IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH.
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Sutcliffe, of Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster, Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
STEAM ENGINES AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Sutcliffe
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 9th December 1853.
I, JAMES SUTCLIFFE, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED
THEREWITH" to be as follows:-
My improvements relate, firstly, to compound engines in which the
steam, after having exerted its expansive force in one cylinder, is
admitted to operate in a second, and consists in causing the piston of
the exhaust cylinder to perform a greater number of strokes in a given
time than that of the first. The particular arrangement may be varied
to a considerable extent. I will, however, refer to certain plans in
order to illustrate the principle of my Invention. Suppose the piston

page_text: rods of the two cylinders to be connected by rods to cranks upon
separate shafts, such shafts being connected together by toothed wheels,
the one containing twice the number of teeth of the other, it is evident
that the piston belonging to the smaller wheel will perform twice the
number of strokes; and I so arrange a system of valves that the steam
is admitted from the first to the second cylinder so as to raise the piston
thereof, which motion will have been accomplished by the time the first
piston has passed through part of its stroke, after which it continues its
motion, but the steam is allowed to escape beneath the second piston,
which then descends without the force of steam pressure.
Another arrangement consists in using three cylinders, two of which
supply steam alternately to each side of a piston, performing as before
a double number of strokes.
Secondly, my improvements consist in placing the boiler of a steam
engine in an oil or other bath which boils at a higher temperature than
water, which being adapted to any ordinary furnace will communicato
heat to the water.
Thirdly, in the application of heated oil or other such baths as
aforesaid to the exteriors of steam engine cylinders.
Fourthly, in a method of condensing the steam of engines. The prin-
ciple of this part of my improvements consists in cooling and using the
water arising from the condensed steam for injection into the condenser,
whereby the same water is continually used for supplying the boiler.
Thus, for instance, in a marine engine, I submerge in the sea or river
a quantity of tubes or chambers containing pure water to be supplied
to the boiler; from this source the water of injection is drawn, and the
condensed steam thus produced flows into the said tubes or chambers,
and having there become cooled is again used for supplying the
condensor

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Sutcliffe in the Great Seal Patent Offico
on the 9th June 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,.
JAMES SUTCLIFFE, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Ma-
chinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of December, in the year.
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred, and fifty-four, in the seven-
teenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and succes-
sors, give and grant unto me, the said James Sutcliffe, Her especial,
licence that I, the said James Sutcliffe, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Sutcliffe, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should 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 AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THERE WITH," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said James Sutcliffe, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the samė
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 Sutcliffe, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement (and accompanying, Drawings), that is
to say:
My improvements relate, firstly, to compound engines in which in
which the steam, after having exerted its expansive force in one
cylinder, is admitted to operate in a second, and consists in causing
the piston of the exhaust cylinder to perform a greater number of

page_text: strokes in a given time than that of the nrst or migh-pressure
cylinder.
The second part of my Invention, according to my Provisional
Specification, consisted in placing the boiler of a steam engine in
an oil bath. Since the filing thereof, however, I have had reason to
believe that the same would not be of practical utility, and lay no claim
thereto.
The third part of my Invention, according to my Provisional Speci-
fication, consisted in the use of an oil bath for the cylinders of steam
engines, which part I also now omit, for the like reason.
The next part of my Invention relates to a method of condensing
the steam of engines, the principle thereof consisting in cooling and
using the water arising from the condensed steam for injection into the
condenser, whereby the same water is continually used for supplying
the boiler.
Having thus set forth the leading points of my Invention, accord-
ing to my Provisional Specification, I will proceed to point out how
the same may be carried into practical operation, referring to the
accompanying two Sheets of Drawings. Fig. 1 is a side elevation,
shewing the main working parts of a steam engine in section, and
arranged according to one plau by which the first part of my In-
vention may be carried into effect. The high-pressure cylinder is
shewn at a, the piston rod of which is connected to a beam c,
which actuates a crank d, in the ordinary manner. The expansion
or low-pressure cylinder is shewn at c, the piston rod f of which is
connected to a beam g, the other end of which actuates a crank h,
upon the axis of which is a wheel i, taking into a wheel j, mounted
upon the axis of the high-pressure crank d; the former of these
wheels has twice the number of teeth of the latter, and will there-
fore perform a double number of revolutions, the radii of the two
cranks being in like manner proportioned. The valve box of the high-
pressure cylinder is at 1, provided with the ordinarily slide m, to which a
rod n is connected, to be actuated by an excentric or other ordinary
motion; the exhaust passage o passes behind the valve box, and com-
municates with a passage p, leading to the lower end of the cylinder e,

