IMPROVEMENTS IN REGULATING THE SPEED OF STEAM, WATER, OR OTHER MOTIVE-POWER ENGINES, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR
Year: 1871

page_text: 66
LETTERS PATENT to Robert Heddle Leask, Civil Engineer, 21, Eden
Quay, Dublin, Ireland, for the Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN
REGULATING THE SPEED OF STEAM, WATER, OR OTHER MOTIVE-POWER ENGINES,
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Heddle Leask
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 18th January 1871.
I, ROBERT HEDDLE LEASK, 21, Eden Quay, Dublin, Ireland, Civil
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for " IM-
PROVEMENTS IN REGULATING THE SPEED OF STEAM, WATER, OR OTHER MOTIVE-
POWER ENGINES, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES,
AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR," to be as follows:-
'
The said Invention relates to improvements in regulating the speed
of steam, air, gas, or other engines actuated by an elastic fluid by

page_text: automatically varying the amount of expansion in the cylinder, also in
regulating the speed of water wheels and other hydraulic engines by
varying the amount of supply, as herein-after described.
For the purpose of regulating the speed of steam engines I employ a
governor of any well-known form to vary the amount of "throw" or
travel of the slide valve of the steam cylinder by the intervention of an
auxilliary motive power so as to enable it to effect that object without
undue strain upon its centrifugal force. This power is obtained by
attaching a small cylinder fitted with a piston and actuated by a slide
valve, cock, or any other well-known method connected to the steam
jacket of the large cylinder or directly to the boiler placed in any con-
venient position near to the steam cylinder. The slide valve of the
small cylinder herein-before mentioned is connected to the governor of
the engine in such a manner that when the engine is working at its
normal speed this valve is closed and consequently the piston is at rest.
Should, however, the engine vary in its speed and thereby cause an
alteration in the position of the balls of the governor, this slide valve
will through the aforesaid connection be moved, thus admitting the
impelling fluid, which may be either condensed water or steam to the
top or bottom of the cylinder, and thereby cause the piston to move
towards the bottom or the top thereof. The piston rod of this small
cylinder is connected either directly or through the intervention of
hydraulic cylinders, to be herein-after described, by suitable rods, links,
or cranks to the expansion gear (which may be either the link motion
or any other well-known description connected to the valve rod of the
steam cylinder, the motion of which is thus caused to vary with the
variation of the position of the piston in the small cylinder.
In order to effect the more perfect working of my Invention I
generally prefer to introduce between the piston rod of the aforesaid
small cylinder and the valve rod connections a hydraulic apparatus,
consisting of a cylinder divided by means of a valve in or near the
middle, and having plungers or rams working through suitable stuffing
boxes at each end, the two rams being, connected to one another by
cross heads and bolts attached to their outer ends or by any other suitable
means. The valve in the centre of the hydraulic cylinder is actuated
by means of suitable connections by the governor simultaneously with
the slide valve of the small cylinder herein-before mentioned, and as it
is closed when the governor is in its normal position or when the engine

page_text: is travelling at its proper speed it keeps the expansion in the steam
cylinder at a fixed rate, until the position of the governor balls vary.
For the purpose of regulating air, gas, or other motive-power engines
driven by an elastic fluid, I use a similar arrangement, to that herein-
before described, except that the motive power for the small cylinder
is obtained by compressed air or other fluid, as may be found most
convenient.
For the purpose of regulating the speed of water wheels and other
hydraulic engines, the aforesaid, small cylinder, which may be worked by
hydraulic pressure, is actuated in a similar manner by the governor, and
is caused to vary the amount of supply by means of suitable connections
to the sluice valves, or other arrangement by means of which the water
is conveyed to the engine part of the arrangements, herein-before
described, may also be used or employed for the purpose of starting,
casing, or stopping a steam or other motive-power engine, that is to say,
cither of the above arrangements, so far as relates to the small actuating
cylinder, the hydraulic cylinder, and the attachments to the slide of the
main steam engine, may be employed without being connected to a
governor, the slide or other valves of such small actuating cylinder and
hydraulic cylinder being worked by hand. By this means sufficient
power, speed, and certainty is obtained for moving the valves of large
engines by the intervention of a small amount of manual labour..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Robert Heddle Leask in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 18th July 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
HEDDLE LEASK, Consulting Engineer, of 21, Eden Quay, Dublin,
Ireland, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Robert Heddle Leask, Her special
licence that I, the said Robert Heddle Leask, my executors, adminis-

