IMPROVE- MENTS IN ROTARY ENGINES TO BE WORKED BY WATER, STEAM, AIR, AND OTHER MOTIVE POWER
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Edward Lloyd at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th September
1863.
I, EDWARD LLOYD, of Dee Valley, near Corwen, in the County of Merioneth,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN ROTARY ENGINES TO BE WORKED BY WATER, STEAM, AIR, AND OTHER
MOTIVE POWER," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates, firstly, to wheels to be worked by water, and in which
the water enters at the axis of the wheel, and then passes along a curved
passage or along curved passages to the periphery; and this part of my Inven-
tion consists in reversing the curve of the passages near the periphery of the
wheel, so that the water will be discharged in the contrary direction to that of
the ordinary wheel, having the curve of the passage or passages for water only
in one direction. A valve is placed in each of the returned passages to regulate
the quantity of the escaping fluid.
My Invention relates, secondly, to rotary wheels to be impelled by the
pressure and elastic force of steam or other elastic fluids; and the object of
this part of my Invention is to obtain by reaction all or nearly all the power
in the elastic fluid due to its pressure and expansion; and my Invention con-
sists in obtaining the power from elastic fluids by causing them to enter at the
axis of a wheel, then to pass to the periphery of the wheel along a channel
forming a curvé, which is similar to the involute curve struck from a circular
evolute placed at the axis of the wheel; this involute curved channel terminates

page_text: against a curve which is a circle forming the periphery of the wheel, the curve
of the passage or channel is then reversed or turned back, and one side of the
remainder of the channel or passage is formed by the inside periphery of the
wheel, while the other side of the passage or channel is formed by the outside
of the involute curved channel from the axis of the wheel to its periphery, the
passage finally terminating at a point half or three-fourths of the circle from
the point of junction between the involute curve and the circle. The involute
curved channel is about the same area from the axis of the wheel to the
point at which it reverses, and the channel is the smallest at that point
and then gradually enlarges in area to where the elastic fluid escapes into
the atmosphere. The elastic fluid reacts first at the reverse or turning back
of the channel, and then in expanding as it goes along the channel reacts
on the involute curved side of the channel. A valve is placed at about the
junction of the involute curve and the circle to regulate the quantity of elastic
fluid and vary the degree of expansion. The wheel is. surrounded with a
casing which is open to the atmosphere, and is for the purpose of preventing
condensation when high-pressure steam is used; if a vacuum is to be formed,
then the casing is enclosed, and it is connected with suitable condensing
apparatus, air pumps, and other necessary parts for condensing steam and
removing air and water.