Improvements in Rotary Steam Engines.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Oct., 1898
Complete Specification Left, 21st July, 1899-Accepted, 26th Aug., 1899
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Rotary Steam Engines.
I, EDWARD PROBST, of No. 221, North 5th Street, Terre Haute, Indiana, U.S.A.,
Inventor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
-
This invention relates to rotary steam engines; the object of the invention
being to provide an engine of that class which will comprise but few parts, and
will therefore be of simple construction and cheap to manufacture.
The invention comprises an open-ended cylinder, mounted horizontally in a
suitable frame. A piston is journaled to rotate within the cylinder, and has
grooves on its outer surface, formed by annular flanges having concave peri-
pheries which coincide with annular grooves on the interior surface of the
cylinder. The circular space, formed by the grooves in the flanges and cylinder,
is filled by a rifted flexible tube which, when steam enters it through the rift,
expands and makes a steam-tight joint between the piston flanges and the
cylinder.
The grooves, formed around the piston by the annular flanges, are fitted with
a series of slidable abutment plates, arranged in line with each other and carried
around by the piston between steam ports leading from a steam chest in the
upper part of the framework. The grooves are also fitted with a series of plates
arranged out of line with each other and adapted to receive the steam pressure
between them and the abutment plates.
Steam is admitted to the grooves, between the plates, at the proper times, by
means of a rotary valve in the steam chest the valve having apertures there-
through to admit or cut off the steam and open the exhaust port as it revolves
in the path of the ports.
The required movement can be imparted to the valve in various ways from
the shaft, centrally secured in the piston; but the best means for the purpose
consist of two eccentrics mounted on the shaft, and adapted to reciprocate in
such manner as to rotate a crank or cranks upon the valve spindle.
A steam-tight joint between the ends of the cylinder and the piston can be
effected by a flange on one of the parts running adjacent to a flange on the other
part, and one of the flanges having a flexible periphery which is pressed against
the other one by the steam pressure.
D1 1100
1
1000

page_text: same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:-
This invention relates to rotary engines; and it consists in the novel con-
struction and combination of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed.
In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of the rotary engine. Fig. 2 is a
vertical section taken on the line - in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section through
the valve, taken on line - in Fig. 1, but drawn to larger scale. Fig. 4 is a
cross section taken on the line y-y in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the
distributing valve. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the reversing valve. Fig. 7 is
a detail view of one of the abutment plates. Fig. 8 shews details of the packing
for the abutment plate. Fig. 9 is a detail view of a portion of one of the piston
packing rings. Fig. 10 is a detail of one of the piston plates. Fig. 11 is a
detail perspective view of the double crank.
A is the cylinder which is preferably formed of two halves bolted together and
secured to a base plate A'.
B is the piston secured on a shaft b and arranged concentric with the cylinder.
The piston B is provided with a series of circumferential grooves B¹, separated
from each other by circumferential ribs b¹. The shaft bis journalled in bear-
ings a which are secured to the base plate. The ribs bare kept steam tight
in the cylinder by means of packing rings C, which are let into semi-circular
grooves in the cylinder and in the ribs. The rings C are rifted tubes, the rift
or split e being preferably on their outer sides, where the metal is preferably
thinner than at their under sides. These packing rings are preferably formed
of steel, and the resiliency of the steel keeps them steam-tight in the grooves
of the cylinder to a great extent. The interior of each ring C is supplied with
steam by a passage el, leading into it from the steam supply valve casing or from
any other convenient source from which steam can be obtained. The steam
inside the packing rings expands them laterally, so that they revolve steam
tight in the cylinder.
In order to more fully guard against the leakage of steam past the end ribs
of the cylinder, a ring D is secured to each said end rib and is furnished with
a spring flange d, having an outwardly projected lip A ring is secured
to the end of the cylinder and is provided with a rigid flange e, against which
the lip is pressed by the spring flange d. The lip runs steam fight against
the flange e and any steam which leaks into the space behind the spring flange
tends to press the lip tighter against the flange c.
Each groove B in the piston is provided with a spring pressed piston plate F.
When the piston is provided with four grooves, the piston plates are arranged
substantially at equal distances apart circumferentially upon the periphery of
the piston, each plate being in a separate groove. The ribs have radial guide
grooves for the end portions of the piston plates to slide in, so that the said
plates may slide steam-tight and cannot be displaced circumferentially in the
grooves B. Curved wedges fl are secured in the bottoms of the grooves B₁ one
on each side of each piston plate F, and extend upward one half of the depth
of the grooves.
G are spring pressed abutment plates which are slidable in sockets at the upper
part of the cylinder. Curved wedges are secured to the cylinder in the grooves
13, one on each side of each abutment plate, and extend downward one half the
depth of the said grooves. Each groove B has a separate abutment plate, and all
the abutment plates are arranged in line with each other at the top of the
cylinder. The wedges are provided with longitudinal grooves g¹ in their faces
the use of which will be more fully explained hereinafter..
Each abutment plate G is provided with a packing strip 2 on its lower edge.
The packing strip 2 is provided with lateral flanges 3, and its face is convex.
The middle portion of the packing strip 2 is let into a groove 4 in the abutment
plate, and 6 is a spring in the groove 4 for forcing the strip 2 downward. The
strip 2 is provided with vertical grooves 5 in its end portions. The ends of the

