Improvements in or connected with Compound Steam or other Engines
Year: 1899

page_text: Improvements in or connected with Compound Steam or other
Engines,
I, HERBERT MONTAGUE RUMBLE, of Whitehall, London Road, Royston, in the
County of Hertford, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in or connected with compound steam
or other engines, and has for its object to obtain an engine in which separate
valves for controlling the steam and exhaust ports are dispensed with and which
possesses other advantages, some of which are hereinafter referred to.
In carrying the invention into effect, several cylinders, for example, three,
of different capacity are arranged side by side with their pistons working on
the crank pins of a common crank shaft, said crank pins being arranged radially
and equi-distant, or nearly so, around the shaft.
The first and second and second and third cylinders are connected by steam
ways, that is to say, the exhaust port of the high pressure cylinder com-
municates with the steam port of the second cylinder and so, and the pistons of
the first and second cylinders are formed of such length that they close the
exhaust ports of their cylinders except at the extreme end of their stroke.
The piston of the first or high pressure cylinder is of considerable length and
is by a connecting rod coupled with one of the crank pins of the crank shaft.
Fixed with the inner end of the high pressure piston is a hollow receiver or
trunk which is provided with ways which at all times communicate with the
interior of the first or high pressure cylinder and this trunk works through a
gland into the steam chest with which communicates a steam pipe from the
boiler.
The trunk at a point which works in and out of the gland of the steam chest
is provided with lateral ports which are so arranged that in the inner position
of the piston at the commencement of the stroke, said ports are open to the
steam in the steam chest and thus admit the same to the hollow trunk and
consequently into a steam space or clearance between the inner end of the piston
and the gland whilst soon after the high pressure piston begins to move for-
ward said ports are closed by passing from the steam chest into the gland
thereby shutting off the steam supply until the commencement of the next stroke.
The steam expands in the first or high pressure cylinder and acting upon
the piston carries the same to the end of its stroke at which time the piston
passes beyond and opens the exhaust port located at the side of the cylinder in
a suitable position and admits steam through a connecting way to the steam
port of the second cylinder.
The steam expands in the second cylinder moving forward its piston until its

page_text: exhaust port is thereby uncovered when the steam exhausts into the third
cylinder and finally passes away by an exhaust port which is similarly un-
covered by the movement of the third piston.
The cycle of operations may be described as follows:-
Steam is admitted to the hollow trunk of the high pressure piston and
thus into the high pressure or first cylinder until the steam port in the hollow
trunk is closed by the gland when the steam carries the first piston forward
until its exhaust port is thereby uncovered when the steam expands into the
second cylinder the piston of which is at the inner extremity of its stroke or
thereabout.
The high pressure exhaust port remains open until the second piston has com-
pleted its stroke or thereabout, and it is then closed by the first piston on its
return stroke.
The second piston then in turn similarly opens its exhaust port to the third
cylinder and remains open until the third piston has completed its stroke or
thereabout and is then closed by the second piston on its return stroke.
The third piston then opens its exhaust port and the steam passes away to
a condenser or otherwise.
On the return stroke of the first piston it compresses whatever steam remains
in the cylinder thus forming an elastic cushion until the steam ports of the
hollow trunk re-open, and said ports are so arranged to open, that the maximum
pressure is obtained when the piston is at the inner end of its stroke ready for
the next stroke.
In a similar manner, the return strokes of the other pistons compress what-
ever steam remains in their respective cylinders, until the pressure of the cushion
in the several cylinders is about equal to that of the incoming live steam
respectively admitted thereto.
Although the apparatus is herein described as composed of three cylinders
placed side by side, it will be obvious that two or more than three may be so
employed whilst if desired the cylinders may be arranged concentrically, as
will now be desribed.
