IMPROVEMENTS IN VALVES FOR REGULATING THE FLOW OF STEAM IN STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Petrie, of Rochdale, in the County of Lan-
caster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN VALVES FOR
REGULATING THE FLOW OF STEAM IN STEAM ENGINES."
Sealed the 16th May 1865, and dated the 18th November 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Petrie at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th November 1864.
I, JAMES PETRIE, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN VALVES
FOR REGULATING THE FLOW OF STEAM IN STEAM ENGINES," to be as follows:-
My Invention refers, firstly, to an improvement upon such piston valves as
are described in the Specification of a Patent granted to me in conjunction with
William M'Naught, dated 27 December 1856, No. 3079. As described in
the Specification of the said Patent the ring constituting the valve is made in
one piece with the boss, which is mounted upon the valve rod.
According to my present improvement I form the said boss and ring in
separate portions, the one being provided with a part which connects it loosely
to the other, but admitting the required motion to be given to the valve.
The spring for expanding the ring I mount independent of the valve rod, and
by these two improvements the central position of the said rod is not interfered
with.
Another part of my Invention relates to an improvement upon the arrange-
ment for which Letters Patent were granted to me, dated February 24th

page_text: 1858, No. 365, and consists in a method of communicating motion from the
governor to the regulating valve. The two valves specified under the above-
mentioned Patent I still mount upon the same central line, but the governor,
by means of levers, imparts a sliding motion to a rod which passes into the
valve case. This rod carries projecting studs which act upon a lever turning
on a fixed centre, and this lever is situate between studs capable of sliding on
the stop-valve rod, which stop valve is worked, as before, by a screw or similar
contrivance.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Petrie in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 18th
-May 1865...
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
PETRIE, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said James Petrie, Her special license that I, the said James Petrie, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Petrie, 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 VALVES FOR
REGULATING THE FLOW OF STEAM IN STEAM ENGINES," upon the condition,
amongst others, that I, the said James Petrie, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, 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 Petrie, 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 fol-
lowing statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to say):
My Invention refers, firstly, to an improvement upon such piston valves as

page_text: are described in the Specification of a Patent granted to me in conjunction
with William M.Naught, dated Twenty-seventh December One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-six, No. 3079. As described in the Specification of
the said Patent the ring constituting the valve is made in one piece with the
boss, which is mounted upon the valve rod.
According to my present improvement I form the said boss and ring in
separate portions, the one being provided with a part which connects it loosely
to the other, but admitting the required motion to be given to the valve.
The spring for expanding the ring I mount independent of the valve rod, and
by these two improvements the central position of the said rod is not interfered
with.
.
Another part of my Invention relates to an improvement upon the arrange-
ment for which Letters Patent were granted to me, dated February Twenty-
fourth, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, No. 365, and consists in a
method of communicating motion from the governor to the regulating valve.
Tho two valves specified under the above-mentioned Patent. I still mount
upon the same central line, but the governor, by means of levers, imparts a
sliding motion to a rod which passes into the valve case.
The first of these improvements is shewn at Figs. 1 and 2, the former being
a vertical section, and the latter a sectional plan view of the piston valve
detached from its case.
.
The ring which forms the packing is at a, and. upon it is formed a projecting.
part b. This part 6 is embraced by a fork c, the boss thereof being attached
to the valve rod d. The packing ring a is split at d and carries; at that
situation a block e.formed with an. inclined plane on its inward face, as seen.
in Fig. 1, and f is a sliding block, also provided with an inclined plane cor-
responding to and bearing against that shewn at e. This last-mentioned
incline is capable of being forced downward by a screw g which is carried by
a nut h attached to the cap i of the valve cover. At k is a hoop spring
bearing against the block f and having an abutment at its other ends against
parts which project from the packing ring a. Motion is communicated to
the valve rod d by any ordinary means, and upon being turned it will carry
round with it the ring a through the medium of the fork c.. When it is
required to expand the piston for packing, then the screw 9 is turned, by which
means the block fis thrust downward, and the inclined plane thereon moving
along the incline formed upon the block e will exert a pressure against the
spring which, by being forced outward, will act against the ring a and effect
the required expansion thereof. It will be apparent that when the above
operation takes place the central position of the piston rol is not interfere:l

page_text: b
with, because the thrust which is put upon the ring a causes the said ring to.
move independently of the fork c, the projecting part 6 being free to slide.
therein. The steam passages used in this description of valve are shewn,
at m.
In the Drawing I have shewn the piston valve composed of two rings, the
one being placed over the other and the splittings thereof being situate on
opposite sides so as to break the line of expansion. Similar letters of reference.
are marked on the parts belonging to the second ring with the addition
of an *.
b
Fig. 3 shews in plan view a modification of the improvement above
described. In this instance the valve rod d carries a square block c situate
within an aperture m formed in the piece n. This piece is provided with a
recess within which is situate the projecting part 6 through the medium of.
which the ring a is turned. The piece n has also another recess within which
is a block o with an inclined plane working in contact with another incline e
for expanding the ring a, as before described, a spring 9 being placed being
the parts n, o; in this instance, however, the thrust is put upon the piece n.
through the medium of the spring 9, which piece n is capable of sliding by:
means of feathers upon the block c, and the ring is free as before to move
forward independently of the valve rod.
The next part of my Invention is shewn at Fig. 4, which is a vertical
section of the regulating valve and parts connected therewith. The valve
box is shewn at a, within which is the regulating valve b. The stop valve
being applied as described in my former Specification aforesaid. At c, c*,
is a bell-crank which is connected to the governor by any ordinary means.
This lever turns upon a centre at d, and its end c* carries a roller situate
within a slot e formed in a leverf turning upon a fixed centre at g. This
lever fat its outward end embraces a rod h which moves in a guide i at its
upper end, passes through a stuffing box k into the valve box, and at its lower
end is capable of moving in a guide formed upon the regulating valve b.
This regulating valve is mounted so as to slide upon the rod m, as described
in the Specification of my former Patent aforesaid, and the boss thereof is
embraced by a lever n turning upon a centre ato and connected at its other
end to the sliding rod h. When the governor acts upon the lever c so as to
turn it upon its centre d, then the other leverf will also be turned upon its
centre, and its outward end acting upon the rod h will cause the said rod to
move upward or downward and act upon the regulating valve through the
medium of the lever n. The stop valve is worked as described in the Speci-
fication of my former Patent aforesaid.

page_text: Fig. 5 and 6 shew a modification of the foregoing part of my Invention.
In this instance a rod a proceeds from the governor and is connected to one
arm of a bell-crank lever b, 6*, the one arm of which carries a roller situate
within a slot c formed in a lever d turning upon a centre at e. This lever is
provided with a projecting stud f taking into a slot formed in an enlargement
of the valve rod g, which valve rod, as before, passes through a stuffing box h
into the valve box i. The modification in this case is simply in the levers for
communicating motion to the valve rod, and is for the purpose of obtaining a
greater variation of the regulating valve, for it will be observed that the
motion of the arm 6 proceeding from the governor will cause the other arm 6*
to act upon the valve rod at an accelerated rate.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be
understood that I claim as secured to me under the above in part recited
Letters Patent,
Firstly, and in reference to such valves as aforesaid, forming the part which
gives notion to the piston ring and the said ring in detached portions, also
mounting the spring used for expanding the piston ring independent of the
valve rod.
Secondly, in reference to the aforesaid arrangement of regulating and
stop valves, causing the governor to act upon a rod which passes into the
valve box.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Petrie, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
JAMES PETRIF Gol