page_text: and also to the condenser q, which latter communication, however, is
capable of being closed and opened by means of a valve r, worked by
tappets or other usual mechanism. The high-pressure cylinder a is
closed both at top and at bottom as in ordinary engines, but the low-
pressure cylinder e is closed at bottom only, the upper surface of the
piston being exposed to the pressure of the atmosphere, according to
the position in the Drawing. Steam is admitted from the boiler, as
shewn by the arrows, to the upper part of the cylinder a, the piston of
which is therefore descending, the steam on the under side thereof
flowing through the passages according to the arrows into the con-
denser; at the same time the steam beneath the piston is also allowed
to pass to the condenser so as to permit it to descend by atmospheric
pressure. When this piston shall have arrived at the bottom of its
stroke the valver will be closed, so as to shutt off the communication
with the condenser, and the slide valve m will be moved so as to allow
the steam which has operated in the chamber A to flow through the
exhaust passages to the under side of the piston k, which being thus
caused to ascend will communicate power to the crank h; during this
time the piston 6 will have performed the remaining part of its down-
ward stroke and when the piston k shall again have arrived at the top,
will be ascending and will occupy the position shewn by dotted lines in
the Figure, and the valve r will then be opened so as to allow the steam
to flow into the condenser from the cylinder e, and also from that part
of the high-pressure cylinder a, above the dotted position of the piston;
the same operation will then be repeated as first described, the piston k
again descending by atmospheric pressure, and thus performing a
double number of strokes. I have said that at the positions shewn by
the full and dotted lines the steam in the high-pressure cylinder, from
B to C, for instance, is admitted to the condenser, and it may appear
that this constitutes a large portion of the whole required for one
stroke; it may also appear that the temperature of high-pressure steam
would destroy the vaccumm; it must, however, be observed that the
steam so transferred has been admitted to the cylinder e, and has there-
fore been beneficially used, and its temperature has been lowered by
the consequent expansion. Thus in the position shewn by the dotted
b

page_text: lines, the steam contained in the space D, E, and which is now open
to the condenser, has been described as used for propelling the
piston, previously to its descent by atmospheric pressure.
'The
air pump and other usual adjuncts may be adapted in any ordinary
manner. Fig. 2 represents in vertical section a modification of
this part of my Invention, the main difference being, that the piston
of the expansion cylinder is operated upon by steam on both sides
instead of one side only; to effect which I employ two high-pres-
sure cylinders; these are shewn at a, a, provided with pistons b, be,
communicating motion by means of connecting rods to a crank d,
the axis of which is provided with a toothed wheel taking into
another of half the number of teeth mounted upon a shaft, the axis of
which is furnished with a crank h, actuated by the piston rod of the
low-pressure cylinder e. The steam pipes are shewn at f, fo, commu-
nicating with boxes in which are ordinary slide valves 9, 9, to which
motion is imparted by excentrics or other usual mechanism; the
exhaust passages are at h, h, leading to a box i, attached to the
cylinder e, in which box are two short D valves j, k, each capable of
sliding over and establishing a communication between two sets of
apertures l, m, and n, o, and packed so as to separate the box into two
chambers; the apertures o, l, lead respectively to the upper and under
sides of the piston p (shewn by dots), and the others m, n, are in com-
munication with pipes q, 1, leading to the condenser. According to the
position shewn, the slide valve g* is so situate as to permit steam to
pass on to the upper side of the piston 6, while that contained in the
space beneath it is passing along the pipe h into the box i, and from
thence through the aperture m into the condenser. The piston of the
cylinder a is just at the bottom of its stroke, and the valve g is about
to admit steam to its under side; the space above it containing steam
which has forced it downward is now open to the exhaust passage h,
and the steam is flowing therefrom through the pipe h into the box i,
and from thence through the orifice o into the cylinder e, where it is
acting upon the upper side of the piston p, the steam beneath which is
passing out of the cylinder at 1, and into the condenser through the
passage m; when the piston p shall have arrived at the bottom of its

