Improvements in Rotary Engines.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Apr., 1890-Accepted; 31st May, 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Rotary Engines.
I GEORGE HENRY WESTON of Boston, in the State of Massachusetts one of the
United States of America, Machinist 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 rotary engines and is an improvement upon the engine
shown and described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to me dated
the 13th day of November 1888 No. 16406 and has for its object to improve the
construction of the same.
One feature of my present invention consists in providing, between the abutment
and the bearing for the shaft of the said abutment, a steam space or chamber into
which steam is admitted to effect a counterbalance of pressure of the steam admitted
through the piston valve, thereby relieving the bearings from pressure and diminishing
the wear upon the same, and as a result prolonging the life of the engine.
Another feature of my invention consists in providing the piston valve with an
annular flange to increase the strength of the said valve, and with an inlet port of
increased area by which a larger amount of steam may be admitted through the port
to act on the abutment as will be described.
The particular feature in which my invention consists will be pointed out in the
claim at the end of this specification.
Fig. 1 is a transverse section of a rotary engine embodying my invention the section
being supposed to be taken on line x-x, Fig. 2.
Fig. 2 is a section of the engine shown in Fig. 1, on the line ¹³.
Referring to Fig. 2, the cylindrical case A is provided with the bearings a, a', tho
bearing a being extended into the case and having mounted upon it the abutment a
located in the said case, and the cover a³ is secured to the said case in any suitable
manner, substantially as shown and described in my patent referred to.
The abutment a is detachably secured, as by screw a', to an enlarged head a
secured to or forming part of the shaft as extended through the sleeve a' herein shewn
as made conical near its inner end to fit upon a conically shaped portion of the shaft a
marked 2.
10
The shaft as is coupled by gears a³, a°, as in the patent referred to, to the shaft a¹0
of the piston valve a detachably secured, as by screw a, to the enlarged head a¹³ of
the said shaft.
The shaft a¹ is extended through a sleeve b provided with a conically shaped end to
fit the conically shaped portion of the shaft a marked 3.
The sleeve is inserted through the extended bearing a¹ and is surrounded by
a suitable packing ring b².
The piston a¹ on its inner end, as herein shewn, is provided with an annular flange b
fitted into a recess on the inner side of the cylindrical case A, and at its opposite end
the said piston valve is provided with an extension 6 preferably made beveled shaped
as shown in Fig. 2, the said extension being projected into a recess in the cap a³, to
obtain a larger piston valve, so that the inlet port 6s may be made larger than shewn
in my patent referred to.
The piston valve a¹ has co-operating with it the cut-off 6' substantially as in the
patent referred to, and the said valve is provided with the arm 60 extended into the
re-entrant portion of the abutment.
The steam enters by the port bs and passes through the cut-off and through the port *
into the re-entering portion 6 of the abutment, and in order to counterbalance the
pressure of steam upon the re-entering portion of the abutment and thereby diminish
the wear upon the bearings of the said abutment and its shaft, an annular channel is
cut in the hearing a within the case A to form a chamber e into which steam is

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admitted through the port c¹ in the case A, the said port being connected by a pipe to
the steam supply pipe, or if desired to any other source of supply of steam.
The flange on the piston valve a¹ adds increased strengtli to the said valve, so
that the engine may be run a much longer time than if the said flange were dispensed
with.
If it, is desired to renew the shafts a, a10, as for instance, for purpose of trueing
the same, they may readily be detached from the abutment and the piston valve by
removing the screws a, a, the cover a³ being removed.
I prefer to make the shafts a, a, conical at the parts marked 2, 3, as it will readily
be seen, by driving the sleeves a, b, further into the case, that the bearing for the
shaft may always be tight.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
i
1. In a rotary engine, the combination with an enclosing case provided with
bearings, of an abutment, a shaft for said abutment, an independent hollow piston
valve, and a shaft for said piston valve provided with a flange to which the said piston
valve is detachably secured, substantially as described.
2. In a rotary engine, the combination with an enclosing case fitted with an
extended bearing, of a revolving abutment mounted upon said bearing and provided
with a re-entrant portion 69, an annular channel c on the outside of the said bearing
between it and the said revolving abutment, a piston valve having an arm to enter said
re-entrant portion, shafts for said abutment and piston valve, and gearing to connect
said shafts, substantially as described.
3. In a rotary engine, the combination with an enclosing case, an abutment having
a shaft extended through said case and provided with the re-entrant portion 6, of a
piston valve having an extension provided with an enlarged port opening 65, and a
cap provided with a recess into which the extended end of the piston valve projects,
substantially as described.
Dated the 28th day of April 1890
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicant.