Year: 1898

page_text: I, ALEXANDER BASIL WILSON, of Holywood in the County of Down, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows;-
-
These improvements are mainly applicable to what are known as high speed
single acting steam engines, in which the steam from the boilers is admitted
on one side of the piston only.
Hitherto such engines have been constructed with piston or slide valves having
a reciprocating motion derived from an eccentric or eccentrics on the crank shaft
or other equivalent gear; and in the case of double-acting engines, the valves
for the admission and exhaust of the steam to the cylinders have been also made
to revolve being driven from the crank shaft by a combination of bevel gearing.
And whereas, engines as heretofore constructed to work single-acting and with
reciprocating valves have of necessity been complicated and expensive by reason
of the number of working parts and the difficulty of putting the mass of valves
and gear into motion, and stopping it twice each stroke while running at high
speeds.
And whereas, in all such engines whether single or double-acting, the arrange-
ment of governor which is usually actuated either direct on the crank shaft or
driven by gearing there-from and is connected to the throttle or the equivalent
valve, which regulates the admission of steam to the engines, involves the passing
of a spindle connecting the governor and the valve respectively, through a gland
or the equivalent of a gland; thereby involving additional friction, which has to
be overcome by the governor, as well as that of numerous joints and sliding
surfaces,
And whereas, in governors as before constructed the number of joints requiring
to be lubricated and subject to wear and slackness is increased by reason of the
fact that the governor has been hitherto outside of the steam chest, or place where
the regulating valve has to work and has to be connected thereto by a rod or
ts equivalent passing through a gland.
And whereas, to obtain efficient regulating of the speed of an engine, the fewer
oints and less friction between the governor and the regulating valve the better,
or the working of the engine.
And whereas, in engines where the steam is lubricated in the usual manner
efore entering the cylinder, the interior of the steam chests and the working
arts therein remain perfectly bright while lubricated and are subject to no
xcessive wear.
And whereas, in single-acting engines as hitherto constructed, the small ends
f the connecting rods are attached to the crossheads either by a solid eye work-
g on a pin secured in holes bored in the slide block, or, have adjustable small
ads working on a pin secured as aforesaid, which pin is difficult to fit truly into
e crosshead or to make tight therein, and is subject to becoming loose from
ear or other cause.
And whereas, the large ends of the connecting

page_text: to the crank pins either by bolts securing the blocks to a tee head formed on
the end of the rod, or by cotters, or their equivalent, involving thereby consider-
able expense in construction and increased possibility of the parts getting loose.
Now, in my invention, I make the valve admitting to and exhausting steam
from the cylinder of such an engine to rotate, making one rev. for each stroke
of the engine, and I obtain the rotary movement of this valve from the crank
shaft by the use of what is known as skew gear direct from the crank shaft,
which gear runs in the enclosed chamber, within which the crank shaft works,
and is usually in a bath of oil.
On the end of the rotating valve as aforesaid I place the governor within the
steam chest acting directly on a regulating valve which forms part of the rotary
steam valve and revolves with it, the whole being placed within the steam chest,
immediately under the supply of lubrication to the engine. And I so construct
the governor, throttle valve, and valve spindle that by removing the cover of the
steam chest, they can be withdrawn in one piece.
The governor proper including the throttle valve consists of four working
pieces only, that is to say, two governor balls, and levers each formed in one
casting. One spring to withstand the centrifugal action and one throttle valve
moved with respect to its seat directly by the motion of the governor balls.
I form the connecting rod of two castings or forgings of suitable metal equal
and symmetrical, and so held together by bolts, that the axes of the bolts are at
right angles to the centre line of the connecting rod and they are at right angles
also to the centre lines of the crank pin and crosshead pin.
The connecting rod is thus split longitudinally by a plane through its central
axis, and through the central axes of the crosshead and crank pin.
I construct the crosshead pin of a parallel cylinder of suitable metal in the
centre of which a hole is drilled and faced at right angles to its axis, into this
hole the piston rod fits, either screwed thereinto or made with a head, in such
a manner that by screwing up nuts on the upper end of the piston rod within the
cylinder the crosshead is held and secured firmly against the slide block.
