MAKING, ARRANGING, AND COMBINING CERTAIN PARTS OF ROTATIVE STEAM ENGINES, BY WHICH MEANS THE MOST COMPLEX PARTS OF THE STEAM ENGINE NOW IN USE ARE DISPENSED WITH AND RENDERED UNNECESSARY, AND THE WHOLE OF THE MECHANISH MADE MUCH MORE SIMPLE, LESS EXPENSIVE, AND NOT SO LIABLE TO BE OUT OF REPAIR AS THAT OF THE STEAM ENGINES NOW IN USE, AND APPLICABLE TO GIVE MOTION TO ALL SORTS OF MILLWORK OR MACHINERY, AND VARIOUS OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1810

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
WITTY, of Kingston-upon-Hull, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third, by His
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Fourteenth day of February, in the fiftieth year of His reign, did,
for Himself, 1lis heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Richard
Witty, His especial licence that I, the said Richard Witty, my executors,
administrators, assigns, or such others as I, the said Richard Witty, my exe-
cutors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with. and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Inven-
tion of "MAKING, ARRANGING, AND COMBINING CERTAIN PARTS OF ROTATIVE
STEAM ENGINES, BY WHICH MEANS THE MOST COMPLEX PARTS OF THE STEAM ENGINE
NOW IN USE ARE DISPENSED WITH AND RENDERED UNNECESSARY, AND THE WHOLE OF
THE MECHANISH MADE MUCH MORE SIMPLE, LESS EXPENSIVE, AND NOT SO LIABLE TO
BE OUT OF REPAIR AS THAT OF THE STEAM ENGINES NOW IN USE, AND APPLICABLE TO
GIVE MOTION TO ALL SORTS OF MILLWORK OR MACHINERY, AND VARIOUS OTHER
PURPOSES;"
;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso obliging
me, the said Richard Witty, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
scal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be
enrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within two calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said recited Letters Patent, as
in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and
at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, 1, the said
Richard Witty, do declare that the nature of my Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, is described and ascertained in the Plan
drawn in the margin, and the following explanation thereof, that is to say :-
My improvements in steam engines consist in making, arranging, and com-
bining the reciprocating rectilenear motion with the rotative, in such a manner
that my steam cylinders, with pistons moving in them (or I cause the cylinders
to move upon the pistons), in a rectilineal direction, do at the same time turn
round upon a horizontal axle or shaft, and partly form or constitute what is
commonly called the fly wheel, and which will be more particularly described
hereafter. By this combination of the cylinders upon or in a vertical wheel I
effect a complete rotative engine, with pistons moving in straight lines in their
cylinders (or cylinders upon their pistons) without interposing a beam crank or
other contrivance between the rectilineal and the rotative, as in the engines
now in use, and which engine, thus combined, performs the filling and dis-
charging itself of steam in a superior manner, without the aid of valves or cocks,
consequently the gear denominated hand gear is also rendered unnecessary.
Having stated wherein my Invention differs from the engines most gene-
rally used, and which work with a "beam crank gear and appendages before
mentioned, will now shew in what respect it is different from the rotative
engines made by others without the beam crank, &c. In the latter a piston or
pistons have been made to revolve round a centre, or round a drum, with a
variety of ingenious contrivances to keep the vacuum and steam apart by
variously constructed valves, some sliding, others turning upon hinges, and in
two or three cases alternately revolving pistons have been used.
I have men-
tioned these merely to shew that my Invention differs as widely from them as
from the engine which works with a beam or lever, for in my Invention I do
not make use of a piston which turms round upon the centre or axis of its
steam vessel or cylinder, or in it or concentric with it, but my pistons move in
straight lines, like the pistons of the beam or lever engine, and are at the same
time carried with their cylinders round upon or in a vertical wheel, which they
partly constitute, and which operates as a regulating or fly wheel. The pistons
thereby acquire a compound motion, participating of the rectilineal and the
rotative, and describe a curve, varying with the speed of the engine and length
of its stroke. The application of the expansive force of steam, and the
obtained by its condensation, are not new, nor do I attempt to innovate per-
manent principles, but hinge my claim solely upon the pecular manner of
making, arranging, and combining the parts hereafter mentioned, so as to form
and make, and which I have formed and made, a complete, simple, and effec-
power

