Improvements in Marine and other Engines.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Oct., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 24th July, 1890-Accepted, 18th Oct., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Marine and other Engines.
I, ROBERT BRUCE of No. 70 Bishopsgate Street in the City of London, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows
--
According to my invention I construct marine and other engines and more
especially launch engines in such manner that a great economy of space and weight
is effected while the facilities for getting at various parts of the engines are much
increased.
In applying the invention to a compound condensing engine of the vertical type I
proceed as follows:-1 do away with the ordinary air pump weigh shaft and carry the
air pump levers on the reversing shaft which may be supported in brackets carried on
the condenser or on the columns at the back of the engine or on brackets cast on
to or fixed to the underside of the cylinders, thus bringing the slide valves all to
the back of the engine. This arrangement leaves the cross-head slides clear and
unencumbered by other gear in front of the engine, the working faces of the cross-
head being thereby more easily and constantly accessible to, and under the eyes of
the engineer.
I provide the air pump levers on the weigh shaft with brasses so as to facilitate
the adjustment of the bearings when worn or otherwise necessary and I prefer to
effect this by cutting a piece out of the lower part of the lever or by forming a
recess at that place therein, and inserting the brasses in such recess, whilst the
cover comes underneath and is bolted or otherwise secured on to the lever. A
strengthening piece or flange is formed on or fixed to the lever round the hole for the
brasses.
This
I make the gland of the slide valve spindle serve as a guide by making it longer
than is usually the case and in order to facilitate the removal of said gland for
packing or other purposes I may split the gland longitudinally it being kept normally
together by means of a nut embracing both parts or by screws or other means.
is especially applicable to engines where the head room is limited.
circumstances I make the slide valve spindle with a foot or 1 piece and bolt or other-
wise fix the quadrant or link thereto as in engines provided with Morton's or other
valve gear not actuated by eccentrics.
Under somo
The reversing wheel is preferably made with a long hollow boss, the inner end of
which serves as the nut for the screw that is connected to the reversing weigh shaft
by means of a connecting rod, whilst the central longitudinal part of said boss is
contracted and serves as the bearing part, being kept in place in the bearing by
means of a collar or its equivalent at each end. The screw is made in such
manner as never to project more than advisable in front of the wheel and further it
has a nut or collar at the end for preventing it from going through when the outer
end of the screw reaches the nut.
Daind this 24th dove of Anthon 1000

page_text: COMPLETE
SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Marine and other Engines.
I, ROBERT BRUCE of No. 70 Bishopsgate Street in the City of London Engineer
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what inanner the same is to
be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
According to my invention I construct marine and other engines and more
especially launch engines in such manner that a great economy of space and weight
is effected while the facilities for getting at various parts of the engines are much
increased.
And in order that my invention may be more easily understood I will describe the
same with reference to the accompanying drawings of which
Figure 1 sheet 1 represents a compound condensing marine engine provided with
Morton's valve gear, for the sake of illustration, in part sectional end elevation looking
aft and
Fig. 1 is a detail view.
Figure 2 sheet 2 is a front view thereof also partly in section.
Figure 3 sheet 3 is a part plan section.
Figure 4 sheet 4 is a part plan section showing the arrangement of the cylinders.
Figure 5 sheet 5 is side elevation of part of one of the pump levers A with the
rasses removed.
Figure 6 is a similar view with the brasses fixed in position.
Figure 7 is an inverted plan.
Figure 8 is a detail end view partly in section representing a modified form of
guide for the valve spindle.
Figure 9 represents the same in plan partly in section.
Figures 10 and 11 are respectively end elevation and plan of another modifica-
tion and
Figure 12 is a detail sectional view showing the reversing wheel and parts apper-
taining thereto.
Referring to Figures 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 it will be seen that I dispense with the
ordinary air pump weigh shaft and carry the air pump levers A A on the
reversing shaft B which may, as shown, be supported in brackets C carried
on the condenser D. Instead of mounting these brackets on the condenser
they might be on the columns E at the back of the engine or on brackets
cast on to or fixed to the under side of the cylinders F G, thus in all cases
bringing the slide valves all to the back of the engine. This arrangement
leaves the cross head slide bars H 1 clear and unencumbered by other gear in front
of the engine, the working faces of the cross-heads H¹ 1 being thereby more easily
and constantly accessible to, and under the eye of the engineer. I provide the said
air pump levers A A on the weigh shaft B with brasses a a as shown more clearly in
Figures 6 and 7, so as to facilitate the adjustment of the bearings when worn or when
otherwise necessary and I prefer to effect this by cutting a piece out of the lower part
of the levers A, see Figure 5, or by forming a recess at that place therein, and inserting
the brasses a a in such recess, a strengthening piece e preferably provided with a
flange c¹ being rivetted on each side of the lever A by rivets d whilst the cover a¹
comes underneath and is as shown bolted to the lever A by strap bolts b, b, coming out
through holes in the flanges c¹ and the said strap bolts being prevented from slipping
off below by reason of the flanges a² at each end. It is however evident that this
mode of securing the cover a¹ may be considerably varied without departing from
the invention.
The air and circulating pump rods L and K are actuated from the levers A A in
the ordinary way as shown and in the present example the slide valve spindles O and P
are worked from the connecting rods M and N by means of the valve levers Q shown
respectively in end and side elevation and plan on Figures 1, 2 and 3. These valve

