IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES AND BOILERS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Randolph and John Elder, of Glasgow, in
the County of Lanark, North Britain, Engineers, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES AND BOILERS."
Sealed the 13th October 1859, and dated the 28th April 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Randolph and
John Elder at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 28th April 1859.
We, CHARLES RANDOLPH and JOHN ELDER, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES AND BOILERS," to be as
follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates more particularly to marine engines and boilers, but
some of the improvements comprehended in it are also applicable to other
engines and boilers.
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A first portion of the Invention has particular reference to
engines, and comprehends improved arrangements for connecting the engine
and propeller shafts, and including a means of altering their relative velocities.
In one modification of these arrangements the engine and propeller shafts are
in the same line, one fitting and turning in a socket in the end of the other.
A clutch is provided by means of which the shafts can be made to rotate
Price 8d7

page_text: together or independently. An intermediate parallel shaft is mounted in
bearings in standards, also carrying the contiguous end bearings of the engine
and propeller shafts. On this intermediate shaft are keyed two spur wheels
arranged to gear with spur wheels, one on the engine shaft and the other on
the propeller shaft. These wheels are proportioned so as to give an increased
velocity to the propeller shaft, and can be thrown into or out of gear by
means of clutches or otherwise. With this arrangement the propeller may be
madę to rotate at the same speed as the engine shaft, or at a higher speed,
determined by the proportions of the wheels. By providing additional wheels,
more than two relative speeds can be obtained.
A second portion of the Invention relates to the condensers of marine and
other engines, and consists in providing in the condenser one or more spiral or
helical coils of pipes or tubes for the passage through of the cold condensing
water, this water not being mixed with the steam. The improved arrange-
ment forms a surface condenser, but the improved form or arrangement of the
pipes or tubes renders them less liable to injury and rapid wear than those of
ordinary surface condensers.
A third portion of the Invention relates to marine boilers, and consists in
making each separate boiler with two or more up-takes or funnels, whereby a
much improved and a more convenient arrangement of the boiler details is
obtained.
A fourth portion of the Invention relates to marine and other steam-
engine boilers of the multitubular class, and consists in giving the tubes or
corresponding passages an inclination down towards the smoke box, in order
that dust or soot in the tubes or passages may tend to descend into the smoke
box, the descent being aided by the gas currents passing through the tubes or
passages.
A fifth portion of the Invention relates to marine and other steam-engine
boilers,and consists in providing for the heating of the water in separate
vessels or tanks, and for the pumping of it thence into a comparatively small
steam-generating vessel or boiler, so that only this small vessel has to be made
strong enough to withstand the working steam pressure. In other words, this
part of the Invention consists in reducing to a minimum the water space of
the actual steam-generating vessel or boiler, and in heating the whole of the
feed water as nearly as possible or convenient up to the boiling point before
introducing it into such vessel.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Randolph and John Elder in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 28th October 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, CHARLES
RANDOLPH and JOHN ELDER, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North,
Britain, Engineers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said Charles Randolph and John Elder, Her special licence that we,
the said Charles Randolph and John Elder, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said Charles Randolph and John Elder, our
executors, administrators, or 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 STEAM ENGINES
AND BOILERS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Charles
Randolph and John Elder, our executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under our, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 Charles Randolph and John Elder, do
hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement in writing, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
Our said Invention relates more particularly to marine engines and boilers,
but some of the improvements comprehended in it are also applicable to other
engines and boilers.
And in order that our said Invention may be properly understood and
carried into effect, we shall, in particularly describing the same, refer to the
seven accompanying Sheets of explanatory Drawings, upon which we have
delineated modifications of apparatus embodying our improvements.
A first portion of our Invention has particular reference to screw-pro-

