IMPROVEMENTS IN VALVES AND VALVE GEAR FOR STEAM ENGINES, AND IN THE MEANS FOR OPERATING AND ADJUSTING THE SAME
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Kirk Rider, of New York City, in the
County and State of New York, in the United States of America,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN VALVES AND VALVE GEAR FOR
STEAM ENGINES, AND IN THE MEANS FOR OPERATING AND ADJUSTING THE
SAME."
Sealed the 9th October 1869, and dated the 15th April 1869.
5
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Alexander Kirk Rider at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 15th April 1869, pursuant to the 9th Section
of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
KIRK RIDER, of New York City, in the County and State of New York,
in the United States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
VALVES AND VALVE GEAR FOR STEAM ENGINES, AND IN THE MEANS FOR OPERATING

page_text: AND ADJUSTING THE SAME," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto
me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent
for the same, and have made solemn Declaration that I am the true
and first Inventor thereof.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alexander Kirk Rider, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and
seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings making
a part of this Specification, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a
horizontal steam engine with my improvement, representing it with the
bonnet of the valve chest removed to expose the cut-off to view.
Figure 2 is a plan of the same with the cylinder and valve chest in
section. Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section through the cylinder,
valve chest, main valve, and cut-off. Figure 4 is a side view of the hand
gear for varying the point of stroke at which the steam is cut off.
Figure 5 is a front view of the main valve, and Figure 6 is a back view
of the same. Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in
the several Figures.
This Invention relates to that class of cut-offs in which the cut-off
valve is fitted to the back of a main slide valve, through which the
induction and eduction of steam to and from the cylinder of the engine
is effected. It consists in the construction of the cut-off valve with its
ends oblique to the direction of the movement of the main valve, and
in so applying the said valve to the back of the main valve that it may
work transversely thereto without interfering with the longitudinal
movement of the latter valve, which has the outer orifices of its steam
ports arranged obliquely to correspond with the oblique ends of the cut-
off valve. This construction of the valve's seat and ports permits the
point of cutting off to be varied throughout the whole length of the
stroke of the piston by the transverse movement of the cut-off valve,
either by hand or by the governor.
To enable others skilled in the art to make and apply my Invention
I will proceed to describe it with reference to the Drawings.
A is the cylinder; B, the piston; B', the piston rod; B³, the con-
necting rod; C, the crank, and D, the crank shaft, all constructed and

page_text: arranged in the usual manner. E is the valve chest, and a, a, the
valve seat, having the same system of ports b, 6, and c communicating
with the cylinder and the exhaust pipe as is commonly provided when a
single slide valve is used to effect the induction and eduction of steam at
both ends of the cylinder. F is the slide valve having its face constructed
in the manner common to the three port valve, as shown in Figure 5, but
having its back parallel lengthwise with its face, but hollowed out
transversely, in the manner best shown in Figure 3, to form a seat for
the cut-off valve G, which is represented of the form of a segment or
sector of a cylinder. The induction ports d, d', provided in the said
valve F have their inner mouths or orifices, that is to say, those next its
seat a, a, at right angles to the direction of the movement of the said.
valve, but their outer orifices, that is to say,, those in the concave seat of
the cut-off valve, arranged obliquely in opposite directions, as shown in
Figures 1 and 6. This valve F is operated by an eccentric H on the
crank shaft in the usual manner. The segment or sector-shaped cut-off
valve G, whose face constitutes a portion of the surface of a cylinder, is
attached securely to a concentric stem f, which is arranged parallel
with the stem and face of the main valve, and which is fitted to work
through stuffing boxes in the ends of the valve chest. The oblique
ends 8, 8, of this valve G are parallel with the edges of the ports d, d',
of the main valve and meet in a point k, and the length of the said valve
may be such that it will just cover the outer edges of both ports d, d',
when its sides which are parallel with its axis and its point k lap
equally over the ends of the said ports, and its width may be about
double that of the length of the ports d, d', measured across the back of
the valve F. The stem is connected by a swivel g outside of
the valve chest with the rod i attached to an eccentric I on the
crank shaft. This swivel allows the valve stem f and valve G to be
turned about their axis, either by hand or by a governor connected with
the stem, without interfering with the operation of the eccentric I, and
during the longitudinal movement of the said valve produced by the
said eccentric. The eccentric I may have the same throw as that of II
which works the main valve, and when it has such throw and the length
of the valve is as before described the said eccentric I should be set
about one-eighth of a revolution in advance of H. The stem is
represented as having firmly secured to it an arm 1, which serves as a
handle by which to turn it and the valve G by hand to vary the point

