Improvements in Steam Engines.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 6th May, 1887
Complete Left, 9th Jan., 1888
Complete Accepted, 10th Feb., 1888
Improvements in Steam Engines.
I, PERCY HADDAN, of the firm of Herbert & Co., Patent Agents, of 67 Strand,
London, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention, a communication to me from abroad by The Dake Engine Manufac-
turing Company, of Grand Haven, Michigan, United States of America, to be as
follows:-
The invention relates to that class of engines having two rectangular pistons
adapted to work in a case, said pistons acting together conjointly for the purpose of
producing a revolution of the main shaft, the construction being such that the pistons
themselves act as valves in operating the engine.
The invention consists
First. In a double acting square piston engine, the combination of an outer shell
adapted to enclose two pistons, a piston adapted to have a reciprocating motion within
the shell, and an inner piston having a reciprocating motion within the outer piston,
said piston moving at right angles to the motion of the outer piston, and said pistons
serving as valves."
Second. In a double acting reciprocating engine of the class described, steam
passages and the pistons having steam ports, and steam passages in combination with
the surrounding case.
Third. The inner piston, having the valve faces and ports in combination with the
outer piston and surrounding case.
Fourth. In a steam engine of the class described, an inner piston in combination
with an outer piston, said inner piston having two steam chambers separated from
each other and also having ports through which the steam is conducted into the
chamber in which the outer piston moves.
Fifth. A steam packing plate in combination with the case or shell, and the
pistons, said steam packing plate adapted to be adjusted and kept in close contact
with said pistons.
Dated this 6th day of May 1887.
HERBERT & Co.,
67, Strand,
Agents.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Steam-engines.
I, PERCY HADDAN, of the firm of Herbert & Co., Patent Agents, of 18 Buckingham
Street, Strand, London, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention, a communication to me from abroad by The Dake
Engine Manufacturing Company, of Grand Haven, Michigan, United States of
America, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to that class of engines having two rectangular pistons
adapted to work in a case, said pistons acting together conjointly for the purpose of
producing a revolution of the main shaft, the construction being such that the pistons
themselves act as valves in operating the engine, as illustrated in the accompanying
drawings, in which―
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of an engine constructed in accordance with my invention.
Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line y-y of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on
line X-X of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an inside view of the face-plate, the outside view of
which plate is shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a perspective of the inner piston upon an
enlarged scale, in order to show more fully its construction and operation.
Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.
A A represent the surrounding case, which may be made of iron, steel, or any
suitable material.
B B is a rectangular piston situated within the outer case AA and in close contact
with the upper and lower inner faces of the surrounding case, and adapted to move
horizontally backward and forward within the case.
CC is the inner piston, which has a reciprocating motion vertically within the
outer piston B B¹.
D D represent the face plate.
E is the shaft of the engine, provided with the crank F, which crank F engages
with the inner piston by means of the wrist-pin T, the end of which is shown
in Fig. 5.
G is a packing-plate between the pistons and the back of the frame or case, which
is so constructed as to be adjustable to take up any wear which may be caused by the
movement of the pistons within the case, and which thereby prevents leakage of
steam A similar packing-plate may be used between the front of the case and the
front of the pistons, if desired.
H is a lever which may be used for operating the four-way valve, which is one of
the ways of reversing the engine. Other well known devices may be used for this
purpose if desired,

page_text: I is a valve operated by the lever H.
K and K are steam passage-ways connecting with the steam passage-ways M
and M and conveying the steam alternately in reversing the engine, as more fully
described hereinafter. The passage-ways M and M' conduct the steam to the
passage-ways K and K'.
The outer piston B B₁ moves in the chamber N N¹ formed by the inclosing
case A A, while the inner piston CC moves in the chamber O within the outer
piston. I prefer to make the inner piston with two parts, as shown in Fig. 5, for
convenience in arranging the steam-passages. The faces of the inner piston serve
the purpose of valves.
R and R' are steam ports opening from the piston CC into the chamber N N'.
S and S¹ are also ports opening from the inner piston into said chamber N N¹ all
arranged as shown in the drawings.
U and U¹ are openings from the steam-passages K and K' arranged upon the
front plate and so constructed as to convey the steam at proper times into the inner
piston. The steam passages K and K' are located upon or within the face-plate D
and cross each other, as shown in the drawings. The outer piston B fits within the
frame, so as to form a steam-tight packing; or it may be provided with suitable
packing if desired. The valve faces of the inner piston also fit closely within the
sides of the outer piston, so as to be steam-tight. Any ordinary steam-packing may
be used in connection with this piston.
c is a steam-passage through the upper face of the outer piston and ƒƒ and ƒƒ¹
are steam-passages connecting with the ends of the steam-passages K and K¹ and
cut into the inner surfaces of the top and bottom of the case A A, each passage ff
extending from the point of connection with K K¹ far enough back to permit
connection with the ports c and d as the outer piston moves back and forth
horizontally.
d is a steam-passage through the outer piston, so arranged as to conduct the steam
alternately to or from the lower ends of the steam-passages fand f.
a and bare ports through the sides of the outer piston leading into the
chamber N N¹.
The operation of this invention is as follows: I admit the steam through the
valve I into the steam passage M' filling the steam-passages f₁₁ and chamber (1
by means of the passages K and the openings U. The steam escapes through the
passage-way S into the chamber N through the port a thus forcing the outer
piston B B to the left until the port c connects with the chamber f' taking steam
from above into the piston B Bi forcing the inner piston down, which, as it
descends, cuts off S a and connects ports R and b. The steam now passes from Clinto
the chamber N¹, forcing the piston B B to the right, and the port d connects with the
lower passage way f¹ taking the steam into the chamber O below the inner piston,
forcing it upward, thus completing the circuit. When the valve I is in the position
shown, the exhaust-pipe e is connected with the passage M which passage connects
with the chambers ff and by means of the passage K and opening U¹. While the
live steam is entering, as above described, through the various passages at one side
of the piston the exhaust steam is escaping from the opposite side of the said piston
through the corresponding ports connecting with these described chambers and
passages. Upon reversing the engine the live steam passes through the opposite
passages and chambers, and thereby causes the pistons to travel in the opposite
direction, revolving the shaft in the opposite direction.
It will be observed that by the construction of this engine there are no valves
whatever, excepting the faces of the pistons, and no eccentric or other device is
needed to operate the valves, the action being directly upon the pistons, and the
pistons themselves acting as valves to cut off and let on steam at the proper time
to give the continuous motion to the engine. By this construction the engine is
very compact and light and effective, and possesses great power for the space occupied
by it.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a double-acting square-piston engine, the combination of an outer shell
adapted to inclose two pistons, a piston adapted to have a reciprocating motion
within the shell, and an inner piston having a reciprocating motion within the outer
piston, said piston moving at right angles to the motion of the outer-piston, and said
pistons serving as valves, substantially as described.
2. In a double-acting reciprocating engine of the class described, the steam-
passages K and K¹ and the pistons having steam-ports a and b, c and d, steam
passages S and S₁ and ports R and R', in combination with the surrounding case,
substantially as described.
3. The inner piston having the valve-faces described and ports R R¹ and S S¹ in
combination with the outer piston and surrounding case, substantially as described.
4. In a steam-engine of the class described, an inner piston in combination with an
outer piston, said inner piston having two steam chambers separated from each other,
and also having ports through which the steam is conducted into the chamber in
which the outer piston moves, substantially as described.
Dated this 7th day of January 1888
HERBERT & Co.,
Agents to the said Percy Haddan.