An Improved Arrangement of a Motor or Prime Mover Adaptable for Working by Steam, Gas, Water, Compressed Air, or any other such Convenient Power.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 17th June, 1887
Complete Left, 16th Mar., 1888
Complete Accepted, 27th Apr., 1888
An Improved Arrangement of a Motor or Prime Mover Adaptable
for Working by Steam, Gas, Water, Compressed Air, or any
other such Convenient Power.
We, JOHN WRIGLEY WILLANS, Newspaper Proprietor, and JAMES BROWN
MCCULLOCH, Printer's Engineer, both of the Establishment of the "Leeds Mercury,"
Leeds, in the County of York, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The object of our invention is to produce the simplest motor possible with the
minimum of working parts, and in the smallest space compatible with the power to be
exerted. The extreme length of the engine need be little or no more than that of its
main cylinder whilst its height will generally be within the range of its fly wheel (if
used) and its breadth need not be more than the diameter of its main cylinder, plus,
the breadth of the fly wheel on one side and an extra driving pulley, if required, on
the other. The main parts are the cylinder, piston, crank-shaft, and valves, thus
dispensing with the piston rods and their stuffing boxes and the friction appertaining
thereto. The cylinder is rather longer than usual so as to admit an extra broad (or
long) piston. This piston is broad enough to allow a slotted pathway in which the
crank-pin revolves to be arranged between its two faces, and it is also sufficiently cut
away between these faces to allow the webs of the crank to revolve. We consider it
best to arrange suitable Piston-rings at each end so that the central chamber in which
the crank revolves is free from pressure and may thus be advantageously used as an oil
or lubricating chamber. The cylinder is necessarily best made in halves for the admission
of the crank shaft-and it may be fitted-for the purpose of access to the working
parts with a lid over that part where the crank rides.
One valve might be arranged to distribute the pressure alternately to the faces of
the piston-but we prefer to fit two valves-one at each end close to its work and
thus by reducing the length of the ports we avoid the waste of power.
All the principle working parts are in safe keeping inside the cylinder and they
may be so constructed as to be practically without a bolt or nut to shake loose. AĬl

page_text: the main strains are self-contained and lie in the centre line of the cylinder thus the
weight of the whole is kept as low down as possible.
The piston has a broad base to work upon and its weight has the advantage of
storing up energy at the commencement of each stroke and giving it out later on.
Hence at high speeds a properly proportioned engine may be made to work without
much friction.
The valves will of course have to be modified to suit the class of power utilized
for feeding any particular motor-but in all cases I use a valve with a positive
action-say from an eccentric, cam, or other such positive motion.
A modification of this arrangement might be made, if desired, by introducing a
connecting rod in the place of the slotted link. In that case the piston would be almost
a mere shell. The hinge-pin of the connecting-rod would be arranged close up to
one end of the piston whilst the other end of the connecting-rod just cleared the other
end of the piston.
The above description applies to a single cylinder motor which by preference we
should fit up with a fly wheel.
Ali the main working parts being cased in and therefore free from dust and grit
make the motor suitable for road purposes.
A variety of arrangements can be made to obviate the engine stopping on its dead
centres such as arranging two or more engines side by side, at right angles, or at any
angles the one to the other.
It will be understood that the crank shaft of this engine may be placed in any
position to suit the direction in which the power is to be given off.
When required for reversing, suitable gear would have to be attached to the
valves.
In the case of more than one cylinder we should prefer to make them compound
arranging the valves and ports to suit the circumstances.
Dated this Sixteenth day of June 1887.

page_text: We, JOHN WRIGLEY WILLANS, Newspaper Proprietor, and JAMES BROWN
MCCULLOCH, Printers' Engineer, both of the Establishment of the "Leeds Mercury,"
Leeds, in the County of York, do hereby declare the nature of this 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 our invention is to produce the simplest motor possible with the
minimum of working parts and in the smallest space compatible with the power to be
exerted.
In order to fully explain our invention we have annexed a drawing on which Fig. 1
is a transverse section through the cylinder and the crank-shaft; Fig. 2 is a longi-
tudinal section along the centre line of the cylinder; Fig. 3 is a plan of the piston.
alone, being the corresponding view of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 shows a mode of arranging
a pair of cylinders side by side with a central wheel to give off the power. The same
letters refer to the same parts in all the figures.
The extreme length of the engine need be little or no more than that of its main
cylinder, especially if the valves are arranged at the corner ends of the cylinders―
say at A2, A2, Fig. 2; whilst its height will generally be within the range of its
fly-wheel (if used); and its breadth need not be more than the diameter of its main
cylinder plus the breadths of its fly-wheel, eccentric, and driving pulley if used,
see fig. 1.
The main parts of our motor are the cylinder A, A; the piston B, B; the crank-
shaft C, C; and the valves and their chests but as we are making no claim for these
latter we are not complicating the drawing by showing them. Our motor thus
dispenses with the piston rods & their stuffing boxes and with the connecting rods,-
and of course avoids the friction appertaining thereto.
The piston B, B, is broad enough to allow a slotted pathway B2 (in which the
crank-pin C revolves) to be arranged between its faces, and it is also sufficiently cut
away between these faces to allow the webs C of the crank to revolve.
We arrange
suitable piston rings B3, B³, at each end so that the central chamber, A³, in which the
crank revolves is free from pressure and may therefore be used as an oil or lubricating
chamber.
The cylinder, A, A, may be conveniently made in halves for the admission of the
crank-shaft ; and it may be fitted, for access to the working parts, with a lid over the
central chamber A. This lid-not shown-might be made to dip to the centre of
the cylinder and thus form another plan of admitting the crank-shaft.