page_text: tive engine or engines, by which the power obtained from steam, both by
expansion and condensation, is communicated to machinery, &c., at a com-
paratively small expence, and with some advantage in the saving of fuel. In
the annexed Drawing, A, A, A, A, Fig. 1, represent four cylinders, but any
other number may be used, made of cast iron or other suitable metal, accu-
rately bored, and fastened to. a hollow nave or shaft B, B. with screw bolts.
c, c, c, c, are pistons working in the cylinders A, A, A, A, made tight with
common packing at the extreme ends of the cylinders at h, h, h, h, (section.
Fig. 2), each connected to its opposite one by the reciprocating rods E, E, E, E.
(The use of these rods is not only for uniting their forces, but they are of essen-
tial service in opposing the centrifugal forces to each other). These pistons, thus.
connected together in pairs, must be made of a certain weight, that is to say,
one pair with the rods must be made of such a weight that a vacuum in one
of the cylinders will easily raise them both together in a perpendicular direction.
D is a fixed axle made tapering and ground air-tight into the hollow nave or
shaft B, B, like the key of a cock, with two ducts or tubes in it a and b. a is
joined to the steam pipe, and placed at the upper part of the axle, which
must lay horizontally. b is at the lower part of the axle, and is joined to the
eduction or pipe that leads to the condenser. Each cylinder is made to com-
municate through the hollow shaft, as at 2, 2, 2, 2, see section, Fig. 2nd,
where the two ducts in the fixed axle (made similar to two waterways
in a cock) correspond, and by moving round the holes in the bottom
of the cylinders 2, 2, 2, 2, open alternately into a and b. The hollow
shaft B, B, must be produced or made of such length on each side of the
wheel, so as to be supported in brasses, and also to admit of millwork being
coupled or attached to it. The inner axle D must remain fixed and sta-
tionary. As to the condenser and its pump, I use such as are common to other
engines. Suppose the cylinders, with their pistons,. arranged and combined
as Fig. 1, and steam admitted into the upper cylinder through the duct a, it
will by its expansive force (if strong) raise one pair of pistons, and if out of
the vertical line, they will destroy the equilibrium of the wheel, and cause it to
move round by their gravity, and in moving round the cylinders will each be
filled with steam from the duct a, and discharged when they descend to the
duct b, into the condenser, so that after the engine has cleared itself of the
air at starting (which may be done by blowing as in others) the lower cylinder
will always be under a vacuum,. whilst the upper one, connected with it by
having their pistons united, will be receiving steam from the boiler, by which
means the pistons will be kept continually receding on one side of the wheel,
and concentrating or moving inwards on the other. In order to relieve the

page_text: .
momentum of the rectilinear pistons, and to throw the same into effective
power, I make the duct of such size or capacity that the cylinders pass it
before the pistons are brought home, so that part of the uncondensed fluid is
left in the cylinder, and by being pent up by the momentum it returns the
impetus as soon as the opposite cylinder empties itself into the condenser, and
this elastic fluid is discharged again into the steam duct, and adds to the common
stock of steam in the boiler. By making use of this uncondensed fluid in the
manner just described the motion of the engine is thereby made perfectly
smooth and easy, and the momentum of the pistons is employed (if I may be
allowed the expression) in bottling up power, which is thrown into the rotative
continuous motion. Fig. 3 represents the machine with the cylinders moving
upon the pistons. G, G, G, G, are four hollow arms or spokes cast with the
hollow centre or nave II; the tubes formed in them come into the said nave at
equal distances, as the holes 2, 2, 2, 2, in section Fig. 2. The centre or nave
works round upon a double ducted fixed axle placed stationary, and in the
same manner as Fig. 1: The pistons are formed upon the extreme ends of
these hollow arms or pipes g, section Fig. 5, and over or upon which move
the four cylinders, I, I, I, I, connected together by the reciprocating rods
i, i, i, i. It is hardly necessary to observe that the action of the engine is the
same as Fig. 1. The only difference is, that in this case the cylinders them-
selves constitute the weights to be moved, therefore they must be made of such
a weight that a pair joined together with their rods must be easily moved by
a vacuum in one cylinder, as in the case of the two pistons in Figure 1.
at e, e.
Fig. 4 is another form of the machine with the reciprocating rods which
connect the pistons together in the inside of the cylinder or cylinders. K, K,
is one continued cylinder laid open to shew the pistons m, m, on the outside of
which, at equal distances from each end, is cast a centre or axle, on which
it turns round upon as at Y. On the opposite side is a small pipe, r. r,
section Fig. 6, extending the whole length of said cylinder, and joined into it
In the middle of this pipe is a concentric ring P, into which said
pipe is inserted, having two apertures or pipes q, n. 7 communicates with the
steam pipe S, or boiler, and the other with the condenser T. The ends of the
cylinders are made up by caps or covers screwed upon them, and a ring is
fastened to the flanches to form it into a wheel, as in the other Figures.
The communication is reversed to that of Fig. 1, steam being in this form
admitted at the extremes, and therefore the upper tube n, Fig. 6, is made
to communicate with the condenser, and the lower one q with the steam pipe.
The cylinder, with its small pipe r, r, and ring P, turns round upon its
centre Y. F is a crank which works the air pump O, represented in this