page_text: peller" engines, and comprehends improved arrangements for connecting the
engine and propeller shafts, including a means of altering their relative
velocities. One modification of these arrangements is represented in Figures 1
and 2, Sheet 1 of the accompanying Drawings, Figure 1 being a longitudinal
vertical section, and Figure 2 a plan. The engine and propeller shafts A, B,
are in the same line, one fitting and capable of turning in a socket in the end
of the other. A clutch C is provided, by means of which the shafts A, B, can
be made to rotate together, or independently. In the example shown, the
clutch C is upon the propeller shaft B, being capable of moving longitudinally
upon a feather thereon, and it gears with a counterpart clutch D formed on
the face of a spur wheel E keyed on the engine shaft A; an intermediate
parallel shaft F is mounted in bearings in standards G, also carrying the con-
tiguous end bearings H, I, of the engine and propeller shafts A, B. On this
intermediate shaft F are keyed two spur wheels J, K, arranged to gear with
spur wheels, one E keyed on the engine shaft A, and the other L keyed on
the propeller shaft B. These four wheels E, J, K, L, are so proportioned as
to give to the propeller shaft B a greater velocity than that which would be
directly imparted to it by the engine shaft. A. It follows, that with the
arrangement just described, the propeller may be made to rotate at the same
speed as the engine shaft, or at a different speed, (either higher or lower,)
determined by the proportions of the wheels. In the Drawing, the wheels are
represented as in gear for giving a higher velocity, the clutch C being drawn
away from the engine shaft; when a velocity equal to that of the engine shaft
is required, the intermediate shaft F is moved longitudinally to take the
wheels J, K, out of gear from the wheels E, L, and the clutch C is moved
into gear to form a direct connection between the engine and propeller shafts
A, B. By providing additional wheels, more than two relative speeds can be
obtained. In the Drawing, the intermediate shaft F is represented as directly
above the engine and propeller shafts A, B, but it may be placed in other
positions, if found desirable.
A second portion of our Invention relates to the condensers of marine and
other engines, and consists in providing in the condenser one or more spiral or
helical coils of pipes or tubes for the passage through of the cold condensing
water, this water not being mixed with the steam. The improved arrangement
forms a surface condenser, but the improved form and disposition of the pipes
or tubes renders them less liable to injury and rapid wear than those of the
ordinary surface condensers. In Figures 3, 4, and 5, Sheets 2, 3, and 4 of
the accompanying Drawings, is represented an arrangement of paddle-wheel
engines with a condenser embodying our improvements. In these engines

page_text: the steam cylinders A lie below and on opposite sides of the shaft B in inclined
positions, whilst the condenser C is directly below the shaft and between the
cylinders, its casing forming the central portion of the framing of the engines.
The condenser C is shown in vertical section in Figure 3, and in horizontal
section in Figure 4, whilst in Figure 5 the condenser is shown in elevation,
the pumps being shown in section. The cold condensing water enters the
condenser C by the pipes D running horizontally across the top of the con-
denser. These pipes D are formed with short branches alternately on each
side, and into each branch is fitted a spirally coiled pipe or tube E, having its
opposite end in the centre of the coil fitted into one of a series of short
branches of the outlet pipes F, which last run horizontally through the centres
of the several coils, and pass out at the sides of the condenser. These coils E,
starting alternately from opposite sides of the inlet pipes D, are carried round
in opposite directions, each through a series of convolutions, to be finally con-
necied according to their directions to the branches alternately on opposite
sides of the outlet pipes F. The outlet pipes F communicate with the pumps
G, by which the condensing water is drawn through the coils of pipes E in the
condenser. The pumps G may be conveniently worked by rods from the
eccentrics H, which actuate the air pumps I and the feed pumps J. The
exhaust steam from the cylinders A passes to the condenser by the pipes K,
and the water of condensation, descending into a trough L running across the
bottom of the condenser, has access to the air pumps by passages at each
end of this trough. The details of arrangement of the condenser may be
modified in a variety of ways; thus, the spiral coils may be disposed about a
vertical or other axis instead of a horizontal one; or the coils may be helical
in form, and arranged in concentric series about a vertical, horizontal or other
axis. The pumps may be arranged to force the condensing water through the
coiled pipes, instead of drawing it through, as described; or the condensing
water may be applied outside the pipes, the steam being passed through inside
them.
A third portion of our Invention relates to marine boilers,and consists in
making each separate boiler with two or more up-takes or funnels, whereby a
much improved and a more convenient arrangement of the boiler is obtained,
whilst a larger up-take flue surface is made available for drying or super-
heating the steam, and in practice renders unnecessary the complicated
apparatus hitherto used for that purpose. This improvement is embodied in
the boilers represented in Figures 6, 7, and 8, Sheets 5 and 6 of the
accompanying Drawings. Figure-6 is a front elevation of a boiler, partly in
vertical section; Figure 7 is a side elevation of a pair of boilers, one of them

