Im- PROVEMENTS IN ENGINES WORKED BY FLUID PRESSURE, SUCH ENGINES BEINGSO APPLICABLE AS PUMPS FORIFTING ORCING
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Peter Brotherhood, of No. 15, Elgin Road, Not-
ting Hill, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN ENGINES WORKED BY FLUID PRESSURE, SUCH ENGINES BEING
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Peter Brotherhood at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 5th June 1873.
I, PETER BROTHERHOOD, of No. 15, Elgin Road, Notting Hill, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said In-
vention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ENGINES WORKED BY FLUID PRESSURE, SUCH
ENGINES BEING ALSO APPLICABLE AS PUMPS FOR LIFTING OR FORCING FLUIDs," to be
as follows:
In a Provisional Specification filed by me on the 24th day of January,
1873, No. 287, I described a form of steam engine having three single
acting cylinders fitted with pistons acting on one crank as applicable to
the driving of rapidly revolving machines directly without the inter-
vention of multiplying gear.

page_text: My present Invention relates to improvements in such engines
whereby their construction and action are simplified, and they are
adapted for being worked by water or other fluid pressure as well as
by steam so that they can be conveniently used for driving capstans or
other comparatively slowly revolving machines as well as for those of
a rapidly revolving kind. I attach three cylinders, each of which is
open at the one end and closed by a cover at the other end, to one
central box or chamber towards which their open ends are presented,
the axes of the three cylinders being all in one plane, but at angles of
120° or thereabouts to each other. Each of the cylinders is fitted
with a piston which when the engine is to be worked by water
pressure may be packed with a cup leather. From each piston there is
a connecting rod to one crank within the central chamber. As will pre-
sently be described, each piston works the crank and is moved by it
with a thrust and without tension, the connecting rods therefore do not
require to be jointed by eyes and pins to the several pistons, but are
merely made with rounded ends, sunk into rounded cavities in the
pistons. Also, instead of having eyes at their other ends embracing
the crank pin they are merely made hollow at these ends, presenting
each a segment of a hollow cylinder which butts against the cylindrical
periphery of the crank pin; and the three rods may be kept up in
contact with the pin by rings embracing the segments of cylindrical
bosses which they present on either side of the rod itself. The crank
shaft passes through the side of the central chamber and is connected
to the capstan or other machine which it is intended to work, or to the
rotating shaft by which it is to be worked for pumping or forcing. The
crank or its shaft carries round with it a rotary slide which is fitted at
the side of the central chamber so as to cover and uncover in succession
ports leading to the outer ends of the three cylinders and an outlet
port, the casing of the rotary slide being supplied with steam or water
or other fluid under pressure. The passages in the rotary slide being
arranged in suitable relation to the three cylinder ports and the outlet
port, one or two of the three cylinders will be receiving a supply of
steam or fluid under pressure, while one or both of the others is dis-
charging fluid by the outlet port, and thus there will always be a thrust
from the three pistons in succession on the crank, causing the same to
revolve, while by its revolution it will thrust back the pistons succes-
sively when they are relieved from pressure, and work the rotary slide
so as to bring them successively into operation. The central chamber

page_text: may be kept constantly filled with oil or other lubricating material.
Owing to the successive withdrawal of one or two pistons during the
successive advance of the others the capacity of the central chamber
undergoers very little variation; it may therefore be almost entirely
filled with incompressible lubricating liquid leaving only a small air
space in connection with it, so that the slight variations in its capacity
may be allowed for by the elasticity of the air.
Engines constructed as above described but with their pistons con-
nected to the one crank by jointed connecting rods, can be applied for
pumping or forcing water, air, or other fluids, the crank shaft in such
case being driven by any convenient power, and the ports and rotary
slide being arranged so as to provide ingress and egress for the fluid
to the several cylinders in accord with the movements of their respective
pistons.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Peter Brotherhood in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 4th December 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PETER
BROTHERHOOD, of No. 15, Elgin Road, Notting Hill, in the County of
Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Peter Brotherhood, Her special license
that I, the said Peter Brotherhood, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Peter Brotherhood, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ENGINES
WORKED BY FLUID PRESSURE, SUCH ENGINES BEING ALSO APPLICABLE AS PUMPS FOR
LIFTING OR FORCING FLUIDS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Peter Brotherhood, my executors or administrators, by an instrument

