CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PHILIP
WALTHER, of Angel Court, Throgmorton Street, in the City of London,
Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS I did, by petition, humbly represent unto Her present most
Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, that, in consequence of a communication
from a Foreigner residing abroad, I had become possessed of an Invention of
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM ENGINES;" and Her said
Majesty, being willing to give encouragement to all arts and inventions which
may be for the public good, was graciously pleased, by Her Royal Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twelfth day of October One
thousand eight hundred and forty-three, in the seventh year of Ier reign,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, to give and grant unto me, the
said Philip Walther, my executors, administrators, and assigns, his especial
license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I or they, by myself or
themselves, or by my or their deputies, servants, or agents, or such others as I
or they should agree with, and no others, during the term of fourteen years
from the date of the said Letters Patent, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, the said Invention within that part of Her said Majesty's
Dominions called England, Iler Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, in such manner as to me, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, shall seem meet, and as that I or they shall enjoy the whole profit and
advantage arising by reason of the said Invention, during the said term of four-
teen years; and for that end Her said Majesty requires and strictly commands
all Her subjects whatsoever within England, Wales, and Berwick-upon-Tweed
aforesaid, that they shall not, neither directly nor indirectly, make, use, or put in

page_text: practice the said Invention or any part thereof, nor in any wise counterfeit,
imitate, or resemble the same, nor make any addition thereto or subtraction
therefrom, whereby to pretend himself or themselves to be the Inventor or
Inventors thereof: And whereas the said Letters Patent also contain a proviso
obliging me, the said Philip Walther, particularly to describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and scal, and to cause the same
to be enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calender
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent, 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
Philip Walther, do hereby declare that the said Invention is described and
ascertained in manner following, and by the aid of the two Sheets of Drawings
hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
The class of engines to which the improvements relate are those which
act by means of jets of steam issuing into the air, so as to cause a
revolving motion, and which improved engine is denominated Brunier's
Reaction Steam Girator. The basis of the revolving engine consists of
two arms of equal length, fixed upon a horizontal axis, and caused
to revolve in a vertical plane, the whole being supported by suitable
bearings. One of the revolving arms carries a small steam engine,
which is to be supplied with steam from any suitable boiler or generator. At
the outer end of each of these arms is a steam receiver, into each of which
steam is to be alternately admitted, and from which it is to be alternately
discharged in successive jets, instead of in a continuous stream, as has been
the practice with other reacting steam engines. The small steam engine
which is carried by one of the arms is a cylinder engine, and serves to open
and close the passages by which the steam is admitted into and discharged
from the receivers, each of them having a passage for the admission and
another for the discharge of the steam, the whole being furnished with slides
so arranged as that when the steam is being admitted into one of the receivers
the passage for its discharge shall be closed, and that the action of the two
receivers shall be reciprocal in this respect. The steam is supplied to them
from the same boiler which supplies the small engine. One end of the shaft
which sustains and carries the revolving arms is made hollow, for the admission
of steam to the engine cylinder and to the receivers, its hollow end being
received within a steam chamber, which is supported on the framework of the
engine, and is connected by a steam pipe with the boiler.

