IMPROVEMENTS IN ROTARY ENGINES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Pugh Jones, of Leflore County, State
of Mississippi, in the United States of America, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROTARY ENGINES."
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Edward Pugh Jones at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 31st August 1872, pursuant to the 9th Section
of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO. WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
PUGH JONES, of Leflore County, State of Mississippi, in the United
States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ROTARY ENGINES," and have petitioned Her Majesty. to grant unto me,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent

page_text: for the same, and have made solemn Declaration that I am the first
and true Inventor thereof.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edward Pugh Jones, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and
seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following
statement:-
:-
This Invention relates to that class of engines which are denominated
"rotary engines," and has for its object the production of an engine
which shall be free from many of the objections which have herebefore
existed in that class of engines, whether it be used as a steam or as an
air engine, and to this end the Invention consists in the construction;
combination, and arrangement of some of the parts of which it is com-
posed, they being designed to produce certain new and useful, results
which will be more fully described herein-after.
In order to explain this Invention as completely as possible I now
proceed to describe the best means I am acquainted with for carrying
the same into practical effect,-reference being had to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters of reference
marked thereon.
1
-
Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved engine showing one of
the heads of the cylinder, the steam induction pipe, the induction valves,
and the cams for giving them motion.
Figure
is a sectional elevation showing the concentric cylinder
and the chambered revolving drum with its oscillating abutments, the
abutments in the cylinder, the induction passages for the steam, and the
valves which control them.
S
Fig. 3 is a partial side elevation.
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the revolving drum and its oscillating
or swinging abutments.
Fig. 5 is an elevation of the cam which operates the induction valves.
Fig. 6 is a transverse section on line x, x, of Fig. 2 showing the
construction of the induction valves.
Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a block of metal which is designed to be
placed upon the cam which operates the induction valves for the purpose
of changing at pleasure the point at which steam shall be admitted:
Corresponding letters refer to corresponding parts in the several Figures.

page_text: In constructing engines in accordance with my Invention, I use a
concentric cylinder or case A. which may be made of any required
dimensions arranged to be conveniently attached to a bed plate or
platform. The internal surface of this case is to be bored out smoothly
and to be a perfect cylinder, and is to have steam induction ports formed
in it, as shewn at A' in Fig. 2. There may be any required number
of these ports according to the character of the engine, but I prefer
to have an even number, and they should be so arranged as to be
directly opposite each other, in order that as steam is admitted it shall
press equally upon all parts of the revolving drum, and thus avoid
unequal wear upon the journals of the shaft, and consequently a large
amount of the friction usual in engines of this type, reducing this
friction to an actual minimum. The steam induction ports used in this
cylinder are enlarged beyond what would be necessary to permit them
to admit steam to the cylinder in order that the outer portions of the
abutments soon to be described may pass through them. To the outer
surface of the case or cylinder A, at the points where steam is to be
admitted, steam chests B are secured, into which steam is to be con-
ducted by any suitable steam pipe or pipes B', as shown in Fig. 2. The
induction valves C are placed in the steam chests B, they being of
suitable construction to admit steam to the interior of the case A, and
to cut it off at proper intervals, those shown in the Drawing consisting
of two parts, the outer surfaces of which are in the form of a segment
of a circle in order that they may fit the concentric chamber formed in
the chest for their reception. The two portions of this valve are forced
apart by means of springs, as shown in Figs. 2 and 6, in order that their
outer surfaces may be held in contact with the chamber in which they
oscillate, one of them being furnished with journals which rest in caps
or covers C¹ screwed into or otherwise secured to the chest. One of
these journals extends through the cap or cover and is arranged to receive
a crank D for imparting to the valve the required movements. Upon
the outer end of the shaft which passes through the revolving drum and
through the heads of the cylinder or case A there is placed a cam E,
which may have upon it one, two, or more projections E', E', which
are to be so arranged as to come in contact at the proper times with
suitable levers or sliding rods for giving motion to the valves, the devices
used in the example shown consisting of a lever or levers E³, E³, pivoted
to the head of the cylinder and having upon them projections against
which the cams during a portion of their revolution press, and thus