page_text: in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the
same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calender
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Peter Brotherhood, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say :—
In the Specification of a Patent granted to me on the 24th January
1873, No. 287, I described a form of steam engine having three single
acting cylinders fitted with pistons acting on one crank, as applicable
to the driving of rapidly rotating machines directly without the inter-
vention of multiplying gear.
My present Invention relates to improvements in such engines
whereby their construction and action are simplified, and they are
adapted for being worked by water or other fluid pressure as well as
by steam, so that they can be conveniently used for driving capstans or
other comparatively slowly revolving machines as well as for those of a
rapidly revolving kind.
In order that my present Invention may be the better understood, I
will first mention certain defects in the engines described in the Specifi-
cation above referred to, which defects it is chiefly the object of the
present improvements to remedy. As formerly specified the engine was
so arranged that the inner surfaces of the pistons were constantly.
exposed to the full working pressure, while their outer surfaces were
alternately subjected to and relieved from the pressure, the steam being
supplied in the first instance to a central cavity, and being drawn
therefrom to supply the outer ends of the cylinders in succession. From.
this arrangement it followed that the out stroke of each piston had not
only to effect the movement of the crank, but had also to drag in the
other pistons against the pressure in the central cavity, and thus con-
siderable unnecessary strain was thrown upon the working parts, and
their friction was proportionally increased. Morcover it was impossible
without considerable sacrifice of efficiency to work the steam expan-

page_text: sively against the central pressure, and the moving parts having to work
in a cavity charged with the fluid at high pressure could not without
great difficulty be lubricated.
In order to remedy these defects I arrange the triple cylinder engine
to work by steam or other fluid under pressure, as shewn by the
transverse section, Fig. 1, and the longitudinal section, Fig. 2. A¹, A³, A³,
are the three cylinders arranged round the central cavity B with their
axes in the same plane inclined to each other at 120° or thereabouts.
These cylinders are fitted with pistons C₁, O³, C³, which are respectively
connected by rods D', D³, D³, to one crank E on the shaft F. The
rods D¹, D3, D', being always in compression (as will hereafter be
explained) are made not with eyes to embrace the crank pin E, but with
hollow faces to butt against its cylindrical surface, and rings e, e, are
fitted on either side over the projecting parts of their segmental bosses to
prevent the ends of the rods from straying from their proper position in
contact with the crank pin.
From the outer end of each cylinder a passage (of which one is shewn
in Fig. 1) a³ is led to a port on the slide face H to which is fitted a
slide of nearly hemispherical form K, provided with an inlet and an
outlet port as shewn by the sectional elevation of the slide Fig. 4. The
slide is enclosed within a jacket which is supplied with the steam or
working fluid by the pipe L, and from the middle of which there is a
passage M for the escape of the steam or fluid after it has done its work.
The slide K is driven by a short shaft N having a crank O, with a hole
into which enters a projecting part of the crank pin E. The middle
cavity B may be empty, but I prefer to charge it with oil, tallow, or
other lubricating material in which the moving parts work. As the
capacity of the cavity B undergoes very little variation it may be almost
entirely filled with lubricating liquid, leaving only a small air space to
allow for slight changes of capacity. The main shaft F passes through
a bearing in the side of this cavity, and I prefer to furnish this bearing
with three bushes that can be set up by wedge shaped keys to maintain
the centrality of the shaft. The parts of the rotating slide K being in
the first instance duly adjusted to the crank E successively put the outer
end of each of the three cylinders in communication with the supply L
and then with the discharge M, and thus the three pistons successively
are pushed inwards by the pressure on their outer surfaces, so as to turn

