CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES, PART OF WHICH IS ÅDDLINÅRIM TO SUPPLYING WAMED NO SAW RAILING
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Simpson, of the Soho Iron Works,
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, for the Inven-
tion of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES, PART OF WHICH IS
ÅDDLINÅRIM TO SUPPLYING WAMED NO SAW RAILING "
Sealed the 25th July 1873, and dated the 29th May 1873
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Simpson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th May 1873.
I, JOSEPH SIMPSON, of the Soho Iron Works, Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES, PART OF WHICH IS
APPLICABLE TO SUPPLYING WATER TO STEAM BOILERS," to be as follows:-
The means employed are (in the case of existing engines), first, to
introduce an internal lining to the cylinder to reduce the diameter in
proportion to the increased pressure of steam used, and secondly, to use
the steam (of a higher pressure) expansively. It is proposed to add to
the ordinary valves an additional movement for cutting off the steam at
a certain part of the stroke of the piston, and thus to work the steam

page_text: expansively for the remainder of the stroke. For effecting this object a
screwed joint is introduced in a part of the eccentric rod or the valve
spindle, and by giving a mechanical but intermittent movement to
the said screw an elongation of the rod (or spindle) closes the valve
independently of the motion given to it by the eccentric in the usual way.
This latter movement being used for the slow opening of the valve for
the admission of steam to the cylinder, and the screw motion described
above is brought into action for the cutting off.
A further method of economising steam in engines is effected by
adding a high pressure cylinder, and by using the steam expansively
from one cylinder a second time into the larger or low pressure cylinder,
as usual. The novelty of the arrangement proposed is to place the
high-pressure cylinder in a horizontal or slightly inclined position under
or partly under the bottom of the low-pressure cylinder, in the case of
beam engines. The piston rod, connecting rod, and moving parts pass
on one side of the ordinary air pump rod, and are finally attached to an
elongation of the crank pin. The advantages gained by this arrange-
ment, are first, the close proximity of the two cylinders to each other,
thereby avoiding a serious loss of steam from condensation in transit
through long pipes, and secondly, in bringing the power of the high-
pressure cylinder into action at a period of the crank's revolution when
the ordinary connecting rod has ceased to act, technically called passing
the dead centres.
A further method of employing a second cylinder to work compound to
a beam engine is to sink the original cylinder lower down in the found-
ation, and to place the second or high-pressure cylinder upon the top
cover of the old cylinder and to have one piston rod passing through and
common to both cylinders.
Also an improved method for controlling the action of the valves of
expansion steam engines; for this purpose an ordinary hydraulic
accumulator may be used, the enormous power of which is controlled by
very small valves in connection with the governor or other moving part
of the engine, thereby effecting the degree of cut-off as well as the
actual movement of the valves. I also use water from the same source
to feed the boiler by which means a reduced but constant supply may be
regulated by a small valve to induce greater uniformity in the supply of
water to the boiler.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Joseph Simpson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 29th November 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
SIMPSON, of the Soho Iron Works, Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Joseph Simpson, Her special licence,
that I, the said Joseph Simpson, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph Simpson, 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 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN STEAM ENGINES, PART OF WHICH IS APPLICABLE FOR SUPPLYING WATER
TO STEAM BOILERS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Joseph Simpson, 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 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 Joseph Simpson, 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 (that is to say) :-
These improvements have for their object the economising of steam
used in the working of engines.
The means employed are (in the case of existing engines), first, to
introduce an internal lining to the cylinder to reduce the diameter in
proportion to the increased pressure of steam used; and secondly, to use
steam of a higher pressure expansively. An additional movement is

page_text: added to the ordinary valves for cutting off the steam at a certain part of
the stroke of the piston, and thus to work the steam expansively for the
remainder of the stroke. For effecting this object a screwed joint is
introduced in a part of the eccentric rod or the valve spindle, and by
giving a mechanical but intermittent movement to the said screw an
elongation of the rod or spindle closes the valve independently of the
motion given to it by the eccentric in the usual way. This latter move-
ment being used for the slow opening of the valve for the admission of
steam to the cylinder, and the screw motion described above is brought
into action for the cutting off.
A further method of economising steam in engines is effected by
adding a high pressure cylinder and by using the steam expansively
from one cylinder a second time into the larger or low pressure cylinder
as usual. The novelty of the arrangement proposed is to place the high
pressure cylinder in a horizontal or slightly inclined position under, or
partly under, the bottom of the low pressure cylinder in the case of beam
engines. The piston rod, connecting rod, and moving parts pass on one
side of the ordinary air pump rod, and are finally attached to an elonga-
tion of the crank pin.
Also an improved method for controlling the action of the valves of
expansion steam engines; for this purpose an ordinary hydraulic accu-
mulator may be used, the enormous power of which is controlled by very
small valves in connection with the governor or other moving part of the
engine, thereby effecting the degree of cut off as well as the actual
movement of the valves. I also use water from the same source to feed
the boiler, by which means a reduced but constant supply may be
regulated by a small valve to induce greater uniformity in the supply
of water to the boiler.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation, I will proceed to describe the four accompanying
Sheets of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters
marked thereon.
On Sheet 1 Fig. 1 is an elevation of an ordinary beam steam engine
to which my improvements are applied; and Figs. 2 and 3 are detached
views of parts of the same; a is the cylinder; b, b, the slide valves;
c, the weigh shaft with the vertical and horizontal levers; d is the
crank shaft; and e, the eccentric for working the valves, all of which are
made in the ordinary manner. As it is a well-known fact that it is more

