CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN ROTARY ENGINES, TO BE WORKED BY STEAM OR OTHER POWER, WHICH SAID IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO RAISING OR FORCING FLUIDS
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
HEYCOCK, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Merchant, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-third day of March, in the tenth year of Her reign, and
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Henry Heycock, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Henry Heycock, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
and such others as I, the said Henry Heycock, my executors, administrators,
or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time,
and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England and Wales and the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey,
Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also within all Her Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN ROTARY ENGINES,
TO BE WORKED BY STEAM OR OTHER POWER, WHICH SAID IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO
APPLICABLE TO RAISING OR FORCING FLUIDS;" in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso that I, the said Henry Heycock, shall cause a particular
description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chaucery

page_text: within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in
part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto
had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Ilenry Heycock, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the three Sheets of Drawings hereto annexed,
and the following explanation thereof (that is to say):
My Improvements in Rotary Engines, to be Worked by Steam or other
Power, which said Improvements are also applicable to Raising or Forcing
Fluids, consist of a certain novel and peculiar arrangement of mechanism
adapted to the above purposes, wherein the principles of the high and low pres-
sure steam engines are united, combining therewith the advantages of leverage
as exemplified in the ordinary water wheel, and which may be employed either
as a locomotive, stationary, or marine engine, or as a rotary pump for raising or
forcing fluids.
The construction and arrangement of my improved rotary engine will be
more fully explained by reference to the three Sheets of Drawings accompanying
these presents.
"
Figure 1, Sheet 1, represents an exterior side elevation of my improved rotary.
engine, as adapted for either stationary or marine purposes; and Figure 2 is
a plan or horizontal view of the same, as seen from above. In Sheet 2,
Figure 1 is a vertical section taken at A, B, (Figure 1, Sheet 1); and Figure 2
is a transverse section taken at the line C, D, (Figure 2, Sheet 1). The
Drawings are made to a scale of about three quarters of an inch to a foot, and
have similar letters of reference placed upon corresponding parts of the
mechanism in all the Figures. a, a, is the foundation or bed plate of the
engine, and b, b, b, b, is the entablature or main framing, supported by the
vertical iron columns c, c, and the diagonal stays d, d; e, e, is the outer casing
or fixed cylinder of the engine, bolted to the entablature by the brackets f, f;
and g, g, is the inner or moveable cylinder connected by the arms h, h, to the
bosses i, i, keyed fast upon the shaft k, k, which is supported and revolves in
suitable pedestals or bearings l, l, bolted to the entablature of the engine. The
inner cylinder is provided with parallel guides or boxes m, m, m, in which the
vanes or pistons n, n, n, slide, being kept always in contact with the interior of
the outer casing by the action of the springs o, o, o, or by any other convenient
means, the ends of the vanes or pistons sliding in radial grooves in the side plates.
g, g, of the inner cylinder. It will be seen that the interior of the outer
cylinder is formed elliptical, the smaller diameter being the same as that of the

page_text: .
inner cylinder, or nearly so, and the larger diameter about one foot eight inches
longer, thus leaving a steamway of about ten inches each side. Between the
two cylinders p, p, are two steam boxes, and q, q, r, r, are four passages leading
from the steam boxes into the cylinder, and 8, 8, are the exhaust or exit passages
leading to the condenser. t, t, are two slide valves for connecting either of
the passagés q, q, r, r, with the exhaust passages 8, 8, which may be shifted
so as to drive the engine forwards, or reverse the same, by means of the
handle v (Figure 1; Sheet 1). w, w, are two steam stops, kept always steam-
tight against the inner cylinder by means of the springs and screws x, x, x, x,
or otherwise, thus preventing the backward escape of the steam; and y, y, are
two valves and passages for the escape of the steam into the atmosphere,
thereby avoiding the condensation of such part as escapes. The valve will then
fall and close the passage, as soon as the elastic force of the steam within is
unable to lift it, or the valve may be removed or propped open, and the
steam may be conveyed to the second steam box and worked expansively
beyond the second stop, and allowed to escape to the atmosphere at the
second outward passage y, and the residue condensed as in the usual man-
ner. And to reverse the said engine, that may be done by any convenient
method. 1 is the crank and 2 the rod for working the air pumps; 3, 3, 3, 3,
is the metallic packing, which may be tightened up as required by the screws
4, 4, 4, 4. Supposing steam at any required pressure (say 10lbs. or 50 lbs.
per square inch) be admitted into the steam boxes p, p, by the entrance pipes
z, z, and the slides valves t, t, to be in the position shewn in the Drawing, the
steam will proceed along the passages q, q, into the space between the two
cylinders e and g, and exerting its elastic force against the vanes or pistons
n', n', will force the inner cylinder 9, 9, (and the shaft k upon which it is
keyed), round in the direction of the arrows, until the vanes or pistons n², n²,
pass the apertures 9, 9, when the steam will act against them. Then it will
be evident that the steam enclosed between the vanes or pistons n' and n" is
exerting no motive power, but immediately after the pistons n³ pass the aper-
tures q, q, the piston n' will arrive opposite the passages y, y, and allow the
steam to escape, except what is retained by the weight of the valves (which
are made as light as possible, consistent with requisite strength) and the pres-
sure of the atmosphere which passes onwards and through the passages r, r,
to the exhaust or exit passages s, s, and thence to the condenser; or the steam
which would so escape to the atmosphere at this opening y may be conducted
by a pipe into the second valve box (the entrance of steam from the boiler being
in that case extended), and again conducted into the cylinder at the opposite
steam port, in this manner working the steam over again by expansion, and