page_text: Fig.. and will also shew how it is to be connected with the others, Fig. 1, 3,
and 7. In this form, as in the preceeding ones, the pair of pistons and rod
must not be of greater weight than a vacuum in one cylinder will raise per-.
pendicularly. It must be observed, that when two continued cylinders are
used to form four arms the rods will have to pass each other in the centre,
therefore one of them is slit to let the other pass through it; the length of the
stroke will always depend upon the proportion of the length of rods to the
cylinder, the shortest rods allowing the longest stroke in this case, but in the
other forms, Fig. 1, 3, and 7., the longest rods admit the longest stroke.. It
may not be improper to remark here, that the lengthening and shortening of
the rods in all cases will increase and decrease the power of the engine at
pleasure, and this is done by making a smple slit joint in the middle of each
rod. In order to make my engine of double effect or power, I simply connect
the extreme end of one cylinder with the end nearest the centre or shaft of its
opposite one by means of a pipe, and cause the piston rods to work through
stuffing boxes, see Fig. 7. The reciprocating rods and shafts are the same as
Fig. 1.
The pistons then require to be made about double weight, and of
course double the expence of steam will be required. In some cases I usc
stuffing boxes for single powers, and adinit steam on both sides of the pistons.
When the engine made in either of the forms (Fig. 1st and 7th) is to be of
large power, I dispense with the fixed axle D, Fig. 1, and make one as repro-
sented by Fig. 9, with four short hollow pipes cast with the shaft, round which
are four flanches, cast together, joining at the four angles; these flanches are
the same size as the flanches of the cylinders, to which they are fastened with
screw bolts, and in the middle of each flanch the pipe or tube comes through
as at v, v. The four pipes communicate with four tubes or ducts running
lengthwise in the shaft, and come out upon the surface of the round at equal
distances, as at x, x.
Fig. 8 is the concentric collar or ring, with its two pipes, one for the
steam and the other for the eduction or the condenser, made to fit air-tight
by grinding it upon the shaft at x, x, which is made tapering in that part
for the purpose.
This method for large engines is superior to the shaft of
Fig. 1, and more easily supported in brasses, quite clear of the steam and
eduction pipes. When the engine is intended to draw coals it is necessary to
turn either way; to effect this more easily I use a valve or shifting aperture in
the steam pipe, so that it shall open on either side of the vertical line at
pleasure, for on whichever side of the centre or vertical line the cylinders begin
to fill with steam that way the wheel must move.
More forms or shapes of my Invention might be given, but these already

page_text: described are so simple, and easily understood by an engine maker or mechanic,
and as varying the mere shape, number, or disposition of the cylinders upon
the wheel do not alter the nature of the construction, I do not wish to give
unnecessary explanations; on this account I have omitted to describe the air-
pump except at Fig. 4, which will, I conceive, sufficiently shew, how it is to be
connected in all cases. I have also deemed it unnecessary to give a particular
description of the boiler and its appendages, conceiving them to be things of an
incidental nature, which every engine maker is acquainted with. Suffice it to
say, I use such boilers, air pumps, and condensers as are common to other
steam engines.
It may be proper to observe, my engine works with or without the air pump;
in small ones it may be dispensed with, but in large powers it becomes
necessary.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, the Fourth
day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred