IMPROVEMENTS IN COMPOUND PUMPING ENGINES
Year: 1884

page_text: I, ANDREW BETTS BROWN, of Rosebank Iron Works, Edinburgh, in the County
of Mid Lothian North Britain, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my
said invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN COMPOUND PUMPING ENGINES to be as
"
follows, that is to say :-
"
My said Invention relates to compound automatic pumping engines which are to
some extent of the same kind and to be used for the same purposes as those
described in my earlier patent Specification No 2705 of 1880; and my present
object is to provide in an improved manner for the automatic starting of the
engines whatever may be the position in which the cranks have previously come
to rest.
In carrying out my present Invention three valves are formed or fixed on one
stem (or they may be connected in any equivalent manner). The middle valve,
when down on its seat closes the passage by which the steam passes from the
exhaust port of the high-pressure cylinder to the valve casing of the low-pressure
cylinder. The two other valves are piston valves and open their ports when the
middle valve closes its port. The lowest valve allows the steam from the exhaust
port of the high-pressure cylinder to pass directly to the condenser (or it might
be to the atmosphere) whilst the uppermost valve which is made to act as an
equilibrium valve, admits steam from the main steam pipe directly to the valve-
casing of the low-pressure cylinder. A spindle appertaining or connected to the
three valves passes out through a stuffing box and is connected to a governor
which may be of any suitable rotating or other kind arranged to act in concert
with the crank shaft of the engines. The connection with the governor is such
that when the engines are not moving the valves are in such positions as to close
the communication between the high-pressure and low-pressure cylinders, and
open the other communications as hereinbefore described. Then on steam being
admitted through the automatic action of the gearing connected with the accumu-
lator, the engines act like a pair of ordinary non-compound engines and start into
motion whatever may be the position of the cranks. The motion of the engines
TD 031

page_text: next operates through the governor on the valves and shifts them so as to open
the communication between the high-pressure and low-pressure cylinders and
close the communication with the condenser and the inlet for the steam; and
thereupon the engines proceed to work as compound engines.
EDMUND HUNT,
Applicant's Agent.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Compound Pumping Engines.
I, ANDREW BETTS BROWN, of Rosebank Iron Works, Edinburgh, in the County.
of Mid Lothian, North Britain, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
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 said Invention relates to compound pumping engines which are to some
extent of the same kind and to be used for the same purposes as those described
in my earlier Patent Specification No 2705 of 1880; and my present object is
to provide in an improved manner for the automatic starting of the engines
whatever may be the position in which the cranks have previously coine to rest.
In carrying out my present Invention three valves or pair of valves are formed
or fixed on one stem or spindle (or they may be connected in any equivalent
manner). The middle valve or pair of valves controls the passage from the exhaust
port of the high-pressure cylinder to the valve casing of the low-pressure cylinder.
The two other valves or pairs of valves open their ports when the middle valve or
pair of valves closes its port or ports, the lowest valve or pair of valves when open
allowing the steam from the exhaust port of the high-pressure cylinder to pass
directly to the condenser (or it might be to the atmosphere) whilst the uppermost
valve or pair of valves admits steam from the main steam pipe directly to the
valve casing of the low-pressure cylinder. The stem or spindle of the valves is
connected to a governor which may be of any suitable rotating or other kind
arranged to act in concert with the crank shaft of the engines. The connection
with the governor is such that when the engines are not moving the valves are in
such positions as to close the communication between the high-pressure and low-
pressure cylinders, and open the other communications as herein before described.
Then on steam being admitted through the automatic action of the gearing
connected with the accumulator, the engines act like a pair of ordinary non-
compound engines and start into motion whatever may be the position of the

