IMPROVEMENTS IN COMPOUND MARINE AND OTHER ENGINES
Year: 1885

page_text: ашутотощение щ отрошни матще QR STRUT BRANDS
I, WILLIAM BRUCE THOMPSON of the Tay Foundry, Dundee, in the County of
Forfar, North Britain, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of the said invention
for IMPROVEMENTS IN COMPOUND MARINE AND OTHER ENGINES to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in compound marine and other engines
and is more especially applicable to triple or quadruple compound engines.
In accordance with these improvements the valves are arranged in front of the
cylinders and operated by one eccentric to each valve.
The slide valves may be of the common type or of the equilibrium or piston type
and the reversing operation is effected by moving the shaft upon which the
eccentrics are keyed by means of a hand-wheel fixed upon the end of the shaft at
the side of the engine or by the mechanical equivalent thereof. The shaft
carrying the eccentrics is geared to the crank shaft by spur gearing, or connecting
rods, at the ends of the shafts, the two shafts being thrown into and out of gear as
required by a clutch upon one of the shafts, the said clutch being operated by the
hand-wheel keyed upon the eccentric or valve shaft or equivalently operated.
In lieu of gearing the eccentric valve shaft to the crank shaft as hereinbefore
described the said shaft need not be geared therewith but a rope pulley or other
suitable pulley carried upon the end of the eccentric or valve shaft may be used to
operate the said shaft from a donkey engine or other motor, so that according as
the engines run fast or slow the donkey engine or its equivalent is caused to
operate at corresponding speeds, the effect of this arrangement being such as to
effectually govern the engines and prevent racing.
The improvements are applicable to engines having three four or more cylinders
arranged side by side, each cylinder having its own crank and valve arrangement
operated by a single eccentric as before described so that the steam may be worked
three, four, or more times over after leaving the boiler.
The said improvements in marine and other engines further relate to the
construction of the bearings for the crank shaft and other shafts the improvements
being more especially applicable to the main bearings of engines or those bearings
liable to the greatest wear and tear.
The improvements consist in dispensing with the ordinary bush and in lieu
thereof pouring white metal into the recess formed in the sole plate for receiving
the crank shaft the bearing being made to the size of the shaft.
007
J. H. JOHNSON, DAY & JOHNSON,
Applicant's Agents.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION..
Improvements in Compound Marine and other Engines.
I; WILLIAM BRUCE THOMPSON of the Tay Foundry, Dundee, in the County of
Forfar, North Britain, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN COMPOUND MARINE AND OTHER ENGINES and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
My Invention relates to improvements in compound marine and other engines
and is more especially applicable to triple or quadruple compound engines.
In accordance with these improvements the valves are arranged in front of the
cylinders and operated by one eccentric to each valve.
The slide valves may be of the common type or of the equilibrium or piston
type and the reversing operation is effected by moving the shaft upon which the
eccentrics are keyed by means of a hand wheel fixed upon the end of the shaft
at the side of the engine or by the mechanical equivalent thereof. The shaft
carrying the eccentrics is geared to the crank shaft by spur gearing, or connecting
rods at the ends of the shafts, the two shafts being thrown into and out of gear as
required, by a clutch upon one of the shafts, the said clutch being operated by the
hand-wheel keyed upon the eccentric or valve shaft or equivalently operated.
In lieu of gearing the eccentric valve shaft to the crank shaft as hereinbefore
described, the said shaft need not be geared therewith, but a rope pulley or other
suitable pulley or the equivalent thereof such as a toothed gear wheel carried upon
the eccentric or valve shaft may be used. to operate the said shaft from a donkey
engine or other motor, so that according as the donkey engine runs fast or slow
the engines proper are caused to operate at corresponding speeds, the effect of this
arrangement being such as to effectually govern the engines and prevent racing.
The improvements are applicable to engines having three, four or more cylinders
arranged side by side, each oylinder having its own crank and valve arrangement
operated by a single eccentric as before described so that the steam may be worked
three, four or more times over after leaving the boiler.
