IMPROVEMENTS IN VALVES AND VALVE COCKS FOR STEAM AND OTHER MOTIVE-POWER ENGINES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN VALVES AND VALVE COCKS FOR
STEAM AND OTHER MOTIVE-POWER ENGINES." -A communication from
abroad by Jean Molard. of Paris, in the Republic of France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 30th June 1875.
I, HENRY 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN VALVES AND
VALVE COCKS FOR STEAM AND OTHER MOTIVE-POWER ENGINES," to be as
follows:-
The object of this Invention is, 1st, to construct the slide, valves of
steam or other motive power engines in such a manner that the
expansion of the steam or other elastic fluid may be varied as may be

page_text: required and the cut off regulated by any kind of governor. By means
of these improvements a very considerable economy in fuel will be
effected.
In carrying out the Invention two flat bars are fitted to slide steam
tight on the face of the valve chest so that by moving them they may be
made to cover and thereby close up more or less the steam passages
leading into the cylinder. On the back of these movable bars are made
oblique slots to receive the feet of a movable cap piece which is keep
down in place by means of a slotted bar which is pressed down thereon by
two flat springs. This slotted bar extends from end to end of the valve
box and receives in its slot the pin of a crank which is connected to the
top of the movable cap piece and serves to move the same when
required. The spindle of this crank passes through the cover of the
valve, and on the end thereof is fitted a rod or lever whereby the crank
may be actuated or turned whenever it is desired to move the parts
connected therewith. The D slide valve works on the ground face of
the valve chest between the two movable bars and strikes them
alternately as it works to and fro on its seat.
When the small crank is moved by external agency either by the
hand of the attendant or by the governor of the engine it moves the cap
piece laterally, and as the feet of this latter work in the oblique slots of
the movable bars these latter are brought nearer to or further from cach
other, as may be required, and in this way they will cover or more or
less close the steam ports, and thereby regulate the cut off and expansion
of the steam.
The second improvement relates to valve cocks, and consists in so
constructing the valve cock that thero shall always be a perfect equili
brium of pressure.
To this end the steam is admitted by passages
which are exactly opposed by each other. The exit passages by which
it escapes are also arranged exactly opposite to each other, so that tho
pressure on all sides is equal.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 30th December 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
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 Thirtieth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Henry Edward Newton, Her special
licence that I, the said Henry Edward Newton, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry Edward
Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN VALVES AND VALVE COCKS FOR STEAM AND OTHER
MOTIVE-POWER ENGINES," being a communication to me from abroad by
Jean Molard, of Paris, in the Republic of France, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Henry Edward Newton, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
one of their hands and seals, 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 Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Edward Newton, 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, reference being had to the Drawing
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
to say) :—
is
The object of this Invention is first to construct the slide valves of
steam or other motive power engines in such a manner that the expansion

page_text: of the steam or other elastic fluid may be varied as may be required and
the cut off regulated by any kind of governor. By means of these
improvements a very considerable economy in fuel will be effected.
In carrying out the Invention two flat bars are fitted to slide steam
tight on the face of the valve chest so that by moving them they may
be made to cover and thereby close up more or less the steam passages
leading into the cylinder. On the back of these movable bars are mado
oblique slots to receive the feet of a movable cap piece which is kept
down in place by means of a slotted bar which is pressed down thereon
by two flat springs. This slotted bar extends from end to end of the
valve box, and receives in its slot the pin of a crank which is connected
to the top of the movable cap piece and serves to move the same when
required. The spindle of this crank passes through the cover of the
valve, and on the end thereof is fitted a rod or lever whereby the crank
may be actuated or turned whenever it is desired to move the parts
connected therewith. The D slide valve works on the ground face of
the valve chest between the two movable bars and strikes them
alternately as it works to and fro on its seat.
When the small crank is moved by external agency, either by the
hand of the attendant or by the governor of the engine, it moves the
cap piece laterally, and as the fect of this latter work in the oblique
slots of the movable bars these latter are brought nearer to or further
from each other, as may be required, and in this way they will cover or
more or less close the steam ports, and thereby regulate the cut off and
expansion of the steam.
In order that the Invention and the mode of applying the same may
be more fully understood, I have shown the improved construction of
valve adapted to a steam engine with a vibrating cylinder. It is,
however, equally applicable to other constructions of steam engines.
In Sheet I. Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the engine complete;
Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same taken in the line 1, 2, of
Fig. 1.
Fig. 3, Sheet II., is a sectional plan view taken in the line 3, 4, of
Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a front view of the slide valve and its seat. The steam
chest and its cover being removed so that the construction of the
internal parts may be more clearly seen.

