IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM ENGINES, AND IN THE VALVES AND PISTON THEREOF, AND IN SELF OILING AND VALVE OPERATING MECHANISM THEREFOR
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Farr Goodwin, of the Town of Stelton, in the
County of Middlesex and State of New Jersey, United States of North
America (Mechanical Engineer), for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Farr Goodwin at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 14th February 1881.
WILLIAM FARR GOODWIN, of the Town of Stelton, in the County of Middlesex
and State of New Jersey, United States of North America (Mechanical Engineer).
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM ENGINES, AND IN THE VALVES
AND PISTON THEREOF, AND IN SELF OILING AND VALVE OPERATING MECHANISM
THEREFOR."
From the beginning of the use of steam the tendency of the improvements in
the construction and operation of the steam engines has chiefly been to obtain the
following results:-First, economy in the construction of the engine proper;
secondly, economy in the use of steam; and, thirdly, simplicity in the valve
operating mechanism; and these I am aware have formed subject matter of many
Patents. One great difficulty in the construction of steam engines, which has
heretofore been considered insurmountable, has been the proper lubricating of the
packed rods (more especially the piston rods) from the outside of the stuffing boxes
in a manner like that in use for journal bearings. Owing to the fact that the
tightness of the packing of all rods depends upon its pressure upon the surface to ⚫
be packed while said surface is in motion, all expanding packing, such as the
metallic rings or rubber packing rings commonly used, are worthless as stuffing
box packing, the former because it does not contract, and the latter because the oil
required to lubricate the rod would speedily destroy it.
For these reasons fibrous packing, such as hemp or cotton, have proved, after a
test of years, to be the best material for this purpose, owing to their compressibility
077

page_text: to that degree of tightness at which they become set, and form a close fitting joint,
which if properly lubricated opposes but little resistance by reason of friction with
the packed surface, but when no lubricant is used the surface of the packing will
soon become carbonized by the combined heat of the steam and friction, and will
crumble, thereby destroying the object sought. When this packing is adjusted to
prevent leakage of steam without first applying a lubricant the resistance to the
rod becomes so great as to materially retard the action of the piston, and lessen the
effective power.
The method usually employed for maintaining a lubricant upon the surfaces of
the packing and of the moving rod has been to combine soap-stone, plumbago,
tallow, and other like substances with the fibrous packing. When the two former
are employed the friction or resistance to the movements of the rod is greater than
when the latter (tallow) is employed, because the lubricating element is soon
exhausted from the mineral element by the friction and washing effect produced
by steam and water and the moving rod, whereby the surface of the packing
becomes polished, and is lubricated only by the water that condenses upon the
rod, and with continued use becomes gritty, and abrades the surface of the rod, the
only remedy in this case being the removal of the packing.
The difficulty of applying fresh oil as a lubricant to the rod surface as it is
applied to the journal bearings has heretofore been considered insurmountable,
because of the situation of the packing within the stuffing box, and the application
of oil to the rod, either by means of pads, or by feeding it thereto from an oil cup
outside of the packing, is productive of great waste of the lubricant, as it is swept
from the rod by the tight packing, and left upon the outside of the stuffing box.
The object of my Invention is to obtain the above recited desired results, and it
consists, first, in the peculiar construction of the cylinder, its heads, and arrange-
ment of valve casings; secondly, in automatic mechanism for constantly lubricating
the piston space through the medium of the piston rod; thirdly, in an automatic
mechanism for constantly lubricating the piston or other packed rods of a steam
or other engine, and for delivering the lubricant in predetermined quantities to the
surfaces to be lubricated when found necessary; fourth, in means to remove the
condensed water from the oil chamber of the stuffing box, and to means for
collecting any oil that may work out of the stuffing box; fifth, in the method and
mechanism employed therefor for operating the valves, and for changing the lead
of said valves while the engine is working; and, lastly, the Invention consists in
certain details of construction, all as hereinafter fully described and shown in the
accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which,-
Figures 1 and 2 are longitudinal vertical sections taken in reverse directions of
an engine constructed according to my Invention; Figure 3 is a front elevation of
the valve operating mechanism; Figure 4 is a sectional view of so much of the
cylinder as is necessary to show an improved construction of cylinder head com-
bined with a disc valve; Figures 5, 6, and 7 are detail views of the cylindrical
valve; Figure S is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of the packing partition
ring for the stuffing box; Figure 9 is a vertical horizontal section on an enlarged
scale of the oil fount for lubricating packed rods; and Figure 10 is a perspective
view on an enlarged scale of the oil fount valve.
