CERTAIN IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE STEAM ENGINE, AND IN MACHINERY FOR PROPELLING
Year: 1847

page_text: SOUTTER AND HAMMOND'S SPECIFICATION.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JAMES
SOUTTER and WILLIAM FREDERICK HAMMOND, of the Spread Eagle Works,
Limehouse, in the County of Middlesex, Engineers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-second day of
June, One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, in the eleventh year of
Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said James Soutter and William Frederick Hammond, our exors, admors,
and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that
we, the said James Soutter and William Frederick Hammond, our exors,
adiñors, and assigns, or such others as we, the said James Soutter and William
Frederick Hammond, our exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time and at all times during the term of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the
islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also in all Her said
Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, our Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE STEAM ENGINE, AND IN MACHINERY FOR PROPELLING;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso that we, the said James Soutter and
William Frederick Hammond, or one of us, shall, by an instrument in writing
under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, cause a
particular description of the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court

page_text: 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
James Soutter and William Frederick Hammond, hereby declare that the
nature of our said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be per-
formed, are fully set forth and described in and by the present Specification
thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed; that is to
say:-
engine. In both
A, A, is the steam
Our said Invention consists,-Firstly, of an improved steam engine of the
class called semi-rotary, in which one, two, or more pistons are attached in the
manner of leaves to a shaft vibrating or oscillating within a cylinder. The
Drawings on Sheet 1 represent an engine of this description applied to the
paddle shaft of a steam boat for propelling the same. Figure 1 is an end
elevation, and rigure 2 a longitudinal elevation of the
Figures some of the parts are shewn partly in section.
cylinder, which nearly resembles in its external form two spherical frustums,
united together at their narrow ends. Internally this cylinder is divided ver-
tically by a diaphragm or partition E into two equal parts. The piston shaft
F, which works horizontally, is made in two pieces G1, G2, which are coupled
or inter-locked together at their inner ends, as shewn, and have one common
bearing in the central diaphragm E. At their outer ends these half piston
shafts rest on pedestals H, H. The inner end of the half shaft G' is made to
turn freely in a recess or socket made for it in the inner or abutting end of the
other half shaft G2, so that the one half may revolve distinct from and inde-
pendently of the other. To each half shaft there is attached at right angles a
piston P, which we prefer making of one piece with the shaft. The area of
the cylinder is thus divided into four separate compartments, 1, 2, 3, 4, there
being two to each piston, one above and one below; or, in other words, one
chamber on each side of each piston, so that a single engine of this combination
is in effect the same as a pair of engines of the ordinary construction. These
compartments are made steam-tight by means of metallic packings I and e, e,
at the parts of the central diaphragm E, intersected by the half piston shafts by
similar packings d, d, inserted in the pistons all round, and by stuffing boxes
at the ends of the cylinder where the half piston shafts pass through. b, b', and
c, c', are the steam passages, and 63 and those leading to the condenser. The
slide valves are of the ordinary sort, and require, therefore, no description.
L, L, are beams securely keyed upon the half piston shafts G1, G2, which are
connected by rods M, M, with the cranks N, N, of the paddle wheel shaft.

page_text: These cranks N, N, are fixed nearly at right angles to each other, as is usual,
and of course the admission of steam to the various compartments is made to
suit this arrangement. 0,0, is a semi-rotary and double-acting air pump of
the peculiar construction for which Letters Patent for England were granted
to us bearing date the Twenty-second of June One thousand eight hundred and
forty-seven; but any other kind of pump may be substituted for it if preferred.
The mode in which the engine works is as follows:-Supposing steam to be
admitted by the passages b and c above the piston in the compartment 1, and
below it in the compartment 3, so that while the steam is passing down on the
one side it is pressing up on the other. Each half shaft acts as a centre, upon
which the piston attached to it may turn, but being of one piece with its piston,
it is compelled to turn along with it, and thereby gives motion to the beam L
-keyed-to-that-piston,-which-in-turn-gives-motion-to-the-corresponding-crank-
shaft, and causes it to make one half revolution. On the instant this has been
effected the slide valves are so regulated as to come into a position which admits
steam by the passages 6' and c, leaving b and c¹ open to the condenser, which
produces the succeeding half revolution. A like effect is simultaneously trans-
mitted to the crank shaft from the compartments of the other half of the
cylinder by exactly a similar series of movements, and so the operation goes
on continuously as long as steam is supplied to the engine. The position of
the cranks on the crank shaft is such, and the movements of the slide valves
are so regulated, that when one of the pistons is at the most efficient point of
its semi-rotary course the other shall be at its neutral or least efficient point.
From the equilibrated manner in which the steam is thus made to act upon
the pistons but little strain (comparatively) is thrown upon the bearings of the
shafts G¹, G³, or any of the other parts of the engine. Instead of an engine
of this improved description being applied to the propelling of paddle wheels
in the manner which has been just described, it may be so applied as to
dispense with two of the cranks and the intermediate shaft, that is to say, by
having two distinct cylinders placed as in common engines, and attaching the
lever beams to the midship ends of the piston shafts G1, G2, and by making the
connecting rods to work on a bent crank pin attached to the two paddle shaft
cranks. When employed to work a screw propellor (for which this engine is
equally well adapted), the power may be communicated direct to the propeller
shaft without the intervention of a second motion, and as the pistons of the
engine are in a state of constant equilibrium, there can be no jerking, which
is a great advantage where a screw is required to be worked at a high velocity.
In every case this form of engine admits of a great power being placed in a
small space, and on board large vessels. The whole of the engines and

