US726896A - Rotary engine. - Google Patents

Description

No, 726,996. l PATENTED MAY 5, 1903.-

y E. A, FRANZN.:

Rotlngfml ENGINE. 5 MPL10-T101? 'FILED nomas. 1901. No- Mu'mzn. e', snETS-SHBET -1.

PATENTE-D MAY 5, 1903 P. A. PRANZ'EN. ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLIUATION FILED NOV. 23, 1901.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

N0 MODEL No. 726mm. PATENTED MAY 5, 190s. P. A. PRANZEN. ROTARY ENGINE. I APPLIGATION FILED NOV. 23, 1901.

N0 MODEL.

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No. 726,896. y PATENTBD MAY 5, '1903. F. A. PRANZN. ROTARY ENGINE. APPLIUATION FILED IGV. 23.1901.

B SHEETS-SHEET 41.

N0 MODEL.

No; 726,896; PETENTBJJ MAY 5, 190s.

E. A, PRANZN. no TARY ENGINE,

A-PPLIUATION nun mines. 1901,..

-v @SHEETS-SHEET 5.

and

No. 726.896. PATENTED MAY 5,1903.

I'. A; .FRANZEN ROTARY ENGNB.

. FABRICATION FILED nov. 23, 199;.

UNITED STATES Patented may s,

' ATENT ()nnitzn.`

-lPO-NTUS ERLAND FAHLBECK, OF LUND,'SW'EDEN.

ROTARY ENGIN s.

srncrncnrron forming para of Letters Patent No. 726,896, dated may 5, 1903. o i

S'- n Application iiled November 23, .1991. Serial No. 83,460. (llo model.) v Y A To dll whom it may concern.: j' y YBe it known that l, FRANS AUGUST FRAN- ZEN, a suhject'of the King of Sweden and Nor way, residing at Lund, Sweden, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Engines; and "I do hereby declare the following tothe a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, such as will enable othl ers skilled in the art to which it appertains lo to make and use the'same, reference being had p to the accompanying drawings, and to letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.-

- .The present invention relates to rotary engines', and comprises an outer wheel having a 1 plurality of buckets or. cylinders thereon and one'or more smaller piston-wheels eccentrictjallylocatedwithin the outer wheel, whose pis- 'tons'successively enter successively-presentao ed .buckets or cylinders.

` t The invention further comprises details of construction fully described in the following pecication jand particularly pointed out in theclaims.

# *Referring to the drawings, in whichli-ke .partsaresimilarly designated, Figure 1 is a 'cross-section of one form of engine embodying my invention. vFiga 2 is a longitudinal sectiontaken at right angles to Fig. l. l'fig.l

'36 l3 is' alongitudinal section of a inodication. Fig.4 is a fragmentary sectional View show-- ing a modified form of a piston-wheel. Fig. 5 is a View showing three pistons. Fig. 6 is a cross-section, and Fig. 7 a longitudinal sec- 5 tion, showing apIuraIty of piston-wheels capable of cooperating with a single outer wheel; and Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional View ot 'a modiiication showing intermediate packing elements fr.. L 4o The casing or jacket a, constituting at the same time the frame of the engine,` is prof vided on lone side with a central boss of' and Y preferably, though not necessarily, aat cover-plate a?, provided with-an eccentricallylocated boss ai and exhaust-passage o4.

easing, and rotates in the casing. The ri tn b Sfoq'ually-sp ced buckets or cylinders o of any suitable co struction and form, either sepa- -Jf''The bucket or cylinder wheel is secured` tor-slaft b2, jonrnaled in the boss a of the.