Like letters of reference are employed in the above recited Figures of Drawings
to indicate like parts wherever such may occur. In the Specification and Drawing
forming part of Letters Patent granted to me in Great Britain, under date of
November 17, 1879, No. 4674, I have described and shown certain constructions of
steam engines, the object of which was to simplify and cheapen said construction,
and also to economize steam. The construction of engine forming part of the
subject matter of this Invention is more particularly designed for locomotive,
marine, and small stationary or portable engines, where four valves are not desirable.
A represents the cylinder proper, which is composed of the steam inlet passage a,
the steam outlet passage a¹, the piston space A¹, having in its heads the steam
ports a², a³, these ports, together with the bed plate A², forming one piece or

page_text: casting; B and B' represents the cylinder heads, in which are formed the valve
seats and casings B2; they are provided with steam passages b, bl, coincident with
those of the cylinder proper. The head B¹ is provided with a stuffing box B³,
through which passes the piston rod, each of said heads being also cast or formed
of one piece, whereby they may be applied to engines of any desired length of stroke
by simply connecting them to cylinders of the proper length.
P is the piston consisting of a disc p having a central hub or bearing pl for
connecting it to the piston rod, a disc or follower p² connected to said hub 2', an
intermediate grooved ring p³, and upon opposite sides of said ring the packing
rings p, as plainly shown in Figs. 1 & 2, both the disc p' and follower p² have
projections 2 formed upon their outer faces that are adapted to enter, fill up,
or nearly fill up the ports a², as, at the end of each stroke of the piston. Instead
of the disc p¹ two followers or discs p upon a hub or sleeve p³ having a central
grooved and perforated disc or flange p³, as shown in Fig. 2, may be employed
without departing from the nature of this Invention. By means of the projections 225
upon opposite sides of the piston I effect a great economy in the steam employed,
since no waste can take place by reason of any steam space between the valve and
piston, as is the case in all engines as now constructed, where the valves are
located more or less remote from the piston space. In order to automatically
oil the surfaces of the piston space A¹, I provide the piston rod P' with an oil
passage o that communicates on the one hand with a tube p° and a passage in the
grooved ring p³, Fig. 1, or with a passage in the grooved flange, Fig. 2, to conduct
the oil to the peripheral groove p7 in said ring or flange.
On the other hand the oil passage o communicates with a like passage o¹ in the
stem of an oil cup O attached to the piston rod outside of the cylinder, said oil cup
being provided with a stop cock o², and is located at a point above the plane of
motion of the periphery of the piston P, so that the oil is continually fed to the
interior face of the cylinder between the packing, as plainly shown in Figs. 1 and 2.
This arrangement of packing on opposite sides of the peripheral groove of the
piston avoids all waste of oil and serves also to better conduct the latter to the
periphery of the cylinder.
This construction of automatic oil feed has the further advantage of enabling the
attendant to test the packing of the piston, as it is evident that if the packing
is not steam tight, steam will pass into the oil cup through the passages o and o¹.
V, V, are the valves constructed in general like those described in the Letters
Patent hereinabove referred except in so far as the valve stems are concerned, which
consists of a double key or double headed stem v, said stem being of such a width
between the heads v' as to fill out and complete the body of the valve V, as plainly
shown in Figures 5, 6, and 7. By means of this construction I obtain greater
strength and more regularity in the operation. The valves are kept steam tight by
the constant pressure of live steam upon their backs, said live steam being
The arrows,
conducted thereto through the passages a, as shown Figs. 1 and 2.
Figs. 1 and 2, show the ingress and egress of the steam, the valves being shown in
their relative positions to that of the piston. This construction of engine I find
admirably suited for locomotive or marine engines, and the one valve in each valve
head here serves the double purpose of admission and exhaust valve, the bridge of
the valve moving over the port, thus permitting the steam to enter through one
side and escape through the other. The crank rods c, c¹, connect the cranks C of
valves with the reversing link C¹, which latter is connected by rods c², c³, with the
valve operating devices, though I prefer the valve operating mechanism of novel
construction and operation hereinafter described.
For very small engines, where it is not practicable to employ the cylindrical
oscillating valves V, I employ disc valves, which I have fully described in the
Specification forming part of the Letters Patent hereinbefore referred to, but to
facilitate the construction of such engines I have shown in Fig. 4 so much thereof
as will enable those conversant with the art to readily understand the improvement,
which consists in providing the head B of the piston space A¹ with a hub b² or

page_text: bearing through which the piston rod passes, and upon which the oscillating box
disc valves are mounted, and also in forming said head B' of a separate piece, that
is bolted between the cylinder heads B, B', and the cylinder, as plainly shown,
thereby facilitating its construction. The great simplicity of construction, the
fitting and all of the finished work being done with the lathe, and with very little
lathe work being required, only that necessary to true the surfaces of the valves
and their seats, which latter alone requires accuracy, while the ports and bolt holes
are made in the casting, make this the cheapest and most economical engine for
almost any use it may be put to.
