Improvements in High-speed Fluid-pressure Engines.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 20th June, 1892
Complete Specification Left, 20th Mar., 1893-Accepted, 13th May, 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in High-speed Fluid-pressure Engines.
I CHARLES HORACE BENTON of 22 Otley Road, Headingley, Leeds in the
County of York, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
In the Specification of the Letters Patent granted to me dated May 27th 1887.
No. 7729, I described a high speed engine wherein there are two sets of recipro-
cating parts, one of which is always in thrust, and transmits the fluid pressure to
the crank in one direction only, being returned in the opposite direction by the said
crank.
The other set is always in tension, and transmits the fluid pressure, in turn, in the
The advantage
contrary direction to the same crank, by which it also is returned.
of this arrangement is, that while there are two sets of reciprocating parts trans-
mitting power in turn in opposite directions, and thereby giving two impulses each
revolution to the crank shaft, each set only single-acting, that is to say, acts-
only in one direction. Thus, the brasses and joints have their wear only in one
direction, and an automatic take-up is provided, under the pressure of the motive
fluid in both directions.
In the present improvement, the same principle of action is retained, but in
order to avoid the employment of separate slide valves, I now propose to arrange
one set of reciprocating parts within the other, providing each with suitably arranged
trunks, with ports therein, and I give to them a slight differential motion relatively
to each other, so that I thus obtain a means of distributing the motive fluid, one
set acting as a slide valve to the other set.
This differential motion may be variously obtained, but I prefer to employ an
oscillating lever, such as is described in the Specification of my Patent of
April 30th 1886, No. 5880, for connecting one set of reciprocating parts to the
crank.
On this principle, both compound and triple expansion engines may be
constructed.
For packing the trunks which carry and contain the pistons of the reciprocating
parts, and will be of considerable diameter, I prefer to employ metallic rings made
tight by the pressure of the steam behind them. The rings are turned or bored
to the working size, so that when the steam is not behind them, they put no friction
on the engine. I use two or more such packing rings, each one independent of the
other, with spaces between them. If any steam leaks by the first ring, it will
accumulate in the space, and so hold the second ring tight, but if no steam leaks
by the first ring, the second will have no pressure behind it, and so will put no
friction on the engine.
The glands surrounding these large trunks may be entirely done away with, and
the trunks will then work entirely in the steam chest, the steam at boiler pressure
resting on the side of the pistons opposite to the working side of the pistons. This
will act as a dead pressure in one direction only, and will be greater than the
working pressure on the opposite side of the pistons, but being equal on both
strokes, will not affect the power of the engine. To obtain two equal impulses per
revolution, it is then necessary to place two engines side by side with opposite
cranks. The constant pressure on the non-working side of the pistons of one
engine balancing the constant pressure on the non-working side of the pistons of
D

page_text: the other engines. The boiler steam following in and out of the cylinders on the
non-working side of the piston will act as an internal steam jacket.
Dated this 20th day of June 1892.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in High-speed Fluid-pressure Engines.
I CHARLES HORACE BENTON of 22 Otley Road, Headingley, Leeds, in the
County of York, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same IS to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
In the Specification of Letters Patent granted to me, dated May 27th 1887,
No. 7729, I described a high speed engine wherein there are two sets of recipro-
cating parts, one of which is always in thrust, and transmits the fluid pressure to the
crank in one direction only, being returned in the opposite direction by the said crank.
The other set is always in tension, and transmits the fluid pressure in turn, in the
contrary direction to the same crank, by which it also is returned. The advantage
of this arrangement is, that while there are two sets of reciprocating parts trans-
mitting power in turn in opposite directions, and thereby giving two impulses each
revolution to the crank shaft, each set is only single-acting, that is to say, acts only
in one direction. Thus, the brasses and joints have their wear only in one direction,
and an automatic take-up is provided, under the pressure of the motive fluid, in
both directions.
In the present improvement, the same principle of action is retained, but in
order to avoid the employment of separate slide valves, I now propose to arrange
one set of reciprocating parts within the other, providing each with suitably
arranged trunks with ports therein, and I give to them a slight differential motion
relatively to each other, so that I thus obtain a means of distributing the motive
fluid, one set acting as a slide valve to the other set.