page_text: plate G are provided with vertical grooves 7 in line with the grooves 5 and
horizontal cross grooves 16 at about their middle portions. The upper edges
of the plate G are provided with recesses 8, and 9 are plates slidable in the
said recesses. Springs 10 are arranged in the recesses S for pressing the plates 9
against the ends of the sockets in which the plates G slide. The plates 9 are
also provided with vertical grooves 11, arranged in line with the grooves 7 and 5.
The plates 9 are attached to the abutment plate by screws 12, and 13 are slots
in the plates 9 for the screws 12 to pass through. Packing strips 14 are slidable
in grooves 7 and 5 and 11, and are provided with projections 15, which engage
with the cross grooves 16 and prevent the packing strips 14 from sliding vertically
in the said grooves. Springs 17 are arranged in the grooves 7 behind the packing
strips 14 and press them against the ends of the sockets and against the ribs
of the piston.
H is the valve casing, secured to the top of the cylinder and I is the reversing.
valve journalled in the valve casing lengthwise of the axis of the cylinder. The
reversing valve I has a series of similar steam passages i and two exhaust cavities
, arranged one on each side of the passages i. The end portion of the valve I
forms a steam-tight seat against the valve casing and the valve I is provided
with a hollow stem h', which projects through the valve casing.
H is the handle secured on the stem for operating the valve I.
The valve casing is provided with two series of steam ports j and j', each
piston groove having a pair of said ports leading into it on opposite sides of the
abutment plate which slides in the said piston groove. The valve casing is
further provided with two exhaust passages J J¹, arranged one on each side of
the said steam ports, and exhaust ports . K are passages which connect the
exhaust passages
J and J, and L is the exhaust pipe leading into the atmosphere.
M is the rotary steam distributing valve, consisting of a hollow cylinder
journaled inside the reversing valve. "One end m of the valve M forms a steam-
tight seat against the end of the valve I, and m¹ is a stem which projects from
the valve M and is journalled in the hollow stem. The valve M is provided
with four steam ports a, one for each groove in the piston. These steam ports
are arranged at equal distances apart circumferentially upon the periphery of
the valve M, substantially as shewn in Fig. 5.
N is a steam pipe connected to the casing H and supplying steam to the
interior of the rotary valve M.
O is a double crank which is secured on the stem m¹ for revolving the rotary
valve.
P, P are two eccentrics secured on the shaft b, and p, p² are two eccentric
rods which operatively connect the said eccentrics with the arms of the double
crank. The arms of the double crank are preferably set at a right angle to each
other, and two eccentrics are used, so that the double crank may be revolved
continuously.
The action of the engine is as follows:-
When the parts are in the positions shewn in Figs. 3 and 4 the steam passes
through the left hand steam port of the valve M into the left hand groove B¹
of the piston by way of the ports and j, pertaining to the said groove. The
steam drives the piston in the direction of the arrow 20, and the double crank
moves the valve M in the direction of the arrow 21. When the piston has
made a quarter revolution, the steam is cut off by the valve M and is allowed
to expand in the said left hand groove for substantially the remaining three
quarters of the revolution. As soon as the valve M has cut off the steam from
the left hand groove it admits steam to the next adjacent groove in the piston
for one quarter of a revolution, and then cuts it off. The valve M then supplies
the third and fourth grooves with steam in a similar manner. Any number of
grooves may be provided in the piston provided the number of ports in the
steam distributing valve is correspondingly increased, and any desired degree
of expansion may thus be arranged for. The steam is exhausted from the piston

page_text: grooves when the piston plates pass the ports j'. The curved wedges operate
the piston plates and abutment plates as then approach each other, so that they
can pass each other without striking. The longitudinal grooves in the said
wedges prevent the formation of compression and suction spaces in the piston
grooves between the ports j¹ and and the abutment plates between the said
ports. The direction of the revolution of the piston is reversed by turning the
reversing valve, by means of its handle, so that the steam-ports i come opposite
the ports instead of the ports j so that the right hand exhaust cavity connects
the ports and instead of the left hand exhaust cavity connecting the ports j¹
and k¹.
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:-
The hereindescribed rotary engine comprising the parts herein before referred
to, all substantially as and arranged in the combination described and adapted
to operate as herein before set forth.