IMPROVEMENTS IN COMPOUND PUMPING ENGINES
Year: 1885

page_text: I, ANDREW BETTS BROWN, of Rosebank Iron Works, Edinburgh, in the County
of Mid Lothian, North Britain, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my said
invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN COMPOUND PUMPING ENGINES," to be as follows,
that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to pumping, engines of the kind having one or more
pumps worked by two or more steam cylinders without the intervention of a
rotating shaft, the steam cylinders being arranged on the compound system to
work with two or more stages of expansion?
The distribution valve or valves of the one or two cylinders working one pump
is or are worked by the piston rod of the other pump when there is a second one
by levers and links which may be arranged as in existing twin steam pumps. Or
when there is only a single pump the valves of its cylinders are worked by a
special small cylinder in an equivalent manner.
My present Invention consists in combining with the ordinary distribution
valves certain additional valves arranged to insure that the engines will start
without special manipulation of the valves whatever may be the position of the
pistons and valves on previously coming to rest.
In carrying out my Invention in the case of engines with two cylinders namely
a high-pressure or first-stage cylinder to work one pump and a low-pressure or
second-stage cylinder to work another pump. I apply a valve in the delivery pipe
or passage of the pumps such valve having a spring or weight applied to it to close
it when water is not being delivered through or past it by the pumps. This valve
is connected to a valve controlling the passage of steam to the low-pressure cylinder
in such a way that when the engines are at rest and no water is being pumped the
closing of the valve in the delivery pipe will cause the opening of the additional
steam valve so that whenever steam is next let on to the engines the high-pressure
steam will have direct access to the low-pressure cylinder as well as to the high-
pressure cylinder. The engines will then start in whatever position the parts may
be in; and as soon as the pumps begin to deliver water, the valve in the delivery
pipe will open and the additional steam valve will close, and the ordinary compound
action of the steam cylinders will be resumed.
When four steam cylinders are used with four stages of expansion the cylinders
may be arranged in different ways, but in the most convenient arrangement the

page_text: first-stage and second-stage cylinders work one pump and the third-stage and
fourth-stage cylinders work another pump. The application of the additional
valves is the same as with only two steam cylinders, a valve in the pump delivery
pipe closing when no water is passing and opening an additional steam valve to
admit steam directly to the third-stage cylinder, that is a cylinder working the
pump not worked by the first-stage cylinder. At the same time it is necessary for
the same or another additional steam valve to admit steam directly to the second-
stage cylinder in order that it may act in concert with the first-stage cylinder.
Dated this thirtieth day of March 1885.
EDMUND HUNT,
Applicant's Agent.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION,
Improvements in Compound Pumping Engines.
I, ANDREW BETTS BROWN, of Rosebank Iron Works, Edinburgh, in the County
of Mid Lothian, North Britain, 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, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to pumping engines of the kind having one or more
pumps worked by two or more steam cylinders without the intervention of a
rotating shaft, the steam cylinders being arranged on the compound system to
work with two or more stages of expansion.
The distribution valve or valves of the one or two cylinders working one pump
is or are worked by the piston rod of the other pump, when there is a second one,
by levers and links which may be arranged as in existing turn steam pumps.
Or when there is only a single pump the valves of its cylinders are worked by a
special small cylinder in an equivalent manner.
My present Invention consists in combining with the ordinary distribution
valves certain additional valves arranged to insure that the engines will start
without special manipulation of the valves whatever may be the position of the
pistons and valves on previously coming to rest.
In carrying out my Invention in the case of engines with two cylinders, namely
a high-pressure or first-stage cylinder to work one pump and a low-pressure or
second-stage cylinder to work another pump, I apply a valve in the delivery pipe
or passage of the pumps such valve having a spring or weight applied to it to
close it when water is not being delivered through or past it by the pumps. This
valve is connected to a valve controlling the passage of steam to the low-pressure
cylinder in such a way that when the engines are at rest and no water is being
pumped the closing of the valve in the delivery pipe will cause the opening of the

