IMPROVEMENTS IN AIR PUMP BUCKETS, AND IN VALVES FOR STEAM ENGINES AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Peel, of the City of Manchester,
Engineer, and Robert Brownhill, of the saine place, Manager,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AIR PUMP BUCKETS,
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Peel
and Robert Brownhill at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 13th August 1853.
WC, GEORGE PEEL, of the City of Manchester, Engineer, and Provi
Speci
ROBERT BROWNHILL, of the same place, Manager, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
AIR PUMP BUCKETS, AND IN VALVES FOR STEAM ENGINES AND OTHER
PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
Our improvements consist, first, in connecting the rod of an air
pump bucket to a cross head, the arms of which cross head are
bolted to the piston of the air pump; this piston is annular, and
we prefer to put it together in two pieces in order to facilitate the
packing of the same. Within the annular piston is a valve

page_text: seating and valve when is guided by the arms of the cross head to
which the rod is attached. When the bucket descends in the air
pump-the-resistance-of the-air, steam, and water_raises the valve,
thereby allowing the air, steam, and water to pass from the lower
to the upper part of the valve, from whence they escape to the con-
denser in the ordinary manner.
Secondly, our improvements consist in the valves for the ingress
and egress of steam to and from the cylinder of a steam engine;
the steam ports are made in a concave plate, and the valve, which
is convex, is fixed on a spindle, the centre of which is excentric to
the radius of the valve; on the valve spindle is fixed a lever acted
upon by tappets projecting from a disk to which motion is given in
any convenient manner. When the spindle is moved by the
tappet the ports are instantly opened owing to the valve being
excentric to the spindle, thereby giving free ingress or egress to
the steam; and for the same reason when the valve closes a steam-
tight joint is effected. The above described valve may be used
as a valve for water and other purposes.
Thirdly, our Invention consists in an improved slide valve for
steam engines, and is particularly applicable where high pressure
steam is used. The object of this part of our Invention is to
diminish friction, and consequently to economise power; for this
purpose the slide valve itself is made hollow, and the steam,
instead of entering the steam chest, as in engines of the ordinary
construction, is admitted into the valve, from whence it escapes
through suitable ports to the cylinder and condenser or to the
atmosphere. The pipe through which the steam is conveyed to
the valve is furnished with a metallic or other packing fitting
round the pipe and through the steam chest or valve box; this
packing bears on the upper side of the slide valve and prevents
the steam escaping into the valve box. We also propose to apply
rollers near each end of the slide valve; these rollers come in
contact with and roll against the interior of the steam chest or
valve box, and assist in keeping the valve to its facings. When
it is desirable to work steam at different degrees of expansion, a

page_text: sliding plate or expansion valve may be introduced between the
end of the supply pipe and the orifice by which the steam is
admitted to the slide valve.
Fourthly, our Invention consists in an improved compensating
safety valve, which is constructed in the following manner:-A
valve chest or pipe is attached in any convenient way to the boiler;
within this valve chest or pipe is fixed a valve seating, and some-
what above it is fixed another valve seating, the outer diameter
of which is rather less than the other; above the upper valve
seating is a recessed plate which serves as a guide to the valve.
The valve, which is shaped like a ring with an internal projection,
fits when closed the two seatings above mentioned, and the weights
for holding the valve down are placed on the valve itself; the
resistance to be overcome is equal to the difference in the area
between the inner diameter of the lower valve seating and the
outer diameter of the upper valve seating; consequently the
diameter of the valve may be very great compared to the weight
required for holding it down, and as no spindle or lever is neces-
sary, the liability of the valve being out of working order is
greatly diminished. When the valve rises off' its seatings, the
steam passing between the upper part of the valve and its seating
enters the groove or cavity in the plate above the valve seatings,
which cavity forms a reaction chamber, and tends to equalize the
pressure above and below the valve. We propose to combine the
safety valve above described with the valve described under the
second head of our improvements. In this case a lever on the
spindle of a valve similar to that described under the second head
of our improvements would be brought over the weight of the
safety valve, so that when the safety valve was raised by the
steam, the valve similar to that described under the second head
of our inprovements would be opened, thereby giving more space
for the escape of the steam.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, filed by the said George Peel and Robert Brownhill
-in-the-Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th February 1854."
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME,
we, GEORGE PEEL, of the City of Manchester, Engineer, and
ROBERT BROWNHILL, of the same place, Manager, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by
Her Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of August,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
three, in the seventeenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself,
Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said George
Peel and Robert Brownhill, Her special licence that we, the said
George Peel and. Robert Brownhill, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said George Peel and
Robert Brownhill; 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 make, use, exercise; and vend, within
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Cliannel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
AIR PUMP BUCKETS, AND IN VALVES FOR STEAM ENGINES AND OTHER
PURPOSES, upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
George Peel and Robert Brownhill, by an instrument in writing
under our hands and scals, or under the hand and scal of either
of us, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the saine was to be performed;
and cause the samic 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 we, the said George Peel and Robert
Brownhill, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particu-
larly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
(that is to say):

