NEW OR IMPROVED MEANS OF AND APPARATUS FOR ACTUATING THE VALVES OF AND REGISTERING THE WORK DONE BY STEAM AND OTHER MOTIVE POWER ENGINES
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Percy Ruskin Allen of Belvedere Road, Lambeth, in
the County of Surrey, Engineer for an Invention of "NEW OR IMPROVED
MEANS OF AND APPARATUS FOR ACTUATING THE VALVES OF AND REGISTERING
THE WORK DONE BY STEAM AND OTHER MOTIVE POWER ENGINES
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Percy Ruskin Allen at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 21st July 1882.
PERCY RUSKIN ALLEN of Belvedere Road, Lambeth, in the County of Surrey,
Engineer "NEW OR IMPROVED MEANS OF AND APPARATUS FOR ACTUATING THE
VALVES OF AND REGISTERING THE WORK DONE BY STEAM AND OTHER MOTIVE
POWER ENGINES"
My Invention relates principally to improvements in the means of actuating the
valve gear of steam and other motive power engines more particularly applicable
to that kind of valve gear known as trip gear, such as the Corliss, Sulzer,
Zimmermann, Wheelock, Ramsbotham, and others, in which the valves are opened
by the movement of a crank, eccentric or cam and are shut suddenly at a
determined portion of the stroke by means of a weight or spring or the pressure
of the steam or atmosphere.
The object of this part of my Invention is to enable the tripping or releasing
to be effected by means of solenoids or electro-magnets which become active when
a current of electricity is sent through them. The distance that the piston has
travelled in the cylinder, before the valve closes is determined by causing the
governor to shift the contact pieces which transmit the current to the magnets
so that the contact is made and the current sent to the tripping magnets or
solenoids either sooner or later in the stroke.
In cases where the engine is used for driving dynamo electric machines for the
production of light, heat or transmission of power, sometimes dispense with the
mechanical governor on the engine and control the relative positions of the contact

page_text: pieces or brushes for releasing the valves by means of an electromagnet or electro-
magnets or by a solenoid or solenoids placed either in the main circuit of the
dynamo machine or machines or in a derivation therefrom. The duration of the
exhaust may also be influenced by a similar arrangement of trip gear, so that the
speed of the engine may be controlled by more or less throttling the exhaust, as
well as by altering the point of cut off.
According to one method of carrying out my Invention, I employ a copper scroll
which is fixed on the shaft of the engine or upon a lay shaft running at the same
speed. This scroll is insulated from the shaft and is in communication with a
battery or electric machine. In the course of its revolution it comes in contact
with two copper contact springs or brushes, which are insulated from one another
and are in communication with the electro magnets controlling the steam valves.
As the scroll passes the brush a current is sent through the magnets, the trip
motion is released and the valve is shut. Or I. may cause the governor to move
the brushes lengthways on the scroll or across the scroll so that the contact is
made sooner or later relatively to the position of the crank. According to another
arrangement the brushes are fixed and the scroll is moved lengthways on the
shaft, or the brushes may be fixed and the contact piece having no end motion
on the shaft but an angular motion thereon by means of a spiral bush, controlled
by a governor which enters a spiral in the interior of the scroll thus causes the
scroll to advance relatively to the crank. Where the exhaust valve is acted upon,
a similar scroll governed in the same manner is required. According to another
plan I attach a metallic spiral to the crosshead of the engine which spiral bar
is insulated from the crosshead but moves backwards and forwards with it and
is in communication with one pole of the battery or machine. This spiral bar
passes between two contact springs or brushies which are fixed in a hollow brush
capable of being turned round the axis of the spiral bar which makes contact with
each of these springs once in the course of each stroke of the piston and it is
evident that if the angular position of the brush and contact springs is varied the
contact is made sooner or later relatively to the position of the piston in the
cylinder and the angular position of the springs is controlled by the governor.
