Improvements in Compound and other Steam Engines.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 21st June, 1892-Accepted, 24th Sept., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by JAMES N. GAMBLE, of Daytona, Volusia, County
Florida, United States of America, Manufacturer.]
Improvements in Compound and other Steam Engines.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45 Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex, 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 :-
My invention relates to the construction of steam engines and particularly to
compound steam engines although certain features of my novel construction are
applicable to engines which are not compound engines. The object of my invention
is to simplify the construction of steam engines and combine the necessary parts
thereof in such a way that they shall be as few in number and as compactly
arranged as possible. The nature of my inventions will be best understood as
described in connection with the drawings in which they are illustrated and in
which,
Figure 1 is a cross-section through a cross compound engine embodying my
improvements taken on the line uu of Figure 3.
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional elevation taken on the line x x of Figure 1.
Figure 3 a longitudinal section taken on the line 3, 3, of Figure 1.
Figure 4 a longitudinal cross-section taken on the line y y of Figure 1.
Figure 5 a sectional view representing the parts intersected by sectional lines
passing through the centres of each cylinder to the centre of the valve chamber as
indicated at 3, 3, v, the parts being represented in the figure as on the same plane;
and
Figure 6 is a plan view of the starting valve taken on the line ww of Figure 2.
A is the high pressure cylinder; B the low pressure cylinder; C the valve
chamber; D the sleeve or lining of the valve-chamber in which the valves move;
the two cylinders, the valve-chamber, and the ports of the engine are all formed in
a single casting, E, which, as shown in the drawings, is adapted for use in con-
nection with a locomotive; I is a passage formed in the casting E for the admission
of live steam from the boiler; and FF are passages through which the exhaust
steam from the low pressure cylinder is carried into the smoke-box of the loco-
motive G and G* are starting valves the construction of which will be described
hereafter; H H H H are relief valves also described later on; J is a valve-stem ;
and K, also a valve-stem formed as a sleeve embracing the stem J and having
inside of the valve-box slots K' to permit the passage of a bolt or key L³ which
passes through the stem J and is used to secure to said stem a spool admission
valve L L which works in the valve-box C. On each side of the admission
valve L L exhaust valves M M' are secured to the sleeve K and where the valve
is used in connection with a compound engine additional valves N N¹ are also
secured to stem K to regulate the exhaust of the low pressure cylinder. Around
the box C and opening into it through its sleeve D are a series of ports indicated by
the numbers 1 to 9 inclusive. The port 1 is connected with the steam-supply
passage I and the ports 2 and 3 situated on each side of it lead respectively to the
two ends of the high-pressure cylinder-the motion of the spool valve L L' being
such as to connect the tangs of the passages 1-2 and 1-3. The ports 2 and 3
enter the high-pressure cylinder through the passages 10 and 11 with which passages
also the ports 4 and 5 are respectively connected. The ports 6 and 7 are the
exhaust ports of the high pressure cylinder and in the construction shown they are
also the admission ports to the low-pressure cylinder; and the ports 8 and 9 serve

page_text: as the exhaust ports of the low pressure cylinder and connect with the
passages F F. By placing the spool admission valve L L on an independently-
actuating rod J I am enabled to vary the admission of steam to the high pressure
cylinder while the exhaust valves of said cylinder and the admission and exhaust
to and from the low-pressure cylinder remain constant and unvaried or are only
varied at will. The stem for instance having its motion regulated by a
governor while the motion of the sleeve stem J is only under the positive control
of the engineer.
In Figure 2 of the drawings the valves are shown in an intermediate position-
useful as indicating the lead of the various valves. In Figure 3 the position of
the valves is such that the steam from the boiler will pass from port 1 to port 3;
thence, as indicated in Figure 4, it passes through the passage 11 to the right-
hand end of the high-pressure cylinder; the port 5, also leading into passage 11,
being in the position of the valve shown in Figure 3, cut off by valves L' and Mi
from all communication with other ports or passages. Looking to the left of
Figure 3 it will be seen that the port 4 which as indicated in Figure 4, com.
municates with passage 10 which leads to the left-hand end of the high pressure
cylinder, opens into the space between the valves N and M, and as said space also
communicates with the port 6 the exhaust from the high pressure cylinder then
enters the left-hand end of the low-pressure cylinder through passage 12 which
is in communication with port 6. The exhaust from the low-pressure cylinder
escapes through passage 13 at its right-hand end to port 7; thence between
valves M' and N₁ to the exhaust port 9 and the exhaust passage F.
