IMPROVEMENTS IN MOTIVE POWER ENGINES, APPLICABLE TO THE WORKING OF THEIR VALVES, AND TO THE CONVERSION OF THE RECIPROCATING MOTION OF SUCH ENGINES INTO ROTARY MOTION
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughts-
man, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MOTIVE POWER ENGINES,
APPLICABLE TO THE WORKING OF THEIR VALVES, AND TO THE CONVERSION OF
THE RECIPROCATING MOTION OF SUCH ENGINES INTO ROTARY MOTION."—A
communication.
Sealed the 20th February 1855, and dated the 3rd October 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
3rd October 1854.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MOTIVE POWER ENGINES,
APPLICABLE TO THE WORKING OF THEIR VALVES, AND TO THE CONVERSION OF THE
RECIPROCATING MOTION OF SUCH ENGINES INTO ROTARY MOTION," to be as
follows:-
The object of this Invention is to provide a simple and efficient substitute
for the ordinary crank and valve gear of motive power engines. In carrying
out this object, a driving cylinder, having a cam groove formed by two screw-
like projections on its periphery, is provided. In this groove an antifriction

page_text: roller, carried by the head of the piston rod of the engine, works, and by its
action the reciprocating motion of the piston is caused to communicate a rotary
motion to the shaft of the cylinder. For the purpose of working the slide
valves, a pair of adjustable tappet plates or cams is carried by the cylinder or
its shaft, and brought to bear upon antifriction rollers, carried by a rod con-
nected with the slide valves. When these tappet plates or cams are carried
by the cylinder, they are mounted on a rocking axle, which is rocked when the
engine is required to be reversed to change the position, and consequently
reverse the action, of the tappet plates. When the cylinder shaft carries the
cams, they form a part of a metallic ring, and on the reversing of the engine,
a half turn of the ring is made to reverse the position of the cams, and
consequently the action of the valves.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 3rd April 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special license that I, the said Alfred
Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, 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 Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MOTIVE FOWER ENGINES, APPLICABLE TO THE
WORKING OF THEIR VALVES, AND TO THE CONVERSION OF THE RECIPROCATING MOTION
OP SUCH ENGINES INTO ROTARY MOTION," being a communication from abroad, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, by
an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same

page_text: 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 Alfred Vincent Newton, 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 fol-
lowing statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
The object of this Invention, as communicated to me by my foreign corre-
spondent, is to provide an efficient substitute for the ordinary crank and valve
gear of motive power engines. For this purpose the Inventor uses a driving
cylinder, having two screw-like projections on its surface, between which pro-
jections the head of the piston rod works, and by which the reciprocating motion
of the piston communicates a rotary motion to the main shaft. Inclined
projections are also placed upon the driving cylinder at points diametrically
opposite to each other for the purpose of operating the ordinary slide valves
of the steam engine: To enable others skilled in the art to make and use
the improvement, I will proceed to describe its construction and mode of
operation.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 is a side view of a steam engine and
valves with the improved arrangement attached; Fig. 2 is an end view of the
same; Fig. 3 is a view of the guides and driving cylinder as seen from below;
Fig. 4 is a side view of a detached part of Fig. 1, with a modified arrange-
ment for working the slide valves; and Fig. 5 is an end view corresponding to
Fig. 4. A, B, C, D, (Fig. 1), represent the cylinder of the steam engine;
E, F, G, H, represent the steam chest, containing the ordinary slide valves;
I, K, is the valve rod; I, L, is the rock shaft; P, P', and P, P, are the
guides on which the cross head Q, Q', slides (Fig. 3). d is a friction roller,
placed upon the head of the piston rod, which roller rolls in the grooves c, c',
and c, c, as the piston moves backwards and forwards. T, U, W, V, is the
driving cylinder, mounted on the main shaft S, S¹. It is a hollow metallic
drum of cast iron or brass, and has two helical grooves c, c, and c, c", formed
on its surface by the screw-like projections a, a', a, a¹¹, and b, b, b, b¹¹. These
grooves start at the line c, c, and extend around right and left in the directions
c, c', and c, c, to a line of the drum, diametrically opposite the point c of the
line C, C, forming a double inclined plane or screw, the pitch and diameter of
which is in proportion to the length of the stroke of the piston. g, g', (Fig. 1,)
is a small inclined projection, extending radially outwards from the drum, and
supported at its centre on the small rod or shaft which passes diametrically

page_text: across the driving drum. To the other extremity of the rod or shaft f, f¹, an
inclined projection h, h, similar to g, g', is in like manner attached. The
inclined projections g, g', and h, h', extend radially outwards a short distance
beyond the projections 6, 61, and 6, 6. Two small friction rollers i and are
placed upon the sliding rod L, Y, in such a position, that, as the driving
cylinder revolves, the inclined projections g, g', and h, h, will press alternately
against the roller i and the roller ', and thus at cach half revolution of the
driving cylinder the connecting rod L, Y, is forced backward and forward
alternately.. Through the medium of the rock shaft I, L, and the valve rod
K, J, the slide valves are so acted upon that the steam shall be admitted
behind the piston when the piston head is at that end of the driving cylinder
nearest the engine, and vice versa.
If it be desired to reverse the direction of rotation of the driving cylinder,
then the projection g, g', is made to revolve upon the small shaft f, f', so as
to occupy the position g", g, and instead of pressing upon the roller i, it will
press upon the roller i¹.
As the projection h, h', is upon the same shaft f, f',
a corresponding change in its direction of inclination will take place, and thus
the slide valves will be so acted on that the direction of rotation of the driving
cylinder will be reversed. In order conveniently to revolve the shaft f, f, and
alter the relative position of g, g', and h, h', these projections g, g', and h, h',
are geared in the following manner:-A circular metallic disc m, n, turns
upon a fixed centre at o; a lever p, q, projects from this disc; an arm s, t,
connects the disc m, n, with the inclined projection g, g'.
p, q, is in the position indicated in Fig. 1; the projection 9, g', is in the
position shewn in that Figure. By moving the lever p, q, into the position
P, q, the disc m, n, revolves on o as a centre, and occupies the position
m', n', and the arm t, s, forces g, g', into the position g, g. As h, h', is
attached to the other extremity of the shaft f, f', the inclined projection h, h',
at the same time undergoes a corresponding change in the direction of its
inclination.
When the lever
Figures 4 and 5 exhibit a modified arrangement of the inclined projections
9, g¹, and h, h.
In this modification, the inclined projections g, g', and h, h',
form part of a thick metallic rim, which is supported by spokes 1, 2, 3, 4,
and 5, 6, (see Fig. 5,) radiating from a central hub 7, which fits upon the
main shaft S, S', and revolves with it when it is desired to reverse the motion
of the engine. The rim is to be turned half a turn in advance of the revolving
drum, so as to bring the planes h, h', into the position occupied by g, g', and
the plane g, g, into the position occupied by h, h', and thus change the motion
of the slide valves, and reverse the action of the engine.

page_text: Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of improvements in
motive power engines, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent,
I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters
Patent I do not claim a driving cylinder having screw-like grooves in com-
bination with a piston rod for the purposes of converting reciprocating into
continuous rotary motion; but what I do claim is, the connection of such a
cylinder with inclined projections, constructed and arranged substantially as
herein described, for operating the valve gear by motion taken directly from
the cylinder, whereby the proper lead may be given to the steam or other
motive power agent, whether the cylinder be turning to the right or left, and
the engine is rendered more convenient, compact, and durable than any
heretofore known, in which the axis of the driving shaft is parallel to that
of the piston.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Third day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)