Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Nov., 1887
Specification Accepted, 9th Dec., 1887
I. HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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 :-
This invention relates to new and useful improvements in direct acting engines of
that kind called sliding-cover engines, wherein the piston rod, which is directly
connected to the crank pin, is free to oscillate, and passes through a cover which
slips back and forth on the head of the cylinder, and forms a tight joint therewith.
The said invention consists in the peculiar construction and arrangement of the
parts, as hereinafter described.
In the accompanying drawings.
Figure 1 is an axial section through the cylinder, showing the relative position of
the parts at the end of the stroke, and
Figure 2, is a similar view showing the relative positions of the parts at the middle
of the stroke.
A, is the cylinder; B is the piston; the piston rod, and D, the crank pin of the
engine, all of usual construction and operation, except as hereinafter described.
The head E, of the cylinder has a central elongated slit a in the plane of motion of
the crank pin, and its inner face forms a seat a¹, against which the sliding cover F
fits steam tight. I preferably make this head in the form of a conical frustrum, as
shown, and the sliding cover circular, and of a size corresponding with its seat.
on the
The stuffing box G through which the piston rod passes, turns in a bearing in the
sliding cover, such bearing being formed by means of a segment of a ball
inner end of the stuffing box and a corresponding socket c on the sliding cover as
shown.
A coil spring.H, is preferably interposed between the cylinder head and a suitable
flange on the stuffing box, whereby a tension is exerted which keeps the sliding cover

page_text: and stuffing box in their relative positions with each other and with the head of the
cylinder.
The coil spring is preferably of conical form, as shown, to permit the free oscillation
of the stuffing box.
The piston head B consists of an annular portion L, and a central portion J which
turns within the annular portion by means of a ball and socket bearing, the ball
bearing d being preferably formed on the inner or central portion and the socket
bearing e in the outer annular portion. The central part J of the piston head is
secured to the end of the piston rod in the usual manner, and the outer annular
portion I, is provided with suitable packing.
In practice, the cylinder being provided with any of the known devices for the
distribution of the steam or motive agent into the cylinder to produce the well known
reciprocating motion of the piston, it is evident that the piston rod is perfectly free to
assume any angular position required by the varying position of the crank. The
oscillations of the piston rod slip the cover back and forth on its seat, and it must
therefore be suitably arranged to form a tight joint thereon in any of its positions.
As the pressure of the motive agent itself keeps the cover and stuffing box in their
proper relative position with each other and with the head F, the spring H is not an
indispensible element in the operation of the device, I consider it, however, a valuable
adjunct to maintain the relative positions of the parts under all contingencies, as
for instance, when the piston is moved without the presence of the motive agent in
the cylinder.
The annular part I, of the piston head should be given a suitable length to
counteract all tendency to bind in the cylinder, owing to the tilting of the inner part
of such piston head, and the ball and socket bearing should be of such extent to
insure a tight joint and prevent injurious wear of the faces; by making one half of
the socket bearing in the form of a screw ring fas shown, the bearing may be easily
constructed and maintained in good working order.
The I-shaped cross-section of the piston head in connection with the
conically depressed heads of the cylinder, affords great economy of space and
material, and in this respect further increases the peculiar advantage of this style of
engine for use in propelling small craft, or wherever simplicity, lightness and
compactness combined, is the main desideratum.
By constructing the piston head so that more or less of the central portion thereof
oscillates with the piston rod, an important advantage is gained, as it will easily be
understood that when the engine is working in a horizontal position, a certain lifting
force will be exerted on the piston owing to the angular position of the central
portion thereof, this lifting force counteracts the weight of the piston and thereby
exerts a very desirable action.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent. I declare that what I clain is ;-
First. In a sliding cover engine, a cylinder head having an elongated slit and a
contracted flat inner face, and provided with a flat sliding cover seated against the
contracted inner face of said cylinder, substantially as described.
Second. In a sliding cover engine, a cylinder head in the form of a conical
frustrum provided with an elongated slit, and with a sliding cover seated against the
inner contracted face of said cylinder head, substantially as described.
Third. In a sliding cover engine, the combination of a cylinder head having an
elongated slit, a flat sliding cover seated against the flat inner face of said cylinder
head and having a ball shaped aperture, a stuffing box provided with a ball bearing
engaging into said aperture, and a spring interposed between the cylinder head and
the stuffing box, substantially as described.
Fourth. In a sliding cover engine, the combination of a fixed cylinder head in the
form of a conical frustrum and provided with an elongated slit,
against the inner face of said cylinder head and provided with an aperture forming
a sliding cover seated

page_text: the socket of a ball and socket bearing, a stuffing box engaging into said aperture
by means of a ball bearing, and a conical coil spring interposed between the cylinder
head and the stuffing box, substantially as described.
Fifth. In a sliding cover engine, a piston head consisting of a central disc fixedly
secured to the piston rod, and an annular outer cylinder with a ball and socket
bearing formed between said disc and cylinder, and a spring around said rod,
substantially as described.
Sixth. In a sliding cover engine, a piston head consisting of a central disc firmly
secured to the piston rod, and provided with a ball bearing around its circumference,
and an annular outer cylinder provided upon its inner face with a socket bearing for
the central disc, substantially as described.
Seventh. In a sliding cover engine, the combination of the cylinder, the conically
depressed cylinder heads, the sliding cover seated against the inner face of one of the
cylinder heads, and the I-shaped-piston head substantially as specified.
n
تيمم
1
1007
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London,
Agents for the Applicant.
0