In this arrangement the cylinders are arranged in three tiers, the high
pressure piston, which is a long piston works in and out of the high pressure
cylinder and the steam expanding in the high pressure or first cylinder forces
the piston out of said cylinder and the steam then passes through the way thus
formed and expands into the second cylinder which is of larger diameter and
surrounds the high pressure piston in an annular form and the steam there acts
upon a long annular piston between the high pressure piston and the face of
the second cylinder and which is by means of connecting rods coupled with two
crank pins arranged upon the crank shaft in the same plane until in the same
manner it forces the second piston out of the second cylinder.
The steam then passes from the second cylinder through the way thus formed
into the third cylinder which is also of annular form and is provided with. an
annular piston working between the face of the third cylinder and the face
of the second piston and this third piston is coupled with two crank pins upon
the crank shaft in a similar manner to the second piston.
The steam expands in the third cylinder until the third piston exposes an
annular way which communicates with the exhaust port of the engine when the
steam is free to pass away.
Instead of the engine being arranged vertically, it may be placed horizontally,
but the first arrangement hereinbefore described is the preferred one whilst
instead of being single-acting the engine may be double-acting and if desired
may be connected with a condensing apparatus.
It will be obvious that the invention is applicable to engines of all kinds
whether driven by steam or other motive fluid, the principle of construction
being that the pistons in all cases form the steam valves.
By the means hereinbefore described, a strong, compact, and inexpensive

page_text: high speed engine is obtained which dispenses with the necessity for employing
the ordinary valve gear and whilst possessing the advantage of solid con-
struction is comparatively inexpensive to produce and economical in operation.
Dated this 2nd day of February 1899.
VAUGHAN & SON,
Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Compound Steam or other
Engines.
I, HERBERT MONTAGUE RUMBLE, of Whitehall, London Road, Royston, in the
County of Hertford, 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:-
My said invention relates to improvements in or connected with compound steam
or other engines, and has for its object to obtain an engine in which separate
valves for controlling the steam and exhaust ports are dispensed with and which
possesses other advantages some of which are hereinafter referred to.
In carrying the invention into effect, several cylinders, for example three,
of different capacity, are arranged side by side with thier pistons working on
the crank pins of a common crank shaft, said crank pins being arranged radially
and equi-distant or nearly so around the shaft.
The first and second and second and third cylinders are connected by steam
ways, that is to say, the exhaust port of the high pressure cylinder com-
municates with the steam port of the second cylinder and so on, and the pistons of
the first and second cylinders are formed of such length that they close the
exhaust ports of their cylinders except at the extreme end of their stroke.
The piston of the first or high pressure cylinder is of considerable length and
is by a connecting rod coupled with one of the crank pins of the crank shaft.
Fixed with the inner end of the high pressure piston is a hollow receiver or
trunk which is provided with ways which at all times communicate with the
interior of the first or high pressure cylinder and this trunk works through a
gland into the steam chest with which communicates a steam pipe from the
boiler.
The trunk at a point which works in and out of the gland of the steam chest
is provided with lateral ports which are so arranged that in the inner position
of the piston at the commencement of the stroke, said ports are open to the
steam in the steam chest and thus admit the same to the hollow trunk and
consequently into a steam space or clearance between the inner end of the piston
and the gland whilst soon after the high pressure piston begins to move for-
ward, said ports are closed by passing from the steam chest into the gland
thereby shutting off the steam supply until the commencement of the next stroke.
The steam expands in the first or high pressure cylinder and acting upon
the piston carries the same to the end of its stroke at which time the piston
passes beyond and opens the exhaust port located at the side of the cylinder in
a suitable position and admits steam through a connecting way to the steam
port of the second cylinder.
The steam expands in the second cylinder moving forward its piston until its
exhaust port is thereby uncovered when the steam exhausts into the third

page_text: cylinder and finally passes away by an exhaust port which is similarly un-
covered by the movement of the third piston.
The cycle of operations may be described as follows:-
Steam is admitted to the hollow trunk of the high pressure piston and
thus into the high pressure or first cylinder until the steam port in the hollow
trunk is closed by the gland when the steam carries the first piston forward
until its exhaust port is thereby uncovered when the steam expands into the
second cylinder the piston of which is at the inner extremity of its stroke or
thereabout.