page_text: cause their lower ends to oscillate and give motion to connecting rods
E³ which are pivoted to them and to the lower ends of the cranks D, thus
imparting to the induction valves their closing movement, their opening
movements being imparted in the present case by means of springs E*,
one end of which is attached to a stud or bolt screwed to the head of
the cylinder and the other end to the oscillating lever E³ in such a
manner that when the raised portion E¹ of the cam E has passed the
projections on the lever E³ they shall instantaneously open the valves
to admit steam to the. cylinder. In order that the springs may be
allowed to act upon the valves at any desired point with reference to
the revolutions of the. drum within the cylinder and thus admit the
steam at any desired point during such revolution, or in other words in
order that the points or times of admitting the steam may be properly
controlled, blocks E³, such as are shown at Fig. 7, are provided, and
are to be bolted to the cam E as represented in Fig. 5, so as to form a
prolongation of the curved portion thereof, and thus control the time
of opening the valves, and in order that the point at which the steam
is to be cut off may be regulated at pleasure blocks E', E', are placed
upon the opposite edge of the raised portion of the cam E', which are
held in position in any suitable manner. When it is desirable to cut
off the steam earlier with reference to the revolution of the drum more
of these blocks are added, and when a more continuous supply of steam
is wanted some of them are removed, and thus the time of cutting off
is regulated.
Instead of the devices here shown for imparting motion to the valves
it is evident that sliding bars may be connected to the crank D, the
inner ends of which may be connected to the cams by means of friction
rollers, so that a sliding motion will be imparted to said rods, and thus
the required movement imparted to the valves; their opening and
closing movement in such a case being positive because controlled by
the cam with which the roller would always be in contact.
The interior portion of my improved engine consists of a chambered
drum G, which is secured to a shaft G', said shaft passing through the
center of the drum and forming its axis and also the journals upon
which it rotates by having its ends extended through the heads of the.
case or cylinder so that the cam E may be attached to one of its outer
ends. This drum is to be of a length equal to that of the case, so that
in revolving its ends may be in contact or very nearly in contact with

page_text: .
the heads thereof, and thus prevent steam from passing that point.
The interior of this drum is to be divided into two or more compart-
ments, which are to communicate with the space between the outer
surface of the cylinder or drum G and the inner surface of the case A,
so that when steam is admitted to such space by the induction valves
a portion of it may pass into these compartments and remain there
until the steam has been exhausted from the space above alluded to,
when by the action of the swinging abutments soon to be described a
portion of it will be allowed to pass out and fill the space between the
two abutments the instant they shall have passed each other, which space
is usually denominated the " clearance," so that when the induction
valves are opened a less quantity of steam is required to enter from the
boiler or generator than would be the case if the space above alluded to
were empty.
Another beneficial effect which will be produced by this steam is that
so soon as the abutments have passed each other far enough to allow
them to return to their open or partially open position it will enter
between said abutments, and thus act expansively upon them during a
portion of the time in which the induction valve is closed, and will
as soon as said valve is opened meet the inflowing current of steam
from the generator and a portion of it pass through into the drum to be
again shut in and used again at the next proper points.
It is believed that an additional advantage and actual increase of
driving power for the instant will be produced by the meeting in
conflict of the two currents of steam, one from the chamber in the drum
and the other from the generator, as a certain amount of reaction will
take place, the force of which will be exerted upon the receding abut-
ment. The abutments H, H', against which the steam presses to cause
the revolution of the drum G are placed in the space between its peri-
phery and the inner surface of the case A, as shewn in Fig. 2. They
consist of two or more pairs of swinging pieces of metal, one of each
pair being hinged to or pivoted in projections screwed upon the revolving
drum, and the other to a similar projection upon the interior of the
case or cylinder. At their pivoted or hinged ends or bases these abut-
ments are made nearly cylindrical in form, in order that they may fit
into a socket formed in the said projections respectively. From this
rounded or cylindrical portion of each there extends a flattened portion,
the length of which is sufficient at a proper angle or incline to fill and

