Year: 1896

page_text: WILLIAM DEEBLE FERGUSON Albert Villa Ravenhill Road Belfast Consulting
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My improvements are in connection with valve gears or motions used to actuate
the steam or admission valves of steam engines or the like, where a variable
expansion is required.
My improved gear is most applicable to the working of "Corlis's Valves" &
consists of a spring for closing valve when released, a dashpot & piston to arrest
the motion gently, connected directly by a trunk & rod to a lever keyed on Corlis's
Valve spindle. This trunk has a projection on it outside a dashpot & in this
projection is formed a slot or recess, in which slides a hardened steel catchpiece,
this catchpiece being arranged to drop into a recess in a reciprocating sliding bar,
which is provided with a corresponding steel catch plate. Mounted on the pro-
jection on trunk is a tripping device, consisting of two L levers, the short arms
of which engage with the catch piece, the longer arms being either anchored, or
held in position by a governor & so that on sliding bar being moved the steel catch
pieces come together, the trunk being thereby drawn out of dashpot & the spring
compressed & valve opened, until such a point is reached when the motion thus
given to L levers, causes the steel catch pieces to be withdrawn from contact with
each other, when immediately the spring draws back trunk into dashpot & closes
the valve.
My arrangement or combination of parts permits of the valves being opened
very directly & at same time supplies a gear that can be adapted to very short
stroke engines without unduly reducing length of spring or diminishing the size
of the component parts & thereby increasing the durability of the gear.
Dated this 17th day of October 1896.
WILLIAM DEEBLE FERGUSON.
WILLIAM DEEBLE FERGUSON Albert Villa Ravenhill Road Belfast Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My improvements are in connection with valve gears or motions used to actuate

page_text: the steam or admission valves of steam engines or the like, where a variable
expansion is required.
My improvements are most applicable to the working of "Corlis's" valges &
consists of a spring A for closing valve when released a dashpot B & piston C to
arrest the motion quietly connected directly by a trunk D & rod E to a lever F
on the Corlis's valve spindle G. The trunk D has a projection H formed on it
outside of dashpot B & in this projection is formed a slot or recess J in which
slides a hardened steel catch piece K. This catch piece being arranged to drop
into a recess L in a reciprocating sliding bar M which is provided with a corre-
sponding steel Catchplate N. Mounted on the projection on trunk is a tripping
device consisting of two L levers the shorter arms of which engage with the
catch piece & the longer arms being either anchored or held in position
by a governor, & so that on sliding bar M being moved the steel
catch piece K comes against the catch plate N the trunk. D being
thereby drawn out of dashpot & the spring A compressed until such a point
is reached when the motion thus given to L levers 0 causes steel catches K & N
to be drawn out of contact with each other when immediately the spring A draws
back trunk D into dashpot B & closes the valve.
My arrangement or combination of parts permits of the valve being opened
very directly & at same time supplies a gear that can be adapted to very short
stroke engines without unduly reducing the length of springs A or diminishing
the size of the component parts, thus materially increasing the durability of the
valve-gear. A projection P is formed on sliding bar M for the purpose of closing
valve on return stroke of sliding bar, should valve have been prevented from
closing either through breaking of spring A or by sticking of the working parts.
Inlet and outlet air holes R S are provided in dashpot the outlet being a short
distance from end & regulated by screw valve T.
Having now particularly described & ascertained the nature of my said invention,
& in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:-
The combination of parts forming the complete valve gear substantially as set
forth & indicated hereinbefore & in the accompanying drawing.
Dated this 14th day of July 1897.
WILLIAM DEEBLE FERGUSON.