Improvements in Steam and other Fluid Pressure Engines.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Aug., 1895--Accepted, 28th Sept., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Steam and other Fluid Pressure Engines.
I, JAMES TAGGART HALSEY, of 26th, and Callowhill Streets, in the City of
Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, United States of America, Engineer,
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 the construction of engines and in its leading features is
applicable to engines actuated by fluid pressure. Particularly my invention relates
to engines in which two or more cylinders with co-acting pistons are arranged to
operate a crank through a device generally known as a scotch yoke, and the
leading feature of my invention is to counteract and balance the pressure acting
through the yoke upon the leading bearing of the crank and in this way to diminish
the friction which is the well recognized drawback in this class of engines. To
this end my invention consists in the introduction of the motive fluid which acts
upon the moving parts of the engine into recesses of suitable area arranged between
the reciprocating and sliding parts of the yoke, or properly speaking, between the
yoke and the sliding bearing of the crank arms.
The further object of my invention is to provide a simple, efficient and cheap
engine of the type embodying the scotch yoke as a device for communicating motion
to the crank.
The nature of my improvements will be best understood as described in con-
nection with the drawings in which they are illustrated, and in which
Fig. 1 is a central vertical section of an engine constructed according to my
invention;
Fig. 2 is a section on the line a-x of Fig. 1;
Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate details of the valve actuating mechanism ;
Fig. 5 is a section on the line y-y of Fig. 1 ;
Fig. 6 is a view illustrating a modified form where the cylinders are made of
different sizes so as to make a compound engine;
Fig. 7 is a side view of a portion of a casing shown in Fig. 6 showing the
conduit for the steam extending from the exhaust port of one cylinder to the inlet
port of another, and
Fig. 8 is a view illustrating two engines operating on the same shaft so as to do
away with all vibration, and make a perfectly balanced engine.
In the construction shown in Fig. 1, A is a suitable base having a bearing A¹
for the shaft E and covering the base B of the engine. Where small and light
engines are employed for running portable drills, or other similar services, the
base A of course may be dispensed with and the shaft of the engine connected in
any suitable way with the drill. The case B has suitable bearing faces B', B*, as
best shown in Figs. 2 and 5. Secured against the faces B are cylinders D D'
arranged opposite to each other; F F are pistons adapted to reciprocate
cylinders D D respectively G is a cylinder secured to the pistous F F¹; J is a
piston adapted to reciprocate in the cylinder G; H H are heads which close the
ends of the cylinder G and which are adapted to bear against the slide on the
faces B of the case. The heads H have preferably formed in them recesses H',
somewhat smaller than the internal area of the cylinder G, and passages H' leading
into said cylinders the effect of which is to substantially balance the head; the

page_text: pressure of the motive fluid within the cylinder G against the heads H will
however be greater than the counterbalancing pressure in the recesses H¹ and will
therefore tend to hold the beads H against their bearing faces B³. If desired,
suitable springs S³, arranged in sockets on the cylinder G, may be arranged so as
to bear against the heads Hand keep them in engagement, with their bearing
faces when there is pressure of steam or the motive fluid acting against the head.
Piston J is provided with a bearing at J in which turns a crank pin E which is
connected by means of the crank plate E¹ to the shaft E. This pin, as has been
said, turns in the piston J and reciprocates.in a slot G¹ in the cylinder G. In order
to balance the engine, I provide recesses J2 J3, preferably of the same size as the
interior area of the cylinder D D¹, and provide conduits for the passage of motive
fluid from the steam spaces of these cylinders to the recesses. These conduits are
very conveniently formed by means of perforations f in the pistons F F¹ as
shown.
J
It is evident, of course, that the cylinder G is in effect a device in the nature of
a scotch yoke, the piston J being the sliding part of the yoke, or sliding bearing
for the crank pin, and it will also be evident that the counteracting or balancing of
the thrust due to the action of the pistons E and F upon the yoke or cylinder G
by means of the admission of steam to the chambers J³, will be equally efficient
whether the sliding bearing J serves. the purpose of a piston as shown in the
drawings, or serves another purpose than a bearing for the crank shaft as in
original scotch yoke engines. I will mention here also; that in place of the
channels communicating with the recesses J³ through the pistons F and F', the
motive fluid matter introduced to said recesses by any convenient system of
commerce which will provide for the admission of the fluid through recesses at
appropriate times with reference, to the admission to the cylinders, and for its
simultaneous exhaust or discharge. Obviously also, in place of having the
pistons F and F move in cylinders D and D', the pistons may be fixed to the
casing and the cylinders move on the pistons and connect directly to the yoke or
cylinder G.
