Year: 1896

page_text: We JOHN HENRY TANGYE of Cornwall Works, Soho, in the County of Stafford
Mechanical Engineer, and WILLIAM JOHNSON the younger of No. 33 Beeches Road,
West Bromwich, in the County of Stafford, Mechanical Engineer do hereby declare
the nature of this Invention to be as follows:-
Our invention consists of a steam engine the parts of which are constructed and
arranged and operate in the manner hereinafter described. Our said new or improved
steam engine is very compact and is capable of being put into operation very_
quickly.
In place of the ordinary steam cylinder and piston we employ a chamber made
essentially of two parallel or nearly parallel metallic plates, the lower one of copper
or other metal or alloy possessing a high conducting power for heat. This lower
plate is rigid and made incapable of any material flexure by brackets or other
supports. The upper plate is made preferably of steel and is so elastic that steam
under pressure being introduced between it and the lower plate, the said upper plate
becomes convex, and on permitting the escape of the said steain the said upper plate
resumes its normal shape. A rod fixed to the middle of the upper plate partakes of
the rising and falling motion of the middle of the upper plate on the introduction
and exhaust of steam and by the to and fro inotion of the said rod gives motion to a
crank where a rotary motive power engine is required or its motion may be utilised
directly, where a to and fro motion is required as for example in a pumping engine.
The upper plate has a valve opening inwards. The stem or stalk of the valve
slides in a guide in the fixed frame of the engine and when the upper plate has
nearly reached the end of its up stroke a stop on the stalk of the valve strikes against
the fixed framing and opening the valve perinits of the escape of the exhaust steam.
The engine is preferably worked by steam generated between the rigid and elastic
plates described. The lower or rigid plate is heated by gas flames or other source of
heat and a spray of water is intermittently injected between the rigid plate and
elastic plate, the said spray being injected when the upper elastic plate is at or about.
the end of its return motion. The said spray is immediately converted into steam
the pressure of which raises the upper plate and produces the advance stroke of the
engine. The spray of water inay be cut off at any desired portion of the stroke.
The feed water may be heated by being stored in an annular reservoir surrounding
the gas or other furnace by which the lower fixed plate of the engine is heated and
may be still further heated immediately before being injected in the engine in the
form of a spray by being passed through a coil heated by the gas or other furnace by
which the bottom plate is heated.
In order the more effectually to utilise the heat of the gas or other furnace the
lower or rigid copper plate may have circular or other ribs or "gills" by which the

page_text: heat is more effectually absorbed than by a plain plate, and the elasticity of
the upper plate may be increased by being corrugated and by having folds at or
near its edge when it is connected to the lower plate.
Where a more rapid working of the engine is required than can be obtained by the
use of a water spray the engine may be provided with fittings which permit of its
rapid connection with a steam boiler and the engine worked by steam generated in
the ordinary way...
Dated this Eighth dar of Databon: 1906
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicants.
We, JOHN HENRY. TANGYE, of Cornwall Works, Soho, in the County of Stafford,
Mechanical Engineer, and WILLIAM JOHNSON, the younger, of No. 33 Beeches Road,
West Bromwich, in the County of Stafford, Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of our invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
Our invention consists of a steam engine the parts of which are constructed and
arranged and operate in the manner hereinafter" described. Our said new or
improved steam engine is very compact and is capable of being put into operation
very quickly.
In place of the ordinary steam cylinder and piston we employ a chamber made
essentially of two parallel or nearly parallel metallic plates, the lower one of copper or
other metal or alloy possessing a high conducting power for heat. This lower plate is
rigid and made incapable of any material flexure by brackets or other supports. The
upper plate is made preferably of steel and is so elastic that steam under pressure
being introduced between it and the lower plate, the said upper plate becomes
convex, and on permitting the escape of the said steam, the said upper plate resumes its
normal shape. A rod fixed to the middle of the upper plate partakes of the rising
and falling motion of the middle of the upper plate on the introduction and exhaust
of steam and by the to and fro motion of the said rod gives motion to a crank, where
a rotary motive power engine is required, or its motion may be utilised directly,
where a to and fro motion is required, as for example in a pumping engine.
The framing of the engine is provided with a valve communicating with the space
between the upper and fixed plates which valve when the upper plate has reached or
nearly reached the end of its up stroke is opened and permits of the escape of the
exhaust steam.
The engine is preferably worked by steam generated between the rigid and elastic
plates described. The lower or rigid plate is heated by gas flames or other source of
heat and a spray of water is intermittently injected between the rigid plate and elastic
plate, the said spray being injected when the upper elastic plate is at or about the end
of its return motion. The said spray is immediately converted into steam the
pressure of which raises the upper plate and produces the advance stroke of the
engine. The spray of water may be cut off at any desired portion of the stroke.
The feed water may be heated by being stored in an annular reservoir surrounding the
gas or other furnace by which the lower fixed plate of the engine is heated and may
be still further heated immediately before being injected in the engine in the form of
a spray by being passed. through a coil heated by the gas or other furnace by which
the bottom plate is heated.

