its position during the rotation of the inner shaft
to the varying distances between the periphery of the said inner shaft
and the inner surface of the case.
The outer metal case herein-before referred to may in section be of
any suitable figure, cither rectangular, square, circular, elliptic, or other
regular or irregular form, provided that whatever be the position of the
said disc or plate as it revolves within the said case, its sides and ends or
edges, be constantly in contact with the inner surface of the case, or
nearly so; and it is preferred when steam or an clastic fluid is used
expansively as a motive power, that the said case at that part where the
steam or fluid is made to act be shaped so that the area and leverage of
the said disc or plate acted upon by the steam or fluid shall increase as
the pressure of the steam or fluid acting expansively diminishes so as to
maintain the same amount of power exerted throughout the whole stroke.
The steam or fluid is made to enter the machine by a port formed by
preference on the upper part of the case on one side of the inner shaft,
the said port being provided with suitable means of regulating the inlet,
and the exhaust port is by preference situated at the lower part of the
case nearly opposite to the steam port or inlet; and when it is required
to work the engine in either direction, that is, forwards or backwards,
two steam ports or inlets and one or two exhaust ports are formed in
the case, the said ports being provided with suitable distributing

page_text: mechanism for regulating the supply and discharge of the steam or fluid.
The sides and ends, or the edges of the revolving disc or plate, may be
fitted with bars or strips of metal inserted in grooves or slots formed in
the said disc or plate, and pressed outwards by suitable springs so as to
insure a tight joint between the disc or plate and the inner surface of
the case, or a tight joint may be obtained by other suitable means.
Suitable friction rollers are also mounted on the said disc or plate to
diminish the friction of the working parts, and a suitable joint is formed
between the slot in the inner shaft and the disc to keep the parts tight,
friction rollers being also used to facilitate the sliding of the said disc or
plate in the said slot.
ՄԱՆՆ ԱՆԵՔՍԱ ՄԵՆԵՍԵԼ 100
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
GEORGE BROOKES, of 62, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Alfred George Brookes, Her
special license that I, the said Alfred George Brookes, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred
George Brookes, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Inven-

page_text: tion for "AN IMPROVED ROTARY ENGINE TO BE WORKED BY STEAM OR OTHER
FLUID," a communication to me from abroad by Edmond Geisenberger
and Gabriel Cherpit, both of Brussels, in the Kingdom of Belgium,
Engineers, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred
George Brookes, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to
be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred George Brookes, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention, as communicated to me, relates to rotary motive-power
engines in which the action of steam or other fluid imparts rotary
motion directly either to a shaft within a closed case or cylinder, or to
the case or cylinder itself, and consists in the improvements hercin-after
described in obtaining the said rotary motion from the steam or fluid.
In a closed metal case, shaped as herein-after described, is mounted a
cylindrical shaft, the ends of which shaft, which are of less diameter than
the part within the case, pass through the said case to the outside so as
to communicate the motion of the engine as required. The said shaft
is mounted so that part of it within the case herein-after called the
"inner shaft" shall at one portion of its periphery be in contact with
the inner surface of the said case, by preference at the top, leaving a
free space between the other parts of the said inner shaft and the case.
Through the said inner shaft is made or formed a longitudinal slot
traversed by a disc or plate, which disc or plate corresponds in shape
with the sectional figure of the case, and extends on each side to the
inner surface of the case, being capable of sliding motion in the said slot
so as to accommodate its position during the rotation of the inner shaft to
the varying distances between the periphery of the said inner shaft and
the inner surface of the case.
'
The outer metal case herein-before referred to may in section be of
any suitable figure, either rectangular, square, circular, elliptic, or other
regular or irregular form, provided that whatever be the position of the

page_text: said disc or plate as it revolves within the said case, its sides and ends or
edges, be constantly in contact with the inner surface of the case, or
nearly so; and it is preferred when steam or an elastic fluid is used
expansively as a motive power, that the said case at that part where tho
steam or fluid is made to act be shaped, so that the area and leverage of
the said disc or plate acted upon by the steam or fluid shall increase as
the pressure of the steam or fluid acting expansively diminishes so as
to maintain the same amount of power exerted throughout the whole
stroke.
The steam or fluid is made to enter the machine by a port formed, by
preference, on the upper part of the case on one side of the inner shaft,
the said port being provided with suitable means of regulating the inlet,
and the exhaust port is, by preference, situated at the lower part of the
case nearly opposite to the steam port or inlet; and when it is required
to work the engine in either direction, that is, forwards or backwards,
two steam ports or inlets, and one or two exhaust ports are formed in the
case, the said ports being provided with suitable distributing mechanism
for regulating the supply and discharge of the steam or fluid. The sides
and ends, or the edges of the revolving disc or plate, may be fitted with
bars or strips of metal inserted in grooves or slots formed in the said
disc or plate and pressed outwards by suitable springs so as to insure a
tight joint between the disc or plate, and the inner surface of the case,
or a tight joint may be obtained by other suitable means. Suitable
friction rollers are also mounted on the said disc or plate to diminish
the friction of the working parts, and a suitable joint is formed between'
the slot in the inner shaft and the disc to keep the parts tight, friction
rollers being also used to facilitate the sliding of the said disc or plate in
the said slot.
When the case is required to revolve, the shaft remaining stationary,
the steam or fluid is made to enter the machine through the shaft and
to press on the inner surface of the case, causing the same to rotate.
Having explained the nature of this Invention, as communicated to
mc, I will proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying
Drawings the manner in which the same is to be performed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 wapresento
cross section partly in elevation of a anta
:

