IMPROVEMENTS IN ROTARY STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Haseltine, of the "International Patent
Office," Southampton Buildings, London, Doctor of Laws, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROTARY STEAM ENGINES."-A com-
munication from abroad by William Van Vleck Lidgerwood, of
Morristown, New Jersey, United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Haseltine at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 25th March 1875.
I, GEORGE HASELTINE, of the "International Patent Office,” South-
ampton Buildings, London, Doctor of Laws, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROTARY STEAM ENGINES,"
a communication, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to rotary steam engines, and consists in the
peculiar construction of the cylinder head and rotating pistons, herein-
after described, whereby the packing of the pistons by steam is accom-
plished in a simple, inexpensive, and efficient manner.

page_text: The said engines have a steam cylinder, within which is a solid metal
cylinder properly centred and supported upon a shaft that revolves on
bearings exterior to the steam cylinder. Deep grooves or channels are
cut in the said cylinder longitudinally from end to end, and extending
inward from the surface a sufficient depth to contain the pistons, which
consists of plane metal plates fitted to slide easily in the grooves. There
are three or more of these pistons in the said cylinders.
The interior of the steam cylinder is not truly cylindrical, but has on
either side abutments which contract the interior diameter through the
centre of these abutments to that of the exterior diameter of the piston
cylinder, which is considerably less than the transverse diameter of the
steam cylinder.
Hitherto various mechanical devices, such as springs, rings, and the
like, have been employed to keep the pistons pressed outward in contact
with the steam cylinder. In this engine I employ steam as a packing
introduced between the inner edges of the pistons and the bottom of the
grooves, by causing it to pass into these spaces from the steam space
outside of the piston cylinder through channels provided for this purpose
in one or both of the cylinder heads, the ports or apertures in the said
heads for the admission and escape of the steam being opened and closed
at the proper times by the end surfaces of the piston cylinder revolving
against the inner surfaces of the piston heads.
When a piston head thus constructed is placed over the end of the
piston cylinder it is evident that the inner portions or bottoms of the
grooves as the said cylinder revolves will each pass in succession over
the recesses, while the apertures in the steam cylinder head will open
into the steam spaces between the piston cylinder and the steam
cylinder, and that the "live" steam at its full pressure will be conducted
from the steam cylinder into the space between the inner edge of a
piston and the bottom of a recess as each of the said spaces passes suc-
cessively over the recesses. These channels for the steam in the piston
heads are so arranged with reference to the pistons that the steam is
admitted behind each piston in succession just as it reaches the limit of
its movements as it leaves the abutments, and the steam will be
discharged by a reverse movement from behind the pistons into the said
recesses through the said apertures into the space between the inner and.
outer cylinders, while it is exhausting from the latter.

page_text: The said apertures are made entirely through the cylinder heads, and
each is furnished with a throttle valve, which is inserted therein on the
outer face of the head. These valves are so constructed and adjusted
with reference to the aforesaid channels that when screwed down they
will close these channels, and are made to regulate at pleasure the
quantity of steam admitted for packing behind the pistons.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Haseltine in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 24th September 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
HASELTINE, of the "International Patent Office," Southampton Buildings,
London, Doctor of Laws, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said George Haseltine, Her special licence
that I, the said George Haseltine, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said George Haseltine, my exccutors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ROTARY STEAM ENGINES," a communication to me from abroad by William
Van Vleck Lidgerwood, of Morristown, New Jersey, United States of
America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George
Haseltine, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Haseltine, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawing forming part of this Specification :-
This Invention relates to rotary steam engines, and consists in the
peculiar construction of the cylinder head and rotating cylinder and
pistons, hercin-after described, whereby the packing of the pistons by
steam is accomplished in a simple, inexpensive, and efficient manner.
The said engine has a steam cylinder, within which is a solid metal
cylinder properly centred and supported upon a shaft that revolves on
bearings exterior to the steam cylinder. Deep grooves or channels are
formed in the said inner cylinder longitudinally from end to end, and
extend inward from the surface a sufficient depth to contain the pistons,
which consist of plane metal plates fitted to slide casily in the said
grooves. There are three or more of these pistons in the said cylinder.
The interior of the steam cylinder is not truly cylindrical, but is con-
tracted on opposite sides of its diameter to or nearly to that of the
exterior diameter of the piston cylinder, which is considerably less than
the transverse diameter of the said steam cylinder.
Hitherto various mechanical devices, such as springs, rings, and the
like, have been employed in rotary engines to keep the pistons pressed
outward in contact with the steam cylinder. In this cugine I employ
steam as a packing, the same being introduced between the inner edges
of the pistons and the bottom of the aforesaid grooves by causing it to
pass into these spaces from the steam space outside of the piston
cylinder through channels provided for this purpose in one or both of the
cylinder heads, the ports or apertures in the said heads for the admission
and escape of the steam being opened and closed at the proper times by
the end surfaces of the piston cylinder revolving against the inner
surfaces of the cylinder heads. I term the contracted portions of the
steam cylinder the abutments.
The manner in which I carry my said Invention into practice is
illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, which I will now proceed to

