IMPROVEMENTS IN ROTARY AND RECIPROCATING ENGINES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Blatch, of Southampton, in the County of
Hants, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROTARY AND
RECIPROCATING ENGINES."
Sealed the 18th December 1866, and dated the 19th June 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Blatch at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 19th
June 1866.
THOMAS BLATCH, of Southampton, in the County of Hants, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ROTARY AND RECIPROCATING ENGINES," to be as follows:-
My Invention has for its object the diminution of working parts, and
consequent economy in the construction and diminution of friction in the
working of engines, and consists in the use of a moveable weighted piston
within a cylinder, mounted on a pivot or axis at each side, which piston is
raised beyond the centre of rotation by the pressure of steam or other elastic
fluid while the cylinder is in a diagonal position, so as to cause the piston by
its weight to carry downwards that end of the cylinder towards which it is
impelled. By this means the rotary motion of the cylinder is produced by
the alternate action of the steam or other elastic fluid on the weighted piston
(forcing it outwards from the centre of the cylinder's rotation), and of the
piston by gravity within the cylinder. In some cases it may be advisable to
strengthen the cylinder covers by means of a bolt or stretcher. extending from

page_text: one to the other, and secured by external nuts, which bolt may serve as a
central guide rod to the moveable piston or weight during its action. The
steam or other elastic fluid is admitted to the cylinder and allowed to escape
therefrom through ports formed in a revolving steam cock, or a disc valve,
which ports are opened and closed as required by the revolution of the
cylinder. When a single cylinder is employed the reversing gear consists
of a lever for turning the cylinder into the diagonal position required for
starting, and when two cylinders are employed they are fixed at right angles
to each other, so as to dispense with the necessity for a starting lever. The
rotary motion of the axes of the cylinders may be communicated to another
shaft either directly or by means of intermediate gearing. A reciprocating
motion instead of a rotary motion may be given to the cylinder by the
adaptation thereto of suitable reversing gear.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Blatch in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
19th December 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
BLATCH, of Southampton, in the County of Hants, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Thomas Blatch, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas
Blatch, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Thomas Blatch, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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
ROTARY AND RECIPROCATING ENGINES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Thomas Blatch, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument 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 calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Blatch, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
My Invention of "Improvements in Rotary and Reciprocating Engines"
has for its object the diminution of working parts, and consequent economy in
the construction of such engines, and also the diminution of friction in the
working of the same, and consists in the use of a moveable weighted piston
within a cylinder, mounted on a pivot or axis at each side, which piston is
raised beyond the centre of rotation by the pressure of steam or other elastic
fluid while the cylinder is in a diagonal position, so as to cause the piston by
its weight to carry downwards that end of the cylinder towards which it is
impelled. By this means the rotary motion of the cylinder is produced by
the alternate action of the steam or other elastic fluid on the weighted piston
(forcing it outwards from the centre of the cylinder's rotation), and of the
piston by gravity within the cylinder. In some cases it may be advisable to
strengthen the cylinder covers by means of a bolt or stretcher extending from
one to the other, and secured by external nuts, which bolt may serve as a
central guide rod to the moveable piston or weight during its action. The
steam or other elastic fluid is admitted to the cylinder and allowed to escape
therefrom through ports formed in a revolving steam cock, or a disc valve,
which ports are opened and closed as required by the revolution of the
cylinder. When a single cylinder is employed, the starting gear consists
mainly of a lever for turning the cylinder into the diagonal position required
for starting, and when two cylinders are employed they are fixed at right
angles to each other, so as to dispense with the necessity for a starting lever.
The rotary motion of the axes of the cylinders may be communicated to
another shaft, either directly or by means of intermediate gearing. A
reciprocating motion instead of a rotary motion may be given to the cylinder
by the adaptation thereto of suitable reversing gear.
Having thus stated the nature of the said Invention, I will proceed to
describe more particularly in what manner the same is to be performed by
reference to the accompanying Drawings, in which are represented the main
working parts of engines above referred to.