page_text: cranks. The motion of the engines next operates through the governor on the
valves and shifts them so as to open the communication between the high-pressure
and low-pressure cylinders, and close the communication with the condenser and
the inlet for the steam; and thereupon the engines proceed to work as compound
engines.
And in order that my said Invention and the manner of performing the same
may be properly understood I hereunto append four sheets of explanatory drawings
to be hereinafter referred to and representing parts of a pair of compound pumping
engines with my improvements applied to thein.
Figure, 1, on sheet, 1, of the drawings is a side elevation showing the high-
pressure and low-pressure cylinders with the valve apparatus in front of them..
Figure, 2, on sheet, 2, is a horizontal section corresponding to figure, 1. Figures, 3,
and 4, on sheet, 3, are vertical sections as at right angles to each other of the valve
apparatus. Figure, 5, on sheet, 4, is an end elevation of the pumping engines. In
these drawings the same reference numerals are used to mark the same or like
parts wherever they are repeated.
For the purposes of my Invention I employ three valves, or as I prefer, three
pairs of valves, the two valves of each pair being arranged to counterbalance each
other so as to form equilibrium valves. The valves are also all piston valves capable
of moving within their seats so that they can move beyond the positions in which
they close the openings in their seats. The three pairs of valves, 11, 12, 13, are
contained in a valve box consisting of three parts 14, 15, 16, each having in it a
pair of valve seats, 17, 18, 19, and being formed with passages communicating with
the valve seats. The exhaust passage, 20, from the high-pressure cylinder, 21,
communicates with a space, 22, between the valves, 12, of the middle pair; and on
the outer sides of these valves there is a space, 23, communicating by a passage, 24,
with the valve casing of the low-pressure cylinder, 25, so that when the valves, 12,
are open the exhaust steam from the high-pressure cylinder, 21, finds its way to
the low pressure cylinder, 25, as in ordinary compound arrangements. The
space, 23, communicating with the valve casing of the low-pressure cylinder, 25,
as described, also communicates with the space, 26, on the outer sides of the
uppermost pair of valves, 11, whilst the space, 27, between these valves, 11, com-
municates by a pipe, 28, with the high-pressure valve casing, so as to supply
high-pressure steam when required. The space, 29, between the lowermost pair of
valves, 13, communicates by a passage, 30, with the exhaust passage, 20, from the
high-pressure cylinder, 21, and the space, 31, on the outer sides of those valves,
communicates with the condenser by a pipe, 32, connected to the exhaust pipe, 33,
from the low-pressure cylinder, 25. When the middle valves, 12, are closed and
the upper and lower valves, 11, 13, are open as shown in figures, 3, and, 4, the
exhaust steam passes from the (high-pressure) cylinder, 21, by the passages, 20, 30,
space, 31, valves, 13, space, 29, and pipes, 32, 33, to the condenser, whilst high-
pressure steam has access by the pipe, 28, space, 27, valves, 11, spaces, 26, 23, and
passage, 24, to the valve casing of the (low-pressure) cylinder, 25; and the
cylinders will then be worked like a pair of non-compound cylinders, and the
engines will start in whatever positions the cranks may happen to be when steam
is admitted through the automatic action of the gearing connected with the
accumulator.
The valves, 11, 12, 13, are connected and worked by a spindle, 34, which passes
through a stuffing box, 35, between the middle and lowest valve boxes, 15, 16, and
through a stuffing box, 36, in the bottom cover of the latter; and the bottom end
of the spindle, 34, is jointed to one end of a lever, 37, having jointed to its other
end a rod, 38, which passes up through a valve box, 39, containing a throttle valve
worked by the rod, and thence up to a governor, 40. This governor is arranged to
move the rod, 38, downwards as the rotatory speed increases; and if the engines
have started with the valves, 11, 12, 13, in the positions in which they are shown
in figures, 3, and 4, the action of the governor will cause the shifting of those

page_text: valves on the engines attaining a certain speed. The lever, 37, will cause the
valves, 11, 12, 13, to move upwards when the governor rod, 38, moves downwards
and this action will cause the upper and lower valves, 11, 13, to close and the
middle valves, 12, to open and then as herein before explained the engines will
work as compound engines. Whenever the engines stop, however, the governor, 40,
will cause the valves to be moved back again into the positions in which they are
shown in figures, 3, and 4, ready for the restarting of the engines.
In figure, 5, one of the pump barrels, 41, is shown together with its valve
boxes, 42.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
The application to compound pumping engines of valves combined with a
governor, and constructed, arranged, and operating substantially as and for the
purposes herein before described.
EDMUND HUNT,
Applicant's Agent.