page_text: of cut-off, and a dog m attached to said lever is made the means of
connecting the governor slide n, the said dog engaging with a notched
sector plate p (see Figures 1, 2, and 4), which is so fitted to the stem
as to allow the latter to turn in it when necessary to alter the adjustment
of the valve, and the said sector plate having rigidly attached to it an
arm q which is connected by a rod r with the governor slide. In order
to enable the stem and valve to move longitudinally independently of
the handle and sector plate p the stem is fitted to the said handle
and sector plate with a feather and groove, and the said plate and
handle are prevented from moving in the direction of the length of
the stem by means of bracket J, which is secured to the bed plate or
framing of the engine, and which encircles the stem on opposite sides
of the said handle and sector plate. In the operation of the engine
the cut-off valve G deriving motion from the eccentric I works back
and forth on the back of the main valve F, and owing to the advanced
position of its eccentric it opens the ports d, d', of the main valve in
turn before the said ports commence opening to their respective cylinder
ports b, b', as the piston arrives at the end of its stroke. Before the
piston has traveled far in the new stroke the movement of the valve G
is reversed relatively to F, and it commenses to close the port d or d³,
and consequent cutting off of the steam is effected at an earlier or later
point in the stroke of the piston according as the cut-off valve is turned
to a position in which a longer or shorter part of the said valve works
over the parts d, d. By turning the valve stem f to bring the pointed
side of the valve nearer to the ports d, d, the cutting off is caused
to take place later in the stroke, and by turning the stem in the opposite
direction an opposite effect is produced and by turning the said valve
far enough in either direction it may be made to cover so little of the
main valve as never to close the ports entirely and to permit the steam
to enter the cylinder throughout the whole stroke of the piston, or cover
so much as never to entirely uncover the ports d, d', and so to cut off
the steam entirely from the cylinder. In Figure 1 the valve G is
represented as just cutting off the steam from the port d, the piston
being just beyond half stroke, and both valves moving in the direction
of the arrow shown upon the stem fand in the opposite direction to
the piston, and G moving faster than F owing to the eccentric H having
just "passed the center." The governor is so connected that by an
increased speed of the engine it will be caused to turn the valve stem

page_text: in a direction to bring the longer side of the valve G towards the
When it is desired to have the steam
ports d, d', and vice versa.
admitted to the cylinder through a greater or less portion of the stroke
the dog m, before mentioned, is shifted to a higher or lower notch in
the sector plate p. When it is not desired to apply the governor in
connection with the cut-off the sector plate p is to be fixed, and the
stem f can be turned by the lever to bring the valve G to a position
to cut off at any fixed point in the stroke and secured by dropping the
dog m into a suitable notch in the sector plate. Two cut-off valves of
substantially similar construction may be used in combination with
separate main valves at each end of the cylinder, both of said cut-off
valves being attached to the same stem. The two cut-off valves however
require only to have each one oblique side as each will only have to
work in connection with one valve port. The cut-off valve G may
also be constructed flat operating on a plane surface on the back of the
main valve, being in such case so attached to the stem f, as to allow of
its rectilinear motion at right angles to the motion of said stem when
the latter is partially rotated on its axis, the oblique ends of the valve
effect as the
and oblique ports producing substantially the same
cylindrical arrangement above described. The angular ended cut-off
valves, whether cylindrical or flat, may also be used in separate valve
chests in connection with oblique ports and oscillating reciprocating
valve stems, as before described.
Figures 7 and 8 represent such a modification as is above referred
to. Figure 7 being a cross section, and Figure 8, a plan view.
What I claim as my Invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent,
is,-
1st. The cut-off valve G, having its end or ends oblique to the
direction of the movement of the main valve and applied to the latter
valve in combination with a stem for its equivalent by which it
is moved transversely to the main valve and operating substantially
as described in combination with an oblique arrangement of the
outer orifices of the main valve ports for the purpose herein set forth.
2. Combining the stem f of the so-constructed and applied cut-off
5 valve with a governor by means of a handle or hand lever 1, a dog m,

page_text: a sector plate p, and an arm q, substantially as and for the purpose
herein described..
In witness whereof; I, the said Alexander Kirk Rider, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of March
A.D. 1869.
Witness,
THOMAS DREW STETSON,.
Solicitor of Patents,.
5, Tryon Row,.
C. C. LIVINGS.
New York..
ALEXANDER KIRK RIDER. (L.S.),