IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1885

page_text: We, WILLIAM HUMPHREY WHEATLEY, and JOHN WILLIAM MACKENZIE, both of
156 Strand in the county of Middlesex, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature
of our invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES to be as follows:-
This invention relates to engines of that class in which each working cylinder is
formed in or is part of a containing cylinder oscillating in an enclosing casing
about an axis at right angles to the axis of the working cylinder, and in which the
ports admitting steam to the ends of the working cylinder are formed in parts of
the containing cylinder working in contact with the casing, and act in conjunction
with ports in the enclosing casing, and has for its object the providing of suitable
means and mechanism by which the direction of rotation of the engine may be
reversed, or by which the engine may be caused to run in either direction at
pleasure.
In our application for a patent No 9153, dated 30th July, 1885, we described a
construction of engine of the above type in which, near the end of the stroke of
the piston the steam was passed from one side of the working piston to the other
and compressed, and in which means were provided for readily releasing the
expanded steam from the cylinder at or near the end of the stroke of the piston.
In an engine constructed according to our present invention means are provided
by which the engine can be run in either direction at pleasure, or be reversed,
while all the advantages described in our above named application are retained.
Our invention is also applicable to engines constructed without those said
improvements.
In carrying out this invention the enclosing casing is constructed with two
steam chests or chambers preferably arranged one on each side of the said casing
and parallel with the axis of oscillation of the cylinders, these chambers being
connected respectively to the main steam and exhaust pipes.
Instead of forming steanr ports in the enclosing casing to work in conjunction
with corresponding ports in the containing cylinders, a long, preferably rectangular
part of the enclosing casing inside the steam chest and immediately facing the steam
ports in the containing cylinders is removed, and into the aperature or rectangular
opening thus formed is fitted a long valve carriage, free to slide through a limited
distance in the direction parallel to the axis of oscillation of the cylinders, and
provided with suitable flanges, the faces of which slide upon corresponding faces

page_text: upon the enclosing casing inside the steam chest, and are pressed against the said
faces by means of suitable strips, or by the pressure of the steam on the back of
the valve carriage, or by both as the case may be.
The steam ports in the surface of the containing cylinders are preferably all in
one line which is parallel to the axis of oscillation of the containing cylinders.
The inner face of the valve carriage is suitably formed and faced to the radius of
the internal surface of the enclosing casing, and forms a cylindrical surface con-
tinuous with that of the enclosing casing, against which the outer surface of the
containing cylinders slide, when the engine is working. The valve carriage is
provided with steam ports to work in conjunction with the ports in the containing
cylinders, and is also provided with an additional set of ports which when the
engine is running in one direction are idle, that is to say, no steam is passing
through them to the-cylinders, as the valve carriage is in such a position that these
ports terminate opposite portions of the surfaces of the containing cylinders where
there are no ports. There are thus three ports in the valve carriage for each
cylinder; a part of each of these ports terminates in the face of the valve carriage
in a line parallel to the axis of oscillation of the containing cylinder, and the
distance between any two is equal to the distance between the two steam ports of
the containing cylinder, so that one of the outer ports is always idle and the middle
port always working in conjunction with one or other of the ports in the containing
cylinder. The centre one of these ports is widened out in the reverse direction to
the two adjacent ports so that when the valve carriage is moved a certain distance
in a direction parallel to the axis of the containing cylinder the ports in the valve
carriage which acted in conjunction with the ports in the containing cylinder are
drawn past those ports, and the set of ports which were previously idle are brought
into conjunction with the ports of the containing cylinder, and the ports in the
valve carriage being widened in the reverse direction, and there being no cut off
valve, the engine would be reversed so far as the steam ports are concerned.
The valve carriage in addition to its face working in conjunction with the
containing cylinder is provided with suitable seatings for supporting and guiding a
cut off valve which may be of any suitable kind, but which is preferably constructed
on the rotary principle, extending the whole length of the ports in the valve
carriage, and this valve while rotating freely is maintained in a fixed position as
regards its axial or longitudinal direction, so that, when the valve carriage is
traversed longitudinally to reverse the engine those parts of the rotating valve
which are arranged to cut off the steam are maintained in the same position, that
is to say, facing or opposite to the steam ports in the valve carriage and containing
cylinders which are in working communication.
The cut off valve is rotated and its angular positions controlled and varied by
suitable gear, so that when the valve carriage is operated to reverse the engine, the
cut off valve can also be adjusted to effectually cut off the steam when the engine
is reversed.
A traversing carriage or plate somewhat similar to the valve carriage described
above is provided in the exhaust chamber. The plate works in conjunction with
the ports described in the beforementioned application for a patent, and is arranged
preferably in three sets, and parallel to the axis of oscillation of the containing
cylinder. Each outer set serves for the supplementary exhaust and for transferring
the steam from one side of the piston to the other near the ends of the strokes for
all the cylinders at their corresponding ends. The centre set of ports are the
ordinary or main exhaust ports brought into one line. The plate is provided, in
addition to the ordinary ports of the enclosing casing as described in the above-
mentioned application for a patent, with two additional sets of supplementary
channels for transferring the steam from one side of the pistons to the other
respectively at the two ends of the cylinders, with two additional sets of
supplementary ports for the supplementary exhausts, and with an additional set
of supplementary ports for the main exhausts. These supplementary ports are
so arranged that by sliding the plate longitudinally, the ordinary ports are thrown
3113

