IMPROVED COMBINATION OF MATERIALS, AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING VALVES FOR STEAM ENGINES OR STEAM APPARATUS, OR FOR ANY OTHER FLUID OR GAS, OR IN ANY OTHER SITUATION WHEREIN VALVES OR SLUICES MAY BE USED,
Year: 1833

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ISAAC DODDS,
of Horsley Iron Works, in the Parish of Tipton, in the County of Stafford,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS I did, by petition, humbly represent to His most Excellent
Majesty King William the Fourth, that I had invented and found out an
"IMPROVED COMBINATION OF MATERIALS, AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING VALVES
FOR STEAM ENGINES OR STEAM APPARATUS, OR FOR ANY OTHER FLUID OR GAS, OR IN
ANY OTHER SITUATION WHEREIN VALVES OR SLUICES MAY BE USED," and His said
Majesty being willing to encourage all 'useful inventions, was graciously pleased
to issue His Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Fourteenth day of September last, in the fourth year of
His reign, by which Letters Patent His said Majesty did, for Himself, His heirs,
and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Isaac Dodds, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, His especial licence, sole privilege and authority, that
I or they, by myself or themselves, or by my or their deputy or deputies, servants
and agents, or such others as I or they should from time to time appoint (and no
others) during the term of fourteen years from the date of the said Letters
Patent, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, my said Inven-
tion within that part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
called England, the Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed;
in which Letters Patent there is also contained a proviso obliging me, the said
Isaac Dodds, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly
to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be enrolled in His

page_text: Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by
the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Isaac Dodds, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention is
described and ascertained in manner following, that is to say:―
My Improved Combination of Materials and Method of Constructing or
Manufacturing Valves for Steam Engines or Steam Apparatus, or for any other
Fluid or Gas, or in any other Situation wherein Valves or Sluices may be used,
is applicable to the kind of valves commonly called sliding valves, in which the
moving valve is formed with a truly flat or even surface, to apply in exceed-
ingly close contact with a corresponding immoveable flat surface within the
box or chamber wherein the sliding valve is contained, and which last men-
tioned flat surface has an aperture or apertures in it or through it for the
purpose of the steam, gas, or other fluid which the sliding valve is intended either
to intercept or to allow to pass, as may be required, and which intercepting
the sliding valve performs by covering up and closing the said aperture or
apertures when the valve is slided along the said flat surface into a suitable
position against the same, in which case the passage of the fluid through the
said aperture or apertures will be stopped, but the sliding valve being slided
along the said flat surface into another suitable position, the sliding valve will
then uncover and open the said apertures in the immoveable surface, so as to
permit the passage of the fluid through the same apertures, for the passages of
fluid are sometimes made in the flat surface of the sliding valve, as well as in
the immoveable flat surface, and such passages are variously arranged and
combined to suit particular purposes, and produce the opening of one passage
simultaneously with the closing of another passage, or the opening of two
passages at once simultaneously with the closing of two other passages,
according to many varieties of combination of materials which are well known.
and in common use in steam engines; but in all cases the perfect operation of
such sliding valves depends upon the close contact of the flat surface of the
sliding valve to the immoveable flat surface, so that no steam, gas, or other
fluid can escape or pass between the said surfaces when the apertures are
closed. In some kinds of sliding valves, hemp packing is applied behind, or
at the back of the valve, to fit closely thereto with as much compression as
will retain the said flat surfaces in close contact; in other cases springs have
been used to retain the flat surfaces in contact, but my improved combination
of materials and method of manufacturing such sliding valves is, to apply
certain wedgelike filling pieces of metal behind or against the backs or other