page_text: Our Invention consists:-
First, in an improved annular valve for air pump: buckets,
through which the air, steam, and water is enabled to escape
more freely than in air pump buckets of the. ordinary con-
struction:
Secondly, in an excentric valve, particularly applicable for the
admission and emission of steam, but which may be used for
water or other purposes:
Thirdly, in an improved compensating valve for steam engines,
into which the steam is adinitted for the purpose of diminishing
the friction on the valve seatings':
.
Fourthly, in a combination of the two valves herein-before
referred to, for regulating the supply of steam in engines working
expansively:
Fifthly, in an inproved differential safety valve, in which a'
large diameter with comparatively small weight is obtained:
And,
Lastly, in a combination of the safety valve and the excentric
valve hercin-before referred to.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and
readily carried into effect, we will proceed to describe the means
pursued by us, reference being had to the two Sheets of Drawings
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon.'
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
.
Figure 1, is a sectional elevation, and Figure 2, a plan of our
iniproved air pump bucket. a, is the air pump cylinder, and
a', the air pump piston rod; b, is the air pump piston or bucket,
which may be packed in the ordinary manner with metallic rings,
as shewn at 6, or with a ring of vulcanized india-rubber or other
suitable clastic material, as shewn at 6. This ring is held to the
air pump piston by the metal hoop b", and screws b. The cross
head c, is also keyed to the air pump piston rod a'; and the four
bushes c¹, serve as guides for the studs d, fixed in the annular
valve d'. The lower surface of this valve is provided with an

page_text: annular ring of vulcanized india-rubber or other suitable elastic
material marked d, which, when the valve is closed, forms a
-steam. tight_joint on the scatings b"; this ring is held up by the
metal hoop d", through which the studs d, pass; there are small
ferrules d', between the annular valve d', and the hoop d³, the
the object of which is to allow the nuts on the studs d, to be
tightened up, without crushing or injuring the annular ring of
elastic material 2. In some cases the elastic ring d, may be
dispensed with. The studs d, are also furnished with washers d",
of vulcanized india-rubber or other suitable elastic material, the
object of which is to avoid the noise and injury that would result
from the striking of the valve against the bushes c'. In Figure 1,
the air pump piston is supposed to be descending, and the annular
valve d', having been partly raised by the resistance of the air,
steam, and water in the lower part of the air pump, allows the
same to escape, both internally and externally, as shown by the
arrows in Figure 1, to the upper side of the valve; when the air
pump piston rises the annular valve comes down upon its seatings,
and in its ascent carrics with it the air, steam, and water to the
upper end of the air pump, where it is discharged through valves
of the ordinary construction, or through a valve similar to that
above described. Figure 3, represents a front elevation of the gear-
ing required for giving motion to our improved excentric valves,
and of a pair of side pipes in which they are contained; Figure 4
is a plan of the same, shewing part of the cylinder of a steam
engine to which they are applied; and Fig. 5, is a sectional
elevation through one of the side pipes. c, is the cylinder, and f.f,
are the side pipes, through which the steam is admitted to and
conveyed from the ingress and egress valves in the usual manner.
In Figure 5, the upper valve g, is supposed to be for the admission
of steam to the cylinder, and the lower valve g', for the exhaust.
steam the contrary arrangement is made in the other side pipe,
The seating 9, of the valve 9, is fixed to the flange 9, of the
cylinder; and the valve itself is keyed on the spindle g*, which is
supported in the bearings y³, seen best in Figure 4. The other

