CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN ENGINES TO BE WORKED BY GAS, VAPOUR, OR STEAM
Year: 1841

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I; WILLIAM
NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting,
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster the Fourteenth day of October, in the fifth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Newton, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said William Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
and such others as I, the said William Newton, my executors, admors, or
assigns, should at any time agree with and no others, from time to time and at
all times during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might
make, use, and exercise, and vend within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, an Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN ENGINES TO
BE WORKED BY GAS, VAPOUR, OR STEAM," being a communication from a Foreigner
residing abroad; in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging
me, the said William Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be
inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent,
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had; will more fully and at
large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, 1, the said
William Newton, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon
(that is to say)-
The process constituting the Invention for which the above Patent has been
granted consists in submitting ether or volatile liquors to the action of heat,
in order to convert them into elastic vapours, and cause them to act on the piston
of an ordinary engine, and afterwards, when they have produced their effect, in
condensing them to their former liquid state in order to introduce them again
into the generator, so that they may be a second time converted into
vapour, which may act on the piston of the engine, and so on succes-
sively. To effect these objects two methods may be employed. One
consists in producing or generating and employing gases and ether at
so trifling an expence, that they may be allowed to escape into the
The
atmosphere after having operated on the piston of the engine.
second method consists in producing a given quantity of the motive
agent, and employing it over and over again in a machine constructed in such
a manner as to prevent the loss and escape of any partical of the same. This
second method is preferred, as the expence of employing ether and volatile
liquors would otherwise be an obstacle to their being. used. The heating and
vaporizing of the ether or other volatile liquor requires a boiler of a peculiar
construction, and a condensor of a novel construction is necessary for reducing
them from the gaseous to the liquid state after they have produced their
effect on the piston; and further, a new or improved apparatus is required as
a substitute for the stuffing boxes. This apparatus exerts an elastic pressure
on the rods which are to move without any escape of vapour, which pressure
may be increased or diminished at will, and any escape of vapour effectually
prevented. The facility with which ether and volatile liquors are converted
into vapour when submitted to heat, and also their inflammability, render it
impossible to expose them to the direct action of fire, as an explosion might
be produced by the sudden generation of a great quantity of gas; water and
steam must therefore be used as a medium of transmitting heat to them.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying Drawings represents a longitudinal vertical
section of a boiler, which will answer the purpose very well.
Fig. 2 is a transverse section. a, a, a, is the furnace; a*, the chimney or
flue; b, the ashpit; c, c, the water spaces; c*, c*, that part of the boiler which
is filled with steam. These several parts from the external boiler, or the

page_text: one which receives the direct action of the fire. d, d, is an inner boiler con-
taining the motive agent, and traversed in its whole length by the tube c*, c*,
filled with steam and water. The boiler d, d, must be provided with a safety
valve opening in a closed chamber. This chamber communicates by means
of a pipe A with a condensor, into which the superabundant quantity of gas
is thus conducted, when the pressure exceeds the prescribed limits.
cylinder in which the piston f works as usual; this cylinder is enclosed in the
space c*, and surrounded by water or steam; f* is a pipe conducting the
vapour from the generator to the box containing the slide valve.
Fig. 3 shews a vertical section of the condensor taken longitudinally.
Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section.
e, e, is a
Figure 5 represents a plan view of the condensor and boiler connected together.
In Fig. 3, h, h, h, h, shew the internal capacity of the condensor, which is of any
convenient form, and supplied with cold water for effecting the condensation of
the gases; the water enters by the pipe h¹ and escapes by the pipe h², see Figs. 4
and 5; i, i, are pipes in which the gases to be condensed circulate. These pipes
are placed longitudinally in the condensor, and are connected together by means
of boxes, so that the whole series of the said pipes form a vessel, wherein the
motive agent is condensed, and which escapes in a liquid state at the point j.. k is
a piston for forcing the motive agent when condensed into the boiler d, d. k', k¹,
is the lower part of the forcing pump, supplied with quicksilver; and k² is
a space filled with oil for lubricating the rod k in the stuffing box m. n is a
pipe for conducting the gas which has worked the piston into the condensor;
and n is a pipe for conveying the liquefied gas or ether into the boiler d, d.
The chamber o is filled with mercury as high as shewn in the Drawing, the
upper part 4 being empty. This mercury is retained in the space o by the
valve 2. Now, when the forcing takes place, the liquid is driven through the
said valve 2, through the mercury, and floats on the surface of the latter. By
successive introductions, the space o is filled, and then the liquid is conveyed
away by the pipe n into the boiler. It must be understood that when the
valve s is open, the valve 2 is closed, and vice versa. The condensor and
forcing pump act in the following manner :-The case of the condenser h being
filled with cold water by the pipe h', the gas which has operated on the cylinder
e is conveyed into the pipes i by the tube n. By the action of the current of cold
water, and of the pressure given by the piston of the cylinder e, the gas which
has operated on the piston becomes liquefied at the point j; and if the piston k
be raised, a vacuum will be produced at k³, and the agent having become
liquefied, will drop in this part k through the valve j, adapted to the lower
part of the condensor, and opening downwards. When the piston ke is lowered

