CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jonathan Edge, of the Tipping Iron Works, Bolton-
le-Moors, in the County of Lancaster, for the Invention of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES."
Sealed the 27th March 1861, and dated the 9th October 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jonathan Edge at the
Office of the Commissioners, of Patents, with his Petition, on the 9th
October 1860.
I, JONATHAN EDGE; of the Tipping Iron Works, Bolton-le-Moors, in the
5 County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES," to be as follows:-
The first part of my Invention is chiefly applicable to "direct-action
compound steam engines," and it consists in an improved arrangement of
the valves and passages by which the steam is conveyed to the high-pressure
cylinder, from the high to the low pressure cylinder, and from thence to the
condenser; the valves are wedge-shaped, and are connected together so as to
act simultaneously; the passages in the valves are so constructed that the
steam passes direct through the valve from the high-pressure to the low-
pressure cylinder at the same time as the steam from the low-pressurė
5cylinder passes through the valve to the condenser. The steam is admitted to
the high-pressure cylinder through passages in the valves, the opening of which
passages is varied by means of expansion valves actuated by hand, or by the

page_text: action of the governor on a plate furnished with shoulders, the said plate being
drawn to and fro according to the load on the engine, and thereby giving more
or less opening to the passages in the valves.
Another part of my Invention consists in an improved reversing motion
applicable to marine and locomotive engines; the eccentric for working the
valves is loose on the shaft, and to it is fixed a bevel wheel gearing in a pinion
loose on a stud fixed to the shaft; this pinion gears in a wheel which is also
loose on the shaft; this wheel is connected to a friction apparatus by which it
is turned partly round when required, so as to change the position of the
eccentric, and thereby to reverse the motion of the engine.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Jonathan Edge in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
8th April 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JONATHAN
EDGE, of the Tipping Iron Works, Bolton-le-Moors, in the County of Lan-
caster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Jonathan Edge, Her special licence that I, the said Jonathan Edge,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Jona-
than Edge, my 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 Ire-
land, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES," upon the condition (amongst others)--that
I, the said Jonathan Edge, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particu-
larly 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 Jonathan Edge, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-

page_text: formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say) :-
The first part of my Invention is chiefly applicable to direct-action compound
steam engines, and it consists in an improved arrangement of the valves and
passages by which the steam is conveyed to the high-pressure cylinder, from
the high to the low pressure cylinder, and from thence to the condensor.
The steam is admitted to the high-pressure cylinder through passages in the
valves, the opening of which passages is varied by means of expansion valves
actuated by hand, or by the action of the governor on a plate furnished with
shoulders, the said plate being drawn to and fro according to the load on the
engine, and thereby giving more or less opening to the passages in the valves.
Another part of my Invention consists in an improved reversing motion
applicable to marine, locomotive, and other steam engines.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, reference being had to the two
accompanying Sheets of Drawings, and to the figures and letters markɩ thereon.
On Sheet 1, Fig. 1 is an elevation in section of part of a direct-action
compound steam engine to which my improvements are applied; Fig. 2 is a
plan of the same; Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are detached views of my improved
wedge-shaped valve, Fig. 3 being a view of the face for the high-pressure
cylinder; Fig. 4, the cut-off steam valve face; and Fig. 5, the face for the
low-pressure cylinder; Fig. 6 is a detached view of the cut-off or expansion
valves; and Fig. 7 is the valve box.
In Figs. 1 and 2, a is the high-pressure cylinder, and b, the low-pressure
cylinder, both of which are furnished with pistons, marked respectively a¹ and 6',
connected in the usual manner to the crank shaft, or to the beams of the
engine; c, the upper passage, and d, the lower passage, for conveying the steam
from the valves e to the high-pressure cylinder; and. and are prolongations
of the passages c and d, for conveying the steam from the high-pressure to the
low-pressure cylinder and from the latter to the off pipe f, which is in com-
munication with the condensor. The valves e are wedge-shaped, as shewn in
Fig. 2, and they are connected together so as to act simultaneously by the
stem or rod e; to the upper end of the valve is connected the rod e², which
has the requisite to-and-fro motion imparted to it by an eccentric or cam in
the usual manner. The steam from the boiler enters the steam chest g
through the pipe g', shewn in Figs. 2 and 7, and the quantity of steam
admitted to the valve e is regulated by the cut-off or expansion valves h,
which are fixed to the spindle h¹. These valves are moved to and fro
by their friction on the face of the valve e, and their traverse is varied