I will now proceed to describe my improved valve operating mechanism, referring
more particularly to Figs. 1, 2, 3, of the accompanying Drawings. D represents a
three motion cam made in three different circles, each of the three divisions or
segments of which circles being concentric with the axis of the revolving shaft S
upon which the cam is mounted, and the smaller and larger circles being connected
by bridges which incline from the larger to the smaller circles, thus forming the
continuous track with the eccentric bridges or cam inclination which serve to
change the rollers f from one circle to the other, thus shifting the arms F, to which the
said rollers are attached, and thereby communicating the necessary motions through
the rods c, c¹, to the valve cranks Cand valves V. The rollers f, f, being attached
to the middle of the arm F which is pivoted by one end to a standard f¹, or to
any suitable standard, and by the other the swinging end to the rod which operates
the valve at the opposite end of the cylinder, Figs. 1, 2, 3, represented as open to
admit steam to the piston space. And when the said rollers change from the
smaller circle d to the larger circle d' at the bridge D', the position of the valve
will be reversed and the bridge of the valve will cross over to the other side of the
port and discharge steam from the piston space until the rollers reach the bridge D.
which .conducts them to the middle circle or track 2, thus shifting the valve to
the middle of its motion, a position in which the valve bridge covers the port and
remains in that position until the rollers have again reached the bridge D1, which
latter conducts them again to the smaller circle & and again opens the port. Both
valves being operated by the same cam but by a similar but independent arm, the
same description serves for both arms and their respective valves. This peculiar
valve mechanism is designed especially for a cut off motion such as used on marine
engines, and to operate together with a common eccentric motion or with the two
motion cam E, Figs. 1 & 3, of similar construction but having two tracks instead
of three as in the first cam described.
This two motion cam E is constructed with two circular tracks, only the larger
and the smaller circles e, e¹, being used to open and close the exhaust ports when
used in connection with a four valve engine, but when used in connection with
the two valve engine herein described it serves as a reversing cam, opening wide
the ports at each end of the stroke of the piston and holding them in that position
while the piston travels the length of its piston space. Hence when the above
described cams are bolted together, as shown in Fig. 3, and connected to a link or
links, the two track cam serves as a backing cam, but when disconnected from the
links of the three motion cam and connected directly with the valve crank it
serves for both a backing and going a head motions in like manner to the common
eccentric, except in respect to its quicker motions moving the valves in less time
as compared with the speed of the piston.
Fig. 3 represents a front view of both the above described cams joined together
showing the positions of the arms and rollers. This kind of cam is designed to
take the place of the yoke cam, and to serve as two cams for operating the two
valves, one of which is at each end of the cylinder, as by the independent arms
and rollers the rim of the cam passing between them alternately makes an
independent motion for each valve at the proper time and leaving the other valve
at rest in its proper position when used in the manner shown. The advantages of
this novel mechanism consist in its simplicity, requiring one cam only to produce
the two motions for the two separate valves, while in the ordinary mechanism for

page_text: the same purpose two outside cams are employed within yokes, which latter
connect with the valves by means of rods, rock-shaft, and levers.
It is obvious to those who are acquainted with the mechanism of the puppet
valve engine, that the one cam is simpler than two, and that the two roller bearing
arms are simpler than yokes, rock-shaft, and levers, or the compound valves and
two rock-shafts where the levers are dispensed with. And in this new mechanism
the common link is used for reversing or changing motion from the cut off
mechanism to that of the full stroke operated by the two motion cam, which latter
requires but one arm. The pivotal arms serve the double purpose of transmitting
and multiplying motion, the swinging end moving double the distance moved by
the rollers, which are pivoted at the middle of the arm, hence the cam inclinations
are not necessarily steep, as the length of motion is provided through the length of
the swinging end of the arm as relates to that part of the latter between the points
of power and its fulerum, and thus performing the same function as the arms of
the ordinary rock-shaft. The rollers working astride of the cam flange are easily
kept tight upon the latter by making the arms forked or open in the middle and
joined at each end with sufficient spring to hold the rollers tight upon the surfaces
of the cam track. Adjusting screws can be employed to close the fork of the arins
if necessary to provide for wear. There can be but little or no noise in its opera-
tion because the rollers are always tight upon the flange and no loose motion
permitted.
