IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY POR PROPELLING VESSELS, AND IN APPARATUS TO BE USED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH
Year: 1852

page_text: 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 present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal: Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the First day of June, in the fifteenth year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant- unto me, the said Alfred
Vincent Newton, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Alfred Vincent' Newton, my exors, admors, and assigns, and
such others as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my exors, admors, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations
abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, an
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY POR PROPELLING VESSELS, AND IN
APPARATUS TO BE USED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH," being a communication from
abroad; in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the
said Alfred Vincent Newton; by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be
enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent,

page_text: as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say):-
The first part of this Invention, as described by my foreign correspondent,
relates to the arrangement of engines on board of ships or other vessels, and
transmitting motion from them to the paddle wheel shaft.
And this part of
the Invention consists in arranging all the engines in a line parallel with and
just over the central keelson, running fore and aft, the engines consisting each
of one or two pairs of cylinders, the two cylinders of each pair being placed
one above the other, and with their inner or opposite ends open, the said
cylinders being provided with pistons which are connected together, when
this is combined with a central beam which extends between the two pistons,
and connected by a joint link or links with the piston or pistons, and also with
the crank shaft, whether such engines be impelled by the expanding force of
atmospheric air or other permanent gas, or by steam.
The second part of the Invention relates to the method of arranging two
engines or pairs of engines, and their working beams and connecting rods, so
that the connection of the two by means of connecting rods with the crank or
cranks of the paddle wheel shaft (when properly located relatively to the paddle
wheel shaft, and with reference to the stability of the vessel) shall be at right
angles or nearly so, that when one is passing the dead point the other shall be
acting at right angles. And this part of the Invention consists in forming the
working beams which are located between the open ends of the cylinders in
engines thus arranged, each with an arm, which in the vibrations extends into
the lower cylinder, and thus admit by this combined arrangement of arranging
the engines in a compact form and locating them with reference to the stability
of the vessel and the proper elevation of the paddle wheel shaft, and yet connect
the two beams, by means of connecting rods, with the crank or cranks of the
paddle wheel shaft at right angles or nearly so.
And the third part of the Invention, which relates to the employment of
caloric engines on board of ships or other vessels, consists in arranging such
engines within a closed space or chamber in such vessel to protect the engine
or engines from the injurious effects of water, when this is combined with the
mode of supplying air to the said engine room through trunks which extend

page_text: 1rom the top to near the bottom of the said engine room or apartment, and
with a discharge pipe which connects with the exhaust of the engine or engines
for the discharge of the air or other gas, whereby a proper temperature and an
efficient ventilation is secured in the engine room, notwithstanding the heat
radiated from the cylinder, &c., and the enclosed condition of the room for the
protection of the machinery.
By reference to the accompanying Drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a plan and
Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal vertical section on an enlarged scale, it will be
seen that the series of engines are arranged in a line fore and aft, and located
in a space cut through the several decks, and extending upwards from the
keelson. This space, which is in the middle of the ship's breadth, is formed
by two side bulkheads a, a, which should be properly trussed, to give greater
strength and stability to that part of the ship which is most exposed to be
strained by the weight and thrusts of the engines. These bulkheads extend
up above the top of the engines, and the space between them is decked over,
as at b, to protect the engines from rain and spray. In Fig. 1 the location of
the engines and shaft are represented by dotted lines below this deck or roof.
At each end of the engine room there is a vertical trunk c extending down to
within a short distance of the keelson, for the admission of air, and near the
middle of the length, and to one side, there is a vertical dischargo pipe d also
extending down to within a short distance of the keelson, for the discharge of
nir, in manner to be presently described. There are two double engines A, A,
one in front and the other behind the paddle wheel shaft B, and at equal
distances therefrom. Each double engine is composed of two working cylinders
e, e, and two supply cylinders f, f, and the upper ends of the former and the
lower ends of the latter are open and directly opposite each other. To these
cylinders are properly fitted four pistons, two working pistons 9, 9, and two
supply pistons h, h, connected together in pairs by rods i, i, that is, one supply
and one working piston, so that they move together, their cylinders being in
the same line. The supply pistons are provided each with one or more valves
j, opening inwards, and the heads of the supply cylinders are also provided with
one or more valves opening inwards and outwards into a receiver l, which
connects with both supply cylinders. As one supply piston descends with its
working piston the valve closes and the valvej opens to admit air into and
fill the supply cylinder f at the tension of the atmosphere, and as the pistons
rise the valve j is closed and the valve k is opened to force the air from the
supply cylinder into the receiver I, from which it passes through a pipe m down
to two valve chests n, n, the said pipe m being branched for that purpose, as
represented by dotted lines. There is one such valve chest for each working