page_text: the liquid will be driven through the valve 2, and the quicksilver contained in
the part 3 of the reservoir o, and will be forced into the part 4 of the said
reservoir, and through the tube n* into the boiler d, d, with which the said tube
communicates. The force pump must be large enough to force a greater
quantity of liquid than that supplied by the condensation of the ethereal vapours
necessary for the constant action of the machine, so as to prevent the condensor
getting filled up. The condensor and pipes in which the ethereal vapours cir-
culate must be slightly inclined, so that any portion of the agent that becomes
condensed should always run down to the point j, Fig. 3.
Fig. 6 represents a vertical section of the new apparatus to be used instead
of the ordinary stuffing boxes. p is the cover or upper plate of the cylinder e
of the engine. This cover or plate carries a cone, which is fixed to the plate
by its base. q is the piston rod which passes through the cones a and b. r is
a small cylinder placed over the cylinder e, and through which the rod q
passes; s is the cover of the small cylinder r, which likewise carries a cone b.
t, t, is a lether saturated with oil or fatty substance, and thus made pliant; it is
rolled in a spiral direction, and surrounds the rod q, and the cones a and b.
This leather is held only by a tape or twine, which is wound round it in a helical
direction to prevent it from unrolling. u is a space between the leather and the
internal sides of the cylinder r, which must be filled with liquid fat or oil. visa
reservoir containing the oil to be employed in the operation. x, x, are pipes for
conveying the oil, which is forced by the pumpy into all parts of the apparatus.
z is a reservoir of air compressed by the liquid forced by the pump y; its
object is to render the pressure elastic. c, a valve for the escape of the super-
fluous oil. The valve is loaded by means of a lever and weight, and is
furnished with a funnel and pipe for re-conducting into the reservoir v the oil
which escapes through the valve. f is a meter on the compressed air principle,
for indicating the pressure produced in the whole stuffing box. It is on the
indications of this instrument that the engineer regulates the degree of pressure
which the weight ought to produce on the valve c. It must be remarked that
one pump with its reservoir will be sufficient to force the oil, and create the
required pressure on all the parts of the engine where moveable rods might
render the use of the stuffing box necessary; it would only be required to
branch tubes off the conducting tubes x, care being taken to adapt a cock
close to each cylinder. In each cylinder a spiral leather, and the liquid
which is to create the pressure, should of course be introduced. The apparatus
should vary in its dimensions according to the power of the machine. The
following particulars will suffice for regulating the proportions:-If the total
length of the stuffing box be one foot from the covers to the bottom p, each of
g

