IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE SUPPLY OF STEAM TO THE WORKING CYLINDERS OF STEAM ENGINES.
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for
Patents, 66, Chancery Lanc, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR REGULATING
THE SUPPLY OF STEAM TO THE WORKING CYLINDERS OF STEAM ENGINES.".
A communication from abroad by Charles Nolet, of Ghent, in the
Kingdom of Belgium.
-
Sealed the 7th October 1871, and dated the 19th April 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 19th April 1871.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare-
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR REGULATING
THE SUPPLY OF STEAM TO THE WORKING CYLINDERS OF STEAM ENGINES," to be
as follows:
The introduction of steam into the cylinder of the engine is regulated
directly by the governor according to the power and speed it is required
to produce.

page_text: By the present improvements the throttle valve is dispensed with,
and therefore the full boiler pressure of the steam will be allowed to act
on the piston throughout the whole time of its admission. To this end
the stem of the induction valve is connected to a horizontal arm fixed
on a sleeve shaft, through which passes a weighted vertical rod, in the
side of which is cut out a long notch to receive the end of a bolt which
passes through a hole in the sleeve shaft and is kept constantly pressed
forward by a spring. The weighted vertical rod is capable of inde-
pendent vertical movement inside the sleeve shaft by means of a cam
which rotates at the samo speed as the main shaft. The ordinary ball
governor is connected to and acts on a lever, the end of which is con-
nected by an adjustable rod or link to one arm of a bell-crank lever,
so that as the balls of the governor expand or collapse in accordance
with the varying speed of the engine they will act on the bell-crank
lever and cause it to rock on its centre so that its lower arm will vibrato
in front of or above a rocking arm extending from the sleeve shaft
which works the induction valve. The exact point of cut-off will
depend upon the position of the bell-crank lever when it comes in
contact with the rocking arm, which in its turn acts on the bolt which
passes through the sleeve shaft and enters a notch in the vertical
weighted rod, and therefore regulates the time during which the sleeve
shaft and its internal rod are made to act together, and thus control
the action of the induction valve.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent 2
Office on the 19th October 1871.
S
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lanc, in
the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her 3
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-fourthi
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special licence
that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, 3

page_text: and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Edward Newton,
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, excrcise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE SUPPLY OF STEAM TO THE WORKING
CYLINDERS OF STEAM ENGINES," being a communication to me from abroad
by Charles Nolet, of Ghent, in the Kingdom of Belgium, upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 Scal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward 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 here-
unto annexed and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say):
The introduction of steam into the cylinders of steam engines is
regulated directly by the governor according to the power and speed
it is required to produce.
By the present improvements the ordinary throttle valve is dispensed
with, and therefore the full boiler pressure of the steam will be allowed
to act on the piston throughout the whole time of its admission into the
cylinder. To this end the stem of the induction valve is connected to a
horizontal arm fixed on a sleeve shaft, through which passes a weighted
vertical rod, in the side of which is cut out a long notch to receive the
end of a bolt which passes through a hole in the sleeve shaft, and is
kept constantly pressed forward by a spring. The weighted vertical rod
is capable of independent vertical movement inside the sleeve shaft by
means of a cam which rotates at the same speed as the main shaft.
The ordinary ball governor, or any other construction of governor, is
connected to and acts on a lever, the end of which is connected by an
adjustable rod or link to one arm of a bell-crank lever, so that as the