The throw of the connecting or valve crank rods c, c¹, may be adjusted by
means of the set screws g' and the blocks G, to which the arms are connected, said
blocks being capable of sliding within slots f2 in the arms F, and in this manner
the valves may be adjusted. The cams D, E, are secured to each other by means
of bolts, and operate together as one piece, turning with the crank shaft S, to which
the hub H of the cam E is attached by means of a spirally toothed or threaded
clutch M, which. latter is mounted loosely upon the said shaft and permitted to
slide lengthwise thereof, but is secured from turning upon the shaft by a feather or
key. m is a yoke fitted into the annular groove in the clutch M, and is pivoted to
a lever m¹, one end of which latter is pivoted to a fixed stud upon the bed plate,
and the other end is moved back and forth in the rack or toothed segment m².
The hub of the cam E is fitted loosely upon the shaft, and is prevented from moving
lengthwise by collars so as to be turned upon the shaft as the spiral clutch is moved
to and from the cam hub by the lever m¹. Hence it is obvious that by moving
said lever the clutch is moved causing the cams to slightly turn upon the shaft, and
thus affording a ready means of adjusting the lead of the valves for any desired
speed for the purpose of cushioning the momentum of the reciprocating bodies at
fast speed and removing the cushion therefrom at slow speeds. A very important
desideratum in moving engines wherein various speeds are attained, as the adjust-
ment can be effected while the engine is running at its highest speed, a thing which
to my knowledge has heretofore never been done. The principle of the screw
being embodied in the operation renders it possible to effect the desired result with
a mechanism which insures strength, durability, and efficiency at the same
time.
R represents a partition ring composed of a sleeve 2, provided at each end with
inwardly and outwardly projecting flanges, which when in position upon the
rod P and within the stuffing box B form chambers 62, 63, for the oil. The
passage through the flanges is made to fit the rod, while the outer periphery of
said flanges is made to correspond to the interior of the stuffing box B2 in the same
manner as the gland of the packer. The sleeve between the flanges is made
sufficiently long to permit the adjustment of the packing without moving the ring.
beyond the oil feeding aperture n. When the packing gland of an engine is very
long, or when the introduction into the stuffing box of the partition ring or sleeve
would require more room between the cross-head and the end of the stuffing-box,
said ring R can be cut off from the inner end of the packing gland, in which case it
would only require the turning off of sufficient metal inside and outside to form the

page_text: chambers, leaving the ends which form the flanges without change; but in most
cases where there is sufficient room to permit the withdrawal of the gland and
packing ring for the purpose of repacking, the ring will be made for and fitted to
the stuffing box and rod and placed upon the latter in advance of the gland without
any other alteration except attaching the oil fount.
The flanges and oil passages of the ring can be formed in the casting, leaving the
flanges only to be fitted to the rod and stuffing box. The packing is placed upon
the rod P within the stuffing box in the usual manner, and the ring being in
advance of the gland the latter is screwed into the stuffing box, pushing the ring
against the packing and forcing the latter beyond the oil supply passage n, that
connects with an oil cup or other suitable oil fount N; the gland is then unscrewed
and withdrawn, leaving the ring R² in the stuffing box and in a position to receive
oil from the oil fount N, which oil flows into chamber 62 formed by the outer
periphery of the sleeve r; the flanges r', and the stuffing box. From this chamber
the oil passes through the passage or passages 72 into chamber b³ formed by the
rod P¹, the inner periphery of the sleeve 7, and the inward projection of the
flanges 7. An additional packing is then placed in front of the ring in the end of
the stuffing box in the same manner as the first, and the gland is again screwed into
position, thus compressing both the inner and outer packings, the ring serving as
an intermediate gland interposed between the packing for the purpose of lubricating
the packed rod without waste of oil. The oil fount N is situated at a point above
the oil chambers in such a manner that the oil is forced through a suitable
tube into said chambers by gravity without regard to the position of the packed
rod. A suitable drawing off cock K is applied at the under side of the stuffing
box for the purpose of drawing off any water that may condense in the
chambers 62, 63, when the engine cools. This provision is necessary for the reason
that water being heavier than oil would displace the latter from the chambers,
while it is also convenient for drawing off the oil from the fount. In order to
collect any oil that may be carried through the packing and stuffing box, and
prevent the waste thereof, I form a chamber b in the end of the stuffing box
gland L, and widen the aperture, through which the rod P¹ passes out of the gland
to prevent the contact of the latter with the rod. The chamber b* connects by an
oil passage in the flange of the gland with the collecting cup L', wherein the oil
that would otherwise be wasted is collected. It will be readily seen that any oil
carried out of the stuffing box gland by.the rod instead of being swept off by the
outer face of said gland on the inward movement of the rod is swept off at the
inner wall of the chamber 6, and is collected therein and conducted to the cup L¹,
which may be unscrewed from time to time for removing the oil therefrom; or said
cup may be provided with a suitable stop cock for the purpose. The inside
packing serves to pack the rod passage against leakage of steam, and the outer
packing serves to pack said passage against the leakage of oil, thus making the oil
fount sufficiently tight to prevent the evaporation of the volatile constituents of
the oil. It is obvious that when the rod is packed steam tight upon both sides of
the ring or sleeve but little oil can pass the packing, as the latter strips it from the
rod as it passes, and only leaves that which can pass through a steam tight packing,
which is ample for the purpose of lubrication; any surplus oil that may pass
through the packing with the rod will be swept off on the return movement of
said rod and collected at L', as above set forth.
