Improvements in Engines for Driving Paddle Wheel Steamers.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Dec., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Sept., 1895-Accepted, 9th Nov., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Engines for Driving Paddle Wheel Steamers.
ROBERT BRUCE SMITH, 27 Liversidge Road, Higher Tranmere, Birkenhead,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My said invention has for its object to enable the engines for driving paddle.
wheel steamers to be made double compound, or single triple; or quadruple
expansion engines, and to be made to disconnect so that any wheel can be driven
separately, or in an opposite direction to the other; if required.
In carrying out my invention I use four steam cylinders, which in the double
compound are called two high pressure cylinders, and two low pressure cylinders;
in the triple expansion engine, one high pressure, one intermediate cylinder and
two low pressure cylinders; and in the quadruple expansion engine are, one high
pressure cylinder, one first intermediate cylinder, one second intermediate cylinder,
and one low pressure cylinder; in all the types I construct them two and two
together, making two pairs of cylinders, one cylinder of each pair being
superimposed upon the other, whichever way may suit my purpose best.
In any thwartship vertical section of the superimposed cylinders I keep the
centres of the one cylinder thwartships that of the other, so that' each cylinder
through its own piston, piston rod, and connecting rod, may engage with, and
turn its own crank pin. The pins which are driven by each pair of cylinders,
I connect together with a link upon the inner ends of each crank pin; the cranks
of the wing crank pins are either keyed on to, or forged with the paddle wheel.
shafts, while the cranks of the pins nearest to the centre of the ship are keyed on
to, or forged with a central piece of shafting, which will be in one piece in the
case of engines that do not disconnect, but when arranged to disconnect will be
made in two pieces, one of them being hollow, and bushed, so that the other will
turn within it when disconnected, and either of them whichever is suitable, being
constructed or fitted with jaws to engage a clutch, the said clutch being keyed to,
and sliding on the shaft opposite to that fitted with the jaws, or any other
equivalent method may be used to connect the shafts together, when it is not
desired to work the pairs separately.
The paddle and central shafts I support in bearings constructed in the framing.
in the usual way; and also connect the cylinders to the shaft bearings with the
usual guide framing, the other parts of the machinery being similar that in other
types of engines. Further by another modification in the case where the paddle
wheels are not required to disconnect, I may use only three cylinders instead of
four, in the triple expansion engine; viz. one high pressure, one intermediate
pressure, and one low pressure cylinder, two of them being superimposed, and
connected to their pins, in the manner already described, and the third cylinder by
itself connected in the usual way to its own crank pin, and I may make any two of
the three cylinders superimposed, and any one of them single. I may also make
the crank sequences in the four cylinder, or in the three cylinder arrangements,
any sequence I think best suited to the arrangements.
Dated this Twentieth day of December 1894.

page_text: Improvements in Engines for Driving Paddle Wheel Steamers.
I, ROBERT BRUCE SMITH of 27 Liversidge Road, Higher Tranmere,
Birkenhead in the County of Chester, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention 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 its object to enable the engines for driving paddle wheel
steamers to be made double compound, or single triple, or quadruple expansion
engines, and to be made to disconnect so that any wheel can be driven separately.
or in an opposite direction to the other, if required.
In carrying out my invention, I use four steam cylinders, which in the double
compound are called two high pressure cylinders, and two low pressure cylinders.
In the triple expansion engine, one high pressure cylinder, one intermediate
cylinder and two low pressure cylinders, and in the quadruple expansion engine
are one high pressure cylinder, one first intermediate cylinder, one second inter-
mediate cylinder, and one low pressure cylinder. In all the types I construct
them two and two together, making two pairs of cylinders, one cylinder of each
pair being superimposed upon the other whichever way may suit my purpose
best.