xately secured thereto orcast' in one piece` l withsaid wheel, as shown in Figs. 3, 5, and 7.V lVithin the wheel b and eccentric to it is the cog or piston wheel, which consists of a rota'f 55A` table nave d, to which are secured'` the cogs or pistons d in the form of spheres connected'` by nbolts or Shanks d" to the nave. These pistons, as well as their Shanks, have'a longif tudinal perforation or steam-passage da. l '5ol The 'shaft d4 in the boss assupportsavalyering Z, on which the nave ofthe piston-wheel rotates and through which steam 'is succes sively applied tothe several pistons asthey v come into operative position. vThis ring Zcon-l tains a segmental annular chamber m, thatis connected with the steam-supply pipe Z and preferably formed in one piece with the valve ring or slide. ln the valve-ring is an a'rcn ate port n, over which the inne;` ends ofthe 7o pistons travel during their rotation to periodically register therewith to admit steafn at the v required point oftheir rotation through them to their cooperating cylinders c to onel sidefo't" ,Y the tangent-point h of the pitch-lines of vtheir; two wheels. 2 ln order to place the piston-wheelin place, as shown in Fig. 2, three of the pistons are unscrewed from thenave of the wheel and that portion of the wheel turned toward the .8o buckets. The wheel is then rotated to cause 'the remaining pistons to engage the buckets,

whereby the portion which is free of pistons will be turned toward the center of the engine when the missing pistons can be screwed in place.

The relative sizes of the two wheels nnnstl be such that the radius of one is a multiple of the radius of the other. For example, 'the diameter of wheel d must be one-half of tha-too of wheel b, reckoned from the pitch-lines f andg ofthe respective wheels and the number of pistons preferably one-half ci. that of the cylinders or buckets.

'l On turning the .wheels the pistons. will, k95

`owing to their relative proportions, describe. straight radial lines toward the center ofthe,

wheel b, and the spherical heads of.,'the,'pis,. tons can thus passthrough the eutire;.le txt g'ths,lY` f of the cylinders. Steam enters from the .pipe g roo Z tothe chamber m in the ring or distribute ing .valve landA passes t'h roughthe portrn'andfuf .exhaust-pipe.

through the central passage d3 in that piston that is just to the right of the tangentpoint h of the pitch-circles of the two wheels. steam then acts between the piston and cylinder end and forces the piston outward` at the same ti me turning the piston-wheel, lwhich in'its turn acts on the bucket or cylinder Wheel b, causing the engine to rotate toward the right. After the piston leaves'its respective cylinder, steam exhausts into the jacket or casing surrounding the engine and is led oli' either through the port a4 or a suitable The jacket is thus iilled with exhaust-steam, andthe pistons to the left of the tangent-point h as they enter the buckets would compress the exhaust-steam in them, and to avoid this I form in the ring Z two arcuate exhaust-passages p and p', the former operative when' normally direct and the latter when run ningreversed. These passages have a circumferential length sutlicient to allowl ter of the Wheel as will be permitted by the pistons d.

In order to reverse the direction of the engine, the ring-valve is turned toward the left so that it occupies the same-relative position on the left of the tangent-point h, in which case the exhaust-passage p -is brpught into operative position. To provide for the rotation of the ring-Valve, there is a slot in the casing a, through which the pipe Z projects, and covering the same and rigidly connected to the pipe is a slide. (Notshown'in the drawings.)

It desired, the pipe can project through the front wall a2 of the jacket anda suitable arcuate slot made in the-wall concentric with the ring-valve. ering the slotv fits close to the casing and is of sufficient size to cover-the slot whatever the position of the pipe lf is. The amount ot' steam admitted through the pistons, as well asthe amount of'expansion, depends upon the relative position of the ring-valve-that is, how far it is turned to one side or theotherof the tangent-point h.

Fig. 3 shows a ymodification of the engine in which the pistons are solid; but the lsteam instead of beingl admitted between the cylinder end andpiston through the pistons themselves is admittedthrough theclosed -ends of the cylinders, thus being admitted from the outside.of,.the.wheels instead of from .their cent-ers. The bucket-wheel b' in this case is made solid and has a circular outer nerinh- The In either case the plate cov-,

ber s', to which the steam isled through pipe i., to which the slide 10 is rigidly attached. The cylinders each receive steam through their perforations u While passing under the inlet-valve port s', and the amount of steam admitted and the amount of expausion of the stearnwill dependupon the length of the port s' on each side of the central inlet-pipe t. The slide s is illustrated as connected to a reversing-lever s, one end of which is supported around a motor-shaft, the

