IMPROVEMENTS IN MOTOR ENGINES WORKED BY STEAM, AIR, GAS, OR OTHER FLUID, ALSO PARTLY APPLICABLE AS PUMPS OR BLOWING ENGINES
Year: 1875

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Wilhelm Weyhe at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 11th
December 1875.
I, WILHELM WEYHE, of Bremen, in the German Empire, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MOTOR
ENGINES WORKED BY STEAM, AIR, GAS, OR OTHER FLUID, ALSO PARTLY APPLICABLE
AS PUMPS OR BLOWING ENGINES," to be as follows:―
My Invention relates mainly to an improved construction of rotary
motor engine, wherein a piston is caused by fluid pressure to travel
round in an annular passage arranged in the following manner :—I
construct a casing of two discs, round the periphery of each of which is
formed a semicircular annular cavity, which when placed together face
to face form a closed annular passage. The two parts of the casing
when fixed together at their periphery have a narrow space between
their central portions, which communicates with the annular passage,
and in which is a disc fixed on a central shaft, and having fixed to its
periphery a piston fitting the annular passage. At one point of the
annular passage is a tongue-shaped slide fitting accurately the sides of
the annular passage, so as to form a division in the same and capable of

page_text: that when the slide is pushed back to allow the piston to pass the
admission of steam or fluid is thereby cut off.
The above described engine may be employed either singly or in
duplicate arranged as follows:-I fix the casings of two such engines
face to face on a framing, the rotating discs and pistons of the two
engines being fixed on one and the same shaft. The inlet aperture of
the one engine communicates with a coil of pipes situated inside a
furnace, the heat of which either heats air or produces steam or other
elastic fluid within the coil of pipes, so as to produce motive power.
The outlet aperture of this engine communicates with the inlet aperture
of the second engine by means of a coil of pipes enclosed in a casing
through which water or other cooling medium is made to flow, and the
outlet aperture of the second engine communicates with the first named.
coil of pipes inside the furnace.
The action of this combined apparatus is as follows:-The hot air or
steam passing from the heated coil into the first named engine drives
round the piston, the shaft of which drives the piston of the second
engine, which is thus made to act as a pump, drawing the air or steam
discharged from the first engine through the cold coil of pipes where it
is cooled or condensed, and discharging it back into the heated coil,
whence it again passes to the first engine after becoming heated. A
check valve is provided in the discharge pipe of the second engine so as
to prevent the hot air or steam in the heated coil from flowing backwards
into the same.
When steam or other gases that are condensed into a liquid form are
used, the condensed liquid is drawn from the bottom of the condensing
coil into a force pump worked by the engine, whence it is forced into a
preliminary heating vessel beneath the furnace where it is reconverted
into vapour which ascends into the heating coil.
The furnace for heating the coil I prefer to make of the following
construction-1 make a vertical cylinder with vertical internal ribs,
into which the fuel is introduced from the top, and in which it gradually
descends on to the grate at bottom. Surrounding the cylinder is a
spiral flue communicating with the fire-grate at bottom and with the
chimney at top, in which flue is placed the before-mentioned coil of
pipes, and surrounding this flue is an annular passage through which
the air required for the combustion of the fuel is caused to pass in a

page_text: downward direction in contact with the hot flue, so that it becomes
heated before entering the fire. The central fuel chamber being closed
at top, and the outlet to the chimney flue being at bottom, any com-
bustible gases that are distilled off from the upper part of the column of
fuel are caused to pass downwards to the fire-graté and are there
consumed, the before mentioned projecting ribs in the chamber forming
spaces between them in which the
gases readily descend.
In adapting my before described rotary engine to be worked by an
explosive mixture of gas or petroleum vapour and air, I arrange the
inlet aperture to communicate with a reservoir of such explosive
mixture, so that if the piston is moved a certain distance beyond the
radial slide which forms a partition in the annular passage, a certain
quantity of explosive mixture is drawn in. The piston being moved
somewhat further comes in contact with a pin projecting slightly through
a slit in the side of the casing. This pin is attached to a slide in a
chamber outside the casing having two compartments, the slide having
firstly a passage by which it can establish a communication between one
of these compartments and the interior of the engine through a port in
the side of the latter, and secondly a passage through which it establishes
a communication between the two compartments. The piston in moving
this slide by means of the before-mentioned pin, firstly opens the
communication between the two compartments of the chamber, so as to
cause a gas jet which is kept constantly burning in the one compartment
to ignite a small quantity of the explosive mixture, which has previously
been admitted into the second compartment. The slide in being moved
further then closes the communication between tlie two compartments,
and afterwards opens the communication between the compartment
containing the ignited mixture and the interior of the engine, whereby
the explosive charge of the latter is fired, and the piston is propelled
round in the annular chamber. As soon as the ignition has taken place
the piston releases or ceases to act upon the pin fixed to the slide (as the
curvature of the annular passage projects beyond the end of the pin),
and the latter is then thrown rapidly back into its original position by
means of a spring, so as to close all communication between the interior
of the engine and the slide chamber. The inlet valve for the combustible
mixture is closed at the same time that the slide closes the communi-
cation between the two compartments of the valve chamber, and before
the charge in the engine is fired,

page_text: It will be readily understood that by driving the shaft of my before-
described engine by any convenient power, the engine may be used
either as a pump (as has indeed already been described in connection
with the engine) or as a blowing engine.
According to another modification of the improved motor engine I
employ in place of the before-described arrangement of slides and fixed
inlet and exhaust ports an arrangement of the following nature:-At
two diametrically opposite points of the engine casing I enlarge the
same for the reception of two revolving disc slides, which project into
the annular passage in which the piston travels, so as to form division
in the same at two opposite points. Each slide has a notch at one point
which as that part of the disc passes through the annular passage opens
the latter, thus allowing the piston to travel past the slide.
The engine shaft is formed with two separate passages in it, each of
which communicates with one of two radial passages extending through
the disc to which the piston is connected and communicating with the
annular passage on each side of the piston. The one set of passages in
the shaft and disc being made to communicate with the steam or other
fluid pressure while the other set communicates with the exhaust, it will
be seen that as the piston travels past the one slide, and this is imme-
diately closed, the steam issuing behind the piston between it and the
slide will propel the piston round in the annular passage, the space in
which in front of the piston is at the same time open to the exhaust.
The piston having travelled through one half the circumference of tho
passage arrives at the second slide which is made to close immediately
after its passage, after which the first slide is turned so as to open that
part of the passage through which the piston has just passed to the
.exhaust.
The requisite rotary motion is imparted to the disc slides by means of
toothed gearing from the engine shaft, and the rapid closing of the slides
after the passage of the piston is by preference effected by the use of
elliptical wheels of well known arrangement. This arrangement of the
engine with rotary disc slide is also applicable when the engine is
worked by an explosive mixture of gas and air. In this case however
only one such slide is employed, and fixed inlet and exhaust ports in the
cylinder casing on each side of the slide are used, similar to the first
described arrangement, and the inlet valve or combustible gas is made to

page_text: revolve with the disc slide, having passages formed in it so as to admit
the requisite quantity of gas for the explosive charge and then to cut
off the supply.
The ignition of the charge is effected by an electric spark produced by
the closing of an electric circuit by the piston making contact between
two wires or contact pieces situated in the side of the casing.