In the accompanying drawing I have illustrated, in sectional elevation, a triple
expansion high speed vertical steam engine embodying my present invention.
A is the outer trunk with a high pressure piston A', a low pressure piston A²,
and a tubular piston rod a, connected by two connecting rods a¹ (only one of which
is shown) to the crank shaft.
Within the trunk A, is the inner trunk B, movable with the trunk A, but having
also a slight independent movement therein. The bottom of this trunk B is
closed by a piston B¹. C is a fixed piston within the trunk B. is a piston rod,
and b¹ a connecting rod arranged between the piston B¹ and the crank shaft.
The attachment of the connecting rods a¹ and b¹ to the crank, is so arranged,
that a differential movement is given to the two reciprocating portions of the
engine, that is to say, a movement is given to the trunk B and parts connected
therewith within the trunk A, pistons A' and A2, and piston rod a, independent
of these latter.
This differential movement may be effected by the means described in the
Specification of my Patent of April 30/86, No. 5880, or in any other convenient
manner, which need not be here particularly described.
D is the steam chest, into which steam from the boiler is first admitted. In the
trunk A, and also in the trunk B, are ports e and f, which, at a certain point of the
engine stroke, are opposite each other, so as to admit high pressure steam into
the trunk B, between the cylinder head or piston A¹, and the upper face of the
fixed piston C.
g is an annular passage in the trunk A, which exhausts the steam by the ports h

page_text: from within the trunk B, to the space between the fixed position C and the
movable piston B¹, through the ports i.
In the drawing, the position of the engine is shewn as the upward stroke of the
reciprocating parts is just on the point of completion, the steam being about to pass
to the lower face of the fixed piston or abutment C, through the passage g in the
trunk A communicating with the ports of the trunk B. The pressure of the
expanding steam on the back of the piston B' carries down the whole of the recipro-
cating parts. On nearing the completion of the downward stroke, the differential
movement above alluded to, lowers the piston B' within the piston A, and opens
the ports therein, through which the steam escapes to the low pressure cylinder I.
The upward stroke now begins, under the impulse of the steam expanding in the
low pressure cylinder I, against the back of the piston, and of fresh steam at high
pressure admitted within the trunk B, above the fixed abutment C, through the
ports e and f, which have been brought into line at the bottom of the stroke by the
same differential movement of the reciprocating parts which has served to open
the ports i and k into the low pressure cylinder I; the differential movement
continuing to act, eventually returns the parts to the position of the drawing, the
exhaust steam from the low pressure cylinder escaping by the ports / in the hollow
piston rod a, and the piston ports k into the compartment K, which is open to the
atmosphere.
For packing the trunks which carry and contain the pistons of the reciprocating
parts, and will be of considerable diameter, I prefer to employ metallic rings made
tight by the pressure of the steam behind them. The rings are turned or bored to
the working size, so that when the steam is not behind them, they put no friction
on the engine. I use two or more such packing rings, each one independent of the
other, with spaces between them. If any steam leaks by the first ring, it will
accumulate in the space, and so hold the second ring tight, but if no steam leaks by
the first ring, the second will have no pressure behind it, and so will put no friction
on the engine.
The glands surrounding these large trunks may be entirely done away with, and
the trunks will then work entirely in the steam chest, the steam at boiler pressure
resting on the side of the pistons opposite to the working side of the pistons. This
will act as a dead pressure in one direction only, and will be greater than the
working pressure on the opposite side of the pistons, but, being equal on both
strokes, will not affect the power of the engine. To obtain two equal impulses
per revolution, it is then necessary to place two engines side by side, with opposite
cranks, the constant pressure on the non-working side of the pistons of one engine,
balancing the constant pressure on the non-working side of the pistons of the other
engine. The boiler steam flowing in and out of the cylinders on the non-working
side of the piston, will act as an internal steam jacket.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
In a compound or triple expansion engine, the employment of two sets of
reciprocating parts arranged one within the other, and having a differential move-
ment the one to the other, substantially as described herein, with reference to the
accompanying drawing.
1
Car
1 1000
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.