IM- PROVEMENTS IN ROTARY ENGINES TO BE WORKED BY STEAM OR OTHER FLUID, AND WHICH ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO BE USED IN RAISING OR FORCING FLUIDS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Hall, of Wilford Street, in the Town
and County of the Town of Nottingham, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN ROTARY ENGINES TO BE WORKED BY STEAM OR OTHER FLUID,
AND WHICH ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO BE USED IN RAISING OR FORCING
FLUIDS,"
PROVI
ONAL
11411
VITO
Office of the Commissioners of Patents; with his Petition, on the
26th August 1868.
I, WILLIAM, HALL, of Wilford Street, in the Town and County of the
Town of Nottingham, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for IMPROVEMENTS IN ROTARY ENGINES TO BE. WORKED BY STEAM OR OTHER
[Prios 8d.]
I, WILLIAM, HALL, of Wilford Street, in the Town and County of the
Town of Nottingham, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for IMPROVEMENTS IN ROTARY ENGINES TO BE. WORKED BY STEAM OR
[Price 8d.]

page_text: FLUIDS," to be as follows:-
The improvements have reference to rotary engines of the character
of that described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to me,
bearing date the 4th day of January 1864, No. 18, and they consist,-
First. In forming the centre of the cylinder below or out of the centre
of the main shaft, so that the outer diameter only of the piston comes
in contact with the interior of the cylinder when the packing of the
piston is passing the edge of the abutment slide.
Second. In forming the main shaft at the part where the piston of the
engine is keyed on to it eccentrically to the other parts of such shaft
to admit of the outer diameter of the piston being applied further from
the centre of the main shaft in case it should at any time be found
necessary to re-bore the cylinder.
;
Thirdly. In place of the main shaft being formed conical at the
bearing parts and the bearings being formed conically to correspond, as
explained in the Specification of my said former Patent, these parts
of the main shaft are formed parallel as usual, and the brasses or other
bearings are formed of several parts wedge-shaped on their outer
surface in order to the position of the main shaft being correctly
maintained,
Fourthly. The improvements consist in the employment of metallic
rings, one the width of the opening, and two V-shaped, acting thereon by
spring pressure in the piston, in place of the vegetable substance for
that purpose described in the said former Specification.
Fifthly. When these engines are formed for reversing in dispensing
with the steam ports in the abutment slide and admitting the steam
on either side of such valve into the engine, the reversal being effected
by a D valve and three ports, such valve alternately opening one and
closing another port. The longitudinal packing strip in the piston is
formed sufficiently wide to close a port on one side of the abutment
slide before the other port opens to the exhaust.
Engines thus constructed are applicable not only to be propelled by
Bteam or other fluid; but for other purposes of raising or forcing fluids.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Hall in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 25th February 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HALL, of Wilford Street, in the Town and County of the Town of
Nottingham, send greeting
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of August,, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Hall, Her special licence that
I, the said William Hall, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said William Hall, iny 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 ROTARY ENGINES TO
BE WORKED BY STEAM OR OTHER FLUID, AND WHICH ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO BE
USED IN RAISING OR FORCING FLUIDS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said William Hall; 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 Inven
tion, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Hall, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manuer the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say:-
The improvements have reference to rotary engines of the character
of that described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to me,
bearing date the 4th day of January 1864, No. 18, and they consist,―
First. In forming the centre of the cylinder below or out of the centre
1

page_text: of the main shaft, so that the outer diameter only of the piston comes in
contact with the interior of the cylinder when the packing of the piston
is passing the edge of the abutment slide.
Second. In forming the main shaft at the part where the piston of
the engine is keyed on to it eccentrically to the other parts of such
shaft to admit of the outer diameter of the piston being applied further
from the centre of the main shaft in case it should at any time be found
necessary to re-bore the cylinder.
Thirdly. In place of the main shaft being formed conical at the
bearing parts and the bearings being formed conically to correspond, as
explained in the Specification of my said former Patent, these parts of
the main shaft are formed parallel as usual, and the brasses or other
bearings are formed of several parts wedge-shaped on their outer
surface in order to the position of the main shaft being correctly
maintained.
Fourthly. The improvements consist in the employment of metallic
rings, one the width of the opening, and two V-shaped, acting thereon by
spring pressure in the piston, in place of the vegetable substance for
that purpose described in the said former Specification.
Fifthly. When these engines are formed for reversing in dispensing
with the steam ports in the abutment slide and admitting the steam on
either side of such valve into the engine, the reversal being effected by
a D valve and three ports, such valve alternately opening one and closing
another port. The longitudinal packing in the piston is formed suffi-
ciently wide to close a port on one side of the abutment slide before the
other port opens to the exhaust.
Engines thus constructed are applicable not only to be propelled by
steam or other fluid, but for other purposes of raising or forcing fluids.
But that the Invention may be fully understood I will by the aid of
the accompanying Drawings proceed to describe means pursued by me
in carrying the same into effect.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
1 shows a longitudinal cortion. Ficure 2 on and view with
the cover removed, and Figure 3 a transverse section of a rotary engine
with parts arranged according to my improvements; Figures 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, 9, and 10 show parts more in detail separately and some of them to a

