IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS. FOR INJECTING TALLOW OR OTHER LUBRICANT INTO STEAM BOILERS, CYLINDERS, AND STEAM-TIGHT VESSELS, LIKEWISE FOR REGULATING THE FLOW THEREOF
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS, PATENT to Henry. Wilson, of Stockton-upon-Tees, in the
County of Durham, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS.
FOR INJECTING TALLOW OR OTHER LUBRICANT INTO STEAM BOILERS, CYLINDERS,
AND STEAM-TIGHT VESSELS, LIKEWISE FOR REGULATING THE FLOW THEREOF."
Sealed the 9th May 1865, and dated 8th December 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Wilson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 8th
December 1864.
I, HENRY WILSON, of Stockton-upon-Tees, in the County of Durham,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR INJECTING TALLOW OR OTHER LUBRICANT INTO STEAM BOILERS,
CYLINDERS, AND STEAM-TIGHT VESSELS, LIKEWISE FOR REGULATING THE FLOW
THEREOF," to be as follows:-
My improvements consist, first, in the construction of apparatus for:
injecting tallow or any lubricant into steam boilers for the prevention of
priming or fouling. The following is the mode of constructing the said
apparatus -I form a vessel or reservoir, cylindrical by preference, of brass
or any other metal; I fix this vessel on the boiler or any convenient position ;
I fix or cast inside of the said vessel or reservoir a small force pump; in this
force pump I insert a hollow plunger perforated with small holes; on the bottom..

page_text: end of the said plunger I fix an ordinary valve of brass, leather, or any
elastic substance. To the bottom of the pump I attach or screw a box in
which I fix an ordinary valve of brass, leather, or india-rubber; to the afore-
said box I attach a stop cock; between the stop cock and the boiler I form a
communication by a tube of brass or any other metal attached to each by
screws and nuts. For working the pump, I fix inside of the upper part of the
aforesaid vessel or reservoir a round shaft with a lever, one end of this shaft
working in a bush or bearing inside the vessel, whilst the other end passes
through an ordinary stuffing box to the outside of the said vessel; on the
outer end of this shaft I fix a wheel or handle; the inner lever on the shaft
I connect to the plunger of the pump by a hinged connecting rod. The
method of working the apparatus is this:-The vessel or reservoir is filled
with the lubricant; the stop-cock is then opened, the wheel or handle on the
shaft is turned which actuates the plunger of the pump, the lubricant is drawn
out of the vessel into the pump, and thereby injected into the boiler through
the aforesaid tube.
Another form of improvement in the said apparatus is the following:-I
make a steam-tight reservoir of brass or any other metal, by preference cylin
drical in form; the bottom end of this reservoir I fix on the steam boiler or
vessel with screws and nuts. On the top of the said reservoir I fix an ordinary
valve or cock; on the bottom of the reservoir I fix another cock having two
holes, instead of one, passing through it vertically and parallel with each
other. In the upper end of one of the said holes I fix a small tube reaching
from the plug of the cock to nearly the top of the reservoir; inside in the same
hole, but below the plug of the cock I fix a second small tube reaching into
the interior of the steam boiler or vessel, but terminating above the water
line; the second hole in the said cock forms a communication between
the steam boiler or vessel and the bottom of the aforesaid reservoir. The
mode of operation is this:-I fill the reservoir with tallow or other lubricant
through the upper valve or cock; this cock is then closed, and the lower cock
opened which forms a communication between the steam boiler or vessel
and the reservoir; the steam rushes up the aforesaid tube to the top of the
reservoir, and pressing on the lubricant forces it into the boiler through the
other hole in the cock.
My next improvement in the said apparatus is the following:-I form a
reservoir of brass or other metal, cylindrical by preference; on the upper part
of this reservoir I fix an ordinary cock or valve; in the bottom of the
reservoir I fix a second cock, but having three or more holes passing through
it. vertically instead of one, as in an ordinary cock; the bottom end of the

