IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PISTONS OF STEAM ENGINES, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO PUMP BUCKETS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Woodcock and Thomas Blackburn, of Over
Darwen, in the County of Lancaster, and James Smalley, of Blackburn,
in the same County, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PISTONS
OF STEAM ENGINES, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO PUMP
BUCKETS."
Sealed the 26th February 1856, and dated the 4th September 1855.
Thomas Blackburn, and James Smalley at the Office of the Commis-
sioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 4th September 1855.
We, WILLIAM WOODCOCK & THOMAS BLACKBURN, of Over Darwen, in the
County of Lancaster, & JANES SMALLEY, of Blackburn, in the same County,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PISTONS OF STEAM ENGINES, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO PUMP
BUCKETS," to be as follows:--
Instead of the usual plan of making the pistons in parts, and packing them
with segments of metal packings to keep them tight to the sides of the
cylinder, we propose to make an angular opening in the bottom of the piston,
so that the steam itself will press against the inside of the piston, and keep it
tight against the cylinder. We also use a packing of india-rubber or similar

page_text: flexible material, and make an angular opening at the top of the piston, but in
an opposite direction to that at the bottom, to answer as an exhaust pipe.
By this plan we avoid the necessity of springs, and it will be evident to
any person conversant with mechanism that it is applicable to pump buckets
of every description.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Woodcock, Thomas Blackburn, and James Smalley
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 29th February 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
WOODCOCK and THOMAS BLACKBURN, of Over Darwen, in the County of
Lancaster, and JAMES SMALLEY, of Blackburn, in the same County, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Royal
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said William Woodcock, Thomas Blackburn, and James Smalley, Her
special licence that we, the said William Woodcock, Thomas Blackburn, and
James Smalley, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
we, the said William Woodcock, Thomas Blackburn, and James Smalley, our
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 THE PISTONS OF STEAM
ENGINES, WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO PUMP BUCKETS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that we, the said William Woodcock, Thomas
Blackburn, and James Smalley, by an instrument in writing under our hands
and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, 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 Royal Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said winam woodcock, mas Drack-
burn, and James Smalley, 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 (that is to say):-
The object of this Invention is to construct the metallic rings or packings
of pistons and pump buckets so that they shall be pressed against their
cylinders or barrels by the steam or water acting against the internal
surfaces of the rings and the bodies or shells of the pistons and buckets.
In a piston the top and bottom plates have port-holes or apertures, through
which the steam can pass to the inner surface of the rings, but is pre-
vented from passing entirely through the piston by a dividing or junction
plate, which is well fitted to the body of the piston and the cylinder; thus,
when steam is turned into one end of the cylinder, it passes through the
apertures of one of the plates of the piston to the space bounded by the '
inside of the rings, the external surface of the body or shell of the piston,.
and one of the surfaces of the dividing plate, thereby forcibly pressing the
rings against the cylinder, rendering that half of the piston tight. When
the steam is turned into the other end of the cylinder the other half of the
piston is operated upon, and becomes tight, in the same manner as that
before described. We also furnish the buckets of pumps with metallic
rings, which are well fitted between the upper and lower plates of the
bucket. If it be a lifting pump, the upper plate has port-holes or apertures
exterior to the mushroom valve, so that the water can pass to the space
bounded by the inner surface of the rings and the external surface of the body
or shell of the bucket.
In the up motion of the bucket, immediately the valve closes the water
flows through the apertures, pressing the rings against the internal surface
of the working barrel of the pump, thus causing the bucket to be completely
water-tight. In the down motion of the bucket the mushroom valve is lifted,
and the pressure of the water is then liberated from the rings and the bucket,
by which means the excessive friction caused by the ordinary system of buckets
is avoided. For a double-acting force pump, the piston or plunger is the same
as that described for the employment of steam. For single-acting, the dividing
plate is not used, and the apertures are only one side of the piston or plunger.
The metallic rings, either for pistons or pump buckets, are each composed of
two segments, and the joints of one ring are placed at right angles to the other;
the lower ring has steady pins, and the upper ring has steady keys, so that the

page_text: joints of the rings may be kept in their proper places. Each ring is also
furnished with two face plates, made fast to one of the segments, and well
fitted to surfaces on the other segment, so that as the rings expand their joints
internally shall be covered by the said face plates. Externally we place over
the joints short curved plates or stopping bits.
These improvements will be clearly understood by reference to the accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings and the letters of reference thereon; in which,
Fig. 1 is a section of a piston, shewing the port-holes or apertures for the
admission of the steam; Fig. 2 is a plan of the same; Fig. 3 is the body or
shell of the piston; Figs. 4 and 5 are views of one of the rings, shewing the
face plates and stopping bits; Figs. 6 and 7 represent the dividing or junction
plate; Figs. 8 and 9 shew the top plate or cover with its port-holes or
apertures; Fig. 10 is à section of a pump bucket complete, shewing the port-
holes or apertures; Figs. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 are views of the
parts detached.
In Figs. 1, 2, and 3, a shews the body of the piston, part of which is the
bottom plate b, in which are the port-holes or apertures c. The piston rod is
shewn at d; the cover or upper plate is represented at e, having the port-holes
or apertures f. The rings are shewn at g, and are furnished with stopping
pieces. shews the dividing or junction plate, for the purpose, as before said,
of preventing the passage of the steam from one end of the piston to the other.
In Figs. 10, 11, and 12, 7 shews the body of the pump bucket, having pro-
jections which fit the barrel, and form the top and bottom plates m and n.
The rod is shewn at o, the mushroom valve at p, and the rings at g; the
port-holes or apertures are shewn at r, through which the water passes,
pressing against the rings during the up stroke of the bucket, the latter
thereby being made tight. Both for pistons and buckets the steady pins are
represented at s, the steady keys at t, the face plates at u, and the stopping
bits at v.
Having thus fully described the nature and particulars of our said Invention,
and the manner of carrying the same into practical effect, we desire it to be
distinctly understood that we do not confine ourselves to the exact details
herein set forth, as such may be varied or modified without departing from the
principle thereof; but we claim as our Invention, and which, to the best of our
knowledge and belief, has not been hitherto used within this realm, the mode
or method of constructing the plates of pistons and pump buckets with
apertures, and for the employment of metallic rings with face plates and

page_text: topping bits, as herein described, and illustrated in the accompanying Sheet
f Drawings.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Woodcock, Thomas Blackburn,
and James Smalley, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this
Twenty-seventh day of February, One thousand eight hundred and
WILLIAM WOODCOCK. (L.S.)
THOMAS BLACKBURN.
(L.S.)
JAMES SMALLEY.
(L.S.)
0 Signed, sealed, and delivered by the within-named
William Woodcock, Thomas Blackburn, and
James Smalley, in the presence of