page_text: valves are in like manner keyed to spindles g', which pass through s
stuffing boxes in the side pipes f; and near their outer extremities
are fixed levers g, furnished with anti-friction rollers. The two
upper valves are actuated by tappets on the disk h, and the two
lower ones by tappets on the disk h'; both these disks are fixed
on the upright shaft h, which is put in motion from any con-
venient part of the engine. The face of the valve 9. is concave,
and the seating, is a corresponding convex, but the spindle g',
is excentric to the face of the valve; consequently as soon as the
valve is put in motion it is lifted off its seating, and the steam ports
are instantly opened for the ingress or egress of the steam. When
the tappet has ceased to act on the lever g, the weight of the
valve causes it to drop, and a steam tight joint is formed owing to
the wedge-like action of the concave valve dropping on to its convex
seating. A regulating stop g, is placed near the lower part of
the valve seating g, against which the valve drops; by this means
the valve is prevented getting fast. In Figure 6, we have shown
the mode of making these improved valves; we propose to cast
four or other suitable number of them together, uniting them
at i, i, and closing the ports i', ', with thin metal; the whole
piece is then put in a lathe and turned true; the valves are then
separated from each other, and the metal covering the ports cut out,
as seen in Figure 7, which represents one of the valves detached.
Figure 8, is a view of four of the valve seatings g; these are in like
manner cast in one picce, and after being bored out to fit the
valves, are separated, and the edges of the ports filed truc.
Figure 9, is a detached view of one of the seatings. Valves of
this description act with less friction than valves of the ordinary
construction, and they may be used for water and other fluids as
well as for steam.
In Sheet 2, Figure 10, is a longitudinal section of an improved
slide valve for steam engines, and of part of a cylinder to which
it is applied. Figure 11, is a plan of the same. The steam is
admitted into this valve, and conveyed by it to the steam ports;
whereas in the valves generally used the steam is admitted into
the steam chest, and enters the ports when they are uncovered by

page_text: the moving of the valve. j, is part of a steam cylinder of the
ordinary construction; k, the box in which the slide valve (, moves
to and from, is the supply pipe; between the lower part of this
pipe and the upper face of the slide valve 1, is a plate m'; the
under surface of this plate is ground to form a steam-tight joint
with the upper surface of the slide valve, and the two surfaces are
kept in contact by the ring me, and set screw m³, which can easily
be regulated by removing the lid m. m, is a metal ring put
together in segments which are capable of being tightened up
against the junk ring m", by set screws m. The valve is shewn
in the position it occupies when both the steam ports j', are
closed, and when the exhaust steam is beginning to make its
escape through the ports j, to the condensor or to the atmo
sphere, or to the low pressure cylinder if a compound engine is
employed. In some instances it may be desirable to apply a
guide block k³, near each end of the slide valve; these blocks are
also capable of being adjusted to bear on the upper surface of the
slide valve. The chief advantage of this improved construction
of slide valve is, the saving in power required for moving it to
and fro'; for as the steam is within the valve, it is evident that
the friction on the valve facings must be much less than when
tlie steam is contained in the valve box in the usual manner.
.
In Figures 12, and 13, we have shewn a combination of our
improved valves above described; in this instance the valves.g;
and g', are to be used as expansion valves, and the valve I, as a
slide valve. The valve g; is now supposed to be open, admitting
steam to one-end of the cylinder through the valve, and steam
port n; the steam from the other side of the piston is escaping
through the port ², to the pipe n³, which conveys it to the con
densor or to the low pressure cylinder of a compound engine. The
valves g, and g', may be put in motion as shewn in Figure 3, of
Sheet 1, or by any other suitable mechanism, and they are parti
cularly applicable to engines working expansively, as they admit
and shut off the steam more suddenly than valves of the ordinary
construction.
Figure 14, is a sectional elevation of our improved differential