page_text: last named cock I screw into the steam pipe of the engine. In the centre
hole of the said cock I fix a tube which forms a communication between the
upper part of the interior of the said reservoir and the steam pipe; on the top
of the said tabe I fix a small cock, which I call the regulator cock, which
instead of having only one hole or outlet, as in an ordinary cock, has three
or more holes or outlets at different heights in the cock, the said holes or
outlets converging into one hole or outlet at the bottom of the plug or key
of the said cock. The plug or key of the said regulator cock I move or
turn by a rod passing through an ordinary stuffing box which I fix on the side
of the reservoir; on the rod I fix a handle and sector graduated or marked
to shew the position of the plug of the regulator cock inside the reservoir.
In another of the holes through the aforesaid cock in the bottom of the
reservoir I fix a second tube leading to the upper part of the reservoir, but
terminating about a quarter of an inch short of the first tube; the lower end
of this second tube communicates with a spout which I fix outside the reser-
voir, then by turning the said bottom cock so as to open the communication
between the inner tube and the spout, I ascertain when the reservoir requires
to be refilled with the lubricant; the third hole in the aforesaid bottom cock
likewise communicates with the said spout and the bottom of the reservoir,
so that by turning the cock to open this communication, the water which
remains in the reservoir after the lubricant is exhausted is thereby dis-
charged.
I will now describe the working of the apparatus. It is fixed on the steam
pipe leading from the boiler to the engine, the reservoir being filled with the
lubricant through the valve or cock on the top, which is then closed; the
bottom cock is now opened to the steam pipe, the steam passes up the first-
named tube, through the regulator cock, condenses inside the reservoir, and
falls into the lubricant, raising a proportionate quantity of the said lubricant
to the level of one or other of the aforesaid holes in the regulator cock through
which it falls through the tube into the steam pipe, and becomes mixed with
the steam in its passage from the boiler to the engine.
by the said Henry Wilson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 20th
May 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
WILSON, of Stockton-upon-Tees, in the County of Durham, send greeting.

page_text: ..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent bearing date the Eighth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Henry Wilson, Her special licence that I, the said Henry Wilson, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry
Wilson, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
INJECTING TALLOW OR OTHER LUBRICANT INTO STEAM BOLLERS, CYLINDERS, AND
STEAM-TIGHT VESSELS, LIKEWISE POR REGULATING THE FLOW THEREOF," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Wilson, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, 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 Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Wilson, 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,
reference being also had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the letters and
figures marked thereon, to be as follows:-
My improvements consist, first, in the construction of apparatus for injecting
tallow or any lubricant into steam boilers for the prevention of priming or
fouling. The following is the mode of constructing the said apparatus:-I
form a vessel or reservoir, cylindrical by preference, of brass or any other
metal; I fix this vessel on the boiler or any convenient position; I fix or
cast inside of the said vessel or reservoir a small force pump; in this pump I
insert a hollow plunger perforated with small holes. On the bottom end of
the said plunger I fix an ordinary valve of brass, leather, or any elastic sub-
stance; to the bottom of the pump I attach or screw a box in which I fix an
ordinary valve of brass, leather, or india-rubber; to the aforesaid box I attach
& stop cock; between the stop cock and the boiler I form a communication
by a tube of brass or any other metal attached to each by screws and nuts.
For working the pump, I fix inside of the upper part of the aforesaid vessel
or reservoir a round shaft with a lever, one end of this shaft working in a
bush or bearing inside the vessel, whilst the other end passes through an

page_text: ordinary stuffing box to the outside of the said vessel; on the outer end of
this shaft I fix a wheel or handle; the inner lever on the shaft I connect to
the plunger of the pump by a hinged connecting rod. The method of
working the apparatus is this:-The vessel or reservoir is filled with the
lubricant; the stop cock is then opened, the wheel or handle on the shaft is
turned, which actuates the plunger of the pump, the lubricant is drawn out
of the vessel into the pump, and thereby injected into the boiler through the
aforesaid tube.
.
Another form of improvement in the said apparatus is the following:-I
make a steam-tight reservoir of brass or any other metal, by preference
cylindrical in form; the bottom end of this reservoir I fix on the steam boiler
or vessel with screws or nuts; on the top of this said reservoir I fix an
ordinary valve or cock; on the bottom of the reservoir I fix another cock,
having two holes instead of one passing through it vertically and parallel with
each other; in the upper end of one of the said holes I fix a small tube
reaching from the plug of the cock to nearly the top of the reservoir inside;
in the same hole, but below the plug of the cock, 1 fix a second small tube
reaching into the interior of the steam boiler or vessel, but terminating above
the water line; the second hole in the said cock forms a communication
between the steam boiler or vessel and the bottom of the aforesaid reservoir
The mode of operation is this:-I fill the reservoir with tallow or other
lubricant through the upper valve or cock; this cock is then closed, and the
lower cock opened, which forms a communication between the steam boiler or
vessel and the reservoir; the steam rushes up the aforesaid tube to the top of
the reservoir, and pressing on the lubricant forces it into the boiler through
the other hole in the cock.
'
My next improvement in the said apparatus is the following:-I form a
reservoir of brass or any other metal, cylindrical by preference; on the upper
part of this reservoir I fix an ordinary cock or valve; in the bottom of this
reservoir I fix a second cock, but having three or more holes passing through
it vertically, instead of one, as in an ordinary cock; the bottom end of the
last-named cock I screw into the steam pipe of the engine; in the centre hole
of the said cock I fix a tube, which forms a communication between the
upper part of the interior of the said reservoir and the steam pipe; on the top
of the said tube I fix a small cock, which I call the regulator cock, which
instead of having only one hole or outlet, as in an ordinary cock, has three or
more holes or outlets at different heights in the cock, the said holes or outlets
converging into one hole or outlet at the bottom of the plug or key of the said

