IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1836

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, TIMOTHY
HACKWORTH, of New Sheldon, near Bishop Auckland, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Twenty-second day of November, in the seventh year of
His reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Timothy Hackworth, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said Timothy Hackworth, my exors, adñors, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Timothy Hackworth, my exors, admors,
or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to timė
and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM
ENGINES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the
said Timothy Hackworth, shall cause a particular description of the nature of
my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
inrolled in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Timothy Hackworth, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference

page_text: Figure 1 is a general view of a double engine, and shews the section of the
working parts. Figure 2 is a cross section of the engine, showing the piston
slides, &c. Figure 3 is an end view of the cylinder and piston; also repre-
senting the face of steam ports, and the exhausting port, where the slide valve
is placed.
The same letters refer to the same parts of the engine in cach Figure.
The engine is worked by a rotative motion, and this motion is produced by
the steam passing into a steam chest b, and from thence into one of the steam
ports c, through which it passes into the cylinder d, and thus causes the piston e
(being an excentric) to revolve round with the axle f, and at each revolution the
steam escapes or is exhausted through the opposite steam port c; when the piston
or excentric is revolving round with the axle the stopper or slider g is pressed
down upon
it by the steam with a small piston or steel spring, or otherwise, and
is thereby kept in contact with the excentric piston e, which prevents the steam
(that is to force the piston round) from passing from one steam port to the other
while performing a revolution; thus, when the steam is changed, the steam port c
becomes the exhausting port; by this means the steam and exhausting ports
are changed alternately. h is a loose piece fit into the prominent part of the
piston e, and is constantly in contact with the inner surface of the cylinder.
It is pressed against the cylinder by means of a steel, steam, or other spring;
i are june springs for screwing down the packing round the ends of the
cylinders and main shaft; k represents the packing, which may be steel, brass,
copper, metal, block tin, tow, or any other substance; m represents two loose
ends, one at each end of the cylinder, and kept in contact with the excentric
piston e by means of steel, steam, or other spring; n is the space for the spring;
are two glands on the main shaft for keeping up the packing k; is a
carrier for the main shaft; q is a brass bush for the journal part of the shaft
so made (by means of the bell or cone part) as to keep it truly centrical;
represents each outer end of the cylinder. The arrows represent the steam
passing from the steam port into the cylinder on the one hand, and on the
other hand the arrows represent the steam passing from the cylinder unto the
exhausting port; s is a partition between the two excentric pistons.
Having thus described the nature of the parts, from which an engineer wil
readily be able to carry out my Invention, I would have it understood that I
make no claim to the using of two cylinders, the one within and excentric

page_text: to the other, similar contrivances for steam engines having been before resorted
to; neither do I claim any of the parts separately.
But what I claim is--the mode of combining the stopper or slider g, and the
steam slides and ports as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Timothy Hackworth, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven.