Rotary Motors with Conjugate Helices.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Apr., 1898
Vote Specification Left. 14th Dec.. 1898-Accepted, 4th Feb., 1899
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Rotary Motors with Conjugate Helices. .,
I, ALPHONSE BLOT, of No. 40, Rue des Martyrs, Paris, in the Republic of
France, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
If one placed inside a cylinder a screw or helix with coils or spires the
exterior diameter of which are practically equal or but very slightly inferior to
that of the internal surface of the said cylinder and caused a fluid in motion or
under pressure to enter the cylinder, the main part of the motive energy of the
fluid would be unutilized. The fluid in fact after having acted on the first coil
or spire of the screw or helix would simply penetrate and follow along the free
space between the internal surface of the cylinder, the surface of the screw in
contact therewith and its axis or bottom of the thread and escape at the other
end of the cylinder, producing but an insignificant amount of effective work.
Now, I have invented a motor in which I utilize completely the action which
I attain this by em
a fluid under pressure or in motion can exert on a screw.
ploying, instead of a single helix or screw, two or several conjugate helices or
screws encased in one and the same sheath, or shell which obviously surrounds all.
The coils or spires of each helix or screw are interlocked or engaged in the intervals
between each other by the successive spires of the neighbouring conjugate helix,
and these screws are parallel so as to have no actual point of contact between
them. Thus interlocked they present perfect resistance to the deviation of the
fluid mass under pressure or in motion and receive all its energy for transformation
into motive power.
In short, in the motor which forms the subject of the present application for
a patent, the conjugate screws or helices act as organs of transformation and
transmission of power in the place of such organs as piston and crank, turbine,
paddle &c., the said motor being characterised in particular, by the arrangement
of a "working chamber" into which, by the aid of a special sliding carriage, can
be introduced at will, the different portions of helices or screws of which the pitches
may be interrupted and variable, which permits of varying the speed of the
motor and of reversing the motion by introducing into the said compartment
portions of helices coiled in opposite directions.
A single-acting motor constructed according to my invention cnsists of:-
a body, cylinder, or conduit mounted on a general frame or casting, which casting
also serves as support and guide for other parts of the mechanism as will be
described herein in due course. This body or cylinder encases and surrounds a
group of conjugate screws or helices, the threads or spires of which are inter-
locked in the spaces between each other but so. that the external surface of all
closely fits and fills up to the internal surface of the cylinder or shell as though
they were but one water-tight plug. The bearings of the said screws or helices

page_text: are supported in the said general frame in such manner that their axles are
perfectly parallel so as to avoid any actual point of contact between the conjugate
helices, that they may revolve perfectly freely.
The motive fluid is directed against the piston through a conduit or pipe at
the side of the said cylinder and, after having done its work on the piston, leaves
the cylinder by another such conduit on the opposite side.
The said cylinder or body is made at one part more specially suitable for what
I call the "working chamber"; it is in this compartment that the action of
the fluid on the helices or vice versa of the helices on the fluid will be produced
and manifested by a rotation of the axles of the said screws. In this chamber
the conduit fits very closely, with or without contact according to the nature of
the fluid, to the outline of the exterior cylindric parts of the helices. The rest
of the conduit is somewhat larger and the helices can turn freely, not subjected
to the action of the fluid.
In the lid or cover of the body two sockets each receive a rod the end of which
is screwed into the said socket. These rods serve as guide and pivot for the
bores or hollow axles of the screws. These rods are themselves hollow and can
serve as vehicle or receptacle for a lubricating substance to grease the helices.
The other end of the hollow boss of the helix is keyed on to an axle which is
prolonged outside of the said screw, the fore end being screwed into a head
capable of turning on balls in an abutment slide. This last can receive a longi-
tudinal movement on the frame by means of a guide which carries a rack which
can be caused to move mechanically or by hand, by any suitable device.
Axles carry respectively two pinions, or they are furnished with a key which
fits into a groove of these axles. This latter device enables longitudinal move-
ment, with the sliding carriage of the screws leaving the toothed wheels fixed,
which are only moved by the rotary motions of the screws and axles on which
these last are keyed.
helices which thus
Gearing the said wheels assures parallelism of motion of the
turn without their coils ever having the least point of contact. One of the wheels
will communicate motion to the wheel keyed on the driving axle intended to
transform into motive power the effective work furnished it by the fluid and
special organs of transformation which I have just described. The driving axle
bearing can be fixed to the frame of the motor. Brackets forming one with the
base of this bearing can receive ball bearings for the said toothed wheels.
