IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM-ENGINES
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lanc, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for an
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM-ENGINES." A communication from
abroad by John Ericsson, of the City and State of New York, United States
of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the snid Henry Edward Newton at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 4th October 1881.
•
HENRY EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lano, in tho
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES."
[A communication from abroad by John Ericsson, of the City and State of New
York, United States of America.]
1
The principal object of this Invention is to provide a reciprocating steam engine
which is capable of running at a very much higher velocity than the reciprocating
steam engines in common use, and which is thereby applicable as a motor for
dynamo electric machines and other machines requiring to be driven at high speeds;
and for the driving of which it is desirable to dispense as far as practicable with
driving belts and gearing. In an engine running at so high a velocity it is
desirable to obtain the greatest possible stability in proportion to its weight and
the greatest possible strength in the connections of the parts, to reduce as far as
practicable the number of parts to be lubricated, and to provide as far as possiblo
for the automatic lubrication of such parts as have to be lubricated.
With these ends in view the Invention consists in certain novel constructions of
several of the connections of the engine and novel means of providing for the
automatic lubrication of the saine.
The Invention also consists in novel means for guiding the slide valve and
holding the same to its seat.
The base of the engine is made hollow in the form of an inverted box of upright
cylindrical or other suitable forin and of a depth somewhat greater than the length
[Price Gd.1

page_text: of the cylinder. The sides and bottom of a cylinder are cast with the base in the
form of a pot dependent from its upper part. The base and cylinder being thus
constructed give great stability to the engine, and the base forms an air jacket to
the cylinder for retaining the heat therein. On the base is erected an upright
hollow column or standard, on the top of which are bearings for the journals of a
main or crank shaft.
The piston is constructed or provided with a hollow central rod or trunk working
through a stuffing box in the cylinder cover.
The main connecting rod is connected with the piston by a pin-joint. This rod
it is preferred shall be eighteen times the length of the crank of the main shaft,
and its vibration is therefore very little more than three degrees of a circle, so that
there is a very slight oscillation of the joint pin and very little side thrust, and
hence the piston may be guided by trunk or hollow rod and stuffing box without
the necessity for crosshead or slides and without the necessity for making the said
trunk or rod of large size. The exterior of said trunk or rod is kept lubricated
by oil or tallow contained in a small cup formed in tho gland of the stuffing box.
The pin for the joint is rigidly secured in the lower end of the connecting-rod
by being properly fitted to a hole bored through the lower part of the latter and
inserted therein while the latter is hot and permitting the latter to shrink upon it
by cooling. The said pin is connected with the piston within the latter by means
of two discs, which are fitted together to form journal boxes for the said pin, and
are secured in the piston by a follower screwed into the bottom of the piston. To
enable it to receive these discs and follower the piston is bored from its under side
to a shoulder, and has a screw thread cut around the interior of the mouth of this
bore to receive the screw thread on the exterior of the follower. The discs are
solid except that each has formed within it one half of each of the two bearings for
the pin, and a central slot or opening for the portion of the connecting rod which
receives the pin. Above the shoulder there is a cavity which communicates with
the interior of the trunk or hollow piston-rod, and in the follower there is a recess.
Into these recesses oil or tallow is introduced through the upper end of the piston-
rod or trunk which may bo kept supplied with oil or melted tallow, with which
the lower end of the connecting-rod and pin are always surrounded so that the
whole of the pin joint can never fail to be properly lubricated.
The crank-arms have fitted over then discs which are concentric to their shaft
and which are secured to them by set screws. These discs servejas counterbalances
to the arms and crank wrist and also as fly wheels.
For the purpose of providing for the oiling of the crank wrist and the box
which connects it with the connecting rod there is cast in the cap of the said box
a large oilcup, in the centre of which is a tube open at the top and forming the
only communication between the oil-cup and the wrist boaring. In the lower part
of this tube is inserted snugly a plug formed by rolling up somewhat tightly a
strip of muslin, canvas, or other woven fibrous material. This plug is secured in
the tube so that its lower end touches the wrist by means of a small pin inserted
transversely through holes in the tube above the said plug. The cup is to be
supplied with oil through an opening in its top which is fitted with a tight screw
cap. When the engine is in operation the oil is thrown by the vibration of the
rod from the cup into the upper part of the tube, down which it flows to the
fibrous plug, and through this it passes to the wrist in quantity regulated by
the tightness with which the said plug is rolled. By this plug the supply of oil
can be more perfectly regulated without waste than is possible with a wick.