page_text: stroke, the piston 6 will be in the position shewn by dotted lines, and
the valve g will then have been shifted so as to allow the steam in the
space A, B, to flow through the eduction passage h into the box i, and
from thence, by the shifting of the valve j, through the orifice n to
the condenser, together with the, steam above the piston p, at which
time the valve will also have been moved, so as to close the
orifice m, which leads to the condenser,' and, allow the steam from the
cylinder a to pass through the aperture 7 into the cylinder c, where, it
will now operate upon the under side of the piston p. This motion of
the valve k will, as before mentioned, have opened the aperture shewn
at n, by which means the steam above the piston 6 will be allowed to
pass from the pipe h to the condenser; by the change above described,
the piston 6 will have arrived at the position represented, by dotted
lines, at which time the valve g* will be adinitting steam beneath it,
and allowing that contained in the space above it to flow through the
pipe * into the box i, and from thence through, the aperture 7 to.the
cylinder e. The piston p having arrived at the top of its, stroke, will
then, after the same manner, receive steam from the cylinder a, and so
on alternately, the piston performing, as. in the case of the formerly
described engine, two strokes for one of the high pressure pistons. The
observation I made in reference to the steam which is allowed to pass
from the high-pressure cylinder to the condenser, when describing
Fig. 1, is also applicable in this instance, for it will be perceived that
the steam so allowed to pass has previously exerted it's force within the
cylinder e. Fig. 3 represents in longitudinal section a partial view of
a locomotive engine, constructed according to my improvement; and
Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the same. The two high-pressure
cylinders are shewn at a, a*, the pistons of which are connected to a
crank 6, the axis of which is provided with a toothed wheel c, taking
into another d, of half the number of teeth, mounted upon the driving
axle e, the crank f of which receives motion from the piston, of the
expansion cylinder g; the steam pipe is shewn at h, and the slide
valves for the high-pressure cylinders at i, i; the eduction passage
, lead, by means of a suitable communication, to the valve box / of
the expansion cylinder g; this box is furnished with a double D valve,

page_text: as described in reference to Fig. 2, and there are similar discharge
orifices leading to the pipe m, in this instance, however, open to the
atmosphere instead of to the condenser. The combined operation of
the pistons is precisely similar to that already described, and further
description will not therefore be necessary. In order to reverse the
motion of these engines, a four-way cock may be applied, so as by being
turned to change the channels for the passage of the steam; in the
arrangement, Fig. 2, for instance, it would be so applied as to cause
the pipe h, when the change is to take place, to communicate with the
orifices m, l, and the pipe h with o, n. In concluding the description
of this part of my Invention, I would observe, that although I have
shewn certain arrangements of steam engines, I do not confine
myself thereto, for it will be evident that my improvement may be
adapted to any of those forms usually employed, and that it may be
combined with various apparatus, sometimes adapted to motive power
engines; for instance, expansion valves may be added, so as to cut off
the admission of steam at a certain portion of the stroke.
My improved condenser is shewn in one form, in longitudinal section,
at Fig. 5. a, represents a vessel, made in a similar manner to a boiler,
and provided with a number of tubes b, b', 6; the right-hand ends of
the tubes are in communication with a chamber c, which extends the
whole width of the vessel a; the left hand ends of the tubes 6 open into
b
a chamber d, with which the tubes 6' also communicate, their other
ends and also the right-hand ends of the tubes 63 being open to another
chamber, separate from that shown at c; the left-hand ends of the
tubes communicate with a chamber e. To the chamber c is con-
nected a pump g, to which motion is communicated from any convenient
part of the engine; by this pump, water is drawn upward and forced
through the valve h into the chamber c, from thence it is propelled
through the tubes 6, into the chamber d, and passed through the tubes U₁
and 6, as indicated by the arrows, into the discharge chamber c. At
the lower part of the vessel a is attached a well i, in which is situate a
pump j, the discharge pipe of which is shewn at k, terminating in a
rose head, which projects into the condenser m, provided with a pipe
n, by which steam is admitted from the engine; within the condenser

