Improvements in Steam-engines.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Dec., 1888
Specification Accepted, 2nd Mar., 1889
Improvements in Steam-engines.
I, JOEL TIFFANY CASE, of New Britain, Connecticut, 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 :-
My invention relates to steam-engines, the object being to provide an engine which
shall be composed of but few parts; simple in its construction; of great efficiency in
its operation and of comparatively small initial cost in its manufacture.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of an engine embodying my invention.
Figure 2 is a vertical transverse section of the same.
Figure 3 is a vertical section of a duplex engine.
Figure 4 is a view in perspective of the steam chest with the ports and bearings for
the cylinder.
Figure 5 is a vertical section of the cylinder.
Figure 6 is a view in perspective of the steam cylinder.
Figure 7 is a vertical section partly in elevation of a modified form of engine.
Figure 8 is a vertical section partly in elevation on line y, y Figure 7.
Figure 9 is a partial section of the cylinder on the line w, to of Figure 8; and
Figure 10 is a side elevation of the cylinder showing a modified form of balancing
chamber.
A
In Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 which represent a double acting engine, A is the cast
iron casing of any desired form for supporting the engine in a firm manner.
cover A is detachably secured to the top of the casing, and covers A³, A³, A*
and A are detachably secured to its sides, to provide for ready access to the
interior thereof. B, B₁ are boxes carrying the two part shaft bearings a, a', which
are adapted to be adjusted by screws b, b. The set screws are retained in any desired
adjustment by the jam nuts b¹.
Fly wheels D D each of which has a band wheel D₁ formed thereon are keyed on
shaft C. The shaft is divided at a point within the casing and to its adjacent ends are
secured the discs E E which carry the bearings E* through which motion is
transmitted to the shaft.
F is the steam chest securely bolted to the frame and formed with open ends

page_text: the faces of which are placed down so as to form a steam tight joint with the
removable ends f, f, which are bolted in place. Steam chest F is provided with a
cylindrical seat G within which is singly fitted the cylindrical bearing surface
of the cylinder H which latter has an oscillating movement within the chest and
serves the double purpose of a steam cylinder and valve. I I¹ are steam chambers
formed within the steam chest. I2 is an opening communicating with the steam
chamber I while 13 is an opening communicating with steam chamber I¹ and in
which is secured a pipe for carrying off the exhaust steam. It is of course under-
stood that these parts may be reversed and steam admitted to and exhausted from
either one of the steam chambers. A reversing valve can be applied to the steam
and exhaust pipes so as to admit stem to cither one of the steam chambers and
hus enable the engine to be run in either direction.
The steam chamber I is provided with two ports K, K'. The port K¹ is located
t one end of the steam chamber while the port K is situated about midway between
its opposite ends. The exhaust chamber is provided with two ports K³, K³, which are
relatively arranged in the same manner as the ports K, K¹.
L is a steam cylinder open at one end and closed at the other bored out of a
metal block having flat sides L L' and a cylindrical circumference h. The closed end
of the block constitutes one head of the steam cylinder while the partition m of the
steam chest constitutes the other head.
Piston N suitably packed at n reciprocates within the cylinder L. One face n¹ of
the piston is preferably flat, while its opposite face n is preferably curved to conform
to the curved surface m of the seat on the steam chest. N¹.is the piston rod to which
the piston is detachably secured by a nut n³, the latter resting within recess n in the
end of the piston. The opposite end of the piston rests against a shoulder n' on the
piston rod.
A screw threaded plug O is secured in an opening O' in the steam chest
block. Whenever it is desired to take the engine apart for repairs or packing, the
plug is removed and then by inserting a wrench through the opening O', the nut n³
may be unscrewed and the piston rod disconnected from the piston and removed from
the cylinder.
P is a sleeve passing through an elongated opening P¹ in the rounded seat P of the
steam chest, and screwed into the closed end of the cylinder block. Rod N extends
outward from the piston and is encircled by and reciprocated within the sleeve P.
The outer end of the piston rod is constructed with a yoke Q carrying bearing
blocks q, g', between which is journalled the crank E. The bearing blocks may be
readily adjusted by means of the wedge Q¹ and nuts Q.
The outer end of sleeve P is provided with a stuffing box P' which permits the
piston to move freely within the sleeve and allow of the uso of a long sleeve which
in its operation constitutes a long lever for oscillating the cylinder block within the
steam chest.
At the open end of the cylinder, the side walls are cut away as shown so as to form
straight walls R, R¹ which move over the ports K¹, K' through which steam is
admitted and exhausted from the open end of the steam cylinder.
At the opposite sides of the closed ends of, the cylinder are the steam port R and
exhaust port R¹, which connect with rectangular recesses S S¹ formed in the circum-
ference of the cylinder block. Recesses S, S¹ form passages which connect the
ports K and K with the ports R and R¹. The sides of the cylinder are rabbeted at
their edges for the rings r, r.
The operation of the engine may be briefly described as follows: The piston having
reached the limit of its outward stroke and just commenced to return, steam will be
admitted through the port K' to the open end of the steam cylinder, the exhaust
port K3 being closed, while the steam port K at the other end will be closed and the
exhaust port K2 open. Steam will then act against the outer face of the piston and
force it to the opposite end of the cylinder. The oscillation of the cylinder block will
close steam port K' and exhaust port K and open steam port K and exhaust port K³
and thus admit steam between the inner face of the piston and the closed end of the
cylinder and thereby drive the piston through its outward stroke.