The slide-valve for the induction and eduction of steam is placed at the side of
the cylinder. The seat of this valve, the cylinder ports, and the exhaust cove are
constructed in the same casting with the cylinder and the base. The valve consists
simply of a flat plate with an opening through it of proper shape for the exhaust
space, and is straddled by a saddle which
This saddle fits the back and sides of the valve and also fits between the sides
of the valve chest and forms a guide to the valve. It is held up steam tight to

page_text: the back of the valve by means of light springs, and it is held against longitudinal
movement between set screws.
The valve is operated by a crank on one end of the main shaft and a connecting
rod which is connected with the valve stem by a pin joint composed of a piston
and a joint pin, the said piston working in a stationary cylinder which is firmly
secured in an upright position to the column or framing of the engine and which
serves both as a guide to the valve stem and an oil reservoir for oiling the joint
The cylinder is bored throughout of uniform size. The piston is formed upon or
rigidly secured to the head of the valve-stem. Its head or principal portion which
receives the pin is made in the same piece with the stem on which there is a scrow
thread for the reception of a nut, by which a leather cup-packing fitted to the
cylinder is secured to the said head. The piston is slotted from the top for the
reception of the lower end of the connecting rod, which with the piston has holes
bored transversely through it for the reception of the joint pin. The portion of
the cylinder above the piston forms a reservoir which is kept copiously supplied
with oil. This oil cannot pass the cup packing of the piston, but it keeps the pin
and all the surfaces of the joint between the valvo stem and rod immersed in
lubricating material and therefore thoroughly lubricated, while at the same time
it lubricates the surfaces of the cylinder and piston which serve as guides to the
valve stem.
The connection of the upper end of the valvo connecting rod with the wrist of
the crank is made by a slotted head, which is made separate from the rod, and the
lower part of which is bored for the passage of the rod, the latter having a screw
thread on its upper part which enters a slot of a yoke, and a screw thread lower
down below the head, the said screw thread being fitted with nuts, between which
the bottom part of the head is clamped and secured to the rod. The upper half
of the crank wrist box is made in the head itself, and the lower part is made of
a separate brass which is fitted to the slot, and which is set up to the wrist by
a nut screwed on to the thread of the rod, a jam nut being also fitted to the suid
thread below to secure the adjustment of the box to the wrist. The upper part of
the head may be furnished with an oil cup having a central tube fitted with a
fibrous plug precisely as in the main crank wrist box hereinbefore described.
The above described method of constructing the connection between the valvo
connecting rod and its operating crank provides conveniently for screwing up or
adjusting the lower brass as required while dispensing with straps and keys, which
owing to the very high velocity of the engine would be apt to become loose.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patont filed
by the said Henry Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th April 1882.
HENRY EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES."
A communication from abroad by John Ericsson, of the City and State of New
York, United States of America.
The principal object of this Invention is to provide a reciprocating steam engine
which is capable of running at a very much higher velocity than the reciprocating
steam engines in common use, and which is thereby applicable as a motor for
dynamo electric machines and other machines requiring to be driven at high speeds,
and for the driving of which it is desirable to dispense as far as practicable with
driving belts and gearing. In an engine running at so high a velocity it is
desirable to obtain the greatest possible stability in proportion to its weight and
the greatest possible strength in the connections of the parts, to reduce as far as
practicable the number of parts to be lubricated, and to provide as far as possible
for the automatic lubrication of such parts as have to be lubricated. With these
ends in view the Invention consists in certain novel constructions of several of the
connections of the engine and novel means of providing for the automatic
lubrication of the same, substantially as hereinafter described. The Invention also
consists in novel means for guiding the slide valve and holding the same to its seat,
as hereinafter explained.
Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a steam engine with my improvements taken in a
plane parallel with the crank shaft; Fig. 2 is a transverse section of two disces
forming parts of the joint between the main connecting rod and piston; Fig. 3 is a
face view of one of the said discs; Fig. 4 is a vertical central section of the engine
taken at right angles to Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a side view of the valve stem and valvo
rod and their connections; Fig. 5* is a side view on a larger scale of the upper
part of the valve connecting rod; Fig. G is a plan of the standard and crank;
Fig. 7 is a horizontal section of the base and steam cylinder.
