IMPROVE- MENTS IN ENGINES FOR OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER AND FOR PUMPING, PARTLY APPLICABLE FOR CONVERTING A ROTARY MOTION INTO A RECTILINEAR TO-AND- FRO MOTION, AND VICE VERSA
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Bernoulli Barlow, of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Patent Agent, for the Invention of " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN ENGINES FOR OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER AND FOR PUMPING, PARTLY
APPLICABLE FOR CONVERTING A ROTARY MOTION INTO A RECTILINEAR TO-AND-
FRO MOTION, AND VICE VERSA "-A communication from abroad by Emil
Deck, of Vienna, in the Empire of Austria. Engineer.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Bernoulli
Barlow at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 8th April 1875.
I, HENRY BERNOULLI BARLOW, of Manchester, in the County of Lan-
caster, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ENGINES FOR OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER AND FOR PUMPING,
PARTLY APPLICABLE FOR CONVERTING A ROTARY MOTION INTO A RECTILINEAR TO-
AND-FRO MOTION, AND VICE VERSA," a communication to me from abroad by
Emil Deck, of Vienna, in the Empire of Austria, Engineer, to be as
follows:-
This improved motive-power engine consists of four cylinders placed

page_text: at right angles to each other, and at equal distances from a central
double crank shaft. The pistons of these four cylinders are connected to
two rods, and cach rod is jointed to one of the cranks of the double
crank shaft. The steam, air, gas, or water employed for moving the
pistons is supplied alternately to the outer ends of the cylinders, and 5
exhausted by means of a compound circular valve placed eccentric to
the axis of the cylinders, which opens and closes the various ports, and
the engine can be reversed by a second eccentric valve actuated by a
hand lever. The cut-off can be regulated by varying the positions of
the valves. This valve motion may be applied to ordinary steam 1
engines.
When the engine is in motion the cylinders revolve around their axis,
and the pistons in moving to and fro cause the driving shaft to revolve
at double the speed of the cylinders. The exhauster for producing a
partial vacuum under the pistons consists of a wheel with paddles fixed 1
to the driving shaft and working in a case, in which are discharge
passages open to the atmosphere or to a condenser.
When this improved engine is used for pumping motion is imparted
to the double crank shaft (by steam or otherwise), which transmits the
motion to the pistons. I wish to remark here that the number of 2
cylinders and pistons may be varied.
In converting a rotary motion into a rectilinear to-and-fro motion, and
vice versa, a crank pin is fixed on a small disc at the end of a shaft;
thus crank pin fits in a hole in a rod capable of sliding to and fro in
bearings in a larger disc fixed on a second shaft. As the first shaft 2
rotates it imparts a to-and-fro motion to the rod, and thus rod causes the
second shaft to rotate at half the speed of the first. By making the first
shaft with a double crank, and connecting the two cranks to two rods
placed at right angles to each other, and sliding in bearings in the same
disc, the difficulty of passing the centres is overcome.
3

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Bernoulli Barlow in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 7th October 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
BERNOULLI BARLOW, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Patent
Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-eighth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Iler heirs and successors, givo and
grant unto me, the said Henry Bernoulli Barlow, Пer special licence
that I, the said Henry Bernoulli Barlow, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry Bernoulli Barlow,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agrec
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
excrcise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
" IMPROVEMENTS IN ENGINES FOR OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER AND FOR PUMPING,
PARTLY APPLICABLE FOR CONVERTING A ROTARY MOTION INTO A RECTILINEAR TO-
AND-FRO MOTION, AND VICE VERSA, a communication to me from abroad by
Emil Deck, of Vienna, in the Empire of Austria, Engineer, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Bernoulli Barlow, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and scals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention 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 Henry Bernoulli Barlow, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement .-
And in order that the Invention may be fully understood I will
proceed to describe the accompanying two Sheets of Drawings.

