In- PROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Edge, of Bolton-le-Moors, in the County
of Lancaster, Mechanical Draughtsman, for the Invention of "In-
PROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN CONNECTION
THEREWITH."
Sealed the 3rd December 1869, and dated the 4th June 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Edge at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th June 1869.
I, JAMES EDGE, of Bolton-le-Moors, in the County of Lancaster,
Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED
IN CONNECTION THEREWITH," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates, in the first place, to means for regulating the
admission of steam to the cylinders of steam engines, and more par-
ticularly to those cases wherein stepped cams, or cams formed with a
varying curvature, are employed. In such a case it is desirable that as

page_text: the load upon the engine varies the cam or cams shall be shifted or
moved in order to regulate the "cutting off" of the steam, as is well
understood, and that the movements of the cam or cams shall be con-
trolled by the governor, a portion of my Invention consisting of means
for effecting the said controlling in manner as follows:-The said cam
or cams I in most cases fix on a shaft which is caused to revolve by
suitable means, and is also so arranged as that it may slide longi-
tudinally in its bearings in order to effect the changes in the cutting
off of the steam as aforesaid. On one end of the said shaft is fixed a
grooved cam which as the shaft revolves imparts a to-and-fro motion to
one end of a lever, which is mounted on a stud or on a shaft fitted to
rock in fixed bearings and the opposite end of the said lever, or of a
second lever fixed to the same shaft, as the aforesaid lever is fitted with
a pair of pawls or with a double-ended pawl. Two sets of ratchet teeth
are formed on a fixed bar, the teeth of one set being reversed as com-
pared with the teeth of the other set, and a sliding shield or guard
is fitted to the said bar, the said guard being in connection with the
governor, the arrangement being such as that, as the balls of the
governor rise and fall, the said guard will be slid along the toothed bar
in one direction or the other. So long as the engine is running at an
uniform speed the said guard will be stationery, and the afore-mentioned
pawls or double-ended pawl will traverse to and fro on the said guard
without coming into contact with the teeth formed on the stationery
bar, but on a change in the speed of the engine taking place the guard
will be moved along the bar, say, for example, towards the right hand,
and one end of the aforesaid pawl or one of the pawls when moving
in a contrary direction will come into contact with the teeth of
the bar, and the motion of the rocking lever will be arrested, and the
grooved cam continuing to act against the upper end of the said lever,
which is for the time stationery, the said cam together with the cam
shaft and the valve cams are moved endwise or longitudinally. As the
cam which actuates the said lever changes its position the path of motion
of the pawls is also shifted either in one direction or the other, and as
the said direction is the same as the direction of movement of the guard.
the pawls will always follow the said guard in its movements, and will
work out of gear with the ratchet teeth.

page_text: will admit of the rotation of the cam shaft without a corresponding
rotation of the said screw shaft. The said screw shaft works in a nut,
and is fitted with a spur wheel. On a second shaft, which receives a
continuous revolving motion, is mounted a pair of pinions, one of which
revolves in the same direction as the shaft, the direction of motion of
the other one being reversed by means of bevil wheels or by other
suitable means, the said shaft being connected with the governor in
such a manner as that as the speed of the engine varies the said shaft
will be slid longitudinally in its bearings in a direction and to an extent
determined by the action of the governor. The afore-mentioned spur
wheel or pinion, which is fixed to the screw shaft, remains at rest
between the aforesaid pair of pinions so long as the speed of the engine
is constant, but on a variation in the said speed occuring one or other
of the said pinions will be slid into gear with the said wheel, and the
screw shaft will be caused to revolve in a direction determined by the
action of the governor, and the cam shaft will thus be moved endwise
until the spur wheel has moved out of gear with the said pinion, when
the longitudinal movement of the cam shaft will cease, the spur wheel
working out of gear as in the case of the afore-mentioned pawls.
Another portion of my Invention relates to the oil or grease cups
employed to lubricate the cylinders of steam engines, and more par-
ticularly to those acting by. means of the displacement of the oil or
grease by the water of condensation. The passage in the said grease cup,
which communicates with the interior of the cylinder, is fitted with a
valve acted upon by a spiral spring so as to close the said opening when
the cup is opened to introduce the oil or grease. A vertical spindle
works in a thread formed in the cap or plug closing the top of the cup,
and the end of the said spindle is so formed that when it is screwed
down it will close the aforesaid opening and at the same time push open
the lower valve. When the grease or oil has been placed in the cup, and
the opening through which it has been introduced has been secured, the
aforesaid spindle is screwed down so as to cut off the communication
with the cylinder, excepting through a passage formed in the said
spindle which communicates with the upper part of the cup by a side
opening, or by two or more openings as may be preferred, the oil or
grease displaced as aforesaid flowing down the said passage and into the
cylinder. If required to act as an ordinary grease cup the said spindle
may be turned in the direction which will allow of the passage of oil or