page_text: larger scale.
In each of the Figures the same letters are used to
indicate corresponding parts wherever they occur.
a, a, indicates the cylinder or case in which the piston 6 rotates,
and c the shaft or axis to which the piston b is affixed, such shaft or
axis c being supported in bearings carried by the bosses or enlarge-
ments d' of the ends d of the cylinder a; and it will be seen by reference
to the Drawing that according to the first part of the Invention the
main shaft c is supported by its bearings out of the centre of the
cylinder a, so that the outer diameter of the piston comes in contact
with the interior of the cylinder a only when the strip of packing b¹ to
the piston is passing the edge of the sliding abutment e, whereby
friction at the other parts is avoided. These Drawings also show the.
main shaft c to be formed at the part passing through the piston
excentrically of the parts at the bearings d, according to the second
part of the Invention, to admit of the position of the piston thereon
being changed.
In carrying out the third part of the Invention the bearings f. f, are
formed inclined on their outer surfaces f, and they are capable of
sliding in grooves or recesses 2 formed for them in the bosses d¹ or
other supports to such bearings, and in order to the movement of these
bearings in the grooves or recesses d² for adjustment as desired, each
bearing is formed to receive a screw g with a collar 1 to be received
between pairs of plates or covers h, h; which are affixed to the bosses
or other supports to the bearings, so that by turning these screws the
bearings may be moved in the direction desired; and to enable
the screws g to change position radially the holes h³ for the passage
of them through the plates or covers are elongated or slotted in a
direction towards the centre of the shaft. c. The two plates or covers
h, h, are fastened to the bosses d¹ by means of screw bolts i. The
outer ends of the screws g are formed to receive lock nuts g³, by
which the screws g may be locked fast to the outer plate or cover h,
or by slackening which those screws g may be freely turned as desired,
so as to vary the position of the bearings f and thereby adjust the
position of the main shaft c as occasion may require. j, k, and l'are the
rings acting together as packing to the ends of the piston according to
the fourth part of the Invention. These rings are shown separately
by side and sectional views to a larger scale at Figures 6 and 7.

page_text: t
I will now describe the fifth part of the Invention. m and n are
passages for the steam to or from the engine; o is the main exhaust
port; p is a passage always open to conduct steam to act on the outer
edge of the sliding abutment e and thereby keep the inner edge of
that abutment bearing against the surface of the piston b. A valve q
is formed to effect communication between the port o and the port m
or n for the exhaust, whilst the steam is flowing from the chamber 2
through the other port according to the direction in which for the
time it may be desired to cause the engine to move round. The valve
y is by a rod passing through a suitable stuffing box connected to a
lever or other actuating means, by which the reversal of the direction of
the steam and consequently of the engine may be effected. For con-
venience in use I prefer to form the valve 1 sufficiently long to admit
of its covering at the same time all the three ports or passages, m, n, o,
by which I obtain facility for stopping, starting, or reversing the, engine
as desired is the exhaust.pipe.
Figure 11 shows by a transverse sectional view an arrangement of
the engine adapted for use in raising or forcing fluids. 8 is the suction
or inlet passage and t the outlet passage for the liquid when it has
passed through the engine; 2 is a passage to convey liquid to act on
the outer edge of the abutment slide e and thereby aid in keeping it
with its inner edge pressing against the piston b; b1, 61, are strips of
packing acted upon by springs at the back and extending across the
surface of the piston at a distance apart such that they may in their
traverse at the same tine cover both ports 8 and 1, and that the
port s may be closed before the port t is opened. When this pump is
used simply for raising water or other liquid the outlet pipe is placed
higher than the top of, the chamber in which the abutment e slides, so
that the liquid being raised may be allowed to flow freely to the top
edge of that abutment and aid in keeping the lower edge bearing against
the piston. The lower or inner edge of the sliding abutment is cut
away on one side, as shown at e¹ to further aid is keeping the slide in
contact with the piston. When the pump is used as an air pump in
connection with a condensing engine the sliding abutment is used as
a plunger for forcing water into the boiler by means of the water passing
through an inlet valve to the outer edge of the slide, and through an
outlet valve to the boiler as the slide is lifted by the piston into the
recess it reciprocates in.

page_text: Having thus described my Invention, and means which I adopt in
carrying the same into effect, 1 would have it understood that I do
not confine myself to the precise details referred to so long as the
peculiar character of the improvements be retained substantially as
stated.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Hall, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of February, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
nine.
WILLIAM HALL. (L.S.)