page_text: In order the more effectually to utilise the heat of the gas or other furnace the
lower or rigid copper plate may have circular or other ribs or "gills" by which
the heat is inore effectually absorbed than by a plain plate; and the elasticity of the
upper plate may be increased by being corrugated and by having folds at or near its
edge where it is connected to the lower plate.
Where a more rapid working of the engine is required than can be obtained by the
use of a water spray, the engine may be provided with fittings which permit of its
rapid connection with a steam boiler and the engine worked by steam generated in
the ordinary way.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings represent in side elevation (partly in
section); Figure 2 in plan and Figure 3 in end elevation a steam engine constructed
according to our invention; parts of the engine are omitted in Figures 2 and 3;
Figure 4 represents in vertical section the inlet valve of the said engine drawn to a
larger scale than Figures 1, 2 and 3.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of the
Drawings.
In carrying our invention into effect we arrange the engine preferably on a hollow
base a, a divided by a vertical division b into two tanks or chambers one, namely the
tank a, for containing the supply of water to be utilised in the working of the engine
and the other tank a for containing the oil or liquid hydro carbon to be supplied to
the lamp or burner e of the engine.
Before the engine is started an air compressing pump is attached at a' to the water
tank or container a and on the working of the air compressing pump, water is forced
through the pipe d into the annular casing e and from the bottom of the said casing it
passes by the pipe f through the inverted conical coil f' situated within the casing e to
the axial pipe the end of which terminates in the space or passage g in a rose or
fine jet. The pipes d and fare controlled by cocks marked respectively d¹ and f.
The air compressing pump is worked until there is a pressure on the water in the
tank a of, say, about eighty pounds on the square inch or thereabouts. The space or
passage g communicates by means of an inlet valve h, h with the steam chamber A
of the engine. The inlet valve is shown open in Figure 1 and closed in Figure 4.
The steam chamber A is formed of a rigid plate & preferably of copper and a thin
elastic plate & preferably of thin sheet steel, the said two plates being united at their
edges. We prefer to make the elastic plate k with two concentric corrugations ³,
near its edge the central part of the elastic plate being flat and parallel to the rigid
plate i. To prevent permanent distortion of the elastic plate by the pressure of the
steam generated in the steam chamber A we prefer to arrange on the top of the elastic
plate & a second corrugated elastic plate and on the top of this second elastic platel
an inelastic plate m. We prefer to arrange between the elastic plate k and the
corrugated plate l or on the top of the said plate / a sheet of asbestos cloth or other
non-conducting material. The inelastic plate m has a central boss or projection m
on which rests the long arm n of a lever n, n2 pivoted at p. The end of the long
arm n is connected by a connecting rod q to a crank r on the fly wheel shaft 8. The
short arm of the lever is situated over the spring raised valve rod t of an exhaust
valve t. The said exhaust valve t is in communication by means of a passage u with
the steam chamber A of the engine.
A tap or safety valve is connected at to the end of a passage v opening into the
space g so that steam may escape by the said safety valve should the pressure of steam
exceed the working pressure of the engine, or should for any reason the engine be
temporarily stopped.
When the engine is not at work the taps or cocks d' f³ are closed.
The rigid plate i of the steam chamber A is highly heated by the flame of the
ignited oil lamp or burner c oil to which is supplied from the oil tank or container a²
through the pipe c by air pressure forced into the tank a² in a way similar to that
described for obtaining an air pressure within the water tank a. The flame of the
said lamp e rises through the coil to the top of the space enclosed by the annular
eservoir e and impinges on the underside of the rigid plate. The heated air and