page_text: cylinder, and communicating therewith by a port o, and each chest is to be
provided with the requisite induction and eduction port and suitable induction
and eduction valves, and as these ports and valves and the. method. of working
them, are similar to those employed in single-acting steam engines, it is deemed
unnecessary to describe and represent them. As the induction valve is opened
the air enters the working cylinder and acts against the under face of the
working piston. The air is heated within the working cylinders by suitable
furnaces placed below each working cylinder, but these it is not necessary to
describe or represent. As the working piston is being forced up the supply
piston is forcing the air previously received through the receiver and pipe m
and valve chest to supply the working cylinder, and as the air is heated, and
its volume increased, it forces up the working piston by reason of its surface
being greater than that of the supply piston. A little before the working
piston reaches the end of its upward stroke the induction valve..is closed and
the eduction valve opened for the escape of the air, which passes out through
a pipe p that communicates with the vertical discharge pipe d before described.
Each engine being double, as one working piston with its supply piston is
being forced up. by the pressure of the heated air, the other is descending and
discharging, thus constituting a double-acting engine. The alternate action of
the pistons is secured by having them connected by means of a beam C, whose
axis of vibration is midway between the two sets of cylinders. The arms of
the said beam pass in between the open ends of the cylinders and the rods i, i,
that connect the pistons, and are connected with the under face of the supply
pistons by means of joint links D, D, so that as one set of pistons ascend the
other must descend, and vice versa. That arm of the beam of each engine
nearest the paddle wheel shaft is formed with a triangular arm E, which extends
down into the working cylinder nearest the shaft, and its extremity, which
reaches nearly to the working piston, is jointed to one end of a connecting
rod F that takes hold of the crank G of the paddle wheel shaft. The other
double engine on the other side of the paddle wheel shaft is in every particular
like the one above described, and its beam in like manner is connected with
the self-same crank of the paddle wheel shaft, but at right angles, or nearly so,
with the first, so that the two engines work in succession on the self-same crank.
.
From the foregoing it will be seen that the supply of air from the engines
can only be received from the lower end of the trunks c, c, which extend from
the roof of the engine room to within a short distance of the bottom thereof,
and that as the air, after acting on the pistons, is, discharged through the pipe d
above and outside of the engine room, the working of the engines must of
necessity keep up a constant and efficient ventilation or circulation throughout

page_text: the engine room. And this ventilation or circulation will insure a cool atmo-:
sphere in the lower part of the engine room, because the supply of air through:
the trunks is delivered near the bottom, and is drawn into the engines near the
top; hence the air in the room, as it is heated by the radiation from the'
furnaces and working cylinders, will gradually ascend to supply the engines,
whilst the cool air will be supplied at bottom by the trunks. The perfect
ventilation or circulation thus produced will admit of having the engine room
which
entirely closed in at top, except skylights, to exclude rain and spray,
would be quite destructive to the open cylinders and the piston packings. The
combustion in the furnaces should be supplied with air from pipes connected
with the exhaust pipes p, p, or in any other way which will not interfere with
the system of ventilation or circulation herein described. The arrangement of
the engines in a line fore and aft along the middle of the vessel spreads the
weight over a great portion of the length, and occupies but little space in the
breadth of the vessel, which will admit of using cylinders of very great diameter,
and still leave the decks along the sides unbroken in the length; affording room
on each side of the engines for state rooms or storage. This arrangement also
admits of a very efficient and easy system of diagonal bracing, to stiffen the
vessel and resist the thrusts of the engine. If desired, the upper ends of the
trunks for the supply of air may be covered with caps, which will leave free
passages for air, and prevent water from entering.
I wish it to be understood that I contemplate the application of the herein-
described mode of communicating motion to the paddle wheel shafts to ships
to be propelled by steam engines, but using the steam directly in what I have
termed the supply cylinders, and expanding it in the larger or working cylinders,
or by applying the steam in any other manner, so long as the inner ends of
the cylinders are open, and the pistons are connected with each other and with
the beams between them, and forming the connection with the paddle wheel
shaft in the manner before described; but I prefer the employment of caloric
engines, as in my judgment they will be far superior to steam engines.
What I claim as the Invention, and desire to secure under the above in part
recited Letters Patent, is the arrangement of the engines in a ship or vessel in
a line fore and aft, with the open ends of the upper and lower cylinders towards
each other, substantially as specified, in combination with the working beam
between the open ends of the cylinders, to form the connection with the crank
shaft, substantially as specified, whether the said engines be operated by the
expansion of atmospheric air or other gas or steam.
I also claim forming the working beams which are located between the open
ends of the cylinders, when combined with engines arranged in a line, each with

page_text: an arm extending into the open end of one of the cylinders, so that the con-
necting rods from the two beams shall take hold of and act upon the crank or
cranks at right angles, or nearly so, under a proper location of the paddle
wheel shaft with reference to efficiency of propulsion, and the engines with
reference to stability and compactness, whether the said engines be actuated
by atmospheric air or other permanent gas, or by steam.
And I also claim, in combination with caloric engines, arranged in manner
substantially as specified, within a closed room or space in the middle of a ship,
and closed in at top; the arrangement of the trunks for admitting air requisite
to feed the supply cylinders from the top to the bottom; and the pipe for the
discharge of the air from the engines, substantially as specified, by means of
which I am enabled to enclose the engines for protection from rain and spray,
and at the same time obtain an efficient ventilation or circulation within the
engine room, as specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this First day of December, in the year of our