A switch worked either by the movement of the spiral bar or by some other
driving part of the engine prevents the current being sent through the spring
during the reverse stroke of the engine. A similar arrangement may be employed
worked by the movement of the eccentric rod or valve spring of the engine. The
magnets or solenoids may be made to actuate any form of tripping or releasing
motion and the valves may be circular, semi-circular, flat, slide or grid-iron, and
when released may be closed by any of the ordinary steam, air, or spring
arrangements.
In one arrangement I open the valves by means of cams and cause the valve
lever to engage with a spring tongue which prevents it closing until acted upon
by the magnets. This is also applicable to the exhaust valve when required. In
another arrangement I employ grid-iron valves opened by an eccentric which is
connected by a rocking lever and links to the valve spindles, the block to which
the links are attached engaging with the valve spindle through a catch which is
acted upon by the clectro magnets. Or in the case of "D" valves having grid
cut-off valves at the back the spindles of these valves have collars upon them
which engage with clips attached to the spindle of the "D" valves so that the
grid valves move in unison with the "D" valves, but when the clips are open at
a certain portion of the travel by means of electro magnets, the grid-valve is
instantly shut and the ingress of steam to the cylinder ceases. In another
arrangement the valves are opened by means of cams, eccentrics or cranks and
the tripping is done by means of small steam cylinders, the valves of which are
actuated by means of magnets or solenoids or the main valve may be opened or
shut entirely by small cylinders controlled by means of electro magnets or solenoids.
In cases where the engine is employed for driving machines for producing
electricity, a mechanical governor may be dispensed with and the scroll or its

page_text: equivalent may be controlled by a solenoid or electro magnet placed either in the
main circuit or in a derivation therefrom. The pull of the core in this solenoid
or the pull of the armature in the magnet may be balanced by a weight or spring,
or the solenoid or magnet may be wound differentially and the current from a
series of standard cells made to partially oppose the current from the generator.
This plan is also applicable for controlling the valves of those gas engines in which
the explosion is regulated and caused to take place by means of a cam sliding
lengthways on a lay shaft and in those engines in which the explosion is regulated
by means of a tappet motion. In these cases the solenoids or electro magnets may
be used to shift the cam (or lever as the case may be) upon the shaft or raise or
lower the piece struck by the tappet motion.
According to another part of iny Invention which may be combined (or not)
with that before described I may use arrangements whereby the electro magnets
can be made to release the valves from any point away froin the engine, so that
for instance in a cotton mill, the engine inay be instantly stopped from any room
in the mill, and I arrange contact keys or plugs in various portions of the mill so
that when a contact is made, the circuit is closed through all the magnets and the
valves are simultaneously released, or it may be arranged so that only the steam
valves may be released. I also apply a contact arrangement with the governor
so that when a governor from any cause exceeds a certain speed the circuit
through the magnets is completed and the valves all closed. I also make the
governor so that if it stops suddenly through the breakage of its gear wheels
or the failure of the strap by which it is driven the contact will be also made,
but if it stops slowly as in the ordinary course of events the contact is not
acted upon.
In another arrangement I make the governor arın always touch the contact
piece when the governor is stopped, in which case I arrange a switch so that the
circuit between the back contact stop of the governor and the valves is broken,
when the starting valve of the engine is shut and is automatically made when the
starting valve
opened a proper distance. In cases where no mechanical governor
is employed but where the valves are released by a solenoid or magnet as before
described, I obtain the same result by causing the core or keeper to strike two
stops, so that if the current generated by the machine exceeds a certain amount
or suddenly falls, the steam is cut off. I may also employ an arrangement for
registering the amount of work done at each stroke of the engine by means of a
chronograph which is actuated by the same current that releases the valves. I use
by preference a small electro magnetic recorder which has a longitudinal_motion
imparted to it, by means of a cam on the engine shaft or by the cross head on the
eccentric rod. The pointer or style may be made to mark a sheet of paper or a
drum which is fed round a little every stroke and it is obvious that as the style
partakes of the longitudinal motion of the magnets and marks the paper only at
the moment the valve is released, the curve drawn or traced on the paper or drum
will be a record of all the points of cut off, and a similar chronograph may be used
to mark automatically the pressure of the steam at the same instant the longi-
tudinal motion being in this case controlled by a lever worked by a gauge in
communication with the steam pipe. This chronograph is also in communication
with the electro magnets of the valves so that the moment the electro magnet acts,
a record is made of the pressure of the steam and the point of cut off.
