IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES AND BOILERS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Kinsey, of the Robin Hood Works, Not.
tingham, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES AND
BOILERS."
Sealed the 28th January 1862, and dated the 8th August 1861.
FROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Kinsey at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th August 1861
I, HENRY KINSEY, of the Robin Hood Works, Nottingham, do hereby
declare the nature of the Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES
AND BOILERS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in steam engines and
boilers.
In constructing oscillating steam engines according to my Invention, I
arrange the slide valve to work in a plane at right angles to the length of
the cylinder in place of in the direction of the length, as is usual, and the
valve face I form by preference at one end of the cylinder; the trunnions
I then place at the same end of the cylinder, their centre line being in
the plane of the valve face. The valve rod, projecting from the valve
box at one or both ends, will then as the cylinder rocks move with it, its
outer-end or ends, supposing the valve to be stationary on its face, de-
scribing an arc of a circle. The valve rod, as its end is carried to and fro
with the cylinder, is governed by a curved course, which pushes the valve
to and fro over its seat, as required, to drive the engine.
077
The

page_text: curved course is stationary when the engine is at work, but it is
capable of pivoting about a point in the centre line of the trunnions.
This motion brings up another portion of the curved course, which is of
such a form as to cause the engine to work backwards in place of for-
wards. I would remark that in addition to the two portions of the
curved course to drive the engine forward and backward, the curved
course may have other portions so formed as, when they are brought-into
a working position, to vary the cut-off of the steam as may be desired.
A similar application of the curved course may be made when the valve
works in the direction of the length of the cylinder, but I prefer the
arrangement first described. In engines of-small-size I-make the steam
and exhaust passages in the same trunnion, and connect these with the
steam and exhaust pipes by flexible tubes of vulcanized india-rubber and
canvas. When steam engines are used to work with machinery which
has frequently to be thrown off and on, it is difficult to regulate the speed
of the engine, as, when relieved of the work, it runs away before the
ordinary governor is able to act. To-obviate this, I connect the driving
pulley of the engine to its shaft by a spiral or other spring of suitable
strength, so that the pulley will lag more or less behind the shaft accord-
ing to the strain on the driving strap. On the boss of the pulley a worm
is cut, and working on this worm there is a nut connected with a block
capable of sliding but not of turning on the shaft, so that the motion of
the pulley, independently of the shaft, causes this block to traverse, and
in so doing it actuates a throttle valve, opening it when the strain on the
pulley is heavy, and closing it when the reverse is the case, and when the
strain is taken off suddenly, the steam is cut off as quickly as the spring
can act. When gear is employed, a similar arrangement may be made.
In constructing steam boilers according to my Invention, I form them
of two cylinders of different sizes placed vertically and concentrically,
with a water space between them. The interior of the inner cylinder
forms the fire-box, the fire being supported on a circular grating. The
fire is fed by a passage formed through the side of the boiler through
two cylinders and the water space. This passage is fitted with a fire-
door. The two cylinders are closed at their upper ends, the end of the
outer cylinder being at a distance above that of the inner cylinder, with
a water space between the two. The chimney or flue passes out through
this water space, it being placed in the centre of the top of the boiler.
Within the fire-box there is an inverted cone suspended by pipes from
the top water space. These pipes keep the cone constantly supplied

page_text: with water, and allow the steam generated in it to escape to the top of
the boiler. The bottom of the cone is connected by a pipe or pipes with
the water space at the side of the boiler, so as to permit a free circulation
of water through the cone. In order to ascertain the height of water in
a boiler, I arrange a stuffing-box through the side of the boiler above the
water line. Through this a metal tube is passed; this tube is closed at
the end within the boiler, but has a hole cut in its side to which a valve
is fitted; this is connected with a lever with a float at its end. The outer
end of the tube is fitted with a handle. To ascertain the height of the
water, the tube is turned gradually round by this handle, and as soon as
the float touches the water the valve will open, and allow steam to blow
out through the tube; the inclination of the handle at this time will
indicate the amount of water in the boiler.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Kinsey in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
8th February 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME. I, HENRY
KINSEY, of the Robin Hood Works, Nottingham, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of August, 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 Henry Kinsey, Her special licence that I, the said
Henry Kinsey, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Henry Kinsey, 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 law-
fully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle
of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES AND BOILERS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Kinsey, my
executors or administrators, 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