page_text: grease between the lower end of the said spindle and the valve seat
formed at the bottom of the cup, or when used as a displacement
lubricator the water may be discharged in the same manner.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Edge in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 4th December 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
EDGE, of Bolton-le-Moors, in the County of Lancaster, Mechanical
Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said James Edge, Her special license that I,
the said James Edge, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said James Edge, 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 STEAM ENGINES, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED
IN CONNECTION THEREWITH," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said James Edge, 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 James Edge, 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 and accompanying Drawings, that is to say :-
My Invention relates, in the first place, to means for regulating the
admission of steam to the cylinders of steam engines, and more par-
ticularly to those cases wherein stepped cams or cams formed with a

page_text: varying curvature are employed. In such a case it is desirable that as
the load upon the engine varies the cam or cams shall be shifted or
moved in order to regulate the cutting off of the steam, as is well under-
stood, and that the movements of the cam or cams shall be controlled
by the governor, a portion of my Invention consisting of means for
effecting the said controlling in manner as follows:-The said cam or
cams I in most cases fix on a shaft, which is caused to revolve by
suitable means, and is also so arranged as that it may slide longitudinally
in its bearings in order to effect the changes in the cutting off of the
steam as aforesaid. On one end of the said shaft is fixed a grooved
cam, which as the shaft revolves imparts a to-and-fro motion to one
end of a lever, which is mounted on a stud or on a shaft fitted to rock
in fixed bearings and the opposite end of the said lever, or of a second
lever fixed to the same shaft, as the aforesaid lever is fitted with a pair
of pawls or with a double-ended pawl. Two sets of ratchet teeth are
formed on a fixed bar, the teeth of one set being reversed as compared
with the teeth of the other set, and a sliding shield or guard is fitted to
the said bar, the said guard being in connection with the governor, the
arrangement being such as that as the balls of the governor rise and
fall the said guard will be slid along the toothed bar in one direction
or the other. So long as the engine is running at an uniform speed
the said guard will be stationary, and the afore-mentioned pawls or
double-ended pawl will traverse to and fro on the said guard without
coming into contact with the teeth formed on the stationary bar, but
on a change in the speed of the engine taking place the guard will be
moved along the bar, say, for example, towards the right hand, and one
end of the aforesaid pawl or one of the pawls when moving in a con-
trary direction will come into contact with the teeth of the bar, and the
motion of the rocking lever will be arrested, and the grooved cam con-
tinuing to act against the upper end of the said lever, which is for the
time stationary, the said cam, together with the cam shaft and the
valve, will be moved endwise or longitudinally. As the cam which
actuates the said lever changes its position the path of motion of the
pawls is also shifted either in one direction or the other, and as the
said direction is the same as the direction of movement of the guard
the pawls will always follow the said guard in its movements, and will
work out of gear with the ratchet teeth.

