IMPROVED MEANS FOR REDUCING THE FRICTION AND WEAR OF SLIDE VALVES OF STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1861

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 "IMPROVED MEANS FOR REDUCING THE FRICTION
AND WEAR OF SLIDE VALVES OF STEAM ENGINES."-A communication
from abroad by Andrew Buchanan, of Jersey City, State of New
Jersey, United States of America.
Sealed the 8th April 1862, and dated the 24th December 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th December 1861.
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 "IMPROVED MEANS FOR REDUCING THE FRICTION
AND WEAR OF SLIDE VALVES OF STEAM ENGINES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the combining of the slide valve of a steam engine
with a well-known arrangement of mechanism termed the parallel motion, from
which it results that the valve is sustained by such mechanism so as to prevent
it from being pressed to its seat with a force due to the pressure of the steam,.
while at the same time it permits the valve to slide back and forth in the
required plane, thus greatly reducing the friction and the wear of the surfaces
of the valve and valve seat.

page_text: The Invention also relates to combining with the sliding valve and mechanism,
known as the parallel motion, a spring or the equivalent therefor which will
yield to the pressure of the steam on the valve, and thereby insure the contact
of the face of the valve with its seat, notwithstanding there may be inaccuracies
in the parallel motion, and that the parts may wear away and change the
adjustments. This yielding property may be contained in the valve itself by
making its cover or sides elastic, or a pressing spring may be applied thereto;
or the frame which supports the parallel motion and is secured to the steam
chest in such a manner that it may have a slight play in a vertical direction,
is suspended at one end by means of a screw pendent from an elastic diaphragm
inserted into the cover of the valve chest. This diaphragm is made of such
dimensions that the upward pressure of the steam thereon relieves the valve
from a certain portion of the pressure to which it would otherwise be subjected.
When it is desired to suspend the action of the diaphragm, steam is let on to
its upper surface through a pipe connected with the steam boiler, and which
when not used will be closed by a suitable stop-cock.
The Invention further relates to the combining with the frame in which the
parallel motion mechanism is mounted, (and which is contained in the steam
chest) a lifting mechanism extending to the outside of the steam chest (con-
sisting of a crank, lever, and rods, or their equivalent) by means of which the
valve can be lifted entirely clear of its seat to prevent the wear of the parts
during the working of the engine after the steam has been shut off.
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 24th June 1862.
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 Twenty-fourth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth 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

page_text: 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 "IMPROVED MEANS FOR REDUCING THE FRICTION AND WEAR OF
SLIDE VALVES OF STEAM ENGINES," 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
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
following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
This Invention, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, con-
sists in combining the slide valve of a steam engine with a well-known arrange-
ment of mechanism termed the parallel motion, from which it results that the
valve is sustained by such mechanism so as to prevent it from being pressed
to its seat with a force due to the pressure of the steam, while at the same
time it permits the valve to slide back and forth in the required plane, thus
greatly reducing the friction, and the wear of the surfaces of the valve and
valve seat.
The Invention also consists in combining with the slide valve and me-
chanism known as the parallel motion, a spring or the equivalent therefor
which will yield to the pressure of the steam on the valve, and thereby insure
the contact of the face of the valve with its seat, notwithstanding there may
be inaccuracies in the parallel motion, and that the parts may wear away and
change the adjustments.
And the Invention further consists in combining with the frame in which
the parallel motion mechanism is mounted (and which is contained in the
steam chest), by a lifting mechanism extending to the outside of the steam chest
by means of which the valve can be lifted entirely clear of its seat, to prevent
the wear of the parts during the working of the engine, after the steam has
been shut off. To enable those skilled in the art to make and use the Invention,
.I will proceed to describe its construction and operation with reference to the
accompanying Drawing.
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of a valve chest, with a slide valve