The side thrust due to the angle of connecting rod being taken by the shear
of the piston rod where screwed into, or otherwise secured into the crosshead as
aforesaid.
•
Dated thin and
L
1000
I, ALEXANDER BASIL WILSON, of Holywood, in the County of Down, Ireland,
Engineer, 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 has reference to steam engines and is chiefly applicable to what
are known as high speed single acting steam engines in which the steam from the
boilers is admitted on one side of the piston only.
Hitherto such engines have been constructed with piston or slide valves, having
a reciprocating motion derived from an excentric or excentrics on the crank shaft,
or other equivalent gear. The valves for the admission of steam to the cylinders
have also in some cases been made to revolve being driven from the crank shaft
by gearing, but in such cases the gearing has been so arranged that the valve or
valves make fewer revolutions than the crank shaft.

page_text: Engines as heretofore constructed to work single-acting and with reciprocating
valves have of necessity been complicated and expensive by reason of the number
of working parts, and the difficulty of putting the mass of valves and gear into
motion, and stopping them twice each stroke, while running at high speeds.
In all such engines, whether single or double acting the arrangement of
governor which is usually mounted either directly on the crank shaft, or driven
by gearing therefrom, and the connection of which to the throttle valve or equiva-
lent valve, which regulates the admission of steam to the engines, involves either
the passing of a spindle connecting the governor and the regulating valve through
a gland or the equivalent of a gland, or the passing of the spindle that drives
such governor through a gland, thereby producing additional friction.
Further governors as hitherto generally constructed have not been in direct
communication with and driven by the rotating valve or part of such valve which
determines the admission of steam to the cylinders.
Also in governors as hitherto generally constructed the number of joints re-
quiring to be lubricated and subject to wear and slackness is increased by reason
of the fact that the governor has been either outside the steam chest, or if inside
has been driven by a spindle passing through a gland into the steam chest, or
place where the regulating valve has to work, and has not been connected directly
thereto.
In order to obtain efficient regulation of the speed of an engine, there should
be as few joints and as little friction between the governor and the regulating
valve as possible, and the less the clearance space is between such regulating
valve and the main steam admission valve to the cylinders the more perfect will
be the working of the engine.
In engines where the steam is lubricated in the usual manner before entering
the cylinder, the interior of the steam chests, and the working parts therein
remain bright while lubricated and are subject to no excessive wear.
In single-acting engines as hitherto constructed, the small ends of the con-
necting rods are attached to the crossheads either by a solid eye working on a
pin secured in holes bored in the slide block or buffer piston, or have adjustable
small ends working on a pin secured as aforesaid, which pin is difficult to fit, or
to make tight therein, after it has become loose from wear or other cause.
The large ends of the connecting rods have hitherto been secured to the crank
pins either by bolts securing blocks to a tee head formed on the end of the rod,
or by cotters, or their equivalent, involving thereby considerable expense in con-
struction and increased possibility of parts getting loose.
Now, in engines constructed according to my invention, the valve for admitting
steam to and exhausting it from the cylinder of the engine is caused to rotate,
making one revolution for each stroke of the engine. The rotary movement of
this valve is obtained direct from the crank shaft preferably by the use of what
is known as skew gear, which gear runs in the enclosed chamber within which
the crank shaft, works.
On the rotating valve above described the governor is placed and it acts directly
on a regulating or throttle valve which forms part of the steam valve and revolves
with it, the whole being placed within the steam chest immediately under the
supply of lubrication to the engine. The governor, throttle valve, and valve
spindle are so constructed and arranged that by removing the cover of the steam
chest they can be withdrawn in one piece.
The governor proper including the throttle valve may consist of four working
pieces only, that is to say, two governor balls and levers, each formed in one
casting, one spring to withstand the centrifugal action and one throttle valve
moved with respect to its seat directly by the motion of the governor balls.
The connecting rod is formed of two castings or forgings of suitable metal
equal and symmetrical and so held together by bolts, that the axes of the bolts
are at right angles to the centre line of the connecting rod, and they are at right
angles also to the centre lines of the crank pin and crosshead pin. The connecting

page_text: rod is thus split longitudinally, by a plane through its central axis, and through
the central axes of the cross-head and crank pin."