page_text: =
"
On Sheet 1 Figs. 1 and 2 show the mechanism for converting a recti-
lincar to-and-fro motion into a rotary motion. The disc K turns round
with the shaft M placed in the bearing G, and has on its circumference
two guides F and F¹. The rod S moves freely in these guides
Parallel
to the disc K is the smaller disc on the shaft m, which revolves in the
-bearing H. The centres of both discs are not in the same plane, but
they are parallel to each other. The connection of both discs is formed
by the crank pin a on the smaller disc k. To this pin a the rod S is
connected By this means the discs K and k are connected. In order
to secure the correct position of the two shafts M and m the bearings G
and I must be firmly connected with each other through a mutual
frame or plate. By turning the small disc k the pin a and the rod S
impart a rotary motion to the large disc K. When the disc / has
performed one entire revolution- the disc. K has only mado half a
revolution; consequently, two rovolutions of the small disc / make one:
of the large disc K This mechanism has therefore the following
properties:-
First. Conversion of a rotary motion into a rectilincar to-and-fro
motion, which at the same time revolves around an axis perpendicular
to this rectilincar motion with half the number of revolutions
Second. Conversion of a rotary motion by means of a rectilinear to-
and-fro motion perpendicular to the rotating axis, and following this
rotation into a second rotary motion of double the revolutions.
Third. Conversion of a rectilinear to-and-fro motion which at the same
time revolves round an axis perpendicular to thus rectilinear motion into
a second rotary motion of double the revolutions
The dead points of this mechanism would have to be overcome by a
fly wheel; this necessity is however dispensed with by employing a
second crank pin a' placed diametrically opposite the first pin a, and a
second rod S¹ set perpendicularly to the first rod S. This coupled
mechanism, slicwn in Figs 3 and 4, has the advantage that the dead
points are overcome with great facility, because if one pin a is on the
dead point the other pin a' acts with the greatest leverage. Several
crank pins a and rods S may be used, the mechanism only gaining
thereby easiness of action. This mechanism can now be easily adapted
for converting a to-and-fro motion into a rotary motion, or vice versa, as
shewn in Figs. 5 and 6. The rods S and S¹ are provided with pistons at

page_text: both ends instead of guides. The cylinders A, B, C, and D are placed
diametrically opposite to each other, and set radially towards the turning
point of the large disc K, thus producing a new type of rotary engine,
which may be used as a prime mover, pump, blast engine, or for other
purpose. The conversion of a rectilinear to-and-fro piston motion is hereby
effected in a direct way by means of cranks and pins, only without the
use of connecting rods, toothed wheels, or other transmissive parts. A
further peculiarity of this mechanism is that both the resulting rotations
are uniform, the motion of the pistons taking place according to the
samo law as in the caso of the crank transmission with an infinitely long
connecting rod. It is evident that there is no difficulty in using instead
of four cylinders, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, six or eight or any desired
number of cylinders.
Third Application of an exhaustor for either establishing condensation
or only diminishing the back pressure.
DESCRIPTION OF THE GENERAL ARRANGEMENT.
A round
The four cylinders A, B, C, and D, are cast in one piece.
steam chest E, with a hollow trunnion Z cast in one piece, is connected
through a flange with the cylinder body, so that the axis of the trunnion
comcides with that of the cylinder body. The cast-iron frame R, being
the bed of the whole engine, has to its left a bearing G, in which the
trunnion Z fits accurately, and thus the left-hand point of support and
rotation of the cylinder body is formed. To the right a cast-iron piece
II is fitted conically into the frame R, and is fastened by the bolts 8, 8.
The centre line of this piece exactly coincides with the axis of the
trunnion Z. This piece forms the right-hand point of support and
rotation of the cylinder body, and is at the same time the bearing of the
diving shaft m. This shaft m has on its left end a double crank, with
two crank pins a¹ and a², which are set diametrically opposite each
other, the centres of both pins are at an equal distance from the axis of