The helix can be interrupted or terminated on a part of its length of axle in
. order to form a neutral zone. When this zone is passed in the narrow part of
the cylinder, or working chamber the fluid entering by the inlet conduit orifices
will flow away by the outlet orifices or openings on the other side of the said
chamber without working the helices. The helix thus divided into two parts
by a neutral zone will be able to have spires coiled in opposite directions on the
two parts.
The result is that the direction of rotation of the driving axle will be reversed.
according as, by movement of the sliding-carriage, the fore or hind part of the
Ecrews is engaged.
The pitch of the screw instead of being regular can be accelerating in accordance
with a fixed law, and the speed of the motor can be varied by introducing into
the narrow part or working chamber a portion of screws with more or less quick
pitch.
4
Such a rotary motor with two helices of constant pitch, that is to say a motor 5
with constant speed would be capable of acting as a pump. In this example:
from one side to the other of the narrow part of the body a compartment is
provided, intended for the regulation of the action of the motor fluid, and the
body is closed by plates or covers at each end. Suitable distributing valves for
the entrance and exit of the motor fluid are provided, and according to the 5
position given to these valves by aid of their regulating fly-wheel it, is easy to
understand rotation of the screws will be caused in one direction or the opposite.

page_text: The position the helices or screws might occupy in the working chamber of a
motor with three helices or screws can easily be imagined by assuming their
centres to form corners of an equilateral triangle.
1
1 1000
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
Agents for the Applicant.
Rotary Motors with Conjugate fences.
I, ALPHONSE BLOT, of No. 40, Rue des Martyrs, Paris, in the Republic of
France, 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:―
If one placed inside a cylinder a screw or helix with coils or spires the exterior
diameter of which should be practically equal or very slightly inferior to that
of the said cylinder, and caused a fluid in motion or under pressure to enter the
cylinder, the main part of the motive energy of the fluid would be unutilized.
The fluid in fact after having acted on the first coil or spire of the screw or
helix, would simply follow along the free space between the internal surface
of the cylinder the surface of the screw in contact therewith and its axis, or
bottom of the thread and escape at the other end of the cylinder, producing but
an insignificant amount of effective work. Now, I have invented a motor in
which I utilize completely, the action which a fluid under pressure or in motion
can exert on a screw. I attain this by employing, instead of a single helix or
screw, two or several conjugate helices or screws encased in one and the same
sheath, which obviously surrounds all. The coils or spires of each helix or screw
are interlocked or engaged in the intervals left between each other by the
successive spires of the neighbouring conjugate helix, and these screws are parallel
so as to have no point of contact between them. Thus interlocked they present.
perfect resistance to deviation of the fluid mass under pressure or in motion
and receive all its energy for transformation into motive power.
In short, in the motor which forms the subject of the present application for
a patent, the conjugate screws or helices act as organs of transformation in the
place of such organs as :-piston and crank, turbine, paddle &c.
There is no absolute contact either between the wings of the conjugate helices
or between these screws and the surrounding cylinder, the result is that injurious
friction and wear which in rotary and other motors absorb a great part of the
work are, so to speak, totally avoided; the calorific power of the fluid being,
nevertheless utilized in a perfect manner.
The motor which I have invented is characterised in particular by the arrange-
ment of a "working chamber" into which, by the aid of a special sliding
carriage, one can introduce at will, the different portions of helices or screws of
which the pitches are interrupted and variable, which permits of varying the
speed of the motor and of reversing the motion by introducing into the said
compartment portions of helices coiled in opposite direction.
My invention is illustrated in detail in the accompanying drawings:-
Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 represent respectively, in longitudinal section, plane
section, transverse section on the line J, J, and transverse section on the line ppl,
a motor in which the driving axle can be worked in both directions, that is
to say, a motor with reversing motion.
A A¹ is a frame comprising: a body or conduit A surrounding the group of
helices or set of screws L and fitting closely on to the exterior outline thereof,
the part A of this frame serving more generally as support for the bearings of

page_text: .
the axles of the said screws and the toothed wheels g and c by which the motion
is transmitted to the cog-wheel d mounted on the driving-axle. The fluid enter-
ing the conduit by the orifices C escapes, after having operated the screws, by the
orifices D).