page_text: out of action and the supplementary ports are brought into action, so as to allow
of the reversal of the engine.
The valve carriage and the traversing carriage or plate are actuated simul-
taneously by means of suitable levers, cranks, &c, outside the enclosing casing, and
acting through spindles passing through suitable stuffing boxes in the casing, and
secured to the valve carriage and traversing carriage or plate by suitable means.
This invention is applicable to engines having any number of cylinders arranged
side by side the working and containing cylinders of which oscillate about a
common axis.
It is also evident that the arrangement of ports in the containing cylinder, the
valve carriage, the traversing carriage or plate, and the cut off valve, may be
modified in various ways without departing from the nature of our invention.
Dated him 09-Jun T.... 1002

page_text: We, WILLIAM HUMPHREY WHEATLEY and JOHN WILLIAM MACKENZIE, both of
156 Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Engineers, 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 for improvements in steam engines relates to engines of that
class in which each working cylinder is formed in or is part of a containing
cylinder oscillating in an enclosing casing about an axis at right angles to the axis
of the working cylinder and in which the ports through which the steam is
admitted to and exhausted from the working cylinder are formed in parts of
the containing cylinder working in contact with the enclosing casing and act
in conjunction with ports formed in the enclosing casing and communicating
respectively with steam and exhaust chests; and has for its object to provide
suitable means and mechanism by which the direction of rotation of the engine
may be reversed or by which the engine may be caused to run in either direction
at pleasure.
In carrying out this invention as applied to a single cylinder engine, the enclosing
casing is constructed with steam and exhaust chests preferably arranged one on
each side of the said casing and parallel with the axis of oscillation of the cylinder,
these chests being connected respectively to the main steam and exhaust pipes.
The steam ports in the containing cylinder work in conjunction with ports
formed in a valve carriage free to slide in the steam chest to a limited extent in a
direction parallel to the axis of oscillation of the cylinder and having its inner
face fitted to bear against the circumference of the containing cylinder; the valve
carriage being provided with suitable flanges, the faces of which slide upon
corresponding faces within the steam chest. The steam ports in the containing
cylinder are preferably arranged in one line which is parallel to the axis of
oscillation of the containing cylinder and the valve carriage is provided with
three ports, the distances between the centres of each port and the adjacent port
being equal to the distance between the centres of the two steam ports in the
containing cylinder. The centre port of the valve carriage extends laterally in the
opposite direction from the centre line to the two outside ports; the arrangement
being such that, in one position of the valve carriage, the centre port and one
outside port of the valve carriage work in conjunction with the two ports on the
containing cylinder, the engine running in one direction and the other outside
port being idle; and, in the other position of the valve carriage-that is to say
when the valve carriage is moved through a distance equal to the distance between
the centres of the adjacent ports-the central port and the other outside port work
in conjunction with the two ports on the containing cylinder and the first mentioned
outside port is now idle, the engine being now reversed so far as the steam ports
are concerned supposing there to be no cut off valve.
The valve carriage is provided with suitable seatings for supporting and guiding
a cut off valve which may be of any suitable kind but which is preferably of the
rotary type and is maintained in a fixed position as regards its axial or longitudinal
direction.

