Improvements in or connected with Rotary Engines, Pumps, or Meters.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 14th June, 1895-Accepted, 19th Oct., 1895.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Rotary Engines, Pumps, or
Meters.
I, ALEXANDER KOSSUTH of Warsaw, in the Empire. of Russia, Engineer, 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 rotary engines, pumps, or meters, of a kind in which
the cylinders are arranged radially and are combined to form a ring which can
rotate about a horizontal axis, the arrangement being such, that the radially
moving pistons are jointed to a centrifugal ring or fly ring surrounding the said
ring of cylinders; the centrifugal ring or fly-ring is not supported in bearings, but
is carried freely from the ring of cylinders, by means of springs, and motion is
produced by the centre of gravity of the said centrifugal ring or fly-ring being
shifted eccentrically to the axis of rotation of the ring of cylinders, by the pistons
being successively forced outwards by motive fluid or gas (when employed as a
motor) in such a manner that the force of gravity of this fly-ring causes the whole
system (composed of the cylinders, the pistons, and the fly-ring) all as hereafter
described, to rotate.
My invention will be readily understood by the following description having
reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section
of an engine constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross
section of same and Figs. 3, 4, 5, 54, and 6 are detail views hereafter referred to.
The horizontal axis or axle A, Fig. 2, about which the said system rotates, is
hollow, but is provided or formed about centrally with a transverse partition a.
At one side of this wall or partition a passage a', and at the other side a passage a²,
extends to the exterior of the axle, the relative circumferential positions of the
passages being hereafter mentioned.
The axle A is adapted to be rotated or partially rotated in its bearings K, and
can be fixed by means of bolts k; preferably it is connected with a suitable rotating
device hereinafter described with reference to Fig. 4. The motive fluid enters at
the left end of the axle A through a union M, and after performing its work,
passes out at the right hand end of the axle, through a similar union.
The ring z, formed of the cylinders B, Fig. 1, is mounted, so as to rotate upon
the axle A, and is prevented moving laterally by means of two collars H, Fig. 2,
screwed upon the axle A containing packings i, which serve to make a tight joint
between the ring of cylinders and the axle. These packings may be tightened
according to requirement, by means of set screws k', which pass through the collars
and act upon annular straps recessed in the same.
Each of the cylinders B, of which six are shown by way of example in Fig. 1,
has in its bottom two openings b', and 62, Fig. 2, of which 61 is situated in the
plane of the passage a', and 6 is situated in the plane of the passage a²; these
openings being also shown at Fig. 3, which is a cross section through one
cylinder. The cylinders shown are single acting, and each contains a piston C, to
which is jointed one end of a rod D, the other ends of the piston rods D being
jointed to the fly-ring E, which surrounds the ring of cylinders, the fly-ring E not
being supported by bearings, but coupled to the ring of cylinders, by means
of coiled helical or other springs F, which are jointed or connected to the said
ino E at

page_text: The fy-ring E is surrounded by a belt pulley G, which is fixed by means of
radial arms to the ring of cylinders. The cylinders B are provided for this purpose
with flanges g Fig. 3 to which the arms of the belt pulley are firmly bolted. The
belt pulley may in some cases be replaced by a rope pulley or by a toothed
wheel.
When it is desired to start the engine constructed as described the axle A is
first moved or adjusted in its bearings K in such a manner as to cause the inlet
passage a¹ for the steam to assume an almost horizontal position, that is to say, to
form a small angle above the horizontal as shown in Fig. 1. The fly-ring E has
not yet the position shown in Fig. 1, but is located by the action of the springs F
in a position centrally to the axle A, so that all the pistons C are in the middle of
their strokes. Then the motive fluid, or gases, for instance steam, is allowed to
enter through the union M, Fig. 2, into the shaft A. The steam flows through the
passage a' and the bottom opening 6' into the right hand horizontal cylinder B,
and pushes the piston thereof outwards, and the fly ring E is thereby forced
sideways towards the right, so that its centre of gravity is distant by the
length O O Fig. 1 from the centre O of the axle A and thus in consequence of
this shifting of the centre of gravity, the fly-ring E causes the ring of cylinders to
rotate. As soon as this movement has begun, the axle A is turned in its bearings
from the position shown in Figure 1, gradually to the left (in the direction of the
arrow shown until the passage a¹ is shifted through not quite 180°. During this
rotation of the axle opposite to the direction of rotation of the fly-ring, steam is
continually flowing from the passage a' into the successively following cylinders B,
so that the pistons are forced outwards one after the other in succession, and
thereby shift the centre of gravity of the ring in the manner described, so that the
engine is kept in motion.
When the axle A has been rotated almost through 180°, it is fixed. The steam
passes into the horizontal cylinder shown situated on the left hand in Fig. 1. This
cylinder is then caused by the rotation of the fly-ring E to move into the position
of the next higher cylinder. During this movement of the cylinder, the steam has
already pushed the piston slightly outwards, and acts further by expansion. The
cylinder then moves into the position of the right hand upper cylinder, during
which movement the piston is pushed still further outwards, and when the cylinder
has moved into the position of the right hand horizontal cylinder, the piston has
been pushed outwards to its fullest extent, and the fly-ring E has moved to the
right hand to its fullest extent. Since all the pistons act successively in a similar
manner to the piston of the cylinder as lastly referred to, the fly-ring will, after it
bas fallen a short distance, always be brought again into the position shown,
so that its weight always acts with the greatest possible leverage,. (the
eccentricity 0 0²).
Whilst the cylinders move through the upper semicircle of their travel, their
pistons act so as to raise the fly-ring. But the pistons of the lower cylinders, that
is to say, those which move through the lower semicircle of the rotary movement,
are forced inwards by the fly-ring (that is raised by the upper pistons) and also by
the springs whilst the steam is driven out of the lower cylinders, because the
cylinder opening 2 has moved over the outlet passage a² of the axle A. Whilst
the cylinders, which are the lower ones for the time being, move through the last
part of the lower semi-circle, the outlet opening 62 is shut, and compression of the
steam takes place. Then steam is again admitted, and the above described cycle
of operations are repeated.
In Fig. 5, this distribution of steam is shown diagrammatically; admission of
steam takes place from 1 to 2, expansion takes place from 2 to 3, exhaust takes place
from 3 to 4, and compression from 4 to 1.
As the freely movable ring E acts directly upon the pistons D, it fulfils the
purpose of an astatic governor which regulates the velocity of the engine.
A device suitable for turning the axle A is shown by way of example in Fig. 4
by the detached elevation. On this axle A, there is keyed a worm wheel L, into