Into
The cross-head pin is constructed of a parallel cylinder of suitable metal in
the centre of which a hole is drilled and taced at right angles to its axis.
this hole the piston rod bolt fits, being either screwed thereinto or made with a
head, in such a manner that by screwing up nuts on the upper end of the piston
rod bolt within the cylinder, the cross-head pin is held and secured firmly against
the side block or buffer piston, a tubular piston rod acting as a stay. The side
thrust due to the angle of the connecting rod is taken by the shear of the piston
rod bolt, where screwed into, or otherwise secured into the cross-head pin as
aforesaid.
In the accompanying drawings:
Figure is a side elevation partly in section of a high speed single acting
steam engine constructed in accordance with this invention.
Figure 2 is a central vertical section taken at right angles to Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a horizontal section on the line Q-Q of Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a horizontal section on the line R-R of Figure 2.
Figure 5 is a partial vertical section through the guide block and cross-head as
shown in Figure 1.
Figure 6 is a central vertical section through the valve and governor as shown
in Figure 2.
Figure 7 is a central vertical section taken at right angles to Figure 6.
Figure 8 is a horizontal section on the line RR of Figure 6.
Figure 9 is a partial horizontal section on the line AA of Figures 6 and 7.
Figure 10 is a partial horizontal section on the line C-C" of Figures 6 and 7.
Figures 6 to 10 are drawn to a larger scale than Figures 1 to 5.
A represents the engine cylinder in which works the engine piston. A steam
chest is bolted to the top of the cylinder A; it receives live stean through a suit-
able passage a.
H is the admission valve which regulates the admission of live
steam to, and the exhaust of the expended steam from the cylinder A through
one and the same port b. I is a secondary exhaust valve which regulates the
admission of the exhaust steam from the top end of the cylinder A to the lower
end of the same cylinder, and also its exit therefrom through one and the same
port c. The valves H and I are mounted in line with each other on a common
valve spindle B which is rotated by skew gearing CC at the same speed as the
engine crank shaft D so that the valve H and consequently also the valve I make
one complete revolution for each double stroke of the engine piston. The admis-
sion valve H is formed with a live steam port and an exhaust port k. The
secondary exhaust valve I is formed with an inlet passage and an outlet pass-
age p. q is a final exhaust passage leading to the atmosphere or to a condenser.
is a passage connecting the exhaust port of the valve H with the inlet
passage of the valve I.
Upon the upper end of the valve spindle B is fixed a cylindrical valve part H
constructed with steam ports h and forming part of the main admission valve H.
M is the regulating valve constructed as a ring adapted to work steam tight on
the aforesaid cylindrical valve part Hand, having ports m formed in it which
normally coincide with the ports h in the said valve part. The said valve part H¹
is provided at its upper part with two diametrically opposite horizontal arms upon
which is mounted the engine governor J consisting of two governor weights or
balls KK mounted on the outer ends of two arms pivoted at their inner ends
to the aforesaid horizontal arms. The outward movement of the governor balls
is controlled by a spring L which tends to return the balls to their inward posi-
tion. The movement of the governor is transmitted to the regulating valve M
by means of studs which are screwed respectively in the governor balls and are
adapted to work in slots provided in horizontal extensions formed on the upper
end of the regulating valve M and arranged diametrically opposite to each other
in a direction at right angles to the direction of the aforesaid horizontal arms

page_text: The horizontal extensions take the weight of the governor balls when the engine
is not running.
The mode of operation of this apparatus is as follows:-In normal working,
(when the secondary exhaust valve is employed) the live steam entering at a into
the steam chest passes through the ports m of the regulating valve M, and the
ports h in the valve part H, into the passage i of the main admission valve H,
whence the live steam is admitted through the port 6 to the upper end of the
engine cylinder A. As the piston reaches the end of its power downstroke, the
rotation of the valve H has brought the port k into coincidence with the port b,
and the spent steam exhausts through port b, port k of the valve H, into space r
through port of the secondary exhaust valve I and by port c into the lower end
of the cylinder A, where this exhaust steam aids in pushing up the engine piston
in its idle upstroke as shown in Figures 2 and 6. The piston thus rises in equilib
rium of pressure acting simultaneously on both sides. When the piston moves
down again in its next power downstroke, the greater part of the exhaust steam
from the preceding power downstroke exhausts finally through the port e, port p
of valve I, and passage 9 into the atmosphere or to a condenser or to another
cylinder, whilst the remainder of the exhaust steam is shut in by the rotation
of the valve I, in the lower end of the cylinder A to form a cushion for the engine
piston at the end of its power downstroke.
