IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM AND OTHER MOTIVE POWER ENGINES
Year: 1884

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
We JAMES CHARLES RHODES 16 Wellock St Nowton Heath Manchester in
the county of Lancashire, Mechanic and JOHN FLETCHER SHAW, 2 Elvey St
Newton Heath Manchester in the County of Lancashire, Mechanic do hereby
declare the nature of our invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM AND OTHER
MOTIVE POWER ENGINES," to be as follows:-
We have a cylinder with two pistons which recede from one another, in their
out strokes, & return to their same positions in their instrokes, which completes
one revolution of the crank shaft. The operation is as follows, we admit steam
between the said two pistons, the two pistons being in the centre of the cylinder
when the crank is in a straight line with the piston rod. The steam then drives
the pistons to their out strokes, then the steam admitted to the other side of
the pistons which will bring them back to their former positions & complete one
revolution of the crank shaft-The front piston is connected just like an ordinary
steam engine to tho crankshaft and the back pistion is connected to the same crank
or to another, on the same crankshaft by a lever & connecting rods passing under
or alongside the engine.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
We JAMES CHARLES RHODES 16 Wellock Street Newton Heath Manchester,
in the County of Lancashire Machanic, & JOHN FLETCHER SHAW 2 Elvey Street
Newton Heath Manchester in the County of Lancashiro Machenic, do hereby
declare the nature of our invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM & OTHER MOTIVE
POWER ENGINES and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The Drawings annexed hereto show the Invention as applied to Steam & other
Motive Power Engines. Fig 1. is a sectional sido elavation of a steam engine
showing the genaral internal construction Fig 2 is a sectional end elovation of the
said engine Fig 3 is a side elavation of the said engine, showing the connections
of the back & front pistons to the same crank shaft & the mode of arrangements
of those connections Fig 4 is a plan of the said engine.
This Invention relates to Steam & other Motive Power Engines where two
pistons plain or trunk, can be used in one cylinder. But unlike other engines
where two pistons are used we can either steam when both cranks are on a dead
centre or when one is on the dead centre & the other in the midist of its stroke or
in any relative position with the other crank we choose to determine so as to
obtain the greatest advantage according to our invention as herein-after set forth.
We employ two pistons in a cylinder c c either plain or trunk which can either
meet in the centre of the said cylinder or in any position wo choose to determine
according to our invention. And wo give each piston the full travel as what tho
crank gives as shown in the drawings, We term the front piston a and the back
piston we use a cylinder, c, c, with a cover attacthed at each end, gl, g 2, which
are part of the trunks and in each cover is a gland box for the pistons rods to pass
through. The front piston a is connected to the piston rod a 1, which is connected
to cross-head a 2, which is connected to connecting rod a 3 which is connected to
crank's a 4 which is connected to crank shaft a 5. The back piston b is connected
to piston rod b 1, which is connected to cross head b 2, which is connected to
connecting rod's b 3 which are connected to connecting rods end's, b 4 which are
connected to connecting rods 6 5, which are connected to sweep cranks b 6, which
are connected to crank shaft a 5, as shown in the Drawings. The aforesaid
connection of the back piston b to the crank shaft a 5, by connecting rods b 3,
& 65, & connecting rod's end's 6 4, are connected to slide blocks d 1, & d 2, which
slide in radial slides o1 & o 2, but we do not confine ourselves to use the radial
slides only, as a rock-lever or straight slides may be used.
By the motion of the connecting rod's ends 64, we are able to regulate the
travel of the back piston b at any desired point to suit our cranks, but we do not
confine ourselves to any particular length of the connecting rod's ends 64 or
connecting rods b 3, or b 5, and we do not confine ourselves to connect the slido
blocks d 1 and d 2, to the said connecting rods at any particular point of the
connecting rods. In our drawings we have shown a circular steam chest h, with
•

page_text: one circular valve i and one quadrant valve j, to feed at three points in the
cylinder l, m, & n. But we do not confine ourselves to any particular kind of
valve.
Our mode of action is as follows:-
-
We have a circular steam chest h, and in this chest is a circular valve I which
is actuated by an eccentric on the crank shaft, or any desired motion. In this
valve 1, is a quadrant valvej which is actuated by an eccentric on the crank shaft,
or any desired motion. The space k, is the receptacle for steam ready to pass in
the cylinder c, c, through the ports l, m, & n, in the positions that the pistons a,
and b, as shown in the drawings, the steam passes through the port or passage 7,
between the two pistons a, and b, which will give them their-out strokes, and then
it is steamed through port m, and steam's piston 6 and is next steamed throught
port n, to steam piston a, to the end of their strokes which completes ono
revolution.
To represent the path of the cranks, we strike out a circle which is divided
into 20 equal parts, & place one crank on the dead centre & the other at one tenth
or two tenths or three tenths or four tenths or five tenths of the stroke of the said
crank.
Having now particularly described & ascertained the nature of our said
invention & in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is
1st In steam & other motive power engines, a cylinder in which are two pistons
plain or trunk, which can be steamed at each end of the said cylinder & between the
said two pistons, at any desired point necessary to attain the best advantage, the
said pistons being connected to separate cranks on the same shaft: all substantially
as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
BALL
CD-1004