page_text: C
levers are at their inner ends jointed to the adjustable links X, the other ends of
which are connected to die blocks that are capable of sliding in the curved slots in
the expansion quadrants p. The said valve levers Q are further suspended by links
fulcrummed in bearings in the brackets q' mounted in any convenient manner for
5 instance as shown on top of the condenser D.
Motion is imparted to the radiating or correcting cranks R mounted on the connecting
rods from the piston through the links q attached to the cross head slides HP which
actuate the prolonged ends of the valve levers Q in such manner that the movements
imparted to the correcting_cranks R are in relatively contrary directions to those in
O which the pistons move. In the example shown only one link g is provided for cach
valve lever Qbut two are in some cases preferably employed the valve lever being
extended on the opposite side to correspond.
The valve levers Q are as shown more especially with reference to Figure 3 made in
such manner as to afford facilities for easy removal and adjustment by constructing
them in two parts capable of being easily taken apart and they may very conveniently
be made of cast steel. The pin is rivetted or permanently pinned in the boss q²
whilst the lever on other end of said pin is made capable of easy removal by being
fixed by a cotter pin q going through the boss q3 and provided with a nut, or any
other suitable retaining device may be employed. The shouldered double ended
bolt m further serves to bind the two members of the lever Q together. The
correcting cranks R are as shown in Figures 1 and 3 mounted in bearings on a
boss on the connecting rods. Figure 1 shows a modification in which a kind of
projecting frame is forged in one with or bolted on to the connecting rod whilst the
correcting crank is mounted in brasses 1, 2, which are laterally tightened up by
means of a wedge and set screw provided with a lock nut or other locking
device.
Where head room is limited I may economize space as shown with reference to
Figures 12 and 3 by making the gland Y of the slide valve spindle serve as a guide
and having it longer than is usually the case and in order to facilitate the removal of
said gland Y for packing or other purposes I may split it longitudinally, it being kept
normally together by means of a nut y embracing both parts or by screws or other
means. Or as shown in Figures 8 and 9 and where more head room is available I use
a guide very similar to the gland just described consisting of what really amounts to
two brasses Y Y¹ mounted in a bracket Y2 having a cap y which is bolted thereto by
bolts y³. As the stem of the quadrant in this case would be made hollow the valve
spindle is turned down at its lower end as shown by the dotted lines and the two parts
are joined firmly together by means of a cotter Z which coming between the two
brasses Y Y may also serve as a guide to prevent the twisting of the quadrant.
Figures 10 and 11 show a slightly modified form in which the valve rod is formed
square at the part where it moves in the guide. Y and Y are the brasses and y' are
screws, with lock nuts, screwing through the upper and lower flanges on the brasses into
the body and cover of the bearing to ensure their fixed position, otherwise the similar
letters of reference indicate like parts as just described with reference to the two
preceding figures. Under some circumstances I make the slide valve spindle P with
a foot on piece as shown with reference to Figures 1, 2, 3 and 8 and bolt on or
otherwise fix the quadrant or link thereto.
The reversing wheel 62 is as shown in Figure 12 preferably made with a long
hollow boss the inner end 63 of which serves as the nut for the screw 6* that is
connected to the levers on the reversing weigh shaft B (see also Figure 1) by means
of a connecting rod 6 whilst the central longitudinal part 67 of said boss is contracted
and serves as the bearing part being kept in place in the bearing 68 by means of a
collar or its equivalent at each end. The screw 6 is made in such manner as never
o project more than is advisable in front of the wheel and further it has a nut or
ollar 6° at the end for preventing it from going through when the outer end of the
crew breaches the nut part b³. The bearings 6 of the reversing wheel may
onveniently be bolted on to a piece of angle iron s which as also shown in Figures 1,
and 3 also serves to support the slide bars H and I and is clamped on to the

page_text: columns at each end of the engine. The arrangement of reversing wheel and
screw shown in Figures 1 and 3 is slightly different to that just described as the
screw 6 in that case has a nut 63 at its inner end which is pivotted to the lever 66 on
the reversing weigh shaft B instead of the connecting rod (Figure 12) being
connected direct to the said levers 6º. Figures 1, 2 and 3 show how the levers 6 are
connected to the adjustable link X by means of levers 610 and links a¹.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
First. The application of one and the same weigh shaft for levers for actuating the
air and other pumps and for the reversing gear.
Second. The arrangement of levers A A, 66, 60, and 7,10.
Third. The construction of pump levers A with brasses for affording facility for
adjustment and removal substantially as described and shown.
Fourth. The improved construction of valve lever
shown with reference to Figure 3.
substantially as described and
Fifth. The improved construction of valve spindle with ✓ piece on which the
quadrant is fixed substantially as described and shown.
Sixth. The improved construction of guide for the valve spindle substantially as
described and shown with reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3.
Seventh. The improved constructions of guides for the valve spindle substantially
as described and shown with reference to Figures 8, 9, 10 and 11.
Eighth. In connection with non-eccentric valve gear the construction of bearing
for carrying the correcting crank substantially as described and shown with reference
to Figure 1ª.
Ninth. The construction of reversing gear consisting of wheel 62 provided with
screwed part 3 and bearing part 67 with screw 64, mounted in bearings 68 which are
fixed to an angle iron s clamped on to the round columns s¹.
Tenth. The constructions as shown on the drawings.
Dated this 24th day of July 1890.
W. R. M. THOMSON & Co.,
96, Buchanan Street, Glasgow, Agents.