Ix. PROVEMENTS IN ROTARY STEAM AND HYDRAULIC ENGINES
Year: 1866

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Wilhelm Heinrich Christian Voss
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 25th May 1866.
I, WILHELM HEINRICH CHRISTIAN Voss, Engineer, of Hamburgb, but now
residing at Kroll's Hotel, St. John's Street, Minories, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Ix.
PROVEMENTS IN ROTARY STEAM AND HYDRAULIC ENGINES," to be as follows:-
My Invention has reference to an arrangement of rotary engines worked
either by steam or by water power, in which the rotary motion of the spindle
or shaft is effected by the action of a series of reciprocating pistons and piston
rods upon an inclined plane disc to which the said spindle or shaft is con-
nected, such action of the pistons, and piston rods producing a rotary motion
of the inclined plane disc round a central axis. For this purpose I construct
a closed cylindrical chamber, through the one end cover of which the said
shaft or spindle passes, the cover being provided with a stuffing box for that
purpose. The inner end of the shaft is formed spherical and fits into a
spherical socket formed in the centre of an inclined plane disc, at the centre
of the back surface of which is a projecting axis at an angle to the shaft of
spindle, which axis passes into a corresponding bearing fixed inside the

page_text: cylindrical casing, whereby the inclined plane disc while maintained in one
and the same inclined position is capable of revolving upon such axis and of
imparting such rotary motion to the shaft or spindle. Upon the latter is
fixed a casting carrying four or more cylinders open at each end and arranged
at equal distances round the shaft parallel with the same.
In these cylinders
are pistons capable of working freely up and down in the same, to which are
connected, by means of ball-and-socket joints piston rods, the other ends of
which are connected by means of other ball-and-socket joints to equidistant
points in the circumference of the before-mentioned inclined plane disc. The
one end surface of the casting with the said cylinders works in a more or less
perfectly steam or water tight manner against the before-mentioned end
cover of the casing through which the shaft passes. This cover is formed
with two separate steam or water passages capable of being made to com-
municate by means of valves either with the steam boiler or water reservoir,
or with the atmosphere, the valves being so adjusted that if the one passage
communicates with the steam boiler or water reservoir the other com-
municates with the atmosphere. These passages communicate with the
before-mentioned cylinders through narrow openings formed in the end
surfaces of the latter, and the action of the engine consequently takes place as
follows: From the one passage steam or water enters those cylinders which
are at the time being opposite such passage. The pistons are consequently
forced down in their cylinders, and are thus by means of their piston rods
caused to impart rotary motion to the inclined plane disc, which carries with
it the shaft or spindle, and this in its turn carries round the said cylinders,
thus bringing those that were in front of the steam or water passage opposite
the exhaust passage, while other cylinders that were before opposite the
exhaust passage are now brought opposite the steam or water passage, and
the pistons thereof are in their turn acted upon by the steam or water so as
to effect the further rotation of the inclined plane disc. Such rotation of the
latter causes the pistons to be pushed up in those cylinders that are opposite
the exhaust passage, and the steam or water in the cylinders is consequently
delivered into the exhaust pipe in connection therewith. In order to
reverse the motion of the engine the position of the valves in the passages
is simply reversed, so that the passage that was in communication with
the steam boiler or water reservoir now becomes the exhaust passage, and
vice versa.
It will be found advantageous to keep the cylindrical casing enclosing the
engine full of oil or water, whereby the perfect lubrication of all the working.

page_text: parts will be insured. The casing may be provided with a safety valve to
prevent undue pressure therein arising from any leakage from the working
cylinders that may occur. The power of the engine may be transmitted
from the rotating shaft either by means of a pulley and band on the latter or
by a crank or any other suitable known arrangement of gearing.