IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS FOR BALANCING MOVING PARTS IN STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Taylor and William Cooke, both of
Birkenhead, in the County of Chester, Engineers, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS FOR BALANCING MOVING PARTS IN STEAM
ENGINES."
.
Sealed the 21st November 1871, and dated the 8th June 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Taylor and
William Cooke at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 8th June 1871.
We, JAMES TAYLOR and WILLIAM COOKE, both of Birkenhead, in the
County of Chester, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS FOR BALANCING THE MOVING PARTS
IN STEAM ENGINES," to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists in balancing the weight of the piston, piston
rods, and connecting rods, with their attachments for working the air and
circulating pumps in vertical inverted steam engines (more particularly
marine engines) by supporting such weight by the pressure of steam

page_text: upon small pistons or plungers working in cylinders arranged either
above, below, or at the sides of the engine cylinders.
Such balance cylinders and pistons or plungers may be arranged
in various ways; thus they may be fixed vertically above the engine
cylinders and the balance piston be connected directly to the working
piston by a rod passing through a stuffing box in the cylinder cover,
the steam being admitted below the balance piston through a pipe
leading either from the steam chest of the engine cylinder or cylinders
or from the supply steam pipe. Or in place of one single balance
cylinder and piston two balance cylinders and pistons may be arranged
either above, below, or at the sides of the engine cylinder with their
pistons connected by rods to a cross head fixed either on the before-
mentioned.rod.fixed to the working piston or on the working-piston rod
itself. Or the balance cylinder may be arranged below the engine
cylinder, and the piston rod of the latter be made to pass through
the balance cylinder and be connected directly to the balance piston.
Or the stroke of the balance cylinder may be reduced from that of
the engine cylinder by connecting the piston rod of the latter to the
one end of a lever, the other end of which works on a fixed fulcrum
while the piston of the balance cylinder is connected by a rod to an
intermediate point of the lever.
In all the above-described arrangements of balance cylinders the space
in the cylinder opposite that in which the steam acts may be made to
communicate either with the condenser of the engine or with the casing
of the low-pressure steam cylinder (when the engine is a compound high
and low-pressure engine) or with the atmosphere.
'
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Taylor and William Cooke in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 7th December 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JAMES 3
TAYLOR and WILLIAM COOKE, both of Birkenhead, in the County of
Chester, Engineers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-

page_text: fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said James Taylor and William Cooke, Her
special licence that we, the said James Taylor and William Cooke, our
executors, dministrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
James Taylor and William Cooke, our 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS FOR
BALANCING MOVING PARTS IN STEAM ENGINES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said James Taylor and William Cooke, our exe-
cutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our or
their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of 'us
or them, 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 we, the said James Taylor and William Cooke,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference
being had to the accompanying Sheets of Drawings, and to the figures
and letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
Our Invention consists in balancing the weight of the pistons, piston
rods, and connecting rods, with their attachments for working the air
and circulating pumps in vertical inverted steam engines (more par-
ticularly marine engines) by supporting such weight by a constant
steam pressure upon pistons or plungers working in cylinders arranged
cither above, below, or at the sides of the engine cylinders.
Such balance cylinders and pistons or plungers may be arranged in
various ways; thus they may be fixed vertically above the engine
cylinders and the balance piston be connected directly to the working
piston by a rod passing through a stuffing box in the cylinder cover,
the steam being admitted below the balance piston through a pipe
leading either to the steam chest of the engine cylinder or cylinders

page_text: or from the supply steam pipe or boiler or boilers: Or in place of one
single balance cylinder and piston, two balance cylinders and pistons may
be arranged either above, below, or at the sides of the engine cylinder
with their pistons connected by rods to a cross head fixed either on the
before mentioned rod fixed to the working piston or on the working 5.
piston rod itself. Or the balance cylinder may be arranged below the
engine cylinder and the piston rod of the latter be made to pass through
the balance cylinder and be connected directly to the balance piston.
Or the stroke of the balance cylinder may be reduced from that of the
engine cylinder by connecting the piston rod of the latter to the one 10
end of a lever the other end of which works on a fixed fulcrum while
the piston of the balance cylinder is connected by a rod to an inter-
mediate point of the lever.
In all the above described arrangements of balance cylinders the
space in the cylinder opposite that in which the steam acts may com- 15
municate either with the condenser of the engine or with the casing
of the low-pressure steam cylinder (when the engine is a compound
high and low pressure engine) or with the atmosphere.
On the accompanying Drawings are shewn various arrangements
of the balance cylinders which we employ in carrying our before 20
described Invention into practice. Similar letters of reference indicate
similar parts in each of the Figures.
Figures 1 and 2, on Sheet 1, shew respectively a part vertical section
and a plan of the cylinders of a compound inverted engine with our
Invention applied thereto. A is the high-pressure cylinder and A¹ is 25
the low-pressure cylinder. On the top of each cylinder is fixed a
balance cylinder B, B', carried upon pedestals C, C, fixed on the
cylinder covers of the engines. To the pistons P of the cylinders are
fixed rods D, D', passing through stuffing boxes E, E', on the cylinder
covers, and into the balance cylinders, inside which they are connected 30
to pistons G, G'. The cylinder covers F, F', of the balance cylinders
are conveniently formed in one casting with the brackets C, C', and
glands M, M³, are made to extend from the stuffing boxes of the steam
cylinders into the stuffing boxes of the balance cylinders so as to enclose
the rods D, D¹. The balance cylinders have ports at their lower ends 35
communicating by means of the pipe H with the supply steam pipe I to
the high-pressure cylinder, whereby steam enters the balance cylinders
•