page_text: 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 Henry Kinsey, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in steam engines and
boilers.
In constructing oscillating steam engines according to my Invention, I
arrange the slide valve to work in a plane at right angles to the length of
the-cylinder, in place of in the direction of the length, as is usual, and
the valve face I form, by preference, at one end of the cylinder; the trun-
nions I then place at the same end of the cylinder, their centre line
being in the plane of the valve face. The valve rod, projecting from the
valve box at one or both ends, will then, as the cylinder rocks, move with
it, its outer end or ends, supposing the valve to be stationary on its face,
describing an arc of a circle. The valve rod, as its end is carried to and
fro with the cylinder, is governed by a curved course, which pushes the
valve to and fro over its seat, as required, to drive the engine. The
curved course is stationary where the engine is at work, but it is capable
of pivoting about a point in the centre line of the trunnions; this motion
brings up another portion of the curved course, which is of such a form
as to cause the engine to work backwards in place of forwards.
Figure 1 is a side view of a cylinder of an oscillating engine with valve
box and parts connected therewith arranged in the manner above de-
scribed.
a is the cylinder; b, the valve box at the lower end thereof; c, one of the
trunnions on which the cylinder oscillates; d, the valve rod, at the end of
which is a pin entering a slot in the lever e, this lever is centred on the
trunnion, and when the engine is at work it is locked to the fixed arc f.
The slot in the lever e is divided into two parts e' and e³, each of these
parts is equal in length to the distance passed over by the pin at the end
of the valve rod at each oscillation of the cylinder, and by moving the
lever e,
it may be set so that the pin above mentioned may traverse as the
engine works in either one or other of the parts of the slot. To the parts
of the slot such curves are given that when the pin works in the one part
the valve will be suitably traversed to cause the engine to move forward,
and when it works in the other part it will be suitably traversed to cause

page_text: the engine to turn backwards. The method in which the passages and
valve are arranged is shown at Figure 2, which also illustrates a slight
modification of the above-described method of working the valve, and
which will be again referred to.
I would remark in addition to the two portions of the curved course to
drive the engine forward and backward, the curved course may have
other portions so formed as when they are brought into a working position
to vary the cut off of the steam, as may be desired. A similar application
of the curved course may be made when the valve works in the direction
of the length of the cylinder, but I prefer the arrangement first described.
In the modification shewn in Figure 2, the pin at the end of the valve
rod is made to work in a curved course equal only in length to the space
passed over by the pin at each oscillation of the cylinder; this curved
course is capable of turning about a centre c, and by thus moving it the
engine may be reversed, the curve when inclined in one direction being
suitable for driving the engine forward, and when inclined in the opposite
direction for driving it backwards. In engines of small size I make the
steam and exhaust passages in the same trunnion, and connect these with
the steam and exhaust pipes by flexible tubes of vulcanized india-rubber
and canvas.
This arrangement is shewn at Figure 3, which is a vertical section of
the lower part of the cylinder of an engine so constructed with the parts
connected therewith.
a is the cylinder; b, the valve box; c, the valve; d, d, the trunnions;
e, the steam, and f, the exhaust pipes; e, f, are the corresponding
passages. The pipes e and f are flexible, and as before mentioned are
made by preference of vulcanized india-rubber and canvas, they are con-
nected with the trunnion by couplings g; the portion 1 of the coupling
screws into the end of the passage, and is made with a conical nozzle,
over which the end of the flexible pipe is stretched; 2 is a ring of metal
tapering internally to correspond with the taper of the nozzle; this ring
fits over the pipe, and has a flange at its lower end; 3 is a nut which
screws under the ring 1; it has a flange within it, which comes in contact
with the flange on the ring 2, when it is screwed up, and it thus forces
the ring 2 downwards, so as to nip the pipe between it and the nozzle on
the piece 1, and thus a tight joint is made. When steam engines are used
to work with machinery which has frequently to be thrown off and on it
is difficult to regulate the speed of the engine, as when relieved of the work
it runs away before the ordinary governor is able to act. To obviate this,
I connect the driving pulley of the engine to its shaft by a spiral or other

