'Improvements' in 'Rotary Engines.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Jan., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 27th Oct., 1891-Accepted, 28th Nov., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
'Improvements' in 'Rotary Engines.
I, JAMES GREENHOUGH of 14 Ewbank Street, Everton, Liverpool in the
County of Lancaster, Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:--
This invention has for its object a rotary engine which shall avoid the excess of
leakage and friction so notorious with ordinary rotary engines and shall also enable
me, within considerable limits, to allow for expansion.
"The a
'apparatus consists mainly of five parts, the axle; the centre drum with its
ports; the pistons sliding diametrically through it; the cylinder and the
expansion ring. This expansion ring is not, however, a necessity. The cylinder
consists of an annular chamber, having an abutment adjustable to take up wear, an
exit port in its periphery and sides, and two side plates bolted on to the cylinder
proper. The working drum is keyed on to the axle, which latter is preferably
cranked so as to pass through the drum eccentrically but project from the ends of
the drum centrically. This is in order to avoid interfering with a perfectly straight
piston, as hereafter described. The axis can, however, pass through the centre,
and, in that case, the connection between the two ends of the piston, or rather the
two pistons, will be curved or otherwise bent out of shape. In this drum are two
ports, each of them opening from one face of the drum and proceeding to the after
portion of the back of their respective pistons. The pistons are two diametric slides,
having T heads. These diametric slides are connected together and slide in dia-
metric grooves in the drum, and are so proportioned that, when one piston has its
T head face almost forming part of the peripheral surface of the drum but slightly
projecting beyond it, the other T head shall project beyond the drum and scrape
against the cylinder throughout its entire surface. Between the end of the drum,
out of which the ports pass, and the cylinder cover, out of which also ports pass,
may place a packing plate having adjustable ports connecting the ports in the
cover with those in the piston. Whenever the piston is in a right position, those
ports can be adjusted as regards length, and thus the angle of rotation, through
which the steam has free access to the ports of the drum, is regulated.
The mode of action is as follows:-
I
The apparatus being fixed in place, steam enters number one port, just after the
piston has passed the abutment. The steam at once causes the piston to fly out
against the abutment and, as the abutment gradually tails out to the surface of the
cylinder, the piston, in revolving, presses against the surface of the cylinder. This
goes on until the piston has gone through 180 degrees. At this crisis, steam
enters behind, the second piston and at once causes the latter to shoot out against
the abutment, and thus draw in the number one piston, to which it is attached.
The steam, 'behind number one piston, now flies out into the exhaust. The drum
continues to revolve, the number one piston passes the abutment which touches the
drum, and again comes into play. By regulating the ports in the plate between the
cover and the drun end, the length of time during which steam passes to the piston
after the latter has passed the abutment is exactly regulated.
In double action engines, the reversing steam enters at the opposite cylinder
Fcover.
1 1
ni
1001

page_text: :
COMIL DELE OF MUIGATION.
Improvements in Rotary Engines.
I, JAMES GREENHOUGH of 14 Ewbank Street, Everton, Liverpool in the
County of Lancaster, Mechanical 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 has for its object a rotary engine which shall avoid the excess of
leakage and friction so notorious with ordinary rotary engines and shall also enable
me, within considerable limits, to allow for expansion.
The invention is best described by aid of the accompanying drawings, in which, -
Figure 1 is an end view,
Figure 2 a longitudinal vertical section,
Figure 3 a view of the interior, the cylinder cover being removed,
Figure 4 a section through the transverse centre line.
Like letters refer to like parts on all the drawings.
The apparatus consists of the following parts-
The axle A having an enlarged centre A, the centre drum B with its ports C C₁,
casing D which, though not truly cylindrical, takes the place of a cylinder and
will hereafter be termed the cylinder D, the cylinder covers F F with their ports,
packing. G is the steam pipe shown entering both ends of the cylinder. If it is
caused to enter at side G, it gives a forward motion, if at side G¹ a reverse motion,
the ports being arranged for this purpose. H is an abutment which can be regulated
to any desired height by the screw I. P Pare the united pistons sliding diametri-
cally through drum B and enlarged axle A', they have T heads with projections t
to more fully catch the steam.
The part E of one of the cylinder lids projects into the cover as shown, or to a
less extent, and packings are placed between the cylinder cover and the cylinder
so that, as wear and tear take place, these packings can be reduced and the part E
follow up the wear. The steam entering by the steam pipe G passes through the
port in F to port C in drum B. By varying the size of these ports, a greater or
less degree of expansion can be secured.
The steam passing through the port in F E enters the port C in the drum B and
immediately pushes the lower piston P out and drives it along in the direction of
the arrow until it comes to the exhaust J. Before it arrives at this point, the
steam has become shut off through the ports CC1 in B no longer coinciding with
the port in E. The piston passing on a little further, the port C¹ comes into the
position in which port C is shown in the drawing and immediately operates on
piston P in a precisely similar manner to that in which the steam at C has already
operated on the piston P.
If peripheral wear occurs in the drum B or in the abutment H, the screw I is
adjusted to take up the wear. If wear occurs in the ends of drum B or in the
cylinder covers F, this can be taken up by reducing the thickness of packing f.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is ;-
1. The improvement in rotary engines which consists in introducing the steam
through the cylinder cover and the central drum, substantially as described.
2. In combination with a rotary engine in which the steam enters the cylinder
from the central drum, the double T headed piston arranged as described whereby
the steam is used to drive the piston against the cylinder as well as drive it round in
the cylinder.

page_text: 3. The general arrangement and construction of motor substantially
described.
Dated this 26th day of October 1891.
as above
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, and London, Patent Agents.