Improvements in Steam-engines and other Motors.
Year: 1888

page_text: J
[Communicated from abroad by FRANKLIN D. CHILD, of Newton, Massachusetts,
United States of America.]
Improvements in Steam-engines and other Motors.
1, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
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:-
This invention relates chiefly to steam-engines, and particularly to the valves and
steam passages and ports and it consists of certain novel features of construction,
arrangement, and combination of parts, which will be readily understood by reference
to the description of the drawings in which the invention is clearly pointed out.
Figure 1 is an end elevation of the larger part of a steam-engine cylinder having
the invention applied thereto.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section on line x, x, on Figures 1 and 5, but showing the
piston and piston-rod in plan.
Figure 3 is a half section on line y, y, on Figure 1 and showing the piston, piston-
rod, and valve-rods in elevation, and also showing a different packing for the valves.
Figure 4 is a transverse section on line, z, on Figure 2.
Figure 5 represents in its upper half a transverse balf-section on line v, von
Figure 2, and in its lower half a similar half section on line w, w, on Figure 2.
Figure 6 is a longitudinal half section illustrating a form of the invention which
it is proposed to use in applying the invention to engines already in use, and
Figure-is-an end-view of the same.
In the drawings, A is the steam cylinder provided at one side and at or near the
centre of its length with the steain-inlet pipe A', and at the opposite side with an
exhaust pipe A', the former communicating with the semi-annular chamber B, which
is separated from the semi-annular chamber B', with which the exhaust-pipe com-
municates, by the partitions a and a¹, which are shown in section in Figure 4, and

page_text: one of which is indicated by dotted lines in Figure 2 and shown in longitudinal
section in Figure 3.
The semi-annular chamber B communicates with the annular steam-passages b
and b, which respectively extend from opposite sides thereof toward the opposite ends
of the cylinder, as shown in Figure 2.
The passages 6 and 61 are annular or extenil entirely around the inner wall of the
cylinder from c to d; but from d to or nearly to the opening of the ports into the
cylinder the inner, and outer walls of said passages are connected together by the tie-
ribs e, e, thus dividing said passages each into a series of passages or ports, e¹, opening
into the cylinder upon all sides thereof, as shown in the upper half of Figure 5. In
like manner the semi-annular chamber B³ communicates upon opposite sides with the
annular exhaust-passages f and f¹, which extend, respectively, toward the opposite
ends of the cylinder from g to h in annular form, and from h to or nearly to the points
where they open into the cylinder the inner and outer walls of said passages are
connected together by the tie-ribs i, thus dividing said passages each into a series of
exhaust ports or passages, opening into the cylinder upon all sides thereof, as shown
in the lower half of Figure 5.
Cis the piston, of ordinary construction, and C is the piston-rod, having a bearing
in the packing-box D of the head E in a well known manner.
The heads E and E' are secured to the cylinder in the usual manner, and are
provided upon their inner sides with large inwardly projecting hollow hubs, which in
the case of new engines are made in the forin of frustums of cones, as shown in
Figure 2 but when applied to remodelling old engines the said hubs are made
cylindrical, as shown in Figure 6.
FF are two ring slide-valves fitted to the inner bore of the cylinder, one at each
end, and each provided with any suitable means of packing the same or causing it to
work steam-tight upon its circular seat whether the same be inside or outside of said
valve. Said ring valves are made thinner at their outer edges than at their inner
edges, so that their non working circular surfaces are oblique to the axis of the
cylinder, as shown in Figures 2 and 6.
The cylinder-head E is provided with two packing-boxes E, for the passage of the
valve rods G, G, by which said valves F, F, are connected together and made to move
as one, said rods G, G, passing through openings in the piston C, provided with
packing boxes,, (see Figure 4) to prevent the passage of steam from one side of
said piston to the other as the rods move through said piston or the piston moves upon
said rods.
The portion of the cylinder-head opposed to the oblique or frusto-conical surface of
the valve is made parallel to said frusto-conical surface and at such a distance from
the valve seat that when the valve is moved into position to open the steam-ports said
valve will substantially fill the annular space between the valve seat and said frusto-
conical surface of the head for the full longitudinal length of said valve, as shown at
the right-hand ends of Figures 2 and 6, and when the valve is moved into position to
close the steam-ports and open the exhaust-ports an annular space will be opened
between the frusto-conical surfaces of the valve and of the head to permit the free
passage of the exhaust-steam to the exhaust-ports of the cylinder.
The inclined circular sides of the valves F, F, are each provided with two cars k, k,
upon opposite sides of the piston-rod, in which ears are formed openings to receive
the valve rods G, G, and the inclined circular surfaces of the cylinder heads opposed
thereto have semi-circular notches cut therein to receive said ears, all as shown in
Figure 5.
For the purpose of remodelling old engines and applying the improved valves
thereto I make the steam inlet and exhaust nozzles and ports in the cylinder-heads
instead of in the cylinder and form the valve seats upon the inwardly-projecting central
portions of said heads, as shown in Figures 6 and 7.
The great advantages of this invention are that with the use of slide-valvos the steam
is cut off at the inner surface of the cylinder, and the space to be filled with steam and
wasted at each stroke of the engine is reduced to the minimum; and by virtue of. the

page_text: fact that the ports extend entirely around the circumference of the cylinder, except
the spaces occupied by the tie-ribs e and i in cases where said ribs extend to the inner
surface of the cylinder, I am enabled to reduce the stroke of the valves to a minimum.
In some cases it is proposed to cut the tie-ribs e and i short of the inner periphery
of the cylinder, as shown in Figure 3, thereby making a continuous port extending
entirely around the cylinder, instead of making a series of ports separated only by thin
partitions or ribs, as hereinbefore described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
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 or other motor, a cylinder provided with inlet and exhaust
pipes, inlet and exhaust chambers communicating with said inlet and exhaust pipes,
respectively, annular inlet-passages communicating with either end of said inlet-
chamber, annular exhaust-passages communicating with either end of said exhaust-
chamber, and inlet and exhaust ports communicating, respectively, with said inlet and
exhaust passages at either end of said cylinder and so constructed and arranged as to
admit steam or other motive force to and exhaust it from said cylinder on all sides
thereof, in combination with ring-valves at each end of said cylinder adapted to
alternately open and close said inlet and exhaust ports, and having frusto-conical
surfaces on the inside and a cylinder-head at each end of said cylinder, which is pro-
vided with an internally projecting frusto-conical extension, the sides of which are
parallel with the inner sides of said valves and are in contact therewith, or nearly so,
when said valves have reached the extreme end of their movement toward the cylinder-
heads.
Second. In a steam engine or other motor, a cylinder provided with inlet and
exhaust ports at both ends thereof, and ring slide-valves in both ends thereof having
seating surfaces parallel to the axis of the cylinder and adapted to alternately open and
close the said inlet and exhaust ports, and also provided with frusto-conical surfaces
on the sides farthest from said ports, in combination with cylinder-heads provided with
frusto-conical surfaces opposed to and parallel with the frusto-conical surfaces of the
valves.
Third. In a steam-engine or other motor, a pair of ring slide-valves arranged one in
each end of the cylinder, and each having a circular seating-surface parallel to the
axis of said cylinder, which valves are adapted to alternately open and close the ports
of said cylinder, and are also provided with frusto-conical surfaces on the inside thereof,
in combination with cylinder-heads provided with frusto-conical surfaces opposed to
and parallel with the frusto-conical surfaces of the valves.
Dated this 3rd day of Auonot 18ee
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.