page_text: by hand by means of the lock nuts h², shewn in Fig. 6, or by means of the
governor, as will be described hereafter. The ports e³ in the valves e convey
the steam to the passages c and d, and thence to the high-pressure cylinder;
the ports e in the valves e form alternately part of the direct passage for the
steam from the high to the low pressure cylinders, and the ports e³ in the
valves e are alternately opened to the passages c¹ and d¹, to convey the steam
from the low-pressure cylinder to the off pipe f, and thence to the condensor.
The mode of operation is as follows:-High-pressure steam is now supposed
to be entering the upper part of the cylinder a through the upper port e³ and
passage c, while the steam under the piston a¹ is passing through the passage d,
lower port e, and passage d', to the lower end of the cylinder b, at the same
time the steam above the piston b' is escaping along the passage c¹, upper
port e, and off pipe f to the condensor. As soon as the pistons a¹ and b¹ arrive
at or near the end of their strokes, the position of the valves e is reversed, and
the steam then enters the cylinder a through the lower port e³ and passage d;
at the same time a direct passage is opened for the steam above the piston a¹
to enter the cylinder b. The cut-off valves h are held against the face of the
valves e by the pressure of the steam, and move to and fro with the said valves
until their motion is arrested by the lock nuts ; consequently by increasing or
diminishing the distance between the lock nuts, more or less traverse is given
to the cut-off valves, and the amount of steam admitted to the high-pressure
cylinder is thus regulated.
On Sheet 2, Figs. 8, 9, and 10 represent three views of my improved
apparatus for regulating the position of the cut-off valves marked h in Fig. 6,
by means of the governor; k is a rod connected to the ordinary governor of
the steam engine by means of the levers k' and rod k². The rod k is jointed
to the plate l, which is furnished with shoulders, and this plate passes through
a slot in the upper end of the rod h¹, to which the cut-off valves h are attached,
as shewn in Fig. 6; the lever m passes through an opening in the top of the
rod h', and serves to shut off or open the ports in the valves e by hand, when
requisite. The mode of operation is as follows:-As long as the engine is
working at its proper speed, the plate remains stationary, or nearly so, and
the range of the rod h¹ is limited by the edges of the slot through which the
plate passes coming against the shoulders of the said plate. When the speed
of the engine is reduced to such an extent as to cause the governor balls to
collapse, the plate l is moved in the direction of the arrow shewn in Fig. 9,
thereby withdrawing two or more of the shoulders on the plate from the slot
in the rod h', and thus giving more play to the valves h, before the edges of
the slot in the rod ', through which the plate 1 passes, come against the