page_text: cock; the plug or key of the said regulator cock I move or turn by a rod
passing through an ordinary stuffing box, which I fix on the side of the
reservoir; on this rod I fix a handle and sector, graduated or marked to shew
the position of the plug of the regulator cock inside the reservoir; in another
of the holes through the aforesaid cock in the bottom of the reservoir I fix a
second tube leading to the upper part of the reservoir, but terminating about
a quarter of an inch short of the first tube; the lower end of this second tube
communicates with a spout which I fix outside the reservoir; then by turning
the said bottom cock so as to open the communication between the inner tube
and the spout, I ascertain when the reservoir requires to be refilled with the
lubricant; the third hole in the aforesaid bottom cock likewise communicates
with the said spout and the bottom of the reservoir, so that by turning the
cock to open this communication the water which remains in the reservoir
after the lubricant is exhausted is thereby discharged.
I will now describe the working of the apparatus. It is fixed on the steam
pipe leading from the boiler to the engine, the reservoir being filled with the
lubricant through the valve or cock on the top, which is then closed; the
bottom cock is now opened to the steam pipe, the steam passes up the first-
named tube through the regulator cock, condenses inside the reservoir, and
falls into the lubricant, raising a proportionate quantity of the said lubricant
to the level of one or other of the aforesaid holes in the regulator cock
through which it falls through the tube into the steam pipe, and becomes
mixed with the steam in its passage to the engine.
And in order that my Invention may be fully comprehended, and readily
carried into practice, I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is a section, and Figure 2 a plan, of my apparatus for injecting
tallow or any lubricant into steam boilers for the prevention of priming or fouling:
A is a reservoir containing the lubricant; B represents a part of the boiler to
which the reservoir is attached; C is a force pump formed in or attached to
the reservoir; D, a plunger, perforated with small holes working in the
pump; E is a valve on the bottom of the plunger; F is a box attached or
cast on the bottom of the pump; G is a valve fixed in the box F; H is a stop
cock on the box; I is a pipe or tube leading from the stop cock to the boiler;
K is a shaft fixed in the reservoir A, one end of which works in the bearing J,
whilst the other end passes through the stuffing box L. M is a lever fixed on
the shaft K for imparting motion to it, whilst the lever N is connected to the
plunger D by the connecting rod O.