The said improvements in marine. and other engines further relate to the
construction of the bearings for the crank shaft and other shafts, the improvements
being more especially applicable to the main bearings of engines, or those bearings
liable to the greatest wear and tear.
The improvements consist in dispensing with the ordinary bush, and in lieu
thereof pouring white metal into the recess formed in the sole plate for receiving
the crank shaft, the bearings being made to the size of the shaft.
In order that my Invention may be properly understood and readily carried
into effect, I will now proceed to describe the drawings hereunto annexed.
Figure 1, is a front elevation of a triple expansion compound marine engine con-
structed according to my present Invention, a portion of the same being represented
in vertical section.

page_text: Figure 2, is a view of the same partly in side elevation and partly in transverse
section.
Figures 3 and 4 are respectively a side elevation and a view partly in front
elevation and partly in vertical section of a detached portion of the same as
constructed according to a modification of my present Invention.
Under my present Invention I arrange the slide valves of the engines to be
operated each by one eccentric secured upon a shaft independent of the driving
shaft of the engine. These slide valves may be of the ordinary D-shape or of
piston or analogous type or they may be of the equilibrium type described and
shown in the Specification and Drawings filed in pursuance of Letters Patent
granted to me the said William Bruce Thompson Numbered 5382 A.D. 1883. In
the marine engine represented upon the annexed drawings and to which I have
shewn my present Invention applied, the shaft a, on which the eccentrics b, are
secured, is supported and free to rotate in bearings formed in or secured to the
standards or columns c, d, and e. To the upper part of the short column d, there
is secured the standard f, which supports the guard rail g, at or about its centre,
the said rail, at its ends being secured to and supported by the standards c, and e.
The shaft a, as shewn more particularly at Figure 1, of the annexed drawings has
the checked or notched collar h, rigidly secured upon it, and the said shaft a, is
bored out at one end to receive the shaft i, which is free to slide longitudinally
therein. At its outer end, the shaft i, is formed with a hole passing diametrically
through it, and in this hole the pin j, (represented in dotted lines at Figure 1) is so
secured and is of such length that its ends project out from the diametrically
opposite sides of the shaft i, through longitudinal slots formed in each side of the,
at that part, tubular shaft a, and into the helical grooves pl, which, as indicated
in dotted lines at Figure 1, are formed in the interior of the elongated boss k.
The inner end of the boss k, is checked or notched to engage with the outer or
checked face of the before mentioned collar h, but in such manner that the said
collar h, and consequently the shaft a, are capable of being rotated independently
of the boss k, to an extent sufficient only to alter the position of the eccentrics
relatively with the engine to enable the motion of such engine to be reversed.
The boss k, is prevented from moving longitudinally upon the shaft a, by the
washer 7, which is secured in position by the nut m, screwed upon the end of the
said shaft a, and prevented from turning thereon by a pin as shewn, or the equi-
valent thereof. Upon the boss k, the toothed wheel n, is free to rotate, but is
secured against longitudinal motion thereon, by the collar o, which is rigidly secured
to or upon the said boss k, and by the before mentioned washer l. The toothed
wheel n, is geared with the toothed wheel p, which is keyed or otherwise rigidly
secured to the screw or main driving shaft q, of the engine, and the boss of the
toothed wheel n, at its inner side, is formed with a clutch face which is capable of
being engaged with by the outer face of the sliding clutch q'. This sliding
clutch q, is secured against rotation upon the elongated boss k, by "feathers ог
their equivalents which, however, allow the said clutch q³, to be moved longitu-
dinally thereon in the ordinary well-known manner, so as to be engaged with or
disengaged from the hereinbefore mentioned clutch face formed on the boss of the
toothed wheel n. The recesses and projections of the last described clutch are
relatively so arranged that they can be engaged with each other in one position
only, auch position being that which the slide valves of the engine must necessarily