Returning now to the specific construction of the engine shown in the drawings,
the valve chests are arranged beyond the ends of the cylinders and are
preferably parallel to the direction of the shaft; the valves V V1 V2 V³, arrange!
in these chests, are preferably piston valves, and, as shown, consists of pistons » ¿¹
connected by a rod v².
To operate the valves, I preferably employ the valve gear best shown in Figures 1
and 5. N N', N N are arms, the ends of which are connected to the valves
V V V2 V3. This construction may very conveniently be formed by making a
The
slot in the rear end of the valves into which the ends of the arms extend.
arms are secured to a hub K, which has a rounded face k, a correspondingly shaped
bearing C serves to support this hub K, which has therefore a free motion in the
manner of a universal joint in the bearing C₁; the pressure of the live steam or
other motive fluid against the valves V V1 V2 V3 serves to hold the hub K to the
bearing C, and it will also be noticed that, as the valves are arranged opposite to
each other, the pressure on one will balance that on the opposite one, that is, the
pressure on the valve V will balance that on the valve V₁ so that the valve gear has
simply to overcome the friction of a valve in its seat and does not have to move any
of the valves against steam pressure.
Secured to the hub K is a sleeve K' to the end of which an eccentric is connected
which serves to operate the sleeve K' so as to give a wabbling motion to the hub K
and the arms N N' secured thereto, and these arms give the valves a reciprocating
motion in their chests.
As shown, the crank pin E is connected to a plate E very similar to the crank
plate E and the plate E³ is carried by a shaft 1 which is in line with the shaft E,
On the end
and, of course, revolves with it, being connected to the crank pin E.
of the shaft E is secured a guide hub E which carries on one side a guide feather e
and on the other a finger e. Sliding in and out with the leather and evolving with

page_text: the shaft E is a weight W, which is drawn inwardly with the shaft by means of a
Connected to the
suitable spring or springs secured to the finger e as shown.
weight W is a ring W₁ which surrounds the sleeve K¹ and serves as an eccentric to
operate it. This ring W' and weight W are normally in the position shown in
Fig. 3, and when in this position will operate to give the valves their greatest throw.
When the weight is thrown outwardly against the force of the spring on the too
rapid revolution of the shaft it will draw the eccentric ring more nearly eccentric
with the shaft and reduce the motion of the sleeve, and, consequently, the throw of
the valves.
The live steam, or other motive fluid, enters at P'; P is a conduit or passage for
steam preferably cast in the case B, and extending preferably all around the.
T is
engine, and p are ports leading from the steam passage into each valve chest.
an exhaust passage also convenient cast in the case and having ports leading to each.
valve chest. tttt are ports leading respectively from the chests to the
cylinders D D' and the two ends of the cylinders G. This construction of passages
is very convenient, and as the ports t t¹ t³ ³ are very short there, there will be but
small clearance space; of course any other system of steam conduits can be provided
if desired.
A very important feature in my construction is the casing which encloses the
valves and gear; the case B is a sort of box case enclosing the operative parts of
the engine proper, and has no opening on the side opposite the valve gear, through
which steam could leak, except the bearing B for the shaft E, as this is a bearing
for a rotating shaft there is no difficulty in providing a steam tight packing at this,
point. Ou the side of the engine opposite the bearing B is the valve gear, and
the valves also project out from their chests so as to be connected to the arms N N'
To prevent the escape of motive fluid on this side I provide a casing C which
is either made in one piece, or two pieces as shown, and which is secured to the
case B by any suitable means as bolts c. This casing carries a bearing for the hub K
and also at Ca bearing for the rear end of the shaft E³. I also provide at Sa
plate against which the crank plate E³ bears, and secured to the plate S is a
bearing S2 for the shaft E³. ss are bolts or pins which carry the plate S.
etc.
In operation, steam is admitted to the pistons successively, and they operate to
rotate the shaft E, all of the friction of the cylinder G and the piston J, where
almost the entire wear comes, is taken up by the balancing steam in the recesses J³.