page_text: The cut-off valve is rotated and its angular position controlled and varied by
suitable gear so that when the valve carriage is operated to reverse the engine, the
cut-off valve can also be adjusted to effectually cut-off the steam at the desired
point of the stroke of the piston when the engine is reversed.
A traversing carriage somewhat similar to the valve carriage described above is
provided in the exhaust chest so as to allow of the complete reversal of the engine,
the exhaust ports being preferably arranged opposite one another and working in
conjunction either with two opposite ports in the traversing carriage or with a
single central port according to the direction of rotation of the engine.
The valve carriage and the traversing carriage are actuated simultaneously by
means of suitable levers, cranks, &c., outside the enclosing casing and acting through
spindles passing through suitable stuffing boxes in the casing and connected to the
valve and traversing carriages by suitable means.
This invention is also applicable to engines of the type described above having
two, three or more cylinders, one steam and one exhaust chest and one valve and
one traversing carriage only being employed.
It is also evident that the arrangement of ports may be modified in various ways
without departing from the nature of this invention.
In the accompanying sheet of drawings Fig. 1. is a vertical cross section of a
three cylinder oscillating engine constructed according to this invention;
Fig. 2 is an elevation of the valve carriage showing one cylinder in its relation
to the valve carriage; and
Fig. 3 is a similar view of the traversing carriage.
Each working cylinder A is bored out in a separate cylinder B. All the
containing cylinders B. are enclosed in a casing C in which they are free to
oscillate. The steam is admitted to the cylinders from the steam chest through
the ports a passages b and ports c and is exhausted by means of the ports d,
passages e and ports f.
The steam ports a work in conjunction with ports g in the valve carriage D
which is free to slide to a limited extent in the steam chest E in the direction of
its length, the steam chest E extending the whole length of the casing C. The
steam passages 6 are inclined, as shown in dotted lines in fig. 2, so that the ports a
are all brought in one line as clearly shown. The valve carriage D is provided
with three ports g for each cylinder, the distance between the centres of the
adjacent ports of each set of three being equal to the distance between the centres
of the ports a of each cylinder. The centre port of each set of ports g extends
laterally in the opposite direction from the centre line to the two outside ports
as clearly shown. The interrupted lines a show the centre lines of the three
cylinders in figs. 2 & 3.
It will readily be seen that in the position shown in fig. 2, the right hand port
of each set of ports g is idle, it working against a solid part of the containing
cylinder and of the rotating valve F. It will also be seen that if steam be admitted
to the steam chest E, it would be admitted by the ports g and a, passages b and
ports c so as to tend to cause the crank shaft to rotate in the direction indicated
by the arrow.
If now the valve carriage D be traversed towards the left for a distance equal
to the distance between the centres of the ports a of each cylinder, the left hand
port of each set of ports g will be idle and the steam admitted by the ports g and a,
passages b and ports c will tend to turn the crank shaft in a direction opposite to
that indicated by the arrow.
A rotary cut-off valve F is mounted on the valve carriage D but is retained in a
fixed position as regards its axial or longitudinal direction. The valve Facts in
conjunction with the ports h of the valve carriage D and is rotated and if required
its angular position is controlled and varied by any suitable gear. This gear may
be arranged to be operated by the reversing gear so that when the engine is
reversed, the valve F will effectually cut off steam at the desired point of the
stroke of the piston. It will readily be seen that supposing this gear were not

page_text: operated by the reversing gear it would still continue to effectually cut-off the
steam but not except for one position of the gear at the same period of the
stroke of the piston as before the reversal of the engine.
It will also be seen that by inclining the passages b so that the ports a are
brought into one line, the central port g of each set of ports g which worked in
conjunction with one port a when the engine was running in one direction, is in
proper angular position to work in conjunction with the other port a when the
engine is required to run in the other direction, thus only three ports g are required
in the valve carriage for each cylinder. It will also be seen that by arranging
the ports h at the circumference of the rotary valve F so that no plane perpendicular
to the axis of oscillation will cut both the ports, the valve is always in the proper
relation for cutting off steam even should the engine be reversed without adjusting
the valve gear and also by advancing or retarding its rotation with respect to
the crank shaft, the cut off valve can be arranged to cut off at any period of the
stroke.
The exhaust ports f work in conjunction with ports 7 formed in a traversing
carriage H which is free to slide, in a similar manner to the carriage D, in the
exhaust chest L extending the whole length of the casing C. The exhaust ports f
are arranged opposite one another and in the position of parts shown work in
conjunction with the two opposite ports in the carriage H, the crank shaft
revolving in the direction shown by the arrow. If the carriage H be now traversed
so that the single central ports in the carriage H work in conjunction with the
ports f, the ports will perform their proper functions when the crank shaft is
rotating in a direction opposite to that indicated by the arrow.
It will thus be seen that it is only necessary to traverse the valve and traversing
carriages to reverse the direction of rotation of the engine.
We have not shown any arrangement of mechanism for traversing the carriages
or for operating the rotary valve as they do not form any part of this invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
1° The method of reversing oscillating steam engines by means of a sliding
carriage or carriages, substantially as described.
2° The method of reversing oscillating steam engines by changing the ports
working in conjunction with the ports in the containing cylinders substantially as
described.
3° In oscillating steam engines inclining the steam passages in each containing
cylinder so that no plane perpendicular to the axis of oscillation of the containing
cylinder will cut both ports at the circumference of the containing cylinder in a
reversing engine substantially as described.
4° The construction of reversing oscillating steam engines substantially as
described and illustrated in the annexed drawings.
WHEATLEY & MACKENZIE,
Agents for the Applicants.