page_text: Sheet 1, Figure 1, is a horizontal plan of the engine; Figure 2, a side
elevation; Figure 3, a vertical section of the revolving arms and of the prin-
cipal apparatus connected with them; and Figure 4 is a lateral view of the side
of the arins. In each of these Figures the same letters of reference are used
to denote similar parts. A, A, A, is the base plate upon which the whole of
the engine rests, and which is best made of cast iron. B, B, B, are the
side frames that support the bearings in which the gudgeons of the shaft run;
C, C, are the ends of the revolving arms, which are affixed to the horizontal
shaft D, D; and E, E, the plummer blocks or bearings of the said shaft.
In Figure 4 the dotted lines a, a, a, shew the hollow part of the shaft D, ex-
tending from its end a¹ to the revolving arms. Its outer end a revolves in a
stuffing box b, Figure 1, which makes a part of the steam chamber F, the
said steam chamber being supported by the frame B, B, there being a bracket
attached to the frame for that purpose. I, Figure 2, is a steam pipe leading
from the boiler into the steam chamber F, and K is a throttle cock or valve to
regulate the admission of steam. The steam receivers at the outer ends of
the arms are shewn at f, f, and steam is admitted into them through the tubes
d, d, which extend from the hollow part a of the shaft D to the said receivers.
e, e, are small steam chambers attached to the receivers, and act as nozzles
to the pipes d, d. There is a passage g from the chambers e, e, into the
receiver f, which passage is opened and shut by the slide valve i, the said
valve being moved by the small steam engine in the manner hereafter
explained. Each of the receivers is also provided with a second passage h
for the discharge of steam therefrom, which passage is likewise opened
and shut by the slide valve i. II is the cylinder of the small steam engine
which is used for working the valves i, i. This engine may be, in its general
construction, similar to the ordinary reciprocating engine, and it is attached to
one of the revolving arms. G is its piston, and K, K, its piston rod, which
passes through each end of the cylinder, and is elongated so as to constitute
the rods of the slide valve i, i, belonging to each of the receivers. The piston
rod works through stuffing boxes m, m, on each end of the cylinder; and the
elongated parts, which constitute the rods of the valves i, i, pass through
stuffing boxes n, n, attached to the receivers; they also pass through guides o, o,
within the receivers. p, p, is a frame which surrounds and works clear of the
shaft D, and serves to connect the two portions of the rod K, K. A small
steam pipe leads from the hollow part of the shaft D to the valve box of the
engine, having a regulating cock at y. t is the slide valve of the engine;
u, u, are the steamways, leading from the valve box into the cylinder; and v
the eduction passage. The rod of the steam valve t works through a stuffing

page_text: box t¹, and its outer end has on it a tappet, which is received within a slot in
a piece of metal g, that is firmly attached to the frame p, p. The slot in the
piece q is shewn in Figure 3 as extending from 1 to r; and the tappet s on the
lower end of the stem of the valve t, which is received within this slot, when
acted upon by its upper and lower ends, causes the steam valve to slide within
its box. By this connection it will be seen that the action of the valve t
of the small engine, and of the valves i, i, which govern the openings 9 and h,
for the induction and eduction of steam into and from the receivers, will be
simultaneous and uniform, and that at the time when it is being admitted into
one receiver it will be in the act of escaping from the other. R is a counter-
poise to the steam engine, serving to render the momenta of the two arms
equal. The power of the engine may be transmitted from the shaft D by a small
cog wheel M, gearing into the large wheel L, L, or by such other gearing as
may adapt it to the particular service which it is intended to perform. When
the engine is applied to the purpose of navigation, or to any other in which it
may be desirable that the motion of the arms should be reversed, it is intended
to use four arms instead of two. Both ends of the shaft D may in this case
be made hollow, and the steam may then be supplied to either of the pairs of
arms as may be desired, the respective parts of the apparatus being so arranged
as to effect the purpose intended. The arms are to be enclosed in a case,
which may be made of sheet iron, its lower part resting on and being secured
to a flange P, P, on the case plate A, A. Its elevation is shewn by the dotted
lines z, z, and a pipe or opening for the reception of the steam at z 1.
Sheet II. represents another arrangement of the engine, in which Figure I
is a section of the revolving arm, Figure 2 a transverse section, taken at the
line L, K. The axis of the arm is the same as described in reference to Sheet I.
From its hollow part D, two pipes e, e, e, e, e¹, e¹, branch out, and join to the steam
chambers or valve boxes G, G¹, which communicate with the receivers F, F, by
means of the passages 6, 6¹. These receivers are fixed on the arms R, R, as
in Sheet I., and they are provided with eduction pipes d, d¹, d", d, reaching
out to the circumference of the exterior casing that encloses the whole of the
engine, which casing in this arrangement revolves with the engine on the
axis D. The induction passage b, b', and the eduction passages d, d", are
alternately opened and shut by four slide valves a, a, c, c¹, joined together by
the arrangement hereafter explained, and by which means the simultaneous
action of the valves is accomplished. H, H', are the two steam cylinders
which are used in place of the small steam engine in Sheet I., having their
piston rods extended, and serving as valve rods for the receivers f, f¹; the
small cylinders being bolted on the ends, p, p, of the receivers, the other ends