Or this portion of my Invention may be used in cases where the valves are not
released or controlled by electricity, the current in such case being sent through
the chronograph by means of a contact made by the mechanical tripping motion
at the moment of tripping.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Percy Ruskin Allen in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th January 1883.
PERCY RUSKIN ALLEN of Belvedere Road, Lambeth, in the County of Surrey,
Engineer. "NEW OR IMPROVED MEANS OF AND APPARATUS FOR ACTUATING THE
VALVES OF AND REGISTERING THE WORK DONE BY STEAM AND OTHER MOTIVE
POWER ENGINES
"
My Invention relates principally to improvements in the means of actuating the
valve gear of steam and other motive power engines more particularly applicable
to that kind of valve gear known as trip gear, such as the Corliss, Sulzer,
Zimmermann, Wheelock, Ramsbotham, and others in which the valves are opened
by the movement of a crank, eccentric or cam, and are shut suddenly at a
determined portion of the stroke by means of a weight or spring or the pressure of
the steam or atmosphere. According to another part of my invention which may
be combined (or not) with that before described, I may use arrangements so that
the electro magnets can be made to release the valves from any point away from
the engine, so that, for instance in a cotton mill, the engine may be instantly
stopped from any room in the mill.
I also apply a contact arrangement with the governor, so that when a governor
from any cause, exceeds a certain speed, the circuit through the magnets is com-
pleted and the valves all closed, or if the governor stops suddenly through the
breakage of its gear wheels or the failure of the strap by which it is driven, the
contact will be also made, but if it stops slowly as in the ordinary course of events,
the contact is not acted upon.
I may also employ an arrangement for registering the amount of work done at
each stroke of the engine by means of a chronograph which is actuated by the
sane current that releases the valves.
And in order that the said Invention may be well understood I shall now proceed.
more particularly to describe the same, reference being made to the accompanying
sheets of drawings, on which Figures 1 and 2 Sheet 1 shew ny improved valve
gear applied to an ordinary form of Corliss Engine in which the valves are opene 1
by a wrist plate a worked by an eccentric b in the usual manner, but the catches
to the valves are released or tripped by means of the magnets or solenoids c. c.
which become active when a current of electricity is sent through them and suck
in the cores. d. d. which turn the tongues e. e. c. e. and so separate the clips f. f. ff.
-When the current ceases to flow in a solenoid the pressure of the clips f. f.
upon the tongues e causes them to return to their normal position or become again
inclined and thus draw out the cores d. d-The distribution of the current to the
solenoids is effected by means of contact drums g. g. which consist of cylinders of
insulated material in which are embedded metallic strips h. 1. extending helically
round the cylinders. An cularged view of this arrangement is shewn in figures 7
and 9 These helical pieces or scrolls h. h. are in metallic connection with the
cylinder y which is in communication with one pole of the battery or source of
electricity by means of the contact rubbers i. i.-It is evident that if the scrolls h. h.
revolve once in the course of the revolution of the engine, that contacts will be made
in succession with the four rubbers i. i. i. i. and the current will be sent through
the solenoids c. c. c. c.-As will be seen from figures 7 and 9, the drums g carrying
the scrolls h. h. turn with the lay shafts j but are free to move lengthwise thereon,
while the rubbers i. i. i. i. are held in brackets which are adjustable on the insulated
stud, the position of the drums g lengthways on the shaft j is controlled by
means of the governor so that as the speed tends to increase, the governor moves

page_text: the drums with the scroll lengthways so that contact is made with the rubbing
pieces i. i. sooner relatively to the position of the crank and the valve is released
and shut when the piston has travelled a shorter distance in the cylinder. When
the speed falls, the reverse action takes place and the steam is admitted for a longer
time into the cylinder-Figure 8 shews a modification of this arrangement-In
this case the contacts are not made helical but extend straight across the drums g. g.
which are prevented from moving lengthways on the shaft j and are driven by means
of a spiral sleeve which has an end movement on the shaft J controlled by the
governor As the sleeve 7 enters or recedes from the drum g it turns it forward or
backward with regard to the crank pin and the contacts are made and the valves
shut sooner or later as the case may be.