page_text: 21
a is the slide valve which is held in a frame b, to which is attached
the valve. rod c in the usual manner. Upon the valve seat, and at the
front and rear of the valve a. are two bars d, d, which are accurately
fitted to the seat of the valve and slide thereon. These bars are
intended to cover the steam ports alternately and thus cut off and
expand the steam. They are coupled together and held down by means
of the cover e, the legs of which enter diagonal grooves formed in the
backs of the sliding bars d. The cover e is held in its place by the
longitudinal bar f, which lies in a groove formed in the back of the
cover, to which it serves as a guide. Two springs g, g, placed at the
ends of the longitudinal bar f serve to keep the sliding bars d, d, close
down to the valve seat.
'
It will be evident that by giving a lateral movement to the longi-
tudinal bar f, and with it to the cover e, the legs of the latter, by
moving along the diagonal grooves, will vary the distance between the
two sliding bars d, d, and thereby the amount of "cut off," and
consequently the expansion of the steam may be regulated.
:
In order to give the required lateral movement to the bar f, and
thereby regulate or adjust the position of the sliding bars d, d. The
pin of a crank is inserted in a square block which works in a slot in
the bar f. The crank is fixed on the lower end of a rod h³, which is
passed through a stuffing box on the cover of steam chest. To the
outer end of the rod is attached a lever arm i connected by the
pendent rod to the governor of the engine.
יז
In the Drawings I have shown a governor such as that described in
the Specification of a Patent dated Eighth August One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-one, No. 2091, and granted to Alfred Vincent
Newton for an Invention communicated to him by the Inventor. of the
present improvements. As the construction and operation of this
governor is fully explained in the Specification of the said Patent I
have not considered it necessary to enter into any further description of
it here further than to say that it is in this instance placed on the axle
of the vibrating cylinder of the engine, as is shown in longitudinal and
transverse section at Figures 3 and 3°. The rod ; may, however, be
connected with any other construction of steam engine governor. k, k,
is the steam chest, enclosing the slide valve 2, the piston m, the piston
rod of which passes through a stuffing box m², and is connected with

page_text: the cranks n on the main driving shaft n'. A guide rod o is connected to
the under side of the piston and passes through the lower head of the
cylinder; but instead of providing the latter with a stuffing box the
rod o is enclosed within a tubular envelope o¹, as shewn at Figures 1
and 2. Steam is admitted to the cylinder through the ports 8, 8, and
escapes to the exhaust by the port t.
It will be understood on referring to the Drawings that the bars d, d,
in the valve chest which are pushed alternately by the slide valve a are
intended during a greater or shorter portion of the stroke to completely
cover the steam ports, and the varying distance of these bars from each
other is effected by means of the lateral movement of the cover e so
that the cut off and consequent expansion of the steam can be very
considerably varied. A very slight movement of the crank h will
produce an effect, and this may be done either by hand or by the action
of the engine governor.
The second improvement relates to valve cocks, and consists in so
constructing the valve that there shall always be a perfect equilibrium
of pressure. To this end the steam is admitted to the ends of the valve
cock by passages which are arranged exactly opposite to cach other and
the exit passages, whereby the steam escapes are also arranged exactly 2
opposite to each other so that the pressure on all sides is equal.
Fig. 5, Sheet II., is a longitudinal vertical section of the improved
valve cock, and Fig. 6 is a transverse section of the same taken in the
line 1, 2, of Fig. 5. The outer casing or envelope of the cock is shewn
at a, a, a, and b, b, is a hollow conical plug which forms the valve
cock. It will be seen in Fig. 5 that it is open at both ends so as to
receive the steam from the divided passage 8, 8, as indicated by the
arrows. It has also two longitudinal passages t¹, P, made in it at
opposite sides, as shown at Fig. 6, for the purpose of allowing the exit
steam to escape to the divided exit passage t, t.
In order to place the conical valve 6 in its seat the cover v of the
casing is removed and the valve is held in its seat and is turned in either
direction therein by means of a cross bar u which is keyed to the valve
stem w, on the outer end of which is keyed the lever whereby the
valve is worked. The conical valve b is kept down in its seat by means
of the screw y which bears against the end of the valve stem to and is
capable of adjustment as the valve wears away.

page_text: It will now be understood that the steam from the boiler enters the
valve casing by the passages and passes along the divided passage to
the ends of the conical valve and through the ports t¹ to the divided
exit passage t, t, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 6.
It will be obvious that if preferred the steam may be made to pass in
exactly the opposite direction, that is, it may enter at t, pass out of the
two ends of the conical plug b, and exit at 8¹.
Having now described the Invention of "Improvements in Valves
and Valve Cocks for Steam and other Motive Power Engines," as com-
municated to me by my foreign correspondent, and having explained
the manner of carrying the same into effect, I claim as the Invention
secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid, the adaptation to the slide
valves of motive power engines of the sliding bars d, d, or their
equivalents for alternately closing the steam ports, such sliding bars
being so arranged that their distance apart may be varied automatically
so as to produce a variable cut off by means of the governor of the
engine, as herein set forth.
I also claim the improved construction of valve cock shown at
Figures 5 and 6, whereby an equilibrium of pressure is obtained, as
herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Edward Newton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Thirtieth day of December,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.