FOR FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM ENGINES, SECURED BY HIS MAJESTY'S LETTERS PATENT BEARING DATE THE FOUR- TEENTH DAY OF FEBRUARY, IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND TEN
Year: 1811

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
WITTY, of the Town of Kingston-upon-Hull, sendeth greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third, by His
Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Thirtieth day of October, in the fifty-second year of His
reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Richard Witty, His special licence that I, the said Richard Witty, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Richard
Witty, my executors, administrators, 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, and exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention "FOR FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM
ENGINES, SECURED BY HIS MAJESTY'S LETTERS PATENT BEARING DATE THE FOUR-
TEENTH DAY OF FEBRUARY, IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED
AND TEN;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, obliging
me, the said Richard Witty, by an instrument under my hand and seal, par-
ticularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in
His Majesty's High Court of Chaucery within two calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said recited Letters Patent, as in and
by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully appear.

page_text: In
my former Patent for "Making, Arranging, and Combining certain Parts
of Rotative Steam Engines applicable to various Purposes" it must be observed
I there describe a cylinder or steam vessel which turns upon an axis; my fur-
ther improvements in the construction of steam engines consists in making
the piston draw or force the machinery to be worked by it, whilst itself moves
both in a rectilinear and rotary direction in a cylinder or steam vessel, which
also revolves upon an axis placed either in a horizontal, verticle, or oblique
position. The mechanical contrivances by which this is effected are of various
kinds, viz, they are made so that the power of the piston shall draw or force
the cylinder round, in which case the machinery must be driven by the axis or
shaft of the said cylinder, or the piston made to act upon a wheel or other
contrivance upon a separate axis or shaft, fixed or otherwise, as occasion may
require, the cylinder being at the same time forced round, the axis or shaft
of which may be employed merely to work the necessary pumps. In the
annexed figures these principles are illustrated; and although the mecanical
contrivances may be varied, with wheels, cranks; trammels, grooves, &c., yet
they all conform to the principles before mentioned.
Figure 1 is a section of the cylinder, axis, side pipes, and the con-
centric collar, with the condenser and air pump attached. A is the cylinder,
shorter and wider than fixed cylinders, with its piston B, the rod of which
works air-tight through the stuffing boxes a, a, at each end of the cylinder,
with a provision at w, w, to blow out the air and water at starting,
when required. The axis or shaft C, C, is fastened at right angles to the
In the axis are cast or bored.
cylinder with screw bolts through flanch i, i.
two ducts or channels, e, f, of sufficient capacity to admit steam to supply the
The side
cylinder. The ends of these ducts are securely plugged up at x, x.
pipes, h and g, are joined to the sides of the axis, and communicate separately
with the ducts e, f, in such a manner that the pipe h shall communicate with
the duct e, and the pipe g with the duct f. The other ends of these pipes are
joined to the ends of the cylinder. D, D, is the concentric collar, through
which the taper part of the axis works air-tight. To this collar are screwed the
steam pipe E, and eduction pipe F, the former leading from the boiler (not
necessarily described), and the latter to the condenser and exhausting. pump
G and H. The two holes in the collar, where the two pipes are joined, are
inade in form of a parallelogram (see transverse section of collar and axis,
Figure 2, with semicircular holes cast in the axis), so that when the cylinder,
side pipes, and shaft turn round through the collar D, D, the communications
betwixt the boiler and cylinder and the cylinder and condenser will be open
alternately during half the revolution, and each side of the piston will be open
"

