Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Jan., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Sept., 1896-Accepted, 7th Jan., 1897
I, OSCAR ERNEST MORSE, of Montana Street, Dillon, in the County of
Beaverhead, and State of Montana, United States of America, Merchant, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to that class of engines in which steam or other similar
motive agent causes the rotation of a piston within a cylinder to transmit motion to
a shaft.
The object of the invention is to provide an engine of the class mentioned
wherein the motive agent will act on the pistons at all times at a certain distance
from their axes thereby maintaining an even leverage and consequently producing
a steady and even motion. A further object is to so construct the parts that the
engine pistons may be rotated equally well in either direction.
The invention consists in means for producing a positive action of the pistons
with relation to the steam cylinder and in providing an automatic governor or cut
off so that more or less steam may be admitted for expansion as the speed tends to
increase or decrease. It further consists in the construction and novel arrangement
of parts as will be hereinafter explained.
The driving shaft is mounted eccentrically to the axis of the cylinder in stuffing
boxes in the heads of the cylinder casing and has concentrically mounted on it a
cylindrical piston carrier which is thus eccentric to the steam cylinder and provides
a steam space between it and the lower portion of the casing. The piston carrier
has a web portion and hubs or bosses extending from the web portion and
surrounding the shaft. The rim of the carrier extends across the steam cylinder
and its edges are provided with packing rings held in contact with the heads by
means of springs. The upper side of the carrier revolves against a packing plate
seated in a channel in a partition block and forced outwards by means of springs.
The pistons extend through diametrically opposite openings in the rim of the
carrier and are adapted to bear against the wall of the cylinder and to provide a
steam tight connection. The pistons carry at their outer ends spring-impelled
packing plates and their inner ends are rigidly secured to yoke plates having
openings elongated in the direction of the pistons and surrounding the hub. The
yoke plates have laterally extended parallel end flanges against which bear the
straight parallel edges of eccentric plates monnted to rotate on bosses extending
inward from the cylinder heads and eccentrically surrounding the shaft. By this
construction, as the piston carrier rotates eccentrically to the inner wall of the
cylinder and rotates the eccentric plates the latter will be moved transversely of the
yoke plates causing them to move transversely of the carrier, thus changing
the relative projections of the pistons to cause each of them at all times to bear
upon the wall of the cylinder.
A valve chest is mounted on the cylinder provided with steam ports communi-
cating with the steam chamber and also with inlet and exhaust pipes. The valve
chest is provided with a rotary cut off valve oue end of which is provided with
ports adapted to form a connection between the exhaust pipe and either oue of the
steam ports and at the other end the valve has a longitudinal recess forming
a steam chamber in the valve and from which three steam ports lead outwaru.

page_text: A stem extends from the end of the valve through the head of the valve chest and
to the outer end of the stem is pivoted a shifting lever, so that it may be rocked
outwards on the stem. On its inner side the shifting lever is provided with a
projection or lug adapted to be engaged in one of a series of notches in the
periphery of the head with which it is held in locking engagement by means of a
spring secured at one end to the lever and bearing at the other end upon the stem.
When the lever is in its direct vertical position the valve will cut off the steam
ports so that no motion will be imparted to the engine. By turning the lever
faterally in one direction the valve will be rotated to connect two of the ports with
each other and the remaining port with the steam inlet and when in this position
the exhaust will be out through the one steam port while by shifting the lever
laterally in the opposite direction the exhaust will be through the other steam
port.
It will thus be seen that the pistons may be caused to rotate in either direction.
The automatic steam regulating mechanism consists of a rotary and longitudinally
movable valve shaft extended through the head of the valve chest and into the
chamber of the rotary cut off valve where it has secured to it a regulating valve.