Another arrangement for distributing the current to the solenoids or magnets
is shewn in figures 10. 11. 12-In this case it will be seen that the scroll h¹ is
mounted in an insulated disc m and is in communication through the Brush
or rubber n with one pole of the generator-In this case the other rubbers
or brushes n¹. n². are carried by rods o which are insulated from one another
and connect the rubbers or brushes n'. m². electrically to their respective solenoids
-These rods o are arranged so as to form a frame which moves in suitablo
guides parallel with the face of the disc m its position being determined by
the governor, and as this governor rises or falls the brushes or rubbers n¹. n².
make contact with the scrolls h². h¹. sooner or later relatively to the crank pin-
Figures 3 and 4 shew another arrangement for releasing the valve-In this case
electro magnets c¹ are employed which when they are rendered active attract
armatures that actuate clutches on the valve spindles themselves, which
transmit the movements from the wrist plate to the valves-Antagonistic springs 8
keep the clutches in gear until the armatures p are attracted when the valves are
released. In the modification figures 5 and 6, ordinary clip gear is used similar to
that shewn in figures 1 and 2 but fixed magnets c² and armatures p¹ are attached
to bell crank levers t which actuate the tongues e'. In Figures 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. and 6,
the exhaust valves are shewn controlled in a similar manner to the steam valves
which with large engines in many cases is advantageous but of course this is not
essential to my invention which may or may not be applied to the exhaust valves
as desired The valves when released may be closed by means of any of the spring
and dashpot arrangements at present in use but these have been omitted from the
drawings for the sake of clearness-In combination with this electric valve gear
it may be advisable sometimes to employ a mechanical device arranged to trip the
valves at a certain point, should the inagnet or solenoid fail to act-An arrange-
ment of this kind is shewn in Figure 5, in which it will be seen that should from
any case the magnets c not act properly the clips f¹ would be independently
opened at a determined point of the stroke by coming in contact with the studs, or
instead of studs the tongue e¹ itself may be made to turn mechanically to effect the
same result. Figure 14 is a diagrammatic view of the connections in my electric
valve gear applied to an engine for driving a mill or factory. In this case it will be
seen that the positive pole x of the battery is in communication with the rubber i¹,
drum g¹ and scrolls h, and also with the stud and contact keys in the safety boxes. The
other pole y of the battery may be connected to the engine frame as shewn which
can thus form the return lead, and when this is done the ends of the wires of each
pair of solenoids or magnets are also brought to the frame. In the ordinary course
the circuit is only completed when one of the scrolls h makes a contact with one
of the rubbers the current then flows from its respective solenoid or magnet and
back to the battery, but should the engine run or race away from any cause, such
as the breaking of belting or gearing, the governor rising beyond its usual position
will press the lever into contact with the stud, and thus complete the circuit
through all the magnets or solenoids simultaneously so that all the valves are
closed at the same time and the engine is quickly stopped-To prevent the
momentum of the fly wheel continuing the motion and opening the valves on the
ensuing stroke, the contact plunger in the stud is so arranged that once pressed in

page_text: it remains so until released by hand-Where it is desirable of having a ready
means of instantly stopping the engine from a distance, such as is the case in a
cotton mill or manufactory, an arrangement of safety boxes, like those shown at u
may be employed-Each of these boxes u contains a suitable key, knob or
plunger u which when pressed or pulled completes the circuit from the battery
simultaneously, thus stopping the engine. Any number of these boxes u may be
employed and conveniently disposed so that in the event of an accident or any
derangement of the machinery the engine can be at once stopped from any part
of the factory. Figure 13 shews an enlarged view of contact plungers actuated by
the governor.