page_text: parts of the sliding valves, in order by such filling pieces to make out the valves
to the proper thickness for filling up the boxes or chambers wherein the sliding
valves are contained. The said filling pieces may be made to move or slide
with the valves like one piece therewith, but by suitable adjustment of the
position of the said wedgelike filling pieces behind, at the back, or other parts
of the sliding valve, the flat surfaces of the latter can be kept in close contact
with the immoveable flat surfaces against which they are intended to slide.
The said wedgelike filling pieces, which are applied at the backs of the sliding
valves, must be accurately fitted thereto, and the wedgelike surfaces of the
filling pieces may be applied to the backs or other parts of the sliding valves,
which must in that case have a corresponding wedgelike form at the back or
other part, and when so applied, the said flat surfaces of the filling pieces
must be exactly parallel with the said front surfaces of the sliding valves.
The said flat surfaces of the filling pieces applying to the flat inside surfaces of
the boxes or chambers wherein the sliding valves are contained, at the same
time and in the same manner as the front flat surfaces of the sliding valves
apply to their corresponding immoveable surfaces, in or through which the
apertures are made for passages, and the last-mentioned surfaces must be
exactly parallel with the inside surfaces of the boxes or chambers, against
which surfaces the back of the wedgelike filling pieces behind the valves apply,
wherefore a sliding valve and its wedgelike filling piece when put together as
aforesaid, according to my improved combination, will fill up the interior of the
valve box or chamber; but nevertheless by adjusting the position of the wedge-
like filling piece, in respect to the sliding valve, the combination of materials
can always be made to fill the said interior as the materials of the sliding sur-
faces diminish by wearing away; or otherwise such wedgelike filling piece
may be applied within a valve box or chamber behind (or at the back or other
part of) a sliding valve, whereof the flat surfaces of the back and front are
exactly parallel to each other, in which case the wedgelike form is not given
to the sliding valve itself, but the same will be at the back of the filling piece,
and the inside of the box or chamber must also be wedgelike in exact corre-
spondence therewith (instead of the wedgelike form being at the back of the
sliding valve, and at that surface of the filling piece which is in contact there-
with), and also in such case the wedgelike filling piece will not slide or move
with the sliding valve, but will remain stationary at the back thereof, and will
only be moved when required for the purpose of adjusting its position, in order
to make the valve fit as its sliding surfaces wear away. And for the more
complete explanation of my said improved Combination of Materials,
and Method of Manufacturing Valves for Steam or for any other Fluid or

page_text: Gas, I have hereunto annexed a Drawing representing sections of valves
manufactured with that improved combination of materials for steam engines.
Figures 1 and 2 in the said Drawing are intended to represent vertical and
horizontal sections of a sliding box valve for a steam engine, manufactured
according to my improved combination as herein-before set forth. a, a, is the
flat face of the sliding valve, which applies in close contact with the flat
surface of the metal casting A, A, of the nozzel or side pipe, and in which
surface the apertures are made for the steam passages, the said flat surfaces
of the valve and of the nozzle being accurately fitted together, so as to slide
one against the other without permitting any leakage or escape of steam
between them; b, b, is the back of the valve, being inclined to the face in a
wedgelike form, and V is the wedgelike filling piece which is applied behind
the valve, with its wedgelike surface d, d, in accurate contact with the corre-
sponding wedgelike surface of the sliding valve; and the flat back e, e, of the
filling piece also applies an accurate contact with the inside surface B, B, of
the valve chamber in which the valve is contained, that surface being exactly
parallel to the flat surface A, A, of the nozzel in which the apertures are
formed. D is the rod by which the valve is slided or moved within the cham-
ber or box from the outside thereof, it passes through a stuffing box in the
cover E of the valve box, and is attached at the upper end to a cross rod K,
by means of which motion is given in the usual manner to the rod D, and the
lower end of that rod within the box is formed into a screw on which a square
nut is fitted, and notches are formed in two of the opposite sides of
that nut to receive the prongs of a fork 1, which is affixed to the
wedgelike filling piece V, by which means the fork is so connected
with the nut k that the said piece V will be moved up and down
within the box by motion of the rod D. The valve is caused to move
at the same time, and with a like movement, by means of a square hoop h,
which encompasses the valve, and through the upper side of which the end of
the rod D passes, and is secured by a collar securely fastened on the extreme
end of the rod D, so that the same is securely connected with the hoop in
order to cause the latter to move up and down in its box, but nevertheless the
rod D is left at liberty to be turned round; and in like manner the upper end
of the rod D is attached to the cross rod K, so as to permit it to be turned
round when required, in order to adjust the position of the wedgelike filling
piece V in respect to the sliding valve; for by turning the rod D round, the
square nut is caused to move downwards towards the sliding valve, and by
the fork l, of the filling piece, the same is also moved downwards in respect
to the valve, and thereby bears the same towards its flat surface, so as to

page_text: ensure perfect contact therewith. The horizontal section or plan, Figure 2,
shews the relative positions of the valve and of the filling piece behind it, with
its fork l, also that the valve aud its filling piece are not so wide as to fill the
box laterally, but they leave a space at the side thereof for an entrance
passage to the steam coming from the boiler that it may enter freely both
above the valve and below the same.
Figure 3 is another instance of the same improved combination and
method of manufacturing a sliding box valve, in which the wedgelike filling
piece V does not slide or move with the sliding valve, being lodged in the
valve chamber behind the valve, its wedgelike surface being applied in
contact with the corresponding wedgelike surface within side of the chamber,
and the surface of the filling piece V, which is in contact with the back of the
valve, being exactly parallel to the surface in which the apertures are formed,
and against which the face of the sliding valve applies, therefore the back and
front surfaces of the valve are exactly parallel to each other. D is the rod
by which the valve is moved; it passes through a stuffing box in the cover.
The filling piece V may be forced down by a screw or screws, also passing
through stuffing boxes in the cover, or it may descend by its own weight,
which will in many cases be sufficient to cause it to urge the valve towards
its flat surface so as to make close contact therewith. The operation of either
of the aforesaid sliding valves, whereby it opens one pair of passages and closes
another pair of passages simultaneously, is the same as usual in common slide
valves, and that operation may be varied in any other usual mode, without
affecting the nature of my Invention, which is the wedge filling piece and its
combination with the sliding valve by the means already described, so as to
admit of adjusting its position.
Figure 4 represents another variety of my improved combination of
materials applied to the manufacturing of double sliding valves for steam
engines (viz), where one sliding valve is applied at one end of the steam
cylinder, and another at the other end thereof. A, A, is the flat surface
of the nozzel or side pipe as before; b, b, and b, b, the backs of the sliding valves,
each being inclined to the face of the same valve in a wedgelike form; and V, V,
two wedgelike filling pieces, which are applied behind each of the valves to
move or slide therewith, and fill up the flat insides of the valve chambers,
which latter are parallel to the flat faces of the nozzel, against which the
corresponding faces of the sliding valves act. The application of each wedge-
like filling piece is much the same as herein-before described, in reference to
Figure 1, but when two valves are combined, their wedgelike filling pieces V, V,
may be reversed to each other, and the two reversed filling pieces being con-

