CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Ramsbottom, of Longsight, near
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, for the
Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES."
Sealed the 2nd February 1853, and dated the 16th November 1852.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Ramsbottom
at the Office of the Cominissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 16th November 1852.
I, JOHN RAMSBOTTOM, of Longsight, near Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES" to be
as follows:-
My improvements in Steam Engines consist, first, in the metallic
piston which in one arrangement I make in any of the usual modes
so far as the body of the piston is concerned, but the working
packing, which consists of two or more concentric rings of steel, iron,
or brass, and each of which rings is cut in one, two, or more places,
is forced outwards against the working internal face of the cylinder

page_text: by thin elastic concentric rings, which are rolled and bent with
sufficient accuracy to fit
working packing rings.
to become slack and to
steam tight to the internal surface of the
When the outer rings are so far worn as
require a greater force to keep them in
contact with the cylinder, I put an additional thin spring ring,
in every respect similar to the first, inside the first one, and if
necessary a second or third, or more inside them, so as to secure the
united action of the whole. It must be understood that these inner
spring rings are made as deep in the direction of the axis of the
cylinder as the entire depth of the packing, and are put in so as to
break joint, not only with the working packing, but also with one
another. Another arrangement of pistons, which I consider
peculiarly applicable to locomotive engines, is made by casting or
forging the piston body in one piece, without junk rings or bolts of
any description, the outer working surface is then turned so as to
fit the cylinder, and a spiral groove like the thread of a screw
is chased over a length of about one and half inches in the middle;
the pitch of this screw I prefer to make half inch or thereabouts.
The packing, which consists only of iron, steel, brass, or other suitable
elastic wire, or strips of metal of suitable section, is made to fit the
thread of the before named screw, and passes about three times round
the piston, more or less. And in order to stop up the channel which
would otherwise be opened between one side of the piston and the
other, when the packing is partially worn, a stop pin or pins may
be put in the thread of the spiral channel, and forced outwards by
a spring in contact with the spiral packing. I also propose in this
piston in some cases to make these grooves separate and parallel to
each other, and to put a separate ring or rings in cach, the joints to
be crossed by putting in each groove stop pins where the packing
joins, or by making the packing to half lap at the joints. The
advantages of the two last-named arrangements are extreme
lightness, simplicity, and cheapness. It must be understood that I
nake no claim for any peculiar method of fixing these pistons upon
the rods, which may be by cotter or screw in the usual manner; and
further, that the packing last described is applicable to any ordinary

page_text: piston body, by merely turning a ring to fit in the place of the
ordinary packing and turning on this ring the necessary grooves
spiral or parallel. Pistons of the above construction may also be
used for the buckets of air pumps.
Another part of my improvements in the steam engine has
reference to working of steam expansively, and supplies a mode of
cutting off the steam at any part of the stroke, which may be
determined by the governor through the entire range of the power
of the engine.
In order to apply this improvement, it is necessary that the
steam should be cut off by a conical or other lift valve, either single
or double beat; and it must be understood that such valve may be
lifted by lever revolving tappets, or any other suitable mode,
as with these arrangements my improvements have nothing to do.
I propose then to attach to the bottom of the lift rod or spindle of
the cut-off valve, a solid brass ram fitted to a cylinder bored to
receive it, and fitting as nearly tight as may be practicable without
packing. In the bottom of this cylinder I fix a suitable clack valve
opening internally, and in a pipe branching from the same cylinder
I propose to have a throttle valve, connected by rods with the
governor in the ordinary manner, with this difference, that this
throttle valve shall open when the governor expands, and vice versa;
which it will be known to every practical engineer is exactly
opposite to the course pursued with the ordinary throttle valve.
The whole of this cylinder, with its ram clack valve and throttle
valve, is to be immersed in a cistern of water, or other suitable
incompressible fluid. The action of this arrangement will be
as follows: When the steam is admitted to the working cylinder
by the raising of the conical steam cut-off valve (by tappet or
otherwise) the regulating ram which is attached to the same spindle
or lifting rod is raised with it, and the cylinder in which this ram
works becomes filled with water or other suitable incompressible
fluid, through the clack valve before named, and the lift rod being
then relieved from the lever or tappet which raised it, will be
supported by the water or other fluid in the regulating cylinder