The high pressure exhaust port remains open until the second piston has com-
pleted its stroke or thereabout, and it is then closed by the first piston on its
return stroke.
The second piston then in turn similarly opens its exhaust port to the third
cylinder and remains open until the third piston has completed its stroke or
thereabout and is then closed by the second piston on its return stroke.
The third piston then opens its exhaust port and the steam passes away to
a condenser or otherwise.
On the return stroke of the first piston it compresses whatever steam remains
in the cylinder thus forming an elastic cushion until the steam ports of the
hollow trunk reopen and said ports are so arranged to open that the maximum
pressure is obtained when the piston is at the inner end of its stroke ready for
the next stroke.
In a similar manner, the return strokes of the other pistons compress what-
ever steam remains in their respective cylinders, until the pressure of the cushion
in the several cylinders is about equal to that of the incoming live steam
respectively admitted thereto.
Although the apparatus is herein described as composed of three cylinders
placed side by side, it will be obvious that two or more than three may be so
employed whilst if desired the cylinders may be arranged concentrically, as
will now be described.
In this arrangement, the cylinders are arranged in three tiers. The high
pressure piston which is a long piston, works in and out of the high pressure
cylinder and the steam expanding in the high pressure or first cylinder forces
the piston out of said cylinder and the steam then passes through the way thus
formed and expands into the second cylinder which is of larger diameter and
surrounds the high pressure piston in an annular form and the steam there acts
upon a long annular piston between the high pressure piston and the face of
the second cylinder and which is by means of connecting rods coupled with two
crank pins arranged upon the crank shaft in the same plane until in the same
manner it forces the second piston out of the second cylinder.
The steam then passes from the second cylinder, through the way thus formed
into the third cylinder which is also of annular form and is provided with an
annular piston working between the face of the third cylinder and the face
of the second piston and this third piston is coupled with two crank pins upon
the crank shaft in a similar manner to the second piston.
The steam expands in the third cylinder until the third piston exposes an
annular way which communicates with the exhaust port of the engine when the
steam is free to pass away.
Instead of the engine being arranged vertically it may be placed horizontally
whilst instead of being single acting the engine may be double acting and if
desired may be connected with a condensing apparatus.
It will be obvious that the invention is applicable to engines of all kinds
whether driven by steam or other motive fluid, the principle of construction
being that the pistons in all cases form the steam valves.
And, in order that the said invention may be more clearly understood and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed, aided by the accompanying drawings,
more fully to describe the same.

page_text: Figure 1, is a vertical section of an engine constructed according to the
present invention and having the cylinders arranged side by side.
Figure 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line 1-1 of Figure 1, but with
the pistons removed.
Figure 3 is a side view of Figure 1 showing more particularly the arrange-
ment of the exhaust port of the last cylinder.
Figure 4 is a vertical section of a modified form of engine in which the pistons
are concentrically arranged, and,
Figure 5 is a sectional plan with the cylinders removed showing more
particularly the arrangement of the pistons.
In the several figures like parts are indicated by similar letters of reference.
Referring to Figures 1 to 3, a, b, and c, represent three cylinders of different
capacity arranged side by side and the pistons a¹, b, c¹, of these cylinders
through their piston rods a², 62; 2; and connecting rods a³, 63, c³, work on the.
crank pins d', of a common shaft d said crank pins being arranged radially and
equi-distant or nearly so around the shaft d.
The first and second cylinders a and b, and the second and third cylinders b
and c are connected by steam ways, that is to say, the exhaust port as of the
cylinder a, which is the high pressure cylinder communicates through a con-
necting, way a with the steam port 6 of the second cylinder b and the exhaust.
port 65 of second cylinder b communicates through a connecting way 66 with the
steam port of the third cylinder e whilst the exhaust. port c5, of the third
cylinder communicates with the waste pipe which, however, is not shown.
