IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Frederick Spencer, of Newcastle-on-Tyne,
Consulting Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM
ENGINES."
Sealed the 10th October 1862, and dated the 14th April 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Frederick Spencer
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
14th April 1862.
I, JOHN FREDERICK SPENCER, of Newcastle-on-Tyne, Consulting Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
STEAM ENGINES," to be as follows:-
These improvements relate to the pumping arrangements of surface con-
densing steam engines, and consist in combining the feed and condensing
water pumps in the same barrel when an air pump and hot well are not used,.
and in inverted cylinder surface condensing engines working two vertical
combined air and condensing water pumps, or two vertical combined feed and
condensing water pumps, or one vertical single acting plunger condensing.
water pump and one vertical single acting feed pump from the ends of a cross
head, attached or connected to the main piston by two or more piston rods,.
and also in the latter descriptions of engine working one combined air and
condensing water pump,. or one combined feed and condensing water pump.

page_text: from one end of a cross head attached to the main piston by two or more.
piston rods, the one end of which cross head having attached to it the pump
rod or rods; the other end may either be made so as to form a guide block,
or otherwise act to ensure parallelism of motion.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Frederick Spencer in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 13th October 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
FREDERICK SPENCER, of Newcastle-on-Tyne; Consulting Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-fifth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
John Frederick Spencer, Her special licence that I, the said John Frederick
Spencer, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Frederick Spencer, my exécutors, 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 STEAM ENGINES," upon the condition, amongst others, that I, the said
John Frederick Spencer, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 John Frederick Spencer,. do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same. isu
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement in writing, and on reference to the accompanying Draw-
ings, that is to say :-
These improvements relate to the pumping arrangements of surface con-
densing steam engines, and consist in combining the feed and condensing..
water pump in the same barrel when an air pump and hot well are not used;

page_text: and in inverted cylinder surface condensing engines working two vertical
combined air and condensing water pumps, or two vertical combined feed and
condensing water pumps, or one vertical single-acting plunger condensing.
water pump, and one vertical single or double-acting feed pump from the
two ends of a cross head attached or connected to the main piston
or pistons
by two or more piston rods; and also, in the latter description of engine,
working one combined air and condensing water pump, or one combined feed.
and condensing water pump from one end of a cross head attached to the
main piston or pistons by two or more piston rods, the one end of which cross
head having attached to it the pump rod or rods; the other end may either be
made so as to form a guide block, or the guides may be fitted as shewn in the
Drawing hereunto annexed, as to ensure parallelism of motion.
In the accompanying Drawing I have illustrated my Invention, as applied
to surface condensing marine steam engines suitable for driving a screw pro-
peller, and I have shewn my improved engines in side and in end elevation
with such parts as are necessary to exhibit the interior portions thereof in
section, and such parts as would obstruct the view of other essential parts I
have broken off or removed, that the arrangement and action of the several
parts may be better understood, and that the improvements effected by the
novel arrangements, according to the present Invention, may be more readily
seen.
It should be observed, that the relative positions of the cylinders and the
condensers are in accordance with a previous Patent granted to me, and dated
the Seventeenth day of January, One thousand eight hundred and sixty, and
Numbered 120.
By my present Invention, the objects which are effected are two-fold.
First, when applied to surface condensing engines, in which the production of
a large vacuum in connection with the condensation of the exhaust steam is
not required, the feed and condensing water pumps are combined in or within
one chamber or barrel; and, second, in inverted surface condensing steam
engines. The air and condensing water pumps are worked direct from the
main pistons by introducing a cross head, so that the distance across the crank
shaft between the centres of the steam cylinders and air pumps can be varied
at pleasure to suit the length of the stroke of the piston, or the clearance for
the crank and connecting rod, without affecting the diameter of the main
pistons; whereas in inverted engines hitherto made with the air pumps
worked direct from the main pistons (the pumps being in a vertical line with
rods attached to the main pistons) their position is necessarily limited to the
chamber of the main piston.