page_text: the driving shaft m The position of the driving shaft m in the cast-iron
piece II is arranged as follows:-
:-
First. The distance between the axis of the cylinder body and the
axis of the driving shaft m is exactly equal to the distance between the
crank pins a¹ and a² from the axis of the driving shaft m
Second The axis of the cylinder body is parallel to the axis of the
driving shaft m, the piston rod with the pistons K and K¹ is connected
to the pin a, and the piston rod, with the pistons K and K³, to the
pin a¹.
of cast iron is
The bolts v, v,
On the left end of the trunnion Z a hollow piece Q
placed. which is made tight by means of a stuffing box.
of the stuffing box prevent the rotation of this piece. The steam or other
fluid used as motive power enters through the passage T into the
annular and hollow space of the piece Q, and from thence through the
slots n, n, to the annular hollow trunnion %, and then into the steam
chest E. The steam is distributed into the cylinders by two circular
valves V, V', placed one inside of the other eccentrically to the axis of
the trunnion Z or cylinder body. These valves are stationary The
inner valve V¹ is held in its position by the shaft q, on one end of which
the valve is fixed, and on the other end the lever is fastened. The
lever is kept in its position by the lover u. The exterior valve V,
which is provided with a circular rack, is kept in its position by means
of the tube o and the pinion g keyed on the latter. The tube o is
connected through the lever f to the shaft q and to the lever h, so as to
allow the position of the lever f to be altered The working of the
valves will be more fully described hereafter. After the steam or other
fluid has passed through the passages a, b, c, d, into the cylinders it is
conveyed by the action of the valve motion into the inner space of the
valve V, and from there through the opening X into the interior of the
cylinder body. The expulsion from thence will be described in reference
to the exhaust.
From the foregoing it is evident that through the action of the steam,
gas, or water pressure on the pistons the cylinder body and the shaft m
must rotate, the latter making double the revolutions of the cylinder
body. The power can be taken cither from the shaft m or from the
cylinder body.

page_text: Valve Motion of the Enginc.-The distribution of the steam takes
place in the following manner.-In Figs. 12 and 13, a, b, c, d, are tho
passages leading to the cylinders A, B, C, D, the opposite ports leading
to the opposite cylinders. The contro lines of these ports are at right
angles to each other. X is the port for the exhaust steam, and leads
into the interior of the cylinder body, as shown in Fig. 8, V is a
circular valve set eccentrically to the axis of the cylinder body; it is
hollow, and of the section of an ordinary slide valve, as shewn in
Fig. 12, and its inside diameter is of a size which allows its continual
connection with the exhaust port X The shape of the ports and the
eccentricity of the circular valve are so calculated that for cach port
a, b, c, d, during nearly 180 degrees of rotation, a communication with
the steam chest E is established, whilst duung nearly 180 degrees of
rotation a communication with the exhaust port X takes place, and of
two ports opposite cach other one is always in communication with the
steam chest E, whilst the others communicate with the exhaust port X.
The consequence of this is that through the rotation of the cylinder
body respectively of the ports a, b, c, d, and through the stationary
position of the eccentrically placed circular valve V', Fig. 13, a com-
pletely correct steam distribution for all the four cylinders is established
which corresponds with the respective positions of the pistons. The
stationary position of the valve V' is effected through the lever h, which
through the shaft q is firmly connected with the valve.
It is evident that by turning the valve V¹ at an angle the engine can
be reversed. The object of the lever is to hold the lever / in both its
positions for either forward or backward rotation of the engine. The
expansion or cutting-off of the steam before the end of the piston stroko
is effected by the circular valve V, which by means of a circular rack
into which the pinion g gears, can be turned at pleasure on the dis-
tributing valve V', and thus any desired degree of expansion is attained.
The relative positions of the valves V and V¹ arc effected by the lever f,
which is in connection with the pinion g through the tube O. The same
valve motion can evidently be applied to more than four cylinders, and
it allows also the application of double acting cylinders. It must also
be particularly mentioned that this valve motion may be applied to
ordinary steam engines. In this case, where the cylinder is stationary,
the eccentrically placed circular valve must be caused to rotate to
distribute and expand the steam.