page_text: is connected by one end to a screw shaft, the connection being such as
will admit of the rotation of the cam shaft without a corresponding
rotation of the said screw shaft. The said screw shaft works in a nut,
and is fitted with a spur wheel. On a second shaft, which receives
a continuous revolving motion, is mounted a pair of pinions, one of
which revolves in the same direction as the shaft, the direction of
motion of the other one being reversed by means of bevil wheels or by
other suitable means, the said shaft being connected with the governor
in such a manner as that as the speed of the engine varies the said shaft
will be slid longitudinally in its bearings in a direction and to an
extent determined by the action of the governor. The afore-mentioned
spur wheel or pinion, which is fixed to the screw shaft, remains at rest
between the aforesaid pair of pinions so long as the speed of the engine
is constant, but on a variation in the said speed occurring one or other
of the said pinions will be slid into gear with the said wheel, and the
screw shaft will be caused to revolve in a direction determined by the
action of the governor, and the cam shaft will thus be moved endwise
until the spur wheel has moved out of gear with the said pinion,
when the longitudinal movement of the cam shaft will cease, the spur
wheel working out of gear, as in the case of the afore-mentioned
pawls.
Another portion of my Invention relates to the oil or grease cups em.
ployed to lubricate the cylinders of steam engines, and more particularly
to those acting by means of the displacement of the oil or grease by
the water of condensation. The passage in the said grease cup which
communicates with the interior of the cylinder is fitted with a valve
acted upon by a spiral spring, so as to close the said passage when the
cup is opened to introduce the oil or grease. A vertical spindle works
in a thread formed in the cap or plug, closing the top of the cup, and
the end of the said spindle is so formed that when it is screwed down
it will close the aforesaid opening, and at the same time will push open
the lower valve. When the grease or oil has been placed in the cup,
and the opening through which it has been introduced has been secured
the aforesaid spindle is screwed down so as to cut off the communication
with the cylinder, excepting through a passage formed in the said
spindle, which passage communicates with the upper part of the cup
by a side opening or by two or more openings as may be preferred,
the oil or grease displaced as aforesaid flowing down the said passage

page_text: and into the cylinder. If required to act as an ordinary grease cup
the said spindle may be turned in the direction which will allow of the
passage of oil or grease between the lower end of the said spindle and
the valve seat formed at the bottom of the cup, or when used as a
displacement lubricator the water may be discharged in the same
manner.
In order that my Invention may be well understood I have supplied
a Sheet of Drawings to accompany this Specification, the said Drawings
being made, with one exception, to a scale of about four inches to the
foot, and having letters of reference marked thereupon, similar letters
indicating corresponding parts in the various Figures.
Referring in this place to the said Drawings, Fig. 1 is a side
elevation representing a portion of one end of a steam engine cylinder
having applied thereto the arrangement for shifting the cams, as herein-
before described in the second place, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the
same; Fig. 3 is a front, and Fig. 4 a side elevation of the first described
arrangement for shifting the .cams, Figs. 5 and 6 illustrating one of the
modifications of the same which may be made.
In Figs. 1 and 2 a is a portion of the steam cylinder; is one of the
inlet valve boxes; c is a steam pipe, communicating with the inlet valve
at the other end of the cylinder; d is the cam shaft; and e is one of the
two inlet cams, which have to be shifted or moved in an endwise
direction, as has been herein-before mentioned.
In Fig. 3 d is the aforesaid cam shaft, e is the cam, and f is a
sliding carriage, upon which the said cam operates, and which is con-
nected to the inlet valve, the steam cylinder being omitted in this
Figure. On the end of the said cam shaft is fixed the grooved cam f',
which is suitably formed to impart a vibrating motion to the lever g,
which is fixed on the shaft h mounted in the bearings h¹. On the
sbaft g is fixed the lever g', in the end of which are mounted the pawls i
and which as the cam shaft revolves traverse to and fro on the
surface of the guard j, which is fitted to slide on the toothed bar j', and
is actuated by means of the governor through the lever and connecting
rod, so that as, for example, when the balls of the governor rise the
said guide will move in the direction of the arrow, a contrary movement
taking place when the said balls fall. The action of the apparatus is as
follows, namely, for so long a time as the engine continues to run at an
uniform speed the aforesaid pawls will traverse to and fro on the surface