page_text: which gears a worm N that is supported, so as to be capable of rotating by a side
arm of the bearing K. The inlet union M, screwed into the axle A, rests with one
flange m, movably on a suitable support. If the worm N be rotated, the axle A is
also rotated by means of the worm wheel L and in this manner, according to the
direction of rotation, the union M is screwed to a slight extent out of the axle A,
whilst it moves with its flange m on the aforesaid support.
If the axle A be moved during rest, through 180° from the position shown
in Fig. 1, the result will be to cause the engine to rotate in the reverse direction
and in order to be able to cause the engine to run in either direction, it is necessary
that the outlet opening a² shall be arranged symmetrically to the inlet a', as shown
in Fig. 54, whilst if only one direction of rotation is required, the openings a' and a²
will be arranged as in Fig. 5, so as to effect a better distribution of the steam.
If instead of steam, another motive fluid be employed, such as, for example,.
pressure water, or compressed air, the dimensions of the inlet and outlet passages a¹
and a should be arranged accordingly. Fig. 6 shows an example of about the
proportional dimensions of the passages a¹ and a², necessary when compressed air or
pressure water is employed.
Instead of employing the engine herein described as a motive engine, it may be
rotated by any suitable power, and it will then work as a pump, blower, fan &c..
The apparatus is to be used as a pump or blower by imparting motion to the belt
pulley G and connecting the one passage a¹ of the axle A with the suction pipe and
the other passage a² with the delivery pipe. By the motion imparted to the belt
pulley and therefore to the ring of cylinders, the centre of gravity of the fly-ring is
moved eccentrically to the axis of rotation of the ring of cylinders, because the
fly-ring is not supported in bearings. Therefore the pistons move outwards and
inwards alternately, the outward motion producing the suction of water or air into-
the cylinders, and the inward motion pressing the water or air out of the cylinders
through the passage a³ into the delivery pipe. No change in the construction of
the apparatus is necessary, only the size of the passages between the axle and the
cylinders depends on the kind of fluid which the apparatus is to act upon. Further-
more, the engine herein described can also be used as a meter for measuring water
or gas, or may be employed for propulsion for locomotive purposes. In this latter
case the belt pulley G with its arms is dispensed with, and engines of this kind are
arranged in place of two or all the wheels of the vehicle, and the fly-ring then serves.
as the wheel rim or tread.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what 1
claim is :-
1. A rotary or other motive power engine, the cylinders of which are arranged
radially and are combined to torm a ring that is capable of rotating about a
horizontal axis or axle, the arrangement being such that the radially moving pistons
are connected with a fly-ring that surrounds the cylinder-ring the said fly-ring not
being supported in bearings, but being carried from the ring of cylinders by means
of the piston rods and springs, the centre of gravity of the fly-ring being moved
eccentrically to the axis of rotation of the ring of cylinders by the action of the
pistons which are successively forced out one after the other by motive fluid or gas,
in such a manner that the force of gravity of this fly-ring causes the whole system
that is formed by the cylinders, the pistons and the fly-ring, to rotate, all arranged
and acting substantially as and for the purposes herein before described.
2. An engine of the kind specified in Claim 1, used in such a manner that its
ring of cylinders is driven round by an external force, in which case the fly-ring
causes the displacement of the pistons, with the object of enabling the engine to be
employed as a pump, blower, fan, &c. substantially as described.
3. The general construction, and combination of parts composing the herein described
rotary or other motive power engine, pump, blower, or meter, all arranged and acting

page_text: substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
Dated this 14th day of June 1805
BREWER & SON,
London and Leeds, Agents for Applicant.