CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Irlam Ellis, of the Vulcan Foundry, near
Warrington, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Irlam Ellis at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th May 1857.
I, WILLIAM IRLAM ELLIS, of the Vulcan Foundry, near Warrington, in the
County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES," to be as follows:-
My improvements in steam engines consist in the introduction of ports in
the slide valve, whereby the emission of the steam is regulated, which ports
are placed inside the valve, and they are furnished with apparatus for opening
and closing them.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Irlam Ellis in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 26th November 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
15 IRLAM ELLIS, of the Vulcan Foundry, near Warrington, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Irlam Ellis, Her special licence that I, the said
William Irlam Ellis, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Irlam Ellis, 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Irlam Ellis, 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 Inven-
tion, 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 William Irlam Ellis, 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 (that is to say):-
My said Invention of certain improvements in steam engines consists in the
application or introduction of additional ports and valves placed within slide
valves of the usual construction, the said additional ports being opened and
closed for controlling or regulating the exhaust by the steam acting on the
additional valves; or these valves may be furnished with apparatus for opening
and closing them.
And in order that my Invention may be more fully understood, and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me,
reference being had to the accompanying Drawing, and to the figures and
letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 represents a plan in section of a slide valve to which my im-
provements are applied; Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the same;
and Figure 3 is a transverse section of the same, with part of the cylinder to
which the valve is applied. a is the slide valve, the external construction
of which is very similar to that of the valves now in use; the interior of
the valve a is furnished with two partitions b, b, through which are made
the ports c, c; these ports are covered alternately by the valves d and e,

page_text: which are united by rods f, f, passing through bosses connecting the parti-
tions b, b. In Figure 3, 9 and h are the steam ports, and i is the exhaust
port. The mode of operation is as follows:-In Figure 3, the valve e is
shewn closed, and the valve d is open; the exhaust steam is now supposed
to be escaping from the cylinder through the port g into the exhaust port i,
as indicated by the arrows; the valves are held in the positions shewn by the
steam acting on the valve e while entering the port h. As soon as the end
of the valve marked a' arrives beyond the edge of the port g, the steam acts
on the valve d and closes it, at the same time opening the valve e, to form
the communication for the exhaust steam between the ports h and i.
Figure 4 represents a modification of my Invention, in which the ports c, c,
are stationary; the valves d and e acting as before described, and the sliding
part k admitting the steam through the box l.
I wish to remark here that the valves d and may be opened and closed
by suitable tappets, levers, or other means, instead of by the action of the
steam when entering the cylinder at the commencement of the stroke.
By the use of my Invention the exhaust of the steam can be controlled and
regulated with facility; the escape of the exhausted steam is also considerably
assisted, thus considerably economizing steam, and increasing the efficiency of
the engine.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described a manner of
performing the same, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not limit
myself to the details set forth; but that what I do claim is the controlling the
exhaust steam of steam-engine cylinders by the application or introduction of
additional ports with valves in the slide valve.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Irlam Ellis, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
W. I. ELLIS. (L.8.)