This regulating valve has in its inner face a segmentally-cut away portion forming
a segmental projection and it is designed to have a slight rotary movement on its
shaft and with this end in view I loosely secure it to the shaft by means of a pin or
screw passing through a slot in the valve and engaging with the shaft. In this
manner the shaft is allowed a limited rotary motion relatively to the valve when
the engine is reversed, causing the steam to be cut off' at the proper time or place
by the valve whichever way the engine rune. A disc is affixed to the valve shaft
within the chamber at the side of the port opposite that of the valve which disc by
striking against the inner surface of the head of the valve chest will serve as a stop.
to limit the outward movement of the shaft. The outer portion of the valve shaft
has a bearing through a yoke extended from the head of the valve chest and
loosely mounted to rotate on this yoke is a pinion meshing with a gear wheel keyed
on the driving shaft. I find it desirable to make the pinion one half the circum-
ference of the gear wheel but the relative sizes may be varied without departing
from my invention as the object is merely to impart a greater rotary speed to the
valve shaft than to the driving shaft. From the pinion extend brackets to which
-are pivotally connected the angle portion of governor arms, the outer ends of which
are provided with governor weights and their inner ends are slotted to engage with
a pin extended across a transverse opening in a block rigidly secured to the end of
the valve shaft. A spiral spring surrounds the valve shaft within the yoke and
abuts at one end against a collar atlixed to the shaft and at the other end against
a collar movable longitudinally of the shalt to adjust the tension of the spring but
intended to rotate therewith. The tension adjusting lever for the spring consists
of an angle lever pivoted at its angle to the yoke. One arm of the lever is
bifurcated and has a slotted pivotal connection with a ring mounted loosely on the
shaft and bearing against the outer surface of the collar and the other arm bas a
screw thread engagement with an adjusting screw passing upward through a slot
opening in the yoke and by means of which the lever may be worked to niove the
ring and regulate the tension of the spring.
The operation of the engine is as follows:-Steam is admitted to the steam
chamber where it exerts its force on the piston in line with the port causing it to
move around until it has reached a point slightly above a certain position when the
steam will exhaust and then of course the opposite piston will receive the force of
live steam. When the engine is set in motion the gear wheel and governor causes
the pinion to rotate rapidly and as the speed increases the weighted arms will be
forced correspondingly outward to draw the valve shaft outward and cause the
projecting part of the valve to more or less cover the port. When a certain speed
is attained the valve will be directly over said port and its cut away portion will
admit a full head of steam only while the piston is passing from one point to
another point when the projected portion of the valve will partially close the port and

page_text: serve as an abutment so that the steam will act expansively to the point of exhaust.
If the load is taken off the engine so that a higher rate of speed is attained, the
valve shaft will be drawn more and more outward till all or nearly all of the steam
will be cut off from the port, thus reducing the speed when the spring will force
the valve back toward its former position and admit stean enough to impart a
regular speed to the engine.
Dated this 7th day of January 1896.
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.
I OSCAR ERNEST MORSE, Merchant, of Montana Street, Dillon in the County
of Beaverhead and State of Montana, United States of America 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 :-
This invention relates to that class of engines in which steam or other similar
motive agent causes the rotation of a piston within a cylinder to transmit motion
to a power shaft.
The object of the invention is to provide an engine of the class mentioned,
wherein the motive agent will act on the pistons at all times at a certain distance
from their axes, thereby maintaining an even leverage and consequently producing
a steady and even motion. A further object is to so construct the parts that the
engine pistons may be rotated equally well in either direction.
The invention consists in means for producing a positive action of the pistons
with relation to the steam cylinder, and in providing an automatic governor or cut
off, so that more or less steam may be admitted for expansion as the speed tends to
increase or decrease.
It further consists in the construction and novel arrangement of parts as will be
hereinafter explained and pointed out in the appended claims.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this
specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts
in all the figures.
Figure 1 is a transverse section on the line 1-1 of Figure 2, of a rotary engine
embodying my invention;
Figure 2 is a vertical section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a horizontal section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a partial elevation and partial section on the line 4-4 of Figure 2;
Figure 5 is an edge view of a regulating valve employed.
Figure 6 is a section of the exhaust valve on line 6-6 Fig. 2 when the valve is
in such position that port 2 registers with steam port 61 Figure 1.
Referring to the drawings, A is a steam cylinder casing having the
heads A' provided with suitable stuffing boxes through which the driving shaft A'
extends.
The shaft A is eccentric to the axis of the cylinder A aud has concentrically
mounted on it a cylindrical pistou carrier A', which is thus eccentric to the steam
cylinder and provides between it and the lower portion of the steam cylinder a
steam space a.