page_text: products of combustion descend down the inner side of the annular reservoir and
escape under the bottom of the same. It will thus be understood that the water in
the reservoir e becomes heated and in passing through the coil f to the rose or jet by
which it is sprayed, the said water is raised to boiling or nearly boiling temperature."
The action of the engine is as follows:-
The lamp e, having been ignited, is allowed to burn for say a quarter of an honr
preparatory to starting the engine. The taps d', having been opened the engine is
started in the ordinary way, namely by giving one or two rotations by hand to the fly
wheel ; by the upward pressure of the water in the coil water spray at practically
boiling temperature is delivered into the space g and passes from thence through the
open inlet valve A, as indicated by the arrows in Figure 1, and slightly lifting the
elastic plate k is delivered into the steam chamber A of the engine where by the heat
of the rigid plate it is immediately converted into steam of high pressure. The
pressure of the steam generated causes the raising of the elastic plate & and through
it the raising of the long armn n of the lever n, n by which the crank and Hy
wheel are rotated. On the elastic plate & leaving the top edge of the inlet
valve the pressure of the water spray on the underside of the said valve h lifts the
valve into its top or closed position Figure 4 when the further access of water spray to
the steam chamber A is prevented. When the long arm n of the lever n, n2 has been
raised nearly to the desired height its short arm a coming in contact with the spring
raised exhaust valve rod t the said rod is depressed and the exhaust valve thereby
opened. The elastic plate / returning to its normal position the steam chamber A is
cleared of exhaust steam. The descent of the elastic plate k causes the inlet valve h
to take its open position Figure 1 when the pressure of the water spray again starts
the lifting of the elastic plate & and permits a fresh charge of water spray entering the
steam chamber A, when the action above described is repeated.
Although we have described and prefer to, work the inlet valve à by the pressure of
the water spray yet the said valve may be worked by mechanical means.
And although we have described the heating of the rigid plate of the steam
chamber A and the water in the reservoir e and coil by the flame of an oil lamp or
burner yet we do not limit ourselves thereto as they may be heated by the flame of a
gas lamp or furnace or by other source of heat.
The notions of the elastic plate k of the engine may be utilised directly, instead of
heing converted into rotary motion, where a reciprocating motion only is required.
When the new or improved engine herein before described is to be worked by steam
from a separate steam boiler instead of by water spray, the annular reservoir e and
coil are shut off by closing the stop cocks d', /, the lamp c is extinguished or other
source of heat cut off, and the safety valve or stop cock at 2 is detached and the
passage v put in communication with the separate steam boiler by a screw connection
at but we do not limit ourselves to any particular arrangement for coupling the
separate steam boiler to the engine.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that we
claim as our invention:-
First-The new or improved steam engine hereinbefore described and illustrated
in the accompanying Drawings the said steam engine consisting essentially of an
expansible steam chamber made of two plates, one a rigid plate which is highly
heated by the flame of an oil or gas lamp or other source of heat and the other a thin
elastic plate secured at its edge to the edge of the rigid plate, into which chamber
water spray is intermittently delivered and is immediately converted into steam of
such a pressure as to raise the elastic plate of the steam chamber to its highest
position when the exhaust valve is opened and the elastic plate resumes its normal or
lowest position, the motions of the elastic plate being transmitted to a fly wheel or
utilized directly where a reciprocating motion only is required, substantially as
described and illustrated.
Secondly Working the engine hereinbefore described and claimed in the

page_text: preceding claim by steam from a separate steam boiler instead of by introducing
water spray into the steam chamber of the engine and there converting it into steam
substantially as hereinbefore described.
Dhe Th
JOHN HENRY TANGYE.
WILLIAM JOHNSON, JUNK.