In any thwartship vertical section of the superimposed cylinders, I keep the
centres of the one cylinder thwartships that of the other so that each cylinder
through its own piston, piston rod, and connecting rod, may engage with, and turn,
its. own crank pin. The pins which are driven by each pair of cylinders I connect
together with a link upon the inner ends of each crank pin; the cranks of the
wing crank pins are either keyed onto, or forged with the paddle wheel shafts,
while the cranks of the pins nearest to the centre of the ship are keyed onto, or
forged with a central piece of shafting which will be in one piece in the case of
engines that do not disconnect, but when arranged to disconnect will be made in
two pieces, one of them being hollow and bushed so that the other will turn within
it when disconnected and either of them whichever is suitable being constructed or
fitted with jaws to engage a clutch, the said clutch being keyed to, and sliding on
the shaft opposite to that fitted with the jaws, or any other equivalent method
may be used to connect the shafts together when it is not desired to work the pairs
separately.
The paddle and central shafts I support in bearings constructed in the framing
in the usual way; and also connect the .cylinders to the shaft bearings with the
usual guide framing, the other parts of the machinery being similar to that in
other types of engines.
Further, by another modification in the case where the paddle wheels are not
required to disconnect, I may use only three cylinders instead of four, in the
triple expansion engine, namely, one high pressure, one intermediate pressure and
one low pressure cylinder, two of them being superimposed and connected to their
pins in the manner already described, and the third cylinder by itself connected in
the usual way to its own crank pin, and I may make any two of the three cylinders
superimposed and any one of them single.
I may
also make the crank sequences in the four cylinder or in the three cylinder
arrangements, any sequence I think best suited to the arrangements.
Referring to the drawings:-
Figure 1 is an elevation and Figure 2 a plan of a pair of engines arranged in
accordance with my invention.
In these,

page_text: The 1st. in which for the double compound engine A and C will be the high
pressure cylinders, and B and D the low pressure cylinders;
2nd. For the triple compound engine, A will be the high pressure cylinder,
C the intermediate cylinder, B and D, the two low pressure cylinders, whose
combined volume is equal to the final volume of the third cylinder of the triple
expansion engine ;
3rd. For the second type of triple expansion engine, A as before will be the
high pressure cylinder, B, the intermediate cylinder, and C and D will be replaced
by one cylinder, the low pressure of full volume connecting to a single crank,
instead of to a pair of cranks and d. I do not propose to run the pair in this
engine separately from their neighbouring single low pressure engine;
4th. For the quadruple compound engine, A will be the high pressure cylinder,
C the first intermediate cylinder, I) the second intermediate cylinder, and B the
low pressure cylinder of full volume.
The first, second and fourth types are arranged in pairs as shown. F, G, are
connecting links between, uniting the two crank pins of each pair, these links will
be loose if couplings 1 1' are dispensed with, and the outer shafts 22' be made
solid up to the cranks a and d, but if said couplings 1 and 1' be used, then the
whole shaft between couplings 1 or 1' and H will be made solid or built up in
pieces to be as good as solid, and H is a coupling or clutch so arranged that the
pairs of engines can be run independently or coupled up.
In thus describing my invention, I am well aware that single compound engines
built on somewhat the same elevation lines as set forth in Figure 1 have long been
in use, but owing to the difficulty of the loose connecting link which is employed
to connect the pins, it has hitherto been the practice that the power of the cylinder
should only drive one wheel, and the power of the other cylinder the other wheel,
but by my invention of the placing of that which corresponds to an intermediate
shaft between two such pairs of cylinders, I make a pair of cylinders instead of one
cylinder drive one wheel, and the other pair of cylinders instead of one cylinder
drive the other wheel, thus by my invention I am enabled to adapt this type of
engine to be used as a double compound, or as a triple compound or quadruple
compound engine, all arranged, excepting one type of triple compound engine, to
disconnect at coupling H when it is desirable to drive one wheel separately from,
or contrary to the other, which arrangements have never been made before.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. The improvement in engines for driving paddle wheel steamers in which a
pair of cylinders, one superimposed on the other and acting on separate crank pins
connected by a loose or solid link, drive one paddle wheel, and another pair of
cylinders similarly arranged or a single cylinder drive the other wheel, the engines
being connected through their inner cranks by what is equivalent to an intermediate
shaft and working separately or in conjunction and arranged substantially as
described whereby they can be run with double compound, triple or quadruple
expansion.
2. The four types of engines arranged for working expansively substantially as
described.
Ded
Dated this 21st day of September 1895.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, and Loudon, Patent Agents.