IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Rye and William Crowther, both of
Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Engineers, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES."
Sealed the 31st October 1854, and dated the 3rd August 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Rye and William
Crowther at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 3rd August 1854.
We, WILLIAM RYE and WILLIAM CROWTHER, both of Oldham, in the
County of Lancaster, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES" to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists in an improved combination of machinery for
regulating the traverse of the expansion or other valves of steam engines
according to the speed of the same. The sliding bush of an ordinary ball or
other governor is connected to a lever, which is jointed to an elbow lever by a
link; one arm of this elbow lever fits in the groove of a bush, which is moveable
on the crank shaft, and to this bush are fixed one or two inclined tappets, for.
giving motion to the expansion or other valve rods. When the engine is
working at its proper velocity, the governor holds the inclined tappets in such
a position that the expansion or other valve rods are moved the requisite space
to admit the regular quantity of steam; but when, owing to the diminished

page_text: velocity of the engine, the governor balls collapse, the sliding bush of the
governor draws the inclined tappet in the direction for increasing the traverso
of the expansion or other valves, thereby admitting more steam to the engine.
The contrary action takes place, if owing to the speed of the engine being too
great, the governor balls expand, thereby reducing the quantity of steam
admitted. The above improvements are applicable to high pressure or
condensing engines.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Rye and William Crowther in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 2nd February 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
RYE and WILLIAM CROWTHER, both of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
William Rye and William Crowther, Her special license that we, the said
William Rye and William Crowther, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said William Rye and William Crowther,
our 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 STEAM ENGINES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said William Rye and
William Crowther, by an instrument in writing under our hands and scals,
or under the hand and seal of either of us, should particularly describo 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 we, the said William Rye and William Crowther,
do hereby declare the nature of our 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 :-

page_text: The nature of our Invention consists in an improved combination of
machinery applicable to steam engines, for regulating the traverse of the
expansion or other valves, by which steam is admitted, according to the speed
of the engine.
Having thus stated the nature of our Invention, we will proceed to describe
the manner of performing the same, reference being had to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of part of a steam engine to which our improve-
ments are applied; Figure 2 is another clevation of part of the same. In these
views, a is the crank shaft; b, the crank; and c, part of the connecting rod;
d is the slide valve rod, worked by the excentric e, fixed to the crank shaft in
the ordinary manner; f is the expansion valve rod, to which motion is given
by the tappets g, fixed on the sliding busb h, loose on the crank shaft, but
connected to it by three keys i; the tappets g are tapered, as seen in Figure 1,1
and the bush h has a groove in it, for the vertical arm of the elbow lever to
tako into. The anti-friction roller j is supported in the ring k, attached to the
rod f, the upper end of which is guided in a suitable bearing, not shown in the
Drawing, or by the side brackets, shewn in dots in Figure 2. The governor m
is driven in the ordinary manner by the bevel wheels n, one of which is fixed to
the crank shaft and the other to the governor shaft o. The lever p takes into
the sliding bush of the governor. This lever is fixed to the shaft g, to which is
also fixed the lever 7. This lever is connected to the horizontal arm of the
elbow lever by the links; consequently, when the balls of the governor
expand or collapse, the bush h is slidden in one direction or the other on the
crank shaft. The mode of operation is as follows:-When the engine is work-
ing at its proper velocity, the governor holds the bush h in such a position that
the inclined or tapered tappets g impart the requisite motion to the expansion
valves for admitting the regular quantity of steam; but when, owing to the
diminished velocity of the engine, the governor balls collapse, the sliding bush
of the governor draws down the lever p and raises the lever r, thereby moving
the sliding bush in the direction of the arrow in Figure 1; the tappets 7 are
thus made to increase the traverse of the expansion valves, thereby admitting
more steam to the engine until it regains its regular velocity. If the speed of
the engine should increase, so as to expand the governor balls, the contrary
action takes place in the levers p and r and sliding bush h; consequently, the
tappets g impart less motion to the expansion valves, and the amount of steam
admitted is proportionately reduced. When no expansion valve is used, our

page_text: improved sliding bush and inclined tappets are applied, to vary the traverse of
the slide or other valve for admitting steam to the engine.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, we wish it to be understood that we do not limit
ourselves to the details, as the same may be varied without departing from
the peculiar character of our Invention; but what we claim is, the sliding
bush h, tapered tappets g, and parts in combination therewith, when used in
the manner and for the purposes herein-before described.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Rye and William. Crowther,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this First day of February,
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.