In this case both boxes are so connected with the battery that when
either of the plungers u². u³. are pressed in, the circuit is completed and the engine
stopped. The lever v connected to the governor carries two knobs w. w. one of
which w is rigidly connected to the lever while the other w' is connected to a
stiff springs as shewn. When the governor is acting normally the lever v plays
between the two plungers u³. us. without coming in contact with either of them
but should the engine suddenly race or run away, the lever v will move so far
forward that the knob w will press in the plunger u³ and make a contact which
completes the circuit, a spring catch 82 may be applied to keep the plunger u² in
position until it is released by hand. When the engine stops gradually, as in the
ordinary course of events, the knob w¹ moves with the lever and stops clear of
the plunger u³, but should the governor fall suddenly owing to the breaking of its
strap or failure of the gear wheels, the momentum of the knob w¹ causes it to
overcome the spring s¹ and continue its motion forward, driving the plunger u¹
into contact and releasing the valves-Figure 15 shews a somewhat similar
arrangement but in this case the governor lever when at rest always makes
contact with the plunger, and to enable the engine to be started the conductor
leading from blank to the solenoids or magnets is fitted with an interrupting catch
which is so interlocked with the starting valve that when the valve is closed the
circuit leading from the said catch must of necessity be open-Figure 16 shews the
general arrangement of an engine in which the distributing scrolls and governor are
placed at some distance away so as to avoid vibration and enable a very sensitivo
governor to be employed. The drawing shews a governor similar to those often
used for controlling the movement of astronomical instruments, but the particular
form of governor used constitutes no part of my invention, the drawing shews a
secondary battery A for producing the current for the magnets or solenoids the
battery A being charged by a small dynamo machine B driven from the engine or
shafting and this is a convenient arrangement as a secondary battery, retaining
sufficient current to act immediately the engine starts, but it must be understood
that any source of electricity may be employed without affecting the principle of
my invention Figures 17. 18 and 19 Sheet 2, shew my electric valve gear applied
to an engine in which flat valves C are employed. In this arrangement the
valves C are opened by means of cams D which press against blocks z, fixed in
levers E-Each of these levers E is at one end attached to the valve spindle F and
at the other works over a spring catch 82 to which is fixed the armature G, the
latter being under the influence of the magnets I. The action is as follows:-
The cam D opens the steam valves at the commencement of the stroke and causes
the lower end of the lever E to pass up over the catch &* which then springs back
and holds the valve open until the armature G is attracted by the magnets 1-
When this occurs the catch 8 is pulled back and permits the lever E to descend
and the valve is promptly shut by means of the steam acting upon the small piston J
which also contains a small plunger working in a dashpot L as shewn in
figure 17, the plunger and dashpot cylinder L are preferably made conical
with a valve M opening inwards in the dash pot L, but any equivalent
arrangement may be employed-Figure 18 shews the exhaust valve worked by
an eccentric b¹ on the same lay shaft that carries the cams D (in figure 17) but if
desired these can also be worked by cams and similar tripping apparatus applied-
In Figure 19 a scroll h³ similar to that shewn in Figures 1. 2. 7 and 8 Sheet 1, is

page_text: "
"
The
used to distribute the current to the magnets-In the drawing the ordinary form
of governor is dispensed with and distributing arrangement is controlled by means
of a solenoid or electro magnet c³ placed in a circuit in which a current of electricity
is flowing This arrangement may be adopted in cases where the engine is used
for driving dynamo machines for producing electric currents as then the controlling
magnet or solenoid c may be placed in the main circuit or in a deviation thereto
so that when the current flowing in. the circuit varies either above or below its
normal strength, the cord d¹ of the solenoid or the armature of the magnet is
attracted more or less and shifts either the scroll h³ or bracket carrying the rubbers
and thus varies the point of cut-off-In Figure 19 the top of the core d' is shewn
guided by one arm of a parallel motion o so that it is suspended freely in the
solenoid but the magnetic effect is balanced by means of a spring (or by a
weight) but the attractive force of the current circulating in the solenoid or
magnet c may be partially or wholly balanced by means of a deviation flowing
round the core d in the opposite direction or an opposing current from a
standard cell or set of cells may be employed as shewn in Figure 34-Figures 20
and 21 shew my invention applied to an engine in which " D valves P are
employed with expansion valves P¹ working across their back-In this case
the expansion valves P¹ are engaged by the clips f so that while the expansion
valves P¹ move coincidently with the "D" valves P, the steam passage
through the D" valve P is open-The tongues e² which release the valves Pi
are actuated by magnets or solenoids c and when these are rendered active
they release the expansion valve P which is suddenly shut by means of the
small piston and dash pot L' or its equivalent, and remains in this position
until it is again engaged at the commencement of the next stroke by the clips f*.