page_text: balls of the governor expand or collapse in accordance with the varying
speed of the engine they will act on the bell-crank lever and cause it
to rock on its centre, so that its lower arm will vibrate in front of or
above an arm extending from the sleeve shaft which works the induction
valve. The exact point of cut-off will depend upon the position of the
bell-crank lever when it comes in contact with the rocking arm, which
in its turn acts on the bolt, which passes through the sleeve shaft and
enters a notch in the vertical weighted rod, and therefore regulates
the time during which the sleeve shaft and its internal rod are made
to act together, and thus control the action of the induction valve.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 represents an elevation of the
apparatus complete adapted to an ordinary horizontal cylinder, into
which the steam is introduced through an equilibrium valve and the
discharge of the steam is effected through slide valves placed below
the cylinder; Fig. 2 is a plan view and Fig. 3 a sectional view of part
of the mechanism drawn upon an enlarged scale.
This bolt slides in a
D, D', and is inserted
The bolt F is pressed
In Figures 1 and 2 A is the induction valve, the rod B of which is
connected to the arm C fixed on the sleeve shaft D, D', which is
connected to the inner shaft E by the bolt F.
square socket I which carries the hollow shaft
in a notch or slot I made in the inner shaft E.
against the rod E by the spring K, which acts upon it through the
intervention of the piece L shewn in section in Fig. 2. The inner rod E
receives its motion from the cam M and carries with it the sleeve shaft
D, D', and the valve also.
By the construction and arrangement of the cam M mounted upon
the axle N which makes the same number of revolutions as the engine,
the valve A ascends at the proper moment for the introduction of the
steam into the cylinder, and it remains raised, consequently the steam
would be supplied during the entire motion of the piston until this latter
should be brought back by the weight of the different parts. It is the
governor which regulates and controls the supply of the steam according
to the power and speed it is desired to obtain. The mechanism adapted
to the sleeve shaft D, D', and to the inner shaft E admits of these
two parts having an independant motion at certain times when acted
on by the governor. This independant motion admits of the sleeve
shaft D, D', descending and drawing down the valve A on its scat.
The valve A can thus be instantaneously closed at any part of the

page_text: stroke of the piston, thereby cutting off from the cylinder the excess
steam which would otherwise be introduced. The square socket I
which carries the sleeve shaft D, D¹, is provided with a joint O in which
is mounted the bell-crank lever P, P', one of the arms P' of which is
inserted in a slot in the bolt F while the other arm P acts against the
lever Q while the induction valve A is opened by the rod E which is
actuated by the cam M. The lever P receives a motion which dis-
engages the bolt F from the slot H and the sleeve shaft D, D¹, being
thereby liberated falls by its own weight and carries with it the valve
which is thus closed.
The induction cam is constructed in such a manner that for a short
motion of the shaft N it will communicate to the rod E a rapid motion
which will quickly open the valve to the extent necessary to allow of
a free passage for the steam. When the shaft continues its motion the
valve opens gradually a short distance. The rest of the motion is so
calculated as to cause the bolt F to be disengaged from the hole at
whatever part of the lever P the lever Q comes in contact with the
latter. The shaft N will have rotated a distance as much greater in
proportion (before the bolt becomes disengaged from the hole H) as the
lever Q strikes the lever P further from the joint O. As the shaft N
has the same speed as the main driving shaft of the engine the piston
of the engine will also have moved a distance greater in proportion as
the point of contact of the lever Q is further from the joint O, and the
steam will be introduced for a correspondingly longer time before being
cut off so as to act expansively. The lever Q is mounted upon a
shaft R which is connected by the lever S with the governor. The
Icast impulse or motion which the governor may give to the lever S
will increase or diminish the expansion of the steam in the cylinder by
causing the bolt F to be disengaged more or less quickly from the slot H
without this impulse or motion producing the least effect upon the
position of the governor. The lever P is made of a curved form from
T to U in accordance with the surplus of motion of the cam M in order
to regulate the different degrees of admission of the steam into the
cylinder. T and U are two inclined planes upon which the lever Q
bears in order to disengage the bolt F from the slot H. The part U
acts when the engine has a tendency to increase in speed, the other
point Tacts when the gearing or the strap which gives motion to the
regulator fails to act. This arrangement of cut-off is applicable to all

page_text: kinds of engines, whether they have slide valves, face valves, or circular
valves. When it is applied to slide valves these latter are closed by
springs or by the steam acting upon a small piston with which they are
provided. While the engine is in motion the degreo of expansion of
the steam may be altered or regulated with facility by adjusting the
piece V, which is screwed on the rod W connected to the governor.
This adjustment will alter the position of the lever Q in reference to
the lever P.
Having now described the Invention which has been communicated
to me by my foreign correspondent, as aforesaid, and having explained
the manner of carrying the same into effect, I claim as the Invention
secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid, the construction and
arrangement of parts herein set forth for transmitting motion from
the governor to the stem of the cylinder valve, so that the induction
of the steam may be regulated and governed as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Fourteenth day of October,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
ono.