B is the base of the engine made hollow in the form of an inverted box of
upright cylindrical or other suitable form, and of a depth somewhat greater than
the length of the cylinder. The sidos and bottom of the cylinder Care cast with
the base in the form of a pot dependent from its upper part. The base and
cylinder being thus constructed give great stability to the engine, and the base
forms an air jacket to the cylinder for retaining the heat therein. On the base B
is erected an upright hollow column or standard D, on the top of which are the
bearings F, H, for the journals of the main or crank shaft E.
F is the piston constructed or provided with a hollow central rod or trunk F'
working through a stufling box C in the cylinder cover C¹.
G is the main connecting rod connected with the piston by a pin joint at a, in
the manner to be presently described. This rod is represented as eighteen times
the length of the crank of the main shaft, and its vibration is therefore very little
more than three degrees of a circle, so that there is a very slight oscillation of the
joint pin a, and very little side thrust, and henco the piston may be guided by the
trunk or hollow rod F and stuffing box C, without the necessity of crosshead or
slides, and without the necessity of making the said trunk or rod of large size. The
exterior of said trunk or rod is kept lubricated by oil or tallow contained in the
small cup 6 formed in the gland of the stuffing box C³.
b
The pin a is rigidly secured in the lower end of the connecting rod by being

page_text: properly fitted to a hole bored through the lower part of the latter, and inserted
therein while the latter is hot, and permitting the latter to shrink upon it by
cooling. The said pin is connected with the piston within the latter by means of
two discs c, c, which are fitted together, as shewn in Fig. 2, to form journal boxes
for the said pin, and are secured in the piston by a follower d screwed into the
bottom of the piston. To enable it to receive these discs and follower the piston is
bored from its under side, as shewn in Fig. 1 to a shoulder c, and has a screw
thread cut around the interior of the mouth of this bore to receive the screw thread
on the exterior of the follower. The said discs are solid, except that each has
formed within it one half of each of the two bearings f. f, for the pin a, and a
central slot or opening for the portion of the connecting rod which receives the
said pin. They are secured firmly against the shoulder e by the follower d. Abovo
the shoulder e there is provided in the piston a cavity h, which communicates with
the interior of the trunk or hollow piston rod, and below the discs c, c, there is a
cavity in the follower d, and there is therefore formed within the piston and
piston rod or trunk a well or reservoir, into which oil or tallow is introduced
through the upper end of the piston rod or trunk, and which may be kept supplied
with oil or melted tallow with which the lower end of the connecting rod and
pin a are always surrounded so that the whole of the pin joint can never fail to be
properly lubricated.
The crank arms E¹, E, of the main shaft are represented as having fitted over
them discs E, E, which are concentric to their shaft and which are secured to
them by set screws 1, 1. These discs serve as counterbalances to the arms and
crank wrist, and also as fly wheels.
For the purpose of providing for the oiling of the crank wrist and the box m, m',
which connects it with the connecting rod G there is cast in the cap m² of the said
box a large oil-cup m³, in the centre of which is a tube m³, which is open at the top
and which forms the only communication between the oil cup and the wrist
bearing. In the lower part of this tube is inserted snugly a plug n formed by
rolling up somewhat tightly a strip of muslin, canvas, or other woven fibrous
material. This plug is secured in the tube so that its lower end touches the wrist
by means of a small pin n' inserted transversely through holes in the tube above
the said plug. The cup m³ is to be supplied with oil through an opening in its top
which is fitted with a tight screw-cap m; when the engine is in operation the oil
is thrown by the vibration of the rod from the cup m³ into the upper part of the
tube m³, down which it flows to the fibrous plug n, through which it passes to the
wrist in quantity regulated by the tightness with which the said plug is rolled.
By this plug the supply of oil can be more perfectly regulated without waste than
is possible with a wick.
I is the slide valve for the induction and eduction of steam. The seat h' of this
valve, the cylinder ports i¹, i¹, and the exhaust port k, are represented as constructed
in the same casting with the cylinder and the base B; the valve consists simply of
a flat plate with an opening o through it of proper shape for the exhausti space,
and is straddled as shewn in Fig. 7 by a saddle J, which is also represented in
Fig. 1.