There will be some steam, or some of any other motive fluid which may be adopted
which will leak past the packing on the pistons and escape into the space enclosed
by the space B and casing C by which the steam is enclosed, this steam cannot
escape further, however, and the pressure in the casings at last becomes almost
that of the high pressure fluid, so that there will be, after this pressure is reached,
little, if any, tendency of the motive fluid to leak, either around the pistons or
around the piston valves. This pressure in the chamber enclosed by the casing
does not in any way impede the free action of the parts since each piston, as F F¹,
advances into the enclosed space as much as the other one retires.
In Fig. 6 I have shown the cylinders D and D' of a size different to that of the
cylinder G, in the present case, smaller, so that the engine can be operated as a
compound engine. T T are conduits leading from the exhaust ports T of the
cylinders D D¹ to the inlet ports p of the cylinder. Ts indicates the final exhaust
conduits.
I also contemplate in some cases providing the shaft E with two or more cranks,
and operating each crank by an independent engine of the character shown in
Fig. 1.
Such a construction is shown in Fig. 8, where the two cranks shown are
preferably set at an angle of 180° one from the other.
Obviously one of these independent engines could be made larger than the other
and the steam exhausted from the engine with smaller cylinders employed as the
motive fluid for the smaller.
This construction, where two or more engines operate on the same shaft, makes.
a very well balanced motor.
•

page_text: 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:
1. In a fluid pressure engine the combination with two oppositely disposed
cylinders and pistons relatively movable therein of a yoke connected to the
inovable members of said cylinders and pistons and moved thereby, a journal
sliding in said yoke in a direction transverse to the movement of the yoke, and
having bearing faces substantially perpendicular to the line of motion of the yoke,
recesses arranged in the bearing faces of the yoke and journal of area substan-
tially equal to the area of the piston acting on the side of the yoke on which the
recess lies, a conduit for conveying the motive fluid to said recess while it is acting
on the adjacent piston, and means for exhausting the said recess simultaneously
with the exhaust of the adjacent cylinder.
2. In an engine the combination of a movable cylinder as G, a piston J working
in said cylinder, recesses as J' formed between the bearing faces of the cylinder
and pistons, cylinders as'D D¹ arranged on each side of cylinder G, pistons as F FI
relatively movable to said cylinders, the cylinder G being attached to and moved
by the movable member of each said face, fluid connections to cylinders D D¹ and
to recesses J arranged as described and so that the fluid will be simultaneously
admitted to and discharged from the cylinders D D₁ and their corresponding
recesses J³ and a crank pin having a bearing in piston J and moving in a slot' in
cylinder G.
3. In an engine the combination of its oppositely arranged cylinders D D', the
cylinder G, the pistons F F attached to cylinder G and working in cylinders' D D',
said cylinders having perforations F³ extending through them to the inside of
cylinder G, the piston J fitting in cylinder G and having recesses J³ arranged as
described to communicate with perforations F³ and a crank pin turning in a suitable
beating in piston and moving iursives ir eyinmei G.
4. In an engine, the combination of the oppositely arranged cylinders D D', the
cylinder G pistons F F attached to the cylinder G and working in the
cylinders D D', a piston J fitting in the cylinder G and having recesses J³ of
substantially the same area as the heads of the pistons F F1, arranged as described,
a bearing J in said piston, a crank pin turning in said bearing, passages for
putting the recesses J in communication with the steam
spaces of the
cylinders D D', valve chests ³, arranged beyond the ends of the cylinders,
ports tttt, leading therefrom to the cylinders, and valves operating in said
chests and adapted to govern the flow of motive fluid to and from said cylinders.
5. In an engine the combination of the oppositely arranged cylinders D D',
cylinder G, pistons F Fattached to the cylinder G and working in the
cylinders D D and having perforations f, a piston J fitting in the cylinder G and
having recesses J of substantially the same area as the heads of the pistons F F¹
arranged as described, to communicate with the perforations f, a crank pin turning
in a suitable bearing in the piston J, valve chests, arranged' beyond
the ends of the cylinders, piston valves adapted to reciprocate therein and
passages t t t ³, leading from the valve chests to the several cylinders.
the
6. In an engine, the combination with the oppositely arranged cylinders D'D'
of the cylinder G, pistons F F1 connected to the cylinder G and operating in the
cylinders D D', a piston J in the cylinder G, and means to balance it substantially
'as described, piston valves VVV V³, arms N N N N³, connected to the
valves and means for actuating the arms, substantially as and for the purpose
specified.