A modified form of distributing apparatus is shewn at Figures 20 and 21.
contact scroll h³ consists of a spiral metallic bar imbedded for convenience in the
insulating drum g which turns on an axis and has a movement of partial revo-
lution controlled by the governor-Rubbing pieces i' connected with the magnets c
are arranged so that once in the course of a revolution they pass backwards and
forwards over the whole length of the drum g-This movement may be produced
by link work connected to the valve spindle or eccentric rod R as shewn in
Figures 20 and 21, by connecting them to the cross head or by independent motion
from the shaft of the engine-It is evident that the rubber will come in contact
with the spiral scroll 2 once in the course of every stroke, and the point at which
the contact takes place is determined by the position into which the scroll h² is
turned by the governor-Figures 22, 23 and 24, shew another arrangement of
distributing apparatus-In this modification the metallic spiral h³ and its insulating
drum gare attached onto the crosshead 8 so that its movement is identical with
that of the piston. The interior of the scroll is placed in metallic connection
with one source of the current by means of the rod T and it completes the circuit
through the magnets when it passes in contact with the rubbing pieces . . which
are connected to the terminals-These rubbing pieces 2. 2. are held in the insulating
sleeve U which is toothed on the exterior and gears with the segment controlled
by the governor, thus as the segment is moved up or down it turns the sleeve U
round so that the rubbing pieces 22 make contact sooner or later in the stroke.
The contact rod T is sawn up so as to give it a good spring against the interior of
the scroll h³ and one end of it is attached to a switch, so that at the commencement
of every stroke the contact with one magnet is made, while with the other it is
broken. With this arrangement a device of this sort is necessary as otherwise the
tripping motion T" would act twice instead of once in the course of a revolution,
but this switch or its equivalent device may be worked off the shaft or in any
other convenient manner. Figures 25 and 26 shew another arrangement in
which flat grid-iron valves w are employed. Figures 27 and 28 shew details of
the tripping gear. In this case the valves w are actuated by "T" shaped levers X
which have a rocking movement imparted to them by means of an eccentric or
die Y. It will be seen that the spindle o' of the steam valve w has a block o³

page_text: forged on it which is cut out and engaged by a double clip f³ actuated by means of
electro magnets c-When the upper end of the "T" lever X moves outwards the
valve w continues to open until the clip f' is released by the magnets c³ when the
valve w shuts by the piston and dash pot L².
In Figure 29 a different arrangement of steam actuated valve is employed.
No 1 shews an arrangement in which the valve is actuated directly by means of
a small steam cylinder L³, the small valve of which is controlled by an electro
magnet c-A piston J¹ with a valve is fitted to the rod o so that it opens less
rapidly than it shuts and acts as a dash pot to prevent concussion-In Figure 2
a similar arrangement is adopted but instead of the armature p2 being pulled off
the magnet by a spring, a polarized magnet is employed, the armature p having a
polarity imparted to it by the magnet c, reverse currents being employed to
actuate the valve. In Figure 3ª a small steam cylinder L is arranged to release a
pawl be on the valve spindle itself, the valve in this case being operated by a wrist
plate a¹ and released by means of the small electro-magnet or solenoid co which
admits steam to the little cylinder L' and lifts the pawl -In Figure 4 an
ordinary clip arrangement is employed but the tongue e is actuated by means of a
small cylinder L which turns on trunnions and follows the motion of the rod, the
tripping is accomplished by means of a small electro magnet c which admits
steam to the small cylinder L and releases the clips e³.