page_text: being in vertical section; and Figure 8 is a plan corresponding to Figure 7.
Each boiler has three furnaces A, the gases from which passing backwards
and upwards, according to a common arrangement, return to the smoke
box D, at the front by the tubes B, whence they rise by three separate
up-takes C, which are encompassed by a steam drying or superheating
chamber E. These three up-takes, together with those of the companion
boiler, may communicate at top with a single funnel, or with separate funnels.
The back flues and smoke boxes appertaining to the several furnaces may
communicate with each other or not, as may be found desirable.
A fourth portion of our Invention relates to marine and other steam engine
boilers of the multitubular class, and consists in giving the tubes ог
corresponding passages, usually disposed horizontally, an inclination down
towards the smoke box, in order that dust or soot in the tubes or passages
may tend to descend into the smoke box, the descent being aided by the gas
currents passing through the tubes or passages. This improvement is
embodied in the boilers represented in Figures 6, 7, and 8, already herein
referred to, and is more particularly shown in Figure 8, where the tubes B are
drawn in section, being inclined down towards the smoke box D, according to
this part of our Invention.
A fifth portion of our Invention relates to marine and other steam-engine
boilers, and consists in providing for the heating of the water in separate
vessels or tanks, and for the pumping of it thence into a comparatively small
steam-generating vessel or boiler, so that only this small vessel has to be
made strong enough to withstand the working steam pressure. In other
words, this part of the Invention consists in reducing to a minimum the water
space of the actual steam-generating vessel or boiler, and in heating the
whole of the feed water, as nearly as possible or convenient, up to the boiling
point before introducing it into such vessel. This portion of our Invention
may be developed in a variety of ways; but one example will suffice to show
in what way we practically apply it. Such an example is represented upon
Sheet of the accompanying Drawings; Figure 9 being a front elevation,
partly in section, Figure 10 a transverse vertical section, and Figure 11.
a horizontal section of a combined heater and steam generator. The structure
comprises a central water-heating tank A, and two steam-generating boilers
B, C, one at each side of the tank A. Each boiler B, C, is in this instance
constructed with two furnaces D, the gases from which pass back over
bridges E, to a back flue F, which communicates with a chamber or flue G,
at the back of the tank or heater A. The heater A having in this example
no additional furnaces, is thus heated by the gases discharged from the

page_text: boilers B, C. These gases pass from the back chambers G in the heater,
through a number of horizontal tubes H, to the smoke boxes I at the front
up from which they rise by two up-takes J, to a single funnel K. It is
preferred to arrange the tubes H with spaces, as shown at L, to give con-
venient access for cleaning, and also serving for the passage across of stays.
Many of the details of construction will be easily understood from the Draw-
ings, and are, moreover, susceptible of numerous modifications, whilst it is
not thought necessary to show a number of details, which are the same as
in ordinary boilers. The heater or tank A is supplied with water at a lowly
situated inlet M, and the heated water is withdrawn from the tank by out-
lets N, situated near the surface, to be pumped thence into the steam-
generating boilers B, C, by the inlets P. It will be obvious that with this
arrangement the large proportion of the apparatus, consisting of the heater or
tank A, may be made of comparatively light materials, as it is not subjected
to the full working steam pressure, but has its safety valve loaded considerably
under the working pressure, or is open to the atmosphere. The most
important advantage gained by this portion of our Invention, and embodied in
the example just described, consists in the simplification of the constructive
details of the steam-generating and more severely tried portion of the
apparatus, and the removal therefrom of the complicated tubular heating
surface, the latter being placed where it will be subjected to little or no
pressure, and where it will be less liable to injury from incrustation and
sediment.
Having thus particularly described our said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is or may be used or carried into effect, we have to state that
we do not restrict ourselves to the precise details herein-befere described or
delineated, and that we do not claim to have invented every separate detail
herein-before described and delineated; but that what we consider to be novel
and original, and claim as the Invention secured to us by the herein-before in
part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the communicating of the power of the engines to screw or similar
propellers by mechanism capable of giving, as may be required, either a direct
connection with equal speed, or an increased speed by means of an indirect
connection, substantially as herein-before described.
Second, the constructing of surface condensers for steam engines with spiral
or helical coils of pipes, substantially as herein-before described.
Third, the constructing of marine steam boilers with two or more separate
up-takes to each separate vessel or boiler, and the surrounding of such up-
takes with steam drying or superheating chambers.

page_text: Fourth, the arranging of the tubes or corresponding passages of multitubular
or similar steam boilers with a downward inclination towards the smoke
boxes.
Fifth, the constructing of combined heaters and steam generators, substan-
tially as herein-before described, more particularly with reference to Sheet 7
of the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, we, the said Charles Randolph and John Elder, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-fifth day of October,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT, Patent Agent,
28, St. Enoch Square, Glasgow.
ARL
NDOLPH. (L.S.)
JOHN ELDER.
(L.S.)