page_text: additional steam valve so that whenever steam is next let on to the engines the
high-pressure steam will have direct access to the low-pressure cylinder as well as
to the high-pressure cylinder. The engines will then start in whatever position
the parts may be; and as soon as the pumps begin to deliver water, the valve in
the delivery pipe will open and the additional steam valve will close and the
ordinary compound action of the steam cylinders will be resumed.
When four steam cylinders are used with four stages of expansion the cylinders
may be arranged in different ways, but in the most convenient arrangement the
first-stage and second-stage cylinders work one pump, and the third-stage and
fourth-stage cylinders work another pump.
Such an arrangement with four steam cylinders is shown, as an example, on two
accompanying sheets of explanatory drawings; of which drawings, figure, 1,
sheet, 1, is a front elevation, figures, 2, 3, and 4, being enlarged views of the
additional valves and their boxes; whilst figure, 5, on sheet, 2, is a sectional side
elevation but with some parts not shown. In these drawings the same reference
numerals are used to mark the same or like parts wherever they are repeated.
In the example shown in the drawings the compound pumping engines are
shown as combined with a steam accumulator comprising an hydraulic cylinder, 10,
the ram, 11, of which is loaded by the pressure of steam on a piston in a
cylinder, 12. For charging the hydraulic cylinder, 10, of the accumulator there
are two pumps, 13, one of which is seen in figure, 5, whilst in figure, 1, both are
partly hid by the valve boxes and branch pipes which are in front of them. The
two pumps, 13, are worked by four steam cylinders, 14, 15, 16, 17, arranged for
four stages of expansion, the first-stage and second-stage cylinders, 14, 15, working
one pump and the third-stage and fourth-stage cylinders, 16, 17, working the other
one, the piston rods, 18, 19, of the pumps being continuous with the respective
pairs of steam cylinders. There is no rotating shaft or flywheel, and the dis-
tributing valves of the first-stage and second-stage cylinders, 14, 15, are worked
by a rod, 20, connected to one end of a lever, 21, the other end of which is con-
nected to a block, 22, fixed on the piston rod, 19, of the other two cylinders, 16, 17;
and the distribution valves of the latter are worked by a rod, 23, connected to a
lever, 24, which is also connected to a block, 25, on the other piston rod, 18. This.
gear for working the distribution valves is of a wellknown kind and forms no part
of the present Invention.
In front of the valve chests, 26, 27, of the first-stage and third-stage cylinders,
14, 16, there are valve boxes, 28, 29, of the construction shown on an enlarged
scale in figures, 2, 3, and 4, figure, 2, being a side elevation, figure, 3, a vertical
section, and figure, 4, a plan, and these figures corresponding to the valve box, 29.
In each valve box, 28, 29, there are three valves, 30, 31, 32, on one valve rod, 33,
the uppermost and lowermost, 30, 32, being piston valves, and the middle one, 31,
being a conical-seated disk valve, although it may also be a piston valve if
preferred. The two valve rods, 33, are connected to levers on a rocking shaft, 34,
having on it another lever to which there is connected a rod, 35, extending down
to a valve in a valve box, 36, on the delivery pipe from the pumps, 13. The valve
in this box is loaded by a light spring, 37, and is opened by the passing water
when any is being pumped but is closed by the spring whenever the pumps cease
working; and as the valves in the boxes, 28, 29, move in concert with the valve
in the box, 36, acted on by the pumped water, it follows that those valves will be
in their highest positions when water is being pumped and in their lowest positions
when the pumps are not working. In the valve box, 29, the space, 38, under the
middle valve, 31, communicates by the pipe, 39, with the exhaust port of the
second-stage cylinder, 15, and when the valve, 31, is raised the steam from that
cylinder passes by the branch, 40, into the valve-casing of the third-stage cylinder,
16, this being the normal working condition. When the valves, 30, 31, 32, are
lowered high-pressure steam supplied by a small pipe, 41, is admitted by the
top piston valve, 30, to the passage, 40, leading to the third-stage valve casing,
the middle valve, 31, cuts off the communication between the passage, 40, and the

page_text: space, 38, and the bottom piston valve, 32, puts this space, 38, in communication
with a small pipe, 42, leading to the exhaust port of the fourth-stage cylinder, 17,
or in other words to the condenser or it might be to the atmosphere. In the other
valve box, 28, the space under the middle valve communicates by a pipe, 43, with
the exhaust port of the first-stage cylinder, 14, and the space above that valve
communicates by a pipe, 44, with the valve chest of the second-stage cylinder, 15,
whilst a small pipe, 41, supplies high-pressure steam to the top and another small
pipe, 42, leads from the bottom to the condenser or atmosphere.
.
With the arrangements which have been described if the engines have been at
rest and if then by the action of the accumulator ram; 11; steam is admitted to
the engines, it will at first have direct access to the distribution valves of the
first-stage, second-stage, and third-stage cylinders, 14, 15, and 16, and the engines
will consequently start in whatever position they may be, but as soon as water is
pumped it will raise the valve in the box, 36, and the movement of that valve
being transmitted to the valves in the boxes, 28, 29, these valves will be raised
and then the normal compound working of the engines will be resumed..
In engines with only two cylinders a first-stage cylinder working one pump and
a second-stage cylinder working the other pump, one, 28, of the valve boxes 'with
its valves will of course suffice, its connections with the cylinders being as herein-
before described for the valve box, 28.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I'claim is
1. In pumping engines, the combination of two pumps directly worked by two
or more steam cylinders arranged to work normally as compound engines, and
having the distributing valves of the cylinder or cylinders working one pump
worked from the piston rod of the other pump, with automatic valve arranged and
operating so as to make the engines work as non-compound when starting. substan-
tially as and for the purposes herein before described.
2. The modification claimed in the first claim as modified by substituting for
one pump and its actuating steam cylinder or cylinders a special small cylinder
for working, the distribution, valve or valves of the main cylinder or cylinders
substantially as hereinbefore described.
Dated this twenty eighth day of December 1885.