In Figure 4 the valves are shown in the position they occupy when the valve L
is moving toward the centre to cut off the admission of steam to the left-hand end
of the high-pressure cylinder. And in Figure 5 the valves N M N M' are shown
in the same position as in Figure 4; and the valves L L as having made an earlier
cut-off of the steam admission to the high-pressure cylinder. It is unnecessary to
describe in detail the passage of the steam through the various ports and cylinders
as in view of the description already given it is a simple and easy matter to follow
the passage of the steam in all positions of the valves; and the simplicity and
compactness of the arrangement for controlling the steam in its passage through
the engine is of course apparent.
It will be noted that by having the two ports 3 and 5, and 2 and 4, connecting
with the passages leading to the high-pressure cylinder and arranged as described,
the clearances are cut down and all the steam passages made less tortuous, the
passages particularly for the exhaust from the high-pressure cylinder to the low
pressure cylinder being very short and direct, whereby the efficiency of the engine
is greatly enhanced.
At G I have indicated a simple and efficient arrangement for admitting steam at
a proper pressure to the low-pressure cylinder of the compound engine in starting
and before the exhaust from the high-pressure engine is available. Referring to
Figures 2 and 6 I will state that the starting valve is shown double; or rather, I
should say, an independent starting valve is provided for each end of the low-
pressure cylinder-the one valve being indicated at G and the other at G'. Each
valve consists of a differential cylinder P P the diameter of the part P being four
times that of the part P¹. From the outer end of the cylinder P, that is, from the
part furthest from its extension P³, a port S leads into a passage T¹ which com-
municates through a passage T2 with the admission port at one end of the low-
pressure cylinder, as shown the passage T¹ T2 from the starting valve G leads to
the port 6 and the corresponding passage from the starting valve G¹ leads of
course to the port 7. The passage T' also communicates through a port T with
the inner end of the cylinder P₁, that is, its end nearest to the cylinder P ; and
another port R leads from the back of cylinder P¹ to the admission port of the
high-pressure cylinder on the opposite side from that end of the low-pressure
cylinder which is in communication with the passage T¹. As shown, this com-
munication for the valve G is to the port 5 and for the valve G* to the port 4.

page_text: Assuming now that the valve is in the position for instance shown in Figure 3
the live steam will pass from port i to port 3, thence through passage 11 to the
right-hand end of cylinder A; but port 5 is also filled with high-pressure steam
which will pass through passage R to the outer end of the cylinder P. Now in
the said cylinder P is a piston valve Q to the inner end of which is secured a
piston working in the cylinder P the two together constituting a differential
piston with areas respectively as 1 to 4. The high pressure steam acting on the
end of piston Q will push it and the piston Q before it until the port T is open
and the steam will then pass through passage T1 T2 and port 6 into the passage 12
which leads to the left-hand side of the low-pressure cylinder. The steam will
also pass from the passage T' through port S to the outer end of cylinder P and
obviously as soon as the pressure in said cylinder exceeds one-quarter of the
pressure in cylinder P₁ the pressure acting on the piston Qwill move it and the
piston Q back to their original position closing the port T and cutting off further
admission to the low-pressure cylinder. In this way both cylinders are started
together and with a proper degree of pressure with respect to each other; the
companion valve G* of course acts in the same way with respect to the opposite
ends of the respective high and low-pressure cylinders.
In order to avoid shock and injury to the engine by excessive pressure or by the
presence of water in the cylinders I provide relief valves the construction of which
is indicated at H in Figure 1---one valve being provided for each end of each
cylinder. The valve consists of a chamber 03 having a cord communication or
passage leading into it from the admission port at the end of a cylinder—a
valve-seat O being formed at the point where the passage O enters the valve-box
or chamber 03. Another passage 02 leads from the steam-supply passage into
chamber 03, and a valve O is normally held seated on O' by the pressure of steam
entering the chamber through passage 02; a spring O may be advantageously
used as additional means for holding the valve to its seat. The valve O being
held to its seat by a pressure as great or greater than that in the cylinder will
remain seated under ordinary conditions but wherever the piston meets with an
excess of resistance at the end of its stroke the pressure communicated through
port will lift the valve from its seat and permit water, if it be present, to pass
from the end of the cylinder into chamber 03 and thence through passage O² to
the steam supply. The advantage gained in this form of relief valve is that the
steam escaping from the cylinder through the valve is not lost as it would be if
the outlet passage communicated with the atmosphere or with the exhaust, but is
returned into the general steam-supply; while, at the same time, the small amount
of water admitted by the valve into the steam supply is flashed or taken up by
the steam, and when next admitted to the cylinder passes off with the exhaust.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is :-
First In a steam-engine, the combination of an independent admission
valve L L with exhaust piston valves M M' situated on each side of the
admission valve and in the same valve-box but movable independently of the
admission valve.
Second In a steam engine, the combination of a piston valve chamber, the
concentric independently-movable valve-rods J and K extending through the same,
an admission valve L L secured to one rod and exhaust valves M M situated on
each side of the admission valve but secured to the other valve spindle.