If in practice it is found to be necessary to automatically control the supply of
oil to packed rods I employ the following devices:-The oil fount N is provided
with a barrel or cylindrical valve T, in which are formed one or more chambers t,
the valves shown having four such chambers; it is provided on one side with a
trunnion or short shaft t' that passes through a suitable stuffing box outside of the
valve chamber or casing formed in the fount N, and upon which shaft t¹ is rigidly
mounted a ratchet wheel W that is operated by a suitable pawl through the medium
of a rod actuated by impact of the crosshead, a spring q being connected with
said rod to retract it and the pawl into their normal position; the outer end of said

page_text: rod Q carries an elastic buffer q³, and lying in the path of the cross head receives
motion from the latter, which is communicated through the rod Q and the pawl to
the ratchet wheel in such manner that the valve chambers will successively, as
determined, be brought over the oil passages to receive and deliver the charges
of oil.
It is evident that the rapidity with which the oil is fed to the packed rod can
be regulated by the length of the throw of the actuating rod, which throw may be
adjusted by the collar q², which is mounted upon a screw thread on the rod, and
against which one end of the retracting spring bears. To facilitate the regulating
of the quantity of oil delivered by each of the valve chambers I have made these
chambers adjustable by means of pistons u, u, secured to a disc U, and by ineans
of an adjusting screw U₁ connected with said disc, and projecting out from the
valve chamber through a stuffing box, so that by rotating the screw the oil
chambers t may be contracted or enlarged by moving the pistons in ward or outward.
Any other arrangement of mechanical devices to rotate the valve through the
medium of the cross-head or other moving part of the engine may be employed to
automatically feed the oil to the packed rod, and that the devices described or
equivalent devices may also be employed for lubricating any other packed rod than
the piston rod.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which
the same is carried into practical effect, I would have it understood that I do not
limit myself to the exact details of construction of some of the operating devices, as
they may be varied without departing from the peculiar nature of my said
Invention, but what I do claim is,-
1st. The construction of steam engine-cylinder and the heads thereof,
substantially as herein before described and shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 4, of the
Drawings.
2nd. The method and means employed for automatically oiling the interior
surface of the piston space, and for testing the tightness of the piston packing while
the engine is at work, substantially as described.
3rd. The construction of piston and piston rod in combination with an oil fount
or cup, whereby the oil is conducted between the metallic packing of the piston to
the interior surface of the piston space to prevent waste of the oil, substantially as
herein described.
4th. The improved construction of valve and valve stem, substantially as
described and shown in the Drawings.
5th. The improved valve operating mechanism, substantially as described and
shown in the accompanying Drawings.
6th. The method and means employed for changing the lead of the valves while
the engine is at work, substantially as hereinbefore described and shown in the
Drawings.
7th. The method and means hereinbefore described for automatically lubricating
packed rods.
8th. The method and means herein before described for automatically lubricating
packed rods, and for automatically regulating the quantity of oil fed to said rods,
for the purpose specified.
9th. The construction and 'application of oil fount valve with oil chambers, the
capacity of which may be regulated substantially as and for the purposes described
and shown.
10th. The construction and application of oil fount, its valve, and valve chamber,
adjusting mechanisın, and mechanism to operate said valve from the cross head or
other movable part of an engine, for the purpose of lubricating the piston rod or
other packed rod of said engine, and regulating the quantity of oil fed to such rod,
as set forth.
11th. The combination with the oil chamber or partition ring R of a stuffing
box of a drawing off cock, for the purposes herein before set forth,

page_text: 12th. The combination with a stuffing box gland of an oil chamber and an oil
cup for collecting oil carried out by the packed rod, as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Farr Goodwin, have hereunto set
-
my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
WILLIAM FARR GOODWIN.. (L.S.)