An Improvement in Reversing Rotary Engines Worked by Expanding Steam.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Dec., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 6th Feb., 1896-Accented, 18th Apr., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in Reversing Rotary Engines Worked by
Expanding Steam.
GEORGE PAYNE GRACE 160, The Grove Camberwell, S.E. do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Figure 1. of the accompanying drawings represents a front elevation of the above
arrangement showing the automatic disc valve V. C. partly in section, & the pipes
& cock A. R. connecting it with the exhaust side of the partition valve of the
cylinder of the engine by the exhaust port E.x, and the pipe & cock B. T.
connecting it with the steam side of the partition valve by the steam port St., and
also the pipe & cock O. N. to connect it with the boiler. And the handle &
levers G. L. D. to operate the cocks R. N. T. And also showing the valve
chest K. & part of the annular cylinder F. of the engine, with the partition valve,
& piston & cams to operate it inside in dotted lines.
Figure 2. represents a side view of Figure 1. of the drawings.
The following improvement in reversing rotary engines has reference to the
supply of steam to the steam space or chest K. above the portion valve of the
annular cylinder of the same, when expanding steam is used in the cylinder by
means of a separate automatic cut off valve to cut off the entrance of steam into
the cylinder at any point of a revolution reckoned from the point the steam port
commences to open, instead of using high pressure steam throughout a revolution
without a cut-off valve. In order to have the same steam pressure above & below
the partition valve of the cylinder while opening when expanding steam is used.
And also in order to have a greater steam pressure above than below the partition
valve when shutting, while the engine is in forward motion from momentum after
the steam supply is cut off to stop the engine. And also to have a greater steam
pressure above than below in reversing while the engine is in forward motion from
momentum, when expanding steam is used.
It consists of automatic valve V. C. of the accompanying drawings Figures 1. & 2.
with four openings, two of which, viz. the orifice a. & b communicate by pipes A. & B.
& the exhaust & steam ports Ex. & St. respectively with the annular cylinder F.
of the engine, one each side of the partition valve of the engine.
The orifice d. communicates by the pipe O. with the steam at the boiler side of
the steam supply cock of the cylinder or at the boiler side of the automatic cut off
valve. The other orifice J, communicates with the steam space K. above the
partition valve of the cylinder. The above mentioned three pipes A. B. & O.
being fitted with cocks R. N. T. so connected together by levers L. D. G. that they
can all be opened at the same time so as to shut the two pipes A & B. and open the
other pipe O. or shut the pipe O. & open the other two pipes A & B. The above
mentioned orifices a. & b of the two pipes A. & B. to the exhaust outlet Ex. & the
steam inlet St. respectively having a disc & spindle valve C. fitted between them
in the above mentioned automatic valve V. Č. so as to shut either orifice a. or b
when the steam is reversed to the ports Ex. & St. of the cylinder.
The reversing valve of the engine to be placed between the cylinder & the above
mentioned automatic cut off valve, and the automatic cut off valve to be placed
between the reversing valve & the steam supply cock of the cylinder.
The handle G. & the three cocks R. N. & T. should be in the position drawn in

page_text: Fig. 1. with the cock N. to the 'boiler shut & the other two cocks R. & T. to the
steam & exhaust ports open, when the engine is in forward or backward motion,
and also in reversing when the forward momentum of the engine is stopped. And
the handle G. & cocks R. N. T. should be in the reverse position, viz. with the
handle G. downward, while the engine is stopping with the steam cut off & having
rapid forward motion from momentum. And when in forward motion from
momentum while reversing.
When expanding steam is used & the engine is not required to reverse its motion,
only the pipe B. to the steam inlet port St. & the pipe O. to the boiler pressure
with their two cocks T. & N. connected as described above by the levers &
rod L. D. & G. are required. The pipe O. to the boiler pressure being open & the
pipe B. to the cylinder shut, while the steam is shut off to stop the engine at high
speed. And the pipe B. being open & the pipe O. shut when the engine is
at work.
Dated this 21st day of December 1895.
An Improvement in Reversing Rotary Engines Worked by
Expanding Steam.