page_text: any excess above the pressure of the atmosphere will fly off at the second
valve y and the remainder pass on to the condenser, thus producing two
vacuums from the same steam; and it is well known to persons conversant
with the steam engine that steam at a higher pressure than ten pounds
per square inch cannot be effectively employed in a condensing engine,
owing to the great quantity of water necessary to be supplied so as to
overcome, steam at that pressure requiring the whole force of the engine, or
nearly so, to raise and eject it. But by the use of this invention steam at
any pressure may be employed, as only a certain pressure (equal to the weight
of the valve y and the atmosphere), remains to be condensed, so that with the
same engine the power may be increased at any time by increasing the
pressure of the steam; and in the case of working the steam over twice, if it
should be taken from the boiler at a very high pressure, say forty or fifty
pounds upon the inch, then I would place a valve upon the second steam
box, opening to the atmosphere, weighted to the extent of five or six pounds
(or any desirable weight) upon the inch, thus reducing the said steam to that
pressure, and rendering it condensible. It will be evident that the power of my
improved engine is greatly obtained by leverage, as in a common water wheel,
and that supposing the radius of the outer cylinder to be five feet five inches,
and that of the inner cylinder four feet seven inches, then the power will be in
the centre, or midway between the cylinders, that is, at five feet, and taking
the radius of the shaft at six inches, then the leverage is as five feet or sixty
inches is to six inches, or ten times. It will also be evident that as the diameter
of the cylinder is increased so is the leverage, and consequently the power at the
same time; the friction also is increased, but not in the same ratio, for that
proceeds by diameter as twenty-two is to seven, whilst every increase of six
inches in the radius adds by the leverage one whole of the first force of the
enginė. A modification of my improved rotary engine is shewn in diagram at
Figures 1, 2, and 3, Sheet 3. In this arrangement I employ two revolving
cylinders, placed side by side in separate casings, but both keyed fast upon the
same driving shaft. Figure 1 is a section of the first cylinder and casing,
a, a, being the fixed casing, and b, b, the moveable cylinder. The casing is supplied
with but one steam stop c, and the cylinder has three pistons or vanes d, d, d,
(but more steam stops may be used if thought proper, as in the first described
arrangement of this engine in Sheets 1 and 2). Steam being admitted by
the entrance passage e acts against the vanes d, d, and causes the cylinder b, b,
and shaft f, to revolve until the vane or piston d' passes the opening z,
which communicates to the valve box h of the second cylinder (see sectional
Figure 2), i being the outer casing, and k the moveable cylinder. The steam

page_text: l
is allowed by expansion to enter the three other chambers (through the valve
box) at n', n³, and n³, thus dividing itself into four portions, one part remain-
ing in the first cylinder, and passing off through the passage to the condenser,
and the other three portions passing along the pipe z (see elevation Figure 3),
and entering the second cylinder at the ports n¹, n³, and n³, after acting
against the vanes or pistons o, o, o, will pass off through the passage p¹, p³, p³,
along the pipe q, to the condenser; consequently, as by this arrangement
I have a separate vacuum in four distinct spaces with the same quantity of
steam, the effective force of the engine is greatly increased. I would here
remark, that I do not confine myself to the number of vacuums, or to the
number of steam stops, as they must entirely depend upon the pressure of the
steam employed, as also to the space allotted to the engine; as, for instance, on
board a ship, where space is of consequence, three or more chambers will be
found' to occupy less room, and therefore more convenient, but on shore one
chamber possessing three times the area will be attended with less friction.
These and other such alterations in the general arrangement of the engine must
be made as it is most suitable and convenient. And I would further remark,
that in smaller engines, or where no central bearing is required, that the two
revolving cylinders may be placed closely side by side, with a central plate to
divide them, and thereby saving a considerable amount of friction. In order
to adapt my improved rotary engine to raising and forcing fluids, or as an air
pump for the steam engine, it is necessary to apply power to the shaft or axis
of the same, the water or fluid being drawn in through the induction passages,
and forced out through the eduction passages; the best construction or
arrangement for such purposes being that shewn in the sectional Figure 2,
Sheet 3. This arrangement or construction of the steam engine I consider
would also be the most suitable where high-pressure steam is employed.
Having now described the nature and object of my said improvements,
together with the manner of carrying the same into practical effect, I would
here remark, in conclusion, that I claim as my Invention the peculiar con-
struction and arrangement of mechanism in the rotary engine above described,
and shewn in the Drawings attached, as it there combines the application of
the principles of high and low pressure steam engines, and also the applica-
tion of the principle of the water wheel, as exerted by steam working at a
leverage. And I further claim the method above described, or any other
arrangement, by which the excess of steam beyond the weight of the valve is
allowed to escape into the atmosphere, thereby avoiding so much condensation.
And I also claim the method above described, or any other arrangement
thereof, by which more than one vacuum may be obtained from using the same

page_text: steam, without confining myself to the number of vacuums or the number of
steam. stops, or to the number of pistons or vanes.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Heycock, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of September, One thousand
Bight hundred and forty-seven