page_text: The action of the motor is exactly that of an ordinary steam engine the steam being
admitted alternately against each end of the piston; and the same with any other
motive power.
One valve might, for steam, be arranged to distribute the pressure, but we prefer
two valves, or two steam and two exhaust valves, arranged close to the cylinder ends
so as to shorten the lengths of the ports. Such valves may be mounted in their chests
at the corner ends of the cylinder at A², A2, A2, A2, or they may be fitted up as part of
the cylinder-covers A¹, A.
All the principal working parts are in safe keeping inside the cylinder and they
may be so constructed as to be practically without a bolt or nut to shake loose. AĬI
the main strains are self contained and lie in the centre line of the cylinder, thus the
weight of the whole is kept as low down as possible.
The piston has a broad base to work upon and its weight has the advantage of
storing up energy at the commencement of each stroke and giving it out later on.
Hence at high speeds a properly proportioned engine may be made to work with a
minimum of friction.
The valves must be modified to suit the power utilized for driving the motor, but
we prefer to have them worked by a positive action, say from an eccentric or cam,
which may be placed on the shaft at X, or direct from off the piston.
A variety of arrangements may be made to obviate the engine stopping on its
dead-centres, such as arranging two or more engines side by side with their cranks
at different angles; see fig. 4 where two cranks are arranged at right angles.
All the main working parts being cased in, and therefore free from dust and grit,
make the motor suitable for road purposes.
It will be understood that the crank-shaft of our motor may be arranged in any
position to suit the direction in which the power is to be given off.
When required to reverse suitable gear would have to be attached to the
valves.
In the case of more than one cylinder we should prefer to make them compound,
arranging their valves, and the diameters of their cylinders to suit the circumstances.
In order to allow the cylinder to be bored out from end to end it is undesirable to
leave internal supports for the crank-shaft, but such may be fitted in afterwards, see
the coned bush E, E, in fig. 4.
When the piston, including the central slotted pathway, is made in one solid piece
the web of the cranked axle has to be threaded through the slot, and then the bush
for the crank pin C³, has to be slipped in, in like manner; this bush is made in halves
in this case.
The best plan is our arrangement as shown on the drawing-for automatically
taking up wear and tear in the bush and in the slotted pathway and for this purpose
we divide the piston transversely at the centre into halves, see fig. 3.
Hence, any strength can be given to the crank webs as threading through is no
longer needed.
The Bush C³, we make in halves in every case leaving the edges or joints open so
that they may adjust themselves, see fig. 2. The two parts of the piston are also left
somewhat apart, see fig. 3, so that the pathway for the bush adjusts itself inwards as
wear takes place. In order however to prevent the two pistons getting out of line
one with another a key-connection F is introduced as shown-This key keeps the two
halves square with one another and also prevents them leaving one another,—but it
leaves them free to approach one another, so that the action of the steam keeps all
close up to the crank-pin.
Some little attention in setting the valves is of course required so as to cause a
certain amount of compression-or some equivalent-to prevent the half-piston
over-running itself and producing a "knock."
Many arrangements of key-connections may be arranged to suit the requirements
of any case for instance the top & bottom of the slotted pathway may be entirely
formed by the key-as shown in fig. 4. It will be seen that when once inserted inside
the cylinder the keys cannot get out

page_text: The side edges Y, Y, of the fly-wheel, or belt pulley, may be formed into a cam for
actuating the valves and thus the room at X may be saved.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what.
we claim is;-
1. The arrangement, construction, and combination of the parts forming our
improved motor;-whether the piston be made in one piece or in halves; substantially
as described herein and shown on the drawing, with the object and for the purposes
set forth.
2. The improved mode of constructing a divided piston, and a divided crank-pin
bush, for automatically taking up wear and tear, together with a key-connection (or
its equivalent) for guiding and preventing the two half-pistons from separating so far
as to do harm; substantially as described herein and shown on the drawing, with the
object and for the purposes set forth.