The narrow part A F of the conduit, constitutes what I call the "working
chamber" it is in this compartment that the action of the fluid on the helices
or vice versa of the helices on the fluid will be produced and manifested by a
rotation of the axles of the said screws. In this chamber the conduit fits very
closely, with or without contact according to the nature of the fluid, to the outline
of the exterior cylindric parts of the helices. In the rest of the conduit the
helices can turn freely, not subjected to the action of the fluid.
In the lid or cover of the conduit A two sockets a, a, each receive a rod h
the end of which is screwed into the said socket. These rods serve as guide and
pivot for the bores or hollow axles of the screws L. The rods are themselves
hollow, and can serve as vehicle or receptacle for a lubricating substance to grease
the helices. The other end of the boss of the helix is keyed by means of
.keyss, on to an axle r which is prolonged outside of the said screw, the fore
end being screwed into a head n capable of turning on balls in an abutment
slido T. This last can receive a longitudinal movement on the frame Al, by
means of the guide » which carries a rack which can be caused to move mechanically
or by hand, by any suitable device.
Axles carry respectively, the two pinions of similar dimensions g and c;
these pinions are keyed on the axles or they are furnished with a key.j
which fits into a groove i of this axle. This latter device which is that which
I have represented in Figures 1 and 2, enables longitudinal movement, with the
sliding-carriage T, of the screws L, leaving the toothed wheels g and c fixed,
which are only moved by the rotary motions of the screws and axles r on which
these last are keyed.
Gearing the wheels and c assures parallelism of motion of helices L which
thus turn without their coils ever having the least point of contact. One of
the wheels or e will communicate motion to the wheel d keyed on the driving
axle intended to transform into motive power the effective work furnished it by
the fluid and special organs of transformation which I have just described.
is a bearing for the driving axle. This bearing can be fixed to the frame A¹
of the motor. Brackets forming one with the base of this bearing and can
receive ball bearings for the toothed wheels g and c (Figures 1 and 2).
The helix can be interrupted on a part V on its length of axle in order to form
a neutral zone. When this zone is passed in the narrow part A F the fluid
entering by the orifices C, will flow away by the openings D without working
the helices. The helix thus divided into two parts by a neutral zone will be able
to have spires coiled in opposite directions on the two parts represented n
Figures 1 and 2.
The result is that the direction of rotation of the driving axle will be reversed
according as, by movement of the sliding-carriage T, the fore or hind part of
the screws is engaged.
The pitch of the screw instead of being regular can be accelerating in accordance
with a fixed law, and one can vary the speed of the motor by introducing into
the narrow part A Fa portion of the screws with more or less quick pitch.
In the example of Figures 5 to 9, by which I have represented a rotary motor
with two helices of constant pitch, that is to say a motor with constant speed
susceptible of acting as a pump, the same letters as in Figures 1 to 4 indicate
similar parts. In this example: from one side to the other of the narrow
part A F, of the conduit a compartment u, u¹, is provided, intended for the
regulation of the action of the motor fluid. The conduit A is shut by plates a
Figures 8 and 9 give in detail, the distributing valves of the motor
fluid for entrance and exit of this fluid in the conduit A. According to the
position given to these valves by aid of their regulating fly-wheel, it is easy to
understand rotation of the screws will be caused in one direction or the opposite.
and m.

page_text: Figure 10 represents the position the helices or screws might occupy in the
working chamber of a motor with three helices or screws.
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 rotary motor with piston composed of conjugate screws or helices
characterised by such helices having an interrupted and variable pitch, a neutral
region of each axis separating helices coiled in opposite directions; the said
helices being susceptible of receiving a longitudinal rotary movement along their
axis which successively brings each of the parts of the said helices into a working
chamber or cylinder where they are subjected to the action of the motor fluid and
thus vary the speed or reverse the direction of motion, substantially as described
and illustrated.
2. In a rotary motor with conjugate helices characterised as stated in the pre-
ceding claim, a device for longitudinal movement for adjustment of the helices
consisting of two racks sliding in longitudinal grooves on each side of the frame
and united by a cross-head or sliding carriage which forms a bearing and guide
for one of the ends of the axis of each of the helices, substantially as above
described and represented in the accompanying drawings.
T
1000
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
No. 22, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.