page_text: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a rotary steam engine embodying my
Invention Figure 2 is a plan of the same.
Figure 3 is an end view of the steam cylinder of the said engine with
the head removed, showing the said inner cylinder fitted with pistons.
Figure 4 shows the inner surface of the steam cylinder head removed
from the cylinder.
Figure 5 shows the outer surface of this head, indicating by dotted
lines the interior construction.
Figure 6 is a central sectional view of a valve inserted in the cylinder
heads to regulate the supply of steam acting as packing to the pistons.
A is the steam cylinder; B is the solid cylinder carrying the
pistons C, C¹, C³, C³, C, C³, held in the grooves or channels c, c¹, c², c³,
c¹, c³ ; a, a, a, a, are four segmental recesses made in the inner face of
one of the piston heads. These recesses should be deep enough to
permit openings or apertures, shown by the dotted lines b, to be made
through the substance of the head, extending from them radially out-
ward to the recesses or openings d, which thus form passages for the
steam from d to a through the substance of the cylinder head.
It is obvious that when a cylinder head thus constructed is placed
over the end of the piston cylinder B, the inner portions or bottoms of
the grooves c, c¹, c², c³, c², c³, as the said cylinder revolves, will pass in
succession over the recesses a, a, a, a, while the apertures d will open
into the steam spaces between the piston cylinder and the steam cylinder,
as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 5, and that the live steam at its
full pressure will be conducted from the steam cylinder through an
opening d, aperture b, and recess a into the space between the inner
edge of a piston and the bottom of the said recess as each of the said
spaces passes successively over the recess. These channels for the
steam in the cylinder heads are so arranged with reference to the piston
that the steam is admitted behind each piston in succession, just as it
passes the centre of one of the abutments in the steam cylinder, and
begins to take the steam at its outer edge, and the steam will be cut off
from the bottom of each piston just as it reaches the limits of its move.
ment as it leaves the abutments, and the steam will be discharged by a
reverse movement from behind the piston into the recess a through

page_text: the apertures & into the space between the inner and outer cylinder,
while it is exhausting from the latter.
The apertures & are extended completely through the cylinder heads,
and each is furnished with a throttle valve, as shewn in Figure 6, which
is inserted therein on the outer face of the head. These valves are so
constructed and adjusted with reference to the channels that when
screwed down they will close these channels, and they are made to
regulate at pleasure the quantity of steam admitted for the packing
behind the pistons.
It is evident that by the above-described construction and arrangement
of the parts an efficient steam packing for the pistons is provided in a
very simple and inexpensive manner.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the
same, I wish it understood that I do not claim or limit myself to any
particular construction or arrangement of parts of a rotary engine, save
and except those peculiar features necessary for carrying the said In-
vention into effect, but I claim, the steam packing applied to the pistons
of a rotary steam engine by means of channels made in the cylinder head
for conducting the steam from the steam cylinder into the space behind
the pistons, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Haseltine, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, this Twenty-fourth day of September, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five
Witness,
HY. JA. NOONE.
GEORGE HASELTINE. (L.S.)