page_text: of the guard j, being prevented by the said guard from coming into
contact with the toothed bar, but when an increase in the speed of the
engine takes place the said guard will be moved in the direction of the
arrow, and the pawl i, when moving towards the left hand, will pass
the end of the said guard, and will fall into gear with the ratchet teeth
of the bar ¹ the further movement of the said pawl, and as a consequence
of the lever g being thereby arrested, and as the cam f¹ will now be
acting on a stationary fulcrum the continued action of the said cam will
cause the shaft to be moved to some extent in the direction of the
arrow, and the cam or cams fixed on the said shaft will thereby be shifted
or moved, and the steam will thus be cut off at an earlier period of the
stroke, the cam or cams- being suitably formed, as will be well under-
stood. By reason of the endwise movement of the cam f the pawls will
work themselves out of gear with the ratchet teeth, and will be caused
to follow the guard in either direction, so that after one or more
revolutions of the cam shaft the said pawls will again be traversing to
and fro on the guard without coming into contact with the ratchet teeth,
and by reason of this peculiar action of the said pawls the movement of
the cam shaft d will be allowed to cease so soon as or soon after the
guard has come to rest in any one of the positions which it may at
various times occupy on the bar j³.
On Figs. 5 and 6 a slight modification is shewn. In this example
the guard j does not cover any portion of the ratchet teeth as in the last
described arrangement, but the said guard is in two portions, one portion
being on each side of the ratchet bar, and the upper edges of the guards
sustaining the pawls, this arrangement permitting the ends of the said
pawls to be more nearly in contact with the ratchet teeth when
traversing to and fro than the arrangement previously described. In
place of the ends of the pawls resting on the said guards pins fixed or
projections formed on the sides of the said pawls may rest on the said
guards, and in lieu of using two pawls a double-ended pawl may be
employed, in which case the upper edges of the guards may be so formed
as that when either end of the said pawl passes off the guard the opposite
end will be raised for the purpose of depressing the first-named end into
gear with the ratchet teeth. Also in place of the two aforesaid guards a
single guard sliding between two toothed bars or in a groove formed in a
toothed bar may be employed, or the ratchet teeth may be formed on a
curved bar or on the edge of a circular wheel or disc, or of a segment
thereof

page_text: In Figs. 1 and 2 the cam shaft d is connected by the coupling k
with the screw shaft 1, which works in the nut fitted in the bracket m,
the said coupling permitting the said cam and screw shafts to rotate
independently of one another. Mounted on the shaft n, which is so
fitted in the bracket m as to be capable of being moved endwise is a
spur pinion o, which gears with a corresponding wheel p mounted on the
cam shaft d, the shaft n being by these means caused to rotate, say, in
the direction of the arrow. On the shaft n is fixed a spur wheel q, on
which is fixed or formed the mitre or bevil wheel q', which, through the
intermediate wheel o', communicates a rotatory motion to a second spur
wheel, which is loosely mounted on the shaft n, and revolves in a
reverse direction thereto, as indicated by the arrow. The said shaft n is
fitted at one end with a swivel piece n', which serves to connect the said
shaft to the upper end of the lever s, which is in connection through the
rod with the governor, so that when the balls of the said governor fall
the shaft n will be moved endwise, say, for example, in the direction of
the arrow. The said 'movement of the shaft n causes the wheel q to
gear with the spur wheel t fixed to the screw shaft l, and the said screw
shaft is thereby caused to revolve in the direction indicated; and
supposing the said screw to have a right-hand thread, as shewn in the
Drawing, the cam shaft d will be moved endwise in the direction of the
arrow marked thereon. On the contrary, when the governor balls rise
the shaft n is moved in a contrary direction to that above mentioned,
and the wheel r is caused to gear with the wheel t, and as the said
wheel will then revolve in a direction contrary to that indicated the
cam shaft will also be moved in a contrary direction to that indicated by
the arrow. As every such endwise movement of the said cam shaft and
of the wheel t takes place in a direction away from the driving wheel,
which may at the time be acting on the spur wheel t, it follows that the
said spur wheel will at all times work itself out of gear with the said
driving wheel without it being necessary that the said driving wheel
shall be returned to its former position, so that any required movement
may be given to the cam shaft d whatever may be the position of the
driving wheels q and within the limits of their traverse.
Although the term governor balls has been herein used it is not
intended that the afore-described arrangements shall be used only in
connection with the ordinary governor, as any form of governor which
will give a suitable movement to the aforesaid guard or guards or to the
shaft n may be employed.

