IMPROVEMENTS IN CONICAL PLUG STEAM VALVES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONICAL PLUG STEAM VALVES."-A com-
munication from abroad by John Wesley Carhart, of Troy, in the State
of New York, United States of America.
Sealed the 8th December 1865, and dated the 28th July 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 28th July 1865.
I WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Cliancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONICAL PLUG STEAM VALVES," to be
as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in conical plug valves
which work in corresponding conical sockets or shells, having an oscillating
motion imparted to them by suitable mechanism.
The object of the Invention is to arrange the valve so that it will be
balanced at any pressure to which it may be exposed, and that it be kept in
its seat by the action of the steam itself, so that it will work free and easy

page_text: under the heaviest pressure to which it may be exposed, and yet be perfectly
steam-tight.
The improvements which form the subject matter of this present Invention
consist in the application of a bearing surface below or opposite the abutment.
Also (for the same purpose) the use of a lip extending from the small end of
the conical valve; also the use of a recess in the large end of the conical
valve to which steam is admitted through suitable channels; further, in
forming a recess or recesses in the socket above the valve or on the exhaust
side of the abutment, so that the valve may swing beyond the edge or edges
thereof, thereby preventing it from wearing into the form of a shoulder; also
in thinning the valve at the exhaust side, or thickening it at the steam space
side for the purpose of giving lead to the exhaust; finally, in forming a
chamber in the large end of the valve for the purpose of keeping the valve in
its seat by the pressure of steam admitted to the chamber.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 27th January 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William "Edward Newton, Her special licence that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said William Edward 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."IMPROVE-
MENTS IN CONICAL PLUG STEAM VALVES," being a communication. from..abroad,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward
Newton, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly. describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was

page_text: 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 William Edward 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 following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-.
This Invention relates to certain improvements. in conical plug valves,
which work in corresponding conical sockets or shells having an oscillating
motion imparted to them by suitable mechanism.
The object of the Invention is to arrange the valve so that it will be balanced
at any pressure to which it may be exposed, and that it be kept in its seat
by the action of the steam itself, so that it will work freely and easily under
the heaviest pressure to which it may be exposed, and yet be perfectly steam-
tight.
The improvements which form the subject of the present Invention consist
in the application of a bearing surface below or opposite to the abutment.
Also, for the same purpose, the use of a lip extending from the small end of
the conical valve; also the use of a recess in the large end of the conical
valve, to which steam is admitted through suitable channels; further, in
forming a recess or recesses in the socket above the valve, or on the exhaust
side of the abutment, so that the valve may swing beyond the edge or edges
thereof, and; thereby prevent it from wearing into the form of a shoulder; also
in thinning the valve at the exhaust side, or thickening it at the steam space
side for the purpose of giving lead to the exhaust; finally, in forming a
chamber in the large end of the valve for the purpose of keeping the valve in
its seat by the pressure of steam admitted to the chamber.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 is a longitudinal central section of
the shell with the valve in position; Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of
the same taken in the line a, a, in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan or top view of the
valves detached; Fig. 4 is an inverted plan of the same; Fig. 5 is an end
view of the same, presenting its large end; Fig. 6 is an end view of the
same, presenting its small end; Fig. 7 is a side elevation, and Fig. 8 a trans-
verse section of a modification of the valve; Fig. 9 is a transverse section of
another modification; Fig. 10 is a side elevation, and Fig. 11 a longitudinal
section of the same; Fig. 12 is a horizontal section of the valve, with the
yoke and set screws, which serve to steady the ends thereof.
A is the steam chest or socket, into which the valve B is fitted as shewn in

page_text: Figures 1 and 12. This socket communicates through ports a, a, with the
opposite ends of the cylinder, and steam is admitted to it at the small end 6*.
C is the exhaust port. The valve B is either shaped as shewn in Figures
3, 4, 5, and 6, or it may be constructed as shewn in Figures 7, 8, 9, and -10.
In the latter case the abutment a*, which forms the partition between the
steam and the exhaust ports is straight or slightly curved; in the former case
the abutment is V-shaped. The abutment a* forms the connection between
the thick part or head 6 and the thin part c of the valve, and steam is admitted
through the thin end under the abutment. The upward pressure of the
steam on the abutment is partially balanced by a bearing surface d below,
and it is further balanced by a lip e, which extends from the thin end of the
valve as shewn in Figures 1 and 3, or the valve may be shaped as shewn in
Figures 10 and 12, where instead of the lip e a cavity and a recess 'f* is
made in the thin end.
The bearing-surface & below the abutment however is shewn more fully in
Figures 7 and 8, and will be further referred to in the description of these
Figures. At the large end of the valve B the upward pressure of the steam on
the abutment is balanced by a recess f in the head b. This recess.com-
municates with the steam space below the abutment through a channel g,
chamber h, and channel i, as shewn in Fig. 1 of the Drawing. The chamber-h
is formed between the 'thick end of the valve and the head j of the 'socket or
steam chest, and by the action of the steam contained in the chamber the valve
is adjusted on its seat, so that it will work steam-tight and without undue
friction. In order to prevent the valve from wearing a shoulder in the socket
the latter is provided with two recesses k, as shewn in Fig. 2 of the Drawing,
and the valve is made to swing beyond the inner edges of these recesses. If
desired these recesses may be continued so that they will form one continuous
recess extending over the abutment; and in practice this arrangement may be
preferable.
When the valve is formed as shewn in Figures 7 and '8 the bearing sur-
face d extends from the head 6 clear through to the thin part of the valve,
'and in this case the communication between the steam space of the valve and
the steam ports is formed as shewn in Fig. 8. In order to give lead to the
exhaust 'the 'abutment is thickened on the steam
exhaust side, as shewn in Figures 2 and 8.
'the thick end of the valve extends a yoke n.
'the 'end of the valve stem / passes through this yoke, and is retained by
nuts o, o, one on the inside and one on the outside of the yoke. The nuts o, o,
are prevented from unscrewing spontaneously by jam nuts p. In the thin end
space side, or thinned on the
From the head ; which closes
A screw m which extends from

page_text: of the shell is secured a cross bar q, a set screw r which is tapped into this
cross bar bears on a cross bar secured in the thin end of the valve. By the
action of the screws m and r the valve is steadied, and it can be set so that it
will work tightly, but with the least possible friction. Instead of the screw m an
ordinary centre pointed set screw bearing on the centre of the valve stem might
be used. A valve constructed according to this Invention actually floats in
the steam, and works equally, freely, and easily in a heavy or in a light
pressure. It is easily fitted into its socket, and is readily kept tight. The
whole valve is light, cheap, and compact, and can readily be attached to
large or small cylinders.
Having now described this Invention of "Improvements in Steam Valves,"
and having explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I claim as
the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid,―
First, the use of the bearing surface & below the abutment a*, and also
the lip or projection e extending from the small end of the valve for the purpose
set forth.
I further claim recessing the periphery of conical plug valves, and conveying
steam to such recesses from the steam space of the valve through suitable
channels, and also forming a steam chamber at the head of such valves for the
purpose above explained.
I also claim thickening the abutment on the steam space side, or thinning it
on the exhaust side.
I further claim the recess or recesses k, Fig. 2, in the socket, to operate in
combination with the valve for the purpose described.
Lastly, I claim the yoke n and screw m, or its equivalent, in combination
with the shell A, and with the thick end of the valve B, and also the
set screw in combination with the shell A, and with the thin end of the
valve B, as shewn in Fig. 12, as and for the purpose described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Twentieth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
117 T NEWTON