object of which is to accurately guide the A slide in an arc of. a circle, Two vsuch arms may be employed, if desired, or in lieu of this mechanism the slide s may bemovedby a suitable bevel-gear operated by any suitable lever mechanism to move the slide along the circumference of the wheel b. This'rype of motor is convenient for practical use, es# pecially as the clearance is very small. of course obvious thatthe pistons need not be spheres, but 1nay,as shown in Fig. 4, be cylin'- ders v, having their laxis parallel with that of the motor-shaft and-may be supported by thin` plates o'. The cylinders orr buckets c must then be square or rectangular in cross-sectionsl It is A modification ofthis type of engine consists A of providing an intermediatereciprocable packing element between the pistons and ends of the cylinders, whereby a more steam-tight fit is obtained between the cooperating palts,

and is intended for engines running at a low speed. In Fig. 8 I'have shown three such elements in the form of cups x that increase the tangent-surfaces between the pistons and cylinders andare arranged so as not to leave the cylinders. These cups fr: are maintained by centrifugal force against the outerends of the cylinders, except during the passage et are forced inward by the steam and act on the pistons to rotate the'wheels. the cups from being forced out of` the cylin- To prevent IOS - the cylinder past the inlet-port s, when-they ders -into the interior ot the wheel b-bythe A expansion of the steam and after the'pisto'ns have left the cylinders, I provide-a tkih s0.mewhat springy retaining ring or strip y on'the inner ends of the cylinders to formabuttiug-uv shoulders :02, against which the-cups may.

strike. The exhaust from the cylinders l/ takesplace through the ports u after these ports. have.

passed, during the rotation of 'the wheelhh Forthis purpose the*` lengthlofqAl the slide is so'adjusted that exhaust will take; x s

the slide s.

Part of this ringo@ is shown in Fig. S.-

place a littlev be'fore the cups yft strikeptheil; shoulders x2, therebeing an eXhauSl-Spl S' L between the end of said slide andthe intelriorg"nl end wall of the offset. The length of, zhitllide`vl` 8 can 'Abe-so adjusted that the cups W.ill .,strke the ring with little or no force, and ein trifugal force immediatelycausethel,

operative positionin .theou'ter vided wit thiieepistonsand a packingdeo` ,i yeach one. `Each packing device; o ifaspringy socket 7e, threaded onthe istons dand provided with aperfrati tp admitffsteani between the pack- -lhow a plurality of pistonng@ with Aa-sing'le cylinderl, A lisse cylinders c are rectangular "in cross-"sec'ti andCQtain rectangular packing deyices lia-ying yedges 0:3 turned toward the-center Ahe iyheel. The flanges'oc3 on the'eiids df,v Mese `pa'ckings a2' are set in from the edges toenable thein to pass the ring y.v 'lhe''diainterofthe pitch-line of the pistonwheel is one-half of that of the cylinder or bucket wheel, whereby the pistons will move in a rectilinear direction, and vin this case, where two piston-wheels are used, as shown in said Figs. G and 7, they are the same diameter, their pitch-lines would be tangent to each other, andin order to enable them to operate the structure shown in Figs. 6 and 7 is adopted, one of the vpiston-wheels passing between two oppositely-situated parts of the other wheel. As shown, one of the piston-Wheels is provided with duplicate pistons dsl, between which the cylindrical pistons d3 of the-other wheel can pass. The steam enters in the same manner as in Fig. 3 through two oppositely-arranged Valves s, one for each Wheel. The packin gs 9: are'forced inward, act upon the pistons to rotate the piston-wheels, and are stopped by. thel ring y, Athat is set as far in toward the center of the wheel asis permitted by the shafts lof the piston-wheels. In order to permit the escape Vof steam` from the Y cylinders c into the interiorof the outer Wheel,

there are cnt-away portionsr2 between ad jacent cylinders, the radial height of said recesses or cut-away portions being slightly greaterth'an that of the packings, so thatV .when the latter are seated on the ring y there is sufficient space to allow the escape of steam from the cylinders. Another purpose of this recess r2 is to provide sufficient space to allow the pistons to enter and withdraw from'the cylinders. j

Having thus described my said invention, what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a rotary engine, a casing, an annular wheel journaled therein, buckets or cylinders arranged on its periphery, a piston-head movable'in each cylinder and a piston-wheel eccentrically arranged to and l cooperating with said annularwheehand frneans to admit steam between the heads and cylindersl to cause the former to act on and rotate the piston-wheel, substantially as described.

