IMPROVED MECHANICAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR CONVERTING RECIPROCATING MOTION INTO ROTATORY MOTION
Year: 1872

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by George Hayes Carter at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st February 1872.
I, GEORGE HAYES CARTER, of Mottingham Lodge, near Eltham, in
the County of Kent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVED MECHANICAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR CONVERTING RECIPROCATING
MOTION INTO ROTATORY MOTION," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of the following improved mechanical
arrangements designed for converting reciprocating motion into rotatory
motion, the said mechanical arrangements being comprised under
four separate heads as follows:-Under the first head the arrangements
consist of a plain disc of metal fixed on the main shaft of a motive
power machine. Take for example a steam engine. The radius of the
said disc I propose to be equal to the throw of a crank, and around
the said disc and about half the width or thickness thereof I adapt a
loose ring of metal with a projecting lug formed thereon in a line with
the sides of the said disc. In the said lug I form an inclined slot, into
which takes a pin, the said pin having one end fixed in a crank arm;

page_text: the other end of the said arm has a long slot made therein, which passes
over and embraces the shaft on which the aforesaid disc is fixed. I also
fix a projecting piece or shoe on the said crank arm in such manner
as to fit against a portion of the periphery of the aforesaid disc; and I
fix a pin in the aforesaid lug, and embrace this pin by a slotted cross
head formed in the shape of a cross. The upright slotted portions of the
said cross are intended to pass over the main shaft of the engine, and
one of the horizontal slotted portions of the said cross head are intended
to embrace the aforesaid fixed pin, so that as the piston rod of the
engine to which this cross head is to be fixed moves up and down the
cylinder of the engine the aforesaid crank arm will also be moved up
and down, and in so doing as the cross head moves in one direction will
cause forced contact of the aforesaid shoe piece against the periphery|
of the fixed disc with which it is brought into contact, and thus cause
the disc and shaft to be moved partly round; a reverse movement of the
cross head will remove the pressure of the shoe from the disc, and thus
allow the disc and shaft to move in one direction, whilst the shoe is
being moved by the cross head in an opposite direction ready to act
again as before stated, and by employing another similar arrangement of
mechanism just behind the first described arrangement, and placing the
crank arm and shoe at the same angle of inclination at the other side.
of the main shaft, so that the fixed pin thereof takes into the other and
opposite horizontal slotted portion of the cross head, the effect, will
be to cause one shoe always to be acting on the disc to turn it round
in one direction, that is to say, when one shoe is out of action the other
shoe comes into action, and thus causes. rotatory motion of the main
shaft of the engine by the alternate circular movement of the crank
arms, and in this manner and by these means I prevent the crank ever
getting either under or over the centre of the shaft, and thus get rid of
the null point of the ordinary crank of a steam engine, and dispense
with the necessity for employing a fly wheel to carry the crank past the
centre as now commonly practised.
Under the 2nd head of this Invention I propose to make the crank
arms in the following manner :-The lower part of each crank arm I form
forked or V shaped, and on each inner edge I form ratchet teeth, the
teeth on one edge being inclined upwards, and the other and opposite
edge downwards, so that suppose the shaft of the engine or a disc fixed
thereon to be embraced by the ratchet edges of the crank arm, as the

page_text: said arm is moved in one direction by the action of the cross head
as before described, the said crank arm will forcibly grip the shaft and
turn it partly round. A reverse movement of this crank arm will release
its grip, and allow it to pass freely over the shaft during this time the
other crank arm will be acting to turn the shaft, and so on successively,
thus effecting rotatory motion of the shaft in one direction.
Under the 3rd head of this Invention I propose to serrate or notch the
edge of the fixed disc before referred to, and also that part of the shoe
piece that comes into contact therewith to insure forced contact of these
two parts. Another method for effecting forced contact is by covering
the periphery of the disc and surface of the shoe with india-rubber or
other similar or equivalent substance or material.
Under the 4th head of this Invention I propose to employ the
following mechanical arrangements:-I form teeth around the periphery
of the aforesaid fixed disc, and place a small toothed wheel loosely
on the end of each crank arm. I also so adapt a pawl to each of
the said small wheels, as that each small wheel shall only revolve in
one direction, namely, after each crank arm has moved the disc partly
round one arm, coming into action when the other arm is out of action
as before stated, with reference to the other mechanical arrangement
before described, and I would here observe that if desirable one toothed
disc wheel only may be employed with two crank arms operated by
a cross head as before stated, and this arrangement of a single disc
applies to the arrangements described under the first, second, and third
heads of these improvements.
For other machines than steam engines, such as lathes and sewing
machines, that require a quick rotatory motion, bands or cords
connected to treddles may be used instead of the cross head above
described.