GEORGE PAYNE GRACE 160, The Grove Camberwell, S.E., Inventor, 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 :-
The following improvement of reversing rotary engines has reference to the
supply of steam to the steam space or chest K. above the partition valve of the
annular cylinder of the same when expanding steam is used in the cylinder by
means of a separate automatic valve to cut off the steam at any point of a
revolution reckoned from the point the steam port commences to open, instead of
In order to
bigh pressure steam throughout a revolution without a cut off valve.
have the same steam pressure above & below the partition valve while opening
when expanding steam is used. And also in order to have a greater steam
pressure above than below the partition valve when shutting while the engine is
in forward motion from momentum after the steam supply is cut off to stop the
engine. And also to have more steam pressure above than below in reversing
while the engine is in forward motion from momentum when expanding steam is
used.
It consists of an automatic disc valve C. V. Figures 1. & 2. of the accompanying
drawings provided with four openings or orifices a. b. d. & J. The orifice a leading
by the pipe A. and the exhaust pipe & port E & Ex. to the cylinder F. of the
engine at a point between the reversing valve & the cylinder F. And the opening b.
leading by the pipe B. and the steam pipe & port S. St. to the cylinder F.
at a point also between the reversing valve & the cylinder F. The orifice d leads
by the pipe O. to the steam pipe at a point at the boiler side of both the steam
supply cock & the automatic cut off valve. And the orifice J. at the base of
the automatic valve V. C. leads to the steam space or chest K. above the partition
valve of the cylinder F.
The automatic steam cut off valve being placed between the reversing valve &
the steam supply valve of the engine, the reversing valve being next to the
cylinder.
The above mentioned orifices a. & b. leading to the pipes A. & B. respectively
being fitted directly opposite each other in the above mentioned automatic
valve V. C. with a disc & spindle valve C. fitted between them so that steam

page_text: pressure from either pipe A. or B. can move the disc C. of the valve & shut the
other pipe B. or A. with the exhaust pressure in it.
Each of the above mentioned three pipes A. B. & O. fitted into the valve C. V.
are provided with a cock R. T. & N. respectively, connected together by similar
parallel levers L, & a connecting rod D, so as to be capable of being operated
together at the same time by the handle G. Figs. 1. & 2. The three
cocks R. N. & T. being so fitted that the two pipes & cocks A. R. and B. T.
leading to the exhaust side & the steam side of the partition valve of the cylinder F.
respectively, are both open while the pipe & cock O. N. leading to the boiler side
of the steam supply cock is shut, and so that both are shut while the pipe &
cock O. N. is open.
It can be seen from the accompanying drawings Figs. 1. & 2. that with the
cocks R. & T. leading to the cylinder E. open, when the pressure of the steam in
the cylinder F, on the base of the partition valve inside the cylinder F, varies from
expansion the pressure on top of the partition valve of the cylinder from the steam
in the valve chest K. will vary with it through pipe B. so that while opening the
pressure in the space K. above, & inside the cylinder below the partition valve of
the cylinder remains the same during the expansion of the steam, the exhaust
pipe A. being kept shut by the pressure of the steam on the disc C. of the
valve C. V. And while the partition valve of the cylinder is shutting the full
pressure of the steam is on top of the partition valve from the pipe B., the automatic
cut off valve being open to supply the steam when the inlet port St. commences to
open, and the exhaust pressure is below the partition valve from the exhaust
outlet Ex.
When the motion of the piston of the engine is reversed the steam enters the
pipe A. from the other pipe Ex. & presses the disc C. of the valve C. V. & shuts
the orifice & pipe b. & B. to the exhaust and the expanding stean with the piston
moving in the reverse direction operates the partition valve as described above with
forward motion.