The pistons a 61 of the first and second cylinders a and b are formed of.
such length that they cover and close the exhaust ports a³, 65, of their cylinders
except at the extreme end of their stroke.
Fixed with the inner end or face of the piston at of the first or high pressure.
cylinder a is a hollow receiver or trunk a' which is provided with ways a, which
at all times communicate with the interior of the first or high pressure cylinder a
and this trunk a works through glands or stuffing boxes a, a, provided in a
steam chest a8 and the steam space a of this chest through which the trunk a
passes communicates by means of a steam pipe (not shown) with the boiler.
The trunk a at a point which works in and out of the gland a0 of the steam
chest as is provided with lateral ports a* which are so placed or arranged that
in the inner position of the piston a¹ at the commencement of the stroke said
ports are open to the steam in the steam space a of the steam chest a³ and
thus admit the same to the hollow trunk a' and consequently by way of the
ports a into a steam space or clearance a* between the inner end of the piston a¹.
and the gland a10, whilst soon after the high pessure piston a¹ begins to move
forward the ports ** are closed by passing from the steam space a of the steam
chest as into the gland thereby shutting. off the steam supply until the
commencement of the next stroke..
The steam expands in the first or high pressure cylinder w and acting upon
the piston a carries the same to the end of its stroke at which time the piston a¹
passes beyond and opens the exhaust port a located at the side of the cylinder o
in a suitable position and admits steam. through a connecting way. a to the steam.
port 6 of the second cylinder b.
The steam expands in the second cylinder 6 moving forward its. piston b¹ until
its exhaust port is thereby uncovered when the steam exhausts into the con-
necting way 6 whence it passes by the port 4 into the third cylinder c and finally
issues by the exhaust port which is similarly uncovered by the movement of
the third piston c¹ and thence passes away by the exhaust of the engine.
The cycle of operations may be described as. follows:
Steam is admitted to the hollow trunk a' of the high pressure piston a¹ and.

page_text: thus into the high pressure or first cylinder. -until the steam port a* in the
hollow trunk a is closed by the gland at when the steam carries the first piston a¹
forward until the exhaust port of the cylinder a is thereby uncovered when the
steam expands into the second cylinder 6 the piston of which is at the inner
extremity of its stroke or thereabout.
has
The high pressure exhaust port, a remains open until the second piston
completed its stroke or thereabout and it is then closed by the first piston a¹ on
its return stroke.,
The second piston then in turn similarly opens the exhaust port be of its
cylinder to the third cylinder c and said port remains open until the third
piston has completed its stroke or thereabout and is then closed by the second
piston on its return stroke.
-;
The third piston c¹ then opens the exhaust port c5 of the cylinder c and the
steam passes away to a condenser or otherwise.
The first piston a¹ on its return stroke compresses whatever steam remains
in the cylinder a thus forming an elastic cushion until the steam ports a* of
the hollow trunk reopen and said ports a** are so timed or arranged to open
that the maximum pressure is obtained when the piston is at the inner end
of its stroke ready for the next outward stroke.
The second and third pistons 6 and e¹ on their return strokes compress what-
ever steam remains in their respective cylinders b, c until the pressure of the
cushion therein is about equal to that of the incoming live steam respectively
admitted thereto.
Although the apparatus is herein described as composed of three cylinders
placed side by side it will be obvious that two or more than three may be so
employed whilst if desired the cylinders may be arranged concentrically as
hereinafter described.
In the example given at Figures 4 and 5, the engine is composed of three
cylinders arranged concentrically in three tiers; the high pressure piston a is
by a connecting rod a pivotally attached thereto coupled with a crank pin d¹
of the shaft d, and this piston which is a long piston works in and out of the
high pressure cylinder a and the steam expanding in the first or high pressure
cylinder a forces the piston a¹ out of said cylinder and the steam then passes
through the way thus formed at the point as between the top edge of the piston a¹
and bottom edge of the cylinder a and expands into the second cylinder b. which
is of larger diameter and surrounds the high pressure piston a in an annular
form and the steam there acts upon the corresponding long annular piston b
which works between the periphery of the high pressure piston a¹ and the face of
the second cylinder 6 and which is by means of connecting rods 63 coupled with
two crank pins arranged upon the crank shaft d in the same plane until in
the same manner the steam forces the second piston b' out of the second cylinder b.