page_text: Another advantage obtained by the improvements herein described is, that
the barrels of the air pumps are kept below the bottom of the condenser, thus
ensuring a better vacuum, experience having proved that, in engines where
the air pumps are high relatively to the condenser, the vacuum is deficient and
imperfect.
Moreover, these improvements greatly decrease the risk of danger or loss
arising from the failure of the air or condensing water pumps, as with
such a pair of engines, there are two or four combined pumps, either of which
alone would be sufficient, in case of the others failing, to keep both engines
working until repairs could be effected; and liability to accident is greatly
reduced, and the facilities for repairs increased by the small diameter of the
pumps, a diameter of about twelve inches only being required for marine
engines of four hundred nominal horse power.
Having stated the general nature of the improvements effected by my
said Invention, I will now proceed to describe the two large Figures shewn in
the accompanying Drawing, and the several details composing the same
M, C, are two inverted steam cylinders (which may be for marine screw
engines) resting on, and attached to a central surface condenser S, C, and four
wrought-iron columns C, C, the columns and condenser again resting on, and
being attached to the sole plate S, P. The main piston rods P, R, are
secured above to the main piston in the usual way, and below, as shewn, to
the cross head G, H, which latter has in its centre the necessary gudgeons G
(the upper joint of the connecting rod). The cross head is extended each
way to receive the bucket and plunger rods of two combined air and con-
densing water pumps C, P, one feed pump F, P, and one bilge pump B, P.
The main piston rods P, R, and cross head C, H, are guided by two wrought-
iron guide blocks G, B, attached to the cross head, and working on the cast-
iron guide frame G, F, which latter is bolted to the surface condenser S, C;
thus the whole thrust of the connecting rod is taken by the main framing of
the engines. The combined air and condensing water pumps C, P, are secured
to the sole plate S, P, by flanges and bolts as usual, and in such a position as
to keep the top of the pump barrel nearly or quite below the bottom of the
condenser S, C. The upper portion of the combined pumps C, P, acts as the
air pump, and each air pump has its own set of inlet and delivery valves
marked A, P, V. The hot wells H, W, are on one side only of the crank
shaft, and are contained in the two hollow cast-iron legs L, S, C, that support
one end (in the present case the port side) of the surface condenser S, C
there being four of such legs forming. the support and attachment to the sole
plate. The air pump on the starboard side delivers the air and condensed

page_text: water through the passage D, P, across the crank shaft into the hot well.
H, W, on the port side. The condensing water pumps form the lower or
bottom portion of the combined pumps C, P, and there is only one set of.
valves to the two pumps attached to the same cross head, and these valves;
C, W, V, are in the starboard side legs (L, S, C,) of the surface condenser,
occupying a similar position to the hot well in the port side. One set of these
valves, with combined pump barrel and part of sole plate, are shown in.
section with the delivery passage leading to the condenser tubes and inlet,
passage J, J, from the injection.
It will be seen from the Drawing and this description, that the bottoms of
the combined pumps attached to the same cross head are connected together
by a passage formed by the hollow sole plate across and under the crank shaft.
This arrangement ensures an equal pressure in the two condensing water,
pumps when working.
In the Drawings, I have, for greater clearness, omitted the details of
starting and slide gear, the feed and bilge pump, valve chest, and connections;
these may be varied according to circumstances, without in any way affecting
the arrangement herein claimed as novel; nor bas it been considered necessary.
to give separate Drawings showing the combined feed and condensing water.
pump, as the only difference such an arrangement involves, is reducing, if
necessary, the diameter of the combined pump C, P, dispensing with the feed
pump F, P, and discharging the condensed water through the valves A, P, V,
direct into the boiler instead of into the hot well.
To explain the arrangement in which only one combined pump is attached
to the cross head, it is only necessary to suppose one end of the cross head
from the main piston rod on that side outwards with its attached pumps and
rods to be removed.
The outline Sketches or Diagrams, designated as A, B, C, illustrate other
modifications in the pumping arrangements of inverted cylinder surface con-
densing steam engines, which are referred to in the first paragraph of this
Specification.
The Sketch A is intended to illustrate that arrangement in which one
vertical single-acting plunger condensing water pump, and one vertical single-
acting feed pump are worked from the two ends of a cross head attached or
connected to the main piston or pistons by two or more piston rods; Sketches
B and C being intended to illustrate those arrangements of the herein-before
referred to improvements, in which one combined air and condensing water
pump, or one combined feed and condensing water pump is worked from one
end of a cross head attached to the main piston or pistons by two or more

page_text: piston rods in manner herein-before mentioned. In these three Diagrams I
have, for the sake of simplicity, shown single main cylinders and only two
piston rods to each. The form or arrangement of cross head is varied to suit
the particular arrangement of pumps adopted.
Having described my present Invention, I wish it to be understood that I
do not limit myself to one main piston or to two main piston rods, as more
may be used if preferred, and one or more inverted steam cylinders may be
attached to the one cross head; and though I prefer to work the feed and
bilge pumps from the ends of the cross head, this arrangement is not
indispensably necessary. Moreover, the arrangements described in the
Drawings are those which I prefer to use or employ in order to carry out my
Invention; but the strength, shape, form, and precise arrangements of the
details may be varied to suit varied circumstances without affecting the
Invention. Furthermore, although marine engines are shown in the accom-
panying Drawing, the arrangements are applicable to other steam engines.
What I claim is,―
First, in surface-condensing steam engines, the combination of the feed and
condensing water pump in or within one chamber or barrel, and whether
such pump be horizontal, vertical, or inclined.
Second, I claim, in inverted cylinder surface-condensing engines, the
employment of a crosshead attached to the main piston or pistons by two or
more rods, and connected direct at one or both ends to the buckets of one or
two combined pumps, or to one single feed and one single-acting condensing
water pump, in the manner and for the purposes herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Frederick Spencer, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of October, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-two.
JOHN FREDERICK SPENCER. (L.s.)