page_text: the crank shaft, and are thrust outwards by the action of the crank, the
rods connecting them to the crank being thus always subjected to
compressive strain. As the central cavity B contains air or fluid at
atmospheric pressure, this pressure is the limit of the resistance to the
instroke of each piston, and by properly arranging the position and
extent of the supply port of the slide K the supply of steam or working
.fluid can be cut off at any point in the stroke of each piston, leaving the
remaining part of the stroke to be effected by the expansion of the fluid
already admitted. The engine shewn in Figs. 1 and 2 has its slide K
constructed and connected to the crank E, in such a manner that the
shaft shall always revolve in one direction. When it is desired that the
engine should be capable of reversal I construct the slide and its
connections in the manner shewn in Fig. 3, which represents a section
of the slide jacket and parts adjoining, and Fig. 4, which is a front view
of the same partly in section. In this case the crank pin E instead of
entering a round hole in the slide crank O, bears against oither of two
stops o¹ and o³ on the periphery of a disc or segment O' fixed on the
slide spindle N', and this spindle is extended through a stuffing box
and provided externally with a hand wheel n. By means of this wheel
the slide can be turned so that either of the stops o¹ or o³ can be brought
to bear against the crank pin E, whereupon the engine being started
will revolve in the one direction or the other, the crank E driving the
slide by means of the stop o¹ or o² against which it bears.
The supply of steam or working fluid may be regulated by a governor
and throttle valve in the ordinary way. I prefer however to apply the
governor in such a manner that it shall act, not by throttling or with-
drawing the steam or working fluid, but that it shall cause it to work
more or less expansively in the three cyliders. For this purpose I
combine with the rotating slide an expansion or cut-off slide and
governor in the manner shewn in longitudinal section at Fig. 5, and in a
transverse section at Fig. 6. In this case the rotating slide K has
attached to it a sleeve or tubular shaft P which revolves with it. On
this sleeve is mounted a governor Q the balls of which are kept closed
by means of a helical spring q. The arms of the balls project beyond
their fulcra and their outer ends are jointed to two racks r, r, fitted to
slide in guides at the extremity of the sleeve P, as will be understood by
referring to Fig. 7, which represents a view of the end of the sleeve with
the racks r, r, mounted thereon. These racks gear into the teeth of a

page_text: pinion R fixed on a spindle S, which extends along the hollow of the
sleeve P and at its inner end has fixed on it an arm 8. To this arm is
attached a divided ring t on which is fixed a cylindrical segment T
fitted into a vacant portion of the cylindrical periphery of the slide K.
k¹.
-
When owing to the moderate velocity of their revolution the governor
balls are collapsed, as shewn in Fig. 5, the cylindrical segment T is in
the position shewn in Fig. 6, leaving the full opening k², for supply
to the port a³. When owing to a higher velocity of rotation the
governor balls are expanded, the racks r, r, worked by their arms partly
turn the pinion R and spindle S, whereby the segment T is moved
forwards so as to diminish the width of the opening -k, and con-
sequently to cause the supply to the port a³ to be cut off at an earlier
period of the stroke of the piston acted upon by that supply. As the
slide rotates carrying with it the segment T a like action ensues in
respect of the outer ports a¹ and a². As the advance of the segment T
would leave an opening at ³, its back edge, such opening is covered by
the ring to prevent any of the ports from receiving supply at the
wrong period of the revolution. The discharge from the slide may be
conducted into the central cavity as shewn, and the cavity may be
connected to a condenser.
Figs. 8 and 9 shew by horizontal and vertical section the manner in
which I adapt an engine of the kind described above as a hydraulic
engine to be worked by water or other liquid under pressure, as for the
purpose of moving a capstan. Here A1, A2, A3, are the three cylinders
arranged round the central cavity B, and fitted with pistons C³, C², C³,
packed with cup leathers. The connecting rods D¹, D³, D³, being always
in compression are not necessarily jointed to the pistons, but may be
made as shewn with rounded ends fitting rounded cavities in the pistons.
The crank E on the shaft F works a crank P connected by a spindle to
the rotating slide G arranged within the slide jacket Q.
K is the pipe
for supplying the working liquid, and L is the discharge for the same
after having done its work. On the shaft F, which may when required
be supported in a lengthened bearing N, is fixed the capstan O, or other
apparatus which the engine is intended to drive.
Figs. 10 and 11 show by longitudinal and transverse section the
manner in which I adant such an engine to be worked as Я numn hv

page_text: driving the main shaft F. In this case instead of connecting the pistons
to a crank their connecting rods D', D³, D³, may be made to bear, as
shewn, against the periphery of an eccentric E on the shaft F. M is the
suction, and L is the discharge pipe made to communicate alternately
and successively with the outer ends of the three cylinders A¹, A³, A³,
by means of the slide K, caused to rotate with the shaft F. To each of
the three pistons C¹, C³, C³, is attached a plunger c¹, c³, c³, which works
through packing in a barrel d', d, d, formed on the cover of each
cylinder. All these barrels are permanently in communication by pipes
e, es, es, with the slide jacket, so that they are constantly subjected to
the pressure of the discharged liquid. This pressure, acting on the
plungers c³, c, c³, forces them inwards, and thereby assists the instroke
of the pistons to which they are respectively attached, during which
instroke cach piston draws into a cylinder a charge of the liquid
supplied by the pipe M, discharging it during the outstroke by the

page_text: charging the central cavity with lubricating material in which the
moving parts work.
In witness whereof, I, the said Peter Brotherhood, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Second day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.