page_text: economical to use high pressure steam instead of steam of a lower
pressure, I propose in existing steam engines to line the cylinder with an
internal lining, as shewn at f, in Fig. 1, to reduce the working diameter
of the cylinder in proportion to the increased pressure of steam used.
In the example given I have taken a cylinder of say 32 inches diameter,
and by means of the internal lining I reduce the working diameter to
about 23 inches; the area of the two cylinders is about 2 to 1, and
consequently I double the pressure of the steam used; it is, however,
evident that the relative proportions of the two cylinders can be varied
to any extent.
My improved cut-off motion is constructed in the following manner :—
The eccentric e works the rocking lever e', which passes through a slot in
the bushes and this bush is connected to the bush e' by screws projecting
from the pinion g, see Figs. 2 and 3; one of these screws has a right
handed thread, and the other a left-handed thread, and they take into
corresponding screws in the bushes e³ and e³, the latter being connected
to the vertical lever of the weigh shaft c by the link c¹.
The pinion g
is turned partly round in opposite directions by the segment h, which is
raised by the cam i fixed on the shaft i, driven by mitre wheels from the
crank shaft, and it descends by its own gravity. The mode of operation
is as follows: The slow motion for opening the valves when the steam
is admitted to the cylinder is imparted to them by the eccentric e,
rocking lever e¹, and link c¹, as usual, and the rapid motion for cutting
off the steam is obtained by the cam i, which lifts the segment h, thereby
turning the pinion 9 partly round and unscrewing the right and left-
handed screws out of the bushes e³ and e³, the effect of which is to
elongate the link for working the valves and closing the valves inde-
pendently of the eccentric e. The cut-off can be varied by varying the
height and position of the cam i.
On Sheet 2 Fig. 4 is an elevation; and Fig. 5, an end view of part
of a beam engine, to which other parts of my Invention are applied.
The parts marked a, b, c, d, and e are similar to those before described.
In this instance I propose to economise steam by adding the high-
pressure cylinder j to the ordinary low-pressure cylinder a, and by using
the steam expansively from the cylinder j into the cylinder a. The
cylinder is placed under the low-pressure cylinder, and the rod of the
piston in the cylinder j is connected to the sliding block j, which is
connected to a prolongation of the ordinary crank pin d'. On referring

page_text: to Fig. 5 it will be seen that the cylinder j is set a little to one side of
the axis of the cylinder a, in order that the moving parts of the high-
pressure engine may pass to one side of the ordinary air-pump rod. By
this arrangement the power can be considerably increased at a compara-
tively slight cost, and with very little addition to the space occupied.
The close proximity of the two cylinders reduces the loss of steam from
condensation in the connecting pipes, and the power of the high-pressure
cylinder produces the most advantageous result, being applied when the
crank is going over the dead centres.
On Sheet 3 Fig. 6 is an elevation of part of a beam engine, to which a
modification of my Invention is applied. In this instance the high-
pressure steam cylinder j is placed above the low-pressure cylinder a,
and the pistons of both the steam cylinders are fixed to the same piston
rod. The valves b, b, of the low-pressure cylinder a are moved in the
opposite direction to the valve k of the high-pressure cylinder by means
of the horizontal levers on the weigh shaft c, the vertical lever of which
is connected as usual to the eccentric e on the crank shaft d.
By this
arrangement when high-pressure steam is admitted to the under side of
the piston in the small cylinder ; the steam above the small piston is
conveyed by the side pipes to the under side of the large piston in the 1
cylinder a, where it expands and assists in raising it while the steam
above the large piston is exhausted or conveyed to the condenser in the
usual manner. When the pistons arrive at or near the upper part of
the cylinders the valves are reversed, and the steam is then admitted
above the pistons to bring them down.
Fig. 7 is an elevation; and Fig. 8, a plan of part of a beam engine, to
which another modification of my improved cut-off gear, shewn in
Sheet 1, is applied. In this arrangement the valve spindle is carried
down and connected to the screwed bush e², between which and the
bush is the pinion g, as shewn in Fig. 3. The segment / gears into
the pinion g, as before described. To the crank shaft d is fixed a mitre
wheel for driving the shaft i, on which is fixed the cam or tappet i,
which in revolving acts alternately on the bowls in the lever 1, one end
of which is jointed to a prolongation of the segment h.
The mode of operation is as follows:-The steam is admitted slowly :
by the action of the eccentric e, which is connected as usual to the
vertical arm of the weigh shaft, and the cut-off is effected rapidly by the
cam or tappet i acting alternately on the bowls in the lever, which