page_text: close the space between the case and the drum, while its width is such
as to permit its front or loose end, which has been curved or bent for
the purpose, to enter a slot formed in the case A, and likewise in the
drum G, in order that when the abutments H, H, which are pivoted
to the revolving drum come under those lettered H', H', they may each
move through one-half of the space which exists between the drum and
the outer case, for which purpose these free ends must enter their respec-
tive slots while they laterally or in width entirely and closely occupy
that space. This arrangement of the abutments is calculated to prevent
much of the injury usually resulting from the moving abutments in
rotary engines as they are now constructed, for the reason that in the
present instance they only have to travel one half the usual distance,
and for the further reason that the inclination upon their outer surfaces
is so slight as not to cause any jar to the machinery upon their coming
in contact.
Another peculiarity in the construction of these abutments consists
in the fact that they are provided with hooks or projections upon that
portion of their surfaces which enters the slots in the case or drum,
which are so arranged that when the abutments have been forced out-
ward by the springs H³ which are placed under them, or by steam
entering beneath them sufficiently far to allow their surfaces to come
in close contact with the drum and case respectively, as shown in Fig. 2,
they will then be held and prevented from being forced out to such
an extent as to cause undue friction upon the parts thus brought in
contact. These abutments are by size or packing to be in such close
contact with the drum and case respectively that steam cannot pass by
them, but yet they are to be so held from within their slots that they
cannot impinge the drum or the case with any more severity, or cause
more wear or friction at a high pressure of steam than at a low one
Another and a very important function which is performed by the
abutments H, H, or those which are pivoted to the revolving drum is,
that they serve as valves for controlling the discharge of steam from the
compartments or chambers of the drum G, they being so fitted to it
that as its chambers have been filled with steam and the drum has
rotated far enough to bring the abutments H, H, under those which are
pivoted to the case or cylinder they will be closed, and thus the steam
will be confined in its apartments until the drum has further rotated
a sufficient distance to. carry the abutments H, H, past those lettered

page_text: "
"
H, H, when those lettered H, H, will instantaneously open and allow
the steam which was confined in the drum to pass out and produce the
effects previously described. For facilitating the removal of the above-
described abutments for the purpose of repairing or repacking them, or.
for replacing them conveniently and quickly with new ones, I provide
one head of the case or cylinder with hand-hole plates or removable,
portions, such as are represented at J in Fig. 3, being placed in such
a position in the head that when removed the abutments may be readily
drawn out and replaced or removed, and again inserted when the “hand
hole plate" is replaced and repacked to prevent the escape of steam
around it. R, R, represent the exhaust passages, which may be placed
in any desired position with reference to the swinging abutments, so
that steam may be exhausted at any desired point of the revolution of
the drum G, but I prefer to place them in such a position that the
steam shall not be exhausted until the abutments in the revolving drum
have nearly reached the point at which they arrive when the abutments.
are to pass each other and the induction valves are to be opened; so that
the full force of the steam will be maintained throughout nearly the-
entire revolution of the drum. These apertures, outlets, or exhausts.
may be provided with escape pipes. to conduct the steam in any desired
direction.
To assist the stopping of the engine or of the revolving drum, when.
desired, and after the valve in the steam pipe is closed, valves or any
other mechanical contrivance may be arranged to close these apertures
or exhausts, whereby the annular space between the outer surface or
periphery of the revolving drum and the inner surface of the cylinder
will soon be filled by the steam contained in the compartments in said
revolving drum, and which being then prevented from escaping will
produce an equilibrium in said annular space.
Having now fully described and set forth my Invention, and the
manner in which the same is or may be arranged and constructed, I
hereby declare that what I claim as my Invention and desire to secure
by Letters Patent is,—
1. In an engine to be propelled by steam, air, or any of the gases
under pressure, a revolving chamber arranged substantially as herein
described, and in which a portion of the steam admitted to propell the
engine is confined for a short period of time, and then automatically
liberated and allowed to come in contact with the current of steam

page_text: which is entering the engine direct from the boiler, as and for the
purpose set forth.
2. I claim the swinging abutments H, H; H', H', when constructed
with projections as described, whereby they are prevented from being
forced out too hard against the surfaces with which they come in
contact.
'
3. I claim the arrangement of the swinging abutments within the
space between the revolving drum and the case, in such a manner that
upon their coming in contact those on the revolving drum shall be made
to recede through one half of the space and at the same time cause the
others to recede through the other half of such space.
4. I claim the arrangement of the swinging abutments H', H', with
reference to the revolving drum G, whereby the steam is confined in
said drum and is let out at the proper point of time in order that it may
act expansively to propel the engine, substantially as described.
5. I claim the cam E for closing the induction valves when provided
with the removable blocks for controlling the point or time of opening
and closing the valve, substantially as set forth.
6. I claim the removable portion J'of the cylinder head when arranged
in relation to the swinging abutments, substantially as and for the
purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Pugh Jones, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
Witness,
HENRY E. ROEDER,"
Solicitor of Patents,
302, Broadway,
New York:
EDWARD PUGH JONES. (L.S.)