bear relatively towards the position of the pistons thereof. The sliding clutch q³,
may be operated by any of the well-known means; the arrangement represented
upon the annexed drawing for effecting this, consists of the hand lever r, the lower
end of which is pivoted to the stationary bracket 8. This lever is provided with
the stud t, which projects into the annular groove formed in the sliding clutch q³,
and the said lever r, is also provided with the screwed bolt u, which projects into
and through the curved slot v, formed in the stationary bracket w, and against
which, the said lever r, may be secured at either end of its range of motion by
"

page_text: means of a pinching nut on the bolt u, or the equivalent thereof. At or near the
inner end of the solid shaft i, a hole is formed diametrically therethrough to receive
the pin x, which is of length sufficient to extend at each side out through longi-
tudinal slots formed in the shaft a, (along which slots the said pin x, is free to slide)
and through the cylindrical collar y, in which the said pin is rigidly secured in any
desired manner. Around the last mentioned collar y, which at Figure 1, of the
annexed drawings is represented in section, there is formed the rack z, which
engages with the teeth of the pinion a¹, and the annular or circular form of which
permits it to rotate without disengaging itself from the said pinion a¹. This
pinion a¹, is secured upon the vertical shaft b', which is supported in the bracket c¹,
and which is provided at its upper end with the hand wheel d¹.
Upon the solid end of the shaft a, that is to say, upon the end thereof opposite
to that at which the gear wheel n, is provided, there is carried the toothed wheel e¹,
which is free to rotate upon such shaft. The outer end of the boss of this toothed
wheel e¹, is formed with a clutch face with which the sliding clutch collar f¹, is
capable of being engaged. This collar f¹, in the ordinary well-known manner,
is mounted and free to slide longitudinally along "feathers" secured in or to the
shaft a, and the said collar is capable of being secured temporarily either in an
engaged or disengaged position by means of a binding screw or the equivalent
thereof. The sliding clutch collar f¹, as shewn at Figure 1, is designed to be
operated directly by hand, but it is to be understood, that the said collar may be
operated by levers either independent of, or arranged to work in conjunction with
the herein before mentioned hand lever r. The toothed wheel e¹, is geared with the
pinion g¹, which is secured upon the driving shaft h¹, of the auxiliary or governing
engine A, to the eccentric 2, of which the hand wheel ¹, is secured. The keyway
for driving the eccentric ¹, by the key or its equivalent, secured in the shaft h¹, is,
in a manner now well-known, constructed of such width as admits of the said
eccentric being shifted upon the shaft h¹, so as to reverse the motion of the
engine A, the driving of the eccentric ¹, in either direction being effected by either
end or side of the before mentioned keyway abutting against the one or other side
of the key.
In place of employing the auxiliary or governing engine hereinlast described and
the motion of which engine itself requires to be reversed in order to reverse the
engines proper, I may employ an auxiliary or governing engine which operates in
one direction only, and so connected as to cause the engines proper to be driven
in either direction as may be desired. There are obviously many ways in which
this can be effected, but I prefer one arrangement in which the said auxiliary or
governing engine is secured upon the sole or bed plate k¹, at the front of the
engines proper. Upon the driving shaft of such a governing engine a bevil toothed
wheel is secured, the said bevil wheel at diametrically opposite sides thereof gearing
with two other bevil toothed wheels which are free to rotate upon the shaft a.
Between these two bevil wheels a double-ended sliding clutch is mounted on
"feathers" secured in the shaft a, and the said clutch may be so operated as to
cause it to engage with one or other of the clutch faces which are formed on the
inner sides of the last mentioned bevil wheels. By this arrangement it will be
seen that if the sliding clutch is engaged with one of the two bevil wheels on the
shaft a, the said shaft is rotated in one direction, and if engaged with the other of
such bevil wheels, the said shaft is rotated in the reverse direction, though the
operation of the auxiliary or governing engine remains unaltered through such
change of motion..
