IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS AND FITTINGS CONNECTED WITH STEAM ENGINES AND BOILERS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Farron, of Ashton-under-Lyne, in the County
of Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
AND FITTINGS CONNECTED WITH STEAM ENGINES AND BOILERS."
Sealed the 3rd January 1862, and dated the 11th July 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Farron at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 11th
July 1861.
I, JAMES FARRON, of Ashton-under-Lyne, in the County of Lancaster,.
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS AND FITTINGS CONNECTED WITH STEAM ENGINES AND BOILERS,"
to be as follows:-
These improvements relate, firstly, to the governors of steam engines, and
consist of causing the rising and falling of the arms of the governor, as the
speed of the engine increases or decreases to turn a screw, having upon it a
nut linked to the lever or handle of the throttle valve, or to the lever or tappet
working the slide or tappet valves, so that when the screw is revolved one way
as the speed of the engine increases, or revolved the other way as the speed
diminishes, the nut shall have a to-and-fro motion, and operate by means of
the links upon the throttle valve, so as to efficiently regulate the speed of the
engine, or upon the slide or tappet valves to regulate the working expansively.
Secondly, in an improved mode of lubricating steam engine cylinders, by
placing the tap in a vertical position in the interior of the globe or vessel con-
taining the tallow or lubricating matter, the spindle of the plug passing through

page_text: a stuffing box at the top of the globe. The upper part of the spindle is hollow,
having at the top part a thumbscrew for keeping in the pressure of the steam
in the globe, and allowing it to force down the tallow into the cylinder where
the tap is opened. The thumbscrew is removed when a fresh supply is required
to be passed through the hollow part of the spindle into the globe. The tube
communicating with the tap and the interior of the cylinder is closed at the
bottom part, but at the side there are a number of holes or jets, in order to
spread out the lubricating matter when it enters the cylinder.
Thirdly, in an improved mode of lubricating the piston rods of steam
engines. Instead of allowing the tallow to be kept in a liquid state, by
admitting steam to it, and thereby sending along with the tallow a considerable
quantity of water, I heat the tallow by means of a small chamber or vessel
placed within the tallow cup, the interior of the said chamber being constantly
filled with steam, which passes through a tube communicating with it and the
interior of the cylinder or other steam chamber. The tallow cup is placed at
a short distance from the piston rod, and conveys the liquid tallow to it
through a spout or tube.
Fourthly, to water guages of steam boilers. Instead of placing the taps of
the guages in the passages or thoroughfares leading from the interior of the
boiler to the glass tube, I place them central, or in line with the tube itself,
and form the apertures in the plugs from the side to the bottom. The shells.
containing the plugs or taps are provided with packing boxes, in which the
ends of the tube are placed, and kept tight in the usual manner; but the
centre of the handle on each plug is central with the tube, and the handle
extends outwards at right angles to it. This arrangement allows in each tap
a larger aperture into the boiler with the same quantity of metal than any
guage now in use, and thereby prevents the taps from being set fast by
exposure to the sediment in the water, and the action of the water or steam is
in the inside of the tap, so that the facing is not exposed to any. corroding
influences.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Farron in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 10th
January 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
FARRON, of Ashton-under-Lyne, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, sends
greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs, and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said James Farron, Her special licence that I, the said James Farron, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Farron, 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 APPARATUS AND
FITTINGS CONNECTED WITH STEAM ENGINES AND BOILERS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said James Farron, my executors or adminis-
trators, 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 James Farron, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per->
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following.
statement (that is to say):
This Invention consists, firstly, in improved modes of operating upon the.
throttle valve, for the purpose of efficiently regulating the speed of the engine,
and also for working the slide or tappet valves of the expansion apparatus for..
regulating the working expansively.
Secondly, in an improved mode of lubricating steam engine cylinders.
And, thirdly, in an improved water gauge for steam boilers.
These improvements will be clearly understood by referring to the figures
and letters on the accompanying three Sheets of Drawings, in which Fig. 1 is
an elevation of a governor of a steam engine, having connected to it one
arrangement of my improved apparatus, for the purpose of operating efficiently
upon the throttle valve, or upon the slide or tappet valve of the expansion.
apparatus; and Fig. 2, a transverse elevation of part of the same; Fig. 3, an
elevation of a governor having another arrangement for operating upon the
valves; Fig. 4, a vertical section of my improved lubricator for steam engine.
cylinders; Fig. 5, a vertical section of my improved water gauge for steam:
boilers; and Fig. 6, a front elevation of the same.
In Fig. 1, the spindle a, to which the governor is connected is tubular.; it