The piston carrier A³ has a web portion a¹ and
the web portion and surrounding the shaft A.
hubs or bosses a² extending from
The rim of the carrier extends

page_text: across the steam cylinder and its edges are provided with packing rings a, held in
contact with the heads A' by means of springs. The upper side of the carrier
revolves against a packing late a' seated in a channel in a partition block a³ and
forced outwards by means of springs.
B designates the pistons which extend through diametrically opposite openings
in the rim of the carrier A, and are adapted to bear against the wall of the
cylinder A; and to provide a steam tight connection. The pistons carry at their
outer ends spring impelled packing plates 6 and their inner ends are rigidly secured
to yoke plates B' having openings elongated in the direction of the pistons and
surrounding the hubs a
The yoke plates B₁ have laterally extended parallel end flanges b' against which
the straight parallel edges of eccentric plates B2 bear. The plates B² are mounted
to rotate on bosses extended inward from the cylinder heads A' and eccentrically
surrounding the shaft A. By this construction, as the piston carrier rotates
eccentrically to the inner wall of the cylinder A and rotates the plates B' on the
fixed eccentrics, the said plates will be moved transversely of the yoke plates B',
causing them to move transversely of the carrier A, thus changing the relative
projections of the pistons B to cause each of them at all times to bear upon the
wall of the cylinder A.
B is a valve chest mounted on the cylinder A and having steam ports b b com-
municating with the steam chamber a. Inlet and exhaust pipes B, B communicate
with the interior of the valve chest.
C is the rotary cut off valve in the valve chest. At one end, the valve C ist
provided with ports 1 adapted to form a connection between the exhaust pipe B
and either one of the exhaust ports 66, 67 and at the other end the valve has a
longitudinal recess e forming a steam chamber in the valve and from which steam
ports 2, 3, 4, lead outward."
A etem e extends from the end of the valve through the head of the valve
chest, and to the outer end of the stem is secured a shifting lever C. This shifting
lever has a pivotal connection with the stem so that it may be rocked outwards on
the stem. On its inner side the lever C is provided with a projection or lug c
adapted to be engaged in one of a series of notches in the periphery of the head c²,
with which it is held in locking engagement by means of a spring e secured at one
end to the lever and bearing at the other end upon the stem c¹.
When the lever C is in its direct vertical position as indicated in the drawings,
the valve C will cut off the steam ports so that no motion will be imparted to the
engine. By turcing the lever laterally in one direction the valve will be rotated
to connect the port 2, with the port, and the port 3 with the steam inlet B and
when in this position the exhaust will be out through the port . By shifting the
lever laterally in the opposite direction the port 2 will register with the port M,
and the port 4 will register with the steam inlet B' and the exhaust will be through
the port.
It will be seen by this construction that the pistons may be caused to rotate in
either direction.
I will now describe the automatic steam regulating mechanism.
D is a rotary and longitudinally movable valve shaft extended through the
head e, of the valve chest B and into the chamber c of the valve C, where it has
secured to it a regulating valve D'. This valve Di has in its inner face a
segmentally cut away portion d forming a segmental projection d' and it is
designed to have a slight rotary movement on the shaft D and with this end in
view I loosely secure it to the shaft by means of a pin or screw passing through
a slot (Figure 5) in the valve and engaging with the shaft. With this connection
the shaft is allowed a limited rotary motion relatively to the valve when the engine
is reversed, causing the steam to be cut off at the proper time or place by the valve
whichever way the engine runs.
A disk d' is affixed to the shaft D, within the chamber e at the side of the
port &oppusite that of the valve D', which disk by striking against the inner

page_text: surface of the head c will serve as a stop to limit the outward movement of the
shaft.
The outer portion of the shaft D has a bearing through a yoke D', extended
from the head c, and loosely mounted to rotate on this yoke is a pinion D³,.
meshing with a gear wheel D, rigidly mounted on the driving shaft A. I find it
desirable to make the pinion D, one half the circumference of the gear D', but
the relative sizes may be varied without departing from my invention, as the
object is merely to impart a greater rotary speed to the shaft D than to the
driving shaft.
Angle governor arms D are pivotally connected at their angle portion to
brackets d' extended rigidly from the pinion D. The outer ends of the arms D
are provided with governor weights, and their inner ends are slotted as shown to
engage with a pin extended across a transverse opening in a block d, rigidly.
secured to the end of the shaft D.