page_text: safety valve, applicable to steam boilers or other similar purposes; S
Figure 15, is a plan in section of part of the same. o, is a chest
containing the safety valve; this chest is secured to the boiler in
the ordinary manner, and it is furnished with a branch o', for the
off steam pipe. p, is the double seating for the differential valve 4.
Upon the seating p, is fixed the plate, which fits easily into the
upper part of the valve; and this plato is so shaped than an air
chamber, is left, all round the upper valve seating. At the top
of the valve, are laid the weight plates q, each of which indi-
cates 5 or other suitable number of pounds pressure per square
inch; these plates are guided on the spindle 2', which passes
through the plate 1, and is screwed into the centre of the valve
seating p. The action of this valve is as follows:-When the
pressure of the steam overcomes the weights, it lifts the valve 7,
off both its seatings. Most of the steam thus, liberated escapes
into the branch pipe o', as shewn by the arrows, but a part enters
the chamber, and by its action tends to equalize the pressure
above and below the valve, thereby enabling the valve to drop
again on its seatings as soon as the pressure in the boiler is equal
to the weights on the valve.
.
On referring to Figures 14, and 17, it will be seen that the
outer diameter of the upper seating is rather less than the inner
diameter of the lower seating; consequently the weights for hold-
ing the valve down must only counterbalance the pressure of steam
acting on a surface equal in area to the difference in area between
the two. The advantage of this valve is, that a large diameter
for the escape of the steam is obtained with comparatively little
weight; another great advantage is, that the valve requires no
spindle or lever, therefore diminishing the danger of being out of
repair.
In Figure 16, is shewn a compound safety valve consisting of
one of improved excentric valves, and one of the differential
safety valves above described. In this view, s, is part of the
boiler; t, the scating of the excentric valve g, to the fulerni
shaft of which is fixed a lever v, the outer end of which reaches
over the weights of the differential valve q. The action is as

page_text: follows: When the pressure of steam overcomes the weight of the
safety valve 7, the valve rises off its seating, and the uppermost
-weight-coming-in-contact-with the lever v. causes the excentric.
valve g, to open, thereby giving free egress to the steam. The
rod w, is for the attendant to raise occasionally to ascertain
whether the valve is in working order.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention. and the
manner of performing the same, we wish it to be understood, that
we do-not limit ourselves to the details herein set forth, as the
same may be varied without departing from the peculiar character
of our Invention. But what we do claim is,-
First, the improved annular valve for air pump buckets as
shewn and described in reference to Figures 1, and 2.
Secondly, the excentric valve marked g, and g', in Figures 4,
5, 12, 13, and 16.
Thirdly, the improved hollow slide valve marked 1. in Figures
10, 11, 12, and 13.
Fourthly, the combination of valves as shewn and described in
reference to Figures 12, and 13.
Fifthly, the differential safety valve represented in Figures 14,
and 15.
And lastly, the combination of the excentric valve g, and dif-
ferential safety valve 2, as shewn and described with reference to
Figure 16.
In witness whereof, wc, the said George Peel and Robert
Brownhill, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this
Tenth day of February, One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-four.
GEORGE PEEL
(L.S.)
ROBERT BROWNHILL. (L.S.)