page_text: of the cylinders being closed tight by the cover K, K'; the piston or valve rod
works in a stuffing box, i, . In the cylinder cover E, E', are the pistons, both
fixed on the rod ffff, to ensure that they move correspondingly in their
cylinders II, II; that rod passes through the hollow part of the axis D, and
works in the stuffing boxes m, m³, which branch out from the hollow part of
the axis. At the extreme ends of the rod f. ff. f, are fixed the valves c, c¹,
of the eduction passage d, d". The valves a, a' of the induction passage of
the receivers F, F', are also worked by the rod f,f,f,f, being attached to the
value rods g, g, g', g', which receive motion from from the rod f, f,f,f, by
means of the transverse pieces n', n¹. These rods g, g, g¹, gl, work in
stuffing boxes h, h', attached to the steam chambers or valve boxes G, G¹.
The
9. 9' are holes in the centre of the ends p, p¹ of the receivers F, F¹.
rod ffff, passes through those holes; but the diameter of the rod being less
diameter than the diameter of the holes, an annular space is left around the
rod, and forms a communication between the receivers F, F', and the cylin-
ders II, II. ,, are holes which allow the air to enter into the
cylinders II, II, and to escape when the pistons E, E', return; so that in
whichever direction the piston is moving, the air goes into one of the cylin-
ders, in order to fill the vacuum which the piston tends to make while the air
escapes from the other cylinder, where the piston tends to compress the air.
The holes, are alternately covered by the pistons E, E¹, and by their
continuing their movement they compress the air between the cylinder
covers K, K, and the piston. By the clasticity of this compressed air the
returning motion of the piston is facilitated, and operates without the least
shock. It is intended to work the engine with steam at a pressure of five
or six atmospheres. The pistons with the valves may be worked by hand by
means of a lever or other suitable working gear introduced through a small
opening or slots s¹ in the exterior iron case which surrounds the revolving
arm, that lever acting on the transverse piece n, n². The valves being placed
as shewn in Figure 1, the steam will pass from the hollow of the axis D by
means of the pipes c, e, e, e¹, e¹, e¹, into the chambers or valve boxes G, G',
entering by the induction passage 6¹ into the receiver F, and by means of the
passage, communicating from the receiver to the cylinder H, moves the
piston E¹, giving motion to all the parts attached to the rod f.f.ff, in
the direction shewn by the arrow. When the pistons E, E', arrive at the end of
their cylinders, the eduction passage ₁ closes, and the induction passage belong-
ing to the opposite receiver F opens. The eduction passage d", belonging to the
receiver F, opens, and the one d, belonging to the receiver F, closes. The
steam contained in the receiver F' escapes by the pipe du, d, by the expan-