page_text: letters of reference are used to indicate like parts when they occur in
Figures 1 and 2.
a is the metal case fitted with two covers a¹, a¹. In the said casc a is
mounted the cylindrical shaft b. The ends 6, 1, of the shaft b, which
are of smaller diameter than the part within the case a pass through
the covers a¹, a¹, to the outside so as to communicate the motion of the
engine as required. The inner shaft 6 is mounted within the case a so
as to be constantly in contact at one portion of its periphery with the
inner surface of the said case, a metal bar or plate as being let into a slot
in the said case and pressed outwards against the said inner shaft 6 by a
suitable spring a³ in order to prevent the steam or fluid from passing
between the said inner shaft 6 and the part of the case with which it
works in contact. Through the inner shaft is made or formed, a
longitudinal slot traversed by a disc or plate c, c, extending on each side
to the inner surface of the case a which it divides into two parts; and
the said disc or plate c, c, is capable of motion in the shaft 6 so as to
accommodate its position during the rotation of the said shaft to the
varying distances between the periphery of the shaft b and the inner
surface of the casc a. The motion of the disc or plate c in the shaft b is
facilitated by the friction rollers d, d, which are mounted in the said
shaft so that the disc or plate c bears upon them. e, e, are sliding bars
or plates dovetailed into the disc or plate c, and pressed outwards by
springs e¹, e¹, so as to maintain a tight joint between the ends of the said
disc or plate c and the inner surface of the case a. e², e³, are thin plates
of metal affixed to the disc or plate c above the bars e, e, respectively,
and under which the said bars work. f, f, are friction rollers mounted
on the ends of the disc or plate c to facilitate the motion of the said
plate in the case a. 9, 9, are metal bars let into slots formed in the
disc or plate c and pressed outwards by springs g³, 9', the object of the
said bars g being to prevent the passage of the steam or fluid between
the plate or disc c and the sides of the slot in the shaft b. z, z, are
suitably shaped metal plates, one at each end of the disc or plate c,
pressed by suitable springs against the inner surface of the covers a¹, a¹,
respectively, so as to insure a tight joint between the said plate c and the
covers a¹. h is the steam or admission port of the engine, and i is tho
exhaust port; j is the valve chest,

page_text: The valve gear for regulating the admission of steam or fluid to the
engine, as represented in Figure 1, is what is generally known as Farcot's
expansion gear, but any suitable valve gear and expansion gear may be
used, and forms no part of this Invention.
In Figure 1 k is the governor which receives motion from the shaft b¹
of the engine by means of a chain wheel 7 (indicated in blue dotted lines
in Figure 1) keyed upon the shaft 6', which wheel by means of the
chain m gives motion to a chain wheel n upon the shaft o, and upon tho
said shaft o is affixed a bevil wheel p which gears with and gives motion
to the bevilled wheel 9 affixed upon the governor spindle. r is an
eccentric upon the shaft o for actuating the admission valve s, the cut-
off being regulated by the cam t actuated from the governor.
It will be seen that the ends of the inner shaft b, which fit into the
covers a¹, are formed with grooves or depressions, into which are fitted
metal rings u, u, u, u, u, u, constituting a metallic packing round the
said ends of the inner shaft b, and the ends 61, 61, of the said shaft pass
through stuffing boxes v, v, in the covers a³, a¹. It may however be
found in practice that the metal rings u are sufficient to produce a tight
joint, in which case the stuffing boxes may be omitted, and though it
is preferred that the ends 6' of the shaft be of smaller diameter than
the inner shaft b, if required, the said shaft b, b¹, may be of the same
diameter throughout its length, or nearly so.
'
The working of the engine is as follows:-Steam, or another fluid
being admitted into the case a through the admission port h, it acts
upon and presses forward the upper end of the disc or plate c, causing
the said disc or plate and the shaft b, b³, to move round in the direction
of the arrow. During the rotation of the said shaft 6 the disc or plate c
is made to advance through the said shaft 6 so as to keep constantly in
contact with the inner surface of the case a by its lower end for the
time being moving in contact with the opposite side of the case a. The
continued action of the steam or fluid causes the disc or plate c to move
round till it passes the discharge port i, when the said steam or fluid is
discharged, and a further supply being admitted through the admission
port it acts upon the other end and side of the disc or plate c (which
by the rotation of the shaft 6 has assumed the position of the end first
acted upon by the steam or fluid) and forces it onwards, as herein-before
described, and the steam or fluid thus acting alternately on either end
of the said disc or plate imparts a continuous rotary motion to the

page_text: shaft b, and it will be seen that from the peculiar shape of the case a,
when steam or another elastic fluid is used expansively in the said engine,
the increase of leverage of the disc or plate c as the said disc or plate
advances from the admission port will compensate the diminishing
pressure of the steam or fluid so as to maintain the same amount of
power exerted throughout the stroke or nearly so.
Having now described the nature of this Invention, and means
pursued in carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood
that I claim as the said Invention of an improved rotary engine to be
worked by steam or other fluid, the adaptation, combination, or arrange-
ment of parts, as herein-before described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred George Brookes, have herc-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of December,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.
]
ALFRED GEORGE BROOKES. (L.S.)