AN IMPROVEMENT IN VALVES FOR STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN VALVES FOR STEAM ENGINES."-A com-
Sealed the 27th January 1857, and dated the 19th August 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
19th August 1856.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN VALVES FOR STEAM ENGINES," to be
as follows:-
This Invention of an improvement in the valves of steam engines consists
in the union of a balance valve with the ordinary slide valve of a steam
engine, the latter being operated by an excentric, or otherwise, in the ordinary
way, while the operations of the balance valve are to be regulated either by
the governor of the engine or by the engineer, so that the amount of steam
employed may at all times be made commensurate with the requirements of
the engine.
The balance valve is made cylindrical, and is worked by means of a vibrating
arm or tumbling lever, which is connected to the central stem of the valve,

page_text: and as the valve is moved to and fro, the lower end of this vibrating arm or
lever is made to strike against stops placed inside the valve box. One of these
stops is fixed and the other moveable, so that the steam may be cut off at any
point by adjusting the moveable stop.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 16th February 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD-NEWTON, of-the-Office for Patents,-66,-Chancery -Lane,-in-the-County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the 19th day of August 1856, in the 20th year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Newton, Her special licence that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Edward Newton, my 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 of
"AN IMPROVEMENT IN VALVES FOR STEAM ENGINES," being a communication from
abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward
Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 William Edward Newton, do herchy
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, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
Fig. 1 is an interior view of the steam chest with my improvements attached,
the cover being removed to show the parts within; Fig. 2, a similar view, the
balance valve being shown in section; Fig. 3, a section upon the line X, X,
of Fig. 1.

page_text: This Invention consists in the union of a balance valve with the ordinary
slide valve of a steam engine, the latter being operated by an eccentric, or
otherwise, in the ordinary way, while the operation of the balance valve may
be regulated by the governor or by the engineer, that the amount of steam
employed may at all times be made commensurate with the requirements of
the engine, as will be hereafter fully explained.
To enable others skilled in the art to use these improvements, I will proceed
to describe the manner in which the same have been carried out. In the
accompanying Drawings, A is the steam box; B, the slide valve, which is
operated by an eccentric, or otherwise, in the ordinary manner. Immediately
over the port Q in the slide valve is placed the balance valve C, through which
the steam passes before it reaches the slide valve, and by which it is regulated
and cut off as required. The valve C is constructed and operated as follows:-
The interior cylinder D is secured to the slide valve, and over this is fitted the
exterior cylinder O, each having a suitable number of ports a, a, which may
be opened or closed by the turning of the exterior cylinder; this motion of
the cylinder O is effected by the arm F, which is secured thereto and is vibrated
back and forth by striking against stops as the slide valve is operated. One
of the stops G is stationary, and as the slide valve returns into the position
seen in Figs. 1 and 3, the arm F strikes against the stop and throws the
valve C wide open. The other stop II, which is movable, slides within a
block I, and is connected with the governor by means of the rods K and L,
so that as the balls descend and a greater amount of steam is required, the
stop shall be drawn in and the valve C remain open, until the arm F strikes
against the stop to close it. When the motion of the governor is increased
and the balls diverge, the stop H is caused to approach the stationary stop G,
by which means the valve C is closed sooner than in the former case, and the
steam is cut off as required. When no steam whatever is required the stop H
is advanced (as seen in red in Fig. 1) so as to leave only sufficient space
between it and the stop G for the accommodation of the arm F, in which.
case the cut off valve is closed before the slide valve opens, and no steam is
admitted.
In the valve represented in the accompanying Drawings the openings a in
the exterior cylinder are allowed to descend below the head of the cylinder D,
whereby an equal pressure is at all times placed upon the opposite sides of the
head S, and a perfect balance is thus obtained.
It is not intended to limit these improvements to the exact form of balance
valve described above, as other forms of balance valve may be employed; tho
above-described valve is one which has been found to work well in practice,

page_text: and is therefore preferred. The cylinders D and O may be made slightly
conical to ensure the permanent efficiency of the valve when worn by long
usage.
In the above description but one valve and one series of ports are mentioned;
a similar set of ports are required at the other end of the steam box for the
operation of the valve C, which is represented in the accompanying Drawings
as closed.
open
Operation. The governor is so connected with the movable stop II, that as
the halls fall the stop H shall be drawn farther away from the stationary
stop Ġ. The ports P, Q, are adjusted in the ordinary manner, so as to com-
nience opening at the instant when the piston reaches the end of the cylinder.
As the slide valve moves in the direction indicated by the arrows, the arm F
strikes against the stationary stop G, and throws the valve C wide open. As
-the-slide valve moves in the opposite direction the valve C remains until
the arm F comes in contact with the movable stop H, when it is immediately
closed and the steam cut off, although the slide valve at the instant may be
wide open.
If the governor balls be extended so that less steam is required,
the stop H is caused to approach the stationary stop G, and the valve C is
In an extreme
closed, and the steam cut off at an earlier point of the stroke.
case where no steam is required the valve C is caused to close, as before
explained, before the slide valve opens. In the opposite extreme, where a
great amount of work is thrown upon the engine, the stop H.may be so far
withdrawn by the falling of the governor balls as to allow the steam to follow
the piston through the full length of its stroke. In locomotive engines, in
lieu of being connected with the governor, the stop H may be placed under
the control of the engineer, who is thus enabled to regulate the admission of
steam according as the grade of the road varies, or to the speed required, and
thereby save the wire drawing upon the throttle valve. At the same time he
is enabled to use the full force of his steam when required at starting or on
an ascending grade.
.
At the left hand of Fig. 2 is seen a modification of this Invention, in which
is employed the balance poppet valve f, the stem of which rests upon the
piece 9, which slides freely in guides or straps h secured to the face of the
valve B. As the valve approaches the extreme end of its traverse, the sliding
piece g strikes against the stationary stop K2, and forces it in the direction
of the arrow 1. The valve f is thus opened, the roller m upon the bottom
of its stem resting upon the point i of the slide, and as the valve B returns
in the opposite direction the slide.g strikes the movable stop K, and the
valve is instantly closed. This arrangement has the advantage that the

page_text: cut off is instantaneous, the weight of the valve forcing the slide back so soon
as the roller m has passed on to the inclined surface p, at the same time that
the valve is prevented from falling with sufficient velocity to produce either
unnecessary noise or wear of the parts.
Having now described the nature of this Invention, and the mode of carry-
ing out the same, I wish it to be understood that under the above recited
Letters Patent, I claim the combination of the balance valve C with the
ordinary slide valve, operating in the manner set forth for the purpose
described.
2nd, I claim the above-described method of operating the cut-off valve fin
connection with an ordinary slide valve, by means of the inclined sliding
picce g, or its equivalent, operating in the manner substantially as hercin set
forth.
In witness whercof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Sixth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)