page_text: spring of suitable strength, so that the pulley will lag more or less behind
the shaft according to the strain on the driving strap. On the boss of
the pulley a worm is cut, and working on this worm there is a nut con-
nected with a block capable of sliding but not of turning on the shaft, so
that the motion of the pulley independently of the shaft causes this block
to traverse, and in so doing it actuates a throttle valve, opening it when
the strain on the pulley is heavy, and closing it when the reverse is the
case, -and-when the strain is taken off suddenly the steam is cut off as
quickly as the spring can act.
Figure 4 is a longitudinal section of apparatus thus arranged. a is
a shaft; b, a pulley thereon, which would be capable of revolving-freely
were it not connected with the shaft by a spiral spring c, as is clearly
shown at Figure 5, which is a section through the pulley b. On the
boss of the pulley is an inclined groove or short screw b', and d is a nut
working therewith. This nut fits the shaft, on which it is capable of
sliding, but it is prevented from turning independently of the shaft by
a pin on the one entering a groove in the other-On-the exterior of
the nut a groove d' is formed, and this the forked end of the lever e
enters, so that when the nut moves lengthways on the shaft it actuates
the lever e; this turns on a centre at e', and is connected by a rod to
the throttle valve f in the steam pipe of the engine. When gear is
employed a similar arrangement may be made.
The same principle of so connecting the driving pulley to the shaft that
it can lag behind to a greater or less extent according to the strain upon
it, and applying the motion so obtained to actuate a valve in the steam
pipe of the engine, is also applied in Figure 6. a is the shaft; b, a driver
or projection thereon, which is made hollow and filled with mercury, and
closed at the end by the spring diaphragm b', as is more clearly shown in
Figure 7, which is an end view, partly in section, of the shaft and parts
connected therewith. c is a pulley on the shaft a. It would be capable
of turning freely thereon were it not for the projection c¹ upon it, which
bears against the flexible diaphragm '; this yields more or less accord-
ing to the pressure upon it, and forces the mercury down the hollow
driver b and a pipe d in connection therewith, which terminates in a
chamber in which is another diaphragm e, resting on the surface of
the mercury. The centre of this diaphragm which rises and falls with
the mercury in the chamber, is directly connected with the expansion
valve in the steam pipe, so that when, by the pressure on the driver,
more mercury is forced into the diaphragm chamber, the diaphragm

page_text: raises the valve f, and allows more steam to pass; in a similar manner,
when the pressure on the driver is lessened, the supply of steam is more
or less cut off. Diaphragms may be introduced into the pipe d, as at
d', if the length of this pipe is such that otherwise the mercury would fall,
leaving a vacuum above it.
In constructing steam boilers according to my Invention I form them
of two cylinders of different sizes placed vertically and concentrically
with a water space between them; the interior of the inner cylinder
forms the fire-box, the fire being supported on a circular grating. The
fire is fed by a passage formed through the side of the boiler, through
the two cylinders and the water space; this passage is fitted
with a fire-door. The two cylinders are closed at their
upper ends, the end of the outer cylinder being at a distance
above that of the inner cylinder, with a water space between the two.
The chimney or flue passes out through this water space, it being
placed in the centre of the top of the boiler. Within the fire-box there
is an inverted cone suspended by pipes from the top water space; these
pipes keep the cone constantly supplied with water, and allow the stean
generated in it to escape to the top of the boiler. The botton of the
cone is connected by a pipe or pipes with the water space at the side of
the boiler so as to permit a free circulation of water through the cone.
Figure 8 is a vertical section of a boiler so constructed. a is the outer,
and the interior cylinder. They are both closed at the top, and are
suitably connected together by stays and also by plating at their lower
edges. There is a water space between the two cylinders at the sides
and also at the top. c is the fire-grate, and a the opening for the fire-
door; e is the chimney passing from the interior of the inner cylinder b
(which is the fire-box) through the top of the outer one; f is a cone within
the fire-box; it is suspended from the top thereof by pipes f', which keep
it supplied with water from the main compartment of the boiler, and
allows the steam generated in it to pass to the top of the boiler. g is
a pipe passing from the bottom of the cone to the outer water space to
allow of the circulation of the water through it
Figure 9 is a vertical section of a somewhat similar arrangement.
Here the cone f is connected directly with the top of the fire-box, and
it is made double, the water space being between the two parts, and
there are perforations through the double cone for the passage of the
draught to the furnace.
In order to ascertain the height of water in a boiler I arrange a

page_text: stuffing box through the side of the boiler above the water line.
Through this a metal tube is passed; this tube is closed at the end
within the boiler, but has a hole cut in its side to which a valve is
fitted; this is connected with a lever with a float at its end. The outer
end of the tube is fitted with a handle. To ascertain the height of the
water the tube is turned gradually round by this handle, and as soon
as the float touches the water the valve will open and allow steam to
blow out through the tube; the inclination of the handle at this time
will indicate the amount of water in the boiler.
This arrangement is shown at Figure 10. a is a tube passing through
the side of the boiler b; it may be made tight by packing; in the Draw-
ing, however, it is shown-ground into a seat like an ordinary cock.c
is a handle on this tube by which it can be turned round; d is a valve
pressed on its seat by the weight of the ball float e, to the arm of which it
is connected by a link. To ascertain the depth of water in the boiler the
cock f is opened, and the tube a slowly turned by its handle until the
ball float touches the water, and is raised by it, then immediately the
steam passes along the tube, and escapes at the cock; the inclination of
the handle at the time this takes place indicates the level of the water.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Kinsey, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
HENRY KINSEY. (L.S.)