page_text: beneath the pistons G, G, a cock or valve J being provided for regulating
such supply of steam. The upper ends of the balance cylinders com-
municate by means of ports K, K', with the escape pipes L, L, leading
either to the condenser of the engine or open to the atmosphere.
"
By this arrangement a constant pressure of steam is maintained
beneath the pistons G, G³, whilst a less pressure is maintained above
the pistons, the excess of pressure beneath the pistons being such as
entirely or partially to balance the weight of the pistons, piston rods, and
connecting rods of the engines with attachments thereto for working
the air and circulating pumps.
Figures 8 to 12 on Sheet II. shew diagrams of variously modified
arrangements of the balance pistons and cylinders. Figure 3 shews
an arrangement of balance cylinder B similar to that above described
as applied to a single inverted cylinder engine. Figure 4 shews an
arrangement wherein two balance cylinders B, B³, are fixed to the sides
of the steam cylinder A, and have piston rods N, N¹, connected to a
cross head O to which is fixed the rod D connected to the piston of the
steam cylinder A. Steam is admitted into the cylinders B, B', beneath
the pistons G, G³, while the space above the pistons is made to com-
municato with the condenser or with the atmosphere as in the previous
arrangements; Figure 5 shews the same arrangement as at Figuro 4
but with the balance cylinders B, B', fixed in inverted positions above
the steam cylinder A. At Figure 6 the balance cylinders B, B¹, are
fixed at the sides of the steam cylinder A as at Figure 4, but the rod D
in that arrangement is dispensed with, the piston rods N, N', of the
balance cylinders being connected directly to the piston rod P¹ of the
cylinder A by means of the cross head O. The cross head O at the same
time serves as the cross head to the piston rod P' to which the connecting
rod Qis attached. Figure 7 shews the arrangement as at Figure 6,
but with the balance cylinders arranged below the cross head O instead
of above the same. At Figure 8 the piston rod P' of the engine is made
to pass through the balance cylinder B'and has the piston G of the latter
fixed or formed on it. Steam is, as before, admitted below the piston G
for supporting the weight of the piston, piston rod, &c. of the engine.
At Figure 9 the piston rod of the balance cylinder B is connected to
a lever R turning on a fixed fulcrum at R' and connected at its other
end by links or by a sliding connection to the piston rod P¹ or to its
cross head; .Figure 10 shews the arrangement as at Figure 9, but with

page_text: the position of the balance cylinder reversed.. At Figures 11 and 12
the piston rod of the balance cylinder is connected to the lever R at
a point R³ beyond the fulcrum R³ of the lever; in these too last
arrangements therefore the steam has to be admitted above the
piston of the balance cylinder instead of below the same for balancing
the weight of the engine piston, &c.
.
In the four last described arrangements the levers R. may con-
veniently be at the same time the air pump levers of the engines.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that
we are aware that balance cylinders and pistons have already been
employed for balancing the slide valves of steam engines and that
balance cylinders and pistons have been used for balancing other
working parts, the steam supply of such cylinders being controlled by
moving slides or valves, we therefore do not claim such arrangements,
but what we claim is,―
First. Balancing the weight of the pistons, piston rods, and con-
necting rods (with their attachments for working the air and circulating
pumps) in vertical inverted steam engines by a constant steam pressure
upon the pistons or plungers of balance cylinders arranged and
operating substantially as herein-before set forth.
Second. The various arrangements of such aforesaid balance cylinders
herein-before described and shewn on the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, we, the said James Taylor and William Cooke,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Sixth day of
December, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and seventy-one.
ง
JAMES TAYLOR.
(L.S.)
WILLIAM COOKE. (L.S.)