IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM ENGINES, PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE TO THE PURPOSES OF proviso, STEAM NAVIGATION
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JACOB
SAMUDA, of Southwark Tron Works, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of that part of the United Kingdom called
England, bearing date at Westminster, the Tenth day of July, One thousand
eight hundred and forty-three, and in the seventh year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Jacob
Samuda, Ier special licence that I. the said Jacob Samuda, my exors,
adfiiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Jacob Samuda, my exors,
adiors, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England and Wales,
and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM ENGINES, PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE TO THE PURPOSES OF
proviso,
STEAM NAVIGATION;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a
obliging me, the said Jacob Samuda, by an instrument under my hand and
seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention.
and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be
inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six months next and
immediately after the date of the said recited Letters Patent, and in by the
same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: ANOW
1, that in compliance with the said proviso, I do hereby
declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, are described and ascertained by the Drawings
hereto annexed, in the words following, that is to say:-
These improvements in steam engines are as follows:-First, in the arrange-
ment shewn in Figures 1, 2, and 3, in which the steam cylinders C are fixed
almost immediately over the keel of the boat, and connected by the bed plate
B and the two A-shaped frames, marked A, to one another, so as to form a very
compact and solid mass in themselves, without, as is usually the case, depending
on the boat for such connection. The steam cylinders C, piston rod P, cross
heads H, and side rod I, are all made much as usual; but in place of the
ordinary side lever beams, iron triangles T, which move on centres U, are
substituted, to give motion to the connecting rods J; and cylinders are not
placed exactly in line with the keel of the boat, but a little distance sideways,
in opposite directions, so that the one connecting rod clears the connecting rod
of the other engine; or the cylinders may be placed on the saine centre line,
in which case the crank end of one of the connecting rods is forked to receive
the other one. Both connecting rods are jointed to the same single pair of
cranks F, which are all that are required, no intermediate strong shaft being
wanted; and thus one pair of cranks and two frames and bearings are dispensed
with. The condensers are below the cylinders. The air pumps E are worked
from the triangles T, as shewn in the Drawings.
The second part of these improvements consists of the following arrangement,
shewn in Figures 4 and 5, viz:-In place of one cylinder at each end of the
combined engine, placing two cylinders abreast of one another at each end;
the piston rod P from each cylinder C being united to the end of the cross
head H, and one rod S descending from the centre of the cross head to the
lower joint of the triangles T, which latter work between the cylinders, as
shewn in the Drawing; a plain connecting rod J from the upper joint of each
triangle connects them to the one pair of cranks F. The cylinders, as before
described, may be placed a little out of the centre of the boat in opposite
directions, to allow the two connecting rods to clear each other; or they may
be ranged in one line, as explained before, by forking one connecting rod. The
condensers D may be arranged below the cylinders C, and the air pumps E,
four in number, may be arranged to the work in a similar manner to the
cylinders, viz, both air-pump piston rods fixed to one cross head h, from the
centre of which a connecting rod descends, and is attached to the triangles T;
or one larger air pump only may be employed, worked from the crank, as
shewn in the Drawing.

page_text: The third part of these improvements consists of the following arrangement.
shewn in Figures 6 and 7-The cylinders C are fixed high up on brackets
cast on the frames A, the piston rod P from each cylinder descending and
being connected by short links to the lower joints of the triangles T, and the
connecting rod J being attached at one end to the upper joint of the triangle
and at the other end of the crank pin. The condensers D in this instance are
below the cylinders, and the air pumps E are worked by a pair of short beams
with suitable links, connecting them to the triangles T at one end and to the
air-pump cross head h at the other end. The slide boxes S in this instance
are fixed to the sides of the cylinders.
In this Drawing, two crank pins are shewn connected by a drag link, and
the excentrics K are fixed one on each main shaft, thus in case of breakage
of one engine the other is perfectly independent of it. This plan of connecting
the cranks and of working the excentrics may be used in any of the other
arrangements described in this Specification. The modes of working the air
pumps, shown in Figures 4 and 5, may also be used in this arrangement.
The fourth part of these improvements, as shewn in Figures 8, 9, and 10.
consists of an arrangement intended for application in vessels moved by sub-
marine propellers. When made with only two cylinders, each piston rod P is
connected by short links at once to the triangles T: or when made with four
cylinders, viz, two at each end of the engine, then the piston rods are fixed to
the ends of a cross head extending from one cylinder to its fellow one, similar
to those in Figures 4 and 5, and to the centre of this cross head is fixed a
short rod, the other end of which is jointed to the triangles. In both cases
the connecting rods of each cylinder or pair of cylinders is attached to the
lower joint of the triangle T, and descends to the crank pin which works near
the bottom of the vessel. The crank shaft projects through the stern of the
boat, and on it is fixed a hollow drum a cylinder open at each end, the arms of
which are made of thin plate iron or cast iron, and stand round the inside of
the drum with the longest sides of their section in a position slightly oblique to
the axis, and also arranged in a spiral direction round the inside of the druni,
so as to have the effect of propelling a very solid body of water through the
drum, and by its reaction urging the vessel along; or in place of arms there
may be one continuous spiral, similar to and being an ordinary submarine pro-
peller, connecting the drum to the crank axis, which will have the same effect.
The object of the drum is to keep the body of water which passes through it
in close contact with the oblique arms or spiral, and to direct its course in a
line parallel to the course of the vessel. The arms or spirals may thus be made
of a much more rapid rake than if no drum were used.