The steam then passes by way of the opening or port thus formed. at the
point b from the second cylinder 6 into the third cylinder c which is also of
annular form and provided with an annular piston c¹ working between the
périphery or face of the second piston 6¹ and face of the third cylinder e and
the third piston c is coupled with two crank pins upon the crank shaft d-by
means of two connecting rods in a similar manner to the second piston b¹.
The steam expands in the third cylinder c until the third piston c¹ opens or
exposes at the point can annular way *, which constitutes the exhaust of the
engine when the steam is free to pass away.
5*
Instead of the engine being arranged vertically it may be placed horizontally
and if desired it may be connected with a condensing apparatus whilst instead
of being single acting the arrangement shown and described with respect to
Figures 1 to 3 may be rendered double acting by making the piston rod a² into
a trunk such as a passing through a steam chest such as a³ and duplicating the
ways or ports. connecting the various cylinders.

page_text: It will be obvious that the invention is applicable to engines of all kinds
whether driven by steam or other motive fluid, the principle of construction
being that the pistons in all cases constitute the steam valves.
By the means hereinbefore described, a strong, compact and inexpensive
high speed engine is obtained which dispenses with the necessity for employing
the ordinary valve-gear and whilst possessing the advantage of solid con-
struction is comparatively inexpensive to produce and economical in operation.
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. A steam or other engine comprising a cylinder, a piston working within
the cylinder, a trunk fixed with the piston and working through the glands of
a steam chest one set of steam ports in the trunk always open to the cylinder,
a second set of ports in the trunk opened and closed by passing out of and into
a gland and an exhaust port in the side of the cylinder opened and closed by
the piston which acts as a valve thereto, substantially as herein shown and
described and for the purpose stated.
2. A steam or other engine comprising a cylinder, a piston working within
the cylinder, a trunk fixed with the piston and working through the glands of
a steam chest, a set of steam ports in the trunk opened and closed by passing
out of and into a gland and a suitable valve controlled exhaust port in the
cylinder, substantially as herein shown and described for the purpose stated.
3. A steam or other engine comprising a cylinder, a piston working within
the cylinder, a suitable valve-controlled inlet port, and an exhaust port opened
and closed by the piston which acts as a valve thereto, substantially as herein
shown and described and for the purpose stated.
4. A steam or other engine comprising a high pressure cylinder, a piston
working within the cylinder, a trunk fixed with the piston and working through
the glands of a steam chest, one set of steam ports in the trunk always open to
the cylinder, a second set of ports in the trunk opened, and closed by passing
out of and into a gland, an exhaust port in the side of the cylinder opened and
closed by the piston which acts as a valve thereto and one or more cylinders and
pistons compounded with the first cylinder and provided with exhaust ports
opening from one cylinder to the other, said ports being covered and uncovered
by the respective pistons which act as valves thereto all of said pistons working
on a common crank shaft, substantially as herein shown and described and for
the purpose stated.
5. A steam or other engine comprising three or other suitable number of
cylinders of different diameters concentrically arranged in tiers and opening
each into the other, a long piston working in and out of the first cylinder, an
annular piston surrounding the first piston and working in and out of the second
cylinder, an annular piston surrounding the second piston and working in the
third cylinder and covering and uncovering an annular exhaust, said pistons
each working on a separate crank or cranks of a common shaft and a trunk
fixed with the first piston and working through the glands of a steam chest,
steam ports in the trunk opened and closed by a gland for admitting steam to
the first cylinder all arranged and operating in manner substantially as herein
shown and described and for the purpose stated.
6. A steam or other engine constructed arranged and operating in manner
substantially as herein shown and described.
Dated this 25th day of November 1900
VAUGHAN & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.