2. In a rotary engine, a casing, an annular' inder, ymeans tollimitthe movement of each ,piston-head, a piston-wheel journaled eccentrcally' to the aforementioned one, a plurality of pistons thereon vadapted. tochter ther openends of the cylinders.during` rotation,

t-o act kon the pistons of said wheel and rotate it, substantially as described. i

. In a rotary engine, a casinegan 'annular wheel thereimfbnckets or cylinders arrangedA on the periphery of said wheel and open to-y 'and means to admit steam between the pisy ton-heads and'cylinders to causethe former mentionedwheel, and means to supply stea\ml 4 between the pistons and cylinders, substantially as described.` Y

4. In a rotary engine, a'cas'ing, an annula 85 wheel therein, Abuckets'or cylinders arranged on tlieperiphery of said wheel` and open 'toward its center, a plurality of piston-wheels veccentric to lthe first-mentioned wheel and cooperating therewith, and means to-admit steam on either side-of the tangent points of the pitch-lines of said coperating" wheelsV 'and between the pistons of the piston-wheels and their cooperating buckets, substantially as described. 'y

5. In a rotaryengine, a casing, an annular v'heel journal/sd therein, buckets or cylinders on the periphery of said wheel, a piston-head 'in each cylinder, apiston-wheel eccentric to the rst-mentioned wheel and' cooperating therewith, and means to admit steam to the outer ends of the cylinders .to canse the piston-heads to act on the piston-wheel, substantially as described.

6. I n a rotary engine, a casing, an annular wheel journaled therein, open-ended buckets or cylinders on the periphery thereof, a piston-head in each cylinder, means to prevent said heads from being driven vout of their cylinders, aplnrality of piston-Wheels eccentric to the first-mentioned one and coperating therewith, and means to admit steam to the' outer end of said cylinders to cause the piston-'heads to act on said piston-wheels, substantially as described.l

7. In a rotary engine, a easing, an annular wheel journaled'therein, buckets or cylinders secured to the periphery thereof and having one end open toward the center of said Wheel, andy steam-ports inl their opposite ends, a piston-head in each cylinder, means to prevent the piston-heads from being driven out of their cylinders, two piston-wheels eccentric to the'iirst-mentioned Wheel and cooperating therewith, one of saidvwheels comprising a hub, pistons and a rod connecting the center of each piston with the hub, and the other comprising a hub, pistons and rods to connect the pistons .with the hub, the pistons of one wheel capable of passing between pairs of pistons of thev other wheel, andmeanslto admit steamto said cylinders to cause the piston-heads to acton the pistons of said piston wheels, substantially 'as described.I

no A

8. In a rotary engine, a casing, an annular tioned wheel and a plurality of spherical pistons on said piston-Wheel to successively en tersuccessively-presented buckets, substantially vas described. y

9j. Ina rotary engine, a casing, an annular wheel' therein, buckets or cylinders opening toWardfthe'f-center of4 said'wheel, a piston- Nheel'eccentric to and Within the first-mentioned wheel, pistons on said piston-Wheel, yielding metallic packing elementssecured on the'working faces of the pistons and means jtojadmit steam between the packing elements and piston icribed.

10. In a rotary engine, a casing, an'annular wheel therein, buckets or cylinders opening toward the center of said wheel, a piston- Wheel eccentricto and Within the -first-menends, substantially' as deopening toward the center of the Wheel, a

part conforming to the periphery of said annular4 Wheel and provided with a chamber communicating with said' ports as they successively pass said chamber, means to alter the relative l'peripheral position of said part and chamber, and means to supply motive fluid, substantially as described.

' In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed 'my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses. 4

FRANS AUGUST FRANZN.

Witnesses HILVING HESSLER, ANTON SORENSON.

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