page_text: The steam after having acted on the pistons passes into the inner
hollow space of the valve V', and from there through the port X into
the hollow space of the cylinder body, is an exhauster with paddles,
the shape of which is immaterial, and any of the existing ones may bo
used. As this exhaustor is keyed on the shaft m it makes twice as many
revolutions as the cylinder body The purpose of this exhaustor is to
draw and displace the exhaust steam out of the inner space of the
cylinder body through the passage W in the cast-iron piece H, whereby
the counter pressure is diminished. The exhaustor effects the con-
densation of the exhaust steam. This condensation takes place as 1
follows By means of the suction power of the exhaustor / water
flowing through the opening p is brought into intimate contact with
the steam, thus causing the condensation of the latter, by this means
a vacuum is obtained and kept up. The steam and water-and air-drawn
through the exhaustor is discharged into the surrounding case d³, from
whence the steam or air escapes through the tube 2, and the water

page_text: direction of the middle line E, F
Two guides p, p, fastened on the
cylinder body allow the frame L to move only in the direction of
the line G, H. At the same time the two guides p, p, compel, in con-
sequence of the rotation of the cylinder body, the frame L and the
valve V to rotate round the centro j.
The rotation of the cylinder body with regard to the passages a, b, c, d,
and the guides p, p, and the frame L impart a rotary motion to the
This
valve V round the centre j, and a parallel motion to the valve V.
eccentric motion of the valve is so regnlated that during 180 degrees of
rotation the passages a, b, c, d, correspond successively with the exterior
of the steam chest, whilst the opposite passages are in communication
with the interior of the valve V respectively with the exhaust steam
passage II. It is evident therefore that if the eccentric is set in a
proper position corresponding with the positions of the pistons a perfectly
equal steam distribution for all the four cylinders takes place Tho
same valve motion can be used for engines with more than four cylinders,
only in this case the valve V is not square, but must be a regular
polygon with the same number of sides as the engine has cylinders. It
is further evident that by turning the eccentric by a lever the engine
can be reversed. In this caso the valve V takes the position shown in
Fig 16
The simple reversion of the rod q is therefore sufficient for
reversing the engine.
Figs. 17 and 18 represent a slide valve motion with variable expansion.
On the four sides of the square valve V four rectangular passages e, f,
g, h, are placed A second square valve V can be placed on the former
valve V, so that the four sides of both valves are always perfectly
parallel to each other, the action is as follows.-An eccentric disc v
is fastened on the tube o. and round this disc v the valve V can turn.
The centre of the disc and of the valve V is E The eccentric v with
the tube O can be turned in both directions, and secured in its position
as before described A frame L which also slides along the guides p, p,
encloses the valve V. In each position of the cylinder body the four
sides of the valve V are thus parallel with the four passages e, f, g, h,
of the valve V. As the cylinder body rotates the valves open and close
the passages e, f, g, h, in succession.
บ
As the position of the eccentric by turning the tube O can be varied
the covering of the passages e, f, g, h, can be regulated as required,

page_text: Having thus stated the nature and particulars of the Invention,
communicated to me by the within-named Emil Deck, I declare that
I claim,―
First. The mechanism described for converting a rotary motion
into a rectilinear to-and-fro motion, which at the same time revolves 5
round an axis perpendicular to the rectilinear motion with half the
number of revolutions.
Secondly. Converting a rotary motion by means of a rectilinear
to-and-fro motion perpendicular to the rotating axis, and following
this rotation into a second rotary motion of double the number of 10
revolutions.
Thirdly. Converting a rectilinear to-and-fro motion which at the same
time revolves round an axis perpendicular to this rectilinear motion into
a second rotary motion of double the revolutions.
Fourthly. The application of this mechanism to rotary prime movers 15
or rotary pumps, blast engines with piston motion, water engincs, traction
engines, and locomotives.
Fifthly. Tho valve motions with variable expansion and reversing"
motions, as shewn and described in reference to Figs. 12 to 18.
And Sixthly. The application of an exhaustor either as a condensing 20
apparatus, or apparatus for diminishing the counter pressure by rapid
displacement of the exhaust steam, water, gas, air, or other fluid or
liquid, as shewn and described.
In witness whercof, I, the said Henry Bernoulli Barlow, have
hereto set my hand and scal, thus Sixth day of October, One 25
thousand cight hundred and seventy-five.