CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1831

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
MORGAN, of York Terrace, Regent's Park, in the County of Middlesex,
Esquire, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Fourteenth day of February, in the first year of His reign,
did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Morgan, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege, and authority,
that I, the said William Morgan, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Morgan, my exors, admors, or assigns, should
at any time agree, and no others, from time to time and at all times during
the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES;" in
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said William
Morgan, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His said
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and im-
mediately after the date of the said recited Letters Patent, as in and by the
same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso. I, the said
William Morgan, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described

page_text: and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures
and letters marked thereon, that is to say:-
My Invention consists in the application of certain arrangements or combi-
nations of apparatus for producing rotatory motion from the axis of a semi-
rotatory steam engine, or from the axis of a steam engine, the piston of which
does not make a complete revolution, but oscilates within the cylinder. In order
that my Invention may be clearly understood and carried into effect, I will
describe the Drawings hereunto annexed, but first observing that my improve-
ments relate more particularly to that description of engine described and
shewn in a Specification to a Patent granted to Elijah Galloway, on the Second
day of July, One thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine, to which a Speci-
fication was duly enrolled, such Patent having been assigned to me by the
Figure 1 represents one method of producing rotatory motion from the axis
of a piston which oscilates but one half of a circle, A being the axis of the
piston which passes through the cover at one end of the steam cylinder, and is
packed in the usual manner for making it steam tight; on the axis A there is
a drum d, so that when the piston is actuated and forced from side to side it
will carry with it the wheel or drum d, and by means of chains or straps e, f,
which are affixed to the wheel or drum d, and to the connecting rod G, the
connecting rod G will be drawn backwards and forwards, and thus will a
rotatory motion be given to the crank b; and the same result will be produced
by making the drum or wheel da toothed wheel, and having a rack cut or
formed on the connecting rod G, whereby the teeth of the wheel d taking into
the rack will cause such rack and connecting rod to be drawn backwards and
forwards, and thus give rotatory motion to the crank b.
Figure 2 is an arrangement of parts of apparatus to produce a rotatory motion
from the axis A of a semi-rotatory steam engine. is a beam having its
fulcrum at p, a semi-rotatory motion being produced to the arm ke affixed to
the axis A, and by the friction roller a, running between the guide rods n, n,
formed on the end of the beam o, will cause the beam o to vibrate from r tos;
at the time the arm k is performing the arc g to h, and the connecting rod G
being attached to the other end of the beam o, the crank 6 will be driven half
a revolution by the end q of the beam o, passing from v to t, and by the
return of the arm k from h to g, and the end q passing from t to v, the revo-
Intion of the crank 6 will be completed in the direction of the arrow.
Figure 3 represents another arrangement, in which Figure the same lette.s

page_text: indicate similar parts to those in Figure 2, and the only difference in this
arrangement from that described in Figure 2 is, that on the arm k, there is a
groove cut, and the two sides n, n, form guides for the friction roller a, which
friction roller in this instance is affixed (but allowed to turn) to one end of
the beam o, and when a semi-rotatory motion is given to the arm : by the
axis A of the piston in the direction from 9 to h, the friction roller will per-
form the arc from 7 to 8, which will elevate the end 7 of the beam to the point t,
which will drive the crank 6 one half of a revolution, and by the return of the
arm from h to g, the friction roller will be carried back to the point r, and
the end of the beam o will be brought to the point v, which will cause the
crank 6 to complete the revolution in the direction of the arrow.
g
Figure 4 shows another arrangement or combination of parts of apparatus
for producing rotatory motion from the axis A of the piston of a steam engine,
which makes about one half of a revolution, B being an arm affixed to the
axis A of the piston by keying in the usual manner; D is a beam connected
to the arm B by brasses and wedges to the axis or pin I, affixed to arm B;
F is an arm affixed on the axis or pin G, by a key, which axis or pin G is
affixed to, but allowed to turn in the framing of the engine, or the arm E may
turn on a pin affixed to the framing. The beam D is carried by the arm F,
by the axis or fulcrum E, and to the end II of the beam D the connecting
rod G is attached by the strap, brasses, and wedges, in the usual manner, and
the other end K of the connecting rod G, is attached to the crank b, as is
represented in the Drawing. When action is given to the arm B, on the axis
A of the piston, it will perform the arc from a to d, which will cause the arm
F to make a partial turn by its axis G, and pass through the arc from c to f
which will carry the connecting rod G from g to i, which is nearly in a right line,
as indicated by dotted lines; by which motion the crank 6 will perform half a
revolution, and by the return stroke of the engine the parts will be brought
back into the points from which they started, which will drive the crank 6 the
other half of a revolution.
Figure 5 shows another arrangement or combination for producing rotatory
motion to the crank b; G being a connecting rod attached to the crank, as
shewn at K, and at the other end to the axis of one of the wheels E, the
wheels E being connected together by the bar or framing D, and the wheels E
run within the straight edges F, which are affixed to the framing of the
engine; A is the axis of the piston; B, a drum wheel having chains affixed on
each side, and to the bar D, as shewn in the Drawing; or this wheel B may
have teeth formed around it, and the bar D have a back affixed or formed
thereon, so that when the wheel or drum B be turned first in one direction
and then in another by the axis A, it will cause the wheels E to be drawn

page_text: backwards and forwards, and they will be guided and kept in a right line by
the straight edges or guides F, by which means the connecting rod G will
produce rotatory motion to the crank b, at each backward and forward motion
of the wheel B.
Having now described the nature of my improvements and the manner of
their action, I would have it understood that although I have here described
my Invention as applied only to the axis of a piston which makes a half revo-
lution, yet I do not confine myself to that quantity of motion, as it will be
evident that in case a less quantity of motion be performed by the piston and
its axis by my improvements, such motion will be readily adapted to the pro-
ducing rotatory motion to the crank b, for it will only be necessary to cause the
parts affixed to the axis A of the piston to pass through such a length as will
cause the connecting rods G to move a length equal to half the circumference
of the circle through which the crank has to pass; and when the length of motion
of the piston is greater than half a revolution the same end may be accomplished
thus: when the motion is less than half a revolution, then it will be necessary
to lengthen the space through which the parts attached to the axis A have to
pass, by which means a motion equal to the distance from g to h, in all the
figures may be obtained, or by decreasing the size of the crank, the same
result will be produced; and in case of a greater length of motion being given
to the piston and its axis A, then it will be necessary either to shorten the
length of motion of the parts attached to the axis, or to increase the size of the
crank. I have not thought it necessary to describe or to represent a steam
engine, it forming no part of my Invention, and the construction thereof being
well understood by engineers, and one which performs a greater length of
motion than half a revolution is also represented in the Specification of the
said Elijah Galloway. I would observe that although I have herein described
parts which are separately well known and in use, yet I do not hereby claim
the use of them, expect when applied or employed to produce the object of my
Invention; and what I do claim is the application of the combinations described
and represented to the particular purpose of producing a rotatory motion from
the axis of a piston oscilating within a steam cylinder, but such piston not
making a complete revolution, whether such combinations be applied to the
engine shown in the Specification of the said Elijah Galloway or to any other
engine of a similar construction, that is, with a piston making only a partial
revolution.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Morgan, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-one.
WILLIAM (L.B.) MORGAN.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirteenth day of August, in
the year
of our Lord 1831, the aforesaid William Morgan came before our said
Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid,
and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute made for that purpose
Inrolled the Thirteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-one.