page_text: trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Robert Heddle Leask,
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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
REGULATING THE SPEED OF STEAM, WATER, OR OTHER MOTIVE-POWER ENGINES,
PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES, AND APPA-
RATUS THEREFOR," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Robert Heddle Leask, 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 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 Robert Heddle Leask, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement :-
The said Invention relates to improvements in regulating the speed
'of steam, air, gas, or other engines, actuated by an elastic fluid by
automatically varying the amount of expansion in the cylinder, also in
regulating the speed of water wheels and other hydraulic engines by
varying the amount of supply as herein-after described.
For the purpose of regulating the speed of steam engines I employ
a governor of any well-known form to vary the amount of "throw"
or travel of the slide valve of the steam cylinder by the intervention of
an auxilliary motive-power, so as to enable it to effect that object without
undue strain upon its centrifrugal force. This power is obtained by
attaching a small cylinder fitted with a piston and actuated by a slide 3
valve, cock, or any other well-known method, connected to the steam
jacket of the large cylinder or directly to the boiler and placed in any
convenient position near to the steam (cylinder. The slide valve of the
small cylinder herein-before mentioned is connected to the governor of
the engine in such a manner that when the engine is working at its 3
normal speed, this valve is closed and. consequently the piston is at
rest. Should; however, the engine vary in its speed, and thereby cause an
alteration in the position of the balls of the governor, this slide valve will

page_text: through the aforesaid connections be moved, thus admitting the impelling
fluid, which may be either condense water or steam to the top or bottom
of the cylinder, and thereby cause the piston to move towards the bottom
or the top thereof. The piston rod of this small cylinder is connected
cither directly or through the intervention of hydraulic cylinders, to be
herein-after described by suitable rods, links, or cranks to the expansion
gear (which may be either the link motion or any other well-known
[description) connected to the valve rod of the steam cylinder, the
motion of which is thus caused to vary with the variation of the position
of the piston in the small cylinder.
In order to the more perfect working of my Invention I generally
[prefer to introduce between the piston rod of the aforesaid small
cylinder and the valve rod connections a hydraulic' apparatus consisting
of a cylinder divided by means of a valve in or near the middle, and
having plungers or rams working through the suitable stuffing boxes at
cach end, the two rams being connected to one another by cross heads
and bolts attached to their outer ends or by any other suitable means.
The valve in the centre of the hydraulic cylinder is actuated by means
of suitable connections by the governor, simultaneously with the slide
valve of the small cylinder herein-before mentioned, and as it is closed
when the governor is in its normal position or when the engine is
travelling at its proper speed, it keeps the expansion in the steam
cylinder at a fixed rate until the position of the governor balls vary.
For the purpose of regulating air, gas, or other motive-power engines
driven by an elastic fluid, I use a similar arrangement to that lierein-
before described, except that the motive-power for the small cylinder
is obtained by compressed air or other fluid as may be found most
convenient.
For the purpose of regulating the speed of water wheels and other
hydraulic engines, the aforesaid small cylinder which may be worked
by hydraulic pressure is actuated in a similar manner by the governor,
and is caused to vary the amount. of supply by means of suitable con-
nections to the sluice valve or other arrangement by means of which
the water is conveyed to the engine...
Part of the arrangements herein-before described may also be used
or employed for the purpose of starting, easing, or stopping a steam or
other motive power engine, that is to say, either of the above arrange-
ments, so far as relates to the small actuating cylinder, the hydraulic