page_text: until a sufficient quantity has escaped through the throttle valve in
the branch pipe before named, to allow it to descend and to cut off
the steam. It is clear that the time of shutting off will be
determined by the velocity of the escape water or other fluid from
the regulating cylinder, and this again by the width of opening
through the throttle valve as determined by the governor or by the
load on the engine. It will be understood that this improved
arrangement entirely supersedes the use of the ordinary steam
throttle valve.
Where an engine is constructed to have a separate lift valve
at each end of the steam cylinder, for the purpose of admitting and
cutting off steam, I propose to put upon each lift rod a separate
regulating ram, the cylinders for such ram being coupled together,
and having only one bottom clack valve for the admission of water,
and one throttle valve common to both.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, filed by the said John Ramsbottom in the Great Scal
Patent Office on the 16th May 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
JOHN RAMSBOTTOM, of Longsight, near Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of November, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the sixteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said John Ramsbottom, Her special license that I, the
said John Ramsbottom, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said John Ramsbottom, my 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 "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES," upon the condition (amongst

page_text: others) that I, the said John Ramsbottom, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, 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 Putent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Ramsbottom, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement (that is to say):
My Invention consists, first, in certain improved modes of packing
the pistons of steam engines; and, secondly, in an improved mode of
regulating the velocity of steam engines. And in order that my
Invention may be fully understood and readily carried into effect,
I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me, reference being
had to the annexed Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and figures
others) that I, the said John Ramsbottom, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, 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 Putent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Ramsbottom, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement (that is to say):
My Invention consists, first, in certain improved modes of packing
the pistons of steam engines; and, secondly, in an improved mode of
regulating the velocity of steam engines. And in order that my
Invention may be fully understood and readily carried into effect,
I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me, reference being
had to the annexed Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1, represents a section through one of my improved
pistons. Figure 2, is a plan view of the same, with the lid removed
in order to shew the interior. In these views a, is part of the piston
rod; b, the block of the piston; c, the lid; and d, d, wearing rings.
These parts are all made in the usual manner, my improvement
consisting in giving the requisite clastic pressure to the rings d, to
make them fit the interior of the cylinder in which the piston
works: this pressure is given by a strip of sheet brass, or other
suitable metal, marked e, equal in length to the internal circum-
ference of the rings d, and of the width of both the said rings; this
strip of metal is bent into a hoop in order to place it into the recess
between the block b, and the wearing rings d, against which it
presses. When the spring e, has lost part of its elasticity and the
rings d, are so inuch worn as to require more packing, another strip
of metal in every respect similar to e, is placed within it, as shewn
in red at ; additional packing strips can be added to compensate
for the wearing away of the rings d, care being taken that the

page_text: joints of the packing strips break joint with each other, and with
the wearing rings. Figure 3, represents a section through a piston,
the packing rings of which are let into grooves in its circumference.
g, is the block of the piston, which is here shewn hollowed out at
one side to diminish its weight and to render it easy to cast; h, h, h,
are three rings of brass or other suitable metal, which I prefer to roll,
of the section shewn; but the section may be varied and the rings
may be drawn or turned if found more convenient in practice.
These rings or packings are bent to the required circle, and are put
into the grooves or channels in the block g, so as to break joint;
stop pins may also be used where the packing rings join, to keep the
joint at its proper place, or the rings may be made to half lap at
the joint, so as to prevent the steam escaping from one side of
the piston to the other. i is part of the cylinder and i', the cylinder
lid, the shape of which is made to fit the interior of the piston block.
The piston block may be of any other suitable shape or material.
I also propose, instead of the parallel grooves shewn in Figure 3, to
make a spiral groove in the circumference of the piston block for
the elastic packing to fit into; in this case it would be desirable to
have a stop pin similar to that shewn in Figure 4, in one or more
parts of the elastic packing, so as to prevent the escape of the steam
when the packing is partially worn. In Figure 5, I have shewn
another modification of my improved packing; in this instance the
block is similar to the one before described, but it is furnished
with two parallel grooves, each wide enough to contain two rings j.
When the packing rings h, and j, become so much worn that the
piston is no longer steam tight, they must be taken out and replaced
by new ones; this can be done with very little trouble or expense.
Figure 6, represents a section of part of an ordinary piston, to which
my improved packing is applied. The above described pistons are
lighter and less expensive than those in general use, and they may
he used for the buckets of air pumps, as well as for the steam
cylinders of steam engines. Other modifications of this part of my
Invention might be given, but the foregoing are sufficient to shew
the application of my improved elastic self-acting packing rings.
Figure 7, represents a section of my improved machinery for regu-