page_text: shoulders of the plate, thereby giving more steam to the cylinder. The
contrary action takes place when the speed of the engine is sufficiently increased
to allow the governor balls to expand. By this means the speed of the engine
is kept uniform notwithstanding the irregularities in the load.
My improvements in machinery for changing the position of the steam valves,
commonly called the reversing motion, is shewn as applied to a marine engine
in Figs. 11, 12, and 13. n represents part of the shaft for the paddle wheels
or other propellers, to which the eccentrics o and p, for working the valves,
are fitted loose; to each eccentric is attached a bevel wheel o' and p¹; the
wheel o gears into the pinion g, revolving on a stud fixed to the bridle q²,
which is fixed to the shaft n, and the wheel pl gears in like manner with the
pinion r revolving on a stud fixed to the bridle 22; the pinions 9 and r gear
respectively into the wheels q¹ and r', which are cast or fixed together, and
with the wheel s¹; these three wheels q¹, r¹, and s², are loose on the shaft n, and
the wheel s¹ gears into. the pinion t fixed to the shaft t, on which is also fixed
the friction pulley t, the circumference of which is acted upon by the break u,
see Fig. 13, attached to the lever u¹. The action of these parts is as follows:-
When the engines are at work to propel the vessel forwards, the break u is
released from the pulley t², and the eccentrics and p are carried round by
the snugs 93 and 3 on the bridles q2 and 2, acting on the wheels o¹ and p';
the pinions q and r rotate with the bridles q² and 2 around the shaft n, but do
not revolve on their axes, and the pinion t is turned round by the wheel s¹,
thereby turning the shaft t' and friction pulley t². As soon, however, as it is
requisite to reverse the direction of motion of the engines, the attendant
applies the break u to the pulley t to arrest its rotary motion; the pinion t.
then stops the wheel s¹, and with it the wheels and . When these wheels
are stopped the pinions q and r commence revolving on their axes, and impart
motion to the wheels o' and p¹, until these wheels and the eccentrics o and p
have performed about half a revolution, at which time the position of the valves
has been reversed; the attendant then liberates the treadle lever u¹, and the.
parts remain in the positions they have assumed until another change is
required. After each change in the position of the valves, the wheels o¹ and p¹
come against the snugs g³ and ³, by which the range of the valves is regulated..
When the engines are in a state of rest, the position of the eccentrics can be
altered by turning the pulley t by hand.
Figs. 14 and 15 represent a modification of my improved reversing motion
suitable for a locomotive steam engine. As many of the parts are similar to:
those described in reference to Fig. 12, they are marked with corresponding.

page_text: letters and figures of reference. In this instance, the friction pulley t² is fixed
to the shaft w¹, to which is also fixed the bevel wheel w gearing into the
pinion * fixed to the shaft v', to which is also fixed the spur wheel v gearing into
the pinion s, which is cast with or attached to the bevel wheels q¹ and r¹; the
action is precisely similar to that of the machinery shewn in Figs. 11, 12, and 13.
I wish to remark that the motion of the wheels q' and may be arrested so
as to reverse the positions of the eccentrics by means of a suitable combina-
tion of levers and links, instead of the friction pulley and gearing shewn in the
Drawings. These improved reversing motions are also applicable to other
engines where the valves are worked by means of tappets on a revolving
tappet shaft.
Fig. 16 is a section of the valve box of a steam engine representing a
modification of my improvements in valves. Fig. 17 is a detached view of
the valves. a is part of a steam cylinder; c and d are the steam ports, and f
the off port; e is the slide valve; g, the steam chest; and h, the cut-off or
expansion valves; the ports e" and e in the valve e are separated by the par-
tition ; the expansion valves h are carried to and fro by their friction on the
valve e, but the extent of their to-and-fro motion is limited by the screws h³,
which pass through projections on the valves and are furnished with lock nuts.
When the valve e is at work, the heads of the screws h³ come alternately
against the ends of the steam chest g; in Fig. 16, the left-hand ports e and e
are both covered by the left-hand valve h, and the steam being thus shut off is
supposed to be working expansively in the cylinder; but if it should be found
desirable to cut off one portion of the steam and allow the remainder to enter
the cylinder, then the screws h³ are set further in, that is to say, the heads are
brought closer to the valves h; consequently, when the head of the right-hand
screw h³ touches the end of the steam chest 9, the left-hand valve h has cut off
the steam from the port e, while the port es remains uncovered, and the steam
continues to pass through it to the cylinder. I wish to remark here that more
than one division may be placed in the ports of the steam valve.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention and described the manner of
performing the same, I declare that what I claim as my Invention of certain
improvements in steam engines, is,―
First, the improved arrangement and construction of valves and passages,
shewn and described in reference to the various Figures on Sheet 1, for
admitting steam to the high-pressure cylinder of a compound steam engine,
and for conveying it from the high to the low pressure cylinder, and from
thence to the condensor.

page_text: Secondly, the improved arrangement and combination of machinery shewn
and described in reference to Figs. 8, 9, and 10, for regulating the supply of
steam according to the load on the steam engine.
Thirdly, the improvements in the reversing motions of steam engines, as
shewn and described in reference to Figs. 11 to 15.
And, lastly, the application of one or more divisions to the ports of steam
valves, when used in combination with cut-off or expansion valves, as
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Jonathan Edge, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
JONATHAN EDGE. (L.S.)