page_text: cylinder and the attachments to the slide of the main steam engine,
may be employed without being connected to a governor, the slide or
other valves of such small actuating cylinder and hydraulic cylinder
being worked by hand. By this means sufficient power, speed, and
certainty is obtained for moving the valves of large engines by the inter-
vention of a small amount of manual labor.
In order to give a fuller understanding of the said Invention I will
now proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings hereunto
annexed and forming part of this Specification by means of the letters
and figures of reference marked thereon.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the arrangement suitable for
a horizontal engine; Figure 2 is a plan of the same; Figure 3 being a
sectional view at A, B; Figure 4 a section at C, D; and Figure 5 a
section at E, F, as shown by the lines A, B, C, D, E, F, respectively
on Figures 1 and 2; H is the auxilliary or actuating cylinder supplied
by steam or condense water under the pressure of the steam from the
steam jacket or valve casing of the main cylinder or from the boiler
direct. I, I, are the two hydraulic rams connected to one another and
actuating the main valve motion through the rod i, which is in com-
munication with the valve gear of the engine; J is an adjustable air
vessel actuated by means of the screw j for the purpose of regulating
the internal pressure so as to keep the packing of the rams tight; M is
an adjustable valve which permits communication between the two
hydraulic chambers containing the rams I, I, and is regulated by means
of a screw worked by the hand wheel m; L is the slide valve of the
auxilliary cylinder which is here shewn in the form of a piston valve,
but may be made similar to a common slide valve of any well-known
form; N, N, are crossheads connected together by means of suitable
rods O, O, and attached to the rams I, I, respectively. Thus the
rams I, I, the connecting rods O, O, and the crossheads N, N, move
simultaneously and impart a similar movement to the rod i, which
actuates the valve gear of the main engine. The valve L is moved by
the rod Q attached to a governor which may be of any well-known
description through the intervention of the cranked lever q, one arm of
which is attached to the valve rod 7, while the other arm is slotted out to
admit of any variation that may be necessary for the motion of the rod Q.
The hydraulic slide valve K is also connected by means of the rod k
to the same crank lever q which is connected to the steam slide valve L,
,

page_text: consequently when this steam slide valve is moved so as to admit.steam
into the auxilliary cylinder the hydraulic slide valve K is also moved so
as to allow a communication between the two hydraulic rams. When,
however, the steam slide valve L is over the ports of the auxilliary
cylinder the communication between the rams is also closed, and they
therefore become immoveable holding the main valve gear in the
required position.
°
In Figures 6. to 11, inclusive, is shewn a modification of the before
mentioned arrangement suitable for an upright engine. As the letters
upon the various parts of the arrangement correspond with those upon
the arrangement just described, a detailed description is unnecessary.
In this case, however, a starting handle R is shewn connected to the
rod Qattached to the governor. This is for the purpose of working the
valves of large engines with a small amount of manual labor, thus
when the engine is at rest and it is wished to start it the rod Qis
disengaged and the starting handle R is used for the purpose of moving
the valve of the auxilliary engine H which immediately actuates the
valves of the main steam engine in a manner similar to that already
described in the former arrangement.
In Figure 12 is shewn a modification of the arrangement illustrated
in Figure 1, the difference consisting in carrying the hydraulic valve
rod K through a stuffing box at the opposite end of the valve casing.
By this means no variation in the displacement of the fluid occurs by
the motion of the valve rod K, and consequently the pressure is not
interfered with.
In order more fully to illustrate the working of the aforesaid apparatus
I give in Figure 13 an outline elevation of a horizontal engine of the
usual description with a sectional view of my improved arrangement
fitted to it; Figure 14 being a plan of the same. It will here be seen
that the rod Q is attached to the governor S, by means of suitable cranks
and levers so that the motion of the governor balls imparts a. corre-
sponding motion to the rod Q, which in its turn actuates one end of the
crank lever q, the other end of which is connected to the valve L
of the auxilliary cylinder H. Thus the strain upon the governor is
reduced to only so much as is required for working the valve of the
auxilliary cylinder, the main valve or valves being actuated by the power
thus obtained from the auxilliary cylinder and afterwards held in the

page_text: required position through 'the intervention of the hydraulic rams I, I, as
herein-before described.
Having now described my Invention and the manner in which I prefer
to put the same into practice, and having in the Sheet of Drawings
hereunto annexed illustrated such parts or portions thereof as I consider 5
requisite and necessary for the purpose of making more clear some
portions of the textual description herein-before given, I wish it to be
understood that what I claim is,-
First. Connecting the governor of an engine to the slide valve of an
auxilliary cylinder the piston rod of which is connected to the valve gear
of the main engine through the intervention of a pair of hydraulic rams
in the manner herein before described and as illustrated in the accom-.
panying Sheet of Drawings.
Second. The mode or method of starting or stopping the main engine
by a similar apparatus when the governor is disconnected or when a 1
governor is not used as herein-before described and illustrated in the
accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
Third. The arrangement of passages for water or oil or other practically
inelastic fluid and method of regulating the pressure in the same as
herein-before stated..
Fourth. The mode or method of regulating the speed of water wheels
or other hydraulic engines by employing the pressure of water by means
of the governor for actuating the auxilliary cylinder in conjunction with.
the hydraulic cylinders.
Fifth. The combination of a steam cylinder and hydraulic apparatus :
for the purpose of working and regulating the valves of engines as
herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Heddle Leask, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of July, in the.
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.