page_text: m is a pipe o, provided with a valve p, and communicating with the
induction passage 9 of a pump r; this pump is constructed as a steam
engine, being in like manner furnished with a slide valve s; the educ-
tion passages t lead to the valve box u, and from thence through a
valve v, and pipe w, to an air chamber a, within which is placed a float
y, carrying a valve, capable of opening or closing an orifice ]. The
lower part of the chamber a is furnished with a pipe z, the other end
of which is open to the steam boiler of the engine. In commencing
to use this apparatus the space between the tubes 6, 61, 62, is to be filled
with water suitable for being admitted to the boiler; the engine being
then put in motion, steam will pass by the pipe n, into the condenser
m, and will meet with a jet of cold water thrown from the rose head 7,
by means of the pump j, and will fall in its condensed state and mingle
with the water already in the vessel a; during this time the pump g
will be continually drawing cold water from any convenient source, and
by causing it to traverse the tubes, as already described, will rob the con-
densed steam of its heat so as to keep it at a proper temperature for
maintaining the vacuum. As the products of condensation rises up to
the level of the pipe o, it is drawn by the pump r, through the valve p,
and forced through the eduction passages t, w, into the chamber a, the
air passing out through the orifice ], and when the water has accumu-
lated therein sufficient to raise the float y, and close the valve, it will
be forced through the pipe 2, into the boiler, to be again converted into
steam, and thus a continuous supply for the boiler is maintained with-
out the introduction of water from a source which may have rendered
it impure and injurious; as, however, some waste must take place
in practice from leakage, I occasionally supply the condenser an with
steam from a small boiler provided for that purpose, which being
therein condensed will become added to the water in the vessel a, and
maintain its proper quantity. The necessity for this addition may be
ascertained by means of an ordinary water guage adapted to the boiler,
by which the level of water therein may be indicated. Fig. 6 repre-
sents in section another form of my improved condensing apparatus.
The vessel a, and tubes b, b1, b, are as before described, excepting that
they are shewn fewer in number and of larger diameter, and through

page_text: these cold water is propelled by means of a pump g, to be discharged as
before at e. The condenser is shewn at m, to which steam is admitted
from the engine through the pipon. Adjoining the condenser is the air
pump 7, which returns the condensed steam through the valve 8, into
the vessel a, which is open to the atmosphere at t, so as to allow air to
escape; the injection pipe terminates in a well at bottom, and at top
enters the condenser as before; in this instance, however, the pump.j,
of Fig. 5, is not employed, the pressure of the atmosphere upon the
surface of the water in the vessel a being used in place thereof. A
force pump shewn at u, draws the water through a passage, and pro-
pels it through a pipo w, into the boiler. I have above described two
forms of apparatus by which this part of my Invention may be carried
out; I do not however intend to confine myself thereto, as various modi-
fications will be made, depending upon convenience of application and
other circumstances. The apparatus may be employed in connexion
with any engines for which water is necessarily used, which contains
injurious properties to the boiler, and this is often found to be the case
in reference to land engines; but for sea-going steam vessels my Inven-
tion is peculiarly adapted. In the former of these cases the pump may
draw water from the usual well or other source, without reference to
the purity of the water; for the latter the cooling water will be pumped
from the sea, or the pump may be dispensed with, and the vessel a
placed sufficiently low to be immersed in the sea. I would also observe
that although I have described the injection water as being cooled by
water from another source, yet I do not confine myself thereto, for
other methods, as currents of air, might be employed. for the same
purpose.
.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it
to be understood that I claim as secured to me under the above in part
recited Letters Patent,-
Firstly, as applied to the description of engine above mentioned,
causing the piston of the low-pressure or expansion cylinder to perform
a greater number of strokes in a given time than that of the high-pres
sure cylinder: -

page_text: Secondly, cooling the water arising from the condensation of the
steam, and using it as injection water for the condenser.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Sutcliffe, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Seventh day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
JAMES SUTCLIFFE. (L.S.)