page_text: nected together by a rod M, they are both kept in their proper places, so as to
retain both the sliding valves in proper contact with their flat faces respectively.
In the middle part of the rod M a joint m is made with a double screwed
socket, having right and left handed screws on the two parts of the rod M, in
order that by turning the said socket round, the two filling pieces V, V, can
be forced farther apart from each other, so as to press the two sliding valves
towards their faces by one action, which can be renewed from time to time as
the surfaces wear away. N is a door to open and give access to the joint m
of the rod M, when the valves require to be tightened, and the rod M may be
connected with its wedgelike filling pieces V, V, by means of springs, which
are so enterposed as to permit of slight yielding, as shewn in the detached Figure.
The two valves are moved or slided both together by their rod Q, which con-
nects them, and by the rod R, which passes through a stuffing box to the
outside, in the usual manner of double sliding valves.
Figure 5 is another example of the application of my improved combination of
materials to double sliding valves. The wedgelike filling pieces V,V, are applied
in a very similar manner to that herein-before described, in reference to Figure 3,
not being intended to slide or move with the valves, but they are lodged in suit-
able wedgelike recesses of the chambers behind the valves, with their wedgelike
faces behind and in contact with the corresponding surfaces of the chambers.
The two opposite surfaces of the valves are exactly parallel to each other. The
wedgelike filling pieces V, V, may each adjust themselves by their own
weight, or by distinct setting screws for each filling piece, as before explained
respecting Figure 3; or, in order to ensure such a correspondence of action in
the two wedgelike filling pieces as will cause both valves to be tightened alike
by them, the two wedgelike filling pieces V, V, may be connected by means
of rods X, Y, proceeding from each one respectively through stuffing boxes in
the covers of their respective chambers, and the said rods X and Y being
harnessed to the two opposite ends of a lever T, the two wedgelike pieces V,V,
will act mutually to tighten the contact of the two sliding valves, both at once
and equally one with the other, the adjustment for such tightening being given
by lengthening the rod Y by means of a screw socket z, with right and
left hand screws on the two portions of the rod, as before explained respecting
Figure 4, and springs may be applied to the rod Y to admit of a little yielding.
And as to the particular angle of obliquity of the wedgelike filling pieces, the
same may be as represented in the Drawing; or in case the said filling pieces
are intended to act by their own weight; as before mentioned respecting Figure
3, or by the agency of springs, as before mentioned respecting Figures 4 and 5,
without positive confinement by any screws, then I prefer an angle of forty-five

page_text: degrees for the said wedgelike obliquity, because with that angle the said
wedgelike pieces V, V, can retreat sufficiently to allow the valves to separate a
little from the faces against which they apply, in case of great violence of
action on the valves when water is accidentally collected in the steam cylinder,
although they will steadily retain the valves in their places in fair work and
ordinary action. The said sliding wedge pieces may be made of cast iron or
of brass, or of bell metal, the sliding valves and the chambers in which
they are contained being made of the materials usually employed for such
purpose.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, I, the said Isaac
Dodds, do hereby declare that the improved combination of materials and
method of constructing or manufacturing valves, whereof the exclusive use is
granted to me by the aforesaid Letters Patent, consists in the application of
wedgelike filling pieces at the back of or behind the valves, or otherwise within
the chambers wherein such valves are contained, in the manner herein-before
set forth, such application being for the purpose of tightening such valves, and
ensuring a correct contact between their fitting surfaces when the materials of
which those surfaces are composed wear away. And note, in the constructing
or manufacturing of such valves, glass, earthenware, or any other material may
be used or employed when the valve or valves are applied for the conveyance
of corrosive fluids or gases.
In witnace whananf. I the said ID.