20
Figure 30 and 31 shew the application of my invention to a valve w¹ in which
the magnets c¹ alternately attract the end of the iron valve w' itself acting through
the valve casing w³ which is made of brass or other metal not in itself magnetic,
the current being distributed to the magnets c12 by any of the arrangements
already described-Figures 32 and 33 shew the application of my invention to
Gas Engines. Figure 32 shews it applied to an Otto" Gas Engine. In this case
the mechanical governor is dispensed with and the position of the cam is controlled
by means of a solenoid c¹³ round which a current flows. The solenoid c¹a tends to
suck in the core 2 which is connected to the cam-The weight of the core dis
balanced by the spring s which can be so adjusted that as the current varies in the
solenoids c¹s it causes the cam to hit or miss the lever and so cause the explosion
to take place-This arrangement may be conveniently adopted where the gas
engine is used for driving dynamo electric machines as the solenoid may be placed
in the circuit or in a deviation thereto-Figure 33 is a similar solenoid c¹ but
applied to govern the tappet or wood pecker movement used in some gas engines.
It will be seen that as the lever v2 is raised by the action of the solenoid c, it is
lifted out of the way of the tooth, and the explosion does not take place
until the current in the solenoid c¹ has so decreased as to allow it to descend
into the position shewn, when a forward motion of the tooth causes it to open
the valve. In Figure 34 two circuits are employed, one a circuit from the
mechanical generator, and the other from a set of standard cells. This arrange-
ment has already been described in connection with Figure 19. Figures 35 and 36
shew apparatus for keeping a continuous record of the work done by the Engine.
It will be seen that a roll of paper or cloth A¹ is fixed in any convenient position
near the engine and passes over bar B₁ and between two rollers C¹. C. which are
turned slightly round at each stroke of the engine, and so draw the paper A¹ over
the bar B¹ of the roll. The end of the paper A¹ may then be led down to an upper
roll D¹ upon which it will wind itself up as it is unwound from the lower roll D².
The surface speed in both rolls D'. D. being of course the same, although their
relative diameters continually change. A couple of small chronographs E. E are
caused to prick or mark the paper A¹ as it passes over the bar B'. One of these
chronographs E¹ is connected to a bar or frame F' which has a longitudinal
motion imparted to it during the course of a revolution of the engine shaft.
preference I obtain this motion by means of a heart shaped cam G' which gives
an even motion during every part of the revolution. But the motion may be 5
obtained from the cross head or connecting rod or any reciprocating part of the
engine The other chronograph Es has a longitudinal motion controlled by a
By
4

page_text: link Hattached to a Bourdon or other form of Pressure gauge I' which is
conuected by means of pipe J' to the boiler or pipe leading from the boiler which
supplies the steain to the engine. Both these chronographs E¹. E². are electrically
connected to the distributing apparatus before described so that when the current
is sent through the solenoids or magnets to release the valves, a small amount of
current is sent through the magnet c¹³ of the chronographs E¹. E². causing them
It is evident
to attract the arinatures, depress the styles and mark the paper A¹.
that as the chronograph E' has a longitudinal motion corresponding with the
motion of the piston in the cylinder, the point at which it marks the paper A¹
corresponds to the point where the steam is cut off, and as the other chronograph E²
marks the paper A at the same time, the two curves formed by these marks
record the exact point of every stroke at which the cut off took place and also
the pressure of steam at that instant.
This apparatus can be used with great facility where any electric valve gear is
employed but it can also be applied where ordinary mechanical tripping motions
are employed. The source of electricity in this case being conveniently obtained
from a small battery-The roll of paper A' after having been marked can be
removed when desired and cut up and bound into a book which may be then
made to form a continuous record of the performance of the engine from day
to day.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider novel and original
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the hereinbefore in part
recited Letters Patent, is :-
The various combinations and arrangements of electrical and other apparatus
for actuating the valves of, and registering the work done by, steam and other
motive power Engines, substantially as hereinbefore described and shewn by the
accompanying drawings.
In Witness Whereof I the said Percy Ruskin Allen have hereunto set my
hand and seal this fifteenth day of January in the year of our Lord One
thousand cight hundred and eighty three.
PERCY. RUSKIN. ALLEN
(1.)