In place of connecting the shaft a, with the screw or main driving shaft q, by
means of the gear wheels n, and p, that is to say, in the manner herein before
explained, these wheels may be dispensed with, and as a substitute there may be
provided at those ends of the said shafts to which the auxiliary engine A is shewn
connected at Figure 1, the arrangement of double connecting rods which is repre-
sented at Figures 3 and 4 of the annexed drawings. Under this arrangement, the

page_text: connecting rods, and m³, are so pivoted upon crank pins formed in part with, or
secured upon the crank discs n¹, and o¹, as to maintain the said connecting rods 11,
and m', always in their necessary parallel position. At the back of the crank
disc n', which rotates loosely upon the shaft a, there is provided the clutch device
shewn more particularly at Figure 4, to enable the said disc n¹, to be engaged with
or disengaged from the shaft a, substantially in a manner similar to that herein-
before set forth with reference to, and as a substitute for the clutch q³, Figure 1.
A further feature of improvement embodied under my present Invention consists
in dispensing with the ordinary fitted metallic bushes as hitherto employed in the
bearings of motive power engines generally, but more especially my Invention
applies to the crank-shaft bearings of marine and other engines, which bearings
I construct with white metal. This white metal is secured in the bearings by
engaging with longitudinal grooves only, or longitudinal and cross or transverse
grooves which are formed in the surface of the bearings provided in the cast iron
sole plate, it being preferred that the white metal is poured only up to the level of
the surface of the projections formed by, and between the before mentioned grooves.
By this arrangement, when the white metal bearing surfaces become worn, the
crank or other shafts of the engines are still supported in their proper relative
positions by the bearing surfaces presented by the last mentioned projections.
The slide valve operating parts of the marine engine as represented at Figures 1
and 2 of the annexed drawings are in an inoperative condition, that is to say,
when the engines proper are at rest. To start the engines proper, the clutch
collar f¹, is preferably disengaged from the clutch face formed on the boss of the
wheel e¹, which thereby leaves the shaft a, free to rotate independently of the said
wheel el. The clutch q³, is then moved outwards to engage with the clutch face
formed on the boss of the toothed wheel n. The hand-wheel d, is then rotated
and the pin j, (Figure 1) being thereby drawn along the helical grooves p¹, in the
then relatively-stationary boss k, the said pin and consequently the shaft a, and
the eccentrics b, are moved rotatively in one direction or another according to the
direction in which it is desired the engines proper shall operate. When steam has
been admitted through the valve q¹, to the engines proper, and the said engines are
fairly under way, the clutch q³, is disengaged from the clutch face formed on the
toothed wheel n, and the clutch f¹, is engaged with the clutch face formed on the
wheel e¹, and steam then being admitted to the auxiliary or governing engine A,
the slide valves of the engines proper continue to be regularly operated by such
governing engine A, irrespective of the irregularity of the load or strain which
may be upon the screw or main driving shaft q, that is to say, such irregularities
of load as are, among other causes, attributable to the, at one time whole, and at
another time, part immersion of the screw propeller. The engines proper and the
governing engine A, are thus caused to operate relatively so that the shaft a,
rotates once to each rotation of the screw or main driving shaft 9, and it may be
here explained that by means of the governing engine A, as shewn with a single
cylinder, but preferably by a governing engine having two cylinders, the engines
proper may be started, stopped or driven in either direction; for, in starting,
should the said governing engine operate the slide valves of the engines proper at
a greater rate than that at which they are capable of rotating, the said engines are
merely checked at half-stroke in which condition they wait until the rate of
operation of the said slide valves coincides with the rate at which the engines
proper are capable of rotating.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my Inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
First. The improvements in marine and other engines consisting of the general
arrangement and combination of parts whereby the starting, stopping, reversing
and controlling or governing of such engines is effected all substantiall
OD and

page_text: operating in the manner hereinbefore set forth with reference to the annexed
drawings or the mechanical equivalents of all or any of the parts thereof.
Second. The improvements in marine and other engines consisting of the
bearings thereof constructed of white metal poured into the recesses formed in the
cast iron sole plates or analogous parts of such engines all substantially as and for
the purposes herein before set forth.