page_text: arranged according to this Invention, the plane of section being indicated by.
the line x, x, of Figure 2; Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of the same
taken in the plane indicated by the line y, y, Fig. 1. Similar letters of
reference in both views indicate corresponding parts. The valve A moves
in the interior of the valve chest B on the seat C in the ordinary manner:-
The back of the valve is connected by a journal a to the vibrating lever b,
the upper end of which is guided by a hole in the rocking bar c while its
centre is connected to two links d that oscillate on pivots e, inserted into
the side pieces f of the frame D. From these side pieces rise the vertical
standards g, which form the bearings for the ends of the rocking bar c. The
vibrating lever b and the links d constitute the parallel motion E that is
intended to relieve the slide valve from the pressure of the steam. It will
be obvious that any other parallel motion mechanism may be substituted for
the one described, and as the equivalent thereof, and two such motions may
be attached one to each side of the valve if found desirable. The sides and
ends of the valve are corrugated, and made sufficiently thin to yield to the
pressure of the steam, so that the pressure on the upper part A¹ of the valve
will be suspended to and borne by the parallel motion, while so much of the
pressure as is exerted on the surface of the projecting parts A2, A2, at the ends
will force and keep the face of the valve on its seat, and thus avoid much
of the friction heretofore experienced in the use of slide valves. For this
purpose it is preferred so to adjust the parts that when there is no steam in
the chest the face of the valve will not touch its seat. This springing of the
parts will also compensate for the slight inaccuracies of the well-known parallel
motion mechanism, and for all other inaccuracies, and for the unavoidable
wear of the parts. Instead of making the sides and ends of the valve cor-
rugated and spring like, these may be made strong and firm, and the upper
part A' sufficiently thin to spring and yield to the pressure of the steam,
or as another, and equivalent mode, the pivot or journal a may be fitted to a
sliding box in the vibrating lever b, and rest on a spring of sufficient tension,
so that when the valve is forced down to its seat by the pressure of the
steam, the spring shall cause the parallel motion to sustain the greater part of
the pressure.
Another mode of applying the principle of this Invention, when the valve
is made with spring-like corrugated sides and ends, or with a spring-like
top, is to adjust the valve, so that it shall rest on its seat and to have the hole
in the lever b, in which the pivot or journal of the valve works slightly elon-
gated, so that it shall not touch the bottom thereof, until steam is let on, and
as the top of the spring valve yields to the pressure of the steam to have the

page_text: said pivot or journal come down to its bearings, that the parallel motion me-
chanism may bear the greater part of the pressure, in this way the face of the
valve will be pressed to its seat to the extent of the tension of the spring only,
and the pressure of the steam beyond this will be sustained by the parallel
motion mechanism. Or instead of the above-named arrangements for relieving
the valve from excessive pressure upon its seat, the following contrivance may be
adopted-The frame D, Fig. 1, which supports the parallel motion, rests on
lugs or ribs i, on the inside of the steam chest, and it is secured to the same
by means of screw bolts j, j, in such a manner that it may have a slight play in a
vertical direction, one end of the frame is suspended by means of a screw k, from
an elastic diaphragm F, which is inserted into the cover of the valve chest,
(or there may be two such). The surface of this diaphragm is made of such
dimensions, that the upward pressure of the steam thereon, by being transmitted
through the action of the frame and parallel motion to the back of the valve
relieves the valve from a certain portion of the pressure to which it would
otherwise be subjected. If it is considered that the superficial area of the back
of the valve of an ordinary locomotive engine is about one hundred square
inches, and that the same with a pressure of the steam of one hundred pounds
to the square inch is subjected to a pressure of ten thousand pounds, the
advantage of the improved method of relieving the valve seat from this
great pressure will be appreciated. When it is desired to suspend the action
of the diaphragm, steam is let on to its upper surface through a pipe ¹, which
is intended to be connected with the steam boiler, and which when not used
will be closed by a suitable stop-cock. The frame D is suspended by means
of a rod l, from a bell-crank lever G, which has it fulcrum on a pin m passing
through lugs n on the top of the steam chest. From this bell-crank lever a
rod o extends to the engineer's stand, so that the engineer by pulling the said
rod is enabled to raise the valve clear off its seat. It is desirable to do this when
the locomotive runs down a gradient, or whenever the steam is shut off, while
the engine continues in motion. When the valve is permitted to move on its
seat, while the steam is shut off it is liable to cut, and with ordinary valves it
is necessary to introduce in such cases a large quantity of oil to preserve the
faces of the valve, and of the seat against injury. It is obvious that instead
of the bell crank lever G, other devices such as a cord running from the frame
over a pulley to the engineer's stand, might be employed, and I do not there-
fore confine myself to the particular device represented in the Drawing. The
journal a works in an elongated hole in the lever b, so that the valve is free
to rise from its seat, but this may be dispensed with by making the hole
round, and depending upon the spring for the rising of the valve. It will be

page_text: obvious that some parts of the Invention may be used without others, as for
instance, if a perfect parallel motion be used the second part of the Invention
may be dispensed with, the unavoidable spring of the parts being sufficient,
and the mode of lifting the valve may be dispensed with without injury to the
other parts of the Invention.
Having thus fully explained the nature of this Invention of "Improved
Means for Reducing the Friction and Wear and Tear of Slide Valves of Steam
Engines," as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and explained
the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that
under the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim, combining the slide
valve with a parallel motion mechanism, substantially as and for the purpose
specified.
I also claim combining with a slide valve, and the parallel motion me-
chanism a spring in the valve, or the equivalent. therefor, substantially as and
for the purpose specified.
And I also claim combining with the moveable frame in which the parallel
motion mechanism, carrying a slide valve, is mounted in the steam chest, a
lifting mechanism extending to the outside of the steam chest, substantially as
and for the purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal the Twenty-fourth day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)