This saddle fits the back and sides of the valve and also fits between the sides of
the valve chest K, and forms a guide to the valve; it is held up steam tight to
the back of the valve by means of light springs p, p, which are secured to its own
back and bear against the inside of the back of the valve chest K, and it is held
against longitudinal movement between set screws 9, 9, screwing through the ends
of the chest.
The valve is operated by a crank L on one end of the main shaft and a connecting
rod M, which is connected with the valve stem I' in a peculiar way (illustrated in
Fig. 1) by a pin joint composed of a piston N and a joint pin r, the said piston
working in a stationary cylinder O, which is firmly secured in an upright position
to the column D or framing of the engine, and which serves both as a guide to tho-

page_text: valve stem and an oil reservoir for oiling the joint; the cylinder is bored throughout
of uniform size; the piston is formed upon or rigidly secured to the head of the
valve stem I'; its head or principal portion which receives the pin r is represented
as made in the same piece with the stem I', on which below the said head there
is a scrow thread for the reception of a nuts, by which a leather cup packing t
fitted to the cylinder O is secured to the said head; the piston N is slotted from
the top for the reception of the lower end of the connecting rod M, which as well
as the piston have holes bored transversely through them for the reception of the
joint pin 7. The portion of the cylinder 0 above the piston N forms a reservoir
which is kept copiously supplied with oil; this oil cannot pass the cup packing of
the piston, but it keeps the pin r and all the surfaces of the joint between the valve
stem and rod immersed in lubricating material, and therefore thoroughly lubricated,
while at the same time it lubricates the surfaces of the cylinder and piston which
serve as guides to the valve stem.
The connection of the upper end of the valve connecting rod M with the wrist of
the crank L is made by a slotted head L', which is made separate from the rod, and
the lower part of which is bored for the passage of the rod, the latter having a
screw thread u on its upper part which enters the slot v of the yoke and a screw
thread u¹ lower down below the head, the said screw thread being fitted with nuts
x, x¹, between which the bottom part of the head is clamped and secured to the rod.
The upper half w of the crank wrist box is represented as made in the head itself,
and the lower part is made of a separate brass w¹, which is fitted to the slot v, and
which is set up to the wrist by a nut y screwed on to the thread of the rod, a jam
nut y' being also fitted to the said thread below y¹ to secure the adjustment of the
box to the wrist. The upper part of the head L¹ is represented as furnished with
an oil cup having a central tube fitted with a fibrous plug precisely as is the main
crank wrist box m, m', as herein before described.
The above described method of constructing the connection between the valve
connecting rod and its operating crank provides conveniently for screwing up or
adjusting the lower brass was required while dispensing with straps and keys
which owing to the very high velocity of the engine would be apt to become loose.
Having now set forth the nature of the said Invention of Improvements in
Steam Engines," as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and having
explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood
that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim,+
First. The connection between the connecting rod and piston of a steam engine,
consisting of the combination of a pin in the said connecting rod, two discs each
having a slot or opening for the said connecting rod, and two half bearings for the
said pins, and a screw follower for holding the said discs against a shoulder in the
piston, substantially as herein described.
Secondly. The combination with the piston, its trunk or hollow piston rod and
connecting rod, and the pin a, discs c, c, and follower d, forming the connection
between the piston and connecting rod of an oil or grease reservoir / within the
piston communicating with the interior of the trunk or hollow piston rod, sub-
stantially as and for the purpose herein described.
Thirdly. The combination with the cap of the crank wrist box of the oil cup m²,
tube ms, and fibrous plug n fitted to the said tube, substantially as herein described.
Fourthly. The combination with the crank wrist for operating the slide valve
and the valve connecting rod having a slotted head and having the lower half of
the crank wrist box fitted to the slot in said head of a screw on the upper part
of the said rod, and a nut or nuts on the said screw for setting up the said half of
the said box, substantially as herein described.
Fifthly. A connection between the valve stem and its connecting rod of a steam
engine and a guide for the said stem, consisting of the combination of a packed
piston formed or secured on the valve stem, a joint pin connecting the said rod with

page_text: the said piston, and a stationary cylinder in which the said piston works and
which forms an oil reservoir, substantially as herein described.
Sixthly. The combination with the slide valve and its chest of the saddle J
straddling the valve, the springs p, p, and the set screws q, q, substantially as
herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Edward Newton, have hereunto set
my hand and scal, this Fourth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty two.