page_text: The action of the injector is as follows:-The reservoir A is filled with the
lubricating matter; the stop cock H is then opened; the lever M is now
moved up and down, thereby imparting action to the force pump plunger D,
by which the lubricant is drawn out of the reservoir, and forced into the boiler
through the valve G, the stop cock H, and the tube I.
Figure 3 is a section, and Figure 4 a plan, of another form of injector. A is
a steam-tight reservoir fixed on a steam boiler or vessel, as represented by B.
C is an ordinary valve fixed on the top of the reservoir, and secured by the
screw toggle or clamp D, D; E is a cock fixed in the bottom of the reservoir,
having two holes f, f', passing through it parallel with each other; G is a tube
extending from the hole f into the interior of the reservoir, whilst H is a tube
extending from the hole f into the interior of the steam boiler, and terminating
above the water line in the boiler; the tube I and the second hole f¹ form
a communication between the steam boiler and the bottom of the reservoir.
The mode of operation in this injector is as follows:-The reservoir A is
filled with the lubricant through the upper valve C, which is then closed; the
cock E is then opened, and the steam passes from the boiler through the
tube H, and the corresponding hole f into the tube G to the upper part of
the reservoir, presses upon the lubricant, and expells it from the reservoir
through the hole f¹ and the tube I into the steam boiler or vessel.
Figure 5 is a section of another form of injector fixed to the steam pipe, as
shewn by B. A is a steam-tight reservoir; C, an ordinary valve fixed on the
top of the reservoir, and secured by the screw toggle or clamp D, D; E is a
cock fixed in the bottom of the reservoir, having three holes f, f¹, f", through
it; G is a tube fixed in the centre hole f¹; on the top of G is the regulator
cock H, from which there are three holes or outlets j, j, j, at different
heights from the upper part of the cock, and converging into one hole at the
bottom of the cock; the plug of the regulator cock is moved by the rod K,
passing through the stuffing box X; L is the handle of the rod K; M is a
sector, graduated to shew the position of the plug in the regulator cock, as
shewn on Figure 7. In the hole f" in the cock E is a tube N, leading to
the upper part of the reservoir, and terminating about a quarter of an inch
of, the bottom part of N communicates with the spout O. The mode of
operation is as follows:-A is filled with the lubricant through the valve C,
which is then closed; the cock E is now opened to the steam pipe of the
engine B; the steam passes up the hole f¹ and tube G through the regulator
cock H and the outlet to the top of the reservoir, condenses, and falling
into the lubricant in the form of water raises a proportionate quantity of the
lubricant to the height of one or other of the tubes j, j ", through which it

page_text: falls into the tube G and the cock E into the steam pipe B, becomes there
mixed with the steam in its passage to the pistons and valves. To ascertain
when the reservoir requires refilling with the lubricant the plug of the cock E.
is turned to open the communication between the tube N and the spout O, if
when this is opened water flows out of the spout, the reservoir requires
refilling with the lubricant, but if, on the contrary, the lubricant flows from
the spout there is still sufficient in the reservoir for use. The water is
removed from the reservoir by turning the plug of the cock E so as to open
the passage between the hole f and the spout O.
Figure 6 shews a section of another modification of Figure 5, in which the
bottom cock E, as shewn in Figure 5, is dispensed with, and the reservoir is
fixed directly to the steam pipe. A is the reservoir; B, the steam pipe ;
C, the inlet valve for filling the reservoir with the lubricant; D, D, screw,
toggle or clamp for securing the same; G, the tube for communicating with
the steam pipe and the regulator cock H; j,j, j", are the outlets from the
regulator cock; M is the graduated sector; N, the pointer to indicate the
position of the regulator on the index; L, the handle for moving the
regulator; P, a small cock for freeing the reservoir from the water; Q, a
screw plug for cleaning out the reservoir. The action of this injector is
similar to that described in Figure 5.
Figure 7 shews an adaptation of Figure 5 for locomotive engines, the side
of the reservoir being attached to the smoke box, as shewn by B, whilst the
tube E. is attached to the steam pipe of the engine. A is the reservoir;
B, the smoke box; C, the valve for filling the reservoir with the lubricant;
D, D, screw toggle or clamp for securing the same; E, the tube which
communicates with the reservoir and the steam pipe; P, a cock for freeing
the reservoir from water; O, the spout for ascertaining when the lubricant is
exhausted; L, the handle of the regulator cock; M, the graduated sector;
N, the index pointer; the action of this injector is likewise similar to that
described in Figure 5.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be or may be performed, I wish it to be distinctly under-
stood that I do not limit or restrict myself to the exact modifications of detail
herein-before described, as the apparatus may be made in many other ways
without departure from the principle thereof; I therefore claim as my
Invention,-
First, the injecting of lubricants into steam boilers, cylinders, and steam-
tight vessels by means of a force pump, as herein-before described.
Second, the injection of a proportionate quantity of lubricants into steam

page_text: boilers, cylinders, and steam-tight vessels by means of the gravity of condensed
steam, as herein-before described.
Third, the means of regulating the flow thereof, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Wilson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of May in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
Wx. HUNTER,
1, Cavendish Grove,
South Lambeth,
London.
HENRY WILSON. (L.S.)