page_text: or exposed alternately to the steam and the condenser. The crank I, upon the
shaft, is for the purpose of working the exhausting and other pumps, the rods
of which are to be kept perpendicular by any of the common methods used in
working pumps by crank motions.
Figure 3 represents what I call the cardioid attached to the engine. It
consists of a parallelogram frame, or trammel groove, joined to the piston rod
by the two triangles M, M, M, M. The two friction wheels N, N, are hung
Betwixt the ends of these triangles and the piston rod, and run betwixt the side
jambs 0, 0, 0, 0, cast or screwed upon the covers of the cylinder. At the
distance of half the stroke of the piston from the centre of the cylinder
shaft is fixed a strong stud or pin, having a strong knee cranked at right angles
from it, to support the gudgeon end of the cylinder shaft at S. On the
round part of this stud runs a friction wheel P, filling the trammel groove, and
the square is driven tight into another piece of cast iron, and keyed fast, and
this is bolted down to a beam of wood as at K, Figure 4. When the steam
is admitted under the piston the trammel groove moves with the piston
rod, and is turned from a rectilinear to a rotary direction by the stud P
resisting on one side of the trammel, and causes the cylinder to revolve
towards the stud, and as it revolves the groove slides upon the friction wheel P.
When the groove comes perpendicular or at right angles to the situation in
which it is seen in the Figure, the cylinder lays horizontal, the piston is at the
extremity of its stroke, and the alternations of the steam take place at that instant
in the axis. In this position the engine may be said to be passing centres similar
to that of a beam engine when passing the vertical position of the crank, and thus
a continued revolving of the cylinder is effected, while its piston describes a circle
the diameter of which is half the length of the stroke, and two points a, a, Fig.
5, upon the rod. The length of said diameter, measured on each side from the
middle of the piston, will describe the curve call the cardioid, and the extreme
ends of the piston rod will generate the heart curve.
Figure 5 shews diagrams of the curves thus generated. A is the circle
round which the piston revolves; B, the cardioid described by the half stroke
points a, a; and C, the heart, by the extreme ends of the piston rod or the
centres of the friction wheels b, b. This theory will shew that the carioid
motion may be obtained by various mechanical contrivances, one of which is a
crank one quarter the length of the stroke as L, and connected with the piston
by a pin sliding in a groove.in the steam vessel, or to a rod fastened to the ends
of the piston rod. The work to be performed by the engine must in this case
be driven by the cylinder shaft,, made of convenient length to admit wheels to
be staked upon it for that purpose.

page_text: Figure 4 is a contrivance for applying the force of the piston upon a wheel
R, or crank, which revolves upon a separate axis at W, placed half the length
of the stroke of the piston from the centre of the cylinder shaft X, which is
supported by a knee from or through the centre of the wheel, similar to the
contrivance for supporting the gudgeon of cylinder, Figure 3. The diameter
of the wheel is made equal to the length of the piston rod, and has its rin
made to incline or project in order that the piston rod may lay hold of it alter-
nately at the stops y, y.
Figures 6 and 7 describe how the ends of the rod are connected with the
rim by different contrivances, the cylinder being in every respect the same
as before, except the application of the piston rod, which will draw or pull
round the wheel R, by each end applying itself alternately. When the cylinder
comes to a horizontal position, the rod betwixt the ends Z, Z, just extends
across the diameter of the wheel. The alternations then take place, and that
end of the rod which brought the wheel so far now gradually quits the rim,
and the other end takes it round the other half revolution. The dotted line
shews the track of the disengaged end. It will readily be understood that if
the centre of the wheel R be placed exactly half the length of the stroke above
or below the axis of the cylinder, instead of being in the horizontal line, the
alternations will take place when the cylinder is in a vertical position, the holes
in the concentric collar being placed to suit it. It should be observed here,
that when the cylinder is hung upon an axis on one side of it only, the knee
or support for the other is of course dispensed with. It may also be done
away by making the wheel R run upon a circle, Figure 8, which just inscribes
the axis of the cylinder; or this circle may be as large as the wheel R placed
exactly over the piston rod, made to revolve, and answer the purpose instead of
said wheel, by having friction wheels round its periphery.
Figure 9 is another method of applying the force of the piston. It consists
of a heart-like curve, within which the cylinder revolves upon an axis at Y,
with the ends of the piston (each having a friction wheel upon it at n, n,)
pushing against one side as at T, which has liberty to move upon a joint at V,
the other side of the curve Z being fixed to strong framing. The piston rod
will push the cylinder round by the inclined position of the curve and its
gravity together, and thus communicate motion to machinery from the axis of
the cylinder. It may be proper to observe, I use such boilers, condensers, and
exhausting pump as are common to other steam engines; but in engines of
small power the condensing apparatus may not be required. The concentric
collar or ring D, D, Fig. 1, may be applied to engines with fixed cylinders, for
the purpose of letting the steam in and out, instead of the valves and hand

page_text: gear now generally used for that purpose.
The heavy pistons described in
my former Specification are not in this applicable.
In witness whereof, I have herennto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-
first day of December, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and eleven.