Improvements in Apparatus to be Used in Designing or Setting out Slide Valves of Steam Engines and for Indicating the Working of such Valves.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 5th June, 1888
Complete Specification Left, 12th July, 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 17th Aug., 1888
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus to be Used in Designing or Setting out
Slide Valves of Steam Engines and for Indicating the Working
of such Valves.
I, WILLIAM COOPER of Baltic Chambers, Quayside in the City and County of
Newcastle-on-Tyne, Consulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows .-
--
This invention has for object to secure greater portability, with increased
simplicity of construction, of apparatus of the kind set forth in the specification of
Letters Patent, No. 1497 of 1875, the said apparatus being intended to be used in
designing or setting out the slide valves of steam engines, and for indicating the
working of such valves.
The frame, of such apparatus instead of being an inverted cross with a face at two
different levels, is according to the present invention made without the arms and has
a face in one plane. One of the arms is dispensed with and one only is used which
is removable and is secured to the frame by any suitable means such as thumb screws
and steady pins. The movable arm carries with it the shaft, milled head and bevel
pinion by which the crank is operated. The movable arm with its shaft and bevil
pinion are not essential, however, and if desired, can be dispensed with, the crank in
that case being turned directly by the hand of the operator. The lead platos are not
adjusted by rods and milled heads, as was the case in the arrangement the subject of
my former patent above mentioned but are put in place by hand. They carry pro-
Jections which take into slots in the frame and hold them in proper position.
The faces or edges of one or both of the lead plates may be divided into inches
and fractions of an inch to facilitate the setting of the pointer to half the travel of the
valve.
These plates can be quickly removed from the frame when the apparatus is to be
packed. The use of a frame with a face in one plane necessitates an alteration in the

page_text: block which represents the piston
This and the block of the lead plate are according
to this invention cut away so that they will not foul each other even when a very
short connecting rod is employed.
By my present improvements an apparatus is produced which is lighter, cheaper,
and capable of being packed in much less space than that above referred to.
Dated this 5th day of June 1888
W. LLOYD WISE,
Per FJ Brougham,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C,
Agent for the Applicant
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus to be Used in Designing or Setting out
Slide Valves of Steam Engines and for Indicating the Working
of such Valves.
I WILLIAM COOPER of Baltic Chambers, Quayside in the City and County of
Newcastle-on-Tyne Consulting Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion, 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 for object to secure greater portability, with increased
simplicity of construction, of apparatus of the kind set forth in the specification of
Letters Patent, No. 1497 of 1875, the said apparatus being intended to be used in
designing or setting out the slide valves of steam engines, and for indicating the
working of such valves
The frame of such apparatus instead of being an inverted cross with a face at two
different levels is according to the present invention made without the arms and has
a face in one plane. One of the arms is dispensed with and one only is used which is
removable and is secured to the frame by any suitable means such as thumb screws
and steady pins.
The moveable arm carries with it the shaft, mulled head and bevil
pinion by which the crank is operated. The moveable arm with its shaft and bevil
pinion are not essential, however, and if desired, can be dispensed with, the crank in
that case being turned directly by the hand of the operator. The lead plates are not
adjusted by rods and milled heads, as was the case in the arrangement the subject of
my former patent above mentioned but are put in place by hand. They carry pro-
jections which take into slots in the frame and hold them in proper position.

page_text: The faces or edges of one or both of the lead plates may be divided into inchs and
fractions of an inch to facilitate the setting of the pointer to half the travel of the
valve
These plates can be quickly removed from the frame when the apparatus is to be
packed. The use of a frame with a face in one plane necessitates an alteration in the
block which represents the piston This and the block of the lead plate are according
to this invention cut away so that they will not foul each other even when a very
short connecting rod is employed.
By my present improvements an apparatus is produced which is lighter,
cheaper, and capable of being packed in much less space than that above referred to.
Referring to the accompanying two sheets of illustrative drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan
or face view of an apparatus according to my invention, for designing or setting out
slide valves of steam engines, and for indicating the working of the same.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation.
Fig. 3 shews a modified arrangement in which the removeable arm is dispensed
with.
A is a frame standing on three feet Lengthwise of this frame is a long slot B. B.
In the upper part of this slot there slides a block C which corresponds to the
piston of the cylinder for which the slide valve is to be designed. Parallel to the slide
in which the block works is a second slot D, which serves as a means of adjusting
and fixing; a graduated scale E-The edge of the slot D is marked with divisions and
so is the graduated scale E for purposes which will be presently explained. The
block C receives its motion through the intermediary of a connecting rod G from the
crank H This crank is fixed to a spindle rotating in a bearing in a block which
divides the slot B. B into two parts-Connected to the spindle or to the crank is a
bevil wheel J which gears with a bevil pinion I on the shaft M carried in the arm U.
By turning the milled-head N at the end of the shaft the bevil pinion can be rotated.
and with it the bevil wheel and the crank. The arm U is removeable, being fixed in
place when required by easily manipulated devices, such as screws with milled-heads
and steady pins.
The length of the connecting rod, in terms of the travel of the piston can be readily
adjusted by aid of the divisions on the side of the slot D, and of the scale E. For this
pui pose the zero-point of the scale E is clamped opposite the division representing the
length of the connecting rod divided by the travel of the piston and then the con-
necting rod having been unclamped from the pivot C¹ the remote edge of the block Cis
brought opposite the end of the scale E. The crank is then set parrallel with the
slot, with the pin towards the block C, and the connecting rod clamped afresh. The
scale E is equal in length to the stroke of the block C, and is divided into 100 parts.
RR are the lap and lead plates. At the back of each is a block which fits into the
slot B, and holds the plate at right angles theroto-The edges of the slot are
graduated in inches and portions of an inch each way from the centre of the crank
spindle, and by aid of these divisions the positions of the lap and lead plates can
be adjusted. The plates themselves or one of them, may be divided into inches and
fractions of an ich along the edge, but this is not necessary when the arm U is so
divided. T is a pointer coupled by a frictional device to the spindle to which the
crank is attached. The length of the pointer and its angular position with relation
to the crank can be adjusted.
In the apparatus shewn in Fig. 3 the arm U with the shaft M, the bevil pinion I
and the bevil wheel J are omitted.
The crank is simply turned by hand The mode of using the instrument is as
follows:-
The connecting rod is set to the required length, and the two plates R R are
arranged at a distance from the centre of the crank shaft equal to the lap of the valve.
The crank is put on the (say) bottom centre, and the pointer T is adjusted to a length
equal to half the travel of the valve and then turned towards the piston until it
crosses the first edge of the lead plate R such a distance as will equal the lead
required. The pointer is then clamped to the spindle which carries the crank. When

page_text: the crank is turned the pointer will shew the motion of the edge of the valve, while
the block C will represent the corresponding motion and position of the piston.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare, that what 1
claim is
1. My improved apparatus as hereinabove described for use in designing or setting
out the slide valves of steam engines and for indicating the working of such valve as
set forth.
2. The combined arrangement of the slotted frame A having its acting face in one
plane, the removeable arm U that can be easily detached for packing and transport,
and the removeable lead plates substantially as described.
3. In apparatus of the kind referred to, the use of a plate adapted as hereinabove
described to serve the two purposes of enabling the pointer to be set, and of indicating
the position of the edge of a port as set forth
Dated this 11th day of July 1888.
WM. COOPER.
W. Lloyd Wise,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Applicant's Agent.