page_text: An important object of this construction is to provide for the steam balancing of
the oscillating piston block in the operation of the engine. This is a most important
feature in the practical operation of the engine. I accomplish this feature of my
invention by so arranging the ports as to insure an extended bearing between the
inner end or surface of the cylinder block and its seat and form two steam
channels or chambers TT in such curved surface or bearing on the cylinder block
, each channel or chamber communicating at its opposite ends with and receiving steam
from the steam ports K K². The channels T T are of such area that in connection
with the area of the steam recesses formed in the bearing surface of the cylinder
block, the total balancing area shall be equal to the area of the piston and hence insure
a perfect balancing of the cylinder block when in operation.
The following provision is made for lubricating the crank shaft of the engine. The
casing in which the crank shaft is located is filled with oil up to about the centre of
the bearing Ex when the latter is in the downward position and hence the crank in
its revolution will pass through the body of lubricating material. To one or both of
the crank. discs, is secured an inclined ledge U which serves to elevate a certain
quantity of oil and to cause its discharge laterally toward the inner wall of the casing.
A cup or other receptacle U¹ serves as a receptacle for the oil discharged by the crank-
disc. From the receptacle U, the oil flows through an inclined duct or channel U in
the upper surface of the bearing u. A portion of the oil so discharged flows from
the oil ducts formed in the bearing and onto the crank shaft, while such portion as
escapes at the end of the bearing, falls onto the crank shaft and is removed therefrom
by the wiper u which consists of a thin sheet metal spring fastened at one end to the
bracket collar, the free end of the spring being arranged to rest upon the shaft
and remove all excess of oil therefrom. This excess is discharged into the escape
channel u from which it escapes into the body of oil in the reservoir.
To apply the improvement to a duplex double acting engine as shown in Figure 3,
the cylinder blocks are placed side by side and a ring th formed of gun metal or other
suitable metal or alloy is let into grooves t³, t formed in the adjacent faces of the
cylinder blocks.
In. figures 7, 8, 9 and 10 I have shown a single acting engine operating on the
same principle but differing therefrom in minor details of construction. In these
Figures A is the case with bearings a, a, for the shaft B and with detachable caps b, b.
The upper part of the case is provided with two longitudinal side chambers c, c, to
which pipes may be connected at the hubs d, d for the admission and discharge of
steam. Between these side chambers there is an upper chamber having a trough
shaped cylinder seat, semi-circular in cross section, and within which
arrange the
cylinders C. Steam ports f,f, leading from the longitudinal side chambers c, c, to
the cylinder seat of the upper chamber and semi-cylindrical ends of the cylinders are
provided with ports g at points which traverse over the ports f during the oscillating
movement of the cylinders. Within each cylinder, I place a piston D, the same
being connected by a piston rod to the crank i of the shaft B: The cylinder seat
is slotted as shown in order to allow the necessary swinging movement of the piston
rods. I prefer to attach to each cylinder Cas in the previously described construction,
a sleeve k.
In order to prevent the rounded end of the cylinders from being forced to their
seat with such pressure as to cause a great friction thereon, I form between the
case fronting faces of the cylinder end and its seat, a chamber or chambers m connected
by means of openings with the interior of the cylinders so that steam may enter
the balancing chambers m and thereby relieve the working faces of the cylinder end
and its seat from undue pressure. As shown in Figures 9 and 10 these balancing
chambers are arranged upon each side of the port g and connected with the interior
of the cylinder by means of perforations.
Live steam is admitted to either one of the longitudinal side chambers c, c as may
be desired, in which case the chamber on that side is the live steam chamber, and that
on the opposite side is the exhaust chamber. As the crank shaft revolves so as to
open the ports of the live steam chamber, the steam is admitted into the lower end of

page_text: the cylinder, thereby forcing the piston upwardly the length of its stroke. As the
cylinder is rocked by the motion of the crank shaft, the ports on the live steam side
are closed and those on the exhaust side opened, so that the steam is discharged during.
the return stroke of the piston.
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 :-
First. In a double acting engine, the combination with a steam chest or cylinder
casing, of an oscillating cylinder located within and supported by rounded seats
formed in the steam chest or cylinder casing, and ports for conveying the entire
amount of steam used in operating the engine into the opposite ends of the
cylinder and for its exhaust therefrom into the steam chest, substantially as
set forth.
Second. In an engine, the combination with a steam chest or cylinder casing,
of an oscillating cylinder wholly enclosed within the steam chest and wholly
supported on the cylindrical valve seat of the steam chest, substantially as set
forth.
Third. In an engine, an oscillating cylinder block constructed with a cylindrical
bearing surface and with flat sides, substantially as set forth.
Fourth. The combination with the crank disc of the shaft bearing provided with
an inclined oil duct and perforations for conveying oil to the shaft journal, substantially
as set forth.
Fifth. In an engine, the combination with a casing or frame provided with a
rounded seat having an opening for the passage of the piston rod and sleeve of a
cylinder constructed with a rounded end which is fitted to and supported by the
rounded seat, the latter serving as the sole support of the cylinder, said rounded
cylinder end and seat having ports for the admission and exhaust of steam, substantially
as set forth.
Sixth. In an engine, the combination with a casing or frame provided with a
rounded seat, of a cylinder constructed with a rounded end which is fitted to and
supported by the rounded seat, said rounded cylinder end and its seat having ports
for the admission and exhaust of steam and suitable intervening steam chambers
or passages for balancing the cylinder and relieving its bearing and seat of undue
pressure and wear, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 18th day of December 1888.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London,
Agents for the Applicant.