page_text: passages, as viewed at right angles to Fig. 1, shewing the cylinder in a
diagonal position already started; Fig. 3 is a plan or horizontal view of the
upper portion of the outer shell within which the steam cock revolves, shewing
the outlet for the steam and the gland; Fig. 4 is a similar view of the inner
shell of the steam cock, but turned in the opposite direction; Fig. 5. is an
end view of the same, shewing the reversing lever; Fig. 6 is a similar view
to Fig. 4, shewing the inner shell of the steam cock turned, so as to exbibit
the whole of one port; and Fig. 7 is a plan or horizontal view of a portion of
the central plug, shewing one of the steam passages in it. In these several
Figures the same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.
A is the cylinder, which is mounted on an axis B at each end; C, C, are
the bearings or supports for the axis; D is a weighted piston, which is
susceptible of being moved as required within the cylinder, so as to cause the
revolution of the same by the action of gravity. This weighted piston is
capable of working along a central guide rod E, which serves also as a
strengthening bolt for the cylinder covers. The piston D is or may be packed
both at the sides and in the centre and it is weighted as required with a mass
of lead-D*, or in any other convenient manner. F, F, are springs fixed
inside the cylinder covers in order to prevent accidental concussion from the
weighted piston; G is an outer shell fixed to the standard or support C, within
which an inner shell H revolves with the cylinder. In the lower part of the
outer shell G is formed a passage I for the admission of steam from the boiler
into the cylinder, and in the upper part of the same shell is formed an outlet K
for the steam from the cylinder. Between these two passages I and K there
are two other passages L and M, which are alternately brought into com-
munication with the inlet I and outlet K by the revolution of the cylinder,
by means of which passages the steam is admitted into the cylinder to raise
the weighted piston, and after it has acted as required within the cylinder is
allowed to escape therefrom. Also the means of communication between the
stationary inlet I and the revolving induction passage L consists in a passage N
formed in the inner shell H, and another passage O formed in the central
plug P, and there are corresponding passages Q and R forming the required
communication between the revolving eduction passage M and the stationary
outlet K. By means of the foregoing arrangement of the parts it will be
seen that steam from the boiler on entering through the stationary inlet I will
pass through the aperture or induction passage N (when this passage is
brought by the revolution of the inner shell H into communication with the
said inlet), and along the passage O in the central plug P and the passage L
into the cylinder. Then after having acted as required within the cylinder,

page_text: the steam will be allowed to escape therefrom through the passage L (which
by the revolution of the cylinder has been brought into the position shewn
at M), and through the passages O and N (which have been respectively
brought into the positions shewn at R and Q) into the exhaust or stationary.
outlet K. At S and T are shewn two valves, which may be used if required
for controlling the admission of the steam into the cylinder for the purpose of
regulating its action on the weight in the manner required. Instead, however,
of controlling the admission of the steam by means of valves placed as shewn,
it may be desirable to cut off the supply of steam at any required period of
the stroke of the weighted piston by a suitable arrangement of the apertures
or passages in the revolving inner shell H, and allow the steam to work
expansively during the remainder of the stroke. This inner shell H is con-
nected to the cylinder (so as to be drawn round with it) by means of a screw
or connecting pin U, which is fixed as required for the purpose of adjusting
the position of the revolving inner shell H in relation to the cylinder; V is a
reversing lever, by means of which this adjustment is effected, as shewn at
Fig. 5.
The working of the engine is as follows:-On steam being admitted at the
bottom of the cylinder when it is in a diagonal or inclined position, as shewn
in Fig. 2, the weighted piston D will be forced upwards and outwards beyond
the centre of rotation of the cylinder, and by the force of gravity will cause
the end of the cylinder towards which it is impelled to pass downwards,
thereby causing the cylinder to revolve on its axis until the weighted piston is
brought round to the position in which it receives a further impulse from the
pressure of steam admitted from the boiler. And it has been shewn by the
foregoing description that the revolution of the cylinder effects the required
changes of the passages for the entrance of the steam into the cylinder and
its exit therefrom after having made half a revolution on its axis. It is
obvious that in this manner by a succession of impulses of the steam on the
weighted piston to throw it over the centre of rotation, alternating with
successive actions by the force of gravity of the weighted piston on its descent
through an arc of its circle of rotation the continuous revolution of the cylinder
is maintained.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I hereby declare that I do not claim as
of Invention any
my
of the parts represented and described otherwise than as
forming parts of engines constructed in the manner herein-after stated; but
what I do claim as of my Invention is, the construction of engines to be
worked by steam or other elastic fluid, in which engines a cylinder or cylinders

page_text: is or are caused to revolve on an axis or axes by the alternate action of steam
on a weighted piston, and action by the force of gravity of such weighted
piston within the cylinder, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Blatch, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Third day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witness,
WILLIAM SPENCE,
8, Quality Court,
Chancery Lane, W.C.
THOMAS BLATCH. (L.S.)