page_text: machinery can be placed under the water line. A further advantage peculiar
(we believe) to this engine is, that it admits of the stroke being lengthened or
shortened at pleasure. All that is requisite for this purpose is that corre-
sponding slot holes should be made in the beam attached to the piston rod,
and in the crank by sliding the crank pins into these slot holes, and securing
them by means of screws or keys. The leverage may be made either more or
less, as may be required, while the piston is travelling the same distance.
And although we have hitherto spoken of this engine as applied to marine
purposes only, yet in point of fact it is applicable to all purposes to which steam
engines can be adopted both on water and on land, and whether locomotive or
stationary. In the Drawings, Figure 3 and Figure 4, we have shewn how it
may be adapted to a railway locomotive. Figure 3 is a side elevation of the
locomotive, and Figure 4 an end view of it. In this arrangement the plan
before described is adopted of having corresponding slot holes in the beam, and
in the crank into which the crank pins may be slid and secured, and the stroke
lengthened or shortened at pleasure.
Secondly, our Invention consists of an improvement in the form and arrange-
ment of the parts of the steam engine when it is made on the well-known
double and concentric cylinder plan. Figure 5 is a sectional elevation, and
Figure 6 a plan of a pair of engines of this description adapted to the propulsion
of a screw vessel. A', A¹, are the cylinders, which, as usual, are four in number,
but instead of being, as usual, circular, they are made rectangular, as indicated
by the dotted lines in the plan (properly speaking they can no longer be called
cylinders, but we adhere to this term for the sake of convenience, as being that
which is ordinarily used to designate the vessel or chamber in which the steam
is worked.) Figure 5, B, B, are the pistons, which are of a form corresponding
to the rectangular shape of the steam cylinders, having straight pieces of
metallic packing a, a, to prevent the escape of steam from the one side to the
other. By giving this rectangular form to the steam cylinders and pistons, we
are enabled to put engines of greater power in less space than when cylinders
and pistons of the usual form are employed. To each piston there are two
piston rods C, C, which are connected to a short cross-head D. The cross-
heads D, D, of the two opposite cylinders A, A, are connected by another cross-
head E, from which the power is transmitted to the propeller shaft F by the
connecting rod G. The cylinders A¹, A¹, have similar parts and connections,
by which the power is transmitted from them to the propeller shaft. The
steam valves of these engines may be of any convenient sort. In the Drawings
they are represented as fitted with the common slide; but as this forms no part
of our Invention, and the manner of working it is well understood, we need

page_text: only observe that the valves belonging to the corresponding pairs of cylinders
must be so set and connected as to act simultaneously in opening and closing
the respective ports.
.:
Thirdly, our Invention consists of an improved lubricator for oiling the
working parts of steam engines, of which a sectional elevation is given in
Figure 7. A is the reservoir for the oil; B a hollow tube or barrel made in
one piece with the body A of the vessel. The lower end forms a screw C, by
which it is fixed upon the brass or cover of the journal or other part to be oiled.
D is a hollow plug, which is ground into the barrel B sufficiently tight to
prevent the escape of oil between them at their lower end, except when the
holes a and b are brought opposite each other. E is a thread of cotton, which
is passed through holes cut in the barrel and plug, and_serves_to_convey--the
oil from the reservoir A into the interior of the plug B. When it is necessary
to stop the action and prevent the flow of oil, as when the machinery is at rest,
the handle of the plug is turned, which causes the openings a and b to be
removed from opposite each other, so that no escape of oil can take place out
of the apparatus. The flow of oil, however, continues from the interior of the
plug until the oil stands at the same level with that in the reservoir A. The
portion of oil thus collected in the interior of the plug serves to supply the
requisite quantity which is necessary for the journal or other moving part of
the engine upon first starting.
And having now described the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, we declare that the improvements which
we claim as constituting our said Invention are as follows:-
First, we claim the improved semi-rotary steam engine first herein-before
described, as far as regards the peculiar form, arrangement, and combination of
parts of which the same consists.
Second, we claim the double cylinder (or double steam chamber) engine
secondly herein-before described, in so far as regards the peculiar form and
arrangement of the parts thereof.
And third, we claim the improved lubricator herein-before described.
In witness whereof, we, the said James Soutter and William Frederick
Hammond, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-second
Day of December, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and forty-seven.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-second day of December,
in the year of our Lord 1847, the aforesaid James Souter and William
Frederick Hammond came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery,
and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein
contained and specified, in form above written. And also the Specification
aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made for that
purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-second day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.