IMPROVEMENTS IN AND IN CONNECTION WITH STEAM ENGINES PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE AS A MEANS OF HEATING AND MAINTAINING THE HEAT IN THE CYLINDERS, PISTONS AND ACCESSORY PARTS OF SUCH ENGINES to be as follows
Year: 1885

page_text: I ERNEST RICHARD ROYSTON of 7 Amberley Street, Liverpool in the County
of Lancaster, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AND IN CONNECTION WITH STEAM ENGINES PARTICULARLY
APPLICABLE AS A MEANS OF HEATING AND MAINTAINING THE HEAT IN THE
CYLINDERS, PISTONS AND ACCESSORY PARTS OF SUCH ENGINES to be as follows:-
"
The Improvements in and in connection with steam engines according to my
Invention consist as follows,-I provide and construct the pistons of steam engines
with means for preventing the different temperatures of the steam which exist
on the opposite sides of the piston from affecting each other detrimentally and
condensing the higher pressure steam. This I effect by means of either providing
the piston with nonconducting material, or by means of providing the interior of
the piston which is made hollow with, preferably, superheated steam. By such
means I prevent the great amount of condensation which frequently occurs in the
cylinders of steam engines through the pistons thereof, owing to the heat of the
higher pressure steam on one side thereof escaping through the metal of the piston
to the steam, of lower pressure, and consequently cooler, on the other side. My
Invention further consists in providing the steam jackets of engine cylinders with
steam which has been superheated by superbeating the jacket steam a less amount
of such steam is condensed and the sides, or walls of the steam cylinder are kept
hot and tend to prevent condensation of the working steam; and further if a
certain amount of the working steam does condense within the cylinder, the extra
heat of the superheated jacket steam re-evaporates such condensed steam especially
when the working steam is expanding. The superheating of the steam for the
jacket, and the piston when it is jacketted and provided with superheated steam;
Die R71

page_text: is effected in any suitable way such for instance in a marine engine it may be
heated by being passed through a superheating apparatus placed in the uptake of
the steam generator; or it may be superheated by a separate heating apparatus in
the form of a furnace.
The piston when non conducting material is used to prevent the loss of heat.
through it, is provided with any suitable non conducting material such as
asbestos and it may be applied either outwardly or inwardly, or both as the case
may require, or as may be deemed desirable. When the object sought is obtained
by steam jacketting the piston, the steam may be led to the interior of the piston
in any convenient way such for instance it may be led through the piston rod, or
rods, or supplementary rod, or rods. The form of the piston in this case is of
course hollow, the periphery being as usual solid and provided in the usual manner
with a suitable ring, or rings.

page_text: I ERNEST RICHARD ROYSTON, of 7 Amberley Street, Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The Improvements in and in connection with steam engines according to my
Invention consist as follows. I provide and construct the pistons of steam engines
with means for preventing the different temperatures of the steam which exist
on the opposite sides of the piston from affecting each other detrimentally and
condensing the higher pressure steam. This I effect by means of providing the
piston with non conducting material. An example of a piston thus provided is
shown at Figure 1; of the Drawings hereto annexed. The piston there shown is of
a single web type as will be seen. Each side of the web is provided with a con-
siderable thickness of non conducting material which is designated by a. I prefer
to provide a cover b at the top and bottom of the non conducting material a,
which is suitably secured to the piston. In the Drawings the top cover is shown
secured by the piston rod nut and the junk ring bolts whilst the lower cover may
be made in segments and secured as shown.
The material which I use may be any of the suitable non conducting kinds such
as asbestos board, or asbestos putty, these being comparatively hard substances and
are therefore preferable.
In the case of hollow box pistons the interior of the piston is filled with non
conducting material.
By such means I prevent to a great extent the condensation which results under
ordinary conditions, this condensation being due to the escape of heat of the higher
temperature steam on one side of the piston through the piston to the steam of
lower temperature and pressure on the other side.
The object sought may be obtained also by steam jacketting, or lining the piston
in which case the steam which is first superheated may be led to the interior of
the piston through the piston rod, or rods, or preferably supplementary rods such
as are used, or have been proposed in connection with the pistons of air com-
pressors and other machinery in which a fluid, or liquid is led to and from a
hollow piston. The form of the piston in this case is of course hollow, the
periphery being as usual solid and provided in the usual manner with suitable
packing.
My Invention further consists in providing the steam jackets of engine cylinders
in which steam at initial pressure is employed with steam which has been super-