page_text: lating the cutting-off valve of a steam engine working expansively,
according to the position of the governor. Figure 8, is another
section; and Figure 9, a plan view of the same. Figures 10, and 11,
represent part of a steam engine to illustrate the application of my
improvements. In these views, is a box or cistern containing water
or other suitable incompressible fluid; this cistern is placed under the
shaft by which the expansion and slide valves of the steam engines
are worked, as seen in Figures 10, and 11. m, m, are the tappets
by which the upright rods p, connected to the expansion valves, are
raised; these tappets are fixed on the shaft n, on which are also fixed
the cams o, for working the ordinary eduction valves, which are not
shewn in the Drawing, as they are similar to those in general use and
are well understood by steam engine makers. The tappets m, act
on the pieces p', fixed above to the rods p, and below to the rams or
plungers 7, which fit into the cylinders ; these cylinders are cast
together, and they are bolted to the bottom of the cistern 1; s is a
ball or other suitable valve to admit the fluid from the cistern to
the underside of the rams q, and t', is a throttle valve acted upon by
the governor through the rod 2, and lever ³, as will be explained
hereafter. The action of this machinery is as follows:- When the
tappet m, elevates the rod p, and with it the ram q, the ball valve s,
opens to admit the fluid from the cistern to the underside of the
ram ; the ram is then supported by the fluid in the cylinder r,
which escapes again into the cistern by the branch pipe t. When
the ram has completed its descent, the steam is shut off; and it is
evident that the time required for the descent of the ram will depend
upon the amount of opening between the throttle valve t¹, and the
branch pipe, in which it fits; this opening is varied according to
the position of the governor, which is connected to the throttle
valve by the rod 2, and 3. When the engine is working faster than
is required, the governor balls expand, and by so doing open the
throttle valve t', consequently the fluid escapes from under the ram
9, and allows the expansion valve to close, in less than its usual time,
thereby admitting less steam to the cylinder; but if the engine is
working too slow, the governor balls collapse, thereby contracting
the space between the throttle valve t¹, and the branch pipe t, so as

page_text: to increase the time required for the descent of the ram q, the ex-
pansion valve consequently remains open longer, and admits more
steam to the cylinder until the engine regains its regular speed.
The ribs q', on the rams q, are to allow the fluid to pass in the
cylinder, from the under to the upper side of the ram when the
expansion valve is nearly closed; by this means the expansion valve
will be effectually closed by the weight of the rod q, and parts in
connection therewith immediately after the ram arrives in the posi-
tion shewn at the right side of Figure 7. When slide valves are
used only one of the rods p, and rams q, is required; a cut-off valve
must then be substituted for the ordinary steam throttle valve and
be connected by a lifting rod p, to the ram q; the velocity of the
engine will then be entirely governed by the throttle valve t¹, in
connection with the cylinder r, as before described. I wish to
observe, that although I have described the above improvements as
being applied to a steam engine having an ordinary ball governor,
yet any other description of governor, acting on the throttle valve
t', will answer the purpose equally well.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the best
means with which I am acquainted for carrying the same into effect,
I declare that I claim as of my Invention,―
First, the improved modes of packing pistons as shewn and as
described in reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.
And, secondly, the improved mode of regulating the velocity of
steam engines by means of the cutting-off valve or valves as shewn
and described in reference to Figures 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, whereby
the ordinary steam throttle valve is dispensed with.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Ramsbottom, have here-
unto set my hand and scal, this cleventh day of May, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
JOHN RAMSBOTTOM. (L.s.)