page_text: the cones a and b ought to have a length of from two and a half to three inches,
or thereabouts, so that the rod 7 works inside the leather t for a length of
about six to seven inches. The rods on which these stuffing boxes are to
be placed must be capable of being removed at their upper part, and fixed by
means of keys to the pieces they are to actuate, or from which they are to
receive motion. In order to place the leather on the piston rod, a rod of the
same diameter is employed, and on this rod the leather is to be rolled, having
the edges previously pared, well prepared, and perfectly smooth on one of its
sides; then roll it with the hand, and as evenly as possible on the rod above-
mentioned, so that it be wound round and round two or three times. The leather
thus rolled is retained by means of a tape coiled round it. These preparations
made, the covers of the small cylinder is removed, the piston f being at the
bottom of the cylinder e; then place the extremity of the rod on which the
leather is wound on the top of the piston rod q, and slide the leather gently
from one rod to the other. The leather passes thus on to the rod q, and
descends until it reaches the cone a, which, being very sharp at its upper end,
penetrates a certain distance into the circular cavity formed by the leather, and
slightly distends the said leather. The covers is then put over the piston rod,
and, as it descends to its place, the cone 6 enters into the cylindrical cavity of
the leather. The bolts are then tightened gradually, and the covers is brought
carefully into contact with the cylinder r, and the leather covers both cones.
This stuffing box might be used, not only in the above-described engine, but
also with any steam engines actually in use. The substances I propose using
as substitutes for steam are the sulphuric ethers; the hydrochloric ether, very
pure; and, with reference to volatile liquors, ammoniacal gas, which liquefies
with great facility. The ether employed ought to be very pure, otherwise it
would corrode the boilers and cylinders. It will be understood that the boiler
containing the water and steam, which transmits heat to the ether and volatile
liquors, and converts them into vapours, should be provided with safety valves,
water guages, proof cocks, and all other accessaries generally adapted to steam
generators.
Fig. 7 represents a vertical section of a contrivance for lubricating the
piston, when necessary. p represents the top or cover of the working cylin-
der e, and r is the cylinder of the stuffing box, and u, u, the internal space of
the same, which is covered up by the top plate s. The top and bottom of the
cylinder r are furnished with cones similar to those described in reference to
Fig. 6, and screwed into their proper places. m, n, is a syphon, opening at
the end m into the chamber u, u, and at the other end into the cylinder of the
engine, and passing steam-tight through the cover p of the said cylinder. o is

page_text: a plug or stopper, ground so as to fit into the opening m of the said syphon;
and p¹ is a rod curved to the are of a circle, of which the axis of the stopper o
is the centre, and passing through a hole in the stand q. A coiled spring
presses against the stand q, and causes the plug o to keep in close contact
with the opening m of the syphon. The rod or axis, on the extremity of which
is fixed the stopper o, is shewn at s¹. This rod or axis passes through the side
of the new stuffing box chamber, and traverses a common stuffing box
placed in the hole thus bored, and a handle t is mounted on the outer end
thereof, to turn the rod or axis-s¹, and remove the stopper from the mouth of
the syphon. When it is required to lubricate the piston of the engine, the
handle t is touched by the engineer, the stopper o thereby removed, and the
oil introduced through the syphon m, n. This is done most rapidly, and so as
to inject only a sufficient quantity of oil. The coiled spring r¹, and the pressure
of the oil within the chamber u, u, bring back the stopper o on to the mouth
of the syphon m, n.
is a
it is received and
Fig. 8 represents a valve cock or a valve, to be used instead of the ordinary
cocks, for retaining very volatile fluids. r, r, is a stuffing box of the improved
kind described above. t, t, the convolute leather. u, u, the internal space
of the stuffing box, filled with oil; and a, b, cones similar to those already
described, and used for the same purpose. a¹ is the chamber into which opens
the pipe that conveys the gas or liquid. 61, a pipe leading to the chamber a¹.
c', a pipe leading to the boiler or other recipient containing the fluid.
rod, with a disc e¹ at its lower end. At its upper end
retained in a box forming the extremity of the screw f¹. This box turns on
the end of the rod d', but causes it to rise or to descend according as it is turned.
g' is a spherically-shaped stopper, fixed on the disc e¹, and forms the valve.
h¹ is the seat of the valve, ground steam-tight with the valve g¹. It will be
understood that when any of the vapour is to be allowed to pass through the
pipe b', the screw f¹ must be turned in one direction; and in order to close the
aperture, the said screw must be turned in the contrary direction. The diffi-
culty of having vapour-tight cocks, especially when that vapour is as volatile
'as the one I employ, renders the application of the above-described valve cocks
necessary. They may also be applied to other uses.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Newton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-two.
WILLIAM (L.S.) NEWTON.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirteenth day of April, in the
fifth year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said William
Newton came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and
acknowledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein con-
tained and specified, in form above written. And also the Instrument
aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the
Fifty-fifth year of the reign of His late Maiesty King George the Third.
Inrolled the Fourteenth day of April, One thousand eight hundred and
forty-two.