page_text: heated, or steam at a higher temperature than that used in the cylinder. By the
use of such jacket steam a less amount of working steam is condensed and the
sides, or walls of the steam cylinders are kept hot and tend to prevent condensa-
tion of the working steam; and further, if a certain amount of the working steam
does condense within the cylinder the extra heat of the jacket steam re evapo-
rates such condensed steam especially when the working steam is expanding.
I prefer to employ superheated steam and the superheating of the steam for the
jacket and the piston when it is jacketted and provided with superheated steam is
effected in any suitable way such for instance, in a marine engine it may be heated
by being passed through a superheating apparatus placed in the uptake of the
steam generator; or it may be superheated by a separate beating apparatus in the
form of a furnace.
An example of a cylinder of a steam engine provided with a suitable jacket and
a steam superheating device for carrying out this feature of my Invention is
shown in Figures 1. 2 and 3 of the Drawings.
With reference to Figures 2 and 3 it will be seen these represent diagrammically
an elevation and front view of a marine boiler H provided with the usual uptake.
In this uptake there is provided a system of pipes which are shown supported
by bars, or rods i fixed in the uptake. The uptake in the figures is drawn to show
the interior of it. . The steam to be heated is led through a cock, or valve at j
from the boiler and before arriving in the tubes is preferably reduced to, or nearly
to atmospheric pressure by any known suitable pressure reducing device, or valve, m
so that the pressure in the pipes h is at, or a little above atmospheric pressure.
From the superheater h the steam is led by a pipe h¹ which must be well coated,
or lagged with non conducting material to the cylinder jacket k (see Fig. 1) which
is of ordinary construction. From the jacket the steam is led through the covers
of the cylinder as shown in the Drawing. From here it may be led away in
sufficient quantity so as to ensure the heat of the steam in the jacket and covers
being at a higher temperature than that of the initial steam. In compound engines
this steam might be led into the jacket of the low pressure cylinder, or to the
jacket of the intermediate cylinder in a triple compound engine: in which case the
condition of difference of temperatures as just described between the initial steam
of any cylinder and that of the jacket steam must be maintained. The temperature
to which I prefer to superheat the steam above that of the boiler is from about
40° to 100° Fahrenheit.
The pipe, or duct such as 7 by which, the steam leaves the jacket, or cover is
provided with a valve, or cock so that the exit of steam may be controlled.
I would have it understood that my Invention is applicable to simple and
compound engines of all kinds whether they be for land, or marine purposes and
that the description herein contained with reference to the figures of the Drawings
merely set forth examples of my Invention and its application.
By my Invention the condensation which takes place in the cylinders of steam
engines and which condensation is greatly attributable to the interaction of the
metal of the cylinders is prevented. This refers to cases where little, or no super-
heating of the working steam used in the engine is resorted to. Thus I am
enabled by the use of my Invention to obtain the beneficial results known to
accompany the use of superheated working steam without its disadvantages. It
has been found that condensation to a large extent takes place in cylinders of
steam engines in which saturated steam .at initial pressure is employed both in
steam jacketted and unjacketted cylinders. The extent of condensation varies in
many cases from 20 to 50 per cent of the admitted quantity. It will be readily
understood that an engine cylinder provided with steam in its jacket at a tempera-
ture exceeding that of the initial steam by from 40° to 100° Fahrenheit would so
heat up the walls of the cylinder and covers and maintain the heat in them that
no condensation could take place,

page_text: Having now particularly described the nature of my Invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :--
First In cylinders of steam engines in which saturated steam at initial pressure
is employed the use of steam in the jackets thereof at a higher temperature than
that employed in such cylinders substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
Second The use of superheated steam in the jackets of steam engine cylinders
in which initial saturated steam is employed such superbeated steam being of a
higher temperature than that employed in the cylinder substantially as and for the
purposes set forth.
Third The use of steam at a reduced pressure in the jackets of steam engine
cylinders superheated above the temperature of the saturated steam employed in
such cylinders substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
Fourth The means substantially herein described of preventing the escape of
heat from the steam in the cylinders of steam engines through the pistons of such
cylinders substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
Fifth The use in combination with pistons of steam engines of non conducting
material such as described substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
Sixth A piston having non conducting material applied in combination there-
with substantially as set forth with reference to Figure 1 of the Drawings.
Seventh The combination with a superheating device such as h of a pressure
reducing valve, or device arranged and operating substantially as and for the
purposes set forth.
1000