page_text: sive action, and during its discharge continues to force the engine round in
the direction of the arrow. When the piston E arrives towards the end of its
strokes, it shuts the orifice r. The confined air between the piston and the
cover K becoming strongly compressed causes the piston to return without
shock. What has taken place in regard to the receiver F' also takes place in
the same way with the other receiver F, and the whole of the engine takes an
opposite position. A second discharge takes place through the pipe d, d', and
vice versa, that is to say, an uninterrupted succession of discharges of steam
takes place, giving as many impulses in the same direction, and those impulses
continue the circular motion given to the revolving arm. The revolving arms
R, R, R, should be of wrought iron; the cylinders II, II', of gun metal; the
rods ffff9 g, g¹ g', in iron or in steel; the valves a, a¹, c, c', in cast iron,
and the faces on which they work in gun metal, and the receivers F, F, in
copper. When the pistons E, E', are metallick they may be constructed in the
ordinary way of metallic pistons. The bottoms u, u¹, of the receivers F, F, are
fastened by means of screws screwed into a flange on the receivers. It is by
means of these removeable bottoms that the different interior parts of the
receivers are bolted together. The exterior revolving drum or case that en-
closes the whole of the engine (and of which Figure I. shews the circumference)
can be constructed in different ways, but should be in two halves on diskes
bolted on to the arms R, R, R¹. The centre should be sufficiently open, or
there should be a man-hole to admit of a man entering to screw up the stuffing
boxes, and supply the different parts with oil. The casing may be made of
ribs of wood covered with iron plates and painted, and it should be of such a
form as that the steam which has escaped will cause the least possible resistence
to its revolutions, which escaped steam may be conveyed away from the engine
by means of a flue or chimney. The discharge of steam from the passages
h, h, in Sheet I., and of d, d", in Sheet II., will be made in rapid succession,
say from four to six discharges in a second; and admitting the latter number
to take place (and a greater number may be attained), the power derived
from reaction will be nearly the same as that which would result from a con-
tinued flux of steam, whilst the keeping up of its elastic force in the
boiler will be greatly facilitated. That a great economy in the expenditure of
steam will result from this arrangement will appear from the following
considerations-Suppose the steam in the boiler to be kept at a pressure of
six atmospheres, the passage h for the escape of steam to be equal to six square
inches, and the capacity of each receiver to amount to one cubic foot and half,
if there be six discharges made in a second, this would give a volume of
nine cubic feet of such steam to be supplied from the boiler in that time;

page_text: but as each receiver would after every discharge remain filled with atmospheric
steam, it will follow that the volume of steam at a pressure of six atmospheres
will be expended in each discharge will amount to about seven and a half
cubic feet only. Supposing the steam in the boiler to be kept up at the
same pressure of six atmospheres, and the passage for discharge to be equal to
six square inches, as before, and that the discharge was continuous, the velocity
with which the steam would issue would not be less than sixteen hundred feet
per second, and the volume discharged would be about sixty cubic feet. The
expenditure of steam would in this case, therefore, be eight times as great as
that required for the successive discharges; and it will be evident that in the
case of the continuous discharge the effect would not be commensurate with
the volume of steam employed.
Having thus fully described the manner in which the re-acting steam
gyrater is constructed, and shewn the operation of the same, I, the said
Philip Walther, do hereby declare that the new Invention whereof I claim
the exclusive use to have been granted to me by the said Letters Patent, is the
obtaining the rotary motion of the arms of the said engine by the successive
and rapid discharges of steam through orifices such as are represented at
h, h, d, d, in the accompanying Drawings, which orifices are made in steam
receivers, and governed by valves, the supply of steam and the reciprocal
action of the said valves being effected and regulated by an arrangement of
parts substantially the same with that herein described. I also claim the
employment of a small steam engine or engines attached to one or both of the
revolving arms, and so connected and combined with the valves in the
receivers as to cause them to regulate the admission of steam into and its
discharge from the said receivers for the purpose and in the manner above
described. I will here observe, that I have in the first instance claimed the
manner in which I have constructed the receivers, with their valves, for the
supply and discharge of steam in successive instants, separately and distinctly
from the claim to the employment of the small steam engine for opening and
closing the valves in the receivers, and this I have done because I am aware
that by means of tappets or other devices attached to the frame-work of the
engine, or to the case which surrounds it, the said valves might be made to
open and close without the aid of said steam engine, though not, as I believe,
with equal advantage.
In witness whereof the said Philip Walther hath hundred set his hand
and seal, the Eleventh day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-four.
PH. WALTHER. (L.S.)

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eleventh day of April, in the
seventh year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said Philip
Walther came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknow-
ledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and
specified, in form above written. And also the Instrument aforesaid was
stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the fifty-fifth year of
the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third.
Inrolled the Twelfth day of April, One thousand eight hundred and
forty-four.