Within the yoke D' a spiral spring E surrounds the shaft D, and abuts at one
end against a collar e affixed to the shaft and at the other end against a collar e
movable longitudinally of the shaft but intended to rotate therewith.
As a meaus to allow the collar e' to move longitudinally of the shaft and cause
it to rotate with the shaft, I here show the collar attached to the shaft by means
of a pin carried by the collar and passing through a longitudinal slote in the
shaft, but it is obvious that other connections may be made for this purpose, as the
only object of moving the collar e' is to adjust the tension of the spring Eas
circumstances may require.
E' is a tension adjusting lever fur the spring E. It is here shown in the form
of an angle lever pivoted at its angle to the yoke D. One arm of the lever is
bifurcated and has a slotted pivotal connection with a ring e, mounted loosely ou
the shaft D and bearing against the outer surface of the collar e', and the other
arm has a serew thread engagement with an adjusting screw e passing upward
through a slot opening in the yoke D2. Obviously by manipulating the screw e
the lever E' may be worked to move the ring 3 and regulate the tension of the
spring.
The operation of the engine is as follows:
Steam is admitted to the steam chamber a where it exerts its force on the piston
in line with the port, causing it to move around until it has reached a point
slightly above the position of the opposite piston shown in the drawings, when the
steam will exhaust and then, of course, the opposite piston will receive the force of
live steam.
When the engine is at rest, the governor and cut off will be in the position
shown in Figure 2, but when set in motion the gear D causes the pinion D to
rotate rapidly, and as the speed increases, the weighted arms D will be forced
correspondingly outward to draw the shaft D outward and cause the projecting
part d' of the valve D' to more or less cover the port b. When a certain speed
is attained the valve D' will be directly over the port 6, and its cut away portion
will admit a full head of steam only while the piston is passing from the point
shown to a point approximately at c, Figure 1, when the projected portion of the
valve will partially close the port 6, and serve as an abutment so that the steam
will act expansively to the point of exhaust. If the load is taken off the engine
so that a higher rate of speed is attained, the shaft D will be drawn more and
more outward till all or nearly all of the steam will be cut off from the port 64,
thus reducing the speed, when the spring E will force the valve back toward its
former position and admit steam enough to impart a regular speed to the engine.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said.
invention, and in what manner the same is to he performed, I declare that what I
claim is,-
1. In a rotary engine, the combination with a steam cylinder, of the piston
carrier eccentrically mounted therein, the transversely reciprocating pistons iu.

page_text: said carrier, and mechanism, comprising fixed eccentrics and eccentric plates
movable transversely of the pistons for causing said reciprocations during the
rotary motion of the carrier, substantially as specified.
2. In a rotary engine, the combination with a steam cylinder, of the piston
carrier therein and rigidly mounted on a driving shaft, the transversely movable
pistons mounted in said carrier, a yoke plate to which the pistons are rigidly
attached, the said plate having an elongated opening surrounding a hub on the
carrier, an eccentric plate engaging with the yoke plate, and a fixed eccentric on
which the eccentric plate rotates, substantially as specified.
3. In an engine, the rotary, chambered cut-off valve, the rotary regulating valve
therein, and mechanism for moving the regulating valve longitudinally of the
chambered valve for regulating the opening of a steam port, substantially as
specified.
4. In a rotary engine, the combination with the rotary pistons and the driving
shaft, of the chambered cut-off valve, a shaft extended therein and receiving
rotary motion from the driving shaft, a regulating valve on the shaft within the
chamber of the cut-off valve, and a governor operating by centrifugal action to
draw the valve bearing shaft longitudinally outwards, and the spring for moving
Baid shaft in the opposite direction, substantially as specified.
5. The combination with the rotary cut-off valve having the steam chamber and
the ports, of the regulating valve in said chamber having a segmental cut-away
portion and a projecting portion, and mechanism for causing a rotary motion of
the valve and also a movement longitudinally of the cut-off valve, substantially as
specified.
6. The combination with the rotary cut-off valve having the steam chamber and
the port, of the regulating valve, the shaft carrying the same and adapted to have
a slight rotary movement relatively to the regulating valve, a centrifugal governor
for moving the shaft in one direction, a spring for moving it in the other direction,
and a tension device for the spring, substantially as specified.
Dated this 22nd day of September 1896.
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
53 Chaucery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.