Third: The combination of the independent admission valves L L' with exhaust
valves M M situated on each side of the admission valve and in the same valve-
box; and ports 2, 4 and 35 leading into the valve-box; the pair 24 connecting
with the passage 10 leading to one end of the cylinder and the pair 35 with the
passage 11 leading to the other end thereof, all substantially as and for the purpose
specified.

page_text: :
Fourth In combination with the high and low pressure cylinders of a compound
engine the common valve chamber C having ports 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 arranged
as described, the ports 10 and 11 connecting ports 2 and 4 and 3 and 5 respectively
and leading to the opposite ends of the high pressure cylinder, the ports 12
and 13 leading from ports 6 and 7 respectively to the opposite ends of the low
pressure cylinder and the piston valves L L, M M, N N¹, working in said
valve chamber and over the ports.
Fifth In combination with the high and low pressure cylinders of a compound
engine, the common valve chamber C having ports 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 arranged
as described, the ports 10 and 11 connecting ports 2 and 4 and 3 and 5 respectively
and leading to the opposite ends of the high pressure cylinder, the ports 12 and 13
leading from ports 6 and 7 respectively to the opposite ends of the low-pressure
cylinder; the independent admission valve L L and the exhaust valves M M¹
N N' situated in each side of the admission valve.
Sixth In combination with the high and low pressure cylinders of a compound
engine, the common valve chamber C having ports 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9
arranged as described the ports 10 and 11 connecting ports 2 and 4 and 3 and 5
respectively and leading to the opposite ends of the high pressure cylinder, the
ports 12 and 13 leading from ports 6 and 7 respectively to the opposite ends of
the low pressure cylinder, and piston valves L L M M¹, N N', working in said
valve chamber and over the ports.
Seventh The combination of the independent admission valve L L' with
exhaust valves M M' situated on each side of the admission valve and in the same
valve-box but movable independently of the admission valve; and ports 2, 4,
and 3, 5 leading into the valve-box; the pair 24 connecting with the passage 10
leading to one end of the cylinder, and the pair 3 5 with the passage 11 leading
to the other end thereof, all substantially as and for the purpose specified.
Eighth In combination with the high and low pressure cylinders of a compound
engine, the common valve chamber C, having ports 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 arranged
as described, the ports 10 and 11 connecting ports 2 and 4 and 3 and 5 respectively
and leading to the opposite ends of the high-pressure cylinder, the ports 12 and 13
leading from ports 6 and 7 respectively to the opposite ends of the low-pressure
cylinder, and the piston valves L L, M M, N N', working in said valve chamber
and over the ports, the valve L L' being movable independently of the valves M M'
and N N'.
Ninth In combination with the high and low pressure cylinders of a compound
engine, the common valve chamber C having ports 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9,
arranged as described, the ports 10 and 11 connecting ports 2 and 4 and 3 and 5
respectively, and leading to the opposite ends of the high pressure cylinder, the
ports 12 and 13 leading from ports 6 and 7 respectively to the opposite ends of
the low-pressure cylinder, and piston valves L L M M', N N', working in said
valve chamber and over the ports, the valve L L' being movable independently of
the valves M M' and N N'.
:
Tenth In combination with a steam engine, a valve chamber 03, a port O²
leading to said chamber from the steam supply, a port 01 leading to said chamber
from one end of the engine cylinder, and a valve 0 seated on port O¹ and situated
below port 02.
:
Eleventh In combination with the valve-box C of a compound engine con-
structed substantially as specified, a series of valve-chambers O³ each connected
as by port 02 with the steam supply of the respective cylinders and each connected
by ports with the valve ports leading respectively to the respective ends of the
two cylinders, and normally closed valves O seated on each of ports O, all
substantially as and for the purpose specified.
Twelfth In a compound engine a starting valve G consisting of differential
cylinders PP, cylinder P having a port S leading by passage T" to the admission
port of the low-pressure engine and cylinder P having a port T near its inner
end leading to passage T¹ and a port R leading to the steam supply port of the

page_text: high-pressure cylinder and differential pistons Q Q¹ connected together and
operating in the cylinders P P¹, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
Thirteenth In a cross compound engine substantially as described, a starting
valve G consisting of differential cylinders P P₁ cylinder P having a port S
leading by passage T₁ to the admission port at one end of the low-pressure
cylinder, and cylinder P having a port T near its inner end leading to said
passage T and a port R leading to the steam-supply port of the high-pressure
cylinder and differential pistons Q Q working in the cylinders as described in
combination with a similar valve G* the passage T¹ of which leads to the admission
port at the opposite end of the low-pressure cylinder.
Dated this 21st day of June 1892.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.