page_text: My improved grease cup is shewn in vertical section at Fig. 7. In
the said Fig. u is the body of the cup, which is fitted at its upper end
with a plug v, which may be unscrewed when it is required to introduce
oil or grease into the cup. A spindle w passes through the interior of
the cup, and is formed at its lower end into a conical or other suitably
formed valve, and a portion of its length has a screw thread cut thereon,
the said screwed portion working in an internal thread formed in the
plug v, the upper end of the spindle passing through a gland or stuffing
box, also formed in the said plug, and the said upper end is fitted with a
hand wheel or other equivalent. A. passage is formed in the lower
portion of the cup, in which is fitted the valve x, which is pressed
upwards by the spiral spring y, so that in the absence of the spindle w the
said valve will be pressed against a seating formed at the upper end of
the said passage, and the communication between the interior of the cup
and of the steam cylinder will be cut off. In order that the valve & may
be ground to fit the aforesaid seating I prefer to employ a box key, as
shewn seperately at z, which key fits on a square or polygon formed on
the upper end of the said valve. The action of the said grease cup is as
follows, namely:-When it is required to replenish the cup the
spindle w is rotated until clear of the valve x, which will then risc,
and will close the passage as aforesaid. The plug v may now be
removed, the cup be filled or partly filled with oil or grease, and the said
plug be replaced, after which the spindle w is screwed down until the
lower end closes the upper end of the passage, as shewn in the Drawing.
The lubricant enters an aperture or apertures at 6, and flows in the
direction of the arrows through a passage formed in the spindle, and
shewn by the dotted lines, through grooves or passages formed in the
sides of the valve x and into the steam cylinder, valve chest, or other
portion of the engine on which the cup may be fixed, a portion of steam
flowing through the same passages into the interior of the grease cup,
the condensation of the said steam regulating the supply of the grease,
as will be understood. The said cup may be employed otherwise than
as a displacement cup by screwing back the spindle w until a sufficient
supply of lubricant can flow past the lower end of the said spindle, as
has been herein-before mentioned.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention and methods
of carrying the same into practical effect, I would have it to be dis-
tinctly understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details as
herein-before described, and as illustrated in the accompanying Draw-

page_text: ings, as they may be greatly modified without departing from the main
features of my Invention; but what I desire to claim is,―
First. The employment of the apparatus for shifting the cam or
cams of a steam engine, as illustrated by Figs. 3 and 4 of the accom-
panying Drawings, or of any mere modifications thereof, wherein are
employed pawls acting in manner substantially as and for the purposes
as herein-before set forth and described.
Secondly. The employment of the apparatus illustrated in Figs. 1
and 2 of the accompanying Drawings, or of any mere modifications
thereof wherein are employed, spur wheels having the action of the
wheels q, r, and t, substantially as and for the purposes as herein-before
set forth and described.
وو
And, lastly. The employment of " grease or "tallow cups" when
constructed and acting in manner substantially as illustrated in the
accompanying Drawings and as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Edge, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Third day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
O Signed and sealed by the said
James Edge, in the presence of
EDWARD K. DUTTON,
Agent to the Patentee,
JAMES EDGE. (L.S.)
3, Smithy Door, Manchester.