7. In an engine, the combination of the oppositely arranged cylinders D.D', the
cylinder G, pistons F F connected to the cylinder G and operating in the
cylinders D D', a piston J in the valve G and means to balance it substantially as
described, valve chests vv v² ³, arranged at the ends of the cylinders, ports t t¹³¹
opening from said chests to the cylinders, valves V V₁V*V* arranged in the chests,

page_text: arm N N' connected to the valves, and means for actuating the arms; substantially
as and for the purpose specified.
8. In an engine the combination of the oppositely arranged cylinders D D', the
cylinder G, pistons F F1 operating in the cylinders D D' respectively, and con-
nected to the cylinder G, a piston J in said cylinder, means to balance it as
described, valves V V₁ for governing the flow of motive fluid to and from the
cylinders, arms N N' connected to the valves, means for operating the arms, and
a governor for altering the movement of the arms and so regulating the throw
of the valves for the purpose of regulating the speed of the engine.
9. In an engine, the combination of the oppositely arranged cylinders D D', the
cylinder G, pistons F F operating in the cylinders D D respectively, and con-
nected to the cylinder G, a piston J in said cylinder, means
to balance it
as described, valves V V' for governing the flow of motive fluid to and from
the cylinders, arms N N¹ connected to the valves, a bub K to which the arms
are secured, a sleeve secured to the hub and a suitable eccentric for giving
the proper motion to the sleeve K' and through the hub K and arms N N' etc.
to the valves.
10. The combination in an engine of oppositely arranged cylinders D D',
pistons F F operating therein, a cylinder G to which the pistons F F¹ are
connected, a piston J having recesses J³ J arranged in the cylinder G, a steam
connection from the steam spaces of the cylinders D D' to the recesses J³ of
the piston J, valves V VI V V³, arranged substantially as described and a
valve gear consisting of the arms N N¹ etc., hub K, sleeve K', and eccentric W'
for actuating said valves.
11. The combination in an engine of oppositely arranged cylinders D D',
pistons F F operating therein, a cylinder G to which the pistons F F are con-
nected, a piston J having recesses J3 J3 of substantially the same area as the
heads of the pistons F F arranged in the cylinder G, a steam connection from
the steam spaces of the cylinders D D₁ to the recess of J of the piston J,
valves V V V2 V3 arranged substantially as described, a suitable valve gear
for actuating said valves and a casing enclosing the valve gear substantially for
the purpose specified.
12. In an engine, the combination with the oppositely arranged cylinders D D',
cylinder G, pistons F F operating in the cylinders D D' respectively, and con-
nected to the cylinder G, a piston J adapted to reciprocate in said cylinder, a
rank pin E turning in a bearing in said piston, valves V V1 V2 V³, for
governing the flow of motive fluid to and from the cylinders, arms N N¹ etc..
secured to a hub K and connected to the valves V V1 V2 V8, a sleeve K'
secured to the hub K, a ring W₁ adapted to surround the sleeve K' and
actuate it so as to operate the valves, and a weight W connected to the ring and
adapted to change its position, and consequently the throw of the valves.
13. An engine consisting of two sets of cylinders D D', pistons adapted to
reciprocate in each cylinder, cylinders G, each of which is connected to the
pistons operating in one set of cylinders D D¹, pistons J J, one in each cylinder G,
having recesses J³ of substantially the same area as the heads of the pistons
operating in the cylinders D D¹, steam connections from the steam spaces in the
cylinders D D' to the recesses J³ of each piston J and a shaft E having a number
of cranks, the pins E2 of which turn in the bearings J2 of the pistons J substan-
tially as described.
14. In an engine, the combination with the oppositely arranged cylinders D DI,
a cylinder G, pistons F F¹ connected to the cylinder G and adapted to operate in
the cylinders D D', a piston J operating in the cylinder G provided with
recesses J³ of substantially the same area as the heads of the pistons F F1 and
having a bearing J2 in which a suitable crank pin turns, the said cylinders D D'
and pistons F F having a different area from that of the cylinder G and piston J,
suitable conduits, whereby motive fluid exhausted from the smaller of the cylinders

page_text: will be conducted to those of larger effective area and suitable valves for governing
the flow of the motive fluid.
Dated this 13th day of August 1895.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.