If the speed of the engine increases beyond the normal rate, the governor by
the outward movement of its balls will rotate the regulating valve M relatively
to the valve part H¹ so as to move the ports m in the former more or less out of
coincidence with the ports h in the latter, and thus diminish the area of the steam
supply to the main admission valve H, with proportionate decrease of the speed
of the engine. When the speed of the engine again gradually diminishes, the
spring L will gradually return the governor balls to their inward position and the
ports m will then return to coincidence with the ports h.
It will be observed that the throttle valve M on which the governor balls rotate
is a loose rotating balanced sleeve or ring, the opening of the ports m of this
valve having uniform resistance at all positions of the governor balls, because
the ports are balanced by being equally distributed around the sleeve or ring M.
The connecting rod E is formed of two castings or forgings ee of suitable metal,
equal and symmetrical to each other and held together and clasped upon the
crank pin d by means of bolts ele¹ in such a manner that the axes of the bolts
are at right angles to the centre line of the connecting rod, and they are at
right angles also to the centre lines of the crank pin d and the cross-head
pin F. The connecting rod E is thus split longitudinally by a plane passing
through its central axis and through the central axes of the cross-head and crank
pin.
The cross-head pin F is constructed of a parallel cylinder of suitable metal
in the centre of which a hole is drilled and faced at right angles to its axis. Into
this hole the piston rod bolt g fits, being screwed thereinto as shown, in such a
manner that by screwing up nuts a¹ on the upper end of the piston rod bolt g
within the piston, the cross-head pin F is held and secured firmly against the
slide block or buffer piston f; the tubular piston rod G through which the piston
rod bolt g passes, acting as a stay. The side thrust due to the angle of the con-
necting rod E is taken by the shear of the piston rod bolt g where the latter is
screwed into the cross-head pin F.
The piston rod G is guided by blocks N which are adapted to be adjusted by
means of screws n..
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. In a steam engine, a centrifugal governor situated within the steam chest in
combination with a rotating valve for the admission of steam to the engine cylin-

page_text: der, the said valve rotating at the same speed as the governor, and
with a rotating balanced throttle valve for regulating the passage of the
steam to the first named rotating valve, the said throttle valve rotating with
the first named valve but being angularly shifted by the governor relatively to
the first named valve according as the speed becomes greater or less whereby the
ports supplying the steam to the first named valve are more or less cut off by the
said throttle valve according to the position of the governor balls, substantially
as herein before described.
2. The combination with the centrifugal governor rotating valve for admission
of steam and rotating balanced throttle valve arranged and working as referred
to in Claim 1, of a rotating exhaust valve to the engine cylinder driven by the
same spindle as the governor and admission valve, substantially as herein before
described.
3. The construction of the connecting rods of steam engines in two parts
divided longitudinally as by a plane through the central axis and through the
central axes of the cross-head and crank pin the two parts being secured together
with bolts, substantially as hereinbefore described and shown in the accompany-
ing drawings.
4. The construction of the cross-head pins in steam engines in such manner
that they form in effect the heads of the bolts which secure the cross-head guide
or buffer piston, outer piston rod and the piston together, substantially as here-
inbefore described and shown in the accompanying drawings.
5. The construction of the engine piston rod of a tube acting as a strut within
which a bolt in tension secures the piston, piston rod, guide or buffer piston, and
cross-head together substantially as hereinbefore described and shown in the
accompanying drawings.
6. The combination or combinations of parts substantially as hereinbefore
described and represented in the accompanying drawings constituting an im-
proved single acting steam engine.
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS,
55 and 56, Chancery Lane, London,
Chartered Patent Agents.