To prevent the partition valve of the cylinder from being too slow in decending
from lack of steam pressure on top of it while shutting, when the engine is reversed
in motion, both the cocks R. & T. leading from the cylinder F. to the automatic
valve V. C. should be first shut & the cock N. opened by the handle G. so as to
shut the steam space K. from the steam in the cylinder F. from the reversing valve,
& open it to the boiler pressure steam by means of the pipe & cock Ŏ. & N,
Figs. 1. & 2. Then when the reversing valve is about three quarters turned the
partition valve of the cylinder will have more pressure above it from the boiler
than below it from the reversing valve, & the partition valve will be pressed down
quickly in shutting when the engine is reversed in motion. And when the forward
momentum of the engine is stopped the reversing valve should be completely turned
or reversed & the handle G. turned back so as to bring the three cocks R. T. & N.
as they were before, with the pipe and cock N. & O. to the boiler shut & both the
pipes and cocks A. R. & T. B. to the steam and exhaust pipes respectively open, so
as when opening to press the partition valve above & below by the same varying
pressure of the expanding steam in the cylinder F. & steam inlet, as when in
forward motion.
With the above described arrangement for expanding steam in the cylinder,
also before turning the steam supply off to stop the motion of the engine when
rapid, the handle G. of the cocks R. T. & N. should be turned so as to shut the
two pipes & cocks R. A. & B. T. to the cylinder & open the cocks & pipe N. & O.
to the boiler & to the space K. at the top of the partition valve, in order to have
more pressure above the partition valve than below it when it is shutting.
Consequently the handle G. & the three cocks R. N. & T. should be in the
position drawn in Fig. 1 when the engine is first started & in fully forward motion,
and also after reversing when the forward momentum of the engine is stopped, and
when fully reversed. And the handle G. & cocks R. N. & T. should be in the
reverse position, viz. with the handle G. downward, while the engine is stopping

page_text: with the steam cut-off & having forward motion from momentum, and also while
reversing with the reversing valve about three quarters turned, the engine having
forward motion from momentum.
&
When expanding steam is used & the rotary engine is not required to reverse its
motion, the automatic valve C. & the pipe & cocks A. R. to the exhaust are not
required, & only the pipe B. to the steam inlet port St. & the pipe O. to the boiler
pressure with their two cocks T. & N. connected as described above by the levers &
rod L. D. & G. are necessary. The pipe O. to the boiler pressure being open
the pipe B. to the cylinder shut while the steam is shut off to stop the engine at
high speed. And the pipe B. being open & the pipe O. shut when the engine is in
motion. Only the automatic valve C. V. & the pipes A. & B. to the ports of the
cylinder need be used when the partition valve is operated by cams outside.
Figure 1. of the drawings represents a front elevation of the above described
arrangement showing the automatic disc valve C. V. partly in section, & the
pipe & cock A. R. connecting it with the exhaust side of the partition valve
by the exhaust outlet Ex. & the pipe & cock B. T. connecting it with the steam
-side of the partition valve of the engine by the steam inlet St., & also the pipe &
cock O. N. to connect it with the boiler side of the steam supply cock. And also
showing the valve chest K. & part of the annular cylinder F. of the engine with
the partition valve, & piston & cams to operate it inside in dotted lines.
Figure 2. represents a side view of Fig. 1. of the drawings.
Having now particularly described & ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion & in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
-claim is
The above described arrangement to assist in operating the partition valve of
reversing rotary engines when expanding steam is used in the cylinder, consisting
of an automatic disc valve V. C. with four openings, two of which viz. the
orifices a. & b communicate by pipes A. & B. & the exhaust & steam ports Ex.
& St. respectively, with the annular cylinder F., and one orifice d. to communicate
by pipe O. with the boiler side of the steam supply cock, and the other orifice .J.
communicates with the steam space K, above the partition valve of the cylinder F.
The three pipes A. O. & B. being fitted with cocks R. N. & T. so connected
together by levers L. D. & G. that they can all be operated at the same time so as
to shut the two pipes A. & B. & open the other pipe O. or shut the pipe O. & open
to two other pipes A & B. The orifices a. & b. of the two pipes A & B. to the
exhaust outlet, the steam inlet respectively having a disc valve C. fitted between
them so as to shut either orifice by pressure from the other orifice, when the steam
is reversed to the ports St. & Ex. of the cylinder.
Dated this 5th day of February 1896.