A New or Improved Rotary Engine.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Feb., 1896-Accepted, 14th Mar., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Rotary Engine.
We ANDRÉ URBAIN CHAUVEAU, Engineer, and LEOPOLD GUICHARD,
Journalist, both of 51 Rue Vivienne, Paris, in the Republic of France, do hereby
declare the nature of our said invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
The object of this invention is to construct a new or improved rotary engine, in
which oil, or other suitable liquid which can only be evaporated at a very high
temperature, is thrown or cast by steam jets on to or against paddles or buckets
upon the periphery of a wheel or wheels, capable of revolving freely upon its or
their axes, the flow of the liquid being intermittent or continuous.
And in order that our said invention may be particularly described and ascer-
tained, reference is hereby made to the accompanying drawings, in which similar
letters of reference indicate corresponding parts, and which illustrate one arrange-
ment as an example to carry out our invention.
Fig. 1. is a vertical section showing one arrangement of the engine.
Fig. 2 is an end view.
Fig. 3 is a plan.
The engine is formed with a receiver at the base divided into two compart-
ments A. B. similar to each other, wherein the oil or other liquid is stored.
A wheel C formed with buckets as shown, is mounted on an axle D free to revolve
in bearings on the casing E which entirely encloses the wheel. The compart-
ments A. B. of the receiver are fitted with valves F. F' as shown in Fig. 1, which
co-operate with slide valves G, G' in securing the proper action of the engine.
The slide valves G, G₁ govern the admission of steam (from any available source)
to the compartments A. B. through pipes H by means of an eccentric and rod
Two
mounted on a shaft rotated by the engine as hereinafter described.
pipes M. M' are fitted which dip into the compartments nearly to the bottom and
extend upwards, outside the casing E, and bend over passing through the casing E
where they unite to form one jet or nozzle. The compartments are provided with
coils N which, being connected with suitable heating apparatus, maintain the
temperature of the oil or other liquid; a suitable condenser O is also provided,
outside the engine, by which the exhaust steam escaping from the compartments
by the pipes P is cooled and condensed.
The shaft D is fitted with bevel wheel gearing I for communicating motion to
the worm and worm wheel K. J, whereby the shaft carrying the eccentrics is
revolved and the slide valves G. G¹ are operated.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-
The compartments A. B. of the receiver being originally filled with oil or other
suitable liquid, the steam is admitted through the pipe H by means of the slide
valve, to the compartment B. This closes the valve F1 and causes the oil to rise
in the pipe M' and fall upon or be ejected against the periphery of the wheel C,
revolving same on its axis and operating the slide valves G. G'. In the meantime
the previously used oil of the other compartment A is running back into same
through the valve F, and on the opening of the slide valve G the admission of
steam into the compartment A causes the valve F to close.
The length of flow of the oil is regulated by the set of the slide valves G,.G'

page_text: which on either of them becoming closed, allows the exhaust to escape from its
compartment into the condenser O.
It will thus be seen that the compartments are emptied and filled alternately
whereby a continuous rotary motion is imparted to the wheel C of the engine.
Instead of causing the steam to come in contact with the oil, such contact may
be avoided by interposing metallic bellows or discs or a piston fitted in a cylinder
containing the oil or other suitable liquid, the operation being the same as
previously described, the exhaust steam being utilised in a similar manner to
compound or triple expansion engines, to force the oil from the cylinders to the
top of the wheel."
In some cases water may be used as the motor liquid, the acting vapours being
derived from ether or other analogous product vaporising at a temperature below
zero.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. The new or improved rotary engine, substantially as described.
2. The method of and means for obtaining motive power, in which oil or other
liquid of a high evaporative temperature is impelled by steam against a wheel or
turbine having buckets or analogous pockets, substantially as herein before described
and illustrated, by way of example, on the drawings.
3. The method of and means for obtaining motive power, in which water is
impelled by ether or analogous product, substantially as described.
4. The general construction combination and arrangement of inechanism together
constituting a new or improved rotary engine substantially as described and shown
by the drawings.
Dated 5th February 1896.
GEO.
DOWNING,
8 Quality Court, London, W.C., Agent.