page_text: I wish it to be clearly understood that I only claim the use of this drum or
cylinder so far as it conduces to effect the object of rendering the arrangement
which is described at Figures 8, 9, and 10 useful for steam navigation, which
it does by rendering that arrangement applicable to drive submarine propellers
direct without the intervention of multiplying gear. The air pumps, whether
two cylinders or four are used in this fourth part of my improvements, are most
convenient to be four in number, and situated between the cylinders and the
centre of the engine, as then there is space between them for the connecting
rods to work; and I make the air pumps with open tops and solid buckets,
both the valves being situate at the foot of the pumps, and there are only two
valves to the one pair of pumps, as shewn at Figure 10. The pump rods are
worked from the triangles T by means of long rods and links, as shewn in the
Drawing. Two air pumps of the ordinary construction may be employed in
this arrangement by placing them outside the cylinders, as shown at the right-
hand side of the Figure. This arrangement of engines is also applicable to
the working of air pumps for pneumatic purposes, or of water or other pumps,
by using the cylinder or cylinders at one end of the engine as steam cylinders,
and the cylinder or cylinders at the other end as pumps.
The fifth part of my improvements, as shewn in Figures 11 and 12, consists
of the combination of two vibrating cylinders c, inclined at an angle of about
45 degrees towards the crank, and a single open-topped air pump E, all worked
on one crank pin. The condenser D in this arrangement surrounds the air
pump E, which is worked from the crank pin direct by a connecting rod which
is joined to the bucket. This latter is made solid or without valves, these being
placed at the bottom of the pump, as shewn in the Drawing; or the connecting
rod may be jointed on to the cap or strap at the head of one of the piston rods.
The centre air pump shewn at Figures 4 and 5 is similar to the one last
described.
The sixth part of my improvement, as shewn in Figures 13, 14, and 15,
consists of a new mode of working the exhaust valves of steam engine
cylinders. To effect this, a metal segment, similar to that of a metallic piston,
is fitted inside the cylinder at each exhaust passage, large enough to cover the
passage, and these two segments L, I., are connected by a rod or rods M, M,
placed in the long pipe connecting the passage. These segments are moved
by the action of the piston itself, which latter, near the end of its upward
stroke, closes the upper exhaust passage, and opens the lower one at the same
time, and vice versa, on its downward stroke. A detent or catch O, similar to
that for the bolt of a common lock, keeps the segments in the position into
which they are moved by the piston. The steam valves may be as usual, but

page_text: I prefer two steam valves independent of one another, as shewn in the Drawing
at N, N.
The seventh part of my improvements, as shewn in Figures 16, 17, and 18,
consists of a method of regulating the camms for the expansion valves of steam
engines, so as to cut off the steam at any part of the stroke, which circum-
stances may render desirable. This is effected by the following means:-
Each expansion valve is worked by a camm or excentric. This excentric U
has on one side a long socket or boss fitting a turned part of the main shaft,
and near the end of the socket, farthest from the excentric, is a groove or slot
y, in the direction of, and about one quarter or more of, the circumference in
extent. A stud pin Q is fitted firmly into the shaft, and extends through this
slot, so as to maintain the excentric and its socket always on the same part of
the length of the shaft, but allowing them to turn partly round on the shaft
when required. On to the inner socket is fitted an outer one R, and this latter
is capable of traversing endways upon the inner one, it being guided on the
inner one by a key or keys a, which prevent its turning round without carrying
the inner one and excentric U round with it. A spiral groove Z, Z, or slot is
cut in this outer socket R, and the stud pin Q, fixed in the shaft, projects out far
enough to reach into this slot, and as the two sockets are connected by a key
and groove, then, when the outer socket is moved endways along the inner one
by means of the screwed rod and bell crank lever a, a, both sockets are turned
partly round on the shaft, and the lead of the camm or excentric which works
the expansion valves is advanced or retarded, and the place of cutting off the
steam is varied at pleasure. It should be observed that the time of opening
the expansion valves is also advanced or retarded, but it is never later than
the beginning of the stroke, and if it is open before then the ordinary steam
valve is closed, so that the time of closing the expansion valve and not of
opening it is what affects the working of the engine.
The eighth part of my improvements, as shewn in Figures 19 and 20, con-
sists of a self-acting apparatus or governor for regulating the discharge of the
saturated brine from the boilers of marine engines, and is as follows:-In the
discharge pipe is formed a valve box, as shewn in Figures 19 and 20. The
valve itself or governor V is conical, and suitably formed, so that the pressure
in the boiler, as it increases or decreases in the course of working, partially
closes or opens the discharge apperture, by depressing or elevating the conical
valve or governor, so that the flow of brine away from the boiler is kept the
same in all cases whatever the pressure in the boiler. This is effected by
means of a spring W fixed outside the box, which spring presses upwards
against a collar or nut on the upper part of the spindle of the cone, and raises

page_text: it up against the pressure in the boiler. As the pressure in the boiler increases,
the spring collapses and diminishes the elevation of the cone, and partially
closes the aperture of discharge. As the pressure decreases the opposite effect
takes place, and the aperture is more opened. A bell crank lever, with a
quadrant at one end and a weight at the other, as shewn in Figure 20, will
effect the same purpose as the spring.
In witness whereof, I, the said Jacob Samuda, have hereunto set my
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Tenth day of January, in the
year of our Lord 1844, the aforesaid Jacob Samuda came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and everything therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Tenth day of January, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and forty-four.
COAT