IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Rudd Oswald, of Pallion High Yard,
near Sunderland, in the County of Durham, Engineer, and William
Kenmire Swaddle, of New Hendon, near Sunderland, aforesaid,
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Rudd Oswald
and William Kenmire Swaddle at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 31st August 1870.
We, WILLIAM RUDD OSWALD, of Pallion High Yard, near Sunderland,
in the County of Durham, Engineer, and WILLIAM KENMIRE SWADDLE,
of New Hendon, near Sunderland, aforesaid, Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES,"
to be as follows:-
1
This Invention has for its object to heat the water drawn away from
the surface condenser of a steam engine before it is injected into the
steam boiler. For this purpose I cause the water from the condenser to
be injected amongst the exhaust steam from the engine, and the water

page_text: thus heated is led away to be forced into the boiler. The water from
the condenser I cause to be pumped up into a cistern or reservoir, and
from the bottom of this cistern it is conducted by pipes amongst the
exhaust steam of the engines. The inlet to each of these pipes is fitted
with a valve connected to a float, so that a small quantity of water shall
always be retained in the cistern. When these valves are raised by the
float the vacuum in the exhaust draws water from the cistern, and
the water falling or forced in a shower into the exhaust pipe is heated
by the steam passing from the cylinders. A cistern or reservoir is
provided for the heated water to collect in, from which it is led away
and pumped into the steam boiler.
Provision is made for preventing the spray of water which is injected
into the exhaust pipes from being carried over with the steam_into_the_
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Rudd Oswald and William Kenmire
Swaddle in the Great Scal Patent Office on the 27th February 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
RUDD OSWALD, of Pallion High Yard, near Sunderland, in the County
of Durham, Engineer, and WILLIAM KENMIRE SWADDLE, of New
Hendon, near Sunderland, aforesaid, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said William Rudd Oswald and William Kenmire
Swaddle, Her special license that we, the said William Rudd Oswald and
William Kenmire Swaddle, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said William Rudd Oswald and William
Kenmire Swaddle, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might

page_text: make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said William Rudd Oswald. and William. Kenmire
Swaddle, our executors or administrators, by an. instrument. in. writing
under our or their hands and seals, or under. the hand and scal of one
of us or them, 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 Scal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said William Rudd Oswald and
William Kenmire Swaddle, 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
thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object to heat the water drawn away from
the surface condenser of a steam engine before it is injected into the
steam boiler. For this purpose we cause the water from the condenser
to be injected amongst the exhaust steam from the engine, and the
water thus heated is led away to be forced into the boiler. The water
from the condenser we cause to be pumped up into a cistern or reservoir,
and from the bottom of this cistern it is conducted by pipes amongst
the exhaust steam of the engines. The inlet to each of these pipes is
fitted with a valve, the opening and closing of which is so controlled
that a small quantity of water shall always be retained in the cistern..
When the valve is raised the vacuum in the exhaust draws water from
the cistern, and the water falling or forced in a shower into the exhaust
pipe is heated by the steam passing from the cylinders. A cistern or
reservoir is provided for the heated water to collect in, from which it
is led away and pumped into the steam boiler.
Provision is made for preventing the spray of water which is injected*
into the exhaust pipes from being carried over with the steam into the
surface condensers.
Provision may also be made for causing the water from the condenser
to be pumped directly from the condenser to the boiler in case the feed.
water heater should require repair.
}

page_text: In the Drawings hereunto annexed we have shewn a feed water heater
constructed in the manner above described.
Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section, Figure 2, a longitudinal
vertical section, and Figure 3, a horizontal section of the apparatus
taken through the line A, B, Figure 2; Figure 4 is a section taken
through the line C, D, Figure 2.
In these Figures A, A, are the exhaust pipes from the cylinders of a
two-cylinder engine, and leading into a chest B; B¹, are pipes by which
the steam passes from the chest B to the condenser. Within this chest
is a reservoir C, into which the condensed water pumped from the hot
well of the condenser is led by a pipe D. From the reservoir C are two
outlet pipes E, E, into the chest B. The outer ends of these pipes are
perforated-with-numerous-small-holes-as-shewn-in-order-that-any-water-
passing through them from the reservoir C into the chest B may be
divided into a fine spray. The entrance from the reservoir C into the
inner ends of these pipes is controlled by a valve G. The stem of this
valve carries a piston H which works steam-tight in a cylinder K; this
cylinder is open at the bottom and at the top is closed by a cover from
which a pipe fitted with a tap L is led to the exterior of the chest ; this
tap when the feed water heater is in operation is ordinarily opened to
allow the pressure of the atmosphere to act on the top of the piston H,
and close the valve G should the water level in the reservoir get too low.
M is a partition in the chest B to prevent the water entering the chest
through the pipes E from passing through the pipes B₁ to the condenser.
The heated feed water is led away by a pipe N to the feed pump by
which it is to be forced into the boiler.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-The water from the hot
well of the condenser is pumped into the reservoir C, and as soon as the
pressure upon the under side of the piston H is sufficient to raise the
valve G water passes out from the reservoir through the pipes E, and
entering the chest B in the form of spray is heated by the exhaust steam
entering through the pipes A, the heated water collects at the back of
the partition M and is conducted away by the pipe N to the feed pump.
By controlling the opening and closing of the valve G, as 'above described,
by the amount of water in the reservoir C the valve G prevents the air
pump drawing feed water into the condenser, and also if the water level
gets too low in the reservoir C prevents air from being drawn into the
condenser.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the manner
in which we prefer to carry the same into effect, we would have it
understood that what we claim as our improvements in steam engines
is,-
1. The so constructing steam engines that the condensed water from
the surface condenser of the engine may be injected amongst the exhaust
steam previous to its being again forced into the boiler.
2. The combination or arrangement of feed water heater, substantially
as herein described and shewn by the Drawings annexed.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Rudd Oswald and William
Kenmire Swaddle, hereunto set our hands and scals, this Seven-
teenth day of February, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-one.
W. R. OSWALD.
(L.S.)
W. K. SWADDLE. (L.s.)