page_text: 9,
lias upon it the ordinary sliding boss b, having in the middle the pin or key c,
to which is connected the top of the rod d in the interior of the spindle.. The
bottom of the rod d, also shewn in Fig. 2, is attached to a finger or cross
piece e, passing through slots in the spindle, and also through slots f in the
block g, at the top and bottom of which are two bevil wheels h, i, gearing
into another bevil wheel k fixed to the spindle 1, having upon it the thread or
screw m carrying the nut n. The bevil wheels h, i, are loose upon the spindle a,
and have on the inner surfaces pins or projections o, p, so placed that the
finger or cross piece e can, as it rises up and down, come in contact with them.
The nut n is jointed to one end of the link or connecting rod
which is made
of any required length, and jointed at the other end to the lever r, com-
municating with the lever of the throttle valve, or slide or tappet valve of the
expansion apparatus. As the arms of the governor rise and fall according to
the speed of the engine, the finger or cross piece e rises and falls in the same
proportion, and thereby causes it to come in contact with the pins or pro-
jections o, p. If the finger rises, it seizes hold of the pins o, and causes the
bevil wheel to turn, and give motion to the bevil wheel k, which turns the
screw m, and moves the nut n and lever r one way, for the purpose of closing
the throttle valve, or shortening the cut off; but if the finger falls, it comes in
contact with the pins p, and causes the bevil wheel i to turn the reverse way,
and give a reverse motion to the bevil wheel and screw m, which thereby
moves the nut n in the opposite direction, and opens the throttle valve, or
lengthens the cut off.
Fig. 3 represents a governor with a solid or hollow spindle having my
improved apparatus for operating upon the throttle or expansion valves con-
nected with it. The bevil wheels h, i, gearing into the wheel k, which turns
the spindle and screw-m, are similar to those before described; but instead
of the bevil wheels h, i, working upon the governor spindle, they work loose
upon a separate tubes, made to revolve by means of the spur wheels t, u, and
having in its interior the rod v, with a clutch w at the top working in a
groove in the sliding boss a. The finger or cross piece e passes through slots
in the tube s, and is fixed to the rod v, so that it can rise up and down with it,
and come in contact with the pins o, p, and turn the wheels h, i. The nut n
upon the screw m is connected by the link 9 to the lever r, communicating
with the throttle or expansion valves, but it must be understood that these
connections are varied as required, according to the positions of the fixings
already applied to the engine. As the arms of the governor rise and fall in
proportion to the speed of the engine, the finger e rises and falls also, and acts
upon the bevil wheels h, i, precisely in the same manner as that in Fig. 1, so

page_text: as to cause the screw m to turn and move the nut n. When the speed is
altering in the slightest degree, the finger acts either upon the upper or lower
pins or projections, and thereby causes the valves to be operated upon with
great exactness, and regulate the speed of the engine and the cut off in a very
efficient manner.
The second part of my Invention, consisting of an improved mode of
lubricating steam engine cylinders, is represented in Fig. 4. The globe or
vessel which contains the tallow or lubricating matter is shewn at a, having in
its interior my improved vertical tap, the plug of which is shewn at b, and the
shell at c. The upper part of the spindle of the plug is hollow, and has at d
an aperture leading into the globe, and at the top a thumbscrew e, for keeping
the pressure of steam in the globe, and allowing it to force the tallow into the
cylinder when the tap is opened. The thumbscrew e is removed when a fresli
supply of lubricating matter is required to be passed into the globe. The
tube f communicating with the tap and the interior of the cylinder is closed at
the bottom, but has at the side a number of holes or jets g, in order to spread
out the lubricating matter when it enters the cylinder, and thereby lubricate
it effectually. A fresh supply of lubricating matter can be passed into. the
globe without any inconvenience or loss, for when the tap is closed, and the
thumbscrew removed, the said matter passes freely through the hollow part of.
the spindle into the globe.
The third part of my Invention is represented in Figs. 5 and 6; it consists
of an improved water gauge for steam boilers. Instead of placing the taps
of the gauges in the passages or thoroughfares leading from the interior of the
boiler to the glass tube, I place them central, or in line with the tube itself,
and form the apertures in the plugs from the sides to the bottom. The glass
tube is shewn at i, and my improved taps at k, l. The shells containing the
plugs of the taps are provided with packing boxes m, n, in which the ends of
the tube are placed, and kept tight in the usual manner, but the centre o of
each handle p is central with the tube, and the handles extend outwards at
right angles to it. This arrangement allows in each tap a larger aperture
into the boiler with the same quantity of metal than any other gauge now in
use, and thereby prevents the taps from being set fast by exposure to the
sediment in the water, and the action of the water or steam is in the inside of
the tap, so that the facing is not exposed to any corroding influence. These
taps also allow of blowing off both at the top and bottom; thus, if the upper
tap is closed from the boiler and turned round, so as to be open to the
aperture q, then water from the boiler will pass up through the tube, and flow
off through the aperture; but if the upper tap is open to the boiler, and the

page_text: lower tap open to the aperture r, and the thumbscrews removed, then steam
will pass down the tube, and blow off through the said aperture r into the
atmosphere, and if these operations are occasionally performed, the tube and
passages are kept perfectly clean, and a degree of certainty obtained which no
other gauge can procure.
I
may.
here remark that in my Provisional Specification I describe as part
of my Invention an improved mode of lubricating the piston rods of steam
engines, but as from experience I find it cannot be employed with advantage,
I hereby disclaim its use, and leave out the description of it in this my
Complete Specification.
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be understood
that I claim as my Invention,--
First, the improved modes of operating upon the throttle valve for the
purpose of efficiently regulating the speed of the engine, or upon the slide or
tappet valve of the expansion apparatus, for working the steam expansively.
Secondly, the improved mode of lubricating the cylinders of steam engines.
And, thirdly, the improved water gauge for steam boilers, as all such
improvements are herein described and illustrated in the accompanying three
Sheets of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Farron, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named James Farron, in the
presence of
G. SEPTIMUS HUGHES,
17, Cross Street,
Manchester.
JAMES FARRON. (L.S.)