page_text: moves the segment h, first in one direction, and then in the other,
thereby turning the pinion g partly round, and causing the right and
left handed screws on the axle of the pinion g to lengthen and shorten
the spindle of the valves b.
Fig. 9 is an elevation; and Fig. 10, a plan of a modification of my
improved cut-off motion applied to a horizontal engine of the ordinary
construction. In this instance the spindle of the valve 6 is connected to
the screwed bush e³, and this bush is connected to the bush e³ by the
screwed axle of the pinion g, which is turned partly round in contrary
directions by the segment h, shewn in Fig. 2 and tappet i, as before
described in reference to Sheet 1.
Fig. 11 represents a modification of my improved cut-off motion. In
this case the eccentric e, shewn in Fig. 1, is dispensed with, and the
frame e is used instead. In this frame are two bowls, which are acted
upon by the tappets d³ and d. The shorter tappet d² is for the cut-off,
and the longer tappet d³, which acts on the same bowl, is for moving
the valve to admit the steam to the cyinder.
On Sheet 4 Fig. 12 is an elevation of part of a beam engine, to which
my improved method of controlling the action of the valves by means of
an ordinary hydraulic accumulator is applied; Fig. 13 is a plan of part
of the same. a is the lower part of the steam cylinder; b, the lower
slide valve; d, the crank shaft; and e, the eccentric, which is connected
to the vertical arm of the weigh shaft c as usual. The weigh shaft,
instead of moving in fixed bearings, is supported in the weighted arms
of the fulcrum shaft c³, the object of which will be described hereafter.
The ordinary governor m is connected to the lever n, which is hinged to
the valve box of the hydraulic cylinder o, the piston rod o¹, from which
is keyed to the headstock o³, sliding in a bed plate. The shaft &¹ is
driven, by mitre wheels from the crank shaft, and it is made in two
parts, the ends of which are provided with diagonal slots or faces fitting
in the bush o', which is supported in the headstock o².
The operation of the bush o³ is as follows:-When it is moved endwise
by the piston rod o¹ the diagonal faces fitting in the bush cause the outer
end of the shaft to be moved either backward or forward, according
to the direction in which the bush is moved. To the shaft is fixed the
eccentric ³, and the rod of the eccentric is connected to the lever p,

page_text: When the engine is working at its proper speed the bowl t is held out
of contact with both the friction pulleys on the wheels and s³, but
when the engine is running either too fast or too slow the lever u is
moved to bring the bowl in contact with one of the said friction pulleys,
thereby causing the cut-off to act sooner or later on the valve.
Fig. 16 represents in section my improved apparatus for supplying
water to steam boilers. w is a vessel which is in communication with
a hot well or other reservoir; w¹ is a pipe which is connected to the
accumulator; and wo is another pipe connected to the boiler to be fed.
The end of the pipe w¹ is contracted, and the opposite end of the pipe w³
is formed with a nozzle. When the water from the accumulator is
turned on, the current produced carries the water from the vessel w into
the pipe w³, and forces it into the boiler in the same manner as by a
Giffard's injector.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the
manner of performing the same, I wish to observe that I do not intend
to limit myself to the details given as they may be considerably varied
or modified according to the peculiar construction of the steam engines
to which they are applied, and I claim,―
First. The internal lining of the steam cylinder for reducing its
diameter in proportion to the increased pressure of steam used.
Secondly. The improved modes of actuating the valve for cutting off
the steam by elongating the eccentric rod or valve spindle, as shewn and
described in reference to Figs. 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, and 10.
Thirdly. The position and general arrangement of the high pressure
cylinder in connection with the low pressure cylinder of a beam engine,
as shewn and described in reference to Figs. 4, 5, and 6.
Fourthly. The improved cut-off motion, shewn and described in
reference to Fig. 11.
Fifthly. The application of water under pressure from an ordinary
hydraulic accumulator for controlling the action of the valves of steam
engines, as shewn and described in reference to Figs. 12 and 13, or any
equivalent arrangement of machinery for effecting the same object.
Sixthly. The improved machinery, shewn and described in reference
to Figs. 14 and 15, for controlling the cut-off by means of the governor.

page_text: And, lastly. The improved feed water apparatus, as shewn and
described in reference to Fig. 16.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Simpson, have hereto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of November One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.